(Cult)ure of Martyrs

Shahid (Shaheed), in Arabic شهد: Martyr.

Save for Abraham Lincoln, we in the US we would have a hard time calling those who die because of politics, "martyrs." While religion plays a huge role in the United States, it pales in comparison to its importance in Lebanon and the broader Middle East. Lebanon was founded on sectarianism, even the non-religious are proud to identify themselves as "Muslim" or "Christian." Because religion plays such a huge role in politics and daily life, the word "martyr" gets tossed around quite a bit.

A martyr, according to the American Heritage dictionary is:

1. One who chooses to suffer death rather than renounce religious principles.
2.One who makes great sacrifices or suffers much in order to further a belief, cause, or principle.
3.

a. One who endures great suffering: a martyr to arthritis.
b. One who makes a great show of suffering in order to arouse sympathy.

Here in Lebanon it can mean your favorite murdered warlord, a killed militiaman who defended your village, a suicide bomber who murdered foreigners in an embassy, or a child that was killed due to an Israeli bomb, that's to name a few. If Lebanon had its own dictionary, a martyr follows this definition:

1. One who is killed by an opposing sectarian/tribal/family group.

2. One who killed others while killing him or herself in the process.

3. Anyone the Israelis kill (this can be anyone, from a man who is accidentally killed in a bombing raid against Hizbollah, or a terrorist infiltrator who gets shot while gunning down children in a school).

Because the Culture of the Martyr is so pervasive, martyrdom always finds its way into politics. Rafik Hariri, the multi-billionaire former Lebanese Prime Minister is considered by some Lebanese to be a martyr for being killed by Syria. Martyrdom was so important to the identity of the March 14th group that they also call themselves, the Rafik Hariri Martyr List. From many accounts Hariri tried to kiss and make up with the Syrians, so he technically wasn't so steadfast in his beliefs, what got him killed was that he was a little TOO vocal for Syria.

On political websites, pro-Syrian Maronite, Suleiman Frangieh maintains a list of 'martyrs.' Included on the list are Suleiman's son Tony and Tony's 3 year old daughter. After infighting over protection rackets and a falling out between Lebanese Front Leader Bachir Gemayel and Tony Franjieh due to the latters pro-Syrian attitude, there was spates of violence. These 'martyrs' were created when Gemayel wanted to hunt down a number of Marada (Franjieh's party) members for murdering Kataeb (Bachir's party) members. What resulted was a blood bath, 10 Kataeb party members were killed (that link is a pro-Lebanese Front view) when Franjieh refused to hand over those who were thought responsible, Tony, his family, and a number of others were killed by Kataeb gunmen. Sticking to the definition of what a martyr is, a 3 year old girl, her mother and warlord father don't really constitute martyrs. Nevertheless the term is used to stir political feelings.

Speaking to an ordinary Shi'ite girl about suicide bombers, I was immediately interrupted by her correcting me to call them "martyrs." I questioned her whether she considered the al Qaeda terrorists blowing up countless Shi'ites in Iraq as "martyrs" and she didn't understand what I meant. The view that people who blow themselves up and take countless innocents with them is considered glorious by many here. The innocents are written off, in the Middle East no one is innocent, sometimes its an incredibly black and white, us versus them environment. What could be more glorious than to 'sacrifice' your life while taking 30 'infidels' with you? This girl's views had been so warped by surrounding influences that anyone who rammed their Ryder van, loaded with fertilizer and diesel fuel into a crowd of people was a hero, a martyr--That's it, any criticism of the person or the act was blasphemous.

These men and women who are now hailed as demigods have had their problems, some of them were drug dealing warlords bent on domination, others were out and out terrorists, some were corrupt, no one here likes to look at the "other" side of them. Once you are a "martyr" in the eyes of the populace who coined this term for you, you could do no wrong. Who knows, maybe I'll come across the poster of a suicide bomber with the word "shahid" scrolled across it, go 50 meters down the street and find a poster of his victim(s) with "shahid" written prominently on it.

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* News about my trip: I am off to Syria this weekend

Political Graffiti: Lebanon Style

In Beirut and Lebanon in general, you can always tell what, or more precisely "whose" neighborhood/town you are in, due to the political graffiti. I decided that after a number of lengthy posts, and seeing American Graffiti (in Arabic) on TV, that I would post some Lebanese political posters/graffiti for your viewing pleasure.

Three posters for Rafik Hariri, on top a poster for Walid Eido (and his son), all of them were killed in bombings. All were members of the Future Movement. Location: Beirut

Samir Geagea's poster for the Lebanese Forces. Location: Bcharre

Walid Jumblatt's Progressive Socialist Party (PSP)

Old posters for Danny Chamoun and his Ahrar Party. Location: Douma

Lebanese University: The orange check marks are for Michel Aoun's Tayyar Party, there are posters of Samir Geagea, Bachir Gemayel (holding the assault rifle), Kataeb (the green and brown cedar tree), and Pierre Amine Gemayel. Location: East Beirut (Achrafieh)

Yes, even the Communists have graffiti here. Location: Beirut (Hamra)

No political graffiti could be complete with out the smiling and waving Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, Hizbollah's leader. Location: Baalbek

Graffiti in support of UN resolution 1559, calling for the disarmarment of militias (that means you, Hizbollah) and the withdrawal of Syrian forces for Lebanon is present, right next to posters of George Hawi, the assassinated former head of the LCP (Lebanese Communist Party). Hawi was a longtime Syrian ally who was killed in a carbombing following his formation of the DLM (Democratic Left Movement). The DLM is a secular movement that became very anti-Syrian. Location: Jounieh

Underneath the roadsign is one for Amal (the green one with red stripes). Location: Baalbek

Seeing Orange

Lately there has been much talk about Michel Aoun and his orange colored nikesque logo sporting, Tayyar Party. Michel Aoun is quite a popular figure with many Christians. Originally during the war years Aoun was commander of the Lebanese Army. After Amin GemayelAoun to be the Prime Minister of Lebanon, unfortunately for Aoun the position of Prime Minister has always been alotted to a Sunni Muslim due to Lebanon's National Pact. This in turn caused the Lebanese government to fracture, on one side a pro-Syrian Muslim government headed by Salim El-Hoss, in the Christian enclave Aoun, with Iraqi support ruled supreme. In 1989-1990 Aoun launched a "War of Liberation" against Syrian occupation. In addition he also attacked fellow Christians (namely Samir Geagea's Lebanese Forces) inside the Christian enclave to take control of the Beirut Port and the tax revenue it pulled in.

Many accused Aoun of launching the war against fellow Christians as part of an effort to gain more support from Muslims. In turn, the effort was an attempt make himself out to be a respected leader willing to go after anyone, Christian or Muslim who defied him. Aoun wanted the same clout Bachir Gemayel had in 1982. Bachir was quite Machiavellian, crushing Christian and Muslim opponents equally, winning the respect of many Muslims and Christians. Aoun's war against his fellow Christians and Syria was costly, and when Syria sided with the US against Iraq (Aoun's main Arab support) Aoun was forced into exile by Syrian forces.

Aoun's effort to become Prime Minister of Lebanon, regardless to the fact that traditionally and according to the National Pact that the postition should be in the hands of a Sunni Muslim cemented his belief in secularism. During his exile Aoun was adamantly anti-Syrian and wanted the terrorist group, Hizbollah, to be disarmed. To quote Aoun from his appearance on Pat Robertson's 700 Club,

ROBERTSON: General Aoun, delighted to have you with us on The 700 Club, welcome . Tell me about Hezbollah. We hear about the terrorist group Hezbollah. What relation do they have to Syria?

GENERAL AOUN: Hezbollah is not a separate entity from Syria. It is under the Syrian operational control.

ROBERTSON: The so-called terrorist group is under the operational control of Syria?

AOUN: Yes, 100 percent, no question about that.

ROBERTSON: I understand that Damascus is the headquarters of a number of other terrorist organizations that have received aid and assistance from the Syrians. Can you tell us what they are, those other terrorist organizations?

AOUN: There are about 11 organizations of terrorism in Damascus. Among them, Hamas and Islamic Jihad, the Democratic Front and the General Command Front of the Palestinians [Liberation Army], all of them are listed in the United States as classified as terrorist organizations.

Now on his return from exile in France, Aoun is back in the Lebanese political game with his eye on the presidency. Interestingly enough once Aoun got back to Beirut, following a short honeymoon period with anti-Syrian groups like the Future Movement and the Lebanese Forces, Aoun joined forces with Hizbollah, Amal, and the SSNP (Syrian Social Nationalist Party); a flip-flop if I've ever seen one.

Of course a turn around like this was completely unexpected by many Christians who were drawn in by Aoun's secularism and anti-Syrian rhetoric. Now Aoun wants to keep pro-Syrian president, Lahoud in office. I asked a Christian friend why she supports Tayyar and Aoun and the answers were startling. "Hariri kills Christians, he steals money, his new Solidere project doesn't employ any Christians," answered my friend. Briefly I argued that the Shi'ite Islamist Hizbollah was nothing more than an Iranian and Syrian proxy, and had a stated goal to turn Lebanon into an Khomenist state. To her, Hizbollah was peaceful to Christians where she was from in the south, and even helped them in some cases. The Shi'ite/Iranian threat was not as present as one she saw from the Sunnis. Also, in regards to Aoun's relationship with Hizbollah I asked my friend how as a Christian she could support a group that had been responsible for terrorist acts. Her answer, like that of Hizbollah supporters I've heard before was, "Hizbollah never killed Lebanese civilians," yet again, the Hizbollah spin doctors and propagandists had worked, another Lebanese couldn't even acknowledge that Hizbollah was involved in some henoius acts. Her answer to my critism was, "we have respect for Hizbollah they fight hard and are not corrupt."

I continued to press her on why she despised Rafik Hariri so much, she then told me about her brother. Her brother was the number 2 math student in Lebanon. He was one of the few who received a Hariri scholarship to study abroad in the United States. My friend continued on and told me that following his graduation from the university Hariri's people contacted the brother, and offered him a job working for a Hariri firm, only he would have 10% of his salary taken out, to pay Hariri back for the "scholarship." To her this happened to her brother, "only because he is Christian."

One of the security guards here at LAU is also a Tayyar supporter. Interestingly enough he is married to a supporter of Samir Geagea's Lebanese Forces, Aoun's main rival. His answer wasn't as complicated as my other friend's when I asked him why he supported Aoun, "I like him because he is crazy, he does not care what people think."

Now living in his plush Rabieh villa, Aoun is definitely a force to be reckoned with. For those who support Aoun, they see his complete flip-flop to the pro-Syria camp as something that any other Lebanese politician would do. For those in the pro-Western sphere of Lebanese politics, Aoun is a traitor to values he had been sticking with for about a decade. Not only is Aoun a flip-flopping traitor, but he has split Lebanon's Christians down the middle. Aoun definitely has his eyes on the Lebanese presidency, and as in 1990 he will do his best to destroy whoever gets in his way. Aoun is like many other Lebanese politicians, he is willing to "eat his own young" just so he can advance and get more power.

Downtown Silence & The Hariri Effect

A skinny black and white cat ran by, the only souls within a 100 yard radius were a security guard, a Lebanese Army soldier, and a group of about three gussied up girls waiting to enter White, a club on top of the An Nahar building. Beirut is officially dead. Its only Thursday, but there should have been hundreds of people lining the walkways of downtown.

I had originally gone to downtown to see a friend and look around the Virgin Mega Store. After my friend left I was about to take yet another poorly maintained 1980s Mercedes taxi back to LAU. It was getting dark, and I was tired. Nonetheless, my more adventurous side got the best of me, so I decided to wonder around the downtown, talk to people where I could, and just see the city at night.

I headed towards the famous statue to the Martyrs in Martyr's Square, no one was there, earlier I spotted a French tourist snapping pictures of the bullet holes in the statue, but that was it. I was the only one to go into the Rafik Hariri memorial, I was told by another friend that the memorial got a shipment of new flowers every single day. I had originally ruled this out as impossible, to replace sets of flowers like the ones in the Hariri memorial, it would take hours of labor and thousands of dollars a day. That was until I saw 7 flower arrangers putting together wreaths and other decorations made completely of red and/or white flowers.

The memorial was made to commemorate the assassinated former Prime Minister of Lebanon, but I noticed something a bit more interesting in the photos that lined the tombs and walls inside. The memorial really highlighted what a zaim is. Zaim (or plural Zuama) is Lebanese for a leader, but it has a broader and more political meaning, referring to feudalistic sectarian leaders. Hariri could easily be characterized as one of those leaders. His sectarian group were Sunni Muslims. The mountains of cash he made from lucrative construction deals and his party, The Future Movement were all his brainchildren. In some respects he was the modern equivalent of a Japanese Shogun.

The pictures looked a bit like something out of Socialist Realism. One picture or painting would show Hariri praying or meeting with a dignitary, another would show him as the builder of the great mosque that is downtown. One must also remember the memorial isn't supposed to just be about Hariri, it also had an area where his guards are entombed. In the US many leaders (if they were killed in such a horrific manner) who characterize themselves as populists would be buried right next to their slain guards, not in Lebanon, egalitarianism is not a concern. Hariri, in true zuama fashion is buried out in front with a huge tomb, his guards are entombed behind him. All of the guards have their pictures next to their graves, but in each of those photos there is a superimposed Hariri in a semi-heroic stance behind them.

Construction in the downtown is booming, all thanks to Hariri. As part of the rebuilding effort Hariri launched his Solidere company, a plan to largely reshape downtown Beirut, bring in high end shops, and clear away many of the shell ravaged buildings. I always imagined Beirut as an interesting dichotomy of Orthodox/Byzantine style Christian buildings and a number of Ottoman style mosques. The real Beirut is a mix of cranes, in some cases poorly built high rises, an odd war scared building or two, all obscuring historical Beirut. Roman ruins are dug up and left out, during the March 14th protests my friend told me that some people urinated into a Roman ruin opposite the Martyrs' Statue because there weren't enough (correction: any) bathrooms.

I walked to the famous clock tower, I counted about 25 people (not including the countless private security and Lebanese Army soldiers) and 6 cats in the whole area. Cafes were empty, many stores were closed. The smell of shisha (Arab water pipe) was in the air, and ice cream was slowly melting in the Haagan Das near the clock tower. Soldiers would gawk at me, I was probably the only American within 5 miles. I continued to walk through downtown towards the Phonecia Hotel, location of Hariri's assassination. I walked more, passing an Ottoman era mosque, 3 people were inside praying.

I could see the shell ravaged Holiday Inn Hotel. The hotel used to be one of the highest and most strategicly placed buildings in Beirut. It achieved a legendary status amoungst many Christians after a Phalangist militia man threw himself off the top floor of the building, so he wouldn't be captured by Palestinian gunmen. After passing the hotel and buying myself a diet coke I flagged down a cab, and was back at LAU.

My movie of Beirut as seen from Martyrs' Square:



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* I will try to post, but will be out in Northern Lebanon in Batroun, Bcharre, and Duma until Sunday, the 8th of July

Martyrs' Square

Yesterday I headed out with J, her sister N, A and E. They have been incredibly hospitible towards me and I feel as though I am one of the family, its the sort of acceptance you would rarely find in the United States; I have only expereienced it within my own family and with my girlfriend.

I really feel at ease, unstressed and at peace here. Despite the random violence (nothing has hit Beirut so far), and, in some places uncleanliness there is a general relaxed feeling about the people. I honestly think most of them are more curious about me than I am of them, I've never been stared at quite so much, but its not a stare of disgust, it is one of interest.

J, N, A, and E (we can't forget E!), were kind enough to take me to the downtown area. Many Lebanese, especially those in the Christian community rarely go to the downtown area because of the Hizbollah tent city that sprouted up in the square. Also, because of the terrorism purpotrated by Fatah al Islam many of Lebanon's most famous sites look like ghost towns. I wasn't about to let this deter me, but then again, I must put my thanks out to my friends who were kind enough to drive me there, guide me and put up with their feelings of rage against Hizbollah, which they regard as a state within their state. Not to mention deal with a routy American who always sticks his nose in things.

The Garden(s) of the Shahid (Martyr)

Martyr's Square first attained its name from six Lebanese nationalists who were hanged by Ottoman authorities in World War One, following a revolt against the Turks. The Palace des Martyrs' (as its known in French) was also the place in 2005 that the March 14th rally was held. It was described to me by friends who attended the event as a remarkably huge sea of humanity; Sunnis, Druze, Christians, and even some Shia all comming together to protest Syria's murder of Rafik Hariri and to get Syria to pull out of Lebanon. This is one of the few squares I've been to that not only features "martyrs of the past" but of "martyrs of the present." If you look east you can see the Kataeb Party headquarters adorned with a poster of slain leader Pierre Amine Gemayel, to the center of the square there is the An Nahar Newspaper tower with a huge poster of murdered MP and writer Gebran Tueni, towards the new mosque built by Rafik Hariri is his tomb and that of his body guards, all killed by Syria. Even the statue commemorating the 6 executed nationalists is scared by war as there are bullet holes all over the bronze. In Lebanon death is always around the corner, or in this case in the square, but life is always so vibrant. I toured around Place de l'Étoile which features the famous Rolex clock tower, normally the square would be PACKED with people, but today, because of the high heat and the fear of terrorism, tourists and locals have just stayed home.

We continued on in central Beirut and I went into this stunning Greek Orthodox Cathedral called The Cathedral of Saint George. The churches and cathedrals here are simple on the outside, using heavy stone, mixing Byzantine, Western, and Arab architecture. On the inside they are incredibly ornate and stunning. In Saint George's there were murals of angels, gold leaf covering the columns, and 3 burning candles in the back. If you aren't religious like me, the building could definately cause you to reconsider.

Following the tour around City Centre, everyone took me to Club 43 in Achrafieh. The club is within (and excuse the pun here)a gunshot's distance from Martyrs' Square, has a French flag hanging from its 18/19th century window, and is up a darkened flight of steps. Our server was an Australian hippie who served us shots (ouzo) and then our other food and drinks. I must note that they have the best iced tea I've had in Lebanon, but the food was hit or miss.

"Wierd New Jersey" Doesn't Have ANYTHING on "Wierd Lebanon"

On another side note, Lebanon has always been a place of contradictions, a place where the militant Islamist group Hizbollah can launch katusyia rockets at Israel but at the same time where one can get drunk in a bar off absinthe, 500FT from a Hizbollah protest.

I've noticed that time isn't that important in Lebanon. In my dorms there are no clocks, just one clock on the bottom floor (I am up 4 flights of steps to my room). Appointments are made but I've noticed that they are rarely kept, for instance I was supposed to have lunch with a Hizbollah member, we made plans the night before and she was atleast 20 minutes late and wasn't hungry.

Modern Lebanese culture (and I am trying not to generalize here, because my friends are not like this) is incredibly materialistic. People may not be able to buy food in some cases but have a brand new Mercedes or BMW, Gucci clothing, or a Rolex watch.

In the United States much business and politics is preformed through connections people have but it is generally frowned upon to openly gloat about how one uses and makes connections. Here it is quite different and the word that is used is Wasta. I was talking to two people who go to LAU and one was trying to get her best friend to go out with a teachers assistant who proctors her class---why you may ask? Not so she could be a good friend, no, she wanted a good grade in class! In Lebanon even socially, the ends justify the means.

Dinner & Arak With Friends

Yesterday was my first full day in Lebanon. I slept about 3 hours in total, but had many adventures and met many interesting people. My first adventure was going outside of the LAU campus to get some coffee, water, sodas and some other assorted junk food. Afterwards a fellow student and myself took a stroll down to the Raouché (Pigeon Rocks). They are a spectacular formation of stone jutting out of the Mediterreanean, the water surrounding them is a mixture of teal, green, light blue, and a medium shade of blue I can only describe as "Azure Mediterreanean."

The stroll down to the Raouché was quite an interesting one. The school I am attending is in the heart of Quoritem, the bastion of Rafiq Hariri and his Future Movement (a March 14th associated political party and heavily anti-Syrian). As such, there is heavy security by both the army and police. On almost every major intersection one can find an M113 Armored Personel Carrier with a .50 caliber machine gun mounted atop its metal hull. To get to the Raouché you have to pass the Saudi embassy, which is a massive building loaded with private security and a battalion of soldiers outside. Because I am a free wheeling American I decided I would take some pictures of the APCs dotting the streets---BAD idea. I got yelled at repeadedly by the soldiers, although it seems if I just play the "dumb American" card I won't get my camera smashed.

Also, during the day, I stopped and found some nice little coffee shops, and had some of the best iced coffee in a place across from the school. Around 11 in the morning I gave a close Lebanese friend a call. She invited me over to her home for a dinner complete with the Lebanese specialty drink known as Arak (also spelled 3arak--the 3 is an ain in Arabic) . Arak is made of anise and is quite sweet, almost like drinking an incredibly sweet tequila without so much alchoholic bite.

After speaking with my friend she informed me that her boyfriend (who was playing soccer at the time) was going to pick me up around 9:30PM. As 9:30 passed I called her up again and she told me he would be there to pick me up around 10PM. I had little to do, so I sat in the guard house and talked with the guards. The guards told me that rent (per month) was around $700 a month, they earned around $1.30 an hour and they couldn't get over the fact that America had a minimum wage around $5.75-$7.00. I tried out my rudimentary Arabic/Lebanese with the guards and they seemed to get a kick out of it, teaching me a few new words and pronounciation. As 10 o'clock rolled around my friend's boyfriend pulled up with another person I am friendly with and we headed off to Rabieh.

Rabieh and Christian Beirut (and its suburbs) seem a lot more organized and clean as compared to the Muslim sections. Of course both Muslim and Christian Beirut have much alore, but that difference definately sets them apart. On the drive down to Rabieh we passed downtown Beirut. I was told that ever since Hizbollah started protesting the current government they were subsidizing poor Shia (giving them $3 a day) to squat in Martyr's Square. There is a joke that is going around (some of it is true according to photos I've seen) that these Hizbollah members brought their shishas (water pipes) and TVs with them---Now Martyr's Square is their new home. I was also told that to get down to Martyr's Square (which stradles the old Green Line seperating Christian and Muslim Beirut) one must go through, not one of the numerous Lebanese Army checkpoints, but a Hizbollah checkpoint. Yes, Hizbollah has people who "guard" their encampment in downtown Beirut, and they (not the government) allow people in and out.

As we entered Rabieh we pulled up to a nice looking apartment building. My friend had a beautiful home with a wonderful family. Politics was the talk of the night, and of course I felt as if I had center stage (its not everyday some random American walks through your door and wants to talk about inter-Christian/Sunni-Shi'ite politics). I had a wonderful meal prepared for me complete with native bread, salad, arak, and pleasantly spiced chicken just to name a few things served. After the meal we all sat down and watched the television, my friend's sister had an international phone so I gave my mother a quick call. I must say after a great dinner there are few things more amusing than to have Seinfeld with Arabic subtitles.

For some time I had been talking about trying to get as much political paraphenalia out of Lebanon as possible. My friend went through a huge poster collection and gave me a Lebanese flag, a Kataeb party flag (Kataeb is also known as the Phalange party, and are right wing, anti-Syrian). As I was driven home my hosts took me to the Bachir Gemayel memorial in Achrafieh. Bachir Gemayel, a hero to many Lebanese Christians, was the son of Kataeb founder Pierre Gemayel, founder and leader of the Lebanese Front and later Lebanese Forces, and was president elect of Lebanon in 1982 before an SSNP bomb killed him. I visited the very place he was murdered that night. Formerly it was an unspectacular apartment building, after the explosion flattened that building, it became a square with concrete floors, trees, and a memorial to Gemayel and those killed in the building. The square was mostly quiet, save for a few young men who jokingly wanted to cheer for George W. Bush because I was in the area. Large posters and a massive metal carving of Bachir Gemayel's figure adorned the building adjacent to the memorial and it reminded me of a modern day shrine. In Lebanon it seems that the whole city is one massive shrine to opposing/allied political leaders who were supported by their confessional group. Eventhough I have been here a day, you can tell what sectarian section of town you are in by the posters that are stuck to the walls: Rafiq Hariri for Sunni sections, Walid Jumblatt for the Druze, numerous Hizbollah "martyr posters" and pictures of Hassan Nasrallah for Shi'ite sections, and Bachir Gemayel and the recently assassinated Pierre Amin Gemayel for Christian areas.

All in all it was a very spectacular day/night filled with adventure and great conversation.

Fatah al Islam: Arabic For Another Syrian Front

By. Phillip

There has been a recently repeated theory that claims that Fatah al Islam is somehow an organization with close ties to al Qaeda. Granted, Fatah al Islam does show Islamist tendencies, such as having a leader, Sheik Shaker Al-'Absi, a man sentenced in absentia to death by Jordanian authorities for the murder of an American diplomat. However, there is overwhelming evidence linking Fatah al Islam to Syria.

Journalist, Nicholas Blanford reported in Time that, “Fatah al-Islam, the group battling the army, has dominated much of the news in Lebanon since it first declared its existence late last year, splitting from Fatah al-Intifadeh, a pro-Syrian Palestinian faction that is headquartered in Damascus.” One must remember that Fatah Intifada was created by the Syrian regime as a Palestinian counter organization to Yasser Arafat and the PLO during the Lebanese Civil War. In addition Fatah Intifada is widely considered just another Syrian proxy (such as the PFLP-GC), and has its headquarters in Damascus.

Recently, in May of 2006 Fatah Initifada was used to stir the Lebanese pot when they attacked the Lebanese army. It isn’t just coincidence that both Fatah Intifadah and Fatah al Islam both have a knack for starting problems by attacking the Lebanese Army. When the Lebanese Army encircled Fatah Intifada last May it was in response to provocative action taken by the group. After Fatah al Islam’s bank robbery there were subsequent raids by the Lebanese Police and Army. Fatah al Islam retaliated by attacking Lebanese Army posts and killing 27 soldiers.

Other Connections:
• Not so ironically, Fatah al Islam launched its attacks on the Lebanese Army during a time when the UN was just beginning a tribunal on the assassination of Rafik Hariri. Any tribunal was expected to call Syrian officials, up to and including President Bashar Asad.
• Fatah al Islam has not attacked any pro-Syrian groups. Many Islamists, especially the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood regard the ruling Alawite minority as apostates. If Fatah al Islam was a true Islamist group, would it not seek to attack them (Syria and many of its proxies are secular) too?

The current spate of assassinations and bombings is obviously due to Asad’s hand. The bombings that occurred in Aley, Achrafieh, and Verdun were more than just operations designed to sew terror in the hearts of average Lebanese, just remember this:

• Aley: in the Druze heartland, not to mention a location where there is a strong PSP
(MP Walid Jumblatt’s party) influence. While Jumblatt has been known to engage in unabashed realpolitik, even before the Cedar Revolution of 2005 he’s been a staunch critic of Syria and a leading member in the March 14th Alliance.
• Verdun: known for being quite luxurious part of Beirut. While being a mixed neighborhood (Nabi Berri owned a residence near to where the Verdun blast occurred) is generally considered to be within another anti-Syrian party’s sphere of influence, the Sunni, Future Movement. This was a message aimed at shaking Saad Hariri, leader of the Future movement and son of slain former Lebanese Prime Minister, Rafik Hariri.
• Achrafieh: A Christian part of Beirut, the bombing of a shopping mall in this area had much to do with threatening the Christian base of anti-Syrian coalition. This more specifically targeted parties such as Samir Geagea’s Lebanese Forces and the Kataeb Party.
• Most of the explosions were small, often in areas frequented by the public (such as shopping malls) but often in off hours. One of the few bombings to have a large death toll was the Walid Eido assassination, which killed 10 others in the process.

The Syrian Mukhabarat is sending a very blunt message to the anti-Syrian parties: Keep defying Damascus and you will get more bombs. This was the same message sent by Syria following the anti-Syrian protests of March 14th. Syria’s bombing campaign included targets (as the bombing campaign has recently) such as anti-Syrian journalists, politicians, and areas where anti-Syrian confessional groups (ie. Druze, Christians, and pro-Hariri Sunnis) reside:

• Assassinations of fervently anti-Syrian politician Gebran Tueni and journalist Samir Kassir. This also includes the assassination attempt on LBC journalist (and candidate for a Maronite seat in the Baabda-Aley district) May Chidac.
• The bombings used small amounts of explosive (ranging from 1- around 50lbs).
• The same style of targets as the current bombing spate were hit, such as a shopping mall in the Christian neighborhood of Zalka.

Walid Eido and Destroying the Majority

After the June 14th murder Walid Eido, a Lebanese friend mentioned to me, “just four more to go.” I asked him what he meant by that and the answer I received was quite startling (I am paraphrasing here), “The Syrians just need to kill 4 more parliamentarians with March 14th, then they [March 14th and other anti-Syrians] won’t have the majority.” Whittling down on the anti-Syrian political majority is most definitely a goal of Damascus. The number of anti-Syrians has now gone down to 68 from 72, if the number goes down to 64 then pro-Syrian elements in Lebanon will undercut the Siniora’s government. Lebanon’s current president, pro-Syrian Emile Lahoud has his term is set to expire on September 25, 2007. Because Lebanon’s president is elected via the parliament, a pro-Syrian majority is a goal desired by Damascus in order to control Lebanon’s presidency.

Useful links on mentioned topics:
BBC Fatah al Islam
ABC: What is Fatah al Islam?

© Copyright http://arzeljabal.blogspot.com/; June 16, 2007