Lebanese of the Druze sect have begun to pay their dues

The Lebanese Lobby News Website brought an article published by Deutsche Presse-Agentur titled Lebanese police defuse bomb in Druze shrine to my attention. The article declares that

Police in Lebanon on Monday defused a homemade bomb inside a Druze shrine in the western Bekaa valley, an area of Lebanon where anti-Syrian Druze leader Walid Jumblatt enjoys a high level of support, Lebanese security sources said.

A bottle full of highly explosive material and pieces of metal was hidden inside the shrine of Sheikh al-Fadel in Rachya, the sources said, adding that it was found by a shrine guard.

'The shrine and the sheikhs were saved by a miracle,' said a Druze sheikh who requested anonymity.

Efforts to destabilize the country have shifted into a new gear. Sunni, Orthodox, Maronite and Druze leaders and personalities have been targeted thus far. Christian neighborhoods have also been targeted. Now, sacred Druze shrines appear to be the new target. What can I say?

The world of undercover operations and covert wars are exactly that - covert and undercover. To those of us in Lebanon, the first impulse is to blame Syria. That is my own impulse, and I believe it is well-placed. What is more important though, is the law of unintended consequences.

In Lebanon, our salvation lies in that law.

• Hariri's assassination brought about March 14.
• Other assassinations brought us closer together rather than farther appart.
• The political elite's desire to foment popular support rejuvinated patriotism and discourse on democracy like never before.
• The drive to bring Bashar el Assad and his clique to justice, as opposed to simply attempting to overthrow him, has probably hammered in a new idea of justice to Lebanese and (hopefully) Arabs.

These unintended consequences, as well as others are what I am counting on for Lebanon. Hopefully, this attempted murder of hapless Druze sheykhs and sheykhat, will bring us even closer together.

The war continues.