It is ironic and unremarked that in the age of instant communications using satellite, radio, television, and the internet, the more powerful form of 'sending a message' continues to be one of the most ancient... smoke signals.
Photos of the bombing of Beirut, (touched and un-touched) are the most recent examples, though the most famous are still those from Dresden, Tokyo, Hiroshima, and Nagasaki.
Primitive as they may be, smoke signals are still relied upon to carry the most important notices. And the addressees the message from Beirut is directed toward are Damascus and Tehran. It reads "this is what your cities will look like if you do not bend to our will", along with the subtext of "Yes we can and we will do such things".
Of course with modern technology there are gremlins and glitches which can lead to misunderstandings and "mixed-signals", and one must presume the same is true of ancient technologies as well.
Accurately interpreted or not, there is now an elevated danger that the smoke signals from Beirut will be marked: RETURN TO SENDER.
Which, given the history of the U.S. and Israeli governments, may well have been their underlying intent.
"répondez s'il vous plaît" ?
stephenhsmith
21Aug2006
