The Tripoli Explosion: Muslim Fundamentalists Or Syria?
Like in the aftermath of many terrorist activities before it, the Lebanese will be divided over who is behind the bus bombing in the northern city.
(Reuters)
Whenever a terrorist event like the bus explosion in Tripoli this morning takes place, the Lebanese, depending on their biases, immediately look in two different directions.
Two culprits
Those who are inclined to see the destructive hands of Syria at play can’t help but notice that whenever an important event is about to take place (large anti-syrian demo, the first ever sovereign presidential visit to damascus in today’s case), someone somewhere kills a lot of innocent people.
As March 14 M.P. Jawad Boulos put it this morning to the VL radio station: “the explosion of Tripoli is a message to president Sleiman that there are forbidden topics in today’s meeting with the Syrian president”
On the other hand, there are many who believe that all the ills emanating from the north are the doings of Muslim fundamentalist terrorists, monsters who were recently propped-up by the Sunni wing of March 14 (Hariri’s Almustaqbal Movement) in an ill-advised effort to counter Shiaa ascendancy in the form of Hezbollah.
In the eyes of this group, the terrorists are carrying out their revenge against the Lebanese army who put them to their knees and humiliated them during the Naher Al Bared showdown.
So which of the two culprits is really behind the bombing?
The Syrians might have encouraged Monday’s black-draped fundamentalist demonstration to prime the Lebanese into an anti-fundamentalist mood. Moreover, the coincidence of the bombing and the President’s visit to Syria is just too strong to ignore.
Yet on the other hand, the fundamentalists could have really been behind this, and Monday’s demonstration could have been a warning.
The true answer is: We don’t really know and we’ll unfortunately have to wait for the ever sterile investigations to tell us.
Do you have an opinion about this? Who do YOU think is behind the Tripoli explosions?
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Hello, my name is Mustapha and I blog in The Beirut Spring about Lebanese society and politics. I started in February 2005 after the killing of P.M. Rafik Hariri.
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[...] at Beirut Spring points to the divisions that sprout in the Lebanese political arena as well as among citizens [...]
aren’t you giving the fundie’s too much credit here?
first who the hell bombs his community and support base? secondly the only fundy ass-hats who talk the talk and walk the walks are in iraq. tripoli “incidents” started when they (sunni’s) clashed with their northern neighbors.
this paranoia against handful of bearded cross-dressers is humorous
There is an ongoing effort to keep Tripoli in a chaotic state and it is definitely a challenge to the Sunnis as much as the army and security forces to keep things under control, but the more that these things happen the more likely that the conflict will degenrate into more chaos and bloodshed.
March 14th’s Al Qaida proxy is obviously responsible. You’re a liar for suggesting it could be syria, who would have no interest in bombing a military bus.
” YOU MAY BE A TALIBAN….IF…….”
(be carfull lebanon – this may be you someday)
1. You refine heroin for a living, but you have a moral objection to beer.
2. You own a $3,000 machine gun and $5,000 rocket launcher, but you can’t
afford shoes.
3. You have more wives than teeth.
4. You wipe your butt with your bare left hand, but consider bacon
‘unclean.
5. You think vests come in two styles: bullet-proof and suicide.
6. You can’t think of anyone you haven’t declared Jihad against.
7. You consider television dangerous, but routinely carry explosives in your clothing.
8. You were amazed to discover that cell phones have uses other than setting off roadside bombs.
9. You’ve ever uttered the phrase, ‘I love what you’ve done with your cave.
10. You have nothing against women and think every man should own at least one.
11. You bathe at least monthly whether necessary or not.
12. You’ve ever had a crush on your neighbor’s goat.
There are many parties both internal and external who have motives to commit this heinous act. I doubt thought that the fundamentalists are behind this cowardly attack.
Syria could be the culprit with Lebanese hands and agents. This is a message to the citizens of Tripoli, the security forces and the president of Lebanon.
One question needs to be asked: Who benefits the most from chaos and weak military and civil institutions in Lebanon?
The answer is clear!
It was fundamentalists, but fundamentalists controlled by Syria, same as Fatah al-Islam.
Their strategy of destabilizing Tripoli is clear. The Sunnis in Lebanon form the backbone of the anti-Syrian March 14 Movement. If the Sunnis are split and broken down, the anti-Syrian camp in Lebanon will be in disarray, clearly to Syrian benefit.
In the 1980’s, the obstacle to Syrian domination in Lebanon was the Christian community. The Syrians successfully split them (Aoun-Geagea), and as a result, obtained full control over Lebanon, and the Christians in Lebanon have yet to recover from this.
The same thing is happening today. The obstacle to the return of Syrian hegemony in Lebanon is the Sunni Community. The Christians and Druze in this alliance are vitally important, but the Sunni’s are its backbone and main strength. Thus, we are seeing a repeat of the 1980’s here. The Syrians want to split and thus weaken the Sunnis, which will allow them to regain their hegemony over Lebanon.
The Future Movement is well aware of this, but it is a very delicate situation, and the Syrians have many cards to play.
Lebanon offers a great playing field for puzzle enthusiasts, conspiracy theorists and others with an enthusiasm for “who dunit?” type of challenges. There are a sufficient number of groups who profit from instability in the region and who feel that they will gain. The main players here are Syria, Hezbullah, Salafist gangs – all of the above, none of the above. Instability is derived from weakness and, given that the army is the supposed protector of the nation, they are an easy target. The army is weak (and there are a sufficient amount creepy, crawly types who want to make sure it stays that way) and that is reinforced big time by a government in name only. Somehow, in some way, Lebanon has to (magically and quickly) come up with a first class fighting force and security apparatus. Possibly, at this point in history, a military coup is preferential to democracy (or, in Lebanon’s case, total anarchy). Turkey is an example of one of the better types of a strong military keeping politicians on the straight and narrow. Not to worry. The Lebanese army is in no shape at present to carry out any form of an organized, efficient and successful operation involving far less complicated situations. The short term outlook looks bleak.
[...] This leaves the door open for making one’s case on who benefits the most from the confrontation between the Lebanese Army and the Islamists. One line of thought, shared by most Tripolitans who support the Future Movement, is advanced by many editorialists, columnists in English and in Arabic, bloggers and commentators on this blog. [...]
[...] This leaves the door open for making one’s case on who benefits the most from the confrontation between the Lebanese Army and the Islamists. One line of thought, shared by most Tripolitans who support the Future Movement, is advanced by many editorialists, columnists in English and in Arabic, bloggers and commentators on this blog. [...]
Much the interesting has found here