Anyone who has ever disregarded a warning and ended up in a tight spot can identify with those Americans who have remained in Lebanon and now want to leave. There are clearly too few embassy people to do all that everyone wants them to do. There are not enough to talk each client through their fears, and no one to update the embassy web site that anxious families and friends keep checking for news, and . . . .

Where are the ships to take them to safety? Military ships, especially American ones, could be welcome targets for those who attacked that Israeli ship. The airfield seems to be in the war zone. Commercial liners are being chartered and diverted to the scene, not at interstate speeds, but at the more stately pace of cruise liners.

There will be enough stories to go around, once out of danger. Until then, if you are in the habit of prayer, this is a good time for it. If you are not, this might be a good time to start.