LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
ِJanuary 29/2010

Bible Of The Day
Isaiah 5/22 Woe to those who are mighty to drink wine, and champions at mixing strong drink; 5:23 who acquit the guilty for a bribe, but deny justice for the innocent! 5:24 Therefore as the tongue of fire devours the stubble, and as the dry grass sinks down in the flame, so their root shall be as rottenness, and their blossom shall go up as dust; because they have rejected the law of Yahweh of Armies, and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel. 5:25 Therefore Yahweh’s anger burns against his people, and he has stretched out his hand against them, and has struck them. The mountains tremble, and their dead bodies are as refuse in the midst of the streets. For all this, his anger is not turned away, but his hand is still stretched out. 5:26 He will lift up a banner to the nations from far, and he will whistle for them from the end of the earth. Behold, they will come speedily and swiftly. 5:27 None shall be weary nor stumble among them; none shall slumber nor sleep; neither shall the belt of their waist be untied, nor the latchet of their shoes be broken: 5:28 whose arrows are sharp, and all their bows bent. Their horses’ hoofs will be like flint, and their wheels like a whirlwind. 5:29 Their roaring will be like a lioness. They will roar like young lions. Yes, they shall roar, and seize their prey and carry it off, and there will be no one to deliver. 5:30 They will roar against them in that day like the roaring of the sea. If one looks to the land behold, darkness and distress. The light is darkened in its clouds.

Latest analysis, editorials, studies, reports, letters & Releases from miscellaneous sources
Why Lebanon's Sunnis resent Hezbollah's new influence/Christian Science Monitor/January 28/11
Is This Lebanon's Final Revolution?/By Nicholas No/January 28/11
Is New Lebanon Government a Little Hezbollah -- or a Lot?/By Campbell Clark/January 28/11
After Tunisia: Robin Yassin-Kassab on Syria/The Guardian/January 28/11
Abandoning tribunal will be bad for Lebanon, Hague says/By Alice Johnson/January 28/11
Israel quietly watches chaos unfolding around it/By Joel Greenberg/January 28/11
Jumblatt’s latest flip flop baffles Druze/By: Mona Alami/January 28/11
Don't break with the Special Tribunal/By Nadim Houry/January 28/11

Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources for January 28/11
Ban: STL Not up for Politicization, Shouldn't be Obstructed by Anyone or Any Country/Naharnert
Miqati Likely to Fulfill Hizbullah Wishes to Cut Lebanon Ties with STL/Naharnet
Bkirki Denies Receiving Threat to Bomb Catholic School /Naharnet
Feltman: We Are Keen on Seeing Lebanese Commitment to International Resolutions /Naharnet
Hizbullah Agents Infiltrating into Gaza, Israeli Minister /Naharnet
Judge Orders Hizbullah's Hammoud to Serve 30 and Not 155 Years in Prison /Naharnet
European Parliament Condemns Violence Against Christians in the Middle East/AINA
US Congress Urged to Condemn Egypt Church Attack/AFP
US warns Lebanon on militants in government/TMCnet
Lebanon PM wraps up talks on govt/AFP
Hezbollah-Backed PM Working to Form New Government/Voice of America
Hariri group asks Mikati not to shun Lebanon tribunal/Reuters
Israeli minister: Lebanese Hezbollah training Palestinian militants in Hamas/Winnipeg Free Press
Judge to resentence man convicted of aiding Hezbollah/Charlotte Observer
Lebanon overshadows US ambassador's return to Syria/Reuters
Aoun says cabinet must end illegitimate commitment to STL/iloubnan.info
ANALYSIS-Bad neighbourhood risks getting worse for Israel/Reuters
In Lebanon's Political Chaos, a Tough Choice for the US/National Journal
Is Hezbollah Now in Charge of Lebanon, and What Does it Mean for Israel?/The Jewish Week
Hezbollah denies making any demands on new PM/AP
Micheal Al Murr: My son and I are not ministerial candidates/Ya Libnan
Hezbollah's takeover threatens Israel even more/Jweekly.com
'Hamas officials travel to Syria to discuss Schalit'/Jerusalem Post
Israel quietly watches chaos unfolding around it/Washington Post
Harb says March 14 may participate if Mikati meets Future bloc's demands
Franjieh: Not all parties will be in the new government/Ya Libnan
Maalouf: March 8 statements contradict what PM Designate shared with us/iloubnan.info
Pietton after Meeting Geagea: No Need to Hold Paris Meeting as Tensions in Lebanon Have Eased /Naharnet
Army Rescues 10 Trapped in Qornet Al-Sawda Avalanche /Naharnet
March 14 Sticks to its Demand at End of Consultations /Naharnet
PM's Designation Splits Sunni Camp in Lebanon /Naharnet
Davutoglu, Bin Jassem Back 'Efforts Aimed at Preserving Lebanon Stability' /Naharnet
Connelly Meets Hariri, Reiterates U.S. Support for Stability, STL/Naharnet
Miqati Moves to Form Government of Technocrats or 'Single Color' amid March 14 Boycott/Naharnet
Hariri Demands Response from Miqati on STL before Deciding to Join New Government/Naharnet
Berri: Miqati Should Have Week or 2 to Seek for March 14's Participation in Cabinet/Naharnet
Muslim Brotherhood joins Egyptian protesters. Three cities locked down/DEBKAfile

Bkirki Denies Receiving Threat to Bomb Catholic School
Naharnet/The seat of the Maronite church denied on Friday receiving a phone call threatening to bomb a Catholic school in Lebanon. Bkirki's secretariat said in a statement that reports about the threat were not true. "The patriarchate never received such a phone call," the statement said. Beirut, 28 Jan 11, 14:09

Ban: STL Not up for Politicization, Shouldn't be Obstructed by Anyone or Any Country
Naharnet/United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon warned on Friday that "no one and no country" should obstruct the functioning of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, calling on the Lebanese people and government to work on reaching political stability in their country. He stressed during the World Economic Forum in Davos that the STL is "adopting an independent legal route." "For this reason, it should be allowed to continue its work. No one or not country should obstruct the calm progress it has achieved," he added. "Its politicization has been a cause for concern, but it is not up for politicization," Ban said. Beirut, 28 Jan 11, 16:53

European Parliament Condemns Violence Against Christians in the Middle East
http://www.aina.org/news/20110127201038.htm
GMT 1-28-2011 2:10:49
Brussels (AINA) -- In response to a question posed by European Parliament member Esther de Lange on the persecution of Assyrians in Iraq, High Representative/Vice-President Ashton said the following on behalf of the Commission:
Following the High Representative's condemnation of the attacks, the Foreign Affairs Council addressed the issue of violence against religious minorities in general and in Iraq in particular at its meeting in November 2010 and adopted conclusions on Iraq. The Council expressed its deep concern and outright condemnation of the recent attacks in Iraq against Christian and Muslim worshippers. The Council also stressed that a new government in Iraq will need to rededicate itself to the pursuit of national reconciliation. This means it should represent the interests and needs of all Iraqis, regardless of religion or belief or ethnicity. The protection and promotion of human rights, including those of persons belonging to minorities, must be a top priority.
In its dialogue with Iraq, the European Union frequently voices its human rights concerns, including on freedom of religion or belief and elimination of all forms of discrimination and intolerance. A substantial proportion of EU support has gone to the most vulnerable Iraqis. Many of them are -- for obvious reasons -- internally displaced, and now live in areas with dense minority group populations. EU assistance has ranged from work to ensure protection and promotion of their human rights, to the rehabilitation of schools in an area like Nineveh, which has a large Christian population. Humanitarian assistance also continues to reach the most vulnerable inside and outside Iraq.
The EU assistance provided is based on the principles of non-discrimination and impartiality and targets the most vulnerable people, wherever they live.
The EU does not underestimate the challenges facing the Iraqi government. It is no easy task to root out the extremists who seek to create sectarian tensions through acts of barbarity. Security, development and the preservation of human rights are inextricably linked. The EU remains committed to helping Iraq as best it can to secure progress on all three. The Iraqi people deserve no less.
The EU has a very active role in protecting and promoting all human rights and fundamental freedoms in line with international standards. This refers to the whole world. The November 2009 General Affairs Council adopted conclusions underlining the EU's strong attachment to freedom religion or belief, and tasked the EU bodies to evaluate existing initiatives and elaborate further proposals on EU action in this regard. A comprehensive EU action plan on this issue has been developed and is being implemented. The EU has stepped up its actions to address freedom of religion or belief in its contacts with non-EU countries.
The EU also continues to play an active role on the issue in the multilateral forums, in particular the United Nations General Assembly. Every year the EU leads a resolution in the United Nations General Assembly on 'Elimination of all forms of intolerance or discrimination based on religion or belief'. In 2010 it was adopted by consensus, thereby with the support of all the Arab League States. In its last resolution dated 16 November 2010 the General Assembly condemned all forms of intolerance and of discrimination based on religion or belief as well as recognised with deep concern the overall rise in instances of intolerance and violence, regardless of the actors, directed against members of many religious and other communities in various parts of the world. The EU will continue to follow the developments very closely. Assyrians in Iraq, who are Christian, have suffered a low-grade genocide report which began on June 26, 2004, when the first of their churches was bombed (see church bombings in Iraq). The latest attack occurred on October 31, in which 58 Assyrians were killed in Our Lady of Deliverance Syriac Catholic Church by members of the Islamic State of Iraq, an Al-Qaeda affiliate (see Baghdad Church massacre).

Miqati Likely to Fulfill Hizbullah Wishes to Cut Lebanon Ties with STL
Naharnet/The first priority of Prime Minister-designate Najib Mikati's new government will likely be fulfilling the wishes of Hizbullah and its allies to cut Lebanon's ties to the U.N.-backed international tribunal investigating the 2005 assassination of former PM Rafik Hariri, The Wall Street Journal said. The STL is likely to indict Hizbullah members in Hariri's murder. Hizbullah, which has denounced the accusations, wants the Lebanese government to cut ties with the STL, claiming it is influenced by Israel and the U.S. Beirut, 27 Jan 11, 07:02

Miqati Promises to Form All-Party Government: Hariri's Demands Not Tough
Naharnet/Prime Minister-designate Najib Miqati on Friday wrapped up two days of consultations with the various parliamentary blocs as part of efforts to form a new Lebanon government.
Miqati said there are two opposing views – one that is requesting commitments and one is seeking the opposite. "Our role here is to reconcile the two views," Miqati told reporters at the end of consultations in Parliament. He said there is "more common ground than points of disagreement," stressing that these differences could be solved through dialogue.
In response to a question on demands placed by outgoing PM Saad Hariri's Al-Mustaqbal Movement, Miqati said the demands are not tough. Hariri's demands are "not impossible to meet," he believed, stressing that he is seeking to form a government that includes the various political parties. Local media on Friday said Miqati is likely to form a government of technocrats or a "single color" Cabinet as chances that March 14 forces will join the new government looked slim after the coalition voiced suspicions over the Hizbullah-led March 8 alliance's intentions vis-à-vis the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL). Miqati has stressed that options were still open as to whether the government would be made up exclusively of technocrats, or a mix between technocrats and politicians. He said Hizbullah would take part in a Cabinet in which political parties are represented.
Caretaker State Minister Jean Oghassabian on Friday said there is a good chance that March 14 would not join the Miqati-led Cabinet "since we believe that March 8 has an intention to abolish the tribunal, while we believe the STL is a necessity." Sources also ruled out the possibility of Miqati forming an expanded 30-member government, saying the business tycoon prefers to work with small groups. An-Nahar newspaper on Friday quoted March 8 sources as saying Miqati's new Cabinet is likely to be made up of at least 24 ministers.
Beirut, 28 Jan 11, 12:14

Pietton after Meeting Geagea: No Need to Hold Paris Meeting as Tensions in Lebanon Have Eased
Naharnet/Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea held talks on Friday with French Ambassador to Lebanon Denis Pietton on the postponement of the contact group meeting between France, the United States, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Turkey. The French official explained that the meeting was not necessary at the moment because the tensions that had been predominant in Lebanon have eased, said a statement from Geagea's media office. Pietton and Geagea also discussed the efforts to form a new Lebanese government, with the former stressing that this is a strictly Lebanese constitutional issue. He also reiterated France's support for the Special Tribunal for Lebanon and commitment towards U.N. Security Council resolutions. Meanwhile, a French diplomatic source denied to Akhbar al-Yawm news agency Lebanese media reports that the contact group meeting was cancelled, saying that it will likely be held after the formation of a Lebanese national unity government. It added that the meeting will not include representatives from Lebanon and Syria, noting that the latter did not indicate that it wanted to participate in the event, "but it will always be welcome should it demonstrate goodwill towards helping Lebanon end its crisis."
The source also pointed out that Syria and Qatar are not on the same page regarding the situation in Lebanon. Beirut, 28 Jan 11, 16:15

Hariri Demands Response from Miqati on STL before Deciding to Join New Government
Naharnet/Outgoing PM Saad Hariri and his Al-Mustaqbal Movement on Thursday demanded that PM-designate Najib Miqati clarify his position on the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) before deciding on whether or not to join the new government. MP Fouad Saniora, speaking on behalf of Al-Mustaqbal bloc, said Miqati was asked during consultations with Hariri to say clearly whether his government would cease all cooperation with the STL. "We asked the prime minister-designate to clarify his position (concerning the tribunal) and to mention that clearly in his policy statement," said Saniora following the bloc's meeting with Miqati at Parliament. The STL was at the heart of a dispute that led Hizbullah and its allies to topple Hariri's government Jan.12. Mustaqbal bloc said Miqati had been asked to state clearly whether his government would cease all cooperation with the STL. "We asked the prime minister-designate to clarify his position and state it clearly in his policy statement," said Saniora , whose parliamentary bloc refused to join the new government. The STL was set up in the aftermath of the 2005 assassination of ex-premier Rafik Hariri, Saad's father. A months-long standoff between Hizbullah and Hariri over the STL led to Hizbullah's walkout from Cabinet January 12 forcing the collapse of Hariri's government. Hizbullah, blacklisted as a terrorist organization by Washington, had been pressing Hariri to cut all ties with the tribunal, and Miqati is expected to come under the same pressure. Saniora said Miqati was also asked to say whether he would stop Lebanon's share of funding for the Netherlands-based court, remove the three Lebanese judges on the STL and renounce the protocol of agreement concerning the court. Miqati did not immediately respond, but in recent days he has said he would make a decision based on dialogue with all sides. Officials from Hariri's party said that once Miqati clarifies his position, the Future Movement and its allies would decide how to deal with the new government.
"Miqati's answers will condition our attitude toward his government," one official close to Hariri said, requesting anonymity. He would not clearly state whether members of Hariri's coalition could still join the new government. Saniora also spoke about weapons, but not Hizbullah weapons.
Hizbullah insists that it needs to maintain its arsenal to ward off any threat from Israel. But the weapons make Hizbullah the most powerful military force in the country — far stronger even than the national army. Saniora said Miqati should commit to a timetable for the collection of "all (illegal) weapons pointed at the people, except the Resistance weapons which are pointed at Israel." He said all illegal weapons should be put under the control of Lebanese authorities, whereas the "Resistance weapons should be part of a defense strategy, particularly since Hizbullah violated the Doha Accord." "There should be a commitment that the use of any weapons in Lebanon should be restricted by Lebanese authorities," Saniora told reporters.
The 55-year-old premier designate said this week in an interview with AFP that he hoped to resolve the dispute over the tribunal through dialogue, and acknowledged that Lebanon could not force the tribunal to stop its work. He added, however, that the country's cooperation with the STL was another question altogether, without elaborating.
Miqati, a moderate lawmaker with good ties to Syria and Saudi Arabia, was meeting the parliamentary groups on Thursday and Friday before reporting back to President Michel Suleiman.
He said he would seek to form a Cabinet that includes all parties, but Hariri's coalition has flatly rejected joining a government headed by a candidate they deem was imposed by Hizbullah.
Miqati, whose appointment has prompted fears of a shift in the balance of power towards Syria and Iran, said that should he fail in his efforts to convince his rivals to join his Cabinet, he would form a government of technocrats.(Naharnet-AFP-AP) Beirut, 27 Jan 11, 14:17

Berri: Miqati Should Have Week or 2 to Seek for March 14's Participation in Cabinet
Naharnet/Speaker Nabih Berri said he told PM-designate Najib Miqati that the March 8 forces would facilitate the government formation process that should not take more than a week or two if former Premier Saad Hariri's camp wants to take part in the new cabinet. In remarks to An Nahar and As Safir newspapers published Friday, Berri said the government should be formed "as soon as possible" to give the green light to projects that would help the Lebanese overcome their crises.He expected the real process of cabinet formation to take place during the weekend, stressing that Miqati should have maximum a week or two to convince the March 14 forces to participate in the national unity government. "If Miqati failed in this effort, we would have the following options: A pure technocrat government, or a mixed technocrat-politicians cabinet," Berri said. The speaker also lauded Miqati, former Premier Omar Karami and MPs Mohammed Safadi and Ahmed Karami for their "political courage" and their prevention of Sunni-Shiite sedition. Beirut, 28 Jan 11, 08:54

Emergency Talks between Sarkozy, Qatari PM Cancel 'Contact Group' Meeting on Lebanon
Naharnet/Qatar and France agreed to cancel a meeting of the so-called "contact group" on Lebanon, Qatar's Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassem bin Jaber al-Thani announced.
His statement came following talks in Paris late Thursday with French President Nicolas Sarkozy. The contact group was scheduled to hold its first meeting on Friday.
"Sarkozy and I agreed to cancel the International Contact Group meeting on Lebanon," Sheikh Hamad told reporters. "The situation is not appropriate; and we ought to wait for the new government formation," he added. While stressing that Qatar and France support Lebanon's stability, Sheikh Hamad respected the "democratic choice" that brought Hizbullah-backed wealthy businessman Najib Miqati to the position of prime minister. "We want a meeting to support Lebanon's stability. There has been a democratic choice in Lebanon and we have to wait and see how the next government is going to deal with domestic and global issues," he explained. Hamad acknowledged failure of Qatar-Turkey mediation efforts based on the Saudi-Syrian initiative. "For that reason, there is no need for a meeting tomorrow (Friday) as everybody is waiting to see how Najib Mikati's government is going to deal with the international tribunal."
France has called for the creation of an international "contact group" on Lebanon to negotiate a settlement to the country's political crisis over the international tribunal.
The contact group was to include Syria, Saudi Arabia, France, the U.S., Qatar, Turkey and possibly other countries with a stake in Lebanon. The idea has been discussed in Paris between Sarkozy and outgoing Prime Minister Saad Hariri. Beirut, 28 Jan 11, 07:18

PM's Designation Splits Sunni Camp in Lebanon
Naharnet/Businessman Najib Miqati's appointment as Lebanon's premier-designate has split the country's Sunni Muslims, who for years had stood seemingly united in a deeply divided country. In the Sunni bastion of Tripoli on Lebanon's northern coast, a rift is emerging in a community that once rallied behind U.S.- and Saudi-backed Saad Hariri, the outgoing premier.
"Everyone has been saying for so long that Iran and Syria would try to split the Sunnis of Lebanon, and that they would do it through Hezbollah," said Marwan Ibrahim, a jeweler who was born and raised in the densely populated city. "And now it's done -- brother has turned against brother." Hizbullah tapped Miqati, a billionaire businessman, as their candidate for prime minister after the Iranian- and Syrian-backed Shiite party which toppled Hariri's cabinet earlier this month. The militant party and its allies pulled 11 ministers from Hariri's pro-Western government on January 12, capping a long-running feud over a U.N. court investigating the 2005 assassination of ex-premier Rafik Hariri, Saad's father.
The Netherlands-based Special Tribunal for Lebanon is expected to implicate Hizbullah operatives in the Hariri murder. Miqati this week was delegated to form a new government, prompting cries of "traitor" from Hariri's camp which views his appointment as Shiite interference -- with Syria and Iran's blessing -- in a post reserved for Sunni Muslims.
"By nominating Miqati, Hizbullah managed to divide the Sunnis. This time, it is not Sunnis against Shiites, it is Sunnis against Sunnis," said Nasser al-Ahdab, an unemployed 23-year-old.
"I hope that the gap will not widen," he added. "But in all honesty, people do not follow ideology. They follow money. And Miqati has a lot." In his hometown of Tripoli, Miqati enjoys a reputation as a philanthropist whose mosques and free clinics have proved a godsend in a city long neglected by the state. Outside the Miqati-funded Al-Azam mosque, Hussein Hamoud, a fervent Hariri supporter, admits he has "nothing personal" against Hariri's newfound rival. "Look, he's a good person and has done good for our city. But his nomination by Hizbullah is something we can never accept," the 40-year-old said. "In May 2008, they massacred the Sunnis in the streets of Beirut," he added, referring to a week of deadly Sunni-Shiite clashes that left some 100 dead. "We will never forget that and we will continue our protests until the new cabinet falls." But some have received the appointment of Miqati -- a Forbes-listed telecoms billionaire, former premier and current MP -- as a welcome change. "Six years ago, they killed one of us, they killed Rafik Hariri," said Fawaz Hamzeh. "In 2005, we put our differences aside and supported Hariri's rise to prime minister when they won an election.
"Now it's their turn to accept ours." Seated under a framed picture of Miqati in his cigarette and coffee kiosk, Hamzeh and his friends say that for decades, Tripoli -- Lebanon's second largest city after Beirut -- has been invisible to Sunni leaders in power. "We have always asked ourselves what Hariri has done for us," Hamzeh said, to nods of agreement. "This is Lebanon, and we are not a country under dictatorship. It's time to change this Hariri dynasty that has been ruling since the end of the war," added the 60-year-old. "Rafik Hariri passed on his millions, but not the sole leadership of the Sunnis, to his son." Tripoli was the site of angry protests this week, when frenzied Hariri supporters rallied in a "day of rage" over Miqati's appointment, torching an Al-Jazeera van and ransacking the offices of a lawmaker who had backed him. While life in the city has returned to normal, in his tiny jewelry shop Marwan Ibrahim fears it is only a matter of time before his fellow Sunnis take to the streets again. "We are too often governed by our emotions," said the 40-year-old. "But the Shiites are disciplined, trained. Every step they take is calculated and thought out. "In a way, it's admirable."(AFP) Beirut, 28 Jan 11, 11:00

Hizbullah Agents Infiltrating into Gaza, Israeli Minister
Naharnet/Israel's minister of strategic affairs said Thursday the Lebanese Hizbullah guerrilla group has infiltrated agents into the Gaza Strip to train Palestinian militants. Gaza is ruled by the Hamas militant group, which, like Hezbollah, is sworn to Israel's destruction. The minister, Moshe Yaalon, Israel's former military chief of staff, told reporters that "Hizbullah experts can get into the Gaza Strip, like the Iranian rockets are coming to the Gaza Strip." He said Hizbullah militants can go from Lebanon to Sudan, then to Egypt and on to Gaza. Israel charges that archenemy Iran sends rockets and other weapons to Gaza militants, smuggling them into the seaside strip through tunnels under the Gaza-Egypt border. Yaalon said Hizbullah has a special unit, called 1800, to deal with the Palestinian militants. He said the Lebanese guerrillas also operate in the West Bank, paying militants. Yaalon offered no evidence to support his claims.
Israel has long accused Hizbullah and its Iranian backers of supporting Palestinian militants, but officials have said little about an actual physical presence of Iranian-backed militia in Gaza.
Hamas has often denied that foreign forces are in Gaza. On Thursday, Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum called Yaalon's claim "fabricated," and said "all the factions in Gaza are Palestinians." Yaalon's office said Hizbullah has been infiltrating Gaza quietly since Israel withdrew in from the seaside strip in 2005. Israel and Hizbullah fought a bitter monthlong war in 2006, when Hizbullah rained almost 4,000 rockets on Israel as Israeli forces caused widespread destruction in Beirut and south Lebanon. A year later, Israel launched a punishing war in Gaza to try to put a stop to daily rocket attacks by Gaza militants.(AP) Beirut, 28 Jan 11, 06:32

Judge Orders Hizbullah's Hammoud to Serve 30 and Not 155 Years in Prison
Naharnet/The conviction and 155-year sentence handed down to a Hizbullah supporter in the shadow of 9/11 was considered a milestone in the fight against terrorism and a strong warning to people who sent money to support militant groups. A federal judge knocked more than a century off that sentence Thursday, saying it turned out to be "grossly disproportionate" for Mohamad Hammoud, the first man convicted under a key terror-fighting legal strategy. Instead, Judge Graham Mullen ordered Hammoud to serve 30 years in prison for smuggling cigarettes and sending $3,500 of the profits to Hizbullah. The new sentence means the 37-year-old from Lebanon will spend an additional two decades in prison, then likely be deported to his homeland. "The crime represented here was not as serious as other terrorism cases," Mullen said. His attorneys wanted Hammoud to walk out of the courtroom with a sentence of the more than 10 years he already served on charges that include providing material support to terrorists. They contend he sent the money to a wing of Hizbullah that helps provide Middle Eastern communities with clean water and good housing, not the military wing labeled terrorists by the United States government for numerous attacks on Israel. Hizbullah is also a major power broker in Lebanon, flexing its political muscle just this month to bring down a Western-backed government. But the judge agreed in part with Assistant U.S. Attorney David Brown, who said Hammoud was indoctrinated with an anti-American philosophy as a youth and was determined to do his part to harm the United States.
Hammoud was first denied entry to the United States, then used marriage fraud to make his way to the country. He settled in with Charlotte's small Lebanese population, said Brown, who suggested Hammoud was caught before he could plan something more sinister than raising money. "The most dangerous of the terrorist operatives are the ones who burrow into society," Brown said. Mullen's chief reason for the major sentence reduction was changes in how the terror-support law has been applied since the original sentencing in 2003.
Hammoud was charged months before the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, and the next year he became the first person found guilty under a 1996 law that makes it illegal to give money to designated terror groups. Prosecuting suspects under that law has since become a key tactic in the war on terror
On Thursday, defense attorneys brought up more than a dozen cases in which people got sentences much shorter than Hammoud, including sentences of only a few decades for defendants that provided actual weapons and hundreds of thousands of dollars to terrorist organizations. "This is a case where people get seven years, eight years," Hammoud's attorney Stanley Cohen said. Hammoud had been awaiting resentencing since a 2005 Supreme Court ruling that determined federal sentencing guidelines are advisory, not mandatory. He will appeal the new sentence too, Cohen said. Prosecutors can also appeal the judge's decision, and Brown said that would be decided by his bosses at the U.S. Department of Justice. Brown was glad Hammoud still has significant time to serve and said the case remains critical to the fight against terrorism. Hammoud was also convicted of crimes including cigarette smuggling, credit card fraud, money laundering and racketeering.
"The jury found there was a terror cell linked to Hizbullah in this city," Brown said. Hammoud continued Thursday to deny he had any destructive motives, asking the judge to let him go so he could see his elderly mother and maybe start a family back in Lebanon. "Your honor, I made a huge mistake. I betrayed a country that gave me a lot," Hammoud said.
After learning he still had decades to spend in prison, his shoulders slumped. But he managed a smile as Cohen patted him on the back. Hammoud's brother, Bassam, and a few friends were in the courtroom to support him. Bassam Hammoud said his brother never had an inkling of being a terrorist and had no reason to support Hizbullah's violent aims. "My brother is a good guy," Bassam Hammoud said. "He doesn't want to hurt anybody." Another of Hammoud's brothers was convicted in the scheme and has already served his time and returned to Lebanon, where he ran for a local council seat against the Hizbullah candidate, Cohen said. Cohen said he could almost understand why people were so anxious to see Hammoud put away for decades in the months when America was still dealing with the worst terrorist act ever on its shores. But he said he can't understand why prosecutors continue to raise the specter of 9/11 in this case. "This was a trial about a young kid and $3,500," Cohen said. "It doesn't make anyone in this country safer."(AP) Beirut, 28 Jan 11, 06:52

Is This Lebanon’s Final Revolution?
By NICHOLAS NOE
Published: January 27, 2011
ALMOST exactly six years after the Cedar Revolution led to a rapid withdrawal of Syrian troops from Lebanon, the United States’ dream that it could use this fragile country as a launching pad for a New Middle East — one with a decidedly pro-American bent — has seemingly collapsed.
One could argue that it crumpled at exactly 11:58 a.m. on Tuesday, when a Christian member of the Lebanese Parliament from the Bekaa Valley named Nicola Fattoush strode into the presidential palace and cast his ballot against Prime Minister Saad Hariri. Mr. Hariri is the son of Rafik Hariri, a former prime minister whose assassination in February 2005 is the basis for soon-to-be-expected indictments by the United Nations Special Tribunal for Lebanon.
Although the new prime minister, Najib Mikati, didn’t need Mr. Fattoush’s support to defeat Saad Hariri — the militant Shiite movement Hezbollah and the Parliament’s largest single bloc of Christians, headed by Gen. Michel Aoun, along with some Sunni Muslim and Druze members, provided the numerical edge — Mr. Fattoush’s vote held particular significance. Not only had he been an ally of Saad Hariri’s, but he had just days before received a widely publicized visit from the United States ambassador, Maura Connelly, in his home district.
That a small-time figure known for his political horse-trading would spurn a superpower’s attempt to retain his vote for its man provides an exclamation point on just how poorly Washington’s policy of “maximalism” — applying sporadic bouts of pressure on its allies while refusing to sincerely negotiate with its adversaries — has fared in Lebanon and the Middle East as a whole. The Obama administration is going to need a very different approach when it comes to dealing with the “new” Lebanon.
Unfortunately, though, such a change will be far more difficult today than it would have been just six years ago, when Hezbollah had its political back against the wall, lacking support outside its Shiite base and the insurance of Syrian troops in the country.
In April of that year, Hezbollah went so far as to send one of its affiliated politicians, Trade Hamade, to meet with State Department officials to work out a modus vivendi. He left Washington empty-handed: the Bush administration believed that American influence was on the rise in Lebanon and that Hezbollah could be cornered into agreeing to disarmament before any substantive negotiations.
Instead of undermining Hezbollah’s political support by broadening alliances with pro-American figures in Lebanon and addressing the concerns held by many Lebanese — the sentiment that Israel still occupied Lebanese territory in the south, that there were Lebanese in Israeli jails and that the country needed a stronger national defense — the Bush administration cultivated a narrow set of local allies and pursued a “with us or against us” strategy aimed at eliminating Hezbollah.
Sadly, it took this policy less than a year to result in a botched Israeli invasion that killed and wounded thousands of Lebanese citizens and gave Hezbollah unprecedented popularity in the region.
Today, Syria has regained much of its hegemony in the country — this time without the cost of stationing troops — and is again at the center of regional politics. Hezbollah’s military capacity, by all accounts, has soared, and many of its leaders seem to harbor the dangerous belief that they can decisively win a “final” confrontation with Israel. The Party of God has also deftly maintained and even expanded its political alliances — including one with about half the Christians in the country — that gave it the power to change the government this week by constitutional means.
Perhaps most frustratingly, Hezbollah has largely succeeded in undermining the legitimacy of the United Nations tribunal in the Arab and Islamic worlds. In this effort it had unintentional American help. As a recent report from the International Crisis Group put it, the manner in which the investigation was established, “pushed by two Western powers with clear strategic objectives” — the United States and France — “contaminated” the process.
So, what can the United States do to reverse Hezbollah’s new momentum? Its options are limited. Given the change of government, Congress may well try to cut off all aid to Lebanon and the Lebanese Army. The Obama administration will likely reiterate its support for the tribunal and push for any indictments of Hezbollah figures. But neither step would have much of an impact on Hezbollah’s core calculations or desires.
Hezbollah will continue to increase its military power, edging ever closer to what Israeli officials have called a “redline” of capabilities that would prompt Israel to mount a major “pre-emptive” attack. Such a move would, as it was in 2006, be devastating for Lebanon, probably for Israel and certainly for United States interests in the region, not least because Hezbollah would likely survive and even gain new adherents among those affected by Israeli strikes on Lebanese infrastructure and civilian areas.
Still, there is a way for Washington to stake out a reasonable, nonviolent alternative: by pushing for the immediate revival of peace talks between Syria and Israel. Eleven years ago, a peace agreement between the two countries that would have included the disarmament of Hezbollah fell apart, largely because the Israeli prime minister at the time, Ehud Barak, found it too politically difficult to hand over to Syria the last few hundred yards of shoreline around the northeast corner of the Sea of Galilee bordering the Golan Heights.
Although a new deal on the Golan would not lead to the end of Hezbollah in the immediate term, it would contain the movement’s ability and desire to use violence, as Syria would need to commit to cutting off the supply routes by which Iranian (and Syrian) weapons are now smuggled into Lebanon. Militarily weakened, and without Syrian or much domestic political backing to continue in its mission to liberate Jerusalem, Hezbollah would find it extremely difficult to threaten Israel’s northern border.
Certainly some Israelis see the benefits of such a deal. Ilan Mizrahi, a former deputy chief of the Mossad and national security adviser to former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, told an interviewer recently that on his first day on the job, he recommended that Mr. Olmert make a deal with Syria because it would “change the security situation in the Middle East.” He said he still believed that.
When asked if a pullout might create a threat to Israel along the Golan, Mr. Mizrahi answered: “Our chief of staff doesn’t think so. Our head of intelligence, military intelligence, doesn’t think so ... the best Israeli generals are saying we can negotiate it, so I believe them.”
Would pressuring Israel into a full withdrawal from the Golan be politically difficult for President Obama? Surely — as it would be for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel. But given the alternatives for Lebanon, Israel and the United States, anything less would be merely setting up temporary roadblocks to an impending regional disaster.
**Nicholas Noe is the editor in chief of Mideastwire.com and the editor of “Voice of Hezbollah: The Statements of Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah.”

January 27, 2011US warns Lebanon on militants in government
By Associated Press ,
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration on Monday warned Lebanon's political leaders that continuing U.S. support for their country will be difficult if the militant Hezbollah movement takes a dominant role in government. The makeup of the Lebanese government is Lebanon's decision, the State Department said. But the larger the role for Hezbollah, the "more problematic" for relations with Washington, State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said.
The United States considers Iranian–backed Hezbollah as a foreign terrorist organization and has imposed sanctions against it and its members. U.S. officials do not meet with Hezbollah members and U.S. money is not supposed to further the group's activities.
Crowley's comments came as Hezbollah moved into position to control the next Lebanese government as it secured enough support in parliament to nominate the candidate for prime minister. "Our view of Hezbollah is very well–known," he told reporters. "We see it as a terrorist organization, and we'll have great concerns about a government within which a Hezbollah plays a leading role." Crowley declined to say what the United States would do if Hezbollah's candidate becomes prime minister and is able to form a government, but he said it would be hard to carry on business as usual if that happens. Asked whether the U.S. would be able to continue economic support for a Hezbollah–controlled government in Lebanon, he replied, "That would be difficult for the United States to do."
The U.S. has provided Lebanon with hundreds of millions of dollars in economic and military aid over the past five years, following the withdrawal of Syrian forces that had controlled the country for decades. The United States called the fragile Lebanese democracy a counterweight to authoritarian and militant influences in the Middle East. Washington underwrote Lebanon's army as a counterweight to Hezbollah, and argued that without U.S. support Iran or Syria might fill the vacuum.
Congressional critics of that policy cite a worry that the weapons and equipment could slip into the hands of Hezbollah for use against Israel. Hezbollah, which forced the collapse of the Lebanese coalition government last week, fought a month long war with Israel in August 2006.
Since 2006, the U.S. has provided four kinds of security assistance to Lebanon, the bulk of which has been about $500 million in sales of weapons and equipment such as mortars, rifles, grenade launchers, ammunition, body armor, radios and Humvee utility vehicles.
The U.S. also has increased its spending on military education and training for Lebanese officers and on programs designed to improve Lebanon's ability to counter terrorism threats.
Rep. Howard Berman, a Democrat and the former chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, was among lawmakers who last year blocked $100 million in U.S. military aid to Lebanon. They relented and allowed the money to go through after the White House gave assurances in classified briefings that the aid bolsters both Lebanese and U.S. national security and would not be hijacked by Hezbollah. Berman's successor as head of the committee, Rep. Ileana Ros–Lehtinen, a Republican, has raised similar concerns.
*AP National Security Writer Robert Burns contributed to this report.

Question: "What does it mean that believers are to be salt and light (Matthew 5:13-16)?"
on GotQuestions.org?
Answer: Jesus used the concepts of salt and light a number of different times to refer to the role of His followers in the world. One example is found in Matthew 5:13: “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.” Salt had two purposes in the Middle East of the first century. Because of the lack of refrigeration, salt was used to preserve food, especially meat which would quickly spoil in the desert environment. Believers in Christ are preservatives to the world, preserving it from the evil inherent in the society of ungodly men whose unredeemed natures are corrupted by sin (Psalm 14:3; Romans 8:8).
Second, salt was used then, as now, as a flavor enhancer. In the same way that salt enhances the flavor of the food it seasons, the followers of Christ stand out as those who “enhance” the flavor of life in this world. Christians, living under the guidance of the Holy Spirit and in obedience to Christ, will inevitably influence the world for good, as salt has a positive influence on the flavor of the food it seasons. Where there is strife, we are to be peacemakers; where there is sorrow, we are to be the ministers of Christ, binding up wounds, and where there is hatred, we are to exemplify the love of God in Christ, returning good for evil (Luke 6:35).
In the analogy of light to the world, the good works of Christ’s followers are to shine for all to see. The following verses in Matthew 5 highlight this truth: “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 5:14-16, NASB). The idea here is similar—the presence of light in darkness is something which is unmistakable. The presence of Christians in the world must be like a light in the darkness, not only in the sense that the truth of God’s Word brings light to the darkened hearts of sinful man (John 1:1-10), but also in the sense that our good deeds must be evident for all to see. And indeed, our deeds will be evident if they are performed in accordance with the other principles which Jesus mentions in this passage, such as the Beatitudes in Matthew 5:3-11. Notice especially that the concern is not that Christians would stand out for their own sake, but that those who looked on might “glorify your Father who is in heaven” (v. 16, KJV).
In view of these verses, what sorts of things can hinder or prevent the Christian from fulfilling his or her role as salt and light in the world? The passage clearly states that the difference between the Christian and the world must be preserved; therefore, any choice on our part which blurs the distinction between us and the rest of the world is a step in the wrong direction. This can happen either through a choice to accept the ways of the world for the sake of comfort or convenience or to contravene the law of obedience to Christ.
Mark 9:50 suggests that saltiness can be lost specifically through a lack of peace with one another; this follows from the command to “have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with each other.” And in Luke 14:34-35, we find a reference to the metaphor of salt once again, this time in the context of obedient discipleship to Jesus Christ. The loss of saltiness occurs in the failure of the Christian to daily take up the cross and follow Christ wholeheartedly.
It seems, then, that the role of the Christian as salt and light in the world may be hindered or prevented through any choice to compromise or settle for that which is more convenient or comfortable, rather than that which is truly best and pleasing to the Lord. Moreover, the status of salt and light is something which follows naturally from the Christian’s humble obedience to the commandments of Christ. It is when we depart from the Spirit-led lifestyle of genuine discipleship that the distinctions between ourselves and the rest of the world become blurred and our testimony is hindered. Only by remaining focused on Christ and being obedient to Him can we expect to remain salt and light in the world.



Is New Lebanon Government a Little Hezbollah -- or a Lot?
1-28-2011
By Campbell Clark

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/is-new-lebanon-government-a-little-hezbollah-or-a-lot/article1884177/
www.theglobeandmail.com
How much of a banned terrorist organization is too much? That is, effectively, the question the Canadian government has posed about Lebanon.
In Gaza, the Conservative government has maintained they will have no truck or trade with a government of Hamas, which it has listed as a banned terror entity. But there's no black and white in Lebanon, where the political system is based on sectarian power-sharing and shifting alliances of factions.
So the Canadian government put out a statement Wednesday urging all factions in Lebanon to work together, but also warning it won't work with the new government if Hezbollah -- also a banned terror group -- is on top.
With the turmoil in Egypt and Tunisia, the power shift in Lebanon has attracted less attention, though it has also seen angry street protests. Some fear it will have dramatic impact, bringing Lebanon under direct control of Hezbollah, and indirectly, Iran. Because it's Lebanon, it's a murky question: some think it's a much more minor shift. Canada is still gauging whether the new government is a little Hezbollah, or a lot.
The Foreign Affairs Department issued a statement noting that Hezbollah is banned in Canada, and said the government will have "full contact" with non-Hezbollah members of the cabinet, but none with Hezbollah officials. "It will be difficult for Canada to work with a new government if Hezbollah plays a leading role," it said.
That fear is alive because the fallen, Western-supported government of Saad Hariri is being replaced by Hezbollah-backed prime minister-designate Najib Mikati. The question is whether he'll be a Hezbollah proxy or another balancer of competing factions.
Canada, of course, isn't the biggest player in a country that is the scene of international machinations by the United States, Iran, Syria, Saudi Arabia and others. But it does have an interest in stability and a part in international pressures that have an impact -- and business and diaspora ties.
There are hundreds of thousands of Lebanese-Canadians watching closely. Many are first-generation immigrants, as well as dual citizens, air-lifted out during the Israeli offensive in 2006, who never went back. The community is now mixed between Christians and Muslims, both Shiite and Sunni, who support different sides in Lebanon. If there's a common denominator, it's a concern the country will break down into factional strife.
"The first generation is still close to the politics of Lebanon," said Nabil Fawaz, president of the Montreal-based Lebanese-Canadian Heritage Association. "I'd say that they are very concerned.
"The general view is that this could be a preview of what we witnessed 15 or 20 years ago: sectarian discourse -- not necessarily violence, but disruption of daily life and political unrest."
Lebanon's politics is always about shifting factional alliances in power-sharing arrangements between the country's Christians, and Shiite and Sunni Muslims. Hezbollah is supported by the county's Shiites, but the prime minister must be a Sunni. Mr. Mikati is a Sunni backed by Hezbollah, but Mr. Hariri's government also had Hezbollah members.
"You cannot ignore the power of Hezbollah. They represent over 50 per cent of the population of the nation," Mr. Fawaz said. "I think if push comes to shove, they would be supported by the Shiites."
But for the West, and for Canada, the question is whether Hezbollah influence becomes dominance and control. Hezbollah is backed by Iran and Syria and has been used as a proxy against Israel. The United States and the West have worked to limit the militant group's role.
Some believe Mr. Mikati, a Sunni businessman from northern Tripoli, will be more sympathetic to nearby Syria, but will try to keep Iran's influence at bay; that he doesn't share Hezbollah views, and wants to maintain international business links.
Paul Kingston, a University of Toronto expert on Lebanese politics, argues that the new government won't be dramatically different from Mr. Hariri's, because it's still constrained by the same power-sharing and international pressures.
What Hezbollah mainly wants, he argues, is another prime minister, and a government that will disavow the international Special Tribunal for Lebanon into the 2005 assassination of Mr. Hariri's father, late prime minister Rafik Hariri. That tribunal -- whose prosecutor is Canadian Daniel Bellemare -- has delivered indictments expected to implicate Hezbollah members.
A disavowal of the tribunal would be a setback for western and U.S. policy, but the question of whether Hezbollah, and the influence of Iran, dominates Lebanese politics will also be judged by Mr. Mikati's other moves: the role of Hezbollah members in his cabinet the decisions it takes in coming months. And Canada's engagement with the Lebanese government, it seems, depends on how much Hezbollah it sees.
By Campbell Clark/www.theglobeandmail.com

US Congress Urged to Condemn Egypt Church Attack
Posted GMT 1-28-2011 2:41:59 /WASHINGTON (AFP) -- Key US Senator Robert Menendez has filed a resolution condemning the deadly attack committed against a Coptic Christian church on New Year's Day in Alexandria, Egypt. The resolution introduced Tuesday urges the Egyptian government "to fully investigate the bomb attack and to lawfully prosecute the perpetrators of this heinous act."Threatening to exacerbate tensions between Muslims and Egypt's minority Christians, a suicide bomber killed 23 people, Egyptian authorities said, outside a church in the northern city of Alexandria after a New Year's Eve mass at the start of 2011. The resolution, which could be adopted later Thursday or in the coming days, asks that Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and his government "enhance security for the Coptic Christian community" and ensure "religious freedom and equality of treatment for all people in Egypt."
Menendez, a member of the influential Senate Foreign Relations Committee, has support for his resolution from many fellow Democrats, as well as some Republicans.
"I hope that this tragedy will serve as a wake-up call for President Mubarak to remedy the ongoing legal and social disparities faced by Coptic Christians in Egypt," Menendez said in his statement. The senator from the northeast state of New Jersey added that "the current demonstrations in the streets of Cairo, Alexandria, and Suez have encapsulated the public demand for broad democratic reforms, which I hope will start with free and fair presidential elections later this year." No on has claimed responsibility for the attack, which came after an Al-Qaeda-linked group in Iraq threatened Egypt's Copts after saying it carried out a deadly October assault on a Syriac Catholic church in Baghdad. Mubarak has vowed to catch those responsible, and has called it a foreign "terrorist operation." Egypt's Christian community comprises 10 percent of the country's population of 80 million. Meanwhile, Mubarak's regime has been challenged since Tuesday by unprecedented protests that have resulted in seven deaths and more than 1,000 arrests. A similar resolution could be put forward in the US House of Representatives.
© 2011, Assyrian International News Agency. All Rights Reserved. Terms of Use

After Tunisia: Robin Yassin-Kassab on Syria
The Syrian author considers the impact of the last month's extraordinary events
Robin Yassin-Kassab
The Guardian,
Thursday 27 January 2011
Egypt's anti-regime protests are unprecedented in size, frequency and ferocity. In Shubra, Dokki, Mohandaseen and Bulaq, the people of Cairo have chanted ash-sha'ab yureed isqaat an-nizam, or "the people want the fall of the regime", and braved tear gas and baton-wielding thugs in the central Tahrir Square. Alexandria, Tanta, Suez, and the labour stronghold of Mahalla al-Kubra have also demonstrated. A government building has been burnt in Suez. Posters of Mubarak have been ripped down and burnt in several locations. Mish ayazeenu, the people shout: "we don't want him."
When Tuesday's Day of Anger started, police at first allowed protesters to move freely in the streets. This was unusual, and suggests fear on the authorities' part, as does the abrupt shift back to traditional methods as night fell. At the time of writing, at least 1,000 people have been arrested, several killed, and hundreds beaten. Uniformed police are backed up by plainclothes goons, many armed with iron bars. (One hopes that someone is collecting photographs of these people in order to identify and shame them.)
Certain developments illustrate why Hosni Mubarak's regime will be harder to dislodge than Ben Ali's in Tunisia. Trade unionists have been at the forefront of Tunisian change; in Egypt the state's co-opted Egyptian Trade Union Federation has ordered its branch heads to suppress protests. And the country's largest opposition party – the Muslim Brotherhood – has so far played a negligible role. When the regime, predictably, blamed the Brotherhood for organising the protests, the Brotherhood quickly proclaimed its innocence. Indeed, events seem to have taken the Brothers by surprise. It may be that the leadership has gambled on regime survival, either for pragmatic reasons or because what Brotherhood ideologues consider the "Islamisation" of society to be proceeding smoothly under the status quo. But the demonstrations have been bigger than anyone expected. Interestingly, al-Azhar clerics, often tools of the regime, have ruled that protests are not counter to Islamic precepts.
The initiators of what is now perhaps a growing intifada organised the protests in the name of Khaled Said, a blogger beaten to death by police who has now become Egypt's Mohammed Bouazizi (the street vendor whose self-immolation was the catalyst for Tunisia's uprising). These organisers, and the trapped and wounded, and those prepared to continue to meet state repression, are to be praised and congratulated for their bravery, and envied for their privileged position as agents of historical change. If nothing else has been achieved, Gamal Mubarak's hopes of inheriting the kingdom from his father must now have been dashed.
Revolutionary momentum is still carrying Tunisia, where journalists have taken over the media, and now it's rolling through Egypt. If the coming days show sustained and spreading protest, the crack that has appeared in Egypt's order will rapidly expand. The west is bracing itself. Another fait accompli, this time in the Arab world's most populous nation, on Palestine's border, would be a nakba for western control. So the American administration is immediately speaking of Mubarak's "opportunity . . . to implement political, economic and social reforms to respond to the legitimate needs and interests of the Egyptian people". The phrase "managed change" is uttered. You can be sure America's managers are hard at work. What they have to lose in Egypt is as incalculable as what the Egyptian people have to gain.
With its young population, and a bureaucracy run by the same authoritarian party for four decades, Syria is by no means exempt from the pan-Arab crisis of unemployment, low wages and the stifling of civil society, conditions that brought revolution to Tunisia. Nevertheless, in the short to medium term, it seems highly unlikely that the Syrian regime will face a Tunisia-style challenge.
A state-controlled Syrian newspaper, al-Watan, blamed the Tunisian revolution on the Ben Ali regime's "political approach of relying on 'friends' to protect them". Tunisia's status as western client was only a minor motivator for the uprising there, but still al-Watan's analysis will be shared by many Syrians. Unlike the majority of Arab states, Syria's foreign policy is broadly in line with public opinion – and in Syria foreign policy, which has the potential to immediately translate into a domestic security issue, matters a great deal. The regime has kept the country in a delicate position of no war with, but also no surrender to, Israel (which occupies the Golan Heights), and has pursued close co-operation with Lebanese and Palestinian resistance movements as well as emerging regional powers such as Turkey and Iran. This is appreciated by "the street", and the president himself is no hate figure in the mould of Ben Ali or Mubarak. Where his father engineered a Stalinist personality cult, mild-mannered Bashar al-Assad enjoys a reasonable level of genuine popularity. Much is made of his low-security visits to theatres and ice cream parlours.
We are seeing in Tunisia a democratisation that didn't require religious mobilisation, foreign invasion, or colours coded in Washington. This revolution is the result of a mass popular movement focused on straightforward, practical demands that everybody can understand, whether they're religiously observant or lax, Christian or Muslim, Sunni or Shia. Lessons will be learned, in Syria and elsewhere. In future years, the regime would be well-advised to proceed with great flexibility.
**Robin Yassin-Kassab is a Syrian author. The Road from Damascus is published by Penguin. He co-edits pulsemedia.org and blogs at qunfuz.com

Abandoning tribunal will be bad for Lebanon, Hague says
By Alice Johnson, Staff Reporter
Published: 16:54 January 28, 2011
Dubai: The British Foreign Secretary has said that abandoning the Special Tribunal for Lebanon would be a negative act for the Lebanese people.
“Lack of justice is more dangerous for long-term stability and not in [the] interests of Lebanese people,” William Hague, Secretary of State for Foreign & Commonwealth Affairs, said in response to a Gulf News question via Twitter.
“I strongly support the STL completing its work,” he tweeted in response to another question.
Hague took part in the Twitter session while in Damascus, on his first visit to Syria since taking up the post. He met President Bashar Al Assad and Foreign Minister Walid Al Muallam before speaking at a press conference.
“The UK looks for a government that is formed in accordance with Lebanon’s constitution; that commands the broadest possible support of the people of Lebanon; that upholds its international obligations including the Special Tribunal and an end to impunity for assassinations. Above all it should be a government that is committed to restraint and the principle of non-violence, as well as a sovereign and independent future for Lebanon,” Hague said.
The UK Foreign Secretary has been using Twitter as a Q&A medium to answer questions on foreign policy. Answers are restricted to 140 characters, as per the microblogging site’s format, making both questions and answers short and concise.
The Foreign Secretary made clear the British Government’s “constant belief of human rights and political and religious freedoms” and pointed to “an opportunity for closer relations between Syria and the UK over time, if we can build greater understanding on these and other issues”. At least 240 internet sites are blocked in Syria, and journalists are concerned about the effects of a new law that – if passed – would give the government the right to raid premises and seize reporters’ computers.
“I certainly think it is a mistake to try and suppress social media or other forms of expression,” Hague replied to a question asking if he would urge Syria to release its grip on the internet and put a stop to the arrest of bloggers.
The UK Government believes in a “frank and active” dialogue with Syria, “notwithstanding the issues on which our governments have disagreed in the past and of course we may disagree in some respects in the future,” he said.
Other areas that arose during the meeting with President Assad were the UK’s support of a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine, and he stressed “support for all those truly working towards a peaceful and lasting settlement” which must be “based on 1967 borders and involve a just settlement for refugees as well as Jerusalem as the capital of both states”.
While Hague Tweeted that Israel has a right to security, he added that the blockade of Gaza is “counterproductive & should be lifted”.

Israel quietly watches chaos unfolding around it
Network NewsX Profile
By Joel Greenberg
Friday, January 28, 2011
JERUSALEM - Israel has been closely watching the unrest roiling its Arab neighbors while keeping a low profile, with top government officials responding cautiously to what one described as "an earthquake" in the region.
Mark Regev, a spokesman for Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, refused to comment Thursday on the events unfolding on Israel's doorstep, which carry the potential of creating significant change along the nation's borders.
The anti-government protests in Egypt, Israel's largest Arab neighbor and the first to sign a peace treaty with it, are being watched with particular interest here, and so far the prevailing official assessment is that President Hosni Mubarak will weather the storm.
"We do believe that the regime is strong enough to overcome it by means of its security apparatus," one cabinet official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation.
"Mubarak is no Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali - there's a huge difference," the official added, referring to the deposed Tunisian president who fled an uprising in his country this month.
While the Tunisian leader appeared to have lost the confidence of his security elite, Mubarak's "regime is well rooted in the military and security apparatuses," the official said. "They will have to exercise force, power in the streets, and do it."
Egypt under Mubarak has played a key role in mediating Israeli-Palestinian peace efforts, as well as facilitating indirect contacts with the militant Islamist group Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, for the release of a captive Israeli soldier.
To Israel's north, Lebanon is also in midst of political turmoil, with the appointment of a new prime minister backed by the Islamist movement Hezbollah. Israeli officials say they are concerned but do not expect the latest changes to trigger violence across the Israeli-Lebanese frontier.
Hezbollah, backed by Iran, is a bitter enemy of Israel, and the two sides fought a war in 2006. But the group's rise to political dominance in Lebanon is not interpreted here as a harbinger of renewed hostilities.
"It's not going to affect directly - according to our assessment - our security situation," said Moshe Yaalon, a vice prime minister and minister of strategic affairs. "We don't see Hezbollah or other elements creating a provocation along the Israeli-Lebanese border. It's not likely to happen."
Yaalon, who spoke to foreign journalists Thursday, said Hezbollah remained deterred by the blows received during the 2006 war and did not want to be seen domestically as serving a foreign interest, such as Iran's, by instigating another round of fighting that would be devastating to Lebanon.
"Hezbollah, with its aspiration to govern Lebanon, needs popular support, so it can't provoke a provocation which might be criticized by the people of Lebanon," Yaalon said.
He added that Hezbollah, as a military arm of Iran held in reserve for a possible confrontation with the West or Israel, is restrained from squandering its arsenal of missiles in a conflict that would not directly serve Iran's interests.
To Israeli officials, the unrest across the region, with Israel on the sidelines, proves an assertion that has been a point of contention with the Obama administration.
"For us it is very clear," Yaalon said, "the core of this instability in the Middle East is not the Israeli-Palestinian conflict."
**Greenberg is a special correspondent.

Michel Aoun
January 28, 2011
On January 27, the website of the Free Patriotic Movement, Tayyar.org, carried the following report:
In the context of the parliamentary consultations to form the government, Prime Minister-designate Najib Mikati met with the Change and Reform Bloc. Following the meeting, General Michel Aoun issued the following statement:
The shape of the government is still undefined. However, we asked the prime minister-designate to form the government as fast as possible and not to waste any time, because all the positions are clear. This government should be filled with competent people, and of course it should be covered on the political level by its components. We are hearing there are parties that do not wish to participate in it, which is why it is only logical that it be covered on the political level by the sides supporting it and who will participate in it, and that all the required human and economic capabilities be harmonious to be able to adopt decisions.
The vacuum cannot go on for years as it did in the best and extended endlessly. The government must be able to adopt more than one decision and in the different areas. This applies to development, international policy and Middle Eastern policy. We are faced with numerous decisions and this government should be able to adopt them, certainly based on Lebanon’s interest and not on the interest of specific factions. Among the most important issues we should fight is the corruption that is at the top of our list of priorities. We must keep debating all the open files, because the money that was wasted was originally part of the health budget, the schools budget and the public works budget among others. They should have been used the proper way because they constituted a major part of the budget. The debt alone takes up to 44% of it.
Q&A
Q: Did you demand the Finance Ministry?
A: I am not demanding any ministry for the time being. I am fully reassured by the government that will be formed.
Q: The other team requested guarantees regarding the non-annulment of the international tribunal.
A: There are no demands to annul the tribunal, only demands to discontinue Lebanon’s contribution in it. Did they take the opinion of the deputies into consideration when they ratified this tribunal? Did they present it before parliament?
Q: But it was mentioned in the ministerial statement.
A: As a specific reality, but then we appealed it. Where is the problem? It was lacking political action that was not presented to the president or to parliament. Even if we supported it with less than the two-thirds majority, it cannot pass. No one can adopt a decision outside the context of the constitution and consider it to be valid. That is why to us, it did not happen. In my letter to Ban Ki-Moon on March 30, 2007, I asked him not to support Al-Siniora’s government so excessively, so that we can ensure the ratification of the tribunal in accordance with the constitution. I explained the reasons but they continued to support it and the tribunal never became constitutional to us. [This is due to the fact that] we respect our laws and we respect ourselves. Why all this international commotion over the fall of a prime minister in Lebanon? Why is it that in Tunisia the people are allowed to topple the president, while in Lebanon, parliament cannot change a prime minister in accordance with the constitution?...
Q: They considered that the designation of Prime Minister Mikati was not made in accordance with the [national coexistence] pact.
A: Let no one teach us about the pact. We lived three years without it and the Sunnis will be with us in full. I believe that the supporters of Prime Minister Mikati among the Sunnis are enough and that he enjoys a sufficient cover.

Jumblatt’s latest flip flop baffles Druze
Mona Alami, January 28, 2011
PSP leader Walid Jumblatt has baffled many in his community with another change in alliances. (NOW Lebanon)
Druze leader Walid Jumblatt’s shift in political alliances last week left his community at a loss for words and many of its members torn between conflicting sentiments.
“The master [Progressive Socialist Party founder Kamal Jumblatt] said he was passionate about politics because it involved the leadership of honorable men,” said Wael, a former PSP fighter who asked that his real name not be used. “It seems that things are very different today.”
Druze in the Chouf Mountains were up in arms after Jumblatt’s speech last Friday, in which he announced that his party would support Syria and Hezbollah’s choice of prime minister rather than once ally and former Prime Minister Saad Hariri. While Jumblatt has not been a member of Hariri’s March 14 alliance since a public split in August 2009, he enjoyed an amicable relationship with the grouping.
In his speech on Friday, Jumblatt confirmed "the party's position alongside Syria and the Resistance in order for the political game to take its course away from sectarian divisions.” He added that he chose to align with the March 8 alliance “to confront the current phase and its complications, especially since the country has reached a dangerous crossroads after the Special Tribunal for Lebanon took on a purely political position,” something he said threatened national unity.
But many of Jumblatt’s followers said they understand his tactic. “Jumblatt was coerced into taking a very difficult decision by Hezbollah, which threatened his family and community,” said Wassim, another former PSP fighter. According to him, the Druze leader carefully studied his military options and came to the conclusion that he could not wage a long-term conflict with the Party of God. Many PSP members believe that if fighting with Hezbollah did erupt again, as it did during the May events in 2008, they could take on the Shia villages of Qmatiyeh and Keyfoun, located near Aley and Bayssour, but their actions would endanger Druze villagers residing in the southern areas of Hasbaya and Mary as well as in Choueifat.
“We need to stop the war and the bloodshed,” said Chawki Zeidan, a PSP officer in the Chouf. “What happened last week,” a reference to Resistance members gathering in parts of Beirut in a show of force after the government’s collapse, “is much more dangerous than what is taking place today.” Aley resident Bassam Chehayeb agreed with Zeidan’s analysis, underlining that Jumblatt’s stance is essentially aimed at deflecting any risk of civil strife away from his community.
Another factor that might have tipped Jumblatt in Hezbollah’s favor is lack of international allies the community feels it can rely on. In the 1980s, Wassim argued, the Druze enjoyed wide Arab support and were allied to the Palestinians as well as the USSR. “Today, we have been abandoned by everyone, including the United States,” he said.
According to Aley residents, Hezbollah added pressure on the community by positioning last week some of its members on top of the 888 Mountain that overlooks the town. The unusual military movements, which were detected by PSP fighters, resulted in renewed tension on the border between Aley and Qmatiyeh. “Contrary to public knowledge, Hezbollah kept a few positions on the 888 Mountain at the end of the 2008 events,” said a member of the Aley municipality on condition of anonymity. This information could not, however, be confirmed by NOW Lebanon.
Regardless of whether they condone or condemn Jumblatt’s recent political maneuvering, most Druze interviewed by NOW Lebanon expressed unease at Hezbollah’s power. “Hezbollah has become increasingly belligerent in recent years. It’s shown Lebanese that it has become the boss and that it considers as an enemy anyone who’s not ally. It does not leave any room for people advocating neutrality,” said the Aley municipality employee.
But “when one has paid the ultimate sacrifice, one should not fear a little more,” said Wael, explaining that he had been uncomfortable with what he called Jumblatt’s words “of defeat.”
Others also worry that Jumblatt’s shift in alliances may burn a bridge with yet another community. “We’ve made enemies of the Christians, of the Shia and now of the Sunnites. Jumblatt’s renewed aggressive discourse is not in the Druze’s best interest,” said Wael.
According to various testimonials, Jumblatt’s constant shift in position has reflected negatively on the PSP. Wassim and Wael both point out that the party has been unable to appoint an official in the village of Aabadiyeh, where the faction’s meetings are widely snubbed by members. “The party finds itself without clear line. What ideology are we to defend, what political position are we to adopt when our approach changes dramatically from one week to another?” said Wael.
Aley residents also said they are unhappy with Jumblatt’s new political discourse. This week, the Druze leader held outgoing Prime Minister Saad Hariri responsible for street protests that broke out across Lebanon as Hezbollah candidate Najib Mikati was voted in as the country’s new premier. Jumblatt said to As-Safir newspaper that "Hariri was the one to choose the democratic game,” adding that “he was aware of what he is doing. He bears a big responsibility, and he has to protect peace and institutions."
Sana, a teacher at one of Aley’s public schools, said, “Jumblatt decided to take that stance and steer us to a new front. So be it. But for once, let him take the side line and refrain from pouring more oil on the fire.”

Muslim Brotherhood joins Egyptian protesters. Three cities locked down
DEBKAfile Exclusive Report January 27, 2011, The Mubarak regime was badly shaken Thursday night, Jan. 27, when Egypt's most powerful opposition movement, the Muslim Brotherhood, ordered its teeming membership to join the protest movement raging in Cairo and other cities since Tuesday after Friday (Jan. 28) prayers. debkafile's Cairo sources report that the capital's poor districts, like Shubra which houses four million inhabitants, were bustling Thursday night with preparations for street action the next day. The question on all lips now is: Can the security forces control the many millions of protesters expected to suddenly pour into city streets across the land as of Friday and defend the regime against them. The police, almost a million security officers and units of the Interior Ministry's special units, have been on their feet for three days quelling outbreaks. They are exhausted and demoralized. They managed to keep the demonstrations from getting out of hand, but not to suppress them. Now that millions of Muslim Brotherhood loyalists have been told to throw in their lot with the protest movement, the beleaguered 82-year old President Hosni Mubarak can no longer avoid sending the army in to stem the unrest, which looks increasingly like turning into a popular revolution. The trouble is that no one can be sure of the army's total loyalty to the regime. The president cannot be sure that officers will agree to order their men to shoot demonstrators if need be, or whether the soldiers will obey such orders. Even after three days, debkafile's sources report signs that the president and his immediate circle of advisers and ministers have not grasped the extent of their peril. For hours, security forces commanders begged the president to sign curfew decrees for the most troubled cities, but he refused. I
n the end, they clamped curfews down on their own initiative in Suez and Ismailia on the banks of the Suez Canal and across the canal in the northern Sinai town of El Arish close to the Israeli and Gaza borders. During the day, violent clashes between police and rioters occurred in all three towns, whose combined population is 1.7 million, eaving casualties whose numbers are unknown. Thursday night, their streets of the three towns were deserted except for heavy security patrols. No one was allowed to leave without a special permit.
The ministry responsible for mosques and preachers Thursday night issued directives to the imams who are state employees to focus their sermons Friday on calls to keep the peace and not participate in the anti-government demonstrations. But those preachers, although their pay checks come from the public purse, are unlikely to go against the popular mood or dare defy the Muslim Brotherhood. Later Thursday, rumors were floating around Cairo that President Mubarak was about to sack the government and promise early parliamentary elections. Neither was confirmed

Don't break with the Special Tribunal
By Nadim Houry /Daily Star
Friday, January 28, 2011
Lebanon’s newly appointed prime minister, Najib Mikati, has remained vague on the key issue facing him if he succeeds in forming the next government.
Would a Mikati government terminate Lebanon’s cooperation with the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, as Hezbollah and its allies want? Mikati has simply stated that “this is a topic of disagreement in Lebanon and should be handled through dialogue within the Lebanese institutions.” However, the prime minister-designate’s opponents accuse him of having already made a backroom deal with Hezbollah on the tribunal as a precondition for his nomination.
I don’t know if Mikati made such a deal, but it would be a mistake to end Lebanon’s cooperation with the tribunal. Impunity for political assassinations has been the norm in the country for far too long. “Don’t ask, don’t tell” is the unwritten rule applied to assassinations, ensuring that no suspects are ever named. Lebanon took a first step in breaking that rule when it demanded an investigation into the killing of the former prime minister, Rafik Hariri, in 2005. For a Lebanese government to now withdraw from the tribunal would mean that it does not want an answer. Not only will this entrench impunity, it will exacerbate divisions in the country with everyone convinced that they already know the answer, depending on their political allegiances.
Hezbollah and its allies contend that the tribunal is politicized and should be disbanded before it damages Lebanon further. But the party has yet to make a convincing case. The international investigation has committed mistakes, most notably its public silence about the four-year detention, without charge, of four Lebanese generals, initially at the behest of international investigators. But such mistakes do not make the whole process illegitimate or terminally flawed. The Special Tribunal for Lebanon did release the generals when it assumed jurisdiction over them. Politics were a factor in the United Nations Security Council decision to set up the international investigation, and, later, a tribunal. But that is hardly unique in international tribunals. And any political circumstances surrounding the tribunal’s birth should not prejudge the outcome of what, ultimately, is a judicial process with checks and balances built in. There will be chances to challenge the evidence presented or expose political interference in the investigation.
The debate in Lebanon should not be about how to silence the tribunal but how to increase local efforts to break Lebanon’s vicious cycle of impunity. Lebanon’s judiciary has not detained a single suspect in the 13 attacks against prominent figures between October 2004 and January 2008, which killed a total of 56 people. And that is only the tip of the iceberg. The civil war led to the death of at least 130,000 civilians, while an estimated 17,000 disappeared. All those who were responsible for many of those crimes benefitted from a general amnesty, while former militia leaders are today among Lebanon’s most prominent politicians.
The Special Tribunal’s importance has always been its potential to break Lebanon’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” rule and spur the local judiciary to start asking hard questions about all the other victims who died in Lebanon over the years. This potential remains unfulfilled in large part because Lebanon’s various political leaders have hijacked the debate to suit their narrow objectives.
Leaders of the March 14 coalition – those supporting the inquiry into Hariri’s killing – missed a major opportunity a few years ago to break with the past. They printed posters calling for justice in the killings of prominent politicians, journalists, and security personnel since the 1980s. But their posters cited no prominent victims of Shiite parties who were killed during the same period; and they did not follow up on their calls for justice, with the predictable outcome that their efforts came across as an ineffective public relations campaign.
Meanwhile, leaders of the March 8 coalition that brought Mikati to power, have done no better. They spent endless energy and air time criticizing the Special Tribunal, but failed to promote or encourage alternatives, such as independent national investigations. They were more interested in trying so-called “false witnesses” who allegedly implicated the detained generals in the Hariri investigation than in finding the perpetrators of the assassinations of March 14 figures.
Mikati has indicated that he aspires to unify all the Lebanese. To convince supporters of March 14, he will need to show that he is committed to finding out who killed Rafik Hariri. But to achieve his wider ambition of reconciliation, he should go further and kick-start a much broader process of accountability for all the unpunished crimes in Lebanon. And they are many.
*Nadim Houry is Beirut director at Human Rights Watch. He wrote this commentary for THE DAILY STAR.