LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
August 14/07

Bible Reading of the day
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 17,22-27. As they were gathering in Galilee, Jesus said to them, "The Son of Man is to be handed over to men, and they will kill him, and he will be raised on the third day." And they were overwhelmed with grief. When they came to Capernaum, the collectors of the temple tax approached Peter and said, "Doesn't your teacher pay the temple tax?"Yes, he said. When he came into the house, before he had time to speak, Jesus asked him, "What is your opinion, Simon? From whom do the kings of the earth take tolls or census tax? From their subjects or from foreigners?"When he said, "From foreigners," Jesus said to him, "Then the subjects are exempt. But that we may not offend them, go to the sea, drop in a hook, and take the first fish that comes up. Open its mouth and you will find a coin worth twice the temple tax. Give that to them for me and for you."

Elias Bejjani's above editorial in the Western Media
FrontPage - USA    World Forum - USA    American Chronicle    Global Politician   Canada Free Press

Opinions
DEBKA-Net-Weekly: Iran plots with Syrian military to overthrow Bashar Assad. August 13/07
Reply to the Arab peace plan now, to advance in the Fall. The Daily Star. August 13/07

Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources for August 13/07
Geagea Warns Lahoud against Handing over Power to Military. Naharnet
Political vacuum in Lebanon after Lahoud goes - Analysis. Ya Libnan
Sfeir for Presidential Elections on Time, Rejects Two Governments.Naharnet
Jumblat: Hizbullah Arms 'Not Sacred' when They Protect 'Tyrannical ...Naharnet
Islamists Hint of 'Imminent' Attacks Outside Nahr al-Bared-Naharnet
British lawmakers say country should talk to Hamas, Hezbollah ...Live-PR.com (Pressemitteilung)
Armies urged to integrate human rights in war laws-Daily Times
Hezbollah: The Mothers of Martyrs-Asharq Alawsat
Lawmakers: UK Should Talk to Hamas-Washington Post
IDF: Syria's antiaircraft system most advanced in world.Ynetnews
UK 'damaged' by Lebanon war delay.BBC News
Militant presence unnerves Bekaa Valley residents-Daily Star
Sfeir calls for unity as Berri warns time is running out-Daily Star
Escaped militants 'threaten' attacks in Lebanon-Daily Star
Fadlallah calls for 'serious, constructive dialogue' among Muslim sects-Daily Star
More than 13 percent of Iranians live under poverty line - minister-Daily Star
Lebanese banks show growth amid political turbulence-Daily Star
Environmentalist calls for unity after cedar-reserve fires-Daily Star
Independent candidates sweep AUB alumni association polls-Daily Star
More than 13 percent of Iranians live under poverty line - minister.(AFP)

Sfeir calls for unity as Berri warns time is running out
By Hani M. Bathish and Maher Zeineddine
Daily Star staff
Monday, August 13, 2007
BEIRUT: Lebanese Army commander General Michel Suleiman's highly publicized visit to the Maronite patriarch on Saturday, coupled with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri breaking his long silence, have highlighted rising tensions as Lebanon approaches the September presidential election with no consensus in sight.
Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Butros Sfeir urged the Lebanese to join hands to save their country, adding that while politicians were competing for positions, the Lebanese Army and security forces were struggling to carry out their duties.
"This is the second year we have lost the summer tourist season, and people are uncertain as to how they will make ends meet and provide for their families," Sfeir said during his Sunday sermon in Dimane, echoing concerns of many in the country, adding: "Let us awaken to our predicament and stop the meaningless arguments and join hands to save our country. No one will save this country but us."
Continuing the rhetorical tone of his losing campaign in the Metn by-election, former President Amin Gemayel accused his electoral opponents of wishing to take the country back to the era of tutelage. He told the crowds that the era of foreign interests commandeering the Christian vote had ended.
"They fought a fierce battle against us to prevent us realizing the accomplishments of the Independence Intifada and the Cedar Revolution, as if they still ... desire to return to the era of tutelage, oppression and usurping Lebanon's freedom to decide," Gemayel said to supporters in Bikfaya on Sunday.
He said voters in the mountains of the Metn had spoken, and their decision was an affirmation for Lebanon's sovereignty. "They said yes to sovereignty, freedom and free decision-making. They said no to the alliances that mortgage Lebanon and its freedom to decide to foreign interests that contradict Lebanon's higher interests," Gemayel said.
Gemayel urged his supporters not to be fooled into thinking that external alliances, outside the framework of the state or at the state's expense, could protect Lebanon. "Such alliances destroy Lebanon. Let no one convince you that memoranda of understanding outside legitimacy preserve your security and existence, especially when they overstep the sovereign state and Lebanon's freedom to decide," Gemayel said, referring to the memorandum of understanding between the Free Patriotic Movement and Hizbullah.
Democratic Gathering leader MP Walid Jumblatt, addressing party loyalists at an annual dinner in Beiteddine Saturday, said the results of the Metn by-election showed that public opinion in the country had turned against the opposition and its allies, attributing the shift to the majority's steadfast struggle in the face of dangers.
"As long as the ruling group remains in Damascus, as long as the free are in Syrian jails ... and as long as the Lebanese-Syrian borders are open to the agents of destruction, we have to expect more assassinations and bombings," Jumblatt said.
Referring to Hizbullah's weapons, Jumblatt said that weapons that protect tyrannical regimes can never be sacred, whatever the heroism shown in the face of Israeli attacks. "Resistance is not just against Israel, but against regimes of hatred and envy. Resistance respects freedom and diversity," he added.
Jumblatt warned that anyone within the March 14 alliance who thinks of reaching a compromise or a settlement with the opposition would be a traitor and would be "condemned morally and politically."
Hizbullah MP Mohammad Raad, speaking during the opening of a medical center in Nabatiyeh Sunday, warned the ruling majority to take advantage of the present opportunity and accept "national partnership" with the opposition before it was too late. He said the United States was slowly retreating from the region before its defeat became apparent.
"If the ruling faction thinks the Americans will abandon their interests in Afghanistan and Iraq to hold on to their bargaining chip in Lebanon, they would be idiots, as they based their calculations on an illusion," Raad said.
Berri, breaking a long silence, said on Saturday that the scope for intra-Lebanese accord was getting slimmer, as military options were being considered against the Islamic Republic of Iran. At the same time, he expressed confidence that the Lebanese would manage to elect a new president by consensus, reaffirming his commitment to hold an electoral session of Parliament on September 25.
"I am very confident that there will be a solution and there will be presidential elections by consensus, because this is Lebanon," Berri told Voice of Lebanon radio on Saturday, adding that he would announce a plan of action in the second half of August. Berri said his efforts were now focused on a national unity government as priority.
The speaker said he had expected a more "positive" statement from March 14 Forces upon UN ratification of a special tribunal to try suspects in the slaying of former Premier Rafik Hariri. Instead, members of the majority put the issue of a national unity government "firmly behind them," which Berri said was "distressing" to him.
March 14 Forces MP Boutros Harb announced Sunday that he would formally submit his candidacy for the presidency in the last week of August. Speaking to Voice of Lebanon radio, Harb said it was a personal initiative in view of the fact that the country was getting closer to the date for the elections, and people should know the candidates and how candidates plan to solve the country's problems.
Harb said that the March 14 Forces were "in agreement" that only the majority's Christian members would select the group's presidential candidate


Escaped militants 'threaten' attacks in Lebanon
Audio tape claims group of fighters from nahr al-bared will launch terror campaign in country
Compiled by Daily Star staff
Monday, August 13, 2007
The leader of a Syrian Islamist group claimed in an audio tape aired on Sunday that a group of Fatah al-Islam militants had escaped from the Nahr al-Bared Palestinian refugee camp in North Lebanon, and he hinted they would be launching attacks inside Lebanon soon. Abu Jandal al-Dimashqi, the self-declared leader of Tawhid and Jihad in Syria, also mourned the death of Abu Hureira, the deputy leader of Fatah al-Islam, which has been battling the Lebanese Army in the camp and in Tripoli since May 20. The government of Prime Minister Fouad Siniora announced last week that police in Tripoli, about 12 kilometers from the Nahr al-Bared camp, had killed Abu Hureira, a Lebanese whose real name was Shehab al-Qaddour.
"The martyrdom of our brother Abu Hureira has fanned the flames," said Dimashqi in an audio tape posted on an Islamic Web site. "Let the government of traitor Siniora know some of Fatah al-Islam's heroes have left the camp and are now among you. Wait for a black day."
The authenticity of the audio tape could not be verified, but it was posted on a Web site commonly used by Islamic militants.
Dimashqi criticized residents of Abu Hureira's Northern village of Mishmish for refusing to bury him in the town's cemetery since he fought against the army. Three of the 136 soldiers who have been killed fighting Fatah al-Islam were from Mishmish.
A senior army officer said the military took the statement "seriously" and was analyzing it. But the officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the army "does not operate according to statements posted on the Internet, but rather on military plans."In further developments, the Lebanese Army on Sunday rejected a conditional offer of surrender by the remaining Fatah al-Islam militants. "The Islamists' spokesman Shahine Shahine made known an offer to give themselves up to the League of Palestinian Clerics, but this was rejected by the military," said Mohammad al-Hajj, a spokesman for the clerics trying to broker an end to the deadly fighting in the camp. The army is demanding that the remaining Fatah al-Islam militants surrender unconditionally, hand over their weapons and disband Fatah al-Islam, Hajj added.
A military spokesman confirmed Hajj's comments. "Fatah al-Islam is in no position to set conditions," he said.
"They have no other option but to surrender to the army and be brought to justice.
"However, we are ready to guarantee that their families be able to leave the camp in a peaceful manner. Let them suggest a mechanism for this, and it will be immediately implemented," the spokesman added.
No more than an estimated 60 civilians of the camp's official population of 31,000 remain inside Nahr al-Bared, and these people are thought to be the wives and children of the Islamist fighters. Also on Sunday, the National News Agency announced that Lebanese troops discovered a tunnel in Nahr al-Bared with furnished rooms "that appear to have been residences for Fatah al-Islam officials." It reported that troops had captured weapons and ammunition as well.
The army on Sunday continued bombarding the camp with intermittent artillery fire, targeting underground Fatah al-Islam positions. The Fatah al-Islam militants still control an area of about 1,500 square meters inside the camp Two rockets launched from inside the Nahr al-Bared camp Sunday morning hit the Akkar plain 4 kilometers away from the camp, although no casualties or damage were reported.
Rockets fired from the camp on August 2 hit the Deir Ammar power plant, one of the most important in Lebanon. It is still out of action, which has meant power cuts across the country. A Gazelle - the light attack helicopter recently purchased from France - flew over the camp Sunday without opening fire, after the helicopter gunships had launched strikes on Islamist positions on Thursday and Friday. Over 200 people - among them 136 soldiers - have been killed since the fighting began 12 weeks ago. The toll does not include the bodies of militants that still have to be retrieved from inside the camp. - Agencies

Militant presence unnerves Bekaa Valley residents
UN, Lebanese government warn of 'dangerous intrigues' of pflp-gc, fatah al-intifada
By Agence France Presse (AFP)
Monday, August 13, 2007
Sylvie Groult
Agence France Presse
QOUSSAYA: On the road out of Qoussaya village in eastern Lebanon, a barrier and a bunker signal the entrance to the military training camp of a Palestinian militant group. Around the camp housing the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine - General Command (PFLP-GC) are Lebanese troops who bar access to what has become a forbidden zone since the departure of Syrian soldiers and intelligence agents in 2005. From a balcony overlooking almond and cherry fields, villagers point to a mountainous ridge and farther away to the plateau adjoining Syria. High up there is another camp of the pro-Syrian group, which first set up bases in the region in the early 1970s. At the foot of the mountain, an army checkpoint guards access to the zone.
"Until 2005 and the departure of Syrian forces from Lebanon, the combatants would come and go as they pleased," recalled Suheil Kaidi, a 43-year-old farmer.
"They would come to shop in the village. But since the army surrounded the area, they have reduced their movements," said Kaidi, who lives in the Christian district of Qoussaya sandwiched between the Bekaa Valley and Syria. But the army posts which control access to Qoussaya only partly reassure the villagers.
The fighting which erupted on May 20 between the army and Fatah al-Islam extremists in the Palestinian refugee camp of Nahr al-Bared adds to local anxiety in Qoussaya. "Villages in the area are in danger. With these sleeping groups in the camps anything can happen," said one man, who was afraid to give his name.
Premier Fouad Siniora's government has accused the Islamist radicals in Nahr al-Bared of being manipulated by Syria and supported by the PFLP-GC and by Fatah al-Intifada, another armed Palestinian group implanted in eastern Lebanon.
The PFLP-GC denies any links. "We are training ourselves to lead operations against Israel - never will we direct our weapons against Lebanon," one of its representatives, Ramez Mustafa, told AFP. He acknowledged strong links with Syria and said that some of the group's fighters had been in Nahr al-Bared but they had left more than a month ago. Officials in Lebanon from Fatah, the party of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, said last year that Fatah al-Islam had infiltrated the country via the bases of pro-Syrian groups.
Some 20 kilometers south of Qoussaya, a tiny path leads towards the Halua district which abuts Syria and also shelters a Fatah al-Intifada base.
If one successfully negotiates three military checkpoints, at the fourth - a bunker protected by sandbags, huge blocks of cement and an armored vehicle - a soldier bars the route. "It is forbidden to pass," the soldier said. The Lebanese government and the UN Security Council have both warned against what they call the "dangerous intrigues" of the PFLP-GC and Fatah al-Intifada. And in recent months there have been repeated allegations of a flow of arms either to Hizbullah or to pro-Syrian groups across the Lebanese-Syrian border, a mountainous zone crisscrossed by paths that are impossible to control completely.
"The logistic tracks [from the training camps] head toward Syria, not toward Lebanon," said one military officer who would not be identified.
Lebanese officials say the army has set up a watertight control system by deploying 2,500 troops in the Bekaa Valley after Syrian forces left in 2005.
"Only Palestinians with refugee status in Lebanon can pass the checkpoints, without arms and in civilian vehicles. Others cannot," said the officer.
Georges, a young grocer in Qoussaya, told AFP he was used to seeing Palestinians coming and going, buying fizzy drinks and "tuna and tinned sardines."
But for the past two years, he said "they have been much more discreet." They still drive to shop "but in civilian clothes, in a jeep registered in Lebanon."

Reply to the Arab peace plan now, to advance in the Fall
By The Daily Star
Monday, August 13, 2007
Editorial
Months remain before the scheduled convening of the gathering to promote Arab-Israeli peace negotiations that US President George W. Bush proposed recently, but it is not too early to start exploring whether this could be a real opportunity for change, and not simply another hoax. Expectations are not high for this meeting, whose participants and agenda are not yet clear. Nevertheless, this could be seen as another marker on a long road otherwise full of disappointment and failed peace initiatives. Bush is on the ropes politically due to Iraq and other problems, and will want to earn a victory somewhere so he does not leave office a discredited and broken man. Arab-Israeli peace-making is a notoriously difficult terrain in which to make one's mark, especially for American presidents who find themselves seriously constrained by pro-Israeli sentiments and forces in Washington.
Yet the Middle East cries out for progress on this issue, and the American people clearly would support a president who pushes for even-handed peace-making. Now is the time to lay the groundwork for progress in the Fall. The Arab world has done its part by relaunching the Arab peace plan and making it clear that it seeks a negotiated permanent peace based on UN resolutions and reasonable compromises. Israel and the US need to make a reciprocal gesture now, so that the Fall meeting can bear fruit.

More than 13 percent of Iranians live under poverty line - minister
By Agence France Presse (AFP)
Monday, August 13, 2007
TEHRAN: More than 13 percent of Iranians live under the poverty line, a government minister was quoted as saying Sunday, amid increasing concern about the welfare of the worst-off in the Islamic Republic. "Some 9.2 million people are living below the poverty line, meaning 10.5 percent of people in cities and 11 percent in villages," Social Security and Welfare Minister Abdolreza Mesri said.
The 2006 census shows Iran's population is 70.4 million. The Sarmayeh newspaper quoted Mesri as telling Parliament's Social Affairs Commission that 2 million Iranians live in extreme poverty, meaning they earn less than $70 a month. Mesri's comments come amid increasing concern over rising prices in Iran, which have especially hit the worst-off and state employees on low incomes. Teachers, for example, earn less than $300 per month.
Since the Iranian New Year in March, prices have jumped for basic foodstuffs, especially fresh vegetables and poultry, as well as services such as taxis.
The Central Bank has forecast that inflation will reach 17 percent in the current Iranian year to March 2008, compared with last year's rate of 13.5 percent
But many economists dispute this figure, and Iranian parliamentary research has estimated that inflation this year is running at 22.4 percent on the back of money-supply growth of a colossal 40 percent. A group of over 50 prominent economists have twice written open letters to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad warning that his high-spending policies risk fueling inflation further. But the government insists it has inflation under control and that booming oil receipts allow it to splurge on necessary infrastructure projects. - AFP

Environmentalist calls for unity after cedar-reserve fires
By Hesham Shawish
Special to The Daily Star
Monday, August 13, 2007
BEIRUT: A leading environmentalist urged Lebanese to unite to combat major challenges threatening their environment and their health, in a conference on Saturday. The head of the Association for Forests, Development and Conservation (AFDC), Mounir Bou Ghanem, was speaking during a news conference days after forest fires wiped out at least 1,200 hectares of Chouf cedar reserves on the Bekaa side of the mountains. The conference discussed ways to work with the government and other foundations and ministries to provide fire engines at various points around reserves and forests, so the engines would be able to mobilize quickly during future forest fires. The conference also comes at a time when Lebanon's coastline has yet to recover from its worst environmental crisis, the oil spill caused by an Israeli air raid on the Jiyyeh power plant during last summer's war. The bombing of the Jiyyeh power plant dumped some 15,000 tons of oil into the sea, fouling about 120 kilometers of Lebanon's coast. "The environment is something that binds everyone together, whatever their political affiliations. It is imperative that we unite to combat the most crucial concerns threatening our environment," Bou Ghanem said.
"Our main aim in this talk is to foster youth participation with regard to environmental issues and provide awareness and communication on the environment," said environmentalist Nabil Hassan. The talk discussed air pollution, water and sewage, land administration and waste disposal and sought comprehensive and environmentally friendly solutions on the disposal of waste, from household to building to medical waste. Past suggestions to use incinerators to dispose of household waste have met with opposition by the government because of the high cost.
The issue of recycling was also frequently raised at Saturday's conference. "We have to get away from this culture of throwing everything away," said Dumian al-Khoury, a student, adding: "Lebanon is a small country, and using dumps to dispose of our rubbish is simply not sustainable in the longer term. We need more recycling bins in more visible spots, to encourage a culture of recycling."
The current location of some recycling bins in large supermarkets such as Spinney's and Monoprix has attracted many people to bring their rubbish with them as they come to do their shopping. However, some people expressed past disillusionment with recycling schemes, accusing Sukleen preferring to recycle only glass and aluminum because these materials brought greater financial reward than paper, for example.
Another suggestion floated at the conference was to have larger supermarkets encourage customers to bring their own reusable bags for every shopping trip by knocking off LL1,000-2,000 off their tabs. Proponents of the idea said it would cost the stores very little and make a significant impact on the environment.
The conference, which was held at the Lebanese Order of Engineers, was sponsored by the Lebanese Development Marketplace, the United Nations Development Program, UNICEF, the World Bank, the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Lebanese Transparency Association.

Fadlallah calls for 'serious, constructive dialogue' among Muslim sects
Daily Star staff
Monday, August 13, 2007
BEIRUT: Senior Shiite cleric Sayyed Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah warned on Sunday against divisions among Muslims and called for a "serious and constructive dialogue" among the religion's sects. "Muslim-Muslim dialogue has become a necessity," Fadlallah said in a statement issued on Sunday.
"However," he added, "any dialogue should be based on three key conditions: a motivation to launch dialogue; considering dialogue as a priority; and the ruling out of all taboo issues in the dialogue."He said dialogue between Shiite groups and Salafi currents such as Saudi Arabia's Wahhabi sect "would be among the most vital and beneficial to Muslims."He warned Muslims to be cautious of "Western attempts to instigate strife among Sunnis and Shiites, because this strife only winds up benefiting those conceited foreign powers." Tackling domestic issues, Higher Shiite Council vice president Sheikh Abdel-Amir Qabalan urged for the formation of a national unity government "so as to pave the way for healthy presidential elections.""We urge all those stubborn politicians to show more tolerance and leniency and agree to the formation of a national unity government for the welfare of Lebanon," he said during a funeral on Sunday at the village of Mais al-Jabal in the South. He urged the Lebanese not to rely on foreign forces, "especially the United States," to solve the political crisis. "The US is facing big difficulties in the Middle East and is working on intensifying the crisis in Lebanon rather than alleviating it." - The Daily Star

Jumblat: Hizbullah Arms 'Not Sacred' when They Protect 'Tyrannical' Regimes like Syria, Iran
Druze MP Walid Jumblat criticized Hizbullah's weapons, saying guns that protect tyrannical regimes like Syria and Iran "are not sacred and can never be."
"As long as the ruling group remains in Damascus while the free are in Syrian jails … and the Lebanon-Syria border is open to sabotage agents, we should expect more assassinations and bombings," Jumblat told a dinner in Beiteddine. His remarks were published in Lebanese dailies on Monday.
"Weapons that protect the tyrannical rule from Beirut to Iran through the Damascus regime, are not sacred and can never be," Jumblat said.
"Resistance is not just resisting Israel, but resisting regimes of hatred and rancor," he added. "Resistance respects freedom and diversity."
Jumblat labeled "traitor" anyone within the majority March 14 coalition who considers reaching a compromise or a settlement with the Hizbullah-led opposition, saying he would be "condemned morally and politically."He also slammed pro-Syrian President Emile Lahoud, calling him a "young and stupid criminal" when the "stupid and bigger criminal Bashar al-Assad summoned (late) Premier Rafik Hariri and told him to renew for Lahoud. 'He is ours'."Lahoud denounced as "criminals" Jumblat and those like him. "It's hard to believe that comments like that could come from a normal and wise person," said a statement issued by Lahoud's office.
Beirut, 13 Aug 07, 07:01

British lawmakers say country should talk to Hamas, Hezbollah, Muslim Brotherhood
© AP-13.08.2007 02:13:48
(live-PR.com) -
LONDON (AP) - Britain should begin talking directly with three of the Middle East's most prominent radical Islamic groups, Hamas, Hezbollah and the Muslim Brotherhood, a committee of lawmakers said in a report released Monday. British diplomats should speak with moderate elements from such groups and continue engaging Iran and Syria because their influence can no longer be discounted, Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee said.
«The Muslim Brotherhood is strong in Egypt, and Hamas and Hezbollah cannot be ignored,» the report said.
The report criticized Britain's role in the international boycott of Hamas, saying it had contributed to the collapse of the unity government in the Palestinian territories amid the violence and political breakdown that engulfed the West Bank and Gaza in June.
Britain's priority should now be to draw Hamas back into a national unity government with the more moderate Fatah movement and persuade it to renounce violence, the committee said. The lawmakers urged former Prime Minister Tony Blair, the new envoy for the Quartet, an international group of Middle East mediators, to negotiate directly with the militant Islamic organization.A similar approach was recommended for dealing with Lebanon's Hezbollah and the Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt's outlawed opposition party. Lawmakers described Hezbollah's role in Lebanon as malign and said the scope of the Brotherhood's Islamist agenda was uncertain, but the power and influence of the two made dealing with them unavoidable.
The report said dialogue with Syria and Iran must feature in regional negotiations. It said Damascus _ long accused of destabilizing Lebanon _ «may slowly be changing for the better. Britain's Foreign Office said it had challenged Hamas to renounce violence before it would talk with the group, which now controls Gaza. «There have to be some ground rules,» the office said in a statement.
Hamas, which won elections last year but was expelled from government after its Gaza takeover, is considered a terrorist organization by the United States and the European Union. Both have refused to negotiate directly with group. The U.S. _ but not the EU _ has also labeled Hezbollah a terrorist organization, although many countries, including Britain, have outlawed the movement's armed wing. U.S. officials have also avoided meeting members of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood, which has been banned since 1954 but is the country's most powerful opposition movement. While the report largely covered British policy in the Middle East, it also questioned U.S. foreign policy. The committee said the U.S.-backed «roadmap» for Mideast peace had become irrelevant, that its «surge» strategy in Iraq was unlikely to succeed, and that the «War on Terror» vocabulary espoused by U.S. officials created resentment across the Middle East.

Hezbollah: The Mothers of Martyrs
12/08/2007
By Fatima el Issawi
http://aawsat.com/english/news.asp?section=3&id=9864
Lebanon, Asharq Al-Awsat- In the taxi that took us around Beirut's southern neighborhoods, a woman clad in black sat watching the passersby in silence, muttering prayers to God whispering verses of the Quran under her breath. From the front seat, I turned around and said, “Congratulations Hajja on your son's martyrdom.” She looked at me and burst out in tears. She said, “You congratulate me but it was a great loss. Nothing will compensate for my loss.”
The taxi driver intervened and told the old woman as she wiped away her tears with her handkerchief, “Hajja, you should be happy. You are the mother of a martyr. Your martyred son is in paradise.” The distressed woman, who lost her son in last summer’s war during a battle in one of the villages replied, “Of course I am proud of him, but I miss him a lot.” She continued to weep quietly.
This mother’s sadness, that I came across by chance, is no different to that of other women who appear on Arab and international television channels reiterating that they are “proud of their sons who have been martyred”. They state that their loss was a “sacrifice for al Sayyed”, in reference to Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah. But what kind of woman puts her son forward for “martyrdom”, celebrates his death, and in some cases prepares him herself for combat and sends him off to fight as if she is only sending him off to school?
The word “congratulations” does not obtain any significant reaction from Hajja Umm Mohammed Souror, whose son was among the first convoys of Hezbollah's “martyrs.” She has become accustomed to hearing the word and finds her role as a “mother of a martyr” completely agreeable.
Hajja, whose son was killed in a Hezbollah operation in 1988 said, “Just like any other mother, I miss my son. Sometimes I cry for hours. However, I see him in the faces of his Hezbollah companions. I am very happy when the young men come to visit me. I would love for them to come every day.”
A portrait of the young man hangs above the front door. Inside the house, other pictures of the martyrs from the family hang beside pictures of weddings and other special occasions. There is a large portrait of the family's most recent “martyr”. The family is proud that it has so many martyrs in the family.
“Do not believe that there is a mother who does not grieve for the loss of her son, but God gives us patience,” explains Umm Mohammed. The father of the martyr added, “Praise be to God. He has given us something to be proud of. Imam Khomeini used to say: I wish I were dust under the feet of the mothers and fathers of south Lebanon's martyrs.”
In response to my repeated questions, the mother of the “martyr” expresses her sorrow for her son's loss in a few simple and brief words. Mostly, she talks about the significance of martyrdom. She said, “I have seven young sons who are members of Hezbollah. I wish that they would all become martyrs like their brother.”
The father recounts that his son “used to read the Quran all night long and weep, and expressed his wish to be martyred until God granted him this wish. He was in his twenties.” He adds that his son received training from the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps. His superiors would tell the family not to attract any unnecessary attention to their son.
The father asked me, “Do you know what I did when they told me that my son had been martyred?” I waited in silence for the answer. The father demonstrated by kneeling down and kissing the ground.
The mother explained that she now has a special status among the people who now show her more respect. She is also looked after by the party and is frequently invited to visit religious sites in Syria or Iran. She repeatedly says that “a female Hezbollah official” frequently takes her by the hand when she attends a function and lets her sit-in the front row. She added, “Do not believe that the mother of a martyr is unhappy. She may cry sometimes but she is happy.” The father then turns to me and says, “Do not forget that we gain a lot of support. The Martyr's Institution covers all our medical, housing, and school expenses.”
In the small store that she runs in Ayt al Shaab, Maryam Souror, the martyr’s sister does not understand my hesitation regarding congratulating or consoling her for the death of her brother. She shouts at me as I hesitate: “Why are you hesitating? You should congratulate me of course.” She explained, “I feel perfectly assured. I am not worried about my brother. I know he is in paradise.” She continued, “I grieved for my cousin who died of natural causes because I do not know whether he is in paradise or not, but I am confident that my martyred brother is in the company of Imam Al-Hussein and Fatima. I do not weep for him. In fact I envy him.” She says, however, “It is difficult not having him around but there is joy and pride within me. I can hold my head up high because my brother is a martyr. A woman who has no martyr in her family does not hold her head up high.”
Maryam’s cousin Zaynab, whose brother died in the recent battle, interrupted: “Other people think that these young men have complexes and that they want to die. The truth is however that they are highly educated. They have graduated from the best universities.” She adds, “The people outside our community have the wrong idea about us. They think that our women suffer from complexes, never speak to men and are forbidden to do anything. In reality our life is not like that it all.” Jokingly, I said to her, “You really are the best advocate for Hezbollah. Why do you not run for parliament or a seat on the municipal council? She replied: “Why should I run when we have the best men here to do so?”
Zaynab explained to me that she and other female members of the family asked to be given weapons to fight during last summer's war but their role was restricted to preparing food for the fighters. She said, “We offered to help the young men by fighting and we asked them why they were allowed to bear arms and we were not. Their reply was that to fight in a war is a man’s duty whilst the woman’s responsibility is to prepare food and see to the young men's other needs.”
Zaynab, who cooked food for the fighters during the first few days of the battle said, “The reason is the need to maintain a young woman's dignity. If she dies, no stranger should see her corpse. A fighter's corpse could remain on the battleground for several days or may be taken by the Israelis”. She asserts, however, that “if a Shariaa-based opinion is issued that allows women to go to battle; we are prepared to do so. We will all go to war.”
Maryam and Zaynab do not conceal their pride in the masculinity of Hezbollah's young men who play the role of the trustworthy protectors of women. Maryam said, “We sleep with our doors open because we know the people who protect us. If a strange man approaches a woman, they will rip his heart out.”
In Al Khiyam, the wife of the town's baker says that she sent her husband and two sons to fight amongst Hezbollah's ranks in last summer's war. This woman, who has a large family, says, “I sent them to fight. I think that every boy should begin to train in the use of weapons from the age of 10 in order to defend his land.” I asked her: “Do you not fear for your children?” She answered: “Is there a woman in the world who does not fear for her children? Should I fear for my children and not the children of other women?”
This mother tells me how she stayed in the town until she was evacuated by the Red Cross: “I always found a way of reassuring myself about their safety. I found out that my husband and one of my sons were still alive but I was not reassured about the wellbeing of my second son until two days after the battle ended.” She added, “My heart was at rest in any case. I say praise be to God for returning them to me but if one of them had been martyred, I would still say praise be to God. May God be praised that they are still alive so that they can fight again.”
In the courtyard of Al Khiyam's official school, a large crowd of children and their mothers are gathered for a small celebration organized by a private foreign association. I approached one of the mothers as she watches her son’s every move and I asked her: “Will your son take part in jihad one day?” The woman, who is dressed elegantly, is surprised by the question. She replied after little hesitation: “Just like the others.” I then asked her: “Do you not fear for your son?” She hesitates briefly and repeats her answer: “Just like the others.” She added, “My children follow the news about the war on television. War is already in their blood.” She turned to her child who is listening to our conversation and asks him who their leader is. He replied, “Our leader is Nasrallah.”
Her neighbor, whose house was demolished in the war, is holding her veiled nine-year old daughter’s hand. She describes the fear that her family suffered from during the war, as well as being displaced. She finally tells me in a quiet voice: “I am the mother of two collaborators. One of them was imprisoned for three years and the other is still in Israel.” She explains that her contacts with this son are limited to telephone calls during which they discuss “only what is absolutely necessary”.
This mother avoids talking about the situations of her two sons but asserts that Hezbollah has not treated her badly. She said, “When I went to its office after the war to receive the compensation that was given to those who lost their homes, I was the first person who was called up to receive the money.”
The concept of “martyrdom” occupies an essential place in Hezbollah's discourse and activity. At one point, Hezbollah started to publicize the names of its martyrs and recounted their biographies, their upbringing, the training courses they attended, the battles they fought, and their visits to the holy shrines.
Perhaps the “martyrdom” of Hadi Nasrallah, the 18-year-old son of Hezbollah's Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah in September 1997 conveyed greater meaning to this concept. The leader's son was not exempt from combat and died in battle “just like the others.”
In addition to broadcasting programs about the martyrs, at a later stage, the secretary general began to visit their families, sometimes in the presence of media personnel. It was said that Nasrallah visited a family from Al Ashmar clan after following the “martyrdom” of the second son of the family. As Nasrallah walked into the house, he told the martyr’s father, “You have a higher rank than me. You carry two stars while I only have one,” in reference to the loss of his son while the other father had lost two sons.
Author and researcher Izzat Shararah Baydoun says that the martyrdom of a family member alters the whole family. The martyrdom becomes central to its affairs. She explains, “It is a requirement that to honor the martyr, the war must continue. Peace is like betrayal to the martyr.” She adds that the family “frequently pursues a political line that agrees with its new status and its sorrow for the lost son.”
According to writer and researcher Dalal al Birzi, the “mother of a martyr” experiences two different mindsets. At times she will focus on the noble goal of her son's death but she will also feel the personal loss as a mother. Al Birza’s book entitled ‘Akhwat al Dhal wal Yaqin’ [Sisters of Shadows and Conviction] explores the backgrounds of Islamist women including members and officials of Hezbollah.
According to al Birzi, “There is no doubt that those mothers experience real grief for their sons but if they openly admit this, it is as if they are denying the value of the sacrifice that their sons had made. It is this significant moral value that helps those women to cope with their bereavement.” She adds, “I have not read anything about the suffering that the mothers of martyrs feel for the loss of their sons. Such talk is usually confined to private gatherings. Nevertheless, I sense that within them, there is overwhelming sadness that is alleviated by ideology.”
The role of Hezbollah's women involves a lot of mobilization and guidance. Their activities bring political meaning to their role although they are not political in the traditional sense. So far, Hezbollah's women have not engaged in military activity. Hezbollah officials continuously state that there is no need for women on the battlefront. The role of women in battle is restricted to logistical support including transporting weapons, passing messages, relaying information, and carrying out other surveillance and communication activities.
Dalal al Birzi explained, “In this context the women assume responsibility for preparing the ranks. They mobilize the people and provide assistance to the families whose sons have been martyred. This female activity takes the form of a well-coordinated civil apparatus that helps create a society that is in total harmony with its ideology.”
During the last Hezbollah conference in late 2004, the attendees approved a recommendation to increase female participation in direct political action by allowing them to be represented in the party's political institutions. Rima Fakhry is the first woman to be appointed to Hezbollah's Political Council. The party also began to nominate women for seats in the municipal elections. When these elections were held, voting centers in densely populated areas witnessed an extensive female presence.
Opening the door to female political participation, which was demonstrated by a marked presence of women, did not reach the extent of allowing them to run in parliamentary elections despite the fact that there are no ideological or religious prohibitions to a woman assuming a position in leadership.
Muna Harb, a professor at the American University of Beirut (AUB) who is researching Hezbollah and its institutions, says that the role that is assumed by Hezbollah's women is eminently political, especially as it is voluntary. The women propagate the party's ideology and the party's leadership recognizes their role. Harb compares the role of Hezbollah's women to that of Fatima [the daughter of the Prophet Mohammed] and Zaynab [the granddaughter of the Prophet Mohammed] in their fundamental roles in Ashoura.
Muna Sukkariyah, a journalist, agrees that the role of women in Hezbollah have become more prominent over the past two years. She explains that female committees within the party carry out various activities such as visiting Christian institutions during religious festivals dressed in Islamic garb. This is a phenomenon that was unknown in the past.
Asked about her representation of women on the Hezbollah Political Council, Rima Fakhry, the first woman to join the Council, said, “Honestly, I am not interested in discussing the role of women in the council. It does not concern me. What concerns me is efficiency.”
I asked her whether she feared that her appointment to this body is simply a way of improving the party's image. She replied, “I have certainly asked myself this question. I would not like to be a member just to add to the numbers. However, God has given me success and I consider myself on the same level as the male majority in the Political Council.”
Fakhri, 41, who graduated from AUB with a degree in agricultural engineering and is the mother of four children, attributes Hezbollah's delay in representing women in its political structures to its “unique circumstances.” “Women's activities began with the emergence of Hezbollah. There is no organizational obstacle to allowing women to assume leadership positions. However, there were considerations that delayed this. Also the priorities of our security conditions prevented women from assuming senior positions.”
Before being appointed to her current position, Fakhri was in charge of the women's committees in Beirut. She has been an active member of the party for 25 years. She recounts that she was a member of a team that discussed giving women more responsibilities.
Fakhri describes herself as “exactly like any of the male brothers when it comes to discussions, analyses, or making suggestions.” Asked if her presence in the Political Council has changed anything within the Council itself, she replied, “The fact that I am a woman is not an issue. However, we have become more and more convinced that we have women in our ranks that are capable of political activity. An increasingly positive outlook on women's political capabilities has developed.”
Why doesn’t Hezbollah nominate women to run for parliament when it has allowed them to run in municipal elections? Fakhri said, “To begin with our circumstances are not the same as an ordinary political party. If elections are held soon, we might see one of our sisters or more running. We are prepared for this now.”
Khadijah Salloum, the official in charge of Hezbollah's women committees in the southern region of Beirut likes to repeat a certain expression: ‘good women equal good society’.
Salloum, 38 and the mother of four children, says that the women's committees focus on educating women. She explains that what distinguishes the work of these committees is that they rely on a group of volunteers, mostly young women. She adds that the number of volunteers fluctuates but is generally estimated at approximately 500 female volunteers of various ages and skills.
According to Salloum, religious commitment is a basic requirement to accept volunteers. However, the need for certain skills might facilitate accepting women who do not wear the Islamic veil such as physicians or environmental workers. She says: “We operate based on our appreciation of the role of women, a woman who understands the implications of resistance and understands her role, and who realizes that without this resistance, we would be in the same situation as the dispersed Palestinian people.”
Salloum recounts the awareness of Hezbollah's women during last summer's war: “I remember that I asked a woman in her 70’s, who took shelter in a school, if she needed any help. She said to me ‘I’d prefer to be away from my village and my home than see Israel defeat us.’” She explains that a special committee is assigned the tasks of reporting a son's martyrdom to his family and helping the family through this ordeal. She adds, “We visited a displaced family during the war to inform them of their son's martyrdom. We didn’t know how to break the news to them but we were surprised by the reaction. The martyr's father said ‘I feel honored that my son was martyred. I am prepared to give even more to preserve our dignity.’” She adds, “The Mujahideen themselves prepare their families for their martyrdom. In their wills, they ask their mothers not to cry and to remember the example of Zaynab and to say the words that she once said: ‘Please accept this [humble] sacrifice from us.’”

Friends of Our Enemies
12:59 PM CDT on Sunday, August 12, 2007
dallasnews
Anytime Iran and Nicaragua are mentioned in the same news story, Americans should pay attention. The last time it happened, the Reagan administration found itself immersed in the Iran-contra scandal. This time there's no scandal, but there is plenty of cause for concern.
Iran says it will provide more than $350 million to construct a Caribbean port for Nicaragua, and tens of millions more to build a farm-equipment assembly plant, four hydroelectric generating stations, five milk-processing plants, a health clinic and 10,000 houses.
The deal was crafted by President Daniel Ortega, the same guy who created so many headaches for the Reagan administration. He's free to accept help from whichever government he chooses, but we should be asking why Iran suddenly cares about Nicaragua. The two countries have no significant commercial links. They share no religious bond. Culturally, they are worlds apart.
As we've noted recently, Iran knows how to get under the skin of its enemies, and this is a prime example. By aiding Nicaragua, Iran wins friends and influences people right on America's doorstep. The same is happening in Panama's Colon Free Zone and the Ciudad del Este open market on Paraguay's border with Argentina and Brazil. Posters of the Ayatollah Khomeini are everywhere in the market, as are sympathies for Lebanon's Hezbollah, a Shiite Muslim ally of Iran.
Much of Iran's new activism is the result of deepening ties with Venezuela's firebrand president, Hugo Chavez, who has traveled to the Islamic Republic and hosted Iran's prime minister, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The two nations are preparing an arms-manufacturing joint venture, and Hezbollah now openly operates in Caracas.
There's minimal cause for concern that Latin America will somehow massively convert to Shiite radicalism. But clearly Iran is taking advantage of anti-American sentiment in Latin America to foment mischief. Continued reliance on Washington's traditional approach – military aid, drug-crop eradication and free-trade deals that favor the already wealthy – gives ammunition to critics who assert that America doesn't care about the little guy.
It's time for Washington to think more outside the box about how to win Latin American hearts and minds. Because it's obvious Iran is.

IDF: Syria's antiaircraft system most advanced in world
Ynetnews
Israeli military source says that after studying IAF's performance during Second Lebanon War, Damacus has purchased most advanced ground-to-air missiles from Russia. IDF fears Assad's arms race may be sign of possible conflict with Israel Alex Fishman Published: 08.13.07, 09:38 / Israel News
Syria possesses the most crowded antiaircraft system in the world following its continued purchase of Russian weapon systems, Yedioth Ahronoth reported Monday, quoting a senior Israeli military source. According to one estimate, the Syrians hold more than 200 antiaircraft batteries of different types.
Cooperation
Russian Navy to operate from Syria / Aryeh Egozi, Alex Fishman
For first time since fall of Iron Curtain, Russia plans to build permanent bases on Syrian soil as part of large arms deal between two countries. Defense establishment officials fear Russian ships may try to spy on Israel's weapon systems
In a bid to respond to the Israel Air Force's supremacy, Damascus has been exerting great efforts in the past few years to improve its ability in terms of ground-to-ground and ground-to-air missiles.
According to the military source, as part of these efforts the Syrians have purchased the most advanced ground-to-air missiles from the Russians, considered the cutting edge in aircraft interception technology.
Some of these missiles were snatched from the production lines even before being introduced into Russian operation service.
Damascus' race to purchase antiaircraft weapons is one of the prominent characteristics in the Syrians' preparations for a possible conflict with Israel.
According to the military source, Syria studied the IAF's performance during the Second Lebanon War and has since invested great sums of money in antiaircraft systems, particularly in systems for the defense of strategic sites.
The Institute for National Security Studies recently issued a memo on the strengthening of the Syrian army. In the chapter dealing with air defense, researcher Yiftah Shapir writes that the antiaircraft deals between Syria and Russia include the purchase of SA-24 missile systems, an armored vehicle which carries four Igla-S missiles – among of the most advanced shoulder missiles on the market.
In addition, the Syrians purchased between 36 to 50 Pantsir S-1 (SA-22) systems. This is a system combining missiles and shells and its development has only been completed recently. It is installed on a high-mobility vehicle and has a launcher of 12 missiles. Each missile weighs 65 kilograms (143 pounds) and has a 16-kilogram (35.2-pound) warhead.
The Syrians have also improved their old antiaircraft systems, such as the SA-3 and SA-6.
According to the memo, the Syrians are interested in purchasing long-range S-300 air defense systems and S-11 and SA-17 medium-range mobile air defense systems.
The S-300, one of the most advanced missiles used by the Syrian army can accurately intercept aircrafts from a distance of several tens of kilometers, thanks to an improved radar system combined with special sensors on the missile itself.
According to the military source, the Syrian army possesses today improved long-range and short-range air defense systems for the interception of aircrafts.
***Aryeh Egozi contributed to this report