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Today's Big Story

Trouble Among the Cedars

Anti-Syria Politician Gunned Down in Lebanon.

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The murder of a prominent anti-Syria politician in Lebanon has sparked fears of renewed instability and possible civil war in the beleaguered Middle East Country. 

Pierre Gemayal, a minister in the pro-west government of Fauod Siniora, became the latest outspoken critic of Syria to die in Lebanon when he was shot earlier today. 

According to the NY Times, gunmen “rammed a car into Mr. Gemayel’s vehicle, then leapt out and riddled his vehicle with bullets, firing at him with silencer-equipped automatic weapons at point-blank range.”

Gemayal was a member of Lebanon’s most prominent Christian family.

From the Guardian:

His grandfather - also called Pierre - founded the Phalange party, a Christian Maronite paramilitary youth organisation modelled on the fascist organisations he observed while in Berlin as an Olympic athlete in 1936.

During the 1975 Lebanese civil war, the Phalange party was the most formidable force within the Christian camp.

Its militia shouldered the brunt of the fighting against the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) and, as part of the Lebanese Front - the mostly Christian, rightist coalition - the power of the Gemayel family increased considerably.

The Times also links to bloggers reacting to the story.

From Bob’s Blog:

Waiting!
It is how Lebanon is feeling at the moment, how it has been feeling for the as long as I can remember…

Waiting for the war to start, and then for it to end… Waiting for an occupation to start and then end and for another one to start and then end...Waiting for the next assassination, and then waiting for next explosion...Waiting for the results for the national dialogue and then waiting for national consultation…waiting for another war to start and then to end… Waiting… just waiting…

For more Lebanese blogs, try this Crawford Killian story from August.
[Tyee]

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