LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
February 09/08

Bible Reading of the day.
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 9,14-15. Then the disciples of John approached him and said, "Why do we and the Pharisees fast (much), but your disciples do not fast?" Jesus answered them, "Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast.

Free Opinions, Releases, letters & Special Reports
Ahmadinejad makes it even harder for Russia to keep backing Iran-Daily Star- February 08/08
Let's fight Al-Qaeda together, or lose to it separately-Fidel Ramos-February 08/08
Aoun and Nasrallah in primetime. Now Lebanon/February 08/08
Release/Cracks In the Iran's Economic Facade.The Committee on the Present Danger. 08/02/08

Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources for February 08/08
U.S. Warns Opposition: We Will Not Stay Hands Tied-Naharnet
Hariri For Confronting 'Black Scheme' by Syria, Iran-Naharnet
Would Hizbullah Accept a Neutral Cabinet?-Naharnet
Conflicting Reports on Success of Moussa's Mission-Naharnet
Report: $1 Billion from Saudi Arabia to Lebanon's Central Bank-Naharnet
Electric Shocks Keep Wild Boars Away from Israeli Fence-Naharnet
Franjieh Accuses Sfeir of 'Distorting Facts'-Naharnet
Dib: German Train Bomb Plot Masterminded by Beirut Accomplice-Naharnet
Meqdad: Syria Supports Moussa's Lebanon Task-Naharnet
Rival sides dig in heels as Moussa returns-Daily Star
Hariri lashes out at Iran and Syria, calls for massive protest-Daily Star
LAF renews pact with UN de-mining group-Daily Star
Franjieh calls Bkirki 'home for thieves' in new attack on Sfeir-Daily Star
Qatar pulls troops from UNIFIL, says unit 'won't be replaced for ...Daily Star
Israeli MP quits over Olmert's refusal to resign because of war-Daily Star
Misleading the world about Lebanese politics-Daily Star
Mystery helicopter lands on island off Tripoli-Daily Star
Party asks for 'one more chance' for Arab initiative-Daily Star
AUB to participate in project to enhance online shopping-Daily Star
Environmental group focuses on Sidon dump, chicken excrement-Daily Star
Caritas Lebanon opens center for senior citizens-Daily Star
Moussa in Beirut … Again-Naharnet
Gemayel Hammers Aoun: Nasrallah Decides, He Follows-Naharnet
Hariri For Confronting 'Black Scheme' by Syria, Iran-Naharnet
Islamic group criticizes Hezbollah’s double standard-Ya Libnan
Al-Qaida in Lebanon-Middle East Online
Hezbollah to Arm Gaza Sector-Trend News Agency
Qatar Quits UNIFIL-Naharnet
Fadlallah: Iran's Missile is the Pride of the Islamic World-Naharnet
France, Saudi in Fresh Bid to Salvage Lebanon Elections-Naharnet

Conflicting Reports on Success of Moussa's Mission
Naharnet/There were conflicting reports on whether Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa will succeed in his fresh mission aimed at convincing the opposition to approve an Arab initiative. Sources close to Moussa said the Arab League chief, who arrived in Beirut on Thursday, succeeded after lengthy talks with the various Lebanese parties in getting the warring leaders to agree on a meeting to be held before noon Friday at Parliament building.
Moussa on Thursday met with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, Prime Minister Fouad Saniora and had dinner with MP Saad Hariri in the presence of former President Amin Gemayel.  The Moussa-sponsored meeting will comprise Free Patriotic Movement leader Gen. Michel Aoun, Gemayel and Hariri.
The sources said "ways to implement the Arab initiative and dealing with obstacles" will top Friday's agenda. MP Wael Abu Faour raised skepticism over Moussa's ability to achieve a breakthrough in the three-point Arab plan which calls for the immediate election of Army chief Gen. Michel Suleiman as President, the formation of a national unity government in which no one party has veto power, and the adoption of a new electoral law. Abu Faour warned that the Arab initiative will continue to revolve in a vicious circle unless Arab forces made changes in the balance of power. FPM MP Salim Aoun, in turn, said the shift in tone on Thursday does not bring good news, a reference to Hariri's speech in which he pledged to confront what he called the "black scheme" by Syria and Iran. Hariri stressed that "if confrontation is our destiny, we are for it. It is our national responsibility, but it is our national duty to confront this black scheme." "This is what we, and the majority of the Lebanese People, would do without any hesitation," Hariri pledged.  Salim Aoun stressed that finding a solution to the current crisis is the core issue, reiterating the opposition's rejection to give up "any of its legal rights." Beirut, 08 Feb 08, 10:52

Report: $1 Billion from Saudi Arabia to Lebanon's Central Bank
Naharnet/Saudi Arabia is planning to deposit one billion dollars with Lebanon's central bank in the coming days as part of the kingdom's support for the country's economy, An Nahar newspaper reported Friday. The new move will increase the Saudi deposits to 2 billion dollars, the daily said.
King Abdullah granted the Lebanese Central Bank one billion dollars to shore up its currency and 500 million dollars in aid to help rebuild the country after the Israeli offensive in the summer of 2006. Beirut, 08 Feb 08, 10:19

Franjieh Accuses Sfeir of 'Distorting Facts'
Naharnet/Marada Movement leader and former cabinet minister Suleiman Franjieh launched a fresh attack against Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir, accusing him this time of "distorting facts and exercising favoritism."Franjieh also accused Sfeir of working against Christian interests in Lebanon and acting upon the orders of external powers. "The truth of the matter is that you will do whatever the West tells you to do," Franjieh said in a statement on Thursday.
"If they (West) tell you become friends with Syria, you will do so and the moment the West changes its stand regarding Syria, you change yours too," Franjieh said.
He accused Sfeir of turning the church into a "home for thieves and criminals." Last month, Franjieh said the Patriarch was acting as an employee for the U.S. and French embassies. He urged him to resign "because archbishops who reach the age of 74 are asked to quit."Franjieh, also in January, accused Sfeir of working as a "cover for a critical scheme." "Statements by Bkirki and the archbishops are not less decent than those (made) by some politicians who are known for their street talk," the Marada Movement leader said. Beirut, 08 Feb 08, 08:28

Hariri For Confronting 'Black Scheme' by Syria, Iran
Naharnet/Al-Mustaqbal Movement Leader Saad Hariri vowed Thursday to confront a "black scheme" aimed at placing Lebanon under the dominance of Syria and Iran. Hariri, addressing a packed news conference at his Beirut residence, stressed that "if confrontation is our destiny, we are for it. It is our national responsibility, but it is our national duty to confront this black scheme.""This is what we, and the majority of the Lebanese People, would do without any hesitation," Hariri pledged. Lebanon, according to Hariri, is going through "a direct and open confrontation with the joint Syrian-Iranian agenda and its local tools that attempt to control Lebanon anew."He urged the March 14 masses and the Lebanese people at large to take part in a mass rally scheduled for next Wednesday on the third anniversary of the 2005 crime of his father, ex-Premier Rafik Hariri. On Feb. 14 we would cry out against the return of Syria's regime to control Lebanon's decision," Hariri said. "We will reaffirm that the path of the international tribunal would not stop … it would progress towards the set goal … and the criminals, whoever they are, would one day be behind its bars," he added.
Hariri stressed that the road to the presidential palace "goes through Beirut, through Lebanon's parliament, and does not go through Damascus or Tehran or any other capital."For this, Hariri said, "we are ready to head to parliament on Monday to elect Gen. Michel Suleiman president and proceed immediately into forming a national unity government assigned with the task of preparing a new election law based on the county constituency."
He said Lebanon was facing "a veiled political, security and terrorist presence of the Syrian and Iranian regimes in Lebanon."
"We have no option but to stay put … to prevent the downfall of Lebanon to the trap of the Syrian and Iranian regimes," he added.
"We've stood fast in the face of pure money … spent on spreading chaos, instigating feud … and creating false leaders," he said.
"We stood fast … and they did not manage to turn Lebanon's independent national decision to the Syrian regime and its agents," he added.
He recalled that even the Lebanese army is "being doubted and targeted … some officers are being blamed for bypassing red lines marking the area of influence of a certain party.
"Is there a red line or a blue line in some areas that the army is not allowed to cross?" he asked.
"We also don't know if there is a state within the state that sets conditions for the army deployment on Lebanese territories," he added.
"I am concerned that in the future any officer would not be accepted as army commander or director of a security agency if he was not loyal to the Baath Party or the Iranian revolutionary Guards, while he is required to be loyal to Lebanon only," Hariri said.
He concluded by saying: "Salvation is close, God willing, and the state of Lebanon would emerge victorious." Beirut, 07 Feb 08, 19:27

U.S. Warns Opposition: We Will Not Stay Hands Tied
Naharnet/The United States has warned the Hizbullah-led opposition that it "will not stay hands tied" if the current political crisis in Lebanon continued, the pan-Arab daily Al Hayat reported Friday. It said the warning was made in a letter delivered by U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs David Welch to Arab League chief Amr Moussa. Al Hayat quoted well-informed sources as saying that "Washington -- given that it is a world super power -- will certainly do something; and internationalizing the crisis is one option." The sources said Welch, during his meeting with Moussa in Cairo on Thursday, expressed strong resentment over failure of the Lebanese parliament to elect a President as well as failure of the Lebanese to implement the Arab League initiative.
Welch also voiced concern over the continuation of the political impasse. "Continuation of the Lebanese crisis is a source of concern for everybody in the region and overseas, particularly for the Lebanese themselves," Welch said after meeting Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit. Beirut, 08 Feb 08, 09:22

Meqdad: Syria Supports Moussa's Lebanon Task
Naharnet/Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Meqdad said Damascus supports efforts by Arab League chief Amr Moussa aimed at facilitating an Arab initiative to end Lebanon's prolonged political crisis, Syria's state-run news agency, SANA, reported. Syria will support Moussa's task "for gathering all the Lebanese parties to reach national consensus," Meqdad told reporters at the end of a joint Syrian-Greek meeting on Thursday.  SANA said Meqdad stressed that a settlement to the crisis "is a Lebanese (matter) and must be (solved) among all Lebanese." It said Meqdad called on the various Lebanese political parties "to do their best for achieving national consensus among all Lebanese." He also condemned crimes committed by Israeli forces against the Palestinian people, expressing Syria's solidarity with them. Meqdad urged the international community to stand by the Palestinian people "who are suffering from the occupation because the occupation is the core of all problems in the region," SANA said. "Syria condemns all attempts that have impeded the U.N. Security Council to adopt a resolution to stop Israel's continuous aggression against the Palestinian people as it condemns silence of some parties regarding Israeli violations of human rights, especially the states that abstained or voted against the resolution adopted by the U.N. Human Rights Council," SANA quoted Meqdad as saying.
"We believe in the just and comprehensive peace in the region for finding solutions to the state of instability, tension and wars caused by the occupation," he added.
On the Iraqi question, SANA said Meqdad underscored Syria's cooperation with the Iraqi government "to solve all the problems created by the American occupation." It said Meqdad added that "security cooperation between the two countries is very good and the most important thing in Iraq is to achieve national reconciliation... maintain the unity of the land and people of Iraq and to put a timetable for the withdrawal of foreign troops from Iraq." Beirut, 08 Feb 08, 08:50

Syria is not allowing arms to be smuggled through its territory into Lebanon,
Haaretz/the London-based newspaper Al-Hayat quoted on Friday a senior official as saying.
"Syria controls the border," the official was reported to have told Austrian Foreign Minister Ursula Plassnik during her visit to Damascus in recent days. "All weapons smuggling to Lebanon is not conducted through the Syria-Lebanon border, but rather through the sea."
According to the report, the Austrian foreign minister expressed concern over Syria's control of the border, and was given firm assurances by senior members of the Syrian government that the border was secure. Further, the paper reported that the Syrian officials rejected the idea of stationing European Union monitors on the border, saying that the move was unnecessary as "Syria and Lebanon are not enemies." A government spokesperson in Syria confirmed on Friday that Syrian President Bashar Assad met with Plassnik and discussed the issue of Middle East peace, and ways to forward the process. "Assad told the Austrian foreign minister that his country is investing its utmost in order to achieve peace and justice throughout the region," the spokesperson said.

Dib: German Train Bomb Plot Masterminded by Beirut Accomplice
HaaretzA Lebanese man on trial for a failed plot to bomb German trains testified that an accomplice convicted in Beirut had masterminded the scheme.
Youssef Mohammed al-Hajj Dib, 23, told the court in the western German city of Dusseldorf that his associate, Jihad Hamad, had called for the attack to avenge satirical cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammed published in European newspapers.
Hamad, also 23, saw it as his "religious duty that one cannot back away from," Dib told the court.
He added that he built his own bomb so it would not detonate, intending its discovery to be a warning to German society.
"I was 100 percent sure that the explosives would not go off," he said, adding that he believed Hamad had wired his device to explode.
Prosecutors say Dib and Hamad placed live homemade bombs on two commuter trains in July 2006 and that only a technical fault prevented a bloodbath.
Dib said he had "major reservations" about his alleged accomplice's plot.
"I felt unwell in my heart with it," he said.
Dib said he had developed affection for Germans during years in which he was a student in the northern port city of Kiel.
"I could not just kill people here," he said.
Hamad was sentenced last month in Beirut to 12 years in prison for his part in the failed attack in July 2006.
That court also convicted Dib in absentia.
German investigators believe Dib and Hamad were behind a bid to copy deadly train blasts in Madrid in 2004 and London the following year.
Authorities have said Hamad claimed during questioning that he and Dib also plotted to attack a stadium during the football World Cup in Germany in 2006 and a bridge over the Rhine River in the western city of Cologne.
Hamad testified that they abandoned those plans because of tight security surrounding World Cup venues and did not attack the bridge because a homemade bomb would not have been strong enough to destroy it, they said.(AFP) Beirut, 08 Feb 08, 07:48

Would Hizbullah Accept a Neutral Cabinet?
HaaretzThe Hizbullah-led opposition is prepared to facilitate presidential elections, accept a "neutral cabinet" in which it does not hold veto powers in return for early parliamentary elections, an-Nahar's Emile Khoury wrote Thursday. "Some opposition factions are prepared to accept even continuity of the present government in office … to supervise parliamentary elections based on a new law accepted by representatives of the opposition and majority," Khoury wrote. The majority priorities, he noted, are topped by "agreement on electing a president … then discussing the formation of a new government to supervise parliamentary elections, early or on schedule," Khoury added. Steps leading to such a cabinet include "expanding the present government … or return of the resigned ministers to its ranks, so that it can rule until before parliamentary elections when it should resign and a new cabinet would be formed to supervise the vote," Khoury wrote.
A second option, according to the article, is to form a "national unity government in which power sharing would be agreed between the president, the opposition and the majority."A third option calls for the formation of a "salvation" body to supervise activities of the present cabinet. The fourth, and apparently the most serious option, calls for the formation of an "independent" cabinet tasked with proposing a new election law that would be balanced and to "supervise early parliamentary elections to satisfy the opposition. A president should be elected before the cabinet is formed to satisfy the majority," Khoury wrote. The fourth option is being "seriously considered and could be accepted because it provides a balanced solution," he concluded. Beirut, 07 Feb 08, 14:21

Obama, Lebanon and the myth of change
Someone got Barak Obama to comment on Lebanon. While he spoke against Syrian and Iranian meddling, and urged the disarming of Hizbullah, he also gave us this gem:
“Washington musts rectify the wrong policy of President George Bush in Lebanon and resort to an efficient and permanent diplomacy, rather than empty slogans,” he added. He also said that the US must cooperate with its European and Arab allies to sponsor an inter-Lebanese consensus on a stable and democratic Lebanon. (Now Lebanon)
Readers of this blog will find this painfully hilarious, and possibly indicative of Obama’s ignorance of the situation in Lebanon. I don’t expect the presidential hopeful to read Lebanese news every day, but really, the situation has gotten so repetitive that it should be clear that the above statement is at best moronic. What kind of diplomacy that has not been tried before by the "Europeans and Arab allies" will help Lebanon? I am not going to defend the Bush administration’s policy in Lebanon. It may reek of "empty slogans" at times, but how does talking to criminals create solutions? And pray explain how supporting the Hariri tribunal, as Obama said he does, can be reconciled with chatting up the ones who killed him?
Obama’s Super Tuesday speech could have been inspiring. "We are the ones we have been waiting for", he said. Despite its beauty, the speech reeked of the same "empty slogans" Obama complains his competitors inflict on people. Running foreign policy on the basis of "talking to those we don’t like" makes the world look like an old episode of the Oprah Winfrey show with Obama filling in for Dr. Phil.
I, for one, am not waiting for Barack. His path is long and winding, and if Bush suffered of ignorance at the beginning of his first term, then Barack will not make up for it through fancy talk. The only "change" I see from a Barack administration, as far as foreign policy is concerned, is the change that will befall the naïve president, and that will hit his supporters like a slap in the face.
Our moment is indeed now, not when Obama learns the ropes.

Aoun and Nasrallah in primetime
NOW Staff , February 7, 2008
We don’t know about you, but we soldiered through two-and-a-half hours of the Aoun-Nasrallah interview on Wednesday night (with an hour to spare), and it wasn’t easy. It’s not that the general and the Sayyed had nothing interesting to say; they did, even if we’ve heard it all before. However, we were left wondering what that weird encounter was all about.
Here’s our theory. The Aounists have been unable to take to the streets in support of the opposition’s demands – largely because most Christians and, now, the Lebanese army disapprove of such an endeavor. That bothers Hezbollah to no end, because without Christian frontage, the opposition looks exclusively Shia. In many ways, it is, but that’s not the impression Hezbollah wants to create. Instead, the party wants to show that it is part of a broad, multi-confessional movement – one as diverse as the parliamentary majority.
Aoun is unable to confirm this in the streets, but he can confirm it on television. Hence, the joint interview.
We can focus on content, of course. What did you think of Nasrallah’s statement that Rafik Hariri told him he would have been willing to allow Syrian troops to remain in the Bekaa Valley for 10 years? Right, given an honest choice between a full Syrian withdrawal and a decade-long Syrian presence inside Lebanon, Hariri would have chosen the latter.
Or what about the interesting sliver of difference between Nasrallah and Aoun on the future of Hezbollah’s weapons? Nasrallah once again tied Hezbollah’s retaining its weapons to the existence of an Israeli threat. But since that threat is, presumably, everlasting, does that mean that Hezbollah will remain permanently armed? Aoun tentatively ventured out of his shell to offer that the weapons could perhaps be held by the army.
However, it was the body language, the atmospherics, the bulky Regency style table, which to us were more important than the details of the discussion. For starters, Aoun was a pussycat in Nasrallah’s presence. Virtually everything the Sayyed said, the general agreed with. When Aoun stumbled, Nasrallah came to his rescue, clarifying a vague thought, tightening the script, gently telling Aoun what he should say. The interview was a tour de force for Nasrallah and a wet firecracker for Aoun.
Does that matter? In a way it does. Aoun’s chances of becoming president are nil. However, the general could have at least looked presidential. On Wednesday night, though, he was positively anemic.
For hours we had to hear the two guests talking about the past; about the details of their courtship going as far back as 2005. We heard at great length about that joint document they penned in February 2006, whose signature the interview was intended to celebrate. We heard about the summer 2006 war and the significance of the resistance. But we hardly heard anything at all about the vision the two men share for Lebanon’s future. Instead, they again made clear that they would deny us a vision by continuing to hold the presidential election hostage to their very different priorities.
That’s not surprising. Aoun and Nasrallah have no common vision. They do share a deep contempt for traditional Lebanese politics and regard themselves as hovering above the political gutter. They personally dislike the March 14 leaders. They’re willing to look the other way on whatever Syria does in Lebanon. But that’s it. Each man has something of the absolutist in him, and no town is big enough for two absolutists.
We have made the argument here before, and will do so again. Aoun has lost much of the Christian goodwill he enjoyed in 2005. There are those who will follow the general into a new October 13 debacle if they have to. However, many more Christians refuse to do so. They voted for the general in 2005, but now they’ve changed their minds.
Even within the Free Patriotic Movement, we can confirm that there are leadership tensions, though perhaps not quite as severe as some would like to make them. Without a presidential project guiding him, Aoun is in disarray.
Which takes us back to the Aoun-Nasrallah interview. The Sayyed deftly explained why Hezbollah had not publicly supported Aoun’s candidacy. The explanation may have even convinced a few. But the reality is that Aoun’s name was not on the recent list sent by the Syrians to the French, via the Qataris. The Syrians don’t want Aoun as president, and therefore Hezbollah won’t truly support him – officially or unofficially. The old general is being used, and that was again obvious on Wednesday evening.

CRACKS IN IRAN’S ECONOMIC FACADE
The Committee on the Present Danger
February 7, 2008
International Sanctions + Domestic Mismanagement = Economic Decline
Publicly, Iran’s mullahcracy remains defiant over the nation’s nuclear program. Government officials greeted the latest round of United Nations sanctions – to which the United States, Russia, China, France, Great Britain and Germany agreed in late January – with jeers, calling the pressure “a waste of effort” and vowing to pursue their nuclear ambitions.
At home, however, evidence is mounting that international sanctions are, in fact, starting to bite. Total imports into Iran rose by nearly 10 percent between March and November of last year, Iran’s official customs agency reported. Staples such as corn, rice, and sugar are among the goods increasingly acquired from abroad. In particular, the agency reported, imports of metal have soared, with the Iranian government reportedly spending some $4 billion during the period in question to ease pressure on the country’s metallurgical sector.
Making economic matters worse in Iran is the questionable fiscal stewardship of its President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. He has implemented an array of destructive policies – such as arbitrary wage and benefit increases, cash infusions to politically popular but unproductive investments, and unnaturally low interest rates on Iranian banks – since taking power two-and-a-half years ago, says a comprehensive study of Iran’s economy in the January edition of Middle East Economic Survey. The predictable results of this dysfunctional package of “reforms”: inflation has officially topped 15 percent and, by some estimates, will eclipse 20 percent this year. Simultaneously, the study says, Iran’s economy apparently has succumbed to “Dutch Disease,” in which booming exports can lead to rapid currency appreciation. The rising value of Iran’s rial is making foreign goods cheaper and more competitive, crippling domestic industries and generating job cuts and bankruptcy for some domestic producers.
The economic news out of Iran should prove heartening to policymakers in Washington. Despite Tehran’s official denials, economic pressure is having a pronounced effect. As their next logical step, U.S. officials should parlay these measures into a comprehensive economic strategy that signals to Iran’s leaders that the costs of their nuclear acquisition will be high indeed.
ww.committeeonthepresentdanger.org. P.O. Box 33249, Washington DC 20003-3249
Contact: Larry Haas, larry@larryhaasonline.com. 202 257-9592