Morning after update

Well, all is quiet on the Western Beirut front now. No gunfire sounds for over 12 hours, and reports are that Hezbollah has withdrawn from the area. The few flare ups in other parts of the country have not spread. People are dismantling the now unmanned roadblocks. Two wonderful things: Hezbollah withdrew after making its statement, and the Lebanese Army, a microcosm of the country's population, stayed neutral. The Army commander is respected by all and remains the top candidate to be president, should an election ever actually be held (it's been delayed 18 times).

So we are changing gears. I will unpack the "flight" bag I had packed, put away the family photos and favorite earrings, go look for bullet holes on Hamra street, and carry on with life. It was so quiet last night that we slept well--no motorbikes, squeaky brakes...or gunfshots.

We are still not sure who they were shooting at. Almost everyone was off the street, including the Army. One tremendous round of continuing fire at 3:30 yesterday afternoon turned out to be celebratory fire, as Hezbollah and allied fighters signalled total control of Weste Beirut by firing volleys into the air form strategic street corners throughout the area.