Photos from Today's Explosion in Achrafieh

Early, pyjama-clad arrivals on the scene - fire still blazing in the background (click to enlarge)


Hundreds of residents came out to have a look. The lights on at ABC are at the new Starbucks -- kind of an ironic beacon of normalcy under the circumstances.

You can't really tell from here, but all the glass on those shopfronts is gone. Well, not really gone -- shattered all over the ground, like snow. Likewise on the rest of the streets in the area.

Army lined up along the Mar Mitr rise

The blast site, with the ABC parking garage to the left. Apparently, the woman who died was on the ground floor apartment of the center building (where you can see a gaping hole). I believe the bomb was placed under a car near to where the bright light is being shined on the left.

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Nothing really to say on the subject of today's many terrors -- just wanted to let you guys see what's going on, as I know how frustrating it is to try to follow events from afar.

What a day. God bless the Lebanese army, and may the terrorists all rot in hell. Or at least in prison cells, for the rest of their natural lives.

Seymour Hersh & US policy in Lebanon

Well, Sy Hersh's long-awaited article on US policy in Lebanon & the Middle East is finally out. He'd been spotted skulking about the country over the past few months, and I know I was not alone in worrying what he was going to write about -- Hersh is a longtime close friend of Emile Lahoud, among others, so I figured the article would be an anti-March 14 propaganda smear plus some cheerleading for the opposition/Hezbollah.

However, as it turns out, most of that was largely outside the scope of the article (though a bit seeped through nonetheless). I'm relieved in a sense, but on the other hand, if what he wrote is true, we've all got a lot more to worry about than bad press abroad.

Hersh's article examines the recent "redirection" in US Middle East policy, especially in Lebanon:

To undermine Iran, which is predominantly Shiite, the Bush Administration has decided, in effect, to reconfigure its priorities in the Middle East. In Lebanon, the Administration has coöperated with Saudi Arabia’s government, which is Sunni, in clandestine operations that are intended to weaken Hezbollah, the Shiite organization that is backed by Iran. The U.S. has also taken part in clandestine operations aimed at Iran and its ally Syria. A by-product of these activities has been the bolstering of Sunni extremist groups that espouse a militant vision of Islam and are hostile to America and sympathetic to Al Qaeda.

In Lebanon, Hersh details how US-Saudi-Lebanese efforts to undermine Hezbollah, Syria and Iran involve financing "emerging Sunni radical groups in northern Lebanon, the Bekaa Valley, and around Palestinian refugee camps in the south. These groups, though small, are seen as a buffer to Hezbollah; at the same time, their ideological ties are with Al Qaeda."

Now, I know this is a part of the world where even the most intelligent and competent of actors often end up making truly appalling decisions that fly in the face of basic common sense. But come ON. The US has played this game before, and what did it get them? Al Qaeda and 9/11, and by extension the whole "War on Terror" in the first place.

Consider the following, non exhaustive list:

-Insists its arms will never be used against fellow Lebanese. HA: yes. Sunni extremists: no.
-Doesn't go around blowing up McDonald's, etc. HA: yes. Sunni extremists: no.
-Accepts that for the foreseeable future, an Islamic State in Lebanon is not a feasible objective. HA: yes. Sunni extremists: no.
-Outside of war, largely trys to avoid hitting civilian targets in Israel: HA: yes. Sunni extremists: no.
-Prevents other groups from waging attacks against Israel from Lebanese soil: HA: yes. Sunni extremists: no.
-Doesn't attack the Lebanese army. HA: yes. Sunni extremists: no.

You get the idea. I'd like to see Hezbollah disarmed like, yesterday. But I'd rather they keep their weapons forever than see them replaced -- or joined as a major armed faction -- by radical Sunni al-Qaeda sympathizers.

It seems obvious that anyone trying to create a viable armed force in Lebanon, both as a counter and potential replacement for Hezbollah, should focus their efforts on building up the national army. Later on, Hersh reports that during an interview with Nasrallah last December, the Hezbollah leader "pledged to disarm [Hezbollah] when the Lebanese Army was able to stand up." While he may be bluffing, in any case, this strengthens the case for building up the army. HA would certainly have a harder time justifying its necessity as a resistance to Israel if the Lebanese army were better trained and equipped than Hezbollah itself -- not to mention there would be a group theoretically capable of disarming them by force (though for the record, I don't think that would ever be a good idea). Sure, there's the potential for trouble -- but it seems a hell of a lot safer than giving arms and money to radical Salafists. Ugh.

Terror warning

Hopefully, this will prove to have been a completely useless post. But I couldn't hear something like this and not share it with you guys.

For everyone in Lebanon: I just got a call from a very well-connected friend warning me to stay away from malls and movie theaters for the next week. Apparently, there's chatter about a possible attack.

In any case, a lot of these establishments are stepping up security in light of the threat -- so even if it is legit, attacks might be stopped before they happen.

But be careful.

Phase three: Está de vuelta la Rosario Tijeras

Central Beirut, 8:30 am Tuesday

Smoke along the coastline (click to enlarge)

Beirut Port

"It was true that the city had 'heated up.' The unrest was suffocating us... We tried to get used to it, but the sound of each explosion fulfilled its aim of making us afraid to go out. For Rosario, the war was ecstasy, the realization of a dream, the detonation of her instincts.

'It really makes it worth living here,' she said."

-Jorge Franco, Rosario Tijeras, p. 67

The most frightening aspect of today's "strike" (in or on Lebanon, depending on your point of view) is that it was far less an act against the government than it was act against the people. Ordinary citizens from all political stripes were prevented from going about their daily lives. It wasn't the government that got caught in the clashes (with the exception of Fares Soueid), but ordinary citizens on both sides. Watching footage from around the country was hugely depressing: kids younger than me beating each other with sticks, rocks, wielding guns. This is a generation that never really knew civil war. I feel a line has been crossed today, now that the taste of fighting one another is back in people's mouths. Is it too late to recede?

Though it has already been said by many, my other comment is about the army. I'm disappointed in the government for assuring us of protection it couldn't really offer, apparently, and I'm disappointed in the army for failing to even try to ensure the freedom and safety of the Lebanese public. Friends who did go out to the various roadblocks paint an equally lackluster picture of army actions. I have to say, I feel a lot less secure than I did yesterday, though I guess I was just naive. I don't just feel like I live in a chaotic state anymore -- I feel like I live in a lawless one.

I also respect the opposition even less -- although I fear them more. Is this their idea of loving life "in Lebanon," loving life "with dignity," etc? Smashing old ladies' cars up and preventing children from going to school? Turning Lebanon, as the cashier observed while ringing up my man'ouche this morning, into a "fifth-world" country?

Even if a solution gets cooked up quickly, can the animosity the two sides feel towards each other really be resolved in the short to medium term? I believe in Lebanon, I love Lebanon, but sometimes I wonder if it isn't really as cursed as it is blessed.

"Rosario's fight isn't so simple, it has very deep roots, from long ago, from earlier generations. Life weighs on her with the weight of this country, her genes drag along a race of sons of plenty and sons of bitches who with the blade of a machete cleared the pathways of life. They're still doing it. ...Today the machete is a shotgun, a nine-millimeter, a chopper. The weapon has changed but not its use. The story has changed, too, has become terrifying.

Once proud, we are now ashamed, without understanding how, why, and when it all happened. We don't know how long our history is, but we can feel its weight. And Rosario has borne it since time immemorial, for that reason, when she was born, she didn't come bearing bread under her arm, but misfortune."

-Jorge Franco, Rosario Tijeras, p. 32

Phase Two, Day One - Observations & Pictures

Yesterday, my office had front row seats to the first day of Phase Two, the opposition's protest outside VAT offices. I didn't have a camera on me, but I managed to find someone who did -- so here are a few photos of the protest. I planned to post them last night, but an "old blogger" outage got in the way (grr). So anyways, better late than never, etc.

The scene -- VAT offices on the left of the highway, protest on the right (click to enlarge, same goes for the rest of the photos)

The first thing everyone -- including the office's diehard Aounists -- said, after coming in from the balcony to take a look was, "It's so small!" (Though the FPMers were quick to justify the size by pointing out that it was a weekday).

The protest (this is as big as it ever got)

VAT offices -- everyone visible here is either security or media

The crowd appeared to be almost exclusively from FPM and the GFLU (the pro-Syrian union). Hezbollah presence, for whatever reason, seemed neglible.

At any given time, there were about as many protesters as army and police. The protesters never got very close to the actual VAT building, thanks to the security presence and various barriers set up by both the army and the protest organizers themselves. The heavy security extended most of the way up to Sassine -- jeeps and other army vehicles pretty much lined Alfred Naccache, and I got my bag searched & a mini interrogation when entering my building.


The protest only lasted for a few hours, but I do have to give them one thing -- it was annoying as all hell. I got more work done in the two hours after they left than the six before. But this was just one unproductive workday: I don't understand why the opposition is changing, rather than adding, locations each day (although obviously, I'm glad). It seems like the latter would be a far more effective tactic, and based on the turnout, it wouldn't require much manpower.

Economics

It seems that one of the most popular critiques of the current goverment relates to the $40 billion public debt. But this is unfair. It's actually $41 billion.

Before this summer's war, it was $38 billion. That number had not increased since the government came into power. Let me reiterate that: during the tenure of the sitting government, the public debt did NOT increase.

Until the war. Over the course of Hezbollah's war with Israel, the public debt went up by $3 billion dollars... in 34 days. I have never denied that I am, and have always been, a staunch Haririst. But if you take the most anti-Hariri person you can find, and he will still be unable to identify any one-month period in which the public debt increased by such an exorbitant amount.

So yell at the government about something else, if you must. But don't even start on the economic situation, when you've made it so, so much worse than it ever was before. $3 billion in one month, for your pointless war.

Sheikh Pierre's funeral (with pictures)

Here are a few of my photos from Minister of Industry Pierre Gemayel's funeral today. Typically, my camera battery died pretty early on, but I hope these images can give some idea of the incredible spirit of the event. I can't imagine a better send-off for Sheikh Pierre.

The crowd included people from all walks of life -- from keffiyeh-clad, leathery-faced old men to babies in strollers and society ladies and, of course, hundreds of thousands of young people -- Christian, Muslim, and Druze. One thing that really struck me was how unsegregated the crowd was: in any given space, you had a great diversity of people (and flags) standing shoulder to shoulder, louding cheering at every mention of Pierre Gemayel's name, chanting together, reacting to the speeches, and of course, belting out the national anthem in unison.

Yes, there are terrible divisions in the country, and our situation is precarious. But the funeral today, ironically enough, was a real morale boost for those of us who attended, as I hope it was for those of you who watched it from afar. It has been a while since the March 14 constituents -- not just the leaders -- were at the heart of any major happening in Lebanon. Sometimes I think we all forget how many of us there really are, and how strong we can be when we come together.

The scene at 1030am

Just looked out the window, and Charles Helou ave. is already full of people heading on foot towards Martyrs Square.

Actually, the people walking on are alongside the port -- from about Espace SD onwards to Annahar, pretty dense crowds are just standing -- which makes me wonder if the square might be already packed out.

Lots of honking horns, and La Ma Kholset Lhkaye can be heard blasting out from several directions.

Sorry no pictures yet, but I'm in a rush to finish some work before heading down there myself. I'll update post-funeral with pics (hopefully).