LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN

LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
July 04/08

Bible Reading of the day.
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John 20,24-29. Thomas, called Didymus, one of the Twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples said to him, "We have seen the Lord." But he said to them, "Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands and put my finger into the nailmarks and put my hand into his side, I will not believe." Now a week later his disciples were again inside and Thomas was with them. Jesus came, although the doors were locked, and stood in their midst and said, "Peace be with you." Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here and see my hands, and bring your hand and put it into my side, and do not be unbelieving, but believe." Thomas answered and said to him, "My Lord and my God!"Jesus said to him, "Have you come to believe because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed."

Free Opinions, Releases, letters & Special Reports
Prisoners Exchange & Time out-Walid Choucair 03/07/08
France is a captive to its ties with Syria-By Michael Young 03/07/08
Nasrallah's new challenge is to regain the trust of more than a few Lebanese-The Daily Star 03/07/08

Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources for July 03/08-Naharnet
Aoun Accepts Whatever Hizbullah Accepts on Shebaa Farms-Naharnet
Aoun Snubs Saniora's Latest Offer of Cabinet Seats-Naharnet
Soeid Says Nasrallah is Trying to Normalize Relations with Other Factions -Naharnet
Fatfat Hopes for Positive Developments Soon -Naharnet
Fatah Appreciates Hizbullah's Prisoner Swap with Israel -Naharnet
Detained Iranian Diplomats Still Alive in Israel, After 26 Years-Naharnet
Sfeir Slams Politicians for Demanding Big Cabinet Shares-Naharnet
Sfeir Hopes for Middle East Reconciliation-Naharnet
Nasrallah-Hariri Meeting in the Offing-Naharnet
Testimonies of Key Figures in Hariri Case for 1st Time-Naharnet
Fears About New Fatah Islam in Bourj Barajneh Refugee Camp-Naharnet
Suleiman Thanks Qatar for Helicopter-Naharnet
Suleiman, Saniora, Jumblat, Mustaqbal to Take Part in Prisoner Welcoming Ceremony-Naharnet
Nasrallah Extends Hand to Rival Camp, Backs Diplomatic Means to Free Shebaa-Naharnet
Mubarak, Jordan's Abdullah for Speedy Lebanese Cabinet Formation-Naharnet
The lies we tell ourselves-Ynetnews
3 Killed, 3 Wounded in Tripoli Ceiling Collapse-Naharnet
Clashes between Fatah, Jund al-Sham in Ain el-Hilweh-Naharnet
Three dead in Jerusalem after bizarre attack-AFP
Syrians, Israelis continue third round of talks in Istanbul-AFP
Siniora offers Aoun public works dossier in new package-Daily Star
Nasrallah dedicates prisoner swap with Israel to 'all Lebanese-Daily Star
Qabbani describes prisoner swap as national victory-Daily Star
Aoun: 'It's high time for Christians to overcome their frustrations-Daily Star
Seventh report of the UN secretary general on the implementation of Resolution 1701-Daily Star
Small earthquake shakes rattled residents of Southern town-Daily Star-AFP
Ten Lebanese students prepare for EU-funded studies in Europe-Daily Star
Palestinian, Lebanese youth share cultural perspectivea-Daily Star
LAF boosts Sannine security amid abduction controversy-Daily Star
Three dead, dozens injured in Jerusalem bulldozer attack -AP

The lies we tell ourselves
The repeated lies told by our government are getting us in trouble
Published: 07.02.08, 17:05 / Israel Opinion -Ynetnews
In the past, Nasrallah characterized Israeli society as made up of spider webs (by now he has abandoned this metaphor.) At the time, he was referring to what he viewed as the Israeli home front’s lacking endurance. Yet Nasrallah was wrong: Israel has the endurance of steel. A persecuted people that returned to its homeland does not bend easily.
However, the thing that gets us in trouble is the spider web of lies we tell ourselves, under the leadership of our government.
The first lie was promoted shortly after Hizbullah attacked Israel and abducted (and apparently killed) IDF soldiers Goldwasser and Regev in sovereign Israeli territory. This provocation required an offensive Israeli response against the group. However, in order to provide public opinion with a false and needless excuse, the government decided to present “returning the boys home” as the main objective of the war.
This was a utopian and delusional objective, meant to cover up the uncertainty of decision-makers and silence the doubts they were facing. In terms of international law, Hizbullah declared war on Israel, and Israel had full right to fight back and completely defeat Hizbullah. Yet the government preferred to rely on lies. This hurt the government and it hurt us.
The war ended without achieving the goal of “bringing back the boys,” yet the government continued to feed lies to the public, thereby eroding its own credibility. Any reasonable person realized that Nasrallah’s minimal demand for freeing our captives would be the release of terrorist-murderer Samir Kuntar.
With this information, we could have finalized a swap a year ago. Yet at the time we still had a commission of inquiry into the war working in Jerusalem, and the government preferred to shroud the negotiations in a big cloud of secrecy. Months were wasted, again because of the lies we told ourselves, among other things about Ron Arad. Is there even one Israeli adult out there who does not know what really happened to Arad?
‘Speak the truth to one another’
The imbroglio of deceptions and self-deceptions has worsened recently. We raised the willingness to proceed with a swap common between enemies to the level of moral prominence, a sort of model behavior that reflects the fact we are the chosen people; a community that shows solidarity in a way no other country on earth does.
Yet those familiar with the long history of swaps involving prisoners, captives, and bodies know that the image we created in order to lay the emotional groundwork for the deal is baseless. Those who say that we, Israelis, are different than all other peoples as we are “one family,” “one tribe,” etc., should objectively look at the celebrations being prepared ahead of Smair Kuntar’s return to Lebanon.
We lied to ourselves when we said: “We will not capitulate and we will not reward terrorism” – after all, we knew that we will reward it. We lied to ourselves when we said: “We won’t trade murderers for bodies” – after all, we knew we will.
The rescue operation of the hostages in Entebbe was indeed a unique historical act that attested to Israel’s determination to save Jews in trouble. Yet the swap deal between Olmert and Nasrallah has no moral or Jewish or Israeli uniqueness. This is a common process of tactical bargaining; a give-and-take business. Hizbullah started the Second Lebanon War and was soundly defeated. Despite this, Israel conducts itself as if it was defeated. Our geopolitical situation both in the north and south has dramatically worsened under the Olmert government. Hizbullah greatly boosted its political influence in Lebanon, while the Hamas regime in Gaza was granted Israeli recognition. These two developments, which in the long run may or may not turn zealots into statesmen, completely contradict the government’s declared objectives. As it turns out, toppling the Hamas regime was another bogus decision by our government. “'These are the things which you should do: speak the truth to one another” (Zechariah 8:16.) It appears many members of the Israeli government have not read this book.

3 Killed, 3 Wounded in Tripoli Ceiling Collapse
Naharnet/The ceiling of the first floor of a two-storey building collapsed in Tal neighborhood near the northern port city of Tripoli on Wednesday, killing three Syrian workers, the state-run National News Agency reported. It said the building owner, another Syrian worker and a Lebanese citizen also were wounded in the incident. NNA said the collapse occurred as renovation work was underway in the building. Civil Defense teams worked well into the night to remove the rubble to ensure that no victims remained buried underneath. Beirut, 02 Jul 08, 22:08

Clashes between Fatah, Jund al-Sham in Ain el-Hilweh
Naharnet/Clashes broke out late Wednesday between mainstream Fatah fighters and others from Jund al-Sham at the Ain el-Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp near the southern port city of Sidon, the state-run National News Agency said. It said the clash around 9:30 pm erupted when Jund al-Sham fighters raided a Fatah position at the camp's upper entrance. But fighting quickly died down following the intervention of the political factions in Sidon, NNA reported.
It said tension, however, prevailed in the camp. Beirut, 02 Jul 08, 22:44

Sfeir Slams Politicians for Demanding Big Cabinet Shares
Naharnet/Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir on Thursday criticized political leaders for demanding the biggest possible cabinet shares, saying this does not reflect "a genuine national spirit."Sfeir also called for a speedy formation of the government, saying "people can no longer stand the delay.""The holdup in the cabinet line-up is not a good sign," Sfeir said in a radio interview. He said he will keep praying to God to enlighten the minds of Lebanese officials "so things could go back to normal and people would stop emigrating from Lebanon out of despair."Sfeir also hailed the release of Lebanese prisoners detained in Israeli jails. Beirut, 03 Jul 08, 14:37

Sfeir Hopes for Middle East Reconciliation
Naharnet/Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir on Thursday said the prisoner swap between Israel and Hizbullah is "evidence to the beginning of an understanding so that people can live in peace and reconciliation can prevail over all states."Sfeir also emphasized on the need to speed up efforts aimed at forming the new cabinet.
He criticized the relentless competition between the various factions to grab bigger shares in the cabinet, saying it "does not reflect true patriotic feelings."
Beirut, 03 Jul 08, 14:43

Aoun Snubs Saniora's Latest Offer of Cabinet Seats
Naharnet/Christian opposition leader Michel Aoun on Thursday reportedly rejected an offer of cabinet seats from Prime Minister-designate Fouad Saniora.
The pro-opposition Al Akhbar daily, which carried the report, said Aoun rejected Saniora's offer that would have allowed the Free Patriotic Movement leader to make his way to the energy and public works ministries instead of telecommunications. It quoted an FPM source, however, as saying that the final stance will be announced on Thursday. Sources following up the cabinet line-up issue also told Al Akhbar that the FPM leadership held an overnight meeting to mull the previous offer by Saniora which gives members of Aoun's Reform and Change parliamentary bloc the telecommunications and social affairs seats instead of the energy portfolio. Other newspapers, like the leading daily An Nahar, also said despite the positive atmosphere that emerged following a visit by FPM official Gebran Bassil to the Grand Serail on Wednesday, a gloomy mood was soon set for the new cabinet. It said that following Bassil's meeting with Saniora, optimism was high regarding the imminent birth of the new government. But sources late Wednesday played down hopes of a breakthrough in the cabinet crisis, An Nahar reported.
It quoted the sources as saying that new ideas were discussed at the meeting between Saniora and Bassil. They said, however, that by midnight no response was made from Aoun. Meanwhile, the pan-Arab daily Al Hayat, citing well-informed sources, said Bassil has insisted that the FPM be given the telecommunications and public works portfolios plus the deputy premier post and demanded that his ally MP Elie Skaff gets the industry and agriculture ministries instead of public affairs as offered by Saniora. Beirut, 03 Jul 08, 07:56

Soeid Says Nasrallah is Trying to Normalize Relations with Other Factions
Naharnet/March 14 coordinator Faris Soeid said Thursday that Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah is trying to contain the negative reaction to his party's May assaults. Soeid, in an interview with the Markaziya newsletter, said: "Sentiments rejecting Hizbullah emerged after the May events. These sentiments are not restricted to the Sunni, Christian and Druze communities. Rejecting Hizbullah's behavior has become a collective Arab-Islamic stand."
He said Nasrallah proposed in his Wednesday press conference dialogue "so that it can be a mechanism to normalize relations with the various factions."
Beirut, 03 Jul 08, 16:38

Fatfat Hopes for Positive Developments Soon
Naharnet/Youth and Sports Minister Ahmed Fatfat said Thursday he hopes for "positive developments" in efforts to form the new cabinet. Fatfat made the remark to reporters after meeting Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea at the latter's residence in Meerab. Fatfat said negotiations are currently underway between opposition factions on how to distribute their share of cabinet seats. He indirectly criticized Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah for refusing to apologize to citizens of Beirut for the May attack. However, he praised Nasrallah's remarks during a press conference on Wednesday, saying "had he made the same remarks on Aug. 14, 2006 we wouldn't have reached this stage." Beirut, 03 Jul 08, 16:15

Fatah Appreciates Hizbullah's Prisoner Swap with Israel
Naharnet/The Mainstream Fatah movement on Thursday expressed appreciation to Hizbullah for arranging a prisoner swap with Israel that included the remains of Dalal Mughraby and four of her comrades who were killed in Israel 30 years ago. Fatah West Bank Spokesman Fahmi Zaarir said: "We appreciate any effort exerted to liberate Palestinian and Arab prisoners held in Israeli jails as well as regaining the bodies of martyrs who fell during the march of armed struggle."
Mughraby headed a Fatah squad that crossed from Lebanon into Israel by dinghies in March 1978. They controlled a bus and tried to drive it to the Knesset building, which they failed to reach. Beirut, 03 Jul 08, 15:53

Detained Iranian Diplomats Still Alive in Israel, After 26 Years
Naharnet/Iran's embassy in Lebanon said on Thursday that four Iranian diplomats, seized in 1982 by a Christian militia in Lebanon, are still alive and being held in Israel. The embassy made the statement to mark the 26th anniversary of their kidnapping, and said the information was based on statements by former detainees released from Israeli prisons. It also comes at a time that the Jewish state is due to provide details on the case as part of an agreement being hammered out on an exchange of prisoners with Hizbullah. "Our brother diplomats kidnapped in 1982 during the Zionist invasion of Lebanon are still detained in Israel and all news which has been provided to us proves it," said Charge d'Affaires Mojtaba Ferdowsi-Pour. Israel at the time was carrying out a major military operation in Lebanon when three diplomats -- Mohsen Mousavi, Ahmad Motevaselian and Taghi Rastegar Moghadam -- disappeared, along with Kazem Akhaven, a photographer with Iran's official IRNA news agency. Raed Mousavi, son of one of the missing diplomats, said: "Documents and testimonies by detainees in Israeli prisons, and the fact that Israel has not published any documents proving their martyrdom, shows our loved ones are still alive." The Lebanese Forces which detained the four at a checkpoint, maintains that they died in Lebanon. Israel is due to provide details of their fate to U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon as part of an exchange deal involving Israeli soldiers seized by Hizbullah and Lebanese prisoners held by the Jewish state. Hizbullah captured two Israeli soldiers, Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev, in July 2006, sparking a 34-day war in Lebanon. On Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert told the cabinet the two were dead, while Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah on Wednesday said his group had not passed any details on their fate to the Israelis.(AFP-Naharnet) Beirut, 03 Jul 08, 14:59

Nasrallah-Hariri Meeting in the Offing
Naharnet/A long-awaited meeting between Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah and parliamentary majority leader Saad Hariri will almost certainly occur.
The leading An Nahar newspaper, citing well-informed political sources, said Thursday that preparations are underway for the meeting. The pro-opposition daily Al Akhbar said the last attempt to bring Nasrallah and Hariri together was made by Iran's Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki. Beirut, 03 Jul 08, 12:08

Testimonies of Key Figures in Hariri Case for 1st Time
Naharnet/Key figures have reportedly given their testimonies to the international commission investigating former Premier Rafik Hariri's assassination.
The daily Al Anwar, which carried the report on Thursday, said these personalities have demanded that their testimonies not be submitted to the Lebanese judiciary "so they and their families would not be in danger" in the event they were summoned as witnesses. It said Lebanese judicial authorities have received new information and documents that were described as "important and valuable." Al Anwar said the documents included testimonies of Lebanese and non-Lebanese witnesses. Beirut, 03 Jul 08, 11:19

Fears About New Fatah Islam in Bourj Barajneh Refugee Camp
Naharnet/The Syrian-backed Fatah-Intifada faction in Beirut's Bourj al-Barajneh refugee camp has been split, the daily Al Liwaa reported on Thursday.
It quoted Palestinian sources as expressing fear over the new development at the camp. Al Liwaa said Abu Ali Hadid, a Palestinian born in Jordan and a resident of Bourj al-Barajneh, now heads the breakaway faction which groups about 30 armed elements. It said Abu Hadid enjoys the backing of Jihad Q., an official who lives in Lebanon. The sources warned against the dangers of this phenomenon, particularly since the same method was used with the birth of Fatah al-Islam whose fighters were moved from Bourj al-Barajneh to the northern refugee camp of Beddawi and from there to nearby Nahr al-Bared where they established their headquarters. Beirut, 03 Jul 08, 11:09

Suleiman, Saniora, Jumblat, Mustaqbal to Take Part in Prisoner Welcoming Ceremony
Druze leader Walid Jumblat said he will take part in the welcoming ceremony for Lebanese prisoner Samir Qantar and other detainees to be freed soon as part of a swap deal between Hizbullah and Israel. "This issue goes beyond any security or political considerations," Jumblat said in an interview published by the daily As Safir on Thursday. "It is a humble gesture to show appreciation to all those who were involved in the struggle against the Israeli enemy," Jumblat said.
Jumblat also pointed to the positive signs in a speech on Wednesday by Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah in which he extended a conciliatory hand to the rival pro-government camp to which the Druze leader belongs. Jumblat described Nasrallah's speech as "encouraging," and welcomed his openness to dialogue.
"We are open to all factions with the aim of overcoming tensions of the previous era," Nasrallah told a news conference held by videolink. "We insist on overcoming the past, healing wounds and opening gates," he added. Jumblat said that "nothing prevents a dialogue being held without preconditions by any faction." News reports on Thursday said that, in addition to Jumblat, President Michel Suleiman, Prime Minister-designate Fouad Saniora and al-Mustaqbal Movement will participate in the welcoming ceremony for the Lebanese prisoners.
As Safir quoted sources as saying that Saniora will take part in greeting the prisoners, vowing to "make this day a national holiday." Meanwhile, Suleiman expressed his desire of greeting the freed prisoners and extended his congratulations to Nasrallah and the resistance on their achievements. Mustaqbal Movement, for its part, confirmed it will take part in what it called a "national wedding ceremony," adding in a statement that the group led by MP Saad Hariri will "openly and flexibly deal" with Nasrallah's speech. Beirut, 03 Jul 08, 09:10

Suleiman Thanks Qatar for Helicopter
Naharnet/President Michel Suleiman has thanked Qatar for donating him a helicopter as part of Doha's assistance to Lebanon. News reports on Thursday said Suleiman telephoned Qatari Emir Sheik Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani to express gratitude for the donation. The two leaders also discussed the latest developments on the formation of the new government. Beirut, 03 Jul 08, 10:14

Palestinian kills three in Jerusalem bulldozer rampage
JERUSALEM (AFP) - A Palestinian killed three Israelis and wounded 45 others as he rammed a bulldozer into buses and cars in Jerusalem on Wednesday before being shot dead by Israeli police who branded it a terror attack. National police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld described the rampage in the heart of the Holy City as a "terrorist" act by a 30-year-old man from occupied east Jerusalem who worked for an Israeli company at a nearby construction site.
Chaos erupted as the heavy vehicle barrelled along the busy Jaffa Road, smashing into two crowded buses, using its shovel to overturn one of them and ramming other vehicles, reducing one car to a mangled wreck. Police officers clambered onto the bulldozer and shot the man dead. The attack was the first in Jerusalem since a Palestinian gunman killed eight Jewish students at a seminary in March. Four people were killed, including the driver of the earthmover, and 45 others wounded, three of them seriously, said Yeroham Mendola, a spokesman for the Magen David Adom emergency services. He said two women were among the dead, Bat-Sheva Unterman, 33, and Elisabeth Goren Friedman, 55, while the third Israeli killed was a man, whose name was not given.
On Wednesday night, 23 people were still being treated in hospital. Police Commissioner Dudi Cohen told reporters the attack appeared to be a "spontaneous incident" carried out by a father of two with a criminal past but no known links to armed groups. He said police were examining whether the man had "received instructions" from others. Police identified the attacker as Hussam Tarysir Dwayat, and questioned family and neighbours in the Arab community of Sur Baher where he lived. A little-known group calling itself the Imad Mughnieh unit of the Brigades of the Liberators of the Galilee claimed responsibility in a phone call to AFP. The credibility of the claim could not be immediately established. The Palestinian movement Hamas which rules the besieged Gaza Strip called the attack "the natural result of continuing Israeli aggression and crimes against our people in the West Bank and occupied Jerusalem."
But the Islamist group had no immediate information on who was behind the attack, spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri told AFP. Bus driver Assaf Nadav, who was lightly wounded in the attack, said the bulldozer initially bumped his vehicle. "I opened my window to tell the driver to be careful. He looked me in the eyes, lifted the bus and overturned it," Nadav told public radio from his hospital bed. Security guards and police opened fire as the tractor moved several hundred metres (yards) down the street past crowds of screaming pedestrians. "There were two policemen on the truck and I climbed onto the truck and saw the attacker leaning forward on the steering wheel and driving into another car," said Eli Misrahi, a member of an elite police unit. "Then I fired two rounds and killed him."
Several dazed people with bloody wounds milled around as sobbing commuters called loved ones on their mobile phones.
US President George W. Bush called Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to "express condolences for the terrorist attack," spokeswoman Dana Perino said in Washington. UN chief Ban Ki-moon's press office said Ban "condemns today's attack in Jerusalem... He sends his condolences to the families of those killed and wishes those injured a speedy recovery."The attack was a " horrific act ," said Britain's Foreign Secretary David Miliband. Peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians resumed in November after a seven-year hiatus but have made little progress amid violence in and around Gaza and continued Jewish settlement building on occupied Palestinian land. At least 524 people have been killed since the negotiations resumed, mostly militants in the besieged Gaza Strip, according to an AFP count.

Qabbani describes prisoner swap as national victory
Daily Star staff
Thursday, July 03, 2008
BEIRUT: The prisoner swap with Hizbullah which the Israeli Cabinet agreed to on Sunday is a victory for Lebanon and the resistance, Grand Mufti Sheikh Mohammad Rashid Qabbani said Monday. "Liberating the Lebanese prisoners held in Israeli jails is a national victory ... after Israel's defeat to achieve its goals during the destructive 2006 war," Qabbani said.
Qabbani added that he hoped the Shebaa Farms would soon be liberated and that the Lebanese people could once again be united.
Separately, senior Shiite cleric Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah discussed current events with former Minister Wadih al-Khazen. After the meeting Khazen said that the resistance is aimed at liberating Lebanese territories under Israeli control.
He said internal disputes would only serve Israel, adding that the issue of the resistance's weapons had nothing to do with the formation of a cabinet. Khazen added that the delay in the formation of a unity cabinet was not due to internal problems but "were really the result of foreign interference."
"Politicians should understand the depth of the social and economic crises [in order to find a solution to local problems]," Fadlallah said.
He added that the "chaotic political situation" and the fiery rhetoric of rival politicians had taken over Lebanon's image as a diversified country and a historic civilization. But he said Lebanon still had a role to play in the region and in the world.
In other developments, Higher Shiite Council Vice president Sheikh Abdel-Amir Qabalan said politicians should stop focusing on the portfolios and rush into the cabinet's formation as "it would help solve problems Lebanese citizens are suffering from, such as rising prices and unemployment."
He added that the economic crisis was having negative consequences on Lebanese society, noting that some regions were witnessing increases in crime such as car thefts.
Qabalan also called on the politicians to protect the Lebanese Army's unifying role and to act wisely in light of new clashes occurring in North Lebanon.
Qabalan saluted the resistance's efforts and congratulated the group on the prisoner swap. - The Daily Star

Aoun: 'It's high time for Christians to overcome their frustrations'
Opposition gathering aims to forge common outlook among sect's parties
By Mirella Hodeib -Daily Star staff
Thursday, July 03, 2008
BEIRUT: Reclaiming the Christians' pivotal role in Lebanese politics and developing a common Christian outlook on internal and regional issues are the main objectives Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) leader MP Michel Aoun has fixed for the upcoming period. "It is high time for Christians to overcome their frustrations and wipe away the general feeling of pessimism," Aoun told reporters during a press briefing on Tuesday ahead of a large-scale meeting scheduled for Friday.
Around 150 political, economic and intellectual Christian figures are expected to take part in the National Christian Gathering (NCG), called for by the Christian members of the opposition, including the FPM and the Marada Movement.
NCG's inaugural meeting is scheduled for Friday at 6 p.m. at Le Royale Hotel in Dbayyeh.
Sources close to the NCG said the meeting is expected to tackle "topics and issues that are a source of concern to Christians, such as the naturalization of Palestinians and the electoral law, as well as political and administrative reforms."
Christian groups in the pro-government coalition such as the Lebanese Forces (LF) and the Phalange Party did not receive invitations to the event, according to LF MP Antoine Zahra, who described the gathering as "a joke not likely to bring anything new."
Aoun told reporters on Tuesday that his opponents describe him as "crazy, twisted whenever I take up challenges," citing his visit to the US Congress in 2003 to promote the Syria Accountability and Lebanese Sovereignty Restoration Act, which called for ending Syria's presence in Lebanon, as well as his triumph in the 2005 parliamentary elections.
Aoun explained that the NCG was a "political and intellectual gathering aimed at bolstering inter-Christian ties."
"The gathering seeks to revive the concepts of modernity and reform which have been historically espoused by Christians," he added.
"Once Lebanese Christians overcome their fears and become self-confident enough they will regain their crucial role in Lebanese politics," Aoun said.
The former Lebanese Armed Forces commander said Christians should "adapt themselves to regional political changes."
"Christians nowadays no longer have a mother or a father," he said, adding that Christians should "start coming up with ways to assert their role and position within Lebanese and regional politics," alone and without anyone's help.
"With the degree of liberty they own, Christians in Lebanon and Syria are responsible for preserving and promoting Christian presence in the region," he added.
Aoun also warned against "the great dangers" of naturalizing Palestinians in Lebanon, while calling on the United States "to take a clear-cut stand concerning the issue.
"Naturalizing the 600,000 Palestinians in Lebanon would jeopardize the diverse structure of the Lebanese society and promote the Sunni sect at the expense of others," he added.
Asked about his relationship with Hizbullah, Aoun dismissed claims about his subsidiary position.
"Who led talks during the Doha meetings [to solve the 18-month old deadlock]? And who is currently leading negotiations concerning the formation of a new government?" Aoun asked.
Political analysts were not enthusiastic about the possible outcomes of such a meeting.
"It is true that such a meeting is likely to launch a new dynamic among Christians, as well as consolidate their position and agenda inside the Lebanese structure," head of the Universite Saint Joseph's political science department Fadia Kiwan told The Daily Star.
But "the meeting can be seen as a form of confrontation and a way to isolate or embarrass the president," she added.
Kiwan said Christians in Lebanon are currently faced with a dead end, "with the Christians of the March 14 Forces failing to present a coherent position and Aoun's aspirations to become a president." According to Kiwan, the deadlock on the Christian scene could be broken, "through an initiative by Sleiman."
"He is actually urged to launch some kind of dialogue among Christians," she added. Likewise, the director of the Carnegie Middle East Center, Paul Salem, did not see "the urgency behind such a meeting." "Right now there are no particular emergencies on the Christian scene but rather national issues involving all the Lebanese that ought to be discussed," Salem said. "There is no crisis on the Christian scene and no one is attacking Christians," he said. Salem added he was never in favor of sectarian gatherings, which he described as a "pattern in Lebanese politics that mushrooms ahead of elections.""One of the strengths of the FPM was its ability to stay away from the sectarian game," Salem said, adding that FPM recently moved away from these past principles, "which is a major problem."

Siniora offers Aoun public works dossier in new package
By Hussein Abdallah -Daily Star staff
Thursday, July 03, 2008
BEIRUT: Prime Minister Fouad Siniora reportedly offered the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) a new proposal on Wednesday on the distribution of portfolios in the new unity cabinet. The proposal was handed over to a senior official of the FPM, Gibran Bassil, during a meeting at the Grand Serail, according to reports in the local media, which described the meeting as "positive."Sources close to Siniora told The Daily Star Wednesday that Siniora and Bassil had discussed fresh ideas, adding that the premier was waiting for an official response. However, FPM MP Nabil Nicholas said the next move was premier's.
"We want the new government to be formed as soon as possible, but this issue is not in our hands," he said.
"Serious ideas were discussed in the meeting ... the ball is in Siniora's court," he added. FPM lawmaker Ibrahim Kanaan also told The Daily Star that the discussions between Siniora and Bassil could yield positive results if met with commitment on the part of the premier. News reports on Wednesday said the package handed to Bassil offered the FPM the energy, public works, economy and agriculture portfolios in addition to the post of deputy premier.
FPM leader and MP Michel Aoun had reportedly rejected an earlier offer by Siniora because it did not include the Public Works Ministry.
The FPM leader has insisted on getting that particular portfolio, saying on Monday that he wanted to pave the battered roads in Jbeil.
Aoun said he was not interested in getting the Telecommunications Ministry, which was included in an earlier offer.
"We want asphalt ... let them have the money," he said. Meanwhile, President Michel Sleiman contacted Qatari Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani and discussed with him the latest developments with respect to the formation of the new cabinet.
Qatar was the main Arab broker of May's Doha agreement, which ended an 18-month political crisis in Lebanon and paved the way toward Suleiman's election as president. Suleiman also met on Wednesday with a Hizbullah delegation headed by Hussein Khalil, a political aide of the party's leader, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah. The meeting addressed the ongoing consultations to form the new cabinet. Khalil said after the meeting that the Hizbullah delegation also informed the president of the latest developments regarding the expected prisoner swap between Hizbullah and Israel.
Khalil said the delegation agreed with Sleiman on two points; speeding up but not rushing the formation of the new cabinet, and urging the relevant parties to contact each other directly instead of using mediators. "Direct contacts will yield better results when it comes to forming the new cabinet," Khalil added.
Meanwhile, Amal Movement MP Ali Hassan Khalil said the opposition was interested in forming a new government as soon as possible.
"I want to tell all who are accusing us of blocking the formation of a new cabinet that the opposition is interested more than any other party in seeing the birth of a new cabinet," he said. The opposition will get veto power in the new cabinet. Late on Tuesday, parliamentary majority leader MP Saad Hariri said that he was willing to initiate contacts with the opposition, including Aoun, in order to facilitate the creation of the new cabinet.
Hariri made the remarks after a three-hour visit to the Presidential Palace, where he discussed with Sleiman possible solutions to the impasse.
The meeting between Hariri and Sleiman was reported to have given a big push to efforts aimed at facilitating the formation of a new government.
Hariri said after the meeting that the formation of a new cabinet was necessary to ensure a normal beginning for the term of the new president.
"The establishment of the government has been delayed, and the Lebanese are tired of waiting," he said.
Hariri added that he believed that the lack of communication between the parliamentary majority and opposition camps was the main reason for the delay in the formation of a new cabinet. He also rejected reports of rifts within the parliamentary majority regarding the distribution of portfolios in the new unity cabinet.
Bassil said on Wednesday that Hariri's remarks after meeting Sleiman had been positive, and called on Hariri to turn his words into action.

Maronite bishops blast pace of cabinet creation
Maroun Khoury
Daily Star correspondent
BEIRUT: The Council of Maronite Bishops on Wednesday decried the slow pace of efforts to form a new cabinet in Lebanon and called for placing the nation's interests above other agendas. The bishops, in a statement following their monthly meeting headed by Patriarch Nasrallah Butros Sfeir, cautioned that most of the country's citizens are living on the verge of poverty, which has forced many of them to emigrate. The statement criticized rhetoric exchanged between politicians, saying their standard had "declined" and claiming that citizens have been used to politicians who address one another with respect and accuracy that allows room for understanding. National interests "should be topics for discussion, away from claiming imaginary heroism," the statement said. The statement added that politicians should exert "maximum efforts" to confront challenges encountered by the Lebanese people. The bishops called on politicians to tackle the challenge of soaring prices of staple goods that are overwhelming the people.Despite the ongoing situation in the country, the bishops expressed hope that tourists would continue heading to Lebanon for their summer vacations

Syrians, Israelis continue third round of talks in Istanbul
By Agence France Presse (AFP) -Thursday, July 03, 2008
ANKARA: Israeli and Syrian negotiators pressed ahead with a third round of indirect talks under Turkish mediation on Wednesday, Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan said. The negotiations started in Istanbul Tuesday and would be wrapped up Thursday, Babacan told reporters at a joint press conference with visiting Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov. "We believe this process will move forward as long as both sides maintain determination for a settlement," Babacan said, adding that the talks were "still at a very early stage." "A successful outcome will have a positive effect on the Middle East," he said.
Under the format agreed between the parties, the Israeli and Syrian officials do not see each other, and Turkish diplomats are shuttling between them.
The talks started in May, ending an eight-year freeze. Syria says it has received Israeli commitments for a full pullout from the occupied Golan Heights, though Israeli officials have been tight-lipped on the issue. Israeli Premier Ehud Olmert said Israel was willing to make "major concessions" in what was seen as a reference to the Golan Heights, which were seized in the 1967 war. A large group of Israeli lawmakers, meanwhile, are pushing a bill to block an eventual return of the Golan Heights to Syria. The proposal passed its first reading in Parliament Monday. Face-to-face negotiations between Israeli and Syrian officials will become possible if the two sides achieve satisfactory progress in the indirect talks, Babacan said. - AFP

Nasrallah dedicates prisoner swap with Israel to 'all Lebanese'
Hizbullah leader also pledges willingness to discuss arsenal
Daily Star staff
Thursday, July 03, 2008
BEIRUT: Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah confirmed on Wednesday that his group had agreed to a UN-mediated deal to exchange prisoners with Israel, adding that the swap was expected to take place within the next two weeks. "I officially announce that we accept the agreement," he told a news conference held by video-link from a secure location. During the course of the news conference, Nasrallah also made his clearest indication yet that his party is willing to discuss the issue of its weapons within the context of a national defense strategy.
"We are always ready to discuss the defense strategy. We are not afraid of discussion," Nasrallah said. "Anyone afraid of discussion is weak and has done something wrong. We have a comprehensive defense strategy and we are ready to discuss it at all times."
Nasrallah added that the 2006 Memorandum of Understanding between the Free Patriotic Movement and Hizbullah had formally "concretized" Lebanon's defense strategy for the first time. Discussing the expected prisoner exchange with Israel, Nasrallah said he would not "set an exact date" for the swap.
"The sooner it takes place the better," he added.
"I expect that in a week or two it will be implemented ... July 15 is the most probable, a bit before or a bit after," he said, adding that "If I specify a date, the Israelis will only change it."
Under the deal, which was approved by the Israeli cabinet on Sunday, Israel will release five Lebanese prisoners, including Samir Qontar, and hand over the remains of Hizbullah members in exchange for two captured Israeli soldiers and the bodies of Israeli troops slain in Lebanon during the 2006 war.
The two Israeli soldiers, Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev, were captured by Hizbullah in a deadly cross-border raid on July 12, 2006. Israel responded to the border incident by launching a devastating 34-day war on Lebanon.
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert told the Israeli cabinet on Sunday that the two Israeli solders were dead, but Nasrallah refused to give any additional information about their fate, calling the Israeli reports on the matter "speculation ... not based on anything tangible."
"Israel has no clue as to whether the soldiers are alive," Nasrallah added.
Hizbullah has always said that it seized the two soldiers to use them to negotiate a prisoner exchange.
"We have completed the whole mission," Nasrallah said, in reference to the group's aim of securing the release of all Lebanese held by Israel.
Nasrallah also said the resistance would hand over in a day or two a thorough report on the fate of Israeli airman Ron Arad, who has been missing since he ejected from his plane during a raid in South Lebanon in 1986.
Hizbullah had reached "absolute conclusions" about what happened to him after four years of investigation, Nasrallah said, without elaborating.
The report will be handed over to a United Nations-appointed German mediator who will arrive in Lebanon within two days, Nasrallah said.
Nasrallah described in detail the "hard and long negotiations" over the prisoner exchange, stressing that the talks were conducted through the German mediator appointed by the UN secretary general and that therefore "the mediation is international, not German as the media has reported."
Nasrallah said that as part of the negotiations, Hizbullah sought information on the fate of four Iranian diplomats who were abducted by Christian militiamen during Israel's 1982 invasion. He added that the German mediator would soon receive a report from Israel on their fate. The Iranian Embassy in Beirut said in a statement released on Wednesday that Tehran believes that the four are alive and being held in Israeli prisons.
Nasrallah emphasized that the prisoner exchange was a "victory" that could be claimed by all Lebanese.
"I congratulate all Lebanese on this achievement and I hope that all the Lebanese consider it their achievement," Nasrallah said, adding that "We will deal with it just as we dealt with the 2000 victory and we will not use this new achievement for internal ends."
The Hizbullah leader also said he hoped the Lebanese "appreciate" that if the deal is carried out, "Lebanon will be the first Arab country in the Arab-Israeli struggle to close the detainee file."
He also said he hoped that the return of the bodies would inspire a sense of solidarity among Lebanese. "Our national and ethical responsibility is to maintain what these martyrs sacrificed and died for, and their funerals should be a national, unified event, a chance for the Lebanese to meet again," Nasrallah said.
"I personally announce Hizbullah's absolute openness to any political meeting under any title and in any context if it helps in uniting Lebanon, preserving civil peace and overcoming the previous phase in Lebanon," he said, in reference to armed clashes between opposition and pro-government gunmen in May in which at least 65 people were killed
"I urge all popular powers to distance themselves from any provocation so that we can make good and civilized use of the sacred blood in bridging the gaps between the Lebanese," the Hizbullah leader said.
Turning to the issue of celebratory gunfire, Nasrallah said that "this is a very dangerous matter" since "people are falling victim to this kind of gunfire."
"We can no longer tolerate this. Anyone who fires a gun to celebrate is firing that gun at me, at my head, at my heart and my turban," Nasrallah said.
Asked about the issue of the Israeli-occupied Shebaa Farms and Kfar Shuba Hills, Nasrallah said his party welcomed efforts to liberate the Israeli-occupied territories through negotiations.
He added, however, that Israel's withdrawal from all Lebanese territory "would not be a complete liberation" if the land were placed under UN control, and not under Lebanese sovereignty.
Turning to the region, Nasrallah said he does not think that Israel will attack Iran's nuclear facilities, calling the Jewish state "too weak to carry out such a major step."
"Israel is not capable of attacking Iran if the United States does not approve of the move," he added. - The Daily Star, with agencies
British terror stigma 'is an honor'
BEIRUT: Hizbullah secretary general Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said Wednesday that Britain's decision to blacklist the Lebanese resistance group's military wing as a terrorist ogranization was an "honor" but questioned the timing of the move.
"Each time there is such a decision by the colonialists, we consider it a medal, an honor which attests that we are on the right path for our people," Nasrallah said in a press conference. "But the timing is suspect because it coincides with a prisoner swap," he said, referring to an agreement that will involve Israel releasing five Lebanese and the remains of Hizbullah members in exchange for two Israeli soldiers captured in a cross-border raid two years ago - or their bodies.
Britain moved to ban the entire military wing of the resistance movement, adding it to its blacklist of terrorist groups, making it a criminal offense to belong to, raise funds or encourage support for the group's military wing. The Interior Ministry said it took the action because Hizbullah's military branch was supporting Palestinian and Iraqi militants. London has already banned Hizbullah's "external security organization," which it considers the group's "terrorist wing."
Nasrallah said the timing of the latest British ban was aimed at damaging "the human and civilized image that the exchange of prisoners gives to the resistance." The move was also "not a surprise ... since it comes from a founding state of the Zionist entity," he said, referring to the British-mandated Palestine where Israel was established in 1948. - AFP

Nasrallah's new challenge is to regain the trust of more than a few Lebanese
By The Daily Star
Thursday, July 03, 2008
Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said all the right things in nationally televised remarks on Wednesday about Hizbullah's impending prisoner swap with Israel. Adopting a nationalist stand that even some of his harshest critics have taken in recent days, he insisted that the expected return of detainees from Israeli jails was a victory for all of Lebanon and not just for the resistance. Yesterday's news conference also included a pledge that Hizbullah would not use the successful negotiation of the exchange as a domestic political tool - and a statement of willingness to discuss any and all issues of national import, including his group's considerable arsenal, at the dialogue table.
Yet, as is the case with any political declaration, the moment of truth will come when Nasrallah's conciliatory stance is tested in negotiations with rival Lebanese parties. Every Lebanese knows that Hizbullah has military capacities that set it apart, and as Nasrallah himself acknowledged, the bloody events of early May have left wounds that require careful nursing. Depending on how Nasrallah handles the dialogue he says he is willing to have, that delicate process can be made easier or more difficult. Remorse is what many Lebanese want to hear, and even if that is not forthcoming, some other way must be found to assuage fears and allay suspicions that had been mounting even before the clashes.
Only Nasrallah can provide such a service, and only he can fail at it. Challenges have never intimidated him or his party, but this one figures to be both more difficult and, if he succeeds, more rewarding that any that preceded it. Keen observers of the Lebanese political condition will note that memories can be either very short or very long in this country, so the hardest part will not be to prove how valuable Hizbullah has been in the past but rather to demonstrate how reliable it will be in the future. Spanning only about a quarter-century, the group's history is nonetheless replete with astounding military, socioeconomic and political achievements. As the Lebanese look to the next 25 years, however, many of them remain deeply concerned about their vulnerability to regional power-plays and the internal repercussions thereof. Nasrallah's task now, therefore, is to convince a sufficient number of his compatriots that his party will not run roughshod over others, that its definition of dialogue means something more than the imposition of terms - and that he is more than a "militia" leader.
Developing a better mode of political discourse cannot be accomplished by one side alone, however, so some members of the March 14 Forces will have to start taking different tacks, too. Radical reorientations, especially in the realm of foreign policy, should not be on their agenda unless and until they have obtained the acquiescence of Hizbullah and other opposition groupings. Only by refraining from abusing its majority in Parliament to ram through controversial measures, for instance, can March 14 meet its own obligations to help restore trust.
Lebanon has had more than enough of its political leaders' treating one another as enemies. Like few other societies, though, this one has a unique capacity to recover from the bitterest of infighting. So long as Nasrallah is serious about reaching out and his counterparts respond in kind, therefore, there is reason to hope that yet another bullet can be dodged.

France is a captive to its ties with Syria
By Michael Young
Daily Star staff-Thursday, July 03, 2008
From an article in Al-Hayat last Monday, citing a European diplomatic source, we learn that France asked Syria to intervene in the recent fighting in the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli to calm the tension between the Alawite Arab Democratic Party of Ali Eid and Sunni groups in Bab el-Tebbaneh. Syria denied it had anything to do with the fighting, then asked Eid to remove dozens of his men from Jabal Mohsen, the Alawite stronghold. President Bashar Assad must have been delighted to do such an effortless favor for French President Nicolas Sarkozy in the run-up to their one-on-one meeting in Paris on March 12.
If this is the level of assistance the French government is now begging from Damascus, then it might be time for France to fold Resolution 1559 up into an origami swan and let it float away forever. The United Nations resolution, which France co-sponsored with the United States, was designed to end Syrian influence in Lebanon. While one has to be realistic about these things - Syrian influence won't just evaporate - to bring Syria into the resolution of a neighborhood fight, one two decades old, is going overboard in handing Assad chips he didn't ask for.
The French approach to Lebanon has been characterized by remarkable incompetence in the past eight months, and by the absence of any discernible strategy. After trashing Resolution 1559 last November by pleading with Syria to permit a Lebanese presidential election (one the Elysee Palace had thought to follow up with a triumphal Christmas visit to Beirut by Sarkozy), the French stepped back when Assad rebuffed them. Humiliation was swiftly swallowed, however, after the Doha agreement, when the Syrians received the visit of Sarkozy adviser Claude Gueant, their reward for briefly failing to obstruct the Lebanese Constitution.
What does France hope to gain by inundating Syria with carrots? Officially, French spokesmen say that their aim is to break Syria off from Iran and encourage negotiations between Syria and Israel. The latter point reveals more than is immediately obvious. Sarkozy smells a possible peace deal and doesn't want France to be on the sidelines when or if it comes about. Fair enough. However, Assad accords little importance to France. His priority is to use the legitimacy that Sarkozy has bestowed on him and talks with Israel as a bridge toward the United States. The French have little leverage over Syria to change this, because they have already given Syria everything it wants at this stage: an end to the Assad regime's isolation, despite its involvement in former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri's assassination and despite its crackdown on Syrian dissidents; a reinvigorated role in Lebanon; the offer of a signed association agreement with the European Union in the not-too-distant future; and a willingness to manipulate the Hariri tribunal in exchange for unspecified concessions from Syria.
Last week, an unidentified French source gave several Arab journalists in Paris an outline of how the French government viewed the possibilities ahead with respect to Syria. The source was not identified as an official, but as "well informed." That's not saying much, but the fact that several Arab journalists were said to be present suggested the source had a good read on the French government's mood, while offering it deniability. Some obervers have privately suggested the source is a Foreign Ministry official.
The London-based Al-Sharq al-Awsat published a rundown of what was exchanged, little of it reassuring for Lebanon. The source observed that a resolution of the Shebaa Farms dispute would not be easy, though France and other Security Council members were trying to work out scenarios to satisfy both Israel and Syria. The Israeli government was divided over a withdrawal from the farms, while France expected Syria to oppose a Lebanese Army deployment in the area after a pullout because this would mean it was Lebanese territory, which Syria has refused to recognize. For the source, resolving the Shebaa issue was important to ensure that Hizbullah remained on the sidelines in any Israeli-Iranian war.
The source also said there were "some signs" that Syria was willing to distance itself from Iran. No evidence was provided, just a reading of what the French took to be Syrian calculations. The source made a point worth considering, however, namely that Syria did not want to pay the price for an Israeli-Iranian war, which explained its willingness to talk to Israel today. On the basis of that assessment, the source argued that the Israelis felt a Syrian-Israeli agreement was easier than a Palestinian-Israeli one, especially that arriving at an agreement with Damascus meant "granting Syria responsibility for the security of [Israel's] north, given that what concerns Israel is not the Golan but the security of its northern [border]."
The French source concluded that the most important Syrian concern was what happened to the Hariri tribunal, before adding that there was a "French conviction" that "if there is a radical change in Syria policy and Damascus becomes more acceptable and one can work with it, then the tribunal file can be buried in more ways than one."
If the source is authoritative, it is a sign of how far French thinking has come since the days of President Jacques Chirac. While the source did not suggest that France endorsed the Israeli view that Syria should be granted responsibility for protecting Israel's north - which would effectively mean bringing Syria's military back into Lebanon - the logic of a settlement makes much more likely such an outcome, without France being able to do much about it. In other words, if France is trying to push Syrian-Israeli negotiations forward and knows that Israel welcomes a revival of Syria's security role in Lebanon, a role that Syria will gladly take on because it would mean a return of its hegemony over Lebanon, then refusing to concede Syria such a role might block a Syrian-Israeli breakthrough.
Then there is the tribunal. Last October the French reportedly indicated to the Syrians that everything was on the table if Damascus allowed the election of a Lebanese president, including the future of the tribunal. According to senior politicians in the March 14 coalition, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, in conversations with them, made statements implying that his government might be thinking of a quid pro quo to protect the immediate Assad family from indictment.
Even if this is untrue, it is apparent that progress in the Hariri tribunal is alarmingly slow. There is, plainly, more at play here than the sluggish pace of setting up such institutions. The absence of any international pressure to accelerate the formation of the tribunal, particularly from a majority of Security Council states, has actually slowed down the process. Despite Sarkozy's statements in Beirut supporting the tribunal, the momentum of France's growing engagement of Syria means that Paris now sees the tribunal as little more than an instrument to be bargained over in arriving at an understanding with Syria. It's a fine strategy that Sarkozy is pursuing, if the upshot is to end Lebanon's frail independence.
**Michael Young is opinion editor of THE DAILY STAR.

Prisoners Exchange & Time out
Walid Choucair
Al-Hayat - 02/07/08//
Within days, Lebanon will be welcoming its captives who have been lying in Israeli prisons for years as a result of Israeli stubbornness and arrogance and the logic of using excessive force and repression. This event will offer time out for the Lebanese (and interested Arabs) from the sickly conflicts that wreak havoc on their lives, security, communities and political stability, especially since these conflicts have transformed into obnoxious and bloody conflicts of confessional and sectarian natures that have dragged them years backwards. The event relatively straightens things up in their minds as it reminds them that their main suffering is triggered by Israeli arrogance and occupations inflicted on their country, not to mention the numerous struggles whose devastating outcomes, illnesses, and noise now surpass the pain inflicted by Israeli aggressiveness. Ultimately, Israel has benefited from all this since anything that weakens the Lebanese and Arabs is to its benefit.
The event, however, has other implications. It permits Hezbollah to regain its patriotic image as a result of its success in negotiating to retrieve the captives and in forcing Israel to accept the concept of exchanging prisoners rather than using the logic of blind force which it has exercised for decades with all Arabs, especially with the Palestinians, and of course the Lebanese, particularly during its July 2006 War. The image of Hezbollah as a resistance that offered sacrifices, competently confronted the enemy, and liberated the land in 2006 had prevailed in the Arab and Lebanese minds until it started to falter as a result of Hezbollah's involvement in the political trap of the domestic Lebanese crisis, the last of which was the trap of invading Beirut with its allies last May 7.
The event, which the Lebanese prepare to celebrate, was warmly embraced by Hezbollah's opponents such as the leader of the Future Movement, Deputy Saad Hariri, the head of the Democratic Coalition Walid Jumblat, former President Amin Gemayel, and the leader of the Lebanese Forces Dr. Samir Geagea, not to mention the statement issued by Prime Minister Fouad Siniora. Such a gesture is far from being meaningless. The event offers an opportunity for a "time out" in the game of hostility between those and Hezbollah and it was grabbed by those opponents, despite the criticism directed by a few among them over Hezbollah's keeping the state out of the negotiations over the prisoners. After all, retrieving the prisoners is an example of Hezbollah's successes in the confrontation with Israel, confrontations that the party has been able to invest positively in the Lebanese interior, both gradually and patiently since 1982. This has enabled Hezbollah to achieve significant support and enthusiasm on the Lebanese, Arab, and Islamic for the resistance as an approach, culture, and practice despite the few failures in dealing with domestic politics.
However, since its success in the July 2006 War, Hezbollah has been gradually exploiting its achievements in domestic politics, first leading the domestic division and finally giving up completely on the domestic consensus that it had praised for years along with consensual democracy at the levels of setting domestic or foreign policy or defining Lebanon's role. The party maintained its commitment to consensus by holding on to whatever was agreed upon with regards to the resistance in the ministerial statement of Siniora's government, then justified its actions such as the resignation of the Shiite ministers and the opposition's sit-in by its attempt to reinforce consensual democracy until it finally resorted to the use of arms in the interior last May. With this, it declared its separation with consensus and agreement without any consideration for the outcomes of this crisis on the confrontation with Israel or the extent to which Israel would exploit the domestic divide to overcome its failures in the July War.
The fear is that on the eve of its success in retrieving the prisoners, Hezbollah may overlook the state of quasi-consensus it is regaining and which restores some of its losses on the Arab and Islamic levels as a result of the sectarian nature of the events that have been accumulating since 2006 up to the recent incidents in Beirut and the mountain last May. This fear is justified by many factors, starting with the arrogance expressed by a few Hezbollah leaders, the refusal to acknowledge the negative consequences of the May events, blaming several states and sides of instigating sectarianism, and last but not least, the despise expressed by Hezbollah's media at the manner in which Hezbollah's opponents have praised its success in completing the exchange deal. It is as if even a time out from the internal strife is unacceptable to a few despite its devastating and bloody nature that pleases no one other than Israel.
Calling upon Hezbollah to grasp this time out as an opportunity to rebuild the broken ties in a rational and gradual manner is much more than a mere emotional outcry. On the other hand, if a few in Hezbollah have doubts about the credibility of the attitudes of its opponents toward its success, turning a cold shoulder to such a gesture may eventually reveal a policy of eliminating the others.
The atmosphere propagated by the Doha Accord creates common grounds that permit the extension of this time out, starting reviving the scene of a united Lebanon at the reception of the returning prisoners at the Beirut airport in 2004, a reception in which the prime ministry played a leading role, and ending with the efforts to implement the remaining provisions of UN Security Council Resolution 1701 which also enjoyed consensus

Radicalization of Muslim Youth: A Self-Fulfilling Prophecy?
http://www.familysecuritymatters.org/publications/id.518/pub_detail.asp
The Editors -Family Security Matters
As part of his tour under the auspices of the European Foundation for Democracy, Professor Walid Phares gave a lecture at the European Policy Center (EPC) under the title of "Radicalization of Muslim Youth: se self fulfilling prophecy." The event was chaired by Mrs. Shada Islam and attended by diplomats from many nations including Afghanistan, Singapore, Indonesia, US, Canada, Romania, Austria, Malaysia, Japan, UK, Poland, the European Commission, the Council of Europe andmembers of the European Parliament.
In partnership with the King Baudouin Foundation, the EPC describes itself as an independent Think Tank at the cutting edge of European Union affairs. The lecture series is under the EU integration and Citizenship program.
According to a report by the EPC on Dr. Phares' lecture, the radicalization of Muslim youth impacts both the EU's internal and external activities, including its national economies and security. Therefore, policies are needed to confront the growth of Jihadism, which is a recruiting ground for young Muslims. "The inability of understanding the roots of this growth in militant and ideological activities is a main reason for the need to debate it and propose better responses to the challenges," Phares said.
It is important, he added, that "Europeans identifies the phenomenon of Jihadism, understand why their perception of it was compromised for so long, and move forward to design new more efficient policies to contain it." Phares expanded as follows:
1) Identification:
a. While Jihadists may have local demands in the various European countries, they still have one ideological display, mostly Salafi Jihadism. When one examines the ideological roots of almost all cases of violence, a unified doctrinal background is clearly detected. Next to Salafism, Khomeinism can also be found.
b. A battle of Identification has been taking place for years between a school of analysis claiming that at the roots of Jihadism are European Foreign Policies, economic disparities and socio-psychological tensions; and another opposing school raising the issue of theological issues behind violence. But in reality, and despite the impact of all the above components, it is an "ideology" which has been found systematically at the strategic roots of the strikes and Terror activities.
c. This ideology has a history beginning in the 1920s with the Wahsbis and the Muslim Brotherhoodsand as of 1979 with the Khomeinists; it has developed global strategies; and as we can see clearer now, it waged three wars of ideas to confuse its foes, democracies."
Phares said that in order to prevent future incidents of Jihadist terrorism (like those in Spain in 2004 and the UK in 2005), a national security policy is needed. In addition, the EU must to take long-term measures to address the civil and urban tensions which fan this violence. Finally, the Union's Common Foreign and Security Policy needs to include measures to prevent it spreading outside Europe's borders.
What is Jihad?
Why have Western governments been unable to deal with the Jihadist threat? Phares said it is because they have not fully understood how it is growing both in Europe and in Muslim countries. Therefore, to prevent Jihadism, the first step is to define it.
Jihadism is the movement for those who follow Jihad, and is a particularly radical interpretation of Islam, but the Jihadism as a religious movement has been "transformed" into an ideology. It responds both to local demands - for example, it is used as a recruiting ground by appealing to people's discontent over the handling of issues such as immigration, or internal security, and Jihad also has a broader world "vision."
Jihadism has two branches: Salafism, based on Wahhibist thought, and developed by the Muslim Brotherhood during the early part of the 20th century, now espoused by second- and third-generation Salafists; and Khomeinism, based on the strand of Shiism developed by Iranian religious leader Ayatollah Khomeini.
Dr. Phares disagreed with those who argue that Jihadism is essentially a school of thought which has developed as a reaction to Western foreign policy in the Middle East, pointing out that it began in the 1920s, long before the Arab-Israeli conflict.
He also disagreed with those who claim that the Jihadist movement is born out of frustration over economic disparities, pointing out that its supporters come from all levels of society - while some are poor, many are engineers or doctors and it is funded by members of rich upper-class Muslim benefactors.
The failure to see the rise of the Jihadist movement
The Salafist movement was founded in the 1920s and became more visible from 1945 onwards, during the period of de-colonization. At this time, the Jihadists were able to inject their ideology into anti-colonialist thinking through educating young men in the network of madrassas founded throughout the Muslim world, thanks to support from oil-rich Arab nations. Yet the world failed to detect the rise of the Salafist movement.
After 1990 Jihadism achieved greater prominence. Jihadists saw the Soviet collapse during this period as a "defining moment," as they were able to expel Soviet troops from Afghanistan just before the completely unrelated collapse of the USSR. They therefore believed their actions brought down one of the strongest countries on earth. They took this as a sign, despite the huge imbalance of forces, that they had won through Allah's intervention. So, they argued, what can the West do in the face of such a movement?
In addition to Salafism and Khomeinism, there are two other distinctions within Jihadism: the realists and the radicals. The realists do not believe in engaging with the major powers such as the EU or the U.S., and so take their fight elsewhere - to Chechnya or the Philippines. They also believe in biding their time until they are strong enough to win.
The radicals, on the other hand, believe in taking immediate action - Osama bin Laden's attack on the Twin Towers is a prime example. They argue that this will provoke engagement with the West and Allah will intervene to grant them success. The realists within al Qaeda have recently criticized bin Laden for carrying out the 9/11 attacks when he could not win the larger battle.
Dealing with Jihadists
There are several measures which would help prevent the spread of Jihadism, according to Dr. Phares.
The first, as discussed above, is to define the ideology so one knows who one is dealing with.
The second is to work with the moderates in the Arab and Muslim world to define Jihadist ideology. Phares was scathing in his tone about what he described as "the battle of the lexicon," in which Western policy-makers draw up a list of words to be avoided in order not to fan Muslim-Western tensions.
Thirdly, one should explain to the public exactly what Jihadism is trying to achieve and the disasters that will result if its proponents are not stopped.
Finally, one should encourage an open debate about both the theology and the politics of Jihadism. The "tipping point" will be reached when one can engage with the democratic forces in the Arab and Muslim world. In Europe, the debate should include all Arab and Muslim communities, giving a space for all political and religious forces - not just the Salafists or the Khomeinists - to speak.
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