LCCC
ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
May 27/09
Bible Reading of the day.
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John 17:1-11. When Jesus had said
this, he raised his eyes to heaven and said, "Father, the hour has come. Give
glory to your son, so that your son may glorify you, just as you gave him
authority over all people, so that he may give eternal life to all you gave him.
Now this is eternal life, that they should know you, the only true God, and the
one whom you sent, Jesus Christ. I glorified you on earth by accomplishing the
work that you gave me to do. Now glorify me, Father, with you, with the
glory that I had with you before the world began. I revealed your name to those
whom you gave me out of the world. They belonged to you, and you gave them to
me, and they have kept your word. Now they know that everything you gave me is
from you, because the words you gave to me I have given to them, and they
accepted them and truly understood that I came from you, and they have believed
that you sent me. I pray for them. I do not pray for the world but for the ones
you have given me, because they are yours, and everything of mine is yours and
everything of yours is mine, and I have been glorified in them. And now I will
no longer be in the world, but they are in the world, while I am coming to you.
Holy Father, keep them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be
one just as we are.
Free Opinions, Releases, letters & Special
Reports
Hezbollah accuses German magazine
of conspiring with IsraelStory Highlights. CNN 26/05/09
New Opinion: Who needs Der Spiegel?
NowLebanon.com 26/05/09
Latest News Reports From
Miscellaneous Sources for May
26/09
Ahmadinejad: Opposition Election Victory will Change Region-Naharnet
Assaad: Lebanese Option Withdrew Candidate from Race in Baalbeck-Hermel-Naharnet
Israel Fears Anti-Aircraft Missile Transfer to Hizbullah, Claims Iran
Establishing Hizbullah Cells in Venezuela-Naharnet
Farhat Withdraws from
Elections-Naharnet
Lebanese Army Colonel Arrested
for Spying for Israel-Naharnet
Ahmadinejad: Opposition Election
Victory will Change Region-Naharnet
Israel Fears Anti-Aircraft Missile Transfer to Hizbullah, Claims Iran
Establishing Hizbullah Cells in Venezuela-Naharnet
Nasrallah: Der Spiegel
Report Is an Israeli Accusation and Will Be Treated as Such-Naharnet
Prosecutor Charges 3 for
Spying for Israel-Naharnet
Kuwaiti Detainee Admits He
Was Assigned to Set Up Lebanon Qaida Branch-Naharnet
Embassy: Germany Has No Information Regarding Der Spiegel Report-Naharnet
Jumblat Thanks Nasrallah
for his Kind Words-Naharnet
Geagea Hopes Hizbullah
Learned from May 7 Experience-Naharnet
Budget, Appointments: Test
of Cabinet's Ability to Act-Naharnet
Aoun: Kesrouan Results
2009 Likely to Be Better Than 2005-Naharnet
Baroud: Elections Meet
International Standards-Naharnet
Islamic Conference
Stressed Need for Israel's Withdrawal from Lebanese Villages-Naharnet
Israel fears Hezbollah might smuggle missiles into Lebanon-Ha'aretz
US to supply first offensive systems to Lebanon since 1980s-World
Tribune
Syria: Muslims Seek 'Just' Peace Deal-New
York Times
Hezbollah accuses German magazine of conspiring with
IsraelStory Highlights
German magazine reports Hezbollah behind assassination of Lebanese politician
Hezbollah leader: "What Der Spiegel wrote ... is nothing but an Israeli
accusation"
Hassan Nasrallah: Report intended to influence upcoming elections in Lebanon
U.N. tribunal investigating 2005 assassination of former Lebanese PM Rafik
Hariri
May 25, 2009 -- Updated 0003 GMT (0803 HKT)Next Article in World »
http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/meast/05/25/lebanon.hezbollah.nasrallah/index.html
(CNN) -- Hezbollah's leader accused a German magazine of
engaging in a conspiracy with Israel and the West after it reported that the
militia group orchestrated the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister
Rafik Hariri.
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah gives a televised address in January.
"In regards to the Der Spiegel article, I want to say that the conspiracy is
there," Hassan Nasrallah said during a speech in Beirut, Lebanon, on Monday.
"What Der Spiegel wrote about our involvement in the Hariri assassination is
nothing but an Israeli accusation, and we will deal with it on that basis," he
added.
The magazine report is intended to influence the outcome of the upcoming
elections in Lebanon, Nasrallah said Monday. A Hezbollah-led alliance is running
against a U.S.-backed parliamentary majority in elections scheduled for June 7.
"It is all about the timing; the Israelis and Americans are talking about their
worries of these elections. So what can they do? Here, they have Der Spiegel
ready," he said.
He added later: "The danger here is not in the timing but in the strategy. When
Hariri was assassinated, they wanted to first accuse the Shiites of the crimes.
Now they are accusing Hezbollah. They are telling the Sunnis that whether you
like Hariri or not, Hezbollah is the one who killed your leader. Your revenge is
with them, your war is with them, so go and fight them. They are your new
enemies."
Hezbollah, a Shiite group which is supported by both Syria and Iran, is
considered a terrorist organization by the United States.
Don't Miss
Hezbollah denies link to Hariri murder
Analysis: Hezbollah win could shake Obama Mideast policy
The group declared victory over Israel after a 34-day military conflict in 2006
and gained more political power. Some analysts think it may lead Lebanon's
government after the June elections.
The German magazine reported Saturday that a U.N. tribunal has uncovered
evidence that Hezbollah "planned and executed" the car bombing that killed
Hariri and 22 others in Beirut on Valentine's Day in 2005.
The report prompted Israeli officials to say Nasrallah should face criminal
charges if the evidence points to Hezbollah.
"If this is the conclusion of the investigators, an international arrest warrant
should be issued immediately for Nasrallah," Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor
Lieberman said Sunday before Israel's weekly Cabinet meeting. "He must be
brought before an international court of law."
Nasrallah dismissed such a notion, saying, "All of a sudden [the Israelis] are
representing mercy and justice, and they are the ones defending the Sunnis and
the Lebanese."
Radhia Achouri, a spokeswoman for the U.N. tribunal, said its policy is to not
address media speculation. The tribunal at The Hague, Netherlands, will not "be
dragged into a debate in the media about where the investigation stands," she
said.
Achouri added the media should rely on official information issued by the
tribunal.
The U.N. body began its investigation into Hariri's death in March, and the case
is expected to be ready for trial by 2010.
At the time of Hariri's death, neighboring Syria had immense political influence
in Lebanon.
Hariri was admired for spearheading the rebuilding of Beirut after the country's
civil war, which took place from 1975 to 1990. Many Lebanese blamed Syria for
the killing, citing Hariri's patriotism and strong sense of Lebanese
independence.
Soon after the blast, U.N. investigators tasked to probe the attack found links
between Syria's government and Hariri's assassination.
But in Der Spiegel's report -- based entirely on unnamed sources -- the magazine
says the new evidence points not to the Syrians, but to Hezbollah.
The magazine said investigators reached their conclusion based on mobile phone
use at the time of Hariri's death. The phones, it said, were used exclusively
for communications between the alleged assassins except for one occasion when a
suspect called a girlfriend.
Tracing that single call, investigators figured out the name of the operative,
who belonged to a "special forces" unit of Hezbollah, the magazine said.
Officials were then able to link him to Hezbollah higher-ups, it said.
Ahmadinejad: Opposition Election Victory
will Change Region
Naharnet
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said the opposition victory in the
Lebanese parliamentary elections will "change the status in the region."
"The opposition victory in the parliamentary elections will strengthen the
resistance and change the status in the region," Ahmadinejad told reporters in
Tehran.
Asked about threats posed by Israel against both Hizbullah and Iran, Ahmadinejad
said: "The Zionist regime is a fake entity … which aims at threatening,
occupying, and waging wars; because without them, it is dead." "Such moves are
part of a psychological war," the Iranian president thought, adding that Israel
has "lost its entire value."
Meanwhile, Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani reiterated Tehran's support
for Hizbullah and Hamas and refuted claims that Hizbullah is a terror group.
The U.S. "must know that Iran takes pride in its support for Hizbullah and
Hamas," Larijani said before Revolutionary Guards maneuvers were set to start in
Tehran on Monday.
"Hizbullah is not a terrorist organization, it defends dignity… Imad Mughniyeh
was not a terrorist either. He defended the Palestinian people," he stressed.
Mughniyeh was top Hizbullah commander. He was assassinated in a car bombing in
Damascus in February 2008.
Larijani said the U.S. cannot change Iran's path. "America should not imagine
that it could change, with some threats, Iran's path, because, in response to
these statements, we strongly say that we support Hamas and Hizbullah," he said.
Beirut, 26 May 09, 07:53
Israel Fears Anti-Aircraft Missile Transfer to Hizbullah, Claims Iran
Establishing Hizbullah Cells in Venezuela
Naharnet/The Israeli foreign ministry accused Iran of establishing Hizbullah
cells in northern Venezuela and the country's Margarita Island as the military
said it was concerned that the Lebanese group would try to smuggle advanced
anti-aircraft missiles into Lebanon. According to a document leaked to the
media, the ministry issued the accusation based on information from Israeli and
foreign diplomatic, military and security sources. The document also accused
Venezuela and Bolivia of providing Iran with uranium in order to upgrade its
nuclear program.
The release of the document came one week before Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister
Danny Ayalon is due to travel to Honduras to attend the Organization of American
States (OAS) general assembly in what the ministry said would be an opportunity
"to challenge the penetration of Iran and Hizbullah into the region."
In its turn, Haaretz newspaper said Tuesday that Hizbullah could deploy SA-8
batteries which are a threat to Israeli jets overflying Lebanon.
"Israel has made it clear in past statements that it will consider such a
development as crossing a red line, which might necessitate preventative
measures," the daily said.
According to Haaretz, the Soviet-made missiles are part of Syria's military
arsenal, and Hizbullah fighters have received training on their use, inside
Syrian territory.
It said Syria remains the main channel through which arms are transferred to
Hizbullah, adding that almost a year ago, Israel relayed messages to both
Damascus and Hizbullah, through several channels, warning that the Jewish state
would consider launching air strikes against the convoys delivering the weapons,
if they were brought into Lebanon.
"Then-prime minister Ehud Olmert and Defense Minister Ehud Barak hinted publicly
that these weapons would "upset the (existing) balance" and that Israel would
not tolerate such a development," Haaretz added. The Israeli daily said the past
few weeks witnessed growing concern about the missile transfers in the wake of
the June 7 Lebanese parliamentary elections in a show of force. "The
intelligence assessments regarding the missiles follow a long series of unusual
developments in Lebanon that are contributing to rising tensions," including the
discovery of Israeli spy rings, the Der Spiegel report on Hizbullah's alleged
involvement in the assassination of ex-Premier Rafik Hariri, and the unsettled
score for the killing of Hizbullah commander Imad Mughniyeh. Beirut, 26 May 09,
08:42
Nasrallah: Der Spiegel Report Is an Israeli Accusation and Will Be Treated as
Such
Naharnet/Hizbullah chief Hassan Nasrallah on Monday denounced a report
implicating his party in the killing of ex-premier Rafik Hariri as "very, very
dangerous" and accused Israel of being behind it. "The report in Der Spiegel is
very, very, very dangerous," Nasrallah said in comments transmitted via video
link to thousands of supporters massed in the southern suburbs.
"I consider the report in Der Spiegel an Israeli accusation that Hizbullah
killed the martyr Rafik Hariri and we will deal with this claim as such," he
said in a speech marking the ninth anniversary of the withdrawal of Israeli
troops from southern Lebanon after 22 years of occupation.
He warned that the report was "more dangerous than Ain el-Rummaneh bus attack"
which the Lebanese 15-year civil war.
"This is why we have to deal with it responsibly because it is an agenda to stir
strife," he said.
"Israel has issued its verdict in the Hariri case," he said.
Germany's Der Spiegel news magazine reported on Saturday that the U.N.
commission probing the Hariri murder had new evidence that Hizbullah special
forces "planned and executed" the Beirut car bombing on February 14, 2005.
"Through this report they (the Israelis) are saying that if the international
community does not punish Hizbullah then Israel will punish it along with its
leader," he added.
Nasrallah said the report was clearly aimed at sowing discord between the
country's Sunnis and the Shiites.
"The Israelis and the Americans wondered how to scuttle the election and
influence its outcome. Der Spiegel was their answer," Nasrallah said.
"Spiegel... and the Zionists are saying: 'Oh Sunnis, those who killed your
leader are the Shiites and more specifically Hizbullah," he said. "As such, your
vengeance and your war should be directed at them."
He described the accusation as an "act of provocation against the Shiites."
Nasrallah singled out MP Walid Jumblat's reaction to the report praising the
Druze leader for his "audacity, courage and his reading into the dangers of the
article."
The Hizbullah leader also reached out to the Druze community asking them to
"beware of anyone who wants to present the Shiites as an enemy."
He also warned the Shiite sect against presenting the Druze "especially the
Progressive Socialist Party as enemies."
"We are not enemies. The Israelis are the enemies who want this to happen
between us.
"I would like to underline that since the establishment of Hizbullah, we have
had good relations with our Druze brothers, not only in Mount Lebanon, but
across Lebanon, with all their leaders and their religious authorities."
He said tensions between Shiites and Druze emerged "after certain speeches that
assailed the resistance and its arms. Since then relations deteriorated to reach
its most dangerous levels in May 2008. "
Nasrallah praised the role played by Minister Talal Arslan to "contain" the
conflict and acknowledged Jumblat's efforts to ease tensions and his positive
input during the Doha conference.
He called for dialogue among all parties following the elections "regardless of
the results" stressing that the homeland cannot be founded on "conflict and
isolation."
"On behalf of Hizbullah and the Amal Movement, I assure our Druze brothers that
we adhere to coexistence in Dahiyeh, Mount Lebanon, Rashayya, Bekaa, Hasbaya,
Marjeyoun, Beirut and every other region as one people away from enmity," he
said.
Nasrallah in his hour-long speech which was met with celebratory gunfire in
Beirut also warned that Hizbullah along with the army would be on alert when
Israel launches one of its biggest military maneuvers ever at the end of this
month.
"No one will see us, no one will see our weapons, no one will know we're there,"
he said. "If you are stupid enough to enter our land, we will destroy your
troops and your army," addressing Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak.
He praised President Michel Suleiman for calling a meeting of the higher council
for defense to discuss the maneuvers.
In his wide-ranging speech, Nasrallah sought to appease sentiments over recent
remarks in which he described May 7, 2008 as a "glorious day" and accused
opponents of taking the phrase out of context to stir tensions.
"My speech was partitioned and only that phrase was selected while all the
questions I raised remained unanswered," he said.
He said that the May 7 events succeeded in foiling a plot to "turn Beirut into a
war zone and drag it into street warfare that would have lasted for weeks. I
have details of such a plan."
"But this does not mean that May 7 was not also a sad and painful day because of
the victims, the material losses and the tension that it caused among the
Lebanese," he said.
"Militias were being formed under the cover of security companies. Its members
were trained in Arab countries that I will not name. Thousands of armed men were
brought to Beirut which was not under any kind of threat," he said.
"I tell the people of Beirut to ask the leaders of al-Mustaqbal movement about
these companies and about the thousands of armed men who were brought to the
city from the Bekaa and the north."
Nasrallah said the plot reached its final stages on May 5 when the government
decided to shut down an extensive telecommunications network run by Hizbullah
during a marathon cabinet session. The decision came after authorities accused
Hizbullah of installing surveillance cameras at the airport.
He said that Hizbullah on May 7 decided to "swiftly intervene to block the way
for plans to cause a Sunni-Shiite war, prevent the resistance from being
targeted and foil attempts to place Hizbullah in confrontation with the army."
He said the repercussions of May 7 were "far less dangerous than what was being
prepared for Beirut as a result of May 5."
Nasrallah also praised MP Michel Aoun describing him as a "leader with a vision
and a platform."
"He is an independent man par excellence. No embassy can influence him nor can
anyone make him do anything that goes against his beliefs," he added.
"Aoun is loyal to Lebanon as a homeland and a unified state at the same time he
is loyal to the role of Christians in the country. He also proved his loyalty
during the July war although our alliance was only months old," Nasrallah said.
"When it comes to Hizbullah no one can take anything by force or through threats
because we do not fear death, threats or intimidation. With loyalty you can take
everything. It is the foundation of the alliance in the elections," he
said.(Naharnet-AFP) Beirut, 26 May 09, 00:04
Prosecutor Charges 3 with Spying for
Israel
Naharnet/Military Prosecutor Saqr Saqr charges three Lebanese for spying for
Israel. They were identified as Ahmed Shibli, Jeryis Elias Farah and his
brother, Jean, who remains at large. Saqr referred them to military examining
magistrate Rashid Mizher, demanding he issues arrest warrants for the three.
Saqr also charged, upon a request from military examining magistrate Samih
al-Hajj, Mohammed Awad, Ali Mantash, Robert Kfouri – all members of what has
become known as the first Israel-linked spy network -- as well as Hasan Shehab
and Shawqi Abbas who belong to the second Israeli espionage cell. In a related
development, security forces have arrested Maryam Mohammed Mousa, 31, who works
at a pharmacy in the border town of Khiam, Jaafar Halawi, 38, who owns a
butchery in nearby Kfar Kila, and W.M., 35, an accountant at Marjayoun hospital.
The suspects were accused of spying for Israel.
Beirut, 26 May 09, 12:34
Kuwaiti Detainee Admits He Was Assigned to Set Up Lebanon Qaida Branch
Naharnet/Kuwaiti detainee Mohammed al-Dousari has confessed to being assigned to
set up Qaida branch in Lebanon, the Kuwaiti daily Al Rai reported Tuesday.
Al Rai, citing well-informed sources, said Dousari, better known by his nickname
"Abu Talha," has acknowledged he was seeking to establish Qaida branch in
Lebanon with the aim of carrying out logistics work and open supply routes to
militants. It said Lebanese army intelligence referred to the military judiciary
four months ago Dousari as well as two other detainees, including a Syrian.
Following weeks of interrogation about their suspicious presence in Lebanon, the
three confessed to being tasked with setting up Qaida branch in Lebanon,
according to al-Rai. It said the three made their way into Lebanon via land with
forged Arab passports. Al Rai said Dousari had been sentenced in Kuwait to seven
years in prison, but managed to escape to Iran. Dousari was in charge of
providing logistical support for Qaida in Jordan, Syria, Kuwait, Iraq and Saudi
Arabia, according to the report by the Kuwaiti paper. Beirut, 26 May 09, 08:33
Embassy: Germany Has No Information Regarding Der Spiegel Report
Naharnet/The German embassy in Beirut said Germany has no information regarding
a report by the weekly Der Spiegel suggesting Hizbullah was behind the 2005
assassination of ex-Premier Rafik Hariri. An embassy statement said Germany
supports "independence" of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon.
Germany's Der Spiegel reported on Saturday that the U.N. commission probing the
murder had new evidence that Hizbullah special forces "planned and executed" the
Beirut car bombing that killed Hariri and 22 other people. Beirut, 26 May 09,
09:13
Jumblat Thanks Nasrallah for his Kind Words
Naharnet/Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat thanked Hizbullah
chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah for his kind words during a Monday night speech.
Jumblat's remarks were aired by al-Jazeera television network. The Druze leader
pointed to the "dimension" in Nasrallah's words. Al-Jazeera quoted Jumblat as
saying that Der Spiegal report was "similar to Israel's pretext of 1982 when it
used the assassination attempt on its ambassador as an excuse" to launch its
invasion on Lebanon. Der Spiegal on Saturday carried out a report suggesting
Hizbullah was responsible for the 2005 murder of ex-Premier Rafik Hariri. In a
related development, Jumblat visited Qoreitem Palace overnight and met with
Mustaqbal Movement leader Saad Hariri. Beirut, 26 May 09, 09:09
Geagea Hopes Hizbullah Learned from May 7 Experience
Naharnet/Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea said he hopes that Hizbullah has
learned from the experience of the May 7, 2008 events. "I hope the team that
carried out the May 7 operation has learned from that experience," Geagea said
in an interview with the weekly Al-Anbaa, mouthpiece of the Progressive
Socialist Party. Geagea ruled out any deal at the expense of the Special
Tribunal for Lebanon, "particularly since the court has a mechanism and its path
is well-known." On what prevents a meeting between him, Hizbullah chief Sayyed
Hassan Nasrallah and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, Geagea pointed that he has
met Nasrallah "several times" during national dialogue sessions. "There is
nothing personal. However, circumstances of success should be secured ahead of
any meeting," he told Al Anbaa. Beirut, 26 May 09, 10:50
Budget, Appointments: Test of
Cabinet's Ability to Act
Naharnet/Cabinet is due to convene on Tuesday in yet another bid to approve the
delayed 2009 state budget and administrative appointments.
Pan-Arab daily al-Hayat on Tuesday, however, pointed to the lack of optimism to
reach a settlement on these issues at the cabinet session which is due in Baabda
Palace later Tuesday under President Michel Suleiman. Mustaqbal newspaper, for
its part, said the cabinet session is likely to witness "signs of a breakthrough
with regards to approving the state budget and completion of appointments to the
Constitutional Council." Suleiman is to head a meeting of the Higher Defense
Council prior to the cabinet session to discuss the imminent Israeli military
exercise and the Israel-linked spy networks. Beirut, 26 May 09, 10:14
Aoun: Kesrouan Results 2009 Likely
to Be Better Than 2005
Naharnet/Free Patriotic Movement leader Gen. Michel Aoun said Monday that he
anticipates results in Kesrouan elections to be better than four years ago. "I
expect better results in elections compared to 2005 in Kesrouan and Ftouh," Aoun
told reporters following his bloc's weekly meeting. "We are relaxed in other
districts with regards to election results," he added. Aoun said his Change and
Reform bloc will not hold its weekly meeting next week. "We will return after
the elections." Turning to the imminent Israeli military exercise, Aoun said:
"We do not fear an Israeli military operation. Israel will not risk entering an
operation when the results are in doubt because it will be its end.
Regarding his political foe Walid Jumblat, Aoun said the Druze leader "changed
his political path and realized he lost the battle on the domestic, regional and
international levels."
He said the platform of the majority March 14 alliance is "based on
disagreements amongst them." "Such vacuum cannot reach a position of power. The
state did not resolve any problem in the past four years," Aoun stated. He
believed that foreign press coverage of international news "is not more
honorable than Lebanese press coverage of elections."
Aoun said he was seeking "friendship with everybody." "We do not want to be
enemies of anyone. But when a state is not on good terms with another, we cannot
bear the consequences. Our interests come first," he stressed. Aoun said he
"welcome" the brief visit by U.S. Vice President Joe Biden to Lebanon last week.
"But we do not favor his meetings with the ruling party. He revealed his cards
by doing so and maybe he has come to bid them farewell," he complained. Beirut,
25 May 09, 20:17
Baroud: Elections Meet International
Standards
Naharnet
Interior Minister Ziad Baroud announced Monday his ministry's readiness for the
June 7 parliamentary elections, stressing the polls meet international
standards.
"The ministry is geared up for the elections," Baroud told a joint press
conference with head of the European Commission to Monitor the Elections Jose
Ignacio Salafranca.
"We are seeking to hold elections that match the best of international
standards," Baroud vowed. He believed June 7 should not be the "most important
date in Lebanese history, but should instead be an occasion to confirm that we
are capable of holding elections and live normally."Salafranca, for his part,
said he has observed "positive" developments in the preparations for the
elections. He stressed the need to complete the appointments to the
Constitutional Council, and expressed hope that the Cabinet would reach a
solution in this regard in its next session scheduled for Tuesday. Beirut, 25
May 09, 21:39
Islamic Conference Stressed Need for Israel's Withdrawal from Lebanese Villages
Naharnet/A ministerial gathering in Damascus of the 57-nation Organization of
the Islamic Conference stressed Monday the need for Israel to withdraw from the
Lebanese border villages of Ghajar and Kfar Shouba as well as Shebaa Farms. A
statement at the end of the 36th session of the Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM)
of the Member States of the Organization of the Islamic Conference renewed its
support for Lebanon in its demand for the removal of hundreds of thousands of
landmines left by Israeli soldiers after the July 2006 war.
The statement also stressed the need for Israel to provide the United Nations
with all the remaining maps of landmines planted in southern Lebanon as well as
detailed maps indicating the location of cluster bombs. Beirut, 25 May 09, 20:33
Memorial Day Surprises Knock Props from Obama's Diplomatic Overtures
By Leo Rennert
May 26, 2009 /American Thinker
http://www.americanthinker.com/2009/05/memorial_day_surprises_knock_p.html
President Obama vowed to do a better job than George W. Bush by using diplomacy
instead of wielding a big stick in dealing with hostile nations like Iran, North
Korea and Syria. It hasn't worked. Obama pleaded with them to "unclench their
fists" and promised to reward them with a softer, more deferential United States
eager to atone for past bullying tactics. Thus, the President opted for more
positive relations with the United Nations, extolled the virtues of
multilateralism, and appointed high-level special envoys to Iran (Dennis Ross),
to Afghanistan-Pakistan (Richard Holbrooke) and to Israel and the Palestinians
(George Mitchell).
So far, however, there have been no takers for Obama's entreaties. Just the
opposite. The president's charm offensive has had the opposite effect -- a
tougher, more belligerent tone, coupled with ominous muscle-flexing by the likes
of Tehran and North Korea. The Taliban also has been riding high, while Pakistan
falters.
On Memorial Day weekend, North Korea announced that it has conducted a
"successful" nuclear test, which came at the heels of its recent test-firing of
an advanced, long-range rocket over Japan, while Iranian President Adhmadinejad
ruled out negotiations with Washington over his nuclear program Tehran in the
meantime rattled more sabers by demonstrating that it could reach Israel, U.S.
troops in the Mideast and portions of Europe with a new 2,000-kilometer-range
missile.
While Obama places his bets on "soft" power to cajole Iran, North Korea and
Syria away from threatening their neighbors, they see his agenda as appeasement
and a license to create even more mischief. Ahmadinejad even managed to draw the
presidents of Afghanistan and Pakistan to a three-way summit that signaled
Iran's clear intention to erode U.S. influence with Islamabad and Kabul.
In the Middle East, Syria is reasserting itself, fearing no adverse reactions
from Washington. Obama's diplomats returned empty-handed from Damascus.
President Assad, who was supposed to be weaned away from Tehran, instead insists
that Syria's close alliance with Iran's regime is non-negotiable, as are his
harboring of Hamas's terrorist leadership and his supply of weapons and other
support to Hezbollah in Lebanon.
An emboldened Hezbollah, with full backing from Syria and Iran, is making a
determined bid to emerge stronger than ever from upcoming Lebanese elections and
recently planted terrorist cells in Egypt to challenge President Mubarak's hold
on power and his alliance with Washington.
Wherever Obama has tried to woo bellicose adversaries with his benign
I'm-not-George-Bush strategy, he has been met with ever-more ominous rebuffs and
direct challenges to American influence and interests.
Even as Obama told Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu that he intends to pursue
diplomatic overtures to rein in Iran's nuclear program until the end of this
year before moving to possible stronger measures, Ahmadinejad already has served
notice that Obama is barking up the wrong tree -- Iran is not about to abandon
or slow down its drive to become a nuclear power. And Tehran's determination not
to be deflected from becoming a nuclear power is supported across the entire
political spectrum -- whether or not Ahmadinejad gets another term in upcoming
elections.
Even in America's own backyard, Obama has reaped nothing but snooty responses to
his conciliatory gestures from the likes of Venezuelan President Chavez. Cuba's
Raul Castro pocketed Obama's concession in easing travel restrictions, and now
demands more such gestures as the price of normalizing relations
Given all these affronts to Obama's diplomacy, the question now is how much
longer will the president let himself be used as the favorite pińata of the
world's worst tyrants?
New
Opinion: Who needs Der Spiegel?
Hezbollah is shooting itself in the foot
NOW Staff , May 26, 2009
Now Lebanon Web Site
Was it a “glorious” day or a “painful and sad” day? Hezbollah Secretary General
Hassan Nasrallah should make up his mind about May 7. If the Der Spiegel story
accusing Hezbollah intelligence of being involved in the Hariri assassination is
a plan to undermine the party before the elections, whoever orchestrated it
needn’t have bothered; the party is doing a pretty good job of undermining
itself.
In fact it’s been pretty much been downhill ever since May 24, 2000, when the
Hezbollah-led muqawama forced Israel out of its 1,100 km2 occupation zone in
South Lebanon, the anniversary of which was commemorated on Monday. The
Resistance’s continuous and dogged attacks on Israeli positions (and those of
its Lebanese mercenaries in the South Lebanese Army) ultimately translated into
unacceptable casualty figures for an Israeli public weary of burying its young
conscripts. As the last Israeli soldier symbolically shut the padlock at the
border post, Hassan Nasrallah and his fighters were feted, not just in Lebanon,
but across an Arab world starved of any kind of meaningful result against the
Zionist entity.
Hezbollah had no sooner liberated the South before it was telling us all about
the Shebaa Farms, a still-occupied piece of land so obscure no one really knew
who owned it. Was it Lebanese or Syrian? The Resistance claimed it was Lebanese
and avowed that it would carry on the armed struggle until the last piece of the
nation’s soil was free of Zionist infection. How convenient. We all knew it was
a smokescreen designed to perpetuate Hezbollah’s considerable military leverage,
but enough Lebanese bought into the idea.
On Monday, speaking at a rally on the 9th anniversary of the withdrawal,
Nasrallah used the opportunity to back-peddle and justify his description of his
attempted coup on May 7, and reshape a bit of recent history. He justified the
Resistance’s presence in South Lebanon after 2000 because “we were aware that
the Israelis were preparing for a new war”, and he explained that the party
entered mainstream politics in 2005, not because its Syrian patrons left
Lebanon, forcing the party to roll up its sleeves and enter the fray, but
because “we felt that the nation, the Resistance and the people were in danger
after the assassination of Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.”
He shouldn’t have bothered. Since then, Hezbollah’s performance on the national
stage has been nothing short of catastrophic, characterized by a potent
combination wholesale death, destruction and national paralysis with the
absolute nadir being its inglorious and murderous rampage through the streets of
West Beirut last May. (Nasrallah can huff and puff all he wants about busloads
of armed men from the North. If it is true, and there appears to be solid
evidence to point to the fact that they were not “armed”, it was merely a
response to the climate of aggression and fear that his party had created.)
Hardly CV material for running a country, but support for the party remains
alarmingly undiminished. Hezbollah has succeeded in doing this largely by
selling the idea that it is the only party standing between Lebanon and a
Zionist apocalypse.
Therefore it is no surprise that so many Israeli spy rings have been unmasked
before the June 7 elections. On Friday night, Nasrallah polished his patriotic
credentials even further by calling for the execution of those Lebanese citizens
accused of espionage, ramping up the supposed Zionist threat and casting doubt
on a March 14 coalition that is friendly with the US administration. (It would
be illuminating to get Nasrallah’s view on what fate he would advocate for those
found guilty of indulging in skullduggery on behalf of nations other than
Israel. It is no secret that Syrian intelligence still has agents active in
Lebanon, but it is unlikely that these people will ever incur Nasrallah’s
wrath.)
No, Nasrallah prefers to go after easy targets. On Friday he accused the
Lebanese state of failing to protect his beloved South Lebanon ever since the
1982 Israeli invasion. “The state should spread its power over all its
territory, but today this power is absent,” he told obedient supporters who are
unlikely to shed their blinkers long enough to see that, until 2005, the “state”
was Damascus, which was very happy to let Hezbollah run the South. In 2006, the
South exploded into a war Hezbollah started. The party is still rearming and,
while the Lebanese army has at last deployed, it remains unclear just who the
enemy is, especially after the shooting of army helicopter pilot Captain Samer
Hanna in on August 28, 2008.
What else? Hezbollah and its March 8 coalition have launched a campaign against
Lebanese President Michel Sleiman, who, they claim, is betraying his so-called
consensus role by failing to achieve a happy middle ground, one that would serve
the interests of the opposition. Sleiman is also bothering Hezbollah by exerting
his constitutional authority in making judgment calls seen as unacceptable to
March 8 – such as when, last week, he insisted that the cabinet vote on
administrative appointments. March 8 didn’t like it, and the “obstructing third”
veto, granted at the Doha Conference in May 2008, was used.
And there is much to look forward to. If March 14 prevails at the June polls,
the opposition will cite the ongoing validity of the Doha Agreement and demand
once again the obstructing third. If March 14 refuses, the opposition will
likely throw its toys out of the pram or, more likely, take its toys onto the
street.
Hezbollah, the liberators of the South, the defenders against further Zionist
aggression have, since those heady days in May 2000, shown scant regard for the
real concerns of Lebanon and the Lebanese.