LCCC
ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
ِOctober
17/2010
Bible Of The
Day
Luke15/3-10: " He told them
this parable. 15:4 “Which of you men, if you had one hundred sheep, and lost one
of them, wouldn’t leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one
that was lost, until he found it? 15:5 When he has found it, he carries it on
his shoulders, rejoicing. 15:6 When he comes home, he calls together his friends
and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep
which was lost!’ 15:7 I tell you that even so there will be more joy in heaven
over one sinner who repents, than over ninety-nine righteous people who need no
repentance. 15:8 Or what woman, if she had ten drachma coins, if she lost one
drachma coin, wouldn’t light a lamp, sweep the house, and seek diligently until
she found it? 15:9 When she has found it, she calls together her friends and
neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the drachma which I had
lost.’ 15:10 Even so, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of
God over one sinner repenting.”
Free
Opinions, Releases, letters, Interviews & Special Reports
Iran marches on,Dominating Lebanon
and more/By: Amir Taheri/October 16/10
The flipside of Ahmadinejad’s
visit/By: Aline Sara/October 16/10
U.S. Has Long Sided with Arab
World/By Mordechai Nisan/October 16/10
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's visit to
Lebanon sends a menacing message/By Con Coughlin/October 16/10
Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources for
October 16/10
Ahmadinejad from Tehran: The Sons
of Southern Lebanon will Determine Future of the Region/Naharnet
Ahmadinejad Vows to Wipe Out
Israel, Receives Seized Israeli Rifle from Nasrallah before Leaving
Lebanon/Naharnet
Bellemare's Office: Evidence Alone
can Lead to an Accusation/Naharnet
Cassese Extends Deadline Given to
Sayyed, Bellemare for Remarks on Investigation Documents/Naharnet
National Dialogue Postponed and
Discussion of False Witnesses File Likely to Lengthen/Naharnet
LF Sources: Hariri and Geagea
Agreed on Need to Keep Lebanon Away from Any Axis/Naharnet
Hariri to Ahmadinejad: Lebanon won't join axis/Ynetnews
President Amin Gemayel: False
witnesses’ issue is an STL issue/Now Lebanon/Naharnet
Nasrallah, Aoun stress importance
of Ahmadinejad’s Beirut visit/Now Lebanon/Naharnet
Sami Gemayel: Kataeb will
not allow sedition between Christians/Now Lebanon/Naharnet
New Taif" Fends Off Strife in
Lebanon/Naharnet
Gemayel Didn't Accuse Syria of
Assassinating his Son: False Witnesses File is Not a Lebanese Matter/Naharnet
Hariri to Hold Series of Talks and
Contacts, Nothing Stopping him from Meeting Nasrallah/Naharnet
Qassem Holds Talks with Pietton on
STL and Indictment: Hizbullah has the Right to Defend Itself/Naharnet
Hizbullah and Jamaa Islamiya
Condemn Kalam al-Nas Episode, Accuse it of Provoking Strife/Naharnet
Maalouf: Information of the Arming
of Some Sides has been Presented to Security and Legal Authorities/Naharnet
Jumblat: Hariri is Lebanon's
Savior, Will Rename Him Should He Resigned/Naharnet
Mustaqbal Sources: Hariri Told
Ahmadinejad Coexistence Formula Prevents Lebanon from Joining Regional Axes/Naharnet
Army: Doubting Us is a Red Line, We
Do Not Seek to Strengthen One Political Team against Another/Naharnet
France: Hariri Assassination
Reenactment Has Not Taken Place Yet/Naharnet
Question: "Can a Christian be demon possessed? Can a Christian be demonized?"
"GotQuestions.org/Answer:
While Bible does not explicitly state whether a Christian can be possessed by a
demon, related biblical truths make it abundantly clear that Christians cannot
be demon possessed. There is a distinct difference between being possessed by a
demon and being oppressed or influenced by a demon. Demon possession involves a
demon having direct/complete control over the thoughts and/or actions of a
person (Matthew 17:14-18; Luke 4:33-35; 8:27-33). Demon oppression or influence
involves a demon or demons attacking a person spiritually and/or encouraging
him/her into sinful behavior. Notice that in all the New Testament passages
dealing with spiritual warfare, there are no instructions to cast a demon out of
a believer (Ephesians 6:10-18). Believers are told to resist the devil (James
4:7; 1 Peter 5:8-9), not to cast him out.
Christians are indwelt by the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:9-11; 1 Corinthians 3:16;
6:19). Surely the Holy Spirit would not allow a demon to possess the same person
He is indwelling. It is unthinkable that God would allow one of His children,
whom He purchased with the blood of Christ (1 Peter 1:18-19) and made into a new
creation (2 Corinthians 5:17), to be possessed and controlled by a demon. Yes,
as believers, we wage war with Satan and his demons, but not from within
ourselves. The apostle John declares, “You, dear children, are from God and have
overcome them, because the One who is in you is greater than the one who is in
the world” (1 John 4:4). Who is the One in us? The Holy Spirit. Who is the one
in the world? Satan and his demons. Therefore, the believer has overcome the
world of demons, and the case for demon possession of a believer cannot be made
scripturally.
With the strong biblical evidence that a Christian cannot be demon possessed in
view, some Bible teachers use the term “demonization” to refer to a demon having
control over a Christian. Some argue that while a Christian cannot be demon
possessed, a Christian can be demonized. Typically, the description of
demonization is virtually identical to the description of demon possession. So,
the same issue results. Changing the terminology does not change the fact that a
demon cannot inhabit or take full control of a Christian. Demonic influence and
oppression are realities for Christians, no doubt, but it is simply not biblical
to say that a Christian can be possessed by a demon or demonized.
Much of the reasoning behind the demonization concept is the personal experience
of seeing someone who was “definitely” a Christian exhibiting evidence of being
controlled by a demon. It is crucially important, though, that we do not allow
personal experience to influence our interpretation of Scripture. Rather, we
must filter our personal experiences through the truth of Scripture (2 Timothy
3:16-17). Seeing someone whom we thought to be a Christian exhibiting the
behavior of being demonized should cause us to question the genuineness of
his/her faith. It should not cause us alter our viewpoint on whether a Christian
can be demon possessed / demonized. Perhaps the person truly is a Christian but
is severely demon oppressed and/or suffering from severe psychological problems.
But again, our experiences must meet the test of Scripture, not the other way
around.
National
Dialogue Postponed and Discussion of False Witnesses File Likely to Lengthen
Naharnet/The presidency announced on Friday that the national dialogue has been
postponed. The session, which was scheduled for October 19, has been pushed to
November 4.
Ministerial sources meanwhile told the daily al-Hayat Saturday that it is
unlikely that Cabinet would be able to reach a final position on the report on
the false witnesses file that was prepared by Justice Minister Ibrahim Najjar.
The discussion is likely to be finalized when the dispute between the March 14
and March 8 forces is resolved. The former believes that the matter should be
tackled before the judiciary, while the opposition has demanded that it be
handled through the legal council. The sources stated that it is a likely that
an understanding between President Michel Suleiman and Progressive Socialist
Party leader MP Walid Jumblat in which they agreed that postponing the
discussion was necessary in order to avert increasing the tensions that are
already pervading the country. Sources from the PSP reported the Druze leader as
saying that the solution to the crisis in Lebanon lies in an understanding with
Syria.
The sources added that Prime Minister Saad Hariri was informed of Suleiman and
Jumblat's positions on the discussion of the false witnesses file, and he
relayed it to the Mustaqbal bloc MPs. Beirut, 16 Oct 10, 10:09
Ahmadinejad from Tehran: The Sons of Southern Lebanon will Determine Future of
the Region
Naharnet/Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad stressed on Friday his support
for the "Lebanese people's courageous resistance."He said upon his return from
his trip to Lebanon: "Iran supports the rest of the peoples in the area … and
the sons of southern Lebanon will determine the future of the region." "They
have made their decision today and they are announcing it loudly to the whole
world," he stated. He stressed the importance of the autonomy of the Lebanese
people, saying: "It is unacceptable that decisions be made on behalf of this
brave people by any foreign powers." Meanwhile, Iranian Ambassador to Lebanon
Ghazanfar Rokn-Abadi reiterated to Al-Manar TV Ahmadinejad's positions towards
Lebanon. He added that ties between Iran and Saudi Arabia are "good" and noted
the "very active economic relations with Egypt." "You will soon witness positive
steps in bolstering Iranian-Arabian ties," he revealed.He also denied that
Ahmadinejad's statements on the Special Tribunal for Lebanon were a condemnation
of the tribunal, stressing the former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri was a "great
man and friend of the Islamic Republic."Abadi also did not rule out the
possibility of Israel carrying out assassinations in Lebanon. Beirut, 16 Oct 10,
10:55
Bellemare's Office: Evidence Alone can Lead to an
Accusation
Naharnet/The office of the prosecutor in the investigation into the
assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, Daniel Bellemare, stressed
that there are no political links to the ongoing investigations. It said in an
email to Al-Akhbar newspaper: "Evidence alone will lead to an accusation in
Hariri's assassination."It added that delays in issuing the indictment are a
result of the complicated investigation. "The groundwork the independent
international investigation has conducted does not indicate the end of the
investigation," it stressed. Furthermore, it refuted all claims that the
investigation is being politicized. Beirut, 16 Oct 10, 13:43
LF Sources: Hariri and Geagea Agreed on Need to Keep Lebanon Away from Any Axis
Naharnet/Sources from the Lebanese Forces revealed on Saturday that Prime
Minister Saad Hariri and LF leader Samir Geagea's meeting on Friday night
focused on Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's visit to Lebanon, according
to the Central News Agency. The sources said that the two leaders stressed that
"Lebanon will not become linked to any axis and it will stand by Arab consensus
on pending issues." The talks also discussed the Special Tribunal for Lebanon
and Justice Minister Ibrahim Najjar's report on the false witnesses, "which
stands as a roadmap to tackle not just this file, but false testimonies as
well."Hariri and Geagea therefore consider that the case of the false witnesses
has been resolved, added the sources. Beirut, 16 Oct 10, 17:05
"New Taif" Fends Off Strife in Lebanon
Naharnet/Political quarters have been discussing possible solutions for the
crisis in Lebanon based on averting internal strife, which some sides have
accused the international community and American administration of promoting,
reported the Central News Agency Saturday. The solution would be supported by
sides concerned with the situation in Lebanon, mainly the U.S., Syria, Saudi
Arabia, and Iran. The agreement, likened to a "new Taif" accord, would focus on
reaching a defense strategy that would coincide with Hizbullah handing its arms
to the Lebanese state while the international community and those concerned
would work on alleviating the consequences of the indictment in the Special
Tribunal for Lebanon through all means possible. The political quarters added
that the Lebanese are also aiming to introduce some constitutional amendments to
the Taif agreement in some articles seen as hampering the work of the state.
Beirut, 16 Oct 10, 16:45
President Amin Gemayel: False witnesses’ issue is an STL issue
October 16, 2010 /Kataeb Party leader Amin Gemayel told BBC television on
Saturday that “no one denies the existence of false witnesses, but the affair is
that of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL),” adding that when issues are
clarified, a credible trial can be held. “We have full confidence that the
international judiciary is credible,” Gemayel said. He stated that Iranian
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s statements made during his visit to Lebanon this
week were embarrassing to some Lebanon parties. “Ahmadinejad’s position is
inclined to war and to turning Lebanon into a battlefield,” Gemayel also said.
“Hezbollah is calling for liberating the lands occupied [by Israel], but it
never announced that it wants to wipe Israel out of existence, like Ahmadinejad
did in his speech [in Lebanon],” he added. The Iranian president arrived in
Beirut on Wednesday morning in an official visit that took him to Lebanon’s
border with Israel. He left the country on Thursday night. Ahmadinejad said
during his Lebanon visit that “there is no power in the world that can defeat
[the Lebanese] Resistance,” referring to Hezbollah. He also said that Palestine
will be liberated from Israeli occupation.-NOW Lebanon
Gemayel
Didn't Accuse Syria of Assassinating his Son: False Witnesses File is Not a
Lebanese Matter
Naharnet/Phalange Party leader Amin Gemayel voiced his support for international
law and the international investigation into the assassination of former Prime
Minister Rafik Hariri, saying: "We are confident that they are autonomous and
not politicized."He told the BBC that he had never accused Syria of being behind
the assassination of his son, former Industry Minister Pierre Gemayel, and Prime
Minister Saad Hariri had also never accused it of killing his father. He
explained that Hariri had simply said that he was too quick to make a political
accusation, while Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat had openly
accused Syria of the crime. "I cannot make an accusation without a fair and
honest investigation," said Gemayel. He asserted that the international
investigation was misled by Syrian individuals, Husam Husam and Mohammed Zuhair
al-Siddiq."No one can deny the existence of false witnesses, however this is not
a Lebanese matter, but one related to the Special Tribunal for Lebanon," he
noted. Addressing Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's visit to Lebanon,
Gemayel said that his official meetings were positive and friendly, while his
speeches at popular gatherings were different than the official ones. This may
have embarrassed President Michel Suleiman because his statements opposed
international resolutions whose implementation Suleiman had demanded, he
continued. Furthermore, he added that Ahmainejad's statements also embarrassed
the Lebanese people because he got ahead of himself while tackling Lebanon's
position towards Israel in that he "asserted the war mentality and transformed
Lebanon into the only battlefield to confront Israel, which is a matter that has
not yet been finalized in the national dialogue." Beirut, 16 Oct 10, 15:50
Sami Gemayel: Kataeb will not allow sedition between Christians
October 16, 2010 /During a mass in Nevada in the US, Kataeb bloc MP Sami Gemayel
said that the Kataeb will not allow Christians to be dragged to sedition, the
National News Agency (NNA) reported on Saturday. Despite many issues that we
disagree on, there will be cooperation between the Free Patriotic Movement, the
Kataeb bloc and the Lebanese Forces (LF) to avoid sedition between Christians,
Gemayel also said.-NOW Lebanon
Nasrallah, Aoun stress importance of Ahmadinejad’s Beirut visit
October 16, 2010
Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah held a meeting with Change
and Reform bloc leader MP Michel Aoun on Friday, during which they stressed the
importance of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s visit to Beirut this week,
according to a statement issued by Hezbollah on Saturday. Energy Minister Gebran
Bassil, Nasrallah’s political aide Hussein Khalil and Hezbollah official Wafiq
Safa took part in the meeting, the statement said. “The members of the meeting
highlighted the success of [Ahmadinejad’s visit]… [and discussed the] latest
domestic and regional developments,” the statement added. The Iranian president
arrived in Beirut Wednesday morning on an official visit that took him to
Lebanon’s border with Israel. He left Lebanon on Thursday night.-NOW Lebanon
Hariri to Hold Series of Talks and Contacts, Nothing Stopping him from Meeting
Nasrallah
Naharnet/Prime Minister Saad Hariri is set to hold a series of meetings and
contacts, and possibly a local and external tour, reported As Safir Saturday.
Sources close to the premier did not confirm or deny his willingness to hold a
meeting with Hizbullah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah. "Nothing is
stopping the meeting from taking place," they said. Hariri scheduled to head to
London on November 1 as part of a two-day visit. Beirut, 16 Oct 10, 14:32
France: Hariri Assassination Reenactment Has Not Taken Place Yet
Naharnet/Informed sources in Paris refuted on Friday media reports that stated
that the reenactment of the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri
has taken place. The sources said: "The reenactment is an experiment aimed at
performing a technical study of the effects of the explosion" that targeted
Hariri in 2005. Beirut, 15 Oct 10, 16:24
Jumblat: Hariri is Lebanon's Savior, Will Rename Him Should He Resigned
Naharnet/Druze leader Walid Jumblat said Lebanon cannot afford losing Prime
Minister Saad Hariri and announced that he will rename him in the event he
resigned. Hariri should stay "in order to save this country," Jumblat told BBC
radio. He said Hariri enjoys "wisdom, credibility and courage to get the country
out of the crisis in cooperation with the other team (Opposition)." Jumblat
stressed that in the event of Hariri's resignation, he will rename him as prime
minister. "No one can joke with resignation. This is a big joke that could lead
to political vacuum," he warned. The Progressive Socialist Party leader also
confirmed that he has no plans to quit the Government. Jumblat, however, said he
disagreed with Hariri, his Mustaqbal Movement and the majority March 14
coalition on the issue of false witnesses. "What else can I do but call for
calm," he said, adding that "Hariri and others are required to sit down and
agree on how to get the country out of this impasse." Beirut, 15 Oct 10, 08:51
Mustaqbal Sources: Hariri Told Ahmadinejad Coexistence Formula Prevents Lebanon
from Joining Regional Axes
Naharnet/Premier Saad Hariri informed the members of the Mustaqbal parliamentary
bloc during a meeting on Friday that Iranian leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had
invited him to visit Tehran, adding that the visit would be coordinated later
through the relevant diplomatic channels between the two countries, Mustaqbal
Bloc sources have revealed. The sources quoted Hariri as saying that his talks
with Ahmadinejad Thursday were "friendly, positive and frank." According to the
sources, Hariri told Ahmadinejad that the Lebanese coexistence formula does not
allow Lebanon to join regional axes and that such steps require consultations
among the Lebanese parties. During a mass rally organized Wednesday by Hizbullah
in Beirut Southern Suburbs, Ahmadinejad declared that "a resistance front has
been formed by the peoples of Lebanon, Palestine, Syria, Turkey, Iran, Iraq and
the entire region."
"Our world today is at the gateway of major change, whose elements have started
to emerge from our region," added Ahmadinejad.
The sources quoted Hariri as telling Ahmadinejad that "the values of the
Lebanese formula, in all its sectarian components, are the strongest weapon, not
to mention that confronting Israel requires high-level economic
capabilities."According to the sources, Hariri denied that Ahmadinejad had
suggested a political initiative regarding the Special Tribunal for Lebanon,
noting that bilateral talks focused on the priority of preserving stability in
Lebanon through calm dialogue among the Lebanese and through searching for
solutions.
The premier told the Iranian leader that "escalation and intimidation prevents
the various parties from hearing each other," said the sources.
Mustaqbal sources also quoted Hariri as saying that he stressed to Ahmadinejad
his "commitment to the ministerial Policy Statement, in its domestic, Arab and
international stipulations."
Hariri clarified that "the culture of confronting Israel has been deep-rooted in
the minds of the Lebanese since a long time and that they are the ones who have
suffered the highest prices and sacrifices in this confrontation in order to
support Arabs' main cause -- the Palestinian cause," added the sources.
"He told Ahmadinejad that he shall not spare any effort so that calm and
dialogue prevail as to solving domestic disputes and preventing a slide towards
sectarian strife, in cooperation with all the political forces in Lebanon,
topped by Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah," the sources added.
Meanwhile, parliamentary majority sources also denied the presence of any
Iranian initiative regarding the STL, noting that Ahmadinejad did not suggest
anything in that regard during his visit to Lebanon. The sources told the
Central News Agency that Ahmadinejad's talks with Hariri focused on dialogue and
stability in Lebanon, noting that the two men had identical stances on these two
topics. "During the talks, Hariri showed adherence to his beliefs, rejecting (Ahmadinejad's)
call for making Lebanon a part of an alliance among six peoples in the region,"
the sources added. Beirut, 15 Oct 10, 22:07
The flipside of Ahmadinejad’s visit
Disturbances and reactions from the less enthused
Aline Sara, October 16, 2010
In Tripoli, a poster of Ahmadinejad with a red cross and message that reads,
"You are not welcome in Lebanon", a few days before his contested visit. (AFP)
While many of the country’s children raved about their day off from school last
Wednesday, many parents questioned the reason behind the unexpected hiatus. No,
it wasn’t a miraculous snowfall in the middle of October (or Beirut for that
matter), nor a newly-added holiday. It was the day Iranian President Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad came to Lebanon.
“After checking with many sources, we have been advised that it will be
difficult for our parents, students and staff to move efficiently as several of
the major roads will be closed [...] Therefore we have decided to cancel classes
for October 13th,” read an email to parents of students from one of Beirut’s
prominent American institutions. “There was no official governmental statement,
but we deemed it better, for both security and traffic-related matters, to
close,” said a school representative.
Most international headlines focused on the thousands of supporters that greeted
the Iranian president at the airport with rose petals and Iranian flags and who
eagerly awaited his speeches in the Dahiyeh Jnoubieh and Bint Jbeil on Wednesday
night and Thursday, but many Lebanese from all sects had reservations about the
visit. Disruptions, ranging from gridlock traffic to event cancellations, left
many with feelings that ranged from exasperation to downright disgust.
“I don’t personally have anything against [Ahmadinejad] but there is this
worldwide stigma against Iran, and I definitely think what is happening is to
reinforce the country’s divide,” said Basma Barakat, a 39-year-old Beirut
resident. “Lebanon should be careful in its choice of allies, whether [they be]
the Islamic Republic [of Iran], the US or anyone else,” she added.
While schools in Beirut shut down for safety reasons, a mother from the southern
town of Ghaziye said that Hezbollah-run schools closed to ensure their staff and
students were mobilized in support of the event. “You see some taking the day
off, others going to work as usual,” said Barakat. “Some schools are closed,
others aren’t- what is this? It isn’t normal.”
Foreigners were not spared the confusion. “My embassy called and said we should
stay home,” said 28-year-old Italian, Constancia Lasagne. “But I don’t really
understand why. Why should things just stop and why should the country pay the
economic cost of a full day of interruption in daily activity? Why the cab
drivers? Why the shops?” she asked.
Maria Bou Abdallah, 30, from Zghrarta said she was disgusted and angry. “Who is
he? Who gives him the rights to give a conference before a political party
bestowing him the leader of Hezbollah, whereas hours before, at the presidential
palace, he spoke moderately?” she raged; “The world is moving forward, and
Lebanon is going backwards.” Bou Abdallah was so enraged, she took her debate to
her Facebook page, as walls and internet forums were filled with discussion
about the controversial visit.
An infamous video of Hassan Nasrallah describing Hezbollah’s original mission
statement from the mid-1980s was revived and circulated as pro-government
supporters used it as a reminder to “never forget the political party’s
intentions.” In the recording, Nasrallah discusses the best regime in Lebanon
and alludes to the project of an Islamic state as part of the Islamic republic
of Iran lead by Wali el Fakih el Khomeyni.
For Maissa Cortbawi, 26, from the Metn, it was a matter of annoyance rather than
anger; “I don’t get why there is so much commotion. The only commotion we should
have is about Lebanon. I try and not pay attention.”
But despite efforts to ignore the 48 hours of Ahmadinejad mania, some were
forced to face the depressing reality of this high profile state visit. “Of
course I am annoyed. I am extremely irritated,” Beirut International Film
Festival Director Collette Naufal told NOW Lebanon. Early last week, General
Security requested that to avoid upsetting Ahmadinejad, the BIFF postpone a
screening of Green days, which depicts the protests following the leader’s
controversial re-election in June 2009.
In addition, the BIFF’s closing ceremony, a screening of Io sono l'amore, was
300 people short, said Naufal. “The room which fits 1,285 people, is usually
sold out… people come and wait in line, hoping to be squeezed in last minute.
But they all cancelled this time. If [US President Barack] Obama or [French
President Nicolas Sarkozy] were to come, this wouldn’t have happened. Why such
special treatment?” she asked.
Twenty-three-year-old Abdel Ghani Habli from Saida also questioned the
overwhelming attention given to the visit. “I don’t mind Ahmadinejad himself,
nor the visit. This is normal, diplomatic relations. But what I don’t understand
is the importance it has taken,” he said. To him, the disproportionate reception
is worrisome and reflective of Lebanon’s weak government; “It sends that message
that Lebanon is not sovereign and independent.”
Interestingly, though many expressed alarm, others expressed indifference, a
reflection of the rising number of Lebanese youth that have become jaded by the
never ending political turmoil in the region. “I really had no idea what was
happening,” said 18-year-old Mohammad Cheheir, from Meis al-Jabal. “My life
would have probably continued if it weren’t for the streets being closed. Of
course, I was pissed they were blocked off, so yes, I was indirectly affected.
But all the [Lebanese Academy of Fine Arts] ALBA students here are pretty
indifferent to this stuff. We aren’t political; we don’t have elections for
example, like AUB, LAU, NDU, etc.”
But as indifferent as one can be, Hezbollah, not the Lebanese Army, is the main
beneficiary of Iranian funding. “It’s like if I were a child and my neighbors
were giving me a higher allowance than my own parents,” said Rabih Nassar, 32, a
businessman originally from Qattine. “This only worsens the situation and
discredits and weakens an already fragile government.”
And of course such feelings lead people to consider taking desperate measures.
“I almost feel like I should arm myself,” said one woman from Tripoli. “What
Hezbollah is doing is outrageous and no one is stopping them. It almost feels
like the only way to fight back is to gear up too.”
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's visit to Lebanon sends a menacing message
Iran's president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad wants the charges dropped against Hizbollah
– or else.
By Con Coughlin
Published: 9:00PM BST 14 Oct 2010
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/iran/8065473/Mahmoud-Ahmadinejads-visit-to-Lebanon-sends-a-menacing-message.html
It is not often that a state visit by a foreign president plunges the host
nation into political turmoil. But then Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's presence in
Lebanon is no ordinary visit. On one level, the Iranian president's
controversial tour of southern Lebanon, where yesterday he was literally a
stone's throw from the Israeli border, should be seen as yet another example of
the publicity-grabbing exploits that have become the hallmark of this eccentric
leader.
What better way to distract attention from Iran's deepening economic crisis –
the direct result of Mr Ahmadinejad's intransigence over the nuclear programme –
than to stage a high-profile visit to about the only place in the world where he
can truly be guaranteed a popular welcome.
Ahmadinejad tells Lebanon: Israel is mortal
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's visit to Lebanon sends a menacing message
Ahmadinejad to make provocative trip to Lebanon
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in Lebanon: 'a landlord visiting his domain'
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad calls for 9/11 investigation
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to tour Israel-Lebanon borderDuring the past three decades,
Iran has invested billions of dollars in turning the Shia Muslim Hizbollah
militia into one of the dominant forces in modern Lebanese politics. When I
covered the Lebanese civil war for this newspaper in the mid-1980s, Hizbollah –
or The Party of God – was a fringe group in the shadow of the more mainstream
Amal movement, which represented Shia interests in the Lebanese parliament.
At that time, Hizbollah's main claim to fame was its role in blowing up the
American embassy and the US and French military barracks with suicide lorry
bombs, which, at the time, was a novel terrorist technique that killed hundreds
of people. The group also masterminded the hostage crisis that caused Terry
Waite, John McCarthy and Brian Keenan to spend years chained to radiators in
dank cells in the Bekaa Valley.
So the fact that Hizbollah is now Lebanon's main political party, and a leading
member of the coalition government, shows how far Iran's pet militia has come
during the past 25 years. More to the point, its leadership also shares Iran's
nihilistic attitude towards the feisty little Jewish state that is located on
the other side of Lebanon's southern border. Armed and equipped by Iran,
Hizbollah has already provoked one war with Israel, in the summer of 2006. And,
given the thousands of missiles and rockets that Tehran continues to smuggle to
Hizbollah strongholds in southern Lebanon, the militia clearly believes there is
another conflict in the offing.
That is certainly Iran's view. The country's leaders regard Hizbollah's presence
in southern Lebanon as the front line in their war with Israel. If the Israeli
government was ever reckless enough to carry out its promise to bomb Iran's
nuclear installations, an important component of the military response would be
to launch a barrage of missiles from southern Lebanon at Israel's major towns
and cities. When Mr Ahmadinejad praised Lebanon for its "resistance to the
world's tyrants", no one in Israel doubted the barb was aimed at them.
But it is Hizbollah's continued – though constantly denied – involvement in
terrorism, rather than its confrontational posture with its southern neighbour,
that is the real motivation behind Mr Ahmadinejad's decision to become the first
Iranian president to visit the region.
In a few weeks' time, the United Nations special tribunal that has spent the
past five years investigating the assassination of former Lebanese prime
minister Rafik Hariri is due to publish its findings. Mr Hariri, a self-made
Sunni Muslim billionaire who was financing Lebanon's post-civil war
reconstruction, was killed by a car bomb as he drove through Beirut in 2005.
Lebanese security officials immediately suspected Hizbollah because Mr Hariri
was demanding that the party disband its militia and arrange for its thousands
of fighters to join up with Lebanon's conventional armed forces. The bombing
also bore all the hallmarks of Imad Mugniyeh, who masterminded the 1980s Beirut
lorry bombings and who was himself killed by a car bomb in Damascus in 2008.
Details of the UN tribunal's findings leaked to the Beirut press suggest that,
apart from Mugniyeh, the investigators have uncovered evidence that links as
many as 50 senior Hizbollah officials to the assassination. This includes
intercepts of mobile phone calls made between Hizbollah officials in the days
leading up to Mr Hariri's murder.
In an attempt to distance the organisation from the report's conclusions, Shiekh
Hassan Nasrallah, the Hizbollah leader who lives in permanent hiding for fear of
assassination by Israel, issued a video statement in the summer claiming that
those involved with Hariri's assassination were "undisciplined members which the
group has no relations with".
Diplomatic sources in Beirut tell me that, to avoid a confrontation between
Hizbollah and the Lebanese government, Saad Hariri, the current prime minister
and son of the murdered politician, has offered Nasrallah a deal whereby the
assassination is blamed entirely on Mugniyeh, who is no longer in a position to
face criminal prosecution. But Nasrallah, who regards Mugniyeh as a "martyr" to
Hizbollah's cause, has refused, and is trying to pressure Mr Hariri to reject
the findings of the UN investigation.
This is a hard ask for a man who saw his father blown to pieces by a car bomb.
It is also a totally unacceptable proposition for the millions of Christian and
Sunni Muslim Lebanese who oppose Hizbollah's attempts to impose its
uncompromising Islamic ideology on their lives.
By parading through Shia-dominated southern Lebanon yesterday, Mr Ahmadinejad
was not only demonstrating his loyalty to Tehran's favourite Islamic militia. He
was also sending an uncompromising message to Mr Hariri's government to drop the
charges against Hizbollah, or face the consequences.
Iran marches on, Dominating Lebanon and more
Last Updated: 4:07 AM, October 15, 2010
By: Amir Taheri/New York Post
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/opinion/opedcolumnists/iran_marches_on_i8HO1PQZDJcWA2JirCfYVM
Beyond providing TV foot age of welcoming throngs of Hezbollah supporters,
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's visit to Lebanon this week served a
number of purposes -- none good.
First, it underlined Tehran's claim to be the dominant foreign power in Lebanon.
In an unprecedented scene, virtually all Lebanese political leaders gathered at
the presidential palace in Beirut to pay their respects to a man who finances
most of them. (It is no secret that Hezbollah is no longer the only Lebanese
outfit to be bankrolled by Iran.)
Asserting Iran's dominance in Lebanon is of geopolitical importance for the
Islamic Republic's leadership. Already strongly present in Iraq, where its
allies (the Sadrists, who follow Muqtada al-Sadr) are seeking the lion's share
in a new coalition government, Iran is also the patron of Syria's Ba'athist
regime. Adding Lebanon and Iraq to Syria would give Iran a direct corridor to
the Mediterranean for the first time since the 7th century.
Cheers for the new boss: Lebanese welcoming Iranian President Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad this week with a Hezbollah rally south of Beirut.
Second, the visit demonstrated that Iran now has a "border" with Israel.
Ahmadinejad's assertion that any attack on Hezbollah will be regarded as an
attack on Iran hammered in that point. He also insisted on visiting a number of
Hezbollah strongholds in southern Lebanon close to the Israeli border. Third,
the visit advanced Iran's claim to be leading a new "rejection front" of states
and movements dedicated to Israel's destruction. This makes it even more
difficult for the Syrian rulers and the Hamas leadership in Gaza to consider any
negotiations with Israel.
By seizing control of the Arab-Israeli conflict, which has nothing to do with
Iran, Ahmadinejad hopes to strengthen his position in coming negotiations with
America and other nations over Tehran's nuclear program. The visit also served a
purpose back home: The wall-to-wall coverage from Iran's state-owned media
provided a smokescreen behind which Savama, the dreaded secret police, has
arrested an unknown number of people on charges of anti-regime activities and
espionage. Among those arrested are a number of opposition figures, including
Mehdi Khazaali and Ali Shakuri-Rad. Savama has also issued an arrest warrant for
the son of former President Hashemi Rafsanjani, Mehdi (who happens to be
abroad).
The visit's impact on Iran's domestic politics is likely to be minimal. The
break between the regime, or at least Ahmadinejad's government, and the Iranian
people is unlikely to be mended anytime soon. Despite more than 18 months of
repression and attempts at social bribery, the regime hasn't yet succeeded in
regaining its lost legitimacy.
In Lebanon, however, the visit appears to have cowed some parties and groups
that oppose Tehran's plan to create a state within the Lebanese state by using
Hezbollah as its Trojan horse.
Pro-West parties in Lebanon feel betrayed by the Obama administration, which
appears to have subcontracted its Mideast policy to the Saudi
Arabia-Egypt-Jordan trio. By announcing a US retreat, notably from Iraq and
Afghanistan, President Obama is creating a power vacuum that Ahmadinejad is
trying to fill.
The Iranian president underscored that point by declaring America to be a
"bankrupt empire" that betrays its allies. To show who is boss in Lebanon, he
brought with him a 300-man delegation that included dozens of officers from the
Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. He offered to build power plants in Lebanon
and train the Lebanese army.
More important, perhaps, he received Hezbollah's "Supreme Council" at the
Iranian embassy in Beirut, driving home the claim that he -- and not Sheik
Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollah's secretary-general -- is the real leader of the
Shi'ite group. Nasrallah, believed to be hiding in the Iranian embassy since
2006, used the occasion to declare himself to be a "soldier" of the Iranian
"supreme guide" and ready to give his life for the Islamic Republic. According
to Iran's official news agency, Nasrallah also claimed that in Ahmadinejad he
found "the scent of Imam Khomeini's perfume" Perfume? As they contemplate their
country's takeover by Iran and the threat of a new civil war, many Lebanese
would smell a rat.
*Amir Taheri is the author of "The Persian Night: Iran Under the Khomeinist
Revolution."
U.S. Has Long Sided with Arab World
By: By Mordechai Nisan
On three formidable major speech-making occasions since his election – in
Ankara, Cairo, and Washington – President Obama stated that America ‘is not and
never will be at war with Islam’. This definitive affirmation ignores the fact
that America has been at war with Christians who are at war with Muslims, while
the United States has accepted the defeat and death of Christians at the hands
of Muslims. Obama actually gave voice to what has been characteristic of U.S.
policy in religiously-defined conflicts, for American-Islamic compatibility was
a pillar in Washington’s conduct long before Obama made it central to the
American political creed.
The history of America’s special relationship with Saudi Arabia, the heart of
Islam and its global campaign to reach and preach in the four corners of the
world, is well-documented and central in the strategic calculations of the
United States for over 70 years. Incorporating Turkey into the NATO alliance in
1952 was also a step toward U.S.-Muslim consolidation, as is the decades-long
alliance with Pakistan.
But our concern here is a particular aspect of Washington’s pro-Muslim
inclination involving Muslim-Christian rivalries and America’s decision of
supporting the Muslim side.
The swath of territory running from south-eastern Europe across Asia Minor and
toward the eastern Mediterranean basin was historically conquered and ruled by
the Turkish Ottoman Empire for many centuries until WWI. A state system emerged,
peoples dotted the map, and Western hegemony dominated the political arena.
Islam as a religious-political concept appeared to have been replaced by
nationalism and secularism, but it never really collapsed; it mutated,
radicalized and politicized, and reasserted the ‘Green Belt’ momentum with
American consent and cooperation.
*****
We can capture the pattern of U.S. policy in areas which Samuel Huntington aptly
labeled “Islam’s bloody borders” by drawing upon four illuminating political
cases that confirm President Obama’s view when he declared, that America is not
a Christian country.
*****
Cyprus
In 1974, Turkish armed forces invaded Cyprus, capturing 36 percent of its
territory, partitioning the island, and leading to the declaration of the
northern Turkish Republic of Cyprus in 1983. This act of war and premeditated
aggression was taken by an American ally and NATO member-country. At the time of
the invasion the United States, whose foreign policy was considerably under
Secretary of State Henry Kissinger’s stewardship, supplied Turkey with arms and
perhaps funding. In supporting Turkey, the Nixon administration was sending a
message of enmity to Archbishop Makarios’s government that directed Cyprus along
non-aligned lines in the Cold War conflict between the two superpowers.
Kissinger punished Makarios, demonstrated Soviet impotence, and sent a message
of friendship to the Muslim world.
At the time, only about 20 percent of the population in Cyprus was Turkish
Muslim. Fearing a Greek takeover of the island which could harm the Muslim
minority, Turkey acted with deliberate military force. In the succeeding years,
Turkish forces implemented a policy of “ethnic cleansing” that sent close to
200,000 Greek Cypriots southward as refugees who lost their property; churches
and cemeteries were desecrated by Muslim hooligans. Over time the small
remaining Greek population of 20,000 people in the northern Turkish republic
drastically dwindled, and Turkey transferred thousands of her Anatolian peasants
to populate the island.
The 2006 Annan Plan to resolve the political issue of de facto partition and
reunite the island foundered on Greek Cypriot opposition to a proposal which did
not guarantee the withdrawal of the Turkish army from the north. Washington had
come to terms with Turkey’s occupation of Cyprus and with the ignoble and
defeated condition of the dispirited Christian community.
Lebanon
The outbreak of war in Lebanon in 1975 between the native Maronite Christians
and the alien Palestinians later expanded into a large-scale
Muslim/Syrian/Palestinian assault on Christian Lebanon as a whole. Maronite
villages and urban neighborhoods were mercilessly targeted, with enormous
civilian fatalities, slaughter and devastation. The United States under
President Carter sought to accommodate the Palestinians, dealing secretly with
PLO operatives, while proposing in 1976 to save the Lebanese Christians, not by
defending or arming them, but through their mass evacuation and emigration
abroad.
The Taif Accord in 1989 was designed to end the ‘Lebanese War’ misrepresented as
a civil war. Arranged by the United States, Saudi Arabia, and Syria, this
political orchestration of Lebanese political affairs dealt a severe blow to the
Christians, by demoting the office of the Maronite-held presidency, and
elevating the Muslim-held offices of Prime Minister and Speaker of the
Legislature. Particularly insidious was the formula in the Accord that defined
Lebanon as an Arab country in brotherly relations with Syria. The United States
collaborated with Muslim groups and Arab states, and abandoned the ancient
Christians of Lebanon.
Balkans
The war in Bosnia and Croatia from 1992-95 and that in Kosovo from 1996-99
pitted various ethnic/religious communities against each other within the
boundaries of Yugoslavia, which dissolved in the 1990s. Serbian hegemony in the
former federated state was shattered in each territory. Orthodox Christian Serbs
were forced to flee as refugees from what became the independent countries of
Catholic Croatia, Muslim-dominated Bosnia-Herzegovina, and the fledgling state
of Albanian-ethnic Muslim Kosovo. In addition to the propaganda aspect of the
wars that portrayed the Serbs as aggressors, murderers, and rapists, the
compelling Serb loss of life and territory, stature and power, constituted the
harsh political dénouement of the Balkan wars.
The United States supported the adversaries and enemies of the Serb people,
offering them moral sanction and military advice, arms and money; by contrast,
the Serbs were defamed, ultimately charged with war crimes and “ethnic
cleansing” at the International Criminal Court in the Hague. The sweeping
obliteration of Serbian religious history and life in Kosovo was consummated
with the destruction of monasteries and the desecration of churches, as Serbs
ran for their lives.
In 1995 the Americans formulated the Dayton Agreement designed to end the
fighting in Bosnia between the majority Muslims and the minority Serbs. But this
came about after NATO/U.S. bomber aircraft attacked Serb civilian targets and
subdued Serb resistance to Bosnian-Muslim forces. American bombers also strafed
Belgrade, the capital of the independent Serbian Republic. While the Saudis and
Iranians assisted the Muslim jihad forces, America also chose Islam over
Christianity in the Balkans, perhaps to mollify Arab allies in the Middle East,
or to deny Russia a Serb victory in the name of Eastern Orthodox Christianity.
All this contributed to the strengthening and expansion of Islam in Europe.
Israel
Although there is compelling evidence to substantiate the idea that America has
been ‘Israel’s best friend’, and that the two countries enjoy a strategic
relationship, the United States has been a great adversary of Israel’s national
interests and rights. Since 1967, Washington has opposed Israel’s retention of
territories captured in the Six Day War; and since 1993, with the Clinton
presidency and the Oslo Accord process, and especially thereafter with the Bush
presidency and the Road Map two-state plan from 2002, the U.S. has advocated
Palestinian national rights and independence. Israel’s survival will be
existentially endangered if the Palestinians have a state on the mountains above
Israel, while the gushing thrust of hatred and hostility from neighboring Arab
and Muslim countries, along with sedition galvanizing Arabs within the Green
Line borders of Israel, threaten the foundations of the Jewish state.
America has been pressing Israel at all political turns, arming her enemies, and
relentlessly seeking ways and formulae that will coax and clobber Israel into
submission. America is the great friend of the Arab world and the political and
military patron of the PLO whose ultimate goal of Israel’s elimination is etched
into the fabric of the philosophy and policy of the Palestinian campaign against
Zionism and Jewish national sovereignty.
In the eyes of Washington, the Arabs are never expected to accept responsibility
for bellicosity and terrorism, mendacity and anti-Semitic propaganda.
Concurrently, U.S. General Keith Dayton has supervised the military training and
arming of Palestinian Authority army units whose final antagonist is Israel, not
Hamas. Supporting Muslims against Jews, the United States actually foments war
while brandishing the goal and fruits of peace.
Moreover, the idea of a ‘Palestinian people’ conceals the reality of the
majority Muslim element oppressing, persecuting, and intimidating the weaker
Christian sector of Palestinian society. Christians have been run out of
Bethlehem; Muslim converts to Christianity have been murdered; Christian-owned
properties have been ransacked and set aflame. This is the Islam in Palestine of
which America finds no fault or flaw.
In conclusion, the media war has cast the Christians and the Jews as malevolent
agents of violence against innocent Muslim civilian victims. Everyone heard
about the 1982 Christian Lebanese massacre of Palestinian Muslims in Sabra and
Shatila in Beirut, and the Serb massacre of Bosnian Muslims in Srebrenica in
1995. But who has heard about the Turkish Cypriot Muslim massacre of Greek
Christian Cypriots in Palekythro and the Turkish bombing of Kyrenian civilians
in 1974, or the Palestinian massacre of Lebanese Christians in Damour and
Ayshiyyah in 1976? Or the 1992 Bosnian Muslim slaughter of withdrawing Serb
Christian soldiers in Dobrovoljacka Street in Sarajevo? And while the 2003
Palestinian terrorist bomb-attack murdering 21 Israelis at the Maxim Restaurant
in Haifa is consigned to oblivion, Israeli warfare against Palestinians in Jenin
in 2002 and Gaza in 2009 created headlines and an international outcry. Only
Muslim blood is valued and enshrined in the book of commemoration and glory.
The major modern victims of ethnic cleansing have been Christian populations,
highlighted by genocidal campaigns that struck the Armenians in Turkey in
1915-16 and African Christians in Sudan since the 1950s. Paralyzed was America’s
power and morality; even her voice was mute.
The sub-text of this historical review identifies the vicious role and
expansionist ambitions of Turkey that paralleled the American umbrella of denial
of Muslim guilt, demonization of non-Muslim victims, and the demoralization of
Western countries facing the amplification of Muslim political assertiveness and
demographic proliferation.
The Turks have acted as instigators and aggressors in the Balkans and Cyprus,
and recently assumed the role of patron of the Palestinian people’s war against
Israel. In the Mavi Marmara naval imbroglio from May 2010, the Turks led the
provocative campaign on behalf of Free Gaza. Once a friend of Israel, radical
Islamic Turkey recently allied with Islamic Iran has become her slanderous
enemy.
As for the Jews, when American jet bombers will zoom over the Galilee, Israel
shouldn’t assume they are there to save her from the Arabs and Iranians as it is
far more likely they will be coming to save the Palestinians from the Israelis.
This scenario fits the pattern and purpose of U.S. strategic preferences, as in
the past when Muslim/non-Muslim confrontations exploded.
America is indeed walking hand-in-hand with Islam. This alliance preceded Obama,
but became more explicit and more ‘spiritually’ expansive after he entered the
White House. The future looks very dark in this twilight era of world affairs.
*Dr. Nisan teaches Middle East Studies at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
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