the only faction of the Lebanese Front that never received any military aid from Syria, which is hardly surprising, given their strong anti-Syrian views. Weapons and equipment They fielded a mechanized force consisting of a single M50 Super Sherman medium tank, some M113 armored personnel carriers, a few M42 Duster SPAAGs and Chaimite V200 armoured cars backed by gun trucks or technicals. The latter consisted of UAZ-469, Land-Rover series II-III, Santana Series III (Spanish-produced version of the Land-Rover series III), Toyota Land Cruiser (J40), Dodge Power Wagon W200, Dodge D series (3rd generation), Jeep J20 pickup trucks, GMC Sierra Custom K25/K30, Chevrolet C-10/C-15 Cheyenne and Chevrolet C-20 Scottsdale light pickups, plus Chevrolet C-50 medium-duty trucks and GMC C4500 medium-duty trucks, GMC C7500 heavy-duty trucks and M34 2½-ton 6x6 cargo trucks armed with heavy machine guns (HMGs), recoilless rifles and anti-aircraft autocannons. Activities and areas of operations In stark contrast to other Christian factions, the LRP/GoC despised any illegal activities such as drug-trafficking, extortion or looting, and their leader Sakr never sought to establish an autonomous personal fiefdom. Although the Guardians' claimed that they did not center their military operations on 'turf', they did maintain strongholds at the Maronite quarters of East Beirut, the adjacent Matn District (Laqluk, near Akoura), the Batroun District (Tannourine), the eastern Keserwan District (Ayoun es-Simane) and the Jabal Amel region (Kfar-Fallus, Jezzine, Marjayoun, Qlaiaa, Ain Ebel and Rumeish). In May 1979 they even clashed with the NLP Tigers Militia in Beirut for control of the Furn esh Shebbak and Ain el-Rammaneh districts, and for the town of Akoura in the Byblos District. Political beliefs The Guardians hold to several key beliefs: Lebanon is an ancient nation of unique ethnicity. Modern Lebanese people descended from the Phoenicians. Phoenicia was the father of early Western civilization. This has led the Guardians of the Cedars to maintain that Lebanese people are not Arabs. The political consequence of this stance advocates the 'de-Arabization' of Lebanon. Similarly, followers draw a distinction between Arabic and 'Lebanese', aiming to restore the form created by Lebanese philosopher Said Akl. The Guardians of the Cedars have adopted positions hostile to Pan-Arabism. This is believed to be the main reason why they did not grow as a party in Lebanon outside the Maronite community. Saqr himself had fought against pan-Arab forces back in the Lebanon Crisis of 1958. During that time Camille Chamoun entered Lebanon in