Not America’s, but Lebanon’s.

Downtown Beirut’s ordinarily packed streets were largely empty except for security forces as the nation began three days of mourning following the assassination of a prominent anti-Syrian figure.

Independence Day celebrations were canceled as people huddled around televisions to watch the live broadcast Wednesday of dignitaries paying last respects to Pierre Gemayel, a Christian politician whose assassination threatened to push the country’s political crisis into wider violence.

Cancelling an Independence Day holidy is rather fitting, since Syria is working hard to cancel Lebanon’s independence.

As Syria and their client Hizballah continue their march on a coup in Lebanon, the assassination of Lebanese Cabinet Member and Industry Minister Pierre Gemayel was not the only development yesterday.

Another anti-Syrian Lebanese Cabinet member, Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Michel Pharaon, was the target of a second assassination attempt yesterday. Though the attempt failed, it represents an undeniable pattern of a renewed bid to eliminate anti-Syrian members from positions of Lebanese power. Minister Pharaon?s offices released a statement saying ?The office of the state minister for parliamentary affairs, Michel Pharaon, in the Ashrafieh neighborhood was the target of gunshots today from gunmen in a white Suzuki car.? The gunmen riddled the offices with gunfire and sped off. Pharaon is a Greek-Catholic Christian MP in the cabinet.

Syria is apparently not at all concerned about any potential consequences regarding their moves in Lebanon. It’s not hard to imagine how they got that impression, what with the UN’s failure to even pretend to care about enforcing the recent ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon. Clearly they’ve concluded that the UN is not serious about its efforts in the region. And given the general view in the middle east on the recent American elections, they aren’t much concerned about the U.S. doing anything either.

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