Beirut's not Kiev, but...
According to this Reuters story, "Lebanon's Syrian-backed government collapsed Monday, piling more pressure on Damascus, already under fire from the United States and Israel." All well and good, but here's the kicker: "The news delighted thousands of flag-waving demonstrators who had defied an official ban to protest at Syrian domination of Lebanon. Banks, schools and businesses had closed after an opposition call for an anti-Syrian general strike."
Sound familiar? It was the blatant attempt to steal the Ukrainian election that led to last year's "orange revolution" and it now appears that the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri on 14 February will be the catalyst that leads to the next uprising. Yesterday, for the first time since 1989, when the last major anti-Syrian protests took place, Lebanese of all ages and religious beliefs paraded their anger at the Syrian presence. On Saturday evening, a human chain with up to 20,000 participants lined the route from Place des Martyrs to the site where the fatal blast took place.
Despite the desperate acts of those who this morning slaughtered more than 110 young Iraqi men who wished to work to stabilize their society, the Middle East is changing before our very eyes and it's getting very, very lonely for the likes of Syria, which is unable to wean itself away from tyranny and terror. Time's not on its side, though and its friends are few. It hasn't got many in Lebanon now.
