LCCC ENGLISH NEWS BULLETIN
October 14/06
Biblical Reading For today
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 11,15-26.
Some of them said, "By the power of Beelzebul, the prince of demons, he drives out demons." Others, to test him, asked him for a sign from heaven. But he knew their thoughts and said to them, "Every kingdom divided against itself will be laid waste and house will fall against house. And if Satan is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? For you say that it is by Beelzebul that I drive out demons. If I, then, drive out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your own people drive them out? Therefore they will be your judges.But if it is by the finger of God that (I) drive out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. When a strong man fully armed guards his palace, his possessions are safe. But when one stronger than he attacks and overcomes him, he takes away the armor on which he relied and distributes the spoils.Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters. When an unclean spirit goes out of someone, it roams through arid regions searching for rest but, finding none, it says, 'I shall return to my home from which I came.' But upon returning, it finds it swept clean and put in order. Then it goes and brings back seven other spirits more wicked than itself who move in and dwell there, and the last condition of that person is worse than the first."Free Opinions
Arabism Equals Racism-By Gerald A. Honigman 14.10.06Lessons from Beirut- By: Amin Howeidi AlAhram - 14/10/06
Chances exist for an orderly US withdrawal from Iraq -By David Ignatius 14.10.06Sensible ideas on why to engage Tehran -By Rami G. Khouri 14.10.06
Elias Bejjani's New English editorial in the Media
World Forum Global Politician Canada Free Press, Canada American Chronicle
Latest New from The Daily Star for October 14/06
Paris, Berlin: Warn Tehran by getting tough with Pyongyang
Spain's defense minister arrives for 2-day visit
Families of missing recall 1990 Syrian war
UNIFIL's Polish contingent makes friends in Tibnin
Fadlallah accuses foreign forces of 'manipulating' local politiciansGulf developer to start building $600-million Beirut complex
Association of Industrialists launches 'Buy Lebanese' media campaign
Haddad touts plan to repair private sector
Former Al-Hurra executive cites 'personal reasons' for quitting
Elections specialist weighs influence of Lebanese diaspora on national politics
Politicians focus on issue of violence in Taamir
Ex-health minister says poverty will be top priority if he gets to run WHONorth Korea's nuclear gambit means Iran has some hard choices to make
Israeli poll indicates shift to right among electorate
Chances exist for an orderly US withdrawal from Iraq -By David IgnatiusSensible ideas on why to engage Tehran -By Rami G. Khouri
Latest New from miscellaneous sources for October 14/06Saniora Warns Israeli Airspace Violations Risk Resolution 1701-Naharnet
Lebanese Tycoon who Promised Lebanon Hefty Donations Apparently Phony-Naharnet
Guatemala to Send 3 Top Military Officials to Join UNIFIL-NaharnetBetween Syria and North Korea-Ynetnews
Peace with Syria should include withdrawal from Golan : Official-People's Daily OnlineTwo British MP's Visit Lebanon-All Headline News
Lebanon Divided Like No Time Since Civil War-World Politics Watch
Hariri: Lebanon 'historic' opportunity to liberate and rebuild the ...Lebanese Lobby - Lebanon
FO's human rights report omits attacks on Lebanon-Guardian UnlimitedAzour: Daunting challenges face Lebanon-Middle East Online
Parliament approves Swedish naval force for Lebanon operation-Raw Story
Families of missing recall 1990 Syrian war
Daily Star staff-Saturday, October 14, 2006
BEIRUT: "Hanging issues between Syria and Lebanon should be addressed with more daring and transparency," according to the families of Lebanese missing and detained in Syrian prisons participating in a conference on Friday. The Support of Lebanese in Detention and Exile (SOLIDE) commemorated on Friday the events of October 13, 1990, in which the Syrian Army completely reoccupied Lebanon, capturing the capital and the Presidential Palace in an offensive that included air raids and heavy shelling. Many civilians were killed during the fighting, and hundreds were arrested and transferred to Syria. The whereabouts and fate of many detainees are still unknown. The head of SOLIDE, Ghazi Aad, said that it is the group's position that "Syria's acknowledgment of the Lebanese detained in its prisons and revealing their fate is a major condition for establishing peace between the two countries."
"The withdrawal of the Syrian forces in 2005 does not revoke Syria's crimes against humanity," Aad said. SOLIDE and the families of the missing have been holding a sit-in in front of the ESCWA building in Downtown Beirut since April 2005. However, "despite significant official and popular support, the demand of the families to set up an international investigative committee to uncover the fate of the Lebanese detainees in Syrian prisons has not been met," said Aad.Aad said he hoped the Lebanese judiciary "will play an integral role in unraveling the furtive details of this crime against humanity."
SOLIDE also hailed the "courage" of the Lebanese Army when it decided to exhume the mass grave discovered at the Defense Ministry in Yarzeh in November 2005. - The Daily Star
Orthodox Priest Beheaded In Iraq
POSTED: 1:40 pm CDT October 12, 2006
MOSUL, Iraq -- Relatives of a beheaded Iraqi priest said his captors had demanded a church apology for recent papal comments about Islam.
They said the Orthodox priest was abducted Sunday by an unidentified group, which demanded a ransom. The kidnappers also wanted the priest's church to condemn controversial recent remarks by Pope Benedict. In a speech last month, the pope quoted a medieval text describing Islam as a religion spread by the sword. The relatives said the priest's church had already posted signs condemning the pope's statement. A similar message was posted again after the abduction. The priest's son had apparently been talking with the kidnappers by phone, and had agreed to pay a $40,000 ransom. But contact abruptly ceased Tuesday night. The priest's decapitated body was found Wednesday in the northern Iraq city of Mosul.
Since the start of the Muslim holy month, U.S. officials in Baghdad said the number of attacks there is up by 15 percent.
Maj. Gen. William Caldwell said Ramadan "historically" brings more violence. And Caldwell warned that the military is assuming "it will still get worse before it gets better." He's anticipating a continued increase in violence over the next two weeks, until the holy month ends.
That's reflected in Thursday's tally, which has at least 33 dead in various attacks across Iraq. About a third of the deaths came at a new Sunni-Arab TV station in the capital, which was stormed by gunmen. Also, the bodies of more torture victims are turning up.
The Iraqi Health Ministry reported nearly 2,700 civilians were killed last month in Baghdad alone. And that's despite coalition efforts to put down the violence there.
Orthodox Priest Beheaded In Iraq
October 12, 2006
MOSUL, Iraq -- Relatives of a beheaded Iraqi priest said his captors had demanded a church apology for recent papal comments about Islam.
They said the Orthodox priest was abducted Sunday by an unidentified group, which demanded a ransom. The kidnappers also wanted the priest's church to condemn controversial recent remarks by Pope Benedict. In a speech last month, the pope quoted a medieval text describing Islam as a religion spread by the sword. The relatives said the priest's church had already posted signs condemning the pope's statement. A similar message was posted again after the abduction. The priest's son had apparently been talking with the kidnappers by phone, and had agreed to pay a $40,000 ransom. But contact abruptly ceased Tuesday night. The priest's decapitated body was found Wednesday in the northern Iraq city of Mosul.
Since the start of the Muslim holy month, U.S. officials in Baghdad said the number of attacks there is up by 15 percent.
Maj. Gen. William Caldwell said Ramadan "historically" brings more violence. And Caldwell warned that the military is assuming "it will still get worse before it gets better." He's anticipating a continued increase in violence over the next two weeks, until the holy month ends.
That's reflected in Thursday's tally, which has at least 33 dead in various attacks across Iraq. About a third of the deaths came at a new Sunni-Arab TV station in the capital, which was stormed by gunmen. Also, the bodies of more torture victims are turning up.
The Iraqi Health Ministry reported nearly 2,700 civilians were killed last month in Baghdad alone. And that's despite coalition efforts to put down the violence there.
French Official: U.N. Security Council to Settle Issue of Israeli Violations of Lebanese Airspace
France has announced that the U.N. Security Council was underway to settle the issue of the Lebanese airspace, which Israel continues to violate, as Defense Minister Elias Murr warned the Jewish state that the military would respond to any such defiance with gunfire.
As Safir daily quoted the French Defense Ministry spokesman, Jean-Francois Bureau, as saying Friday that he believed that in order to reinforce the Mideast peace process "we have to move ahead with the issue of organizing the Lebanese airspace."
"The issue to improve stability by resolving the problem of the airspace is underway in the U.N. Security Council," Bureau told a weekly seminar at the French Defense Ministry. "It is a priority to us today."Murr, in the meantime, said the Lebanese army has clear instructions to fire at any Israeli warplane that violates the airspace. "There are clear instructions from the army command to shoot at any Israeli warplane that violates the Lebanese airspace," Murr told reporters Thursday. "The United Nations is registering our daily complaints to these violations, and I hope they would soon end," Murr said.
Israeli warplanes continued to violate Lebanese airspace despite U.N. Resolution 1701 that brought the 34-day Israeli offensive against Lebanon to an end. The war was sparked by Hizbullah capture of 2 Israeli soldiers in a cross-border raid.
Israel has said it will continue over-flights of Lebanese territory until Res. 1701 is, in its view, implemented fully. It says that would require the return of the two captured soldiers and an inspection mechanism to ensure that no weapons cross the Syrian border into Lebanon to re-supply Hizbullah.
Meanwhile, French President Jacque Chirac said he anticipated "peace" for Lebanon, but was worried about "the possibility of an incident which could bear unknown consequences."
Chirac hailed as 'superb" the performance of the Lebanese army, which has deployed some 15,000 troops in south Lebanon in line with U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701, An Nahar daily reported Friday.
"I'm confident of the way things are moving on because of the excellent relations between the Lebanese army and UNIFIL," Chirac told a press conference at the end of the Franco-German meeting of the council of ministers on Thursday.
"Now that Israel has completely withdrawn (from the south), I believe it is possible to anticipate peace," Chirac said at the conference held together with German chancellor Angela Merkel in Paris.
"But in that (Mideast) region one cannot rule out the possibility of an incident which could produce a (negative) impact it unknown consequences," the daily quoted the French president as saying.
Israeli troops did not pull out "completely" from the south as Chirac has stated. They continue to occupy the border village of Ghajar at the foot of Mount Hermon straddling the Lebanese-Syrian border, which has been a source of continuous disputes between Israel and Lebanon.
Res. 1701 called for Israel's complete pullout from Lebanon in tandem with the deployment of Lebanese army troops and additional U.N. peacekeepers, as well as the disarming of all militias. The U.N.'s representative in Lebanon said last week that a solution was near on the matter of Israeli troops who continue to occupy Ghajar. Merkel, in turn, said she that the "page of the Lebanese war has been folded," indicating that the German navy was getting ready to take charge on Saturday of a multinational naval task force with a mandate to prevent arms shipments from reaching Hizbullah -- a key component of the cease-fire agreement. An-Nahar also said that French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy and his German counterpart Frank-Walter Steinmeier met Thursday to evaluate the political situation in Lebanon in addition to UNIFIL's deployment in the south.It said the two ministers have also discussed ways to reach a political solution that would contribute in achieving an everlasting peace in Lebanon. Beirut, 13 Oct 06, 08:55
Saniora Warns Israeli Airspace Violations Risk Resolution 1701
Prime Minister Fouad Saniora has warned that Israeli military over-flights, violating Lebanese airspace, were endangering a nearly two-month-old truce that ended the Israeli offensive against Lebanon.
Saniora, speaking in an interview published Thursday, said the over-flights were occurring on a daily basis.
"I am willing to accept whatever any other sovereign country would accept for itself. Would they allow it?" Saniora asked at his office at the Grand Serail in an interview with the Washington Post. "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?"Israeli warplanes continued to violate Lebanese airspace despite U.N. Resolution 1701 that brought the 34-day Israeli onslaught against Lebanon to an end. The war was sparked by Hizbullah capture of two Israeli soldiers in a cross-border raid.Israel has said it will continue over-flights of Lebanese territory until Res. 1701 is, in its view, implemented fully. It says that would require the return of the two captured soldiers and an inspection mechanism to ensure that no weapons cross the Syrian border into Lebanon to re-supply Hizbullah. The United Nations, which considers the over-flights a violation of the Aug. 14 truce, said it recorded 10 over-flights of warplanes and surveillance drones from Oct. 3 to midnight Oct. 9. In response to a question about his stance towards some voices calling for his government's resignation, Saniora said: If Hizbullah wants "to bring the government down, this is a legitimate objective of the opposition."
"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 said. "The government is not the place for dialogue." Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah and Gen. Michel Aoun, head of the Free Patriotic Movement, have been repeatedly calling for the resignation of Saniora's cabinet and the formation of a national unity government.
Saniora has reassured in a press conference held last Thursday at the Grand Serail that his government would not resign.
Beirut, 13 Oct 06, 11:28
Guatemala to Send 3 Top Military Officials to Join UNIFIL
Guatemala said it will send three top military officials to join the U.N. peacekeeping mission in Lebanon and plans to send 150 soldiers next year in a bid to boost its candidacy for a non-permanent seat on the U.N. Security Council.
"We hope we can send three officials by the end of November and another five more in the coming year," Guatemalan Defense Minister Francisco Bermudez told a news conference Thursday. "In 2007, we should be sending a company of infantry and between 10 and 15 armored vehicles."
Bermudez will travel to Spain next week to negotiate integrating the soldiers with a Spanish military group that will participate in the peace mission in the Middle Eastern country. "It will be much easier for language and communication issues," he said.
Guatemala is up against Venezuela in the bid for the rotating seat on the Security Council in a secret-ballot vote scheduled for Oct. 16. But the U.S. has opposed Venezuela's bid while backing Guatemala instead.(AP) Beirut, 13 Oct 06, 08:13
Armenians Rally Against Turkish Participation in U.N. Peacekeeping Force in Lebanon
Thousands of Lebanon's Armenians rallied in Beirut Thursday against Turkish troops taking part in a U.N. peacekeeping force there, on the same day France moved to make denial of the Ottoman genocide of Armenians a crime.
Armenian political and religious leaders attended the demonstration, which came just two days after the first contingent of Turkish peacekeepers arrived to police a ceasefire between Israel and Hizbullah. The rally took place on Beirut's downtown Place des Martyrs, which honors six Lebanese nationalists who were hanged by the Ottomans during World War I. The crowd, drawn from an Armenian community of about 140,000 people, held high banners denouncing the presence of Turkish troops as "an insult to the collective memory of the Armenian people", while waving Armenian, Lebanese and French flags. "Genocide, massacre, deportation: Turkey's definition of peace," read another banner. Earlier Thursday, French deputies approved a bill making it a crime to deny that the 1915-1917 massacre of Armenians by the Ottomans was genocide, provoking the fury of Turkey, the modern state that emerged from the Ottoman Empire. "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. "Chirac is on the right track," said one of the organizers, Sarkis Katchadorian, referring to French President Jacques Chirac. Overriding widespread opposition, the Turkish parliament approved a government motion on September 5 to contribute troops to the U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) following a ceasefire that ended 34 days of fighting. In total, Turkey is to deploy some 700 soldiers in Lebanon, including troops aboard naval ships. Those that landed on Tuesday were the first Muslim peacekeepers to arrive in the war-scarred country. Turkey contests the term "genocide" and strongly opposed the French bill.
It says 300,000 Armenians, and at least as many Turks, died in civil strife when Armenians took up arms for independence and sided with invading Russian troops as the Ottoman Empire fell apart during World War I. Armenians say up to 1.5 million of their ancestors were slaughtered in orchestrated killings, which they maintain can only be seen as genocide. The French bill must now go to the Senate, or upper house of parliament, for another vote.(AFP-AP photo shows Lebanese Armenian demonstrators waving Lebanese and Armenian flags and holding placards at the rally)
Beirut, 12 Oct 06, 18:45
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
B’nai Brith Canada calls on Liberal Party to disassociate itself
from Ignatieff’s remarks on Israel
TORONTO , October 12, 2006 – B’nai Brith Canada has called on Liberal leader Bill Graham to disassociate the Liberal Party from Michael Ignatieff’s remarks falsely accusing Israel of war crimes. The organization has also communicated with other Liberal leadership candidates asking them to publicly denounce the anti-Israel statement made by Ignatieff.
“We call on Liberal leader Bill Graham to denounce Ignatieff’s false accusations vis à vis Israel and to ensure that anti-Israel rhetoric does not become part and parcel of the leadership campaign,” said Frank Dimant, B’nai Brith Canada ’s Executive Vice President. “We have written to all Liberal leadership contenders asking them to place truth above politics and to come forward to denounce Ignatieff’s remarks.
“The callous playing of the Middle East card in order to secure votes has only succeeded in stirring up tensions here at home. Canadians are surely entitled to look to their political leaders for truthful realistic debate on pressing foreign policy issues. We commend M.P. Susan Kadis who took the lead in disassociating herself from the prejudicial anti-Israel statement by the candidate she was supporting.”
Arabism Equals Racism
By Gerald A. Honigman
FrontPageMagazine.com | October 13, 2006
There’s an expression, "The pot calling the kettle black." It refers to someone claiming a sin in others that is at least as prevalent - if not more so - in the accuser than it is in the accused. Hypocrisy is the name of the game.
Turn the clock back three decades.
Some things change, others never will - such as the acceptance of anyone else’s political rights in a multi-ethnic region that most Arabs see exclusively as "purely Arab patrimony." That's the Arab-Israel conflict in a nutshell; but it is also the core of the Arab-Berber, Arab-Kurd, Arab-Black African, Arab-Copt, Arab-Assyrian, Arab-non-Arab Lebanese conflicts, as well, among others. The Arabs' Anfal Campaign against the Kurds and their actions in Darfur and the rest of the southern Sudan are just a few of many examples of Arab genocidal actions against all who might disagree.
To be accepted, and not literally exterminated, one must do what Egypt’s most successful Copt did - consent to this age-old forced subjugation and Arabization. Dr. Boutros Boutros Ghali became a top official in President Anwar Sadat's government and went on to become Secretary General of the United Nations, as well.
"Uncle Butros" instead of "Uncle Tom".
He also instructed that for it to be accepted, Israel, as an entire country, must consent to being Arabized; like those Kurdish kids in Syrian Kurdistan who are forced today to sing songs praising their "Arab identity" and so forth.
Back in the 1970s, I was a consultant for a major organization while trying to finish my own doctoral work. One of my main jobs involved being brought in by dozens of major colleges and universities across a three-state region in the American Midwest to balance anti-Israel spokesmen on campus. One such visit was to Ohio University in Athens, near my small-mouth bass fishing grounds in the Hocking River.
OU was famous for its English language program for foreign students, so there were numerous folks there from all over the Arab and African worlds.
Those were the days of the United Nations' infamous Zionism Equals Racism resolution. Arab and pro-Arab professors were already hijacking the campus scene, constantly putting Israel under the high-power lens of moral scrutiny in ways that they would never dream of doing to the Jewish State's surrounding Arab neighbors.
It was arranged for me to come to deliver a lecture to balance one given previously by the other side.
The Arabs and their supporters - often left-wing Jews themselves - were "loaded for game" when they heard of my invitation. But so was I.
I was a card-carrying member of the London-based Anti-Slavery Society, and persistent reports were coming through of slavery (and worse) still being practiced in Arab lands, the lands of some of the same folks screaming about alleged "Zionist racists". I prepared a small booklet called "Look Who's Calling the Kettle Black", which consisted of about a dozen short articles dealing with the hypocrisy of the Arab position. I had numerous copies prepared for distribution.
I had some of my host students in the audience ready for action. They were in the company of hundreds who packed the lecture hall, including college officials, professors and so forth. Unlike some of the Hillel organizations elsewhere, the director at OU was on the ball when it came to these issues. My cadre consisted largely of Hillel members.
After my presentation, I had my usual question-and-answer session. That’s when the proverbial manure hit the fan. I was anticipating a Zionism-equals-racism question from the audience and, sure enough, I was blessed with one.
I calmly replied, "Since you are so concerned about such issues, I believe you’ll be interested in the packet of information you are about to receive."
I then had my cadre pass out the "Look Who’s Calling The Kettle Black" booklets.
After the commotion and dust settled, and it was time to leave for my hotel, several carloads of Arab students followed me. Some members of my group decided it was best to keep me company that night. Think of the Danish cartoons and the Pope's comment incidents today. The Arab idea of free speech is the same now as it was back then, and as it has always been.
The next day, before returning to my office in Columbus, I decided to visit the nearby famous boot factory in Nelsonville.
What I’m going to relate next may sound a bit melodramatic, but it was for real.
I was on one of the top floors of the factory outlet looking at brand-name dress boots. There was hardly anyone else there, so I was sort of isolated.
All of a sudden, I spotted a half dozen tall, Black men down the aisle from me. One of them then called out, "Mr. Hooonigmannn!"
After my experience the night before, I figured that my time on Earth was up. There were definitely folks at OU who wanted to kill me that night. I nervously stood my ground as they ran up to me.
And if you offered me a million dollars, I would not have traded it for the subsequent experience.
As they grabbed my hands, they said, "Thank you so much for last night. We had never heard or seen what you shared with us before."
Should I be ashamed to tell you of the tears in my eyes at that moment?
These were not just any folks. These were students, sent by their countries, who would later go on to become some of those nations' future professionals and leaders.
As I did on dozens of other campuses, through scores of other platforms, and in dozens of op-eds for leading newspapers all over the region, I tried my best to help change some minds - one at a time.
The struggle is as hard, if not harder, today, but those of us who care have no other choice but to continue in this ever-growing uphill battle for a bit of justice for the Jew of the nations.
Lessons from Beirut
By: Amin Howeidi* AlAhram - 13/10/06
Fear of Hizbullah's arms is the strongest bargaining chip the Arabs now have against Israel. It should not be wasted, writes Amin Howeidi*
UN Security Council Resolution 1701 brought the war between Israel and Hizbullah to an end, some 33 days after it started. That resolution recognised Hizbullah's status as a fighting force, if only by calling for its disarmament. For the time being, Hizbullah remains a cohesive militia in possession of 20,000 rockets. No wonder, Israel wants it decimated. I see some Arabs going along with Israel's request to disarm Hizbullah. My advice for them is to think again. There is no sense in giving up something so effective without a quid pro quo.
To say the least, 1701 is a bit muddled. It mentions Israel's withdrawal but it is not clear whether the Lebanese army would be deployed in its place or UNIFIL. And the UN resolution has no particular way of getting Hizbullah out of the south. As things stand, the implementation of 1701 could turn Lebanon into an international protectorate, a country that cannot receive weaponry from abroad. Resolution 1701 gives Israel a sense of security, it is true, but it is a false sense of security, for the recent bout of fighting proves that all of Israel, and not just its northern parts, is within missile range.
The strategic balance has shifted for Israel. In case you haven't noticed, it has changed for the Arabs too. Granted, the resistance cannot throw Israel into the sea. After all, the combined force of Arab armies failed to do so for years. But the resistance has been effective and that's what matters. It matters that Israel, with its regular army, has been unable to defeat a tiny militia. It matters that Hizbullah has proved itself a mighty opponent in battle. Hizbullah has inflicted pain on Israel, and when it comes to politics, pain goes a long way. You may have noticed that Israeli politicians have stopped talking of "Greater Israel". You may have noticed that instead of rejecting a two-state solution, the Israelis are now quite willing to accept such a solution. That's a major shift. When settlers in northern Israel had to flee their homes to escape the rain of Hizbullah's rockets, power shifted. I want us to use this shift for political ends.
Let's be cold-headed for a bit now. We've got an asset in our hands, and we mustn't sell it short. We need to bargain, but first let's hold on to our bargaining chips. The Israelis want security and so do we. But we cannot grant them absolute security. We must make them settle for reciprocal security. The Israelis want peace and so do we. But in return for peace, we want land. The Israelis should be made to feel that our capacity for fighting outstrips our eagerness for negotiations. Our leaders used to say that what was taken by force can only be regained by force. Let's put this slogan to the test. Let's demand something in return for the power we have in our hands. Let's not give up our fighting assets, for we'll perhaps need to use them once again. Instead of talking about disarming people on our side, we have to think of how to use our military assets in a politically productive manner.
The recent war took place on two fronts. Israel and Hizbullah exchanged fire on the military front. In the UN Security Council meanwhile, diplomats were launching their own offensive. At one point, the US delegation fought hard to give Israel time. The Israelis wanted to eliminate Hizbullah and the Americans wanted them to get the job done. Ever since, the Americans have been trying to achieve by diplomacy what the Israelis failed to achieve by war. Who were the "good guys" and who were the "bad guys" in this war? The Americans made up their mind early. Once again, the world's "Great Satan" came to the help of the region's "Small Satan". Israel wanted to win by a knockout and the Americans did everything to help it. But so far it has failed. Hizbullah has stopped Israel from winning, and we still have time to turn its military achievement into a political triumph.
* The writer is former Egyptian minister of defence and chief of General Intelligence.