By Andrew L. Jaffee

…Many in Lebanon believed the army would be able to quickly crush Fatah Islam inside Nahr el-Bared, but after several days of fierce battles using artillery and tanks, the troops continued to face strong resistance. …

- AP, 6/4/2007

And just what were these “many in Lebanon” smoking? Syrian-sponsored Palestinian terrorist groups have been festering unchecked in Lebanon for years. In fact, “There is a longstanding convention that the army does not enter Lebanon’s 12 Palestinian refugee camps, leaving security inside to militant groups.” Today, fighting between the Lebanese army and Palestinian terrorists spread to a second refugee camp, Ein el-Hilweh. Fighting at the Nahr al-Bared camp in northern Lebanon has been raging for several weeks.

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By Andrew L. Jaffee

Sometimes a person’s (or government’s) guilt can be fathomed by how vehemently that entity objects to accusations, and/or denies its guilt. Case in point: Syrian objections to the UN Security Council’s decision to establish an international tribunal to investigate the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. Laughingly, Syria is claiming to be looking out of the Lebanese people — after ruthlessly occupying the nation for 29 years. From the BBC:

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By Canadian Coalition for Democracies

Ottawa, Canada - As the Lebanese government attempts to bring Palestinian terrorist and their foreign allies based in UN refugee camps under control, serious questions must be asked about the United Nations Relief Works Agency (UNRWA) and its role in supporting and sustaining these armed gangs and their expensive infrastructures. For its part, the Canadian Government must investigate the way its own money and support for UNRWA have been misused to fuel extremism in the region.

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By Andrew L. Jaffee

The current infighting in Lebanon between the Palestinian (Arab) Fatah al-Islam terrorists and Lebanese (Arab) security forces is a stark reminder of the often-ignored plight of Palestinians living in the Arab World. In Lebanon, Palestinians are marginalized, living in ghettos. One of the biggest and most under-reported episodes of ethnic cleansing was the Kuwaiti expulsion of 400,000 Palestinians after the first Gulf War. Palestinians in Kuwait largely supported Saddam Hussein’s 1990 invasion of their host nation. As a result:

…Kuwait severed ties with PLO as a result of the Gulf War fall-out and cut its financial backing.

After Saddam Hussein was driven out, the emirate expelled some 400,000 Palestinians, although a few thousand stayed or have since returned. …

Kuwait is not the only Arab country to expel Palestinians, while Lebanon hasn’t exactly welcomed Palestinians with open arms:

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By Andrew L. Jaffee

When Israel was defending herself from a rain of rockets fired by Lebanese-based Hezbollah terrorists, the Jewish state was accused of using “disproportionate” force. Hmmm… Let’s talk disproportionate and hypocrisy. When Lebanese security forces tried to arrest Palestinian bank robbers hiding in the Nahr al-Bared refugee camp, Fatah al-Islam terrorists, “an Al-Qaeda inspired group,” “attacked army posts at the entrances to the camp. A large force of Lebanese troops hit back, bombarding the camp and storming a building on the outskirts of Tripoli.” Proportionate? On Tuesday, “A UN aid convoy which entered the Nahr al-Bared camp in northern Lebanon has been forced to leave after shells exploded near its vehicles. … There are reports of injuries…” Disproportionate? Today, thousands of refugees are fleeing the fighting in and around the Nahr al-Bared camp. “At least 50 soldiers and militants have died. The civilian toll is unknown.” Proportionate?

I can’t find a news story about Lebanon’s chaos on the BBC without the following disclaimer:

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By Evan Kohlmann*

The explosion of violence this week in the northern, predominantly Sunni Lebanese city of Tripoli has refocused attention on the elusive Fatah al-Islam extremist movement based there, and has led to rampant speculation over the group’s actual motives. While some observers have pointed to the Salafi jihadist ideology of Fatah al-Islam and its vocal support for Al-Qaida, others have accused the group as serving as a proxy for Syrian intelligence in a bid to derail an international investigation of the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.

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By Jonathan Spyer*

Thirty eight people lost their lives on Sunday in fierce fighting between the Lebanese military and Sunni jihadist operatives near the Nahr al-Bared Palestinian refugee camp, close to the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli. This outbreak of violence represents the heaviest toll in intra-Lebanese violence since the conclusion of the Lebanese civil war of 1975-90. The events in Nahr al-Bared cast light on a side of the Lebanese crisis which has until now been largely ignored by the international media. This is the emergence in recent months of an organization of armed Sunni Islamist operatives in the largely-Sunni north of the country. So far, much of the coverage has suggested that the group in question, known as Fatah al-Islam, may be linked to the al-Qaida network. Nevertheless, informed opinion suggests caution before drawing the simple conclusion that Fatah al-Islam is merely Osama bin-Laden’s latest local franchise.

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by Efraim Inbar*

Israel’s leadership was ill-prepared for the summer 2006 war against Hezbollah. Israeli politicians and planners displayed strategic blindness. While denying the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) victory, they squandered an opportunity to destroy the bulk of Hezbollah’s military presence in southern Lebanon, settle regional scores, enhance Israel’s deterrence, and strengthen Jerusalem’s alliance with Washington.

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By Andrew Cochran*

Information from Lebanon indicates that members of the Lebanese Parliament are coming to Washington this week to meet with Congressmen, and among the visitors will Ghassan Moukheiber and Ibrahim Kenaan, both supporters of Michel Aoun. But over a year ago, Aoun signed a peace treaty with Hezbollah, which in effect makaes Aoun a “material supporter” of the Sh’ite terrorist group.

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By Andrew L. Jaffee

From 1944 to the early 1970s, Lebanon peaceably prospered thanks mainly to Maronite Christians, and Beirut was fondly known as the “Paris of the Middle East.” Yasser Arafat put an end to Lebanon’s peace in 1971. Now the country is under the influence of Arafat’s legacy: Hezbollah and their Syrian and Iranian allies. Lebanon’s Maronites may end up being a footnote in history books:

Christians are fleeing from Lebanon to escape the rise of radical Islam and growing fears that the trend will result in a Sunni-Shi’ite civil war, with minority Christians trapped in the middle.

In a poll to be published next month, nearly half of all Maronites, the largest Christian denomination in the country, said they were considering emigrating. … [Continues below…]

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By Olivier Guitta*

While incidents keep on piling up in Lebanon, precursor signs are pointing to an escalation of the situation triggered by Syria’s allies. First incidents against the international forces of UNIFIL in the South are increasing.

For instance last Sunday Spanish soldiers were attacked with stones by pro Hezbollah villagers in Debbine. Then on Monday it was the turn of French troops, a medical unit composed of doctors and nurses who came to Marun El Ras to treat for free some local villagers. The French were quite violently kicked out by locals favorable to Hezbollah who told them not to come back.

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By Andrew L. Jaffee

“We want culture and education not arms and streets [barricaded with] tyres, for sure. We want to learn and reach our goals and lead a normal life like everyone else.”

Is this so much to ask? For those in Lebanon who want to live a normal life, it is much to ask, as their country is filled with Hezbollah terrorists. There are plenty of Lebanese who want a normal life, as evidenced by the tens of thousands who filled Beirut yesterday to peacefully commemorate the second anniversary of the murder of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. Hezbollah intimidation has not silenced them.

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By Olivier Guitta*

Indeed Hezbollah flags were deployed on February 2 on the Lebanese-Israeli border. According to the site Elaph.com, “militants of Hezbollah deployed this Friday about thirty flags of their party all along the Lebanese-Israeli border. Hoisted on some six meter high poles, the flags are dispersed from Nakoura, on the Mediterranean, to Shebaa in the Eastern sector of south Lebanon,” within a few meters of the blue line marking the border drawn by UNIFIL. This latest action of Hezbollah, realized under the nose of the U.N. peace-keeping forces, seems to be a calculated provocation. Indeed, since the end of hostilities last on August 14, Hezbollah does not have any more official presence in the area ranging between the border and the Litani river, about 25 miles to the north.

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By Andrew L. Jaffee

When Israel was defending its civilian population from Hezbollah rockets last summer, the world condemned the Jewish state’s response as “disproportionate.” The loss of Lebanese lives and infrastructure at the hands of the Little Satan was bemoaned ad nauseam. But now it is Hezbollah who is killing Lebanese, destroying the economy, and trying to overthrow a democratically elected government. Will we see any UN resolutions against Hezbollah? I doubt it. Here’s the result of Hezbollah’s recent “protests” in Lebanon:

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By Andrew L. Jaffee

Syria and Iran’s proxy in Lebanon, the terrorist group Hezbollah, is aiming to overthrow the current Lebanese government. This is nothing new. What is noteworthy is that at least Bloomberg, not exactly a small media outlet, is refreshingly clear about the situation in Lebanon:

Hezbollah, the Shiite Muslim Party aiming to topple Lebanon’s pro-Western government, blocked roads and set barricades alight in a major escalation in ten-weeks of protest. …

“This has nothing to do with democracy or freedom,'’ Samir Geagea, a Christian politician who supports the Siniora government, told Lebanese television. “This has been transformed into a coup d’etat.'’ …

Hezbollah triggered the 33-day summertime war with Israel when it abducted a pair of Israeli solders at the border with the Jewish state. …

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