Darwish gets interestinger. On Wednesday I posted a dossier on Muhammed abu Darwish, a Lebanese "businessman" who shows up in the background of the story of the assassination of American arms broker Dale Stoffel last December in Iraq. Today I find that Rodger, who blogs (from the Right) at This isn't writing, it's typing and has been following the Stoffel story himself, has made a fascinating catch (I'm kicking myself for not having found it on my own) that, at the very least, complicates my suggestion that Darwish is some kind of bagman for the anti-Syrian Lebanese right. Turns out he's not just a businessman, he's a politician. This report, by Lebanonwire, has him the founder of an ostensibly pro-Syrian Shiite political "group":

On Aug. 1, 2004, a new grouping was proclaimed in the southern Lebanese town of Musseileh, only a short distance from [Lebanese House Speaker Nabih] Berri's residence. Issam Abu Darwish, a prominent Shiite businessman who is close to Speaker Nabih Berri and also a close friend of former President Amin Gemayel, proclaimed on Sunday the birth of a new Shiite group called al-Kiyan (entity) Gathering, AS SAFIR and daily AL MUSTAQBAL said August 2.

"I would like to point out that our friends and contacts are numerous ... We will put up with those who fought against our group before it was even born. And regardless of the obstacles we will work because the nation requires sacrifices regardless of the price," Abu Darwish said.

"We are not a party and we will never be one. We are not against any of the forces existing on the political scene and not an alternative to anyone. We don't want to cancel the others... However, we will be in the forefront of the march to defend the nation, which is passing through very dangerous phases and circumstances," he added. ...

The new group underscored the need for excellent and distinctive relations with Syria, the main power broker in Lebanon with some 20,000 troops deployed in several Lebanese regions. "Syria saved Lebanon from being partitioned and backed the process of liberating the south..." Abu Darwish said urging an end to hostile campaigns against Damascus.

What to make of this? Why would Amin Gemayel, the anti-Syrian, Christian ex-president of Lebanon, be mentioned as a close associate of a pro-Syrian Shiite businessman? Who's playing what kind of game? Impossible to say—we've gone well outside the penumbra of my dim understanding of Lebanese politics. But note the headline of a second Lebanonwire piece that mentions Darwish's organization (it appeared two weeks after the first), inter alia: "Shiite ranks dominanted by political rivalries, dissent," an article that focuses on "signs of dissension and rebellion against the prevailing state of the community, including internal disagreements, rivalries and attempts at monopolizing leadership." In fact, the lead of the prior article may be as much clue as we're going to get here:

Attempts are being made to break up the monopoly of leadership of the Muslim Shiite community, the largest single community in Lebanon, according to a report published in the liberal daily Al Balad on Aug. 1. "There are signs of movement and action within the Shiite community aimed at changing the traditional equation whereby Amal Movement and Hizbullah are the monopolizing leadership of the 1.2 million-strong Shiite community," said Ali al-Amin, Al Balad's expert on Shiite affairs.

That's some kind of opaque politics they've got themselves in Lebanon. Could this thing get any further into Graham Greene territory?

posted by michael  3:58:27 PM  
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