LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS
BULLETIN
July 21/08
Bible Reading of the day.
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to
Saint Matthew 13,24-43.He proposed another parable to them. "The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard
seed that a person took and sowed in a field.
It is the smallest of all the seeds, yet when full-grown it is the largest of
plants. It becomes a large bush, and the 'birds of the sky come and dwell in its
branches.'"He spoke to them another parable. "The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a
woman took and mixed with three measures of wheat flour until the whole batch
was leavened."
All these things Jesus spoke to the crowds in parables. He spoke to them only in
parables,
to fulfill what had been said through the prophet: "I will open my mouth in
parables, I will announce what has lain hidden from the foundation (of the
world)."
Then, dismissing the crowds, he went into the house. His disciples approached
him and said, "Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field."He said in reply, "He who sows good seed is the Son of Man,
the field is the world, the good seed the children of the kingdom. The weeds are
the children of the evil one,
and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and
the harvesters are angels.
Just as weeds are collected and burned (up) with fire, so will it be at the end
of the age.
The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will collect out of his kingdom
all who cause others to sin and all evildoers.
They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be wailing and
grinding of teeth.
Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father.
Whoever has ears ought to hear.
Free
Opinions, Releases, letters & Special Reports
Samir
Kuntar and the Last Laugh-by Daniel Pipes. Jerusalem Post 21/07/08
A warrior's rest-By: Amira Howeidy-Al-Arabiya 21/07/08
Al-Taqiyya is Alive and Well in Geneva. By
W. Thomas Smith Jr.
Canada Free Press July 21, 2008
Lebanon can reap the rewards of
Moallem's diplomatic prowess.The
Daily Star 21/07/08
LEBANON: Peace still precarious-
21July 2008 (IRIN)
Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources for July
21/08
Muallem from Lebanon: Damascus Determined to Establish
Diplomatic Ties with Lebanon-Naharnet
Gemayel
for Documented Syrian Recognition of Lebanese Sovereignty over Shebaa Farms-Naharnet
Jumblat
for Abrogating Prejudicial Treaties with Syria-Naharnet
Jund
al-Sham Commander Escapes Assassination Attempt-Naharnet
Hizbullah Attack on Israel
Imminent, Israeli Official Says-Naharnet
Geagea for Serious
Lebanese-Syrian Ties-Naharnet
Vote of Confidence
Expected Next Week, Berri-Naharnet
Syria invites Lebanese president to discuss ties-Reuters
Aoun Wants Minister to Handle Detainees in Syria-Naharnet
Muallem from Lebanon: Damascus Determined to
Establish Diplomatic Ties with Lebanon-Naharnet
Muallem: Beirut Visit Beginning of New Era in Ties with Lebanon-Naharnet
Hizbullah
Attack on Israel Imminent, Israeli Official SaysGeagea
for Serious Lebanese-Syrian Ties-Naharnet
Vote of Confidence
Expected Next Week, Berri-Naharnet
Ministerial Committee in
Decisive Meeting Over Policy Statement-Naharnet
UK Appeals Court to Save
Lebanese Mother from Abusive Husband?-Naharnet
Olmert: Israel Can Be
'Proud' of Swap Deal-Naharnet
Qassem Reiterates
Hizbullah Openness to Arms Talks-Naharnet
Why Edde Quit March 14?-Naharnet
A painful return to fateful hours-Ha'aretz
Iran gets two-week deadline to
respond to incentives offer-AFP
Lebanon MP calls for scrapping the 1991 treaty with Syria-Ya
Libnan
Sfeir urges Maronite leaders to put Lebanon's interests first-Daily
Star
Hopes high for Lebanon-Syria ties on eve of Moallem's visit to Beirut-Daily
Star
Post-traumatic stress caused far from rocket fire during Lebanon War-Jerusalem
Post
Malaysia sends new batch of
UNIFIL peacekeepers-Daily Star
Najjar: Hariri tribunal not
linked to Justice Ministry-Daily
Star
Swap boosted Hizbullah's image,
analysts say-AFP
Despite open-sky jitters MEA
profits keep soaringDaily
Star
Three
Palestinians die after fighting breaks out in Ain al-Hilweh-AFP
Ski resorts recast themselves as hot summer destinations-Daily
Star
Bsous museum highlights
Lebanon's history as major silk producer-Daily
Star
Muallem from Lebanon: Damascus Determined to Establish
Diplomatic Ties with Lebanon
Naharnet/Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem on
Monday delivered an invitation to Lebanese President Michel Suleiman from his
counterpart Bashar al-Assad to visit Damascus and stressed that Syria was
determined to establish diplomatic ties with Lebanon.
Muallem's trip was set to usher in a new page in relations, but a number of
thorny issues must be tackled before full diplomatic ties are established.
After an hour-long meeting with Suleiman, Muallem told a news conference that
the Lebanese president will visit Damascus soon and that contacts between the
two sides will help set a date for the visit. "We are determined to open an
embassy in Lebanon and exchange diplomatic relations with it," he stressed.
He said a Lebanese-Syrian committee is dealing with the issue of Lebanese
detainees in Syrian jails and "we hope that it would conclude its work soon."
"The Lebanese and Syrian governments will have to exchange visits to work for
the interest of their people," Muallem added, stressing that "No one can impose
anything on Lebanon if it was united."On the issue of demarcating the
Lebanese-Syrian border, Muallem said "nothing prevents" the Lebanese from doing
so.
Muallem said that Syria felt a shift in U.S. policy toward the region. Families
of Lebanese detainees in Syrian jails attempted to approach Muallem's convoy as
it drove to Baabda Palace, but were stopped by army troops. As the meeting
between Suleiman and Muallem was underway, the demonstrators – demanding a
settlement of the issue of prisoners in Syria -- clashed with the Lebanese army
outside the presidential palace. The dispute, however, was quickly contained.
Lebanon and Syria said earlier this month that they had agreed to establish
diplomatic relations and planned to open embassies in both capitals for the
first time since independence from French colonial rule more than 60 years ago.
Beirut, 21 Jul 08, 13:20
Jumblat for Abrogating Prejudicial Treaties with Syria
Naharnet/Progressive Socialist Party leader
Walid Jumblat called Monday for abrogating all prejudicial treaties with Syria
and disbanding the Lebanese-Syrian Higher Council. Jumblat made the call in an
article to be published on Tuesday by the PSP's weekly mouthpiece al-Anbaa.
Jumblat also criticized the Lebanese government for opposing a move by the
International Criminal Court to sue Sudan's President Omar al-Beshir in
connection with Darfour crimes. He cautioned that rejecting the ICC's move could
gradually lead to rejecting rules of the International Tribunal that would try
suspects in the 2005 assassination of ex-Premier Rafik Hariri and related
crimes. Beirut, 21 Jul 08, 18:04
Gemayel for Documented Syrian Recognition of Lebanese
Sovereignty over Shebaa Farms
Naharnet/Phalange Party leader Amin Gemayel
said Monday that Syria should provide the United Nations with a document stating
that Shebaa Farms are Lebanese territories. Gemayel, in a televised interview,
said the stand outlined by Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem during a visit
to Lebanon regarding sovereignty over Shebaa Farms was "vague.""Syria should
present to the United Nations a signed document recognizing Lebanon's
sovereignty over the Shebaa Farms," he added.
"We want nothing less than excellent relations with Syria … Syria should fold
the past chapter and criticize its past policies in Lebanon," Gemayel stressed.
Beirut, 21 Jul 08, 16:57
Aoun Wants Minister to Handle Detainees in Syria
Naharnet/Free Patriotic Movement leader
Michel Aoun on Monday urged the cabinet to assign a minister without portfolio
to the task of following up the issue of Lebanese detainees in Syria. Aoun,
talking to reporters after a meeting by members of his Change and Reform
parliamentary bloc, expressed "regret" for the alleged beating up of relatives
of the missing citizens who were demonstrating at the road leading to the
Republican Palace as Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem was heading to visit
President Michel Suleiman. "The President mentioned the issue of the detainees
twice. Today he received an invitation to visit Syria and the Syrian minister
was flexible towards the issue," Aoun said. "We cannot ignore the issue of the
detainees (in Syrian jails)," he added.
Aoun also called for setting up a "DNA Bank" to help identify
remains of Lebanese citizens who went missing in the past three decades.
"This tragedy should end," he said. He also spoke of information
about alleged steps to form an alliance in the Metin province between MP Michel
Murr, the Phalange Party, cabinet minister Nassib Lahoud and an Armenian
candidate in the 2009 parliamentary elections. Beirut, 21 Jul 08, 16:40
Gemayel for Documented Syrian Recognition of Lebanese
Sovereignty over Shebaa Farms
Naharnet/Phalange Party leader Amin Gemayel
said Monday that Syria should provide the United Nations with a document stating
that Shebaa Farms are Lebanese territories. Gemayel, in a televised interview,
said the stand outlined by Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem during a visit
to Lebanon regarding sovereignty over Shebaa Farms was "vague.""Syria should
present to the United Nations a signed document recognizing Lebanon's
sovereignty over the Shebaa Farms," he added.
"We want nothing less than excellent relations with Syria … Syria should fold
the past chapter and criticize its past policies in Lebanon," Gemayel stressed.
Beirut, 21 Jul 08, 16:57
Jund al-Sham Commander Escapes Assassination Attempt
Naharnet/A senior Jund al-Sham commander, Abu Ramez al-Sahmarani,
escaped an assassination attempt at Ain el-Hilweh refugee camp in south Lebanon,
security sources said. They said unknown assailants fired machine guns toward
his house in Ain al-Hilweh early Monday, without hitting Sahmarani. A committee
in charge with maintaining security at the camp opened an investigation into the
incident. Three Palestinian militants were killed in a clash with the mainstream
Fatah guerrilla group in Ain al-Hilweh on Sunday. The three were members of
Islamist factions the Ansar League and Jund al-Sham. Among the dead were Shadeh
Johar, a ranking Jund al-Sham official and Abdul Nasser Dawali. Beirut, 21 Jul
08, 13:26
Hizbullah Attack on Israel Imminent, Israeli
Official Says
Naharnet/Israeli military intelligence chief Amos
Yadlin has said a Hizbullah attack on the Jewish state was imminent. "There is
significant indication that Hizbullah is likely to launch a terrorist attack on
the northern front or in Gaza," Yadlin warned the Israeli cabinet during its
weekly meeting on Sunday. Yadlin said Hizbullah's pretext for the attack would
be issues related to Shebaa Farms and Ghajar as well as the assassination of top
Hizbullah commander Imad Mughniyeh. He accused Palestinian factions in Gaza
"which are not in favor of peace of planning to carry out a massive attack."
"Now that the prisoner swap with Hizbullah has taken place, the defense
establishment is concerned that Hizbullah may embark on a calculated, escalated
show of force along the Lebanese border, and try to disrupt the Israeli
flyovers," Yadlin said. Israel has gathered intelligence showing the increasing
strength of Hizbullah in Lebanon, the Israeli daily Haaretz reported. It said
similar information was delivered to the United Nations during a visit to New
York a month ago by Brig. Gen. Yossi Beiditz, head of research at Military
Intelligence. Haaretz quoted a political source as saying that Israel is very
frustrated because the phenomenon of arms smuggling is not sufficiently
addressed in relevant U.N. reports, including the most recent one three weeks
ago, nor is it fully acknowledged in European capitals - particularly in
countries that are contributing contingents to the peacekeeping force in
southern Lebanon. It said Israel has closely followed Hizbullah's rearmament
since the signing of the cease-fire agreement after the July 2006 war, but last
week became even more adamant about the need to put an end to the arms
smuggling. Beirut, 21 Jul 08, 08:35
Muallem: Beirut Visit Beginning of New Era in Ties
with Lebanon
Naharnet/Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem
said his visit to Beirut on Monday is the beginning of a new era in ties with
Lebanon.
"We hope that together we will be able to surpass this phase toward a new
horizon of brotherly cooperation between Syria and Lebanon," Muallem said in
remarks published by the daily As Safir on Monday. Muallem stressed that Lebanon
and Syria are capable of "developing a balanced relationship in all areas and
establish relations on solid grounds." He said the exchange of visits between
the two countries will mark the beginning of a "comprehensive assessment of the
past."
His remarks were made on the eve of a visit to Beirut Monday, a week after
Lebanon and Syria agreed to establish diplomatic relations for the first time.
He delivered an invitation to Lebanese President Michel Suleiman from his Syrian
counterpart Bashar al-Assad to visit Damascus, a trip the Lebanese press said
would take place within a week or 10 days. Lebanon and Syria said last weekend
that they had agreed to establish diplomatic relations, opening embassies in
both capitals for the first time since their independence from French colonial
rule more than 60 years ago.
"It is expected that the question of diplomatic relations will be raised during
the visit. We hope it will mark a new step in Syrian-Lebanese ties," said
Syria's Al-Watan newspaper, which is close to the government. It said that
during his visit Muallem would discuss "ways of improving relations given the
favorable circumstances with the election of a consensus president in Lebanon
and the formation of a national unity government."
Syria, the former powerbroker in Lebanon, withdrew its troops in 2005 in the
aftermath of the assassination of former Lebanese premier Rafik Hariri, ending a
military presence of nearly three decades. Anti-Syrian majority MP Akram
Shehayeb called on the Lebanese parliament to abolish a 1991 "friendship and
cooperation" treaty which effectively formalized Syrian power in Lebanon, saying
it had "weakened" the country.
Fellow anti-Syrian MP Mosbah al-Ahdab called for borders to be clearly
established and that a resolution be found to the issue of weapons held in
Lebanon's 12 Palestinian refugee camps, which he said could only be achieved
with the help of the Syrian intelligence services.
"We hope that Damascus cooperates in a serious and positive manner to bring a
resolution to the issue of Lebanese prisoners held in Syria and those who went
missing while Lebanon was under (Syrian) control," he added. Hundreds of
Lebanese vanished during Syria's domination of Lebanon and Lebanese rights
groups claim they are being detained by Damascus. Suleiman was elected president
and a new government formed under a May deal between the anti-Syrian ruling
majority and the Damascus-backed opposition to end a drawn-out political crisis
that had boiled over into deadly violence and pushed Lebanon to the brink of a
new civil war. The plans to establish ties were announced at a summit in France
to launch a Mediterranean Union which was attended by Assad, marking his return
to the international stage after several years of diplomatic isolation over the
Hariri assassination.
Syria denies it was behind the Beirut bomb blast that killed Hariri and has
protested at plans for a U.N. tribunal to try suspects in the murder.
Franco-Syrian ties went into deep freeze after the assassination of Hariri, who
was a personal friend of French President Nicolas Sarkozy's predecessor Jacques
Chirac. In a further sign of improving ties, Sarkozy announced he would visit
Damascus in September.(Naharnet-AFP) Beirut, 21 Jul 08, 09:14
Geagea for Serious Lebanese-Syrian Ties
Naharnet/Lebanese Forces chief Samir Geagea said
he favors the establishment of "serious" diplomatic ties between Lebanon and
Syria "as two independent states."Geagea, in remarks published by the daily An
Nahar on Monday, also expressed hope that Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem
"will bring with him Lebanese detainees in Syrian jails."He said putting an end
to the painful 30-year-old history between the two neighboring countries would
only be achieved if Syria "apologizes" to the Lebanese and "recognizes its
mistake." Beirut, 21 Jul 08, 11:15
Ministerial Committee in Decisive Meeting Over
Policy Statement
Naharnet/The ministerial committee holds it fourth
meeting on Monday amid reports that the new cabinet policy statement would be
ready in two days.
The meeting would tackle sensitive issues such as the defense strategy and
Lebanese-Syrian relations, An Nahar daily reported. It expected the committee to
finalize its work by Tuesday evening. Premier Fouad Saniora told the newspaper
that "things" were on the right track, adding there were "improvements."
However, he refused to set a date for the issuing of the government's policy
statement. Speaker Nabih Berri, meanwhile, told As Safir daily that there was no
excuse for any delay in drafting the policy statement, adding that "every minute
lost has its price."An Nahar said that committee members were determined to
settle all controversial issues to prevent discussing them during the national
dialogue that would be launched by President Michel Suleiman at a later date.It
said however that if agreement wasn't reached on such matters, then the policy
statement would clearly mention the need for tackling the controversial issues
during the national dialogue. The daily al-Akhbar said Monday that the new
policy statement would be similar to previous ones regarding economic and social
issues but would have new clauses on the displaced, Lebanese-Syrian ties and
Hizbullah's weapons. Beirut, 21 Jul 08, 09:25
UK Appeals Court to Save Lebanese Mother from
Abusive Husband?
Naharnet/Britain's highest appeal court will
decide this week if a divorced woman and her son should be deported to Lebanon
where she claims her abusive husband will gain custody under Sharia law.
The case will address the issue of Islamic law and the extent to which Britain
is obliged to provide asylum to those wishing to flee countries that practice
it.
Lawyers acting for the 34-year-old woman will tell the House of Lords on Monday
that her human rights would be violated if she were forced to return to Lebanon.
They will argue that she has a right to a family life that will be lost in
Lebanon. According to Sharia or Islamic law that operates in Lebanon, a divorced
mother can only have custody of her children until their seventh birthday. After
that, the father can claim custody, and the mother will only be awarded
visitation rights.
The woman, known only as EM, sought asylum after she came to Britain with false
papers in December 2004 with her 8-year-old son. She told immigration officials
she had divorced her violent husband in an Islamic court in Lebanon and came to
Britain to retain custody of her child. Her name has not been disclosed because
she fears she may be in danger if she is forced to return to Lebanon. Her asylum
application was rejected in 2005. Judges who presided over her two consequent
appeals agreed that she would lose custody of her child and possibly face prison
for kidnapping charges if she returned to Lebanon. But they argued that she is
obliged to live under the laws of her own country. Judge William Gage, who
rejected her appeal in November 2006, said she would still have some visitation
rights in Lebanon, so her rights to family life "cannot be said to be completely
nullified." He said in his ruling that he has "not found this an easy case."
Civil rights group Liberty has since helped EM take her case to the House of
Lords. "We cannot deny this child the right to be with his mother," Liberty
legal officer Alex Gask said. "How can the same government which champions equal
treatment under British law now deport mother and child to face certain
separation under Sharia?" The House of Lords will hear the case Monday and
Tuesday, and will reveal their judgment within a few weeks.(AP) Beirut, 21 Jul
08, 08:01
Olmert: Israel Can Be 'Proud' of Swap Deal
Naharnet/Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has
said Israel can be "proud" of a prisoner swap deal last week with Hizbullah.
Israel handed over on Wednesday five Lebanese prisoners and the bodies of 199
Lebanese and Palestinian fighters in exchange for the bodies of two Israeli
soldiers captured in July 2006. Olmert said Sunday Israel "can be proud of the
fact that we pay a high price," saying it shows Israeli soldiers that their
country will spare no effort to bring them home, "even if that home is the
military cemetery." Olmert also said the prisoner exchange shows Israel's values
are "completely different from those of our enemies." The Israeli prime
minister's comments came during a cabinet meeting Sunday. One Israeli soldier
remains in captivity -- Gilad Shalit, who has been held by Hamas militants in
Gaza for two years. Olmert vowed that Israel "would not rest or be silent" until
Shalit was returned.(AP-Naharnet) Beirut, 21 Jul 08, 07:29
Qassem Reiterates Hizbullah Openness to Arms Talks
Naharnet/Hizbullah Deputy chief Sheikh Naim Qassem
on Sunday reiterated his party's openness to "discuss the role of the resistance
and the nature of the relationship between the state and the armed organizations
with a specific aim – safeguarding Lebanon's sovereignty and freedom, and ending
the occupation of territory."Qassem hinted that the Lebanese should worry about
"how to safeguard our country's independence" rather than "how to get rid of the
resistance."
He called on "all those who support the resistance's course to do what is
necessary to improve and strengthen the culture of the resistance." Beirut, 20
Jul 08, 16:35
Why Edde Quit March 14?
Naharnet/National Bloc leader Carlos Edde on
Sunday said there was nothing to do with his exit from the March 14 coalition
and preparations for the 2009 parliamentary elections. Edde said his decision
was made when President Michel Suleiman was elected Lebanon's new head of state.
He cited his rejection to the 1960 elections law as one of the reasons why he
quit March 14. "I am convinced that this law is simply destructive," Edde told
Voice of Free Lebanon. Beirut, 20 Jul 08, 15:51
LEBANON: Peace still precarious
Hezbollah laid on a military pageant to celebrate the return of
Samir Qantar, four Hezbollah fighters and the remains of around 200 Arabs
captured of killed fighting Israel over the past four decades
NAQOURA, 20 July 2008 (IRIN) - Hezbollah’s claim to victory over Israel in its
16 July prisoner swap undermines moderate Arab states and leaders, and may
encourage armed struggle across the region at a time of upheaval in the
relations between the West and the Middle East, a number of observers have said.
“This sends a very dangerous message that Israel only makes concessions if you
use violence against it,” said Amal Saad Ghorayeb, an expert on Hezbollah, the
Lebanese Shia political party. “The exchange has also laid bare that, in Lebanon
at least, national power is not in the hands of the state, but with a non-state
actor,” she said. Speaking to a crowd of thousands of ecstatic supporters in the
southern suburbs of Beirut on 16 July, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, making
his first public appearance in a year, said the release of Samir Qantar and four
Hezbollah fighters marked the dawn of a new era.
“The era of defeats has ended and now we embark on an era of victories,” said
Nasrallah, who has become a revered leader - in a region beset by corrupt and
ineffectual politicians - since Hezbollah fighters drove Israeli forces out of
Lebanon in 2000.
An overwhelmed looking Qantar, jailed for nearly 30 years in Israel for the
murder of three Israelis during a 1979 raid, told the crowd he had “returned
from Palestine, only to return back to Palestine” and said he looked forward to
the destruction of Israel.
“The resistance has turned into a power that will never be defeated,” said
Qantar, an icon of armed struggle in the Arab world, but reviled in Israel over
the conviction he bludgeoned a four-year-old girl to death.
“The resistance’s weapons have become a culture that will build a country of
resistance. This is the culture of the next generation that will fulfill our
dream to destroy this oppressive entity.”
Hezbollah “bigger than Lebanon”
Ahmad Moussalli, professor of political science at the American University of
Beirut (AUB), said Hezbollah now represented a regional fighting force whose
integration into the Lebanese state security services could only come from a
regional settlement.
“Hezbollah is bigger than Lebanon and the issue of their weapons can only be
dealt with now by a regional settlement to the Arab-Israeli conflict,” said
Moussalli.
Hezbollah is bigger than Lebanon and the issue of their weapons can only be
dealt with now by a regional settlement to the Arab-Israeli conflict.
In scenes unthinkable just two months ago when a threatened crackdown on
Hezbollah by the US-backed government brought the country to the brink of civil
war, Prime Minister Fouad Siniora stood at Beirut’s military airport shoulder to
shoulder with Naim Qassem, Hezbollah’s deputy leader, to greet Qantar and the
four Hezbollah fighters captured during the July 2006 War between Hezbollah and
Israel.
The July War was triggered by a cross-border raid by Hezbollah guerillas who
captured two Israeli soldiers, whose bodies were returned to Israel in the 16
July exchange.
The massive Israeli bombardment of south Lebanon and Beirut’s southern suburbs
killed 1,200 Lebanese, mainly civilians, and displaced up to one million people,
or a quarter of the population.
The 34-day war killed 157 Israelis, mostly soldiers who invaded south Lebanon,
and Hezbollah rained down some 4,000 rockets on northern Israel, leading to the
evacuation of around 350,000 people.
Israeli forces fired around four million cluster bomblets into south Lebanon,
around a quarter of which the UN estimated failed to detonate, and which have
caused dozens of deaths and maiming since the cessation of hostilities on 13
August. Israel’s bombing of Jiyyeh power station caused the Mediterranean’s
worst oil spill.
The prisoner exchange also included the return to Lebanon of seven dead
Hezbollah fighters and the remains of Dalal Mughrabi, the first female
Palestinian guerilla leader, and four of her team who died in a 1978 raid into
Israel.
Nearly 200 other bodies of Lebanese and Palestinians, as well as militants from
Tunisia to Yemen, captured or killed fighting Israel between the 1970s and 2000
were also returned to Lebanon, underlining Hezbollah’s credibility as a regional
force.
A poll of nearly 4,000 non-Palestinian Arab respondents in Egypt, Saudi Arabia,
Lebanon, Morocco, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates, published on 16 July by
the Brookings Institution in Washington, found Nasrallah to be the most admired
leader by Sunni and Shia Muslims, as well as members of other faiths.
Some observers saw Hezbollah’s successful deal-making with Israel as a major
blow to moderate Arab leaders, such as Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who
is currently pursuing failing US-backed peace talks with Israel.
New mood
“Peace talks have led to nothing tangible, but force has,” said AUB’s Moussalli.
“There is a mood among the new generation that Israel can be taken on and
defeated. Islamist movements will see their recruitment increase.”
Hamas, the Palestinian Islamist movement controlling Gaza, said the Hezbollah
deal strengthened its own hand in demanding freedom for hundreds of Palestinian
prisoners in exchange for the release of Israeli solider Gilad Shalit, captured
by the group in June 2006.
Bassem Qantar, Samir’s brother, told IRIN the prisoner exchange would boost the
credibility of armed resistance across the region.
“This exchange will raise the big question: Is resistance a way to liberate
land, to secure sovereignty and, at least in Palestine, to negotiate with some
power in your hands in order to reach your goals? The answer is yes.”
hm/ar/cb
Theme(s): (IRIN) Conflict, (IRIN) Early Warning
[ENDS]
“fizzling” of the talks in Geneva between the United
States and Iran
Al-Taqiyya is Alive and Well in Geneva
By W. Thomas Smith Jr. Sunday, July 20, 2008
The so-called “fizzling” of the talks in Geneva between the United States and
Iran, Saturday, was not unexpected by any expert estimation. Which makes one
wonder why the U.S., the other four permanent members of the UN Security Council
(Britain, China, France, and Russia), and Germany were willing to sit down with
the Persian state in the first place.
According to the AP, Iran “stonewalled” the six world powers “on their call to
freeze uranium enrichment. In response, the six gave Iran two weeks to respond
to their demand, setting the stage for a new round of UN sanctions.”
Could anyone possibly believe that Iran’s agreeing to meet with the six nations
followed by its rejection of their demand to halt its nuclear development was
anything other than a deceptive buying-of-time in its race to join the nuclear
club before Israel (with or without U.S. support) launches airstrikes against
its nuclear facilities in the narrowing window of opportunity before the as-yet
unknown political environment following U.S. elections in November?
This is not rocket science (pardon the pun), but the Iranians are afraid of
being attacked by Israel, and – though they’ll never express it publicly – they
are deathly afraid of war with the U.S. This doesn’t mean Iran is not dangerous
or irrational. They are both.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has frequently threatened to wipe Israel
off the map. He recently told the Japanese prime minister that “influential
nations should get ready for a world minus the U.S.” He has threatened to shut
off the flow of Persian Gulf oil at the Strait of Hormuz. And earlier this
month, someone gave the order to test-launch a handful of Shahab missiles (There
was, however, a lighter side for the rest of us when Iran photo-shopped a
launched-missile into a photograph that actually failed to leave the pad.).
Threats and missile-rattling aside, Ahmadinejad and his bosses – the mullahs who
hate us just as much as he does – know that time is not on their side. They know
despite their threats, they cannot afford to shut down the flow of oil, the
absolute lifeblood of their economy. They also know that big-consumers of
Iranian oil like China, cannot afford to let Iran stop the flow. Iran also knows
that as soon as it has acquired a nuclear weapon, it will have a newfound
leverage, which will completely change regional dynamics. Iran simply needs more
time, and it wants the bomb.
As the Geneva talks were barely underway, Keyvan Imani, the Iranian ambassador
to Switzerland, reportedly said, “Any kind of suspension or freeze [of uranium
enrichment] is out of the question,” and “Suspension — there is no chance for
that.”
Yet chief Iranian negotiator Saeed Jalili says, “Iran is calling on the Western
powers to resume the dialogue.”
Why? And why the two different Iranian approaches – a refusal to compromise, yet
a desire to continue talking? It’s all part of the grand deception. It is – as I
previously said – a buying of time. And the purchase is accomplished through a
Shiia Islamic principle, al-taqiyya (literally, “Concealing or disguising one’s
beliefs, convictions, ideas, feelings, opinions, and/or strategies at a time of
eminent danger, whether now or later in time, to save oneself from physical
and/or mental injury."): Basically, Islam’s justification for lying and
deceiving one’s enemies.
“Islamic spokesmen commonly use taqiyya as a form of ‘outwitting’. The matter
under discussion is not to be debated or discussed; rather the opponent is to
‘outwitted’ through taqiyya, by diversion of the subject and obfuscation… ,”
writes Warner MacKenzie in Islam Watch.
It is a difficult concept for Westerners – primarily Jews and Christians, who
view lying as a sin and who believe a man is only as good as his word – to get
their heads around. Consequently, the concept gives Shiia Islamists an edge in
any form of negotiating over Westerners who may be unconsciously more inclined
to put at least a minimum level of trust into a promise, a warm smile, and a
handshake.
Americans, who have an ideological aversion to war (despite the courage we have
to defend ourselves and others), are always looking for the peaceful way out
even when we have the upper-hand militarily: Hence, the talks. But we must also
realize that al-taqiyya is still alive and well. And it reared its head in an
obvious way in Geneva.
W. Thomas Smith Jr. – a former U.S. Marine rifle-squad leader and
counterterrorism instructor – is a journalist, author, and military analyst
whose work has appeared in the New York Post, USA TODAY, U.S. News & World
Report, BusinessWeek, CBS News, and many others. Smith writes about
military/defense issues and has covered conflict in the Balkans, on the West
Bank, in Iraq and Lebanon. Visit him online at uswriter.com.
Thomas can be reached at: letters@canadafreepress.com
W. Thomas Smith Jr.
“a military expert”
— USA TODAY
W. Thomas Smith Jr. most recent columns
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cfp@canadafreepress.com.
Could "Shock and Awe" Defeat Iran's Will for Nukes?
Defense Update - Tel Aviv,Israel
Recent years have seen a substantial change in US power projection capability.
For decades this capability was based on the use of aircraft carriers; now the
US possesses the unique capability of executing an extensive, intercontinental
attack without the need to operate from foreign territory. An American attack on
Iran, if executed, could possibly be the first significant demonstration of this
capability. The next stage will be the ability to carry out such an operation
within a shorter response time than is currently possible
As if to add to its absurdity, only last month, the reliable defense
intelligence source Jane's published some satellite imagery allegedly showing
Syrian troops actually deployed on Lebanese territory. Visible in the remote and
rugged hills north of the town of Rashaya al-Wadi, close to the Syrian borer,
were unidentified troops, believed to be of Syrian origin, in complete defiance
of Damascus' having ended its military occupation of Lebanon back in 2005.
The fact is, well known to Israeli intelligence, that the militant Lebanese
Shiite organization is receiving most of its armaments, undisturbed by UNIFIL
observation, along the Syrian border, in the northern Beka'a Valley adjacent to
Shiite areas under the group's control.. Linked to Syrian territory by
un-patrolled dirt tracks, commercial smugglers are incessantly busy in
resupplying equipment and personnel to Hezbollah.
The results are impressive. According to Israeli intelligence assessments,
presented to the ministers, the Iranian-backed Shiite militia is now in much
better shape than it was on July 12, 2006, when the war started.
Hezbollah has also gained substantial political power in Lebanon itself. In
spite of the congratulations that followed the election of Lebanese President
Michel Suleiman last May, Nasrallah's position is more powerful than ever. Many
Lebanese fear over what the Shiites may really have in store and that the deal
reached in Doha, allowing for Suleiman's election, does not reflect reality.
Analysts agree that Lebanon may have escaped, dangerously spiraling into civil
war, but the ultimate price is liable to be, Hezbollah's long-term de facto
control of Lebanon.
Sayyid Hassan Nasrallah is a shrewd operator and knows precisely what he wants
to achieve. His major ambition now is Hezbollah's "liberation" of the disputed
Shebaa Farms. By this he wishes to bolster his military posture, making it much
stronger than the Lebanese National Army, as his latest show of force in Beirut
has clearly demonstrated.
Indeed while some political experts regard Israel's ceding of the farms to
Lebanon as Hezbollah's final bid, Nasrallah has other ideas. Only last month, he
declared that Hezbollah would retain its armed presence even if Israel finally
quit the occupied Shebaa Farms district in the south. Even Lebanese are not
under any illusion over this claim.
Over the so-called farms, the situation was quite clear. Resolution 425 appeared
to close the issue of the Shebaa farms, since the UN Security Council ruled that
Israel was in full accordance with this resolution after its May 2000 withdrawal
to the international Blue Line border between Israel and Lebanon. Resolution
1310, adopted in 2000, confirmed this. However, strangely, Resolution 1701,
meanwhile, adopted after the 2006 Second Lebanon War, implicitly reopened the
matter by taking "due note" of Saniora's seven-point plan, which asks for the
Shebaa farms to be placed under UN jurisdiction. Not surprisingly, Hassan
Nasrallah quickly seized on the opportunity- this would reopen the disputed area
once more to cros-border fighting- Hezbollah style.
In fact there seems a much more sinister goal in Nasrallah's sights. Even if
Olmert should give in to US Secretary Condoleezza Rice's pressure to discuss the
Shebaa farm issue- this will not mean the end of Nasralla's ambitions. There are
already whispers in Beirut, that Nasrallah's next objective, after Shebaa, will
be the "Seven shiite Villages", which Lebanon claims being on Lebanese territory
since 1948. If the Shebaa Farm enigma is a strange one for the uninitiated to
behest, the "seven village' puzzle would seem extraordinary, totally out of
focus, even under Middle East circumstances.
Strung along the old 1923 frontier between British Mandate Palestine and French
Mandate Lebanon, the Seven Villages, which included more than 25 farms, were
annexed to Palestine under the Al-Quds Treaty, creating the mandatory border. No
more than a line on a piece of paper, the Sykes-Picot Accord, which established
the internationally-recognized frontier between the two colonial mandates,
changed nothing for the residents of Jabal Amel, the mountainous region
straddling the Lebanese-Palestinian border. After the 1949 armistice, the former
residents of the "Seven Villages", unlike their Palestinian 1948 exodus
counterparts were granted Lebanese citizenship in the 1960s, but records of the
old land deeds still exist in Sidon and Tyre. But even the most optimistically
longing Shiites living in South Lebanon do not share a glimmer of hope, to
return to their former homes, perched strategically on the cliffs above the
Israeli Galilee Panhandle overlooking the shiny, white Jewish settlements
dotting the fertile plain below. But in the fertile mind of Hezbollah leaders
like Hassan Nasrallah, the issue of the Seven Villages could well be placed on
the back burner, to use, when the time is good and ready to heat another
military adventure.
For Nasrallah the motto remains crystal clear: "with one demand filled- there
will be others left to fulfill, in his eternal war with the Zionist State". But
whether Hezbollah will slide war tortured Lebanon into another bloody
confrontation with Israel, over these highly controversial issues- remains
another matter, which will be discussed in Part Two.
Samir Kuntar and the Last Laugh
by Daniel Pipes
Jerusalem Post
July 21, 2008
http://www.meforum.org/article/pipes/5780
Israel has lived the past sixty years more intensively than any other country.
Its highs – the resurrection of a two-thousand year old state in 1948, history's
most lopsided military victory in 1967, and the astonishing Entebbe hostage
rescue in 1976 – have been triumphs of will and spirit that inspire the
civilized world. Its lows have been self-imposed humiliations: unilateral
retreat from Lebanon and evacuation of Joseph's Tomb, both in 2000; retreat from
Gaza in 2005; defeat by Hizbullah in 2006; and the corpses-for-prisoners
exchange with Hizbullah last week.
An outsider can only wonder at the contrast. How can the authors of exhilarating
victories repeatedly bring such disgrace upon themselves, seemingly oblivious to
the import of their actions?
One clue has to do with the dates. The highs took place during the state's first
three decades, the lows occurred since 2000. Something profound has changed. The
strategically brilliant but economically deficient early state has been replaced
by the reverse. Yesteryear's spy masterminds, military geniuses, and political
heavyweights have seemingly gone into high tech, leaving the state in the hands
of corrupt, short-sighted mental midgets.
How else can one account for the cabinet meeting on June 29, when 22 out of 25
ministers voted in favor of releasing five live Arab terrorists, including Samir
al-Kuntar, 45, a psychopath and the most notorious prisoner in Israel's jails,
plus 200 corpses? In return, Israel got the bodies of two Israel soldiers
murdered by Hizbullah. Even The Washington Post wondered at this decision.
Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert endorsed the deal on the grounds that it
"will bring an end to this painful episode," a reference to retrieving the
bodies of war dead and appeasing the hostages' families demand for closure. In
themselves, both are honorable goals, but at what price? This distortion of
priorities shows how a once-formidably strategic country has degenerated into a
supremely sentimental country, a rudderless polity where self-absorbed egoism
trumps raison d'être. Israelis, fed up with deterrence and appeasement alike,
have lost their way.
Appalling as the cabinet decision was, worse yet is that neither the Likud
opposition party nor other leading public Israeli institutions responded with
rage, but generally (with some notable exceptions) sat quietly aside. Their
absence reflects a Tami Steinmetz Center poll showing that the Israeli
population approves the swap by a nearly 2-1 ratio. In short, the problem
extends far beyond the official class to implicate the population at large.
Samir Kuntar on arrival in Lebanon, complete with Hizbullah uniform and "Heil
Hitler" salute (AFP).
On the other side, the disgraceful celebration of baby-murderer Kuntar as a
national hero in Lebanon, where the government shut down to celebrate his
arrival, and by the Palestinian Authority, which called him a "heroic fighter,"
reveals the depths of Lebanese enmity to Israel and its immorality, disturbing
to anyone concerned with the Arab soul.
The deal has many adverse consequences. It encourages Arab terrorists to seize
more Israeli soldiers, then kill them. It boosts Hizbullah's stature in Lebanon
and legitimates Hizbullah internationally. It emboldens Hamas and makes a deal
for its Israeli hostage more problematic. Finally, while this incident appears
small compared to the Iranian nuclear issue, the two are related.
International headlines along the lines of "Israel Mourns, Hezbollah Exults"
confirm the widely held but erroneous Middle Eastern view of Israel as a
"spider's web" that can be destroyed. The recent exchange may give the already
apocalyptic Iranian leadership further reason to brandish its weapons. Worse, as
Steven Plaut notes, by equating "mass murderers of Jewish children to combat
soldiers," the exchange effectively justifies the "mass extermination of Jews in
the name of Jewish racial inferiority."
For those concerned with the welfare and security of Israel, I propose two
consolations. First, Israel remains a powerful country that can afford mistakes;
one estimate even predicts it would survive an exchange of nuclear weapons with
Iran, while Iran would not.
Second, the Kuntar affair could have a surprise happy ending. A senior Israeli
official told David Bedein that, now out of jail, Israel's obligation to protect
Kuntar is terminated; on arrival in Lebanon, he became "a target for killing.
Israel will get him, and he will be killed … accounts will be settled." Another
senior official added "we cannot let this man think that he can go unpunished
for his murder of a 4-year-old girl."Who will laugh last, Hizbullah or Israel?
A warrior's rest
Amira Howeidy
The images transmitted from South Lebanon and northern Israel spoke volumes.
Broadcast around the world at 9:30am yesterday from Lebanon, footage showed two
plain black boxes -- coffins -- containing the corpses of Israeli soldiers Ehud
Goldwasser and Eldad Regev captured by Hizbullah two years ago. Across the
border, five healthy looking handcuffed Lebanese prisoners held by Israel
completed the story that took two years and a war to end.
The seven -- two dead, five alive -- were swapped in a high- profile exchange
deal between Hizbullah and Israel. In the deal, Hizbullah was due to receive the
remains of 190 Lebanese, Syrian, Libyan, Palestinian and Tunisian fighters who
died resisting Israeli occupation over the past three decades. For its part,
Israel also was to gain information on an Israeli soldier who went missing in
Lebanon 22 years ago.
In a later stage of the deal, that is expected to be implemented in a couple of
weeks, Israel will hand over an unspecified number of Palestinian -- and
possibly Jordanian -- prisoners serving prison sentences in the Hebrew state, in
addition to providing information on four Iranian diplomats who were abducted
from Lebanon 26 years ago.
The deal is more than another moral victory of Hizbullah or a small defeat for
Israel. By completing it, Hizbullah makes Lebanon the first Arab country to
resolve and close the issue of its prisoners killed or held captive by Israel.
There are now no Lebanese prisoners or corpses on Israeli soil. And by handing
over the corpses of hundreds of Arabs to Hizbullah, Israel further boosted the
popularity, leverage and profile of Nasrallah and the resistance strategy he
stands for across the Arab world.
This boost will be enhanced further when Israel releases Palestinian prisoners
and hands them over to Hizbullah in the coming weeks. During the
European-mediated negotiations between Hizbullah and Israel over the past year,
Tel Aviv reportedly rejected the principle of releasing non- Lebanese prisoners
so as not to make of Nasrallah "a king for the Arabs".
In Ras Al-Naqoura, the border town in South Lebanon where the five Lebanese
prisoners were going to be delivered, a woman said, "we have no king, but
Nasrallah is the emir [prince] of all Arabs."
Thousands of Palestinian, Lebanese and Hizbullah flags fluttered across South
Lebanon and in Beirut's Al-Dahia district -- Hizbullah's stronghold -- as
resistance songs filled the air via loud speakers. The day also marked the first
meeting of the newly formed Lebanese cabinet after a long period of domestic
unrest that almost descended into civil war two months ago.
Newly elected Lebanese President Michel Suleiman, Prime Minister Fouad Al-Siniora,
Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, the entire cabinet and a host of high-profile
political figures were due to welcome the released prisoners at Beirut airport
in a formal ceremony. Thousands of balloons and red carpets were stretched both
in Ras Al-Naqoura, Beirut airport, and Al-Dahia for the reception as Lebanon
declared 16 July a national holiday.
All of this is unprecedented in the history of the Arab-Israeli conflict; a
crack, observers suggest, in Israel's very existence as it celebrates its 60th
anniversary. For the first time since its creation, an Arab side not only evens
with Israel by levelling with it in a war, but also implements its strategy on
its own terms. Following the capture of the two soldiers in 2006, Nasrallah
confidently said they would be released only through a prisoner's exchange and
indirect negotiations -- nothing else.
It is no wonder that silence, tears and seething anger marked the mood in Israel
while jubilation, cheering, songs and a sense of national pride and unity
dominated the once-divided Lebanon. Even Hizbullah's staunchest critic, Druze
leader Walid Jumblatt, who is also a vocal advocate for the disarmament of the
resistance movement, described the exchange deal as "a national day par
excellence", adding that Israel "only understands the language of power".
Hizbullah captured the two Israeli soldiers two years ago in an operation
orchestrated by the group's senior field commander, Imad Mughniyah. The
objective was to exchange the soldiers with Lebanese and Arab prisoners held
captive in Israel. Israel immediately rejected the concept and launched a war on
Lebanon that lasted 33 days with the declared objective of liquidating Hizbullah.
The war failed according to the Winograd Commission set up in Israel afterwards
to investigate what happened, while Hizbullah declared it a victory for Lebanon.
Tel Aviv, however, won some ground when Mughniyah was assassinated in Damascus
in February.
Yesterday Hizbullah dedicated the exchange to Mughniyah, whose image covered
yellow- coloured billboards in South Lebanon, dubbing it Al-Rodwan, after
Mughniyah's nickname, Al-Haj Radwan.
The remains of 190 Lebanese and Arab fighters that were due to be delivered as
Al-Ahram Weekly was going to press Wednesday, refreshed memories of the
resistance era of the 1970s and 1980s when Arab governments openly supported the
liberation of Palestine through armed struggle. The remains of the iconic Dalal
Al-Moghrabi, a 20- year-old Palestinian Fatah fighter, who led a suicide
operation in Tel Aviv in 1978 killing more than 30 Israeli soldiers, were
delivered to Hizbullah yesterday.
But it was the release of Samir Al-Kantar, 46, the longest serving Lebanese
prisoner in Israel, which served as Hizbullah's real "prize" in this exchange
deal. In all previous prisoner swap deals between Israel and Hizbullah,
Al-Kantar was a red line for Tel Aviv, which vehemently refused his release
arguing that he "has Jewish blood on his hands". In 1979, then 17-year-old
Al-Kantar crossed the Lebanese border to Nahria in Israel and killed three
Israelis. He has been serving five life sentences since.
Prisoner swap deals between Israel and Hizbullah go back to 1991 when Israel
released 91 prisoners for the corpse of one Israeli soldier. In 1996 Israel
released 45 prisoners and the remains of 200 Lebanese for the corpses of two
Israeli soldiers. Two years later Hizbullah swapped the remains of three Israeli
soldiers with 60 Lebanese detainees and 40 bodies. The biggest swap deal was in
2004 when Hizbullah exchanged two Israeli captives and one corpse for 462
Lebanese and Arab prisoners, 59 corpses and a map of land mines planted by
Israel in Lebanon.
Israel continues to hold 10,000 Palestinian and Arab prisoners. In 2006, three
Palestinian resistance groups captured Gilad Shalit, an Israeli soldier on the
Gaza border in an attempt to exchange him with some of those prisoners. Mediated
by Egypt, negotiations for Shalit's release remain hindered by Israel's refusal
to commit to the terms of the agreement that will pave the way for his
liberation.
Commenting on the jubilation in Lebanon yesterday, emboldened Hamas leaders said
that their resolve will be "hardened" further as they will only release Shalit,
who is alive, in return for a large number of Palestinian and Arab prisoners.
Amal Saad Ghorayeb, a Lebanese expert on Hizbullah, argues that by making this
concession with Hizbullah Israel has damaged itself. "Such a capitulation serves
both to consecrate Hizbullah's image in the Arab world as the standard-bearer of
Palestinian rights, and to raise Hamas's price for Shalit's release from 450 to
1,450 Palestinian prisoners -- especially given that the soldier is certifiably
alive," she wrote in an article published on Open Democracy 12 July.
In Egypt, sentiment within official quarters was in tune with Lebanon. Speaking
to the Weekly Tuesday, the ruling party's Mustafa El-Feki, head of the
parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee, said "Israel respects only the logic of
force and this swap deal is one of the fruits of Hizbullah's victory in 2006."
* Published in Egypt's AL-AHRAM WEEKLY in the July 17-23, 2008 edition.