THERE IS NO LEBANON:

Lebanon's Sunnis teetering on the fault line of conflict: The army's clashes with militants in the north and a crackdown on Islamists have left the community divided. (Raed Rafei, June 22, 2007, Los Angeles Times)

Fatah al Islam, which is holed up in the Nahr el Bared refugee camp, is a mix of fighters from other Arab countries and young Lebanese men from the area, where some Islamist groups subscribe to Al Qaeda's ideology.

"The phenomenon of Fatah al Islam is a result of the marginalization, injustice and harm that Muslims are subjected to," said Daiat Shahal, a prominent religious scholar in Tripoli. However, he said, "this war is between Sunnis and will eventually weaken the Sunnis."

Most Sunni religious leaders with ties to the government have distanced themselves from the Islamist group. And a committee of Palestinian clerics has held talks with the militants in an attempt to end the fighting, the bloodiest the nation has seen since the end of the civil war in 1990.

Under a 1969 agreement, Palestinians have been responsible for internal security in all of Lebanon's 12 refugee camps, which are home to about 400,000 people.

"We fear that if the battle continues, its effect would be detrimental on Sunnis," said Sheik Mohammed Haj, who has participated in the negotiations.

Note that neither is a civil war.

Posted by Orrin Judd at June 22, 2007 9:14 AM