In Lebanon today, Fatah al-Islam, which is apparently allied with al-Qaida, is fighting the Lebanese army in a bid to bring down the Saniora government at the behest of its sponsor - the secular Ba'athist regime in Damascus.

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Rather than cut off ties with the Saniora government - which had been compelled to accept Hizbullah control over its affairs - the Bush administration continued to support Saniora and increased US military assistance to the Lebanese army - hoping that it could pretend away the problem.

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