The mixed-sect Lebanese army, which has at least 60,000 ground troops, is overseen by Christians, but is thought to have no strong political allegiances. Nasrallah, who has declared Fatfat and the rest of the government illegitimate tools of U.S. interests, controls a heavily armed Shiite militia.
The role of the United Arab Emirates in the expansion of the ISF illustrates the broader implications of the tensions in Lebanon between Sunnis, with Christian and Druze allies, and Shiite Hezbollah, which has close ties to Iran and Syria.
"All of the Arab governments ... are afraid of the big strength of Iran in all the Middle East," Fatfat said. "In Lebanon, it seems we are an arena between Syria and Israel, but there's a new role for Iran."
The U.S.-led toppling of Iraq's Sunni-dominated regime, along with the growing power and ambition of Shiite-led Iran, has fed tensions between Islam's two major sects, analysts say.
Sunnis around the region, especially the U.S.-backed governments of the oil-rich Persian Gulf, have grown increasingly fearful of Shiite power. That animosity has seeped into Lebanon, especially since the strong military performance of Hezbollah against Israel this summer.
The U.S. this year refused to give weapons to Lebanon's Interior Ministry, Fatfat said. But the Bush administration is friendly with the United Arab Emirates, and the arming of anti-Hezbollah forces in Lebanon are considered to be in Washington's interests.
"Part of the U.S. strategy there is predicated on building the capability of Lebanese forces," said Dan Byman, director of the security studies program at Georgetown University and a former Middle East analyst at the CIA.
He said the U.S. government would like Lebanon to be capable of defeating Hezbollah if need be, "which right now is not the reality."
Until Syria was forced to withdraw troops from Lebanon last year, the Interior Ministry was run by Suleiman Franjieh, a Christian with lifelong ties to the government in Damascus.
At the time, about 13,000 ISF troops were stationed in Beirut. Most had no guns. About a quarter were Shiites, said Amin Hoteit, a military analyst and retired Shiite general in the Lebanese army.
Under de facto Syrian control, the Interior Ministry didn't have enough money to arm its troops, who were marginalized in the face of a powerful Syrian-run Lebanese army, Fatfat said.
