LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
ِJUNE 15/2011

Bible Quotation for today
Peter's First Letter 5/1-11: " I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and who will also share in the glory that will be revealed. 5:2 Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, exercising the oversight, not under compulsion, but voluntarily, not for dishonest gain, but willingly; 5:3 neither as lording it over those entrusted to you, but making yourselves examples to the flock. 5:4 When the chief Shepherd is revealed, you will receive the crown of glory that doesn’t fade away. 5:5 Likewise, you younger ones, be subject to the elder. Yes, all of you clothe yourselves with humility, to subject yourselves to one another; for “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”* 5:6 Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time; 5:7 casting all your worries on him, because he cares for you. 5:8 Be sober and self-controlled. Be watchful. Your adversary, the devil, walks around like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. 5:9 Withstand him steadfast in your faith, knowing that your brothers who are in the world are undergoing the same sufferings. 5:10 But may the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a little while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you. 5:11 To him be the glory and the power forever and ever. Amen.

Latest analysis, editorials, studies, reports, letters & Releases from miscellaneous sources 
Hezbollah rise in Lebanon gives Syria, Iran sway/AP/June 14/11
W. Thomas Smith, Jr./Interview with Dr. Walid Phares on the Ne Lebanese Government/ June 14/11
Lebanon's Islamist Stronghold/By: Hilal Khashan/June 14/11

Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources for June 14/11
US-Israeli backdoor exchanges with Cairo to free alleged Israeli spy/DEBKAfile
Iran Says Britain, U.S. Meddling in its Affairs/ Naharnet
Russia, China Boycott Security Council Talks on Syria/FP & Naharnet
Israel Denies Man Held in Egypt a Spy/News agencies/Naharnet
Prime Minister Najib Miqati’s 30-member Cabinet Lineup/Naharnet
U.N. Expects Cabinet to be Fully Committed to 1701, Other International Obligations Naharnet
Miqati: Hizbullah, Allies Majority in New Govt Doesn’t Mean Lebanon Will Confront Int’l Community/Naharnet
Arslan Resigns from Cabinet: Miqati Conspired against National Unity/Naharnet
Final Hours ahead of Govt. Announcement Surprise Majority, Force Arslan to Resign/Naharnet
Jumblat Challenges March 14 Forces: We Proved Our Ability to Govern Lebanon Naharnet
President Amin Gemayel: Newly-formed cabinet cannot solve Lebanon’s problems/Now Lebanon
March 14 Slams ‘Unbalanced Confrontational Cabinet’/Naharnet
Baabda Says New Cabinet is ‘Consensual’ Not March 8/Naharnet
Iran hails new Hezbollah-dominated Lebanon Cabinet/Daily Star
World reacts to new Lebanon government/Daily Star
MP Ahmad Fatfat says new cabinet is one-sided/Now Lebanon
Berri Denies Consulting Any of his Allies, Says he ‘Lost a Minister But Won Lebanon/Naharnet
Geagea Laments that Lebanese Cabinets Don’t Make Progress/Naharnet
Iran Reiterates its Desire to Remain a Partner to Lebanon/Naharnet
Looking back on almost 7 decades of Cabinet crises/Daily Star
Lebanon's Mikati Forms New Cabinet With Hezbollah Support/Bloomberg
Nadim Gemayel: This is an Assad government/Ya Libnan
Lebanon's new Cabinet shows strong Syrian influence/Los Angeles Times
Lebanon gets Hezbollah-led cabinet after 5-month lag/Reuters
Regional pressure spawns birth of new Cabinet/Daily Star
The softer side of Lebanon's new cabinet/Now Lebanon
The long 5-month road to forming Lebanon's Cabinet/Daily Star
FACTBOX: New Lebanese PM political backgroud/Daily Star
Newly-appointed Interior Minister Marwan Charbelr praises Rifi/Now Lebanon
Jumblatt calls on Arslan to review his resignation/Now Lebanon
Lebanon's Arabic press digest/Daily Star 

US-Israeli backdoor exchanges with Cairo to free alleged Israeli spy
DEBKAfile Special Report
June 13, 2011,
Washington and Jerusalem turned to back door channels Monday, June 13 to procure the quick release of dual US-Israeli citizen Ilan Grapel whom the Egyptian Supreme Security Prosecutor announced Sunday had been arrested as an alleged Israeli Mossad spy. Monday night, Israel announced that a thorough check had confirmed he had no connection with any Israeli intelligence organization. The Israeli foreign ministry reported that Cairo had not notified Jerusalem of the arrest, while the US State Department is checking to see if any word had come through to Washington. Western intelligence circles suggest that the Egyptians may have found it convenient to "find" a Mossad spy even if they suspected him of working undercover for other Western organizations. debkafile's sources report that the US and Israeli applications to Cairo are high-powered and urgent. They have gone as high as Field Marshall Mohammed Tantawi, Chairman of the Supreme Military Council ruling Egypt, for fear that if the Grapel affair drags on, the climate in Egypt against an alleged inciter of Muslim-Coptic strife will be too heated to get him released. As debkafile reported Sunday, Egyptian Intelligence Minister Murad Muwafi and State Security Prosecutor Hisham Badawi were responsible for planting their Israeli spy scandal on front pages worldwide as part of a calculated campaign to blacken Israel's name along with other defamatory "disclosures." Tantanwi may not even have been brought into the picture and would have been as taken aback as much as Washington and Jerusalem. Indeed, in the delicate post-revolutionary relationships prevailing between the US and Egypt and Israel and Egypt, the last thing the military junta needs is the complication of a long court case against an American-Israeli citizen. If it went to trial, the Grapel case would open in the grim atmosphere of the trial opening August 3 for ex-President Hosni Mubarak and his two sons Gemal and Alaa and be an asset to the prosecution.
debkafile's Middle East sources report that it is more than likely that Muwafi and Badawi also believed that stirring up anti-Israel sentiment in the Egyptian street would be a useful diversion from the anarchy and lack of a firm hand at the helm of government in Cairo. Monday, the Egyptian prosecution added to the charges against Grapel: Entering Egypt on a European passport with a forged Egyptian visa stamp – as evidence that his presence was clandestine. He is also now accused of scoping out the Mubarak following, the situation on the Egyptian-Gaza and Egyptian-Israeli borders and the security measures for the Egyptian-Israeli gas pipeline. debkafile: Raising these suspicions against the alleged spy indicates the intention to tie his case to the charges against the Mubaraks. The alleged spy's father, Daniel Grapel, speaking from his home in Queens, New York, said his son was a student at Emory University School of Law in Atlanta, Georgia and had visited Egypt as part of his study program. He had planned to stay there until the end of August before returning home to his studies. Ilan spent time in Israel, he said, serving in the IDF's 101st Paratroop Unit. He was wounded in battle in the 2006 Lebanon war between Israel and Hizballah.

Iran Says Britain, U.S. Meddling in its Affairs
 Naharnet/Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast on Tuesday accused Britain and the United States of "interfering" in the internal affairs of Islamic republic.
"It is surprising to witness British and American officials make remarks that clearly interfere in our country's internal affairs," foreign ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said in his weekly briefing. It is better for them instead to "hear the message of the region's people to realize that the real reason for popular movements a nd the Islamic awakenings in the region is hatred towards their policies," he said. Mehmanparast made the remarks in response to a statement by the British foreign office marking the second anniversary of the disputed re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and expressing support for the opposition movement. "We advise them to correct their wrong approach (towards the region) instead of leveling baseless and unfounded allegations" against Tehran, Mehmanparast said. In an apparent response to appeals posted on opposition websites and Facebook, small groups of opposition supporters on Sunday gathered in central Tehran in a silent march to mark the second anniversary of the vote. But a strong presence of security forces in the area averted any successful demonstrations, as dozens were arrested, according to witnesses. Ahmadinejad won the June 2009 presidential election in a landslide, amid accusations of fraud by opposition leaders Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi, who have been under house arrest for the past four months. Britain on Monday urged Iran to release the arrested protesters, with a junior foreign minister with special responsibility for the Middle East saying the crackdown was "deeply worrying". "I call on the Iranian authorities to release immediately all those detained yesterday and in the past two years for simply exercising what should be legitimate freedoms," Alistair Burt said in a statement. Burt also called for an "urgent and transparent investigation" into the deaths of opposition journalist Reza Hoda Saber and activist Haleh Sahabi." Hoda Saber died of a heart attack over the weekend after going on hunger strike on June 2, according to Iranian opposition websites.
He stopped eating in protest at the death of Sahabi, who died of cardiac arrest on June 1 when she was confronted by security forces during the funeral of her father, a veteran opposition figure.Source Agence France Presse

U.N. Expects Cabinet to be Fully Committed to 1701, Other International Obligations
Naharnet /U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon welcomed the formation of the new Lebanese cabinet expressing hope that it will be able to address the economic, political and security challenges facing the country. “The Secretary-General believes that the formation today of a new cabinet in Lebanon, following months of consultations … is an important step toward establishing a functional, executive government in Lebanon,” said a statement issued by his spokesperson on Monday. The statement said that Ban looks forward to the finalization, as soon as possible, of the cabinet’s policy statement. He expects it to reiterate its commitment to the full implementation of Security Council resolution 1701 and to all of Lebanon’s international obligations.
U.N. Special Coordinator for Lebanon Michael Williams also congratulated Premier Najib Miqati and expressed hope that the new administration will tackle Lebanon’s many challenges.
He said the government will “enable the country to address the manifold challenges facing the country, whether economic, political or security.”
“There is much to be done in the coming months. I wish Premier Miqati and his new government success in their endeavors,” he added.

Prime Minister Najib Miqati’s 30-member Cabinet Lineup
Naharnet /The following is the lineup of Miqati’s 30-member government:
Sunnis:
- Najib Miqati: Premier
- Mohammed Safadi: Finance Minister (pro-Miqati)
- Walid Daouq: Information Minister (pro-Miqati)
- Hassan Diab: Education Minister (pro-Miqati)
- Alaeddine Terro: Minister of the Displaced (National Struggle Front)
- Faisal Karami: Youth and Sports Minister (March 8)
- Ahmed Karami: Minister of State (pro-Miqati)
Shiites:
- Ali Hassan Khalil: Health Minister (AMAL Movement)
- Adnan Mansour: Foreign Minister (AMAL Movement)
- Hussein Hajj Hassan: Agriculture Minister (Hizbullah)
- Mohammed Fneish: Minister of State (Hizbullah)
- Ali Qanso: Minister of State (Syrian Social Nationalist Party)
Druze:
- Ghazi Aridi: Public Works Minister (National Struggle Front)
- Wael Abou Faour: Social Affairs Minister (National Struggle Front)
- Talal Arslan: Minister of State (Resigned)
Maronites:
- Jebran Bassil: Energy Minister (Free Patriotic Movement)
- Shakib Qortbawi: Justice Minister (Free Patriotic Movement)
- Fadi Abboud: Tourism Minister (Free Patriotic Movement)
- Marwan Charbel: Interior Minister (President-FPM consensus)
- Nazem al-Khoury: Environment Minister (pro-president)
- Salim Karam: Minister of State (Marada Movement)
Orthodox:
- Nicolas Nahhas: Economy and Trade Minister (pro-Miqati)
- Fayez Ghosn: Defense Minister (Marada Movement)
- Samir Moqbel: Deputy Premier (pro-president)
- Gaby Layyoun: Culture Minister (Free Patriotic Movement)
Catholics:
- Charbel Nahhas: Labor Minister (Free Patriotic Movement)
- Nicolas Sahnawi: Telecom Minister (Free Patriotic Movement)
- Nicolas Fattoush: Minister of State (Independent)
Armenians:
- Vrej Saboundjian: Industry Minister (Tashnag Party)
- Panos Manajian: State Minister (Tashnag Party)
PoliticsLebanon

Miqati: Hizbullah, Allies Majority in New Govt Doesn’t Mean Lebanon Will Confront Int’l Community
Naharnet /After announcing his long-awaited cabinet formation, Prime Minister Najib Miqati insisted on Monday that the new government line-up, in which Hizbullah and its allies have a majority, will not place the country in the “radical camp.” "The fact that Hizbullah and its allies have 18 seats in the 30-member cabinet does not mean that the country will join the radical camp in terms of its relations with the international community," Miqati told Agence France Presse. He pointed out that it was significant that more than one-third -- 12 -- of the cabinet ministers were appointed by himself, President Michel Suleiman and Druze leader MP Walid Jumblat, thus ensuring Hizbullah and its allies could not control the government. Earlier Monday, Miqati told Al-Jadeed television that his first visit as Lebanon’s premier will be to “the beloved South,” where he will inspect the Lebanese army units deployed there and UNIFIL peacekeepers. Asked about the phone call President Michel Suleiman received from his Syrian counterpart Bashar al-Assad after the cabinet line-up was announced, Miqati said: “When President Assad congratulates President Suleiman, that means that he has congratulated the new cabinet, and this is something essential.”
Commenting on Lebanese Democratic Party MP Talal Arslan’s swift resignation from the new cabinet and accusations against the premier, Miqati said he was “surprised by the remarks of Prince Talal, the heir of a major political dynasty.” Arslan lashed out earlier in the day at Miqati, accusing him of practicing “deception” and conspiring against national unity.
“In line with my convictions, I announce before the Lebanese people my resignation from the government of the so-called Najib Miqati whom I am not honored to be seated next to,” said Arslan. Miqati said the new government’s “main challenge” lies in being a “harmonious team.”
Commenting on Speaker Nabih Berri’s relinquishing of a Shiite portfolio for Faisal Karami -- thus creating a precedent of a having a cabinet comprised of seven Sunni ministers and five Shiite ones – Miqati said Berri had explained his “sacrifice” to him. “I’m committed to equal power-sharing between sects, but Speaker Berri insisted on giving up the portfolio,” the PM said.Asked about the fact that his cabinet does not include any women, Miqati said he had repeatedly asked the parliamentary blocs to name women candidates. “I believe this is a flaw, but I hope it will be the only flaw in the cabinet, God willing,” he added.
In a speech at the Baabda Palace after the cabinet formation was announced earlier in the day, Miqati stressed that he will remain committed to “the constitution, the liberation of Lebanon’s occupied territory, and dialogue as a means to end dispute among the Lebanese.”“We have overcome the differences in the government formation and we should immediately head to work.” “We hope the Cabinet will earn your confidence and the confidence of your representatives in parliament,” he said, addressing the Lebanese people.
Miqati announced his government line-up following nearly five months of arduous negotiations over key portfolios including the Interior, Justice and Telecommunications Ministries.
“There can be no substitute to coexistence to confront the major dangers facing Lebanon,” Miqati added. “This government belongs to the whole of Lebanon. Don’t judge intentions and the people, but their performance,” he added. The prime minister also credited Speaker Berri for his efforts in the formation process, saying the new cabinet would not have been formed without him. “I took the last minute decision because the matters in the country had reached an unbearable point,” Miqati noted. Miqati's cabinet must now gain the approval of at least half of Lebanon's 128-strong parliament, where the Hizbullah-led alliance holds a slight majority.

U.N. Expects Cabinet to be Fully Committed to 1701, Other International Obligations
Naharnet/U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon welcomed the formation of the new Lebanese cabinet expressing hope that it will be able to address the economic, political and security challenges facing the country. “The Secretary-General believes that the formation today of a new cabinet in Lebanon, following months of consultations … is an important step toward establishing a functional, executive government in Lebanon,” said a statement issued by his spokesperson on Monday. The statement said that Ban looks forward to the finalization, as soon as possible, of the cabinet’s policy statement. He expects it to reiterate its commitment to the full implementation of Security Council resolution 1701 and to all of Lebanon’s international obligations.
U.N. Special Coordinator for Lebanon Michael Williams also congratulated Premier Najib Miqati and expressed hope that the new administration will tackle Lebanon’s many challenges.
He said the government will “enable the country to address the manifold challenges facing the country, whether economic, political or security.”“There is much to be done in the coming months. I wish Premier Miqati and his new government success in their endeavors,” he added.

Geagea Laments that Lebanese Cabinets Don’t Make Progress
Naharnet /Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea has said that he wouldn’t congratulate Lebanon on the formation of Prime Minister Najib Miqati’s cabinet.“Everyone is going forward except for governments in Lebanon that go backwards,” Geagea said in a brief remark to al-Joumhouria daily on Tuesday. The LF leader said last week that the only solution to Lebanon’s problems was to form a technocrat cabinet that deals with the economic and social issues. “A one-sided cabinet would make things worse,” he said in a news conference. Geagea also accused the March 8 forces of seeking to consolidate Hizbullah rather than forming a strong state.

Arslan Resigns from Cabinet: Miqati Conspired against National Unity
Naharnet/Lebanese Democratic Party leader State Minister and MP Talal Arslan announced on Monday his resignation from the newly-formed government whose lineup was revealed earlier in the day. He said during a press conference: “In line with my convictions, I announce before the Lebanese people my resignation from the government of the so-called Premier Najib Miqati whom I am not honored to be seated next to.” He added that he had nothing against all other ministers in Cabinet. “Miqati tried to create a problem between me and Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun, the Resistance, and Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat,” he said. “Such practices are deception and a conspiracy against national unity,” the MP stressed. “I believe that the worst is yet,” he continued. Arslan said that it was unfortunate that discrimination was adopted in the formation process and that the issue of the distribution of sovereign portfolios was dealt with in an “inappropriate” manner. “I cannot condone how the Druze, Catholics, Alawites, and other sects were treated with such discrimination,” the MP added. “It’s as if the Druze aren’t allowed to acquire the Interior, Finance, Defense, and Foreign Ministries,” he noted. “This is a conspiracy against the social contract and national principles,” he stressed. “It demonstrates the fragility of our political system, which has become marred with discrimination,” Arslan noted.
“I cannot take part in a government, which Miqati says the Druze aren’t allowed to acquire a sovereign portfolio,” he revealed. The MP demanded that Speaker Nabih Berri set him as the first speaker at the parliament session dedicated to granting the government confidence, adding that the Lebanese Democratic Party will not grant it confidence.
Arslan urged his supporters to remain calm “as we have a peaceful political agenda.” His supporters had blocked the Khaldeh international highway in protest against his appointment as state minister. The army has since reopened the road. Arslan had demanded that he be granted with a sovereign portfolio in government, voicing his rejection of a state ministry.

Final Hours ahead of Govt. Announcement Surprise Majority, Force Arslan to Resign
Naharnet/ The final hours before announcing the long-awaited cabinet line-up witnessed intense contacts and a surprise meeting at the Baabda Palace between President Michel Suleiman and Prime Minister Najib Miqati. After 30 minutes, Speaker Nabih Berri joined the meeting after he was invited “urgently and without previous notice,” Al-Manar television reported.
After about an hour, he left the presidential palace without speaking to reporters, in what sources interpreted as a sign of disappointment with the Cabinet lineup.
Following his departure, reports said that a “de facto” government or even a technocratic one was going to be formed. However, Miqati announced after the Cabinet formation: “It would not have been formed had it not been for Berri’s sacrifices, so how can he have reservations on it?” “Some last minute changes were made,” he revealed. Sources from the new majority were quoted as saying that they were “surprised” with the Baabda meeting seeing as the obstacles had not been resolved. They said: “Had Miqati announced the new Cabinet lineup without the settlement of disputes, then it would have been a one-sided announcement.” The most important amendment in the lineup took place over the naming of the sixth Maronite minister and the appointment of the Sunni opposition minister, which centered on Faisal Karami and Ahmed Karami, the president’s ally.
This second dispute was resolved by Berri’s relinquishing of a Shiite portfolio for Faisal Karami, therefore creating a precedent of a having a government comprised of seven Sunni ministers and five Shiite ones. In the past, the two sects were each given six portfolios. The dispute over the sixth Maronite minister centered on nominating the president’s son-in-law, Wissam Baroudi, who was replaced during the surprise meeting with the president’s advisor, Nazem al-Khouri, who hails from Byblos and whose nomination was previously opposed by Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun. However, the meeting failed to overcome the third obstacle – MP Talal Arslan’s rejection of a state ministry portfolio.
Shortly after the cabinet’s line-up was announced, Arslan held a news conference to announce his resignation from the new government, lashing out at Miqati and accusing him of “conspiring against national unity and practicing deception.” Before the press conference, LBC television reported that Arslan’s angry supporters blocked the al-Hasbani road that connects the southern area of Marjeyoun with the Bekaa.

MP Ahmad Fatfat says new cabinet is one-sided
June 14, 2011 /Future bloc MP Ahmad Fatfat said on Tuesday that the newly-formed cabinet is one-sided.“This is a one-sided cabinet; it is controlled by Hezbollah and the Free Patriotic Movement,” he told Voice of Lebanon (100.5) radio.“The number of ministers from the North is not important; the cabinet’s work is [what matters],” Fatfat added.He also said that despite the difference between the parties constituting the cabinet, it is still a one-sided and confrontational cabinet. “We have a problem with this cabinet; it will be witnessed in the parliament and on the Lebanese scene.” The new Lebanese cabinet—headed by Prime Minister Najib Mikati—was formed on Monday after almost five months of deliberations between the March 8 parties. The new cabinet includes eight ministers from northern Lebanon, including the PM designate.-NOW Lebanon

Gemayel: Newly-formed cabinet cannot solve Lebanon’s problems
June 14, 2011 /Kataeb Party leader Amin Gemayel said on Tuesday that the newly-formed cabinet cannot solve Lebanon’s problems.“This cabinet is not the one that can solve Lebanon’s problems, It will take the country to a worse [situation],” he told LBC television. “We tried to help [Prime Minister Najib] Mikati by submitting proposals; we proposed the formation of a national-salvation cabinet because the domestic situation requires such a government.” The Kataeb leader also said that even if some ministers are highly qualified. the question is not about ministers but the cabinet’s ministerial statement and work. Gemayel added that he will coordinate with March 14 to take an appropriate stance on the cabinet. “We will wait for the cabinet’s stance on the Special Tribunal for Lebanon and international resolutions; but we doubt it will succeed.”The March 14 figure also criticized the fact that the cabinet formation was coordinated with Syria. “The cabinet formation process was coordinated with, Syria which will take advantage of this cabinet to protect its domestic scene and to use it when facing the international community,” he said. “We want the best relations with Syria, but on the state level and based on mutual respect.” The new Lebanese cabinet—headed by Mikati—was formed on Monday after almost five months of deliberations between the March 8 parties. The Syrian government is engaged in a deadly crackdown on protesters who since March have been demanding the end of 48 years of rule by the Baath Party, which is controlled by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.-NOW Lebanon

Jumblatt calls on Arslan to review his resignation
June 14, 2011 /Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblatt called on Lebanese Democratic Party leader MP Talal Arslan to review his decision to resign from the newly-formed cabinet. “If Arslan considers that the Druze sect is not represented, [he should know] that the opposite happened. I hope that he will review his resignation,” he told Al-Jazeera television on Monday night.  “We succeeded as a team to form a cabinet. Finally Lebanon has a reference.” Jumblatt also praised the sacrifice of the Shia sect and Speaker Nabih Berri for relinquishing one of their sect’s seats in the cabinet.  The pro-Syrian figure said that the stability in Lebanon is a Syrian need and vice versa. The new Lebanese cabinet—headed by Prime Minister Najib Mikati—was formed on Monday after almost five months of deliberations between the March 8 parties.The Syrian government is engaged in a deadly crackdown on protesters who since March have been demanding the end of 48 years of rule by the Baath Party, which is controlled by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. The newly formed cabinet includes five Shia ministers and seven Sunnis, the first such distribution since the Taif Accord of 1989.-NOW Lebanon

Newly-appointed Interior Minister Marwan Charbelr praises Rifi
June 14, 2011 /Newly-appointed Interior Minister Marwan Charbel said on Tuesday that Internal Security Forces (ISF) Director General Achraf Rifi is one of the best officers in the country. “I already testified in [Rifi’s] favor, he is one of the best officers and implements the law,” he told Voice of Lebanon (100.5) radio.
“When the law is [respected] within the ISF, we can regain trust in the institution.”The Interior Minister added that he belongs to Lebanon’s share in the cabinet.
“I belong to Lebanon’s share in the cabinet, which is represented by President [Michel Sleiman], Prime Minister [Najib Mikati] and [Change and Reform bloc leader] MP Michel Aoun, and if not with Aoun’s approval I would not participate in the cabinet.”The new Lebanese cabinet—headed by Mikati—was formed on Monday after almost five months of deliberations between the March 8 parties-NOW Lebanon

March 14 Slams ‘Unbalanced Confrontational Cabinet’
Naharnet /The March 14 forces dubbed Premier Najib Miqati’s cabinet a “confrontational government” that will seek to consolidate itself against the repercussions of the indictment that will be issued by the Special Tribunal for Lebanon. A high-ranking March 14 source told An Nahar newspaper published Tuesday that “the government of Hizbullah” was formed “given the critical situation in Syria.” The coalition’s sources also told al-Joumhouria daily that the new cabinet will not survive. “It has been booby-trapped since its formation with seven Sunni ministers and five for Shiites … the bomb has been placed to allow Hizbullah to say that the government is unconstitutional,” the sources said. Al-Mustaqbal movement sources had a similar point of view. They described Miqati’s government as the “cabinet of Jisr al-Shughour and the government of confrontation,” in reference to the northern Syrian town where the army is pursuing alleged armed gangs. They said that the improvement of the Sunni representation of the northern city of Tripoli “doest not absolve the cabinet from its imbalance.” The sources were referring to Miqati’s decision to include both Faisal Karami and Ahmed Karami in the government. Another March 14 party, the Phalange, stressed that Miqati’s cabinet is incapable of confronting the latest developments. “It is a crisis project more than a solution project,” the party said in a terse statement.

Baabda Says New Cabinet is ‘Consensual’ Not March 8
Naharnet /Sources close to President Michel Suleiman have stressed that Najib Miqati’s cabinet is a “consensual government” that allows the head of state, the premier and the leader of the National Struggle Front to push it towards centrism. The sources told al-Mustaqbal daily in remarks published Tuesday that the cabinet is consensual and allows Suleiman, Miqati and Walid Jumblat “to put their centrist touches on it.”“Consequently, it is not a March 8 government,” the Baabda palace sources said. They told the newspaper that Miqati’s cabinet should receive parliament’s vote of confidence, saying however that it was too early to discuss about the international community’s judgment. The world will make its stance based on what the policy statement would include, the sources added. The U.S. said Monday it would judge the new government "by its actions.”

Berri Denies Consulting Any of his Allies, Says he ‘Lost a Minister But Won Lebanon’
Naharnet /Speaker Nabih Berri has unveiled that he decided to give up a Shiite minister from his share in the new cabinet without consulting any of his allies despite media reports contradicting his remarks. “I got the idea on my way to the presidential palace. Eventually I lost a minister but won Lebanon,” Berri told An Nahar daily on Tuesday.
He also told As Safir newspaper that he did not consult any of his allies in the March 8 forces on his decision to give up a Shiite share “as the only salvation method.”
Berri’s move allowed the Sunni sect to get seven ministers instead of six. Faisal Karami who was strongly backed by March 8 became the seventh minister.
The cabinet formation efforts would have been stalled, hadn’t he made such an initiative, the head of the Amal movement said. “I had always said that the party involved in the formation of the government is a single team and should not bicker over shares.” He told As Safir that his move is the “true political interpretation” of his words.
When asked about the divided Karami family, which is now represented in the cabinet by Faisal and Ahmed Karami, Berri said: “We are from the same national line.”
Media reports said that Berri decided to visit Baabda ahead of the cabinet announcement on Monday after President Michel Suleiman, who was holding talks with PM Najib Miqati, informed him in a telephone conversation that the issue was urgent. They said Berri immediately went to Baabda and joined the two officials. According to As Safir, Miqati had proposed a 24-member lineup which was disliked by the speaker. Berri informed Suleiman and Miqati that he rejects to approve a government that contradicts the previously reached agreement to form a cabinet made up of 30 ministers, it said. Sources close to the March 8 forces also said that Berri informed Miqati that he rejects a de facto cabinet and will make a statement as soon as he forms his new government. He then left the meeting. But Berri decided to give up the sixth minister in favor of the Sunnis after he consulted with Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah upon his return from Baabda to Ain el-Tineh, the sources said

Jumblat Challenges March 14 Forces: We Proved Our Ability to Govern Lebanon
Naharnet/National Struggle Front MP Walid Jumblat said that the new majority proved that it can form a government, noting that it can pass the test and confront the economic and social problems to provide citizens with stability. “We proved to March 14 forces that we can govern the country, and they have to admit it,” Jumblat told the pan-Arab al-Jazeera news channel on Monday night. The MP remarked that there is “Lebanese consensus.” He praised the Shiite sect for giving up a minister from its share so that the cabinet would be formed, appreciating Speaker Nabih Berri’s role. Jumblat denied reports hinting that the previous Saudi-Syrian agreement to solve Lebanon’s crisis will revive again.
He wished on Lebanese Democratic Party leader MP Talal Arslan to back off from his resignation. The Druze leader stressed on the “special bilateral relations between Lebanon and Syria,” saying that “this is the fate of the humanitarian political relations.” Meanwhile, the Progressive Socialist Party leader praised in his weekly editorial in the PSP-affiliated al-Anbaa magazine the Turkish parliamentary elections that witnessed the victory of the Justice and Development Party led by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
“This reflects the Turkish voter’s support for the policies of Erdogan’s government,” he said. “If only the Arab countries would adopt this example, spare their people oppression, and pave the way for change and freedom of expression,” Jumblat added.

Iran Reiterates its Desire to Remain a Partner to Lebanon
Naharnet /Iran has congratulated Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Miqati on his new government, in which Hizbullah and its allies hold the majority, the official IRNA news agency reported Tuesday. "In a telephone conversation, First Vice President Mohammad Reza Rahimi congratulated Miqati and the Lebanese people on the formation of the new government," IRNA said.
Miqati revealed his line-up on Monday following arduous negotiations over key portfolios including justice and telecommunications, now controlled by the Hizbullah alliance.
"The Islamic Republic of Iran reiterates its desire to remain a partner to Lebanon, and is ready to implement the agreements signed between the two countries" to strengthen bilateral ties, the report quoted Rahimi as telling Miqati. Tehran is the main supporter of Hizbullah, which dominates the new government with allies. Source Agence France Presse

Israel Denies Man Held in Egypt a Spy
Naharnet/A U.S.-Israeli citizen being held in Egypt on espionage charges is not a spy, Israel's foreign minister Avigdor Lieberman told Israeli military radio on Tuesday.
"I can say categorically that this student, who may have behaved bizarrely and irresponsibly, has no ties with Israeli, American or even lunar intelligence services," Lieberman said.
"This is a mistake or bizarre behavior on the part of the Egyptian authorities, who have received full explanations from us," he added. "They understand that it would be good to put an end to this issue as quickly as possible... I hope that everything will be over in the coming days and that will be achieved by a deportation." American-born Ilan Grapel was arrested on Sunday in a Cairo hotel and placed in preventative detention for 15 days, according to Egyptian media. He has reportedly been accused of being an agent with Israel's Mossad intelligence agency and of sowing sectarian strife and chaos in Egypt after a popular uprising forced President Hosni Mubarak to step down on February 11.
On Monday, the U.S. embassy in Cairo confirmed that "Ilan Chaim Grapel, age 27, is a U.S. citizen and was detained on June 12, 2011 by Egyptian authorities."
"A consular officer visited Mr Grapel on June 13 and confirmed that he was in good health," embassy spokeswoman Elizabeth Colton told Agence France Presse.
Egyptian authorities said on Sunday that Grapel had been "posing as a foreign correspondent," and that his movements and phone calls had been monitored before his arrest.
Several pictures of Grapel were released showing him in Israeli army uniform posing with other soldiers, and shaking hands with worshippers at a mosque in Cairo.
Another picture shows Grapel standing in Tahrir Square -- the symbolic heart of protests that brought down Mubarak -- wearing sunglasses and holding a large sign that read: "Oh stupid Obama, it is a pride revolution not a food revolution." Another front-page photo on the state-owned daily al-Ahram and shown repeatedly on state TV shows Grapel holding a microphone in a mosque, apparently "preaching." Last year, Egypt -- which signed a 1979 peace treaty with Israel -- said the confessions of an Egyptian accused of spying for Israel had led to three espionage cells being dismantled in Lebanon and Syria. Source Agence France Presse

Russia, China Boycott Security Council Talks on Syria
Naharnet /Russia and China boycotted U.N. Security Council talks on a draft resolution condemning Syria's deadly crackdown on opposition protests, diplomats said Monday.
European powers stepped up their campaigning meanwhile for the resolution with one top envoy saying the delay in Security Council action has cost hundreds of lives in Syria.
Russia and China strongly oppose U.N. action against President Bashar Assad and could veto any resolution. "They knew about Saturday's talks but they chose not to turn up," said a council diplomat. Britain, France, Germany and Portugal first distributed a resolution condemning the Syrian military crackdown two weeks ago.
Confident they have nine votes on the 15 member Security Council they are now focusing, with US support, on lobbying Brazil, South Africa and India who have also expressed reservations. Lebanon has said it will oppose the resolution. The Europeans believe that if they can get a strong enough majority in favor it would increase pressure on Russia and China not to use their right to veto the measure. Britain, China, France, Russia and United States are permanent members of the council who can veto any resolution.
Highlighting how negotiations have lasted more than two weeks, France's U.N. ambassador Gerard Araud said: "In that time 400 people, including women and children, have died, sometimes under torture. Thousands of refugees have fled Syria." Araud made his comments to a leading newspaper in Brazil, one of the countries the Europeans hope to sway.
"Let us be clear, Security Council inaction is not an option. Everyone must mobilize together and we are counting on Brazil. The Syrian people need the Security Council now."
"It is a fierce, brutal repression for which we cannot remain silent accomplices," Araud told Estado da Sao Paulo newspaper.
Asked about Brazil's attitude to the European proposition, Araud highlighted how the government has already condemned the violence and called for political moves by Assad.
"We sincerely hope that Brazil's vote will reflect this support given to the democratic aspirations of the Arab people," the ambassador added.
The French envoy said that Brazil's reluctance to back the resolution arose from disagreements over NATO air strikes in Libya. Brazil, India and South Africa say that NATO is going past U.N. Security Council resolutions in carrying out the strikes against Moammar Gadhafi.
"It is not because we have disagreements on this dossier that we should ignore the massacres which are being carried out in Syria," said Araud.
Syria's Foreign Minister Walid Moualem said in a letter to U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon that the proposed resolutions against his country "constitute flagrant intervention in the internal affairs of Syria and an attempt to destabilize it." Moualem called on the Security Council not to "hastily adopt a position that will provide a cloak for the murderous, destructive gangs" which the regime has blamed for the violence. He said any resolution would "exacerbate the situation and send a message to those extremists and terrorists to the effect that the deliberate destruction that they are wreaking has the support of the Security Council." Moualem said Syria "has declared its determination both to carry out reforms and to maintain absolute national independence and sovereignty."Source Agence France Presse

Hezbollah rise in Lebanon gives Syria, Iran sway
June 13, 2011 /Associated Press
BEIRUT: Hezbollah and its allies rose to a position of unprecedented dominance in Lebanon's government on Monday, giving patrons Syria and Iran greater sway in the Middle East.
Lebanon's prime minister announced a new Cabinet dominated by the militant group and its allies Monday, after five months without a functioning government. The feat caps Hezbollah's steady rise over decades from resistance force against Israel to Lebanon's most powerful military and political power.
Opponents of Hezbollah _ which the U.S. considers a terrorist organization _ say having Hezbollah in control of Lebanon's government could lead to international isolation.
The group's most ardent supporters are Iran and Syria, which dominated Lebanon for 29 years.
Hezbollah forced the collapse of Lebanon's previous, pro-Western government in January over fears it would be indicted by a U.N.-backed tribunal investigating the 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.
Hariri's son, Saad, who was prime minister at the time, refused to denounce the tribunal or cut off Lebanon's 49 percent share of the funding for it.
Hezbollah and its allies then walked out of the government, forcing it to collapse, and secured enough support in parliament to name Najib Mikati as their pick for prime minister. But Mikati has struggled to form a Cabinet, insisting he will not do the bidding of any one side. On Monday, Mikati announced a Cabinet that gives Hezbollah and its allies 16 of the 30 seats. In the previous government, they had 10 seats. The Cabinet still must be formally presented for Parliament for a vote of confidence. The make-up of the new government is seen as almost entirely pro-Syrian. Syrian President Bashar Assad, facing a growing uprising against his rule at home, called twice to congratulate Lebanese leaders on the new government's formation.
The ascendancy of Hezbollah is a setback to the United States, which has provided Lebanon with $720 million in military aid since 2006 and has tried in vain to move the country firmly into a Western sphere and end the influence of Iran and Syria. It also underscores Iran's growing influence in the region at a time when Washington's is falling.
Lebanon's politics are always fractious, in part because of the sectarian makeup of the country's government.
According to Lebanon's power-sharing system, the president must be a Maronite Christian, the prime minister a Sunni Muslim and the parliament speaker a Shiite Muslim.
Each faith makes up about a third of Lebanon's population of 4 million.
Talal Arslan, a politician from the tiny Druse sect, resigned Monday after it was announced he was named to the post of state minister without portfolio. He said Mikati should have given the representative of the Druse community a higher-profile post. Mikati urged the Lebanese to give the government a chance to prove itself.
"Do not judge intentions and people, but rather actions," he said during a televised news conference. Hezbollah denies any links to the killing of Rafik Hariri and calls the court a conspiracy by the U.S. and Israel. The group and its allies walked out of the previous government when then-Prime Minister Saad Hariri _ the slain man's son _ refused to denounce the tribunal and cut off Lebanon's 49 percent share of the funding for it. Many fear Hezbollah will react violently if its members are indicted, as is widely expected.
Mikati was quick to reiterate that his government will respect Lebanon's international commitments, a reference to the international tribunal, suggesting that he will not cut its funding.
Saad Hariri, who has described Mikati's nomination as a coup, vowed not to be part of the new government and his Western-backed coalition is now the opposition in Lebanon.

World reacts to new Lebanon government
June 14, 2011 /By Daily Star Staff Agencies
BEIRUT: The United States said Monday that it would judge the new Lebanese government “by its actions,” following the announcement of a 30-member Cabinet in which the Hezbollah-led March 8 alliance holds a majority of seats. “We’ll judge it by its actions,” State Department spokesman Mark Toner said. “What’s important in our mind is that the new Lebanese government abides by the Lebanese Constitution, that it renounces violence, including efforts to exact retribution against former government officials, and lives up to all its international obligations.” Toner urged the new government to support the U.N.-backed tribunal investigating the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri in a 2005 bombing. The Special Tribunal for Lebanon is widely expected to indict members of Hezbollah.  One of Hezbollah’s regional sponsors, Syrian President Bashar Assad, who’s facing a growing uprising against his rule, congratulated Lebanon on the formation of the new Cabinet Monday. In a telephone call, the Syrian leader congratulated Lebanese President Michel Sleiman on the government’s formation, Sleiman’s office said in a statement. Assad also congratulated Speaker Nabih Berri for “the important step that led to the government formation,” Berri’s press office said in a statement. There were no immediate comments from Saudi Arabia or Qatar, two previous key mediators in Lebanon’s political crisis. But Saudi Ambassador to Lebanon Ali Awad Osseiri paid Prime Minister Najib Mikati a visit to congratulate him. Mikati also received French Ambassador to Lebanon Denis Pietton and United Nations Special Coordinator for Lebanon Michael Williams. Echoing the U.S., Williams voiced hope that the new government would uphold Lebanon’s international obligations following a meeting with Mikati.
“Today’s formation of a new Council of Ministers, after months of consultations, is a very important development for Lebanon. A new government will enable the country to address the manifold challenges facing the country, whether economic, political or security,” Williams told reporters. “In my discussion with Premier Mikati this afternoon, I expressed the expectation that his government will reiterate its support for the implementation of Security Council Resolution 1701 and its commitment to Lebanon’s international obligations,” he added.
Hezbollah had ousted former Prime Minister Saad Hariri, the son of the assassinated statesman, who refused to stop his government’s cooperation with the STL. The collapse of Hariri’s Cabinet was followed by Druze leader Walid Jumblatt’s realigning his party with Syria and Hezbollah, which gave the March 8 alliance the parliamentary majority it needed.

Lebanon's Arabic press digest
June 14, 2011 /The Daily Star
Following are summaries of some of the main stories in a selection of Lebanese newspapers Tuesday. The Daily Star cannot vouch for the accuracy of these reports.
An-Nahar: Government majority: timing surprise, Assad guardianship Even though the political identity of the new majority government did not come as any surprise, the unexpected announcement of Najib Mikati’s Cabinet - which disappointed the expectations of the media as well as political forces, including parties in the majority [March 8 coalition] itself – came as a surprise. Barely a few minutes passed since the announcement of the Mikati government before Syrian President Bashar Assad telephoned his Lebanese counterpart Michel Sleiman to congratulate him on the new Cabinet. Speaker Nabih Berri, in turn, received a similar call from Assad.
Although the new government suffered a setback only a few hours after it was formed with the resignation of MP Talal Arslan in protest at his appointment as Minister of State, the distribution of Cabinet seats were devoted to March 8 where Hezbollah, Amal and the Change and Reform bloc got 18 ministers whereas President Sleiman, Mikati and Walid Jumblatt’s National Struggle Front bloc got 12 ministers.
For the Druze seat left vacant after Arslan’s resignation it will have to be filled by a pro-March 8 Druze figure. The biggest share, 10 seats, went to Michel Aoun’s Change and Reform parliamentary bloc, while Mikati got six, Jumblatt three, and Hezbollah and Berri each got two. Sleiman got three ministers, including Interior Minister Marwan Charbel who was chosen as consensus candidate by both Sleiman and Aoun.
Mikati reportedly will make a brief, unofficial visit to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, Tuesday to perform the Umrah and will return to Beirut later in the day.
Future Movement sources described the Mikati government as a “government of Jisr al-Shughour [Syria] and a government of domestic confrontation.”
As-Safir: Assad the first to congratulate … Washington judges [Cabinet] by actions, commitment to STL!
Finally the Najib Mikati government came to being after a difficult 143 days.
If “stability” is one of the solid foundations upon which the Mikati government is built, Mikati’s remarks at Baabda Palace Monday in which he put emphasis on the liberation of the remaining Israeli-occupied territory gave a clear indication of the content of the policy statement.
Meanwhile, Speaker Nabih Berri told As-Safir that he did not consult with his allies on the final exit to the Cabinet formation crisis. He said he took the initiative to relinquish his Shiite Cabinet seat in favor of Faisal Karami “because this was the only way to salvation.”
Berri said this idea crossed his mind while he was on his way to Baabda Palace Monday.
Al-Mustaqbal: Hezbollah gives Mikati State Minister, but snatches state
After less than an hour from the birth of the “coup” government, Syrian President Bashar Assad telephoned President Michel Sleiman and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, congratulating them on the birth of the government while ignoring Prime Minister Najib Mikati.
Senior diplomatic sources told Al-Mustaqbal that the Lebanon government was formed “under pressure from Syria.” Damascus, according to the sources, needs to have a pro-Syria government in Lebanon given the embarrassment it faces at the domestic level.
Ad-Diyar: Finally the majority government is born and Assad offers congratulations
After 26 weeks of meetings, negotiations, disputes and leaks, finally the new government has been born. The announcement came as a surprise to all the political forces.
But the puzzling question raised by senior officials involved in the government formation process was: “what happened in the last few hours that led to the sudden resolving of obstacles facing the Cabinet lineup?” and “was there regional-international contacts that alleviated the objection?”
Al-Liwaa: Government came to existence after 4 hours of pressure and compromises
Finally the Mikati government saw the light of day and Prime Minister Najib Mikati swallowed a bitter drink after a difficult Cabinet formation marred by a lot of disputes between him and the Hezbollah-led March 8 coalition, and ended with a recipe between centrism and extremism on the one hand and confrontation and moderation on the other.
Al-Akhbar: Berri rescues majority "at his own expense” as Washington warns of violence and revenge
In a surprise move – even to those involved in consultations and those busy trying to remove the obstacles facing government formation – the Najib MikatI Cabinet was announced, and all without knowing who to give credit for it.

Iran hails new Hezbollah-dominated Lebanon Cabinet
June 14, 2011/Agence France Press TEHRAN: Iran has congratulated Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati on his new government, in which Hezbollah and its allies hold the majority, the official IRNA news agency reported Tuesday. “In a telephone conversation, First Vice President Mohammad Reza Rahimi congratulated Mikati and the Lebanese people on the formation of the new government,” IRNA said. Mikati revealed his line-up on Monday following arduous negotiations over key portfolios including justice and telecommunications, now controlled by the Syrian- and Iranian-backed Hezbollah alliance. “The Islamic Republic of Iran reiterates its desire to remain a partner to Lebanon, and is ready to implement the agreements signed between the two countries” to strengthen bilateral ties, the report quoted Rahimi as telling Mikati. Tehran is the main supporter of Hezbollah, which dominates the new government with allies.

Regional pressure spawns birth of new Cabinet
June 14, 2011 /By Antoine Ghattas Saab The Daily Star
A regional green light late Sunday night pressed Prime Minister-designate Najib Mikati to put forward a Cabinet lineup Monday, after Syria urged March 8 parties to ease up on their demands for ministerial shares. A political source told The Daily Star that contacts intensified Sunday between President Michel Sleiman, Speaker Nabih Berri and Mikati in an effort to reach a compromise over Faisal Karami, Druze leader Talal Arslan and Sleiman’s choice of a Maronite for his second minister.  Both the president and March 8 parties emerged victorious in the Cabinet formation, according to the source, as Sleiman was not forced to disclose the name of his second Maronite nominee until Mikati came forward with the draft of the government lineup.The source added that Mikati received a phone call around 11 p.m. Sunday, urging the prompt conclusion of the Cabinet’s formation.
Sources close to Mikati were quick to leak to the media early Monday morning the optimistic atmosphere as Hezbollah and the Amal Movement, which were leaning toward objecting to Mikati’s lineup, were persuaded by Damascus to soften their positions. Sources close to Sleiman said that the president had played a role in preserving the balance among powers, refraining from requesting any share in any government formed or in the appointment of civil servants since his election in 2008. The sources added that while the Constitution does not allot a quota of Cabinet positions to the president, it tasks him with the responsibility of implementing the Constitution and the leadership of the armed and security forces. “President Sleiman holds onto these principles, in addition to his commitment to parity in power between Christians and Muslims. If parliamentary groups and political parties want to distribute shares in power, then they assume the responsibility of any possible negative repercussions,” the source said.
Sleiman had attempted to resolve disputes delaying the formation process through diplomatic means, in line with his previous attempts to bridge gaps among rival parties before former Prime Minister Saad Hariri’s Cabinet collapsed, according to the source. “Previous experience had shown that relying on constitutional texts defuses factors that could lead to strife, preserving the foundations of a solid, diverse Lebanese political system in line with the Taif Accord,” the source added. Sources close to Sleiman stressed that the formation of a new government was an example of the need to rely on the Constitution rather than unwritten conventions. According to the source, Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun recently dropped his opposition to Sleiman’s nomination of a second Maronite minister from Jbeil or the Christian heartland of Kesrouan. Aoun had objected to such a nomination in anticipation of a 2013 parliamentary electoral battle in both districts, pitting FPM candidates against those loyal to Sleiman. The FPM leader had tied his approval to the nomination of a Maronite minister from Jbeil or Kesrouan to a commitment from Sleiman that the nominee refrain from running in the 2013 polls. This condition had raised doubts over the nomination of Sleiman’s political adviser, Nazem Khoury, since the latter was more inclined to run in the parliamentary elections rather than take part in the government. Khoury, who was tapped as environment minister Monday, was expected to run for the elections in his hometown district of Jbeil.

Phares: Lebanon's New Cabinet Was Decided by Iran and Syria
W. Thomas Smith, Jr.
By: Hizballah gained political supremacy in Lebanon, Monday, as Lebanon’s Prime Minister Najib Mikati announced a new cabinet dominated by the Lebanon-based Shia terrorist group and its allies.
This, of course, not only grants Hizballah “unprecedented” political leverage in that country, but stiffens its resolve and ability to maintain its illegally-armed militia – a proxy arm of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps which exists in Lebanon despite the presence of UN peacekeeping forces and the legitimate Lebanese army. Hizballah maintains its militia in violation of UN Security Council Resolutions 1559 and 1701 (both of which call for the disarming of all militias in Lebanon).
The new political dominance also strengthens the hand of Iran and Syria – both of which support Hizballah – and places the two state sponsors of terrorism at great strategic advantage in the Middle East.
In an exclusive interview, Professor Walid Phares – a U.S. Congressional advisor, author of
The Coming Revolution: Struggle for Freedom in the Middle East, and one of the architects in the effort to introduce UNSCR 1559 which led to Syria's withdrawal from Lebanon – discusses the political evolution in Lebanon and what it means for the region and the world.
W. Thomas Smith Jr.: What do you make of the sudden decision by Lebanon’s Prime Minister Najib Mikati to declare his cabinet and move forward with it after claiming months of discussions with all parties in Lebanon? Why today?
Dr. Walid Phares: It is clear that the decision to declare this cabinet – based on its political identity – is a Syrian-Iranian decision made in the wake of the regional developments and in particular the rapid rise of popular discontent with the Assad regime.
The Syro-Iranian axis has always had the numbers and the power to declare such a cabinet in Beirut, but they kept that card until the moment they judged best to use it, and that was this week.
In fact, they had the de facto control of Lebanon's government and security apparatus. Now with this declaration they feel they’ve gotten the de jure control. It is all about Syria's quasi civil war.
The Assad regime is battling what seems to be a vast popular uprising, bringing together forces that weren't in one camp before: liberals, civil society, conservatives, left wing, ex-Baathists, Kurds, Christians, and of course an overwhelming majority of Sunnis. And all these forces on one side, and the powerful and well-connected Muslim Brotherhood on the other.
This opposition is too wide to be physically eliminated. Hence the menace against the regime is real, particularly that regional forces are backing the uprising including the Turkish government, now strong with a new majority in Parliament; and let's be candid about it, most Sunni circles in the region. If Assad goes down, the strategic alliance between Iran and Hizballah will be affected.
Hence today's declaration of a new cabinet in Lebanon isn't a matter of local politics in Lebanon, it is a Syro-Iranian offensive to seize Lebanon as a way to consolidate Assad in the ongoing battle over Syria.
Smith: So in your view the Mikati cabinet is a Syrian-Iranian government?
Phares: Well it is composed of Lebanese politicians of course but the control is to the pro-Syrian and pro-Iranian forces, and that is not even a secret. All of the portfolios were granted to politicians who are affiliated to either a pro-Syrian or pro-Iranian force. With perhaps a few who are part of what can be called Syrian-Iranian controlled. However the most important development is that the three national security ministries – defense, interior, and foreign affairs – are now in the hands of the Syrian-Iranian axis which will have a major impact on Lebanon's sovereignty and on the relationship between Lebanon and the free world. When the axis effectively seizes those ministries, they will be considered part of the Iranian apparatuses in the region.
Smith: How will the U.S. deal with this new government? And how will the rest of the international community deal with it?
Phares: Diplomatically, do not expect major changes. But strategically there will be a review of the relationships. However the new Lebanese opposition – which is partly the Cedars Revolution and political parties – will have to mobilize the Lebanese public as a way to stop the full takeover by the axis.
As we've seen in the region, popular movements can affect international attitudes. But the poor results by the political establishment claiming the Cedars Revolution over the past five years doesn't indicate that the now new opposition's establishment can be at the level of the challenge. They would need to innovate and change strategies to oppose the new cabinet. However, Lebanon's civil society may not tolerate this return to oppression and Syrian controlled institutions. That may change things.
Smith: But the supporters of the cabinet are claiming this is democracy. They won a majority and thus formed the government.
Phares: I don't think they got a legitimate and free majority. Every time the public was allowed to express its opinion freely, a majority against Syria's regime and Hizballah was produced.
In the 2005 elections, in the 2009 elections and in the major national demonstrations since the Cedars Revolution, it was clear that the majority of all Lebanese were and are opposed to the axis. But see how the axis won the cabinet. Before 2005 obviously it was because of the Syrian military occupation. Then since 2005 it was through urban unrest, wars and last in 2008 via invasion of Beirut and the mountain region. As long as Hezbollah and the pro-Syrian militias are omnipresent and control Lebanon's national security, Lebanon's popular majority is unable to get its voice to the government freely.
Democracy begins when militias are disarmed.
Smith: How will the U.S. Congress respond to this new cabinet?
Phares: This Congress and all previous Congresses, regardless of majorities, have considered Syria as an occupier and Hizballah as a terror organization, and they have passed legislation to help the Lebanese people. Thanks to the many friends of Lebanon and to the millions of Lebanese-Americans, the U.S. Congress has been steadfast in supporting freedom and rejecting terror in Lebanon.
Smith: What is the future of the Mikati cabinet?
Phares: Bleak, because it has linked itself to the Assad regime. So in short, whatever will happen to the establishment in Damascus, will happen to the current regime in Lebanon. They know it and they are playing their last card. They have calculated that this is their real last fight. They are now seizing Lebanon to integrate it to the Iranian-Syrian military and security system while throwing positions to the politicians and making the moves sound like internal politics. But we all know it is not.
FamilySecurityMatters.org Contributing Editor W. Thomas Smith Jr. is a former U.S. Marine rifle-squad leader and counterterrorism instructor, who writes about military/defense issues and has covered conflict in the Balkans, on the West Bank, in Iraq and Lebanon. Visit his website at uswriter.com.

Lebanon gets Hezbollah-led cabinet after 5-month lag
Reuters/
By Laila Bassam and Yara Bayoumy
BEIRUT | Mon Jun 13, 2011
BEIRUT (Reuters) - Lebanon's Prime Minister Najib Mikati announced Monday a long-delayed government dominated by Iranian-backed Hezbollah and its allies, which is likely to cause alarm among Western powers at a time of regional turmoil.
Formed after five months of political stalemate, the new Lebanese leadership was welcomed by President Bashar al-Assad of neighboring Syria, another Hezbollah sponsor now beset by international censure of its crackdowns of anti-regime protests.
"This government is committed to maintaining strong, brotherly ties which bind Lebanon to all Arab countries, without exception," Mikati said at the Baabda Presidential Palace.
"Let us go to work immediately according to the principles ... (of) defending Lebanon's sovereignty and its independence and liberating land that remains under the occupation of the Israeli enemy."Mikati was appointed after Hezbollah and its allies toppled U.S.-aligned former premier Saad al-Hariri in January over a dispute involving the U.N.-backed probe into the 2005 assassination of statesman Rafik al-Hariri, Saad's father.
Shi'ite Hezbollah and its Christian and Druze allies secured 18 posts in the new government, up from 11 under Hariri's coalition, enabling them to pass or block decisions more easily.
Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah has thrown his weight behind Assad, saying that should the Syrian government fall it would serve American and Israeli interests. Lebanese media said Assad had telephoned Mikati to congratulate him.
Mohammed Safadi, Lebanon's former economy minister, was named finance minister and will try to improve growth expected at around 2.5 percent this year, dampened by delays in key cabinet appointments and a rash of violent incidents.
The deadlock had also snagged both the 2010 and 2011 budgets, holding up $2 billion in infrastructure projects.
HARIRI STAYS OUT
The configuration of Mikati's government -- which Hariri refused to join -- marks a reemergence of Syrian and Iranian influence in Lebanon, a proxy arena for Middle East powers.
Officials say a core aim of the government will be to agree on a unified stand to confront indictments by the U.N.-led tribunal, which is expected to implicate members of Hezbollah.
Hezbollah, which denies any role in the 2005 killing, and its allies quit Hariri's cabinet in January after he refused to disavow the investigation. Efforts by Syria and Saudi Arabia to broker rapprochement between Hariri and his rivals failed.
For the first time since Lebanon's 1975-90 civil war, Sunnis outnumber Shi'ites in the 30-member cabinet, by seven ministers to five ministers.
Mikati, a telecoms tycoon from northern Tripoli who deems himself politically neutral, is Sunni, in accordance with the Lebanese power-sharing system that allots senior political roles along sectarian lines. The president must be a Maronite Christian and the parliament speaker a Shi'ite.
Fayez Ghusn was named as Mikati's defense minister, Marwan Charbel as interior minister and Nicolas Sehnawi as telecommunications minister -- the latter a post loaded with controversy due to long-running privatization disputes.
Adnan Mansour, an aide to Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, was named foreign minister. Druze politician Talal Arslan, who had been named as minister of state, resigned citing dissatisfaction with his post. The government, which must still pass a confidence vote in parliament, will convene Wednesday to task a committee with drafting a policy statement.
(Writing by Yara Bayoumy; Editing by Dan Williams)

Nadim Gemayel: This is an Assad government
June 13, 2011 /Ya Libnan
MP Nadim Gemayel , a key member of the Phalange party said on Monday that all the ministers in the new cabinet were selected by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and are followers of Syria and Hezbollah .“It is obvious that the cabinet is that of Assad, and proof to that is that Assad immediately called President Michel Suleiman and Speaker Nabih Berri to congratulate them on the cabinet formation,” Gemayel told MTV. Gemayel questioned the imbalance in the cabinet calling it unprecedented move on the part of Hezbollah: “If Hezbollah decided this time to let the Shiites have one less cabinet seat and the Sunnis one more cabinet , nothing can prevent it next time to give the Christians one less seat .”The new Lebanese cabinet was formed on Monday after almost five months of deliberations between the Syrian-backed March 8 parties. Gemayel congratulated Assad on cabinet formation:

Lebanon's new Cabinet shows strong Syrian influence
By Borzou Daragahi and Alexandra Sandels, Los Angeles Times
June 14, 2011
Reporting from Istanbul, Turkey, and Beirut— After a five-month deadlock that sowed uncertainty in politically fragile Lebanon, the country's prime minister on Monday further inflamed passions by announcing a new government heavily dominated by the Iranian- and Syrian-backed Shiite Muslim militia Hezbollah and its allies.
Analysts described the new Cabinet as a relic from the past, when Syria thoroughly dominated politics in Lebanon, and said it bode ill for Lebanese democracy at a time of uprisings across the Arab world.
It shows how Lebanon is basically moving in the opposite direction of the 'Arab Spring,' " said Oussama Safa, director of the Lebanese Center for Policy Studies, a Beirut think tank.
Analysts predicted the Cabinet would win the endorsement of parliament, where the Hezbollah-led coalition holds a slight majority, but may not last long. Already, a Druse politician, Talal Arslan, announced his resignation from the new Cabinet after he was given only a position as minister of State without portfolio.
U.S. officials have warned the cash-strapped nation that it may lose $100 million a year in military aid if its new government moves too far into the orbit of Syria and its primary strategic partner, Iran.
Prime Minister Najib Mikati, who ascended to the leadership after the demise of the U.S.-backed government of Saad Hariri in January, announced a 30-member Cabinet that includes representatives of all the country's major religious groups. But it was far from the unity government many international observers had called for. And Hezbollah and its Christian ally Michel Aoun control the key ministries of Interior, Justice and Telecommunications.
The government, said another analyst, "has Syrian fingerprints all over it," suggesting that the regime in Syria, now trying to suppress a pro-democracy movement as well as stave off mounting international pressure over the crackdown, was thumbing its nose at the world by sabotaging hopes of resolving Lebanon's long-simmering tensions.
The Cabinet excludes large swaths of the Lebanese political fabric. Gone are Interior Minister Ziad Baroud, a favorite of independents, and Defense Minister Elias Murr, who opposed Syrian interference in Lebanon.
Hezbollah's Al Manar television quoted Syrian President Bashar Assad as congratulating Lebanese President Michel Suleiman, whose post is largely ceremonial under Lebanon's political system. "Nothing can happen in Lebanon without the encouragement from Syria," said Hilal Khashan, a political scientist at the American University of Beirut. "This is not a national unity Cabinet but a one-sided Cabinet. It's a confrontational Cabinet. It shows the state of the political regime in Syria."
"This Cabinet will further destabilize the situation," he added. "Its life expectancy will be much shorter than the normal."
Opposition lawmaker Nadim Gemayel dismissed the government as "Hezbollah's and Syria's Cabinet," according to Lebanon's official National News Agency.
Hariri's refusal to end Lebanese cooperation with the United Nations-backed tribunal investigating the 2005 assassination of his father, Rafik Hariri — allegedly at the hands of either Hezbollah or Syria — prompted Syria's Lebanese allies to push for his removal and paved the way for the new government.
In Washington, State Department spokesman Mark Toner said Monday, "What's important, in our mind, is that the new Lebanese government abide by the Lebanese Constitution, that it renounce violence, including efforts to extract retribution against former government officials, and lives up to all of its international obligations."
Those obligations include support for the U.N. resolutions, and for the international tribunal looking into the Hariri assassination.
Mikati, in a televised statement, acknowledged that his government's path forward was "not covered with roses." He promised to work with other factions and asked for a chance for his government to prove itself. He said his priorities would be to reduce tensions in a nation that has yet to heal from a civil war that ended 21 years ago, to defend the country's sovereignty and to Lebanon's new Cabinet shows strong Syrian influence. Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati announces a 30-member Cabinet heavily dominated by the Iranian- and Syrian-backed Shiite militia Hezbollah and its allies. Analysts say it does not bode well for Lebanese democracy at a time of uprisings across the Arab world.
liberate territories under Israeli control. "We believe these constants are the basics for preserving Lebanon's independence and safeguarding coexistence," Mikati, a telecommunications tycoon and multibillionaire with a passion for politics, was quoted as saying by the National News Agency.
A highly fractured nation of 4 million perched between the Mediterranean Sea, Israel and Syria, Lebanon has long been a political and military battleground for more powerful regional actors. Its 18 officially recognized religious communities jostle for advantage against one another, often allying themselves with foreign powers, including France, Iran, Syria, Saudi Arabia and the U.S. The democratic uprising against Assad's rule has further shaken up Lebanese politics, adding yet another layer of uncertainty to a country already riven by sectarian tensions, allegations of espionage and armed militias vying for power against the state.
daragahi@latimes.com
Times staff writer Daragahi reported from Istanbul and special correspondent Sandels from Beirut. Times staff writer Paul Richter in Washington contributed to this report.

Lebanon's Islamist Stronghold
by Hilal Khashan
Middle East Quarterly
Spring 2011, pp. 85-90
http://www.meforum.org/2948/lebanon-islamist-stronghold
Syrian president Bashar al-Assad has apparently retained the hope of a military return to Lebanon from where he summarily withdrew in 2005 following the Rafiq Hariri assassination. In a 2008 interview with a Lebanese newspaper, he accused the northern city of Tripoli of becoming a base for Islamists who posed a direct threat to Syria's security.[1] More recently, Rifat Eid, head of Tripoli's Alawite Arab Democratic Party, described the city as the "Lebanese Kandahar."[2]
The destruction of the Islamist group, Fatah al-Islam, by the Lebanese army in the Nahr al-Barid Palestinian refugee camp in May to September 2007 delivered a crippling blow to the radical Salafi movement in the Tripoli area.
These charges could not be further from the truth. Far from posing a threat to its immediate neighborhood, let alone to Syrian security, Tripoli's hopelessly fragmented Salafi movement is primarily non-combative, its more militant groups having long been defeated and pacified. Its devout and conservative nature notwithstanding, this movement is very much a cathartic reaction to the city's prolonged political marginalization and economic deprivation. To exaggerate the threat of Tripoli's Salafis is tantamount to fattening the sheep before the slaughter.
Historical Background
From its founding by the Phoenician seafarers in the eighth century BCE to the collapse of the Ottoman Empire in 1918, Tripoli maintained its status as one of the foremost cities in the eastern Mediterranean. During the Arab-Islamic era, its port was second only to Alexandria's, serving at different periods as the economic lifeline of Aleppo, Damascus, and Baghdad.
This privileged status came to an abrupt end in the wake of World War I when Tripoli's inclusion in Lebanon—against the will of its Muslim population, which would rather have been included in Syria—instantly marginalized the city. In its place, Beirut rose to prominence as the capital of the new political entity and the major site of its economy. Likewise, for some Maronite nationalists, Tripoli's inclusion in Lebanon threatened the slight Christian majority reported by the 1932 population census. The leader of the National Bloc, Emile Edde, for example, demanded the incorporation of Tripoli and its environs into Syria in order to preserve Maronite political predominance.[3]
For their part, the French, who created modern Lebanon as an essentially Christian state, had little interest in maintaining the leading political, social, and commercial standing of predominantly Sunni Tripoli, and the city's economic suppression during the French mandate (1920-43) became a tacit policy of the Lebanese state after independence. Still, Tripoli managed to reemerge as a provincial hub, unencumbered by the stress of the country's Beirut-based divisive confessional politics, serving the economic, educational, medical, and commercial needs of northern Lebanon and northwestern Syria. This, however, was not due to government policy but rather to private investments by northern Lebanese and the influx of Syrian capital after the introduction of nationalization measures in that country.
From Religious and Cultural Tolerance to Jihadism
Tripoli is often referred to as the seat of Lebanon's multifaceted Salafi trend, whose genesis coincides with the withdrawal of the last French mandate troops from the country in 1946. Home to the first Salafi reformer Rashid Rida (1865-1935), this profoundly conservative and devout city remained a rare oasis of religious and cultural diversity until the mid-1970s. This was a place where, despite infrequent social, interfaith interaction, Christian missionary schools proliferated and central roads and boulevards bore decidedly Christian names such as Nuns Street, Churches Street, Archbishop Street, and Saint Elias Street.[4] In Tripoli, Islamic religiosity tolerated the existence of Lebanon's only gambling club (known as Cheval Blanc Casino) long before the opening of Casino du Liban in 1959. Taverns and cabarets stood alongside mosques and religious institutes without a hitch.
The advent of religious organizations on a considerable scale during the 1950s and 1960s did not radicalize Tripoli or reduce its toleration of religious and cultural diversity. Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood launched its activities in the city in 1956 under the name of Ibadurrahman (Servants of God). In 1964, Fathi Yakan transformed the group into al-Jama'a al-Islamiya (Islamic Group), which operated as a non-dissident and charitable movement. However, the repercussions of the 1967 Six-Day War with Israel altered the city's collective psyche and swayed it toward Islamism. This coincided with the militarization of the Lebanese Maronites, who were heartened by Israel's stunning victory as they sought to stem the growing tide of armed Palestinian groups. Lebanon was now on the fast track to civil war.
Civil War and Religious Mobilization
Tripoli had its share of the civil war, which raged in Lebanon from 1975 to 1989. Initial setbacks at the hands of the Syrian-supported Maronite Mirada militia of then-president Suleiman Franjiyye and the inability of Tripoli's small pan-Arab and leftist parties successfully to confront them on the battlefield, encouraged the rise of jihadist movements. Sheikh Salim ash-Shahhal, who in 1947 had founded the country's first Salafi movement al-Jama'a Muslimun (literally meaning "the group is Muslim"), transformed it into a modest military force in 1976 under the name of Nuwwat al-Jaysh al-Islami (Nucleus of the Islamic Army). Other small groups such as al-Muqawama ash-Shaabiya (Popular Resistance), Harakat Lubnan al-Arabi (Movement for Arab Lebanon) and Jundullah (Warriors of God) splintered from al-Jama'a al-Islamiya and joined Tripoli's burgeoning Harakat at-Tawhid al-Islami (Islamic Unity Movement) under the leadership of Sheikh Said Shaaban, who eventually transformed the city into an Islamic emirate between 1983 and 1985.[5] Outward manifestations of modernity disappeared with the imposition of a total ban on the sale of alcoholic beverages as well as the shuttering of movie theaters, European-style roadside cafes, and tennis and golf courts.
Shaaban took advantage of the rising pan-Islamist sentiment among Tripoli's religious and conservative population. He received a major boost from the success of the Islamic revolution in Iran, with which he identified, and from whose financial largesse he benefitted. He also relied heavily on the financial and military support of Yasser Arafat's Fatah movement, which maintained a strong military presence in Tripoli, especially in nearby Nahr al-Barid and al-Baddawi Palestinian refugee camps. During Israel's 1982 invasion of Lebanon, Yakan created two guerrilla movements to combat the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF): al-Mujahideen (The Jihadists) in Tripoli and al-Fajr (Dawn) in Sidon.
The Israeli eviction of the Palestine Liberation Organization from southern Lebanon and Beirut in 1982 and the Syrian expulsion of Fatah guerrillas from Tripoli in 1983 were followed in 1985 by a withering assault by Syrian allies against at-Tawhid forces, which ended in destroying the movement's military machine. The anti-at-Tawhid coalition included the Baath Party, the Communist Party, the Syrian Social Nationalist Party, and the Alawite Arab Democratic Party. Syrian intelligence operatives and Lebanese Alawites raided at-Tawhid's stronghold in Bab at-Tibbane and massacred some six hundred Sunnis.[6] This singular incident caused an enduring schism between Tripoli and the Syrian regime and served as an impetus for the subsequent emergence of extremely radical jihadist groups, especially Usbat an-Nur (Partisans of the Divine Light) of Sheikh Hisham ash-Sharidi, assassinated by Fatah operatives in 1991.[7] The more lethal Islamist Abdulkarim as-Saadi took over the group and reintroduced it as Usbat al-Ansar (The Partisans League).
Saudi vs. Hezbollah Radicalizing
Embittered by the 1985 events, Tripoli's Salafi movement gathered momentum with the end of the civil war, which prompted many northern Lebanese clerics to return from Saudi Arabia where they had been schooled in radical Wahhabi-type religious training. In 1995, these Islamists killed Nizar Halabi, head of the pro-Syrian and Sufi-inspired Jam'iyat al-Mashari al-Khayriya al-Islamiya (Association of Islamic Charitable Projects, known as the Ahbash), triggering a harsh government response. Many Islamists fled to the Dinniye Mountain east of Tripoli and regrouped into a 300-man strong radical movement.[8] Their excommunicatory ideology toward moderate Muslims and rejection of non-Muslims in line with the religious edicts of Ibn Taymiyah, the famously radical medieval scholar, outraged the government and invited its wrath. In January 2000, the Lebanese army routed the group, killed its leader Bassam al-Kanj and apprehended dozens of combatants. Others sought refuge in Ein al-Hilwa Palestinian refugee camp near Sidon.[9]
The Lebanese authorities pardoned jailed Salafis shortly after the assassination of former prime minister Rafiq Hariri in 2005. In fact, Saad Hariri, who succeeded his slain father as leader of the Future Trend movement, opened up to radical Sunni movements with the prodding of Riyadh, which wanted to ensure that Sunnis were capable of standing up to the Iranian-backed Shiite Hezbollah.[10] Salafi movements sprang up in Tripoli's poor neighborhoods such as Bab at-Tibbane, as-Suwayqa, Abi Samra, and at-Tal. The sight of heavily bearded, armed young men and turbaned Salafis striding in alleys made the once bustling city austere and unwelcoming.[11]
The Hariri assassination amounted to a coup that blunted the Saudis' thrust into Lebanon and reaffirmed the preeminence of the Syrian-Hezbollah entente. Riyadh's response came in the form of arming Tripoli's Salafis so as to allow them to stand up to Hezbollah. As noted by the Lebanese daily al-Akhbar, "the regional underpinnings of Tripoli's surging jihadist Salafists are directly linked to the conflict between Damascus and Riyadh over controlling Lebanon." Indeed, while being bankrolled by Qatar, Kuwait, and the United Arab Emirates, "every single activity by any Salafi movement is doomed to failure if it doesn't receive Saudi support."[12] Saudi aid is presently funneled through the ministry of religious endowments and a number of private associations whose activities are closely monitored by the government.[13] Philanthropic associations promoting jihad, such as al-Haramain, have been discontinued after the 9/11 attacks.
The ease with which Hezbollah managed to defeat Hariri's al-Mustaqbal militia in Beirut in 2008 convinced the Saudi leadership that they could not rely on northern Lebanese Salafis, who formed the backbone of the prime minister's militia, to serve as a countervailing military force to Hezbollah.[14] They have thus curtailed most of their military assistance and contented themselves with promoting as-Salafiya al-Ilmiya, or official Salafi, that eschews involvement in politics. So did the other Gulf Cooperation Council states, which support Tripoli's as-Salafiya al-Irja'iya,[15] the Salafi preaching group that separates belief and action and limits itself to the former.
The destruction of Fatah al-Islam by the Lebanese army in the Nahr al-Barid Palestinian refugee camp in May to September 2007 delivered a crippling blow to as-Salafiya al-Jihadiya (Jihadist Salafi), whose remnants had gone underground into sleeper cells. Having made its debut in the refugee camp in 2006, Fatah al-Islam doubled its initial strength of 150 fighters within less than a year as the army intelligence's persecution of young, northern Lebanese Sunnis, who asked for weapons to counter the Shiite power surge, drove them into the arms of the newly-established militant group. The growth, however, of this millennial movement was preventable. Fatah al-Islam's rise attests to the clumsiness of Lebanese army intelligence and the heavy army and civilian toll during the Nahr al-Barid fighting.
Lebanese Salafis lay the blame on Hezbollah for refusing to involve them in confronting the IDF and its South Lebanon Army surrogate, accusing Hezbollah of pretentiously labeling itself "al-Muqawama al-Islamiya" (Islamic Resistance).[16] In response to the denial of their access to the anti-Israel military campaign, the Salafis directed their energies against the national government.
In support of Hezbollah during the 2006 summer war against Israel, Yakan, the leader of the Tripoli-based Islamic Group, established the Islamic Action Front that included five pro-Syrian Sunni Islamic groups: the two factions of Tripoli's at-Tawhid movement of Hashem Minqara and Bilal Shaaban, al-Fajr forces of Abdullah at-Tiryaqi, Abdel Nasser Jabri's Islamic group in Beirut, and Zuhair Jaid in the Shuf Mountains. The front disintegrated shortly after Yakan's death when cofounder Hashem Minqara deemed it no longer viable because some of its leaders were simply using it for political and financial gain.[17]
When the fighting raged in Tripoli in May 2008 between Sunnis and Alawites, the founder of the Salafi movement, Dai al-Islam ash-Shahhal, exhorted "all committed Lebanese Muslim young men to prepare psychologically and logistically to embark upon a new period [of armed resistance]." He made it clear that he was not looking for volunteers from abroad but "direly needed financial assistance."[18] Later, as the final showdown loomed large in connection with the Hariri assassination indictments, Shahhal warned Hezbollah against "inciting Sunni fratricide in order to render the sect politically irrelevant."[19] Yet for all his exertions, he failed to persuade the Saudis to resume their financial support for rebuilding the Salafis' military machine.
Poverty-Stricken Salafis
Tripoli has no place on the Lebanese economic, developmental, and tourist map as its name "has become synonymous with poverty, misery, and deprivation."[20] With free medical services virtually nonexistent, and minimum monthly wages often as low as $170, compared to the average Lebanese wage of $335; with a youth unemployment rate of 45 percent and a truancy rate that exceeds 20 percent, it is not difficult to understand why Tripoli is such an ideal breeding ground for Salafis. Whereas 28 percent of the Lebanese population is below the poverty line, in Tripoli, it is 57 percent.[21] Annual per capita expenditure in Lebanon averages $2,700, but in Tripoli it is $1,700—compared to $4,300 in Beirut. With 9,700 persons per square kilometer, it is overcrowded.[22]
Tripoli's economic decline dates back to the 1970s when the city suffered a number of severe blows: Iraq's construction of the Basra offshore oil terminal and the Kirkuk pipeline terminal in Turkey's Ceyhan rendered Tripoli's terminal useless. The city's decaying oil refinery, which previously provided about 40 percent of Lebanon's annual refined oil needs, was permanently shut down in 1993. Its full rehabilitation at an estimated cost of $300 million can save the country up to $ 1.2 billion from the importation of refined oil derivatives.[23] Nevertheless, there is a long-standing Lebanese policy against government investment in the city. In addition, Beirut receives 83 percent of Lebanon's total banking credit compared to Tripoli's 2 percent.[24]
Since 1975, Tripoli has lost 80 percent of its economy. Forty percent was lost in 1989 alone as a result of the Assad government's decision to allow the Syrian private sector to import from the international market. While the civil war cut off Tripoli from its traditional northern Lebanese, Christian market, the Syrians severed all economic and social ties between the city and the cities of Homs, Hama, and Tartus. The scarcity of employment opportunities has negatively shaped the worldview of many of Tripoli's young men and motivated them to seek salvation in religious extremism.
Glimmer of Hope
Representatives from six moderate, northern Lebanese Salafi movements disapproved of Fatah al-Islam's militancy that culminated in the May 2007 all-out confrontation with the Lebanese army. The joint statement they issued underlined that Shari'a (Islamic law) stresses, among other things, the preservation of the pillars of dignified human living that include religion, family honor, personal safety, and pecuniary assets. The unequivocal statement called for an immediate end to the fighting, eviction of the radicals from the Nahr al-Barid refugee camp, and promotion of allegiance to state authority.[25] Combating jihadists remind many Tripoli residents, including benign Salafis, of the three dark years of terror when at-Tawhid reigned supreme in the city. Their religiosity notwithstanding, most Tripoli residents are averse to the imposition of Shari'a rule in the city.[26]
People in Tripoli's depressed areas have little faith in the government and exhibit unmistakable disenchantment with the willingness of the Lebanese political system to redeem them.[27] The city may be a bastion of the Salafi movement, but its roots are essentially non-belligerent. Militancy is not entrenched as in some Shiite neighborhoods in Lebanon or in Islamist societies like Yemen or Somalia. Deconstructing the phenomenon of Tripoli's Islamic radicalism is clearly a function of integrating it economically and culturally in the Lebanese political system. It is quite remarkable that the city has not turned far worse after more than ninety years of deliberate marginalization.
Hilal Khashan is a professor of political science at the American University of Beirut and the author of many books and articles on Arab politics including Arabs at the Crossroads: Political Identity and Nationalism (University Press of Florida, 2000).
**[1] Al-Bayraq (Beirut), Sept. 30, 2008.
[2] Asharq al-Awsat (London), Oct. 7, 2010.
[3] Meir Zamir, Lebanon's Quest: The Road to Statehood 1926-1939 (London: I. B. Tauris, 1997), p. 107.
[4] Ash-Shiraa (Beirut), Nov. 7, 2010.
[5] Asharq al-Awsat, May 25, 2007.
[6] Al-Mustaqbal (Beirut), Dec. 5, 2007.
[7] Asharq al-Awsat, May 25, 2007.
[8] Now Lebanon (Beirut), accessed Feb. 7, 2011.
[9] Al-Markazia (Beirut), accessed Dec. 2, 2010.
[10] Al-Akhbar (Beirut), June 8, 2010.
[11] Author interview with Rashid Jamali, former head of the Tripoli municipality, Tripoli, Dec. 18, 2010.
[12] Al-Akhbar, Sept. 5, Oct. 21, 2010.
[13] King Abdulaziz Foundation for Research and Archives, Riyadh, accessed Feb. 5, 2011.
[14] Al-Akhbar, Oct. 21, 2010.
[15] Hana Ulayan, "At-Tayyarat al-Wahabiyya fish Shamal: bayna an-Nahj ad-Dini wal Maghnatis as-Sisyasi," Harakat at-Tawhid al-Islami-Majlis al-Qiyada website, Dec. 16, 2010.
[16] In March 1978, Israel invaded southern Lebanon, established a narrow security zone, and created the Southern Lebanese Army (SLA). It dismantled the SLA and unilaterally withdrew from the security zone in May 2000.
[17] Al-Akhbar, Dec. 1, 2009.
[18] Asharq al-Awsat, May 13, 2008.
[19] As-Safir (Beirut), Jan. 2, 2010.
[20] Talal Khuja, "Tarablus bayna al-Qal'a al-Mughlaqa wa-l-Madina al-Maftuha," Middle East Transparent website, Oct. 27, 2010.
[21] Ash-Shiraa, Nov. 1, 2010.
[22] Author interview with Jamali.
[23] Al-Liwaa (Beirut), Jan. 10, 2011.
[24] Makram Sader, "Tatawur al-Qita al-Masrifi 1990-2010," Association of Banks in Lebanon, Beirut, Dec. 2010.
[25] Now Lebanon, May 22, 2007.
[26] Lebanese prime minister Najib Mikati's website, accessed Feb. 7, 2011.
[27] Author interview with Jamali.