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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| Al-Qaida in south Lebanon with Iran & Syria's approval |
| 2007-03-08 |
| Al-Qaida has begun to infiltrate fighters in parts of southern Lebanon, replacing Hezbollah militants who were forced out of the area by Israel during last summer's violent clashes, said a well-informed Arab politician who spoke on condition of anonymity. Still, the source said, this deployment of Islamist militants to south Lebanon is being carried out "with the discreet approval of Iran and Syria." Tehran and Damascus hope this will give them greater bargaining power in negotiating with the West over Iran's nuclear dossier and the ongoing investigation and pending trial into the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, in which Syrian officials are prime suspects. He added that the situation in south Lebanon was very "concerning," and was worrying moderate Arab leaders in the region who fear that with al-Qaida combatants now in striking distance of Israel, the situation in the Middle East could take a turn for the worst at any moment. This new development is also very worrisome to countries that have contributed large number of troops to the upgraded UNIFIL, the United Nation Interim Force in Lebanon, particularly Italy and France. One major concern is that the UNIFIL troops could become targets of al-Qaida should either Syria or Iran ever wish to pressure France or Italy or any other contributing nation. France, for example, fears its contingent in southern Lebanon could become the target of attacks as a result of Paris' support for the Lebanese government and the international community to have an international tribunal examine the assassination of Hariri. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #1 "...France, for example, fears..." Yup. France fears. That about sums it up, don't it? |
| Posted by: AlanC 2007-03-08 15:21 |