LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
July 14/09

Bible Reading of the day
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 10:34-42.11:1. Do not think that I have come to bring peace upon the earth. I have come to bring not peace but the sword.  For I have come to set a man 'against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law;  and one's enemies will be those of his household.' Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever does not take up his cross and follow after me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. Whoever receives you receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me. Whoever receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet's reward, and whoever receives a righteous man because he is righteous will receive a righteous man's reward. And whoever gives only a cup of cold water to one of these little ones to drink because he is a disciple--amen, I say to you, he will surely not lose his reward." When Jesus finished giving these commands to his twelve disciples, he went away from that place to teach and to preach in their towns. 
 

Free Opinions, Releases, letters & Special Reports
Have we hit a snag? NOW Staff/July 13, 2009
Gathering Paradoxes/Future News 13/07/09
Hands reach out to assist government’s birth. Future News 13/07/09

Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources for July 13/09
Assad to Kouchner: Syria Has No Pre-Conditions for Lebanese Government Formation-Naharnet
Hariri Committed to Open-Ended Dialogue on Government Formation-Naharnet
Halutz Defends 2006 War Decision, Kaplinsky Sees Government and Army Mistakes-Naharnet
Harb: ‘unity government’ overturns Taef agreement-Future News
Netanyahu tries to obstruct the cabinet formation-Future News
Jumblatt concerned over Israel’s positions against Hizbullah-Future News
Shatah: Election results cannot be ignored-Future News
Siniora announces official mourning period after death of former PM Amin Hafez-Now Lebanon
Jumblatt: Nasrallah has right to admonish me for fierce political rhetoric. Now Lebanom
Kobeissi: No crisis regarding the government formation-Future News
Hariri discusses with Jumblatt efforts to form government-Future News
Assiri: KSA does not interfere in Lebanon’s affairs-Future News
France FM tells Israel, Syria to waste no time in renewing talks-Ha'aretz
Deputy Israeli FM: Conditions not yet ripe for progress on Syria track-Xinhua
S Korean troops' deployment in Lebanon extended till next year-Xinhua
Syria: No peace summit until Israel cedes Golan Heights-Ynetnews
Jumblat Warns against Isolationist Thinking-Naharnet
Kouchner: Syria to Let Lebanon Form Government without Meddling
-Naharnet
Berri: Lebanon's Strength Lies in Political Unity And Internal Stability
-Naharnet
Salloukh: July 2006 Anniversary Strengthens Our Unity, Calls For Speed Government Formation
-Naharnet
Nasrallah, Qabalan Stress Need to Confront Looming Israeli Dangers
-Naharnet
Obama Backs Closer 'Engagement' with Syria; Muallem Says Obama's Position 'Encouraging' but Sanctions 'Unjust'
-Naharnet
Former PM Amin al-Hafez Dies at 88
-Naharnet
Mild earthquake rattles south Lebanon town-Daily Star
Thousands flock to Broumma for summer street fair-Daily Star
Arbitrary felling of trees poses serious danger to Jabal Moussa-Daily Star
Syria won't redraw border w
ith Lebanon-Jerusalem Post
Candidate Declares Iran May Face 'Disintegration'-New York Times
2006 Lebanon War Still a Point of Contention in Israel, Lebanon-Reuters
Three years after Lebanon War, IDF warns of Hezbollah rearmament-Ha'aretz
Internal-regional obstacles hinder Lebanese cabinet formation-Xinhua
Kuntar: Hezbollah will intervene if Iran attacked-Ynetnews
French Foreign Minister meets Hezbollah MP in Beirut-European Jewish Press
Moallem: Damascus demands full Israeli pullout from Golan-Daily Star
Syria won't meddle in cabinet formation - Paris-Daily Star
Riyadh open to all Lebanese political parties - envoy-Daily Star
New commission to restructure Future Movement-Daily Star
Nasrallah, Qabalan call for unity against Israel-Daily Star
Sleiman to attend NAM meeting in Sharm El-Sheikh-Daily Star
Jordan 'understands' Lebanese move to release Shaaban-Daily Star
Fadlallah says Obama has duped Arabs, Muslims-Daily Star
Sleiman slams continued Israeli violations-Daily Star
Southern Lebanese say peace deal with Israel will not improve security -Daily Star
Beirut Stock Exchange down 6.1 percent-By Regional Press Network (RPN)

Syria won't redraw border with Lebanon
By ALEX SORIN -Jerusalem Post
Syria says it will not redraw its borders with Lebanon until Israel withdraws from the Shaba Farms area, Syria's ambassador to the UN has made clear.
Syrian representative, Bashar Ja'afari, sent a series of letters to the UN stipulating that Syria considered the defining of a future Syrian-Lebanese border, especially regarding the Shaba Farms, unfeasible until Israel withdrew from the entire area, the Israeli-Arab news Web site Al Arab reported Sunday.
Despite the seriousness of the letters, Israeli experts believe this is just another attempt by the Syrian regime to create unrest on the international scene whenever the opportunity presents itself.
"In general, the Syrian regime does everything it can to prevent the reduction of tensions and greater stability between Israel and Lebanon. It's a matter of stirring the pot whenever they can," said Gerald Steinberg, head of the political science department at Bar-Ilan University.
Syria FM: Pullout from Golan for peace
Obama says he's 'troubled' by Syrian behavior
The Shaba Farms, or Mount Dov, were captured from Syria in the 1967 war, and the issue of the territory's return became a problem after Israel's unilateral withdrawal from Lebanon in 2000 - which, according to the UN, ended the territorial dispute between Lebanon and Israel. Since the withdrawal, Syria and Hizbullah have used the site as justification for armed resistance against Israeli occupation, realizing the world would respond to a border conflict.
"The Syrians use the issue of the Shaba Farms because they want the international community to think that Israel is a border violator, so they'll do everything to reenergize the issue," said Dan Diker, senior foreign policy analyst at the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs.
Diker believes that viewing the conflict as a matter of borders is a misconception, and that it should be approached as a matter of Israel's right to exist.
"The international community has always responded to border issues. That is why the international community has always gotten the conflict wrong. We are in a dispute to see if we can exist in any borders in the Middle East," said Diker. While Syria's official stance on Mount Dov has been that it belongs to Lebanon, it is believed that Syria's goal in attempting to reclaim the Golan Heights, including Mount Dov, is to enhance its own image among other Middle Eastern nations and to set an example regarding what can be obtained in negotiations with Israel.
Ja'afari's letters to the UN and the raising of the Lebanon-Syria border issue come amid incipient attempts by the United States and moderate Arab nations such as Saudi Arabia and Egypt to pull Syria away from the Iranian-Hizbullah fold. "It's very difficult to discern Syrian intentions, because their public statements tend to be contradictory. The Syrian regime has shown that it wants the benefits from dialogue with the US, but is not willing to change its position regarding Iran and Hizbullah," said Steinberg. According to Steinberg, Israel would have to see clear and unprecedented statements and actions by the US and the international community, including Europe, that a withdrawal from the Shaba Farms would be the end of any territorial demands related to Lebanon and Israel, for it to agree to any such move. Steinberg added that Israel would want a sovereign and stable Lebanon to take control of the site, rather than Syria, but this move might be a long way off. "There is an Israeli interest in reducing the level of tension with Lebanon and removing as many sources of conflict from the table as possible without sacrificing its vital interests. The Israeli government will carefully calculate the cost benefits on a number of different issues, but it's not in the Israeli interest to have the Shaba Farms become part of Syria," said Steinberg.

Gathering Paradoxes
Date: July 13th, 2009 /Future News
Lebanese consensus on the fact that the cabinet formation has not exceeded the grace period is a very positive thing. It rules out the possibility of considering the country as undergoing a political crisis since the government of ongoing Premier Fouad Siniora’s took 52 days to form it despite the Doha Agreement which aimed at facilitating its construction.
The time that separates the designation of Saad Hariri for premiership and the formation of the cabinet cannot be considered a “timeout”. It is spent in “gathering paradoxes” and repairing the division inflicted on the country over the past four years. Well done Premier designate Saad Hariri for chanting the slogan of uniting the Lebanese after their country was weakened politically, socially and economically by political fragmentation. What is taking place currently is a serious and true reformulation of the democratic political practice that reached an “unbearable” situation after so many Lebanese turned their backs to the constitution.
The issues that all the Lebanese agree and disagree upon simultaneously can be summarized in three main headlines.
The Consensual Democracy which can no longer be reached since it is used as a pretext to paralyze the government.
In addition, the Palestinian Implantation which is prohibited by the constitution literally in its introduction is also used as a political slogan to intimidate people, although the majority had proposed a draft law that ensures banning it for good.
Moreover, the Lebanese- Israeli conflict which was consecrated by the Taëf Agreement is still resurrected from time to time to target a certain faction or a certain Arab country while disregarding other country’s begging the United States as well as regional countries to mediate for resuming negotiations with Israel.
The most bizarre paradox is that some factions are fighting over shares in the cabinet and not over the government program and the stability, development, job opportunities it intends to provide for the Lebanese.
Thus what is taking place currently is gathering paradoxes.

Hands reach out to assist government’s birth

Date: July 13th, 2009 Future News
As Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri moves further to form the government, the domestic connections are expected to witness a thrust, starting from Monday, to select one of the projected arrangements to attain a ministerial formula that pleases all counterparts, respects the legislative elections and represents all the Lebanese.
A new mentality
On the other hand, the Lebanese issue was strongly present at the meeting held between France’s secretary of state for Foreign Affairs Bernard Koushner and his Syrian counterpart Walid Muallem who addressed the Lebanese saying “we will take a step towards anyone who takes a step further towards Syria.”
Kouchner, who went from Beirut to Damascus, had a noteworthy attitude as he said “a new mentality is being developed in Lebanon based on calls to form the government as soon as possible”.Kouchner noted that each of France and Syria “share the outlook that it is important for the Lebanese to form their own government and for the Lebanese parties and groups, especially Hizbullah, to cooperate with the PM-designate to form the government.”
Thus, hands are reached out, however the government hasn’t been formed yet and local leaders are calling for speeding the birth “to confront impending challenges.”
In this context, the political assistant of Lebanon’s Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri MP Ali Hassan Khalil called for the necessity “to facilitate the mission of PM-designate” Saad Hariri, and for “being open to discuss the formulas he will put forward regardless of the political or sectary presence they dedicate for certain groups but seeing their role in drawing the policies, plans, and decisions which will protect Lebanon and get it out of the political, economic, and social crises.”
For his part, member of the Democratic Gathering MP Marwan Hamadeh warned that if the majority of the parliament got less than 16 portfolios of the upcoming government, then the ‘March 14’ coalition “would have lost the elections and sold the designation for local and regional bargains.”
Hamadeh said President Michel Suleiman must be the mediator in the upcoming government, pointing that the group affiliated with Speaker Berri is dealing in “relative positivity” regarding the government forming issue, “even if it sometimes uses expressions to preserve the unity of the opposition”, adding the Hizbullah insists on having “the obstructing third” veto share of the government.
Lebanon’s power is… its unity
In parallel with the calm political speech, the third annual memory of the July war 2006 was an occasion to stress national consensus over the necessity of uniting to confront the Israeli threats. Speaker Nabih Berri reiterated that Lebanon’s power during the war “was derived from the coherence of its interior front and its national political unity”. Minister of Defense in caretaker government Elias el Murr, for his part, stressed that the security, stability and civil peace are the “chief priority” in Lebanon.
Hizbullah’s Chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah and deputy leader of the Supreme Islamic Shiite Council Sheikh Abdul Emir Kabalan discussed the continual Israeli threat, stressing that “the hype practiced by the enemy at Lebanon’s domestic arena requires a unified national attitude.” The two Shiite leaders stressed the necessity “to boost the national unity in order to confront the challenges and crises” and the necessity to maintain the calm atmosphere and openness for the sake of the homeland.

Have we hit a snag?

July 13, 2009 /NOW Staff
Almost two and a half weeks into Saad Hariri’s designation as prime minister and immediate attempts to form a cabinet, political insiders have already begun to declare the process “stalled” and “hampered” as the one-month constitutional deadline to put together a government looms large. An-Nahar ran the headline, “Political sources close to the current consultations deemed that the first stage of domestic talks regarding the distribution of seats in the government is clearly stalled.” The paper cited March 14 sources as saying Sunday that “the process of hampering the government formation obviously started in the wake of Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri’s reservations and the majority’s outright rejection of Hariri’s visit to Damascus prior to the formation of the government.” One of the players involved in the cabinet formation is President Michel Sleiman, who, according to Al-Akhbar, has his own vision of the new government, “but he will keep it to himself for the time being.” An MP close to Hariri told the paper that President Sleiman “is attached to obtaining an influential Christian share in the government,” but he is also in favor of including non-Christian ministers within his share. According to a source who visited the president on Sunday, Al-Akhbar reported, he is still waiting for Hariri to submit a proposal on the government or to brief the president on his official viewpoint on the issue. The president, who will be out of the country as of Tuesday afternoon to participate in the Non-Aligned Movement Summit in Sharm al-Sheikh, will meet with PM-designate Saad Hariri later this week. As part of his ongoing consultations, Hariri also met with Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblatt Sunday evening in his downtown Beirut residence, though Hariri’s aides would not reveal any details on the talks.
On the opposition side, Loyalty to the Resistance bloc head MP Mohammad Raad said, according to Al-Akhbar, that communications between Haret Hreik and Qoreitem are “ongoing, but the problem does not lie between them; rather, it pertains to foreign pressures and obstacles attempting to hamper the formation of a [national]-unity government.”Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Mouallem, for his part, declined to comment on the cabinet formation in Lebanon, saying only, “Syria shall meet halfway with whoever takes a step toward it.”

Jumblatt: Nasrallah has right to admonish me for fierce political rhetoric

July 13, 2009 /NOW Staff
As-Safir newspaper reported on Monday that Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblatt extensively discussed the 2006 July War with Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah during their meeting last month. The meeting came as a rapprochement between the two leaders’ parties, after Jumblatt softened his stance toward the March 8 coalition.
Jumblatt also said that “Sayyed Nasrallah admonished me for my fierce political rhetoric during the time when we disagreed, and he has the right to do so, but the most important thing is that we decided to turn a new page, build trust, and foster dialogue and reconciliation.”The daily also reported that the PSP leader is adamant about confronting any possible source of tension between Sunnis and Shia, emphasizing the importance of reaching an agreement through dialogue on Hezbollah’s controversial weapons, which are believed to be supplied by Iran and Syria. Jumblatt voiced deep concern about Israeli officials’ recent statements on the rearmament of Hezbollah as well as their threats that Tel Aviv will hold the Lebanese government responsible if it “legitimizes” the party by including it in the new cabinet.The daily added that Jumblatt warned the Lebanese against “dangerous repercussions” if they did not unite to confront a possible Israeli war on Lebanon.

Assad to Kouchner: Syria Has No Pre-Conditions for Lebanese Government Formation
Naharnet/Syrian President Bashar Assad has reportedly told visiting French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner that Damascus has no demands or preconditions for the formation of a Lebanese government. Pan-Arab Asharq al-Awsat daily, citing a high-ranking French source, said Assad appeared to be "comfortable" during a meeting Sunday with Kouchner.
The source said Assad dealt "openly" and "directly" with the issues that had been raised, which included in addition to Lebanon, the situations in Iraq and Iran.
"Syria did not set a list of demands beforehand," the source quoted Assad as telling Kouchner. He said the Syrian president informed the French foreign minister he "no longer believes that there are obstacles preventing progress in Syrian-Lebanese ties, given that Syria maintains communications with the various (Lebanese) sides." Kouchner said Sunday that Syria agrees Lebanon should be allowed to form a new government without outside interference. Both Damascus and Paris believe "it is up to the Lebanese to organize their government" following their elections in June won by a Western-backed camp, he said after a meeting with Assad on Sunday. "It is up to the Lebanese parties which I met, including Hizbullah, to agree under the leadership of Premier-designate Saad Hariri," said Kouchner, who also held talks last week in Beirut including with Hizbullah. "There is a new spirit in Lebanon. There is a will to set up a national unity government as soon as possible," he said. Beirut, 13 Jul 09, 08:12

Hariri Committed to Open-Ended Dialogue on Government Formation

Naharnet/Prime-Minister designate Saad Hariri has committed himself to an open-ended dialogue process on the formation of a national unity government.
Hariri is set to begin Monday a new round of talks with the various political parties as President Michel Suleiman embarks on a visit to Sharm al-Sheikh to take part in the Non-Aligned Movement summit July 15-16.

A high-ranking source told the daily al-Liwaa that doors to dialogue with the opposition remain open.
The source said delegations from Hizbullah and Speaker Nabih Berri's Amal Movement are to meet Hariri in Qoreiten on Monday to "narrow the differences." Meanwhile, An-Nahar newspaper quoted prominent sources from the March 14 coalition as saying "it became clear that restrictions on the process of government formation were put in place following reservations by Hariri and the majority's rejection of a visit by the premier-designate to Damascus ahead of a Cabinet lineup." The sources said neither Hariri nor March 14 forces are willing to accept the opposition's long-standing demand for veto power in cabinet. Beirut, 13 Jul 09, 09:23

Halutz Defends 2006 War Decision, Kaplinsky Sees Government and Army Mistakes

Naharnet/Three years after the war with Hizbullah, former Israeli army chief Dan Halutz said he would have recommended the military to make the same move were the conflict to erupt again. "Even today, given the same figures, I would have recommended the same course of action," Halutz told a conference at the Tel Aviv University's Center for Strategic Research on Sunday. "The course of action that I recommended on July 12 was well-considered, not trellised on the day of the abduction" by Hizbullah of two Israeli soldiers in a deadly cross-border raid, said Halutz, who led the army at the time of the war.
However, Kadima lawmaker Shaul Mofaz, a former defense minister in the Israeli cabinet during the 2006 war, said that Israel had achieved only limited success during the war.
Mofaz termed the war a missed opportunity for the Jewish state and told Israel Radio that Hizbullah now has more missiles than it did prior to the military operation. He also said that the Shiite group had increased the range of its rockets. Maj. Gen. Moshe Kaplinsky, who served as the Israeli army's deputy chief of staff during the 34-day war, agreed with Mofaz saying that both the army and the government made numerous mistakes.Kaplinsky, who spoke during the conference aimed at marking the third anniversary of the war, said the Israeli military did not employ its preplanned reaction in case of soldier abduction and rocket fire. He added that the army also failed to utilize all of the units and tools at its disposal and was too slow at calling up reserve units. Also present at the research center was Giora Eiland, former head of the Israeli National Security Council.
Eiland criticized ex-PM Ehud Olmert's government, saying that the war with Hizbullah and Operation Cast Lead in the Gaza Strip were two occasions in which the political echelon ordered a military campaign without setting clear operational goals. Eiland believes the Gaza offensive was troubled by the same symptoms which led to the failure of the Israel-Hizbullah war: "Government meeting on July 12 (2006) failed to clearly define the goals," he said. According to the former National Security Council chief, the best course of action Olmert could have taken at the time was "to order a forceful retaliation by using the air force for two or three days, and make Hizbullah pay a high price." Beirut, 13 Jul 09, 08:15

Aoun: Those who Criticize Proportional Representation Don't Want the Country to Rise

Naharnet/Free Patriotic Movement leader Gen. Michel Aoun reiterated on Monday that he holds onto the choice of proportional representation in the new cabinet. Aoun also stressed that he backs PM-designate Saad Hariri and wants the new government to succeed "because we want to build the country and we reject the formation of the cabinet in Arab countries."In answering those who criticize proportionality, the MP said: "They only crave for power and don't want the country to rise." Beirut, 13 Jul 09, 13:16

Former PM Amin al-Hafez Dies at 88
Naharnet/Former Lebanese Prime Minister Amin al-Hafez died at Hotel Dieu hospital on Monday. He was 88. Al-Hafez was born in the northern port city of Tripoli in 1921. He became prime minister for less than two months on April 25, 1973 when Suleiman Franjieh was president. He will be buried in Tripoli at noon Tuesday. The premiership announced a three-day mourning period starting Tuesday during which flags will be flown at half-mast and media outlets would alter "normal programming." Beirut, 13 Jul 09, 11:58

Jumblat Warns against Isolationist Thinking

Naharnet/Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat has renewed his criticism of March 14 forces for its slogan "Lebanon first" and warned against "isolationist thinking" that could invade what he called the "thinking of Rafik Hariri's audience." The daily As-Safir on Monday quoted visitors as saying Jumblat was ready to "face up to" anybody who could be a source of Sunni-Shiite tension. Jumblat has also called for resolving Hizbullah arms through dialogue. On the July 2006 Lebanon-Israel war, Jumblat said Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah rebuked him for the "ferocious political rhetoric" during the time had the "right to admonish me for the ferocious political rhetoric during the phases of the dispute."
"He (Nasrallah) had the right to admonish me," Jumblat reportedly told visitors. "What is important is that we have decided to turn a page on the past." Beirut, 13 Jul 09, 10:58

Kouchner: Syria to Let Lebanon Form Government without Meddling

Naharnet/French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said during a Damascus visit on Sunday that Syria agrees Lebanon should be allowed to form a new government without outside interference. Both Damascus and Paris believe "it is up to the Lebanese to organize their government" following their elections in June won by a Western-backed camp, he said after a meeting with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. "It is up to the Lebanese parties which I met, including Hizbullah, to agree under the leadership of Premier-designate Saad Hariri," said Kouchner, who also held talks last week in Beirut including with Hizbullah. "There is a new spirit in Lebanon. There is a will to set up a national unity government as soon as possible," he said. Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallem voiced relief at the "ongoing national dialogue in Lebanon for the formation of a unity government."
On Lebanese-Syrian ties, he said: "We will take a step toward those who take a step toward Syria." "We believe that some Lebanese leaders have begun to understand the historical and geographical facts … that connect Syria and Lebanon. We welcome this and call for a more in-depth understanding of these facts," he said. On Saudi Arabia, Muallem said there was "no Saudi-Syrian reconciliation because both countries enjoy good bilateral ties." "There are the highest-level of visits between the two countries," he added. Muallem welcomed an upcoming visit to Damascus by Saudi King Abdullah, adding a date will be determined at a later time. In Beirut on Friday, the French foreign minister said that he was pleased with the improvement of his country's relations with Syria, Lebanon's former powerbroker. "I am not unaware that Syria continues to be important in this part of the world, and we are pleased to have established normal relations with Syria," Kouchner said. Diplomats in Riyadh, meanwhile, say that the Saudi kingdom has welcomed Damascus's apparent non-interference in Lebanon's June 7 elections, which led to Hariri's designation as premier.(Naharnet-AFP) Beirut, 12 Jul 09, 15:58

Berri: Lebanon's Strength Lies in Political Unity And Internal Stability

Naharnet/Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri said that Lebanon's strength has always been in the country's true holding of it's internal elements and political unity. On the occasion of the third anniversary of the July 2006 war with Israel, Berri issued his tribute to the lives of all those that gave their lives "from the military and the resistance only to register a wonderful historical and glorious epoch for our people."Berri expressed his hope that the next Lebanese government would place the issue of compensation and that of the Litani River project at the top of its priorities. Beirut, 12 Jul 09, 14:00
 

LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN

LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
July 14/09

Bible Reading of the day
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 10:34-42.11:1. Do not think that I have come to bring peace upon the earth. I have come to bring not peace but the sword.  For I have come to set a man 'against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law;  and one's enemies will be those of his household.' Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever does not take up his cross and follow after me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. Whoever receives you receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me. Whoever receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet's reward, and whoever receives a righteous man because he is righteous will receive a righteous man's reward. And whoever gives only a cup of cold water to one of these little ones to drink because he is a disciple--amen, I say to you, he will surely not lose his reward." When Jesus finished giving these commands to his twelve disciples, he went away from that place to teach and to preach in their towns. 
 

Free Opinions, Releases, letters & Special Reports
Have we hit a snag? NOW Staff/July 13, 2009
Gathering Paradoxes/Future News 13/07/09
Hands reach out to assist government’s birth. Future News 13/07/09

Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources for July 13/09
Assad to Kouchner: Syria Has No Pre-Conditions for Lebanese Government Formation-Naharnet
Hariri Committed to Open-Ended Dialogue on Government Formation-Naharnet
Halutz Defends 2006 War Decision, Kaplinsky Sees Government and Army Mistakes-Naharnet
Harb: ‘unity government’ overturns Taef agreement-Future News
Netanyahu tries to obstruct the cabinet formation-Future News
Jumblatt concerned over Israel’s positions against Hizbullah-Future News
Shatah: Election results cannot be ignored-Future News
Siniora announces official mourning period after death of former PM Amin Hafez-Now Lebanon
Jumblatt: Nasrallah has right to admonish me for fierce political rhetoric. Now Lebanom
Kobeissi: No crisis regarding the government formation-Future News
Hariri discusses with Jumblatt efforts to form government-Future News
Assiri: KSA does not interfere in Lebanon’s affairs-Future News
France FM tells Israel, Syria to waste no time in renewing talks-Ha'aretz
Deputy Israeli FM: Conditions not yet ripe for progress on Syria track-Xinhua
S Korean troops' deployment in Lebanon extended till next year-Xinhua
Syria: No peace summit until Israel cedes Golan Heights-Ynetnews
Jumblat Warns against Isolationist Thinking-Naharnet
Kouchner: Syria to Let Lebanon Form Government without Meddling
-Naharnet
Berri: Lebanon's Strength Lies in Political Unity And Internal Stability
-Naharnet
Salloukh: July 2006 Anniversary Strengthens Our Unity, Calls For Speed Government Formation
-Naharnet
Nasrallah, Qabalan Stress Need to Confront Looming Israeli Dangers
-Naharnet
Obama Backs Closer 'Engagement' with Syria; Muallem Says Obama's Position 'Encouraging' but Sanctions 'Unjust'
-Naharnet
Former PM Amin al-Hafez Dies at 88
-Naharnet
Mild earthquake rattles south Lebanon town-Daily Star
Thousands flock to Broumma for summer street fair-Daily Star
Arbitrary felling of trees poses serious danger to Jabal Moussa-Daily Star
Syria won't redraw border w
ith Lebanon-Jerusalem Post
Candidate Declares Iran May Face 'Disintegration'-New York Times
2006 Lebanon War Still a Point of Contention in Israel, Lebanon-Reuters
Three years after Lebanon War, IDF warns of Hezbollah rearmament-Ha'aretz
Internal-regional obstacles hinder Lebanese cabinet formation-Xinhua
Kuntar: Hezbollah will intervene if Iran attacked-Ynetnews
French Foreign Minister meets Hezbollah MP in Beirut-European Jewish Press
Moallem: Damascus demands full Israeli pullout from Golan-Daily Star
Syria won't meddle in cabinet formation - Paris-Daily Star
Riyadh open to all Lebanese political parties - envoy-Daily Star
New commission to restructure Future Movement-Daily Star
Nasrallah, Qabalan call for unity against Israel-Daily Star
Sleiman to attend NAM meeting in Sharm El-Sheikh-Daily Star
Jordan 'understands' Lebanese move to release Shaaban-Daily Star
Fadlallah says Obama has duped Arabs, Muslims-Daily Star
Sleiman slams continued Israeli violations-Daily Star
Southern Lebanese say peace deal with Israel will not improve security -Daily Star
Beirut Stock Exchange down 6.1 percent-By Regional Press Network (RPN)

Syria won't redraw border with Lebanon
By ALEX SORIN -Jerusalem Post
Syria says it will not redraw its borders with Lebanon until Israel withdraws from the Shaba Farms area, Syria's ambassador to the UN has made clear.
Syrian representative, Bashar Ja'afari, sent a series of letters to the UN stipulating that Syria considered the defining of a future Syrian-Lebanese border, especially regarding the Shaba Farms, unfeasible until Israel withdrew from the entire area, the Israeli-Arab news Web site Al Arab reported Sunday.
Despite the seriousness of the letters, Israeli experts believe this is just another attempt by the Syrian regime to create unrest on the international scene whenever the opportunity presents itself.
"In general, the Syrian regime does everything it can to prevent the reduction of tensions and greater stability between Israel and Lebanon. It's a matter of stirring the pot whenever they can," said Gerald Steinberg, head of the political science department at Bar-Ilan University.
Syria FM: Pullout from Golan for peace
Obama says he's 'troubled' by Syrian behavior
The Shaba Farms, or Mount Dov, were captured from Syria in the 1967 war, and the issue of the territory's return became a problem after Israel's unilateral withdrawal from Lebanon in 2000 - which, according to the UN, ended the territorial dispute between Lebanon and Israel. Since the withdrawal, Syria and Hizbullah have used the site as justification for armed resistance against Israeli occupation, realizing the world would respond to a border conflict.
"The Syrians use the issue of the Shaba Farms because they want the international community to think that Israel is a border violator, so they'll do everything to reenergize the issue," said Dan Diker, senior foreign policy analyst at the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs.
Diker believes that viewing the conflict as a matter of borders is a misconception, and that it should be approached as a matter of Israel's right to exist.
"The international community has always responded to border issues. That is why the international community has always gotten the conflict wrong. We are in a dispute to see if we can exist in any borders in the Middle East," said Diker. While Syria's official stance on Mount Dov has been that it belongs to Lebanon, it is believed that Syria's goal in attempting to reclaim the Golan Heights, including Mount Dov, is to enhance its own image among other Middle Eastern nations and to set an example regarding what can be obtained in negotiations with Israel.
Ja'afari's letters to the UN and the raising of the Lebanon-Syria border issue come amid incipient attempts by the United States and moderate Arab nations such as Saudi Arabia and Egypt to pull Syria away from the Iranian-Hizbullah fold. "It's very difficult to discern Syrian intentions, because their public statements tend to be contradictory. The Syrian regime has shown that it wants the benefits from dialogue with the US, but is not willing to change its position regarding Iran and Hizbullah," said Steinberg. According to Steinberg, Israel would have to see clear and unprecedented statements and actions by the US and the international community, including Europe, that a withdrawal from the Shaba Farms would be the end of any territorial demands related to Lebanon and Israel, for it to agree to any such move. Steinberg added that Israel would want a sovereign and stable Lebanon to take control of the site, rather than Syria, but this move might be a long way off. "There is an Israeli interest in reducing the level of tension with Lebanon and removing as many sources of conflict from the table as possible without sacrificing its vital interests. The Israeli government will carefully calculate the cost benefits on a number of different issues, but it's not in the Israeli interest to have the Shaba Farms become part of Syria," said Steinberg.

Gathering Paradoxes
Date: July 13th, 2009 /Future News
Lebanese consensus on the fact that the cabinet formation has not exceeded the grace period is a very positive thing. It rules out the possibility of considering the country as undergoing a political crisis since the government of ongoing Premier Fouad Siniora’s took 52 days to form it despite the Doha Agreement which aimed at facilitating its construction.
The time that separates the designation of Saad Hariri for premiership and the formation of the cabinet cannot be considered a “timeout”. It is spent in “gathering paradoxes” and repairing the division inflicted on the country over the past four years. Well done Premier designate Saad Hariri for chanting the slogan of uniting the Lebanese after their country was weakened politically, socially and economically by political fragmentation. What is taking place currently is a serious and true reformulation of the democratic political practice that reached an “unbearable” situation after so many Lebanese turned their backs to the constitution.
The issues that all the Lebanese agree and disagree upon simultaneously can be summarized in three main headlines.
The Consensual Democracy which can no longer be reached since it is used as a pretext to paralyze the government.
In addition, the Palestinian Implantation which is prohibited by the constitution literally in its introduction is also used as a political slogan to intimidate people, although the majority had proposed a draft law that ensures banning it for good.
Moreover, the Lebanese- Israeli conflict which was consecrated by the Taëf Agreement is still resurrected from time to time to target a certain faction or a certain Arab country while disregarding other country’s begging the United States as well as regional countries to mediate for resuming negotiations with Israel.
The most bizarre paradox is that some factions are fighting over shares in the cabinet and not over the government program and the stability, development, job opportunities it intends to provide for the Lebanese.
Thus what is taking place currently is gathering paradoxes.

Hands reach out to assist government’s birth

Date: July 13th, 2009 Future News
As Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri moves further to form the government, the domestic connections are expected to witness a thrust, starting from Monday, to select one of the projected arrangements to attain a ministerial formula that pleases all counterparts, respects the legislative elections and represents all the Lebanese.
A new mentality
On the other hand, the Lebanese issue was strongly present at the meeting held between France’s secretary of state for Foreign Affairs Bernard Koushner and his Syrian counterpart Walid Muallem who addressed the Lebanese saying “we will take a step towards anyone who takes a step further towards Syria.”
Kouchner, who went from Beirut to Damascus, had a noteworthy attitude as he said “a new mentality is being developed in Lebanon based on calls to form the government as soon as possible”.Kouchner noted that each of France and Syria “share the outlook that it is important for the Lebanese to form their own government and for the Lebanese parties and groups, especially Hizbullah, to cooperate with the PM-designate to form the government.”
Thus, hands are reached out, however the government hasn’t been formed yet and local leaders are calling for speeding the birth “to confront impending challenges.”
In this context, the political assistant of Lebanon’s Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri MP Ali Hassan Khalil called for the necessity “to facilitate the mission of PM-designate” Saad Hariri, and for “being open to discuss the formulas he will put forward regardless of the political or sectary presence they dedicate for certain groups but seeing their role in drawing the policies, plans, and decisions which will protect Lebanon and get it out of the political, economic, and social crises.”
For his part, member of the Democratic Gathering MP Marwan Hamadeh warned that if the majority of the parliament got less than 16 portfolios of the upcoming government, then the ‘March 14’ coalition “would have lost the elections and sold the designation for local and regional bargains.”
Hamadeh said President Michel Suleiman must be the mediator in the upcoming government, pointing that the group affiliated with Speaker Berri is dealing in “relative positivity” regarding the government forming issue, “even if it sometimes uses expressions to preserve the unity of the opposition”, adding the Hizbullah insists on having “the obstructing third” veto share of the government.
Lebanon’s power is… its unity
In parallel with the calm political speech, the third annual memory of the July war 2006 was an occasion to stress national consensus over the necessity of uniting to confront the Israeli threats. Speaker Nabih Berri reiterated that Lebanon’s power during the war “was derived from the coherence of its interior front and its national political unity”. Minister of Defense in caretaker government Elias el Murr, for his part, stressed that the security, stability and civil peace are the “chief priority” in Lebanon.
Hizbullah’s Chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah and deputy leader of the Supreme Islamic Shiite Council Sheikh Abdul Emir Kabalan discussed the continual Israeli threat, stressing that “the hype practiced by the enemy at Lebanon’s domestic arena requires a unified national attitude.” The two Shiite leaders stressed the necessity “to boost the national unity in order to confront the challenges and crises” and the necessity to maintain the calm atmosphere and openness for the sake of the homeland.

Have we hit a snag?

July 13, 2009 /NOW Staff
Almost two and a half weeks into Saad Hariri’s designation as prime minister and immediate attempts to form a cabinet, political insiders have already begun to declare the process “stalled” and “hampered” as the one-month constitutional deadline to put together a government looms large. An-Nahar ran the headline, “Political sources close to the current consultations deemed that the first stage of domestic talks regarding the distribution of seats in the government is clearly stalled.” The paper cited March 14 sources as saying Sunday that “the process of hampering the government formation obviously started in the wake of Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri’s reservations and the majority’s outright rejection of Hariri’s visit to Damascus prior to the formation of the government.” One of the players involved in the cabinet formation is President Michel Sleiman, who, according to Al-Akhbar, has his own vision of the new government, “but he will keep it to himself for the time being.” An MP close to Hariri told the paper that President Sleiman “is attached to obtaining an influential Christian share in the government,” but he is also in favor of including non-Christian ministers within his share. According to a source who visited the president on Sunday, Al-Akhbar reported, he is still waiting for Hariri to submit a proposal on the government or to brief the president on his official viewpoint on the issue. The president, who will be out of the country as of Tuesday afternoon to participate in the Non-Aligned Movement Summit in Sharm al-Sheikh, will meet with PM-designate Saad Hariri later this week. As part of his ongoing consultations, Hariri also met with Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblatt Sunday evening in his downtown Beirut residence, though Hariri’s aides would not reveal any details on the talks.
On the opposition side, Loyalty to the Resistance bloc head MP Mohammad Raad said, according to Al-Akhbar, that communications between Haret Hreik and Qoreitem are “ongoing, but the problem does not lie between them; rather, it pertains to foreign pressures and obstacles attempting to hamper the formation of a [national]-unity government.”Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Mouallem, for his part, declined to comment on the cabinet formation in Lebanon, saying only, “Syria shall meet halfway with whoever takes a step toward it.”

Jumblatt: Nasrallah has right to admonish me for fierce political rhetoric

July 13, 2009 /NOW Staff
As-Safir newspaper reported on Monday that Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblatt extensively discussed the 2006 July War with Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah during their meeting last month. The meeting came as a rapprochement between the two leaders’ parties, after Jumblatt softened his stance toward the March 8 coalition.
Jumblatt also said that “Sayyed Nasrallah admonished me for my fierce political rhetoric during the time when we disagreed, and he has the right to do so, but the most important thing is that we decided to turn a new page, build trust, and foster dialogue and reconciliation.”The daily also reported that the PSP leader is adamant about confronting any possible source of tension between Sunnis and Shia, emphasizing the importance of reaching an agreement through dialogue on Hezbollah’s controversial weapons, which are believed to be supplied by Iran and Syria. Jumblatt voiced deep concern about Israeli officials’ recent statements on the rearmament of Hezbollah as well as their threats that Tel Aviv will hold the Lebanese government responsible if it “legitimizes” the party by including it in the new cabinet.The daily added that Jumblatt warned the Lebanese against “dangerous repercussions” if they did not unite to confront a possible Israeli war on Lebanon.

Assad to Kouchner: Syria Has No Pre-Conditions for Lebanese Government Formation
Naharnet/Syrian President Bashar Assad has reportedly told visiting French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner that Damascus has no demands or preconditions for the formation of a Lebanese government. Pan-Arab Asharq al-Awsat daily, citing a high-ranking French source, said Assad appeared to be "comfortable" during a meeting Sunday with Kouchner.
The source said Assad dealt "openly" and "directly" with the issues that had been raised, which included in addition to Lebanon, the situations in Iraq and Iran.
"Syria did not set a list of demands beforehand," the source quoted Assad as telling Kouchner. He said the Syrian president informed the French foreign minister he "no longer believes that there are obstacles preventing progress in Syrian-Lebanese ties, given that Syria maintains communications with the various (Lebanese) sides." Kouchner said Sunday that Syria agrees Lebanon should be allowed to form a new government without outside interference. Both Damascus and Paris believe "it is up to the Lebanese to organize their government" following their elections in June won by a Western-backed camp, he said after a meeting with Assad on Sunday. "It is up to the Lebanese parties which I met, including Hizbullah, to agree under the leadership of Premier-designate Saad Hariri," said Kouchner, who also held talks last week in Beirut including with Hizbullah. "There is a new spirit in Lebanon. There is a will to set up a national unity government as soon as possible," he said. Beirut, 13 Jul 09, 08:12

Hariri Committed to Open-Ended Dialogue on Government Formation

Naharnet/Prime-Minister designate Saad Hariri has committed himself to an open-ended dialogue process on the formation of a national unity government.
Hariri is set to begin Monday a new round of talks with the various political parties as President Michel Suleiman embarks on a visit to Sharm al-Sheikh to take part in the Non-Aligned Movement summit July 15-16.

A high-ranking source told the daily al-Liwaa that doors to dialogue with the opposition remain open.
The source said delegations from Hizbullah and Speaker Nabih Berri's Amal Movement are to meet Hariri in Qoreiten on Monday to "narrow the differences." Meanwhile, An-Nahar newspaper quoted prominent sources from the March 14 coalition as saying "it became clear that restrictions on the process of government formation were put in place following reservations by Hariri and the majority's rejection of a visit by the premier-designate to Damascus ahead of a Cabinet lineup." The sources said neither Hariri nor March 14 forces are willing to accept the opposition's long-standing demand for veto power in cabinet. Beirut, 13 Jul 09, 09:23

Halutz Defends 2006 War Decision, Kaplinsky Sees Government and Army Mistakes

Naharnet/Three years after the war with Hizbullah, former Israeli army chief Dan Halutz said he would have recommended the military to make the same move were the conflict to erupt again. "Even today, given the same figures, I would have recommended the same course of action," Halutz told a conference at the Tel Aviv University's Center for Strategic Research on Sunday. "The course of action that I recommended on July 12 was well-considered, not trellised on the day of the abduction" by Hizbullah of two Israeli soldiers in a deadly cross-border raid, said Halutz, who led the army at the time of the war.
However, Kadima lawmaker Shaul Mofaz, a former defense minister in the Israeli cabinet during the 2006 war, said that Israel had achieved only limited success during the war.
Mofaz termed the war a missed opportunity for the Jewish state and told Israel Radio that Hizbullah now has more missiles than it did prior to the military operation. He also said that the Shiite group had increased the range of its rockets. Maj. Gen. Moshe Kaplinsky, who served as the Israeli army's deputy chief of staff during the 34-day war, agreed with Mofaz saying that both the army and the government made numerous mistakes.Kaplinsky, who spoke during the conference aimed at marking the third anniversary of the war, said the Israeli military did not employ its preplanned reaction in case of soldier abduction and rocket fire. He added that the army also failed to utilize all of the units and tools at its disposal and was too slow at calling up reserve units. Also present at the research center was Giora Eiland, former head of the Israeli National Security Council.
Eiland criticized ex-PM Ehud Olmert's government, saying that the war with Hizbullah and Operation Cast Lead in the Gaza Strip were two occasions in which the political echelon ordered a military campaign without setting clear operational goals. Eiland believes the Gaza offensive was troubled by the same symptoms which led to the failure of the Israel-Hizbullah war: "Government meeting on July 12 (2006) failed to clearly define the goals," he said. According to the former National Security Council chief, the best course of action Olmert could have taken at the time was "to order a forceful retaliation by using the air force for two or three days, and make Hizbullah pay a high price." Beirut, 13 Jul 09, 08:15

Aoun: Those who Criticize Proportional Representation Don't Want the Country to Rise

Naharnet/Free Patriotic Movement leader Gen. Michel Aoun reiterated on Monday that he holds onto the choice of proportional representation in the new cabinet. Aoun also stressed that he backs PM-designate Saad Hariri and wants the new government to succeed "because we want to build the country and we reject the formation of the cabinet in Arab countries."In answering those who criticize proportionality, the MP said: "They only crave for power and don't want the country to rise." Beirut, 13 Jul 09, 13:16

Former PM Amin al-Hafez Dies at 88
Naharnet/Former Lebanese Prime Minister Amin al-Hafez died at Hotel Dieu hospital on Monday. He was 88. Al-Hafez was born in the northern port city of Tripoli in 1921. He became prime minister for less than two months on April 25, 1973 when Suleiman Franjieh was president. He will be buried in Tripoli at noon Tuesday. The premiership announced a three-day mourning period starting Tuesday during which flags will be flown at half-mast and media outlets would alter "normal programming." Beirut, 13 Jul 09, 11:58

Jumblat Warns against Isolationist Thinking

Naharnet/Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat has renewed his criticism of March 14 forces for its slogan "Lebanon first" and warned against "isolationist thinking" that could invade what he called the "thinking of Rafik Hariri's audience." The daily As-Safir on Monday quoted visitors as saying Jumblat was ready to "face up to" anybody who could be a source of Sunni-Shiite tension. Jumblat has also called for resolving Hizbullah arms through dialogue. On the July 2006 Lebanon-Israel war, Jumblat said Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah rebuked him for the "ferocious political rhetoric" during the time had the "right to admonish me for the ferocious political rhetoric during the phases of the dispute."
"He (Nasrallah) had the right to admonish me," Jumblat reportedly told visitors. "What is important is that we have decided to turn a page on the past." Beirut, 13 Jul 09, 10:58

Kouchner: Syria to Let Lebanon Form Government without Meddling

Naharnet/French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said during a Damascus visit on Sunday that Syria agrees Lebanon should be allowed to form a new government without outside interference. Both Damascus and Paris believe "it is up to the Lebanese to organize their government" following their elections in June won by a Western-backed camp, he said after a meeting with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. "It is up to the Lebanese parties which I met, including Hizbullah, to agree under the leadership of Premier-designate Saad Hariri," said Kouchner, who also held talks last week in Beirut including with Hizbullah. "There is a new spirit in Lebanon. There is a will to set up a national unity government as soon as possible," he said. Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallem voiced relief at the "ongoing national dialogue in Lebanon for the formation of a unity government."
On Lebanese-Syrian ties, he said: "We will take a step toward those who take a step toward Syria." "We believe that some Lebanese leaders have begun to understand the historical and geographical facts … that connect Syria and Lebanon. We welcome this and call for a more in-depth understanding of these facts," he said. On Saudi Arabia, Muallem said there was "no Saudi-Syrian reconciliation because both countries enjoy good bilateral ties." "There are the highest-level of visits between the two countries," he added. Muallem welcomed an upcoming visit to Damascus by Saudi King Abdullah, adding a date will be determined at a later time. In Beirut on Friday, the French foreign minister said that he was pleased with the improvement of his country's relations with Syria, Lebanon's former powerbroker. "I am not unaware that Syria continues to be important in this part of the world, and we are pleased to have established normal relations with Syria," Kouchner said. Diplomats in Riyadh, meanwhile, say that the Saudi kingdom has welcomed Damascus's apparent non-interference in Lebanon's June 7 elections, which led to Hariri's designation as premier.(Naharnet-AFP) Beirut, 12 Jul 09, 15:58

Berri: Lebanon's Strength Lies in Political Unity And Internal Stability

Naharnet/Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri said that Lebanon's strength has always been in the country's true holding of it's internal elements and political unity. On the occasion of the third anniversary of the July 2006 war with Israel, Berri issued his tribute to the lives of all those that gave their lives "from the military and the resistance only to register a wonderful historical and glorious epoch for our people."Berri expressed his hope that the next Lebanese government would place the issue of compensation and that of the Litani River project at the top of its priorities. Beirut, 12 Jul 09, 14:00