LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS
BULLETIN
April 16/08
Bible Reading of the day.
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John 10,22-30. The feast of the
Dedication was then taking place in Jerusalem. It was winter.
And Jesus walked about in the temple area on the Portico of Solomon. So the Jews
gathered around him and said to him, "How long are you going to keep us in
suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly."Jesus answered them, "I told
you and you do not believe. The works I do in my Father's name testify to me.
But you do not believe, because you are not among my sheep. My sheep hear my
voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall
never perish. No one can take them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them
to me, is greater than all, and no one can take them out of the Father's hand.
The Father and I are one."
Free Opinions, Releases, letters & Special Reports
Early exit by Suleiman would be fuel on the fire -
analysts-By Michael Bluhm 15/04/08
Livni might have come away from Qatar with a useful
lesson-The Daily Star 15/04/08
Analysis: A change in the Middle East?Middle East Times 15/04/08
Latest
News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources for April 15/08
650 Lebanese still held in Syria - advocacy group-AFP
Livni uses Qatar visit to encourage Arab opposition
to Iranian nuclear program-AFP
Berri courts Doha for help with logjam in Beirut-Daily
Star
'Crucial' for peace to include Hamas and Syria,
Carter says-AFP
Bomb damages Saudi Embassy car in Athens-AFP
US, Iran holding secret nuclear talks - UK paper
-AFP
Al-Jamaa al-Islamiyya backs call for dialogue-Daily
Star
France still shopping statement on 1701 report-Daily
Star
Beirut defends detention of former security chiefs
over Hariri slaying-Daily Star
Fatah commander denies feud with PLO envoy-Daily
Star
Jumblatt warns allies against 'isolating' others-Daily
Star
UNIFIL looking into new border violation by Israel-Daily
Star
Lebanese delegation meets with major Paris III donors-Daily
Star
Tourism minister wants Arab states to lift travel
restrictions on 'safe' Lebanon-Daily Star
Italian peacekeeping mission donates equipment to
school in Tyre region-Daily Star
Civil society group stresses need to make
school-buses safer-Daily Star
South Africa's example could benefit Lebanon-Daily
Star
Lebanese Demand Facts of Missing Believed
to be in Syria-Naharnet
Berri Discusses Lebanon With Qatari Oil Minister-Naharnet
Moussa Cautions: The Lebanon Situation Could Deteriorate-Naharnet
Saniora Demands 'Details' on Israeli Incursion-Naharnet
Israel says no deal to Hezbollah prisoners exchange-Ya Libnan
Indeed, Another War in the Middle East is on the Horizon-Alternative
Information Center
Livni to tell Gulf leaders in Qatar: Iran the threat, not Israel-Ha'aretz
Lebanese Demand Facts of Missing Believed to be in Syria-Naharnet
Mental disorders widespread in Lebanon-Ya Libnan
Tent City Militiamen
Attack Restaurant Clients-Naharnet
Aoun Renews
Naturalization Charges-Naharnet
Israeli Foot Patrol Violates South Lebanon-Naharnet
'We'll take fight to Israel's backyard'-Jerusalem
Post
Report: Hizbullah to Launch Offensive in Occupied Territories in Case Israel
Wages War-Naharnet
Report: Rice Says
Saniora, Not Presidential Crisis is Priority-Naharnet
Jordan's King Warns
of Regional Repercussions from Lebanon Crisis-Naharnet
Saudi, Egyptian
Foreign Ministers Discuss Lebanon-Naharnet
Israel Fears Hizbullah Might Receive
Iranian Arms Via Beirut Port-Naharnet
US Presses Iraq Neighbors at Damascus
Meeting-Naharnet
Kuwait Begins Registration for Early Polls-Naharnet
Iran Probes Deadly Blast, Cause Still
Unclear-Naharnet
Israeli FM Meets Omani Counterpart in
Qatar-Naharnet
Zimbabwe Court Rejects
Opposition Call for Poll Results-Naharnet
Lebanese Demand Facts of Missing Believed
to be in Syria-Naharnet
Israeli Foot Patrol Violates South Lebanon-Naharnet
Jamaa Islamiya Supports Berri's Call for
Dialogue-Naharnet
Jordan's King Warns of Regional
Repercussions from Lebanon Crisis
Naharnet/Premier Fouad Saniora returned to Beirut from Amman
Sunday night after talks with King Abdullah II who warned of regional
repercussions from the Lebanese political crisis. Abdullah told Saniora during
their meeting that "the continuation of the current situation in Lebanon will
have repercussions not only on Lebanon but also on the security and stability of
the region in general," an official statement in Amman said. Abdullah voiced
support for efforts exerted by the Lebanese government "to find an acceptable
way out of the political crisis," it said. The Jordanian king also "stressed the
importance of continuing efforts exerted to solve the Lebanese crisis," the
statement added.An Nahar daily on Monday quoted an informed source in Amman as
denying that Saniora discussed with King Abdullah reports that the latter had
asked members of the U.S. Congress during his last visit to Washington "to reach
a settlement with Syria." Lebanon's state-run National News Agency, in a
dispatch from Amman, said Sunday's talks fell within the framework of Saniora's
contacts with Arab leaders to scout ways of facilitating a settlement to the
ongoing crisis. Beirut, 14 Apr 08, 04:43
Livni might have come away from
Qatar with a useful lesson
By The Daily Star
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Editorial
Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni's visit to Qatar for a forum on democracy
was never going to produce much of substance, but that was not the purpose of
her hosts. They envisioned a symbolic event at which she might catch a glimpse
of what is in store for the region if and when her country decides to get
serious about making peace with its neighbors. With any luck, she will also have
learned that much of the gleaming showcase she visited was built by diaspora
Palestinians, reminding her that, like any other people, they can be a
remarkably productive one when not trapped in a conflict zone. The heady early
days of the Oslo process wrought similar evidence in the Occupied Territories,
but that was so many years - and so many lives - ago that Livni might have
forgotten.
The history behind the creation of the modern state of Israel is such that no
Israeli can be without an understanding of suffering. Indeed, the citizens of
that country - like Jews everywhere - are entitled to special sensitivity when
it comes to the Holocaust. This does not, however, include the right to punish
today's Palestinian people for something that Germans did more than six decades
ago. As soon as sufficient numbers of Israelis accept this simple truth and act
it on by making meaningful changes, a genuine peace process can and will take
root.
This is not to absolve Palestinian leaders of their own responsibilities, for
they too have missed opportunities to change a status quo that has locked their
people in limbo since 1948. They need Israeli help, though, to demonstrate that
the Jewish state can be trusted to honor both the letter and the spirit of its
commitments. Only then will sufficient numbers of Palestinians countenance the
sorts of compromises that will be asked of them in any comprehensive peace
agreement.
Israel does itself no favors by confining the Palestinians to what are, in
effect, ghettos, or by repeatedly rebuffing tacit overtures from hard-line
groups like Hamas. Both peoples have suffered a lot in this struggle, but
Israeli policy frequently reduces Palestinians to a point where they have
nothing left to lose. The best hope for Livni's Qatar trip is that it will help
her to imagine a win-win outcome for both sides.
650 Lebanese still held in Syria - advocacy group
By Agence France Presse (AFP)
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Joseph Badaoui- Agence France Presse
BEIRUT: Lebanese families fighting to learn the fate of hundreds of their
relatives thought to be held in Syria have been encouraged by the unexpected
release of a prisoner after 16 years in Syrian detention. "Milad Barakat, a
Lebanese, arrived in Beirut about a month ago after spending 16 years in a
Syrian prison. His family had lost trace of him for seven years," said Support
for Lebanese in Detention and Exile (SOLIDE), a pressure group.
Barakat is one of 650 people whom the organization says remain in Syrian
custody.
"To put it bluntly, they either remain in Syria or died as a result of torture
they endured while in Syrian custody in Lebanon or Syria," SOLIDE president
Ghazi Aad told AFP.
He was referring to a 1987 Amnesty International report that documented 38
methods of torture practiced by Syrian security forces at the time.
"Lebanese intelligence arrested Barakat in April 1992 and turned him over to
Syrian intelligence," Aad said, adding that a Syrian court sentenced Barakat to
15 years in prison for fighting the Syrian Army in 1990, after which he was
tortured.
The organization said that Barakat refuses to see anyone except his family as he
remains in a state of shock after being confined under difficult conditions for
so long.
Toward the end of Lebanon's 15-year Civil War, then-General Michel Aoun headed a
temporary government and launched a "war of liberation" against Syria, which had
troops deployed in eastern and northern parts of Lebanon.
Syria's forces spread throughout most of the country on October 13, 1990, the
day on which many of those still missing were captured. The Lebanese Army was
split at the time, with most supporting Aoun and the rest Syria.
Aad said that Barakat's mother, similar to many of the missing, had visited him
in the Sednaya prison in Syria until 2000 when she lost track of him and
reported him missing.
"Many families reported visiting their sons in prisons in Syria only to find
them gone thereafter," Aad said, adding most depend on released prisoners for
news of their loved ones.
SOLIDE drew up a list of names, including Barakat's, of those held or missing in
Syrian prisons and submitted it to a Lebanese-Syrian panel established in 2005
for this purpose.
According to Aad, the Syrian response was terse: "We do not have any information
about any of the names on this list."
In spite of this, Barakat was released to the great joy of his family, who had
spent seven years in the dark about his whereabouts. Aad said that the Syrian
authorities kept Barakat in prison for an additional year after he served his
sentence, finally releasing him in the fall of 2007. He returned to Lebanon in
mid-March.
Aad said the case of George Shaalawit is similar. He is also Lebanese and like
Barakat was included on the list of the prisoners who the Syrian authorities
denied were on their territory.
"Shaalawit's parents lost all contact with him around the year 2000. They were
pleasantly surprised by his release in December 2005 after 11 years in a Syrian
prison without due process," said Aad. Members of SOLIDE have pleaded the case
of missing Lebanese thought to be in Syria to leaders of all confessions.
Fifteen MPs from the anti-Syrian parliamentary majority put a petition before
the government urging it "to strive to find a final solution to this issue as
soon as possible with or without the Syrian government." Sonia Eid is the
president of the Commission of the Parents of Missing. She is seeking her son, a
Lebanese soldier detained by Syrian forces in Lebanon in 1990 when he was 20
years old. She remembers having visited him only once in a Syrian prison in
1990. Until 1996, Eid continued to receive news of her son from prisoners who
were released. But she hasn't heard anything since 1996. "I went to see Barakat
three times after his release in the hopes of hearing something about my son.
But the former prisoner was in a state of shock and completely refused to
speak," said Eid.
"All that I ask the government is that it work faster and more seriously on the
case of the missing," she said
Livni uses Qatar visit to encourage Arab opposition to Iranian nuclear program
By Agence France Presse (AFP)
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
DOHA: Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni confirmed Monday that she had lobbied
for support against Iran's nuclear program from Arab leaders in Qatar but
dismissed as "speculation" reports that she sought help to win freedom for a
captured Israeli soldier. "Iran represents the extremists in the region and this
is a threat and challenge to the entire region," Livni told reporters in Doha
when asked if she had sought support against Iran's nuclear work.
Livni charged Iran tries to undermine other regimes, works with "radical" Shiite
elements such as Hizbullah and supports Hamas, a "terrorist organization"
controlling Gaza "by weapons, training and money."
"It's in the mutual interest of the region" to join hands against the nuclear
ambitions of Iran, which is "the example of a rogue state," she said.
Livni, who addressed a democracy forum, held talks earlier on Monday with
Qatar's emir and prime minister and Oman's foreign minister during a rare visit
to the Gulf Arab state, which has political contacts but no diplomatic relations
with Israel.
Livni denied reports that she might have sought the help of her Arab
interlocutors in brokering a prisoner swap involving Corporal Gilad Shalit, an
Israeli soldier seized by Gaza militants in June 2006.
"The reason for me to come here is to participate in the Doha forum of
democracy. Bilateral talks between Israel and Qatar are of utmost importance ...
All the [rest] is speculation," she said.
Omani Foreign Minister Yusef bin Alawi bin Abdullah ruled out an immediate
reopening of Israel's trade office in Muscat, which has been closed since 2000.
Bin Alawi told AFP he disagreed with Israeli views on the peace process and
there was no question of reopening the Israeli office.
"There is no room for opening it until agreement is reached on the establishment
of a Palestinian state," the said.
Livni gave bin Alawi "an update on the negotiations with the Palestinians"
during the meeting in Doha, an aide told AFP.
"The second objective of the meeting was to discuss the role of the Arab world
in the peace process," said the aide, who did not want to be identified.
Bin Alawi said the meeting was "not meant to have a result," but was merely an
opportunity to exchange views.
"We do not agree with their [Israelis'] opinions" on the peace negotiations, the
minister said.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry said in Occupied Jerusalem that Livni's meeting
with Oman's top diplomat was their first public encounter.
In September 2006, the Israeli newspaper Yediot Ahronot reported that she held a
secret meeting with bin Alawi on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New
York.
Oman became the first Gulf Arab country to open a trade office in Tel Aviv, in
1996, but it recalled its representative five months later, making his return
conditional on real progress in Middle East peace talks.
It shut down the office, as well as Israel's own trade office in Muscat, in
October 2000 following the outbreak of the second Palestinian intifada.
Livni also met Qatari Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, as well as the
prime minister of the gas-rich state, Sheikh Hamad bin Jassem bin Jabr al-Thani,
her aide said.
The meetings were "very productive," he said. Livni later had lunch with the
emir at his palace, he added, but declined to reveal the substance of their
talks.
Hamad bin Jassem, who doubles as foreign minister, had said Sunday that talks
with Livni would focus on ways of calming the situation in the Israeli-blockaded
Gaza Strip, describing this as Qatar's "main preoccupation."
"But I don't want to put this in the context of a mediation," he said when asked
if Livni's presence meant that Qatar was trying to mediate between Israel and
Hamas.
Asked if Qatar was trying to help broker a prisoner exchange involving Shalit,
Sheikh Hamad said: "We will wait to see what she has to say ... on this
subject."
An aide to Livni said in Jerusalem that she would focus on Iran's nuclear drive,
which the West and Israel suspect is aimed at acquiring nuclear weapons.
Although Qatar, a close American ally, has political contacts with Israel,
Livni's visit is a rare occurrence in the Arab world.
"I have seven cancellations because of your arrival. Don't cause any more
problems," Qatar's prime minister was heard telling Livni jokingly during the
opening of the forum on Sunday. - AFP
Berri courts Doha for help with logjam in Beirut
Moussa stresses determination to find solution despite regional differences
Compiled by Daily Star staff
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Speaker Nabih Berri continued his efforts to revive Arab mediation in Lebanon's
political crisis on Monday, but with the next parliamentary session to elect a
president scheduled for a week from today, no breakthroughs look to be in the
offing. Berri discussed the situation in Lebanon with Qatari Oil Minister
Abdullah al-Atiyah during a visit to Doha on Monday.
Beirut's state-run National News Agency said the talks included Berri's latest
initiative to launch dialogue among leaders of Lebanon's various factions.
After meeting Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in Cairo on Sunday, however, the
speaker had warned that rival Lebanese parties must play a leading role in
resolving the impasse and not rely solely on outside mediators.
"Egypt, Syria and Saudi Arabia can offer help, but they cannot replace or act on
behalf of Lebanese parties," Berri said.
Berri, who flew to Doha from Cairo, was expected to hold further talks with
officials in Qatar as part of efforts to work out a settlement.
Also Monday, MP Ali Hassan Khalil of Berri's Development and Liberation bloc
said some media outlets have tried to establish a link between Berri's visit to
Cairo and talk of forming an interim government headed by the commander of the
Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF), General Michel Suleiman, that would see the country
through to parliamentary elections in 2009.
"Such talk is unrelated to the truth and is aimed at distorting the success of
Berri's visit to Egypt," Khalil said. "It is also aimed at creating sectarian
tension and is an attempt to abort Berri's initiative to find a solution through
dialogue," he added, referring to the fact that that the premiership is
traditionally reserved for a Sunni and Suleiman is a Maronite.
Khalil also reiterated Berri's support for Suleiman's presidential candidacy.
Sources close to Suleiman told the Future News satellite channel on Monday that
the LAF chief refused to head "any interim government because this goes against
the Constitution."
Future News also carried comments made in London by Arab League Secretary
General Amr Moussa, who said he could not "abandon Lebanon," adding that there
was no substitute for the Arab initiative, which was agreed on by all parties.
The three-point Arab initiative calls for the election of Suleiman as president,
the formation of a national unity government, and the drafting of a new
electoral law.
"We cannot leave Lebanon without a president," he said, stressing the need for a
national unity government. He also emphasized "the importance of the
relationship between Syria and Lebanon" as part of the Arab initiative, adding
that the Arab League summit hosted by Damascus in late March was held "in
difficult conditions" in light of unsettled Arab relations.
"The road is long, but we have little time to prevent the deterioration of the
Lebanese situation," he warned.
Moussa said Lebanon received the same importance as that given to the
Palestinian issue, adding that the situation in Gaza reflected "great unrest."
In other developments, opposition Reform and Change bloc leader and MP Michel
Aoun lashed out at Premier Fouad Siniora, holding him responsible for the
current deadlock.
"The Lebanese Civil War began under the slogan of injustice, deprivation and
lack of participation," Aoun told reporters after Reform and Change's weekly
meeting. "I remind the prime minister and the pro-government alliance that the
people today feel the same lack of participation, injustice and deprivation."
He reiterated his belief that the government and the US administration
supporting it were responsible for the political vacuum in Lebanon today.
Aoun also announced that he had assigned MPs from the Jbeil region to pursue the
issue of mass graves, adding that it was "essential" that the fate of missing
people throughout Lebanon be determined.
The Internal Security Forces are currently investigating a mass grave found near
Jbeil.
"We must open all mass graves for everyone to see their reality," Aoun said.
The MP also said the bloc had received complaints from residents of the southern
town of Ain Zhalta saying an Arab investor had purchased a wide area in the
region's natural reserve, "which is supposed to be the property of the
municipality. We cannot tolerate that."
He also blamed the government for "this dire economic situation," calling for
the formation of an interim government.
"As an opposition, we bear some responsibility for the current situation," he
acknowledged. "But the largest responsibility lies on the pro-government forces,
for US President [George W.] Bush is not responsible for Siniora's errors
Early exit by Suleiman would be fuel on the fire - analysts
Naming successor would be problematic - but so would leaving another post empty
By Michael Bluhm -Daily Star staff
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
BEIRUT: Saying he was "tired" of waiting to be elected president, Lebanese Armed
Forces (LAF) commander General Michel Suleiman said earlier this month that he
would leave his LAF post on August 21, but his exit is likely only to worsen the
country's already shaky political situation and weaken the army he has led for
the past nine years, a number of analysts told The Daily Star on Monday.
Because of his age, rank and years of service, Suleiman was slated to step down
on November 21, but with three years of accrued vacation time he can leave as
early as August 21. Suleiman said on April 2 that the failure of squabbling
political factions to live up to their stated wishes to elect him president
would indeed drive him to retire from the LAF as soon as possible.
However, with Lebanon's feuding political camps unable to fill the office of the
president since November, the unending deadlock makes nearly impossible
political consensus and the legal means to name a successor to Suleiman, the
experts said. Traditionally, the defense minister has proposed a potential LAF
commander to the government, which must approve him by a two-thirds majority,
according to Article 65 of the Constitution. The president would then sign off
on the appointment, but the government of Prime Minister Fouad Siniora has
assumed presidential powers in November on the condition that it would not make
any major decisions.
Some here have proposed that Suleiman stay on, as any deputy could put forward a
bill in Parliament to amend legislation and permit Suleiman to remain, but apart
from the fact that the legislature has not convened in more than a year,
Suleiman at this point is ready to get out, said legal expert and civil-society
activist Ziyad Baroud.
Keeping Suleiman "is not even an option, because the person himself is not
willing to remain in office," Baroud said. "We don't even need to think about an
amendment to the law, because the interested person is not interested. He said
it very openly."
From a legal standpoint, the government could issue a decree naming Suleiman's
successor, but the political polarization means such a commander would face "nonrecognition"
by much of the nation, said Ghaleb Mahmassani, a lawyer close to the Future
Movement of parliamentary majority leader MP Saad HaririSaad-Hariri-Profile
Sep-07 .
With the March 8 opposition having allowed their ally and former President Emile
Lahoud to step down and give his authority to the Cabinet on its vow not to
abuse such powers, the government will almost certainly not take to the
provocative step of tabbing a new head of the LAF, Mahmassani added.
"They promised not to use the prerogatives of the president," Mahmassani said.
Aside from the political deal, the government knows the immense practical
obstacles that would face a commander selected in such a manner said retired
General Elias Hanna, who teaches political science at Notre Dame University.
"They won't do it. They know what's going to happen - it's going to create a
problem," Hanna said. "According to the law, they have a right to issue a
decree, but would [a new commander] be able to manage? I don't think so."
In addition to the political fallout, unilaterally picking a replacement for
Suleiman would only debilitate the army, Hanna added.
"The army will be paralyzed," he said. "We will be paralyzed. We will have the
question of legitimacy from the opposition and maybe from inside the army."
"Why should they create a schism within the army?" Hanna asked. "I think Elias
Murr, the defense minister, would not do it. He's wise enough to say no."
If Suleiman does not want to stay in his post and the government does not push
through its own horse, Suleiman's powers would pass to his chief of staff, Major
General Shawki al-Masri. However, the ascension of Masri - a Druze - to the
historically Maronite post would only add another layer of sectarian and
political conflict onto the institution of the armed forces, Hanna said.
The absence of a Maronite head of the military, coupled with the ongoing absence
of a Maronite head of state, would further erode the group's political standing,
Hanna added.
"This is not very good for the Christians, in particular the Maronites," he
said.
However, if the Maronites - with their historically privileged perch atop the
Lebanese state - feel threatened by Suleiman's exit, the void atop the LAF could
have significant political impact, aside from the obvious security concerns,
Baroud said. If Suleiman's retirement creates more frustration among Maronites,
it represents a "lose-lose situation" for them and for all Lebanese, he added.
"Whether we like it or not, the fact is that Maronites are feeling uncomfortable
about all this," Baroud said. "We need to avoid things that will make them feel
more uncomfortable."
All in all, the tremors in the LAF's leadership ensuing from Suleiman's
departure would mark another step in the crumbling of the state under the weight
of political division, Mahmassani said. With the authority of the Lebanese state
wobbly for decades, the more citizens get accustomed to vacuums in key public
posts the more the state will "disintegrate," he added.
In military terms, Suleiman's leaving would damage the LAF's decision-making,
shake its relationship with Hizbullah and further politicize the armed forces,
Hanna said. The LAF became more entangled in the political morass when Suleiman
assented to becoming the consensus presidential candidate, Hanna said. The
December 13 assassination of LAF operations chief General Francois al-Hajj
served notice that the military elite had arrived at the same status as the
country's political bosses, he added.
"When he stepped in the political arena, the army was targeted," Hanna said.
"This is highly typical for Lebanon."
Under Suleiman, the LAF had largely cooperated with Hizbullah, and a change at
the top means uncertainty for the group, which has benefited from Suleiman's
acceptance, he said.
"This guy has the confidence of a lot of people," Hanna added. "For nine years
he performed very well."
Hizbullah regards the army as a "peer competitor," but it wants the army to
remain a legitimate force, as Suleiman's backing had given Hizbullah another
measure of political validation, Hanna said.
"Hizbullah needs cover at the end of the day," he added.
Without Suleiman, the army would in any case maintain its ability to respond to
acute crises, such as the eruption of violence at the Nahr al-Bared Palestinian
refugee camp in May 2007, Hanna said. Whenever Suleiman - and his considerable
authority - leave the LAF, the persistent political turmoil will prevent the
transition to a similarly respected successor, and the armed forces will lack a
leader who can make crucial security decisions, Hanna said.
"Without Suleiman, it is weaker," Hanna said. "The army with Suleiman is better
than the army without Suleiman
Report: Rice Says Saniora, Not Presidential Crisis is Priority
Naharnet/An Arab diplomatic personality quoted U.S. Secretary of
State Condoleezza Rice as saying that the absence of a president in Lebanon was
not a problem and that her top priority was to keep Premier Fouad Saniora as
head of the executive body. "What's wrong with keeping the situation in Lebanon
as it is? Our priority is to keep Fouad Saniora as head of the democratically
elected government…and that he acts according to the powers granted to him and
the president," the source, according to As Safir daily on Monday, quoted Rice
as telling foreign ministers of the five permanent members of the U.N. Security
Council.
"Even the issue of the next parliamentary elections (2009) is not a priority for
us. We would welcome any formula that guarantees the extension of the current
parliament's mandate," Rice added, according to the source. The source told As
Safir that Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov asked Rice during her latest
visit to Moscow if her comments represented her country's official stance. "This
is my personal point of view and many in the White House, the State Department
and the Pentagon back it," Rice replied, according to the source. The deadlock
between the parliamentary majority and the Hizbullah-led opposition has left
Lebanon without a president since November. The bickering parties have supported
Army Chief Gen. Michel Suleiman as a consensus candidate but his election has
been held up by the opposition's demand to have veto power over future
government decisions, something the majority strongly rejects. According to As
Safir, the well-informed source, who visited Washington recently, has said that
there is a tendency to "neglect" the Lebanese political crisis and that the
situation in Lebanon will continue as it is until after the presidential
elections in the United States. Beirut, 14 Apr 08, 08:44
Israeli FM Meets Omani Counterpart in Qatar
Naharnet/Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni has held talks with
her Omani counterpart in the Qatari capital Doha in what Israel hailed Monday as
her first public meeting with an Omani official. Livni, who is paying a rare
visit to a Gulf Arab state, gave Yusef bin Alawi bin Abdullah "an update on the
negotiations with the Palestinians," an aide told AFP. The aide, who did not
want to be named, said "the second objective of the meeting was to discuss the
role of the Arab world in the peace process." Livni arrived in Doha Sunday to
attend a democracy forum, which she was due to address on Monday.
She was also due to meet Qatar's emir, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, and
the gas-rich state's prime minister, the aide said. Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh
Hamad bin Jassem bin Jabr al-Thani told AFP on Sunday that talks with Livni
would focus on ways of calming the situation in the Gaza Strip. "This, of
course, will be our main preoccupation and the main issue we will discuss with
Livni," he said. "But I don't want to put this in the context of a mediation,"
Sheikh Hamad said, when asked if Livni's presence meant that Qatar was trying to
mediate between Israel and the Islamist Hamas movement which controls Gaza. The
Israeli foreign ministry said in Jerusalem that Livni's meeting with Oman's top
diplomat, held at her hotel in Doha, was their first public encounter. In
September 2006, the Israeli newspaper Yediot Aharonot reported that she held a
secret meeting with bin Alawi on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in
New York. Oman became the first Gulf Arab country to open a trade office in Tel
Aviv, in 1996, but it recalled its representative five months later, making his
return conditional on real progress in Middle East peace talks.
It shut down the office in October 2000 following the outbreak of the second
Palestinian intifada. The Israeli foreign ministry statement said Livni would
also hold talks with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday as
well as hold a number of other bilateral meetings before addressing the forum in
the evening. Although Qatar has political contacts with Israel and hosts an
Israeli commercial interests office, Livni's visit is a rare occurrence in the
Arab world.(AFP)
Beirut, 14 Apr 08, 12:03
Report: Hizbullah to Launch Offensive in Occupied
Territories in Case Israel Wages War
Naharnet/A high-ranking Hizbullah official has said the party
would launch an offensive on Israel in the Palestinian territories occupied in
1948 in case the Jewish state wages a new war, Iranian News Agency, Fars,
reported. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, made the statement
in an interview with Syrian magazine "al-Hakika," the news agency said. "We
would not initiate war but in case they wage any war in the future …there will
be a counter attack behind the front lines…and for the first time since 1948 in
Palestine itself," the official reportedly said. The Hizbullah Shura Council
member also revealed in his remarks to the Syrian magazine that the body of
slain commander Imad Mughniyeh was moved to Lebanon before Syrian secret service
agents had the chance to examine it. Mughniyeh was assassinated in a Damascus
car bombing Feb. 12. Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah ordered
Mughniyeh's body to be transferred "immediately" to Lebanon minutes after the
bombing, Fars news agency quoted the official as saying. He added that Syrian
President Bashar Assad asked Nasrallah to keep the identity of the assassinated
official secret but the Hizbullah leader refused. The Shiite group accused
Israel of killing Mughniyeh and pledged to avenge his death. The Iranian news
agency also quoted the Hizbullah Shura Council member as saying the
investigation into Mughniyeh's killing "has ended but we will announce its
results in the right time." Beirut, 14 Apr 08, 09:59
Israel Fears Hizbullah Might Receive Iranian Arms Via
Beirut Port
Naharnet/Israel is concerned that Iran might start transporting
arms to Hizbullah through ships that anchor at the port of Beirut, the Israeli
Haaretz daily quoted government sources in Jerusalem as saying. The sources said
patrol by U.N. navy vessels off Lebanon's coast wasn't enough to enforce a
U.N.-brokered truce that ended the summer 2006 war between Israel and Hizbullah.
U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701 gives U.N. peacekeepers the mandate to
intercept arms shipments to Hizbullah. A government source told the daily that a
year ago Israel informed Germany, which at that time commanded UNIFIL's naval
force, that it suspected Iran would transfer weapons to Hizbullah by sea. The
source said that Germany vowed to increase its supervision. "The problem is that
UNIFIL's checks are not strict enough and are simply not serious," the source
told the newspaper. "We are afraid that many ships registered in the port as
carrying certain cargo are in fact carrying cargo of a totally different kind,"
the source added. Beirut, 14 Apr 08, 03:42
Saudi, Egyptian Foreign Ministers Discuss Lebanon
Naharnet/Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal discussed
with his Egyptian counterpart Ahmed Abul Gheit Lebanon's political impasse.
Faisal's talks in the Egyptian capital coincided with a visit by Speaker Nabih
Berri to Cairo, but the Saudi foreign minister and the head of the Lebanese
parliament did not meet. In a press statement following the meeting, Egyptian
Foreign Ministry spokesman Husam Zaki said the two Arab ministers discussed
regional issues of mutual interest. Zaki noted that Saudi Arabia and Egypt
continue to coordinate on various issues, including situations in Lebanon, the
Palestinian territories and Iraq.
Beirut, 14 Apr 08, 12:57
'We'll take fight to Israel's backyard'
By JPOST.COM STAFF
The victims of the next Lebanon war will lie in Israel's "backyard," a top
Hizbullah official threatened during an interview with a Syrian newspaper
Sunday.
Slideshow: Pictures of the week "Their confusion will be greater than we saw in
the previous war, because they will see that the holy warriors will confront
them not only in south Lebanon, as they have done previously, but in their
houses and their settlements," Al-Hakika quoted the unnamed official as saying.
The report, also published by the Iranian news agency Fars on Sunday, went on to
quote the official as saying that if war breaks out with Israel again, Hizbullah
fighters will not "be satisfied" with a war of defense. "The coming war, in the
event that it occurs, will be an offensive war from our side," he said.
"I don't mean that we will initiate the war," stressed the Hizbullah official,
"but any war that they launch in the future will turn into what regular armies
call "an offensive war," They will see the holy warriors behind their lines and
not just opposite them, and the territorial confrontations will be, for the
first time since 1948, inside Palestine itself."
An additional threat was made by the Hizbullah official in charge of southern
Lebanon, Sheikh Nabil Kaouk. "The Lebanon resistance succeeded in developing its
military powers in confrontation with Israel," he said. According to Kaouk,
Hizbullah's military will continue to strengthen despite infighting and various
crises in Lebanon.
Regarding last week's IDF drill, Kaouk said that "the Israeli exercise exposed
many holes and proved its unpreparedness for war on the military front, and the
unreadiness of the Israeli home front to deal with the results of the war."
He also emphasized that "the failure of the exercise is cause for celebration by
the resistance and the resisting nation."
The unnamed Hizbullah official also revealed that Lebanese parliamentarians had
transferred the body of slain Hizbullah terror chief Imad Mughniyeh from Syria
to Lebanon in accordance with the group's leader Hassan Nasrallah's
instructions.
He said that only when the body reached Beirut did Nasrallah inform Syrian
President Bashar Assad of the assassination.
The official paid tribute to Mugniyeh and recounted the events that followed his
death. "Mughniyeh was one of the first people to come from the center of Iranian
culture to the village of Sufa in Damascus. There, he was with a group of
Hizbullah-affiliated parliamentarians. After the blast, several members of the
group went out to the street to see what had happened. One of them knew
immediately that Mughniyeh had been killed in the blast. He phoned Nasrallah and
informed him. The Hizbullah chief then ordered him to immediately take the body
to Beirut without drawing the attention of Syrian Intelligence - and that is
exactly what happened."
The official continued, "They put Mughiyeh's body in the car of one of the
parliamentarians and he was immediately taken to Lebanon without any Syrian
official seeing them, perhaps except for the regular police."
He went on to say that when Nasrallah informed Assad of the assassination, the
Syrian president asked him to keep it quiet. "However," said the official, "Nasrallah
said 'we don't hide our martyrs, no matter what their roles or ranks are. We are
proud of them.'"
He claimed that one of the reasons for Assad's request was the embarrassment the
revelation was likely to cause Syria after it had succeeded in protecting the
terror chief, who had "led the war against Israel" but who, nonetheless, was
killed in "a simple way" in the Syrian capital.
Regarding the effects of the assassination on Hizbullah, the official said that
"it is true that Mughniyeh's death is considered one of the greatest losses of
the resistance …and the loss to the Hizbullah ranks and its supporters causes
great sadness. But Hizbullah is not just one man but an institution in the
fullest sense of the word."
He said that before his death, Mughniyeh was working with his associates on a
process of learning the lessons of the Second Lebanon War.
What's going on in Syria?
By OLIVIER GUITTA
(www.thecroissant.com)
April 14, 2008
Syria has been regularly popping up in the news. In fact, recent
events point to the importance of that country for the future of the Middle
East. Syria's political situation may indeed have an important impact on a few
countries: first of course Lebanon, second Iraq, third Israel, and finally Iran.
First, one should not underestimate Syria's potential for creating havoc on a
whim by using some of the militant groups it actively supports: such as
Hezbollah and Fatah al-Islam in Lebanon, or Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad
in the Palestinian territories.
But also one should not forget Syria's active role in facilitating the transit
of foreign fighters joining insurgent groups in Iraq to attack coalition troops
or the Iraqi army. Interestingly back in October 2007, the U.S. command in Iraq
announced having seized important documents that included a list of around 500
fighters that entered Iraq through Syria.
Last week, the usually well-informed Saudi daily Al-Watan revealed that those
documents showed the undeniable role of Syria in terrorism in Iraq. They also
allegedly proved how the terror group Fatah al-Islam – that became notorious
when it attacked the Lebanese army and fought from the Nahr al-Bared camp in
May-June 2007 – is strictly a product of Syrian services and not an al-Qaida
affiliate, as Damascus pretended.
In fact, Syrian authorities were seizing the passports of al-Qaida fighters
(coming mostly from Saudi Arabia) who were traveling to Iraq to join the
insurgency. They gave these passports to Palestinian and Syrian combatants who
were going to Lebanon to fight the Lebanese army.
The goal behind this tactic was to be able to blame the Saudi services and in
particular Saudi Prince Bandar Bin Sultan (the ex-Saudi ambassador in Washington
and the current national security director) of helping foster Sunni terrorism
inside Lebanon. DNA tests, performed on some Fatah al-Islam combatants killed in
Nahr al-Bared and holders of Saudi passports, proved that they were not actually
Saudis.
Interestingly, last week, the Iranian Fars news agency reported that the results
of the investigation on Imad Mugnieh's killing in Damascus led to both Riyadh
and Jerusalem. This seems clearly like an attempt to blame two of Tehran's
enemies, Saudi Arabia and Israel.
Indeed, in light of available information, Syrian security services were
possibly one way or another involved in Mugnieh's death. And here is where the
situation becomes even more complicated and could lead to a shakeup at the top
of the regime.
Last week, media reports abounded about the demise of Syria's strongman, the
powerful head of the security services and Bashar Assad's brother-in-law, Assef
Shawkat. For instance, the Algerian daily Ech Chorouk reported that Assad had
his brother-in-law arrested for allegedly planning a coup against him.
Still, according to Ech Chorouk, Shawkat allegedly contacted the CIA for help
and was then denounced by none other than Mugnieh. If this theory holds any
water then it could possibly explain the potential role of Shawkat in Mugnieh's
murder.
Obviously in a country controlled by such a secretive regime, reliable
information is tough to obtain. But the Lebanese weekly Al-Shiraa confirms that
Shawkat is under house arrest and that two military intelligence officers were
allegedly executed last week for their role in Mugnieh's assassination. Also
Al-Shiraa affirms that apartments of several high-ranked officers close to
Shawkat were searched and that the car of a lieutenant colonel was shot at.
Also, Shawkat's wife, Bushra Assad, is reportedly in Paris with her children.
But French authorities have denied that she asked for political asylum in
France.
These revelations point out the shakiness of Assad's regime and the maneuvers
behind the scenes.
It seems important to note that Israel and the United States have diverging
views when it comes to Assad. In fact, the numerous public reports of "secret"
and not so secret negotiations between Jerusalem and Damascus over peace prove
that Israel is at the moment satisfied with dealing with Assad.
Indeed, Assad is viewed as a weak leader who, for example, did not retaliate
after Israel bombed Syria's nuclear facility back in September 2007. At the same
time, Israelis have privately complained that the United States is not
"allowing" them to go through with the negotiations with Assad.
If the rumors of possible CIA involvement in the Shawkat coup turn out to be
true, then this seems like an ill-advised strategy to say the least.
Indeed, replacing Bashar Assad with Shawkat or Rifaat Assad (Bashar's uncle) or
Abdel Halim Khaddam (the ex-vice president who was kicked out of power and Syria
in 2005) - basically three individuals belonging to the old guard - is not going
to be beneficial for the region.
What remains sure is that Syria is the key to a lot of thorny issues in the
Middle East and therefore should be handled the right way. In light of the
complexity of the situation, this is not a cakewalk, but neither the Israeli nor
the U.S. approaches seem like good ones at the moment.
***Olivier Guitta, an adjunct fellow at the Foundation for the Defense of
Democracies and a foreign affairs and counterterrorism consultant, is the
founder of the newsletter The Croissant (www.thecroissant.com).