Assad's volcano in Lebanon

Terrorist group Fatah al-Islam unleashed its fury on the Lebanese army today, killing at least 12 army soldiers and ISF members and wounding dozens of others, including civilians. The Syrian-backed group-- made up of Syrian, Palestinian, Lebanese, Saudi and other Arab Islamists who arrived via Syria after terrorist tours in Iraq--  has threatened to "open fire and volcanoes" on the army and on Lebanon that will not be "closed" as long as they have the mandate from their god.

Heavy fighting erupted in the early hours of the morning when the Lebanese Internal Security Forces stormed a building in the northern city of Tripoli, where members of the terrorist group suspected of a bank robbery in the north were hiding. Shortly after the police operation, the terrorists began receiving "backup" from other Fatah Islam members in adjacent buildings and neighborhoods. According to LBC, the Islamists have created mini-cells throughout the city and the area surrounding their base in Nahr El Bared.

Following the Tripoli clashes, the terrorists attacked a Lebanese army car in nearby Qalamoun, killing four soldiers. They also attacked and killed soldiers at an army checkpoint outside the Nahr El Bared refugee camp.

At around 1pm Beirut time, the Lebanese army stormed a residential building in an upscale Tripoli neighborhood where the terrorists where holed up. According to LBC, large quantities of weapons were found. Several terrorists were killed.

LBC reported that the terrorists opened fire on ambulances, occupied residential buildings and used civilians as human shields.

LBC is reporting a massive deployment of terrorists from Fatah al-Islam and other extremist groups in the north. According to retired army general Nizar Abdel Qader, Syrian intelligence has mobilized all of its extremist proxies in the north in an "organized operation" to spread chaos in the country, and to send a message to the UN Security Council, which is studying a resolution to establish the Hariri tribunal.

The Lebanese army is currently sending reinforcements from the south and downtown Beirut to the north, and laying siege to the northern camp. It is not clear how many fronts the Lebanese army is capable of handling at once. The terrorist regime in Syria, meanwhile, has closed the border in the north.

Fatah al-Islam sent a fax to news agencies promising destruction for the entire country:

"We warn the Lebanese army of the consequences of continuing the provocative acts against our mujahideen who will open the gates of fire ... against (the army) and against the whole of Lebanon," the statement, faxed to Reuters, said. (Reuters)

Fatah al-Islam was implicated in the Ain Alaq terrorist bombings in February. The group is also said to have cells in refugee camps closer to Beirut. One of the reported objectives of Fatah al-Islam is attacking UNIFIL and assassinating Lebanese politicians, in addition to terrorizing Lebanese citizens and Palestinian refugees. They have been exposed as a Syrian intelligence creation by other Palestinian groups, and through police investigations. 

Today's events came as Bashar Assad threatened to set the entire region on fire if the UN Security Council established a tribunal bringing the killers of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri to justice. Assad delivered the threat to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon last week. An-Nahar on Friday reported that Assad delivered a set of demands to the UN that calls on the UN to cancel the tribunal treaty with Siniora's "illegitimate" government. Assad reportedly told the UN secretary general that Syria wants to see a national unity government in Lebanon to "study" and "amend" the tribunal's bylaws.

The UN has rejected Bashar's demands, which were exposed as an attempt to sabotage the formation of the Hariri tribunal. The UN, also, made it clear that it considers the Siniora government constitutional and supported by a majority of the parliament. The UNSC has been studying a draft chapter 7 resolution to create the tribunal outside Lebanon.

The clashes today are a clear indication that Bashar has made his choice: an all-out confrontation with the international community. The theatre, as usual, is in Lebanon.

My deepest condolences to the families of Lebanese ISF and army soldiers who were killed today. One hopes these events prompt the "opposition" to end its occupation of dowtown Beirut, allowing the army to focus its energy on rooting out these terrorists. Anything else makes Hizbullah, Aoun and their friends accomplices in the murder of Lebanese soldiers and civilians. 

More updates throughout the day.

Comments

[Vox]

Assad is playing his last cards, but time is running out for him.

[JoseyWales]

Saniora and the army do not understand how to wield and leverage power.

Amnesty for the 90s killers and beheaders of soldiers, no serious response to repeated attacks on troops at the border and around camps, kowtowing to fucked up Arab League rules...

I am not surprised nor should you be. I I expect more of the same. God help our army and citizens caught in the middle of this.

[Jay]

What's Hezbollah's position on these events?

[jack]

people like these have stupid idiologies, they want to protect the sunni of lebanon who are curretly being attacked by the growing of chiite power according to them, one of the memeber said this on tv.

and the thing that i dont understand is how they are being supported by Assad, while few weeks ago they have been attacked by syrian regime and some of them where killed in syria.
i think they are defenetly related to Qaaida.

but one thing i know, is that we are done from arabic regimes oppressing people especially regarding relegion like saudi arabia, because all these accidents and the qaaida are the result of big oppresions to the human being done by saudi arabia, i mean this country should fall so we can live happily and freely and without the violence of these sick people.
and now everybody knows who is the biggest threat in lebanon, it is those palestenian fanatic groups, they are threat to the lebanese people, the government should first disarm them before disarming the hizballah.

[Charlie]

Jack,

These people have no ideologies, they are nothing more than guns for hire paid and financed by our brotherly Bashar. HA, Baathist, SSNP, and this new outfit are all in the same boat, same thugs different color and they all need to be disarmed equally.

[Bad Vilbel]

And so it begins...The "Lebanon is fucked" chapter of this saga is under way.

One has to hope against hope that the government learns how to use its army correctly this time (as pointed out by Josey).
And I'm waiting to see the opposition's reaction to these events. Will they show any sign of nationalism by siding with their national army? Or (more likely) will they show themselves to be the traitors they are, by further undermining their own state and siding with the terrorists that answer to Damascus.

[maverick]

The Lebanese government joining the "War on Terror",how happy is the Bush administration.Palestinians fighting each other,how happy are the Zionists.These lunatics fall prey to the "Enemy" they vow to destroy.Not unlike Nasrallah and his proclomation of victory against the zionist enemy.The Isrealis are laughin at Nas,and he dont get it.

[Jeha]

This is what I meant when I stated that the war would be imposed on us. When the shooting starts, you revert back to survival mode.

The shooting has started; let us see where it takes us. But no Lebanese could be faulted for defending himself.

The consequences, of course, could be dire, as the different cross-sections of interests come into play. If this drags on for too long, it could all take a life of its own, an ultimate "black swan" event.

[another_someone]

Just read on Tony's blog that the LAF have been given political cover to eradicate these teghoghist gwoups.

Jeha, defending yourselves is legitimate, but fighting your fellow countrymen is just plain stupid.

[Bad Vilbel]

Jeha,

There's a difference between defending yourself against outsiders, and fighting your countrymen.

War cannot be imposed on us Lebanese if we refuse to fight each other. That's not at all the same thing as fending off an invading army, or in this case a foreign-backed terrorist group.

[fubar]

"a foreign-backed terrorist group"

like, say, Hezbollah...

[ghassan karam]

These sad events do not a "Black Swan" make since they were totally predictable. The question for months , over a year to be precise, has been when and not if. Up until now, the Syrian dictatorship has acted with total predictability. They have silenced the few brave voices in Syria proper, they have incited violence in Lebanon at every major turning point and they have obstructed the implimentation of the UN mandates. Bashar cannot allow either Maher or Shawkat to be openly implicated even though that might be against the national interests of Syria. After all in a mafia kind government only one thing matters, protect the members of the family.

I do not believe that this event will prove any more successful than all the previous attempts at turning back the clock. The current Lebanese government will overcome this event, actually this might be "providential" in nature. I will be very surprised if this terrorist attack does not strengthen the position of March 14 and maybe be cause a split in the ranks of HA and the Aounists. Jeha, with all due respect , I must take exception to your interpretation of the outcome due to these events. Predicting calamity is the common gut reaction to this when a deeper more objective analysis will place this gang in its proper context. Fatah al-Islam is not representative of many, if any Lebanese, they are simply mercenaries and thus their cause will not create an earthquake in Lebanon. Bashar and his cohorts have miscalculated one time after the other and this is at best another miscalculation that unfortunately cost many brave young army and police rank and file their lives. I think that Vox is right, Bashar is running out of cards to play and this must be seen as an act of desperation on his part.

[Bad Vilbel]

Fubar,

Yes, Hezbollah IS a foreign backed terrorist group. But it also happens to "represent" (or at least have the backing of) roughly 30% of the Lebanese population. That puts it squarely in the "fighting amongst ourselves" category.
Fath Al Islam is not so much representative of any segment of the Lebanese population. It's a strictly foreign agent.

To draw a parallel: The terror cell recently arrested in the US was comprised of American citizens (I believe). But one could hardly say Americans are fighting each other. Right?

Having said all this, I must agree with Ghassan on this one. Bashar is running out of cards, and this one smacks of desperation, and no one's falling for it, it seems.

[fubar]

BV,

"To draw a parallel: The terror cell recently arrested in the US was comprised of American citizens (I believe). But one could hardly say Americans are fighting each other. Right?"

WRONG. The US is fighting the threat on all fronts, including the so-called homegrown jihadis (which the recent Ft. Dix group were not - Bosnian refugees, including three illegal aliens - "ethnic Albanians", hint, hint). The fact that any jihadi terrorist may hold US citizenship gives them no cover whatsoever.

If you really want to draw a parallel, for whom do both Fatah al-Islam and Hezbollah work their mischief?

[Charlie]

Good point Ghassan. If there is an upshot to any unfortunate incidents like this is that it will work as a catalyst to strengthen the cause of the Lebanese state and shed further light into the destructive nature of the Syrian hands Lebanon. It is yet another move by Assad that will backfire on him..

[Maya]

Explosion in East Beirut. More bad news to come it seems. God be with us all.

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L2011103.htm

[Maya]

More from Naharnet.

"A huge explosion ripped through Beirut's Ashrafiyeh neighborhood shortly before midnight Sunday, killing a woman and wounding 10 other people, LBC TV said in a news flash.
It quoted security sources as saying the bomb, which weighed about 15 kgs, was believed to have been placed underneath a car in a parking lot near the ABC shopping mall in Ashrafiyeh.
LBC footage showed thick black smoke billowing from the scence of the bombing as residents took to the street to take stock of the damage.
The footage also showed several cars destoryed and the windows in nearby buildings shattered."
Police and army troops cordoned off the area as ambulances and civil defense volunteers rushed to evacuate casualties. Firefighters were also seen battling the blaze."

Bashar is keeping his word, the scumbag's going to destroy Lebanon as he promised.

[Brian H]

The Assads, Hitlers, and Khomenis of the world are ALWAYS backed into a corner, and willing to go all-in. After all, there is no part-absolute power over their environments. It either grows or implodes. Compromise or negotiation is just another ploy to be used as long as the Chamberlains of the world are willing to play along. Eventually, though, a Churchill arises or stands up to them, and then it comes down to cases.

Bush and Blair both hoped to be that Churchill, but evidently there hasn't been enough imminent threat and damage perpetrated by the absolutists pushing for the Global Umma to arouse the squeamish to the kind of flat-out self-defense (eliminate the threat) that is going to be necessary.

Another viewpoint exists, too: the hyper-abstract Tom Barnett globalization view of the Core and the Gap, which sees exponential economic and technological growth in the Core, which can and must eventually overwhelm and absorb the nations of the Gap, though huge bloody interim sacrifices (e.g., the entire ME, and maybe Eurabia) may well be forced before the inevitable dominance of the U.S. + China + India comes to pass. That combo will eventually drag the Gap, kicking and screaming, into the future.

The dream-optimists (liberals) and realist-optimists (conservatives) both want to deflect some of the interim horror and widen and strengthen the Core before the inevitable showdown occurs. The difference is whether or not one believes jaw-jaw will work with the jihadists, as opposed to the war-war they believe Allah has ordained.

Place your bets, ladies and gentlemen!

[daveinboca]

Maybe we should send Nancy Pelosi back to Damascus to sweet-talk the stick-insect into calling off his goons? I'm sure it's all a misunderstanding, and the Boy-Assad will reconsider.

[Zvi]

This smacks of desperation, but it also, frankly speaking, smacks of impunity. Assad can see that nobody is willing to hit back at him: not the US, not the EU, not the UN, not the Lebanese, not even the Israelis or the Arab world. And like the brutal thug he is, he is taking that as a license to do... this.

On the other hand, the Lebanese are making a credible start. A tip of my hat to the Lebanese government and military.

But at the same time, my condolences to the victims who will be murdered outright or used as human shields by Assad's terrorists.

[Maysa]

Interersting post. Thanks for that. But I was quite intregued towards the end and wondered why you pointed fingers towards the opposition and not the illigitimate government? As if the current government is a victim.

[Maysa]

BV,

How did you conclude that Hizz is a "terrorist" group?

COuld you pls define terrorism?

[burger]

Maysa,

There is no clear definition of terrorism itself.
Additionally, each action an organization commits can be interpreted in different ways shaping how the said organization is defined. Therefore, each country/individual makes his own judgments about who they consider to be a terrorist/non-terrorist organization.

But it doesn't matter really, it's a pointless question/discussion. Terrorist is just a word, you are either with or against Hizballah. And I think most Lebanese are against because they consider Hizballah a threat to Lebanese sovereignty and democracy. Therefore, they will brand them as terrorists or any other derogative term. I agree and do the same.

[naja]

"How did you conclude that Hizz is a "terrorist" group?"
Quite right, Maysa. HA are obviously a do-gooding, law-abiding, happy-clappy, tree-hugging bunch of charity-minded hippies who would NEVER even think of having their way by violent means. Oh no.

BV, you silly boy.

[maverick]

LMHO NAJA,
I will never put terrorism and Nasrallah in the same sentence as soon as Nas starts smoking joints and listening to Bob Marley.

[BadVilbel]

I'm not even gonna bother answering Maysa's question directly, but as far as I'm concerned any group that wields weapons outside of the State is a terrorist group. That is a non-negotiable definition in my book. Having weapons allows one to dictate things on those who don't have weapons, through the threat of usage of said weapons. That threat, in and of itself is "terror".
If people can't comprehend that, then they might want to try living in a house with an armed bully and see if they feel "terrorized" or not.

[Andrew Brehm]

"How did you conclude that Hizz is a "terrorist" group?"

In my book terrorism is the strategy of attacking civilian infrastructure (including civilians) without a reason that would be valid according to the laws of war. The laws of war only allow the attacking of military infrastructure (including military personell) and forbids the fighting parties to install military infrastructure among civilian infrastructure so as to make it possible to follow these same laws. Both sides are allowed to target military infrastructure installed among civilian infrastructure.

Violating these laws is a war crime. If you attack civilians deliberately (i.e. without having the excuse that enemy fighters hide among them) or hide among them (and thus drawing fire on civilians), you are comitting war crimes.

It is also firbidden to install your military infrastructure next to or in United Nations, Red Cross, or other installations like that.

Hizbullah violated all these laws. They deliberately targeted civilian infrastructure (I was a student at the University of Haifa when Hizbullah launched rockets at it), they hide among civilian infrastructure (I saw videos of Hizbullah launching rockets from behind an apartment block), and they had bases next to UN installations (I saw pictures of that too).

That is why _I_ consider them terrorists.

How did you conclude that they might not be terrorists?

I assume you didn't know Hizbullah were in the business of attacking universities?