It started gradually - an assassination, then a bus ambush. Slowly, gunmen took to the streets and sporadic fighting erupted.
Then the tit-for-tat kidnappings broke out, and the "liquidations" and the car bombs. Those lucky enough to survive quickly picked up and moved - to another part of town or away altogether.
Sound familiar? Deja Vu? This is from the article "Will Iraq Follow Lebanon's Path to War?" by SAM F. GHATTAS, Associated Press Writer
These days, many are harkening back to that time - in worry - wondering if Iraq and specifically Baghdad might not be headed for much of the same.
But a look at the first days of civil war in 1975 in Beirut is instructive about how things might look in Iraq, if they get worse.
It was 31 years ago - on April 13, 1975 - that the first major spark flared in a Christian suburb called Ein el-Rummaneh.
Lebanon already was on edge. Its old Christian-dominated power structure was under pressure as the country's demographics changed. Muslims sought new power with the help of Palestinian guerrillas whose presence exacerbated the tensions.
The initial spark - the assassination of a Christian Phalange Party official - was followed shortly afterward by a reprisal ambush on a busload of Palestinians that drove through the neighborhood, killing 22. Sporadic gunfire erupted, followed later by heavy gunbattles.
So, is Iraq headed down the same path? Possible, no? Not according to King George of course, he just cannot see it. It has to do with "the blind leading the blind."
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