LCCC
ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
ِSeptember
27/2010
Bible Of The
Day
The Good News According to Matthew 24/1-24: " Jesus went out from the temple,
and was going on his way. His disciples came to him to show him the buildings of
the temple. 24:2 But he answered them, “You see all of these things, don’t you?
Most certainly I tell you, there will not be left here one stone on another,
that will not be thrown down.” 24:3 As he sat on the Mount of Olives, the
disciples came to him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be?
What is the sign of your coming, and of the end of the age?” 24:4 Jesus answered
them, “Be careful that no one leads you astray. 24:5 For many will come in my
name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will lead many astray. 24:6 You will hear
of wars and rumors of wars. See that you aren’t troubled, for all this must
happen, but the end is not yet. 24:7 For nation will rise against nation, and
kingdom against kingdom; and there will be famines, plagues, and earthquakes in
various places. 24:8 But all these things are the beginning of birth pains. 24:9
Then they will deliver you up to oppression, and will kill you. You will be
hated by all of the nations for my name’s sake. 24:10 Then many will stumble,
and will deliver up one another, and will hate one another. 24:11 Many false
prophets will arise, and will lead many astray. 24:12 Because iniquity will be
multiplied, the love of many will grow cold. 24:13 But he who endures to the
end, the same will be saved. 24:14 This Good News of the Kingdom will be
preached in the whole world for a testimony to all the nations, and then the end
will come".
Free
Opinions, Releases, letters, Interviews & Special Reports
Mr.Jamil Sayyed/By Abdul Rahman
Al-Rashid/September 26/10
Sunni militias gone, but arms
remain in West Beirut/Matt Nash/September 26/10
From the Airport: The Return to 7
May/By Diana Mukkaled/September 26/10
Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources for
September 26/10
Direct Israel-Palestinian talks
break down after Abbas secretly engages Hamas/DEBKAfile
Tehran confirms its industrial
computers under Stuxnet virus attack/DEBKAfile
Geagea: Gates Not Wide Open for
Coup Perpetrators, We're Ready for 14 March 14's to Prevent Republic Downfall/Naharnet
Abul Gheit Supports STL, Lebanese
State Institutions Against Pro-Confrontation Sides
Mideast peace talks face collapse
as settlement freeze ends/Now Lebanon
Abbas for Revival of
Syrian-Lebanese Tracks to Achieve Regional Stability/Naharnet
Abbas says Lebanese government
decides fate of Palestinian arms in camps/Now Lebanon
Ezzeddine Said he Agreed with
Egypt's Consul-General that Any Court Dealing with Big Crimes is Politicized/Naharnet
US: Syria is essential to achieving Mideast peace/Haaretz
Geagea wants people isolated, says
Bassil/Now Lebanon
FPM About Geagea's Appeal: This is
Invitation for Political Murder/Naharnet
Syrian Judiciary Prepares
Arrest Warrants against those being Sued by Sayyed/Naharnet
Moussawi Warns: Those Who Endorse
STL Indictment Mustn't Be Only Worried, But Also Panic-Stricken
Houri Hits Back at Moussawi:
Desperate Intimidation against Truth, Justice/Naharnet
Aoun: They Want to Kill the
Resistance to Help Israeli Plans to Naturalize Palestinians in Lebanon/Naharnet
Hariri has primary responsibility
to resolve STL disputes, Fadlallah says/Now Lebanon
De Freige: Wait for STL indictment,
then react/Now Lebanon
Report: Bahia Hariri Met Syrian
First Lady in Damascus/Naharnet
Direct
Israel-Palestinian talks break down after Abbas secretly engages Hamas
DEBKAfile Exclusive Report September 26, 2010, 8:34 AM (GMT+02:00) Tags: Abbas
talks with Hamas Hillary Clinton Israel-Palestinian talks Abbas talks to Clinton
- but also to HamasPalestinian leader flew out of New York Saturday night, Sept.
25 standing by his ultimatum that for Jerusalem to announce continuation of the
temporary freeze on building in West Bank settlements after it expires Sunday
night - or else no more direct talks. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
abandoned her efforts to achieve a compromise Saturday after learning that Abbas
had hardened his line and opted for secret diplomacy with Hamas terrorist
planners in Damascus. Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu refrained from
stating his intentions regarding West Bank construction. He stated from the
outset of the US peace initiative that Palestinian pre-conditions for direct
talks were unacceptable. The Americans backed off pressure to change his mind
after discovering Abbas' double game.
On Saturday, debkafile reported:
Deep in the gloom behind frantic US efforts to rescue the Israeli-Palestinian
peace talks from collapsing when Israel's 10-month construction freeze runs out
Sunday, Sept. 26, debkafile's counter-terror sources report a new stumbling
block has appeared on the diplomatic track.
In New York, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton pressed Abbas Friday, Sept.
24, not to walk out of the talks with Israel after only two sessions. Israel's
Defense Minister Ehud Barak, who delayed his return home, and negotiator Yitzhak
Molcho met with US and Palestinian officials to join the effort. They all
appeared to be struggling for a compromise on the settlement construction issue
that would keep Abbas talking, without compromising the government's position at
home.
In fact, they found themselves grappling with a new impediment: This week, Abbas
sent a high-ranking delegation of his own Fatah party to Damascus for secret
talks with top Hamas leaders, thereby swinging the critical focus of the
Israel-Palestinian peace talks to a new internal Palestinian track led by the
radical Hamas and Syria, the foremost opponents of the US-sponsored peace talks
with Israel. Abbas was apparently supported in this shift by Egypt.
The Fatah delegation consisted of Azzam al Ahmad, Gen. Nasser Yusuf and Sahar
Basiso, head of Fatah General Intelligence, sat down with Hamas' leader Khaled
Meshaal, head of its politburo Mussa Abu Marzouk and Izzat Rishak, intelligence
chief.
The delegation's composition was an added complication and hindrance to
diplomatic progress.
Rishak personally orchestrated the first attacks on the West Bank on Aug. 30 and
Sept. 1, in which four Israelis were murdered and two injured. debkafile's
counter-terror sources report that these were the opening shots of a major Hamas
terror campaign, designed to peak with the most devastating terrorist strike
yet, which Rishak is in charge of planning. He is using the same perpetrators.
They are still at large because Hamas imported unknown terrorist talent from
Syria whose faces are unknown to the Shin Bet. However, a furious hunt is on to
catch them in time.
Israeli defense sources reacted angrily to the news of the Fatah-Hamas
get-together. While slapping down an ultimatum for partnering Israel in peace
talks, Mahmoud Abbas, they said, was furtively engaged in give-and-take in the
Syrian capital with Hamas terrorists who he knows to be the warpath.
Clinton's diplomatic skills have suddenly been doubly taxed: She must contrive
an acceptable formula for the settlement construction imbroglio and so keep the
direct Palestinian-Israeli talks running, while at the same time squashing the
new Palestinian-Hamas-Syrian track surreptitiously initiated by Mahmoud Abbas. A
possible alternative might be one which the Obama administration has begun
exploring of late, according to debkafile's Washington sources, and that is to
cut Syrian and Hamas negotiators into the direct Israel-Palestinian track.
This means that the direct Israel-Palestinian direct talks, which Barack Obama
called the crux of his Middle East policy during his speech to the UN last
Thursday, have been virtually hijacked. Washington is struggling to maintain a
grip on a process which Abbas has handed over to Damascus and Hamas.
Hillary Clinton when she meets Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Mouallem Monday,
Sept. 27, is likely to test the possibility of an agreement on this issue.
Hence, in New York, Assistant US Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs
Jeff Feltman told reporters that his government would like to see Israel and
Syria settle their differences as part of a comprehensive peace, which "has to
include a Syria-Israel track."
Geagea: Gates Not Wide Open for Coup Perpetrators, We're Ready for 14 March 14's
to Prevent Republic Downfall
Naharnet/Let no one be mistaken, the Lebanese people that rose up on March 14,
2005, yearning for a new dawn, is ready today for "fourteen March 14's" to
prevent the downfall of the republic once again, Lebanese Forces leader Samir
Geagea said Saturday.
Speaking at the annual rally held to commemorate "the Martyrs of the Lebanese
Forces" at Jounieh's municipal stadium, Geagea said: "Some of them are raising
the false witnesses issue and describing it as they see fit, issuing their
warnings to the republic: you either execute our verdicts against false
witnesses, or you are a stupid, collaborator republic, against which only
destruction is useful."
"We've been trying hard to tell them that no one can label a false witness as so
other than the relevant judicial authorities, and that it's practically
impossible to carry on with the false witnesses case before the issuance of an
indictment" by the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, Geagea added.
"It's enough to observe the identity of the major forces behind all of what's
happening, so that we become totally confident that if the other camp succeeded
in its coup, Lebanon and the republic wouldn't exist anymore, we'd rather turn
into merely a district," Geagea warned.
He noted that "the gates this time are not wide open in the presence of a
government whose core and head are sovereign, in addition to the state
institutions – the Judiciary, the army and the Internal Security Forces."
Geagea accused the Hizbullah-led political camp of fabricating the so-called
false witnesses who testified before the international investigation commission
probing the murder of ex-premier Rafik Hariri, adding that this camp also
"marketed them in the media to the furthest extent."
"We'll be the first to demand that false witnesses be tried when they become
identified after the end of investigations. Furthermore, we believe that Abu
Adas is the lead character in the false witnesses play, and that there's one
director, despite the presence of many actors," the LF leader added. "They're
asking us to choose between the tribunal and civil peace, but our answer is the
tribunal and civil peace together, because there can't be real, profound civil
peace without accountability and without putting an end to crime and criminals."
Geagea slammed those "who are claiming to lead a revolution against corruption,"
noting that "they have to be the holders of a long history in integrity,
transparency and ethics, and these all are totally absent from the behavior of
those behind this claim."In remarks obviously related to the campaign led by
Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun regarding the legitimacy of the
police Intelligence Bureau, Geagea said: "As to revolution against some
institutions and their bylaws, it's not meant as a revolution to replace
outdated laws and systems with more contemporary ones, but rather to change the
rules of the current game, as it didn't enable those behind such calls to
achieve their personal aims.""Whatever happens, that won't lead to anything more
than a regime change, but the republic shall remain," Geagea vowed. On a
separate note, Geagea called on FPM supporters to "take a bold decision by
returning to the founding principles of the FPM and holding onto them, which
would make us instantly come together and start a new day without sensitivities
or the remnants of the past." Beirut, 25 Sep 10, 21:36
Abbas says Lebanese government decides fate of Palestinian arms in camps
September 26, 2010 /In an interview with Al-Hayat newspaper published on Sunday,
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said that the armed members of the Palestine
Liberation Organization (PLO) inside the refugee camps in Lebanon are ready to
comply with any decision made by the Lebanese government regarding the issue of
their weapons.
“The Lebanese government can collect the weapons of the Palestinian factions
outside the refugee camps whenever it wants to,” Abbas said.-NOW Lebanon
Ahmadinejad: STL a Lebanese Issue, Iran Doesn't and Won't Interfere in it
Naharnet/Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad stressed on Friday that the
Special Tribunal for Lebanon is a matter of Lebanese concern and no one else's.
He told An Nahar during a press conference in New York City: "The Lebanese take
decisions on that matter and we do and will not interfere in local Lebanese
affairs."
"Iran and Lebanon enjoy very good ties … We support Lebanon's unity and its
advancement," he remarked on his upcoming visit to the country in October.
"We feel that all Lebanese should unite in order to guarantee its independence
and security," Ahmadinejad said. Beirut, 25 Sep 10, 08:58
Abul Gheit Supports STL, Lebanese State Institutions Against Pro-Confrontation
Sides
Naharnet/Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit expressed Cairo's full
support for Lebanese state institutions against parties seeking to keep Lebanon
a battlefield.
During a speech at the U.N. General Assembly, the minister also expressed his
country's support for parties that are backing Lebanon's state institutions and
slammed local and foreign sides that "still want to keep this country a
battlefield of political and security and sometimes military confrontation for
regional and international parties."
Abul Gheit stressed support for the Special Tribunal for Lebanon and said Cairo
was awaiting its decisions. Knowing the truth behind the killers of ex-Premier
Rafik Hariri and knowing who carried out the other political assassinations in
Lebanon "should end without return the bad epoch in its history." Beirut, 26 Sep
10, 08:22
Hariri has primary responsibility to resolve STL disputes, Fadlallah says
September 26, 2010 /Loyalty to the Resistance bloc MP Hassan Fadlallah told New
TV on Sunday that Prime Minister Saad Hariri is primarily requested to resolve
the controversies regarding the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL), adding that
“the premier has many responsibilities to bear.”“We did not ask anything of
Hariri in specific because he knows what he should do,” Fadlallah said, adding
that his bloc does not have a problem with Hariri as the head of a
national-unity cabinet. Fadlallah also said that Hezbollah is not afraid of the
STL’s pending indictment. “The problem is with the project that began with [UN
Security Council] Resolution 1559 [issued in 2004], the 2006 July War and the
STL indictment that aim at targeting the Resistance,” Fadlallah said, adding
that “some Lebanese parties are involved [in the project].”Tension ran high in
Lebanon after reports said that the STL would soon issue its indictment in the
2005 assassination of former PM Rafik Hariri. There are fears that should the
court indict Hezbollah members, this could lead to a Sunni-Shia conflict similar
to the one that brought the country to the brink of civil war in May 2008.-NOW
Lebanon
Mideast peace talks face collapse as settlement freeze ends
September 26, 2010 /Jewish settlers were gearing up for a burst of West Bank
construction as last-minute efforts to salvage the Mideast peace talks focused
Sunday on finding a compromise over a settlement freeze which expires at the end
of the day, AFP reported. As the clock ticked, the settlers planned a
high-profile ceremony to lay the cornerstone for a new neighborhood at Kiryat
Netafim in the Ariel settlement bloc in the northern West Bank. "In the same way
that the freeze was total, the restart of construction must be total," Danny
Dayan, head of the Yesha settlers' organization, told army radio. With the
freeze entering its remaining hours, top US officials made last-minute efforts
to salvage the peace talks, launched barely three weeks ago in Washington. "We
are doing everything we can to keep the parties in direct talks," State
Department spokesman Philip Crowley said late on Saturday.
As diplomats scurried to find a last-minute compromise, Human Rights Watch urged
Israel to make "permanent and total" the freeze, stressing that all settlement
on Palestinian land is illegal under international law. The deadline for the end
of the freeze is widely accepted as midnight on September 26, although Jewish
settlers regard the moratorium as ending at sundown, which is officially 5:29 pm
(1529 GMT). A military order, however, sets the date at September 30.-AFP/NOW
Lebanon
Aoun: They Want to Kill the Resistance to Help Israeli Plans to Naturalize
Palestinians in Lebanon
Naharnet/Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun accused western powers on
Sunday of wanting to "kill" Hizbullah to prevent it from stopping Israel to
implement its decision to naturalize Palestinians in Lebanon. "They want to kill
the resistance which is an obstacle in the face of Israel. The first decision
they want to implement is naturalization, but as long as there is a resisting
people there is no naturalization," Aoun said following mass at Saint Takla
church in Bkessine in Jezzine district. Giving the example of "lies" by the Bush
administration to launch war on Iraq, the MP wondered: "What would prevent the
Security Council and the international community to come up with a new lie and
cover up the truth by preventing the prosecution of false witnesses" in
ex-Premier Rafik Hariri's assassination case. "We were accused of conspiring
against our country because we respected our words," he said. Turning to his war
on corruption, Aoun told supporters gathered outside the church: "We want a
resisting people that do not surrender to corruption." However, he blamed the
people for not confronting corrupt rulers, saying state money was being spent
without surveillance and control. "Our presence ends with emigration and land
sales," he said. He also hailed the residents of holding onto their lands in the
area, urging them not to sell their properties despite high real estate prices.
Beirut, 26 Sep 10, 13:22
Ezzeddine Said he Agreed with Egypt's Consul-General that Any Court Dealing with
Big Crimes is Politicized
Naharnet/Hizbullah's Arab relations official Hassan Ezzeddine said he agreed
with the Egyptian Consul-General Ahmed Helmi that any international tribunal
dealing with a crime in the size of ex-Premier Rafik Hariri's murder would be
politicized. In remarks to MTV, he said their meeting on Friday came upon an
Egyptian willingness to restore ties between the two sides.
Ezzeddine also said that Lebanese authorities should follow-up the issue of
false witnesses in Hariri's assassination to know the truth behind the murder.
He reiterated that Hizbullah wasn't concerned about the decisions of the Special
Tribunal for Lebanon because it was politicized. Meanwhile, pan-Arab daily al-Hayat
said Sunday that Ezzeddine and Helmi had previously held two meetings before the
holy month of Ramadan. The two men continued their contacts through telephone
conversation until they held on Friday the third meeting which they unveiled to
the media upon Egyptian willingness, al-Hayat said. Beirut, 26 Sep 10, 08:47
Geagea wants people isolated, says Bassil
September 26, 2010 /In an interview with An-Nahar newspaper published on Sunday,
Energy Minister Gebran Bassil- who is also a member of the Free Patriotic
Movement- commented on Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea’s request that young
FPM members should work with March 14 alliance forces, saying that “Geagea wants
people to be isolated and put in a cocoon.”During his party’s Lebanese
Resistance Martyrs commemoration on Saturday, Geagea called on young FPM members
to work with March 14. “We were united by fifteen years of shared struggle, in
which we were hunted, chased, repressed and imprisoned together,” he said, in a
reference to the 1990-2005 period between the civil war’s end and the Syrian
withdrawal from Lebanon. “This is an invitation for political murder,” Bassil
said, adding that “Geagea is strangling the people with his isolationist
policies.”
“The young FPM supporters will not follow [the LF leader’s policies] that
isolated the Christians,” Bassil added. When asked about Geagea’s statement that
the LF and FPM were united by 15 years of shared struggle, Bassil said, “We were
not struggling [together], Geagea was killing us and the young FPM members along
with [late former Syrian intelligence chief] Ghazi Kanaan.”-NOW Lebanon
FPM About Geagea's Appeal: This is Invitation for Political Murder
Naharnet/The Free Patriotic Movement snapped back at Lebanese Forces leader
Samir Geagea by accusing him of calling for "isolation and confinement."
"This is an invitation for political murder," Energy Minister Jebran Bassil told
An Nahar daily in response to Geagea's appeal to FPM supporters to return to the
founding principles of the movement and hold onto them. "He is choking
Christians with his confinement and isolation," Bassil said about Geagea upon
his return with FPM chief Michel Aoun from Damascus. "He can't address those who
are trying to spread in the east and urge them to isolate themselves." "FPM
members will never adopt this policy," Bassil told the newspaper. About Geagea's
statement that the LF and the FPM had struggled together, the minister said: "We
weren't struggling with Geagea. He was killing us and killing the FPM youth
along with (Syria's former intelligence chief in Lebanon) Ghazi Kanaan." Beirut,
26 Sep 10, 08:02
De Freige: Wait for STL indictment, then react
September 26, 2010 /Lebanon First bloc MP Nabil De Freige told Future News on
Sunday that people should wait for the Special Tribunal for Lebanon’s (STL)
indictment to be issued before reacting. “[Our] support for STL comes from our
conviction that its probe cannot be [distorted],” De Freige said. Tension ran
high in Lebanon after reports said that the STL would soon issue its indictment
in the 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. There are fears
that a possible indictment of Hezbollah members could lead to a Sunni-Shia
conflict similar to the one that brought the country to the brink of civil war
in May 2008.-NOW Lebanon
Sunni militias gone, but arms remain in West Beirut
Matt Nash,/Now Lebanon
September 26, 2010/Now Lebanon
A large, cream-colored villa that resembles a castle still stands in Beirut’s
Mosseitbeh neighborhood.
Nestled now among multi-storey apartment blocks and the fluttering greens and
yellows of Amal and Hezbollah flags, the house was once the center of power for
Beirut’s Sunnis.
“Mosseitbeh for Sunnis was once what Qoreitem is now,” Majid Mattar, a freelance
journalist and long-time Mosseitbeh resident, told NOW Lebanon, referring to the
Ras Beirut residence of Prime Minister Saad Hariri. The anachronistic villa was
home to the late former Prime Minister Saeb Salam, a prominent political figure
in Lebanon’s early history who also co-founded Middle East Airlines. Salam, with
the late Druze leader Kamal Jumblatt and others, coordinated the 1958 civil war
in the estate, and his partisans dug trenches around the villa to defend it that
year.
While many are still armed, today the Sunnis in Mosseitbeh and its surrounding
neighborhoods are neither trained nor organized in the way they once were. The
heart of what became known as West Beirut during the country’s 15-year civil war
is now a dense mixture of mostly Sunni and Shia residents, the result of
block-by-block turf battles during the long and vicious conflict.
When war broke out in 1975, Beirut’s Sunnis were by no means united, but a few
prominent, trained and organized militias – such as Ibrahim Qoleilat’s
Mourabitoun – were close to the Palestinian Liberation Organization and
controlled much of the city’s western half. The PLO’s 1982 expulsion from Beirut
weakened the Sunni militias, and by 1984, the most prominent of them, the
Mourabitoun, was crushed by Amal and the Progressive Socialist Party.
In 1985, after surviving assassination attempts, Salam – then still a symbol of
Sunni power in Beirut – abandoned his villa for exile in Geneva. The Syrians are
widely suspected of being behind this campaign against the Sunnis, and since
then, Beirut’s Sunnis have not had a credible fighting force.
“Beirut was taken over by militias of other sects, and they brought their
families, and it resulted in a huge demographic change,” Nabil Halabi, a lawyer
with Dar al-Fatwa – Lebanon’s highest Sunni authority – told NOW Lebanon.
While neighborhoods in West Beirut long had residents from most of Lebanon’s
major confessions, Sunnis were clearly dominant, but by the end of the civil
war, that was no longer the case. However, at the end of the conflict, a new
Sunni star was rising – the billionaire Lebanese with Saudi citizenship, Rafik
Hariri. By the mid- to late-1980s, Hariri was using his wealth to aid and gain
influence among Sunni families in West Beirut, Mohammad Abi Samra, a journalist
with An-Nahar, told NOW Lebanon.
Hariri tended to identify prominent Sunnis and use them as liaisons with the
community, creating something akin to neighborhood associations, with the
liaisons communicating needs and distributing aid, Abi Samra said. As Hariri
began gaining a foothold during the 1990s, however, Al-Ahbash, a group that came
to Beirut’s Tarek Jdeideh neighborhood in the 1950s but largely stayed out of
the civil war, began pushing back.
“They were used as proxies [by the Syrians],” Abi Samra said. Al-Ahbash would
praise the Syrians whenever anyone spoke ill of them and hang banners pledging
allegiance to Damascus, he said. Halabi, from Dar al-Fatwa, told NOW Lebanon
that Al-Ahbash also began taking over mosques in West Beirut.
“They would enter a mosque with knives during prayer and get into a fight,”
Halabi said, prompting Syrian authorities who occupied the area to intervene and
haul everyone – including the mosque’s imam – off for questioning. “Adnan
Trabulsi, [an MP close to Al-Ahbash], would intervene with Syrian intelligence,
and the Ahbash people would be released and the mosque’s imam wouldn’t.”
As Hariri gained more and more strength during the 1990s and early 2000s, his
Future Movement was recognized as the Sunni power in the city, but Al-Ahbash,
the Mourabitoun and various Leftist parties still held some sway, Mattar, Abi
Samra and Farouq Itani – a taxi driver, writer and former official in the
Mourabitoun – told NOW Lebanon.
Following Hariri’s 2005 assassination, his son Saad encouraged the neighborhood
networks established by his father to allow young men to form small groups
tasked with protecting the neighborhoods, Abi Samra said. He denied the
oft-promulgated charge that Hariri armed and trained them, and said residents
were busy arming themselves and received no training.
Given the mixed nature of the neighborhoods in the heart of West Beirut, limited
street fights between Sunni and Shia partisans of various parties erupted
regularly in 2007 and early 2008, and these neighborhoods are the most likely to
erupt in violence should current tensions get out of control.
Street fighting in May 2008 put an end to Hariri’s policy of encouraging these
young men – who were easily overrun by Hezbollah and its allies – and they have
now either formed small, informal gangs, he said, or teamed up with Al-Ahbash or
the remnants of the Mourabitoun, according to Itani.
Today, Al-Ahbash controls mosques in the West Beirut neighborhoods of Bourj Abi
Haidar, Basta Fawqa and Zokak al-Blat, Itani said. His former militia still
officially exists, but there are splits in the top leadership, and supporters
are by no means trained or organized.
That said, Itani told NOW Lebanon that members of the Mourabitoun joined with
Al-Ahbash to fight partisans of Hezbollah and Amal in late August, something
Halabi denied.
While Beirut’s Sunnis now have no official militias, that clash – which began
with a traffic dispute and evolved into a battle involving RPGs and automatic
weapons – exposed Lebanon’s worst-kept secret: While for the most part
officially disarmed after the war, the country is flooded with firearms and
more.
Qaouq: Camp of July 2006 War is Now that of Indictment, which is Being Used
against Us
Naharnet/Hizbullah's official in southern Lebanon Sheikh Nabil Qaouq stressed on
Saturday that no indictment, international accusation, or international
resolutions would affect the party's determination in its resistance. He said:
"The camp of the July 2006 war has now become that of the indictment, which is
being used against Hizbullah." "If they think that the indictment will bind
Hizbullah, then the results will backfire against them," he noted. "We are keen
to protect Lebanon from this strife and we will not allow the aims of the July
war to be passed through the international tribunal, which Israel is banking on
to compensate for its 2006 defeat," Qaouq stated. "The international tribunal
and internal divisions will not distract us from confronting the Israeli enemy,"
he stressed. "The best response to international pressure and resolutions
against us is through bolstering the Resistance's strategy, which is the
shortest way to rescue Jerusalem and the whole of Palestine," he said. "We will
not rely on the international community or international resolutions, but on the
Resistance strategy that has proven its effectivity in 2000 and 2006," he
stressed. Beirut, 25 Sep 10, 13:52
Suleiman Meets Miss USA
Naharnet/President Michel Suleiman has decorated Miss USA Rima Faqih with the
presidency medal for her Lebanese roots, the National News Agency reported
Sunday.
Suleiman congratulated Faqih on her win and wished her luck. She also expressed
pride of her Lebanese origins.During his stay in New York, the president also
met with Maronite Bishop Gregory Mansour, NNA said. Furthermore, he held talks
with members of the Lebanese mission at the United Nations headed by Ambassador
Nawaf Salam. Beirut, 26 Sep 10, 09:24
Moussawi Warns: Those Who Endorse STL Indictment Mustn't Be
Only Worried, But Also Panic-Stricken
Naharnet/Hizbullah's MP Nawwaf Moussawi on Friday warned that "the period that
will follow the (Special Tribunal for Lebanon) indictment won't be the same as
the one before, and any group in Lebanon that might endorse this indictment will
be treated as one of the tools of the U.S.-Israeli invasion, and it will have
the same fate as the invader.""Those must not only be worried, but also
panic-stricken, and we tell everyone that those who couldn't defeat the
Resistance through fire and iron and billions of dollars will not be able to
defeat it through an indictment or anything else," Moussawi warned. "Today, we
are before a new experience" with STL Prosecutor Daniel Bellemare, Moussawi
added, noting that "some said that this period will take a course that is not
influenced by politicization … but we've discerned the opposite." Beirut, 24 Sep
10, 22:25
Houri Hits Back at Moussawi: Desperate Intimidation against Truth, Justice
Naharnet/Mustaqbal parliamentary bloc MP Ammar Houri on Saturday noted that "the
battle against truth, justice and the protection of the future of political life
in Lebanon is ongoing."
In remarks to Future News TV network, Houri added: "We have been witnessing
since late 2005 the episodes of the other camp that aim at terminating truth and
justice, and today they have reached the peak of insolence through demanding us
to forget (slain premier) Rafik Hariri and the rest of martyrs." "We are simply
saying that we won't accept any settlement regarding the (Special) Tribunal (for
Lebanon) and let that be clear," Houri said. Responding to Friday's remarks of
Hizbullah's MP Nawwaf Moussawi, Houri said: "What we are hearing from some in
the other camp, especially from colleague Moussawi, is a desperate intimidation
against truth and justice, and those who have the principles of persuasion and
the submitting of proofs must not resort to intimidation and threats." Beirut,
25 Sep 10, 17:00
Tehran confirms its industrial computers under Stuxnet virus attack
DEBKAfile Exclusive Report September 25, 2010, 6:07 PM (GMT+02:00) Iran is first
nation to admit to being victim of cyber-terrorMahmoud Alyaee, secretary-general
of Iran's industrial computer servers, including its nuclear facilities control
systems, confirmed Saturday, Sept. 25, that30,000 computers belonging to
classified industrial units had been infected and disabled bythemalicious
Stuxnet virus. This followed debkafile's exclusive report Thursday, Sept. 23,
from its Washington and defense sources that a clandestine cyber war is being
fought against Iran by the United States with elite cyber war units established
by Israel. Stuxnet is believed to be the most destructive virus ever devised for
attacking major industrial complexes, reactors and infrastructure. The experts
say it is beyond the capabilities of private or individual hackers and could
have been produced by a high-tech state like America or Israel, or its military
cyber specialists. The Iranian official said Stuxnet had been designed to strike
the industrial control systems in Iran manufactured by the German Siemens and
transfer classified data abroad. The head of the Pentagon's cyber war
department, Vice Adm. Bernard McCullough said Thursday, Sept. 22, that Stuxnet
had capabilities never seen before. In a briefing to the Armed Forces Committee
of US Congress, he testified that it was regarded as the most advanced and
sophisticated piece of Malware to date.
According to Alyaee, the virus began attacking Iranian industrial systems two
months ago. He had no doubt that Iran was the victim of a cyber attack which its
anti-terror computer experts had so far failed to fight. Stuxnet is powerful
enough to change an entire environment, he said without elaborating. Not only
has it taken control of automatic industrial systems, but has raided them for
classified information and transferred the date abroad.
This was the first time an Iranian official has explained how the United States
and Israel intelligence agencies have been able to keep pace step by step of
progress made in Iran's nuclear program. Until now, Tehran attributed the leaks
to Western spies using Iranian double agents.
Last Thursday, debkafile first reported from its Washington sources that US
president Barack Obama had resolved to deal with the nuclear impasse with Iran
by going after the Islamic republic on two tracks: UN and unilateral sanctions
for biting deep into the financial resources Iran has earmarked for its nuclear
program, and a secret cyber war with Israel to cripple its nuclear facilities.In
New York, the US offer to go back to the negotiating table was made against this
background.
Leaks by American security sources to US media referred to the recruitment by
Israel military and security agencies of cyber raiders with the technical
knowhow and mental toughness for operating in difficult and hazardous
circumstances, such as assignments for stealing or destroying enemy technology,
according to one report.
debkafile's sources disclose that Israel has had special elite units carrying
out such assignments for some time. Three years ago, for instance, cyber raiders
played a role in the destruction of the plutonium reactor North Korea was
building at A-Zur in northern Syria. Some computer security specialists reported
speculated that the virus was devised specifically to target part of the Iranian
nuclear infrastructure, either the Bushehr nuclear plant activated last month -
which has not been confirmed - or the centrifuge facility in Natanz. debkafile's
sources add: Since August, American and UN nuclear watchdog sources have been
reporting a slowdown in Iran's enrichment processing due to technical problems
which have knocked out a large number of centrifuges and which its nuclear
technicians have been unable to repair. It is estimated that at Natanz alone,
3,000 centrifuges have been idled.
Mr.Jamil Sayyed
25/09/2010
By Abdul Rahman Al-Rashid/AshaqAlawsat
only once came into contact with the former Director General of Lebanese
Internal Security Jamil Sayyed, who has today become a controversial figure in
the Lebanese political arena with regards to his pursuit of the "false
witnesses" [who falsely implicated him in Hariri's assassination]. I had heard a
lot about him before I entered his office; I had heard that he was the country's
iron fist, directing and governing many figures and individuals, and that he was
a prominent player on the political scene who was likely to replace Nabih Berri
as Lebanese parliamentary Speaker.
I had been banned from entering Lebanon by former President Emile Lahoud, who
was a narrow-minded man that was unable to manage his political battles without
resorting to prosecution. I was granted special permission to enter Beirut in
order to discuss the issue of my name being placed on the government's
blacklist, both in a legal and political sense. A friend of mine advised me that
in order to spare myself a long and exhausting mission, I should instead go
directly to see Jamil Sayyed, and that if the President was the one who had tied
my hands together, then Sayyed was the one who could untie them. I went to see
Mr. Sayyed and he was very pleasant, he gave up his time to assist me, despite
the fact that it was his daughter's birthday and she telephoned him asking him
to return home! I will not go into what we discussed in his office, but Mr
Sayyed concluded the visit by writing down this phrase on my passport: "Allowed
Entry". This declaration was sufficient to end my complex problem, although
whenever I entered Beirut airport from that day on, I was always asked by the
passport control officer, purely out of curiosity, why I had previously been
prohibited from entering the country.
Having met Jamil Sayyed, I found that the rumours about him were indeed true. He
was a smart and eloquent man with an extensive political knowledge which
qualified him to be a future leader. My impression was further reinforced by his
tendency to remain out of the limelight, in a country that is known for
propaganda and for granting fame to all those who seek it, regardless of their
position. It therefore came as a compete surprise to me when Jamil Sayyed, who
was known for his low-profile, incited a media storm by screaming at the top of
his lungs, in order to attract public attention to his accusations against
Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri. Some may say that it is only natural for
any figure who has been imprisoned for four years only to be released without
ever having been charged or convicted of a crime to "scream" hysterically and
that this is understandable. However Jamil Sayyed is appearing to the public as
nothing more than a small button that "screams" whenever it is pressed. Does he
want to continue in this manner, thereby erasing the political progress he has
made so far, or should he instead fight this battle utilizing the legitimate
weapons of the law and the media rather than appearing as an outlaw threatening
the Prime Minister? Does he want to turn away from being an "innocently accused
prisoner" and instead become a member of a militia? This would be an easy
profession, but one that would only see him emerge during heated debates. I, and
many others, used to believe that Jamil Sayyed would become a leadership figure
in Lebanon, thanks to his potential, contacts, and ability to play the political
game.
As he was responsible for the Lebanese security authorities at the time of Rafik
Hariri's assassination, it was natural that there would have been questions as
to whether he was involved in this, regardless of whether or not he had been
detained or the presence of false witnesses. If it is true that Sayyed was
trying to appease Hezbollah with regards to his outburst against Hariri's
government, he will become just another member of their party. Is that what he
wants?
If Sayyed has a case [regarding the issue of false witnesses] he is entitled to
plead this. Taking legal action is an option that everybody respects, because it
shows that Sayyed has respect for the state, its institutions and its laws,
particularly considering the fact that he was once a legal official himself.
However if he continues with his media outbursts, he will not get very far!
Politics - Moussawi STL politicization serves Israel
NNA - Hizbullah MP Nawwaf Moussawi and, during an EU-sponsored cornerstone
laying ceremony @ Chakra village municipal center, considered that Mellis's
initial investigation reports over the assassination of the Late PM Hariri had
been politicized and untrue with an ulterior western- Israeli orchestrated
motive to discredit the Syrian regime. Mousawi wondered as to why Bellamre's new
investigations didn't take into account so-called false witnesses and why the
STL failed to check on the Israelis? Moussawi added that such investigation
shall preserve and protect Israel from any condemnation.
"Some would tell us that we tend to jump the gun prior to the indictment, and
that certain Hariri officials perceive no problem in STL indicting other
Lebanese. Such words might undermine the national government, Mousawi added."
Politics - Harb in Defense of STL
N.N.A Sep.25,2010 Labour minister Boutros Harb, told interlocutors coming to see
him at his ministry office today that 'Lebanon unfortunately has been placed at
a dire crossroad regarding one of two options; downsizing of the STL implying
practically giving up on the STL or, going into civil strife.
Harb, who promised a group of private school teachers to look into transferring
their file to the education ministry, during the upcoming cabinet meeting, added
that "it would be rather unfair to start shooting at the STL indictment without
getting to know its exact content."
On the Aounist ex-general Fayez Karam's alleged working for Israeli intelligence
and Aoun's full knowledge of it, the minister preferred to leave the last word
in this espionage affair to the Lebanese court system.
Private school teachers also demanded among other things old-age pensions or
retirement benefits which the minister decided to take up during next
Wednesday's cabinet session.
From the Airport: The Return to 7 May
26/09/2010
By Diana Mukkaled/Asharq AlAwsat
Anybody who witnessed the security and political embrace that Hezbollah insisted
on demonstrating last week in welcoming Major General Jamil Sayyed cannot help
but compare this scene at Beirut international airport to what took place on 7
May two years ago. This comparison is automatic, and for those who can't recall
what I am talking about, a consultation with Google or YouTube will quickly jog
your memory. The black SUVs that have no number plates and which pulled up in
front of the airport [to welcome Major General Jamil Sayyed] were the same cars
that raced through the streets of Beirut on 7 May after Hezbollah's militia took
control of large sections of Beirut.
The only difference is that the situation wasn't as simple [to observe] on 7
May. At the time, Hezbollah exerted effort to close down all media outlets, and
even resorted to burning down some media outlet's premises. Hezbollah imposed
restrictions and censored photographers and journalists, even those belonging to
media outlets allied to it. Hezbollah also exerted effort to control what was
being broadcast on television, although it failed to control all media outlets,
which enabled us to view much of what happened [on that day], and we must think
YouTube for recording this and keeping the memory of what happened alive.
On 7 May 2008, Hezbollah did not want its image to be broadcast whilst it was
[militarily] occupying Beirut; although the paramilitary organization was
indifferent towards images of militias allied to it being broadcast, it
exercised strict control with regards to the broadcast of Hezbollah fighters.
However last Saturday Hezbollah took the completely opposite attitude [with
regards to meeting Major General Jamil Sayyed at Beirut airport]. Perhaps the
organization regrets shunning the media on 7 May 2008, for this time Hezbollah
did all that it could to ensure that all media outlets were present at the
airport, and that all journalists and photographers could observe and record
Hezbollah's security guards, their sunglasses, walkie-talkies, loaded machine
guns, and black SUVs. These security guards were standing right next to, and in
some cases beyond, the state security forces and army troops, who appeared to
have lost control of the situation in the same manner that they did on 7 May
2008.
Jamil Sayyed was flanked by more Hezbollah security guards than those that
escort Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah when he addresses the media!
Hezbollah wanted the Lebanese people and the world to see its security and
military personnel, and one Hezbollah MP told the media that "we are at the
airport today to defend the judicial system and the state."
It is not difficult to read what was happening last Saturday. What we saw was
the defence of the state through the strengthening of a non-state institute, and
the defence of the judicial system by strengthening an illegitimate and unlawful
institute!
The people of Lebanon may overcome what they saw last Saturday in the same
manner that they have overcome worse things, but what has recently been seen in
the Lebanese media gives a glimpse of the complex impasse that we will soon
face.
General Michel Aoun has come out and publicly asked his supporters to carry out
acts of civil disobedience and not cooperate with the Lebanese security
apparatus, while Major General Jamil Sayyed issued public threats [against the
Prime Minister and Lebanese government] and said that he would take justice
"into his own hands." Hezbollah has also come out to flex its muscles in front
of the media, highlighting the state's inability to confront the organization.
This reflects a crack in the foundations of Lebanon that cannot be healed by the
Arab world or the international community, even if they are capable of control
the explosion that this causes, or in the best case, postponing it.