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March 14???s call on the Arab League to form a ???fact-finding
mission??? to investigate the Fateh al-Islam group will likely increase the
dandruff population, since many inside and outside of Lebanon will be furiously
scratching their heads in wonder over the futility of such a move.  The Syrian media stunt had left many in
the failed independence movement angry at the regime???s insolence in making up
facts and airing them so blatantly. How dare they accuse the free Lebanese of conspiring to kill their own?
This at a time the Lebanese and their counterparts in the UN have been
investigating for years now! So, March 14 logic goes, if anybody has the moral
right to fling accusations, it is March 14. And the logic continues: The Arab League should act. As if the league member do not already know who is behind this
group, or need a fact finding mission to figure it out.  Whatever happened to the briefing on
the Islamist group that Sioniara gave Amr Moussa many months ago? They didn???t
condemn the Assad regime then, and they will not condemn it tomorrow. Not even
Europe is prepared to level accusations at Assad. International denial and
compromise is the name of the game -- just read the naive statement
by British FM David Milliband on Syrian-Lebanese relations and the UK and Syria
cooperating in the fight against terrorism. So why is March 14 expecting the league to deliver what Lebanese authorities and the world couldn't? And does this call not undermine confidence in the work of the UN
commission and the Lebanese authorities? Why are Lebanese papers bothering with
accounts of arrests and investigations? Will the Arab league unearth evidence
or facts that years of interrogations, investigations and fact-gathering by
hundreds of individuals from across the world didn???t?

 The Arab League involvement makes no sense. If this is March
14???s way to defend itself against Syrian accusations, then someone in their
leadership needs to fire his advisors. 

Of course, the Lebanese government???s response was as
pathetic. They send the interior minister to Syria, and continue pushing for
diplomatic relations with the regime, and form a committee to ???address methods
of cooperation???. Sending Baroud with no mission to defend his country and
confront the accusers is an act of treason. And having your information minister, who once denounced the
regime???s acts, say that relations between the two countries are ???built on
mutual respect??? is mind-boggling. The same can be said about this whole embassy
business. The Lebanese government should not have accepted diplomatic
representation before the Hariri investigation is over. In most other countries,
ambassadors are expelled and embassies shut down when there is violation of
sovereignty and sponsored murder. Lebanon, however, chose to REWARD the Assad
regime by not only agreeing to exchanging diplomats before a criminal
investigation is concluded, but also allow the Syrian regime to vet all
candidates for the post of Lebanese ambassador!

Of course, this twisted logic was made possible by the Arab League.
That March 14 is yet again resorting to this body is yet another thing to add to the
heap of nonsense that is Lebanese and Arab Politics.