LCCC
ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
ِAugust
22/2010
Bible Of
the Day
Luke 14/25-35: "Now great
multitudes were going with him. He turned and said to them, 14:26 “If anyone
comes to me, and doesn’t disregard his own father, mother, wife, children,
brothers, and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he can’t be my disciple.
14:27 Whoever doesn’t bear his own cross, and come after me, can’t be my
disciple. 14:28 For which of you, desiring to build a tower, doesn’t first sit
down and count the cost, to see if he has enough to complete it? 14:29 Or
perhaps, when he has laid a foundation, and is not able to finish, everyone who
sees begins to mock him, 14:30 saying, ‘This man began to build, and wasn’t able
to finish.’ 14:31 Or what king, as he goes to encounter another king in war,
will not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to
meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? 14:32 Or else, while the
other is yet a great way off, he sends an envoy, and asks for conditions of
peace. 14:33 So therefore whoever of you who doesn’t renounce all that he has,
he can’t be my disciple. 14:34 Salt is good, but if the salt becomes flat and
tasteless, with what do you season it? 14:35 It is fit neither for the soil nor
for the manure pile. It is thrown out. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
15:1 Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming close to him to hear
him. 15:2 The Pharisees and the scribes murmured, saying, “This man welcomes
sinners, and eats with them.”
_____________________________________
Proverbs 15:1/A soft answer
turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.
Today's Inspiring Thought: Turn Away Wrath
Before you react to something or someone in anger, ask yourself this: Is it
really worth it? Sure, maybe it will feel good at that moment to let yourself
get enraged, but are the consequences worthwhile? Who will get hurt? Who will
you offend? You may suffer strained and broken relationships, ill health, or
even put yourself in danger. You can turn away wrath with a kind, softly spoken
word. The choice is yours. (About.com)
Free Opinions, Releases,
letters, Interviews & Special Reports
Patriarch Nasrallah Butros Sfeir
preaches message of co-existence during pastoral visit to Deir al-Ahmar/Daily
Star/August
21/10
Geagea tried; Hezbollah won’t
listen/By:Hanin Ghaddar/August 21/10
Many possible Israeli
concessions would be suicidal/By George F. Will/Washington Post/August
21/10
Iran or Islam? In Tehran That is
the Question/By Amir Taheri/August
21/10
Obama’s Mosque/By Diana Mukkaled/August
21/10
country’s military creates
‘Lebanese town’ for training to prepare for confrontation/By:Matti Friedman/August
21/10
Latest News
Reports From Miscellaneous Sources for August 21/10
Report: US working to resume
Israel-Syria negotiations/Agencies/Ynetnews
Ahmadinejad Promises 'Global'
Response if Iran is Attacked/Naharnet
Iran Starts Loading Fuel in First
Nuclear Power Plant/Naharnet
'100% Guarantee' Iran Nuclear Plant
Peaceful, Says Russia/Naharnet
Geagea Wonders Where Trap Lies in
his Plan: It's a Temporary Defense Strategy that Keeps Resistance's
Privacy/Naharnet
American Official: Evidence
Implicating Hizbullah in Hariri Assassination May Emerge within Days/Naharnet
Najjar: I Will Say What I Know and
What I have to Say Regarding False Witnesses File/Naharnet
Mustaqbal Bloc Does Not Believe in
False Witnesses File/Naharnet
Fadlallah: Recognition of False
Witnesses Raises Questions over Passed Five Years/Naharnet
Israel to UN: Lebanon Gaza-bound ship is unnecessary provocation/Haaretz
'Lebanon flotilla may be linked to Hezbollah'/ynetnews
Lebanon ship will not head for Gaza
on Sunday/Reuters/Ynetnews
Israel to lodge UN complaint over Lebanon sail/Ynetnews
Lebanese army, Hezbollah appear closer after Israel clash/CNN
Israeli army on defensive after spate of scandals/Reuters
Siddiq calls Hezbollah evidence fabrications/Ya Libnan
MP, Zahra criticizes Sayyed
Hussein/Now Lebanon
Mariam Aid Ship Sails to Gaza on
August 29 as Cyprus Refuses to Allow it Dock at its Ports/Naharnet
Barak urges Lebanon not to let
Mariam sail/Daily Star
Aridi: We Will Grant Mariam Aid
Ship a License Based on the Necessary Legal Conditions/Naharnet
Ammar
Urges State of Emergency to Solve Power Crisis/Naharnet
Suleiman Stresses Calm
Dialogue to Consolidate Stability/Naharnet
Sfeir Stresses Role of
Security Forces as They are Citizens' Constant Means for Communication/Naharnet
Najjar: I Will Say What I
Know and What I have to Say Regarding False Witnesses File/Naharnet
Mustaqbal Bloc Does Not Believe in
False Witnesses File/Naharnet
Fadlallah: Recognition of
False Witnesses Raises Questions over Passed Five Years/Naharnet
Qashlaq Threatens that He
Will Reveal Secrets and Surprises if Mariam Ship Course is Obstructed/Naharnet
Geagea Wonders Where Trap
Lies in his Plan: It's a Temporary Defense Strategy that Keeps Resistance's
Privacy/Naharnet
Author of GIGA Report on
Hariri Assassination: I Based Report on Assumptions, Not Criminal Investigation/Naharnet
Fears in Hasrayel Over
Swine Flu after Death of Local, Mayor Denies/Naharnet
Lebanese United in
Complaint against Power Cuts Amid Unprecedented Heat Wave/Naharnet
19 ISF Officers Graduate
after Completing 9th U.S.-Lebanese Supervision and Management Course/Naharnet
Iran to offer Lebanon
missile defense system, report says/Now Lebanon
Amnesty Urges Saudi Arabia Not to
Paralyze Man as Punishment/Naharnet
Muslim-born Miss USA opposes NYC
mosque/Ynetnews
Patriarch Nasrallah Butros Sfeir
preaches message of co-existence during pastoral visit to Deir al-Ahmar
By Antoine Amrieh /Daily Star correspondent
Saturday, August 21, 2010
DEIR AL-AHMAR: The Lebanese Maronite patriarch toured on Friday the northern
Bekaa on a pastoral visit that took him to Oyoun Orgosh and the town of Deir al-Ahmar,
where he preached a message of co-existence.
Lebanese flags and slogans welcoming and hailing Patriarch Nasrallah Butros
Sfeir were raised along the road leading to Deir al-Ahmar and were erected
within the town, where residents slaughtered sheep and performed folkloric
dances in the patriarch’s honor.
Sfeir called on the Maronite residents of Deir al-Ahmar to co-exist with their
Shiite neighbors after unveiling a commemorative portrait at Saint Michael’s
square.
“I thank you for your warm welcome as you joined forces to pull this gathering
together. And, I ask God to bless you, and bless your churches, and always stand
by you,” Sfeir said addressing the gathered crowds.
The mayor of Deir al-Ahmar, Milad Aqouri, welcomed the patriarch along with
Baalbek-Hermel MP Emile Rahme, and handed the patriarch the key to the town.
“We knew that some of you had left the city but have come back out of longing
for your roots which your ancestors passed down to you. Do not give up on it and
you will always remain here as this land will be your eternal home that you
defend, and vice versa,” Sfeir said.
Deir al-Ahmar Bishop Elias Atallah, who also welcomed the Maronite patriarch,
called on state officials to promote development projects in the Bekaa region
whose residents suffer from deprivation. Atallah also stressed the commitment of
Bekaa residents to Christian-Muslim coexistence to safeguard Lebanon as a model
of religious diversity.
For his part, Rahme said the patriarch’s visit reflected the widespread presence
of the Christian community as he called on Christians, and particularly
Maronites, to unite in the face of difficulties. “Bkirki is Lebanon’s glory
which will continue to embrace all its sons. This is how we knew it in the past
and how we want it to be in the present and future in order to remain strong
through its sons and vice versa,” Rahme added in reference to the patriarchy.
Rahme also highlighted the Maronites’ openness to live in harmony with their
“Shiite and Sunni brothers based on the Maronite message of love, openness and
communication.”
During the tour, Sfeir’s convoy was heavily guarded by Internal Security Forces
and Lebanese Army troops deployed all along the road on which he traveled.
American Official: Evidence Implicating Hizbullah in Hariri Assassination May
Emerge within Days
Naharnet/Highly sensitive articles on the assassination of former Prime Minister
Rafik al-Hariri are expected to be published in American newspapers within the
next few days, said a media sources to the Kuwaiti al-Rai newspaper.
It also added that only three individuals in the U.S. administration are
following up on the issue of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon and matters
related to it. It reported one of the officials as
saying: "Damning evidence that demonstrates Hizbullah's involvement in the
assassination may appear in the upcoming days."
Furthermore, he considered Hizbullah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah's
latest press conference, during which he said that Israel may be behind the
crime, "as an attempt to mislead the investigation and buy some time." Beirut,
21 Aug 10, 10:49
Report: US working to resume Israel-Syria negotiations
American sources tell al-Sharq al-Awsat newspaper that Obama administration
putting efforts to establish trust, create common denominator between Israel,
Syria in attempt to launch negotiations soon
Roee Nahmias Published: 08.21.10, 14:13 / Israel News
The United States is trying to open a new channel of communications between
Israel and Syria in addition to its efforts to renew Israeli-Palestinian peace
talks, the London-based al-Sharq al-Awsat newspaper reported Saturday. According
to the report issued one day after the US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
declared the resumption of negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians, the
Obama administration is planning to ignite Israel-Syria negotiations in an
effort to achieve peace in the Middle East.
American sources told the paper that the US administration is putting great
efforts in creating a common denominator and building trust between Israel and
Syria in the coming period before launching negotiations. The newspaper also
noted that Fred Hoff, a senior US official responsible for the negotiations
between Israel, Syria and Lebanon, visited the region earlier this month and
discussed details on which to base future talks.
France has also worked to renew Israeli-Syrian negotiations. Last week, French
President Nicolas Sarkozy appointed an envoy in charge of the peace process
between Syria and Israel. A French Foreign Ministry spokesperson said President
Sarkozy appointed former ambassador to Damascus, Jean-Claude Cousseran to
oversee the progress of the Israeli-Syrian peace process, "which Frances sees as
extremely important." Last month Ynet reported of a new channel of
communications between Israel and Syria which was opened on Syrian President
Bashar Assad's initiative through Jewish-American Senator Arlen Specter. Israeli
officials believe the Syrian president's timing was not accidental, and that the
country is altering its position on talks with Israel following new sanctions on
Iran.
Najjar: I Will Say What I Know and What I have to Say Regarding False Witnesses
File
Naharnet/Justice Minister Ibrahim Najjar stated Saturday that he will not issue
any statements on the false witnesses case before another week in preparation of
his study of their file.
He told the daily An Nahar: "I will say what I know on the matter and what I
have to say based on my professionalism and vast experience that dates back to
40 years."
Beirut, 21 Aug 10, 12:26
Zahra criticizes Sayyed Hussein
August 21, 2010 ظFollowing Minister of State Adnan as-Sayyed
Hussein’s Saturday statement that coordination between the Lebanese army and the
Resistance should be taken into consideration when formulating the national
defense strategy, Lebanese Forces bloc MP Antoine Zahra said that there is no
such thing, according to a statement issued by the MP’s office on Saturday.
Following their Thursday meeting at President Michel Sleiman’s Beiteddine
presidential residence, national dialogue participants issued a statement
agreeing to continue the study of the national defense strategy.Zahra said that
the Lebanese government takes national decisions by itself and that it is
responsible for its army, adding that he was surprised by the minister’s
suggestion that the strategic decision be shared by the legitimate institution
as well as a Lebanese party.-NOW Lebanon
Mustaqbal Bloc Does Not Believe in False Witnesses File
Naharnet/The Mustaqbal bloc agreed after its meeting on Friday that "there is no
such thing as a false witnesses file," reported the daily An Nahar Saturday. "A
false witness is one who takes the oath before the judge and then backs downs
from his pledge" and this is not the case in false witnesses file in the
investigation of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, the bloc added.
Furthermore, it noted that the investigation is conducted under great secrecy
and no individual knows what the witnesses have stated "and therefore there is
no false witnesses file to be handed over to Justice Minister Ibrahim Najjar,
but only a request to prepare answers to specific questions."
Fadlallah: Recognition of False Witnesses Raises Questions over Passed Five
Years
Naharnet/Hizbullah MP Hasan Fadlallah said Saturday that the government's
recognition of false witnesses in the investigation in the assassination of
former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri "opens the door to many major questions over
the passed five years and the political authority." He
added that it was this authority that accused Syria of the crime and led to the
wrongful imprisonment of the four generals. "Doesn't
the recognition demand questioning those who based their power in Lebanon on the
false witnesses' testimonies?" the MP asked. "We will
follow the case of the false witnesses day by day, step by step, and phase by
phase," stressed Fadlallah. Beirut, 21 Aug 10, 11:45
Author of GIGA Report on Hariri Assassination: I Based Report on Assumptions,
Not Criminal Investigation
Naharnet/Dr. Stephan Rosiny of the German Institute of Global and Area Studies
(GIGA) who prepared a report on the assassination of former Lebanese Prime
Minister Rafik Hariri told the daily An Nahar Saturday that he based his
analysis on possible assumptions and his own personal expertise.A holder of a
doctorate on Hizbullah, the German researcher doubted that the group could be
behind the assassination. "If Hizbullah planned the
crime, it may have executed it in a more precise manner," Rosiny said.He added
that western governments are seeking to break the Syrian-Iranian-Hizbullah-Hamas
front, and removing the accusation off of Syria is a step in that direction.
Beirut, 21 Aug 10, 09:44
Lebanon ship will not head for Gaza on Sunday
Organizers of women's Gaza-bound flotilla say they are working to find another
place to sail through after Cyprus announced it would not allow the vessel to
enter its territorial waters. 'We won't give up easily,' activist Samar al-Hajj
says
Reuters Published: 08.21.10, 14:45 / Israel News A ship carrying women activists
and aid will no longer head to Gaza via Cyprus from Lebanon on Sunday, the
organizers said, after Nicosia announced it would not allow the vessel to sail
from its ports.
"We will not embark tomorrow," Samar al-Hajj told Reuters. "We are working to
find another place (port to sail from). There are obstacles, difficulties. We
won't give up easily," she said.
Earlier on Saturday it was reported that the sail's organizers had approached
Greece and asked authorities to sail through its territorial waters.
Women activists had planned to take aid to Palestinians in Gaza aboard their
vessel, the Mariam, which was due to set sail from Lebanon's northern port of
Tripoli for Cyprus on Sunday.
Israel has warned that it will not allow ships to reach Gaza, controlled by the
militant Palestinian group Hamas since 2007. Nine pro-Palestinian Turks died on
May 31 when Israeli commandos boarded a flotilla of aid vessels heading for
Gaza. Refusal from Nicosia
Cypriot police said on Friday the arrival and departure of ships to or from Gaza
through Cyprus ports was prohibited, prompting the Lebanese transport minister
to revoke permission for the ship to sail there, according to the organizers.
Ghazi Aridi told New TV on Friday the ship would not sail as long as Cypriot
authorities have refused to receive it. He added Lebanon would not give
permission for sail to an unknown party. Spokeswoman for the Mariam, Rima Farah,
said the trip was not cancelled indefinitely but that "it was stalled because we
face a reality which imposes that". Farah said there was not enough time between
now and 10 pm on Sunday (1900 GMT), when Mariam was supposed to set sail, to go
through the process of finding another port to sail from. Lebanon does not
authorize ships to sail directly to Gaza because it is in a formal state of war
with Israel, which controls Gaza waters.
*Roee Nahmias contributed to this repot
Aridi: We Will Grant Mariam Aid Ship a License Based on the Necessary Legal
Conditions
Naharnet/Minister of Transportation and Public Works, Ghazi Aridi, doubted that
the Mariam aid ship will sail to the Gaza Strip out of consideration of the
national interest. He added however to the daily An Nahar Saturday that it is
logical that the ship seek approval from another country to harbor it, seeing as
Cyprus had refused to welcome the ship in its ports. Aridi continued: "We will
grant the ship the necessary license according to the required legal
conditions." Beirut, 21 Aug 10, 11:13
Mariam Aid Ship Sails to Gaza on August 29 as Cyprus Refuses to Allow it Dock at
its Ports
Naharnet/Coordinator of the Mariam aid ship's trip to the Gaza Strip, Samar
al-Hajj, stated Saturday that contacts are ongoing with countries near Gaza in
order to acquire permission for the ship to dock at one of their ports.She noted
to LBC: "It seems as if there is universal war against us … We will no allow
anyone to cancel the ship's trip."
She added that the ship will not head to Gaza directly from Tripoli, stressing:
"The ship cannot be the reason for the start of a war."
Meanwhile, a source from the Cypriot foreign ministry told Ad Diyar
Saturday: "Seeing as Cyprus is a member of the European Union and maintains its
policies, it will not allow the Mariam to sail to its ports and later head to
Gaza in order to avert any problems."Cyprus' foreign minister had recently
toured a number of Arab states explaining his country's position from the ships
docking at its ports.The Saudi newspaper Okaz reported from informed sources
that the ship will shorten its trip and only sail to Cyprus "especially in light
of the decisive stand announced by the Cypriot authorities.""The organizers are
now obligated to launch their trip even it means only heading to Cyprus because
the media goals should benefit the central issue of breaking the Gaza siege,"
the sources added. Beirut, 21 Aug 10, 13:28
Mariam Ship Organizers: It's Possible to Alter Ship's Course to Greece
Naharnet/Organizers of the Mariam aid ship heading to Gaza told As Safir
Saturday that the ship may alter its course to the Palestinian territory by
heading to Greece after Cyprus refused allow it to travel from its ports.The
organizers revealed that contacts are underway with the Greek government if
Cyprus maintained its position. Beirut, 21 Aug 10, 09:08
Geagea Wonders Where Trap Lies in
his Plan: It's a Temporary Defense Strategy that Keeps Resistance's Privacy
Naharnet/Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea defended on Friday the proposal he
presented during the national dialogue session on a defense strategy for Lebanon
that calls for having the Resistance at the army's command.
He described it as a "practical, temporary, and positive" plan that can
be applied "as long as Hizbullah exits in the way it does."
"We know that Hizbullah is wary of revealing its true capabilities, and so
placing them at the army's disposal is the best solution for the current
situation," he continued.
"They say that the Resistance is a powerful asset to Lebanon, so why don't they
use it? We are not saying that Hizbullah should lay down its weapons or disban
itself ... but the proposal called for maintaining it, but under the army's
control because it is the ideal way to function," he stressed.
Geagea added that his proposal is the best plan to implement the equation of the
people, army, and Resistance, pointing out however that he rejects this equation
"because a normal state is comprised of the people and all state institutions."
He rejected House Speaker Nabih Berri's suggestion that units comprised
of Hizbullah and army officers be formed, saying that this would lead to the
creation of two armies in Lebanon, each following a different authority.
Furthermore, Geagea criticized statements that his proposal is a trap for
the Resistance, asking: "Where is the trap? The plan calls for cooperation
between Hizbullah and the army without the party revealing its capabilities or
the location of its weapons." Beirut, 20 Aug 10, 17:57
Ahmadinejad Promises 'Global' Response if Iran is Attacked
Naharnet/Iran's hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has promised a global
response if his country is attacked, in an interview with Qatari daily Al-Sharq
published on Saturday.
"Our options will have no limits... They will touch the entire planet," he said
in reply to a question about Tehran's reaction in the event of such an
attack.Iran's arch-foes the United States and Israel have never ruled out
military strikes against Tehran to halt its nuclear programme which they and
other western powers suspect is aimed at making weapons.Tehran denies the
charge, saying its atomic programme has purely peaceful goals.
"I believe that some think about attacking Iran, especially those within
the Zionist entity (Israel). But they know that Iran is an indestructible
bulwark and I do not think their American masters will let them do it,"
Ahmadinejad said. "They also know that the Iranian
response will be hard and painful," he added. The U.N.
Security Council in June slapped its fourth set of sanctions on Iran over its
refusal to halt its uranium enrichment work.(AFP) Beirut, 21 Aug 10, 14:06
Iran Starts Loading Fuel in First
Nuclear Power Plant
Naharnet/Iran said on Saturday it has started loading fuel into its
Russian-built first nuclear power plant, in the face of stiff opposition from
world powers over its controversial atomic programme.
After decades of delay, engineers finally began loading the Russia-supplied fuel
into the plant in the southern port of Bushehr, in the presence of International
Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors, a statement by Iran's Atomic Energy
Organization said. "The operation of transferring
nuclear fuel to the reactor was carried out on 30th of Mordad (August 21) in
presence of Ali Akbar Salehi, vice president and head of Iran's atomic body, and
Sergei Kiriyenko," the head of Russian atomic body, Rosatom, the statement said.
It said the 163 rods of fuel will be "transferred into the core of the reactor
after necessary inspections."
Last week, Salehi said the transfer of fuel into the reactor would be complete
by September 5. On Friday, Iranian Atomic Energy
Organization spokesman Ali Shirzadian said the one-billion-dollar plant's actual
commissioning would come in October or November when the electricity it
generates connects to the national grid.
The much-anticipated launch comes despite the fact that Moscow, a long-time
nuclear ally, has hardened its position on Tehran's nuclear programme.
In June, Russia backed a fourth round of U.N. sanctions against Iran over its
uranium enrichment, the most controversial part of its atomic programme and
which the West believes is aimed at making nuclear weapons, a charge Tehran
strongly denies. Iran says it is enriching uranium to
power nuclear reactors so it can eventually generate electricity of around
20,000 megawatts.
Despite being OPEC's second-largest crude oil exporter and having the world's
second largest gas reserves, Iran insists it needs nuclear power for when its
fossil fuels eventually run out.
On Friday, Salehi said Iran will continue enriching uranium to make fuel for the
Bushehr plant as Tehran might not always buy it from Moscow.
"The Bushehr plant has a lifespan of 60 years and we plan to use it for 40
years. Suppose we buy fuel for 10 years from Russia. What are we going to do for
the next 30 to 50 years?" state news agency IRNA quoted him as saying.
Russia has already supplied 82 tons of fuel for Bushehr and plans to take back
the spent material to avoid any misuse.
On Wednesday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the Bushehr plant
would keep Iran firmly fixed to the peaceful use of nuclear power.
"It is a most important anchor which keeps Iran within the regime of
non-proliferation," he said.
Mark Fitzpatrick, an expert in non-proliferation at the International Institute
for Strategic Studies in London, said Bushehr is not a proliferation risk "as
long as it is run to produce power for electricity generation.""It would be a
risk if Iran operated it differently, i.e. for short periods at low-burn up in
order to produce weapons-usable plutonium -- but in this case the IAEA would
know," he said of the U.N. atomic watchdog.
Work on the Bushehr plant, which is not targeted under U.N. or other sanctions,
began in the 1970s under the rule of the U.S.-backed shah using contractors from
German firm Siemens.
The project was shelved when the shah was toppled in the 1979 Islamic
revolution, and was revived a decade later under current supreme leader Ali
Khamenei.
In 1994, Russia agreed to complete its construction, but since then "technical
problems" and squabbling between Moscow and Tehran delayed its completion.
Fresh doubts over Bushehr were raised after Moscow voted for the latest U.N.
sanctions, followed by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev commenting that Tehran
was close to attaining the potential to build a nuclear weapon.
This triggered an angry response from Iran, as Moscow's position has
always been that Tehran has the right to peaceful nuclear energy.
Ali Asghar Soltanieh, Iran's envoy to the IAEA, accused Moscow of delaying
Bushehr's start-up, saying "it is hard to believe that the technical issues
continue to delay the completion of the plant over the past 15 years."Bushehr
has always been seen as a potential target in the event of a military strike by
Iran's arch-foes the United States and Israel which have never ruled out
military action against Tehran's nuclear programme.(AFP) Beirut, 21 Aug 10,
08:44
'100% Guarantee' Iran Nuclear Plant Peaceful, Says Russia
Naharnet/There is a one hundred percent guarantee that Iran's first nuclear
power plant, set for its official launch on Saturday, will be used only for
peaceful purposes, a top Russian official said. "Of course there is a one
hundred percent guarantee, because this guarantee is not one formulated by
Moscow but by objective fact," Deputy Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov
told the Interfax news agency. He said that the fact that Russia had delivered
the fuel for the plant and would take back spent fuel for reprocessing showed
that all non-proliferation rules applied to the plant. Iran is to formally
launch the Russian-built plant in the southern port city of Bushehr on Saturday
in a major landmark for its controversial nuclear drive.
Russia has been building the plant in Iran since the mid-1990s but the project
has been marred by a series of delays and the issue is hugely delicate amid the
standoff over Iran's nuclear program.(AFP) Beirut, 20 Aug 10, 21:45
Amnesty Urges Saudi Arabia Not to Paralyze
Man as Punishment
Naharnet/Amnesty International urged Saudi authorities on Friday not to
medically paralyze a man in retribution for similar injuries he allegedly caused
during a fight. The London-based group quoted reports that a court in the
northwestern town of Tabuk had approached a number of hospitals to ask if they
could cut the man's spinal cord in retribution, as requested by the victim. "We
urge the Saudi Arabian authorities not to carry out such a punishment, which
amounts to nothing less than torture. While those guilty of a crime should be
held accountable, intentionally paralyzing a man in this way would constitute
torture, and be a breach of its international human rights obligations," said
Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, acting director of the Middle East and North Africa
Program. One hospital reportedly said it would be possible to medically
administer the injury at the same place on the spinal cord as the damage the man
allegedly caused his victim using a cleaver during a fight more than two years
ago. The court might decide not to impose the paralysis punishment and could
instead sentence the man to imprisonment, financial compensation, or flogging.
The man, whose name has not been made public, has already been sentenced to
seven months imprisonment for the offence. Amnesty said it had information that
he was convicted and sentenced in a trial in which he had no legal assistance.
Saudi Arabia regularly sentences people to various forms of corporal
punishment.(AFP) Beirut, 20 Aug 10, 20:56
Iran to offer Lebanon missile defense system, report says
August 21, 2010 ظIranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
will offer to supply Lebanon with a missile defense system and other weapons
during his expected visit to Beirut after Ramadan ends, Akhbar al-Youm news
agency reported on Saturday, citing an anonymous Lebanese diplomatic source.
Iran has offered to support the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) after some US
congressmen placed a hold on American military aid to Lebanon.
During Wednesday’s cabinet session, President
Michel Sleiman called for the continuation of an armament plan to supply more
weapons to the LAF, as well as the establishment of an aid plan to attract
foreign states and willing Lebanese to support the army.-NOW Lebanon
Geagea tried; Hezbollah won’t listen
Hanin Ghaddar, August 21, 2010
Now Lebanon/Realistically, there is little hope for any concrete results
regarding a Lebanese national defense strategy. The national dialogue sessions
that have been taking place since 2006 are becoming a joke for the Lebanese,
most of whom have stopped paying attention to the proceedings.
It is obvious that Hezbollah will not allow any serious discussion on its arms.
State institutions, including the Lebanese Armed Forces, are to be kept far from
Hezbollah’s weapons, making the national dialogue sessions nothing more than a
tool to waste time and keep the international community away from this issue by
creating the illusion that Lebanese leaders are actually trying to agree among
themselves on a solution to the party’s arsenal.
However, Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea surprised us yesterday with an
initiative that spiced up the impasse. Although there is no real chance that his
proposal will be taken seriously by Hezbollah, Geagea has made a step toward the
Party of God by suggesting that Hezbollah stay an independent unit under the
army’s control.
Hezbollah officials immediately reacted negatively, and the main reason, other
than their resolve to remain an independent entity, is General Michel Aoun, head
of the Free Patriotic Movement, who remains the perfect Christian ally that the
party will not allow to be bothered.
Geagea said that “the essential condition for the success of this plan is that
the operational command for the defense of Lebanon be completely in the hands of
the Lebanese army, with Hezbollah being asked to put its units and weapons under
the Lebanese army’s command, without it knowing Hezbollah fighters’ locations.”
According to Geagea, the LAF demonstrated during the August 3 Aadaiseh border
skirmish with the Israeli army that it can confront the Jewish State with the
support of the Lebanese people and state, and its Arab allies.
The proposal suggests setting up the proper infrastructure and bolstering the
current military units deployed in the South with 3,000 to 4,000 soldiers from
the Special Forces. It also calls 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.”
Of course, Geagea believes that this is only “a transitional plan giving Lebanon
the best possible opportunity to defend its borders at the present time, [given]
the army’s abilities and Hezbollah’s situation.”
Hezbollah MP Mohammad Raad immediately expressed displeasure with Geagea’s
proposal, saying that it merely aimed to get rid of Hezbollah and its arms. Of
course, no one would expect anything else from Raad or other Hezbollah
officials, who repeatedly, before and after the Aadaiseh incident, stressed the
cooperation among the Resistance, the army and the people as the only basis for
any defense-strategy proposal.
While Hezbollah’s reaction was to be expected, Geagea’s proposal was a positive
overture toward Hezbollah, compared to a previous proposition that suggested
that Hezbollah be entirely absorbed into the Lebanese army. This plan offered
Hezbollah autonomy and freedom of movement, which was considered a big step by
many commentators.
Hezbollah could have turned down the proposal diplomatically, saying what it
usually says in similar situations: “Thank you, but no thank you.” But not this
time. Not only because it came from the leader of the Lebanese Forces, but
mainly because it might have upset Aoun, who did not attend the session.
Hezbollah’s commitment to Aoun stipulates that the party cannot flatter, however
vacuously, other Christian leaders, especially Geagea. In return, Aoun provides
Hezbollah with the Christian cover it needs. Lately, Aoun’s rhetoric has been
empty of everything except a staunch defense of Hezbollah; in fact no one is
echoing Hezbollah’s rhetoric as faithfully as Aoun is. Even Hezbollah’s closest
pro-Syrian allies have been trying to set themselves apart from the Party of God
since the Saudi-Syrian summit that took place recently in Beirut.
Amal boss and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri welcomed Geagea’s proposal and said
that he was pleased because “for the first time, he has acknowledged the
army-people-Resistance formula, and the rest is small details.”
Berri and Aoun fell out a year ago, when tensions between them were aggravated
during the 2009 parliamentary elections, and then with this year’s municipal
elections. However, Berri usually never contradicts or differs with Hezbollah
when it comes to its weapons.
Berri’s more positive stance toward Geagea was therefore more of an attempt to
distance himself from Hezbollah than an effort to alienate Aoun, even if he
can’t do anything to make Hezbollah take Geagea’s proposal into consideration.
Geagea, on the other hand, does not expect anything close to that. His
initiative was mainly to shake up the national dialogue sessions and show – with
his transitional plan – that there are still ways to discuss a national-defense
strategy.
The international community has repeatedly demanded the disarmament of
Hezbollah, and yet it is incapable of forcing the implementation of
international resolutions, such as UN Security Council Resolution 1701.
Internally, the helplessness is not dissimilar, as all thorny issues regarding
the arms is left to the futile dialogue sessions, and the best that can be hoped
for is that civil order be maintained. In this context, Geagea’s initiative is
an attempt to say that national dialogue is meant to discuss proposals and ways
of implementing them. He said: Here’s my proposal; at least I tried.
**Hanin Ghaddar is managing editor of NOW Lebanon.
Muslim-born Miss USA opposes NYC mosque
First Muslim winner of prestigious beauty contest says Islamic center should not
be so close to Ground Zero. 'We should be more concerned with the tragedy than
religion,' she says
Ynet Published: 08.21.10, 11:13 / Israel News
Rima Fakih, the first Muslim winner of the Miss USA contest said she opposes the
building of a mosque so near to Ground Zero, the New York Post reported
Saturday.
Fakih, daughter of Lebanese immigrants, said she has respect for freedom of
religion but feels the mosque should not be built so close to the site of the
September 11 attacks.
"I totally agree with President Obama with the statement on Constitutional
rights of freedom of religion," she said. "I also agree that it shouldn't be so
close to the World Trade Center. We should be more concerned with the tragedy
than religion," she added.
Fakih recently told a Detroit newspaper that she fasts during the month of
Ramadan despite preparations towards the Miss Universe Pageant.
According to recent polls, most New Yorkers oppose the establishment of a mosque
near Ground Zero claiming the act offends the memory of the September 11 attack
victims.
Liberal elements including New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg expressed support of
the move citing Muslims' rights for freedom of religion.
Many possible Israeli
concessions would be suicidal
By George F. Will
Sunday, August 22, 2010
JERUSALEM 'Twas a famous victory for diplomacy when, in 1991 in Madrid, Israelis
and Palestinians, orchestrated by the United States, at last engaged in direct
negotiations. Almost a generation later, U.S. policy has succeeded in prodding
the Palestinians away from their recent insistence on "proximity talks" -- in
which they have talked to the Israelis through American intermediaries -- and to
direct negotiations. But negotiations about what?
Idle talk about a "binational state" has long since died. Even disregarding the
recent fates of multinational states -- e.g., the former Soviet Union, the
former Yugoslavia, the former Czechoslovakia -- binationalism is impossible if
Israel is to be a Jewish state for the Jewish people. No significant Israeli
constituency disagrees with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu: "The Palestinian
refugee problem will be resolved outside Israel's borders."
Rhetoric about a "two-state solution" is de rigueur. It also is delusional,
given two recent, searing experiences.
The only place for a Palestinian state is the West Bank, which Israel has
occupied -- legally under international law -- since repelling the 1967
aggression launched from there. The West Bank remains an unallocated portion of
the Palestine Mandate, the disposition of which is to be settled by
negotiations. But with constructive -- because illusion-shattering -- bluntness,
Michael Oren, Israel's ambassador to the United States, puts aside diplomatic
ambiguity:
"There is no Israeli leadership that appears either willing or capable of
removing 100,000 Israelis from their West Bank homes -- the minimum required to
make way for a viable Palestinian state even with Israel's annexation of its
three main settlement blocs. (Those blocs effectively function as the suburbs of
Jerusalem.) The evacuation of a mere 8,100 Israelis from Gaza in 2005 required
55,000 IDF [Israel Defense Forces] troops -- the largest Israeli military
operation since the 1973 Yom Kippur War -- and was profoundly traumatic."
Twenty-one Israeli settlements were dismantled; even the bodies of Israelis
buried in Gaza were removed. After a deeply flawed 2006 election encouraged by
the United States, there was in 2007 essentially a coup in Gaza by the terrorist
organization Hamas. So now Israel has on its western border, 44 miles from Tel
Aviv, an entity dedicated to Israel's destruction, collaborative with Iran and
possessing a huge arsenal of rockets.
Rocket attacks from Gaza increased dramatically after Israel withdrew. The
number of U.N. resolutions deploring this? Zero.
The closest precedent for that bombardment was the Nazi rocket attacks on
London, which were answered by the destruction of Hamburg, Dresden and other
German cities. When Israel struck back at Hamas, the "international community"
was theatrically appalled. A senior cabinet member -- Moshe Yaalon, strategic
affairs minister and possible future prime minister -- says "our withdrawals
strengthened jihadist Islam," adding, "We have the second Islamic republic in
the Middle East -- the first in Iran, the second in Gaza: Hamastan." Israel's
withdrawals include the one that strengthened the Iranian client on Israel's
northern border, in southern Lebanon. Since the 2006 war provoked by Hezbollah's
incessant rocketing of northern Israel, Hezbollah has rearmed and possesses as
many as 60,000 rockets. Today, Netanyahu says, Israel's problem is less the
Israel-Lebanon border than it is the Lebanon-Syria border: Hezbollah has
received from Syria -- which gets them from Iran -- Scud missiles capable of
striking Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. A leader of Hezbollah says, "If all the Jews
gather in Israel, it will save us the trouble of going after them worldwide."
Because upward of a million immigrants have come from the former Soviet Union,
today one-sixth of Israelis speak Russian. Israel has Russian-language
newspapers and television. Russian Israelis are largely responsible for Avigdor
Lieberman being foreign minister. Yoram Peri, professor of Israel studies at the
University of Maryland, says these immigrants "don't understand how a state that
can be crossed in half an hour by car would be willing to even talk about
relinquishing territories to its seemingly perpetual enemies." These immigrants
know that Russia's strategic depth -- space -- defeated Napoleon and Hitler.
Netanyahu, who is not the most conservative member of the coalition government
he heads, endorses a two-state solution but says that any West Bank Palestinian
state must be demilitarized and prevented from making agreements with the likes
of Hezbollah and Iran. To prevent the importation of missiles and other arms,
Israel would need, Netanyahu says, a military presence on the West Bank's
eastern border with Jordan. Otherwise, there will be a third Islamic republic,
and a second one contiguous to Israel.
So, again: Negotiations about what? georgewill@washpost.com
Israel sees hidden battleground under Lebanon
country’s military creates ‘Lebanese town’ for training to prepare for
confrontation
Friday, August 20, 2010
Analysis/Matti Friedman
Associated Press
MOUNT ADIR, Israel: With tensions mounting along their shared border, Israel’s
military says Hizbullah is moving fighters and weapons into the villages of
south Lebanon, building up a secret network of arms warehouses, bunkers and
command posts in preparation for war.
The Israeli military has begun releasing detailed information about what it
calls Hizbullah’s new border deployment, four years after a cross-border raid by
the party triggered a 34-day war.
A reminder of the volatility came on August 3, when Lebanese troops fired
warning shots after Israeli soldiers attempted to cut down a tree near the
UN-demarcated Blue Line. Two Lebanese soldiers were killed, as well as one
journalist, in subsequent rocket attacks by the Israeli Army. One Israeli
officer was also killed.
Neither Israel nor Hizbullah, which fought a devastating war in the summer of
2006, has signaled that another war was imminent. However, the Israelis’ unusual
openness about what they claim to know of Hizbullah’s preparations seems to have
two goals: to show the reach of their intelligence, and to stake their claim
that if another war breaks out and many civilians die, it will be because
Hizbullah placed its armaments and fighters in their midst.
The Israeli military says Hizbullah has changed strategy since the last war,
moving most of its fighters and weapons from wooded rural areas into villages.
It says the aim is to avoid detection and use civilians for cover if war erupts.
The military says all of this exists under the nose of 12,000 international
peacekeepers who, by their own count, conduct up to 340 patrols a day in south
Lebanon but are hobbled by a hostile population and rules preventing them from
searching private property.
In an interview with the Associated Press on Mount Adir, a hill overlooking the
border, an officer from the Israeli Army’s Northern Command pointed through the
summer haze at the village of Aita al-Shaab.
One of its southernmost buildings, a white structure housing mentally
handicapped children, is a Hizbullah lookout post, the officer said. Several
Hizbullah command posts are in civilian buildings in the center of Aita al-Shaab,
she claimed, with several dozen fighters able to move among houses through
underground tunnels.
The army would not allow her name to be used because of the sensitivity of her
job.
She said the village also houses a network of warehouses holding arms trucked in
from Iran via Syria.
The Israeli officer said that Hizbullah now has 5,000 fighters operating in the
buffer zone between the border and the Litani River – a strip ranging from 5
kilometers to 30 kilometers wide – which is supposed to be free of militant
activity under the 2006 ceasefire.
In late 2009, Nasrallah said Hizbullah’s rocket arsenal stood at 30,000. Israel
says it’s now about 40,000.
Israel’s intelligence probably comes from surveillance flights over Lebanese
territory, spy satellites and Lebanese agents. But the military provides no
proof of its claims, saying that could compromise its sources, and the UN
peacekeeping force says it sees no evidence of new military infrastructure.
Hizbullah officials did not respond to requests for comment on Israel’s
accusations.
It’s difficult to independently confirm the allegations on the ground. The south
Lebanese, mostly Shiite like Hizbullah, tend to support the movement and rarely
criticize it publicly or volunteer information. Hizbullah members or supporters
often attach themselves to journalists entering villages, shadowing them and
discouraging photography.
South Lebanon is festooned with posters of Nasrallah, but the only visible hint
of what could be Hizbullah fighters – or just concerned villagers – are the men
in civilian clothes who travel on motorbikes or in cars and occasionally
approach reporters working in the area.
In July, looking to build its case that Hizbullah is digging in among civilians,
the Israeli military released maps, photographs and a 3-D simulation of the
streets and houses of another Lebanese town, Khiyam.
The simulation allegedly shows one arms storeroom, a squat, freestanding
building colored red, located 130 meters from a school, colored blue.
The Israeli implication is clear: If another war erupts, many civilians will
die.
In 2006, Israelis were dismayed to find their military suffering from
organizational and supply problems, and were infuriated by international censure
over the civilian death toll. But the Lebanon border has been largely quiet
since 2006. Hizbullah has not fired a rocket in the past four years – though
Palestinian militant groups have – and the Israeli officer killed in early
August was the military’s first fatality on the frontier since 2006.
The UN’s Interim Force in Lebanon, UNIFIL, the international peacekeeping force,
“has not found any evidence of new military infrastructure in its area of
operations,” said spokesman Neeraj Singh. While saying UNIFIL had made
“significant progress” in helping the Lebanese Army secure the south, he
acknowledged that the peacekeepers are barred from searching private property,
where the Israelis say much of the evidence of Hizbullah’s presence would be
found.
Some indications of Hizbullah activity in the south have surfaced
unintentionally. When a building at Khirbet Silim exploded on July 15, 2009,
peacekeepers identified it as an actively maintained Hizbullah arms warehouse.
Another storehouse blew up in October, the Israelis say, and in December,
according to Singh, peacekeepers caught a “group of individuals” with about 250
kilograms of explosives. UNIFIL’s performance has implications beyond south
Lebanon. If the Israelis turn out to be right about the Hizbullah buildup it
will undermine their trust in international forces to police other volatile
areas, such as Gaza and the West Bank, under a peace treaty.
In preparation for a new round against Hizbullah, the Israeli military has
simulated parts of south Lebanon at a training base called Elyakim, about an
hour’s drive south from the border. A second facility in central Israel is
nearing completion. One day in late July, near a mock Lebanese village of gray
concrete, a company of sweating Israeli infantry recruits staged a maneuver
through thick Lebanese-style undergrowth, complete with rockets hidden in the
bushes and bombs camouflaged as rocks. A square metal cover on the earth opened
onto a concrete tunnel where Lieutenant Natan Mann stood in the dark, drilling
his men for the real thing. “The army has made tactical changes and changes in
its mindset,” said Mann, 23, one hand on the plastic grip of his rifle. “We’re
either at war, or we’re training for war.”
Iran or Islam? In Tehran That is the Question
20/08/2010/By Amir Taheri
Does Iran have an identity of its own? In fact, could anything called Iran even
be imagined outside of Islam? These are some of the questions raised in a heated
debate that has pitted key figures of the Khomeinist establishment in Tehran
against one another in what promises to become a massive washing of dirty
laundry in public.
The debate was triggered earlier this month during a gathering of some 1,300
Iranian exiles, who had come to Tehran for an “ introductory visit” at the
invitation of the government.
The man who raised the issue is Esfandiar Rahim Mashai, a self-styled
philosopher who serves as Cabinet Director for President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
Initially, Ahmadinejad had appointed Mashai as his First Vice President.
Ahmadinejad was forced to backtrack after top figures, including the “Supreme
Guide” Ali Khamenei, publicly said that they would not tolerate Mashai in that
position.
However, the change of titles made little difference insofar as Mashai’s power
and influence, as Ahamdinejad’s ideological mentor, is concerned.
The two men, who are lifelong friends, are also related because Mashai’s
daughter is married to Ahmadinejad’s son.
Addressing the visiting exiles, Mashai adopted a nationalistic tone, speaking of
Iran as a great civilization with a universal message and “global leadership
responsibilities”. He ended up by calling on the guests to return to their
places of exile to preach “the Iranian school” and “ the Iranian message.”
The quotations used in the speech came from Persian poets and philosophers, in
sharp contrast with the official discourse that is peppered with citations from
the Koran and various imams and ayatollahs. Nor were there any references to the
late Khomeini, the mullah who created the regime, or the present “Supreme
Guide”.
More significantly, there was little mention of Islam, the leitmotif of the
Khomeinist regime since the mullahs seized power in 1979.
Mashai’s speech could have come out of the literature of the pan-Iranist party,
a nationalist movement that reached its peak in the 1950s and was eventually
dissolved by the Shah in 1975.
Mashai touched a number of raw nerves, especially among the mullahs.
They knew that if the emphasis was shifted from the idea of Islam to that of
Iran, their centuries’ old boutique might face a loss of customers.
Thus a battery of attacks were launched against Mashai by radical mullahs like
Ahmad Janati and Ahmad Khatami who devoted their Friday sermons to denouncing
the president’s closest friend as “ a suspicious character” and even “possibly
an agent of foreign influence.”
Then it was the turn of Ayatollah Mohammad-Taqi Mesbah-Yazdi, believed to be
Ahmadinejad’s principal source of support within the Shi’ite clergy, to attack
Mashai as a “shadowy figure with an unknown agenda.”
The final barrage came from The Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces Major-General
Hassan Firuzabadi who called for Mashai to be prosecuted on charges approaching
treason. Mashai retaliated by announcing he would sue Firuzabadi for libel.
Scores of lesser mullahs and jackboots, not to mention the part of the media
controlled by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), have also joined the
lynch mob organised against Mashai.
Well, what is all the fuss about?
Mashai’s speech included nothing that could be regarded as illegal even under
the Khomeinist constitution. Nor did he say anything that might threaten the
existence of the beleaguered regime.
The trouble, however, is that in Khomeinist-controlled Iran, as in so many other
so-called “developing countries”, no decent political debate is possible. In
such countries, people who disagree with you do not attack your ideas but your
person. Thus no one bothers to examine Mashai’s ideas if only to refute them.
Everyone takes the easy way of accusing him of being deranged or acting on
orders from the CIA and Mossad.
Mashai’s speech could be seen as a manoeuvre by Ahmadinejad to deprive the
opponents of the regime of at least part of their nationalist aura.
To demonstrators who march with cries of “ The Iranian Republic, Not The Islamic
Republic”, he is saying that he could be as Iranians as they are.
He also wants to pretend that the sanctions imposed on the Islamic Republic by
the United Nations, the United States and the European Union, in fact, target
the Iranian nation not the Khomeinist regime.
Last year, when supporters of the defeated presidential candidate, Mir-Hossein
Moussavi, adopted green, the colour of Islam, as their standard Ahmadinejad
retaliated by wearing blue, the national colour of pre-Islamic Iran.
To bolster his Iranian credentials, Ahmadinejad has proposed the creation of a
Union of Persian-Speaking Nations; that is to say Iran, Afghanistan and
Tajikistan.
The irony in all this is that the conceptual tandem of Iran-Islam has been the
centrepiece of Iranian existence as a nation for over 14 centuries.
To most Iranians, the Arab invasion and brief conquest of Iran remains an open
wound. And, yet, most Iranians are proud, not to say boastful, of their
ancestors’ contribution to the development of Islamic civilisation.
Few want Islam to be scripted out of their history and culture.
This double identity, some would say split personality or national
schizophrenia, has been at the heart of Iran's existence as a nation for over
1,400 years and it is unlikely to be resolved one way or another soon.
Some intellectuals, like the great jurist and historian, Ahmad Kasrvai, and the
philosopher Hussein Kazemzadeh, wanted to de-Islamicise Iran so that it could
“become itself, once again.”
They failed because most Iranians did not wish to abandon Islam as long as it
was not pushed down their throats by force. Iran was “ itself” all the time,
happy and unhappy at the same time with its historic schizophrenia.
The late Ruhallah Khomeini was no philosopher. But he, too, made the mistake
that only philosophers can make. He took Marx’s advice about changing the world
rather than interpreting it and tried to de-Iranise Iran. However, despite his
boundless hatred for the idea of Iran, the agitator from Khomein, the luckiest
adventurer in our history, also failed.
The question "Islam or Iran?" has been a hot topic in Iranian politics during
several conjectures in history. When Iranians were angry at a regime that beat
the drum of Iranian-ness as the core of its legitimacy, they emphasised the
concept of Islam in opposition. They grew beards, flocked to the mosques, bought
rosaries and brought the mullahs out of the backyards of forgotten
neighbourhoods to oppose despotism based on nationalism. This time, Iranians are
emphasising the concept of Iran in opposition to a regime that wrongly claims
Islam as its source of legitimacy. This time, too, the fight is against
despotism, not religion. In other words, nothing has changed in Iranian
politics. The schizophrenia continues as does the despotism.
Obama’s Mosque
19/08/2010
By Diana Mukkaled
U.S President Barack Obama has entered the debate surrounding the establishment
of an Islamic Centre and mosque near Ground Zero in New York. This was enough to
transform the uproar surrounding this issue into a controversial debate on a
national level. It is true that Obama’s position appeared ambiguous, since he
initially said that he supported the Muslims' right to build the Islamic center,
but later added that he would not comment on the "wisdom" over the voice of the
mosque's location. However, his statements appear to be generally supportive of
this project. The fact that Obama issued these statements weeks before the
mid-term elections was enough to ignite this issue and cause heated political
and media confrontation which resulted in renewed attacks on the president and
his identity. The Republicans, associated groups and their media devoted
newspaper columns,opinion polls, and launched campaigns that aimed to undermine
the credibility of Obama and the Democrats in the build up to the mid-term
elections. As a result of this, commentators have returned to the issue of
Obama's roots, and the rumors that he is a Muslim.
However was Obama's position truly ambiguous, or was he trying to lessen the
blow of his initial statement [over the constitutional right of the Muslims to
build a mosque] with his second statement [over the wisdom of this mosque's
location] and the uproar that this would cause?
Did Obama withdraw his support for building this mosque [while asserting his
support for the constitutional right of it to be built] due to his fear over the
manner that the media would cover this? Not necessarily…
In his defense of the mosque construction, Obama said that "Muslims have the
same right to practice their religion as everyone else in this country. That
includes the right to build a place of worship and a community center on private
property in lower Manhattan, in accordance with local laws and ordinances. This
is America, and our commitment to religious freedom must be unshakable.”Perhaps
Obama has transformed this debate with his grace and wisdom, for this was the
first time that he emphasized the constitutional right – which is one of the
central pillars of the American system – to establish a social or religious
centre. Regarding his second statement, he questioned the ‘wisdom’ of the matter
without appearing to fight against or suppress this to the extent desired by the
US right-wing and Republicans. In other words, Obama aimed to put an end to the
debate by emphasizing the constitutional right for the mosque to be built,
however this is a debate that has remained ongoing in public opinion. The public
opinion pressure was sufficient to prompt the Imam of the proposed mosque to
include a memorial for the victims of the attacks, and to change the name of the
project. Obama has transformed the mosque debate from a controversial issue
between Muslims and non-Muslims in America, to a debate focusing on the very
heart of freedoms. The issue he raised relates to the sanctity of public
freedoms and respect for individual choices, rather than the identity or
location of the proposed religious centre. This transformation [of the debate]
will not be in the interests of two groups; firstly those in the American
right-wing who oppose the construction of the mosque because of its religious
identity, and secondly those Muslims who are hostile towards America and do not
tolerate its values. It doesn’t appear that many media outlets have picked up on
this, or have tried to draw attention to it, or at the very least debated it.
Barak urges Lebanon not to let Mariam sail
Saturday, August 21, 2010
Daily Star/BEIRUT: Transport and Public Works Minister Ghazi Aridi said Friday
that the government would not respond to a call from Israeli Defense Minister
Ehud Barak to prevent a Gaza-bound aid ship from sailing. The organizers of the
Mariam, a Lebanese ship carrying aid and women activists hoping to break
Israel’s Gaza blockade, have announced that the vessel would sail on Sunday from
Lebanon, despite warnings that they will not be allowed to make it past Cyprus.
The vessel has received permission from the Transport and Public Works Ministry
to sail to any country on its way to Gaza, as it cannot sail directly to Gaza.
Ehud Barak was quoted on Friday by Israeli newspaper Haaretz as saying that the
Mariam intended to aid terror organizations that aimed to “kill Israeli
civilians.” “The ship that is preparing to sail from Lebanon has nothing to do
with humanitarianism.” He urged the Lebanese government to prevent the ship from
leaving.
“If the ship insists on arriving, in opposition to the current blockade, Israel
will be forced to stop it and bring it to the port of Ashdod,” he added.
But later on Friday, Aridi told Al-Jadid television station that the vessel
would not head toward Cyprus because the Cypriot authorities did not grant it
permission. The minister said the issue had become more complicated, stressing
that the permission granted to the Mariam to sail to any port with which
Lebanese authorities dealt continued to be valid.