LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN

LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
ِOctober 02/2010

Bible Of The Day
Matthews12/38-45: " Then certain of the scribes and Pharisees answered, �Teacher, we want to see a sign from you.� 12:39 But he answered them, �An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, but no sign will be given it but the sign of Jonah the prophet. 12:40 For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the whale, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. 12:41 The men of Nineveh will stand up in the judgment with this generation, and will condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, someone greater than Jonah is here. 12:42 The queen of the south will rise up in the judgment with this generation, and will condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, someone greater than Solomon is here. 12:43 But the unclean spirit, when he is gone out of the man, passes through waterless places, seeking rest, and doesn�t find it. 12:44 Then he says, �I will return into my house from which I came out,� and when he has come back, he finds it empty, swept, and put in order. 12:45 Then he goes, and takes with himself seven other spirits more evil than he is, and they enter in and dwell there. The last state of that man becomes worse than the first. Even so will it be also to this evil generation.�

Free Opinions, Releases, letters, Interviews & Special Reports
Hezbollah Deputy Secretary General Sheikh Naim Qassem/Interview with the LBC/October 01/10
Dangerous delusions/Tony Badran/October 01/10
Apocalypse now? Maybe not/Michael Young/October 01/10
The STL is not going away/Now Lebanon/October 01/10
Ahmadinejad should hear the other views/By Jamil K. Mroue/October 02/10

Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources for October 01/10
Netanyahu supports continued talks: We have a mission for peace/J.Post
Bellemare Appeals against Fransen's Ruling on Sayyed's Request for Documents on Interrogations of False Witnesses/Naharnet
Abul Gheit: No World Power Can Stop STL or Annul Indictment/Naharnet
ISF Denies Alleged Security Source Remarks that Hariri is Convinced Hizbullah Killed His Father, Al-Akhbar Hits Back/Naharnet
Susan Rice: STL Cannot be Subject to a Settlement and it Should Go on/Naharnet
Indictment to be Issued 'Very, Very Soon,' Arab Embassy/Naharnet
Sayyed Appeals to STL Urgently Demanding it to Reject Bellemare's Request/Naharnet
Qassem: We Won't Start Civil Strife, But We'll End It, By Any Means Necessary, If Others Start/Naharnet
Soaid: Ahmadinejad Visit a Provocation/Naharnet
Acts of Violence Prepared against Iranian Interests to Coincide with Ahmadinejad's Lebanon Visit, Report /Naharnet
Ahmadinejad visit a 'provocation': Lebanon alliance/AFP
March 14 suspicious of Ahmadinejad visit/Daily Star
Row over UN tribunal may lead Lebanon into political impasse/Monsters and Critics.com
Hezbollah says Lebanon PM can fend off tribunal blame/AFP
Syria, via its Ambassador, Calls for Dialogue to Solve Crisis over Tribunal Indictment /Naharnet
Hariri Holds Talks with Syrian, Spanish Ambassadors /Naharnet
Suleiman Likely to Postpone Discussing Article on STL Funding to a Later Date /Naharnet
Saudi Ambassador Urges Lebanon to Put Plan to Deal with Hariri Tribunal Indictment/Naharnet
MP Farid Habib responds to Qassem/Now Lebanon
LF to Qassem: Submit your information to judiciary/Now Lebanon
Tourism Minister Fadi Abboud says he has no data of LF armament/Now Lebanon

March 14 suspicious of Ahmadinejad visit
Iranian leader�s upcoming trip sparks controversy in Lebanon
By The Daily Star /Naharnet
Friday, October 01, 2010
BEIRUT: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad�s visit to Lebanon in mid-October drew controversy among Lebanese rival political groups particularly with regard to the agenda of the trip and its objectives amid rising tensions between Hizbullah and March 14 parties over the UN-backed Tribunal.
But Iranian Ambassador to Lebanon Ghazanfar Roknabadi said Ahmadinejad�s upcoming visit aims to help promote unity among the Lebanese.
Following a meeting with Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblatt Thursday, Roknabadi said Iran stood alongside Lebanon as well as its �resistance, people, army and government� and stressed the need for Lebanese political parties to stand united to avoid falling into Israeli traps.
�The Islamic Republic of Iran stands by Lebanon and justice, wherever they are,� he said in remarks published by the An-Nahar newspaper Friday. �Iran�s national stands are well known. Those stands are based on both Islamic basis and national interest,� Roknabadi added.
But March 14 parties expressed concern over the Iranian president�s visit because he considers Lebanon �an Iranian base on the Mediterranean.�
�The [March 14] secretariat regards with much caution and suspicion the visit of the Iranian president to Lebanon, due to his anti-peace stances and his insistence on considering Lebanon an Iranian base on the Mediterranean coast,� a statement said after a meeting of the alliance.
Earlier this month, Roknabadi had announced Ahmadinejad would visit Beirut in mid-October to discuss with Lebanese officials the latest regional and international developments.
Ahmadinejad�s visit is his first to Lebanon as president, and comes at a time of increased tension in Beirut in the run up to the STL indictments, which Hizbullah said are aimed at implicating its members in former Premier Rafik Hariri�s assassination in 2005.
Media reports said protests that might take place during Ahmadinejad�s visit to Lebanon raised fears of sparking confrontations between rival Lebanese groups.
Other reports said the Iranian president�s planned tour in southern Lebanon, particularly on the Lebanese-Israeli border, could instigate tensions and provoke Israel.
Lebanese political sources said they expect Ahmadinejad to visit Bint Jbeil, a bastion of Hizbullah and a border village that was heavily bombed during the July 2006 war.
Iran�s envoy has met Lebanese officials in the run-up to Ahmadinejad�s visit, expressing Tehran�s willingness to support Lebanon�s energy and business sectors.
Iran has also offered to help Lebanon�s military after a clash between the Lebanese and Israeli armies in August sparked Israeli concern that weapons provided by Western countries were being used against Israel.
But Iran�s proposed military aid, which Ahmadinejad could raise with Lebanese officials during his visit to Beirut, remains a controversial issue among the Lebanese as some officials fear it could prompt Western countries to halt military aid to Lebanon.
Sunni Arab countries are concerned about Iran�s rising influence in the region, through its proxies of Hizbullah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza.
Iran is embroiled in a long-running dispute with the West over its controversial nuclear program that has sparked rumors of planned Israeli or US military strikes.
US commanders have warned that military strikes against Iran could spark retaliatory action by Tehran and its allies like Hizbullah and Hamas that could destabilize the region. � The Daily Star, with Reuters

Ahmadinejad should hear the other views
By Jamil K. Mroue
Publisher and editor in chief
Friday, October 01, 2010
Much attention in Lebanon is beginning to focus on the visit of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad some two weeks hence, and while such tours are typically suffocated in protocol, this particular journey could offer the leader of the Islamic Republic � so pivotal to the local situation � a rare chance to build a better foundation for Iranian involvement here.
Indeed, the ado surrounding the visit, still a fortnight away, springs precisely from the outsize role that Iran plays here. Ahmadinejad�s presence here, in short, carries a special resonance because Iran has long been a generous benefactor to Hizbullah and thus bears direct responsibility for Hizbullah�s pre-eminent standing.
To add to the weight of the visit, this country is yet again, alas, teetering in the face of an existential threat; Iranian foreign policy is partly fueling this existential crisis. Iran, however, has on more than one occasion demonstrated that it has only a superficial knowledge of the intricate dynamic playing out in this nation. Lebanon is a crucial theater for the political power game playing out in the region, and Iran only knows this country based on the version given by its friends here.
Ahmadinejad and his cohorts in the top Iranian leadership surely have a regular flow of information from their allies here. Instead of meeting with those partners face to face and hearing yet again the same spin on Lebanon�s reality, Ahmadinejad would be better served if he took advantage of his time in Lebanon to meet with the leaders of the groups which oppose his allies here.
The Iranian head of state does not need to make still another inflammatory speech, expounding at length on the positions of the Islamic Republic and the so-called axis of resistance which it leads; we certainly do not need to hear that speech again, even if he has never performed it here before.
Rather, Ahmadinejad has a golden opportunity to participate in an exchange of views with people who can articulate stances clashing with his own. To be honest, it would be good for the president of this country, too, to use his palace to convene Lebanese leaders representing all the major factions for an unfettered discussion. As much as we support transparency, we would prefer to be spared the rhetorical grandstanding should such a s�ance occur publicly; it would be better for all concerned if the debate were private.
To be sure, Ahmadinejad is not the only world leader who would benefit from sitting down and listening to his rivals. Iran, however, is not renowned for having a free and robust flow of information. It would be useful and important for its president � and for Lebanon � if he could listen to and discuss with political leaders who hold different opinions.
*Jamil K. Mroue, Editor-in-Chief of THE DAILY STAR, can be reached at jamil.mroue@dailystar.com.lb

Netanyahu supports continued talks: 'We have a mission for peace'
By JPOST.COM STAFF /10/01/2010
Netanyahu tells Mitchell that Israel wants to continue direct talks after Palestinians threaten to walk away from the table; Egyptian FM says settlement freeze not an important issue.
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu told US Special Envoy to the Middle East George Mitchell that Israel wants to continue negotiations with the Palestinian Authority, in a meeting on Friday in Jerusalem. In his opening words, Netanyahu said: "We are making a joint effort with Senator Mitchell to continue talks with [Palestinian President Mahmoud] Abbas. We want to continue talks, and I want it." "We have a mission for peace," Netanyahu added. The Palestinians have threatened to walk away from peace talks if Israel does not renew the 10-month construction freeze that ended on Sunday. Mitchell also plans to meet with Abbas, in an attempt to salvage the talks. Also on Friday, Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmad Aboul Gheit criticized the Palestinian Authority for its "insistence" on a moratorium on building in the settlements. In an interview with London-based newspaper Al-Hayat, Aboul Gheit said waiting for a renewed freeze will only complicate peace talks, and that the most important issue is borders. Aboul Gheit also hinted that Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas does not think a settlement freeze is essential. The meetings with Mitchell come following reports on Thursday that US President Barack Obama had sent Israel a draft letter in which he offered security guarantees � including a continued Israeli military presence in the Jordan Valley after the creation of a Palestinian state � if Israel in exchange re-instituted the moratorium on new settlement construction for 60 days.A White House and a State Department official denied the existence of such a letter.

Susan Rice: STL Cannot be Subject to a Settlement and it Should Go on
Naharnet/U.S. Permanent Representative to the U.N. Susan Rice stressed on Thursday that the Special Tribunal for Lebanon is a very important matter, which cannot be subject to a settlement, but is should maintain its functioning in line with the Lebanese people's expectations. She added to Al-Arabiya that the Lebanese people and government demanded the formation of the tribunal and therefore its work must continue. Beirut, 01 Oct 10,

Indictment to be Issued 'Very, Very Soon,' Arab Embassy
Naharnet/An embassy of an Arab State has informed a political party official that the Special Tribunal for Lebanon will issue an indictment in former Premier Rafik Hariri's assassination "very, very soon." The official told the Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Anbaa that ongoing campaigns against the Tribunal � whether direct or through the false witnesses � "will not change anything with regards to the work of the government or the STL."
On the other hand, Al-Anbaa quoted March 14 sources as ridiculing statements that said members of al-Qaida have entered Lebanon and that the coalition and the Lebanese Forces have been provided with weapons. They expressed fears that these "intimidating" remarks aimed at justifying the formation of "armed hostility" against Hizbullah and its allies in order to take actions under the excuse of deterring these armed men. Beirut, 01 Oct 10,

Abul Gheit: No World Power Can Stop STL or Annul Indictment
Naharnet/Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit said the Special Tribunal for Lebanon will do its work in line with the U.N. Security Council resolution, pointing out that "not any world political power or the United Nations can stop the work of the STL prosecutor.""Nor can they order the U.N. Secretary General to stop (STL) funding or instruct the Security Council to annul its decision," Abul Gheit said in remarks published Friday by pan-Arab daily Al-Hayat.
"I'm not sure what is behind this campaign on the Court," he said. "There are dangers surrounding Lebanon." Beirut, 01 Oct 10, 09:22

Sayyed Appeals to STL Urgently Demanding it to Reject Bellemare's Request
Naharnet/Major General Jamil al-Sayyed has appealed on Friday against Special Tribunal for Lebanon Prosecutor Daniel Bellemare's order to suspend Pre-Trial Judge Daniel Fransen's ruling on his request to access certain documents linked to interrogations of false witnesses. Sayyed's press office issued a statement saying that Sayyed's lawyer, Akram Azouri, had made a counter appeal urgently demanding the STL to reject Bellemare's demand and continue with Fransen's ruling. He has also requested to be provided with the names of judges on the appeals body so that he may ask for the stepping down of Lebanese judges if any are part of the body, seeing as Sayyed and Lebanese Judge Ralph Riachy have a personal dispute.
Beirut, 01 Oct 10,

Suleiman Likely to Postpone Discussing Article on STL Funding to a Later Date
Naharnet/Ministerial sources told As Safir Friday that President Michel Suleiman is leaning towards postponing the article on withholding funding of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon to a later date. The president is scheduled to head Cabinet's upcoming session on Monday that is dedicated to study the 2011 state budget law. The sources said that discussing the article on the tribunal funding will be dropped until calm is restored in the country. They also confirmed that Justice Minister Ibrahim Najjar is expected to present his report on the false witnesses in the investigation of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri during Monday's session. He has already informed House Speaker Nabih Berri and Prime Minister Saad Hariri of its contents and he will inform Suleiman of its contents in the upcoming hours. Beirut, 01 Oct 10,

ISF Denies Alleged Security Source Remarks that Hariri is Convinced Hizbullah Killed His Father, Al-Akhbar Hits Back
Naharnet/Al-Akhbar newspaper snapped back Friday at the Directorate General of the Internal Security Forces over the latter's communiqu� the same day in which it denied that any of its officers had made any interview with the daily. "Given that the communiqu� of the ISF Directorate General avoided to deny the occurrence of a meeting between the article's writer and one of the directorate's most prominent officers, and given that the same communiqu� avoided to deny the information mentioned in the article, Al-Akhbar is concerned with stressing that publishing the content of the interview between the article's writer and one of ISF's most prominent officers had occurred according to the traditional work mechanism," the daily said, adding that "it understands the embarrassment of the officer concerned." Al-Akhbar stressed that "what was published is a part of the information revealed by the officer to the article's writer," adding that the journalist's supposed visit to the officer's office was both "professional" and "personal."
"We are convinced Hizbullah killed (ex-PM) Rafik Hariri and the international investigation (commission) has evidence to prove that," Al-Akhbar on Friday quoted an "authoritative security source" close to Premier Saad Hariri as saying. The source added, explaining in chronological order, that in 2006 and before the Israel-Hizbullah July war, ISF's Intelligence Bureau had reached data and evidence of the involvement of Hizbullah members in the execution of the murder.
He said that head of the Intelligence Bureau, Col. Wissan al-Hasan, informed Hariri of the data. The prime minister, in turn, dispatched al-Hasan to Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah.
But Nasrallah did not agree with Hasan, neither did he deny, the source added. He said three other meetings were held between Hizbullah and security officials to discuss the evidence, the source said. The security source went on to explain the series of meetings and contacts between Hariri's team and Hizbullah and between ISF and Hizbullah which he said could be summarized in simple words: We offered the party an exit that calls on Hizbullah to announce its readiness to prosecute members for evidence implicating them in Hariri's murder, just like the road map presented by Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem, who has stated several times that Syria would try any of its nationals proved involved in the assassination process.
"We suggested that Hizbullah hide these persons or liquidate them or convict them morally," the source said. By doing so, the source explained, the investigation will not be able to get to the side that ordered the killing.
"But we were surprised when Nasrallah closed the door on us, saying he is responsible for any act done by any Hizbullah member as if the party is not penetrated, and we know that it is and we gave him evidence for that," the security source told Al-Akhbar.He said the three Hizbullah officials found to have ties with Israel have been "liquidated" after police informed Hizbullah of them. Argument over the so-called false witnesses in the Hariri case, the source added, "in addition to those trying to suggest that this is a big issue, is a distortion of the facts."
He said police has information that Hizbullah and its allies intend to take street action following the visit to Lebanon by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad planned for mid-October.
The source believes that Hizbullah will try to control most of the country, "and I can assure you that no one will confront Hizbullah.""Security forces will protect the areas they can protect. Citizens will not face up to Hizbullah in the streets, but they may block alleyways in several areas � men will protect themselves with individual weapons the same way Al-Ahbash prevented Hizbullah from entering its base for nearly six hours." Certain regions, like north Lebanon where there is a Sunni weight, will be closed, adding that the Lebanese Forces, which has the ability to mobilize, will not resort to weapons because its leader Samir Geagea has chosen to stand by State institutions. Beirut, 01 Oct 10, 17:08

Qassem: We Won't Start Civil Strife, But We'll End It, By Any Means Necessary, If Others Start It
Naharnet/Hizbullah will not take the initiative of starting any security mishap, but sometimes we must put an end to civil strife, by any means necessary, if others start it, the party's deputy chief Sheikh Naim Qassem stressed Thursday.
In an interview on LBC television, Qassem noted that Hizbullah has not yet been informed of "the outcome of contacts conducted by the parties of the tripartite summit on the (Special Tribunal for Lebanon) indictment issue.""We may receive an answer within two weeks," Hizbullah number two announced. "Any indictment that accuses Hizbullah is an unjust indictment because we have nothing to do with this case whatsoever, and we even reject mere accusations," he added.
Qassem said that Prime Minister Saad Hariri "can exert his diplomatic and international efforts in order to reach the truth instead of an unjust accusation."
"Whoever is betting on a dispute between Hizbullah and Syria, or the possibility that Syria might use the party as a card to get certain gains, is delusional," Hizbullah's top official said.
He expressed his belief that what was published in the German weekly Der Spiegel "had aimed at testing Hizbullah's reaction so that they would be able to capitalize on such a reaction and close the holes in the indictment." "The Intelligence Bureau of the Internal Security Forces was the source of some of the information obtained by the international investigation commission about Hizbullah's alleged role in the assassination," Qassem charged. He revealed that his party has information that President Michel Suleiman would ask the ministers appointed by him in the current cabinet to abstain from voting on the issue of financing the STL should it be put to the vote of the cabinet.
On a separate note, Qassem accused the Lebanese Forces of stockpiling weapons and conducting military exercises, noting that Hizbullah possesses intelligence information in that regard. Beirut, 30 Sep 10, 23:40

Soaid: Ahmadinejad Visit a Provocation
Naharnet/Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's expected tour of south Lebanon during his official visit to the Mediterranean country was criticized as a "provocation" on Friday by the largest bloc in parliament. On the two-day visit from October 13, Ahmadinejad is scheduled to hold talks with his counterpart Michel Suleiman, who invited the Iranian leader, as well as Prime Minister Saad Hariri and parliament speaker Nabih Berri. The hardliner is also due to meet on the sidelines with Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah -- a key ally whose powerful party is considered a proxy of Iran -- and tour the south of the country, according to political officials. "The message is that Iran is at the border with Israel," Fares Soaid, coordinator of the March 14 forces, told Agence France Presse. "Ahmadinejad through this visit is saying that Beirut is under Iranian influence and that Lebanon is an Iranian base on the Mediterranean," said Soaid, whose coalition is led by the western- and Saudi-backed premier.
"His visit to the south would be a provocation, he doesn't need to go there," he added.
Soaid also pointed out Ahmadinejad was coming to Beirut at a time when the West is bidding to rescue fledgling, U.S.-backed peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians.
"The Iranian president is here to say that Lebanon is a land of resistance and to reaffirm his project of a continuous war with Israel," he said.
The southern border region with Israel is largely controlled by Hizbullah and was devastated during the 2006 war between the militant party and the Jewish state.
Ahmadinejad would tour the villages of Qana and Bint Jbeil as well as a war museum in the region inaugurated by Hezbollah earlier this year, a Hizbullah official told AFP on condition of anonymity.
"This will be a message to the United States and Israel that they need to understand there is a regional force backing Lebanon," said Sheikh Ali Yassine, a local imam in the southern coastal city of Tyre. The visit will be Ahmadinejad's first to Lebanon since his 2005 election. It comes amid heightened tensions in the country over unconfirmed reports that a U.N.-backed tribunal probing the 2005 assassination of Hariri's father -- ex-premier Rafik Hariri -- is set to indict Hizbullah members in connection with the murder.
There are fears the Special Tribunal for Lebanon might implicate Hizbullah, which could in turn lead to sectarian clashes similar to ones that brought Lebanon close to civil war in 2008.
Iran's ambassador to Lebanon, Ghazanfar Roknabadi, said this week that Ahmadinejad's visit was aimed at promoting unity among the Lebanese.
The Islamic republic heavily financed the reconstruction of southern Lebanon after the 2006 war and more recently said it stood ready to offer military aid. That offer came in the wake of a U.S. freeze in its military aid to Beirut over concerns the weapons could be used by Hizbullah. The group is blacklisted by Washington as a terrorist organization. The United States and its allies have also been embroiled in a long-running dispute with Iran over its controversial nuclear programme, which Tehran insists is for peaceful purposes.(AFP) Beirut, 01 Oct 10, 13:44

Acts of Violence Prepared against Iranian Interests to Coincide with Ahmadinejad's Lebanon Visit, Report
Naharnet/Acts of violence against Iranian interests in north Lebanon's city of Tripoli were being prepared to coincide with a visit to the country by Iranian leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, security reports revealed Thursday. The Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Anbaa quoted the reports as saying that violence will include burning of the Iranian flag and pictures of Ahmadinejad upon his arrival in Lebanon mid-October. It said political contacts were underway to avoid such acts to prevent a dispute with local organizers close to Hizbullah. In this regard, former MP Mosbah al-Ahdab said signs of a "grave scene" in Tripoli and the north are on the horizon "where the region is ready to be the arena of violence and strife that is being preached." "We hear of appeals against Hizbullah in Tripoli," Ahdab said. "Will the strife be a Sunni-Sunni one or a Sunni-Alawite?" Meanwhile, An-Nahar newspaper on Thursday said Ahmadinejad's two-day trip to Lebanon does not include a visit to the region. It said his visit to southern Lebanon, however, has not been settled yet. An-Nahar said the visit is likely to be replaced by a Nasrallah-style televised speech. Al-Anbaa said earlier that Syrian President Bashar Assad has asked Ahmadinejad to postpone his visit to Lebanon as "this is not the right time."
It quoted diplomatic sources as saying that Ahmadinejad's visit was brought up during a recent summit with Assad in Damascus. Beirut, 30 Sep 10,

Ahmadinejad visit a 'provocation': Lebanon alliance
By Rana Moussaoui (AFP)
BEIRUT � Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's expected tour of south Lebanon during his official visit to the Mediterranean country was criticised as a "provocation" on Friday by the largest bloc in parliament.
On the two-day visit from October 13, Ahmadinejad is scheduled to hold talks with his counterpart Michel Sleiman, who invited the Iranian leader, as well as Prime Minister Saad Hariri and parliament speaker Nabih Berri.
The hardliner is also due to meet on the sidelines with Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah -- a key ally whose powerful party is considered a proxy of Iran -- and tour the south of the country, according to political officials.
"The message is that Iran is at the border with Israel," Fares Souaid, coordinator of the "March 14" alliance, told AFP.
"Ahmadinejad through this visit is saying that Beirut is under Iranian influence and that Lebanon is an Iranian base on the Mediterranean," said Souaid, whose coalition is led by the Western- and Saudi-backed premier.
"His visit to the south would be a provocation, he doesn't need to go there," he added.
Souaid also pointed out Ahmadinejad was coming to Beirut at a time when the West is bidding to rescue fledgling, US-backed peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians.
"The Iranian president is here to say that Lebanon is a land of resistance and to reaffirm his project of a continuous war with Israel," he said.
Lebanon's southern border region with Israel is largely controlled by Hezbollah and was devastated during the 2006 war between the militant party and the Jewish state.
Ahmadinejad would tour the villages of Qana and Bint Jbeil as well as a war museum in the region inaugurated by Hezbollah earlier this year, a Hezbollah official told AFP on condition of anonymity.
"This will be a message to the United States and Israel that they need to understand there is a regional force backing Lebanon," said Sheikh Ali Yassin, a local imam in the southern coastal city of Tyre.
In Israel, a foreign ministry spokesman said the Iranian leader's visit was cause for concern.
"We have heard that Ahmadinejad is preparing a serious tour... (like) a big landowner coming to inspect his property," Yigal Palmor told AFP.
"He has already said to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad that south Lebanon was Iran's border with Israel," he added.
"All this should be very worrying for anyone who is concerned about the stability of Lebanon and of the Middle East."
The visit will be Ahmadinejad's first to Lebanon since his 2005 election.
It comes amid heightened tensions in the country over unconfirmed reports that a UN-backed tribunal probing the 2005 assassination of Hariri's father -- ex-premier Rafiq Hariri -- is set to indict Hezbollah members in connection with the murder. There are fears that should the Special Tribunal for Lebanon implicate Hezbollah, this would lead to sectarian clashes similar to ones that brought Lebanon close to civil war in 2008. Iran's ambassador to Lebanon, Ghazanfar Roknabadi, said this week that Ahmadinejad's visit was aimed at promoting unity among the Lebanese.The Islamic republic heavily financed the reconstruction of southern Lebanon after the 2006 war and more recently said it stood ready to offer military aid.
That offer came in the wake of a US freeze in its military aid to Beirut over concerns the weapons could be used by Hezbollah.
The militant group is blacklisted by Washington as a terrorist organisation. The United States and its allies have also been embroiled in a long-running dispute with Iran over its controversial nuclear programme, which Tehran insists is for peaceful purposes.
Copyright � 2010 AFP. All rights reserved.�

Israeli Reinforcements Precede Ahmadinejad's Visit to Fatima Gate
Naharnet/Sources from southern Lebanon and other security ones noted on Thursday that Israel has been reinforcing areas opposite the Fatima Gate ahead of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's visit to Lebanon where he is scheduled to visit the border area.They told the Central News Agency that the Israelis have set up surveillance equipment in the area under heavy military protection. The sources also revealed that several Israeli military leaders have also visited the area, the latest of whom was Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi.
Beirut, 30 Sep 10, 16:27

Rising Tensions Between Hizbullah, Egypt and Jordan
by Maayana Miskin/Arutz Sheva /Lebanese terrorist group Hizbullah lashed out at Egypt and Jordan this week, accusing both countries of funding Sunni militias that are rivals to the Shiite Muslim group. The charges were leveled in an interview with the Arabic daily Ash-Sharq il-Awsat which was published Friday.
Hizbullah is currently a part of the Lebanese parliamentary coalition. Former MP Nasser Qandil, who is affiliated with Hizbullah, claimed that Egypt is leading a terrorist campaign against Lebanon on behalf of Israel. Egypt trains hundreds of young men in army camps, preparing them to fight Hizbullah, he said. Egypt denied the allegations. Hizbullah also faced accusations from its opponents. Moderate Sunni parties in Lebanon have accused the militant Shiite group of attempting a coup. They also accused Shiite-dominated media outlets of inciting against them. A senior member of Hizbullah was killed in early September in clashes between his group and the Sunni Muslim Ahbash militia. The two groups both support Syrian involvement in Lebanon, and were formerly considered allies. At least two other people were killed as well as the two groups engaged in gun battles in the streets of Beirut. The fighting reportedly began with a dispute over a parking spot.

White House: Nothing Offered in Exchange for Freeze
by Maayana Miskin/Arutz Sheva
Netanyahu was criticized by the Left after a report Wednesday according to which he had rejected a promise of U.S. support in exchange for continuing the freeze on construction for Judea and Samaria Jews. Washington insider David Makovsky had claimed that the U.S. sent Israel a letter offering, among other things, to sell some of its most sophisticated weapons to Israel if it would freeze construction for two more months. The letter also allegedly offered a U.S. veto on an Arab League attempt to get the United Nations to vote, without waiting for Israel and the PA to reach an agreement, for the creation of an Arab state, to be named Palestine, in Judea, Samaria and Gaza. In addition, Obama was said to have committed not to ask for an additional construction freeze when the two months were over. On Thursday night, White House officials denied the report. �No letter was sent to the Prime Minister,� they stated.
The officials went on to say that they �are not going to comment on sensitive diplomatic matters,� and did not confirm or deny that the U.S. may make future promises in exchange for a construction freeze. Chairman Yaakov Katz (Ketzaleh) of the National Union party criticized Yitzchak Molcho, a senior advisor to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, Thursday evening for his reported role in the affair. MK Katz warned, "The offer of advisor Molcho is like the advice of Achitofel, which will bring about the downfall of Netanyahu for the same reason he fell a decade ago." Achitofel was a wise man of the time of King David who gave the king bad advice with disastrous results. The expression "advice of Achitofel" is an Israeli idiom alluding to suggestions for actions which sound sensible but are fraught with disaster.
Ten months ago, Israel offered a one-time temporary construction freeze under which the hundreds of thousands of Jews living in Judea and Samaria would be prohibited to build in any way, including adding on to existing homes, building much needed classrooms or beginning construction on approved building projects. The offer was meant to bring the Palestinian Authority to the negotiating table. The PA initially refused to negotiate despite the freeze, but agreed to start talks in the ninth month, so as to use the continuation of the freeze as a condition for continuing talks. PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas then demanded that Israel continue the freeze, threatening to leave talks if building resumed.
Netanyahu refused, and building resumed this week.

Rahm Emanuel will Resign Friday
by Gil Ronen/Arutz Sheva
White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel is almost certain to resign Friday morning and White House staffer Pete Rouse is the likely interim replacement. Rouse was Obama�s chief of staff when he served in the Senate. Emanuel is expected to run for mayor of Chicago, Illinois. He already has a campaign manager and will reportedly begin his campaign for Chicago mayor by meeting with voters there on Monday. The Associated Press quoted �two people familiar with [Emanuel's] plans,� who spoke on condition of anonymity. Emanuel was a Congressman from Illinois before becoming Mr. Obama's chief of staff at the White House. Emanuel's relationship with Israel has been rocky, and many Israelis believe he was a driving force behind various attempts by the White House to humiliate Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and to pressure Israel inordinately on matters regarding the negotiations with the Palestinian Authority. According to some reports, Netanyahu once called Emanuel a "self hating Jew," but the prime minister has denied saying this.

Hariri Holds Talks with Syrian, Spanish Ambassadors
Naharnet/Prime Minister Saad Hariri on Thursday held talks with Syrian Ambassador to Lebanon Ali Abdul Karim Ali at the Grand Serail.The Syrian ambassador explained after the meeting that his talks with the premier focused on the Lebanese situation and the Lebanese-Syrian relations, "in addition to the necessity of completing the work of the joint committees." Hariri also held talks with Spanish Ambassador to Lebanon Juan Carlos Gafo, in the presence of advisor Mohammed Shatah. After the meeting, Gafo said: "We discussed the political local and regional developments. PM Hariri informed me about his latest visit to Saudi Arabia and his views about the current situation." "I think that the situation should be examined calmly. No one in Lebanon has interest in crossing the red lines. And Spain and the European Union are ready to support efforts towards dialogue and coexistence among political forces and sects. Lebanon needs everyone and we have to find the path of dialogue," he added. Beirut, 30 Sep 10,

MP Farid Habib responds to Qassem
October 1, 2010 /In response to Hezbollah Deputy Secretary General Sheikh Naim Qassem�s Thursday statement that the Lebanese Forces (LF) are arming themselves, LF bloc MP Farid Habib told Akhbar al-Yawm news agency on Friday that if the LF had wanted to be armed, it would not have given up its weapons.
Tension ran high in Lebanon after reports said that the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) would soon issue its indictment for the 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. There are fears that, should the court indict Hezbollah members, it could lead to clashes similar to those of the 2008 May Events.
�Why is Hezbollah afraid of the [STL�s] indictment when it has not been issued yet?� Habib said, adding that the cabinet knows which party has arms.
-NOW Lebanon

Tourism Minister Fadi Abboud says he has no data of LF armament
October 1, 2010 /In an interview with Future News television on Friday, Tourism Minister Fadi Abboud, also a Change and Reform bloc minister, said that he does not have data regarding Deputy Secretary General Sheikh Naim Qassem�s Thursday statement that the Lebanese Forces (LF) is being armed.
The cabinet�s session will tackle the information submitted by Justice Minister Ibrahim Najjar, Abboud said, adding that the March 8 alliance does not trust the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL).The cabinet delegated Najjar on August 18 to follow up on the issues of the witnesses who gave false testimonies in the investigation of the 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.-NOW Lebanon

The STL is not going away
September 30, 2010
Now Lebanon/
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah speaks via video link during a press conference designed to show Israel�s responsibility for Rafik Hariri�s murder. It is part of the party�s attempts to undermine the STL. (AFP photo/Joseph Eid)
It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a political party in possession of many weapons must be in want of absolute power. Hezbollah is using its weapons to oppose any financing of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon in a bid to kill it off and achieve the absolute power it apparently wants so badly.
Senior party member Ghaleb Abu Zeinab reaffirmed his party�s position on the matter on Wednesday when he asked Agence France Presse, �How can we finance a tribunal that has turned into an Israeli-American tool attempting to sow discord in the country? We do not want Lebanon to fall victim to US interests in the region.�
It is the Hezbollah way to turn anything it doesn�t like or want, in this case justice for dozens of bereaved families, into �US interests� and �discord.� Abu Zeinab must have taken a leaf out of Hezbollah MP Nawwaf Moussawi�s book after the latter last week called the court a Zionist conspiracy and anyone who supported it a collaborator who would be held accountable for their actions.
But Hezbollah clearly has been too busy concocting so-called evidence of Israel�s involvement in the killing, wheeling out agents provocateurs such as the disgraced security chief Jamil as-Sayyed, and sticking the middle finger up at the state while spreading fear among the population to have noticed the small print of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1757, which states that �if the Secretary-General reports that contributions from the Government of Lebanon are not sufficient, he may accept or use voluntary contributions [from member countries] to cover any shortfall.�
The message therefore is very clear: Withholding Lebanon�s 49 percent share of the funding will not be the end of the court that was created to bring to justice the killers of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and 21 others on February 14, 2005, as well as over a dozen other victims of subsequent political killings.
We must not forget that the court is a solemn creation that, according to a May 2007 press release drafted by the UN, demonstrates its �commitment to the principle that there would be no impunity for political assassinations, in Lebanon or elsewhere. Those who had killed Rafik Hariri and so many others would be brought to justice and held responsible for their crimes. Those who might be tempted to commit similar crimes would know there would be consequences for perpetuating Lebanon�s troubled history of political violence and intimidation.� The council president said that �it was necessary and right for the Council to act.�
At the time, Tarek Mitri, then-minister of culture as well as foreign affairs, stated that the creation of the tribunal was not a victory of one party over another. �Justice will be the victor,� he declared. �The resolution did not pit one group against another or play one part of the international community against another. It would strengthen unity, strengthen judicial systems and strengthen the hopes of the Lebanese people, all of whom are striving to move forward in the name of justice and stability.�
Do we need to say it any clearer? The STL is not going away. The UN has said it, and Prime Minister Saad Hariri has said it. It will not simply disappear because an armed militia is worried about its potential findings. And while we are at it, not only can the court function without Lebanese funding, it can, according to Article 22 of the resolution, also try those it indicts in absentia, meaning that even if those who are summoned do not turn themselves in, justice will forge ahead regardless.
In short, the Hezbollah-led opposition has few options short of taking its guns onto the streets again. Its insistence on stymieing the STL funding has only served to delay the process of approving national spending and to once again cripple the government. But then again, this has become the hallmark of a March 8 bloc that is hell-bent on obstructionism and conflict rather than nation building and justice.

Naim Qassem
October 1, 2010
On September 30, the Lebanese National News Agency carried the following report: In statements to Kalam al-Nass show on LBC yesterday, Hezbollah Deputy Secretary General Sheikh Naim Qassem revealed an imminent appearance by Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah within weeks, related to the international tribunal for Lebanon and its developments.
He said:
�We are awaiting the post-tripartite summit stage in Lebanon as well as the ongoing developments, and we have not yet been informed about the progress affecting the contacts with the Saudis and the Syrians in regard to the indictment.�
In response to the statements of the Egyptian foreign minister, he said: �We reject any indictment accusing Hezbollah. The mere accusation is rejected and we consider it to be unjust and unfair,� indicating: �In the past, the political accusation turned the region upside down. But when the accusation is judicial, its repercussions are greater and the tribunal is proceeding one way while the truth is in a completely different way. We do not trust the international community because this court has a problem, while the leaks among other practices have become obvious and this direction is wrong. We say to Prime Minister Hariri that he can make appropriate contacts to see to it that Hezbollah is not accused and we must beware of political accusations since those close to Hariri said that the distancing of the political accusation did not mean the distancing of the judicial accusation.
�Why were the accusations not pointed toward Israel? We gave all the clues we had to the tribunal and the officials in it must consider these clues and inquire about the information featured in them. Was any Israel or Mossad member summoned for interrogation?� Regarding the relations with Syria, he stated: �Our relations with Syria are strategic ones and whoever is wagering on [these relations being] undermined is delusional.� He pointed out that �Hezbollah will not initiate strife, but there is an external side waiting to trigger that strife which we tried to appease during the past stages. Hezbollah will defend itself and this defense can be political and in the media. We know that the court�s decision is heading in one direction, and despite that, we will not be dragged toward strife and will thwart it the proper way. When the indictment is issued, the proper measures will be adopted.�
Regarding the relationship with Egypt, he stated: �The meeting was Egypt opened the door before a step forward and before forgetting the past. We are dealing with the consul as the representative of the state and perceive the situation from the angle of the relations between the Party and Egypt. We did not ask to meet with the Egyptian ambassador and he did not ask to meet with us. An effort was deployed by the consul to secure this meeting and it was indeed conducted.� Regarding the Der Spiegel report, he said: �The publication of the report aimed at preparing public opinion and at testing Hezbollah�s reaction. Sometime after the Der Spiegel report, we noticed there was a Lebanese group promoting that scenario. They prefer to see the conclusions first in order to fill their gaps.
�We did not launch the campaign against the tribunal after the Der Spiegel report. But lately, this situation has become a reality and we are dealing with it at the appropriate time. The accusation of Hezbollah is wrong and they must correct the course. We were positive in dealing with the interrogation of witnesses from Hezbollah at first. Now however, the course of the tribunal has shifted and our position has shifted accordingly.� Regarding the false witnesses issue, he stated: �The natural solution would be to start with the false witnesses because all the palpable and material data were drafted in the dark room which fabricated the false witnesses. There are Lebanese people who fabricated the file of the false witnesses, but I will not talk about them so that it is not said we are casting political accusations.�
In response to former PM Fouad Siniora�s statement in which he said that no one made up an accusation against an innocent side, he said: �All the accusations are made up against innocent people and the biggest proof of that is the case of the four officers. We are not embarrassed because we did not kill martyr Hariri. Even our opponents know very well how these things could be fabricated. In the end, we will not accept the decision that is unjustly accusing Hezbollah.� In regard to the Information Branch, he said: �Although it has achieved some accomplishments, we do not trust it,� saying regarding the possibility of an Israeli war on Lebanon: �If Israel enters the Lebanese South, we will break its legs. Our situation today is much better than it was during the July war��
He then stated about the Iranian president�s visit to Lebanon: �The Iranian president is visiting Lebanon in an official way and this does not cause any embarrassment because Iran contributed to the rebuilding of Lebanon after the war and has always stood by it. If we were to review all the Iranian positions, we would see they stressed coexistence and Lebanon�s unity.� Regarding the response to the assassination of martyr Imad Mugniyah, he assured: �We did not forget the case of martyr Mugniyah and the response to his assassination needs to be conducted at the right time.�

Apocalypse now? May be not
Michael Young, October 1, 2010
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, his Syrian counterpart Bashar al-Assad and Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah arriving for an official dinner in Damascus in February 2010. Assad�s priority today is to reassert Syrian domination over Lebanon, which involves working around Hezbollah and its Iranian backers. (AFP photo/SANA)
Hezbollah has been spreading word that it may soon implement an apocalyptic scenario to prevent Lebanese collaboration with the Special Tribunal for Lebanon. Will the party carry through on that threat? Everything is possible, but this would be no easy task.
The scenario, in its multiple variations, involves Hezbollah�s militarily taking over predominantly Muslim areas of Beirut or Lebanon (the different versions don�t define precisely which), place its adversaries under house arrest, then accuse them of collaborating with Israel for supporting the Special Tribunal, which Hezbollah�s secretary general, Hassan Nasrallah, has labeled an �Israeli project.� Hezbollah would also ask the Lebanese army to control mainly Christian areas and detain politicians there backing the tribunal. The end result would be a coup of sorts, followed by the formation of a pliable government.
Some point to comments by Hezbollah�s Nawwaf al-Moussawi as rationalizing such a coup. Moussawi recently declared, �[T]he period that will follow the [tribunal] indictment will not be the same as the one before, and any group in Lebanon that might endorse this indictment will be treated as one of the tools of the US-Israeli invasion, and will suffer the same fate as the invader.�
Nothing can be ruled out with Hezbollah, but there are serious problems with this scheme, if the party indeed intends to carry it out. Would such a strike come before or after indictments are issued by the tribunal? There is a big difference. If the party acts before, it would have a hard time justifying and sustaining an operation based on an as-yet-nonexistent accusation. Hezbollah would only further incriminate itself, while the army might refuse to go along.
The essential question that Hezbollah would have to answer is where Syria stands on a military putsch. The party mistrusts the Syrians, and for good reason. The priority of President Bashar al-Assad today is to reassert Syrian domination over Lebanon. While he has no desire to enter into a confrontation with Hezbollah or Iran, Assad wants Lebanon once again to be primarily a Syrian card, therefore less of an Iranian one. Assad�s alleged advice to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad that he postpone his visit to South Lebanon in October, if true, might indicate the Syrian president is delineating his territory.
Syria has made a habit of double-dealing in Lebanon. However, it seems unlikely that it would welcome a debilitating assault against Saad Hariri and the Sunni community. The Syrians have spent years bringing Hariri and the Sunnis back to their door after the assassination of Rafik Hariri. The Sunnis, in their fear and loathing of Hezbollah, have been willing to forget the past with Damascus. This has allowed Assad to play the Sunnis off against the Shia to Syria�s greater advantage. In this context it would make no sense for Assad to sign off on a Hezbollah operation that would deny Syria the valuable Sunni relationship it has carefully fostered.
There is also the fact that this time around, any military move by Hezbollah is almost certain to lead to a Sunni-Shia civil war. The Bourj Abi Haidar clash was a foreshadowing of what might happen, and there it was pro-Syrian Sunnis who were involved. The Syrians doubtless benefit from Sunni-Shia tension, and Lebanese politicians close to Damascus, most recently Walid Jumblatt, have declared that a Syrian military return to Lebanon would be welcome if sectarian conflict breaks out. However, for Syria to provoke such a conflict to bring its troops back is risky. Sunni-Shia fighting could quickly become uncontrollable, offers no guarantees that Syria will be given a green light to dispatch its soldiers, and might well spread to Syria.
Assad probably prefers, at least initially, less violent means of reasserting his authority in Lebanon. An indictment against Hezbollah offers this. Despite Damascus� public hostility to the tribunal, once an accusation comes out, it would permit Assad to position himself between Hariri and Hezbollah, and take from each side. He would have leverage to obtain from Hezbollah key posts in the military-security apparatus the party controls and Syria seeks � command of the army, of military intelligence, of General Security, of airport security, and so forth. And once Assad gets what he wants, he can force concessions from Hariri for having saved him from Hezbollah, while pushing the prime minister (with Saudi backing) to end, or more likely hinder, Lebanese assistance to the tribunal.
Hezbollah knows that that any sectarian conflict it precipitates would only hasten a Syrian military comeback and rally the party�s domestic foes to Syria�s side. Which makes one wonder whether Jumblatt, in welcoming a new Syrian deployment in Lebanon, was not implicitly warning Hezbollah against engaging in reckless action.
If Hezbollah were to ignore these obstacles and pursue a military option against Syrian wishes, this could harm Syrian-Iranian relations. The party does not have such leeway. In the end it would be up to Iran to decide whether Hezbollah negotiates with Damascus or not. And that is why the timing of any Hezbollah move is essential. Once an indictment is out, talks would begin over how to save Hezbollah. The party�s ability to go for its guns might evaporate as its fate swiftly falls into the hands of Damascus and Tehran.
If Tehran were to receive guarantees from Syria that Hezbollah�s weapons arsenal would be preserved, and that Tehran�s deterrent power in southern Lebanon would remain intact (guarantees that Assad would gladly offer), the Iranians could perhaps approve a package deal obliging Hezbollah to surrender some power to Damascus. That is what Nasrallah fears the most, but he may be the prisoner of a trap he cannot escape � a trap the Syrians helped set.
**Michael Young is opinion editor of the Daily Star newspaper in Beirut. His book, The Ghosts of Martyrs Square: An Eyewitness Account of Lebanon�s Life Struggle (Simon & Schuster), was recently published

Dangerous delusions
Tony Badran, September 30, 2010
Now Lebanon/Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Mouallem speaks at the UN General Assembly on September 28, a day after a rare meeting with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. (AFP photo/ Don Emmert)
Syria�s foreign minister, Walid Mouallem, followed his rare meeting with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Monday with a typically brazen interview in which he denied that his government was illegally transferring advanced weapons to Hezbollah. However, Mouallem�s denial is hardly credible, as the Syrian media has already exposed the Syrian regime�s intention to transfer Russian-made anti-ship missiles to the Shia militia in Lebanon.
Ten days prior to the Clinton-Mouallem meeting, Russia�s defense minister announced that Moscow would fulfill a 2007 contract to supply P-800 (Yakhont) anti-ship cruise missiles to Damascus.
The announcement set off a storm of criticisms and objections in Israel, with officials there labeling the Russian decision irresponsible. The Pentagon also shared Israel�s concerns, although the Obama administration has not forcefully commented on the issue. Meanwhile, some officials in Israel have threatened to sell arms to Russia�s enemies, while one defense official said that Russia�s decision puts future cooperation with Israel in doubt, namely the deal to purchase advanced unmanned aerial vehicles from Israel.
Israel�s concern is directly linked to the probability that Syria will pass these missiles on to Hezbollah, as it has been doing with other advanced weaponry. A look back at a number of reports and statements from April and May offers evidence that this is precisely, and explicitly, what the Syrians have in mind.
The first report came out in the Kuwaiti al-Rai in April, around the time when the story of Syria�s smuggling of Scuds to Hezbollah was still raging, along with assessments of growing military integration between Syria and Hezbollah in preparation for the next war with Israel.
The authors of the al-Rai report, known for their access to Hezbollah sources, quoted Syrian sources in laying out the shape of the military response to any Israeli attack against Syria. One element in this so-called �Syrian scenario� described in the report is of relevance here. It claimed that �Syria has prepared plans to hit the entire Israeli coast in case of a war against Lebanon and Syria, and Syria will use ground-to-sea missiles as well as imposing a blockade against Israeli naval targets, military and non-military, in order to shut down all Israeli ports.�
The report concluded with the Syrian sources warning Israel about the potency of the �unified military efforts� of the Syrian leadership and Hezbollah.
The theme of naval targets surfaced again about a month later in Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah�s �Liberation Day� speech. Nasrallah essentially echoed verbatim the Syrian claim reported in al-Rai, contending that his group possessed the capability to hit �all military, civilian and commercial ships� heading to �any port on the Palestinian coast from north to the south,� even threatening to target the port of Eilat on the Red Sea.
Then came the clincher. Immediately after Nasrallah�s speech, it was none other than the Syrian daily al-Watan, owned by Bashar al-Assad�s cousin, Rami Makhlouf, which offered the exclusive and detailed interpretation of what Nasrallah was referring to in his speech.
The paper�s report, headlined �Hezbollah possesses ground-to-sea missiles with a 300 km range,� described that the new missile was not the C-802, which Hezbollah had used to hit the Israeli Sa�ar warship, the Hanit, during the 2006 war. Rather, the new missile, according to �impeccable information� obtained by al-Watan, had a range of 300 kilometers, and covers the entire Israeli coastline.
Of course, it is precisely the Yakhont missile that has that range, as well as the capacity to carry a 200 kg warhead. In other words, the Syrians, by putting out an exclusive report, in their own media (and not through a leak to a Gulf newspaper, as is often the case), ahead of everyone else, were sending an unambiguous message regarding their intentions.
Moreover, the Yakhont could be vertically launched from inland sites in Lebanon (using a modified �Scud B� Transporter-Erector-Launcher vehicle), specifically in the Bekaa, behind the eastern Mount Lebanon ridge, in order to further avoid detection from the sea and to minimize early warning for the targets. The missile�s range also jeopardizes the port of Haifa.
All of the above, not to mention the recent reports of intercepted weapons shipments to Syria � including seven tons of military-grade explosives from Iran and a suspected vessel from North Korea � which framed the Clinton-Mouallem meeting, puts the lie to Mouallem�s denial. More worrying, however, is the lack of an appropriate American response.
Back in April, during the Scud fiasco, Assistant Secretary of State Jeffrey Feltman told a House hearing that, should the reports of advanced missile transfers pan out, the administration was �going to have to review the full range of tools that are available for us in order to make Syria reverse what would be an incendiary, provocative action,� adding that �all options are going to be on the table looking at this.�
However, this potentially substantive message was undercut by the administration�s priorities, verbalized by Secretary Clinton at the same time in April. Clinton instead focused on the need to express US concerns directly to the Syrians through the reinstatement of an ambassador to Damascus.
But US concerns were indeed expressed directly to the Syrians, to little apparent effect. And so, Mouallem felt confident enough to openly declare that his country would not cooperate with the IAEA investigation of Syria�s clandestine nuclear program, even when the US is raising the possibility of pursuing a special investigation, which could lead to a referral to the Security Council. In fact, Mouallem�s interview included, aside from the typical Assad regime obfuscation and propaganda, an open rejection of every single item of concern for the US, and Mouallem did so without any fear of consequences, diplomatic or otherwise. After all, he had just obtained the highest-level meeting to date, without the slightest change in Syrian destabilizing behavior.
In the run-up to the Clinton-Mouallem meeting, a US official told As-Sharq al-Awsat that the meeting would discuss �the essential role that Syria could potentially play in regional stability.� That�s all very nice diplo-speak. More likely, in the continued absence of a clear and resolute enforcement of US red lines, Syria will simply keep on doing what it has been doing for years. For the US to substitute such resolution with platitudes about �comprehensive peace� is to engage in dangerous delusion.
**Tony Badran is a research fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies

Nadim Gemayel � L�OLJ : Les jeunes doivent s�investir dans la chose publique pour d�fendre la raison d��tre du Liban
Par Michel TOUMA | vendredi, octobre 1, 2010
Nadim Gemayel : Le Hezbollah tente de modifier nos crit�res et nos valeurs.
M. Nadim Gemayel, d�put� de Beyrouth, est arriv� hier � Bruxelles pour une visite de plusieurs jours au cours de laquelle il aura une s�rie d'entretiens avec des parlementaires europ�ens, � l'initiative du minist�re hollandais des Affaires �trang�res. Peu apr�s son arriv�e, M. Gemayel s'est rendu au si�ge du Parlement europ�en et a tenu des r�unions avec plusieurs d�put�s. Il s'est en outre entretenu avec le directeur du d�partement du Moyen-Orient au minist�re hollandais des AE avec lequel il a notamment discut� de l'action du Tribunal sp�cial pour le Liban.
Avant son d�part, M. Gemayel a accord� � L'Orient-Le Jour une interview, exposant les objectifs de sa visite au Parlement europ�en et �voquant par la m�me occasion les dossiers br�lants de l'actualit� locale.
� L'un des buts des entretiens avec les parlementaires europ�ens est de sensibiliser ces derniers � la n�cessit� de consolider un Liban ind�pendant, souverain et libre, d'autant que cette ind�pendance et cette souverainet� sont aujourd'hui bafou�es, a notamment d�clar� Nadim Gemayel. Dans tous nos contacts avec les responsables �trangers ainsi qu'avec les chancelleries �trang�res, nous mettons l'accent sur le fait qu'il existe au Liban un peuple qui p�tit des ing�rences syriennes et iraniennes et qui endure du fait de l'arsenal militaire du Hezbollah, lequel tente d'imposer son h�g�monie sur l'�tat. �
D'une mani�re plus sp�cifique, M. Gemayel souligne que le probl�me de la d�saffection des jeunes Libanais � l'�gard de la chose publique et de la vie politique sera l'une des questions qu'il discutera avec ses interlocuteurs europ�ens. Pour le d�put� de Beyrouth, ce probl�me est en effet li�, par ricochet, aux fondements culturels, aux sp�cificit�s, aux valeurs, qui ont caract�ris�, � travers l'histoire, le pays du C�dre. Car si les jeunes du Liban se d�sint�ressent de la vie politique de leur pays, c'est pr�cis�ment parce qu'ils ont le sentiment que les valeurs auxquelles ils croient s'estompent de plus en plus.
Pour M. Gemayel, d�fendre la vocation historique du Liban, les fondements du Liban-message, sanctuaire des libert�s, de l'ouverture, du lib�ralisme et des droits des minorit�s dans cette partie du monde, est une fa�on indirecte de juguler l'h�morragie des cerveaux dont le pays est le th��tre depuis de longues ann�es. Et inversement, pour d�fendre et pr�server la raison d'�tre du Liban, il est aussi n�cessaire que les jeunes s'impliquent davantage dans la chose publique et dans la vie politique du pays. � Nous devons miser sur les jeunes pour �difier l'�tat auquel nous aspirons, souligne M. Gemayel sur ce plan. Il est n�cessaire d'inciter les jeunes qualifi�s et l'�lite � revenir au Liban et � se sentir concern�s par ce qui se passe dans le pays. Cela n�cessite des initiatives, l'ex�cution de certains projets dans le but de stimuler � nouveau les jeunes � s'investir dans la chose publique. �
Mais comment serait-il possible d'inciter les jeunes � s'engager dans la vie politique lorsqu'ils sont confront�s � une situation de crise chronique, lorsqu'ils voient que le Hezbollah tente d'imposer aux Libanais l'�dification d'une soci�t� guerri�re, fond�e sur le culte de la mort, � l'ombre d'un climat de conflit permanent ? � C'est pr�cis�ment � ce niveau que se situe notre mission, souligne Nadim Gemayel, et c'est l'un des points que nous allons soulever dans le cadre de nos entretiens avec les d�put�s europ�ens. La ligne de conduite du Hezbollah et des alli�s de la Syrie au Liban refl�te une politique de destruction syst�matique et un travail de sape des valeurs auxquelles nous croyons, � savoir les libert�s, le lib�ralisme, les pratiques d�mocratiques, la recherche de la paix. Un tel travail de sape se r�percute n�gativement sur l'�conomie, le niveau de l'�ducation et de la culture. D'o� la n�cessit� de combattre le projet du Hezbollah et les tentatives de r�tablir la tutelle syrienne. Ce combat est n�cessaire pour des consid�rations g�opolitiques, ce qui int�resse au plus haut point les pays europ�ens, et il est n�cessaire aussi afin de r�duire l'�migration des jeunes. L'enjeu d�passe donc le cadre libanais en raison de ce que repr�sente le Hezbollah � l'�chelle r�gionale et en raison aussi des implications possibles d'un �ventuel renforcement de l'influence syrienne. D'o� le fait que nous avons besoin de l'aide internationale, des pays arabes et du monde libre. �
M. Gemayel rappelle dans ce contexte que des r�solutions internationales, notamment la 1559 et la 1701, ont �t� adopt�es en faveur du Liban et il faut donc �uvrer � les mettre en application. � Gr�ce � ces r�solutions, pr�cise le d�put� de Beyrouth, nous avons les moyens juridiques et l�gaux d'�difier un �tat de droit, mais ce qu'il nous faut � cet �gard c'est la volont� politique. �
Le tribunal international et les rep�res
�voquant le dossier du Tribunal sp�cial pour le Liban et, d'une mani�re g�n�rale, les assassinats politiques au Liban, Nadim Gemayel s'�l�ve contre le fait que le Hezbollah et les alli�s de la Syrie tentent de modifier les rep�res des Libanais. � Nous risquons de perdre les rep�res du bien et du mal, de ce qui est faux et ce qui est juste, pr�cise sur ce plan le d�put� de Beyrouth. Ce qui est faux, c'est l'attentat du 14 f�vrier, et ce qui est juste, c'est d'avoir une justice qui puisse r�clamer des comptes. L'importance du tribunal international r�side pr�cis�ment dans le fait qu'il contribue � r�tablir les rep�res justes de mani�re claire. D'aucuns cherchent � modifier les rep�res en imposant le fait que lorsqu'un crime est commis, personne n'est responsable et personne ne doit payer le prix. �
Pour M. Gemayel, le but du TSL est de r�tablir les crit�res justes sur ce plan, afin que, pour chaque crime commis, le coupable soit condamn�. � Tout le monde soup�onne la Syrie d'avoir commandit� les assassinats de Kamal Joumblatt, Bachir Gemayel et Ren� Moawad, d�clare dans ce cadre Nadim Gemayel. Lorsque la Syrie commet tous ces crimes, il n'est pas surprenant qu'elle puisse perp�trer l'attentat qui a co�t� la vie � Rafic Hariri. Sauf que, cette fois-ci, nous avons la possibilit� r�elle que ce meurtre soit sanctionn� par un tribunal international juste et �quitable. � Et d'ajouter : � M�me si le prix est lourd � payer, il est pr�f�rable de l'assumer une fois pour toutes afin de ne pas faire face chaque quelque temps � de nouveaux assassinats politiques. En quelque sorte, c'est parce que les assassinats de Kamal Joumblatt, Bachir Gemayel, Ren� Moawad et d'autres sont rest�s impunis que les assassinats politiques se sont poursuivis. J'ai ainsi la conviction que le TSL, en rendant un verdict juste, contribuera � renforcer l'�tat de droit. �
M. Gemayel rel�ve, � l'appui de son argumentation, que le TSL � ne concerne pas uniquement la famille Hariri ou les familles des martyrs du 14 Mars �. � En quelque sorte, souligne-t-il, ce tribunal international est un message d'espoir aux jeunes, en ce sens que jamais au Liban les coupables des assassinats politiques ont �t� jug�s. Aujourd'hui, il est temps que cela change. En tant que jeunes, nous en avons assez de voir tous ces assassinats perp�tr�s sans qu'une instance judiciaire ne r�clame des comptes. �
Dans un souci de parfaire sa vision de l'action politique, notamment au niveau des jeunes, Nadim Gemayel �tablit un parall�le digne d'int�r�t entre la situation pr�sente et le contexte du d�but de la guerre libanaise. � Dans les ann�es 70, les jeunes ont pris les armes ett combattu pour d�fendre la cause de la libert� et de la souverainet�, et ils �taient pr�ts � consentir d'importants sacrifices, souligne M. Gemayel. Aujourd'hui, il ne s'agit plus de porter les armes. Les jeunes devraient plut�t s'engager dans l'�tat, dans les institutions afin de d�fendre cette m�me cause. L'approche est donc nouvelle et le mode de combat est diff�rent. �
Une telle approche est certes s�duisante. Sauf que l'effort de construction ne saurait aboutir aux r�sultats escompt�s lorsqu'en face une faction s'obstine � d�truire tout ce qui pourrait �tre construit...