October 11, 2001	Thursday	Rajab 23, 1422

BEIRUT: With the start of the first phase of the US war against terror, Lebanon is anxiously waiting to see what — and where — the next phase will be.

Despite assurances from Lebanese officials that Lebanon is not a target, there are fears that the country could soon become the next point of focus.

“Today we focus on Afghanistan but the battle is broader. Every nation has a choice to make. In this conflict, there is no neutral ground,” US President George W. Bush said in a statement on Sunday, without defining the next target.

The Lebanese government has been striving for almost three weeks now to obtain definite information as to whether it is considered a potential target by the United States, while, at the same time, showing support for the U.S. war against terrorism.

This two-fold attitude stems from the disagreements that have risen regarding the definition of terrorism, as Arab countries maintain that the struggle to liberate occupied land cannot be categorised as terrorism.

Although all member countries of the United Nations have voted in favour of the 1373 anti-terrorism resolution, Arab countries said it contained no definition of terrorism.

Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi accused the West of double standards in its attitudes towards terrorism because it ignores the actions of Israel against the Palestinians.

For his part, the Lebanese Prime Minister, Rafik Hariri, said “Lebanon is ready for full cooperation with the international community without any equivocation”.

There have been worries in Lebanon that if and when the US campaign moves past the borders of Afghanistan, the Bekaa valley in eastern Lebanon and perhaps even Syria, might become the focus of attention. Israel also has been campaigning to that effect, pointing out that it had its own Osama bin Laden in the person of Yasser Arafat.

The Shia guerrilla, Hezbollah maintains a stronghold in the valley. It has long been on the US list of terrorist groups because of suspicions that it was behind the Western hostage taking and the bombing of the US Marines headquarters in Beirut during the 1980s.

Hezbollah has always denied it was involved. Today, the group is mainly being credited with ousting the Israeli army from south Lebanon in May last year, putting an end to a 22-year-long occupation.

A list issued by the United States two weeks ago of terrorist organizations that should have their assets frozen included only a local Sunni group, Esbat el Ansar. This was widely seen as an attempt by the United States not to alienate Arab countries by including groups that enjoy widespread support, such as Hezbollah and the Palestinian Hamas and Islamic Jihad.

But there are now reports that another list is circulating which does include Hezbollah and Palestinian groups. The list is seemingly being waved as a means of pressure to obtain more support for the US campaign in return for keeping these groups off the list of targets.

Before his surprise visit to the Middle East this week, US Defence Secretary John Rumsfeld had emphasised that Hezbollah and Hamas were not excluded as war targets.

In their first interview on Monday, since the September 11 plane attacks, Hassan Fadlallah, member of Hezbollah’s politburo, said they did “not have a reason to fear being targets because they were a recognized, legitimate national resistance group, which had fought against the Israeli occupation of south Lebanon”.

He said Hezbollah had never claimed Western hostage taking or any bombings against the US Marines and foreign embassies. —Dawn/The InterPress News Service.