Whooping It Up

In Beirut, even Christians celebrated the atrocity.



BY ELISABETTA BURBA



Saturday, September 22, 2001 12:01 a.m. EDT



BEIRUT--Where were you on Sept. 11, when terrorists changed the world? I

was at the National Museum here, enjoying the wonders of the ancient

Phoenicians with my husband. This tour of past splendor only magnified the

shock I received later when I heard the news and saw the reactions all

around me. Walking downtown, I realized that the offspring of this great

civilization were celebrating a terrorist outrage. And I am not talking

about destitute people. Those who were cheering belonged to the elite of

the Paris of Middle East: professionals wearing double-breasted suits,

charming blond ladies, pretty teenagers in tailored jeans.

Trying to find our bearings, my husband and I went into an American-style

cafe in the Hamra district, near Rue Verdun, rated as one of the most

expensive shopping streets in the world. Here the cognitive dissonance was

immediate, and direct. The café's sophisticated clientele was celebrating,

laughing, cheering and making jokes, as waiters served hamburgers and Diet

Pepsi. Nobody looked shocked, or moved. They were excited, very excited.



An hour later, at a little market near the U.S. Embassy, on the outskirts

of Beirut, a thrilled shop assistant showed us, using his hands, how the

plane had crashed into the twin towers. He, too, was laughing.







http://www.opinionjournal.com/extra/?id=95001194



Oh my.