Independent journalist Fidaa Itani talks about the Nahr Al Bared conflict, the torching of the Danish embassy in Lebanon, and the Danish government’s concerns in Lebanon.

Fidaa has covered conflicts in the Middle East extensively. Over the years, he has gained expert knowledge of armed groups in the Middle East.

Fidaa was himself kidnapped by a small Syrian rebel group a few years back and later released. He is one of several people whom Danish officials met during the backlash on the cartoon crisis in 2006.

He believes an intelligence officer was part of the delegation. The officials wanted to understand what they called "Islamist threat" to Danish interests. Fidaa says that Denmark, like many other Western countries, had an exaggerated perception of the Islamist landscape.

ANALYSIS BY FIDAA ITANI, INDEPENDENT JOURNALIST