“Yes we are arming because guns make us safer”

As the Americans arm their allies in the Middle East, embrace yourself for a new version of the American debate on guns: In the Middle East, do more arms reduce the likelihood of civil war or increase it?

Marching on..

In Lebanon, Mr. Suleiman Frajieh, a Christian opposition leader, was blunt. He told Assafir that his Marada party was arming to prevent another Ehden & Safra massacre. (The one the took the life of his family back in the civil war)

The opposition, especially the hitherto unarmed Christian wing, believes that the Americans are arming the Sunnis to face up to (Shiaa) Hezbollah. This explains why Aoun keeps referring to the ISF -a security body with a strong Sunni presence- as a “militia”. To the opposition’s Christians, especially those in the North where there’s a Sunni majority, arming themselves would be the logical response.

A similar dynamic is taking place in Iraq. The Americans are arming Sunni tribes to defend themselves against both Alquaeda and Shiaa Militias. The strategy seems to be working so far as September was one of the least bloody months for Iraqi civilians. But PM Maliki has raised a legitimate concern: Aren’t those armed becoming just another militia that could fight the Americans later? Many influential pundits agree.

At the heart of the issue is the American attitude to guns. To many in the USA, guns indeed make you safer. Their (explosively controversial) argument is the following: If I carry a gun, criminals will think ten times before attacking me. 
In other words, the Americans could be sincerely good-willed in arming the various Middle Eastern factions. 

The debate will rage on, but now the Americans have left an intellectual fingerprint on it. Even anti Americans like Mr. Franjieh would make the NRA proud.