The Arab Spring Continues

The Cedar Revolution continues...

Hundreds of thousands of Lebanese jammed the center of downtown Beirut today, packing its central square and spilling out onto the surrounding roads, in the largest demonstration yet demanding the withdrawal of all Syrian forces from the country.

Nearly every available space around the square was filled with people flying the Lebanese flag, in what was probably the largest demonstration ever seen in Lebanon.

In the main mosque, still under construction, demonstrators crammed the tiny balconies high up on the four minarets, balconies that the muezzin traditionally use to sing out the call to prayer.

A few daredevils inched their way out along the huge construction crane looming over the square to drape a flag at the end.

There have been rallies in the center of the city on every Monday since former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri was killed four Mondays ago, on Feb. 14, but organizers were determined to make this one especially large as an answer the pro-Syrian march last Tuesday that also filled the downtown with hundreds of thousands of mostly Shiite demonstrators.

It's beyond cool to see the people in Middle Eastern countries declaring their desire for freedom and trying to throw off the shackles of tyranny. Even the Hezbollah rally last week were a demonstration of the need to rally popular support to one's cause, even if there are questions regarding the legitimacy of that rally.

Let's forget the debate about whether the U.S. intervention in Iraq deserves credit for inspiring this. We can (and will) debate that another time. Hey, there's still people debating why the Berlin Wall came down over 15 years later. For now, let's simply take a deep breath and marvel at the events taking place, and praise the courage of those pursuing their freedom for taking this step.