Ahmadinejad Visit to Lebanon Stirs Fears

Worries about tenuous truce between Iranian-backed Hezbollah and Western-backed parties

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, center, waves to the crowds from the sunroof of his SUV, upon his arrival in Beirut, Lebanon, on Wednesday, Oct. 13, 2010. Ahmadinejad is making his first state visit to Lebanon. (Photo credit: Mahmoud Tawil / AP)

The Associated Press and Reuters via MSNBC.com
October 13, 2010

BEIRUT — Iran’s president made a bold show of strength in Lebanon on Wednesday, vowing before thousands of Hezbollah supporters that U.S. and Israeli power in the Middle East will soon be eclipsed.

The visit by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, welcomed by crowds of cheering Shiites, underscored the eroding position of pro-Western factions in Lebanon. More broadly, it suggested that the competition over influence in Lebanon may be tipping toward Iran and its ally Syria, away from the United States and it Arab allies Egypt and Saudi Arabia.

“We seek a unified, modern Lebanon,” said Ahmadinejad, whose country is the main patron of the Shiite Hezbollah militant group, the most powerful military force in Lebanon. “We will stand with the people and government of Lebanon — and with all elements in the Lebanese nation — until they achieve all their goals.” …

But Ahmadinejad’s dramatic arrival only exacerbated fears among many Lebanese — particularly Sunnis and Christians — that Iran and Hezbollah are seeking to impose their will on the country and possibly pull Lebanon into a conflict with Israel. …

A U.N. tribunal investigating the 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri — the current prime minister’s father — is expected to indict members of Hezbollah as soon as this month, raising concerns of possible violence between the Shiite force and Hariri’s mainly Sunni allies.

Video

Ahmadinejad visits Lebanon (MSNBC, Oct. 10, 2010) — Iran President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is scheduled to visit Lebanon Wednesday. MSNBC’s Alex Witt talks with the National Security Council’s Michael Singh. (03:02)

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Related reports on this site

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
threat assessment

Ahmadinejad’s Letter to the Pope (Oct. 9, 2010)

Ahmadinejad’s Political Paranoia (Sept. 23, 2010)

Psychological Profile of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (June 11, 2009)

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FROM THE ARCHIVES: One Year Ago — October 13, 2009

Iraq-Afghanistan Casualties

Army National Guard Maj. Tad T. Hervas, 48, Coon Rapids, Minn., died Oct. 6, 2009 at Contingency Operating Base Basra, Iraq, from a gunshot wound to the head sustained in a non-combat incident. He was assigned to the 34th Infantry Division, Minnesota National Guard, Rosemont, Minn.

One year ago today, I provided my weekly report of U.S. military deaths in Iraq and Afghanistan.

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FROM THE ARCHIVES: Two Years Ago — October 13, 2008

After the Primary Election: Day 34

Two years ago today, on the 34th day after losing my 2008 primary challenge against U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann in Minnesota’s 6th Congressional District, in line with my focus on national security, I reported that while the United States was focused on the war in Iraq, Latin America had swung to the left and rival powers had moved into the vacuum created by Bush administration neocon policies focused on the Middle East, leaving the U.S. in its weakest position in decades with respect to Latin American influence.

Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, front left, and Venezuela’s Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro, front right, are seen after Ahmadinejad’s arrival in Caracas on Tuesday, Nov. 25, 2008, on a two-day official visit to Venezuela. (Photo credit: Ariana Cubillos / AP)