Lebanon Sitting on a Time Bomb

What does it mean for Lebanon when a militant group claiming links to al Qaeda says it was behind the firing of rockets into Northern Israel last week? The statement claiming responsibility for the attack was signed by the Ziad al Jarrah division of the Abdullah Azzam Brigades; Ziad al Jarrah was one of the terrorists who carried out the 9/11 attacks in the United States.

It simply means that Lebanon is not immune to the proliferation of Sunni radical groups. Worse still, this means that such groups are well-established and enjoy freedom of movement. But this is no news. As a matter of fact, some security reports that were issued over the last four years have actually warned of the presence of radical extremist groups in Lebanon, mainly proliferating in the Palestinian camps. But the Lebanese authorities have over and again failed to read the signs even when they were bloody enough to shake a whole regime.

In fact, in a respectable country where politicians are actually held accountable for their deeds, the events of Nahr el Bared that occurred nearly two years ago would have triggered an outrage and a political scandal, let alone an anti-terrorism campaign that would have all the political support it needs.

Not only did the Lebanese government fail to read the signs, but it also failed to take the necessary pre-emptive measures to face such groups. In fact, the day the Lebanese army troops woke to attacks from terrorists coming from the Nahr el Bared camp should have changed the government’s approach to the issue of the Palestinian camps altogether, mainly the issue of their disarmament, a priority that only General Aoun called for in the first address he made in parliament after the June 2005 elections. Back then, he was met with dismay and indignation for “attacking the Palestinian people”.

And while the government was too busy attempting to implement foreign agendas whose main item is the eradication of Hizbullah and their weapons, extremist cells were gaining ground. But the Nahr el Bared events raised many questions that the relevant Lebanese authorities have left unanswered: what was the link between Fath el Islam radical group and Bank Med (the Hariri-owned bank), how did this terrorist group smuggle its weapons in the camp, how was its financing funneled, why weren’t Lebanese army troops posted just outside the camp notified that the Internal Security Forces were planning on implementing an operation of some kind against a radical group? How did the group leader Shaker el Absi escape from the camp? Where is he now? And why is he still at large?

Nevertheless, beyond Nahr el Bared lies another global concern. Following the Nahr el Bared events, various media reports, although arguable and lacking substantial evidence, suggested that Fath el Islam terrorist group was nurtured by international, regional and local authorities to counterbalance Hizbullah and thus directly or indirectly Iran, and to cripple militarily the Shiite organization should the need arise; all this being part of a global strategy adopted by the United States and its allies of strengthening Sunnis extremist groups to weaken the Shiites in the struggle against Iran.

In this context, Vali Nasr, author of “The Shiia Revival”, wrote in early 2008, in Foreign Affairs the following: “The last time the United States rallied the Arab world to contain Iran, in the 1980s, Americans ended up with a radicalized Sunni political culture that eventually yielded al Qaeda. The results may be as bad this time around: a containment policy will only help erect Sunni extremism as an ideological barrier to Shiite Iran, much as Saudi Arabia's rivalry with Iran in the 1980s played out in South Asia and much as radical Salafis mobilized to offset Hezbollah's soaring popularity after the Israeli-Lebanese war in 2006. During the Cold War, confronting communism meant promoting capitalism and democracy. Containing Iran today would mean promoting Sunni extremism -- a self-defeating proposition for Washington.”

As such, the emergence of the Ziad al Jarrah group a few days ago should not come as a surprise, but it should certainly ring the alarm, especially with the presence of radical groups such are Jind el Cham- to whom MP Bahia allegedly offers “social” assistance - in the South. But a responsible Lebanese government has to curb the activities of such groups, take pre-emptive measures against any attempt to undermine the security of Lebanon, and stop their financing whatever the source is.

Finally, if Vali Nasr is right about the international community trying to counterbalance the power of Hizbullah through these radical groups, it won’t be long before these groups get out of hand and these countries’ own creations will turn to be their monsters. As such, they won’t only become a nightmare for Lebanon itself but for the whole region and especially the neighboring countries.

In the meantime, it is up to the Lebanese government and the Lebanese people to take matters into their own hands and do what it takes to protect their country and their people, and thus avert paying yet again a costly price for their own political shortsightedness and irresponsibility, and for the world’s erroneous and irrational policies. And the first step would be to address the issue of the Palestinian refugee camps because they are Lebanon’s time bomb.