LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
ِSeptember 21/2010

Bible Of The Day
Paul's Second Letter to Timothy 2/1-13: " You therefore, my child, be strengthened in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. 2:2 The things which you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit the same to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also. 2:3 You therefore must endure hardship, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. 2:4 No soldier on duty entangles himself in the affairs of life, that he may please him who enrolled him as a soldier. 2:5 Also, if anyone competes in athletics, he isn’t crowned unless he has competed by the rules. 2:6 The farmers who labor must be the first to get a share of the crops. 2:7 Consider what I say, and may the Lord give you understanding in all things.  2:8 Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, of the seed of David, according to my Good News, 2:9 in which I suffer hardship to the point of chains as a criminal. But God’s word isn’t chained. 2:10 Therefore I endure all things for the chosen ones’ sake, that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory. 2:11 This saying is faithful: “For if we died with him, we will also live with him. 2:12 If we endure, we will also reign with him. If we deny him, he also will deny us. 2:13 If we are faithless, he remains faithful. He can’t deny himself.”

Free Opinions, Releases, letters, Interviews & Special Reports
Syria and Saudi Arabia: Keeping order in Beirut/By Kamal Dib/September 20/10
Clinton has raised the stakes/By Jamil K. Mroue/September 20/10
Doors remain closed as Elite Cup group stage ends/By Joe Soubaih/September 20/10
New Opinion: The whiff of desperation/Now Lebanon/September 20/10
Jamil as-Sayyed in an interview with Assafir daily/September 20/10

Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources for September 20/10
Colin Powell says no Israeli or US strike on Iran likely/AP & J.Post
NNA: Lebanese Judicial staff members go on strike/Now Lebanon
Debkafile: Ahmadinejad, Assad Agreed to Back Hizbullah 'Coup'
Riyadh, Damascus Step in as Local Mediation Suffers Setback/Naharnet
Hariri Murder Reenactment Postponed/Naharnet
Lebanon on verge of 'new wave of insanity/AFP/Daily Star
Saqr Accuses Sayyed of Leaking Fabricated Info on Hizbullah to Der Spiegel/Naharnet
Sayyed Calls Saqr 'Grasshopper,' Says his Problem is Only with Mustaqbal 'Master'/Naharnet
Russian defense minister confirms plans to supply Syria with cruise missiles/Daily Star
Syria has received Russian missiles, diplomats say/Haaretz
Franjieh predicts compromises despite prevailing tensions/Daily Star
Lebanon 13th in Arab region in credit ratingsCountry 112th worldwide in survey of creditworthiness/Daily Star
Hizbullah halts armed family feud in southern suburbs/Daily Star
Riyadh, Damascus Step in as Local Mediation Suffers Setback/Naharnet
French Sources Do Not Rule Out Indictment Postponement/Naharnet
Gemayel: Hizbullah Must Deal with Lebanese State, People, Army, Institutions as Under-the-Law Party/Naharnet
Sayyed Describes Hizbullah's Airport Welcome as Popular, Political Support: I Resort to State Institutions/Naharnet
Jumblat: Others Don't Want State Rule, We Want State Rule at Any Price/Naharnet
March 14 General-Secretariat Discusses 'Dangerous Developments, Hizbullah's Security-Military Violation' of Airport/Naharnet
Ibrahim Moussawi: Mustaqbal Performing Biggest Fraud Operation in Lebanon's Modern Historyv
Rioting Breaks Out at Qobbeh Prison, Warders Seized/Naharnet
Crucial Cabinet Session on Tuesday as Lebanese Await Hariri's Return/Naharnet

Hizballah mobilizies for a coup in Beirut, backed by Iran and Syria
DEBKAfile Exclusive Report September 19, 2010, 10:1
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's brief stopover in Damascus Saturday, Sept. 18, on his way to New York, was long enough for him and Syrian President Bashar Assad to finalize their plans to back Hizballah's threatened coup against the Hariri government in Beirut, debkafile's military and Mid East sources report. Hizballah called a general mobilization that same day and by Sunday had 5,000 armed men deployed in Beirut, ready to make good on its threat to seize power rather than let its leaders be indicted by the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) for the Hariri murder. Hizballah went into action after learning that the indictments were on the way. Ahmadinejad and Assad were of one mind that they must not be delivered - even it meant helping their Lebanese Shiite surrogate to overthrow the Lebanese government. They discussed possible Israeli intervention to save Beirut from Hizballah domination and decided that the Jewish state Israel would not take this risk, any more than the Lebanese army would fight to defend the government.
Our Lebanese sources disclose that France's UN ambassador Gerard Araud passed word to his Lebanese contacts that Daniel Bellemare, the STL's chief prosecutor's decision to file charges against Hizballah was final. Sunday night, Lebanon's ruling March 14 party held an emergency meeting to discuss what to do about "the persistent coup against the state and its institutions, especially by Hizballah's security and military…"
Special attention was drawn to Hizballah's takeover at the points of their guns of Beirut's international airport to guarantee the safety of the Lebanese Maj. Gen. Jamil Sayyed, against arrest on his arrival. A warrant was issued after he demanded that members of Lebanon's general prosecution be put to death. He accused them of joining in a conspiracy of the international tribunal and prime minister to implicate him in the 2005 assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri in order to lay the blame for the crime at Hizballah's door.
Sayyed was one of the four Lebanese generals detained for four years for alleged complicity in the crime and recently freed. He claimed consistently that neither Syria nor Hizballlah had been involved. Hizballah gunmen were posted to shield him from being arrested. As one Hizballah source put it: "The party will cut off the unjust hands that would attack Maj. Gen. Sayyed" - a crude threat to Lebanon's forces of law and order as a step on the way to a coup to overthrow the government and seize power.

Colin Powell says no Israeli or US strike on Iran likely
By ASSOCIATED PRESS AND JPOST.COM STAFF
09/20/2010 11:27
Former US secretary of state says sanctions may never persuade Iran to back off nuclear program but attack on facilities still not on horizon. WASHINGTON — Former US Secretary of State Colin Powell said Sunday that neither the US nor Israel is likely to launch a military strike on Iran anytime soon. Powell, who was also once the top US military officer, said that he does not think "the stars are lining up" for an attack on Iran's known or suspected nuclear sites. Speaking on NBC Television's "Meet the Press," Powell also said international sanctions on Iran may never persuade Teheran to back off what it says is a legitimate nuclear energy program.Powell said the US may have to accept that, while trying to deter Iran from building or using a bomb. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, currently in New York to attend the annual General Assembly of the United Nations, insisted on Sunday that his government does not want an atomic bomb and that Iran is only seeking peace and a nuclear-weapons-free world. Last week, International Atomic Energy Association chief Yukia Amano warned that he cannot confirm that all of Iran's nuclear activities are peaceful because Teheran is not fully cooperating with his inspectors. Amano also chided Iran for barring some of those inspectors and for stonewalling his agency's attempt to probe allegations that Teheran is interested in developing atomic arms.

Hariri returns to Beirut
September 20, 2010 /MTV reported on Monday that Prime Minister Saad Hariri arrived in Beirut from Saudi Arabia, adding that the PM is expected to head a Future Movement meeting to discuss the latest developments in the country. -NOW Lebanon

NNA: Judicial staff members go on strike
September 20, 2010 /The National News Agency (NNA) reported on Monday that judicial staff members went on strike at the Justice Palace in Beirut in solidarity with the Lebanese judiciary “after it was targeted by smear campaigns.” They called for a non-politicized and independent judicial system, reported the agency, adding that “political and spiritual leaders should refrain from interfering in the work of the judiciary.”-NOW Lebanon

Riyadh, Damascus Step in as Local Mediation Suffers Setback
Naharnet/Saudi Arabia and Syria are reportedly speeding up efforts to contain the crisis in Lebanon which worsened over the weekend after counter-accusations between al-Mustaqbal and Hizbullah lawmakers. As Safir daily said Monday that royal advisor Prince Abdul Aziz bin Abdullah could visit Damascus soon to try to calm the situation in Lebanon and avoid strife. The Saudi al-Watan newspaper also said that regional mediators could head to Beirut in the next few days to defuse the tension. Meanwhile, local attempts to solve the crisis have hit a standstill. An Nahar newspaper quoted ministerial sources as saying that efforts by President Michel Suleiman, Speaker Nabih Berri and Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat suffered a setback after several Mustaqbal and Hizbullah traded harsh words on Sunday. However, the sources expressed some optimism by saying that the next 48 hours would witness strong efforts to cool down the tension and end the media campaigns between the two sides before the cabinet session that is scheduled for Tuesday. Beirut, 20 Sep 10, 07:59

Hariri Murder Reenactment Postponed
Naharnet/A reenactment of the assassination of ex-Premier Rafik Hariri, which was scheduled to be staged in France on September 28, was postponed till October, As Safir daily reported Monday. The exercise is to take place under tight security at a military base in Captieux, in the Gironde region, southwest France. It normally serves as an army firing range.
Parts of the Beirut street that Hariri's convoy had taken and the surrounding buildings had been reconstructed for the exercise. A French source told As Safir last week that French security sides were calling for the annulment of the reenactment in order not to interpret it as a political decision aimed at supporting the indictment that could be issued by the Special Tribunal for Lebanon prosecutor against Hizbullah members. The authorities that are overseeing the reenactment have told journalists that they postponed the event because they needed more time to implement security measures in the area. Meanwhile, a French source denied to el-Shark newspaper that the reenactment was cancelled. He said the date of the event would be announced at a later stage. Beirut, 20 Sep 10, 07:33

Russian defense minister confirms plans to supply Syria with cruise missiles
Compiled by Daily Star staff /Saturday, September 18, 2010
Russian Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov confirmed in Washington DC that his country would supply Syria with P-800 Yakhont cruise missiles, Russian news agencies reported on Friday. “We will supply Yakhont to Syria, we will fulfill the contract,” Serdyukov was quoted as saying by ITAR-TASS news agency in comments to Russian journalists, adding that the contract was signed in 2007. Serdyukov was speaking in Washington during a visit to the Pentagon aimed at expanding military relations as part of the countries’ much-vaunted “reset” in relations. Russia’s arms sales and possible nuclear cooperation with Syria, which has close ties to Iran, is unnerving for the United States and Israel, which fear that weapons would be being transferred to the Lebanese group Hizbullah. Serdyukov described such fears as unjustified. “The US and Israel ask us not to supply Syria with Yakhont. But we do not see the concerns expressed by them that these arms will fall into the hands of terrorists,” the defense minister said. Meanwhile, the Israeli Cabinet has formally approved the purchase of 20 Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighters for the nation’s air force. The value of the deal will be around $2.75 billion. The decision was made after a series of talks between US and Israeli officials.  These focused on issues including the extent to which Israel will be allowed to install its own electronic warfare equipment, and the level of industrial involvement that its defense industry will be granted in return for the order. Sources suggest that the value of immediate offsets linked to the purchase will total over $2 billion. “This aircraft is crucial to the defense of Israel,” Confirming the deal’s approval on Thursday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said. The nation’s defense ministry had in mid-August recommended that the contract go forward.
AFP, with flightglobal.com

Franjieh predicts compromises despite prevailing tensions
By Antoine Amrieh /Daily Star correspondent
Monday, September 20, 2010
BNASHI: Marada Movement leader Sleiman Franjieh said Saturday despite the delicate situation in Lebanon and the region, a compromise would be reached “because the region was that of compromises.” “The situation is delicate, and we will see a critical period during which new stakes, demonstrations and pressures will be made,” said the Zghorta MP in the northern town of Bnashi on Saturday as part of the graduation ceremony of the first class of the Marada Academy for Leadership skills. “But in the end compromises will take place because the region is one of compromises, and what we are doing is to change toward the better,” Franjieh said. “But others who are talking about change should either be here or remain where they are … Pleasing [political foes] in a place and telling supporters in another to do whatever they want is a policy that leads nowhere,” he said. Contrary to previous positions, Prime Minister Saad Hariri announced earlier in September that he committed a mistake when he accused Syria of killing his father former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. Hariri also said false witnesses that misled the investigations into the murder have badly affected Lebanese-Syrian ties.
However, opposition groups – that embrace the Marada Movement – said the move was not enough, as they called for probing false witnesses and their sponsors.
“The academy has taught you how to deal, understand and get closer to people, along with conveying our beliefs, especially that we intend to open [offices] and expand in all areas,” he said, addressing the graduates. “The academy was founded to allow you to freely express your views and ideas, and what is good about this academy is that it enabled you to discover yourselves so that you would be able to shoulder responsibilities,” added Franjieh. The Marada leader said that the state in Lebanon could become be the sole possessor of arms only when the Middle East conflict was solved based on a just and comprehensive peace. “It is just and comprehensive peace that leads to the prevention of the naturalizing Palestinian refugees [in Lebanon], preserves civil peace, and preserves the state and its formula [of coexistence],” he said.
He said that Lebanon should not engage in peace talks with Israel apart from Syria. “Do we get relieved if we achieved peace without Syria?” the Marada leader asked, adding that Lebanon was part of the Middle East which was “suffering from its conflicts and adhering to its compromises.” Also, Franjieh stressed that the Marada Movement was part of the Lebanese opposition, emphasizing his solidarity with former head of General Security Major General Jamil al-Sayyed. “I am with and part of the opposition. We heard the recent remarks of Major General Jamil al-Sayyed. They [state prosecutor] issued an arrest warrant against him, exposing the whole opposition. We are one body in the opposition,” said Franjieh.
State Prosecutor Saeed Mirza has summoned Sayyed for questioning over the former major general’s threats against state security and Hariri, violations of the Constitution and attacks on the judiciary. The summons followed a news conference by Sayyed in which he accused Hariri of backing false witnesses in the UN probe into his father’s murder.
At the end of the ceremony, certificates were distributed to the graduates.

Syria and Saudi Arabia: Keeping order in Beirut
By Kamal Dib /Daily Star/
Monday, September 20, 2010
Against speculations of an approaching crisis in Lebanon that might lead to an explosion similar to May 2008, reassurances are made to the contrary, that the Saudi-Syrian accord on peace in Lebanon will hold, and will continue to prevent a confrontation on the streets of Beirut. The accord was achieved in Doha, Qatar, in 2008, when Saudi King Abdullah met with Syrian President Bashar Assad and reconciled their differences. Their agreement helped end the mini-civil war that took place in Lebanon in May of that year. The two leaders renewed their pledge last month when things looked like they would fall apart again in Beirut. King Abdullah came to Damascus and parleyed with Assad, and then both flew to Beirut on the king’s private jet where they held a three-way summit with Lebanese President Michel Sleiman.
The recent rise in tensions in Lebanon surrounds the murder case of former Premier Rafik Hariri, and the anticipated report by the Hariri Probe Commission. These tensions will not spiral into a repeat of May 7, 2008, when Hizbullah and its allies stormed Beirut by military force. Damascus and Riyadh have determined since then that peace and quiet will be maintained in Lebanon, and tensions should remain a domestic affair to keep Lebanese television audiences entertained. Visitors to Damascus are told so much: Lay low and resolve your domestic issues domestically!
Why would Syria and Saudi Arabia be so keen about Lebanon to the extent both made it the jewel of their rapprochement?
The reason lies in the common family legacy that both King Abdullah and Assad inherited from their fathers. This heritage was a lesson from the fathers on geo-politics and it states that it is in the best interest of their respective countries to work together.
Patrick Seale in his seminal biography on late President Hafiz Assad mentions an episode about King Abdel-Aziz, the founder of Saudi Arabia. In his last days, King Abdel-Aziz gathered his sons – Saud, Faisal, Fahed, and Abdullah – around him to give them a crash course on how to run the affairs of the vast and wealthy kingdom. Among the many things he had said was that Syria was important for Saudi security, which should take center-stage in Saudi regional policy. He warned his sons not to let Syria go either with Iraq or with Egypt because that would isolate Saudi Arabia and enfeeble its clout and influence in the region. These sons later iterated that Syria should not be run over by Israel either, since Arabia itself would be the next prey.
Likewise, President Bashar Assad took a chapter from the experience of his clever father. As soon as Hafiz Assad became the leader of Syria in 1970, he opened up to Saudi Arabia and refrained from the revolutionary talk of his predecessors that divided Arabs into “reactionaries” and “progressives.” Assad, the father, judged that, Syria as a confrontation state with Israel could not afford such revolutionary luxuries of labeling brotherly Arabs. Saudis answered in kind and resumed relations with Damascus which reached unprecedented scales. Political and economic co-operation was maximized, hundreds of thousands of Syrians found jobs in the kingdom, and King Faisal cut oil supplies to Western countries aiding Israel to help Syria’s war efforts in 1973-74.
In September 1979, the Saudi support was sorely needed by President Hafiz Assad, seeing that Anwar Sadat, president of Egypt and his partner in war, had signed a peace treaty with Israel and left Syria totally exposed to Israeli power. When Hafiz tried to create a united front with Iraq, Saddam Hussein, the strong man of Baghdad, rebuffed him. Hafiz found solace in Saudi Arabia, even if the Saudis were not as belligerent against Israel.
The young Bashar started in ernest to improve Syria’s fortunes, but to his bad luck, soon clouds gathered over Iraq. He spent a few years in the wilderness in his steadfast position regarding the US invasion of Iraq in 2003, and after the murder of Hariri in 2005. Both events worsened Syria’s position. That’s why the Doha meet in 2008 was a new opening in ties between Syria and Saudi Arabia.
King Abdel-Aziz’s prophecy has stood the test of time for the third or the fourth time.
Now, how did the new found friendship between Syria and Saudi translate on the ground in Beirut?
In March 2005, Lebanon was divided into two warring camps: The “March 8 Coalition,” largely loyal to Syria, and the “14 March Coalition,” which, everybody thought was loyal to Saudi Arabia.
However, the Saudi-Syrian rapprochement in 2008 uncovered the reality that loyalties in Lebanon were not as linear as they seemed. In the “March 14 Coalition,” some had strong ties to Egypt (e.g., former Premier Fouad Sinora), while others had ties with the US and other Western countries, and yet some others even had no qualms mentioning their old ties to Israel.
Saad Hariri, to his credit, proved easy to bring along and follow the steps of his ally Walid Jumblatt. Hariri not only visited Damascus and dined with Assad on many occasions, but has made the giant step of dropping all signs of animosity and defiance toward Syria that marked his behavior over the past five years. Also, Egypt’s nose was out of joint watching the Syrian-Saudi rapprochement in Lebanon. Egypt sounded eager to maintain its role by activating its contacts inside the country and by inviting some March 14 leaders, such as Christian leader Samir Geagea, while Siniora was a regular visitor to Cairo. Among the political class of Lebanon who were invited to meet and greet Assad and Abdullah in the Lebanese Presidential Palace, Geagea was left out. Junior members in the March 14 Camp, that is the Christian parties, who built their discourse on animosity toward Syria and on marching to the tunes of the Hariri murder case, did not sit still and would let Mr. Hariri Jr. mend Lebanon’s relations with Syria. They were not happy with Hariri Jr’s change of heart.
In the other political camp in Lebanon, the “March 8 Coalition,” positions were much docile: Almost all its constituent members agreed to forgive and forget the past and go along with the Syrian-Saudi accord, with the exception of General Michel Aoun’s Free Patriotic Movement, which cannot be seen as loyal to Syria due to its sensitivity to Christian public opinion in Lebanon. Aoun opened a barrage against the government and its leader despite the Saudi-Syrian accord. But Aoun alone cannot cause too much trouble, and his actions were a sign of health of Lebanese democracy. So what went wrong if all was so well?
As mentioned earlier, the Saudi-Syrian accord has made it iron-clad that the Lebanese are not allowed to fight it over by guns. But short of an open conflict, the accord allowed them to fight with words, which they are very good at. Hariri is caught in between: He wants to lead the government and play ball with Syria and with his Saudi patrons, yet he needs to meet the wishes of his Sunni constituency and bring justice and truth in the murder of his father.
If the current conflict brings tensions to the television screens (Westerners are encouraged to watch the antics of Lebanese political talk shows), or even if it leads to some street fighting and protests, the Saudis and their Syrian brothers are more than eager to intervene again and bring sense to the trigger-happy Lebanese. This also means Damascus and Riyadh will not allow any one side to make gains against the other in the delicate balance in the current Cabinet.
The current conflict over the international tribunal was ignited by the leak that members of Hizbullah may be named in the murder case. The Syrians and Saudis will do the best they can to ease the tension, but if the Lebanese insist on spilling blood, then civil peace will be threatened. There remains the call from Walid Jumblatt who advised that it was better to shut down the tribunal if it will harm civil peace in Lebanon. He reasoned that it was “cheaper” for Lebanon to do without the tribunal rather than risk a costly civil war.
**Kamal Dib is a Canadian economist with research interests in Lebanon, the Middle East and an observer of German culture. He can be reached at: kamaldib@videotron.ca

Lebanon 13th in Arab region in credit ratings
Country 112th worldwide in survey of creditworthiness
By The Daily Star /Monday, September 20, 2010
BEIRUT: In its annual survey on the creditworthiness of 178 countries, Institutional Investor magazine ranked Lebanon in 112th place worldwide and in 13th place among 19 Arab countries in the 2010 survey, as reported by Lebanon This Week, the economic publication of the Byblos Bank Group.
Lebanon ranked in 116th place globally and in 14th place regionally in 2009 and came in 113th place globally and 14th regionally in the 2008 survey. Also, Lebanon came in 31st place among 37 upper middle income countries (UMICs) included in the survey compared to 29th place in 2009.
The survey rates the creditworthiness of countries on a scale of 0 to 100, with 100 representing countries with the least chance of debt default. The ratings are based on input provided by senior economists and sovereign risk analysts at leading global banks and money management and securities firms.
On a global basis, Lebanon ranked ahead of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bangladesh and Iran, and came immediately behind Grenada, Tonga and Georgia. Also, Lebanon ranked ahead of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Jamaica and Belarus, and came behind Grenada, Argentina and Venezuela among UMICs. Regionally, Lebanon ranked ahead of Syria, Iraq, Djibouti, Mauritania, Yemen and Sudan; while it came immediately behind Jordan and Egypt.
Lebanon’s rank improved by four spots from the previous survey, constituting the 46th best improvement in the ranking globally and the fifth best regionally. Lebanon received a score of 32.5 points, below the global average of 46.2 points, as well as lower than the Arab average of 49.6 points and the UMICs’ average of 47.2 points. Its score improved by 3.1 points, or 10.5 percent, year-on-year, constituting the third best improvement in the Arab region both numerically and in percentage terms.
Lebanon was one of nine Arab countries whose score improved by one or more points, the amount considered statistically significant for a country. The rankings of 12 Arab countries improved and 7 regressed, while the scores of 14 countries improved and five declined from September 2009.
It added that firm oil prices helped boost the ratings of most of the region’s big producers, as the ratings of Qatar, Oman and Kuwait’s ratings increased; while Dubai’s debt crisis and restructuring affected the UAE’s ratings year-on-year. Further, Bahrain’s ratings rose by 14 percent year-on-year and posted to the biggest rise in the region, as its banking system had less exposure to Dubai’s debt problems than investors originally feared. Qatar had the best creditworthiness and Sudan had the highest probability of default in the Arab world.
The survey said the global financial crisis and its aftermath have considerably shifted conventional notions about sovereign creditworthiness, as many countries n Western Europe, a region that has been traditionally home to some of the soundest credits in the world, have seen their standing fall over the last year because of their mounting debt problems.
In parallel, emerging market sovereigns, many of which were synonymous with crisis a decade or two ago, have been dramatically upgraded by investors. It noted that European countries posted six of the 10 steepest declines in credit ratings, while many emerging-market countries posted strong gains, reflecting their perceived sound public finances and vibrant economies. The global average score improved to 46.2 points from 45.7 points a year earlier. Norway replaced Switzerland as the country with the best creditworthiness in the world while Somalia had the highest probability of default. – The Daily Star

Hizbullah halts armed family feud in southern suburbs
By The Daily Star /Saturday, September 18, 2010
BEIRUT: An armed clash erupted in Beirut’s southern suburbs as a result of a family dispute, a well-informed security source told The Daily Star on Friday. Twelve shots were fired in the town of Ghobeiry in the scuffle that pitted members of the Mikdad family against those from the Karaki family. The source said that members from Hizbullah resolved the dispute and ordered the armed men to evacuate the area before the arrival of the Lebanese Army. There were no casualties. In other news, Silvia Sawma was found dead near the Saint George church in Jbeil. The victim was in the process of divorcing her husband. Unconfirmed reports said that her husband might be implicated in the murder. – The Daily Star

Lebanon on verge of 'new wave of insanity'
Tensions soar as rivals trade blows over Tribunal
By Patrick Galey, Carol Rizk and Agence France Presse (AFP)
Daily Star staff/Monday, September 20, 2010
BEIRUT: Lebanon teetered on the edge of a “new wave of insanity” Sunday as Hizbullah and the Future Movement traded angry accusations of undermining the state.
The mudslinging came after Jamil al-Sayyed, a former chief of General Security, returned to Beirut and announced he was commencing legal action against State Prosecutor Saeed Mirza’s request for interrogation.
Sayyed, who came back to Lebanon on Saturday under heavy Hizbullah and Lebanese Army security, called Mirza’s actions “illegal” and based upon “false evidence.”
“Mirza is supposed to be a public prosecutor – i.e. neutral – but considering these lawsuits he became my personal adversary,” Sayyed said.
Sayyed was held for four years without trial under the United Nations International Independent Investigation Commission (UNIIIC) into the assassination of ex-Premier Rafik Hariri, who was killed by a car bomb in 2005.
Sayyed, as well as Hizbullah and some political allies, have accused security officials, politicians and judges close to Prime Minister Saad Hariri of fabricating evidence in order to implicate him and three others in the crime.
Mohammad Kabbara, Tripoli MP and member of Hariri’s Future Movement, accused Sayyed and Hizbullah of undermining the Lebanese judiciary in a bid to discredit the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL), a UN-backed court created to try suspects in the Hariri killing.
“The enemies of truth and justice, meaning [Hizbullah] and its allies, have brought down the Lebanese state in preparation to bring down the international tribunal,” he said in a press conference Sunday.
Speculation has increased following comments from Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah that party members may be implicated in Hariri’s killing after indictments are issued by the STL.
Kabbara also warned against attempts to unseat Hariri as the leader of Lebanon. “Whoever threatens the leader of the Sunnis or the position of prime minister, with his own hands or not, the Sunni sect will teach him politeness,” he said.
Hizbullah spokesperson Ibrahim Moussawi countered Kabbara, accusing the Future Movement of “running the country like an abandoned farm.”
“The latest stances adopted by some of the leaders of the Future Movement constitute a coup on state authorities from within,” he said. “What is dangerous is that some members of the Future Movement are raising tensions and instigating sectarian feelings through dragging the country toward civil strife after labeling political stances on a sectarian basis.”
Hizbullah’s parliamentary bloc leader Mohammad Raad said the party would refuse to be influenced by sectarian rhetoric.
“We refuse that Lebanon becomes a hostage to the games and schemes of politicians who do not have a clear national strategy. We feel that Lebanon will witness a new wave of insanity in the coming days and weeks because certain groups have failed to confront facts and realities,” he said during an honorary high school ceremony in Nabatieh Sunday.
Sayyed held a news conference Saturday at Rafik Hariri International Airport, reiterating his insistence that those responsible for false witnesses be brought to book.
“There is no judiciary or justice if false witnesses and those behind them are not held accountable,” he told reporters.
In a repeat of his previous direct attack on the prime minister, Sayyed said he would not accept any STL indictment “before [former UNIIIC chief Detlev] Mehlis, [General Security Head Ashraf] Rifi, [Head of Internal Security Forces Information Branch Wissam] al-Hassan and [State Prosecutor Saeed] Mirza are in Lebanese prisons or in prisons in The Hague.”
He added that there would be no confidence in the UN
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court until “the Arab world and especially the Sunni sect realize why the conspiracy of false witnesses happened, why [Saad] Hariri and March 14 were involved, why they took over the country and why they punished the Lebanese through false witnesses.”
The head of the Internal Security Forces snapped back at Sayyed vowing to take legal action against him.
“Prison is made for you and people like you and for killers under your protection,” he told Sayyed in a statement on Saturday. Rifi also enumerated what he dubbed as the “atrocities” Sayyed did when he was at the head of General Security.
Sayyed’s comments at the airport repeated those he made last week, which prompted fierce reaction from Hariri’s allies and led Mirza to push for legal proceedings against the former general.
Hizbullah sources vowed to “take off the unjust hand that harms Sayyed.” In remarks published Sunday by pan-Arab daily Ash-Sharq al-Awsat, the sources accused “some judges” in Lebanon of being “politicized and dishonest.”
Future Movement MP Okab Saqr warned that belligerent rhetoric risked tearing Lebanon’s delicate sectarian balance apart at the seams.
He said Hizbullah’s support of Sayyed was “the first direct gunfire from Hizbullah aimed at the Syrian-Saudi understanding. This is through targeting institutions and going down to the street.
“The street Sayyed and Hizbullah refer to is surely not demonstrations, taking into consideration the weapons they own,” Saqr said. He added the dispute was not a Sunni-Shiite disagreement.
“The confrontation is not between March 8 and March 14, it is between a party who wants to shake the foundations of the state and a party who wants to preserve its institutions,”he added.
Media reports Sunday suggested that Hariri was soon due to return from Saudi Arabia. Sources were quoted as denying that Hariri was considering bowing out of politics due to the STL fracas, but as refusing to deny his disgust with the affair.
The Cabinet will meet Tuesday for a regular session and Hariri is expected to be in attendance.
Dispute raged in his absence.
Kabbara accused Hizbullah of having “brought down the entire Lebanese state either through attacking Sunni leader Saad Hariri or through attacking the position of prime minister.”
Moussawi, for his part, said the issue of false witnesses would not be muddied by political antagonism.
“All this noise will not succeed in making the public overlook the necessity of trying false witnesses and those who fabricated them as a first step toward the truth,” he said. – with AFP

Clinton has raised the stakes
By Jamil K. Mroue
Publisher and editor in chief
Monday, September 20, 2010
Daily Star/With the unenviable task of Middle East peace talks to arbitrate, Hillary Clinton would be forgiven for viewing her table as a little cluttered. But the conundrum has not stopped her turning the crosshairs on Iran, asking its people to reject their government’s ever-enlarging military authoritarianism. The request seems oddly timed when juxtaposed with the Palestinian-Israeli bind.
The secretary of state, admittedly having performed admirably in keeping the latest round of peace negotiations roughly on track, is at risk of complicating matters, adding muddying issues to an already murky riddle. What her comments regarding Iran show is an iron-cast will to redesignate the United States as global peacemaker. What they risk is tying disparate regional situations to the outcome of Israeli-Palestinian talks, itself a complicated equation.
When she addressed the Council of Foreign Relations earlier this month, calling for a “new American moment,” the world was introduced to the “Clinton Doctrine.” Her conviction that “the United States can, must, and will lead in this new century,” made for a noticeable sound bite but did little to flesh out Washington’s exact strategy for the region, peace or no peace in Palestine.
The fact that Clinton now deems it acceptable to cajole ordinary Iranians – her “responsible civil and religious leaders” – into rejecting President Ahmadinejad and the frightful Revolutionary Guards’ robbery of constitutional rights suggests that when it comes to the Middle East negotiating table, she still holds some aces up her sleeve.
She made her Iranian address at a time when US capital of trust is at an all-time low ebb. If Clinton, faced with the ever-elongating shadow of September 26 – at which point a partial moratorium on Israeli West Bank settlement buildings expires – can retain her poker face to focus on Iran, it is conceivable that tittering around the negotiating table has thus far been positive.
There have been encouraging leaks. Rumors such as Benjamin Netanyahu considering a return of the Occupied Golan Heights represent glimpses into a fertile atmosphere for compromise, crucial if negotiations are to succeed.
A US-mediated breakthrough between Israel and Palestine would do wonders for American political credit in the region. Progress would render the US at least a little less toxic in an area of the world increasingly antipathetic toward “the big devil.”
Clinton’s gamble with Iran is a large one, and there will be decriers accusing the secretary of state of brazen bluffing. It might, however, be indicative of modicums of progress in formerly obstinate negotiations.
At a time when the big questions are being asked of Washington, Clinton has just upped the ante.
**Jamil K. Mroue, Editor-in-Chief of THE DAILY STAR, can be reached at jamil.mroue@dailystar.com.lb


Rioting Breaks Out at Qobbeh Prison, Warders Seized
Naharnet/Rioting broke out on Monday at a prison in the northern port city of Tripoli with inmates taking hostage several warders to demand better conditions and reduced sentences, a security official told Agence France Presse. "The inmates at Qobbeh prison managed to seize five warders and are demanding that conditions inside the prison be improved and that their sentences be reduced," the official said. The main road leading to the overcrowded prison inside the city limits was sealed off, according to an AFP reporter at the scene. Rioting broke out at the same prison in January 2009 with inmates also seizing jailers to demand better conditions. Qobbeh is the largest prison in northern Lebanon and houses 600 inmates
(AFP) Beirut, 20 Sep 10, 12:05

Hizbullah Threatens to Cut 'Unjust Hands' that Would Harm Sayyed
Naharnet/Hizbullah has threatened to cut the hands of those who would seek to harm former General Security Department chief Maj. Gen. Jamil Sayyed. "The party will cut the unjust hands that would attack Maj. Gen. Sayyed," Hizbullah sources told pan-Arab daily Asharq al-Awsat in remarks published Sunday. "Sayyed and Hizbullah abide by the law … We are very keen on the state and its apparatuses but we are aware that some judges are politicized and dishonest, (something) that we oppose," the sources said. Asked about the welcoming of Sayyed at Rafik Hariri international airport on Saturday, they said the event was aimed at "removing injustice off him." "There would either be a law that is implemented on everyone in this country or we would adopt the policy of each person according to his stance," the sources added. Beirut, 19 Sep 10, 08:19

Sayyed Describes Hizbullah's Airport Welcome as Popular, Political Support: I Resort to State Institutions
Naharnet/Former head of General Security Department, Maj. Gen. Jamil Sayyed, said Sunday that ongoing legal action against him was "illegal." Sayyed has brought lawsuits against prosecutor general Saeed Mirza, accusing him of producing "false evidence." "Mr. Mirza is supposed to be a public prosecutor, i.e. neutral, but considering these lawsuits he became my personal adversary," Sayyed said. He said that by law, "all proceedings by him (Mirza) are -- de facto -- illegal." Sayyed said he still had not been called in for questioning.
The ex-general, together with Hizbullah and its allies, have accused security officials, politicians and judges close to former premier Rafik Hariri's son, Prime Minister Saad Hariri, of having "manufactured" evidence to implicate them in the assassination. Sayyed was reportedly accompanied from the airport by "armed Hizbullah bodyguards" when he returned to Beirut on Saturday after a short visit to France. He described the welcoming he received at the airport from Hizbullah and its allies as "a political and popular support."
"I have been demanding since five years to hold false witnesses accountable under the law, but it seems that when you resort to law in a country such as Lebanon, state officials take you lightly unless you have political and popular support," said Sayyed. "I'm the son of the State and I served it for 40 years, and hence I resort to (state) institutions. I only said that there's a political group that had fabricated false witnesses, and citizens have the right to utilize all manifestations of expression, protest and street demonstrations against this group, as practiced in all democratic nations."(Naharnet-AFP) Beirut, 19 Sep 10, 19:50

Gemayel: Hizbullah Must Deal with Lebanese State, People, Army, Institutions as Under-the-Law Party
Naharnet/Phalange Party leader Amin Gemayel on Sunday stressed that "if Syria acknowledges Lebanon's sovereignty and special status, some Lebanese must also believe in their independence and sovereignty.""It is in their interest, as well as in Syria's interest, that the relation between the two countries be maintained through the framework of state institutions," Gemayel said, calling on "some to quit bragging about their friendship with Syria at Lebanon's expense."At the annual dinner organized by Zahle's Kataeb branch, Gemayel added: "Some are pushing the country towards collective suicide, while what we need are collective victory and free life.""The Lebanese entity is facing the test of unity, and the State is facing the test of sovereignty."He noted that "liberation turned into a devastative war in 2006, and its arms invaded Beirut in 2008.""The scheme of impeding institutions is ongoing, as well as the scheme of obstructing the Special Tribunal for Lebanon and the Lebanese Judiciary," he added, warning of "a new scheme" to naturalize Palestinian refugees in Lebanon.
Gemayel voiced his belief that Lebanon "must hold onto Arab consensus," adding that an "individual" peace deal with Israel must not be signed "whatever the pressures."
He said that "a tangible progress, although inadequate, has been achieved in terms of Lebanese-Syrian ties.""We had appreciated its resistance against the Israel occupation until the year 2000, and we had acknowledged its representation in its sectarian and geographic environment, but Hizbullah must deal with the Lebanese – State, people, army and institutions as a party that is under the law, not as a party that is above all authorities and laws," Gemayel stressed. As he noted that "Hizbullah's behaviors today negatively affect its yesterday sacrifices" and that the party was "insisting on pushing the Lebanese away from it and on making them fear it and question its role," Gemayel urged Hizbullah to "engage in the course of the State and to put its capabilities in the framework of the State and its legitimate institutions." "Weapons don't scare us, but rather national division, but I promise you that I will exert maximum effort… in order to prevent civil strife," Gemayel addressed the audience. Beirut, 19 Sep 10, 18:27

Doors remain closed as Elite Cup group stage ends
By Joe Soubaih /Special to The Daily Star
Monday, September 20, 2010
BEIRUT: Another soccer game was played behind closed doors on Sunday as Nijmeh and Safa competed in the closing group game of the Elite Cup. The game, held in Saida, was a contest to clinch the second spot in Group B of the Lebanese Elite Cup. The first half of the game ended 1-1, with Mohammad Jafar opening the scoring for Nijmeh on the half-hour mark, but a well deserved equalizer from Tarek Omrati’s spot kick brought the game level again. With the scores at 1-1, Nijmeh was favored to qualify, thanks to its goalless draw with Al-Ansar, who in turn had beaten Safa 2-1 on Friday.Safa would not hand the result over easily though, and started the second half positively, clearly the better team. The final minute saw a golden opportunity for Safa’s Tark Zein to score, as he put the ball just over the bar. Yet the pressure and better play could not be translated into goals, and the game ended at a 1-1 stalemate. With that result, Nijmeh go to the semis with two draws, and will be playing Ahed, who registered a very impressive 3-0 win against Mabarrah in the tournament’s opening game. In the final Group A game, Racing Beirut and Mabarrah played out a 1-1 draw on Saturday at the Beirut Municipality stadium. The result put Racing Beirut into the semifinals. Not much was to be found though, as Racing Beirut ranked above Mabarrah simply because of a smaller loss against group winners Al-Ahed. Hasan Mahmoud opened the scoring for Mabarrah in the 38th minute, and it appeared that they were to go into half-time 1-0 up. Ali Hamiye foiled such plans though, and the equalizer came in the 43rd minute, bringing the scores level again. With Al-Mabarrah and Racing losing their games to Al-Ahed 3-0 and 1-0 respectively, only a win for the former would have been sufficient to see the team through into the semi finals.
From the six teams that took part in the tournament, Ansar, Nijmeh, Mabarrah, and Ahed remain. The semi final clashes will take place on Wednesday at the Saida International Stadium. The first of the semi finals will be between Ahed and Nijmeh, while the second will be between Al-Ansar and Racing Beirut. The game was played behind doors, as the security forces refused spectators entry. This comes as a shock, as the spectator’s ban has been lifted by the Lebanese Football Association, and approved by the government.

Saqr Accuses Sayyed of Leaking Fabricated Info on Hizbullah to Der Spiegel
Naharnet/MP Oqab Saqr on Monday accused former General Security Department chief Maj. Gen. Jamil Sayyed of fabricating the story published by German magazine Der Spiegel last year about the alleged involvement of Hizbullah in ex-Premier Rafik Hariri's assassination. The report at the time had quoted sources close to the international tribunal and said it had examined internal documents. "What was published by the German Der Spiegel was fabricated by Jamil Sayyed," Saqr said during a press conference. "We don't want an apology from Hizbullah but we want the Lebanese to know … who spread the rumor" to Der Spiegel, the lawmaker said. Last week, Saqr accused Sayyed of dispatching a man to Premier Saad Hariri asking for $15 million in return for giving up his case. "The mediator who asked for a financial settlement for Sayyed was Mustafa Nasser," the MP said during his press conference on Monday.Saqr urged Hizbullah to beware and not to play with fire saying there were attempts to ignite Shiite-Sunni strife in the region, including Lebanon. He also urged Nasrallah to "extend his arm" as Hariri has done and stop his "attempted coup" to avoid civil war. Turning to the issue of false witnesses, Saqr said the March 14 forces want to know who fabricated them. Let Syrian authorities question Hussam Hussam, who is currently in Syria, to know who was behind him, the MP told Sayyed. Beirut, 20 Sep 10, 12:50

New Opinion: The whiff of desperation
September 20, 2010
Now Lebanon
The return of the disgraced former head of General Security Jamil as-Sayyed from Paris not only summed up the mafia tactics his backers in Hezbollah feel they can employ with impunity to kill off the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, it also reeked of desperation.
Short of breaking out the weapons, it appears that the best Hezbollah can do to the court created to bring to justice the killers of Rafik Hariri and other subsequent victims of political terror, is use a man whom the party would not back as a parliamentary candidate in 2009, and the increasingly eccentric, not to mention erratic, Michel Aoun.
If we are to believe the media accounts of what happened, Sayyed, who was detained for four years on suspicion of being an accomplice to the Hariri murder, was met at the steps of the aircraft by Hezbollah security men, who let him give an unofficial press conference at the VIP lounge during which he attacked Prime Minister Saad Hariri, State Prosecutor Said Mirza, security chief Major General Ashraf Rifi and Detlev Mehlis, former head of the UN investigation into the Hariri assassination, before whisking him off to his home in Jnah.
We do not know if Sayyed was processed by immigration, but this detail pales into insignificance when compared to the breathtaking arrogance of a party that feels it can bypass airport security to pick up its latest poster boy. Surely someone should lose his job for such a stunt.
Perhaps General Rifi’s subsequent impassioned response to Sayyed lent too much dignity to the latter’s spleen venting, but the sentiment will have been felt by all Lebanese who fear that the gains of 2005 are slipping away. Rifi, a public official, defended the offices of the state and dozens who have died at the hands of those who would undermine them. More importantly, his comments defined the other side of the increasingly public, not to mention squalid, tribunal debate, by reminding the Lebanese that this is both a sovereign and legal issue, one that cannot be automatically snuffed out by the bully boy elements of Lebanese politics.
Michel Aoun’s Free Patriotic Movement was also press ganged into airport duty. Aoun defended his party’s presence by saying it was there to stand by the judiciary to liberate it from “the political pressure that is preventing Sayyed from achieving justice.”
Can there ever have been a more pathetic excuse from a man who, on the one hand, claims to be leading what he is calling an “intellectual revolution against corruption,” while on the other knows he has put all his political eggs in a basket shot through with corruption? Surely Aoun must see that his so-called MOU with Hezbollah back in February 2006 – a vainglorious gamble that defined his personal political aspirations, but which hinged on Hezbollah being everything it claimed it was and not what the rest of us could see it was – is now coming back to haunt him.
For today, the once presidential hopeful who rode back into town on a horse of transparency and the promise of a new political dawn is forced to publically defend the actions of a former Syrian lackey and murder suspect, while being allied to a party that clearly eschews state institutions, the defense of which his party’s ideology is predicated on. Some dawn.
Meanwhile, it is becoming increasingly clear that Hezbollah is fundamentally incapable, as Kataeb leader and former President Amin Gemayel said in Zahle on Sunday, “[of dealing] with the Lebanese state, people, army and institutions as a party that is under the law, not as a party that is above all authorities and laws.”
The war against the tribunal may be warming up, but Hezbollah is running out of options. As March 14’s Mohammad Chatah asked over the weekend, what is the point of preserving the Resistance if there is no state to protect? The party knows this, despite its veiled threats and scaremongering tactics that the tribunal will ignite unprecedented sectarian strife. It has little room to maneuver. It is a situation best highlighted by the fact that it co-opted a man whose name is a stain on the history of modern Lebanon.

Jamil as-Sayyed
September 20, 2010
On September 20, As-Safir carried the following report:
…Jamil As-Sayyed told As-Safir that he places himself under the ceiling of the law, “or else, I wouldn’t have gone to The Hague and to Syria where I filed my complaint.” He pointed out that the Criminal Chamber of the Court of Cassation is now required to look into the legal review that he filed to sack Said Mirza “and up until then, any summonses issued against me are automatically frozen because Mirza, who summoned me, is a party in personal rivalry with me. And this rivalry is proven by ten documents.”
Sayyed believed that Mirza should have stepped down automatically and as an initiative on his part “as long as he knows that he is part of a personal rivalry with me…” Sayyed also asserted…that he is ready to deliver [his] testimony in front of a judge rather than an officer as Mirza wanted “in an attempt to carry out a personal insult [against me], which is a continuation of what they used to do to me during my period of arrest when they used to take me to confront the false witnesses in handcuffs; and this is something that I strongly rejected.”
Sayyed considered that the March 14 team is currently staging a battle around the form while ignoring the content… He indicated that the responses of the March 14 team have been based on insults and offenses… Sayyed also pointed out that he is carrying out a battle to uncover “the false witnesses and those who fabricated them five years ago through the available legal means and media calls.” However, the insistence of PM Hariri on ignoring that is what led to the escalation of the situation…
And on the relationship between Parliament Speaker Berri and himself and in the framework of what is being said about a tension there, Sayyed called on the March 14 forces to stop wasting their time and fishing in dirty waters. He pointed out that the communication calls between Berri and himself are ongoing and that “I am currently busy with following up on the issue of the false witnesses. But if I decide in the future to engage in political work, then I reassure the March14 team, that Berri will remain at the head of the Parliament and thus there is no room for driving a wedge between us…”
And concerning the latest statement issued by Maj. Gen. Ashraf Rifi when he considered that the issue of the false witnesses is secondary and trivial and when he accused Sayyed of protecting murderers, Sayyed said: “Rifi worked under my command back in 1990 for several months… My impression about him back then was a good one. However, it seems that some people turn to the worst when they reach specific posts… Maj. Gen. Rifi himself admitted in 2007, through a statement to Ad-Diyar newspaper, that his apparatuses have made mistakes in adopting [the stories] of the false witnesses, including Hussam Hussam..."