Fox News team release

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 11,5-13.
And he said to them, "Suppose one of you has a friend to whom he goes at midnight and says, 'Friend, lend me three loaves of bread,
for a friend of mine has arrived at my house from a journey and I have nothing to offer him,' and he says in reply from within, 'Do not bother me; the door has already been locked and my children and I are already in bed. I cannot get up to give you anything.' I tell you, if he does not get up to give him the loaves because of their friendship, he will get up to give him whatever he needs because of his persistence. And I tell you, ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. What father among you would hand his son a snake when he asks for a fish? Or hand him a scorpion when he asks for an egg? If you then, who are wicked, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the Father in heaven give the holy Spirit to those who ask him?"

Islamic Group Beheads Assyrian Priest, Crucifies 14 Year Old Boy in North Iraq
GMT 10-12-2006 5:47:5
Assyrian International News Agency
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Mosul, Iraq (AINA) -- On Monday, October 9, a prominent Assyrian (also known as Chaldean and Syriac) priest, Fr. Paulos Iskander (Paul Alexander), was kidnapped by an unknown Islamic group. His ransom was posted at either $250,000 or $350,000. This group had demanded that signs be posted once again on his church apologizing for the Pope's remarks as a condition for negotiations to begin.
Father Alexander was beheaded on Wednesday.
An email from a priest in Sweden, Adris Hanna, describes the Muslim terror campaign against the Christians in Iraq:
The Syriac-Orhtodox priest Paulos Iskandar was kidnapped this Monday, October 9, and beheaded today Wednesday October 11.
The Bishop in Mosul wrote me an email tonight and told me that the funeral will be held in Mosul tomorrow.
Christians are living a terrified life in Mosul and Baghdad. Several priests have been kidnapped, girls are being raped and murdered and a couple of days ago a fourteen year old boy was crucified in the Christian neighborhood Albasra.
I have also spoken to a group of nuns that were robbed and treated brutally on their way between Baghdad to Amman in Jordan.
The murder of father Paulus is the final blow for Christians, and now only hell is expected for the Christians of Iraq.
We the oriental Christians in Sweden and the rest of the Western world must protest against the genocide. We must do what we can to stop the rape, threats, hatred, robberies, murders… We must do something.
These latest murders continue an escalating pattern (1, 2, 3) of attacks against Iraq's Christians. On October fourth a bomb ripped through an Assyrian neighorhood, killing 9 (AINA 10-11-2006).
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Cabinet approves diplomatic appointments
2-year delay apparently near end as slate of 52 names gets go-ahead
By Nafez Qawas -Daily Star correspondent
Friday, October 13, 2006
BEIRUT: After a two-year delay in filling vacant diplomatic posts around the world, the Lebanese Cabinet on Thursday approved a list of 52 tentative appointments drafted by Foreign Minister Fawzi Salloukh. Agreement over the contentious issue was finally reached during a private meeting between Prime Minister Fouad Siniora and President Emile Lahoud before the session began. Lahoud is expected to review the proposal and sign it in the coming days.Well-placed sources said Nawwaf Salam was tapped as ambassador to the United Nations, Antoine Shedid would go to Washington and Najla Assaker to Geneva. Lebanon's most recent ambassador to Washington, Farid Abboud, was recalled two months ago over comments made during an interview with CNN that expressed "conflicting positions with the government," in the words of an official statement at the time.
The adoption of Salloukh's proposal was made despite an objection from Public Works and Transport Minister Mohammed Safadi, who complained that the appointments were not made based on each diplomat's qualifications but on their political and sectarian affiliations.
Minister of State for Administrative Development Jean Hogasapian also objected to the appointment of an ambassador to Armenia without his having been consulted. Hogasapian said he had a more competent candidate than the one assigned to the post who is close to the Tashnak Party.
Thursday's Cabinet session was held at the government's temporary headquarters in central Beirut. Telecommunications Minister Marwan Hamade and Social Affairs Minister Nayla Mouawad were absent.
Ministerial sources said that upcoming Cabinet sessions were expected to finalize administrative appointments.
Speaking to reporters after the session, Information Minister Ghazi Aridi said some posts had been filled from outside the diplomatic corps due to a lack of Sunni ambassadors.Aridi added that a reduction in political tensions over the past week would have positive results on Lebanon's "political and economic life."Speaker Berri said after a short trip to Saudi Arabia over the weekend that he had a "surprise" for the country at the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. "Everything Berri does brings good to the country," Aridi said when asked about the speaker's surprise.
Also addressing reporters after the Cabinet session, Siniora said the government had faith in all of the newly appointed ambassadors.
Asked if he would eat barazek (Syrian cookies) during Ramadan, in reference to the premier's long-awaited visit to Damascus, Siniora joked, "I eat barazek every day."The premier also reiterated his refusal of calls from Hizbullah and the Free Patriotic Movement for the resignation of his Cabinet and the creation of a national unity government. His words did not mean that there was a rift between him and Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, Siniora said. Meanwhile, in comments made before the Cabinet session, Lahoud said the ministers would put the "right ambassador in the right place."
Warning of an international conspiracy against Lebanon, Lahoud said that after having reviewed the latest reports of over 600,000 deaths in Iraq as a result of the US-led invasion, "I wonder whether this was the new Middle East [US officials] are talking about." US officials "said Lebanon will be the first country in the new Middle East," Lahoud recalled. "That's why I say there is a huge conspiracy against Lebanon."
He urged all Lebanese to remain "united and consolidated at this delicate time."

Siniora says army would fire at Israeli intruders
By Nada Bakri -Daily Star staff
Friday, October 13, 2006
BEIRUT: Prime Minister Fouad Siniora said Thursday the Lebanese Army would fire at Israeli troops if they violate the UN-demarcated Blue Line. Siniora, speaking in an interview with The Washington Post, also said that Israeli warplanes' overflights and surveillance drones were threatening a cease-fire brokered by the United Nations on August 14. "It is the duty of our army to defend the country, and this is what it should do," Siniora said when asked whether the Lebanese Army would fire at Israel if it violates the Blue Line. He said that the conflict needs to be solved diplomatically, however.
"Now we are exhausting all diplomatic channels and means, and this is how it should be done," Siniora said.
Siniora said Israeli overflights were occurring daily, while the UN said it had recorded 10 overflights of warplanes and surveillance drones from October 3 to midnight October 9, according to the newspaper. "I am willing to accept whatever any other sovereign country would accept for itself. Would they allow it?" Siniora asked. "I mean, would the United States allow flyovers of Russian planes? If they would allow it, I accept it. Why do you expect me to do something more than what 195 countries would accept for themselves?"
Siniora, who is under pressure from Hizbullah and the Free Patriotic Movement to reshuffle his government to include allies of both parties, said he was not shaken by demands to replace his Cabinet with a national unity government. "To bring the government down, this is a legitimate objective of the opposition," Siniora said. "But it is a legitimate right of the other side to defend this position and to prove to the other that they are wrong, and that is what we are doing," he told the newspaper. Meanwhile, March 14 Forces representatives reiterated on Thursday their support for Siniora's Cabinet.
The change should be through electing a new president who will represent the interests of the Lebanese and their goals instead of a president whose term was renewed by force," said March 14 Forces MP Wael Bou Faour. Demands to form "a national unity government are aimed at hindering the creation of the international court to try murderers in the assassination," of former Premier Rafik Hariri, Bou Faour said following a March 14 Forces visit to the Shiite Higher Council's head, Sheikh Abdel-Amir Qabalan. Bou Faour said the anti-Syrian coalition is open to "any political compromise" and to dialogue and that it supports Speaker Nabih Berri's efforts to unite political rivals.
"We are ready to restart the dialogue, in fact we ask for it to open the doors for political compromise," he said. Tensions have escalated following the recent war between Hizbullah and the parliamentary majority led by Future Movement MP Saad Hariri. Berri has been trying to schedule a meeting between Hariri and Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah. Their last encounter was three months ago. In an interview with the Guardian published on Wednesday, Berri said that the meeting might take place soon. Former Prime Minister Salim Hoss said associating the international court and the demands to form a national unity government was "heresy." "We are not calling to topple the government but for a consensus over the government. A national unity government can only be formed through consensus, we are not imposing our views on anyone, and we are not attacking anyone," Hoss said following a meeting with FPM leader MP Michel Aoun on Thursday. - With agencies

ESCWA chief tours South, promises aid
By Mohammed Zaatari -Daily Star staff
Friday, October 13, 2006
SIDON: The executive secretary of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) said Thursday that the world body fully supports the reconstruction of South Lebanon and hailed the families of victims of the July-August war.
Mervat Tellawy, accompanied by ESCWA specialists, visited a number of Southern towns on Thursday and met with officials from Tyre's municipality. After the meeting, Tellawi said ESCWA's main concern for the coming phase was to focus on supporting the agriculture sector and small businesses in the South. ESCWA has carried out projects in South Lebanon since 2000, when Israel withdrew from most of the area.
One ESCWA project was an "E-Caravan," which provided youths with modern computer training. Tellawi said ESCWA would be establishing a special fund to help families with low incomes start small agricultural businesses. "We want economic activity, with respect to agriculture or trade, to maintain its vigor," she said.

Poll: Most Lebanese see war as attempt to remake region
Daily Star staff-Friday, October 13, 2006
BEIRUT: A Jordanian poll published Thursday showed that 84 percent of Lebanese believe that the recent war on Lebanon was a premeditated attempt by the United States and Israel to impose a new regional order in the Middle East. The study was conducted by the Center for Strategic Studies (CSS) at the University of Jordan. A majority of those polled thought the war was initiated by Israel and the United States to reshape the region into a "new Middle East," while 13 percent of respondents disagreed, according to an article published in Haaretz. According to the Israeli daily, Lebanon's religious sects diverge over who emerged triumphant from the war. The poll sample of 1,200 Lebanese included Shiites, Sunnis, Christians and Druze. The margin of error was 2-3 percent, said Mohammad Masri, a fellow at the CSS, which conducts surveys analyzing major events in the region.
Seventy percent of Shiites, the religious group most affected by the violence, said Hizbullah came out the victor, while only 36 percent of Sunnis and 19 percent of Christians believed Hizbullah won. Among the Druze 82 percent believed Lebanon was the biggest loser. Christians follow closely behind at 73 percent. "The Druze are basically a united bloc. They blame the Syrians and Iranians for the war," Masri said.
"The Shiites also presented a unified opinion, but they instead sided with Hizbullah and blame an American-Israeli blueprint of a new Middle East for starting the conflict," he said. Differences across religious lines were also highlighted over Hizbullah's capture of two Israeli soldiers on July 12, the most-cited precipitating event for the 34-day war.
The majority of Shiite respondents agreed that Hizbullah's capture of the soldiers was justified, while the majority of Druze disagreed.
Stuck in the middle of these two groups were the Christians and Sunnis, who appeared more divided about their opinions of the conflict.
"There tend to be multiple poles of opinions among these two groups," Masri said, referring to internal disputes between rival political figures in each of the two religious blocs. Taken as a whole, half of all respondents believed that Lebanon came out as the biggest loser and 37 percent say Israel emerged defeated. But 78 percent believe that the war would have happened whether Hizbullah captured the Israeli soldiers or not.
A separate poll showed Thursday that Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's Kadima party would rank in third place behind Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud and another right wing faction if elections were held now. The survey in Israel's Yediot Ahronot daily showed Likud would get 22 seats - up from 12 now - in Israel's 120-member Knesset, with Kadima beaten into third place with only 15 seats compared to the 29 it won in March elections.
Kadima would slip behind the rightist immigrant party Yisrael Beitenu, whose share would rise to 20 seats from 11 now.
An Israeli poll last month showed that Olmert's approval ratings had sunk to 22 percent from 48 percent six months earlier. Support for Netanyahu, meanwhile, had risen to 59 percent. - The Daily Star

Armenians protest Turkish UNIFIL role
Demonstrators point to world war I-era massacres
By Iman Azzi -Daily Star staff
Friday, October 13, 2006
BEIRUT: The red, orange and blue stripes of the Armenian flag fluttered beside the cedar of Lebanon Thursday as thousands of Lebanese citizens of Armenian descent protested Turkey's planned participation in the UN peacekeeping forces patrolling South Lebanon. "We, the Armenian community, are against the deployment of Turkish troops in South Lebanon, because of their history as a violent state," explained Hagop Havatian, spokesman for the ARF Tashnak Party, the youth party responsible for coordinating Thursday's demonstration. "Last week we sent letters to every member of the Lebanese Parliament asking them to reconsider this issue. We also sent a letter to [UN Secretary General] Kofi Annan but until now, these has been no reply."
Armenians say up to 1.5 million of their ancestors were slaughtered in orchestrated killings by Ottoman Turks during World War I, in an act they maintain can only be seen as genocide. The rally took place at Beirut's Martyrs Square, which honors six Lebanese nationalists who were hanged by the Ottomans during the war. It was the third such protest organized by the Lebanese-Armenian community, which is said to number over 200,000. The rally drew a larger crowd than previous rallies held in front of UN House in Beirut and in Bourj Hammoud.
"We will continue our refusal in democratic ways," Havatian added. "This act ignores one of the biggest groups in Lebanon. We are hurt and feel humiliated and hope the Lebanese government will reconsider this issue and our feelings."
Razmig Karayan was attending the protest with his girlfriend. "I am here against the Turks," he said. "I don't trust them. They are friends with Israel ... They can't be depended on to work for peace."
A statement circulated at the protest read: "Any participant force in the UNIFIL should be welcomed by the whole Lebanese society ... Turkey continues to lead a hostile foreign policy in the region, especially with its immediate neighbors and still occupies northern Cyprus, continues to blockade Armenia, and refuses to recognize and apologize for the 1915 Armenian genocide it has perpetrated."
Hundreds of students at Armenian private schools attended the rally instead of class, some still sporting school uniforms. The protest grew into a diverse crowd, from babies in strollers to older women carrying walking sticks and teenagers sporting Armenian flags painted on their cheeks.
Narine Bouljhourdjian left a class at the American University of Beirut early to join the protest. She brought a friend on vacation from Canada, who also was of Armenian descent. "I believe that Turkey does not have the right to work for peace, not with their history. Peace and Turkey just don't correlate," she said. Behind the two girls, a protester held a sign: "Placing Turkish troops in Southern Lebanon is an insult to the collective memory of Lebanon."
Another placard read: "Murderers cannot be peacekeepers."In total, Turkey is to deploy some 700 soldiers and civil engineers in Lebanon. Those who landed on Tuesday were the first Muslim peacekeepers to arrive in the country.
Turkey held a sending-off ceremony Thursday for nearly 260 soldiers and civil engineers scheduled to depart for the Southern port city of Tyre on October 19 and are expected to help rebuild damaged bridges and roads. Earlier Thursday, French MPs approved a bill making it a crime to deny that the 1915-1917 massacres of Armenians was genocide, provoking the fury of the Turkish government. The bill still requires approval by the French Senate and president Jacques Chirac, neither of which is expected, to become law.
"What France has done is very good. The Lebanese government should do the same instead of welcoming Turkish troops," said an elderly demonstrator who gave his name as Taurus. The Lebanese Parliament recognized the Armenian genocide in May 2000.
Overriding widespread opposition, the Turkish Parliament approved a government motion on September 5 to join the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon. Turkish peacekeeping troops have also served in Bosnia and Kosovo and have led international operations in Somalia and Afghanistan. - With agencies

FPM says planned rally is not meant as show of strength
Daily Star staff-Friday, October 13, 2006
BEIRUT: The Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) said Thursday that a rally planned for Sunday to commemorate the victims of an October 1990 Syrian offensive in Lebanon "is not an attempt to display the FPM's strength, as some parties claim." In a press conference held at the Press Club in Beirut, the FPM outlined the preparations for Sunday's rally."This event has been commemorated since it happened ... We have simply been celebrating it from behind bars, by quietly holding services or regular meetings," said Antoine Nasrallah, head of the FPM's information committee.
On October 13, 1990, the Syrian Army completely re-occupied Lebanon, capturing the capital and the Presidential Palace after launching air raids. The army massacred Lebanese civilians and soldiers in several Lebanese towns. Hundreds were brutally arrested and transferred to Syria. The whereabouts and fate of many arrestees are still unknown."This year's celebration is of great importance, with the return of [FPM leader] General Michel Aoun and his colleagues from their exile," said Nasrallah. Nasrallah said that Sunday's gathering would be held under three slogans: "A salute to the martyrs of great Lebanon"; "We will remain here"; and "The state of partnership.""There is no state without a true partnership ... A partnership which should be reflected in a new electoral law ... A partnership in the executive authority through the creation of a national unity government," Nasrallah said.
He also said that the FPM's "permanent worry" was the issue of the Lebanese detainees in Syria. The FPM called on Lebanese people willing to take part in the rally to gather on Sunday at the following places: Akkar, Minyeh, Dinniyeh, Tripoli, Bsharri, Zghorta, Koura and Batroun in the North. In the Bekaa Valley, FPM supporters will gather in Zahle, Baalbek-Hermel, Rashaya al-Wadi and Western Bekaa. Jbeil, Kesrouan, Northern Metn, Baabda, Aley and Chouf are the gathering points in Mount Lebanon. In Beirut, participants in the rally should gather in Medawar, Saifi, Rmeil, Mina al-Hosn, Mosseitbeh, Mazraa, Ras Beirut and Achrafieh. In the South, people are called to gather at the Awali highway near the Lebanese Army's checkpoint.
Meanwhile, the FPM issued a statement saying it would hold a news conference on October 26 at Le Royal Hotel in Dbayyeh to launch Aoun's OTV television. The launching was supposed to take place on July 26 but was delayed due to the recent war with Israel. - The Daily Star

Power that protects, not threatens
Resolving lebanon's identity crisis requires moving beyond old models
Friday, October 13, 2006
Reader's opinion yasma fuleihan
Since ancient times, we humans have been protecting our existence. In our earliest incarnation, it was literally a kill-or-be-killed world. As man developed, so did his ability to safeguard his existence. We created weapons and wielded them with power.
At first, we used our weapons for hunting, but that soon enough led to using our weapons for "self-defense"; if another human or beast threatened our existence, we would instinctively fight to the death to secure ourselves another day. Our motive for our constant struggle to exist was fear - fear of death, fear of the unknown, fear of our presence on this earth being forgotten. As time passed, our fears grew and multiplied. And so did our weapons.
Within a relatively short period of time, the strongest specimens of the human race had realized a way to maintain power and control over the weaker of our species without resorting to violence.
They invented and imposed laws. Laws kept discipline, order and obedience.
But when laws developed for one culture or community were imposed upon a conquered community, it caused anger, resentment and subversiveness. This has always been the way in Lebanon.
Modern excavation in Beirut has revealed evidence of civilizations spanning 5,000 years, from the Canaanite to the Ottoman. Each new ruling power brought with them their own set of laws, designed to maintain order through the use of physical and economic power over their subjects, just as each conquered culture fought against the extinguishing of their existence.
At present, 18 different religious groups are in existence in Lebanon. Essentially, that makes 18 different sets of laws trying to exist in one state; 18 different groups are striving to be heard, to be recognized, trying to cement their existence. Each group has its own customs, culture and religious laws. Lebanon is like the cedar tree on its flag - a tree with many branches. In order for that tree to flourish, the trunk must be healthy and the roots must be strong. To secure a healthy future, Lebanon must strengthen its roots, and fortify its trunk, which will in turn allow each branch to grow full and healthy.
We must develop a national identity at our core that holds the same values and follows the same laws, all designed to uphold each segment of our population with equal importance.The Taif Accord was envisioned as a means to enable all of the different parties in Lebanon to converge into a point of compromise to end personal-interest conflict. To maintain the stability of our country, it is essential that we have a clear understanding of what Taif is supposed to do, and that is quite simply to maintain the balance of power, leading to equitable representation of the Lebanese citizens.
The Taif Accord, which was designed to hasten the end of the Civil War, was effective in doing so because it equalized and collaborated the relationship between the many different religious-political groups in the country.
It identified the neutralization of political sectarianism and promoted intra-national cultural exchange as a general priority. Demonstrating respect for one another in the desire to make life more harmonious will lead us to the path of communication, which will evolve into understanding, which in turn will drive us to compromise with one another. In a simple meeting involving only two or three participants with differing points of view, it is often difficult to come to a general consensus. If we are trying to mesh 18 different viewpoints, opinions and needs, a framework is needed that will enable each representative to have input, but that will allow final decisions to be based on the good of the country as a whole.
If it is human nature to fight to maintain our existence, perhaps that hostility could be eliminated if everyone's existence were safeguarded equally by the law. People willingly follow and obey laws that protect and provide for them. If Lebanese law were based on the concept of "human economics," i.e. a system of law rooted in the providing of social services without prejudice by the state, there would be less of a power struggle by the various political and social factions within Lebanon, each trying to ensure survival for their respective constituents.
Ultimately, if all people share the same beginnings, if we are all descendants of the first humans, then aren't we all brothers and sisters at the very core of our beings? Are we not all on this earth for essentially the same purpose - to create and add whatever positive elements we can to this life to make things better for future generations? To achieve this end, perhaps our accepted definition of power should change from being based on weapons, armies, money and control, and should instead be defined by the amount of knowledge one can share among 18 and safeguard the existence of the entire human race.
Yasma Fuleihan Beirut

James Baker prepares the exits in Iraq
By Michael Young
Daily Star staff
Thursday, October 12, 2006
In Washington, there is a frequent step before old soldiers die and after they've faded away; recruitment into a blue ribbon panel established to resolve one administration headache or other. The bipartisan Iraq Study Group, co-chaired by a former secretary of state, James Baker, and a former congressman, Lee Hamilton, is one such venture. The group, whose creation was urged by Congress, is tasked with recommending new ways for the Bush administration to deal with the war in Iraq. Its report will come out after the November elections, to avoid being politicized.
The group includes establishment stalwarts, including former CIA Director Robert Gates, Bill Clinton adviser Vernon Jordan, Reagan administration Attorney General Edwin Meese, retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, former Clinton White House Chief of Staff Leon Panetta, former Defense Secretary William Perry, former Senator and Virginian Governor Charles Robb, and former Wyoming Senator Alan Simpson. While the conclusions of these insiders, well-lubed in the etiquette of American power, are not binding, President George W. Bush will have to take them seriously, because the next Congress is bound to be hostile to "staying the course" in Iraq and might oblige him to do so.
It's still unclear what the group will recommend. Baker, in an interview on ABC television last weekend, played his cards close to his chest, but did throw out hints: "I think it's fair to say our commission believes that there are alternatives between the stated alternatives, the ones that are out there in the political debate, of 'stay the course' and 'cut and run.'" He dismissed as unworkable a plan by Senator Joseph Biden to decentralize Iraq and give Kurds, Shiites and Sunnis their own regions, distributing oil revenue to all. Baker argued "there's no way to draw lines" between the three groups in Iraq's major cities, where the communities are mixed.
However, an article in The Times of London suggested a different plan. The group would recommend breaking Iraq up into "three highly autonomous regions." According to "informed sources" cited by the paper, the Iraq group "has grown increasingly interested in the idea of splitting the Shiite, Sunni and Kurdish regions of Iraq ... His group will not advise 'partition,' but is believed to favor a division of the country that will devolve power and security to the regions, leaving a skeletal national government in Baghdad in charge of foreign affairs, border protection and the distribution of oil revenue. The Iraqi government will be encouraged to hold a constitutional conference paving the way for greater devolution. Iran and Syria will be urged to back a regional settlement that could be brokered at an international conference."
It's not clear how the conclusions of The Times square with Baker's own dismissal of the Biden plan. However, the likelihood is that the differences are in the details, not in the overall principle of distributing power away from the center, a process explicit in the federal structure mandated by the Iraqi Constitution. In addition, Baghdad's control over Iraq has all but disintegrated, so that any practical plan must take this into consideration. But just how much is unclear. The proposal outlined by The Times, if it is proven true, would suggest substantial dissemination of power. This would create a confederal structure in form, but the partition of Iraq in fact, regardless of claims that the Iraq Study Group has no such agenda.
What of Baker's admission that the mixed nature of urban areas makes the Biden plan unworkable? His focus on Iraqi cities, as opposed to surrounding rural areas, might mean his group will propose some sort of mechanism to leave Iraqi cities "open" to all communities, under separate administrations. If that's the case, however, the scheme would have little practical meaning in places like Kirkuk, where Kurds have the means, and the wherewithal, to pressure their adversaries. As for Baghdad, the challenge would be to isolate the city from the ambient ethnic and sectarian fighting. Like Sarajevo, the Iraqi capital is likely to end up being a mere extension of the wars around it, with the battle lines already drawn between "pure" sectarian neighborhoods.
In reality, the Baker-Hamilton group is less there to engineer a stable future for Iraq than to create conditions for American forces to leave the country. Baker doesn't want to "cut and run," but there is an awful lot of cutting, and not a little hurried walking, in his thinking. The idea is that once Kurds and Shiites fully take security into their own hands in their autonomous areas, the US will be able to substantially reduce its troop levels and withdraw the remainder to safe areas, probably to Kurdistan.
However, partition is a dangerous proposition. A favored course of action of uninspired diplomats, the partitioning of territories has usually visited little more than trauma on countries, accompanied by war. That's what happened in India, Palestine, Korea, Vietnam, Cyprus and Bosnia, and nothing suggests that Iraq will be any different. Iraqis may today have fallen back on their ethnic or sectarian identities, but that doesn't mean they will accept a foreign plan for effective partition. If anything, this may provoke their hostility and that of many Arabs who will certainly interpret the proposal as an effort to fragment Iraq to Israel's benefit. You will hear the familiar tropes that this is all part of a vast neoconservative project to weaken the Arab world, though members of the Baker-Hamilton team - particularly Baker, a sleek facilitator between big oil and Arab custodians of stalemate - would shudder at such an association.
Finally, asking Iran and Syria to guarantee this process means asking the two states most responsible for destabilizing Iraq since 2003 to oversee its stabilization. That's a typical realist habit, and Baker has long enjoyed transacting with American foes. Syrian President Hafez Assad allowed Shiite Islamists to kill American soldiers and civilians in Lebanon in the 1980s, but was nonetheless rewarded by Baker and President George H.W. Bush with a blank check for total hegemony over Lebanon in 1990. What Baker can't understand, or won't, is that the Syrian regime survives thanks to the instability of its neighbors. A peaceful Iraq threatens to make Syria, its intelligence services, and the artificial state of insecurity the regime has created to sustain itself, superfluous. Bashar Assad won't feel any compulsion to do the US favors as it prepares to exit from Iraq.
But don't expect Baker to care by then. His brief is to find an "honorable" way for American soldiers to pull out; what comes afterward is no longer in his hands. It's best to wait before judging the final Iraq Study Group report, and Baker is too much of a calculator to cross Bush. But what he ends up writing will be an American document for Americans. Pity the Iraqis if they are once again secondary in deciding their own fate.
*Michael Young is opinion editor of THE DAILY STAR.

Yankee Cory Lidle on NYC plane; 2 killed
By COLLEEN LONG, Associated Press Writer
NEW YORK - A small plane with New York Yankees pitcher Cory Lidle aboard crashed into a high-rise condominium tower Wednesday on the Upper East Side, killing at least two people and raining flaming debris on the sidewalks below, authorities said.
The New York City medical examiner's office now says two people have died in the plane crash, not four as the office had previously reported.
There was no immediate confirmation Lidle was among the dead, although a federal law enforcement official said Lidle's passport was found on the street beneath the crash site. A law enforcement official in Washington, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Lidle was on the plane. And Federal Aviation Administration records showed the single-engine plane was registered to the athlete.
There was no word yet on injuries linked to the crash on an overcast October afternoon, which sent thick black smoke soaring above the city skyline and flames shooting out of apartments above the tony neighborhood. On Sunday, the day after the Yankees were eliminated from the playoffs, Lidle cleaned out his locker at Yankee Stadium and talked about his interest in flying. He explained to reporters the process of getting a pilot's license, and said he intended to fly back to California in several days and planned to make a few stops. Lidle, 34, a nine-year major league veteran, came to the Yankees from the Philadelphia Phillies in a late-season trade. The journeyman pitched for seven teams during a career in compiling an 82-78 lifetime record.

Iranian Human Rights Activist and Nobel Prize Laureate Shirin Ebadi: 'We Want an Interpretation [of Islam] That Respects Women's Rights...; An Extremist Group Which Comes into Power and Violates Human Rights and Freedoms Loses Its Legitimacy'
On September 24, 2006, the London daily Al-Hayat published an interview with Nobel Peace Prize laureate Shirin Ebadi, an Iranian lawyer and human rights activist. Ebadi served as a judge in Iran but had to give up her post after the Islamic Revolution due to the prohibition on women judges. In the interview, she talks of the battle for human and women's rights in Iran.
The following are excerpts: [1]
After Receiving the Nobel Prize, I Was Summoned to Court Three Times; My Memoirs Have Been Translated Into 60 Languages but Have Not Been Approved for Publication in Iran
Al-Hayat: "How did the Nobel Peace Prize affect your life? Did it help you in your legal battle to promote human rights in your country, Iran?"
Shirin Ebadi: "...So far, [receiving] the prize has not helped me in my activities inside Iran. On the contrary, it has brought me a lot of problems. After receiving it, I was summoned to the court three times for opposing the government. But on the global level, [outside Iran], the prize has extended my outreach."
Al-Hayat: "So the women in Iran cannot hear what you are saying, and everything you say is [actually] addressed to the West..."
Ebadi: "The Iranian [media] channels are government institutions. They do not [bring] my statements or [any] reports about me. Fortunately, there are a number of independent Iranian papers that do publish some of my statements. [But] it is fair to say that I am better known outside Iran than inside it, owing to the [state's] tight supervision. My memoirs, for example, which have been translated into 60 languages, have not yet been approved for publication in Iran."
Al-Hayat: "Your memoirs are titled Iranian and Free: My Struggle for Justice. [2] Why did you decide to publish them now?"
Ebadi: "I am a woman of the middle class. I told myself that by writing my memoirs, I can show the whole world how the Iranian middle class lives. Many people in the West know nothing of Iran beyond what they read about the discrimination [that exists] there, and think that all Iranian women are oppressed and uneducated, and belong in the kitchen. That is not true..."
Al-Hayat: "Your book sheds light on the middle-class women in Iran, but we know that the problem is more prevalent among the lower classes, where ignorance, poverty, and discrimination are rampant. This is true not only in Iran but also in all the Arab countries. How can this reality be changed? And when will our [Muslim] societies take the crucial steps towards equality?"
Ebadi: "Education for women guarantees that society will advance towards full equality. [Another means is] passing laws that do not discriminate against women. Dr. [Hassan] Al-Turabi, [for example], explained that Islam [regards] men and women as equal. He said that a woman's testimony in court carries more weight than a man's. In addition, most Iranian intellectuals agree that it is possible to reach a better interpretation of Islam [in order to establish equality between men and women]
"[Undertaking] This Struggle is My Own Personal Choice, and I Will Follow the Road to Its End"
Al-Hayat: "In previous interviews, you spoke of... girls who are married off at the age of 13. Is this [practice still] common [in Iran] today?"
Ebadi: "Legally, it is still possible for girls to marry at a very early age, but these marriages have become rare, mostly thanks to increasing awareness. But this does not negate the necessity of revoking the law that allows [these marriages]. It is also necessary to change the numerous discriminatory laws pertaining to blood-price [compensation paid to the victim's family in cases of murder]. The blood-price [paid] for a woman is half the blood-price [paid] for a man. If there is an accident [involving] two vehicles, one [driven by] a man and the other by a woman, the woman will receive half the sum [received by the man] in damages."
Al-Hayat: "In light of this legal situation, do you really want your daughters (Nighar, aged 27, and Narjis, aged 24) to live in Iran, or would you like them to live in some other country, where women's rights are more respected?"
Ebadi: "My daughters are Iranian. They must grow up in their homeland and go to the university in Iran. Later they can continue their studies in Canada, providing they promise me to return to Iran after completing their studies, so they can live in their homeland."
Al-Hayat: "But if their rights are better preserved in some other country..."
Ebadi: "Let me explain. I see Iran as my mother. If your mother was old and ill, would you abandon her in the middle of the road and happily go home to relax? Or would you do your utmost to care for her and cure her? Iran is my motherland, and I must make every effort to care for it and heal it."
Al-Hayat: "Even at the cost of your life?"
Ebadi: "We are all destined to die, and we do not know when our day will come... [Undertaking] this struggle is my own personal choice, and I will follow the road to its end."
Al-Hayat: "Aren't you afraid?"
Ebadi: "Fear is an instinct, like hunger. You feel hunger whether you want to or not, because this instinct is beyond your conscious control. When we encounter hardship... we are instinctively afraid. I'll be frank with you. I am threatened, but I have learned over the years, in the course of my work, to keep the fear from determining my actions or my beliefs, and [fear] will not sway me."
Al-Hayat: "Does this mean that you do not think, as you leave [home] every morning, 'today might be the day?'"
Ebadi: "I try to start each day with positive thoughts, not negative ones... Fear [only] paralyzes you."
Al-Hayat: "In 30 years of ongoing struggle, haven't you ever lost heart?"
Ebadi: "I am like a ship in mid-ocean. If it doesn't go forward, it will sink. We are headed in the right direction... towards a safe haven... and this is what I am doing: I am rowing with all my might."
"Islam is a Religion like Any Other, and Has Different Interpretations"
Al-Hayat: "The West has a distorted image of Islam. How do you explain this lack of understanding?"
Ebadi: "The non-democratic Islamic governments use Islam... to justify their violation of human rights in general, and of women's [rights] in particular. They ascribe their oppressive laws to Islam. Islam is a religion like any other, and has different interpretations... The [fact that] women's status differs from one Islamic country to another indicates that Islam has various [possible] interpretations. In Bangladesh, Indonesia, and Pakistan, women have been holding senior posts, such as prime minister, for years, while in other [countries] women are [still] fighting for their right to live... and not die in childbirth.
"Countries like Tunisia and Jordan have equal blood-price for a man and for a woman. The question we face today, at the beginning of the 21st century, is which interpretation and what [kind of] Islam we want. We want an interpretation that respects women's rights. Enough of this discrimination."
"Women's Rights Are Part and Parcel of Human Rights; When Human Freedom is Achieved, Women Will Undoubtedly Receive Their Rights as Well"
Al-Hayat: "After your long struggle for human and women's rights, what would you like to achieve in Iran?"
Ebadi: "I would like Iran to be a country where I can talk on the phone without [anyone] listening in on my conversations, [a country] in which I can elect [any candidate] I choose, and not only candidates approved by the Expediency Council [this probably refers to the Guardian Council], [a country] in which I can voice my opinions freely without being punished for my views, [a country] in which wealth is more fairly distributed among the citizens, because the social gaps are currently very wide."
Al-Hayat: "I thought you would mention things related to women's rights..."
Ebadi: "Women's rights are part and parcel of human rights. When human freedom is achieved, women will undoubtedly receive their rights as well... What I mentioned regarding Iran is the minimal [level] of human rights."
Al-Hayat: "Where do you rank Iran on a scale of democracy and respect for human rights?"
Ebadi: "Iran has much more democracy than many Arab countries. But we still fall short of European[-style] democracy. What matters is democracy. In other words, what [degree] of democracy the various peoples demand of their governments. In Iran, there is a very high level of political and social awareness. The Iranians demand a very high [degree] of democracy from their government, while some Arab peoples do not demand any [degree of] democracy [at all]. In spite of this, we find that the West focuses on human rights in Iran, [while ignoring human rights violations] in other countries of the region. We must not forget that Iran is not an ally of the U.S., and this explains why [the West] attacks it and demands that it give up [its quest for] nuclear energy."
"I Am Against Nuclear Weapons and Against Obtaining [Such Weapons] in Principle"
Al-Hayat: "What is your position regarding Iranian nuclear weapons?"
Ebadi: "I am against nuclear weapons and against obtaining [such weapons] in principle. I believe that no country needs nuclear weapons in order to protect itself - not Iran, not Israel, not Pakistan, and not America. I hope the day will come when all the nuclear weapons in the world will be destroyed.
"As for Iran's nuclear weapons, America says that if Iran obtains nuclear weapons, it will threaten the peace and security of the Middle East, because the Iranian people are extremists, and their government is a non-democratic [government] that supports extremists. But America seems to have forgotten that Pakistan is not a democracy [either], and that the Taliban and Al-Qaeda have bases in Pakistan. In spite of this, America does not object to Pakistan having nuclear weapons. The only difference between Iran and Pakistan is that the latter is an ally of America, and Iran is not. The Iranians do not understand and do not accept the double standards applied by America."
Al-Hayat: "Are you opposed to Western organizations interfering in Iran's human rights dossier?"
Ebadi: "The human rights dossier is different from the nuclear dossier. The human rights dossier is a global [issue]: The state of human rights in every part of the world is the concern of the entire world. As an Iranian, I am concerned about violence against Palestinian children, just as the West is concerned about women's rights in Iran. When one talks of human rights in some country, it is out of desire to improve the human rights [situation] there. This does not constitute foreign intervention in [that country's] affairs."
The Majority Does Not Have the Right to Deprive the Minority of Its Rights
Al-Hayat: "The democracies in the region are stuck in another era... Do you agree with this statement?"
Ebadi: "Things are starting to move in the right direction. We must do more, and not lose our faith in the possibility of change. I want to add something about democracy itself. [Even] when the majority comes into power through elections, it is not entitled to do whatever it pleases, but must respect the rights of the minority that is not in power. We must remember that all dictators, including Hitler and Mussolini, came into power through a decisive electoral victory.
"When a majority [group] comes into power, it must preserve the general democratic frameworks and [respect] human rights. It does not have the right to oppress women or pass discriminatory laws in the name of the majority. It does not have the right to deprive others of their rights or to impose its particular ideology [upon them]. Governments do not obtain legitimacy through elections alone. Their legitimacy depends on elections [but also] on the degree to which they respect human rights. Therefore, an extremist group that comes into power and violates human rights and freedoms loses its legitimacy."
Al-Hayat: "Do you believe that the women in the centers of power are addressing the women's problems justly?"
Ebadi: "When a man is in power, I do not judge him by his gender but by his views. Many women in the government are more violent that the men themselves, just as there are men who demand rights for women more [vociferously] than the women themselves. A person's gender, color and identity do not matter... What matters is his plan of action. Unfortunately, some women do not believe in equality. And fortunately, some men believe in women and in [their right to] a prominent role in society."
"You Must Be Ready to Pay the Price Necessary to Achieve Your Goals"
Al-Hayat: "As a great fighter for women's rights, you give many women the strength to carry on. What are characteristics of a good, effective fighter?"
Ebadi: "In order to be a formidable fighter, you must believe in the cause for which you are fighting, and not [let] doubt take hold of you even for an instant. You must not lose heart when you encounter difficulties, not matter what they are. You must be ready to pay the price necessary to achieve your goals...
"It is also important to choose a peaceful way of achieving our aims, a non-violent way that will appeal to the greatest number of people... We must be personally convinced of the justness of our cause before we try to convince others... Many thinkers and human rights activists in the Islamic world do not use appealing terms, but rather attack Islam in a destructive manner. This undermines their cause and puts people off. We must respect the beliefs of others, and show the religious people that they can improve their day to day lives and their human, social and professional circumstances..."
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[1] Al-Hayat (London), September 24, 2006.
[2] This is the Persian title of the book. The English translation is titled Iran Awakening: A Memoir of Revolution and Hope.

Liberal candidates unite to slam Conservations
Three contenders paint harsh portrait of Prime Minister and his government
MICHAEL VALPY
TORONTO -- The three Liberal leadership candidates bunched in second place foreshadowed Canada's next election campaign yesterday with a blistering portrait of the Conservative government as ideological, mischievous, divisive and un-Canadian.
Rarely drawing distinctions among themselves, Bob Rae, Stéphane Dion and Gerard Kennedy instead found rhetorical soil to till in presenting themselves as leaders of the forthcoming Liberal political assault on Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his party.
Mr. Rae, the former Ontario NDP premier, called Mr. Harper's Conservatives the most intensely ideological administration in Canada's history, bent on appealing only to their own supporters. In the next election, he said, the Liberals will offer a clear alternative for supporters of the New Democrats and the Green Party and for Progressive Conservatives who now feel they have no political home.
Mr. Dion, a Quebec MP and former federal Liberal minister, said Canadians are seeing hints of the Conservatives' agenda in the reopening of the same-sex marriage debate and the termination of public intervenor funding under the federal Court Challenges Program.
But what the Conservatives are doing now as a minority government, he said, is nothing like what they would do with a majority.
Mr. Kennedy, the former Ontario education minister, described Mr. Harper's government as full of political mischief that Canadians must resist.
The three candidates spoke at a lunch in Toronto organized jointly by the Canadian and Empire Clubs.
Michael Ignatieff, currently the first-place candidate, was invited to attend but refused to participate in an event described by his spokeswoman as "arbitrarily restricted to perceived 'front-runners.' "
She said Mr. Ignatieff wanted all eight candidates to be present. Lunch organizers said he also offered to speak alone.
(Candidate Martha Hall Findlay, trailing the pack in delegate support, attended the lunch and was introduced by Canadian Club president Noella Milne, but she was not invited to speak.)
The only reference to Mr. Ignatieff at the lunch came indirectly -- almost in code language -- from Mr. Rae, who twice spoke of Canada's perennial national unity difficulties as requiring practical, constructive solutions rather than "abstract, theoretical discussions . . . to resolve the constitutional riddle," an apparent allusion to Mr. Ignatieff's proposal to reopen the Constitution debate and have Quebec declared a "nation" within Canada.
Mr. Rae, Mr. Dion and Mr. Kennedy all stated forcefully that Canada's military mandate in Afghanistan must be re-examined and renegotiated with other North Atlantic Treaty Organization members and the international community.
They rejected any notion of a simple military solution to the Afghan turmoil.
They said that Canada's front-line military commitment must be more equitably shared, and that development assistance must be given a much higher priority in the two-pronged policy of armed resistance to Taliban insurgents and economic rebuilding of the country.
Mr. Dion said he still supports the mission because he believes the majority of Afghans want the protection of Canadian troops.
But referring to NATO and Canadian military commanders who declared victory in a recent military engagement against the Taliban, he said: "We see now that we won nothing . . . There is no way we can win this war."
And MPs, he said, should never have voted in Parliament "in a blind way" to extend Canada's military engagement for two years to 2009.
Mr. Kennedy said Canada needs the commitment of the whole international community to bring peace and reconstruction to Afghanistan.
"If not, we should leave in an orderly fashion after February, 2007, with our heads held high as a country that's provided the only other possibility -- short-term security need -- on a par with any other in the world."

MP withdraws support for Ignatieff over ‘war crimes' comment
SCOTT DEVEAU
Globe and Mail Update
Liberal leadership hopeful Michael Ignatieff on Wednesday defended comments he made on the Israeli bombings this summer in Lebanon, saying he intended the criticism as the “truest form of friendship.”
Mr. Ignatieff called the bombings in Qana this August a “war crime” on during a television broadcast Sunday, which has raised the ire of Jewish groups in Canada and was enough for Liberal MP Susan Kadis, co-chair of his Toronto campaign, to withdraw her support for his leadership bid.
“Michael is an intelligent person and I would think that he would have a better handle on the Middle East given his years of experience,” Ms. Kadis said in a statement Wednesday. “I find his comments very troubling given that fact that the Israeli response came in light of the unprovoked brazen kidnappings by Hezbollah of Israeli soldiers.”
On the popular Quebec program, Mr. Ignatieff first apologized for an earlier dismissal of the bombings — he told The Toronto Star in August that he was “not losing sleep” over the event, which claimed the lives of dozens of civilians in Lebanon.
He then went on to say during the program: “I was a professor of human rights, and I am also a professor of the laws of war, and what happened in Qana was a war crime, and I should have said that. That's clear.”
But Ms. Kadis said the Israeli attack was intended to root out a recognized terrorist group who were “raining down thousands of missiles” on Israel.
Mr. Ignatieff defended his comments Wednesday, calling the bombings a “terrible human tragedy,” but that he did not support any military solutions in the troubled region.
“I have lived in Israel, taught in Israel, and have been a lifelong friend of Israel. If my friendship on occasion involves criticism, it is because this is the truest form of friendship,” he said. “I strongly supported Israel's right to respond to Hezbollah's provocation and to send the terrorist militia a very clear message that kidnapping soldiers and firing rockets on Israel will never be tolerated.”
He also said in a conflict between a terrorist militia and a democratic state, Canada must always side with the democratic state.
“The only long-term solution is a two-state solution between Israel and Palestine, with an independent Lebanon, in which Israel can live peacefully without threat of attack from its neighbours, who must recognize Israel's right to exist,” he said.
Shimon Fogel, chief executive of the Canada-Israel Committee, who said while he was “deeply concerned by the comments Mr. Ignatieff made, he was happy that Mr. Ignatieff recognized Israel as a democratic state. However, Mr. Fogel said Mr. Ignatieff failed to address the war crimes statements directly, which CIC had asked him to do “unambiguously” in a letter sent to his office Wednesday.
“We are gratified that he gave expressions of support for what he called the democratic state of Israel and his condemnation of the terrorist organization that provoked the whole conflict, but his statement simply doesn't address what we had asked him to look at,” Mr. Fogel said.
“If it was not his intention to say Israel committed war crimes, we want him in both official languages to say so,” Mr. Fogel said, adding that Mr. Ignatieff's explanation failed to do so or even mention the words war crime.