LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
April 16/08

Bible Reading of the day.
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John 10,22-30. The feast of the Dedication was then taking place in Jerusalem. It was winter.
And Jesus walked about in the temple area on the Portico of Solomon. So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, "How long are you going to keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly."Jesus answered them, "I told you and you do not believe. The works I do in my Father's name testify to me. But you do not believe, because you are not among my sheep. My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish. No one can take them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one can take them out of the Father's hand. The Father and I are one."


Free Opinions, Releases, letters & Special Reports
Early exit by Suleiman would be fuel on the fire - analysts-By Michael Bluhm 15/04/08
Livni might have come away from Qatar with a useful lesson-The Daily Star 15/04/08
Analysis: A change in the Middle East?Middle East Times 15/04/08

Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources for April 15/08
650 Lebanese still held in Syria - advocacy group-AFP
Livni uses Qatar visit to encourage Arab opposition to Iranian nuclear program-AFP
Berri courts Doha for help with logjam in Beirut-Daily Star
'Crucial' for peace to include Hamas and Syria, Carter says-AFP
Bomb damages Saudi Embassy car in Athens-AFP
US, Iran holding secret nuclear talks - UK paper -AFP
Al-Jamaa al-Islamiyya backs call for dialogue-Daily Star  
France still shopping statement on 1701 report-Daily Star  
Beirut defends detention of former security chiefs over Hariri slaying-Daily Star  
Fatah commander denies feud with PLO envoy-Daily Star  
Jumblatt warns allies against 'isolating' others-Daily Star  
UNIFIL looking into new border violation by Israel-Daily Star  
Lebanese delegation meets with major Paris III donors-Daily Star
Tourism minister wants Arab states to lift travel restrictions on 'safe' Lebanon-Daily Star  
Italian peacekeeping mission donates equipment to school in Tyre region-Daily Star  
Civil society group stresses need to make school-buses safer-Daily Star  
South Africa's example could benefit Lebanon-Daily Star  

Lebanese Demand Facts of Missing Believed to be in Syria-Naharnet
Berri Discusses Lebanon With Qatari Oil Minister-Naharnet
Moussa Cautions: The Lebanon Situation Could Deteriorate-Naharnet
Saniora Demands 'Details' on Israeli Incursion-Naharnet
Israel says no deal to Hezbollah prisoners exchange-Ya Libnan
Indeed, Another War in the Middle East is on the Horizon-Alternative Information Center
Livni to tell Gulf leaders in Qatar: Iran the threat, not Israel-Ha'aretz
Lebanese Demand Facts of Missing Believed to be in Syria-Naharnet
Mental disorders widespread in Lebanon-Ya Libnan
Tent City Militiamen Attack Restaurant Clients-Naharnet
Aoun Renews Naturalization Charges-Naharnet
Israeli Foot Patrol Violates South Lebanon-Naharnet
'We'll take fight to Israel's backyard'-Jerusalem Post
Report: Hizbullah to Launch Offensive in Occupied Territories in Case Israel Wages War-Naharnet
Report: Rice Says Saniora, Not Presidential Crisis is Priority-Naharnet
Jordan's King Warns of Regional Repercussions from Lebanon Crisis-Naharnet
Saudi, Egyptian Foreign Ministers Discuss Lebanon-Naharnet
Israel Fears Hizbullah Might Receive Iranian Arms Via Beirut Port
-Naharnet
US Presses Iraq Neighbors at Damascus Meeting
-Naharnet
Kuwait Begins Registration for Early Polls
-Naharnet
Iran Probes Deadly Blast, Cause Still Unclear
-Naharnet
Israeli FM Meets Omani Counterpart in Qatar
-Naharnet
Zimbabwe Court Rejects Opposition Call for Poll Results-Naharnet
Lebanese Demand Facts of Missing Believed to be in Syria
-Naharnet
Israeli Foot Patrol Violates South Lebanon
-Naharnet
Jamaa Islamiya Supports Berri's Call for Dialogue
-Naharnet

Jordan's King Warns of Regional Repercussions from Lebanon Crisis
Naharnet/Premier Fouad Saniora returned to Beirut from Amman Sunday night after talks with King Abdullah II who warned of regional repercussions from the Lebanese political crisis. Abdullah told Saniora during their meeting that "the continuation of the current situation in Lebanon will have repercussions not only on Lebanon but also on the security and stability of the region in general," an official statement in Amman said. Abdullah voiced support for efforts exerted by the Lebanese government "to find an acceptable way out of the political crisis," it said. The Jordanian king also "stressed the importance of continuing efforts exerted to solve the Lebanese crisis," the statement added.An Nahar daily on Monday quoted an informed source in Amman as denying that Saniora discussed with King Abdullah reports that the latter had asked members of the U.S. Congress during his last visit to Washington "to reach a settlement with Syria." Lebanon's state-run National News Agency, in a dispatch from Amman, said Sunday's talks fell within the framework of Saniora's contacts with Arab leaders to scout ways of facilitating a settlement to the ongoing crisis. Beirut, 14 Apr 08, 04:43

Livni might have come away from Qatar with a useful lesson
By The Daily Star
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Editorial
Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni's visit to Qatar for a forum on democracy was never going to produce much of substance, but that was not the purpose of her hosts. They envisioned a symbolic event at which she might catch a glimpse of what is in store for the region if and when her country decides to get serious about making peace with its neighbors. With any luck, she will also have learned that much of the gleaming showcase she visited was built by diaspora Palestinians, reminding her that, like any other people, they can be a remarkably productive one when not trapped in a conflict zone. The heady early days of the Oslo process wrought similar evidence in the Occupied Territories, but that was so many years - and so many lives - ago that Livni might have forgotten.
The history behind the creation of the modern state of Israel is such that no Israeli can be without an understanding of suffering. Indeed, the citizens of that country - like Jews everywhere - are entitled to special sensitivity when it comes to the Holocaust. This does not, however, include the right to punish today's Palestinian people for something that Germans did more than six decades ago. As soon as sufficient numbers of Israelis accept this simple truth and act it on by making meaningful changes, a genuine peace process can and will take root.
This is not to absolve Palestinian leaders of their own responsibilities, for they too have missed opportunities to change a status quo that has locked their people in limbo since 1948. They need Israeli help, though, to demonstrate that the Jewish state can be trusted to honor both the letter and the spirit of its commitments. Only then will sufficient numbers of Palestinians countenance the sorts of compromises that will be asked of them in any comprehensive peace agreement.
Israel does itself no favors by confining the Palestinians to what are, in effect, ghettos, or by repeatedly rebuffing tacit overtures from hard-line groups like Hamas. Both peoples have suffered a lot in this struggle, but Israeli policy frequently reduces Palestinians to a point where they have nothing left to lose. The best hope for Livni's Qatar trip is that it will help her to imagine a win-win outcome for both sides.

650 Lebanese still held in Syria - advocacy group
By Agence France Presse (AFP)
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Joseph Badaoui- Agence France Presse
BEIRUT: Lebanese families fighting to learn the fate of hundreds of their relatives thought to be held in Syria have been encouraged by the unexpected release of a prisoner after 16 years in Syrian detention. "Milad Barakat, a Lebanese, arrived in Beirut about a month ago after spending 16 years in a Syrian prison. His family had lost trace of him for seven years," said Support for Lebanese in Detention and Exile (SOLIDE), a pressure group.
Barakat is one of 650 people whom the organization says remain in Syrian custody.
"To put it bluntly, they either remain in Syria or died as a result of torture they endured while in Syrian custody in Lebanon or Syria," SOLIDE president Ghazi Aad told AFP.
He was referring to a 1987 Amnesty International report that documented 38 methods of torture practiced by Syrian security forces at the time.
"Lebanese intelligence arrested Barakat in April 1992 and turned him over to Syrian intelligence," Aad said, adding that a Syrian court sentenced Barakat to 15 years in prison for fighting the Syrian Army in 1990, after which he was tortured.
The organization said that Barakat refuses to see anyone except his family as he remains in a state of shock after being confined under difficult conditions for so long.
Toward the end of Lebanon's 15-year Civil War, then-General Michel Aoun headed a temporary government and launched a "war of liberation" against Syria, which had troops deployed in eastern and northern parts of Lebanon.
Syria's forces spread throughout most of the country on October 13, 1990, the day on which many of those still missing were captured. The Lebanese Army was split at the time, with most supporting Aoun and the rest Syria.
Aad said that Barakat's mother, similar to many of the missing, had visited him in the Sednaya prison in Syria until 2000 when she lost track of him and reported him missing.
"Many families reported visiting their sons in prisons in Syria only to find them gone thereafter," Aad said, adding most depend on released prisoners for news of their loved ones.
SOLIDE drew up a list of names, including Barakat's, of those held or missing in Syrian prisons and submitted it to a Lebanese-Syrian panel established in 2005 for this purpose.
According to Aad, the Syrian response was terse: "We do not have any information about any of the names on this list."
In spite of this, Barakat was released to the great joy of his family, who had spent seven years in the dark about his whereabouts. Aad said that the Syrian authorities kept Barakat in prison for an additional year after he served his sentence, finally releasing him in the fall of 2007. He returned to Lebanon in mid-March.
Aad said the case of George Shaalawit is similar. He is also Lebanese and like Barakat was included on the list of the prisoners who the Syrian authorities denied were on their territory.
"Shaalawit's parents lost all contact with him around the year 2000. They were pleasantly surprised by his release in December 2005 after 11 years in a Syrian prison without due process," said Aad. Members of SOLIDE have pleaded the case of missing Lebanese thought to be in Syria to leaders of all confessions.
Fifteen MPs from the anti-Syrian parliamentary majority put a petition before the government urging it "to strive to find a final solution to this issue as soon as possible with or without the Syrian government." Sonia Eid is the president of the Commission of the Parents of Missing. She is seeking her son, a Lebanese soldier detained by Syrian forces in Lebanon in 1990 when he was 20 years old. She remembers having visited him only once in a Syrian prison in 1990. Until 1996, Eid continued to receive news of her son from prisoners who were released. But she hasn't heard anything since 1996. "I went to see Barakat three times after his release in the hopes of hearing something about my son. But the former prisoner was in a state of shock and completely refused to speak," said Eid.
"All that I ask the government is that it work faster and more seriously on the case of the missing," she said

Livni uses Qatar visit to encourage Arab opposition to Iranian nuclear program

By Agence France Presse (AFP)
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
DOHA: Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni confirmed Monday that she had lobbied for support against Iran's nuclear program from Arab leaders in Qatar but dismissed as "speculation" reports that she sought help to win freedom for a captured Israeli soldier. "Iran represents the extremists in the region and this is a threat and challenge to the entire region," Livni told reporters in Doha when asked if she had sought support against Iran's nuclear work.
Livni charged Iran tries to undermine other regimes, works with "radical" Shiite elements such as Hizbullah and supports Hamas, a "terrorist organization" controlling Gaza "by weapons, training and money."
"It's in the mutual interest of the region" to join hands against the nuclear ambitions of Iran, which is "the example of a rogue state," she said.
Livni, who addressed a democracy forum, held talks earlier on Monday with Qatar's emir and prime minister and Oman's foreign minister during a rare visit to the Gulf Arab state, which has political contacts but no diplomatic relations with Israel.
Livni denied reports that she might have sought the help of her Arab interlocutors in brokering a prisoner swap involving Corporal Gilad Shalit, an Israeli soldier seized by Gaza militants in June 2006.
"The reason for me to come here is to participate in the Doha forum of democracy. Bilateral talks between Israel and Qatar are of utmost importance ... All the [rest] is speculation," she said.
Omani Foreign Minister Yusef bin Alawi bin Abdullah ruled out an immediate reopening of Israel's trade office in Muscat, which has been closed since 2000. Bin Alawi told AFP he disagreed with Israeli views on the peace process and there was no question of reopening the Israeli office.
"There is no room for opening it until agreement is reached on the establishment of a Palestinian state," the said.
Livni gave bin Alawi "an update on the negotiations with the Palestinians" during the meeting in Doha, an aide told AFP.
"The second objective of the meeting was to discuss the role of the Arab world in the peace process," said the aide, who did not want to be identified.
Bin Alawi said the meeting was "not meant to have a result," but was merely an opportunity to exchange views.
"We do not agree with their [Israelis'] opinions" on the peace negotiations, the minister said.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry said in Occupied Jerusalem that Livni's meeting with Oman's top diplomat was their first public encounter.
In September 2006, the Israeli newspaper Yediot Ahronot reported that she held a secret meeting with bin Alawi on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York.
Oman became the first Gulf Arab country to open a trade office in Tel Aviv, in 1996, but it recalled its representative five months later, making his return conditional on real progress in Middle East peace talks.
It shut down the office, as well as Israel's own trade office in Muscat, in October 2000 following the outbreak of the second Palestinian intifada.
Livni also met Qatari Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, as well as the prime minister of the gas-rich state, Sheikh Hamad bin Jassem bin Jabr al-Thani, her aide said.
The meetings were "very productive," he said. Livni later had lunch with the emir at his palace, he added, but declined to reveal the substance of their talks.
Hamad bin Jassem, who doubles as foreign minister, had said Sunday that talks with Livni would focus on ways of calming the situation in the Israeli-blockaded Gaza Strip, describing this as Qatar's "main preoccupation."
"But I don't want to put this in the context of a mediation," he said when asked if Livni's presence meant that Qatar was trying to mediate between Israel and Hamas.
Asked if Qatar was trying to help broker a prisoner exchange involving Shalit, Sheikh Hamad said: "We will wait to see what she has to say ... on this subject."
An aide to Livni said in Jerusalem that she would focus on Iran's nuclear drive, which the West and Israel suspect is aimed at acquiring nuclear weapons.
Although Qatar, a close American ally, has political contacts with Israel, Livni's visit is a rare occurrence in the Arab world.
"I have seven cancellations because of your arrival. Don't cause any more problems," Qatar's prime minister was heard telling Livni jokingly during the opening of the forum on Sunday. - AFP

Berri courts Doha for help with logjam in Beirut
Moussa stresses determination to find solution despite regional differences

Compiled by Daily Star staff
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Speaker Nabih Berri continued his efforts to revive Arab mediation in Lebanon's political crisis on Monday, but with the next parliamentary session to elect a president scheduled for a week from today, no breakthroughs look to be in the offing. Berri discussed the situation in Lebanon with Qatari Oil Minister Abdullah al-Atiyah during a visit to Doha on Monday.
Beirut's state-run National News Agency said the talks included Berri's latest initiative to launch dialogue among leaders of Lebanon's various factions.
After meeting Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in Cairo on Sunday, however, the speaker had warned that rival Lebanese parties must play a leading role in resolving the impasse and not rely solely on outside mediators.
"Egypt, Syria and Saudi Arabia can offer help, but they cannot replace or act on behalf of Lebanese parties," Berri said.
Berri, who flew to Doha from Cairo, was expected to hold further talks with officials in Qatar as part of efforts to work out a settlement.
Also Monday, MP Ali Hassan Khalil of Berri's Development and Liberation bloc said some media outlets have tried to establish a link between Berri's visit to Cairo and talk of forming an interim government headed by the commander of the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF), General Michel Suleiman, that would see the country through to parliamentary elections in 2009.
"Such talk is unrelated to the truth and is aimed at distorting the success of Berri's visit to Egypt," Khalil said. "It is also aimed at creating sectarian tension and is an attempt to abort Berri's initiative to find a solution through dialogue," he added, referring to the fact that that the premiership is traditionally reserved for a Sunni and Suleiman is a Maronite.
Khalil also reiterated Berri's support for Suleiman's presidential candidacy.
Sources close to Suleiman told the Future News satellite channel on Monday that the LAF chief refused to head "any interim government because this goes against the Constitution."
Future News also carried comments made in London by Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa, who said he could not "abandon Lebanon," adding that there was no substitute for the Arab initiative, which was agreed on by all parties.
The three-point Arab initiative calls for the election of Suleiman as president, the formation of a national unity government, and the drafting of a new electoral law.
"We cannot leave Lebanon without a president," he said, stressing the need for a national unity government. He also emphasized "the importance of the relationship between Syria and Lebanon" as part of the Arab initiative, adding that the Arab League summit hosted by Damascus in late March was held "in difficult conditions" in light of unsettled Arab relations.
"The road is long, but we have little time to prevent the deterioration of the Lebanese situation," he warned.
Moussa said Lebanon received the same importance as that given to the Palestinian issue, adding that the situation in Gaza reflected "great unrest."
In other developments, opposition Reform and Change bloc leader and MP Michel Aoun lashed out at Premier Fouad Siniora, holding him responsible for the current deadlock.
"The Lebanese Civil War began under the slogan of injustice, deprivation and lack of participation," Aoun told reporters after Reform and Change's weekly meeting. "I remind the prime minister and the pro-government alliance that the people today feel the same lack of participation, injustice and deprivation."
He reiterated his belief that the government and the US administration supporting it were responsible for the political vacuum in Lebanon today.
Aoun also announced that he had assigned MPs from the Jbeil region to pursue the issue of mass graves, adding that it was "essential" that the fate of missing people throughout Lebanon be determined.
The Internal Security Forces are currently investigating a mass grave found near Jbeil.
"We must open all mass graves for everyone to see their reality," Aoun said.
The MP also said the bloc had received complaints from residents of the southern town of Ain Zhalta saying an Arab investor had purchased a wide area in the region's natural reserve, "which is supposed to be the property of the municipality. We cannot tolerate that."
He also blamed the government for "this dire economic situation," calling for the formation of an interim government.
"As an opposition, we bear some responsibility for the current situation," he acknowledged. "But the largest responsibility lies on the pro-government forces, for US President [George W.] Bush is not responsible for Siniora's errors

Early exit by Suleiman would be fuel on the fire - analysts

Naming successor would be problematic - but so would leaving another post empty
By Michael Bluhm -Daily Star staff
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
BEIRUT: Saying he was "tired" of waiting to be elected president, Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) commander General Michel Suleiman said earlier this month that he would leave his LAF post on August 21, but his exit is likely only to worsen the country's already shaky political situation and weaken the army he has led for the past nine years, a number of analysts told The Daily Star on Monday.
Because of his age, rank and years of service, Suleiman was slated to step down on November 21, but with three years of accrued vacation time he can leave as early as August 21. Suleiman said on April 2 that the failure of squabbling political factions to live up to their stated wishes to elect him president would indeed drive him to retire from the LAF as soon as possible.
However, with Lebanon's feuding political camps unable to fill the office of the president since November, the unending deadlock makes nearly impossible political consensus and the legal means to name a successor to Suleiman, the experts said. Traditionally, the defense minister has proposed a potential LAF commander to the government, which must approve him by a two-thirds majority, according to Article 65 of the Constitution. The president would then sign off on the appointment, but the government of Prime Minister Fouad Siniora has assumed presidential powers in November on the condition that it would not make any major decisions.
Some here have proposed that Suleiman stay on, as any deputy could put forward a bill in Parliament to amend legislation and permit Suleiman to remain, but apart from the fact that the legislature has not convened in more than a year, Suleiman at this point is ready to get out, said legal expert and civil-society activist Ziyad Baroud.
Keeping Suleiman "is not even an option, because the person himself is not willing to remain in office," Baroud said. "We don't even need to think about an amendment to the law, because the interested person is not interested. He said it very openly."
From a legal standpoint, the government could issue a decree naming Suleiman's successor, but the political polarization means such a commander would face "nonrecognition" by much of the nation, said Ghaleb Mahmassani, a lawyer close to the Future Movement of parliamentary majority leader MP Saad HaririSaad-Hariri-Profile Sep-07 .
With the March 8 opposition having allowed their ally and former President Emile Lahoud to step down and give his authority to the Cabinet on its vow not to abuse such powers, the government will almost certainly not take to the provocative step of tabbing a new head of the LAF, Mahmassani added.
"They promised not to use the prerogatives of the president," Mahmassani said.
Aside from the political deal, the government knows the immense practical obstacles that would face a commander selected in such a manner said retired General Elias Hanna, who teaches political science at Notre Dame University.
"They won't do it. They know what's going to happen - it's going to create a problem," Hanna said. "According to the law, they have a right to issue a decree, but would [a new commander] be able to manage? I don't think so."
In addition to the political fallout, unilaterally picking a replacement for Suleiman would only debilitate the army, Hanna added.
"The army will be paralyzed," he said. "We will be paralyzed. We will have the question of legitimacy from the opposition and maybe from inside the army."
"Why should they create a schism within the army?" Hanna asked. "I think Elias Murr, the defense minister, would not do it. He's wise enough to say no."
If Suleiman does not want to stay in his post and the government does not push through its own horse, Suleiman's powers would pass to his chief of staff, Major General Shawki al-Masri. However, the ascension of Masri - a Druze - to the historically Maronite post would only add another layer of sectarian and political conflict onto the institution of the armed forces, Hanna said.
The absence of a Maronite head of the military, coupled with the ongoing absence of a Maronite head of state, would further erode the group's political standing, Hanna added.
"This is not very good for the Christians, in particular the Maronites," he said.
However, if the Maronites - with their historically privileged perch atop the Lebanese state - feel threatened by Suleiman's exit, the void atop the LAF could have significant political impact, aside from the obvious security concerns, Baroud said. If Suleiman's retirement creates more frustration among Maronites, it represents a "lose-lose situation" for them and for all Lebanese, he added.
"Whether we like it or not, the fact is that Maronites are feeling uncomfortable about all this," Baroud said. "We need to avoid things that will make them feel more uncomfortable."
All in all, the tremors in the LAF's leadership ensuing from Suleiman's departure would mark another step in the crumbling of the state under the weight of political division, Mahmassani said. With the authority of the Lebanese state wobbly for decades, the more citizens get accustomed to vacuums in key public posts the more the state will "disintegrate," he added.
In military terms, Suleiman's leaving would damage the LAF's decision-making, shake its relationship with Hizbullah and further politicize the armed forces, Hanna said. The LAF became more entangled in the political morass when Suleiman assented to becoming the consensus presidential candidate, Hanna said. The December 13 assassination of LAF operations chief General Francois al-Hajj served notice that the military elite had arrived at the same status as the country's political bosses, he added.
"When he stepped in the political arena, the army was targeted," Hanna said. "This is highly typical for Lebanon."
Under Suleiman, the LAF had largely cooperated with Hizbullah, and a change at the top means uncertainty for the group, which has benefited from Suleiman's acceptance, he said.
"This guy has the confidence of a lot of people," Hanna added. "For nine years he performed very well."
Hizbullah regards the army as a "peer competitor," but it wants the army to remain a legitimate force, as Suleiman's backing had given Hizbullah another measure of political validation, Hanna said.
"Hizbullah needs cover at the end of the day," he added.
Without Suleiman, the army would in any case maintain its ability to respond to acute crises, such as the eruption of violence at the Nahr al-Bared Palestinian refugee camp in May 2007, Hanna said. Whenever Suleiman - and his considerable authority - leave the LAF, the persistent political turmoil will prevent the transition to a similarly respected successor, and the armed forces will lack a leader who can make crucial security decisions, Hanna said.
"Without Suleiman, it is weaker," Hanna said. "The army with Suleiman is better than the army without Suleiman

Report: Rice Says Saniora, Not Presidential Crisis is Priority
Naharnet/An Arab diplomatic personality quoted U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice as saying that the absence of a president in Lebanon was not a problem and that her top priority was to keep Premier Fouad Saniora as head of the executive body. "What's wrong with keeping the situation in Lebanon as it is? Our priority is to keep Fouad Saniora as head of the democratically elected government…and that he acts according to the powers granted to him and the president," the source, according to As Safir daily on Monday, quoted Rice as telling foreign ministers of the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council.
"Even the issue of the next parliamentary elections (2009) is not a priority for us. We would welcome any formula that guarantees the extension of the current parliament's mandate," Rice added, according to the source. The source told As Safir that Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov asked Rice during her latest visit to Moscow if her comments represented her country's official stance. "This is my personal point of view and many in the White House, the State Department and the Pentagon back it," Rice replied, according to the source. The deadlock between the parliamentary majority and the Hizbullah-led opposition has left Lebanon without a president since November. The bickering parties have supported Army Chief Gen. Michel Suleiman as a consensus candidate but his election has been held up by the opposition's demand to have veto power over future government decisions, something the majority strongly rejects. According to As Safir, the well-informed source, who visited Washington recently, has said that there is a tendency to "neglect" the Lebanese political crisis and that the situation in Lebanon will continue as it is until after the presidential elections in the United States. Beirut, 14 Apr 08, 08:44

Israeli  FM Meets Omani Counterpart in Qatar
Naharnet/Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni has held talks with her Omani counterpart in the Qatari capital Doha in what Israel hailed Monday as her first public meeting with an Omani official. Livni, who is paying a rare visit to a Gulf Arab state, gave Yusef bin Alawi bin Abdullah "an update on the negotiations with the Palestinians," an aide told AFP. The aide, who did not want to be named, said "the second objective of the meeting was to discuss the role of the Arab world in the peace process." Livni arrived in Doha Sunday to attend a democracy forum, which she was due to address on Monday.
She was also due to meet Qatar's emir, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, and the gas-rich state's prime minister, the aide said. Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassem bin Jabr al-Thani told AFP on Sunday that talks with Livni would focus on ways of calming the situation in the Gaza Strip. "This, of course, will be our main preoccupation and the main issue we will discuss with Livni," he said. "But I don't want to put this in the context of a mediation," Sheikh Hamad said, when asked if Livni's presence meant that Qatar was trying to mediate between Israel and the Islamist Hamas movement which controls Gaza. The Israeli foreign ministry said in Jerusalem that Livni's meeting with Oman's top diplomat, held at her hotel in Doha, was their first public encounter. In September 2006, the Israeli newspaper Yediot Aharonot reported that she held a secret meeting with bin Alawi on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in New York. Oman became the first Gulf Arab country to open a trade office in Tel Aviv, in 1996, but it recalled its representative five months later, making his return conditional on real progress in Middle East peace talks.
It shut down the office in October 2000 following the outbreak of the second Palestinian intifada. The Israeli foreign ministry statement said Livni would also hold talks with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday as well as hold a number of other bilateral meetings before addressing the forum in the evening. Although Qatar has political contacts with Israel and hosts an Israeli commercial interests office, Livni's visit is a rare occurrence in the Arab world.(AFP)
Beirut, 14 Apr 08, 12:03

Report: Hizbullah to Launch Offensive in Occupied Territories in Case Israel Wages War
Naharnet/A high-ranking Hizbullah official has said the party would launch an offensive on Israel in the Palestinian territories occupied in 1948 in case the Jewish state wages a new war, Iranian News Agency, Fars, reported. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, made the statement in an interview with Syrian magazine "al-Hakika," the news agency said. "We would not initiate war but in case they wage any war in the future …there will be a counter attack behind the front lines…and for the first time since 1948 in Palestine itself," the official reportedly said. The Hizbullah Shura Council member also revealed in his remarks to the Syrian magazine that the body of slain commander Imad Mughniyeh was moved to Lebanon before Syrian secret service agents had the chance to examine it. Mughniyeh was assassinated in a Damascus car bombing Feb. 12. Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah ordered Mughniyeh's body to be transferred "immediately" to Lebanon minutes after the bombing, Fars news agency quoted the official as saying. He added that Syrian President Bashar Assad asked Nasrallah to keep the identity of the assassinated official secret but the Hizbullah leader refused. The Shiite group accused Israel of killing Mughniyeh and pledged to avenge his death. The Iranian news agency also quoted the Hizbullah Shura Council member as saying the investigation into Mughniyeh's killing "has ended but we will announce its results in the right time." Beirut, 14 Apr 08, 09:59

Israel Fears Hizbullah Might Receive Iranian Arms Via Beirut Port
Naharnet/Israel is concerned that Iran might start transporting arms to Hizbullah through ships that anchor at the port of Beirut, the Israeli Haaretz daily quoted government sources in Jerusalem as saying. The sources said patrol by U.N. navy vessels off Lebanon's coast wasn't enough to enforce a U.N.-brokered truce that ended the summer 2006 war between Israel and Hizbullah. U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701 gives U.N. peacekeepers the mandate to intercept arms shipments to Hizbullah. A government source told the daily that a year ago Israel informed Germany, which at that time commanded UNIFIL's naval force, that it suspected Iran would transfer weapons to Hizbullah by sea. The source said that Germany vowed to increase its supervision. "The problem is that UNIFIL's checks are not strict enough and are simply not serious," the source told the newspaper. "We are afraid that many ships registered in the port as carrying certain cargo are in fact carrying cargo of a totally different kind," the source added. Beirut, 14 Apr 08, 03:42

Saudi, Egyptian Foreign Ministers Discuss Lebanon
Naharnet/Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal discussed with his Egyptian counterpart Ahmed Abul Gheit Lebanon's political impasse.
Faisal's talks in the Egyptian capital coincided with a visit by Speaker Nabih Berri to Cairo, but the Saudi foreign minister and the head of the Lebanese parliament did not meet. In a press statement following the meeting, Egyptian Foreign Ministry spokesman Husam Zaki said the two Arab ministers discussed regional issues of mutual interest. Zaki noted that Saudi Arabia and Egypt continue to coordinate on various issues, including situations in Lebanon, the Palestinian territories and Iraq.
Beirut, 14 Apr 08, 12:57

'We'll take fight to Israel's backyard'
By JPOST.COM STAFF
The victims of the next Lebanon war will lie in Israel's "backyard," a top Hizbullah official threatened during an interview with a Syrian newspaper Sunday.
Slideshow: Pictures of the week "Their confusion will be greater than we saw in the previous war, because they will see that the holy warriors will confront them not only in south Lebanon, as they have done previously, but in their houses and their settlements," Al-Hakika quoted the unnamed official as saying.
The report, also published by the Iranian news agency Fars on Sunday, went on to quote the official as saying that if war breaks out with Israel again, Hizbullah fighters will not "be satisfied" with a war of defense. "The coming war, in the event that it occurs, will be an offensive war from our side," he said.
"I don't mean that we will initiate the war," stressed the Hizbullah official, "but any war that they launch in the future will turn into what regular armies call "an offensive war," They will see the holy warriors behind their lines and not just opposite them, and the territorial confrontations will be, for the first time since 1948, inside Palestine itself."
An additional threat was made by the Hizbullah official in charge of southern Lebanon, Sheikh Nabil Kaouk. "The Lebanon resistance succeeded in developing its military powers in confrontation with Israel," he said. According to Kaouk, Hizbullah's military will continue to strengthen despite infighting and various crises in Lebanon. Regarding last week's IDF drill, Kaouk said that "the Israeli exercise exposed many holes and proved its unpreparedness for war on the military front, and the unreadiness of the Israeli home front to deal with the results of the war." He also emphasized that "the failure of the exercise is cause for celebration by the resistance and the resisting nation." The unnamed Hizbullah official also revealed that Lebanese parliamentarians had transferred the body of slain Hizbullah terror chief Imad Mughniyeh from Syria to Lebanon in accordance with the group's leader Hassan Nasrallah's instructions. He said that only when the body reached Beirut did Nasrallah inform Syrian President Bashar Assad of the assassination.
The official paid tribute to Mugniyeh and recounted the events that followed his death. "Mughniyeh was one of the first people to come from the center of Iranian culture to the village of Sufa in Damascus. There, he was with a group of Hizbullah-affiliated parliamentarians. After the blast, several members of the group went out to the street to see what had happened. One of them knew immediately that Mughniyeh had been killed in the blast. He phoned Nasrallah and informed him. The Hizbullah chief then ordered him to immediately take the body to Beirut without drawing the attention of Syrian Intelligence - and that is exactly what happened."
The official continued, "They put Mughiyeh's body in the car of one of the parliamentarians and he was immediately taken to Lebanon without any Syrian official seeing them, perhaps except for the regular police." He went on to say that when Nasrallah informed Assad of the assassination, the Syrian president asked him to keep it quiet. "However," said the official, "Nasrallah said 'we don't hide our martyrs, no matter what their roles or ranks are. We are proud of them.'"
He claimed that one of the reasons for Assad's request was the embarrassment the revelation was likely to cause Syria after it had succeeded in protecting the terror chief, who had "led the war against Israel" but who, nonetheless, was killed in "a simple way" in the Syrian capital. Regarding the effects of the assassination on Hizbullah, the official said that "it is true that Mughniyeh's death is considered one of the greatest losses of the resistance …and the loss to the Hizbullah ranks and its supporters causes great sadness. But Hizbullah is not just one man but an institution in the fullest sense of the word." He said that before his death, Mughniyeh was working with his associates on a process of learning the lessons of the Second Lebanon War.

What's going on in Syria?
By OLIVIER GUITTA
(www.thecroissant.com)
April 14, 2008
Syria has been regularly popping up in the news. In fact, recent events point to the importance of that country for the future of the Middle East. Syria's political situation may indeed have an important impact on a few countries: first of course Lebanon, second Iraq, third Israel, and finally Iran.
First, one should not underestimate Syria's potential for creating havoc on a whim by using some of the militant groups it actively supports: such as Hezbollah and Fatah al-Islam in Lebanon, or Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad in the Palestinian territories.
But also one should not forget Syria's active role in facilitating the transit of foreign fighters joining insurgent groups in Iraq to attack coalition troops or the Iraqi army. Interestingly back in October 2007, the U.S. command in Iraq announced having seized important documents that included a list of around 500 fighters that entered Iraq through Syria.
Last week, the usually well-informed Saudi daily Al-Watan revealed that those documents showed the undeniable role of Syria in terrorism in Iraq. They also allegedly proved how the terror group Fatah al-Islam – that became notorious when it attacked the Lebanese army and fought from the Nahr al-Bared camp in May-June 2007 – is strictly a product of Syrian services and not an al-Qaida affiliate, as Damascus pretended.
In fact, Syrian authorities were seizing the passports of al-Qaida fighters (coming mostly from Saudi Arabia) who were traveling to Iraq to join the insurgency. They gave these passports to Palestinian and Syrian combatants who were going to Lebanon to fight the Lebanese army.
The goal behind this tactic was to be able to blame the Saudi services and in particular Saudi Prince Bandar Bin Sultan (the ex-Saudi ambassador in Washington and the current national security director) of helping foster Sunni terrorism inside Lebanon. DNA tests, performed on some Fatah al-Islam combatants killed in Nahr al-Bared and holders of Saudi passports, proved that they were not actually Saudis.
Interestingly, last week, the Iranian Fars news agency reported that the results of the investigation on Imad Mugnieh's killing in Damascus led to both Riyadh and Jerusalem. This seems clearly like an attempt to blame two of Tehran's enemies, Saudi Arabia and Israel.
Indeed, in light of available information, Syrian security services were possibly one way or another involved in Mugnieh's death. And here is where the situation becomes even more complicated and could lead to a shakeup at the top of the regime.
Last week, media reports abounded about the demise of Syria's strongman, the powerful head of the security services and Bashar Assad's brother-in-law, Assef Shawkat. For instance, the Algerian daily Ech Chorouk reported that Assad had his brother-in-law arrested for allegedly planning a coup against him.
Still, according to Ech Chorouk, Shawkat allegedly contacted the CIA for help and was then denounced by none other than Mugnieh. If this theory holds any water then it could possibly explain the potential role of Shawkat in Mugnieh's murder.
Obviously in a country controlled by such a secretive regime, reliable information is tough to obtain. But the Lebanese weekly Al-Shiraa confirms that Shawkat is under house arrest and that two military intelligence officers were allegedly executed last week for their role in Mugnieh's assassination. Also Al-Shiraa affirms that apartments of several high-ranked officers close to Shawkat were searched and that the car of a lieutenant colonel was shot at.
Also, Shawkat's wife, Bushra Assad, is reportedly in Paris with her children. But French authorities have denied that she asked for political asylum in France.
These revelations point out the shakiness of Assad's regime and the maneuvers behind the scenes.
It seems important to note that Israel and the United States have diverging views when it comes to Assad. In fact, the numerous public reports of "secret" and not so secret negotiations between Jerusalem and Damascus over peace prove that Israel is at the moment satisfied with dealing with Assad.
Indeed, Assad is viewed as a weak leader who, for example, did not retaliate after Israel bombed Syria's nuclear facility back in September 2007. At the same time, Israelis have privately complained that the United States is not "allowing" them to go through with the negotiations with Assad.
If the rumors of possible CIA involvement in the Shawkat coup turn out to be true, then this seems like an ill-advised strategy to say the least.
Indeed, replacing Bashar Assad with Shawkat or Rifaat Assad (Bashar's uncle) or Abdel Halim Khaddam (the ex-vice president who was kicked out of power and Syria in 2005) - basically three individuals belonging to the old guard - is not going to be beneficial for the region.
What remains sure is that Syria is the key to a lot of thorny issues in the Middle East and therefore should be handled the right way. In light of the complexity of the situation, this is not a cakewalk, but neither the Israeli nor the U.S. approaches seem like good ones at the moment.
***Olivier Guitta, an adjunct fellow at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies and a foreign affairs and counterterrorism consultant, is the founder of the newsletter The Croissant (www.thecroissant.com).