LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
March 22/09

Bible Reading of the day.
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 18/9-14: He then addressed this parable to those who were convinced of their own righteousness and despised everyone else. Two people went up to the temple area to pray; one was a Pharisee and the other was a tax collector. The Pharisee took up his position and spoke this prayer to himself, 'O God, I thank you that I am not like the rest of humanity--greedy, dishonest, adulterous--or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week, and I pay tithes on my whole income.' But the tax collector stood off at a distance and would not even raise his eyes to heaven but beat his breast and prayed, 'O God, be merciful to me a sinner.' I tell you, the latter went home justified, not the former; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted."

Free Opinions, Releases, letters & Special Reports
The President's message to Iran: Is the regime interested? By: Dr. Walid Phares 21/03/09
Iran's Axis of Nuclear Evil.By JOHN BOLTON/Wall Street Journal 21/03/09
Canada bans outspoken British MP/The Canadian Press/ March 20.03.09
Obama has fired the starter's gun in the season of engagement-The Daily Star 21/03/09
I told him I admired his refusal to sign the death sentences. By: Robert Fisk 21/03/09

Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources for March 21/09
Lebanese Police Arrest Head of Most Dangerous Car Theft Gang-Naharnet
Palestinians say Lebanon army soiled Iran food aid-AFP
Four Canadian soldiers killed in Afghan explosions/Canada Press
Iran plays down message from Obama-(AFP)
Iran sees no change in U.S. policy: Khamenei. Reuters
Fighting Rages in Miyeh Miyeh, 2 Killed-Naharnet
Jumblat: We Cheered for Something that Never Happened-Naharnet
Suleiman, Saniora Put Proportional Representation Under Spotlight-Naharnet
Tashnag to Inform Hariri Soon About its Final Electoral Decision-Naharnet
U.N. Defends Roed-Larsen Amid Syrian Accusations-Naharnet
Margelov: MiG 29 Effective Aid to Lebanon and a Message to Israel-Naharnet
Qassem: If it Wasn't For the Resistance No Lebanese Would Have Lifted His Head High With Pride-Naharnet
Hizbullah Denounces Israeli Arrests of Hamas MPs-Naharnet
Jordan, Syria patch up ties ahead of Arab summit-Daily Star
'Quasi-agreement' reached on Lebanon's 2009 budget-Daily Star
Lebanese-Canadian bombing suspect agrees to restrictions-(AFP)
Tribunal registrar denies media reports on witness protection program-Daily Star
Syria wants UN to back off on Lebanon - report-Daily Star
Lebanon blazes path in TV-viewing data-Daily Star
Structure of Lebanese political system hinders reform-Daily Star
OIB distances itself from rumors over barred author
Major drug dealer arrested in bust near airport-Daily Star
Arab cartoonists gather for 'celebration of tolerance-Daily Star
AMEL center offers breathing space to Iraqi refugees-Daily Star
Gift vendors rake in sales as sons and daughters mark Mother's Day-Daily Star

Four Canadian soldiers killed in two separate bombings in Afghanistan
By Murray Brewster, The Canadian Press
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan - Four Canadian soldiers, popular with their comrades who described them as "unsung heros," were killed Friday in two separate bombings in southern Afghanistan.
At least eight other soldiers were injured in the two attacks outside of Kandahar city.
Master Cpl. Scott Vernelli and Cpl. Tyler Crooks - both of November Company, 3rd Battalion, Royal Canadian Regiment - died in an explosion at about 6:45 a.m. local time in the restive Zhari district west of the city.
The company's deputy commander described the pair as well-rounded soldiers who filled a variety of jobs within the unit.
"They had all kinds of unsung hero-type jobs that they do that are not very glamorous because we put all of our focus on the platoon guys," said Capt. Kris Reeves, shortly after the bombing.
An Afghan interpreter was also killed and five other Canadian soldiers were wounded in the attack.
About two hours later, Trooper Jack Bouthillier and Trooper Corey Joseph Hayes, both of the Royal Canadian Dragoons, were killed in a roadside bomb blast in the Shah Wali Kot district northeast of the city, a region where the Taliban have stepped up attacks in the last few months.
Three other soldiers were wounded in that attack.
All of the soldiers were taking part in a major operation aimed at attacking Taliban command centres and supply lines, along a massive front stretching in an arc from the west to the northeast of Kandahar city.
The combined Canadian and American assault - involving over 2,000 troops - is the biggest land operation the two countries have conducted since the Korean War.
Brig.-Gen. Jonathan Vance, the commander of Canadian troops in Afghanistan, implored Canadians to remember that the soldiers believed both in the mission as a whole and in the jobs they were doing.
"Please do not think of this as a failure on the part of any person or of the mission itself," Vance said, reading a statement at Kandahar Airfield.
"Success in war is costly. We are determined to succeed so that Afghan lives improve, but the insurgents are equally determined to challenge and prevent Afghanistan from flourishing as the nation it so wants to be. Remember, the deaths of these superb Canadians occurred as Canadian Forces were bringing safety to those in peril. Today, they succeeded."
The deaths bring to 116 the number of Canadian soldiers who have died as part of the Afghan mission since it began in 2002.
In the attack on November Company, the blast could be faintly heard kilometres away at a Canadian forward operating base. Not long afterward, a platoon warrant officer gathered other senior officers to break the news.
Word spread quickly around the base.
Vernelli and Crooks were both well-known and popular with other soldiers in the company, which is on the cusp of finishing a six-month tour.
Both men were close with the commander of November Company, Maj. Rob McBride, who often joked with Crooks over the radio about sports.
"They were close friends of his," said Reeves.
Such was his respect for Crooks that McBride supported the young soldier as a candidate for officer training.
"He was getting ready to (be) on that path to be commissioned from the ranks," Reeves said. "He would have been good."
The bond McBride had with Vernelli, a veteran of a previous stint in Afghanistan, was just as strong.
The new father of a six-month-old girl was interested in returning to the battle-ravaged region, but wanted more of a challenge than being in one of the platoons.
"He wanted a role that he would be able to contribute and do something interesting and more hands on," Reeves said solemnly.
"So when he was deliberating whether he wanted to come back, the (officer commanding) got wind of that and said: 'Come back. Come back and we'll make this a really good tour."
Bouthillier was described by Vance as a fine athlete with a outstanding sense of humour.
The general also praised Hayes for his bravery.
"His friends remember him not only as a friend and a comrade in arms but a brother who inspired them to stand up in the face of danger and do what was right," Vance said in his statement.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper expressed his condolences behalf of the nation.
"The commitment to make Afghanistan a better place to live, demonstrated on a daily basis by the brave men and women of the Canadian Forces, is a testament to the values respected and revered by all Canadians," the prime minister said in a statement.
The offensive in which the soldiers died - Operation Jaley - has been ongoing over the last four days under a total news blackout.
The full battle group of the 3rd Battalion Royal Canadian Regiment - backed by tanks, artillery and air support - crossed the start lines around midnight March 17.
In Zhari district, soldiers marched on foot, crossing pitch-black poppies fields and three-metre deep streams - known as wadis - throughout that night.
One Canadian company approached from the north and one from the south in a squeeze-play manoeuvre meant to pin-down Taliban forces, while a full battalion of the famed U.S. 2/2 Infantry Regiment airdropped by helicopter into farmland west of them.
By daybreak they were in position to begin searching compounds and nearby fields for insurgent hideouts and bomb-making factories.
Canadian Leopard 2A6M battle tanks belonging to the Lord Strathcona's Horse regiment also rumbled in from the north, covering both NATO troops and an Afghan battalion that launched its own separate attack under the supervision of Canadian mentors.
"In all honesty, the point of the day was to go find a fight and we did," said Lt. Jeff Lloyd, who led November Company's 4 Platoon with the Afghans.
It was Lloyd's last mission before being rotated home.
The purpose of the late-winter assault was to hit Taliban staging points in advance of the spring fighting season, the annual bloody offensive of ambushes and roadside bomb attacks which begins soon after the poppy harvest ends.
The Taliban draws much of its fighting strength between May and October by tapping into southern Afghanistan's massive pool of unemployed farmhands.
Canadian soldiers uncovered a massive bomb-making factory at raid incompound, which had at least five booby traps laced throughout the structure.
Lt. Aaron Corey led his platoon metre by harrowing metre as they uncovered strings of command wires - meant to set off the explosives - throughout the mud-walled buildings. In that incident all of the explosives were defused.

Iran sees no change in U.S. policy: Khamenei
TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran's supreme leader said on Saturday he saw no change in U.S. policy toward the Islamic Republic, a day after U.S. President Barack Obama issued an unprecedented videotaped appeal to the country. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei sharply criticized U.S. behavior toward Iran since its 1979 Islamic revolution and said the United States was "hated in the world" and should stop interfering in other countries' internal affairs. "They give the slogan of change but in practice no change is seen ... We haven't seen any change," Khamenei said in a televised speech to mark the Iranian New Year. He was speaking in the northeastern city of Mashhad, a day after Obama offered Iran a "new beginning" of diplomatic engagement between the two old foes. Khamenei said a change of U.S. "words" was not enough and added: "We will watch and we will judge (the new U.S. administration) ... You change, our behavior will change.

Fighting Rages in Miyeh Miyeh, 2 Killed
Naharnet/Two people were killed and three others were wounded in clashes that raged at dawn between Palestinian militants at the southern refugee camp of Miyeh Miyeh. Voice of Lebanon radio station said the fighting broke out in Miyeh Miyeh near the main southern coastal city of Sidon at about 3:00 am.
One of the dead men was identified as head of Fatah movement's popular committee who was killed while trying to intervene to end the clashes. The other dead man was identified as Qassem Qassem. However, the state-run National News Agency said head of the popular committee identified as Raef Naufal was hit in the abdomen while trying to mediate and passed away at hospital. Upon hearing the news, Naufal's nephews exchanged gunfire with Bassem Faraj and his brothers, who were involved in Saturday's gunfight which Naufal tried to put an end to. Faraj was also hit and taken to hospital where he died. Three other people were injured in the fighting, according to VDL. VDL also said that Lebanese security forces deployed around the camp to prevent the spread of the fighting. eirut, 21 Mar 09, 08:02

Jumblat: We Cheered for Something that Never Happened
Naharnet/Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat criticized positive reaction to parliament's approval of a bill to lower the voting age from 21 to 18, saying the applaud was useless. "The step taken by parliament has no specific constitutional meaning because what it did was not voting in the real sense of the word. It was close to issuing a recommendation," Jumblat told As-Safir daily in remarks published Saturday. "How could a parliament that respects itself act this way?" the Druze leader wondered. "We cheered for something that didn't happen," Jumblat stressed. Parliament's approval to amend the constitution needs to be cleared by the cabinet within four months before being ratified. Beirut, 21 Mar 09, 10:23

Suleiman, Saniora Put Proportional Representation Under Spotlight
Naharnet/President Michel Suleiman and Premier Fouad Saniora brought back the issue of proportional representation to the spotlight after a meeting they held at Baabda Palace on Friday. Suleiman called for amending electoral districts based on proportional representation. He also expressed his satisfaction over a parliament decision to lower the voting age to 18. "There is a need to complete all the reforms that were included in the draft-law of the national committee headed by former Minister Fouad Boutros, including the adoption of the proportional representation system and the amendment of electoral districts," the president said. A draft law submitted last year by a national commission headed by Boutros proposed adopting a compound system that combines both a proportional system at the level of governorate voting district and a majority system for the smaller qada voting district. An Nahar quoted Suleiman as saying that "nothing prevents the adoption of proportional (representation) if the right methods are used." "We are keen to continue the reforms brought forward by the committee in terms of adoption of proportionality," Saniora said in comments following his meeting with Suleiman. The prime minister also said that a cabinet session would be held next week, without specifying the exact date or issues that would be discussed. Media reports said Saturday that the cabinet is expected to convene on Wednesday because parliament is scheduled to meet on Thursday. The 2009 state budget has yet to be released due to differences between Speaker Nabih Berri and Saniora over funding the Council of the South.
Saniora told reporters before his meeting with Suleiman that a "surprise" was awaiting the Lebanese regarding the agreement over the budget.
Finance Minister Mohammed Shatah also said that the issue of the Council could be solved within days or one week. Beirut, 21 Mar 09, 09:43

U.N. Defends Roed-Larsen Amid Syrian Accusations
Naharnet/The United Nations defended on Friday, Terje Roed-Larsen, the secretary-general's special envoy for the implementation of resolution 1559, after Syria criticized his mandate. "Roed-Larsen continues to carry out his work implementing that resolution," U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon's spokesperson Michele Montas said during a press briefing. Her comment came in response to an official Syrian letter to Ban accusing Roed-Larsen of "misinterpreting the logical framework of his mandate." The letter also complained that expanding the envoy's mandate to include some articles of resolution 1701 would lead to duplicity because another envoy is tasked with implementing the resolution that ended the Israel-Hizbullah war in 2006. About Syrian-Lebanese relations, the letter said: "The establishment of diplomatic ties and demarcation of the border between Syria and Lebanon are issues linked to the sovereignty of countries and are solved through agreement between the Syrian and Lebanese governments." It said Resolution 1680 does not call for any help by the U.N. general-secretariat to help in efforts to improve Lebanese-Syrian ties. However, Montas noted that Roed-Larsen's mandate derives not only from Resolution 1559 but also from subsequent related resolutions, including Resolutions 1680 and 1701. Those resolutions, she said, provided a "roadmap" or benchmarks for securing Lebanon's sovereignty and political independence. Montas added that Ban had passed the Syrian letter on to the Fifth Committee of the General Assembly. She said that the Fifth Committee does not interpret the mandate of special political missions based on Security Council resolutions; rather, it is up to the Security Council to define the objectives of its resolutions. Beirut, 21 Mar 09, 08:34

Tashnag to Inform Hariri Soon About its Final Electoral Decision
Naharnet/The Armenian Tashnag Party has reached a decision about its electoral alliances and will inform Mustaqbal movement leader Saad Hariri about it within days, Tashnag sources told An Nahar daily. The newspaper said Saturday that a meeting between the Phalange Party's central committee coordinator, Sami Gemayel, and Tashnag's Secretary-General Hovig Mekhitarian in Bourj Hammoud did not change the status quo but the door was still open for a possible understanding between the two sides.
Gemayel described his meeting on Friday with Mekhitarian as being part of previous talks. "What brings us together with the Armenians is more than what separates us," the son of Phalange leader Amin Gemayel said. The Tashnag sources told An Nahar that the party will inform Hariri about its decision on Monday or Tuesday, adding that talks were ongoing with MP Michel Murr. Murr said Friday that he was "keen on maintaining a firm relationship" with the Tashnag that dates back to 50 years. Beirut, 21 Mar 09, 09:02

Hizbullah Denounces Israeli Arrests of Hamas MPs
Naharnet/Hizbullah denounced Israel's recent arrest of leading Hamas figures and members of parliament at the West Bank. "This is a failed and desperate attempt to break the resistance as it failed to do so in the field," Hizbullah statement said on Friday. The statement called on international community institutions, humanitarian and legal associations, Arab and Islamic parliaments to effectively move against Israel. "Move effectively because silence regarding this crime is a crime in itself, (silence) encourages the enemy to persist in its crime and works of aggression," statement said.
Beirut, 20 Mar 09, 20:34

Margelov: MiG 29 Effective Aid to Lebanon and a Message to Israel
Naharnet/Russian Federal Council Chairman of Foreign Relations Committee, said: "we don't speak we work, 10 MiG 29 fighters are an effective (form) of aid to Lebanon's government. This is a message to Israel or any other country that there is a balance of power in the region."
He added that Russia supports Lebanese sovereignty and territorial integrity. Margelov said that Russia helps the role of the Lebanese state "we do so to a democratically advanced state, a sovereign state that plays an important role in the region."Margelov was speaking Friday to the Russia Today satellite channel from Beirut.He added that Russia has placed o conditions on Lebanon regarding the use of the MiG 29 fighters. "There are no conditions made by the Russian government on the Lebanese government regarding the use of these fighters. This is the Lebanese government has the legal right (to use them). Margelov left Beirut on Friday to Doha. Beirut, 20 Mar 09, 20:18

Canada bans outspoken British MP
By Stephen Thorne,
The Canadian Press/ March 20.03.09
OTTAWA - Immigration Minister Jason Kenney will not intervene in a decision to ban British anti-war MP George Galloway from Canada despite opposition claims of censorship.
Galloway termed the decision "idiotic" after Citizenship and Immigration Canada deemed the outspoken politician inadmissible on security grounds. He was exploring his legal options Friday, vowing to fight the ruling with "all means at my disposal."
Kenney's office noted Galloway has expressed sympathy for the Taliban cause in Afghanistan and provided financial support to the Palestinian group Hamas, listed in Canada as a terrorist organization.
Speaking in Calgary on Friday, Kenney said that while he has authority to overrule his officials, he will not provide special treatment to the 54-year-old Scottish MP.
Galloway "last week publicly called for a coup d'etat in Egypt and the overthrow of the government there while at the same time delivering aid and resources to Hamas, which is a banned illegal terrorist organization," Kenney said.
"In this case, I believe folks that are supporting and promoting and helping terrorist organizations are not needed to visit Canada."
Galloway was to speak Monday at a Toronto conference entitled Resisting War from Gaza to Kandahar, hosted by the Toronto Coalition to Stop the War, and at a public forum in nearby Mississauga the next day.
Galloway, banned from Britain's Labour party in 2003 and now sitting as a left-wing Respect MP, issued a statement calling the decision "irrational, inexplicable and an affront to Canada's good name."
"This idiotic ban shames Canada," he said. "This ... is a very sad day for the Canada we have known and loved - a bastion of the freedoms that supporters of the occupation of Afghanistan claim to be defending."
He said the ban "may be a rather desperate election ploy by a conservative government reaching the end of line, or by a minister who has not cottoned on to the fact that the George Bush era is over.
"All right-thinking Canadians, whether they agree with me over the wisdom of sending troops to Afghanistan or not, will oppose this outrageous decision. On a personal note - for a Scotsman to be barred from Canada is like being told to stay away from the family home.
"This is not something I'm prepared to accept."
It's not the first time the government of Prime Minister Stephen Harper has been linked to a controversial decision to bar entry to high-profile activists.
In October 2007, officials banned two U.S. peace activists from speaking at a Toronto conference - Medea Benjamin, co-founder of CodePink, and retired U.S. army colonel Ann Wright, who has been arrested at various peace rallies.
And a day before U.S. President Barack Obama's inauguration, authorities barred Prof. Bill Ayers from attending a conference hosted by the University of Toronto.
Ayers, who teaches at the University of Illinois at Chicago, is a former founding leader of the radical left Weather Underground, which was responsible for a series of bombings and three deaths in the 1970s.
Ayers was thrust into the limelight during last year's presidential race when it was learned he had served on two non-profit boards with Obama and that the future president had attended a gathering at his home in 1995. The controversy eventually dissipated.
Harper's government has also waged a long-running battle with Arab groups in Canada over their policies and statements on Israel. It recently ended a funding arrangement with the Canadian Arab Federation because of "objectionable statements" by its president and others.
In Winnipeg, Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff suggested that, on the face of it, the decision does not appear justified. But he cautioned that security officials might know something he doesn't.
"I have never in a long life of listening to George Galloway heard a single sentence out of his mouth that I believed," said Ignatieff. "But that's not the issue.
"We let into Canada all kinds of people who say ridiculous and absurd things and Galloway has said his share of ridiculous and absurd things. The issue ... is whether the security services know something about George Galloway that I don't.
"If he's being barred on free-speech grounds, that's an outrage. He can come to Canada and talk rubbish all day long, as far as I'm concerned. If there's a security threat, that's another matter. I've heard no evidence yet that he presents a security threat."
NDP immigration critic Olivia Chow said the ban perpetuates a pattern in which views that contradict those of the Conservative government have been suppressed. She said the Tories have adopted an "unhealthy, isolationist, bunker mentality."
"The minister of immigration is becoming the minister of censorship," Chow said in an interview. "We don't have to agree with everything Mr. Galloway talks about.
"But, at bare minimum, they should be allowed to express their points of view so Canadians can make decisions themselves. This is pure censorship and it's wrong."
The decision received rave reviews from two of the country's most prominent Jewish organizations, B'nai Brith Canada and the Canadian Jewish Congress.
"We applaud the government for its explicit recognition that individuals who glorify terrorism, and promote hatred be denied access into Canada," said a statement from B'nai Brith's executive vice-president, Frank Dimant.
"By logical extension those who support the pro-terrorist agenda of groups like Hamas and Hezbollah, whose avowed aim is the destruction of the Jewish state, should not be given public platforms to spew their vile messaging."
He asked Ottawa to review its Anti-Terrorism Act and "close all legal loopholes that would allow for the open glorification of terrorism."
Said congress CEO Bernie Farber: "George Galloway enables terrorism. In so doing he puts Canadian civilians at risk and comforts those who fight our soldiers in Afghanistan. The government's decision was the right one from legal, security and moral viewpoints."
Kenney's spokesman, Alykhan Velshi, called the decision to bar Galloway a "matter of law" taken by border officials in accordance with Section 34(1) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, which bans those who provide material support for terrorist groups.
Velshi point out that American celebrity homemaker Martha Stewart was denied entry into Canada under the previous Liberal administration after she served jail time for insider stock trading.

Iran's Axis of Nuclear Evil Article
By JOHN BOLTON
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123759986806901655.html
Wall Street Journal 21/03/09
While President Obama's unanticipated Nowruz holiday greeting to Iran generated considerable press attention, his video wasn't really this week's big news related to the Islamic Republic. Far more important was that a senior defector -- Iran's former Deputy Minister of Defense Ali Reza Asghari -- disclosed Tehran's financing of Syria's nuclear weapons program. That program's centerpiece was a North Korean nuclear reactor in Syria. Israel destroyed it in September 2007.
At this point, it is impossible to ignore Iran's active efforts to expand, improve and conceal its nuclear weapons program in Syria while it pretends to "negotiate" with Britain, France and Germany (the "EU-3"). No amount of video messages will change this reality. The question is whether this new information about Iran will sink in, or if Washington will continue to turn a blind eye toward Iran's nuclear deceptions.
That the Pyongyang-Damascus-Tehran nuclear axis went undetected and unacknowledged for so long is an intelligence failure of the highest magnitude. It represents a plain unwillingness to allow hard truths to overcome well-entrenched policy views disguised as intelligence findings.
Key elements of our intelligence community (IC) fought against the idea of a Syrian nuclear program for years. In mid-2003, I had a bitter struggle with several IC agencies -- news of which was leaked to the press -- concerning my testimony before the House Foreign Affairs Committee about the Syrian program. Then Sen. Joe Biden made the Syria testimony an issue in my 2005 confirmation battle to become ambassador to the United Nations, alleging that I had tried to hype concern about Syria's nuclear intentions. (In fact, my testimony, in both its classified and unclassified versions, was far more anodyne than the facts warranted.)
Key IC agencies made two arguments in 2003 against the possibility of a clandestine Syrian nuclear weapons program. First, they argued that Syria lacked the scientific and technological capabilities to sustain such a program. Second, they said that Syria did not have the necessary economic resources to fund a program.
These assertions were not based on highly classified intelligence. Instead, they were personal views that some IC members developed based on public information. The intelligence that did exist -- which I thought warranted close observation of Syria, at a minimum -- the IC discounted as inconsistent with its fixed opinions. In short, theirs was not an intelligence conclusion, but a policy view presented under the guise of intelligence.
How wrong they were.
As for Syria's technical expertise, North Korea obviously had the scientific and technological ability to construct the reactor, which was essentially a clone of the North's own at Yongbyon. Moreover, it is entirely possible that Syria's nuclear program -- undertaken with Pyongyang's assistance -- is even more extensive. We will certainly never know from Syria directly, since Damascus continues to deny it has any nuclear program whatever. It's also stonewalling investigation efforts by the International Atomic Energy Agency.
As for Syria's ability to finance a nuclear program, Iran could easily supply whatever Syria might need -- even in a time of fluctuating oil prices. Moreover, given Iran's hegemony over Syria, it is impossible to believe Syria would ever undertake extensive nuclear cooperation with North Korea without Iran's acquiescence. Iran was likely an active partner in a three-way joint venture on the reactor, supplying key financial support and its own share of scientific knowledge. Cooperation on ballistic missile programs between Pyongyang and Tehran is longstanding and well-advanced, and thereby forms a basis of trust for nuclear cooperation. Moreover, both Iran and North Korea share a common incentive: to conceal illicit nuclear weapons programs from international scrutiny. What better way to hide such programs than to conduct them in a third country where no one is looking?
Uncovering the North Korean reactor in Syria was a grave inconvenience for the Bush administration. It enormously complicated both the failing six-party talks on North Korea and the EU-3's diplomatic efforts with Iran, which Secretaries of State Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice so actively supported.
Mr. Asghari's revelations about Iranian financing of Syria's nuclear program -- if borne out -- will have precisely the same negative impact on Obama administration policies, since they track Mr. Bush's so closely. In fact, the two administrations' approaches differ only to the extent that Mr. Obama is poised to pursue policies, like face-to-face negotiations with Iran, that the second term Bush State Department wanted to do, but faced too much internal dissonance to implement.
The Nowruz video reflects the dominant view within the Obama administration that its "open hand" will be reciprocated. It's likely Iran will respond affirmatively to the near-plaintive administration request to "engage."
And why not? Such dialogue allows Iran to conceal its true intentions and activities under the camouflage of negotiations, just as it has done for the past six years with the EU-3. What's more, Iran will see it as confirmation of U.S. weakness and evidence that its policies are succeeding.
There is very little time for Mr. Obama to change course before he is committed to negotiations. He could start by following Iran's money trail.
**Mr. Bolton, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, is the author of "Surrender Is Not an Option: Defending America at the United Nations" (Simon & Schuster, 2007).
 

Iran Challenged In Continuing Aid To Hamas
By David Bedein, Middle East Correspondent
Friday, March 20, 2009
http://thebulletin.us/articles/2009/03/20/news/world/doc49c30b7120a8e109412199.txt
Jerusalem — Iran could encounter difficulty in maintaining its military aid to the Hamas government in the Gaza Strip, according to a report issued by the Israel Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center.
“As opposed to Lebanon, however, Iran will face greater difficulties in supporting Hamas in the Gaza Strip once the dust settles,” the report titled “Hamas,” said. “That is because Iran has no direct access to the Gazan border — as opposed to good access to Lebanon though its wide-open border with Syria — and an arrangement may be reached at the end of the fighting that will lead to closer supervision along the Egypt-Gaza border.”
The report, in contrast to the assurances of the Israeli government, said Iran and Hamas, however, would overcome difficulties to renew the flow of weapons to the Gaza Strip.
The Israeli intelligence center said Hamas has sought extended-range Iranian rockets to strike major cities in Israel.
“As in the past, both Iran and Hamas are expected to be creative to overcome the difficulties and to ensure a renewed flow of weapons to the Gaza Strip, especially long-range rockets, which will renew the rocket threat and Hamas and Iran’s ability to threaten the million people living in Israel’s south,” the report said. “They also aspire to include new zones in the range of fire, up to at least [37 miles], i.e., Tel Aviv.”
The report said Iran has sent hundreds of M-21 Grad rockets, with ranges of between 15 and 30 miles.
Iran, through the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps and the Intelligence Ministry, also received advanced Iranian anti-tank missiles and technology to produce the Shawaz improvised explosive device.
“The rockets with a [30 mile-] range Iran supplied to Hamas are apparently identical to those it supplied to Hezbollah and were fired during the second Lebanon war,” the report said. “Hamas now aspires to include other Israeli cities in its rocket range, including Tel Aviv.”
Hamas’ military buildup in the Gaza Strip has been directed by Hamas headquarters in Damascus, Syria, headed by Khaled Mashal, the report said.
The report said the buildup has focused on rockets and mortars and IEDs in an effort similar to that of Hezbollah in 2006. Hezbollah was said to have engaged in weapons smuggling for Hamas.
“Iran has also transmitted the technological know-how that enables Hamas to increase the range of the rockets it manufactures,” the report said. “In addition, standard rockets enable Hamas to increase its attack range and cause more accurate and greater destruction than its homemade rockets.”
In 2008, Hamas was said to have received at least $150 million from Tehran and was said to have received large quantities of the Grad rocket. In February, Hamas fired 18 such rockets toward the Israeli city of Ashkelon.
The report said the latest rocket contains a motor comprised of four sections; Iran modified the rocket specifically to enable its dismantling for smuggling from Egypt into the Gaza Strip.
“In the Middle East, there are some countries which manufacture such rockets, including Iran and Syria,” the report said. “In our assessment, Iran initiated the technological adaptation to make it easier to dismantle the rockets for smuggling into the Gaza Strip for Hamas and the other terrorist organizations.”
The report said the extended-range rocket reached a distance of 27 miles.
The intelligence center said the rockets were manufacturing in China and supplied to Hamas by Iran. In all, about 100 such rockets were fired during the 22-day Hamas-Israel war.
“They can reach a maximum range of 30 miles, and later the same type of rocket fell in the cities of Beersheba and Ashdod,” the report said.
The report said Iran has helped Hamas develop and manufacture every level of rocket and mortar capability.
Iran has also helped Hamas manufacture so-called explosively formed penetrators (EFPs), designed to penetrate steel. The EFPs, which contain advanced detonators, were meant to block any Israeli armored advance in the Gaza Strip.
Hamas was also said to have deployed the Raad anti-tank missile, an Iranian copy of the Soviet-origin Sagger, as well as the Konkurs, based on the AF-5. The report said Hamas also received anti-tank weapons with tandem warheads.
“Iran smuggled weapons to Hamas and the other terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip by sea, air and overland, through the Persian Gulf, Syria, the North African countries and the Horn of Africa,” the report said. “From Sinai they were smuggled into the Gaza Strip through the tunnels dug under the Egypt-Gaza border or overland when the border crossing was breached at the beginning of 2008. The tunnel industry flourished as soon as the lull arrangement went into effect in June 2008, and the Egyptian preventive actions were ineffective.”
Other intelligence sources have confirmed the Iranians have developed special rafts for landing missiles on the Gaza coast where they cannot be detected by Israeli radar.
**David Bedein can be reached at bedein@thebulletin.us

The President's message to Iran: Is the regime interested?
By Walid Phares
President Obama addressed a message to the Iranian people and leadership calling on the regime to open a new page in the strained relationship. Tehran answered quickly that its expectations are to see Washington change its behavior. In comments made on Russia Today TV, I clarified that the Iranian regime expects the Obama Administration to take more steps including apologizing for so-called ‘past mistakes’. But the US Administration is on a different track, as far as we know. It is giving Ahmedinijad a chance to begin changing its own policies. While on the surface, we see a moment of rapprochement, the actual issues to discuss are still too tough to solve. Washington wants to engage Iran on the ground of stopping the military nuclear program and ceasing support to Hezbollah and Hamas, while Tehran considers these matters as a no-go area of concession.
President Obama addressing Iran
In an interview with Beirut-based NBN TV this afternoon I argued that this statement by Obama may be an opportunity for the Iranian decision-makers to consider a u-turn on strategic matters, but the fact is that the regime feels it has the upper hand everywhere in the Middle East. Why would they make concessions if their perception is that the US is already withdrawing from Iraq, is requesting their help in Afghanistan and is not committed to support democracy in Iran? In my recent book The Confrontation: Winning he War against Future Jihad, I recommended a full fledged support to forces of change inside Iran as a strategic path to influencing Tehran. Without internal leverage over the regime it is less likely that American new messaging would bare fruits. What we are witnessing now is an experiment with the Iranian regime which may harden the regime even further, unless Ahmedinijad loses the forthcoming election next June. But let's keep in mind, that power, real power in Iran, is in the hands of Khamenei. And I don't think the Ayatollah is interested in de radicalizing his own regime.


I told him I admired his refusal to sign the death sentences
By: Robert Fisk
The executioners messed up their work; at least one of the pair had to be throttled
Saturday, 21 March 2009/The Independent
http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/fisk/robert-fiskrsquos-world-i-told-him-i-admired-his-refusal-to-sign-the-death-sentences-1650626.html
Dr Salim el-Hoss is 80 now but remains a staunch defender of human rights and democracy, an opponent of the death penalty and an outspoken supporter of Palestinians. He finds it difficult to climb the steps to airliners, he confessed to me on our way back from Qatar this week, but reads as voraciously as ever. When I recommended to him a long article on American torture, he read it right through to the end and then put the paper down with a slap on his knee. "Terrible, terrible," he muttered.
El-Hoss was Lebanese prime minister when General Michel Aoun thought he was president in 1990 – when Aoun waged a "war of independence" against Syria – and no one (except for Aoun who is now Syria's best Christian friend in Lebanon) has forgotten the results. Some of Aoun's shells fell suspiciously close to el-Hoss's home in the Aisha Bakkar district of Beirut. Aoun once told me that el-Hoss was Judas Iscariot because the Syrians supported the el-Hoss government. When I suggested in an article that Aoun therefore regarded himself as Jesus Christ, the little general tried to "ban" me from Christian east Beirut.
This summer, Aoun will be standing as an ally of Hizbollah (and the Syrians) in Lebanon's elections and there are many of his Christian and Muslim opponents who are hoping he will be electorally nailed to the cross. I doubt it. Lebanese politicians, as I mentioned to el-Hoss, tend to live for a long time if they don't get assassinated. Being Lebanese, el-Hoss smiled broadly at this remark and agreed that it bore the merit of truth.
We had both been attending al-Jazeera's birthday bash in Qatar where the Gaza war – and, more to the point, news coverage of the Gaza war – was the focus of almost all debate. I had my say, in which I repeated my belief that journalists must be neutral and unbiased on the side of those who suffer. There was much al-Jazeera back-scratching, its reporters pointing out – correctly – that their station alone, in Arabic and in English, covered the bloodbath from inside Gaza. But there was a bit too much bellyaching about the international press. Why wasn't there a single Western reporter based in Gaza, one of al-Jazeera's top reporters asked? Because it was only when the story became visually exciting that foreign journalists wanted to go to Gaza – and were then banned by the Israelis.
I found this a bit much. There was never any great demand by reporters to live in Gaza. But the BBC opened an office there and its full-time correspondent was then kidnapped and held hostage for months, released only when Hamas took control of Gaza and freed him (a fact that is no longer mentioned by the BBC). A Fox News camera crew was also abducted in Gaza. Journalists continued to go there – our own intrepid Donald Macintyre among them – but it's not difficult to see why news editors are a bit chary of opening an office in the Gaza Strip. Insurers won't buy into that one. Indeed, Beirut's status as an international news centre never recovered from the rage of kidnapping from which journalists suffered in the late 1980s; even today, as one of the safest cities in the Middle East – from a Westerner's point of view – it remains a backwater of journalism.
So, I suppose, is much of the Gulf. Dubai was always supposed to flourish as a gold-mine of reporting – everything in the emirate was either the longest, deepest or tallest in the world – and I always wondered what would bring it crashing to the ground. Foreign invasion? A massive earthquake?
I never guessed that a global recession would bring it toppling down in billions of debt. Qatar, home to al-Jazeera, seems to have weathered the storm – so far. It is about to become the world's biggest producer and exporter of liquid natural gas and its airline is about to start direct flights from Doha to Houston, two of the world's energy capitals. Qatar Airways has more than 200 new aircraft on order (about $40bn worth) which puts Lebanon – virtually secure because its banks didn't trade in sub-prime loans – in the shade.
But still I prefer to believe in countries which have a long history. Lebanon's story goes back to antiquity. So does Syria's and Iraq's. And Iran's. And Israel/Palestine's for that matter. But the Gulf? No one can dispute the importance of Mecca and Medina. But I'm still waiting for a serious explanation as to why non-Muslims cannot go there. Imagine the fuss if we banned Muslims from Canterbury Cathedral or St Peter's in Rome. Just a thought – I've been trying to find a place for that one for years.
But back to my Qatar Airways flight to Beirut with Dr el-Hoss. I told him I always admired him for refusing to sign the death sentences on two condemned men. He smiled faintly and pointed out to me that as soon as Rafiq Hariri became prime minister – yes, the same supposedly saintly Hariri who was cruelly murdered in Beirut just over four years ago – Hariri signed the death sentences and the two men were hanged. Word has it that even then, the executioners messed up their work and at least one of the two had to be throttled to death by policemen who pulled on his legs. Did they ever, in their brief extension of life, thank the prime minister who tried to save them? "They didn't have time," Dr el-Hoss replied. Defenders of human rights have a tough time in the Middle East.