U.S., Arab allies send aid to Lebanon

U.S., Arab allies send aid to Lebanon

Please take it easy and try to find out 'dark hands' behind this organised conflict. I placed my suspicion earlier in this forum and elsewhere. Now it appears, this conflict was manufactured by the last neo-con Abraham. So, lets make a big effort to find out the truth and expose them.

At outset, the Lebanese government should not have to bomb or use artillery attacks on refugee camps. One media report says the Police was looking for bank robbers who were hiding inside the camp - others are saying (conveniently) some Islamic group linked with Al-Qaida would like to die for their cause! However, they failed to inform us “the cause” and I smell a rat here!

Elliot Abrams’ uncivil war is a good exposure. The following article could be more revealing too! An escalation of this conflict is rewarding for some! Why, do we know?

Remember, Fatah Islam is not a Palestinian group and the local refugees are not in control of the situation and therefore they do not deserve bombings! Most importantly, no one should be rewarded for civilian bombings.

U.S., Arab allies send aid to Lebanon
By BASSEM MROUE, Associated Press Writer 1 hour, 19 minutes ago


TRIPOLI, Lebanon - Military aid from the United States and Arab allies began arriving Friday after Washington said it was rushing supplies to the Lebanese army battling al-Qaida-inspired militants barricaded inside a Palestinian refugee camp in the country's north.

Sporadic gunfire exchanges early Friday punctured the lull in the fighting as the Lebanese army continued to build up around the Nahr el-Bared refugee camp near the port city of Tripoli.
The move appeared to be either a preparation to storm the camp — a maze of narrow streets and tightly packed residential buildings where hundreds of

Fatah Islam militants are holed up — or a tightening of the siege to force them to surrender. Thousands of Palestinian refugees are also trapped inside.

A deputy Fatah Islam leader threatened more violence if the army attacks. Abu Hureira told the pan-Arab Al Hayat daily by telephone that "sleeper cells" in other Palestinian camps and elsewhere in Lebanon were awaiting word for a "violent response."

Although U.S. officials said the military aid to Lebanon had been agreed to before the fighting broke out this week, the speedy shipment Friday marked the first tangible U.S. backing of the Lebanese authorities' fight with the militants.

By early afternoon Friday, a total of five military transport planes landed at the Beirut airport, including one from the U.S. Air Force, two from the Emirates' air force and two Royal Jordanian Air Force planes. Both Jordan and Emirates are close U.S. allies.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Thursday renewed the Bush administration's support for the Lebanese government.

"I certainly hope that the Lebanese government will be able to deal with these extremists," Rice said. "It's just another example of extremists in the Middle East who are trying to destabilize democratic governments."

U.S. military assistance, limited during Syria's control of Lebanon until 2005, increased after last year's summer war between Lebanese Hezbollah militants and Israel.

Hoping that a boosted army could eventually disarm Hezbollah, the U.S. has pledged $40 million in military aid. Lebanon's 70,000-strong army is underarmed and overstretched, with army leaders complaining of a lack of heavy armor, anti-aircraft missiles and the absence of an air force.

At the camp, Lebanese troops entrenched their positions around the camp but did not appear to be attempting to advance. Reinforcements from other regions were also arriving, mostly from elite commando units.

Pentagon official said Thursday that the United States would send ammunition and other equipment to the Lebanese army in a military airlift of eight planes. Many residents of the capital saw Friday's international airlift but the Lebanese military refused to comment.

The fighting in Lebanon, which erupted Sunday when police raided suspected Fatah Islam hideouts in Tripoli while searching for men wanted in a bank robbery, has killed some 50 combatants and many civilians so far.

Thousands of Palestinians — mainly women and children — have fled the camp on the outskirts of Tripoli, but thousands remain inside.

Prime Minister Fuad Saniora said Thursday that Fatah Islam was "a terrorist organization ... attempting to ride on the suffering and the struggle of the Palestinian people."

Saniora said his government "will work to root out and strike at terrorism" but insisted it has no quarrel with the 400,000 Palestinian refugees in the country. Under a 1969 agreement, Lebanese military stays out of the camps that are run by the Palestinians.

Fatah Islam spokesman Abu Salim Taha repeated Thursday that the group would never surrender but "fight until ... the last drop of blood and the last bullet."

Storming the Nahr el-Bared camp could mean rough urban fighting for Lebanese troops and further death and destruction for the civilians inside. It could also spark unrest in Lebanon's 11 other Palestinian refugee camps. Palestinian factions have dissociated themselves from Fatah Islam but are angry over army bombardments that have partially destroyed Nahr el-Bared.
Three bombs have exploded in the Beirut area since Sunday, killing one woman and injuring about 20. Fatah Islam has denied responsibility for the bombings.
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Associated Press writers Lolita Baldor in Washington and Sam F. Ghattas in Beirut contributed to this report.