I am pleased today for two reasons. One, Spring Training has recently started. Baseball is a great love of mine, and I dare say a lot of people in the US. Unfortunately, this offseason has been one of distraction, what with the Mitchell Report and steroids and Roger Clemens. But it's time to start anew. Baseball is like that. Every year, the moment pitchers and catchers report to camp, you get to forget about the disappointments of last year. Spring Training represents eternal optimism; every team is a contender (for the short term). You never know what sort of magic will take place throughout the next 8 months. What records will be broken. What amazing performances you'll witness. Sure, there are a lot of problems with baseball. Skyrocketing salaries, made by young men to play a game, amounts which the common man cannot even appreciate let alone identify with. And of course steroids and accusations which have brought low our heroes. Ticket prices that are prohibitive for the aforementioned common man. Convoluted rules about blackouts for cable TV sports packages. But none of these things put a damper on the elation I feel when I think about Spring Training.
Another reason to be joyous today is the death of Imad Moughniyah, who was formerly Hezbollah's guerrilla commander. Being Hezbollah's guerrilla commander will probably net you a few enemies, and someone assassinated him. In fact, Moughniyah was among the illustrious Most Wanted by the United States. Why would someone who you've never heard of be on such a list? If you're old enough, of if you're a US Marine, you might remember the bombing of the Marine Barracks in Beirut in 1983. Moughniyah assisted in the planning and execution of that attack, and another executed that day.
On 23 October, a man drove a truck full of the equivalent of 12,000 pounds of explosives towards the Marine Barracks in Beirut. The Marine sentries, under restrictive rules of engagement, were unable to quickly respond to the threat, and the suicide bombing successfully detonated his explosives after crashing the gate and plowing the truck into the front of the building. The four story building collapsed, killing 220 Marines, 18 sailors and three soldiers. Sixty other men were injured. This was the single deadliest day for the US Marine Corps since Iwo Jima. Two minutes after this blast, a similar attack took place against a French barracks about 4 miles away leading to the deaths of 58 French soldiers. This was arguably the first time that a modern terrorist organization caused a radical shift in a nation's foreign policy. Despite public insistences that US forces would remain, the Marines were withdrawn four months after the attack (after they had already been moved off-shore) and by April, the remaining Multinational Forces had been withdrawn. Taking this into consideration, and including the Mogadishu debacle, is it any wonder these groups are so certain that they can defeat the US?
Regardless of the outcome of those attacks, Moughniyah obviously continued his dastardly ways and eventually paid for it. I know some people might think that you should never wish for someone's death. However, even if this were true, I'd make an exception for Moughniyah. I'd rather he have suffered a bit more; a car bombing might have been a little too quick and painless. But he's gone now, and Hezbollah is weaker for it. This is a good thing. (Remember, Hezbollah is closely affiliated with a country called Iran.)
In less somber news, the community of nations welcomed a new member into its ranks yesterday as Kosovo declared its independence from Serbia. By all accounts, Kosovars took to the streets to celebrate. Can you imagine how they must feel? They have a long road ahead of them. While the US, France, Britain, and Germany have announced recognition of Kosovo today, Russia and China are very much against recognition, and Russia is a long-time supporter of Serbia, which still regards the newly formed Republic of Kosovo as part of its territory. I wish them luck, and I hope they find their independence to be fulfilling.
A very short Coffee, I know. Consider it to be a cup of Italian cappuccino or something similar: small but potents. Well, the potency of this Coffee is up for debate.
Word of the Day: Sine qua non (sin-ih-kwah-NON) (noun): An essential condition or element; an indispensable thing.
On This Day in History: The first ongoing filibuster in the US Senate begins (1841). This lasts until 11 March. The Lincoln Country War between ranchers and the owners of a general stroe begins in Lincoln Country,
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