Blood, Smoke and Tears in Beirut

The New York Times > Opinion > Op-Ed Contributor: "The difference in reaction between the younger and older Beirutis was striking. The soldiers and police officers, most looking to be in their early 20's, seemed scared and unsure of what to do. Some tried to impose order by shouting for the crowds to get back; others just wandered around looking as devastated as the civilians they sought to restrain. These men were all born too late to remember the civil war, so for many this was their first taste of real violence.

Not so for the older Lebanese. One elderly man walked nonchalantly through the blast site, looking as if he had seen all of this in another life, before stopping to wash his face at a broken water main. Two businessmen in suits stood closer, right next to the crater, sunglasses on their expressionless faces, talking back and forth in quiet, unsurprised voices.

Rafik Hariri, the former prime minister who was one of those killed in the attack, was a billionaire, and through his actions in office and his private investment was largely responsible for what has passed as financial stability here. The expensive hotels that line the Corniche are now damaged or unreachable, a powerful blow to the resurgent tourism industry. Every window in the chic new Hotel Monroe was shattered; the same for the historic Phoenicia Intercontinental.

That night, Tara and I had a makeshift Valentine's Day dinner in one of the few restaurants that remained open. Around nine o'clock, we made our way back to my apartment, which is in the same West Beirut neighborhood in which Mr. Hariri had lived. The stores were shuttered, the streets silent, out of respect for the dead. "

Andrew Exum is the author of "This Man's Army."