LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
April 11/09

Bible Reading of the day.
إJohn 19/31-37: Therefore the Jews, because it was the Preparation Day, so that the bodies wouldn’t remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a special one), asked of Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away. Therefore the soldiers came, and broke the legs of the first, and of the other who was crucified with him;  but when they came to Jesus, and saw that he was already dead, they didn’t break his legs. However one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out. He who has seen has testified, and his testimony is true. He knows that he tells the truth, that you may believe. For these things happened, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, “A bone of him will not be broken.” Again another Scripture says, “They will look on him whom they pierced.”

Free Opinions, Releases, letters & Special Reports
Damascus’ double standards on demarcation-NowLebanon.com 10/04/09
Iran is a threat not a challenge/Future news 10/04/09
Democratic Hope in Lebanon-By MELIK KAYLAN.Wall Street Journal 10/04/09
Iran's oppressive practices will only bring about the demise of its ruling regime-The Daily Star 10/04/09

Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources for April 10/09
Belonging Movement Accuses Hizbullah of Attacking Party Officials-Naharnet
Syrian FM: Syria, Iran Triumph In Political Arena-MEMRI
Lebanon FM: No need to negotiate with Israel-Xinhua - China
Sfeir Urges Citizens to vote in Elections in the Best Interest of Lebanon-Naharnet
Egypt: Nasrallah Gave Green Light to Assassination Attacks in Ashoura-Naharnet
Egypt to question 'Hezbollah plotters' further-AFP
International Tribunal Defense Team in Beirut Next Week-Naharnet
Qassem: March 14 Failed Politically-Naharnet
Two or Three Lists in Kesrouan?-Naharnet
March 14's List Nears Agreement in Dinniyeh-Naharnet
Al-Shaar: elections are a challenge to our cultural awareness/Future News
Aoun-Berri Not in Hurry to Reach Compromise, Husseini out of Baalbek Electoral Ticket-Naharnet
European Parliamentary Delegation Holds Onto Lebanon's Independence-Naharnet
Suleiman: I have no Parliamentary Candidates; Sader is Not With Military Intelligence-Naharnet
Arab FMs, Including Salloukh, to Coordinate Arab Stance on Mideast Peace-Naharnet
Lebanese Wives of Foreigners Threaten to Boycott Polls-Naharnet
Congressional Team Meets Suleiman, Conveys U.S. Support for Arab Initiative-Naharnet
Israeli Army Carries Out Land and Space Surveillance Missions-Naharnet
Karami: Alliance in the North Will Not Continue after Elections-Naharnet
Report: Two Lebanese Found in Suitcases Crossing into Iraq-Naharnet
Lebanon cuts phone lines for non-paying embassies-Daily Star
Sleiman: Upcoming polls will confirm Lebanese democracy-Daily Star
Egypt to question alleged Hizbullah plotters further-(AFP)
Obama taps Feltman as top US diplomat on Middle East-(AFP)
US aims to deliver heavy hardware to Lebanese army ahead of elections-Daily Star
Syria raps bid to revise budget for Resolution 1559-Daily Star
Saudi minister urges 'peaceful' vote in Lebanon-Daily Star
MP urges US to press Israel's new cabinet on peace-Daily Star
Ex-resistance fighter pays tribute to secular martyrs-Daily Star
NGO helps children publish their first book-Daily Star
Hundreds of Lebanese women demand equal right to pass on nationality-Daily Star

Iran is a threat not a challenge
Date: April 10th, 2009 Source: Future News
From now on, the United States will fully participate in any dialogue conducted by the five-member countries members of the Security Council in addition to Germany with Iran.
Topping the agenda of discussion with Iran, for which these countries designated Javier Solana, the top representative for the common foreign and security policy and secretary-general of the council of the European Union, is its nuclear program.
Amid this diplomatic activity, the Swiss newspaper Le Temps reported that secret and regular meetings have been held over the past six years in several European cities between Iranian representatives and their European and American counterparts.
The meetings that were not denied by Tehran were on several occasions attended by Israeli officials, according to the paper.
Iran’s president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad expressed willingness to reach out to President Obama’s initiative providing it is “genuine” and presidential candidate Mir Hussein Mousawi promised he would change the external image of his country admitting that “extremism has badly affected us.”
The purpose of Iran’s wars in Lebanon, Palestine and Iraq was no doubt to restore Persian Imperialism and to demonstrate its hostility toward the United States.
In principle we cannot bet on the reformists or the conservatives to reduce the intensity of the confrontation with Iran because both of them are firmly committed to nuclear power, the core of the secret talks.
In Iran, in the final analysis, neither the president nor any legislative institution has any real power because the country is ruled by the Revolutionary Guards who also hold a firm grip on the economy, which funds Iran’s wars in the region.
On the face of it, Britain has reached out to Hezbollah, which is dominated by the Revolutionary Guards, and offered a dialogue, setting aside their previous reservations and claiming that such a dialogue would ultimately enhance the security of Lebanon.
But London, which has diplomatic relations with Tehran, has said that it wants to talk to Hezbollah in order to win the release of five of its nationals held in Iraq in return for the release of Moqtada Al-Sadr followers held by the Americans into the hands of Hezbollah.
This means that the British will neither negotiate with Al-Sadr nor with the Shiite-dominated Iraqi government of Noori Al-Maliki, but with Hezbollah to win the release of their citizens.
The question remains, what is the real role of Hezbollah?
The Shiite Muslim party brags about its loyalty to the Persian Republic and turns its head to Mir Moussawi’s comments on the “extremism” of Iran.
In brief, what Iran wants is to bring back the Persian empire regardless of the tools and means it uses to achieve its goals, and even the excessive number of martyrs and the blood shedding, all in favor of “the Cause.”
He who has such objective is not only challenging, but very, very dangerous.

Egypt to question alleged Hizbullah plotters further
By Agence France Presse (AFP)
Friday, April 10, 2009
CAIRO: Egypt's public prosecutor ordered on Thursday that 49 people held for plotting attacks on behalf of Lebanese Shiite group Hizbullah be kept in custody for a further 15 days, a judicial source said. "The public prosecutor decided to detain the members of the group affiliated with Hizbullah for 15 days for questioning on suspicion of membership in a clandestine organisation calling for rebellion" against the country's leadership, the source said.
On Wednesday, a statement from the prosecutor said an investigation determined the men had been commissioned by Hizbullah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah to conduct attacks in Egypt. It was not immediately clear when the arrests were made. The detention may be renewed every 15 days for six months, when the prosecution must either charge them or release them. The suspects are also accused of espionage, forging official documents and preparing explosives. Hizbullah has not commented on the allegations. On Thursday, state media reported that one of those arrested, Sami Hani Shihab, was suspected of heading a Hizbullah unit responsible for neighboring states and that Palestinians and Sudanese were among those arrested.
Montassar al-Zayat, a lawyer for some of the defendants, said Shihab's brother had asked him to represent him but he had not been allowed to see him or attend interrogations. Zayat accused security of bringing politically motivated charges against the suspects. "My impression is that it is a fabricated case created by Egyptian security in the context of bad relations between Hizbullah and Egypt. It is a pressure card," he said.
Hizbullah, which is backed by Egypt's regional rivals Iran and Syria, is a vocal supporter of Hamas, the Islamist rulers of the Gaza Strip and has lashed out at Egypt for closing its crossing with the Palestinian enclave. In December, after Israel launched a devastating offensive in Gaza, Nasrallah called on Egyptians to take to the streets in their millions to force open the crossing and urged Egyptian army commanders to resign in protest. Egyptian officials accused Nasrallah of fomenting sedition and state media branded him an "Iranian agent." Egypt, a mostly Sunni Muslim country, has accused the Shiite government of Iran and Hizbullah of conspiring to spread Shiite ideology in the region. The general prosecutor listed "spreading Shiite ideology" as one of the aims of the detained men. Egypt and Iran broke off relations a year after Islamist revolutionaries overthrew Iran's pro-Western shah in 1979. Iran opposed Cairo's 1979 peace treaty with Israel. - AFP

Sfeir Urges Citizens to vote in Elections in the Best Interest of Lebanon
Naharnet/Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir urged the Lebanese in his Easter message on Friday to vote freely away from "temptations" and put the interest of their nation above all considerations. The Lebanese should cast their votes on June 7 "without succumbing to temptations. They should put the nation's interests before their own interests" and think about their children and future generations, he said. Sfeir also urged the Lebanese to vote with free conscience, stressing that "those who buy you, sell you." The patriarch called on citizens to be in harmony, saying let your "yes be yes, and your no be no."On Sunday, President Michel Suleiman will attend mass in Bkirki and will later meet with Sfeir. Beirut, 10 Apr 09, 09:24

Egypt: Nasrallah Gave Green Light to Assassination Attacks in Ashoura
Naharnet/Confessions of the 49 people held for plotting attacks on behalf of Hizbullah have uncovered that Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah gave his green light to assassination attacks in his January speech on the occasion of Ashoura. Egyptian sources close to interrogation officials said a number of detainees have confessed to receiving instructions from Nasrallah via Hizbullah official Sami Hani Shehab, also a suspect.
They said Nasrallah gave the Okay in his Ashoura speech during which he lashed out at Egypt for closing its crossing with the Palestinian enclave and called for "uprisings." Addressing the Egyptian people, Egyptian Army officers and intellectuals, Nasrallah said back in January: "I'm not calling for a coup d'etat, but go talk to your leaders and tell them you do not accept what is happening in Gaza." The sources told Al Mustaqbal newspaper that several detainees were not aware that the party they belong to is an expansion of Hizbullah.
They said the detainees also confessed during their interrogation to having sent "detailed information" about towns and cities on the Egyptian-Palestinian border to Hizbullah in Lebanon. They also confessed to renting apartments overlooking the navigational course of the Suez Canal with the aim of monitoring ships and tourist areas in the northern and southern province of Sinaa as well as providing quantities of explosives and preparing bombs.
Ashraq al Awsat said it entered Shehab's apartment in a Cairo suburb on Thursday and spoke with the landlord and neighbors who said the 39-year-old suspect would not receive guests in his home.
Egypt's public prosecutor ordered on Thursday that the 49 detainees be kept in custody for a further 15 days, a judicial source said.
"The public prosecutor decided to detain the members of the group affiliated with Hizbullah for 15 days for questioning on suspicion of membership in a clandestine organization calling for rebellion" against the country's leadership, the source said. On Wednesday, a statement from the prosecutor said an investigation determined the men had been commissioned by Nasrallah to conduct attacks in Egypt. Arrests were first made in November and the rest of the group was rounded up by the end of last month, an security official said. On Thursday, state media reported that one of those arrested, Sami Hani Shehab, was suspected of heading a Hizbullah unit responsible for neighboring states and that Palestinians and Sudanese were among those arrested. The suspects are also accused of espionage, forging official documents and preparing explosives. The detention may be renewed every 15 days for six months, when the prosecution must either charge them or release them.
Montassar el-Zayat, a lawyer for some of the defendants, said Shehab's brother had asked him to represent him but he had not been allowed to see him or attend interrogations. Zayat accused security of bringing politically motivated charges against the suspects.
"My impression is that it is a fabricated case created by Egyptian security in the context of bad relations between Hizbullah and Egypt. It is a pressure card," he said.
Egyptian officials accused Nasrallah of fomenting sedition and state media branded him an "Iranian agent."
Egypt, a mostly Sunni Muslim country, has accused the Shiite government of Iran and Hizbullah of conspiring to spread Shiite ideology in the region.
The general prosecutor listed "spreading Shiite ideology" as one of the aims of the detained men. Egypt and Iran broke off relations a year after Islamist revolutionaries overthrew Iran's pro-Western shah in 1979. Iran opposed Cairo's 1979 peace treaty with Israel and named a street in Tehran after the assassin of Anwar Sadat, the Egyptian president killed by an Egyptian Islamist militant in 1981.(Naharnet-AFP) Beirut, 10 Apr 09, 11:02

International Tribunal Defense Team in Beirut Next Week
Naharnet/Head of the international tribunal's defense team and defense coordinator are expected to arrive in Beirut on Monday for contacts with the attorneys representing those detained in the assassination case of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. The daily Al Akhbar , which carried the report, said the team would also offer logistical assistance if needed. It said judicial officials ruled out making a decision on releasing the four Lebanese generals still in custody here or extending their detention. It said the tribunal's prosecutor Daniel Bellemare is also likely to come to Lebanon. Beirut, 10 Apr 09, 09:04

European Parliamentary Delegation Holds Onto Lebanon's Independence
Naharnet/The head of a three-member European parliamentary delegation said Thursday that the EU holds onto Lebanon's independence.
"We are neither here to teach lessons nor interfere in internal affairs. There are laws that are improving continuously," Beatrice Patrie said during a press conference in Beirut. The delegation, which arrived in Beirut on Monday, has met with President Michel Suleiman, Speaker Nabih Berri, Premier Fouad Saniora and other officials and members of non-governmental organizations. She said the visit that ends on Friday is aimed at improving friendship ties between the European Union and Egypt, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon. On stability in Lebanon, Patrie said: "We are aware that this is an internal issue in Lebanon and our delegation is not entitled to interfere in that. But we hold onto Lebanon's independence." Patrie said the European Union will send two types of election observers to Lebanon. "There will be a monitoring delegation and a delegation from the European parliament that will arrive the day of the elections," she said. The monitoring delegation will arrive in Lebanon this month and stay till the end of the polls, she added. Beirut, 09 Apr 09, 21:01

Qassem: March 14 Failed Politically
Naharnet/Hizbullah Deputy Secretary-General Sheikh Naim Qassem said Friday there are ongoing contacts between his group and the Progressive Socialist Party.
The meeting between Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah and PSP leader Walid Jumblat would be held when time is ripe, according to Qassem.
The Hizbullah deputy secretary-general also said the March 14 forces failed politically. Qassem said that relations between Hizbullah and Speaker Nabih Berri are strategic. Berri "is our candidate for the speakership." He said Lebanon needs "a defense strategy that takes into consideration ways to consolidate the state's independence and steadfastness against Israeli dangers." Qassem added that the country is also in need of social and economic development to deal with debt, unemployment and sustainable development. Beirut, 10 Apr 09, 12:59

Two or Three Lists in Kesrouan?
The announcement of former MPs Mansour el-Bon and Farid al-Khazen that they would be the first candidates on a possible list of independents could push the elections atmosphere in Kesrouan towards two directions. Media reports said that either the March 14 list along with National Bloc Party leader Carlos Edde would face the Free Patriotic Movement ticket or el-Bon and al-Khazen would hold onto their alliance with Fares Boueiz and have a list of their own. The second option would lead to three lists in Kesrouan: March 14, FPM and the independents' list.
El-Bon and al-Khazen stressed after visiting Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir on Thursday that they would work towards the implementation of the presidential oath and serve Kesrouan. Meanwhile, March 14 officials Amin Gemayel, Dory Chamoun and Samir Geagea announced their backing to Edde's candidacy.
Edde visited Chamoun and met with Gemayel in the presence of Kesrouan's Phalange candidate Sejaan Azzi whereby they agreed to represent the Cedar revolution in their election battle. They also stressed the need to increase consultations with other forces in Kesrouan against the March 8 list led by the Free Patriotic Movement.
Lebanese Forces leader Geagea said there could be a "delay" in the announcement of the March 14 list in Kesrouan because "consultations just started in order to form the best possible ticket." Beirut, 10 Apr 09, 08:38

Aoun-Berri Not in Hurry to Reach Compromise, Husseini out of Baalbek Electoral Ticket
Naharnet/Speaker Nabih Berri and Free Patriotic Movement leader Gen. Michel Aoun were reportedly not in a hurry to reach a compromise on the upcoming parliamentary elections. The daily As Safir on Friday said both leaders agreed to "take their time and leave things take their political course," particularly since Aoun packed up to leave for Russia, in response to an official invitation. The paper quoted well-informed sources as saying that a "many" ideas have been proposed by the two sides, adding that one thing is certain: reaching an agreement. The sources said that in the event that the obstacle on Jezzine was settled, there won't be any knots in Baabda or elsewhere. Al Liwaa newspaper, however, said "direct dialogue halted" between Berri and Aoun as Hizbullah was preoccupied with trying to find a face-saving exit to the problem. It said the Hermel-Baalbek district still witnesses a race between Shiite candidates – ex-Speaker Hussein Husseini and former Baath Party chief Assem Qanso – following the withdrawal of present Baath leader Fayez Shukr. The paper said Qanso seemed more comfortable with his election status after his return from Damascus and contacts with Hizbullah. Meanwhile Husseini hinted that his chances to join Hizbullah's coalition ticket in the Hermenl-Baalbek constituency have decreased. A statement by his office said Husseini was studying his stance on the elections. Beirut, 10 Apr 09, 08:13

Suleiman: I have no Parliamentary Candidates; Sader is Not With Military Intelligence
Naharnet/President Michel Suleiman reiterated his stance in supporting independent candidates to parliament noting that the issue of 'centrism' is usually found among all political trends. He stressed that as president of the republic he has no candidates of his own. Suleiman added that kidnapped Middle East Airlines engineer Joseph Sader is not being held by military intelligence and that the investigation in this case is not over yet.
In an interview with the weekly magazines 'al-Osboa al Arabi' and 'Magazine' on Thursday, Suleiman said: "What embarrasses me would be if my brother-in-law, or son would run for office and not Nazem El-Khoury." He pointed that during the last national dialogue session he met with Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun, but did not talk politics or elections. The president hoped that the Constitutional Council would soon be formed adding that reducing the role of Christians in the country diminishes Lebanon's role in the world.In reference to his 'share' of ministers at the up-coming cabinet following the June 7 parliamentary elections, Suleiman said that this won't affect him, adding that the spirit of the Doha agreement should not end following the legislative elections saying the use of arms in Lebanon and media smear campaigns should stop. "Everyone must change," Suleiman said. The president added that he will work on strengthening the powers of the presidency saying the tools of government available to him are not enough. Beirut, 09 Apr 09, 13:28

Report: Two Lebanese Found in Suitcases Crossing into Iraq
Naharnet/Two Lebanese nationals have been taken into custody by Iraqi police after they were found in two large suitcases being smuggled into Iraq through Kuwait, the Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) reported on Wednesday. KUNA said that Iraqi Interior Minister Jawad el-Bolani ordered the two, who were not identified, be brought to Baghdad under tight security for interrogation. Lt. Gen. Abdulkareem Khalaf, a spokesman for Iraq's interior ministry, said the arrest was made Tuesday at the Safwan border crossing. Beirut, 09 Apr 09, 09:31

Dad in Iran Till Daughter Free
(AP) Beirut, 10 April 09/ The father of an American journalist charged by Iran with espionage called on Iran Thursday to free her and said in an exclusive interview with Associated Press Television News that he will not leave the country until she's released.
"I demand them to release my daughter as soon as possible so that she can return to her normal life and continue her job," Reza Saberi said. "I will stay here until she is freed." Roxana Saberi has been living for the last six years in Iran, working as a reporter for such organizations as National Public Radio and the British Broadcasting Corp. The 31-year-old freelance reporter was arrested in late January.
A judge announced Wednesday that she had been charged with spying for the United States, a far more serious development than earlier statements by Iranian officials that she had been arrested for working without press credentials — and her own assertion in a phone call to her father that she was arrested after buying a bottle of wine. The judge told Iranian state TV that Saberi was passing classified information to U.S. intelligence services.
"Under the cover of a journalist, she visited government buildings, established contacts with some of the employees, gathered classified information and sent it to the U.S. intelligence services," said the judge, who under security rules was identified only by his surname, Heidarifard.
"Her activities were discovered by the counterespionage department of the Intelligence Ministry," Heidarifard said.
Reza Saberi and his wife arrived in Iran Sunday and visited their daughter Monday in Evin prison, which often holds political prisoners, north of Tehran.
"We were allowed to visit her for about 20 minutes. We talked to her. She was spiritually better than before. However, she was physically extremely thin and weak but she said she eats now and is going to exercise. This gave us the hope that she will become better," Reza Saberi said.
Saberi will stand trial next week, the judge said, though he did not specify which day.
The journalist grew up in Fargo, North Dakota. The Iranian judge in the case told state TV that Saberi's American nationality had not yet been ascertained for the Iranian judiciary, but her father said she was definitely an American citizen.
"She is certainly an American national. She also came to Iran and received an Iranian ID card and passport and according to Iranian law, she is Iranian too. She is actually a dual citizen," her father said.
Saberi's father, under advisement from the lawyer representing his daughter, would not comment on whether he accepted the charges or not.
The journalist's arrest comes at a time when President Barack Obama has expressed a willingness to talk with Iran after many years of rocky relations under the former U.S. administration.
On Wednesday, administration officials said U.S. diplomats would attend group talks with Iran over its suspect nuclear program. That would be a major departure from President George W. Bush's policy of isolation from a nation it once deemed to be evil.
The U.S. has also been pushing for Saberi's release, and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Wednesday the U.S. was deeply concerned by the reported charges and was seeking information from Swiss diplomats in Tehran. The U.S. broke off diplomatic relations with Iran following the 1979 Islamic revolution and the hostage taking at the U.S. embassy in Tehran.
Saberi was one of three missing or detained Americans mentioned in a written message passed by American officials directly to Iranian diplomats last month at an international conference on Afghanistan in The Hague, Netherlands, that Clinton attended.
Iran has yet to respond to the message, which sought information about the three.
Human rights groups have repeatedly criticized Iran for arresting journalists and suppressing freedom of speech. The government has arrested several Iranian-Americans in the past few years, citing alleged attempts to overthrow its Islamic government through what it calls a "soft revolution."
In another indication of the seriousness of the case, Saberi's lawyer also learned this week that Iran's Revolutionary Court, which normally handles cases involving threats to national security, would review it.
Saberi's lawyer, Abolsamad Khorramshahi, said Thursday that he had not yet been allowed to read the text of the indictment, which he expects to see by Saturday.(AP) Beirut, 09 Apr

Iran's oppressive practices will only bring about the demise of its ruling regime
By The Daily Star
Friday, April 10, 2009
Editorial
The arrest of American journalist Roxana Saberi exposes Iran's Achilles heel, a weakness so fatal that it might one day lead to the downfall of the Islamic Republic. Saberi, who has worked as a freelance journalist in Iran and elsewhere in the Middle East for the last six years, has been accused of spying for the United States, a charge that can carry the death penalty if she is convicted.
But Saberi's profile hardly fits that of a typical espionage agent. A former beauty queen who held the Miss North Dakota title and was a top-10 finalist in the Miss America pageant, Saberi double majored in French and communication at a small-town college in Minnesota. She later earned a master's degree in broadcast journalism from Northwestern University, before obtaining another master's in international relations - not from one of the elite schools in the United States that are known for churning out CIA agents by the dozens, but from Cambridge University in England.
Reports of Saberi's deteriorating emotional condition in prison also belie the claims that she is a spy. What highly trained espionage agent would burst into tears and threaten suicide upon learning that she had to spend a few more days in prison?
Even her reporting does not reflect the interests of intelligence agencies, as she has tended to focus on the human side of the news. When Saberi visited Lebanon during Israel's disastrous war on this country in 2006, for example, she didn't write about rockets or the movements of Hizbullah operatives, but rather she penned several feature stories focusing on the ordinary people whose lives were affected by the conflict. Her articles were among the many human-interest pieces that were widely circulated on anti-war websites, helping to build international condemnation of Israel's barbaric assault on Lebanon.
Perhaps Iranian authorities are withholding information that would justify her detention. But even if Saberi were a spy or inadvertently supplied intelligence agencies with sensitive information, her imprisonment has cast an international spotlight on the country's greatest weakness: Iran has become so paranoid in recent years that it is beginning to exhibit all of the signs of a totalitarian state. Such an environment makes journalism akin to navigating a minefield: one misstep and you might end up losing your life. It also makes the government of Iran inherently unstable. We need look no further than Iranian history for a fine example of what happens to authoritarian governments that brutally oppress their own people. Iran is this year marking the 30th anniversary of the Islamic revolution that brought down the reviled regime of the Shah, who brutally used the SAVAK to maintain strict control over journalists and to crack down on all of Iranian society. What makes modern-day Iran any different?

Obama taps Feltman as top US diplomat on Middle East
By Agence France Presse (AFP) /Friday, April 10, 2009
BEIRUT: US President Barack Obama on Wednesday nominated Jeffrey Feltman, a former ambassador to Lebanon who recently paid a rare visit to Syria, as the top US diplomat on the Middle East. Obama praised the "skill and dedication" of Feltman and three other nominees presented Wednesday, voicing hope they would "serve the American people well as we work to keep our nation safe at home and abroad." An Arabic speaker and career diplomat, Feltman needs Senate approval to be confirmed as assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs. He would replace David Welch, who was seen as a defender of Arab interests. Feltman has already been the acting assistant secretary. In his capacity, he and a fellow envoy last month paid the first trip to Syria by high-level US officials in four years. Feltman said at the time that his trip was "constructive" and was part of the Obama administration's new effort of trying to engage all nations. US-Syrian ties were especially tense under former president George W. Bush, who accused Damascus of meddling in neighboring Lebanon and turning a blind eye to the flow of arms and supplies to insurgents in Iraq. Feltman earlier served as the US ambassador to Lebanon, including during the 2006 Israeli offensive against Lebanon . Testifying last month before Congress, Feltman said the US "emphatically" rejected opening contacts with Hizbullah - a step recently taken by British. He also said Lebanon's next government after its June elections should be decided by "Lebanese themselves, for Lebanon, free from outside interference, political intimidation and violence." - AFP

US aims to deliver heavy hardware to Lebanese army ahead of elections
New equipment to include aircraft, missiles, tanks
By Nicholas Kimbrell
Daily Star staff
Friday, April 10, 2009
BEIRUT: The United States will work to deliver new military hardware to Lebanon ahead of the June parliamentary elections, a senior Pentagon official said during Lebanese Defense Minister Elias Murr's visit to Washington this week. Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Middle East policy Colin Kahl said, according to the US defense department website, that the weapons systems will help to bolster the LAF in its counterterrorism, border and internal security operations, and that they are expected to be delivered by June. The US has been the primary supplier of weapons and training to the Lebanese armed forces (LAF) in recent years, providing more than $400 million in foreign military financing to Beirut. The new arms shipments are to include Cessna close-air-support aircraft with precision Hellfire missiles, unmanned Raven aerial vehicles and M60 Abrams tanks. "Lebanon faces a whole array of challenges," Kahl said. "But both in terms of their international and external relations, we see the Lebanese armed forces as playing an important stabilizing and moderating influence."
"The Defense Department sees the Lebanese armed forces as a critical institution to a free and independent and sovereign Lebanon," he added.
Following an invitation from US Defense Secretary Robert Gates, Murr arrived in Washington Monday and held talks with senior officials from the departments of State and Defense. Murr's visit came after General Jean Kahwaji met senior US officials during a 10-day trip to Washington earlier this year. Defense analysts told The Daily Star that Kahwaji's trip, the first ever by an LAF Commander, may have paved the way for Murr's visit and the increased military assistance.
In Washington, Murr met with Defense Secretary Gates, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Acting Assistant Secretary of State for Near East Affairs Jeffrey Feltman and one of the White House's special regional advisers, Dennis Ross. He was reported to have had a short meeting with another special regional envoy, former Senator George Mitchell. Lebanon's An-Nahar daily reported that Mitchell told Murr he will not be visiting Lebanon soon.
The daily also quoted Deputy Assistant Secretary for Near East Affairs David Hale as saying that most of the new arms, including 41 howitzers, 12 Zodiac boats, 12 Raven air vehicles, one Cessna and 10 M60s, would be delivered in May and April.
In addition, it reported that Hale said the US would not deal with Hizbullah regardless of the parliamentary poll results.
Concern in Lebanon has grown following statements by US State Department officials that US assistance to Lebanon will be reevaluated after the June 7 elections, which will decide who runs the next government. But officials in Washington reaffirmed their commitment to boost the LAF.
"We really think standing up the Lebanese armed forces is an important symbol, and actually a material indication of Leb-anon's sovereignty," Kahl said.
Clinton reiterated her support for Lebanon's sovereignty and its democratic institutions. "It is very important that the United States stand firmly and strongly on behalf of Lebanese democracy," she said, before meeting with Murr Wednesday.
For his part, the defense minister thanked Clinton and the United States for its support and "backup."
He also expressed his hope that bilateral relations would remain strong. "I hope that for the next coming time, the US policy - and this is what I heard, and I can confirm it today - the US policy will remain the same concerning Lebanon," Murr said.

Syria raps bid to revise budget for Resolution 1559
Friday, April 10, 2009
BEIRUT: Syrian Ambassador to the United Nations Bashar Jaafari criticized the "logical framework" approach of UN Special Envoy Terry Rod Larsen's budget for the implementation of Resolution 1559. "Syria looks to the secretariat general of the UN to revise the logical framework of the special envoy's budget," Jaafari said on Thursday. Larsen has been charged with supervising the execution of 1559 by UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon. The ambassador criticized this framework, saying "the special envoy's treatment of the clauses of Resolution 1559 on the issue of foreign forces from Lebanon diverted the attention from the real problem: the Israeli occupation of Arab lands." Jaafari added that his country had complied in full with the resolution and had withdrawn all of its military and security forces from Lebanon but that Syria's name continued to be be smeared. "The continuing implication of Syria is unacceptable and inconsistent with the United Nation's charter regarding Resolution 1559 which is [based on] the neutrality of the international employees [working on] the implementation of resolution 1559," the ambassador said. - Naharnet

Democratic Hope in Lebanon
A Shiite rival emerges for Hezbollah.
By MELIK KAYLAN
Wall Street Journal 10/04/09
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123932916996907637.html
In the streets of Lebanon these days, there's a palpable sense that the country's future, and the region's stability, is once again up for grabs. On April 7, political parties submitted their lists of candidates for the upcoming national elections on June 7.
What happens in those elections will determine whether Lebanon's pro-democracy Cedar Revolution survives, or whether Lebanon falls further under the sway of the Hezbollah-Syria-Iran axis. Between now and then, political power blocs build secret coalitions to lock in their interests. Now is the time to pay attention.
A result that tilts the country towards Hezbollah will confirm Iran's influence not only over Lebanese affairs but also over regional affairs. Iranian-sponsored provocations on the Lebanon-Israel border allow Tehran to lead the fight against Israel, rouse the Arab street and threaten the legitimacy of Sunni regimes. Lebanon's borders, and its pretences to independent statehood, will disintegrate anew as Iranian arms flow through Syria into Lebanon.
In the current parliament the Cedar Coalition has about two-thirds of the seats, but parliamentary rules allow Hezbollah and its allies to paralyze government. The country has 26 electoral districts with 128 seats. Many of these districts are solidly sectarian, with one dominant party, and not open to change. So, too often, power-bloc leaders have a surprisingly free hand to make policy as they see fit.
But this time around their positions are more precarious, and their actions more open to challenge, as pressure and money from outside -- from Saudi Arabia and the Gulf and elsewhere -- is flowing into the electoral districts. Also, this time the election takes place on one day and not over five Sundays as before. Previously, a well-honed machine like Hezbollah's was able to move its resources -- buses, monitors, loudspeakers and the like -- to each different electoral location on successive weekends and tip the balance in each district. Now, pressure of that kind will be dissipated over the entire country in a single day.
The heart of the electoral struggle, the pivotal battles, center around a handful of leading candidates. Michel Aoun, the Christian leader who sides improbably enough with the Hezbollah-Syrian side and thins Christian loyalty to the Cedar camp, may be vulnerable. He used to be anti-Hezbollah. Now, he colludes with his former enemies to keep the government weak and the confessional (or sectarian) system strong. His supporters have grown weary of his unpredictable allegiances.
Walid Jumblatt, the Druze leader, had switched from a pro-Syrian to a pro-Cedar position. Of late, though, he jockeys back toward the Syrians. The Syrians and Hezbollah look strong, and he is instinctively against a genuinely pluralistic Lebanon in which the old confessional power blocs might give way to a looser system. Mr. Jumblatt is already coalition building with Saad Hariri, the late prime minister's son, who has inherited the mantle of Sunni, pro-Cedar sentiment. But his Saudi funding has largely switched to other Sunni leaders. To preserve his position, he too is horse-trading for ministers, perhaps at the cost of his democratic principles.
At the same time, Hezbollah's position is challenged by a rival Shiite leader -- the centrist former speaker of the parliament, Hussein al-Husseini. The veteran politician was father of the 1989 Taif Accords that ended Lebanon's civil war. The accords brought forth the draft of a new, more democratic, constitution. But many of its most important features -- such as institutional transparency, the rule of law, and an independent judiciary -- were never implemented. Mr. Husseini's cluster of candidates will run on a platform to implement the updated constitution fully, along with a new electoral law that would reduce the power of sectarian party leaders in politics.
This is how things stand as the horse-trading begins. The democratic spirit is alive and well in Lebanon, but observers should be aware that some unlikely figures are inching closer to Hezbollah, Iran and Syria. The future of a country and a region depends on nipping the formation of antidemocratic coalitions in the bud.
**Mr. Kaylan is a New York-based writer who reports frequently from the Middle East.

Damascus’ double standards on demarcation
If Syria can demarcate its border with Jordan, why can’t it do the same with Lebanon?
April 10, 2009 MowLebanon
Going nowhere fast: a turtle near smuggling tracks along the yet to be demarcated Lebanese-Syrian border. (AFP /Joseph Barrak)
There was an interesting bit of news buried in the Jordanian daily Al-Dustur this week. On Monday, Jordanian Interior Minister Nayef al-Qadi was quoted by the paper as saying that his country was in the final stages of demarcating its border with Syria.
“The latest meeting in Damascus of the Higher Jordanian-Syrian Committee ended with positive and extremely encouraging results,” Qadi said, adding that both sides had “discussed all matters and are drawing close to a definitive solution.”
That solution was apparently helped along by a meeting between Qadi and his Syrian counterpart “on the sidelines” of the Arab Interior Ministers’ conference that took place in Beirut two weeks ago.
The location is ironic, as Lebanon is a neighboring country with whom, in contrast with Jordan, Syria has yet to resolve its border issues.
The Al-Dustur, story begs the question, why? If Syria can demarcate its border with one “brotherly Arab neighbor,” why can’t it do the same with Lebanon, a country whose border with Syria is, incidentally, exactly the same length as Jordan’s?
The reason is certainly not that the Syrians see their border with Lebanon as any less important than the Jordanian one.
Last summer Syrian President Bashar al-Assad insisted that the threat posed by smuggling and terrorism necessitated deploying Syrian soldiers along Lebanon’s northern stretches. And just last week Assad told a Qatari newspaper that he was ready to demarcate the entire border with Lebanon, once Israel withdrew from the disputed Shebaa farms area. In that same interview, Assad wondered aloud why some Lebanese were more concerned with Shebaa in the south than the rest of the border.
But it is Syria and its Lebanese supporters for whom the Shebaa issue is most important. Syria has never offered any real evidence that the area is Lebanese, but the ambiguity is useful for the regime and its allies in Hezbollah, allowing the party of God to assert that some Lebanese lands, however small, remain under Israeli occupation, and justifying continued resistance, without Assad having definitively to relinquish Syrian claims to the territory.
But even if Assad’s suggestion is followed, and the Shebaa subterfuge is put aside, it is difficult to maintain with a straight face that it is the Lebanese who are most responsible for the lack of progress in demarcating the border. To paraphrase another dictator, just look at who benefits.
While Assad has paid frequent lip service to the need to fight extremism and secure the boundary between the two countries, a porous and undefined border doesn’t facilitate terrorism as much as it does his regime’s ability to meddle in Lebanese affairs. The ambiguity that surrounds the border allows the Assad regime to maintain military forces within Lebanese territory, occupy Lebanese villages and easily supply its Lebanese proxies, who receive the added benefit of profiting from the flourishing smuggling economy made possible by the lack of demarcation.
By establishing diplomatic relations with Lebanon over the last six months, the Syrians have, for the first time, nominally recognized Lebanon’s existence as an independent state. Whether that recognition translates into an acceptance of the country’s sovereignty will remain open to question until the Syrians treat demarcation of the 375 kilometer border with the same seriousness and respect afforded to Jordan.