LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
February 07/08

Bible Reading of the day.
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 6,1-6.16-18. (But) take care not to perform righteous deeds in order that people may see them; otherwise, you will have no recompense from your heavenly Father. When you give alms, do not blow a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets to win the praise of others. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right is doing, so that your almsgiving may be secret. And your Father who sees in secret will repay you. When you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, who love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on street corners so that others may see them. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you pray, go to your inner room, close the door, and pray to your Father in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will repay you. When you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites. They neglect their appearance, so that they may appear to others to be fasting. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face,  so that you may not appear to be fasting, except to your Father who is hidden. And your Father who sees what is hidden will repay you.

Free Opinions, Releases, letters & Special Reports
Butchers … Hezb. By Ahmed Al-Jarallah. February 06/08
An Israeli writing about Syria has some lessons to offer Lebanon.The Daily Star. February 06/08
Power and Politics: The catharsis Israel needs-By ELLIOT JAGER. February 06/08

Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources for February 06/08
Maronite Bishops Caution Against Attempts to Create Despair-naharnet
Nicolas Michel Hints at Legal Action Against Hariri Suspects-naharnet
Moussa: No Objection to Three 10s-naharnet
Bus Overturns North of Beirut, 15 Injured-naharnet
Concentrated Effort to Disband Army-naharnet
Kouchner Blames Rivals for Failure of His Intimate Diplomacy with Syria-naharnet
U.S. Intelligence Concerned About Qaida Affiliates in Lebanon-naharnet
Geagea: Hizbullah, March 8 Want the Syrian Army Back-naharnet
March 14: Targeting the Military is Taboo-naharnet
Lebanon cleric advises 'modern Shiites'-Los Angeles Time
France backs Arab plan ahead of Moussa's return to Beirut-Daily Star
'Escalation is the name of the game'-Daily Star
Hoss calls for 'national awareness' to end crisis-Daily Star
Attacks on army aimed to weaken military - analysts-AFP
Qabbani warns of 'chaos and collapse' if Arab initiative fails-Daily Star
Feltman spells out what Aoun 'should have' done-Daily Star
The Road Not Traveled: Education Reforms in the Middle East and North Africa-Daily Star
Siniora: Lebanon needs more power plants to meet demand-Daily Star
UNRWA donors tour Nahr al-Bared, Beddawi-Daily Star
Lebanese Army, UNIFIL probe border shooting-Daily Star
Mossad predicts Iran will have nuclear weapon in three years-Daily Star
Hamas vows retaliation after Israeli attacks kill nine in Gaza-AFP
Geagea: Hizbullah, March 8 Want the Syrian Army Back-Naharnet
March 14: Targeting the Military is Taboo-Naharnet
Parant: Suleiman is the Only Presidential Candidate-Naharnet
Hoss for 'National Awareness'-Naharnet
Slain Maj. Eid had 'Very Important Information' on Hariri Crime-Naharnet
 

March 14: Targeting the Military is Taboo
Naharnet/The March 14 majority alliance on Tuesday warned against a "suspicious campaign" by the Hizbullah-led opposition targeting the Lebanese Army, saying it would not allow it. The secretariat-General of the alliance said in a statement the "suspicious campaign launched by some factions of March 8 persisted despite publication of the initial report on investigations into the Mar Mekhail incidents."
Such a campaign, the statement said, "aims at distorting facts and making purposeless charges aimed at raising doubt in loyalties" of military personnel.
"The March 14 forces warns against persistence with this suspicious attack on the army that falls within the framework of a programmed plan to tear down state institutions in favor of creating a state that does not represent the Lebanese.
"The plot targets first the nomination of Gen. Michel Suleiman for president as well as the national role of the military establishment," it noted.
"Any devoted Lebanese would not permit this to happen," the statement concluded. Beirut, 05 Feb 08, 20:07

Butchers … Hezb
By Ahmed Al-Jarallah
Editor-in-Chief, the Arab Times
HAMAS, the main Islamist movement in Palestine, recently engineered two suicide bombings in Demona, Israel, resulting in the death of a woman who, by a stroke of bad luck, happened to be in the area at the time of the explosion. On the other hand, the Israeli forces have intensified their efforts to go deep into the Gaza Strip. The Israeli Air Force has also launched a series of air strikes on Gaza leading to massive deaths and injuries. Witnesses of these atrocious acts have wondered why some Palestinian movements persist in provoking the Israeli forces to launch fatal air strikes. God has instructed Muslims to fully prepare themselves before instigating war against the enemy and the Prophet (PBUH) has prevented them from waging war against a weaker enemy.
It looks like the main objectives of the movements fighting in South Palestine and South Lebanon include making a way for the Zionists to murder more people, serve the interests of some foreign nations, impress Arab countries — such as Saudi Arabia and Egypt — and involve other people in a fight, which has only been started to find enough resources to pay the bills of Iran and Syria. What is the motive behind Hezbollah leader Hassan Nazrallah’s announcement on his alleged possession of the fingers and heads of some Israeli soldiers? With this declaration, we are not hearing the words of a fighter but a butcher who is inside his shop and controls the southern part of Beirut. Nazrallah seems to be oblivious of the fact that Jews do not accept the death of their kin unless they have all their body parts. What if they have the whole body except the head? This is why the Israeli government does not care about Nazrallah’s claims on his possession of dead Israeli soldiers’ body parts. Still, we cannot help but wonder what is the purpose of Nazrallah in issuing such statements? What is his goal in threatening to attack Israel and change the global map?
‘You can laugh at other people for some time but you cannot laugh at them all the time.’ Then, the real issue here is not to reclaim Palestine and Jerusalem or liberate Palestine. We used to hear such propagandas specially during the time of former Palestinian President Abu Ammar, who claimed the ships had docked on the shores of Jaffa to take the Israelis back to their origin. Today, we realize some people had not learnt from their history as they keep on committing the same mistakes. Participants of sectarian wars are eaten up by these wars. There are no winners in these wars and the biggest losers are the instigators. Usually referred to as ‘burners’, these wars will eventually have the worst impact on the instigating parties and ‘burn’ all the members of these parties.
The Lebanese society should unite. No party in Lebanon will live without cooperating with other parties since Iran and Syria will keep on utilizing any tool to instigate sectarian wars. These nations look at people as ‘disposables’, who can be thrown after being used. The public should refrain from heeding any propaganda. We learnt an important lesson from Lebanon war — that the biggest loser is our nation. Problems surface only through the heads of those who love propaganda and people pay a high price for such mistakes. A lion once traveled with two cows – white and black. The black cow befriended the lion and they both devoured the white cow. One day, the lion suddenly attacked the black cow, saying, “you were eaten on the same day we devoured the white cow.”
Email: ahmedjarallah@hotmail.com

Feltman spells out what Aoun 'should have' done
Former us ambassador says foreign interference 'ongoing'
Daily Star staff
Wednesday, February 06, 2008
BEIRUT: Former United States Ambassador to Lebanon Jeffrey Feltman said on Tuesday Syria's allies in Lebanon "have not gotten stronger," adding that foreign interference in Lebanon's domestic issues remains strong. "Foreign interference in Lebanon's internal affairs is a big problem," Feltman told the pan-Arab daily Al-Hayat.  "Syria's allies are not getting stronger in Lebanon, but inappropriate foreign interference is ongoing," he added. Feltman said that the US Embassy in Beirut had not lost contact with Christian opposition leader and head of the Free Patriotic Movement MP Michel Aoun. "Yet, we still cannot understand why he is accepting being used as a cover for Syria and Iran's allies in Lebanon," he added. Feltman said he wished Aoun had used his powers as a lawmaker to bring life back to the Parliament. "General Aoun should have resorted to the Parliament to solve his differences with the ruling coalition rather than take to the street," he said.
The opposition has threatened to resort to "civil action" if Western and Arab-led initiatives fail to solve the political deadlock in Lebanon. It has not specified the nature of the action to be taken. Asked about Hizbullah's weapons, Feltman said that the Lebanese who held dialogue with the US administration had ruled out the option of taking any action regarding Hizbullah arms, since this could lead to Lebanon's destabilization.
"It is not true that some Lebanese have demanded that the US push Israel to disarm Hizbullah," he said. Speaking about the international tribunal to try suspects in the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, Feltman dismissed reports which hinted that an under-the-table deal in the region might foil the establishment of the court. "The US would not have funded the court if any kind of deal was in preparation," he told the Saudi-owned daily.
Feltman said that he is willing to accept any decision made by the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, even if it goes against his convictions."However, I see that some had fears over Rafik Hariri's desire for a free, sovereign and independent Lebanon. His death has changed Lebanon into a country that holds to its own decisions. The present government is made in Beirut, not Damascus," Feltman said. Feltman warned of more assassinations and political instability in Lebanon. He also spoke about confirmed threats of assassination against Lebanese politicians. "Assassination threats against Lebanese politicians are an actual thing and not mere speculation," he said.  Feltman said the timing of the assassination attempt against Minister Marwan Hamadeh in October 2004 coincided with the visit of former US Secretary of State Richard Burns to Damascus, and the February 14 Hariri assassination also coincided with a similar visit by former Assistant Secretary of State Richard Armitage. "Doesn't this raise a lot of questions?" he asked. - The Daily Star

Maronite Bishops Caution Against Attempts to Create Despair
Naharnet/The Council of Maronite Bishops on Wednesday criticized attempts aimed at creating despair among the Lebanese and forcing them to emigrate.
"The general situation in Lebanon is not assuring. It seems that people are disagreeing on everything," a statement at the end of the Maronite Bishops' monthly meeting said. "Constitutional institutions are not functioning … and there are attempts to cripple the army and nail down the church," said the statement read by Monsignor Youssef Tawk said."All this is helping create void in the country and despair among the Lebanese, particularly the youth, and forcing them to emigrate," the bishops warned. "Paralyzing government decisions inflict damages to citizens and to their rights," the statement cautioned.
The Bishops also blamed the government for slackness. "State's negligence in its duties to implement judicial verdicts against a senior public employee … harms state dignity," the statement said. Beirut, 06 Feb 08, 12:55

Bus Overturns North of Beirut, 15 Injured
Naharnet/At least fifteen people were injured when a bus overturned on the Kfarhbab-Ghazir road north of Beirut Wednesday, Lebanese media reported.
Voice of Lebanon radio station said the accident occurred after the driver lost control of the bus due to problems with the brakes.
It said Red Cross rescuers rushed the injured to the region's hospitals. Beirut, 06 Feb 08, 09:24

Moussa: No Objection to Three 10s
Naharnet/Arab League chief Amr Moussa said Wednesday that he has no objection to adopting a 10+10+10 formula in a new government, adding that the problem does not lie with him "but with one political party or the other.""The Arab League is not biased toward any group in Lebanon," Moussa told the daily As Safir.
"Election of a new President for the Republic by Lebanon MPs is our concern so as the formation of a government represented by all the factions," he said.
"We do not deny that Syria has great interests in Lebanon, but we have repeatedly warned the Lebanese that any delay in rescuing their country could turn Lebanon into an international and regional battleground," Moussa said. "I work for God and for Lebanon and not for anybody else," Moussa stressed.
"I'm not biased as some accuse me – neither to the Future (movement) nor to Hizbullah or any other group," Moussa said, adding that he is in constant contact with the various Lebanese leaders as well as with some Arab foreign ministers. Moussa said he will seek upon his return to Beirut on Friday to bring together pro- and anti-government representatives for a meeting at Parliament. Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit had said a new 30-member government in which the opposition gets a third of the seats was "rejected." The Arab initiative is based on a three-point plan calling for the election of army chief General Michel Suleiman as president, the formation of a national unity government in which no one party has veto power and adoption of a new electoral law.
Lebanon has been without a president since pro-Syrian Emile Lahoud stepped down with no elected successor because of bitter rivalry between the pro- and anti-Syrian camps. Although the ruling coalition has given the Arab plan its full support, Hizbullah is insisting that the opposition have a third of the seats in a new 30-member government in order to have veto power. Beirut, 06 Feb 08, 09:42

Nicolas Michel Hints at Legal Action Against Hariri Suspects
Naharnet/U.N. legal chief Nicolas Michel warned those who believed that a new Lebanese government would prevent the creation of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, and hinted that the Canadian prosecutor was moving toward taking legal action. "Formation of the court is definite," Michel said in an interview published Wednesday by the Pan-Arab daily Al-Hayat. "Justice should be part of everlasting peace in the country (Lebanon)," the U.N. under-secretary-general for legal affairs said. Michel stressed that those who thought they "got rid" of the tribunal that would try suspects in the 2005 assassination of ex-Premier Rafik Hariri and related crimes through the framework of political deals "are committing a mistake."
"Those who believe that a new Lebanon government would lead to killing the tribunal are also undoubtedly committing a mistake," Michel warned.
Addressing those who are carrying out political assassinations in Lebanon, Michel warned: "It's time they understand that this (act) would only bring them before justice … this court is going to try all those who committed these operations."Turning to Lebanese political leaders, Michel urged them not to lose hope in the tribunal and the U.N.'s capability to end what he called "the era of impunity." "The court will soon be a reality," Michel assured them. He also urged them to "have faith in the progress we have achieved over the past few months." He assured countries which refuse to hand over suspects to the international tribunal that the court will "anyway sentence them in absentia."Michel said that Canadian prosecutor Daniel Bellemare, who was appointed head of the international commission of inquiry for Lebanon, replacing Serge Brammertz, was "concerned about laying the groundwork for moving soon from the probe into taking legal action."
Beirut, 06 Feb 08, 08:00

Concentrated Effort to Disband Army
Naharnet/A spate of attacks against the Lebanese army signals a concerted effort to weaken the military and bury the army chief's chances of becoming president, analysts say. In the run up to a much-postponed presidential election, the army has been caught in violent confrontations with Muslim Shiite protesters in which seven people were killed and army posts have been hit by grenade and gunfire. Long seen as the only neutral and viable institution in Lebanon's political mayhem, the army was drawn into the eye of the storm last year when it fought pitched battles with Muslim extremists in a Palestinian refugee camp.
The army's chief of military operations, Brigadier General Francois Hajj, who helped defeat the Islamists at the Nahr el-Bared camp, was killed in a massive car bombing in December. "The floodgates of hell have been opened vis a vis the army ever since Nahr el-Bared," said Amal Saad-Ghorayeb of the Carnegie Middle East Centre. "It all points to a concerted campaign designed to weaken the army and... sow civil strife," she said. "And clearly all this is directed at army chief General Michel Suleiman."Suleiman emerged in December as the consensus candidate to succeed pro-Syrian president Emile Lahoud who ended his term in November. But his election has been on hold amid bickering between pro- and anti-Syrian politicians.
Parliament is due to meet again on February 11 in a fresh attempt to elect a president after 13 previous sessions failed to materialize.
"Many parties don't want Suleiman to be president, and each one for his own reason, but they intersect in one area: not to have a presidential election," said retired army general Elias Hanna. "All these incidents against the army cannot be seen as separate from the political context and the evolution of the army's role within politics," Hanna added. "Such incidents are rarely the work of individuals and they are rarely outside of a certain political context."
Last week, two Lebanese soldiers were wounded by gunfire in the fifth attack on the military since the riots, which left seven people dead at the end of January in the mostly-Shiite southern suburbs of Beirut.
Unknown assailants on several occasions have also thrown grenades at soldiers in and around Beirut.
An army statement on Monday warned against "dragging the army into the furnace of politics" and appealed against harm to the institution's unity.
The Hizbullah-led opposition has demanded a swift investigation into the riots, while some opposition figures squarely blamed the Lebanese army for the bloodshed.
On Saturday the military prosecutor ordered the arrest of 17 people, including three army officers, as part of an investigation.
The arrests were welcomed as a "positive" step by Hizbullah and the Amal movement. But they still demand that full justice be done.
Hanna welcomed the probe but expressed doubt that it would end the attacks on the army.
"If these attacks continue then it will mean that we are heading into something very bad... and it could affect the army's cohesion and rules of engagement," he said.
Timur Goksel, a seasoned Lebanon watcher and former spokesman for UN peacekeeping forces in the south of the country, warned that any attempt "to disintegrate the army" would spell doom for Lebanon."Even the most fanatical groups in Lebanon know that the army is a final line," he said. "The army is what keeps this country together."(AFP) Beirut, 05 Feb 08, 19:49

Escalation is the name of the game'
Analysts see no easy or immediate way out of ongoing political crisis
By Michael Bluhm
Daily Star staff
Wednesday, February 06, 2008
Analysis
BEIRUT: Wednesday's second anniversary of the alliance of opposition heavyweights Hizbullah and the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) finds them in a new phase of escalating political tension and street violence with fading prospects for any solution, a number of analysts told The Daily Star on Tuesday.
"Escalation is the name of the game, that's for sure," said Amal Saad-Ghorayeb, visiting scholar at the Carnegie Middle East Center. "It was looking pretty bad - it's looking really bad now."
The March 8 opposition pulled its ministers from the Cabinet in November 2006 and has pushed since then to topple the March 14 governing coalition. The stand-off worsened after the shooting deaths of seven Shiite demonstrators on January 27 in Beirut's Mar Mikhael-Shiyyah neighborhood. The opposition had begun increasing its pressure on March 14 before the day now becoming known here as Black Sunday, but those deaths marked a "turning point," Saad-Ghorayeb added.
"That would be second to the July war [in 2006 against Israel] in terms of souring the relations and deepening the rift" between March 8 and March 14, she said.
The judiciary has charged 11 members of the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) and six civilians in the clash, but politicians on both sides have continued to intensify their rhetoric. Hizbullah has thrown blame on members of the government and individuals in the LAF, while March 14 leaders have said the opposition desires the return of Syrian troops to Lebanon.
"That's really exacerbated the situation, made it much uglier," Saad-Ghorayeb said. "There's absolutely no middle ground anymore."
The deaths became political fodder as the two factions find themselves still in a stalemate in this new escalation stage, with each side trying to collect as many cards as it can before any major domestic or international event that could alter the balance, said retired General Elias Hanna, who teaches political science at Notre Dame University and elsewhere.
"Everyone's using it from a political point of view," he said. "You have a new dynamic now. It is totally different."
The street violence appears to have scuttled the chances for LAF commander General Michel Suleiman as a consensus presidential candidate, although the political camps' inability to reach a comprehensive deal involving his candidacy also led to the emergence of the escalation, Hanna added.
"His candidacy is gone, I guess," Hanna said, adding that the new civil-unrest dynamic served to create enough problems until Suleiman's candidacy withered from inertia.
In addition, Suleiman's candidacy has become moot as politicians face "irreconcilable differences" over a formula for doling out seats in a national unity cabinet to follow the presidential election, Saad-Ghorayeb added.
"What's the significance of his candidacy at this point anyway?" she asked. "Michel Suleiman is dead as a candidate. He's finished."
The Arab League plan calling for Suleiman's election, a unity government and new elections has also been scuttled by the elusive formula and the street violence, said Oussama Safa, executive director of the Lebanese Center for Policy Studies. Moussa should arrive in Beirut on Friday, but since his last visit "the situation got worse," Safa added.
"I don't expect a solution any time soon," he said. "I don't see any efforts at rapprochement any time soon. They're killing each other in the media.
"Politically we are in a freeze, but, of course, everyone is upping the ante."
Despite the fiery rhetoric, March 8 will probably not explicitly reject either Moussa's plan or Suleiman's candidacy, as the opposition is wary of being perceived as hindering a political settlement, said Saad-Ghorayeb. "This is why they keep paying lip service to this idea of the Arab League ... while criticizing its content," she said. "They realize that they are the ones who are seen as blocking the initiative. They just can't reject it outright. They're trying to be very diplomatic."
At this juncture, March 8 leader Hizbullah has refused to discuss any political questions pending the outcome of the investigation of the Black Sunday shootings, said Ahmad Moussalli, professor of political science and Islamic Studies at the American University of Beirut.
"The opposition is not going to back up at all at this point in time," he said. "I doubt that there will be any easing of the situation. I don't think there is any way of solving the problem at this time."
The geometry of the escalation phase sees March 8 maintaining the power to parry any maneuver by the governing coalition, while March 14 can rely on nearly all the international community recognizing its authority over the institutions of the state, Hanna said.
"The strength of March 8 is its ability to block anything the government can do," Hanna said.
Given those parameters of deadlock, almost the only possibilities to exit the worsening situation would be a major shift in the regional US-Iran showdown, a no-victor-no-vanquished solution here or the passage of time until the May 2009 general elections, said Saad-Ghorayeb. The enduring presidential vacuum does have its advantages for each side, as March 14 keeps its positions in power and March 8 its position as opposition critic of the country's sorry condition, she added.
"Both sides benefit from the stalemate," she said. The looming danger of this stage, however, remains the course of future street demonstrations. Hizbullah might hold off on its own protests because of the events of January 27, but those deaths have fueled anger among the party's constituents, Saad-Ghorayeb said.
"For some time we won't see them take to the streets, until the dust settles," she added. "The Shiite street is furious. Hizbullah can't rein them in anymore. They're furious at having to restrain themselves. There has to be a quick verdict." The other analysts said they expected the protests to resume.
"Everybody's preparing to go to the streets," Hanna said. "What is holding [back] the big clash is the taboo about not having any clash between the Sunnis and the Shiites. But at a certain point, you cannot control the streets."

France backs Arab plan ahead of Moussa's return to Beirut
Opposition wants early deal on platform of next cabinet
Daily Star staff
Wednesday, February 06, 2008
BEIRUT: Local and international powers restated their support on Tuesday for the three-point Arab initiative to solve the political standoff in Lebanon, while the opposition announced that the ministerial statement for the next government should be approved by all groups before agreement is reached.
"France supports the three-point plan as well as mediation efforts to solve the deadlock; we also endorse mediation efforts undertaken by [Arab League Secretary General] Amr Moussa to bridge the gap between feuding groups," French Charge d'Affaires Andre Parant told reporters following a visit to Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri. Moussa is expected to return to Beirut on Friday in a new bid to nudge feuding Lebanese groups to elect a successor to Emile Lahoud, whose term expired at midnight on November 23, 2007. On January 5, Moussa and Arab foreign ministers meeting in Cairo proposed a three-point plan calling for the election of Lebanese Armed Forces [LAF] commander General Michel Suleiman. The proposal also calls for the formation of a national unity government in which is not dominated by any one party, and the adoption of a new electoral law.
While the ruling coalition has accepted the plan, the Hizbullah-led opposition is demanding a third of the seats in any new government so it can acquire veto power.
"We welcome Moussa's visit to Lebanon ... and we stress the need to reach a full consensus over pending matters, including the platform of the next government, before a comprehensive solution is reached," Amal MP Ali Hassan Khalil told LBCI television Tuesday evening.
Parliament is due to convene on February 11 to elect a new president, but 13 previous sessions since September have failed because of political feuds.
All the main parties have previously accepted Suleiman as the consensus candidate for the presidency but his election could not go ahead until they agreed other details of a complete package, including the structure of the next government.
On Tuesday, however, pro-opposition Al-Akhbar newspaper reported that two of the opposition's main pillars, Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah and Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) head and MP Michel Aoun, would shortly announce that they no longer support Suleiman for the presidency.
Nasrallah and Aoun are expected to comment on recent developments during a joint interview to be aired on FPM-owned Orange Television Wednesday evening. The interview marks the second anniversary of the signature of the memorandum of understanding between the two parties.
In response to a question on whether his mission would focus on electing Suleiman, Moussa told An-Nahar daily in comments published Tuesday "Have you got another candidate?"
"I'm coming back to Beirut to discuss the Arab initiative. That's it," Moussa added.
Also on Tuesday, Lebanese Forces Samir Geagea boss lashed out at the opposition, Hizbullah in particular, holding it responsible for the impasse.
"Hizbullah now opposes the candidacy of General Suleiman because they want to restore Syrian hegemony over Lebanon," Geagea told a news conference at his residence in Maarab, north of Beirut.
He also condemned criticism of the LAF over its handling of the January 27 protests in which seven protesters were shot dead and dozens wounded.
As-Safir newspaper on Tuesday quoted Suleiman as saying he never declared his candidacy.
"I did not declare my candidacy," he was quoted as telling senior army officers at a meeting on Monday. "I ... announced that I was willing to assume my responsibilities, but if another candidate emerges, then I will be the first one to give him my support and facilitate his mission in my capacity as army commander."
While Hizbullah on Monday expressed "full support" for the military in the wake of the protests, the party also argued that some army officers had not abided by the mission and principles of the LAF. Prime Minister Fouad Siniora and the ruling March 14 Forces coalition also voiced support for the Lebanese Army on Tuesday, saying that targeting the LAF was "taboo."Siniora said Tuesday that protests last week against what he described as "alleged" excessive power cuts in Beirut's impoverished southern suburbs were "used as means to corner the government.""There are those who are seeking to stir divisions within the army and put down the military's spirits," the prime minister said during a news conference at the Grand Serail."Showing skepticism with regard to the mission and role of the LAF is unacceptable," he told reporters. Echoing Siniora, the March 14 Forces warned against what it called a "suspicious campaign" launched by the opposition against the LAF. "Such attacks fall within the framework of a well-defined plan to tear down constitutional institutions in favor of creating a state that does not represent the Lebanese," a statement issued by the Western-backed group said. - The Daily Star.

Attacks on army aimed to weaken military - analysts
By Agence France Presse (AFP)
Wednesday, February 06, 2008
BEIRUT: A spate of attacks against the Lebanese Army signals a concerted effort to weaken the military and bury the army chief's chances of becoming president, analysts say. In the run-up to a much-postponed presidential election, the army has been caught in violent confrontations with Shiite protesters in which seven people were killed and army posts have been hit by grenade and gunfire.
Long seen as the only neutral and viable institution in Lebanon's political mayhem, the army was drawn into the eye of the storm last year when it fought pitched battles with Muslim extremists in a Palestinian refugee camp.
The army's chief of military operations, Brigadier General Francois Hajj, who helped defeat the Islamists at the Nahr al-Bared camp, was killed in a massive car bombing in December.
"The floodgates of hell have been opened vis-a-vis the army ever since Nahr al-Bared," said Amal Saad-Ghorayeb of the Carnegie Middle East Center.
"It all points to a concerted campaign designed to weaken the army and ... sow civil strife," she said. "And clearly all this is directed at army chief General Michel Suleiman."
Suleiman emerged in December as the consensus candidate to succeed President Emile Lahoud, who ended his term in November. But ongoing political bickering has delayed the vote. Parliament is due to meet again on February 11 in a fresh attempt to elect a president after 13 previous sessions failed to materialize.
"Many parties don't want Suleiman to be president, and each one for his own reason, but they intersect in one area: not to have a presidential election," said retired army General Elias Hanna.
"All these incidents against the army cannot be seen as separate from the political context and the evolution of the army's role within politics," he added.
"Such incidents are rarely the work of individuals and they are rarely outside of a certain political context," Hanna added.
Last week, two Lebanese soldiers were wounded by gunfire in the fifth attack on the military since the riots which left seven people dead at the end of January in the southern suburbs of Beirut.
Unknown assailants on several occasions have also thrown grenades at soldiers in and around Beirut.
An army statement on Monday warned against "dragging the army into the furnace of politics" and appealed against harm to the institution's unity.
The Hizbullah-led opposition has demanded a swift investigation into the riots, while some opposition figures squarely blamed the Lebanese Army for the bloodshed.
On Saturday the military prosecutor ordered the arrest of 17 people, including three army officers, as part of an investigation.
The arrests were welcomed as a "positive" step by Hizbullah and the Amal movement, who each lost two of their followers in the Beirut riots. But they still demand that full justice be done.
Timur Goksel, a seasoned Lebanon watcher and former spokesman for the United Nations peacekeeping forces in the South of the country, warned that any attempt "to disintegrate the army" would spell doom for Lebanon.
"Even the most fanatical groups in Lebanon know that the army is a final line," Goksel said. "The army is what keeps this country together."- AFP

Geagea: Hizbullah, March 8 Want the Syrian Army Back
Naharnet/Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea on Tuesday accused the Hizbullah-led opposition of seeking to "terminate" army commander Gen. Michel Suleiman's nomination for president and paralyze the army to facilitate return of the Syrian army to Lebanon.
Geagea, addressing a press conference, said: "What is happening with the (Lebanese) army is an attempt to bring the Syrian army back to Lebanon."
"They fully realize that they cannot assume power peacefully through democratic means that is why they have opted for force," Geagea said.
However, he noted: "Historically, no party has succeeded in dominating by force."
"Any change in Lebanon should be through democratic means and not by force," he stressed.
Geagea criticized the persisting closure of parliament and the ongoing Tent City protest in downtown Beirut in addition to the persisting presidential void.
He recalled that pro-March 8 media organizations had reported during riots "firing from Ein Rummaneh. The investigation has established that the charge is not true."
"Hizbullah and March 8 are determined on paralyzing the army and striking at the military establishment," he concluded.
Beirut, 05 Feb 08, 16:53

Slain Maj. Eid had 'Very Important Information' on Hariri Crime
Naharnet/The family of slain police counter-terrorism Maj. Wissam Eid said Tuesday he was killed because he had "very important information" about the assassination of ex-Premier Rafik Hariri and other victims of serial assassinations in Lebanon.
"We are confident that one of the main reasons (for the assassination) is the very important information that Maj. Eid had regarding the assassinations of ex-Premier Rafik Hariri and other martyrs," said Sheikh Hassan Mireeb.
He was speaking on behalf of the Eid family and that of his slain bodyguard Ousama Mireeb.
The two were killed in a powerful car bomb blast in Beirut's eastern suburb of Hazmieh nearly two weeks ago.
Sheikh Mireeb headed a delegation from the victims' families that visited Mustaqbal Movement leader Saad Hariri at his Beirut residence.
The clergyman expressed hope that "justice would be served and those who killed our sons and beloved ones would be punished." Beirut, 05 Feb 08, 18:30

Talking To: Ahmad al-Assaad
“March 14 should give March 8 an ultimatum: Either you show up on February 11 … or we elect Nassib Lahoud with our half-plus-one majority.”
Hussain Abdul-Hussain, Special to NOW Lebanon , February 5, 2008
Ahmad al-Assaad was born in Taibeh in southern Lebanon. In 1986, he earned his BA in Mathematics from the University of Utah. Two years later, he earned his MA in Amsterdam. He embarked on a career in wood manufacture and trade, and, in 2003, he moved back to Lebanon to follow in the footsteps of his ancestors: He became a politician.
He currently heads the Lebanese Option Gathering, a group of "independent Shia" from across the country.
Over the past few years, Assaad has been an outspoken figure against Hezbollah and its monopoly on Shia representation. He ran in the 2005 elections in southern Lebanon and garnered 12% of the vote. Assaad expressed pride that his father "never bent" to Syrian orders. He says, like his father, that he does not believe in shades of grey and always speaks up whatever he believes in.

NOW Lebanon interviewed Assaad in Washington, where he was holding meetings with a number of White House and State Department officials.

NOW Lebanon: What did you tell American officials during the series of meetings you held with them?

Assaad: I told US officials that breaking Hezbollah's monopoly over Shia representation in Lebanon is possible and necessary for the emergence of an alternative leadership that would play the role of a partner to other groups and pro-independence forces. To do this, Lebanon needs an electoral law based on proportionality. Such a law would break Hezbollah's monopoly over Shia representation in parliament.

NOW: What makes you believe that the Shia would abandon Hezbollah?

Assaad: Hezbollah's grip over the Shia depends on two issues: repression and money. In the Soviet Union, the Communist Party used to garner 99% of the vote. Today, after the downfall of the Soviet regime of fear, this party gets 12% of the vote.

The second issue is Iranian funding. We have numbers that show that Hezbollah has close to 37,000 families on its payrolls. But Iran does not feed all of the Shia of Lebanon. The Shia were hard hit after the 2006 July War, and Hezbollah reimbursed its cronies only, leaving a great majority of Shia to their fate.

NOW: How would a new electoral law based on proportionality help given Hezbollah's repression and payroll? Who opposes such a law?

Assaad: In the last parliamentary elections in 2005, despite all the flows, I received 12% of the Shia vote, since Christians, Sunnis and Druze did not vote. In better circumstances, I guarantee you this percentage would go up to 30%. Now under the present law, even if you get 49% of the vote, you would not get any seats in parliament. Proportionality law is fair. If we get 30% of the Shia vote and get seats accordingly in parliament, we will break Hezbollah's monopoly and offer a Lebanese Shia partner. As for who opposes the approval of this law, well, all parties currently in parliament. March 14 think they would lose seats, especially among their Sunni and Druze blocs. But they never notice that in return, their Christian partners would compensate for such loss by making it to parliament, and we will take seats, too.

NOW: Do you belong to the March 14 coalition?

Assaad: No, I do not. Even though I share almost all of this coalition's goals on freedom, sovereignty and independence, I prefer to remain independent because I disagree with them on many issues concerning their strategy. Since March 14, 2005, they have committed a number of mistakes that backfired on all of Lebanon, the Shia in particular.

NOW: What were these mistakes?

Assaad: Well to start with, they should have marched on to Baabda on March 14 and deposed [former President Emile] Lahoud. That was the single biggest mistake. Their second mistake was their alliance with Hezbollah. They said through such coalition that they would "Lebanonize"
Hezbollah. It turned out they were wrong. As we speak, March 14 forces are still committing errors. They have no stomach for a confrontation…

NOW: You mean civil war?

Assaad: No, no… of course I do not mean civil war. I mean presidential elections. They should give March 8 an ultimatum: Either you show up on February 11 and we elect a consensus president, or we elect Nassib Lahoud with our half-plus-one majority. You’ve got to put your foot down. The world will follow. What would Saudi Arabia, the US, France and the world do if March 14 elects president with simple majority? Side with March 8?

NOW: A number of observers believe the March 14 stance softened with reports on the West cozying up to Iran and Syria. Do you think the US should engage these countries?

Assaad: That is another problem. I do not think the US should talk to either Iran or Syria. Engagement will lead nowhere. The problem is in the nature of these regimes. They do not respect human life, and a nuclear weapon in the hand of Iranians would embolden them and Hezbollah. The world should stand to the Iranian-Syrian axis in the same way it faced communism. I remember in the 1980s when [US President Ronald] Reagan described the Soviet Union as a big bear. I was in Europe at the time, and most Europeans criticized Reagan's confrontational tone and policy. But as it turned out, Reagan was right. There are some regimes in the world that only understand the language of force.

NOW: Senators and congressmen have blamed the administration several times over what they described as Iran outbidding the US in the region, especially in Lebanon. Did you hear financial promises or new pledges from officials you met?

Assaad: The problem with Washington is that it views its funding of Lebanon from the prism of its own books and not within the context of countering funds from Iran. As long as US money goes to governmental spending, and as long as Iran's money goes directly to Hezbollah's supporters, the US would remain outbid.

NOW: How do you describe your relations to other Shia figures in Lebanon, especially those among them who share your freedom and independence ideals?

Assaad: I welcome them if I find them. The Shia of Lebanon have always been hardcore patriots. We were never part of the Persian Empire, and we do not plan to join this empire. My plan is to restore Shiism to its true self, to its roots, and by doing so, restore Lebanon to its better days.