LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN

Bible Reading of the day
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 16,19-31. There was a rich man who dressed in purple garments and fine linen and dined sumptuously each day. And lying at his door was a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, who would gladly have eaten his fill of the scraps that fell from the rich man's table. Dogs even used to come and lick his sores. When the poor man died, he was carried away by angels to the bosom of Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried, and from the netherworld, where he was in torment, he raised his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side. And he cried out, 'Father Abraham, have pity on me. Send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am suffering torment in these flames.' Abraham replied, 'My child, remember that you received what was good during your lifetime while Lazarus likewise received what was bad; but now he is comforted here, whereas you are tormented. Moreover, between us and you a great chasm is established to prevent anyone from crossing who might wish to go from our side to yours or from your side to ours.' He said, 'Then I beg you, father, send him to my father's house, for I have five brothers, so that he may warn them, lest they too come to this place of torment.' But Abraham replied, 'They have Moses and the prophets. Let them listen to them.' He said, 'Oh no, father Abraham, but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.'Then Abraham said, 'If they will not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded if someone should rise from the dead.'"

Latest News Reports From miscellaneous sources For March 9/07
Ex-Mossad official: Iranian general may be key to Arad-Jerusalem Post
UN in Lebanon stages farewell ceremony for 2 Belgian peacekeepers ...International Herald Tribune
Lebanon arrests arms dealer with SAM 7 missiles-Reuters
Iran: Ex-Defense Official's Whereabouts Remain A Mystery-RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty
Israeli rocket wounds three in Lebanon-PRESS TV
Police Confiscate Anti-aircraft Missiles Smuggled to South Lebanon-Naharnet
US, Israel linked to missing Iranian-The Australian
US official: Former Iranian deputy defense minister providing ...Al-Bawaba
Arab paper: Missing Iranian general in Europe, chatting with US ...Hot Air, MD
Iranian Official Defected to the West with Hizbullah Secrets-Naharnet
Geagea: Opposition Wants to Torpedo Hariri Tribunal-Naharnet
Saniora Wants Saudi to Name 11th Minister-Naharnet
Report: Olmert Said Military Strategy Planned Before July 12-Naharnet
Imminent Hariri-Berri Meeting to End Lebanon Deadlock-Naharnet
Jumblat a Grandfather-Naharnet
Report: Bomb-Making Clues on Lebanese Laptop-Naharnet
PM: Plan for Lebanon war made months in advance-Ha'aretz
Olmert Clashes With Watchdog Over Lebanon War Report-Voice of America
Former Iranian Defense Official Talks to Western Intelligence-Washington Post
Murdered journalist was about to expose surreptitious weapons ...IFEX
US embassy in Beirut under tight security-PRESS TV
Talk to Iran and Syria? Yes-USA Today

Berri, Hariri meet in bid to resolve Lebanon crisis
Mp rules out opposition's demand for veto power
By Rym Ghazal -Daily Star staff
Friday, March 09, 2007
BEIRUT: Lebanon's parliamentary majority leader Saad Hariri and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri met late Thursday night, in a bid to resolve the country's three-month old political crisis. Hariri arrived at the speaker's residence in Ain al-Tineh late Thursday for the highly anticipated meeting. The talks were still ongoing as The Daily Star went to press. Hariri had said earlier on Thursday that the ruling coalition would not agree to the opposition's demand for a "vetoing third" in a new national unity government, adding that the only solution would be "no victor, no vanquished."
"We can only accept the no victor, no vanquished formula," MP Saad Hariri told reporters after a surprise visit to Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Butros Sfeir in Bkirki. "This country cannot be ruled by the March 14 Forces alone, or by the March 8. We do not want to hamper anything, nor do they," he added. However, in a news conference held at the Grand Serail late Thursday, the MP said there was reason for optimism that a solution was achievable.
"I don't want to talk about formulas. I don't want to say 19+11, 19+10+1, 18 ... whatever," referring to the number of ministers for each camp in a new national unity Cabinet. "The important thing is to solve this crisis that the country is passing through. True, each [camp] is sticking to their position, but Speaker Berri is optimistic. I am optimistic," he said.
Hariri added that any new government would have to "deal with major issues and follow positions taken during national dialogue sessions [held last year], as well as discuss a new electoral law and oversee presidential elections.""We can reach a solution," he said. "For the first time I can see a true road leading to a solution to this crisis." Following his meeting with the prelate, the Future Movement leader said that his long-awaited meeting with Berri would occur "very soon" and cover the ways by which to end the country's governing crisis.
Speaking to reporters after his meeting with Sfeir, Hariri said that, "there were formulas previously on the table and now there is a new formula and I will go and see Berri."Hariri said that he had also discussed recent developments in Saudi Arabia and Europe with the prelate. "I assured the patriarch that the March 14 Forces were united and that we are a national force that wants the international tribunal [to try suspects in the killing of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and others] to be established in accordance with the Constitution," he said. The MP returned from a weeklong trip to Riyadh Wednesday.
"Hindering the tribunal would give license to the killers to continue killing," he added.
The Central News Agency said on Thursday that Sfeir had previously received a letter from Hariri outlining possible solutions to the crisis.
Hariri once more accused Syria of blocking both the formation of the tribunal and a national unity government.
"I can assure you that the Syrian regime is the one obstructing a solution in Lebanon," he said.
Hariri also addressed a threat made earlier in the week by the Syrian foreign minister to shut his country's borders if UN peacekeepers were stationed there to prevent arms smuggling.He said the comments from Walid Moallem constituted a "threat to all Lebanese."
"The message wasn't just to the March 14, it was also a threat to the March 8," he said. The majority leader added that he and Sfeir did not want to see the tribunal created under Chapter 7 of the UN Charter. "That move would not be good for Lebanon," he said, stressing that the international community would resort to Chapter 7 if "certain parties continue to block its formation."The use of Chapter 7 by the UN Security Council would mean that parliamentary approval in Lebanon of the court would no longer be required. Hariri also met Thursday with Siniora, former President Amin Gemayel, Grand Mufti Mohammad Rashid Qabbani and telephoned Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea to convey the details of his meeting with Sfeir.
Meanwhile, Hizbullah MP Hassan Fadlallah said on Thursday that the opposition would choose a "neutral" minister in a national unity government.
"The Iranian-Saudi discussions paved the way for the 19+11 formula as it is the lowest acceptable formula for the opposition," Fadlallah said during a ceremony for martyred teachers in the summer 2006 war. "The opposition will be naming the 11th minister as any other means, especially those recently announced, are a violation to the Constitution," Fadlallah added. He was responding to Siniora, who said earlier that Riyadh would name the "neutral" minister. "I approve of the move to leave the choice of naming the 11th minister to Saudi Arabia," Siniora said in an interview published on Thursday by As-Safir newspaper. "The choice will be made neither by the ruling team nor by the opposition," Siniora added.
Siniora said that leaving the decision to Riyadh was the best solution, as Saudi Arabia was the preferred mediator of both Lebanese camps, as well as Iran. Siniora stressed that he would not succumb to the opposition's demand for veto power in a new cabinet "as long as it is not ready to adopt the principles of the seven-point plan or the decisions reached at the national dialogue." He was referring to roundtable talks launched in March 2006 that later collapsed as a result of the summer war with Israel.
In addition to agreeing on a normalization of relations with Syria, Siniora had been tasked by participants in the dialogue to discuss with Syrian officials the disputed Shebaa Farms. Regarding UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which calls for the disarmament of Hizbullah, Siniora said, "I will not accept discussing the issue of disarming the resistance on the political table before Israeli withdraws from the Shebaa Farms and Kfar Shouba hills." - With Naharnet, additional reporting by Maroun Khoury

Police Confiscate Anti-aircraft Missiles Smuggled to South Lebanon
Naharnet: Police announced Thursday the arrest of three Lebanese citizens affiliated with the Damascus-backed Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command (PFLP-GC) while trying to smuggle three anti-aircraft missiles to south Lebanon.
A statement, which only identified the three by their initials, said two of the suspects, a father and his son, fell to a police ambush at the main highway leading to the southern town of Nabatiyeh. The father told interrogators that he is a member of the PFLP-GC and that he obtained the shoulder-fired missiles from its tunnel base in Naameh, south of Beirut. Police also arrested a third suspect for playing a role in the illegal transport of the missiles, the statement said. A fourth suspect, also a Lebanese, remains at large, the statement added. Police also confiscated from the suspects a rocket launcher and a rocket-propelled Grenade, the statement added. It said the suspects trade with the illegal sale of weapons. U.N. Security Council 1701, which ended a 34-day war between Hizbullah and Israel last August, has banned the illegal shipment of weapons to Lebanon and created a demilitarized zone south of the Litani river patrolled by U.N. peacekeepers and regular Lebanese soldiers. Ahmed Jibril's PFLP-GC, which is backed by Syrian President Bashar Assad's regime, maintains bases south of Beirut and in the eastern Bekaa valley. U.N. Security Council Resolution 1559, adopted in September 2004, has called for disarming all Lebanese and non Lebanese militias operating in the country, in reference to Palestinian factions and Hizbullah. Beirut, 08 Mar 07, 15:16

Scrap Traders Wounded by Israeli Rocket
Naharnet:Three men were wounded on Thursday when they tried to take scrap metal from an unexploded Israeli rocket in south Lebanon, police said.
The rocket exploded as the men tried to carry it in a field in the village of Rshaf and the three were taken to hospital in the coastal city of Tyre.
The munitions dropped by Israel during its devastating war against Hizbullah last year included more than a million cluster bomblets, about 40 percent of which failed to explode on impact, according to the United Nations. Unexploded ordnance has killed at least 27 people and wounded more than 145 since the conflict ended in August, according to an AFP tally.(AFP) Beirut, 08 Mar 07, 15:54

Geagea: Opposition Wants to Torpedo Hariri Tribunal
Naharnet: Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea has accused the Hizbullah-led Opposition of seeking to torpedo the international tribunal to try suspects in the 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. "The other team is not serious about discussing the proposals put forward in Riyadh," Geagea told reporters after a meeting Wednesday with Prime Minister Fouad Saniora. "It (opposition) has not offered any modifications" to the court draft, Geagea said. "We have asked for these amendments, but they haven't presented them to us," Geagea added. He said that it has become clear that the opposition was not after modifications, adding that "all they want is to eliminate the tribunal." Beirut, 08 Mar 07, 11:55

Saniora Wants Saudi to Name 11th Minister
Naharnet: Prime Minister Fouad Saniora on Thursday welcomed Saudi efforts to end the ongoing political crisis and said he supports Riyadh's naming of the 11th "neutral" minister in a national unity cabinet. "I agree to leave the choice of naming the 11th minister to the Saudi kingdom, neither to the ruling team nor to the opposition," Saniora said in an interview published by the daily As Safir. He said that this alternative was best for the pro-government March 14 coalition and the opposition since Saudi Arabia is the sponsor accepted not only by the rival camps, but Iran as well.
"Any deal has got to be detailed, accurate and balanced on the mechanism and implementation levels," Saniora said.
He stressed that he was not willing to succumb to the opposition's demand which insists on veto power in a national unity cabinet based on a 19 + 11 formula "as long as it is not ready to adopt the principles of the seven-point plan or the decisions reached at the national dialogue."
He was referring to roundtable talks which began in March 2006 but collapsed as a result of Israel's war with Hizbullah four months later. Saniora did not elaborate. Besides agreeing on normalization of Lebanon's ties with Syria, during the reconciliation talks, Saniora had been tasked by the participants to discuss with Damascus sovereignty over the disputed Shabaa Farms where the Lebanese, Syrian and Israeli borders meet.
Lebanon wants an official demarcation of its border with Syria.
Ties between the two neighboring states are at an all-time low since the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, which is widely blamed on Syria. Damascus, however, denies the allegations. The seven-point plan, which was approved by Saniora's cabinet to put an end to the 34-day war between Hizbullah and Israel, calls for a mutual release of prisoners held by Israel and Hizbullah and to put into effect an Armistice Agreement signed by Lebanon and Israel in 1949, and to insure adherence to the provisions of that treaty. It also foresees the Lebanese government taking control of southern Lebanon through its own legitimate armed forces so that there will be no weapons or authority other than that of the Lebanese state as stipulated in the Taef national reconciliation document.
On Hizbullah's obsessions regarding U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701 which calls for disarming Hizbullah, Saniora said: "I will not accept discussing the issue of disarming the resistance on the political table before an end to the Israeli occupation of Shabaa Farms and Kfarshouba hills."
The seven-point plan calls for a commitment from the Security Council to place the Shabaa Farms area and the Kfarshouba Hills under U.N. jurisdiction until border delineation and Lebanese sovereignty over them are fully settled.
Saniora also expressed regret over an announcement by Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem in which he said Damascus was not willing to hand over suspects to be tried by an international tribunal into the murder of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. Beirut, 08 Mar 07, 11:00

Imminent Hariri-Berri Meeting to End Lebanon Deadlock
Saudi Ambassador Abdel Aziz Khoja has said that he hoped a meeting between Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and parliamentary majority leader Saad Hariri would soon take place to end the deadlock which has politically paralyzed Lebanon for more than three months. Khoja said it is very significant that Berri, a close Hizbullah ally, and Hariri, as a representative of the pro-government March 14 coalition, meet so that the two sides would "agree on common and decisive steps once and for all.""I hope this meeting would take place soon," Khoja told reporters on Wednesday after talks with Berri at his Ain el-Tineh mansion in Beirut. Khoja met separately Wednesday with Berri and Prime Minister Fouad Saniora. Khoja said that he has carried with him "excellent ideas" which were okayed by the ruling team, adding, however, that these views aught to be "examined" by the opposition, which is spearheaded by Hizbullah. The daily As Safir, citing political sources, said Thursday the Berri-Hariri meeting could take place within the coming 48 hours.
But a source with Hariri's Al Mustaqbal movement said a date will be set once Hariri is back in Beirut. The National News Agency said Hariri returned home early Thursday from a visit to Saudi Arabia. As Safir said efforts to bring Hariri and Berri together in a face-to-face meeting was a result of Riyadh's pressure toward finding a settlement to the ongoing political crisis that has crippled Lebanon's institutions since Dec. 1 when the opposition staged an open-ended sit-in in downtown Beirut in a bid to topple Saniora's government and form a national unity cabinet that would give Hizbullah and its allies veto power. The daily An Nahar agreed, saying Saudi Arabia is in a hurry to break the impasse ahead of an Arab League summit to be held in Riyadh March 28-29. Beirut, 08 Mar 07, 08:12

Deal with Syria, but first impose Lebanese sovereignty
By Michael Young -Daily Star staff
Thursday, March 08, 2007
Add Belgian Foreign Minister Karel de Gucht to the list of dignitaries who have left Damascus biting their fists in frustration. After meeting with his Syrian counterpart, Walid al-Moallem, on Tuesday, de Gucht said he was "disappointed" that Syria would not surrender its nationals to a mixed tribunal being set up to try suspects in Rafik Hariri's assassination. Moallem added: "If the United Nations wants anything of Syria, then it must talk to Syria and base the statutes of the tribunal on Syrian law."
That's revealing coming from a regime that supposedly had nothing to do with Hariri's murder, and that often affirms its "non-involvement" in the resultant judicial process. Thanks to Syria's continued refusal to concede anything on the tribunal, the Lebanese crisis continues. This coming weekend the Syrians will get a chance to practice more of their brand of diplomacy when Iraq's neighbors meet in Baghdad to discuss the country's future. The United States should not give Syria an opportunity there to break free from the tribunal, which provides the only real leverage over President Bashar Assad to change his regime's behavior.
It is perhaps understandable that a number of policymakers and analysts in the US feel the Bush administration's present policy of isolating Syria is going nowhere. Their framework for saying so is Iraq. My friend David Ignatius expressed this view in the commentary published above, pointing out that the "administration should also start a real dialogue with Syria - and in the process shelve any half-baked ideas about regime change that may be lurking in the Old Executive Office Building. The Syrians pose a deadly threat in Lebanon, which is all the more reason to be talking with them." Isolation, the argument goes, also isolates the US. If Washington negotiates, it can use its weight to bring about desirable outcomes.
There are several problems with this
assumption when it comes to Syria. The first is that opening a new page with Syria is premature. If the aim of negotiations is to advance one's aims, then Syria has shown no willingness to consider those of the US and the UN - who told Syria in late 2004 that it was time to end its interference in Lebanon's affairs and recognize Lebanese sovereignty. To talk now, while the Syrians threaten Lebanon on a daily basis, would validate their claim that threats work, and that Syria can bring envoys to its door by spawning instability in Lebanon, Iraq and the Palestinian territories. That's precisely the wrong message to send. The right message is that Syria can only put an end to its isolation once it accepts international law - which in Lebanon means accepting the tribunal and giving up on the dream of reimposing its hegemony over the country.
That's why defending the Hariri tribunal is so essential. The body has international backing, which means that the credibility of the five permanent members of the Security Council is tied into its success. By initiating a dialogue with Syria, by therefore implying that the crime the tribunal is seeking to punish shouldn't reflect badly on relations with Damascus, the US would empty the tribunal of its meaning. Why give up this weapon when it can make future negotiations more successful?
The quid pro quo demanded of Assad would be a simple one, and the Saudis and the Egyptians have already floated it in one way or another: Any effort to narrow the Hariri tribunal's statutes, or even to improve relations between Saudi Arabia and Syria, requires that Syria first change its conduct in Lebanon. Nor is isolation of Syria necessarily failing. Even Syrian allies like Iran and Russia can see that Assad's stance on the tribunal is untenable and might cost them politically. Iran is said to have agreed with Saudi Arabia on the principle of establishing the tribunal, even if it won't take a position that might alienate Syria. Russian President Vladimir Putin allegedly told the Saudis that if the tribunal were blocked in Lebanon, Russia might abstain in a Security Council vote to place it under the authority of Chapter VII of the UN Charter.
A second problem with the invitation to dialogue with Assad is that there is no evidence Syria will get the message and alter its behavior. Here is the Catch-22: If you engage Syria, Assad will assume this is due to his intransigence, which will encourage him to remain intransigent in the expectation that this will bring more rewards. The Saudis and Egyptians know the pitfalls of this logic, but also see the Syrians caught in a more sinister vicious circle: Because Assad is weak he must export instability, which is only isolating him further in the region, making him even weaker.
The Europeans, never shy about engaging Syria for the sake of engagement, particularly with so many troops deployed in South Lebanon, are also beginning to see the light. De Gucht's regrets echoed those of the European Union's representative in Beirut, Patrick Laurent. He recently admitted that the EU had "tried everything [with Syria], as did many others, employing both gentle means and pressure." To no avail.
A third reason to be wary of engaging Syria is that Assad doesn't have the confidence to carry through on many of the demands that would be made of him. The Syrian president can intimidate his domestic foes, but his authority rests on a narrower power base than his father's. He can talk to the Israelis, but it's doubtful that he can reach a final deal with them, since peace would mean substantially dismantling the security apparatus that keeps him in office. He can pretend to help stabilize Iraq, but knows that actually doing so would mean that Syria becomes less relevant. He can claim to have played a positive role in the Mecca accord between the Palestinian factions, but he knows that this only came after he failed to sponsor such an agreement himself. Today, Assad fears a Hamas exit from the Syrian orbit, which is one reason why he has been trying to place pro-Syrian groups in a Palestinian national unity government.
And, most important, Assad knows that if he were to give up on Lebanon finally and unconditionally, he might face the wrath of those within his own regime who silently blame him for the debacle of 2005. But this all begs the question: Why, therefore, should Syria abandon Lebanon at all, or capitulate in Iraq and in the Palestinian territories, if nothing is to be gained from these concessions?
The reason is that Assad, though weak, would thus be able to win his long-term political survival. Such steps would buy him Arab and international forbearance. A new attitude would mean less resistance to a narrowing of the Hariri tribunal's statutes, more vital investment in Syria, a beneficial Syrian relationship with the US and the EU; and, once Assad can broaden his power base, peace with Israel. But building up Assad's confidence and then expecting him to relinquish his cards makes no sense. If a power struggle with Syria is unavoidable, so be it. With major Arab states, the US, the UN and the Europeans on the same wavelength, it will be tough for Assad to impose his will - unless the bell of dialogue saves him first.
That's why the US should remind Syria at the Baghdad conference that deeper contacts remain undesirable. Dealing with Iran on Iraq may be inevitable; dealing with Syria is not, particularly after Assad burned more bridges to the Sunnis by trying and failing to seize control of the Iraqi Baath Party. The Syrians have to be made to realize that their regime can only last if they make fundamental concessions in the region. Assad is too brittle to demand more than recognition of his survival.
**Michael Young is opinion editor of THE DAILY STAR.

Hard choices lie ahead for the US
By David Ignatius -Daily Star staff
Thursday, March 08, 2007
A caustic former US ambassador named Chas Freeman compiled a volume he called "The Diplomat's Dictionary." It included several memorable definitions, including "Diplomacy is the art of saying 'nice doggie' till you can find a rock"; and "Diplomacy is letting someone else have your way."
The Bush administration, which has generally favored the "find a rock" strategy, now seems to be bending toward the subtler "have your way" approach. This conversion is long overdue. But it will require the administration to do what it has sometimes found hardest, which
is to prioritize its foreign policy goals and go all-out on the ones it decides are most important.
The clearest example of the administration's new outreach is its turnabout on discussions with Iran and Syria about how to stabilize Iraq. A year ago, the Iranians (responding to what they thought was an American overture) announced they were ready for such talks - whereupon the administration pulled back. That was a serious mistake that made the Iraq mess even worse.
Now, Bush is altering course slightly, with last week's announcement that the United States will join a regional conference in Baghdad. But the administration shouldn't go into these talks holding its nose. If the administration is serious, it should use the initial meeting to set up regular US-Iranian discussions about Iraq. The administration should also start a real dialogue with Syria - and in the process shelve any half-baked ideas about regime change that may be lurking in the Old Executive Office Building. The Syrians pose a deadly threat in Lebanon, which is all the more reason to be talking with them. The obvious person to begin this conversation is the former US secretary of state, James A. Baker, who knows the Syrians well from his days in office.
And speaking of Baker, the administration seems to be tacking back toward the recommendations of the Iraq Study Group, which Bush appeared to dismiss back in December. Bush's top aides have concluded they made a mistake in seeming to reject the Baker-Hamilton report and announcing their troop surge a month later as if it were an alternative. In the process, they set back hopes for a bipartisan policy on Iraq - something officials now regret.
One senior administration official explained: "We think our Iraq strategy is consistent with Baker-Hamilton. We want to get to the same place, but not on the same timeline. Baker-Hamilton said our strategy is underpowered in terms of diplomacy. What we're saying today is: We heard you. We are picking up the pace on regional and international diplomacy." I can't buy the claim the administration has supported Baker-Hamilton all along, but this is certainly a welcome change of tone.
Making hard diplomatic choices will be especially necessary if the administration is serious about brokering peace between Israel and the Palestinians. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice sometimes acts as if she can merely dangle a toe in this whirlpool, but to make progress she will have to jump in at the deep end. And as a mediator, she is bound to make some Israelis and Palestinians angry.
The final areas where the administration is rediscovering diplomacy are its dealings with China and Russia. Bush played the China card effectively in the six-party talks with North Korea, and the administration sensibly decided to cut an imperfect deal with Pyongyang, even if it brought brickbats from the right wing.The Russia diplomacy may prove the most delicate of all. Russian President Vladimir Putin is the essential ally in US efforts to stop the Iranian nuclear program, but Putin made clear in Munich last month that there will be a price for Russia's help. After the speech, Bush's national security adviser, Stephen Hadley, traveled to Moscow to visit Putin in what one official describes as a "meeting of mutual respect and dialogue." A senior official explains the Russian message this way: "We want to be your partner. We have common interests. You have to treat us with respect - talk to us early and take us into account."After a slow start, the Russians are indeed becoming a reliable partner on Iran. They informed State Department officials this week that they will support a quick new United Nations Security Council resolution condemning Iran. And they have even voiced a willingness to halt work on the nuclear reactor they're building for the Iranians at Bushehr. And what will we offer the Russians, in return for their cooperation on Iran? Well, that's the art of diplomacy.
**Syndicated columnist David Ignatius is published regularly by THE DAILY STAR.

Asghari Donating Information on Hizbullah to Western Intelligence
A former Iranian deputy defense minister who disappeared last month during a visit to Turkey is cooperating with western intelligence agencies regarding the link between Tehran and Lebanon's Hizbullah, the Washington Post reported Wednesday.
Ali Reza Asghari, who once commanded the Revolutionary Guards, was providing information on the Shiite militia Hizbullah in Lebanon and Iran's links to the organization, a senior U.S. official told the paper. Iran had said Tuesday that the official may have been kidnapped by Israel or the United States. But the U.S. official, whose name was not disclosed, said Asghari was cooperating voluntarily. The official would not say where Asghari was at the moment or who was questioning him, but made clear that the information Asghari is "offering is fully available to U.S. intelligence," the Post reported on its website.
Asghari, a deputy defense minister under the previous government of reformist president Mohammad Khatami, disappeared after checking into a hotel in Istanbul on a private visit in February. Iran's foreign minister said on Monday that Tehran had sent a team of diplomats to look into the case.
The official's disappearance, which has fueled intense speculation in Israeli and Turkish media that he may have defected, came as the United States accused Iran of fomenting violence in Iraq by allegedly arming Shiite militants.
It also comes as Iran defies a United Nations demand to halt uranium enrichment, which the U.S. and other major powers suspect Tehran is pursuing in the development of nuclear weapons. Iranian officials said Asghari, who served in the Iranian government until early 2005 under Khatami, was not involved in the country's nuclear program, and the senior U.S. official said Ashgari was not being questioned about it, the Post said. Former officers with Israel's Mossad spy agency said Wednesday that Asghari had been instrumental in the founding of Hezbollah in the 1980s, around the time of the bombing of the U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut. Another U.S. official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, denied a report by the Israeli newspaper Haaretz that Asghari was in the United States, the newspaper said.
The official suggested that Asghari's disappearance was voluntary and orchestrated by the Israelis. A spokesman for President George W. Bush's National Security Council did not return a call for comment, the Post said. The Israeli government denied any connection to Asghari. "To my knowledge, Israel is not involved in any way in this disappearance," Mark Regev, the spokesman for Israel's foreign ministry, was quoted as saying. An Iranian official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that Iranian intelligence was uncertain about Asghari's whereabouts but that he may have been offered money, probably by Israel, to leave the country, the Post said. The Iranian official said Asghari was thought to be in Europe. "He has been out of the loop for four or five years now," the official told the newspaper.(AFP) Beirut, 08 Mar 07, 16:09

Report: Bomb-Making Clues on Lebanese Laptop
Bomb-building instructions have been found on a deleted hard disk of a computer belonging to a Lebanese suspect in last year's abortive attempt to blow up two German trains, a newspaper reported Thursday. Investigators believe two of the Lebanese men arrested on suspicion of planting the bombs had used the instructions to build the devices which failed to explode on two suburban trains on July 31 last year, the Sueddeutsche Zeitung said.
German police experts managed to retrieve the data from a deleted hard disk on a laptop belonging to Jihad Hamad. Hamad is due to go on trial with three other men in Lebanon on April 11, Lebanese authorities said Monday. A judicial official in Beirut said that Hamad testified to judicial interrogators to planting one of the bombs used in the attempted bombing of the two trains.
The three other suspects in custody are Ayman Hawa, Khalil al-Boubou and Khaled Khair-Eddin el-Hajdib, whose brother Youssef is under arrest in Germany in connection with the case. German federal police said the publication of 12 cartoons that satirized the Prophet Mohammed had been the catalyst for the bombing plot. One of the drawings, which were first published in the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten in September 2005, showed the prophet wearing a turban shaped like a bomb. The cartoons, which were republished in German and other European papers, sparked outrage across the Muslim world.(AFP-AP-Naharnet) Beirut, 08 Mar 07, 07:53

Report: Olmert Said Military Strategy Planned Before July 12
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has said that the Jewish State's decision to militarily respond to possible troop abduction was drawn up months before the July-August war, Haaretz newspaper said Thursday. Olmert made the statements during testimony last month before a governmental commission investigating the 34-day war with Hizbullah, according to the daily. The newspaper said Olmert told the commission that in March 2006, when he was acting prime minister, he asked for a military strategy if Hizbullah abducted Israeli soldiers. "Presented with the options, he selected a moderate plan that included air attacks accompanied by a limited ground operation," Haaretz said. The war erupted on July 12 when Hizbullah kidnapped two Israeli soldiers in a deadly cross-border raid. Olmert's spokeswoman refused to comment on the report. "We have no intention of commenting on this report before the official publication" of the commission's findings, she said. Olmert testified before the commission on February 1, becoming the last of about 70 politicians and military officials to do so. It is expected to issue its findings in the coming weeks.(AFP-Naharnet) Beirut, 08 Mar 07, 10:32

Israel Warns Against 'Terrorist Threat' in Lebanon
Israel on Wednesday warned against a "terrorist threat" in Lebanon and urged its citizens to leave Egypt and Jordan immediately, citing a "very high concrete threat" to their safety. The counter-terrorism unit attached to the prime minister's office, listed Israel's only two Arab allies in the Middle East with six enemy states as countries with a "very high concrete threat". Israelis were advised to avoid visiting the eight countries and leave immediately should they be there already, it announced in a statement. The bureau said the threat level applied to Egypt as a whole but was "especially" prevalent for the Sinai, a beach paradise peninsula on the Red Sea. Aside from Egypt and Jordan, the six other countries were Iraq, Lebanon, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. Israelis can theoretically only travel to such countries, with which Israel has no relations, if they have a foreign passport.
Tensions have soared recently in the often bumpy relations between Egypt and Israel over claims that Israeli soldiers killed Egyptian prisoners during the 1967 Middle East war.(AFP) Beirut, 07 Mar 07, 15:11

SPILLING HIS GUTS
'DEFECTOR' BARES IRAN SECRETS
By NILES LATHEM in Washington and ORON DAN in Tel Aviv
HELLHOLE: U.S. Marines are pulled from the rubble of their barracks in Beirut after the infamous 1983 terror blast that killed 241. Now, the apparent defection of a high-ranking Iranian general could implicate Tehran.March 8, 2007 -- A high-ranking Iranian general who may have defected is in Northern Europe, where he is being questioned about Iran's role in the 1983 bombing of the U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut and other terrorist acts, it was revealed yesterday.
Ali Reza Asghari, 63, whose grim face was displayed on Israeli TV last night, was spilling valuable secrets to an American intelligence team as a prelude to defecting to the United States, The Washington Post reported.
Asghari was Iran's deputy minister of defense and former top official of the notorious Revolutionary Guards. Experts said his secrets, should they fall into American or Israeli hands, could have devastating consequences for the Iranian regime.
In a scene straight out of a John le Carré spy novel, Asghari disappeared Feb. 7 from an Istanbul hotel where he was staying on a private trip - possibly with his family - and has vanished without a trace.
The United States denies it has Asghari in its custody, but has said little more about the case.
Iran has accused the CIA and the Israeli Mossad of kidnapping him, and has asked the Turkish government to help in finding him.
Walid Phares, an expert on the Iranian-backed Shiite terror network, told The Post that Asghari would be able to provide intimate details about Iran's role in backing terror groups like Hezbollah, as well as provide some fresh details about Iran's nuclear program. "It's not a surprise that they are concerned. My contacts tell me the Iranian regime would regard his defection as a very big intelligence loss," Phares said.
Ram Igra, a former official with Israel's spy service the Mossad, said Asghari's greatest value may be his knowledge of the Revolutionary Guards he once commanded.
"In the 1980s and early 1990s, Asghari was responsible for the Iranian Revolutionary Guards in Lebanon. He lived in Lebanon, and, in effect, was the man who built, promoted and founded Hezbollah in those years," Igra told reporters in Jerusalem. "If he has something to give the West, it is in this context of terrorism and Hezbollah's network in Lebanon."
Danny Yatom, former Mossad chief and now Labor member of the Knesset parliament, said it appears to have been a well-orchestrated defection.
"He made sure not to leave anybody behind," Yatom said.
The 1983 bombings of the U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut, which killed 241 Americans, were Hezbollah's entrance into terrorism's big leagues, and led to the U.S. withdrawal of forces from war-torn Lebanon.
niles.lathem@nypost.com

The Non-Peaceful State between Syria and Lebanon
Hassan Haydar Al-Hayat - 08/03/07//
Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallim says Damascus will consider the deployment of international forces on the Lebanon-Syria border a 'declaration of war', to which Syria will respond by border closure or, perhaps, other measures, which he did not disclose. However, he predicted an 'explosion' if international disarmament pressure increases on Lebanon. If there is not a state of hostility between the two 'brethren' countries that would lead to border closure, and this is natural and assumed between two countries that are tied together by the bond of nationalism and patriotism and other rhetoric slogans, then does this mean that they are in a state of peace? The answer of course is a big no. Rather, they are in a non-peaceful state, and it is uncertain where this will take the small country, which is only seen as a regional trump card that is used whenever interests arise, or is destroyed.
The current relationship between the two countries is undergoing a transitional or, rather, vengeful phase: from full mandate and direct military presence controlling the details of the internal situation to the policy of interfering by mediation, open border, intensive armament, political hindrance and institutional obstruction. So, it is either re-submission to Damascus's wishes and its political and economic interests or blockade and explosion.
Despite its withdrawal from Lebanon, Syria still has a hand in Lebanon's affairs and policy. It is also in a state of declared war with a large segment of the Lebanese - despite its assertion that Lebanon is hostile toward it - and in a state of declared alliance with another segment. With its animosity and alliance, it interferes in both segments' affairs. If we consider that there is a third neutral segment concerned with these two States, then it supports neither Syria's policy in Lebanon nor its view of Lebanon's future and role.
As for who is responsible for the relationship between the two sides to reach its current state of doubt: it is usually a joint responsibility. One party cannot be completely wrong and the other completely right. But the older 'brethren' in this case is responsible for the larger part, because it failed to meet its commitments to withdrawal according to the Taif Agreement, and decided to keep Lebanon in a state of not being able to run its own affairs. To this end, Syria made internal alliances to keep the domestic situation divided and to forestall any attempt by the local parties to reach a national common denominator that would lead to a peaceful long-term coexistence. Syria used to confirm that its presence in Lebanon would stop any Lebanese division or infighting, while it is, in fact, encouraging its continuation. This is because its presence serves its regional and international status.
Syria has been acting, and still is, as though it is 'sacrificing' for the sake of Lebanon and that it has a great interest in having good relations and neighborliness and the most keen on their continuity. But its practical policies in Lebanon have not served this image. Rather, its policies made the large segment of the Lebanese lose confidence in Syria and its real goals, after it has altered its alliance more than once, engaged in more than one war with Lebanese parties, and changed Lebanese laws and its Constitution more than once in a way that went with its visions, without showing interest in the country's sovereignty or future.
Any normal non-hostile relationship between two countries supposedly needs to be based on mutual sovereignty, recognized privacy and non-interference in internal affairs. If Damascus's concept for policy is based on considering Lebanon as a geographical and political extension of Syria, and that Lebanon's presence is just a regional function, and if it considers itself responsible for the situation and future of a certain Lebanese group; then this means that Lebanon will continue reflecting Syria's internal and regional skirmishes in the distant future.

Syrian to testify before Knesset foreign affairs panel on secret peace talks
By Akiva Eldar, Haaretz Correspondent
Last update - 15:09 08/03/2007 -United States-based Syrian businessman Abe Soliman, who represented the Syrian position in the "Swiss channel" secret talks on a peace agreement with Israel, will testify before the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee on April 12 in order to update lawmakers on the discussions. Knesset committees generally do not hear testimony from foreign nationals, and this is the first time that the representative of a hostile state has been called to testify. The Israeli representative to the talks, former Foreign Ministry director-general Alon Liel, will also testify during the committee hearing. Roughly two weeks ago, Meretz faction head Zahava Gal-On received a brief letter from the chairman of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, Tzachi Hanegbi, who informed informed Gal-On that following her request, he had decided that the committee would hold a special April 12 session on the chances of a peace process between Israel and Syria. Hanegbi, a senior Kadima member, added in his letter: "In the framework of the discussion, we will be happy to receive an update on the contacts made, with the participation of Dr. Alon Liel and Mr. Abe Soliman." Hanegbi asked Gal-On to confirm the participation of Liel, the man who initiated the talks via the "Swiss channel," and of Soliman. Liel and Soliman informed Gal-On that they would be happy to report to the committee on the understandings reached in those talks. Despite reports of an American ban on Israeli contacts with Syria, the United States also has taken an interest in the talks. Not long after Haaretz broke the story on the Swiss channel, Liel was invited to the U.S. embassy in Tel Aviv to report on his contacts with the Syrians. The meeting was attended by the embassy's entire political staff, apart from the ambassador. But that was just the beginning. Nicholas Lang, the Swiss diplomat who acted as the contact between the Israeli participants and the Syrian regime, was summoned to Washington and updated senior State Department and National Security Council officials on the details of the talks and their results. He arrived in the U.S. shortly after a farewell visit to Damascus, and prior to taking up his new posting as the Swiss ambassador to several African countries.

Lebanon arrests arms dealer with SAM 7 missiles
08 Mar 2007 -Source: Reuters
More BEIRUT, March 8 (Reuters) - Security forces in south Lebanon arrested a weapons dealer and his son in possession of three shoulder-mounted anti-aircraft missiles, an internal security forces statement said on Thursday. It said the man also confessed he had once acquired two of the same surface-to-air missiles -- Soviet-made SAM 7s -- from a base for the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine - General Command south of Beirut and later sold them. The dealer, a Lebanese man, admitted he belonged to the PFLP-GC. He and his son were stopped in the southern town of Nabatiyeh last week. Lebanese security forces have recently uncovered several caches of hand grenades and small explosive devices around Lebanon but it is unusual to discover sophisticated weaponry in the hands of arms dealers. A political crisis in Lebanon, which pits the Sunni Muslim-led government against the Shi'ite-led opposition, has already resulted in sporadic lethal clashes and spurred fears of citizens rearming themselves. Weapons dealers have said increased demand has pushed up gun prices recently.