LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
November 16/08

Bible Reading of the day.
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 18,1-8. Then he told them a parable about the necessity for them to pray always without becoming weary. He said, There was a judge in a certain town who neither feared God nor respected any human being.  And a widow in that town used to come to him and say, 'Render a just decision for me against my adversary.' For a long time the judge was unwilling, but eventually he thought, 'While it is true that I neither fear God nor respect any human being, because this widow keeps bothering me I shall deliver a just decision for her lest she finally come and strike me.'"The Lord said, "Pay attention to what the dishonest judge says.  Will not God then secure the rights of his chosen ones who call out to him day and night? Will he be slow to answer them? I tell you, he will see to it that justice is done for them speedily. But when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?"

Saint Basil (c.330-379), monk and Bishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia, Doctor of the Church
Homily 5/"Jesus told them... to pray always"
Don't restrict your prayer simply to asking in words. To be sure, God has no need of discussion; even were we to ask him nothing, he knows what is needful for us. What is there to say? Prayer does not consist in formulae; it encompasses the whole of life. «Whatever you eat or drink,» the apostle Paul says, «or whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God» (1Cor 10,31). Are you at table? Pray. In taking bread, give thanks to him who bestowed it; in drinking wine, remember him who gave you this gift to rejoice your heart and solace your ills. Once the meal is finished, do not fail, come what may, in the remembrance of your benefactor. When you put on your tunic, thank him who gave it you; when you put on your cloak, bear witness to your regard for the God who provides us with clothing suitable for winter and summer and so as to protect our life.
When day is done thank him who has given you sun for the day's work and fire to give light at night and supply for our needs. Nighttime provides you with cause for thanksgiving: when looking at the sky and contemplating the beauty of the stars, pray to the Lord of the universe who has made all things with such wisdom. When you see all nature lying asleep, adore again him who relieves all our weariness with sleep and restores the vigor of our strength with a little rest. In this way you will pray without ceasing if your prayer does not satisfy itself with formulae but, to the contrary, you remain united to God throughout your existence in such a way as to make of your life an unceasing prayer.

Free Opinions, Releases, letters & Special Reports 
Dr. Walid Phares addresses Hezbollah's call for a  Referendum on its Weapons. By:  Maj. W. Thomas Smith Jr. 15/11/08
Syria's case against Hariri cries out for Arab League scrutiny- The Daily Star 15/11/08
Northern Sinai: A desert playground for smugglers, jihadis. By: Jonathan Spyer 15.11.08
Experts to Obama: Don't threaten Iran-AP 15/11/08

Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources for November 15/08
Lebanese Cabinet Calls Cellular Tender, Outlines Ministry-to-Ministry Cooperation with Syria-Naharnet
Lebanon approves security coordination with Syria-International Herald Tribune
Saudi Turns Back Three Fatah al-Islam Suspects-Naharnet
Geagea Predicts Election Victory for March 14-Naharnet
World leaders discuss financial crisis-AP
Fatah Islam Testimonies: Syrian Intelligence Behind Extremist Group and its Operations in Lebanon-Naharnet
Reports: Syria behind Fatah al-Islam activities-Al-Bawaba
Lebanese Christian leader says to help solve missing Lebanese case ...Xinhua
Lebanese majority leader defends Saudi role in Lebanon-Xinhua
Islamists say Damascus backed Lebanon attack-Zawya
Mustaqbal, PSP, AMAL Boycott Palestinian Rally-Naharnet
Baroud's Damascus Visit, Cell Phone Privatization High on Cabinet Agenda-Naharnet
Moussa Carries Hariri Proposal to Damascus-Naharnet
Hariri: Criticism of Saudi Arabia 'Intolerable'-Naharnet
Williams: Report on Resolution 1701 End of November-Naharnet
Arab League Envoy for a Defense Strategy that Places Arms with the State-Naharnet
March 14 wins LAU polls, March 8 takes NDU North-Daily Star
Syria heartened by Obama's plan for Iraq: envoy-Reuters
Siniora defends Baroud in face of flak over Syria trip-Daily Star
Lahoud: Priority is to defend Lebanon, not disarm Hizbullah-Daily Star
Chamoun deputy elected mayor of Deir al-Qamar-Daily Star
Moroccan gets seven years for attempted murder-Daily Star
Australian prosecutor seeks tough sentence for Lebanese-Daily Star
Palestinian refugees in the Arab world: the right to have a right -Daily Star
Lebanese-Canadian detained over 'role' in 1980 Paris blast.(AFP)
March 14 MP dials in new accusations against Bassil-Daily Star
Tabourian says Lebanon may need to shop for affordable power in Jordan-Daily Star
Hillary Clinton on shortlist for secretary of state - reports-(AFP)
Moroccan in Lebanon Gets 7 Years for Attempting to Kill Owner of Money Exchange Shop-Naharnet
Berri: New Election Law 'Worst that Could Exist-Naharnet

March 14 wins LAU polls, March 8 takes NDU North
Daily Star staff
Saturday, November 15, 2008
BEIRUT: The March 14 Forces won the student elections at the Lebanese American University in both the Beirut and Jbeil Campuses on Friday. The March 14 Forces won 10 seats out of 12 in the Beirut campus and eight seats out of 12 in Jbeil. Meanwhile, the March 8 Forces won a sweeping victory in the Koura campus, in North Lebanon, of the Notre Dame University. Separately, the president of the Lebanese University (LU), Zuhair Shukr announced Friday that student elections for the 2008-09 academic year would be canceled."As Lebanon prepares for parliamentary polls in the spring of 2009, and in order to avoid turning LU into arenas of conflict ... all deans of all branches and directors of student bodies at LU are asked not to hold student elections for the year 2008-09," the university said in a statement Friday. - The Daily Star

Hizballah Calls for Referendum on its Weapons
15 November 2008
By Maj. W. Thomas Smith Jr.
[Dr. Walid Phares]
Hizballah, the Iranian-Syrian-backed Shia terrorist organization – perhaps the best-organized, most heavily-financed, most-dangerous organization on the U.S. State Department’s designated terrorist list – has called for a national referendum on whether-or-not the issue of its weapons-possession in Lebanon should be accepted or rejected by the Lebanese people.
Until May of 2008 – when Hizballah and its allies launched a series of armed attacks against the government and the Lebanese citizenry – it was widely accepted that the pro-democracy majority in Lebanon supported the United Nations’ call for Hizballah to disarm along with all other militias in Lebanon.
But the sudden, unprecedented call for a referendum this week suggests the terrorist group – emboldened by its political, military, and geostrategic gains since May – believes it has forcibly intimidated the Lebanese people to the point that the majority is no longer capable of standing up for true democracy. And a referendum in favor of Hizballah’s weapons might forever quash international demands for Hizballah to disarm.
The issuance of such a call is a clear expression of Hizballah’s confidence in its ability to advance its control of Lebanon. It’s also a huge gamble for the terrorist organization.
Why take the risk? We asked Professor Walid Phares, director of the Future of Terrorism Project at the Washington-based Foundation for the Defense of Democracies (and a visiting fellow at the European Foundation for Democracy in Brussels).
W. THOMAS SMITH JR.: Why would Hizballah call for a referendum when they know that the pro-democracy movement (which is a majority) in Lebanon is against Hizballah having weapons?
DR. WALID PHARES: We have to understand the geopolitics of Lebanon have dramatically changed since last May. Any analysis of Hizballah’s positions and initiatives today must be developed based on the new factor in the equation, which is that Hizballah’s control of Lebanon’s national security. Hence, when Hizballah’s leaders offer to submit their weapons-possession to a referendum it means they have insured a military-protected control mechanism over the political process in the country. They can determine the answer to the referendum, which negates the validity of the referendum.
Yes, it is true that on March 14, 2005, one-and-a-half million Lebanese from all religious and ethnic sectors marched against the Syrian occupation and terrorist militias. But that clear cut popular majority has since been undermined, intimidated, and essentially defeated over the past three years. The assassinations of representatives of the Cedars Revolution such as Parliamentarian Gibran Tueni, the attempt to kill outspoken journalists such as May Chidiac, and the militia invasion of Beirut and the Chouf districts in May are all evidence that Lebanon today lives under terror and needs significant help from the international community so that its people can exercise free popular referendums.
Ironically, I had suggested via Arab satellite TV three years ago, that the Lebanese people be allowed to decide on the weapons of Hizballah, in other words should an armed militia be permitted to exist outside the Lebanese Army. At that time and since then, no one from Hizballah or even the March 14 coalition considered the initiative. Obviously, at the time it wasn’t in Hizballah’s interest to accept a referendum knowing that an overwhelming majority of citizens would vote “no.” But after three years – and particularly since May 2008 – it appears as if they feel confident they can get a majority of Lebanese to agree to their keeping these weapons. Since they have the upper hand in the country militarily, they believe they can pull it off. As for March 14 and the Lebanese government: both have had multiple opportunities to have the UN by their side helping them implement UNSCR 1559. Unfortunately, they hesitated and lost that opportunity. In short, Hizballah’s call today for a referendum means they are close to transforming Lebanon into another Iran or Venezuela.
SMITH: Agreed. But why risk it? Hizballah already holds all the cards, so why try for a different hand?
DR. PHARES: Hizballah is taking full advantage of the post-May era in Lebanon since seizing power; first on the ground in Beirut, then when its military role was recognized at the Doha Conference. And as the United States was preoccupied with its presidential campaigns and election, the Iranian-backed Hizballah moved forward to consolidate its gains and achieve as many small victories on the ground and in the government in order to insure its influence over more than a third of the cabinet and then enjoying the fact the new president of Lebanon would not – and will not – move against the group.
Now, with the election of a new U.S. president, the impression of the Iranian leaders is that they may have some time where diplomatic engagement may occur. Hence, the mood in Hizballah’s camp is that the time is ripe to further consolidate their grip over Lebanon and thus completely bypass UN resolutions by calling for a referendum over their weapons, and win it easily. Is it a risk? Unless the other side and the international community seize the opportunity and corner Hizballah, it won’t be a risk.
SMITH: So do you believe that accepting the suggestion of Hizballah regarding a weapons referendum should be considered?
DR. PHARES: Yes, but only if there is smart, strong Lebanese leadership able to turn the initiative in the right direction. Because, after all, there is a real popular-majority in Lebanon, which is opposed to the armed militias, particularly to the pro-Iranian forces. This is a fact that has not changed.
In fact, according to the information I have, the anti-Hizballah majority has grown wider among the masses within the various communities: not the other way around. If the leaders of the Cedars Revolution are politically intelligent they would accept Hizballah’s proposal and take the challenge all the way. If they recollect themselves and think strategically, they can pull a massive victory with democratic means.
SMITH: What if a majority voted “yes” for Hizballah’s weapons? Would that not be another victory for Hizballah?
DR. PHARES: Knowing the real aspirations of the public, I would accept that risk.
First, the advantage would be that Hizballah would have moved the legitimacy of their weapons from the divine level to the citizens’ level. That alone is significant.
Second, if the Lebanese are provided with all international mechanisms to express themselves freely, they will surprise Hizballah as well as their own elected representatives. The question is to enable the Lebanese to express themselves freely.
Even in the absence of the implementation of UNSCR 1559, a mechanism is possible to organize a real referendum. I’d say, it is feasible and has high chances for success. The question again is about the ability of Lebanese politicians to focus and act strategically, and not sink or be maneuvered into the narrowness which has led to so many setbacks to democracy in that unlucky country.

Fatah Islam Testimonies: Syrian Intelligence Behind Extremist Group and its Operations in Lebanon
Naharnet/In response to confessions aired by Syria's state television, al-Mustaqbal newspaper on Saturday carried testimonies made by Fatah al-Islam detainees.
While the confessions broadcast on Syrian TV accused Mustaqbal Movement of financing Fatah al-Islam, written confessions showed that the detainees accuse Syrian intelligence services of supporting the al-Qaida style terrorist group, Al-Mustaqbal said. It quoted one detainee identified as Youssef Darwish as saying that Syrian authorities tasked him with training a group of Fatah-Intifada after being dispatched to the Nahr al-Bared Palestinian refugee camp in north Lebanon. Al-Mustaqbal said this group that was created by Syrian intelligence services not only was it made of Fatah-Intifada cadres and Syrian intelligence officers but also of Syrian and Palestinian prisoners who were released under a special pardon issued by President Bashar al-Assad. That same group, according to the daily, was also composed of "Islamist Mujadideen" who came from various Arab countries (Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Yemen and Morocco) to Damascus where they were being convinced to enter Lebanon instead of Iraq. Another detainee identified as Ahmed Merhi also confessed that head of the Syrian Intelligence Counter Terrorism Bureau Brig. Gen. Jawdat al-Hasan "knows everything about (Fatah al-Islam leader) Shaker al-Abssi as well as his group in Lebanon and the tasks that they had been assigned."
Merhi said he was asked to "assist" Abssi, adding that he met twice with head of Syria's military intelligence Maj. Gen. Assef Shawkat in the presence of Jawdat al-Hasan at his office in Kfar Soussa. He said the plots were postponed after uncovering the Ain Alaq crime. According to confessions attributed to Abu Ritaj, a Saudi detainee, the Ain Alaq twin bus bombings were carried out under the instructions of the Syrian intelligence service. Al-Mustaqbal also quoted Merhi as saying that "a very important person" under the name of Abu Ahmed who is settled in Syria has traveled to Lebanon with a "complete plot" to blow up Lebanon, adding that Damascus pas put 100 tons of explosives at his disposal. Beirut, 15 Nov 08, 13:40

Mustaqbal, PSP, AMAL Boycott Palestinian Rally
Naharnet/Efforts to reconcile Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) representative in Lebanon Abbas Zaki with Fatah commander Sultan Abul Aynayn hit a deadlock, pan-Arab daily al-Hayat said Saturday. It said a rally on Friday to mark the fourth anniversary of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's death reflected differences between Zaki and Abul Aynayn where Lebanese participation was restricted to Hizbullah, the Communist party and the Popular Committees and Leagues while only the Palestine Liberation Front, the Struggle Front and Saiqa attended the celebrations that took place at UNESCO in Beirut. Al Hayat said efforts by some Lebanese political groups and Palestinian factions to reconcile Zaki with Abul Aynayn reached a standstill when Abul Aynayn insisted on giving a speech on behalf of Fatah while the PLO's address would be confined to Zaki. Zaki on Friday denied rumors that Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon would soon erupt in violence.
"There is an (PLO) agreement with the Lebanese army and security forces regarding wanted elements. This matter is under discussion and follow-up with the Lebanese," he said after talks with MP Saad Hariri on Friday. "We took it upon ourselves not to repeat the Nahr al-Bared incident," Zaki said. He stressed on "continued efforts for resuming (inter-Palestinian dialogue) regardless of the obstacles.""The most important thing is to repair the Palestinian schism," he added.
Beirut, 15 Nov 08, 10:01

Moussa Carries Hariri Proposal to Damascus
Naharnet/Arab League chief Amr Moussa will discuss with Syrian officials on Saturday a proposal by MP Saad Hariri for Arab intervention to look into "confessions" aired by Syria's state television last week about alleged links between Fatah al-Islam and the parliamentary majority leader. The daily al-Liwa quoted visiting Assistant Arab League Secretary-General Hisham Youssef as saying that Moussa, who is due in Damascus Saturday, will raise with Syrian officials the issue of "confessions" and Hariri's request to set up a fact-finding Arab committee to investigate the testimonies. Following his meeting with Hariri on Friday, Youssef commented on the recent "confessions" and on Hariri's call for Arab investigation. "Yes, we do take these charges very seriously. We will deal with this diplomatically," he said.
Beirut, 15 Nov 08, 11:03

Baroud's Damascus Visit, Cell Phone Privatization High on Cabinet Agenda
Naharnet/Two hot issues -- Interior Minister Ziad Baroud's visit to Damascus earlier this week and cell phone privatization – will be high on the agenda at Saturday's Cabinet meeting. The ruling March 14 coalition has accused Telecommunications Minister Jebran Bassil of cutting a deal with a French company to replace one of the two cell firms that are operating Lebanon's cellular networks. The daily An Nahar said President Michel Suleiman will clarify to ministers that when the interior minister visits Damascus under a Cabinet decision "then this is for the sake of following up on the security dossier." The Lebanese-Syrian political situation, however, is an issue followed up by the President personally, the daily quoted Suleiman's guests as saying on the eve of the Cabinet meeting. An Nahar said Saturday's meeting is unlikely to be stormy since the government is one of national unity and all the issues are "above the table." Beirut, 15 Nov 08, 09:00

Saniora Backs Baroud's Damascus Visit
Naharnet/Prime Minister Fouad Saniora voiced support for Interior Minister Ziad Baroud's visit to Damascus earlier this week. Saniora said the Cabinet has tasked Baroud with visiting Syria "in order to discuss a selection of pending issues with our neighbor state." Baroud's trip would be "extensively discussed during Saturday's Cabinet session," Saniora told reporters following a meeting with President Michel Suleiman at Baabda Palace late Friday. The ruling March 14 Forces rejected security coordination with Syria prior to establishing diplomatic ties and building confidence between the two states. The coalition stated in a statement that "there is no point in security coordination under the umbrella of the Higher Lebanese-Syrian Council." It urged Saniora's cabinet to "refrain from adopting any decision in this regard pending the regaining of confidence and completion of procedures to set up diplomatic ties and the assigning of ambassadors." Beirut, 15 Nov 08, 08:03

Berri: New Election Law 'Worst that Could Exist'
Naharnet/Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri said the recently adopted election law was "the worst that could exist since it increased sectarianism rather than promoting unity." Berri also warned that Lebanon's judicial system was "collapsing." "When a country's judicial system is weak the whole country is vulnerable," he cautioned. Beirut, 15 Nov 08, 07:37

Hariri: Criticism of Saudi Arabia 'Intolerable'
Naharnet/MP Saad Hariri said criticism of Saudi Arabia was "intolerable."
"Saudi Arabia has long been a staunch supporter of Lebanon's sovereignty and constitutional institutions," Hariri said in response to comments by Marada Movement leader Suleiman Franjieh. Franjieh launched a vehement attack on Saudi Arabia claiming its role in Lebanon is similar to that of Israel. "Saudi Arabia's role in Lebanon is like that of Israel, it is biased in favor of a certain team against the other," Franjieh said. He warned that if "Saudi Arabia pumped money into the forthcoming elections, this would lead Iran and all our friends to contribute money." Beirut, 15 Nov 08, 07:23

Arab League Envoy for a Defense Strategy that Places Arms with the State
Naharnet/Visiting Assistant Arab League Secretary-General Hisham Youssef has said he supports a defense strategy that should place arms with the state to use them for building a strong and capable nation. "A defense strategy must guarantee that arms are used in the service of building a strong and capable state, a state able to spread its authority over all its territory, safeguarding security and stability, the rule of law and constitutional institutions to serve its citizens," said Youssef, who attended a conference on strategic defense Friday at BIEL. He praised the Doha agreement, saying "Lebanon is moving towards ending its crisis. Lebanon today is more determined in achieving progress in its national dialogue despite difficulties and disputes."  He called on the Lebanese to remain committed to the Doha accord and to pledges of not using arms or violence for political gain. He also hoped that Lebanese-Syrian relations would be placed on the "right path."
"The success of the resistance stems from the popular support" it gets, Youssef said. The Arab League official arrived in Beirut Thursday to participate in the "Conference for Lebanon the Present and Moving to the Future: Basis for Lebanese Defensive Strategy," an event organized by the Institute for Near East and Gulf Military Analysis (INEGMA). Following his meeting with Mustaqbal Movement leader Saad Hariri, Youssef commented on recent "confessions" made by Fatah al-Islam members on Syrian television, and on Hariri's call for launching an Arab investigation into the charges. "Yes, we do take these charges very seriously. We will deal with this diplomatically," he said. Youssef also met with MP Michel Murr and Prime Minister Fouad Saniora. Beirut, 14 Nov 08, 17:45

World leaders discuss financial crisis
By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Nearly two dozen world leaders assembled in Washington on Friday in the largest gathering of its kind here in nearly a decade.
Slideshow: Pictures of the week The leaders were on track to approve measures to make the world financial system more accountable to investors and more transparent to regulators, diplomatic sources said. To do so, the leaders were expected to endorse more effective accounting rules governing how companies value their assets, a weakness seen as partly responsible for the current financial crisis. The sources, speaking on condition of anonymity because leaders had yet to give formal approval to the draft communique, said the emerging agreement also calls for steps to sharpen the world's eyes watching for the kind of dangerous investing that led to the present chaos. A new early warning system would look for signs of burgeoning problems like those in the US housing market and related overuse of mortgage-backed securities. On Friday, the heads of the International Monetary Fund, the world's financial firefighter, and the Financial Stability Forum, a group that includes central banks and major financial regulators, said they would cooperate on "early warning exercises" to detect vulnerabilities.
Also, a new "college of supervisors" would gather global regulators tasked with scrutinizing the world's largest financial institutions together to compare notes as they seek to spot excessive risk-taking. Altogether, the US preference for boosting oversight of shaky financial markets seemed to be holding sway over Europe's desire for tougher internationally enforced regulation.
"Billions of hardworking people are counting on us," US President George W. Bush said on a night when urgent motorcades swept presidents and prime ministers through a dark Washington mist to the White House. A second summit is envisioned in early spring, after Barack Obama becomes president. The first meeting, called by Bush, falls in a period of transition that inevitably leaves unclear what actions the US is ready to take in the months ahead.
The president-elect stayed away from the meeting, but designated former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and former Rep. Jim Leach to represent him in meetings with leaders on the sidelines. They saw the leaders of Argentina, Mexico and South Korea on Friday and had talks scheduled with lower-level representatives from several other nations both Friday and Saturday. Leaders from Britain, France, Germany, Russia, China and India were among those in Washington.
The summit, meant to be the first in a series, has a two-pronged agenda: Discuss what might still need to be done to turn the world's economies back from the edge of disaster and explore ways to revamp the global financial system's architecture to prevent similar meltdowns in the future.
New reminders of the urgency facing the leaders came even as they poured toward the US capital city from around the globe. The government reported that sales by American retailers fell by a record amount last month. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke hinted at another interest rate cut to encourage consumers. The Dow Jones industrials dropped 338 points. Fearing another Wall Street plunge if the summit produces little, the White House has been lowering expectations as fast as other nations have been raising them. "This problem did not develop overnight and it will not be solved overnight," Bush said in a dinner toast.
The agreement lacks big, splashy elements, such as the establishment of a single global regulator or strict new regulation of financial firms or products.

Experts to Obama: Don't threaten Iran
By ASSOCIATED PRESS
US President-elect Barack Obama, plotting his strategy on Iran, is getting this advice from a panel of American diplomats and other experts: Don't pile on economic and military threats; it doesn't help. Slideshow: Pictures of the week "An attack would almost certainly fail" while coercing Iran with economic sanctions has very little chance of success, the experts say in a report to be presented next week at a conference on the future of US-Iran policy.
"Threats are not cowing Iran and the current regime in Teheran is not in imminent peril," according to a copy of the report obtained by The Associated Press.
The Iranian people "have seen the outcome of US-sponsored regime change in Afghanistan and Iraq. They want no part of it," the report said.
The report originated from conversations among a number of experts on Iran who were concerned about the course of American diplomacy on Iran, Dobbins said Thursday. "We got together to offer the administration a different approach, one that is focused on communication and with a view to making progress over time on a range of issues," he said. Richard Parker, a professor at the University of Connecticut, organized the report, which will be presented Tuesday to the National Iranian American Council. In his presidential campaign, Obama endorsed "direct diplomacy" with Iran. At a post-election news conference he called Iranian efforts to develop nuclear weapons unacceptable. So far, it is a sketchy policy outline. The experts recommended the United States take a leadership role in ongoing nuclear negotiations with Iran and widen the range of discussion. The negotiators should offer Iran the prospect of security assurances and the easing of US economic sanctions in the event of an accord. "Talking directly to a foreign government in no way signals approval of the government, its policies or its actions," the report said.
On other fronts, the experts advised giving Iran "a place at the table" in shaping the future of Iraq, Afghanistan and the region.
The United States and Iran support the same government in Iraq and face common enemies in the Taliban and al-Qaida in Afghanistan, the report said.
Labeled "Myth ..1" in the report is the notion that President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad calls the shots on Iran's nuclear and foreign policy.
The ultimate decision-maker is the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, commander in chief of Iran's armed forces, the report said. Despite frequent hostile rhetoric aimed at Israel and the West, "Khamenei's track record reveals a cautious decision maker who acts after consulting advisers holding a range of views, including views sharply critical of Ahmadinejad."

Hillary Clinton on shortlist for secretary of state - reports
By Agence France Presse (AFP)
Saturday, November 15, 2008
WASHINGTON: Hillary Clinton, narrowly defeated in her own bid for the White House, was back in the limelight Friday amid reports President-elect Barack Obama is weighing whether to name her secretary of state. Two unidentified Obama advisers told NBC News the formidable former first lady, who is now a New York senator, was under consideration for the post. Clinton flew to Chicago to meet with the Democratic president-elect on Thursday, CNN and ABC said, but one adviser said it was on personal business. Since his historic November 4 victory, Obama has remained tight-lipped about the make-up of his new team to replace the administration of President George W. Bush.
Huddled with his advisers in his transition headquarters in Chicago all this week, Obama has only said he wants to move with "deliberate haste" in choosing his cabinet to ensure he makes the right appointments. With the incoming administration inheriting two wars and the pressing need to restore America's damaged global reputation, the post of secretary of state is especially key. Obama sources confirmed to CNN Clinton was being considered, but her spokesperson Philippe Reines was noncommittal. "Any speculation about cabinet or other administration appointments is really for President-elect Obama's transition team to address," Reines told CNN.
Clinton, 61, has some foreign-policy experience, having traveled widely when her husband Bill Clinton was president from 1993 and 2001, and from her time in the senate, where she serves on the Senate Armed Services Committee. As he mulls his cabinet choices, the president-elect is also due to meet on Monday in Chicago with Republican former rival John McCain, his transition team said. "Monday, President-elect Barack Obama and Senator John McCain will meet in Chicago at transition headquarters," a statement said Friday.  "It's well known that they share an important belief that Americans want and deserve a more effective and efficient government, and will discuss ways to work together to make that a reality," the statement said.
Senator Lindsey Graham, who is close to McCain, and Rahm Emanuel, Obama's future White House chief of staff, will also be on hand.
An impressive array of former Clinton-era diplomats and officials have already been appointed to oversee the transition teams who are due to begin burrowing into the sprawling US bureaucracy this week. Teams have been set up to oversee the transition ahead of Obama's January 20 inauguration in all key agencies including the Pentagon, the State Department and the Treasury. "Obama is showing great good sense in making use of their experience," William Galston, a former Clinton domestic policy adviser, told the Politico website.
"You have an entire cadre of people in their 30s and 40s and early 50s who were either in senior jobs or second- and third-tier jobs in the Clinton administration, who really earned their spurs and know their way around and know something about how the institutions in which they served actually function," Galston said.
According to the Washington Post, Clinton's name emerged as a possible secretary of state because the Obama camp "is not overly happy with the usual suspects" mentioned for the job. After Obama defeated Clinton in the bruising Democratic primaries earlier this year, her legions of loyal supporters were disappointed when she was not even approached to be his running-mate. But she and her husband campaigned fiercely for Obama in the run-up to the elections.
Asked in New York Monday if she would consider taking a position in the Obama administration, she replied that she was happy being a senator, adding: "I want to be a good partner and I want to do everything I can to make sure his agenda is going to be successful." Several other big names have been mentioned as possible picks for the nation's top diplomat, including former Democratic presidential candidate Senator John Kerry and New Mexico Governor and former UN Ambassador Bill Richardson, a favorite of the Latino community. Moderate Republican senators Richard Lugar and Chuck Hagel are both also said to be under consideration.
Speculation has also swirled around the post of defense secretary, with rumors that Robert Gates might be asked to stay on, and the next Treasury secretary with several names in the offing. - AFP

Chamoun deputy elected mayor of Deir al-Qamar
By Maher Zeineddine /Daily Star correspondent
Saturday, November 15, 2008
CHOUF: Fadi Hnein was elected Deir al-Qamar mayor on Friday after Mayor Dory Chamoun submitted his resignation in October in preparation for his candidacy for the 2009 parliamentary polls. Hnein, a lawyer by profession, had been vice mayor under Chamoun. The election of a new vice mayor is to be scheduled at a later date. Speaking to The Daily Star in comments published Wednesday, Chamoun said he and three other candidates from his National Liberal Party (NLP) would be running in the spring parliamentary elections. NLP candidates will be running in the Baabda-Aley, North Metn, and Kesrouan districts, and Chamoun will be on the ballot in the Chouf and is expected to have the support of Progressive Socialist Party and Druze leader Walid Jumblatt.

Northern Sinai: A desert playground for smugglers, jihadis
By: Jonathan Spyer
13 Nov 2008
The 25 Egyptian police officers taken hostage by Beduins in northern Sinai on Tuesday have now been freed.
The men were released on the Egyptian border with Israel, reportedly unharmed.
The freeing of the hostages concludes a series of events that began on Monday with a shoot-out between local Beduin and police on Monday, in which one Beduin was killed. A large and angry crowd of Beduin then gathered, firing weapons in the air, burning tires and clashing with security forces. The kidnapping took place in the context of these protests.
This incident - which had Israeli forces on alert along the border earlier this week - cannot be understood in isolation. Rather, it is a reflection of a deeply problematic situation in the northern Sinai, which is host to large-scale smuggling networks that traffic a wide range of commodities between Sinai and Gaza and Israel.
These networks are regarded by many Sinai Beduin as a legitimate source of income. This sense is exacerbated by the neglect displayed by the Egyptian authorities toward the Beduin of the north Sinai since the peninsula was returned to Egypt.
Drugs, tobacco, sex workers, and weaponry are among the most notable items flowing into Israel and Gaza. Cash flows in the other direction.
The development of fortress Gaza under Hamas rule is made possible through the smuggling paths of northern Sinai. But they also serve to facilitate the activities of organizations close to al-Qaida that have been active there in recent years, such as the Tawhid wal-Jihad group.
The "smuggling industry" initially grew because it was one of the few areas of economic activity readily available to the Beduin. The area contains no industry. And while southern Sinai has been developed massively for tourism, the beneficiaries of this have been the very large numbers of Egyptians who have made their homes in the peninsula. The Egyptian authorities have considered the development of Sinai and its tourism industry as a useful outlet for providing employment to the large number of unemployed graduates produced each year by the Egyptian education system.
The hand of the Egyptian authorities was only lightly felt in northern Sinai until recently. This meant that the smuggling industry could flourish, the neglect of the area could go unnoticed, and clashes between the Beduin and the central authorities could be avoided.
The series of terrorist attacks that took place from 2004 on changed this situation. In Taba in 2004, Sharm e-Sheikh in 2005 and Dahab in 2006, suicide bombers struck, taking a heavy toll on civilian life. It was after these bombings that the Egyptian authorities began to increase their attempts to impose control on northern Sinai.
US and Israeli pressure has resulted in the increased presence of police and security services in northern Sinai. In its turn, this increased presence has led inevitably to clashes with the Beduin of the area. The Beduin of the north have no great sense of loyalty to the Egyptian state - tracing their origins, as they do, to a wide variety of locations in the Arab world. The influence among them of extremist Islam is noticeable and growing.
All these factors taken together create a permanent, latent tension between the authorities and the Beduin that is occasionally sparked into open confrontation, as took place this week.
The series of events this week was not the first example of violence between the Beduin and the authorities. In 2005, the authorities located and killed Khaled Mosaad, the alleged founder of the Tawhid wal-Jihad group, at Jebel Halal, near el-Arish. His successor, Nasser Khamis el-Mallahi, who is believed to have been the mastermind of the Dahab bombings, was killed with six of his associates in a fight with the security forces a year later.
These local successes have not, of course, served to shut down the smuggling networks, which continue to thrive. Their existence continues to impact on the lives of Israelis. Muhammad Saksak, who carried out the suicide bombing at an Eilat bakery on January 29, 2007, that killed three young men, entered Israel by way of Sinai.
Thus, northern Sinai today constitutes, as a recent Israeli study put it, both a "springboard and a target" for Sunni jihadi terrorism.
Inadequate investment and involvement by the Egyptian state in the area has allowed lawlessness to thrive. This, in turn, has created an environment friendly to the presence and activities of the jihadis. Just over two weeks ago, Egyptian authorities discovered eight ground-to-ground and ground-to-air missiles there that could have been on their way to al-Qaida associated groups or to Hamas in Gaza. Either way, northern Sinai today constitutes a desert playground - for smugglers and jihadis. Incidents like this week's kidnapping should serve to focus greater attention on the area on the part of both Egyptian and Israeli authorities.
**Jonathan Spyer is a senior researcher at the Global Research in International Affairs Center, IDC, Herzliya.

Hezbollah and Drug Lords: A Dangerous Alliance
Traffickers are frighteningly able to help their new partners smuggle deadly weapons.
by Annie Jacobsen
In the early days of the War on Terror, back when the United States was only fighting one war, in Afghanistan, Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage made a bold statement: “Hezbollah may be the ‘A-Team of terrorists,’” Armitage said, referring to the Lebanese-based, Iranian-controlled organization, “and maybe al-Qaeda is actually the ‘B’-Team.”
Hezbollah has certainly been killing Americans for longer than al-Qaeda has — beginning in 1983 with the truck bombing of the Marine barracks in Beirut which killed 241 Marines. As recently as June 2006, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State David Satterfield told reporters that Hezbollah teams were involved in attacking U.S.-led coalition forces in Iraq.
Now, in an alarming new development, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has broken apart an international drug smuggling and money laundering ring which links Hezbollah to the Colombian cocaine cartels though a Lebanese operative named Shukri Mahmud Harb.
This is the first time the U.S. has tied a terrorist organization to a major cocaine cartel. “The profits from the sale of drugs went to finance Hezbollah,” says Gladys Sanchez, the chief investigator for the special prosecutor’s office in Bogotá. The DEA took the lead on the investigation, which went by the code name Operation Titan.
According to documents unsealed by a federal magistrate in Miami last week, Harb, who lived in Bogotá and went by the alias “Taliban,” acted as the money man between the cocaine cartels and the terror organization. Described as a “world-class money-launderer,” Harb’s illegal financial transactions have spanned the globe — from Latin America to Asia — with a cut being diverted to fund terror.
“Harb traveled frequently to Syria, Egypt, and Lebanon, and his arrest occurred when he was about to leave Bogotá for Syria,” the Miami Herald reported last weekend. Also arrested in Operation Titan were 21 individuals in Colombia and “90 others in Panama, Guatemala, Lebanon, Hong Kong, and the United States.” According to the Colombian special prosecutor’s office, investigators analyzed more than 700,000 intercepted phone conversations from 370 tapped cell phone lines. Two other Middle Eastern men were also charged — a Jordanian named Ali Mohamad Abdul Rahim and a second Lebanese national named Zacaria Hussein Harb.
This new partnership will no doubt raise complications for President-elect Barack Obama in his proposed plans to open diplomatic talks with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. “Hezbollah in Lebanon is a proxy of Iran,” says former Middle East CIA operative Robert Baer in his new book, The Devil We Know. “It follows to the letter Iranian orders.”
This means that Iran is co-sponsoring Hezbollah along with the only global organization able to consistently smuggle tons of illegal goods into every single industrialized nation in the world including America — on a daily basis. Toss the Colombian cocaine cartels’ newest mode of transport into the mix — stealthy semi-submersible submarines, or “drug subs” — and the national security ramifications in the Iran-Hezbollah-Colombia cocaine cartel triumvirate grow exponentially.
Vice President-elect Joe Biden summed up one resulting nightmare scenario just last month. On the eve of the Senate passing legislation directed against the cartels’ “use of submarines to smuggle drugs,” the senator from Delaware, who spearheaded the bill (S.3351), said, “If smugglers can pack tons of illegal drugs into these stealthy vessels, terrorists could carry weapons of mass destruction or other threats into our country the same way.”
Which is exactly what the terrorists — ‘A’-Team and ‘B’-Team members alike — already know.
Originally published at Pajamas Media
http://pajamasmedia.com/blog/hezbollah-and-drug-lords-a-deadly-alliance/2/