LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
March 19/08

Bible Reading of the day.
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John 13,21-33.36-38. When he had said this, Jesus was deeply troubled and testified, "Amen, amen, I say to you, one of you will betray me." The disciples looked at one another, at a loss as to whom he meant. One of his disciples, the one whom Jesus loved, was reclining at Jesus' side. So Simon Peter nodded to him to find out whom he meant. He leaned back against Jesus' chest and said to him, "Master, who is it?" Jesus answered, "It is the one to whom I hand the morsel after I have dipped it." So he dipped the morsel and (took it and) handed it to Judas, son of Simon the Iscariot. After he took the morsel, Satan entered him. So Jesus said to him, "What you are going to do, do quickly." (Now) none of those reclining at table realized why he said this to him. Some thought that since Judas kept the money bag, Jesus had told him, "Buy what we need for the feast," or to give something to the poor. So he took the morsel and left at once. And it was night. When Judas had left them, Jesus said, "Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him. (If God is glorified in him,) God will also glorify him in himself, and he will glorify him at once. My children, I will be with you only a little while longer. You will look for me, and as I told the Jews, 'Where I go you cannot come,' so now I say it to you.  Simon Peter said to him, "Master, where are you going?" Jesus answered (him), "Where I am going, you cannot follow me now, though you will follow later." Peter said to him, "Master, why can't I follow you now? I will lay down my life for you."
Jesus answered, "Will you lay down your life for me? Amen, amen, I say to you, the cock will not crow before you deny me three times."

Free Opinions, Releases, letters & Special Reports
The March 14 Movement: Between the Popular and the Political. By:Zuheir Kseibati 18/03/08/
The best of America - the world hopes it is yet to come to them-The Daily Star. 18/03/08

Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources for March 18/08
Olmert Offers Talks to Syria if it Stops Support of Hizbullah, Radical Groups-Naharnet
Berri to Arab MPs: Saudi-Syrian Reconciliation Key to Lebanon Solution-Naharnet
Iran: Bright Future for Resistance, U.S. to Leave Region-Naharnet
Ban Worried About Dangerous Situation, Geagea Says No to Participation in Arab Summit-Naharnet
Japan Donates $5.5 Million to Rebuild Nahr al-Bared-Naharnet
Cabinet Ponders Arab Summit Participation Options-Naharnet
Relentless French Demands for Positive Syrian Role in Lebanon-Naharnet
Kuwait's Cabinet Resigns amid Growing Tensions after Mughniyeh Mourning-Naharnet
MP Murr Threatens to Quit Aoun's Bloc-Naharnet
March 14: Dream and Reality-Naharnet
An Arab League that Unites, Not Blasts is What We Need-Naharnet
Easiest Way to Engineer Lebanon Crisis Failure is to Slam U.S.-Naharnet

Pope holds memorial for killed Iraqi archbishop-Daily Star
US official: Return of Palestinian refugees will 'help' Lebanon-Daily Star
Damascus Declaration: Syria involved in Mughniyeh's murder-Ya Libnan
Breaking News: Did Murr finally divorce Aoun-Ya Libnan
Italy urges return to dialogue to resolve crisis-Daily Star
Kuwaiti Cabinet resigns in new political crisis-Daily Star
Students test their diplomatic skills in mock UN forums-Daily Star
ACS spends week celebrating joys of reading, story telling-Daily Star
LAU theater production looks to break stereotypes of women in society-Daily Star
Chouf pine forests facing serious threat, environmental group warns-Daily Star
Turkey's top court to decide on taking up case against ruling party-Daily Star
Cheney insists Iraq invasion was 'successful endeavor-Daily Star
Fadlallah: Hizbullah won't need weapons if Israeli attacks stop-Daily Star
UN legal expert's resignation spurs speculation in Beirut-Daily Star
Solana calls on Syria to intervene in 'positive' way in Lebanon-Daily Star
EC calls for proposals to boost gender equality-Daily Star
Japan donates $5.5 million for Nahr al-Bared refugees-Daily Star
Israel raises alert status further as end of Mughniyeh's mourning period draws near-Daily Star
Lebanese parties urged to step back from the brink-Daily Star
Kuwaiti ambassador pays visit to Tripoli-Daily Star
Archbishop urges unity in Palm Sunday address-Daily Star
RPGs interrupt speech by Hizbullah MP at ceremony for missing Fatah fighter-Daily Star
MP Murr Objects Lebanon's Attendance of Arab Summit-Naharnet
Ex-diplomat: Syria talks could resume within months of US elections-Ha'aretz
The 18th sect: Lebanon's forgotten Jewish community-Menassat
Metsu looks for a point vs Syria-GulfNews

Pope holds memorial for killed Iraqi archbishop
By Agence France Presse (AFP)
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
VATICAN CITY: Pope Benedict XVI held a memorial mass Monday for Paulos Faraj Rahho, the Chaldean archbishop of Mosul found dead last week 13 days after being abducted. The pope condemned the "horrific kidnapping which perhaps injured him" as well as the "unworthy resting place in which his corpse was found." That is the first suggestion from the Vatican that the 65-year old Rahho might have died of wounds, rather than the fragile state of his health. Initial reports reaching Rome said that the archbishop's body had no bullet marks. The pope described the archbishop as a "man of peace and dialogue" and hoped that "his example would give strength and support to all Iraqis of good will, Christians and Muslims, to build a peaceful coexistence." During his Angelus blessing on Sunday, the Pope issued what he called a heartfelt plea for a peace in Iraq. "Stop the slaughter, the violence, the hatred in Iraq," he said. Rahho was kidnapped on February 29 after a shootout in which three of his companions were killed. His body was found in a shallow grave near Mosul last Thursday. - AFP



US official: Return of Palestinian refugees will 'help' Lebanon
David welch also blasts 'others' for interfering in election
Compiled by Daily Star staff
Monday, March 17, 2008
US Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs David Welch said on Sunday that both the Palestinian and Lebanese people believe that Palestinian refugees in Lebanon should live "inside a Palestinian state." "Lebanon has quite a large number of Palestinian refugees living in Lebanon," Welch said during a hearing of the Middle East and South Asia Subcommittee of the House Foreign Affairs Committee titled "Israel's disengagement from Gaza."
"And I think Palestinians and Lebanese alike see the future of those people inside a Palestinian state," Welch said. "I hope that can be realized, because that would, I believe, also help Lebanon."
"I think sometimes when I hear from Lebanese their concern about these folks might be pushed upon them, that presents a lot of issues of insensitivities for Lebanon, particularly at this time," Welch added.
Welch said getting Lebanon to a better situation was a "very serious enterprise for us."
On Lebanon's presidential crisis, Welch said: "We'd like to see the election there."
"That said, others have been interfering with it and have not allowed it to move forward," Welch added.
Meanwhile, US Republican presidential hopeful John McCain accused Syria and Iran of paralyzing Premier Fouad Siniora's government and lauded all Lebanese who reject what he called the terrorism of Damascus and Tehran.
"Those who are systematically killing Lebanese patriots and denying the Lebanese people their democracy must be brought to justice. I commend Lebanese of all religions and sects who reject Syrian and Iranian terror and tyranny and embrace the great principles of the Cedar Revolution," McCain said in a statement on the occasion of the third anniversary of the "Cedar Revolution," a term used by the US to describe the series of protests held against Syria following the February 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.


"It has been over three years since former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri was assassinated in the streets of Beirut. Following his murder, the Lebanese people came together in the Cedar Revolution, this saw its culmination on March 14, 2005," McCain said.
McCain however lamented that three years after the mass demonstration, "so much of this promise remains unrealized as the forces of repression stand firm against the prospect of a free Lebanon.
Syria and Iran have reasserted their dominance and paralyzed Lebanon's government, which earlier this week postponed election of a new president for the 16th time."
The March 14 coalition held its first convention on Friday, marking the third anniversary of the demonstration for which it is named.
A declaration issued at the event focused on four major points; national unity as a precondition to true independence, protecting state sovereignty through restructuring state institutions and restricting the possession of arms to the state exclusively, protecting independence through redefining the concept of resistance in a way that conforms with national criteria, and safeguarding independence by restructuring Lebanon's role and relations in the Arab world. - Agencies



Solana calls on Syria to intervene in 'positive' way in Lebanon
hizbullah slams eu minister for 'repeating us position'
By Hussein Abdallah
Daily Star staff
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
BEIRUT: French Foreign Ministry spokesman Pascale Andreani said on Monday that Syria must play a positive role in Lebanon by facilitating the election of a new president.
Andreani reiterated an earlier call by European Union Foreign Policy Chief Javier Solana, who urged international pressure on Syria over Lebanon's presidential crisis.
"Just like Solana, our position has not changed. We believe that Syria, as the rest of the parties concerned, must exercise a positive role in Lebanon to allow the election of a president, as stipulated by the Arab initiative," Andreani said.
Hizbullah on Monday criticized Solana's recent remarks as insulting to the majority of the Lebanese people.
"What Solana said is far from being objective. It is an echo of the United States' position," Hizbullah said in a statement.
"An independent European policy on Lebanon is more beneficial to Europe than simply repeating the US position," the statement added.
Mohammad Jassem al-Saqr, the head of Arab Parliament, an arm of the Arab League, said on Monday that the Arab delegation that arrived in Lebanon on Sunday has come with the aim of encouraging all parties to stay away from violence and engage in reconciliation talks.
"We are worried about the fragile security situation in Lebanon," Saqr said.
"We discussed the current situation with Prime Minister Siniora and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, who believes that renovating strained ties between Saudi Arabia and Syria will help end Lebanon's crisis," he added.
"We asked Speaker Berri about closing down Parliament and he said that he could not open sessions for an illegitimate government."
The Western-backed Siniora government is deemed illegitimate by Lebanon's Syrian-backed opposition.
Saqr said he will be visiting Syria ahead of the Arab summit later this month.
The Arab delegation later met Hizbullah's second in command Sheikh Naim Qassem and Lebanese Forces MP George Adwan on behalf of LF leader Samir Geagea, who is on a visit to the United States.
Geagea was due to meet late Monday with United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and his envoy Terje Roed Larsen.
Pro-opposition newspaper Al-Akhbar said on Monday that Larsen was preparing for an international meeting on Lebanon to be held in Paris.
Meanwhile, Berri was quoted by Lebanese newspaper As-Safir on Monday as saying he was pessimistic about electing a president ahead of the summit later this month. Berri added that the 2009 parliamentary elections might not take place if the feuding parties do not agree on an electoral law.
Meanwhile, Siniora was handed on Monday Syria's invitation to participate in the upcoming Arab summit, scheduled for March 29-30 in Damascus.
But the Siniora government is not likely to be represented at the summit after three ministers affiliated with Progressive Socialist Party of Druze leader Waild Jumblatt said they will vote against attending the Damascus conference.
Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun said on Monday he would not recognize Siniora as Lebanon's representative in the Arab summit. "Siniora is not eligible for representing Lebanon," he said after a meeting of the Reform and Change parliamentary bloc.
Aoun also lashed out at the ruling coalition, saying that "the rulers of today are the same people who ruled the country under Syrian tutelage."
"Syria pulled out, but they continued to rule because the greater master never changed," Aoun said, referring to the United States.
Asked about not inviting MP Michel Murr's to the bloc's meeting, Aoun said that bloc members are never invited to meetings.
"The meetings take place every Monday. None of the bloc members receive invitations to take part in the meetings," Aoun added.
Asked about the prospects of losing the support of Murr in the Metn district, Aoun said it was too early to speak about losing Murr. "Do not jump to quick conclusions for the mere fact that MP Murr did not attend the bloc's meeting," Aoun told reporters in Rabieh.
Earlier on Monday, Murr, a member of Aoun's parliamentary bloc denied to Voice of Lebanon Radio that he was at odds with Aoun. But Murr said he had not been invited to take part in the bloc's regular weekly meeting.
"I am not at odds with Aoun and I am ready to attend the meeting if invited," Murr said.
The Metn lawmaker earlier blamed Aoun's bloc for blocking the election of a new president.
Murr's criticism triggered reactions from other bloc members and FPM officials.
Murr also said on Monday he was against Lebanon's participation in the Arab summit in the absence of a new president.
The last chance to elect a president before the summit will be on March 25. The presidential seat has been vacant since Emile Lahoud stood down last November. Scheduled Parliament sessions to elect a successor have been delayed 16 times.
Also on Monday, former President Amine Gemayel briefed a number of Arab ambassadors on the latest developments in Lebanon.
Gemayel was quoted by Lebanese daily An-Nahar on Monday as saying that Lebanon should attend the Damascus summit "in order to make its voice heard."
"The summit is hosted and not owned by Damascus," the former president said.


Kuwaiti Cabinet resigns in new political crisis
By Agence France Presse (AFP)
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
KUWAIT CITY: The Kuwaiti Cabinet resigned on Monday, saying the opposition-dominated Parliament had refused to cooperate, in the latest political crisis to hit the oil-rich emirate.
The move raised the prospects of a new dissolution of Parliament and early elections amid rising sectarian tensions and nonstop confrontations between MPs and the government.
Premier Sheikh Nasser Mohammad al-Ahmad al-Sabah, a nephew of the emir, handed the letter of resignation to the deputy emir and crown prince, Sheikh Nawaf al-Ahmad al-Sabah, as the ruler is out of the country.
During the weekly Cabinet meeting, First Deputy Premier and Defense Minister Sheikh Jaber Mubarak al-Sabah earlier tendered the resignation of Cabinet ministers en masse to the prime minister, citing noncooperation from MPs.
"It is regrettable that we have been confronted with obstructive positions and practices" from MPs, the defense minister said in the letter, which was made public.
Sheikh Jaber added that MPs "have refused to respond positively to the extended hand of government and its appeals for a constructive cooperation.
"Our political scene has lately witnessed events that undermine our national unity, in addition to confrontations, crises and violations of parliamentary norms," he said in a clear reference to sectarian tensions.
Kuwait has been experiencing sectarian tensions after activists from the Shiite minority held a rally last month to mourn Lebanese Hizbullah commander Imad Mughniyeh, killed in a car bombing in Damascus.
On the economic front, Parliament was due to vote on Tuesday on a law to increase salaries for Kuwaiti citizens by an extra $188 a month despite strong opposition by the government.
The government last month already raised the salaries of citizens by $450, but that increase was seen as inadequate by a majority of MPs.
Kuwait has a native population of 1 million, in addition to 2.2 million foreign residents. The country, the fourth-largest OPEC producer, sits on 10 percent of global crude reserves and pumps around 2.5 million barrels per day.
Under the Kuwaiti constitution, the emir can either accept the Cabinet's resignation and ask the current premier or a new one to form a government, or dissolve Parliament and call for early elections.
Parliament was last dissolved in May 2006 following a standoff with the government, leading to early elections in June in which women took part for the first time.
"I believe that Parliament is going to be dissolved soon, and early elections will be held. But this will not resolve Kuwait's ongoing crises," political analyst Ayed al-Manna told AFP.
He said such crises would continue as long as the Kuwaiti political system was not fundamentally reformed.
"The solution to our crisis is through allowing the establishment of political parties, so the government can enjoy the support of a majority in Parliament," Manna added.
Political parties are banned in Kuwait, although the government allows political groupings, considered as de facto parties, to operate.
The emir had faced calls to sack the government, appoint a new premier and hold early parliamentary polls in the Gulf Arab state.
Leading liberal MP Ahmad al-Mulaifi last week said the government should go and called for changes within the ruling Sabah family. He said the premier had failed to carry out reforms and resolve the nation's crisis.
Sheikh Nasser was appointed premier for the first time two years ago after emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah ascended to the helm following a power struggle within the ruling family.
Since then, Kuwait has undergone a series of political crises that forced the resignation of four governments, the dissolution of Parliament, fresh elections in June 2006 and the grilling of several ministers by MPs.
A number of MPs welcomed the latest Cabinet resignation, saying it could help resolve the emirate's political crisis.
"The Cabinet resignation is timely. The problem in Kuwait is that the government does not have a majority in Parliament," Islamist MP Ahmad Baqer said.
"The Cabinet resignation is good news. We welcome holding fresh elections," independent MP Ali al-Deqbasi said. - AFP



Ex-diplomat: Syria talks could resume soon after U.S. elections
By The Associated Press
Alon Liel, a leading lobbyist for Israeli-Syrian talks said Monday that negotiations could resume within months of a new U.S. administration taking office, regardless of who wins the November election, and a peace treaty could be in place by the end of next year.
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said earlier Monday that Israel was interested in talking with Syria, talks which he said will lead Damascus to break with the "Axis of Evil."
Olmert, addressing an historic joint session of Israeli and German cabinet ministers, said that Israel is interested in talking with Syria, talks which he said will lead Damascus to break with the "Axis of Evil."
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According to Olmert, Israel has no interest in confrontation on its northern border with Lebanon. As for the south of the country, he said, "The government must do everything in order to defend its citizens, and it will do so."
"At the same time," added Olmert, "it will act to advance the peace process. Negotiations are not a default option for us, we are conducting them because we believe that there is a chance to reach an agreement.
Liel, chairman of the Israel-Syria Peace Society lobby group and former director of Israel's Foreign Ministry, said that in meetings with Republicans close to presumptive presidential nominee Sen. John McCain and with strategists for Democratic hopefuls Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton, he saw new openness toward Syria.
"I was just in Washington for a week and I had about 12 meetings in Congress, with Democrats and with Republicans, and I think that there is a majority in the American decision-making machine, certainly in the new teams, for talks with Syria," Liel told The Associated Press.
U.S.-Syrian relations cooled following the February 2005 assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri, an attack many blamed on Damascus.
The U.S. recalled its ambassador and slapped a diplomatic boycott on Syria, accusing it of supporting international terror and undermining U.S. efforts in Iraq.
Israel-Syria peace talks broke down in 2000 with an Israeli offer on the table to withdraw from the Golan Heights - a strategic plateau that Syria lost to Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War.
Syria insisted on an Israeli pullback to the eastern shore of the Sea of Galilee.
Since then each side has pronounced itself ready to renew negotiations and they have exchanged messages through third party emissaries, but there has been no sign of movement.
Liel said that while Bush has not actively prevented Israel and Syria from holding talks, practical diplomacy means that no such talks could take place as long as the U.S. refuses to deal with the Syrians.
"These days the situation is such that you can no longer sit and talk only about the Israel-Syria border and a peace treaty between the two countries," Liel said, adding that the agenda would have to include Syria's support for Hezbollah, Hamas and other violent groups, its political role in Lebanon and its alliance with Iran.
"Damascus will only consider discussing such issues as a way to reducing its international isolation and that means getting American concessions," Liel said.
"You need the Americans, and the Americans say we're not coming," he added. "Because the Syrians want the Americans in the room, this, in practice, prevents talks."



Fadlallah: Hizbullah won't need weapons if Israeli attacks stop
By Maroun Khoury
Daily Star correspondent
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
BKIRKI: Senior Shiite cleric Sayyed Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah said on Monday that Hizbullah "gathers its weapons for self-defense."
"If attacks against us stop, with the presence of firm guarantees, then there will be no need for weapons," Fadlallah said before a delegation of American businessmen and religious figures. "Why doesn't Israel drop its weapons which have killed our people?"
"We encourage all people to get rid of weapons and have arms of love instead," he added. "But when our enemies try to kill us, what will we do?"
According to the Shiite cleric, the Arabs have a problem with the US administration and not its people.
"We urge the American people to change this administration and bring to power more balanced people who respect international law," he said.
Meanwhile, Higher Shiite Council vice president Sheikh Abdel-Amir Qabalan urged the Lebanese politicians to serve the interests of the people and stop harming each other.
"Politicians should be calm while delivering speeches," Qabalan said. "Let them get rid of fiery statements that harm the country and its people."
Criticizing the call by some politicians that Lebanon refuse to participate in the upcoming Arab summit to be held in Damascus, Qabalan asked: "Why all that hatred against Damascus? Shouldn't the Lebanese agree on a president to represent the country in Damascus?"
Qabalan said if we would not participate with our brothers in the Damascus meeting, "then with whom will we participate?"
"Are we to participate with Israel which grabs opportunities to attack Lebanon?" he asked.
Also on Monday, Reform and Change parliamentary bloc MP Neamatallah Abi Nasr lashed out at former governments on Monday for selling plots of lands to non-Lebanese people, particularly in Christian areas, urging Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Butros Sfeir to call for an "expanded" Christian meeting in this regard.
Speaking after meeting with Sfeir in Bkirki, Abi Nasr said the total property that had been sold was as large as a third of the city of Beirut.
"Former governments have confirmed that they have only sold lands according to the law, which allows a selling percentage of 3 percent," he said. "I have asked several times for reducing this percentage but no one responded until things got out of control."
"Former governments told me the percentage of selling has not exceeded 0.1 percent, and that percentage has increased spontaneously," he added.
Abi Nasr said 43,000 foreigners possess land in Lebanon "through that 0. 1 percent," particularly in Christian areas such as Mount Lebanon.
"In the Bekaa, some 1,075 foreigners own land there, with 703 in Zahle alone," he said. "In the South, the selling process was concentrated in eastern Sidon."
"All this shows that there is a plan of demographic change," he added. "All governments that came to power since the Taif Accord [was issued] assume the responsibility of this fact. They have adopted the strategy of demographic change through the processes of naturalization and displacement which have lasted for more than 23 years and still goes on."
Abi Nasr urged the Lebanese Christians not to sell their lands to foreigners, but to their fellow citizens only.


Breaking News: Did Murr finally divorce Aoun?
Monday, 17 March, 2008 @ 10:52 PM
Beirut - MP Michel Murr, a key member of Aoun's reform and Change Parliamentary alliance, has called today for a meeting of the alliance, and warned that "if the meeting will not take place, I will resign today from the alliance."
General Aoun responded, "we are not going to call for a meeting of the alliance."
If Murr meant what he said, this spells a divorce between him and Aoun.
Murr said I will return to my own base in the Metn region and will be completely independent, "after all I have been independent for 30 years," he added.
Murr has been very critical of Aoun's role in blocking the election of a president. Murr has insisted on several occasions that Lebanon should have a president before the summit in Damascus.
The news today did no not come as a complete surprise. Many political analysts in Lebanon saw this coming.
Murr said he and Aoun will remain friends.
The summit is scheduled for March 29-30, and the election of a president, which was postponed sixteen times, is now scheduled for March 25th.
Murr does not expect the presidential election to take place as scheduled, and said he is against the representation of Lebanon by Prime Minister Fouad Siniora. He added, "only a Christian Maronite president should be representing Lebanon at the summit."

Assyrian Universal Alliance
AUANEWSWATCH
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 15, 2008 – With deep sadness the Assyrian Universal Alliance received news of the heinous crime which claimed the life of another holy man, Archbishop Paulos (Paul) Faraj Rahho of the Chaldean Church of Mosul, who was kidnapped on Friday, 29-02-08, as he left the Holy Spirit Church in the Al-Noor area of Mosul city, Iraq. The Assyrian Universal Alliance condemns in the strongest terms possible this vicious and cowardly act of terrorism perpetrated against the innocent civilians of the Nineveh plains, Northern Iraq. This inexcusable act of cold and calculated murder of Archbishop Rahho is directly aimed at demoralizing the Assyrians of Iraq in order to force them out of their ancestral lands.
We offer our heartfelt condolences to the immediate family of Archbishop Rahho, his parishioners, the Chaldean church, and the Assyrian nation worldwide. May almighty God rest the soul of this latest martyr who walked the path of peace shepherding our people. Let his martyrdom be a reminder to our people, particularly our churches, to stand shoulder to shoulder in defending the honour of our nation.
Executive Board,
Assyrian Universal Alliance

The Cost of War
By: Roger Eddé
(Excerpts from address by Roger Edde at International workshop by the Strategic Foresight Group in Antalya, Turkey March 16, 2008)
July 2006. We were enjoying a good summer on the sand beaches of Byblos. Business was good at the Eddé Sands resort reaching the 5000 count of high-end customers on weekends, night and day. Fully booked for the season. Glamourous weddings and events at all venues.
Then a Hezbollah kidnapping of 2 Israeli soldiers, followed by a punishing month of Israeli retaliation against all of Lebanon abruptly ended a promising tourist season.
A bomb dropped on the fuel depot of a power plant was enough to soil the entire coastline of Lebanon with a thick black wave, killing every tourist-related and fishing-related industry. Lebanon’s wellness vacations were poisoned.
The human cost exceeded 1200 deaths, 4 times as many injuries, massive exodus within and without the country. The immediate financial cost of that month of war reached the 15 billion dollar mark, according to our most reliable economists. Flight of investors and developers are not included.
But that wasn’t all. The 1701 UN Resolution, forced on all parties to the conflict, has not assured a ceasefire yet. The wounds are wide open. Hezbollah is investing its so-called “victory” (al Intissar, because it was able to survive the Israeli punishment) against the Lebanese democratic regime.
It has rearmed, occupied the economically vital Central District of the capital. The government of Lebanon, its Parliament, its Presidency have all been made either dysfunctional or rendered empty or simply paralyzed, with the democratic majority itself frozen by the fear of confronting the threats of mayhem, repeatedly sent via airwaves by the leaders of “The State of Hezbollah”.
Mayhem is made credible by carefully planned factious incidents. Hezbollah has been definitely emboldened by its self-made propaganda of having eradicated the image of invincibility of the Israeli military machine. Israel’s self-confidence crisis, widely and loudly displayed, has helped the Hezbollah propaganda more than its own network of self-promotion.
As for Hezbollah’s allies in Palestine, starting with Hamas and Jihad, they in turn have suddenly been emboldened to believe that they can and will, as the Hezbollah, use similar logic and means of war against Israel and its partners for peace among the Arab moderates. Absolute victory against Israel, the international order and Arab moderates have become suddenly credible in the minds and hearts of Arab and Moslem public opinion across the Arab and Moslem world.
Suddenly the cost of a ‘tit for tat’ war between Hezbollah and Israel extends to threaten the international peace and demonize peacemakers.
The ‘smarty’ Likudniks and their fellow neo-cons in Washington have once more demonstrated their ‘superior intelligence’ in promoting the idea to separate Syria from Iran by offering Lebanon back to Syria in exchange for disarming Hezbollah. A remake of an old movie that failed in the 70’s, the 80’s and the 90’s, allowing the Hezbollah to emerge as a threat to regional peace higher than anything preceding it. Tactics similar to the Israeli rationale for emboldening Hamas against Fatah to divide and rule with the Palestinian nation under occupation. Short-term tactics that end in long-term strategic failures to make peace and recognition of the Jewish Nation-State along side of a Palestinian Nation-State.
The tactics of playing Syria against Hezbollah failed to grasp the true meaning of the Iran/Syria alliance that intends to replace the Soviet Union as a counter power to the Free World. A strategy of survival for the Syrian regime, but for the Islamic Republic it is a strategy of deconstruction of the World Order, starting with the Arab Moslem Nation-States, for the purpose of reconstructing the Nation of Islam with the Persian Khalifat, the Willayat Al Fakih Khalifat. In that alliance Iran is by all means in the driving seat and Syria is unable even to eject itself out of the alliance without loosing its regime’s already slim chances of survival.
So, the real cost of the war of the summer of 2006 has become de facto the death of the logic of peace. Some in Israel, fearful of the “land for peace” process, may have felt smart for that outcome. They may be happy to have Arabs and Moslems reject the Peace Process. It has spared them the bad reputation of having to reject the pressure for peace themselves. Israel cannot resist the international pressure for peace making without the critical negative contribution of Arab and Moslem extremists, nurtured and promoted by the Iran-Syria alliance.
They can only resist international pressure for peace by blaming it on Palestinian and Arab renewed radicalism and terrorism.
Yet, they fail to grasp the magnitude and depth of their “smartness” because the monster they are feeding is becoming less and less containable. A threat not only to the Israel they think they serve by helping her resist pressures for peace, but to International Peace itself.
What we feel as the greatest threat is a growing disgust of the International Community leading to a withdrawal syndrome that shall leave the region stretching from the Eastern shores of the Mediterranean to the oil rich shores of the Arabian Gulf, drowned in their intercene wars, burned down to extinction. The extinction of the Order of Nation States and moderate Islam.
Such a war for Lebanon, Israel, Arab moderates throughout the region, can end in total evaporation with exile or death as the only choice left. An outcome that still forces the armies of world order to rush back to save their vitalk interests.
The cost of unfinished wars has always been throughout history far higher than the cost of peace-making wars conducted with wisdom, resolve and a clear vision of peace-making through strength and sense of justice and fairness to all.
Roger Eddé
President ASSALAM PARTY,The Lebanese Peace Party
March 15, 2008
 

The 18th sect: Lebanon's forgotten Jewish community
Posted March 17th, 2008
NOW LEBANON looks at what remains of Lebanon's 18th sect, the Jews, and talks with one of the last remaining Jewish inhabitants of Beirut's old Jewish neighborhood, Wadi Abu Jamil. By RONNIE CHATAH
BEIRUT, March 7, 2008 (NOW LEBANON) – Lebanon has 18 official religious sects. Many groups, such as the Maronites, Sunni and Shia Muslims, and Druze, for example, play a daily role in Lebanon's civic affairs. But how many Lebanese Chaldean Catholics or Ismaili Muslims have you met? Other sects, like the Alawi, Assyrians and Coptic Christians also add to the Lebanese mosaic.
But one sect, which numbered nearly 17,000 in the 1960s, is nearly extinct today. Lebanon still has an officially recognized Jewish sect, made up of roughly 60 citizens, mostly residing in Beirut's eastern suburbs. The most recent community representative, Joseph Mizrahi, lived in Beirut until 2003, when he left for France.
Although their numbers steadily decline, Jewish shadows linger in Beirut and across Lebanon. Even if you've never been inside, chances are you've walked by the Magen David Avraham synagogue in Wadi Abu Jamil, the old Jewish quarter just below the Grand Serail. Now and then, elderly women are spotted walking into the Jewish cemetery in Sodeco or the vandalized, neglected cemetery by Saida's coastal trash landfill. Deir al-Qamar boasts Lebanon's oldest synagogue, yet the structure itself has been sealed shut for nearly 33 years. And Tripoli, Bhamdoun and Saida still have abandoned synagogues, closed since the outbreak of the civil war in 1975.
One of the last Jews to remain in Beirut is Liza (for reasons of security, her last name will be withheld). Liza continues to live in Wadi Abu Jamil and steadfastly refuses to leave Lebanon. An internal refugee from the days of the civil war, Liza now lives in an abandoned building set for demolition by [the development company] Solidere. She may be the last Jewish presence in Wadi Abu Jamil. Living alone with several generations of pet cats, she is quick to emphasize how important Lebanese identity is to her.
"Before anything else, I want you to know that I am Lebanese… and I am Jewish," she says at the beginning of our interview. "Don't ask me questions about Israel because I know nothing about that."
Click here to read the full interview.
Following the 1948 Arab-Israeli war, Lebanon’s Jewish population actually increased. Most of the newly arrived Jews fled from Syria in search of security and found it easiest to escape to Beirut. Lebanon’s Jewish community felt safe, and saw its future here rather than abroad. Well-integrated in commerce and trade, many Lebanese Jews left the relatively poor Wadi Abu Jamil district and moved to the upper-middle class neighborhoods of Hamra and Clemenceau.
This article was republished with permission from Now Lebanon.
The 18th sect
Lebanon’s forgotten Jewish community
Ronnie Chatah, Special to NOW Lebanon , March 7, 2008
Lebanon has 18 official religious sects. Many groups, such as the Maronites, Sunni and Shia Muslims, and Druze, for example, play a daily role in Lebanon’s civic affairs. But how many Lebanese Chaldean Catholics or Ismaili Muslims have you met? Other sects, like the Alawi, Assyrians and Coptic Christians also add to the Lebanese mosaic.
But one sect, which numbered nearly 17,000 in the 1960s, is nearly extinct today. Lebanon still has an officially recognized Jewish sect, made up of roughly 60 citizens, mostly residing in Beirut’s eastern suburbs. The most recent community representative, Joseph Mizrahi, lived in Beirut until 2003, when he left for France.
Although their numbers steadily decline, Jewish shadows linger in Beirut and across Lebanon. Even if you’ve never been inside, chances are you’ve walked by the Magen David Avraham synagogue in Wadi Abu Jamil, the old Jewish quarter just below the Grand Serail. Now and then, elderly women are spotted walking into the Jewish cemetery in Sodeco or the vandalized, neglected cemetery by Saida’s coastal trash landfill. Deir al-Qamar boasts Lebanon’s oldest synagogue, yet the structure itself has been sealed shut for nearly 33 years. And Tripoli, Bhamdoun and Saida still have abandoned synagogues, closed since the outbreak of the civil war in 1975.
One of the last Jews to remain in Beirut is Liza (for reasons of security, her last name will be withheld). Liza continues to live in Wadi Abu Jamil and steadfastly refuses to leave Lebanon. An internal refugee from the days of the civil war, Liza now lives in an abandoned building set for demolition by Solidere. She may be the last Jewish presence in Wadi Abu Jamil. Living alone with several generations of pet cats, she is quick to emphasize how important Lebanese identity is to her.
“Before anything else, I want you to know that I am Lebanese… and I am Jewish,” she says at the beginning of our interview. “Don’t ask me questions about Israel because I know nothing about that.”
Following the 1948 Arab-Israeli war, Lebanon’s Jewish population actually increased. Most of the newly arrived Jews fled from Syria in search of security and found it easiest to escape to Beirut. Lebanon’s Jewish community felt safe, and saw its future here rather than abroad. Well-integrated in commerce and trade, many Lebanese Jews left the relatively poor Wadi Abu Jamil district and moved to the upper-middle class neighborhoods of Hamra and Clemenceau.
“When I was a child, my family used to take trips to Bhamdoun,” recalled Liza. “I used to play with other families – Christians, Muslims, Druze, anyone you could imagine. The ability for me, a Jewish woman, to play with Christian and Muslim girls and boys and never think anything of it, makes me as Lebanese as anyone else.”
But Lebanese Jews shared the fate of other Arab Jews in the aftermath of the 1967 Arab-Israeli war. Although their numbers began to decline following the 1958 civil war, the majority only chose to leave after 1967. The community suddenly found itself exposed to violence, as it became increasingly difficult for Arab Jews to stay in their native countries without facing discrimination and hostility. Thus, the active role of Jews in Lebanese society quickly deteriorated with Israel’s victory in the 1967 war.
Targeted for the Arab blunders in that war, demonstrations against Jews in Wadi Abu Jamil became routine. In her book, The Jews of Lebanon: Between Coexistence and Conflict, Kirsten Schulze describes the rapid politicization of Palestinians and Jews in Lebanon following the war. The Jews, fearing a backlash from Palestinians and Lebanese sympathizers due to the Arab defeat, sought protection from the Kataeb party. The general climate of fear drove the Jewish population down to 3,000 after the 1967 war; after the first year of civil war in 1976, only 400-500 Jews remained in Lebanon.
When Israel invaded Lebanon and reached Beirut in the summer of 1982, the Israeli government offered the remaining Lebanese Jews Israeli citizenship. According to a report issued by British daily The Times in August of that year, not one Lebanese Jew accepted the offer. “I was offered Israeli citizenship,” Liza confirmed, “when [Ariel] Sharon came to Beirut. I wasn’t the only one then to simply turn it down. I am not, and will never be, Israeli.” Indeed, Zionism was largely unattractive even to many of the 500,000 Arab Jews that fled to Israel. However, there was no other country willing to accept them as refugees.
So, where are the Lebanese Jews today? Most of them fled to Paris and Montreal and became citizens of their host countries. Less than 200 settled in Israel, reflecting Zionism’s lack of appeal at the time to the overwhelming majority of Lebanese Jews.
We are left with only a glimpse into a history that is often forgotten in Lebanon. After the civil war ended in 1990, many Jews temporarily returned to Beirut to sell the property they still owned in Wadi Abu Jamil to Solidere. Walking in the former Jewish neighborhood today, the area feels more like a newly paved parking lot than a dense quarter that was home to thousands. Some Jewish-owned buildings still stand, but most have been destroyed. The Magen David Avraham synagogue remains abandoned, roofless and gutted. Solidere will likely renovate the structure but keep it closed to the public until the community decides to reopen it. Of course, that would first require a Lebanon ready to accept an active Jewish presence – not to mention a functioning synagogue right below the Grand Serail. In any case, the Jewish community and its presence in Lebanon are pushed to the backburner by domestic politics. Sadly, their concerns are largely considered a non-issue by most of their fellow Lebanese.
Liza believes that Lebanon’s Jewish community is beyond revival. “You are asking for the impossible, for me, a Jew, to really feel part of this country,” she said. “Don’t get me wrong, I am Lebanese, 100% Lebanese. But I am rejected because people think I am Israeli, or a Zionist or a Mossad agent.”
Even the government’s identification of Jews is a reminder to Liza of her rejection by Lebanese society. She reaches over into a dresser and pulls out an old Lebanese birth certificate, pointing to the mazhab, or religion, section. “The government is too afraid to list me as a Jew. I am ‘Moussawi,’ because I follow Moses,” she says. “But the followers of Moses are Jews, so why can’t I be a Jew? I can’t because of the problem with Israel. Get that solved and I’ll be fine.”
A telephone call interrupts our conversation, and Liza asks to end the interview here. I leave her building and quickly get stopped by a Solidere security guard asking why I was visiting Liza. I explain, and he quickly asks if I am Jewish. I tell him no, but ask why he’s curious. He says, “She’s the only Israeli I know in Lebanon. And she seems nice, and I thought you were related to her. You’d be the second Jew I meet.”
Inextricably linked – against her will – to Israel, the last Jew in Wadi Abu Jamil is protected by a guard who thinks she’s Israeli. We may be down to 17 sects very, very soon.
Talking To: “Liza”
Ronnie Chatah, Special to NOW Lebanon , March 7, 2008
Wadi Abu Jamil’s Talmud Torah School, which Liza would later attend, in 1951. (Photo courtesy of the author)
NOW Lebanon sits down with Liza, one of the last Lebanese Jews to remain in Beirut. An internal refugee from the civil war, Liza now lives with several generations of pet cats in an abandoned building set for demolition in the old Jewish quarter of Wadi Abu Jamil. Her unique story traces the recent history of Jews in Lebanon, from a childhood of tolerance and acceptance to the dark days of suspicion, emigration and violence after 1967 and the civil war.
Liza reflects on her life and community, and the challenges of being Lebanese in a country that no longer accepts her.
Liza: Before anything else, I want you to know that I am Lebanese… and I am Jewish. Don’t ask me questions about Israel because I know nothing about that.
NOW Lebanon: I want to ask you about your Lebanese identity and whether it is perhaps even more complex for you, as a Jew in this country. What makes you, personally, feel Lebanese?
Liza: When I was a child, my family used to take trips to Bhamdoun and we would spend our summers there. I used to play with other families – Christians, Muslims, Druze, anyone you could imagine – and we would sing songs and find fun ways to spend our long days. The ability for me, a Jewish woman, to play with Christian and Muslim girls and boys, and never think anything of it, makes me as Lebanese as anyone else. Even at the Talmud Torah School [a Jewish school that once stood near to the synagogue], I would leave class and never think of myself as Jewish and different. I felt like any other child in Beirut, and it was great then.
NOW Lebanon: I’d like you to describe the changes you felt following the 1967 war.
Liza: I was 18 at the time, and had finished my ‘Brevet’ at the Alliance [French-Jewish school] when the war happened. My dad made sure my family stayed home during the tense days that followed. I remember our neighbors, Kurds from Syria, taking care of us at the time. We were too afraid to buy food from the supermarket, so they helped us until things calmed down. But to be honest, things never really calmed down after the war.
NOW Lebanon: What do you mean?
Liza: We didn’t feel safe, even at home. My father, God rest his soul, used to own a stationary shop down in the ‘Wadi’ [Wadi Abu Jamil]. He hired someone, a friend, to help him manage the shop because he didn’t want to work as much. That friend, a Jew, eventually left the country. We were one of the few families still here when the war broke out in 1975. We stayed one year in our old home, until things got so bad that we moved here, to this place.
NOW Lebanon: And you’ve been here, since?
Liza: My parents died during the war but from natural causes. I have two sisters who moved to Canada, to Quebec, and my younger brother stayed with me here. He passed away in 1996, and I’ve been here alone…but I have my other family…My cats are my friends, now. The Jewish friends I had from childhood, I don’t speak to them as much. They are gone, and sometimes they send me money, but it’s been such a long time. I have a few friends in the East [eastern Beirut], and now and then I visit them. But I am mostly alone, and I prefer it that way.
NOW Lebanon: Why is that?
Liza: You know, a lot of people know I am Jewish, and that is always dangerous for me. You never know who will want to hurt me because of my religion. They could be anyone – Sunni, Shia, Christian, I don’t care – the point is, the friends I have are the ones that accept me as Jewish, and the rest turned their backs and prefer to avoid contact with any Jew, including me.
NOW Lebanon: Are you in touch with the other remaining Jews in Lebanon? Most people say the number is less than 60.
Liza: We are here, we are the only ones who refused to leave, and we stayed for different reasons. Some were too old to leave when given the chance; others simply couldn’t afford to go. I was offered Israeli citizenship in 1982 when [Ariel] Sharon came to Beirut that summer. I wasn’t the only one then to simply turn it down. I am not, and will never be, Israeli. That is my story. As for the others, I know of them, but I don’t speak to them. They weren’t my friends before, and they will likely remain strangers to me.
NOW Lebanon: In your opinion, what will it take for you to feel safe as a Jew in Lebanon? What do you think is necessary for the Lebanese Jews living abroad to return to this country and invest their future here?
Liza: The Jews that left will never come back. They are gone, forever; trust me on that. You are asking for the impossible, for me, a Jew, to really feel part of this country. Don’t get me wrong, I am Lebanese, 100% Lebanese. But I am rejected, because people think I am Israeli, or a Zionist or a Mossad agent. For me to have a normal life here, you will need real peace between the Arabs and Israelis; for the Palestinians to get a fair deal; for the Syrians and Americans; the Iranians and the Israelis to get along. Until then, I will not be welcomed in this country, and actually, no one will feel stable here. Look here [pointing to the religion section on her Lebanese birth certificate]. Even the government is too afraid to list me as a Jew. I am ‘Moussawi,’ because I follow Moses. But the followers of Moses are Jews, so why can’t I be a Jew? I can’t because of the problem with Israel. Get that solved and I’ll be fine.

NATO's big blunder
Action in Kosovo one of the great outrages of our time
By PETER WORTHINGTON
Last Thursday, at the Royal Canadian Military Institute in Toronto, a gathering sponsored by Lord Byron Society discussed Kosovo declaring independence from Serbia. This is an esoteric topic of limited concern to those not familiar with Balkan politics. It is one of the great outrages of our times, and certainly the most scandalous and unnecessary adventure of the presidency of Bill Clinton, who unleashed his incompetent Secretary of State, Madeleine Albright, to declare war on Serbia and persuaded NATO to join in. Albright and the Clinton administration were persuaded that genocide was under way in Kosovo against Albanian Muslims who constituted a majority of the population. The spectre of massacres and mass graves resulted in the 1999 decision to bomb Serbia into submitting to a more independent, multicultural Kosovo. It was predicted by those who advocated war, that within 48 hours of being bombed, Serbia (Belgrade and Slobodan Milosevic) would capitulate and Kosovo would be free. Serbs, however, were made of sterner stuff than NATO and Washington anticipated, and the bombing lasted 78 days. In the end, Kosovo technically remained a province of Serbia under UN jurisdiction. As for genocide and mass graves -- that was a hoax. Nothing was found.  Atrocities, yes, roughly divided among Serbs and Albanians -- the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA). But not one mass grave.
It was eventually estimated that four times the number of Kosovo civilians died under NATO bombs, than had been killed by Serbs. The "war," was largely the product of Kosovo Albanians provoking Serbs into retaliatory action, and having a willing international press -- and U.S./NATO staff -- eager to document what they were told.  Jamie Shea, NATO's spokesman, announced that some 100,000 Kosovars were missing, unaccounted for, and probably slaughtered. NATO later reduced this estimate to 10,000.
Winnipeg forensic pathologist Dr. Peter Markestyn was one of those designated to investigate and conduct forensic examinations. His team performed 1,800 autopsies. "That's it," he said. Hardly genocide. War crime prosecutor Louise Arbour -- Albright's choice for the job -- did her bit by charging Milosevic with genocide and war crimes. She and the U.S. believed he was responsible for a massacre at the village of Racak, in January, 1999, when Serbs supposedly massacred 45 Muslim Albanians.
William Walker, head of the Kosovo Verification Mission, visited the site and called it "an unspeakable atrocity ... a crime against humanity ... the worst I've ever seen." Skeptical French journalists investigated, and discovered that the bodies of KLA fighters who'd been killed while fighting, were dragged to the ditch, mutilated, some decapitated, and presented as massacred by Serbs.
Finnish pathologists found it odd that little blood was in the ditch, and many had been shot at random, rather than executed. In other words it was a phony massacre, aimed at framing the Serbs. To some it was mindful of Bosnian Muslims in Sarejevo mortaring market places and blaming Serbs -- and getting away with it. Fortunately for Arbour's reputation, Milosevic died before facing trial for Kosovo war crimes, else he'd likely have been acquitted.
The Kosovo war was staged and unnecessary -- the U.S. and NATO hoodwinked into attacking. None of this suggests that Serbs were choirboys in the Balkans. Horrendous atrocities occurred. Today, the Bush administration and European Union recognize Kosovo's Independence. Russia and it allies do not. Nor does Serbia. Realistically, there's no way to right what was clearly a wrong, but at very least the truth of what happened should be recognized -- which is what the meeting at the Military Institute on Thursday was all about.
LETTER OF THE (STOCKWELL) DAY REPATRIATION AND CLEMENCY
Re Greg Weston's column (March 6), "Day's Policy Folly, Aiding Canadians who face death penalty now more complicated:" Greg Weston demonstrated a surprising (and alarming) lack of understanding of the very different concepts of "repatriation" and "clemency." According to Oxford's dictionary, clemency is derived from the word meaning "merciful." It is the art of showing mercy. When clemency is sought, it is not a request to ignore the crime; it is to show mercy in the sentencing. Repatriation (Oxford again), refers to bringing a person back to their native land. Through the minister of public safety, the government can request under certain conditions, that a Canadian imprisoned in another country for crimes committed there be returned to Canada. Most Canadian criminals know that coming back to Canada can mean less (or no) prison time for their crimes in another jurisdiction. For that reason, we do not automatically seek the repatriation of all Canadians who rape, kill or otherwise harm people in other countries. Repatriation is very much done on a case-by-case basis. Clemency, also done on a case-by-case basis, can be requested apart from any consideration of repatriation. For example, we can request clemency (such as commuting a death sentence) without also seeking to bring the perpetrator back to Canada. Greg Weston deliberately took my comments on repatriation and applied them as if I was talking about clemency. Mr. Weston would better serve his readers by reporting accurately, not prejudicially, especially on life and death issues.
Hon. Stockwell Day Minister of Public Safety
CONSERVATIVE party of Canada
(Stock ol' buddy, instead of firing off letters to the editor, why not re-examine your own words from question period in the House of Commons on Nov. 1, the day in dispute. We' ve reprinted it for your convenience. Do you see "repatriation" here?)
Hansard, Nov 1, 2007
Hon. Irwin Cotler (Mount Royal, Lib.)
Mr. Speaker, it has been the long-standing policy of our country, reaffirmed by Foreign Affairs as recently as last Friday, that "there is no death penalty in Canada and the government of Canada does not support the death penalty" and that it will "seek clemency for Canadians sentenced to death in foreign countries." Yet the government has now reversed this policy in not seeking clemency for Alberta-born Ronald Allen Smith, the only Canadian on death row in the United States.
Will the government reaffirm our long-standing policy restated last Friday and seek the commutation of a Canadian citizen?
Hon. Stockwell Day (Minister of Public Safety, CPC)
Mr. Speaker, we will not be actively seeking to bring back to Canada convicted murderers who have been found as such in a jurisdiction that is both democratic and respects the rule of law. It would be a wrong message. We want to preserve public safety in Canada, and that is our position.
Hon. Irwin Cotler (Mount Royal, Lib.)
Mr. Speaker, we are talking about the commutation of a death penalty.
Canadian law also prohibits the extradition of an American citizen back to a state in the United States that practises the death penalty. Why would we now refuse to intervene to protect a Canadian citizen sentenced to death in an American state, thereby effectively reinstating capital punishment for Canadians?
Are we going to, in fact, change our extradition law as well as change our policy on capital punishment?
Hon. Stockwell Day (Minister of Public Safety, CPC)
Mr. Speaker, there is no capital punishment in Canada. Nor is there any attempt at all to change that sort of a policy.
We will not actively pursue bringing back to Canada murderers who have been tried in a democratic country that supports the rule of law.

The March 14 Movement: Between the Popular and the Political
Zuheir Kseibati Al-Hayat - 17/03/08//
http://english.daralhayat.com/opinion/OPED/03-2008/Article-20080317-bd5835a9-c0a8-10ed-017c-43243aaac469/story.html
Prior to the post-Arab Summit period during which it is feared the situation in Lebanon could get out of control, and regardless of whether there is a link between Lebanon's attendance or absence at the summit on the one hand and the loss of control on the other, Lebanon has already become an issue in the American presidential elections….
Against the failure to implement the Arab initiative and particularly to elect a new president for Lebanon, anxieties are flaring up about a potential meltdown in Lebanon. They are paralleled with suspicions about Washington's support for the "Cedar Revolution" on its third anniversary. There are also suspicions about Israel's intentions, as it informed Damascus that the rules of the game have changed and, as such, it will perceive any attack by Hezbollah to avenge the assassination of Imad Mughniyyeh as a Syrian offensive. Consequently, once the Israeli army strikes back at "Damascus' military arm" by targeting Syrian territories, it would take no more than a spark to start a regional war that may go away with the provisions of Security Council Resolution 1701.
At such a point, the question will be: Would the results of the war turn the conflict between March 14 and the opposition upside down by imposing new realities that take all sides by surprise? The opposing possibility, namely extending the state of complete paralysis and deep divisions in Lebanon till after the American elections, may offer Iran more room to maneuver in its conflict with the US through holding to (or hijacking) the Lebanese card, but it is unlikely to tip the balance between the two disputing sides on the domestic level even though Washington has paid special attention to Lebanon in a manner that surprised Samir Geagea himself.
The matter of the fact is that no one in Europe, the US and the region has changed his mind about the impotence of the Lebanese to resolve their differences on their own despite the endless calls to stop foreign interferences. Such calls have come from Washington, Moscow, Paris, the Gulf capitals, Cairo, Damascus and Tehran to the point that Burma, Malaysia or the Comoros can be blamed for obstructing agreement among the Lebanese.
On the other hand, the hope that the Lebanese may resort to some self-criticism that may mend their divisions and end their suffering as the March 14 Movement attempted requires mutual "partnership" and involvement in self-critique, the willingness to listen, and parting with the divisive discourse that separates what is now known as Lebanese societies. It also requires that the opposition engages in self-criticism, admits its mistakes, sets realistic political agendas, and publicly declares whether its real and final goal is to replace the Taif Accord.
The critique should start with Hezbollah's question about whether the accusations leveled by the majority at the resistance to the effect that it serves foreign goals constitute treachery. In fact, the opposition directs similar charges at the March 14 camp. Evidently, it is futile to discuss the damages caused by accusations of treachery that have become so enormous to the point that any hope of dialogue may be lost.
However, even if General Michel Aoun's call for a "domestic national Taif" comes as an explicit demand to change the structure of Lebanon's political system, it still lacks the opposition's support that is essential to make such a "national" agreement central for any possible settlement.
The question at hand is whether three years after the Independence Uprising, the March 14 Movement has indeed practiced self-criticism to facilitate a settlement or it simply reproduced its objectives and limited change to its form.
Undeniably, the political document of this player which never gave up on coexistence within a united Lebanon has walked halfway to meet Syria under the ceiling of "normalization" between the two countries, hence adopting a position more lenient than that of Walid Jumblatt, leader of the Democratic Gathering Parliamentary Bloc, and successfully separating the issue of relations with Syria from the international tribunal file. While it is not surprising for March 14 to repeatedly seek dialogue with the opposition, what really matters is speaking a language that others will listen to and ensuring that the political document can establish balance between the popular and the political, between the Movement's need to mobilize its solidarity and "street" on the one hand and mastering a language that will pull the other side to dialogue on the other. Needless to mention, all this should be based on a domestic political platform and a roadmap that can guide Lebanon's relations with its brothers, friends and enemies.
Most likely, while the document successfully addressed the popular dimension, it erred in its choice of vocabulary used to propose renewing political dialogue. On this point, the document started by identifying the past and reality as it did with its attempts to define the resistance. It also highlighted the suspicions of March 14 about the objective of "turning Lebanon into a Syrian province and a bridge for Iran to the Mediterranean" and the role of the opposition in realizing this objective.
Between successes and half-successes, the opposition may perceive the document as a "a list of charges" mitigated by a roadmap toward conditional innocence. However, rubbing salt into the wounds of the "cultural dimension" that characterize the "deep" divisions of this country can only mean that even if this country is saved by a political settlement, as an entity it will still face a potential catastrophe that threatens to enlarge the gap between its communities to the point of "divorce"…on the streets