LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS
BULLETIN
July 24/08
Bible Reading of the day.
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to
Saint Matthew 13,1-9. On that day, Jesus went out of the house and sat down by
the sea. Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat
down, and the whole crowd stood along the shore. And he spoke to them at
length in parables, saying: "A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed
fell on the path, and birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky ground, where
it had little soil. It sprang up at once because the soil was not deep, and when
the sun rose it was scorched, and it withered for lack of roots. Some seed fell
among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it. But some seed fell on rich
soil, and produced fruit, a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold. Whoever has ears
ought to hear."
Free
Opinions, Releases, letters & Special Reports
Finally, Lebanese politicians are planning for a
better Lebanon-Daily Star
23/07/08
Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources for July
23/08
Hizbullah's Resistance, Weapons and
Relations with Syria Hamper Policy Statement-Naharnet
Hariri
Leases Two Cypriot Choppers to Fight Forest Fires-Naharnet
Geagea:
Syria's Policy on Lebanon Hasn't Changed-Naharnet
Berri:
Resistance Ready to Be Part of Defense Strategy, Not All the Strategy-Naharnet
At Least 177 Lebanese
Citizens Are Believed Missing in Syria-Naharnet
Israel Government Press
Office Cuts Contacts with Jazeera Over Qantar-Naharnet
Cyprus Helps Rescue
Lebanon's Blazing Woods-Naharnet
World Powers Concerned
About Alleged Arms Smuggling to Lebanon-Naharnet
U.S. Proposes Indirect
Lebanese-Israeli Talks on Shebaa Farms-Naharnet
Mitri: Cabinet Policy
Statement Would Take Some Time-Naharnet
World Powers Concerned About Alleged Arms Smuggling to Lebanon-Naharnet
Lebanon wants a national dialogue to discuss Hizbullah's weapons-Jerusalem
Post
Realism must rule in engaging Syria-Boston
Globe
Canada's
PM receives B’nai Brith’s highest
honour-Ottawa Jewish Bulletin
INTERVIEW: Kuntar is Hezbollah loyalist after release-Monsters
and Critics.com
UN's Ban details Hezbollah letter on prisoner swap-Reuters
Lebanon's 'Soldiers of Virtue'-Wall
Street Journal
The United States should back Israel's peace efforts with Syria ...Jewish
Telegraphic Agency
Palestinian killed in 'copycat' attack in Occupied Jerusalem-AFP
Serbia
captures fugative wartime leader Karadzic-AFP
Obama
warns US president can't solve Mideast crisis alone-AFP
Syrian
president opposes efforts to arrest Sudan's Bashir-AFP
Sfeir
expresses hope for friendly ties with Damascus-Daily
Star
Forest fire rages amid Civil War munitions in Aley-Daily
Star
Obama: Israeli Strike Against Syria Last Year
"Appropriate"Atlantic Online
Sleiman dismisses reports of Saturday visit to
Syria-Daily Star
Construction on the rise in Lebanon in first
half of 2008-Daily Star
Australian ambassador urges peaceful politics-Daily
Star
Activist urges Lebanese to assess Cabinet record-Daily
Star
Hizbullah, Israeli letters to Ban to go in UN report-Daily
Star
Lebanon's financial institutions show firmer books-Daily
Star
Value
of imports to Lebanon surges 33 percent-Daily
Star
Lebanese minister vows to prosecute cell-line scalpers-Daily
Star
Construction on the rise in Lebanon in first half of 2008-Daily
Star
Tabourian: 'No quick solutions' to power woes-Daily
Star
HRC
ready to rebuild 619 homes hit by 2006 war-Daily
Star
US
Embassy organizes Q&A roundtable to clarify visa application process-Daily
Star
Jezzine prepares for influx of some 150,000 summer tourists-Daily
Star
Changing
lifestyles contribute to rise in Lebanese cancer cases-By
Inter Press Service
Democrats Abroad in Lebanon looks to add more 'firsts' to US election-Daily
Star
PM receives B’nai Brith’s highest honour
By Liana Shlien
http://www.ottawajewishbulletin.com/
Prime Minister Stephen Harper was awarded B’nai Brith International’s highest
honour, the Presidential Gold Medallion for Humanitarianism, in an Ottawa
ceremony on June 27. The presentation was made at the opening of a weekend
gathering here that included a meeting of B’nai Brith International’s Board of
Governors and B’nai Brith Canada’s annual Leadership Policy Conference. The
award is “reserved for only those individuals who have demonstrated inspired
leadership and served society at large well beyond their call of duty,” said
Ottawan Moishe Smith, president of B’nai Brith International.
Previous recipients have included former Israeli prime ministers David Ben
Gurion and Golda Meir, former U.S. presidents Harry Truman and John Kennedy and
former prime ministers Margret Thatcher of Great Britain and Malcolm Fraser of
Australia. Prime Minister Stephen Harper is congratulated by B’nai Brith
International President Moishe Smith on receiving the Presidential Gold
Medallion for Humanitarianism at an Ottawa ceremony June 27.
Smith said Harper’s nomination for the award was the first made in 30 years by
Frank Dimant, executive vice-president of B’nai Brith Canada.
“Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s unwavering commitment to principle on such
matters as the safety and security of the Jewish people and the fight against
global terror make him most deserving of this award. Prime Minister Harper
continues to be a beacon of inspiration not only for Canadians but for peoples
all over the world who value democracy and freedom,” said Dimant in a release
announcing the award
The humbled Harper lit the last candle on a large glass menorah, the symbol of
B’nai Brith, before accepting the prestigious award.
“It is truly an honour to be the first Canadian awarded the Gold Medallion,”
said the prime minister.
“Today, there is no longer any hesitation or ambiguity to Canada’s position. We
see Israel as a friend and ally in the democratic family of nations. Our support
for her right to exist is unshakable. Our support for her right to self-defence
is unequivocal. Just as we support a two-state solution in the Middle East,”
said Harper.
The prime minister restated the government’s refusal to participate in the
Durban II conference scheduled for next year, which he expects will be a repeat
of Durban I. “This country will not be a party to an anti-Semitic, anti-western
hate-fest dressed up as an anti-racism conference.”
Harper said the government will partner with B’nai Brith, Yad Vashem and
Canadian Jewish Congress on the task force for international cooperation on
Holocaust education, remembrance and research.
He also called attention to the government’s role in establishing the Canadian
Museum of Human Rights in Winnipeg and to the creation of Canada’s historical
recognition program to commemorate shameful incidents in Canadian history such
as when hundreds of Jewish refugees fleeing Nazi Germany aboard the SS St. Louis
in 1939 were turned away from Canada and the United States and sent back to
Europe where more than 200 were murdered in the Holocaust.
It was also announced that the B’nai Brith Centre for Human Rights has been
established in Harper’s honour. The educational centre will promote human rights
within Canada with initial funding coming from a one million dollar endowment
donated by Anna and Leslie Dan. Leslie Dan is the honorary chair of the B’nai
Brith Foundation of Canada.
Hizbullah's Resistance, Weapons
and Relations with Syria Hamper Policy Statement
Naharnet/Three controversial topics have prevented agreement on a policy
statement for the new cabinet: Hizbullah's resistance and its weapons; relations
with Syria; and state sovereignty over its territories. The various Lebanese
factions, despite their differences, have managed to agree on a joint approach
to tackling all other topics and challenges facing the nation. Representatives
of the March 14 majority in the nine-man committee trying to draft the cabinet's
policy statement, want a clear-cut pledge that the resistance would be
"absorbed" by the regular force, and that it does not have the right to decide
on launching military operations in the Israeli-occupied Shebaa Farms and other
sectors. "Such a decision to go to war or peace should be taken by the
government, and only by the government," a majority source told Naharnet.
However, such a trend was opposed by Hizbullah representative to the committee
cabinet minister Mohammed Fneish who wanted to maintain Hizbullah's "right to
liberate the farms and Kfar Shouba Hills by resistance operations," the source
added.
As for the topic of relations with Syria, differences persisted over "priorities
and whether the issue of border demarcation should top that of setting up
diplomatic ties," the source added. Spreading state authority over all Lebanese
territories -which includes security, stability and social order- also is faced
by Hizbullah's insistence on maintaining its "auto security" over several power
bases and military installations, according to the source.
The pan-Arab daily al-Hayat said members of the committee agreed on Tuesday to
review approaches to such differences with leaders of their factions.
It said President Michel Suleiman might move in through his representative at
the committee, minister without portfolio Youssef Taqla, to work out some sort
of a compromise that could be accepted by both March 14 and the Hizbullah-led
minority. Suleiman met Taqla on Tuesday apparently to discuss such a compromise
approach by the President, who is to visit Syria at a later date to discuss with
President Bashar Assad bilateral relations and other topics related to the
Lebanon situation. "Ministerial sources hope President Suleiman would propose
settlements to some clauses (of the policy statement)," al-Hayat reported.
Beirut, 23 Jul 08, 09:44
Hariri Leases Two Cypriot Choppers to Fight Forest Fires
Naharnet/Mustaqbal Movement leader Saad Hariri on Wednesday donated the cost of
leasing two helicopters from Cyprus for three months to help combat forest fires
that usually rage in the summer. Hariri, in a memo to Prime Minister Fouad
Saniora, said he made the donation to the Higher Relief Council.
Hariri said his move aims at facilitating firefighting in areas where land crews
cannot operate. He asked Saniora to apply the needed procedure to accept his
donations. Shortly after receiving Hariri's memo, Saniora instructed the HRC to
"proceed with putting the donation into effect to lease the two helicopters from
Cyprus." Two Cypriot choppers arrived in Lebanon earlier in the day to take part
in combating forest fires raging east of the capital. Beirut, 23 Jul 08, 14:49
Geagea: Syria's Policy on Lebanon Hasn't Changed
Naharnet/Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea said Wednesday Syria has not
changed its policy on relations with Lebanon. "The Lebanese people had expected
a more serious approach by Syria to the issue of relations with Lebanon," Geagea
said in commenting on Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem's recent remarks.
"Muallem's remarks gave us the feeling that the Syrian policy has not changed in
its concept of the joint relations and dealing with Lebanon," Geagea told a
Paris gathering of LF Partisans in Europe. Geagea said Muallem tried to imply
that the Lebanese Army "had occupied Syria for 30 years and carried out acts of
abduction targeting Syrian citizens." Syria's "rejection of demarcating its
borders with Lebanon prevents regaining of Shebaa Farms," Geagea added.
Beirut, 23 Jul 08, 14:18
Berri: Resistance Ready to Be Part of Defense Strategy, Not
All the Strategy
Naharnet/Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri announced on Wednesday
that "the resistance is prepared to be part of the defense strategy, not all the
defense strategy."
Berri made the remark to reporters at the Republican Palace of Baabda after
holding a nearly one-hour meeting with President Michel Suleiman.The meeting was
apparently aimed at working out a settlement to the controversial role of
Hizbullah's resistance that has been blocking, among other topics, progress in
efforts to draft a policy statement for the new cabinet. Berri said he made the
proposal "in the name of the resistance." The speaker's rather vague proposal
contradicted with an earlier remark he made in his dialogue with reporters,
reiterating that the previous cabinet's policy statement spoke of the
"resistance right to proceed with the liberation." "What is wrong with this
clause?" Berri asked in an apparent proposal to re-adopt it in the new policy
statement. As for relations with Syria, Berri said the issue was tackled during
the 2006 national dialogue, asking "why should we elaborate on what we have
agreed on?"He criticized the ministerial committee trying to draft the new
policy statement, saying its members are behaving as if they were a "national
dialogue" conference. "Let the president handle his own mission," Berri said in
reference to the national dialogue conference that Suleiman is to sponsor. "What
is more important than all texts is not to lose confidence in each other," Berri
noted. "I'm afraid that what is happening now is delaying solutions," he added.
Beirut, 23 Jul 08, 13:16
At Least 177 Lebanese Citizens Are Believed Missing in
Syria
Naharnet/The daily newspaper al-Mustaqbal on Wednesday published
the names of 177 Lebanese citizens believed to be missing and held in Syrian
jails.
The report said the list includes names of Lebanese Army troops who went missing
on Oct. 13, 1990 when the Syrian military smashed Gen. Michel Aoun's troops in a
swift assault. The list, the report added, also includes names of Lebanese
citizens held in Syrian jails on charges of committing "normal crimes in Syria."
These names had been released by former Attorney General Adnan Addoum in
December, 2000.
Other names included in the list were obtained by an organization entrusted with
the task of receiving complaints from relatives of missing Lebanese citizens.
"Asking the Syrian authorities about their whereabouts could be useful either
because their relatives and families are convinced that they are in Syria or in
light of testimonies by witnesses and inmates," the report said. Syrian Foreign
Minister Walid Muallem said on Monday families of Lebanese citizens missing in
Syria had waited for 30 years and can "wait for a few weeks more."Muallem's
remark to reporters at the Republican Palace of Baabda gave hope to families of
the missing Lebanese citizens that their decades-long ordeal could soon come to
an end. President Michel Suleiman, who is to visit Syria soon, has pledged to
follow up the issue. Beirut, 23 Jul 08, 12:51
Israel Government Press Office Cuts Contacts with Jazeera
Over Qantar
Naharnet/Israel's government press office on Wednesday cut all
contacts with pan-Arab Al-Jazeera television whose Beirut bureau allegedly threw
a party for freed Lebanese prisoner Samir Qantar. Press office director Daniel
Seaman told Agence France Presse the decision was taken following reports that
the bureau hosted a party for Qantar who was released last week in a prisoner
swap with Hizbullah. "We received information that they had a party in their
offices in Beirut in the presence of Samir Qantar. They hailed him, praised
him," Seaman said. Seaman said the decision was taken by the press office
itself, not the government, and that Al-Jazeera employees could keep their press
credentials.The measures will remain in place "until we receive an explanation
from the directors," Seaman added.
In March, Israel temporarily boycotted the channel's coverage of events in the
Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip, accusing it of "partial coverage" that "helps
terrorists."(AFP-Naharnet) Beirut, 23 Jul 08, 13:00
Cyprus Helps Rescue Lebanon's Blazing Woods
Naharnet/Cyprus moved in Wednesday to help Lebanon rescue its
woodland threatened by spreading fires that have gutted one million square
meters of ageing oak and pine trees in the Aley and Chouf Mountains. Two Cypriot
choppers landed at Beirut Airport to take part with three Lebanese Army
helicopters in combating the blaze raging in the Souq al-Gharb-Bmikkine woods,
east of Beirut. Relentless efforts by the poorly-equipped Lebanese teams have
succeeded in preventing the spread of fire to residential areas and a nearby
petrol station, but further help was needed to totally extinguish the fire in
the terrain littered with land mines and artillery shells deserted since the
15-year civil war came to an end in 1990.
Four powerful explosions echoed in the region before dawn and police sources
said they resulted from the detonation by heat of mines and artillery shells, a
threat that has prevented land crews from advancing across the woods to combat
tongues of flame stretching from branch to branch.
Fire engines, sirens wailing, sped across the narrow mountain roads to take part
in the effort that has required general mobilization by the Civil Defense
Directorate, municipalities of the region as well as army and police units.
Hospitals in the Aley Province also were on alert to treat children, the elderly
and asthmatic patients suffering from respiratory problems due to thick smoke
that has engulfed the area. Residents were instructed to close windows, remain
indoors and use wet masks to decrease the threat of inhaling smoke.
Prime Minister Fouad Saniora had instructed officials to seek help from Jordan,
Cyprus, Greece and Italy in aerial firefighting techniques.
Choppers dangling buckets of seawater shuttled the 10-minute flight from the
Mediterranean to the rough slopes in an apparent effort to combat the blaze.
In the Chouf province, southeast of Beirut, rescuers managed to combat a major
fire that broke out late Tuesday in oak woods near the village of Baaqline.
Forest fires in 2007 destroyed hundreds of hectares of woodland in green
Lebanon. Beirut, 23 Jul 08, 10:22
World Powers Concerned About Alleged Arms Smuggling to
Lebanon
Naharnet/World powers have expressed concern over continued arms
smuggling to Lebanon but welcomed formation of a national unity government in
statements to the U.N. Security Council on the latest developments in the
region. U.S. ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad on Tuesday expressed concern over what
he said was continued weapons smuggling to Lebanon and Hizbullah's announcement
that it has rearmed.
He urged the international community to continue its efforts to fully implement
Security Council resolutions 1559 and 1701 and the Doha accord.
He also stressed the need for continued support to the Lebanese Armed Forces and
urged "outside parties" to stop arming "illegal militias" in Lebanon.
On the Shebaa Farms area, Khalilzad said U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon should engage
all involved parties in the issue.
"We think the resolution of Shebaa Farms is very important. It's important for
Lebanon, certainly. It's also important for Israel and others, and we believe
the Secretary-General should engage the parties, Israel, Lebanon, and Syria, to
deal with the issue," he said.
Khalilzad also welcomed the formation of a national unity government and
agreement to establish diplomatic ties between Lebanon and Syria.
The British ambassador, Sir John Sawers, told Council members that the formation
of a national unity cabinet was "an important step in delivering on the Doha
Agreement of last May and in promoting the long-term stability of Lebanon."
He said "Lebanon has the United Kingdom's full support in tackling the important
challenges that lie ahead" including the Special Tribunal for Lebanon.
Sawers said his country continues to support the "vital work" of U.N.
peacekeepers in south Lebanon.
"It is important too that Lebanese militias are prevented from acquiring arms
via Syrian territory and we will continue to provide support to the Lebanese
Security Forces to increase their capacity for effective border management," he
said. Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs B. Lynn Pascoe, in his turn,
said in a briefing to the Security Council that there were lately "a number of
encouraging developments across the Middle East."
"We are particularly heartened by the progress in Lebanon, where a major step
forward was taken with the announcement of a national unity cabinet," he said.
"The United Nations looks forward to working closely with the new government,"
he said. Pascoe told the Council that the implementation of the key
humanitarian elements of resolution 1701 – which helped end the fighting between
Israel and Hizbullah two years ago – is an "important achievement," noting last
week's prisoner swap deal. But he warned that the clashes in and around the
northern port city of Tripoli between Mustaqbal partisans and Hizbullah
followers could have implications for the country's stability and security.
Lebanon's Ambassador to the U.N. Nawaf Salam said Beirut was looking forward to
bring to justice ex-Premier Rafik Hariri's suspected assassins, adding that
chief U.N. investigator Daniel Bellemare is now in a transitional stage before
taking over as prosecutor of the international tribunal. Salam also thanked Ban
for the U.N. mediation in the prisoner swap deal between Israel and Hizbullah
He said Lebanese President Michel Suleiman would visit Damascus to hold talks
with his Syrian counterpart Bashar Assad. Beirut, 23 Jul 08, 10:03
U.S. Proposes Indirect Lebanese-Israeli Talks on Shebaa
Farms
Naharnet/A U.S. initiative pertaining to a resolution of the
dispute over Shebaa Farms is still on the table, and is being considered by
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, An Nahar's correspondent in Washington
quoted an American official as saying. The essence of the proposal is that
Lebanon engage in indirect negotiations over the fate of Shebaa Farms, either
through United Nations mediation or through the intermediary of the Tripartite
Military Committee that groups Israel, Lebanon, and the U.N. The same official
and other U.S. officials told An Nahar in remarks published Wednesday that
placing the disputed area under U.N. guardianship following an Israeli
withdrawal, as Lebanon has demanded, is not possible "before the final status of
the zone has been determined."
The officials argue that Lebanon must engage in negotiations with the Jewish
state before any Israeli pullout from the Farms.
According to one official, although the U.S. acknowledges that Lebanon cannot
engage in direct negotiations with Israel, it contends that Beirut's previous
pretexts that it cannot hold indirect talks with the Jewish state are no longer
valid, in view of the indirect Turkish-brokered Syrian-Israeli negotiations and
the recent German-mediated prisoner swap deal between Hizbullah and Israel. The
U.S. officials said that those indirect negotiations had created "a new dynamic"
that Lebanon could exploit if it wished to break way from its traditional
thinking with regard to indirect talks with Israel. Regarding the
Lebanese-Syrian border demarcation, the U.S. officials told An Nahar that Beirut
must ask Damascus publicly and clearly to define the border between the two
countries in the Shebaa Farms area.
They noted that statements by Syrian officials regarding Lebanon's ownership of
Shebaa have no legal weight, since the U.N. accepts only official agreements
between states accompanied by the submission of joint documents to the world
body that confirm that. The officials also said that Lebanon must take "brave
decisions" with regard to the Farms, which confirm its capacity to make
"sovereign decisions" in its dealings with Syria and Israel. They said that
Washington was willing to offer technical and logistical assistance, as well as
political support to the proposed indirect negotiations between Lebanon and
Israel over the occupied zone. They added that the U.S. could play the role of a
facilitator in the implementation of any agreement that might be reached.
Beirut, 23 Jul 08, 09:00
Mitri: Cabinet Policy Statement Would Take Some Time
Naharnet/Information Minister Tareq Mitri said on Tuesday that a
committee assigned to work out the new cabinet's policy statement needs more
time to reach its objective.Mitri, after a lengthy committee meeting, said
"advancement has been made in drafting the statement but there are some issues
that need to be tackled with precision." "The mission would be accomplished
tomorrow or the day after… it would take some time," Mitri added.
The committee agreed to keep discussions confidential to secure success of its
mission. Mitri said on Monday that topics for discussion included "Lebanon's
right to liberate its land, Lebanon's Arab relations and spreading state
authority." The discussion is based on principles included in the Doha and Taif
accords, Mitri added. Beirut, 22 Jul 08, 18:51
Brotherhood Against Democracy
07/22/2008
By: Dr. Walid Phares
Unsur akhaka thaliman kana am mazluma
“Stand with your brother, should he be oppressed or oppressor” -- (Old proverb
in the Arab world used by contemporary Jihadists)
Seven years after years after 9/11 the ongoing confrontation between the free
world and the forces of Jihadism seems to be revealing another broader more
dangerous dimension: the emergence of an undeclared solidarity between regimes
and organizations which --despite their enmity for each other -- come together
to destroy freedom and obstruct its spread.
This transnational brotherhood is increasingly revealing itself in international
relations, despite the assurances of Western diplomats and academics that such a
de facto web, doesn’t really exist. While lobbying efforts in the West are
attempting to convince the public that the ideology of Jihadism doesn’t exist
and that Democracies’ foreign and economic policies are at the roots of
terrorism, stunning evidence proves the opposite. Not only Jihadism is alive and
thriving, but it is influencing a much larger bloc of countries.
Four years after identifying the Darfur drama as a genocide under international
law many around the free world are yet to absorb the power of Jihadism in
international relations. Today’s Sudan crisis will only open their eyes to what
many in the diplomatic and academic elites are feverishly attempting to
camouflage. While many have been arguing that the free nations of the world face
a cohort of nations that sympathize with and support the Jihadist networks, many
others -- on the apologist side- have been arguing that there is no such thing
as Transnational Jihadism.
In my last three books (*) I attempted relentlessly to make the case that an
international Jihadi lobby exists -- or rather a convergence of interests
between regimes, organizations, and groups seeking the confrontation with the
infidels and more importantly keeping their civil societies from pursuing
natural democratic processes. Unfortunately, bureaucrats and diplomats in the
Western World have been severely criticizing these warnings and pretending
instead, that such a “web” doesn’t exist. However, the public has a unique
opportunity to see otherwise with the exploding new crisis between the Sudanese
regime of General Omar al Bashir and the International Criminal Court (ICC).
After the Darfur Genocide was identified by international organizations (and
decades after the African population of Sudan have been submitted to oppression
at the hands of the Islamist regime of Khartoum not later than 1989 and possibly
as soon as the early 1980s) finally, the chief prosecutor of the ICC filed
genocide charges against Sudan’s President, who is chiefly responsible for the
ongoing attacks by the Janjaweed militia against black African tribes in the
West of the country. A next stage should be mobilizing the international
community and expecting the UN Security Council to proceed with the arrest of
the head of the Khartoum regime for investigation.
The process shouldn’t be that different from the filing, arresting, indicting
and sentencing of other heads of states found guilty of serious breaches to
international law, including the highly publicized case of Yugoslav President
Slobodan Milosevic. But the Serbian leader had no regional and international
allies to stand by him. He was alone and alone he was brought down from power
and taken to Rotterdam. Omar al Bashir isn’t “alone.” He has a large
international “clan” behind him, and of course he has natural resources to fund
the war against international justice he intends to wage.
What policy makers in the West –fed by the unhelpful advice of some of their
advisors who are oil-funded - have missed in the equation of international
relations so far, is the existence of a fault line between blocs of countries.
The line is not necessarily and purely “civilizational” but it is highly
ideological. There are leaders that world justice cannot indict, cannot arrest
and cannot try because they are immune to peaceful compulsion. Those heads of
states are part of a “club” of authoritarian leaders of ideological or
theocratic regimes who refuse to obey any sanctions the UN and other
international organizations attempt to impose, regardless of their offense.
These perpetrators belong to a virtual and undeclared caliphate of regimes and
organizations. The “perpetrator” may or may not be affiliated with Jihadism as
an ideology, but as soon as his opponents are themselves preaching democracy and
self determination against Jihadism and authoritarianism, the head of the
sanctioned regime will be “protected” by his cohort. Observe the reactions to
the ICC charges against Bashir.
Naturally, the first resistance came from inside the Khartoum regime. Opening
the first salvo, Sudanese officials responded not with denial of wrong doing,
but with threats of dire consequences if the legal actions are carried out.
Sudan’s UN ambassador Abdelmahmoud Abdalhaleem said the “prosecutor’s action
would eviscerate the peace process.” That is a very telling argument, for it
shows that although the accusation came from the ICC, the retaliation of the
Islamist regime will be aimed at the victims in Darfur, and perhaps in the
south. Otherwise how could the ”peace process” between Sudanese will be altered
if Bashir’s forces do not break it? Another official Sudanese argument is also
as revealing. “This would lead to disastrous consequences for the entire region”
said Abdalhaleem, adding that “without a head of state, with whom are you going
to talk.” If anything this is evidence that the regime is dictatorial and worse
perhaps, that significant segments of the regime are part of the genocide.
Although al Bashir has many opponents in the region, the “brotherhood” of
resistance against human rights laws manifested itself quickly. From Cairo, the
Egyptian Minister of Foreign Affairs Ahmad abu Ghais warned from “the dangers of
irresponsibility in dealing with Sudan considering that the ICC action will
create insecurity and political instability in general and in Darfur in
particular.” In other words, international actions in support of civil societies
endangering members of the “club” will be rejected and resisted. From the Arab
League, the permanent delegate of the organization to Sudan said the
International Court’s action is a strike against peace in Darfur, and accused
“international quarters” of being behind the decision.
In other words, peace is threatened if perpetrator regimes are sanctioned not if
civil societies are brutalized. From Yemen, President Ali Abdallah Saleh said
his regime will stand by the Khartoum regime. Sanaa’s Foreign Ministry said the
ICC decision is “a meddling in the domestic affairs of that country.”
Addressing the issue from Jordan, the Muslim Brotherhood organization condemned
the court demand, accusing the ICC of putting Sudan under pressure to solve “the
oil prices crisis.” In view of the Brotherhood’s international role in
penetrating the West, such an argument reveals even more the grand background of
the solidarity with Sudan: other oil producers with Jihadi inclinations are
concerned to see that one “of them” may have to back off from anti Western
economic pressures.
From Tehran, the other center of Khomeinist Jihadism, the regime’s minister of
Foreign Affairs Manushahr Muttaki also attacked the “selective decision.” And
from Asia, the Chinese Government, a financial partner of Khartoum
understandably “expressed concerns.”
Taking the lead in the offensive against the “ICC decision” al Jazeera’s
commentators framed it as a “campaign against the region,” and its panels heated
the debate. Writing on the Qatari-funded outlet’s site, Abdel Salam al Jamuhi
said “Allah is with us and our swords are ready.” Al Tayyib al Ameen said “Bush
and his European tails are waging a third war after Afghanistan and Iraq. Yahya
asked if the ICI prosecutor belongs to (pro Israel US based lobbying group)
AIPAC. Munzer writes “O brother al Bashir all Arabs and Muslims are with you.”
Mohammed Ali Fadl al Sayyed write: “First they controlled the Eastern gate to
the Arab world in Iraq and now they are moving on the Western Gate in Sudan.”
Ahmad Badawi said this is a conspiracy against all Muslims and we “need to stand
together as such.”
An old proverb in the Arab world, used frequently by contemporary Jihadists
says: “Unsur akhaka zaliman kana am mazluma” (support your brother, should he be
oppressor or oppressed). The rush to support President Bashir’s regime in Sudan
as soon as he was accused of genocide is a bright example of how solidarity
mechanisms work between the forces belonging to or influenced by the dominant
ideology in the region. And that is the real deep end of the crisis of human
rights and democratization, let alone terrorism, which awaits the international
community in the years and decades ahead.
“Unsur akhaka” is not being applied in Bashir’s case only. A thorough
reinterpretation of many confrontations over the past few years, particularly as
of 2001 shows clearly that solidarity with oppressors is a real force in world
politics. Jihadism’s ideological forces, including many al Jazeera commentators,
frames it as “anti-American attitude” and attempts to coin it as an –anti-Bush
wide alliance. But reality is that this aggregation against freedom is deeper,
wider and more diverse than any other coalition on Planet Earth. Indeed, the web
comes to the surface every time a “brother dictator” or a “sister ideology” are
being pinned down by the international community. This brotherhood of doom
manifest itself each time one of the “brothers” is caught wrong doing. When the
international consensus is high, the brotherhood is low, and when the latter
feels it can counter attack, it does so with all of its strengths.
Take for example the international campaign against al Qaeda since 2001. Few
stood by the Bin Laden movements worldwide, but the “clan” refused to take on
the ideology of al Qaeda, meaning the Jihadi roots of it. “Al Qaeda is criminal
but Jihadism is innocent” claim many doctrinaires in the Arab Muslim world, as
well as their apologists in the West. Hence, the world’s “Brotherhood of
Jihadism” was able to get away with saving the doctrines that produced Bin Laden
in return of indicting him, not his ideology as Terrorist.
Iraq: When the United States and their allies decided to remove Saddam Hussein,
a clear perpetrator of mass murder against his own people, a vast cohort of
brothers in destiny opposed the move, even though sympathy for the dictator
wasn’t widespread: Not only the Syrian, Iranian, Libyan and Sudanese regimes
rose against it, but also Cairo, Riad, Algiers and Qatar advised against it and
tried to delay it. Stunningly, both Salafists and Khomeinists stood against the
downfall of Socialist Saddam. Automatically, the Western friends of the
petro-regimes followed suit.
Lebanon: It took the brutal assassination of Sunni leader Rafiq Hariri in
Lebanon to force Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the Arab League and the Organization of
the Islamic Conference to not oppose UNSR 1559 calling on Syria to pull its
troops out of Lebanon. But none of these governments and organizations helped
the Cedars Revolution obtaining UN support to disarm Hizballah in accordance
with that resolution. In May 2008, when the pro Iranian militia invaded Beirut
and the Mountain, the “regional brotherhood” put pressures on the democratically
elected Government of Lebanon to make exorbitant concessions to Hizballah. When
the price of disarming the fascist militia was to allow for liberal democracy to
rise geometrically, it was judged best to keep the Lebanese crisis “inside the
family.”
Iran: Tehran’s regime is perceived as the most dangerous power menacing the Arab
Peninsula and beyond, yet when the United States mobilized the international
community to go beyond economic sanctions and trigger pressures against the
Mullahs, the bureaucracy of the OIC rushed to warn that such an action would be
perceived as aimed against the other 50 members of the organization. Evidently
many in the region, despite their fear from Tehran’s Pasdaran, still fear more
the installment of a democracy in Iran.
Examples abound about this “brotherhood against Democracy.” Sudan’s current
crisis is only one in a long chain. But the real problem that democracies will
have to face in dealing with Darfur may not be the intentions of the “Jihadi
club” inasmuch as it is the counter-productive trends we are witnessing inside
the Washington Beltway over the past few months. Many of our bureaucrats and
academics are racing backward to downplay the seriousness of the Jihadi global
trend. Reacting to the ICC belated statement a former US envoy to Sudan (who was
nevertheless among the first diplomats to raise the Darfur issue) criticized the
indictment of Bashir. Now a professor at Georgetown Andrew Natsios’ main concern
was about “who will negotiate a settlement with the Sudanese Government,”
leaving us to wonder if the issue is save the regime or save Darfur.
However more serious failures in our national security and foreign policy
estimate are the rising statements made by former intelligence officials that
“no such thing as an international Jihadi influence exist,” and the bureaucratic
literature negating the existence of the very ideology which in Sudan is behind
the genocide.
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Dr Walid Phares, author of Future Jihad: Terrorist Strategies against America,
of The war of Ideas: Jihadism against democracy and of the forthcoming book, The
Confrontation. He is also the Director of the Future Terrorism Project at the
Foundation for Defense of Democracies