Terrorist Attacks on U.S. Evoke Painful Memories for Lebanon, Ambivalence About Implications

By Samaa Abu Sharar

“It looks like Beirut,” commented one CNN correspondent reporting near the World Trade Center (WTC) after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. While ordinary Americans might not have heard of Beirut prior to the WTC attacks, the journalist’s description certainly hit a chord for people in this region. It was déjà vu all over again for Lebanese, Palestinians, Iraqis, Sudanese, Libyans and others who have long suffered from terrorism.

The primary reaction in Lebanon to the attacks, however, was one of disbelief that this actually could happen to a superpower such as the U.S. People instantly thought of “The Siege,” “Independence Day,” “Mars Attacks,” “Towering Inferno,” “Die Hard” and other American films. Some articles in the local press even implied that those who carried out the attacks were inspired by such movies.

Initially, the media in Lebanon seemed a bit confused on how to deal with the event in all its enormity. Pure reporting was the safest and probably the only thing to do. As in the rest of the Arab world, there was a general consensus on the gravity of such atrocities and a condemnation of the attacks. There was also, however, a certain ambivalence about the implications of these attacks for the region, since Washington instantly pointed fingers at exiled Saudi dissident Osama bin Laden.

The headline on the Sept. 12 edition of An Nahar, one of Lebanon’s leading Arabic-language newspapers, read, “War on America. Insinuations of a Bin Laden responsibility, Bush promises retaliation. World and Arab condemnation.” In that day’s editorial, however, entitled “Pearl Harbor, Hiroshima, or….Oklahoma City?” writer Ghassan Tweini questioned the validity of American accusations against the Saudi millionaire.

Media coverage soon evolved, however, from mere reporting to in-depth analysis on Lebanon’s stance. Along with other Arab capitals, Beirut tried hard to dissociate itself from the version of Islam espoused by Bin Laden.

Read the headline in the Sept. 13 An Nahar: “Prime Minister Rafik Al Hariri: What happened is against our principles and religion. Two Lebanese dead and a third missing.” Along with other newspapers, An Nahar argued that the terrorist attacks not only targeted Americans but citizens of the world. As the paper’s correspondent in New York described it, “Suddenly, Americans lost their famous smile and legendary optimism to become as sullen and skeptical as citizens of the Third World. And, along with the Third World, New York and its inhabitants found themselves without public services, with the odor of garbage everywhere. What on Tuesday was clean and shiny became filthy.” The writer could easily have been describing Beirut, Ramallah, or Baghdad.

“Occupying another’s land is terrorism par excellence.”

Many articles in the local press highlighted Israel’s continuous crimes in Lebanon and the occupied Palestinian territories, and several writers emphasized that Washington now needs to address the root causes of terrorism. Successive U.S. administrations are seen as having been biased toward Israel, keeping their eyes closed to atrocities committed by the Jewish state in Lebanon and against the Palestinians.

Future TV, one of Lebanon’s most popular satellite channels, ran a split screen with two devastating pictures: on top was Beirut in 1982 following Israeli bombardment of the city, and on the bottom New York City after the 2001 terrorist attacks. In the background played Sting’s song “Fragile”: “Perhaps this final act was meant/to clinch a lifetime’s argument/that nothing comes from violence/and nothing ever could/for all those born beneath an angry star/lest we forget how fragile we are.”

In an effort to convey to Americans its condemnation of the terrorist attacks, while pointing out that Lebanon also has suffered from terrorism for many years, the government placed a full-page ad in five major U.S. newspapers—The New York Times, Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times and Boston Globe—voicing the Lebanese people’s support of Americans. Under the headline, “It felt like I was in Beirut,” the ad read, “We the people of Lebanon stand behind the American people in this hour of pain and anger. We are united in our condemnation of these unimaginable acts.”

Several articles in the Lebanese media were devoted to anti-Arab and -Muslim sentiments in the U.S. An op-ed piece by Salah Al Deen Hafez entitled, “Islamophobia and American revenge” was published in the Sept. 19 As Safir, another leading Arabic-language newspaper. The Sept. 13 An Nahar featured a huge AP photo on its front page showing the phrase “Kill the Arabs” written in the dust of the WTC.

Lebanon’s media also pointed out, however, certain benefits for the country, noting, for example, that many Arab students currently studying in the U.S. now are interested in transferring to universities in Lebanon because of post-attack harassment. Tourism might also increase, it was emphasized, as Gulf residents might choose to travel to Lebanon due to fear of flying to Europe and the U.S.

Emphasizing the need for a clear-cut anti-terrorism strategy and differentiating between terrorism and resistance, Lebanon responded tepidly to the U.S. coalition and its war in Afghanistan. Beirut’s Al Mustaqbal Arabic-language newspaper headlined on Sept. 18, “The President calls to differentiate between terrorism and fighting occupation. The Prime Minister reiterates condemnation of the savage action: Occupying another’s land is terrorism par excellence.”

Politics vs. Terror

The media voiced the fear that the coalition might label some political parties in Lebanon, Syria and the Palestinian territories as terrorist organizations. “Washington demands the banning of Hezbollah activities…and requests information on followers of Bin Laden in Lebanon,” ran the front-page headline on the Sept. 19 As Safir. The general view was that Washington was out to settle old accounts, such as the 1985 TWA hijacking in which a number of Lebanese were involved and an American was killed.

The war on Afghanistan is seen as an unjust war where only civilians are being killed. The day after the U.S. launched its strikes on Afghanistan, the headline on the Oct. 9 As Safir read: “The first war of the 21st century: The coalition of the strongest against the poorest of countries. Bush: Today we concentrate our efforts on Afghanistan but the battle is bigger and each country has to choose. Bin Laden: America and its people won’t live in security until we live it in reality in Palestine.”

The media in Lebanon, then—along with much of the rest of the world—continues to call on the U.S. to address for once the real roots of terrorism. Many of those roots, moreover, are not in Afghanistan, but right next door.

Samaa Abu Sharar is a free-lance journalist based in Beirut.