Blair's spokesman said he had been willing to talk to the government's two Hizbullah ministers but they chose not to attend a meeting he held with the Lebanese Cabinet.

Blair was most interested in seeing Siniora.

While Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Siniora greeted Blair at the airport, hundreds of demonstrators gathered in central Beirut. The two leaders road into the city in a 22-vehicle motorcade, with hundreds of security forces guarding the route.

"Blair, you are not welcome in Lebanon," read a banner carried by protesters. "In the name of the Lebanese people: Thank you for destroying our homes, neighborhoods and memories."

Blair was not expected to meet with President Emile Lahoud, a pro-Syrian whom Western nations have refused to deal with in the last year.

At a news conference, Prime Minister Fouad Siniora asked for Blair's help with postwar reconstruction and in the "empowerment and enhancement of our army and our internal security".

Blair said Britain was ready to provide "training, equipment, any help we can give".

During the news conference, a woman unfurled a banner reading "Boycott Israeli apartheid" and shouted "Shame on you" as security men grabbed the banner and hustled her away.

"It's all right, we are in a democracy...we respect all sorts of expression," a calm Siniora said.

Blair angered many Lebanese by his refusal to call for an early ceasefire in the Lebanon conflict, which saw the destruction of large parts of the country's infrastructure and the death of about 1,200 Lebanese.

Blair said he understood the anger in Lebanon, where many saw his refusal to break ranks with U.S. President George W. Bush to call for a quick cease-fire during 34 days of fighting as tacit support for Israel's offensive.

"Of course feelings run high, innocent people lost their lives here, this country ... has been set back by years," said Blair, the second Western leader to come to Beirut since fighting erupted in July.

Blair defended his wartime stance, when he backed a U.S. refusal to heed Siniora's appeals for an immediate ceasefire.

"I could have gone out there and called for it all to stop but it wasn't going to stop until there was a U.N. resolution that had a framework within which it could stop, in which the real problems could be dealt with," he said.

Some protesters held placards reading "Thank you Blair for delivering the intelligent bombs" -- referring to U.S. flights carrying bombs for Israel that refueled in Scotland during the war. "Blair you killer, go to hell," read another placard.

"America is the greatest Satan, and Blair is the dog of the Satan," some protesters shouted.

Blair shrugged off the protests, saying they were all too familiar. "I've got used to demonstrations in my own country and demonstrations elsewhere as well, so I suppose some demonstrations here kind of make me feel at home," he said.

An overhead view of the protest

Tony Blair accompanied by Saad Hariri lays a wreath at Rafik Hariri's grave in Downtown Beirut

Sources: AP, Reuters, Naharnet