LCCC
ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
July 13/09
Bible Reading of the day
Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust dost
corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves
treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust corrupt, and where thieves do
not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart
be also.” (Mat 6: 19-21)
Free Opinions, Releases, letters & Special
Reports
Halutz: 2nd Lebanon War was
justified. By JPOST.COM STAFF AND YAAKOV KATZ 12/07/09
Three years on -Today marks the
third anniversary of the beginning of the July War. Now Lebanon 12/07/09
Facts worth remembering. Now
Lebanon 12/07/09
March 14 are all “decent people”.
By:Khairallah Khairallah.Now Lebanon 12/07/09
Zvi Bar'el / Will warmer US-Syria ties lead Israel
to cede Golan?Ha'aretz 12/07/09
Power to the people: Iran's government showing its
true colors at home. New York Daily
News 12/07/09
Latest
News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources for July
12/09
Syria will not 'meddle' in Lebanon: French FM-AFP
Kouchner: Syria to Let
Lebanon Form Government without Meddling-Naharnet
Syria FM: Pullout from
Golan for peace-Jerusalem
Post
Syria demands full Israeli
pullout from Golan-Jerusalem
Post
U.S. President Backs Closer
'Engagement' with Syria; Muallem Says Obama's Position 'Encouraging' but
Sanctions 'Unjust'-Naharnet
Nasrallah, Qabalan Stress
Need to Confront Looming Israeli Dangers-Naharnet
Former IDF Chief of Staff: Israel
planned July War long before soldier abduction. Now Lebanon
Berri: Lebanon's Strength Lies in Political Unity And Internal Stability-Naharnet
Salloukh: July 2006 Anniversary Strengthens Our Unity, Calls For Speed
Government Formation-Naharnet
Fayyad Criticizes Dealing With Partnership, Consensus As a Tactic Not a Strategy-Naharnet
Israel: Hizbullah Arming
on a Large Scale-Naharnet
Hariri: One Hand Cannot
Clap Alone-Naharnet
Opposition Forces Adapt a
Strong Stance in Favor of Veto Power-Naharnet
Timing of Saudi-Syrian
Summit to be Decided by Lebanese Cabinet Formation-Naharnet
Assiri: We Do Not
Interfere in Lebanese Affairs And Keen on Stability-Naharnet
Hariri: Cabinet to Be
Announced in Due Time-Naharnet
Kouchner: Veto Power
Undemocratic, No Major Obstacles in Cabinet Formation-Naharnet
Mofaz: Second Lebanon War was a missed
opportunity-Jerusalem
Post
'We failed to define 2nd Lebanon War's goals'-Ynetnews
'
Kaplinsky on Lebanon: We should have made
it clear we are at war-Ynetnews
Lebanese Army finds 2 rockets in south-Ynetnews
Obama for closer 'engagement' with Syria-AFP
1982 memo shows Israel learned little from First Lebanon War-Ha'aretz
Syria renaissance excludes human rights-BBC
News
French FM sees no major obstacles in Lebanese
cabinet formation-Xinhua
Israel has 'no knowledge' of US deadline for
settlement freeze-Jerusalem
Post
Mofaz: Israel’s war against Lebanon
was a missed opportunity-Future News
Chamoun: We refuse Hariri’s visit
to Syria before the government formation-Future News
Hamadeh: Jumblatt will not press
Hariri reject 16-10-4 formula-Future News
Al-Sayegh: For a united active
government-Future News
Sleiman did not reject 16-10-4
formula-Future News
Radical push to remove stumbling
blocks to cabinet formation-Future News
A national unity government…in due
time-Future News
Mashnouk: The Lebanese Christians
are an equilibrium factor-Future News
Salloukh will participate in
Non-Aligned Movement summit-Future News
Obama for closer 'engagement' with Syria
LONDON (AFP) — US President Barack Obama said he was troubled by Syria's
behaviour but hoped for progress in ties with former foe Damascus, in an
interview to be screened Sunday.
Obama was asked by Britain's Sky News television if he would accept an
invitation to go to Damascus for face-to-face talks with Syrian President Bashar
al-Assad.
"We've started to see some diplomatic contacts between the United States and
Syria," Obama said, in an interview recorded during Saturday's visit to Ghana.
"There are aspects of Syrian behaviour that trouble us and we think that there
is a way that Syria can be much more constructive on a whole host of these
issues.
"But, as you know, I'm a believer in engagement and my hope is that we can
continue to see progress on that front."
Assad said earlier this month that he would be willing to meet Obama in Syria to
discuss Middle East issues.
"We would like to welcome him in Syria, definitely. I am very clear about this,"
he told Sky News.
The Obama administration said last month it would send an ambassador back to
Syria after a four-year absence, as Washington tries to engage with a former foe
in a bid to revive Arab-Israeli peace talks.
The previous administration of president George W. Bush had put relations with
Syria on hold in 2005, following the assassination of former Lebanese prime
minister Rafiq Hariri.
Obama has moved to re-engage Damascus, a key regional player, as the United
States seeks to breathe new life into the faltering peace talks between Israel
and the Palestinians.
Washington first imposed economic sanctions on Syria in 2004 over charges it was
sponsoring terrorism. The sanctions have been extended several times since.
Halutz: 2nd Lebanon War was
justified
By JPOST.COM STAFF AND YAAKOV KATZ
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1246443783449&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
Dan Halutz, who was IDF chief of General Staff during the Second Lebanon War
three years ago, rejected criticism of decisions made by top brass and the
government during the campaign, saying on Sunday that in retrospect, he would
still have made the same recommendations to the defense minister.
"The government's decision to take action [against Hizbullah] in Lebanon in the
summer of 2006 was correct and justified," Halutz said, speaking at a conference
at the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) in Tel Aviv.
"Leadership is measured in the ability to make a decision even if it is not
popular, while listening to other opinions and with a readiness to be held
responsible," he added.
The former IDF chief stressed that it had taken years to formulate the military
strategy he followed and recommended, and it was not invented ad-hoc on June 12,
2006, the day that IDF reservists Eldad Regev and Ehud Goldwasser were abducted
by Hizbullah.
"The strategy which I recommended to the politicians was formulated over a long
period of time and I would recommend it today too," Halutz said.
"It was possible to make do with a limited attack, but I thought otherwise and
still hold this view today. Under the exact same circumstances I would recommend
the same modus operandi," he concluded.
Earlier in the day, speaking at the same conference, Maj.-Gen. (res.) Moshe
Kaplinsky, who was deputy head of the General Staff during the war, said the IDF
failed to internalize three years ago that the conflict with Hizbullah was an
actual war.
Kaplinsky put the blame on the government's decision to cut the defense budget
in 2003 as well as the IDF's preoccupation with stopping Palestinian terror
activity in the West Bank.
"Fighting against terrorism and the cuts to the defense budget led to the IDF
not being prepared when the Second Lebanon War began," Kaplinsky said.
Kaplinsky listed a number of failures, including the decision at the beginning
of the war not to call up reserves, the failure to understand the impact the war
would have on the home front, as well as the failure to formulate an "end
strategy" for the war from the beginning.
Also Sunday, MK Shaul Mofaz said that Israel achieved only a limited deterrence
against Hizbullah, calling the Second Lebanon War "a missed opportunity."
In an interview with Israel Radio, Mofaz said Hizbullah had many more rockets
today than it did before the war, adding that the terror group now possessed
longer range projectiles.
Mofaz was transportation minister during the war.
121 soldiers and 44 civilians were killed during the 33 days of fighting with
Hizbullah in the summer of 2006. The war erupted on July 12, with a Hizbullah
cross-border raid that resulted in the abduction of reservists Eldad Regev and
Ehud Goldwasser.
On Wednesday, Defense Minister Ehud Barak praised the ability of soldiers in the
Second Lebanon War to "more than once, overcome mistakes made by those in senior
ranks,"
Speaking at Mount Herzl, at the state ceremony marking three years since the
campaign, Barak said "the soldiers in the field showed courage, resourcefulness,
self-sacrifice and brotherhood in arms."
Also Wednesday, OC Northern Command Maj.-Gen. Gadi Eizenkot stressed that "the
IDF has corrected the faults discovered in the war, and the enemy across the
border sees this."
Turning to the relatives of the fallen soldiers, the major-general said "there
indeed were shortcomings in the preparedness of IDF forces, but the goal was
just."
Zvi Bar'el / Will warmer U.S.-Syria ties lead Israel to cede Golan?
By Zvi Bar'el Last update - 02:48 12/07/2009 /Haaretz
Where is the super-plan for regional peace that we were promised? Where, at the
very least, is the "Obama document" for peace between Israel and the
Palestinians?
An interim summation illustrates that the super-plan apparently consists of
salami tactics. Take, for example, the matter of freezing settlement
construction. There is nothing new about the American position that the
settlements, all of them, are illegal. What is new is the more determined
American tone. Yet, for now, this seems to be more about words than an actual
intention to immediately solve the problem of the settlements; this demand
merely aims to "check off" the road map's first clause. It does not draw a new
border between Israel and Palestine, it skirts the question of the settlement
blocs and it fails to mention other core issues such as the holy places or the
distribution of water resources.
srael responded to this "salami slice" with a declaration of its own, a
revolutionary one, to the effect that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accepts
the two-state principle. These two declarations, the American one and the
Israeli one, are useless unless followed up. Even worse, without setting the
next objective - let's say negotiations over a future border - what's the point
in demanding that all settlement construction stop? What does the two-state
slogan mean?
Syria is another example in point. The increasingly close relationship between
Washington and Damascus, the unofficial reports that a new U.S. ambassador has
been appointed to Syria, the feverish work to reconcile Saudi Arabia and Syria
and perhaps subsequently Egypt as well - all under the Americans' aegis - create
the impression that these moves are part of a grand master plan. But can such
steps bring about Israeli agreement to withdraw from the Golan Heights? Have the
Americans sent any signs that Israel should prepare for such a withdrawal, or at
least that the construction freeze in the territories should apply to the Golan,
too? Nothing.
Gaza is the third example of the abundance of talk and little, if any, action.
The Strip's 1.5 million residents continue to be imprisoned as hostages to some
chain reaction waiting to go off. Is the release of kidnapped soldier Gilad
Shalit really the key to opening the crossings, or will a cease-fire agreement
spark their opening? Is there a connection between the two? Once again it must
be assumed that some super-plan is afoot.
All these moves are built on positive chain reactions and intended to culminate
in fireworks that will illuminate the longed-for peace. Thus, if Israel freezes
construction in the settlements and consequently Palestinian President Mahmoud
Abbas agrees to hold talks over the plan for a Palestinian state, whereupon
Israel agrees to discuss Jerusalem's status and the Palestinians in turn agree
to blur the right of return beyond recognition, then the Israeli-Palestinian
miracle will happen. If the United States and Syria normalize relations and as a
result Bashar Assad agrees to meet with Netanyahu, who in turn will announce his
willingness to withdraw from the entire Golan Heights, another miracle will take
place. If Hamas and Fatah agree to establish a unity government that will adopt
an eternal cease-fire with Israel, which will open the gates of Gaza, we can
even expect a double miracle: Hamas' recognition of the State of Israel and the
establishment of a responsible Palestinian government that can manage the entire
Palestinian state.
The danger in such a domino method is that it only takes one tile that refuses
to fall into place, sparked by, say, the assassination of a Hamas activist, an
attack on a settlement or an insulting remark, for the entire row to tilt in an
unexpected direction. Everything is interconnected in the structure Obama is now
building. All the players have to move simultaneously, agree to conditions and
implement them on a joint timetable. But, as opposed to 2003, when the road map
was announced, this time there are three interdependent tracks. Without Syria
there can be no Palestinian reconciliation, without which there will be no unity
government and therefore Abbas will have a hard time making concessions. Without
concessions, Netanyahu can shake off the order to freeze the settlements.
Obama, rightly from his perspective, is trying to steer clear of a comprehensive
and detailed plan with a timetable. But his salami tactics are too dangerous a
gamble. They encompass three reciprocal processes, too many loopholes and too
many possible land mines. This salami is a very unsatisfying meal indeed.
Obama For Closer 'Engagement' With Syria
Naharnet/U.S. President Barack Obama said he was troubled by Syria's behavior
but hoped for progress in ties with former foe Damascus, in an interview to be
screened Sunday.
Obama was asked by Britain's Sky News television if he would accept an
invitation to go to Damascus for face-to-face talks with Syrian President Bashar
al-Assad.
"We've started to see some diplomatic contacts between the United States and
Syria," Obama said, in an interview recorded during Saturday's visit to Ghana.
"There are aspects of Syrian behavior that trouble us and we think that there is
a way that Syria can be much more constructive on a whole host of these issues.
"But, as you know, I'm a believer in engagement and my hope is that we can
continue to see progress on that front." Assad said earlier this month that he
would be willing to meet Obama in Syria to discuss Middle East issues. "We would
like to welcome him in Syria, definitely. I am very clear about this," he told
Sky News. The Obama administration said last month it would send an ambassador
back to Syria after a four-year absence, as Washington tries to engage with a
former foe in a bid to revive Arab-Israeli peace talks. The previous
administration of president George W. Bush had put relations with Syria on hold
in 2005, following the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik
Hariri. Obama has moved to re-engage Damascus, a key regional player, as the
United States seeks to breathe new life into the faltering peace talks between
Israel and the Palestinians. Washington a first imposed economic sanction on
Syria in 2004 over charges it was sponsoring terrorism. The sanctions have been
extended several times since.(AFP) Beirut, 12 Jul 09, 07:43
Berri: Lebanon's Strength Lies in Political Unity And Internal Stability
Naharnet/Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri said that Lebanon's strength has always
been in the country's true holding of it's internal elements and political
unity.
On the occasion of the third anniversary of the July 2006 war with Israel, Berri
issued his tribute to the lives of all those that gave their lives "from the
military and the resistance only to register a wonderful historical and glorious
epoch for our people." Berri expressed his hope that the next Lebanese
government would place the issue of compensation and that of the Litani River
project at the top of its priorities. Beirut, 12 Jul 09, 14:00
Salloukh: July 2006 Anniversary Strengthens Our Unity, Calls For Speed
Government Formation
Naharnet/Foreign Minister Fawzi Salloukh said that Lebanon's people and army
taught Israel an unforgettable lesson in 2006 adding that the third anniversary
of this war should work on speeding the formation of a national unity
government. "This defeat forced Israel to seek to issue threats and to daily
violate Lebanese sovereignty and United Nations Security Council resolution 1701
that Lebanon fully commits to," Salloukh said. The foreign minister who left
Beirut on Sunday to Sharm al-Sheikh, Egypt to attend the Non-Aligned Movement's
foreign ministers meeting, called for strengthening the country's national unity
via a speedy formation of a national unity government. Beirut, 12 Jul 09, 13:51
Fayyad Criticizes Dealing With Partnership, Consensus As a
Tactic Not a Strategy
Naharnet/'Loyalty to the Resistance ' MP Ali Fayyad accused some in Lebanon of
continuing to deal with the issues of partnership and consensus from a tactical
rather than a strategic and conventional point of view. During a celebration in
the southern town of Bint Jbeil commemorating the third anniversary for the July
2006 war with Israel on Sunday, Fayyad said: " I don't see anything positive
from all the procrastination in forming a new government." He called for
establishing a true national unity government that would help Lebanon and for
allowing government institutions the opportunity to work properly. Beirut, 12
Jul 09, 12:20
Israel: Hizbullah Arming on a Large Scale
Naharnet/The Military Commander of Israel's northern region Brigadier general
Allon Freedman accused Hizbullah of arming at a large scale, adding that the
party has been gathering new fighting capacity at scale larger than the July
2006 war. He said that during that war Hizbullah suffered heavy losses, and that
the war's outcome struck a heavy blow to the theory that Hizbullah is capable of
fighting Israel and defeat it, claimed Freedman. The Israeli Gen. Said that the
2006 war was successful in that fact that over the last three years no exchange
of fire was recorded from south Lebanon to Israel. He reiterated the Israeli
stance in describing Hizbullah as a terrorist organization "that seeks to kidnap
Israeli soldiers and civilians."
Beirut, 12 Jul 09, 09:44
Hariri: One Hand Cannot Clap Alone
Naharnet/Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri said that one hand couldn't clap
by itself adding that he does not want to see one arm bending another. The daily
An-Nahar on Sunday said quoting opposition sources that a summary of last week's
consultations by the PM-designate did not arrive at a particular formula,
denying news that President Suleiman had rejected a 16-10-4 formula for cabinet
[16 to the parliamentary majority, 10 to the minority and 4 to the president].
The daily pan-Arab Asharq al-Awsat quoted French sources on Sunday that Hariri
informed French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner during their meeting in Beirut
on Saturday that he hopes to form government within ten days. Sources close to
MP Michel Murr told the paper the birth of Lebanon's next government remains far
off adding that Hariri is giving birth to an up-side-down government without
presenting new practical proposals for a new government formula. Informed
sources told the pan-Arab daily al-Hayat on Sunday the idea of providing the
president with 5 ministers [15 to the parliamentary majority and 10 to the
minority] is no longer being accepted by the president. The paper added that the
other formula for veto powers in government is to agree before hand with the
president on all issues that interest Hizbullah, and then bringing them to a
cabinet vote. Sources added to al-Hayat that there is an understanding that the
interior and defense portfolios are to remain with the president under current
ministers Baroud and Murr respectively. Al-Hayat mentioned that Hariri has been
holding closed door meeting last week with his consultants and advisors going
over economic, social, financial issues while maintaining his contacts with a
wide spectrum of syndicates and civil society representatives in the country.
Talks and discussions focused on sensitive issues such as electricity, social
insurance, reviving the economy in deprived and agricultural regions such as
Baalbek, Hirmil, Akkar and the south, the implementation of Paris III reforms
and a review of the status of all administrations, councils and funds. Beirut,
12 Jul 09, 09:15
Opposition Forces Adapt a Strong Stance in Favor of Veto
Power
Naharnet/The parliamentary minority's descriptions of what they seek from
Lebanon's next government varied but agreed in seeking to obtain veto powers.
Meanwhile, Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri denied news that he proposed a sole
cabinet minister with veto powers.
Hizbullah's Deputy Secretary-General Sheikh Naeem Qassem said on Saturday: "The
[parliamentary] opposition wants consensus as does the parliamentary majority.
The difference now is over the form of consensus, some would like to by sly and
desire a none conciliatory consensus, as for us we want an actual and applicable
consensus."
'Loyalty to the Resistance ' MP Nawwaf al-Moussawi said that during his meeting
with visiting French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner on Friday he listened to
his views concerning government formation, while he [Moussawi] presented his
"advice" regarding how one should deal with the coming period.
"There were two past experiences in government in 2005, the first when we were
excluded from the Saniora government, and the second that proved to be
successful, following the Doha [agreement]," Moussawi said. Hizbullah sources
considered Kouchner's remarks a departure from his excessive neutrality and his
direct entry as a party in forming the next government.
Earlier Kouchner told the pan-Arab daily al-Hayat on Saturday "the idea of veto
power in the cabinet is not democratic" and that sectarianism is an obstacle to
government formation.
MP Mohammed Raad renewed his call for a national unity government "in which an
actual and full partnership is achieved."
Raad added that he sees no explanation in delaying government formation adding,
"no one knows when the new government would be born as no one single party holds
the formula for it yet."Telecommunications Minister Jubran Bassil, [a member of
the Free Patriotic Movement] defended the opposition's demand for a proportional
representation of the parliamentary minority in government saying: "There are
those that say that this is far removed from the country's constitution. This is
misleading and represents a lack of appreciation and understanding of its
meaning." "We want an actual national unity and a true partnership, we want for
everybody to be represented in cabinet according to their political size and
according to the outcome of the last legislative elections, despite our
reservations. However, we accepted its outcome," Bassil said.
He went on to add that if there is a consensus in providing the president with a
parliamentary bloc "then let it be provided by all the political blocs in
parliament in the same proportion and not just only by one party." Beirut, 12
Jul 09, 08:50
Timing of Saudi-Syrian Summit to be Decided by Lebanese Cabinet Formation
Naharnet/Although a Saudi-Syrian summit and formation of a national unity
cabinet are intertwined, reports said that a condition has been set for Lebanese
to agree on a new government before such a meeting takes place. Arab diplomatic
sources have said that the issue of cabinet formation is no longer on the agenda
of a Saudi-Syrian summit, adding that the Lebanese should first agree on how to
from a national unity government. As Safir daily on Saturday quoted the sources
in Beirut as saying Riyadh informed Premier-designate Saad Hariri that both
majority and opposition should agree through dialogue on the formation of the
cabinet that guarantees the participation of all parties. Furthermore, the
sources said that there is no turning back on a Saudi decision to enter into
dialogue with Syria. They added that the date of king Abdullah's visit to
Damascus will be set as the Lebanese agree on the cabinet formation.
Al-Liwaa newspaper, in its turn, quoted informed diplomatic sources as saying
that next week will witness increased Arab contacts amid a link between the
Saudi-Syrian summit and the government. The sources said the formation of the
government paves way for holding the summit while at the same time preparations
to hold the Riyadh-Damascus talks could influence the situation in Lebanon
positively. Al-Liwaa wondered whether the summit between King Abdullah and
Syrian President Bashar Assad would be held before or after the division of
seats in the new Lebanese government. Beirut, 11 Jul 09, 08:52
Assiri: We Do Not Interfere in Lebanese Affairs And Keen on
Stability
Naharnet/Saudi ambassador to Lebanon Ali Awad al-Assiri reiterated his country's
keen interest in safeguarding the unity of the Lebanese people and country,
stressing the support for the country's stability adding that the kingdom does
not interfere in the internal affairs of Lebanon. In an interview with the Saudi
daily Okaz on Sunday, Assiri asserted that the Kingdom's openness to all
political parties is nothing new, but asserts a long time policy of working on
helping the Lebanese unite. "Saudi Arabia has no agenda in Lebanon save that of
its unity, stability and prosperity," Assiri said while adding that his country
on an equal basis with all political forces in the country. Beirut, 12 Jul 09,
09:29
Kouchner: Veto Power Undemocratic, No Major Obstacles in
Cabinet Formation
Naharnet/French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said veto power in the
Lebanese government is not democratic, adding that he believed no major
obstacles were facing cabinet formation. "The idea of veto power in the cabinet
is not democratic," Kouchner told pan-Arab daily al-Hayat in an interview
published Saturday, hoping a government would be formed away from tension and
opposition. The upcoming "government has to be able to function normally. We
believe that steps for (holding) dialogue in the region help such a
development," he said. Kouchner also said at the end of his two-day visit to
Beirut on Saturday that he saw no major obstacles in cabinet formation. He also
told reporters after meeting with Free Patriotic Movement leader Gen. Michel
Aoun that he believed all sides in Lebanon are working on forming a unity
government. "I am not responsible for the Taef or Doha (accords). But the French
contributed to these agreements," he told reporters in Rabiyeh. He also said
that if a national unity cabinet was formed, this would mean a major progress.
Kouchner also held talks on Saturday with MP Marwan Hamadeh and later traveled
to Syria where he will preside over a regional conference of French
ambassadors.The French foreign minister met with top Lebanese officials on
Friday, including Hizbullah representative Nawaf Moussawi. Beirut, 11 Jul 09,
12:13
Three years on
Today marks the third anniversary of the beginning of the July War
July 12, 2009 /NOW Staff
Smoke rises from a building in Dahiyeh in southern Beirut after an Israeli air
raid on July 16, 2006. (AFP/Anwar Amro)
Today marks the third anniversary of the beginning of the 2006 July War. The
34-day conflict killed over 1000 Lebanese civilians, forced nearly one million
from their homes and left swathes of the country in ruins. Three years on,
de-mining teams are still working to remove cluster bombs Israel dropped on the
South, while Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri used the occasion to emphasize
the need for a national-unity cabinet. On June 12, 2006, Hezbollah kidnapped two
Israeli soldiers and killed three during an assault on a patrol on the Israeli
side of Lebanon’s southern border. Israel, which was already involved in a
military operation in the Gaza Strip to free another captured soldier,
immediately responded by sending ground forces into southern Lebanon for the
first time since its 2000 withdrawal. The Israeli Defense Force carried out
massive airstrikes against Lebanon, which paralyzed major points of
infrastructure such as the country’s only international airport, bridges and
power plants, and subjected it to a punishing air and naval blockade. Hezbollah
strongholds in the South, the Bekaa Valley and Dahiyeh in southern Beirut were
particularly targeted by Israeli strikes.
Hezbollah responded by engaging in guerilla battles against advancing Israeli
units and fired approximately 4,000 unguided rockets into northern Israel.
According to AFP reports, the 34-day Israeli offensive left at least 1,287
Lebanese dead and 4,054 wounded. Four UN observers and one UNIFIL member were
also killed by Israeli strikes. The UNHCR estimates nearly one million Lebanese
were displaced by the war.
The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs said 119 Israeli soldiers and 44
civilians were killed during the conflict. Hezbollah and Amal announced they
lost 91 combatants.
A ceasefire came into effect on August 14 after UN Security Council Resolution
1701 was unanimously approved by the UN Security Council on August 11, and by
the Lebanese and Israeli governments the following days. The resolution called
for a full Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon and the disarmament of Hezbollah.
In the final stages of the conflict, Israel rained millions of cluster bomblets
on southern Lebanon, many of which failed to detonate on impact and have killed
and injured dozens of civilians in the last three years, despite ongoing
de-mining efforts. After considerable international pressure, Israel handed maps
of the locations of the cluster bombs to UNIFIL in May this year.
The conflict cost Lebanon billions of dollars as it was necessary to carry out
major infrastructure projects, repair or rebuild thousands of private houses and
remove unexploded ordinances.
As part of the 2006 Stockholm and 2007 Paris III donor conferences, governments
and organizations pledged close to 8.5 billion dollars in grants and loans to
help Lebanon rebuild and recover from the devastating war. Hezbollah returned
the bodies of the two kidnapped Israeli soldiers on July 16, 2008, in return for
the release of Palestinian Liberation Front member Samir Kuntar, who was
convicted of murder by an Israeli court, four Hezbollah members and the bodies
of 200 Lebanese and Palestinians.
Prime Minister-elect Saad Hariri said the occasion of the third anniversary of
the outbreak of the July War had prompted President Michel Sleiman and himself
to stress the importance of forming a national-unity cabinet, after meeting the
president at Baabda on Saturday. In a statement issued earlier on Saturday to
mark the anniversary, Sleiman praised the “victorious” efforts of the Lebanese
Armed Forces, the Resistance and ordinary civilians during the conflict. “Israel
learned a tough lesson after the war, which led them to resort to threats and
intimidation instead of the attacks that have proceeded each summer,” the
president added.
He criticized Israel for continuing to violate UN Security Council Resolution
1701 on “a daily basis.” Israeli violations of UNSCR 1701 were also discussed
during a meeting between French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner and Loyalty to
the Resistance bloc MP Nawwaf Moussawi on Friday evening. Moussawi briefed
Kouchner on Israel’s daily military flights over Lebanon and the recent
discovery of spy networks in the country. Israeli officials preempted the
anniversary by warning that Hezbollah had expanded its arsenal after the 2006
war, and cautioned the militant group against carrying out further acts of
sabotage against Israel or abducting its citizens and soldiers. “After 2006,
Hezbollah has not attempted to attack northern Israel, which proves that the
party incurred heavy losses during the war and the Israeli Defense Forces were
capable of restoring their deterrent capacity,” Israeli Northern Command chief
Alon Friedman told Israeli public radio on Saturday, news agencies reported.
Facts worth remembering
July 11, 2009 /Now Lebanon
A Lebanese family stands in front of the ruins of their house, which was
destroyed by Israel during the July War, in the southern village of Siddiqin. (AFP/Joseph
Barrak)
Three years ago, Hezbollah plunged Lebanon into a devastating war that left over
1,000 civilians dead and rendered another 1 million homeless. The damage from
the month-long conflict has been estimated at $7 billion, while the political
fallout paralyzed the government Fouad Siniora for the remainder of its term.
After the ceasefire, Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah declared the
outcome a “Divine Victory”, presumably because Israel had failed to achieve its
stated goal of mortally wounding Hezbollah’s military capability. The
declaration was as arrogant as it was thoughtless. One only had to wander the
bombed-out streets of Bint Jbeil or Beirut’s southern suburbs and compare the
scale of the damage inflicted upon Israeli society to realize that this was a
victory only within the very parochial confines of Hezbollah’s agenda, one set
and managed by sponsors in Iran. The boast is also unlikely to be a stern
warning to Israel. (Indeed the only lesson Israel learned was that it will do
the job properly next time, even it means just bombing Lebanon to smithereens
from the air.)
While many Lebanese quite understandably railed against Israel’s relentless
bombardment of the South, the Bekaa, southern Beirut and other strategic
locations across the country, the fact remains that it was Hezbollah’s reckless
kidnapping of two Israeli soldiers – and killing eight more in the process –
that was the catalyst to the horror unleashed upon an undeserving country.
Many of those who believe the Party of God can do no wrong have since sought to
excuse the July 12 kidnapping. The most popular justification sold the operation
as part of an ongoing strategy to kidnap Israelis and use them in negotiations
to free Lebanese prisoners in Israeli jails. How, they argue, was Hezbollah to
know Israel would react so ruthlessly?
This, of course, holds little water. Weeks earlier Hamas had launched a similar
operation against Israeli forces, killing two and capturing one soldier, Gilad
Shilat.
Israel’s response was to level areas of Gaza. Israel is not a county to quietly
accept the deaths or abductions of its young men, so it would not have taken a
genius to calculate the reaction to the abduction of not one but two soldiers
and the killing of eight in what would have been seen as a concerted effort by
its two biggest foes.
Within 24 hours Lebanon did not have a functioning airport.
Nasrallah has confessed that, had he known the consequences, he would not have
authorized the kidnapping operation. But there has been no act of epic
contrition and no disarming in recognition of the misery, heartache and
destruction wrought on the country. Instead, the party consolidated what it
perceived as a tactical advantage, and for the next three years stymied the
running of the country. Not only did it rearm, it has repeatedly shown that it
has scant respect for Lebanon’s democratic institutions. Three years on, after
an election it lost, an election in which the Lebanese said no to the
“Hezbollization” of their country, the party still wants a controlling stake in
the government. As March 14 leader Saad Hariri seeks to form a government, it is
well worth remembering that Lebanon has four years in which to prove that it can
live up to its promise, addressing critical economic and social issues and
building a peaceful and prosperous state upon common values. Peace and
prosperity cannot happen in the shadow of war, they cannot happen amid social
unrest, they cannot happen while gunmen still roams the streets, and they cannot
happen when one-third of the government can block the policies of an elected
majority. On the third anniversary of what was a tragic chapter in Lebanon’s
short and equally tragic history, these are facts worth remembering.
Former IDF Chief of Staff: Israel planned July War long before soldier abduction
July 12, 2009 /-NOW Staff
Israeli Brigadier General Dan Halutz, IDF Chief of Staff during the 2006 July
War, told a conference marking the war’s third anniversary on Sunday at Tel Aviv
University's Center for Strategic Research that Israel had planned for war
against Lebanon long before Hezbollah abducted two IDF soldiers, Ehud Goldwasser
and Eldad Regev.
He stated that the war’s principle aim had been the total elimination of
Hezbollah. He said former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Foreign Minister Tzipi
Livni and Defense Minister Amir Peretz had erred when they refused his proposal
to attack the Lebanese cabinet and infrastructure during the war, which he said
paved the way for Hezbollah to strengthen its military capabilities. Halutz also
said that Israel’s major achievements are that Hezbollah Secretary General
Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah considers himself under surveillance and does not dare
to be seen in public; Hezbollah lost the 2009 parliamentary elections; and Syria
is making overtures to improve relations with the West.
March 14 are all “decent people”
Khairallah Khairallah , July 10, 2009
Now Lebanon
It is not true that some of the members of the March 14 coalition are “decent
people,” as MP Sleiman Franjieh said on the eve of the meeting he held last
Saturday with MP Sami Amin Gemayel. Franjieh made it seem as if he was paving
the way for this meeting by saying that there is some difference or distinction
between this member of the March 14 coalition or that. What Sleiman Franjieh
does not understand is that March 14 does not need a certificate of patriotism
or decency – not from him nor anyone else. The March 14 coalition won the latest
elections. It won before that because it represented what a person like Sleiman
Franjieh is supposed to have represented: independence, freedom and sovereignty.
It is unnecessary to return to the past and to the events that accompanied the
era of President Sleiman Franjieh senior, may God have mercy upon him, who
raised the banner of “My country is always right.” But ultimately he fell into
the lap of the Syrian regime which, at some point, he thought that he could deal
with on an equal footing.
The term of Sleiman Franjieh senior was doomed when, in May 1973, he embarked on
the misadventure to encircle the Palestinian camps in order to put an end to the
unnatural situation that Lebanon had been suffering from. Sleiman senior wanted
to emulate Jordan’s experience in 1970 where state sovereignty was restored over
all its territory. He failed so miserably in this not because the structure of
the Lebanese state is different from the structure of the Jordanian state –
indeed the two states may or may not be different when it comes to Palestinian
refugee camps, their armed presence outside these camps and the establishment of
security areas outside of Lebanese sovereignty. He failed on a practical level
for a very simple reason: the flow of guns and gunmen from Syrian territory into
Lebanese territory on the one hand and because the Syrian regime decided to
close the border with Lebanon on the other. The borders were not opened until
the Syrian regime, headed by President Hafez al-Assad, may God have mercy upon
him, was assured that Sleiman Franjieh had gotten the message: major decisions
in Lebanon are to be made in Damascus and not in Baabda Palace. This setup
continued until the demonstration on March 14 2005, a month after the martyrdom
of Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and his companions. That demonstration, the
results of which the Syrian regime of today tried to downplay, led to a drastic
modification of the equation which had been in place since Hafez al-Assad
imposed it upon Sleiman Franjieh senior in 1973.
At that time, in 1973, Sleiman Franjieh senior acquiesced to the Syrian regime.
A new equation emerged in light of Lebanon’s inability to get rid of its
Palestinian armed presence which Syria imposed on Lebanon and which was used in
a subsequent stage for the Syrian army to get the US-Israeli green light in June
1976 to invade Lebanese territory under the pretext of “controlling the PLO
forces in Lebanon” – as expressed by US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger at
that time. It was Kissinger himself who had brought about the 1974 Israel-Syria
Separation of Forces Agreement. This agreement remains in force even today and
represents a cornerstone of Syrian policies. Few in Lebanon understood the
significance of the transformations the region was witnessing at that time.
Sleiman Franjieh senior, who was in office when the Lebanese war began, was
certainly not among those few.
All that can be said to Sleiman Franjieh these days is that the March 14
movement can do without his advice. All he needs to do is to try to grasp the
new equation which the pro-independence party has imposed. This equation obliges
all Lebanese politicians to seek to improve relations with Syria and the Syrian
people but also at every moment to tread cautiously with its regime. Any
self-respecting Lebanese politician would strive for equal relations between
Lebanon and Syria regardless of the nature of the regime in Damascus.
In the end, Sleiman Franjieh senior bears great responsibility for thirty years
of Syrian custody over Lebanon based on the fact that he did not understand two
fundamental issues. First, he did not understand why Syria was so insistent on
sending in Palestinians weapons and fighters to Lebanon since the late sixties
when Hafez al-Assad was still the minister of defense. Secondly, and finally, he
did not understand that pushing Christian parties to arm and to establish their
own militias to confront the armed Palestinian presence was sheer suicide for
them. The armed Palestinian presence can only be confronted through a unified
national position from both Muslims and Christians. That was true in the 60s,
70s and 80s of the last century and is true in 2009. Only such a unified
national position will protect Lebanon; there is no need to exploit the issue of
Palestinian naturalization or any other issue. Most people who speak about such
matters, beginning with “the General” and ending with Sleiman Franjieh today, do
not understand them.
A good dose of humility seems to be more than necessary in times like these.
Humility calls for one’s recognition of his/her past mistakes, including the
blatant mistake of the heinous assassination of Sleiman Franjieh’s family. It
calls for defining things as they really are: saying who committed the crime and
who facilitated the access of armed men to the scene of the crime. When Sleiman
Franjieh can do that, then he will have the right to take a position regarding
members of the March 14 movement generally and regarding some of these members
specifically. This does not mean that March 14 has been beyond reproach; rather
it means that one should not overdo his or her criticisms. Suffice it to say
that March 14 did not yield to the Syrian regime and to a large extent
represented what Sleiman Franjieh senior stood for as president. Prior to his
election he had always carried the slogan “My country is always right.” This
banner would only be brought down by the Syrian regime when Sleiman Franjieh
senior tried to spread the authority of the Lebanese state across all of its
territory in 1973!
**This article is a translation of the original, which appeared on the NOW
Arabic site on Thursday July 9