Hundreds of Palestinian insurgents entering Lebanon from Syria

Lebanese security sources said hundreds of Palestinian insurgents have crossed the Syrian border into Lebanon over the past two weeks. The sources said the insurgents, aided by Syria, have brought large amounts of weapons to their bases in Lebanon.

The government of Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Siniora has asked the United States to help secure the mountainous frontier with physical barriers, lethal platforms and sensors. At the same time, Lebanese troops and police have been deployed along the eastern border with Syria.

On Sept. 28, an FBI delegation began investigating a series of bombings of prominent Lebanese in the Beirut area. The attacks included the car bombing that maimed a Lebanese television journalist. Lebanese sources said fighters from the Syrian-backed Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command have been streaming into Lebanon. The PFLP-GC, headed by Syrian Army Capt. Ahmed Jibril, is the leading Palestinian ally of Damascus. The group has maintained bases in Lebanon despite the Syrian military withdrawal in April 2005. The Lebanese army established 25 border checkpoints and arrested scores of PFLP-GC fighters entering Lebanon's Bekaa Valley from Syria, the sources said. They said, however, that other insurgents have succeeded in resupplying PLFP-GC bases in Dir Al Asher, Naamah as well as the Palestinian refugee camps of Sabra and Shatilla. In response, Jibril has declared an alert and directed commanders to prepare to mobilize forces. Jibril has appealed to other Palestinian factions to confront the Lebanese military.

Siniora said a team of U.S. experts arrived in Beirut to assist the investigation into bombings throughout Lebanon. Lebanese authorities were having difficulty gathering and examining forensic evidence from the attacks, which have been attributed to Syria, Siniora said.

U.S. Ambassador Jeffrey Feltman said the FBI team would provide technical expertise in the investigation of the bombings. He did not elaborate.

Terrorism-for-export returns to Lebanon, courtesy of Syria and Iran

Terrorism-for-export returns to Lebanon, courtesy of Syria and Iran Geostrategy-Direct, www.geostrategy-direct.com, October 11, 2005 After years of resting on his laurels, Ahmed Jibril has been ordered by Syria to reactivate his Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command (PFLP-GC) and begin operations aimed at destabilizing Lebanon and the Palestinian Authority.

Western intelligence sources said Iran and Syria have cooperated in bolstering the PFLP-GC with recruits and weaponry to carry out major attacks in several Mideast states. The sources said the Syrian- sponsored and Iranian-financed group would be used as an extension of Hizbullah for dirty tricks operations against the new government of Prime Minister Fuad Siniora and regimes in neighboring Israel, Jordan and the PA.

"Both Iran and Syria want to provoke a crisis that would ease the Western pressure as well as create a dependency on these countries," an intelligence source said. "That's where Jibril comes in."

Jibril is one of the most brutal terrorists in the Middle East. More importantly, Jibril, a captain in the Syrian Army, has been willing to do the exact bidding of either Iran or Syria.

Jibril has been directing hundreds of Palestinians to cross the border from Syria to Lebanon, the sources said. Many Palestinians have abandoned their menial jobs for the promise of excellent salaries and the chance to butcher Lebanese. The Palestinians have been bringing weapons, ammunition and explosives in a bid to destabilize Lebanon and turn that country into a base for attacks throughout the region.

The PFLP-GC maintains nearly a dozen bases in Lebanon, most of them in the Bekaa Valley along the Syrian frontier. Most of the bases were established during the 1970s as part of the Syrian occupation of Lebanon and have been used for Syrian reconnaissance and sabotage missions.

Lebanese army forces have sought to block the Syrian campaign with thousands of troops deployed along eastern Lebanon near the Syrian border. Lebanese troops have also fought PFLP-GC and other Palestinian insurgents in northern Lebanon.

Why is this happening now? Syria has been alarmed by the United Nations investigation of the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. The sources said Syrian President Bashar Assad fears that he will come under the types of sanctions that Libya endured in the 1990s after the downing of the Pan Am passenger jet over Lockerbie, Scotland. The sanctions were not removed until after Libyan ruler Moammar Khaddafy surrendered two intelligence agents for trial in The Netherlands.

"Syria is not Libya," an intelligence source said. "If Assad is forced to give up any of his people, he will be overthrown by members of his family. It's as simple as that."

Assad appears desperate. He plans to lobby such allies as China, India and Russia to stop the UN investigation, which has a deadline of Dec. 15.

The investigation by UN envoy and German prosecutor Detlev Mehlis is expected not only to blame Syria for Hariri's assassination, but to name senior Syrian military officers and officials as culprits.

The main culprit could be Assad's younger brother, Maher. Maher has refused to meet with UN investigators.

Iran has been happy to help Syria. Quietly, Iran has been increasing its hold over Assad and the ruling family in Damascus. Iran wants to ensure that the panicky Assad does not make a deal with the United States as Khaddafy did.

Already, Iran has been transferring stipends to key Syrian military officers who could be counted on to stage a coup. At the same time, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, with an office in Beirut, has been helping foment instability in Lebanon and working with Syrian military officers and Jibril to assassinate opponents to Damascus. The one most likely behind this campaign is IRGC foreign operations chief Qassem Suleimani.

The new Siniora government in Lebanon has appealed to the United States for help. The Bush administration is ready to finance training and equipment to Syrian forces and to deploy military personnel to help advise and mentor the Lebanese army.

But Iran and Syria plan to torpedo such a move. Hizbullah members of parliament have warned against any U.S. aid, and intelligence sources said Iran could help foment unrest in Lebanon's military.

But Jibril has his sights set beyond Lebanon. He wants to resettle his organization in the Gaza Strip where he can have much greater independence from Iran and Syria. Jibril has met with Egyptian officials for permission to enter the Gaza via the Sinai Peninsula. Jibril plans to send a delegation from his terror group to the Gaza Strip over the next few weeks to examine the feasibility of sending hundreds of operatives to the PA.

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