LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
ِOctober 19/2010

Bible Of The Day
Luke10/1-12: "Now after these things, the Lord also appointed seventy others, and sent them two by two ahead of him into every city and place, where he was about to come. 10:2 Then he said to them, “The harvest is indeed plentiful, but the laborers are few. Pray therefore to the Lord of the harvest, that he may send out laborers into his harvest. 10:3 Go your ways. Behold, I send you out as lambs among wolves. 10:4 Carry no purse, nor wallet, nor sandals. Greet no one on the way. 10:5 Into whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace be to this house.’ 10:6 If a son of peace is there, your peace will rest on him; but if not, it will return to you. 10:7 Remain in that same house, eating and drinking the things they give, for the laborer is worthy of his wages. Don’t go from house to house. 10:8 Into whatever city you enter, and they receive you, eat the things that are set before you. 10:9 Heal the sick who are therein, and tell them, ‘The Kingdom of God has come near to you.’ 10:10 But into whatever city you enter, and they don’t receive you, go out into its streets and say, 10:11 ‘Even the dust from your city that clings to us, we wipe off against you. Nevertheless know this, that the Kingdom of God has come near to you.’ 10:12 I tell you, it will be more tolerable in that day for Sodom than for that city".
 

Free Opinions, Releases, letters, Interviews & Special Reports
The final showdown looms/Now Lebanon/October 18/10
Iraq: letting Iran call the shots/By: Amir Taheri/October/18/10
In Lebanon, We Dance in a Minefield/By: Hanin Ghadda/October 18/10

Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources for October 18/10
British Ambassador to Lebanon Frances Guy: Lebanon has the right to host Ahmadinejad/Now Lebanon
Lebanon does not wish to be part of a regional axis, Houri says/Now Lebanon
MP Okab Sakr: Abdullah, Assad did not discuss cancelling STL/Now Lebanon
MP Samer Saadeh: US support of STL is not new/Now Lebanon
Nasrallah, Jumblatt met Sunday evening/Now Lebanon
Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Shami meets several ambassadors/Now Lebanon
Sayyed Sacks al-Jadid TV Crew over Question of Assets/Naharnet
Naqoura Meeting to Discuss Blue Line/Naharnet
Iran-Funded Book Accuses Israel of Hariri Murder, Report/Naharnet
Houri: Feltman's Visit was Aimed at Demonstrating that Lebanon is Not Ruled by One Team/Naharnet
Assad-Abdullah Meet in Bid to Avert Lebanon Civil War/Naharnet
Feltman in Sudden Visit to Lebanon: STL Should Be Allowed to Complete Its Work without Interference/Naharnet
Allawi: Iran Destabilizing Lebanon, Entire Middle East/Naharnet
Geagea Rules Out Civil War: Hizbullah, Allies Ready to Cripple Government to Stop Tribunal/Naharnet
Aoun Slams Those Who Take Up Arms against Resistance/Naharnet
Jumblat Calls for Calm: Saudi-Syrian Axis is the Guarantee/Naharnet
Netanyahu: Lebanon Rapidly Becoming Iran Satellite, It's a Tragedy for Lebanon/Naharnet

Feltman in Sudden Visit to Lebanon: STL Should Be Allowed to Complete Its Work without Interference
Naharnet/Jeffrey Feltman, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs, on Sunday arrived in Lebanon on a sudden visit. Feltman held talks with President Michel Suleiman in Amshit, the president's hometown.
Feltman said he delivered "a message from (U.S.) President Barack Obama that reaffirmed the steadfast support of the United States to the development of a sovereign, independent Lebanon, with strong and effective state institutions."
He was accompanied by U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Maura Connelly. For his part, Suleiman asked Feltman to pass on his gratitude to Obama for the U.S. support, stressing the importance of preserving stability and national unity in Lebanon in addition to "foiling any attempt at planting the seeds of discord."
The state-run National News Agency reported that Feltman also held talks with Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat. However, Jumblat declined in a phone interview with Al-Manar television to confirm or deny the news.
During his brief visit, Feltman also telephoned Phalange Party leader Amin Gemayel and Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea.
A statement issued by the Phalange Party said Feltman stressed to Gemayel Washington's support for Lebanon's sovereignty, freedom and constitutional institutions.
"A strong, sovereign, and stable Lebanon is in the vital interests of the Lebanese people, the region, the United States and the international community, and we are concerned by any act that would undermine this sovereignty and stability," Feltman told reporters at the Beirut airport before leaving Lebanon.
"President Obama firmly supports the work of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, as does the rest of the international community," he added.
Feltman described the tribunal as "a non-political, independent organization that was formed by an agreement between the United Nations and the Government of Lebanon in order to end the era of impunity for political assassinations in Lebanon."
"We believe that the Tribunal should be allowed to complete its work on its own timeline and without outside interference until those responsible for the assassinations of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and others are brought to justice," he stressed. "I think all of us who represent (U.N.) Security Council countries also understand that the work of the tribunal at this point will not be stopped," added Feltman. "The work of the tribunal will go on." "We don't know when the indictment is going to happen, we should leave the question in the hands of the independent judicial authorities," Feltman answered to a question. He noted that Washington was working "on lowering tensions in Lebanon." Asked about Iranian leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's recent visit to Lebanon, Feltman said: "This is a bilateral issue between Lebanon and Iran. I leave it to the Lebanese to interpret what this visit means." Feltman's statement comes amid growing tension in Lebanon over reports that The Hague-based tribunal is set to indict members of Hizbullah in the assassination of Hariri. The reports have raised regional fears of renewed Sunni-Shiite sectarian violence and the collapse of the politically turbulent country's hard-won national unity government. Feltman's brief visit also coincided with talks between Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz al-Saud and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Riyadh, a meeting analysts say was to center on the running dispute between Prime Minister Saad Hariri and Hizbullah over the tribunal.(Naharnet-AFP) Beirut, 17 Oct 10, 21:40

Naqoura Meeting to Discuss Blue Line
Naharnet/A tripartite meeting gathering officers from the Lebanese and Israeli armies, in separate rooms, under UNIFIL's patronage was held on Monday at Naqoura headquarters to discuss the Blue Line. No other details were given on the meeting convened before noon. UNIFIL Commander Maj. Gen. Alberto Asarta has in the past stressed that tripartite meetings are an indispensible tool in the mechanism of correlation and coordination and an important tool to deal with military and security issues. Beirut, 18 Oct 10, 11:21

Lebanon does not wish to be part of a regional axis, Houri says
October 18, 2010 /Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s comments about Lebanon being part of a regional axis run counter to the Lebanese people’s traditions and wishes, Lebanon First bloc MP Ammar Houri told As-Sharq radio station on Monday. Ahmadinejad arrived in Beirut Wednesday morning on an official visit and left the country on Thursday night.
Only Lebanon’s democratic institutions can speak for the people of the country, Houri added. He also said that Ahmadinejad’s visit revealed previously unknown facts about the guardianship of jurisprudence and the way it is connected to a large portion of the Lebanese public, a possible reference to Hezbollah and its supporters. The guardianship of jurisprudence is the Iranian system of government postulated by former Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomenei.Houri also said that the Saudi-Syrian summit in Riyadh on Sunday reflected ongoing communications that will positively impact Lebanon. Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdel Aziz and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad met in Riyadh on Sunday for talks that on current tensions in Lebanon. US Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Jeffrey Feltman’s visit to Lebanon as a message that Lebanon is “not the playing field of one team, but is governed by the intersection of the interests of great states,” Houri added. Feltman flew from Riyadh to Lebanon on Sunday to meet with President Michel Sleiman to convey US President Barack Obama’s support for an independent and sovereign Lebanon.-NOW Lebanon

Iraq: letting Iran call the shots
October 18, 2010
By: Amir Taheri
When he first became prime minister of Iraq, Nouri al-Maliki acted the reluctant debutante. "I wish they would let me retire to attend my literary interests," he told me with a tinge of sincerity. Almost five years later, Maliki seems set to strike a Faustian bargain to cling to power: He is ready to dine with the devil -- and not even using a long spoon.
No one has built a majority coalition in the months since the parliamentary elections in March, allowing him to remain as prime minister. But he now he appears on the verge of finally forming a government.
Maliki: Striking devil's deal to keep power.
Last week, he concluded an accord with the Sadrist bloc -- whose leader, firebrand mullah Muqtada Sadr, has been living in the Iranian holy city of Qom since 2008. The two men pretend to have forgotten, if not forgiven, the bloody battle for Basra that broke Sadr's Mahdi Army (trained and led by Iran's Revolutionary Guard).
To clinch the deal, Maliki has dropped his "Iraq first" rhetoric in favor of a pan-Shiite approach. He has agreed to stop legal proceedings against the fugitive mullah, who's wanted in Najaf on a charge of murder. Maliki even has dropped hints that the remnants of the Mahdi Army, which fled to Iran, would be allowed to return with impunity.
Yet the Sadrists demand more: key posts, such as ministers for oil, the interior, defence and education. If they succeed, the key policies of Iraq's government could be made in Tehran.
Tehran helped the deal by ordering its oldest Shiite clients, the so-called Supreme Islamic Assembly of Iraq (and its armed wing, the Badr Brigades), to back Maliki. Another Iran-sponsored Shiite group, under ex-Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari, has also thrown the little weight it has behind Maliki.
Even then, the math doesn't work. Maliki's bloc, The State of Law, won 89 seats in the 325-seat National Assembly. Adding the Sadrists, the Badrists and the Jaafarists yields 156 -- still seven short of a majority. But Maliki's advisers claim that he can seduce enough independents to secure a bare majority.
Forming such a government would be bad for Iraq and the region -- and for Maliki's place in history. It would be based on less than 40 percent of the votes in the election. And more than 90 percent of those votes came from only nine out of Iraq's 18 provinces.
An estimated 30 percent of Shiites didn't vote for the four parties in the proposed coalition. In five provinces, the coalition parties didn't draw even 1 percent.
No government in Baghdad would be able to run Iraq without the support of the secular bloc of Sunnis and Shiites led by former Prime Minister Iyad Allawi, which came first with 91 seats. And any new government must also win over the Kurds, some 20 percent of the population. The three Kurdish parties, with 60 seats, could give Maliki a strong majority. But their price is too steep. They want a third of the Cabinet and insist that no key decision be taken without their approval. They also want a free hand to exploit oil resources in their three autonomous provinces -- and to annex oil-rich Kirkuk, where Kurds are 40 percent of the population. Maliki's advisers tell me that he decided to turn to pro-Tehran groups because he believes the Obama administration has no overarching strategy in the Middle East, let alone in Iraq. By constantly apologizing for the overthrow of Saddam Hussein and talking of leaving Iraq (and the region), President Obama risks reducing the United States to irrelevance in a complex power game that could decide the future of the Middle East. Vice President Joe Biden's public appeal to Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani to intervene in the formation of a new government showed the administration's failure to understand the desire of most Iraqis, including Maliki's supporters, to keep the mullahs out of politics -- a desire shared by Sistani himself. Maliki's ability to hang on is not limitless. By the end of this year, as the term of the annual budget ends, his government could run out of money. His accord with the Sadrists suggests that he'll announce a new government before then. Such a government, however, might prove unstable, making a political crisis, leading to fresh general elections, a possibility. The Obama administration appears to have no plans to deal with the situation -- even though, for all the talk of leaving, America still has 55,000 troops and perhaps as many civilian workers in Iraq.

MP Samer Saadeh: US support of STL is not new
October 18, 2010 /Kataeb bloc MP Samer Saadeh told OTV on Monday that US statements supporting the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) are not new.
US Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Jeffrey Feltman arrived in Beirut from Riyadh on Sunday and met with President Michel Sleiman to deliver a message from US President Barack Obama reaffirming US commitment to a “stable, secure, independent and sovereign Lebanon.”“We refuse that [those who bring peace] be tyrants and criminals. [Giving us] the choice between justice and stability places us in [this situation],” Saadeh said. Some Lebanese citizens are submissive to Iranian influence, the MP also said, adding that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahamdinejad’s visit did not change anything. Ahmadinejad arrived in Beirut Wednesday morning on an official visit that took him to Lebanon’s border with Israel. He left the country on Thursday night. Tension ran high in Lebanon after reports said that the STL would soon issue its indictment for the 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. Several March 8 figures are calling for the abolition of the tribunal. There are fears that should the court indict Hezbollah members, it could lead to clashes similar to those of the 2008 May Events.-NOW Lebanon

MP Okab Sakr: Abdullah, Assad did not discuss cancelling STL
October 18, 2010 /Lebanon First bloc MP Okab Sakr told OTV on Monday that at the Riyadh summit, Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdel Aziz and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad did not discuss cancelling or stopping the work of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL). Abdullah and Assad met in Riyadh on Sunday, according to AFP, as tensions continued in Lebanon over the fate of the STL’s investigation into the 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. The Riyadh summit reinforced the Baabda summit’s call to maintain stability and civil peace, Sakr said. Assad, Abdullah and President Michel Sleiman held a summit in July in Baabda in a bid to defuse political tension following Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah’s July speeches when he called the STL an “Israeli project” designed to target Hezbollah by stirring up sectarian strife in Lebanon. “Hezbollah’s weaponry is an issue that [should only be addressed] during a national dialogue [session]. We do not accept swapping the STL for arms because this would politicize the STL,” the MP added. Tension has run high in Lebanon amid reports that the STL could soon issue its indictment for the 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. March 8 politicians have called for the tribunal’s abolition and there are fears that should the court indict Hezbollah members, it could lead to clashes similar to those of the 2008 May Events. -NOW Lebanon

Rahmeh: Israel wants to achieve aims through judiciary
October 18, 2010 /Free and United bloc MP Emile Rahmeh told New TV on Monday that Israel wants to achieve aims it failed to achieve through war and espionage, by using the judiciary- a reference to the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL). Responding to former MP Elias Atallah’s claim that Rahmeh went to Israel several times, the latter said that he will sue Atallah. “I have never visited Israel,” Rahmeh said. 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.
-NOW Lebanon

Ad-Diyar: Nasrallah, Jumblatt met Sunday evening
October 18, 2010 /Ad-Diyar newspaper reported on Monday that Hezbollah Secetary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah met with Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblatt on Sunday evening. The daily added that Nasrallah and Jumblatt discussed the latest developments.-NOW Lebanon

Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Shami meets several ambassadors
October 18, 2010 /Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Shami met with both Australian Ambassador to Lebanon Lex Bartlem and Italian Ambassador to Lebanon Giuseppe Morabito on Monday to receive their credentials, the National News Agency (NNA) reported. Both of the latter’s credentials as new envoys to Lebanon will be sent to President Michel Sleiman.
Shami later met with US Ambassador Maura Connelly and Chinese Ambassador to Lebanon Liu Zhiming, the NNA added. He also had a sit down with Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Konstantin Gryshchenko to discuss bilateral cooperation, the NNA also reported. -NOW Lebanon

British Ambassador to Lebanon Frances Guy: Lebanon has the right to host Ahmadinejad
October 18, 2010 /British Ambassador to Lebanon Frances Guy said on Monday that Lebanon has the right to host Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, adding that the latter’s Wednesday comments at the Baabda Palace were balanced and satisfactory, the National News Agency (NNA) added. Ahmadinejad arrived in Beirut Wednesday morning on an official visit and left the country on Thursday night.In remarks delivered at a Baabda Palace lunch on Wednesday, the Iranian president referenced the “deep-rooted historical relations of friendliness between Iran and Lebanon” and thanked Lebanese officials for their service to their country. The Iranian president’s visit had two faces, Guy added, in a reference to Ahmadinejad’s speeches alongside Sleiman and his addresses to crowds at Hezbollah rallies. The Iranian president struck up a more controversial tone in his latter speeches, warning that hegemonic powers are fabricating accusations—a reference to the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL)—to sow divisions in Lebanon. Guy also said that talking about the STL’s upcoming indictment “does not help [Lebanon]” much because there is no information on the indictment’s contents or timing.Tension has run high in Lebanon after reports that the STL could soon issue its indictment for the 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. March 8 politicians have called for the tribunal’s abolition and there are fears that should the court indict Hezbollah members, it could lead to clashes similar to those of the 2008 May Events.Lebanon’s future and stability is up to the Lebanese, Guy added. -NOW Lebanon

The final showdown looms
Now Lebanon
October 18, 2010
The Special Tribunal for Lebanon should not be abandoned, though the opposition will likely assail it during Wednesday’s cabinet session.
Now that Iranian President Ahmadinejad has returned home with his captured Israeli assault rifle, all eyes are on saving the government and the credibility of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL). The court, which was established to bring to justice the killers of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and subsequent victims of political terror, has become the main target of an opposition hell bent on toppling the government.
With Ramadan and the Ahmadinejad state visit out of the way, many Lebanese believe that the path is now clear for a final showdown, perhaps at Wednesday’s cabinet meeting, between the majority March 14 and the opposition March 8 blocs. The issue of the false witnesses is likely to be the spark.
Already, both sides are maneuvering. On Sunday, New TV is understood to have cancelled the airing of an interview with March 14 MP Okab Sakr during which he would have revealed proof that former security chief Jamil Sayyed had not filed his lawsuit regarding the issue of false witnesses in Lebanon before filing it in Damascus. Meanwhile, on Sunday, Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun declared at a graduation ceremony that, “Whoever refuses unity of arms with the Resistance is a collaborator with foreigners against Lebanese citizens.”
The opposition’s campaign to muddy the waters has been unstinting in its relentlessness. It has tried to con, baffle and even intimidate those who, quite reasonably, for once want to see justice done in a case of political murder.
Over the summer, we were shown “evidence” by Hezbollah that Israel was behind the February 14, 2005 bomb blast on the Beirut seafront, but all we saw was grainy aerial footage of Beirut. Hezbollah handed its file to the STL, and we have heard little since. This is not surprising. The point of the exercise was never to make a solid legal case, but merely shift the debate. This the opposition succeeded in doing.
We were then treated to several of Sayyed’s rants, during which he claimed that it was the testimonies of the so-called false witnesses that put him, and three other generals who were closely connected to the Syrian regime, in jail for four years. Sayyed had filed a lawsuit against those responsible for what he sees as his illegal detention, but this was hardly a man who was solely seeking legal redress. In September, days after meeting with Syrian President Bashar Al Assad, Sayyed held a press conference at which he called for a popular uprising to topple the government.
Next, we were then told in no uncertain terms by Loyalty to the Resistance bloc MP Nawwaf Moussawi that anyone who backed the decision of the STL to indict members of Hezbollah for their involvement in the assassination will be “dealt with on the basis that they are one of the tools of US-Israeli aggression.” As if that were not enough, he loaded the threat further by saying that “the period after the indictment will not be like the period before,” and that those committed to the tribunal should be “not just worried, but scared.”
Now the opposition has fired its legal salvo by demanding that the secretive Justice Council, rather than the civil courts, try any false witnesses. The opposition’s argument is that the false witnesses, by their very testimonies, have been a threat to the nation’s security by stirring up sectarian tensions. However, the Justice Council falls into the category of a special court, one that is directly controlled by the government and where the defendants have no right of appeal. The fact remains that until any indictments are handed down, there are no false witnesses. Until then, we do not know what their testimonies were and whether these testimonies, false or not, were taken into consideration.
Already the region’s tectonic plates are shifting in anticipation of a Lebanese crisis. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad held talks with Saudi King Abdullah in Riyadh on Sunday, while on the same day in Lebanon, US Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Jeffrey Feldman met Lebanese President Michel Sleiman to state his country’s commitment to the tribunal and a “stable, secure, independent and sovereign Lebanon.”
He also stated that “the Tribunal is a non-political, independent organization that was formed by an agreement between the United Nations and the Government of Lebanon in order to end the era of impunity for political assassinations in Lebanon. We believe that the Tribunal should be allowed to complete its work on its own timeline and without outside interference until those responsible for the assassinations of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and others are brought to justice.”
In an email to Al-Akhbar newspaper, the office of STL Prosecutor Daniel Bellemare stressed that “evidence alone will lead to an accusation in Hariri's assassination.”
Both statements are sage reminders of the international community’s commitment to justice and Lebanon. We should back it to the hilt.

Mission Statement : The Green and Cedar Revolutions Reject Ahmedinijad & Hezbollahby Green Cedars on Sunday, October 17, 2010 at 2:51pm
The World Council for the Cedars Revolution (WCCR) and the International Council for the Green Movement (ICGM) of Iran have issued the following joint statement: The WCCR and the ICGW, representing the legitimate aspirations of millions of Lebanese and Iranians around the world denounce vigorously the visit by Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmedinijad to Lebanon last week. The Two Democratic Revolutions in Iran and Lebanon declare their rejection of the Khomeinist regime attempts to export fascism and oppression to another Middle Eastern country, victim of Hezbollah terrorism and adventurism. The Iranian regime has been funding the formation and the expansion of a Terror organization named Hezbollah with Petrodollars taken away from the basic needs of the Iranian people and spent on a network of militias abusing the Lebanese people. We, free Iranians and Lebanese around the world do not consider Ahmedinijad who came to Lebanon’s doorstep, neither a man of peace nor prosperity for Iran which is his own country. So how can he bring peace and prosperity to Lebanon, the country whose Cedar Movement fought so bravely for it’s liberation from the occupation of Syria.
Ahmadinejad stole the Iranian people’s votes in 2009 and has tried, however unsuccessfully to quash the Green Movement of the people of Iran. Through his proxies in Lebanon he is trying to bribe and steal the trust of the Lebanese people and quash the heart of the Cedar Revolution.
His intention is not to help Lebanon, just as his intention is not to serve Iran. His firebrand declarations against other Arab nations will ultimately bring nothing more than the same imprisonment and torture experienced by innocent Iranians, to Lebanon.
His calls for regional war, aim at using Lebanon as a frontline trench and the Lebanese people as his soldiers to fuel a deadly conflict and destroy the chances for Peace.
The money that Iran's regime has given to buy the loyalty of the Hezbollah's membership in Bint Jbeil, in order to welcome Ahmedinijad has left Iranians who are the rightful owners of that money, hungry and destitute.The Lebanese people reject Ahmedinijad and his regime and embrace the Iranian People; the Iranian people reject Hezbollah's terrorists and embrace the Lebanese People We the representatives and supporters of the Two Revolutions around the world call on the Lebanese and Iranian peoples and their friends around the world to continue the struggle for freedom in Iran and Lebanon until the region is liberated from the oppression of these terror forces. 

Houri: Feltman's Visit was Aimed at Demonstrating that Lebanon is Not Ruled by One Team
Naharnet/MP Ammar Houri noted on Monday that U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Near East Affairs Jeffery Feltman's recent visit to Lebanon was aimed at voicing American support for the Special Tribunal for Lebanon and asserting that Lebanon cannot be ruled by one team. He added: "The visit affirms the regional balances in the area and sends messages to more than one side that says that Lebanon is not an open ground for just one team," but it is ruled by consensus.The MP stressed the need for Lebanon to maintain the best relations with all countries "because Lebanon needs them to guarantee our sovereignty and stability." Addressing Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's visit to Lebanon, Houri said that the Lebanese were divided over it due to the positions he made that oppose those of the Lebanese and Prime Minister Saad Hariri. Beirut, 18 Oct 10, 14:09

Sayyed Sacks al-Jadid TV Crew over Question of Assets
Naharnet/Former head of Lebanon's General Security Department Jamil Sayyed has sacked al-Jadid television crew over a question of assets, the television station announced. It said Sayyed became furious at the end of Sunday's talk show "Usbu fi Sa'a," Arabic for the Week in an Hour, after reporter George Salibi asked him about his property and bank account. Al-Jadid said Sayyed vehemently attacked the television station, using improper language, to a point indicating he wants to sack the crew. Beirut, 18 Oct 10, 11:11

Nabih Berri
October 18, 2010
On October 18, the Palestinian-owned Al-Quds al-Arabi daily carried the following report by Saad Elias:
The Lebanese parliament speaker seldom speaks, but his talk during this Lebanese and regional moment in parallel to the visit of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to Riyadh is purely instructional and stirs wounds, sheds light on concealed aspects and adopts the right and courageous position toward them.
In an interview with Al-Quds al-Arabi, Speaker Berri addressed the talk of strife in Lebanon. However, the leader of Amal does not lose hope and does not seem very pessimistic about the situation, far from the way this situation is perceived by some outside Lebanon. The speaker responded to this climate by saying, “I will not surrender to strife.”
He then commented on the heated atmosphere currently witnessed on the Lebanese arena by assuring, “There are winds blowing over Lebanon today. However, these winds are not coming from Lebanon. At times, they come from the desert and at others from Palestine. But the main reason behind them is the fact that we are not unified and we are not adopting a unified position.” He added mockingly, “In order to be Arab, you must be divided.”
Asked whether or not Lebanon will witness strife, the Shia leader stated, “Lebanon is used to plurality and the mosaic is present. If this plurality is cancelled, only Lebanon’s mountains will remain. Lebanon would no longer be Lebanon. It would be unlikely to witness strife in Lebanon in the presence of 362,000 mixed marriages between the Shia and the Sunnis. There are two million or two and a half million Muslims in Lebanon, which means that half the population is composed of relatives. Many Sunnis have Shia grandfathers and many Shia have Sunni grandfathers.
To Israel, strife is the opportunity of a lifetime. How did the Israelis enter Lebanon the first time? They were able to do so because we were divided and through certain regions were able to reach the Mathaf [National Museum] area. They stood 500 meters away from my house in Barbour. This is why we should be very cautious about any division.
They are counting on seeing the indictment acting as a match to trigger strife. However, as long as Syrian-Saudi relations are good, Lebanon will be immune to this strife. Still, a solution is also required from the Lebanese. They can help us but they cannot replace us. Now, there is an umbrella preventing strife but the solution should come from Lebanon.”
Regarding talk that Hezbollah will take to the streets in the event of the issuance of the indictment, the speaker stated, “They think that the indictment will be the headline of strife. However, as I said, it will be the match that will trigger strife. Before being the parliament speaker, I am a lawyer. We know that the investigations are confidential and that no one knows when the indictment will be issued. However, since the assassination of martyred Prime Minister Rafik Hariri - may his soul rest in peace – at three minutes to one, the accusation was ready. Indeed, by one o’clock, they said that the Syrians were behind it, but also the Shia because they are Syria’s allies. They thus forgot that the Sunnis and Rafik Hariri were Syria’s closer allies.
Years went by and the accusation against Syria was maintained. We caused a lot of harm to the Syrians and they exited Lebanon, while over 50 Syrian workers were killed. Reports were then carried by Le Figaro and Der Spiegel saying that Syria was not accused, rather Hezbollah. And while [the testimonies of] 18 people from Hezbollah were being heard, they defined the date of the issuance of the indictment and informed Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah about it. Had anyone been in Sayyed Nasrallah’s shoes, would he have accepted being accused of the crime?”
Asked about the reaction in case the indictment is issued, Speaker Berri said, “This is a question many ambassadors are asking us and is one of the reasons behind the tensions. How do the ambassadors know about the indictment? This means that the tribunal is politicized.”
Speaker Berri then tackled the visit of Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad to Lebanon, responding to a question regarding the talk of the opponents about Ahmadinejad having visited the mini-state of Hezbollah, “This talk was not issued by the opponents,” referring to the position of Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea at the Baabda Palace when he described the visit of the Iranian president as being “appropriate, and a protocol visit from the head of one state to another.”
Berri said, “Ever since he came to power six years ago, President Ahmadinejad never changed his positions or convictions,” expressing surprise vis-a-vis the American-European attack against Ahmadinejad’s visit to Lebanon, which was considered to be provocative.
Berri added, “I said to President Ahmadinejad at the airport that his visit was very important to us as friends, but was rendered more important by our enemies. I ask: do you want America to be more generous than us in its meeting with Ahmadinejad? An ambassador responded to my question by saying that America was not on the border with Israel. I told him he was right because America was at the heart of Israel and vice-versa.
When President Ahmadinejad was in Lebanon, the president of the republic hosted a lunch in his honor, just like the prime minister and I did. Everyone participated and Samir Geagea was at the [Baabda] Palace, George Adwan was here in Ain al-Tineh and Shant Gengenian was at the airport.”
Speaker Birri stressed that the Iranian president respected the schedule of the talks and was willing to approve the armament of the Lebanese army but the issue was not discussed with him. He said, “I thanked him – over dinner – for the unconditional willingness to arm the army and said we did not accept armament with conditions.”

In Lebanon, We Dance in a Minefield
There could be war tomorrow. Until then, life goes on.
By Hanin Ghaddar
Posted Saturday, Oct. 16, 2010,
http://www.slate.com/id/2271219/
Saad Hariri This week, during Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's visit to Lebanon, many Lebanese realized that keeping a tight grip on their sense of humor is the only way to stay sane. I received many e-mails and text messages making fun of the "troublesome guest," but only one managed to make me laugh and cry at the same time: "Guess what the official language of Lebanon is now? Options: English, Turkish, or Farsi."
If not for humor and a miraculous resilience, many Lebanese would have gone crazy by now. We liberated our land from both the Israeli and Syrian armies. We thought we had achieved democracy and independence after the Cedar Revolution of 2005 that followed the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, and we managed to win the support of the international community through the U.N. Special Tribunal for Lebanon, which was set up to investigate Hariri's murder.
Today all that is lost, and the Lebanon we hoped for is slipping away. What went wrong? And why are we still here, in this mad country, fighting for it?
Ever since the war of July 2006, I have felt that the conflicts that followed the 2005 uprising have nothing to do with the Lebanese people. Our two enemies, Israel and Iran, are fighting each other on our land. Even more infuriating, we are playing their game. We stopped listening to each other, and all the initiatives designed to settle the lingering issues of the 1975 civil war went down the drain. Now I can only sense hate and a desire for revenge. Ahmadinejad came to Lebanon to say one thing: Iran won Lebanon, and it will not let go.
Democracy didn't mean a thing to the Iranian and Syrian proxies in Lebanon. The Western-backed March 14 coalition won the 2009 parliamentary elections, but Prime Minister Saad Hariri wasn't able to form a government. Instead, a "national unity government" was imposed on Lebanon.
No one could resist this reality, because Hezbollah's guns and missiles have been pointed to our heads since May 7, 2008, when Hezbollah-led militias invaded and attacked the citizens of Beirut and Mount Lebanon. That was the first blow to Lebanon's sovereignty and democracy.
Internally, the state was rendered ineffective, but many Lebanese still hoped that international institutions like the special tribunal could achieve justice.
But hope is not an option in the land of consensus. Hezbollah officials have made their position clear: Anyone who supports the tribunal will be considered to be—and treated as—Israeli agents. So now more than half of the Lebanese people are traitors, while the rest are honorable heroes blessed by the resistance. How can a country divided along these lines survive? We can only hope—there's that word again—for another miracle. Beirut is a city of paradoxes. If you stop watching the news, ignore the tense political conversations, and focus on fun, life can be extremely pleasant. The city's nightlife and culture are booming. Despite the tension, the fiery statements, and violent rhetoric, we seem to be blessed with the ability to live our lives one day at a time. Then again, it would be absurd to plan for the future, because nobody knows if another war will break out tomorrow.
Civil strife is likely, because if Prime Minister Hariri refuses to resign or to reject the U.N. tribunal's findings, there will be demonstrations. Our collective memories of the events of May 2008 are still fresh, and the urge to avenge the deaths of almost 100 citizens has not been extinguished. On the contrary, the inflamed rhetoric and mobilization of crowds has reached dangerous levels. On the other hand, Israeli warplanes still fly over Lebanese territory, mainly the Shiite south, to remind people that another war is always possible. The "divine victory" that Hezbollah achieved in 2006 does not seem to have wiped fear from people's hearts. Shiite and non-Shiites, Hezbollah supporters and critics, everyone is scared.
The Shiites who support Hezbollah, the people who gathered in the streets this week to welcome the "godfather of resistance," know that eventually they, more than anyone else, will have to pay the price. It is their blood that will be spilled if Israel strikes again, and they will be Hezbollah's instruments if it decides to use violence to topple the government.
The Lebanese state is fragile. The streets are boiling, and the future looks bleak. Meanwhile, life goes on. And we try to laugh despite the tears in our eyes.