LCCC NEWS BULLETIN
JUNE 22/2006

Below News From the Daily Star for 22/06/06
US accuses Hizbullah of attacks in Iraq
Hariri meets Chirac as Lahoud accuses France of 'direct interference' in Lebanon
Gunmen abduct, kill senior defense lawyer for Saddam
Palestinian minister briefs Sfeir on refugee issues
Palestinians and Israelis are in need of a fresh approach
Who will Lebanon send to Franophone Summit?
Participants at memorial point finger at Syria in Hawi's death
Palestinian minister briefs Sfeir on refugee issues
Lebanese risk losing out in global market
Rizk calls for independent judiciary
Karami rejects Siniora invitation as interference
Taamir residents weary of constant violence
Lebanese artist bets on women, horses and the sun - and wins
Gemmayzeh tourist fest offers something for everyone
Iran has painted itself into a corner
Group aims to bolster Lebanon-Japan ties
Participants at memorial point finger at Syria in Hawi's death
Below News From miscellaneous sources for 22/06/06
Satterfield: Hizbullah Involved in Violence in Iraq-Naharnet
Lebanon Gets Observer Status in Arab Group at WTO Talks-Naharnet
U.N. Criticizes Lebanon for Ill Treatment of Asylum-Naharnet
Romania's Snub to Lahoud Raises Concerns Among Christians-Naharnet
France Says Lahoud Not Invited to Summit, Presidency Accuses Paris of Intervention-Naharnet
President Emile Lahoud and the Francophone Summit- By: Randa Takieddine Dar Al-Hayat
Israeli General Says Iranian 'Agents' are Active on Lebanon Border-Naharnet
Intelligence chief: Strategic threats on Israel rising-Ynetnews
Hizbullah happy with Zarqawi death-Ya Libnan
Hezbollah Builds Up Forces on Northern Border-Arutz Sheva
The bleak future of Lebanon-Syria relations-Ya Libnan
Jordan asks Al Homsi to leave-Gulf News
Russia arms exporter on the march-International Herald Tribune
Syria, Iran Must Do More to Keep Foreign Fighters Out of Iraq-Washington File
Syrian FM postpones visit to Baghdad: report-People's Daily Online
Saddam's daughter and the woman behind her-Ha'aretz
Bush Critics Want Tougher US Approach to Iran-FOX News

US accuses Hizbullah of attacks in Iraq
Compiled by Daily Star staff -Thursday, June 22, 2006
US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State David Satterfield, has accused Hizbullah of involvement in attacks against coalition troops in Iraq and warned that Syria remains "a main crossing point for suicide bombers" into the war-torn country. In an interview with the London-based Al-Hayat daily, Satterfield said Syria's own stability could be affected by the deadly insurgency in Iraq. Satterfield, who is US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's senior adviser on Iraq, said that while Tehran officially claims that it wants a "stable, peaceful and prosperous" Iraq, it continues to support acts of violence carried out in its neighboring country. "Iran is involved in a certain behavior in Iraq, that to a certain extent involves Hizbullah which is actively taking part in acts of violence that are causing the deaths of Iraqi, American, British [soldiers] as well as other members of the coalition forces," Satterfield said in the comments published Wednesday.
The official, who previously was the deputy chief of mission at the US Embassy in Baghdad, said Iran was involved in planting road-side bombs but refused to give further details. "Iran's participation in violence has taken different faces and perhaps the most damaging is the spread of advanced explosive devices and this must stop. I will not go into further detail," Satterfield said.
Turning to Syria, Satterfield urged Damascus to stop harboring members of Iraq's former Baathist regime.
He said that the Syrian government should realize that "an unstable Iraq - a hotbed for Sunni extremism and other negative influences - constitutes in the end a threat to Syria."
Describing Syria as the "main passageway for suicide bombers in Iraq," he said the government had carried out "tactical rather than strategic measures on the border" to prevent infiltrations.
He called on the Syrian government to "actively support a stable and secure Iraq" if it wants to ward off the threat of "Sunni extremism and terrorism." In separate comments carried by the Ash-Sharq al-Awsat daily, Satterfield said the rehabilitation of Iraq's economy topped the new government's list of priorities followed by security and stability.
Satterfield urged Arab governments to start offering "moral and financial support to Iraq," arguing that the time has come for taking action. He said Arab countries remained neutral to developments in Iraq opting not to define their policies toward the country. They have failed, he said, to declare their support to the government's efforts to boost security and to fulfil pledges to write off Iraq's debts. He urged Arab governments to engage in "dialogue with Iraq and to forge strategic partnerships that serve all interests." He gave cautious support to the future participation of militias and insurgents in the political process stressing they must first give up their arms.

Chehayeb: Lebanon is not 'a bargaining chip'
MP Akram Chehayeb mocked Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem's statement that "there can be no forced marriages" when referring to Syrian-Lebanese relations, expressing absolute agreement with him. "Lebanon will never be a bargaining chip or an arena to bargain over with close or foreign allies," Chehayeb said. Replying to a statement by Moallem that Lebanese Premier Fouad Siniora procrastinated too much on visiting Damascus, Chehayeb said Siniora - as soon as he was appointed premier - had headed to Damascus with the intention of mending ties with Syria. "Siniora acted as a man of a democratic state seeking equal and friendly ties between the two neighboring countries, whereas Moallem is acting as a man of a Baathist state in Syria seeking to destroy Lebanon and any other free opinion or endeavor to establish democracy," he said.

Qabalan stresses unity at all levels
Daily Star staff -Thursday, June 22, 2006 Higher Shiite Council Vice President Sheikh Abdel-Amir Qabalan invited acting Druze spiritual leader Sheikh Bahjat Ghaith on Tuesday to a religious gathering at the council in Hazmieh to recall Imam Moussa Sadr's achievements as a "man of dialogue, principles and patriotism." Qabalan said that after renovations, he wished to reopen the council's premises with a gathering of all confessions. He said unity among the Druze was good news for the country because uniting the ranks was the solution to national problems, calling on all Druze to meet with Ghaith and settle discords. Ghaith welcomed any gathering that united the Lebanese, particularly religious authorities, as "politicians have greatly harmed themselves and those they represent."

LTA praises Cabinet decision to fight corruption
Daily Star staff -Thursday, June 22, 2006 The Lebanese Transparency Association (LTA), "No Corruption," praised on Tuesday the Cabinet's June 15 decision, which called on Lebanon to join the UN convention to fight corruption. The LTA said the convention was aimed at ending all kinds of corruption in private and public sectors and developing national institutions to prevent it. It also called on countries to give back the money and assets, obtained through corruption, to the state "they had stolen them from."

The bleak future of Lebanon-Syria relations
Wednesday, 21 June, 2006 @ 11:25 AM
By Faysal Itani,
Ya Libnan Volunteer-Geography is – for better or worse – destiny.
In light of recent tensions between Lebanon and Syria – tensions unlikely to subside in the near future – the Lebanese must recognize this uncomfortable fact in order to best shape our relationship with our larger neighbor. During a time of crisis, nations are particularly likely to make near-sighted miscalculations. Just such a crisis began with Syria's extension of Lebanese President Emile Lahoud's term in 2004 and culminated in its assassination of Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri last February. While we should loudly condemn the Syrian regime's criminal behavior in Lebanon, we would do well to remember that the fates of the two countries are intertwined, and to craft domestic and international policy accordingly
Lebanon still contains a vehemently pro-Syrian camp of politicians including Talal Arslan, Suleiman Franjieh and Omar Karami. They seek to replace Lebanon's independent government with one more subservient to Syrian dominance and of course more willing to grant them the power they cannot earn themselves. Some have thrown their lot behind Syria for tactical reasons, others out of genuine political conviction. Their stance is wrong both morally and strategically for a number of reasons.
Syria's involvement in Lebanon began in 1976 when it intervened to protect its interests in Lebanon's civil war. While Syria played a major role in eventually ending the war in 1990, the ensuing years saw its presence in Lebanon grow to a full-blown occupation maintained through a repressive military-security apparatus. Scores of Lebanese 'disappeared' at the hands of Syria and its Lebanese proxies. Dissidents were tortured and detained without charge, peaceful protestors beaten, a national economy raped and a polity usurped by Syria's Assad regime.
Even after its military withdrawal from Lebanon last year, Syria has continued to kill Lebanese politicians, intellectuals and civilians. No defense of the Syrian nation requires such measures, and no argument can justify them. The Assad regime occupied, ruled and devastated a country already ravaged by civil war. That certain politicians turned a blind eye to the occupation or adapted to it is unpleasant but understandable – perhaps even forgivable. That they should seek its return for political gain is not.
Furthermore, these politicians are making a grave miscalculation. An openly pro-Syrian strategy ignores the majority of Lebanese who passionately oppose Syria's attempts to re-colonize their country. The Lebanese of last year's independence uprising may be led by squabbling politicians, but if there is one thing they unanimously oppose it is Syrian hegemony in Lebanon. No amount of rhetoric about 'sisterly Syria' can sway their hearts and minds.
The pro-Syrian politicians, who require a semblance of a Lebanese state to exercise power (it is hard to imagine Assad permitting them to do so in Syria), would be wise to take note of Lebanese popular opinion to ensure the survival of the state they so badly need. The Lebanese will not allow Syria to reclaim Lebanon, if not alone then with the help of allies such as the U.S. The rule of the Syrian police state is over, and the nostalgia of irrelevant politicians cannot change that reality. This applies especially to the pro-Syrian camp outside of Hizbullah, who lack the latter's grass-roots popularity and who will be left hanging dry when the (hopefully) far-sighted and pragmatic Hizbullah adapts to Lebanon's new status quo. Furthermore, if these politicians are counting on political leverage from President Lahoud, they are ignoring his obvious lame-duck status and the imminent extinction of his political career next fall. This is not to say that they must join the anti-Syrian chorus, only that they should find new ways to secure and legitimize their bid for power in a free Lebanon.
That said, Lebanese nationalists – politicians and citizens alike – must be careful when defining the Syria-Lebanon relationship. As a newly liberated people, we Lebanese cannot but denounce the Syrian regime and its obscene behavior in our country. This is our right and duty. But it is also our duty to be prudent and to seek Lebanon's best interest. This does not entail ceasing criticism of Syria's actions in Lebanon. It most definitely does not entail aborting measures to improve domestic security against threats from the Assad regime. We must however define our own limits for the sake of the national interest – and openly calling for regime change in or inciting violence against Syria may feel good but it is probably not very helpful – not least of all because it is unlikely to win us crucial sympathy from the Arab world.
Furthermore, while Syria is no superpower, it is our neighbor, and President Assad's insecure regime suffered a huge blow in Lebanon. His police state, like all others, is patient and calculating, and unlikely to forgive our insubordination. It will seek its revenge on Lebanon if circumstances allow it, even if Lebanon enjoys political backing from the West. The United States has a genuine interest in and desire for a free Lebanon. But the United States is a superpower with its own interests and problems – including Iraq, Iran and domestic political considerations. With American public opinion running against President Bush and his foreign policy adventures, it would be unwise to rely too heavily on the Americans. It was after all the U.S. government that gave Syria free reign in Lebanon in exchange for support in the first Gulf War. Our approach towards the U.S. should therefore be informed by cautious optimism – and the bloodbath unleashed in Iraq should make us think twice before calling for regime-change much closer to home.
Lebanon has volatile borders to secure, citizens to protect and a nation to rebuild and reconcile. Geopolitical realities dictate that Syria will always have some influence on Lebanese affairs. Rather than direct our limited resources against Syria – and make enemies of the Syrian people – we should strengthen our own political, economic and security institutions and prepare for a long and drawn-out period of hostility from the neighboring Assad regime.
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Satterfield: Hizbullah Involved in Violence in Iraq
U.S. State Department official David Satterfield has warned Syria that its own stability could be affected by extremism in Iraq where he said Hizbullah was involved in attacks against U.S. and other soldiers.
Satterfield, in an interview with the London-based al-Hayat newspaper published Wednesday, accused Iran and its ally Hizbullah of involvement in acts of violence in Iraq.
Satterfield, who is U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's senior advisor on Iraq, said that while Tehran officially claims that it wants a "stable, peaceful and prosperous" Iraq, it is carrying out attacks in the neighboring country.
"Iran is involved in a certain behavior in Iraq, that to a certain extent involves Hizbullah which is actively taking part in acts of violence that are causing the death of Iraqi, American, British (soldiers) as well as other members of the coalition forces," Satterfield said.
The official, who previously was the deputy chief of mission at the U.S. embassy in Baghdad, said Iran was involved in planting road-side bombs but refused to give further details.
"Iran's participation in violence has taken different faces and perhaps the most damaging is the spread of advanced explosive devices and this must stop. I will not go into further detail," Satterfield said.
Turning to Syria, Satterfield urged Damascus to stop harboring members of Iraq's former Baathist regime and take more active steps to prevent the infiltrations of militants into Iraq through the common border. He said that the Syrian government should realize that "an unstable Iraq, where Sunni (Muslim) extremism and other negative influences are rampant, in the end constitutes a threat to Syria." He said Syria is still the "main passage for suicide bombers to Iraq" in spite of apparent "tactical" measures taken by Damascus. Beirut, 21 Jun 06, 12:23

Lebanon Gets Observer Status in Arab Group at WTO Talks
Lebanon will have observer status in a group of Arab countries that will be formed in the WTO in order to improve the coordination of their positions in the Doha round of trade talks.
Egyptian Trade Minister Mohamed Rashid on Tuesday announced the expected formation of the new grouping after a meeting in Cairo with several other Arab trade and industry ministers.
"We have an Arab group; this didn't exist until today," Rashid told reporters.
He said the announcement of the Arab cluster would be formally handed to World Trade Organization Director General Pascal Lamy in Geneva next week.
The group will consist of the WTO's 12 Arab members -- Bahrain, Djibouti, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia and the United Arab Emirates.
Six more countries with observer status but no voting rights will be included in the consultations, Rashid said. They are Algeria, Iraq, Lebanon, Libya, Sudan and Yemen.
The 149-member WTO is officially committed to a year-end deadline for the completion of Doha round negotiations on the liberalization of global trade, which kicked off in 2001 but talks remain deadlocked.
"We don't expect to be in agreement on all files," Rashid said.
"It may be difficult to find common ground, but there is a minimum of understanding. Previously there was no coordination, and we have to have a joint position in the WTO talks."
The Arab bloc will be the latest of several WTO groupings giving a voice to developing countries -- such as the G-20 and G-90 -- in the battle with U.S. and European trading giants. The United States and the European Union are under pressure from developing countries to ease subsidies to agriculture and to reduce import tariffs on farm products from poor countries. Washington and Brussels are in turn pressing emerging economies to make their markets more accessible to industrial goods and services. "We are coming a bit late in the negotiations but it doesn't mean we will have no influence," Rashid said.
"One of the most important things (for Arab countries) is keeping our preferential treatments. We feel that this treatment is helping our development," he added.(Naharnet-AFP) Beirut, 21 Jun 06, 11:06

U.N. Criticizes Lebanon for Ill Treatment of Asylum Seekers
The United Nations has criticized Lebanon for its ill treatment of asylum seekers who are often jailed or forced to return home if they cannot find a Western country to take them in.
"Asylum seekers live in poor conditions in Lebanon where they are often imprisoned or forced back home if they do not have the chance of finding a Western country to host them," Stephane Jaquemet, head of the regional office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), told AFP.
International rules bar countries from returning refugees to their homeland.
On the sidelines of a forum to mark the U.N.-sponsored World Refugee Day, Jaquemet said about 3,000 asylum seekers are officially registered in Lebanon, but he admitted that "nobody really knows the exact number of refugees" there.
He also said the residence card that is granted to some refugees "does not authorize them to work" in Lebanon.
Antoine Aoun, an official from Lebanon's general security directorate, said Lebanon "suffers from illegal migration."
Therefore, Lebanese authorities "try to help refugees either to move to the United States, Canada, Australia, Britain and Scandinavian countries or to convince them to return to their home countries," he said.
Angelina Agora, a Sudanese mother of five who works illegally in Lebanon, said that "refugees are deprived of their rights in Lebanon and their fate is totally dependent on arbitrary situations".
Lebanon is a tiny country that views refugees with caution because of its already delicate confessional balance among various Christian and Muslim communities.
The country also hosts more than 400,000 Palestinian refugees, half of whom live in miserable conditions in 12 camps.
In line with a law dating back to 1962, the General Security jails and repatriates illegal aliens. Lebanon has not signed U.N. conventions for refugees. Most of Lebanon's asylum seekers are Iraqis, and others come from Sudan and Somalia. Illegal workers seeking better living conditions in Lebanon are mostly Egyptian. Lebanon also hosts about 200,000 legal migrant workers -- mostly Asian and Ethiopian domestic workers.(AFP) Beirut, 21 Jun 06, 11:01

Israeli General Says Iranian Operatives Stationed Near the Border
An Israeli general has said that Iranian operatives, working in collaboration with Hizbullah, are stationed in south Lebanon in areas close to the Israeli borer. "There are more and more Iranian agents, soldiers or intelligence service members, in the immediate vicinity of the Israeli border," General Alon Friedman, who is posted in northern Israel, told reporters Monday.
He said the Iranians were previously deployed in areas further north, away from the border.
But now they "carry out inspection tours, patrols and give instructions" to Hizbullah, which controls the Lebanese side of the border, he said.(AFP-Naharnet) Beirut, 20 Jun 06, 10:00

Romania's Snub to Lahoud Raises Concerns Among Christians
Romania's decision to invite Prime Minister Fouad Saniora to represent Lebanon at a Francophone summit in Bucharest has raised concerns among Christians that such a move could further marginalize the presidency.
A visit Monday by Romanian Deputy Foreign Minister Theodore Baconshi to Beirut failed to clear up the crisis that the invitation has sparked.
"Preparations for the summit are still in progress and we have not finalized the list of invitations yet," he told reporters after meeting with parliamentary majority leader Saad Hariri.
In response to a question about whether President Emile Lahoud will be invited to head the Lebanese delegation to the Sept. 16 meeting, he said:
"We will work in all honesty trying to understand the Lebanese and regional situations. I believe that the matter will proceed well," he said adding that it was "too early to go into details."
Acting Foreign Minister Tarek Mitri, who also held talks with Baconshi, told reporters that the government has still not received a clear answer about whether Romania will amend its position.
Christian politicians have voiced their concern that Romania's snub to President Emile Lahoud could undermine the country's top executive post that is reserved to a Maronite Christian and upset the delicate sectarian-based system that also allots the position of prime minister to a Sunni Muslim.
Gen. Michel Aoun who leads the Free Patriotic Movement said that the summit's host country "has committed a grave mistake" by inviting Saniora instead of Lahoud.
"The prime minister should apologize and reject the invitation. He should also point out that the invitation should have been sent to the president and not leave the situation unclear," he said.
Former President Amin Gemayel called the decision to sideline Lahoud "unacceptable."
"In this situation we can only express our solidarity with the presidency and reject any move that could harm its prestige in Lebanon and the world," said Gemayel, who is opposed to Lahoud and has called for the pro-Syrian president's resignation.
Saniora, who also met with Baconshi, told reporters after a cabinet meeting that he is still considering whether to attend the summit or not.
"I am still assessing the situation and there are still three months ahead of us," he said.
Saniora had met with Patriarch Nasrallah Boutros Sfeir on Sunday in an attempt to diffuse tension. He said then that it was Romania that sent him the invitation and not French President Jacques Chirac.
French Foreign Minister spokesman Jean Baptiste Mattei denied that France was behind attempts to prevent Lahoud from attending the summit.
"The host country, meaning Romania, is the one that sends out the invitations to the participants and France has nothing to do with the fact that President Emile Lahoud did not receive an official invitation," he told An Nahar newspaper in Paris.
Relations between France and Lahoud have deteriorated sharply since the Feb. 14, 2005 assassination of ex-Premier Rafik Hariri, who had a close friendship with Chirac. His killing was blamed on Syria.
The president, seen as one of the last symbols of Syria's domination over Lebanon, has been increasingly isolated internationally and internally where the anti-Syrian parliamentary majority was seeking to depose him. However, the drive to remove Lahoud from power has lost steam and he seems likely to serve until the end of his term in 2007.
Beirut, 20 Jun 06, 08:49

Hezbollah Builds Up Forces on Northern Border
11:17 Jun 20, '06 / 24 Sivan 5766
(IsraelNN.com) After repairing military installations recently damaged in clashes with the IDF, the Hezbollah is concentrating forces on Israel’s northern border, according to Gen. Alon Freidman, an IDF commander in the north.
Military sources say the beefed up Hezbollah force includes new cameras that enable it to keep watch on wide swaths of territory in Israel’s north. Sources say Hezbollah forces have also been bolstered by Iranian military intelligence agents.

Intelligence chief: Strategic threats on Israel rising
Ynetnews 21/6/06: Major-General Amos Yadlin lists seven major factors which intensified strategic threats on Israel. First among them: Ahmadinejad’s election, Iran’s pursuit of nuclear weapons. Another: Democracy has legitimized extremist leaders
Ahiya Raved
Strategic threats on Israel have increased in the past year, Israel's military intelligence chief, Major-General Amos Yadlin, assessed Tuesday during a speech at Haifa University entitled "Updated challenges in a changing world."
General Yadlin noted that contrary to the positive atmosphere in Israel’s strategic environment between April 2002 and August 2005, the election of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the continued research and development of nuclear technology in the Muslim nation were the chief reasons behind the turnaround, according to appraisals by the IDF’s intelligence wing.
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Yadlin counted seven main elements behind the turn for the worse. The prime reason was Iran’s determination to attain nuclear weapons and the fact that Tehran renewed research and development in the field. “Until recently, Europe had succeeded in freezing the continuation of Iranian nuclear development - for nearly 2.5 years,” he said.
Democracy legitimizes extremist leaders
Additional elements motivating the negative trends were the weakening of the American drive and the changes in the Middle East caused by events in Iraq. Another factor was the adoption of the democratic model, which now aids many extremist organizations to seize power positions and be legitimized in their countries – as happened with the Hizbullah in Lebanon, the Hamas in the Palestinian Authority and the Muslim Brotherhood which has gained strength in Egypt.
Yadlin noted Hamas’ rise to power and increasing faith in the success of Palestinian resistance through terrorism. Hizbullah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah, Yadlin said, was the first to claim that by military force alone he would make Israel retreat from south Lebanon, with no diplomatic compromise. This trend was positively reinforced by Israel’s disengagement from the Gaza Strip, he sadi.
Yadlin added that owing to the West’s intense preoccupation in Iranian affairs, pressures on Syria and Hizbullah have waned.
An additional element Yadlin cited was the focus of World Islamic Jihad in the Middle East. Contrary to threats heard from al-Qaeda in the late ‘90s, when Israel was on a low place in the list of targets, recent rhetoric and activities emanating from Osama Bin Laden’s organization tend to frequently focus on Israel and the Middle East.
“In the meantime it has had a notable influence on the surroundings, such as the terror attacks in Taba, rocket fire from Aqaba, and fire on Lebanon – and not on Israel itself,” he said.
Rising fuel prices benefit Iran
The last element on the list was the rise in petrol prices. According to the general, when a barrel of oil cost USD 20, Iran was on the verge of bankruptcy, but now the price of a barrel is reaching USD 70, “and every dollar from every barrel of oil sold means another billion in Ahmadinejad’s budget.”
Regarding terror organizations, Major-General Yadlin said: “The terror organizations’ methods of education are impressive. They learn quickly, their research is excellent and their goal is to find their enemy’s weak point. One of the central challenges facing intelligence agencies today is to learn faster than they do.” The intelligence chief said another challenge was identifying organization leaders preparing operations, when the group structures are “flat” and the leaders can be conspicuous. “Is Bin Laden the leader of al-Qaeda? Or is someone else? Not everyone calling himself al-Qaeda gets orders directly from Bin Laden. Orders to operate are in the spirit of things,” he said. Yadlin added that the central activation channel of world Jihad organizations and al-Qaeda was the internet.(06.20.06, 22:32)

Hizbullah happy with Zarqawi death
Monday, 19 June, 2006 @ 5:08 PM
By Donna Abu-Nasr, Associated Press
Hizbullah and al-Qaida in Iraq, both sworn enemies of the United States and Israel, are far from being allies as the enmity between them rivals their hatred of their common foes.
That hatred has so far been restricted to words: a fiery diatribe in which al-Qaida in Iraq leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, just a week before he was killed in a June 7 U.S. airstrike, accused Hizbullah of being a protective buffer against attacks from south Lebanon on Israel. Abu Hamza al-Muhajer, the man al-Qaida says is Zarqawi's successor and who may also be known as Abu Ayyub al-Masri, has reportedly vowed to complete what his predecessor has begun -- a plan that includes a brutal campaign against Shiites aimed at sparking a Sunni-Shiite civil war.
Such violence has the potential to spread throughout the largely Sunni Arab world to areas where Shiites live.
In his last audiotape, Zarqawi accused Hizbullah, which spearheaded the guerrilla warfare against Israel's 22-year occupation of south Lebanon, of having "serious ties" with the Jewish state.
"The party (Hizbullah) has raised false banners regarding the liberation of Palestine while in fact it stands guard against Sunnis who want to cross the border" into Israel, Zarqawi said.
Nawaf al-Mussawi, the Hizbullah politburo member in charge of international relations, said Zarqawi was a U.S.-Israeli tool used against Arab resistance groups. He said Zarqawi's call for Hizbullah to give up its weapons -- in line with the agreement that ended Lebanon's 1975-1990 civil war and a 2004 U.N. Security Council resolution -- is proof.
"His criminal acts aimed at igniting civil wars and inciting sectarian fighting," Mussawi told The Associated Press.
"We will not permit the United States, Israel or its tools to kindle any kind of conflict in Lebanon -- between Christians and Muslims or between Shiites and Sunnis," he added.
Analysts link the accusations in Zarqawi's audiotape to a December attack from south Lebanon in which a barrage of rockets was fired into northern Israel. The Jewish state retaliated with airstrikes on a Palestinian base in central Lebanon. Zarqawi claimed the attacks, saying they were "the beginning of the blessed work of striking deep into the Zionist enemy, according to instructions of Osama bin Laden."
Zarqawi's claim of responsibility for the attack on Israel likely displeased Hizbullah, which would have seen it as an encroachment on its turf in south Lebanon.
The strike was seen as part of al-Qaida in Iraq's efforts to spread its brand of violence to other parts of the Arab world. Last year, it claimed responsibility for a Nov. 9 triple suicide bombing in the Jordanian capital, Amman, that killed 60 people, and an Aug. 19 rocket attack in the Jordanian port city of Aqaba that killed a Jordanian soldier.
"The impression among al-Qaida activists is that Hizbullah is guarding Israel's northern border instead of protecting Lebanon's southern frontier," said Faris bin Hizam, a Saudi journalist who closely follows al-Qaida.
"This could be the immediate source of the dispute between the two groups besides Zarqawi's distaste for Shiites," he added. "Zarqawi's dream was to fight the Shiites everywhere -- even if they were in Sweden."
Other analysts saw in Zarqawi's accusation an attempt to discredit the Lebanese group that is popular among Arab Sunnis for its fight against Israel.
"His personal hatred of the Shiite faith would've precluded him from even being seen to be supporting Hizbullah's activities even though they are both organizations which call for the destruction of Israel," said Richard Evans, terrorism editor at Jane's Information Group in London.
Dia'a Rashwan, an Egyptian expert on radical groups, noted that it was the first time an Islamist group criticized Hizbullah.
Indeed, bin Laden, whose fundamentalist Wahabi strain of Islam considers Shiites heretics, has refrained from attacking the sect and has always presented himself as trying to eliminate strife among Muslims, Evans noted.
"He may, as an austere Salafist, have no particular love for Shiites or Hizbullah, but I'm not aware that he's ever singled them out for specific criticism," Evans said.
Zarqawi's policy in Iraq reflected "his personal hatred of Iraq's Shiite population and his belief that if any form of a Sunni Islamist state were to be established in Iraq that could only be achieved with the defeat of any Shiite-led Iraqi government," he added.
Ibrahim Bayram, a Lebanese journalist who follows Hizbullah, said he did not expect the group to get into a dispute with Zarqawi's group.
"Hizbullah is very sensitive about getting involved in a sectarian quarrel," said Bayram, who writes for An-Nahar newspaper. "It's very keen on keeping its image pure where the Sunnis are concerned because of its relations with Sunni groups, like the Palestinian ones."
Hizbullah has maintained close ties with several Arab Sunni militant groups, including the Palestinian Hamas and Islamic Jihad, which it has provided with financial support and, allegedly, military training. Both groups have been able to bridge the centuries-old Sunni-Shiite ideological divide with Hizbullah because they focus more on political interests than on religious zealotry.
Sources: AP, Naharnet

Saddam's daughter and the woman behind her
By Zvi Bar'el - Haaretz 21/6/06
Two days ago Saddam Hussein's trial resumed. The prosecution presented a summary of its case and demanded the death sentence. It has been a long and rather boring trial, with the result is known in advance. Judge Raouf Abd al-Rahman, short-tempered and blunt, informed the defense team that 28 defense witnesses were enough, because "if they cannot convince, then neither can 100 witnesses." We have to move on, there are dozens of other senior Ba'ath party figures awaiting trial, millions of documents from the Saddam era have yet to be read and historians want to start writing the new Iraq's historical memoirs. In the absence of any real innovations, this trial has in the meantime provided a few refreshing curiosities.
One of them is Attorney Bushra Khalil, the only woman on Saddam's defense team. Khalil is a Lebanese Shi'ite, which means she should be among the last of the attorneys willing to defend Saddam. However, Khalil, who receives death threats daily, is a family friend. Saddam's daughter Raghad asked Khalil to defend her father, after Khalil took part in demonstrations against the sanctions on Iraq. Khalil, along with Ramsey Clark and Holocaust-denier Michel Garaudy, was a member of the organization called the World Committee for the Removal of Sanctions Against Iraq. Twice she ran in the elections for the Lebanese parliament, in 1996 and 2000, and lost both times. The second time, Hezbollah preferred to support another Shi'ite candidate.
She was ejected from the Baghdad court three times for behavior the court president called insolent. Once she argued, "This court is American even though it refers to itself as Iraqi." The second time she waved a picture of prisoners in Abu Ghraib prison being humiliated and tortured by American soldiers, and the third time she claimed there was a Jew on the prosecution because those offering behind-the-scenes advice were American Jewish lawyers. Khalil says she was the first lawyer to volunteer to defend Saddam and that everyday she receives songs of praise from Iraqi citizens on her cellular phone. In the end, when Saddam is found guilty, she will probably be there to absorb some of the blame herself. Inadequate representation after all is an acceptable argument.
An Israeli computer
Last Friday a delegation of Druze dignitaries from the Lebanese town of Hasbiyeh came to see President Emile Lahoud. "We disassociate ourselves from any villager or Druze who betrayed the state," they told President Emile Lahoud and presented him with a small gift, the book "The Ansar Prison - the Great Challenge."
Hasbiyeh is a beautiful farming town known for its fine olive oil. Visitors to the town can choose from at least five restaurants on the banks of the Hasbani River, next to the Shihab Palace, which started off as a fortress in the 12th century. But apart from that, Hasbiyeh is not usually chronicled. Occasionally a Druze member of parliament complains that Lebanese governments have not looked after the town ever since the IDF withdrew, a senior government official shows up there and declares that from now on the situation will change, and then the town returns to its slumbering state.
Up until last Monday, when Hasbiyeh along with the rest of Lebanon, came alive upon hearing the shocking report that a spy ring that had worked for the Mossad was responsible for several killings in Lebanon. The last was on May 26 when the brothers Nadal and Mahmoud Majzoub, activists in the Islamic Jihad organization, were killed. The antagonist of the story, it turns out, is a Druze resident of Hasbiyeh, Mohammed Rafa. According to suspicions, he was working with Hussein Suleiman Hatab, who apparently fled to Israel, according to Lebanese intelligence.
"Only a few countries in the world accomplished such an important intelligence coup," the president congratulated the army commanders who exposed the spy ring. According to Lebanese weekend newspaper reports, there was no Lebanese official who did not sent congratulatory letters to the intelligence chiefs, the army or the government. The list of items found in Rafa's Hasbiyeh home is also impressive: a laptop computer that is "a product of Israel," an air conditioner concealing explosives, an amplifier, a cellular phone allegedly used to detonate the explosives in the Majzoub brothers car, Lebanese army uniforms used in previous assassinations, a television stand with a concealed drawer with communications equipment, two more desks with concealed drawers and communications devices, documents, a forged documents including a driver's license, and suitcases with hidden pockets where forged documents were uncovered.
With such convincing evidence alongside the confession of Rafa, who told his interrogators that the Mossad recruited him in 1994, there is little doubt that this is an Israeli operation, and it will now require a thorough investigation by the Mossad to ascertain what went wrong. Equally interesting are the reactions to the ring's exposure. These can be divided between supporters and opponents of Syria, between Hezbollah members and Druze and Christians. Thus, for example, "it is obvious" that the leader of the socialist party, Druze politician Walid Jumblatt, is a traitor because he is anti-Syrian and opposes Hezbollah's policy, and therefore he is "pro-Israel." After all "it has been proven" that a Druze headed the spy ring, and what could be easier than tying all the loose ends together and uniting all of the guilty parties under one political-ethnic banner?
But if Hezbollah and Syria supporters can weave a single braid of accusations, the same is also true of the Christians and supporters of the Hariri bloc in parliament. They have already argued that the rapid uncovering of the spy ring indicates the bad intentions of Lebanese intelligence. After all, how did they expose such a sophisticated network so quickly, yet were not able to uncover the preparations for Rafik Hariri's assassination and the murder of several Lebanese journalists?
There is an answer for this as well. According to pro-Syrian sources, it is not unreasonable to suspect that Israel was behind last year's assassinations of Lebanese journalists Samir Kasir and Jubran Twaini, in order to frame Syria and create a rift with Lebanon. Therein also lies the difficulty in uncovering the truth about these sophisticated killings. And if Israel was responsible for them, the speakers say, then perhaps the threat of sanctions against Syria should be lifted.
Best 22 years of my life
Rania Hussein Tawfiq has been registered for several years as a student at Bani Sawif University's law faculty in southern Egypt. The Egyptian "south" is not just a geographic reference. This area is considered the seat of conservatism, where many of the radical Islamic movements were born and where there have been violent clashes between Muslims and Copts.
Rania Hussein specifically chose this place to pursue her studies. There was nothing unusual about that, except that most people know Rania by her stage name, Ruby. Ruby is a commercial icon who appears in daring video clips in provocative poses and minimal dress, and uses racy language.
Last week Ruby came to take a law exam. She came dressed as usual in a tight fitting, short dress that prompted a long line of students to follow her and a sharp reprimand from the campus guards. But what does Ruby have to do with the campus? It turns out she is not an unusual phenomenon. Many artists have been enrolled in academic study programs for years in order to gain public recognition not just through their performances, but in what is still considered a more important accomplishment: academic studies.
So for example, the singer Sarihan has been a registered student in Cairo University's law faculty for more than 22 years, the actress Mona Zaki has been studying communications for 13 years, and Ranada Buhairi has been studying something at the faculty of humanities in Cairo. Perhaps as a result there will also b e an increase in the budget for higher education in Egypt, which has suffered from years of cutbacks, just after President Hosni Mubarak declared education a national priority.

President Emile Lahoud and the Francophone Summit
Randa Takieddine Al-Hayat - 21/06/06//
The astonishment expressed by some people vis-à-vis the fact that President Emile Lahoud was not invited to the Francophone summit is baseless. Had he been invited, then there would be cause for astonishment.
President Emile Lahoud had previously attended two summits when his presidency was considered legal on the international level. Now, after resolutions 1559 and 1680 have been passed by the Security Council, it has become impossible to invite the Lebanese President to an international summit, since the international community views that the extension of his term was illegal. After Damascus decided to extend the Lebanese President's term and forced the former Prime Minister, Rafik Hariri, to amend the Constitution; on September 2, the Security Council passed Resolution 1559. The resolution refers to the "upcoming Lebanese presidential elections" and underlines the importance of holding "free and fair elections according to Lebanese constitutional laws devised without foreign intervention or influence."
Recently, Resolution 1680 has returned to the spotlight. This resolution, which was passed by the Security Council on May 17, 2006, reiterated its concern over the presidency issue, and noted with regret that some articles of Resolution 1559 have not yet been fully implemented, including Lebanon's political independence and the proposed free and fair presidential elections.
It is not strange that the Francophone decided to invite Prime Minister Fouad Seniora as the representative of a government that was formed by legal elections and is accepted by the international community. It is also not strange that President Lahoud was not invited, as he does not enjoy international recognition.
Resolution 1559 focused mainly on Damascus' decision to extend Lahoud's term, imposing a president who was not freely chosen by representatives of the Lebanese people. Therefore, the international community had to boycott him. If the community had taken a different course of action, it would have been inconsistent with the international policy and to Security Council resolutions which were passed by the majority, including ambassadors of Arab countries.
Qatar, a Security Council member state, voted in favor of Resolution 1680. Some people in Lebanon are dismayed over the marginalization of the presidency. No doubt, this attitude harms the country's status, taking into consideration the important role the presidency plays in the country's daily affairs. It is not the presidency that is brought under question, but the legality of extending the President's term, which is not recognized internationally.
This is a clear international stance that cannot be denied; nor can the Lebanese President be invited: the extension of his term in office was denied international recognition. The Lebanese President had attended the Moncton Summit held in Canada, and headed the Francophone Summit in Beirut. This happened during his first term, before the international community adopted resolutions that do not acknowledge the legality of the extension of his term.
Before the extension, Lahoud was viewed as the legal President of Lebanon. Now, it is no longer possible for him to be invited to the Francophone Summit, especially since France is the supervisor of the summit, and its President, Jacques Chirac, was one of the sponsors of the two resolutions, not to mention the fact that President Lahoud inappropriately criticized him in public. It is only natural that the summit extended the invitation to the Prime Minister, and not to President Emile Lahoud, to represent Lebanon.

Jordan asks Al Homsi to leave
Gulf News Report
Dubai: Jordanian authorities yesterday asked former Syrian MP Ma'moun Al Homsi to leave Amman in a bid to pave the way for reconciliation efforts with Syria, Al Homsi told Gulf News.
Al Homsi, 50, who fled Syria last week in a bid to launch an international campaign to free "prisoners of conscience," said he would leave Amman for an unidentified destination, but ruled out moving to Lebanon.
Al Homsi said he will continue to pressure Syria to free 13 signatories of Beirut-Damascus Declaration, irrespective of which country he was staying in.
Al Homsi's unscheduled landing in Amman seems to have spoiled reconciliation efforts between King Abdullah II of Jordan and Syrian President Bashar Al Assad, initiated by Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. A London-based Syrian opposition leader told Gulf News that expelling Al Homsi was a Syrian prerequisite for taking part in the meetings.

Russia arms exporter on the march
By Oliver Bullough Reuters
Published: June 20, 2006
MOSCOW Missiles to Syria and Iran, warplanes to Venezuela and Myanmar, helicopters to Sudan - Russia goes its own way when it comes to selling arms, seemingly immune to ethical debates that affect the industry elsewhere.
While European Union members argue over whether to lift a weapons ban against China, almost half of Russia's $6 billion arms sales last year went to Beijing. As the White House struggles to persuade Congress to approve a U.S.- India nuclear deal that some lawmakers fear could spark an arms race, Moscow is completing two atomic plants for New Delhi.
Russia's arms industry is one of the few national manufacturers that can compete with Western companies on equal terms, and it is a source of prestige as well as crucial to Moscow's drive to gain new markets for its exports.
"Let's have no illusions: if we stop sending arms to export, then someone else will do it," Sergei Chemezov, head of the state arms export monopoly Rosoboronexport, told Itogi business magazine last year during a rare interview.
"The trade in weapons is too profitable for the world to refrain from it. Happily, Russia has understood this. The period of democratic romanticism has changed into a period of business pragmatism," said Chemezov, a close friend of President Vladimir Putin since they served together in the KGB.
But this pragmatism has drawn international criticism, and some experts say the apparent health of Russia's arms exports actually conceals an industry in decline, still making money from the leftovers of the Soviet military past.
Russia earns around $5 billion a year from the weapons trade - a figure dwarfed by its exports of energy, metals and timber.
Its main clients are India and China, but it has also received orders from Iran, Syria, Venezuela and the Palestinians - buyers some Western countries shy from dealing with.
Russia says it abides strictly by international embargoes, and does not engage in trade
MOSCOW Missiles to Syria and Iran, warplanes to Venezuela and Myanmar, helicopters to Sudan - Russia goes its own way when it comes to selling arms, seemingly immune to ethical debates that affect the industry elsewhere.
While European Union members argue over whether to lift a weapons ban against China, almost half of Russia's $6 billion arms sales last year went to Beijing. As the White House struggles to persuade Congress to approve a U.S.- India nuclear deal that some lawmakers fear could spark an arms race, Moscow is completing two atomic plants for New Delhi.
Russia's arms industry is one of the few national manufacturers that can compete with Western companies on equal terms, and it is a source of prestige as well as crucial to Moscow's drive to gain new markets for its exports.
"Let's have no illusions: if we stop sending arms to export, then someone else will do it," Sergei Chemezov, head of the state arms export monopoly Rosoboronexport, told Itogi business magazine last year during a rare interview.
"The trade in weapons is too profitable for the world to refrain from it. Happily, Russia has understood this. The period of democratic romanticism has changed into a period of business pragmatism," said Chemezov, a close friend of President Vladimir Putin since they served together in the KGB.
But this pragmatism has drawn international criticism, and some experts say the apparent health of Russia's arms exports actually conceals an industry in decline, still making money from the leftovers of the Soviet military past.
Russia earns around $5 billion a year from the weapons trade - a figure dwarfed by its exports of energy, metals and timber.
Its main clients are India and China, but it has also received orders from Iran, Syria, Venezuela and the Palestinians - buyers some Western countries shy from dealing with.
Russia says it abides strictly by international embargoes, and does not engage in trade

Syrian FM postpones visit to Baghdad: report
Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al- Muallem has postponed his visit to Baghdad until diplomatic relations are restored, the independent Syria-News website reported on Wednesday.
The delay came as an Iraqi delegation will visit Damascus soon to discuss the restoration of diplomatic ties between the two neighbors, which will pave the way for Muallem's planned visit, said the report.
Muallem was supposed to visit Baghdad on Thursday. If he goes, it would be the first visit of a Syrian foreign minister to Iraq since diplomatic relations between the two countries was broken in 1980 as Syria sided with Iran in the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq war. Syrian and Iraqi leaders have had the political intention to restore relations since the Saddam Hussein regime was toppled during the U.S.-led war on Iraq started in March 2003. But the worsening security situation in Iraq is a major obstacle to restoring the Damascus-Baghdad ties, while the United States has accused Syria of allowing foreign insurgents to cross the border into Iraq. Source: Xinhua

Syria, Iran Must Do More to Keep Foreign Fighters Out of Iraq
U.S. envoy Bolton reports to U.N. Security Council on Multi-National Force Iraq
Washington -- Syria and Iran are not doing enough to stop foreign fighters from entering Iraq, Ambassador John Bolton says.
In a June 15 report to the U.N. Security Council, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations said the international community, and especially Syria and Iran, must:
· Prevent non-Iraqi combatants from infiltrating Iraq;
· End material and financial support for those opposing the new Iraqi government; and
· Support Iraq's sovereign government and provide assistance.
Speaking on behalf of the 29 countries comprising the Multi-National Force Iraq, Bolton cited the recent deaths of al-Qaida in Iraq leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and his adviser, Sheikh abd Al-Rahman. He also reported the formation of the Iraqi unity government, completed June 8 with the naming of a defense minister and an interior minister. (See Iraq Update.)
Georgian, Romanian and South Korean contingents of the Multi-National Force continue to provide security for the United Nations in several Iraqi cities, Bolton said. The troops provide site security, reconnaissance, security patrols, convoy escorts, checkpoints, and, when necessary, assistance with medical and emergency evacuations. He also cited the contributions of Fijian troops, who provide protection for U.N. personnel and facilities in Baghdad.
The ambassador also focused on the growing presence of capable Iraqi security forces in protecting Iraqi lives and property. He said the total number of Iraqi forces now exceeds 265,000, including more than 117,000 Ministry of Defense personnel, 103,000 police, and 45,000 Ministry of Interior forces. These forces are trained and equipped for counterinsurgency operations, he said.
Bolton said "considerable work remains," making the United Nations' continued contributions vital. The Multi-National Force, he said, looks forward to the U.N. Assistance Mission-Iraq expanding its presence to the cities of Basra and Erbil.
The report, required by U.N. Security Council Resolution 1637 (August 2005), is part of a periodic review of the Multi-National Force's mandate, which started with Resolution 1511 (October 2003) and was extended by Resolution 1546 (June 2004). Resolution 1637 also extended the mandate through the end of 2006, to allow the Multi-National Force to contribute to the stability and security of Iraq during the period of reconstruction, until its political transformation is complete.
The full text of Bolton’s prepared statement is available on the U.S. Mission to the United Nations Web site.

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