Has anyone seen Lebanon's sovereignty?

Nope, it's definitely not here! (Photo: Mohammed Zaatari, AP) 

In the almost two years I've lived in Lebanon, I have witnessed quite a few ups and downs in terms of politics and national security. But these past several weeks have witnessed a series of events which show that, for all the leaders' grand speeches, the nation's sovereignty and political legitimacy are being hacked at with a chainsaw.

Lebanon's sovereignty has long been the source of wry jokes. Between the French Mandate (1920-1943), the civil war (1975-1990), the Israeli occupation (1982-2000), and decades of steadfast Syrian military presence in the country (1976-2005), the country has barely had a break from conflict and external interventions. Similarly, and despite its high visibility in the streets of Beirut, the army is a weak institution which few Lebanese seriously trust to take care of their security.

But no matter how fragile these foundations are, the flagrant disregard for the basic elements of Lebanon's statehood are spelling serious trouble.

Since yesterday, supporters of Salafi cleric Ahmad al-Assir (mentioned briefly in this blog a little over a year ago) have been battling with the Lebanese army in the southern city of Saida. At least 16 soldiers have been killed, and Assir escaped from a compound where he and about 100 fighters had been holed up. Assir has accused the army of being part of an Iranian plot (for daring to defend itself from an attack by a militant group???) and called on his supporters to take up arms.

Assir has made a comfortable living for the past year and a half spewing hatred, most notably calling for violence against Hezbollah. The media has been complicit in giving this piece of human filth a wide platform. In fact, numerous factors have contributed to the man's rise to prominence (must read post). Assir has never really been taken seriously, but his blocking of Saida roads for weeks last summer and his hysterical reaction to posters commemorating a Shi'a holiday in November should have alerted everyone to his dangerousness. While we all laughed at his Salafi snow trip, he was able to build his movement unimpeded.

The army has issued a warrant against Assir in light of recent events, and its not a moment too soon. Just last week, Assir supporters fought against Shi'as in Saida. The army had simply stood by during the altercation, leading to the incredibly disheartening photo above.

Less than a month ago, rockets hit the southern Beirut suburb of Chiyah, injuring four Syrians. On Thursday night, I heard a loud roaring sound, almost like a helicopter, only to find out the next day that a rocket had been fired towards the presidential palace in Baabda.

These incidents are not unrelated. The turning point for Lebanon has been Hezbollah's decision to openly fight by the side of the President Bashar al-Assad in the battle of Qusayr. While Hezbollah has never hidden its alliance with the Syrian government, the admission that it was sending combattants in Syria has unleashed a wave of violent rhetoric against the resistance group, and all of the aforementioned events are meant to send a message to Hezbollah.

While I think Hezbollah is shooting itself in the foot by playing the dangerous game of inter-Arab fighting, the latest string of violence is coming from supporters of the Syrian rebellion who, like Assir, have called for jihad in Syria. I disapprove of Hezbollah's intervention in Syria as much as I disapprove of the hypocrisy of those who slam Hezbollah while sending fighters, funds and weapons to a rebellion which is as problematic as the Syrian regime itself.

One can disagree with Hezbollah, but all these attacks are doing is pulling Lebanon closer to the edge. All sense of perspective has been forgotten in light of the Syrian civil war. The conflict has eclipsed everything in Lebanon, twisting it all through its prism of black or white at the expense of a concerted effort to maintain the country's stability. By ignoring all reasonings in shades of grey, we are risking a future in shades of black.

Amid all this noise linked to the Syrian war, increased violations of the Lebanese airspace by Israel are barely mentioned. Yet, the National News Agency reports almost daily on Israeli drones and warplanes flying over Lebanon—not just over the border, but Beirut itself. In fact, my first thought upon hearing that loud noise on Thursday was that the Israelis were attacking. Israel is clearly counting on the international focus on Syria to do whatever it pleases here, facing even fewer condemnations than it usually does.

This entire situation is absolute madness. The past two years have seen a slow escalation of fighting in Lebanon, with ongoing violence in Tripoli, and regular rockets and helicopter raids near the border with Syria. Dramatic headlines about the Syrian conflict beginning to "spill over" into Lebanon are moronic. The situation has been seeping through slowly since 2011; only the ignorant and the apathetic haven't seen this coming.

Neither Israel, Bashar al-Assad, the Syrian rebels or any of the self-absorbed lunatics supposed to lead Lebanon seem to give a single, solitary damn about saving this country from plunging off a cliff.

In October, I wrote about the Lebanese political class' inability to think beyond their own personal interests, saying: "Those who yield political power thrive on the divisions of Lebanese society, and have no incentive to change the status quo and make this country a better place for everyone in it. They are the ones pulling the strings, deciding when, where and if people will go down in the streets. They welcome opportunities to vilify other political factions and present themselves as the sole defenders of their constituents. But these are all distractions from the everyday issues that make life difficult for the Lebanese."

Lebanon's leaders have all failed to work together to find a way to maintain Lebanese unity and prevent the Syrian war from taking over Lebanon. Factions in Lebanon behave in quasi-impunity, crossing porous borders, making inflammatory statements, attacking national institutions and caring more about the neighboring nation than Lebanon's well-being.

I'm scared and I'm angry. The inevitable will happen only because everyone let it become inevitable.