LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN

LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
July 30/08

Bible Reading of the day.
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 10,38-42. As they continued their journey he entered a village where a woman whose name was Martha welcomed him. She had a sister named Mary (who) sat beside the Lord at his feet listening to him speak. Martha, burdened with much serving, came to him and said, "Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me by myself to do the serving? Tell her to help me." The Lord said to her in reply, "Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things. There is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her."

Free Opinions, Releases, letters & Special Reports
The Cost of the Israel-Hezbollah Swap-The Epoch Times 29/07/08
Can Syria Be Taken Seriously?-By: Claude Salhani 29/07/08
Israel: Good signs from Syria-Ha'aretz 29/07/08
Syrian envoy in US urges end to 'state of war' with Israel -AFP 29/07/08
Al-Qaeda urges Muslims to slay Saudi king after interfaith talks.Compiled By Daily Star Staff 29/07/08
Cabinet ministers are wasting their time - and that of Lebanese citizens. The Daily Star 29/07/08
Upholding the rule of law with the Hariri court. By: By Muhamad Mugraby 29/07/08
The US can help tackle Syrian corruption-By Andrew J. Tabler 29/07/08

Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources for July 29/08
Fatah commander killed in Lebanon blast-Africasia
Makdah Denies an Official in Fatah was Killed in Ain el-Hilwe
Tueni: Why Keep Weapons if They Don't Want to Use them?Naharnet
Policy Statement Requires 'Further Consultations'-Naharnet
Chamoun: Minority Wants to Get Rid of Saniora-Naharnet
Hezbollah lashes out at US ambassador to Lebanon-Xinhua
Israel-Syria peace talks to resume Tuesday-Xinhua
Trial of Qubba Group, Including Abssi, Begins -Naharnet
Army Consolidates Tripoli Ceasefire-Naharnet
Olmert: Hizbullah Fearing 'Disproportionate' Israeli Response-Naharnet
Report: Hizbullah to Draw Up New Political Document, Arab Relations Department Created-Naharnet
Scholarships from USAID to LAU-Naharnet
No Agreement Yet on Policy Statement-Naharnet
Mottaki to Bolster Iran's Relations with Lebanon-Naharnet
Homeless Flood Tripoli Schools-Naharnet
Geagea: March 14 to Bolster Alliance-Naharnet
MP Kairouz for Policy Statement based on Doha Accord -Naharnet
Could peace break out for Israel and Syria?International Herald Tribune
Officials Dismayed by Sison's Remarks-Naharnet
Aoun Backs Nasrallah: A Leader to Be Followed-Naharnet
Scholarships for USAID to LAU -Naharnet
No Agreement Yet on Policy Statement -Naharnet
Mottaki to Bolster Iran's Relations with Lebanon-Naharnet
Homeless Flood Tripoli Schools-Naharnet
Geagea: March 14 to Bolster Alliance-Naharnet
Ministers put final touches on Cabinet statement-Daily Star
Hizbullah lashes out at US envoy to Beirut, calling her 'Israel's ambassador'-Daily Star
Tense calm holds in Tripoli as army continues to maintain order-Daily Star
Fadlallah rejects notion of strife between Sunnis, Shiites in Lebanon-Daily Star
PSP dismisses reports of Jumblatt parting ways with March 14 Forces-Daily Star
France-Syria dialogue 'will help resolve prisoner issue'-Daily Star
Gemayel calls on Lebanese to unite against Israel-Daily Star
Parliament committee OKs draft to lower voting age-Daily Star
Analysts say ministers 'started in wrong way'-Daily Star
USAID hands LAU over $1.6 million in scholarship aid-Daily Star
Lebanese police seize heroin smuggled in car parts-Daily Star
Civil Defense campaign preps Southerners on safety measures in event of earthquake-Daily Star
UNIFIL troops engage in cultural exchange by taking part in festival in Tyre-Daily Star
Marine managers see 'great' business this summer-Daily Star

Policy Statement Requires 'Further Consultations'
Naharnet/A Ministerial committee trying to draft a policy statement for the new cabinet on Tuesday discussed "new versions" apparently related to the controversial issue of Hizbullah's weapons and its resistance, but said it needs more time for consultations. Information Minister Tareq Mitri told reporters after the three-hour meeting at the Grand Serail "We haven't accomplished our mission and we need some time more for further consultations."However, Mitri added, "we are progressing on the proper path and we would meet against at 5pm tomorrow." The committee held its 11th session amidst reported efforts by President Michel Suleiman to reconcile contradicting viewpoints regarding Hizbullah weapons and its resistance. Suleiman on Monday held separate talks at the Baabda Palace with three of the committee's nine members, Nassib Lahoud, Gebran Bassil and Mohammed Fneish in addition to MP Ali Hassan Khalil, political aide to Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri. Mustaqbal Movement leader Saad Hariri, in an effort to facilitate a settlement to controversial topics, met committee members Lahoud, Mohammed Shatah and Wael Abou Faour. Suleiman's visitors said differences persist among the committee members over a clause related to the resistance and its role. The Hizbullah-led minority insists on adopting a clause included in the previous policy statement of 2005 added to it commitment to a cease-fire called by UNSCR 1701.
The majority, however, insists on adopting a clause on the resistance included in President Suleiman's oath address. The pan-Arab daily al-Hayat said Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa and the Prime Minister of Qatar Sheik Hamad bin Jassem bin Jabr al-Thani held a series of separate contacts with the various factions in an effort to work out a compromise text that would reconcile the colliding views on the thorny issues of Hizbullah weapons, its resistance and the role of the state in defending the nation. Ministerial sources told al-Hayat Hizbullah rejected a proposal to link any reference to its resistance to UNSCR 1701 with all its clauses as well as the 1949 armistice agreement with Israel and the seven points adopted during national dialogue in the summer of 2006.
Hizbullah, the sources said, wants clear reference to its resistance "right" in proceeding with liberating Israeli-occupied Lebanese territories and rejects any reference to UNSCR except for the clause linked to a cease-fire. The daily an-Nahar said the ministerial committee's 11th session on Tuesday would tackle five main topics: The political preface to the policy statement; Hizbullah weapons and its resistance; Weapons of Palestinian factions and the issue of naturalization; Paris-3; and privatization of the communications sector. Cabinet Minister Joe Taqla, a member of the committee who is close to Suleiman, said he expects the policy statement to be drafted by Wednesday. Beirut, 29 Jul 08, 14:49

MP Kairouz for Policy Statement based on Doha Accord
Naharnet/MP Elie Kairouz of the Lebanese Forces bloc said the new cabinet's policy statement should be based on the Doha Accord and President Michel Suleiman's oath address. "The policy statement should state the need to work out a defense strategy for the state away from any pressure that weapons can exert of the political process," Kairouz said. "The state cannot give up its sovereign duty of defending the land and the people of Lebanon," he stressed. He told partisans in the Bshari province that national unity in March 8 political parlance is a "mere framework for an interim era prior to controlling state powers."The 2009 parliamentary elections, according to Kairouz, would be an "historic referendum on destiny options for Lebanon." "Serious preparations should start as of today so that Lebanon would win." Beirut, 29 Jul 08, 14:13

Officials Dismayed by Sison's Remarks
Naharnet/Ranking officials were dismayed by remarks that U.S. Charge d'Affaires to Lebanon Michele Sison made during a hearing by a Senate committee targeting Lebanese officials and Hizbullah. The daily An Nahar said Sison's remarks contradict "diplomatic norms". Sison had criticized Lebanese officials who welcomed Samir Qantar at Beirut airport after his release from Israel in line with a swap deal with Hizbullah. Reliable sources told An Nahar no decision has been taken regarding how to respond to Sison's remarks. The sources expected Foreign Minister Fawzi Salloukh to make a "strongly-worded protest" to Sison for criticizing a Lebanese faction that is presented in parliament and government. Sison is on leave at present and she will present a copy of her credentials to Salloukh upon her return to Beirut. Beirut, 29 Jul 08, 13:43

Trial of Qubba Group, Including Abssi, Begins
Naharnet/The military tribunal began on Monday the trial of 33 accused terrorists, including Shaker al-Abssi, the head of Fatah al-Islam, which fought bloody gunbattles with the Lebanese army at the Nahr al-Bared Palestinian refugee camp last year, the newspaper Al-Mustaqbal reported. Four of the 33 accused persons are fugitives, including al-Abssi. The daily said that the tribunal postponed the session until September 16 in order to notify al-Abssi and the other fugitives, and in order to entrust the Bar Association in Beirut with appointing attorneys to defend a number of the accused. The tribunal was presided over by Brig. Gen. Nizar Khalil, and met in the presence of a representative of the office of the public prosecutor, Judge Ahmed Owaidat, Al-Mustaqbal reported. The "terrorists" are accused of forming an armed gang to engage in terrorist acts, and of instigating fighting, looting, sabotage, and manufacturing and acquiring explosive materials. A number of them are accused of forging identity cards and passports and of helping persons to hide from the judicial authorities. The case dates back to around four months before the outbreak of fighting at Nahr al-Bared between al-Abssi's gang and the Lebanese army, when terrorist acts began to take place in the al-Qubba area of the northern city of Tripoli. The accused were then given the name of the "Al-Qubba Group." Beirut, 29 Jul 08, 12:18

Chamoun: Minority Wants to Get Rid of Saniora
Naharnet/National Liberal Party leader Dory Chamoun accused the Hizbullah-led minority of intentionally delaying the drafting of a policy statement for the new cabinet in an apparent effort to "get rid of Premier Fouad Saniora." The controversial issue of Hizbullah weapons, according to Chamoun, "can be settled by reaching an agreement banning the use of weapons domestically and agreeing on a six-month freeze of operations in Shebaa Farms to give the government a chance to liberate the territory by political and diplomatic methods." Hizbullah's agenda to set up an Islamic Republic in Lebanon "hasn't been halted," Chamoun said in an interview. Chamoun denied rumors about him breaking up with the March 14 majority alliance, emphasizing on the need for the coalition to compete in the 2009 parliamentary elections with "unified ranks." "The other side is not capable of achieving political gains without the use of weapons. They did not achieve any political gains because March 14 was united," he added. Chamoun said Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun "dreams of harvesting 75% of Parliament seats in the forthcoming elections to amend the constitution and remove President Michel Suleiman from the Baabda Palace." "He is a selfish man. The Christian gathering that he heads has no value," Chamoun said of Aoun. Beirut, 29 Jul 08, 12:06

Army Consolidates Tripoli Ceasefire
Naharnet/Lebanese Army troops clashed with gunmen in north Lebanon's pro-Hizbullah district of Baal Mohsen overnight in an apparent effort to consolidate a ceasefire in the city of Tripoli. Reports said a hand grenade was hurled at Syria Street in Bab al-Tabbaneh district accompanied by automatic rifle fire targeting army positions in Shaarani street. Army units responded to the sources of fire and a commando unit moved into Baal Mohsen in an apparent effort to chase and apprehend troublemakers, according to local reporters. Outcome of the army move could not be determined, but the provocative attempt failed to rekindle clashes with gunmen in Bab al-Tabbaneh. "The army intervened and contained the provocation," said Sheikh Bilal Baroudi, Imam of Tripoli's Salam Mosque.
Beirut, 29 Jul 08, 10:22

Olmert: Hizbullah Fearing 'Disproportionate' Israeli Response
Naharnet/Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has said that Hizbullah was refraining from attacking the Jewish State because it feared a "disproportionate" Israeli response. During the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee meeting on Monday, Olmert also said that Hizbullah would likely not avenge what he called the "disappearance" of the Shiite group's top commander, Imad Mughniyeh, because Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah had "lost confidence" in his ability to weigh an Israeli response. "They fear a disproportionate Israeli response," Olmert said. Mughniyeh was killed last February in a car bomb in Damascus. Hizbullah has blamed the Jewish state for the Killing. Olmert also told the committee that Hizbullah was rearming. "We are keeping a close watch," he said.
Beirut, 29 Jul 08, 09:18

Report: Hizbullah to Draw Up New Political Document, Arab Relations Department Created
Naharnet/Hizbullah has decided to draw up a new political document in which it will define its viewpoint and its positions with regard to different local, regional, and international issues, the newspaper As-Safir reported on Tuesday. A special leadership committee has been formed, under the chairmanship of the head of the party's Political Council, Ibrahim Amin al-Sayyed, to draw up a draft of this document. It will then be ratified by the leaderships concerned. The party has also decided to create a new department of Arab relations, the daily reported. This would be in addition to its existing department of international relations. The mission of this new department will be "to monitor the party's relations in the Arab homeland with the different forces, parties, popular groups, and elites, as well as with the governments with which Hizbullah has relations or with which it is going to establish relations," the daily said.
Responsibility for the new department of Arab relations is going to be entrusted to Sheikh Hassan Izzedine, a member of the political council, As-Safir said.
These developments come in the context of structural modifications that Hizbullah has decided to implement in light of developments that have occurred since the July-August 2006 War. Beirut, 29 Jul 08, 09:04

Aoun Backs Nasrallah: A Leader to Be Followed
Naharnet/Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun on Monday defended Hizbullah, its weapons and leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah calling for bestowing parliamentary immunity on him although he is not a lawmaker. Aoun, talking to reporters after the weekly meeting by members of his change and reform bloc, said Hizbullah "is not terrorist, no one has the right to label Hizbullah terrorist.""Hizbullah weapons are resistance weapons and we would not give up our points of strength," he added. "We shouldn't sit relaxed regarding the issue of naturalization," he said in reference to an alleged plot to naturalize Palestinian refugees in Lebanon. However, Aoun said the issue of "Hizbullah weapons should be tackled within the framework of the defense strategy." He urged Speaker Nabih Berri to call for a parliamentary session to ratify the Parliamentary constituencies as agreed during talks in Doha. He described Nasrallah as the first Arab leader to have defeated Israel and "they should provide him with parliamentary immunity."He said Nasrallah is the only personality who should be followed.
Aoun declared support for the "case of those missing in Syrian jails and those who went missing at home."He said about 600-700 Lebanese citizens are believed missing. "Some of them did not reach Syria." Beirut, 28 Jul 08, 17:58

Homeless Flood Tripoli Schools
Naharnet/Hundreds of people were still homeless after the latest bout of deadly sectarian fighting in the northern Lebanese port city of Tripoli.
"The army has barred residents from returning to some areas because there are unexploded grenades from the fighting and the troops are defusing them one by one," a security official said. Army reinforcements were sent to Tripoli on Saturday after militants from the rival Sunni Muslim and Alawite communities agreed to halt clashes that erupted early Friday, killing nine people and wounding dozens more. Fighters battled with rocket-propelled grenades and automatic weapons causing massive damage to property and sending hundreds of people fleeing for cover from the neighboring districts of Bab al-Tebbaneh and Jabal Mohsen.
On Sunday, the army shot and wounded a suspect during a shootout in Bab el-Tebbaneh, the security official said, adding that the gunman had been wanted for opening fire on troops on Saturday and was now in their custody.
But he said the situation had been calm up throughout the day until then. A source from the Future Movement of Sunni leader Saad Hariri said almost 2,200 families fled their homes in mainly Sunni district of Bab al-Tebbaneh and the mostly Alawite area of Jabal Mohsen. Tripoli municipality chief Mohammed Rashid Jamali said 500 people were holed up in eight schools across the city waiting to return home. "We expect half of those displaced by the fighting to return to their homes in the next few days but for those whose homes have been destroyed or badly damaged it will take much longer," Jamali said.
One of those who lost "everything" is Zoheir Moslemani. "I worked hard for nine years in Nigeria to set up my house and now it has gone up in smoke," the father of four told AFP as he viewed the mangled debris of his home in the Bakkar district. Fatima al-Kawwas and her four children also fled after her apartment was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade, vowing not to return "until I am sure 100 percent that fighting will not resume." The security official stressed that calm had been restored in Tripoli, where recurring sectarian clashes have now killed a total of 23 people and wounded more than 100 since June."No gunfire or firing of rockets has been recorded since 5 pm (1400 GMT) on Saturday," he said. Bab al-Tebbaneh is a stronghold of the anti-Syrian parliamentary majority while the inhabitants of Jabal Mohsen mainly support the Hizbullah-led minority.(AFP-Naharnet) Beirut, 28 Jul 08, 20:20

Upholding the rule of law with the Hariri court
By Muhamad Mugraby
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
First person by MUHAMAD MUGRABY
Editor's note: The following is the second half of an article on the Lebanese legal system and the drive to try suspects in the murder of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. The article was first published by the Center for Democracy and the Rule of Law in Beirut and is republished with permission. The first part of the article appeared in Monday's issue of The Daily Star.
The Rise and Assassination of Rafik Hariri
Rafik Hariri was a tycoon who made his fortune in Saudi Arabia where he also lived most of his adult life. His main business vehicle was Saudi Oger, which he acquired from French owners. He had arrived in Saudi Arabia from his native Lebanon in the early 1970s penniless and with little education. His meteoric rise in wealth and power within a span of less than a decade is baffling and is reminiscent of the rise of the British media magnate Robert Maxwell. Rumors placed him as one of the principal front-men of Saudi royalty. Early in his career he came to Lebanon wearing Saudi headgear and bearing the title of the "Saudi mediator."
In 1983 he brought heavy equipment from Saudi Arabia and commenced the demolition of partially damaged, but mostly repairable, buildings in Beirut, or "the City," with the consent and support of President Amin Gemayel. In the early 1990s many of the buildings that could not be levelled by Oger bulldozers were demolished by Hariri-controlled crews using explosives. Officially, the demolition of the City was blamed on wartime militiamen, but many Lebanese believe that all this was part of the preparation for the takeover of the City by Solidere.
In 1989 Hariri played a central, though discreet, role in finalizing the Taif Accords. Enemies of Hariri and supporters of General Michel Aoun claim that Saudi money was poured generously into the pockets of the Lebanese MPs present at Taif to facilitate the results. On October 13, 1990, Lebanon fell under total Syrian hegemony. Hariri promptly returned to Lebanon and waited patiently as two successive cabinets expired before he was installed, under Syrian sponsorship, as prime minister in 1992. Great hopes were pinned on his ability to lead the country into an era of peace and prosperity.
Despite having absolutely no political experience from his time in Saudi Arabia, Hariri became the Syrian choice, partly due to his Saudi credentials and wealth. Furthermore, Hariri had succeeded in weaving bonds of close friendships and association with powerful Syrian figures such as Vice President Abdel Halim Khaddam, Army Chief of Staff Hikmat Shehabi and Syria's resident viceroy in Lebanon, General Ghazi Kenaan. Finally, he had become a supporter and confident of Jacques Chirac, who was soon to serve as president of France (1995-2007).
Khaddam, Shehabi and Kenaan enjoyed the confidence of President Hafez Assad and, between them, exercised control over Lebanon. They gave Hariri such firm support that he eclipsed the Syrian-chosen president whose office had already been stripped of most of its constitutional powers under the Taif-mandated constitutional amendments. Hariri, Chirac, Khaddam, Shehabi and Kenaan acted as senior partners in a consortium of sorts combining powerful political and economic interests.
Hariri's consortium appears to have survived him. The Lebanese government under Hariri ran huge budget deficits, borrowed heavily, and issued Lebanese treasury bonds to support borrowings, repayment and accumulated interest. As a result, the nation's public debt is currently estimated to have exceeded $50 billion with no plan in sight to amortize the debt.
When General Emile Lahoud was elected president in 1998, under the usual Syrian sponsorship, he wanted Syrian General Kenaan transferred away from Lebanon, but his wish was not granted by Syrian President Assad. In June 2000 Assad passed away and in the following month his son Bashar was installed in his place. In the early days of his presidency, Bashar Assad was influenced on Lebanese affairs by the more experienced Hariri associates Khaddam and Kenaan. Khaddam, helped by Kenaan, was instrumental in choosing Lebanese cabinet members and members of parliament.
Kenaan is widely credited with authoring Lebanon's general elections law of January 6, 2000, which was designed to further the political fortunes of Hariri and his close allies. Hariri won the elections of October 2000, and on October 26, 2000, was, on Bashar Assad's orders, appointed prime minister. Part of the price of Hariri's appointment was Bashar's eventual accession to Lahoud's request to transfer Kenaan out of Lebanon. Assad eventually transferred Kenaan to another assignment in Syria.
Kenaan did not leave until a lavish ceremony, hosted by Hariri, was held at the prime minister's office at the Grand Serail on October 9, 2003. The president of the Beirut municipality, a Hariri loyalist, gave a farewell speech and presented the outgoing Syrian general with the key to Beirut, which was followed by an acceptance and thank-you speech by Kenaan and, finally, by a speech by Hariri who lavished praise on Kenaan for his "accomplishments" in Lebanon.
President Bashar Assad had resolved, as one of the early goals of his presidency, to retire the old guard who had served his father. First General Shehabi was retired as the army's chief of staff, and he soon travelled to the United States via Beirut to settle there. Then Khaddam lost his powers bit by bit until his eventual retirement became inevitable. Kenaan had become the minister of interior of Syria, a position which yielded no military power.
Suddenly Hariri realized that he was losing valued Syrian pillars of his consortium, and with them his assured Syrian support. Nevertheless, Hariri supported the constitutional amendment to extend Lahoud's term. He attended parliament on September 4, 2004, and voted for the amendment. Upon the beginning of Lahoud's extended term, Hariri submitted his resignation in accordance with the constitution.
Several months after the assassination of Hariri, General Ghazi Kenaan reportedly committed suicide in his office at the Interior Ministry, Damascus. Soon thereafter Abdel Halim Khaddam was stripped of his office as vice president, defected to France and is currently being prosecuted in Syria for high treason. It is not impossible that some form of a conspiracy, never disclosed to the public, involved Khaddam, Kenaan and others with the aim of overthrowing President Assad, as suggested by author Nicholas Blanford in his book, Killing Mr. Lebanon. According to this version, Kenaan, when confronted with the evidence, chose to commit suicide rather than face disgrace. It is highly doubtful that Hariri had any personal knowledge or involvement in the conspiracy.
Political assassinations are not new to Lebanon. The first prime minister in the independence era, Riad al-Solh, was assassinated in 1951. The list of those assassinated before Hariri is long. Prominent journalists, members of parliament and Muslim religious leaders were assassinated as well, before, during and after the war on Lebanon. Starting from 1957 the list includes editors of daily or weekly papers: Nasib Metni, Riad Taha, Kamel Mroueh and Salim Lozi. Assassinated members of parliament include Mohammad Abboud, Naim Mghabghab, Marouf Saad, Kamal Jumblatt, and Nazem al-Qadri. Former MP, minister and militia leader Elie Hobeika and party leader and former militia leader Dany Shamoun were assassinated, the latter with his wife and two small children. MP Toni Franjieh was assassinated with his wife and little girl as part of the Ehden massacre that took over 30 other lives.
Four Muslim Sunni religious leaders were assassinated, namely, Grand Mufti Sheikh Hassan Khalid, Sheikh Sobhi Saleh, Sheikh Ahmad Assaf and Sheikh Nizar Halabi. A Shiite religious leader, Imam Mousa Sadr, disappeared without trace with two companions, journalist Abbas Badred-dine and Sheikh Mohammad Yakoub, while they were in Libya as guests of the Libyan government, and are presumed to have been assassinated. Many prominent writers, including Kamal el Haj, Husain Mroueh and Hasan Hamdan, were gunned down. Political party leaders such as Khalil Naous, Isam Arab, Ramzi Irani, Adnan Sinno and Wisam Zenid-dine were assassinated. Many foreign diplomats were murdered, including an American ambassador and two of his companions (the kidnappers were arrested and brought to trial but were freed pursuant to one of the amnesties), French, Iraqis and Jordanians.
Four Iranian diplomats were kidnapped and presumably assassinated. Two embassies, the American and the Iraqi, were blown up with heavy casualties.
Malcolm Kerr, president of AUB, was assassinated. A prominent Iraqi exile, Sheikh Taleb Tamimi, was murdered and his accused killers, diplomats with the Iraqi Embassy, were allowed to leave the country due to their diplomatic immunity. One sitting president, Rene Muawad, and one president-elect, Bashir Gemayel, were assassinated. A sitting prime minister, Rashid Karameh, was assassinated in 1987.
An attempt was made on the life of another sitting prime minister, Salim Hoss, from which he escaped miraculously, but others died.
Most of those crimes either went unresolved or unpunished or were whitewashed by general amnesty.
This long list of crimes does not make the assassination of Hariri a lesser crime or less deserving of prosecution and punishment. But there is no logical or moral basis for fully investigating, and eventually prosecuting, the Hariri case to the exclusion of all the previous cases.
Nor is there at this point sufficient evidence to justify the instant and persistent stigmatization of Syria in the assassination and every subsequent and preceding political crime.
The Hariri Tribunal is openly viewed by Syria's Lebanese adversaries, formerly its allies, as the vehicle to indict and bring down the entire Syrian regime. This approach may also be favored by the United States and France, which aim at obtaining major regional political concessions from the Syrian leadership. If true, it turns the proposed court into a potent political and strategic instrument.
Ideally, an investigation into the possible role of foreign governments should not start out by excluding any country. Western as well as Middle Eastern governments have in the past carried out political assassinations. The Israeli government, for one, cannot be excluded, as it has a proven history of such state-ordered crimes, particularly in Lebanon, which many Israeli leaders unabashedly brag about. This is not meant as an indictment of Israel in the Hariri murder. The point being raised is that the zeal to incriminate Syria has unjustifiably and prematurely eliminated all other options before any evidence has been presented.
The Judge Selection Process and the "Free Gasoline" Episode
The proposal for the Hariri Tribunal calls for the appointment by the UN secretary general of its judges from among Lebanese and non-Lebanese candidates.
Regardless of the legality issues affecting the Hariri court proposal, the process of judge selection ought to be open, transparent and subject to contribution by qualified jurists led by judges of the International Court of Justice.
The sad experience of the Solidere commissions should not be repeated. An open process could enhance the credibility of the Hariri court, especially since its purported raison d'etre is the perceived inability of the domestic Lebanese justice system to cope with the Hariri assassination case. The authority to appoint judges should be vested exclusively in the Lebanese government in accordance with due Lebanese constitutional and legal process. Judges should be accountable from all aspects in accordance with Lebanese law.
The "free gasoline" episode, described below, makes it very questionable that such a procedure can be followed.
On July 12, 2007, an application was brought before a chamber of the Lebanese Court of Cassation headed by Judge Ralph Riashi, to transfer, for legitimate suspicion, the Hariri murder investigation case, currently seized by Lebanese justice authorities, from Justice Investigating Judge Elias Eid who had been entrusted with it since March 24, 2005, to another judge.
Judge Riashi had been a key Lebanese negotiator on behalf of the Lebanese Ministry of Justice and had conducted discussions with the office of the secretary general over the drafts for the proposed Hariri court instruments. Riashi's conduct of negotiations on behalf of the minister of justice was obviously in blatant violation of the constitutional rule of separation of powers and of the constitution that plainly gives the president of the republic exclusive power over the negotiation of international agreements.
On September 6, 2007, the Riashi court admitted the request and recused Eid on the basis of solid evidence that he had been regularly receiving from the Surete Generale, Lebanon's political police and intelligence service, 300 litres of premium gasoline per month for free, beginning from February 2003.
General Jamil Al-Sayed, until recently director general of Surete Generale, is under arrest in the investigation of the Hariri murder.
Even more troubling, Judge Eid was not alone in receiving Surete Generale favors. It turns out from documentary evidence on file in Riashi's court that many other prosecutors and judges are or were in the same boat as Eid. Prominent among them are Said Mirza, chief public prosecutor before the Court of Cassation and Adnan Addoum, his predecessor. Documentary evidence received by the Riashi court on July 27, 2007, from the minister of the interior in the said recusal proceedings also implicates the last three presidents of Higher Judiciary Council: Mounir Hunain, Nasri Lahoud and Tanios el Khouri, judicial inspector general and former first investigating judge for Mount Lebanon Fawzi Dagher, and the public prosecutor for Beirut Joseph Maamari.
The Surete Generale is not exactly the KGB but has, by law, many of its functions. Why it would it deliver free premium gasoline to prosecutors and judges, and what it expected from them in return remains an open question. What is clear is that the key Lebanese prosecutors and the investigating judge designated for the Hariri murder investigation, who all worked closely with the UNSC-appointed commission, benefited illicitly from the Surete Generale free gasoline scheme. It is less clear how many of the nominees to the Hariri court have benefited similarly.
All this leads to the inevitable conclusion that the integrity of the Hariri murder investigation, as well the future process of the Hariri court, could have been seriously compromised.
The Power to Create Special International Courts
The Hariri court is based on an exception to the basic principle of national sovereignty in the United Nations Charter (Article 2, paragraph 1) namely the application of enforcement measures stipulated under Chapter VII (Article 2, paragraph 7 UNC). Enforcement measures presuppose the existence of an international dispute, likely to threaten international peace and security, arising between states that have failed to settle their conflicts under Chapter VI on the Pacific settlement of disputes. Article 33 of this chapter reads:
1. The parties to any dispute, the continuance of which is likely to endanger the international peace and security, shall, first of all, seek a solution by negotiation, enquiry, mediation, conciliation, arbitration, judicial settlement, resort to regional agencies or arrangements, or other peaceful means of their choice.
As a general rule, Article 36, paragraph 3 of the UNC requires that legal disputes be referred by the parties to the International Court of Justice. In fact, Article 7 UNC makes the International Court of Justice one of the principal organs of the United Nations on a par with the General Assembly and the Security Council, and Article 1 of the court's statutes recognizes it as the principal judicial department of the organization. It is therefore inconceivable that the Security Council derives from the UNC any power to create other courts of law.
Despite the fact that the UN Security Council lacks any such authority in the charter, it did act to create two international penal courts basing itself on Chapter VII UNC which provides it with no such power, namely the International Court for the Prosecution of Persons Responsible for Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law Committed in the Territory of the Former Yugoslavia, of May 25, 1993, and the International Tribunal for Rwanda, of November 8, 1994. The crimes and violations covered by the mandate of these tribunals were committed in war situations where multinational military forces, in the case of the former Yugoslavia, and UN Forces, in the case of Rwanda, had operated. In addition, the UNSC approved the establishment of the Special Court for Sierra Leone, of August 14, 2000, in agreement with the government.
In stark contrast to the these three tribunals, the Extraordinary Chamber in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) was established in 2001 by legislation passed by the Cambodian National Assembly and welcomed by Resolution 57/228 of the UN General Assembly which was followed by an assistance agreement between the Cambodian government and the secretary general. ECCC has a majority of Cambodian judges and operates in Cambodia as a part of the Cambodian judicial system. The common denominator of all the above mentioned courts is their mandate to prosecute and try individuals for crimes against humanity such as genocide and violations of the Geneva Conventions and international humanitarian law.
The proposed special court for Lebanon is different. To begin with, it totally ignores all previous crimes against humanity or in violation of international humanitarian law. The proposal also ignores similar criminal acts committed by state parties in the context of regional military conflicts involving Lebanon, such as Israel, the United States and other state parties. Some may argue that such a court is politically unfeasible but no one can deny that it is morally imperative. In ignoring the regional dimensions of Lebanon's bloody past, the UNSC has departed from former practices in Yugoslavia, Rwanda, Sierra Leone and Cambodia.
Moreover, the legal basis for the court, UNSC Resolution 1757 of May 30, 2007, has an inherent contradiction when "reiterating its call for the strict respect" for the sovereignty and political independence of the Republic of Lebanon under "the sole and exclusive authority" of its government, but at the same time deciding that the provisions of the agreement said to have been entered into between the government of Lebanon and the secretary general "shall come into effect."Article 52 LC requires the prior approval of parliament for the ratification of such agreements.
Furthermore, the power to enter such agreements and to ratify the same, after the authority of parliament is obtained where required, is vested exclusively with the president. The prime minister, though entitled by the constitution to speak for the Council of Ministers and its policy domestically, is not authorized by the constitution to represent the state, the Republic of Lebanon, either domestically or internationally.
Decreeing into force a draft of an agreement that has not been duly executed or duly ratified by the Republic of Lebanon in accordance with its constitutional process is, unquestionably, outside the powers of the Security Council. By accepting to force the tribunal through, the Council has unwittingly engaged in the domestic game of one-time exceptions, on the assumption that justice cannot not be done within a strictly Lebanese judicial environment.
Conclusion
The Security Council should not function in violation of UNC or the constitutions and internal legal systems of UN members with the impunity that is so characteristic of Middle Eastern politics. It is undeniable that something is grossly wrong with the judiciary in Lebanon, as this article has documented.
It is the duty of the Lebanese government to introduce such comprehensive reforms to the judicial system as may be reasonably necessary, possibly with the support of the United Nations. It is even understandable to provisionally borrow foreign judges, like the old "Mixed Courts" of pre-independence Lebanon did, in a possible imitation of the example of Cambodia, a country with a legal tradition largely similar to Lebanon's.
However, it is morally wrong to single out one murder case for a quasi international tribunal that would cost more that the entire Lebanese court system combined. While the author fully supports universal jurisdiction, he strongly believes that such jurisdiction should supplement, and not replace, domestic jurisdiction.
What is urgently needed to support the credibility of the United Nations, and more particularly the credibility of the Security Council and the office of the secretary general, is to also show prompt serious interest in swiftly achieving three much needed reforms:
First, a sweeping overhaul of Lebanon's justice system, with the utilization of available resources equal or superior to those used or to be used in the independent commission's investigation and the Hariri court itself, with the aim of ending the environment of impunity, immunity, none-accountability and establishing the rule of law. Second, with strong UNSC support, establishing a potent international human rights court for the Middle East and North Africa with original jurisdiction over violations of human rights, humanitarian law, abuse of power, and denial of justice, which would have the power to hear original complaints, the power to hear appeals from decisions of domestic courts, and the power to order penalties, sanctions and reparations. Sovereign immunity should not be allowed to be pleaded as a defence in such a court.
Third, The UNSC should conduct itself strictly within the powers explicitly granted to it by the UN Charter and thereby set an example to the UN members of the fullest respect for the rule of law.
The Hariri court, with the proper and transparent selection of judges as herein proposed, can and should be set up in conformity with due Lebanese constitutional and legal process guided by the Cambodian example. Furthermore, the above mentioned vital reforms should concurrently, seriously and credibly be implemented, backed by adequate resources. All this could add to the rise of the rule of law, in Lebanon, the Middle East and North Africa and the world

Lebanon's CPI jumps by more than 6 percent in 2008
Inflation remains lower than levels in gulf
By Michael Bluhm
Daily Star staff
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
BEIRUT: Consumer prices in Lebanon rose more than 6 percent in the first half of 2008, mostly on the back of spiraling oil prices and the flagging dollar, but the inflation here - however painful for consumers - still lags markedly behind the rates in the Gulf, according to a number of figures released recently.
The Consumer Price Index leaped by 6.2 percent in the first six months, led by a 17.7-percent jump in transportation prices and a 14.6-percent rise in water, electricity and fuel costs, said statistics compiled by the Central Administration of Statistics and published in the latest edition of Byblos Bank's Lebanon This Week.
The cost of food and non-alcoholic beverages climbed by 7.5 percent, while the prices of clothes and footwear dropped by 6.3 percent, the report said.
"If you look at the figures for the first half, it looks like they're easily going to reach double digits for the year," said Nassib Ghobril, head of research at Byblos Bank. The World Bank pinpointed skyrocketing oil prices and the plunging dollar as the cause of 70 percent of the inflation in Lebanon last year, said a report also released in Lebanon This Week. With oil prices continuing to climb this year and the dollar getting only weaker, the two culprits also share the blame for much of the country's inflation this year, Ghobril added.
"Of course there is the rise in global oil prices, and Lebanon imports all of its energy needs," he said.
Other external factors contribute to surging inflation, such as higher transportation costs to import goods and the fact that Lebanon brings in about 37 percent of its imports from countries using the strengthening euro, making the products more expensive in Lebanon's dollar-pegged currency, Ghobril added.
"Inflation in Lebanon is mainly imported inflation, because we import the bulk of our consumption," said Saad Andary, deputy general manager of the Bank of Beirut and Arab Countries.
However, inflation here remains lower in comparison to the exploding levels in the Gulf, because - even though Gulf nations and Lebanon share the dollar currency peg - Lebanon's economic growth and domestic demand also fall far short of the numbers in the Gulf, which are driven by the oil-price windfall, Ghobril said.
"They have plenty of cash, plenty of revenues," Andary said. "They do not have the capacity to absorb all this liquidity.
"We don't have oil - give us oil, and we'll show you how we inflate prices."
The relatively modest nature of Lebanon's inflation was reflected in this year's ranking for Beirut in the annual cost-of-living survey performed by Mercer Human Resource Consulting, designed to set pay packages for expatriate employees of multinational firms and also published in Lebanon This Week.
Beirut plummeted 17 spots from last year to rank as the 80th most expensive out of 143 rated cities and seventh in the region, behind Tel Aviv, Dubai, Algiers, Abu Dhabi, Limassol and Tehran, the report said.
Even without oil reserves, if Lebanon's turbulent political scene ever calms, it could lead to some of the excess cash from the Gulf arriving here - and pushing up prices, Andary said. "We have not yet seen the money flowing in the way it should from the Gulf," he said.
"I'm expecting this [inflow], hopefully, if we have a stable government and elections next year. If there is political stability for a length of time, it is going to translate into inflationary pressures

Cabinet ministers are wasting their time - and that of Lebanese citizens
By The Daily Star
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Editorial
The ministerial committee that has been engaged in torturously drawn-out attempt to draft a policy platform for the new cabinet in Lebanon has virtually assured its own failure by going about things the wrong way. Several ministers have insisted on resolving all of the country's contentious issues - many of which have been at the center of national debate for several years - in just a few weeks with one neat little statement. By insisting on doing that now, instead of waiting for the national dialogue, the ministers are both putting the cart before the horse and over-estimating their own importance on the national political scene.
The current Cabinet will only be in office for a period of 10 months, and it is impossible to imagine that during this brief period of time it would be able to implement policies that would resolve problems that took decades to develop. Moreover, attempting to do so would distract the ministers from what ought to be their primary task: to oversee the upcoming parliamentary elections in 2009. Because those elections will be held under a new set of rules that differs vastly from those that governed the vote in 2005, the entire political landscape could be subject to dramatic change. Any decisions made by this group of ministers would therefore have the effective shelf life of 10 months, after which all agreements could be overturned by the next Cabinet when it writes its policy statement. On the other hand, a deal forged at the national dialogue table, rather than among Cabinet ministers, would have real staying power, since it would have gained the approval of the leaders of all of the nation's factions.
Cabinet ministers are wasting their time - and that of Lebanese citizens - by getting bogged down with these contentious debates. A blueprint for the Cabinet statement already exists in the form of two national agreements, the Taif Accord and the Doha agreement. Adopting these as a basic framework would allow ministers to move on to more urgent tasks that can no longer afford to be put on the back burner while they engage in futile discussions.
If the members of this Cabinet want to leave a permanent mark on the Lebanese political terrain - which some evidently do - they will not be able to do so by making giant clumsy leaps. Small steps, in the form of specific measures that can realistically be implemented during their terms in office, would have a far greater and lasting impact that could define their legacies - and perhaps even ensure their re-appointment in the next Cabinet. Ask any citizen whether it really makes a significant difference in their day-to-day lives if this country has a Syrian Embassy, for example, and most will tell you that it does not. Then ask them whether something as simple as approving a wage increase that has already been drafted might help them make ends meet in a country that has seen a 7.5 percent increase in the cost of food this year.
If the members of the current Cabinet want to leave a lasting legacy they can do so by turning their attention to the people they are now neglecting with their endless debates: Lebanese citizens.

The Cost of the Israel-Hezbollah Swap
Epoch Times Staff- Jul 28, 2008
The reactions to the recent Israel-Hezbollah swap in the Arab world varies from indifference to bragging and showing off, with terrorist organizations even celebrating with armed maneuver using live gunfire.
The swap seems to have invigorated the terrorist organizations in the area. Hamas sources have stressed their further demands to set free more terrorists who have committed terrorist acts in future swaps. They said that the release of Kuntar, a Palestinian who killed four people, including a 4-year-old girl, in a terrorist attack proves that Israel is willing to submit to their demands. The president of the Palestinian Authority hurried to send its greetings to Nasralla, head of Hezbollah. Ismail Hannya, the head of Hamas government in Gaza strip, described the swap as a victory for the resistance against Israel.
After the swap, Hezbollah celebrated in the streets of Beirut showing off its power. The Islamic Jihad organization even conducted a live ammunition maneuver in Gaza.
Professor Eyal Zisser of Tel Aviv University thinks that Hezbollah's benefit from this swap is only in terms of propaganda. "There was a tactical achievement that has not changed the things essentially or significantly," he said. "Hezbollah hasn't recovered from its defeat in 2006, and it is not interested in renewing the combats along the border."
In the Arab world the reaction to the swap varied. In Jordan, Egypt and Saudi Arabia the swap was not widely covered, and Hezbollah was not praised. Yet in the Palestinian authority, Syria, and on Al Jazeera television, the swap was accepted as a Hezbollah’s achievement opposite to the weakness of Israel.
The celebrations in Lebanon for the release of Kuntar and the other Palestinian prisoners have brought the Lebanese Prime Minister closer to Hezbollah. Surprisingly even Walid Junblat, the Druze leader who is known to be objector of Nasrallah, appears to be moving closer to Hezbollah.
Dr. Eli Karmon from the Interdiciplinary Center in Herzlia, Israel said that “the fact that the whole Lebanese leadership, including the opposition, Priminster Siniora and the Druze Leader came to the celebrations and turned Kuntar into a Lebanese hero, suggests that Hezbolla’s status had grown strong.” He said, “Hezbolla sees itself not only as the liberator of Lebanon, but as the leader of the combat to destroy Israel and liberate Jerusalem.”
Karmon stresses that the swap has strengthened Nasrallah personally in the Arab and the Palestinian world. Just recently Nasrallah sent a letter to the UN Secratery General in which he offers his help in finding missing Israelis in Lebanon. He stipulated his help in exchange for the release of hundreds of Palestinian and Lebanese prisoners. Dr. Karmon believes that the feeling of contentment might affect the negotiations about the release of Gilad Shalit, another Israeli soldier whose condition is unknown. The Israeli media, however, has expressed shock and disappointment regarding the cynical attitude of the Hezbolla in the swap. Hezbolla led the Israeli government and the two families believe to the last monent that the Israeli soldiers Regev and Goldwasser are alive.

Can Syria Be Taken Seriously?
By CLAUDE SALHANI
(Editor, Middle East Times) July 29, 2008
Syrian President Bashar Assad appears to be serious about pursuing peace. But just how serious is he? Assad seems to be taking his desire to talk peace with Israel to heart, an issue explained in greater detail by his ambassador in Washington. But more on that in a moment.
The Syrian president indicated during his visit to Paris earlier this month that he was willing to open a Syrian diplomatic legation in the Lebanese capital; a move that recognizes de facto Lebanon's sovereignty, a gesture that the Syrians have been reluctant to extend to their Lebanese neighbors ever since the country's independence from France at the close of World War II.
And there are indications that Damascus may be clamping down on Hamas and Hezbollah, two groups supported by Iran and accused by the West of engaging in terrorist activities.
The Turkish government is taking the Syrian initiative seriously and has been acting as the middleman relaying proposals and counterproposals between the Israelis and the Syrians.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy is taking the Syrian president seriously. He was the first to bring Assad out of the cold by inviting him to the Union for the Mediterranean summit in Paris and then asked him to remain as a guest of honor on the reviewing stand for the Bastille Day July 14 parade. It is believed that Syria's acquiescence to establish an embassy in Beirut – after decades of refusal — can be attributed to the success of French diplomacy.
The Israeli government is taking Syria's peace overtures seriously by following up on Syria's advances and repeated statements that Damascus is genuinely interested in forging a peace treaty with the Jewish state.
In a rare interview with Americans for Peace Now (APN), a pro-Israel American organization, Syria's ambassador to Washington Imad Mustapha said that his country is seeking comprehensive peace with Israel, "within a normalized context."
He said that signing a peace treaty with Syria could pave the way for Israel to reach peace with the entire Arab world.
"We in the state of Syria are telling the state of Israel that we desire to end the state of war between us, to conclude peace between two states, to recognize each other and to live as peaceful neighbors with each other, within a normalized context," Mustapha said, adding, "We think this is a very serious proposal (…) here is the grand thing on offer: let us sit together, let us make peace, let us end once and for all the state of war" between the two countries.
Speaking with APN spokesman Ori Nir, Mustapha described the current talks between Israel and Syria as "a historic opportunity of making peace with not only Syria and Lebanon, because we believe that in one way or another Syria plays the role of a gatekeeper between Israel and the Arab world."
Mustapha told APN that Syria's leaders "have been telling the Israelis for the past 15 years: 'We want to make peace. We believe in a fair and comprehensive peace with you.'" He continued, "The only way forward – there is no third alternative – is to sit with us and make a peace agreement."
However, there is one major element missing, and that is slowing down the peace drive between Syria and Israel, as well as the other changes proposed, or hinted at by the Syrians: the crucial missing element is the participation of the United States.
The George W. Bush administration remains the only side not taking Syria seriously regarding their desire for change. There is a remote possibility that the U.S. administration's policy vis-à-vis Damascus may be right and everyone else – the French, the Turks and the Israelis – has got it wrong.
Yet the stakes are so high, the opportunity for a lasting peace in the Middle East so close, that it is worth taking a gamble and asking the Syrians to demonstrate their promises of peaceful intentions with concrete action. What is there to lose? If Syria reneges on any of its promises, Washington can always send it back to the corner, cut off negotiations and resume the cold shoulder treatment.
On the other hand the Bush administration has everything to gain in its waning days in the White House if it manages to conclude a historic peaceful agreement between Syria and Israel. The domino effect of such an agreement can only reflect positively on the remaining two Arab neighbors bordering Israel and that are not at peace with the Jewish state: Lebanon and the Palestinians. In essence, if the U.S. administration managed to extricate a peace treaty between the Syrians and the Israelis by the time it vacates the White House, Bush may not have succeeded in seeing the establishment of a Palestinian state, as he said he would, but the cornerstone to the establishment of that state would have been set by him. This is a golden opportunity for the president, who is set to leave the White House in about 175 days, and who will leave behind two unfinished wars, to finish his presidency on a positive note. There is much to be gained and little to lose in such a venture. Making peace often requires more courage than waging war. An overture by Washington to Damascus will demonstrate just how serious the Syrians are.

Jerusalem officials: Syria taking talks with Israel seriously
By Shahar Ilan, Barak Ravid and Yoav Stern
Haaretz 28/07/08
Senior officials in Jerusalem confirmed Monday that Syria has carried out a number of measures in recent weeks that reflect that it is taking talks with Israel seriously. The sources refused to say whether they were referring to such measures as lowering the alert levels of the Syrian army or stemming the flow of arms to Hezbollah in Lebanon through its territory, but they did say that the effects of the measures were "tangible."
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said he was pleased with the measures and with the negotiations with Syria. He predicted that Israel's talks with Damascus will soon cause Syria to come into conflict with Hezbollah and Iran. Olmert said that when Syria reaches that crossroad it will have to decide which direction to pursue.
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"The Syrians will soon discover that you can fool some of the people some of the time, but you can't fool all of the people all of the time," Olmert said, paraphrasing U.S. president Abraham Lincoln.
Olmert said that he expects Hezbollah to try and avenge the death of top figure Imad Mughniyeh, who was killed in a bomb blast in February in Damascus that has been attributed to Israel.
Meanwhile, a Western source said Monday that Syria is interested in making as much progress as possible with Olmert so that his successor will be bound to whatever commitments he makes.
The sources in Jerusalem, meanwhile, said Syria is interested in having the U.S. or a European country mediate talks with Israel. France, which currently holds the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, is considered a strong candidate for the role. Paris has improved its ties with Syria over the past few months and brought it out of international isolation. Syrian President Bashar Assad and his French counterpart, Nicolas Sarkozy, discussed the matter at the Mediterranean summit earlier this month.
Olmert and Assad were in close proximity for much of the summit and at one point stood only meters away from one another. However, they never met or shook hands. Assad seemed determined not to make contact with Israel's prime minister.
"I knew Assad wouldn't want to be part of such a meeting," Olmert said. "We sent messages in advance that we did not intend to make contact during the summit. We thought such efforts would be artificial and unnecessary."
On the issue of finding a third party to mediate, sources say that Damascus may agree to direct negotiations. Talks are currently being held via indirect channels.
Meanwhile, Syria's Ambassador to the U.S., Imad Moustapha, Monday told the American branch of Peace Now that a peace deal with Israel, Syria and Lebanon was possible.
"Let's sit down, make peace and end this war status once and for all," Moustapha said. He later added that Israel had an opportunity to make peace with Lebanon at the same time.
Moustapha, a senior Syrian policymaker, is considered close to Assad. Also Monday, Haaretz learned that the U.S. State Department canceled a meeting with a visiting Syrian delegation in Washington last week because it was leaked to the press and because they believed the Syrians were behind the leak.