LCCC ENGLISH NEWS BULLETIN
October 26/06
Biblical Reading For today
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 12,39-48.
Be sure of this: if the master of the house had known the hour when the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into.
You also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come." Then Peter said, "Lord, is this parable meant for us or for everyone?" And the Lord replied, "Who, then, is the faithful and prudent steward whom the master will put in charge of his servants to distribute (the) food allowance at the proper time? Blessed is that servant whom his master on arrival finds doing so. Truly, I say to you, he will put him in charge of all his property. But if that servant says to himself, 'My master is delayed in coming,' and begins to beat the menservants and the maidservants, to eat and drink and get drunk, then that servant's master will come on an unexpected day and at an unknown hour and will punish him severely and assign him a place with the unfaithful. That servant who knew his master's will but did not make preparations nor act in accord with his will shall be beaten severely; and the servant who was ignorant of his master's will but acted in a way deserving of a severe beating shall be beaten only lightly. Much will be required of the person entrusted with much, and still more will be demanded of the person entrusted with more.
Free Opinions & Studies
Berri's gambit means implementing Taif 17 years after the fact -Daily Star 26.10.06
Weighing the options for exiting Iraq .By David Ignatius 26.10.06
China, Chirac and Middle Eastern Issues. By: Randa Takieddin 26.10.06
Is Self-Defence a War Crime?PEJ News 26.10.06
Latest New fromthe Daily Star for October 26/06
Bush issues warning to Iran, Syria
Fears resurface after bomb blast near residences of Saudi, UAE envoys
Israeli F-16s tangle with German warship off Lebanese coast
US carrier makes 'thank you' visit to Cyprus
Berri invites political elite for talks on unity government, new electoral law
Chidiac receives Courage in Journalism Award
Qabalan calls for government that represents 'all parties'
UAE leaders assure Siniora of continuing support
Legal expert sees smooth sailing for Hariri tribunal
French urge Israelis to halt violations
War's legacy includes both deadly bomblets and welcome charityOfficials plan talks to discuss army deployment in Taamir
Revival of traditional environmental protection
Solana says he disagrees with 'everything Lieberman says'
Iran prepares for more enrichment as Security Council mulls sanctions
Latest New from miscellaneous sources for October 26/06
Israeli jets clash with German ship near Lebanon-Reuters
Berri Invites National Dialogue Leaders for Consultation Session Oct. 30-Naharnet
Small Bomb Sets Fire in Beirut, No Casualties-Naharnet
UNIFIL's Success Linked to Hizbullah Actions-Naharnet
May Chidiac, 2 Other Female Journalists Receive Courage Awards-Naharnet
Israel Accuses Syria of Smuggling Arms into Lebanon-Global Terrorism Analysis
Lebanon speaker urges national dialogue-United Press International
Lebanon's house speaker calls for 'consultative talks'-Monsters and Critics.com
Solana heads to Middle East to discuss regional issuesKuwait News Agency
UNIFIL's Success Linked to Hizbullah Actions-Naharnet
Syria raises military alert level-Jerusalem Post
Lebanon puts on a brave face at World Travel Market-Travel Daily News International
Hizballah enjoys following-Detroit Free Press
'Syria increasing preparedness following IDF maneuvers'-Ynetnews
Iran, Syria rebuild Hezbollah-IranMania News
US blames Iran, Syria for Iraq violence-Washington Post
Israel Accuses Syria of Smuggling Arms into Lebanon-Global Terrorism Analysis
Iran, Syria under fire for Iraq carnage-Business Day
Iran, Syria rebuild Hezbollah-Washington Times
Khalifa offers help to rebuild Lebanon-Khaleej Times
Mixed greetings for UNIFIL in Lebanon-Café Babel
Indian UN vet treats animal victims of Lebanon warReuters
Is Self-Defence a War Crime?PEJ News
Bush urges Iran, Syria aid neighbors Iraq, Lebanon-Reuters
Bush reaffirms US commitment in Iraq-Toronto Star
Israeli jets clash with German ship near Lebanon
Wed Oct 25, 2006
BERLIN (Reuters) - Two Israeli warplanes and a German navy vessel have clashed off the Lebanese coast, the Defence Ministry in Berlin said on Wednesday without giving further details. Germany daily Der Tagesspiegel earlier on Wednesday quoted a junior German defence minister as telling a parliamentary committee that two Israeli F-16 fighters flew low over the German ship and fired two shots.The jets also released infra-red countermeasures to ward off any rocket attack, the paper quoted him as saying. The minister did not say when the incident happened or what had caused it, the paper said. "I can confirm that there was an incident," a ministry spokesman told Reuters on Wednesday. An investigation was underway and he therefore was unable to provide further information, he added. An Israeli military spokeswoman said she was checking the report. Germany assumed command of a United Nations naval force off the coast of Lebanon 10 days ago and has sent a force of eight ships and 1,000 service personnel to join the international peace operation in the region. The naval force is charged with preventing weapons smuggling and helping maintain a cease-fire between Israel and radical Lebanese-based Islamic group Hezbollah.
Small Bomb Sets Fire in Beirut, No Casualties
A small bomb exploded on a Beirut street early Wednesday, causing no casualties but starting a small fire, police said.
They said the bomb was apparently tossed from a speeding car on the seafront boulevard in the Ramlet el-Baida area shortly after midnight Tuesday night, landing in an open area and setting fire to a bush and several trees. The small blaze was extinguished, police said.
During the past month, three similar incidents have occurred, targeting two police stations and Riad al-Solh square in downtown Beirut where U.N. offices, the Grand Serail and dance clubs are located. The attacks prompted the government earlier this month to decide to install security cameras in public areas of Beirut and the suburbs. Last year, a bombing campaign shook the capital and outlying areas, targeting businesses and anti-Syrian politicians.(AP-Naharnet)Beirut, 25 Oct 06, 07:48
Berri Invites National Dialogue Leaders for Consultation Session Oct. 30
Speaker Nabih Berri invited Wednesday rival political leaders for a consultation session to be held October 30 aimed at resolving demands for the formation of a national unity government. He said Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah has the right to be represented by any delegate he chooses for "security considerations.""I call on all national dialogue sides to come back to the roundtable in parliament to consult around the table, and not go down the streets," Berri told a news conference at his Ein el-Tineh mansion. He said the first session of "a maximum" 15-day consultation period will commence in parliament on Monday, October 30 for discussions on "the national unity government and a new electoral law."
"Any issue to be agreed upon (in the meeting) will be subject to implementation," said Berri, organizer of the national dialogue.
Sources told Naharnet that leaders of the March 14 Forces were willing to accept Berri's initiative on condition that the consultations would also deal with the issue of the presidency. Pro-Damascus President Emile Lahoud's extended three-year term expires next fall. Nasrallah and General Michel Aoun have been repeatedly calling for toppling Premier Fouad Saniora's government and the formation of a national unity cabinet.
Hizbullah's secretary-general and Aoun were among the top leaders who took part in the reconciliation talks, launched early March.
The dialogue was last scheduled for July 25. But the outbreak of the Israel-Hizbullah war July 12 has prevented the resumption of the talks. The hostilities ended August 14 under a U.N.-brokered ceasefire. The thorny issue aimed at resolving Hizbullah's right to keep its weapons was last tackled by the rival leaders before the discussions were adjourned. Hizbullah had proposed a defense strategy for Lebanon in the face of a potential threat from Israel.Members of the March 14 Forces, maintain that any defense strategy should keep decisions to "protect Lebanon" in the hands of the state and regular army. But pro-Syrian groups, led by Hizbullah, have so far rejected U.N. Security Council demands to disarm and calls from within Lebanon to merge their fighters with the regular army. Beirut, 25 Oct 06, 12:48
Israel Accuses Syria of Smuggling Arms into Lebanon
By Andrew McGregor
Renewed Israeli claims that Syria continues to rearm Hezbollah in defiance of UN Resolution 1701 come at a time when there are fears in Israel that Arab groups in Gaza and the Golan Heights may be planning to emulate Hezbollah's tactics in last summer's fighting. Since the August cease-fire, Israel has claimed several times that Syrian arms supplies continue to flow to Hezbollah through the numerous smugglers' trails on the Syrian-Lebanese border, a region now under the supervision of the Lebanese Army (the writ of the UN peacekeeping force, UNIFIL, extends only to South Lebanon, between the border with Israel and the Litani River). Syrian President Bashar Assad describes efforts to stop arms shipments through Syria to Lebanon as "a waste of time," stating in an interview that "neither UN resolutions nor military deployment" will stop the flow of contraband arms (El Pais, October 1). Assad does not admit Syrian government involvement in the arms shipments, although Israeli intelligence has informed their government of official Syrian involvement (Gulf Daily News, October 16). The Israeli government of Ehud Olmert is resolute in rejecting the possibility of negotiations with Assad, whom they accuse of harboring terrorists, particularly the Damascus-based leader of Hamas, Khaled Meshaal.
Israeli Defense Minister Amir Peretz has warned that Israel will take "independent action" if necessary to combat arms smuggling into Lebanon, but the commander of the French contingent of the UNIFIL forces has alerted Israel that new rules of engagement being considered by the UNIFIL command might allow French troops to use their anti-aircraft missiles to fire on Israeli warplanes that continue to fly over Lebanon in violation of Resolution 1701 (Haaretz, October 17).When meeting in Moscow last week with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is believed to have discussed the problem of Russian arms exports to Syria finding their way into Hezbollah's arsenal (RIA Novosti, October 19). Israel discovered numerous examples of sophisticated Russian-made weapons in captured Hezbollah bunkers, with the missiles and other weaponry still bearing Russian serial numbers and bills of lading.
Hezbollah continues to agitate for a "government of national unity" to replace the present Fouad Siniora-led cabinet, dominated by members of the anti-Syrian March 14 movement. The Shiite movement has some curious partners in their call for a new government, including Maronite Christian General Michel Aoun, leader of the Free Patriotic Movement. Once a violent opponent of Hezbollah and Syrian influence in Lebanon, Aoun is now a close ally of Hezbollah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah and a leading member of the pro-Syrian camp (Ya Libnan, October 8).
Hezbollah's commander in South Lebanon, Sheikh Nabil Qawuq, describes attempts to disarm Hezbollah's armed wing as "a thing of the past," adding that "we are living with a [Lebanese] government that enjoys the trust of America, but does not enjoy the trust of the [Islamic] resistance" (al-Manar, October 18). Syrian President Assad is intent on renewing Syrian dominance in Lebanese politics, stating that the only solution to the disarmament question is "if all the interested parties have confidence in Syria" (El Pais, October 1). The Syrian state does not recognize Lebanon's independence.
The massive destruction caused by Israeli bombing has opened some rifts in Shiite solidarity. 'Ali al-Amin, the Shiite mufti of Tyre, is very vocal in his criticism of Hezbollah, claiming that the national unity government issue is designed to distract attention from the ruination of much of the country. The mufti has reservations about the Hezbollah "victory." He asked, "What good is it to have a rocket that reaches 100 kilometers inside Israel when Israel can reach every meter of our country?" (Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation, October 15).
Nabih Berri, parliamentary speaker and leader of the Shiite party Amal, has embarked on a tour of Riyadh, Damascus and Tehran as the unofficial spokesman for the Hezbollah movement (Ya Libnan, October 8). Berri has lately put some distance between himself and Hezbollah's aggressive approach to government reform, warning of a political vacuum that could arise if there is no consensus on the composition of a new cabinet before overthrowing Siniora's government (al-Nahar, October 19).
The political and military fallout from the short summer war in Lebanon continues. The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) believe that Hamas is receiving Katyusha rockets and preparing defensive positions in emulation of Hezbollah (Haaretz, October 16). IDF sources maintain that more than 20 tons of explosives, anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles have been smuggled into Gaza from Iran and other sources since the beginning of the year. In light of the lethal effectiveness with which Hezbollah guerrillas used anti-tank missiles in the Lebanon war, their arrival in Gaza is particularly alarming to Israeli authorities. According to Defense Minister Peretz, "If terror elements have succeeded in smuggling dozens of anti-tank missiles in the Strip, we will not wait for them to smuggle hundreds or thousands more" (Ynet News, October 18). For now, the Israeli Air Force has been forced to reevaluate the safety of its air missions over the territory. The provocative statements by President Assad reflect a belief in Damascus that the IDF has been critically weakened, for the moment at least, by its incursion into Lebanon. Assad's description of his fellow Arab leaders as "half-men" for their failure to support Hezbollah has not endeared him to his counterparts in the Arab world, despite his recent adoption of pan-Arab rhetoric. Thus far, the threat of guerrilla activities in the Golan Heights remains a remote threat, despite various threats from previously unknown groups such as the Front for the Liberation of the Golan, which claims to be ready to use "Hezbollah-style tactics" to "liberate" the Israeli-held territory. In a sign of the continuing tension between Jerusalem and Damascus, Syrian troops have not stood down from the defensive positions that they adopted while on alert in this summer's Lebanon war.
Lebanon speaker urges national dialogue
BEIRUT, Lebanon, Oct. 25 (UPI) -- Lebanon's political leaders have been urged to get together to discuss the formation of a national unity government to prevent a looming political crisis. Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, head of the Shiite Amal Movement, Wednesday called on the various Muslim, Christian and political leaders to once again gather at the round table to discuss a possible new administration and a new elections law.
"I propose a period of 15 days to hold the discussions," Berri said at a press conference, cautioning against any attempt to take to the street to force the resignation of Prime Minister Fouad Siniora's government. Pro-Syrian parties, especially Hezbollah, in addition to the Free Patriotic Movement of former army commander and Christian leader Michel Aoun, have been pressing for a government change. The anti-Syria camp, which commands a majority in parliament, has rejected the move, suspecting a Syrian role behind it. Berri sharply criticized the possibility of forcing the government's collapse through street demonstrations. "Such escalation and increase of tensions will only lead to clashes in the streets and further internal divisions in the country, not necessarily sectarian," he said, cautioning that Lebanon is being used as a scene for regional and international conflicts.
Berri has been expected to take the initiative to ease political tensions in the country, which have exacerbated since the end of the Israeli war on Lebanon Aug. 14, after a visit to Saudi Arabia earlier this month during which he held talks with King Abdullah. Anti-Syrian parties have blamed Hezbollah for sparking the war against Israel at the behest of its regional allies, Syria and Iran, without consulting the other Lebanese parties with which it was conducting a national dialogue prior to the outbreak of the war.
Lebanon's house speaker calls for 'consultative talks'
Oct 25, 2006, 11:05 GMT
Beirut - Lebanon's powerful Shiite House Speaker Nabih Berri called on Wednesday on the country's major factions to start next week what he described as 'consultative talks' to solve domestic divisions he fears may destabilize the country. 'I call on the factions who participated in the national dialogue a few months ago to return to the roundtable but this time for consultative talks regarding the formation of a national unity government and the discussing of a new election law,' Berri told reporters in a press conference. The house speaker said the first meeting, if all parties agree, will start October 30. 'The consultations will last fifteen days,' Berri said, adding that if more time is needed the time will be extended. He added that chief of the Shiite militant group Hezbollah, Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, will be allowed to be represented in the talks by someone he chooses 'due to certain security reasons.' Israel has threatened to kill Nasrallah wherever he is located.
Berri expressed fear that if his efforts do not succeed in securing a meeting between the ruling anti-Syrian majority which is led by Saad Hariri, son of the late Premier Rafik Hariri, and the pro-Syrian Hezbollah, 'the tension and political escalations in the country will lead to street confrontations' between the rival factions. After Israel ended its 33-day war on Lebanon on August 14, Hezbollah and its Christian ally former General Michel Aoun started calling for a national unity government to include all Lebanese factions. In the current cabinet, which is led by the majority headed by premier Fouad Seniora, Hezbollah is represented by two ministers but Aoun has no representation because he refused to join the previous cabinet unless he has three key ministerial positions for his small parliamentary bloc. Lebanon has been in political turmoil since the February 2005 assassination of ex-premier Rafik Hariri in a massive bomb. Hariri's killing led to street demonstrations denouncing the Syrian presence in the country, which they accused of being behind the assassination. Local and international pressure led to the withdrawal of Syrian troops after 29 years on Lebanese soil.
Fourteen Lebanese Christian and Moslem leaders accepted on March 2 a call by Berri for a roundtable national dialogue. Around five rounds of talks had taken place before the recent war between Hezbollah and Israel. These were the first such meetings without Syrian supervision since Lebanon's 1975-1990 civil war. A key political issue which was under discussion in the previous round of talks was the term of pro-Syrian Lebanese President Emile Lahoud which had been extended by three years under Syrian pressure in late 2004. During the earlier rounds of talks Lebanese Leaders have agreed to dismantle Palestinian military bases in Lebanon, to work to normalize relations with the former powerbroker Syria and to define borders between the two countries. The last key point discussed was the disarming of Hezbollah, but talks were halted as a result of the wide-scale offensive Israel launched within Lebanon after Hezbollah guerrillas snatched two Israeli soldiers at the Lebanese border with Israel.
© 2006 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur
Solana heads to Middle East to discuss regional issues
POL-EU-MIDEAST-SOLANA
Solana heads to Middle East to discuss regional issues
BRUSSELS, Oct 25 (KUNA) -- EU High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) Javier Solana headed to the Middle East Wednesday where he is due to visit Israel, the Palestinian Territories, Lebanon, Jordan and Egypt.
A statement by the EU said Solana is traveling to the Middle East to discuss with political leaders latest developments in the region. "He will concentrate in particular on efforts towards an early resumption of the dialogue between the two parties to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict," the statement said. In Israel, Solana will meet with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, Vice Prime Minister Shimon Peres and Defence Minister Amir Peretz. In Ramallah, Solana is due to meet with the President of the Palestinian Authority Mahmoud Abbas as well as members of the civil society and the business community. He will also visit the Iskar refugee camp. In Beirut, Solana will have a working lunch with Prime Minister Fouad Siniora, will hold a meeting with Foreign Minister Faouzi Salloukh and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri. He will also meet with Christian Maronite Patriach Nasrallah Boutros Sfeir. The High Representative will also visit the UNIFIL headquarters and meet with General Pelligrini, the Commander of the reinforced UNIFIL, to which EU member states made a substantial contribution. In Amman, the High Representative will be received by King Abdullah II. Solana will also meet Abdelelah Al-Khatib, the Minister of Foreign Affairs.
In Cairo, Solana will meet President Hosni Mubarak and Foreign Minister Ahmad Abulgheit. (
UNIFIL's Success Linked to Hizbullah Actions
U.N. Undersecretary for Peacekeeping Operations Jean-Marie Guehenno has linked the success of the U.N. mission in Lebanon to Hizbullah actions.
"It depends whether Hizbullah is able to rebuild itself and humiliate the mission," said Guehenno during a speech on Tuesday at the Paul Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) in Washington, D.C.
SAIS, a leading graduate school of international affairs, has been a division of the Johns Hopkins University since 1950.
Guehenno, also a French diplomat, said the success of the "robust posture" of the U.N. mission in south Lebanon ultimately will hinge on the disarmament of Hizbullah, which must take place through a political process, as well as the reconstruction of Lebanon.
The Israel-Hizbullah war on Lebanon which ended August 14 under a U.N.-brokered ceasefire calls for the U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon to ensure the southern border area with Israel is "free of any armed personnel and weapons other than those of the Lebanese armed forces and UNIFIL."
Since the ceasefire, Hizbullah fighters have kept out of uniform, with their weapons out of sight. UNIFIL is required to eventually beef-up its forces on the ground in south Lebanon to 15,000 soldiers. Guehenno said that Hizbullah has been the most effective organization in south Lebanon in providing immediate services to the population after the war ended, and the U.N. mission in Lebanon may not succeed if U.N. forces are unable to help the Lebanese government increase its presence and contacts in the south. He said that a Lebanese national dialogue among the disputed political leaders needs to take root beyond Lebanon to the wider region, adding that politics "must move in the right direction." Guehenno said he believed the coordinated political direction Lebanon and the region will take are of "fundamental importance." He dubbed as "critical" the political engagement of Middle East countries, saying that the United States has a vital role to play in the region. Guehenno said that in six months UNIFIL's presence in Lebanon will be a "model that is neither U.N. nor NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization)," and this "compromise approach represents an important change that the Lebanon operation is bringing to U.N. peacekeeping."(AFP photo shows Turkish soldiers inspecting their weapons at their base in the south) Beirut, 25 Oct 06, 11:01
May Chidiac, 2 Other Female Journalists Receive Courage Awards
LBCI anchorwoman May Chidiac, an American reporter kidnapped in Iraq and a Chinese journalist twice jailed for her economic and political reporting received Courage in Journalism Awards from the International Women's Media Foundation.
More than 600 people attended the awards luncheon in New York on Tuesday honoring Chidiac who lost her left arm and left leg in a car bomb explosion in September 2005, Jill Carroll who was released on March 30 after 82 days as a hostage, and Gao Yu who spent more than six years in prison and continues to fight against Chinese censorship. American television journalist Judy Woodruff, the chair of the awards, paid tribute to all journalists working in danger zones from Iraq to Afghanistan -- and those who lost their lives trying to report the truth. She asked everyone to observe a moment of silence in memory of one of the 2002 courage award winners -- Russia's crusading investigative reporter Anna Politkovskaya who was killed on Oct. 7. She asked every guest to sign a postcard to Russian President Vladimir Putin asking him to fully investigate her murder.
"We want the world to know that Anna did not stand alone and her murder will not be forgotten," Woodruff said.
Since the war in Iraq began in 2003, more than 100 journalists and media employees have been killed, and many more have been injured, Woodruff said. "The war in Iraq is now the deadliest war on record for newspeople," she said. The first Courage in Journalism Award honored one of the survivors -- 28-year-old Carroll, a fluent Arabic speaker who had spent three years reporting from Iraq before she was kidnapped in January while freelancing for the Christian Science Monitor. Carroll was in the audience and stood to loud applause, but she is still recovering from the ordeal and asked Monitor Editor Richard Bergenheim to accept the award.
"She wants the world to know of her total heartfelt commitment and support for all those who are out reporting today," he said. "Few journalists actually think about courage while reporting. But they're responding with drive to get to the truth... Like all of us, they believe that understanding trumps ignorance."
Chidiac, 43, believes a bomb was planted under her car last year as a result of her criticism of Syria's involvement in Lebanon-- and she told the audience at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel that it was meant to eliminate her.
"But I survived, and it is not a secret any more that my survival was a miracle," she said. "Moreover, I believe I gave my country a hand to fight with, and a leg to kick all the enemies with, and they are not few."
She has undergone 26 operations and was loudly applauded when she walked onstage using a cane.
Clearly referring to Syria which withdrew its troops from Lebanon in April 2005 after a 29-year occupation, she said, "regimes are trying even after their visible withdrawal from Lebanon, to prevent me, and others, from telling the world the truth about what is happening in my country and to my fellow Lebanese." Since she returned to work on July 19, Chidiac said "I am still threatened but I kept on doing my job with no fear, ready for any danger I might face." Gao, 62, won a Courage in Journalism award in 1995 but was unable to receive it because she was sentenced in 1993 to six years in prison for "leaking state secrets" through a pro-Chinese newspaper in Hong Kong. During the 1980s, she became known for her investigative reporting and her writings were instrumental in the 1989 pro-democracy movement. Gao told the audience after accepting the 2006 courage award that she didn't hear the gunfire in Tiananmen Square on June 3, 1989 because she was arrested that morning.
"A few days later, my report on the surging democratic movement was published in one of Hong Kong's most influential magazines," she said. "As a journalist, I became a `hostage card' that the Chinese authorities played to show their tough stand to the West."
The foundation presented its lifetime achievement award to renowned Mexican author and journalist Elena Poniatowska, 74, who is best known for "La Noche de Tlatelco," which chronicles the lives and deaths of students protesting police repression prior to the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City.
Since I became a journalist, I have always listened to voices," she said. "While conditions of oppression, misery and social exclusion exist in Latin America, listening to voices will be the only way in which we can become aware of unsuspected and different ways of living."(AP-Naharnet) (Naharnet file photo is of May Chidiac) Beirut, 25 Oct 06, 09:13
Report: Syria ups military alert level
By JPOST.COM STAFF
The Syrian Defense Minister has raised the army's alert level following IDF training exercises in the Golan Heights on Monday.
According to a report published on Wednesday in the Qatari newspaper, Al-Watan, Damascus became worried after IDF Chief of General Staff Lt.-Gen. Dan Halutz visited the area as part of a surprise inspection. What was behind Halutz's surprise visit to the Golan?
The report also stated that the Syrians were concerned about the addition of the right-wing Israel Beiteinu party to the government coalition.
Halutz made a surprise visit to the 36th Division in the Golan Heights Monday morning as part of a comprehensive inspection to be conducted throughout the week. Some 60 officers and military staff members who accompanied Halutz will be evaluating the level of readiness and fitness in the division and its units.
Is Self-Defence A War Crime?
Posted by: IngmarLee on http://PEJ.org Tuesday, October 24, 2006 - 10:27 AM
Is Self-Defence A War Crime?
National Post - Alan M. Dershowitz - Michael Ignatieff: The Return of Mr. Dithers?? A view from the "other" perspective - Michael Ignatieff, the former Harvard human rights professor and current candidate for the leadership of the Liberal Party of Canada, has made two serious misstatements regarding the recent war between Hezbollah and Israel, and most particularly the Israeli military actions in the Lebanese town of Qana.
Is Self-Defence a War Crime?
Michael Ignatieff: The Return of Mr. Dithers?? A view from the "other" perspective
Alan M. Dershowitz
Michael Ignatieff, the former Harvard human rights professor and current candidate for the leadership of the Liberal Party of Canada, has made two serious misstatements regarding the recent war between Hezbollah and Israel, and most particularly the Israeli military actions in the Lebanese town of Qana.Back in August, Ignatieff said that he was "not losing sleep" over the attack in which 29 civilians, who had sought refuge in a building, were killed when the Israeli air force fired a missile at what it believed was a Hezbollah rocket-launching site. Every humane person -- and Ignatieff is surely that -- should lose sleep whenever innocent civilians are killed, regardless of who is at fault. Many Israelis, including soldiers, lost sleep over Qana, as did many friends of Israel around the world. Ignatieff was rightly criticized for his insensitivity and later acknowledged that he was wrong in his choice of words.Now in an apparent effort to compensate for his insensitivity toward Lebanese civilians, he has once again put his foot in his mouth. This time, he characterized "what happened in Qana" as "a war crime" and said that this was "clear." Ignatieff is not a lawyer, but he is an expert on human rights and he should know that for a military attack to constitute a "war crime" -- the most serious charge that could be made against a soldier -- there must be an intention to deliberately target innocent civilians. Civilians are almost always killed during wars, especially wars in which combatants -- who are legitimate military targets -- deliberately hide among civilians and fire their rockets from civilian population centres, as Hezbollah does.
Ignatieff has surely seen the videos and other indisputable evidence that Hezbollah was launching rockets from areas near the building that Israel bombed. He surely knows that Israeli intelligence was completely unaware that Lebanese civilians were hiding in the building. He cannot reasonably believe that the Israeli air force deliberately intended to kill the civilians in the building. Why then would he characterize the resulting tragedy as a "war crime?"There are several possible answers. The first is that he simply misspoke in the course of an interview in which he wanted to make up for his past misstatement. If that is the case, he should be accused only of carelessness. The second possible explanation has far greater implications for his candidacy to lead a great political party.
It is possible that he believes that even if the Israeli killing of Lebanese civilians was an unintended consequence of its efforts to prevent rocket attacks against its own civilians, it was still a war crime. Such a view would reflect a perverse and dangerous approach to international law that would make it nearly impossible for democracies to protect its civilians from terrorists who launch rockets from civilian population centres. It would also encourage other terrorist groups to emulate the tactic employed by Hezbollah in its recent war against Israel: to use local civilians as human shields behind whom the terrorists fire their rockets at enemy civilians. This gives the democracy only two choices: to protect its civilians by destroying the rocket launchers even if that means some civilians will inevitably be killed; or do nothing and allow its own civilians to be targeted. Faced with this choice of evils imposed by the terrorist, every democracy would chose to protect its own civilians, as Israel did.
Yet there are some who would deem such legitimate self-defence to be a war crime. Most prominent among them is Canada's own Louise Arbour, a former justice of the Supreme Court of Canada and currently the United Nations Commissioner for Human Rights. Even before the war in Lebanon was over, Arbour rushed to judgment and threatened "personal criminal responsibility" against Israeli generals and political leaders for their attacks on areas in which civilians live. Her benighted view is that any shelling of cities -- regardless of the threat posed to Israeli civilians by rockets being fired from these cities -- "constitutes a foreseeable and unacceptable targeting of civilians." Let's be clear what this means:
If Hezbollah (or Iran) were firing nuclear or biological weapons at a democracy from Beirut (or Tehran), the democracy would be committing a war crime if it tried to destroy the enemy rockets by pinpoint bombing, as long as there was any "foreseeable" risk to civilians. This formulation would make war criminals out of the United States, Canada, Great Britain and all the Allies during the Second World War and in the current war against terrorism.
Democracies simply cannot protect their citizens against terrorist attacks of the kind launched by Hezbollah without some foreseeable risk to civilians. There cannot be any absolute prohibition against such self-defensive military actions so long as they are proportional to the dangers and reasonable efforts are made to minimize civilian casualties.I know and like Michael Ignatieff from his years at Harvard and am willing to give him the benefit of the doubt, but if he agrees with Arbour's position on what constitutes a war crime, then the people of Canada, as well as of the rest of the world, have a right to a clear statement of what actions he would be willing to take in the war against terrorism if he is elected prime minister of Canada.
© National Post 2006
Canadian politician's trip on hold
(JTA) - A Canadian Jewish group postponed a trip to Israel by a leading politician who recently made controversial comments about Israel.
The Canada-Israel Committee delayed the trip by Michael Ignatieff, who is running for Liberal Party leader. Ignatieff recently called Israel's bombing in the Lebanese village of Kana this summer a war crime; he later said both Israel and Hezbollah may have committed war crimes during the war.
Iran must pay for Lebanon reconstruction
Wash Times editorial SFS/8/15/2006
The fighting in Lebanon has stopped and rockets are no longer falling on Israeli villages – at least for the time being, while the cease-fire is holding. Now the all-important political battle is going full-force, with both sides claiming victory. Hezbollah can claim that they were not defeated and can still launch rockets from beyond the reach of Israeli troops. Opinions in Israel are divided, with the military complaining that the political leaders did not permit them to wipe out Hezbollah completely and destroy all their armaments and fortifications constructed in the past six years. The United States has an important stake in this propaganda battle because of its effect on the Arab “street” and Arab governments that fear the growing power of Iran, patron, financier, and arms supplier of Hezbollah. There will be ramifications in Iraq, in Jordan and Egypt, and in the Gulf States, including Saudi Arabia, if Iran is perceived the winner.
It is not enough for President Bush to declare victory and point to the cease-fire agreement adopted by the UN Security Council. Right now Lebanese Shi’ites are not buying this and support Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah. But this may change – once the extent of the damage sinks in. The correct US policy is to withhold any funds, direct or otherwise, ostensibly to be used for Lebanon reconstruction. Sweden is already assembling the usual donor nations and agencies. But money is fungible and even charity donations will strengthen Hezbollah in one way or another. Lebanese Shi’ites must be made to realize that Hezbollah’s recklessness is the cause of their misery and Nasrallah’s adventure produced no benefits. Ultimately, of course, it is the Iranian theocracy that has used Hezbollah as a proxy to try to destroy Israel and kill its citizens. Our concern must be that Iran can establish similar terror groups that operate within weak but nominally sovereign states, which provide cover for them – willingly (as the Taliban did for Al Qaeda) or unwillingly (as in Lebanon).
Iran can well afford to pay the bill for reconstruction and may have started to do so. It will clearly establish their responsibility for the Lebanon disaster. We wish they would also pay for the UN “peace-keeping” force of 15,000. The Gulf oil states are clearing about one billion dollars a day on oil sales! Iran can probably handle reconstruction with its oil profits of one week. But this is money that won’t be spent on other mischief. And furthermore, it will cause some grumbling domestically: Iran’s war against Israel (and the United States) produces no benefits whatsoever for the ordinary Iranian citizen.
The big losers will be the Palestinians. There is little chance now that they can recover the West Bank or gain more autonomy -- especially if and when there is change in the government in Jerusalem. Israelis now realize that even short-range unguided rockets launched from the West Bank can destroy Tel Aviv and kill thousands. While Israel has learned its lesson with relatively little loss, the Palestinians may draw the wrong conclusion. If they smuggle longer-range and more deadly rockets into Gaza, they may come in for terrible surprise. The sooner they and other Arabs realize that Hezbollah overreached – and lost -- the better the chances for a peaceful Middle East.
Rebuilding Lebanon's shattered economy
By Jorn Madslien
Business reporter, BBC News
With a truce between Israel and Hezbollah raising hopes of peace in Lebanon, much of the focus is moving towards the task at hand: how to rebuild the country and how to pay for it.
Throughout the conflict, a string of world leaders have vowed to help once the fighting had stopped - not only with humanitarian aid but also by helping pay for restructuring efforts.
Now they will be asked to put their money where their mouths were.
Tunisia's president has called for an emergency summit of Arab leaders, urging collective support for the rebuilding of the war-torn country.
And Sweden has taken a lead in the West by organising a donor conference on 31 August, which some 60 countries and aid agencies are expected to attend. "The world community now has to give its support to Lebanon's recovery and to the Lebanese people who have been severely affected," says Swedish Foreign Minister Jan Eliasson. Logistical nightmare
As yet, no reliable estimate for the cost of rebuilding Lebanon exists.
One thing is known, however: much of the $50bn (£26bn) injected into the country during the past decade to rebuild after the 1975-1989 civil war was spent on roads and power lines, schools and sport centres, hospitals and airports.
Many of these are now in ruins. "Huge areas of the south and Beirut are flat," says Oxfam's Graham McKay.
"Rebuilding the infrastructure, rebuilding the 600 kilometres of roads that have been destroyed, rebuilding the 150 bridges that have been destroyed, [there is going to be a] huge bill for that." The Lebanese government estimates the infrastructure damage alone could amount to US$2.5bn.
Beyond the economic burden, carrying out the work is going to be a logistical nightmare that will take up valuable manpower - and require energy supplies which, in many cases, have yet to be restored.
On top of that comes the need to rebuild houses and public buildings to allow people to move back into their communities.
Lebanon's economy ministry says about one in five of the country's million or so refugees have been rendered homeless by the war, and estimates that the total cost of the damage to houses might even be greater than it was during the civil war.
Hopes dashed In the longer term, repairing Lebanon's commercial sector will prove yet another mammoth task.
Dozens of factories have been crushed in bombing raids during the last few weeks. Commercially-driven construction sites have been deserted as foreign investors have fled. And as for the country's tourism industry, which until early July had been forecasting more than 1.6 million visitors this year, there are no hopes of a quick recovery. Consequently, Lebanon will find it increasingly hard to service its $35bn debts. The government had been planning economic reforms including the privatisation of its power and telecoms sectors, tax rises and a tighter grip on the government's purse strings. These plans may now have to be shelved. Few, if any, dare to hope for a return to the good times of the early 1970s, when Lebanon was still a Middle Eastern banking and trading hub.
Commercial opportunity?
Nevertheless, there are those who expect the reconstruction efforts to spiral into a commercial bonanza - for some, at least.
Paying for post-war reconstruction tends to involve pulling money out of one bag and stuffing it into another, and the stock markets provide a good indicator of who stands to gain. Shares in cement and steel companies have shot up as investors predict that demand for their products will soar.
"Maybe the cement companies and the steel companies will be able to export quite a bit into Lebanon on the back of this peace initiative that's going on," says Yasser Hassanein of Dynamic Securities in Egypt. For the people of Lebanon, the suffering is far from over. For those rebuilding this shattered country, the real struggle is about to begin.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/business/4794739.stm
Published: 2006/08/15 23:00:25 GMT
© BBC MMVI
Hezbollahollah Round-2
SFS/8/21/2006
No one expects the UN-brokered cease-fire in Lebanon to last. The only question is how soon will it collapse? Hezbollah has lost a good fraction of its fighters and weapons arsenal. But over time all these can be replaced – in spite of the presence of UN peacekeeping forces. Many experts give it a period of months rather than years. At the direction of Iran, Hezbollah can then start border incidents, gradually escalating. They may be deterred, however, by the prospect of destruction of their newly rebuilt command centers in Shi’ite residential neighborhoods and the loss of popular support. This is another good reason for letting Hezbollah and Iran pay for Lebanon reconstruction. Any US offer of financial aid will simply be construed as an admission of guilt and won’t win us friends.
This time, Israel should be ready and not rush into a premature and poorly planned operation as it did last month. Perhaps with a new government, it can choose the time and method of retaliation -- after declaring the cease-fire null and void. While Hezbollah, emboldened by a wimpy response, may indulge in victory celebrations, Israel can deliver a decapitating strike against its leadership -- similar to what the United States had tried to do: kill Saddam Hussein just before the invasion of Iraq. The subsequent military operation surely won’t be a direct assault against the Maginot line of prepared fortifications. More likely, Israel will adopt a sweep to the sea along the Litani river – westward from its salient at Metulla.
In a sense, the month-long battle has been a learning experience for the Israel Defense Forces – who must find ways to adapt to the weapons systems and tactics encountered. Hezbollah, or its mentors, used modern anti-tank weapons that can penetrate armor, guided missiles that can disable ships. They will no doubt also acquire better anti-aircraft defenses. All of these will have to be overcome. But there may also be surprises: longer-range rockets, launched from north of the Litani and capable of reaching Tel Aviv, for example. At this point, missile defense, while hardly worthwhile against short-range Katyushas, begins to pay off. Also, the launch of long-range rockets is no longer a “mom-and-pop” operation from the roof of an apartment building.
All of this has immense relevance for the United States. We too must learn from this proxy war and also prepare for Hezbollah attacks against soft targets worldwide. A major imponderable is a likely civil war now developing in Iraq. As Sunni insurgents, in alliance with Al Qaeda, kill Shi’ite civilians; there may be an explosive response from well-armed Shi’ite militias, which could spread to majority Shi’ite areas in Kuwait, Bahrain, and the oil region of Eastern Saudi Arabia. If this happens, then the Lebanon-Israel conflict becomes a sideshow.