After increased Syrian military activity along its border with Lebanon, and a string of bombings in recent months, the two countries have voiced their interest in increased security cooperation. In a meeting Monday, Lebanese Interior Minister Ziad Baroud agreed with his Syrian counterpart to form a joint-commission charged with improving cooperation on matters of terrorism and crime between the two countries. Not surprisingly, Syria's state-run SANA News Agency has cited Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah's support and encouragement for the initiative.
Members of the anti-Syrian March 14 camp, however, are still busy reeling over recent accusations against the coalition, aired on Syrian TV in a taped ‘confession’ given by alleged Fatah Al-Islam militants, for sponsoring terrorism in Syria.
Regarding what in fact would constitute cooperation, one should perhaps distinguish between cooperation, coordination, and information sharing (intelligence-based cooperation) when it comes to Lebanese-Syrian security matters. Lebanese-Syrian cooperation will likely remain a largely strategic project, as any tactical or operational coordination would antagonize differences within Lebanon's politicized security establishment, suggesting that any such activity would only be carried out only when circumstances make it an absolute necessity. Meanwhile, other concerns such as smuggling, are perhaps to profitable for parties on both sides of the border to really work towards eliminating.
This agreement should also be also looked at in context. It's worth noting that the Fatah al-Islam ‘confessions’ recently aired on Syrian TV, in addition to embarrassing March 14, served as the perfect segue into this discussion over security cooperation, as the organization's pronounced culpability in the September Damascus bombing now conveniently presents the group as a common threat to both Syrian and Lebanese security interests.
