U.S. Activist Doubts Syria Will Give Up Lebanon Without Struggle
by Chad Groening
March 7, 2005
(AgapePress) - A Lebanese-born Christian activist says while she is encouraged by the recent freedom demonstrations going on in Lebanon, she does not think the Syrians will end their occupation of her homeland without a fight.Brigitte Gabriel is the founder of the Virginia-based American Congress for Truth (ACT). She grew up in war-torn Lebanon, where she watched Islamic jihadists overrun her country. But now, since the recent democratic elections in Iraq, Gabriel sees a positive, hopeful sign for the future of her native country and its people. "What we did with Iraq sent a signal to the rest of the Middle East that freedom is possible," she says. "If the Iraqis can have it, then so can we, particularly in Lebanon."
According to the American Congress for Truth founder, Lebanon has been under Syrian occupation since 1976. She believes it will take the intervention of the United States to drive the Syrians out and says she has seen mounting evidence that the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is making ready for a fight.
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Brigitte Gabriel |
"We understand that Syria has given missiles to Hezbollah," Gabriel says. "The missiles came from Iran, through Syria, into Hezbollah in Lebanon, and that happened within the last two weeks. And also, Syria has given weapons to 1.5 million Syrian workers in Lebanon -- so they are gearing up for a confrontation."
But the Lebanese-born activist believes Syria's president is well aware that the United States is keeping a keen eye on his movements, and she thinks he has probably anticipated how things will play out politically in the region. "The Lebanese themselves do not to have the power, the energy, nor the military to be able to push the Syrians out," she says. Therefore, she suspects U.S. intervention may be necessary and possibly unavoidable.
"We might have to go in -- it depends how Assad is going to handle the situation," Gabriel muses. "He sees the writing on the wall; he knows that America is in the midst of the Middle East and he's on the border with Iraq; so America is watching him very closely." The primary problem that remains is with Syria, whose peaceful withdrawal from Lebanon, Gabriel fears, is highly unlikely. The Christian activist says she is convinced that Syria "is not going to leave without a fight."
Gabriel says she created ACT in 2002, after the events of 9/11 that changed so many lives also reminded her that the entire world is threatened by the same radical Islamic theology that annihilated so many non-Muslim "infidels" in her native Lebanon. Today, she says her organization works to inform, inspire, and motivate Jews and Christians throughout society to fight for the way of life and values Westerners cherish.
Chad Groening, a regular contributor to AgapePress, is a reporter for American Family Radio News, which can be heard online.
