LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
ِJanuary 17/2010

Bible Of The Day
The Good News According to Matthew 8/23-27: "The Good News According to Matthew
8:23 When he got into a boat, his disciples followed him. 8:24 Behold, a violent storm came up on the sea, so much that the boat was covered with the waves, but he was asleep. 8:25 They came to him, and woke him up, saying, “Save us, Lord! We are dying!” 8:26 He said to them, “Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?” Then he got up, rebuked the wind and the sea, and there was a great calm. 8:27 The men marveled, saying, “What kind of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”

Latest analysis, editorials, studies, reports, letters & Releases from miscellaneous sources
Saudi Arabia’s war against al-Qaida/By YAAKOV LAPPIN/ January 16/11
After the Saudi – Syrian train came to a stop/By Abdul Rahman Al-Rashed/ January 15/11
Assessing Christian concerns/By: Shane Farrell/January 15/11

Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources for January 15/11
STL spokesperson says Bellemare to submit indictment soon/Now Lebanon
Harb: Sfeir Tendered Resignation Months Ago but Vatican Hasn't Yet Accepted it /Naharnet
Netanyahu: Crises in Tunisia, Lebanon Show Regional Instability /Naharnet
Suleiman to Clinton: Lebanese Will be Able to Solve Crisis Through Dialogue /Naharnet
Turkey, Qatar, Syria to Hold Summit in Damascus  /Naharnet
Future bloc, March 14 to reportedly boycott next cabinet if not headed by Hariri/Now Lebanon  /Naharnet
Berri addresses developments with Jumblatt/Now Lebanon  /Naharnet
TV Station Broadcasts Alleged Conversation Between Hariri, Siddiq /Naharnet
FP Passport: Why couldn't the United States change 'Syria with a smile'?/Foreign Policy
Hezbollah risks chaos to protect its skin/National Post
Hezbollah's Rise Amid Chaos/New York Times
New Era in US-Syria Relations?/CBS News
Harb: Lebanon High Authorities Have Been Informed Indictment to Be Submitted to Fransen in 72 Hrs /Naharnet
Aoun: MPs Who Vote for Hariri Will Be Voting for Corruption, Foreign Domination /Naharnet
Ahmadinejad, Erdogan Want Quick Solution to Lebanon Crisis /Naharnet
Gemayel Urges Allies to Close Ranks, Says Hariri's Fast Return to Power in Lebanon's Interest /Naharnet
Jumblat-Assad Meeting Warns of Dangers of Foreign Meddling, Stresses Regional-Made Solutions /Naharnet
Jumblat Calls Off Democratic Gathering Meeting, Holds Crisis Talks with Berri  /Naharnet
Jumblat to Announce Stance on Monday Amid Report his Bloc Will Name Hariri  /Naharnet
Connelly Visits Fattoush, Urges All Parties to Remain Calm /Naharnet
Hizbullah Sources Hint End of 'Hariri Era' /Naharnet
First U.S. Ambassador to Syria Since 2005 Due in Damascus /Naharnet

'Hariri: Opposition is demanding that I surrender'
By ASSOCIATED PRESS AND JPOST.COM STAFF
01/15/2011 15:37
Report quotes Lebanese PM as saying during meeting with Druze leader Jumblatt "they [the opposition} have a gun to my head." Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri told Lebanese Druze leader Walid Jumblatt on Friday that the opposition wants him to "surrender and present concession after concession," according to Lebanese newspaper An-Nahar. "To top it all of, they have a gun pointed to my head," Hariri said during a meeting the two had after Hariri's return from a visit to the US. According to the report, political sources said the meeting centered on the efforts to end the political crisis. Hariri returned to Lebanon and said that dialogue is the only way out of the country's political crisis after a Hizbullah-led coalition toppled his Western-backed government. Hariri has been trying to rally support in the US, France, and Turkey since ministers allied to the Shi'ite militant group resigned on Wednesday, bringing down his government while he was in Washington meeting with President Barack Obama. "There is no alternative to dialogue," Hariri told reporters Friday after meeting with President Michel Suleiman. "Between power and the dignity of my people and country, I choose the dignity of Lebanon and the Lebanese," he said, reading from a brief statement. He did not take questions.
The crisis is the climax of long-simmering tensions over the UN tribunal investigating the 2005 assassination of Hariri's father, former prime minister Rafik Hariri.
The tribunal is widely expected to indict members of Hizbullah soon, which many fear could rekindle violence in the tiny nation plagued for decades by war and civil strife. Hizbullah denounces the Netherlands-based tribunal as a conspiracy by the US and Israel and demanded Hariri reject the court's findings even before they come out. But Hariri has refused to break cooperation with the tribunal. In an effort to ease tensions that some fear could ignite sectarian violence, the US Embassy in Beirut urged all political factions to "remain calm and exercise restraint at this critical time."

STL spokesperson says Bellemare to submit indictment soon
January 16, 2011 /Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) chief of Public Affairs Crispin Thorold told NOW Lebanon’s Dana Moukhallati that STL Prosecutor Daniel Bellemare will submit the tribunal’s indictment to STL Pre-trial Judge Daniel Fransen in the coming days. “We will make a statement after it happens, but we are not going to give an advance warning of the exact time and date,” he said. Thorold also told MTV that the tribunal’s content will not be announced before Fransen approves the indictment, adding that the process could take from 6 to 10 weeks. Hezbollah and its allies have for months been pressing Prime Minister Saad Hariri to disavow the STL – probing the 2005 assassination of ex-Premier Rafik Hariri – on the grounds that it is part of a US-Israeli plot that will indict Hezbollah members.-NOWLebanon

Suleiman to Clinton: Lebanese Will be Able to Solve Crisis Through Dialogue
Naharnet/President Michel Suleiman informed U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton during a phone conversation late Saturday that the Lebanese will be able to solve their crisis through dialogue and consensus. Suleiman stressed to Clinton that "the latest developments in Lebanon are of political nature and are being solved based upon the constitution and democratic means," said a presidential statement Sunday. "The Lebanese will be able to overcome the crisis and find solutions through dialogue, consensus and abidance by constitutional rules and the spirit of the national pact," it said. Clinton, in her turn, stressed U.S. support for Lebanon. Beirut, 16 Jan 11, 13:08

Harb: Sfeir Tendered Resignation Months Ago but Vatican Hasn't Yet Accepted it
Naharnet/Caretaker Labor Minister Butros Harb unveiled Sunday that Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir tendered his resignation months ago but the Vatican was taking its time in accepting it. In remarks to An Nahar daily published Sunday, informed sources brushed off rumors about Sfeir's resignation, wondering the timing of such news reports. The news about Sfeir's resignation is not true, the sources told An Nahar. They wondered "why such news would be published at this sensitive stage." Bkirki sources also told the daily: "We don't comment on media reports … and any official statement is only made by the Maronite Patriarchate's secretariat." Beirut, 16 Jan 11, 11:54

Turkey, Qatar, Syria to Hold Summit in Damascus
Naharnet/Turkey, Qatar and Syria will hold a summit in Damascus Monday to discuss the political crisis in Lebanon, after a Hizbullah-led coalition toppled PM Saad Hariri's government.
Anatolia news agency, citing Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman Selcuk Unal, said Sunday that Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan will meet Qatar's Emir, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, and Syrian President Bashar Assad on Monday. Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, who is in Iraq, will also travel to Syria for the meeting, it said.
Hariri visited Turkey Friday as part of efforts to rally support after ministers allied to Hizbullah resigned Wednesday, bringing down his government. Beirut, 16 Jan 11, 15:38

Netanyahu: Crises in Tunisia, Lebanon Show Regional Instability
Naharnet/Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that regional political instability shows that Israel must seek ironclad security clauses in any peace treaty with the Palestinians. While not referring to any state by name, his comments at the start of the weekly cabinet meeting came in the wake of a popular revolt against Tunisian strongman Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and the collapse of the Lebanese government. "The region in which we live is an unstable region, everybody can see that today. We see it in several places in the broader Middle East," Netanyahu said. "There can be changes in governments that we do not foresee today but will take place tomorrow. "The lesson is that we have to stick to the principles of peace and security in any agreement that we make," he said. "We do not know if such an agreement will be honored but we shall increase the chances of it being honored if there are solid and serious security arrangements." Tunisian-born Vice Premier Silvan Shalom said recent events disproved the perception that all the Middle East's problems stem from the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. "What is happening in Tunisia is a domestic affair, what is happening in Lebanon is a domestic affair and what is happening in Sudan is a domestic affair, with no connection to the Israeli-Palestinian dispute," he told reporters. "This explodes the myth that this dispute is the root of all the instability in the Middle East," Shalom said.(AFP)
Beirut, 16 Jan 11, 13:54

Jumblat Calls Off Democratic Gathering Meeting, Holds Crisis Talks with Berri
Naharnet/Druze leader Walid Jumblat canceled a meeting of his Democratic Gathering parliamentary bloc scheduled for Sunday afternoon to take a stance on parliamentary consultations. Instead, Jumblat held crisis talks with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri in Ain el-Tineh. NBN television channel, mouthpiece of Berri's AMAL Movement, said the two men discussed the latest developments in Lebanon's political crisis. Beirut, 16 Jan 11, 16:04

Jumblat to Announce Stance on Monday Amid Report his Bloc Will Name Hariri
Naharnet/Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat described his meeting with Syrian President Bashar Assad as "excellent" and said he will announce his nominee for the premiership following a meeting with President Michel Suleiman on Monday. "My meeting with the Syrian president was excellent," Jumblat told An Nahar daily in remarks published Sunday. "I will announce my stance at 3:45 pm Monday after my meeting with the president as part of consultations with the Democratic Gathering bloc," he said.
A meeting is scheduled to be held among the bloc's members at Jumblat's residence in Clemenceau Sunday afternoon to agree on the final stance from the parliamentary consultations.
Pan-Arab daily al-Hayat quoted informed sources as saying that Jumblat and members of his Democratic Gathering bloc were most likely to name caretaker Premier Saad Hariri to head the new cabinet. The sources also said that Jumblat informed Hariri during their meeting on Friday that he was committed to the content of the Saudi-Syrian agreement and that there was no interest in naming a premier other than Hariri as long as he holds onto the Arab mediation. The Syrian state-run news agency SANA said Saturday that the Assad-Jumblat meeting addressed the latest developments in Lebanon and the region. The two leaders stressed the importance of awareness of foreign intervention dangers and said decisions should be made by the region's officials, SANA reported. Beirut, 16 Jan 11, 07:44

Connelly Visits Fattoush, Urges All Parties to Remain Calm
Naharnet/U.S. Ambassador Maura Connelly stressed on Sunday that the U.S. continues to urge all parties in Lebanon to remain calm and participate in constructive dialogue to solve Lebanon's crisis, a U.S. embassy statement said. "The U.S. remains committed to working with PM (Saad) Hariri's caretaker government in all areas of our bilateral cooperation and assistance," Connelly told MP Nicolas Fattoush during talks at his residence in Zahle. She reiterated that the U.S. "continues to support the Special Tribunal for Lebanon as the Lebanese people's best hope for putting its tragic and bloody history of political violence behind it." The meeting was a chance to follow up their December 2010 talks during the ambassador's last trip to Zahle, the statement said. Beirut, 16 Jan 11, 12:24

TV Station Broadcasts Alleged Conversation Between Hariri, Siddiq
Naharnet/Al-Jadid TV station broadcast an audiotape of an alleged meeting between Caretaker Premier Saad Hariri and false witness Mohammed Zuhair Siddiq who has claimed "he knows the full truth" in ex-Premier Rafik Hariri's assassination case. The TV station said the broadcast was intended to show a link between Hariri and Siddiq, whom March 8 forces describe as a false witness and the international tribunal does not recognize. Al-Jadid accused the caretaker premier of "hiding the truth and playing with the bloods of February 14 martyrs" in reference to the bombing that killed the former PM and 22 others. The meeting was also attended by former chief investigator Detlev Mehlis' assistant Gerhard Lehmann and police intelligence chief Col. Wissam al-Hassan, according to the tape. In the audiotape, Siddiq told Hariri that the report of U.N. investigators probing his father's assassination should name six Syrians and four Lebanese. The former Syrian intelligence agent also hinted that Damascus was behind the killing. But Hariri asked for evidence of Syrian involvement.
The false witness also reminded the caretaker premier that he had warned him that the Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation would be targeted and his warning materialized when anchorwoman May Chidiac escaped an assassination attempt in a September 2005 bombing. Al-Jadid did not give details as to how it obtained the audiotape but said that the Special Tribunal for Lebanon had a copy of it. The TV station said it will broadcast the second part of the tape on Hariri's testimony to international investigators on Sunday.
Beirut, 16 Jan 11, 11:29

First U.S. Ambassador to Syria Since 2005 Due in Damascus
Naharnet/Robert Ford, the first U.S. ambassador to Syria since 2005, was expected in Damascus Sunday to kick off the task of re-engaging the two countries even as they continue to disagree on a raft of issues. Ford takes up his post at a time of renewed tensions in Lebanon. The United States withdrew ambassador Margaret Scobey after ex-Premier Rafik Hariri's 2005 assassination in a massive car bomb that was widely blamed on Syria. Damascus has always denied the allegations. The Special Tribunal for Lebanon is expected to implicate members of Hizbullah when it hands down indictments, which media reports said could come as soon as Monday. The appointment of Ford "shows that President (Barack) Obama wants to work with Syria even if we don't agree on every issue," a source at the U.S. embassy in Damascus told Agence France Presse. "The ambassador's first priority will be to deliver messages from the American government to the Syrian government," the source added, without elaborating. Washington wants Syria to drop its support for the Islamist Hamas movement which controls the Gaza Strip as well as for Hizbullah, and to distance itself from its long-time ally Iran. Syria for its part wants the superpower to pressure Israel to pull out of the Golan Heights, which it has occupied since 1967, Syrian analyst Sami Moubayed told AFP. U.S. President Barack Obama named Ford to the post last February, but because of Republican opposition was not able to confirm the appointment until December 29, when he bypassed Congress while it was not in session.(AFP) Beirut, 16 Jan 11, 13:58

Berri addresses developments with Jumblatt
January 16, 2011 /Speaker Nabih Berri met on Sunday with Democratic Gathering bloc leader MP Walid Jumblatt at the former’s Ain al-Tineh residence to discuss the latest developments.
According to the National News Agency (NNA), ministers Ghazi Aridi and Wael Abu Faour –who represent Jumblatt –took part in the meeting. Berri’s political aide, MP Ali Hassan Khalil, also participated in the sit-down, the NNA added. However, it did not elaborate further. Lebanon's unity government collapsed Wednesday after Hezbollah and its allies pulled their 10 ministers from cabinet and one minister close to President Michel Sleiman announced his withdrawal, providing the necessary number of resignations for the government to fall. Prime Minister Saad Hariri is now heading a caretaker government pending the outcome of consultations due to start Monday between Sleiman and parliamentarians on the appointment of a new premier.-NOW Lebanon

Future bloc, March 14 to reportedly boycott next cabinet if not headed by Hariri
January 16, 2011 /The Future bloc and the March 14 alliance will not join any future cabinet if it is not headed by Prime Minister Saad Hariri, an unnamed source said on Sunday. The source told LBCI television that Hariri will chair a Future bloc meeting on Sunday afternoon, after which a meeting comprising March 14 leaders will also be held. The source added that the PM was informed that Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) Prosecutor Daniel Bellemare will submit the court’s indictment to STL Pre-Trial judge Daniel Fransen on Monday. Lebanon's unity government collapsed Wednesday after Hezbollah and its allies pulled their 10 ministers from cabinet and one minister close to President Michel Sleiman announced his withdrawal, providing the necessary number of resignations for the government to fall. Hezbollah and its allies have for months been pressing Hariri to disavow the STL – probing the 2005 assassination of ex-Premier Rafik Hariri – on the grounds that it is part of a US-Israeli plot that will indict Hezbollah members. Hariri is now heading a caretaker government pending the outcome of consultations due to start Monday between Sleiman and parliamentarians on the appointment of a new premier.-NOW Lebanon

Assessing Christian concerns
Shane Farrell, January 16, 2011
The past month has witnessed several attacks on Christians in the region. In December, a series of attacks on Christian homes in Baghdad killed two and injured 14 more, and on New Year’s Day, a bomb exploded at a Coptic Church in Alexandria, killing 23.
Lebanese Christians have also been highlighted in the press since Labor Minister Boutros Harb proposed a draft law in late December which, if passed, would have barred Muslims and Christians from selling land or property to each other; a proposal that many believe was specifically aimed at preventing Muslims from buying up land belonging to Christians.
In light of this, NOW Lebanon asked church representatives and regular Christians in Beirut for their reaction to the attacks and to Harb’s draft law, as well as what their most pressing concerns are. The responses were markedly diverse.
“Lebanese Christians feel themselves threatened if ever the present regime should change to a theocratic Islamic one, and if ever the present political conflict between Sunni and Shia should intensify and become an armed struggle, as is the case in Iraq,” said Maronite Bishop of Jbiel Beshara Rai. This concern is particularly pertinent given the current state of tension in the country following last week’s resignation of Hezbollah-backed ministers from PM Saad Hariri’s cabinet.
“The great concern of the Lebanese Christians is to maintain the Lebanese political regime with its specific features, namely a civil state which makes a clear distinction between religion and state while at the same time respecting the various religions [in the country],” he added.
“Christians feel weak in Lebanon,” said one shopkeeper in Geitawi, who preferred to remain anonymous, “I am afraid [Muslims] might turn against us; I don’t feel there is much co-existence nowadays.”
Houda, a 40-year-old mother of one, feels the same. “From the beginning of the civil war I have had this fear that they [Muslims] would attack us,” she told NOW Lebanon. “We’ve been hearing this since I was a child… My biggest concern is that there is no more security.”
But Samih Nassif, 71, from Jezzine, is not scared. “I am not afraid of what is going on in Egypt and Iraq. We are in a better situation. I fear that tensions are high, but I feel the tensions are higher between Sunnis and Shia, rather than between Muslims and Christians,” he said, adding that his biggest concern is about “Hezbollah being able to do whatever they want.”
A 42-year-old motorbike salesman in Achrafieh who refused to be named disagrees. “I don’t think Hezbollah is a problem. I’m worried about other Muslims, like al-Qaeda. I’m also concerned about the Sunnis.”
For Sandra, 27, from Rashaya, the biggest issue of concern is Muslims making land purchases in Christian areas. “I am concerned about Muslims buying up Christian property,” she said. “We feel like we are being pushed out of our own area.”
Dr. Martin Accad, Director of an Institute of Middle East Studies at the Arab Baptist Theological Seminary, says that this is one of the most pressing concerns among Lebanese Christians. “I think Christians in Lebanon have always been concerned about their continuity and their future… I think it is a justified fear in some ways.”
On the other hand, almost half of the people NOW Lebanon interviewed voiced no security concerns whatsoever –politically, at least.
“I have no fears,” said a 60-year-old Geitawi resident matter-of-factly. “Here in Lebanon I am not worried about anything.”
Moreover, other interviewees dismissed the idea that there are sharp religious divides in the country at all.
“I don’t feel that there are any divisions, and I don’t care about a person’s religion,” said Eli Antoun, 75. “A person is a person.”
One 72-year-old grandmother from Baskinta shares the same view. “We are happy to live alongside Muslims. During the 2006 war we opened our homes to Lebanese, whatever their religion. We never felt that there was a division - even during the civil war we felt that it was externally imposed.”
“Among ordinary citizens there aren’t any tensions,” said Rashid Iskandar, 50, from Batroun. “It is among the politicians that there is a divide. I have many Muslim friends; religion doesn’t matter.”
But while respondents were generally divided on socio-political issues, they appeared united by fears over another aspect of their lives – future economic prospects.
“I don’t really see a future in Lebanon past a couple of years,” said bartender Jihad Hanna, who is in his 20s. “Prices are too high – especially for real estate – and salaries have not increased in recent years despite the increase in the cost of living.”
“My fears are 100 percent economic,” stated Paul Serhal, a 50-year-old hairdresser from Achrafieh. “Even during the civil war [business] wasn’t that bad.”

Asharq Al-Awsat Talks to Former Lebanese Minister Gebran Bassil
16/01/2011
By Tha'ir Abbas
Beirut, Asharq Al-Awsat- Former Lebanese Energy Minister Gebran Bassil, who announced the resignation of 10 Lebanese ministers – including himself – from cabinet, resulting in the collapse of the Lebanese government spoke to Asharq Al-Awsat about the present crisis in Lebanon, and the political future of the country. Gebran Bassil is a member of the Christian Free Patriotic Movement that is close to Hezbollah and which is led by his father-in-law, General Michel Aoun.
The following is the text of the interview.
[Asharq Al-Awsat] What does the future hold for Lebanon?
[Bassil] I think we have entered a new area, and many people do not understand the size of the changes that have taken, and will take, place. They put on a brave face and did not pay attention to our calls for the internal crisis within government to be resolved; they put on a brave face with regards to the role being played by Saudi Arabia and did not pay attention [to what was happening], and they put on a brave face in response to our last calls for a meeting of the Council of Ministers to be held, saying that there is no capital other than Beirut. They did not believe that the government would collapse, and today they continue to be unaware of the extent of the changes that have taken place.
What is most important is for everybody to be assured that our actions do not include any departure from or contravention of the constitution; there is no contravention of any of the powers of the presidency, premiership, or speakership, and no particular sect is being targeted by this. The Sunnis are not being targeted, because the prime minister will be a Sunni, and will enjoy the same powers. Not every post in Lebanon is open to everybody. When General Aoun won 70 percent of the Christian vote (in 2005), we, the Christians [in the Free Patriotic Movement] were not even allowed in government, let alone granted the post of presidency, and we did not destroy the country or harm stability or threaten anybody, so nobody should threaten us with things that we did not intend, and which did not happen. The attempts by some to intimidate the public in order to strengthen their positions are not useful. On the contrary, what happened has confirmed to us the importance of mutual participation and understanding, and we are reassured that Saudi Arabia, as represented by King Abdullah [Bin Abdulaziz], is only concerned with rescuing Lebanon, and this is something that can only be viewed positively, and responded to positively. Saudi Arabia is only acting logically and with concern for everybody…and this is something that we believe is helpful and useful. Therefore we hope that nobody portrays the situation as being under the title of vital Arab issues or internal sectarian accounts. Any future government will unite all of the sects, and there will be genuine participation.
[Asharq Al-Awsat] You succeeded in toppling the government…what now?
[Bassil] A new government which avoids the inability of the previous government and which stops the country's paralysis which was caused by this government. We, as ministers, discovered that we were unable to take decisions relating to the electricity grid or to stop corruption, or on issues that we all agreed on the necessity of addressing, such as the case of the false witnesses [of the international tribunal], even though we did disagree on the [governmental] body that should pursue this issue. The government was no longer viable, and so it collapsed. Today, there must be a new government that is able to take action.
[Asharq Al-Awsat] What would you like the makeup of this government to be, a government made up of one party, or a national unity government?
[Bassil] We want to work for a national unity government, but under a new prime minister; we hope to see a new [political] majority different than the previous majority, otherwise we would have remained with this government, and there would have been no need for resignation.
[Asharq Al-Awsat] You are saying that you want the Future Movement to be part of this new government, just not its leader [Saad Hariri]?
[Bassil] That's right, and the same should apply to the Future Movement itself. For in the same manner that we in the Change and Reform bloc enjoy the Christian majority but do not possess the most powerful Christian position (president of Lebanon) then it is up to the Future Movement to enjoy the Sunni majority without possession the post of prime minister. Here I stress that if we are able to do this [establish this government], then the country will not be destroyed, but if we are unable [to establish this government], it will be destroyed.
[Asharq Al-Awsat] There are three different scenarios or models with regards to the position of Lebanese prime minister; one would see Hariri or somebody who represents him [and the Future Movement] return to this post; secondly, the opposition could nominate an opposition candidate; and finally we could see a transitional government such as the one led by Prime Minister Najib Mikati in 2005. Which of these models would you prefer?
[Bassil] As a priority, we reject the previous models, and we will discuss the remaining priorities in the near future.
[Asharq Al-Awsat] Can the country accept another prime minister other than Hariri?
[Bassil] I refer you to my previous answer. The country has accepted another prime minister other than General Aoun; did the Christians discard their citizenship or rights by accepting a prime minister other than Michel Aoun?
[Asharq Al-Awsat] Perhaps that is because the Lebanese Christians are already divided amongst themselves?
[Bassil] The Sunni situation is no different than the Christian situation, the Future Movement does not enjoy 90 percent of Sunni support, nor even 70 percent…their situation is no different than ours.
[Asharq Al-Awsat] In that case, all that is left is the Shiite model which resulted in Nabih Berri becoming Speaker f Parliament, despite the fact that he did not enjoy a parliamentary majority.
[Bassil] As for the Shiite model, there are two united trends [Hezbollah and Amal], and together they enjoy more than 90 percent [of the Shiite support]. However the Shiite situation is different…if the Future Movement managed to bring together all the Sunni figures, then we can talk.
[Asharq Al-Awsat] The Free Patriotic Movement [only] has 21 MPs, of an original 27 MPs.
[Bassil] If that is the criteria then they must apologize for the mistake they made with us in 2005. It is their right to exert effort democratically to prevent this, but if this happens democratically, how can they issue threats?
[Asharq Al-Awsat] How do you respond to those who say that you do not have the necessary majority?
[Bassil] We are seeking to secure a majority under a name that we agree upon.
[Asharq Al-Awsat] Are you satisfied with the position of Walid Jumblatt?
[Bassil] Walid Jumblatt has a political position that he announced in August 2006, and this is in line with his political position.
[Asharq Al-Awsat] Are you in communication with Jumblatt?
[Bassil] We are in communication with everybody.
[Asharq Al-Awsat] So you are assured of the result of this?
[Bassil] No, we are well aware of the difficulty of this issue, however we also knew the danger of taking the decision to resign [from government], however we took this months ago…as a last resort.
[Asharq Al-Awsat] So you are saying that you are against the return of Saad Hariri to the post of prime minister?
[Bassil] I did not say that.
[Asharq Al-Awsat] You said that you wanted a new prime minister.
[Bassil] I said that there must see a new [government] formation, with new characteristics.
[Asharq Al-Awsat] There has been talk that the Free Patriotic Movement will accept the return of Hariri should he grant constitutional amendments that restore some presidential powers. Is there any truth to this?
[Bassil] This is a subject that has never been put forward or discussed. Sectarian issues cannot be raised as a scarecrow every time that we feel worried. It is not right to try to secure a coup against the powers of the prime minister at the same time that we are changing the prime minister.
[Asharq Al-Awsat] What about the security situation?
[Bassil] There are no reasons to fear, those inciting sectarian fears are only doing so out of weakness, but they do not know what consequences such actions will have.
[Asharq Al-Awsat] Do you fear major international mobilization towards Lebanon?
[Bassil] Why? Don't they [the international community] want sovereignty, freedom, and Lebanese stability? If the Lebanese government resigns, why should all countries mobilize? Why this contradiction?
[Asharq Al-Awsat] What about those who say that such fears are because Hezbollah was responsible for the collapse of the government?
[Bassil] Hezbollah only has 2 ministers, and I am not a member of Hezbollah, and I would never be a member of Hezbollah. Why is there this contempt for Lebanese diversity and humanitarian thinking?
[Asharq Al-Awsat] It seems that the situation is as if the opposition is being threatened with not being recognized internationally; [however] this would mean that the government would have to be formed by itself [without the participation of the opposition].
[Bassil] If the countries acted in this manner, these countries would be threatened by being prohibited from engaging in Lebanese affairs.
[Asharq Al-Awsat] Where is Syria in this crisis?
[Bassil] Syria has informed everybody that it is not intervening in this issue at all. There is a Lebanese government that will be made up of a parliamentary majority. It is not for Syria or any country to decide the Lebanese government. If there are some who have sold their decision [in this regard], then that is different. The scene of the resignation was formulated by those in Beirut and Washington.
[Asharq Al-Awsat] However some people have claimed that the decision to resign from government was a Syrian – Iranian one?
[Bassil] Even if we assumed that this is true – and it is not true – this at least reveals that there are those who are clever and those who are not; those who are not clever show that they are not responsible for their decisions, whilst the others show that their decisions are Lebanese.
[Asharq Al-Awsat] What is the position of Lebanese President Michel Suleiman with regards to what is happening?
[Bassil] You'll have to ask him that yourself.
[Asharq Al-Awsat] What role must he [the Lebanese president] play at this stage?
[Bassil] Firstly, we thank him for accepting the resignations promptly, and calling for parliamentary consultations to name the caretaker prime minister, and his duty of care towards the application of the constitution.
[Asharq Al-Awsat] What if the international tribunal issues its expected decision, have you not relieved Hariri from bearing the consequences of what will happen after you forced the collapse of his government?
[Bassil] If that is the case, why would he want to return [as prime minister]?
[Asharq Al-Awsat] Are you prepared to deal with the international tribunal's expected decision as part of a government that does not include Saad Hariri?
[Bassil] We are prepared to face this, and we want this to include all the Lebanese, not just one party. The difference is that there are those who are unable to take decisions, but we are able. So the other team must decide whether they want to be with us or against us in dealing with this decision.
[Asharq Al-Awsat] And then…?
[Bassil] And then each party will be responsible for its actions.

Aoun: MPs Who Vote for Hariri Will Be Voting for Corruption, Foreign Domination
Naharnet/Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun stressed Saturday that every Lebanese MP who votes in favor of Caretaker Prime Minister Saad Hariri during consultations with President Michel Suleiman on appointing a new prime minister "will be voting for corruption and foreign domination of the country." Suleiman will hold binding consultations with the country's parliamentary blocs on appointing a new premier on Monday and Tuesday. In an interview on his party's mouthpiece OTV, Aoun said that his Change and Reform parliamentary bloc was mulling "more than one name." "We will discuss them with our allies," Aoun added, noting that "Hariri is not among these names."Asked about the latest stance of Lebanon's Grand Sunni Mufti Sheikh Mohammed Rashid Qabbani in support of Hariri, Aoun said: "Let Mufti Qabbani collect around $63 billion so we can pay our accumulating debts."
"I don't mind nominating Hariri if foreign countries pay Lebanon's debts worth $63 billion," Aoun added.
He stressed that if the controversial issue of the so-called "false witnesses" was not addressed, "it will be very difficult for anyone from the parliamentary majority to assume power."
On Tuesday, Aoun had announced that Syrian-Saudi efforts had failed to contain a political crisis over a U.N. probe into the murder of ex-premier Rafik Hariri.  "The Saudi-Syrian initiative has ended with no results. Prime Minister Saad Hariri has not responded to these efforts and we have now reached an impasse," Aoun told a news conference. "We were informed (of this failure) by our allies in Hizbullah and by all parties who are in contact with the main actors in this initiative, namely Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Saudi King Abdullah." On Wednesday, the government led by Saad Hariri collapsed when Aoun's FPM, Hizbullah and their allies resigned over the U.N. probe. "People are fed up of hearing about the Syrian-Saudi initiative, and we want to raise issues in Cabinet that are of concern to people. Hariri went abroad with all his slogans and decisions must be made regarding the pressing issues," Aoun told his interviewer on Saturday.
"Through his trips to the U.S., Europe and the Arab countries, the premier has stripped state institutions of their ability to take decisions; the problem is Lebanese and must solve it together," Aoun added.About the timing of the resignation from government that coincided with talks between Hariri and U.S. President Barack Obama in Washington, Aoun said "Hariri must realize that he's not the only one in charge of Lebanon's foreign policy.
"That's why we had timed the resignation to coincide with the moment he had entered the White House, not as a message to the White House, but to make Hariri realize that the decision is here," Aoun added. "Why doesn't Hariri take the foreign minister with him on his foreign visits? Hariri had spent 200 out of 365 days abroad."Aoun told his interviewer that the Hizbullah-led camp, until this moment, does not have street action on its agenda "in case the crisis protracted." "At least this is what I believe," Aoun noted. Asked about possible sanctions on the country by the international community if Lebanon halted its cooperation with the U.N.-backed Special Tribunal for Lebanon, Aoun said: "It doesn't matter. We can survive, Iran is surviving and so is Syria. "If the international community wants to confront us, let it confront us, and anyway the current (parliamentary) majority will be the loser if international sanctions were imposed on us.""Why do they want to ruin the country with flawed justice?" Aoun wondered. "Should the Security Council show hostility towards us, the country might be ruined," he added. Beirut, 15 Jan 11, 23:25

Harb: Lebanon High Authorities Have Been Informed Indictment to Be Submitted to Fransen in 72 Hrs
Naharnet/The high authorities in Lebanon have been informed that Special Tribunal for Lebanon Prosecutor Danielle Bellemare will submit a draft indictment in the Hariri case to STL Pre-Trial Judge Daniel Fransen "in 72 hours," Caretaker Labor Minister Boutros Harb said Saturday.
Contacted by LBC TV network following his talks with President Michel Suleiman at the Baabda Palace, Harb confirmed media reports that a draft indictment will be submitted on Monday.  "Yes, the (draft) indictment will be submitted to STL Pre-Trial Judge Daniel Fransen on Monday, this is what Beirut has been told by The Hague," Harb said.
About his talks with Suleiman, Harb noted that the president is "committed to conducting consultations with parliamentarians (on naming a new prime minister) in an atmosphere of calm, the thing that would enhance accord in Lebanon.""He is also committed to what the Constitution obligates in order to maintain the work of state institutions and the country's stability," Harb added.
Lebanese daily An-Nahar Saturday quoted sources following the STL file as saying that Bellemare will deliver the indictment in the investigation into the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri to Fransen on Saturday at 3:00pm.
The sources added that should any development impede the delivery on Saturday, Fransen would receive the indictment on Monday at the latest.
According to the tribunal's rules of procedure, Fransen will next be tasked with confirming the confidential indictment before any arrest warrants or summonses to appear can be issued -- a process that should take six to 10 weeks. He could also reject the charges in part or in full, or ask the prosecutor for additional information.
The STL declined to comment on the report. "We will say it has been done the day it has been done, we won't announce when this is going to take place," spokesman Crispin Thorold told Agence France Presse. Meanwhile at the court headquarters in the Netherlands, sources close to the assassination case said that Bellemare will deliver the indictment "soon" and it may be released next week. French daily Le Monde reported that the indictment is likely to be presented under wraps to the tribunal on Monday.
"According to several sources close to the office of the prosecutor, the charges target members of Hizbullah," said sources close to the STL.
The group and its allies withdrew from the Lebanese cabinet on Wednesday in protest against the ongoing U.N.-backed investigation, prompting the collapse of the unity government led by Prime Minister Saad Hariri, son of the murdered premier.
The pending indictment has split Lebanon's unity government, pitting Hizbullah against a camp led by the Saudi- and Western-backed Saad Hariri.
The STL was created by a 2007 U.N. Security Council resolution to find and try the killers of Hariri, assassinated in a massive car bombing on the Beirut seafront on February 14, 2005 that also killed 22 other people. Hizbullah, which dismisses the tribunal as part of a U.S.-Israeli plot, has repeatedly said it would not accept the indictment of its members and warned of repercussions, raising regional fears of renewed Sunni-Shiite sectarian violence. Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah warned in November the group will "cut off the hand" of anyone who tries to arrest any of its members for the Hariri killing.
A trial could follow "four to six months" after the charges are confirmed, tribunal registrar Herman von Hebel told journalists in The Hague in December.
"Maybe September or October, something like that, at some point of the second half of the year, (2011)" Von Hebel said, basing his assessment "on the experience of other tribunals".
The STL's rules allows for a trial to be held "in absentia", meaning without the accused being present, if arrests are impossible.(Naharnet-AFP)

Saudi Arabia’s war against al-Qaida
By YAAKOV LAPPIN
01/14/2011 16:21
The Saudis have taken up the struggle against global terror, and are also being forced to confront a growing domestic threat to unseat their rulers.
The war between Arab governments and militant Salafi Islamists led by al-Qaida plays out across the Middle East and beyond on a daily basis.
For Arab regimes, the battle is one of necessity. Deemed as illegitimate puppets of the West by their Islamist foes, they are the targets of radical plots to unseat them by force. They are also the target of relentless radical Islamist rhetoric, most of it appearing on Internet sites controlled by jihadis.
The situation is most dire in Asia, where Pakistan is fighting off a steadily growing al-Qaida and Taliban bid to topple the government. Pakistan’s instability and the possibility that jihadis could one day access its nuclear arsenal are seen by security analysts as the number one threat to global security.
IN THE Middle East, one of the regimes most targeted by al-Qaida is Saudi Arabia.
It is a confrontation that often pits Saudis against Saudis, and it is likely to continue for years to come.
King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz’s government is in the midst of a massive building project in the heart of Mecca, Islam's holiest site.
The project, being built by the Bin Laden Group construction corporation (run by relatives of al-Qaida’s figurehead leader) features seven enormous skyscrapers and an array of commercial centers, being built for wealthier pilgrims who flood the city annually for the Haj.
The project includes a hotel intended as a kind of replica of London’s Big Ben, which soars many times taller than the original clock tower, and which will house 30,000 guests. It will be the second tallest structure on the planet, according to reports. The complex is surely viewed by Bin Laden and his followers as a towering example of Saudi Arabia’s decadence.
Al-Qaida-affiliated websites often issue a call to kill a Saudi leader, as was the case in July 2008 when Abu Yahya al-Libi, a high-ranking al-Qaida ideologue, posted a video on a jihadi website urging followers to assassinate King Abdullah. He had provoked Libi’s wrath by holding an interfaith dialogue conference on Saudi soil.
“Hurrying to kill this wanton tyrant who has announced himself to be a leader of atheism would be among the most pious acts,” Libi declared in the video.
This week, the Saudis issued an Interpol red notice alert concerning 47 Saudi nationals accused by Riyadh of being members of al-Qaida. The spokesman for the Saudi Interior Ministry, Maj.-Gen. Mansour al- Turki, said most of the suspects, aged between 18 and 40, “posed a potentially serious public threat at home and abroad due to their suspected involvement with al-Qaida,” and urged them to turn themselves in, the Interpol website stated on Tuesday.
Interpol’s general secretary, Ronald K. Noble, praised the Saudis for internationalizing their battle against homegrown al-Qaida elements.
The alert went out to 188 Interpol member states. It was one of the largest alerts of its kind.
The largest ever red notice alert was also issued by Saudi Arabia, in 2009, and named 85 Saudi terror suspects who were believed to be actively engaged in hostile action across the Middle East.
And it was Saudi Arabia which tipped off American intelligence officials to the October 2010 parcel bomb plot by al-Qaida members in Yemen. The tip saw security officials remove explosive devices from USbound cargo planes in Dubai and London.
That failed attack has been attributed by some analysts to Ibrahim Hassan al-Asiri, a Saudi national residing in Yemen who is the chief bomb maker for al-Qaida’s offshoot in Yemen (also known as al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula).
Asiri famously dispatched his younger brother, Abdullah, on a suicide bombing mission in 2009, in what was one of al-Qaida’s most audacious attempted strikes at the Saudi establishment. Asiri arrived at the Jeddah palace of Saudi Arabia’s intelligence head and deputy interior minister, Prince Muhammad bin Nayef. Taking advantage of a Saudi clemency offer to jihadis who renounce their ways, Abdullah Asiri obtained an invitation to the palace by pretending to be a reformed jihadi.
He waited in line to meet the prince, and detonated his bomb vest upon meeting him. Asiri killed himself in the blast, but caused only light injuries to the intelligence chief.
Saudi Arabia, often accused of funding its own network of radical Wahhabi centers around the world, has become a vital player in the global struggle against al-Qaida.
For jihadis determined to overthrow its government, Saudi Arabia’s state ideology remains, on the whole, unforgivably moderate. They point to its collaboration with the “infidel” superpower, the US, as evidence of its illegitimacy.
In 1996, Osama bin Laden released a statement he described as a fatwa in which he suggested that Saudi Arabia, or “the land of the two holy sites,” was following American orders.
TODAY, ACROSS the thousands of jihadi forums and Internet sites, those who subscribe to al-Qaida’s ideology compare Bin Laden’s war against Saudi Arabia to the battle waged by Muhammad against the pre-Islamic society of Mecca. For Saudi Arabia’s rulers, such an idea is as abhorrent as it is dangerous.
Al-Qaida’s chances of achieving its goal of unseating the Saudi government remain extremely slim, but the group and its affiliates will nevertheless continue to try to strike “the near enemy” – a term referring to Arab-Muslim states – with a special focus on Saudi Arabia.
The kingdom will in turn continue to activate its powerful intelligence and security agencies to kill or capture its Islamist foes, or talk them out of their ideology.
The writer is author of Virtual Caliphate: Exposing the Islamist State on the Internet (Potomac Books).
http://www.amazon.com/Virtual-Caliphate-Exposing-Islamist-Internet/dp/1597975117
www.yaakovlappin.com

After the Saudi – Syrian train came to a stop
14/01/2011
By Abdul Rahman Al-Rashed
I do not believe that the collapse of Saad Hariri's government came as a surprise, although many did believe that the Saudi Arabian and Syrian mediation would be enough to protect the government and resolve the issue of the international tribunal. However everything that has been said in this regard was nothing more than wishful thinking, and now that the Saudi side had withdrawn, what train will Lebanon board? It is highly likely that the Lebanese will board the Qatari train, or perhaps the French, because there are no volunteers prepared to follow the same track, for everybody is aware of how grave these problems are, and the consequences of failure.
However why are the Qatari or French trains a second or even last option? The reason for this is Doha's good relations with the stubborn party, I mean the party that has extremely difficult demands, who is also the prime suspect in the assassination case [of former Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri]. I am, of course, talking about Hezbollah. Doha was also responsible for the previous agreement [between the Lebanese parties] which resulted in a two-dimensional government made up of a majority and a minority. As for the French, they are an acceptable Western party that can act as a witness to the pledges that will be made, and they will be a balanced mediator. The Turks may also step in [to mediate the Lebanese crisis] on the opposite side of the French, although I do not say that they will act as a counter-balance.
The best possible outcome is for the Qatari mediator to convince the Lebanese team that is refusing to deal with the facts with regards to the international tribunal to search for a more practical solution. This is something that was successfully achieved by Doha in the past when it put forward the idea of the [political] arranged marriage. Doha managed to convince the opposition that it was Saad Hariri's legal right to be prime minister, whilst convincing Hariri that there would be no government unless he granted the opposition more power, which resulted in the formation of the [previous] government.
No mediator, whether Saudi Arabia or Qatar or any other country, can eliminate or deny firmly established facts and realities in this complex case; the tribunal exists, which is a fact, and charges will be leveled, which is also a fact. The mediator, no matter how enthusiastic and regardless of the support from the Lebanese or the Arabs, can by no means put an end to a tribunal which is linked to Article VII of the United Nations Chart. However, the mediator can search for solutions to alleviate the harm that may be caused by the tribunal. US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton said that it would be individuals, not groups, who will be held accountable [for the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri], and this is a clear example of this. This represented the first clear indication that no accusation would be leveled at Hezbollah or any other organization, regardless of whether or not members of the organization are implicated. However for there not to be a tribunal, or charges, is impossible, at least in my opinion.
If there were parties that refused to accept the framework of the Saudi mediation by seeking to attain the impossible, they will find that the Qatari mediator is introducing the same initiatives. At this point, they will not refuse and will try to market this to their political allies. I do not believe that Saudi Arabia will be angered by this, so long as this will result in the protection of Lebanese national security, and rescue the country from a deteriorating political and security situation.
The parties who have announced their withdrawal from government have put themselves in a critical situation, for they pledged to put an end the tribunal, which did not happen. They could have pledged to tackle the consequences of the anticipated charges or even reject them. Whether Hariri manages to resurrect a government or whether these parties manage to old sway over Lebanon, either by force of arms or popularity, the tribunal will continue. Therefore, let us say that whoever mediates this is lucky because the stubborn party has now discovered how wrong it was.