Syrian War Expands

Al Jazeera is reporting this morning that two pro-Hezbollah Sunni Lebanese leaders have come under attack.

Hwaida Saad and Hala Droubi report this morning of Lebanon's Bekaa Valley increasingly feeling like a war zone:

On Sunday, Israeli warplanes buzzed over Lebanon, violating its airspace and deepening the sense of anxiety. In Baalbek, a resident said that the overnight clashes between Hezbollah and the rebels were only the latest sign of a growing crisis. The resident, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of safety concerns, said gunfire around Baalbek from nearby villages had become routine as had the funerals, for both Hezbollah and opposition fighters killed in battles across the border.

Anne Barnard reporting from Damascus has a piece, "Rushing to Aid in Syrian War, but Claiming No Side," worth reading about the work of the Syrian Arab Red Crescent. There are no good guys and bad buys in this civil war story. Just emergency medical technicians doing their job. One interesting and dispiriting note is struck at the end of Barnard's report. She interviews two brothers who work for the Red Crescent in Damascus. They predict that the city is going to be devastated:

Yet their outlook is also dark. They debate whether rebels will “take revenge” on Damascus for not rising up sooner; Hamza says yes, Mohammed no. They worry that rebel sleeper cells will fight newly armed government militias, and that if rebels enter the city, the government will shell it. 

“We are waiting for this bubble to explode, and we know it will,” Mohammed said.

“The waiting is killing us,” Hamza added. 

That, they say, is why they volunteer in central Damascus, not in “hotter” areas. They want to be here to help, when the storm comes.

John McCain was on Face the Nation yesterday calling for an act of war, U.S. missile strikes on Syria. There is no appetite in this country for yet another war. Of course that doesn't stop elites from doing as they please.