The Hypocrisy of it All: Fatah al-Islam is a Scapegoat of the Lebanese Government

Many bloggers claim that there is a conspiracy behind Fatah al-Islam's presence in Nahr-el-Bared. Some say that the Syrian government planted it there. Others are claiming that it was from Saudi Arabia. The Arab world is well-known for a notable belief in conspiracy theories, but many of those theories that deal with issues within the Arab world have been found to be true or obvious... That is, the conspiracies don't turn out to be conspiracies after all.

One of the most famous conspiracies was the support of Saddam on part of the U.S. as he rose to power and fought against Iran. It turned out that the entire Western world... well, almost... knew about this. And then there was the support of AQ and the Taliban in its first days against the USSR in Afghanistan. After all this, we now have Fatah al-Islam. As I flipped through the channels, I heard of a Democracy NOW! interview with Seymour Hersh(1), a notable journalist who writes for The New Yorker (2). Seymour Hersh asserts that Fatah al-Islam has nothing to do with Syrian intelligence and has no ties with the Palestinian cause, regardless of their emtpy-worded goal "to liberate Jerusalem". The Lebanese government, now officially one of the most incompetent and most goon-ridden governments in the Mid-East, is repeatedly throwing empty and unfounded accusations at Fatah al-Islam for being agents of Syria's equally-ghoulish government. They also claim that they are responsible for most of Lebanon's ills at the moment.

Or are they? The Bush Doctrine is apparently evident in Lebanon, the same way it is present in the Israeli govt. and army. Fatah al-Islam was actually supported by Lebanon at first. Hersh puts this in perspective of the more grand scheme of neocon interests in the region, involving both Iran and Hizbullah, two Shi'ite parties in Lebanon. He claims that the U.S. government

made -- I think the article is called “The Redirection.” There was a major change of policy by the United States government, essentially, which was that we were going to -- the American government would join with the Brits and other Western allies and with what we call the moderate Sunni governments -- that is, the governments of Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Egypt -- and join with them and with Israel to fight the Shia.

This is similar in Iraq, actually, with the many groups, including Sadr's militia and Sunni groups, being pitted against each other. The euphemism for such a dastardly and sinister policy is "Divide and Conquer" (3).

One of the major goals for America, of course, was the obsession the Bush White House has with Iran, and the other obsession they have is, of course -- is in fear -- is of Hezbollah, the Party of God, that is so dominant in -- the Shia Party of God that’s so dominant in southern Lebanon that once -- and whose leader Hassan Nasrallah wants to play a bigger political role and is doing quite a bit to get there and is in direct confrontation with Siniora.

That's probably because Siniorita is just another bootlicker of Condoleeza Rice, as with Mahmoud Abbas and other politicians in the region. In the end, those who serve U.S. interests are always backed.

And so, you have a situation where the Sunni government, pretty much in control now, the American-supported Sunni government headed by Fouad Siniora, who was a deputy or an aide to Rafik Hariri, the slain leader of Lebanon, that government has -- we know, the International Crisis Group reported a couple years ago that the son Saad Hariri, the son of Rafik Hariri, who’s now a major player in the parliament of Lebanon, he put up $40,000 bail to free four Sunni fundamentalists, Jihadist-Salafists -- which you will -- who were tied directly to -- you know, this word “al-Qaeda” is sort of ridiculous -- they were tied to jihadist groups. And God knows, al-Qaeda, in terms of Osama bin Laden, doesn’t have much to do with what we’re talking about. These are independently, more or less, you can call them, fanatical jihadists.

Fatah al-Islam is inextricably tied with Al-Qaeda. There's no doubt about that, and it's also true that the Lebanese government, via neocon supporters like that pitiful excuse of a man Saad el-Hariri (I wouldn't be surprised if the tribunal found him guilty of murdering his dad or be linked to that fateful Valentine's Day assassination of one of Lebanon's more prestigious and no-nonsense leaders), supported Fatah al-Islam. And apparently, the Lebanese are not alone.

And so, the goal -- part of the goal in Lebanon, part of the way this policy played out, was, with Saudi help, Prince Bandar -- if you remember him -- we remember Prince Bandar, the Saudi prince, as a major player in Iran-Contra and also in the American effort two decades ago -- if you remember, we supported Osama bin Laden and other jihadists in Afghanistan against the Russians, and that didn’t work out so well. Well, we run right back to the well again, and we began supporting some of these jihadist groups, and particularly -- in the article, I did name Fatah al-Islam.

What? Saudi Arabia's Ambassador to the States? That's right, as it has been said also over the airwaves that he himself could have controlled the situation, and that there is a possibility in controlling them.

The idea was to provide them with some arms and some money and some basic equipment so -- these are small units, a couple hundred people. There were three or four around the country given the same help covertly, the goal being they would be potential enemies of Hezbollah in case of warfare; in case Nasrallah decided to do something physical, get kinetic, in Lebanon, the Sunni Siniora government would have some very tough guys on its side, period. That’s the policy.

Very interesting, but then they robbed a bank and the support backfired on the Lebanese government. Either that, or the accusations of a bank robbery might have been unfounded. There are also rumors that Fatah al-Islam was nothing but a mere scapegoat in the demolishing of the camp, so that the government may plant a base for foreign powers such as the U.S. (4). Worse is that Palestinians fear that there will be another massacre, and the misery of the Palestinians living there and leaving the camp is all too evident in indicating that such an incident, or a micro-representation of it, already happened(5); sources also claim that UNRWA built shelters outside the camp, which only confirms the fears of a massacre (6).

But let me get something straight here: it's apparent that Fatah al-Islam is nothing but a scapegoat and a tool not of Syrian intelligence, but of U.S. Interests. They've been planted in that camp and have been used as an excuse to pound the camp to rubble. And while their actions are not condonable, the Lebanese Army has defiled itself of any moral authority as it has indiscriminately shelled a camp, killed innocents and destroyed homes. That even sunk lower when the Lebanese Government and its goons unabashedly and unabatedly and blindly supported the Army's actions against Fatah al-Islam, all the while turning a blind eye to the Palestinians living in that camp. It is incompetence and failure to hold accountability that all but shows not only the sinister motives of the Lebanese Government (actions do speak louder than words, not the other way around), but also the immaturity and incompetence of the Lebanese Government (7). Many Lebanese rightwing groups have openly supported such racist attacks against Palestinians, all in the name of blind Lebanese nationalism. I guess a lot of you who didn't believe my warning about that cancer known as Nationalism have changed your minds about it, eh? (8).

The incompetent, blindly nationalist, and therefore stupid Lebanese government has gone too far this time. However, I, along with many bloggers out there, have this one appeal to those in power (9, originally 10). It reads (thanks, Mr. Abu Khalil),

We, the undersigned:
- Accuse the majority of our Lebanese leaders of using the Palestinian people and its resistance for their sectarian and petty agendas.
- We accuse them of covering up the attack on an over-populated Palestinian-Lebanese camp by using the slogan of ‘sovereignty,” that is often employed in Lebanon against the weak and the poor.
- We accuse them of adhering to a fascist ideology similar to the one that justified the siege of Tal Al-Zaatar and Dbayyeh camps in the mid-seventies, and of adopting Bush’s discourse on terror, as if the Palestinian people as a whole are supposed to carry the burden of a gang that Lebanese authorities themselves admit has no popular base in the camp.
- We accuse them of covering up the creation of a security apparatus that is not subject to the jurisdiction and monitoring of the people and their representatives; just like those, who falsely claim sovereignty today, covered up the security apparatus during the period of the Syrian-regime’s control in Lebanon.
- We accuse the 14 of March group in particular of propagating a project/plan that targets the arms of the Lebanese and Palestinian resistance, while reinforcing the weaponization of sectarian gangs. Such a policy will undoubtedly lead to an intensification of the conflict in Lebanon to the benefit of the Imperialist project spanning Morocco to Afghanistan.
- We accuse part of the ‘opposition’ of standing silent vis-a-vis the plans of the ruling dynasty simply because they are targeting a ‘sect’ that currently has no protection in Lebanon –namely, the Palestinian people. We also accuse part of the opposition of regurgitating the discourse of hostility against the Palestinian people.
- We accuse many of the Lebanese of closing their shelters and schools to the Palestinian refugees escaping from Nahr al-Barid camp, while Palestinian camps had opened their doors wide to the Lebanese displaced during the summer Israeli war on Lebanon.
- We accuse our liberal intellectuals of propagating a discourse of sovereignty and revenge instead of solidarity, citizenship, and true humanity. We accuse them of hypocrisy when they condemn the killing of Israeli civilians, but do not lift a finger at raizing a camp on its inhabitants. In addition, we accuse them of advocating human rights in only one Arab country.
- We accuse Lebanese ‘nationalism’, which attempts to build a country on the shattered pieces of the victims of random bombing of Nahr Al-Barid camp, of despicable racism.
- We condemn some of the Palestinian leadership who due to sectarian, material and shameful interests, have worked to cover up this ongoing war.
- We accuse the fanatical salafis (supported and funded by the same entities that support and fund the current ruling Lebanese government) of spreading hatred, sectarianism, the culture of ‘takfeer’, exclusion, and one-dimensionality.
- We accuse those Lebanese who claim that the American aerial bridge is an innocent or humanitarian act of political naivety at best, and complying with the escalating war at worst.

The good thing about this intellectual appeal and accusation list is that it points the finger at not one but all groups involved, meaning that no one hides from the shelter of immaturity and unaccountability. Based on what was presented above, the letter demands:

1. An end to all acts of war against Nahr al-Barid camp and a rejection to invade the inhabited camp.
2. That the Lebanese Army’s leadership reassert that it is Israel, not the Palestinian people, that is the enemy (not the 'neighbor').
3. A condemnation of the sectarian agitation that has become the normal strategy of the ruling dynasty especially since the north elections in 2005.
4.Working to change the current inhuman circumstances in the Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon, and providing the Palestinian people in Lebanon all civil rights until their eventual return to their homeland, Palestine.
5. Ending all meaningless talk of ‘Lebanese services’ to the Palestinian cause, given that significant political actors in Lebanon have transformed this country into a den of conspiring against the Palestinian cause.
6. That national and democratic parties, loyal to the long history of Lebanese-Palestinian common struggle, take the initiative to save the camp and its inhabitants.

So what does it all come down to?

Simple: politics in the region is simply a matter of using scapegoats and nationalistic labels in order to further justify one's cause. The fact of the matter is that this new "war on terrorism" in Lebanon is nothing but a cover-up for other dastardly deeds, and nothing but a scapegoat on part of the Lebanese Government in order to gain the support it almost never had among the Lebanese people, and to assert that it is "competent" and "able" against all threats to the nation, which, of course, it isn't. The Israel-Lebanon War of Summer 2006 is further testimony to an incompetent government that, like a dog, obeyed the orders of its masters in the neocon administration and silently watched as their nation was ripped to shreds by the Israeli onslaught, despite the overwhelming support for resistance against the Israeli invasion. But the recent chain of events? Absolutely inexcusable and absolutely appalling, and not to mention very hypocritical of the Lebanese government. This sounds a lot like the killing of Saddam in order to assure the American people that Iraq is undergoing "progress" (the life of that butcher, Saddam, as I mentioned before, is not worth the lives of innocents that die daily in Baghdad and all over Iraq, so why should we be so convinced?). Either way, whatever happenned, is happenning and/or will happen is just further assurance that the neocon administration is underhandedly playing with the politics of the region in order to destabilize it... all for the sake of its own selfish interests... at the expense of the thousands if not millions of Arabs, Afghans, Asians, Somalis, or whoever stands in the way of neocon interests. The events in Lebanon are testimony to this... "conspiracy".

Salaam, from Saracen