the trouble with lebanon's guardians
TRANSCRIPT
8132019 The Trouble with Lebanons Guardians
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullthe-trouble-with-lebanons-guardians 142 ESQUIRE AUGUST 2013
Through thick plumes of teargas protesters
wielding sticks and stones surged up the
road leading toward Lebanonrsquos Grand
Serail in Downtown Beirut The wave of
angry youths quickly punctured the first
security line of police officers and chaos
took hold as they reached a second barrier
and everyone scattered
A barrage of gunfire more canisters of
tear gas and a fortuitous shift in the wind sent protesters running
back from the Serail As protesters and the police force staggered
a phalanx of soldiers three men deep took position at the first
barrier The intervention by army personnel put an end to the
scuffle and the protestersrsquo hopes of reaching the office of the
prime minister
Last Octoberrsquos attempted storming of the Grand Serail last year
followed the funeral of the countryrsquos intelligence chief Wissam al-
Hassan It was another tense day for Lebanon that set the shortfalls
of the nationrsquos poorly trained and disorganised police force into
stark relief Yearsrsquo worth of lackluster performances have seen the
army being forced to step in and regain control during dangerous
moments of civil strife
THETROUBLE
LEBANONrsquoSGUARDIANS
I N A C O U N T R Y B E S E T W I T H U N C E R T A I N T YA N D A F R A G I L E P E A C E I T D O E S N rsquo T H E L P
M A T T E R S T H A T T H E P O L I C E F O R C E I S A L S OI N D I R E N E E D O F R E F O R M
BY STEPHEN DOCKERY
W I T H
P H O
T O
S X X X X X X X X X
X
X X X X X
X X X X X X X X
X X X X X X X
8132019 The Trouble with Lebanons Guardians
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullthe-trouble-with-lebanons-guardians 24 AUGUST 2013 ESQUIRE 3
Despite internal restructuring and external aid efforts
that channel hundreds of millions of dollars into training and
equipment former police officers trainers and analysts describe
a force that is underdeveloped underfunded and undercut by
politics size and sectarianism
This is a major problem in a country as unstable as Lebanon
The countryrsquos tenuous peace has been shattered restored
and shattered again since the brutal civil war ended in 1990
Maintaining order between its eighteen recognised religious
groups and a host of foreign actors who used the country as a
proxy battlefield is an ongoing balancing act Israel has waged
war here the bloodshed in Syria regularly spills over the border
and the countryrsquos fractious political-religious groups have done
their part to push Lebanon near the edge of domestic strife and
chaos Over the past year roadblocks kidnappings and gun battles
involving radical Islamists rural gangs and zealous supporters of
the countryrsquos political parties have challenged the countryrsquos hard
fought peace
This is a nation in desperate need of lawmen that can protect
and serve Yet the police force also known as the Internal Security
Forces can barely direct traffic Officers are more likely to be
seen speeding down the highway the wrong direction chatting
8132019 The Trouble with Lebanons Guardians
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullthe-trouble-with-lebanons-guardians 344 ESQUIRE AUGUST 2013
with friends or accepting a bribe than
protecting and serving ldquoItrsquos extremely
difficult to reform or transform the
security sector in Lebanon when it
operates in a political arena that is so
divided and polarisedrdquo says Yezid Sayigh
senior associate at the Carnegie Middle
East Center in Beirut A ldquopoor cousinrdquo of
the nationrsquos multitude of security services
is how Sayigh describes a force that has
long been able to perform only the most
basic of policing duties while having
difficulty respecting human rights
This latter issue was illustrated by a
visit to a large auditorium at the University
of Saint Joseph in southeast Beirut Several
hundred officers had just undergone a
two-week course on respecting human
rights and the final session was also open
to the press The event was meant to show
the strides they was making towards
reform but it turned out not to be thebest advert for their progress As a trainer
reviewed arrest procedures one of the
trainees put up his hand ldquoBut what if we
really need to beat him to get a confessionrdquo the officer asked
His question was met with nods of approval and more hands
shot up How can you know if the guy is guilty without beating him
the officers wanted to know
Some of the issues are cultural family and religious alliances
are deeply ingrained and a heavy hand is something that goes
back to Ottoman times The organisation is also tied in sectarian
knots Each of Lebanonrsquos major sects supports a portion of the
force which it guards fiercely and rarely shares with other groups
This system undercuts talented officers in favour of political and
religious balance
Other problems are more modern and bureaucratic When the
police forcersquos mandate was renewed over nine years ago foreign
donors flocked to help with the reform process A group of mostly
western states primarily the European Union United States and
United Kingdom poured in about $70 million a year to improve
the police and increase stability in the country Its ranks more
than doubled in size growing from about 13000 officers in 2005
to nearly 30000 police today in a nation of around four million
Some recruits are being brought in faster than they can be trained
as competent officers
Donors agree that the large growth has created some of
the forcersquos problems ldquoItrsquos a relatively young agency so itrsquos
understandable that there are some organisational challenges asa resultrdquo says a US diplomatic source from the US embassy in
Beirut ldquoGiven their new mandate we have great confidence in
their ability to expand and growrdquo the source continues
A few of the donor-sponsored programmes have met with
moderate success A forensics facility has broken ground in the
town of Aramoun and a country-wide police communications
network is being set up at the largess of the US government
Similar efforts from other nations include anti-torture training
redrafting codes of conduct and development of specialised
counter-terrorism branches Some police patrols on the Beirut
corniche have exchanged their automatic weapons for batons and
in general community-minded policing has improved around the
country Female officers can be seen patrolling the city in squads
ldquo A s a t r a i n e rr e v i e w e d a r r e s t
p r o c e d u r e s o n e o ft h e t r a i n e e s p u t u ph i s h a n d lsquo B u t w h a t
i f w e r e a l l y n e e dt o b e a t h i m t o g e t
a c o n f e s s i o n rsquot h e o f f i c e r a s k e d ldquo
Caption in here ifyou need it - delete
if not sdj983142hksdfhjsdfsdj983142h sjdf jsd
983142jsdh983142j sd983142h sdj983142jsdhfsjd 983142jsdh983142jsh
8132019 The Trouble with Lebanons Guardians
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullthe-trouble-with-lebanons-guardians 44 AUGUST 2013 ESQUIRE 5
after women were integrated into the police force with backing
from the US Where political cover exists police have been able to
make arrests in a number of high-profile cases including a string of
bank robberies and a case of fraudulent pharmaceuticals
But a public opinion survey conducted by the ISF in 2009 found
that less than fifty percent of the population had any degree of
trust in the police while only fourteen percent had total faith in
the force And despite the sleek Dodge Charger police cruisers that
prowl the streets the force is facing an anemic budget shortage
according to former General and ISF officer Amin Saliba It has a
yearly budget of around $500 million according to sources who
work with the ISF About $70 million comes from external donors
to be channelled to training and new equipment while the rest
$430 million comes from central government
That amount is barely enough to cover basic costs such assalaries according to advisers who work with the police force
and delays in payments of the shoestring budget are leaving bills
unpaid ldquoHospitals are not accepting Internal Security Forces
patients because we canrsquot pay our billsrdquo Saliba says ldquoWe need
to reconsider salaries and servicesrdquo That low pay keeps police
dependent on other sources of income and beholden to other
sources of power A few kisses on the cheek and a small bribe to the
local policeman are a more surefire way of seeing the law on your
side rather than any notion of protecting and serving
But to increase pay and reduce corruption and political
patronage the police force is in a double bind It would need
around an additional $100 million a year to cover costs police
analysts estimate Adding to the challenge raising salaries would
require boosting the pay scale of other government employees
making the issue a political non-starter
ISF officials admit that more needs to be done to fund and
improve the police But they nevertheless argue that the force is
headed in the right direction overall ldquoThe quality of our training
has significantly improved but itrsquos a continuous processrdquo says a
police official of recent reformsrdquo The official credits former ISF
head General Ashraf Rifi with upgrading the force But after
reaching retirement age Rifi handed over his post in March to ISF
chief Roger Salam despite protestations from Hezbollah backed
candidate Ali Hajj who claimed he had a right to the position
Salam also reached retirement age and passed the position in June
to Ibrahim Basbous another temporary leader who will age out of
the position shortly as well
The political scuffle that brought down Lebanonrsquos governmentin March of this year was partly over the leadership of the nationrsquos
police force Two of the countryrsquos major parties were vying to get
their man into a seat of power on the police force before Prime
Minister Najib Mikati stepped down This uncertainty surrounding
the top spot will continue until a new government can be formed
that agrees on a permanent appointee But given the current sense
of political paralysis which is compounded by the impasse over
the Syrian uprising a breakthrough seems unlikely And this means
the nation may not get the force of law and order it so desperately
needs in increasingly trying times ldquoThat doesnrsquot prevent a lot
being donerdquo insists Yezid Sayigh before adding a word of caution
ldquoEven with the best will in the world it must be very difficult for
anyone in commandrdquo
Caption in here ifyou need it - delete
if not sdj983142hksdfhjsdfsdj983142h sjdf jsd
983142jsdh983142j sd983142h sdj983142jsdhfsjd 983142jsdh983142jsh
8132019 The Trouble with Lebanons Guardians
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullthe-trouble-with-lebanons-guardians 24 AUGUST 2013 ESQUIRE 3
Despite internal restructuring and external aid efforts
that channel hundreds of millions of dollars into training and
equipment former police officers trainers and analysts describe
a force that is underdeveloped underfunded and undercut by
politics size and sectarianism
This is a major problem in a country as unstable as Lebanon
The countryrsquos tenuous peace has been shattered restored
and shattered again since the brutal civil war ended in 1990
Maintaining order between its eighteen recognised religious
groups and a host of foreign actors who used the country as a
proxy battlefield is an ongoing balancing act Israel has waged
war here the bloodshed in Syria regularly spills over the border
and the countryrsquos fractious political-religious groups have done
their part to push Lebanon near the edge of domestic strife and
chaos Over the past year roadblocks kidnappings and gun battles
involving radical Islamists rural gangs and zealous supporters of
the countryrsquos political parties have challenged the countryrsquos hard
fought peace
This is a nation in desperate need of lawmen that can protect
and serve Yet the police force also known as the Internal Security
Forces can barely direct traffic Officers are more likely to be
seen speeding down the highway the wrong direction chatting
8132019 The Trouble with Lebanons Guardians
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullthe-trouble-with-lebanons-guardians 344 ESQUIRE AUGUST 2013
with friends or accepting a bribe than
protecting and serving ldquoItrsquos extremely
difficult to reform or transform the
security sector in Lebanon when it
operates in a political arena that is so
divided and polarisedrdquo says Yezid Sayigh
senior associate at the Carnegie Middle
East Center in Beirut A ldquopoor cousinrdquo of
the nationrsquos multitude of security services
is how Sayigh describes a force that has
long been able to perform only the most
basic of policing duties while having
difficulty respecting human rights
This latter issue was illustrated by a
visit to a large auditorium at the University
of Saint Joseph in southeast Beirut Several
hundred officers had just undergone a
two-week course on respecting human
rights and the final session was also open
to the press The event was meant to show
the strides they was making towards
reform but it turned out not to be thebest advert for their progress As a trainer
reviewed arrest procedures one of the
trainees put up his hand ldquoBut what if we
really need to beat him to get a confessionrdquo the officer asked
His question was met with nods of approval and more hands
shot up How can you know if the guy is guilty without beating him
the officers wanted to know
Some of the issues are cultural family and religious alliances
are deeply ingrained and a heavy hand is something that goes
back to Ottoman times The organisation is also tied in sectarian
knots Each of Lebanonrsquos major sects supports a portion of the
force which it guards fiercely and rarely shares with other groups
This system undercuts talented officers in favour of political and
religious balance
Other problems are more modern and bureaucratic When the
police forcersquos mandate was renewed over nine years ago foreign
donors flocked to help with the reform process A group of mostly
western states primarily the European Union United States and
United Kingdom poured in about $70 million a year to improve
the police and increase stability in the country Its ranks more
than doubled in size growing from about 13000 officers in 2005
to nearly 30000 police today in a nation of around four million
Some recruits are being brought in faster than they can be trained
as competent officers
Donors agree that the large growth has created some of
the forcersquos problems ldquoItrsquos a relatively young agency so itrsquos
understandable that there are some organisational challenges asa resultrdquo says a US diplomatic source from the US embassy in
Beirut ldquoGiven their new mandate we have great confidence in
their ability to expand and growrdquo the source continues
A few of the donor-sponsored programmes have met with
moderate success A forensics facility has broken ground in the
town of Aramoun and a country-wide police communications
network is being set up at the largess of the US government
Similar efforts from other nations include anti-torture training
redrafting codes of conduct and development of specialised
counter-terrorism branches Some police patrols on the Beirut
corniche have exchanged their automatic weapons for batons and
in general community-minded policing has improved around the
country Female officers can be seen patrolling the city in squads
ldquo A s a t r a i n e rr e v i e w e d a r r e s t
p r o c e d u r e s o n e o ft h e t r a i n e e s p u t u ph i s h a n d lsquo B u t w h a t
i f w e r e a l l y n e e dt o b e a t h i m t o g e t
a c o n f e s s i o n rsquot h e o f f i c e r a s k e d ldquo
Caption in here ifyou need it - delete
if not sdj983142hksdfhjsdfsdj983142h sjdf jsd
983142jsdh983142j sd983142h sdj983142jsdhfsjd 983142jsdh983142jsh
8132019 The Trouble with Lebanons Guardians
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullthe-trouble-with-lebanons-guardians 44 AUGUST 2013 ESQUIRE 5
after women were integrated into the police force with backing
from the US Where political cover exists police have been able to
make arrests in a number of high-profile cases including a string of
bank robberies and a case of fraudulent pharmaceuticals
But a public opinion survey conducted by the ISF in 2009 found
that less than fifty percent of the population had any degree of
trust in the police while only fourteen percent had total faith in
the force And despite the sleek Dodge Charger police cruisers that
prowl the streets the force is facing an anemic budget shortage
according to former General and ISF officer Amin Saliba It has a
yearly budget of around $500 million according to sources who
work with the ISF About $70 million comes from external donors
to be channelled to training and new equipment while the rest
$430 million comes from central government
That amount is barely enough to cover basic costs such assalaries according to advisers who work with the police force
and delays in payments of the shoestring budget are leaving bills
unpaid ldquoHospitals are not accepting Internal Security Forces
patients because we canrsquot pay our billsrdquo Saliba says ldquoWe need
to reconsider salaries and servicesrdquo That low pay keeps police
dependent on other sources of income and beholden to other
sources of power A few kisses on the cheek and a small bribe to the
local policeman are a more surefire way of seeing the law on your
side rather than any notion of protecting and serving
But to increase pay and reduce corruption and political
patronage the police force is in a double bind It would need
around an additional $100 million a year to cover costs police
analysts estimate Adding to the challenge raising salaries would
require boosting the pay scale of other government employees
making the issue a political non-starter
ISF officials admit that more needs to be done to fund and
improve the police But they nevertheless argue that the force is
headed in the right direction overall ldquoThe quality of our training
has significantly improved but itrsquos a continuous processrdquo says a
police official of recent reformsrdquo The official credits former ISF
head General Ashraf Rifi with upgrading the force But after
reaching retirement age Rifi handed over his post in March to ISF
chief Roger Salam despite protestations from Hezbollah backed
candidate Ali Hajj who claimed he had a right to the position
Salam also reached retirement age and passed the position in June
to Ibrahim Basbous another temporary leader who will age out of
the position shortly as well
The political scuffle that brought down Lebanonrsquos governmentin March of this year was partly over the leadership of the nationrsquos
police force Two of the countryrsquos major parties were vying to get
their man into a seat of power on the police force before Prime
Minister Najib Mikati stepped down This uncertainty surrounding
the top spot will continue until a new government can be formed
that agrees on a permanent appointee But given the current sense
of political paralysis which is compounded by the impasse over
the Syrian uprising a breakthrough seems unlikely And this means
the nation may not get the force of law and order it so desperately
needs in increasingly trying times ldquoThat doesnrsquot prevent a lot
being donerdquo insists Yezid Sayigh before adding a word of caution
ldquoEven with the best will in the world it must be very difficult for
anyone in commandrdquo
Caption in here ifyou need it - delete
if not sdj983142hksdfhjsdfsdj983142h sjdf jsd
983142jsdh983142j sd983142h sdj983142jsdhfsjd 983142jsdh983142jsh
8132019 The Trouble with Lebanons Guardians
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullthe-trouble-with-lebanons-guardians 344 ESQUIRE AUGUST 2013
with friends or accepting a bribe than
protecting and serving ldquoItrsquos extremely
difficult to reform or transform the
security sector in Lebanon when it
operates in a political arena that is so
divided and polarisedrdquo says Yezid Sayigh
senior associate at the Carnegie Middle
East Center in Beirut A ldquopoor cousinrdquo of
the nationrsquos multitude of security services
is how Sayigh describes a force that has
long been able to perform only the most
basic of policing duties while having
difficulty respecting human rights
This latter issue was illustrated by a
visit to a large auditorium at the University
of Saint Joseph in southeast Beirut Several
hundred officers had just undergone a
two-week course on respecting human
rights and the final session was also open
to the press The event was meant to show
the strides they was making towards
reform but it turned out not to be thebest advert for their progress As a trainer
reviewed arrest procedures one of the
trainees put up his hand ldquoBut what if we
really need to beat him to get a confessionrdquo the officer asked
His question was met with nods of approval and more hands
shot up How can you know if the guy is guilty without beating him
the officers wanted to know
Some of the issues are cultural family and religious alliances
are deeply ingrained and a heavy hand is something that goes
back to Ottoman times The organisation is also tied in sectarian
knots Each of Lebanonrsquos major sects supports a portion of the
force which it guards fiercely and rarely shares with other groups
This system undercuts talented officers in favour of political and
religious balance
Other problems are more modern and bureaucratic When the
police forcersquos mandate was renewed over nine years ago foreign
donors flocked to help with the reform process A group of mostly
western states primarily the European Union United States and
United Kingdom poured in about $70 million a year to improve
the police and increase stability in the country Its ranks more
than doubled in size growing from about 13000 officers in 2005
to nearly 30000 police today in a nation of around four million
Some recruits are being brought in faster than they can be trained
as competent officers
Donors agree that the large growth has created some of
the forcersquos problems ldquoItrsquos a relatively young agency so itrsquos
understandable that there are some organisational challenges asa resultrdquo says a US diplomatic source from the US embassy in
Beirut ldquoGiven their new mandate we have great confidence in
their ability to expand and growrdquo the source continues
A few of the donor-sponsored programmes have met with
moderate success A forensics facility has broken ground in the
town of Aramoun and a country-wide police communications
network is being set up at the largess of the US government
Similar efforts from other nations include anti-torture training
redrafting codes of conduct and development of specialised
counter-terrorism branches Some police patrols on the Beirut
corniche have exchanged their automatic weapons for batons and
in general community-minded policing has improved around the
country Female officers can be seen patrolling the city in squads
ldquo A s a t r a i n e rr e v i e w e d a r r e s t
p r o c e d u r e s o n e o ft h e t r a i n e e s p u t u ph i s h a n d lsquo B u t w h a t
i f w e r e a l l y n e e dt o b e a t h i m t o g e t
a c o n f e s s i o n rsquot h e o f f i c e r a s k e d ldquo
Caption in here ifyou need it - delete
if not sdj983142hksdfhjsdfsdj983142h sjdf jsd
983142jsdh983142j sd983142h sdj983142jsdhfsjd 983142jsdh983142jsh
8132019 The Trouble with Lebanons Guardians
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullthe-trouble-with-lebanons-guardians 44 AUGUST 2013 ESQUIRE 5
after women were integrated into the police force with backing
from the US Where political cover exists police have been able to
make arrests in a number of high-profile cases including a string of
bank robberies and a case of fraudulent pharmaceuticals
But a public opinion survey conducted by the ISF in 2009 found
that less than fifty percent of the population had any degree of
trust in the police while only fourteen percent had total faith in
the force And despite the sleek Dodge Charger police cruisers that
prowl the streets the force is facing an anemic budget shortage
according to former General and ISF officer Amin Saliba It has a
yearly budget of around $500 million according to sources who
work with the ISF About $70 million comes from external donors
to be channelled to training and new equipment while the rest
$430 million comes from central government
That amount is barely enough to cover basic costs such assalaries according to advisers who work with the police force
and delays in payments of the shoestring budget are leaving bills
unpaid ldquoHospitals are not accepting Internal Security Forces
patients because we canrsquot pay our billsrdquo Saliba says ldquoWe need
to reconsider salaries and servicesrdquo That low pay keeps police
dependent on other sources of income and beholden to other
sources of power A few kisses on the cheek and a small bribe to the
local policeman are a more surefire way of seeing the law on your
side rather than any notion of protecting and serving
But to increase pay and reduce corruption and political
patronage the police force is in a double bind It would need
around an additional $100 million a year to cover costs police
analysts estimate Adding to the challenge raising salaries would
require boosting the pay scale of other government employees
making the issue a political non-starter
ISF officials admit that more needs to be done to fund and
improve the police But they nevertheless argue that the force is
headed in the right direction overall ldquoThe quality of our training
has significantly improved but itrsquos a continuous processrdquo says a
police official of recent reformsrdquo The official credits former ISF
head General Ashraf Rifi with upgrading the force But after
reaching retirement age Rifi handed over his post in March to ISF
chief Roger Salam despite protestations from Hezbollah backed
candidate Ali Hajj who claimed he had a right to the position
Salam also reached retirement age and passed the position in June
to Ibrahim Basbous another temporary leader who will age out of
the position shortly as well
The political scuffle that brought down Lebanonrsquos governmentin March of this year was partly over the leadership of the nationrsquos
police force Two of the countryrsquos major parties were vying to get
their man into a seat of power on the police force before Prime
Minister Najib Mikati stepped down This uncertainty surrounding
the top spot will continue until a new government can be formed
that agrees on a permanent appointee But given the current sense
of political paralysis which is compounded by the impasse over
the Syrian uprising a breakthrough seems unlikely And this means
the nation may not get the force of law and order it so desperately
needs in increasingly trying times ldquoThat doesnrsquot prevent a lot
being donerdquo insists Yezid Sayigh before adding a word of caution
ldquoEven with the best will in the world it must be very difficult for
anyone in commandrdquo
Caption in here ifyou need it - delete
if not sdj983142hksdfhjsdfsdj983142h sjdf jsd
983142jsdh983142j sd983142h sdj983142jsdhfsjd 983142jsdh983142jsh
8132019 The Trouble with Lebanons Guardians
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullthe-trouble-with-lebanons-guardians 44 AUGUST 2013 ESQUIRE 5
after women were integrated into the police force with backing
from the US Where political cover exists police have been able to
make arrests in a number of high-profile cases including a string of
bank robberies and a case of fraudulent pharmaceuticals
But a public opinion survey conducted by the ISF in 2009 found
that less than fifty percent of the population had any degree of
trust in the police while only fourteen percent had total faith in
the force And despite the sleek Dodge Charger police cruisers that
prowl the streets the force is facing an anemic budget shortage
according to former General and ISF officer Amin Saliba It has a
yearly budget of around $500 million according to sources who
work with the ISF About $70 million comes from external donors
to be channelled to training and new equipment while the rest
$430 million comes from central government
That amount is barely enough to cover basic costs such assalaries according to advisers who work with the police force
and delays in payments of the shoestring budget are leaving bills
unpaid ldquoHospitals are not accepting Internal Security Forces
patients because we canrsquot pay our billsrdquo Saliba says ldquoWe need
to reconsider salaries and servicesrdquo That low pay keeps police
dependent on other sources of income and beholden to other
sources of power A few kisses on the cheek and a small bribe to the
local policeman are a more surefire way of seeing the law on your
side rather than any notion of protecting and serving
But to increase pay and reduce corruption and political
patronage the police force is in a double bind It would need
around an additional $100 million a year to cover costs police
analysts estimate Adding to the challenge raising salaries would
require boosting the pay scale of other government employees
making the issue a political non-starter
ISF officials admit that more needs to be done to fund and
improve the police But they nevertheless argue that the force is
headed in the right direction overall ldquoThe quality of our training
has significantly improved but itrsquos a continuous processrdquo says a
police official of recent reformsrdquo The official credits former ISF
head General Ashraf Rifi with upgrading the force But after
reaching retirement age Rifi handed over his post in March to ISF
chief Roger Salam despite protestations from Hezbollah backed
candidate Ali Hajj who claimed he had a right to the position
Salam also reached retirement age and passed the position in June
to Ibrahim Basbous another temporary leader who will age out of
the position shortly as well
The political scuffle that brought down Lebanonrsquos governmentin March of this year was partly over the leadership of the nationrsquos
police force Two of the countryrsquos major parties were vying to get
their man into a seat of power on the police force before Prime
Minister Najib Mikati stepped down This uncertainty surrounding
the top spot will continue until a new government can be formed
that agrees on a permanent appointee But given the current sense
of political paralysis which is compounded by the impasse over
the Syrian uprising a breakthrough seems unlikely And this means
the nation may not get the force of law and order it so desperately
needs in increasingly trying times ldquoThat doesnrsquot prevent a lot
being donerdquo insists Yezid Sayigh before adding a word of caution
ldquoEven with the best will in the world it must be very difficult for
anyone in commandrdquo
Caption in here ifyou need it - delete
if not sdj983142hksdfhjsdfsdj983142h sjdf jsd
983142jsdh983142j sd983142h sdj983142jsdhfsjd 983142jsdh983142jsh