From Lebanon

Word from the Middle East isn't very good right now.

From a Lebanese friend, I hear...

"It's ugly and it's disgusting. The bombings are focused on Hizbollah locations, so it's not like the entire country is being blasted. The problem is that the Israelis have bombed not only Hizbollah whereabouts, but also every major road and port infrastructure that Hizbollah can directly or indirectly use to get in weapons from Syria and Iran. Worst of all is, the number of innocent civilians that are falling is unbelievable. Israel has actually striked on several occassions on pure residential areas with direct hits on residential buildings...it's total carnage."

From a journalist stationed in Beirut, a warning...

"I just hope there isn't a civil war. I'm convinced that if they send in ANY Western troops as part of an 'international stabilisation force', they will be attacked, and this place will become another Iraq."