Eamonn Fitzgerald's Rainy Day

As the shockwaves from the Pierre Gemayel assassination ripple through the Levant, the blog to watch is that of Michael J. Totten: "The Syrian regime cannot restrain itself from butchering its Lebanese enemies, but it looks to me like someone in Damascus just flinched." What we're seeing here is a coup in slow motion. "If they assassinate one more minister, the cabinet is automatically dissolved, because it would lack the two-thirds + 1 it needs to be constitutional." Totten's post about the "perfect storm" that's gathering force in Lebanon is a must-read in light of the sectarian war that's building up. Money quote: "Hebollah is nothing but a protest and charity movement without its supply train from Tehran through Damascus."