LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
ِMay 25/2011

Biblical Event Of The Day
The Good News According to Matthew 18/12-14: “What do you think? If a man has one hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine, go to the mountains, and seek that which has gone astray? 18:13 If he finds it, most certainly I tell you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine which have not gone astray. 18:14 Even so it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish."

 Latest analysis, editorials, studies, reports, letters & Releases from miscellaneous sources
 Hezbollah's bogus Liberation & Resistance Day/By: Elias Bejjani/May 24/11
 What was Netanyahu so enraged about?/By: Hussein Ibish/May 24/11
Let's call Russia's bluff on Syria/By: Carne Ross/May 24/11

Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources for May 24/11
Ahmadinejad survives assassination attempt/DEBKAfile
 Lebanese army withdraws from Syrian borders, LBC reports/Now Lebanon
 Lebanon arrests Shiite sheikh suspected of spying for Israel/By Reuters/Haaretz
Syria and Iran/ACM
 EU Council condemns Syria's 'ongoing repression'/CNN
 Rai schedules second Christian summit on June 2/Daily Star
 External forces impacting situation in Lebanon/Daily Star
 EU, UN issue joint appeal for release of kidnapped Estonians/Daily Star
 Aoun: I will always side with Hezbollah/Ya Libnan
 Judicial source: Lebanese deny knowledge of arms sent to Syria/Daily Star
 Lebanon urged to work with UNIFIL on border/Daily Star
 Hezbollah links Obama remarks to presidential race/Daily Star
 Jumblatt appeals to Assad on dialogue with opposition/Daily Star
 Geagea: Situation in Lebanon Increasingly Linked with Regional Developments /Naharnet
 Qassem Says No Cabinet Deadlock, Liberation was a Leap towards Israel's Downfall /Naharnet
 Jumblat: Feltman Visited Beirut to Coordinate Efforts to Issue U.N. Resolution on Syria /Naharnet
 Miqati Rejects Cabinet of 'Cantons' amid Freeze in Contacts /Naharnet
 Al-Rahi: Lebanon is Ill and in Need of Treatment /Naharnet
 Anti-Hizbullah Clergyman Suspected of Collaborating with Israel /Naharnet
 Pro-Syrian Revolution Gathering in Beirut on Tuesday /Naharnet
 PSP Calls for Ending Cabinet 'Joke,' Laments Lost Opportunity /Naharnet
 U.S. Officer Asks for Clarifications from Lebanese Army on Maroun al-Ras Incident /Naharnet
 U.S. Couple Pleads Guilty in Hizbullah Funding Case /Naharnet
 Report: Nasrallah to Address Syria Turmoil, Obama's Speech on Liberation Day /Naharnet
 Naharnet Launches its New Website /Naharnet
 Suleiman on Liberation Day: Israel is Maintaining its Refusal to Implement International Resolutions /Naharnet
 Williams: It's Very Important for All Parties to Commit to Resolution 1701 /Naharnet
 Sleiman urges unity on Liberation day/Daily Star
 Couple guilty of terrorism/TS

Hezbollah's bogus Liberation & Resistance Day
By: Elias Bejjani*
Believe it or not, on May 25 each year since 2000 Lebanon has been celebrating a so-called "Liberation & Resistance Day." Sadly, this celebration commemorates a bogus event, and a phony heroism that did not actually take place.
On May 22, 2000 the Israeli Army unilaterally and for solely Israeli domestic reasons withdrew from the security zone of South Lebanon in accordance with UN Resolution 425. The withdrawal was a fatal Israeli decision that has inspired the Hamas terrorism acts and the on-going havoc in the Palestinian Gaza strip.
During the last 11 years many Israeli officials and politicians form all parties openly and harshly criticized Barak's Government (Barak was PM at that time) hasty and unwise decision through which Israel' abandoned its ally the South Lebanon Army (SLA) and gave Hezbollah all south Lebanon on a plate of sliver.
The unilateral Israeli withdrawal created a security vacuum in south Lebanon. The Syrians who were occupying Lebanon at that time and fully controlling its government, did not allow the Lebanese Army to deploy in the south and fill this vacuum after the Israeli withdrawal. Instead Syria helped the Hezbollah militia to militarily control the whole southern region, and even patrol the Israeli-Lebanese border.
It is worth mentioning that the Israeli army's withdrawal was executed without any military battles, or even minor skirmishes with Hezbollah, or the Lebanese and Syrian armies. The Syrian regime, in a bid to justify both its on going occupation of Lebanon and the avoidance of disarming Hezbollah, came up with the "Shabaa Farms occupation big lie" and declared Hezbollah a Liberator, alleging it had forced Israel to withdrawal from South Lebanon.
Syria, in the same camouflaging and devious context, dictated to both the Lebanese parliament and government to declare May 25th a National Day under the tag of  "Liberation & Resistance Day".
In reality Hezbollah did not force the Israeli withdrawal, and did not play any role in the Liberation of the southern Lebanese region. In fact both Hezbollah and Syria deliberately hindered and delayed the Israeli withdrawal for more than 14 years.
Every time the Israelis called on the Lebanese government to engage in a joint, serious effort under the United Nations umbrella to ensure a safe and mutually organized withdrawal of its army from South Lebanon, the Lebanese government refused to cooperate, did not agree to deploy its army in the south, and accused the Israelis of plotting to divide and split the Syrian-Lebanese joint track. This approach to the Israeli calls was an official Syrian decision dictated to all the Lebanese puppet governments during the Syrian occupation era.
Since then, Hezbollah has been hijacking Lebanon and its people, refusing to disarm and advocating for the annihilation of Israel. This Iranian mullahs' terrorist army stationed in Lebanon, is viciously hiding behind labels of resistance, liberation and religion. Hezbollah has recklessly jeopardized the Lebanese peoples' lives, safety, security and livelihood. It has been growing bolder and bolder in the last four years and mercilessly taking the Lebanese state and the Lebanese people hostage through terrorism, force and organized crime.
Sadly, Hezbollah is systematically devouring Lebanon day after day, and piece by piece, while at the same time marginalizing all its governmental institutions in a bid to topple the Lebanese state and erect in its place a Shiite Muslim regime, a replica of the Iranian Shiite mullahs' fundamentalist republic. Meanwhile the free world and Arabic countries are totally silent, indifferent, and idly watching from far away the horrible crime unfolding without taking any practical or tangible measures to put an end to this anti-Lebanese Syria-Iranian scheme that is executed through their spearhead, the Hezbollah armed militia.
Who is to be blamed for Hezbollah's current odd and bizarre status? Definitely the Syrians who have occupied Lebanon for more than 28 years (1976-2005). During their bloody and criminal occupation, Syria helped the Iranian Hezbollah militia build a state within Lebanon and fully control the Lebanese Shiite community.
But also the majority of the Lebanese politicians, leaders, officials and clergymen share the responsibility because they were subservient and acted in a dire Dhimmitude, selfish and cowardly manner. If these so-called Lebanese leaders had been courageous and patriotic and had not appeased Hezbollah and turned a blind eye to all its vicious and human rights atrocities, intimidation tactics, crimes and expansionism schemes, this Iranian Shiite fundamentalist militia would not have been able to erect its own mini-state in the southern suburb of Beirut, and its numerous mini-cantons in the Bekaa Valley and the South; nor would Hezbollah have been able to build its mighty military power, with 70 thousand militiamen, or stockpile more than 50 thousand missiles and force the Iranian "Wilayat Al-Faqih" religious doctrine on the Lebanese Shiite community and confiscate its decision making process and freedoms.
Since Hezbollah's emergence in 1982, these politicians have been serving their own selfish interests and not the interests of the Lebanese people and the nation. They went along with Hezbollah's schemes, deluding themselves that its militia and weaponry would remain in South Lebanon and would not turn against them.
This failure to serve the people of Lebanon allowed Hezbollah to make many Lebanese and most of the Arab-Muslim countries through its terrorism propaganda to blindly swallow its big lie of theatrical, faked resistance and Liberation.
Hezbollah would not have been able refuse to disarm in 1991, like all the other Lebanese militias in accordance to the "Taef Accord," which called for the disarmament of all militias. Hezbollah would not have become a state inside the Lebanese state, and a world-wide terrorism Iranian-Syrian tool which turned against them all after its war with Israel in year 2006 and after the UN troops were deployed on the Lebanese - Israeli borders in accordance with the UN Resolution 1701.
On May 7, 2008 Hezbollah invaded Sunni Western Beirut killing and injuring in cold blood hundreds of its civilian citizens, and attempted to take over by force Mount Lebanon.
Hezbollah's General Secretary Sheik Hassan Nasrallah called that day (May 7, 2008) a great and glorious victory for his resistance, and keeps on threatening the Lebanese that a replicate of that day will take place if they do not succumb and obey his Iranian orders.
Hezbollah is a deadly dragon that the Lebanese politicians have been allowing him to feed on sacrifices from the southern Lebanese citizens, especially on those who were living in the "Security Zone" and who fled to Israel in May 2000 after the Israeli withdrawal from south Lebanon. This dragon who enjoyed devouring his southern sacrifices has now turned on all the Lebanese and if they do not stand for their rights and dignity, he will keep on devouring them all one after the other.
We call on the Lebanese government, the Lebanese Parliament and on all the free and patriotic Lebanese politicians and leaders to cancel the May 25 National Day, because it is not national at all, and also to stop calling Hezbollah a resistance, put an end for its mini-state, cantons and weaponry, and secure a dignified, honorable and safe return for all the Lebanese citizens who have been taking refuge in Israel since May 2000.
Click Here to read the updated Arabic version of the above editorial
 http://www.10452lccc.com/elias.arabic09/elias.thrier25.5.11.htm
 Click Here to listen to the updated version of the above editorial (Media player)
 http://www.eliasbejjani.com/elias%20audio11/elias.tahrier24.5.11.wma

Al-Rahi: Lebanon is Ill and in Need of Treatment
Naharnet/Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi stated on Tuesday that the people are longing to "tear down the walls" that politics have erected between them. He said before a consular delegation: "Lebanon is ill and need of treatment." "The government crisis has led us to economic ones and it has also crippled constitutional institutions," he noted
"We know that we are living a democratic country, but practicing democracy has been forbidden as the opinions of the other have been rejected," the patriarch stressed.
Beirut, 24 May 11, 13:06

Lebanese army withdraws from Syrian borders, LBC reports
May 24, 2011 /LBC television reported on Tuesday that the Lebanese army withdrew its troops from the Syrian borders, and added that the only ones remaining were the Lebanese border guards.Frightened residents from the northern town of Qubayah migrated to Wadi Khaled after heavy gunfire was heard in the Syrian territories and because they feared Syrian members would enter northern areas, the report also said. Wadi Khaled’s officials held an urgent meeting to call on the Lebanese government to secure borders and said that they view Syrian military reinforcements with concern, LBC also said. Protests have rallied against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime for almost two months. At least 900 Syrians have been killed and thousands more arrested since the pro-democracy protests erupted, according to rights group. -NOW Lebanon

Lebanon arrests Shiite sheikh suspected of spying for Israel
By Reuters/Haaretz /Lebanese military intelligence has detained a Shiite sheikh in southern Lebanon on suspicion of spying for Israel, a security source said on Tuesday.
The sheikh, who was known to be critical of Shiite guerrilla group Hezbollah and its regional backers, Syria and Iran, was arrested in the southern port city of Tyre on Monday.
He ran an organization called the Arab-Islamic Resistance which he said had 1,500 fighters, the security source said. The sheikh also claimed responsibility for launching rockets toward Israel two years ago, the source said. The arrest was the first high-profile detention in recent months. Lebanon launched a wave of arrests in April 2009 as part of espionage investigation in which dozens have been arrested on suspicion of spying for Israel. A high-ranking army officer, a Christian party member and telecom firm employees were among those detained over the last year. President Michel Suleiman has called for severe punishment for the spies and said if he receives a death sentence verdict he would sign it. Seven people have received a death sentence in the last few months. Israel has not commented on any of the arrests. Security officials say the arrests have severely weakened Israel's spying networks in Lebanon.
Hezbollah and Israel fought an inconclusive war in 2006 and while the border has remained largely quiet, there have been two instances of violence along the frontier since August 2010.

Ahmadinejad survives assassination attempt
DEBKAfile Special Report May 24, 2011, A large explosion set fire to an oil refinery unit in Abadan, Iran's biggest oil city, during a visit by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Tuesday, May 24. He came to inaugurate a unit for expanding production capacity by 4.2 million liters a day. Two people were killed and 12 injured. The blast was attributed by officials to a gas leak or "a technical fault" in one of the units, without specifying whether it was the same unit Ahmadinejad was scheduled to visit. However, according to debkafile's Iranian sources, the explosion was triggered by his pushing the button to activate it that same unit, which must have been tested and run in before the inauguration ceremony to avoid any technical hitches.
A news conference was quickly staged live on state TV showing him answering questions about the Abadan refinery -apparently to put a stop to spreading rumors that he had been assassinated. He did not refer to the explosion. The last known attack on Ahmadinejad's life was on Aug. 24, 2010 when a grenade was lobbed at his motorcade in the western town of Hamadan. Officials then said it was only a firecracker.
Our Iranian sources point to three possible parties who might have rigged the attack:
1. Abadan on the Shatt al Arb is near the Iraqi border and the route popular with Arab agents from Saudi Arabia and the Gulf moving in and out of the Iranian oil-rich rich of Khuzestan, which is the hotbed of disaffected Arab Iranians and their liberation movements.
2. Infighting at the top of the Revolutionary Guards Corps or elite regime circles, where Ahmadinejad's prestige has slipped badly over his dispute with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on the division of authority.
The ayatollah's clique says the president violated the Islamic Republic's first commandment – some said even the precepts of the faith – by disobeying the Supreme Ruler. Ahmadinejad flouted his order reinstate the intelligence minister he sacked - only to be overruled by Khamenei.
The Supreme Leader's suspects that Ahmadinejad is secretly plotting to topple him. The two camps are now squaring up for a fight with the president seeking to drum up popularity by claiming he is targeted for assassination. Maybe he is.
3. A foreign clandestine agency may be responsible, possibly the same unnamed hand which for two years has bedeviled Iran's nuclear program by liquidating its leading scientists and planting the Stuxnet virus in its computer control systems.

Geagea: Situation in Lebanon Increasingly Linked with Regional Developments
Naharnet/Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea said on Tuesday that the situation in Lebanon is increasingly becoming linked with the developments in the region.
"The situation in Arab countries that is witnessing revolutions lately is very promising because the peoples are aspiring for freedom and democracy," Geagea told a delegation from American University of Technology visiting him in Maarab. "As for the general situation in Lebanon, it is more and more linked with the effective developments in the region," he said.
Geagea told the students that the LF is the only party that is keeping pace with the changes in the region through its new by-laws. "Every four years, the by-laws will hold accountable the head of the LF, its deputy and the entire authority through general elections that also include head of (LF) bureaus in villages," Geagea said. He also congratulated the students for their uncontested victory in the university board elections after their foes pulled out of the race. Beirut, 24 May 11, 13:24

Suleiman on Liberation Day: Israel is Maintaining its Refusal to Implement International Resolutions
Naharnet/President Michel Suleiman congratulated on Tuesday the Lebanese and Resistance on the occasion of Liberation Day, saying that the liberation of the South demonstrated that Lebanon has the popular capabilities to liberate its land and defeat the enemy. He stressed: "The Israeli defeat has made it think twice before executing any attack on Lebanon."
The president accused the Jewish state of maintaining its refusal to implement international resolutions and committing "massacres" the most recent of which took place at Maroun al-Ras on the occasion of the Nakba Day more than two weeks ago. "Lebanon can now fortify itself, thwart the enemy's plans, and build a modern state fitting for the Lebanese," Suleiman continued.
"Liberation Day stands as an opportunity for the Lebanese to observe local and regional developments from which the officials should realize the importance of dialogue, cooperation, and national unity in order to ensure the rise of the state," he stressed. Beirut, 24 May 11, 14:37

Williams: It's Very Important for All Parties to Commit to Resolution 1701
Naharnet/U.N. Special Coordinator for Lebanon Michael Williams stressed on Tuesday the importance of the commitment to U.N. Security Council resolution 1701 by all the involved parties. After meeting with Hizbullah official Ammar Moussawi, Williams said: "Because of the situation in the region and in the south, it is very important for all parties to commit to resolution 1701."  "There are different views on the implementation of 1701 and I believe that this is natural. But I still believe that 1701 has brought a stability to southern Lebanon," he said.
Williams discussed with Moussawi the Nakba Day incident in the southern border town of Maroun al-Ras. "I once again expressed my condolences for the many Palestinian lives that were lost on that tragic day." Williams told reporters that he also discussed with Moussawi the situation in Lebanon and "the extremely complicated situation" in the Arab world.
"We both agreed that it was imperative that a new government is formed as soon as possible … People are strengthened when they have a government to protect them," the diplomat said. Beirut, 24 May 11, 13:55

Qassem Says No Cabinet Deadlock, Liberation was a Leap towards Israel's Downfall
Naharnet/Hizbullah deputy leader Sheikh Naim Qassem has said on the occasion of the Liberation Day that the resistance proved its ability to impose changes in the region.
"The Liberation caused a strategic leap that indicates the beginning of the fall of Israel … With liberation the time of victories began," Qassem told As Safir newspaper on Tuesday.
He stressed that the goals can't be achieved in a short time. "It takes collaboration… The main purpose is to keep the resistance flame smoldering."
Qassem noted that the liberation of southern Lebanon from Israeli occupation wasn't a momentary incident. "We believe that the 2000 victory led to the defeat of Israel in 2006" during the war with Hizbullah. "We're at a time when Israel is after its security and suffering from an existence crisis … We have an opportunity with the Arab revolutions, the agreement among the Palestinian foes and the readiness of resistance, to be in a new effective stage," Qassem told the newspaper. On the subject of the cabinet formation crisis, As Safir quoted him as saying that there's no reason for the delay. "There is still an opportunity to find common grounds for reaching an agreement." The Hizbullah deputy chief stressed that all parties are responsible but the important thing is that we "don't give the Americans any chance to complicate the formation of the government." Earlier on Monday, Qassem refused adopting a civil personal status law in Lebanon. He said during a convention about women in Beirut that the "civil personal status contradicts the Sharia law." Beirut, 24 May 11, 09:36

Jumblat: Feltman Visited Beirut to Coordinate Efforts to Issue U.N. Resolution on Syria
Naharnet/Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat has unveiled that U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Jeffrey Feltman sought during his visit to Beirut last week to coordinate with Lebanese officials attempts to issue a U.N. Security Council resolution against Syria. Jumblat told Hizbullah's al-Manar TV on Monday night that he disagreed with Feltman on his view and stressed to him that "any decision to isolate Syria would not do any good."  "Neither international resolutions nor sanctions are useful," Jumblat told Feltman.
On the occasion of Liberation Day on Wednesday, the Druze chief stressed on the importance of the resistance amid the incapability of the international community to resolve the issue of the occupied border village of Ghajar. Asked about U.S. President Barack Obama's latest remark on Hizbullah, Jumblat told al-Manar that the stance is already "consumed."
On Sunday, Obama accused Hizbullah of exercising "political assassination." On the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, Jumblat said: "The court will be used for political ends in the confrontation against the resistance and the regime in Syria." But he stressed that "we have reached an immune stage, whether the indictment was issued or not. This won't change a thing."
In his editorial to PSP's al-Anbaa weekly, Jumblat urged Syrian President Bashar Assad to take "immediate measures that could introduce radical change" to confront the challenges facing Syria."These changes will help fulfill the people's legitimate demands and prevent Syria from falling victim to division." Beirut, 24 May 11, 10:04

Anti-Hizbullah Clergyman Suspected of Collaborating with Israel
Naharnet/The army intelligence has detained the secretary-general of the Arabic-Islamic Council after suspecting that he collaborated with the Israeli Mossad, al-Akhbar newspaper reported on Tuesday. Mohammed Ali H., who is a clergyman, was moved to the ministry of defense in Yarze from his home in the southern port city of Tyre for interrogation, the daily said.
High-ranking security sources refused to confirm or deny if the detainee admitted to collaborating with Israel.  The secretary-general was under surveillance for around a year, when the Information Branch of the Directorate General of Internal Security forces suspected his collaboration with the Mossad, security sources told al-Akhbar.
The clergyman is a strong critic of Hizbullah, Iran and Syria. He is said to be receiving money from Saudi Arabia for his movement. In 2009, he announced the formation of a military force with 1,500 fighters named "The Arabic-Islamic Resistance" against Israel, al-Akhbar said. Beirut, 24 May 11, 10:39

Miqati Rejects Cabinet of 'Cantons' amid Freeze in Contacts
Naharnet/Premier-designate Najib Miqati has stressed that he would not form a government of "cantons" or grant portfolios to political parties in order to turn them into "feudal" entities.
"I told everyone without exception and not only the general (Michel Aoun) as is being rumored, to give me lists of portfolios that they are seeking and lists of names that they suggest so that I would distribute the portfolios on the names in accordance with my authorities and the authorities of the president," Miqati was quoted as saying by al-Akhbar daily on Tuesday.
He said that he had agreed with Speaker Nabih Berri, Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat and Marada movement chief Suleiman Franjieh on their shares in the new cabinet. But he has yet to clinch a deal with Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun. "Hizbullah is ready to give (me) a list of its candidates for the government but is now united in solidarity with the head of the FPM," Miqati said. An Nahar daily said that contacts between Miqati on one hand and the envoys of the speaker, Hizbullah and the FPM on the other were frozen, making it difficult to assess whether new attempts aimed at reviving consultations would succeed. "What would I be doing in the premiership if I tell a certain team to name the minister it wants for the portfolio it wants?" Miqati wondered in his remarks to al-Akhbar, stressing that his constitutional authorities would be useless if the political parties impose on them the ministers and the portfolios. "The Taef Accord is the only authority that we should resort to," Miqati said. On the visit of U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Jeffrey Feltman last week, Miqati said that the diplomat told him "I am not here to give you instructions; I will tell you what I've told the president, I don't have any link with your cabinet or makeup." "Feltman's stance is not new," he said, adding that he has been hearing the same statements since his nomination four months ago. Beirut, 24 May 11, 08:54

U.S. Officer Asks for Clarifications from Lebanese Army on Maroun al-Ras Incident
Naharnet/A U.S. Army Brigadier General has asked for clarifications from the Lebanese army leadership on the incident in the border town of Maroun al-Ras on Nakba Day, a U.S. embassy statement said. John W. Charlton, the Deputy Director for Middle East Political-Military Affairs in the Policy and Plans Directorate of the Joint Staff in the Pentagon, visited Lebanon on May 19-20 to hold discussions with the Lebanese army leadership on bilateral military programs, it said. During a visit to the army headquarters, Charlton expressed the U.S. regret for the loss of life and sympathy for those killed and wounded in Maroun al-Ras on May 15. "He asked for clarification of the events and emphasized the importance of maintaining strong border security on all fronts," said the statement. Charlton urged the army to bolster its efforts to fulfill its mission south of the Litani River in accordance with U.N. Security Council resolution 1701 to prevent incidents that increase tensions along the U.N.-drawn Blue Line. During a visit to army units and UNIFIL headquarters in the south, the Brig. Gen. stressed the importance of a strong partnership between the U.S. and Lebanese militaries to further bolster the Lebanese army's institutional capacity. The statement added that Charlton looked forward to furthering cooperation between the U.S. military and the Lebanese army by hosting a senior Lebanese military delegation in Washington in the near future. Beirut, 24 May 11, 10:57

PSP Calls for Ending Cabinet 'Joke,' Laments Lost Opportunity
Naharnet/The circles of Progressive Socialist Party chief Walid Jumblat have stressed that the Druze leader has repeatedly called for an end to the government "joke."
In remarks to As Safir daily on Tuesday, the circles said: "It seems that no one has heard" Jumblat's cry. "A big opportunity was lost when the dispute over the interior ministry portfolio was resolved. Issues were being solved with the consent of all sides but suddenly some parties began imposing conditions that brought everything back to square one," they said.
The circles were referring to the agreement reached between President Michel Suleiman and Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun on naming retired Internal Security Forces Maj. Gen. Marwan Charbel to the controversial interior ministry post. But the cabinet crisis remained in a standstill after Aoun reportedly asked for more portfolios and Suleiman wanted to get a second Maronite minister. "A cabinet should be formed and Lebanon shouldn't stay without a political administration," Jumblat's circles said. "It is time (to form) a government that protects the country and its political, economic and financial security," they added. On Monday, Jumblat told Hizbullah's al-Manar TV station that the cabinet should be formed under the slogan of dialogue, the consolidation of the south and Lebanon, and the protection of the resistance. Beirut, 24 May 11, 07:53

U.S. Couple Pleads Guilty in Hizbullah Funding Case
Naharnet/A married couple pleaded guilty Monday to charges that they planned to ship money to Hizbullah, which the United States lists as a terrorist organization. The plea deal will spare Hor and Amera Akl from potential life sentences. The couple planned for a year to send up to $1 million for Hizbullah, which the U.S. government blames for numerous attacks on Israel, federal prosecutors said. An FBI informant provided them with $200,000 for the first shipment that was to be hidden in an SUV before they were arrested last June, the government said.
The Akls, dual citizens of the United States and Lebanon, both pleaded guilty to conspiracy to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization. Hor Akl also pleaded guilty to money laundering, bankruptcy fraud and perjury charges. In exchange, prosecutors dropped an arson charge against the husband and wife that carried a mandatory 10-year sentence. They also dropped a money laundering charge against Mrs. Akl. Hor Akl now faces a sentence of a little more than seven years in prison, while his wife could receive up to four years. Both could have faced 30 years to life in prison if they would have been convicted on all charges at trial. Sanford Schulman, an attorney for Amera Akl, said he wanted her to fight the charges, but understood why she agreed to plead guilty. "I'd probably take the deal myself," he said. "I don't know if they caught the bad guy today, but they got what they wanted."
The plea agreement required both to plead guilty. Hor Akl's attorney, David Doughten, said it was a fair deal. Investigators built the case using telephone recordings and an informant, said Justin Herdman, an assistant U.S. attorney. Hor Akl traveled to Lebanon in March 2010 to arrange the delivery of money, he said. He returned to the United States claiming that he had met with Hizbullah officials, according to court documents. The Akls expected to make about $200,000 in fees to transfer of funds, Herdman said. Both told U.S. District Judge James Carr in Toledo that they didn't dispute any of the government's allegations. Amera Akl will be sentenced June 20, while a sentencing date has not been set for her husband. The couple, who have three children, remained free on bail after their pleas.(AP) Beirut, 24 May 11, 07:30

Phalange: Caretaker Government Must Convene to Tackle People's Needs
Naharnet/The Phalange Party called on the caretaker government to convene in order to tackle the citizens' concerns, dismissing some proposals to address these issues, which it described as a "joke."It said in a statement after its weekly politburo meeting: "Given that the government crisis has entered its fifth month, some constitutional mechanisms must be reviewed in order to address some urgent matters given that the country is being ruled by a caretaker Cabinet."In light of the regional revolts, the formation of a government that can confront these dangers should be the least that can be expected, it continued. The Phalange Party reiterated the demand to form a national salvation government. Addressing the issue of displaced Syrians who have sought refuge in Lebanon, the statement called on the concerned Lebanese sides to provide them with the appropriate humanitarian and social care, highlighting the security forces' role in controlling the situation along the border. Beirut, 23 May 11, 18:31

Naharnet Launches its New Website
Naharnet/This week marks a new decade for Naharnet as it bids farewell to its 10-year-old website and enters a new era with a groundbreaking Content Management Platform completely built in-house. The initial Naharnet 2.0 website will slowly develop into a new environment that will redefine Naharnet as a digital and social media destination for the Lebanese and Arabs across the world. Naharnet 2.0 aims to provide users with a richer content experience with many new and innovative features. In the coming months, Naharnet will be beta testing its new platform and gradually announcing exciting services and features, giving users the ability to:
· Produce, Publish, Promote and Discover content
· Personalize their content stream according to their interests
· Connect to users with similar interests
Visitors are invited to test our new website and to participate in the ongoing development process by providing feedback and ideas.
They are encouraged to register again in order to take full advantage of the greater and richer experience.
They can also use their Facebook Connect or Twitter profiles, if they wish.
As Naharnet transitions to its new platform within the coming months, old services such as e-mail, Mobile Center and other sections will be gradually discontinued or replaced.
Join Naharnet 2.0 today at http://beta.naharnet.com and be amongst the first to receive and test exclusive updates on new features as they are released.
Naharnet can also be accessed from Facebook http://facebook.com/naharnet and followed on Twitter http://twitter.com/naharnet
About Naharnet
Naharnet is one of the first Lebanese online media outlets founded in September 2000.
Naharnet quickly grew to become one of the leading portals in the Lebanese market and diaspora spreading over 220 countries. It provides news, information, entertainment, mobile and social networking services.
Naharnet currently focuses on providing real-time political news and information about Lebanon, the Middle East and the world, in English and Arabic, as an independent and unbiased news organization and purely digital media.
Beirut, 24 May 11, 14:47

Bkirki Invites Maronite Leaders, MPs to Meeting on June 2
Naharnet/The Maronite patriarchate invited Maronite leaders and lawmakers to a meeting in Bkirki next month to hold consultations on social and national issues, a statement issued by the patriarchate's secretariat said Monday. The meeting kicks off on June 2 at 9:30 am, it said. The statement said that the officials are expected to hold consultations on building spiritual, social and national partnership for Lebanese residing in their country and expatriates. The meeting is a follow-up to the April 19 meeting in Bkirki that grouped Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun, Phalange party head Amin Gemayel, Lebanese Forces chief Samir Geagea and Marada Movement leader Suleiman Franjieh. The statement issued after that meeting had said that exchange of opinions and ideas came as a preliminary discussion on the local situation and the aspirations of the Lebanese who hold hopes for preserving the future of their country and the Arab world. Beirut, 23 May 11, 13:03

What was Netanyahu so enraged about?
Hussein Ibish, May 24, 2011
Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu reacted angrily to Barack Obama’s speech of last Thursday. (AFP photo/Mandel Ngan)
President Barack Obama’s Middle East speech last Thursday did not break any particularly new ground on Israeli-Palestinian peace or Washington’s basic positions on negotiations. However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and many of his supporters reacted furiously. Why? The reasons are deeply illuminating.
There were three elements to Obama’s speech that the Israelis did not like. First, Obama reiterated the well-established idea that negotiations will be based on the 1967 borders with mutually-agreed land-swaps. Even though this has been essentially understood since UN Security Council Resolution 242 and has been clear-cut United States policy since at least 2005, Obama stated the principle more clearly than usual. The Israelis regard this, essentially, as a concession to the Palestinians for which they will no longer be able to extract anything in return.
Second, Obama explicitly outlined what has been implicit US policy for most of his administration: That the parties should work on reaching understandings on borders and security first, and base progress on other permanent-status issues on those agreements.
Neither side seems particularly comfortable with this formula, which might defuse the settlement issue but also make reciprocal compromises on deeper, more existential problems like Jerusalem and refugees more complicated. To work, it will also mean instituting an informal understanding based on the Clinton parameters limiting Israeli settlement activity in occupied East Jerusalem to Jewish areas, something Netanyahu and his allies deeply oppose.
Third, Obama did not rule out dealing with, and possibly even providing aid to, a new Palestinian government arising from the Hamas-Fatah agreement. He said the agreement raised “profound and legitimate questions” for which the Palestinians would have to provide a “credible answer.” However, he didn’t adopt the Israeli line that no dealings with any such unity government would be acceptable.
There was a good deal to irk the Palestinians as well, especially Obama’s strong statement against any efforts next September to seek United Nations recognition for a Palestinian state. However, the plainly infuriated response by Netanyahu and his supporters seemed completely disproportionate to the substance of Obama’s remarks.
There are two factors informing this strong overreaction. First, and most important, is the Israeli sense that while Israel can deal with the Palestinians from a position of overwhelming strength and effectively impose any reality on them, at the international level the walls on Israel’s maximalist ambitions are closing in.
Obama’s speech is best read in contrast to Netanyahu’s speech the previous Monday before the Knesset. The Israeli prime minister ruled out negotiations on Jerusalem, spoke of annexing settlement blocs, and demanded a long-term Israeli military presence along the Jordan River. These positions are incompatible with not only international and American expectations about the nature of a two-state solution, but also American national interests and the vision of peace laid out in Obama’s subsequent speeches.
The American foreign policy, intelligence and military establishment has finally concluded that the creation of a Palestinian state and an end to the occupation that began in 1967 is essential for the United States to successfully pursue its other interests in the Arab world and, indeed, other parts of the Islamic world. This rethinking was mainly prompted by the problematic wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and has only been reinforced by the “Arab Spring.”
In this context, Obama warned Israel that “there is an impatience with the peace process, or the absence of one not just in the Arab world” but “already manifesting itself in capitals around the world.”
The Israelis appeared more pleased with Obama’s address to the AIPAC convention this past weekend, in which he highlighted Washington’s support for Israel but also reiterated all his basic positions. However, last week’s events greatly strengthened Israel’s sense of being isolated not only internationally but also from the US with regard to its vision of the future. It might hope to impose unreasonable conditions on Palestinians, but cannot hope to do so on the world, especially on the Americans. This explains the hint of panic in the Israeli reaction to Obama’s unsurprising, reasonable, carefully-crafted remarks.
Netanyahu and his allies are fundamentally uncomfortable with Obama and would prefer to see a Republican in the White House after the 2012 US presidential election. The enraged Israeli reaction was an invitation to Republican hopefuls such as Tim Pawlenty and Mitt Romney to issue strong denunciations of the president’s remarks, which they immediately did. Even after the AIPAC speech, some of Netanyahu’s supporters are continuing to issue dark warnings to Jewish Americans that a second term for Obama would be disastrous for Israel.
So, while there was genuinely visceral anxiety among those like Netanyahu that Obama’s speech reinforced Israel’s international isolation on the future of the occupied territories, there was also a degree of politically-calculated histrionics aimed at helping Republicans in their effort to unseat the president in 2012.
What Netanyahu and his supporters are failing to understand, however, is that Obama’s remarks do not reflect his personal predilections. They are based on a strong American consensus regarding US national interests, especially the need for what Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called the “inevitable” Palestinian state.
Members of Congress and Republican candidates are free to say whatever they want, since foreign policy is not their direct responsibility. But whoever ends up in the White House will have to base his or her policies on American interests, not on political calculations. Netanyahu, like any other Israeli leader, will not be able to ignore, flout or oppose these interests in the long run.
**Hussein Ibish is a senior research fellow at the American Task Force on Palestine and blogs at www.Ibishblog.com.

Let's call Russia's bluff on Syria
Carne Ross /guardian.co.uk,
Monday 23 May 2011
There are two reasons why the UN security council has failed, utterly, to react to Bashar al-Assad's murder of hundreds of his own people in Syria. The first is that Russia, a veto-wielding permanent member, has indicated that it will block action. And the second is that the US won't stand up to Russia.
Britain and France have been ready for some days to table a draft resolution condemning the Syrian dictator's violent repression of pro-democracy demonstrations. But there has been something of a counter-reaction to the force and speed of the council's rapid decisions on Libya, particularly its authorisation of military force. Colum Lynch, the indispensable UN commentator in Foreign Policy, has called this the Libya "hangover" – a feeling among some council members that the allies have gone "too far" in Libya, overstepping the limited authority to protect civilians in resolution 1973 to attack the Libyan regime itself.
For this reason, any UN resolution on Syria is likely to be less forceful than those on Libya – with condemnation, and an indication that if the violence against Syria's people continues, there will be "further measures", hinting at sanctions, and possibly referral to the International Criminal Court. It's not as strong as the situation requires, but it is a start, which can be built upon. Perhaps this threat of further action, combined with US national and EU sanctions, will persuade Assad to stop. Perhaps.
But Russian diplomats have made clear that they will not abide even this mild step. This is not because Russia has a particularly valuable relationship with Damascus – and Russia's role in the Middle East is often overstated. Russia's claimed reason is that the UN must limit its interference in states' sovereign internal politics. In reality, the reason is more tawdry – and openly discussed in the corridors of the UN. It is not a "hangover" from Libya; it is "total payback", as one diplomat told me. Russia wants everyone to know that its acquiescence in western military action in Libya should not have been abused, and now it won't play along on Syria. It's a diplomatic version of playground politics – and no more admirable. And the Syrian people are the victims.
It's part of a longstanding post-Soviet tradition in Russian diplomacy of meanspirited, tit-for-tat obstructionism with little regard to the facts on the ground. Russia blocked UN reaction to Milosevic's ethnic cleansing in Kosovo in 1999. Having assented to the years-long UN diplomatic process to decide Kosovo's final status, Russia abruptly refused to accept its independence in 2008, and later recognised South Ossetia and Abkhazia in a bizarre kind of retribution (as this Pravda article makes clear).
This "cold war lives on" tradition is also evident in Russia's continuing and baseless complaints about US missile defence plans; only this week, President Medvedev threatened to build up Russia's nuclear forces and scrap arms treaties, claiming without evidence that the planned anti-missile systems are "aimed at Russia". We are a proud country, Russian leaders repeatedly say: mess with us, and we will make you pay – if necessary, on a totally-unconnected issue. The west's own duplicity and game-playing at the UN in recent years – above all, on Iraq – has given Russia some (but not much) excuse for this pettiness. The UN's inaction over Syria speaks yet again of lingering mistrust of western motives.
Russia's position is inexcusable in the face of the mass killing of peaceful demonstrators in Syria. Unfortunately, they are getting away with it. The Europeans want to table the resolution and force Russia, if it persists with its threat to veto, to explain why exactly it is protecting Assad's murderous behaviour from international censure. By quickly tabling the resolutions on Libya, the Europeans managed to sweep away Russian and Chinese objections with the momentum of international concern at Gaddafi's repression (the US was very late in that game, too). But this time, the US is again holding back, concerned that a Russian veto will make things worse – by signalling to Damascus that they can get away with murder.
This is a legitimate concern. When I was on the security council, I believed that you shouldn't table resolutions before privately ensuring that there were enough votes for adoption (a prerogative that the UK ignored when it tabled the famous failed second war-authorising resolution on Iraq: I had left the mission by then!). But times have changed. There is a new mood in the air. Even the Chinese can sense it and, I understand, are unlikely to veto action on Syria. Not only the US is recalculating its interests in the Middle East in these dramatic days. Standing up for dictators doesn't seem so clever, especially if the democrats eventually win.
The Russians should be shown up for their tactics at the UN; put the resolution to the vote. My bet is that it will pass. And if the Russians do veto it, everyone will know who to blame.
While, down the road in Washington, President Obama is declaring his condemnation of al-Assad and solidarity with Arab protests, US caution at the UN in New York sends a very different and timid message. Diplomats' calculations that the UN's response to mass killings in Syria is somehow linked to resolutions on Libya, and obeisance to Russia's amour-propre, remind people of what they most hate about diplomacy: that it is not about the reality of soldiers killing civilians on Syria's streets, but instead about diplomatic games in distant chambers.
The fate of Syria's benighted people should, of course, be the only issue at stake here. For their sake, I hope that very soon the diplomats get back to reality.