Syrian-backed militant arrest carries price

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Syria may have sanctioned the recent arrest of a Lebanese militant in order to appease critics in Washington, but the move against the suspect resulted in three dead Lebanese agents and an embarrassingly long standoff, both of which may dissuade Syria from approving such actions in the future, says Stratfor, the global intelligence agency.

Badih Hamade, an Islamic militant wanted for the killing of three Lebanese army intelligence agents last week, was taken into custody Tuesday after hiding out for the previous five days in a Palestinian refugee camp, Ein el-Hilweh. Islamic militant leaders in the camp handed Hamade over to Lebanese soldiers.

The gesture on the part of the camp's inhabitants – who have given sanctuary to numerous fugitives in the past – and the unusual show of force by the surrounding Lebanese army comes amid heightened U.S. pressure on both Syria and Lebanon over al-Qaida. This likely has prompted Syria, which has de facto control of Lebanon, to give the green light for stronger actions against al-Qaida-affiliated groups in Lebanon.

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Hamade, also wanted for a string of bombings against military checkpoints in Lebanon, is allegedly a member of Osbat al-Ansar, an Islamic fundamentalist group placed on the U.S. State Department's list of foreign terrorist organizations in March 2002.

The group is widely suspected of receiving funds and other forms of support from al-Qaida and has been blamed for a series of attacks against Palestinian Fatah members and bombings of liquor stores in southern Lebanon. It also has been accused of committing the June 1999 machine gun attack on a courtroom in Sidon, Lebanon, in which four judges were murdered.

Syria may have sanctioned the targeting of Hamade by Lebanese forces to answer its critics in Washington. In early July a U.S. congressional party led by Sen. Bob Graham, D-Fla., chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, visited Syria and Lebanon. Upon returning home Graham promptly criticized the two nations for their support of the militant Islamic group Hezbollah and other organizations on Washington's blacklist.

He also added that the U.S. government should consider pre-emptive air strikes if Damascus does not dismantle terrorist camps in Lebanon – likening the situation to Afghanistan's harboring of Osama bin Laden prior to Sept. 11.

Syria has cooperated with Washington's campaign against al-Qaida to some degree already, but such strong comments by an influential U.S. policymaker may turn up the heat on the government in Damascus. However, moving against Hamade came at a price.

The standoff ended without a Lebanese incursion into the camp or further bloodshed, which could have sparked a violent response among the refugees there. But the incident was reported widely in both the local and international press, and it served to remind Beirut and Damascus that the consequences of cooperating with Washington – which in this case resulted in three dead Lebanese agents and drawn-out negotiations – could summon further international embarrassment and may deter them from cooperating in the future.

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