LCCC NEWS BULLETIN
MARCH 6/2006

Below news from the Daily Star for 6/03/06
Aoun announces launch of FPM radio, says president won't be toppled
Lebanese bankers: No Syrian cash withdrawals from Lebanon
Axe attack latest violence against foreign troops in Afghanistan
Chirac vows 'voice of reason' on Iran
Syria pledges to cooperate with UN probe
Islamist tract posted throughout Sidon
Downtown sees few visitors, despite dialogue break
Palestinian arms top agenda as Assad hails talks
Maronite figures brief Sfeir on progress of national dialogue
Nassib Lahoud signs petition to oust president
$400,000 price of democracy in Baabda-Aley
Talks initiated between Saad, Bahia Hariri
Hamas admits it must 'change its manners'
U.S. should see opportunity in Hamas win
Despite Iraq, this year Hollywood looks inward
Democracy, the new battlefield between Islamists and regimes

Aoun announces launch of FPM radio, says president won't be toppled
Daily Star staff-Monday, March 06, 2006
BEIRUT: Head of the Free Patriotic Movement, MP Michel Aoun reiterated his opinion about the presidency Sunday, as he announced the opening of an FPM radio station. Aoun said: "the presidency will neither be toppled in the street nor will there be a constitutional resignation." Aoun was speaking on Sunday during a news conference to announce the opening of Sawt al-Ghad (Voice of Tomorrow) radio station, which he said was granted to the FPM by Former Minister Suleiman Franjieh.
Addressing the station's director and the editorial staff at his residence in Rabieh, Aoun said that the issue of the presidency is still being discussed in the National Dialogue that started on Thursday and the results will not be known until the dialogue is over. "I am curious more than the world to know the next president will be," the FPM leader said in response to a question asked if the next president was named in the discussions. In his assessment of the dialogue, Aoun said: "The positions made are clear and face-to-face confrontation is the best outcome of the dialogue."
Aoun hoped that after the dialogue is over, the next things to be discussed will be the economic improvement or economic projects for Lebanon. As for some political forces that criticized the dialogue, Aoun said that there are political parties that have different positions about the dialogue. "Those political forces are not coherent," he said.
The radio station's official launch will be on Tuesday and will be supervised by an FPM group that includes Pierre Raffoul, Tony Nasrallah, Laura Shaccour and Michel Habis, in cooperation with the editor in chief, Habib Younes.
Aoun hoped Sawt al-Ghad, on 97.1 FM, "would serve the Lebanese cause" and stressed its "commitment to conveying the truth." He said the radio station is "neither a publicity for the FPM, nor for bringing people closer to the movement. "
The FPM leader denied that his movement wants to promote its principles through the radio station. "We don't want to promote ourselves; we only want to say the truth and the reality as they are." - The Daily Star

Axe attack latest violence against foreign troops in Afghanistan
By Agence France Presse (AFP) Monday, March 06, 2006
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan: A Canadian soldier died Sunday from injuries suffered in a crash in Afghanistan, while another was evacuated to a hospital in Germany after a savage axe attack, Canadian forces said. The axe assault was the latest of several attacks, including suicide bombings, against Canadian forces based in volatile Kandahar province, one of the areas worst-hit by an insurgency by the ousted Taliban regime.
Master Corporal Timothy Wilson died in hospital in Germany after being critically injured in a road accident Thursday near the southern city of Kandahar in which another Canadian soldier was killed and five more hurt, a spokesman said.
A Canadian officer was meanwhile airlifted to a U.S. military hospital in Germany Sunday after a man struck him on the head with an axe at a meeting of village elders, spokesman Lieutenant Mark MacIntyre said.Lieutenant Trevor Greene was seriously wounded in the attack Saturday at Shinkay, 70 kilometers north of Kandahar.
Greene was struck from behind while talking to elders about assistance they needed from the international community, he said.
"Canadian forces reacted instantly and killed the assailant ... he (Greene) was attacked from behind in a savage attack," MacIntyre said.
It appeared the attacker, whose affiliation was not known, was not a member of the village council but a bystander, he said. A grenade was also tossed during the melee but it was not clear if it detonated or caused casualties.
Canada, which has about 2,300 troops in Kandahar, is an important player in a coalition of foreign forces hunting down militants from the ousted Taliban regime and their Islamist allies, including from the Al-Qaeda terror network.
The country on February 28 took command of coalition forces in Kandahar province, from where the Taliban rose to take control of most of Afghanistan by 1996. The Taliban were toppled by a U.S.-led military operation weeks after the September 11, 2001 attacks because the hardliners refused to surrender Al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden. The latest death takes to 10 the number of Canadian troops to have lost their lives in accidents or attacks during the mission to Afghanistan that started in 2001.
A senior Canadian diplomat has also been killed in southern Afghanistan. His convoy was struck by a suicide car bomb in mid-January. A poll in January found that 62 percent of Canadians did not support incursions into Afghanistan, but Prime Minister Stephen Harper insisted this month that the mission was critical for global security. Canadian Brigadier General David Fraser vowed when he took over the multinational force last month that his soldiers would go into insurgents' "sanctuaries." "We're going into their yard. We're going to start kicking them," he said, also stressing the soldiers' humanitarian work in this destitute country ravaged by years of war.There were more security incidents in Afghanistan during this winter than the past three winters put together, a Western security source said on condition of anonymity. - AFP

Palestinian arms top agenda as Assad hails talks
By Therese Sfeir and Majdoline Hatoum -Daily Star staff
Monday, March 06, 2006- Lebanese national Dialogue - Day 3
BEIRUT: Lebanon's national dialogue will resume in its fourth day Monday, with the issue of Palestinian weapons as the first item on the agenda and an agreement expected. Syrian President Bashar Assad welcomed the talks as a "positive" step. On Saturday, Assad, speaking during a speech to the fourth session of the general conference of Arab parties in Damascus, had said: "The national dialogue, which is happening in Lebanon today, is a positive and reasonable step."
"Syria and Lebanon are two sisterly countries that are impossible to separate," Assad said, adding: "The problem is not between Lebanon and Syria but between a movement in Lebanon that has a problem with Syria," referring to the March 14 Forces. Assad also said that the majority in Lebanon "supports the establishment of good relations with Syria."
But he added that the parliamentary majority is not representative of the public majority. Assad had once referred to Lebanon's parliamentary majority as the "false majority."In Lebanon, Saturday witnessed intense discussions on a number of issues without a decision being made on any of them. Talking to The Daily Star, Arafat Hijjazi, political adviser to Speaker Nabih Berri, said Monday's first session will tackle the issue of disarming Palestinian factions outside refugee camps in Lebanon.
"An agreement is expected on forming a committee with the participation of Hizbullah in order to help the government engage in dialogue with these factions over their disarmament," said Hijjazi. "Hizbullah enjoys good relations with these factions, and their presence in the committee will facilitate the process of convincing Palestinians to lay down their arms," he said. Hijjazi added that since Saturday witnessed intensive discussion into all the issues without decisions, issues will be discussed separately and consecutively starting Monday. After agreeing on the first day to commission the Cabinet to follow up the establishment of an international court into the assassination of former Premier Rafik Hariri, the country's key political leader still have to decide on two other issues: UN Resolution 1559 and what it stipulates [ousting President Emile Lahoud and disarming Hizbullah and Palestinian factions] in addition to Lebanese-Syrian relations. Saturday's talks delved into all the issues, mainly ousting Lahoud and the identity of Shebaa Farms.
But sources from the March 14 Forces had told the media after the meeting that "the leaders got very close to reaching an agreement on the issue of Palestinian militants' arms outside the refugee camps."
In a news conference held late Saturday, Berri assured that "the national dialogue would lead to true national unity.""We have surpassed the formalities and started discussing basic issues;" Berri said.
Asked about Information Minister Ghazi Aridi's statement that no agreement has been reached on the identity of Shebaa Farms, he said: "The minister is responsible for what he said; I bear the responsibility of what I am saying. ... When a decision is reached over the issue we will inform you about it." Addressing the journalists at the end of Saturday's meeting, the head of the Future Movement MP Saad Hariri said: "Dialogue is progressing in a very positive way.""I believe that dialogue would represent the most important event in the country and I hope that it would lead to a new period in the country's history," Hariri added. According to Hijjazi, the politicians drafted on Saturday a text that said weapons in the hands of Palestinian groups deployed outside refugee camps must end. The text also stressed the necessity to regulate and control Palestinian arms inside the camps. In January, the Cabinet said it would revive efforts to control Palestinian arms following a shooting incident of two Lebanese municipality workers by gunmen belonging to the pro-Syrian Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command in Naameh, south of Beirut. The participants will also issue a recommendation asking Parliament to amend the Constitution to enable any legislator to reject a permanent settlement of Palestinians in case the matter was proposed in the future.

News in Briefs Published by the Daily Star on 06/03/2006
Briefs
France prepares to repatriate Seurat's remains
France is carrying out "preparations to return the remains of the hostage Michel Seurat that were found in October 2005," according to a statement issued by the French Foreign Ministry Saturday. Armed gunmen kidnapped French national Seurat, a social scientist, on his arrival at Beirut airport on May 22, 1985. Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility and Seurat was declared dead in March 1986. His body was not returned. Last October, his remains were found in the mass graves uncovered at Anjar.
Air traffic controllers end strike
Air traffic controllers at Rafik Hariri International Airport ended their strike Saturday, after having reached an agreement with the Civil Aviation director general, Hamdi Shawq. A statement issued Saturday said the Air Traffic Controllers' Committee will submit the agreed formula to Prime Minister Fouad Siniora and Public Works and Transport Minister Mohammad Safadi. The ATCs started their strike Wednesday, demanding "fair treatment" from the authorities and compensation for overtime. They were seeking a 50-percent increase in overtime and night-shift wages as well as end-of-service indemnities.
EU official meets with LF MP Zahra
President of the Middle Eastern committee in the European Parliament Beatrice Patri met with Lebanese Forces' MP Antoine Zahra Sunday and discussed the national dialogue and the presidency issue. Within the framework of her visits to various political officials, Beatrice Patri visited Zahra in Batroun. The meeting focused on the current issues and especially the national dialogue and the presidency in addition to the future of Lebanon and the region from the LF point of view. Zahra focused on the issue of complete sovereignty and the priority of having a new president in order to achieve complete independence.
Nancy Ajram dropped from Bahrain line-up
MANAMA: Lebanese singer Nancy Ajram was dropped from an all-star cast set to perform in Bahrain next month to avoid a possible repeat of the riots that broke out two years ago, sources told Gulf News Monday. According to the show organizers, the Information Ministry linked its endorsement of the concert to the replacement of the singer whose last performance in Bahrain had caused a controversy in the Parliament and attacks on concert goers and the police. The organizers, Bahrain's first private radio Sawt al-Ghad, were not available for comment, but sources said they had agreed to replace 22-year-old Ajram with Lebanese singer Roula Saad. - Gulf News

Downtown sees few visitors, despite dialogue break
By Hadi Tawil -Special to The Daily Star
Monday, March 06, 2006
BEIRUT: Downtown Beirut, or as it has been known for the past four days now, the Haunted Town, was still relatively empty of tourists and locals Sunday despite the national dialogue's suspension for one day. In a visit to the area, which is usually bustling on the weekend, The Daily Star interviewed a few of the people who were either jogging or trying to find a place to eat. Nubar Khanamerian, who was having lunch with his family at DT restaurant, said: "The restaurant is nearly empty. There were only four other people having lunch with us." However when asking him about his opinion regarding the national dialogue, he said: "Well I don't like it that they are keeping the participants in a hotel on our account, but I hope they reach a happy conclusion for the sake of the country."Ali Farhat, a citizen who jogs everyday around Downtown said: "The dialogue is only to boost the morale of the people - no more no less." Asked about demands that President Emile Lahoud resign, he said: "I'm against his resignation because he didn't commit any crime."
"Besides, [Progressive Socialist Party leader, MP] Walid Jumblatt and [president of the Lebanese Forces executive committee] Samir Geagea are not better than Lahoud, they have their hands filled with Lebanese blood. At least Lahoud helped build the army," Farhat said. He added: "If Lahoud were accused of assassinating former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri I am not only for his resignation but also for executing him."
Lina Baidoun, who was in Downtown Beirut on Sunday with her daughter trying to find an open place to eat, said: "The dialogue is to decrease tension between the political factions. However, till now we haven't noticed any tangible change."
Opinion is split regarding the presidential issue and who might replace Lahoud. Raefa Daouk said: "I support Riad Salameh [Central Bank Governor] for the presidency because he is moderate and clean and because the country needs a strong economy."Roy Fakhry, who was buying some sweets from Al-Halabi restaurant, said: "The dialogue is a good way to find plausible solutions to the current problems including the presidency."Regarding the next president he would like to have Fakhry said: "Nassib Lahoud would be the suitable person because he was an anti-Syrian and a current member of the March 14 forces."

Islamist tract posted throughout Sidon
Banned hizb ut-tahrir campaigns for a caliphate
By Mohammed Zaatari -Daily Star staff
Monday, March 06, 2006
SIDON: Posters with big, bright-red lettering calling for the establishment of an Islamic Caliphate in Lebanon can now be seen around many streets in Sidon, pasted up by members of Hizb ut-Tahrir, a party banned by Lebanese authorities. On Saturday, citizens in Sidon were surprised to see the posters - especially in areas such as Riad al-Solh street, Sit Nafisa street and Mufti Mohammed Salim Jalaleddine street. The posters call for "reviving an Islamic Caliphate state after the enemies in the malicious and colonial West underestimated our spiritual force. We will only come out strong with an Islamic state."
The posters further called for all Muslims to "be loyal to God and His prophets," adding that "loyalty to the Western countries, their rulers or agents is a treason to God and His prophets."
Hizb ut-Tahrir was formed with the aim "of resuming the Islamic way of life," according to the party's website.
A Sidon resident, Mahmoud al-Khatib, was astonished at the posters. "We have 18 different sects in Lebanon, how can we establish an Islamic state?" Khatib said. "Who will be the Caliph (Islamic leader)? It is difficult to find a Caliph who was as wise as Omar bin al-Khattab (the second Sunni Caliph of Islam)! Can Lebanon and the whole Arab region live again under the old Caliphate era?"Hizb ut-Tahrir's media spokesperson Ayman Kadri said: "The posters were stuck on the walls on the occasion of March 3, 1924, to commemorate the fall of the Islamic Caliphate (and decline of the Ottoman Empire)." He added that "the posters are to remind people of this date and to highlight the importance of reuniting the Islamic nation in one country."
Kadri said that although Hizb ut-Tahrir had been banned, steps to change the party's status had been taken and the ban may already have technically been lifted. The group has applied for official recognition to the Interior Ministry, Kadri said, in compliance with the 1909 Law of Associations. "The party enjoys legal status and we are not banned according to the law," he said. "Unfortunately, the security authorities are still treating us as an illegal party."Kadri said he did not know what steps were necessary to clear up the party's legal status once and for all. Whatever its official status, the position of the party in the minds of authorities is clear, he said. "Whenever Hizb ut-Tahrir performs any kind of activity, its members are arrested," he said. In addition, many posters were torn and removed by the authorities, he said. "We will study this matter to stop these procedures."

Chirac vows 'voice of reason' on Iran
French president labels cartoon row a 'clash of ignorance'
By Agence France Presse (AFP) -Monday, March 06, 2006
RIYADH: French President Jacques Chirac said Sunday the West would still reach out to Iran for a deal on its disputed nuclear file, in the first address to the Saudi consultative council by a foreign leader. The president's wide-ranging speech in Riyadh also covered Lebanon, Syria, the Palestinian elections, reform in the conservative monarchy and the "clash of civilizations" between the West and Islam. "In Iran, the voice of reason that France, the United Kingdom and Germany wanted to be heard on the nuclear file has not been heard, for the time being," Chirac told the appointed advisory council, an all-male body of 150 members. But despite the failure of negotiations between Tehran and the EU, "the hand remains stretched out, and Iran can, at any moment, take it back by restoring its commitment to suspension of sensitive [nuclear] work."
Chirac said Iran had been "assured that it can develop its nuclear capacity for civil-ian purposes." EU powers and Iran failed Friday to strike a deal in last-ditch nuclear talks that could have blocked possible UN Security Council action over Western fears Tehran is secretly developing atomic weapons.
"Nuclear research will go on, and threats, propaganda and bullying will not affect us," Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi said Sunday, referring to the country's controversial uranium enrichment drive.
Chirac also expressed support for reforms undertaken by King Abdullah, whom he was to meet later Sunday, and the oil-rich monarchy's fight against Al-Qaeda linked militants since the Islamists rose up against Riyadh in May 2003.
"I wanted to express France's support for the course he has set his country on," Chirac said of Abdullah. Saudi Arabia was "mobilizing itself courageously in order to assert its moderate role in the face of threats."
Chirac also expressed support for reforms in the kingdom, including the introduction of municipal elections and for allowing women to have a stronger role in business. He said that the alleged clash of civilizations was nothing more than a "clash of ignorance" from both sides. "Saudi Arabia and France can unite their efforts to thwart those who, by fanning the flames of fanaticism, bring about a sad 'clash of ignorance' called a 'clash of civilizations,'" he said.
"We should affirm universal values which underpin our shared existence, we should respect the diversity of people, of beliefs, of cultures, and hold on to the values of tolerance," he said. Turning to Iraq, the French leader said it was "vital" for the violence-wracked country to set up "solid institutions capable of resisting the centrifugal forces which are threatening its unity."
Chirac also said that Syria, which has been implicated in the February 2005 assassination of former Lebanese Premier Rafik Hariri, had to "change its behavior, especially in its relations with Lebanon."On the Palestinian election victory of the radical Islamist movement Hamas, Chirac called for the recognition of Israel, renunciation of violence and respect for past agreements between the Palestinians and the Jewish state.The Shura Council president Sheikh Saleh bin Humaid praised Chirac for his opposition to the U.S.-led war in Iraq and described him as "the president of the friendly French republic." - AFP

Syria pledges to cooperate with UN probe
Moallem makes plans to counter U.S. pressure on damascus
By Leila Hatoum -Daily Star staff-Monday, March 06, 2006
BEIRUT: Syria pledged on Sunday to fully cooperate with a UN investigation into the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, saying the terms of the cooperation had been agreed on last month with the new head of the inquiry. Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Moallem also said his country would step up diplomatic activity to counter intense U.S.-led international pressure on Damascus over its policies in Iraq and the Arab-Israeli conflict.
Serge Brammertz, head of the U.N. inquiry into Hariri's killing, made his first visit to Syria last month and discussed the commission's work with Moallem. "We will cooperate with this commission. We have agreed on the basis of this cooperation [during Brammertz's visit]," Moallem said in an interview with Lebanon's Al-Manar television Sunday. "We believe that as long as Mr.Brammertz leads his investigation in a professional way, he will get full Syrian cooperation."
Moallem's comments come as Brammertz has begun preparations to leave Lebanon by the end of this week, when he will head to New York to present his first report to the UN Security Council. The "Security Council has already scheduled a briefing from Brammertz on March 16," Stephane Dujarric, spokesperson of UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, told reporters.
In two interim reports last year, the UN commission implicated top Lebanese and Syrian security officials in the massive bombing that killed Hariri. While Lebanon praised the commission's reports, Syria rejected its findings and tried to discredit its witnesses. Moallem, interviewed in Cairo where he attended an Arab foreign ministers' meeting, said international pressure on Syria was part of "an American plan." "These pressures will not stop," he said. "But our self-confidence today is much greater."
Asked how Syria would deal with the mounting international pressure, he said: "Syrian diplomatic efforts will also be stepped up. Without Arab solidarity and unity, any Arab country is exposed to the same pressures because the American plan does not exclude anyone."Meanwhile, one of the leading suspects in the assassination of Hariri, the former Surete-Generale chief Jamil Sayyed, was taken to the hospital over the weekend
General Jamil Sayyed, one of four Lebanese security chiefs arrested in the case, was transported to the hospital on Saturday with high blood pressure. His lawyer was not immediately available for comment. Sayyed currently is not allowed any visitors in hospital. As for the international tribunal that will be formed to try the perpetrators of the crime, Justice Minister Charles Rizk said Sunday in an interview with "Voice of Lebanon" radio station that the "final draft of the tribunal has been set."
Rizk added: "The tribunal will be formed of Lebanese and international judges and the Lebanese law will be applied with some amendments regarding the death penalty, since the UN doesn't admit such a punishment."
Two Lebanese magistrates were dispatched to the UN to discuss the draft's suggestions. They arrived back in Beirut last Friday, and briefed Rizk on their trip on Saturday. - With agencies

Democracy, the new battlefield between Islamists and regimes
By Daoud Kuttab -Commentary by
Monday, March 06, 2006
On the surface, the landslide victory of Hamas, the Islamic resistance movement, in Palestinian legislative elections in January has not reflected directly on democracy in Jordan or the wider Arab world. But there is no doubt this political earthquake will eventually be considered an important milestone by Arab democracy activists.
The most obvious effect of Hamas' victory has been within the various Islamic movements in the Arab world and specifically the Muslim Brotherhood, which sees the victory of its brethren in Palestine as its first real success story. That success, combined with the fact that Brotherhood activists in Egypt did well in last year's parliamentary elections, as did their comrades in Jordan, where the Islamic Action Bloc has 17 out of 110 members of Parliament, has stiffened the backbone of their outlawed Syrian brethren in the face of the authoritarian Syrian regime.
For most Arab regimes, the victory of Hamas registers high on their worry index because it strengthens the chances that they will be democratically overthrown by their own Islamists. In this regard, a strong argument has been made that the resurrection of the Danish cartoon controversy, months after the drawings were published, was triggered by autocratic regimes that wanted to show their constituencies that they were as much defenders of Islam as are Islamists. This argument is supported by the fact that the cartoon issue was revived by Arab ministers of interior, led by the Saudis, who requested an apology from the Danish prime minister.
Irrespective of Hamas, however, democratic reform is ongoing in spite of ruling regimes. The overall effect of the information revolution has weakened attempts by governments to control the flow of information to their own citizens. The American-led push for democracy in the Middle East, coupled with the fact that the United States is the overwhelming power in the world and especially in the region, has resulted in democratic reform overriding all other issues.
Liberal and intellectual forces in the Arab world have for some time been divided. On the one hand there is a strong desire for political change and more open societies. At the same time, reform has been resisted for as long as it has been seen as being an imported or imposed from the West or Israel. With Hamas' election victory, one of the most anti-American and anti-Israeli forces has been seen to use the democratic process to advance politically, and that objection has been shattered.
But as political Islam has come to be seen as the only viable alternative to despotic, secular regimes in the Arab world, the discussion among democracy supporters too has shifted. There is concern about the potential that the election process will be delayed or stopped completely once Islamic forces take over. At the same time, there is hope that the process of taking power itself will contribute to moderating various Islamist groups, thus helping create a serious internal debate in Arab society that could be generally beneficial to society.
Some Arab intellectuals are also hoping that, with the rise of Islamist groups, theoretical differences among them will become more marked. These thinkers hope for the rise of some kind of left-wing Islamist movement that will adopt Islam as a general motif, but that will also focus its efforts on such concerns as achieving social justice. While some consider such hopes illogical and the idea of a left-wing Islamist movement a contradiction in terms, proponents of this line of argument point to the example of Christian liberation priests in Latin America who combined Christian theology with socialist ideals.
Whatever ideological groups arise, it is clear that the Arab world will be witnessing many more changes of regime, with or without the use of force.Daoud Kuttab is the founder and director of Ammannet, the Arab world's first internet radio station. This commentary first appeared at bitterlemons-international.org, an online newsletter that publishes diverse views of issues of importance in the Middle East.

Where they learned to kill
BY MOHAMAD BAZZI-MIDDLE EAST CORRESPONDENT
March 5, 2006  -BEIRUT, Lebanon -- -- Among the many sources of inspiration for Iraq's insurgents are battlefield tactics pioneered by the Lebanese group Hezbollah during its 18-year guerrilla war with Israel, security officials say.
Iraqi guerrillas are likely studying Hezbollah techniques in building roadside bombs and carrying out sophisticated ambushes through the dozens of videotapes and pamphlets produced by the Shia Muslim group in the 1990s. Israeli troops withdrew from southern Lebanon in May 2000, after a 22-year occupation. The Israelis pulled out largely because of losses they sustained during Hezbollah's insurgency, which began in 1982.
"If you look at how the Iraqi techniques have evolved, you can see that they studied Hezbollah's methods," said a Lebanese security official who asked not to be identified. "They are adapting Hezbollah techniques to the Iraqi environment."
According to Iraqi and Lebanese officials, some of the Hezbollah tactics being used by Iraqi insurgents include: Stacked mines. In August, a huge explosion destroyed a 25-ton armored U.S. troop carrier as it drove in a convoy near the western Iraqi town of Haditha, killing all 14 Marines inside. The bomb consisted of three anti-tank mines stacked on top of each other. That stacking technique was used often by Hezbollah to destroy armored Israeli vehicles.
Shaped charges. These are powerful explosives that have been used extensively against U.S. forces since early 2005. The devices combine an explosive charge with a curved chunk of metal such as copper. When the blast occurs, it shapes the metal into a molten slug that can penetrate armor.
Hidden roadside bombs. Hezbollah refined the practice of concealing bombs so they would be more difficult to clear off the sides of roads by Israeli bulldozers. For example, Hezbollah fighters placed explosives inside fake plastic rocks, which could be bought in Beirut garden stores for about $10. They also buried bombs under gravel or asphalt. Both methods are being used now against U.S. troops in Iraq.
 

President Bashar al-Assad Delivers a comprehensive Speech At the Arab Parties General Conference
Sunday, March 05, 2006 - 12:15 PM
DAMASCUS, (SANA)
In a comprehensive political speech at the opening session of the Arab Parties General Conference yesterday, President Bashar al-Assad said that the Arabs derived their strength from two main sources, the first of which is Islam which is strongly connected with Arabism, and the second is Christianity which emerged among the Arabs in Arabic language which is Aramaic.
President al-Assad expressed appreciation for the decision of the Arab parties to hold their general conference which he described as very important in Damascus for extending support for Syria and Lebanon, pointing out that such a decision reflects the consciousness and awareness of the Arab political trends and forces of the conspiracies being hatched.
The President added that the title of the conference supporting Syria and Lebanon’s consolidates a deeply-rooted fact in which Syria and the Arabs believe, that Syria and Lebanon are two inseparable sisterly countries.
The President pointed out that what happens against an Arab country can’t be isolated from the rest of the Arab countries, stressing that what is happening now to Syria and Lebanon and before to Iraq, Palestine are interrelated.
The president said that the challenges have grown and by the time they have become chronic and turned into a pain and the Arab nation is living in a chronic case.
He added that such a pain is being felt on the official and popular levels, and the Arab general weakness is an outcome of foreign conspiracies and self shortcomings which can be attributed to short sightedness which is a dangerous indication that the societies are not developing and history repeats itself when we fall in the same trap more than once and every time the trap becomes deeper and the price gets higher.
The President added that some have called Syria زan opposition stateس which means a static defensive state but this doesn’t express Syria’s position, because Syria has always been moving with the events and has been wrongly understood, because those who called Syria an opposition state were not able to understand these events.
He pointed out that pressure on Syria is being put because Syria is acting to prevent the Zionist hegemony and other international powers that are targeting the Arab nation.The President said that Syria and Lebanon are only a link in a chain which was plotted against the Arab nation and the talk about the theory of conspiracy is not an Arab invention but was clearly written in the literature of the West.The President indicated that Syria warned the Americans that they would sink in the Iraqi quagmire although you would win the war, pointing out that Syria warned the British and the European countries and the Arabs who didnt take firm stance regarding this war.The President said that some of the Arabs thought that the war is targeting the regime and if the regime is ousted the other regime can be saved, but the real issue is not regimes, and the issue is countries and the target is to re-map the region and oil remains a temptation of the war.President al-Assad said that Israel remains a fundamental factor in all what is happening in the Middle East, pointing out that Iraq is the target which has very big potentials.Regarding Syria, it may differ a little through Syria’s suffering. Like any country, it will be as a spearhead through its geographic position and its historic role. I want to talk about a point concerning Syria. I say this point is not a suffering, rather it is a pain. We always talk about it with sorrow, namely the misunderstanding of the Syrian stand by many of the countries of the world. What concerns us specifically is the Arab states and Arab peoples sometimes and the political forces particularly. Now I want to go through the examples directly in order to talk about reality.
As I said, the pain which we suffer from in Syria is always the understanding of the Syrian stand though it is understood later but late, i.e. after it is too late and after we pay the price. I will give example: Syria’s stand regarding the Iraqi-Iranian war. We have paid the price for ten years of blockade, criticism and Arab fierce attack. Eight years of war and two years until the occurrence of the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait.He said that after the invasion, I heard from the Arab officials, though later, that Syria was right. President Hafez al-Assad was always saying that a similar thing will happen and we did not believe. We were mistaken. We appreciate this frankness which is not always available in the Arab world. We don’t feel happy because it is too late.The President added, you all know that we have been exposed to pressures over the past years.
We believed that we side with the Palestinian people. We have conviction in this subject. Regrettably, the pressure came from the Arab states on this subject. The West does not concern us in this subject. What is important for us is the Arab homeland.About the invasion of Iraq, the President added that we had exerted great efforts to explain the dangers of this war for two years before it and two years after it. But some Arab states were talking in a different language, the same language which Syria is talking.We were accused of being unrealistic... hardliner, that we don't read the political map, don’t know that the world has changed and that there is one pole. Under these difficult circumstances, we have had to fight the many political battles in the past years, facing two trends. The first exists in the West. It could be governments, intellectual strata...etc. Some of them exist in friendly and unfriendly countries. They despise the other, especially Arabs. This trend believes that it is an absolute power that cannot be confronted, so we have to submit to it and agree on whatever it says and orders even if it was against our interests.The second is represented in some in our region, especially the Arab world, who don’t respect their identity and culture, but admire unlimitedly and non objectively the West. If we want to admire something let it be with reasonable limits. This admiration caused some circles blindness.Concerning the ground on which we were advancing at this stage, first of all, there is an eroding Arab situation, or rather there is no an Arab situation at all, at least at the official level. I distinguish between the official and popular levels.

There is an identity that is lost between the West and the East, past and present.There is also the short-sighted vision, which is one of the difficult points we suffered from in Syria. I mean that there is a principle adopted by some in our region that says let us win today and lose tomorrow.For us, the reasonable matter is to think that let us win today and tomorrow, and at worst let us lose today and win tomorrow. In other words, let us win on the long term since it is inadmissible to lose on the long run.This ground and different trends combined together to constitute a state of siege against Syria with the aim of subjugating it in order to become a part of the providing state in our region. In this case, we will not be an obstacle to any foreign scheme, and embarrass any of the forces existing in the region, which want to go with the West. This is what we have constantly rejected.No doubt the war of Iraq has drawn the attention on what is taking place in the Palestinian lands, continued acts of killing of the Palestinian brothers.He said that maybe there is another target as to draw the attention for the future like the demolishing of Al-Agsa Mosque with the aim of creating a temple similar to that of the foundation of Israel in 1948. Striking Iraq is a striking the Arab nation because Iraq has big economic, scientific and human potentials and a big national and Islamic castle to the Arab nation. All these reasons pushed for the war. But what are the methods? The methods started after the invasion of Kuwait and is continuing until now.

The blockade caused the death of hundred thousands of Iraqi children.The President added that starvation and instability were the method adopted before the war.The second method which started directly after the war was the killing of Iraqi scientists. Assassination was carried out deliberately. We should not have brains, should not develop.He continued to say that the other side is to create a sedition among the Iraqis in order to obliterate the Iraqi identity. To begin with was the theft of national museum. The theft process was carried out within a deliberate plan and not a matter of law or outlaws. It was an organized work. The pictures were cut by experts, some say that there were Israeli elements who entered with the American troops.Of course, we all know what Iraq’s history means as one of the richest and oldest countries in the world with regard to history.Later, many things happened in relation to Iraq’s Arab identity, through attacking the national structure and consequently turning the Iraqi citizen’s belongings from the national and pan-Arab ones into narrow tribal, sectarian and religious belongings, and so on. But the most dangerous is what happened recently when the tombs were attacked. The aim is to destroy the national and pan-Arab identity, since as long as there is an identity gathering the Iraqi people, Iraq will remain united. Attacking this identity paves the way for other identities, and consequently Iraq will be divided.We must remember that there were acts occurred in Iraq at the hands of the occupation forces who were disguised in Arab uniforms. US officials claim that they have nothing to do with such acts.

It is known that legally the occupation forces are responsible for everything, security, economy and services. Therefore, it is natural for them to bear the responsibility.The aim of this attack is to create a sedition. They adopt in their dealing with the Arabs a step-by-step approach. When Israel killed Mohammad Durra in Palestine, there was a great protest.Today, when we hear from time to time that Israel killed two Palestinians, we say poor Israel, it did only kill two Palestinians. The issue becomes like a habitual act. When they destroy in the future Al-Aqsa Mosque, we will be exceeding the stages of preparation. It is a question of doses that are given step-by-step. The President added the funny thing was that the Americans convinced the whole world they would not withdraw from Iraq in view of the confusion which would be incurred as a result, while in fact the US occupation troops are the real reason behind the actual confusion taking place on the ground.The President expressed his belief that withdrawal of the US troops has become urgent. He called on the Iraqi people to unite on this issue.The President also expressed his belief that the solution lies in awareness, wisdom and dialogue amongst the Iraqi people as a way out of the crisis. The President outlined the priorities as the unity of Iraq which comes in the first place, and its national Arab identity that comes second, as well as, Iraq’s independence which comes in the third place indicating withdrawal of the occupation troops.The President highlighted the fact that the unity of Iraq is the basis for the achievement of the other goals of independence and national identity which is the denominator for all Iraqis.

The President further highlighted that the Iraqi constitution would be a factor for settlement in Iraq if it were subject to approval by all Iraqis. On the other hand, this constitution would lead to conflict and civil war if it were subject to dispute by the Iraqi people. An agreed-upon constitution would result in national establishments which in turn would guarantee Iraq’s independence following withdrawal by the occupation forces, the President added.Security and stability, the President added, would come as a result to a political process. Absence of security and stability would lead to catastrophic consequences in Iraq.The President explained how Syria supported the political process in Iraq away from any viewpoints.In this framework, the President talked about Syria’s support for the Iraqi electoral process when she provided the Iraqi electorate, residing in Syria, with all possible facilities.Syria tried hard to promote relations with the Iraqi government, the President said. Nevertheless, Syrian success, in this respect, had been limited in view of American pressure. This Syrian endeavour was manifested in the Syrian attempt to open the Syrian embassy in Baghdad last summer. However, the US administration did not allow the Iraqi officials to receive the Syrian delegation which stayed in Baghdad for seven days.

While receiving Moqtada al-Sadr here in Syria, the President said that Syria announced she would re-open the Syrian embassy following the formation of the Iraqi government.The President highlighted the issue of sending an Arab peace keeping force to Iraq making clear that he had put a question forward to an Iraqi delegation, that visited Syria once, on how the Iraqi factions would deal with an Arab peace-keeping force entering Iraq under the American flag. The President highlighted that the Iraqi delegation told him they would deal with such a force as if it were American forces.

He said that when security pretexts continued, army, soldiers, security; this means that these pretexts were made within the framework of the picture drawn up by Israel in the 90’s when it wanted to escape peace requirements and forwarded a substitute to land for peace, security for peace.The President added that this was forwarded by Netanyaho in 1996, security for peace. Of course, this theory failed in Lebanon when Israel was occupying south Lebanon from 1982 to 2000. Israel failed to realize security for itself, its agents and allies in Lebanon. Also the multinational forces failed. Israel failed in Palestine also. The withdrawal from Gaza is an evidence for the failure of this theory. Hamas’ victory is another failure. The US failed in carrying out this theory in Afghanistan, and now we see a complete failure in Iraq. The President said that following resolution 1559, blackmailing Syria has started and foreign and European officials generally came to Syria for bargaining and to say do not withdraw immediately, you can take some steps, and we in Syria had been withdrawing from Lebanon within the framework of our convictions and interests.

The bargaining continued until few days, before the assassination of Prime Minister Rafik Hariri which created a shock, particularly with emotional and sectarian provocation of some Lebanese officials.The President said that the decision was taken to withdraw from Lebanon, and Syria completed its withdrawal from Lebanon in less than two months.Nations of the West thought that the resolution 1559 could not force Syria to pull out of Lebanon, then the resolution can be used to weaken Syria through weakening the resistance and the Palestinian situation through the camps, in addition, the quick withdrawal will have internal repercussions which may lead to the fall of the regime, but things were very clear to us and we dealt with the situation with remarkable calm.

The President pointed out that the first international investigation was openly disclosed at the Arab and international levels as politically-motivated and on-professional.The UN resolution No. 1636 was based on an incomplete report having no evidence or clear accusations and allegations that Syria is responsible for any event taking place in Lebanon. Such bases are illogical and constitute a grave precedent on the entire world, not only on Syria.

The course of the commission activities ran into three stages of attack. The first phase started with accusing Lebanese resistance of the assassination attempt but the idea totally failed and could not be marketed. The second phase began with attacking Syria and imprisoning some Lebanese officers on a testimony of a false witness. The third stage ran a vicious drive aimed at toppling the regime in Syria in terms of putting tough and incessant pressure on the country. The three manipulated drives eventually failed owing to scandals that brought investigation to a collapse due to open incredibility.What was achieved is contrary to what they planned as the Syrians were united in unprecedented way against the attacks and were well aware of the entire state of affairs.Thereupon, they started to re-launch new attacks through the Feb. 14 hysteria which is an expression of utmost failure of anti-Syrian forces.They will resort to a new attack under another banner -which is to unveil the truth - that has proven to be a stupidity by the forces moving from a failure to another. They are now launching attacks against President Lahoud because he is a staunch defender of resistance and the plot aims to get Lebanon away from Syria.Sometimes we commit a mistake by thinking that the entire issue started with Resolution 1559 or with extension of the Presidency or with the post-Iraq war era. But the issue is in fact long stages each with a certain step pending new circumstances and paving the way for new stage to follow.

However, the problem is not between Syria and Lebanon. It lies in a Lebanese political bloc which has a problem with Syria and is working under the command of others who are concocting plots against Syria. Our battle is not with this bloc because it is only a tool and states do not fight tools. Our battle is with the causes that have led to such a circumstance.The causes are the repercussions of the failure in Iraq and Palestine and a reflection of a certain international situation.It is not a Syrian issue but is an Arab one that should be confronted through a joint Arab action and through facing, the others in true battle fields and not against this Lebanese bloc which claimed itself to be a majority. The so-called majority is not a plentiful of money, the number of seats in parliament and an intrigue on the street.

The majority is the national forces that back resistance and support ties with Syria.What is going meantime is temporary and transitional as elements of the political current are before two options: either to resort to reason and logic and then maintain dialogue or to reap utmost failure.As regards peace, it is not opted for in the foreseeable future since Israel is day after day demonstrating itself to be far from peace - and as the US is now seen away from this peace because peace can empower some Arab countries - and because some other countries made peace initiatives in a bid to get out of their internal, regional or international crises.

Nevertheless, all Arab peace initiatives were dealt with in a despicable way because they were an expression of weakness, and that is why talk about peace in Syria is no more frequent lest it should be interpreted as a point of weakness. And as Arab peace tracks were contradictory and not united, the outcome was further political losses and more killings on behalf of the Palestinians.We are with peace, but the drive run by the Arabs and their political vision was wrong.The reaction came at the popular level. The Palestinian Intifada of 2000 did not break out owing to Sharon’s provocative visit to al-Aqsa Mosque, but it was a reaction to the Oslo accord which the Palestinian people thought it would lead to the establishment of an independent state and the recognition of national rights.The other reaction is the Hamas election win. Hamas victory is not a triumph for a certain group, but is understood to be an election for resistance.Hamas’victory is an internal issue. We don’t distinguish between this and that group.

We want a good relation with all the Palestinian trends. Our relationship with President Mahmoud Abbas is good. We told him that what concerns us is the unity of the Palestinians.But what concerns us with regard to Hamas’ victory is the great pressures put on us in the last few years for the presence of Palestinian groups in Syria. The election of Hamas proves the correctness of the Syrian position. This means that we were aware and confirmed that the path of resistance expresses the option of the Palestinian public. We believed at that time that this is what the Palestinian people want, we didn’t know that Hamas will enter the elections or not, and we didn’t know that it is going to win or not. But we were aware of this direction. The Palestinian people expressed this direction and the correctness of our position towards these elections.We have been criticized for such position. Colin Powell was the first to ask us to expel Hamas and Jihad, when he visited Syria three weeks following the Iraq war. Before the visit, we talked with brothers in Hamas and Jihad and told them that we expect that we will be asked to close the offices. In fact, they willingly said that they want to ease pressures on Syria and that they will close the offices. We told Secretary Powell about the agreement reached with the Palestinian factions. The surprise was that the required was not the closure of the offices, they asked to expel the organizations. Some Arab countries began pressing in this direction. I told them when you expel a person, we send him away to his country, where can we expel them, since they are not allowed to go home to their country?

 I asked them if they accept them in their countries, but they refused. Then I asked them to find a solution for them.Now, they found the solution through the elections. The second point which concerns us is that the elections are the true standard for the European advices on democracy. Foreign officials like to assume the role of teacher when they come to us. They offer us advices about democracy, my love to my Syrian people, the Arab’s love to the Arab, and how to move towards peace.Now, we see the great contradiction they are in, and how their calls drive them to deal with زa terrorist organization. They are confused, cut the aid, threaten to cut the aid, agree on aid, ask Hamas to recognize Israel...etc.The third point is what we always discuss with President Abbas and brothers in the Palestinian organizations.

This point is to unify the Palestinians. I said to brothers in Hamas following their victory that the first aim must be unity with all the different trends. I mean by unity, inside and outside.The other aspect which concerns us is the issue of Palestinian refugees. We have in Syria about a half million Palestinians for whom and for whose rights regard ourselves responsible until they regain these rights and decide by themselves if they are going to keep on defending them. Some say that this argument is unreasonable. We say it is not us who determine, but the owner of the right, if it is reasonable or not. It is very important to concentrate on the right to return.The other aspect is the game of tracks. If the Palestinian Authority decided to move towards peace, they will not find the party that accept to play with them the game of tracks. All of us speak one logic, that is the return of all Arab rights without any concession.