meidi

Returned a couple days back from Beirut. It seems like a nice city. There are still a few signs of the civil war and a very impressive monument at the Army GHQ where many if not all of the old militias contributed artillery and tanks for a huge memorial where they are embedded in cement and piled on top of each other. This is a very different Middle Eastern country. I can't think of another regional army that serves wine with lunch...no pork though. They are amazingly rank heavy. A UN peace keeper told me they have 450 brigadier generals in an army of 40K. Apparently it is also very hard to make those many generals make a decision on anything. Had a short trip down south to Tyr. Very different from Beirut of course. Hezbollah flags and signs everywhere. We picked up a police escort before we crossed the Litani River and drove pretty crazy all the way to Tyr. I was in Beirut when the government fell. Life went on, but I am sure people are nervous. Most of the Leb Army guys tried to pretend nothing happened, but a couple more open ones admitted the future is very uncertain. Wednesday after the collapse, troops were out in along the main rods in a show of force. The police seemed to reroute some traffic, but there were no new checkpoints and no heavy weapons to be seen. It looked like a show of force rather than a prep for a possible fight.