Lebanon should not be a security threat for the new Syria

Lebanese social media was busy last week discussing the presence of figures from the former Syrian regime in Lebanon. While the Lebanese authorities deny any such connections, the corrupt Lebanese system had strong relations with the Assad regime for decades. The two security apparatuses were intertwined.
However, Lebanon needs a clear break from Assad’s regime to build healthy and fruitful relations with the new Syria.
Ali Mamlouk, the notorious Assad chief spy, is known to have reached Iraq via Beirut — he left Lebanon from Beirut airport.
The Lebanese government could have been excused from responsibility for his presence in Lebanon. His arrival in Lebanon could have been explained due to an illegal crossing, hence without the knowledge or approval of the Lebanese state.
Nevertheless, he left the country via the airport. The Lebanese state cannot claim it did not know. It did know. Lebanese Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi denied that Mamlouk had entered the country. However, several witnesses spotted Mamlouk in a five-star hotel in Beirut.
The story gets even darker. Aside from the many crimes he committed in Syria, Mamlouk was under a death sentence in Lebanon. He was found guilty by the Lebanese judiciary of blowing up two mosques in the northern part of the country: the Taqwa Mosque and the Al-Salam Mosque. How was he able to leave the country and pass through passport control? The answer is simple — he could not have left the country unless he had connections with the Lebanese state.
Syrian media has said that several figures close to the ousted regime entered Lebanon on the day Assad fled the country. They also reported that the former security chief, Abbas Ibrahim, facilitated this by replacing an officer at the Lebanese-Syrian crossing.
The day that Assad left the country, all the important regime figures also disappeared. This is a big problem for the new system in Syria. They know that officers of the former regime will create problems. Those who have the blood of the Syrian people on their hands know that if they are caught, they will be prosecuted. Chances are they will go underground and conduct operations to destabilize the new Syria.

The Lebanese state and Lebanese people should make sure that Hezbollah or other figures do not offer any help to the remnants of the ousted regime. 

Dr. Dania Koleilat Khatib

They do not want to see a stable and prosperous Syria. To conduct destructive operations, they need support from their friends. Already they have started such activities. A group of men vandalized a church in Mahardah, a Christian town in Hama. They pretended to belong to the new authorities, but when caught it turned out that they belonged to the former regime and were seeking to create sectarian tensions.
The Assad regime has no better friend than the corrupt configuration in Lebanon. After the Taif agreement, the Assad regime was able to exert influence in Lebanon. This is the period that the Lebanese despise and call the period of Syrian “tutelage.” Prime Minister Rafik Hariri tried to break the control of the Assad regime — he was quietly working to secure the withdrawal of Assad forces from Lebanon. It did not end well for him; he was assassinated on Feb. 14, 2005. Afterwards, due to international pressure and mass protests, Assad forces left the country. But though the soldiers and the tanks left, the Lebanese security apparatus remained hostage to the criminal regime.
The Assad regime also has political allies in Lebanon — Hezbollah, Amal and the Free Patriotic Movement — as well as several less significant political personalities such as the Druze politicians Wiam Wahhab and Talal Arslan. Figures in the Hezbollah circle, such as the infamous journalist Hussein Murtada, who filmed himself with the Assad airforce as they dropped barrel bombs on civilians, has said that Syria will experience problems and fighting. Is that an analysis, wishful thinking, or a threat?
The Lebanese state and Lebanese people should make sure that Hezbollah or other figures do not offer any help to the remnants of the regime. Strict laws and enforcement should be applied. This is imperative if Lebanon is to have a good start with the new free Syria. Lebanon should support Syria’s transition to a free, democratic, and prosperous system. It should not create a security threat to the new Syria.
The new Syrian authorities face massive challenges. Assad left behind a decimated country that has no source of income. Assad relied on extortion, the Captagon trade, and donations from Iran. Israel has destroyed the capabilities of the army and Syria has little ability to secure its borders. In addition to the current challenges, the last thing the country needs is interference from remnants of the former regime.
The Lebanese complained about the coercive relations with Syria during Assad’s rule. Now they are hoping to have friendly relations based on mutual respect and common interests. They expect the new regime in Syria to treat Lebanon like a sovereign, not vassal, state. If they want this type of relationship, they need to make sure that Lebanon does not constitute a security threat to Syria. They have to make sure that Lebanon and Lebanese figures do not offer any help to the remnants of the regime. If they do not, they will be inviting the new regime in Syria to interfere in their affairs.

• Dr. Dania Koleilat Khatib is a specialist in US-Arab relations with a focus on lobbying. She is co-founder of the Research Center for Cooperation and Peace Building, a Lebanese nongovernmental organization focused on Track II.