LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN

LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
August 07/08

Bible Reading of the day.
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 17,1-9. After six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And he was transfigured before them; his face shone like the sun and his clothes became white as light.
And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, conversing with him. Then Peter said to Jesus in reply, "Lord, it is good that we are here. If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah."While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud cast a shadow over them, then from the cloud came a voice that said, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him."
When the disciples heard this, they fell prostrate and were very much afraid. But Jesus came and touched them, saying, "Rise, and do not be afraid." And when the disciples raised their eyes, they saw no one else but Jesus alone. As they were coming down from the mountain, Jesus charged them, "Do not tell the vision to anyone until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead."

Saint John Damascene (c.675-749), monk, theologian, Doctor of the Church
Homily on the Transfiguration of the Lord, 16-18; PG 96, 572"And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, conversing with him"«A bright cloud cast a shadow over them» and the disciples were seized with fear when they saw Jesus, the Savior, together with Moses and Elijah in the cloud. It is true that, when Moses saw God in former times, he entered into the divine cloud (Ex 24,18), thus making it clear that the Law was no more than a shadow. Listen to what Saint Paul says: «The Law has only a shadow of the good things to come, and not the very image of them,» (Heb 10,1). In those days Israel «could not look intently at the face of Moses because of the glory that was going to fade» (2Cor 3,7). «But all of us, gazing with unveiled face on the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, as from the Lord who is the Spirit» (v.18). And so the cloud that overshadowed the disciples was a cloud, not of darkness, but of light. Indeed, «the mystery hidden from ages and from generations past has been manifested» (Col 1,26) and endless, everlasting glory has been revealed. That is why Moses and Elijah, standing at our Savior's side, personified the Law and the Prophets. The one whom the Law and the Prophets foretold is, in truth, Jesus, the giver of life. Moses also stands for the assembly of the saints who fell asleep in former times (Dt 34,5) and Elijah, the living (2Kgs 2,11), since the transfigured Jesus is Lord both of the living and the dead. And Moses has at last entered the Promised Land since Jesus is the one who takes us there. Whereas, formerly, Moses had only seen the promised inheritance from afar (Dt 34,4), today he sees it clearly.

Free Opinions, Releases, letters & Special Reports
ANALYSIS / In anti-aircraft crisis, Hezbollah aims higher- Haaretz 6\06/08/08
Syrian politics get murky. By:Samuel Segev.Winnipeg Free Press 06/06/08

Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources for August 06/08-Naharnet
Hizbullah Deployed Advanced Anti-aircraft Rocket Systems, Israel on Alert: Report-Naharnet
Gen. David Petraeus Meets Lebanese Officials -Naharnet
Berri Urges MPs Not to Delay Vote of Confidence -Naharnet
Arab Israeli Indicted as Alleged Hizbullah Spy -Naharnet
Reports: Gunmen Attack Bshamoun Café-Naharnet
Israel Frees Palestinians as Part of Hizbullah Deal-Naharnet
UNIFIL Pledges to Turn Over to Army Any Foreigners it Captures-Naharnet
Lebanon-Syria Summit Next Week-Naharnet
Hand Grenade Shakes Bab al-Tabbaneh-Naharnet
Government's First Mission: Pay Raises-Naharnet
Gebran Tueni at Hall of Fame-Naharnet
Islamist Suspects Stage Hunger Strike in Roumieh Jail-Naharnet
Fires Eat Up Wild Woods Overlooking Beirut-Naharnet
Petraeus visits Lebanon-International Herald Tribune
Israel frees 5 Palestinian prisoners in final stage of swap deal ...Xinhua
Security cabinet to discuss 'new reality' created in Lebanon-Jerusalem Post
Lebanese gov't: Hizbullah can use force to 'liberate' territory-Jerusalem Post
IAF: Hezbollah threat may affect Israeli flights over Lebanon-Ha'aretz
Only the June 4, 1967 lines-Ha'aretz -Naharnet
Olmert to be Grilled Again in Graft Probes -Naharnet
Assad Arrives in Turkey for Talks and Holiday-Naharnet
Iran Fails Again to Give Final Nuclear Reply-Naharnet
Iran Hangs Sunni Men for Declaring War on God-Naharnet
Olmert, Abbas to Meet Wednesday in Jerusalem-Naharnet
Lebanon-Syria Summit Next Week-Naharnet
Berri Calls for Discussing Policy Statement on Friday-Naharnet
Iran defies world demands for response to nuclear package-AFP
Berri summons Parliament to vote on policy statement-Daily Star
Italy to finance new development projects-Daily Star
'Iran not offering military assistance to Hizbullah-Daily Star
Parent says France not mediating over Shebaa-Daily Star
Detained Fatah al-Islam suspects start hunger strike-AFP
Meeting of security chiefs looks at Lebanon hot spots-Daily Star
Ministerial statement resolves little, underlines opposition gains - analysts-Daily Star
Bahia Hariri says new Cabinet statement prioritizes education-Daily Star
Muslim clerics welcome 'ministerial solidarity-Daily Star
UNIFIL strongly denies report that it made deal to protect Israeli pilots-Daily Star
FPM calls for allowing expatriates to vote-Daily Star
Firefighters bring Lebanon forest blazes under control -Daily Star
A warning to Syria, Iran-Ynetnews
Lebanon-Syria summit set for Aug 13-AFP
Ministerial statement resolves little, underlines opposition gains ...Daily Star
FPM calls for allowing expatriates to vote-Daily Star
IDF trains for simultaneous Hezbollah, Iran, Syria missile strikes-Ha'aretz
World Vision campaign aims to combat child abuse in Lebanon-Daily Star
Meeting of security chiefs looks at Lebanon hot spots-Daily Star

Cedars Revolution to respond to the Lebanon's Ministerial Declaration
Written by CRNews
Tuesday, 05 August 2008
The World Council of the Cedars Revolution
www.cedarsrevolution.net cedarsrevolution@gmail.com
Cedars Revolution to respond to the Lebanon's Ministerial Declaration
CRNews, (Washington DC. Aug 4th, 2008): The Secretariat General of the World Council of the Cedars Revolution (WCCR) Tom Harb said a response to the Lebanese Ministerial Declaration will be issued soon. It said the paragraphs about Hezbollah's militia and weapons will determine the relationship between the Cedars Revolution and the Doha-generated Government and Presidency in Lebanon. The WCCR said if the declaration will recognize the Terror weapons as legal, there would be grave consequences internationally and for the relationship between the Cedars Revolution worldwide and the various political forces inside Lebanon including the Sleiman Presidency, the Seniora Government and the March 14 Movement (those who accept such a declaration). The WCCR said the group is expecting the declaration to legalize the pro-Iranian armed militia and is preparing for the next stage in the struggle to liberate Lebanon from the new Iranian-Syrian domination. Will Hezbollah be recognized as legally as the Lebanese Army? If that happens, there will be consequences said the WCCR.Last Updated ( Tuesday, 05 August 2008 )

Fires Eat Up Wild Woods Overlooking Beirut
A huge fire broke out in forests surrounding four villages southeast of Beirut Tuesday eating up thousands of wild trees.
Civil defense Directorate manager Darwish Hobeika indicated the fires are premeditated, saying they broke out before dawn, which is not normal in summer fires that erupt due to heat. Civil defense teams, Lebanese Army helicopters and Cypriot choppers took part in trying to combat the blaze as tongues of flame shot up in the sky and smoke billowed from the slopes overlooking Beirut. The civil defense Directorate said the blaze could threaten the villages of Basatine, Qabr Shmoun, Sarhamoul and Ainab, southeast of the capital. Wild wood fires are common in Lebanon during the summer season.Beirut, 05 Aug 08, 15:02

Reports: Gunmen Attack Bshamoun Café
Naharnet/Media reports said Wednesday that masked gunmen broke into a coffee shop in the mountainous town of Bshamoun, southeast of Beirut, and then opened fire on the home of a Mustaqbal supporter there. The reports said the gunmen arrived in the town in a minivan Tuesday night, burst into the café and broke everything that was in it. They later shot at the house of a supporter of MP Saad Hariri's Mustaqbal movement from al-Mneimneh family.
The reports said citizens were "terrorized" by the sound of machine gunfire.Before the incident, pamphlets had been distributed, instigating people against Mustaqbal movement. Beirut, 06 Aug 08, 10:35

Reports: Gunmen Attack Bshamoun Café
Naharnet/Media reports said Wednesday that masked gunmen broke into a coffee shop in the mountainous town of Bshamoun, southeast of Beirut, and then opened fire on the home of a Mustaqbal supporter there. The reports said the gunmen arrived in the town in a minivan Tuesday night, burst into the café and broke everything that was in it. They later shot at the house of a supporter of MP Saad Hariri's Mustaqbal movement from al-Mneimneh family.
The reports said citizens were "terrorized" by the sound of machine gunfire. Before the incident, pamphlets had been distributed, instigating people against Mustaqbal movement. Beirut, 06 Aug 08, 10:35

UNIFIL Pledges to Turn Over to Army Any Foreigners it Captures
Naharnet/The Command of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) dismissed media reports about plans and decisions that have been made in response to Israeli army requests.UNIFIL Commander Claudio Graziano has distributed among his troops a contingency plan in case an Israeli Air Force aircraft is shot down over Lebanon, the Lebanese daily al-Akhbar reported Tuesday. The report came amid fears that Israeli aircraft would be targeted in southern Lebanon.
Al-Akhbar claimed that Graziano issued a directive on July 31 stating that "in case an Israeli warplane was shot down in UNIFIL's area of influence, the pilot should be rescued as soon as possible and taken to the closest UNIFIL post before any side manages to reach him.
"In case the pilot fell into the hands of gunmen, he also must be rescued. Only in the case that the pilot falls into the hands of Lebanese army troops there should be no intervention."UNIFIL emphasized, in a statement issued on Tuesday, its commitment to U.N. Security Council resolution 1701, and pledged to turn over any foreign soldier who enters Lebanon to the Lebanese army. Resolution 1701 effectively ended a 34-day war between Israel and Hizbullah in 2006 by setting out guidelines for both sides, and the U.N. force, to observe. Beirut, 06 Aug 08, 10:41

Lebanon-Syria Summit Next Week
Naharnet/President Michel Suleiman will make his first visit to Damascus next week for talks with his Syrian counterpart Bashar al-Assad.
The two neighbors would discuss establishing diplomatic ties, an official said on Tuesday. "The summit will be held on August 13," an official from Baabda Palace told AFP. Relations have been tense since Syria pulled out its troops from Lebanon in 2005 in the aftermath of the assassination of Lebanese former premier Rafik Hariri, ending a three-decade military presence. Syria was widely blamed for the massive Beirut car bomb blast that killed Hariri but denies any involvement and the issue remains a key bone of contention between the two countries. It will be Suleiman's first official visit to Syria and the first meeting with Assad since the two leaders announced in Paris last month that they planned to establish ties. The two neighbors have never had official diplomatic relations since their independence from France more than 60 years ago and the move is widely seen as a necessary step for Syrian recognition of Lebanese sovereignty. Lebanon's new national unity cabinet, in which the opposition holds veto power, adopted a policy statement on Monday calling for "brotherly relations with Syria on the basis of mutual respect of sovereignty and the independence of both countries." It also called for the demarcation of borders.(AFP-Naharnet) Beirut, 05 Aug 08, 17:03

Government's First Mission: Pay Raises
The government's first mission after getting parliament's vote of confidence will be to issue a decree on pay raises in the private sector, An Nahar daily reported on Wednesday. It also said that Premier Fouad Saniora's cabinet will submit a draft law to parliament to adopt raises in wages of all public sector employees and pensioners. The move aims at backing the employees and retirees amid a sharp increase in prices of commodities and services.Speaker Nabih Berri has invited parliament to convene on Friday to discuss the cabinet policy statement and give the government a vote of confidence. Beirut, 06 Aug 08, 07:43

Gebran Tueni at Hall of Fame
Naharnet/Slain MP and An Nahar General Manager Gebran Tueni's statue will join local and world personalities in Jeita's Hall of Fame museum next week.
The statue was made in the United States and has arrived at Beirut port, An Nahar daily reported Wednesday.
It said Tueni's statue, which will be unveiled on August 12, moves and recites his famous oath – a pledge by the nation's Muslims and Christians to remain united in defense of Lebanon. The museum hosts popular local personalities such as ex-Premier Rafik Hariri, Speaker Nabih Berri and Druze leader Walid Jumblat. Also, statues of world leaders such as U.S. President George Bush and former French President Jacques Chirac decorate the Hall of Fame.
Beirut, 06 Aug 08, 07:20

Islamist Suspects Stage Hunger Strike in Roumieh Jail
Naharnet/Several hundred suspected members of an Islamist group involved in a deadly 15-week standoff with the Lebanese army last year have launched a prison hunger strike, a security official said on Tuesday. "Detainees in Roumieh prison went on hunger strike on Monday to protest at the delay in their trials," the official said on condition of anonymity. About 300 people have been detained by Lebanese authorities for their alleged links with Fatah al-Islam, an Al-Qaida-inspired group that fought against the Lebanese army last year in a Palestinian refugee camp near the northern port city of Tripoli.
The trials are expected to begin in coming months. The army took control of the impoverished Nahr al-Bared camp in September after the fierce fighting with the Islamist militants that left over 400 people dead, including 168 Lebanese soldiers. Those being held on terrorism-related charges include nationals from Saudi Arabia, Syria, Lebanon and Palestinians. Many face a maximum sentence of death if convicted. Roumieh prison, outside Beirut, is Lebanon's largest and was the scene of a mutiny in April which saw prisoners protesting at their conditions take seven guards hostage.(AFP) Beirut, 05 Aug 08, 16:41

Hizbullah Deployed Advanced Anti-aircraft Rocket Systems, Israel on Alert: Report
Naharnet/Hizbullah has been able to establish a military presence north and south of the Litani River and is already prepared to a large extent to fire rockets and missiles on Israel, an Israeli newspaper has reported. Yediot Ahronot daily said Tuesday that security and intelligence chiefs are expected to present a discouraging assessment of the situation during the cabinet meeting Wednesday. The report added that Hizbullah's new military plan can effectively hinder the Israeli ground forces who would enter Lebanon to curb the missile fire. Hizbullah's rockets and missiles, estimated at 40,000, are found on both sides of the Litani, Yediot Ahronot revealed. Yet, the heavy arsenal, the newspaper added, is made up of several hundred rockets with warheads weighing hundreds of kilograms and featuring a range of up to 250 kilometers (roughly 160 miles). The arsenal is found underground north of the Litani and is well fortified in land bought by Hizbullah, the newspaper said. In south Lebanon, the group established a fortified underground system that would be used to fight the IDF armored corps and infantry troops that advance towards the rocket arsenal north of the Litani. Meanwhile, the logistics and training center of Hizbullah, which has been boosted with thousands of new fighters, is in the Bekaa Valley region. However, the most worrisome development to Israelis has to do with a new component that Hizbullah is attempting to set up with Syrian assistance. The newspaper mentioned an anti-aircraft system that is aimed at limiting Israel's ability to gather intelligence above Lebanon, and later make it more difficult for the Israeli Air Force to strike in Lebanon and Syria. The Israeli daily warned that if Iran, Syria, and Hizbullah were able to establish a massive anti-aircraft system in Lebanon, this will fundamentally change the strategic balance of power.
This system, the newspaper pointed out, is supposed to provide aerial defense to the entire Syrian-Iranian rocket and missile arsenal in Lebanon and western Syria.
Yediot Ahronot said the message to Syria, which is also being conveyed via Wednesday's cabinet meeting and through other means, some of them clandestine, is as follows: Israel would not accept the establishment of an advanced anti-aircraft system in Lebanon; should it be set up, Israel will not hesitate to act against it.
Israel is also warning Lebanon against granting Hizbullah the freedom to act, in light of the latest government decision in Beirut that in fact defines Hizbullah as part of the national army. And the third issue: A warning to Hizbullah to refrain from carrying out acts of revenge for the killing of its top commander Imad Mughniyeh in a Damascus car bombing last February; Such acts would meet a "disproportional response."The Israeli government is attempting to convey all these messages at this time to Lebanon, Syria, Iran, and the international community, the daily said.Israeli officials hope that exposing the Syria-Hizbullah intentions will deter Damascus and Tehran and stop them from implementing their plans in Lebanon. Beirut, 06 Aug 08, 09:36

Gen. David Petraeus Meets Lebanese Officials
Naharnet/Visiting U.S. top military commander in Iraq Gen. David Petraeus met with President Michel Suleiman at Baabda Palace Tuesday, media reports said.
The National News Agency said Petraeus arrived in an unannounced visit aboard a U.S. military plane with an American military delegation.
NNA said the general is expected to hold meetings with Lebanese defense officials. Petraeus is due to leave his post in Baghdad in September to assume his new job as head of the U.S. Central Command, responsible for U.S. military operations in the region and U.S. troops in the Middle East and Central Asia.
The four-star general is among several senior U.S. defense officials who have visited Lebanon recently to discuss military cooperation between the two countries.(AP-Naharnet) Beirut, 06 Aug 08, 11:30

Berri Urges MPs Not to Delay Vote of Confidence
Naharnet/Speaker Nabih Berri has called upon parliament not to drag out the ministerial statement discussions, which are scheduled to begin at 6:00 p.m. on Friday and continue at least until Sunday. Media reports said Wednesday that until now, more than 25 deputies have signed up to participate in the discussions.
In response to a question from An Nahar as to whether he expected the discussions to be as hot as those that accompanied the formulation of the statement, Speaker Nabih Berri responded that "in any event, the discussions must take place only under the dome of Parliament, and whatever their level may be, they must not move outside" the legislature. The Speaker is trying to accelerate the process of giving a vote of confidence to the cabinet so that, in his words, "the government can work and devote itself to the required tasks that are awaiting it, so that it can deal with the conditions of the citizens on different levels."
Berri called upon Parliament not to delay the process of adopting the ministerial statement, so that "we attain what we should have attained around one year ago, that is on August 31, 2007…when I called for the election of a consensus president and the formation of a government of national unity."
"What is required from us today is to speed up our steps to make up for some of what was missed," he added. The main focus of the debate about the ministerial statement will be paragraph 24, which pertains to "the right of Lebanon, with its people, its army, and its resistance, to liberate or recover Shebaa Farms, Kfarshouba Hills, and the Lebanese part of the village of Ghajar."A prominent source in the March 14 movement told An Nahar that "the majority will evaluate positively the discussions of the ministerial statement (in parliament), and it will give a vote of confidence to the government on the basis of this evaluation."
The source added that March 14 MPs will stress during the discussions "the complete authority of the state, and in particular with regard to the question of the resistance." Beirut, 06 Aug 08, 10:31

Syrian politics get murky
Samuel Segev
Updated: August 6 at 12:50 AM CDT
TEL AVIV -- If I were Syrian President Bashar Assad, I would be very disturbed by the assassination last Friday night of Gen. Mohammad Suleiman, Syria's liaison officer to Lebanon's Hezbollah. Coming almost six months after the assassination in Damascus of Imad Mughniyeh, Hezbollah's top military commander, the new assassination proves that the entire Syrian security apparatus has been dangerously "penetrated" by hostile elements. Earlier, the destruction of a military installation in northeast Syria, suspected of being a nuclear reactor built with North Korean assistance, could not have been destroyed without real-time intelligence.
The assassination of Gen. Suleiman was first reported Saturday by the website of former Syrian vice-president Abdul Halim Khaddam, who lives now in exile in Paris. According to the report, Suleiman was assassinated by a sniper, who was aboard a yacht anchored in front of a beachfront Mediterranean resort in the northern city port of Tartus.
Within minutes, the yacht and the killer disappeared without leaving any trace. Acting independently of Gen. Assef Shawkat, Assad's brother-in-law and director of the Syrian intelligence and security community, Suleiman was subordinate directly to the Syrian president. Shawkat did not like this arrangement. He saw in it an expression of mistrust. Shawkat has been personally implicated in the assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafiq Hariri. If Shawkat was formally brought before the International Tribunal in The Hague, Suleiman was rumoured to be in line to replace him.
The investigation of Suleiman's assassination is being conducted in utmost secrecy. In addition to the personal rivalry between him and Assef Shawkat, investigators are looking for a possible link to the assassination of the Hezbollah's Imad Mughniyeh in Damascus last February. Both were responsible for the smuggling of Iranian and Syrian arms to Lebanon's Hezbollah.
The port of Tartus is one of the venues for such transfers. Three weeks ago, a large cargo of Iranian arms, including missiles, was blown up in Iran and 15 Hezbollah operatives were killed. That incident, which is still being investigated by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, has also increased the suspicion that Gen. Suleiman's organization has been penetrated by unknown hostile elements. The assassination of Suleiman came at a time when Syria had many reasons to be pleased with itself. After months of political paralysis in Beirut, a new government was finally formed in Lebanon and its political program was to be brought to the Lebanese parliament for approval. The composition of the government and its program is seen as a clear victory for Syria and Hezbollah. A clearly pro-Western prime minister, Fuad Siniora, was forced to yield to Hezbollah and its pro-Syrian allies. Contrary to his earlier determination, Siniora not only gave the opposition a veto power over government decisions, but also recognized the "resistance" as a legitimate force that would not be disarmed. This is contrary to UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which clearly calls for disarming Hezbollah. This was the only Israeli achievement in the Second Lebanon War. According to Israeli defence officials, Iran, Syria and Hezbollah are taking advantage of the political vacuum in Israel, following Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's announcement that he will resign his premiership after the primaries in his Kadima party in mid-September. All four candidates to replace Olmert, including popular Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and former chief of general staff and transportation minister Shaul Mofaz, have called for a national unity government to meet the challenges facing Israel. It is felt that only such a broad-based government could win the public trust and overcome the many blunders created by the worst and most corrupt prime minister that Israel has ever had in its 60 years of existence.
*Samuel Segev is the Winnipeg Free Press Middle East correspondent. He is based in Tel Aviv.

Arab Israeli Indicted as Alleged Hizbullah Spy
Naharnet/A court near Tel Aviv on Wednesday indicted an Arab Israeli man on charges of spying for Hizbullah. The indictment alleges that Khaled Kashkush, 29, had made contact with the Shiite group while he was studying medicine in Germany. He was arrested on July 16 at Ben Gurion International airport upon his return from Germany. In twice-monthly meetings, he would give Hizbullah information about Arab Israeli students abroad who might be recruited by the group, the charge sheet said. He allegedly received funds from Hizbullah, which asked him to infiltrate the management of two hospitals in Israel.(AFP) Beirut, 06 Aug 08, 12:17

Muslim clerics welcome 'ministerial solidarity'
Daily Star staff
Wednesday, August 06, 2008
BEIRUT: Senior Shiite cleric Sayyed Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah voiced hope on Tuesday that the latest Lebanese agreement would contribute to new accords on the level of intra-Arab relationships. "There is not any cause that requires all that separation between Arab states," Fadlallah said in a statement.
Lebanon's Cabinet on Monday unanimously approved its draft policy statement and referred it to Parliament.
According to Fadlallah, the "Lebanese example" might have positive effects on Arab political circles.
"Lebanon, which is nourished by the region's problems, may contribute to easing those problems if it can reach an internal accord founded on strong political bases," he said. "But what is attacking the Arab world," he added, "are those political lines that are related to international coalitions and that do their best to prevent this Arab state from reaching agreement with that state, exactly as they have worked to prevent the Lebanese from cooperating on the level of common political titles."
Meanwhile, the vice president of the Higher Shiite Council, Sheikh Abdel-Amir Qabalan, urged the Lebanese people on Tuesday to preserve their country by fortifying their national unity, which he said, "constitutes the salvation of the Lebanese."
"Lebanon could overcome the political crisis it went through and the government should now serve the Lebanese people and put the social and living affairs on top of its interests," Qabalan said. Also on Tuesday, Grand Mufti Sheikh Mohammad Rashid Qabbani said the unanimous approval of the ministerial statement "constitutes a consecration of the authority of the state and its institutions to impose their power over the entire Lebanese territory."
"Ministerial solidarity is essential for the government to overcome future challenges, primarily the handling of social, living and economic conditions and the reduction of taxes," he said. Qabbani also called on the government to launch development projects to promote the growth of Lebanon. "The Lebanese are also called to promote the role of the state in spreading its authority and to deal with it with responsibility and high ethics in order for it to provide the country and its people with security, peace and tranquility," he added. Separately, Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Butros Sfeir received on Tuesday a telegram from Pope Benedict XVI on the occasion of Transfiguration Day celebrated on August 6. "May God enlighten your way to serve your people," the pope said. - The Daily Star

Security cabinet to discuss 'new reality' created in Lebanon
By HERB KEINON
Jerusalem Post
The security cabinet is expected to discuss on Wednesday the ramifications of a Lebanese cabinet policy statement giving Hizbullah the right of "resistance" to "liberate Lebanese territories." Slideshow: Pictures of the week "This creates a new reality," one Israeli diplomatic official said of the statement, which was approved Monday. "With the smuggling of arms into Lebanon from Syria, Iran's involvement, and the fact that Hizbullah is now a part of the Lebanese government, there is a need to discuss the situation and formulate policy." Defense Minister Ehud Barak has said in recent weeks that UN Security Resolution 1701, which put an end to the Second Lebanon War, was a failure because it did not stop the arms transfers from Syria to Hizbullah.
Wednesday's meeting is a continuation of a security cabinet meeting held in early July, where the ministers were briefed by security and intelligence officials on the situation in Lebanon. The ministers were told at the time that there were some 2,500 non-uniformed Hizbullah men in southern Lebanon, and that the organization had trebled its pre-war military arsenal and now had some 40,000 short and medium-range missiles inside Lebanon.
However, Wednesday's security cabinet meeting is expected to discuss not only the arms, but also the changing situation vis-á-vis Lebanon as a result of the approval of the policy statement, which says it is "the right of Lebanon's people, the army and the resistance to liberate all its territories."
The approval of this statement came after Lebanese political factions reached a compromise on Friday by releasing a vaguely worded draft statement implying Hizbullah could keep its weapons. Diplomatic officials in Israel said these Lebanese government decisions would mean that the Lebanese government could be held accountable if Hizbullah carried out provocations against Israel. Lebanese Information Minister Tarek Mitri said some ministers in the majority had had reservations on the paragraph indicating Hizbullah could keep its weapons, but in the end, all ministers had voted in favor of the statement. According to Mitri, some anti-Syrian ministers had wanted to add "under the state's supervision" to the statement, but were not successful.
The parliament will now discuss the policy statement before giving Prime Minister Fuad Saniora's 30-member national unity government an expected vote of confidence. The parliament meeting is expected later this week. AP contributed to this report.

Hizbullah operatives caught in Baghdad
By YAAKOV KATZ
Jerusalem Post
In a display of Hizbullah's extended involvement in conflicts throughout the Middle East, Coalition Special Forces captured two members of the group during a raid over the weekend in eastern Baghdad. Slideshow: Pictures of the week According to the Multinational Force Iraq, the raid targeted the home of an individual suspected of serving as a member of a Hizbullah cell - called "Kata'ib Hizbullah" or "Hizbullah Brigades" - suspected of making videos of attacks on coalition forces.
The videos are then used to raise funds and resources for additional attacks against coalition and Iraqi forces.
According to media reports, the Hizbullah Brigades have been active for over a year in Iraq and like Hizbullah in Lebanon, the group is trained and financed by Iran, likely via the Hizbullah's Al Kuds force, which was commanded by its chief operations officer Imad Mughniyeh who was assassinated in Damascus in February.
"The Hizbullah Brigades receive support from the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Command for financing, weapons, training and guidance," the Multi-National Force in Iraq said in a statement in response to a Jerusalem Post inquiry. "They have claimed responsibility for attacks against coalition forces and Iraqi Security Forces as early as late 2005." On videos that it has posted on the Internet, the Hizbullah Brigades group uses a logo very similar to the Lebanese Hizbullah flag, showing a raised arm holding a Kalashnikov assault rifle, although coalition forces said they were not sure of the nature of the relationship with the Lebanese Hizbullah.
This is not the first time that Hizbullah operatives have been captured in Iraq. In July 2007, coalition forces apprehended Ali Mussa Daqduq, a senior Hizbullah leader and explosives expert, in Basra where he was reportedly training forces and even participated in several deadly attacks against US troops. Daqduq, a veteran of the Al-Kuds Force, was reportedly in Iraq to train and evaluate the performance of anti-US Shi'ite militias.
Also Friday, Sheikh Nabil Kaouk, Hizbullah military commander in Southern Lebanon, told the Daily Telegraph that the group was stronger today than before the Second Lebanon War and was prepared for conflict with Israel.
"The resistance is now stronger than before and this keeps the option of war awake," he told the paper. "If we were weak, Israel would not hesitate to start another war... We are stronger than before and when Hizbullah is strong, our strength stops Israel from starting a new war... We don't seek war, but we must be ready."
Israel has claimed that since the war Hizbullah has tripled its missile arsenal and today has more than 30,000 rockets, some of which are capable of reaching almost anywhere within Israel and as far south as Dimona.
Last week, Defense Minister Ehud Barak met with United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon and warned him that Security Council Resolution 1701 had collapsed and that UNIFIL was not effective in curbing Hizbullah's military build-up. "To our disappointment we are witnessing that over the past two years the number of missiles in Hizbullah's hands has doubled and maybe even tripled," Barak told Ban. "The ranges of the missiles have been extended and this is mainly due to close Syrian assistance."

IAF: Hezbollah missile threat may affect Israeli flights over Lebanon
By Amos Harel and Barak Ravid
If Hezbollah installs advanced anti-aircraft batteries in Lebanon, the Israel Air Force will have to alter its overflights of Lebanon significantly, a senior IAF officer told Haaretz Tuesday.
However, he added that the IAF has successfully coped with similar threats elsewhere, and could do so in Lebanon as well.
Senior government and army officials have recently held feverish discussions on this scenario. Some of those involved have termed the installation of anti-aircraft batteries a "red line" to which Israel would have to respond with a "violent signal."
There have been conflicting reports in the Arabic media as to whether Hezbollah has already smuggled in such missiles, or is merely seeking to do so. Senior General Staff officers opined recently that while Hezbollah clearly wants such missiles eventually, they doubt it is interested in heating up its conflict with Israel just now. Meanwhile, the diplomatic-security cabinet will meet Wednesday to discuss the situation in Lebanon, and especially Hezbollah's rampant arms-smuggling via Syria. The Foreign Ministry plans to recommend that Israel seek to increase international pressure on Syria to halt this smuggling.
Israel views this matter as urgent, especially in light of the reports that Hezbollah is trying to smuggle in sophisticated anti-aircraft batteries. This will be the cabinet's second discussion on the matter in recent weeks. In addition to upping the pressure on Syria, Israel would also like the international community to increase pressure on Russia, since some of the sophisticated weaponry Hezbollah is procuring is Russian-made. Another key focus of today's discussion will be the new government guidelines the Lebanese cabinet adopted last week, which formally authorize Hezbollah to attack Israel whenever it pleases.

ANALYSIS / This time around, Hezbollah aims higher
By Amos Harel
Haaretz
Just as they were during the first three years after Israel quit Lebanon in May 2000, Israeli overflights of its northern neighbor now threaten to become the main point of Israel-Hezbollah friction. During the last round, however, Hezbollah had no weapons capable of truly threatening Israel's planes. This time, aided by Iran and Syria, it seems to be aiming much higher. Israel deems the overflights essential for intelligence purposes. While it halted them when it first left Lebanon, it resumed them five months later, after Hezbollah kidnapped three Israeli soldiers, and never stopped them again. It was these flights, for instance, that enabled Israel to learn the positions of the long-range missiles that it destroyed on the first day of the Second Lebanon War in 2006. They presumably also provide clues to developments in Syria.
For Hezbollah, the flights were a threat, but also an opportunity: They provided a pretext for continuing its "resistance to the Israeli occupation." It continued its anti-aircraft fire until summer 2003, when one such barrage killed a child in Shlomi, and Israel's fierce retaliatory bombardment caused the organization to desist.
Now, however, it seems keen to reopen this front, even at the cost of provoking a harsh Israeli response.
The aerial front was Hezbollah's principal weak spot during the Second Lebanon War. Israel's air force did as it pleased in Lebanon's skies, from destroying the Fajr missiles to dropping special forces in Hezbollah's stronghold of Bekaa. Now, according to both Military Intelligence assessments and recent reports in the Arabic media, Hezbollah is seeking to close this gap. Should Hezbollah install advanced anti-aircraft batteries, accompanied by modern radar, this would cause significant problems for Israeli overflights. And that in turn would score domestic points for the organization, justifying its refusal to disarm. Smuggling in such batteries should not be difficult, given the massive quantities of rockets and antitank missiles it has already succeeded in bringing in from Syria.
Which missiles in particular Israel is worried about has not been publicized. But in 2005, when Russia was reportedly about to sell SA-18 missiles to Syria, Israel protested vehemently, on the grounds that such missiles can easily be removed from their carriers, making them highly suitable for use by terrorist organizations such as Hezbollah.

Only the June 4, 1967 lines
By Shlomo Avineri
Haaretz
But beyond the agenda problem is another issue, of which Israelis often tend to make light. Periodically, Israelis can be heard saying that the difference between the Israeli and Syrian positions on the territorial issue boils down to "a few kilometers." That is admittedly true, but it misses the point.
The most moderate Israeli position consists of a willingness - in exchange for appropriate security arrangements - to consider an Israeli withdrawal to the international border, in line with the model of its peace agreements with Egypt and Jordan. The Syrian stance, in contrast, demands a return to the June 4, 1967 lines. As some people will remember, Syria conquered a few small enclaves of Israeli territory during the War of Independence, and the 1949 armistice agreements reflected this reality. This difference is not just a matter of a few kilometers - important though those kilometers are, since they include Hamat Gader and Syrian access to the northeastern shore of Lake Kinneret. For Syria, this is a far more substantive issue.
One of the characteristics of Syrian ideology and policy is nonrecognition of the legitimacy of arrangements and borders that were laid down in the Middle East after World War I. In the Baath Party's view, these were imperialist and colonialist decisions. Therefore, Syria never recognized Lebanon's independence and does not maintain diplomatic relations with it. Syria and Lebanon have never exchanged ambassadors (and in my opinion, they will not open embassies in each other's capital even now, although Syria recently gave formal consent to establishing relations). For this reason, Syria is not willing to demarcate its border with Lebanon, and for this reason, it has to this day refused to formally confirm to the United Nations that the Shaba Farms are located in Lebanese rather than Syrian territory - because that would mean admitting that Lebanon is a separate state.
This is also why Syria is insisting on the "June 4 lines": It is not just a territorial issue. Israel's willingness to withdraw to the international border is based on its view that the Mandatory border between Syria and the Land of Israel was legitimate. But for Syria, this is an imperialist border and completely illegitimate. This is not a fine distinction of international law, but a cornerstone of Syria's historical narrative.
It may be possible to overcome these two sets of difficulties. But this possibility depends on Syria's willingness both to significantly expand the range of issues it deems legitimate for discussion in the bilateral negotiations, and to deviate from a fundamental principle of its core ideological worldview. Clearly, these are not marginal issues, and anyone who presents them as such to the public is mistaken and misleading - whether wittingly or unwittingly.