Amid purely internal concerns, attention focused on the violence earlier this week in Ain al-Hilweh. Questions were asked about the link between the Palestinian factions in the camp and members of Islamic cells who were arrested several weeks ago in connection with reported plots to assassinate US Ambassador Vincent Battle and bomb the US Embassy in Awkar. Security sources see a strong link between these terrorist cells, particularly in Tripoli and Akkar, and the Palestinian refugee camp in Ein el-Hilweh, explaining the camp is a source of financing and planning for these cells. Occasionally, they said, it also provides men for military operations outside the camp.
The sources said Al-Qaedaâs presence in Ein el-Hilweh was âweak.â However, all of the Islamic factions in the camp could rapidly turn into Al-Qaeda supporters under the right circumstances, they added. This is one of the main reasons why the Ein el-Hilweh camp is a source of concern for the Lebanese authorities, unlike the cells outside the camp, which are more or less under control. But the sources said the authorities cannot completely prevent operations by cells outside Ein el-Hilweh, like the bombing of McDonaldâs two months ago, but they can reduce their scope. The sources also asserted there was a good deal of cooperation between European and US embassies on the one side, and Syria and Lebanon on the other, in the exchange of information on terrorist activities in Beirut and Damascus. However, the understanding over terrorism did not apply to Hizbullah. The US considers the Lebanese resistance a terrorist organization, while European diplomats object to Hizbullahâs security wing rather than the resistance as a whole. Europeans recognize Hizbullah as a political entity; the US ignores the fact that the resistance is a political party active in Parliament and Lebanese politics generally. Cooperation between Lebanon and Syria to contain terrorist activities is extremely close, sources said. The sources revealed Damascus has recently turned over to the Lebanese authorities two Lebanese, members of terrorist cells accused of plotting to assassinate Battle and bomb the US Embassy.
The recent festivities in Ein el-Hellhole represent a black eye for Lebanon, regardless of how they try to spin it. A supposedly sovreign country permits a sore of pure anarchy to fester, apparently unable to stop it. Al-Qaeda's presence is "weak," but it's there. The Takfir wal-Hijra thugs from Dinnieh have moved in they're trying their best to take over. Syria might see them as tools, but they're not seeing themselves that way. So these turbans continue shooting up everybody in sight, sending out cells of bad guys to blow things up or shoot people, and they can do nothing at all about it, other than provide some intel.
Michael Young has more on this subject, more cogently argued than I can put it. The Blogger link is, as usual, busted, so you have to scroll down... |
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