Crossfire War – TEHRAN – DAMASCUS – RIYADH WATCH – West Asia Theatre: Tehran – Riyadh – Amman – Ein al-Hilweh – Nahr al-Bared/Beirut – Sidon – Paris – Rome – Jerusalem – Cairo; Palestinian Militants in Nahr Al-Bared Fire Katyusha Rockets At Northern Lebanon – New Group Has Entered War
Night Watch: NAHR AL-BARED – Sources from Debka reported Palestinian militants based in Nahr al-Bared received their first delivery of Katyusha rockets last week. The rockets were sent through Lebanon’s Beqaa Valley, which is along Lebanon’s eastern border with Syria. Debka had been mentioning, ever since this fighting began on May 20, that other Islamic fighters were being sent into Lebanon, either to reinforce the suicide unit Fatah al-Islam, that began the war or the militants, more than a thousand of them were entering Beqaa and they were not lightly armed. One of the units is named the Democratic Front led by the elderly Nayef Hawataneh. Tehran-Damascus have armed them as heavily as Iran-Syria have been arming Hezbollah for years. It was of course Hezbollah, which became active in the south last summer for 34 days beginning July 12, but this year it has been Fatah al-Islam ever since May 20, the war is well into its eighth week and it is not about to end. [DEBKA]
According to the latest reports, including from Reuters, three salvos of Katyushas have been fired so far, a total of 11 rockets. Five of them landed on the plains of Arqa and Beit Hadara in northern Akkar province. Three in Minieh and Deir Emar district and three more on the highway between Lebanon and the Syria border. The Katyusha has a range of 12 miles, but their have been reports, even before last year’s war, there could be some longer range ones of nearly 20 miles. You can use the search engine and just type in Katyusha to find out. [SWISSINFO]
In the meantime, the suicide group Fatah al-Islam conducted an attack on a Lebanese Army post and lost fifteen men. That could be an example of the unit’s last actions before martyrdom. Tehran did not establish these units for the cause of peace and stability. Islamic terrorists have long been the vanguard of Tehran’s foreign policy and they have been and are being used to prepare the events that are leading to (f)allout warfare, directed mostly at the West and India (in support of Pakistan and the Muslims in Kashmir). This is why Damascus told its citizens in Lebanon recently to leave Lebanon, because Syria knew the war would intensify this week and spread all over the country. Damascus also knows this war is not mostly directed at Israel, but at the European units in UNIFIL and against the government of Prime Minister Fouad Siniora, who has been under siege in Beirut since December because of the street demonstrations demanding a more representative government.
What has been especially telling is the political coalition leading the demonstration includes Christian nationalists led by former general Michel Aoun, and they no longer want Paris-Rome or the West to control Lebanon’s decision making and economy anymore, because the West can be even more dictatorial than Iran, especially since Paris keeps demanding Lebanon owes them an enormous amount of debt from the fifteen year civil war in Lebanon from 1975-90 that was started by a militia group connected to Paris the Maronite Catholics. However, most political groups in Lebanon and Islamic governments in the region, no longer believe the creation of Lebanon should continue to exist. It was created by the French in 1920 and was never accepted or even officially recognized by Damascus. The only government in the region still desperately hoping Siniora and the West can save Lebanon is Egypt President Hosni Mubarak since he is seriously threatened by the same political-military forces, in and around Egypt as Siniora.
Crossfirewar.com has stated constantly that Tehran was much more of a threat to Islamic governments still working with the West than Iran is to Jerusalem. There is no market for salt in the Dead Sea, but there is for Beirut’s extensive international banking network.
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