LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
October 21/09

Bible Reading of the day
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 12:35-38. Gird your loins and light your lamps and be like servants who await their master's return from a wedding, ready to open immediately when he comes and knocks. Blessed are those servants whom the master finds vigilant on his arrival. Amen, I say to you, he will gird himself, have them recline at table, and proceed to wait on them. And should he come in the second or third watch and find them prepared in this way, blessed are those servants.

Free Opinions, Releases, letters & Special Reports
Taliban’s War on Pakistan/By: Dr. Walid Phares/ 20.10.09
Iran attack puts Lebanon on alert/The Daily Star/October 20/09
New Opinion: A grim scenario/Now Lebanon/October 20, 2009

Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources for October 20/09
Naharnet Exclusive: Broad Christian Meeting in Maarab/Naharnet
Israel Installs New Surveillance Pole/Naharnet
Alternatives Found to 'Telecoms' Ministry Crisis/Naharnet
Aoun: I Defended Syria after 'They' Used to Accuse it Every Time an Explosion Occurred in Lebanon/Naharnet
Hizbullah: UNIFIL Position on Israeli Spy Devices 'Unacceptable Bias/Naharnet
Gemayel: Ministerial Statement to Guarantee Lebanon's Sovereignty/Naharnet
Jumblat Calls for Building a Common Lebanese-Syrian Memory/Naharnet
Yemen President Accuses Hizbullah of Training Rebels/Naharnet
Fruits of Violence Pose Challenge for Mideast Peace/New York Times
MEA captive held by 'unofficial military' group /Daily Star
LCP to mark 85th annversary with festival /Daily Star
Baalbek gardens an eternal reminder of poet who was 'hand in glove' with nature /Daily Star
Conflict-diamond report raises 'serious questions' over Lebanon /Daily Star
Heat wave sparks off massive forest fires across Lebanon /Daily Star
Lebanon receives Egypt gas to run Deir Ammar plant /Daily Star
ILO projects Mideast unemployment rate to range between 9 and 11 percent /Daily Star
Israel planted spy devices after 2006 war, says Hizbullah /Daily Star
Sleiman: Unity cabinet must be 'constitutional' /Daily Star
Lebanese figures condemn deadly terror attack in Iran /Daily Star
Armenian patriarch relays Syrian support/Daily Star
Sin al-Fil press and media center inaugurated /Daily Star
Chamoun: Some politicians abiding by Syria /Daily Star
Checchia: Cabinet formation Lebanese issue /Daily Star
Cabinet formation remains in deadlock following fruitless negotiations /Daily Star
Foundation stone laid at Palestinian refugee cemetery /Daily Star
Aoun: I agreed with Hariri not to give up on cabinet formation/Now Lebanon

MEA captive held by 'unofficial military' group
Daily Star staff
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
BEIRUT: A Middle East Airlines employee kidnapped earlier this year is alive and being held by an “unofficial military” group in Lebanon that is not Hizbullah, media reports said Monday. Joseph Sader, 56, was abducted on February 12 as he walked into work at Beirut’s Rafik Hariri International Airport, allegedly by three unidentified assailants who forced him into a sport utility vehicle. In comments published by the Lebanese daily Al-Liwaa, Archbishop Elie Haddad, pastor of Sidon and Deir al-Qamar’s Roman Catholic Melkite Church, said he had visited Sader’s family in Magdousheh to reassure them he was alive and could be released soon. The information technology manager was being held by an “unofficial military” group other than Hizbullah whose members disagreed over whether to release him, turn him over to the Lebanese authorities or continue detaining him for “further investigation,” Haddad told the newspaper.
Haddad said a religious figure from another sect has told him of Sader’s condition but did not know whether the MEA employee was guilty or not of spying for Israel. “I was told that he witnessed some of the events that may have been the cause of the espionage,” Haddad said in a separate interview with OTV.
“It seems that the kidnappers are hesitant and divided. Some want to release Sader and hand him over to the state authorities while others are seeking to prolong his detention for further investigation.” Lebanese state and security officials have said little in public about the Sader probe since mid-February, when Interior Minister Ziyad Baroud said he would remain silent in order not to compromise the investigation into his disappearance. Shortly after his abduction, media reports quoted high-ranking security sources as saying a “certain influential party” had handed Sader over to army intelligence. The LAF swiftly denied the claim. – The Daily Star

Yemen President Accuses Hizbullah of Training Rebels
Naharnet/Yemen president Ali Abdullah Saleh said that the Shiite northern rebels appear to have gone through combat training similar to that of Lebanon's Iran-backed Shiite Hizbullah militia, which fought a fierce guerilla war with Israel in the summer of 2006 in south Lebanon. "They have been trained in the same manner followed by Hizbullah in South Lebanon," he said, pointing to unconfirmed reports of the presence of "trainers from southern Lebanon in Saada," the rebels' stronghold. Saleh said that the Zaidi rebels are trying to establish a "Shiite zone" along the Yemen-Saudi border with the aim of harming both countries by taking money from Iranians. "These are outlaws and terrorists... who are in the pay of foreign forces and execute a foreign agenda," Saleh said, according to a text issued on Monday by state news agency Saba of a television interview. "Their finances come from certain Iranian dignitaries... but we do not accuse the government," he said, citing documents seized and confessions of rebels captured during the fighting between the army and the rebels, which has been raging since early August. The Zaidi rebels, known also as Huthis, have repeatedly denied being backed by Tehran. Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki postponed a scheduled visit to Yemen on Sunday due to a scheduling problem. Saleh also claimed that the Huthi rebels have ties with the Al-Qaida regional network, which has recently regrouped in Yemen, and with separatists in the south who are demanding their own breakaway state. A link exists between Al-Qaida and the Huthis, and between them and the southern movement," he said. "I do not think that they have the same agenda or the same principles, but they share the same adversary: the political system of the Yemeni republic," he added. Hundreds of people have been killed or wounded since the army launched Operation Scorched Earth on August 11 with the aim of crushing the five-year rebellion. Tens of thousands have fled their homes in the mountainous northern districts where fighting is fiercest, resulting in a humanitarian crisis complicated by a dire shortage of food and other basic necessities.(AFP) Beirut, 19 Oct 09, 18:41

Hizbullah: UNIFIL Position on Israeli Spy Devices 'Unacceptable Bias''
Naharnet/The member of Hizbullah's "Loyalty for the Resistance" parliamentary bloc MP Hassan Fadlallah considered on Monday that UNIFIL's position of announcing that Israel has planted the "spy devices" during its war on southern Lebanon in the summer of 2006 was an "unacceptable act of bias". During a phone interview with Agence France Presse, Fadlallah said that "what the UNIFIL's spokesman said regarding the devices that were detected and the date of planting is a presumption of the joint Lebanese Army-UNIFIL investigation that is examining the spy devices planted by the enemy". Fadlallah added that UNIFIL's new stance does not help it to perform its role, being an unacceptable act of bias and a stance on the political side of things. Hizbullah's MP announced the rejection of Hizbullah for UNIFIL's bias and its demand for a clarification from UNIFIL.Fadlallah added: "I believe that official Lebanon was also surprised by that (UNIFIL's) position because it came instantly after the devices and bombs were discovered and before waiting for a Lebanese International investigation, knowing that there is an investigation conducted by a Lebanese Army-UNIFIL committee,". "On which basis did the UNIFIL's spokesman claim that the bombs and devices have been planted since 2006 and how was this fact discovered before any investigation?", concluded the Hizbullah's MP. Beirut, 19 Oct 09, 17:06

Gemayel: Ministerial Statement to Guarantee Lebanon's Sovereignty
Naharnet/Phalange Party Leader Amin Gemayel said that the Ministerial statement will guarantee building up an independent and democratic Lebanon based on a national-unity government.
The Cabinet formation has been one of the main topics of the meeting held between former president Amin Gemayel and the newly appointed French Ambassador to Lebanon Denis Pietton on Monday afternoon in Gemayel's residence in Bikfaya. They both discussed the recent developments in the country stressing on the importance of the Ministerial statement in preserving the sovereignty of Lebanon. Pietton stressed on the historical friendship between both countries and offered France's support and hopes for speeding up the cabinet formation.
"Many French officials have recently visited Lebanon in an attempt to strengthen relations between both countries," added Pietton who also confirmed the near visit of the French foreign minister Bernard Kouchner to Lebanon. From his part, President Gemayel pointed out that Lebanon is still the focus center of all countries "especially now that our country has been elected non-permanent member of the U.N. Security Council". Gemayel feels positive towards a series of "concurrent international decisions regarding the economic and developing accomplishments affecting Lebanon". Regarding the latest developments in the South, Gemayel said that the only solution lies under the title of "understanding and of having a national-unity government that bears the total responsibility of the situation". Beirut, 19 Oct 09, 20:29

Aoun: I Defended Syria after 'They' Used to Accuse it Every Time an Explosion Occurred in Lebanon
Naharnet/Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun blamed PM-designate Saad Hariri's allies for hindering government formation and said he found himself obliged to defend Syria after the majority March 14 forces would accuse Damascus every time an explosion took place in Lebanon. "Obstruction does not come from Hariri, but from those around him, because his bloc comprises people of different orientations and tendencies," Aoun said in an interview with Syrian Satellite TV. "We have reached an understanding on various issues, most importantly that talks should not end with no agreement," he said in reference to ongoing negotiations with Hariri on a Cabinet lineup. Aoun said he felt that Hariri has a desire to overcome difficulties facing government formation. "From here I say that we will form a government even if we were somewhat late," he announced. Aoun denied that the Cabinet knot was the reappointment of his son-in-law Jebran Bassil as telecoms minister, saying the problem was "much bigger than that." Cabinet crisis, according to the former army commander, is related to fear from the reformist and transformative policy of the Free Patriotic Movement "that could nail down as many people who oppose it."Aoun described as "good" the Doha Accord that ended an 18-month long political crisis in Lebanon. He accused, however, pro-government team of "choosing what suits them best from this agreement." Aoun defended the Memorandum of Understanding he had signed with Hizbullah, pointing that there is no mention of a defense strategy but that the strategy has "imposed itself." He also "blessed" Druze leader Walid Jumblat for the strong ties he has re-established with Hizbullah "and we hope it will carry on." While Aoun expressed satisfaction with the political security situation in the country, he considered himself to be the number one on the list of assassination. On the International Tribunal issue, Aoun said he believed it was "politicized" at the beginning, "but we hope to see judicial and not political actions in the second phase." "All the facts so far have denied accusations made against Syria; and there doesn't seem to be an indictment against Syria through what was published until now." "We had gone through an extremely difficult stage following the assassination of ex-PM Rafik Hariri. Each time a person is killed they would accuse Syria," Aoun said in reference to the March 14 coalition. "We were forced to stand up in the face of this continuous political accusation and that had cost us some political price," he added. Aoun said he found himself obliged to "defend Syria after they used to accuse it every time an explosion took place in Lebanon." Beirut, 20 Oct 09, 08:23

Naharnet Exclusive: Broad Christian Meeting in Maarab
Naharnet/A broad Christian meeting was held in Maarab Monday evening between representatives of the Lebanese Forces, the Phalange party, the National Liberal Party, the Democratic Renewal Movement and the General Secretariat of March 14 forces. The meeting was attended by Cabinet ministers and MPs from the Lebanese Forces while the Phalange party was represented by Joseph Abi Khalil, Salim Sayegh and Walid Fares. Also present were National Liberal Party head MP Dori Chamoun, Camille Ziade and Antoine Haddad on behalf of the Democratic Renewal Movement as well as March 14 General Secretariat members Fares Soaid and Samir Franjieh. Information made available to Naharnet said talks focused on the role of March 14 Christians in the next phase. The conferees stressed during the discussions which lasted more than five hours the need for continued coordination among March 14 Christians, with emphasis on the Islamic-Christian alliance within the coalition as well as to activate the role of March 14 Secretariat. Beirut, 20 Oct 09, 12:01

Israel Installs New Surveillance Pole
Naharnet/A joint committee from the Lebanese army and UNIFIL continued its probe into the Israeli spy devices and their detonation between the border villages of Houla and Mais al-Jabal. The daily As-Safir said Tuesday that UNIFIL will soon call for a tripartite meeting to be held in Naqoura to discuss the latest incidents and developments.
Security sources told pan-Arab daily Al-Hayat that UNIFIL and Lebanese army experts are able to determine the nature of these devices by examining shrapnel from the explosions.
Due to the existence and means of sensing the human body warns of approaching them. Meanwhile, an Israeli engineer unit installed a new surveillance pole next to an old one that was equipped with surveillance cameras on Meskaf Aam hill overlooking the villages of Adeisseh and Kfar Kila. Beirut, 20 Oct 09, 10:15

Alternatives Found to 'Telecoms' Ministry Crisis
Naharnet/As the Lebanese braced for the announcement of a new government, optimistic levels varied between the majority March 14 forces which is hopeful that Cabinet formation could take place soon and the Opposition which is less positive. A well-informed source from "Lebanon First" parliamentary bloc said the most significant achievement lies in Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun's acceptance to alternatives to the telecoms ministry. The source, however, said these alternatives, which have been discussed between Aoun and Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri, were kept secret. The source told the daily An-Nahar in remarks published Tuesday that Hariri and Aoun are likely to hold a "decisive" meeting soon. He said the "alternatives" proposed would include the ministries of justice, social affairs and others. The source expected a Cabinet lineup to be completed by the end of this week or before the end of the month. FPM sources, however, expressed reservation over what they considered as "leakage that does not comply with the issues raised."Well-informed sources, meanwhile, told pan-Arab daily Al-Hayat that Hariri and Aoun have discussed "some of these alternatives" during recent talks, adding that Hariri's offer did not please the FPM leader. The two men, however, agreed to continue the search for a new Cabinet formula, according to the sources.

New Opinion: A grim scenario
October 20, 2009
Now Lebanon
If we are not careful, future students of Middle East politics might be confronted with this grim extract:
“In 2009, Lebanon’s March 14 coalition, led by the Future Movement’s Saad Hariri, second son of the slain former Lebanese prime minister, won a clear majority in the June 7 parliamentary elections. However, the Syrian-backed March 8 opposition immediately set about chipping away at the win, abusing any notion that March 14 might have of ruling with its majority.
“Hezbollah, which headed the majority, had used its weapons before to achieve political ends, notably in May of 2008, and the threat of further instability should, the opposition not get its way, was ever present. Furthermore, the presidency of General Michel Sleiman, one of the opposition gains from the May violence, was tacitly ‘owned’ by Damascus and so the opposition demand of a new cabinet with a 15-5-10 power sharing formula (cleverly spun as a national unity government) was, in reality, already tilted towards the opposition.
“But arguably the killer blow came with the ‘defection’ of Walid Jumblatt, who on August 2, announced at a gathering of his Progressive Socialist Party at Beirut’s Beaurivage Hotel – the irony of the location was not lost on anyone – but which was in all probability brokered nearly a year earlier, when Jumblatt recognized that the future, in all probability, lay with a US-rehabilitated Assad government. The upshot was that March 14th’s victory was comprehensively reversed by the time a cabinet was formed. Even its majority in the cabinet was an illusion. In reality, it ‘governed’ with a mere 12 out of 30 portfolios.”
It is a bleak but plausible scenario. If it comes about, it will have been because March 14 has made fatal concessions – Doha and the unity government formula of 15-5-10 being the biggest.
It is now 100 days since those elections and the nation’s waters have been suitably muddied. Pressure is being applied from inside and out. The opposition – notably Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun – is calling the shots and making demands while many Lebanese look for a magic solution amid the shuttle diplomacy of Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah and President Assad of Syria. But we forget one thing – well two, actually. March 14 has a majority and it has the constitution on its side. We remind its politicians of this fact because the people who went to the ballot boxes and who voted against a return to benign rule from Damascus, and for a country founded on the notion of full sovereignty, and all that goes with it, should not have to endure a reversal of what was a genuine and fair victory at the polls.
Already a sense of national disaffection has set in. The country is running (after a fashion) and, such is the level of disillusionment that Lebanese are almost ready to accept any formula just to restore a level of normality to their lives. It is a mindset that opposition has sought to create from the moment its defeat was formally announced on June 8 through a policy of attrition to destroy March 14’s credibility and with it the sense of majority. Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri must regain the high ground. He must send a clear message to the Lebanese people that he will not accept compromise; that compromise can only lead to stagnation. He must insist on his right as the leader of the majority to rule as a majority and be held accountable as a majority. He must refer his doubters to the constitution and tell them in no uncertain terms that it is not only his privilege as leader of the winning bloc to form a genuine majority but that it has now become a moral obligation to the nation to do so.

Aoun: I agreed with Hariri not to give up on cabinet formation
October 20, 2009 /In an interview with Syrian television on Monday night, Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun said that Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri is unlikely to step down from his post again, especially since he and Aoun agreed “not to give up” on the cabinet formation, among other issues. “Hariri has the will to overcome all difficulties facing the government formation,” Aoun said, however, “some Lebanon First bloc MPs are obstructing the cabinet formation.” Aoun also commented on the nature of Lebanon’s national defense strategy, saying that while it remains unofficial, “the strategy has imposed itself. The Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) and the security services maintain security and fight terrorism, while the Resistance conducts guerilla wars in case of any Israeli attack.” Aoun highlighted the positive effects of the Saudi-Syrian summit – held earlier during the month in Damascus – on Lebanon, however, he said that the Lebanese cabinet formation is a “domestic affair, which should only be resolved by the Lebanese.” Aoun also commented on the work of Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL), saying it was initially politicized. However, he voiced hope the tribunal would base its current and future enquiries on a “judicial decision.”The STL did not undermine the Lebanese-Syrian relationship, he said, adding that the court’s work could only enhance bilateral relations, “especially since all previous allegations have been proven invalid.”“Until now, all facts renounce claims that place blame on Syria” for Hariri’s assassination, he said.-NOW Lebanon

Jumblatt meets with Hardane, Wahhab
October 20, 2009 /Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblatt met with Syrian Social Nationalist Party leader MP Assaad Hardane on Monday evening to discuss their struggle against Israel as well as recent political developments. Earlier, Jumblatt had also met with Tawhid Movement leader Wiam Wahhab at the former’s residence in Clemenceau to discuss recent political developments.-NOW Lebanon

Jumblat Calls for Building a Common Lebanese-Syrian Memory
Naharnet/The leader of the Progressive Socialist Party Walid Jumblat said that the Lebanese and the Syrian nations "share history as they both went through political, national and Arab struggles". "Each nation fought the occupation in its own way; be it against the French colonization or against the Israeli occupation," he added. In his weekly stance in al-Anbaa newspaper, Jumblat said that this common history allows the two nations "to stand in the face of occupation and of regional tension. It will play an important role in overcoming all borders and partitions and help build a new path towards the privacy and independence of both nations". Regarding the spy devices recently blown in southern Lebanon, Jumblat said that if the truth of the matter is attributed to an Israeli violation it would be "added to the hundreds of violations of Lebanese territory [air, land and sea] taking place on a daily basis in contravention of UN Security Council Resolution 1701". Beirut, 19 Oct 09, 19:28

Two secretaries, three commissioners elected to parliamentary committee
October 20, 2009 /Speaker Nabih Berri presided over a parliamentary session on Tuesday to elect two secretaries and three commissioners for the parliamentary committee.
Democratic Gathering bloc MP Marwan Hamadeh and Lebanese Forces bloc MP Antoine Zahra were elected uncontested as the secretaries, while Lebanon First bloc MP Ahmad Fatfat, Armenian bloc MP Serge Torsarkissian and Development and Liberation bloc MP Michel Moussa were elected as the commissioners. The election of commissions had been delayed at the request of the parliamentary blocs. -NOW Lebanon

Cabinet formation remains in deadlock following fruitless negotiations
MPs say stalemate could be solved in current ‘positive atmosphere’
By Elias Sakr /Daily Star staff
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
BEIRUT: The distribution of portfolios in the new cabinet remains at a stalemate, after further fruitless negotiations on Monday. Newly appointed French Ambassador to Lebanon Dani Pieton said Monday France was ready, upon request, to offer the Lebanese assistance with the cabinet formation. Following a meeting with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, Pieton said Lebanon was on the agenda of French-Syrian talks. France, he said, was committed to preserving Lebanon’s sovereignty and independence.
Earlier this month, the French Presidency’s Secretary General Claude Gueant visited Syria while Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Moallem held talks with French officials in Paris.
Pieton informed Berri that French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner will visit Lebanon on Thursday while Syrian President Bashar Assad is expected to visit Paris soon. On Monday, Pieton also held talks with Premier-designate Saad Hariri, caretaker Premier Fouad Siniora and Phalange Party leader Amin Gemayel.
Following the meetings, Pieton emphasized France’s support for Lebanon and expressed hope in the prompt formation of a cabinet to enable the government to tackle pressing social and economic issues. Commenting on the cabinet-formation, Phalange Party leader Amin Gemayel said the atmosphere alternated between optimism and pessimism as some obstacles still hampered the process.
Gemayel said the government should reflect national agreement and unity to preserve Lebanon’s best interests.
Meanwhile, Phalange Party MP Elie Marouni said he thought the cabinet-forming process could conclude by the end of next week.
Marouni added that the Phalange Party would be granted better representation in the new cabinet and might be assigned one or two ministerial portfolios.
Similarly, Batroun MP Botrous Harb said the government could be formed by either the end of this week or early next week, given the prevailing positive atmosphere.
Harb added that offering candidates who failed in the elections a seat in the cabinet opposed constitutional norms, a reference to Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) leader MP Michel Aoun’s demand to reappoint as minister his son-in-law caretaker Telecommunications Minister Jebran Bassil.
Bassil, who ran for a seat in his hometown Batroun, lost the elections to Harb and Lebanese Forces MP Antoine Zahra “The calculations of Aoun differ from ours as we consider the country’s interests above any personal ones,” Harb said.
Harb stressed that one of the obstacles facing the cabinet formation lies in Aoun’s demands to be assigned the Telecommunication Ministry.
“However, I believe that the premier-designate is determined not to grant the FPM the telecommunications portfolio,” Harb said.
Following talks with President Michel Sleiman, Hariri said on Saturday that his meetings with Aoun “will materialize soon.”
“These meetings are held for Lebanon’s sake,” he added.
The premier-designate told reporters that the discussions over the makeup of the cabinet “will continue through the next three or four days and a breakthrough is imminent.”
Aoun and Hariri held their most recent meeting on the government formation late Friday. Reports of a positive atmosphere were echoed across the political divide by Reform and Change bloc MP Fadi Aawar. Aawar said he too expected the formation of the government to take place next week. Highlighting the positive regional situation, he called on politicians to benefit from it. Also, Change and Reform bloc MP Salim Salhab voiced hope on Monday that the cabinet would be formed within this week. He added that the upcoming meeting between Hariri and Aoun might be held after the president’s return from Spain on Wednesday. The Central News Agency quoted on Friday an FPM source as saying that Aoun awaited a response over several proposals he submitted to Hariri concerning the FPM’s share in the next cabinet. The source added that if the response to one of those suggestions were positive, the cabinet was see light soon. Salhab added that the Telecommunications Ministry was not the only remaining complication. On Monday, Aoun said he was not in favor of Hariri stepping down for a second time from his post as premier-desigate if the deadlock persisted.

Chamoun: Some politicians abiding by Syria
Daily Star staff/Tuesday, October 20, 2009
BEIRUT: National Liberal Party leader MP Dory Chamoun accused certain politicians Monday of “abiding by Syrian opinion” and obstructing the government-formation process. He added that it was “unfortunate” that the Lebanese were all awaiting the Saudi-Syrian summit for the cabinet impasse to be broken. He said the 15-10-5 cabinet formula, which grants the majority 15 seats, the opposition 10 and the president five, was “im posed by foreign powers.” – The Daily Star

Checchia: Cabinet formation Lebanese issue
Daily Star staff/Tuesday, October 20, 2009
BKIRKI: Italian Ambassador Gabriel Checchia confirmed Monday from Bkirki that the Cabinet formation was a purely Lebanese issue adding that nothing was clear yet in that regard. “Italy and the EU hope all parties endeavor to remove obstacles so to have the Cabinet formed at the return of President Michel Sleiman from Spain,” he said. Checchia discussed with Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Butros Sfeir the status of Christians in the region and in Lebanon in particular. He said they both stressed the necessity to halt the emigration of Christians because they were a key component of the Lebanese mosaic and to preserve the sectarian equilibrium. – The Daily Star

Graziano: UNIFIL has seen progress on 1701
By Mohammed Zaatari /Daily Star staff
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
SIDON: Commander of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) Major General Claudio Graziano said on Monday the peacekeeping force have achieved “noticeable progress in the implementation of many aspects of UN Security Council Resolution 1701,” which put an end to the summer 2006 war with Israel. Speaking during a medal parade for the Turkish contingent, Graziano said UNIFIL still has a lot to do before it can say that it has succeeded its mission. Graziano added that UNIFIL, including the Turkish contingent, will work in full coordination with the Lebanese Army to ensure the safety of their area of operations. “We are capable of achieving permanent peace in South Lebanon and we continue to be committed to all parties to execute our mandate,” he said.

Sleiman: Unity cabinet must be 'constitutional'
President pursues improved cooperation with spain
By Elias Sakr /Daily Star staff
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
BEIRUT: President Michel Sleiman stressed on Monday that Lebanon seeks to form a national-unity cabinet in accordance with constitutional and democratic norms, regardless of the necessary time needed to reach a consensus over the issue. Addressing the Spanish Senate following talks with President Juan Carlos, Sleiman stressed that the election of Lebanon as a member in the UN Security Council at the time Spain is presiding over the European Union would allow for greater cooperation and communication between the two countries.
Lebanon was elected for a two year period as a nonpermanent UN Security Council member while Spain would head the European Union at the beginning of next year.
Sleiman reiterated Lebanon’s
commitment to the implementation of Resolution 1701 in conjunction with the United Nations Interim Force for Lebanon (UNIFIL) rules of engagement. Sleiman also praised the Spanish government for its supportive position toward preserving Lebanon’s sovereignty, independence and unity.
“We would continue to seek more opportunities to cooperate with Spain on political, economic and cultural levels as part of Lebanon’s partnership with the EU,” Sleiman said.
The president also lauded the Spanish participation in the UNIFIL as he paid his respects to the Spanish soldiers who died in “defense of stability, security and peace in the region.”
For his part, head of the Spanish Senate Francesco Khafier praised Sleiman’s efforts to promote and preserve stability in Lebanon, adding that the Spanish troops’ presence in Lebanon aimed to aid in the progress of the peace process. Khafier also voiced support for all initiatives to ratify further agreements between both countries as part of their efforts to promote peace as well as political and economic stability in the Middle East region. Khafier also paid respects to all Spanish soldiers who were killed as a result of terrorist attacks while being on duty in Lebanon. Sleiman traveled to Madrid Sunday on a three-day visit for talks with King Carlos and top Spanish officials.
On Monday, Sleiman met Carlos, Khafier and head of congress Jose Martines. Sleiman was accompanied by Foreign Minister Fawzi Salloukh, Defense Minister Elias Murr and Tourism Minister Elie Marouni. First lady Wafaa Sleiman also escorted the president. On Friday, Spanish Premier Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero arrived in Beirut and met with Sleiman, with whom he discussed local and regional affairs as well as ways to improve bilateral ties, before visiting the Spanish battalion of the UNIFIL in the south. Zapatero had stressed his country’s commitment to peace in the region and confirmed that Spain was committed to Lebanon’s future and stability.

Israel planted spy devices after 2006 war, says Hizbullah
By Patrick Galey /Daily Star staff
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
BEIRUT: Spying devices destroyed in south Lebanon over the weekend were planted by Israel after the conclusion of the 2006 war, Hizbullah said Monday. Explosions ripped through areas of farmland between the villages of Meis al-Jabal and Houla in the early hours of Sunday morning as the devices were detonated, with a Lebanese Army spokesperson suggesting that at least two explosions were remotely arranged by Israel.
“[Hizbullah] has discovered a spying device installed by the Israeli enemy on a cable between villages after the 2006 war,” said a party statement issued on Monday.
“It was established that the device was booby trapped and that the enemy had tried to blow it up once it knew it had been found out.”
A United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) statement confirmed that “at least two” explosions had occurred in south Lebanon over the weekend, “some 2 kiloemeters north of the Blue Line, inside Lebanese territory.”
There were no reports of any injuries and a joint UNIFIL-Lebanese Army probe has been launched to ascertain the exact cause of the blastss and locate any additional spying devices.
The statement appeared to corroborate Hizbullah’s assertion that the explosions were caused by Israeli espionage equipment and added that an investigation into the incident was under way, the results of which will be submitted to the Security Council in New York, including a list of “all violations of resolution 1701.”
But disagreement between the peacekeeping force and the Shiite group intensified on Monday over when the devices were placed.
“Preliminary indications are that these explosions were caused by explosive charges contained in unattended underground sensors which were placed in this area for the [Israeli Army] apparently during the 2006 war,” said UNIFIL, in reference to Israel’s 34-day summer war in lebanon in 2006.
Hizbullah Deputy Hassan Fadlallah on Monday accused UNIFIL of “unacceptable bias” by suggesting that the devices were remnants of the summer war, not planted subsequently by Israel. “On what basis can UNIFIL say that the devices were installed in 2006? How did it discover this before [the end] of the investigation?” Fadlallah asked.
“These look like some sort of espionage device,” said UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon, Michael Williams, on Sunday.
Retired Lebanese Army General Elias Hanna told The Daily Star that more information was needed before any claim could be corroborated.
“Technically we have to know what type of devices these are and gather all the information concerning these devices,” he said. “We need to know if they really were left over from the war or were they put there afterwards.”
If confirmed, the reconnaissance devices would constitute a serious violation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701 – which provides that Lebanon’s sovereign borders must be respected – and Lebanon has repeatedly complained to the UN about flyovers by Israeli warplanes which it claims constitute near-daily violations.
Also on Sunday, an Israeli MK-type reconnaissance aircraft was fired at by LAF anti-aircraft guns “because the aircraft was within range” according to an army official.
UNIFIL’s statement said it had called on the Israeli Army to “immediately cease this air violation.”
“LAF troops fired at the [aircraft] with machine guns and small arms,” the statement added.
The incidents prompted an increase of military patrols on either side of the UN-demarcated Blue Line on Monday, said local media reports, as over flights continued apparently unmitigated.
“At 11:45 p.m. [Sunday], an Israeli reconnaissance plane violated Lebanese airspace from above Naqoura village, where it effected a circular flight over the South, and left this morning at 8:35,” said a Lebanese Army statement on Monday.
A second Israeli reconnaissance plane violated Lebanese airspace above Naqoura at midday Sunday, where it a circled until 7 p.m. before heading south toward occupied territories, the statement added.
Williams said that the use of unmanned drones to fly over Lebanon was a clear breach of its sovereign borders “and not particularly helpful at a time of obvious tension in the south.”
More than 70 people have been arrested in Lebanon this year on suspicion of spying for Israel following a crackdown on espionage activity within military circles. The UN said in July that any proven reconnaissance activity that violated any Security Council resolution would be treated seriously.
Hanna said that all parties were guilty of espionage.
“Really everybody is violating [Resolution 1701] in this respect. A spying war is still going on between Hizbullah and Israel. It is going to continue because after the war the main issue [for Israel] was a lack of tactical intelligence,” he said. Hizbullah said the discovery of the device represented a failure on Israel’s part to comply with Resolution 1701.
“This new failure by the Israelis follows its fiasco to protect a large number of Israeli spying networks which were uncovered a few months ago. This Israeli aggression re-asserts the continued Israeli violations of our national sovereignty in land, air and sea,” the statement added. – With agencies

Lebanese figures condemn deadly terror attack in Iran
Daily Star staff/Tuesday, October 20, 2009
BEIRUT: Lebanese politicians condemned on Monday the terrorist attack that took place on Sunday in southeast Iran as they called on the Iranians and Muslims to preserve their unity in face of attempts to promote schism among their ranks. Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri expressed on Monday his condolences in a telegram to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and head of the Shura Council Ali Larijani following Sunday’s bombing in south Iran that left 35 people dead including six top officials of the revolutionary guards.
The Amal Movement headed by Berri also issued a statement condemning the attack, saying the bombing aimed to instigate an inter-Muslim conflict.
“It is a terrorist attack that seeks to break the Muslim unity and create an inter-Muslim schism in order to destabilize and weaken Iran domestically,” the statement said.
Amal also expressed its sincere condolences to the Iranian people and its leadership.
Iran’s Ambassador to Lebanon Mohammad Reza Shibani praised on Monday the Lebanese support for Iran particularly with regard to the attack that targeted it.
Shibani’s statement followed meetings with several Lebanese officials as part of his farewell tour as his tenure in Beirut came to an end. Senior Shiite Cleric Sayyed Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah warned Monday that any strike against Muslim unity is a strike against Islam as a whole. Fadlallah added that attempts to turn Iran’s attention from its confrontation with Israel to domestic strife would result in a failure. Similarly, vice head of the Islamic Shiite Supreme Council, Sheikh Abdel-Amir Qabalan offered his condolences to the Iranians as he condemned incidents taking place on all Islamic grounds. Qabalan also stressed Muslim unity and called on all Iranian leaders to handle the terror attack based on an approach which preserves their unity. Separately, former Premier Salim al-Hoss condemned in a statement the attack on Iran, adding that this crime coincided with Islamic Republic’s openness to countries which objected to Tehran’s nuclear program. Hoss questioned the reason which causes foreign countries to be provoked by Iran’s work in the nuclear field while Israel possesses and stores hundreds of nuclear bombs. The Iranian attack highlighted deepening instability in a southeastern region of mainly Shiite Muslim Iran bordering Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Many minority Sunnis live in the impoverished area, which has seen an upsurge in bombings and other violence.
Iranian media said a local rebel Sunni group called Jundollah (God’s soldiers) claimed responsibility for the attack, the deadliest on the elite Guards in recent years, which also wounded about 30 people ahead of a unity meeting with tribal chiefs. The talks were part of efforts to foster Shiite-Sunni unity and the Guards said the attack was aimed at fomenting sectarian strife in Sistan-Baluchestan Province, media said. About 10 senior tribal figures were among the dead. Iranian officials also accused the US and Britain of involvement, a charge rejected by Washington. Tehran says the United States backs Jundollah to stir trouble in the border area and has also linked the group to Sunni Islamist Al-Qaeda. – The Daily Star

Conflict-diamond report raises 'serious questions' over Lebanon
By Dalila Mahdawi /Daily Star staff
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
BEIRUT: Lebanon and a number of other countries are failing to comply with international measures governing the diamond trade, a tersely worded report said last week. The Kimberly Process Certification Scheme (KPCS or KP), is a non-legally binding process sanctioned by the UN in 2003 aimed at certifying the origin of rough diamonds from sources free of conflict fueled by diamond production. The certification scheme is designed to prevent conflict-diamonds from entering the mainstream rough-diamond market and was established to assure ethical consumers that their purchases were not financing war and human-rights abuses. But with several members, including Lebanon, failing to comply with KPCS requirements, the scheme now risks “failing,” the annual report by the non-governmental organization Partnership Africa Canada (PAC), said Thursday. The report outlined several cases of “flagrant noncompliance” which PAC said were ignored by the KPCS until they became media scandals. Examples included corruption in Brazil, weak internal control mechanisms in Angola and blatant diamond mining and smuggling in Venezuela. “In addition, production and trade statistics from Lebanon … raise serious questions,” the report said. It added that KPCS had become a “talk shop, with civil society acting as watchdog of the industry and the Kimberly Process itself.” Lebanon, which joined the KPCS in 2007 to regulate its budding polishing industry, has not been satisfactorily probed by the process over its internal regulations, PAC said. “It seems … that polishing ideas have been put aside, and quite a nice little import-export business has developed: about 2.5 million carats a year.” Beirut exported some $48,475,333 worth of diamonds in 2008 but appears to import them at a fraction of their worth, the report said, implicitly suggesting Lebanon was purchasing diamonds from dubious sources. “More than 97 percent of all diamonds leave Lebanon soon after they arrive. And something miraculous happens to quite a lot of them: 85 percent of the diamonds arrive as industrials worth a couple dollars a carat, but some 250,000 more carats leave as gem-quality diamonds than arrive – worth 36 times their import value.” You might think that regulators worth their salt would have jumped on this … when the first reports of it surfaced early in 2009, but six months later when we went to press, the KP was still only asking polite questions and getting very little from Beirut in return,” the report added.
If the KPCS was to collapse, it would spell disaster for the diamond industry and the millions of people in developing countries who directly or indirectly rely on it, PAC said.
“A criminalized diamond economy would re-emerge and conflict diamonds could soon follow,” the organization’s executive director Bernard Taylor said.” KPCS’s failures, while significant, “can and must be fixed,” he added. PAC’s Susanne Emond said : “The KPCS is too important to fail. It does not need to be redesigned; its provisions need to be enforced.”

Iran attack puts Lebanon on alert
By The Daily Star /Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Editorial
This week’s deadly suicide bombing in Iran, which targeted the Revolutionary Guards, has received considerable media coverage. Much of it has focused on the significance of the event for the Iranian regime, and the possible role of outside powers in the suicide attacks and a general campaign of destabilization of the Islamic Republic.
But on another level, there’s the ethnic-sectarian issue to consider, and to put it bluntly, the dangerous implications for Sunni-Shiite relations.
Jundallah is the group believed responsible for the attack in the eastern province of Sistan and Baluchistan, which happens to be religiously Sunni, ethnically Baluchi, and very poor.
In one sense, the attack was a case of regime versus armed militant group, but we can’t forget the Sunni-Shiite divide, in this case mirroring an ethnic split.While there are several reasons for why groups like Jundallah exist, the pertinent point for us is how to be on guard against attacks that are widely seen as reflecting sectarian tensions and anger.
Such attacks are unlikely to upset the balance of power in Iran, where the Revolutionary Guards remain dominant. In such situations, the authorities can decide that politics should be about “security,” which places keeping the internal peace, rather than opening to the outside world, as the top priority.
But even a few such incidents can spark similar violence elsewhere. We sit on a powder keg, in this region of frustrated youth and others who can easily be swept up into copycat violence in other countries.
In Lebanon, Sunnis and Shiites should be careful and monitor these worrying developments, especially because the two sects have enjoyed less than satisfactory relations in recent years.
The country’s other communities should take note as well, and prevent their fellow Lebanese from getting swept up any further in the rising tension that plagues our part of the world.
There are clear implications for our politicians, who should remember to be restrained in their acts and deeds. They’re often contacted by the media to appear in forums of discussion of such events. They must ensure that we don’t see any stoking of the flames of sectarian incitement. The attack in Iran might involve political, social and economic factors, and not religion per se. But events on the ground escalate and things can spin out of control, as the sectarian spin on things gains prominence. In any case, the Lebanese have been there, and paid the price. We’ve experienced bloody events and are shaken by their destructiveness, only to find them meaning nothing in the end. No one in the region, at the popular level, is made happy by outbreak of sectarian violence in Lebanon. We have just as much reason to be worried by its popping up elsewhere in the region.

Taliban’s War on Pakistan
By Dr. Walid Phares
Canada Free Press
Monday, October 19, 2009
The war between the Taliban and Pakistan continues to accelerate. Just last weekend, Pakistan’s army responded to a long string of Taliban attacks by launching a massive ground operation in Waziristan.
But through this already-long fight, the press and other observers have only focused on the continuing bloodshed rather than the fact that the Taliban continue to launch suicide bombers and other types of attacks inside Pakistan’s cities against its police and military forces. We warned that the Taliban’s war on Pakistan’s government and civil society, would widen since the assassination of Prime Minister elect Benazir Bhutto in December 2007. And so it is today.
It is unfortunate, but nevertheless true, that he most important events – the worst events—in this war have yet to happen. And analysts must focus on the lessons learned so far so that the worrying projections can be accompanied with parallel policy suggestions.
The jihadi campaign in Pakistan was planned years ago, but the electoral victory in 2007 of the secular Party of the People, headed traditionally by the Bhutto clan, triggered an acceleration of the Taliban general offensive. Initially the Mullahs of the most radical Salafists on the face of Earth – in partnership with al Qaeda—wanted to seize Pakistan gradually, with further infiltration. They were building their “Emirate” sanctuary in Waziristan and beyond, while penetrating the intelligence agencies and other segments of the bureaucracy.
But since September 2008 when Benazir’s widower Asif Ali Zardari was elected as new President and as he clearly pledged to fight “terrorism,” the Taliban leaped to preempt his designs. In one short year, they escalated their attacks reaching a point 60 miles from Islamabad last April. That week, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said that Zardari’s government was “abdicating to the Taliban and the extremists.”
In fact when the Jihadist forces entered the Swat valley and began heading towards the capital’s suburbs, the country’s Government was tested strategically. I told Fox News then that this was a “red line.” Crossing it towards Islamabad meant a Taliban advance all over the country. But if the Army would cross it in reverse, it would mean a full fledge war against the Taliban. And in fact it did happen, as we can see today. So what are the lessons so far?
First, the Taliban and their jihadi allies have clearly shown that they have cells capable of conducting terror attacks way beyond their enclaves. Hence one needs to expect protracted violence in urban zones. The armed Islamists aren’t a new force appearing only this year, but a network growing for decades. Now is their time to try to take out the secular government.
Second, the attacks against the military headquarters and bases, never performed before, can be copycatted against more dangerous locations, including nuclear sites: storage locations, launching pads or delivery systems. It is a question of time before such a scenario could materialize.
Third, assassinations are still possible. As with the late lady Benazir, the Taliban knows that achieving such goals can trigger even wider clashes inside the country.
Fourth, the present Pakistani government is strategically decided to fight and dismantle the Taliban enclaves in the Northwest provinces. If this government fails, such an opportunity will not happen again soon. All of these factors indicate that this is the last card been played, in this generation, against the jihadists of Pakistan.
Fifth, the Taliban war on the secular government in Pakistan shows a determination to take over that country. It also shows that the notion of a “moderate Taliban” has no connection to reality. Otherwise the Pakistani Muslim Government would have found these alleged “moderate Taliban” and mobilize them against the bad guys. It didn’t happen and it won’t.
Hence, based on these findings, the following are strategic recommendations for the US Administration to consider seriously:
1.As Pakistan’s armed forces and its government are waging a counter campaign on the Taliban, Washington must refrain from regurgitating the myth of “cutting deals with the good Taliban” as an exit strategy for Afghanistan. Such a hallucination would crumble the determination of anti-Taliban forces in Afghanistan and would weaken the resolve of the Pakistanis engaged in their own national counter terrorism campaign against the Taliban.
2.The Obama Administration must help Zardari’s government discretely and at the demand of the latter. US and Pakistani leaders should coordinate efforts without exposing this cooperation to jihadist propaganda
3.The Obama Administration must rapidly extend resources to General McCrystal in Afghanistan so that the pincer movement against the regional Taliban can happen at the same time. Now that the Pakistanis are on the offensive in Waziristan, NATO and Afghan forces must take the offensive on the other side of the border. The Taliban must not be enabled to fight one adversary at a time, by massing all their resources in two countries against one foe then move to the next.
I am sure US and NATO strategists and Pakistani decision makers have this in mind. But we need to make sure US decision makers do not have other plans in mind. Otherwise, if the pincer strategy is not performed, we may lose not one but two countries in the region to the jihadists, one of them being already nuclear.
**Dr. Walid Phares, Walidphares.com, is the author of the “War of Ideas: Jihadism against Democracy” and a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. Dr. Phares can be reached at: Phares@walidphares.com

Finish it now
By Eldad Yaniv /Haaretz
19/10/2009
In the early 1990s, when Judge Richard Goldstone headed a commission of inquiry on the rising violence in South Africa toward the end of apartheid, he garnered the same kind of compliments from the Afrikaners as he has been getting from Israel over the last few weeks. But the "Jew boy" wasn't the problem then, and he isn't the problem now. And PR isn't the solution. Take a look in the mirror; it's not Goldstone, it's us. We're the problem as well as the solution.
Israel is being pushed to the side of the world stage and will yet find itself in the same position South Africa was during the final years of the right-wing "crocodile," P.W. Botha, a conservative ideologue. The Goldstone report is a cruel but accurate image of Israel the leper as seen by the "anti-Semitic" Goldstone and Israel's good friends around the world, who are having a hard time continuing to defend the country.
When Martin Luther King Jr. was fighting for the rights of black people in the United States, it didn't bother anyone that South Africa had benches for white people only. But then the weather changed, winter turned to spring and racism became a crime once more, first in the United States and then around the world. That's exactly what's happening in Israel now. George W. Bush retired to his ranch and America has gotten tired of the settlers. Everyone understands what every decent and patriotic Israeli also realizes: Israel won't be in Hebron or Ofra when it celebrates its 70th anniversary. So why not be done with it before then?
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When will be the appropriate time? When Ankara recalls its ambassador? When Vice Premier Moshe Ya'alon is arrested in London? When the Security Council imposes sanctions? When Angela Merkel, Nicolas Sarkozy and Silvio Berlusconi start saying behind our backs the same things the Swedes and Norwegians say about us to our faces?
We could be total suckers and not be done with it until then, or we could decide now, the way David Ben-Gurion took action at 4 P.M. one Friday afternoon: mightily, and in thrall to a Zionist vision. Complete the ugly, injurious fence that causes injustice but saves lives and turn it into Israel's internationally recognized border. Patriotic Israel realizes that the Palestinians must not beat us in the War of Independence and become the majority here, just as Ben-Gurion understood in 1948 when he made his decision. So the Arabs oppose dividing the land under reasonable conditions and want to talk until they form the majority here? Let them oppose. The world agrees, and we act.
Israel didn't have to wallow in Lebanon for 18 years because of the Katyusha threat, and it doesn't need to immerse itself in Hebron for 42 years because of the Qassams. The Israel Defense Forces successfully defends our internationally recognized borders from security threats. We've waited too many years to give the Palestinians an answer on this, and time is against both sides of the conflict - mainly us.
And when Israel establishes recognized borders, maybe peace will make a surprise appearance. The Palestinians will no longer be living under occupation, no one in the world will listen to them anymore, and the leaders of Egypt and Jordan will be worried about staying in power if it's not quiet in Palestine. So maybe something will move and we'll bury the sword.
And if not? We will continue to seek peace while establishing ourselves as a model society with recognized borders; we will be respected members of the European Union and sought after by the entire world.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu must decide whether it will be on his watch that Israel closes the book on its control over the territories, just as Ariel Sharon closed the book on Israel's presence in Gaza and Ehud Barak did in Lebanon. Or not, in which case Bibi will be followed by the Israeli F.W. de Klerk, who will lead us to a safe harbor and a historic, and final, victory in the War of Independence.