LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN

Bible Quotation for today/The Spirit and Human Nature
Galatians 05 /16-26: " What I say is this: let the Spirit direct your lives, and you will not satisfy the desires of the human nature. For what our human nature wants is opposed to what the Spirit wants, and what the Spirit wants is opposed to what our human nature wants. These two are enemies, and this means that you cannot do what you want to do. 18 If the Spirit leads you, then you are not subject to the Law. What human nature does is quite plain. It shows itself in immoral, filthy, and indecent actions; in worship of idols and witchcraft. People become enemies and they fight; they become jealous, angry, and ambitious. They separate into parties and groups; they are envious, get drunk, have orgies, and do other things like these. I warn you now as I have before: those who do these things will not possess the Kingdom of God. But the Spirit produces love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, humility, and self-control. There is no law against such things as these. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have put to death their human nature with all its passions and desires. The Spirit has given us life; he must also control our lives. We must not be proud or irritate one another or be jealous of one another."

Hizbullah Official on UNIFIL: People Won't Accept Troops Living among Them, Calling Them Terrorists
Naharnet /A Hizbullah official has announced that southerners will not accept to have U.N. peacekeepers among them who label them as "terrorists," in the wake of the European Union's decision to put the party's armed wing on its list of "terrorist" organizations. “People are not going to accept you living among them and calling them terrorists,” a Hizbullah official said in an interview with the British newspaper the Financial Times.
The EU designation has tested Hizbullah’s relationship with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), which has been deployed in southern Lebanon since 1978.
“We as locals in the south treated UNIFIL like sacred guests – we protected them,” Ali Ahmed Zawi, a pro-Hizbullah mayor of a southern village, told the FT.
“What do they do in return? Put us on the terrorist list,” he added. According to Tony McKenna, the commander of UNIFIL's Irish battalion, the pro-Hizbullah community leaders with whom his contingent regularly liaises have not reproached them yet for the designation. “We would have expected if there was going to be a backlash, mayors would not be meeting us, or if they were meeting us, giving us a dressing down – we haven’t encountered this yet,” said Lt. Col. McKenna. The mayor also played down any suggestion of violence, insisting that Hizbullah will respond “politically” to the EU designation. “They put us on the terrorist list, but we’re going to treat (UNIFIL) well, because that’s our way,” he said. European countries with troops in southern Lebanon are likely to have received indirect assurances that their security would not be affected before taking the decision, said Timur Goksel, of the American University of Beirut, a former UNIFIL spokesman. “UNIFIL's presence serves Hizbullah in multiple ways, for their own security and for the benefit of their people economically,” he said.
However, even if Hizbullah as an organization has decided not to turn up the heat on European peacekeepers, villagers angered by the decision might confront a UNIFIL convoy, Goksel added. A Lebanese security official told the FT that extremist groups known to operate in the South might take advantage of the situation to launch an attack on UNIFIL. Two years ago, unknown assailants targeted French and Italian peacekeepers. More than a dozen were wounded by three roadside bombs. Almost a third of UNIFIL's 10,000 troops are from European countries.

Reports in Lebanon: 'IDF soldiers fell into Hezbollah trap'
Media outlets claim detonation of two bombs planted by Shiite group led to injury of four Israeli soldiers near border Wednesday
Roi Kais Published: 08.08.13, 18:59 /Ynetnews
Media outlets affiliated with Hezbollah claim the four IDF soldiers who were injured in an explosion near the border on Wednesday fell into a trap set up by the Lebanese Shiite movement. Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon said the IDF force inadvertently activated a mine, but according to reports in Lebanon, two explosive devices planted by Hezbollah were activated at the site. "Only the resistance is capable of setting such a trap and building bombs that explode on the Israelis," one newspaper said.Ibrahim al-Amin, editor-in-chief of Al-Akhbar, hinted in his article that Hezbollah was behind the blast that injured the Israeli soldiers. According to him, the first bomb, which was connected to four smaller bombs that were laden with metal balls, went off at 4 am. The second device exploded 20 seconds later, he said. The soldiers sustained light to moderate wounds, mainly from shrapnel and the shockwave from the explosion. The Lebanese Army said that in a "violation of Lebanese sovereignty," an Israeli infantry patrol crossed the UN-designated "blue line" between the two countries and moved 400 meters (437 yards) inside Lebanese territory. During the infiltration, an explosion occurred which led to a number of (Israeli soldiers) being wounded," the Lebanese military said, adding it was investigating the circumstances of the blast in coordination with UN peacekeepers in southern Lebanon. Commenting on the incident, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would "continue to act responsibly" to defend its borders.
In the Al-Akhbar article, al-Amin said "someone was expecting the (IDF) force," adding that the "enemy faces a difficult question: How did Hezbollah know about it?" The article in Al-Akhbar does not necessarily present an accurate depiction of Wednesday's incident. Rather, it may be part of Hezbollah's attempt to rehabilitate its status in Lebanon and the Arab world in general following the harsh criticism over its involvement in the Syrian civil war. According to reports, more than 100 Hezbollah terrorists have been killed and hundreds more were wounded in battles against rebels trying to overthrow Syrian President Bashar Assad. Hezbollah's involvement in Syria contributed to the European Union's decision to designate its armed wing as a terror organization. The Shiite movement is trying to show the Arab world that the fight against Israel remains its top priority.

Geagea Says Hizbullah Syria Intervention Dragging Lebanon into 'Inferno of Fire and Iron'
Naharnet/Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea on Thursday accused Hizbullah of dragging Lebanon into “an inferno of fire and iron” through its military intervention in Syria. “Hizbullah is a mini-state inside the Lebanese state and this mini-state is obstructing the rise of an active and real state,” Geagea told an LF expat delegation. “Today, the party's objective is to prevent the formation of a new cabinet and, if possible, to postpone the upcoming presidential election,” he added. The LF leader warned that “Hizbullah's participation in the war and fighting inside Syria has dragged Lebanon into an inferno of fire and iron, which we don't know when or how it will end.”
Geagea noted that “the solution lies in the rise of a real state that would protect Lebanon at the levels of sovereignty, security, economy and social security.” Hizbullah's key support has helped the Syrian regime recapture the strategic town of Qusayr near the Lebanese border and recently the Homs neighborhood of Khaldiyeh. In the wake of the Qusayr battle, Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said his group “will be where it needs to be" in Syria which is facing a “very, very dangerous conspiracy.” Nasrallah had previously justified the group's involvement in Syria by saying it was defending Lebanese-inhabited border villages inside Syria and Shiite holy sites in the Damascus province.But during a May 25 speech Nasrallah warned that "if Syria falls in the hands of the Takfiris and the United States, the resistance will become under a siege and Israel will enter Lebanon. If Syria falls, the Palestinian cause will be lost.”

1 Dead, 2 Hurt in Army Raid to Arrest Fugitive in al-Faour
Naharnet/One person was killed and two others were wounded in a clash with the army during a raid to arrest a fugitive in the Bekaa town of al-Faour on Thursday. “As an army intelligence patrol was conducting a raid in the town of al-Faour to arrest a fugitive from the al-Itani family, it came under gunfire, which prompted its members to return fire,” state-run National News Agency reported.“The exchange of gunfire left Amer al-Itani dead and two people – one identified as Ayman al-Itani – wounded,” NNA said. Amer's body and the wounded were transported to the Lebanese-French Hospital as residents of the town gathered outside the facility, the agency added. Later on Thursday, the Army Command issued a statement saying “as an army force was conducting a raid to arrest a number of fugitives in the Bekaa town of al-Faour, it was intercepted by a mob who pelted the patrol with stones and opened fire on it, damaging a military vehicle, which prompted the patrol's members to return fire.” “Three people were wounded and rushed to hospitals in the area and one of them died later of his wounds,” it added. The Army Command said normalcy was restored in the town, noting that military police has opened a probe into the incident under the supervision of the relevant judicial authorities. But the unrest continued later on Thursday, with the National News Agency reporting that residents of al-Faour have erected a tent in the middle of the public road to receive condolences over the death of Amer al-Itani.
It also reported that a civilian car came under gunfire while passing on al-Faour's bridge. "Fahd Elias Ghanem, who hails from Hawsh al-Omara, filed a report with the Riyaq police station that while he was driving his car, accompanied by Tony Sami Trad and Sami Wadih Sherro ... they passed on the bridge of the town of al-Faour, where they saw a gathering of people,” NNA said. “When they tried to bypass the gathering, an unknown individual opened fire from a pistol at their car, smashing the glass of the right rear window and the rear window, while no one was hurt,” it added.On July 31, a soldier was killed and another injured during a raid to arrest fugitives in the Bekaa town of Majdal Anjar. The army revealed that troops managed to arrest "one of the most dangerous fugitives in the country."

Suleiman Asks Army, UNIFIL to Expand Probe into Israeli Infiltration
Naharnet/President Michel Suleiman urged on Thursday the Lebanese Army and UNIFIL leaderships to expand the investigation into the infiltration of an Israeli patrol into southern Lebanon.
Suleiman's request came in an attempt to study in detail the circumstances of the infiltration that took place early Wednesday to add the information to a complaint that Lebanese authorities plan to file with the U.N. Security Council. The Lebanese army said Wednesday that a group of Israeli soldiers crossed the border into the southern area of Labbouneh near Naqoura and were wounded in an explosion which reports have said was caused by a landmine. It called the incident a "new violation of Lebanese sovereignty" and said it was investigating the nature of the blast. The communique said the Israeli troops reached as far as 400 meters inside Lebanon. Lebanese officials said the infiltration was in violation of Security Council resolution 1701 that ended the 2006 war between Israel and Hizbullah.

Salam: Jumblat Has Biggest Effect in Bringing a New Political Equation
Naharnet /Prime Minister-designate Tammam Salam shied away from lauding Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat's latest stances, which he said have always changed the balance of power in Lebanon.
Jumblat's latest remarks “draw attention,” Salam told As Safir newspaper published on Thursday. “His stances had always had the biggest effect in … producing a new political equation,” he said. On Wednesday, Jumblat told Egypt’s Middle East News Agency MENA that he “will study the available options, including a neutral de facto cabinet, should a neutral technocratic one be rejected.”“I do not want to take the risk in advocating a de facto government as I was among the first to demand the establishment of a national unity cabinet that Prime Minister-designate Tammam Salam had described as one of national reconciliation,” he said. In his remarks to As Safir, Salam hoped that Eid al-Fitr would be an occasion for all political parties to “review their behavior” and facilitate the formation of the new cabinet to resolve pending issues. The PM-designate refused to announce a date for the line-up, saying “I make my choices based on my convictions … which stem from the national interest and what is beneficial for the country.” “In this case, the timing becomes a secondary issue,” he said. “It's not important if the government is born before or after the Eid.” Salam reiterated that he is seeking to come up with a cabinet that is “compatible with the requirements of the nation's interest.” His attempts to form a government of rival political figures have faced major obstacles over conditions and counter-conditions set by the bickering March 8 and March 14 alliances.

Mufti Qabbani Snubbed by Officials, Calls for Unity among Sunnis
Naharnet/ Grand Mufti Sheikh Mohammed Rashid Qabbani warned on Thursday against strife and called for unity among Sunnis despite being snubbed by the sect's top political leaders. Qabbani made the appeal during his Eid al-Fitr sermon at the Mohammed al-Amin mosque in downtown Beirut. No officials attended the prayers. He urged politicians to unify Muslims and not to be tempted by power. This year's Eid comes amid attempts by the political leaders of the Sunni sect to force him out despite his insistence to remain in his post until elections next year. The battle to isolate him was interpreted in the failure to send a memo that tasks a cabinet minister to represent caretaker Premier Najib Miqati at the Eid prayers and to accompany the Mufti to the mosque – a traditional move made each year. Sources close to Miqati said not sending the memo was a reflection of the deal reached between the former prime ministers to take measures against the Mufti over financial and legal violations. Last month, the premiers discussed the Dar al-Fatwa crisis at ex-PM Omar Karami's residence in the northern city of Tripoli. The statement, which was issued after the meeting that was attended in addition to Karami by Miqati, Premier-designate Tammam Salam and former PM Fouad Saniora, said the conferees agreed on “a number of steps that will be implemented consecutively.” Miqati's sources told An Nahar newspaper that not sending the memo is one of the measures that the PMs agreed on. The Higher Islamic Council, which elects the mufti and organizes the affairs of Dar al-Fatwa, has been at the center of controversy after 21 of its members, who are close to ex-Premier Saad Hariri's al-Mustaqbal Movement, extended its term until the end of 2013 despite Qabbani's objection. But the mufti considered the extension illegal and held council elections.

Lebanon: A State Struggles for Life
By: Eyad Abu Shakra/Asharq Alawsat
In early August Lebanon celebrated “Army Day,” with an official ceremony which witnessed the graduation of officer cadets from the military academy. Military helicopters flying Lebanese flags hovered above the school overlooking Beirut. In the school’s yard, files of officers as well as symbolic military pieces and battalions paraded with the senior state officials watching from the main platform.
In appearance, the “state” was present.
Leaders of all sorts and titles were there: from the incumbent, the constant, and the resigned, to the designated, with perhaps, who knows, the country’s next president among them.
Even in his traditional speech President Michel Suleiman was like a genuine statesman preoccupied with sovereignty (which is there only in name, not in substance). The repercussions of the speech were soon felt, given its daring references to who has the exclusive right to have weapons in Lebanon, national consensus and the meaning of martyrdom.
The speech produced rapid reactions. Most significant, however, were the rockets that fell close to the presidential palace, the speech that Hassan Nasrallah gave on the occasion of the “day of Jerusalem,” and the escalating kidnappings among different sects, as well as the Syrian airstrikes on the border area near the village of Arsal. All of these incidents reflect the utter collapse of the Lebanese state.
Away from the chronic and fruitless escapist strategy that the Lebanese follow, the countdown to the destruction of Lebanon has begun. There is not a national middle ground for the Lebanese to stand on while state institutions collapse one after the other due to unhealthy tribal and factional allegiances, as well as backward, illogical and narrow-minded domestic leaders.
Although there have been countless instances of the collapse of the state, the most prominent is represented by the bizarre coexistence imposed by force of a poor “state” and a powerful “statelet.” The weapons of the state are designed to ensure no more than domestic security and are not to be used against the enemy, as the former chief of the army Michel Aoun hinted, stressing his support of Hizbollah’s right to keep its arms.
Aoun’s repeated support of Hezbollah’s right to have weapons that are more powerful than that of the army must raise questions in any respectable country. This is not to mention that weapons in Lebanon are exclusively owned by a religious party whose political and military decisions are not subject to the authority of Lebanese state, despite the fact that all citizens must enjoy equal rights, from martyrdom for the national soil, to paying taxes as well as receiving unemployment and retirement benefits.
What is more, the army, along with the judicial system, is the last bastion for the fragile legitimacy in the country, is compelled to carry out only the tasks it is selectively assigned, given the difference in the balance of power between the state and the statelet.
What the army can do in the suburbs of Sidon and the outskirts of Arsal is not possible in some “security squares,” on the pretext of tasks related to “resistance.” Therefore, statesmen of Aoun’s caliber do not care about damaging the army’s credibility and prestige when they excessively support the military operations in certain geographical and sectarian locations.
This brings us to another point which may not be interesting to the non-Lebanese, namely the crisis sparked by extending the terms of the chief of the army and the chief of staff.
A few months ago, when Major General Ashraf Rifi, the General Director of the Lebanese Internal Security Forces, reached retirement age, the March 8 Alliance which consists of the “Shi’ite duo” (Hezbollah and the Amal Movement) and their allies, objected to extending his term. Accordingly, Rifi who is affiliated with the Future Movement, was forced into retirement.
However, as the Maronite chief of the army Jean Kahwaji and the Druze chief of staff Walid Salman approached retirement, everybody was confused and called for the extension of the leaders’ terms. While the “Shi’ite duo” supported the extension, Aoun was the only one who opposed it.
To all appearances, Aoun’s opposition appears to be normal given that he had earlier opposed extending Rifi’s term.
In principle, appointments of the heads of the army, internal security, general security and state security are subject to broad understandings that are based on nominations made by the leaders of the country’s sects and the approval of the other sides. However, the fact that only one sectarian organization has the right to have arms in Lebanon changed the rules of the game. Thus, the Future Movement, which enjoys Sunni majority representation in the parliament, has become unable to impose its favorite candidate or, as in Rifi’s case, defend him or extend his term. The same applies to Walid Jumblatt, whose favorite candidate for chief of staff has been vetoed on several occasions.
As for Kahwaji, he was nominated by Aoun, supported by the “Shi’ite duo” and approved by the president. At the time, the appointment of Kahwaji was in the interest of Aoun and other Christian factions. However, the situation is different now given the deadlocked political process in Lebanon, embodied by the inability to form a government. Thus, the renewal of Kahwaji’s term may mean that he is the favorite candidate for the presidency, similar to what happened with Michel Suleiman a few years ago.This possibility is utterly rejected by Aoun, who nominates three presidential candidates, namely himself (despite the fact he will be 80 soon) as well as his two sons-in-law Cahmel Roukaz, chief of commandos, and minister Gebran Bassil. Aoun still covets the presidency. As for Hezbollah, it has a much bigger project which, after the party’s involvement in the Syrian crisis, aims at spreading Shi’ism in certain areas in Syria in a bid to divide the country.

US: Israeli-Palestinian peace talks to resume Aug. 14 in Jerusalem
REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
Israeli and Palestinian negotiators will resume peace talks in Jerusalem on Aug. 14, the US State Department said on Thursday.
"Negotiations between the Israelis and Palestinians will be resuming Aug. 14 in Jerusalem and will be followed by a meeting in Jericho (in the West Bank)," State Department spokesperson Jen Psaki told a briefing.Abbas cancels Fatah meeting, flies to Saudi Arabia on surprise visitIn meeting with US congressmen, Peres lauds Obama and Kerry For stubborn peace effortsThe sides held their first peace negotiations in nearly three years in Washington on July 30 in US-mediated efforts to end the conflict of more than six decades.
Chief PLO negotiator Saeb Erekat said last week that Israel was expected to release 26 Palestinian prisoners on August 13 to constitute the first of four stages of prisoner releases as a gesture for resuming direct Israeli-Palestinian peace talks. Israel's chief negotiator Tzipi Livni said last week that the parties had agreed on alternating venues for talks in initial meetings with the first to be held in Israel.
"We and the Palestinians both determined that the first meetings would be held once in Israel and once in the Palestinian Authority ... we want to do it directly (and close to home). The next meeting will be in the second week of August in Israel," she said in a broadcast interview. Livni added that the prisoners would be freed "by that time" but did not give a more specific timetable, saying that the case of each inmate slated for release still had to be scrutinized before final approval. Last month, the Cabinet approved the release of 104 long-serving Palestinian prisoners in stages according to progress in the talks. Thousands more remain in Israeli jails.
Psaki said Thursday that US envoys Martin Indyk and Frank Lowenstein will travel to the region to help facilitate the negotiations.
She signaled that no major breakthroughs were likely at the meeting, saying: "Secretary Kerry does not expect to make any announcements in the aftermath of this round of talks."
In response to reports that Israel had given preliminary approval for the construction of more than 800 new homes in Jewish settlements in the West Bank, Psaki said Washington had taken up the issue with the Israelis.
"The United States does not accept the legitimacy of continued settlement activity and opposes any efforts to legitimize settlement outpost," Psaki said.
"The Secretary has made clear that he believes both the negotiating teams are at the table in good faith and are committed to making progress," she added.

Barring the IDF, Netanyahu’s last resort against possible Obama détente with Iran is US Congress
DEBKAfile Exclusive Analysis August 7, 2013/Iranian President Hassan Rouhani at his first news conference Tuesday, Aug. 6, said his government would not discuss his country’s nuclear program with the world powers under pressure. No sooner had he spoken than Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu shot back: The only thing that worked in the past was pressure, so the answer now is increased pressure.
It is an open secret that what Rouhani is after is the lifting of US and European sanctions which are crippling Iran’s economy. He is not altogether unrealistic: Only last February, the Six World Powers made Tehran an offer to gradually ease sanctions if Iran stopped enriching uranium – even temporarily.
That was before he was elected. Now, Rouhani wants more dramatic concessions on sanctions to prove his worth to the Iranian people and assure them he will be alleviating their economic hardships very soon.
The Obama administration is sharply divided by the debate for and against removing sanctions. Proponents argue that Rouhani, who is perceived in the West as a moderate, should be encouraged because he may be the man to eventually persuade Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to freeze Iran’s nuclear program.
He succeeded once before, in October 2003, when he was Iran’s senior negotiator, they maintain - forgetting that Tehran was then gripped by fear that the US army, which had invaded Iraq in March of that year, would turn on next-door Iran and wipe out its nuclear program.
After a pause of less than a year, when Khamenei and Rouhani saw the US army becoming mired in Iraq and therefore no threat, they switched their nuclear weapons program back on at full power.
Judging from this precedent, Netanyahu advised a visiting delegation of 36 US Members of Congress in Jerusalem not to heed Rouhani’s demand to drop the pressure, i.e. sanctions. Nothing else works, he said.
At the same time, the prime minister, like his American guests, is well aware that pressure in the form of sanctions never slowed Iran’s race for a nuclear bomb, but rather accelerated it.
On Monday, Aug. 5, The Wall Street Journal divulged a fact know for six months to Israeli and US intelligence communities – that in mid-2014, Iran will finish building a heavy water reactor at Arak in northwestern Iran and be able to produce plutonium for nuclear bombs from the reactor’s spent fuel rods, a method used by India, Pakistan and North Korea. Plutonium for bomb-making will therefore be available sooner than enriched uranium.
However, a large surface reactor is an easier target to hit than the underground facilities at Fordo that house Iran's uranium-enrichment facilities.
This was behind the thinking of an unnamed senior Israeli official, when he commented to the media on Tuesday that Israel was capable of attacking the Iranian nuclear program on its own without American back-up – albeit less effectively than an operation by the US or with American operational support. He meant that Israel could destroy key components of Iran’s nuclear program, but not disable it entirely.
debkafile’s military and intelligence sources find in these remarks a growing acceptance in Israel’s political and military officials that President Obama’s reluctance to involve the US in military action in Syria applies equally to Iran. Netanyahu is going to great lengths to present Israel’s case to members of Congress, whom he sees as his last resort for winning Obama around. He figures that even if the US President is resolved to go easy with Rouhani and lift sanctions, Congress will block him.
This is of course no more than a holding tactic and therefore susceptible to compromise at some point.
Its weakness lies in the fact that not only is Obama balking at military options, so too is Netanyahu. The Iranians, including their new president Rouhani, who monitor every twitch of every US and Israeli political and military muscle, will understand that for now, they can keep going forward with their nuclear plans without fear of interference.

The embassies should have stayed open
August 08, 2013/By: Michael Young The Daily Star
Pity Edward Snowden. He was accused of revealing valuable information allowing terrorist groups to learn that the United States was eavesdropping on their communications. Today, with U.S. embassies in the region closed because electronic “chatter” suggested an attack was imminent, terrorists know this by listening to American officials.
The Obama administration has pursued leaks aggressively, except when these advance its agenda. The news that the U.S. discovered that Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri had ordered the organization’s franchise in the Arabian Peninsula to carry out an unspecified military operation is useful to President Barack Obama. It allows him to defend American surveillance programs, after Congress recently failed by a narrow margin to defund the National Security Agency’s program to collect metadata and other information domestically.
That is not to say that the latest threat was contrived to serve such a purpose. Rather, the closure of several embassies was portrayed as an effort to stray on the side of caution, and members of Congress from both sides of the aisle have praised the move.
Perhaps they were right, but the American reaction must have especially pleased Zawahiri and his acolytes. Nineteen embassies in the Arab world were closed for a week, American and British citizens left Yemen hurriedly, and the United States looked as if it had lost its nerve. And all Zawahiri had to do was to pick up the phone and say a few words.
Not surprisingly the Yemenis were unhappy. They decried the evacuations as a step that “serves the interests of the extremists and undermines the exceptional cooperation between Yemen and the international alliance against terrorism.” Jihadist websites, in contrast, were delighted with the havoc the apparent threat had created.
The dangers to the United States and other Western countries are real and should be taken seriously. However, when episodes like the latest embassy closures occur, it’s difficult not to feel that the responses are out of proportion with reality. After the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, the U.S. rightly concluded that the best way to combat terrorism was to show that Americans could go on with their lives as if nothing had happened. Since that time American actions have proven the contrary, so that those who claim that Osama bin Laden won may be right.
The U.S. has not conducted its “war on terror” in an ideal way. The NSA’s surveillance programs are a good example of how the siren song of absolute security has allowed the U.S. government to dramatically widen its authority to enter into the lives of Americans, with no regard for privacy. Even if legislation to defund the surveillance programs was defeated, there will be other ways to bring the programs back into line with what Congress originally intended in the U.S.A. Patriot Act.
In defending the surveillance programs, Obama declared it was necessary to balance privacy with national security. He’s right, except for one thing: the balance has invariably tilted in favor of national security, as Americans and non-Americans have faced ever more intrusive government snooping into their personal communications, financial affairs, purchases, Internet habits and anything else the government deems to be of relevance to public safety.
Perhaps the most egregious facet of the “war on terror” was the Bush administration’s creation of a legal twilight zone in which torture was interpreted as something acceptable, while prisoners caught in Afghanistan and elsewhere were denied the protection of the Geneva Conventions. The justification of torture, sordidly redefined as “enhanced interrogation techniques,” greatly damaged George W. Bush’s legacy, as did the administration’s adoption of an illegal “extraordinary rendition” program that allowed prisoners to be sent to countries that practiced torture in order to be interrogated.
As for the legal status of prisoners, a case could be made early on that Al-Qaeda and Taliban combatants did not qualify as prisoners of war under Common Article 3 of the conventions, even if the Supreme Court later ruled that they did. However, the administration’s case was much weaker under Protocol 1, which the U.S. never ratified. The result was that prisoners found themselves in a legal no-man’s land, labeled “enemy combatants” to be held until the end of the war on terror.
The only problem is that the war on terror is open-ended. The prisoners at Guantanamo prison are still caught up in a legal void: they are covered neither by the Geneva Conventions nor are they under the jurisdiction of American law. What to do with them is a headache that Obama has yet to resolve, which has delayed his plans to close Guantanamo.
Bush’s invasion of Iraq was a laudable effort to overthrow an incalculably cruel regime. However, how difficult it was for the president, and for those, such as myself, who supported the war, to convince others of this when the administration was bending the law to allow the very behavior it was supposed to fight. For what we saw at Abu Ghraib was only what we had earlier seen at other U.S. prisons.
Fouad Ajami, a defender of the Iraq war, wrote this at the time: “We ought to give the Iraqis the best thing we can do now, reeling as we are under the impact of Abu Ghraib – give them the example of our courts and the transparency of our public life. What we should not be doing is to seek absolution in other Arab lands.”
Ajami was right in arguing that America’s strength resides in its legal system and its transparency, not in the denial of due process and secrecy. Nor will overreaction and panic defeat Al-Qaeda. The U.S. embassies in the region should have tightened security and remained open. Steadfastness and principle should yet mean something to a nation that has frequently struggled not to abandon both.
**Michael Young is opinion editor of THE DAILY STAR. He tweets @BeirutCalling.