Shots Across the Bow?

I haven’t posted a great deal on Lebanon and that has been a conscience decision. The situation is so fluid and so novel in some respects for Lebanon that it is hard to see how it will all shake out in the wash. I remain hopeful but I am guarding that hope.

Today from the Jerusalem Post I learned that a car bomb has gone off outside an 8- story apartment building in a pre-dominantly Christian neighborhood in Beirut. Nine people have been injured and so far there have been no claims of responsibility by any individuals or groups. Lebanon has a large criminal underground so it is still plausible that the bombing could have a criminal rather than political motivation though in light of recent events it would appear somewhat unlikely.

It is important to note that the Lebanese civil war did not have one clear quick ending but was a process that was spread over a long period of time. Many would point to October 1990 attack in Beirut on General Aoun, (leader of the Christian South Lebanese Army) at the Presidential Palace by the Syrian air force as the beginning of the end. But the ending lasted another 10 years until the total removal of Israeli Defense Forces from southern Lebanon in May 2000 which caused the final collapse of the (pre-dominantly Christian) South Lebanese Army. Hezbollah rapidly advances in southern Lebanon and takes control of region. In 2001, Syria carries again carries out significant troop deployments to enforce the peace.