Lebanon (all aspects)

[davidbfpo]

A fascinating, horrible Vice documentary from Tripoli, Lebanon's second city which illustrates how a city - in places - has become the fiefdom of the new warlords, barons et al:https://news.vice.com/video/the-warlords-of-tripoli

The Vice summary:

The war in Syria is dragging neighboring Lebanon to the edge of the abyss, and nowhere is the growing chaos more stark than in the second city of Tripoli. Sunni militants aligned with the Syrian rebels frequently clash with fighters from the city's encircled Alawite minority, who support the Assad regime, in bitter street fighting the country's weak government is powerless to stop. With the rule of law no longer in effect in Tripoli, warlords like Sunni commander Ziad Allouki are now the city's real rulers, so VICE hung out with him and his fighters for a week to discover why they're fighting, and whether the country really is on the brink of civil war.

I know the politics and human terrain of the Lebanon are complex. In some of the interviews the warlords explain all too well, including the fact the Sunnis fought Syria during its occupation and now support Bashir Assad.

The clip where the Lebanese Army arrive amidst an exchange of gunfire is horrible. The shooting stops and several trapped civilians then escape into the Sunni area, as the Army drive off a 50cal opens up on the Alawite enclave.

Shortly afterwards as night draws in the reporter leaves in a car and within minutes, if not three city blocks, is a very different city, brightly lit, people walking about and no gunfire.

There is an existing thread on the Lebanon (94 posts & 36k views):http://council.smallwarsjournal.com/...ead.php?t=2967

[jcustis]

VICE makes for some pretty insightful and powerful reporting. The format definitely shapes the discussion differently than anything else out there I have seen.

But are those guys warlords in the classic sense? It doesn't look like there is much to be gained in those few square blocks.

[davidbfpo]

VICE makes for some pretty insightful and powerful reporting. The format definitely shapes the discussion differently than anything else out there I have seen.

Yes I would agree. I did find their latest offering on ISIS strained credibility, but when you consider the restrictions placed upon them it is easier to understand.

This is reflected in the linked critique, which ends with:

Either way, Vice News has produced the most compelling coverage of this new war so far.

Link:http://www.spectator.co.uk/arts/tele...ion-insurgent/

But are those guys warlords in the classic sense? It doesn't look like there is much to be gained in those few square blocks.

I couldn't think of a suitable adjective, so yes 'warlord' is not the best term. From the film it was clear they had power to defend and rescue; with an element of pay-back in being charitable. The film did not make clear where the money came from for all their activity.

In extreme civil situations the most unlikely defender can emerge. Often they are people who know violence and recognise an opportunity to become respected. Though the closing segment with a group leader lamenting the situation as his young daughters played with his sidearm indicated self-doubt.

[OUTLAW 09]

LEBANON: Hassan Nasrallah's speech this morning at commemoration ceremony for Hezb fighter killed in #Syria. Some choice quotes:

Hezbollah has fought "for 30 years on the border with Palestine and have now gone to Sahl al-Ghab... to Hama, Idlib, Latakia, and Aleppo."

Hezbollah's presence "is larger than ever before, qualitatively, quantitatively, in equipment, b/c we are in a critical & definitive battle"

Why? Because both projects -- Zionist and takfiri -- want to achieve the same result: destroying our peoples and our societies."

The battle is open & it may be long. But with blessing of our perseverance, we have been able to protect these countries & this region."

Their fate would have been what the people of Mosul, Salahuddin, Anbar, Raqa, and Deir Ezzor are living now."

"Without the resistance on the ground confronting Daesh and its brothers, from Iraq, to Syria, to Lebanon, where would the region be today?"

We began confronting the takfiri project, which threatens the region & the world & wants to destroy everything: humans, life, societies..."

[OUTLAW 09]

Arsal Syrian refugee camps in Lebanon covered with snow need urgent fuel & food supplies.
https://youtu.be/LCSZb4Fj_I0

[OUTLAW 09]

KSA is now using their financial power as a "hard power" and letting Lebanon feel that they are in fact a version of Iran with Hezbollah and Amal existing within it's borders......

Should have been done ages ago, that country has become Iran lite-
Saudi withdraws all assets in Lebanese banks closed all bank accounts

[OUTLAW 09]

KSA now showing their Islamic Army leadership .....they view the Lebanon to be an Iran lite......their own version of KSA non linear warfare hard at work....

[BREAKING/EXCLUSIVE] Top GCC source to me just now: Saudi and UAE are about to withdraw their funds from Lebanese Central Bank.

NNA - Commenting on Saudi Arabia's decision to halt its aids to the Lebanese army and security forces, "Lebanese Forces" chief Samir Geagea on Friday held Hezbollah responsible for "losing billions of dollars" as a result of its permanent attack on Saudi Arabia.

Geagea called in a tweet on the government to instantly convene to take the appropriate measures in this regard, either through officially asking Hezbollah to desist from attacking the Kingdom from now on, or to dispatch an official delegation to the Kingdom to ask Saudi Arabia to activate once more its frozen aids.

[davidbfpo]

Saudi Arabia is halting a $3bn (£2.1bn) military aid package to Lebanon, as part of what one Saudi official called a "reassessment" of relations.The state-run Saudi Press Agency said the money was to be used by the Lebanese army to buy French weapons.A $1bn deal to equip the internal security forces is also being stopped.

Link:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-35614917

Hardly unexpected.

[OUTLAW 09]

Lebanese Minister of Justice @Ashraf_Rifi resigns from the Government, says he won't be a part of an Iranian statelette in #Lebanon.

[davidbfpo]

A rare commentary on the peculiar relationship between the Lebanese Army (LAF), Hezbollah and UNIFIL in Southern Lebanon by an Australian academic. In summary:

Following civil war, re-establishing the legitimacy of a state’s army is a crucial part of security sector reform and international actors can aid this process. The capacity-building work of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon provides a useful example of this.

Link:https://sustainablesecurity.org/2016...sector-reform/

[davidbfpo]

A commentary by a SME I recognise; the Lebanon rarely get such coverage and there is a lot on Hezbollah:https://www.opendemocracy.net/north-africa-west-asia/neil-partrick/lebanon-in-eye-of-regional-storm?

[davidbfpo]

I suppose the official relationship between the USA and Lebanon's Army meant this could happen, plus some of the stranger SOF deployments in Syria between rival factions was a sign.

From an Israeli newspaper and their headline:

U.S. Special Forces in Lebanon Prepare to Fight ISIS – Alongside Hezbollah? The Americans are training with the Lebanese army, while Hezbollah is gearing up to fight ISIS.

Link:http://www.haaretz.com/amp/us-news/1.805446

[davidbfpo]

Updates, first a truce and now a ceasefire after the last post from the mountains along Lebanon's eastern border via the BBC.
Link:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-41065305

Plus a very astute PR photo by the Lebanese Army:
Link:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-40990487