LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS
BULLETIN
February 20/08
Bible Reading of the day.
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 23,1-12. Then Jesus spoke
to the crowds and to his disciples, saying, "The scribes and the Pharisees have
taken their seat on the chair of Moses. Therefore, do and observe all things
whatsoever they tell you, but do not follow their example. For they preach but
they do not practice. They tie up heavy burdens (hard to carry) and lay them on
people's shoulders, but they will not lift a finger to move them. All their
works are performed to be seen. They widen their phylacteries and lengthen their
tassels. They love places of honor at banquets, seats of honor in synagogues,
greetings in marketplaces, and the salutation 'Rabbi.' As for you, do not be
called 'Rabbi.' You have but one teacher, and you are all brothers. Call no one
on earth your father; you have but one Father in heaven. Do not be called
'Master'; you have but one master, the Messiah. The greatest among you must be
your servant. Whoever exalts himself will be humbled; but whoever humbles
himself will be exalted.
Free Opinions, Releases, letters & Special Reports
Diversity is Lebanon's greatest
strength, but only when its people stand united.
The Daily Star. 19/02/08
Was Syria involved in Mugnieh's death?By: OLIVIER GUITTA.
19/02/08
Latest News Reports From
Miscellaneous Sources for February 19/08
Syria Wants to Control Lebanon's decision-making for Three
Years-Naharnet
Lebanon seeks death penalty for Islamist militia chief-AFP
Israel concerned over impending UNIFIL breakdown in Lebanon-Jerusalem
Post
Lebanon braces itself for possible Hezbollah attack on Israel-Ha'aretz
Report: Syria to present progress in Mughniyah killing probe
...Ha'aretz
State prosecutor releases report
on 2007 Ain Alaq bombings-Daily
Star
Army to deploy heavily in
volatile areas in Beirut-Daily
Star
Siniora: Lebanon wants friendly
ties with all states except Israel-Daily
Star
Fadlallah warns Israel may try
to make use of security 'chaos'-Daily
Star
Iran predicts Hizbullah will
soon destroy Israel-Daily
Star
Syrian forces shoot Lebanese man
in Bekaa-Daily
Star
Safadi in Brussels for talks on
energy solutions-Daily
Star
Israel's use of so many cluster
munitions 'shocking' Children, agricultural workers face serious threat-Daily
Star
Lebanon's GLC sticks by demands
for higher wages, better benefits-Daily
Star
Beirut comes in 37th for highest
costs per year for office space worldwide-Daily
Star
UNIFIL troops 'preserve the
love' through wide range of social services-Daily
Star
Storm pelts Lebanon with snow,
hail, rain-Daily
Star
Syria Yet to Invite Lebanon to Arab League Summit Next
Month-Bloomberg
Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources for February 19/08
Saudis Advised to Stay Out of Lebanon-Naharnet
The Mughniyeh
Controversy Hits Kuwait-Naharnet
Aoun: The Mughniyeh
Assassination is Aggression on Lebanon and Syria-Naharnet
Syria invades Lebanon, shoots and wounds a Lebanese-Ya
Libnan
Delayed Storm Batters
Lebanon-Naharnet
Jumblat: Why Syrians
Negotiate and Lebanese Fight?-Naharnet
Iran predicts Hezbollah will destroy Israel-AFP
Report: North Korea provided technological assistance to
Syria-International Herald Tribune
Jumblat: Why Syrians Negotiate and Lebanese Fight?
Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat accused Hizbullah of rejecting
the state concept in Lebanon. Jumblat noted: "Lebanese territories have been
liberated, except for Shebaa farms, that await the demarcation of borders with
Syria to establish Lebanese sovereignty on them.""So what is the mission of the
resistance after liberation?" he asked. "They want to keep Lebanon an open arena
for wars that serve their interests," he added. Jumblat noted that Syrian
negotiator Ibrahim Suleiman has been holding talks with Israeli officials in
Turkey, asking: "Why Syrians can negotiate though their land is occupied and the
Lebanese should fight although their land is liberated?""It would be easy to
launch military operations and spark wars, but that would result in destroying
the nation anew," he noted. Jumblat made the remarks in an editorial that would
be published Tuesday by the PSP weekly mouthpiece, al-Anbaa.He noted that Syrian
officials did not take part in the funeral of Hizbullah official Imad Mughniyeh
who was killed in a car bombing in Damascus last Tuesday. Beirut, 18 Feb 08,
14:54
Aoun: The Mughniyeh Assassination is Aggression on Lebanon
and Syria
Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun on Monday said the
assassination in Damascus of Hizbullah's Imad Mughniyeh is an "aggression on
Lebanon and Syria."Aoun made the remark to reporters at his residence in Rabiyeh,
north of Beirut. "The Mughniyeh assassination is a very serious event and
people, both in Lebanon and elsewhere, are on tip topes," Aoun added. He said
"many people felt endangered after the (Mughniyeh) assassination and I am not
talking about domestic (figures), but outside Lebanon as well." He did not
elaborate on the remark. Aoun expressed hope that riots striking various
districts of Beirut would not escalate. The FPM leader said he is "ready to
cooperate to salvage Lebanon … from the serial violence." Beirut, 18 Feb 08,
17:50
Saudis Advised to Stay Out of Lebanon
Saudi Arabia, in a rare move, issued a travel restriction
advisory on Monday urging citizens to avoid Lebanon due to "unstable political
and security conditions."
The Saudi Press Agency (SPA) distributed the advisory attributed to an official
source at the foreign ministry who also urged Saudis living in Lebanon to adopt
the "required precautionary measures" in their movements. The advisory,
according to the source, was issued "in line with the keenness of the Saudi
Government on ensuring the safety of the citizens who are planning to travel
abroad."
The Mughniyeh Controversy Hits Kuwait
The Kuwaiti government called on rival Muslim factions to show
restraint on Monday after a rally by minority Shiites to mourn a slain commander
of Lebanon's Hizbullah took a sectarian turn. "I call on the media and citizens
to leave this issue to the government," said government spokesman Faisal
al-Hajji, adding that the cabinet had taken legal measures to ensure "the
security and stability of Kuwait society" but without giving details. His
comments followed a Shiite rally at which Imad Mughniyeh was lauded as a "martyr
hero" by Shiite MP Adnan Abdulsamad. The rally was condemned by Sunni MPs and
organizations, which in turn branded Mughniyeh a "terrorist" and a "criminal".
They described Saturday's rally as a "provocation" to the Kuwaiti people.
Mughniyeh, killed in a car bombing in Damascus last Tuesday, was suspected of
hijacking Kuwaiti planes and plotting a series of bombings against the French
and U.S. embassies and Kuwaiti targets in the 1980s at the height of the
Iran-Iraq war. Kuwait has never officially implicated Mughniyeh in the attacks,
but Hajji said on Monday that "he was suspected of being behind attacks" on
Kuwait.
"Our country is in a region in turmoil and we should thus be aware of the
dangers and must spare our society the sufferings faced by neighboring
countries," Hajji said in comments reported by the official KUNA news agency. He
added that the cabinet discussed the Mughniyeh mourning issue during its weekly
meeting on Monday. The majority of Kuwait's one-million population is Sunni but
around one-third are Shiites. They are represented by four MPs in the 50-member
parliament. Since the Shiite majority ascended to power in neighboring Iraq
following the overthrow of the regime of Saddam Hussein by a U.S.-led coalition
in 2003, some sectarian rifts surfaced in oil-rich Kuwait but were swiftly
resolved.(AFP) Beirut, 18 Feb 08, 17:59
Saudis Advised to Stay Out of Lebanon
Saudi Arabia, in a rare move, issued a travel restriction
advisory on Monday urging citizens to avoid Lebanon due to "unstable political
and security conditions."
The Saudi Press Agency (SPA) distributed the advisory attributed to an official
source at the foreign ministry who also urged Saudis living in Lebanon to adopt
the "required precautionary measures" in their movements. The advisory,
according to the source, was issued "in line with the keenness of the Saudi
Government on ensuring the safety of the citizens who are planning to travel
abroad."The move was adopted after some factions of the Hizbullah-led opposition
have accused Saudi Arabia of blocking a settlement to the ongoing political
crisis in Lebanon. It also followed sharp verbal attacks by pro-Syrian figures
against Saudi officials. The March 14 majority blames Syria and Iran for
obstructing a settlement in Lebanon. The precautionary Saudi move also followed
street tensions in Lebanon that wounded at least 20 people late on Saturday.
Observers have said major Arab countries, including Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Gulf
states, might boycott the forthcoming Arab Summit scheduled for March 29 in
Damascus, if the Lebanese crisis persisted. Relations between Saudi Arabia and
Syria have been deteriorating since the assassination of Lebanese ex-Premier
Rafik Hariri by a powerful blast that targeted his motorcade in Beirut on Feb.
14, 2005.
Syria has been widely blamed for the crime, a charge that Damascus has denied.
Beirut, 18 Feb 08, 16:48
Intelligence Meeting over Security Concerns Ends Militants'
Immunity
Senior Lebanese intelligence officials as well as representatives from
Hizbullah, Amal and Mustaqbal movements agreed during an overnight meeting to
lift the immunity of militants after Beirut clashes left more than 30 people
wounded. The meeting comprised of Brig. Gen. George Khoury, head of the army's
intelligence service, Brig. Ghassan Salem, police chief Brig. Gen. Ashraf Rifi,
Brig. Ghassan Salem, director general of the Internal Security Forces as well as
representatives from Hizbullah, Amal and Mustaqbal movements, Wafiq Safa, Ahmed
Baalbaki and Khaled Shehab respectively.
The conferees agreed to establish contacts "on the ground" to prevent renewal of
clashes that pitted Amal activists against MP Saad Hariri's followers in several
neighborhoods of West Beirut. Representatives of Hizbullah, Amal and Mustaqbal
also agreed to lift the immunity of "any violator" and vowed to maintain contact
with one another in an effort to ease the tense situation.
Unknown assailants tossed a concussion grenade at the offices of Druze leader
Walid Jumblat's Progressive Socialist Party in Beirut's Musaitbeh neighborhood
late Sunday. No casualties were reported. Also Sunday night, a Lebanese army
soldier was wounded when a military checkpoint at the entrance to the northern
Palestinian refugee camp of Nahr al-Bared came under fire. Security sources said
unknown attackers opened fire form automatic weapons around 10 pm. Exchanges of
gunfire followed the attack which prompted army troops to launch house raids in
the area where the shooting took place.
Earlier Sunday, two people were wounded in a shootout near the Palestinian
refugee camps of Sabra and Shatila. It was not immediately clear who fired or
what caused the clash, but a police official said two people -- a Palestinian
and a Lebanese -- were lightly wounded and taken to the nearby Makassed hospital
for treatment. The official National News Agency reported a shootout between a
group of Palestinians and Lebanese. NNA said army troops stepped in to restore
order. No further details were given on the cause of the clash, but NNA said the
gunmen fled to an unknown location. Clashes have become common in recent weeks
as tensions escalate between warring Lebanese factions and Lebanon's
15-month-old political crisis deepens. On Saturday night, at least 20 people
were wounded in clashes between supporters of Hariri's Mustaqbal Movement and
followers of Hizbullah and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri's AMAL movement in
west Beirut's districts of Ras al-Nabaa, Bechara al-Khoury, Barbour, Nweiri and
Tariq Jedideh. The area in the past week has been the scene of sporadic clashes
between pro-government supporters and activists of the Hizbullah-led opposition,
backed by Syria and Iran. After the Sunday violence, the military command warned
against further clashes and pledged firm action. "The army command warns of the
dangerous situation and will act firmly against anyone who tries to destabilize
security," a military communiqué said. Seven people were killed last month when
protests against power cuts in south Beirut's Mar Mikhael-Shiyah district
degenerated into violent riots, prompting Lebanese troops to open fire. Beirut,
18 Feb 08, 07:29
Mustaqbal for 'Total' Cooperation With Army, No Security
Committees
Saad Hariri's Mustaqbal Movement on Monday urged "total
cooperation" with Army and police units in safeguarding the nation's security
and stability.
The movement, in a statement, stressed: "The state, through its legal
institutions and administrations, is the sole authority entrusted with the
people's security and safety of their property."It praised a statement issued by
the army command, which had held political leaders responsible for defusing the
ongoing tension, but noted that such a stand holds the "legal security forces
responsible for confronting riots and protecting citizens, which would enjoy our
full support."
The statement noted that a meeting sponsored Sunday by the army command "was
strictly meant to contain repercussions of recent events in Beirut … and did not
reflect any intension to re-activate the joint security committees that
persisted during the" 1975-1990 civil war. The meeting grouped representatives
of the Mustaqbal Movement, Hizbullah and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri's AMAL.
Beirut, 18 Feb 08, 17:13
Delayed Storm Batters Lebanon
A powerful storm, which was expected to lash Lebanon with rain
and snow over the weekend, began battering the country at noon Monday.
Voice of Lebanon Radio Station said Internal Security Forces took precautionary
measures to prevent citizens from being trapped in villages due to the wild
weather. A huge snowstorm hit Lebanon late last month, isolating villages and
causing widespread havoc on roads with temperatures reaching below zero in many
areas, including Beirut. Many villages and towns at an altitude of 500 meters
above sea level were blanketed by snow that also left thousands of people
without power or telephone lines, mainly in mountainous areas.Strong winds
inflicted severe damage to crops and other property, while the rain turned many
roads into rivers.Also in Greece Monday, heavy snowfall left about 200 villages
cut off across the country and forced airport authorities to cancel dozens of
flights.
Between 10 and 15 centimeters of snow blanketed the center of the capital
Athens. Heavy snow also fell over much of Turkey on Monday, causing traffic
accidents, disrupting air transport and closing schools.(Naharnet-AP) Beirut, 18
Feb 08, 15:37
Delayed Storm Batters Lebanon
A powerful storm, which was expected to lash Lebanon with rain and snow over the
weekend, began battering the country at noon Monday.
Voice of Lebanon Radio Station said Internal Security Forces took precautionary
measures to prevent citizens from being trapped in villages due to the wild
weather.A huge snowstorm hit Lebanon late last month, isolating villages and
causing widespread havoc on roads with temperatures reaching below zero in many
areas, including Beirut. Many villages and towns at an altitude of 500 meters
above sea level were blanketed by snow that also left thousands of people
without power or telephone lines, mainly in mountainous areas. Strong winds
inflicted severe damage to crops and other property, while the rain turned many
roads into rivers. Also in Greece Monday, heavy snowfall left about 200 villages
cut off across the country and forced airport authorities to cancel dozens of
flights.
Between 10 and 15 centimeters of snow blanketed the center of the capital
Athens. Heavy snow also fell over much of Turkey on Monday, causing traffic
accidents, disrupting air transport and closing schools.(Naharnet-AP)
Beirut, 18 Feb 08, 15:37
Iran predicts Hezbollah will destroy Israel
TEHRAN (AFP)18/02/08 — Iran's Revolutionary Guards on Monday predicted Hezbollah
would destroy Israel, in a new verbal onslaught against the Jewish state after
the murder of a top commander of Lebanon's Shiite militant group.
"In the near future, we will witness the destruction of Israel, the aggressor,
this cancerous microbe Israel, at the able hands of the soldiers of the
community of Hezbollah," the ideological force's commander, Mohammad Ali Jafari,
was quoted by the Fars news agency as saying.
Jafari's comments came in a condolence message to Hezbollah chief Hassan
Nasrallah after the murder last week in Damascus of top commander Imad Mughnieh,
who has been blamed for a string of anti militant attacks on US and Jewish
intrests. "With the martyrdom of this true Muslim, the
intentions of all revolutionary and combatant Muslims, especially the comrades
of this dear martyr, will without doubt become firmer against the Zionist
regime," Jafari said.
Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has already blamed Israel for
killing Mughnieh, hailing him as a "great" man whose his death would serve to
increase resistance against the Jewish state.
In a sign of Iran's respect for Mughnieh, Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki
attended his funeral in the Shiite suburbs of Beirut on Thursday and gave a
speech.
The Islamic republic has a longstanding policy of non-recognition of Israel but
its rhetoric against the Jewish state has sharpened during the presidency of
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
Ahmadinejad has provoked international outrage by repeatedly predicting that
Israel is doomed to disappear. He also courted more controversy by playing down
the scale of the Holocaust.
Iran insists its position is in no way anti-Semitic but anti-Zionist, pointing
to the continued existence in the country of the largest Jewish community in the
Middle East after Israel.
Mughnieh, who was killed in a car bombing in Damascus on Tuesday, was suspected
of masterminding the abduction of Western hostages in Lebanon in the 1980s and
of the 1992 bombing of the Israeli embassy in Buenos Aires that killed 29
people.
He was also linked to the bombing of the US marine barracks at Beirut airport in
1983, in which 241 American servicemen died and the hijacking of TWA Flight 847
in 1985, in which a US navy diver was killed.
Israel, while welcoming the death of Mughnieh, has denied any link to his
murder. Meanwhile, the US intelligence chief has publicly suggested that
internal elements in Syria or even Hezbollah could be to blame.
"There's some evidence that it may have been internal Hezbollah. It may have
been Syria. We don't know yet, and we're trying to sort that out," Director of
National Intelligence Mike McConnell told Fox News.
The Syrian pro-government Al-Watan newspaper reported on Sunday that the
authorities have detained Arab suspects for questioning in connection with the
murder.
The events come amid growing US frustration with Iran's activities in Shiite
majority Iraq and in Lebanon which has a substantial Shiite community.
The United States accuses Iran, along with its regional ally Syria, of arming
and financing Hezbollah, as well as working to destabilise Lebanon in its
current political crisis.
Overwhelmingly Shiite Iran jubilantly cheered Hezbollah's resistance against
Israel in the 2006 war but insists it only gives the Lebanese group political
support and not military aid.
Washington also accuses Tehran of being a leading sponsor of terror and
developing technology that could be used to make nuclear weapons, another
allegation that Iran vehemently denies.
"We are not harbouring any illusions about the Tehran regime's true intentions
nor its extremist agenda," commented Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's
spokesman Mark Regev.
Was Syria involved in Mugnieh's death?
By OLIVIER GUITTA (Middle East Times)-February 18, 2008
February 12 marked a point against radical Islam. The killing of Hezbollah's
mastermind and legend, Imad Mughnieh, in Damascus should be considered a great
victory. The death of one of the most sophisticated and bloody terror masters
that had been in "business" for 25 years makes the world a much better place,
commented a U.S. State Department spokesman. The question remains: who is
ultimately responsible for this?
Increasingly, it seems that maybe Syria was behind the attack. Indeed, on Feb.
17, Mike McConnell, the director of National Intelligence, told Fox News:
"There's some evidence that it may have been internal Hezbollah. It may have
been Syria."
Let's review the chronology of what allegedly occurred on Feb. 12.
First, according to the well-informed Kuwaiti daily al-Seyassah, Mughnieh was
reported to have attended a high-level meeting called by the head of Syrian
security services and Syrian President Bashar Assad's brother-in-law, Assef
Chawkat. The other participants to that meeting included top Syrian leaders,
representatives from Hamas (including its top leader Khaled Meshaal),
Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and Hezbollah. The purpose of that meeting was
allegedly to select the potential targets to strike in Arab countries, if the
latter refused to participate in the Arab summit set for the end of March in
Damascus. It was purportedly during that meeting that Mughnieh's car was
booby-trapped.
Second, and interestingly enough, initially, al-Arabiya TV reported that the
victim was allegedly a Hamas top leader.
Third, what is most troubling is that the Syrian authorities were silent for
nine hours after the explosion. They then finally announced the victim's name.
Fourth and foremost, what makes also Syria a potential suspect is that security
is very tight inside the country and even more so in Damascus. Furthermore,
Mughnieh was famous for being rather paranoid about his security detail, so
there is only a very slight possibility that foreign security services could
have managed to approach and booby-trap his car.
Now, why would Syria "sacrifice" one of its allies? Lebanese analysts are
offering a few suggestions:
First, since Mughnieh, as a top Hezbollah operative working for both Syria and
Iran, was suspected of having a hand in the assassination of former Lebanese
prime minister Rafik Hariri, thus the Syrians might have found it convenient to
eliminate him and in the process, sever any link to Damascus. Three years after
Hariri's murder, it now seems as though the international tribunal established
by the United Nations will finally be hearing the case.
Many in Washington, Paris and Beirut have been frustrated by the fact that it is
taking so long to judge Hariri's killers, especially in light of how far the
investigation of the first prosecutor, Detlev Mehlis, progressed during the
first few months following the assassination.
Assad has been trying to prevent the international tribunal getting underway
because, analysts believe, the killing of Hariri possibly involved some of his
close entourage. The fear in some circles, particularly among the Lebanese, is
that a deal may be in the making, whereas the West would agree to call off the
international tribunal in return for Syria clamping down on Hezbollah, Hamas and
Palestinian Islamic Jihad. Time will tell is this theory holds any water.
While Mughnieh's involvement in various attacks have been quite documented –
mostly in Lebanon in the 1980s (including the bombing of the U.S. Marine and
French military barracks in Beirut in 1983), and then in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait
and Argentina – one should not forget his alleged role in setting up Hezbollah
offices in Iraq as early as 2003 and training Iraqi insurgents (mostly from
Moqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi Army), and his alleged role in the Hezbollah-Israel war
in the summer of 2006.
It is quite interesting to note Israel's recent stance on Syria starting with
the 2006 war. Leading Israeli government officials made a point over that summer
of repeating time and again that Syria was not the enemy, at a time when Israeli
soldiers were fighting Syrian-backed Hezbollah. Numerous reports of "secret"
negotiations between the two countries have emerged, and just last week Israeli
Defense Minister Ehud Barak was in Ankara to talk about improving relations with
Damascus (among other things).
Could Mughnieh's death be the first sign of Assad's fulfilling his side of the
deal?
**Olivier Guitta, an adjunct fellow at the Foundation for the Defense of
Democracies and a foreign affairs and counterterrorism consultant, is the
founder of the newsletter, The Croissant (www.thecroissant.com).