LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
June 15/08

Bible Reading of the day.
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 5,33-37. Again you have heard that it was said to your ancestors, 'Do not take a false oath, but make good to the Lord all that you vow.' But I say to you, do not swear at all; not by heaven, for it is God's throne; nor by the earth, for it is his footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. Do not swear by your head, for you cannot make a single hair white or black. Let your 'Yes' mean 'Yes,' and your 'No' mean 'No.' Anything more is from the evil one.

Free Opinions, Releases, letters & Special Reports-Naharnet
Gagged in Canada-By Rich Lowry.New York Post 14/06/08
Muslim Persecution of Christians.By: Robert Spencer 14/06/08
Lebanon and "Paying the Bills" of Peace between Israel and Others.By: Walid Choucair 14/06/08
Unified Europe and the Quarreling Arabs. By: Mohammad El Ashab 14/06/08
Partnership and the Lebanese Zarqawi. By: Zuheir Kseibati 14/06/08

Analysis: Hezbollah's armory up for debate-United Press International 14/06/08

Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources for June 14/08
Bush, Sarkozy to discuss Iran, Syria-Africasia
Bush Calls for Fighting Hizbullah 'Terrorists'-Naharnet

European MPs Pressing Towards Branding Hizbullah 'Terrorist' Group-Naharnet
Kouchner Uneasy About Assad's Visit-Naharnet
3 Ohio Men, Including Lebanese, Guilty of Plot Against U.S. Troops in Iraq-Naharnet
El Salvador to send 52 peacekeepers to Lebanon-Xinhua
Moderate quake rattles South Lebanon again, and expert predicts ...Daily Star
Future Movement marks anniversary of Eido slaying-Daily Star
Fadlallah tears strip off 'selfish' politicians-Daily Star
Sfeir visits Baabda, laments indifference of politicians-Daily Star
Siniora insists new cabinet 'inevitable' despite wrangling over portfolios-Daily Star
Assad ties new embassy to unity cabinet-Daily Star
'We are not afraid of threats. We adapt' - UNIFIL chief-Daily Star
Former finance minister predicts rush of inactivity from next cabinet-Daily Star
Israel Haunted by Hezbollah's Score Over Moghniyeh-Aljazeera.com
Bush Calls for fighting Hizbullah 'Terrorists'-Naharnet
March 14 for Demilitarized Beirut-Naharnet
Saniora: Suleiman Should Name Interior and Defense Ministers-Naharnet
Moussa in Beirut on a Wedding-Politics Mission-Naharnet
Akkar MPs Warn Against Biased Investigation into Halba Events-Naharnet
Zahra: Political Confrontation with Syria Persists-Naharnet
Sfeir after Meeting Suleiman Hoped for Fair Cabinet Distribution-Naharnet
Opposition Slams Cabinet Line-Up as a 'Trap'-Naharnet
Arab League chief 'regrets' Lebanon failure to form government-AFP
Lebanon fails to form gov ernment-Khaleej Times
Spain extradites suspected arms trafficker to NY-The Associated Press
Syria, Turkey may build nuclear plants-Jerusalem Post

European MPs Pressing Towards Branding Hizbullah 'Terrorist' Group
Naharnet/European MPs representing several blocs of the continent's nations have prepared a memorandum urging the European Union to declare Hizbullah a "terrorist organization." The memo states that Hizbullah "poses a direct threat to the EU security." It accuses Hizbullah of backing groups like Hamas, classified by the EU as a terrorist faction, broadcasting through its al-Manar television mouthpiece messages of "hatred and violence" and glorifying suicide attackers.
Elmar Brok, a German member of the European Parliament and chairman of the committee on foreign affairs, declared support for the memo and said he expects at least half of the European Parliament's legislators to sign it. However, Brok emphasized that the last say in this regard lies in the hands of the European Council that tackles such issues behind closed doors. Berlin, Brok added, is following up the situation in Lebanon and stressed that the issue of classifying Hizbullah as a terrorist organization should be discussed in light of Lebanon developments.
Brok, who was elected on the Christian Democratic Union's ticket, said "important steps" have been achieved in Lebanon in light of the Doha Accord that had been signed by the various factions, including Hizbullah. Such important steps include the election of Army Commander Gen. Michel Suleiman president, he noted.
Intensive efforts are underway to form a national unity cabinet, Brok said, adding that "these steps are being exerted in the proper direction that enables Lebanon to overcome the threat of split.""We'll do whatever leads to a positive development in Lebanon and serves the interest of the Lebanese people," he pledged.
However, a German foreign ministry spokesman told the pan-Arab daily al-Hayat Berlin has reservations over efforts by European Parliament members to list Hizbullah as a terrorist organization. Such decisions are usually tackled by the European Council and not by the European Parliament, the spokesman noted.
Such an issue should be evaluated in light of the "positive development in Lebanon," the spokesman stressed. Berlin's stand reflects the German government's interest in maintaining its rather unique relations with Hizbullah as a successful mediator for more than a decade in prisoner swaps between the Iranian-backed party and Israel. Beirut, 14 Jun 08, 09:48

March 14 for Demilitarized Beirut
Naharnet/The March 14 majority alliance has reiterated a call for a demilitarized Beirut and emphasized on its commitment to dialogue regarding Hizbullah weapons.
The stand was outlined by March 14 coordinator Faris Soeid during a rally organized by Mustaqbal Movement Friday on the first anniversary of MP Walid Eido's assassination. Soeid said Hizbullah, by vowing allegiance to the Faqih Rule in Iran, "showed that it doesn't know Lebanon." Hizbullah, he added, wanted to dominate Lebanon by force when it launched its offensive last May. "Syria and Iran tried to take us back to the era of civil war that was about to start, had it not been for a miracle."MP Mohammed al-Amin Itani, who succeeded the late Eido as Beirut MP, pledged that "we would confront (Hizbullah's) weapons by politics."
"We've achieved in Doha the target that we have been after, which is the return to the rule of state institutions," he said. Itani delivered a speech at the packed rally on behalf of Mustaqbal Movement leader Saad Hariri. Beirut, 13 Jun 08, 20:51

Kouchner Uneasy About Assad's Visit
Naharnet/French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said Friday he is uncomfortable that Syrian President Bashar Assad has been invited to the Bastille Day parade, even though such visits are necessary to keep dialogue open. "I'm not especially amused" by Assad's visit, Kouchner said on Europe-1 radio. But he said Syria has made progress by resuming peace talks with Israel. The visit "doesn't leave me totally at ease, but this is what we have to do or else we'll maintain a state of tensions, difficulties and probably confrontations," Kouchner said. "I've said that if President (Michel Suleiman) was elected after months of vacuum, then France will normalize relations with Syria. That's what we are doing now," the French foreign minister said. Assad has been invited to France in July along with other leaders of Europe, North Africa and the Middle East, including Israel, to discuss President Nicolas Sarkozy's plan for a union of Mediterranean countries.
While they are in France, they have also been invited to attend the July 14 Bastille Day parade in Paris. French-Syrian relations soured after the 2005 assassination of ex-Premier Rafik Hariri, a longtime friend of former French President Jacques Chirac. Many in Lebanon and the West accuse Syria of involvement in Hariri's killing. The Syrian government has denied that. But relations between the two countries have improved lately. Sarkozy, Chirac's successor, re-established dialogue after his election in May 2007.(AP-Naharnet) Beirut, 14 Jun 08, 05:52

3 Ohio Men, Including Lebanese, Guilty of Plot Against U.S. Troops in Iraq
Naharnet/A federal jury in Ohio convicted two American citizens and a Lebanese man Friday of plotting to recruit and train terrorists to kill American soldiers in Iraq, a case put together with help from a former soldier who posed as a radical bent on violence.
Mohammad Zaki Amawi, 28, Marwan Othman el-Hindi, 45, and Wassim Mazloum, 27, were found guilty of conspiracy to kill or maim persons outside the United States and conspiring to provide material support to terrorists.
The men face maximum sentences of life in prison. But U.S. District Judge James G. Carr did not set a sentencing date, said acting U.S. attorney Bill Edwards.
"Today's verdicts should send a strong message to individuals who would use this country as a platform to plot attacks against U.S. military personnel in Iraq and elsewhere," said Patrick Rowan, acting assistant attorney general for national security, in a written statement. "This case also underscores the need for continued vigilance in identifying and dismantling extremist plots that develop in America's heartland."
At trial defense attorneys claimed that the three defendants, who all lived in the Toledo area, were manipulated by the government's star witness, Darren Griffin.
The undercover FBI informant and former Army Special Forces soldier recorded the men for about two years beginning in 2004 while they talked about training in explosives, guns, and sniper tactics. They often met in their homes and at a tiny storefront mosque where they prayed together.
Griffin won the trust of the men by posing as a former soldier who grew disenchanted with U.S. foreign policy who was now intent on violence against America.
Griffin said most people at the mosque shunned him and that no one raised any threats until el-Hindi began talking about kidnapping Israeli soldiers. Amawi, Griffin said, asked him to help him train two recruits from Chicago for holy war.
According to one secret recording made by Griffin, Amawi said he was troubled by the loss of life in New York in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, but he quickly added: "Killing Americans in Iraq is OK."
Griffin testified that he twice traveled to Jordan with Amawi and also taught Amawi and Mazloum how to shoot guns.
El-Hindi told Griffin, according to recordings heard in court, that he knew two cousins who were eager to receive "jihad training." Griffin asked el-Hindi if he was recruiting for jihad. "Oh no, I just want to take these two," el-Hindi answered, adding that he wanted to take care of them for their families.
The two Chicago-area cousins — Khaleel Ahmed of Chicago and Zubair A. Ahmed of suburban North Chicago — have pleaded not guilty to conspiring to kill American soldiers and face trial next year.
Amawi, El-Hindi and Mazloum were convicted of conspiring to kill or maim people outside the United States, including military personnel. Amawi , a dual U.S.-Jordanian citizen, and el-Hindi, a U.S. citizen born in Jordan, were also convicted of distributing information regarding explosives to terrorists.
Mazloum, who went to the U.S. legally from Lebanon, was a college student who helped his brother run a used-car lot. Amawi once worked at a bakery. And el-Hindi was a married father of seven. Griffin testified that the three gathered in the same place just once during the two years he investigated them. He also said that he never saw e-mails from the men that talked about plotting to kill soldiers.(AP-AFP-Naharnet) Beirut, 14 Jun 08, 05:13

El Salvador to Send 52 Peacekeepers to Lebanon
Naharnet/El Salvador's legislature on Friday gave the green light to send 52 troops to south Lebanon to join the U.N. peacekeeping mission.
The United Nations gave its seal of approval to Salvadoran participation in the mission back in December, but the move required approval from lawmakers.
MPs in the Central American country's one-chamber legislature voted 81 out of 84 in favor of taking part in the U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL).
The Salvadoran troops will undergo training in Spain before they head to Lebanon in August.(AFP-Naharnet) Beirut, 14 Jun 08, 03:49

Bush Calls for Fighting Hizbullah 'Terrorists'
Naharnet/U.S. President George Bush called Friday for fighting "Hizbullah terrorists supported by Syria and Iran" emphasizing the need to support the Iranian and Syrian peoples against their regimes. "We stand by the peaceful citizens in those nations which deserve better than what they have now, and we must reject those countries supporting terrorism for the benefit of local and global security," Bush said during a visit to France. He reiterated that "Iran must not acquire nuclear weapons." "As in the Cold War, we must also prevail in a wider struggle -- a battle of ideas," Bush said. "The rise of free and prosperous societies in the broader Middle East is essential to peace in the 21st century, just as the rise of a free and prosperous Europe was essential to peace in the 20th century.
"Europe and America must stand with reformers, democratic leaders, and millions of ordinary people across the Middle East who seek a future of hope, liberty, and peace in Afghanistan, Lebanon, the Holy Land, Iran and Syria -- and Iraq," he added. Beirut, 13 Jun 08, 20:30

Saniora: Suleiman Should Name Interior and Defense Ministers
Naharnet/Prime Minister-designate Fouad Saniora said "national and security needs require that President Michel Suleiman names the defense and interior ministers."Saniora, talking to reporters at his office, said the new cabinet would "eventually be formed. Every day we face a small obstacle and we overcome it.""Today I telephoned (Free Patriotic Movement) leader Michel Aoun," Saniora said. "We don't want to deal with each other within the framework of planting traps," Saniora stressed. Beirut, 13 Jun 08, 16:51

Moussa in Beirut on a Wedding-Politics Mission
Naharnet/Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa flew into Beirut Friday on what he termed a "dual mission" that was started by declaring regret for failure to form a national unity cabinet in line with the Doha Accord. "This is a social visit, but it also has a political aspect in line with a follow up by the Arab League of the situation in Lebanon," Moussa told reporters at Beirut's Rafik Hariri International Airport.

Moussa is in Beirut to attend the wedding of Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri's daughter.
Naharnet/"We would do our best to help Lebanon reach a safe harbor," Moussa said.
In answering a question, Moussa said the Doha Accord "does not require any amendments and there is no need, so far, for a meeting by the Arab Ministerial Committee to consider the cabinet issue."  "We are following up the situation, but we cannot interfere in internal affairs and take part in nominating ministers and similar issues," he added. Beirut, 13 Jun 08, 16:19

Akkar MPs Warn Against Biased Investigation into Halba Events

Naharnet/MPs representing the northern Akkar Province on Friday accused authorities of carrying out a wave of biased arrests in the region in connection with clashes that erupted last May. The MPs, in a statement distributed by the state-run National News Agency, called for "halting chase operations and the issuing of arrest warrants" in connection with the May 10 clashes between the Syrian Social National Party (SSNP) and Mustaqbal Movement partisans.
Such chase operations and arrest warrants "target one side only and ignore the side that caused" an alleged massacre in Halba, according to the statement.
They said the ongoing interrogations target "innocent citizens and people with good reputation." "If an investigation is to be launched, then let it start with the events of May 7 in Beirut because the Halba events were carried out by sides suspected of carrying out an aggression on peaceful citizens," the statement said.
It warned against "changing victims into criminals and criminals into victims." Beirut, 13 Jun 08, 15:54

Zahra: Political Confrontation with Syria Persists
Naharnet/MP Antoine Zahra of the Lebanese Forces said the political confrontation with Syrian President Bashar Assad's regime "is not over."
Zahra, in a televised interview, said the Syrians are applying a rule "to punish who had bothered them so that he wouldn't bother them again in the future."
He expressed hope that the security situation would improve when a new cabinet is formed after settling out differences between the opposition and majority over basic portfolios. Zahra recalled that the distribution of portfolios among the various factions was not considered during talks in Qatar that had resulted in the Doha Accord. He said what Hizbullah has carried out in Beirut and Mount Lebanon was "an aggression against state authority."The government and Lebanese security forces should have the sole authority to maintain law and order, Zahra said. The problem, according to Zahra, is that Hizbullah regards itself "untouchable."
Zahra disclosed that Hizbullah had killed nine partisans of the Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) in Shweifat after they surrendered. Beirut, 13 Jun 08, 15:24

Unified Europe and the Quarreling Arabs
Mohammad El Ashab Al Hayat - 13/06/08//
Some small-scale Arab summits may have a substantial effect on the Arab Maghreb region. Like other copied events, the leaders of the Arab Maghreb participated, alongside Syria, in a summit held in Tripoli in the 1980s. It produced a political agreement that produced a political agreement toward building the Marghreb project and allowing the countries of North Africa to assume an active role in dealing with the issues of the Arab Levant, starting with the Taif Conference over Lebanon and ending with paving the way for Arab peace initiatives, the fundamental features of which took shape at the Rabat Summit.
The same image, albeit with different faces, older ones having passed away or been replaced by political developments, has emerged at the Tripoli Summit, almost like a carbon-copy of what had previously happened. The only difference in positions is that those leaders who were not meeting to resolve a crisis or make sense of inter-Arab disputes convened to discuss the Union for the Mediterranean which has imposed itself as an advanced model out of the Barcelona Process.
It would have been preferable for the Arab states that share the southern coast of the Mediterranean to coordinate their efforts before entering this new club founded by French President Nicolas Sarkozy who proceeded to invite guests to the official inaugural ceremony next month. Arab participation should at least display some form of an effective Arab role other than ornamenting the European scene.
There are many previous experiences compelling Arabs to believe that the Europeans are serious about their projects. They plan and execute in as much as their strategic interests are guaranteed, and have never once endorsed a plan and later retracted it. They thought of a common European market and materialized it. They studied the liabilities of eliminating borders and customs checkpoints and of establishing unified currency, and achieved all this right on time. They suggested widening the European space and more openness to those European countries emerging from the collapsed Eastern Bloc and achieved a breakthrough that led to reinforcing the international role and status of the European Union.
In Arab political literature, dreams of unity and the rhetoric of shared destiny have preceded the concerns of Arab unity, and have depended on elements such as shared religion, language, history and geography. However, they have not departed from the realm of dreams. Instead, they have reverted to insistence on division, stubbornness on disintegration, and have aimlessly pursued all forms of sectarian and ethnic conflicts. Although one can look at the mosaic of European nations that fought wars and endured bitter conflicts, and see that they have nonetheless found the best path to unity.
Armed with homogenous and harmonious positions as well as a unified vision, the Europeans will come to the Union for the Mediterranean Summit reaching a strategic depth beyond the Mediterranean. As usual, the Arab nations will go with their disputes and quarrels. Although the issue does not require collective negotiations, the unilateral approach in adopting points of view has become like acquired trait that prevails over the Arab nature. The Maghreb system stood powerless to even hold an ordinary session for its collapsed Union, and Arab states desiring positions in future arrangements without backing their bets with practical initiatives; this is not to mention the old calculations on assumed contradictions between Europe and the US.
Whenever there is a chance to attract European partners to an understanding of just Arab causes, contradictions emerge and pull the Arab states back. Yet what is most important in the Mediterranean initiative this time is that it will take off whether or not everyone is on board, and regardless of others lag behind. Still, flying in the Mediterranean space cannot be without wings. The Europeans need a natural outlet to expand their geographic and political scope, and they are aware that they can do this with each country on its own, but today's approach is one that requires the dialogue of economic and regional coalitions.
Perhaps it is a positive phenomenon that it is European partners who are inviting us to be unified. But will we get the message before it is too late

Partnership and the Lebanese Zarqawi
Zuheir Kseibati Al-Hayat - 12/06/08//
Amidst the ocean of Lebanese crises, on the shores of the "promising" summer as hot as the fierce competition over ministerial posts, over the still glowing embers of civil strife, a few had nothing to say but grieve over the fate of the other partnership project between the Palestinians of the Authority and the Palestinians of Gaza…Ismail Haniyeh calls for a new version of national unity by borrowing the Lebanese "neither victorious nor vanquished" formula after the Palestinian national unity collapsed along with the collective sentiment and consciousness.
No matter how staunchly its leaders affirm that nothing has changed and that no victor and vanquished can coexist even if by force, Lebanon has joined the peoples of the region stricken by the virus of "national" and imported strife.
As a matter of fact, the fierce competition over the national unity government dwarfs the glittering accomplishment of ending the presidential void and electing General Michel Suleiman to the presidency. It also tests the patience of the general over the battle of conditions and counter-conditions. If this crisis persists for two or three weeks, the Lebanese will grow accustomed to coexisting with a summer of a long "truce," one that downsizes the ambitions of the Doha Agreement …between mobile skirmishes and demarcation lines.
Although the Lebanese may be slated to take in this dose of pessimism, just as they endured the shock of May, the scene of arms and fires, and the horror of losing protection, no one in the aftershock phase can be reassured that the declared good intentions and national unity government will be enough safety gauges to put out the fires that still glow under the May ashes.
The parties that must strive harder than others to dispel the fears concerning the state of "victor and vanquished" as de facto and the effects of the shock cannot defend the opposition's attempt to reconcile the claim that what happened in May was an act of discipline - intended to win a round rather than war to reproduce an authority - with the national unity and partnership slogans. For this reason, their excuses crumble as they staunchly describe the Doha Agreement as a solution rather than a temporary arrangement.
Accepting the agreement as a solution or at least a prelude to the comprehensive solution that will spare Lebanon the fires of sectarian strife and the projects of keeping it hostage to the region and its wars and deals requires a few principles. The least of these principles, especially after the May shock and the involvement of the resistance arms in street wars to break the will of the opponent who is now needed under the umbrella of national unity, include the following:
-The new presidential term must be protected and the president's role acknowledged as an arbitrator who guarantees the constitution rather than the rights of a specific sectarian community, as a party who safeguards the sovereignty rather than any other demand that may put sovereignty up for bargaining.
-If, out of pride, the opposition cannot accept the demand to apologize for raising arms in the face of what it dubs "a collaborative American project" against the resistance, it is better for the resistance, which claims to protect Lebanon, to convince all the Lebanese that its arms have a superior function, namely the indiscriminate protection of their security rather than a defensive function obsessed with conspiracies against the resistance and the rights of a specific sectarian community.
-The resistance must be convinced, once and for all, that even if the project to reproduce authority succeeded for a while, it cannot be protected by guns or missiles if the winds of regional and international interests start blowing in the other direction….The resistance must be convinced that its security can once again regain Lebanese consensus with the protection of the pluralism that is currently threatened by civil strife and potential displacement of communities amidst security turmoil. The resistance can regain consensus as the case was when the South was liberated in 2000. To this end, it must accept the peaceful rotation of power and the fact that there is no such thing as a permanent victory in politics no matter how fair the state is.
What partnership will work if one of its sides is forced to accept surrender? What national unity will be if Shaker al-Absi emerges from some other camp to instigate sectarian flames on the pretext of saving the Sunnis from their treachery and the wounds of May?
This is a recipe for a readymade catastrophe. Its tools are scores of the likes of Zarqawi's disciples in Iraq. Every time the hour of breaking American dreams approaches, the warning signs of the hot summer get closer to Lebanon, albeit a little late. This is one final opportunity to save the future of the Lebanese. This is an opportunity with which the wounds of their unity will not heal and the plans of suicide bombers will not be foiled unless all parties give in to the logic of the caring state. The state will never be just if it does not have control over all arms, let alone in the absence of consensus

Lebanon and "Paying the Bills" of Peace between Israel and Others
Walid Choucair Al-Hayat - 13/06/08//
It is difficult for the Lebanese to separate between the history of their civil wars and the various stages of Arab-Israeli peace negotiations. The latter constitute a fundamental factor, and accompany other local (religious and sectarian) elements, and regional elements linked to the desire for geopolitical influence by Lebanon's neighbors. The situation has been enshrined by the expression that Lebanon is an arena rather than a nation with fenced borders and which enjoys a minimum level of sovereignty that has remained lost for the past four decades.
The problems of Palestinian arms in the 1970s and 1980s, then the Syrian arms in the 1980s and 1990s, then the arms of militias with foreign connections in the 1970s and 1980s, and Hezbollah's arms at the beginning of this century have all accompanied the process of searching for the state's lost sovereignty. The issue of lost sovereignty has also been tied to the search for peace and "its understandings," whenever "agreements" were possible.
Hence, civil war erupted after the two disengagement agreements between Egypt and Syria, on one side and Israel on the other, following the October 1973 Arab-Israeli War. Hence the war broke out again after the truce following the 1975-1976 phase of civil strife, in the wake of the Camp David Treaty between Cairo and Tel Aviv. It was followed by the war in the 1980s after the 17 May 1983 peace agreement between Lebanon and Israel, giving birth to more wars that were concluded only with Arab and international sponsorship of the Taif Agreement at the end of the decade. The Madrid round of peace negotiations, meanwhile, did not launch any civil wars because these wars were deterred by the Israeli occupation and the need to confront it which concurred with Lebanon being under Syrian mandate.
There is no need to make a hasty return to the details. The goal is to examine the reemergence of the elements of the Lebanese civil war in light of the requirements of a Syrian-Israeli peace. This time, we can add the complications of the Syrian-Iranian alliance and Tehran's role in the region.
In fact, Israel and Syria have always been regional players in Lebanon's civil wars, despite the changes in their respective alliances and their understandings with international players.
The short civil war in Lebanon from 7-15 May of this year, a rehearsal for a wider civil conflict, was not far from the developing stages of the Syrian-Israeli negotiations that have been under way for two years at first under Swiss auspices and recently through Turkish mediation. Since the end of 2007, international circles have expected that the negotiations would produce tangible results in the spring. The first repercussion on this front would involve the urgent need to see something precede the completion of the negotiation process starting with a payoff to Hezbollah in the Lebanese political framework, that is, by securing for the party a "blocking third" in the government. This would be in preparation for the requirements of the next stage of negotiations, bringing the Lebanese front in the confrontation with Israel under control.
For anyone who had doubted these international predictions, recent events have provided the proof. In fact, some people saw the recent events in Lebanon as a cover for the ongoing negotiations; Hezbollah was dragged into these events, which some saw as an Iranian preventative move against the negotiations. While such conclusions require further verification, they do link the issue to the peace negotiations.
However, Syrian-Israeli negotiations still require several further stages, raising the question of the "need" for further Lebanese civil wars.
The fear of future incidents is not limited to the ongoing mobilization on the ground or the failure to treat the effects of the invasion launched against Beirut and Mount Lebanon. The fear goes farther if we recall the calls by Israel and Syria, "encouraging" Lebanon to engage in direct negotiations with Israel that followed the official announcement of Syrian-Israeli negotiations.
No observer can forget that the parties to a Syrian-Israeli peace must pay the price of the agreement; one of the most important elements of this price is Hezbollah's arms. "Encouraging" Lebanon to enter negotiations only implies that Lebanon is being asked to share in "paying the bill" while Syria evades the liabilities of peace, namely its ties to Hezbollah and the steps needed to diminish its military role, which it nourished in cooperation with Iran. Is it logical to involve Lebanon in paying another's bill while ongoing talks are about the Golan Heights?
Israel on its part seeks to make Lebanon pay an additional bill for the Israeli occupation of Lebanese territories and its blind aggression against the country in July 2006; it wants to negotiate with Lebanon in return for withdrawing from the Shebaa Farms.
Is this double encouragement not a bad omen for Lebanese civil peace? Does it not prompt the Lebanese to reject being caught up any negotiation with Israel?
Is it Lebanon's fate to pay the peace bill twice on behalf of others in wars that are waged by proxy against Israel, and in peace between the Jewish state and others

Gagged in Canada
By Rich Lowry
New York Post | Friday, June 13, 2008
AT its best, Western civilization has fostered freedom of speech and of thought. But Canada has a better idea.
Last week, a Human Rights Tribunal in British Columbia considered a complaint brought against journalist Mark Steyn for a piece in the Canadian newsweekly Maclean's. The excerpt from Steyn's best-selling book "America Alone" argued that high Muslim birthrates mean Europeans will feel pressure to reach "an accommodation with their radicalized Islamic compatriots."
The piece was obviously within respectable journalistic bounds. In fact, combining hilarity and profound social analysis, the article could be considered a sparkling model of the polemical art - not surprising, given that Steyn is one of North America's journalistic gems.
The Canadian Islamic Congress took offense. In the normal course of things, that would mean speaking or writing to counter Steyn. But not in 21st century Canada, where the old liberal rallying cry "I hate what you say, but will fight for your right to say it" no longer applies.
The country is dotted with human-rights commissions. At first, they typically heard discrimination suits against businesses. But since that didn't create much work, the commissions branched out into policing "hate" speech. Initially, they targeted neo-Nazis; then religious figures who'd condemned homosexuality; and now Maclean's and Steyn.
The new rallying cry is, "If I hate what you say, I'll accuse you of hate." The Canadian Islamic Council got the Human Rights Tribunal in British Columbia and the national Canadian Human Rights Commission (where proceedings are still pending) to agree to hear its complaint. It had to like its odds.
The national commission has never found anyone innocent in 31 years. It is set up for classic Alice-in-Wonderland "verdict first, trial later" justice: Canada's Human Rights Act defines hate speech as speech "likely to expose a person or persons to hatred or contempt." That language is so capacious and vague that to be accused is tantamount to being found guilty.
Unlike in defamation law, truth is no defense, and there's no obligation to prove harm. One of the principal investigators of the Canadian Human Rights Commission was asked in a hearing what value he puts on freedom of speech in his work, and replied, "Freedom of speech is an American concept, so I don't give it any value." Clearly.
In British Columbia, the Steyn hearing proceeded with all the marsupial ungainliness of a kangaroo court. No one knew what the rules of evidence were. Hilariously, one of the chief complaints against Steyn was that he quoted a Muslim imam in Norway bragging that in Europe "the number of Muslims is expanding like mosquitoes." If that insect simile is out-of-bounds, the commission should swoop down on Norway and execute an extraordinary rendition of the imam.
The hearing has appropriately exposed the commissions to ridicule - and maybe some hatred and contempt (if that's allowed). There are calls to strip them of their power to regulate the media. This would limit the damage, even as free speech is endangered elsewhere.
In Europe, saying the wrong thing about gays or Muslims is routinely sanctioned by the state. In France, the bombshell-turned-animal-rights-activist Brigitte Bardot just collected her fifth fine, for complaining about how Muslims kill sheep.
Free speech is a very clean, neutral concept - "Congress shall make no law . . ." Once a government begins policing offensiveness, things get much murkier. It has to decide which groups are protected and which aren't - the "who/whom" of Lenin's power relations. So, even though there are plenty of fire-breathing imams in Canada, no one ever pesters them about their hatefulness.
It is the genius of Muslim grievance groups to leverage Western anti-discrimination laws to their advantage. In his Maclean's essay, Steyn noted how in much of the West, "the early 21st century's principal political dynamic" is whether something offends Muslims. Indeed - but in Canada, truth is no defense.