LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
ِAugust 21/2010

Bible Of the Day
 Luke 12/13-21: "One of the multitude said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” 12:14 But he said to him, “Man, who made me a judge or an arbitrator over you?” 12:15 He said to them, “Beware! Keep yourselves from covetousness, for a man’s life doesn’t consist of the abundance of the things which he possesses.” 12:16 He spoke a parable to them, saying, “The ground of a certain rich man brought forth abundantly. 12:17 He reasoned within himself, saying, ‘What will I do, because I don’t have room to store my crops?’ 12:18 He said, ‘This is what I will do. I will pull down my barns, and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 12:19 I will tell my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years. Take your ease, eat, drink, be merry.”’ 12:20 “But God said to him, ‘You foolish one, tonight your soul is required of you. The things which you have prepared—whose will they be?’ 12:21 So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.” /Naharnet

Free Opinions, Releases, letters, Interviews & Special Reports
Dr. Samir Geagea's defense plane that he submitted during the dialogue session/August 20/10
Arming Hizballah? U.S. Military Assistance to Lebanon/By David Schenker/August 20/10
Keeping us quiet, for heaven’s sake/By: Michael Young/August 20/10

Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources for August 20/10
Deir al-Ahmar gave Sfeir a warm welcome/Ya Libnan
US assures Israel on Iran's bomb plans/Agencies
Samir Geagea: 'Hizbullah should join Lebanese Army'/By JPOST.
Siddiq Accuses Nasrallah of Fabricating False Witnesses, Says he Met People Close to Jumblat /Naharnet
Dialogue Session: Geagea Suggests Resistance Become under Army Authority, Raad Says Proposal Bid to Get Rid of Hizbullah /Naharnet
Lebanese All-Women Aid Ship 'Mariam' to Head to Gaza Sunday /Naharnet
Israel Ground Forces Aim for New Rocket Systems to Face Hizbullah /Naharnet
More Than 5 Reasons Why Israel Won't Strike Iran Anytime Soon/FoxNews
Hizbullah Deputy Leader: Hizbullah-Syria Strategic Relations Are Baptized In/MEMRI (blog)
Gaza-bound aid ship aims to leave Lebanon on Sunday/Reuters
ANALYSIS-Lebanese doubt Hariri tribunal will deliver justice/Reuters
Lebanese United in Complaint against Power Cuts Amid Unprecedented Heat Wave/Naharnet
Marouni: Dialogue Won't Achieve Results, Misleads Public /Naharnet
Time: Rights Granted to Palestinians Recognition that No Solution to Mideast Conflict /Naharnet
Pharaon: Palestinian Bases Outside Camps Require Internal, External Dialogue /Naharnet
Israel Ground Forces Aim for New Rocket Systems to Face Hizbullah /Naharnet
Dialogue Session: Geagea Suggests Resistance Become under Army Authority, Raad Says Proposal Bid to Get Rid of Hizbullah /Naharnet
Hariri Heads Newly-Elected Mustaqbal Politburo: Army Pillar of Anticipated Defense Strategy /Naharnet
Lebanese All-Women Aid Ship 'Mariam' to Head to Gaza Sunday /Naharnet
Lebanon to Auction Offshore Gas Exploration by 2012, Says Bassil /Naharnet
Fatfat: Qomati's Statements are Retraction from the Ministerial Statement /Naharnet
Hundreds Mourn Abdul Rahman Awadh /Naharnet
Baroud: Bellemare's Request to Look into Hizbullah's Evidence Shows he Will Consider All Possibilities /Naharnet
Mousawi Calls on Government to Immediately Tackle Electricity Crisis /Naharnet
Hariri Heads Newly-Elected Mustaqbal Politburo: Army Pillar of Anticipated Defense Strategy /Naharnet
Fears in Hasrayel Over Swine Flu after Death of Local, Mayor Denies/Naharnet
Hariri: We Will Stick to Truth and Justice Calmly  /Naharnet

Siddiq Accuses Nasrallah of Fabricating False Witnesses, Says he Met People Close to Jumblat
Naharnet/"King Witness" Mohammed Zuhair Siddiq has said Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah's information on ex-Premier Rafik Hariri's murder was fabricated and accused the Shiite party and the Syrian intelligence of fabricating false witnesses. The evidence that allegedly accuses Israel of involvement in Hariri's assassination is "unconvincing," Siddiq told the Kuwaiti al-Seyassah newspaper in remarks published Friday. He described Nasrallah's latest press conference as a "stupid play that Hizbullah itself is not convinced of." In a phone call with the newspaper, Siddiq accused Nasrallah, former head of General Security Jamil Sayyed and the Syrian intelligence of fabricating false witnesses such as Houssam Houssam. "If Nasrallah and his aides consider Houssam Houssam one of the false witnesses, then why do they allow him to make comments to Hizbullah's al-Manar TV?" the former member of Syria's intelligence services wondered. Siddiq also told the newspaper that he met with people close to MP Walid Jumblat in New Zealand. Al-Seyassah did not give further details.In initial reports of the U.N. inquiry commission into the February 2005 killing of Hariri, Siddiq was described as a key witness. He claimed that Lebanon's former President Emile Lahoud and Syrian President Bashar Assad gave the order to kill Hariri. Siddiq also described Tawhid movement leader as a "rat," saying Lebanese authorities should put an end to his threats. He told al-Seyassah the indictment that would be issued by the Special Tribunal for Lebanon "would be similar to an earthquake." Beirut, 20 Aug 10, 10:03

Dialogue Session: Geagea Suggests Resistance Become under Army Authority, Raad Says Proposal Bid to Get Rid of Hizbullah
Naharnet/The national dialogue participants agreed Thursday that they will pursue discussions over a defense strategy, saying in a statement after the meeting they will take into account the Adeisseh clash in this regard. President Michel Suleiman lauded the courage of the army during the clash and called for consensus on equipping it "because a (strong) military is essential for the defense strategy." He also stressed the importance of the Saudi-Syrian-Lebanese summit held at the Baabda Palace, which established a "security umbrella over Lebanon," saying after the session: "Good intentions gave the meeting an excellent atmosphere." The participants emphasized the importance of consolidating political stability and the security situation and commitment to decisions reached during previous sessions, including those linked to Palestinian arms outside refugee camps and holding onto media and political calm.
Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea revealed after the talks that he had proposed that the Resistance come under the army's command without it knowing Hizbullah fighters' location, as a solution to the party's controversial arms possession. He explained that the army's presence should take on a practical role, rather than its current classical one. This can be achieved through setting up the proper infrastructure and bolstering the current military units deployed in the South with 3000-4000 soldiers from the special forces, he continued.
Geagea called for "providing the necessary budget for the combat deployment of the army, knowing that it is not something fancy and it can be immediately earmarked."
"The main condition for the success of this plan is that the practical command to defend Lebanon lies fully in the army's control and from this point, Hizbullah is required to place its fighters and weapons at the army's disposal," he stressed. Head of Loyalty to Resistance bloc MP Mohammed Raad snapped back at Geagea, describing his proposal as "not positive and not encouraging." "The aim of Geagea's proposal is not to defend Lebanon, but rather to get rid of Hizbullah and its arms," added Raad.
"If you are thinking of raising the weapons issue, this thinking has become outdated. Sometimes you describe us as partners in this country and others you describe us as Iranians," Raad addressed Geagea. At this point, MPs Talal Arslan and Suleiman Franjieh intervened to back up Raad's point of view. "Haven't we learned from the past: we have to preserve the strength of our Resistance," said Franjieh. For his part, Speaker Nabih Berri stressed that he was "pleased" with Geagea's proposal "because for the first time he has acknowledged the 'army-people-resistance' formula and the rest is small details." "The Resistance needs us all to embrace it," added Berri. Geagea responded by saying: "We'd protect the Resistance with our eyelashes provided that it becomes our collective resistance and in the form we see fit for all of us. Let's imagine (PM Saad) Hariri, (ex-PM Fouad) Saniora, (MP Jean) Oghassabian and (MP Michel) Pharaon deciding to establish a resistance movement, would we back their step?"
The LF leader went on with clarifying his stance to Berri. "I don't believe in the 'army-people-resistance' formula, but rather in the theory of the people and the State, with all its institutions, including the army. But given the current circumstances, and because we haven't yet found a solution to the arms dilemma, I've submitted this paper in order to benefit from these arms at their place of deployment, under the stipulations of this paper." Geagea's proposal was supported by Pharaon, Oghassabian and Deputy Speaker Farid Makari who described the paper as balanced, calling for integrating it within the national defense strategy. For his part, ex-PM Fouad Saniora warned against "repeating what happened in the summer of 2006," stressing "the need that war and peace decisions be in the State's hand."Arslan responded by saying: "Does anyone have doubts about Israel's hostile intentions? It wants to destroy Lebanon with or without an alibi."Hariri intervened to say that "everyone is entitled to his opinion and we must respect each other's opinions." He called for "stopping the approach of treason accusations and charges."Before the end of the session, Geagea snapped back at Arslan's remarks saying: "If Hizbullah didn't abduct the two Israeli soldiers, the war wouldn't have happened, and (Hizbullah chief) Sayyed Nasrallah himself said 'if only I knew.'"
"After the 2006 war, the Israeli government formed the Winograd Commission to assess accountability regarding that war. What have we done in Lebanon? Have we formed a commission to distinguish the costs and the gains of the war?" Geagea added. Right after the session, Berri described the dialogue as "70 percent calm." All members of the national dialogue table attended the session except for Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun and Defense Minister Elias Murr, who is abroad. First to arrive at the session was Berri who held a closed-door meeting with President Suleiman upon his arrival in Beiteddine. Second to arrive was Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat who hailed the decision to hold the dialogue in Beiteddine, but complained about the scorching heat. Ahead of the meeting, Premier Saad Hariri told reporters the calm atmosphere that prevailed during Wednesday's cabinet session would reflect on the all-party talks. As to Phalange Party leader Amin Gemayel, he said he would open up the subject of Palestinian rights during the session, expressing fears over attempts to naturalize Palestinian refugees in Lebanon. Beirut, 19 Aug 10, 21:05

Hariri: We Will Stick to Truth and Justice Calmly
Naharnet/Prime Minister Saad Hariri has vowed to stick to his demands for truth and justice in ex-premier Rafik Hariri's assassination calmly and quietly. "Truth and justice are all that we want … We demand the truth and we don't want it to be politicized but we want truth and justice. We will stick to these two demands calmly and quietly," Hariri told an Iftar banquet in Qoreitem in honor of Beirut families. "All issues could be resolved through good word and calmness, which constitute the basis of any dialogue in the country," he said. He said Thursday's national dialogue session at Beiteddine palace was successful and calm prevailed over the talks. Hariri also said "the Palestinians will return to Palestine, their homeland, in the framework of the right of return." His comment came after Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon described the Lebanese parliament's decision to grant work rights to Palestinians as a first step toward their naturalization in Lebanon. "Our enemies are numerous, but our strength is in our unity. No one in Lebanon can prevail over the other, and this is why we always call for national unity and this house will only call for dialogue and national unity," Hariri told the Iftar. Beirut, 20 Aug 10, 08:37

Israel Ground Forces Aim for New Rocket Systems to Face Hizbullah
Naharnet/The Israeli Artillery Corps is seeking for a budget to purchase new advanced accurate rocket systems in an effort to increase its precision strike capabilities ahead of any future war with Hizbullah, The Jerusalem Post reported Friday. The multiyear plan, under review by the Planning Division, is to be approved by the General Staff and inserted into the Israeli army's multiyear plan, to go into effect in 2011, the newspaper said. "Our precision rocket capabilities will grow significantly in the coming years," it quoted a Ground Forces Command officer as saying. Behind the requirement to obtain longer-range rockets with great precision is an overall Israeli army desire to take some of the load off the Israel Air Force and allow it to focus strictly on strategic targets deep in enemy territory, according to The Jerusalem Post. Beirut, 20 Aug 10, 10:57

Lebanese United in Complaint against Power Cuts Amid Unprecedented Heat Wave
Naharnet/he Lebanese are united around one cause: battling scorching heat and pressuring the government and state-run Electricite du Liban to cut down electricity rationing.
EDL Director-General told Voice of Lebanon radio station on Friday that the firm is not suffering from any failure in production. "We are distributing 1650 megawatts equally outside Beirut." The Lebanese, who are often divided around politics, are now united in complaining through TVs, radios and street protests against the incapacity of the state to provide them with electricity to turn their air-conditioning systems on. Michel Efram, the head of the Agricultural Scientific Research authority in Tal Amara, told VDL that temperatures are expected to exceed the 37 degrees Celsius in coastal areas and 41 in the Bekaa.The unprecedented heat wave is expected to last well into the weekend. It is another indication that global warming is causing more weather extremes around the world. On Thursday, Hariri admitted that the power crisis is a "chronic problem." He told an Iftar banquet in Qoreitem, however, that the electricity plan endorsed by the cabinet includes raising production to 3500 megawatts in the next four years. "Since 1998 there was no investment, not even in one megawatt. On the contrary, production went down from 1900 megawatts to 1600 megawatts," he said. "We also allocated one billion dollars for ensuring electricity, but even the one thousand million dollars cannot provide 24 hour electricity and there should be partnership between the private and public sectors," Hariri told his guests. "We hope parliament would approve the budget as soon as possible in order to start work and implement the plan as soon as possible," the prime minister said. Beirut, 20 Aug 10, 08:10

Marouni: Dialogue Won't Achieve Results, Misleads Public
Naharnet/MP Elie Marouni said Friday that national dialogue sessions won't achieve any result and mislead the public "The national dialogue is just a means to bring Lebanese leaders together. It won't achieve any result because the political differences that led to the talks are still there," Marouni told Radio Orient. "They are meeting to mislead the Lebanese and Arab public opening that the leaders are able to communicate," he said. Marouni said the new dialogue session was set for October 19 due to developments linked to the international tribunal indictment and other regional issues. "We will keep waiting for developments all our lives if we link our internal issues to regional or international developments," the MP told Radio Orient.
He called for consensus over Lebanon "at least once." Beirut, 20 Aug 10, 13:01

Lebanese All-Women Aid Ship 'Mariam' to Head to Gaza Sunday
Naharnet/Organizers of a Lebanese women-only aid ship which plans to break the Gaza blockade announced on Thursday they will sail to Cyprus on the first leg of their journey this weekend. "The ship Mariam will leave for Cyprus on Sunday at 10:00 pm (1900 GMT) from the port of Tripoli" in north Lebanon, organizer Samar al-Hajj told reporters outside the port.
The Mariam, a Bolivian-flagged cargo ship originally named the Junia Star, plans to carry aid to Gaza in a bid to break the four-year siege of Gaza with 50 Lebanese and foreign women activists on board, including local pop star May Hariri. Israel came under international censure over its May 31 seizure of a six-ship aid fleet bound for the Palestinian territory when nine Turkish activists were shot dead by Israeli commandos in clashes on the lead boat. The Mariam, renamed in honor of the Virgin Mary, would need Cypriot authorization to depart for Gaza from its shores but officials in Cyprus have said the island was keeping in place a ban on ships departing for Gaza. "The Cypriot ambassador to Lebanon tried to convince us not to go and reiterated that his country would not grant us authorization to sail to Gaza," Hajj told Agence France Presse. "But we are adamant," she added. "We have no arms and we will go to Gaza."
Israeli officials have warned the Jewish state would intercept any boats attempting to approach the coast of Gaza, which is run by the Islamist Hamas movement.
The United Nations has said that groups seeking to deliver aid to Gaza should send it by land. The "Naji al-Ali," another Lebanese boat organized by journalists and originally named Julia, has also announced it would sail to Gaza via Cyprus but has not yet received clearance from Lebanese authorities.(Naharnet-AFP) Beirut, 19 Aug 10, 18:28

Gulf States Pushing for Attack on Iran
by Hillel Fendel/Arutz Sheva
First it was the United Arab Emirates ambassador in Washington, now it’s a Saudi Arabian editorial, and John Bolton says the entire Persian Gulf feels the same: an attack on Iran is the only option - if it's not too late. An editorial in an official Saudi Arabian newspaper indicates that a military attack against Iran might be the only way of stopping it from obtaining nuclear weapons. “Tehran is moving its conflict with the international community into high gear,” the Al Madina daily wrote this week, “and [in this case] some may consider the military option to be the best solution.”Delaying recourse to this option, the paper continues, “may lead to a point where it is impossible to implement it - if Tehran manages to produce a nuclear bomb of its own.”Former Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton goes a bit further, saying it is the only way of stopping it – but adds that it might already be too late.
Just last month, the United Arab Emirates ambassador to Washington said at a conference, "A military attack on Iran by whomever would be a disaster, but Iran with a nuclear weapon would be a bigger disaster."
Ambassador Yousef al-Otaiba was unusually candid in his remarks, saying, "I think it's a cost-benefit analysis. I think despite the large amount of trade we do with Iran, which is close to $12 billion… there will be consequences, there will be a backlash and there will be problems with people protesting and rioting and very unhappy that there is an outside force attacking a Muslim country; that is going to happen no matter what… Am I willing to live with that, versus living with a nuclear Iran? My answer is still the same: 'We cannot live with a nuclear Iran.' I am willing to absorb what takes place at the expense of the security of the U.A.E."
Former Ambassador Bolton feels that many states in the Persian Gulf region feel the same. He told Army Radio today (Thursday), however, that it might very well be too late to attack Iran because of the radioactivity that will emanate from the bombed reactor, harming the civilian population.
"Diplomacy and sanctions against Iran have failed," Bolton told Army Radio's Nitzan Fisher on the Ma Bo'er program, "and don't think the West took seriously enough Iran's efforts over the course of decades to get nuclear power. Frankly, I think the most likely outcome now is that indeed Iran does get nuclear weapons. I think the only possibility of stopping this is the use of military force - an extremely unattractive option, but it's even more unattractive to consider a world in which Iran has nuclear weapons."
He explained, though, that it might be too late: "With Russia beginning to supply fuel in Bushehr [two days from now], it makes the reactor essentially immune to attack, except in the most dire circumstances - because to attack it would mean, almost inevitably, the release of radioactivity into the atmosphere and possibly into the waters of the Persian Gulf."
"I don't think there's a ghost of a chance that the Obama Administration will use force against Iran's nuclear weapons program," Bolton said. "If anyone will do it, it's going to have to be Israel - and I don't know what Israel is going to do... I am very worried that Obama's fallback position is to accept an Iran with nuclear weapons. I think that can have potentially catastrophic consequences in the Middle East and beyond - but I think that's where the Obama Administration is."Iran's Defense Minister Ahmed Wahidi said this week that Israel's existence will be endangered if it attacks the Bushehr reactor. He said such an attack would be an "international crime."

More Americans are Seeing Obama as Muslim
by Chana Ya'ar/Arutz Sheva
A new poll has found that many Americans perceive their president as a Muslim, even though he's not. Even more are just plain confused about which religion it is that President Barack Obama observes, according to the findings released Thursday. The Pew Research Center and its affiliate, the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, conducted the survey before the White House controversy erupted over construction of a 13-story mosque two blocks from Ground Zero in New York. Grassroots organizations across the country are continuing to organize demonstrations and protests against the project, including one slated for this coming Sunday in New York.
Nearly one-fifth of all respondents -- 18 percent of those polled -- said they believe Obama's religion is Islam, up from 11 percent just one year ago. Obama said at a White House ifta dinner breaking the daily fast in the Islamic holy month of Ramadan last Friday night that he supports the right of the organizers to build a mosque on the site. He backpedaled a day later, however, over whether the project should proceed.
Almost half of the respondents – 43 percent – said they don't know the president's religion, an increase from 34 percent in 2009. Only 34 percent answered the question correctly, saying that the president is a Christian. Sixty percent of those who said that Obama is a Muslim also said they got their information from the media, with 16 percent saying their information came from television. Another 11 percent said they got their information from the president's words and behavior. Barack Hussein Obama, born to a Kenyan Muslim father and a mother from Kansas, lived in Muslim-majority Indonesia from the age of six to 10, with his mother and an Indonesian stepfather. Early in his presidency, he bowed down to King Abdullah during his first encounter with the Saudi Arabian monarch, a move seen by many as an unspoken Islamic deference to the foreign king's authority. The poll, supervised by Princeton Survey Research Associates International, was conducted July 21 – August 5 through land line and cellular phone interviews with 3,003 randomly chosen adults in the United States. The survey has a margin of error of +/- 2.5 percentage points.

Gaza Terrorists Digging Tunnels to Infiltrate Israel
by Arutz Sheva Staff
One of the tunnels destroyed in the Israeli Air Force strike over the Gaza Strip on Tuesday night was an underground tunnel starting in the center of the strip and ending opposite Israel's Kibbbutz Be'eri that faces northern Gaza. It was intended for use as a means for terrorists to infiltrate Israel, an army source told the INN Hebrew site, Arutz Sheva.
The source reported that this is concrete proof that terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip are engaged non stop in plans to attack or kidnap Israeli soldiers and civilians or to perpetrate suicide attacks. They noted that Gilad Shalit was kidnapped when terrorists emerged from a tunnel they had dug near the Kerem Shalom crossing and attacked his tank, killing two of its crew and overpowering him. Two tunnels bringing weaponry from Egypt to Gaza near Kerem Shalom were also destroyed in the IAF raid, as well as an arms manufacturing installation in the central part of the strip, located opposite Kibbutz Kissufim
The IAF used F-161, nicknamed"Sufa" (Storm), fighter planes in the raids on Gaza. Exactly a year ago, on August 3, 2009, the F-161 were also used in attacking tunnels. The "Sufa" fighter planes, manufactured by Lockheed Martin but equipped according to IAF specifications with Israeli developed advanced systems such as Israel Aircraft Industries' enlarged fuel tanks (CFT), helmet mounted information displaying goggles and advanced warfare and communications systems, also played a significant role in the Cast Lead Operation launched in December 2008 in response to rocket launching from Gaza.

Dr. Samir Geagea's defensive plane that he submitted during the dialogue session
Samir Geagea
August 20, 2010
On August 19, the Lebanese National News Agency carried the following report:
The media office of the head of the Lebanese Forces Executive Committee, Dr. Samir Geagea, distributed the transcript of his intervention during the dialogue session held today at the summer headquarters of the president of the republic in Beiteddine Palace. The statement featured a “temporary defensive plan” which went as follows: “Based on the Aadayseh incident which was a war on a small scale, it turned out that the army enjoyed all the moral capabilities to engage in confrontation despite the discrepancy affecting the military balance with the Israeli army. This is due to the fact that our army is legitimate, embraced by the Lebanese people and covered by the state with all its legitimate institutions, but also by Lebanon’s Arab and international relations.
“Moreover, based on the unstable situation prevailing over the region as a whole and which could lead to many possibilities, including that of a military escalation in South Lebanon, but also based on the fact that the situation is critical to the point where that any incident or development could lead to a destructive war, we propose the following: For the Lebanese military presence in the South which currently conveys the official presence of the state solely, to be developed into combative deployment on the ground to face the Israeli enemy (through fortifications and trenches), provided that the current units present on the ground are enhanced with special combat units (Commandos, airborne battalions and intervention units). They would include between 3,000 and 4,000 combatants at a rate of 1,000 for each of the three sectors in the South and 1,000 as a reserve, seeing as they have all proven their ability to undertake this type of combat.
“These special units should be immediately deployed inside the cities, towns and villages of the South in civilian clothes if need be and fully undercover and be ready to fight in small decentralized units… On the other hand, the necessary budget should be provided for the army’s deployment, knowing that it is not an impossible sum to secure and can be allocated immediately and gradually. However, the main condition for the success of this plan is for the order to defend Lebanon to be in the hands of the Lebanese army solely. Based on that, Hezbollah is required to place all its groups and weapons under the command of the army, even if it does not inform the army about their locations and presence.
“This plan is temporary and would provide Lebanon with the best possible chance to defend its border for the time being, taking into consideration the army’s special capabilities, Hezbollah’s status and all the factors surrounding the current situation. In the meantime, ongoing discussions around the dialogue table would proceed to find a definitive solution for Hezbollah’s arms.”

Keeping us quiet, for heaven’s sake
Michael Young, August 20, 2010
The Maronite Church should have allowed Al-Manar and NBN to continue showing an Iranian television series on the life of Jesus Christ, based on the so-called Gospel of Barnabas. The program was discontinued last week due to Christian discontent.
Bishop Bechara al-Rai of Jbeil described the television series as a “distortion” of Christianity, and he was right with respect to Catholic orthodoxy. The Gospel of Barnabas, which the Church doesn’t recognize, denies the resurrection of Christ and the crucifixion, and has been picked up by Muslims, or some Muslims, to conform with Islamic doctrine. Muslims consider Jesus to be a prophet, but not divine, and they believe that someone else died on the cross.
However, the details of the Gospel of Barnabas were not the real issue. Something much simpler was: the right to free expression.
Recall that such freedom was curtailed in early summer 2006, when the Bas Mat Watan satire show on LBC show poked fun at Hezbollah’s secretary general, Hassan Nasrallah. Almost immediately, Nasrallah’s supporters took to the streets of the southern suburbs and closed the airport road, while others marched on non-Shia areas, fighting with Christian youths (among them Sami Gemayel) in Achrafieh. The incident was a coordinated effort by Hezbollah to intimidate its political rivals, but was defended by party sympathizers as a spontaneous reaction to a perceived insult against a religious figure.
This episode came only a few months after mainly Sunni protesters set fire to the building housing the Danish Embassy, following the decision of a Danish newspaper to publish cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad. Then, too, the event almost degenerated into a sectarian confrontation. The embassy was also in Achrafieh, which not a few of the rioters evidently mistook for Copenhagen, as they vandalized shops and buildings, and insulted inhabitants.
The reasoned response to the two incidents among many people was that things had gone a bit far. And of course they had. But there was disagreement over whether the initial anger was justified or not. For some people, the Shia and Sunni protesters were right to be irate, even if they were wrong in resorting to violent action. For others, probably fewer in number, it was the anger itself that was unjustified. They argued that if freedom of speech was reined in every time someone risked becoming annoyed, particularly on religious matters, Lebanon would never truly develop as a place of free expression.
I admit to belonging to the second group. Free speech and expression should mean, at least most of the time, not having to say you’re sorry.
However, even in liberal societies there have always been exceptions to that rule. France, for example, makes Holocaust denial a punishable offense. In many Western countries, free speech stops at the threshold of public disorder. And in a more absurd instance, this time in the United Kingdom, a woman was legally accused of engaging in anti-social behavior months ago because she frequently became vocal when having sex, disturbing the neighbors.
Rai echoed the public order argument when he observed that the television series “undermines the foundations of every religion and creates strife.” Then he almost immediately tempered this by saying “we don’t burn tires [but] we won’t keep silent.”
That was an interesting way of putting it. In other words, he, or the Christians in whose name he was speaking, would not resort to aggressive behavior, but they would register their displeasure. Isn’t that precisely the essence of civilized protest? But the thing is that Rai, implicitly or explicitly, really just wanted the series to be taken off the air, which is rather different. What he should have done instead is request air time – let’s say after the broadcast – to explain his church’s views of Jesus and the Gospel of Barnabas. That means he should have engaged in an open exchange with the public.
What purpose would this have served? For a start, there is not a very great difference between burning tires and urging television stations to censor a program one doesn’t like. Both aim to silence a specific viewpoint. Somehow societies are much healthier when ideas can be discussed without the sword of restriction hovering overhead.
It makes no sense for Christians to condemn the Bas Mat Watan demonstrations and the burning of the Danish Embassy, then to turn around and claim that a television show, no matter what its content, must be terminated because it has offended their sensibilities. The key point is that public order, as Rai himself admitted, was not under threat. Allowing the show to continue would have led to no serious repercussions. But by the same token, those behind Al-Manar and NBN, like everyone else, should be prepared to suck it up when one of their paragons, religious or secular, is attacked or mocked.
Will this tradeoff occur? Obviously not. Lebanon is still a country where religion retains an archaic, asphyxiating hold on society; where the clergy is a citadel of intellectual and spiritual pettiness, even bone-headedness. However, the clergy also reflects the society it thrives in, and until the Lebanese draw red lines around their men of religion, we will have to prepare for the possibility of violence in the streets and censorship on the air, all in the name of God or his servants.
**Michael Young is opinion editor of the Daily Star newspaper in Beirut. His book, The Ghosts of Martyrs Square: An Eyewitness Account of Lebanon’s Life Struggle (Simon & Schuster), was recently published.

Arming Hizballah? U.S. Military Assistance to Lebanon
By David Schenker
August 19, 2010
PolicyWatch #1692
PolicyWatch 1692 is the first in a two-part series discussing U.S. military assistance to the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF). This piece examines the context of the U.S. aid program, while part two will address the program's future direction.
The August 3 fatal shooting of an Israel Defense Forces officer by a Lebanese Armed Forces soldier has sparked debate regarding the utility and wisdom of the U.S. military assistance program to Lebanon. Although such assistance is not new, the program's scope dramatically increased after the 2005 Cedar Revolution ended Syria's thirty-year occupation and swept the Arab world's only pro-Western, democratically elected government to power. In recent months, however, Syrian influence has returned, while Hizballah has secured enough political power to effectively reverse many of the revolution's gains. Even before the August 3 incident, these changes on the ground prompted Rep. Howard Berman (D-CA), chair of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, to place a hold on the 2011 assistance package.
Currently, discussions regarding the disposition of the $100 million in annual aid are focused on the LAF's relationship with Hizballah and whether the force will ever be in a position -- either militarily or politically -- to supplant the Shiite militia and establish state sovereignty in the South. Largely missing from the discussion, however, is the context of the U.S. Foreign Military Financing (FMF) program and its long-term goals: Washington has decades of experience funding the LAF, including one occasion when assistance was ramped up and then suddenly discontinued.
Background
The United States established its relationship with the LAF shortly after Lebanon gained independence from France in 1946. In addition to selling equipment to the fledgling force, Washington provided nearly $300 million in funding from 1946 to 2005, including some $16 million in International Military Education and Training (IMET) grants that brought more than 3,000 officers to the United States for instruction. Twice during this period -- in 1958 and 1982 -- Washington deployed troops to Lebanon at Beirut's request to help improve stability. The second of these deployments proved exceedingly costly, ending with a 1983 truck bomb that killed 241 U.S. Marines.
During the civil war (1975-1990) and the Syrian military occupation (1976-2005), the LAF experienced a prolonged period of decay. The war precipitated partial dissolution of the military, and what remained was underfunded, undertrained, and relegated to largely nonmilitary missions. Washington continued its IMET funding of the LAF at an average of $600,000 annually during these dark years, but the aid did little, if anything, to slow the deterioration.
Status circa 2005
Not surprisingly, by the time the Bush administration decided to reinvigorate the LAF in 2005, the force was decrepit. Nearly 80 percent of its $900 million budget was allocated to recurrent costs, leaving little for procurement or training. As a result, an LAF soldier's annual training reportedly included firing just one full clip of bullets. The force's equipment had become obsolete as well. In 2005, for example, the LAF had fewer than a dozen operational helicopters, and its fixed-wing aircraft included just four 1950's-era British Hawker Hunters, a platform then flown by only one other country, Zimbabwe.
Moreover, although the LAF no longer faced an imminent threat of dissolution by 2005, sectarian issues persisted (indeed, the sectarian composition of individual units remains a closely scrutinized issue today). The LAF's top-heavy structure posed problems as well. With 56,000 men under arms, Lebanon currently fields some 400 generals; by comparison, the U.S. Army has some 538,000 troops but only 300 flag officers.
The poor state of LAF equipment and preparedness was on full display in 2007, when the force confronted al-Qaeda affiliate Fatah al-Islam in the Nahr al-Bared refugee camp. Responding to the radical group's execution of dozens of soldiers, the LAF deployed its top troops for an offensive in the camp. Photos from the operation's initial days showed LAF special forces fighting without body armor or helmets and using their personal mobile phones for battlefield communication. Perhaps unsurprisingly, they depleted most of their ammunition within the first week of the campaign. (The U.S. resupply mission that enabled them to continue the offensive included forty C-17 transport planes brimming with weapons and ammunition.) Although LAF esprit de corps was high, four months of combat took a heavy toll. By operation's end, 222 Fatah al-Islam militants were dead, but so were 163 LAF soldiers.
Past as Prologue?
Since the Cedar Revolution, Washington has obligated more than $700 million in FMF to Lebanon. Among other materiel, this assistance has allowed Lebanon to purchase rifles, bullets, man-portable antitank weapons, Humvees, and sniper equipment. For now, the congressional hold on U.S. funding appears temporary. But what would happen if Washington ended the program?
In the early 1980s, the United States ramped up its assistance to the LAF, reaching $100 million in 1983, equivalent to about $212 million in 2009 dollars. This spike was intended to underwrite an ambitious expansion of the force from 20,000 to 60,000 soldiers. But the plans did not come to fruition. Under Syrian and Israeli occupation, the LAF was tasked with the sensitive job of providing internal security. Not surprisingly, when the military responded to a Shiite attack in east Beirut by targeting the southern suburbs, LAF Shiites -- who constituted some 60 percent of conscripts -- were aggrieved, and the force began to dissolve.
In 1984, the United States provided just $15 million in military aid, and none in 1985. What became of Washington's investment? Most famously, the LAF's largely Shiite 6th Brigade -- trained and equipped by the United States -- defected, taking its troops and weapons to Amal and Hizballah. In 1987, the reconstituted unit reportedly ended up under Amal's operational control.
In many ways, the situation today differs markedly from the 1980s -- aside from its counterterrorism mission, the LAF is not routinely involved with precarious and potentially divisive internal security issues. Like the 1980s, however, questions of loyalty and unit cohesion in the face of sectarian divisions remain, and cannot be remedied via U.S. funding.
U.S. Hopes versus Hizballah's Vision
U.S. assistance to the LAF remains a long-term, aspirational program aimed at preparing the military to someday exert sovereignty over Lebanese territory. Ironically, the shooting of Israeli soldiers earlier this month suggests that the LAF may finally be looking to establish itself as a force on the border. As Lebanese military officers have claimed since the incident, the "solders received clear orders [from command] to open fire." In any event, although this news is perhaps better than the initially reported "rogue unit" scenario, it is hardly comforting.
Obama administration officials have expressed confidence that no U.S.-provided equipment was used in the shooting. Yet regardless of the rifle's origin, when considered alongside the LAF leadership's increasingly strident rhetoric on Israel, the incident appears to reflect a more aggressive posture -- one more in line with Hizballah and more conducive to volatility on the border. As the militia's secretary-general, Hassan Nasrallah, warned during a speech shortly after the shooting, "If the army is attacked by the Israeli enemy in any area where the resistance has a presence or a say, the resistance will not stand aside silent and disciplined." Indeed, Nasrallah has laid out a vision for Lebanon that marries the LAF to Hizballah, so that "the army defends the resistance and the resistance has the honor to be defended by the army."
Clearly, this was not the dynamic the Bush administration had in mind when it increased assistance to the LAF and encouraged its deployment to Hizballah-controlled southern Lebanon after the 2006 war with Israel. At the same time, it is difficult to envision the circumstances under which the LAF as an institution would establish a close, long-term relationship with the Shiite militia. Israel is a unifying issue, of course, but many in the military (and in Lebanese society writ large) regard Hizballah as equally menacing and loathsome, making persistent operational cooperation between the two a controversial -- and potentially divisive -- proposition for the LAF.
In the coming months, the Obama administration will no doubt be looking for further signs of increased coordination between the LAF and Hizballah. A key test may come if, as widely expected, the international tribunal investigating the murder of former prime minister Rafiq Hariri issues indictments against prominent Hizballah activists. The willingness of the LAF -- and, more generally, the central government -- to act on these indictments, arrest the wanted men, and transfer them to the custody of the tribunal will be a clear sign of whether these state institutions have morphed into Hizballah's appendages or remain truly independent.
**David Schenker is the Aufzien fellow and director of the Program on Arab Politics at The Washington Institute.

'Hizbullah should join Lebanese Army'
By JPOST.COM STAFF
08/20/2010 12:11
Hizbullah forces should accept Lebanese Army command, Lebanese Forces party chief Samir Geagea proposed yesterday during high level defense strategy talks between Beirut officials, Lebanese media reported on Friday. His proposal was positioned as a way to solve the problem of Hizbullah's large-scale possession of weaponry even though it is a non-state actor.
Geagea's proposal also included a plan to reinforce the Lebanese Armed Forces deployment in South Lebanon with 3000-4000 special force troops, who could potentially be disguised in civilian dress and dispersed in urban areas throughout the region bordering Israel.
The head of the pro-Hizbullah party Loyalty to Resistance MP Mohammed Raad rejected Geagea's proposal out of hand as an attempt to marginalize Hizbullah's power base.
"The aim of Geagea's proposal is not to defend Lebanon, but rather to get rid of Hizbullah and its arms," Raad was quoted by Lebanese newspaper An Nahar as saying.
Israel vowed to respond harshly to further Lebanese aggression after a reserve battalion commander was killed in the beginning of August and another soldier was seriously wounded in the worst violence along the northern border since the 2006 Second Lebanon War.
The IDF is concerned with the radicalization that the LAF has undergone over the past year, including the assistance it provides Hizbullah in hiding its arms caches and operations throughout southern Lebanon.
**Yaakov Katz contributed to this report

Iranian Nuclear Plant Opens Saturday, Russia Optimistic
by Maayana Miskin/Arutz Sheva
Russia's top nuclear official, Sergei Kiriyenko, expressed optimism Thursday over the expected operation of the first Iranian nuclear power plant beginning on Saturday. The operation of the plant will prove that Iran is capable of using nuclear power and is entitled to do so, he said.
Russia will provide fuel for the Bushehr reactor. The first fuel will be transferred into the reactor on Saturday, and the plant is expected to begin producing energy approximately one month later.
By supplying Iran with fuel for its reactor, “we have proven that Russia always fulfills its obligations,” Kiriyenko told Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin in a televised meeting. Russia signed a contract to build the Bushehr reactor more than a decade ago, before Iran caused worldwide concern with its secretive nuclear program.
Kiriyenko added that Russia supports the rights of all countries to make peaceful use of nuclear energy.
The fuel provided by Russia for the plant is different from the fuel needed to create nuclear weapons. The Bushehr fuel is enriched to approximately 3.5%, while weapons-grade fuel is enriched to over 90%. However, it is possible to take some of the fuel and enrich it further at another location,. giving rise to fears that international supervision is needed for a country whose leader has expressed plans to destroy Israel..
The deal between the two countries includes a guarantee that Iran will return spent nuclear fuel to Russia, in order to ensure that Iran does not use the spent fuel to create nuclear weapons.
Russia, along with China, was slow to join much of the international community in slapping sanctions on Iran over its refusal to allow international inspectors to visit its nuclear facilities. That refusal, coupled with Iranian threats against Israel and the West, led many to fear that Iran was planning to create a nuclear bomb.
In recent months Russia has joined most of the UN Security Council in putting sanctions on Iran, and in June Russia announced that it would cancel the delivery of the S-300 missile defense system that it had planned to sell to the Islamic state.

Cyprus to Block Lebanese Ship from Gaza
by Chana Ya'ar/Arutz Sheva
A ship full of female activists intent on breaking Israel's maritime blockade of Gaza is scheduled to set sail Sunday from Lebanon, but appears to have little support from government leadership.
The “Maryam,” named for Christianity's Virgin Mary, also is unlikely to make it past Cyprus, its first port of call due to the fact that Lebanon is technically still at war with Israel, thus prohibiting direct travel.
The Cypriot Ambassador to Lebanon has announced his nation will not allow the pro-Hamas vessel to proceed to Gaza when it reaches port.
Kyriacos Kouros informed The Associated Press on Thursday the ship's Christian and Muslim crew and her passengers would be deported to their countries of origin once they arrive.
“We decided that such a ship will not be allowed to enter Cyprus,” he said, adding that the vessel could endanger “regional peace and stability.”
Organizer Samar al-Hajj vowed to set sail anyway, insisting “We are not children who can be told to stay home.” She spoke with reporters after security forces prevented her group from carrying out a news conference from the ship.
Lebanese President Michel Sleiman has refused to meet with the group, as has Prime Minister Sa'ad Hariri and Parliamentary Speaker Nabih Berri.
Al-Hajj told media outside the port in Tripoli the vessel would be carrying a “symbolic” cargo of cancer medication, toys and books. Also on the vessel will be some 50 to 75 female activists intent on violating Israel's maritime blockade of Gaza.
The flotilla boat has been trying to get off the ground since June, with organizers planning the event since Turkish terrorists clashed with Israel Navy commandos aboard the Mavi Marmara flotilla vessel at the end of May.
Initial delays were due to warnings from both Israel and the United States, urging Lebanon to “behave responsibly” and send supplies to Gaza by land, and not be sea.
The ship was once again scheduled to set sail two weeks ago, complete with a nun and a heavily pregnant mother, but again was somehow delayed.
Israeli government spokesman Mark Regev told Israel National News at the time, “There are no limits on goods going into Gaza, and any ships trying to bring so-called aid to Gaza will be regarded as provocations.”

Quartet: Direct Negotiations Without Building Freeze
by Elad Benari /Arutz Sheva
The Quartet is expected to publish on Friday a statement calling on Israel and the Palestinian Authority to begin direct peace negotiations.
Diplomatic sources in the US said that the statement by the Quartet (which is comprised of representatives from the United States, the European Union, Russia and the United Nations) will not mention the issue of the building freeze in east Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria. The statement will say that the peace talks should end within one year.
The sources added that the statement will call for direct and two-sided negotiations that will bring an “end to the occupation” and result in a Palestinian state living peacefully alongside Israel. The statement will also call on Arab countries to support the negotiations in order to ensure their success.
Although the statement does not mention the building freeze, it says that the Quartet is “fully committed to its previous statements,” in which Israel was called to completely halt building.
State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said on Thursday: "We think we are very, very close to a decision by the parties to enter into direct negotiations. We think we're well positioned to get there."
Last month, the Arab League published a letter backing direct talks with Israel. The letter repeated the preconditions set by Abbas: a return to 1967 borders, an end to settlements, and the return of refugees.
Earlier this week, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and members of his close inner cabinet decided to reject any preconditions as a basis for negotiations with the Palestinian Authority. A government source was quoted as saying: “The Quartet statement is a fig leaf. We would accept only an American statement that would not include preconditions.”