LCCC ENGLISH NEWS BULLETIN
NOVEMBER 19/06
Biblical Reading For today
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ
according to Saint Luke 18,1-8.
Then he told them a parable about the necessity for them to pray always without
becoming weary. He said, There was a judge in a certain town who neither feared
God nor respected any human being. And a widow in that town used to come to him
and say, 'Render a just decision for me against my adversary.' For a long time
the judge was unwilling, but eventually he thought, 'While it is true that I
neither fear God nor respect any human being, because this widow keeps bothering
me I shall deliver a just decision for her lest she finally come and strike
me.'"The Lord said, "Pay attention to what the dishonest judge says. Will not
God then secure the rights of his chosen ones who call out to him day and night?
Will he be slow to answer them? I tell you, he will see to it that justice is
done for them speedily. But when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on
earth?"
Free Opinions & Studies
A Divine Seal of Approval-Washington Post -
United States 19.11.06
For the Democrats to fly, they must
unite the party's wings By
David Ignatius 19.11.06
Europe makes welcome addition to expanding peace
initiative. Daily Star 19.11.06
Conversation with a proven peacemaker.By
Rami G. Khouri 19.11.06
Latest New from the Daily Star for
November 19/11/06
Former Lebanese Army sergeant brings torture suit
against 2 ex-Syrian officers
UN, Lebanese government agree on tribunal make-up
Lebanese speaker voices opposition to street demonstrations
Israel says its July attack on UN base was an 'error'
Jumblatt to address annual PSP assembly
Fadlallah faults politicians for creating 'arena of conflict'
Officials probe alleged Al-Qaeda Web post
US official says Washington helped remove over 50,000
cluster bombs from South
InfoPro releases detailed report on impact of Israeli war on Lebanon
March 8 students cite evidence that they won AUB student elections
Marathoners get ready to race for the love of Lebanon
Brotherhood blasts minister's remarks on veil
Latest New from miscellaneous sources for
November 19/11/06
Qassem: Saniora Not Allowed to Americanize Lebanon-Naharnet
U.N. Steps in to Settle Lebanon's Political
Impasse-Naharnet
Annan urges Syria, Iran to aid Lebanese stability-Washington
Post
Blair Set to Open Washington's Road to Damascus. Next Stop ...DEBKA
file
Sunni organization in Lebanon: Prepare to confront Hizbullah-Ynetnews
Lebanon: A Threat to Recovery-Naharnet
Turkish Peacekeepers Await Mission Orders
in South Lebanon-Naharnet
British Warship Visits Beirut Port-Naharnet
Annan, Assad Discuss 'Recent Developments
in Lebanon-Naharnet
Lahoud: 'National Government' Will Be
Established No Matter What-Naharnet
Syrian president and UN chief discuss developments in Lebanon-International
Herald Tribune
Bids to kill ministers in Lebanon feared-Gulf
Times
US Aid to Lebanon Targeted To Build Government Capacity-Washington
File
Live from Lebanon-The National Interest
Online
Lebanon - Aoun shows his true colors-Ya
Libnan
Turkish troops await orders in south Lebanon-Khaleej
Times
Syrian Officials and Iraq Study Group Met, Envoy Says-New
York Times
Can Iran And Syria Help Stabilize Iraq?Guardian
Unlimited
Former Lebanese Army sergeant
brings torture suit against 2 ex-Syrian officers
Nader safi says abuse happened during 7 years of imprisonment
By Nada Raad and Kholoud Dayeh -Daily Star staff
Saturday, November 18, 2006
BEIRUT: A former first sergeant in the Lebanese Army filed a lawsuit Friday
against two former Syrian officials, accusing them of having him kidnapped and
torturing him for seven years. The unprecedented suit brought by Nader Safi was
announced at a news conference convened by the committee for the Support of
Lebanese in Detention and Exile (SOLIDE) at the Gebran Khalil Gebran Garden,
facing the United Nations offices in Downtown Beirut.
Safi presented an official three-page lawsuit to Lebanon's State Prosecutor on
November 8. The suit gives a detailed description of how Syrian intelligence
forces kidnapped Safi in Raouche in 1991. The suit names Colonel Mohammad
Khallouf, former head of Syrian intelligence in Beau Rivage, and Colonel Youssef
al-Abdi, known as Nabi Youssef, former head of Syrian intelligence in Anjar. The
men are accused of responsibility for what the suit calls Safi's torture.
Safi was charged with "spying on the Syrian Army" and served a seven-year
sentence prior to his release in 1998. According to SOLIDE president Ghazi Aad,
the suit aims to bring Syria to justice for crimes against humanity and the
torture of prisoners, and to ensure "that these charges would not fade away with
time."
"We want to bring justice for the past, and protect our future," Aad said.
The Friday news conference drew a modest crowd, mainly older women holding up
pictures of loved ones who went missing during the Lebanese Civil War. Each
woman wore a badge bearing a picture of a disappeared brother, son or father and
the slogan "How much longer?" All the women have similar stories to tell. One
elderly woman told reporters the story of her kidnapped son. She said that in
1984 she and her children were at home in Ramlet el-Baida when a member of the
Amal Movement allegedly banged on the door and told her son that there was
someone downstairs who wanted to speak with him.
"He went down and was beaten, his head covered and his hands tied, thrown into
the back seat of a van, and taken away, never to be seen again," she said.
As Aad spoke to the press another woman began to cry out, "We want our children
back, even if they are bones, we want them back." "Please return our children,"
she called, with other women joining in. The Syrian government has long denied
that it is holding any Lebanese detainees from the Civil War era.
Damascus has said that the missing persons are likely dead or suffering
detention in Palestinian prisons.
Siniora hails EU peace
initiative for Mideast
A day after Israel rejects Spanish-French-Italian initiative for a Middle East
ceasefire, Lebanese prime minister says his country welcomes plan.
'International community is asked to act as soon as possible in order to
evacuate other occupied Arab territories,' he adds
AFP Published: 11.17.06, Lebanon welcomed on Friday the Spanish-French-Italian
initiative for a Middle East ceasefire, an exchange of prisoners and an
international peace conference.
"We welcome this initiative," Prime Minister Fuad Siniora said. "Its importance
today lies in the fact that it asserts the Palestinian issue is central to a
just and comprehensive settlement in our region," the premier said in a
statement. "The international community is asked to act as soon as possible in
order to establish peace and stability in an independent Palestinian state, and
to evacuate other (Israeli-) occupied Arab territories," he said. Spain, France
and Italy pushed on Thursday for a new Middle East peace plan including an
international conference, in a move welcomed by the Palestinian Authority but
promptly rejected by Israel . The initiative also seeks a ceasefire, an exchange
of Israeli and Palestinian prisoners, a Palestinian "government of national
unity" and the despatch of a fact-finding mission to the Palestinian
territories. Diplomatic sources said Thursday the proposal from the three
countries would be presented at the next European Union summit in December.
Lebanese speaker voices opposition to street demonstrations
Berri mulling 'several formulas'
By Leila Hatoum -Daily Star staff
Saturday, November 18, 2006
BEIRUT: Speaker Nabih Berri has voiced opposition to street demonstrations to
topple the government, according to an Al-Jamaa al-Islamiyya official who met
with him on Friday, as Lebanese politicians continued to navigate the political
crisis gripping the country. Assad Harmoush said that Berri had "refused to go
down on the street" in an attempt to force the creation of a national unity
government.
Berri, head of the Shiite Amal Movement, also met Friday with Egyptian
Ambassador Hussein Darrar.
Darrar said after the meeting that Berri had "several formulas and many
suggestions to get Lebanon out of the political stalemate it is passing
through."
Separately, Premier Fouad Siniora met with Spain's ambassador to Lebanon, who
said the premier has assured him "that the Shiite must have an effective
participation in the Cabinet."Lebanon's five Shiite ministers, representing
Hizbullah and Amal, resigned from the Cabinet one week ago, demanding a "real"
say in the decision-making process. Should Hizbullah and its allies decide to
hold demonstrations, they will have to let the government know in advance,
Acting Interior Minister Ahmed Fatfat said on Friday. In a telephone interview
with The Daily Star, Fatfat said the law was clear that "those
organizing a demonstration must inform the government's representative at least
72 hours before they take to the streets."
"They don't need a license; all they have to do is inform the appropriate
official," he said. "This is needed so that the security forces would be able to
make their preparations and accompany such an action."
The minister, a member of the anti-Syrian parliamentary coalition, said earlier
in a televised interview that "there is an impression among the March 14 Forces
that a Syrian-Iranian axis is trying to settle its scores in Lebanon."For his
part, Hizbullah Executive Council head Sayyed Hashem Safieddine said on Friday
that the government had two choices: "Either surrender to the people's rejection
and return to the principles of true partnership, or wait for the decision that
will bring a thousand, thousand democratic ways to topple the fallen and
unconstitutional group."
Safieddine said the government had "underestimated a national sect on Monday"
when the Cabinet approved a UN draft to form an international court into the
assassination of former Premier Rafik Hariri despite the resignation of its
Shiite members. In a statement released late Thursday, the March 14 Forces said
it was "determined" to prevent any attempts "to foil UN Security Council
Resolution 1701, the international tribunal or Paris III [January's
international donors' conference] at the expense of foreign interests." In
related comments, Leb-anese Forces leader Samir Geagea said Friday that efforts
to topple the government could lead to assassination attempts against Cabinet
ministers.
He did not elaborate, but said that Syria was determined to stop the formation
of the international tribunal. Geagea noted the fact that should three
additional ministers somehow be lost, the Cabinet could not achieve a quorum.
"There are no three ministers who will resign of course, but someone might think
of sacking them, in quotes, by pushing them to a final resignation," he told
Reuters in a telephone interview. "I think there might be operations targeting
ministers and I take this opportunity to say it publicly and especially to tell
the ministers to take all precautions," Geagea said. The Christian leader once
more warned that small, pro-Syrian groups could incite violence should
demonstrations be held. "Unfortunately there are some small sides, not the big
ones, who might go this far because they are still linked to the Syrian regime,"
he said. "It is very clear that this regime has taken a decision to try to stop
the international court even through causing strife in Lebanon." - With Agencies
Officials probe alleged Al-Qaeda Web post
Saturday, November 18, 2006
BEIRUT: Acting Interior Minister Ahmad Fatfat said the Lebanese government would
know "within 24 hours" if the source of a statement published by a Sunni
extremist group and calling for fighting Hizbullah "is Lebanese or not." A
statement posted Friday on a Web site used by Al-Qaeda's branch in Iraq called
upon Lebanese Sunnis to confront the Shiite group Hizbullah, which it accused of
wanting to dominate the country. "We call on our brothers in Lebanon ... to face
up to Hizbullah and the hatred of the rafidha [a pejorative for Shiite Muslims]
and prepare for a confrontation," said the statement, signed "Mujaheddin of
Lebanon."
Fatfat told The Daily Star that an investigation of the matter was under way. A
key part of the investigation, Fatfat said, was to determine the statement's
source.
Fatfat said he believed that such statements were meant to "alarm the Lebanese."
The acting interior minister called the statement "an offense against all the
Lebanese, in particular the Sunnis."
The statement is similar in tone and wording to messages from Al-Qaeda in Iraq.
"Today they want to dominate Lebanon in its totality, allying themselves with
the crusaders in Lebanon, to definitively eliminate the Sunni community," said
the statement, which also criticized Iran and Syria. "The rafidha should know we
are ready to combat them." The statement accused Hizbullah of being under the
control of Syria, which it charged had opened the door to Iranian influence in
Lebanon. "They should know that we are ready and eager to launch a war against
them," the statement said. A message last week purportedly from the head of
Al-Qaeda in Iraq, Abu Hamza al-Muhajer, called on Sunnis everywhere to stand up
to Iran, Syria and Hizbullah.Hizbullah MP Amin Shirri said the statement "is
very ridiculous and does not deserve any comments." - With AFP
Brotherhood blasts minister's remarks on veil
By Agence France Presse (AFP)
Saturday, November 18, 2006
CAIRO: Egypt's largest opposition group the Muslim Brotherhood called Friday for
Culture Minister Farouq Hosni's resignation for saying that the wearing of
Islamic veils was a "regressive" trend. "We have presented an urgent appeal to
Parliament demanding that Culture Minister Farouq Hosni be relieved of his
duties after statements in which he said that wearing the veil is 'regressive,'"
said Brotherhood deputy Hamdi Hassan.
Hassan, who initiated the appeal, urged Parliament to "remove this minister and
replace him with a minister of culture who will respect our constitution, our
Sharia [Islamic law] and our values.""The appeal was presented to Parliament
Thursday evening, and will be examined in the coming days," he said.
In an interview published Thursday, Hosni said that the ever-growing number of
women wearing the Islamic veil in Egypt was regressive.
"There was an age when our mothers went to university and worked without the
veil. It is in that spirit that we grew up. So why this regression?" the
minister said in the independent Al-Masri Al-Yom daily. Most Muslim clerics
consider wearing the veil to be a religious obligation, and growing conservatism
has seen most women take up the veil in Egypt, formerly considered one of the
most liberal societies in the Middle East.
"Each woman with her beautiful hair is like a flower, and should not be
concealed from the view of others," Hosni said in his interview, arguing:
"Religion today focuses on appearances too much." - AFP
U.N. Steps in to Settle Lebanon's Political Impasse
The United Nations has stepped in to settle the critical
political crisis gripping Lebanon and would soon dispatch a delegate in a bid to
"tranquilize" mounting tension. The daily As Safir, citing Arab diplomatic
sources in New York, said U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan has decided to
"launch a political initiative aimed at tranquilizing the political situation in
Lebanon." The sources said that U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701, which
brought the Israel-Hizbullah summer war to an end, "permits such an authority
since Lebanon's internal stability is part of the overall U.N. mandate."
They said that the U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) "cannot work in an
unstable political environment or under any security threats."
As Safir said the initiative, which would be announced early next week, followed
intensive contacts with the various pro- and anti-Syrian Lebanese factions where
"ideas have been laid down starting off with consensus over a political and
media calm."The sources said the first phase of the initiative would be to try
to find a compromise "between the idea of modifying the cabinet and the need to
approve the international tribunal" to try the assassins of former Premier Rafik
Hariri. Magistrates Ralf Riashi and Shukri Sader left for New York late Friday
to attend the U.N. Security Council meeting which is likely to be held on Monday
to approve the creation of the international court.
Meanwhile, Speaker Nabih Berri, who organized the national dialogue until its
collapse last week, was quoted as saying that he was devoted to keep Prime
Minister Fouad Saniora in office, according to As Safir. It said Berri
reiterated that the only way out of this political deadlock "is through
modification or expansion of the government."Berri's remarks were made after
meetings Friday with the ambassadors of Egypt and Spain in an effort to find a
resolution to the political bickering. All-party talks failed last week after
Saniora called for a cabinet meeting to endorse the international court. Beirut,
18 Nov 06, 09:13
For the Democrats to fly, they must unite the party's wings
By David Ignatius -Daily Star staff
Saturday, November 18, 2006
The Democrats now have the opportunity the Republicans spurned, which is to
build a broad coalition in the center and become once again the nation's
governing party. But to achieve that, the Democrats must stand for values that
connect with those of most Americans. The center is meaningless, after all,
except as a platform for enacting legislation the public wants.
Some Democratic initiatives are obvious after the November election: The public
wants changes in Iraq policy that reduce the costs and dangers for America;
reform of an arrogant and corrupt congressional leadership; and an end to
partisan political bickering. The new House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, had a
disastrous post-election week in which her first priority seemed to be settling
scores, rather than solving these big problems. Shame on her! But let's assume
for the moment that the new Democratic majority won't commit instant suicide
with a continuation of Pelosi's payback politics, and will get serious about
governing.
What are the issues where the Democrats should plant their flag and try to
create a new majority? Two are no-brainers that should have broad bipartisan
support next year: reviving the Clinton administration's push for national
heath-care policies that can save costs and improve care; and getting serious
about alternative energy policies that can reduce demand for foreign oil.
Senator Hillary Clinton has already staked out these issues, which will enhance
her stature as a 2008 presidential candidate.
A third big Democratic idea was advanced this week by Jim Webb, the
senator-elect from Virginia who promises to be one of the most interesting
voices in the new Congress. He argued in The Wall Street Journal that the
Democrats should focus on economic justice. "America's top tier has grown
infinitely richer and more removed over the past 25 years," he wrote. "It should
be the first order of business for the new Congress to begin addressing these
divisions, and to work to bring true fairness back to economic life." Former
Senator John Edwards,
another leading Democratic contender for 2008, has put his stamp on this same
issue through his new Center on Poverty, Work and Opportunity at the University
of North Carolina.
Webb and Edwards are right about the dangers of rising inequality in America.
Studies by the Census Bureau, the National Bureau of Economic Research and other
organizations all report growing inequality in income distribution over the past
35 years. According to a June 2000 study by the Census Bureau, the gap between
rich and poor began widening sharply in the early 1980s. From 1980 to 1992, the
share of national income going to the top fifth rose by nearly 18 percent. The
income gap continued during the technology boom and the stock-option frenzy of
the Clinton years, according to studies by a leading analyst of inequality,
James K. Galbraith of the University of Texas. He notes that the collapse of the
tech bubble and the surge of military spending under President George W. Bush
shifted the pattern of winners - but from Democrat, or blue-state, counties to
other blue-state counties. In a recent paper, Galbraith found that the big
gainers of the 1990s - Santa Clara, San Mateo and San Francisco counties in
California and New York City - were the top four losers from 2000 to 2004, while
the four big winners since 2000 were the District of Columbia and Fairfax,
Virginia, Los Angeles and San Diego counties.
The Democrats' challenge is to fuse populist anger with the party's other
dynamic movement - the call for fiscal reforms made by former Treasury Secretary
Robert Rubin and other members of the Hamilton Project, which seeks
budget-balancing changes in entitlement spending. The goal should be to
articulate policies that are at once pro-equality and pro-growth. That's a tall
order, especially at a time when the American economy appears to be slowing.
Lawrence Summers, a former treasury secretary and Harvard economist, suggested
the right balance in a column in The Financial Times last month: "The best parts
of the progressive tradition do not oppose the market system; they improve on
the outcomes it naturally produces. That is what we need today."
If the Democrats hope to re-create the "big tent" of a true governing coalition,
they have to find policies that bring together the wings of their own party.
Successful economic policies will be those that advance the interests of Main
Street without destroying those of Wall Street, and vice versa. Solving that
puzzle is a big intellectual challenge. It should motivate and unite the
Democrats - from Webb and Edwards to Clinton and Rubin - as they move toward
2008.
Syndicated columnist David Ignatius is published regularly by THE DAILY STAR.
Europe makes welcome addition to expanding peace initiative
Saturday, November 18, 2006
Editorial-Daily Star
It is too soon to know whether the Middle East has received an early Christmas
gift in the form of a workable peace initiative for Palestine and Israel, but
the three wise men who have proposed it deserve credit for focusing world
attention on the region's most intractable problem. The five-point plan unveiled
by Spanish Premier Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, French President Jacques Chirac
and Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi is only the latest of several recent
attempts on the part of international leaders to breathe new life into a
moribund peace process. Shortly after the end of the war in Lebanon this summer,
Qatar launched a fresh push for a return to peace negotiations, and Doha's move
was followed by the Arab League's renewed commitment to a Saudi-penned peace
initiative. Then British Prime Minister Tony Blair renewed his calls for a
resolution to the conflict, telling a US panel that any solution to the problems
in Iraq must come as part of a broader strategy for regional peace.
In fact the only major world leader who has not yet jumped on the peace
bandwagon is US President George W. Bush. The American president has vowed to
see the creation of a Palestinian state before he leaves office, but he has so
far done very little to accomplish that objective.
Bush's absence from the peace drive is made up for, however, by the presence of
a growing number of international leaders who are recognizing the benefits of
securing an agreement between the Palestinians and Israelis. The participation
of these leaders makes the prospects for a return to negotiations look less
bleak, even as the killing rages on in Gaza.
Another cause for optimism is the re-emergence of European diplomacy on the
global stage. Throughout Bush's first term, Europe's diplomatic role in the
Middle East was eclipsed by a heavy-handed and hawkish American foreign policy.
But difficulties in Iraq, along with other failures in foreign policy, have
forced a rethink of US strategies in the region and have made it necessary for
the president to adopt a more cooperative stance toward his allies across the
Atlantic. Bush's maneuvering room has diminished even further now that many of
his fellow party members have been voted out of Congress. The time is ripe for
the Europeans to take the lead in reviving the peace process.
Now that European leaders have put the peace process at the top of their agenda,
it is all the more urgent for the Palestinians to complete the formation of
their unity government. The first task of the newly appointed Palestinian
premier ought to be to visit Europe for talks with Zapatero, Chirac, Prodi and
Blair.
There is no guarantee that the newly launched European peace blueprint will bear
any fruit. Indeed, the Israelis, who have scuttled several peace initiatives in
the past, have already flatly rejected the European proposal. But an emerging
international consensus on the urgent need for a peace agreement could provide
the necessary momentum to finally rid ourselves of the Palestinian-Israeli
conflict, which has for far too long been a source of regional instability.
Conversation with a proven peacemaker
By Rami G. Khouri -Daily Star staff
Saturday, November 18, 2006
When you want to make peace, it is useful to turn to a proven peacemaker. The
other day in New York I had a chance to sit down with one of the successful
peacemakers of our time and explore the lessons of his own rich experience,
especially in view of current attempts to revive a Middle East peace conference.
The man I mean is former US Senator George Mitchell, who spent years as an
American diplomatic envoy during the Clinton administration. He played brief
roles in the Palestinian-Israeli and Bosnia conflicts, but his lasting success
was representing the United States for over five years in facilitating the peace
talks in Northern Ireland as of the late 1990s.
Few people in the world enjoy his perspective of knowing both the Northern
Ireland and Palestinian-Israeli conflicts from personal experience. Because of
Mitchell's sensibility and good judgment (he served as a judge in an earlier
career) along with his political experience in shaping compromises in his
senatorial days, I thought his views and suggestions on how to approach
peacemaking in the Arab-Israeli conflict today would be worth exploring. He
quickly proved me correct.
Mitchell first cautioned against drawing too many parallels between Northern
Ireland and the Middle East, which have distinct characteristics. However, he
also saw some general similarities that pertain to all peacemaking attempts,
three in particular: First, he said, all sides in a negotiation must commit to
ceasing violence and to reaching an agreement only through peaceful diplomacy.
Peace agreements are unlikely to emanate from a context of continuing conflict
and lack of trust. Second, patience and determination are vital; participants
and mediators alike cannot give up when they hit a snag or suffer violent
incidents. And third, one must dispel the notion that some very difficult
conflicts are destined to go on forever, and instead affirm that a negotiated
resolution can be achieved.
A successful negotiation also needs a fair mediator who is both persistent and
impartial. This helps to reinforce the essential perception of the parties that
their minimal demands can be met, and their basic human dignity preserved,
through peaceful diplomacy.
Mitchell's experience in the Middle East mainly involved heading an
international team in 2001, after the second intifada had broken out in the wake
of the failure of the Camp David talks of summer 2000. His team produced a
report on how to end the fighting and move back to Palestinian-Israeli
negotiations. The report was accepted by both sides, with some reservations, but
never achieved its goals because its recommendations were not implemented, due
to a lack of political follow-up.
Mitchell's observations are noteworthy because there are numerous signs today in
Palestine, the Arab world, the US, and Europe indicating a growing interest in
an international conference to explore a negotiated, comprehensive Arab-Israeli
settlement. My own sense is that chances of success remain slim today, in view
of Israel's skepticism and the penchant of most parties with their shallow
leaderships to hold onto hard-line positions and remain locked in confrontation
and conflict. Yet pressure may build to resume negotiations, especially as an
adjunct to progress in Iraq. If so, Mitchell's experience in Northern Ireland
should be studied carefully.
Mitchell emphasized the need to engage all relevant parties in any peace
process. The Northern Ireland talks failed to advance for years because key
parties linked to paramilitary groups were excluded. The better approach - which
eventually worked in Northern Ireland - was to bring in all the main players but
insist they commit to a non-violent resolution of their conflict.
The implications for the current situation in the Middle East seem clear.
Parties that some people want to exclude from the political process, like Hamas,
must have an opportunity to exchange views, Mitchell said. He did not directly
engage the Irish Republican Army, but dealt with them through their political
arm, Sinn Fein. The critical breakthrough was getting their commitment, along
with that of the Unionists, to end violence as a precondition to talking. Also,
the parties were not obligated to make any prior commitment on the substance of
the negotiations or their end result.
Mitchell reminds us that all parties to a long and bitter conflict must have
their say and be taken seriously, in order to help reduce the sense of
victimization that can often define a community. Those who use violence and then
commit to non-violent conflict resolution do so only if they are convinced that
they will achieve their minimal goals through a process that is mediated fairly
by a truly objective third party. The US is the only external party today that
can help negotiate Arab-Israeli peace, Mitchell argued, and it should persevere
more in the region for this purpose.
**Rami G. Khouri writes a regular commentary for THE DAILY STAR.
A Divine Seal of Approval
By Alia Ibrahim-Washington Post
Sunday, November 19, 2006; Page B03
BEIRUT The billboards loom high over the lines of traffic that snake their way
daily along the length of the airport road. "The divine victory," they proclaim,
beneath a photo of camouflage-clad soldiers loading a rocket launcher. Or, below
the shot of a child's cherubic face, "A victory from God."
By the standards of ordinary warfare, last summer's conflict between Israel and
Hezbollah ended with an inconclusive truce and no real winner or loser. But
don't tell that to the residents of southern Lebanon. Here in the land that is
Hezbollah's headquarters, the 33-day war has been branded beyond a doubt:
It was a holy war fought for the glory of God. And Hezbollah warriors, with
God's help, won a magnificent victory against the Israeli invaders.
Hezbollah is no doubt drawing strength from the now-solidified public perception
of victory in that war in its new campaign against the Lebanese government of
Prime Minister Fouad Siniora. Criticizing him for a lack of support during the
war, the organization and its allies have withdrawn six ministers from the
cabinet and demanded more representation -- one-third of the 24 cabinet seats,
which would give them veto power over all legislation and the ability to bring
down the government at any time.
Hezbollah's newfound leverage and stunning success at turning what much of the
world saw as a near-disaster for its cause into a source of Islamic pride and a
rallying point for support is at least in part the fruit of a masterful
propaganda campaign. And it was hatched soon after the first Israeli bombs fell
in July. "During the war, while the boys were fighting, we at the information
department were working hard on this campaign," Ghassan Darwish, head of
Hezbollah's bureau of information, told me.
The first posters proclaiming victory appeared in the Dahiya, a hardscrabble
swath of southern Beirut suburbs that is Hezbollah's stronghold, just hours
after the truce was called in August. In the days that followed, the campaign
grew into an unprecedented display of billboards along major roads across the
country, featuring 11 photographs and focusing on three themes: the Hezbollah
fighters' courage, the Lebanese people's resilience and the defeat of the
"invincible" Israeli army.
One poster reading "Divine Victory" in green and white on a red background shows
two Hezbollah fighters, standing next to a Katyusha multiple-rocket launcher,
saluting and looking at the sky. Next to them are the words: "With the hands of
the mujahedeen." Another poster shows a close-up of a little boy next to the
phrase: "With the hope of the children." Another depicts an injured old man and
the words: "With the patience of the resilient." Some posters show Israeli
soldiers, weeping as they carry the coffins of their slain comrades to burial,
alongside the words: "The invincible army."
Banners criticizing Israel and the United States also hang on the ruins of
apartment buildings, businesses and Hezbollah offices, bearing slogans such as
"The New Middle Beast," playing off Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's
reference to a "new Middle East," "Smart Bombs for Stupid Minds" and "Trademark,
Made in the USA."
The "victory from God" slogan has been heavily promoted on the Hezbollah-owned
TV channel Al-Manar and radio station Al-Nour. And the group's al-Wilaya
Orchestra has produced a couple of albums, "A Victory from God" and "The
Truthful Promise."
Because Hezbollah has its own design and production teams, it says the campaign
cost only about $60,000 -- far less than an advertising and PR campaign of this
sort would normally cost. The organization has painted it as an effort to "boost
the morale of those who were suffering the most from human and material losses,"
as Darwish put it.
Indeed, three months after the fighting ended, parts of Lebanon remain a
shambles. The war tore apart hundreds of families and left even more homeless.
In addition to more than 1,200 dead and upward of 4,000 wounded, economists here
estimate that the overall cost of the war could exceed $7 billion, a huge burden
on Lebanon's ailing economy.
So the slogans and messages can be an effective way to help the community deal
with the loss. "I believe Hezbollah felt they were in crisis, they didn't have
many choices, they have strong propaganda skills, and they felt they needed to
rely on supernatural forces to help their audience," said Mona Fayyad, a
professor of psychology at the Lebanese University.
A faith in the supernatural infused the war from the start. Stories from the
battlefield circulated from village to village: of missiles that fired off by
themselves as Hezbollah fighters stood by, or of imaginary combatants fighting
Israeli soldiers in the border towns. On the day that his brother, a Hezbollah
fighter, was buried after the war, Mahmoud Chalhoub of the town of Qana told me
that he believed it was "godly intervention" that had determined the war's
outcome.
"We believe that God's angels and the Mahdi were there, protecting our boys," he
said. "Even the Israelis talk about a man all in white, riding a white horse,
who cut off the hand of one of their soldiers as he was about to launch a
missile.
"The Israelis pretend that Hezbollah possesses satellites and this is how its
fighters were able to aim at military targets. We don't have satellites, we have
missiles guided by God," said Chalhoub, echoing the words of Hezbollah leader
Hasan Nasrallah, whose taped speeches in the early days of the war also spoke of
divinely guided missiles.
But the "divine victory" slogan probably has another aim as well: to intimidate
and silence Hezbollah's opponents. "What they do, they do in the name of God;
what results from it is also the result of God's will," Fayyad said. "Whoever
doesn't agree would be blaspheming."
The campaign has caused dissension in Lebanon's notoriously fractured political
circles. Walid Jumblatt, leader of the minority Druze community, declared that
anyone who considers the war a divine one is "crazy." He also called Hezbollah's
audience "unthinking," prompting Nasrallah to demand an apology.
But Jumblatt's words had little effect on Hezbollah's true believers. The
campaign may be propaganda, but it found a willing audience in Lebanon's
impoverished south. While Hezbollah may not have been victorious in the war, it
has clearly won the war of perceptions. And that may be the most important
victory of all.
aliaibrahim1@gmail.com
Alia Ibrahim is Beirut correspondent for Dubai TV.