The Lebanese arena is plagued by concerns stemming from recent events in Iraq and the progress made by Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) militants there. It is as if this was the event missing — a surprising synchronization between Iraqi events and a series of security incidents in Lebanon's border area — to transform concern into an obsession among state authorities and the various political forces.
Lebanon had been enjoying several weeks of cautious calm in terms of security. Hezbollah had taken control of and closed most of the Lebanese-Syrian border in the face of armed fundamentalists from the conflict in Syria, and the government carried out a series of successful security measures in Tripoli, the north and Arsal, in the Bekaa Valley. The news of ISIS in northwestern Iraq, however, came as a number of isolated security incidents took place in Lebanon.
