LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN

LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
October 13/09

Bible Reading of the day
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 11:29-32. While still more people gathered in the crowd, he said to them, "This generation is an evil generation; it seeks a sign, but no sign will be given it, except the sign of Jonah. Just as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so will the Son of Man be to this generation. At the judgment the queen of the south will rise with the men of this generation and she will condemn them, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and there is something greater than Solomon here. At the judgment the men of Nineveh will arise with this generation and condemn it, because at the preaching of Jonah they repented, and there is something greater than Jonah here.

Free Opinions, Releases, letters & Special Reports
Will the cabinet be formed this week/Now Lebanon/ October 12, 2009
New Opinion: The devil is in the details/Now Lebanon/October 12, 09
Is Democracy Still Obama's Goal?/By Walid Phares/12.10.09

Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources for October 12/09
Lebanon to be elected non-permanent member at SC/Future News
Soaid: Saudi-Syrian rapprochement not enough to form a cabinet/Future News
Spain considers sending 200 more soldiers to Lebanon/Xinhua
March 14: No Return to Pre-June 6 -Naharnet
Hariri-Aoun Meeting Could Produce Final Decision on Cabinet -Naharnet
Lebanese-American Man Jailed in UAE for Qaida Ties -Naharnet
INTERPOL Involved in U.N .Investigation Committee into Hariri Murder -Naharnet
Report: Fatah Official Escapes Assassination Attempt in Ain el-Hilweh -Naharnet
Selling of French Embassy Estate Angers Sawfar Residents -Naharnet
Clinton warns Iran on nuclear negotiations/Daily Star
New Iran sanctions could strengthen Revolutionary Guards, experts warn/Daily Star
US envoy leaves Mideast without deal on peace talks/Daily Star
Lebanese say inter-Arab thaw no substitute for domestic accord/Daily Star
Turkey sets terms for Armenia thaw/Daily Star
Berri in Qatar ahead of trip to UAE to discuss expulsions/Daily Star
Syndicate chief denies imports of spoiled meat/Daily Star
Beirut ranks as 33rd most expensive retail rent in world, second highest in Middle East/Daily Star
Baroud: Proportional representation best path for reform/Daily Star
Drug addict stabs ISF member in neck/Daily Star
Car crash kills Syrian national, injures Lebanese/Daily Star
Palestinian groups deny involvement in Tripoli attacks/Daily Star
Program encourages Sidon youth to serve society/Daily Star
Women from 30 nations cycle through Lebanon for peace/Daily Star
Drama gives voice to young Palestinians/Daily Star
Jumblat Fears 2nd Hariri Step Down, Says He WantsTaymour to follow in his Grandfather's Footsteps -Naharnet

Lebanon to be elected non-permanent member at SC
Date: October 12th, 2009/Source: An-Nahar
Lebanon’s permanent commission to the United Nations informed Foreign affairs and Emigrants Ministry that the UN General Assembly would convene to elect Lebanon on Thursday as a non-permanent member of the Security Council, the An-Nahar newspaper reported. Lebanon’s membership will last for two years starting January 2010, the paper reported.
The Lebanese commission report stated that Lebanon is likely to win the representation of the Asian group by default because there it has no rival since there is an agreement between Arab and East Asian countries to rotate membership every two years. Lebanon will replace Libya at the office and is likely to head the Security Council sessions for a month starting from next May in accordance to the principle of rotation adopted by member states. The report also indicates that there is no accurate count for the countries that would vote for Lebanon to hold the office. But, it expected that more than 120 countries would elect Lebanon including the permanent members of the Security Council. Israel objects voting for Lebanon, according to the report. Jeffrey Feltman, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for the Near Eastern Affairs and former U.S ambassador to Lebanon, was not satisfied with electing Lebanon for the office because of his knowledge of the difficulty for Lebanon to adopt consensual decisions. Yet, U.S Vice President Joseph Biden has taken the decision to back Lebanon.
It is notable that any stance taken by Lebanon’s delegate Ambassador Nawaf Salam would emerge from a unified Arab decision based on the full coordination between Arab states and the Arab League.

Will the cabinet be formed this week?
October 12, 2009
Now Lebanon/Lebanon is still without a cabinet in light of the “positive” Syrian-Saudi summit. (NOW Lebanon)
Lebanon is still without a cabinet, despite all the optimism voiced last week by Lebanese and regional leaders following the Syrian-Saudi summit that, they said, would lead to the quick formation of the government. Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri is expected to continue deliberations on the cabinet formation this week and is reported to hold a meeting with Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun within the next 48 hours.
During a commemoration in the Resurrection Church in Rabieh on Sunday, Aoun said that the cabinet impasse is not completely caused by “exterior” factors, but that there are Lebanese “who accepted to be tools of foreign countries.”
Aoun’s main ally, Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, met with Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblatt on Friday and agreed that they would remove all obstacles impeding the cabinet formation. However, a source close to the meeting told Al-Akhbar newspaper that Jumblatt voiced concern that Hariri might again step down from his post.
Opposition sources told An-Nahar newspaper that the Jumblatt-Nasrallah meeting is to speed up the formation of the national-unity government, adding that this is Lebanon’s last chance at the cabinet in light of the Syrian-Saudi summit’s outcome. The daily also reported that this week will be decisive in finalizing the cabinet formation, stressing that Aoun’s demands to be granted the Telecommunications Ministry and another key ministry are what is hampering the government formation.
According to An-Nahar, all leaders within the opposition held the same position regarding the outcome of the Syrian-Saudi meeting, saying that PM-designate Saad Hariri must be the one to facilitate the cabinet formation in light of the positive outcome of the Syrian-Saudi summit. The daily stressed that such a stance casts doubt on predictions that the government would soon be formed. Sources who visited Damascus told the daily that a positive atmosphere will prevail in Lebanon after Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdel Aziz’s meeting with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and the formation of the government will be soon be finalized, adding that Hariri must start “taking practical steps.” On the other hand, sources within the March 14 coalition told An-Nahar that there will be no return to the pre-June 7 situation because the elections reflected an Arab victory over Iran’s expansion in Lebanon.

Soaid: Saudi-Syrian rapprochement not enough to form a cabinet
Date: October 11th, 2009/Future News
Coordinator of the March 14 General Secretariat Fares Soaid said on Sunday the Iranian-Syrian alliance affects the political and security situation in Lebanon, taking into considerations several important factors that impact the country, including the regional influence, the Arabic pressure and Iran’s security. “Convergence between Arabs pressure and the Syrian influence are not enough to form a government in Lebanon, which is only a small detail in the huge Arab reality,” Soaid asserted in an interview with the Kuwaiti newspaper An-Nahar.
The March 14 general coordinator pointed that Lebanon would benefit from the Arab detente if Syria was willing to cooperate effectively as an Arab country with its neighbors – Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Gulf Countries, Jordan - in addition to respecting the Palestinians official approach to the peace process. “But if Syria was procrastinating to gain time fearing the Arab-International pressure then this issue will not reflect positively on the situation in Lebanon,” he confirmed.
Soaid accused those who raise the slogan “Iran First” – in reference to the opposition – of insisting on attaching Lebanon to non-Arabic regional powers.
“Despite the strenuous efforts exerted by the Lebanese since March 14, 2005 (Cedar Revolution) still they failed in immunizing the country form foreign interferences due to the presence of “Iran First” supporters, who persist on relating Lebanon to regional axis,” he argued. The general coordinator voiced hopes that Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun would truly give up his familial demands in order to facilitate the formation of the cabinet especially in terms of the reappointment of his son-in-law Telecommunication Minister Gibran Bassil.
“If Aoun insists on obtaining a ministerial seat for one of his family members, why doesn’t he facilitate the formation by nominating his other son-in-law for a seat?” he wondered.
He reiterated that Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblatt political repositioning has badly shaken the March 14 ranks. “MP Walid Jumblatt remained within the parliamentary majority despite his departure from March 14,” he said. “I will not abandon Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri. I have stated that our coalition with the March 14 alliance cannot continue, but this does not mean leaving March 14, rather searching for new slogans,” PSP leader announced last August. Soaid affirmed that Jumblatt repositioning will not affect the formation since the PSP leader pledged to support Hariri and consolidate his position in the negotiations with rival parties. The March 14 maintained normal relation with Jumblatt despite the disparity between viewpoints," the March 14 general coordinator concluded.

Aoun: ‘Mafia regime’ will destroy Lebanon
Date: October 11th, 2009/Source: NNA
Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun warned Sunday of what he called “the mafia regime” noting that this regime would “destroy the country.”
Speaking at a mass commemorating the martyrs of October 13, 1990, Aoun said the government formation crisis “is not of foreign causes,” noting that the impasse is caused by local leaders. “Unfortunately, corruption is widespread within the mafia regime and there are no means of accountability,” Aoun said, calling the Lebanese to “preserve the spirit of resistance which requires determining our enemies, and the first enemy is corruption and those who benefit from it.”The Change and Reform bloc leader said the Lebanese have two choices, “either surrender and accept the de-facto situation, or work towards reform.”

INTERPOL Involved in U.N .Investigation Committee into Hariri Murder
Naharnet/Adviser to Interpol Secretary General Brig. Gen. George Bustani said a deal cut between INTERPOL and the Special Tribunal for Lebanon will go into effect after final approval of the INTERPOL General Assembly which will meet in Singapore between Oct. 11-15.The International Criminal Police Organization and the STL concluded last month an interim agreement on INTERPOL's assistance to the international tribunal with regard to its investigations and other proceedings that pertain to the crimes that fall under its jurisdiction. "INTERPOL had effective contribution to the international investigation committee – four experts in criminal analysis helped obtain fingerprints and information on wanted men," Bustani said in an interview published Monday by the daily An-Nahar. Bustani explained that INTERPOL data consists of records that include 18 million stolen, forged or missing passports across the world. He said 8,000 people are also wanted on international arrest warrants and subject to a Red Notice. Beirut, 12 Oct 09, 10:24

Lebanese-American Man Jailed in UAE for Qaida Ties
Naharnet/A Lebanese-American man accused in the United Arab Emirates of having links to an Iraqi militant group backed by al-Qaida was sentenced on Monday to 18 months in prison followed by deportation. The Federal Supreme Court pronounced the verdict, which could not be appealed, against Naji Hamdan, 43, who was present at the court in Abu Dhabi and had pleaded not guilty to the charges. He said his confessions were given "under torture." "I was disappointed. This is not fair because I wasn't acquitted," Hamdan said after the verdict was announced. His family said that he should leave jail "very soon" since he had already spent 14 months in detention. The court did not read out the charges leveled against Hamdan.
But The National newspaper reported last month that he is accused of "promoting terrorism, participating in the work of a terrorist organization and funding a terrorist organization." The public prosecution submitted a handwritten confession by Hamdan at the opening of his trial in June, the paper said. He is reportedly accused of having direct links with the Iraqi militant group Ansar al-Sunna through email. His lawyer had argued that accessing Islamist websites was "not a crime and not a terrorist act," and that Hamdan "cannot be charged for anything that has happened outside the country," The National reported. Hamdan is also reported to have admitted that he gave money to al-Taqwa, an institution accused of funding operations by al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden.(AFP-Naharnet) Beirut, 12 Oct 09, 12:18

March 14: No Return to Pre-June 6
Naharnet/A high-ranking source in the majority March 14 coalition has uncovered that the Opposition, particularly Hizbullah, has proposed a "clear equation" that calls for a government based on the pre-elections era or no Cabinet, meaning that the Opposition wants to consider the votes as if they did not take place. The sources told the daily An-Nahar that the majority wants a Constitutional government in line with norms and one that would respect elections results. They stressed that March 14 believes a return to pre-June was "out of the question." Beirut, 12 Oct 09, 08:19

Report: Fatah Official Escapes Assassination Attempt in Ain el-Hilweh
Naharnet/The Fatah movement has accused Jund al-Sham of carrying out an assassination attempt against one of its top leaders at the southern Palestinian refugee camp of Ain el-Hilweh.
As Safir daily said that a Jund al-Sham militant opened fire on the Fatah official on Sunday night. However, the man escaped unharmed. After the alleged killing attempt, the two sides exchanged gunfire amid a high level of alertness at the camp. Al-Liwaa daily gave more details about the attack, saying Fatah official Khaled Mashoul was near Jalloul gas station when gunshots were fired in his direction. However, he managed to jump from his motorbike and escaped unharmed. The newspaper said the station lies in an area outside the control of the Lebanese army and Palestinian factions. Beirut, 12 Oct 09, 10:01

Selling of French Embassy Estate Angers Sawfar Residents
Naharnet/Sawfar residents have condemned the selling of the estate of the summer headquarters of the French embassy to a Saudi for more than 9 million dollars, An Nahar daily reported Monday. The newspaper said that according to unofficial information from the Sawfar municipality a Saudi man from the Ghazzawi family bought the estate on Thursday in a deal worth 9.5-11.5 million dollars. However, An Nahar said that the report on the deal and the selling remains unconfirmed pending an official announcement from the French embassy, particularly that the French flag is still hoisted over the building. Meanwhile, news about the deal has angered residents at the town of Sawfar which for years has received guests such as presidents, prime ministers and well-known families from Beirut. Beirut, 12 Oct 09, 11:33

Hariri-Aoun Meeting Could Produce Final Decision on Cabinet
Naharnet/A meeting likely to be held this week between PM-designate Saad Hariri and Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun could produce a final decision on a Cabinet lineup. Hariri will discuss names and the distribution of ministerial portfolios during his meeting with Aoun which is expected to take place in the next couple of days, according to press reports. On Sunday, Aoun reiterated that obstacles to government formation were internal, and not external. "Internal political sides severing the interest of foreign players in Lebanon are obstructing government formation," Aoun said. He accused "some parties" of putting a foreign agenda into action in order to weaken state institutions and to enable external powers to take control over Lebanon. Despite the positive atmosphere that has prevailed in Lebanon following the outcome of last week's Syrian-Saudi summit, political leaders stressed that Arab-Arab rapprochement is not a substitute for Lebanese consensus. The obstacles seem to be revolving around the finance and telecoms ministries.
As-Safir newspaper, however, citing well-informed sources, said Monday that the major remaining knot was the telecommunications ministry, adding that efforts are undertaken to find a solution that "does not upset anybody." Simultaneously, it quoted sources close to Hariri as emphasizing that there "is no way that Mustaqbal Movement would abandon the finance ministry as part of a compromise." Future Movement has held on to the finance ministry for nearly 12 years. On Sunday, caretaker Finance Minister Mohammed Shatah said the new government would be only achieved if the principles declared by Hariri were respected. "Otherwise, the process would be delayed regardless of the outcome of the Saudi-Syrian summit," Shatah said.
On a proposal that suggested portfolio rotation among political parties, Shatah said he rejects the concept of "monopolizing" any Cabinet seat, including Finance.
"But, at the same time, that doesn't mean the finance ministry should be granted to a party that wants to impede the government job as a team," he added. Aoun has demanded the finance ministry if the FPM was to give up the telecoms portfolio. Beirut, 12 Oct 09, 09:02

Jumblat Fears 2nd Hariri Step Down, Says He WantsTaymour to follow in his Grandfather's Footsteps
Naharnet/Druze leader Walid Jumblat feared that Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri would abandon a second bid to form a national unity government and said he was preparing his son, Taymour, to follow in his grandfather's footsteps. The daily Al-Akhbar said Jumblat's remarks were made during a meeting with Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah that was also attended by Taymour. It said Jumblat has pledged to coordinate with Hariri and Speaker Nabih Berri "in the coming days" to avoid adverse fallout, while Nasrallah stressed that Hizbullah will intensify talks with the Free Patriotic Movement to "contribute to undoing part of the knots."In an interview published Monday by As-Safir newspaper, Jumblat stressed the importance of his second meeting with Nasrallah on Friday evening "which has achieved further progress on the road to rebuilding confidence" between him and the Hizbullah leader. He said Taymour's participation in the meeting was part of his wish that his son meets "a key symbol of struggle and resistance," a reference to Nasrallah. "I want Taymour to walk on the path of Mukhtara as painted by Kamal Jumblat," Jumblat said. "I want him to be committed to walking in the footsteps of his grandfather. "When the time comes, Taymour would know that the road to Mukhtara will remain the road to Pan-Arabism and Palestine," he added. Beirut, 12 Oct 09, 08:00

New Opinion: The devil is in the details
October 12, 2009 /Now Lebanon
As the world digests, in some cases with surprise, the fact that US President Barack Obama is now a Nobel Peace Laureate, the man himself now has to go about proving that he is worthy of the mantle. It would be a shame for his legacy as a so-called peacemaker to be met with the same ridicule often handed out to Shimon Peres, who won the prize in 1994, but who subsequently did little to realize any potential.
Some have suggested that it was Obama’s election, not as the first black US president, but as a man committed to ending the eight years of war in Afghanistan and later Iraq, wars triggered by the 9/11 attacks, that won him the award. These are noble ambitions that, if achieved, are sure to gladden the hearts of nations regularly who repatriate the remains of the young men sent to fight in those two countries.
Indeed, reaction to Obama’s bid to get a grip on the Iraq file – and the dawning realization that Iran might be allowed to make a nuclear device after all – took place last week when Saudi Arabian King Abdullah traveled to Damascus to meet his Syrian counterpart, President Bashar al-Assad, in what may prove to be a crucial summit and the first talks on what is expected to be a new dynamic in the Middle East. Both countries have shared interests in Iraq, the Palestinian territories, Yemen and of course Lebanon.
Yes, little old Lebanon, itself a mini-file somewhere in the state department and a country that could be so easily “sacrificed” in return for rolling out a new regional order to stand up to a nuclear Iran. Lebanon no doubt has the outward appearance of being a thriving and democratic entrepot, but the reality will see it once again in the thrall of Syrian influence with little or no social and political reform.
Maybe it is too much to ask for anything else. Maybe the reality of global realpolitik is such that something has to give if the goals of the bigger picture are to be achieved. Maybe Lebanon is just too small and too fractured to be a permanent priority.
One only has to listen to US Principal Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs and former Ambassador to Lebanon Jeffrey Feltman give his opinion on the talks in Damascus on the U.S-sponsored Al-Hurra TV network to see that the US is hardly going out on a limb for us. “We hope that Lebanese leaders consider forming the government as soon as possible in conjunction with the Lebanese Constitution and the June 7 election results.”
President Obama, if you happen, in an idle moment of web browsing and in an “I wonder what happened to Lebanon,” to fall upon these words, spare a thought for the people in the little picture. For nearly five years, pro-democracy and pro-sovereignty campaigners have fought – and in some cases died – to tie up the last loose ends of what your predecessor, President Bush, called the Cedar Revolution. Lebanon was important back then; our telegenic youth made good TV, and we were promised that in any future regional negotiations Lebanon would not be on the table.
We have not been told otherwise, but there is a sneaking suspicion things might have changed. NOW Lebanon wishes you every success President Obama in justifying your prize. Here in Lebanon, we will judge you by a different set of criteria. The devil, as they say, is in the details.

Is Democracy Still Obama's Goal?
http://www.speroforum.com/site/article.asp?idCategory=34&idsub=158&id=20739&t=Is+Democracy+Still+Obama%27s+Goal%3F
Americans are scrutinizing just why did Obama get the Nobel Prize for Peace. Will the role of peacemaker hamper the choices he must make? Troops are dying in Afghanistan.
Monday, October 12, 2009
By Walid Phares
As soon as the Oslo committee issued its Nobel Peace Prize to President Barack Obama, an expected debate raged in America about the legitimacy of such a move so very early in a U.S. presidential term.
Soon, supporters of the "new direction" in U.S. foreign policy as well as academics will frame Obama's Nobel as a consolidation of a new world order, while the media outburst following the granting declaration will be forgotten. Hence, bypassing the noise of did-he-earn-it-or-not deliberations, let's ask: What is the strategy behind the decision to grant this particular trophy to the sitting American president?
To answer this, we simply can connect the dots between the statements made by the grantor and the grantee. Naturally every American must be proud, and many people around the world are happy for such a decision to honor the White House, although some U.S. leaders wished the committee had granted past presidents such as Bill Clinton for his gigantic efforts in worldwide humanitarian assistance.
The alternative choices are arguable, but this particular gesture isn’t about past achievements, as the committee and the recipient have concurred. It is about supporting a specific policy, which has been enunciated firmly during 2009 and is now being grounded in layers of moral recognition. This honored policy is to ensure that there will be no more American intervention overseas to provoke democratic change, let alone revolutions, particularly in the so-called “Muslim world.”
The Norwegian Nobel Committee specifically lauded the change in global mood wrought by Obama's calls and initiatives that have yet to bear fruit such as easing American conflicts with Muslim nations. In other words, the transnational group of academics, politicians, and multinational corporations involved in the Oslo process of the Nobel Peace Prize clearly has championed the policy of Western restraint from “meddling” in the domestic business of authoritarian regimes.
If previous unilateral interventions meant removing the Taliban and Saddam Hussein from power, “multilateral approaches” mean not to pressure such types of regimes, as long as the latter's action doesn’t disrupt the flow of petrodollars.
The real message of the prize’s grantors is deeper than what it shyly states: You will be honored if you keep your hands off our regimes and ideologies. Thus this recognition is not really about abstract notions or about climate change. It is a message from the authoritarians in the greater Middle East, via their economic partners in the West, to the United States, to quit pushing for democracy and intervening for human rights; as the previous administration said it would, but in fact failed to deliver.
The Nobel Peace Prize Committee is based in Norway, which cooperates with OPEC and often has joint ventures with its members. The latter is obviously controlled by the hard-core authoritarian members of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) and the Arab League. These regimes, regardless of their bilateral disputes (such as Wahabis and Khomeinists), have one common ground: Oppose the rise of democracy, their worst enemy, in their own midst.
U.S. intervention in Yugoslavia, moderating the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, reaching out to dissidents in Myanmar, is fine. But defeating the Taliban and empowering women, helping the reformers in Iran, the Cedars Revolution in Lebanon, or saving Darfur: All of that is forbidden.
The bureaucrats and advisers of the Oslo committee are in partnership with the OPEC-OIC web and thus have offered their “credibility” as part of efforts to block and reverse American support to the underdogs in the region. In their eyes, the Obama administration already delivered significantly in nine months: The war on terror is over, narrative against jihadism is deleted, OIC’s “fatwa” on Defamation of Religion is endorsed, meddling in Iran’s oppression of its citizens rejected, intervention in Darfur stopped, Khadafy’s terror forgotten, Assad regime’s massacres forgiven, and of course Guantanamo to be closed and U.S. Homeland Security directed against natural disasters instead of urban jihadism.
With such achievements, the “oil Jihadi cartel” cannot but make a grand gesture to consolidate the new direction. In return, the powerful grantee accepted the prize as a “call to action,” meaning the course will be stayed. Reaffirming the tenets of his Cairo speech, the president asserted that today’s world is one of “religions” deserving “mutual interests and respect.”
So, between the lines, no future U.S. actions will be in favor of oppressed peoples if they happen to be living in Dar el Islam. The war in Iraq will be ended, regardless of Iran, Syria, and the Jihadists’ future interventions there. And there will be no escalation in the battlefield of Afghanistan, if only somehow the “ruthless adversary would stop threatening the United States.”
Here we go: The “other side” announced its agenda for America, and the latter accepted. Surely it is nice to receive a prominent prize, but it is important to see beyond our own nose. The hope is that the price for such an honor won’t be a human rights catastrophe for the underdogs in the “Muslim world.”
**Walid Phares writes for The Cutting Edge News and is the author of "The Confrontation: Winning the War against Future Jihad" and a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.