LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
February 11/08

Bible Reading of the day.
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 4,1-11. Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. He fasted for forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was hungry. The tempter approached and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, command that these stones become loaves of bread." He said in reply, "It is written: 'One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.'" Then the devil took him to the holy city, and made him stand on the parapet of the temple, and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down. For it is written: 'He will command his angels concerning you and 'with their hands they will support you, lest you dash your foot against a stone.'" Jesus answered him, "Again it is written, 'You shall not put the Lord, your God, to the test.'" Then the devil took him up to a very high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in their magnificence, and he said to him, "All these I shall give to you, if you will prostrate yourself and worship me." At this, Jesus said to him, "Get away, Satan! It is written: 'The Lord, your God, shall you worship and him alone shall you serve.'" Then the devil left him and, behold, angels came and ministered to him.

Free Opinions, Releases, letters & Special Reports
Lebanon "cannot bear two armies"By : W. Thomas Smith Jr. Feb 10, 2008

Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources for February 10/08
March 14 Calls on Lebanese to Protect their Nation and Prevent Syrian Comeback-Naharnet
Yazbek: Resistance All Set to Defend Lebanon-Naharnet
Jordan's King: Obstacles Facing Implementation of Arab Plan should be Removed-Naharnet
Jumblat Warns Hizbullah: Let it Be War and We Will Seize your Rockets-Naharnet
IDF: Hezbollah deploys Katyushas, missiles in south Lebanon-Ha'aretz, Israel
Turkey’s Parliament Lifts Scarf Ban-New York Times
Hariri: If there is National Will, Crisis Would Be Solved-Naharnet
Mekari: If I had Power, I wouldn't Have Closed Parliament Doors-Naharnet
Damascus Smears Lebanese PM Siniora as “Israeli agent”-DEBKA file
Mekari: If I had Power, I wouldn't Have Closed Parliament Doors-Naharnet
Sfeir: U.N. Obliged to 'Restrain" Situation, Hizbullah is a Problem-Naharnet
Presidential Elections Postponed, Moussa Left After Aoun Rejected Berri's Settlement Concept-Naharnet
Suleiman: I will Support Consensus on Another Candidate-Naharnet
Sfeir Labeled 'Father of Independence'-Naharnet
Feltman: Hizbullah is Individual Decision-Maker-Naharnet
Misleading the world about Lebanese politics-Daily Star
Political instability jeopardises rescue bid for state utility firm-MEED
Hariri: We Would Thwart The Syrian Regime's Attempt to Assassinate Lebanon--Naharnet

Lebanon "cannot bear two armies"
By : W. Thomas Smith Jr.
Feb 10, 2008]
http://worlddefensereview.com/wts021008.shtml
Lots going on in Lebanon as Hezbollah continues its quest to establish its kingdom within the state. Others prefer saying "a state within a state." But kingdom is a more accurate term for the aggregate zones controlled by the huge Taliban-like terrorist army - funded by Iran and supported by Syria - that fancies itself a legitimate Lebanese political party.
Yesterday, I learned that Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir - Lebanon's Maronite Christian leader who oversees some 12-million Maronites worldwide - referred to Hezbollah as "a problem," and he said Lebanon "cannot bear two armies because that leads to a substitute state" within the state.
In an interview for Lebanon's weekly newsmagazine, al-Massira, Sfeir also said the United Nations has an "obligation to introduce restraints."
The UN is already in Lebanon, operating as a "peacekeeping force" in the south between the Litani River and the Israeli border. But UN forces are accomplishing "absolutely nothing," according to retired Brig. Gen. Jim Cash while guest-hosting on retired Maj. Gen. Paul Vallely's Stand Up America radio show, last week.
Sfeir - in the al-Massira interview - added (and I am paraphrasing here based on a translation from one of my Lebanese sources), "The leadership in Lebanon cannot govern. The UN must send in a governor to organize and govern Lebanon."
This as Lebanon has again postponed its presidential elections (previously slated for Monday) for the 14th time.
Also yesterday, Druze leader Walid Jumblat referred to Sfeir as the "father of the independence and reconciliation in Lebanon."
TODAY, Jumblat pulled no punches when he warned Hezbollah:
"...that the majority [pro-democracy] March 14 coalition was ready to go to war if the Iranian and Syrian backed group was after disorder. 'If the others want war, then March 14 is ready. And if they want peace, March 14 is also ready,' Jumblat said at a press conference. 'War does not scare us. We have no problem with war or rockets,' Jumblat said in reference to Hizbullah's possession of thousands of missiles. ...
'We will seize the rockets from you because we don't fear martyrdom,' Jumblat vowed."
Naharnet has more here, here, and here.
*** W. Thomas Smith Jr. – a former U.S. Marine rifle-squad leader, parachutist, and shipboard counterterrorism instructor – writes about military/defense issues and has covered conflict in the Balkans, on the West Bank, in Iraq and Lebanon. He has written six books, and his articles have appeared in USA Today, George, U.S. News & World Report, BusinessWeek, National Review Online, CBS News, The Washington Times, and many others.
W. Thomas Smith Jr. can be reached at wthomassmithjr@yahoo.com.

Jordan's King: Obstacles Facing Implementation of Arab Plan should be Removed
Naharnet:Jordan's King Abdullah II on Sunday said the Arab summit next month in Damascus needs "careful planning" as he received an invitation to attend the meeting, the palace said. "Careful planning is needed for the summit in order to create consensus and come up with a unified Arab position at this critical stage with major challenges facing the Arab nation," he told Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem. Muallem handed the invitation from President Bashar al-Assad to the Jordanian monarch, the palace said. Arab League chief Amr Moussa has said the 22-member body's annual summit would be held in Damascus on March 29 and 30, in spite of Syria's alleged involvement in Lebanon's political crisis. Lebanon has been without a head of state since November 23, after pro-Syrian Emile Lahoud stepped down at the end of his term with no elected successor and parliament has failed so far to elect a president. "Obstacles facing the implementation of an Arab League plan to end the Lebanese crisis should be removed," the king said. The plan calls for the election of Lebanon's army chief General Michel Suleiman as president, the formation of a national unity government in which no single party has veto power, and a new electoral law. But feuding Lebanese politicians have not agreed on the proposal.(AFP) Beirut, 10 Feb 08, 21:50

March 14 Calls on Lebanese to Protect their Nation and Prevent Syrian Comeback
Naharnet:The majority March 14 alliance on Sunday called on the various Lebanese people to carry on with the battle of independence, safeguard Lebanon and prevent a Syrian comeback. "We urge all Lebanese to carry on with the battle of independence that was launched by the Maronite church Sept. 20, 2000 and materialized on March 14, 2005 upon the assassination of former Premier Rafik Hariri and then crystallized by the martyrdom of politicians, journalists, military officers and innocent people," a A statement by March 14 Forces, read by former MP Faris Soeid from Bkirki, also called on the Lebanese to "protect their nation and prevent the Syrian regime from returning."It stressed its rejection to the verbal campaign against Bkirki "because it targets the basics of coexistence and the rest of the Lebanese committed to coexistence." Beirut, 10 Feb 08, 19:05

Yazbek: Resistance All Set to Defend Lebanon
Naharnet:Sheikh Mohammed Yazbek, a member of Hizbulla's Shoura Council, said Sunday that the Shiite group was all set to "defend" Lebanon and the Lebanese at any moment.Yazbek stressed that Lebanon's stability was in "its unity and not by fighting the population," a reference to the army's interference in violent street protests in Beirut's southern suburbs on Jan. 27 that left seven people killed, all of them Shiites. He called on the majority March 14 coalition not to be tools in U.S.'s hands.
"We have heard from some circles that America cannot bear the Lebanon situation any longer," Yzabek went on.
He said the anniversary of the assassination of ex-Premier Rafik Hariri on Feb. 14 "does not just concern the Sunnis or (government) loyalists, but all the Lebanese."Yazbek urged Lebanese security forces to take all necessary measures to prevent "usage of Hariri's blood for fulfilling personal and American desires." Beirut, 10 Feb 08, 15:54

Jumblat Warns Hizbullah: Let it Be War and We Will Seize your Rockets
Naharnet: Druze leader Walid Jumblat on Sunday warned Hizbullah that the majority March 14 coalition was ready to go to war if the Iranian and Syrian backed group was after disorder. "If the others want war, then March 14 is ready. And if they want peace, March 14 is also ready," Jumblat said at a press conference.
"War does not scare us. We have no problem with war or rockets," Jumblat said in reference to Hizullah's possession of thousands of missiles.
Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah had said his group increased its stock of rockets since the 2006 summer war with Israel ended, despite attempts to keep arms from being smuggled into southern Lebanon. In a speech last October, Nasrallah said his group had 33,000 rockets — up from the 22,000 he said they had on Sept. 22. "We will seize the rockets from you because we don't fear martyrdom," Jumblat vowed. He also warned against "armed groups planning to carry out terrorist attacks against the army in the mountains." Jumblat pointed out that the problem today is between the "Hizbullah militia and the government, which is the only one that can take a decision to go to war or peace."Jumblat challenged Nasrallah, telling him: "Join us if you dare (in our drive) to build a free, independent Lebanon." He said the entire country will turn into "Security Squares," a reference to the so-called "Security Square" which is part of the Hizbuollah-controlled southern suburbs of Beirut. "We tell those who want to return the Syrian tutelage to Lebanon that we will not succumb," Jumblat threatened. "Don't you think we will accept return of this tutelage."On the international tribunal to prosecute suspects in the 2005 assassination of former five-time PrimeMinister Rafik Hariri and related crimes, Jumblat said that the court is going to be financed by Saudi Arabia. "Punishment will come, so will the noose," Jumblat warned. Jumblat called on everybody to carry the Lebanese flag and take part quietly in the Feb. 14 rally to commemorate the third anniversary of Hariri's murder. Beirut, 10 Feb 08, 13:02

Hariri: If there is National Will, Crisis Would Be Solved
Naharnet: Mustaqbal Movement leader and MP Saad Hariri said in an interview on the occasion of the third anniversary of the assassination of his father, former Premier Rafik Hariri, that when there is national will, the long-running Lebanon political crisis would be solved. "If there is a national will, then the problem can be solved away from foreign interference," Hariri said in the interview broadcast on his Future TV late Saturday from the northern port city of Tripoli.
Gunfire rang out in Beirut and elsewhere in Lebanon soon as Hariri's interview began in celebration of the deputy's TV appearance. TV footage showed supporters, brandishing Hariri posters, cheer in the streets of Tripoli, some dancing. Hariri called on both Christians and Muslims to go down to Martyrs Square on Feb. 14 "to defend Lebanon so it won't be assassinated again." He accused Syrian President Bashar Assad's regime of attempting to assassinate Lebanon, pledging to foil such a challenge. Hariri, insisting that the pro-government March 14 alliance is a "silent majority," said his coalition was not after a confrontation with the opposition.
"We don't want a confrontation. But if we are dragged into one, we will not stay hands tied," Hariri vowed, adding that Israel and Syria "are the beneficiaries of such a confrontation."
"Is this what the opposition wants?" he asked. Hariri believed that any "penetration by Syria of a Lebanese party is a national, and not sectarian, penetration."
On the Arab plan and efforts by Arab League chief Amr Moussa to convince the various political sides to implement it, Hariri said he was convinced that Syria does not want presidential elections. Although he admitted that there were a difference in view over the Arab initiative, Hariri said he was confident that at the end army commander Gen. Michel Suleiman will be elected President. Hariri stressed that March 14 wants to "build a civilized country."
"March 14 Forces can attract Arab and foreign investment as well as get international help for Lebanon. What can they (opposition) do for their country?" Hariri asked. Regarding a verbal campaign against Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir, Hariri described the prelate as "Lebanon's conscience," adding that attacking spiritual leaders is "disgraceful." On the international tribunal to try suspects in his father's murder as well as 14 other crimes, Hariri said he was confident that the United Nations "is doing a clear, honest and transparent job, and a ruling will be issued." "I expect to get justice from the international tribunal," he said.
Hariri reiterated that he is "positive of Syria's involvement in Hariri's assassination." "We will continue rebuilding Lebanon and we will achieve our goal of free, independent Lebanon despite the obstacles," Hariri vowed. He reminded the opposition that Lebanon will "stay and everybody one day would leave. That's why they should think of Lebanon's interests because history has no mercy." Beirut, 10 Feb 08, 07:58

Mekari: If I had Power, I wouldn't Have Closed Parliament Doors
Naharnet: Deputy House Speaker Farid Mekari accused Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri of crippling the legislature.
"If the deputy speaker had constitutional powers to hold parliament sessions, I wouldn't have closed Parliament doors," Mekari said in an interview with Future TV.
"Among the essential duties of Speaker Nabih Berri is to go to Parliament and hold presidential elections without pre-agreements," Mekari said.
"Instead, Speaker Berri went beyond his role and responsibilities, believing that postponing parliament sessions (to elect a president) is something normal," Mekari added. In response to a question, Mekari said "no progress was achieved" during the quartet meeting between Arab League chief Amr Moussa, Gen. Michel Aoun, former President Amin Gemayel and MP Saad Hariri. He said, however, that Moussa's mission did not fail "because it … showed that the other party does not want to hold elections in the country." Beirut, 09 Feb 08, 21:05