Fatah al-Islam: Syrian Intelligence + al Qaeda?

According to the New York Sun and the Washington Post, the UN Secretary General has published a report linking an al Qaeda affiliate in Lebanon, Fatah al-Islam, to Syrian intelligence. Fatah al-Islam has engaged in heavy fighting with Lebanese forces at times, but under constant pressure seems to have been significantly degraded in recent months.

The UN's analysis reportedly draws heavily from a letter Lebanese Prime Minister Siniora wrote Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. According to the Sun, the "letter draws upon information gathered during the interrogation of captured leaders." Indeed, the Sun says that Siniora wrote: "Direct contact between some of Fatah al-Islam's leaders and some senior Syrian intelligence officers, which were revealed in the interrogations, are consistent with the suspicion that Syrian intelligence has used Fatah al-Islam to serve its political and security objectives in Lebanon."

MEMRI has posted excerpts from Siniora's letter as well as Syria's response here. See also MEMRI's previous report.

Now, there are some who have claimed that Fatah al-Islam could not possibly cooperate with both al Qaeda and the Syrian regime. After all, don't we know that the Baathist, Alawite regime in Syria is simply incapable of colluding with Sunni Islamists? Such thinking, however, is flawed for a variety of reasons. And this is precisely why I and others have argued that it does not make sense to carve up our terrorist enemies into impenetrable ideological boxes. Al Qaeda's members, including its most senior leaders, have proven willing to work with the enemy of their enemies, despite any theological or ideological differences, time and again. Indeed, there is a lengthy history of collaboration between Syria's senior partner in terror, Iran, and al Qaeda.

Getting back to the case of Fatah al-Islam, included below are just some of the threads tying the group to both al Qaeda and Syrian intelligence. In addition, links to some of the reporting on the controversy over Fatah al-Islam are included: