LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN

LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
October 11/08

Bible Reading of the day.
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 11,15-26. Some of them said, "By the power of Beelzebul, the prince of demons, he drives out demons."
Others, to test him, asked him for a sign from heaven. But he knew their thoughts and said to them, "Every kingdom divided against itself will be laid waste and house will fall against house. And if Satan is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? For you say that it is by Beelzebul that I drive out demons.
If I, then, drive out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your own people drive them out? Therefore they will be your judges. But if it is by the finger of God that (I) drive out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. When a strong man fully armed guards his palace, his possessions are safe. But when one stronger than he attacks and overcomes him, he takes away the armor on which he relied and distributes the spoils. Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters. When an unclean spirit goes out of someone, it roams through arid regions searching for rest but, finding none, it says, 'I shall return to my home from which I came.' But upon returning, it finds it swept clean and put in order. Then it goes and brings back seven other spirits more wicked than itself who move in and dwell there, and the last condition of that person is worse than the first."

Saint Macarius (?-405), monk in Egypt
Homily 33; PG 34, 741-743/«We are his house» (Heb 3,6)
The Lord comes to rest in the fervent soul; he makes it his throne of glory; there he takes his seat and makes his home... This house where its master dwells is all grace, order and beauty just as the soul in which the Lord abides is nothing but order and beauty. It holds the Lord together with all his spiritual treasure. He is its occupier; he is its head. But how dreadful that house whose master is out, whose Lord far away! It becomes dilapidated, falls into ruins, is choked with dirt and disorder. In the words of one of the prophets, it becomes «an abode for serpents and demons». The abandoned house is filled with cats and dogs and filth of all kinds and how unhappy is the soul unable to rise from its disastrous fall, that lets itself be dragged away and comes to hate its spouse, tearing its thoughts away from Jesus Christ! Yet when the Lord sees it return to itself, seeking its Lord night and day, crying out to him just as he invited it to: «Pray without ceasing», then «God will secure its rights» (Lk 18,1.7) – he has given his word – and will purify it from all wickedness. He will make it into a bride «without spot or wrinkle» (Eph 5,27). Believe his promise: it is the truth. See whether your soul has found the light that will enlighten its paths and the true food and drink that are the Lord himself. Do you still lack them? Seek for them night and day; you will find them.

Free Opinions, Releases, letters & Special Reports
OPEC's Heavy Hand. By: Dr. Walid Phares 10/10/2008
Too many doctrines.By: Ron Ben-Yishai/Israel Opinion/ 10/10/08
To all Lebanese Patriots. By: Lawson Kass Hanna 10/10/08
Lebanon's election law: a cup half full.By Doreen Khoury 10/10/08
Israel Caught Between Islamist Crossfire: Lebanon Pays Price-By: CLAUDE SALHANI.Middle East Times 10/10/08

Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources for October 10/08
American Journalists Say they Were Kidnapped and Taken to Syria by Force-Naharnet
Sison Appreciates Lebanon's Efforts in the Issue of Two Missing Americans-Naharnet
Aoun in Tehran Sunday, Fears of Targeting Him-Naharnet
Arabiya TV Website Hacked-Naharnet
Lebanon's drug barons reap a bumper harvest-Times Online
Saniora: Syrian Military Intervention 'Not Possible'-Naharnet
Missing American Journalists in U.S. Custody in Syria -Naharnet
Lebanon Comedians Help Relieve Political Frustrations-Naharnet
Suleiman for Riyadh ... on Syria-Saudi Reconciliation Mission?-Naharnet
Suleiman Franjieh Proposes Roadmap to Thorough Christian Reconciliation Based on Aoun-Naharnet
Wahhab: Opposition Has Rescue Plan During Elections-Naharnet
Hizbullah's Man in Gaza-Naharnet
Palestinian Militant Admits Hezbollah Financial Support-Asharq Alawsat
Syria frees detained US journalists-The Associated Press
American Journalists Arrested in Syria on Suspicion of Involvement ...Naharnet
Siniora dismisses rumors of Syrian military intervention in Lebanon as not possible-Daily Star
Iran sent intelligence officer to replace Mughniyeh - Italian newspaper-Daily Star
LOG urges March 14 to avoid deal with Hizbullah-Daily Star
Shiite council mocks US aid to Lebanese military-Daily Star
Explosion rattles Ain al-Hilweh after four masked gunmen kill teenager-Daily Star
A challenge for Lebanon: abolishing the death penalty-Daily Star
Lebanon attracts 4 percent more foreign investment in 2007-Daily Star
Lebanon sidesteps the crash of '08 - for now-Daily Star
Global financial crisis may put Beirut's cellular sell-off on hold-Daily Star
Rights groups highlight abuses in penal system-Daily Star
Grenade thrown in tense Tripoli neighborhood-Daily Star
2008 Beirut International Marathon aims to promote awareness of cancer-Daily Star
Health minister announces launch of medical-card project-Daily Star
'Help us Mister President:' State urged to help defray costs of disability-Daily Star
AUB president names scholarship winners to start year-Daily Star
Italian troops fund healthcare for children in South-Daily Star

Aoun in Tehran Sunday ... Fears of Targeting Him
Naharnet/Free Patriotic Movement leader Gen. Michel Aoun will make an official visit to Tehran on Sunday for meetings with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and other senior officials. There is no clear agenda for the talks between Iranian officials and Aoun, who will be heading an FPM delegation.
During the visit, the first ever by Aoun to Tehran, a ceremony will be held in his honor, the daily As Safir said Friday. It said Aoun is expected to stay "several days" in Tehran. Meanwhile, cabinet minister Mario Aoun confirmed obtaining information about "plots targeting a high-ranking opposition figure." The minister called on security forces to bear responsibility for "protecting opposition personalities, particularly Gen. Aoun." Beirut, 10 Oct 08, 08:09

American Journalists Say they Were Kidnapped and Taken to Syria by Force
Naharnet/Two American journalists -- detained in Syria after going missing in Lebanon -- said Friday they had been kidnapped and smuggled across the border against their will. On arriving back in Amman in the early hours, Taylor Luck and Holli Chmela told their employer the Jordan Times they had been abducted by a taxi driver and accomplice who were supposed to take them legally across the border. They were arrested by Syrian authorities for "illegally" entering the country, a statement by the Syrian foreign ministry has said, and held for eight days while they were being interrogated. They were turned over to the U.S. embassy in Damascus early Friday before traveling on to Jordan. Luck, 23, said "we had planned to take a bus from Tripoli (Lebanon) to Homs (Syria), but the bus station was closed and a taxi driver offered to take us across the border, saying he was licensed to make such trips. "He took us with another driver and on the way went off the main road," Luck said. "I asked him where the border was but he did not answer. "As he continued driving, he locked the car doors and asked us to hand over our money, but we refused to give him anything. At that moment, a military car showed up and pulled him over and without a word took our bags, passports and cell phones and took us into their vehicle." Luck and Chmela, 27, had arrived in Beirut on holiday on September 29.
The pair said they had intended to obtain visas at the Lebanese-Syrian border crossing and to complete their holiday in Syria before returning to Jordan by land.
Speaking of the ordeal after their detention, Luck said "we did not know whether we were in Syria or Lebanon until we saw a sign for Al-Hosn Castle after 20 minutes of driving. Then we knew we were in Syria."
Luck said they did not reveal their profession to authorities and said they were just tourists. The Syrian police told them they would take them to a bus station in Homs but their destination was in fact a prison, where they both were held for eight days. "I found myself behind bars with more than 30 people, while Holli was locked up in another room. I refused to be separated from her and they finally put us in one room for one night before we were separated again," said Luck.
He said interrogators accused them of smuggling themselves into Syria to cause problems. "They were filing papers to transfer us to a military prison in Damascus and, by coincidence, an officer saw Holli and recognized her from media footage." "He asked us: Are you Americans? Are you journalists? Are you the two journalists?'" He said the prison authorities cancelled the transfer and reported the case to their superiors before they were finally transferred to the U.S. embassy.
"We may have exercised poor judgment, but at the end of the day, we were victims," Luck said.
"Most treated us well and some policemen even allowed me and Holli to meet late at night and talk. A lot of officers were more than understanding of our situation and showed several acts of random kindness." Earlier Friday the daily Al Akhbar said the journalists were detained in Syria on suspicion of involvement in a joint U.S.-Jordanian "intelligence operation" inside Syrian territory. Citing a security official, Al-Akhbar said that despite a denial from the U.S. embassy in Damascus of having any information on the pair's detention, Syrian authorities had notified both the U.S. embassy in Jordan and Jordanian authorities about the arrests.
The notification, according to the source, was to express Syria's concern that the two were believed to be planning to carry out a "multi-purpose operation" inside Syrian territory. Meanwhile, the daily As Safir said Syrian authorities dealt with Chmela and Luck based on the theory that they had entered Syria to "test" Damascus' capabilities for monitoring its border in light of the recent troop buildup as a measure to combat smuggling and infiltration by saboteurs.
As Safir said Luck had dual nationality, adding that he has several visas on his passport, including several arrivals and departures via Tel Aviv airport.
A high-ranking Syrian source told As Safir that the journalists had admitted to having sought the help of a tourist office in north Lebanon and asked that they cross into Syria illegally since they don't have visas. Pan Arab daily al-Hayat, for its part, said the trip was pre-planned.
It said interrogation with the pair showed that Chmela had contacted a foreign journalist working for a foreign news agency in Beirut and that she had conveyed to him her desire to work in Lebanon. Chmela had promised to meet the foreign journalist soon, only to call him back and apologize for having to head to Syria, according to al-Hayat. It said Chmela and Luck spent about six days in Beirut without the knowledge of the friend who had picked them up from the airport and dropped them off at a Beirut hotel. Beirut, 10 Oct 08, 09:04

Suleiman for Riyadh ... on Syria-Saudi Reconciliation Mission?
Naharnet/Would President Michel Suleiman play a role in reconciling Damascus and Riyadh during his forthcoming visit to Saudi Arabia? Media reports carried contradicting predictions in this regard, with As-Safir daily saying Suleiman raised with his Syrian counterpart Bashar Assad in August the possibility of making an effort towards the Damascus-Riyadh reconciliation. The daily said Suleiman would make a visit to Egypt before year end. However, An-Nahar said Suleiman would not launch a reconciliatory initiative, but would "meet such a request if he was asked to." Suleiman leaves for Saudi Arabia on Sunday heading a six-person ministerial delegation. He would hold talks with King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz and other Saudi officials. Beirut, 09 Oct 08, 14:57

Saniora: Syrian Military Intervention 'Not Possible'
Naharnet/Premier Fouad Saniora has said that it was not possible for Syrian troops to enter Lebanon despite a recent Syrian forces buildup on Lebanon's northern border. Saniora also hinted after meeting President Michel Suleiman at the Baabda Palace that the cabinet would discuss the issue of Syrian deployment during its session on Friday. "Some are speaking about Syrian military intervention in Lebanon ... this is not possible in my opinion," he said late Thursday.
The buildup has raised concerns of a possible Syrian incursion. Damascus says the troop deployment is aimed at preventing smuggling. Asked about the establishment of diplomatic ties between Lebanon and Syria, Saniora said: "Syria still has to take some measures" after Lebanon took all necessary steps to set up relations. Beirut, 10 Oct 08, 06:56

Suleiman Franjieh Proposes Roadmap to Thorough Christian Reconciliation Based on Aoun
Naharnet/Marada Movement leader Suleiman Franjieh has proposed a roadmap to thorough intra-Christian reconciliation based on participation by Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun. "Why do they (Lebanese Forces) reject Aoun's participation although I consider him a father to me and I feel relaxed to have him near me?" Franjieh asked. "They want (MP) Nayla Moawad's participation. They think that they can confront Franjieh in Zghorta by Nayla Moawad from Zghorta. They are handling it on a tit-for-tat concept, which we wouldn't accept," Franjieh told Orange Television on Wednesday evening.
"Let them accept reconciliation as we had proposed it. If we say no, then they can say Hizbullah and Syria prevented us" from going into reconciliation, he added.
He rejected the concept of bilateral reconciliation with the Lebanese Forces Party, saying the move should be thorough.
"If something bad happens to us it would be Samir Geagea who has committed it or benefited from it because he is the only person who could benefit from such a development to say later the Syrians killed Suleiman Franjieh because he was headed to reconciliation and the Syrians did not want reconciliation," according to Franjieh. He charged that "they could be preparing something through the Salafis … but it wouldn't work." "We are ready for reconciliation at any time, but with white hearts (good intentions)," Franjieh concluded. Beirut, 09 Oct 08, 09:43

Lebanon Comedians Help Relieve Political Frustrations
Puppet shows, political parodies, ridiculing politicians -- in a Lebanon faced with bombings, violent clashes, and political conflicts, it's better to laugh than cry.
Comedy shows satirizing the political culture flood the small screen in Lebanon, with some stations airing three shows a day.
The constant bickering and nervous tics of the country's top political leaders provide comedians with a wealth of material to help relieve the frustrations caused by Lebanon's often slow-moving political processes. "It's better to die laughing than to die altogether," said Lebanese comedian Andre Jadaa, who with partner Pierre Shammassian and their troupe of singers has performed musical theatrical shows for many years. "In 25 years, our troupe has changed, unlike the Lebanese political scene," Jadaa told Agence France Presse. "Even when a leader disappears, is killed or dies of natural causes, his brother, wife or son succeeds him," Jadaa said. "Laughing is a safety net. It's better to break into laughter than have a nervous breakdown."For about a year now Jadaa and Shammassian have had a show called "14 or 8" on the Lebanese Broadcasting Channel (LBC).The name of the show refers to the tensions between two main rival political factions, the parliamentary majority known as "March 14" and the coalition led by Hizbullah known as "March 8." LBC is not alone. The OTV station has a hidden camera show called "Maqlab Maratab" that targets politicians. New TV has "Erbet Tenhal" (The solution is near) while Future TV has its "Al-Nashra," a parody news broadcast.
The latest is a puppet show on LBC called "Duma Cratia," a play on the word "democracy," the first part of which means "doll."
Its creator, Sharbel Khalil, is best known for a show he made for the same channel named "Basmat Watan," another play on words that means both "the smiles of the nation" or "when the nation died." "We don't laugh enough especially given the desperate situation we're facing," Khalil told AFP.
"A small anecdote may convey a message better than a long moralistic speech," Khalil added. The show, which is similar to other satires that include comedic imitations and songs, is performed using 52 French-made figurines. "Each requires three people to operate them," Khalil says as he checks the puppets of Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea and Marada movement chief Suleiman Franjieh. The show doesn't spare anyone except those protected by Lebanese law including "the president of the republic, religious leaders and the judiciary," according to Khalil. "That's why you only hear the voice of Maronite Bishop Nasrallah Sfeir mimicked by actor Jean Boujadaoun," he explained. Though the satires can be scathing, they are generally well-received. Despite Lebanon's sharp political divisions and its history of violence, the productions have mostly avoided provoking strong repercussions. In June 2006, dozens of Hizbullah supporters burned tires and blocked off roads in Beirut when Boujadaoun imitated the party's leader, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, on "Basmat Watan."Khalil said: "MP Nayla Moawad, widow of assassinated President Rene Moawad, is the only one who has criticized us and it was through an intermediary." "She was offended by an imitation of her singing a song 'Ana Nayla' (I am Nayla) to the tune of 'Ana Haifa' (I am Haifa) by Haifa Wehbe," he said.(AFP) Beirut, 10 Oct 08, 06:31

Hizbullah's Man in Gaza
Naharnet/Palestinian Salem Thabet, a ranking official of the Aqsa Martyrs Brigade group, is Hizbullah's man in Gaza. He commands the "Mughniyeh Squads," named after the party's commander killed by a car bomb in Damascus last February. Thabet told Asharq al-Awsat daily he named his group after Mughniyeh "because he was a leader of Fatah's squad 17 and had worked with the (late) President Yasser Arafat" when the latter was commanding the mainstream guerilla faction and the Palestine Liberation Organization in Lebanon before the 1982 Israeli invasion. In answering a question about the nature of his relations with Hizbullah, Thabet told the daily: "It is an organizational relation." He said his squads receive "financial and logistical support from Hizbullah." He said Mughniyeh had represented the concept of "persisting revolution, everywhere. A united revolution in Lebanon and Palestine." Thabet said he was in Lebanon "during the last war" in reference to the 34-day confrontation between Hizbullah and Israel in the summer of 2006. However, he said he did not take part in the war. The newspaper quoted sources with the mainstream Fatah faction as saying Thabet receives "hundreds of thousands of dollars from Hizbullah." They said President Mahmoud Abbas tried to talk Thabet into interrupting the relations with Hizbullah but "couldn't convince him." The Israelis had raised Thabet's issue with Abbas, the report added. Beirut, 09 Oct 08, 13:22

Wahhab: Opposition Has Rescue Plan During Elections
Naharnet/Former cabinet minister Wiam Wahhab announced Thursday that the Hizbullah-led opposition has a "rescue plan" during the 2009 parliamentary elections.
Wahhab accused the parliamentary majority March 14 coalition without naming it of launching a campaign to eliminate "strong" Christians. "They want to eliminate strong Christians because there is a plot to naturalize Palestinians" in Lebanon, Wahhab said in reference to Christian ally Michel Aoun. "We have begun witnessing a campaign in Christian provinces targeting Gen. Michel Aoun and his Free Patriotic Movement." "We want Lebanon," Wahhab told reporters after meeting Aoun in Rabiyeh. "We are against a Syrian comeback to Lebanon." He attacked Prime Minister Fouad Saniora for not acting as head of a unity government.
"He is dealing with the squandering money issue the same way he dealt with the issue of the Higher Relief Council," Wahhab said. He stressed that he had "no problem" with state minister Talal Arslan. "Arslan has the right to plunge into elections and form a parliamentary bloc," Wahhab said, adding that he will support him during elections. Beirut, 09 Oct 08, 16:31

Syrian Forces Kill Three Suspected 'Terrorists'
Naharnet/Syrian security forces have killed three suspected "terrorists" in clashes in the Palestinian refugee camp in Yarmuk, south of Damascus, private Dunia television reported on Thursday. "A clash took place between security forces and presumed terrorist elements in the Yarmuk camp, and three of them were killed and one wounded," Dunia said, quoting witnesses. "One of the men, who was wearing an explosives belt, was overpowered by the Syrian security forces," the television added, saying calm had returned to the camp. The report did not say when the incident occurred. But television said Iraqis and Saudis were among the suspected terrorists. About 424,650 Palestinian refugees are registered in Syria. Half of them live in 13 camps spread around the country.
Yarmuk camp, about 15 kilometers (nine miles) south of the capital, is the largest with around 112,550 residents.
On September 27, a car bomb exploded near a Shiite shrine in southern Damascus killing 17 people and wounding 14 others, in one of the deadliest attacks in a dozen years. The car packed with 200 kilos (440 pounds) of explosives blew up near a security checkpoint on a road to the Damascus international airport at an intersection leading to the Sayeda Zeinab neighborhood. All the victims were civilian passers-by.
Sayeda Zeinab is popular among Shiites from Iran, Lebanon and Iraq who go there on pilgrimage to pray at the tomb of Zeinab, a grand-daughter of the Prophet Mohammed. The blast was the worst to rock Syria since February when Hezbollah commander Imad Mughnieh was killed by a car bomb in Damascus.
The September attack also came days after the Lebanese authorities announced that Syria had sent reinforcements to the border between the two neighbors.
Syria said the move was for internal security reasons and to combat smuggling. In August, Syria confirmed the assassination of top army general Mohamed Sleiman who was described by the Arab media as having been the government's liaison with Hezbollah. "Sleiman, an officer of the Syrian Arab Army, has been assassinated," Butheina Shaaban, an adviser to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said on August 6, adding only that an investigation was under way.
The Saudi-owned pan-Arab daily Al-Hayat said Sleiman was a senior Syrian officer "in charge of sensitive files and closely linked to the Syrian top brass."(AFP) Beirut, 09 Oct 08, 20:21

LOG urges March 14 to avoid deal with Hizbullah
Friday, October 10, 2008/ Daily Star
BEIRUT: The Lebanese Option Group (LOG) called on Hizbullah Thursday to accept differences of opinion among the Shiite community, and warned the March 14 coalition against allying with Hizbullah in the 2009 parliamentary elections. LOG issued a statement dismissing the possibility of achieving lasting reconciliation, "as any agreements would most likely be limited to calming tensions on the streets."

Iran sent intelligence officer to replace Mughniyeh - Italian newspaper
Compiled by Daily Star staff
Friday, October 10, 2008
Iran has sent an intelligence agency officer, Mohammad Rida Zahidi, to replace Hizbullah's top military commander Imad Mughniyeh who was assassinated in Damascus in February, Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera reported on Thursday. The paper added that Zahidi, who is nicknamed "Hassan Mahdawy," will coordinate between Hizbullah and the Syrian intelligence agencies, help build new locations in South Lebanon for military training and ensure the flow of weapons to Hizbullah. Lebanese sources told the paper that Zahidi was responsible for the committee in charge of protecting Tehran's major figures and was the second secretary in the Iranian Embassy in Lebanon between 1998 and 2000.
In a separate development, Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah's much-promised retaliation for the assassination of Mughniyeh is reportedly coming. The daily Al-Akhbar, which is close to Hizbullah, said on Wednesday that Nasrallah renewed his vow to retaliate for the killing during a recent "semi-internal" meeting.
There will be "no backing off from the decision to avenge the assassination of Hajj Mughniyeh," Nasrallah was quoted as saying, "and no backing off from carrying out the 'big surprise' against the enemy." Nasrallah has promised Israel a "big surprise" if it attacks. On Monday, Al-Akhbar published a report that questioned whether Israel had factored the "surprise" into its decision-making process. Al-Akhbar made the comments in a piece published under the headline: "Israel is threatening to destroy Lebanon. What will happen to it during wartime?"
The newspaper, which usually uses reliable sources from within Hizbullah, warned that Israel needs to seriously consider the ramifications of a future attack on Lebanon. "What do they imagine Hizbullah 's reaction will be? They actually say it has 40,000 missiles ... Are they preparing for things that they have not considered and that others have not considered?" asked Al-Akhbar. "Who said that Hizbullah does not think about all of the options which the enemy will use, including those which have been mentioned recently." Senior Israeli military officers have said that if another war were to break out, Lebanon's army and civilian infrastructure would again be classified as legitimate targets. The remarks prompted condemnation from Hizbullah and Lebanese officials.
In an interview published in an Israeli newspaper Friday, the general in charge of Israel's northern border region said the country's military planned to use the "Dahiyeh doctrine," a war-plan that would see the template of heavy bombardment that targeted Beirut's southern suburbs during the summer 2006 war expanded to cover vast swathes of Lebanese territory. General Gadi Eisenkot said Israel was planning to "use disproportionate force" against villages from which Israel is fired on. "This isn't a suggestion," he said. "This is a plan that has already been authorized."
His comments have been backed in recent days by other senior Israeli military figures. In an article due to be published this week, Major General Giora Eiland, a senior reserve commander, has recommended making the Lebanese state rather than Hizbullah the target of an Israeli military campaign. Eiland condones attacking the Lebanese Army and the country's civilian infrastructure and says the Lebanese government should be warned as soon as possible that the whole country will be in the line of fire during the next conflict. "People won't be going to the beach in Beirut while Haifa residents are in shelters," he writes. - The Daily Star

A challenge for Lebanon: abolishing the death penalty
By Patrick Laurent -Daily Star
Friday, October 10, 2008
In 2007, the European Union designated October 10 the "European Day against the Death Penalty" in order to highlight the importance of abolishing capital punishment. All EU member states have abolished the death penalty, and the EU is keen to promote abolition in those partner countries that wish to establish strong relations with it, including neighbors such as Lebanon.
Over half the countries in the world have abolished the death penalty in law or practice. However, global figures for its use remain significant and much too high. During 2007, at least 1,252 people were executed in 24 countries, and at least 3,347 people were sentenced to death in 51 countries. Eighty-eight per cent of all known executions took place in only five countries: China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and the United States.
It is true that certain crimes are particularly cruel, but the EU experience has shown that the death penalty is not the solution. On the contrary, it serves to aggravate a culture of violence and retribution, not to promote justice and appeasement. Indeed, the death penalty does not more effectively deter crimes than other punishments: The abolition of the death penalty in more than 50 countries since 1985 has not led to an increase in crime.
The EU is determined to work toward the universal abolition of the death penalty through all available diplomatic channels and as the world's leading donor in this field. Our political commitment has been matched by substantial financial support for concrete projects: under the European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights, more than 15 million euros ($20 million) have been allocated since 1994 to support civil society projects aimed at promoting either abolition or a more humane and restricted use of the death penalty.
A culmination of the EU's efforts was the resolution on the moratorium on the use of the death penalty, adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on December 18 2007. On that day, Lebanon abstained along with 28 other states, whereas there were 104 votes in favor of the text and 54 against it.
In the framework of the EU/Lebanon Action Plan, the European Commission, through its delegation in Beirut, has engaged in a political dialogue with the Lebanese authorities on the issue of the death penalty. The Lebanese government's moratorium on the implementation of the death penalty is an important step which underlines Lebanon's commitment to adhere to the principle of human dignity and the right to life. Yet still in 2008 several people have been sentenced to death in Lebanon. The death penalty is progressively being abolished worldwide, most recently by Albania, Argentina, Rwanda, Uzbekistan, and the US state of New Jersey. We hope that in a near future Lebanon will join them by ditching its moratorium in favor of a permanent revocation of the death penalty, with the support of the Lebanese people.
**Patrick Laurent is head of the Delegation of the European Commission to Lebanon.

Rights groups highlight abuses in penal system
Letter to interior minister urges further scrutiny
By Nicholas Kimbrell
Daily Star staff/Friday, October 10, 2008
BEIRUT: A collection of Lebanese and international human-rights organizations have written a letter to the interior minister highlighting areas of concern in the Lebanese penal system.
The letter, dated October 7 and addressed to Ziad Baroud, catalogued a litany of abuses in Lebanese prisons and detention facilities including at least 27 inmate deaths, denial of access to medical care, and accusations of torture and mistreatment. The authors of the open letter applauded Baroud's August decision to ask the General Inspectorate to look in to reported abuses inside Lebanese prisons, but they stressed the need to follow through with the investigation and expand its scope.
"We need concrete action," Nadim Houry, senior researcher for Human Rights Watch and co-author of the letter, told The Daily Star. "It is important for the human-rights organizations and civil society to continue to monitor the situation and expand the investigation."
"We want to play a constructive, critical role in this process." Baroud responded to the letter the day it was sent, assuring its authors that investigation into abuses was a "high priority." At least 27 detainees have died in Lebanese prisons and detention facilities since January 2007, according to the letter, which was penned by Human Rights Watch, the Lebanese Association for Education and Development, the Khiam Rehabilitation Center, and other rights groups.
Some of these deaths, the groups contend, may have resulted from criminal actions and negligence by Lebanese penal officials or inadequate access to medical care.
Among others, the letter cites the case of Saleh Zeineddine, who allegedly died of asphyxiation while in custody in Roumieh Central Prison. A medical examination following the release of Zeineddine's body to his family revealed that there was a 10-centimeter hole in his head.
According to social workers inside the prison, Zeineddine, 43, who was arrested for allegedly threatening people with a firearm, suffered from severe psychological problems. The death of Joseph Khajadorian presents another troubling case. Held in the juvenile block at Roumieh, Khajadorian died on his sixth day of detention. The official cause of death was a blood clot in his brain, but a medical expert hired by the family concluded that that the teen died of suffocation.
According to a fellow inmate, Khajadorian had experienced a series of "crises" but was denied transfer to a hospital.
While 15 of the 27 detainee deaths cited in the letter occurred at the notorious and overcrowded Roumieh prison, inmates have died across Lebanon - in a Mount Lebanon police station, General Security custody, Zahle prison, and a Tripoli court's holding cell. "We want these stories to have transparency," Houry said.
But the letter raised issue with more than inmate fatalities. According to the rights groups, torture and prisoner mistreatment are widespread at Lebanese detention facilities, in violation of Article 401 of the Lebanese Penal Code that bans violence during interrogations.
Suspects detained for crimes ranging from drug possession to possible collusion with terrorist groups have been ill-treated at Internal Security Forces (ISF) detention centers in Beirut and elsewhere, the letter contended.
The ISF established a Human Rights Department in March to synchronize police activities with Lebanon's obligations under the UN Charter on Human Rights, but Houry said its units are not well-staffed. Houry stressed the importance of establishing a culture of accountability and transparency throughout the penal and justice systems. The letter was addressed to the Interior Ministry, responsible for the prison system and internal security operations and personnel, for this reason.
The next step, Houry added, is to the pursue prosecution of any criminal acts against detainees - an authority that rests with the Justice Ministry.
Justice Minister Ibrahim Najjar told The Daily Star that Baroud would have to ask him to press charges for any wrongdoings in the penal system.
"If he asks me to prosecute, I will," Najjar said.
Perhaps, Houry noted, victims and witnesses would be more willing to step forward if they saw perpetrators being punished for breaking the law.
He stressed that in the end, the system needs substantive action not just pronouncements and investigations.
"Minister Baroud has taken a number of positive steps, but these steps are still very tentative. We will have to wait and see if they lead to real change," Houry said, adding: "The performance of the government and the ISF's administrative units will be judged by their actions not their intentions."

OPEC's Heavy Hand
by Walid Phares
10/10/2008 /Human Events.com
http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=28950
Who manufactured the financial meltdown? It wasn’t only Wall Street: OPEC’s heavy hand is felt but unseen by the media and our politicians.
In bypassing a narrow economic analysis of the ongoing crisis, we can detect clearly the connection between the dizzying ups in petrol pricing and the slowing of American buying capacity. Though we have to conclude that while it is due largely to both Wall Street’s corruption and politicians’ abuse of the system handed the tools of doom to the middle class, Main Street’s rapid disenfranchisement was manufactured overseas, thousands of miles away, at the hands of many of the members of OPEC, the oil-producing Cartel.
Indeed, as economic commentators tell us (including a strong accusation leveled by real estate tycoon Donald Trump on Fox News against OPEC), the oil powers are behind the instability that crumbled the will of millions of middle class Americans over the past three years.
If we go back in time, we can see that oil pricing by OPEC’s hard core shows clearly that US leadership wasn’t able to convince the top producers from the Gulf to give American oil consumers a chance. Most producing regimes replied that demand -- mostly from China and India -- was putting pressure on production. Pressed by Washington to produce more, the “regimes” alleged it would affect the selling price and thus minimize their profits, but promised they would try to “be understanding” of US needs in energy.
This attitude gave the producers discretion over price, while Jihadi propagandists roamed the media accusing Washington of putting unbearable pressure “on the region” to follow American injunctions in setting petrol’s prices. Was there a direct connection between the oil regimes and the Jihadi propagandist machine? We have no answer to that now, but clearly an oil strategy was in the works with a calculated impact on the US economy. This charge is still in its early stages, it will be challenged ferociously, but it will stand as long as convincing answers are not provided.
What adds to the inquiry into the OPEC destabilization factor are the many indicators that strategic political motives have appeared to be behind the pricing maneuvers. Over a period of half a decade, many voices heard on the region’s airwaves have intimated that the US economy will be made to pay for what America’s leadership is doing. Commentators, some funded by oil producers on several outlets including on al Jazeera, underlined that as long as average citizens in the United States (and eventually in the West) don’t feel financial pain, the war on terror and spreading of Democracy won’t be stopped.
Sheikh Yussuf al Qardawi, Muslim Brotherhood ideologue and mentor of the Qatari-funded channel, spoke openly of Silah al Naft, i.e, “the weapon of oil.” Indeed, it was called a weapon - as in a warfare situation -- and most likely it was used as such. Of course, the producing “regimes” will deny the existence of a real strategy to bring the US to its knees by striking at its pumps. They will dismiss statements made by emirs and commentators in this regard. The “field Jihadists”, however, won’t deny the existence of such a battlefield.
For years now, Salafist web sites and al Qaeda spokespersons have loudly called for an “oil Jihad against infidel America and its lackeys.” Online material is still circulating. But more revealing are the official speeches by Osama Bin Laden and his deputy on the “absolute necessity to use that weapon.”
Ayman Zawahiri called expressly and repetitively on the public to sell their US dollars and buy gold instead (Be’u al dullar washtaru al zahab). These were stunning statements ignored by most analysts at the time but that are making sense today. He predicted a collapse in the infidels’ economy, starting from American markets. Was he a part of the lobbying effort in the OPEC game? Most likely not, but he seems to have been privy to the game, having insiders in the Wahhabi radical circles in the Peninsula: in the end there are too many political signs to dismiss and the analysis of price warfare is too evident to ignore.
OPEC’s manipulation of the markets did hit Americans hard in their pockets. Hundreds of millions of John and Jane Does were intimidated, terrorized really, into abandoning their lifelong dreams of owning properties because of the aggressive stance of petro-regimes towards the US and its campaign to spread democracy in the Greater Middle East. In historical terms, America was punished for daring to change the status quo in the Arab and Muslim world to the advantage of the weakest and the suppressed: Shia and Kurds in Iraq, Syrian reformers, Lebanese civil society, Africans in Darfur, Iranian women and students, artists and liberals across the Arabian Peninsula. In return, the U.S was submitted to economic destabilization, steady, gradual and by small doses.
Let’s not underestimate the power of the Jihadi-oil lobby in America: it has decades of influence and it has long arms into the system, and it has powerful political allies. It knows when Americans are messing up their own system, and it knows very well how to push them over the cliff, into the abyss of economic calamity.
A counterpoint to this thesis would vigorously argue that the alleged OPEC destabilization over the US economy is illogical, as many countries in the Gulf are experiencing a recession as a result of Wall Street’s crunch. In other words, they wouldn’t do it to themselves. Yet the ideological forces manning the oil weapon aren’t particularly concerned about economic stability. Their driving factor is Jihadism. We’ve heard their ideologues stating that even if they were to incur losses among their own societies in order to defeat the infidel powers, then let it be.
Ten percent losses in local companies and markets are a price that radicals would absorb if the final prize is an earth-shattering change in US policy in the region and a triumphant return to pre-9/11 status. I find the rationale of this policy very Jihadist: if a world economic crisis is needed to remove the US democratization efforts from the region and to end its post 9/11 campaigns, the end justifies the means. In addition, how intriguing to see that Saudi Arabia and other producers are among the very few who didn’t have to pump much cash into their markets yet (Per news Agencies, today).
What some oil regimes -- or the ideological forces within -- want to accomplish from this alleged interference in US economics is to provoke a “regime change” in Washington, D.C., so that regimes in their region are not challenged anymore. But another issue is also coming to the surface: pressures against America’s financial structures seem to have escalated in parallel to increasing US talk and commitment to achieving energy independence. Since last April, the American debate finally reached a dramatic conclusion: “We’re sending 700 Billion Dollars a year to regimes that dislike us;” agree most national leaders; “and furthermore some of that money is ending up in the hands or accounts of Terrorists” affirm some among them.
This revolutionary conclusion is a direct affront to the multi-decades-long dominance of petro-dollars in US politics. What America is readying itself to do is to achieve its most dramatic war of independence since 1776: ending the dependence on Middle East Oil. Therefore, let’s not be surprised that these gigantic interests would strike at the heart of this economic revolution, as I coined it in my latest book, The Confrontation.
Back to the ongoing crisis on these shores, we nevertheless must admit that the original sins are domestic first: financial drunkenness and economic recklessness. Without these plagues, outside forces wouldn’t have been able to shake up America’s stability. But assuming that most capitalist societies travel through rough patches, it is vital to realize that America’s economy is under attack by forces aiming to maintain US dependency on foreign energy, as a means to obstruct the rise of democracy.
Seven years after 9/11, Americans are paying the price of liberty from their own economic flesh.
**Dr Walid Phares, author of Future Jihad: Terrorist Strategies against America, of The war of Ideas: Jihadism against democracy and of the forthcoming book, The Confrontation. He is also the Director of the Future Terrorism Project at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies

Etobicoke MP admits mistake on Afghan mission vote
Etobicoke Centre Liberal MP Borys Wrzesnewskyj has admitted he was wrong when he said earlier in the campaign that he voted against extending Canada's Afghanistan mission until 2011.
The two-term incumbent had been under growing fire from Conservative candidate Axel Kuhn for "fibbing," "twisting the truth" and "misleading" the voters of Etobicoke Centre by saying during earlier all-candidates' debates that he had opposed extending Canada's mission to Afghanistan in the House of Commons vote last spring – until Kuhn provided records that showed he supported it.
Before a crowd of more than 100 Tuesday night at Silverthorn Collegiate, Wrzesnewskyj admitted "I got my facts wrong.
"I said I had not supported the vote in 2008 to extend the war, but my staff went back and checked, yes, I did vote in favour of extending the mission to 2011, and I voted against the NDP proposal to bring the troops back immediately," which he said would have caused chaos.
Wrzesnewskyj noted there have been two votes to extend the mission, and in the first vote, in May 2006, he voted against extending the war. But in March this year, after a report by former MP John Manley proposed extending the mission to 2011, Wrzesnewskyj did support the extension.
However his correction at the Silverthorn meeting was not enough for Kuhn, a software consultant who lost to Wrzesnewskyj by more than 10,000 votes in 2006.
"I'm demanding a public retraction. He's told the entire riding he was against the Afghanistan mission; he should publicly correct the statement he's been making in the last few weeks," said Kuhn. "I'm meeting people when I canvas door to door are saying they're voting for Borys because he did not support the war in Afghanistan, and that's not true.
"That's huge in my book – if we can't trust our politicians to tell us their voting record. You have to tell the truth."
It was the fourth and final all-candidates' debate in the riding, which has been Liberal since 1993 and houses one of the highest proportions of retired people in Canada. All four debates have been between Liberal and Conservative candidates alone, because the NDP candidate Joseph Schwartz has not attended any at all, and Green candidate Marion Schaffer has withdrawn from the campaign for family reasons.
The Silverthorn audience seemed evenly split between the parties. The Conservatives were slammed by some for taxing income trusts, for appearing slow to respond to the looming economic storm, for using negative attack ads against Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion, for not intervening in the case of accused terrorist Omar Khadr and for cutting social and arts programs.
For his part, Wrzesnewskyj fielded several questions about why, after a fact-finding mission to Lebanon, he suggested Canada consider opening talks with the militant Lebanese Shiite group Hezbollah – a move so controversial, he had to step down as the party's deputy foreign affairs critic.
"Are you insane? Do you work for Hezbollah?" shouted one angry resident who became so hysterical, his microphone was turned off and he was asked to return to his seat.
But Wrzesnewskyj said he never suggested Canada remove Hezbollah from the list of terrorist organizations, but only that they consider opening discussions with them, citing former Israeli Cabinet Minister Moshe Dayan's famous line: "If you want peace, you don't talk to your friends; you talk to your enemy."

Too many doctrines
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3607148,00.html
As opposed to our Arab enemies, Israel lacks cohesive security doctrine
Published: 10.09.08, 23:28 / Israel Opinion
By: Ron Ben-Yishai
An examination of the words uttered and written by the leaders of Iran, Hizbullah, Hamas, and even Syria, easily reveals their aspirations. The Muqauma (resistance) strategy has a clear and defined long-term objective – bring about Israel's end as a sovereign Jewish entity – as well as two intermediate objectives.
The first midterm goal is to make Israeli society crumble on the inside, in a bid to prompt Jews to emigrate and undermine their motivation to defend themselves, to the point where one military blow (either nuclear or conventional) would suffice to achieve the final objective. The second midterm goal is to gradually minimize Israel's territory, in a manner that would turn our population into a convenient and concentrated target for mortar shells, rockets, missiles, and terror attack, while making it difficult for the IDF to offer protection. This territorial objective also has a religious aspect: Liberating every centimeter of Palestinian land, which in their view belongs to Muslims.
In the face of this well-formulated and clear strategy, which is prompting the buildup of appropriate military capabilities, the State of Israel is in a fundamentally inferior position. Why? Because we do not have an agreed upon national strategy that would enable us to derive diplomatic and military midterm goals as well as IDF buildup and operational methods. Therefore, the operations and wars we embark on because we're forced to, or on our own initiative, just like peace negotiations, are to a large extent being managed in line with the preferences, qualifications, and caprices of the politicians and top army officials who happen to lead the country at the time (as well as with those of top US Administration officials.)
There are quite a few examples of this: The Six-Day War, whose objectives and results were determined by IDF major generals as well as brigade and regiment commanders on the ground; the first Lebanon War, which was a war of choice that facilitated Hizbullah's establishment; the settlement boom in the territories and in the Gaza Strip in the 1970s and 1980s, which prompted a demographic threat and social schism in the State of Israel; and the hasty unilateral withdrawal from the South Lebanon Security Zone and the Gaza Strip, which gave the Muqauma a boost and motivation, because they were perceived as a surrender to the pressures exerted by guerilla and terror. Not to mention the Second Lebanon War, which only featured tactical objectives – and they too were unfeasible.
In some respects, the situation toady is even worse, because the government and its diplomatic and security conduct are zigzagging among three different strategic doctrines. This wastes precious resources and time and produces an image of confusion and befuddlement, which encourages the enemy and despairs our friends and potential friends in the Arab world.
The 3 doctrines
The Olmert Doctrine aims to secure permanent borders for the State of Israel and remove Syria and the Fatah-led Palestinian Authority from the "axis of evil," via peace treaties and territorial concessions. The outgoing prime minister aims to end Hamas' Gaza regime – via a large-scale military move – and bring back Mahmoud Abbas' control under the auspices of an international or Arab force. As to Iran, Olmert backs a preemptive effort to thwart any nuclear threat against Israel. Should the sanctions fail, we should not shy away from a preventative strike, once it turns out that Tehran will be acquiring military nuclear capabilities within a short period of time.
The Barak Doctrine also aims to finalize Israel's northern border, neutralize the Syrian threat, and disconnect Damascus from Hizbullah via negotiations and an agreement on the Golan that is acceptable to Israel – more or less in line with the position presented in the Shepherdstown Talks. As to the Palestinians, Barak believes that eventually we should reach a final-status agreement in line with the Clinton outline finalized in Camp David in 2000. Yet not now. Under the current circumstances, we should continue to "manage the conflict," in the aim of preventing a Hamas takeover in the West Bank and yet another Intifada. In Barak's view, only once it becomes clear who the master is in the Palestinian territories – Hamas or Fatah – we shall engage in talks with it on a final-status agreement or a temporary ceasefire to last dozens of years.
Barak's security doctrine dominant
On the Iranian front, Barak believes that we should prepare various strike options, but refrain from utilizing them as long as there is no concrete and substantial threat. His objective at this time in building up the military options (for a preventative strike, pre-emptive strike, and proper response in case we are attacked) is to deter Iran from producing a nuclear bomb and press the international community to impose meaningful sanctions against it. Yet Barak is preparing deterrence and defense capabilities to the longer run, in the face of the possibility that Tehran will acquire the bomb and Israel will be forced to live in the shadow of this threat.
Then there's the Livni Doctrine, which isn't completely clear. It is apparently a combination of the two other doctrines. For example, Livni (influenced by her friend Condoleezza Rice) believes that Israel can exist and prosper even if Iran possesses nuclear weapons. These three doctrines have a common denominator: The aspiration to maintain a solid Jewish majority in the State of Israel and maintain America's unqualified support for Israel's security. Should elections be held and the Likud form the next government, we shall have to adjust to a fourth strategic doctrine, which will apparently be essentially different than the three doctrines which the current coalition zigzags amongst.
Yet while Olmert was the one to set the tone on the diplomatic front, Barak's doctrine is dominant in the security arena. This doctrine, which was formulated along with Chief of Staff Ashkenazi, is similar to the classic Ben-Gurion doctrine, with changes and modifications to the conditions faced by the IDF today. We should keep in mind that today's enemy is not regular armies that aspire to physically conquer Israel, as was the case until the Yom Kippur War; Israeli society and its values have changed, and globalization has granted the economy, media, and international institutions power and influence that can turn a military campaign from victory to defeat and vice versa.
Still, the security doctrine endorsed by Barak and Ashkenazi is more or less identical to the principles formulated by David Ben-Gurion – what's different today is the implementation of this doctrine, that is, the IDF's operational doctrine.

Lebanon's election law: a cup half full
By Doreen Khoury -Daily Star
Friday, October 10, 2008
Soon after Lebanon's Parliament passed the new electoral law on September 29, Interior Minister Ziad Baroud, a long-time advocate of electoral reform, described the final version as a "cup half full." Baroud was referring to the fact that although the law contained some of the reforms included in the Butros election proposal such as campaign finance regulation and elections media and advertising regulation, parliamentarians also chose to forego other crucial reforms such as establishing an independent electoral commission, using an officially printed ballot, and lowering the voting age to 18 years.
The Civil Campaign for Electoral Reform (CCER), a coalition of 58 Lebanese NGOs, has worked tirelessly since the National Commission for a New Electoral Law (commonly known as the Butros commission) submitted its draft electoral law proposal to the Cabinet in June 2006. The draft law included reforms that civil society organizations had been demanding for a decade. Lebanon's antiquated electoral process, in which campaign spending is unchecked and procedures violate voting secrecy and can lead to voter intimidation, was badly in need of a complete overhaul. Since the end of the Civil War and the signing of the Taif Accord, Lebanon's record on transparency and fairness in elections has been abysmal. Elections were, and remain, an opportunity for Lebanon's political class to renew its grip on power, hence its tendency to ride roughshod over the basic electoral rights of citizens.
The 2005 parliamentary elections, hailed by the international media as signaling the emergence of Lebanese democracy, in reality did not differ much from previous elections. The absence of Syrian intelligence officers, notorious for their extensive meddling in Lebanese elections, eliminated much of the fear that had governed elections in the past. But one relic remained from the Syrian era: the 2005 electoral law, which was no more than the 2000 law, known as the "Ghazi Kanaan Law," named after the former head of Syria's intelligence network in Lebanon who was responsible for devising the district divisions.
The law, with its extensive gerrymandering, failed to regulate competition between candidates, and failed utterly to guarantee a smooth, transparent and accessible electoral process for citizens. Taking place over four consecutive Sundays, the 2005 elections were one in which political parties and candidates spent huge sums of money on their campaigns and exerted significant pressure on voters in many regions. Moreover, citizens were bombarded everywhere they went with unconstrained election advertising: in their living rooms through television, on the streets through billboards, and outside polling stations on election day.
Following the 2005 elections, it was clear to civil society organizations that this situation could not prevail for the 2009 elections. With the increasing political polarization in the country, and ongoing skirmishes between the two broad Lebanese political alignments (which eventually erupted in violence last May), Lebanon could not afford anymore to have an electoral process which failed to regulate competition between the two main political alignments. The CCER was formed after the release of the Butros election proposal, not only to support the reforms which the Butros commission proposed, but also to work toward a shift in electoral culture. Since early 2007, the CCER has organized over 80 town hall meetings, reaching out to some 5,000 citizens in all regions of Lebanon.
The biggest challenge was to convince parliamentarians and political leaders to support electoral reform, which would in most cases work against their interests. With Parliament paralyzed and Lebanon plagued by a series of assassinations and bombings, it was not easy for the CCER to convince politicians to focus on an issue they wanted to avoid at all cost. However, with persistent lobbying the CCER managed to keep the Butros election proposal alive, as evidenced in the text of the Doha Agreement, which called on Lebanese political leaders to include the reforms proposed by the Butros commission in the new electoral law.
Following the Doha accord, the CCER persisted in its lobbying of parliamentarians and politicians, and managed to secure an observer role in the parliamentary committee on justice and administration, which began its study of the draft election law on June 23. The CCER's representative offered technical advice and information on every reform. Our objective was to dispel technical reasons for rejecting the reforms, since Lebanese politicians tend to offer up technical reasons to conceal the political reasons to undermine essential reforms.
The draft law was approved on September 29 by Parliament. The CCER's activists attended all sessions of the parliamentary debate and lobbied for the reforms until the last minute. The final law approved has drawn mixed reactions from civil society activists. The failure to lower the voting age to 18 years and endorse a quota for women in Parliament has angered youth and women's groups. Crucially, unwillingness on the part of parliamentarians to set up an independent electoral commission and reform voting procedures to include an officially printed ballot has disappointed activists. The reforms that did pass, campaign finance regulation, media regulation, elections in one day, out-of-country voting (albeit delayed until 2013), and abolition of the voting card, represented a significant departure from previous electoral laws. However they are weakened by not being accompanied by the reforms turned down.
The reluctance of the Lebanese ruling class to endorse total reform of the electoral process was revealed during the vote on the pre-printed ballot. Since the parliamentary sessions were not being shown live on television, citizens missed the debate on the ballot, in particular the chance to identify parliamentarians who defended the reform, then later voted against it. The pre-printed ballot would have preserved the secrecy of the vote and freed voters from the threat of intimidation from agents of the political leaders. Another worrying factor is that vote-counting will continue to take place in polling stations, further jeopardizing secrecy.
CCER was unable to prevent the political horse-trading that took place during the parliamentary sessions on the electoral law, especially on the pre-printed ballot. But disappointment has not dampened our commitment to continue to lobby for the reforms that did not pass. Baroud was right to call the new law a cup "half full" - it broke down some barriers that seemed impossible to surpass a year ago.
Civil society is preparing itself for the largest elections monitoring effort in Lebanese history for the 2009 elections, because parliamentarians are reluctant to give up old habits. This endeavor will be the stepping stone for renewed efforts to reform the electoral process for the 2013 elections.
**Doreen Khoury is coordinator of the Civil Campaign for Electoral Reform. She wrote this commentary for THE DAILY STAR

Israel Caught Between Islamist Crossfire: Lebanon Pays Price
By CLAUDE SALHANI (Editor, Middle East Times)
Published: October 10, 2008
Once again Lebanon is caught between Israel's fight with another enemy. Before it was the PLO; today it's Iran. But Lebanon is also looking nervously over its shoulder at Syria. Photo shows Israeli tank fire in northern Israel. (Chameleons Eye via Newscom)
Both Israel and Hezbollah feel that another round of violence is inevitable, though for the moment neither side wants to initiate a fight, the consequences of which would be devastating for all sides.
It may only be rhetoric, but rhetoric in the Middle East has a nasty habit of transforming itself into anger, and when fueled by the urge for revenge, situations can easily escalate into open conflict. Conditions are now in the red zone of the rhetoric stage with the needle beginning to dip into the yellow part of the revenge zone. From here, it's a short step to the full cardinal red conflict quadrant.
Hezbollah is itching to avenge the killing of its operations chief, Imad Mughnieh, whom it accuses Israel of masterminding his assassination in Damascus a few months ago. Israel, for its part, is worried by Hezbollah's build-up of weaponry across its northern border.
Predicting the political future of the Middle East is one of the riskiest tasks for journalists covering the region given the unpredictability of the area. However, one point upon which many analysts seem to agree is that another showdown between Israel and the Lebanese Shiite organization Hezbollah appears inevitable. The last confrontation, the Second Lebanon War in 2006, which pitted Hezbollah against the full brunt of the Israeli armed forces left much business unfinished: for both sides.
Israel has repeatedly stated that it would have to return and "finish the job." Hezbollah, meanwhile, has not been idle, rearming and repositioning itself for the day, not if, but when the next confrontation comes.
Bear in mind that Hezbollah has obtained a number of medium range missiles capable of hitting Tel Aviv and possibly farther south. Together with Hamas, the Islamic Resistance Movement dominant in the Gaza Strip, Israel appears caught between the crosshairs of the two Islamist movements, both backed by Iran.
The distance from the Lebanese border to Tel Aviv is 77 miles or 126 kilometers, roughly the same as Baltimore, MD., to Fredericksburg, VA.; while the distance from northern Gaza to Tel Aviv is a mere 32 miles, or 57 kilometers, about the same from downtown San Diego to Oceanside, CA.
It is believed that most of Hezbollah's arsenal consists of relatively inaccurate Soviet era Katyushas. Those have a short range of only 25 kilometers, or 15.6 miles. But Hezbollah is also believed to have been supplied with Fajr-5 missiles, with a range of 75 kilometers, enough to hit the area around Hadera. The real threat to the security of Israel comes from the Zelzal-2 missile, with a range of 200 kilometers. Those can easily reach Tel Aviv, the most densely populated area of Israel.
In response to this growing threat brewing north of its border, underlined by rhetoric coming from Hezbollah's military commander in south Lebanon that Hezbollah might revert to armed action to liberate the Shebaa Farms, Israel's army planners have issued a stern warning, not only to Hezbollah, but to all of Lebanon.
Just days ago three senior Israeli military commanders threatened to "decimate Lebanon's infrastructure."
The Farms area is the last remaining parcels of Lebanese territory occupied by Israel. Israel claims it belongs to Syria. Syria has avoided stating its position on the controversy.
The Israeli officers have warned Lebanon of "disproportionate firepower," stating that Israel would be prepared to "wipe out villages in the south" believed to harbor Hezbollah missile launch sites.
This is what Gen. Gadi Eisenkot, in charge of Israel's Northern Command said was the "Dahiyeh Doctrine." Under this plan – and Eisenkot made it clear that this was a plan, not just a suggestion – all of Lebanon would be treated as the enemy.
Dahiyeh, meaning "suburb" in Arabic, refers to Hezbollah's stronghold in Beirut's southern suburbs.
"We will wield disproportionate power against every village from which shots are fired on Israel, and cause immense damage and destruction. From our perspective, these are military bases," said Eisenkot.
Once again Lebanon is caught between Israel's fight with another enemy. Before it was the Palestine Liberation Organization that brought the wrath of Israel's military might on Lebanon; today it's Iran.
But Lebanon's trans-border problems are not reserved exclusively to its southern neighbor. Lebanon is also looking nervously over its shoulder at its other neighbor, Syria.
In recent weeks Syria has been amassing troops along its border with Lebanon. Damascus says this is in order to fight smugglers. Nevertheless, this prompted French President Nicolas Sarkozy to warn Damascus not to cross into Lebanon, the London-based Al-Hayat has reported.
According to the newspaper, France told the Syrians not to turn "Lebanon into another Georgia."
In Washington, meanwhile, U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State David Hale said in a television interview that Washington still supports Lebanon's independence and sovereignty.
Is that enough to deter Israel's threats to "decimate" Lebanon? I wouldn't take that to the bank. That statement and $85 billion should buy you peace of mind.