LCCC NEWS BULLETIN
JULY 11/2006

Below News From the Daily Star for 11/07/06
Meshaal insists on prisoner swap to free Israeli soldier
Ex-Minister Taqla passes away at 91
Beirut judicial saga may have reached final chapter
Head of Media Council wants journalists to censor untidy remarks by politicians
Siniora: Delays make water crisis worse
Hamas, Fatah officials in Lebanon air differences on handling of Gaza crisis
Protest aims to show support for Palestinians
Secular parties struggle to get messages across
Mourners far and wide pay respects on death of Hrawi
Students thought terror suspect was 'a drug addict'
American shares cheese expertise with Bekaa families
Organizing the rebirth of Beirut's capital market
Egypt's new press law is precisely what the country doesn't need
Turning Abbas into a missed opportunity -By Anna Mahjar-Barducci
Iran keeps sparring with West over nuclear offer
Coptic pope says he's healthy and in full control
Below News From miscellaneous sources for 10/07/06
Patriarch of the Maronite Catholic Church to Speak at PressYahoo! News (press release)
Sudanese FM calls for agenda for Lebanese-Syrian talks-People's Daily Online
Maps and Bombing Plans Found with Qaida Suspect who Visited U.S. in 2000-Naharnet
Buried: Hrawi, the president who requested Syria's fraternal-AsiaNews.it
New York attack plans discovered in Lebanon-Los Angeles Daily News
Lebanon Expecting Privatization Windfall-Cellular-News
Iran's Rafsanjani, Amr Mousa meeting-IranMania News
Fundamentalists at Heart Of Four Middle East Conflicts-New York Sun
Tunnel Plot May Have Been Wider-Los Angeles Times
NYC, Miami cases show FBI efforts to pre-empt plots-USA Today
Israel's aggression destroys any semblance of civic order-The Herald
Thousands would die every day if civil war broke out in Iraq-Unison.ie
Sudanese FM calls for agenda for Lebanese-Syrian talks-People's Daily Online
For once, Canada can brag about the heat-Globe and Mail
Terrorism suspect a Concordia grad-Montreal Gazette
Lebanon submits official request to UN to extend mandate UNIFIL-Kuwait News Agency
Canadian Jewish groups rally to save abducted Israeli soldier.Canada.com

Press Release Source: St. Anthony's Maronite Catholic Church
Patriarch of the Maronite Catholic Church to Speak at Press Conference in Lawrence July 13
Monday July 10, 9:15 am ET
Middle East, Lebanese, Maronite Issues Among Discussion Topics
LAWRENCE, Mass., July 10 /PRNewswire/ -- His Beatitude and Eminence Nasrallah Peter Cardinal Sfeir, Patriarch of Antioch and All the East, will speak on topics pertaining to the Middle East, United States relationships within the region and the Maronite Catholic Church at a press event July 13 at 11 a.m. in Lawrence.
At the event, one of several signature occasions scheduled for Cardinal Sfeir's historic visit to St. Anthony's Maronite Church July 12-14, the Cardinal is expected to discuss such issues as: Bi-lateral relations between Lebanon and the United States; the Middle East and the need for harmony among its religions; peace, democracy and the independence of Lebanon; and the state of the Maronite Church worldwide.
The press conference will take place at 11 a.m. at St. Anthony's Church, 145 Amesbury Street, in Lawrence. Prior to the press conference, at 9 a.m., the Cardinal will celebrate the second of three liturgies scheduled for his visit.
The visit, part of an approximately month-long tour of Maronite religious communities in the United States, marks the first time that Cardinal Sfeir has visited St. Anthony church in Lawrence, and is only the fourth time that a Maronite patriarch has journeyed to the United States.
Head of the 12-15 million-member Maronite Catholic Church and a proponent of peace in the Middle East, Cardinal Sfeir has been outspoken about social and political injustice even at the expense of his own personal safety. His Eminence is also the primary driving force behind a free and democratic Lebanon. He has persistently and convincingly impressed upon world leaders around the globe the value of a free, independent and democratic Lebanon, while characterizing Lebanon as an example of a country where different religions coexist. His campaign for Christian-Muslim harmony has earned him countless supporters within the Islamic community as he is viewed as a bridge with Christians and the West.
Cardinal Sfeir is considered one of the most important figures in the Middle East. U.S. diplomatic leaders routinely seek his counsel, and last year he was invited to the White House to meet with President George W. Bush.
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Source: St. Anthony's Maronite Catholic Church

FBI: Three held in New York tunnel plot
Suspected ringleader posed as playboy, professor in Beirut
NEW YORK (CNN) -- U.S. and international authorities disrupted a plot by eight terrorists to blow up a commuter train tunnel connecting New Jersey and Manhattan, the FBI announced Friday.
Three of the eight men are in some form of custody, and the rest have been at least partially identified, FBI Assistant Director Mark Mershon told reporters. The identity of one suspect, a 31-year-old Lebanese man, has been released. Mershon said the plan was "what we believe was the real deal," a scheme involving al Qaeda members on three continents. Mershon said none of the suspects has been to the United States. The investigation remains classified, he said. (Watch the FBI's Mershon reveal what links the plot had to bin Laden -- 3:29) "They were about to go to a phase where they would attempt to surveil targets, establish a regimen of attack and acquire the resources necessary to effectuate the attacks," Mershon said. "At that point I think it's entirely appropriate to take it down."
Although Mershon would not divulge extensive details of the plot, law enforcement sources said the suspects wanted to cross the Canadian border into the United States. Once in New York City, they would board trains with backpacks full of explosives, which they planned to detonate when the trains passed through a tunnel under the Hudson River. Watch how the FBI tracked the plot from early on -- 1:52 The suspects discussed how much explosive material would be needed to breach the thick bedrock lining of the tunnels, the sources said. Assem Hammoud is the only suspect who has been formally charged; he is in custody in Lebanon. Hammoud, who claims to be an al Qaeda member, has admitted to being the group's ringleader and has professed his loyalty to the terror network's leader, Osama bin Laden, Mershon said.
Playboy poseur
Hammoud, who also goes by the name Amir Andalousli, is a professor of computer studies at a private university in the Lebanese capital of Beirut, and he has been parading as a playboy with a party lifestyle as a cover for his extremism, Lebanese General Security spokesman Elie Baradei said.
"He was requested not to show any religious inclinations during his time in Lebanon and to give the impression of being of a playboy," Baradei said. "He has done that perfectly." The FBI began investigating Hammoud and his alleged cohort about a year ago, when talk of a tunnel attack popped up in Internet chat rooms and in e-mail discussions, Baradei said. The FBI helped track the chatter to Hammoud, who admitted to sending detailed maps of the targeted Port Authority Trans-Hudson, or PATH, tunnel and plans for the attack to his co-conspirators, he said.
A Syrian national recruited Hammoud into the realm of terrorism in 2003, and Hammoud received weapons training at the Ain Helweh Refugee Camp, which was then located in Syria-controlled Lebanon, Baradei said.
Hammoud was arrested April 27 in his Beirut apartment in a sting coordinated with the FBI before a planned trip to Pakistan, where he was to undergo more training, according to a statement from the Lebanese Interior Security Service. "He was living a life of fun and indulgence away from all suspicions," the statement said. Hammoud, who faces no charges in the United States and thus cannot be extradited, will be tried in Lebanon on terrorism charges, said Achraf Rifi, general director of Lebanon's internal security forces.
An international effort
Mershon said six countries participated in the investigation. He would not say which countries, but sources said they include Canada, Pakistan and Iraq.
"The real story here is the symphony of cooperation and coordination not just in the New York-New Jersey metropolitan area, but frankly, around the world with a number of intelligence and investigative services," Mershon said. "It's beyond textbook; it's, in fact, been storybook."
Although the plot was in its preliminary stages, Mershon said the attack was slated to take place in October or November. Investigators moved in because they believed the suspects were about to begin assessing the target and obtaining explosives and other materials for the attack, he said.
Mershon would not name the specific tunnel but said it was one of the PATH tubes running under the Hudson River.
According to the port authority's Web site, "PATH presently carries 215,115 passengers each weekday." More than 60 million passengers used the system in 2005, the Web site states. There are five tunnels running beneath the Hudson. ( Watch officials explain the vulnerability of transit tunnels and crossings -- 1:39 )
The New York Daily News broke the story Friday morning, and Mershon expressed disappointment at what he called the "unprofessional behavior" of whomever leaked it to the paper.
The leaker was "clearly someone who doesn't understand the fragility of international relations," he said, adding that there have been a "number of uncomfortable questions" from the foreign intelligence services that participated in the investigation.
The FBI has been "working to shore up those relationships," Mershon said.
Friday marked the first anniversary of the London Underground bombings, in which four suicide bombers killed 52 people on the London subway and on a bus.
**CNN's Kelli Arena contributed to this report.


The end of cowboy diplomacy
Why the 'Bush Doctrine' no longer works for Bush administration
July 10, 2006
Editor's note: The following is a summary of this week's Time magazine cover story.
http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/07/09/coverstory.tm.tm/index.html
Time.com -- All the good feeling at the White House at President Bush's early birthday party on July 4 couldn't hide the fact that the president finds himself in a world of hurt. A grinding and unpopular war in Iraq, a growing insurgency in Afghanistan, an impasse over Iran's nuclear ambitions, brewing war between Israel and the Palestinians -- the litany of global crises would test the fortitude of any president, let alone a second-termer with an approval rating mired in Warren Harding territory.
And there's no relief in sight. On the very day that Bush celebrated 60, North Korea's regime, already believed to possess material for a clutch of nuclear weapons, test-launched seven missiles, including one designed to reach the U.S. homeland.
Even more surprising than the test (it failed less than two minutes after launch), though, was Bush's response. Long gone were the zero-tolerance warnings, "Axis of Evil" rhetoric and talk of pre-emptive action.
Instead, Bush pledged to "make sure we work with our friends and allies ... to continue to send a unified message" to Pyongyang. In a news conference after the missile test, he referred to diplomacy a half dozen times.
The shift under way in Bush's foreign policy is bigger and more seismic than a change of wardrobe or a modulation of tone.
Bush came to office pledging to focus on domestic issues and pursue a "humble" foreign policy that would avoid the entanglements of the Bill Clinton years.
After September 11, however, the Bush team embarked on a different path, outlining a muscular, idealistic, and unilateralist vision of American power and how to use it.
They aimed to lay the foundation for a grand strategy to fight Islamic terrorists and rogue states, by spreading democracy around the world and pre-empting gathering threats before they materialize. And the U.S. wasn't willing to wait for others to help.
The approach fit with Bush's personal style, his self-professed proclivity to dispense with the nuances of geopolitics and go with his gut. "The Bush Doctrine is actually being defined by action, as opposed to by words," Bush told Tom Brokaw aboard Air Force One in 2003.
But in the span of four years, the administration has been forced to rethink the doctrine by which it hoped to remake the world. Bush's response to the North Korean missile test was revealing: Under the old Bush Doctrine, defiance by a dictator like Kim Jong Il would have merited threats of punitive U.S. action. Instead, the administration has mainly been talking up multilateralism and downplaying Pyongyang's provocation.
The Bush Doctrine foundered in the principal place the U.S. tried to apply it. Though no one in the White House openly questions Bush's decision to go to war in Iraq, some aides now acknowledge that it has come at a steep cost in military resources, public support and credibility abroad.
The administration is paying the bill every day as it tries to cope with other crises. Pursuing the forward-leaning foreign policy envisioned in the Bush Doctrine is nearly impossible at a time when the U.S. is trying to figure out how to extricate itself from Iraq.
Taking note and taking advantage
Around the world, both the U.S.'s friends and its adversaries are taking note -- and in many cases, taking advantage -- of the strains on the superpower. The past three years have seen a steady erosion in Washington's ability to bend the world to its will.
The strategic makeover is most evident in the ascendance of Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who has tried to repair the administration's relations with allies and has persuaded Bush to join multilateral negotiations aimed at defusing the standoffs with North Korea and Iran.
By training and temperament, Rice is a foreign-policy realist, less inclined to the moralizing approach of the neoconservatives who dominated Bush's cabinet in the first term. Her push for pragmatism has rubbed off on hawks like Vice President Dick Cheney, the primary intellectual force behind Bush's post-9/11 policies.
"There's a move, even by Cheney, toward the Kissingerian approach of focusing entirely on vital interests," says a presidential adviser. "It's a more focused foreign policy that is driven by realism and less by ideology."
 

Guest Editorial: Kurdish Regional Government Needs Lessons in Democracy
GMT 7-10-2006 16:2:8
Assyrian International News Agency
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(AINA) -- In an effort to consolidate their power over northern Iraq the Kurdish leaders of K.D.P and P.U.K are working to unify their governments into a single entity. In an interview, by the (Kurdish) Hewler Globe, Bayan Sami Abdul Rahman, Kurdish Regional Government High Representative to the UK said:
"I'm not sure that we in Kurdistan realize that there is a shift in the perception of the Western journalists. In the past we were the oppressed people, the underdog. Now we are a government, we build institutions, and we have our own media. The instinct of every Western journalist is to question what government officials of any nationality tell them. That is how they view the Kurds in Iraq today. We need to understand that and develop a strategy to deal with this new situation."
It is not clear what strategy Abdul Rahman has in mind, but if he dares he should tell Barzani and Talabani that for as long Kurds continue to treat the non-Kurds such as Assyrians and others as second class citizens in their own homeland and use Kurdish militia to terrorize them into submission Kurds will be judged as oppressors. Such a perception will be especially costly to the Kurds because of how they have treated the Assyrians in the past. A historical reality which has not yet been extensively written about.
Another advice Abdul Rahman can give to the Kurdish Regional Government is that Kurdish authorities should stop treating the Western nations as fools who can be easily deceived by their Machiavellian tricks. In interviews with 'Asharq Al-Awsat' Nechirvan Barzani praised the civil liberties in the Kurdistan Region by claiming that "Assyrians, Chaldeans, and Sabian Yazidis enjoy full religious rights, the same way Sunnis and Shiites do, and explained that the various religious sects have a long history in the region." He went on to say that his finance minister, Sarkis Agajan, is Christian, and that the region's former deputy prime minister was Christian as well."
Nechirvan Barzani fails to mention the fact that Kurdish authorities have refused to work with (ADM) the Assyrian Democratic Movement which was voted as the legitimate Assyrian-Chaldean representative in the last election, instead un-elected individuals such as Sarkis Agajan and few others who have joined the (K.D.P) 'Kurdish Democratic Party' have been anointed by the Kurds to be used as propaganda tools to further Kurdish interest, and give an illusion of Kurdish democracy.
Assyrians (also known as Chaldeans and Syriacs) are more than just religious denominations, they are the indigenous people of northern Iraq now renamed Kurdistan, Their history in the land of their forefathers goes back to few thousand years. One does not live by religion alone, being able to practice their religion is just one of their many rights which should be honored. In an attempt to divide the community so that it can be easily exploited the Kurdish authorities have bribed one faction against the other. They have also opposed allowing a self administrative region for the Assryians including the Chaldeans and Syriacs in the palin of Nineveh where they are a majority of the population.
While Kurds have spent millions of dollars donated by the Western governments to settle Kurds from all over the world in northern Iraq to increase their people's population not a penny has been spent to help resettle the 250,000 Christian refugees now stranded in Syria, Jordan and Turkey. A recent report tells of the Assyrian refugees who fled to the north from southern Iraq were sleeping on bare dirt in the Christian cemeteries.
Among many Kurdish oppressive tactics is the roaming of the Kurdish militias of Barzani and Talabani in the Assyrian villages acting as if they own them. According to a recent report on July 1st, 2006 "the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) Peshmerga (party militia) seized the main petrol station in the Assyrian town of Hamdaniya to expropriate gas reserved for the general public. When the local police interfered an entanglement ensued. Two police were injured. The people were frightened and the gas station was closed depriving them from their share of gas.
Attacks, assaults, and confiscation of gasoline by the KDP are normal recurrences. The militias killed two residents of Bartella earlier this year when they were waiting to receive their share of gas at a gas station. The people protested the trespassing of KDP's Peshmerga against what belongs to the general public."
It is no wonder that recently, a Time Magazine blogger described Iraqi Kurdistan as a "police state", arguing there is a long way to go before Kurdistan can become a society based on tolerance and democracy. However it will not happen for as long as Kurds treat non-Kurds as adversaries who have to be vanquished; militarily, politically and, economically.
By William Warda
William Warda is an Assyrian from Iran. He attended Roosevelt University in Chicago and has written various articles about Assyrian history and their present situation for the Assyrian Star, Journal of the Assyrian Academic Society, and other publications. He is the webmaster of Christians of Iraq website.