Gunmen, soldiers fight in Lebanon in spillover from Syria

Reuters ^ | 10/22/2012 | Dominic Evans and Angus MacSwan

[mojito]

At least seven people were killed and dozens wounded in gunbattles in the Lebanese capital Beirut and coastal Tripoli on Monday in further unrest linked to the conflict in neighboring Syria, security and hospital sources said.

The clashes have heightened fears that Syria's civil war with its sectarian dimensions is now spreading into Lebanon, pitting local allies and opponents of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad against each other.

The Lebanese army promised decisive action to quell the violence, which was touched off by the assassination of a senior intelligence officer last week.

That killing has plunged Lebanon into a political crisis and the army command urged party leaders to be cautious in their public statements so as not to inflame passions further.

It issued the warning after troops and gunmen exchanged fire in Beirut's southern suburbs overnight and on Monday morning while protesters blocked roads with burning tires.

Many politicians have accused Syria of being behind the killing of Brigadier General Wissam al-Hassan, an intelligence chief opposed to the Syrian leadership, who was blown up by a car bomb in central Beirut on Friday.

[mojito]

The Syrian civil war is fast becoming a regional conflict.

[F15Eagle]

Turkey, now Lebanon.

Will Bashir Assad go Saddam Hussein and try to involve Israel as a distraction?

[mojito]

Wouldn't put it past him. He has Hezzbolah by a pretty short leash, but he can always slip it off.

[SaraJohnson]

Assad has a boatload of WMD. He’ll take everyone down with him. What does he have to lose after seeing what Obama’s jihadists did to Saddam?

[F15Eagle]

Agreed. He has a lot of SCUD’s and some chemical weapons.

[gaijin]

The chem weapon story (which I fully conceed is true) has been planted in the minds of the public —a sturdy conceptual platform exists.

Obama will use that by staging some event, say, a mooost unforrrrtunate use of chem weapons by naaaasty pro-Assad guys. Who are actualy Obama’s guys. Or maybe they shell Turkey from Syrian territory.

This compels NATO intervention, or at the very least touches off a highly visible and headline-catching war.

Which requires the full vigor of an internationally-minded US Prez.

The leader with a proven track record of doing ANYTHING no matter dastardly to win is our own Prez, and increasingly his view is that his electoral goose is already cooked.

Look for the man to do ANYTHING.

[af_vet_rr]

The leader with a proven track record of doing ANYTHING no matter dastardly to win is our own Prez, and increasingly his view is that his electoral goose is already cooked.

Look for the man to do ANYTHING.

Agreed. Obama will get us involved with Syria and maybe Iran, and unfortunately the Romney campaign gave him a bit of a nudge back in September when one of Romney's foreign policy people said: "It's been over a year since the president said Bashar Assad must go.....Bashar Assad is still in power. America looks impotent in the region."

"President Romney would do more to help the opposition movement on the ground in Syria working with our allies - like the Turks, like the Saudis, like the Qataris - to get the opposition more training, more resources, more weapons. Really coordinate the effort. And [a Romney administration] would not have dragged his feet as long as they have..."

It's very worrisome, we could find ourselves involved in another Muslim civil war, and Obama all but has the blessing of the Romney campaign.

I'm honestly surprised we don't have forces openly involved already.

[SaraJohnson]

Obammy has set the stage over there now. He shifted power over to the Muslim Brotherhood and they are radical jihadists. No matter who is president, the world is screwed now if they depend on anything peaceful and sane occuring in the Middle East. It’s going to be war, war, war now.

I don’t agree that Obama is going to try and cancle the election in the name of war. But I agree there will be never ending war over there now that jihadists control Iran, Egypt, Iraq and Libya...and soon Syria. Then, they use their power to take over Jordan and Saudi Arabia. It is set into motion and no one is stopping it.

If Obama wins, we take a position of supporting the jihadists from “behind” to take over Syria, Jordan and Saudi Arabia. If Romney wins, he’ll try to prolong the take over of Jordan and Saudi Arabia. Syria is gone.