LEBANON: THE KEY TO SUCCESS

The National Alliance of Lebanese Americans

September 24, 2004

The war on terror has reached a critical juncture that could define the shape of the Middle East and the world for years to come. The Syrian-Iranian led axis that includes Hizbullah, Al-Qaida, Hammas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Taliban, Chechens and other fundamentalist and radical movements has fused all the conflicts in the region into a single counteroffensive designed to:

• Undermine and discredit the policies of the US and Europe.

• Dissuade anyone in the region from cooperating with the US or Europe.

• Encourage bolder and broader defiance.

• Discourage further Western involvement in the region.

• Pave the way for fundamentalism to take power in the region.

Their success, coupled with looming Iranian nuclear weapons and other WMDs in Syria and Iran, can have a disastrous effect on the region and the world. 

As such, failure is not an option. 

A critical element for success is winning the support of the region’s population who are eager to attain freedom and economic mobility and rid themselves from the autocratic regimes that have stifled economic growth and relegated the people into oppressed subjects. As such, the Greater Middle Strategic Initiative, designed to promote freedoms and self-government for regional states, is a proper strategic rationale for current US policy in the Middle East in response to the attacks of September 11, 2001. 

LEBANON

While many of the confrontations require time and extensive resources to resolve, Lebanon’s democratic struggle can and should be resolved quickly, and its resolution will have exceptional psychological and practical effects on all other conflicts in the region.  

Outside of Israel, Lebanon is the only regional country with democratic institutions in existence and a population with a national history and memory of their free operation. Lebanon has a majority of its population, drawn from all confessional groups, which is solidly on the side of the international community and its recent expression contained in UNRES 1559 for Lebanese self-government. This majority is suffering under occupation that is eliminating every element of democracy in the country in clear and open defiance of the international community. As such, restoring genuine self-government in Lebanon will represent a major victory. 

The Syrians have very clearly declared their actions in Lebanon as a key step in defeating the US and undoing its Middle East policy. Hizbullah, emboldened by Syria’s actions, has openly declared that it will not disarm even if the Shebaa farms are returned to Lebanon, but would rather continue their struggle until victory – meaning the defeat of the US in the region, and possibly beyond. 

Lebanon, under Syrian-Iranian occupation and through Hizbullah and other fundamentalist movements, has become a main hub for international terrorism, serving as a training, funding and logistical center for regional and international operation. Eliminating this hub is a major step in defeating terrorism and reasserting the rule of law.  

Should the international community, led by the US and Europe, with the support of most Arab countries, fail to defend the independence and freedom of the only existing functioning republic among the Arabic speaking states in the region in the face of Syrian intransigence, the West would be discredited in local eyes and it would lose its ability to truly effect events or gain local allies anywhere in the region, especially in Iraq. Furthermore, terrorists will retain a critical operations hub from which to launch attacks in Iraq, Israel, US, Europe, Russia and elsewhere in an extended bloody conflict. 

SYRIA’S OCCUPATION STRATEGY

Syria has recently announced plans to re-deploy some troops within Lebanon in advance of the UN Secretary general’s report in a vain effort to placate the international community and avoid conforming to UN resolutions. However, the Syrian announcement in itself is in defiance of the UN, as it is clearly declared to be unrelated to UNSCR1559, and none of the troops are slated to actually leave Lebanon.

Notably, this is the fifth Syrian re-deployment from Lebanon since 2001, with the total declared withdrawals exceeding the original number Syria admitted to have in Lebanon. The numerical anomaly is a clear indication of the deceptive nature of these claims. The Syrians have been attempting to placate the international community and Lebanese opposition by describing every troop rotation in Lebanon as a withdrawal, which effectively leaves the number of troops unchanged. 

Furthermore, Syria has taken advantage of the past 15 years of occupying Lebanon to make its military presence in Lebanon superfluous to the more pervasive occupation apparatus created by a host of laws and agreements designed to guarantee continued Syrian control over Lebanon even after Syria’s regular army withdraws. The process has given Syria control over the livelihood of many Lebanese and allowed them to infiltrate the Government and Military to effectively prevent any meaningful resistance to the pursuit of Syrian interests in Lebanon. 

A key law, introduced by the Syrian occupiers, was the granting of Lebanese citizenship to more than half a million Syrians and others – some estimates run much higher. Those “citizens” along with fundamentalist elements from Hizbullah and other movements have been placed in critical government, military and security posts to insure Lebanese subservience. They are entrusted to prevent and/or disrupt any attempt by the Lebanese to break away from Syria with the potential for institutional paralysis and disintegration. 

Those “citizens” are also bussed from Syria to voting polls, where along with fraudulent manipulation by Syria’s “citizens” and agents in official capacity, they alter election results in ways to insure continued Syrian control over the Lebanese Government.  

In addition, there are serious attempts to grant citizenships to Palestinians even from outside Lebanon who will add to this demographic ethnic cleansing process. 

The Syrians and Iranians have also used their occupation to gain leverage over the livelihoods of a broad spectrum of Lebanese, including politicians and businesspeople. Through economic bi-lateral agreements, fraudulent partnerships under the threat of an occupation force and control of Government institutions, the Syrians now control the lives of many Lebanese to insure compliance with Syria’s dictates.  

THE OPPORTUNITY: The International Rule of Law

By overtly imposing an extension of Lahoud’s presidential term in violation of Lebanon’s constitution and in defiance of UNSCR 1559, Syria has confirmed its role as an occupier in contravention of international law. Syria has unveiled the true nature of its occupation of Lebanon as nothing short of eliminating the country’s independent existence and transforming it into a Syrian province, albeit a seemingly independent province. 

The actions and statements of Syria’s appointees in the current “Lebanese Government” go further to confirm this strategy, when they publicly denounce their right to free choice and insist on Syria’s right to define Lebanese policy and the identity of Lebanese government officials. By declaring Assad’s decisions as an “internal issue,” they confirmed Syria’s policy of Lebanon’s elimination as an independent entity. 

This comes at the tail end of consistent Syrian disregard for international law that included denial of recognition of neighboring countries independence and rejection of all UN resolutions, including those they accuse others of violating. The Syrian regime has systematically violated every UN Resolution related to the Middle East and international terrorism, including 425 and 520 calling for the respect of Lebanon’s sovereignty and forbidding the use of Lebanon to wage attacks against Israel. Syria continues to harbor and support international terrorists sanctioned by the UN and support insurgents in Iraq. And, Syria continues its objective to eliminate the existence of its neighbors, including Lebanon in contravention of UN Resolutions, including 194, 242 and 338.  

The support of the majority of the Arab countries for the US-European sponsored UNSCR 1559 represents a rare opportunity for the international community to act decisively and reassert the rule of international law regarding the rights of nations, human rights, freedoms, democracy and the fight against terrorism. 

By acting under the auspices of the UN and international law, the effort will be afforded the necessary resources and capabilities to insure success. Syria’s trade with Europe and the Arab Gulf states represents more than half its GDP and a much bigger economic lever than trade with the US. France and other European countries have already expressed willingness to deploy their forces in Lebanon to help insure peaceful transformation and assist in rebuilding a democratic Lebanon. 

RECOMMENDATIONS

In light of the above, NALA recommends that the US, together with its allies, act swiftly to bring Syria into compliance with international law, undo its occupation of Lebanon, and shut down the terrorist training camps and support operations. Under the auspices of the UN, Lebanon’s democratic system should be revived as a blue print or paradigm of coexistence and tolerance to guide other regional states toward the same democratic end. 

As such, the executive order relating to SALRA must be fully implemented to bring maximum pressure to bear on Syria and its agents to end their occupation of Lebanon and their support for international terrorism. Of particular importance is the clause calling for freezing the assets of all organizations and individuals assisting or supporting Syria’s occupation of Lebanon or its terror network. 

Syria’s Lebanese “allies”, which provide some cover and assistance to Syria’s occupation and terror operation in Lebanon are merely protecting their personal interest, as they risk severe Syrian retribution if they fail to assist Syria, but only benign US rebukes by assisting Syria. Nevertheless, most of these Lebanese have greater assets and interests within the reach of the US and its allies than within the Syria’s reach. Accordingly, the risk of having these assets frozen would strip Syria of the financial rationale for its hold on Lebanon and therefore substantially weaken its occupation of Lebanon. 

A new UN resolution should also be passed, under Chapter VII[1], holding Syria accountable for violating international law, occupying a member state and violating the human and civil rights of the Lebanese. The resolution should:

• Declare the presence of Syrian troops in Lebanon to be an occupation under international law, with all the attendant consequences that designation entails.[2]

• Demand Syria’s immediate compliance with international law and UN resolutions by withdrawing all its armed forces and security personnel from Lebanon.

• Expand the size and mandate of the UNFIL to include:

• o       Monitoring Syria’s withdrawal from Lebanon.

• o       Monitoring and assisting in the next elections.

• o       Securing and helping disarm Palestinian refugee camps.

• o       Assisting in disarming Lebanese and foreign militias.

• o       Assist in purging Lebanese institutions from occupation agents, including naturalized Syrians, Hizbullah operatives as well as “monitors” and “keepers”.

•  All bi-lateral Lebanese-Syrian agreements and laws relating to Syrian relations enacted during occupation as voidable and demand the suspension of all such laws and agreements until they can be re-evaluated by a freely elected Lebanese Parliament, and either confirmed, amended or rejected. This is to include all new citizenships issued and all subsequent appointments in Government, military and security apparatuses.

• Declare all Government appointments and elections held under Syrian occupation voidable and call for Parliamentary elections immediately following Syria’s withdrawal and the demobilization of militias under UN auspices and within the framework of a fair and equitable law that insures proper representation and the rights of all citizens regardless of place of residency. The current Parliament and Government to remain in a caretaker capacity with no authority to enact laws or sign agreements that alter the nature of Lebanon or its international relations.

• Declare the extension President Lahoud’s mandate to be void and demand that a new president be elected by the next Parliament, as the current Parliament is heavily laden with Syrian appointees and does not properly represent Lebanese will. Lahoud’s term will be extended only until such time as a newly constituted Parliament can conduct an electoral session and elect a successor.

• Demand that Syria formally recognize Lebanon’s independence and arrive at a formal demarcation of the Syrian-Lebanese border, with the new freely elected Government, to be presented to the UN for final settlement of the Shebaa farms border.

NALA Policy Committee: Ziad Nassar, Joseph L Boohaker, Toufic Nassif, Toufic Baaklini, Ghassan Raad, Ramzi Rihani