I'm American, Blame Me

Hey guys, this is David Kenner -- your host for the next few days.  Though I am only your virtual host, I have lived here long enough to still feel vaguely guilty that I cannot provide you with a table full of mezze and arak, then become incredulous when you protest about the improbably large portions that I heap onto your plate.  Hopefully, I can provide you with the perspective of an American living in Beirut.  I will try to provide deeper insights than "there are a lot of old Mercedes here," and "you sure do honk your horns a lot."

But down to business.  It is an ugly fact of life that, as an American, you get blamed for many of the region's problems.  Some of these criticisms are valid and some of them are not, and you need to pick your battles.  Here is one battle that is worth fighting: the storyline which blames America for Fatah al-Islam and the recent slew of bombings.

That is the narrative that Seymour Hersh is advancing, and which Hizbullah mouthpiece Al-Manar happily passes on:

[T]he idea was to get support, covert support from the Saudis, to support various hard-line jihadists, Sunni groups, particularly in Lebanon, who would be seen in case of an actual confrontation with Hezbollah - the Shiite group in the southern Lebanon - would be seen as an asset, as simple as that.

As the story goes, these groups were groomed by America and Siniora to be their attack dogs against Hizbullah, and then turned on their owners.  It totally ignores the larger international situation.  It is just a coincidence, according to Hersh, that these attacks are happening when the international tribunal is on the verge of creation.  Syria could not be involved, because after all they are allied with Hizbullah and the Sunni Islamists don't like Shi'a either.

There are many objections to this line of thinking, but I want to focus on just one of them right now.  Hersh (who was a great journalist, though you are excused for not noticing) credits Syria with more rationality than the United States.  When the confused CNN anchor asked why -- if neither country was ideologically aligned with Fatah al-Islam -- it makes sense for America to be funding the terrorists but not Syria, Hersh answered, "You're assuming logic by the United States government."  And that is about as far as the opposition's ridiculous explanations for the recent violence extends: forget the regional situation, forget who benefits from chaos in Lebanon.  Dick Cheney sure is sketchy, isn't he?

P.S. I'm off to Alay now.  Expect pictures and a report later.

Comments

[ghassan karam]

The real question of interest is not whether one group or another provided some funding to an organization but rather its acts. It does not surprise me in the least to learn that Hariri and or the US might have provided funds to Fath Al Islam at one point. History is full of "Blow Backs". The fact that the US aided Osamah bin Laden at one point during the Afghanistan war against the Russians does not mean that the US is not justified in its pursuit of Al Qaeda.
It is an interesting tidbit to learn whether the Hariri largesse has provided funds to the enemies of his project but that is the extent of it. To concentrate on the peripheral rather than the real is nothing else but a diversionary tactic that provides a clear illustration about the weak position of the opposition who find it difficult to disagree with the need to oppose Fath Al Islam and so instead they concentrate on the possibility that it might have been funded at one point by either the US , Saudis or Hariri.

[Jeha]

Oh my God! You killed Kenny! You [American] bastards!

... Hersh is already neck deep, shouldn't he stop digging?

[eRamzi]

welcome David :)
Stop by Hazmieh on your way back for a fenjein ahwe if you like.

[David Kenner]

ya habeebe, shukran! Sadly, I just got your ahwe invitatione now, when I came back. I got some great pictures though, and hopefully I'll have something written up later tonight. The whole trip, strangely enough, actually made me feel a lot better about the situation in Lebanon.

[Blacksmith Jade]

You're off to a great start David! While Hersh seems to stop his train of accusations at past funding of such groups, pro-Syrian propaganda mouthpieces in Lebanon have taken it further, and have attempted to claim that this was all a setup for the Army (by the government) in order to weaken it.

What Hersh lacks in rational explanation, Syria's allies in Lebanon have made up for in blatant disinformation.