LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
September 06/08

Bible Reading of the day.
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 5,33-39. And they said to him, "The disciples of John fast often and offer prayers, and the disciples of the Pharisees do the same; but yours eat and drink." Jesus answered them, "Can you make the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them? But the days will come, and when the bridegroom is taken away from them, then they will fast in those days." And he also told them a parable. "No one tears a piece from a new cloak to patch an old one. Otherwise, he will tear the new and the piece from it will not match the old cloak. Likewise, no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the new wine will burst the skins, and it will be spilled, and the skins will be ruined. Rather, new wine must be poured into fresh wineskins. (And) no one who has been drinking old wine desires new, for he says, 'The old is good.'"

Saint Bernard (1091-1153), Cistercian monk and Doctor of the Church
Sermons on the Song of Songs, no.83 (©Classics of Western Spirituality) "The bridegroom is with them"
In love alone, of all the movements of the soul and the senses and affections, can the creature respond to the Creator, if not with an equal, at least with a like return of gift for gift... the Bridegroom's love, or rather the Bridegroom who is Love, asks only the commitment of love and faith. Let the beloved love in return. How can the Bride not love, the Bride of Love himself? How can Love not be loved? So, rightly renouncing all other desires, she gives herself up wholly to Love, for it is in responding to Love that she is able to return love. For though she pours herself out completely in love, what is that in comparison with the inexhaustible flow of love from his spring? Love does not flow in equal measure from her who loves and Love himself, the soul and the Word, the Bride and the Bridegroom, creature and Creator, any more than a thirsty man is like a fountain... The desire of her who longs, the ardor of her who loves, the trust of her who is confident, because she cannot run step for step with a giant (Ps 19[18],6), rival honey in sweetness, the lamb in mildness, the lily in whiteness, the sun in brightness, or match in her love him who is Love? No. For even if the creature loves less because it is lesser, yet if she loves with all her heart, nothing is lacking where all is given... This love is nothing other than holy and chaste love, love sweet and tender, love as tranquil as it is true, mutual, close, deep love, which is not in one flesh but which joins two in one spirit, making two no longer two but one. As Paul says: «He who is united to God is one spirit with him» (1Cor 6,17).

Free Opinions, Releases, letters & Special Reports
Lebanon's Two Michels: Deliver or Lose. By: Dr. Joseph Hitti 05/09/08
Lebanon and the Two Tracks-By: Zuheir Kseibati Dar Al-Hayat 05/09/08
Manuela Paraipan, My Interview with Lebanese MP, Mohammad Kabbani 05/09/08
Mistake or manoeuvre?Al-Ahram Weekly 05/09/08
Not business as usual-Al-Ahram Weekly 05/09/08
Damascus rehabilitated-Al-Ahram Weekly  05/09/08
When the voice of power is stronger than that of dialogue.By Sharunas Paunksnis 05/09/08
Will Israel and America spurn yet another Arab overture?- The Daily Star 05/09/08
Hezbollah will not lay down arms, even if Shebaa is liberated-Monsters and Critics.com 05/09/08

Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources for September 05/08
Hizbullah Spying thru 'Facebook'. Arutz Sheva
Peres proposes direct talks with Syria-Financial Times
Syria’s true face?Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Syria, France Sign Seven Cooperation Agreements-MEMRI
Nasrallah: Hizbullah Arms to Stay Even After Liberation of Shebaa-Naharnet
March 14 Snaps Back at Assad, Says Syrian President Keeps Interfering in Lebanon's Internal Affairs-Naharnet 
Suspects Acquitted in Nasrallah's Alleged Assassination Plot-Naharnet
Syria details its stance on peace talks-Ha'aretz
Contacts Underway to Remove Political Banners from Beirut Streets-Naharnet
Saniora: Self Protection Will Not Replace Government Entity-Naharnet
David Hale: Situation in the South Dangerous, Arms Smuggling Worries U.S-Naharnet
Suzanne Tamim's Killing Turns Sordid Political Drama-Naharnet
Syria Informs Sarkozy that it Has Abssi-Naharnet
Arab-Israeli Soldier Jailed for Passing Information to Hizbullah-Naharnet
Israeli Troops to Evacuate Ghajar in 3 Months, Report-Naharnet
Commandos nearly exposed in Syria-Jerusalem Post
Siniora vows to raise wages, predicts 'calm' dialogue-Daily Star
Nasrallah reaches out to family of slain LAF helicopter plot-Daily Star
Plot to attack El Al crew thwarted - Israeli media - (AFP)
Israeli troops to withdraw from northern Ghajar within three months - report-Daily Star
LAF denies planning major crackdown in North-Daily Star
Safadi says helicopter was fired on in error-Daily Star
Harb touts Sleiman's preparations for dialogue-Daily Star
Russian envoy laments Lebanese-Israeli tensions-Daily Star
Next Hariri report 'in November,' not this month-Daily Star
Fadlallah issues fatwa against abuse of domestic workers-Daily Star
Egyptians struggle to cobble together Ramadan meals amid rising prices  (AFP)
Oil prices continue slide, touch levels below $105 - (AFP)
Lebanon's minimum-wage row on next week's Cabinet agenda
Hezbollah chief defends 'accidental' fire on Lebanon chopper-AFP
Israeli soldier convicted of spying for Hizbullah-Irish Times

Nasrallah: Hizbullah Arms to Stay Even After Liberation of Shebaa
Naharnet/Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah has stressed that his group will keep its arms even if the Shebaa Farms were liberated and acknowledged that a Hizbullah fighter was behind the downing of a Lebanese army helicopter last week. "Shebaa Farms are not a pretext to keep our arms. If the Farms were liberated now, the weapons will stay," Nasrallah said in a televised speech during an iftar hosted by the Hizbullah Support Committee in Nabatiyeh.
"I am telling you that from now because we are speaking of resistance as a defense need for Lebanon," he added. Nasrallah also stressed that Hizbullah will not surrender its weapons "as long as Israeli threats persist." He reiterated that his group will destroy the Jewish state if it launches an attack on Lebanon.
"The five (Israeli) brigades will be destroyed in the south, Western Bekaa and everywhere," he said. Nasrallah said the helicopter attack in Sujud was an accident that was understandable in the context of the high levels of alert maintained by Hizbullah fighters in south Lebanon in the face of repeated Israeli attacks over the years. "The helicopter was flying over the hills and landed... Some of the brothers were surprised by the presence of a helicopter and one of them opened fire," Nasrallah said.Last Friday, Hizbullah handed over the fighter behind the shooting to Lebanese police, a judicial source said.
Nasrallah said the man was an "honorable resistor" who had acted "naturally and instinctively" in opening fire and had asked to be turned in.
"Even in our training, mistakes happen," the Hizbullah chief said in a televised speech, adding that his group is "cooperating with the investigation to the very last phase." He criticized those who used the Sujud incident in a bid to "instigate strife between the military and the resistance." "We are most cautious in our relations with the army," Nasrallah said, adding the group was "careful to avoid entering into any conflict with the army." Nasrallah expressed condolences to the family of Captain Samer Hanna, the pilot who was killed in the Sujud attack. "I address the father of the martyr Samer Hanna," he said, "and send you my deepest condolences." Beirut, 05 Sep 08, 07:23

Hizbullah Spying thru 'Facebook'
by Gil Ronen/Arutz Sheva
 According to the intelligence community in Israel, Hizbullah terrorists are becoming increasingly computer savvy, using Facebook to learn more about IDF soldiers, potential targets for kidnappings.
Yeshiva World News reported that IDF intelligence officials are concerned that soldiers may unwittingly give the enemy information through social networking sites or even arrange to meet an internet companion who is in fact a terrorist. The IDF has undertaken an aggressive awareness campaign for soldiers, instructing them to be careful regarding what information they may reveal, cautioning and instructing them not to reveal the name of the branch of the service in which they serve, unit details et cetera. This is especially true of soldiers serving in the air force, intelligence, and elite combat units.
Dangerous liaisons
One military intelligence official explained that Facebook has become a major resource for terrorists seeking to gather information on soldiers and IDF units.
Other concerns including meetings arranged via Facebook in which soldiers remain unaware of
A soldier who serves in an intelligence unit was recently sentenced to 19 days in a military jail for posting a photo of his base on Facebook.
the true identity of terrorists, befriending them and then revealing classified information that will be used to harm soldiers in the future.
A soldier who serves in an intelligence unit was recently sentenced to 19 days in a military jail for posting a photo of his base on Facebook.
War room photo
Israeli civilians have taken up the matter as well. A recently created users' group is dedicated to stopping intelligence leaks through the social networks. The group numbers more than 800 members who report any security violations they encounter.
The group's founder said that he decided to act when he was travelling abroad. While surfing the internet he ran into a picture of two female soldiers inside a war room with a classified map including clearly visible sensitive code names in the background.

Syria Informs Sarkozy that it Has Abssi
Naharnet/Syrian authorities have informed French President Nicolas Sarkozy that they have arrested Fatah al-Islam leader Shaker Abssi, reliable sources told Naharnet on Thursday. The sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, said contacts were underway between security agencies in Damascus and Beirut to determine whether Abssi would be extradited to Lebanon or tried in Syria.  The report came hours after the daily al-Bayan that publishes in the United Arab Emirates quoted a senior official of a pro-Syrian Palestinian faction as saying Abssi was arrested in Syria after infiltrating into its territory. Abssi mysteriously fled the northern refugee camp of Nahr al-Bared during a major crackdown by the army last September and vanished. The Army finished off Fatah al-Islam's rebellion in north Lebanon and Nahr al-Bared in a 15-week battle that resulted in the death of more than 400 people, including 162 Lebanese troops. Beirut, 04 Sep 08, 13:54

March 14 Snaps Back at Assad, Says Syrian President Keeps Interfering in Lebanon's Internal Affairs
Naharnet/The ruling March 14 coalition has slammed Syrian President Bashar Assad, saying he is interfering in Lebanon's internal affairs and not recognizing the country's sovereignty. Assad's request from Suleiman "for sending Lebanese army units to the north is interference in Lebanese internal affairs and results from non-recognition of Lebanon's sovereignty and independence," the March 14 forces said in a statement Thursday night.
Such an advice is also "an insult to the Lebanese president," the March 14 leaders said after a late night meeting in Qoreitem. Assad said during a press conference in Damascus Thursday that he had told President Michel Suleiman during the latter's visit to Damascus that the Lebanese head of state should send more army units to northern Lebanon to stop the clashes between Sunnis and Alawites in Tripoli and some villages of the Akkar Province.
Assad also said during the quadripartite summit in Damascus that the situation in Lebanon remains fragile because certain states back fundamentalism.
He said he discussed with Suleiman last month the need for Lebanon to "take part in negotiations with Israel, but only when we reach the stage of direct negotiations.""The Syrian president's invitation for entering into talks with Israel, is part of the same rejected meddling in Lebanon's internal affairs and a disregard for the Taef agreement which clearly states that Lebanon is committed to the armistice accord with Israel," the March 14 statement said. Assad's comments are "totally rejected. Only Lebanon's political leadership decides on Lebanese national interest," it said."Lebanon will be the last Arab country to sign a settlement agreement with Israel after reclaiming all Arab rights," the March 14 leaders stressed.
They also rejected all attempts to silence Lebanon's free press and criticized pressure on the French-Language newspaper L'Orient Le Jour.
Earlier Thursday, the March 14 coalition accused Free Patriotic Movement leader Gen. Michel Aoun of attacking media outlets in a bid to "cover up" for the helicopter shooting attack that killed Capt. Samer Hanna. It was responding to remarks made by Aoun on Wednesday in which he said the Sujud attack on the army helicopter should not reflect on the resistance and the defense strategy. Aoun also called for suing L'Orient Le Jour for its headline on the Sujud attack, which had said it was a premeditated action by Hizbullah. Beirut, 05 Sep 08, 08:24

Suspects Acquitted in Nasrallah's Alleged Assassination Plot
Naharnet/The Military Tribunal acquitted 12 suspects accused of plotting to assassinate Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah nearly two years ago, the pan-Arab daily al-Hayat reported Friday. It said the tribunal's decision came after it didn't find enough evidence of the alleged involvement of the suspects in the murder plot. However, the court sentenced some of the defendants to prison for forming armed gangs, selling weapons to Lebanese citizens and trading in arms.
As-Safir daily unveiled the assassination plot two years ago. The newspaper reported at the time that authorities had foiled a plan to assassinate Nasrallah on April 28, 2006, the date of a session of national dialogue between the country's top rival political leaders. While judicial sources had denied the reported assassination plot, a military spokesman at the time said the plot was in "the phase of intentions" and had not reached "the phase of implementation." As-Safir quoted security sources two years ago as saying that army intelligence had arrested nine suspects including Lebanese and Palestinians who had been tracking Nasrallah's movements for more than one month in order to assassinate him. Beirut, 05 Sep 08, 08:59

Lebanon and the Two Tracks
Zuheir Kseibati
Al-Hayat - 05/09/08//
The French branding of the next round of indirect Syrian-Israeli negotiations, sponsored by the Turkish godfather, that it will be conclusive after reaching the minute details of border issues does not bode with warning by Syrian President Bashar Assad that Israel may wage a war against Iran that may reach Lebanon and perhaps even Syria, unless one were to believe that this war, in its last chapter, will include a response from Minister Ehud Barak for Damascus's rejection of some final settlement over the Golan Heights.
It is more realistic to consider the Iranian confusion and obsession about how far Damascus will go through the gate of discussions which will probably transform into direct negotiations that will be co-sponsored by the Arab godfather with its non-Arab (French) partner who has received delegation from the Republicans in the US for the transitional period in which the American is preoccupied with domestic issues in preparation for the presidential elections.
Perhaps even more realistic is the assessment by a few Europeans who warn about a devastating war which Barak is said to be preparing against Lebanon under a banner that does not distinguish between Hezbollah and the government which has endorsed its political program. The actual translation of this possibility will mean, as the likelihood of the Israeli scenarios can be understood, a renewed but different attempt to neutralize Hezbollah's power before striking Iran's nuclear facilities. This would be rather than starting with Iran and risking the price of revenge which Hezbollah explicitly warned about (with 11,000 missiles ready to be launched).
Hence, the new Syrian track with Israel and the military track with Tehran - or at least with Hezbollah and its state as dubbed by Olmert's government - constitute two flanks through which pressure is imposed on Iran which is confused and uncertain about the effective ability of its alliance with Damascus, not to prevent any war against it, but to distribute potential roles in case it decided to seek revenge, and to stir the Lebanese scene if it decided to throw the entire region into confusion and to implicate all sides.
Naturally, Paris cannot prevent any strike against Syria or Lebanon, but the same applies to Ankara which today participates in the French-Syrian-Qatari-Turkish summit in Damascus and continues to seek a regional role, the need for which is recognized by the US and France to limit Iran's ability to play with the various cards of the region.
What worries Iran is the suffocating isolation while the Frenchman relieves Damascus of its own isolation, regardless of the excuses he gives to justify his rushing to the Syrian gate in search of private interests. Clearly, the Iranians do not trust the intentions of President Nicholas Sarkozy whenever he speaks about testing positive response in Damascus, starting with the calming of Lebanon's crises. To illustrate, a renewed old hypothetical question must be asked: what if the Syrian-Israeli negotiations succeeded and Damascus announced normalization with the Jewish State? What will be the fate of its alliance with Tehran? In fact, how will Khamenei and Ahmedinejad justify that normalization when the latter continuously insists on wiping Israel out and continuously expresses his compassion for Lebanon?
The question is raised again on the eve of the decisive round of indirect dialogue between Syria and Israel, especially as Iran does not seem to have found answers for its confusion and anxiety about the possibility of standing alone in a war whose consequences the Bush administration and the Jewish state have repeatedly warned about. That anxiety probably includes Hezbollah as well, since Iran may not be able to rely on Hezbollah's activation of its war front, especially if it joined the Lebanese dialogue table to the positive end, thus conclusively deciding on a Lebanese strategy.
Assuming that one of the goals of responding to Damascus's call for and hosting a quartet summit today was to dig more trenches along the peace front with Israel, hence again shaking the Syrian-Iranian alliance and reminding Hezbollah that the Syrian ally is going all the way toward the choice that leaves no need for arms or for the propositions and continuity of the resistance…none of this cancels the need to define Lebanon's positions within the priorities of this summit.
The need for Lebanon as a battlefield is still on the regional and international waiting lists. This conviction may be concealed by a few politicians who do not explicitly recommend having modest hopes for a French role that may save the country from its crises, especially from a devastating Israeli war or small sectarian wars, or even from the exaggerated reliance on ready-made solutions coming from abroad.
When asked about the position of the country at the quartet summit, a Lebanese political source is surprised that anyone believed Lebanon was on the French political priorities during the era of Sarkozy who aspires for a bigger role as he heads the European Union while events force him to embrace more modest ambitions.
When a French source says that the Lebanese parliamentary elections next spring will be the basic criterion for testing Syrian positive attitude, this does not cancel the anxiety of the Lebanese not only over the fate of the elections, but also over the fate of a country whose stay on the waiting list gets longer every time it is taken hostage by the winds of foreign interventions.
Between the rushing of a godfather and the concern of an ally, how anxious should the Lebanese be?

Contacts Underway to Remove Political Banners from Beirut Streets
Naharnet/The Internal Security Forces (ISF) and the Lebanese army are reportedly making contacts with various political parties to remove all banners and posters of political figures from the administrative boundaries of Beirut. The pan-Arab daily al-Hayat on Friday quoted ministerial sources as saying that the cabinet discussed the issue during its last meeting and has a tendency to instruct the security forces "to implement measures that pacify the capital."
The sources revealed that if the government gives the green light, then the banners and posters would be removed from all Beirut neighborhoods, the city's entrances and the airport highway. Several clashes have erupted lately in some mixed Beirut districts over the hanging of posters and banners of rival political figures and parties. The ministerial sources expressed hope that the move would be welcomed by all sides. Beirut, 05 Sep 08, 10:20

Saniora: Self Protection Will Not Replace Government Entity
Naharnet/Prime Minister Fouad Saniora said on Thursday that "self protection, no matter how strong and big it grows, will not replace government entity."
He said that the government is working to solve the security situation in two ways: improving the capabilities of the army and security forces and reconciliation among Lebanese. "We have to work together to rebuild civil peace," he told guests at the yearly iftar of the Makassed Association.
Everyone in the northern city of Tripoli wants the rule of law and a single leadership, he said. "We insist on preventing manipulation of our security by any side," Saniora stressed. He said at the iftar that the unity of the Lebanese "will help us overcome the most dangerous difficulties and threats."National dialogue "will help us discuss all problematic issues in a calm and objective manner," he said. The drafting of a national defense strategy "will top the meeting's agenda," Saniora stressed.
The prime minister also said that the government will tackle the pay raise issue next week. "We are determined to improve the living conditions of the Lebanese while taking into consideration the peculiarities of our economic system," Saniora said. "We are determined to approve raises but at the same time we do not want to add burdens on the budget," he added. Beirut, 05 Sep 08, 10:24

David Hale: Situation in the South Dangerous, Arms Smuggling Worries U.S.
Naharnet/U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs David Hale said the Bush administration was worried about the "continued arms smuggling" to Lebanon and warned that any crisis in the south could lead to negative consequences. Hale also stressed in remarks published in As Safir daily Friday on the need to demarcate the border between Lebanon and Syria. He said that diplomatic relations are based not only on the exchange of embassies but also on mutual respect. Hale said his visit to Beirut last week was aimed at holding talks with Lebanese leaders after political life returned to normal in the country, and to stress the U.S. commitment to Lebanon's independence and sovereignty. He told As Safir that he made clear during his visit to Lebanon on the need to implement Security Council Resolutions 1559 and 1701. Hale called for the full implementation of the Doha Accord and holding the National Dialogue Conference under the sponsorship of President Michel Suleiman at Baabda Palace. He called next year's planned parliamentary elections an opportunity for the Lebanese to choose who will rule the country and on what grounds. About French President Nicolas Sarkozy's attempts to forge better relations with Syria, Hale said that the U.S. and France have a common objective in the Middle East but the Bush administration prefers to see tangible progress by Damascus in its regional policies before anything else. Beirut, 05 Sep 08, 12:31

Suzanne Tamim's Killing Turns Sordid Political Drama
Naharnet/It's the Mideast version of a sordid soap opera. A Lebanese pop star is brutally murdered in her luxury Dubai apartment, her throat slashed. Arrested in her death: One of Egypt's most politically connected businessmen, accused of paying $2 million to have her killed. The slaying of Suzanne Tamim has gone beyond a lurid crime story to something more serious -- a glimpse into the close links between Egypt's government and powerful business tycoons long viewed as above the law.  It is also exposing strains between societies like Egypt's, where wealth and political power increasingly go hand in hand, and Dubai, which recently launched a high-profile push against corruption. People in the Arab world have long followed with fascination and moral clucking the tales of businessmen and politicians cavorting with actresses, belly-dancers and singers -- a sort of Hollywood Babylon in the conservative Muslim Middle East.
But even by those standards, the Tamim drama is a stunner. The 30-year-old singer was found dead in her Dubai apartment in July, with multiple stab wounds and a 20-centimeter slash across her throat. This week, Egyptian authorities arrested real estate mogul Hisham Talaat Mustafa.
For many, the surprise wasn't Mustafa's alleged involvement -- but his arrest.
Egyptians are widely convinced their government won't touch influential businessmen. When Mustafa's name first appeared in media reports weeks ago, he denied a role and complained on Egyptian television that the rumors hurt the economy. The government promptly banned press reports on the murder, suggesting that Mustafa was off-limits. The tycoon is a top ruling party official close to President Hosni Mubarak's powerful son, Gamal. In the past 10 years, he has become one of Egypt's top billionaires, the owner of luxury hotels and beach resorts and a leading force in building Western-style suburbs ringing Cairo for the upper-class.
But on Tuesday, Egypt's public prosecutor accused the tycoon of contracting for the singer's killing by paying $2 million to Mohsen el-Sukkary, a former Egyptian state security officer.
El-Sukkary worked at Cairo's Four Seasons Hotel, owned by Mustafa. The prosecutor said the tycoon helped facilitate visas and tickets for the security man as he trailed the singer first to London, then to Dubai. The singer rose to stardom in the late 1990s but then hit troubled times, separating from her Lebanese husband-manager who filed a series of lawsuits against her. According to Dubai investigators, el-Sukkary stalked the singer the morning of July 28 to her apartment in the swanky Dubai Marina complex, overlooking the Persian Gulf and a harbor full of yachts. From the lobby, he rang her video intercom, showing her an ID of the management company from which she had recently bought the apartment. She buzzed him in, police say.
Once inside, he stabbed her repeatedly with a knife, then shed his overalls and cap, dumping them in a trash bin outside the building, officials said. They were found by police and tested for DNA. Police say the killer's face also appeared on security camera footage.
"It took 12 minutes for the murderer to enter the building, kill the victim and leave," Maj. Gen. Khamis Mattar Al Mazeina of the Dubai police told a press conference. The killing was an embarrassment to Dubai. The emirate has recently cracked down on tourists going topless on beaches, and has launched a public anti-corruption effort. El-Sukkary was arrested Aug. 6 in Egypt. Dubai police traveled to Cairo to present their evidence against him but then turned their attention to Mustafa. Egypt's independent Al-Masri Al-Youm newspaper Thursday printed transcripts of alleged phone conversations kept by el-Sukkary and seized by police. In one, Mustafa says "the agreed amount is ready" and tells the security man, "tomorrow, she is in London and you should act."
In a later tape, el-Sukkary explains he missed his chance in London and "will wait to move it to Dubai." Mustafa chides him then says, "OK, let's finish with this."
Some government critics believe the arrest came only under Dubai pressure. "There was serious pressure from the Gulf," said Abdel-Halim Qandil, editor-in-chief of the independent Sout Al-Umma newspaper and a frequent Mubarak critic.
There also has been growing discontent in Egypt over the clout of businessmen who dominate the government, overshadowing even the military figures who long held the reins of power. Earlier this year, the millionaire owner of a ferry company was acquitted of negligence in the 2005 sinking of a Red Sea ferry that killed 1,000 people, angering many. Several top businessmen hold Cabinet posts or are on the ruling party's policy committee, headed by Gamal Mubarak. Mustafa is a top committee member and also in parliament's upper house. Beyond the corruption worries, the singer's murder highlighted the gap between Egypt's rich and the largely poor, conservative bulk of its nearly 80 million population. Rumors abound of businessmen and politicians peddling out actresses and singers in prostitution rings. The frequent marriages and divorces of celebrities and businessmen make big news. "The mix of sex, money, business and power is the mix that defines the ruling elite now," said Qandil. He said Mustafa's arrest may signal divisions within the regime between the politician-businessmen and an old guard, including the military, worried over the tycoons' excesses. The government may tout Mustafa's arrest as a sign businessmen aren't untouchable, he said, but "people ask if Hisham Talaat Mustafa did this, what else is going on?"(AP) Beirut, 05 Sep 08, 09:55

Arab-Israeli Soldier Jailed for Passing Information to Hizbullah
Naharnet/An Arab Israeli soldier was sentenced Thursday to 11 years in prison for spying for Hizbullah, the Israeli military said. According to the military court ruling, the soldier was Sgt. Maj. Louai Balut, a tracker. He was convicted of passing sensitive military information to Hizbullah and contacting a foreign agent while serving on the Israel-Lebanon border from December 2007 until his arrest in February this year. Israeli media said Balut was the military's first Christian tracker. The court document said Balut would be "expelled from the military, as agreed by the parties." Israel and Hizbullah fought a fierce but inconclusive monthlong war in 2006. In January, an Israeli doctor serving in the army reserves was sentenced to five years in prison for attempting to contact Iran.(AP) Beirut, 05 Sep 08, 06:37

Israeli Troops to Evacuate Ghajar in 3 Months, Report
Naharnet/Future News television on Thursday said Israeli troops will evacuate the northern part of the disputed village of Ghajar within a maximum period of three months. It said the pullout is likely to take place in December. The television station said UNIFIL has presented a study on how the northern part of Ghajar would be like after the evacuation. It said that while Lebanon agreed to the study, there was no word from Israel in this regard. The important part in the study, according to Future News TV, is placing the northern part of Ghajar, that lies in Lebanese territory, under U.N. guardianship.

March 14 Accuses Aoun of Covering Up for Helicopter Attack
Naharnet/The ruling March 14 coalition on Thursday accused Free Patriotic Movement leader Gen. Michel Aoun of attacking media outlets in a bid to "cover up" for the helicopter shooting attack that killed Capt. Samer Hanna. "While little is said by Hizbullah about the downing of a Lebanese army helicopter … Gen. Michel Aoun set out to cover up this outrageous attack on the military institution," a statement by March 14's General Secretariat said.
March 14 was responding to remarks made by Aoun on Wednesday in which he said the Sujud attack on the army helicopter should not reflect on the resistance and the defense strategy. Aoun also called for suing the French-Language newspaper L'Orient Le Jour for its headline on the Sujud attack, which had said it was a premeditated action by Hizbullah.  He urged intelligence and security agencies to detect culprits in the various attacks that remain unresolved.
Aoun's "intimidating style will not silence L'Orient Le Jour or other free media outlets," the March 14 statement vowed. "While Aoun is stressing the need to wait for the probe results … he himself has anticipated the results of the investigation, concluding it was a simple accident that could occur in the world and in world armies," the statement said. Beirut, 04 Sep 08, 16:16

Assad: Fundamentalism in the North Keeps the Lebanon Situation Fragile
Naharnet/Syrian President Bashar Assad told a quadripartite summit in Damascus Thursday that the Lebanon situation remains fragile because certain states back fundamentalism. Assad also said he had discussed with President Michel Suleiman during the latter's visit to Damascus the need for Lebanon to "take part in negotiations with Israel, but only when we reach the stage of direct negotiations.""The situation in Lebanon remains fragile and we are worried about the events in the north," Assad said in reference to clashes between Sunnis and Alawites in Tripoli and some villages of the Akkar Province. "There would be no solution in Lebanon without settling the issue of fundamentalism, especially that states and forces back these sides," Assad told the summit that groups his French counterpart Nicolas Sarkozy, Turkish Premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the Emir of Qatar Sheik Hamad Bin Khalifa al-Thani.
He did not identify the states that allegedly back fundamentalism. Syria, Assad said, awaits general elections in Israel to find out if the new elected premier would pursue with what Ehud Olmert has started.  The situation in Iraq, according to Assad, could witness "some improvement."
However, he noted that the situation in the oil-rich city of Kirkuk "could detonate the situation between the Arabs and Kurds and the topic of federal rule could detonate the situation between the Sunnis and Shiites.""We back peaceful settlements," Assad declared. He also declared support for efforts to settle the Georgia dispute "peacefully because we don't want a new cold war."Sheik Hamad, however, said "as long as the Lebanese army remains intact Lebanon is in no danger.
He urged the various Lebanese factions to pursue with implementing the Doha Accord and urged the international community to help in solving development problems. Sarkozy told a joint press conference ending the summit that France emphasizes on the importance of Lebanon's independence.
"We have started a phased march with the Syrian president and it was honored by him. We have different viewpoints but we are trying to overcome controversial issues in favor of Lebanon's interests," he added. "I do not regret having opened the gates to president Assad. We are working with him to rebuild confidence," Sarkozy said. Sarkozy said France encourages Syria to proceed with the peace march with Israel. "We are ready to play all the roles to back the peace process. We trust the Americans as they trust us," he added. Beirut, 04 Sep 08, 09:53

Army Command Denies Alleged Plan for Crackdown in North
Naharnet/The Army Command on Thursday denied claims that it was reinforcing troops in north Lebanon with the aim of cracking down on what has been termed "some rising movements," in apparent reference to Salafi factions. Such claims are "baseless. The army carries out decisions adopted by the Lebanese legitimate authorities and has no ulterior intentions against any Lebanese side," the command said in a statement. It was apparently denying rumors that the army was preparing for a major crackdown on Salafi factions in north Lebanon. Army officers, according to the statement, are "loyal only to their command, from which they receive orders and instructions … Duality mentioned by some irresponsible pens is mere imaginary and reflects ill intentions." Beirut, 04 Sep 08, 13:35

Lebanon's Future: Druze Leader Walid Jumblatt - an exclusive WSN Interview
From: Manuela Paraipan (
World Security Network reporting from Beirut, Lebanon, September 04, 2008
WSN Editor Broader Middle East, Manuela Paraipan, has again been on tour on the third fact finding mission for the independent World Security Network Foundation in Lebanon. She collected information and has transformed it into knowledge.
She had the rare opportunity to meet Druze leader Walid Jumblatt at his residence in Beirut. Following in the footsteps of his father, Walid Jumblatt is one of the major political players in Lebanon. The exclusive WSN interview gives an interesting insight into the complicated and fragile political situation in Lebanon.
Walid Jumblatt: "We have no other choice than to abide by reality"
- Exclusive WSN interview with Walid Jumblatt conducted by Manuela Paraipan, WSN Editor Broader Middle East -
"Hizballah proved it is able to be quiet efficient through its actions in the July 2006 war"
Manuela Paraipan: What are your comments after the meeting last night with Speaker Nabih Berri?
Walid Jumblatt: It is important to have President Michel Sulayman convene the national dialog session to discuss the issue of the arms of Hizballah. It will take a long time to settle it, as it is not a local issue, but we have to speak about it. One day, I hope, they will be incorporated into the Lebanese state.
Manuela Paraipan: Is there a common vision to talk about regarding the national defense strategy?
Walid Jumblatt: There is no vision. We have several ideas, but no vision to speak of yet. We have to talk together and see what their aim is and what they want to do and whether or not they will accept joining the Lebanese state and the Lebanese army.
Manuela Paraipan: Through the years you have had a complex relationship with Hizballah. What is the status quo now?
Walid Jumblatt: After May, 7, I decided for the sake of avoiding a civil war and blood in the mountains, to cool it down and see what we can fix, and to reconcile. This is why Nabih Berri is very important for me.
Manuela Paraipan: How do you view the cabinet statement, especially article 24? Isn't it hypocritical to condemn Hizballah for having arms and at the same time work with Hizballah in the same government?
Walid Jumblatt: We have no other choice than to abide by reality. The question of Hizballah cannot be settled by complaining, crying in sorrow or shouting that they should disarm. Its impossible. It's a regional issue that goes from Tehran to the United States. Tehran uses Hizballah and its power to tell the Americans that in case they attack us, we can use Hizballah. And Hizballah proved it is able to be quite efficient through its actions in the July 2006 war.
Manuela Paraipan: A few months ago you went public and spoke of Hizballah's parallel telecommunication lines and the control over airport security. However, these were well known secrets, if I may say so, in Lebanon. Why the specific timing and what did you hope to accomplish?
Walid Jumblatt: The minister of defense sent this memorandum about Hizballah's video camera in the airport, and Marwan Hamade was always claiming that Hizballah has a network. Therefore, I was a little bit upset as to why my partners, these two ministers, were unable to say it publicly. I said it publicly. Anyhow, the end in sight was positive: Doha.
Manuela Paraipan: You seemed content at the time with the agreement. What is your opinion now?
Walid Jumblatt: Regardless of what you may think of Doha, at least we are living a normal life for the time being. We no longer have the siege of the Serail (Grand Serail, the Government's building), the paralysis of downtown. The Doha agreement gave us an opening, and we will use this opening and the dialog. We have to be realistic. We could not stay like this endlessly, shouting and denying and labeling each other as traitors. It was really an unbelievable situation.
Manuela Paraipan: When you were in the United States speaking at several think tanks, you spoke quite openly about your opposition to the present regime in Damascus. Do you still have the same view?
Walid Jumblatt: I have not changed my mind. But I cannot change anything on my own. I did not change my mind because I think that as long as this regime stays in place, there is no stability for Lebanon. Unless this regime is contained and obliged to recognize an independent Lebanon. They accepted diplomatic relations, but to tell you that I like the regime? No. To tell you that I will change my rhetoric about the regime? No. Also, at the same time, who am I? An individual against this apparatus. I can do nothing.
"We always claimed we are Lebanese, but Lebanon is divided along confessional lines"
Manuela Paraipan: Now that President Sulayman has visited President Assad in Syria, should we expect to see a better state-state relationship emerging?
Walid Jumblatt: Its not only about this regime. The Syrians never acknowledged Lebanon's existence. For the first time since 1920 after the formation of the greater state of Lebanon they accepted, at least in theory, to recognize Lebanon and to have an embassy here. Which is good. We have to start somewhere.
Manuela Paraipan: How do you envision Lebanon's role in the Arab world where Iran is emerging as a strong regional player?
Walid Jumblatt: Lebanon should abide by the non-alignment policy. We have to solve the problems and have a truce agreement with Israel. I don't say peace with Israel, but truce, and through the non-alignment policy, Lebanon will stop being used by the Americans or by the Iranians. We also need to have good relations with Syria. This is what has been written in the Taif agreement. However, its a double role. The Syrians should not use elements of their relations to sabotage Lebanon, and we have to do the same.
Manuela Paraipan: What do you think of the latest events in Tripoli? Was it a message for the army?
Walid Jumblatt: I don't know who is encouraging the Salafist groups there. The local people, the regional powers - I have no idea. But for Tripoli this is a time bomb. We have to reconcile and not give Syria the pretext to come to Lebanon to defend the Alawite minority.
Manuela Paraipan: How do you see President Assad's visit to Russia? These days everyone talks about Israel, Georgia and the plausible change of Russian policy toward Syria and other Arab states.
Walid Jumblatt: The West tried to grab Georgia, fix it and introduce it to NATO. The Russians have a good relationship with Syria, and I think it will further improve. This is why I am keen to see Lebanon in the non-alignment agreement instead of somewhere in the middle following a similar line to the foolish policy of Georgia.
Manuela Paraipan: In a world dominated by aggressive capitalism, globalization and the rise of religiousness, often as a cover for all, what is left for the socialists, if anything?
Walid Jumblatt: It is a bad situation. Look at what caused the failure of socialism. It was the tactical approach, because it did not accept individual freedom and individual property. That does not mean that we should abandon the idea of socialism and accept globalization, multinationals and so on. What is happening now is a disaster against humanity created by capitalism. Someday, we will need a new revolution. Not a Bolshevik one, but a new revolution. The Bolshevik Revolution had its heyday, except of course for the terror, but nonetheless, it had an impact on countries that fought imperialism in China, Vietnam, Africa and in the Middle East in the struggle against the Israelis.
Manuela Paraipan: Is it likely that there will be a realignment of world powers, and maybe a new policy, now that the US has moved from a military-focused policy back to the negotiating table?
Walid Jumblatt: Its impossible for the United States to move peacefully. It is just impossible, with all the corporations ruling the country. Furthermore it is a competition between the United States, China and others as to who will control more of the wealth of this planet, and the planet is being systematically destroyed by the United States, by the climate change and the common market. It's a total misery, billions of people living in starvation. I don't see any new approach.
"Syria accepted, at least in theory, to recognize Lebanon"
Manuela Paraipan: Do you believe that you already have a state, and I ask because the sense of citizenship seems to be absent.
Walid Jumblatt: We never had a state because we have no sense of citizenship. We always claimed we are Lebanese, but Lebanon is divided along confessional lines. When my father was leading the leftist parties - the national movement - he tried to change the system of Lebanon. However, the so-called progressive environment, the Baathists and the reactionist environment of the Arab world were all against having a secular state in Lebanon. When he was powerful, at one point people from certain circles - like Kissinger - said that Kamal Jumblatt was an extremist-leftist and he was eliminated. In 1975, the Americans allowed the Syrians to come to Lebanon, and they killed my father.
Manuela Paraipan: Are you going to reopen the dossier of your father?
Walid Jumblatt: I never forgot about the dossier of my father. It was real politics because we were besieged. At that time we were expecting a total war, with the isolationists, with the Phalangists, and I went to Damascus because I am an Arab, and the Arab identity of Lebanon was in danger because of the Phalangist alliance with Israel. I decided to reconcile with the terrible regime, but not to forget. What's the use of re-opening it? We will see if the international tribunal for Hariri and others will lead somewhere.
Manuela Paraipan: Is there anything of value left of this investigation that at best seems to drag its feet?
Walid Jumblatt: Last year in June we were expecting the international tribunal, but it did not materialize. This year we might have it, by the end of the year, but I don't know. It could be a bad sign if there is no international justice.
Manuela Paraipan: What about social justice? Is Lebanon getting anywhere close to such a trend?
Walid Jumblatt: Social justice is not leading anywhere. We were subjected to Syrian rule for years, and our syndicates and movements were used by the Syrians. Now we have to build everything up again, from our own trade unions to our political parties. Most of our political parties are just confessional parties. We don't have transnational parties - maybe the communist party but it split into two or three parties.
Manuela Paraipan: Any chance of an increased strong attachment to national citizenship?
Walid Jumblatt: I don't know.
Manuela Paraipan: You are not an optimist?
Walid Jumblatt: I am a realist.
Manuela Paraipan: Thank you very much sir.
Manuela Paraipan
Editor Broader Middle East
World Security Network Foundation

Work in Progress: Lebanon First
written by: Manuela Paraipan,
03-Sep-08
http://www.worldsecuritynetwork.com/showArticle3.cfm?article_id=16405&topicID=42
I knew the discussion with MP Mohammad Kabbani of the Future Movement was going to be interesting when he started by saying that like many others, he supports the idea that Lebanon comes first. However, they have yet to agree what Lebanon is in order to know what steps to take next.
The tense ongoing situation in Tripoli reminded everyone of the very recent past when the members of parliament (MPs) had to move to the Phoenicia Hotel, abroad and to other places for security reasons. No one can forget the shock of having a chain of assassinations in the country. MP Mohammad Kabbani said that: "In the beginning the motive was clear. The majority had to become a minority by killing, not by elections."
At that time the country had no president and the assassination trend was meant to stop the majority from electing a president by 65 votes out of 128, which is the 50 + 1 formula. However, not all killings followed this terrible logic. Not all of those who were murdered were hawks, as MP Kabbani put it. Thus there was no need to target them. When I asked Mr. Kabbani why the majority did not make use of the broad international support it had at one point to elect the president with 50+1, I was told that: "We needed local and international support to move forward. The Patriarch Sfeir was late in giving the support, and by the time he agreed, the momentum had passed. There were also some in our group, March 14, who believed we would be taking a lot of risks if we do it. Then, the idea of electing General Sulayman came and it was the right idea, just that it took some time to crystallize."
He went on to say: "The threat of being a target seems to be fading away because the minority has the blocking third. The majority is no more a decisive majority, except in minor issues. According to the constitution, which was outlined in the Taif Agreement, you need 2/3 of the Council of Ministers to amend the constitution, for the electoral law, to declare war, to sign a peace agreement, also for the laws of the sects, concerning marriage, inheritance and so on; since there is no unified law for all, if any needs to be amended, it has to be done with the 2/3. There are no more reasons for assassinations, but who can gamble on it? This is one mistake nobody would be alive to learn from; therefore we have to keep on being cautious."
Through the Taif Agreement, the Lebanese have a chance to reconcile their different views, explained MP Kabbani. This was a point that I hadn’t considered. He reminded me that if Lebanon had an upper and lower house of parliament the situation would be much different. The senate would be a place for the sects to discuss and dispute opinions, objectives and specific issues, and the lower house would be a national forum where the level of talks would not focus on what the Sunni, Druze, Shias and the Armenians want, but what the Lebanese want.
This might be the right solution for all parties, assuming that none, in spite of the sectarianism and group interests has a desire to incorporate Lebanon into Greater Syria or to act as an Iranian, French or American protectorate. There must be some kind of national pride they all share. Or if this pride is not there yet, this is the right time to start building it.
What happened in May made some remember the old days when conflict took over the country. Fear, prejudice, self interest and ignorance have shown their ugly heads once again.
Hizballah was wrong to use their arms in the country, and Amal and the Syrian Social Nationalist Party (SSNP) and others who stepped in to help were as wrong as Hizballah. You cannot assure your partners who already have serious doubts about your long-term objectives and allegiances that you are not to be feared, and do that through a show of force. It lacks logic. Furthermore, it was unnecessary. Everyone knows Hizballah's military strength. You don't have to overstress it on the streets if you are seeking a real partnership. On the other hand, if in theory you seek partnership and in practice something else, the May events might have been the tip of the iceberg.
After years of coming and studying this country, I have yet to understand why Lebanon settles for second and third best and at the same time gives privileges to foreign powers on a silver platter. Is it a severe inferiority complex that the political leadership has had since 1943?
If Iran wants to settle its problems with the United States, let them do it outside of Lebanon. If Saudi Arabia wants to send a message to President Bashar al-Assad, the Saudis are more than welcome to do so, but not through Lebanon. If Hizballah feels entitled to fight for the Palestinians or for whatever people or country, they can always use the territory of their sponsors. If they want to continue to use Lebanon, they should at the very minimum at least ask all the people of Lebanon if constant war and a puppet role is what they aspire to.
Lebanon is one of the richest countries I have ever seen at the people level. It is unbelievable how this wealth is thrown away. And for what? To serve whom? When foreign powers have the leverage here, Lebanon loses. It is that simple. In this respect, the Lebanese seem to be walking in the footsteps of the Palestinians: Lost people used by all, including their own leadership.
The loser mentality found in Lebanon - always too afraid to say no to both internal and external forces that undermine the very foundation of the country - must come to an end if Lebanon is to survive.
© 2007 WorldSecurityNetwork | info@worldsecuritynetwork.com

Hezbollah will not lay down arms, even if Shebaa is liberated
Middle East News
Sep 4, 2008,
Beirut - The leader of the Lebanese Shiite movement Hezbollah said Thursday his group would not lay down its weapons even if the disputed Shebaa Farms in southern Lebanon was liberated from Israeli occupation.
'Even if Shebaa is liberated the weapons of the resistance are staying. The resistance is a defence project for Lebanon,' Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah said during a Ramadan dinner in Nabatiyeh town, south Lebanon.
Shebaa was captured from Syria during the 1967 Six-Day war with Israel. Israel says Shebaa is Syrian territory and its fate should be determined in future peace talks with Damascus. Lebanese and Syrian officials claim that Syria had officially given the territory to Lebanon in 1951. Lebanese officials said several residents have land deeds stamped by the Lebanese government. Israel officially ended its 22-year occupation of southern Lebanon in May 2000.
Referring to the mounting war of words between Israel and Hezbollah, Nasrallah accused Israel of threatening Lebanon and said his group will destroy 'the five (Israeli) brigades in the south, Western Bekaa and everywhere.'
Last week, Israeli officials warned that Lebanon's civilian infrastructure could become a legitimate target if Hezbollah attacked Israel.
The warning came after the formation of a unity government in which the Hezbollah-led opposition has 11 ministries as well as veto power over cabinet decisions.

'Commandos nearly exposed in Syria'
By DAVID HOROVITZ -Jerusalem Post
Aware that some members of both the American and the Israel intelligence community were not entirely convinced that President Bashar Assad was building a nuclear facility in the summer of 2007, Israel in mid-August sent 12 members of the Sayeret Matkal commando unit into Syria in two helicopters to collect soil samples outside the nuclear site. But the commandos' mission was almost exposed when a Syrian patrol drove past the landing site where the helicopters were parked.
The daring mission to Syria was a success, Bergman writes. "The results provided clear-cut proof of the joint nuclear project." The following month, the Israel Air Force destroyed the facility.
Also in the book, The Secret War with Iran, Bergman claims that US Vice President Richard Cheney contacted Prime Minister Ehud Olmert after the release of the controversial US National Intelligence Estimate on Iran's nuclear program late last year to tell him that the US had "not discarded" the possibility "of an American military operation against Iranian nuclear targets."
Bergman writes that the Mossad's assessment, as of May this year, is that President George W. Bush, "out of religious and ideological motives, will order a strike."
Elsewhere in the book, Bergman provides details of a familiar charge that France deliberately chose not to arrest Hizbullah terror mastermind Imad Mughniyeh when he passed through Paris's Charles de Gaulle Airport in the mid-1980s, because it feared that stopping him would prompt further terrorism against its interests.
Mughniyeh, who in 1983 had orchestrated simultaneous truck bombings against French paratroopers and the US Marine barracks in Beirut, in which 58 French soldiers and 241 Marines were killed, was a prime target for Western intelligence agencies at the time - and, indeed, for the next 20 years. Indicted by Argentina over the 1992 and 1994 Israel embassy and Jewish community office bombings and regarded as the brains behind Hizbullah's strategy in the Second Lebanon War, Mughniyeh was finally killed in Damascus last February. Nobody has taken responsibility for his death.
Israel is currently warning businessmen overseas to guard against Hizbullah attempts to avenge his death by carrying out kidnappings; at least two such attempts are said to have recently been foiled.
According to Bergman, Mughniyeh was traveling from Lebanon to Sudan, to meet with Iranian intelligence officials and mujahideen veterans from Afghanistan, and made a stopover at Charles de Gaulle. "The CIA had supplied the French with details of the fake passport Mughniyeh was using," Bergman writes. "Nevertheless, and despite a positive identification made by the Americans at the airport, the French never detained him, claiming 'that he had managed to slip away.'"
US intelligence "never credited this excuse for a moment," Bergman continues, "believing that the French had let him get away on purpose, for fear of the fate of French hostages in Beirut."
He also quotes the IDF's former Military Intelligence officer David Barkai, who was in charge of the "Mughniyeh file," as saying: "The French were the champions at this kind of thing. After [Hizbullah] snatched some Frenchmen in Lebanon, the French Foreign Ministry bought peace through quiet agreements with Hizbullah. I know of at least two cases where they closed their eyes to blatant terrorist activity, just so that their interests would not be harmed."
In further sections of the book relating to Mughniyeh, Hizbullah and Iranian sponsorship of terrorism, Bergman claims that the Hizbullah terror chief served as "a major connection point" between Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida and Iran, and as a source of inspiration for bin Laden, whose attacks he helped facilitate. Bergman describes a pivotal meeting the two men held in Khartoum, at which the murderously experienced Mughniyeh described for the impressionable bin Laden "the enormous effect of the suicide attacks against the Americans and the French in the early 1980s in Lebanon."
In the wake of this meeting, Bergman writes, basing his account on a witness's testimony to the FBI, "Hizbullah supplied al-Qaida with explosives instruction, and Iran used Hizbullah to provide bin Laden with bombs. Much of the al-Qaida training was carried out in camps in Iran."
Bergman's new book is an expanded and updated English version of last year's Hebrew bestseller The Point of No Return.
The English book, published by Free Press, also repeats the Hebrew volume's claim - which is disputed by other sources - that Russian S-300 missiles have already been supplied to Iran and are deployed to help protect various Iranian nuclear facilities.

Mistake or manoeuvre?
Raed Rafei
Al-Ahram Weekly
Hizbullah's shooting on a Lebanese army helicopter has raised many eyebrows, writes Raed Rafei in Beirut
Mariam Issa, the fiancee of Lebanese Army First Lieutenant Samer Hanna, mourns over his coffin during his funeral procession in the mountain village of Tannurine, north of Beirut, last Friday. Hanna, 25, was killed when his helicopter was hit by gunfire during a training mission in a region known as a Hizbullah stronghold in southern Lebanon
Hizbullah's shooting on a Lebanese army helicopter, entailing the killing of an officer on Thursday threatened to create a crisis between the army and the militant group, pushing to the forefront the question of a defence strategy for Lebanon, analysts and politicians said.
Yet Hizbullah's seeming readiness to cooperate with the army's investigation by handing in the culprit to authorities helped put a lid on yet another heated debate over the legitimacy of Hizbullah's arms and their role as the country's national army tries to rise.
With the military probe slowly dying down, the key question remains whether the attack was the result of a lack of coordination between the army and Hizbullah or whether the militant group was trying to draw limits for the army's activities in South Lebanon.
"There is no doubt that the incident was very serious," a high-ranking military officer said on condition of anonymity. "But the fact that Hizbullah showed goodwill in cooperating with investigations reduced the tensions," he said. "I don't think the relation between the army and the resistance is at stake, but we need to make sure that such a significant incident is not repeated," the army official added.
According to a statement issued by the army, a Lebanese military helicopter came under fire around noon Thursday as it was conducting a training mission over the area of Iklim Al-Toufah in South Lebanon. The incident led to the death of the helicopter's pilot, Lieutenant Samer Hanna, the statement added. Although the assailants were not directly identified, Hizbullah was held responsible by the local media and some politicians because the area concerned is reportedly a sensitive operational zone controlled by the resistance group.
The area in question lies to the north of the Litani River, near the zone of deployment of UN peacekeeping (UNIFIL) troops stationed in South Lebanon since the end of Israel's war on Lebanon in summer 2006. As the army deployed in the south alongside UNIFIL troops for the first time since the civil war, Hizbullah tried to maintain the image of a strong alliance with the army. The Lebanese daily, As-Safir, Monday published statements by Hizbullah leader Hassan Nasrallah, saying "no incident, no matter how serious it is, will create a divide between the army and the resistance."
Although Hizbullah kept silent about the incident at the beginning, it issued a statement on Friday, calling the shooting incident "sad and painful". The group said that it would "fully cooperate with the brothers in the Lebanese army as well as with concerned judicial authorities to bring out the truth and guarantee justice". The same day, as the cabinet appointed a new army commander, Hizbullah reportedly handed over the culprit to Lebanese military police without revealing his identity.
According to a military official, the attack was apparently "unintentional". It seemed that Hizbullah's fighters were unable to identify the helicopter, which was one of four Gazelle models offered by the United Arab Emirates, adding that three shots were fired at the helicopter. But for former army General Nizar Abdul-Qader, the incident raised important questions as to whether it could have really been the result of a "lack of judgement" on the part of Hizbullah fighters, especially given that the helicopter in question had been carrying out military drills in the same area for three days.
"Investigations will have to elucidate a crucial point: Who gave the order of the shooting?" said Abdul-Qader, a military expert and columnist for the Lebanese daily, Ad-Diyar. "If the decision of the shooting was made by a high-up source, then Hizbullah's aim would be likely to draw red lines for the army. But if the decision was made on the field, then we are facing a psychological issue: Do the fighters of the resistance accept the presence of Lebanese soldiers on a land they regard as their turf?"
Whatever the conclusions are of the military investigation, the incident unleashed new calls for addressing Hizbullah's weapons and an overall Lebanese strategy of defence during national dialogue sessions, soon to be launched by President Michel Suleiman. Samir Frangieh, an MP with the 14 March group, accused Hizbullah in a radio interview Sunday of seeking to "eliminate the military establishment". Other remarks by politicians from the parliamentary majority also criticised Hizbullah for trying to draw limits to the army's operations.
According to Abdul-Qader, there is a way to integrate Hizbullah within the army as long as the key decision of waging war or not remains in the hands of the state. He said it was possible for Hizbullah's armed fighters to turn into a "special force" under the state's control. "A lot of nations have special forces that are technically militias and that support the role of traditional security forces," he said.
"There is a law still in effect in Lebanon that allows the state to form a militia for specific security purposes. Integrating the resistance under this law will resolve an important legal issue and will make the state responsible financially for the costs of the resistance," Abdul-Qader said, adding that this would reduce dependency on external powers, namely Iran, allegedly financing Hizbullah.
For political analyst, Ali Al-Amine, however, the parliamentary majority -- 14 March -- does not have the means to change the equation of power on the ground to force Hizbullah to integrate itself into the army. "The incident exposed the fragility of the military institution. Hizbullah is not worried that an army officer would stand up to it," said Al-Amine, who is an editor of Lebanon's Al-Balad newspaper.
"Hizbullah is strengthening its military control over many areas north of the Litani River, denying access to the state's forces," Al-Amine said. He added that the current regional context does not suggest that Hizbullah is being pressured to curb its military clout, as Iran and Syria continue to support the resistance
© Copyright Al-Ahram Weekly. All rights reserved

Damascus rehabilitated
Sami Moubayed
Al-Ahram Weekly
Behind today's four-way summit between Syria, France, Turkey and Qatar lies Syria's ongoing talks with Israel, writes Sami Moubayed
Damascenes welcomed French President Nicolas Sarkozy with French flags on all major streets in the Syrian capital. It was sweet revenge directed at US President George W Bush and Sarkozy's predecessor, Jacques Chirac, the Syrian way of telling the world "we have overcome".
Regional and Syrian media described the visit as historic. No French president has been to Syria since the passing of UN Security Council Resolution 1559 in 2004 (calling on the Syrians to withdraw from Lebanon) and the assassination of Lebanon's former prime minister Rafik Al-Hariri in 2005, which Chirac blamed on Syria.
Franco-Syrian relations have moved quickly since Sarkozy came to power in 2007 and in July President Bashar Al-Assad visited Paris. At a press conference with his French and Lebanese counterparts in the French capital, Al-Assad announced that Syria would open diplomatic relations with Lebanon. The French president had been pushing for a Syrian embassy to open in Beirut and a Lebanese one in Damascus. The rapprochement was also aided by Syria's role in helping end the fighting in Beirut between Hizbullah and the "14 March" government coalition, its support of the agreement reached by all parties in Doha, and the election of General Michel Suleiman as president of Lebanon. All the agreements bore Syrian fingerprints.
Sarkozy's two-day visit to Syria began on 3 September. Bilateral relations, the peace talks currently underway in Turkey and the situation in Lebanon are all on the agenda. He will also inaugurate a new French school in Damascus, named after Charles de Gaulle. In Paris last July Syrian Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Dardari discussed the purchase of Airbus planes from France (in defiance of the Syria Accountability Act), and in yet another sign of the thaw in relations two French cement companies have invested $1.2 billion in Syria, which subsequently appointed an ambassador to Paris, a post that had been vacant since 2005.
But the real importance of Sarkozy's visit is the four-party talks scheduled in Damascus today between France, Qatar, Turkey and Syria. France holds the rotating presidency of the European Union, Syria is this year's chairman of the Arab League, and Qatar currently heads the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). Explaining the Syrian position on the visit, Al-Assad said: "This is a new era between Syria and France, based on a new French policy which is pragmatic and realistic and prioritises stability in the region."
Behind the four-way summit in Syria are the continuing indirect talks underway between Damascus and Tel Aviv in Turkey. However, Turkey alone cannot move both parties forward which is why the French were invited to co-sponsor the talks. The logical next step is for Syria and Israel to engage in face-to-face negotiations but without American support for the Syrian-Israeli track another partner had to be found to provide assistance and guarantees once an agreement is reached.
In 2003 George W Bush announced that Syria "just had to wait" until all pending issues in the Middle East were solved before the US turned to the Syrian-Israeli track. Ariel Sharon helped convince Bush to keep the Syrians on the backburner for years. But Israel's war on Lebanon in 2006 convinced many in Washington that to get results in the Middle East the US must engage with the Syrians. The Americans did just that, though only over Iraq, insisting that Syria was more interested in a "peace process", ending the diplomatic isolation imposed on Syria since 2003, than a "peace treaty".
Attitudes in Washington shifted last November when the Syrians went to the Annapolis conference despite objections by Iran and Hamas. This was followed by a summit between Bush and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. Olmert realised that a deal with Syria would not be a simple matter of real-estate one, land in exchange for mutual signatures on a piece of paper, but could restructure the Middle East. It would directly affect Hamas, Hizbullah, Islamic Jihad and Iran. He pleaded Bush to support -- or at least not veto -- the Turkey talks.
The no-veto stand is no longer enough for either party. Olmert needs to finalise a peace treaty with the Syrians. He knows no deal is possible with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas before Palestinian presidential elections in January, and fears that Iran will seek to make the implementation of any peace deal difficult for everybody in the region.
The Iranians are unhappy with the talks in Turkey, just as they were with US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's arrival in Damascus in April 2007 and the high-profile meeting between Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Al-Muallim and US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in May 2007. They think that any deal between Syria and Israel will be at their expense.
If the American attitude does not change and a peace deal is reached (though not signed) it will probably be put aside by both the Syrians and Israelis as they await a new US administration in January 2009. And the incoming US president will in all likelihood need until March to get his domestic house in order before turning attention to the Middle East. That means a Syrian Israeli "self-agreement" for no less than six months.
Al-Assad's visit to Moscow and the support he gave to the Russian position on South Ossetia, as well as the prospects of Syria purchasing sophisticated Russian arms, were aimed at drawing Washington into a more active role in the Syrian- Israeli peace process. It came as no surprise, then, when Washington Post veteran journalist David Ignatius wrote after a visit to Syria that Al-Assad "appears ready for direct peace talks with Israel, if the United States will join France as a co-sponsor".
© Copyright Al-Ahram Weekly. All rights reserved

Not business as usual
Gamal Essam El-Din
Al-Ahram Weekly
Tuesday's arrest of construction magnate Hisham Talaat Mustafa on murder charges took all by surprise, reports Gamal Essam El-Din
In a move that would further reinforce the stereotypical negative image of businessmen in the psyche of Egyptian society, Prosecutor-General Abdel-Meguid Mahmoud ordered on Tuesday the arrest of businessman Hisham Talaat Mustafa to stand trial for his alledged role in the brutal killing of Lebanese pop singer Suzanne Tamim in Dubai last month.
Mustafa is a member of the ruling National Democratic Party's Supreme Policies Council and deputy chairman of the Shura Council's Economic Committee, as well as chairman of the Talaat Mustafa Group, one of the Arab World's largest property and real estate developers. He is the younger son of the late contractor and parliamentarian Talaat Mustafa, who founded the group in 1979 and served as deputy chairman of the People's Assembly Housing Committee. Tareq, Hisham's older brother who took over as board chairman, yesterday, has headed the Housing Committee since 2005.
The arrest order was preceded by Shura Council Chairman Safwat El-Sherif's approval of requests to strip Mustafa of parliamentary immunity on 25 August. A Shura Council source told Al-Ahram Weekly that Mahmoud's request to strip Mustafa of immunity was submitted a week ago. "At first Mustafa was allowed just to testify before the prosecution but later he was completely stripped of immunity so that he can be fully investigated by prosecution authorities," said the source.
Mustafa, who was taken to the Tora prison in south Cairo, could face the death penalty if convicted.
Mahmoud has accused Mustafa of conspiring with another defendant, former State Security officer Mohsen El-Sukkari, to kill Tamim on 28 July in what the Prosecutor General described as a "vengeful act". El-Sukkari is reported to have worked as a security officer at the Four Seasons Hotel in the Red Sea resort of Sharm El-Sheikh which the Talaat Mustafa group built and co-owns with Saudi Arabian Prince Al-Walid Bin Talal.
Adel-El-Said, head of Mahmoud's office, says Mustafa is charged with paying El-Sukkari $2 million to murder Tamim and with facilitating El-Sukkari's travels to England and the United Arab Emirates. Prosecutors allege El-Sukkari followed Tamim from London to her home in Dubai where he stabbed her several times.
"Mustafa provided El-Sukkari with information and money to plan and carry out the murder," says El-Said.
The killing of Tamim made headlines in Arab and Egyptian newspapers in August. Mahmoud then imposed a media ban following reports that a high- profile businessman was involved in the case.
Local media have alledged that Mustafa had a three- year affair with Tamim which ended three months ago. Tamim then left Cairo for London before travelling to Dubai. She was found dead on 28 July in her flat on the 22nd floor of the Jumeirah Beach Residence's Rimal Tower.
Abdellah El-Sinnawi, editor of Al-Arabi, the mouthpiece of the Nasserist Party, told the Weekly that
"As long as businessmen remain the backbone of the NDP these scandals will continue."
Alieddin Hilal, NDP secretary for media affairs, argues that Mustafa's indictment is clear evidence that "the ruling party knows no cronyism and that nobody in Egypt is above the law".
Hilal told the Arab satellite television channel Orbit that Mustafa was a member of the NDP's Policies Council but not of any of the party's secretariats. His arrest, says Hilal, makes it clear that a review of the relationship between big business and government is overdue. "The lack of any legal framework regulating the relationship between wealth and power opens the door wide for corruption, conflicts of interest and cronyism," Hilal argued.
Before his arrest, Mustafa himself told Orbit in a recorded interview aired on Tuesday that "Egypt is a country where the rule of law is respected. Regardless of who they are, wrongdoers should be punished."
Opposition politicians have been surprised by the rapidity with which Mustafa was stripped of immunity and referred to trial.
"The ruling party is seeking to improve its image after a number of its business tycoon members have been implicated in corruption scandals," says El-Sinnawi.
The NDP may have acted quickly in this case, claims El-Sinnawi, but that is no guarantee that Mustafa will be found guilty.
"This could turn into a copy of the Mamdouh Ismail case in which another NDP businessman who is a member of the Shura Council was acquitted of manslaughter charges."
Mustafa El-Said, chairman of the People's Assembly Economic Committee, told the Weekly that the speed of the indictment was intended to signal to businessmen that they must regulate both their behaviour and business practices. "The NDP is sending the message that it will not tolerate criminal practices from businessmen, regardless of who they are or how much money they give to fund the party."
The indictment triggered a run on shares in Talaat Mustafa Group Holding (TMG) which fell by 24 per cent on Tuesday only to regain 20 points in early transactions yesterday.
El-Said thinks it is too early to assess the impact of the indictment on the market but believes one positive aspect is that Mustafa's arrest will make it clear to foreign investors that Egypt fully respects the rule of law.
TMG, the largest real estate developer in Egypt, introduced residential compounds to the local market. Its projects include Al-Rehab and Madinaty compounds in New Cairo, Al-Rabwa in Sixth of October City and the San Stefano Grand Plaza in Alexandria.
Additional reporting by Sherine Abdel-Razek
© Copyright Al-Ahram Weekly. All rights reserved

Lebanon's Two Michels: Deliver or Lose
Dr. Joseph Hitti
September 05, 2008
Both Michel Sleiman and Michel Aoun, former generals in the Lebanese army, are the major custodians of the issues affecting the status of the secular Christians in Lebanon.
Michel Sleiman is now the President of the Republic and represents - whether we, secularists and anti-religious people, like it or not - the Maronite community in the power structure in Lebanon.
Michel Aoun is the head of one of the largest Christian political parties - the Free Patriotic Movement - which is no longer in the opposition since his party has veto-power ministers in the current government.
Neither of these two individuals has any excuses anymore for not promoting the interests of the secular Christians in Lebanon against the encroachments of the duplicitous Sunni establishment of the Hariri-Siniora tandem (which is secular on the surface, but staunchly behind the Salafists, fundamentalists and other pro al-Qaeda terrorist groups), and of the Shiite establishment represented by the equally hypocritical Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri and the openly radical Hassan Nasrallah of the Hezbollah terrorist organization which is now an ally of Aoun and a member of the government.
There are two basic tests to whether Aoun and Sleiman will survive the coming 2009 parliamentary elections. While Aoun is probably too old to have a significant political future, his party's future is at stake. Sleiman on the other hand has open political ambitions beyond the presidency as he is seeking to create a political base in his hometown of Amchit and the surrounding Byblos district.
The two tests are:
The Lebanese prisoners in Syria. Aoun has made many promises in the past but has appeared to renege on them lately. When the issue comes up, he defends Syria indirectly by diluting the issue (of the Lebanese kidnapped in Lebanon and jailed in Syria) with those missing in Lebanon as a result of the decades of strife in the 1970s and 1980s. That is one cheap and sleazy way for him to get back at Samir Geagea (who is behind many assassinations and kidnappings during the 1980s).
Sleiman mentioned the prisoners once - during his swearing-in speech - but then never brought the issue up again, even when he crawled to a "summit" with Assad in Damascus last month. Licking Assad's behind was a lot of work for him, so when the Syrians ordered him to shut up on the issue and keep licking, he obliged as the prime pro-Syrian lackey that he is.
The Lebanese refugees in Israel. These are close to 5,000 Lebanese citizens who fought Syria and Hezbollah throughout the 1980s and 1990s, but who were abandoned by both their government (from the 1970s) and the Israeli government in 2000 when Israel withdrew its troops from south Lebanon. The most prominent of those refugees is Etienne Sacre - Abu Arz - who is not in Israel but who lives in exile outside Lebanon and who is the President of the Guardians of the Cedars Party, the cleanest and most decent secular Christian party in Lebanon. The choice of these villagers was either to suffer retaliation from both Hezbollah and the pro-Syrian Hariri-Siniora government (for "dealing with the enemy"), or seek refuge in Israel. Most of them chose the latter and have been living in Israel ever since. Note that, even though Siniora and Hariri switched from being pro-Syrian before 2005 to anti-Syrian after 2005, the Siniora-Hariri stance vis-a-vis these anti-Syrian, anti-Hezbollah fighters and villagers, has remained the same: They are enemies because they dealt with the "enemy" Israel.
Turncoat Michel Aoun has a 2006 memorandum with Hezbollah stating that these people should return unharmed. Two years later, nothing has happened, and the very few who dared return were kidnapped, tortured and harassed by Hezbollah, then turned over to the Siniora government which promptly set up kangaroo courts that sentenced them to various punishments. One of them was a 9-year old girl in 2000 (who is now 17) who could not possibly have any idea about what "dealing with the enemy" meant. Many of them end up leaving the country as soon as they can. So Aoun has yet to deliver on this issue, particularly since he has amply covered for Hezbollah's terror rule but has so far gotten nothing in return.
Sleiman, on the other hand, has done nothing on this issue at all. His discourse continues to be that of a lackey to Hezbollah and Syria (he was promoted as Army Chief by the Syrian occupation in 1990), and he is therefore expected to behave as such on this issue.
Finally, the other "anti-Syrian" Christians in the Siniora-Hariri coalition are Samir Geagea (fundamentalist religious Christian) and Amin Gemayel (traditionalist Christian feudal lord). Neither of these two individuals have done anything on this issue, which is surprising since they are the allies (more like the affiliates, really) of Siniora-Hariri. You'd think that they can leverage their support to Siniora by demanding that he not mistreat the returnees from Israel who are Siniora's "anti-Syrian" allies in fact, but they have done nothing as they worry more about maintaining the little crumbs of power that the Hariri-Siniora tandem throws at them from its table.
These two issues will be the litmus test of the 2009 parliamentary elections, at least in the Christian camp. The secular Christians of Lebanon want these issues closed for both humanitarian and national dignity reasons. Both the religious Christians (of Geagea and Gemayel and the senile Maronite Patriarch Sfeir), and the secular Christians(of Aoun and Sleiman) seem impotent at delivering on these two issues to their base. The revenge of the electorate should not be a surprise to them in 2009, especially if Lebanese eimgrants and the Diaspora at large is allowed to vote. There are substantiated rumors that the Diaspora in the US, Canada, Australia, and elsewhere is rallying itself to field a large slate of independent candidates for Parliament in 2009; if this dream comes true, I know now who I will be voting for.