Photo by Emily O'Dell
The basic problems facing the world today are not susceptible to a military solution. — John F. Kennedy
“Whatever you do–after tomorrow–do not go down that street,” a Lebanese friend told me this week.
The street in question was a busy one–filled with rowdy restaurants and bawdy bars. Though I walk down it every day, I never knew until this week that the office of a “very important person” resides there–and is considered, by some, to be the perfect target.
Oh, she’s just overreacting, I thought–on my way yesterday to run an errand in a store right near his office. When I stepped inside the bank, usually bustling with commotion, nobody spoke–and everyone stared. The clerks who usually smile–scowled. Wrapping up my business, I wondered if it was the last time I’d ever be visiting that store–or even that street.
Stepping back out on to the sidewalk–I found myself trapped in tape. A line of tape–waist high–had been wrapped around the block–and stretched 6 feet into the street to prevent cars from parking near the buildings (and blowing up the block). When I couldn’t spot a way out of the tape–without walking first all the way to the end of the block–a faint panic seized my steps.
Get me out of here, I thought–my steps becoming more hurried, and my eyes darting back and forth from backpacks to passing cars. Was I more worried about a bomb, or the fact that the landscape of my neighborhood was changing so quickly in subtle but serious ways–displaying the dressings of war?
As the war drums beat louder each day–with President Obama planning missile strikes against 50 Syrian governmental targets– bombs could begin falling next door as early as tomorrow morning (targets likely include: Mezze airbase, the 4th Division of the 155th Brigade, and the Republican Guard in Qasioun). And when the bombs start falling–things here in Lebanon are bound to get ugly. And then I’ll have a lot more to worry about than some strategically placed tape…
