LCCC
ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
March 02/09
Bible Reading of the
day.
Mark 1/From 35 t0 45/Early in the morning, while it was still dark, he
rose up and went out, and departed into a deserted place, and prayed there.
Simon and those who were with him followed after him; and they found him, and
told him, “Everyone is looking for you.” He said to them, “Let’s go elsewhere
into the next towns, that I may preach there also, because I came out for this
reason.” He went into their synagogues throughout all Galilee, preaching and
casting out demons. A leper came to him, begging him, kneeling down to him, and
saying to him, “If you want to, you can make me clean.” Being moved with
compassion, he stretched out his hand, and touched him, and said to him, “I want
to. Be made clean.” When he had said this, immediately the leprosy departed from
him, and he was made clean. He strictly warned him, and immediately sent him
out, and said to him, “See you say nothing to anybody, but go show yourself to
the priest, and offer for your cleansing the things which Moses commanded, for a
testimony to them.” But he went out, and began to proclaim it much, and to
spread about the matter, so that Jesus could no more openly enter into a city,
but was outside in desert places: and they came to him from everywhere.
Free Opinions, Releases, letters &
Special Reports
March 8 stupidity/Future News
01/02/09
Lebanon on Edge as Hariri Tribunal Starts-By: By
Nicholas Blanford/TIME 01/02/09
Mexico's Foreign Embassies: A
Terror Threat to America?By: Todd Bensman 01/02/09
Latest News Reports From
Miscellaneous Sources for March
01/09
Galilee man suspected of
providing intel to Hizbullah/Isreali News
Olmert: Israel will act to achieve
calm in south/Israeli News
The Special Tribunal for Lebanon
Kicks-Off with Promises of Unbiased Justice-Naharnet
Bellemare: We Will Request Generals' Transfer 'As Soon As Possible-Naharnet
International Tribunal Warrants Compulsory to All U.N. Members-Naharnet
Chidiak: we will claim our rights
through International Judiciary/Future News
Le Monde: Hezbollah members caught
photographing the international tribunal’s headquarter/Future News
Hizbullah Members Reportedly Photographed Tribunal Area, Party Denies-Naharnet
Mrs.
Hariri: All we need is the truth, not revenge/Future News
Abu Rizq to Represent
Aoun in Defense Strategy Committee-Naharnet
Clinton dives into Arab-Israeli
peacemaking.Reuters
Suleiman, Sultan Qaboos for Arab Solidarity, Reconciliation-Naharnet
Moscow: We Will Support
All STL Rulings-Naharnet
Israel's Netanyahu gives up on alliance
with Livni/Reuters
UN court to ask Lebanon to hand over generals:
report-Reuters
Obama Should Talk To Syria Now-Newsweek
Netanyahu: Palestinians have right to govern
themselves-Ynetnews
Iraq Withdrawal Can Only Work With Pressure On Iran and Syria-FOXNews
Israeli
PM vows to bring 'total' quiet
to South-Jerusalem Post
US overtures could force Syria into tough
choices-Reuters
The Special Tribunal for Lebanon Kicks-Off with
Promises of Unbiased Justice
Naharnet/An international tribunal created to try the suspected killers of
former premier Rafik Hariri was inaugurated Sunday at a special ceremony in The
Hague, with the chief prosecutor warning that "no one was immune" from
punishment.
"I welcome you to the opening ceremony" of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon,
registrar Robin Vincent told VIPs, diplomats and journalists gathered for the
much-anticipated event at the tribunal's new seat at former Dutch intelligence
headquarters in the suburb of Leidschendam.
Guests included the U.N. under-secretary general for legal affairs, Patricia
O'Brien, Lebanese ambassador to the Netherlands Zeidan al-Saghir and the
tribunal's chief prosecutor Daniel Bellemare. "We must not forget that the main
reason why the tribunal came to existence is the sufferings of the victims and
their families," Vincent said."In the end, we are not here today just for the
United Nations or the international gathering. We are here for Lebanon," he
added.
"We are not here for those who committed these crimes, we are here for the
victims of these crimes," he concluded, before requesting a moment of silence in
memory of those who were murdered on February 14, 2005. For his part,
Bellemare ensured that the tribunal does not fall under any form of external
influence. "Our work will be independent. We work according to evidence, the law
and our own conscience," he told the ceremony.
The Canadian judge was adamant in his position that official indictments would
only be issued based on incriminating evidence. He also made clear that no side
or figure would be exempt from answering to the court. "I will not issue an
indictment unless fully convinced with the evidence presented. I will not press
charges just to please a certain side," he said, in an indirect warning against
political meddling in the trial's proceedings.
Bellemare also declined to give a timeframe for when he will start pressing
charges, but he confirmed there will be more than one indictment.
"No one is immune," he insisted, adding that the crime was committed "by several
individuals, while others people were aware of it."
He again said he will soon be filing a "request to the Lebanese government to
hand over all that is related to the tribunal, including the detainees."
Four Lebanese generals have been in held in Lebanon for nearly four years over
the killing. Bellemare said any decision to release the four figures "will be up
to the tribunal." As of Sunday, the office of the prosecutor will have 60 days
to apply to the Lebanese authorities for the transfer of suspects and evidence
files.
In the meantime, the international investigating commission will continue its
work "in compliance with international criteria," Bellemare said.
He said so far he has not faced any impediments to his work. "Neither do I
expect to face any difficulties in the future. But in case I do, we will take
the necessary measures." He also said that Syria's cooperation with the STL has
been "satisfactory."
Bellemare has led the international investigation into a series of attacks on
Lebanese political and media personalities, notably Hariri's assassination in a
car bombing in that also killed 22 other people. There was no indication of a
date for its first trial.
Addressing the audience, O'Brian described the STL as a "turning point" in the
international community's efforts to end a culture of impunity that has allowed
murder crimes in Lebanon to go unpunished.
The tribunal, created by a U.N. Security Council resolution of June 2007, will
apply the Lebanese penal code. It has an initial, renewable, three-year mandate,
though Vincent has predicted it may need closer to five years.
O'Brian said that one of the traits that distinguishes the STL was that elements
of civil law were "more apparent" in comparison with previous international
tribunals. The application of civil law and the Lebanese penal code, she
explained, guarantees "swift trials, prevents unnecessary delays and allows
trials in absentia."
She pointed out that international "interest in the tribunal will definitely
increase as it moves forward." She assured the Lebanese public they will be able
to follow the tribunal's proceedings and will be able to "access accurate and
correct information on the trial's progress."
The U.N. official insisted on the "impartial and independent" nature of the
tribunal. She said the STL's formation is a "strong indication that these
assassinations and terrorist attacks will not be allowed to continue."
For his part, Lebanese Ambassador Saghir said: "The Lebanese have long waited
for this day. Justice will take its course. The Lebanese people have the right
to feel safe."Lebanon has been trying "to end the wave of terrorist attacks" on
its soil, he said, adding that the tribunal "has come to lift this heavyweight
off Lebanon's shoulders." The identities of the tribunal's 11 judges, four of
them Lebanese, are being kept under wraps for security reasons.
In its early stages, the UN probe into the murder implicated top officials close
to Syrian President Bashar Assad. Damascus has consistently denied any
involvement.
Vincent has told reporters that the courtroom, to be erected in what used to be
a spies' gymnasium, was unlikely to be completed before November this year.
The tribunal, he added, had a separate wing of holding cells at the Dutch
penitentiary in Scheveningen, which "is operational, staffed and ready to
receive anyone we get." The budget, 49 of which will be paid by Lebanon, is
$51.4 million (40 million euros) for 2009.(Naharnet-AFP) Beirut, 01 Mar 09,
14:53
March 8 stupidity
Future News
Date: March 1st, 2009
The March 8 gang deals with the Lebanese according to the logic of bypassing the
facts and enforcing fabricated data. This logic pretends to be clever but is
nothing more than stupidity.
The signs of stupidity rose since the said gang was betting on their efforts to
abort the formation of the International tribunal, that we celebrate the launch
of its work today. The efforts to abort the tribunal were an indication of the
low intelligence of the perpetrators, who are experts in stupidity. Just a
reminder:
• The followers of the Syrian regime always boasted that the Syrian
intelligences are aware of any ant crawl, but they missed apparently that these
services do not know sound of the bomb.
• The Syrian regime is begging the United States of America to send their
ambassador to Damascus, but as for the timing of designating the Syrian
ambassador to Lebanon, it is something that only God knows, God who 5the March 8
forces say: we believe in him.
• Michel Aoun is insisting on organizing the elections in two days, as he got
the habit of being disappointed in phases and doesn’t get the message from the
first time.
• Michel Aoun again, calls the emigrants to remember who is responsible for
their migration from Lebanon, and certainly would not call to remember the
horrors of the “Liberation” and “annulment” wars. He calls them to “resist”
without précising against whom.
• When the March 8 forces were in power prior to the fourth “cedar revolution”
the Lebanese were deaf ears about the “Security in charge” but not the “coherent
security”. But as for how an officer of the Internal Security Forces is attacked
in the southern suburb of Beirut, the reason is that he isn’t an officer in the
Syrian Army or the “resistance”. This attack could have been avoided if the said
officer got his training at the “Revolutionary Guards” camps.
• One of the “loyalty to the outside” says that it is not permitted to close the
Council of the South, but of course this saying doesn’t apply on cancelling the
country, closing the airport and the parliament, preventing the representatives
from electing a President, occupying the downtown and cut off the livelihood of
the people.
• General Jamil Sayed warns of addressing the four officer’s case as a “media
folklore” forgetting that his era was a pure comedy and that the smile of Emile
Lahoud his president at that time provoked the famous comedian Adel Imam who
offered him to work as an actor after his retirement.
• By all means, the Lebanese should carefully take care of their organs, since
the former deputy Karim el-Rassi threatened whoever “steps on our foot, we will
step on his neck”. This is the kind of politics March 8 practices: someone
threatening to cut tongues, another by taking lives, a third by stepping on
necks and a fourth who once said his shoe is more important than the tribunal.
Geagea on a business trip
Date: March 1st, 2009 Future News
Chief Executive of the Lebanese Forces Samir Geagea left Beirut Saturday evening
abroad on a business visit that will last several days.
Chidiak: we will claim our rights through International
Judiciary
Date: March 1st, 2009 Source: Free Lebanon
Journalist May Chidiak said Sunday that the launching of the International
Tribunal is a ‘great joy’, pointing out that the Tribunal is not for taking
revenge.
“The Tribunal is not for the purpose of taking revenge, since revenge means
claiming our rights with our own hands, and we will not take our rights on our
own but will resort to the International Judiciary”, said Chidiak . Chidiak
added that if the international justice will wane before some political
considerations that had prevailed earlier, then it is valueless. Chikdiak was
target of an assassination attempt with a bomb planted in the driver seat of her
car on September 25, 2005 but she survived and suffered a permanent disability.
Chidiak a prominent journalist resumed her work with the Lebanese Broadcasting
Company (LBC) after 10 month of her injury, but submitted her resignation on air
two weeks ago. She hoped that the Tribunal would work in a systematic manner and
prosecute all who threatened, ordered, and executed the assassinations. Chidiak
asserted that the “reports and information prove that assassinations still
threaten the Lebanese and top officials in an attempt to transform the internal
panorama, but the tribunal will prevent this menace”.
Bellemare: We Will Request Generals' Transfer 'As Soon As
Possible'
Naharnet/Daniel Bellemare, public prosecutor of the Special Tribunal for
Lebanon, said Sunday he will file a request "as soon as possible" for the
transfer of four detained Lebanese generals to The Hague. The generals - former
head of the presidential guard Mustafa Hamdan, security services director Jamil
Sayyed, domestic security chief Ali Hajj and military intelligence chief Raymond
Azar – have been in Lebanese custody since 2005 on suspected involvement in the
assassination of ex-Premier Rafik Hariri. "The generals will not be held in
custody indefinitely. They will stand trial one day," Bellemare - the Canadian
judge who assumed his post as prosecutor midnight Saturday – told al-Arabiya
television in an interview.
The STL, which will start operations Sunday, was formed to try suspects in
Hariri's assassination.
"There are other suspects in the crime, in addition to the four generals,"
Bellemare said, "but we have not yet reached the indictment phase."
The STL will "work as fast as possible to complete investigations." He added
that the international investigating commission will "meet with witness Zuhair
al-Siddiq again." Bellemare has two months from when the tribunal begins to ask
for the generals to be brought to the Netherlands, and can urge the tribunal to
either free them or keep them in custody. "Crimes in Lebanon were not committed
by ghosts. They were committed by members of a group of professionals or a
government institution," Bellemare told al-Arabiya. He acknowledged that some
have cast doubt on the "possibility of launching" the STL, and called on all
sides to "realize that the tribunal is now a reality." In Beirut, Hizbullah
second in command Sheikh Naim Qassem called on politicians to stop "meddling" in
the judiciary to allow the "release of the four generals, who according to
Amnesty International, are being unjustly detained."
The generals - who have not been indicted - are held on suspicion of
premeditated murder, attempted premeditated murder and carrying out terrorist
acts.
For her part, STL communications officer Suzan Khan said that security measures
around the STL headquarters have been heightened for the tribunal's
inauguration. "There are no fears of security breaches or assaults" on Sunday,
she told the pan-Arab al-Sharq al-Awsat newspaper.
Sunday's ceremony will be attended by some 50 diplomats and 130 Lebanese and
foreign journalists. Judge Omar Natour will be representing the Lebanese
Ministry of Justice.(Naharnet-AFP) Beirut, 01 Mar 09, 09:48
Moscow: We Will Support All STL Rulings
Naharnet/Russia said Sunday it will "support" all rulings by the Special
Tribunal for Lebanon and stressed the need to "uncover the whole truth and
punish perpetrators of political assassination crimes."A Foreign Ministry
official told al-Hayat newspaper the outcome of the tribunal "must be based on a
meticulous examination of facts and in-depth research." Moscow "does not doubt
the tribunal's objectivity and no one wants to witness a political circus," he
said, stressing the need for the killers to be punished. The official, who was
not identified, said "the tribunal must not affect political life in Lebanon or
affect the upcoming elections."
Beirut, 01 Mar 09, 10:49
Hizbullah Members Reportedly Photographed Tribunal Area,
Party Denies
Naharnet/France's Le Monde daily reported that Hizbullah members recently took
photographs of the area where the headquarters of the international tribunal is
located in The Hague. "Deduce the political conclusions you want," the daily
quoted the court's registrar, Robin Vincent, as saying.
Vincent noted that Dutch security services registered three such incidents. The
daily also quoted a Lebanese source as saying that Hizbullah rejected a request
by head of the International Independent Investigation Commission Daniel
Bellemare to interrogate eight "Hizbullah personalities." A Hizbullah source,
however, denied the report, saying it was completely untrue. About Bellemare's
request, the source said such a request is "in the author's imagination."
Beirut, 28 Feb 09, 22:17
International Tribunal Warrants Compulsory to All U.N.
Members
Naharnet/The international tribunal's registrar, Robin Vincent, said the
warrants issued by the court would be international and all members of the
United Nations should abide by them. "All arrest warrants issued by the tribunal
are compulsory international documents for all United Nations members," Vincent
said in an interview with al-Mustaqbal newspaper on Saturday.
He added that an international and non-Lebanese pre-trial judge has been
appointed to look into the findings of the U.N. commission investigating
ex-Premier Rafik Hariri's killing. The panel's mandate officially expires at
midnight Saturday as the tribunal starts functioning the next day.
Vincent said that the final draft of the tribunal's bylaw would be approved once
the judges meet at Leidschendam. He did not provide a date as to when the
meeting would take place adding that the U.N. Secretary-General would like to
keep the date confidential to protect the Lebanese judges who have to travel to
The Hague to be sworn in. The pre-trail judge would only begin work once he and
tribunal judges are finished with placing the bylaw of the court that includes
what could be termed as the legal criminal procedures related to the Special
Tribunal for Lebanon.
Sunday's tribunal opening event at Leidschendam in the Netherlands is to be
attended by 15 ambassadors representing donor nations and 90 media figures
representing 70 media outlets (newspapers and satellite televisions). "Very soon
11 judges will meet. (3 initial judges, 5 appeal judges, 2 substitute judges and
a pre-trial judge) would all be sworn in prior to approving the tribunal's
internal order," Vincent said.
He added that the 5 Appellate Court judges are also scheduled to meet (they
include 2 Lebanese judges).
Vincent did not clarify whether a male or female judge would head the tribunal.
Despite the signature of a bilateral agreement between the United Nations and
Lebanon regarding the tribunal, any other U.N. member country would also be
concerned with this agreement, Vincent told al-Mustaqbal.
"Lebanon cannot sign an agreement with every U.N. member nation, and the U.N.
here means all U.N. member states. In this regard the bilateral agreement with
Lebanon forces all U.N. member states to fully cooperate with the tribunal,
because the United Nations is party to this agreement," Vincent said.
Beirut, 28 Feb 09, 12:04
Canadian and Israeli Ministers Cannon and Livni Meet in
Jerusalem
March 1, 2009 (7:00 a.m. EST) No. 52
The Honourable Lawrence Cannon, Canada’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Tzipi
Livni, Israel’s Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, met today
in Jerusalem. They discussed the full range of interests between Canada and
Israel, and matters of mutual concern in the Middle East region.
During the meeting, they announced that Canada and Israel will mark their 60th
year of diplomatic bilateral relations in 2009. The two countries look forward
to highlighting this important anniversary and to showcasing the breadth and
depth of the relationship between two democratic allies. This relationship is
founded on close political, economic, social, cultural and academic ties and
support for the shared values of freedom, democracy, human rights and the rule
of law.
Canada and Israel established diplomatic relations on May 11, 1949. Since then,
bilateral relations have expanded to include a free trade agreement and close
coordination on many issues. Minister Cannon and Minister Livni expressed their
expectation that the 60th anniversary would help propel relations to an even
higher level.
Clinton dives into Arab-Israeli peacemaking
Sun Mar 1, 4:59 AM
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was on her way to the
Middle East and Europe on Sunday, delving into Israeli-Palestinian peacemaking
for the first time at an international donors conference for Gaza.
The United States is expected to pledge more than $900 million at Monday's
one-day conference in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh. The funds are
aimed at post-conflict recovery in Gaza after Israel's invasion in December.
Washington also wants the money to bolster Western-backed Palestinian President
Mahmoud Abbas and has stipulated no U.S. funds will go through the militant
group Hamas, which rules Gaza while Abbas' Fatah movement runs the West Bank.
"I will be announcing a commitment to a significant aid package, but it will
only be spent if we determine that our goals can be furthered rather than
undermined or subverted," Clinton told Voice of America in an interview taped on
Friday.
Human rights groups and experts say no matter how much money is offered for
Gaza, it will make little difference if goods cannot get through Israeli border
crossings.
"All the pledges of aid this conference is expected to produce will be worth
next to nothing if the donors do not demand that Israel open the borders to
commercial goods as well as humanitarian essentials," said Kenneth Roth,
executive director of Human Rights Watch.
After the conference in Egypt, where she will also meet European and Arab
leaders, Clinton travels to Jerusalem to see Israeli politicians trying to
cobble together a new government after February elections.
Palestinians are also trying to form a government.
There is not a lot of pressure that can be applied at a time when there is a
government still in formation," said Jon Alterman of the Center for Strategic
and International Studies, a Washington think tank.
Clinton plans to meet Benjamin Netanyahu, the hawkish Israeli prime
minister-designate who on Saturday abandoned efforts to form a broad coalition
government with centrist Tzipi Livni, who has been involved in U.S.-brokered
peace talks.
Livni has accused Netanyahu of insufficient commitment to the talks, and her
decision not to form a government weakens Clinton's effort to kick-start the
peace process her husband, former President Bill Clinton, failed to deliver on.
"This is a sensitive time in Israeli politics as they seek to form a government,
but I will take the opportunity to reaffirm the strength of the U.S.-Israel
relationship and talk about the best way to move peace forward," said Clinton.
Palestinian factions are taking part in Egyptian-mediated reconciliation talks
and Clinton, who will travel to the West Bank, said the United States could only
accept Hamas in a unity government if it met three conditions.
Those are to recognize Israel, sign on to previous Israeli-Palestinian
agreements and renounce violence -- conditions Hamas has refused to accept.
"Otherwise, I don't think it will result in the kind of positive step forward
either for the Palestinian people or as a vehicle for a reinvigorated effort to
obtain peace that leads to a Palestinian state," Clinton said.
After meeting Abbas in his West Bank office and Prime Minister Salam Fayyad,
Clinton will travel to Brussels to see NATO foreign ministers.
In a bid to improve poor U.S. ties with Moscow under the Bush administration,
Clinton plans to have dinner with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in
Geneva before finishing up her weeklong trip with a stop in Turkey on Saturday.
(Editing by Mohammad Zargham)
Lebanon on Edge as Hariri Tribunal Starts
By Nicholas Blanford / TIMES
Beirut Sunday, Mar. 01, 2009
A potentially explosive murder investigation which has gripped the Middle East
for four years moves from Lebanon to the Netherlands today with the launch of a
landmark international tribunal. The tribunal, established under the auspices of
the United Nations, will judge the assassins of Rafik Hariri, a former Lebanese
prime minister who died in a truck bomb explosion in February 2005, and of
several anti-Syrian politicians and journalists murdered subsequently. “After
four years of waiting and desperately fighting all kinds of resistance (to the
tribunal’s formation) we have finally won this battle for truth and justice,”
Marwan Hamade, a former minister, told TIME. Hamade narrowly survived a car bomb
assassination attempt in October 2004, the first of the attacks included in the
UN investigation.
The burning question is whether top Syrian officials will be called before the
tribunal. Syria, which politically controlled Lebanon at the time of Hariri’s
death, remains the chief suspect in the murder. An initial report by a UN
commission, which began investigating Hariri’s death in 2005, implicated several
senior Syrian and Lebanese officials. Subsequent reports, however, have been
scant on detail, and it remains unknown what evidence the commission has
amassed. Daniel Bellemare, the head of the UN commission for the past year, is
expected to continue the investigation when he takes up the role on March 1 as
chief prosecutor for the tribunal.
Syria denies any involvement in Hariri’s death and says it supports an
independent investigation. “Nobody wants to drown the investigation," said Sami
Moubayed, a Syrian political analyst. "On the contrary, in the best of all
possible worlds, the Syrians want the probe to carry out, be neutral, and prove,
at the end of the day, that Syria was innocent.”
It could be a long, tense and potentially dangerous wait before indictments are
issued and trials begin. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon reportedly has said
that the courtroom will be ready for trials at the beginning of 2010. Robin
Vincent, the tribunal’s registrar, has said that the trials could last five
years. In welcoming the launching of the tribunal, Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad
Siniora said, “The Lebanese do not seek vengeance, they only wish to protect
their country and prevent the terrorists from persisting in their crime
unpunished.”
The tribunal is located in Leidschendam, a suburb of the Hague in the
Netherlands. Eleven judges, four of them Lebanese, have been selected for the
tribunal, although their names are being kept secret for now for security
reasons. Preparations are being made for the transfer of suspects and witnesses
to the Hague, and a witness protection program is being arranged.
Last week, a Lebanese judge freed on bail three suspects who were arrested in
2005. However, four generals who headed state security organs at the time of
Hariri’s murder are to be extradited to the Hague within the next month at
Bellemare’s request. The four generals, including the once powerful head of
General Security, have been in custody for the past three-and-a-half years.
As the net closes in on the assassins, many in Lebanon are bracing for more
instability. Lebanon already faces a tense period in the months leading to
knife-edge parliamentary elections scheduled for June 7. “The establishment of
the tribunal faced many difficulties, and I do think that as we get closer to
the killers we might have more trouble,” Hamade said. No other international
tribunal has been established on the basis of one man’s murder (others such as
those for Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia dealt with genocide and war crimes),
making it unique in the relatively new field of international jurisprudence —
and highly political as well.
Amnesty International, the human rights watchdog, suggested that the tribunal
was “politically selective” and that it should address the enormous number of
other serious crimes committed in Lebanon in recent decades, especially during
the 1975-1990 civil war. “The mandate is by far the narrowest of any tribunal of
an international nature,” Amnesty said in a statement issued Friday.
Political bias has dogged the UN investigation since its inception. It is widely
held that the UN investigation owes its existence to the interests of the U.S.,
which saw it as a useful tool to pressure Damascus into better behavior in Iraq,
cease meddling in Lebanese affairs and to drop its backing for militant
anti-Israel groups such as Lebanon’s Shi’ite Hizballah. Even the probe’s closest
supporters concede that if Israel had been the chief suspect in the Hariri
murder, the investigation would never have existed. Syria, however, has begun to
emerge from its recent international isolation. On Friday, a senior State
Department official met the Syrian ambassador to Washington, the first official
contact in months. Washington also is considering appointing a new ambassador to
Damascus. The previous ambassador was withdrawn in the wake of the Hariri
assassination. But a rapprochement with the West and the possibility of resumed
peace talks with Israel could be derailed if the tribunal issues indictments for
senior Syrian figures. Given the stakes, it is no surprise that suspicions have
arisen of a deal being concocted in which the Syrian leadership is spared
prosecution in exchange for progress on peace with Israel, loosening its close
ties to Iran and an end to meddling in Lebanon.
The UN has established a committee to monitor interference in the judicial
process and insists that the tribunal will remain impartial. In an open letter
to the Lebanese, Bellemare said that he would “not be influenced by any
political consideration.”
“Justice cannot and should not be used as a political tool,” he said. Reassuring
words, perhaps, but many Lebanese continue to suspect that the cold realities of
politics could trump the loftier cause of justice.
Suleiman, Sultan Qaboos for Arab Solidarity, Reconciliation
Naharnet/President Michel Suleiman and Oman's Sultan Qaboos bin Said on Saturday
called for the improvement of ties between the two countries and the need to
continue with inter-Arab reconciliation. The two men discussed bilateral
relations and ways to improve them in all aspects, the state-run National News
Agency said.
It said Suleiman and Qaboos also discussed the latest regional and international
developments. The two leaders hoped Suleiman's visit to Oman would lead to more
"cooperation, coordination and activation of bilateral agreements and finding
ways to encourage mutual investments," according to NNA. Suleiman and Qaboos
also agreed about the need to continue with efforts to reach inter-Arab
reconciliation and improve the principles of Arab solidarity in the face of
growing challenges. After the half hour meeting, Suleiman met with members of
the Lebanese community in the Sultanate. The Lebanese president arrived in
Muscat Saturday on a two-day official visit. He was accompanied by a ministerial
and media delegation. Beirut, 28 Feb 09, 18:37
Abu Rizq to Represent Aoun in Defense Strategy Committee
Naharnet/MP Michel Aoun appointed on Sunday retired Brigadier General Michel Abi
Rizq representative in the defense strategy committee.
The National Dialogue, in its third session, had decided to form the committee
of military experts to draw up a common defense strategy.
President Michel Suleiman has asked MP Walid Jumblat to "bring back his
representative Sharif Fayyad to the committee," An-Nahar newspaper reported
Sunday.
Minister Wael Abou Faour said Jumblat's decision to suspend Fayyad's
participation was not meant to undermine Suleiman or "contest" the national
dialogue.
Presidential sources told the daily that Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri "might
present his vision of a defense strategy if he finds it is appropriate to do
so."
National dialogue sessions will resume beginning of April. Beirut, 01 Mar 09,
11:24
Israel's Netanyahu gives up on alliance with Livni.
Sat Feb 28,
By Dan Williams
JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel's right-wing Prime Minister-designate Benjamin
Netanyahu has abandoned efforts to woo centrist Tzipi Livni into forming a broad
coalition government, a spokeswoman said on Saturday.
The decision, made after a second round of negotiations on Friday ended in
disagreement, increased the likelihood that Netanyahu's Likud party would turn
to rightist factions opposed to territorial withdrawals in peace talks with the
Palestinians.
Livni, currently foreign minister, has accused Netanyahu of insufficient
commitment to the U.S.-sponsored two-state vision
-- a future Palestine created in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, territories
Israel captured in the 1967 Middle East war.
Netanyahu, an ex-premier whose popularity was buoyed by jitters at the Islamist
Hamas takeover of Gaza after Israel withdrew in 2005, wants contacts with the
Palestinians to focus on economic and security issues rather than territory.
"The courtship is over. We are not scheduling any more talks with Kadima," said
Dina Libster, a Netanyahu spokeswoman, referring to Livni's and Prime Minister
Ehud Olmert's party.
"If Livni wants to rethink her approach and contact us, she is welcome to."
A February 10 election to choose Olmert's successor gave Kadima, under Livni,
the biggest number of parliament seats. But it also created a majority bloc of
rightist factions, leading President Shimon Peres to task Netanyahu with forming
a new government.
Saying political stability was needed to address challenges on the Palestinian
front, a gathering economic crisis, and Israeli fears of Iran's nuclear
programme, Netanyahu has expressed desire to lead as broad a coalition as
possible.
Kadima said it would not be won over.
"What Netanyahu wants is for us to provide cover for what will be a narrow
right-wing government, and we won't do that," said a senior party official. "We
are content to lead the opposition and prove that we're the best alternative."Losing Kadima as a potential partner leaves the center-left Laborparty of
Defense Minister Ehud Barak, with whom Netanyahu was scheduled to hold a new
round of talks on Sunday. But Barak's office played down expectations of a
breakthrough.
"Barak has made clear that Labour is destined for the opposition," one aide
said.
Likud's likeliest ally appears to be the ultranationalist Yisrael Beiteinu
party, which came third in the election.
That would mean a top cabinet post for the party's leader, Avigdor Lieberman,
whose questioning of the loyalty of Israeli Arabs and hawkish talk on regional
issues has prompted political analysts to predict a clash with the Obama
administration.
"I would certainly prefer the defense portfolio," Lieberman told Israel's
Channel Two television. "Yisrael Beiteinu is fit to handle any portfolio, and no
one will disqualify us."(Editing by Ralph Boulton)
Galilee man suspected of providing intel to Hizbullah
Shin Bet believes Ismail Muhammad Suleiman from northern village of al-Hajjara
was recruited by Shiite group during pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia
Sharon Roffe-Ofir Published: 03.01.09, 15:07 / Israel News
Cleared for publication: A joint Shin Bet and police operation has led to the
arrest of a 27-year-old man from the Galilee village of al-Hajjara, on suspicion
that he was recruited by a Hizbullah agent. Ismail Muhammad Suleiman was
arrested by the Haamakim Subdistrict Police officers in early February, after he
allegedly met with a Hizbullah handler during a Hajj pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia.
According to the indictment, Suliman's handler instructed him to gather
intelligence about Israeli Defense forces' activities in the north. The two are
also believed to have set up a second meeting, during which Suliman was to give
his handler the information.
In January, the Petah Tikva District Court sentenced 29-year-old Khaled Kashkush
of the Arab-Israeli town of Qalansuwa to four years in prison, after finding him
guilty of contacting a Hizbullah agent.
Mexico’s Foreign Embassies: A Terror Threat to America?
Travelers from Muslim countries are bribing Mexican foreign service workers for
travel documents that will get them access to the U.S.
March 1, 2009 - by Todd Bensman
Pajamas Media
Former Dearborn, Michigan, resident Mahmoud Youssef Kourani was a secret
Hezbollah agent sent to infiltrate America in February 2001. He stole over the
Mexican border into California with a skill set that court records would later
describe as “specialized training in radical Shiite fundamentalism, weaponry,
spy craft, and counterintelligence,” picked up in Lebanon and Iran.
Kourani got caught in 2004 and thrown in federal prison for raising money and
recruits for Hezbollah, which pioneered the modern art of suicide truck bombing
by blowing up American Marines in Beirut.
But the enduring significance of Kourani isn’t that Hezbollah was able to
implant the likes of him on American soil. It’s how it was done that reveals an
insufficiently known national security danger for the U.S. that emanates to this
day from a most unexpected source: Mexico’s foreign service embassies, consulate
offices, and “honorary” appointed consuls across the Muslim world.
How was a Lebanese national whose brother was known to be “Hezbollah’s chief of
military security for southern Lebanon” able to get within striking distance of
California?
According to court records and interviews with knowledgeable sources, a $3,000
bribe was paid for Kourani’s travel documents to a corrupt official of Mexico’s
Beirut consulate office. He just flew over, then on February 4, 2001, sneaked
into California with help from a smuggling ring that had moved hundreds of
Lebanese nationals already.
In this one instance at least, the discovery of the smuggling ring and bribery
scheme prompted Mexico to quietly purge and prosecute several of its Beirut
workers a few years ago. But I have found that Mexican consulates in other
sensitive parts of the world, where anti-American Islamic terror groups thrive,
are still open for the same kind of business.
Take the Mexican embassy in Mumbai, India. In all the ink expended about the
devastating terror attacks there, none was shed for the fact that only months
earlier, three Afghan Muslim travelers were caught posing as Mexicans and
carrying genuine Mexican passports on their way out of the region. The trio was
switching flights in Kuwait using Mexican pseudonyms and flashing valid Mexican
passports, on their way to France and beyond, when an alert customs officer
noticed they couldn’t speak Spanish. Subsequent investigation in India showed
the passports were purchased for $10,000 each from a corrupt worker in the
Mumbai-based Mexican consul office. Were these men terrorists? The answer isn’t
public.
Recently retired FBI Assistant Legal Attaché James Conway spent four years after
9/11 overseeing the bureau’s counterterrorism programs in Mexico City. He told
me that interdicting U.S.-bound travelers from Muslim nations in South Asia, the
Middle East, and North Africa “was our number one concern” because any of them
might be a terrorist headed for the U.S. frontier. Mexico-bound travelers from
Islamic countries, armed with valid passports bearing security bar codes, are
among the most difficult to detect, he explained, because they enable their
bearers to easily slip airport inspections.
Conway said that during his post-9/11 Mexico tour the FBI got many “hits”
running the names of captured U.S.-bound immigrants from those countries through
terror watch list databases. He couldn’t elaborate. But in his last job, Conway
learned why gaining entry to Mexico is such a golden ticket.
“If you’ve got a Mexican passport, you can become part of the flood of people
who cross into the U.S,” he said. “If terrorists wanted to exploit that
infrastructure, they can. It’s there.”
The problem of Mexico’s corruptible foreign service was not lost on the Bush
administration, which practically obsessed over plugging the obscure nooks and
crannies of national security. In deference to American security concerns since
9/11, the Mexican government — at least officially — has severely restricted
visas to travelers from the Arab world. Mexico certainly does have legitimate
reason to field embassy offices abroad, what with oil and varied business
interests.
Ricardo Alday, a spokesman for Mexico’s embassy in Washington, D.C., insisted
that since 9/11 his government, in deference to American concern from the
Kourani case and others, “has applied strong measures and invested considerable
resources to continuously improve the security of its travel documents” in those
foreign offices.
But such assurances rang hollow when an American national security investigation
early last year found that corruption in yet another Mexican consulate office —
this one in Belize — had enabled at least 100 Africans from terror-watch
countries to make their way to Houston, Texas.
That Washington, D.C., investigation targeted a smuggling ring run by two Ghana
nationals, Mohammed Kamel Ibrahim of Mexico City and Sampson Lovelace Boateng of
Belize City. The two men confessed to ferrying in dozens of U.S.-bound travelers
since 2005 from countries like Somalia and Sudan, a state sponsor of terror
where radical Islamic groups like al-Qaeda have thrived. The travelers would pay
$5,000 each for packages that included the Mexican tourist visas, hotel, and air
and ground transport into Texas.
If the Bush administration obsessed enough over such scenarios to push Mexico
City to clear out its rat’s nests abroad, it’s less than certain whether the new
Obama administration will be as attentive.
Raouf N. El-Far of Amman, Jordan, would probably predict trouble from his neck
of the woods. When I met El-Far two years ago, he’d been serving as Mexico’s
honorary consul in Amman, Jordan, for three years already, in charge of handling
travel applications from local Jordanians, Palestinians, and Syrian students and
businessmen. But El-Far was candid enough to tell me that huge bribe offers
began coming in on his first day in the position from travelers who know they’d
be rejected. One Iraqi had just offered a staggering $100,000 a month if El-Far
would grant Mexican tourist visas to Iraqi refugees. El-Far insisted that while
very tempted, he never caved “because it’s against my principles.”
El-Far explained that his predecessor had showed no such moral restraint. One
has to wonder how El-Far’s successor will respond.