Behind the Crisis in Lebanon, a Vast Bank-Run Ponzi Scheme

I left Beirut on the anniversary of the explosion that tore a giant gash through the center of the city, killing hundreds of people and shattering Lebanon’s often-tested faith in itself. One of the largest non-nuclear explosions ever recorded, it was the outcome not of enemy action but of sheer administrative incompetence. Despite all the warnings of port inspectors, those in positions of authority had allowed thousands of tons of abandoned, unstable, and highly explosive ammonium nitrate to deteriorate for years in a warehouse in the middle of Beirut, until the fire that set it off. Not a single official has yet been held accountable.

The port explosion was a self-inflicted wound resulting from—and capturing the essence of—the years of political and financial corruption that have come to saturate Lebanese life. That is why, even in a country long accustomed to violence, it was the last straw for so many. War is one thing; devastation carelessly inflicted by a collection of morally bankrupt politicians feeding insatiably on the wrecked carcass of the nation is quite another. The customs officer at Beirut airport asked me the same forlorn question he no doubt asks everyone whose Lebanese passport goes through his hands these days: Are you emigrating, too?