War (of Words) with Syria
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Wednesday, May 07, 2003
[The bomb suspects are not a new story. The American-related targets are not new. The link between the bomb suspects and a threat against a specific American official is new. This comes on the heels of a conviction related to al Queda, making it the second "War on Terror" story out of Lebanon since Powell's visit on Saturday. Are we seeing a State v. DoD media war?]
Lebanon Says Bomb Suspects Tried To Kill US Envoy
MSNBC via Overseas Security Advisory Council -- May 7
BEIRUT, May 7 — Lebanese officials said on Wednesday that suspects detained for a series of bomb attacks on Western targets had also tried to kill the U.S. ambassador to the country. In a statement, the army said it had arrested several members of a network blamed for a string of bombings at fast food restaurants over the last year, and accused them of a "failed attempt to assassinate the ambassador of a major power."
A senior security official said the U.S. ambassador to Lebanon had been the target. An embassy spokesperson declined to comment immediately on the report.
"The army intelligence directorate, with the cooperation of the security apparatus of brotherly Syrian forces working in Lebanon, was able to apprehend a number of those who took part in the blasts and other previous terrorist acts," the army statement said.
The Lebanese army said at the weekend it had arrested the head of the network blamed for bombings of fast food restaurants, including a large car bomb which failed to explode outside a Beirut McDonalds in April.
[Another story on UN comments regarding Hezbollah in south Lebanon -- with background and analysis.]
Goksel: Army effectively deployed in South
Official says hizbullah partly to thank for calm
The Daily Star -- May 6
Nicholas Blanford
The Lebanese Army is already deployed effectively along the border with Israel and, with Hizbullah’s help, is responsible for the prevailing calm in South Lebanon, a senior UNIFIL official says.
Timur Goksel told The Daily Star that Hizbullah’s contribution toward months of peace and quiet in southern Lebanon “cannot be ignored at all.”
The veteran peacekeeper’s assertion is certain to be controversial, coming amid strong calls by the United States for Hizbullah to be removed from the border district and replaced by army troops.
[snip]
Goksel said that the calm along the border was due to the tight coordination between the military and Hizbullah.
“As far as I am concerned, (the army) is already in South Lebanon, very much so,” Goksel said. “Today’s calm in South Lebanon is due to the Lebanese Army, Lebanese intelligence and Hizbullah … Hizbullah’s local intelligence-gathering has no match. Their input cannot be ignored at all.”
[A brief tangent into another Arab country which has a complicated relationship with the US.]
Saudi Arabia: The pendulum swings
Asia Times -- May 7
By Syed Saleem Shahzad
KARACHI - The road map for peace in the Middle East envisages as a final destination an independent Palestinian state. But along the way, it will also certainly call for the curtailment of organizations such as Hamas and the Islamic Jehad, which in turn will put pressure on the main sponsor of these groups, Saudi Arabia.
Over the past few months, sections of the Saudi media, some circles of the royal family and the clergy and intellectuals have speculated that after Iraq, the US is determined to bring Saudi Arabia to heel.
[A nuanced analysis of the subtleties of Lebanese politics and the complex history of the Israeli-Lebanese conflict over the past two decades.]
Lebanese Leaders Siding With Terrorists
Wheeling News-Register -- May 6
Lebanese leaders apparently weren't listening when President Bush, during the days after Sept. 11, 2001, warned that nations not with the United States in the war against terrorism will be counted as against us.
Secretary of State Colin Powell on Saturday sought Lebanon's cooperation in eliminating a serious threat to peace in the Middle East. Specifically, Powell asked that Lebanese armed forces be moved into the country's southern area to replace a large contingent of Hezbollah fighters now in that region.
Hezbollah, a terrorist group supported by both Syria and Iran, has as its primary goal the destruction of Israel. Period. The presence of hundreds of Hezbollah fighters on the border between Lebanon and Israel gives the terrorists easy access to their enemy. It makes terrorist assaults against Israelis much easier for Hezbollah.
But Powell was told in no uncertain terms that Lebanon will not cooperate.
In rebuffing the United States, Lebanese leaders also are thumbing their noses at the United Nations, which also has sought removal of the Hezbollah forces.
Clearly, Lebanese leaders have chosen to side with terrorism. They should receive one more reminder that nations supporting terror become enemies of the United States. Then, U.S. leaders should ask the United Nations to impose sanctions against Lebanon.
Tel Aviv bombing trail leads to Damascus
Jane's Terrorism Intelligence Center -- May 6
By Alon Ben-David
Israeli Intelligence sources allege that Hanif and Sharif first met one another in Damascus. Hanif, believed to have been activated there, arrived in Damascus for the last time five months ago, while Sharif was alleged to have been activated in the UK and traveled to Syria in March. The men were met in Damascus by Hamas representatives, Israeli intelligence claims, but received training from another group, possibly Hizbullah or Al-Qaeda.
The explosives used in the bombing were also prepared in Syria, Israeli intelligence believes, but were probably brought into Israel by a third party. JTIC has learned that the explosive content of the devices was a rare form of plastic explosive nicknamed 'datasheet'. When flattened into thin leaves and disguised as pages of a book, this form of explosive is completely undetectable by X-ray machines and is difficult to identify even with a trained eye.
Nearly $1-billion taken from Iraq bank still missing
AP via The Globe and Mail -- May 6
Washington — Treasure Department officials say they don't know where roughly $900-million (U.S.) that was removed from Iraq's Central Bank shortly before the United States began bombing Baghdad has been taken.
The New York Times reported that Saddam Hussein ordered the money be taken from the Central Bank and sent his son Qusai to grab the cash in the middle of the night.
A U.S. Army Special Forces officer, Colonel Ted Seel, said intelligence indicated that a convoy of tractor trailers crossed the border into Syria, but that the contents of the trucks was unknown, the Times report said.
Lebanese Army Already Deployed in South: UN
Deutsche Presse-Agentur • Reuters
Arab News -- May
BEIRUT, 7 May 2003 — A United Nations spokesman based in southern Lebanon said yesterday the Lebanese Army was effectively deployed in the region. “As far as I am concerned, (the army) is already deployed in south Lebanon,” said UN Interim Forces in Southern Lebanon spokesman Timor Goksel.
He said the Hezbollah resistance group had contributed to the relatively calm situation in southern Lebanon over the past few months.
[Another angle on the previous story.
The original arrests were in September, and the convictions came two
days after Powell's visit.]
Lebanon convicts Australian over "terror" links
Reuters -- May 6
BEIRUT - A Lebanese military court has jailed four men including an Australian for three years on "terror" charges after they were arrested on suspicion of links to the al Qaeda network, judicial sources said on Tuesday.
The sources said the men were convicted on Monday of forming a "terrorist group" to carry out criminal acts and undermine state authority.
Mohamed Ramez Sultan, an Australian-Lebanese dual national, had denied to the court he had any links to Osama bin Laden's militant Islamic network, although Lebanese prosecutors said he had admitted belonging to al Qaeda during questioning.
Al-Qaida suspects convicted in Lebanon
UPI -- May 6
BEIRUT, Lebanon -- A Lebanese military court has handed down prison sentences of hard labor to eight people convicted of trying to form an al-Qaida cell in the country, judicial sources said Tuesday.
The ruling marked the first time Lebanese authorities have confirmed any attempt by al-Qaida to infiltrate Lebanon.
[An analysis of Powell's interaction with Syria.]
Powell and Syria
Beirut Calling -- May 5
A spot analysis of Colin Powell's visit to Syria and Lebanon seems in order. Officially, Powell came with a list of items for the Syrians that included putting an end to their support for Palestinian groups the Bush administration considers terrorist organizations, ending Hezbollah attacks against Israel in the disputed Shebaa Farms area of southern Lebanon, giving up members of the former Iraqi regime, and ending the development of weapons of mass destruction. Powell went further, saying the Syrians would be judged on their actions, not words. That was the official line.
Unofficially, things were different. Powell came to Syria to essentially tell Bashar Assad, "Look, I'm the best you have now. Scratch my back and I'll scratch yours. Otherwise, those cranks at the Pentagon will have a shot at you." What did Powell mean by having his back scratched? I suspect some relatively cosmetic action on the Palestinian groups that might include closing their Damascus offices, but not expelling their leaders. On Hizbullah, it might mean ensuring the party will cease its attacks against Israel, or make them rare indeed, while also beefing up Lebanese army troops in the border area.