Beirut

If the Saudis and other Gulf Cooperation Council members thought that sending more than a 1,000 additional troops to quell the uprising in Bahrain would prevent it from influencing the rest of the region, they miscalculated. The repercussions are already being felt here in Lebanon. After today’s confrontations in Bahrain, pitting the Sunni regime’s security forces against mostly Shia demonstrators, Shia here in Beirut aligned with Hezbollah and Amal have responded by burning tires and closing down roads. These actions add to an already tense sectarian atmosphere here after one Hezbollah-allied former minister Wiam Wahhab trashed Saudi Arabia, including Saudi women who he said looked like black garbage bags. This compelled the Sunnis to take to the streets in Tripoli and other Sunni regions.