LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN

LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
January 14/10

Bible Of the Day
Psalm 140/1-5: " Deliver me, Yahweh, from the evil man. Preserve me from the violent man; 140:2 those who devise mischief in their hearts. They continually gather themselves together for war. 140:3 They have sharpened their tongues like a serpent. Viper’s poison is under their lips. Selah. 140:4 Yahweh, keep me from the hands of the wicked. Preserve me from the violent men who have determined to trip my feet. 140:5 The proud have hidden a snare for me, they have spread the cords of a net by the path. They have set traps for me."

Free Opinions, Releases, letters & Special Reports
Is al-Qaeda moving in to Lebanon’s camps?/By: Mona Alami/Now Lebanon/January 13/10
A God Who Hates – by Fern Sidman/FrontPage Magazine
Making use of our Turkish ties/The Daily Star/January 13/10

Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources for January 13/10
Bomb hurts 3 in south Lebanon Hezbollah stronghold/forbes
3 Schoolchildren Wounded in Mysterious Explosion in southern Lebanon /Naharnet
Berri: Committee to Abolish Sectarianism Doesn't Mean Abolishing Sectarianism Itself /Naharnet
Cabinet Could Adopt Turkish-Lebanese Deal to Scrap Visas /Naharnet
Maronite Bishops Warn of Security Breaches, Call for Media Code of Conduct /Naharnet
Suleiman: Lebanon Deals with Syria while Putting its Own Interests First /Naharnet
Fneish Supports Berri's Appointment Proposal /Naharnet
Barak: We See Everything in Lebanon, Calm Could be Disrupted Any Moment /Naharnet
Rifi: Security in Lebanon is Not Exposed /Naharnet
8 Israeli Soldiers Patrol Border with Lebanon in their Sleep /Naharnet
Hariri Expands Trips Abroad, Asks Turkey to Increase UNIFIL Troops /Naharnet
Report: U.S. National Security Advisor in Beirut on Friday /Naharnet
Ghajar Residents to Israeli Army: Don't Withdraw /Naharnet
Riachi's Resignation Does Not Affect his Functions at International Tribunal /Naharnet
Barak tells Hezbollah: War with Israel not worth your while/Haaretz
Hezbollah denies drug trafficking to fund Israel attacks/Ha'aretz
Detroit Hezbollah cleric "denounces terrorism", met with Hezbollah spiritual/Jawa Report (blog
Syria threatens retaliatory screening for US travelers/Monsters and Critics.com
Hariri: Lebanon will soon sign free-trade deal with Turkey/Daily Star
Sleiman raps US travel measures/Daily Star
UNIFIL car crash in Marjayoun causes traffic jams/Daily Star
Hizbullah calls Der Spiegel claims 'fabrications/Daily Star
US TV 'more likely' to be on Israel's side than Lebanon's/Daily Star
Israel tries to block military aid to Lebanon/Daily Star
Nahas warns cellular operators: Improve services or face action/Daily Star
Businessman Hasib Sabbagh dies at age 90/Daily Star
Tribunal registrar quits to lead rights group/Daily Star
Gas heater explosion injures man in Nabatieh/Daily Star
Judicial Council meets to fill Akkar, Baalbek vacancies/Daily Star
Police arrest most notorious drug baron in country/Daily Star
MPs aim to make children under 15 attend schoo/Daily Star/Daily Star
Robert Fisk: Western media fails to report 'real horrors of war/Daily Star
Gul threatens to recall Turkish ambassador in Israel/Now Lebanon
Speaker Berri addresses the public from Nejmeh Square on his proposal to form a committee to eliminate political sectarianism/Now Lebanon

Barak: We See Everything in Lebanon, Calm Could be Disrupted Any Moment
Naharnet/Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said the Jewish state is able to see everything that is happening in Lebanon and warned that the situation could "quickly" deteriorate.
"We see Hizbullah expanding inside Lebanon and its growing influence, political and otherwise," Barak said Tuesday during a tour of the northern border to inspect Israeli troops.
"We again wish to make clear to the Lebanese leadership that we see everything, and we will hold the parties who cause increased tension responsible," he said.
"The borders have been quiet since 2006 but the situation can deteriorate quickly," Barak cautioned. The relative calm along the border "could be disrupted at any moment," he added. "We suggest that the other side refrain from trying to change the current situation, which Israel's deterrence helped create." "Despite the calm, you must stay alert. We do not want escalation, but if needed, we'll respond accordingly," he told his soldiers. Barak said that Israeli troops must be prepared for any change in the status quo with Hizbullah.
"We need to constantly prepare for a change in the status quo, though we don't know when it will occur," he told his soldiers. "We don't want for it to happen, and it might not, but we will not be afraid to react if we have to fight back." Addressing Hizbullah, Barak said: "avoid entering conflict with us." "If the situation deteriorates, we will hold the Lebanese government and any group which supports Hizbullah accountable," he warned. Beirut, 13 Jan 10, 08:01

Bomb hurts 3 in south Lebanon Hezbollah stronghold
Associated Press/By BASSEM MROUE , 01.13.10,
BEIRUT -- A bomb apparently meant for a Hezbollah figure went off Wednesday in a southern Lebanese stronghold of the militant group, wounding his daughter and two other students waiting for their school bus, military and security officials said. The officials said the bomb exploded around 7:30 a.m. (0530 GMT) at the entrance of an apartment building in the village of Kfar Fila. The three wounded students - two girls and a boy, whose ages range between seven and 16 - were opening the building's gate at the time of the blast. The village is located in an area known as a stronghold of the Shiite militant group. The region, north of the Litani River and far from the border with Israel, is not part of a volatile border zone in which Hezbollah has been banned from having weapons under a U.N. resolution that ended the 2006 war between the militant group and Israel. Security officials said the target was likely a Hezbollah security official who lives in the building. Another Hezbollah supporter also lives in the same building, they said. The Hezbollah official's 16-year old daughter and the Hezbollah supporter's son and daughter were wounded, the security officials said. They were rushed to hospitals in the market town of Nabatiyeh and the nearby village of Toul.

Maronite Bishops Warn of Security Breaches, Call for Media Code of Conduct
Naharnet/The Council of Maronite Bishops on Wednesday urged Lebanese authorities to deal with security breaches and called on media outlets to draw up a code of conduct to preserve moral values. "It seems that the security situation in Lebanon has improved," the bishops said in a statement following their monthly meeting under Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir. However, there are still security breaches that authorities should deal with, the bishops said. The statement also said that visits made by President Michel Suleiman and Premier Saad Hariri to foreign countries are aimed at consolidating friendship ties between Lebanon and other states. "We call on media outlets to draw up a code of conduct to preserve moral values," the bishops said, in a clear reference to local TV programs that have faced criticism for being unethical. Beirut, 13 Jan 10, 12:37

3 Schoolchildren Wounded in Mysterious Explosion in southern Lebanon
Naharnet/Three children waiting for their school bus were wounded in southern Lebanon Wednesday when a mysterious explosion ripped through a building. A security source told Naharnet that the 7:30am blast took place at the entrance to a three-storey building in Kfar Fila near Nabatiyeh. He said that while the nature of the explosion was not immediately known, it is believed to be the result of a bomb. The source identified one of the tenants in the building as Mohammed Zreiq, who is believed to be a Hizbullah official. He said two of Zreiq's children -- Hasan, 7 and Diala, 11-- were among the wounded. The third casualty was identified as Zainab Hazimeh, 15. Kfar Fila has long been a bastion of Hizbullah, which fought a devastating 2006 war with Israel. Beirut, 13 Jan 10, 09:01

Sleiman raps US travel measures
President speaks to foreign envoys, praises Lebanon’s achievements
By Nafez Qawas
/Daily Star correspondent
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
BEIRUT: President Michel Sleiman said Monday that any discriminatory procedures which may harass the Lebanese ought to be condemned and criticized. In the wake of a botched Christmas Day bid to blow up a Detroit-bound Northwest airliner, the United States decided to tighten security measures for airline passengers traveling from Lebanon and 13 other countries.
The president reiterated Lebanon’s keenness on the freedom of the press in the face of any decision that may ban TV channels, including Lebanese ones, from satellite broadcasting.
The US is currently examining the possibility of imposing sanctions on TV stations regarded as “hostile” to the US.
The US draft law monitored a number of Arab satellite channel broadcasts which it considered an, “incitement to violence against the United States and against Americans,” including Hizbullah affiliated Al-Manar TV.
Sleiman told members of foreign and Arab diplomatic bodies gathered at the Baabda Presidential Palace on Tuesday that Lebanon’s diplomatic, political, security and economic accomplishments in 2009 paved the way for positive developments in the future. He added that 2009 was better than previous years for the country.
Sleiman mentioned the “free democratic elections” on June 7 and the formation of the national-unity Cabinet, the stability of state institutions despite the international financial crisis and the disbanding of Israeli espionage networks as some of Lebanon’s achievements in 2009.
Sleiman said the state will now focus its efforts on rebuilding institutions, and reforming its public sector and laws.
He added that “Lebanon, as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council, will encourage diplomatic solutions that take the people’s interests into consideration.”
The president asserted that Lebanon “has the right to liberate the rest of its occupied territory through all available means,” while remaining committed to UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which put an end to the summer 2006 war with Israel.
Sleiman called for applying “appropriate means of pressure” to find a fair resolution to the Middle East crisis, in line with international resolutions and within a specific time frame.
In other news, the issue of administrative appointments is expected to be the main focus of a meeting in Baabda gathering President Sleiman and Prime Minister Saad Hariri.
Also on Wednesday, Speaker Nabih Berri is expected to hold a news conference at 2:30 pm at the Parliament to urge the formation of a national committee to abolish political sectarianism in Lebanon.
Development and Liberation bloc MP Michel Moussa told MTV on Tuesday that Speaker Berri might discuss the cabinet’s upcoming administrative appointments during his news conference on Wednesday.” He added that Berri would not withdraw his proposal to form a judicial committee to filter the names of candidates.
He also voiced hope that the appointments would take place “in an atmosphere of understanding” between parties. According to Moussa, consensus democracy should not be applied at the expense of people’s qualifications. Meanwhile, following talks with the speaker, Justice Minister Ibrahim Najjar said he and Berri discussed the Cabinet’s upcoming administrative appointments, political reconciliations as well as issues related to the Justice Ministry. “Speaker Berri is a former justice minister and it is important to survey his view on various judiciary-related issues,” Najjar told reporters. Najjar also reiterated that the administrative appointments are not linked to the judiciary, which, he said is a body completely independent from the Cabinet.

Cabinet Could Adopt Turkish-Lebanese Deal to Scrap Visas
Naharnet/The cabinet is expected to adopt an agreement signed between Lebanon and Turkey on scrapping entry visas to the two countries, ministerial sources who visited Turkey with PM Saad Hariri told pan-Arab daily al-Hayat. The cabinet is scheduled to hold a meeting on Wednesday afternoon. If adopted, the agreement will enter into force immediately after its publication in the official gazette. Interior Minister Ziad Baroud told al-Mustaqbal daily that the cabinet could discuss the issue during Wednesday's session although it is not on the meeting agenda. He added, however, that the agreement could be adopted in the next government session. The agreement stipulates that there is no need for entry visas to the nationals of the two countries for a period of less than 90 days, Baroud said. Hariri stressed to Lebanese and Turkish businessmen on Tuesday the importance of abolishing the visas between the two countries. Beirut, 13 Jan 10, 10:40

Suleiman: Lebanon Deals with Syria while Putting its Own Interests First
Naharnet/President Michel Suleiman hinted at the imminent resumption of national dialogue and stressed that Lebanon deals with Syria while putting its own interests first. In an interview published Wednesday by An-Nahar newspaper, Suleiman said he will resolve the issue of the resumption of all-party talks before end of January "which will tackle the major issue of the defense strategy and everything related to it." He uncovered that he has extended an invitation to Syrian President Bashar Assad to visit Lebanon. Suleiman said Assad has promised to visit Lebanon in a timely manner, adding that Damascus expressed readiness to cooperate with Lebanon over the issue of Palestinian arms outside refugee camps. "The relationship with Damascus is healthy," Suleiman said. "We don't wear gloves when dealing with Syria, but rather we preserve our interests.""We don't tell the Syrians that their interests come before ours because this is not true and they will not believe us," he stressed. "Instead, we want to protect the interest of Lebanon and all what is best for the two countries," Suleiman added. The President revealed plans to visit Russia and China as part of Lebanon's new role as a member of the Security Council. Beirut, 13 Jan 10, 08:31

Fneish Supports Berri's Appointment Proposal
Naharner/State Minister for Administrative Development Mohammed Fneish reiterated his ministry's support for a proposal by Speaker Nabih Berri to launch a mechanism for administrative appointments which stipulates that a "neutral side" should in charge of setting the rules for designation of public employees.
Fneish, however, denied that Berri had offered to set up of a committee of judges to take part in the appointment process. Berri "suggested a set of principles with which we agree," he stressed. Sources, meanwhile, told As-Safir newspaper that Fneish has informed Berri, Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun and other Opposition figures of the nature of the mechanism, adding that they have all approved it. Beirut, 13 Jan 10, 10:03

Report: U.S. National Security Advisor in Beirut on Friday
Naharnet/U.S. National Security Advisor James Jones is expected to visit Beirut on Friday as part of a tour to the region, An Nahar newspaper reported. Jones held discussions with Saudi King Abdullah Tuesday on the first stop of his regional tour. He is due to go on to Israel and the Palestinian territories, the White House announced Monday. The trip is to "discuss the full range of regional challenges and opportunities at this critical time," his spokesman Mike Hammer said. Beirut, 13 Jan 10, 08:21

Ghajar Residents to Israeli Army: Don't Withdraw
Naharnet/Ghajar residents have urged Israeli forces not to withdraw from the Lebanese part of the border village during a meeting with Foreign Ministry Director-General Yossi Gal.
The Jerusalem Post quoted a ministry official as saying that Tuesday's meeting should not be interpreted as an indication that a withdrawal from the northern part of the village was imminent.
Discussions between Israel and the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon have centered on how U.N. peacekeepers would be deployed in and around Ghajar to prevent Hizbullah from smuggling men or arms into Israel through the village, the Israeli daily said Wednesday. The Israeli government has reportedly approved a plan to turn over control of the northern half of the village to UNIFIL. No physical barrier would be built between the northern and southern parts of the village, but rather U.N. peacekeepers would patrol both the northern half and the perimeter. The Jerusalem Post said that Ghajar's residents delivered to Gal and other officials from the Israeli army and the foreign, defense and justice ministries maps which they said proved that the town was never split in half by the international border. The residents reportedly said that an Israeli pullout from the Lebanese part of Ghajar would make life unbearable, adding they would have to go through security checks every time they need to work in their fields, go to the store or the supermarket. "They also warned of violence from Hizbullah if Israel pulled back from the northern part of the village," The Post said. Beirut, 13 Jan 10, 07:50

Riachi's Resignation Does Not Affect his Functions at International Tribunal
Naharnet/The Special Tribunal for Lebanon said the resignation of Lebanese judge Riachi does not affect in any way his functions at the international court. "Following the articles published by some media and some comments made publicly, the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) would like to clarify that the resignation of Judge Riachy from the Lebanese Judiciary does not affect in any way his appointment and functions as a Judge of the STL," STL said in a statement. It said that according to Article 9 paragraph 1 of the STL Statute, STL judges must fulfill the following conditions: be persons of "high moral character, impartiality and integrity", have "extensive judicial experience" and be "independent in the performance of their functions".
"The provisions of the Agreement between the United Nations and Lebanon and the Statute do not require that an STL judge (international or Lebanese) be currently sitting as a judge in a national judicial system," the statement clarified. It said that regarding the appointment mechanism, in accordance with Article 2 paragraph 5 of the Agreement, all judges (Lebanese and international) are appointed by the Secretary-General upon the recommendation of a selection panel, composed of two international judges and the representative of the Secretary-General.
The list of Lebanese Judges was presented to the Secretary-General upon the proposal of the Lebanese Supreme Council of the Judiciary. Beirut, 13 Jan 10, 07:33

Lebanon, Syria Criticize U.S. Air Screening Rules as 'Discriminatory'
Naharnet/Lebanon and Syria criticized the tight security screening recently introduced by the United States against travelers from the two Arab nations, branding the measures a form of discrimination and warning they might lash back with similar measures. President Barack Obama's administration ordered the changes after the alleged attempt by a Nigerian man to blow up a jetliner bound to Detroit from Amsterdam on Christmas Day. The U.S. Transportation Security Administration said enhanced screening techniques would include full-body pat-downs, searches of carryon bags, full-body scanning and explosive-detection technology. "It is the sovereign right of the USA to chose to protect its citizens the way it deems most appropriate," Lebanon's Information Minister Tareq Mitri told reporters. "What is under question is the fact that citizens of different countries are singled out in a discriminatory fashion."
In Syria, the state-run news agency said Washington's top diplomat in Damascus was summoned to the Foreign Ministry and told the new measures constituted "unfriendly behavior." No Syrian citizen was ever involved in terror attacks against the U.S., the agency noted. The Syrian Foreign Ministry also informed the American diplomat that Damascus could be left with no choice but to introduce similar measures against U.S. citizens. The U.S. demanded more careful screening for people who are citizens of, or are flying from, 14 nations deemed security risks. Beside Syria and Lebanon, they include Cuba, Iran, Sudan, Iraq, Algeria, Afghanistan, Libya, Nigeria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Somalia and Yemen. There are no direct flights from Syria or Lebanon to the United States. The row over airport security could hinder the slow improvement of relations between Damascus and Washington after years of tensions.
The United States withdrew its ambassador to Syria in 2005 following the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. Syria denies charges by some Lebanese officials that it was behind the killing.(AP) Beirut, 13 Jan 10, 07:23

Turkey embraces role as Arab 'big brother'
By Sami Moubayed
Asia Times Online
DAMASCUS - After the Justice and Development Party (AKP) came to power in Ankara, many in the West referred to a new Turkish foreign policy called "neo-Ottomanism", suggesting a revival of the intellectual, political and social influence of the Ottoman Empire, which departed the scene 92 years ago. That policy was attributed to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his advisor, now foreign minister, Ahmet Davutoglu. Quickly, however, the term "Ottomanism" began to fade, given that it was difficult to market in countries formerly controlled by
the Ottoman Empire due to continued indoctrination against Ottomanism by the Arabs over nine decades.
Some, however, continued to stand by the term, including Cuneyt Zapsu, an advisor to the Turkish prime minister, who said: "A new, positive role for Turkey in the world requires a reconciliation with its own past, the overcoming of societal taboos, and a positive new concept of Turkish identity. We are the Ottomans' successors and should not be ashamed of this."
Decision-makers in Turkey had once tried to hide their Ottoman past, ashamed of it during the heyday of Kemal Ataturk because it looked backward and was too Islamic for the secular state that was being carefully erected in Turkey. That is now a thing of the past thanks to the steady policy of the AKP, which has been opening up to countries such as Syria and, more recently, Lebanon.
Many wrongly interpreted Erdogan's policy towards the Arab world, now entering its seventh year, as purely a Syrian-Turkish alliance. By nature of his new orientation, Erdogan is striving to restore Turkey to its rightful place amongst Arab and Muslim nations, and that by no means stops at the gates of Damascus. It is a policy that embraces Egypt, Jordan, Palestine, Syria, Lebanon and Iraq.
During the past few years, Turkey has sponsored indirect talks between Syria and Israel, tried to hammer out solutions between Fatah and Hamas in Palestine, and worked on mending broken fences between Damascus and Baghdad after relations soured last August.
Turkey has permanently stood as a mediator between Iran and the Arab world and has worked hard to help embrace non-state players like Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas, whose leadership it received in Ankara in 2004, despite public outcry from the United States.
Additionally, it has tried to flex its muscle within the complex world of Iraqi politics, calling on Sunni leaders to take part in the political process that was started after the 2003 downfall of Saddam Hussein. Big brother Turkey, after all, had mediated in similar waters at the turn of the 20th century and apparently still knows the region, its people and their plight only too well, and still feels best suited to solve existing conflict within it. This week, Erdogan received Lebanese Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri in a groundbreaking visit to Turkey, adding yet another link to the long chain of alliances that Erdogan is carefully creating for the Turkish republic. Among other things, the two countries agreed to increase technical and scientific cooperation in military affairs and lift visa requirements between Lebanon and Turkey. At first glance, this will boost tourism and people-to-people contact between Beirut and Ankara.
According to official numbers, 50,794 Lebanese tourists went to Turkey in 2008 - an increase of 18,000 from 2007 and large when compared with the number, not more than a few hundred, of Turkish tourists who streamed into Beirut.
It will certainly affect bilateral trade, which stood at US$225 million in 2002 and now stands at $900 million. It also means that Turkey has now lifted visa requirements with six Arab countries, the others being Libya, Morocco, Tunis, Jordan and Syria. Erdogan best explained it by saying that a "regional Schengen" system, similar to the agreement signed between European countries in Luxemburg in 1985, has now gone into effect in the region, removing systematic border control between these countries - making them closer to how they had been under the Ottoman Empire. When Iraq normalizes, he added, it, too, could join the regional "Schengen" system.
Clearly from all the optimism shown by Erdogan for the Hariri visit, cooperation between Turkey and Lebanon will not end there. The Turkish premier, after all, has visited Beirut twice, in 2007 and in 2008, and was the most senior foreign guest attending the inauguration of Lebanese President Michel Suleiman.
During the Israeli war of 2006, he firmly stood by the Lebanese, and in its immediate aftermath, sent 600 Turkish troops to take part in peacekeeping on the Lebanese-Israeli border by the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon. Erdogan saw to it that $50 million worth of aid was given to reconstruct southern Lebanon, along with building 41 schools, five parks and a rehabilitation center worth $20 million.
Politically, Lebanon and Turkey are now colleagues in rotating positions at the UN Security Council, and this is where real political cooperation will materialize in the months to come. Turkey's heavyweight influence will come in handy as Lebanon tries to waiver Security Council resolution 1559, which called on the Syrians to withdraw from Lebanon and stipulates the disarmament of non-state players, including Hezbollah.
In as much as the Hariri team once called for implementing 1559 in 2005-2009, they would now prefer that it disappears, given that, far from being an adversary, Hezbollah is now a Hariri ally, strongly represented in both parliament and the Hariri cabinet.
The Lebanese government recently claimed that the resolution should be canceled, saying that all of its clauses had been fulfilled, noting that Hezbollah was a part of the Lebanese state and defense system and not merely a non-state player or a militia, as many in the West claim it to be.
That argument, which saves both Hezbollah and Hariri the burden of having to deal with 1559, was put forth last December by Hariri's new Foreign Minister Ali al-Shami, an appointee of the Hezbollah-led team in the Hariri cabinet.
When speaking at a press conference with Erdogan, Hariri noted that not a single day passed where the Israeli Defense Forces did not infringe on Lebanese waters or airspace, claiming that this was a legal breach of UN resolution 1701, which was passed after the war of 2006.
Erdogan nodded, saying that Israel had breached "no less than 100" resolutions in recent years, adding: "This requires serious reforms at the United Nations. We do not support Israel's position and will not remain silent."
Having Turkey on Lebanon's side will be a great boost for Hezbollah, which is preparing for a possible new round of confrontation with Israel in summer this year. From Ankara, Hariri came to Hezbollah's defense, telling reporters, "Terrorism is not when one defends one's land - the opposite is correct," thus supporting Hezbollah's war against Israel until the Sheba Farms are liberated from Israeli occupation.
This fits in nicely with the barrage of criticism that Erdogan has been firing against Israel for the past year, started in January 2009 when, speaking at Davos right after the Gaza war, he told Israeli President Shimon Peres: "President Peres, you are old, and your voice is loud out of a guilty conscience. When it comes to killing, you know very well how to kill. I know well how you hit and kill children on beaches."
Erdogan, in the weeks to come, will help further normalize Syrian-Lebanese relations, saying that he advised his "friend" President Bashar al-Assad to reciprocate Hariri's visit by paying a visit of his own to Beirut. He will further work with Syria and Lebanon to see to it that Hezbollah is sheltered from another Israeli war, and try to pressure Israel to return to the negotiating table to lift the siege on Gaza and restore the occupied Golan Heights to Syria.
Best mirroring Erdogan's new policy is that, despite the new and firm relationship with the Arabs, he has not wasted his country's historical relationship with Israel. Although critical, his embassy remains open in Tel Aviv, and he is preparing to receive Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak in Ankara in late January.
Only by being able to talk to all parties will the Turks achieve the security and normalcy they aspire to in the Middle East. While Israel is not pleased with Erdogan's new policy, claiming that he has clearly taken sides in the Arab-Israeli conflict, the Arabs are thrilled that the Turkish giant has emerged and, unlike the case since 1918, is now clearly on their side in the battlefront.
He has reminded the Arabs that despite a very rough period in bilateral relations during World War I, the Ottoman legacy in the Arab world was not all bad, and not all autocratic. Why? Because by defending Syria, Lebanon and Palestine, Erdogan feels that he is also defending Turkey, seeing all four countries as one, given their geographic, historical, social, religious and cultural proximity.
Many of the finest buildings in Damascus and Beirut, after all, were constructed during the Ottoman era. So were many of the codes, laws of commerce and aspects of civil administration, which lasted well into the 20th century. The Ottoman influence on Arab language, heritage, music, heritage and cuisine, cannot be ignored, despite years of trying to write off anything Ottoman as being destructive to Arab culture.
Although the Ottomans struck with an iron fist at the Arabs working with Great Britain against them during the Great War, they also - very symbolically - refused to sell land in Ottoman Palestine to the Zionists during the reign of Ottoman Sultan Abdulhamid II. It is that part of Ottoman history that Erdogan wants the Arabs to remember, not the hangman's noose that was erected by the Ottoman governor of Syria, Jamal Pasha, in the central squares in Beirut and Damascus in 1915-1916.
When the republics were young in Lebanon, Turkey and Syria, Turkish and Arab nationalism stood in the way of a clear appreciation of history, leading to nothing but bad blood between Arabs and Turks. That era is now hopefully gone - never to return - thanks to the efforts of Erdogan, referred to, very symbolically, by Hariri as "Big Brother" during his Ankara visit.
Sami Moubayed is editor-in-chief of Forward Magazine in Syria.
(Copyright 2010 Asia Times Online (Holdings) Ltd. All rights reserved. Please contact us about sales, syndication and republishing.)

Is al-Qaeda moving in to Lebanon’s camps?
Mona Alami,/Now Lebanon
January 13, 2010
Armed men are a common sight in Lebanon’s Palestinian camps, raising concerns both in and outside the enclaves. (AFP/Mahmoud Zayat)
The sound of sputtering gunfire can be heard coming from the Ain al-Hilweh Palestinian camp on the outskirts of Saida. Posted at the entrance, a Lebanese army soldier wearing a worried frown on his face, peers into the car. “Are you sure you want to go in? We don’t know what’s going on.”
It’s business as usual in Ain al-Hilweh. In spite of the gunfire, a stream of vehicles continues to flow into the rundown camp, the drivers apparently unfazed by the noise. Lebanese army soldiers posted at the main entrance of the camp let our car inside without a preliminary search. A few days earlier another journalist admitted she was able to smuggle recording equipment on three separate occasions through the army checkpoints.
On the road connecting the upper market street to the area of Tawarek, known to be the bastion of the camp’s Islamist factions, two groups of some 30 men face off.
“The gunfire you heard is nothing at all,” says a Fatah gunman pointing at the men. “It is a minor personal problem between two families.” He ushers us down a labyrinth of intricate alleyways leading to the house of the colorful Fatah commander Mounir Maqdah, who is in charge of security inside the camp.
“The clash pitted two youngsters who disagreed on the outcome of a game of pinball against each other,” says Maqdah dismissively. Meanwhile Hajj Maher Oueid, head of Ansar Allah, a Palestinian Islamic faction close to Hezbollah, tells NOW that the dispute involved a Fatah member from the Abu al-Kol family and a member of the Ahbash Islamic movement.
While this particular incident seems to have died down without any serious violence, Lebanon’s Palestinian camps have been in the spotlight in recent weeks amid rumors of growing instability. Last week unknown assailants threw a percussion bomb near the Fatah headquarters at the Rashdiyeh camp near Tyre. No casualties were reported. Meanwhile, according to Naharnet, quoting security sources, al-Qaida militants have been plotting terrorist attacks against state institutions and foreign missions in coordination with Fatah al-Islam, a group that first surfaced in the North Lebanon camp of Nahr al-Bared in the summer of 2007 and fought a bloody summer campaign against the Lebanese army. Al-Qaida was also said to be training other militants in Ain al-Hilweh to carry out attacks against UNFIL troops in South Lebanon, with the Ain al-Hilweh-based Jund al-Sham apparently receiving financial assistance from a top al-Qaida official to activate sleeper cells in the camp.
Fatah commander in Lebanon Sultan Abu al-Aynayn added fuel to the fire when he told Agence France Presse (AFP) he had taken measures to prevent al-Qaida from infiltrating Palestinian refugee camps after he received information that what he called “external parties” were seeking to import extremists, particularly from Iraq. The declaration was followed by another incident in Ain al-Hilweh between the Fatah Movement and Jund al-Sham Islamists during which militants used heavy machine guns.
As usual, Maqdah plays down the incident, explaining that it had started when a former Jund al-Sham member, Yahiya Abu al-Said, shot at a Fatah checkpoint inside the camp. “Fatah members overreacted by responding with heavy weaponry,” he explains. “We have taken strict measures against all gunmen involved in the security incident.
“The Jund al-Sham movement has been dismantled and only a few of its members remain in the camp,” he says, adding that many have tried to move out of Lebanon and enter Europe. He denies reports of an al-Qaida infiltration into the camp. “I am in charge of the camp security and can assure you no foreigners have entered the camp of late.”
In the last few years, at the height of tensions between the Islamists and Fatah, men with long beards, along with younger Jund al-Sham militants – dressed in fatigues and black t-shirts adorned with pictures of their beloved Abu Hureira, a Fatah al-Islam leader killed in 2007 – could be seen strutting around the camp. Today however, there is no trace of militia men on the bustling streets, with the exception of some armed Fatah members posted at checkpoints.
Unarmed men dressed in the Salafi custom, long dishdashas or Pakistani Shalwar Kameez, can be seen around the Safsaf area and the Sheikh Jamal Khattab mosque, home to Osbat al-Ansar and Haraka Islamiya Moujahida, two radical Salafi Palestinian factions. Mohamad Barhoum, the owner of a grocery store in the camp’s vegetable souq explains he has not witnessed any recent new arrivals or a resurgence in Islamist activity. “Any security incident resulting from the difficult living conditions in the camp is blown out of proportion by the Lebanese media,” interjects Jawad, his neighbor and the owner of a furniture store.
Nonetheless, one resident reported seeing masked gunmen inside the camp on Christmas and New Year’s Eve. An army source, speaking on condition of anonymity as he is not allowed to talk to the press, confirmed this, adding that the masked men had erected barricades inside the camp on Christmas Eve.
“There have been a significant number of arrests linked to terrorist activities in recent weeks, besides the recent one publicized in the media,” the army source says, referring to the arrest of a suspected Fatah al-Islam member last Thursday. The Palestinian, known as Munir Mezian, is said to be responsible for providing funding and weapons to fighters in Nahr al-Bared during the battle with the army in 2007.
For camp residents however, the pressing danger still resides in the rift between Abbas Zaki – the current representative of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) in Lebanon and a member of Fatah’s central committee – and Sultan Abu al-Aynayn. It resulted in various attacks, specifically the killing of Jund al-Sham members and other Islamists, the bombing of the mosque of Sheikh Jamal Khattab, as well as the killing of Kamal Medhat, the deputy Palestinian representative in Lebanon who was killed last March along with two of his bodyguards by a car bomb at the entrance of the Miyeh Miyeh camp in South Lebanon.
“A meeting on the 15th of this month will decide on new nominations inside the Lebanese Fatah branch that will hopefully put an end to security incidents,” a Palestinian source speaking on condition of anonymity tells NOW. The Palestinian Authority is said to have asked, in vain, that Abu al-Aynayn hand three of his security officers over to the investigation committee looking into Medhat’s assassination. The Palestinian source adds that Abu al-Aynayn’s head of security was named in the Medhat killing. If confirmed, it might foreshadow more trouble on the Palestinian street.