LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
May 13/08

Bible Reading of the day.
إHoly Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Mark 8,11-13.  The Pharisees came forward and began to argue with him, seeking from him a sign from heaven to test him. He sighed from the depth of his spirit and said, "Why does this generation seek a sign? Amen, I say to you, no sign will be given to this generation." Then he left them, got into the boat again, and went off to the other shore.

Free Opinions, Releases, letters & Special Reports
ANALYSIS: Who will stop Hezbollah? Not the Lebanese Army-By Yoav Stern, Haaretz 12/05/08
Hezbollah is a terrorist group, not an opposition force. By: W. Thomas Smith Jr. 12 /May/ 08
Targeting media outlets is never a good idea-The Daily Star 12/05/08
Lebanese army won't take on Hizbollah.By Carolynne 11/05/08
Robert Fisk: Lebanon does not want another war. Does it? 11/05/08
Civil war / Not only Lebanon's problem.By Amos Harel and Avi Issacharoff 11/05/08
Lebanon crisis / Waiting for the third bel. By Zvi Bar'el 11.05/08
Resistance beyond time and space: Hizbullah’s media campaigns-Arab Media & Society 11/05/08

Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources for May 12/08
ANALYSIS: Who will stop Hezbollah? Not the Lebanese Army-By Yoav Stern, Haaretz 12/05/08
Death Toll from Lebanon Violence Climbs to 59-Naharnet
Tension Runs High, Sporadic Clashes, No Political Breakthrough-Naharnet
U.S. Warship Back to Mediterranean Waters-Naharnet
Arab Ministers Heading to Lebanon in Bid to End Crisis as Unrest Rages On-Naharnet
Britain Urges End to Violence, Slams Outside Meddling-Naharnet
Opposition Considers Taking 'Goodwill Measures'!-Naharnet
What Made U.S. Warship Return to Mediterranean?-Naharnet
Battles Shift to Mount Lebanon, Moussa Returns to Beirut-Naharnet
Report: Italy's Defense Minister Heading to Lebanon-Naharnet
Israel's Barak Raises 'Serious' Concern about Lebanon Crisis-Naharnet
Middle East: Examing Roles Of Iran, Syria In Lebanon Fighting-RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty
Lebanon tense as Arab League tries to end crisis-AFP
Lebanon Clashes Resume as Death Toll From Fighting Reaches 50-Bloomberg
Fears rise of Lebanon all-out war-The Press Association
Hezbollah 'Redrawing' Mideast Map-By: Washington Times
Lebanese Army caught in crossfire between Druze and Hezbollah gunmen-Times Online
Israel eyes dangers, opportunities in Hizbullah takeover of Lebanon-Jerusalem Post
Arab foreign ministers split over whom to blame for crisis-AFP
Day 5: Lebanese dare to hope worst is over-Daily Star
Barak leads chorus of Israeli worries over unstable situation in Lebanon-AFP
US welcomes moves to calm unrest but says view of Hizbullah 'unchanged'-AFP
US Embassy reassures citizens it hasn't closed shop-Daily Star
Salloukh laments 'unfortunate situation'-Daily Star
Bahia Hariri stresses coexistence, civil peace-Daily Star
Syrian daily: Hizbullah foiled US-planned coup-AFP
Some countries evacuate nationals after internal armed conflict returns to Lebanon-Daily Star
Sfeir urges rival leaders to engage in dialogue-Daily Star
Lebanon's military deserves national gratitude-Daily Star
Fresh violence halts Beirut's commercial activity-Daily Star
Journalists speak out against targeting of Future media outlets-Daily Star
Lebanon Death Toll Rises to 42-Naharnet
Battles Shift to Mount Lebanon, Moussa Returns to Beirut-Naharnet
Arab FMs Divided over Lebanon-Naharnet
Arab League Appeals for End to Lebanon Violence-Naharnet
Report: Italy's Defense Minister Heading to Lebanon-Naharnet
Army Takes Control of North Lebanon, Opposition Ends Beirut Takeover-Naharnet
Pope condemns Lebanon clashes-Africasia
Death toll rises as Lebanon simmers-CNN - USA
Arab foreign ministers convene over Lebanon crisis-Reuters
Vice Premier Ramon: Lebanon must be viewed as a 'Hezbollah' state-Ha'aretz
Israel's Barak Raises 'Serious' Concern about Lebanon Crisis-Naharnet
Israel fears Lebanon unrest will bolster Iran allies-AFP
Lebanon counts cost of latest internal combat-Euronews.net
Army Takes Control of North Lebanon, Opposition Ends Beirut Takeover-Naharnet
Government Willing to Facilitate Suleiman's Task-Naharnet
U.S.: Long-term Solution Requires Change in Hizbullah's Role-Naharnet
Israeli Jets Violate Lebanese Skies-Naharnet
Israel Fears Iran will Have Border with Jewish State Because of Hizbullah-Naharnet
Army Takes Over Controversial Government Decisions, Calls for Withdrawal of Gunmen-Naharnet
Jumblat For Compromise that Prevents Factional Violence-Naharnet
Saniora: State Would Not Fall to Those Who Have Carried Out 'Armed Coup'-Naharnet
Hassan Khalil: Opposition to Withdraw Gunmen, Maintain Disobedience-Naharnet
1 killed in fresh Lebanon violence-ABC Online
Hezbollah claims victory as Lebanon gov't U-turns-Ha'aretz
Hezbollah tightens its grip on Beirut amid fresh bloodshed-Scotsman
Lebanese gov't bends to Hezbollah demands-Ha'aretz
Lebanon crisis / Waiting for the third bell-Ha'aretz -

Hezbollah is a terrorist group, not an “opposition” force
by W. Thomas Smith Jr.
12 May 2008
Hezbollah – an Iranian-funded Lebanon-based army of mass murderers (designated foreign terrorists by the U.S. government) – has been christened “the opposition” by several Western press organizations. And supporters of freedom and democracy in Lebanon want to know why.
“As we continue to witness the unfolding of events in Lebanon, I wonder why we are seeing and reading news stories infused with this new unsettling reference of the Iranian-Syrian-Hezbollah axis as nothing more than ‘an opposition force,’” says John Hajjar, U.S. director for the World Council of the Cedars Revolution. “Why can’t they be referred to by their proper and less-ambiguous nomenclature? They are terrorists, officially, and nothing more.”
Indeed, the so-called “opposition” – which includes Hezbollah (literally a terrorist army with a vast array of heavy weapons), members of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), and Syrian intelligence and paramilitary operatives in Lebanon – are officially designated terrorists: As if anyone, who knows the extraordinarily dark history of these groups needs an official designation anyway.
The U.S. State Department has designated Hezbollah a “foreign terrorist organization,” and Iran and Syria as “state sponsors of terrorism.” And Treasury has designated Iran’s IRGC as a “supporter of terrorists.”
Interestingly, Al Jazeera (AJZ) – which almost always refers to Hezbollah either by its primary name or its militant-wing title, “Islamic Resistance” – has taken a deliberate approach in its recent reference of Hezbollah as an “opposition” force. It’s fairly obvious that AJZ is attempting to eradicate any negative “labeling” connotation surrounding Hezbollah; and – according to our media and counterterrorism sources – AJZ is doing so to appease sympathizers in the Arab world as Hezbollah continues to attack civilians in Lebanon. (Actually the entire Hezbollah organization is “militant,” similar to the Taliban in Afghanistan, but we’ll save that for another piece.)
Funded by the oil industry of the Qatari regime, AJZ wants to protect – and perhaps enhance – Hezbollah’s legitimacy and credibility in the Arab world. Hezbollah is occupying and brutalizing those within the Sunni and Druze communities in Lebanon. This could have a backlash in the Arab world, particularly among the Sunni populations. Hence, a softer book-cover was deemed necessary.
None of this is really new in terms of Hezbollah’s and its sympathizers’ now-legendary media manipulation efforts. According to sources within the pro-democracy movement in Lebanon:
“We indicated months ago a massive Iranian propaganda effort was able to target major Western media outlets starting with their correspondents in Beirut [those correspondents were either threatened or bought with Iranian money]. We were warning about it in November. Now it is simply happening.”
George Chaya, director of the Lebanese Information Center in Argentina, which monitors Middle East Terrorism, has previously said:
“Hezbollah’s propagandists have been able to win the battle of information worldwide. They were able to influence newsrooms around the world and impose their lexicon. Readers from Berlin to Santiago de Chile think it is a classical confrontation between an opposition movement and a government. In reality it is a terrorist organization devouring a democracy.”
Nevertheless, the Associated Press, CNN, Agence France Presse, the U.S.-sponsored Al Hurra network, and other news organizations have increasingly seen fit to use a label which – wittingly or not – soft-soaps one of the world’s most notorious terrorist groups, Hezbollah (which up until the Al Qaeda attacks of 9/11, had killed more Americans than any other terrorist organization in the world); and the label attempts to “clean the faces,” as my Lebanese friends like to say, of rogue states like Iran and Syria.
The Iranian-Syrian-Hezbollah axis, as terrorism-expert Dr. Walid Phares often refers to it, is not simply an “opposition” movement. It is an international terrorist force.And it is trying to cut the heart out of Lebanon.
— Visit W. Thomas Smith Jr. at uswriter.com.

Lebanese Army caught in crossfire between Druze and Hezbollah gunmen
A relative mourns a Druze youth killed in the fighting
Nicholas Blanford in Shwayfat
Heavy clashes erupted south of Beirut yesterday between mainly Shia and Druze militants, breaking a tense calm that had taken hold after feuding factions reached a tentative agreement to end four days of fighting. The crackle of machinegun fire and thump of exploding mortar rounds echoed through the town of Shwayfat on the lower slopes of the Chouf mountains overlooking southern Beirut as fighters from the Shia group Hezbollah and its allies fought Druze gunmen loyal to Walid Jumblatt, a key government ally. Residents raced along otherwise empty roads to escape the fighting as Lebanese troops took cover behind sandbagged checkpoints. Thick smoke rose from several mainly Druze villages in the Chouf as Hezbollah units pressed their attack against their Druze rivals.
Sources in Hezbollah-controlled southern Beirut said that heavily armed fighters equippedwith antitank missiles were seen deploying to reinforce Hezbollah units in the Chouf. Katyusha rocket batteries were also positioned within southern Beirut aimed at the area to provide artillery support if needed.
Fighting continued into the evening despite a 6pm ceasefire and calls for an end to hostilities by Mr Jumblatt and his Druze rival, Talal Arslan, an opposition figure. “The way that Hezbollah have used their weapons has killed the declaration that they were only to be used against Israel,” Mr Jumblatt told al-Arabiya television.
The latest upsurge of fighting dented an agreement brokered over the weekend by the Lebanese Army to end fighting between government and opposition supporters. The Lebanese Army is seen as the one neutral state institution in the country, albeit not powerful enough to stop fighting between rival factions. The army proposed on Saturday overseeing the implementation of three government decisions made last week against Hezbollah activities, which triggered the street clashes in Beirut. The Government agreed to the proposal, and the Hezbollah-led opposition said that it would withdraw its fighters from west Beirut, which they overran on Friday. “We wanted the army to provide security for us, but what can the army do when this militia, called Hezbollah, is stronger than the army?” Mr Jumblatt asked The Times. Mr Jumblatt has survived three decades of violence, war, intrigue, assassination attempts and shifting political alliances. A former ally of Syria, he has evolved into one of its most resolute opponents and remains Hezbollah’s harshest critic, earning the staunch enmity of the Shia group.
Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollah’s leader, has described the Druze leader as the true head of the Government, not Fouad Siniora, the Prime Minister. Hezbollah held him “personally responsible” for the killing of two of the party’s militants and the disappearance of a third in the Druze town of Aley, which appears to have triggered the fighting.

Death toll rises as Lebanon simmers
BEIRUT, Lebanon (AP) -- Heavy fighting broke out between pro- and anti-government supporters in northern Lebanon amid the country's power struggle, security officials said Sunday. Soldiers were deployed in northern Tripoli on May 11 after fierce battles in Lebanon's second largest city.
1 of 2more photos » Beirut, for four days the focus of bloody sectarian clashes between Sunnis and Shiites, spent a quiet night. However, many of its roads remained blocked, including the one to the airport, by the ongoing civil disobedience campaign of the opposition.
The heaviest clashes took place in the northern city of Tripoli, where pro-government supporters in the Tebaneh neighborhood exchanged rocket propelled grenades and heavy machine gun fire with opposition followers in Jabal Muhsin, the officials said. The clashes were over by morning when the Lebanese army deployed on the streets between the warring factions. One woman was killed in the northern violence, bringing the toll across the country for the past five days to 38 -- the worst sectarian fighting since Lebanon's 1975-1990 civil war.
Clashes also broke out southeast of Beirut in the mountain town of Aytat between opposition supporters and fighters loyal to Druse leader Walid Jumblatt. There were no initial reports of casualties. There were also sporadic gunbattles in the eastern Bekaa Valley. The Lebanon's political standoff erupted into violence after the government confronted Hezbollah earlier in the week saying it would sack the chief of airport security for alleged ties to the militant group and declared the group's private telephone network illegal and a threat to state security. The army offered Hezbollah a compromise. It said the airport security chief would retain his post and recommended to the government to reverse its decision on the phone network.
A government official said Sunday the Cabinet would meet in the next two days "to discuss the possible exits for the crisis." It is widely believed the cabinet will then revoke its decisions. At midday, Prime Minister Fuad Saniora and some of his ministers and staff members held a moment of silence at the government building in honor of people killed in the violence. A nearby downtown church tolled its bells to mark the occasion.
Beirut's streets were largely deserted on Sunday, a day off in Lebanon. In the western Beirut neighborhood of Karakol Druse, which saw heavy fighting on Thursday, a man swept glass from outside his shop. A gaping hole from a rocket propelled grenade and bullet holes marked the facade of a normally busy bakery, now closed. Inside neighborhoods, there were no one was openly carrying weapons, save for small knots of gunmen from Hezbollah-ally Syrian Social Nationalist Party sitting outside the Economy Ministry in the western district of Hamra and in the seaside Rawshe area.
On Beirut's normally bustling seaside corniche, workers outside five-star hotels were cleaning the blackened streets scarred by burning tires.
Elsewhere along the seaside, youth from the pro-Syrian Shiite Amal movement blocked the road with rocks and burning tires, directing the rare motorist to take side roads. Arab foreign ministers met in Egypt on Sunday to try to find a solution to the latest deadly crisis.
Also on Sunday, Pope Benedict XVI urged the Lebanese people to find a "reasonable compromise" to end their conflict.
Benedict told pilgrims in St. Peter's Square that he was following "with deep concern" the developments in Lebanon, where, "with politicial initiative at a stalemate, first came verbal violence and then armed clashes, with many dead and wounded."

From: SGWLCU@aol.com /Dear Colleagues
This is a summary of the current situation of the Hezbollah offensive from the "The Cedars Revolution Advisor"
1. Hezbollah and Syro-Iranian allies are trying to crumble the Lebanese Government before Monday and the meeting of the United Nations Security Council. They are putting pressure on the Druze ministers to resign. If they do, the Seniors Cabinet will collapse. The Hezbollah axis will appoint General Sleiman as an interim Prime Minister.
2. The Hezbollah axis is trying to seize the mountain first. Hezbollah forces are engaged in the battles fully.
3. The Command of General Michel Sleiman is facilitating the advance of Hezbollah and not defending the Lebanese People.
4. The offensive will continue against the Sunni north and the Christian areas.
It is important that:
a. The Lebanese Government do not resign for now. If it does, a new chapter opens
b. The Druse resistance continues in the Mountain
c. The Sunni resistance continues in the North
d. A Christian resistance begins
e. That the White House and the Elysee in Paris to issue a warning

Army Takes Control of North Lebanon, Opposition Ends Beirut Takeover
Naharnet/Lebanese troops took control of north Lebanon on Sunday after fierce overnight battles between rival clans as the Hizbullah-led opposition handed over control of west Beirut to the army. The Arab League, meanwhile, was set to hold emergency talks in Egypt on the crisis amid regional Sunni Muslim fears about Shiite Iran's influence in divided Lebanon. A security official said heavy gun battles erupted overnight in Tripoli between pro-government Sunni supporters and members of an Alawite sect loyal to Hizbullah, which is backed by both Syria and Iran. One woman was killed and at least five people were wounded as thousands fled the clashes. The fighting eased by mid-morning and the army was able to enter the affected areas. Many homes and businesses in districts where the battles raged were torched, shop windows were broken and bullet casings littered the streets, AFP correspondents reported.
Residents of Tripoli could hear heavy machine gun fire and the thump of exploding rocket-propelled grenades throughout the night.
The fighting focused in the densely populated Bab al-Tebbaneh, Kobbeh and Jabal Mohsen neighbourhoods on the northern edge of the Tripoli.
Bab al-Tebbaneh and Kobbeh are Sunni districts while Jabal Mohsen is mainly Alawite.
Alawites are a secretive offshoot of Shiite Islam who revere Ali, the cousin and son-in-law of the Prophet Mohammed.
Pro-government demonstrators on Saturday burned down the office of the pro-Syrian Baath Party in Tripoli and fierce clashes in the Akkar region farther north left 14 people dead. The overnight battle in the north came despite a return to an uneasy calm in Beirut, where four days of fierce sectarian fighting pitted pro- and anti-government supporters. Armed elements appeared to have vanished from the streets of the capital early on Sunday, but some barricades put up by the gunmen remained and the airport road was shut for the fifth straight day.
The opposition announced on Saturday it was ending its takeover of large swathes of west Beirut after the army revoked government measures aimed at curbing the group. "The opposition welcomes the army's decision and will proceed with the withdrawal of all its armed elements so that control of the capital is handed over to the military," an opposition statement said. The army earlier said it was overturning a government decision to reassign the head of Beirut airport security and to probe a Hizubllah telecommunications network -- measures that sparked the unrest. Lawmaker Ali Hassan Khalil of Speaker Nabih Berri's AMal movement, a Hizbullah ally, said the opposition would still keep up its campaign of civil disobedience against the government, however.
The White House welcomed the lessening of violence in Beirut but warned that "our concerns regarding Hezbollah are unchanged."
"They continue to be a destabilising force there with the backing of their supporters, Iran and Syria," U.S. National Security Council spokesman Gordon Johndroe said. The takeover of west Beirut was a dramatic display of Hizbullah's military might and capacity to impose its will.
In a television address to the nation embattled Prime Minister Fouad Saniora accused the group, which waged a 34-day war with Israel in the summer of 2006, of staging an armed coup and urged the army to step in and restore order.
He said Hizbullah's weapons could no longer be considered to be legitimately held because they had been turned against the Lebanese themselves.
Saniora and government members stood a minute of silence at noon Sunday in remembrance of victims of the unrest and to express their rejection of the violence.
Meanwhile, foreigners continued to leave Lebanon by road to Syria on Sunday, although the eastern border crossing of Masnaa was still blocked by pro-government supporters. An official at Beirut's Rafik Hariri International Airport, which has been virtually shut down by the unrest, said no incoming or outgoing flights were scheduled for Sunday. Lebanon's long-running political standoff, which first erupted in November 2006 when six pro-Syrian ministers quit the cabinet, has left it without a president since November, when Damascus protégé Emile Lahoud stepped down. The crisis in Lebanon is widely seen as an extension of the confrontation pitting the United States and its Arab allies against Syria and Iran.(AFP-Naharnet) Beirut, 11 May 08, 13:09

Government Willing to Facilitate Suleiman's Task
Naharnet/Prime Minister Fouad Saniora's government was reportedly ready to facilitate the mission of Army Commander Gen. Michel Suleiman in an effort to put his proposal into effect. The pan-Arab Al Hayat newspaper on Sunday quoted a Lebanese ministerial source as saying that in order to guarantee success of a proposal set forth by the army command "both the government and the opposition will have to meet half way." The Lebanese Army command on Saturday decided to maintain Brig. Gen. Wafiq Shoqeir chief of airport security pending completion of investigation and called for withdrawal of gunmen from the streets after violence renewed in Beirut and spread to north and east Lebanon. Beirut, 11 May 08, 12:17

U.S.: Long-term Solution Requires Change in Hizbullah's Role
Naharnet/The White House has welcomed steps to defuse the deadly unrest in Lebanon but cautioned that any long-term resolution required a change in Hizbullah's role. "I think that first of all we want to see an end to the violence against the Lebanese people, I think we're beginning to see some of that," said U.S. National Security Council spokesman Gordon Johndroe on Saturday. But "our concerns regarding Hizbullah are unchanged. They continue to be a destabilizing force there with the backing of their supporters, Iran and Syria," he said. The Hizbullah-led opposition on Saturday said it would withdraw its gunmen from west Beirut after the army decided to maintain Brig. Wafiq Shoqeir commander of airport security pending completion of investigation.
Asked whether that amounted to caving in to pressure from Hizbullah, Johndroe said it was "premature" to judge any deals to end the violence but stressed that "there's short-term solutions and there's longer-term solutions." "And ultimately the longer-term solution is that Hizbullah has a choice to make: be a political party or be a terrorist organization -- but quit trying to be both," he told reporters. "We're pleased the Lebanese armed forces are out and under the authority of the Lebanese government and Prime Minister Saniora, trying to restore order in the streets. We hope to see that trend continue," said Johndroe.(AFP-Naharnet)
Beirut, 11 May 08, 08:48

Lebanese army won't take on Hizbollah
By Carolynne Wheeler, Middle East Correspondent, and Ben Gilbert in Beirut
11/05/2008
The Lebanese army has defied the country's government and bowed to demands by pro-Iranian Hizbollah militants who brought the country to the brink of civil war.
Senior officers refused to implement a decree from the prime minister, Fouad Siniora, who had ordered the dismantling of Hizbollah's telephone network and sacked an airport security chief sympathetic to the Shia militia. The government's plan provoked Hizbollah into sending its gunmen on to the streets of Beirut, sparking three days of intensive fighting that left half the capital in the militia's control. Hizbollah's move was denounced yesterday by Mr Siniora as a "coup", and the prime minister went on television to declare that he refused to back down. But, faced with the prospect of fighting a bloody civil war against a militia whose Shia Muslim faith is shared by many of its soldiers, the army announced it would restore the sacked security chief and merely look at Hizbollah's telecommunications system.
The army is drawn from all strands of Lebanon's fractured society and did not intervene when pro-government militia groups confronted Hizbollah.
Although it has also urged all gunmen to leave the streets, its decision to back down is a serious embarrassment to the prime minister. In his passionate speech yesterday, Mr Siniora said: "The dream of democracy has been dealt a poisonous sting. "Your country will not succumb to those behind this coup and the Lebanese people will not allow the return of hegemony and terrorism." Mr Siniora said there was room for movement on earlier decisions, but said that Hizbollah's weapons could not be tolerated. Immediately following Mr Siniora's speech, 10 gunmen from both sides were killed in exchanges in the northern village of Halba. Earlier, in Beirut, six people were shot dead when attending a funeral in a Sunni area. The foreign ministers of the Arab League meet in emergency session today at the request of Saudi Arabia and Egypt, who are worried that Iran is using Hizbollah to try to dominate Lebanon. Syria, which is allied to Iran, said the violence was a purely internal matter.

Israel Fears Iran will Have Border with Jewish State Because of Hizbullah
Naharnet/A senior Israeli official expressed concern on Sunday about the recent violence in Lebanon, fearing that it would lead to the strengthening of armed groups supported by Israel's arch-foe Iran. "The most dangerous possibility for us is to see Iran's proxies take control of the Gaza Strip and Lebanon because the fates of both regions are connected," Deputy Defense Minister Matan Vilnai told Israeli public radio.
Israel has long accused Iran of backing Hizbullah and the Islamist Hamas movement in the Gaza Strip, which launches near-daily rocket attacks on southern Israel.
"(Egyptian) President Hosni Mubarak recently declared that Egypt already has a border with Iran with the Gaza Strip. For us it's even worse because it's not only the Gaza Strip, but also Lebanon in the north," Vilnai said. Israel "does not have to intervene but to keep its eyes open. I also have the impression that the Lebanese will prevent a deterioration into civil war because they have already experienced that," he added.(AFP) Beirut, 11 May 08, 10:14

Jumblat For Compromise that Prevents Factional Violence
Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat has said he accepts a compromise with the Hizbullah-led opposition to prevent factional clashes in Lebanon.
"This is not a humiliating compromise," Jumblat told a press conference in Clemenceau Saturday. "We prevented inter-factional clashes in Beirut and in the mountains and we would prevent them in Lebanon," he said. He noted that the army command would decide on the issues of airport security commander Brig Wafiq Shoqeir and Hizbullah's communications network after carrying out investigation in both issues. Jumblat denied a charge by Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, stating "I am not the premier."Jumblat said in coordination with Mustaqbal Movement leader Saad Hariri and Premier Fouad Saniora "we asked the Army command to give us the answers regarding the two government decisions."
The Druze leader declared support for whatever the government decides on the two controversial decisions. He expressed hope that "one day the decision to go to war or peace would be held by the state only." Jumblat denounced "the massacre committed against mourners in Tarik Jedideh earlier in the day but called for self restraint." He said recent developments proved that March 14 does not have militias. Jumblat said we have avoided inter-factional dispute in Beirut, and we want to avoid it in the mountain and in the north. The army is in charge of security everywhere, Jumblat said. We don't want tensions, He declared.
What happened in Beirut and the mountain, according to Jumblat, should be a lesson that only the state should be responsible for security.
Jumblat said inter-factional clashes are not in the interest of any faction. He admitted there had been "an unfortunate incident" in the predominantly Druze and Christian town of Aley, east of Beirut, saying: "Three people were killed. Two bodies were found and turned over to the army."
Hizbullah blamed Jumblat for the death of at least two of its members. The Druze leader did not expressly admit his supporters were responsible, but said if unconfirmed reports that the victims had been tortured proved true he would "personally take responsibility for it." Beirut, 10 May 08, 21:30

Release: The American Lebanese Coalition
Hezbollah Executes a Syrian-Iranian Plan to Destabilize Lebanon.
Friday, May 9th 2008
The May 7th events in Lebanon mark the beginning of a new phase in the execution of Iran’s plan to control Lebanon as part of the Islamic Republic’s scheme for expanding its influence across the Arab world. The Hezbollah-led opposition, along with the remnants of Syria’s agents in Lebanon have failed in their campaign of terror and hostility to alter the path of democracy set by the current legitimate government of Lebanon. This has made it obvious to the Iranians that their quest for control in the heart of the Arab world is quickly shrinking despite the financial, military, and logistical support of their main proxy, the Hezbollah militia. The obstruction of the democratic process by closing the parliament and preventing the election of a Lebanese president, the long list of assassinations and intimidations of pro government leaders, and the economic shut down of Lebanon’s capital have not succeed in reversing the course of democracy charted by March 14 coalition. The freedom loving Lebanese have remained steadfast in rejecting the opposition's attempts to bring back the Syrian hegemony.
Sadly, on May 7th, the Iranian-backed Hezbollah decided to raise the stakes in this confrontation by turning its covert war against the Lebanese legitimacy into an open, deadly conflict. This supposed Lebanese party is resorting to the destruction of Lebanon in order to serve the interests of its foreign masters, Iran and Syria. The Lebanese people are facing today the real threat of another vicious war between the forces of moderation and tolerance on one side and the forces of extremism and oppression on the other.
Now that the Hezbollah mask has fallen and their true intensions are becoming unmistakable,
·we offer our full support to the Lebanese Government in its decision to finally confront the Hezbollah militia,
·we insist the Lebanese Army and official security forces fulfill their duty in defending the Lebanese people and the legal state institutions
·we ask the Lebanese Armed Forces to fully assume their responsibilities in opening without any delays the road to Beirut’s airport as well as any other blocked road,
·we request the Arab League to issue a firm ultimatum to the Iranian and the Syrian regimes to cease and desist all interference in Lebanon’s affairs,
·we appeal to the United Nations to stand firm against the actions of Hezbollah which are in direct violation of UNSCR 1559 and UNSCR 1701 and to take the appropriate measures to ensure the implementation of these resolutions, and
·We further ask the United States and its allies in the West and the Arab world to consider all feasible actions against Iran and Syria in order to stop their destructive campaign in Lebanon.
Iran and Syria are using the heavily armed and trained Hezbollah to disintegrate Lebanon and dismantle its democratic system. Bold and immediate actions against these two regimes are urgently needed because a Lebanon under their control is a grave threat to peace and stability in the region.

Hezbollah tightens its grip on Beirut amid fresh bloodshed
May 2008
By Robert F Worth in Beirut
AFTER heavily armed Hezbollah fighters seized control of much of western Beirut on Friday they withdrew overnight, leaving their allies, the Amal Shi'ite militias, to consolidate their gains after some of the worst fighting in Beirut since the civil war.
The state of lawlessness in the city's Muslim areas was underlined by an attack on a funeral procession yesterday in Tarik Jadideh, a Sunni neighbourhood of Beirut earlier seized by Shiite gunmen, that left two dead and two wounded. While the violence tapered off in Beirut, however, it erupted in the mountain town of Aley east of Beirut. Four people were killed there late on Friday night, while another civilian died in the clashes in the southern city of Sidon.
As the dust settles, it is clear that Hezbollah has increased its influence significantly. Its allies also forced a government-allied satellite television station off the air and burned the offices of its newspaper affiliate as Sunni fighters loyal to the government largely melted away after three days of sectarian clashes.
Those humiliating blows made clearer than ever the power and determination of Hezbollah, a Shi'ite group backed by Iran and Syria, and its allies.
By Friday afternoon, armed Shi'ite fighters were riding joyfully through west Beirut in a long column of trucks, cars and scooters, shouting and firing their weapons into the air in a victory celebration. The government issued an urgent appeal for help from other nations, calling Hezbollah's actions an "armed coup" against Lebanon and its democratic system using "weapons sent by Tehran." Some government lawmakers, including the Druse leader, Walid Jumblatt, and Saad Hariri, the son of the assassinated former prime minister Rafiq Hariri, spent the day holed up in their compounds, protected by Lebanese Army contingents and the police.
In Washington, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said the United States was "deeply concerned" about the continuing violence and condemned Hezbollah as "undermining the legitimate authority of the Lebanese government." Israeli officials said they were closely tracking events across their northern border.
It was not yet clear what Friday's events would mean for Lebanon's political future, or how Hezbollah's show of force might translate into a corresponding political advantage. For now, they seemed only to deepen the political stalemate here. For 17 months, Lebanon has been divided between the Hezbollah-led opposition and the government of Prime Minister Fouad Siniora, which is supported by the West and Saudi Arabia. The stand-off has left the country without a president since late November.
Lebanon's army – the one institution viewed as neutral in the country's bitter political struggle – has stood by during the clashes, unwilling to take sides.
Three days of street battles here have left at least 11 people dead and 20 wounded. Most of the fighting has been in Beirut, but there have been sporadic gun battles between pro-government and opposition forces in other areas, including the Bekaa Valley, northern Lebanon and the Chouf mountains.
The violence seemed to be tapering off on Friday, though some major roads remained blocked, including the one linking Beirut and its airport.
The recent battles started after the government on Tuesday took steps against Hezbollah's private telecommunications network, calling it a violation of Lebanon's sovereignty. Hezbollah loyalists responded, quickly blocking roads in the capital with burning tyres, including the crucial road to the airport.
On Thursday, Hezbollah's leader, Sheik Hassan Nasrallah, said the government had declared war by threatening to shut down the group's private telephone network. "We have said before that we will cut the hand that targets the weapons of the resistance," he said. "Today is the day to fulfil this promise."
The group will call off its fighters only after the government backs down completely from its challenge to the telephone network, Sheik Nasrallah said.
But Hezbollah's goals are likely to extend beyond that, said Amal Saad-Ghorayeb, a Hezbollah expert.
"I can't envision Hezbollah joining this government, so the demands will go beyond their previous demands," she said. "They want the government to resign. This is effectively a coup."The government has been urging the election of the army commander, General Michel Suleiman, as president, and on Thursday, Saad Hariri, a leader of the government political alliance, repeated that proposal. But Hezbollah and its Christian allies have rejected proposals for electing a president until there is a much broader agreement, including a new cabinet and a new election law.
In Friday's clashes, Hezbollah and its allies appear to have singled out Hariri, the leader of the pro-government March 14 political alliance. Militia fighters fired rocket-propelled grenades at the office of his Future newspaper in west Beirut early on Friday morning, badly burning several floors of the building. The Future Movement's television station was forced off the air, and the Lebanese Army took over another Future office after Hezbollah allies made threats against it.
One casualty of the recent confrontations has been the widespread notion that Sunni militias capable of countering Hezbollah were being trained in Lebanon, said Sarkis Naoum, a senior columnist for Al Nahar newspaper.
As it turned out, the young Sunni fighters loyal to Hariri's Future Movement – part of the government majority – were no match for their better-armed Shi'ite rivals. Hariri apparently recognised this, and ordered a withdrawal rather than face a massacre.
So far, the young men – some in their teens – who make up most of the militia fighters have obeyed commands from their leaders to stop fighting. Whether they will continue to do so is a much-discussed question here.

Israel watching closely but won't meddle in Lebanon
By Yoav Stern and Barak Ravid, Haaretz Correspondents
Israel declared Sunday it was closely watching the outbreak of violence in Lebanon but will not get involved at this point.
Deputy Defense Minister Matan Vilnai told Army Radio Sunday that Israel is prepared for the possibility that the situation in Lebanon will deteriorate into another civil war. The Lebanese violence that has killed at least 38 people in four days was sparked when the U.S.-backed Lebanese government of Prime Minister Fuad Siniora tried to crack down on Hezbollah last week. Hezbollah, a Shiite guerrilla group backed by Iran, responded by seizing control of many Beirut neighborhoods loyal to the government. Beirut, which experienced four days of bloody sectarian clashes between Sunnis and Shiites, spent a quiet night Sunday. But many of its roads remained blocked, including the one to the airport, however, by the ongoing civil disobedience campaign of the opposition, and heavy fighting broke out between pro and anti-government supporters in northern Lebanon, security officials reported.
The country's government has been paralyzed, unable to elect a new president, since the Hezbollah-led opposition withdrew from the Cabinet 17 months ago.
The strife is the worst since Lebanon's 1975-1990 civil war. During that fighting in 1982, Israel invaded Lebanon to push forces of the Palestine Liberation Organization from the border. Vilnai said the current sectarian fighting could end with a Hezbollah takeover of the government. Israel fought a war against the militia in 2006 after Hezbollah launched a deadly raid across the Israeli border. "We need to keep our eyes peeled and be especially sensitive regarding all that is happening there," Vilnai told Army Radio.
"We shouldn't get involved. We need to watch and should follow this very closely even when we are dealing with other fronts," he said, referring to continued fighting against the Iranian-backed Hamas militant group in the Gaza Strip. Hamas has controlled Gaza since last June.
"Israel is especially concerned about the situation in Lebanon in light of the Hamas' control of Gaza," Vilnai said. "Hamas and Hezbollah, as Iranian proxies, are mutually dependent," he said. Gaza is located on Israel's southwestern flank, while Lebanon sits on Israel's northern border.
Cabinet Minister Meir Sheetrit said Israel should not yet take any action, but warned that things could change if Hezbollah takes over Lebanon.
"I think it's very dangerous, the [possible] situation in which Iran is in fact sitting on our border, and controlling Lebanon," Sheetrit said. "It's really dangerous in the long term because now its plain to everyone that ... Hezbollah is just the long arm of Iran and that's the way we should relate to it."
Meanwhile Sunday, heavy fighting broke out between pro and anti-government supporters in northern Lebanon lasting into the early hours Sunday morning, in the latest continuation of the Lebanese crisis, security officials reported. Beirut, which for four days was the focus of bloody sectarian clashes between Sunnis and Shiites, spent a quiet night. Many of its roads remained blocked, including the one to the airport, however, by the ongoing civil disobedience campaign of the opposition. The heaviest clashes took place in the northern city of Tripoli where pro-government supporters in the Tebaneh neighborhood exchanged rocket propelled grenades and heavy machine gun fire with opposition followers in Jabal Muhsin, the officials said.
One woman was killed in the clashes, bringing the toll across the country over the past five days of violence to 38.
The fighting in the north intensified in the early hours of Sunday but the situation calmed down later as Lebanese troops started deploying between the two sides, said the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the press.
Meanwhile, Muslim West Beirut has been mostly calm since Hezbollah and its allies seized control of many neighborhoods Friday from Sunnis loyal to the government. On Saturday, Hezbollah scored a major victory after four days of fighting across Lebanon, when the Lebanese army reversed two cabinet resolutions that kicked off the fighting on Wednesday.
The resolutions, if implemented, would have removed the chief of Beirut Airport's security, Major General Wafiq Shukeir, who has ties to Hezbollah. It also would have dismantled Hezbollah's private telephone network. Instead, Prime Minister Fuad Siniora announced on Saturday that he was putting the two issues into the hands of the army, which said in a statement that it was keeping Shukeir at his post and that it would handle the Hezbollah communications network in a way "that would not harm public interest and the security of the resistance."
Hezbollah's television station, Al-Manar, said the "Lebanese national opposition" would continue its civil rebellion until its demands for an amendment to the parliamentary election law and the formation of a unity government in which the opposition had veto power were met.
Late Thursday night, Hezbollah forces took over areas of western Beirut, mainly the Shi'ite neighborhoods, within a few hours. They faced little resistance.
About a dozen people were reportedly killed in Beirut that night. On Friday morning the prime minister's office in central Beirut was surrounded. By last night most of the Hezbollah gunmen in western Beirut had withdrawn.
The army has mainly stayed out of the fighting, although troops were deployed on Saturday. The confrontations in the last few days were the worst since the end of the civil war in the early 1990s. They took place amid the power struggle between the Hezbollah bloc and the parliamentary majority comprising most of the country's Sunni, Druze and Christian powers. If an agreement over the election law and a unity government can be obtained, it will also enable the appointment of a new president. The candidate with approval from all sides is army commander Michel Suleiman, who also had a part in Saturday's decision. But his appointment has been repeatedly postponed for nearly 18 months.
Israeli request
European diplomats familiar with the events in Lebanon claim that in the past year the United States has refused to provide the Lebanese army with
advanced weapons that would have helped against Hezbollah and other militant groups. They said this was because of Israeli requests.
Since the 2006 Second Lebanon War and the deployment of the army in South Lebanon that followed, the international community has tried to rehabilitate the national armed forces.
The European diplomats told Haaretz that although Lebanon asked the U.S. to provide heavy weapons such as antitank missiles and assault helicopters, the U.S. aid has concentrated on training Lebanese army units and supplying light arms and ammunition. They say the U.S. refused the requests because of Israel's fears that heavy arms could be used against it in the future or even fall into Hezbollah hands.
Israel is closely following the events in Lebanon. For the time being, Jerusalem has decided not to issue any official comment on the confrontations between Hezbollah and the Beirut government. But various officials have expressed concern over the escalation and the possible implications for Israel's northern border.
Officials have also expressed pessimism and frustration over the international community's helplessness in the face of the fighting. Jerusalem believes that the UN Security Council will make no effort to solve the conflict because of its current composition.
"The fact that Libya is a member of the Security Council leads to a complete paralysis," one Jerusalem source said.
There is also a fear that a military escalation and Hezbollah's growing power could drive UNIFIL out of Lebanon.
Foreign Ministry officials in Jerusalem last night said today's scheduled meeting of Arab League foreign ministers could be key to the future of the crisis. They said Saudi Arabia and Egypt are expected to criticize Hezbollah's violence against the Beirut government.
But it is uncertain whether the Arab states are capable of taking action that could contribute significantly to ending the crisis.

Lebanon prime minister accuses Hezbollah of staging coup
By News Agencies
Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora called on the army on Saturday to restore law and order across Lebanon and remove gunmen from the streets, accusing Hezbollah of staging an armed coup. But Siniora also backed away from the government decisions that triggered the street confrontations, which killed 37 people in four days. Hezbollah seized the Sunni neighborhoods of Beirut Thursday after its leader Hassan Nasrallah accused the U.S.-backed government of declaring war on his group by its recent decision to consider the group's communications network illegal and remove the airport security chief for alleged ties to the militants.
Siniora said Saturday the decision on the communications issue would be dealt with by the army, which promptly overturned the two anti-Hezbollah measures on Saturday. The army said in a statement it was keeping the head of the security at Beirut airport in his post and that it would handle Hezbollah's communications network in a way "that would not harm public interest and the security of the resistance." Soon thereafter, Hezbollah agreed to retreat from the neighborhoods it had seized. Siniora also said Lebanon can no longer tolerate Hezbollah keeping freely its weapons - signaling that the U.S.-backed government was toughening its stand against the Shi'ite militant opposition group despite the government coalition's loss of ground in street fighting in Beirut in the past few days.
Siniora's harsh criticism of Hezbollah, his first since the fighting began, was bound to further escalate the fierce power struggle between the government and Syrian- and Iranian-backed opposition.
Addressing the army, he said: "I call on it once again to impose security on all, in all areas, deter the gunmen and immediately remove them from the street ... to restore normal life." Although he talked tough, his embattled government appears unable to move against Hezbollah or force the army to act. The army has stayed out of the fighting and has deployed troops in the last 24 hours in some areas to protect besieged leaders of the pro-government factions. But it has not intervened with the Shiite fighters who seized large areas of Muslim west Beirut from pro-government Sunnis.
Siniora has been holed up at his government headquarters protected by Lebanese troops after Hezbollah and its allies swept through the Muslim sector of the capital after sectarian clashes that have killed 25 people.
"We can no longer accept that Hezbollah and its weapons be kept like this. The Lebanese can no longer continue to accept this situation," he said in a nationally televised addressed. But he said government was not planning on forcefully attempting to disarm the group which has fought Israel in the 2006 Second Lebanon War and possesses a huge arsenal of rockets and guns along with thousands of fighters. He said the fate of the weapons would have to be decided through state institutions and dialogue. "The dream of democracy in Lebanon has been dealt a poisonous stab the armed coup carried out by Hezbollah and its allies," he said, saying Beirut was an occupied, besieged city by Hezbollah and its allies.
"Hezbollah must realize that the force of arms will not intimidate us or make us retreat from our position," he said. Arab League ministers to meet on Lebanese crisis
Arab foreign ministers will hold an emergency meeting on Sunday to discuss the crisis in Lebanon, the Arab League said on Saturday.
"The Arab League council at the ministerial level will hold an emergency session on Sunday to discuss the Lebanese crisis and how to deal with it," the League said in a statement. The meeting came after Saudi Arabia and Egypt - both supporters of the pro-Western Lebanese government - called for an emergency session to discuss the crisis, the worst in Lebanon since the 1975-90 civil war. Syria's Arab League envoy Youssef Ahmed said that the Syrian foreign minister might not attend the meeting, Egypt's MENA news agency reported. "Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem might not head his country's delegation at tomorrow's emergency meeting of the Arab foreign minister's council... due to work in Damascus," MENA quoted Ahmed as saying, adding he would head the Syrian team.
Syria, which was forced to withdraw its troops from Lebanon under international pressure after the 2005 assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri, would not favor a meeting that is likely to condemn the actions of its main ally in Lebanon. The current violence came following more than 17 months of deadlock over the election of a new president for Lebanon. Earlier on Saturday, an Arab League official in Cairo said that the ministers would call for an immediate agreement on the forming of a Lebanese national unity government and the election of army chief General Michel Suleiman as president.
They would also call for a team of "politicians, intellectuals and neutral parties" to work on drafting a new electoral law after the election of Suleiman, the official who declined to be identified added. Hesham Youssef, Secretary-General Amr Moussa's chief of staff, said that a new president had to be elected before a cabinet could be formed. "The first clause of the (Arab) initiative is about the election of the president, the second clause is about forming a government, the third clause is about the electoral law," Youssef said.
White House calls on Iran, Syria to halt support for Hezbollah
The White House said on Friday it was "very troubled" by Hezbollah's actions in Beirut, where its fighters routed forces loyal to Lebanon's government, and urged Iran and Syria to halt support for the Lebanese militant group. "We have confidence in the government of Lebanon," White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe told reporters after Hezbollah took control of the Muslim half of Beirut, tightening its grip in a major blow to Siniora. "We are very troubled by the recent actions of Hezbollah," he said in Crawford, Texas, where U.S. President George W. Bush was at his ranch preparing for his daughter's wedding.
Johndroe said the United States called on Hezbollah to "stop their attempt to defy the lawful decisions taken taken by the democratically elected Lebanese government." "We also urge Iran and Syria to stop their support of Hezbollah and its destabilizing effect on the government of Lebanon," he said. Bush has led international campaigns aimed at diplomatically isolating Tehran and Damascus. "The United States stands firmly with the Lebanese government and the people of Lebanon," Johndroe said. Bush is due to meet Siniora on May 18 at the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh at the end of a week-long visit to the Middle East. Johndroe said the talks were expected to go ahead at this point but that U.S. officials would understand if Siniora decided to stay in Lebanon to deal with the situation there.
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice telephoned leaders in the region about the events in Lebanon, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack told reporters in Washington. "I would restate our unswerving commitment and support for the Siniora government," he said. "They are doing all the right things. ... Its use and deployment of the military serve the best interests of the Lebanese people and Lebanon."
Peres says Beirut violence is 'a tragedy for all of us'
President Shimon Peres played down Israeli concerns at Hezbollah's move to expand its control, but said he hoped the Lebanese people would step back from the brink of civil war. Peres called the latest round of violence a "tragedy," but classified it as an "internal split" having nothing to do with Israel.
"It's not a total surprise. We knew that Hezbollah is going to divide the country and lead it to the verge of a civil war," Peres told reporters.
"It has nothing to do with Israel. It's an internal split," Peres said. "It's a tragedy for them. It's a tragedy for all of us. And I hope that at the last moment they will save themselves from a bloody civil war."
Abbas urges Palestinians to stay out of conflict
Meanwhile, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas urged the some 400,000 Palestinian refugees living in Lebanon to stay out of the current conflict between the Western-backed government and the Iranian and Syrian-backed opposition.
Abbas also warned against attempts to drag the Palestinians into the ongoing fighting between Hezbollah and forces loyal to the government.
Abbas told reporters in Ramallah that he was "following with concern" developments in Lebanon and urged the warring parties not to "drag the country into a more critical situation." "We are concerned about Lebanon's unity and safety and we want the best relations with all its parties," he said.
"We are temporary guests there until we can return to Palestine and until then, and from previous painful experiences, we should remain neutral and respect the official Lebanese institutions and laws," he said.
Iran says trying to end tensions in Lebanon, blames U.S., Israel
Iran said it was working to end the violence in Lebanon and blamed Israel and the United States for the latest tensions, the Tehran press reported Saturday.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad-Ali Hosseini said that Iran was continuing all possible efforts to help the various political groups in Lebanon find an understanding and end the tensions.
Hosseini said "adventurous intervention" by the U.S. and Israel was the main cause for the escalation in Lebanon.
Iran has denied providing military aid to Lebanon's radical groups and said that the nature of Tehran's support for Hezbollah was solely of a political and spiritual nature.

Lebanese gov't bends to Hezbollah demands
By Haaretz Correspondents and Agencies , By Yoav Stern and Barak Ravid
Hezbollah scored a major victory yesterday after four days of fighting across Lebanon, when the Lebanese army reversed two cabinet resolutions that kicked off the fighting on Wednesday. The resolutions, if implemented, would have removed the chief of Beirut Airport's security, Major General Wafiq Shukeir, who has ties to Hezbollah. It also would have dismantled Hezbollah's private telephone network. Advertisement
Instead, Prime Minister Fouad Siniora announced yesterday that he was putting the two issues into the hands of the army, which said in a statement that it was keeping Shukeir at his post and that it would handle the Hezbollah communications network in a way "that would not harm public interest and the security of the resistance." Hezbollah's television station, Al-Manar, said the "Lebanese national opposition" would continue its civil rebellion until its demands for an amendment to the parliamentary election law and the formation of a unity government in which the opposition had veto power were met.
At least 27 people died in the four days of fighting. Late Thursday night, Hezbollah forces took over areas of western Beirut, mainly the Shi'ite neighborhoods, within a few hours. They faced little resistance. About a dozen people were reportedly killed in Beirut that night. On Friday morning the prime minister's office in central Beirut was surrounded. By last night most of the Hezbollah gunmen in western Beirut had withdrawn.
The army has mainly stayed out of the fighting, although troops were deployed yesterday. The confrontations in the last few days were the worst since the end of the civil war in the early 1990s. They took place amid the power struggle between the Hezbollah bloc and the parliamentary majority comprising most of the country's Sunni, Druze and Christian powers. If an agreement over the election law and a unity government can be obtained, it will also enable the appointment of a new president. The candidate with approval from all sides is army commander Michel Suleiman, who also had a part in yesterday's decision. But his appointment has been repeatedly postponed for nearly 18 months.
European diplomats familiar with the events in Lebanon claim that in the past year the United States has refused to provide the Lebanese army with advanced weapons that would have helped against Hezbollah and other militant groups. They said this was because of Israeli requests.
Since the 2006 Second Lebanon War and the deployment of the army in South Lebanon that followed, the international community has tried to rehabilitate the national armed forces. The European diplomats told Haaretz that although Lebanon asked the U.S. to provide heavy weapons such as antitank missiles and assault helicopters, the U.S. aid has concentrated on training Lebanese army units and supplying light arms and ammunition. They say the U.S. refused the requests because of Israel's fears that heavy arms could be used against it in the future or even fall into Hezbollah hands.
Israel is closely following the events in Lebanon. For the time being, Jerusalem has decided not to issue any official comment on the confrontations between Hezbollah and the Beirut government. But various officials have expressed concern over the escalation and the possible implications for Israel's northern border.
Officials have also expressed pessimism and frustration over the international community's helplessness in the face of the fighting. Jerusalem believes that the UN Security Council will make no effort to solve the conflict because of its current composition.
"The fact that Libya is a member of the Security Council leads to a complete paralysis," one Jerusalem source said.
There is also a fear that a military escalation and Hezbollah's growing power could drive UNIFIL out of Lebanon.
Foreign Ministry officials in Jerusalem last night said today's scheduled meeting of Arab League foreign ministers could be key to the future of the crisis. They said Saudi Arabia and Egypt are expected to criticize Hezbollah's violence against the Beirut government.

Lebanon crisis / Waiting for the third bell
By Zvi Bar'el
Haaretz 11/05/08
The relative quiet in Lebanon yesterday was like the quiet before the bell marking the end of a round in a boxing match. Each side counts its bruises and its achievements. These will be displayed today when the Arab League foreign ministers convene an emergency session in Beirut to propose another mediation attempt. By then the initial outlines of the country's new political map may be apparent: Hezbollah's assault on government positions, the shooting in the streets of Beirut, Sidon and other cities, and especially the threat to continue the assault, are meant to lead to the next step.
In deciding yesterday to reverse last week's cabinet resolutions that set off the fighting, Prime Minister Fuad Siniora took a necessary first step. The resolutions were to dismantle Hezbollah's private telephone network in the South and and a few other sites and to dismiss airport security chief Major General Wafiq Shukeir, who has ties to Hezbollah. The second step will be renewing national dialogue to form a new government and to finally appoint a new president after nearly a year and a half of postponements. To achieve the first goal, Siniora may have to resign or agree to a unity government in which Hezbollah and its allies will be big enough to have veto power over the cabinet's cardinal decisions. The government is totally opposed to this, but it could pave the way to the appointment of the presidential candidate, Lebanese Army commander Michel Suleiman.
In the absence of such an agreement, an alternate proposal will likely be offered: Suleiman will be named acting prime minister, instead of president, and will call new elections on condition that a new election law that conforms with Hezbollah's demands is passed. Without the adoption of one of these compromises - which constitute a major concession on the part of the cabinet and the parliamentary majority - the political crisis that began over a year ago will continue to feed the threat of a new civil war. At the same time, Hezbollah will have to decide whether to transfer to army control the positions it took last week. Lebanese commentators believe Hezbollah wants to prove it is a national, not sectarian, organization and thus will obey army directives while making its own demands. These could include making the army responsible for deciding whether Hezbollah has a military need for an independent telephone network. Hezbollah is gambling that the army will decide in its favor, dealing another tactical loss to the government.
But the army's real test will be its will and ability to drive the armed militants from the streets. For the army, 30 percent of which is Shi'ite, that will truly test its capability as a national force.
In any event, Hezbollah has already achieved its goal of being the catalyst for the next political round of the match, in which it is hoping for a knockout: achieving formal control of Lebanese politics, not just de facto control of the streets. That would definitely be good news for Syria, which this weekend was sentenced to another year of U.S. sanctions. After all, Syria has the key to the success of any Lebanese compromise deal, a key that has grown rusty over the past year.

Civil war / Not only Lebanon's problem
By Amos Harel and Avi Issacharoff
The minor civil war that was going on in Lebanon over the last few days, which apparently reached a temporary time-out yesterday, should not immediately impact Israel's security situation. Hezbollah appears focused on improving its status in the Lebanese domestic arena, and does not seem to be seeking a direct confrontation with Israel. But on the slightly longer term, Israel's leaders should worry. One of the Olmert administration's few achievements from the Second Lebanon War may be undermined: the (partial) distancing of Hezbollah from Southern Lebanon by United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701.
Israeli intelligence recognizes that Hezbollah has recovered from the shock of the war in 2006. It has tripled its rocket supply, and weapons smuggling from Syria has continued uninterrupted. Its main consideration is ratcheting up pressure on its domestic adversaries, in complete coordination with its patron, Iran. Advertisement
At a press conference yesterday in Beirut, Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora appeared shocked by Hezbollah's violence, and at times ready to cry, as he did in August 2006. However Siniora and the other members of the anti-Syrian camp should not be surprised at the military capabilities of the Shi'ite group or its willingness to turn its weapons on its political rivals. For years, successive Lebanese governments have not demanded unconditionally that Hezbollah lay down its arms. They may have deluded themselves that Hezbollah's joining the parliament, and later the government, would moderate the group (like Hamas and the Palestinian Authority). Siniora was forced to remind his listeners yesterday that Hezbollah had pledged not to resort to armed resistence, except against Israel, and he attacked Hezbollah over its attempted coup. But in the end he raised a white flag: His government, he said, had not published a decision to dismantle the Hezbollah communication network. The Lebanese army has also not done so. Siniora said yesterday Hezbollah is "all of Lebanon's problem." But it is not only Lebanon's. On Israel's southern and northern borders are pro-Iranian extensions, and conflict with them is not a question of if but rather when.
Hezbollah has so far not outrightly contravened Resolution 1701 and renewed its armed presence along Israel's border. But with a weak Lebanese military and a hesitant UNIFIL, Nasrallah might do so in the future. For Israel, preoccupied with Olmert's latest investigation, apparently preparing for elections and hesitating in the face of rocket attacks from Gaza, this might be another serious challenge, coming at a not particularly convenient time.

Robert Fisk: Lebanon does not want another war. Does it?
Despite everything that has happened in the past few days, the people have no appetite for yet more civil conflict
Sunday, 11 May 2008 I went to cover a demonstration in West Beirut yesterday morning – yes, please note the capital W on "West" – and then I get a text from a Lebanese woman on my mobile phone, asking if she will have to wear a veil when she returns to Lebanon. How do I reply? That the restaurants are still open? That you can still drink wine with your dinner?
That is the problem. For the war in West Beirut is not about religion. It is about the political legitimacy of the Lebanese government and its "pro-American" support (the latter an essential adjective to any US news agency report), which Iran understandably challenges.
A few days ago, I went to view an exhibition – here, in Beirut – of posters of the terrible 15-year civil war which cost the Lebanese and Palestinians 150,000 lives. It was called "Signs of Conflict: Political Posters of Lebanon's Civil War, 1975-1990", and I came to the conclusion that there would never be a civil war in Lebanon again. How could a people who were prepared to show such outrageous placards re-fight this hopeless conflict? But, am I not seeing almost identical posters in the streets of West Beirut? So let us start at the beginning (be that the Ottoman, French, post-Versailles beginning of Lebanese history). Or let us begin yesterday, when it was broadcast that two Hizbollah members (for which read Shia Muslims) were knifed to death in Aley by Druze Muslims. Outrageous, if true. So let us begin with the statement that the Lebanese army command has decided to let Brigadier General Wafiq Chucair remain in command of security at Beirut airport. And that the Lebanese army commander – General Michel Sulaiman (the favourite for president if parliament, after 18 sittings, decide to choose one) – was determined to restore "law and order".
Thus (if the reader is not already confused) we should advance to the near-present. The army is demanding an end to all militia presence, for example the armed checkpoints in Lebanon; also, the opening of all roads. The army's fear, of course – and this is not in the official communiqués – is that if the militias do not end checkpoints and open all roads, then the army itself will split and its soldiers become part of the checkpoints. Yesterday, though, Hizbollah TV said the militias would comply with the request.
But let's go back to that demonstration I was covering in Beirut. Two days ago, Hizbollah, in its takeover of West Beirut, captured Saad Hariri's Future Television. This was the station of ex-prime minister Rafiq Hariri prior to his assassination on 14 February 2005 (for whether Syria was responsible watch this space, as they say). When Hizbollah took over West Beirut two days ago, they cut Future's cable, and so the 200 or so demonstrators who turned up yesterday were wasting their time. Meanwhile, back at the poster exhibition, the Phalangists (still very much alive) tell their supporters that their "martyrs" died "for Lebanon to live". Another tells readers that "the Morabitoun [in Arabic, the Muslim "Ambushers"] destroyed the symbol of fascist treason, of black Zionism". The Syrian Social Nationalist Party calls, after 53 years, for "the renaissance and unity of society, and for the liberation of the nation from Zionist and foreign occupation". Let us remember here that the SSNP still wants an Arab nation which includes "Palestine", and Cyprus. And there is poor old Bashir Gemayel (Phalangist leader, assassinated in 1982, after winning the pro-Israeli presidential ticket) telling the Lebanese, Kitchener-like, that "Your nation needs you – yes, You!"
And when I walked round that exhibition, I thought – yes – that this war could never be recreated. I even contemplated an article saying that there would not be another civil war here. On reflection, I should have sent that story to this paper. For despite everything that we have witnessed these past three days (or two years, or the 30 years or 2,000 years, you take your pick), I don't think the Lebanese want another civil war.
Five days ago, I recorded an interview for Saad Hariri's Future channel about my new book, and told my interviewer that I did not think there would be another civil war in Lebanon. Because Hizbollah has cut the cables of the channel, there will be no programme. "You did it for nothing," the young Lebanese woman interviewer told me yesterday. Yes, I think she was right. But I still suspect that the Lebanese will not tolerate another civil conflict.
And I say this in front of the facts: that Hizbollah paraded down the Corniche in front of my apartment with their weapons, and that my car is shredded with bullet holes courtesy of – let us speak frankly – Hizbollah's venal allies, the Amal militia (owner; Nabih Berri, speaker of parliament). Like all who live here, my driver and I are happy we were not in the car. But in Lebanon, the question is: who will drive the car?

Saniora: State Would Not Fall to Those Who Have Carried Out 'Armed Coup'
Naharnet/Premier Fouad Saniora has reassured the Lebanese that their state would not fall under the control of coup launchers, and offered an initiative to end Beirut's seizure by opposition gunmen. Saniora, in a televised address to the nation Saturday, recalled that "we had toppled the republic of fear" in reference to the Syrian-dominated rule of Lebanon. He pledged that such dominance "would not (be allowed to) return." Saniora accused Hizbullah of launching war "on the state and the people" and proposed a five-point "intro to a settlement." He said the dream of democracy in Lebanon has been dealt "a poisonous stab by the armed coup carried out by Hizbullah and its allies." The Saniora initiative called for placing the two controversial government decisions in the hands of the Army command, withdrawing gunmen from the streets and assigning police and the army to enforce law and order. The initiative also called for the immediate election of a consensus president, the formation of a national unity government in which the opposition does not have veto powers and the majority does not have the power to adopt decisions.
Saniora also called all media organizations to adopt a "code of honor" halting all campaigns and counter campaigns.
The prime minister urged the Lebanese to observe a minute of silence at 12 noon Sunday for the souls of those killed during the clashes between pro- and anti-government forces, stressing that participants should raise Lebanese flags. He reiterated that his government would not resign, contrary to what the Hizbullah-led opposition hopes for. "We had thought that Israel is the source of the imminent threat to our country … but the present experience shows that our homes and democratic system are taken over by brethren who believe in armed violence." "We and the Lebanese people do not accept that Hizbullah and its weapons remain in the present status," Saniora declared."None of us is neutral," Saniora added. Beirut, 10 May 08, 20:5

Hassan Khalil: Opposition to Withdraw Gunmen, Maintain Disobedience
Naharnet/AMAL MP Ali Hassan Khalil has said the Hizbullah-led opposition would withdraw its gunmen from Beirut and turn over responsibility of security to the army while maintaining its civil disobedience. Khalil also accused majority Premier Fouad Saniora on Friday of launching a coup against the "resistance" by seeking to control its communications network.  Khalil, in a statement to reporters, said resistance weapons would always be directed "against the enemy and whoever tries to finish it off." The majority, according to Khalil, "carried out a real coup against the constitution."
He said a declaration by Saniora to put two government decisions rejected by the opposition in the hands of the army command is "a deceiving operation."
He urged the premier to withdraw the two decisions against Beirut Airport Security chief Wafiq Shoqeir and the Hizbullah communications network.
Khalil also blamed Saniora for sending copies of the government decisions to the U.N. chief.
The problem, according to Khalil, is that the majority has rejected dialogue called for by Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, who also is AMAL chief.
Khalil accused Saniora of rejecting dialogue with Berri to kill time with the aim of blocking agreement on a new parliamentary elections law.
Beirut, 10 May 08, 19:51
 

Hezbollah 'redrawing' Mideast map
By Joshua Mitnick
May 12, 2008
A Hezbollah activist gets a ride during yesterday's fighting. An alliance of Hezbollah, Hamas and Iran is increasingly taking advantage of the Shi'ite-Sunni ethnic divide, and some fear Jordan and Egypt will be the next targets.
RAMALLAH, West Bank — Hezbollah's dramatic gains in Lebanon last week are just part of a regional process that began last year in the Gaza Strip and will continue in Jordan and Egypt, a Hamas official in the West Bank told The Washington Times.
Sheik Yazeeb Khader, a Ramallah-based Hamas political activist and editor, said militant groups across the Middle East are gaining power at the expense of U.S.-backed regimes, just as Hamas seized control of the Gaza Strip from forces loyal to U.S.-backed Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.
"What happened in Gaza in 2007 is an achievement; now it is happening in 2008 in Lebanon. It's going to happen in 2009 in Jordan and it's going to happen in 2010 in Egypt," Sheik Khader said in an interview.
"We are seeing a redrawing of the map of the Middle East where the forces of resistance and steadfastness are the ones moving the things on the ground."
His remarks highlight how a growing alliance linking Hamas, Iran and Hezbollah straddles the Shi'ite-Sunni rift.
The notion of new countries falling under Islamist influence reflects a goal of Hamas' parent group, the Muslim Brotherhood, of replacing secular Arab regimes with Islamist governments.
In the same way that Hamas' victory over the Palestinian Authority security forces in Gaza fighting last June profoundly disturbed neighboring Arab states, fighting in Lebanon yesterday and last week has sent shock waves throughout the Middle East and spurred an emergency meeting of the Arab League.
The Arab League is sending Secretary-General Amr Moussa to mediate among the Lebanese government, Hezbollah and Sunni supporters of the government.
Sami Abu Zuhri, a spokesman for the Hamas government in Gaza, took a different approach to the standoff in Lebanon by saying that the fighting primarily served Israel.
Mr. Abu Zuhri called on each side to engage in dialogue instead of fighting.
But several supporters of Hamas in Gaza were comparing Hezbollah's advances into Sunni neighborhoods of Beirut to Hamas' overrunning of security forces loyal to Mr. Abbas.
The fighting of the past few days has brought Lebanon closer to armed internal conflict than at any other time since the end of its 15-year civil war in 1990.
In Israel, military and political leaders expressed concern that the Lebanese government, led by U.S.-backed Prime Minister Fuad Siniora, yielded to Hezbollah's show of force.
"What is going on in Lebanon at this hour is actually the overthrow of Lebanon by Hezbollah. The democratic Lebanese government will become a puppet government — an Iranian dream," said Ze'ev Boim, a lawmaker from Israel's governing Kadima party.
"It is particularly awful to see an Iranian battalion on the northern border of Israel."
Giora Eiland, Israel's former national security adviser, said the international community failed to insist that the government of Mr. Siniora confront Hezbollah, and is now paying the price.
Hezbollah's ascendance in Lebanon is likely to prompt a new round of fighting with Israel, he said.
"If, for the last two years, Hezbollah didn't move against us because it was more interested in grounding its position domestically in Lebanon, now Hezbollah will feel more at ease to operate against us," he said. "I think the good years are behind us."
Hezbollah fought Israel to a standoff in a 2006 war. The militant Shi'ite group battered Israeli cities with rockets, and an incursion by Israeli troops into southern Lebanon failed to stop the rocket attacks.

Lebanon’s “300″
By Walid Phares
While the West is busy living its daily life, a beast is busy killing the freedom of a small community on the East Mediterranean: Lebanon. Indeed, as of last week, the mighty Hezbollah, armed to the teeth with 30,000 rockets and missiles and aligning thousands of self described “Divine soldiers” has been marching across the capital, terrorizing its population, shutting down media, taking its politicians and the Prime Minister as hostages, and looting at will. The hordes of Lebanon’s “Khomeinist Janjaweeds” have conquered already half of the Middle East’s cultural capital, Beirut. As I have reported before, Hezbollah has occupied West Beirut and has since sent its storm troops in multiple directions to resume the blitz.
The burning of TV stations in Beirut
Unstoppable, including by the Lebanese Army which Commander Michel Sleiman has allowed the slaughter to occur the Pasdaran-founded militia is now hurdling towards the Druze Mountain and positioning its forces against the Sunni North and the Christian Mount Lebanon. Ironically, the geographical bases of Hezbollah, in southern Lebanon, are well guarded by the United Nations Interim Forces (UNIFIL). Per a UNSCR 1701 in 2006, more than 10,000 international troops are stationed across the southern parts of Lebanon, technically protecting the 200 Shia towns and villages from where the bulk of Hezbollah fighters came from. Hence, free from guarding their own areas, a dozen thousands well trained “Hezbollahis” have marched north to join another 5,000 already based in the southern suburbs of Beirut.
This huge force, by Lebanon’s standards, was joined by an undetermined number of real Iranian Guards, shipped from Tehran to man sophisticated weapons offered by the Khamanei regime as a gift to topple the democratically elected Government of Fuad Seniora. In addition, from the four corners of the country, Jihadist and ultra radical organizations have joined the fray including: The Nazi-like SSNP, the Amal Movement, the Wi’amWahhab pro-Syrian militia, and many others. And to top it, Damascus was able to neutralize the Lebanese Army which has been equipped recently by the United States. Its Commander, a candidate for the Presidency of the Republic was “convinced” by the Assad regime to open the passages to Beirut and all other regions for the hordes to thrust into their enemies’ backyards. Reminding us of the tales of Greek Antiquity, this Xerxes –Khomeinist- Army burst into the capital, whipping out the thin internal security forces and reigning with brutality.
Hezbollah’s “Immortal Guards” against the “300″?
After securing the Muslim side of the city, the “Immortal Guards” –since most of the Hezbollahis believe in martyrdom as a path to eternal after-life, encircled the mostly Druze Mountain from all directions. Closing in from the coast, the south and the Bekaa, thousands of fighters and their heavy artillery were ordered into battle this week end. The massive “Persian” Army is now attempting to take these passes into the Bekaa and from there into the North and the Christian Mountain. In a sense these may become Lebanon’s Thermopylae: A vast Hezbollah Iranian-backed Army unleashing its power against few Lebanese Spartans, to dislodge them and open the paths for the rest of the country. Indeed, it looks like the few hundred Druze fighters in Aley and the Shuf –who have decided to fight on their own, may become Lebanon’s “300”. The vision is chilling. Despite the calls by their leader Walid Jumblat, now hostage to the Pasdaran in Beirut, to desist from resisting, the mountainous peasants decided to fight and resist the onslaught. The balance of power is terribly uneven. The forces of Hassan Nasrallah, hyper armed by “Xerxes” Ahmedinijad, line up thousands of soldiers, Special Forces, missiles and endless containers of ammunition. They have hardened their battle experience through years of fighting against a powerful Israeli Army, Air Force and Navy. Nasrallah is convinced that his Army of Suicide-bombers has defeated the region’s nuclear super power in 2006. Hence, a few “hundreds” of Druses won’t even stand for a day. Logically, he is correct. The Lebanese Army was tamed by Hezbollah, the Sunnis of Beirut collapsed in few hours, the Christians are intimidated, the U.S and Europe fears Hezbollah’s Terror and the Arab regimes are terrified by his myth. Who on Earth will resist the Khomeinist Xerxes? Well so far, Lebanon’s 300 have.
The Grand Hezbollah PlanThe first waves of attacks launched by the Iranian backed forces aimed at seizing the first portion of the strategic Damascus Highway (the I-70 of Lebanon) linking Beirut to the Syrian border via the Mountain. The offensive began from Kayfoun towards Baysur. Instead of seizing terrain, Hezbollah lost Kayfoun with heavy casualties (about 23 killed) and the Druze fighters of the Socialist Party planted their flag on the enemy bunker before they pulled back to their positions. The Iranian commanders were stunned by these mountain “Rangers.” But the Druze had only AK 47 with one or two clips of ammunitions; rarely an RPG. While the whole of Lebanon was watching with fear, awaiting their turn, the “300” were repelling the waves of “Immortal Hezbollah” who in fact got very mortal in 24 hours. Another battle raged in Aley and the “Persians” lost again: 9 casualties or so: Among the bodies, three Iranians. Near Aley the strategic hill 888 was assaulted repetitively but the defenders repelled the “Guards.” Later on, the Druze transferred the hill to the Lebanese Army. Nasrallah’s troops then stormed Deir Qubal but were pushed back towards the surrounding hills. Hezbollah tried to seize Ein Unub but again the attack failed.
Druze clerics Hezbollah Guard
Then Hezbollah ordered its forces to advance on the coastal axis towards Shueifat. There, the Druze pulled back inside the town allowing the “Hezbos” to take the control of the beaches and the adjacent roads. But when the Iranian backed militias moved toward the neighborhoods, their advance was stopped. Frustrated the “Xerxes” War Room decided the grand assault by early Monday: More than 2,000 Khomeinist-trained commandos took the back roads to the Baruk Mountain coming from the southern Bekaa. Their target are the Maaser heights and from there to the district capital of the Shuf, Mukhtara. From south Lebanon, the hordes of Hezbollah are marching across Jezzine, Tumate heights into the southern frontiers of the Druze lands. According to reports, 5000 Hezbollah/Iranian/Syrian infantry, backed by rockets and artillery are to close in from the south. The Druze, youth and elderly, have mobilized all they could, but are isolated with little ammunition. Their adversaries are numerous, well equipped, fanaticized and have their supply lines opened to Syria and via Damascus, to Iran. The tableau looks like a real collection of small Thermopylae where the “300” of Lebanon will be fighting a Goliath.
Pasdaran and Hezbollah’s forces
But irony is that the United States and other Democracies, whose forces are present in the area and ships cruising the waters along the Eastern Mediterranean, and who have committed to fight terror around the globe may be watching these “300” falling in this epic fight. The greater irony is that these peasants of Mount Lebanon have withstood the mighty machine of Hezbollah for three days and maybe for a few more, while the standing myth internationally was that no one on Earth can defeat this Terror force. Well, for few days the myth of invincibility of Hezbollah was shattered. Eventually if the powers -who have already spent 500 billion dollars on the War on terror- would fail the Lebanese “300” in their mountains, the legend will be owned by the those little intrepid and courageous peasants. But if Washington and Paris would quickly assume their strategic responsibilities –which they initiated by voting UNSCR 1559 to liberate Lebanon- then perhaps Khomeinist-Terror won’t plant its banners on the Eastern Mediterranean.
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Dr Walid Phares is the Director of the Future Terrorism Project at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies and the author of The Confrontation: Winning the War against Future Jihad.

ANALYSIS / Who will stop Hezbollah? Not the Lebanon Army
By Yoav Stern, Haaretz Correspondent
Hezbollah's rapid and savvy raids of recent days brought to light the true balance of power in Lebanon, and, at the same time, the close connection between the Lebanon Army and Hezbollah.
Witness accounts of Hezbollah's actions in Lebanon in the course of the incidents demonstrate not only that the Lebanon Army is refraining from trying to bar Hezbollah from operating throughout the country, but is in fact carrying out orders from the organization and granting it media cover.
Lebanese media reports clearly indicate that Hezbollah is practicing censorship over broadcasts of the various networks. Nonetheless, it can be discerned at times that the picture as broadcast from Beirut is not telling the story in full. While camouflage-spotted Lebanon Army armored personnel carriers take center screen, Hezbollah men manning roadblocks can often be seen on the margins, checking the identity papers of passersby.
Friday morning, Lebanese television stations were allowed to broadcast calming footage of armored personnel carriers standing outside the Al-Mustakbal Television building, owned by the Hariri family. The station's operations had been halted by Hezbollah.
The actual story, of course, was much more serious. According to one version of the events, the Lebanon Army had ordered the workers there to leave their offices, solely to allow Hezbollah men to enter immediately thereafter to destroy equipment and other property. Two hours later, cameras were allowed into the area, but only to film the APC's standing guard over the building.
The close ties between the army and Hezbollah go beyond the recent battles. They also extend to south Lebanon. Under UN resolution 1701, the Lebanon Army was to deploy in the south and thus take up places occupied by Hezbollah, something that had raised hopes in Israel. Today, UNIFIL and the Lebanon Army respond to every incident in south Lebanon, but the presence of the army has no real significance there. At the moment of truth, the army will follow Hezbollah's orders, diplomatic sources believe.
The Lebanon Army is in practice a reflection of the ethnic partition of this divided land. The army commander is a Maronite, his deputies are Shiite and Sunni, and the chief of the general staff, a Druze. It is estimated that some 35 percent of the soldiers and officers are Shiites, and Christians leave the ranks relatively quickly.
Moreover, in recent days, there have been reports that senior officers, Sunnis and Druze, have asked to resign from the army in response to its involvement in the violence. Government supporters have severely criticized the army and its commander, Michel Suleiman, who was in line to turn into president of Lebanon. Discussions on the issue suggest that some of the officials have reconsidered their support for the government.
Analysts in Lebanon believe that other actions on the part of the army would have led to its being dismantled. "Greater involvement by the army would have meant that perhaps no army would have been left," sources in Beirut told Haaretz by e-mail. "And that would have been the end of Lebanon,".