LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
February 4/2007Bible Reading of the day
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Mark 6,30-34. The apostles gathered together with Jesus and reported all they had done and taught. He said to them, "Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while." People were coming and going in great numbers, and they had no opportunity even to eat. So they went off in the boat by themselves to a deserted place. People saw them leaving and many came to know about it. They hastened there on foot from all the towns and arrived at the place before them. When he disembarked and saw the vast crowd, his heart was moved with pity for them, for they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things.Free Opinions
Steven Emerson & Walid Phares Featured in New Documentary on ...Counterterrorism Blog 04.02.07
Beware of US gamblers playing with Iran -By Rami G. Khouri 04.02.07
Time for Lebanon to grasp the opportunity to reconfigure itself-Daily Star 04.02.07
The Lebanese Dilemma: A Primer-By: by Antoun Issa- Antiwar.com 04.2.07
The 'Toys' That Kill in Lebanon-TIME 04.2.07Latest News Reports From miscellaneous sources For 4/02/07
Hariri attacks Lebanon Speaker over International tribunal-Ya Libnan, Lebanon
Lebanon is a good place to find out what tosh the 'terror ...Lebanese Lobby, Lebanon
America puts its money where its mouth is-Ya Libnan, Lebanon
French lawmakers urge terror label for Hezbollah-Washington Post
French MPs Urge Chirac to Label Hizbullah 'Terrorist' Group -Naharnet
Hariri Criticizes Berri Over International Tribunal, Aoun Lashes out at Majority -Naharnet
Italian General Commands UNIFIL -Naharnet
Russia Challenge America Over Syria-New York Sun
French lawmakers urge terror label for Hezbollah-Washington Post
Israel To Deploy 'Iron Dome' Against Palestinian And Hezbollah ...All Headline News
Palestinians say 7 military trainers including Revolutionary Guard ...WorldNetDaily
Robert Fisk: Please spare me the word 'terrorist'-Independent
Iraq accuses Syria of taking measures against Iraqis-International Herald Tribune -Naharnet
Iraqi refugees feel hounded by Syria crackdown-Middle East Online
Lebanon's Sunni clerics issue fatwa-San Jose Mercury News
In Lebanon, A Plea for Common Ground-Men's News DailyLatest News Reports From The Daily Star For 3/02/07
Solidere to take majority stake in UAE project
Visiting dignitaries prescribe more dialogue for Lebanon
Feltman pushes Berri to help get new talks up and running
Forecast calls for wet and windy weekend
Lebanon's political deadlock could endanger Paris III aid-Ya Libnan
Red Cross seeks access to fighters held by Israel
Healthcare fund for Chouf residents begins work
Gemayel to 'hold high-level talks' in US
Fadlallah, Nasrallah touch base on political crisis
Berri reports pressure to 'swiftly' ratify Hariri murder tribunal
Supporting a national unity government in Lebanon:a missed opportunity for the US?
Qabbani and Emirati ambassador launch drawing contest for Lebanese students
Journalists lost in summer war add to worst year for world media since 1994
Cyprus condemns tough Turkish line on energy deals
European Commission hands over 17 garbage trucks to mayors across country
Military prosecutor charges eight in campus clash
LAU signs deal for access road to Blat campus
Downtown becomes ghost town as protests continueFrench MPs Urge Chirac to Label Hizbullah 'Terrorist' Group
Legislators from France's governing Union for a Popular Movement (UMP) party have urged President Jacques Chirac to persuade his European counterparts to declare Hizbullah a terrorist group. In a letter to Chirac, released on Friday, some 45 MPs said France should propose the enlisting of Hizbullah as a terrorist organization during the upcoming European Union council meeting. The council's meeting, which brings together heads of state or government of the EU and the president of the commission, will be held in March. The letter said that the Iranian and Syrian-backed Shiite group threatens the prospects of peace in the Middle East. "The situation in the Middle East is explosive," it said. "Hizbullah plays an important role in the Lebanese crisis."The letter said that after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in the U.S., several states created lists of terrorist organizations that included Hizbullah but the EU has refused to do so, mainly because of France's rejection. It acknowledged that "Hizbullah is at the origin of many attacks, hostage-taking and arms traffic." The U.S. labels Hizbullah and Hamas as terrorist organizations. But the EU has only blacklisted the Palestinian group. Beirut, 03 Feb 07, 13:06
Hariri Criticizes Berri Over International Tribunal, Aoun Lashes out at Majority
Legislator Saad Hariri on Saturday attacked Speaker Nabih Berri for declining to call for an extraordinary parliamentary session to endorse a Special International Tribunal for Lebanon to try suspects in the assassination of his father, former premier Rafik Hariri, and related crimes.
"When is the parliament speaker going to let go of the legislature so the tribunal draft can be ratified?" Hariri said in an interview with the daily Al Hayat published Saturday. "Does that match his concern in finding the killers of (Rafik) Hariri?" the outspoken MP asked Berri.
Hariri questioned how Berri can declare his father a "martyr of Lebanon" without seeking to ratify the tribunal plan "with the excuse of waiting until after the completion of the investigation before discussing the court's formation." "The question is beyond Berri's feeling towards his friend and longtime associate in liberating, rebuilding and developing the south," Hariri went on. He said Berri, who is a lawyer, is aware of the procedures for setting up an international tribunal -- from choosing a location to appointing its members -- "and all that take much more time than the probe itself."
"It has become clear that the regional party which does not support Saudi-Iranian attempts in finding an end the Lebanon crisis, is the same party which is against the establishment of the tribunal, and is the same party which the March 8 Forces are honored to be allied with," Hariri said in an indirect reference to Syria. On the issue of the commemoration of his slain father, Hariri said the March 14 Forces as well his family are planning to hold a memorial service Feb. 14 at Martyr's Square, where Hariri's graveyard is.
Meanwhile, General Michel Aoun said he was surprised by the March 14 coalition's insistence on "changing Lebanese criminal laws in the tribunal plan," saying he had no problem personally with the international court. "We have supported the international probe committee and we have supported the international tribunal to try the criminals and we still do," Aoun declared. "I have no doubts myself in anything. Therefore, I'm not terrified, and the question is what do they (rival camp) want?" Aoun said in a separate interview with Al Hayat also published Saturday. "Why do we want to introduce amendments to the Lebanese laws? Why do we want a law for trying presidents?" Aoun questioned. He said that under the Lebanese law a doer, a culprit, a conspirator, a provoker, and an accomplice are all tried. If the president is found guilty of any of the above mentioned crimes he will be punished, Aoun added. Beirut, 03 Feb 07, 08:33
Italian General Commands UNIFIL
Italian General Claudio Graziano took over command of U.N. peacekeepers in Lebanon Friday and vowed to work with the local security forces to stabilize the volatile border with Israel. "I look forward to working with the Lebanese army and Lebanese authorities to support them in their effort to cement stability in the south of Lebanon, and working together with the people of Lebanon... to help in making this area a safer and better place to live for all the communities," he said. Graziano formally took over command of the U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) from French General Alain Pellegrini at a ceremony at the peacekeepers' base in the southern border town of Naqoura. Pellegrini, who had commanded the force for three years, cautioned that security remained "fragile" in the area, almost six months after a 34-day war between Hizbullah and Israel came to a halt.
Italy contributes 2.500 troops to the 12.000-strong UNIFIL, which was originally set up in 1978 to monitor the volatile Israel-Lebanon border>
The force was beefed up after the Israel-Hizbullah war was halted by U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701 on Aug. 14.
Graziano served from July 2005 to February 2006 as commander of the multinational Kabul Brigade which forms part of the NATO-led international force in Afghanistan. He last served as a deputy chief of staff for operations within the Italian military.(AFP-Naharnet) (AP photo shows Graziano, right, shaking hands with Pellegrini) Beirut, 02 Feb 07, 17:36
U.S., Russia Clash Over Syria's Role in Middle East Peace
The United States and Russia clashed on Friday over Moscow's suggestion that Syria should be included in efforts to advance an Israeli-Palestinian peace settlement. "Syria could play a constructive role," Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said after a meeting of world powers to discuss Mideast strategy. However, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice expressed little enthusiasm for such a prospect. "I hope that it (Syria) will in fact try and play a positive role rather than a negative one," she told reporters. The Bush administration has resisted expanding diplomatic ties with Syria, which it blames for lending support to Hizbullah in Lebanon and Hamas in the Palestinian territories. The U.S. has also expressed reluctance to reach out to Syria and Iran in a regional effort to reduce violence in Iraq, arguing that both countries' actions show they have little interest in stabilizing the area.
Still, said Lavrov, "It is counterproductive to isolate anybody." Rice said that dormant Mideast peace talks should resume despite an outbreak of violence among Palestinian factions. "It doesn't help to talk about a timetable, but it does help to talk about a commitment," Rice said after her meeting at the State Department with foreign ministers from the European Union and Russia and officials from the United Nations.
European External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner told reporters after the Quartet meeting that Russia should use its influence to encourage Hamas to moderate its policies. "We are all key in this process but, I think on Hamas, they (the Russians) have a special role. They are talking to Hamas in this sense, in this direction," she said. The gathering of would-be peacemakers came amid renewed fighting between Hamas militants and security forces loyal to the former ruling Fatah Party that has raised new alarm about a possible Palestinian civil war. Despite that violence, "there's simply no reason to avoid the subject of how we get to a Palestinian state," Rice said. The international leaders reiterated the conditions they set for the Hamas-led Palestinian government to receive vital overseas financial aid and international political recognition.
Those include recognition of Israel, renouncing violence and embracing prior agreements between Israel and the Palestinians to work toward peace.
That statement was signed a year ago, days after Hamas won a surprise victory in Palestinian elections. Hamas has refused to meet the terms, however, leading to a cutoff of direct international aid and a breakdown of services and order in the Palestinian territories. World powers have largely abandoned hope that Hamas will drop the anti-Israel positions and are looking for a new approach. The United States is looking for ways to revive peace efforts partly as a way to reassure Arab allies that it wants to improve the Palestinians' plight and solidify those allies against Iran. Shiite Iran has close ties to Hamas, which the West considers a terrorist organization. One goal of the session was to demonstrate tangible support for secular Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. "The international community is going to do everything it can to settle the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians," German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said before the meeting. He attended the session because Germany currently holds the European Union's rotating presidency.(AP) Beirut, 03 Feb 07, 09:49Downtown becomes ghost town as protests continue
Number of vacated businesses is multiplying
By Lysandra Ohrstrom -Daily Star staff
Saturday, February 03, 2007
BEIRUT: After two months, the tent city in Downtown Beirut has become a fact of life for most residents of the capital, but for many commercial tenants the opposition demonstrations have proven to be the final straw after a string of political disruptions stretching back to 2005. What began in January with a few restaurant owners and retailers trickling out of the Beirut Central District (BCD) to other locations in the capital now looks like a mass exodus from what was once one of Lebanon's most popular districts.
On Friday, The Daily Star counted more than 30 vacated properties, empty of both merchandise and customers. At least 20 more stores were closed.
Some shop windows still bear liquidation signs; others read "For Rent;" and a few point customers to different branches. "Hope to see you in better circumstances," is scrawled in black marker on a dry-erase board hanging inside the Massaya Beirut Restaurant. Those establishments that are still open advertise sales and promotions, taking last stabs at luring the stray customer. Most of the remaining merchants say they plan to wait one more month before making a final decision to close or relocate. An employee at the Doodle Doo sweet shop says most tenants began closing two weeks ago. Even though the store sees little customer traffic - by mid-afternoon on Friday it had made only one LL 4,500 sale - the employee says his boss refuses to quit the BCD on principle. "I'm a supervisor but I have no employees to supervise," Hadi Adnan says.
Since the war, Doodle Doo, like many employers, has had to cut down on shifts, prompting many employees in the BCD to find other jobs or leave the country, he explains. "It's really bad because 90 percent of the employees here are university students. Most didn't register for the fall semester because they did not work this summer. I don't think a lot of them will register for classes in spring either," Adnan says.
Since the summer 2006 war with Israel, 100 of the Virgin Megastore's 300 employees have left for other countries and, to a lesser extent, other jobs, says Jihad Murr, the owner of Virgin's Lebanon franchise.
The store has not taken steps to replace them. Instead the Martyrs Square location has narrowed its operating hours, from 10 a.m. to midnight to 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. "We are living on a day-by-day basis," Murr says. "In three months we will re-evaluate ... The worst-case scenario would be to temporarily close Downtown for a year or two, but it really depends on the results of our next promotion. December was not a catastrophe because we did all of the ad campaigns." The franchise has lost more than $2 million from all Lebanon locations combined since the war, but the Martyrs Square flagship has suffered most of all, he says. Sales in January were 70 percent below the expected levels. Murr's landlord forgave one month's rent in 2006, a gesture Murr calls "nice but far from reality."Solidere - the real-estate development company responsible for the reconstruction of Downtown following the Civil War - exempted businesses from two months of rent payments during the July-August war.
In December the company told some tenants that they would offer similar compensation if the demonstrations wore on for a second month, says Sami Hochon, the owner of the Lina's sandwich franchise whose flagship is in the BCD. But he has not heard the offer mentioned since.
Individual landlords have been less generous, according to many business owners. Though demand for property in the BCD is obviously down, they have refused to lower rents. Dida Ghossoub, the owner of the Dayama clothing store on Rue d'Uruguay, has been shipping clothes to Dubai to be sold because "no one is buying clothes in Lebanon right now." "I want to order my summer collection now, but I'm afraid to," she says. "Who knows if we will be open?The Lebanese Dilemma: A Primer
by Antoun Issa - Antiwar.com
February 3, 2007
The political vacuum caused by Syria’s abrupt departure from Lebanon in 2005 has prompted a tense power struggle for control in this tiny Middle Eastern state. The fight for power in Lebanon has rekindled old sectarian and tribal divisions that were tamed under Syrian domination.
Numerous assassinations, bombings, mass demonstrations, a war with Israel and internal clashes are leading this country along a dangerous path. As the various Lebanese factions wrestle for hegemony, regional and world powers are placing high stakes in the Beirut power play.
Who are the key players inside and outside of Lebanon?
Internal Factions
The March 14 Coalition (The Governing Coalition):
A coalition of Sunni, Druze and Christian parties formed during the tide of anti-Syrian fever that swept the country following the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri in 2005. The March 14 Forces won a parliamentary majority in the elections that followed Syria’s troop withdrawal in April 2005, and gave them the key veto-yielding majority in the Government. The anti-Syrian coalition is made up of a number of key political factions:
Future Movement:
The political party of the late Rafik al-Hariri, it is now currently led by his son Saad al-Hariri, who leads the parliamentary majority. It currently enjoys the support of the majority of Sunni Muslims in the country, and is also the faction of Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora.
The Future Movement maintains exceptionally close ties to the Sunni kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and is backed by the United States and France.
Progressive Socialist Party:
Led by Druze warlord Walid Jumblatt, the Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) draws its support largely from Lebanon’s main Druze tribes that are loyal to the Jumblatt clan. The party was created in 1949 by Jumblatt’s father, Kamal Jumblatt, who was assassinated in 1977. Jumblatt Jr. accuses Syria of his father’s death, although the Ba'ath regime rejects the claims. Despite the accusation, the PSP remained a close ally of Syria throughout Lebanon’s notorious civil war and subsequent domination up until the assassination of Hariri in 2005. A close friend of Rafik al-Hariri, Jumblatt and the PSP turned sharply against Syria and now forms a key member of the anti-Syrian coalition, which enjoys American and French support.
Lebanese Forces:
A right-wing Christian militia that fought under the banner of the late President-elect Bashir Gemayel during the previous civil war, the Lebanese Forces (LF) has forever been an anti-Syrian force. Gemayel was assassinated by a member of the Syrian Social Nationalist Party (SSNP) in 1982 before he made it to office. The faction is currently led by Samir Geagea, who allied with Israel once they had invaded Lebanon in 1982.
Samir Geagea had been imprisoned in 1994 on charges of murdering former Prime Minister Rashid al-Karami and bombing a Maronite Catholic Church. His followers accuse Syria of masterminding a conspiracy to imprison their leader. Geagea was pardoned and released in 2005 following the Syrian withdrawal. The militant group fought devastating battles against Jumblatt’s PSP during the Civil War, but have now found them a useful ally against Syria.
Lebanese Phalangist Party: Once the largest Christian political party in Lebanon, the right-wing Phalangists have their roots in the Gemayel family.
Founded by Pierre Gemayel in 1936, the Phalangists were the main political force in Lebanon up until the outbreak of war in 1975. Gemayel named the party after Franco’s fascists in Spain. Traditionally backed by France, the Phalangists welcomed the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982 and fought alongside them to maintain their power in Lebanon. Although much of its prowess has been lost due to internal Christian divisions, it still remains a considerable element of the March 14 Forces. Its leading member of parliament, Pierre Gemayel (the grandson of the founder and son of former Lebanese President Amine Gemayel), was assassinated in November 2005.
The Opposition:
The Opposition is a coalition of pro-Syrian parties and factions disenchanted by the leadership of the March 14 Forces, formed largely as a result of a pact signed between the Shi'ite Hezbollah movement and the mainly Christian Free Patriotic Movement. It accuses the Government of being riddled with corruption, exacerbating Lebanon’s economic woes, and serving American interests.
Hezbollah:
Commanding the largest Shi'ite following in Lebanon, Hezbollah is currently considered the most powerful political party in Lebanon.
It rose from the rubble of Shi'ite suburbs and villages destroyed during Israel’s invasion in 1982. Inspired by the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran, the Islamist group has received substantial support from Iran and Syria since its beginnings. It waged a successful 18 year guerrilla war to remove Israeli forces from Lebanese territory under the banner of the Islamic Resistance. The Iranian-backed party also acts as a social service for Lebanon’s under-privileged Shi'ites, erecting schools and hospitals, running its own television network, and offering free services to its community.
Hezbollah is the only Lebanese faction to have retained its heavy weaponry since the Civil War, claiming that part of Lebanese territory is still occupied by Israel, the disputed Shebaa Farms.
This small strip of land has been the main source of lingering tension between Hezbollah and Israel since the latter’s withdrawal from Lebanon in 2000. Israel and the UN have said that the land belongs to Syria, while Hezbollah and Syria claim it's Lebanese.
Tensions reached breaking point in the summer of 2005 when Israel launched a war to obliterate Hezbollah after the militant group captured two Israeli soldiers. The mission failed, and Hezbollah has emerged more politically powerful than ever despite Lebanon suffering heavy casualties and extensive damage to its infrastructure. Since its proclaimed victory in the summer war with Israel, Hezbollah has turned its focus on the pro-American Lebanese government and has launched a vigorous campaign with its allies to remove the regime.
Free Patriotic Movement:
A secular, but mainly Christian, political party of former General Michel Aoun – one of the very few major parties to not have a militant wing, as it advocates peaceful change in the country. Aoun made his name during his infamous and unsuccessful war of liberation against Syria in 1990, and remained a vociferous opponent of the Syrian presence in Lebanon. He campaigned against Syria while spending 15 years in exile in France following his failed war.
In the wake of Syria’s withdrawal in 2005, the former General returned to Lebanon to form his political party, the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM).
An old rival of the LF leader Samir Geagea, Aoun’s FPM surprised the Lebanese political scene by winning the majority of Christian support in the last elections, even now remaining the most potent political voice for Christians in Lebanon despite its secular constitution.
Accusing the March 14 Forces of corruption, the FPM turned to Hezbollah to form an alliance on the platform of reforming the country.
The two parties form the main component of the Opposition as Hezbollah commands the largest Shi'ite following, while the FPM claims to represent the majority of the Christian street. The FPM rejects Syrian interference in Lebanon’s affairs, but admits that Lebanon needs to retain its special relationship with Syria. Aoun’s opponents accuse him of receiving Syrian support, which he denies.
Amal Movement:
A more moderate Shi'ite movement, Amal was founded by cleric Moussa al-Sadr in 1974 to give a greater say for Lebanon’s long neglected Shi'ites.
It took a key part in the Lebanese Civil War as one of the main pro-Syrian factions. Led by Lebanese Parliament Speaker, Nabih Berri, it remains a strong supporter of Syria, and opposed Syria’s withdrawal in 2005. Today, Amal cooperates closely with fellow Shi'ite party Hezbollah and participated in its recent war with Israel.It favors closer ties with Syria, and is a principal member of Lebanon’s Opposition.
Marada Brigade:
A Maronite Christian faction of the Frangiyeh clan, it receives wide support among Lebanese Christians in the Frangiyeh's native northern Lebanon.
Currently run by former Interior Minister Sleiman Frangiyeh, the Marada Brigade has often had tense ties with fellow Christian faction, the Lebanese Forces. Frangiyeh accuses the Forces' Geagea of killing his father, Tony Frangiyeh, during a Phalangist raid on the Marada Brigade, known as the Ehden massacre, in 1978. Since the murder, Frangiyeh has maintained close ties to Syria, and remains a personal friend of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
Syrian Social Nationalist Party:
The oldest political party in Lebanon, the Syrian Social Nationalist Party (SSNP) was founded by the intellectual Antoun Saadeh in 1932. The secular movement advocates a Greater Syria encompassing Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Palestine/Israel, Iraq, Kuwait and Cyprus. The party has a brutal history with Syria’s Ba'ath regime, who fought the group for control of Syria in the 1950s and 1960s. The SSNP and the ruling Ba'ath Party later put differences aside and allied in Lebanon’s Civil War, with the SSNP receiving support from Syria. The two have since maintained a close relationship, with the SSNP one of the few parties allowed to operate freely in Syria. In return, the SSNP has given Syria unwavering support in Lebanon and enjoys links to other pro-Syrian parties such as Hezbollah and Amal.It fought actively against Israel’s 18 year occupation, and is a champion of Hezbollah’s right to retain its weapons.
Foreign Powers
United States
In line with the Bush Administration’s visions of American dominance in the Middle East, the US has sought Lebanon as one of the states to fall under its sphere of influence. Contradicting previous US policies of giving Syria a free hand in Lebanon, Bush has launched a campaign to snatch the country from Syria’s grip. The US applied intense diplomatic pressure on Syria, including economic sanctions and UN resolutions, to force the Syrians out of Lebanon. As it did with the Orange Revolution in Ukraine, the Americans backed the "Cedar Revolution" which brought a million people to Beirut’s streets to call for Syria’s withdrawal.
Syria obliged, withdrew, but did not give up.
The US now finds itself in a struggle with Syria and Iran over dominance in Lebanon. The struggle has deeply polarized the Lebanese people and brought the country to the brink of civil war. It publicly backed Israel’s effort to destroy Hezbollah last summer, and expressed dissatisfaction when the Israelis failed. The Americans are now attempting to boost the ruling March 14 coalition with financial, military and intelligence aid in order to combat Hezbollah, and hoping to use Lebanon to restrict Syria and Iran’s ability to influence events in the region.
Israel
A staunch supporter of US’ intentions to dominate the Middle East, the Israelis have high interests at limiting the regional power of Iran and restraining Syria. Israel’s merciless invasion of Lebanon in 1982 intended to force the PLO out of the country and to establish a Lebanon favorable to Israel.
The latter task failed, and the country fell into Syria’s orbit. The Israelis still retain a key interest in Lebanon. It greatly desires to destroy what it sees as a mini-Iran on its doorstep in Hezbollah. It indeed attempted to do so last summer, and failed. Israel is particularly fearful of Iran’s nuclear ambitions, and perceives Hezbollah as a serious threat. A potential military offensive against Iran may be restrained by Hezbollah’s lingering presence along Israel’s northern border. Its prime interest in Lebanon is to remove the Hezbollah threat, and weaken Iran’s other main ally, Syria, by turning Lebanon against it.
Israel has warned of a new Lebanon war if Hezbollah succeeds in toppling the American-backed Government. It fears a Hezbollah-led government may remove the 12,000-strong UN buffer force in Lebanon, which will allow the Islamic group to resume its activities.
Rumors have circulated regarding Israeli assistance to Lebanon’s March 14 coalition, but the Lebanese Government has denied the claims.
Saudi Arabia
A regional Arab power, a key US ally, and birthplace of Islam, Saudi Arabia views itself as the guardian of Sunni Islam.
While it publicly declares that it is strongly opposed to Israel’s oppression of mainly Sunni Palestine, the Saudis have instead turned its main focus on defending the power of Lebanon’s Sunni community. Through the Sunnis, Saudi Arabia enjoys considerable influence in Lebanon.
A longtime rival of the Shi'ite Islamic regional power, Iran, the Saudis feel it is their duty to prevent the formation of a "Shi'ite crescent" from Tehran to Beirut. The Saudi royal family has a personal relationship with the Hariri family, and has provided great support to the Future Movement in its struggle against Iranian-backed Hezbollah. They actually condemned Hezbollah in its summer war against Israel, which was widely perceived as tacit support for the Jewish State. Saudi Arabia believes it is engaged in a regional struggle pitting Sunnis against Shi'ites. It is mainly a matter of faith as Sunni Muslims have long been Islam’s dominating sect. As Iran seeks to empower Shi'ites throughout the Islamic world, Saudi Arabia has sought closer cooperation with other Sunni Arab states and the US to ensure Iran does not succeed. Lebanon and Iraq currently pose as the two principal battlegrounds.
France
The founders of Lebanon, the French have traditionally and historically had a special relationship with Lebanon’s Maronite Christian community.
It still retains some degree of influence, but it has largely declined over the decades. France generally views itself as providing an alternative to American policy in the Middle East. French President Jacques Chirac had warm relations with Syria’s late President Hafez al-Assad, and Syria considered France one of its few Western allies. Hariri’s assassination prompted Chirac to change his views of Syria, as Hariri was a close friend of the president. French-Syrian relations have sharply deteriorated as a result, despite trials on the murder having yet to begin. France subsequently joined the US in its struggle for Lebanon, providing support to the March 14 coalition. However, the French sharply condemned Israel’s war on Lebanon last year, and has provided the bulk of the United Nations force (UNIFIL) sent to South Lebanon. The French recently hosted a donor conference in Paris, and pledged 500 million euros in soft loans to the Lebanese Government.
Syria
Syria is arguably the most influential power in Lebanon.Geographically, historically, ethnically, culturally, and economically, the roots between Lebanon and Syria are so deep that it can be considered as a natural bond. Whether its forces are in or out of Lebanon, Syria will always influence its smaller neighbor – the mere fact that Lebanon is divided between anti- and pro-Syrian camps suggests how important Syria is in Lebanese affairs.
Following Syria’s withdrawal, Damascus imposed a blockade on the country by shutting down its borders. The measure was seen as a warning to Lebanon’s ruling anti-Syrian coalition that the Ba'ath regime still has the means to make or break the country.
The March 14 coalition has accused Syria of a string of assassinations and bombings over the last 18 months that have killed a score of anti-Syrian figures. Syria rejects the claims, instead placing blame on Israel.
Many Lebanese are skeptical of Syria’s real intentions regarding Lebanon. Syria has never established true diplomatic relations with Lebanon, has never exchanged ambassadors, and refuses to demarcate its borders. Many Syrians regard Lebanon as their own, taken away from them by European colonialists – and want it back.
Even as the natural bonds that exist between these two states aren't easily denied, Syria faces challenges as Lebanon is at the center of an international struggle that has led to Syria’s increased isolation. The Syrian response has been a deepening of their alliance with Iran, providing support to Palestinian factions Hamas and Islamic Jihad, and assisting national resistance groups in Iraq. However, Syria’s main interest lies in Lebanon.
Iran
Iran is the Shi'ite mirror of Saudi Arabia. It professes to be the guardian of the world’s Shi'ites, and is governed by an Islamic theocracy. The Islamic Revolution of 1979 caused an awakening among Shi'ites throughout the region. One of the countries that felt the immediate effects of the revolution was Lebanon. Long neglected and considered the Lebanese underclass, the Shi'ites were inspired by Iran to improve their status in Lebanon.
Hezbollah came into being with the help of the Iranian theocracy, with its militants receiving training from Iran’s Revolutionary Guard. The Lebanese Shi'ite group acts as Iran’s arm in Lebanon, as it provides services to the Shi'ite community using Iranian funds and technology. Iran is responsible for the Shi'ite revival in Lebanon, and it is believed that Iran is now repeating this in Iraq. Many Gulf states, including Saudi Arabia, have Shi'ite minorities of their own. They fear Iran’s regional influence may revive Shi'ite groups who have long been kept silent.
The Iranians' desire to liberate Palestine is a faith-driven cause to place Jerusalem back in Islamic hands. Many Lebanese accuse Hezbollah of harboring such ambitions, which is why it continues to retain its weapons.
Iran is accused by Israel of rearming Hezbollah following last summer’s conflict.
Russia
Russia has no direct interest in Lebanon, but its spite for the United States has seen it stick its nose in the region that matters most for the Americans.
The Russians have had a long alliance with Syria, and are currently building nuclear plants in Iran.
It is considered the world’s main backer of the two regimes the US have branded a part of its axis of evil.
Moscow received a sharp rebuke from the US and Israel when it sold sophisticated anti-air and anti-tank weaponry to Syria and Iran.
Israel charges that those weapons were used against it by Hezbollah in last summer’s war.
Russia has denied such claims, but its support for Syria and Iran is causing a headache for the Americans in Lebanon.
The Russians proved an obstacle on the Hariri investigation in the UN Security Council when it questioned the American-backed Lebanese Government’s legitimacy.
Although not directly involved, Moscow’s behavior is influencing outcomes in Lebanon.
* * *
Lebanon’s complex internal divisions are amplified by a region fractured by turmoil. Its two powerful neighbors, Syria and Israel, consider Lebanon crucial to their security. This regional battle has been compounded by the US intrusion into the Middle East and its looming showdown with Iran. The keys to Beirut open many doors in the region, and if last summer’s Israeli war on Lebanon was any indication, those keys come at a high price.
Steven Emerson & Walid Phares Featured in New Documentary on Radical Islam
By Andrew Cochran
On Saturday at 9 pm ET and again at midnight (and Sunday, February 4 at 4:00 pm ET and Monday, February 5 at 3:00 am ET), the Fox News Channel will broadcast “Radical Islam: Terror in Its Own Words,” a special documentary with the jihadists proclaiming their intent to kill, maim, and destroy the West. Steven Emerson's Investigative Project on Terrorism and Walid Phares of the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies contributed to the documentary. Here is a description of the documentary from a Fox News Channel press release:
The program contains a shocking variety of rarely seen news clips, interviews and Al Qaeda video purportedly of suicide bombers as they prepare for their missions and blow themselves up in bids to kill Americans in Afghanistan and Iraq. One of the videos was aired on Al Jazeera, the most-viewed Islamic news station. The other was posted on an Islamic web sight. (FOX News was unable to independently verify whether the suicides actually took place.) Alongside those harrowing images are interviews with the mothers of terrorists who rationalize the loss of their children in bombing attacks, film clips of Islamic clergy urging further murderous assaults, and even video of children being taught to hate and kill Americans and Jews.
Footage shows the violence is not intended to just stay in the Middle East.
The FOX News documentary also contains never-before-broadcast video of Islamic clerics in the United States predicting and even threatening violence against Americans at home. As one of those Islamic clerics put it as he took a stage on the campus of the University of California at Irvine just two days before 9/11, “If you don't give us justice, if you don't give us equality, if you don't give us our share of America,” he said. “We're gonna burn America down.”That speech was caught on tape by staffers for The Investigative Project, a Washington, DC-based organization, which has been tracking the spread of radical Islam in this country since 1995.
The Investigative Project’s research, along with film and video from the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), also based in Washington, feature heavily in the documentary, hosted by FOX News anchor ED Hill.
Other footage was obtained by FOX producers and cameramen, and from other news sources.
Hill's investigative report shows dozens of shocking clips from Islamic television of Islamic clerics and leaders openly advocating violent attacks on the U.S. and Israel.
The documentary also shows TV programs where young children literally sing the praises of violent jihad, and speak of their own desire to become suicide bombers. “What are you holding in your hand?” a small boy is asked by a reporter in one TV clip.
“A rifle,” the boy answers, matter-of-factly.
“What are you going to do with it?” the reporter asks.
“Shoot the Jews,” says the boy.
“To see videos of young kindergarten kids singing odes to suicide bombers is— is one of the most— shocking images I can recall watching in the last 15 years of doing this work,” says Steve Emerson, who launched The Investigative Project.
The FOX program also shows shocking excerpts from Islamic children’s cartoon shows that not only glorify violence against America and Israel, but clearly encourage children to take part. The images are graphic and bloody.
“We must not allow these bloodthirsty Zionists to take even one inch of our holy land. If necessary we will die this way,” one cartoon character says before detonating his bomb belt.
“What is really upsetting is the fact that some of these channels say that they are part of the national education system of prominent countries, including countries that are allies to the United States, like Egypt, Saudi Arabia,” says Walid Phares, a Senior Fellow at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies.
Arab media experts interviewed by Hill point to the videos as stark proof that, though Islamic terrorists have not successfully attacked the American homeland since 9/11, they are still determined to do so.
“I had hoped that September 11th was a wake up call to the United States, but it was not,” says Brigitte Gabriel, a former Arab news anchor. “Americans hit the snooze button and went back to sleep. And right now our enemy is telling us exactly what they want to do.”
FOX also queried Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, founder of the American Society for Muslim Advancement, which describes itself as an organization dedicated to creating bridges between the American public and American Muslims.
Feisal described the violent images and indoctrination as “political,” rather than religious. Feisal also likened the statements by radical Muslims in the FOX documentary to outrageous statements he says are made by some Christians and Jews.
“There is something in the human psychology which — which believes in the superiority of its own individual faith. And wants to impose it on everybody else. There are those who are Christians who are like this. There are those who are Muslims who are like this.”
And why don't more moderate Muslims condemn the radicals who preach hate in the name of Islam?
“Muslim spokesmen are caught between a number of objectives,” Feisal told Hill. “Part of it is to express the principles of their faith, which they are bound to. But part of what they feel also is to express the sentiments of their community on the issues which the community feels passionate about.”
That’s not good enough for Emerson.
“In the United States I think we need to force the Islamic — quote — mainstream leadership — to unequivocally condemn Islamic terrorist organizations by name.”
That’s more important now than ever, Emerson says, because as the radical elements of Islam are a lot closer then Americans think.
Among the other video clips to be shown on television for the first time:
*Members of a Radical Islamic group screaming “Death, death to the American army!” outside the Indian Consulate in New York City, June 2002. In 2003, suicide bombers linked to that group, Al-Muhajiroun, killed three in an attack in Tel Aviv.
* A May 2002 rally in California in which an Imam, speaking of a confrontation with the American government vowed, "We’re going to use force. And whatever was taken by force can only be retrieved by force.”
*In yet another California rally, the speaker tells his American audience: “One day you will see the flag of Islam over the White House. Allah Akbar! “
The 'Toys' That Kill in Lebanon
Friday, Feb. 02, 2007
By NICHOLAS BLANFORD/MARAKEH, LEBANON
Nicholas Blanford for TIME
To 17-year-old Rasha Zayoun, the small metal canister with a ribbon attached to the top looked like a toy. Her father, Mohammed, had found it while harvesting wild thyme in a field near her house in the southern Lebanese village of Marakeh, and had taken it home in his bag of herbs.
One evening four weeks ago, Rasha picked up the strange object and played with the ribbon, wondering what it was. "Then I felt a tingle of electricity," she says. "I threw it from me and it exploded before it hit the floor."
The blast tore off her left leg and wounded her mother, Alia, and brother Qassem, 21, who were in the room at the time. The "toy" was a cluster bomblet, just one of the estimated 1 million unexploded sub-munitions scattered across the valleys and hills of south Lebanon during last summer's war between Israel and Hizballah. Cluster bombs — an anti-personnel and anti-armor weapon that disperses dozens or hundreds of grenade-sized bomblets across a wide area — have killed at least 30 people and wounded over 180 according to U.N. figures since the Aug. 14 ceasefire ended the month-long conflict.
Last week, the U.S. State Department announced that a preliminary investigation had concluded that Israel may have breached agreements with Washington on the use of U.S.-supplied cluster munitions during the Lebanon war. "The Department takes very seriously its responsibility to ensure that U.S.- provided weapons are used for purposes authorized under U.S. law," said an official of the State Department. The U.S. Arms Export Control Act restricts the use of U.S.-made weaponry to "internal security" and "legitimate self-defense," which Israel would certainly claim were the purpose of its actions against Hizballah. But more precise "end-use restrictions" are contained in U.S.-Israel contracts, according to a State Department official, although the wording is classified. These restrictions are believed to require that Israel refrain from endangering civilians in its use of the munitions. Human rights groups have accused both Israel and Hizballah of committing war crimes through indiscriminate targeting of civilian areas during the war. If the State Department's preliminary finding is confirmed, it could pressure the White House to censure Israel, possibly through a freeze on cluster bomb exports to the Jewish State.
Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev said earlier that "Israel takes the concerns raised by the U.S. extremely seriously" and had been as "forthcoming and transparent as possible," adding that "Israel is itself conducting an ongoing internal investigation as to the use of munitions during the Lebanon conflict."
Cluster sub-munitions are supposed to explode on impact. Manufacturers claim a dud rate of around 5 percent, but the U.N. estimates that more than 30 percent of cluster bomblets fired into south Lebanon failed to detonate. When hundreds of thousands of civilians displaced by the fighting began to return to the area, they found thousands of cluster bomblets in gardens, houses and streets, orange orchards, banana plantations and olive groves, often hanging from the branches.
Chris Clark, Lebanon program manager for the United Nations Mine Action Coordination Center (MACC), said that his organization had logged some 840 individual cluster bomb strikes, covering an area of 13 square miles. A decorated former British soldier who oversees global operations for the U.N. Mine Action Service and has cleared munitions in Kosovo and Sudan, Clark says the cluster bomb situation in south Lebanon "is the worst I've ever seen," adding "It's unprecedented and unbelievable." Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev says that Israel "fully supports the U.N. efforts to clear up munitions in Lebanon."
A map of cluster bomb strike sites in south Lebanon pinned to the wall of his office illustrates the severity of the problem. A red rash covers much of the map, concentrated on the areas south of Tyre, and around the towns of Tibnine and Nabatieh.
By mid-February, Clark hopes to have 55 teams in the field collecting cluster munitions, and hopes that the area could be cleared by year's end. "That doesn't mean that there won't be any more cluster bombs, but they won't be causing casualties on a daily and weekly basis," he says.
Clark says his mission is hampered by a lack of cooperation from the Israeli military. Israel has been repeatedly asked to aid the bomblet-clearing mission by providing such information as the grid coordinates of cluster-bomb selected targets, the number of strikes and the types of submunition. He says that the U.N. has received "nothing" from Israel. Israeli spokesman Regev counters that Israel is considering the U.N. request for "more information," but he says that Israel has already given the U.N. maps of strike areas and technical information that are "sufficient" for helping the bomb-clearing effort.
On a wind-swept hilltop outside the village of Halloussiyeh, 10 miles northeast of Tyre, a team from Bactec, a British ordnance clearing company, inches its way along a terrace of small olive trees, hunting for BLU-63 cluster munitions. Most of the tennis-ball sized metal bomblets are easily visible, although some have begun to sink into the chalky mud.
"We are prioritizing agricultural land," says Simon Lovell, the site supervisor. Each bomblet is cordoned off with red and white tape before being linked together with explosive cord and destroyed in a controlled blast. One of the three sites he is clearing has yielded over 300 of the 1970s-era bomblets. The BLU-63s found in south Lebanon were manufactured between 1973 and 1978, according to Clark, which explains their high dud rate.
"They are well past their shelf life," he says. "The Israelis knew how old they were and they knew that they weren't going to work."
Whether the Bush administration chooses to rebuke Israel or not will make little difference to Rasha Zayoun, who faces a bleak future. She spends her days lying in bed in the family sitting room waiting for her leg to heal before doctors can begin fitting her with a prosthetic limb.
"I'm not thinking about my future," she says with a shy smile. "But I feel okay and I don't have any sadness. I have a strong heart."
—With reporting by Tim McGirk/Jerusalem and Elaine Shannon/Washington