Geagea follows this system with precision. It allows him to interfere in all the offices’ work. (Photo: haytham al-Moussawi)
Samir Geagea and his wife Strida only eat meals prepared by their personal chef. Geagea drinks from a pressurized water bottle, which he perpetually checks for leaks. These are just some of the quirks of Maarab, the headquarters of Lebanese Forces’ chief Geagea, where around every corner is a prospective threat and no effort is too great to protect the leader.
Maarab, the hometown of the fortress-like headquarters of the Lebanese Forces (LF), is like a beehive, working around the clock and in total obscurity. It takes its orders only from Samir Geagea, the leader of the LF.
There are bigger questions as well, like, who transformed the LF from a militia into a structured party which carries out its discussions democratically (with all due reservations on the term democracy)?
Do not dream of asking about the name or identity of any LF official. You will be summarily rejected. Some will refuse to answer, others will send you to the official spokesperson. The spokesperson will then tell you that “the issue is related to Geagea’s security, which is already under threat. Revealing any names will not help anyone.”
From the beginning of his public career – first in the military, then as a politician – Geagea grew accustomed to applying the tactics of espionage to his base. His organization is ironclad, staffed with full-time employees that Geagea bars from holding other jobs so as to avoid any conflict of interest.
A Bureaucracy of Loyalists
Maarab, the hometown of the fortress-like headquarters of the Lebanese Forces (LF), is like a beehive, working around the clock and in total obscurity. It takes its orders only from Samir Geagea, the leader of the LF.
People have always been intrigued by the team surrounding Geagea: Who suggested he escalate his rhetoric against Hezbollah? Who convinced him that his story about “the assassination attempt and the rose” would seem credible?
Do not dream of asking about the name or identity of any LF official. You will be summarily rejected. Some will refuse to answer, others will send you to the official spokesperson. The spokesperson will then tell you that “the issue is related to Geagea’s security, which is already under threat. Revealing any names will not help anyone.”
From the beginning of his public career – first in the military, then as a politician – Geagea grew accustomed to applying the tactics of espionage to his base. His organization is ironclad, staffed with full-time employees that Geagea bars from holding other jobs so as to avoid any conflict of interest.
In this way, LF’s modus operandi is very similar to that of Hezbollah, giving the two organizations the distinction of being the only groups in Lebanon to operate in this manner.
Geagea follows this system with precision. It allows him to interfere in – as well as monitor – all the offices’ work.
The LF has several units: security, media, finance, diplomacy, political relations, and church relations.
First, the media. Heads of the media unit are rotated quickly and continuously, prompting recurring internal restructuring. Duties include completing dossiers on all Lebanese journalists that encompass details of their professional and personal lives. Previous heads have included Nadi Ghosn, Hani Safi, and Antoinette Geagea.
Now the unit is headed by Melhem Riyashi, who in addition to steering the work of the LF’s media institutions and attempting to eliminate the vitriol prevalent in articles on its websites, is interested in Nazi-inspired propaganda, of whom he is said to be fond.
Antoinette Geagea, Samir Geagea’s media advisor, handles his appointments with journalists and keeps open channels of communication with the press. She is close to Geagea’s wife, MP Strida Geagea, and considered to be her weak spot, for they are “sisters in struggle.”
One unit in particular is sensitive to Geagea: finance. It’s an area that he holds dear, not trusting just anyone with it. The post of “liaison officer” is given to one of his biggest confidants, al-Hayat newspaper general manager Raja al-Rassi, who is also Geagea’s treasurer.
The diplomatic relations unit originated with lawyer Joseph Nehme. He was assisted by Elie Khoury, who served as advisor for social affairs. But Khoury was actually tasked with monitoring Nehme’s work. However, there was a fallout between Nehme and the LF, which some in the party say was because of a quarrel with the “first lady” Strida.
Former armor officer Pierre Abou Assi was brought in from France, through an enticing financial offer, to replace Nehme. Khoury, on the other hand, remained in his position: watching.
The LF’s external relations are carried out by businessmen who hold regular meetings with CEOs and business owners in order to garner support for economic projects. They also run the organization in the diaspora.
The operations of the political relations bureau is divided among several individuals. MP Georges Adwan handles links with the Phalanges. He also initiated contact with Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) chief Michel Aoun and keeps regular contacts with Lebanese President Michel Suleiman. The LF point person, Antoine Zahra, is in charge of relations with Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri.
Another link in the LF political web is Imad Wakim who is the Beirut sector coordinator. Previously, he was in charge of the LF engineering branch and served as LF secretary general. He was the liaison between the party’s various branches and sectors, in addition to running the party’s internal organization.
Relations with the Phalanges’ Supreme President Amin Gemayel requires special care. Nobody speaks to him except Geagea personally.
Following the resignation of Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir and the election of Bishara Rai as head of the Maronite Church, the role of Elie Kairouz, in charge of LF church relations, took a back seat.
Rai realigned the Maronite position and disengaged the church from local conflicts. He did not want to inherit from Sfeir the position of Geagea’s Godfather. This upset the latter and Kairouz is no longer as present in Bkirki, the base of the Maronite patriarch in Lebanon, as they were before. The cold relations prompted Geagea to try and strengthen his links with the orders of monks.
Keeping the Leader Secure
Geagea is obsessed with security. He feels he is under constant threat from nebulous forces of darkness. For this reason, he interferes in the most minute of details to ensure his own safety.
He is famous for his personal agenda, where he takes notes on all the information he receives. During meetings, he requests that these notes be filed in the proper dossier. This is often taken care of by Toni Chidiak and Elie Braghid, who work under Geagea’s office director.
In 1994, Chidiak was in charge of the “Qannoubine Home,” a center established to address the needs of the Bcharre region. His work was political and cultural until he moved to Beirut following Geagea’s arrest that year. He is part of Geagea’s inner circle that, hailing from his hometown of Bcharre, he blindly trusts.
Braghid is a veteran of the security forces, having served as a security officer in the LF militia during the Lebanese civil war.
According to Lebanese security officials, Maarab has a mini-wiretapping center directly linked to the operations room and run by safety and security officer Maroun Eid.
Communications with the Lebanese army are carried out by an officer in the Internal Security Forces (ISF). He heads the “Maarab security team” which consists of several ISF officers and policemen, 90 percent of whom are from the Bcharre region.
The presence of security units in each village is obvious, “but they do not pose any danger, unless there is a big collapse in the country,” said a security source.
Georges Adwan is famous for his relationship with Lebanese intelligence, having coordinated with them to attempt to release Geagea from prison. A member of the LF informed Al-Akhbar that Adwan maintains his contacts with army intelligence to this day.
Two security incidents turned the tables at Maarab: the “assassination attempt” against Geagea in April 2012 and the successful assassination of former ISF security chief Wissam al-Hassan in October 2012.
After the “assassination attempt” against Geagea, his security circle expanded, even though it’s tough to find a single security official who would confirm that the assassination attempt actually happened. It is no longer strange to see men brandishing AK-47s or police dogs searching cars. The contingent guarding Geagea’s home includes 63 Lebanese soldiers and 120 LF members, including 30 to 40 people taking turns at guard posts.
In 2010, Al-Akhbar obtained documents from WikiLeaks, which originated from the US Embassy in Beirut. One wire indicated that Geagea had paid a “surprise” visit to the US Embassy on 9 May 2008 following the 7 May Hezbollah security operation in Beirut. He informed the US ambassador that he had between 7,000 and 10,000 fighters ready to be deployed, asking to arm them.
Surveillance has also expanded into the Rashein – Aghbeh region, about eight kilometers from Maarab. A string of surveillance cameras monitor the Rashein Junction all the way to the Ghosta – Maarab road. LF personnel wearing the uniforms of the ISF patrol the area. They even summon people for questioning if their movements are deemed suspect.
Geagea and his wife are scared. They only eat meals prepared by their personal chef. Geagea drinks from a “pressurized bottle,” which he persistently squeezes to ensure that it does not have any leaks.
Even in his fortress, under watchful eyes, he shudders at the possibility of infiltration. Some say it is due to past circumstances and trauma that he is unable to overcome. Others say he “does not trust the state apparatus.”
This is how things run in Maarab. Geagea follows up on every detail since he “does not know any other way.” The seemingly impenetrable system has only one flaw: Strida Geagea’s influence, which some say creates a duality in the fortress’ operations.
This article is an edited translation from the Arabic Edition.
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