REWARDS BREED BEHAVIOR:

Anti-Syrian Lawmaker Killed in Beirut Blast (Anthony Shadid, 6/14/07, Washington Post)

The killing of Walid Eido, 65, further tested the fragility of a Lebanese government mired in a months-long confrontation with its opposition, a protracted battle with Islamic militants in a Palestinian refugee camp and a deepening crisis over the selection of a new president this fall. Weeks of morbid anticipation had preceded Wednesday's bombing, with traffic sparse in Beirut's streets after sunset and many residents opting to stay home at night.

Almost immediately after the explosion, figures from across the political spectrum here denounced the bombing. The Shiite Muslim movement Hezbollah, the opposition's leading faction, said the attack was "targeting Lebanon and its stability."

As in the past, anti-Syrian lawmakers cast the assassination as another episode in their confrontation with Damascus, saying Syrian authorities were trying to deprive the Lebanese parliament of its anti-Syrian majority through methodical killings.

"We're all targeted," said lawmaker Jawad Boulos. "It's no coincidence these people are being assassinated."

If Nancy Pelosi is going to travel to Damascus and tug her forelock, the Administration is going to discuss Iraq with the Ba'athists, the Israelis are going to sue for peace, and we're all going to turn a blind eye to the way Assad shelters the radical leaders of Hamas, then why shouldn't the Syrians keep doing what they've always done? If we don't regime change Syria we oughtn't be considered serious about Lebanon or Palestine.

Posted by Orrin Judd at June 14, 2007 12:00 AM