Beirut Explosion Looks Like An Accident — And A Sign Of The Country's Collapse
Tuesday's blast came against a backdrop of ongoing, unaddressed government dysfunction. Some of the country's chronic problems may help explain how 2,750 tons of explosives were neglected at the port.
When Westerners think of Beirut, they might rely on dated notions of the city: a 15-year civil war that ended in 1990; a war with Israel and sporadic airstrikes; bombings of the U.S. Marine barracks and the U.S. Embassy; an attack 15 years ago on the prime minister's convoy.
So it may seem hard to believe that the biggest blast of them all — the one at the Beirut port on Tuesday, which killed some 150 people, wounded thousands and caused destruction across half the city — was an accident, possibly the outcome of neglect on a massive scale.
But that's what around the world — both accidental and intentional.
