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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| Recent bombings carry a political message |
| 2005-03-30 |
| The three explosions that have devastated the country during the past 10 days in different Lebanese areas and which carry the same political and sectarian aspects have represented significant political messages. The explosions have been implemented at night and were aimed at hitting the economy more than causing human fatalities, which would mean that they were plotted with great accuracy. Their significance constituted a relatively appeasing factor for the people, who are not yet afraid of sending their children to school. However, anxiety has increased after the latest explosion in Sad al-Boushrieh which hit at around 9 p.m. and raised concern among the Lebanese, who started to fear that the perpetrators would set up explosions during the day in order to cause human deaths. The first explosion that occurred on March 18 in New Jdeideh preceded the arrival of U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs David Satterfield to Beirut. U.S. Ambassador Jeffrey Feltman, who was supposed to leave for Washington for personal reasons on the night of the explosion, was obliged to reschedule his flight and left the country a few hours before the arrival of Satterfield. Satterfield's three-week stay at the U.S. Embassy without taking the Lebanese authorities' permission was considered a direct and personal challenge to the Lebanese officials and particularly to President Emile Lahoud and a blatant interference in the country's domestic affairs. The explosions were also seen by many people as a message to Satterfield and a rejection to the U.S. tutelage that would prompt the Lebanese opposition's situation to backfire. Moreover, the statements of Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Butros Sfeir following his meeting with U.S. President George W. Bush and several American officials have raised more anger and could be considered as a reason behind the explosions. |
| Posted by:Fred |