Biondi out of Lebanon; Mhanna and families still awaiting evacuation

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that the president of Saint Louis University, the Rev. Lawrence Biondi, made it safely out of Lebanon today on a ship bound for Cyprus. However, his traveling companion - rector Andre Mhanna of St. Raymond's Maronite Catholic Church, also of St. Louis - did not, nor did ten to fifteen familes who had been journeying with them. No word yet on their status.

Mhanna is Lebanese; his family lives a few miles from the hotel in which he and Biondi had been staying.

Meanwhile, the Katrinaesque performance of the American evacuation contines. This mind-bending account from Josh Marshall's TPMmuckraker.com pretty well spells out the efficacy of the rescue effort:

An estimated 25,000 Americans were in Lebanon when the bombing began, according to CNN. A couple hundred appear to have made it out -- and the State Department says it plans on evacuating "as many as" 2,400 by Thursday. The rest -- by my count, more than 23,000 -- are being told to sit tight as the Israeli bombing continues, wait by their phones for a call, and check the embassy Web site for more information. So says undersecretary of state Nicholas Burns: "We have an open line to all American citizens. We're in touch with them by Web site."

Yes, Burns assured CNN, "[The evacuation is] very well thought out."

Heckuva job, Condi?

(Thanks to Melissa for the TPM tip. Cross-posted.)