Lebanon Under Siege From Within

Hezbollah has stepped up its campaign against the Lebanese government and has shut down Beirut and surrounding areas using barricades and armed men. They are calling it a general strike. It is more than that. It is a coup attempt by any rational standard.

Hezbollah-led protesters paralyzed Lebanon Tuesday by burning tires and cars on major thoroughfares in and around the capital to enforce a general strike that aims to topple the government.

Clustering in small groups to man the blazing roadblocks, opposition supporters escalated their nearly two-month protest. Commuters were stranded and silence hung over many commercial districts amid reports of scattered violence.

Police said seven people suffered gunshot wounds in disturbances between supporters of the guerrilla group and pro-government activists in central and northern Lebanon. Michel Aoun, a senior opposition leader, told Al-Arabiya television that the wounded were all members of the opposition.

Lebanese government ministers are calling it a coup attempt. It is also obvious that despite reports that Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is having political trouble in Iran the foreign policy of that country is not being altered. Iran is still pushing to expand its power in the region.

UPDATE: Pictures from the BBC. More from Snapped Shot, Still more from Michael Totten.