
The bombing in Verdun is significant in many ways
Although it resembles yesterday’s Ashrafieh bombing, the Verdun bombing has meanings of its own. For example, this is the first time that a Sunni neighborhood of Beirut is targeted, after terrorism being exclusively carried out in Christian areas. This could mark the beginning of a new phase of “destabilization”.
The explosion also comes at the heel of Syria’s Foreign Affairs’ Minister’s not-so-hidden threat:
“Will rushing to establish this tribunal, despite the division in Lebanon, really bring security and peace, or will it threaten the security and safety of Lebanon?”, or, to translate it into lay-language: “we will burn the hell out of Lebanon if the tribunal moves through”. It also comes after the Fatah al Islam threatened to sow terrorism in other Lebanese areas if the Army does not stop shelling them.
But of course, the only way to stop the tribunal is a veto from a veto-wielding security council member. Which brings us to the last significance of the Verdun’s bombing: The target was the Russian cultural center in Beirut.
It is hard to see Russia being so easily manipulated, and Syria should know better. Harming Russian interests can backfire. But then again, some people are desperate.
Hello, my name is Mustapha and I blog in The Beirut Spring about Lebanese society and politics. I started in February 2005 after the killing of P.M. Rafik Hariri.

Hello !!!!!
Don’t we have a freaken government in this country?
Who is Responsible then, why do we always swim in vacum loops in lebanon….
Bashar’s gangs are going at it again. Bomb syria now.
OW! Sorry
Only Olmert’s gangs are allowed on this site!
The Hell with Bashar too !!!
Viva Independent Lebanon
Someone forgot how Russia “deals” with those who mess with it… And with their families… That someone may have grossly miscalculated.
[...] Here there is more about the Aschrafief bombing. [...]
[...] After the explosions in (Christian) Ashrafieh and (Sunni) Verdun, Aley, a popular Druze summer destination was hit. Can Walid Jumblat calm his constituents this time? [...]
[...] Mustapha at Beirut Spring makes an interesting point about the escalation of terrorism in Beirut and its expansion into the posh Sunni neighborhood of Verdun. The target was (possibly) the Russian Cultural Center, which reportedly was right near where the car bomb exploded, in order to pressure the Russian government to veto the pending tribunal against Hariri's assassins in the United Nations Security Council. [...]