Beirut, Lebanon
STOP ME IF YOU’VE HEARD THIS before: armed members of the pro-Syrian opposition clashed with supporters of the Western-backed government on the streets of Beirut, as the political deadlock between the rival factions escalates once more into violence. As a journalist covering Lebanon’s long-simmering conflict, one of the occupational difficulties is finding new words to describe an essentially cyclical situation of rhetorical escalation, limited skirmishing, and fruitless dialogue.
But the violence that has rocked Beirut this week is qualitatively different from the strife that kept the city on edge for much of the past two years. What began as a political struggle for power between two vaguely defined blocs has been transformed into a battle between competing visions for Lebanon’s future. Simply put, it is becoming impossible to reconcile the aims of the ruling Parliamentary majority with the Iranian-backed forces of Hezbollah.
