LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
ِOctober 26/2011

Bible Quotation for today/Confessing and Rejecting Christ
Matthew 10/32-33: " Those who declare publicly that they belong to me, I will do the same for them before my Father in heaven. But those who reject me publicly, I will reject before my Father in heaven."

Latest analysis, editorials, studies, reports, letters & Releases from miscellaneous sources
Handing over Iraq to Iran/By Tariq Alhomayed/October 25/11
Observers, not jets/Now Lebanon/October 25/11  

Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources for October 25/11
Nasrallah says Hezbollah against funding STL
Kataeb: Hezbollah is building its own state
US warns Lebanon on Hariri tribunal funding
Maronite Patriarch Beshara Rai calls for declaring Lebanon a neutral country
UNIFIL honors longtime Lebanese staffers on UN Day
8 Injured in Bomb Blast at Ain al-Hilweh Camp
Gemayel Meets Suleiman, Briefs him on Egypt Visit
Syrian Army Enters Hnaider in Wadi Khaled, Fires at ‘Smugglers’
US doubts military option on Syria
March 14 raps Cabinet over Hezbollah’s telecoms network
Future, Hezbollah lawmakers quarrel
Iran FM postpones visit after Ahmadinejad remarks on Syria
Iranian foreign minister cancels trip to Lebanon, reasons unclear
Sleiman: Lebanon needs electoral reform to stay in step with region
Amnesty condemns “climate of fear” in Syrian hospitals
U.S. Pulls Ford Out of Syria over 'Credible Threats', Damascus Hits Back
Nasrallah: STL Funding to Be Put to Govt. Vote if No Consensus Reached
WikiLeaks Suspends Publishing Due to Lack of Funds

U.S. Pulls Ford Out of Syria over 'Credible Threats', Damascus Hits Back
Naharnet/The U.S. on Monday pulled its ambassador out of Syria what it said were security concerns, prompting a swift response from Damascus which recalled its ambassador to Washington a few hours later for "consultations." State Department spokesman Mark Toner said that Ambassador Robert Ford returned to Washington this weekend after "credible threats against his personal safety." Toner couldn't say when Ford might go back to Syria, saying it depended on a U.S. "assessment of Syrian regime-led incitement and the security situation on the ground." For her part, a Syrian official said the Syrian ambassador to the U.S. was recalled for consultations. Roua Shurbaji, a Syrian Embassy spokeswoman, said Ambassador Imad Mustafa left Washington on Monday. She said no other measure was being taken by the embassy. Ford has enraged Syrian authorities with his forceful defense of peaceful protests and harsh critique of a government crackdown that has now killed nearly 3,000 people. Ford particularly angered Assad's regime in July when he greeted demonstrators in the restive city of Hama. The ambassador has been the subject of several incidents of intimidation by pro-government thugs, usually in coordination with pro-Assad media capturing the humiliation.
Last month, Ford and several colleagues from the embassy were pelted with tomatoes and eggs as they visited an opposition figure. U.S. officials said the assault was part of a campaign to intimidate diplomats investigating Assad's repression of pro-reform demonstrators. Other such incidents have occurred after meetings with dissident groups or individuals.
Although Assad's government has allowed Ford to remain in the country, it has tried to restrict where he can travel. Earlier this month, the U.S. Senate unanimously approved Ford's nomination, with Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John Kerry praising Ford for continuing to visit cities under siege and "speak truth to power." He had been in Syria since January after being appointed to the post temporarily when the Senate was out of session. Kerry said Ford has been steadfast "despite even being physically attacked and assaulted by the regime's goons."Source Associated PressAgence France Presse

US doubts military option on Syria
October 24, 2011
The United States said Monday that it did not envision the use of force in Syria in the wake of Libya as it renewed its call for President Bashar al-Assad to step down.
Republican Senator John McCain, speaking Sunday in Jordan, raised the prospect of military action to stop Assad's deadly crackdown on protests after the NATO intervention helped oust Libyan strongman Moammar Qaddafi. Asked if President Barack Obama's administration supported force in Syria, State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland told reporters: "I think our position on this hasn't changed." "The vast majority of the Syrian opposition continues to speak in favor of peaceful, nonviolent protests and against foreign intervention of any kind, and particularly foreign military intervention into the situation in Syria, and we respect that," she said.
But she reiterated the US view that, "It's time for Assad to step aside, it's time for the violence to end, it's time for a real dialogue about a democratic future to begin in a peaceful context."
Her remarks come as the United States brought home its ambassador in Damascus, Robert Ford, voicing concern for his safety after his highly public efforts to throw a spotlight on violence against demonstrators. The Arab League will send a delegation on Wednesday to Syria. The 22-member body has called for dialogue between Assad's regime and the opposition, a proposal denounced by Syrian state media. "We obviously support the Arab League delegation's stated intent that their number one message to the Assad regime will be that the violence in all of its forms, the intimidation, the brutality, the arrests, the torture, have to stop," Nuland said. "We will see if Assad will listen this time. I wouldn't say that our expectations are terribly high," she said. More than 3,000 people, most of them civilians, have been killed in a Syrian crackdown on almost daily pro-democracy demonstrations in the country since mid-March, according to the United Nations.-AFP/NOW Lebanon

Connelly Meets Aoun: U.S. Expects Lebanon to Respect International Obligations
Naharnet/U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Maura Connelly warned on Monday of the serious consequences Lebanon may face if it does not respect international obligations.
She reiterated, after holding talks with Free Patriotic Movement head MP Michel Aoun in Rabieh, the United States’ view that it is important to ensure that events in Syria do no create instability or tension in Lebanon. She told Aoun that the U.S. expects Lebanon to meet all of its international obligations, including Lebanon’s commitment to cooperate with and fund the Special Tribunal for Lebanon.  Furthermore, she expressed the United States’ concern that a failure by Lebanon to meet its obligations to the tribunal could lead to serious consequences if Lebanon does not meet its international commitments. In addition, the ambassador and the MP discussed the political and security situation in Lebanon and the current situation in Syria. Connelly renewed the commitment of the United States to a stable, sovereign, and independent Lebanon.

Phalange: Tarshish Incident Proves Hizbullah Still Pursuing Plan to Establish Own State
Naharnet /The Phalange Party praised on Monday the residents of the town of Tarshish for preventing Hizbullah from expanding its telecommunications network in the town. It said in a statement after its weekly politburo meeting: “The incident confirms that Hizbullah is pursuing its plan to construct its own state by bringing together the regions it controls under its own telecommunications network.” “Such a development is a threat against the country’s sovereignty and the law,” it added.
“Is it acceptable for a side that is not affiliated with the state to abuse state property?” it asked. “Why is the Lebanese government allowing such abuse? Is there an authority more powerful than it?” it wondered. Who can cater to the Tarshish residents’ concerns if the state fails to do so? it continued.
The politburo also offered its condolences to Saudi Arabia over the death of Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz. On the developments in Libya, the statement hoped that the new leadership will succeed in introducing democracy to the country. On Friday, Tarshish residents prevented Hizbullah from expanding its telecommunications network. The party sought to expand the network as a Telecommunications Ministry team was installing fiber optic cables to improve internet services.
The town residents noticed Hizbullah’s activity and thwarted them from pursuing their mission.

Kataeb: Hezbollah is building its own state
October 24, 2011
Kataeb Party’s Political Bureau met on Monday and issued a statement saying that Hezbollah is building its own state.
“What happened in Tarchich shows that Hezbollah is continuing to set the foundations for its state by having a telecommunications network – considered to be a threat to state sovereignty and law – to link the areas controlled by [the Shia party],” the statement said. MTV station reported on Friday that Hezbollah threatened residents of Tarchich after they prevented party members from installing a telecommunications network in the town. The statement also addressed Hezbollah’s violations of the state sovereignty consisting of blocking the roads in Beirut’s southern suburb of Dahiyeh and the incidents that took place in Jbeil’s town of Lasa. “Hezbollah’s role in the Lasa events was uncovered,” the statement said. Roads were blocked in Beirut’s southern suburb of Dahyieh on Sunday night after security forces removed an illegal construction project in Jbeil’s town of Lasa and arrested a Moqdad family member.
In August, the residents of Lasa - majority, supporters of Hezbollah - obstructed the work of an Internal Security Forces patrol that was attempting to halt the illegal construction of a house.
The statement also presented condolences to Saudi King Abdullah Bin Abel Aziz for the death of his brother, Saudi Crown Prince Sultan Bin Abdel Aziz.
The crown prince, aged around 86, who had served as the kingdom's defense chief for nearly five decades, had been in the United States since mid-June for medical treatment. He died on Saturday morning. The party also called on the Lebanese citizens and expatriates to vote for Jeita Grotto to become one of the world’s Seven Wonders.
Voting for the New Seven Wonders of the World ends on November 11, and Jeita Grotto is one of the 28 finalists. -NOW Lebanon

US warns Lebanon on Hariri tribunal funding
(AFP) – 10 hours ago
BEIRUT — The US ambassador to Lebanon on Monday warned of possible "serious consequences" if Lebanon fails to meet its obligations towards a UN-backed court investigating the murder of the country's ex-premier. Ambassador Maura Connelly made the statement in a meeting with Christian leader Michel Aoun, whose Free Patriotic Movement is allied with the powerful militant group Hezbollah that has a key role in the Lebanese government. "Ambassador Connelly told General Aoun that the US expects Lebanon to meet all of its international obligations, including Lebanon's obligation to cooperate with and fund the Special Tribunal for Lebanon," a statement issued by the embassy said.
"She expressed the United States' concern that a failure by Lebanon to meet its obligations to the tribunal could lead to serious consequences if Lebanon does not meet its international commitments," the statement added. Hezbollah toppled the previous government headed by Saad Hariri over its refusal to cut ties with the tribunal, set up in the aftermath of the 2005 assassination of Hariri's father, Rafiq Hariri. The tribunal has indicted four Hezbollah operatives for the February 14, 2005 bombing that killed Hariri and 21 others in Beirut.
But the Shiite party and its allies, which dominate the new government, have dismissed the court as part of a US-Israeli conspiracy and have vowed to block any efforts by the Lebanese government to contribute its share to the tribunal's funding. Beirut has yet to pay what it owes for the year 2011 and in 2010 transferred the funds without government approval.
Hariri's killing plunged Lebanon into a series of political crisis that brought the country close to civil war in 2008. Copyright © 2011 AFP. All rights reserved. More

Maronite Patriarch Beshara Rai calls for declaring Lebanon a neutral country
October 25, 2011 /The Daily Star
BEIRUT: Maronite Patriarch Beshara Rai warned Monday of the “Arab Spring” turning into an “autumn of civil wars” in the Arab world and called for declaring Lebanon a neutral country in regional conflicts. Rai spoke at the end of a three-week-long tour of the United States. He met with the chairman of the United Nations General Assembly Nasser Abdul Aziz Nasser at the Lebanese Consulate General in New York to brief him on his meeting with U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the contents of the paper he presented to the United Nations on the value of Lebanon and the Christians’ role and future in the Middle East, the state-run National News Agency reported. Rai called on the United Nations to supervise the implementation of “all U.N. resolutions, particularly those relating to the Palestinians, the right to return [home], rejection of resettlement, liberation of all [Israeli-occupied] territories, recovery of full sovereignty and the need to declare Lebanon as a neutral country because it is needed in this Levant and must be neutralized from conflicts.”

UNIFIL honors longtime Lebanese staffers on U.N. Day
October 25, 2011/By Patrick Galey The Daily Star
BEIRUT: The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon honored eight Lebanese staffers Monday who have served for 30 years with the organization as the force observed U.N. Day at its Naqoura headquarters. The day marked the 66th anniversary of the founding of the U.N., and saw a reception for staff, diplomats and politicians held at UNESCO Palace in Beirut.
In a speech to mark the occasion, UNIFIL Force Commander Major General Alberto Asarta Cuevas vowed that his mission would continue to implement some of the founding principles of the U.N. by continuing to serve in south Lebanon. “On this day, let us all pledge to stand firmly united by the ideals that led to the creation of the United Nations 66 years ago and which today, in our changing world, remain an anchor of hope to achieve lasting peace, security and development for all mankind,” Asarta said.
Eight Lebanese members of UNIFIL staff were presented with certificates recognizing three decades of service with the peacekeeping organization.
Asarta hailed the dedication of his troops, “who have worked relentlessly towards the accomplishment of the mission’s mandate and paid tribute to those who lost their lives serving the cause of peace with UNIFIL and to peacekeepers all around the world,” UNIFIL said in a statement.
The force commander also praised the Lebanese Army, whose role, according to Asarta, had been “central” to the implementation of UNIFIL’s mandate. He added that his force was indebted to the accommodating role played by the people of south Lebanon. UNIFIL has endured a torrid 2011, as twin bomb attacks on its soldiers provided the most dangerous months the mission has seen since 2008. A roadside bomb close to the southern port city of Sidon exploded in May, wounding six Italian soldiers and prompted Italy, the largest troop contributing country, to downsize its contingent by roughly 700 personnel. A separate blast, near the site where the Italian soldiers had been attacked, wounded five French peacekeepers.
May saw the redeployment of a contingent from Ireland, returning after five years away from south Lebanon. Ireland’s outgoing President Mary McAleese this month warned that the government and security forces needed to do more to ensure the safety of UNIFIL personnel.
UNIFIL was first deployed in Lebanon in 1978 and its presence was beefed up in the wake of the 2006 war between Hezbollah and Israel, under the mandate of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701. In Beirut, United Nations Development Program Resident Representative Robert Watkins addressed attendees and spoke of the work U.N. missions conducted in Lebanon. Beirut is still without a permanent U.N. representative following the departure last month of Michael Williams, who left Lebanon to take up a position in Britain’s House of Lords.
U.N. day is observed annually to mark the founding of the organization with the entry into force of the United Nations Charter on Oct. 24, 1945.

WikiLeaks Suspends Publishing Due to Lack of Funds
Naharnet /The whistleblowing website WikiLeaks said Monday it was suspending publishing classified U.S. diplomatic files to focus instead on fundraising "to ensure our future survival."
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange said that as a result of a financial "blockade" mounted by Visa, Mastercard and other companies, it was "now forced to temporarily suspend its publishing operations and aggressively fundraise." WikiLeaks has enraged U.S. authorities by releasing tens of thousands of classified diplomatic cables. Many relate to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan while others contain frank and sometimes embarrassing assessments of world leaders made by U.S. diplomats. Assange said in a statement that since December last year, "an arbitrary and unlawful financial blockade has been imposed by Bank of America, Visa, MasterCard, PayPal and Western Union." "The attack has destroyed 95 percent of our revenue," he added. "The blockade came into force within 10 days of the launch of Cablegate as part of a concerted U.S.-based, political attack that included vitriol by senior right-wing politicians, including assassination calls against WikiLeaks staff." The former computer hacker said the blockade "has cost the organization tens of millions of dollars in lost donations at a time of unprecedented operational costs". He added: "We have commenced pre-litigation action against the blockade in Iceland, Denmark, the UK, Brussels, the United States and Australia.
"We have lodged an anti-trust complaint at the European Commission and expect a decision by mid-November as to whether the European Commission Authority will open a full investigation into the wrongdoing of Visa and MasterCard.""A handful of U.S. finance companies cannot be allowed to decide how the whole world votes with its pocket," he added.
Assange is currently embroiled in a fight against extradition from Britain to Sweden, where he is wanted in connection with allegations of rape. He denies the allegations and says they are politically motivated.*Source Agence France Presse

New Opinion: Observers, not jets
October 24, 2011
Now Lebanon/Flush from a “victory” in Libya with the demise of President Muammar Qaddafi, the international community this weekend swiveled its crosshairs onto Syria, where a crackdown on pro-democracy protests has killed more than 3,000 people in seven months.
The international community has so far only taken to wagging its collective finger at Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, but on Sunday, US Senator John McCain spoke of the possibility of armed intervention to protect the civilian population in the face of the brutal crackdown. Meanwhile, the European Union is ready to hit Syria with more sanctions and once again called on Assad to “step aside to allow a political transition to take place.”
Sanctions will no doubt weaken the regime and maybe force the private sector to come off the fence (before the revolt, Syria had counted on Europe to buy 90 percent of its oil), but the fundamental difference between the anti-regime demonstrators in Syria and Libya is that the overwhelming majority of Syrians who want regime change want it without the specter of NATO jets over their heads.
NATO may have played a key role in the collapse of the Qaddafi regime, but what the activists are demanding is the presence of international observers on the ground to officially record the brutality meted out by the regime and its security forces on a daily basis. This way, they can counter the barrage of state-driven propaganda that portrays the pro-democracy activists as either marauding brigands and armed thugs intent on criminality, or mercenaries paid with US or Zionist money to bring the Arab Spring to Syria (because Syria is surely too pure and steadfast an Arab nation to be felled by such a transient phenomenon).
The Syrian National Council (SNC) simply wants the world to officially confirm what it has known for months: that the Assad regime is working tirelessly to eliminate all anti-government dissent, and if that means killing them off until no one is left, then so be it.
The region is too loaded with conspiracy for anything else. The advent of NATO intervention would play straight into the hands of a regime that has peddled the pro-democracy uprising as a Western construct. Already those who see the world through an anti-Western lens are proclaiming the Libyan revolution as “Western-backed.” Technically they are right, but with the tag comes unwelcome baggage.
Qaddafi was a one-off, a theatrical and brutal dictator with a sense of the macabre. The vast majority of Libyans, aside from those members of his tribe, wanted a life free from his peculiar brand of repression. Even so, the National Transitional Council will no doubt have its work cut out to fend off accusations that the country has fallen neatly into the West’s top pocket.
In Syria the street is divided. The specter of Israel still looms large in many Arab minds, and the Assad regime is still viewed by many as the last line of defense in the decades-old struggle against Zionist oppression. The private sector backs him, the Alawite community backs him, and Iran, China and Russia back him.
If there is to be regime change, it must be a wholly Made-in-Syria affair. Only then can the SNC rebut accusations that the revolution was stage managed to promote Western interests. It will then be able to convince the Arab street and the world that the motives of the Arab Spring are pure and designed to imbue the people with a genuine sense of dignity and to give them the freedoms and democratic mechanisms that they have been denied in over half a century of authoritarianism. They need observers, not jets.

Nasrallah says Hezbollah against funding STL
October 25, 2011 /Now Lebanon
Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said on Monday evening that his party is against paying Lebanon’s share of funding to the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) because of the international court’s “aims, gaps and behavior.”
Nasrallah told Al-Manar television that Hezbollah has purposely not made any statements regarding the STL funding, adding that the Western-backed March 14 coalition wants to drag the cabinet into a discussion, which is not scheduled for “this moment in time.”
“It is [March 14’s] right to do so, but we have to not let ourselves be dragged and not fall into the traps it is setting for us.”
He also said that Prime Minister Najib Mikati has the right to say his opinion on the matter. However, he added that that the issue will be finalized in the cabinet eventually.
“If someone wants to fund the [STL] from his own pocket, it is up to him. When it comes to funding the STL from the state’s treasury, the cabinet makes a decision on the matter.”
He also said that if ministers do not reach consensus, there is the option of casting a vote, voicing hope that an agreement would be reached.
Asked if Mikati, who has repeatedly said that Lebanon will commit to international resolutions and fund the court, would be “humiliated” if the cabinet agrees against the funding the STL, the Hezbollah chief said that the premier is “the head of the executive government and the decision regarding the issue goes back to the entire cabinet.”
Nasrallah also said that “March 14’s calls on Mikati to step down and demands that the international community boycott [him] have failed.”
Four Hezbollah members have been indicted by the STL for the 2005 assassination of former PM Rafik Hariri. However, the Shia group strongly denied the charges and refuses to cooperate with the court.
Hezbollah and other March 8 parties and figures have spoken out against Lebanon’s ties to and funding for the tribunal and called it a tool to incite sectarian strife in Lebanon.
Lebanon contributes 49 percent of the STL’s annual funding.
Asked about the Arab Spring uprisings, he said that they are not an American plan because all the regimes that have collapsed were allies of the United States.
The Arab Spring, also known as the “Jasmine Revolution,” is a revolutionary wave of protests that has stormed the Arab world since December 18, 2010. So far, the Tunisian, Egyptian and Libyan regimes have fallen, while Bahrain, Yemen and Syria have experienced massive civil unrest.
Nasrallah commented on the situation in Syria, saying that everything is normal.
“Syrians support President Bashar al-Assad’s regime,” he added.
“If the Syrian people start opposing the regime, we will support them,” the Hezbollah chief also said, adding: “He who bets on the fall of the Syrian regime is an adventurer.”
He also denied reports that Hezbollah is taking part in the current Syrian events and that it has sent militants to Syria.
Nasrallah refused to address Syria’s incursion into Lebanon through the media, and said that the Lebanese government must send an envoy to Damascus to discuss the issue.
On October 4, Syrian army tanks crossed the Lebanese border near the town of Aarsal and fired several gunshots on Lebanese territory. On October 6, Syrian troops shot and killed a farmer near Aarsal.
As for a new Lebanese electoral law, Nasrallah said that his party “does not have a problem [with an electoral law] based on proportional representation.”
Lebanese parties are debating a new electoral law for the upcoming 2013 parliamentary elections.
After the parliament agreed on drafting a law based on proportional representation, some parties rejected the draft law and called for renewing the 2009 electoral law, which is based on simple majority representation.
Asked about UN chief Ban Ki-moon’s call for Hezbollah to hand over its arms to the Lebanese state, Nasrallah said: “We did not even issue a statement commenting on that because what happens in the region is something that [the UN chief is not aware of].”
“We, as Lebanese people, have enough elements of power to confront all challenges. There is no reason to be afraid, but all reasons to be hopeful.”
-NOW Lebanon

Amnesty condemns “climate of fear” in Syrian hospitals
October 25, 2011
Amnesty International has condemned what it calls the "climate of fear" in state hospitals of unrest-strewn Syria where both patients and medics were being targeted.
"The Syrian government has turned hospitals into instruments of repression in its efforts to crush opposition," it said in a 39-page report released late Monday.
Amnesty documented how wounded patients in at least four government-run hospitals had been subjected to torture and other ill-treatment, both by medical workers and security personnel.
And "hospital workers suspected of treating protesters and others injured in unrest-related incidents have themselves faced arrest and torture," it said, leaving them in a dilemma.
Amnesty said a health worker who witnessed a raid by security forces told of how at least one unconscious patient had had his ventilator removed before being dragged off.
"Afraid of the consequences of going to a government hospital, many people have chosen to seek treatment either at private hospitals or at poorly equipped makeshift field hospitals," it said.
Doctors at the National Hospital in the flashpoint central city of Homs told Amnesty that admissions for firearms wounds had slumped since May, despite the spiraling casualty toll out on the streets.
"Syrian medical workers are being placed in an impossible situation - forced to choose between treating wounded people and preserving their own safety," said Amnesty.
A crackdown on anti-regime protests in Syria since mid-March has left more than 3,000 dead, according to the United Nations.
-AFP/NOW Lebanon

Jumblatt attacks Syrian regime, Al-Akhbar reports
October 24, 2011/Al-Akhbar newspaper reported on Monday that Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblatt severely criticized the Syrian regime during a concert he hosted in the city of Jbeil. “Unfortunately, we are now enjoying [music] while the Syrian people are revolting against oppression and tyranny,” the daily quoted Jumblatt as saying.
“Shame on the Druze of Syria; they have always been at the forefront of all revolutions,” he also said. Lebanon's political scene is split between supporters of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime, led by Hezbollah, and a pro-Western camp headed by Saad Hariri. More than 3,000 people, most of them civilians, have been killed in a Syrian crackdown on almost daily pro-democracy demonstrations in the country since mid-March, according to the United Nations. -NOW Lebanon

March 14 raps Cabinet over Hezbollah’s telecoms network
October 25, 2011/The Daily Star
BEIRUT: The March 8-led government is drawing criticism from members of the March 14 coalition following the alleged attempt by Hezbollah to install a private telecoms network in the Baabda town of Tarshish. Days after Tarshish residents and officials from the town’s municipality allegedly prevented Hezbollah’s personnel from expanding its telecoms network, several MPs lashed out at the government, accusing it of neglecting the issue. Metn MP Sami Gemayel criticized a number of ministers for being unaware of the controversy, despite the media’s coverage of the matter. “The cables that were used in the work in Tarshish belong to Hezbollah’s private telecoms network, which aims to connect different regions in the country from the Bekaa to Mount Lebanon and Beirut to south Lebanon,” said Gemayel.
Gemayel also said that town residents have expressed fear that Tarshish is being placed in a confrontation with a non-state entity that is exploiting the absence of state authority.
Gaby Semaan, the mayor of Tarshish, said over the weekend that Hezbollah members tried to install 4 kilometers of cable in the town, connecting it to a hilltop telecom post in the Kefarselouan area. In a letter to the Parliament speaker’s office Monday, Gemayel questioned the government on the nature of the work Hezbollah is carrying out in Tarshish.
“Does a non-state organization have the right to use public property and install a private telecoms network?” asked Gemayel.
Gemayel directed the questions to Telecommunications, Public Works, Energy, Interior and Defense Ministries.
In a statement over the weekend, Telecommunications Minister Nicolas Sehnaoui said it is illegal to use state property for any other purposes.
“It is illegal for any party or a ministry to use the Telecommunication Ministry’s networks as a base for its own private networks,” said Sehnaoui.
No ministry has directly commented yet on the incident but parliament’s bylaws require government officials to respond to MPs’ questions. According to Parliament’s Article 124, a minister must answer all questions within 20 days from the date an inquiry.
“Who protects the residents of Tarshish from such violations and threats? What are the measures that the government will take to stop the installation of private networks?” Gemayel asked the government, also warning that inaction would leave the residents in a state of confrontation with Hezbollah.
In a statement Monday, the Zahle parliamentary bloc condemned Hezbollah’s attempt to install its private telecoms network in Tarshish.
“Hezbollah’s military network in Tarshish and other parts of Lebanon undermine the state’s authority,” said the bloc in a statement.
Zahle MP Elie Marouni called the events “unfortunate,” adding that they were insulting to state sovereignty.
“This is not only a provocation of Tarshish’s residents, it also constitutes a danger to the people in the town during any future Israeli aggression,” Marouni told The Daily Star.
“Placing such a private network in the town would allow Hezbollah to tap into people’s communications and would make the town a target for Israel,” said Marouni.

Handing over Iraq to Iran
By Tariq Alhomayed
Asharq Al-Awsat
The US decision to withdraw from Iraq by the end of the year raises many questions that have no answers; however the most important question that must be asked here is: why is the United States of America handing over Iraq [to Iran] after this priceless outlay in money and blood?
Iraq is not qualified, militarily, intelligence-wise, and even politically, to stand on its own feet in the manner that it should. Militarily, Iraq does not even possess a ready and equipped air force; nor does it possess an effective intelligence apparatus capable of monitoring and tracking [targets] in an operational and professional manner. As for politically, that is another disaster; for the Iraqi government is sectarian and has thrown itself into the arms of Iran. This government has been unable to achieve political reconciliation in Baghdad, and rather has pursued [fruitless] talks and revenge, whilst it is fully embroiled in sectarianism. Now let us look at the closest supporter of the Bashar al-Assad regime, whose security apparatus is killing its own people on a daily basis. Is this a government that can be trusted with stabilizing Iraq or indeed any other neighbouring country? I doubt it!
What is strange is that US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told NBC that “no one should miscalculate America’s resolve and commitment to helping support the Iraqi democracy” adding that America paid a heavy price to give the Iraqis this chance. She stressed that she hopes that nobody miscalculates America’s commitment to Iraq, particularly neighbouring Iran. In a different interview on CNN, Clinton stressed that “Iran would be badly miscalculating if they did not look at the entire region and all of our presence in many countries in the region.”
However the facts on the ground say that Tehran’s influence in Iran has increased under the eyes of the current US administration, whilst Iranian influence [in Iraq] also benefited from the mistakes made by the previous US administration. This is not all, for now we see Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad – on the same day that Hillary Clinton made her statements – appear in an interview on CNN saying that he does not expect any change in his country’s relations with Iraq following the withdrawal of US forces. Indeed Ahmadinejad went on to confidently state – and this is the crux of the matter – that “the government of Iraq, the parliament, we have a very good relationship with all of them…and we have deepened our ties day by day.”
This “day by day” is true, and it has happened before the eyes of the Americans, therefore the extent of Iran’s influence in Iraq is no surprise, nor is Tehran’s support for the Shiite militias there. It is enough to listen to the complaints of the honorable people of Iraq – Sunnis and Shiites and others – who do not accept their country becoming a proxy in Iranian hands or ruled by Qassem Suleimani and his Qods Force.
Therefore, there are more questions today, for are the Americans withdrawing from Iraq simply to reduce their financial outlay? I doubt it, for the Republicans are the harshest critics of this decision in America. The other question that must be asked is; is this withdrawal in preparation for the US forces undertaking another mission, such as military action against Iran, in which case Washington does not want to leave an exposed flank for Tehran to exploit, namely Iraq? We do not know! Or is this withdrawal nothing more than the result of a misguided political decision and electoral pressures, as this [US withdrawal from Iraq] was one of Obama’s campaign promises?
If any of these are the reasons [for the US withdrawal], then the results will be disastrous for Iraq and its people, and indeed the entire region as a whole!