A vocal anti-Syrian lawmaker and at least nine other people were killed when a bomb ripped through his car on Beirut's popular sea-front Wednesday in the latest assassination of a Lebanese opponent of Damascus, a heavy new blow to the stability of this conflict-torn nation.
| Oh, who could possibly be responsible for such an atrocity? |
The blast came days after the government began work putting together an international tribunal ordered by the United Nations to try suspects in the previous killings, a step strongly opposed by Syria and its allies in Lebanon.
| But the two aren't related, of course. Certainly not. Nope. |
The slain lawmaker, Walid Eido, was a prominent supporter of the tribunal. He is the seventh anti-Syrian figure killed in the past two years, starting with the February 2005 death of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri in a massive Beirut suicide car bombing. Many Lebanese have accused Syria of being behind the slayings, a claim Damascus denies.
| Well, I guess that settles it, then... |
Eido's supporters quickly blamed Syria in Wednesday's assassination. Hariri's son, Saad Hariri, the leader of the anti-Syrian bloc in parliament, indirectly accused Damascus, saying "agencies of evil" seeking "Lebanon's submission" carried out the blast. The slaying was likely to further enflame Lebanon's bitter power struggle between the Western-backed government and its Syrian-backed opponents, led by the Hezbollah militant group - which many fear could push the polarized nation with a fragile balance of ethnic and religious groups into a new civil war.
| Which is the Syrian objective, of course. A nice replay of the civil war, and they can step in to "restore order" and they've got their colony back. |
The two sides battled in deadly street riots earlier this year, and many Lebanese have been dreading the potential that any new attack could spark another round of violence.
Wednesday's blast also came as Lebanon is dealing with a separate conflict that threatens to spiral out of control: a nearly four-week battle with al-Qaida-inspired militants barricaded inside a northern Palestinian refugee camp. More than 140 people have been killed in the Lebanese army's siege of the Nahr el-Bared camp.
The Bush administration - a top ally of Prime Minister Fuad Saniora - condemned Wednesday's bombing. "We stand with the people of Lebanon and Prime Minister Saniora's government as they battle extremists who are trying to derail Lebanon's march to peace, prosperity and a lasting democracy," Gordon Johndroe, the National Security Council spokesman, said in Washington.
| The Dems will bail as soon as anything of substance is required, of course... |
Asked if Washington saw Syria's hand in the attack, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said, "I can't tell you at this point, but very clearly this is the work of those who intend or want to undermine Lebanese democracy."
The bomb ripped through Eido's black Mercedes just before 6 p.m. on a narrow side street off the Beirut Corniche in Manara, a mainly Sunni Muslim sector of the capital where the 65-year-old Eido often came in the afternoons to play cards with friends. The palm tree-lined boulevard along the Mediterranean shoreline is a favorite among Beirutis for evening strolls. The explosion gutted Eido's car and left others nearby in flames, shattering windows in nearby apartments and strewing the street with rubble. Body parts were thrown onto a soccer field in a neighboring sporting club, and the ferris wheel of a nearby amusement park towered over the carnage.
Eido's 35-year-old son, two bodyguards and six passers-by were also killed in the explosion, security officials said. A woman, screaming and covered in blood, was pulled away from the carnage by residents who rushed to help. |