Fashionable Firearms

One thing that I've been noticing in Lebanon over the past few month's is a marked improvement in the quality of firearms. The Lebanese army and police used to carry Vietnam-era American and Soviet-bloc assault rifles that looked as if they'd actually served in Vietnam. Now, possibly as a result of foreign aid, the streets are filled with soldiers carrying stylish black rifles with folding stocks and see-through plastic magazines.

It's a good thing that the Lebanese army is getting a badly needed upgrade. The sorry state of their weaponry became apparent during the battle at Nahr al Bared, when the Islamic militants were better armed than the government. But it's not so fun to see new weapons showing up in the hands of the kind of guys who don't like having their pictures taken at public events. These guards at Friday's funeral for an assassinated member of parliament were sporting an American AR-15 with all the fancy gee-gaws -- flash suppressor, infrared and telescopic sights, the works. If only they could upgrade their taste in sunglasses.

--Andrew Lee Butters/Beirut