LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
ِDecember 10/2010

Bible Of The Day
The Good News According to Matthew 10/29-32: "Aren’t two sparrows sold for an assarion coin? Not one of them falls on the ground apart from your Father’s will, 10:30 but the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 10:31 Therefore don’t be afraid. You are of more value than many sparrows. 10:32 Everyone therefore who confesses me before men, him I will also confess before my Father who is in heaven. 10:33 But whoever denies me before men, him I will also deny before my Father who is in heaven.
 

Free Opinions, Releases, letters, Interviews & Special Reports
Wikileaks: Obvious US confusion over Syria/By: Tony Badran/December 09/10
A WikiLeaks warning to Damascus/By Michael Young/December 09/10
The Unsettling Failure of Airport Security Worldwide/By: W. Thomas Smith, Jr./December 09/10
US eases military pressure on Iran, tries concessions/DEBKAfile/December 09/10

Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources for December 09/10
Hackers paralyze Hezbollah-linked web site, Al-Akhbar, for publishing WikiLeaks cables/Haaretz
Sarkozy and Assad discuss Lebanon in Paris meeting/LBCI
STL Registrar: Hariri Assassination Indictment Soon/Naharnet
UN official: Hariri tribunal to publish conclusions weeks after first indictments/Haaretz
Feltman: WikiLeaks Cables on Lebanon Being Used to Sow Strife/Naharnet
U.S. House Votes for Anti-Hizbullah Missile Defense Aid for Israel /Naharnet
Mofaz Urges Sunnis to Unite: Hizbullah Would Take Over Lebanon Within 10 Years /Naharnet
Sfeir: Suspected spies should face trial or be freed/Daily Star
Hizbullah says Tribunal lacks legal basis/Daily Star
Mtein mayor demands re-trial in land dispute/Daily Star
Williams voices concern over Lebanon crisis/Daily Star
Lebanon, Syria ink deal to bolster cooperation on tourism/Daily Star
Harb: All Assassinations Interlinked, STL Only Chance to Solve Murder Cases /Naharnet
MP, Hbeich: Aoun's attack on security forces will not absolve Karam/iloubnan.info
Wikileaks: Kouchner warns 'prepare for war' with Iran/J.Post
Assad to hold talks on Lebanon with Sarkozy/Haaretz
Mitri: Iran Plays an Important and Positive Role in Lebanon /Naharnet
Al-Akhbar Under Cyber Attack /Naharnet
Zahra: March 8 Forces' Statements Indicate that Cabinet Won't be Held Soon /Naharnet
Fate of Cabinet Session Lies in Hand of Consensus Over False Witnesses /Naharnet
March 8 Says it Will Respect Results Reached by Cabinet over False Witnesses /Naharnet
Aoun: Solving False Witnesses File Lies in Changing the Government, its Policy and Approach /Naharnet
Geagea: Raad's Press Conference Step in Right Direction, We Have Prepared Ourselves for Indictment /Naharnet
Raad says STL Violation of Constitution, Accuses UN Investigators of Procrastination /Naharnet
March 14 is Adamant to Give Saudi-Syrian Initiative Chance to Succeed /Naharnet
Qaouq: U.S. Vetoing Syrian-Saudi Effort, False Witnesses File /Naharnet
Suleiman: Lebanese Nationalism-Arab Belonging Important in Nation Building /Naharnet
Lebanese Judge Demands 3-15 Years of Hard Labor for Fayez Karam/Naharnet

Mofaz Urges Sunnis to Unite: Hizbullah Would Take Over Lebanon Within 10 Years
Naharnet/Former Israeli Defense Minister Gen. Shaul Mofaz said Hizbullah was stronger than the Lebanese army and expected the Shiite party to control Lebanon in the next ten years.
In an interview with the Kuwaiti al-Rai daily, Mofaz said: "The Arab world and Gulf countries should ally themselves with moderate Sunni forces against Hizbullah and Iran which are trying to control the entire region and transform its (population) into Shiite."Mofaz, a lawmaker who previously served as Israel Defense Forces chief of staff and as defense minister, began on Tuesday his tenure as chairman of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee."Hizbullah is now stronger than the Lebanese army … and without any doubt it proved its existence and ability to control Lebanon within hours," the Israeli official said about the May 7, 2008 events."If things continue this way, I expect Lebanon to be transformed into a Shiite state within 5 to 10 years," he told al-Rai. "This will create a huge danger on Israel because Iran would have an advanced base" in Lebanon. Beirut, 09 Dec 10, 10:41

STL Registrar: Hariri Assassination Indictment Soon
Naharnet/The Special Tribunal for Lebanon's Acting Registrar Herman von Hebel stated on Thursday that he expects the court's prosecutor to file his first indictment "very, very soon."
Von Hebel gave no more details about the timing or content of the indictment, which will remain confidential until it is confirmed by a judge at the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, likely early in 2011. He spoke to a small group of reporters at the court's headquarters in Leidschendam in the Netherlands on Thursday, a day after the United Nations appointed him registrar for three years. He said that a trial could be staged around four to six months after an indictment is confirmed, a process that could take six to 10 weeks.
Earlier on Thursday, an STL spokesman said it will be weeks or even several months before the details of expected indictments are made public.
Crispin Thorold said the contents will remain confidential until confirmed by pre-trial Judge Daniel Fransen, which could take "at least six to 10 weeks" from the time the indictments are submitted. The court has kept silent on possible suspects, but several foreign media reports have said the STL has evidence that Hizbullah members were behind Hariri's assassination.
An Nahar newspaper asked STL Prosecutor Daniel Bellemare about the time the indictment will be issued. He reiterated what head of the tribunal bureau in Beirut Wajd Ramadan had previously said. "The Prosecutor will issue a statement when he submits the indictment," Bellemare quoted Ramadan as saying. Bellemare also advised the Lebanese to "avoid speculations" about the investigation into Hariri's murder.According to Thorold, once the indictments are submitted, it will be weeks before the names of the accused or any evidence against them is released publicly. During that time, the pre-trial judge will review the indictments and any supporting material and clarify any legal issues before confirming or dismissing all or part of the indictments.(AP-Naharnet) Beirut, 09 Dec 10, 15:25

U.S. House Votes for Anti-Hizbullah Missile Defense Aid for Israel
Naharnet/The U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday approved more than 200 million dollars to help Israel deploy a short-range anti-missile defense system called "Iron Dome."
The money was included in a catch-all spending bill covering government expenses in the fiscal year that began October 1, which cleared the House by a 212-206 margin and now heads to the Senate. "This is only the latest example that when it comes to defense, military, and intelligence cooperation, the relationship between the U.S. and Israel has never been stronger," said Democratic Representative Steve Rothman. Israel completed tests in January on its Iron Dome system, designed to intercept short-range rockets and artillery shells fired at Israel by Hamas and Hizbullah. The next phase is to integrate the system into the army. Israel hopes the Iron Dome will help counter rocket fire from the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip and from Lebanon.
"This funding sends a strong message, to both our enemies and allies, by providing more total dollars than ever before toward these rocket and missile defense programs," said Rothman, a key backer of the funding. Last week, An Israeli military unit showed off a new system to counter chemical attacks. It quickly measures temperature and wind direction to determine areas to evacuate and then feeds hospitals casualty assessments. The high-tech Lotem unit gave a rare exhibition of the technologies it has developed to protect against rocket attacks — one of Israel's main security fears. Hizbullah lobbed 4,000 rockets into Israel in 2006, and Hamas has launched thousands from Gaza. None of those rockets contained chemical warheads, but Israel claims neighboring states have them.(AFP-AP-Naharnet) Beirut, 09 Dec 10, 08:07

Feltman: WikiLeaks Cables on Lebanon Being Used to Sow Strife
Naharnet/U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Jeffrey Feltman expressed concern over cables released by WikiLeaks, saying the information might be used to sow strife in Lebanon. In a phone conference with Arab reporters in Washington, London and some Arab capitals, Feltman said he was afraid that some Lebanese nationalists would be harmed for cooperating with the U.S. for better ties between Washington and Beirut. Rejecting accusations by the March 8 forces that the WikiLeaks cables showed the international tribunal was politicized, the former U.S. ambassador to Lebanon said the problem was not in the court itself but in threats by some parties to resort to violence to obstruct the course of justice.
Feltman described the leaks as an "attack on the international community," saying they obstruct diplomatic work aimed at solving crises in different parts of the world.
The diplomat stressed that cables sent by U.S. embassies include primary and most of the time incomplete information that are added to other info before being submitted to decision-makers in Washington. Beirut, 09 Dec 10, 08:44

Judge Demands 3-15 Years of Hard Labor for Fayez Karam
Naharnet/First Military Investigative Magistrate Riyad Abu Ghida demanded 3-15 years of hard labor for retired Army Brig. Gen. Fayez Karam on Thursday. Karam was arrested in August on suspicion of spying for Israel. Beirut, 09 Dec 10, 14:56

Mitri: Iran Plays an Important and Positive Role in Lebanon
Naharnet/Information Minister Tareq Mitri stressed on Thursday that Iran wields a great influence in Lebanon, adding that the bilateral ties between the two countries has been bolstered through Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's visit to Lebanon and Prime Minister Saad Hariri's visit to the Islamic republic.The minister told IRNA: "Iran is a powerful and influential state that seeks to improve its ties with Arab states." He denied that Hariri's recent talks in Tehran addressed the Special Tribunal for Lebanon. Mitri added a hope that a meeting between Hariri and Hizbullah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah would take place soon because it "would demonstrate dialogue's ability to solve problems." Furthermore, he noted that such a meeting is bound reach agreement on how to avert unrest in Lebanon, as opposed to other "hollow meetings" between various officials that do not yield results.
Beirut, 09 Dec 10, 14:05

Harb: All Assassinations Interlinked, STL Only Chance to Solve Murder Cases
Naharnet/Minister Butros Harb said assassinations carried out following ex-Premier Rafik Hariri's murder were interlinked but expressed regret that the Lebanese judiciary and international investigators hadn't reached any results in MP Gebran Tueni's assassination case. Five years after Tueni's murder, the only answer that Harb got was that efforts are still underway to identify the culprits or the type and source of explosives used in the bomb blast, he told An Nahar daily in an interview published Thursday.Harb is the Tueni family's lawyer. "Lebanese judges weren't able to move forward with the investigation" because of lack of information, he said, adding he believed that the Lebanese probe won't lead to any result. However, Harb expressed optimism that the link between all assassinations would help Special Tribunal for Lebanon Prosecutor Daniel Bellemare take the Tueni case to the court after he issues his indictments in Hariri's case. Beirut, 09 Dec 10, 10:17

Zahra: March 8 Forces' Statements Indicate that Cabinet Won't be Held Soon
Naharnet/Lebanese Forces MP Antoine Zahra noted on Thursday that the March 8 forces' recent statements are a sign that Cabinet will not be held soon seeing as they are attempting to impose a certain schedule on President Michel Suleiman and Prime Minister Saad Hariri.He told Free Lebanon radio: "Imposing the false witnesses file as a priority during Cabinet will lead us to make more concessions and completely surrender to the other camp." Furthermore, he said that MP Mohammad Raad's press conference on Wednesday was a "direct admission that since day one, their policy of demanding the truth was simply aimed at humoring" the March 14 forces until the time was right for them to impose their views. "They never wanted to uncover the truth in former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri's assassination but they have simply been adopting a policy of containing their actions" during the previous phase in Lebanon, Zahra stressed. Beirut, 09 Dec 10, 13:41

Sfeir: Suspected spies should face trial or be freed
By The Daily Star
Thursday, December 09, 2010
BEIRUT: Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Butros Sfeir said Tuesday individuals arrested on suspicion of spying for Israel should be either put on trial or released if proven innocent. The prelate added that justice must be served if the suspects are found guilty. Sfeir made his remarks before a delegation of the detainees’ families who submitted its complaints to the patriarch condemning the alleged mistreatment of those arrested on suspicion of collaborating with the Mossad. Speaking on behalf of the delegation, Sofia Diab said violations against detainees included the extension of their arrest beyond 48 hours, banning lawyers from meeting their clients and subjecting suspects to torture during investigations.
“We express our regrets after hearing your statements, and if this is true then it is in violation of laws and justice and thus we demand that justice takes its course and those arrested should be put on trial and freed if proved innocent,” Sfeir said. “But if they are found guilty of harming the state then they should of course be punished and justice should take its course. This our demand and no one is demanding otherwise,” he added. The issue of violations by the Information Branch of the Internal Security Forces against those arrested on suspicion of collaborating with Israel follows a heated debate between the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) and the branch over the arrest of former General Fayez Karam.
Karam, a senior FPM official, was arrested in August on suspicion of spying for Israel’s intelligence services but the FPM hasargued that investigations by the Information Branch involved legal violations because the establishment of the branch was illegitimate. FPM officials also argue that political motives were behind Karam’s arrest by the Information Branch.
However, the judiciary, along with ISF officials, has refuted such claims, underlining that investigations were carried out in line with legal norms. – The Daily Star

Mtein mayor demands re-trial in land dispute
By The Daily Star
Thursday, December 09, 2010
BEIRUT: Mtein Mayor Zuheir Abi Nader said Wednesday his municipality held the right to file for a re-trial over the ownership of disputed territories between the municipalities of Mtein and Bteghrin in the district of Metn. “Does justice ever die?” Abi Nader asked in a news conference in response to remarks by Metn MP Michel Murr that the legal constitutional deadline allowing for a re-trial has expired. Murr said Sunday the Mtein municipality has lost the right to request a re-trial after a period of 60 days has passed following the Shura Council’s decision July 14, 2009 “to allow a re-trial within constitutional deadlines.” But Abi Nader said the Mtein municipal council did not file for a re-trial then, “knowing that Murr held considerable political influence to set the course of justice off-track.” “Everyone is aware that [Murr] under the period of [Syrian] hegemony was very powerful and he could have altered the course of judicial verdicts and even constitutional ones,” Abi Nader said. He added that the Interior Ministry issued in 1978 an illegal decision to strip the Mtein municipality of 10 million square meters and assign them to the Bteghrin municipality upon a demand submitted to the ministry by Murr’s private corporation. “Whereas all certificates and permits obtained by Murr’s corporation were issued by the Mtein municipality,” Abi Nader added. He also denied claims by Murr that street protests calling for the restoration of territories to the Mtein municipality served “defamation purposes against Murr and constituted criminal acts.” “The right to protest is sacred and guaranteed by the constitution,” Abi Nader said. Murr has accused Abi Nader of seeking to pressure the judiciary through political and media campaigns aimed at defaming him. “Everyone is aware that contrary to Murr’s claims, Mtein is incapable of putting pressure on anyone and the municipality wants to clarify that all political and media campaigns were carried out under the rule of law in a bid to serve justice,” Abi Nader said in regards to Murr’s remarks. – The Daily Star

LBCI: Sarkozy and Assad discuss Lebanon in Paris meeting
December 9, 2010 /French President Nicolas Sarkozy met with his Syrian counterpart, Bashar al-Assad, in Paris on Thursday to address the latest developments, including the current Lebanese situation. According to LBCI television, the two leaders also discussed bilateral relations as well as recent events in the Middle East. Assad began on Wednesday evening a working visit to France. The Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) quoted French Ambassador to Syria Eric Chevallier as saying that Sarkozy and Assad will discuss the Israeli-Arab peace process, regional stability, and Lebanese politics. Tensions have run high in Lebanon in recent months amid reports that the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) will soon issue an indictment in its investigation into former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri’s 2005 assassination. Media outlets have also speculated that Hezbollah members will be named in the indictment. Saudi and Syrian officials have reportedly been communicating in efforts to reach a compromise deal that would resolve tensions among Lebanese parties.
-NOW Lebanon

Hackers paralyze Hezbollah-linked web site for publishing WikiLeaks cables
Haaretz/09.12.10/WikiLeaks gave the the privately owned Al-Akhbar an advance copy of secret U.S. diplomatic documents, and the paper has been publishing the cables since last week.
By The Associated Press
Tags: Israel news WikiLeaks
The web site of a newspaper affiliated Lebanon's militant Hezbollah group has been shut down following a hacker attack, apparently over its publishing of leaked U.S. diplomatic cables, an editor with the daily said Thursday. Omar Nashabe said he doesn't want to speculate who is behind what he called the most serious attack on the Al-Akhbar newspaper since it was established in 2006. Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah speaks through a video link for the occasion of Jerusalem Day in the southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Friday, Sept. 3, 2010.
WikiLeaks gave the the privately owned Al-Akhbar an advance copy of secret U.S. diplomatic documents, and the paper has been publishing the cables since last week.
On Thursday, the paper published a document about corruption in the North African Arab nation of Tunisia. The U.S. memo focused on alleged corruption inside President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali's family. Last week, Al-Akhbar printed another diplomatic cable saying that Lebanese Defense Minister Elias Murr offered U.S. officials advice on how Israel could defeat Hezbollah in a future war. The memo also said Murr vowed to keep the Lebanese army out of the fighting. Murr's office denied he had made the comments, and said the report was out of context and inaccurate. Nashabe, the editor, said the paper is trying to reactivate the website and plans to investigate the attack. He says the website has been inaccessible since about 4 A.M. on Thursday.

UN official: Hariri tribunal to publish conclusions weeks after first indictments
Haaretz/ 08.12.10/By The Associated Press
A spokesman for the UN tribunal investigating the assassination of a former Lebanese prime minister said Wednesday it will be weeks or even several months before the details of expected indictments are made public.
.The Netherlands-based tribunal investigating the 2005 killing of Rafik Hariri in a massive Beirut truck bombing is expected to issue its first indictments as soon as this month.
But a court spokesman, Crispin Thorold, said that the contents will remain confidential until confirmed by the pretrial judge, which could take "at least six to 10 weeks" from the time the indictments are submitted.
The court has kept silent on possible suspects, but several foreign media reports have said the court has evidence that members of Hezbollah, the Syrian- and Iranian-backed Shiite militant group, were behind the assassination. That is raising fears of more violence in the fractured country.
Hariri, a Sunni Muslim who was Lebanon's most prominent politician in the years after the 1975-1990 civil war, might have made enemies by seeking in the last few months of his life to limit Syria's influence in the country, a legacy of the years of conflict.
Hezbollah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah has also said he expects members of his group to be indicted, but has accused the court of bias. The group has fiercely denied any role in the killing, and Nasrallah has said the group will cut off the hand of anyone who tries to arrest any of its members.
The group controls a military force more powerful than the national army and has broad political influence, including as part of the fragile governing coalition.
Speculation and tension over the tribunal have paralyzed the country. The Cabinet has not met since Nov. 10 and a national dialogue committee working for a defense strategy that could eventually integrate Hezbollah's weapons into the Lebanese regular armed forces has not met since last month when Hezbollah and its allies boycotted the talks.
Thorold, the tribunal spokesman, said that once the indictments are submitted, it will be weeks before the names of the accused or any evidence against them is released publicly.
During that time, the pretrial judge will review the indictments and any supporting material and clarify any legal issues before confirming or dismissing all or part of the indictments.
Hezbollah, meanwhile, continued its campaign to discredit the international tribunal. The head of Hezbollah's 12-member parliamentary bloc, Mohammed Raad, described it Thursday as "unconstitutional."
Hezbollah says the tribunal is not legal because Lebanon's Cabinet approved it in 2006 after the resignation of five Shiite ministers. Hezbollah and its allies say the government at the time was no longer legitimate because the constitution requires that "all sects should be justly represented in the Cabinet."

US eases military pressure on Iran, tries concessions
DEBKAfile Exclusive Report December 9, 2010
Shortly before the Six Power talks with Iran resumed this week, US President Barack Obama ordered the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier to withdraw from Gulf waters opposite Iran and redeploy in the Aegean Sea. This action signaled Washington's switch to diplomacy and the search for middle ground on the nuclear controversy with Iran through engagement, debkafile's US and military sources report.
The mighty carrier with more than 70 warplanes on its decks was accordingly instructed to exit the US Navy's Fifth Fleet Command which covers US military operations in the Persian Gulf, the Arabian Sea and the Red Sea and join the Sixth Fleet which is responsible for US naval and air activity in the Mediterranean and Black Seas.
Obama thus abandoned the military posture he adopted only six weeks ago to bring its rulers to heel by a buildup of naval strength opposite Iran's waters. It was then that he consigned the USS Abraham Lincoln to the Persian Gulf, raising the number of aircraft carriers deployed there to three, including the French Charles de Gaulle.
But the US president decided to change tactics before the new round of nuclear negotiations between the six powers ((US, Russia, UK, France, China and Germany) and Iran took off. By the time the delegations had sat down in Geneva Monday, Dec. 6, the Truman had been relocated to the big American naval base in Souda Harbor on the island of Crete. Only one carrier remains in the Persian Gulf, the Abraham Lincoln.
The visit Defense Secretary Robert Gates paid to Oman Sunday, Dec. 5 was another conciliatory gesture. Gates speaks for the administration faction opposed to US or Israeli military action against Iran's nuclear sites. His visit broadcast a message from the White House that the military option had been set aside in favor of engagement to which high hopes of progress toward solving the nuclear controversy were now attached .
When he visited the Lincoln the next day, Gates praised its crews' contribution to the Afghanistan and Iraq wars, but did not mention Iran.
The first day of the Geneva talks was taken up with an 80-minute harangue by Iran's lead negotiator Saad Jalili, which omitted mention of his country's nuclear projects, but railed instead against American and Israeli "crimes" of terrorist attacks on Iranian nuclear physicists.
The American delegate William J. Burns, Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, chose not to respond to those charges, a course emulated by the European Union's external affairs executive Catherine Ashton.
That first encounter yielded a single decision, to meet again in Istanbul. That was Washington's third concession to Tehran. It meant that after long objections to co-opting Turkey to the dialogue, the US had caved in. The six powers will in future face Iran much strengthened by the presence of its ally, Turkey


Williams voices concern over Lebanon crisis
By The Daily Star /Thursday, December 09, 2010
BEIRUT: United Nations Special Coordinator for Lebanon Michael Williams conveyed to Speaker Nabih Berri Tuesday the UN’s concern over the current stalemate in Lebanon.
“I reiterated the UN’s concern over the crisis that has put on hold the work of key the institutions of state,” Williams told reporters following talks with Berri in Ain al-Tineh.
Lebanese factions are deadlocked over the impending indictment to be issued by the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL), a UN-backed court tasked with trying those involved in the 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. The Cabinet has not met since November 10 after rival groups failed to reach an agreement over “false witnesses,” which the March 8 coalition accuses of having misled probes into the Hariri killing. “We continue to believe that all problems, no matter how sensitive, have to be resolved through dialogue and with all sides relying on state institutions,” Williams said. “And I believe strongly that this is also the view of His Excellency Speaker Nabih Berri.”
Berri and Williams’ meeting was also attended by the commander of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon Major General Alberto Cuevas-Asarta.
Williams said Asarta and he briefed Berri about their joint visit last week to Israel to discuss, in particular, the issue of a withdrawal of Israeli forces from the northern part of the village of Ghajar. Last month, the Israeli security cabinet announced its intention to pull out of the northern section of Ghajar, the part that falls north of the border Blue Line inside Lebanese territory and has been under Israeli occupation since the 2006 summer war. Ghajar straddles the border between Lebanon and Israeli-occupied Syrian territories.
“As you know,” Williams said, “in principle, the Israeli security cabinet has decided to accept the UN proposal for a withdrawal of the [Israeli Army] from northern Ghajar,” adding that “we believe this is an important development.”Williams said he explained to Berri that the withdrawal of the Israeli military from northern Ghajar “is but a first step toward resolving the status of Ghajar” so that Lebanese sovereignty is fully restored over all Lebanese territory and that also the humanitarian requirements of the villagers are met. Williams said he and Asarta would hold similar meetings with President Michel Sleiman and Prime Minister Saad Hariri in the course of the week. “We have much work left to do, but Speaker Berri, General Asarta and I all welcomed today the calm that has prevailed in south Lebanon for several months,” Williams added. – The Daily Star

Sleiman: Factions should cooperate, rather than coexist
President calls on Lebanese to face extremism or risk its dangers spreading
By The Daily Star
Thursday, December 09, 2010
BEIRUT: Lebanese factions in power should cooperate to serve national interests rather than just coexist, President Michel Sleiman has said. “The challenge is to incorporate all factions and religious sects in power allowing them to manage public affairs rather than just leaving them to coexist side by side,” Sleiman said at the opening of the ninth Arab Thought Foundation Wednesday. “This raises the extent of our responsibility as Lebanese and Arabs to successfully face a rise in extremism in the Middle East as well as Western voices doubting the possibility of our success under the multicultural model of governance that we adopted,” he added. The president added that cultural diversity was not the opposite of unity but a guarantee of freedom of speech against ideological constraints and pre-imposed convictions. “The dilemma between diversity and unity is not restricted to cultural issues but surpasses them to social and political issues,” he said. Sleiman warned that the dangers of extremism would affect all the Arab region and not only Lebanon, irrespective of states’ political systems and social make-up.
“Reconciliation between Arabism and Lebanese nationalism was upheld in our national pact similarly to the reconciliation between national movements in Arab states on the one hand and Arabism on the other hand,” the president said.
Sleiman highlighted the importance of promoting the development of Lebanese state institutions rather than reflecting regional conflicts while simultaneously upholding Arab national causes, in particular standing up to the Israeli enemy. He added that the conference highlighted Lebanon’s role as seen by the Arab world as being in the service of the Arab cultural renaissance.
“We host the conference while we call on the Lebanese at the same time to remain loyal to such a role: they ask questions, pave the way for the future and work toward bridging the gap between Arab states through dialogue and the exchange of ideas,” Sleiman said. The two-day event, which this year focuses on “Arab’s Role in Shaping the Future,” is taking place in Lebanon for the first time. The idea for the foundation was first aired in Beirut in 2000 when the capital acted as Arab Culture Capital, which made Beirut a natural base for the forum.
The annual conference brings together political and industry leaders from across the Arab region in a bid to promote openness to world cultures and civilizations, improve dialogue and bolster partnerships in the Arab world and beyond. – The Daily Star

Lebanon, Syria ink deal to bolster cooperation on tourism
Abboud encourages tourists to visit, insists that ‘security situation is stable’
By The Daily Star
Thursday, December 09, 2010
BEIRUT: Lebanon and Syria signed an agreement Wednesday to bolster coordination on tourism, as Lebanese Tourism Minister Fadi Abboud told those wishing to visit his country not to be deterred by the impending indictment of the Special Tribunal to Lebanon. Abboud held a joint press conference Wednesday with Syrian Tourism Minister Saadallah Agha in Damascus to discuss an upcoming tourism quartet meeting that will be held along with their counterparts from Turkey and Jordan. The meeting is expected to draw heavy representation from the private sector. “Public sector representatives aim to open doors and facilitate things, but actions and results come from the private sector,” said Abboud. He added that he hoped the meeting would lead to “touristic integration” between the four countries. Agha announced that the cooperative agreement had been signed, saying it would bolster coordination mechanisms between the two tourism markets. Agha added that 2.3 million Lebanese have entered Syria this year and 36 percent of these were travelers who were passing through Syria in order to reach other countries. He added that Lebanon has expressed an interest in adopting statistical models that Syria has been using since 2002.
“It behooves us to assure [Syria] that the world is well. We invite all our Syrian brothers to spend the holidays in Lebanon. Because there is no disorder in Lebanon and we won’t be knocking on the political issue,” said Abboud.
In similar comments late Tuesday, Abboud tried to dispel concerns over potential instability in Lebanon. “As the Tourism Ministry, we’re prepared to receive all tourists to Lebanon, especially since the Lebanese are not fighting against one another, and the security situation is stable. Contrary to all the political reports that tourists hear, I convey to you from the ministry a warm welcome … and invite you to enjoy the holiday season to the utmost extent,” he said. Abboud’s comments came during a dinner event that Tourism Ministry employees held to mark the holiday season. The minister said the team had expressed preparedness to embark on plans to revamp the ministry’s functions.
Earlier this year, Abboud announced that the ministry had enlisted the services of the international quality assurance group, Bureau Veritas, to integrate quality classification systems in the entirety of Lebanon’s hospitality sector. The ministry also plans to construct rest houses at land border crossings, and to expand the capacity of Rafik Hariri International Airport to better manage air traffic during peak seasons. The Tourism Ministry generates more cash inflows than any other ministry in Lebanon. Abboud said, however, that a convoluted government bureaucracy prevents the ministry from reaping the benefits and seeking expansion. Abboud has projected that revenues from tourism in 2010 would total $8 billion, representing a considerable leap from last year’s revenues, which neared $7.2 billion. “There is nobody who believes more in the role of the public sector than me,” Abboud said. – The Daily Star

A WikiLeaks warning to Damascus
By Michael Young
Daily Star
Thursday, December 09, 2010
A diplomatic cable obtained by WikiLeaks and released exclusively by The Daily Star earlier this week helps illustrate the precariousness of Syria’s position, as it instructs its allies to push the Lebanese government to discuss the matter of “false witnesses.”
In the cable, written in 2006, Jeffrey Feltman, the US ambassador to Lebanon, reported that the head of the United Nations International Independent Investigative Commission (UNIIIC), Serge Brammertz, had told him the following: “Syria has five different security apparatuses. I can’t imagine that an order came down from [President Bashar Assad] and worked its way through all the security services and until they killed Hariri.” Brammertz then clarified that thought: “If anything, you probably had one security service involved, and the order came from on high and, how high, we’ll have to figure out.”
What Brammertz appeared to be saying was fairly straightforward, for those who recall the security hierarchy at the time in Damascus. Aside from admitting that he was focusing on Syrian involvement in the assassination of Rafik Hariri, the commissioner was making an operational observation: It was likely one Syrian security service that had taken part in the crime, by which Brammertz probably meant military intelligence, at the time headed by Assad’s brother in law. The commissioner was merely declaring it unlikely that the entire gamut of Syrian intelligence services were in on the killing of the former Lebanese prime minister; and he was uncertain how far up the chain of command the order to eliminate Hariri had come from.
Far from being a declaration of Syrian innocence, the cable confirms that in 2006 UNIIIC was still convinced that Syria had participated in the Hariri assassination. Sources in UNIIIC have since corroborated this, as did, implicitly, Brammertz’s first report issued in March 2006. The commissioner wrote in the document that investigators believed “there is a layer of perpetrators between those who initially commissioned the crime and the actual perpetrators on the day of the crime, namely those who enabled the crime to occur.”
If we assume, as we must, that the perpetrator was a suicide bomber; and if the prosecutor of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, Daniel Bellemare, indicts Hizbullah members for having enabled the crime, that still does not answer who commissioned the crime. It was precisely on that question that Brammertz was exchanging views with Feltman, and his remarks, if we are to believe the cable leaked by WikiLeaks, shows in what direction he hoped to point the finger.
But then he never did. However, the Syrians are not reassured. They realize that although Bellemare’s initial indictments might not touch them, there are no guarantees that subsequent indictments will not do so if the trial opens up new investigative avenues. No one in Damascus can be certain of what lies ahead. There is much testimony in Bellemare’s files collected by the first UNIIIC commissioner, Detlev Mehlis, pointing in the direction of Syria, even if the relative lack of progress during Brammertz’s term creates serious doubts about whether Bellemare would have enough to draft solid indictments.
The Syrians appear to be pursuing two simultaneous objectives with the aim of reviving their supremacy in Lebanon: acceptance by the Lebanese government of measures casting doubt on the credibility of the tribunal for the period after indictments are issued; and avoidance of a debilitating Lebanese confrontation over the tribunal before the legal accusations come out, because Damascus grasps that the indictments would allow it to play Prime Minister Saad Hariri and Hizbullah off against each other, to Syria’s own advantage.
That appears to be one reason why the Syrians have instructed the speaker of Parliament, Nabih Berri, to undermine efforts by President Michel Sleiman to deal with the “false witnesses” file in the national dialogue sessions. The president wants to buy time, but the Syrian gambit doesn’t allow for much time. And the last thing Bashar Assad wants is for his Lebanese counterpart to act as an effective mediator between the Lebanese, because he covets that role for himself.
Syrian intentions continue to be a matter of debate. Recently, the Syrian deputy foreign minister, Faysal Mekdad, told a Kuwaiti newspaper that Syria had no intention of returning to Lebanon militarily, “no matter how difficult the situation becomes.” There seemed more than a hint of sour grapes and menace in that phrase, against the backdrop of Walid Jumblatt’s statements that if there is instability in Lebanon, the return of the Syrian army would be desirable. Syria would relish the opportunity to bring its soldiers back. The problem is that virtually everyone opposes this, including in all probability Iran and Hizbullah, who have extensive control over the commanding heights of Lebanon’s major security institutions.
Sleiman’s performance is another Syrian preoccupation. Because of the polarization in Lebanon, room has been created for the president to fill the vacuum. However, his leading ministers have taken hits lately. Interior Minister Ziad Baroud has been criticized by pro-Hariri politicians, while Elias Murr has had to fend off criticism for indirectly offering advice to Israel in the event it attacked Lebanon – information contained in a US cable leaked to the pro-Hizbullah Al-Akhbar. Sleiman is the vulnerable man in the middle, and everyone is trying to shove the president in one direction or the other, reminding him that his share in any new government might be reduced.
It’s an upward climb for Syria in Lebanon. The Feltman cable, though it tells us nothing we didn’t know, will concentrate minds in Damascus, where the urge to both undermine the tribunal and use it as a lever to enhance Syrian influence in Beirut has imposed a subtle balancing act. Mekdad stated that Syria didn’t seek a military return to Lebanon, but he omitted any mention of a political return. Michel Sleiman’s isolation underscores the significance of that exclusion. **Michael Young is opinion editor of THE DAILY STAR and author of “The Ghosts of Martyrs Square: An Eyewitness Account of Lebanon’s Life Struggle” (Simon & Schuster).

Hizbullah says Tribunal lacks legal basis
MP Raad says he hopes Saudi-Syrian mediation will break deadlock over court
By Wassim Mroueh
Daily Star staff
Thursday, December 09, 2010
BEIRUT: Hizbullah’s top MP, Mohammad Raad, said Wednesday that the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) was founded on unconstitutional basis, but he held out hope for Syrian-Saudi efforts to resolve the political deadlock paralyzing the country.
“The mechanism by which the international tribunal was set up has transcended the Lebanese government and its Constitution,” Raad, who heads Hizbullah’s Loyalty to the Resistance bloc, told a news conference.
“It was rushed by the illegitimate Cabinet of Fouad Siniora without being ratified in line with the Constitution and within constitutional norms. The agreement was not signed by the president and it was not endorsed by Parliament as well,” he added.
But the lawmaker said that Arab efforts to reach an understanding to achieve a consensual Lebanese agreement over the disputed court were ongoing.
“Chances for a settlement do exist, we do not consider that things are over … we hope we will reach positive results very soon,” he said.
Syria and Saudi Arabia have been trying to reach a compromise over the STL – established by the UN to try the assassins of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri – acceptable to March 8 and March 14 coalitions.
The Arab efforts have slowed down after Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdel-Aziz suffered a slipped disk.
But a senior political source close to the March 8 coalition told The Daily Star that Saudi-Syrian efforts have revived and that the first draft of a compromise was laid down, noting that it would tackle the position from the STL, its impending indictment, the functions of the Lebanese Cabinet along with other problematic issues and political mechanisms in the country.
The source said that Prince Abdel-Aziz bin Abdullah was holding intensive contacts over the matter with Syrian President Bashar Assad.
But the same source said that if the indictment was handed down before Arab efforts bear fruit, such compromise would not be possible anymore.
Meanwhile, Raad said that “a politicized tribunal that does not abide by the highest standards of justice and that transcended the Lebanese Constitution and was created in line with international interests away from the interests and will of the Lebanese cannot be trusted to serve justice.”
“We will not be surprised that it will facilitate international tutelage over Lebanon and its security and stability,” he added.
Raad addressed a news conference called for at Parliament to “shed light on the legal basis of the STL, and touch on the ambiguities and problems in its structure, methodology and rules of conduct.”
The news conference is part of several steps Hizbullah has taken to discredit the STL, which is widely expected to indict Hizbullah members. Hizbullah denies involvement in the assassination.
Raad’s news conference sparked a number of reactions from March 14 officials. Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea said the conference was “a step in the right direction.”
“We live within a democratic system, and every party, group and leader has the right to express his opinion,” he told Ash-Sharq radio station.
Meanwhile, the March 14 General Secretariat said the news conference aimed at targeting the STL and its indictment.
“Some politicians continue their media appearances that render nothing new and fall within the frame of targeting the indictment and the Special Tribunal for Lebanon in advance and go too far in repealing what they have agreed upon and especially in the Cabinet’s policy statement,” it said in a statement after its weekly meeting.
Retired Judge Salim Jreisati, who spoke during Raad’s news conference, detailed a number of legal flaws in the STL. He explained that the mechanism by which the STL was approved in Lebanon had gone beyond the president’s prerogatives “to initiate negotiations over international agreements,” along with those of Parliament.
The issue of “false witnesses” was also raised. But Jreisati said that rule 152 of STL’s Rules of Procedures and Evidence identified the procedures to be followed in punishing “false witnesses” who gave false testimonies after making their oath before the investigative judge.
Jreisati noted that the STL had chosen March 20, 2009, to put its rules into practice, while false testimonies were reportedly given before this date.
“This time division is not permitted due to the inseparability of investigation periods and its interrelation with the trial procedure,” Jreisati said.
Hizbullah argues that the key to revealing truth over Hariri’s murder lies in probing witnesses who gave false testimonies to the United Nations International Independent Investigation Commission, which was later turned over to the STL.
The March 14 coalition believes the matter should be addressed after the STL issues its indictment.
The STL had earlier announced it had no jurisdiction to look into the issue of “false witnesses.”
Jresati also noted that the STL’s investigations violated the principle of secrecy, stipulated by Article 53 of the Lebanese code of penal procedures.
Meanwhile, Raad said that Bellemare’s office had requested comprehensive reports about many Lebanese from Lebanese security agencies and official institutions.
“For example, the data of cellular telecommunications and text messages [are requested] and updated periodically,” Raad said.
“What does the data of all the Lebanese people have to do with the international investigation?” he asked, adding that it was unknown to what side does such information end up going to.
Jreisati said the memorandums of understandings signed between Lebanon and the UN over the STL did not stipulate that such data should be handed over.
He said the move violated the privacy of the Lebanese people which should be protected in line with the Constitution.
Raad said that STL was relying “on circumstantial rather than definite evidence.”
“Circumstantial evidence falls in the lowest category of evidence, because it is subject to mistakes or fraud and it does not count as definite evidence, and it can also be easily challenged,” said Jreisati.
Finally, Jresiati and Raad discredited the validity of using telecommunications as evidence based in the impending indictment as is rumored.
“The telecommunications evidence is circumstantial par excellence, and telecommunications experts have proven that data can be manipulated and fake telecommunications can be fabricated from different geographical locations… it is legally unqualified evidence” said Jreisati.
Jresati noted that under article 18 of the STL agreement signed between Lebanon and the international community, the Lebanese government could contest any matter related to the STL.
Raad said Hizbullah has raised some of its concerns over the STL while meeting with representatives from the body on March 30, 2010, but he said the party received no answers.


The Unsettling Failure of Airport Security Worldwide
W. Thomas Smith, Jr.
December 9, 2010
http://www.familysecuritymatters.org/publications/id.8120/pub_detail.asp
Family Security Matters.org
With all the recent hoopla over the Transportation Security Administration’s (TSA), airport security-screening procedures – one side justifiably arguing they’re being unreasonably groped and prodded, the other side saying they’re being unfairly targeted because they fit the physical, stereotypical terrorist profile – the fact remains airport security is flawed here in the U.S. And international airports are far worse than what most Americans might imagine.
Over the past several weeks, we’ve received reports from several sources – traveling regularly to-and-from the Middle East, Europe and Africa – of complete security bypasses, particularly in Beirut (where Hizballah literally controls airport security), Cairo (on flights bound for Europe and the Americas), and, in fact, many African countries (in addition to Egypt), through which terrorists regularly transit.
According to one source, in both Beirut and Cairo, security guards are frequently too busy chit-chatting to effectively observe travelers, much less monitor the luggage x-ray screen. And in some instances, guards are easily bought-off with cash.
At Beirut-Rafik Hariri International Airport it gets worse. Hizballah, which is in charge of airport security (Remember, Hizballah fought a bloody battle with the Lebanese government in May 2008 when the government attempted to remove the airport security chief from his post. After much fighting, the government conceded. The security chief kept his position.), allows Iranian and Hizballah travelers to move freely – unimpeded by security – at the same airport used by all international travelers to-and-from Lebanon.
Dr. Walid Phares, director of the Future of Terrorism Project at the Washington, D.C.-based Foundation for Defense of Democracies, says the airport – “under direct control of Syrian intelligence” after 1976, then in the 1980s, Hizballah, which has increased its grip on the international hub since 2008 – is controlling “in camouflage.”
According to Phares – author of the new book, The Coming Revolution: Struggle for Freedom in the Middle East – Hizballah’s “elements” are present, but “in civilian clothing,” and all security particulars are controlled by Hizballah.
“The chiefs of the organization claim this grip is due to the intense activities of their enemies, the Israelis,” he says. “In reality, Hizballah controls the airport on behalf of the Iranian and Syrian regimes to monitor the travel of both local opposition to this axis as well as European and American travelers.”
Phares adds, “There are multiple tales about Hizballah and Syrian use of the airport as a monitoring station but also as a passage for their assets into and outside the country.”
Cairo may be just as bad. According to the Kuwaiti newspaper Alseyassah, a delegation from the TSA is in Cairo this week evaluating Egyptian airport security. It’s an annual evaluation says Alseyassah. But it’s window dressing according to one source who has flown to Cairo in the last few weeks, and says “the airport security guards will look the other way for five bucks.”
Cairo is actually “the better” of many African airports where security guards are frequently described as “lax” and “corrupt.”
Another close source, a U.S. Defense Dept. advisor, who frequently travels to and from the African continent, says, “It's not so much corrupt and lax, especially if you know someone or are a supposedly important person.”
The problem is that in many African airports there seems to be no security whatsoever.
This particular source, whom we’ll refer to as “Mr. A,” recently logged “about ten flights” over a three-week period, including one wherein he flew to Europe enroute to the U.S. “Because I was a VIP, I skipped the airport terminal altogether and went to the VIP terminal from where a bus took us to the plane at boarding time,” he says. “Not once did I go through any sort of screening. On my flight to Europe, I was with [two VIPs, an American and a Brit], but there were also well-connected Africans who left via the VIP lounge. Not one of us had any screening.”
Mr. A adds that a trusted foreign-national employed by the U.S. government collected Mr. A’s bags and passport from the hotel, drove Mr. A to the airport, checked Mr. A in, presented a boarding pass to Mr. A. Then Mr. A and another VIP took a car to the VIP lounge and waited for their flight.
“While we were obviously fine, one wonders about the Africans in the VIP building,” says Mr. A. “I imagine that our underwear bomber would have been considered a VIP given that his old man (who turned him in) was a billionaire. Imagine if dad had supported his extremism.”
I also spoke with retired CIA operations officer Clare Lopez (a member of the U.S. Counterterrorism Advisory Team and a senior fellow with the Washington, D.C.-based Center for Security Policy) – who regularly briefs Defense Dept. agencies and sections.
According to Lopez, security at international airports is indeed a problem – far more serious than one might imagine – but so is domestic airport security.
“The American people are justifiably furious at the outrageous behavior of TSA airport security employees, who lately have been subjecting the flying public to the kind of invasive groping that would be called sexual assault in any other setting,” Lopez tells me and then reports on Seeking Reason, a political blog. “Were TSA's official ‘pat down’ procedures even minimally effective at what its leadership claims to be their purpose – airline attack deterrence – there might be less reason for complaint. But they're not.”
Lopez adds, the problem stems from “the obdurate refusal of TSA chief, John Pistole, as well as his boss, DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano, to acknowledge just who it is that has been launching plot after plot against the U.S. airline industry. … Our enemy is all who work to impose Islamic law (shariah) whether by violence or stealth. Death by a thousand cuts, economic overload, constitutional gridlock, and national leadership failure are all part of that process. P.S. They're winning.”
What’s the answer? Lopez says, “Until our national security leadership goes after the enemy and the enemy's ideology, not the enemy's paraphernalia, Americans will never be safe from Islamic jihad.”
*W. Thomas Smith Jr. is a former U.S. Marineinfantry leader and shipboard counterterrorism instructor, who writes about military/defense issues and has covered conflict in the Balkans, on the West Bank, in Iraq and Lebanon. Visit his website at uswriter.com.

Wikileaks: Obvious US confusion over Syria
Tony Badran, December 9, 2010
Now Lebanon/US envoy Jeffrey Feltman briefs reporters after meeting with Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem in Damascus on March 7, 2009. (APF/ Louai Beshara)
WikiLeaks’ ongoing release of classified US State Department cables is providing a behind-the-scenes look at the workings of Washington’s dysfunctional Syria policy. Although there’s little in there that we didn’t already know or predict, the cables paint a frustrating picture of confusion and impotence in the face of the contempt of a terror-sponsoring, extortionist regime.
The latest batch of cables, also published by US newspaper The New York Times and British daily The Guardian, cover a couple of important stops in the course of the “engagement” process with the Syrians that give an insight into what has plagued this failed US policy.
The cables relate the discussions that senior US officials held with the Syrians over the course of a year, starting in March 2009, when Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Jeffrey Feltman and National Security Council official Daniel Shapiro made the first trip to Damascus.
This was back when the Obama administration was still flying high on its quasi-theological principle that it was incumbent on the US to build confidence and “goodwill” with the rogue regimes it intended to “engage.” The assumption was that the Bush administration had so damaged US standing in the “Muslim world” that a show of humility and respect was critical for America to restore its stature. In other words, what had prevented progress in US diplomacy was the attitude of the US itself, which now would be rectified, and would thus open doors for diplomatic breakthroughs with regional adversaries.
Shapiro apparently brought that guiding principle with him to Damascus, where he explicitly demonstrated this conviction by offering a mea culpa to the Syrians, reassuring them that “the US had publicly recognized its mistakes, e.g. the use of torture methods, and would continue to take steps.” That he chose the issue of “torture methods” in particular to prove America’s bona fides to a regime notorious for its brutality is sure to make any sober reader cringe, just as it undoubtedly must have made the Syrians smirk with smug satisfaction.
Needless to say, none of this made any difference with the Syrians, neither did the platitudes made after that trip about how there was common ground between the two sides that could be pursued. More recent cables, recounting meetings almost one year later involving discussions with State’s Coordinator for Counterterrorism Daniel Benjamin show how this too was a mirage.
The US administration had convinced itself that cooperation on counterterrorism, especially in Iraq, would be an obvious shared interest with the Syrians. After all, the Syrians themselves kept selling this as a prime avenue for fruitful engagement – leaving aside the fact that for the previous seven years, they had sheltered terror networks operating in Iraq.
Of course, the Syrians saw things very differently. For instance, before Benjamin’s visit, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad flatly told a visiting congressional delegation that he “won’t give it [intelligence cooperation]… for free.” So much for the self-evident Syrian interest in clamping down on terrorist networks using Syrian soil.
That this was nothing but the typical Syrian shakedown became rather evident in the meeting with Benjamin, as the Syrians began demanding all kinds of things and placing conditions and timetables on any action on their part. The US had to first prove its goodwill, Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Faysal Moqdad and Syrian General Intelligence Director Ali Mamlouk told Benjamin, by lifting sanctions and by removing Syria from the list of state sponsors of terrorism, among other things. And, to be sure, there would be no cooperation on Iraq until after the Iraqi elections in March – whose outcome the Syrians tried to affect through a series of major terrorist attacks designed to destroy Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki politically.
Moreover, Moqdad and Mamlouk explained that there could be no real cooperation without a “political umbrella.” Rather than seeing this attitude as clear evidence of the absence of any serious common ground – clearly the Syrians didn’t feel this posed an imminent “challenge” to them, as the administration posited – Benjamin instead felt it more appropriate to recite another of the administration’s doctrines, agreeing with Moqdad and Mamlouk, and noting that “unlike its predecessor,” the Obama administration “recognized that progress in bilateral relations would involve coordinated moves in a number of areas.”
Somehow, emphasizing how different the Obama administration was from its predecessor was deemed a necessary priority here, as though US policy had been the problem, and not Syria’s actions.
This is not even to mention that the Syrians do not include their support for groups like Hezbollah and Hamas as part of counterterrorism cooperation. On that point, the US preferred to “agree to disagree” and leave it at that. In fact, US Charge d’Affaires in Damascus Charles Hunter wondered in a cable about the wisdom of focusing too much on the Hezbollah angle at this point. “[S]ending US officials to focus on Syrian relations with Hezbollah could distract significantly from our efforts to build a cooperative foothold,” he wrote. After all, Hunter added, such a focus “could further set back our efforts to re-energize the engagement process.”
With so much fruitful cooperation from Damascus, who would want to jeopardize such a good thing? And so, save for a rather timid demarche , no action was taken against Syrian armament of Hezbollah with increasingly sophisticated weaponry.
The WikiLeaks cables on Syria confirm the obvious – that the US administration’s focus has been on the kind of meek missionary work that has defined the Syria policy to date, and which revolves around “challenging Syrian assumptions” and showing them where their “real” interests lie.
The cables reveal a State Department with only a vague idea of what they would like to see from Syria, and an even more confused set of ways to advance those interests. For his part, Assad never had any interest in Washington's view of what his “real interests" should be, irrespective of all the ill-conceived displays of American "humility."
***Tony Badran is a research fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.

Michel Aoun
December 8, 2010
Change and Reform bloc leader MP Michel Aoun in a press conference following the bloc’s weekly meeting:
We discussed four important issues. First, the finance file and the scandals resulting from the [parliamentary] budget and finance commission’s study. Second, Israeli infiltration into the telecommunications network – [this is a central issue]. It is clear to us that there is the directorate of internal security and the directorate of general security, and neither of them have an assistant director-general like the army , having the power to oversee whatever goes on in the directorate and take his [superior’s post if necessary]. This is a mistake in the structure of the Internal Security Forces [ISF] and also in the General Security. The fourth issue is the leaks from WikiLeaks and their results. Those whose names appeared [in the leaks] should be summoned and questioned about what happened. My name appeared and I am ready to give my testimony.
[Internal Security Forces head] General [Achraf] Rifi is fighting an electoral battle. Delegations and MPs began visiting him, and today they moved to Beirut. We know today that today the mafia has entered them. Rifi says that there is an agent, while he has not issued charges against him. He must understand the law and abide by it. The procedural law of the courts was made for men, not for angels, and [men] have rights. No law permits detention [without charge] from the moment of the arrest until trial. There is [the principle of] investigative secrecy, but there have been leaks from the [Internal Security Forces] Information Branch [investigation of retired General Fayez Karam]. This is an arbitrary detention and the responsibility lies with the Information Branch, ISF Director-General [Achraf Rifi], and the judiciary that has legitimated this. Either we live in a state or a jungle.
There are legislative clauses that are not be applied in [Karam’s] detention and investigation, [for example] regarding the doctor who is supposed to accompany the detainee. The law permits the ISF to detain [someone] for 48 hours, and if necessary extending to 72 hours. Fayez Karam has been in detention for 69 days. He has not been allowed medical treatment. When his blood pressure dropped he was not taken to the hospital. Today they accuse us of defending [Israeli] agents. They should look at themselves first. Everything they are doing with Karam requires the annulment of the investigation. A person [can be considered an] agent only after the accusation has been proven against him.
Yesterday someone came out and said that we are agents ourselves and protect agents. They should look at themselves before talking. They are the ones who should be tried. Similarly, there are matters related to violence [in the investigation] that we have confirmed. Regarding the leaks from the Information Branch, especially regarding the report broadcast on August 8, we made a complaint against the television station. This leak came from Information Branch head Colonel Wissam al-Hassan. Whoever says ‘agent’ again, we will denounce him. We will not accept anyone being called an agent before trial. We will call on the opposition’s central members to see what we are doing on these four very important issues, especially regarding the telecom networks.
In the US, there is a big battle and controversy. The WikiLeaks leaks were done by the administration because of a political struggle over political values. The section that enjoys some humanity and wants the US to be a model for dealing with the world – that is who leaked the information.
If a state cannot send a false witness to the judiciary, it means that there is no state. Is the false witnesses issue being set against the whole interest of the citizens? They are giving cover to the false witnesses and have no right to talk about the matter. Where do they want to end up? We tell them about 5 billion missing dollars and they say it is a technical error. What then is theft and waste? Our colleagues in the opposition are following Syrian-Saudi efforts and talking to us whenever there are developments.
We believe that General Karam was the victim of a plot unless investigation proves an accusation that he is tried for. The issue is tied to the investigation’s conduct. Let us look at the documents and evidence. The way Karam has been dealt with voids the investigation that has occurred and leads to the opening of a new investigation. They are taking a person and telling him he is condemned, beating him. He confesses under this pressure. This government is unsuitable and its path should be changed completely.