More on the Middle East

As you may know by now, Michael Totten of TCS (and others) has relocated to Lebanon in order to better chronicle the changing face of the middle east. It's an interesting place in time, especially given the recent release of the UN report on the death of Lebanese PM Rafik Hariri.

Totten uses his unique position to get a feel for the opinion of the Lebanese on the street as it were, and finds out, surprisingly, that most people are in agreement with Syria's pull out and are not surprised by the findings of the report, regardless of their religion. The people of Lebabanon are also hopeful that the events of the past year signal a real change, both in their own country, and in the entire region.

Totten writes:

"When asked if he fears Syrian retaliation in Lebanon, Makram Z. was perfectly calm. "It will take a long time before this is fully resolved, perhaps one or two years. In the meantime, Syria will lay low and buy time...The way these people think and act, and the way they were all brought up, indicates nothing stops them from acting like this, especially if they are from the old school of the Baath Party. But I don't suppose they will stir things up now that it is known world wide."

His friend Claude D. also thinks Lebanon will be okay. "In 1970 we saw anti-Christian riots when [Egyptian President] Nasser died. And for what? He died of a heart attack. No one killed him. Yet when Hariri was killed, both Christians and Muslims united in anger and grief. Lebanon is more mature than it was."

He is worried about one thing, though. "If Lebanon reacts well to this crisis, the winds of freedom will blow onto the other Arab regimes. And they won't like it."

Makram gestured to another friend who preferred to remain anonymous. "This man," he said, "he is a Sunni. They were against Syria's presence in Lebanon all along. We Christians were expected to oppose Syria, and our opinions were a little more tolerated. But the Sunnis were never allowed to oppose."

"Is this true?" I said to Makram's anonymous friend. He grimly nodded yes, it was true."

Hope over to TCS and read the rest. For more of Michael's Middle East journal, visit his personal blog.