LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
September 01/08

Bible Reading of the day.
 Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 16,21-27. From that time on, Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer greatly from the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed and on the third day be raised. Then Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, "God forbid, Lord! No such thing shall ever happen to you." He turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are an obstacle to me. You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do."Then Jesus said to his disciples, "Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. What profit would there be for one to gain the whole world and forfeit his life? Or what can one give in exchange for his life? For the Son of Man will come with his angels in his Father's glory, and then he will repay everyone according to his conduct.

Saint Augustine (354-430), Bishop of Hippo (North Africa) and Doctor of the Church
Sermon 96 §1-4.9/Deny yourself, take up your cross and follow Christ
What the Lord has commanded us: «Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself» seems hard and difficult. Yet it isn't either hard or difficult because the one who commands it is the one who helps us to fulfill what he commands. For if that saying of the psalm is true, that: «according to the words of your lips I have pursued difficult paths» (Ps 17[16],4), so also is true the saying spoken by Jesus: «my yoke is easy and my burden light,» (Mt 11,30). For anything hard in the command, love turns to sweetness. We know well of what marvels love is capable. There are times when love is of doubtful worth and is depraved. Yet how many difficulties will not men endure, what humiliating and unendurable treatment will they not suffer if only they might attain to what they love!... Since life's great enterprise must be to choose well what one should love, is it surprising that anyone who loves Jesus Christ and desires to follow him denies himself in order to love him?...What is the meaning of what follows: «Let him take up his cross»? Let him endure what is painful and so let him follow me. For when a man begins to follow me by acting according to my precepts, there will be plenty of people to disagree with him, oppose him, discourage him. And that on the part of people who claim to be Christ's friends. Those who stopped the blind men from crying out (Mt 20,31) were walking in Christ's company. So whether it is a matter of threats, flattery, prohibitions, if you want to follow Christ, turn it all into the cross; endure it, bear it, don't let yourself be overcome...
You love the world, but you should rather love him who made the world... We live in a world that is holy, that is good, reconciled, saved or, rather, that is to be saved but which is saved now in hope. «For in hope we were saved,» (Rom 8,24). In this world, therefore, that is to say in the Church, which wholly follows Christ, he said to all: «Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself.»


Free Opinions, Releases, letters & Special Reports
Hezbollah cultivates bond with left-leaning and peace groups-GulfNews 31/08/08
No way, no how. By: James Denselow - guardian 31/08/08

Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources for August 31/08
Coalition forces target Hezbollah Brigades in Baghdad-Long War Journal
Mass rally in Lebanon for missing Shiite leader-AFP
Lebanon wants facts from Gadhafi on missing cleric-International Herald Tribune
Obama-McCain Support Israel, Oppose Hizbullah-Hamas, Disagree on Iran-Naharnet
Washington Bans Israel from Attacking Iran-Naharnet
Hezbollah warlord was an enigma-Los Angeles Times
Hezbollah attack raises tensions-Chicago Tribune
Lack of Funds Threatens De-mining Efforts-Naharnet

The Iron Fist President in Silk Glove-Naharnet
Paris Working for Quadripartite Summit in Damascus to Discuss Lebanon
-Naharnet
Aoun, Son-In-Law in Paris on Family Visit
-Naharnet
Karami Speaks of Cairo-Sponsored Lebanese Reconciliation
-Naharnet
Cabinet Denounces Syria's Trespassing Into Lebanese Territory
-Naharnet
Moussa al-Sadr's Disappearance Roils Lebanon's Shiites Years Later
-Naharnet
Khaddam Attacks Assad Regime-Naharnet

Hezbollah warlord was an enigma
Imad Mughniyah, alleged mastermind of infamous terrorist attacks, was one of the most hunted men in the world. His death is as mysterious as his life.
By Borzou Daragahi and Sebastian Rotella, Los Angeles Times Staff Writers
August 30, 2008
BEIRUT -- In Hezbollah's inner circle they called him "The One Who Never Sleeps."
Imad Mughniyah was one of the most hunted men in the world. Western security forces spent 25 years pursuing the Hezbollah warlord, the alleged mastermind of infamous attacks of the late 20th century and a pioneer of brutal tactics later emulated by Al Qaeda. In fact, he may have proved a more disciplined, effective master of asymmetric warfare than even Osama bin Laden.
Imad Mughniyah's trail of terror
Mughniyah survived through anonymity: changing hide-outs, moving without bodyguards or drivers, a pistol always in his belt. On the evening of Feb. 12, he left a safe house in the Kfar Soussa neighborhood of Damascus, a warren of nearly identical towers that house the employees and headquarters of Syria's vast intelligence apparatus.
He had just held a sit-down with a Syrian spy chief and was preparing for a secret meeting that night with President Bashar Assad, Western anti-terrorism officials say.
Seconds after Mughniyah got behind the wheel of his sport utility vehicle, an explosion incinerated him. The assassination in the heart of an authoritarian state ended his bloody odyssey through the modern history of terrorism.
His death at 45 remains as mysterious as his life. Interviews with anti-terrorism officials, diplomats and his associates reveal new details about the exploits of this secretive figure -- and about a slaying that may have been an inside job.
Mughniyah's role at the hub of a murky alliance of Hezbollah, Syria and Iran made him powerful but vulnerable, officials say. The likeliest scenario is that Israel eliminated him. But the aftermath has reinforced signs of potential Syrian involvement and exposed tensions among Syria, Iran and Hezbollah, Western officials say.
"What's troubling is that even if it was the Israelis, it happened in Damascus in a safe area meters from the office of [intelligence] chief Assef Shawkat," said a Western diplomat in the Syrian capital.
Iran and Hezbollah have sworn revenge, putting Israel on worldwide alert for the kind of attacks that were once Mughniyah's trademark.
Mughniyah sounded self-effacing in a rare interview he gave to a pro-Hezbollah newspaper not long before his death and published afterward.
"The Americans are making up stories about me and hold me responsible for a lot of attacks against them that happened around the world," he told Ibrahim al Amine of Lebanon's Al Akhbar. "Sometimes they think of me as if I have the key to the universe. It is difficult for them to understand that I am part of an institution that patiently plans and designs its moves."
Mughniyah had grown pudgy, his beard graying beneath round-rimmed glasses. He lived on the run among Iran, Syria and Lebanon and had two wives: a Lebanese in southern Lebanon and an Iranian in Damascus. He drove his own car, bought groceries alone and took catnaps while working nonstop, associates said. An associate in Damascus recalled how, during a heated group discussion, he curled up on a couch and went to sleep.
Mughniyah oversaw foreign networks that he built after his terrorism campaign in Lebanon, including the 1983 bombings of the U.S. Embassy and Marine barracks. His cells allegedly carried out operations in France and Argentina, where two car bombings of Jewish targets left more than 100 dead. He also met in Sudan in the early 1990s with Osama bin Laden, whose militants got explosives training from Hezbollah experts.
Pursued by Israeli and U.S. forces, Mughniyah eluded several assassination attempts. His brother died in one attack in 1994; Mughniyah's bulletproof vest took multiple hits in another ambush.
In the late 1990s, Hezbollah curtailed attacks outside the Middle East. Mughniyah was an architect of a shift to concentrate on political and military activity in Lebanon. He served on the shura, the militia's leadership council, after being elected in 2001 under the alias Jawad Nur A-Din, Western officials say.
His post was secret, officials say, because Hezbollah claims to separate its political activity from its military wing, which is designated as a terrorist group by the United States and Israel.
Mughniyah's duties included aiding Palestinian militant groups with training and arms procurement, and running security for Hezbollah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah, to whom he was close, experts and associates say.
On May 13, 2006, he met in Lebanon with Hassan Zarkani, a representative of Iraqi Shiite strongman Muqtada Sadr, and agreed to provide smuggled anti-tank missiles to Iraqi fighters and train them in their use, Western anti-terrorism officials say.
But his prime obsession was the destruction of Israel. Hezbollah insiders and Israeli officials say that during the 2006 war in Lebanon, he ordered battlefield tactics that surprised Israeli troops with their ferocity and effectiveness.
"We saw death in their eyes," Mughniyah said of the Israelis, whose fighting skills he admired, according to Lebanese journalist Amine.

The Iron Fist President in Silk Glove
Naharnet/Justice Minister Ibrahim Najjar described President Michel Suleiman as an "iron fist in a silk glove."
Najjar, who represents the Lebanese Forces in Premier Fouad Saniora's cabinet, made the remark in an interview with the daily al-Anwar.
Hizbullah, according to Najjar, is repeating the Phalange Party's slogan for the early 1970s, just before outbreak of the civil war, along the lines that "the state is crippled and they have to replace it.""We were wrong and they are wrong now," said Najjar, who started his political career as Phalange Party member.
Najjar said the attack by Hizbullah gunmen on a Lebanese Army helicopter in the southern Sojod region was a "horrible act. But Lebanon wouldn't collapse by a catastrophe and wouldn't fall apart by the fall of a helicopter."He said the "assassination" of 1st. LT. Samer Hanna, the helicopter's pilot, is a "national disaster."
Najjar called for proceeding with the judicial investigation into the Sojod attack. Beirut, 31 Aug 08, 10:06

Paris Working for Quadripartite Summit in Damascus to Discuss Lebanon
Naharnet/Paris is trying to sponsor a quadripartite summit in Damascus grouping leaders of France, Syria, Turkey and Qatar to discuss the Lebanon situation and the Middle East peace process, the daily Asharq al-Awsat reported Sunday. It said Paris wants the summit held during President Nicolas Sarkozy's forthcoming visit to Damascus for talks with his Syrian counterpart Bashar Assad. The proposed summit also is to include Turkish Premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the Emir of Qatar Sheik Hamad Bin Khalifa al-Thani, according to the Paris-datelined report. The proposed summit would consider the Lebanon situation, the Syrian-Israeli talks through Turkey, the Palestinian-Israeli talks and regional topics, the report added. It quoted informed French sources as saying Sarkozy would not be accompanied by an expanded economic and business delegation during his visit to Syria because "the two states are still in the stage of setting up political relations."
It is unlikely for Sarkozy's visit to Syria to result in signing "economic contracts or cooperation agreements," the report noted.
The sources said relations with Damascus "are still in the initial stage. Upgrading such relations remains linked to development of the situation in Lebanon."
It said France and the European Union want to play a role in the 2009 Lebanese Parliamentary elections by commissioning observers to monitor the balloting process.

Karami Speaks of Cairo-Sponsored Lebanese Reconciliation
Naharnet/Ex-Premier Omar Karami leaves for Tehran on Monday after declaring that Egypt would host inter-Lebanese dialogue to achieve "national Lebanese dialogue."Karami made the remark in an interview with the Egyptian daily al-Ahram after visiting Cairo where he was received by President Husni Mubarak.
"Cairo would host Lebanese figures from the various sides to discuss a settlement that can deal with basic issues and achieve national reconciliation in Lebanon," Karami said. He said Mubarak had promised him to exert efforts aimed at helping Lebanon overcome its difficulties.
Karami, however, did not say if such talks have been scheduled. Beirut, 31 Aug 08, 08:00

Washington Bans Israel from Attacking Iran

Naharnet/The United States has informed Israel that it bans any attack on Iran to knock down its nuclear program, the pan-Arab daily Asharq al-Awsat reported Sunday. The newspaper, in a Tel Aviv-datelined report, said Washington has "clearly informed Israel… that we would not allow you to launch war on Iran."
The reported U.S. message also includes a ban on the use of Iraqi airspace to launch raids against Iran, the report added.
Some Israeli forces believe the "west has succumbed" to the idea of nuclear-armed Iran … and Israel must acknowledge this reality," according to the report.
However, "the majority of Israeli political and military officials believe that Iran's nuclear program poses a direct threat to Israel's existence," the report said.
Such officials believe that "they should get rid of this (Iranian) program," the report explained. Getting rid of the Iranian nuclear program can be achieved "by the collapse of the ruling regime, by an American military strike or by effective international pressure that reaches the level of a suffocating blockade," it added.
Nevertheless, "If the (whole) world does not back one of these options, Israel would be left with no choice but to act alone" against Iran, the report added.
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has worked out a "compromise" with the forces calling for striking Iran. He upgraded the budget of the military and security agencies to prepare for a strike and opened dialogue with Syria via Turkey. The report quoted Olmert as saying going to "war against Iran without peace with Syria would be a serious adventure."
"The army believed that Syria would take part in such a war, Israel can defeat Syria and reach as deep as Damascus, threatening to occupy the Syrian capital.
"But such an operation, even if its success is guaranteed, would cost Israel 1,000-2,000 fatalities, would lead to shelling several Israeli cities and would result in extensive damage sustained by both sides. "Above all, this war would end by going into negotiations focusing on returning the Golan to Syria."
The report also quoted Olmert as saying "as long as the result would be negotiations over the Golan, but only after major losses, why don't we start negotiations on the Golan now and achieve peace that gets Syria out of the sphere of Iranian influence?"It also quoted Olmert as saying "Syrian President Bashar Assad is not an adventurer, he is a smart person …and doesn't perceive himself with Iran, strategically." Beirut, 31 Aug 08, 07:40

Aoun, Son-In-Law in Paris on Family Visit
Naharnet/Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun and his son-in-law, cabinet minister Jebran Bassil, have left for Paris on a "private-family visit," a local newsletter reported. Al-Markazia, however, quoted FPM sources as saying "it is not unlikely" that Aoun would meet ex-MP Issam Fares, who is currently in Paris, to discuss with him issues related to the 2009 parliamentary elections and other topics. After his two-day visit to France, Aoun would resume a tour of Lebanese provinces, which he started last week by visiting south Lebanon. The second leg in Aoun's Lebanon tour would be the southern Marjayoun province to be followed by a tour of north Lebanon, the report added. Obama-McCain Support Israel, Oppose Hizbullah-Hamas, Disagree on Iran
Democratic White House hopeful Barack Obama and his Republican competitor John McCain agree on backing Israel and opposing Hizbullah and Hamas, but differ on staging war against Iran.Following is a summary of their respective stands on the main issues that the United States faces:
IRAQ.
Obama: Said he was against the war in 2002 and has vowed to end the conflict and begin to withdraw the troops immediately. He is opposed to establishing permanent bases in Iraq, but says he would be prepared to send troops back in case of a catastrophe or genocide.
McCain: Is a fervent supporter of the US surge launched in 2007. He has vowed "no surrender" and has said he is convinced that Washington is winning the war against the insurgency. He has come under fire from Democrats for suggesting that US troops could be stationed in Iraq for 100 years, modeled on the U.S. involvement in Germany and South Korea.
ECONOMY.
Obama: Promises to cut taxes for working classes and low-income homes earning less than 75,000 dollars a year, while raising taxes for those homes with an average income of more than 250,000 dollars. On the housing crisis, he proposes setting up a fund to help stave off foreclosures, and federal help to gain access to loans. McCain: Pledges to maintain the tax cuts put in place under President George W. Bush. Firmly against public deficits, he has vowed to fight congressional earmarks and has proposed a freeze for a year on non-military federal spending. On the housing crisis, he has suggested state guarantees for mortgages and for student loans.
ENERGY.
Obama: Wants to limit carbon gas emissions and has fixed the goal of reducing greenhouse gases by 80 percent by 2050. He wants to pump 150 billion dollars into the research of clean energy over the next 10 years. Now supports after initially opposing limited US offshore drilling.
McCain: Also wants to limit carbon gas emissions but has set a slightly more modest goal of cutting them by two-thirds by 2050. Also supports US offshore drilling after initially opposing it. He wants to build new nuclear energy plants, and is opposed to federal support for clean energy.
HEALTH CARE.
Obama: Wants all Americans to be covered by a universal health care plan. His scheme, based on incentives and cost cuts, would be voluntary but oblige parents to insure their children.McCain: Believes health care should be made more accessible. (Some 45 million Americans lack coverage.) He proposes greater oversight of insurance and pharmaceutical companies to prevent them from profiting unreasonably at the expense of consumers.
RUSSIA.
Obama: Has denounced "Russian aggression" in Georgia and says pressure has to be kept up on Moscow to be more transparent and democratic. "Let me be clear: we seek a future of cooperative engagement with the Russian government, and friendship with the Russian people," Obama said, stressing that Moscow had to act responsibly.
McCain: Has called for Russia to be excluded from the Group of Eight most industrialized nations and criticized former president and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin as "a dangerous man."
IRAN.
Obama: Is in favor of launching a dialogue with Iran, which he says presents a serious threat to the Middle East region and the United States. He has said he would be prepared to hold talks without pre-conditions with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. But more recently he indicated talks would begin at a lower level first. He is in favor of using international sanctions to push Iran to be more transparent over its suspect nuclear program.

McCain: Says "there is only one thing worse than military action and that is a nuclear-armed Iran." He is against any presidential-level talks, which he believes would only lend legitimacy to the regime's hardliners. He would like to tighten sanctions, mostly economic, outside the UN sphere if necessary.
MIDDLE EAST AND ISRAEL.
Obama: The U.S. commitment to Israel is "non-negotiable." He envisages isolating Hamas and Hizbullah, as long as the Islamic militant groups refuse to renounce terrorism or recognize the right of Israel to exist. He has criticized Jewish settlements in the Palestinian territories as unhelpful to the peace process, and is in favor of policies, which can boost the influence of moderate Palestinians.
McCain: Supports US military aid to Israel and says he is Hamas' "worst enemy." He has repeatedly said Hamas would welcome an Obama victory. He encourages talks between Israel and Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas, and has called for Hamas, Hizbullah, and Syria to be politically isolated. He believes the Israeli war on Lebanon in 2006 was justified.
IMMIGRATION.
Obama: Supports immigration reform, which boosts border controls while legalizing under certain conditions the 12 million illegal immigrants already in the United States.
McCain: Was a key mover in 2006 legislation to try to regularize the situation of illegal immigrants, but insists on the need to secure the borders before any other reforms can be carried out.
INTERNATIONAL TRADE.
Obama: Has attacked the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) with Canada and Mexico and says he would renegotiate it.
McCain: Supports NAFTA and sees free trade as an important tool in US foreign policy, notably in the Middle East. Unlike Obama, he supports a free trade accord with Colombia.
ABORTION.
Obama: Has expressed his support for legal abortions, but called for efforts to limit unwanted pregnancies.
McCain: Opposes abortion. He said recently that life began from "the moment of conception", adding "I will be a pro-life president and this presidency will have pro-life policies."(AFP-Naharnet)

Lack of Funds Threatens De-mining Efforts
Naharnet/Mohamed Balhas was on his tractor clearing a patch of land near his home in southern Lebanon last week when a cluster bomb exploded, shooting shrapnel into his chest and left leg. "I didn't know what hit me. Suddenly blood was pouring from my chest," said the 36-year-old Balhas.
With funds drying up for the massive de-mining operations under way in southern Lebanon since the end of the 2006 war between Israel and Hizbullah, the U.N. fears that such incidents, already all-too-frequent, would increase. The de-mining teams have been working all-out to clear the more than one million cluster bombs Israel dropped throughout south Lebanon during the last days of its devastating 34-day war with Hizbullah in the summer of 2006.
However, many of the 44 teams doing the work will have to lay down their metal detectors at the end of August due to lack of funds, according to Dalya Farran, spokeswoman for the U.N. Mine Action Coordination Center (MACC).
"Our productivity in clearing contaminated areas will be cut by 50 percent at the end of the month when the teams stop their work," Farran said, adding that the 2008 budget was short 4.7 million dollars. "And 2009 is a whole other story. Without funding, we will have to stop all the teams," she said.
The teams, working alongside the Lebanese army and U.N. forces, comprise around 1,000 people, most of them Lebanese.
The work is dangerous -- in the two years since the war's end, 27 civilians and 13 de-miners have been killed and 234 civilians and 39 de-miners wounded as a result of cluster bombs and unexploded ordnance, according to MACC. Farran said 1,058 sites contaminated by cluster bombs and unexploded ordnance from the 2006 war had been identified. The combined area of the sites totals around 41 square kilometers.
Clearance teams, dressed in protective clothing and headgear, pass their metal detectors over every centimeter of the contaminated sites and mark the area where there is a metallic presence. Other experts then come to dig up any bombs and transport them to another site where they are exploded.
As Mohamed Balhas recovers at his home from the two operations he has endured to remove the shrapnel from his chest, he contemplates going back to work. But the thought is daunting. "Of course we are afraid to work and do our jobs, but we have to. We have to put food on the table," he said.
As the de-mining teams cease their operations, "the potential for accidents will definitely increase" according to Farran who said that 2005 saw a "dramatic increase" in the casualty rate when a previous de-mining operation was stopped.
According to Farran, "43 percent of the areas affected by the cluster bombs dropped during the July 2006 war have been cleared and the direct threat has been eliminated from 49 percent of the contaminated areas -- which means the surface bombs have been removed."
"Eight percent still needs to be worked on."
But it's not only the lethal bomblets that are causing sleepless nights for residents of southern Lebanon. "Aside from the cluster bombs, we still have 300,000 landmines along the Blue Line (the frontier with Israel)," said Tyre mayor Abdel Hasan al-Husseini, referring to mines laid by Israel before its withdrawal from southern Lebanon in 2000.
"Maybe Georgia is distracting donors' attention," he added.Husseini said that 45,000 cluster bombs were cleared from one village alone.
"Many of the bombs were dropped on agricultural lands, which means farmers are staying away from their land," he said.
He estimated that 80 percent of the people in southern Lebanon worked in the agricultural sector, particularly tobacco, olives and bananas.
When an area is cleared, the surface bombs are removed as well as those detected below the surface. But there is always risk that some go undetected.
"We will continue to feel the effects of cluster bombs for another 100 or 200 years," said Yehya Balhas, a 43-year-old farmer.
"This area was supposed to be clean, but our neighbor was hurt just the other day when one blew up. There are some areas where you can't even work the land," he added. His four-year-old niece Mariam recognizes cluster bombs from television ads.
"I saw one with a white string on it in the field and ran away. I also saw one on the road when we first came back," she said referring to her family's return after fleeing the bombardment during the war.
While the funding issue presents a major hindrance to the bomb-clearing effort, Farran maintains that the main impediment is the fact that Israel has not revealed any information on the cluster bombs that its air forces dropped.
"The United Nations has repeatedly requested cluster bomb data from Israel (including maps and the type of ordnance dropped), but in two years plus, we still haven't received the requested data," Farran said.
"This remains the main obstacle to the cluster bomb clearing effort."
News of the scaling back of the de-mining effort has not been reassuring for locals.
Tohmeh Tohmeh, 50, a well-wisher visiting Mohamed Balhas after his accident, himself was a casualty of a land mine blast in 1996.
"I was hurt from head to toe. My stomach was literally blown open and I lost sight in my right eye," he says.
"Now they are stopping the de-mining, but we are still dying," he added.(AFP)

Cabinet Denounces Syria's Trespassing Into Lebanese Territory
Naharnet/The Lebanese government, meeting under President Michel Suleiman, has denounced the trespassing by Syria into Lebanese territory in the eastern Bekaa Valley. The cabinet outlined the stand in its meeting Friday in reference to the digging by Syrian teams of two wells in the Deir al-Ashayer village which abuts Syrian territory.  "The government denounced the trespassing into Lebanese territory in Deir al-Ashayer by digging two wells in Lebanese territory within property owned by Lebanese citizens," the government said.
Information Minister Tareq Mitri said President Suleiman "informed the cabinet that he is following up his contacts in this regards and awaits a thorough response."
Cabinet minister Wael Abou Faour had raised the issue during the cabinet meeting saying Syria has penetrated Lebanese territory to a distance of 100 meters from the border line to dig two wells. Diplomatic sources noted that the cabinet's denunciation as well as Suleiman's comment on the reported trespassing did not mention Syria explicitly. However, adopting such a decision by Premier Fouad Saniora's cabinet reflects a development in dealing with Syria at a time Suleiman and his Syrian counterpart Bashar Assad agreed on setting up diplomatic ties between the two states, but have so far failed in reaching agreement on demarcating the joint borders. The dispute followed a report by a U.N. committee that Lebanon's eastern borders remain "open" to the smuggling of weapons from Syria, in a major violation of UNSCR 1701 that bans the illegal transport of weapons into Lebanon. An-Nahar quoted diplomatic sources as saying denunciation of the Syrian trespassing by a cabinet that includes ministers who have relations with Syria is "an important development."

The idea that McCain represents a safe pair of hands on foreign policy is absurd
James Denselow guardian.co.uk,
Sunday August 31 2008
One of the main factors that is supposedly keeping McCain level with Obama in the polls is the Republican's foreign policy acumen and experience. On Iraq, there is certainly clear water between the candidates' rhetoric. The division is between the man who recognises reality and the man who is lost in an illusion of his own. McCain falls into the latter category, peddling the standard line that "Iraq must not become a failed state, a haven for terrorists, or a pawn of Iran". Yet the US invasion of Iraq has created exactly these three scenarios, and just because John McCain says "must" is no reason to envisage any change.
Ben Dear, writing on Cif, was correct to point out McCain's deluded obsession with Iraq. He has been out to the country eight times since the war began and is now positioning himself to share the reflected glory of the perceived 'success' of the surge. McCain criticises Obama for not having spent enough time in Iraq, while simultaneously endorsing the Bush doctrine of leaving commanders on the ground to run the show. Yet simply having been to Iraq is no proof of knowledge or expertise on the situation there. Secretive surprise trips to Baghdad and heavily protected visits to markets smack of stage-showed bravado rather than diplomatic finesse, as many have observed.
McCain's lack of realistic diplomacy is also evident in terms of regional Middle Eastern policy. He says that "the answer is not unconditional dialogues with these two dictatorships (Iran and Syria) from a position of weakness. The answer is for the international community to apply real pressure to Syria and Iran to change their behaviour". Yet this policy is identical to that of George Bush and that has failed over the past eight years, in fact emboldening both Damascus and Tehran.
Indeed, the former Nato commander Wesley Clark outlined how "John McCain has pretty much bought the central thrust of the Bush administration's foreign policies: relying on threat and bluster [and] isolating people we don't agree with instead of engaging them." McCain calls Obama naive in his promises to "launch an aggressive diplomatic effort to reach a comprehensive compact on the stability of Iraq and the region. This effort will include all of Iraq's neighbours – including Iran and Syria". Yet surely the truly naive politician is the one who cannot recognise policy failings and incorrectly claims credit for successes (the success of the surge being down to far more than simply troop numbers.
Reports that the Iraqi government is planning to build its own version of the London Eye provide an apt metaphor for the situation in the country – that what goes up can quickly come down, and we should avoid getting carried away with the view from the top. Will McCain do as Bush before him and disavow responsibility for any increases in violence in Iraq? America, and certainly the Middle East, does not need another conviction politician who refuses to see things as they really are.
In Afghanistan, Obama promises to follow Bush, as Brown followed Blair, by changing tact with "more resources and more troops to finish the fight against the terrorists who actually attacked us on 9/11, and made clear that we must take out Osama bin Laden and his lieutenants if we have them in our sights". McCain's 'informed' logic is that the supposed victory in Iraq will allow for a shift in focus to Afghanistan where the same 'surge' strategy will succeed. Lumping Afghanistan and Iraq together under the same policy umbrella is another staple of Bush's 'war on terror' and McCain will probably experience its pitfalls.
If McCain's recent success against Obama has come from his targeting his opponent's strengths, then Obama should focus on McCain's 'supposed' foreign policy strength and reveal it to be the hardline continuation of present policies that it really is. Obama's Denver speech hinted at more to come when he said that "if John McCain wants to follow George Bush with more tough talk and bad strategy, that is his choice - but it is not the change we need". The world waits as the battle between continuity and change goes on

Hezbollah cultivates bond with left-leaning and peace groups
By Raed Rafei, Los Angeles Times-Washington Post News Service
Published: August 30, 2008, 23:47
Beirut: Hezbollah has extended its international reach by establishing contacts with left-leaning, environmental and peace groups opposed to US-led economic globalisation, analysts and people tied to the group say.
The Lebanese Shiite group and political party, which is designated as a terrorist organisation by the United States, has participated through a front organisation in dozens of gatherings where participants criticised US foreign policy and financial institutions such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.
The aim, say analysts, is to rally support for armed opposition to Israel among groups who already regard the West's policies as a threat to developing countries and damaging to the environment.
"Hezbollah succeeded in incorporating the idea of resistance as part of the international anti-globalisation movements," said Abdul Halim Fadl Allah, the vice-president of Beirut's Center for Strategic Studies, a Hezbollah-affiliated think-tank that often participates in activities abroad.
Despite significant ideological differences, opposition to US-led military operations abroad and free-market economic policies fostered by Washington have brought them together.
Hezbollah has long sought to downplay its previous calls for establishment of an Islamic state in Lebanon, where Shiite and Sunnis make up more than 60 per cent of the population. It has dramatically shifted its political rhetoric away from religious politics since the 2006 conflict with Israel, now often depicting itself as a universal movement fighting Israeli domination.
Annual gatherings
"We think of the sacrifices of all the militants [fighters] in Lebanon and Palestine and the Arab world from Islamists, to nationalists, to Arabists or any ideological background they come from," said Hezbollah's leader, Hassan Nasrallah, during a speech in July.
Hezbollah-affiliated officials represent the group in the annual gatherings of the World Social Forum, the largest convention of leftist political parties from around the world and organisations opposed to international financial institutions.
Fadl Allah said members of the Hezbollah-linked think-tank were invited in 2007 to an exclusive decision-making meeting of the organisers of the forum.
Ebrahim Moussawi, a Lebanese journalist close to Hezbollah, explained the group's positions on a speaking tour in Britain in February despite strong opposition to his visit. In Lebanon, Hezbollah hosted American radicals such as Norman Finkelstein and Noam Chomsky in recent years.
To bolster ties with Western scholars, Hezbollah-linked research groups set up academic-style lectures and conferences. In the aftermath of the 2006 conflict between Hezbollah and Israel, hundreds of activists and intellectuals from Latin America and Europe arrived in Beirut for one such gathering.