LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN

LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
July 28/08

Bible Reading of the day.
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 13,44-52. The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure buried in a field, which a person finds and hides again, and out of joy goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant searching for fine pearls. When he finds a pearl of great price, he goes and sells all that he has and buys it. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net thrown into the sea, which collects fish of every kind. When it is full they haul it ashore and sit down to put what is good into buckets. What is bad they throw away. Thus it will be at the end of the age. The angels will go out and separate the wicked from the righteous and throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth. Do you understand all these things? They answered, "Yes."And he replied, "Then every scribe who has been instructed in the kingdom of heaven is like the head of a household who brings from his storeroom both the new and the old."

Free Opinions, Releases, letters & Special Reports
Syria and Lebanon, More Than Just Neighbors. By: SAMI MOUBAYED 27/07/08
The Third Lebanon War. By Mark Silverberg July 27, 2008
Europe, Islam and Jihadism: establishing the distinctions.By Walid Phares 27/07/08

Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources for July 27/08
2 Lebanese Army Soldiers Wounded in Tripoli Clashes-Naharnet
Army Restores Calm in Tripoli after Fighting Killed 9, Wounded 50-Naharnet
Hundreds Still Homeless after Tripoli Battles -Naharnet
Berri Presents New Proposal to Solve 'Resistance" Deadlock -Naharnet
Lebanese-Syrian Officials Discuss Detainees Issue -Naharnet
Baal Mohsen-Based Party Supports Tripoli Mufti-Naharnet
Mitri Rejects the Tripoli Mail Box Arena-Naharnet
Jumblat: Tripoli Violence Serves Foreign Agendas-Naharnet
The axis of pragmatism-guardian.co.uk
Israel denies reports it plans to pull out of northern Ghajar-Ha'aretz -
Both J'lem, Tehran silent on arms convoy blast-Ha'aretz
'Lebanon got a plump prisoner, we got bones in plastic bags'-Ynetnews
Anatomy of Collapse-Israel e News

Army Restores Calm in Tripoli after Fighting Killed 9, Wounded 50
Naharnet/The Lebanese army has restored calm in the northern port city of Tripoli after deadly clashes sent 2,000 families fleeing to safer areas, a security official said on Sunday.
"Calm has been restored in Tripoli and no gunfire or firing of rockets has been recorded since 5 pm (1400 GMT) on Saturday," the official told AFP, asking not to be named.
Militants from the rival Sunni Muslim and Alawite (Shiite) communities had battled with rocket-propelled grenades and automatic weapons since Thursday night, leaving five dead and about 50 others wounded.
Army reinforcements were sent in on Saturday to halt the clashes, with dozens of tanks and armoured vehicles deployed in the mainly Sunni Bab al-Tebbaneh district and the neighbouring, largely Alawite, Jabal Mohsen.
Recurring clashes between the two sides have now killed a total of 23 people and wounded more than 100 since June in Lebanon's northern capital.
Since their latest deployment soldiers have been detonating unexploded grenades and hunting for a gunman who fired at the army as reinforcements moved in on Saturday, the security official said. A source within the Future Movement of Sunni leader Saad Hariri said that almost 2,200 families have fled their homes in Bab al-Tebbaneh and other impoverished frontline zones. Half of them have been rehoused in Tripoli schools and the others with family members, he told AFP.
Lebanon has been hit by sporadic outbreaks of violence despite a power-sharing deal between rival political factions in May that led to the election of Michel Sleiman as president and the creation of a unity cabinet. The latest unrest came after the new cabinet hit snags in negotiations aimed at drawing up a policy agenda ahead of a parliamentary vote of confidence which would enable the government to be officially installed. In violence on Friday, a rocket-propelled grenade slammed into an apartment building near a vegetable market, setting it ablaze, while another one hit a mosque in Bab al-Tebbaneh. Bab al-Tebbaneh is a stronghold of the anti-Syrian parliamentary majority while the inhabitants of Jabal Mohsen mainly support the Syrian-backed opposition led by Hezbollah.Tensions between the two communities date back to Lebanon's 1975-1990 civil war. Alawites are an offshoot of Shiite Islam.(AFP) Beirut, 26 Jul 08, 18:12

2 Lebanese Army Soldiers Wounded in Tripoli Clashes
Naharnet/Two Lebanese army soldiers were wounded Sunday in clashes with gunmen in the northern port city of Tripoli.
News reports said fighting broke out shortly before 6 pm when Abu Fadi Arour refused to stop at a Lebanese army checkpoint in Bab al-Tabbaneh near Tripoli.
They said troops pursued Arour and arrested him after a thirty-minute clash that left two army troops wounded, one of them seriously. Beirut, 27 Jul 08, 19:01

Berri Presents New Proposal to Solve "Resistance" Deadlock
Naharnet/Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri suggested adopting phrases from the previous cabinet's policy statement concerning the "role of the resistance" in addition to UNSCR 1701 to facilitate drafting the new government's policy statement. Al-Anwar newspaper on Sunday reported, citing ministerial sources, that PSP leader Walid Jumblat agreed on the proposal but Premier Fouad Saniora wasn't informed about it yet. Meanwhile, al-Sharq al-Awsat newspaper reported the majority has rejected the proposal . Information Minister Tareq Mitri said on Saturday, following a lengthy meeting for ministerial committee drafting the policy statement, there has been no agreement on who would resist, the state or Hizbullah, that is why we haven't reached an agreement on a policy statement.
Mitri said the ministerial committee drafting a policy statement for the new cabinet was encountering "differences in viewpoints regarding the role of the state in resisting occupation and the role of the resistance."He said on Friday the committee would persist with its efforts until Monday and asked those "who want to speed up the committee's efforts to help us by promoting flexibility … so that controversial issues that we fail to reach agreement on would be referred to national dialogue that would be sponsored by the president."Hizbullah insisted that the policy statement should include clear adherence to the "resistance role" as outlined in the previous cabinet's policy statement adopted in 2005. The ministerial committee, according to an-Nahar newspaper, has been working since Friday on social and economic issues and suspended discussions concerning the resistance role pending political consensus on it.Beirut, 27 Jul 08, 08:38

Hundreds Still Homeless after Tripoli Battles
Naharnet/Hundreds of people were still homeless on Sunday after the latest bout of deadly sectarian fighting in the northern Lebanese port city of Tripoli.
"The army has barred residents from returning to some areas because there are unexploded grenades from the fighting and the troops are defusing them one by one," a security official told AFP.
Army reinforcements were sent to Tripoli on Saturday after militants from the rival Sunni Muslim and Alawite (Shiite) communities agreed to halt clashes that erupted early Friday, killing nine people and wounding 50 more. Fighters battled with rocket-propelled grenades and automatic weapons causing massive damage to property and sending hundreds of people fleeing for cover from the neighboring districts of Bab al-Tebbaneh and Jabal Mohsen.
A source from the Future Movement of Sunni leader Saad Hariri said almost 2,200 families fled their homes in mainly Sunni district of Bab al-Tebbaneh and the mostly Alawite area of Jabal Mohsen.
Tripoli municipality chief Mohammed Rashid Jamali told AFP that 1,500 people were holed up in eight schools across the city waiting to return home.
"We expect half of those displaced by the fighting to return to their homes in the next few days but for those whose homes have been destroyed or badly damaged it will take much longer," Jamali said.One of those who lost "everything" is Zoheir Moslemani. "I worked hard for nine years in Nigeria to set up my house and now it has gone up in smoke," the father of four told AFP as he viewed the mangled debris of his home in the Bakkar district of Jabal Mohsen.
Fatima al-Kawwas and her four children also fled after her apartment was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade, vowing not to return "until I am sure 100 percent that fighting will not resume." The security official stressed that calm had been restored in Tripoli, where recurring sectarian clashes have now killed a total of 23 people and wounded more than 100 since June. "No gunfire or firing of rockets has been recorded since 5 pm (1400 GMT) on Saturday," he said.
Lebanon has been hit by sporadic outbreaks of violence despite a power-sharing deal between rival political factions in May that led to the election of Michel Suleiman as president and the creation of a unity cabinet. The latest unrest came after the new cabinet hit snags in negotiations aimed at drawing up a policy agenda ahead of a parliamentary vote of confidence which would enable the government to be officially installed. Bab al-Tebbaneh is a stronghold of the anti-Syrian parliamentary majority while the inhabitants of Jabal Mohsen mainly support the Syrian-backed opposition led by Hizbullah. Tensions between the two communities date back to Lebanon's 1975-1990 civil war. Alawites are an offshoot of Shiite Islam.(AFP)) Beirut, 27 Jul 08, 17:08

Lebanese-Syrian Officials Discuss Detainees Issue
Naharnet/A meeting was held behind closed doors at the Lebanese-Syrian border crossing of Masnaa Saturday between officials from the two countries assigned to discuss the issue of Lebanese citizens detained in Syria. The state-run National News Agency (NNA), which distributed the terse report, said Lebanon was represented by judges Joseph Meemari and George Rizq in addition to Lebanese Security Forces Brig. Sami Nabhan. The report did not identify Syrian officials who took part in the meeting on the Syrian side of the border. Beirut, 26 Jul 08, 14:10

Syria and Lebanon, More Than Just Neighbors
Written By: SAMI MOUBAYED
http://www.yobserver.com/opinions/10014674.html
Jul 26, 2008 -
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DAMASCUS -- When the French occupied Syria in 1920, they famously dissected the country, giving four major parts to the newly created state of Lebanon. The French left Syria 26 years later, and Syrian lawmakers claimed that the division was null and void, asking President Shukri al-Quwatli to officially request the area be restored to Syria.
Quwatli angrily said, "Shame on you for asking that! What's the difference anyhow between Syria and Lebanon? Are they not the same nation? These borders – created by the occupiers – mean nothing to us, and we do not recognize them. I won't ask for a single inch back from the Lebanese. Having Syrian territory with Lebanon is just like having Syrian territory with Syria. And if the Lebanese need more land, all they need to do is ask, and they will get it!"
This story speaks volumes about how the Syrians regard their tiny neighbor, with whom they nevertheless have been at visible odds since the assassination of Lebanon's former Prime Minister Rafiq al-Hariri in February 2005. Syria can, and will, accept an independent Lebanon, but not one that hosts a hostile regime. History provides the reason behind this insistence.
Twelve years after Quwatli's statement, Syria decided to write off its parliamentary system for the sake of union with Egypt in 1958. In his justification, Syrian Foreign Minister Salah al-Din al-Bitar reminded his government that when independence from the French was being discussed in 1936, the Syrian negotiating team had not raised the issue of the annexed districts to Lebanon "because we believed that one day, at a certain point in history, we would be re-united with all of Lebanon. What is the use of taking back four districts when one day all of Lebanon will be restored to the mother nation, Syria?" That argument, he claimed, justified merging Syria into Gamal Abdel Nasser's Egypt.
Neither Bitar nor Quwatli wanted to occupy Lebanon, but they believed that the borders of the modern Lebanese republic were artificial since they were imposed, during their lifetime, on the residents of Greater Syria. Syrians had not been consulted on this appropriation of land in 1920; it was the brainchild of the infamous French general, Henri Gouraud.
There are Syrians who still remember a time when the residents of Beirut would describe themselves as "Syrian." Until well into the 20th century, the residents of Tripoli in today's north Lebanon would refer to themselves as residents of "Trablus al-Sham" – Syrian Tripoli – and, prior to 1918, degrees from the American University of Beirut even said "Granted in Beirut, Syria."
The late President Hafez al-Assad, who died in 2000, never set foot in Lebanon, making only a quick trip to the sleepy town of Shtaura on the Syrian-Lebanese highway to meet with then President Suleiman Franjiyah in the early days of the Lebanese Civil War. Assad instead brought Lebanese leaders to Damascus, partly to maintain his paramount position of authority over Lebanon but mainly for security reasons.
This led many Lebanese to complain: "The president of Syria, who has troops in our country, never even visits, because he does not recognize its sovereignty." This also explains why there was so much media attention surrounding Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's visit to Beirut on March 3, 2002 – it was the first of its kind by a Syrian leader in nearly 30 years.
Long before the Baathists came to power, the argument in Damascus has always been that, although we accepted an independent Lebanon, we will never tolerate or accept an anti-Syrian regime in Beirut. It's just too close, too dangerous, and too interconnected with Syrian affairs. As a matter of fact, deep down, every Syrian administration since the republic was founded in 1932 has regarded Lebanon, albeit quietly, as a historical part of Syria.
A closer look at Syrian-Lebanese relations shows that when Bechara al-Khoury became Lebanon's president in 1943, he had the full backing of the nationalist government in Damascus. So interrelated were the Khoury and Quwatli administrations that when a military officer toppled Quwatli in 1949, Lebanon refused to recognize him. As a result, Husni al-Za'im, the new master of Damascus, began toying with the idea of "occupying Lebanon and returning it to its due place in Syria." He even funded and trained a paramilitary group to invade and annex Lebanon, prompting the Syrians to eventually force him to resign in 1952.
But Syrians also forced Khoury's successor, Kamil Chamoun, to resign in the late 1950s, this time supplying the Lebanese with arms, funds, and logistics to bring down what Damascus described as an anti-Syrian and anti-Arab nationalist government in Beirut.
What the West fails to understand is that, from the Syrian perspective, it was not the least bit awkward or embarrassing to do any of this in Lebanon. From the Syrian perspective, the intruders were meddling in Syria.
* Sami Moubayed, PhD is a Syrian political analyst and author. This article was written for the Common Ground News Service (CGNews).

Anatomy of Collapse
Opinion Editorials,
By: Feiglin, Moshe
27, 2008 -
Broadcaster Shelly Yechimovitz and the Four Mothers Anti War Movement goad PM Ehud Barak into a retreat from South Lebanon. Israel's best interests turn out to be no match for cheap political populism. Barak orders the IDF to flee South Lebanon, abandoning Israel's allied South Lebanon Army in the process. As a result of the humiliating retreat, the northern third of the State of Israel enters Hezbollah missile range.
Preface 2: The Temple Mount War
Barak's attempt to give Jerusalem to the Arabs unleashes another round of violence that Israel calls 'Intifada 2000.' The Arabs are more to the point, labeling the violence 'The Temple Mount War.' Ariel Sharon's visit to the Temple Mount provides a good excuse for the Arabs of Yesha (and many Arabs from within the Green Line who joined them) to declare war. Barak loses the premiership. The Israeli public, disgusted with the Oslo process, elects Ariel Sharon - a strong rightist leader - to restore Israel to a path of sanity and national pride.
"Restraint is Might"
Just like the right-wing leaders who preceded him, Sharon sheds his rightist rhetoric as soon as he comes to power. Instead, he sings a new, leftist tune: "Restraint is Might." The slippery slope of nationalism devoid of commitment to Jewish faith consistently leaves nationalist leaders captive to the Oslo disintegration mentality. Sharon's corrupt dealings accelerate the process. Begin wanted the legitimacy of the Left and retreated from Sinai. Sharon needs more than legitimacy from the Left. He needs his freedom.
Sharon surprises the public with his total expulsion plan –typical of his bulldozer personality and his need to protect himself from investigations and prison. Unlike Begin, Sharon does not proceed in a democratic manner. He does not put his plan up for public approval and cynically ignores the decision of his own party opposing the plan.
The Winds of Fascism
The power elites in Israel enthusiastically adopt the plan to destroy the Jewish communities of Gush Katif and northern Shomron. Unlike the peace treaty with Egypt and its offspring, Oslo, the 'Disengagement Plan' could not be sold to the Israeli public as a new dream. Instead, the government simply explains that it is necessary to carry out the non-violent pogrom because that is what has been decided and that obedience to the state is above any moral considerations. Disengagement Israel totters dangerously on the brink of fascism.
The Failure of the Settler Leadership
If the Orange public had had rabbinical and political leadership with a Jewish liberty mentality and values system, it would have been relatively easy to stop the Disengagement plan. But at the three crucial junctions of the anti-Expulsion struggle; conscientious objection, the struggle on Israel's highways and the physical presence of thousands in Gush Katif (Kfar Maimon) – the rabbinical leadership collapses, leading to the collapse of the political leadership, as well. The motivated multitude of people who came to the march to save Gush Katif finds itself perfidiously led to nowhere by its leaders. The fate of Gush Katif and Northern Shomron is sealed.
From the IDF reports on the Disengagement we learn that the soldiers who refused to take part in the crime were generally those who "were not under the influence of the rabbis." It is hard to think of a greater desecration of G-d's Name than the enlistment of the Torah to neutralize an effective struggle against the destruction of Jewish communities in the Land of Israel. But that is exactly what happened in Av, 5765.
The Orange Public Evades Responsibility
The perfect implementation of the Expulsion without significant opposition from the soldiers leaves the IDF Samson shorn and blinded. The IDF loses its moral standing and as a result, its ability to defeat Israel's enemies.
If the Orange soldiers had conscientiously objected, they would have saved the IDF and the state. If the Orange civilians had waged a serious struggle on Israel's highways and in Kfar Maimon and prevented the Expulsion, they would have saved the IDF and the state. Even if the Expulsion would have eventually been carried out, a determined struggle would have saved some of Israel's moral standing. But the Orange public fails to carry out the historic role that has been placed on its shoulders. When Israeli society sees that it cannot rely on the Orange public, it goes with the winner, bringing Kadimah to power.
Olmert: Convergence and Amona
Sharon makes a dramatically providential exit from politics and Olmert replaces him. He also wants to become the darling of the ruling leftist elite. He also wants to be the pre-eminent leader regularly praised by the prestigious, leftist Ha'aretz newspaper. Not coincidentally, he also has some serious corruption skeletons in his closet that need to be safely out of the sights of the Big Brother state prosecution.
Sharon destroyed Gush Katif with sensitivity and determination. Olmert is determined to destroy all the rest. Sharon was 'sensitive and determined.' Olmert resolves to be violent and vengeful. Olmert presents the Convergence Plan and the preview to how it would be perpetrated: Amona.
There is no doubt that the maniacal behavior of the riot police at Amona is directed and orchestrated from above. "I admire the police force that carried out its job with determination," Olmert explains, leaving no doubt as to the source of the directives.
The horrific pictures emanating from Amona erode Kadima's popularity. The destruction of many more Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria is temporarily postponed.
War Games
Sharon was considered a true leader by both his admirers and his detractors. It was impossible to ignore his impressive military record and his determination. The deceptive Olmert needs to re-invent himself in the image of Sharon.
The 'opportunity' to become a brave military leader, crowned with the legitimacy to implement 'painful concessions' is provided by the Hezbollah abduction of Eldad Regev and Ehud Goldwasser, may G-d avenge their blood. The arrogant Chief of Staff of the Expulsion whispers in draft-evading Olmert's ear that he could defeat the Hezbollah from the air. The war that would "give a tail wind to the Convergence," as Olmert explains to the media, breaks out.
The Defeat
After it perpetrates its crime against entire Jewish communities, the IDF loses its sense of justice, its fighting spirit and its ability to triumph. After 33 days, the State of Israel is on its knees. 150 soldiers and civilians die on the altar of Olmert's dream of destroying the settlers. Israel begs for a cease fire and Tzippy Livni markets the deployment of UN forces into South Lebanon as a great achievement. Two years after the war, Israel admits that the 'great achievement' has essentially provided UN sponsorship for even more Hezbollah fighters armed with the latest missiles on Israel's northern border. Regev and Goldwasser return – in coffins. In exchange, Israel surrenders one more of its 'principles' and frees baby killer Kuntar.
The Gleeful Days of the Rule of Law Gang
Israeli society, still astounded by the Gush Katif triumph of the Sharon and left-wing bully system, enters a moral tailspin that does not allow it to be rid of Olmert. The rule of law replaces the rule of ethics. Legal clauses replace values, the public does not identify a true alternative and Israel's public debate takes place strictly in the courts.
Currently, Israel could not have found a more appropriate prime minister than Olmert. The Israel that has lost the last of its principles and exchanged values for law has a wily and deceptive lawyer for prime minister, completely at home on the legal arena.
The Escape Hatch
Israel has recently suffered three terror attacks in which civilians killed or almost killed the terrorist (Merkaz Harav yeshiva, Bulldozer 1 and Bulldozer 2). All of these civilians are from the Orange public. The way out of Israel's terrible situation is through the public that has produced these brave men – men with the right values system – men who run to be first to kill the terrorist and protect their fellow Jews. Their eyes have not been blinded and their locks have not been shorn. The Orange public, expelled and scorned, will save Israel with the proud Jewish leadership it so sorely needs. .

Europe, Islam and Jihadism: establishing the distinctions
By Walid Phares-Counterterrorism blog
http://counterterrorismblog.org/2008/07/europe_islam_and_jihadism_esta.php
In my last European professional tour of June-July, I briefed and lectured Government officials, NGOs and European Union audiences in Rome, Berlin, Brussels, Paris and London. I will report on the main issues of discussions and areas of common interest in the near future. One of the hot issues of exchange has been the ability for Europeans (Government and public) to make a distrinction between the theology of Islam and the ideology of Jihadism. Although links have been established by the Jihadists themselves, especially in their indoctrination process, EU and local Government officials need to isolate the doctrinal political component from the theological web, for the prupose of drawing national security strategies. But the Jihadi lobby has been efficient in blurring the frontiers in the purpose of keeping authorities and the public at bay. This trend is now developing in the United States as well, particularly since the dissemination of the so-called "lexicon." The battle of ideas seems to be now taking place within the West, between two camps: those who want to isolate the ideology of Jihadism as a root of Terrorism and those who wish to camouflage it for a variety of reasons.
Following are excerpts in English from an interview I had with the Slovak News Agency about te subject. I will post later more reporting on the European tour, sponsored by the European Foundation for Democracy in Brussels:
The European Public Must Learn to Distinguish Between Islam as a religion and Jihadism as an Ideology
In an interview with the Slovak News Agency, Professor Walid Phares visiting scholar at the European Foundation for Democracy said Europeans must begin to distinguish between Islam as a religion and Jihadism as an ideology. "European Governments and Union must allow and encourage debates between Jihadists counter Jihadists in the Muslim communities. Phares was interviewed by Monika Polakova of the Slovak News Agency (TASR) on 30-Jun-2008. The interview was published later. The interview original posting can be found here:
Following are excerpts in English.
Interview by Monika Polakova with Professor Walid Phares, author and visiting fellow at the European Foundation for Democracy in Brussels.
Question: Are concerns about islamization of Europe substantiated? Is Islam dangerous for the Western society?
It is true that many in Europe seems to express worry about islam as a whole and others are projecting these conclusions into the demographic trends of Muslim communities. What I have noticed in Europe is that people fully mix problems of immigrant integration into Western societies with the fight against terrorism. That is not the correct way to address the problem. The problem are jihadists who have infiltrated the Muslim community. What is needed is to help this community to isolate and marginalize the Jihadists who operate there.
Question: Where does Jihad come from?
It is an ancient state instrument used in a modern society by contemporary Jihadists. In old times, it was used as an instrument for the defense and expansion of the Islamic state, in order to preserve or gain more territory. With the collapse of the caliphate, its use has in principle ended. Today we speak of jihad as an ideology as modern jihadists are calling for the return to the caliphate. Although it’s not exactly the same, it would be currently like National Socialists calling for the reemergence of the Third Reich.
Question: Can one agree with the statement that Muslims in Europe feel discriminated against because of their religion? May this sentiment lead to the defensive posture that Europe perceives as aggressive? Where can one find the root causes of the mutual intolerance between Western and Muslim societies?
Jihadist and their followers argue that Western societies are naturally hostile to islam. When we look at how European society views Islam, we find out that it does not know much about it. If Europeans do not know much about islam, it means they are responding only to what they see. And what they see are mostly manifestations of fundamentalistm. Europeans began being hostile particularly after the terrorist attacks in the US, Madrid, London and other manifestations of jihadism. Jihadi followers can be heard well which is not true about the silent Muslim majority. Europeans are reacting to the microphone which has been held by the jihadists and whose proclamations are in conflict with European democratic values. European reaction is the following: either a small minority begins to attack the core of the islamic religion or the social majority begins to distance itself from the Muslim community. Jihadists provoke a hostile European reaction and the Muslims majority then reacts to that. The problem is that governments and academics in Europe have not done their job well in the last 20-30 years when they did not explain to the European public that what they see is not a Muslim majority but a Jihadist minority.
Question: Is the main problem intolerance, weak knowledge and ignorance?
The problem is ignorance. The educational system must emphasize that islam is a religion like others and jihadists are an ideological movement. Let’s not confuse the two. I don’t think it’s a question of tolerance - the problem is ignorance.
Question: Is it possible to find roots of terrorism in Islam?
If you want to find them, you can find them in the texts speaking about war and jihad. But war is one thing and terrorism is another. Contemporary jihadists read the Quran and extract from it those verses that refer to violence and then tell Muslims that it’s their duty to behave according to those words. One must be objective: there are references to war and violence but that is it. The problem is not whether it is there but whether it’s being used as a blueprint for action.
Question: How to successfully integrate Muslims in Europe and break stereotypes?
From the point of view of European governments, it is necessary to educate the public without magnifying or belittling the matter, without equating Islam either with only peace or with only war. It’s imperative to tell the public that the problem of terrorism comes from an ideology, not from a religion. There is certainly a connection between the two (religion and ideology) but it must all be properly explained. What’s most needed is an extensive reform of education in this field. If European governments can achieve this, then the public will be supportive of their policies. With regard to the politics of the Muslim communities in Europe, European governments must use all of their resources to educate them about democracy and pluralism outside of the influence of the Jihadists. It’s necessary to support democratic forces within the Muslim communities and allow for a debate between the Jihadists and counter-Jihadists. If that debate takes place, I think counter-Jihadists will win. Young Muslims are frustrated because they see that the dominant force in their community tells them: if you don’t do this and this, you go against islam. Nobody tells them that one may attend a Mosque without having to follow fundamentalism. What is necessary is to strengthen the weak side of democracy, secularism, women’s and student organizations or artists who all stand on the side opposite to Jihad.
Question: Do Western governments know what they must do?
No. We are in a critical stage. The majority of European governments and politicians, and this goes also for the USA, has advisers and experts coming from the Middle East or from universities where their positions are paid by oil-producing regimes of the Middle East. These experts devise strategies for their governments which all say one thing: if there is Muslim extremism, it is due to your foreign policy (Israel-Palestine etc.) or due to the way you treat Muslim immigrants at home. They don’t say that extremism is a result of a movement. Governments have for decades marginalized and ignored the problem and now after 9/11 ask themselves where it comes from. What should be done now? We must cultivate a new generation of academics, people, who will understand this, to involve dissidents from the Arab world who would inform us about the reality of this struggle.
Question: When could this exchange take place?
In the course of a decade. The new generation of experts sees matters differently, new literature is coming, but it needs more time. I think that a strategic change in Europe will take place over the course of 10 years. Had we been more active in the 1990s, we would not have been having this problem today. This criticism holds also for the US, since 9/11 seven years have gone by, millions of dollars have been spent and we still make slow steps in the direction of informing and educating the public. I am a realist. I see that the young generation has better instincts. So my conclusion is such that Europe will eventually correct itself, but it needs time and meanwhile a crisis of confrontation may take place.
Question: This year is the year of a European multicultural dialogue announced by the EU. Do you see its significance and some concrete results which this initiative may bring in terms of improving relations with the Muslim community?
Inter-cultural dialogue would be effective only if all elements of the Islamic community were involved. This is the condition. This kind of dialogue is typically used by jihadists to gain time. It is imperative that various opinion groups from the Muslim community will be represented at the dialogue. It is up to the European side to ensure this representation if they want the dialogue to bring any fruit.
Európa a islam
Phares: Európsku verejnosť treba naučiť rozlišovať medzi islamom a ideológiou
Tento rok je Európskym rokom medzikultúrneho dialógu vyhláseného Európskou úniou. Aby bol tento dialóg efektívny, mali by v ňom mať zastúpenie aj názory moslimov. Práve pri islame sa totiž možno niekedy stretnúť s extrémnimy názormi Európanov na toto náboženstvo a s ním spojenú kultúru, vyhrotenými až do obáv z možnej islamizácie nášho kontinentu. Islamu z niekoľkých uhlov pohľadu sa venuje tohtotýždňová téma TASR.
July 26, 2008

The axis of pragmatism Syria's emergence as a confident regional power has been paralleled by a shift in the foreign policy of its former enemies
James Denselow - guardian.co.uk, Sunday July 27 2008
Over recent weeks the international media has heralded Syria's return to the global stage after the seven years of isolation that followed 9/11 and the country's inclusion as a junior member of George Bush's "Axis of Evil".
Syria's reversal of fortunes, however, is less the result of dramatic changes in policy emanating from Damascus but is due more to the transition to increasingly realistic global foreign policy agendas that are willing to overlook the country's human rights abuses and absence of democracy in favour of larger strategic priorities.
The embargo against western diplomatic engagement with Syria, led by the Bush administration, reached its nadir in 2005 with the expulsion of Syrian forces from Lebanon.
This has now been shattered and despite a continued increase in US sanctions against Damascus, President Assad is arguably more secure in his leadership now than at any time in his presidency.
Steady streams of visitors have been making their way to Damascus anxious to take advantage of economic and diplomatic opportunities. These include both Nancy Pelosi, the speaker of the house, and Javier Solana, the EU's foreign policy chief, who visited in 2007.
Yet it was in France in the surroundings of the pomp and ceremony of the Elysee Palace that President Assad and his country's strategic return was most evident.
Although he arrived in what looked like a Peugeot 206 (a small car for 6ft 2in Assad) there was no doubting the red carpet on which Sarkozy welcomed him back to the top table of international relations. Chirac, a close friend of assassinated former Lebanese Prime Minister Hariri, would never have done that.
Syria's global recognition comes at a time in which its regional position is stronger than ever. To the north, relations with Turkey are at an all-time high with the disputes over Hatay's annexation to Turkey in 1939 and Syrian support to the Kurdish gurilla group the PKK a distant memory.
This month Turkey hopes to finish clearing mines from its border as the two countries continue to improve their economic ties through opening a series of free-trade border-crossing zones.
Syrian relations with Iraq, in addition to the hosting of over 1.5 million refugees, have improved following the reestablishment of diplomatic relations in 2006 and further consolidation of the security of their shared border.
During the deep-freeze years of US pressure on Syria (2001-2006) the border and terrorist transit across that border were real issues of contention. Today, the Syrians feel confident enough to fly CNN out to the remote Jazirah desert to show off their sand walls and border forts.
The Iraqi Study Group recommended security cooperation between Iraq and Syria, and General Petraeus said in February that militants crossing the border had decreased by 50%. Damascus is also looking to reopen the oil pipeline that connects the two countries as they move from a relationship based on conflict to one of harmonious integration.
To the south-west, indirect peace talks with Israel have raised the possibility that Syria may get back the Golan, which would ensure Assad's place in history.
To the west, and Syria has emerged emboldened in Lebanon. The Doha agreement and the inclusion of all of Syria's ally Hizbullah's demands has meant that once again Lebanon goes forward with all parties in fragile alliance.
On July 12, consensus Lebanese President Michel Suleiman announced: "We too obviously want an exchange of ambassadors and diplomatic relations with Syria."
Meanwhile, progress on the UN tribunal into Hariri's assassination seems to have stalled – with some commentators suggesting it will be deliberately fudged in order to avoid endangering political progress in the country.
Perhaps the greatest unknown is how Iranian-Syrian relations will endure any future Syrian-Israeli peace treaty and/or a warming of Syrian-US relations. The Iranians at times seemed like the only state to stand beside Syria during its years of isolation, forging a series of economic and cultural ties.
Questions remain, therefore, over whether Syria can dump Iran for drastically improved relations with the US and the return of the Golan, or manage to become allies of all.
That lattter scenario would certainly fit in with Syrian officials much-used rhetoric that it is "the most strategic state in the Middle East". If that is the case then few can argue that Syria has indeed been reborn

The Third Lebanon War
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By Mark Silverberg July 27, 2008
There is something to be learned from the frenzied love-fest given in Beirut in mid-July to the most notorious of the Lebanese prisoners released by Israel. Samir Kuntar was sentenced to 542 years in prison for killing four people during a raid in 1979. Kuntar executed a father (Danny Haran) in front of his 4-year-old daughter, then killed the little girl by smashing her head against a rock with a rifle butt.
But to the Lebanese, Kuntar is a returning hero. He walked down a red carpet in Beirut. He was kissed by the Hezbollah leader and cheered like a rock star. In the southern port city of Sidon, posters of Kuntar adorned the streets and walkways as children rode by on their bicycles, no doubt dreaming of the day that they too could become "heroes" by murdering "Zionist" children.
When a banner in Beirut (according to the New York Times) proclaims "God's Achievement Through Our Hands"; when The Beirut Daily Star (in other respects a decent newspaper) headline reads: "Nation Unites for Heroes' Homecomings"; when the Free Patriotic Movement (supported by more than 70% of the Christian population in Lebanon) supports pro-Syrian forces in the May battles that took place in the streets of Beirut; when the second-in-command of the Lebanese Armed Forces (George Adwan) attends the Kuntar ?homecoming" (in his words); when elected officials of the Lebanese government including its President Michel Suliman (who referred to Kuntar as a "freed hero"), prime minister Fouad Siniora, government ministers and many members of Lebanon's pro-democracy March 14th Movement call on the Lebanese people to participate in the public celebration, declare it a national holiday, issue statements that the prisoner swap was an "historical victory . . . against the Israeli enemy and its hostile policies,? and call on all those participating to "raise the Lebanese flag" as a show of unity; when Parliamentary Speaker and Amal Shiite leader Nabih Berri and Progressive Socialist Party and Druze leader Walid Jumblatt declare the release of Kuntar to be "a day to celebrate freedom, martyrs and human rights"; when public departments, unions, businesses, municipalities and educational institutions across the nation close for the day in his honor; when shouts of joy and support fill the streets of Beirut and al-Manar television celebrates the "divine victory" over Israel -- it is clear that these events are not merely being celebrated by Hezbollah supporters alone; they are being celebrated with Hezbollah by the Lebanese people to honor the advocates of genocide and the enemies of Israel.
Barry Rubin of the Global Research in International Affairs Center in Israel stated: "What horrifies me most are not radicals cheering terrorist Samir Kuntar, but that most relative moderates feel compelled to do so. At the airport to greet him were leaders of Lebanon's anti-Syrian, anti-Iranian Druze and Christian groups as well as the ambassadors from Egypt, Jordan, the UAE and Morocco. To avoid being discredited, relative moderates must affirm that anyone who murders Israeli children is a hero." Perhaps so, but while there may have been many Germans in Nazi Germany who despised Adolf Hitler and falsely proclaimed their fealty to him for fear of losing their lives, these deceptions did not prevent the total devastation of their country by the war brought upon them by the Nazis. There is a lesson to be learned here and the Lebanese had best learn it. The apparent support of the Lebanese people for genocidal terrorists as epitomized in the Kuntar celebrations will result in a terrible reckoning should a Third Lebanon War unfold.
During the Second Lebanon War in the summer of 2006, the Siniora government was internationally recognized as a moderate counter-balance to Hezbollah in Lebanon. That international respectability prevented Israel from attacking Lebanese state infrastructures and placed the Israelis in the unenviable position of fighting a well-trained, well-armed non-state actor with a violent messianic ethos that used innocent Lebanese civilians as human shields to protect its leaders and military assets. But events in recent months have altered the Lebanese political equation in favor of Hezbollah, Syria and Iran, not to mention adding another political defeat for American foreign policy in the region.
Hezbollah together with its foreign paymasters is now seen as the undisputed power-broker of Lebanon and the Lebanese government is gradually being relegated to puppet-status. Hezbollah holds veto power in the Lebanese parliament. The Lebanese Army is working with Hezbollah in south Lebanon and recently refused to intervene when pro-government forces were confronted by Hezbollah militias. The true military power in Lebanon today rests with Hezbollah. The important decisions relating to matters of war, peace and diplomacy are being made and conducted by Hezbollah. The border region with Israel is now under the increasing control of Hezbollah, and the power to carry out acts of war against Israel such as further kidnappings and the firing of missiles from southern Lebanon into Israeli civilian population centers rests solely with Hezbollah. In effect, by celebrating the return of Kuntar, the Lebanese have made (or at least created the perception of having made) common cause with Hezbollah against Israel and in so doing, they risk sharing Hezbollah?s fate.
The massive support for Kuntar throughout the country has effectively re-defined the status of the Lebanese government (and, by extension, the Lebanese people) as the enemy of Israel. As Giora Eiland, the former chief of Israel's National Security Council noted in Ynet News: "The only way to prevent another war is to make it clear that should war break out, Lebanon may be razed to the ground. Not only will the Lebanese government fear it, so would Hezbollah . . .This will deter the group, if it realizes that aggression on its part would result in destruction that would outrage the population and turn it against Hezbollah."
In effect, Lebanon would no longer be immune from Israeli retaliation as it was, for the most part, during the Second Lebanon War. By making common cause with Hezbollah, the country itself stands to reap the whirlwind. To deter further conflict, Israel should make it clear that should war occur, it is the country as a whole not just Hezbollah which will suffer.
The national celebrations for Kuntar in Lebanon, and that nation's embrace of this murderer and his genocidal compatriots, not only reveal (again) the depths of Hezbollah's moral bankruptcy, but also the readiness of other Lebanese to follow it into the abyss.
Views expressed by the author do not necessarily reflect those of israelinsider.