Lebanon Under ’ISIS’ Attack Again: Unity Needed - Hanna

Hadi Safa

At least 44 people were martyred and dozens others wounded after two suicide bombers blew themselves up in a crowded street in the Borj al-Barajaneh area in Dahiyeh [southern suburbs of Beirut].

In an attempt to contextualise the latest attacks, we spoke with retired Lebanese Brigadier General Elias Hanna, who said that "I think it is a continuation of something that has stopped for one year, the intelligence gathering, the security apparatus, was good enough to deny any wrongdoing [towards] the Lebanese. However, the regional context for groups such as "ISIS", Nusra is not going to change any time soon, so we have to a have more proactive approach; More gathering of intelligence, and real internal unity. This is not something new, you know that Hizbullah is a major regional player today, such as its fighting against terrorist groups in Syria, so it is one aspect of this regional war, which includes the Syrian and Iraqi scenes."

While tackling a question on the easing of security restrictions by Hizbullah in the southern suburbs of Beirut [Dahiyeh], and whether that could have made it easier for the terrorists to carry out the twin bombings, Hanna said "First we have to really be convinced that there is no such thing as absolute or 100% security. We have to consider that we went for about one year without any attacks succeeding. There has been dismantlement of groups in Sidon, Akkar, or Qalamoun, so one begins to go to a [sort of] complacency. Secondly, terrorists are heavily observing and monitoring in order to strike Hizbullah. So it is like an action and reaction. When they find that you are heavily defending certain positions, they go towards softer targets. When they found that they could not send explosive-laden cars into Dahiyeh, they went to the option of sending motorcycles or individuals on the ground wearing explosive belts. However, regardless of strong or soft targets, and regardless of whether they target civilian or security targets, whenever terrorists strike Dahiyeh they make a point, because this area is highly symbolic of Hizbullah and the Resistance, and what matters for them is this media coverage, including the [number of] martyrs that they have struck down."

The retired Brigadier General ruled out the Russian airstrikes in Syria as being related to the timing of the attacks, explaining that these terrorist groups carry out such operations whenever they get the chance. When asked about a possible connection, Hanna said "No, I don't see it. It could have happened [right] after the [beginning of] the Russian interference in Syria in September. Secondly, these people prepare for contingencies, and when the time is good, they go for it, regardless of any timing, whether it is the day that follows Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah's speech, or this parliamentary session, they have done it [regardless]. When the time is good, and the feasibility is high, and the degree of success is high, they go for it."

In response to a question over whether the United States may ultimately be responsible for covertly ordering these attacks, Hanna did not rule it out, though he did rule out any possible affects that these latest attacks may have on influencing Hizbullah's regional policies. Hanna explained that "when you are in a big political game, you use what you can use, and you use it with the possibility of deniability, you know, saying that I have nothing to do with these people...so it is like more of a covert operation. However, when you want to really make Hizbullah change its grand strategy, these types of things will never make Hizbullah change its strategy. If you really want to disassociate the community of Hizbullah [and the party itself], or the sea and the fish as Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said once, or as Mao Zedong said once, ‘that resistance is the fish and society is like the sea', the fish cannot live without the sea. If you are really trying to disassociate the resistance and its community it is very difficult, because they consider it as a king of survival issue for them."

Regarding the new security nature of the attacks, Hanna said "As we said, when you really defend an area, it becomes like a hard target, they go for the softer. Now you cannot really control everyone that is walking into Dahiyeh...however, the only thing for this kind of warfare, which we call fourth or fifth generation warfare, the only thing is [to be] proactive. From eavesdropping, chatting, internal information, covert information, regional information, to really defuse all these things before they come into Dahiyeh or any other target, because these people do not only target Dahiyeh, they are going to target more and more the security apparatus, the army, the ISF, and you name it. So the only issue with these people is to be proactive, to deny them, you cannot even deter these people, you have to deny them, you have to dismantle them before they go into execution."

Apart from the need for greater cooperation between the Lebanese Army, the internal security forces, and Hizbullah, Brigadier General Hanna underlined the multi-faceted approach that is required in order for such attacks to be brought to an end.

Hanna explained that the solution is "going to be social, political, and moreover, economic. Now we have 5-6 million refugees from Syria. What would be the future of these people? What kind of generation are we really raising? So it's going to be political and social, because when you are fighting terrorism, it is not only military power. It is education, cultural, and economic, and social. The Lebanese government really has to do some about these dispossessed people, the poor people, whether they are in the north or the south, or wherever, in order to deny them any push to go and join these people."

Source: al-Ahed News