Stoking the Fires in Lebanon

Beirut isn't burning just yet, but if the U.S. continues to cross a red line by pushing for a politically charged trial that Syria won't stand for, a full-scale blaze will surely erupt.

Beirut is boiling, as a Lebanese friend called to tell me. Over the weekend, Hizballah announced it would defy a government ban and hold mass, open-ended demonstrations until the government of Prime Minister Fouad Siniora resigns — a slow-rolling coup d'etat, if you like. Then on Tuesday, the anti-Syrian minister Pierre Gemayel was assassinated. His father, Amin Gemayel, is the pro-American former president, his grandfather was the founder of the Christian Phalange party, and you can count on his assassination having momentous political consequences for Lebanon. I asked my friend what happens if the government doesn't give into Hizballah and resign. It's simple — Beirut burns, he said.