LCCC
ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
February 02/09
Bible Reading of the
day.
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according
to Saint Mark 1,21-28. Then they came to Capernaum, and on the sabbath he
entered the synagogue and taught. The people were astonished at his teaching,
for he taught them as one having authority and not as the scribes. In their
synagogue was a man with an unclean spirit; he cried out, "What have you to do
with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are--the
Holy One of God!" Jesus rebuked him and said, "Quiet! Come out of him!" The
unclean spirit convulsed him and with a loud cry came out of him. All were
amazed and asked one another, "What is this? A new teaching with authority. He
commands even the unclean spirits and they obey him." His fame spread everywhere
throughout the whole region of Galilee.
Saint Jerome (347-420), priest, translator of the Bible, Doctor of the Church
Commentary on Saint Mark's Gospel, 2; PLS 2,125f./"What is this? A new teaching"
«The unclean spirit convulsed him with a loud cry.» This was his way of
expressing his distress: by convulsing him. Since he could not ruin the man's
soul, the devil wrought his anger on his body. Besides, these physical
manifestations were the only means he had to show that he was coming out. When
the spirit of purity makes his presence known, the spirit of impurity beats a
retreat...«All were amazed and asked one another: «What is this?» Let us look at
the Acts of the Apostles and the signs given by the first prophets. What did
Pharaoh's magicians say when confronted by Moses' marvellous deeds? «This is the
finger of God» (Ex 8,15). It was Moses who carried them out but it was another's
power of they recognised. Later on the apostles performed further marvels: «In
the name of Jesus Christ, rise and walk!» (Acts 3,6); «Paul... said to the
spirit: 'I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of this woman'»
(Acts 16,18). Jesus' name is always used. Here, however, what does he himself
say? «Come out of this man» without any further precision. It is in his own name
that he orders the spirit to come out. «All were amazed and asked one another:
'What is this? A new teaching.'» Now, in itself, the expulsion of the demon had
nothing new about it: Hebrew exorcists were doing the same thing at that time.
But what does Jesus say? What is this new teaching? And where is the novelty? It
is that he gives the command to the unclean spirits by his own authority,
referring to no one else. He himself gives the order; he does not speak in
another's name but by his own authority.
Free Opinions, Releases, letters &
Special Reports
Iraq’s Elections: Pointing the Way to the Future or a Return to Oppression.
By Walid Phares 01/02/09
The Real Gaza Massacre. By: James Dunnigan
Strategy Page 01/02/09
March 8 … detrimental policy-Future
Movement 01/02/09
On Muslims, Jews, Nazis, and the
Holocaust.
Latest News Reports From
Miscellaneous Sources for February 01/09
Hizbullah Warns Against Efforts to Decrease Its
Popularity-Naharnet
'Hamas agrees to 1-year lull'
/Israel News
Olmert: Our response will be
disproportionate/Israel News
Assad
reiterates call for dialogue with USA on basis of mutual interests/Future
Movement
Sfeir Advises Lebanese to Choose Most Efficient Candidates without Intimidation-Naharnet
New Militant Group in Ain
el-Hilweh Reportedly Plans to Target Egyptian Embassy-Naharnet
Iran: Israel is Responsible For the Fate of Our Missing Diplomats-Naharnet
Hamas Rivals in Lebanon Slam Meshaal Over Call for New PLO-Naharnet
Poland May Withdraw Troops
from Lebanon to Cut Costs-Naharnet
Tribunal Registrar: We
Will be 'Up to Par' on March 1-Naharnet
Harb: Hizbullah Not Ready
for Serious Dialogue and Awaits Election Results-Naharnet
Lebanese Immigrants
Complain, Demand Right to Participate in Elections-Naharnet
Kanaan: We Are Allied With
the Tashnag, Rest of Our Alliances Would Take Time-Naharnet
U.S.
Envoy Mitchell in Saudi on Last Leg of Middle East Tour-Naharnet
Under Obama, `war on terror'
catchphrase fading-AP-Naharnet
Obama has begun discreet talks with Iran, Syria-AFP
Obama’s Long Shot for Peace-New York Times
Harb: Hizbullah Not Ready For a Serious Dialogue And Awaits ...Naharnet
Syria's Assad seeks dialogue with US under Obama-Reuters
Elbaradei: Israel violated international law in
Syria-Ynetnews
Obama has begun
discreet talks with Iran, Syria
WASHINGTON (AFP) — US President Barack Obama has already used experts within the
last few months to hold high-level but discreet talks with both Iran and Syria,
organizers of the meetings told AFP.
Officially, Obama's overtures toward both Tehran and Damascus have remained
limited. In an interview broadcast Monday, Obama said the United States would
offer arch-foe Iran an extended hand of diplomacy if the Islamic Republic's
leaders "unclenched their fist." Meanwhile, his secretary of state Hillary
Clinton warned that the Israeli-Syrian track of the Middle East peace
negotiations took a back seat to the Israeli-Palestinian track, especially
because of the recent war in Gaza.
However, even before winning the November 4 election, Obama unofficially used
what experts call "track two" discussions to approach America's two foes in the
region. Nuclear non-proliferation experts had several "very, very high-level"
contacts in the last few months with Iranian leaders, said Jeffrey Boutwell,
executive director for the US branch of the Pugwash group, an international
organization of scientists which won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1995.
Former defense secretary William Perry, who served in Obama's election campaign,
participated in some of these meetings focused on "a wide range of issues that
separate Iran from the West: not only their nuclear program but the Middle East
peace process, Persian Gulf issues," Boutwell told AFP.
The Pugwash official declined to name the other participants, except to say they
had considerable clout. "We had very, very senior figures from both the Iranian
policy establishment and from the US; people who have very close, good access to
the top leaders in both countries," Boutwell said.
"The Cable," the blog of the specialist magazine Foreign Policy, said Iran's
permanent representative to the International Atomic Energy Agency (AIEA), Ali
Asghar Soltanieh, was "among the Iranian officials who attended the Pugwash
dialogues." Meanwhile, a group of experts under the auspices of the think tank,
the United States Institute of Peace (USIP), announced Thursday that they met
for more than two hours in Damascus with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
The experts included Ellen Laipson, a former White House adviser under president
Bill Clinton and a member of the Obama transition team.
Assad struck positive notes, the participants in the meeting said during a press
conference at the Washington headquarters of USIP, a bipartisan think tank
financed by Congress. "His phrasing was 70 percent of our interests are
potentially shared and 30 percent are not. And he said: let's work on the 70
percent," said Bruce Jentleson, who was the disarmament advisor to former vice
president Al Gore.
The Syrian president himself revealed on Monday that "dialogue started some
weeks ago in a serious manner through personalities who are close to the
administration and who were dispatched by the administration. "The United States
accuses Syria of supporting "terrorist" groups such as Hezbollah and Hamas, of
destabilizing Lebanon and of allowing armed men to transit its territory to
fight US-led forces in Iraq. Washington and Tehran, which have had no diplomatic
ties for nearly 30 years, differ sharply over Iran's nuclear program. Washington
charges the program is a covert military one, but Tehran says it is for nuclear
energy.
U.S.
Envoy Mitchell in Saudi on Last Leg of Middle East Tour
Naharnet/U.S. Middle East envoy George Mitchell flew in to the Saudi capital
late Saturday on the final leg of a regional tour aimed at reviving peace
efforts, the official SPA news agency reported. Mitchell has also visited Egypt,
Jordan and Israel and held talks with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and
Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas. The 75-year-old former senator who helped
broker peace in Northern Ireland in 1998 was appointed Middle East envoy just
two days after Barack Obama was sworn in as U.S. president on January 20.
Earlier on Saturday, Jordan's King Abdullah II met Mitchell in Amman and urged
Washington to resume its efforts to clinch a two-state settlement between Israel
and the Palestinians. Mitchell has been touring the region for talks on
consolidating the January 18 ceasefire, which ended the devastating Gaza war
between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas. He has been charged
with "vigorously" resuscitating Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.(AFP) Beirut, 31
Jan 09, 19:48
Lebanese Immigrants Complain, Demand Right to Participate
in Elections
Naharnet/Lebanese embassies and consulates overseas received a lot of complaints
from Lebanese immigrants demanding passports allowing them to return this spring
and participate in the country's legislative elections. The daily An-Nahar on
Saturday quoted leading March 14 figures that accused the ministry of foreign
affairs and general security of hindering the process of providing Lebanese
overseas with passports. Accusations by March 14 Forces focus on two points,
that Lebanese immigrants were told they could begin to vote from overseas at the
2013 elections and not before, and second that those with an old and expired
Lebanese passport will have to wait a while to get a new one. The paper added
that Cabinet Minister Wael Abou Faour expressed concern about "an organized
hindering process" to prevent Lebanese immigrants from their right to vote.
Foreign Minister Fawzi Salloukh has affirmed he would follow up on the issue,
while Interior Minister Ziad Baroud said he would cooperate with Salloukh in a
manner that would allow Lebanese immigrants to receive a red passport to vote.
Baroud said the issue is the responsibility of Lebanese consulates that receive
passport applications from overseas to later send them to general security in
Beirut. Beirut, 31 Jan 09, 17:28
Tribunal Registrar: We Will be 'Up to Par' on March 1
Naharnet/The Registrar of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon Robin Vincent has
stressed that his team would be "up to par" during the start of the court's
operations on March 1. He also told Future News TV on Saturday he is aware that
there are major challenges but "we are on the right track and ready to receive
the general prosecutor and staff." "We will also receive the judges soon,"
Vincent stressed. "Court logistics preparations at the Hague are still ongoing,"
Vincent said ten days ago. He added that investigation into the assassination of
ex-Premier Rafik Hariri would continue throughout 2009. Beirut, 01 Feb 09, 10:35
Sfeir Advises Lebanese to Choose Most Efficient Candidates
without Intimidation
Naharnet/Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir advised the Lebanese during his
Sunday sermon to vote for efficient parliamentary candidates without
intimidation. "We advise citizens to choose the most efficient and suitable for
parliament without being influenced by scare tactics," he said in Bkirki.
"Setting the election date has possibly aggravated some party supporters," the
Patriarch said. He slammed parties who engage in accusations prior to the June 7
elections. "What we witness during these days is not comforting. We see many
(people) accusing each other … to create a shaky atmosphere," Sfeir said.
Beirut, 01 Feb 09, 11:21
New Militant Group in Ain el-Hilweh Reportedly Plans to
Target Egyptian Embassy
Naharnet/A new Palestinian militant group whose members have been trained to
carry out rocket-launching and bombing operations was reportedly formed in the
southern refugee camp of Ain el-Hilweh to carry out among others an attack on
the Egyptian embassy. Al-Balad daily reported on Sunday that a Palestinian named
Jamal Hamad formed the organization, which he named "Jihad movement for the
victory of Gaza" with the assistance of Ghandi Sahmarani, a Lebanese wanted from
the authorities on several terrorist charges. The newspaper said several
militants from Jund al-Sham and Osbat al-Ansar have joined the new group.
The militants have received training in camps in the Central and Western Bekaa
Valley from "foreign experts" brought in under the cover of
upgrading fighting capabilities against Israel, according to al-Balad.
Information reveals that the militants aim at carrying out operations against
people or organizations that cooperate with Israel in coordination with fighters
who are on the run like Abdul Rahman Awad. The plots include targeting the
Egyptian embassy in Beirut's Bir Hassan neighborhood and carrying out a
booby-trapped car bombing with the help of a veiled woman to facilitate the
attack, according to the newspaper. Another Palestinian group linked to al-Qaida
terrorist group is also reportedly planning to attack U.N. peacekeepers in south
Lebanon. Al-Balad said a Palestinian-Jordanian named Abdullah Liyani al-Hassan
arrived in Ain el-Hilweh camp end of 2008 and held several meetings with Osbat
al-Ansar official nicknamed Abu Obeida to carry out such attacks. Beirut, 01 Feb
09, 09:23
Iran: Israel is Responsible For the Fate of Our Missing
Diplomats
Naharnet/Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hassan Qashqavi has held Israel
responsible for the fate of four Iranian diplomats who went missing in Lebanon
during the civil war. "We in Iran do not adopt the Zionist point of view,
and are unconcerned with the evasiveness of the Zionist entity from its
responsibility on this issue," Qashqavi said in a statement distributed by the
Iranian embassy in Beirut on Saturday. "We still consider the Zionist entity
responsible for the fate of the four Iranian diplomats currently inside Israeli
prisons. This entity has secret and open dealings with the Lebanese kidnappers,"
Qashqavi added. Qashqavi was commenting on an alleged Israeli report in which
the Jewish state denied it was holding the diplomats who were kidnapped in
Lebanon in 1982. The Iranian foreign ministry spokesman called on the Lebanese
authorities and all concerned parties in this issue "to take responsibility and
seriously work on exposing all the aspects of the case and settle it." Qashqavi
praised Hizbullah Secretary-General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah "for raising the
issue of the four diplomats." This "demonstrates Hizbullah's humanitarian
principles and values in holding Israel responsible for their continued
kidnapping," Qashqavi said. Beirut, 01 Feb 09, 09:25
Hamas Rivals in Lebanon Slam Meshaal Over Call for New PLO
Naharnet/A statement made by Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal in which he said the
Palestine Liberation Organization had become obsolete was met by opposition from
Palestinian rivals in Lebanon. "What benefit is it to Palestinians and national
Palestinian forces in shattering the authority of the PLO," Fatah said in a
statement on Saturday. "Meshaal's call for dialogue is more misleading than
honest, because the principle of democracy and that of accepting the other does
not exist in Hamas' dictionary," said Fatah. "What sort of national authority
does Meshaal want to produce? To what regional axis does he want to take the
cause? What steps has he taken to prevent Palestinian divisions," the statement
wondered. The Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP) also said
Meshaal's call for an alternative authority "represents a dangerous move in
Palestinian relations." An official member of the DFLP described Meshaal's call
for an alternative Palestinian authority other than the PLO as working on
fostering Palestinian divisions and endangering Palestinian interests. He called
for establishing a joint operations command under one political authority.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is also leading a chorus of opposition to
calls by Meshaal for a new leadership to replace the PLO. The Damascus-based
Meshaal this week said that the PLO -- which has long been internationally
recognized as the sole representative of the Palestinian people -- had become
obsolete. Beirut, 01 Feb 09, 10:35
Poland May Withdraw Troops from Lebanon to Cut Costs
Naharnet/Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said Saturday Poland may withdraw its
troops from Chad and Lebanon as part of a 3.9 billion euro cost-cutting plan to
help ward off the financial crisis. "We will consider whether it makes sense to
continue with certain foreign missions. We will certainly take a decision about
Chad and Lebanon this year," he said. The government said on Tuesday it is
cutting spending by 17 billion zlotys (3.878 billion euros, 5.06 billion
dollars) from the 321.221 billion zlotys it had planned to spend this year, in
response to the global economic crisis. Poland's current 400-member mission in
Chad is the second-largest in the European Union's peacekeeping force after
France. Last month Defense Minister Bogdan Klich said the size of its mission
could be cut to 300, when the EU's U.N.-approved mandate expires in March and
the mission is passed to the world body. Poland also has nearly 500 troops in
south Lebanon as part of the U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), which is
helping to monitor a ceasefire between Israel and Hizbullah following a
month-long war in 2006.(AFP) Beirut, 01 Feb 09, 07:44
Harb: Hizbullah Not Ready for Serious Dialogue and Awaits
Election Results
Naharnet/MP Butros Harb said that Hizbullah is not ready for a serious dialogue
concerning the defense strategy in Lebanon and is simply awaiting the results of
the 2009 parliamentary elections to settle its political stance. Harb said that
the presence of a parliamentary bloc close to the president at the coming
elections would further strengthen the presidency allowing him to influence the
trend of political confrontations in the country.
In an interview with the Kuwaiti daily al-Rai, Harb said: "Hizbullah is not
ready for a serious dialogue regarding the defense strategy as it awaits the
results of the next parliamentary elections." "If (Hizbullah) and its allies
become a majority, then (the party) won't need to have dialogue. They would take
over power and their arms would find political and constitutional cover," he
went on to add:
Harb said that if the parliamentary minority becomes a majority, the national
dialogue would be marginal and worthless. "However, if the party (Hizbullah) and
its allies lose the elections then, dialogue would become a dire necessity."
"We do not differ over the resistance but over who is the decision-maker," Harb
said.
He affirmed that Hizbullah is a "Lebanese phenomenon and a main party that
cannot be ignored."
"The reality of the Lebanese composition does not allow turning the ongoing
dialogue between us to a struggle, for there lies the road to division and the
collapse of our national unity," Harb said. He considered a centrist
parliamentary bloc "natural and necessary" in a political system like Lebanon,
adding that if independents wish to form a bloc close to the president and work
with him, "then this is good for strengthening the presidency."
"Political life in Lebanon is used to centralism," Harb said.
He said the Free Patriotic Movement headed by MP Michel Aoun "wants a yielding
president, who will only respond to what they and Hizbullah decide and adopt
their version of the defense strategy." "No one benefits from a diminished
presidency because we need a fireman and a judge," Harb said.
He affirmed that he would continue with the March 14 Forces as long as they
remain committed to the principles of sovereignty and democracy.
"However, in the end I am a free man and I would commit to what I would see
benefiting my country," the MP said. Beirut, 31 Jan 09, 21:17
Kanaan: We Are Allied With the Tashnag, Rest of Our
Alliances Would Take Time
Naharnet/MP Ibrahim Kanaan on Saturday confirmed the Free Patriotic Movement's
alliance with the Tashnag Party at the upcoming legislative elections, saying
"the remaining picture of any future alliances would take time." Kanaan said in
an interview with the Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation (LBC) that all polls
show the FPM has the strongest presence amidst Christian circles. He added that
"the idea of a centrist parliamentary bloc stems from the impossibility of
confronting the most representative Christian party in the country." "The
centrist bloc has failed in all aspects," Kanaan said, adding that it has
nothing new to offer politically.
"How could the parliamentary majority that enjoys a political and representative
size, support a third political party easily providing it with so many
concessions," Kanaan said. He was hinting at Progressive Socialist Party
leader MP Walid Jumblat, who recently voiced his support to a centrist
parliamentary bloc. "The position and role of the president strengthens the
presidency," Kanaan said. He explained that if the presidency is used for
electoral means, it would become weaker.
He accused the Parliamentary majority (March 14 Forces) of "providing the
president with seasonal support."
"The last person who should talk about phone eavesdropping is MP Walid Jumblat,
the last telecommunications minister (Marwan Hamadeh from Jumblat's
parliamentary bloc) did not implement applicable regulations issued years ago in
this regard," Kanaan charged. He criticized the "intentions" of some to get rid
of the government budget as was done years ago, in reference to the ongoing
bickering between Prime Minister Fouad Saniora and Parliament Speaker Nabih
Berri regarding the Council of the South. He told LBC the FPM supports providing
Interior Minister Ziad Baroud with the needed funds for holding the 2009
parliamentary elections. Kanaan said Baroud should not be burdened with more
responsibilities without providing him with the necessary funds. Beirut, 31 Jan
09, 18:25
Iraq’s Elections: Pointing the Way to the Future or a Return to Oppression?
By Walid Phares
Terrorism Expert/FOX News Contributor
January 31st, 2009 1:00 PM Eastern
Why are the Iraqi elections important to Americans and the rest of the
international community? Simply because it will show, or won’t, that “spreading
democracy” is possible in that part of the world, a principle against which
Jihadist forces, authoritarian regimes and many critics within the West have
challenged.
The seeds of elections are now planted in Mesopotamia. With more than 140
political party and associations, hundreds of newspapers, publications, dozens
of radio and TV stations — a mosaic is in existence. It will be hard on the
Iranian Mullahs and on Al Qaeda to crush all this diversity across the Shia,
Sunni, Kurdish and Christian lines.
Iraqi voters will tell if US efforts in the Middle East since 9/11 were worth
the sacrifices and if those who voted in Congress to remove the Taliban and
Saddam were — or not- - on the right side of the history of democracy. Here are
the voting battlefield’s challenges:
1) Regardless of the final results, Iraqi citizens on January 31, 2009 will be
selecting representatives in 14 of the Republic’s 18 provinces. Since February
1963, the Baathist regime in Baghdad eliminated free elections for forty years
until it was removed in 2003 by US and Coalition forces. Then in four years as
of 2005, the population was allowed to cast their ballots four times! In January
2005, provincial councils and a national assembly were elected. In October of
that year, a referendum confirmed the constitution. In December, parliamentary
elections followed. This weekend 15 million voters will select the provinces
assemblies and towards the end of the year another vote will bring a new
parliament and decide on the US-Iraqi defense treaty. This is more electoral
exercise than in Switzerland, even though the anti-democratic forces are still a
direct threat to the system.
2) The Jihadist forces of Iraq, including Al Qaeda, dislike the rise of a
democratic culture and the pro-Iranian militants plan on using the system to
their advantage. Violence may erupt, more likely in diverse areas such as the
Diyala province or in cities such as Mosul. But here again the preparedness of
Iraqi forces, assisted by the Coalition, will tell about the readiness of the
country to manage its own elections in the future.
3) The level of participation will tell us if popular trust in elections is
taking root and any numbers higher than 60 % will confirm this.
4) Iraq’s electoral landscape is diverse: Kurdistan will vote en masse and their
two coalitions will seize the assemblies. Participation by Christian and other
minorities such as Turkomen will tell us more about future diversity in
Kurdistan. In the center, the rise in participation among Sunnis will tell us
more about the success of the anti-Al Qaeda element, but the final results will
show the shape of future Sunni politics in Iraq. In the largest provinces of the
center and the south, the distribution of seats between pro-Iranians, moderates,
and reformists will indicate the real winners in these elections. Whoever would
win among Shia will determine the type of relationship Iraq will have with the
United States in the next few years. But Kurdish and Sunni Arab provinces can
deprive any Shia party from returning the country as a whole to dictatorship.
5) These elections will produce a new majority in Iraq, which will be always
determined by coalition building. However, one result cannot be reversed
anymore; no more return to single party dictatorship. Iraq may break in pieces,
but it will never return to a Saddam-like monstrosity; and that is what
authoritarians in contiguous countries fear the most.
The seeds of elections are now planted in Mesopotamia. With more than 140
political party and associations, hundreds of newspapers, publications, dozens
of radio and TV stations — a mosaic is in existence. It will be hard on the
Iranian Mullahs and on Al Qaeda to crush all this diversity across the Shia,
Sunni, Kurdish and Christian lines. Once young Iraqis who will be voting for the
first time, women who have broken the walls of gender exclusiveness, and
minorities emerging from the underground, have tasted and tested this democratic
exercise — a resistance to fascism and totalitarianism is born. Fundamentalism
is said to have lost some support as an increasing number of Iraqis (41% in the
latest poll) said they prefer secular parties over religious ones. But let’s be
realistic, these are the early baby steps of Iraqi democracy, and as long as the
Iranian and Syrian regimes are working on undermining the growing democratic
culture inside their neighbor, and as long as Wahabis and Salafis are receiving
Petro Dollars from the Arabia Peninsula to impose an Emirate in the Sunni
Triangle — the menace against the “Democratic Republic” is as real as the
difficult times experienced by Western democracies as they emerged in Europe and
the Americas.
6) Which bring us to the Obama administration’s “Iraq Plan:” If they have
already committed to the 16 months withdrawal program, so be it; but the new
White House should keep in mind that hurdling out of that country without
establishing real Iraqi defenses against the menacing wolves on the eastern and
western borders and the Jihadi corridor from the south, will kill the
forthcoming chances of a real change in the region. The debate about why and
when should we have helped Iraq against its bullies is now in the hands of
historians, but as President Obama announced in his inaugural address, the
destinies of that country should be secured in the hands of the “Iraqi people,”
not the Mullahs in Tehran or Assad of Syria. These elections are probably the
last before American military begins to redeploy inside and from Iraq. The
challenge for the U.S. administration is to empower Iraqis to enjoy such
exercises in democracy many times more, instead of falling into obscure times
again.
**Dr. Walid Phares is a Senior Fellow at the Foundation for the Defense of
Democracies and the author of “The War of Ideas: Jihadism against Democracies.”
The Real Gaza Massacre
by James Dunnigan
February 1, 2009
http://www.strategypage.com/dls/articles/The-Real-Gaza-Massacre-2-1-2009.asp
The new Israeli combat tactics in Gaza were a great success. Between January
3rd, when Israeli ground forces first entered Gaza, until Israel declared a
unilateral ceasefire on January 18th, Hamas fighters were useless against
Israeli ground troops. So far, 13 Israelis and 1300 Palestinians have died in
the fighting. Hamas combat units tended to be quickly wiped out. The Israelis
were much more aggressive than they were two years ago in southern Lebanon, and
this was largely the result of a training course all Israeli troops had to go
through before entering Gaza, and growing anger at the ceaseless Hamas rocket
attacks on Israel..
Two years ago, Israel opened a new urban warfare training center. The complex
consists of 500 structures, including several multistory ones, duplicating what
soldiers would encounter if they had to fight in, say, Gaza. The new center cost
$40 million and was built with the help of the U.S. Army (which has a lot of
recent experience fighting Arabs in urban areas). Israel already has several
smaller urban training centers, built to give new troops some experience in what
they might encounter in the Palestinian territories. But the 2006 operations in
Lebanon showed that many reservists not only lacked urban warfare training, but
also training tailored for conditions in Lebanon or Gaza. The new training
center allows entire battalions to train together, as they would in an urban
environment. The complex is covered with over a thousand sensors, mostly small
vidcams, which capture the activities of the troops for playback and critique.
American style MILES (laser tag) equipment is used to realistically recreate the
effects of weapons. Other troops and local civilians are used to play the enemy,
and civilians, in the training exercises. Although Israel doesn't use women
soldiers in combat, women do serve as instructors for combat skills. In the new
training center, they often play the role of the enemy, and the Israeli troops
usually know when this is the case, because the women soldiers are quite good.
Most of the troops that went into Lebanon in 2006, had been pulling peacekeeping
duty in the West Bank for the last few years, and were trained for that. This
meant that the different kind of training required for Lebanon or Gaza had not
been done for a long time. The Israeli troops in Lebanon adapted, but that took
time. But there wasn't a lot of time and the war up there was soon over. It's
different in Gaza. The troops go in knowing what to do and how to quickly do it.
Moreover, the Lebanon operation was a surprise, no one expected it. But Israelis
have been demanding for years that something be done to stop the thousands of
rockets being fired out of Gaza. Israelis were pissed, and the troops went
aggressively and determined to do something about it. The Gaza operations was
the result of months of planning. For the Israelis, there were no surprises.
Hamas was not expecting the expert and aggressive behavior of the Israeli
troops. Hamas propaganda had led their fighters to believe that it would be like
Lebanon, with Israeli troops advancing slowly and uncertainly. Moreover, the
Hezbollah fighters in Lebanon were better trained and led than their Hamas
counterparts. Hamas had become complacent, tending to believe their own
propaganda of Jewish inferiority to Arabs.
As a result, most of the claimed 20,000 Hamas gunmen have deserted their units,
leaving only some of the officers (5-10 percent of each unit) to carry on. By
the second week of January, Israeli troops were mainly encountering Hamas
officers in combat. Hamas had made elaborate plans to hit the Israelis with
snipers, ambushes, remotely controlled bombs and booby traps in houses. But
there were few Hamas fighters around to do all this, and the plans fell apart.
Even a special unit of about a hundred fighters, that had received combat
training in Iran, was quickly wiped out when they fought the Israelis. This was
very embarrassing for Iran, which had promised to turn the 20,000 Hamas gunmen
into a crack fighting force. Back in Iran, this failure was blamed on the Arabs,
who Iranians generally despise as lazy and stupid. Hamas doesn't know who to
blame, although many Palestinians believe Hamas had deceived itself, and
disappointed all Palestinians, and the Arab world as well.
In retrospect, Hamas should have seen this coming. The Israelis tore apart Fatah
fighters during West Bank battles in 2002. Those Israeli troops were trained to
slug it out. It was after 2002 that Israeli troops began to specialize on
counter-terrorism tactics, as Israel was desperate to halt the Palestinian
suicide bombing campaign inside Israel. The Israelis did, but at the cost of
their troops losing their conventional combat chops. Moreover, this time around
Israel was using more UAVs (live overhead video of the battlefield, allowing
commanders to more effectively deploy and command their troops.) There were also
some new smart bombs and electronic warfare weapons. Hamas did not pay
attention, were not prepared, and got blown away.
Under Obama, `war on terror' catchphrase fading
By LOLITA C. BALDOR, Associated Press Writer Lolita C. Baldor, Associated Press
Writer –
AP WASHINGTON – The "War on Terror" is losing the war of words. The catchphrase
burned into the American lexicon hours after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, is
fading away, slowly if not deliberately being replaced by a new administration
bent on repairing the U.S. image among Muslim nations.
Since taking office less than two weeks ago, President Barack Obama has talked
broadly of the "enduring struggle against terrorism and extremism." Another time
it was an "ongoing struggle."
He has pledged to "go after" extremists and "win this fight." There even was an
oblique reference to a "twilight struggle" as the U.S. relentlessly pursues
those who threaten the country.
But only once since his Jan. 20 inauguration has Obama publicly strung those
three words together into the explosive phrase that coalesced the country during
its most terrifying time and eventually came to define the Bush administration.
Speaking at the State Department on Jan. 22, Obama told his diplomatic corps,
"We are confronted by extraordinary, complex and interconnected global
challenges: war on terror, sectarian division and the spread of deadly
technology. We did not ask for the burden that history has asked us to bear, but
Americans will bear it. We must bear it."
During the past seven years, the "War Against Terror" or "War on Terror" came to
represent everything the U.S. military was doing in Iraq and Afghanistan, as
well as the broader effort against extremists elsewhere or those seen as aiding
militants aimed at destroying the West.
Ultimately and perhaps inadvertently, however, the phrase "became associated in
the minds of many people outside the Unites States and particularly in places
where the countries are largely Islamic and Arab, as being anti-Islam and
anti-Arab," said Anthony Cordesman, a national security analyst at the Center
for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington think tank.
Now, he said, there is a sense that the U.S. should be talking more about
specific extremist groups — ones that are recognized as militants in the Arab
world and that are viewed as threats not just to America or the West, but also
within the countries they operate.
The thinking has evolved, he said, to focus on avoiding the kind of rhetoric
"which could imply that this was a struggle against a religion or a culture."
Obama has made it clear in his first days in office that he is courting the
Muslim community and making what is at least a symbolic shift away from the
previous administration's often more combative tone.
He chose an Arab network for his first televised interview, declaring that
"Americans are not your enemy." Before his first full week in office ended, he
named former Sen. George J. Mitchell as his special envoy for the Middle East
and sent him to the region for talks with leaders.
According to the White House, Obama is intent on repairing America's image in
the eyes of the Islamic world and addressing issues such as the wars in Iraq and
Afghanistan, unrest in Pakistan and India, Arab-Israeli peace talks and tensions
with Iran.
Using language is one way to help effect that change, said Wayne Fields,
professor of English and American culture studies at Washington University in
St. Louis.
"One of the contrasts between the two administrations is the care with which
Obama uses language. He thinks about the subtle implications," said Fields, an
expert on presidential rhetoric. The Bush administration "didn't set out
deliberately to do things that were offensive but they liked to do things that
showed how strong they were, and to use language almost in an aggressive sense."
Obama, he said, understands that language and conversation must be worked at and
that it's "not just a series of sound bites."
White House officials say there has been no deliberate ban on the war-on-terror
phrase. And it hasn't completely disappeared. White House press secretary Robert
Gibbs has used the wording in briefings, and it's still in vogue among some in
the Pentagon and State Department.
Asked about Obama's avoidance of the phrase, Gibbs said the president's language
is "consistent with what he said in his inaugural address on the 20th. I'm not
aware of any larger charges than that."
Juan Zarate, who served as the deputy national security adviser for combating
terrorism during the Bush administration, said he has seen signs that the new
White House is trying to subtly retool the words, if not the war.
"There's no question that they're looking very carefully at all issues related
to how the war on terror is packaged, to include lexicon," said Zarate. "All of
this is part of an attempt to see how they could at least frame a change in
policy even if, at the end of the day, the actual war on terrorism doesn't
change all that much."
Olmert: Our response will be disproportionate
Prime minister tells cabinet he instructed army to prepare for Israeli response
to ongoing rocket fire. Foreign Minister Livni says Israel 'must use a lot of
force against Hamas'. Defense Minister Barak: During election season there is a
march of chitchat by people who have never held a weapon in their hand
Roni Sofer Published: 02.01.09, 10:44 / Israel News
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert clarified at the start of the weekly cabinet that
Israel would respond forcibly to Sunday morning's rocket fire. "The cabinet's
position from the first moment was that if the south's residents are fired on,
our response will naturally be disproportionate," he said.
Defense Experts
Former IDF chief: Respond to Hamas proportionally / Daniel Edelson
Amnon Lipkin-Shahak tells Ynet, 'If Hamas is behind recent rocket fire, I would
go for sweeping operation very painful to Hamas. If Hamas tried to prevent
shooting, I would first strike responsible organization.' Maj.-Gen. (Res.)
Amidror: No choice but to occupy Gaza
The ministers were scheduled to be briefed by the Military intelligence chief
and other defense officials on the situation in Gaza and on the ways of action
formed by the narrow forum and the National-Security Cabinet.
"Two weeks have passed since Israel decided to hold its fire in the Gaza Strip,
setting two basic conditions: An immediate halt to the shooting, and preventing
the smuggling of weapons to the terror organizations through the Philadelphi
Route.
"These were the two conditions for ceasing the fighting, and in the face of
these conditions we knew there was a significant chance that Hamas would
continue firing."
According to the prime minister, "We shall not return to the rules of the game
the terror organizations have been trying to dictate, and we won’t be dragged
into an unstoppable shooting war.
"The situation today is that the rocket fire continues, and this stops the State
of Israel from moving forward. I've instructed the defense minister to order the
military officials to prepare for an Israeli response. We won’t warn the terror
organizations in advance when and how we plan to respond, but Israel will
respond when and where and in the manner it chooses," he added.
According to information presented to the government ministers, the rocket
launching cells belong to Hamas and the "Shuhada al-Aqsa" cells, which are
careful not to claim public responsibility for fear of an Israeli response.
Olmert clarified in closed forums before the cabinet meeting that Israel views
Hamas as fully responsible for the rocket fire. "It's the only landlord in the
Gaza Strip. It's responsible and we will act against it."
Addressing the issue of the lawsuit filed against Israeli security officials in
Spain, the prime minister said, "Israel's officers who fulfilled their duties in
order to defend Israel's citizens, and are now subject to prosecutions due to
wrongful actions and international pacts, will be fully protected by the Israeli
government.
"The lawsuits like the one filed in Madrid are an expression of double morals of
elements who turned a blind eye for years to the ongoing attacks on the State of
Israel."
Livni vs. Barak
Ahead of the meeting, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni called on the government to
respond forcibly to the Palestinian fire. Defense Minister Ehud Barak promised a
response, but clarified that Israel would use judgment.
"During election season there is a march of chattering by people who have never
held a weapon in their hand and don’t understand the conditions we must operate
under," said Barak.
Minister Livni said, "We mustn't sign arrangements with Hamas, but rather use
force against this organization. Israel will respond whether the Qassam causes
injuries or not, and this is how I will act as prime minister as well. We must
use force, and a lot of force. As far as I'm concerned, there's no need to take
our time. We need a response, immediately. We mustn't wait."
Minister Barak added, "Hamas suffered a harsh blow and will suffer once again.
During election season everyone wants to make headlines, but the decision must
be made by the professional ranks."
Sunday morning saw three Qassam rockets and four mortar shells fired from the
Gaza Strip into the western Negev. The rockets were launched at around 6:50 am.
One landed in the Sdot Negev Regional Council and the other two hit the Eshkol
Regional Council, one of them landing between two kindergartens.
About two hours later, Palestinian gunmen fired at an IDF force near the border
fence in the Kissufim area. The soldiers fired back. There were no injuries in
all incidents.
On Saturday morning, a Grad rocket landed in an open area south of Ashkelon.
There were no injuries in this incident as well.
Jews: To The Muslim Gas Chamber.
Pajamas Media;
January 30th, 2009
Today, we have grown used to seeing Palestinian and Hamas supporters goose-step,
Nazi-style, shoot out their arms as they deliver the Hitlerian “Sieg Heil”
salute. They also chant and scream: “Jews to the ovens,” “Hitler did not kill
enough of you,” “Jews to the gas chambers.” This is raw, rank, Jew-hatred or
anti-Semitism; that much is clear. But we are also faced with a major paradox.
These same Palestinian and Hamas supporters routinely hold signs that accuse
Israel of being a “Nazi” state. To them, Gaza is “Auschwitz,” and the Israelis
have “occupied” it with “genocidal” intentions.
Of course this is not factually true. According to my colleague, Dr. Barry
Rubin: “In 1939, there were seven million Jews in continental Europe. At the end
of the Holocaust, only one million Jews survived. There are currently 1.2
million Palestinians in Gaza. At the end of the 2009 war, 1,199,000 Palestinians
are still there. The percentage of Jewish civilians killed by Germans and their
allies was 86 percent. The percentage of Gazan Palestinians killed by Israelis
is .01 percent. The number of Jewish civilians deliberately killed by Nazis and
their allies is 6,000,000. The number of Palestinian civilians deliberately
killed by Israelis=0.” (Please see below for his additional comparisons).
But the truth no longer matters. People, both Westerners, Arabs, and Muslims,
(this includes the media), have all piled onto such metaphoric overkill. It is
as if thoughtful and moderate voices can no longer be “heard,” only shouting,
shocking, attacks seem to “register.” And, once someone says something, no
matter how outlandish, it is deemed to be true–even if it obliterates both
reason and reality.
The true truth is that Hamas and Hezbollah, backed by Iran, are engaged in a
serious attempt to exterminate the Jews and to wage jihad against both Jews and
other infidels. The Muslims/Islamists have projected their own obvious and evil
design onto their intended victims whom they portray as Christian Crusaders or
Elders of Zion. This would be laughable, or only of psychiatric interest, if it
were not so omnipresent and dangerous due to its widespread acceptance.
In a sense, those Europeans and North Americans who support such a false
Nazification of Jews, are merely continuing the Holocaust-era determination to
genocidally exterminate Jews. This time, they hope that by doing so, the
Islamist hordes will spare them, allow them to live as dhimmis, as inferior and
subordinate citizens, in an Islamified Europe.
I asked my friend, Dr. Nancy H. Kobrin, the psycho-analyst and Arabist, what she
thinks is going on. She said: “If we (the Jews) exist, the Muslims might have to
acknowledge their own Jewish roots. They can’t do that. Therefore, they must
destroy us.”
“So, they’re trying to destroy the evidence, the living witnesses?” I replied.
“Well, they are pandering to people who like Nazi insignia and the Nazi
ideology. But they are also trying to drive the Jews crazy. They must know how
seeing Nazi insignia makes us feel. This is very primitive, non-verbal
behavior.”
Talk about primitive behavior! Just as certain primitive tribes have been
described as literally eating their enemies hearts or other organs in order to
incorporate their magical power–similarly, psychologically, the Nazi
insignia-loving Jew-haters want to inherit or subsume the Jewish status as
“victim” by destroying the Jews and presenting themselves, (the persecuted
Muslims), as the noble “victims” of vicious Nazi Jews.
Dr. Kobrin calls this “psychological splitting. They want to have it both ways.”
What she means is that the Palestinian propagandists and Muslim jihadists want
to both identify with the Nazis as triumphant, death-cult destroyers–and also
with the (past) and preferred sacred status accorded to dead Jewish victims. The
Palestinians and other Islamists offer up their own babies, women, elderly, and
civilian populations as human shields, human sacrifices, in order to obtain this
grisly goal. They also engage in faked staged photos to approximate such
Jewish-style deaths as well.
Elsewhere, in a Frontpage Symposium about the resurfacing of Nazi cartoons, Dr.
Kobrin reminds us that “paranoids” are obsessed with “purity” and therefore with
“cleansing.” This is accomplished by having a “scapegoat” upon whom one projects
all the “dirty” components of oneself or of one’s group-self.
The use of Nazi images are meant to terrify and intimidate all who view
them–especially those who have, in the past, been jailed, tortured, exiled, and
wounded by those who display just such symbols. These images are forms of visual
hate speech. They are meant to re-traumatize real victims and their second- and
third-generation descendants and to intimidate bystanders.
But those Muslims/Islamists who display Nazi imagery also feel that they are the
wounded ones. They seek public redress for their real and imagined wounds. What
wounds could that be? For starters: Painful, shameful, anal penetration by
trusted relatives in childhood; beatings in childhood; painful, public male
circumcision between the ages of 5-12; cruel parents, cruel teachers, cruel
religious leaders, equally cruel peers–and a culture which takes cruelty as a
given; poor nutrition, illiteracy, and/or no productive future–mainly due to
Muslim and Palestinian leaders who demand reverence and obedience even as they
hoard the wealth meant to alleviate their people’s suffering; street
theatre/political protest/mob merging as the only approved form of social life
or group “orgasmic” activity.
According to Lloyd DeMause, there is a “paranoid” underside to anti-Semitism. It
is caused by “child abuse, paedophilia and incest.” He writes:
“For instance, I would like to refer to a careful survey in the journal,” Child
Abuse & Neglect “that showed that when questioned 652 Palestinian undergraduates
concluded that 19% were sexually assaulted by a family member, 36% by a relative
and 46% by a stranger. Since this adds up to more than 100%, obviously many were
abused by more than one person, but the overall conclusion I detailed in my
Journal of Psychohistory article entitled “If I Blow Myself Up and Become a
Martyr, I’ll Finally Be Loved” (Spring 2006) was that most Palestinians are
sexually abused, that men routinely have young boys they rape and that this is
not mainly because of poverty because the college students reporting such
horrible memories have upper-class families.”
This explains the Arab street. The Westerners who support them–ah, that is a
more painful and a more curious matter. Are Westerners trying to both hide and
atone for their racism by cleverly masquerading as staunch anti-colonialists and
by “slumming,” dressing as impoverished Arabs, marching right alongside the
presumably “wretched of the earth,” all fitted out in high jihadic gear? Or, is
this a symbol of a Western wish to (psychologically) die, to be done with the
demands of freedom, to be cleansed of all our filth–our greed and lust, our many
choices?
There is something else. The jihadic use of European Nazi images is essentially
a total “fakeout.” The jihadists are projecting all the sins of Islam towards
Jews onto Christian Europe. In their use of Holocaust era imagery, the jihadists
are trying to pretend that there is no long and genocidal history of Muslims
towards Jews, Christians, and other infidels; they presume to deny that there is
a 1400 year history of Islamic Jew hatred and genocide towards infidels–one that
is still very much alive today; one that is supported by Muslim religious
sources.
Despite individual exceptions and moments of respite, historically, Jews were
routinely and relentlessly subjected to pogroms in the Muslim world and were
ultimately driven out of the Muslim Middle East. The Jewish refugee story is the
larger and more hidden story of 1948-1956. The Christian Crusades took place
because crusading, imperialist, and genocidal Arab Muslims were slaughtering
Christians throughout the Middle East and central Asia in what was once known as
Byzantium; Zoroastrians in Persia too. Christians are still persecuted by
Muslims today; many have been forced to flee Muslim lands. Read the important
works of Bat Ye’or and of Dr. Andrew Bostom on this subject.
The use of Nazi images in pro-Palestinian, anti-Israeli demonstrations cannot be
countered with sweet reason, fact, or truth. The hoarse demonstrators who scream
hate speech slogans, who seem hypnotically in thrall to hate, are not capable of
rational conversations in which any truth other than their own prevails. If one
presents a jihadi True Believer with objective facts which challenge their
version of reality, they will either physically and verbally threaten to attack
you, actually attack you, or they will walk away.
March 8 … detrimental policy
Date: February 1st, 2009 Source: Future Movement
Lebanon is undergoing a crucial phase raising many question marks whether our
future would be secured, safe and stable that would spare us bloodshed. The
jeopardy encircling the country is caused by the division initiated by March 8
forces rushing to declare “thank you Syria” while martyr President Rafic Hariri,
was newly assassinated in an outrageous explosion, and late MP Bassel Fleihan
suffering from severe burns before joining his fellow politicians and resistance
prominent figures in the “convoy of martyrs”. What does it mean to adhere to
"March 8" at this vital juncture where the fate of the country will affect
generations to come?
Being a supporter of March 8 means submitting your fate to the blind obstinacy
of the people who pretend wisdom and faultlessness to prevent reasonable and
logic discussions with others. In your support to March 8 means you would be
prohibited from accepting others culture, pluralism, convictions and
disagreements. You are thus forbidden from political thinking and any kind of
discussions related to the State in all its aspects: constitutional, political
and legal.
Supporting “Thank you Syria” gang, confirms your explicit contribution in
inventing falsehood and lies to justify the Baath ruling regime in Syria, and
turn a blind eye to its chauvinism, brutal crimes in Hama, and the sectarian
nature of its rule and oppression to the Kurds.
By joining March 8 ranks, you would be transforming the Constitution to a tool
you exploit for personal gains only, and revoke the rights of your fellow
compatriots, and you would be limiting your interpretation to citizenship into
the ghetto in which you would be dwelling.
Being a devotee to this gang, would prevent you from practicing your right as an
independent individual eligible to investigate about the “Pockets funds” and
“victory” on the remains of a country that all its citizens financed its
reconstruction, and you will be forbidden from considering the threat that arms
in the possession of this party or the other would represent a danger to your
future, or else you will be considered a “traitor” or a “disgraced slave” forced
to choose between surrender and humiliation.
To be "grateful" to Syria for the bombings and assassinations it perpetrated,
and “thankful” to Iran for its “clean money” and “weapons shipments” means your
unreservedly acquiescence to the Iranian occupation of three Arab Emirati
islands, and your recognition to the Farsi Republic as a liberal state. In
addition, you would be prohibited from inquiring about the Christians and the
Arabs situation therein, and whether their cultural and religious values are
being preserved.
Being a follower of March 8 means you would be forced to watch the exclusive TV
channels that restrict its work in fuelling discord, sectarianism and launch
arbitrary insults to the brotherly Arab States. You would be beguiled to read
its distorted newspapers in which the erroneous Syrian intelligence reports
would embellish its front headlines rubric.
Being of March 8 is prioritizing the peace reigning on the Golan Heights
occupied since almost 4 decades, and sacrificing all you possess for the sake of
the Iranian-American negotiations success.
It means you would have to overlook Arab countries exchanging trade relations
with the Jewish state, and increase your hatred towards Saudi Arabia that did
not hesitate in restoring the houses destroyed due to the reckless ventures, and
the kingdom constant support to boost the national economy during the most
severe financial crunches. By yielding to March 8 you would blow your car horns
to “celebrate” Rafic Hariri’s assassination, distribute sweets “rejoicing” for
Gibran Tueini’s blow up, and light fireworks “enjoying” the murder of Pierre
Gemayel. You would forget what George Hawi did to staunchly resist the Israeli
occupation and his launching of the (non-sectarian) “National Resistance Front”,
abolish Samir Kassir’s intellectual contributions and nullify the assassination
of General Francois el-Hajj and Major Wissam Eid, as the shooting attack that
killed Airman Captain Samer Hanna in Sujud.
That what it means being of March 8 gang, which guarantees that what is yours is
yours and what is the others is yours first. Is there any reasonable man that
would accept such a policy?
Siniora thanks Erdogan for his stand in Davo
Date: January 31st, 2009 Source: Future Movement
PM Fouad Sinora sent a telegram to his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyeb Erdogan
thanking him for his stand at the World Economic Forum in Davos.
The telegram stated: “We witnessed with great pride, the stand you took during
the World Economic Forum in Davos, as you objected and retreated, in addition
for defending the Palestinian right.” Siniora discussed with Saudi ambassador to
Lebanon Abdel Aziz Khoja in the Grand Serail, the distribution of the Saudi
donations of July 2006 war, as the Higher Relief Council distributed $280
million out of 315 and the rest of the amount will be distributed in the few
coming weeks.
The PM discussed with Qatari minister of Commerce and Works Fahed Bin Jassem Al
Thani a number of investment projects. The Qatari delegation received during the
meeting a perception of Elissar and Linor projects.