Excerpt from "A History of the Middle East in the 21st Century"
"The Lebanese Revolution began on the first of May, a day celebrated across the world as International Labor Day, with an insurrection in Beirut that saw hostile crowds lead by members of the Lebanese Communist Party storm most government buildings in the city, taking the vast majority of politicians in the national government hostage. Similar Communist-led uprisings would occur in the next few days across Lebanon's coastal cities, most notably in the cities of Tripoli, Jounieh, and Sidon. The preceding protests had been forcibly suppressed by the army, but by May the soldiers had mutinied, refusing to fire on the people on the orders of corrupt politicians. Realizing it was in their best interest to cooperate, the Lebanese high command reluctantly aligned itself with the revolutionaries, seeing an opportunity to depose their primary rival: Hezbollah. That organization was totally blindsided by the start of the Revolution, allowing revolutionaries to capture many of its hidden weapons stockpiles in the major cities. However, Hezbollah soon began to mobilize in Lebanon's south and in the hinterlands across Lebanon's central mountain range, areas that it had long held sovereignty over. Hezbollah-aligned politicians were prominently among those who the revolutionaries wished to dispose of, and Hezbollah soon prepared to march towards the coasts and topple the revolutionary government before it could threaten Hezbollah's power..."
May 7, 2021
Beirut
Hassan Khoury made his way through the halls of the Parliament building in Beirut, a building he had long stared at from the outside, but never expected to be in. The swiftness of the army's change of heart had been a surprise, but it gave him hope that the Revolution would not be snuffed out before it could truly begin. He marched through a door and found himself staring out into a courtyard, with the other members of his Revolutionary Tribunal present. The provisional government had tasked him with bringing the worst of the criminals who once ran the country to justice, and he would see it done. His comrades rose, saluting him as he walked up to inspect those on trial. Four powerful individuals connected with Hezbollah, a businessman, two port authority officials, and an MP, who had been responsible for illegally trafficking hundreds of tons of ammonium nitrate through the Port of Beirut, an action that had eventually lead to the blast that destroyed it. Four powerful individuals who had been caught attempting to flee to the hinterlands, carrying government documents and a briefcase filled with gold bullion with them. They had believed that they could escape justice, but Hassan would make them pay the price for their treachery.
Before he began, Hassan signaled to a cameraman on the side, who began streaming the proceedings, a feed that would find itself on every television set in Lebanon. He called the Tribunal to order, dispensing with most of the formalities and presenting the case against the defendants. He charged them with criminal conspiracy against Lebanon, of embezzlement and corruption, and of threatening the revolution. He and his assistants presented the evidence against the defendants, in front of the entire country, proving beyond a reasonable doubt that the men were guilty. Then, while hundreds of thousands watched, he presented the verdict.
"For the crimes enumerated, the Revolutionary Tribunal sentences you to death. Comrades, at the ready!"
Hassan's assistants raised their rifles, aiming them at the defendants. The MP swore and spat.
"You communist bastards will never take Lebanon! My brothers will kill you all! Yo-"
"Fire!," shouted Hassan, and many cracks rang out through the courtyard. A second later, the four prisoners dropped to the ground, dead. Hassan sighed. He did not know how many more such trials would be required to avenge the people, but he would do his duty. The assistants were starting to clean up the bloodstains from the floor when an officer barged in, summoning Hassan for an urgent meeting in the Parliament building. Hassan raced back through the halls of Parliament, until he burst through a double door to find himself in an office, where other higher-ups of the provisional government were gathered. Upon his entry, one of them briefed him hurriedly, his voice giving away his anxiety.
"Comrade Khoury, the situation in the mountains has escalated. Hezbollah's forces have entered Nabayite and Zahlé, and the army believes that they will arrive in Sidon within the week. In addition, the army has reported multiple engagements with-"
The officer's words were cut short when a tremendous crack that shook the ground went off in a nearby building. A few seconds later, another explosion rang out further away, and Hassan ran outside to figure out what was happening. They found that a large hole had been carved into the Ministry of Finance, and a nearby apartment had also been impacted. Then, Hassan spotted a streak crash into the street, blasting a crater with a gout of flame.
"Cruise missiles!," shouted Hassan as the men dove for cover. The next few minutes saw more missiles impact building across Beirut, a few far enough away to be felt only as a distant crash, while others hit close enough to make the entire block shake. The barrage was powerful enough to cause the damaged apartment to collapse, covering the neighborhood in a cloud of debris. When it was over, Hassan emerged, coughing as he held his bandanna to his mouth. It took them a few more minutes before they felt they could return to the meeting space, and entered covered in dust. The men looked at each other before Hassan spoke.
"Hezbollah threatens to destroy us all, and from what I understand, the Lebanese Army will not be able to fend off an all-out attack from them. Under these circumstances, we must begin a total mobilization. By our estimation, we have captured one hundred cruise missiles, ten thousand rockets, and sixty thousand rifles from Hezbollah's caches in the cities. I want the rockets transferred to the army, to launch retaliatory strikes on Hezbollah's territory. I also want to recruit around fifty thousand volunteers to supplement the Army's soldiers. This way, we can give Hezbollah a taste of their own medicine."
"Where will you be heading, Comrade Khoury?," asked one of the men.
"I will be heading to the South to accompany the Army. Perhaps even engage the enemy directly. I have faith in all of you and faith in the Revolution. Now let us go quickly, there is no time to waste!," replied Hassan.
