LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
October 02/08

Bible Reading of the day.
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 9,57-62. As they were proceeding on their journey someone said to him, "I will follow you wherever you go."Jesus answered him, "Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head." And to another he said, "Follow me." But he replied, "(Lord,) let me go first and bury my father." But he answered him, "Let the dead bury their dead. But you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God."And another said, "I will follow you, Lord, but first let me say farewell to my family at home."
(To him) Jesus said, "No one who sets a hand to the plow and looks to what was left behind is fit for the kingdom of God."

Saint Leo the Great (?-c.461), Pope and Doctor of the Church
Sermon 71 for the Resurrection of the Lord; PL 54, 388 (©Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers)
"No one who looks to what was left behind is fit for the kingdom of God."
The Apostle of the Gentiles, Paul, dearly beloved, does not disagree with this belief when he says: "Even though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now we know Him so no more," (2Cor 5,16). For the Lord's resurrection was not the ending but the changing of the flesh, and His substance was not destroyed by His increase of power. The quality altered, but the nature did not cease to exist; the body was made impassible which it had been possible to crucify; it was made incorruptible, though it had been possible to wound it. And properly is Christ's flesh said not to be known in that state in which it had been known, because nothing remained passible in it, nothing weak, so that it was both the same in essence and not the same in glory. But what wonder if Saint Paul maintains this about Christ's body when he says of all spiritual Christians: «Henceforth we know no one after the flesh.»
Henceforth, he says, we begin to experience the resurrection in Christ, since the time when in Him, Who died for all, all our hopes were guaranteed to us. We do not hesitate in diffidence, we are not under the suspense of uncertainty, but having received an earnest of the promise, we now with the eye of faith see the things which will be, and rejoicing in the uplifting of our nature, we already possess what we believe...
Let God's people, then, recognize that they are a new creation in Christ (2Cor 5,17) and with all vigilance understand by Whom they have been adopted and whom they have adopted. Let not the things which have been made new return to their ancient instability; and let not him who has "put his hand to the plough" forsake his work but rather attend to that which he sows than look back to that which he has left behind. Let no one fall back into that he has forsaken... For this is the path of health through imitation of the Resurrection begun in Christ,

Free Opinions, Releases, letters & Special Reports
Officials try to deport man with link to Syrian terror group-National Post 01/09/08

Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources for October 01/08
Geagea: Assad Setting the Stage For Military Comeback to Lebanon-Naharnet
Maronite Bishops: Atmosphere is Not One of Cooperation-Naharnet
Syria urges security cooperation on Lebanon border-International Herald Tribune
Bombs in the Levant-CounterPunch
Qabalan for Cooperation Between Lebanon-Syria, Army-Resistance-Naharnet
Suleiman: Syria Trying to Bolster its Border Control-Naharnet
MPs Geagea-Murr Exchange Views on Threats Targeting Army-Naharnet
Bellemare to Publish Names of 120 Suspects in Hariri Killing-Naharnet
Sfeir on Christian Reconciliation: We Will Take Action at Appropriate Time-Naharnet
Hizbullah orders its men not to visit Syria-Ynetnews
Rice: The Fact that Lebanon Has a President is a Good Start-Naharnet
Death toll in N Lebanon blast rises to 7-Xinhua
Al-Moallem: Border control with Lebanon 'not possible' now-Monsters and Critics.com
Tension grows between Syria and Lebanon after bombings-guardian
Tripoli blast further strains Lebanese tensions-Christian Science Monitor
Iran drops IAEA seat nomination for Syria-AFP
Lebanon Buries Soldiers Killed in Tripoli Blast as Toll Rises to 7-Naharnet
Sfeir on Christian Reconciliation: We Will Take Action at Appropriate Time-Naharnet
Saudi King Abdullah to Jumblat: It is Important to Protect Lebanon from All Dangers-Naharnet
Lebanon-Syria Student Team Grabs Top Honors at UNESCO-backed Contest-Naharnet
Israel Buying Safer Bomblets to Avoid Repeat of Casualties during Lebanon War-Naharnet
France Warns Syria against Military Intervention in North Lebanon-Naharnet
Muallem Meets Rice, Welch in NY for Talks on Lebanon, Region-Naharnet
 

Officials try to deport man with link to Syrian terror group
Stewart Bell, National Post
Published: Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Canadian officials are trying to deport a London, Ont., adult education teacher because he was once a member of a Syrian political party involved in terrorism.
Before coming to Canada, Basheer Kablawi was a "dedicated member of a violent organization," the Syrian Social Nationalist Party, according to a Canada Border Services Agency briefing note.
The document says that while he was never directly involved in any violent acts, Mr. Kablawi was a party recruiter and held a "position of trust" within the organization.
"Allowing individuals with these types of allegiances who have engaged in these types of activities to remain in Canada is against our national interest," it says.
Mr. Kablawi appealed that decision to the Federal Court of Canada but his case was dismissed three weeks ago, although it has not been publicly reported until now. He returns to court in Toronto on Wednesday morning to ask for a chance to appeal the ruling. The judge has agreed that some of the evidence should be kept secret for national security reasons.
A part-time Arabic language teacher at a London adult-education centre, Mr. Kablawi said Tuesday he was no longer active in the SSNP.
"I told them I quit in 1991 because I have a different opinion with these leaders, but that judge, I don't know why he took that decision against me. I have been in Canada since 1995. I didn't do anything."
The SSNP wants to create a greater Syria encompassing a large chunk of the Middle East, from Lebanon and Syria to Israel, Jordan, Iraq and Kuwait.
"These people they believe in force, in aggressiveness, in killing," said Elias Bejjani, spokesman for the Lebanese-Canadian Coordinating Council. "Every assassination that took place in Lebanon was on their hands - the recent ones, the old ones and the ones to come."
According to the court, Mr. Kablawi was active in the SSNP from 1972 until he fled to the United Arab Emirates in 1991 following an attempt on his life. He arrived in Canada in 1995 and was accepted as a refugee three years later.
In 2002, Citizenship and Immigration Canada said Mr. Kablawi was inadmissible to Canada for having been a member of an organization involved in terrorism. But it also said he posed no threat to Canada, only wanted to protect his family and should be allowed to stay.
The Canada Border Services Agency took a different view and in 2006 recommended that he should not be permitted to remain in Canada because "his duties while non violent were significant in that he was responsible for recruitment and was considered a ‘lecture leader' which afforded him the right to speak on behalf of the SSNP." It added that it was "unrealistic" that Mr. Kablawi would have been unaware of the party's violent activities. Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day agreed with the CBSA on October 18, 2007.
The Federal Court upheld the minister's ruling on Sept. 9, relying on earlier cases that found that fighting terrorism was at the forefront of Canada's national interests.
The CBSA declined to comment. The Thames Valley District School Board confirmed Mr. Kablawi was an international language teacher in the continuing education department and said he had passed a criminal background check. A spokeswoman said the board knew nothing about any terrorist allegations. "Certainly we're totally unaware of this at this point, this is the first we've heard about it so we don't have a comment," said Kate Young, Manager of Public Affairs and Community Relations.National Post-sbell@nationalpost.com

Maronite Bishops: Atmosphere is Not One of Cooperation
Naharnet/The Council of Maronite Bishops on Wednesday criticized the various political leaders for not cooperating in order to get Lebanon out of its ordeal.
"The general atmosphere prevailing in Lebanon is not one of cooperation among the various parties in order to get the country out of its ordeal," a statement at the end of the Bishops' monthly meeting said. It said the latest bomb attack in Tripoli was "evidence that those looking for evil for Lebanon are still active."
Beirut, 01 Oct 08, 13:05

Suleiman: Syria Trying to Bolster its Border Control
Naharnet/President Michel Suleiman was quoted Wednesday as saying Syria is trying to bolster control over its borders with north Lebanon to "avert problems."
Interior Minister Ziad Baroud also quoted the president as saying the deployment of Syrian troops off Lebanon's northern borders is subject to mutual understanding. "Bolstering border control by the two sides is in the interest of both states," Baroud quoted the president as saying.
Baroud made the remark to reporters after meeting Suleiman at the latter's private residence in the northern town of Amsheet.
He said Suleiman was not pleased because parliament has not adopted all the proposed reforms to the election law.
The president was keen on allowing non-resident citizens to cast their votes, Baroud explained. Beirut, 01 Oct 08, 18:02

MPs Geagea-Murr Exchange Views on Threats Targeting Army
Naharnet/MPs Streda Geagea and Michel Murr on Wednesday discussed the recent attacks targeting the Lebanese Army and intra-Christian reconciliation efforts.
Geagea, who met Murr at the latter's office, said the discussion was not related to the 2009 Parliamentary elections.
"We've agreed to postpone discussion of the elections topic to February," she told reporters.
Murr said he has "forgotten the previous problem with the Lebanese Forces" due to the apology that LF leader Samir Geagea has made for civil war wounds and related atrocities. Beirut, 01 Oct 08, 16:53

Qabalan for Cooperation Between Lebanon-Syria, Army-Resistance
Naharnet/The highest Shiite religious authority in Lebanon, Sheikh Abdul Amir Qabalan, called Wednesday for security coordination between Lebanon and Syria to protect the two countries. Qabalan made the remark in a sermon marking the first day of the Fitr holiday for Shiites. Sunnis observed Fitr on Tuesday.
He denounced the "criminal blasts" that targeted Tripoli and Damascus in the past few days, stressing "whatever strikes at Syria also strikes at Lebanon and whatever strikes at Lebanon Strikes at Syria."He also called for "upgraded coordination between the army and the resistance so that the latter would be a reserve force to assist the army in defending the country." Qabalan called for adopting a defense strategy that "provides the army with backing because Israel is evil."
Beirut, 01 Oct 08, 16:30
 

Iran drops IAEA seat nomination for Syria
TEHRAN (AFP) — Iran's ambassador to the IAEA said on Wednesday that Tehran had dropped its bid for a seat on the board of the UN atomic watchdog in favour of a place for regional ally Syria, state-run television has reported. "The Islamic republic has officially refrained from pursuing its right to be nominated to the board to pave the way for the membership of Syria," Ali Asghar Soltanieh was quoted on the website of the Arabic-language television as saying.
The Iran-Syria alliance, stretching back more than three decades, was strengthened in 2006 with the signing of a military cooperation agreement.
Iran and Syria, both under fire for allegedly engaging in clandestine nuclear activity, were seeking a seat on the board of the International Atomic Energy Agency, much to the consternation of Western states. The 35 members of the IAEA board are elected each year by the body's highest policy-making body, the General Conference, which comprises all 144 member states.

Bellemare to Publish Names of 120 Suspects in Hariri Killing
Naharnet/Chief U.N. investigator Daniel Bellemare will reveal the names of 120 suspects involved in the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, according to a report published Wednesday. The daily Al-Anwar, which carried the information, said the names would be made public in Bellemare's final report, which is to be published Dec. 2. It said the 120 names in Bellemare's report had been classified under the following headings: Planner, executor, interferer and information withholder. The report said the exposure of the names would cause a "political earthquake," considering the importance of the role the suspects played in the period prior to the assassination of Hariri in February 2005. Al-Anwar quoted local sources as saying that the report reveals that Hariri's murder took about eight months of planning, even before the assassination attempt against MP Marwan Hamadeh. The report also uncovers that the executors, at the final stages of carrying out the bombing attack, made three try-outs, using the same number of escort cars and trucks, including one similar to the Mitsubishi with the same amount of explosives used in the real assault. Al-Anwar, citing reliable sources, said the report has reached a "very dangerous phase," by mentioning that members of an official security apparatus were among those involved in the try-outs and that at one point the head of the security authority was overlooking the operation.
The report also includes wiretapping of mobile calls. "It's over. We got rid of him," excerpts of a conversation with one of the suspects said.
Beirut, 01 Oct 08, 11:24

Hizbullah orders its men not to visit Syria
Naharnet/Lebanese media report organization has issued 'travel advisory' to its members following Mugniyah assassination, car bomb explosion in Damascus last Saturday. Senior Hamas members in Syrian capital on high alert as well
Roee Nahmias Published: 10.01.08, 12:27 / Israel News
Hizbullah has instructed its men, particularly senior members involved in the organization's security, to refrain completely from visiting Syria until further notice, Lebanese media reported Wednesday.
The instruction was issued following the explosion of a car bomb in Damascus last Saturday, which left 17 people dead, including a high-ranking military officer.
Speaking in Beirut in honor of al-Quds Day, Hizbullah secretary-general says, 'No one has the authority to concede a grain of earth, wall or stone of the holy land'; adds his organization will continue resistance against Israel. 'Today more can be done than ever before,' he notes
According to Lebanese media, Hizbullah asked its men to take precaution during their visits to the Syrian capital following the assassination of the organization's military leader, Imad Mugniyah. Now, following the car bomb, the request was changed to a stark instruction to halt all visits to Syria.
According to the report, for years Hizbullah viewed Syria as a safe place for its members, where there was no need for the strict precautions used in Lebanon, but now the organization has changed its perception and views Syria as a dangerous place.
The policy was changed after Hizbullah realized that Syria has become significantly penetrable for the activity of radical Islamic groups, and that the Syrian security organizations have failed to discover who was responsible for the car bomb explosion. According to the report, Hamas leaders living in Damascus also decided to take unusual security measures following the Mugniyah assassination. In the past, Syria's security organizations were exclusively responsible for their safety. The Syrian security organizations are experiencing problems on two levels, the report said. On the one hand, they are penetrable to radical Islamic groups which have entered Syria and settled in the country, and on the other hand, they are penetrable to foreign security organizations, leading to security concerns in Syria. 'Car bomb aimed at undermining stability'. Meanwhile, a Syrian security source reported that the country's security organizations have exposed the cell responsible for Saturday's attack. The source told Syrian newspaper al-Watan that all cell members were citizens of Arab states and none of them were Syrian. According to the source, the car accidentally exploded in a neighborhood in south Damascus, and was actually meant to be detonated in a different place. The accident happened "due to reasons which will be revealed later on," the source said. He added that "the investigation being conducted shows that the cell planned to undermine the security and stability in Syria through instructions it received by the elements financing it."


Muallem Says Border Control with Lebanon 'Impossible'…U.S. Warnings for Syria
Naharnet/Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem said border control with Lebanon was "impossible" as Washington warned Syria against using the latest spree of bomb attacks in Damascus and Tripoli as an excuse to meddle in Lebanese affairs. "We cannot control the common border," Muallem told the daily Asharq al-Awsat in remarks published Wednesday, pointing to continuous smuggling "from and to Lebanon." He said border control requires demarcation of the Lebanon-Syria border and reaching a security agreement. Muallem, however, denied that arms are making their way over the border into Lebanon, claiming Hizbullah "is in no need for that." He also denied changes in Syria's foreign policy. Meanwhile, a senior U.S. State Department official warned Syria against "using the latest terrorist acts in Damascus and Tripoli as pretext for Syrian intervention in Lebanese affairs."
The official told the pan-Arab daily al-Hayat in remarks published Wednesday that world powers have warned Syria against sending forces to Lebanon.
He said Washington has been briefed on reports of Syrian troops' buildup along its border with Lebanon. "The international community has made it clear to Syria that it cannot send its forces into Lebanon," the official said. Muallem's remarks followed meetings in New York with senior U.S. State Department officials on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in a sign of thaw between Washington and Damascus. Muallem said Syria, which is branded by Washington as a sponsor of terrorism, is encouraged by recent meetings with U.S. officials.
On Friday, Muallem met with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and held more-detailed talks Monday with Assistant Secretary of State David Welch in New York. "I consider this a good progress in the American position," Muallem told the Wall Street Journal. "We agreed to continue this dialogue."
He said Syria's increased engagement with the U.S. underscores Washington's recognition of Damascus' role in promoting stability in Iraq and Lebanon. "The situation in the Middle East is improving," he said. The U.S. administration froze diplomatic relations with Syria following the 2005 assassination of ex-Premier Rafik Hariri, which Washington blames on Damascus. Syria denies involvement.  U.S. President George Bush imposed economic sanctions on Syria for alleged support of terrorism. "There are Islamic extremists coming over our borders," Muallem said. Terrorism has "spread and increased because of a lack of cooperation and a failure to tackle its roots." He said Damascus is in the process of sending ambassadors to Iraq and Lebanon and is seeking to step up economic ties with both nations. The Wall Street Journal said that during talks with Muallem, the U.S. officials encouraged Syria's indirect peace talks with Israel but reiterated it needed to do more to stem the flow of foreign fighters into Iraq, and of weapons into Lebanon.
Muallem said his country is looking forward to closer ties with the next U.S. administration, whether it is headed by Barack Obama or John McCain.
He said that "unfortunately" the Bush administration's position toward Syria "shifted too late." "But I hope this shift will have its implications for the future administration." Beirut, 01 Oct 08, 08:28

Lebanon Buries Soldiers Killed in Tripoli Blast as Toll Rises to 7
Naharnet/Lebanon was gripped by anger and grief Tuesday as it buried four soldiers who were killed in a bombing that targeted their bus in the northern city of Tripoli. Three of the soldiers were laid to rest in Akkar while the fourth in Hermel.Four soldiers and one civilian were killed and another 32 people were wounded in the blast. But on Tuesday, two more people died of wounds inflicted by the explosion, raising the total death toll to seven, security officials said.
Army Commander Gen. Jean Qahwaji and Internal Security Forces chief Maj. Gen. Ashraf Rifi inspected the scene of the blast and visited the injured.
Pan Arab daily al-Hayat said Wednesday that Qahwaji later toured army units deployed in the north and said no matter how long terrorism persisted, it won't be able to subjugate the Lebanese people and crush the military's resolve to find the culprits. Beirut, 01 Oct 08, 05:07

Rice: U.S. Relations with Syria Still Have 'a Long Way to Go'
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has said her country may engage Syria more since the Assad regime slowed the flow of fighters into Iraq, began indirect talks with Israel and helped end Lebanon's political crisis. "Nothing is a breakthrough, and I'm not sure that there will be,'' Rice told Bloomberg TV. "But it's time to talk about some of the changes that are taking place in the Middle East."  "There have been some contacts with the Syrians because there are some elements in the Middle East that are moving forward. There is a Lebanese president now…and Syrian forces, of course, are out of Lebanon," she said in an interview broadcast Tuesday night. "We want the Lebanese to be able to carry out their affairs independent of foreign interference. The fact that they have a president is a good start," she said. Among the other changes in the region, according to Rice, are the Turkish-mediated Syrian-Israeli talks, which the U.S. supports, and the slowing down of the foreign fighters flow from Syria. "The Syrians had approached us and said that they wished to talk,'' Rice told the TV station. She met last week with her Syrian counterpart Walid Muallem on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly session in New York.
However, U.S. relations with Syria still have "a long way to go,'' Rice said. She cited Syria's human rights record and its support for groups the U.S. considers terrorist organizations such as Lebanon's Hizbullah and the Palestinian movement Hamas.
"If Syria were to stop supporting destabilizing elements in the Middle East like Hizbullah, like Hamas, it would certainly help to improve the atmosphere," she said.
She urged the next U.S. administration not to withdraw troops from Iraq on "some kind of artificial timetable'' that doesn't take into account the fragility of improvements there. "After all that we've sacrificed to have a friendly Iraqi government'' in the midst of the Arab world and a changing Middle East, "it would be really irresponsible to risk that,'' she said. She also rejected rumors of indirect talks with Iran. Beirut, 01 Oct 08, 10:09

Saudi King Abdullah to Jumblat: It is Important to Protect Lebanon from All Dangers
Naharnet/Saudi King Abdullah has stressed to Druze leader Walid Jumblat during a telephone conversation the need to protect Lebanon from all dangers, al-Mustaqbal daily reported on Wednesday. It said Jumblat telephoned the king on the occasion of Eid el-Fitr which marks the end of the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan. The Progressive Socialist Party leader thanked Abdullah for Saudi Arabia's support for Lebanon, its independence and sovereignty and its continuous help to rebuild the country, al-Mustaqbal said. The king, in his turn, told Jumblat that Saudi Arabia continued to back Lebanon and appreciated the Lebanese leadership's efforts to reach national unity. He also stressed the need to protect Lebanon from all dangers and challenges, according to the daily.
Beirut, 01 Oct 08, 06:16

Israel Buying Safer Bomblets to Avoid Repeat of Casualties during Lebanon War
Naharnet/The Israeli army is stocking up on self-destruct cluster bombs in order to lower the number of civilian victims of this type of weapon, used in the 2006 war in Lebanon, military radio said. The army has reduced its purchases of U.S.-made cluster bombs, instead buying Israel-made M-85 cluster bombs, which contain a mechanism to destroy themselves if they fail to explode immediately on impact, according to the report.
Cluster munitions spread bomblets over a wide area from a single container. The United Nations estimates that a million cluster bombs were dropped on Lebanon by Israel between July 12 and August 14 in 2006 in the conflict with Hizbullah. About 40 percent of these did not explode on impact and are spread among villages and orchards in south of Lebanon. According to a U.N. report in June, at least 38 people have been killed and 217 wounded by bomblets exploding since the end of the fighting. The Israeli government's Winograd Commission of enquiry into the mistakes of the Lebanon war recommended the army use fewer cluster bombs in the future to reduce civilian injuries. In May, delegates from 111 countries agreed a landmark treaty in Dublin to ban the use, production, transfer and stockpiling of cluster munitions by its signatories. However, the agreement lacked the backing of major producers and stockpilers including Israel, China, India, Pakistan, Russia and the United States.(AFP) Beirut, 30 Sep 08, 20:49

Sfeir on Christian Reconciliation: We Will Take Action at Appropriate Time
Naharnet/Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir announced after making a surprise visit to the Presidential Palace on Tuesday that he will spare no effort to reach Christian reconciliation. "We hope that reconciliations are achieved, and that efforts are exerted toward reunion among all factions," Sfeir told reporters following his unexpected visit to Baabda Palace at midday. "We did not give up efforts to reach Christian reconciliation," Sfeir stressed, adding that "we will take action at the appropriate time." Sfeir expressed hope that Christians "would sit together because other sects have achieved reconciliation," adding, however, that "agreement among all the Lebanese is impossible." The Patriarch said that he had undertaken several initiatives in the past "but when we reached a vital point everybody disavowed." Beirut, 30 Sep 08, 14:35

The Explosions in Damascus and Tripoli
Bombs in the Levant
By RANNIE AMIRI
Two bombings in three days have rattled both Syria and Lebanon. And as with most events in the Middle East—especially those that occur in neighboring countries—nothing happens by coincidence.
The first took place in Damascus on Sept. 26, killing 17, all civilians. According to Syria’s state run news agency SANA, the attack was the result of a suicide car bomber. This past Monday, a second car bomb, this time detonated via remote-control, targeted a bus filled with Lebanese soldiers in the northern city of Tripoli, killing seven and injuring 33.
Although no group claimed responsibility for either incident, the perpetrators are well aware that the location of the two blasts and their intended victims are all that are needed to identify them.
Twin Attacks?
The Damascus bombing occurred at the junction of a road leading from the airport to the shrine of Sayyida Zainab, an important pilgrimage site for Shia Muslims. Shias from all over the world visit the shrine, but most frequently those from Lebanon, Iraq and Iran. Interestingly, the site of the blast was also near a Syrian intelligence building. More intriguing, a statement denouncing the bombing was conspicuously absent from Saudi Arabia, unlike most other Arab countries. Even the United States State Department saw fit to condemn it.
In Tripoli, those responsible obviously had the Lebanese Army in their sights. Indeed, Tripoli has been a hotbed of Sunni Muslim extremism in Lebanon, especially since the siege of Nahr al-Bared over a year ago. At that time, a group calling itself Fatah al-Islam took over the Palestinian refugee camp just outside Tripoli, and a three-month long battle with the Lebanese Army ensued. The Salafi militants, following the same fundamentalist form of Islam as al-Qaeda, were ultimately defeated but not before inflicting heavy casualties on the Army.
More recently, fighting in the city erupted between Sunni Muslims supportive of Rafiq Hariri’s Future Movement and Alawites allied with Hezbollah. The longstanding dispute finally ended after the “Tripoli Document” was signed in September by Hariri and Ali Eid, head of the Arab Democratic Party and leader of the Alawite community. Again, it was the Lebanese Army that needed intervene to end the sectarian conflict.
Ironically, it was Rafiq Hariri himself, as detailed by The New Yorker’s investigative reporter Seymour Hersh, who first rolled out the welcome mat in Lebanon for extremist groups such as Fatah al-Islam as a way of curtailing Hezbollah’s influence in the country (before the agreement backfired). These fact make the U.S.-backed Hariri—a dual Lebanese, Saudi citizen—appear even more hypocritical and ridiculous when he blamed the Syrian government for the Tripoli attack, especially since Damascus was the victim itself only days earlier, likely at the hands of the same type of militants.
New Arrivals
But why two attacks, in two different countries, against two different targets?
It was the pan-Arab daily, Al-Hayat, which broke the news that will shed some light on this question:
"Al-Qaeda representatives are in Lebanon at present and they are trying to establish contact with [certain] groups based in Ain al-Hilwah."
Ain al-Hilwah, located on the eastern outskirts of the southern port city of Sidon, is home to anywhere between 45,000-70,000 Palestinian refugees. The uncertainty in population is reflective of it being the largest and most autonomous of all the 12 Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon. Ain al-Hilwa is also completely off-limits to the country’s armed forces and security is the responsibility of the factions within it.
According to the Jordanian security official quoted in the story, Saudi, Yemeni, Jordanian and European nationals departing Iraq have infiltrated Ain al-Hilwah—no doubt under cover of its internal disputes—in order to enlist disgruntled Palestinians to their cause. Local militant groups already present there and considered sympathetic to al-Qaeda include Jund al-Sham, the Ansar League, and Fatah al-Islam.
The hallmark of al-Qaeda is sowing sectarian strife. And there is no better recruitment ground to help in this endeavor than the teeming Palestinian refugee camps such as Nahr al-Bared and especially Ain al-Hilwah. The latter is completely isolated from the rest of the country and its disenfranchised, disaffected Sunni Muslim inhabitants make them an ideal constituency.
Hezbollah though, is keenly aware of these circumstances and overtures and has proactively attempted to counter them. As so well reported by Dr. Franklin Lamb, they have done this through humanitarian outreach, by providing municipal assistance in the form of sewer and water projects, and successfully lobbying the government to issue Palestinians temporary identification cards, all not insignificant measures.
Rallying the Troops
It was al-Qaeda’s Ayman al-Zawahiri, in a videotaped message released in early September, who lambasted Hezbollah for allowing “thousands of crusaders”—otherwise known as United Nations peacekeepers—into the south after the July 2006 war with Israel. He additionally assailed nearly all Shia political and religious figures in the region.
Quite remarkably, a “memorandum of understanding” had been signed earlier in August between (Shia) Hezbollah and the Salafi Belief and Justice Movement. For this to occur between two groups at opposite ends of the ideological spectrum was stunning (Salafis consider Shia Muslims as heretics at best and non-Muslims at worst). But because of the outrage and intense pressure levied against it by other Salafi movements, the agreement was frozen only a few days later.
Although al-Qaeda and their allies are far from posing a direct military threat to Hezbollah, this was never their modus operandi. Rather, they will attempt to achieve their objectives by creating conditions giving pretext to the Israelis to strike Lebanon, launching attacks on UNIFIL forces, or assassinating high-profile figures in the country so as to foment political instability.
The Damascus and Tripoli bombings are thus meant to convey one simple message:
We have arrived.
**Rannie Amiri is an independent commentator on the Arab and Islamic worlds. He may be reached at: rbamiri @ yahoo.com.