LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN

LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
November 03/2012

Bible Quotation for today/
Psalm 116/from 1-16/:"116:1 I love Yahweh, because he listens to my voice, and my cries for mercy. Because he has turned his ear to me, therefore I will call on him as long as I live. The cords of death surrounded me, the pains of Sheol got a hold of me. I found trouble and sorrow. 116:4 Then I called on the name of Yahweh: “Yahweh, I beg you, deliver my soul.” 116:5 Yahweh is Gracious and righteous. Yes, our God is merciful. Yahweh preserves the simple. I was brought low, and he saved me. Return to your rest, my soul, for Yahweh has dealt bountifully with you. For you have delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears, and my feet from falling. I will walk before Yahweh in the land of the living. I believed, therefore I said, “I was greatly afflicted.” I said in my haste, “All men are liars.” What will I give to Yahweh for all his benefits toward me? I will take the cup of salvation, and call on the name of Yahweh. I will pay my vows to Yahweh, yes, in the presence of all his people. 15 Precious in the sight of Yahweh is the death of his saints. Yahweh, truly I am your servant. I am your servant, the son of your handmaid. You have freed me from my chains. I will offer to you the sacrifice of thanksgiving, and will call on the name of Yahweh. I will pay my vows to Yahweh, yes, in the presence of all his people, in the courts of Yahweh’s house, in the midst of you, Jerusalem. Praise Yah!"

Latest analysis, editorials, studies, reports, letters & Releases from miscellaneous sources
Hezbollah and the Wissam Hassan’s assassination/By Abdul Rahman Al-Rashed/Asharq Alawsat/November 02/12
Romney’s Strategy not Obama’s doctrine will advance Freedom in the Middle East/By: Dr. Walid Phares/November 02/12
Lebanon: Shi’ites need a new strategy/By Amir Taheri/Asharq Alawsat/November 02/12
Why are the Shiite Marjas silent about Syria/By Adel Al Toraifi/Asharq Alawsat/November 02/12

Report: Hizbullah Buries Another Fighter Killed in Syria
Naharnet/Another Hizbullah fighter, Haidar Mahmoud Zeineddine, was killed in the fight lingering in Syria, and was laid to rest on Thursday in the southern city of Nabatieh, An-Nahar daily reported. Hizbullah lamented Zeineddine and said that he was killed in the line of his”'Jihadist” duty. Although the party did not elaborate on the circumstances of Zeineddine's death, his burial was similar to previous funerals of Hizbullah members who had fought in Syria. A number of Hizbullah members attended the burial and journalists were banned from taking pictures, according to the daily. Zeineddine is known to be a Hizbullah member. He was residing in Beirut's southern suburbs (Dahieh) before moving to the Maslakh neighborhood of Nabatiyeh. Hizbullah has announced several similar burials in past months, without elaborating on the circumstances of its members' deaths. The opposition March 14 camp and Syrian rebels have repeatedly accused Hizbullah of aiding the regime of President Bashar Assad militarily.

Hezbollah and the Wissam Hassan’s assassination
By Abdul Rahman Al-Rashed/Asharq Alawsat

http://www.asharq-e.com/news.asp?section=2&id=31659
More than 20 Lebanese figures have been assassinated, including former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, not to mention senior politicians, media figures and military leaders. All of those assassinated have been affiliated to a single political movement, namely the March 14 movement. Following the assassination of Hariri, Hezbollah and the Syrian regime sought to promote the story that a youth, Abu Adas – a member of a terrorist Islamist organization – was responsible for Hariri’s death as part of a suicide attack. They claimed that Abu Adas had recorded a video confession, which he left in a tree, which was later discovered by the media.
Only the stupid and ignorant would believe such a story! We knew, from the first moment, that the Syrian regime was behind the assassination of Hariri, and that its closest ally, Hezbollah, had carried out this operation. Of the estimated 20 people who have been killed in the past period, the conspirator and party responsible for the actual assassination have been one and the same.
The latest assassination victim was Wissam Hassan, who was practically the only security official in Lebanon who was outside the authority of Hezbollah. This man, along with his team, succeeded in compiling a lot of the evidence that implicates the Syrian regime and Hezbollah. Only the stupid and ignorant are not aware that the conspirators and perpetrators, in this case, are the al-Assad regime and Hezbollah. However the problem is that the pro-Syrian and Hezbollah media believes that such lies work, and attempted to propagate this again. Syria’s ambassador to Lebanon, who cannot acknowledge that his country was behind the crime, had no other option but to accuse takfirist jihadists of being behind the assassination of Wissam Hassan! Why would they do this? The Syrian ambassador claimed that this was because they want to spread chaos! If spreading chaos is the true objective, then why are all of those who have been killed affiliated to the same political party?
As for the latest, an Al-Akhbar newspaper journalist with ties to Syria and Hezbollah, Hassan Aliq, published a report claiming that Jordanian intelligence warned the Dahieh [southern suburbs of Beirut] that Israel is angry with Hezbollah and may seek to target the area. Once again, we must not be stupid enough to believe this story, despite the writer’s attempt to propagate this. Why would Israel assassinate a courageous security investigator who dared to reveal Hezbollah and Syria’s crimes? In the same manner a liar always betrays their deceit by adding too many details to their story, the writer put forward a second story regarding the UAE intelligence apparatus. He wrote “here is the surprise. An Emirate official informed Hassan that information in their possession confirms that Al Qaeda was behind the assassination [of Hariri], specifically a group operating from the Ain al-Hilweh camp.” If the writer was in possession of such valuable information, why did he not reveal this in his first article following the assassination of Wissam Hassan? Therefore in reality, of course there is no Jordanian or Emirati story, rather this is complete fiction and something that nobody in the region, even those within the Hezbollah camp, can believe!

STL rejects appeal over in-absentia trial
November 02, 2012/The Daily Star
BEIRUT: The Special Tribunal for Lebanon’s Appeals Chamber rejected Thursday an appeal challenging the court’s decision to hold an in-absentia trial for those accused of the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. The Appeals Chamber unanimously rejected the defense’s motion, upholding an earlier ruling of the Trial Chamber that, given the amount of publicity the indictment had received, it was inconceivable that the suspects were not aware of the charges against them. The Trial Chamber decided in February to move to a trial in absentia after the four Hezbollah members indicted by the court – Salim Ayyash, Mustafa Badreddine, Hussein Oneissi and Assad Sabra – failed to appear. Their trial is tentatively set to start on March 25.

French president to visit Lebanon Sunday
November 02, 2012/The Daily Star
BEIRUT: French President Francois Hollande will visit Beirut on Sunday for talks with his Lebanese counterpart Michel Sleiman, a source close to Baaba told The Daily Star. "The French president will hold a three-hour visit in Beirut for talks with President Sleiman," the source said. According to the source, Hollande will arrive in Beirut at around 9 a.m from Saudi Arabia, and he will only be meeting with the president. The source said that the two leaders will hold consultations over the situation in Lebanon and the region. Lebanon’s political crisis worsened after the October 19 assassination of Brig. Gen. Wissam al-Hasan in a car bomb at a residential neighborhood in Beirut’s Ashrafieh. The opposition March 14 coalition declared it would boycott National Dialogue and the Cabinet led by Prime Minister Najib Mikati. President Sleiman is carrying out consultations with various political groups on the possibility of resuming dialogue; however, the opposition refuses to resume the all-party talks before the resignation of the Cabinet.

SNC blames international community for Syria extremism
November 02, 2012 /By Daily Star Staff
Agencies
BEIRUT/DAMASCUS: The head of the main opposition Syrian National Council Thursday blamed international inaction in Syria for the rise of Islamist extremism as new video emerged of rebels executing regime soldiers inside the war-ravaged country.
The comments came a day after U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the opposition should “strongly resist the efforts by the extremists to hijack the Syrian revolution.”
Speaking to AFP by telephone from Turkey, SNC chairman Abdel-Basset Seyda said the situation resulted from the international community’s failure to support the Syrian people.
“The international community is responsible, through its lack of support for the Syrian people, for the growth of extremism in Syria.
“The international community should criticize itself, and ask itself: ‘What did it give the Syrian people? How has it helped the Syrians to stop the regime’s crazy killing?’” he added.
He also said the SNC needed more tangible assistance to better influence developments on the ground.
“The lack of material backing from the international community for the SNC means that although we strive to ensure that radical Islamism does not have an impact, we are more limited in our capacity than we would like,” Seyda said.
Seyda said the SNC had warned the international community that extremism would rise if it continued to fail to take action to halt the violence in Syria, where some 36,000 people have died since the launch of an uprising against President Bashar Assad’s regime in March 2011, according to opposition groups.
“In areas liberated from regime control, there is a natural state of chaos and hopelessness, because of the regime’s continued attacks. In such an atmosphere, it is natural that extremism grows,” he said.
But he insisted the revolution “remains on track,” saying Syria was not a country where radical Islam could take hold.
“Syria is a mixed society, so ultimately a radical Islamist project would never take root in the country,” he said.
Syria’s fractured opposition has struggled to find common ground against Assad, especially on the political front.
After a conference in Turkey Wednesday, opposition members vowed to work for the formation a government-in-exile to win greater support from the international community.
Clinton Wednesday criticized the SNC, saying it “can no be longer be viewed as the visible leader of the opposition ... They can be part of the opposition, but the opposition must include people from inside Syria and others.”
The SNC has been repeatedly criticized for being dominated by the Muslim Brotherhood and not representative of the full range of the opposition, especially activists inside Syria. It has gone through a series of leadership struggles. Seyda insisted the council was expanding to be more representative, ahead of a five-day SNC conference starting in Qatar Sunday.
Reacting to rumors that longtime opposition figure Riad Seif may be named head of a government-in-exile, Seyda was noncommittal.
“I believe we have to wait until we have held our meeting before we can make decisions on who is a good candidate to lead Syria through a transitional phase,” he said.
The opposition wrangling came as reports emerged that Syrian rebels killed 28 soldiers, beating and executing some of them as battles raged in the northern part of the country. The troops were among at least 153 people killed nationwide – 72 soldiers, 43 civilians and 38 rebels, according to the opposition group, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
The 28 soldiers died during attacks on three army checkpoints in northwestern Idlib province, on the main road from Damascus to the embattled city of Aleppo, the Britain-based Observatory said.
Five rebels were also killed in the fighting near the city of Saraqeb in the northwest, now a key battleground after rebels seized the town of Maaret al-Numan on the Damascus-Aleppo road last month.
A video of Thursday’s attack posted on YouTube showed rebels beating about 10 soldiers before lining them on the ground and executing them with automatic rifles. The authenticity of the video could not be independently verified. A rebel is heard telling a prisoner: “Do you not know that we belong to the people of this country?” The soldier replies: “I swear in the name of God I did not fire.”
Amnesty International’s Ann Harrison said in a statement: “This shocking footage depicts a potential war crime in progress, and demonstrates an utter disregard for international humanitarian law by the armed group in question.”Thursday also saw helicopter gunships strafing a district of Damascus as warplanes pounded rebel bastions in the capital’s suburbs and in Idlib, the Observatory said.
The renewed violence comes on the heels of a failed cease-fire bid proposed by international mediator Lakhdar Brahimi, tasked with trying to end the Syrian conflict that has divided the international community. agencies

Rai says paralyzing state institutions unacceptable
November 02, 2012 /The Daily Star /BEIRUT: Cardinal Beshara Rai said Friday it was unacceptable to paralyze the work of the state, in an apparent criticism of the March 14 movement.
“The Church condemns all political acts exclusively for personal and sectarian interests at the expense of the public interest which calls and seeks to paralyze the state’s institutions for personal interests and power and overrides the will of the people by imposing a reality that does not please them,” he said. His remarks came in an opening speech at the Studies Symposium in Bkirki, seat of the Maronite Catholic Church. “The Church does not stand idly by and will not remain silent against injustice, harm and the crippling of public life that only a sound state and its institutions can provide,” Rai said.
The opposition coalition headed by MP Saad Hariri’s Future Movement called on the Lebanese people Tuesday to rally around its plan to topple Prime Minister Najib Mikati’s government.
The March 14 coalition announced that it would boycott the Mikati Cabinet and use all democratic means, including popular protests, to achieve its goal. It also called for the immediate resignation of the current government and said a neutral salvation government should be formed to “face the dangers threatening Lebanon and oversee next year’s parliamentary elections.”

November 02, 2012 02:14 PM The Daily Star
BEIRUT: President Michel Sleiman condemned Thursday’s attack against policemen in the northern border village of Arsal, a statement by his office said Friday. “I denounce Thursday’s attack against a policemen checkpoint in Arsal and any attack against security forces,” said Sleiman. The president also said that such attack cannot be justified no matter what its reasons or motivations were. At least 10 policemen were wounded Thursday when a group of Lebanese men from the village of Arsal attacked their checkpoint along the border with Syria after a rebel they were helping died of his wounds. As police waited for instructions from their superiors and insisted that the Syrian man be given proper paperwork before entering Lebanon, the rebel bled to death. Angered by the death, the group got into a fistfight with the police, hurling stones at the officers. The army patrols and security forces intensified their security measures Friday in the border village to restore stability and maintain control in the region.

Freed Lebanese journalist Fidaa Itani returns to Beirut

November 02, 2012/The Daily Star
BEIRUT: A Lebanese journalist who was held for six days by Syrian rebels returned to Beirut Thursday and urged Lebanese authorities to work on winning the release of the nine Lebanese held by Syrian rebels since May. Hugging his 10-year-old daughter, Fidaa Itani told reporters at Rafik Hariri International Airport that while he was released from imprisonment, nine Lebanese are still kidnapped.
“Something serious should be done, not only on the official level for these nine,” he said.
Itani said that as a witness to Arab uprisings, particularly the one in neighboring Syria, he believes that the Syrian revolution has witnessed an “unsatisfactory development” over the past three months.
Itani, who works for LBCI and is a staunch supporter of the rebels fighting to overthrow Syrian President Bashar Assad, was reporting from Azaz, in the Syrian district of Aleppo, when he was put under house arrest by rebels. The Free Syrian Army Azaz Northern Storm Brigade said Saturday they were holding the journalist in order to keep secret their tactics for the revolution. Meanwhile, nine of 11 Lebanese pilgrims kidnapped by rebels in May in Azaz are still being held.
Itani said he does not mind going back to Syria again, but said that the opposition Local Coordination Committees of Syria should apologize for arresting him.
Itani said he was imprisoned for six days, reversing earlier remarks he made when he was still held by rebels, in which he said that he was “free” with the FSA.
Receiving Itani at the airport was Information Minister Walid Daouk, the journalist’s relatives and colleagues.
The information minister congratulated Itani for his safety. “We had six annoying days and our thoughts were with him and with the Lebanese detained since six months.”
He said that the ministerial committee tasked with following up on the case of the nine kidnapped Lebanese is doing its best to secure their release.
“The president, prime minister and foreign minister are accompanying the committee’s work to win their release as soon as possible.”
Itani crossed into Turkey late Wednesday night and headed to the Lebanese Embassy in Ankara where he was received by the charge d’affaires. He then traveled to Istanbul, where he boarded a plane to Beirut. President Michel Sleiman said he was pleased by the release of Itani and expressed hope that this would be a prelude for the release of all remaining Lebanese held in Syria. Sleiman said he wished efforts to free those most recently kidnapped in Aleppo, as well as teenager Samer Naim would intensify, a statement from his office said.
Naim, 16, was arrested by Syrian authorities in September. His relatives and residents of the Akkar village of Tal Andeh blocked the international highway to Syria after a promise to release him Thursday did not materialize. For his part, Prime Minister Najib Mikati congratulated Itani for his safe return. Addressing his Twitter followers, Mikati said he is continuing efforts to secure the release of all the remaining kidnapped Lebanese in Syria.

November 02, 2012/ The Daily Star
Lebanon's Arabic press digest.
Following are summaries of some of the main stories in a selection of Lebanese newspapers Friday. The Daily Star cannot vouch for the accuracy of these reports.
Al-Joumhouria
Consultations result in near-consensus on impossibility for Cabinet to carry on
Prime Minister Najib Mikati said the slogan “resignation” of the government should be a motto for a settlement and not for a new crisis in the country.
Political and diplomatic sources told Al-Joumhouria that efforts are under way to develop political initiatives that may last until the end of November, in the wake of political scenarios of an inevitable government change.
They said ongoing talks conducted by President Michel Sleiman with the various political leaders coincide with Arab, European, and U.S. diplomatic efforts in support of Sleiman and his political endeavors to preserve Lebanon’s stability.
The sources revealed that the consultations conducted by Sleiman have resulted in near-consensus on the impossibility for the Mikati government to carry on.
They said details of hastening the process of a government change have been discussed amid a conviction fostered by these diplomatic and political consultations.
Al-Mustaqbal
Washington expands stance on change ... Berri postpones legislative session “pending everybody’s participation”
Tourism sector the latest victim of Hezbollah’s government
Economic bodies in general, and particularly those concerned with tourism, issued an unprecedented cry of disaster Thursday over Hezbollah’s government headed by Najib Mikati.
The economic bodies spoke out about the catastrophic reality of hotels, restaurants and car rental offices, saying these were suffering in light of the shock caused by the news of the closure of the Metropolitan Hotel, which turned out to be true in one way or another, despite denials by Tourism Minister Fadi Abboud.
Future News revealed Thursday evening shocking details about the extent of the battered tourism sector.
A number of interviews conducted Thursday by Future News TV talk show host Paula Yacoubian with hoteliers and tourism enterprises revealed how much the tourism sector has suffered since the formation of Hezbollah’s government.
Those interviewed were unanimous in their positions – the hotel sector and the tourism services sector has suffered and is suffering heavy losses that resulted in the closure of many venues.
Al-Akhbar
Bkirki leads move to ease tension
Bkirki has embarked on a political move to ease the ongoing tension in the country amid the postponement of a legislative session to make way for talks to ensure the opposition will reverse its decision to boycott parliamentary meetings after Washington outlined a ceiling for what is and is not permissible.
Maronite Cardinal Beshara Rai met President Michel Sleiman Thursday. Bkirki spokesman Walid Ghayadh said the cardinal’s meetings with the various political parties came amid a “situation that requires a state of emergency” at the national and political levels.
He said Rai is expected to hold intensive meetings in the coming few days.
Al-Liwaa
Hariri-Jumblatt phone call in line with Sleiman’s desire to maintain dialogue
World shifts toward supporting new government ... Mikati more willing to resign
Mashnouq shows image of Hezbollah member in Ashrafieh bomb site
Three developments added a different feel to the Lebanese scene two weeks after the assassination of Brig. Gen. Wissam al-Hasan:
- U.S.’s insistence that the Lebanese people deserve a government that will reflect their aspirations
- Prime Minister Najib Mikati’s announcement that he is more willing to resign if government’s resignation is key to a solution for Lebanon
- The phone call Thursday evening between former Prime Minister Saad Hariri and head of the National Struggle Front Walid Jumblatt
Sources close to Mikati confirmed that the prime minister’s resignation is still possible once Sleiman reaches consensus with the political parties on a new government structure.
Meanwhile, Future Movement MP Nohad Mashnouq said on LBCI’s Thursday talk show that a picture has revealed that one of three Hezbollah members was present in the area in which Hasan’s secret office is located in Ashrafieh.

November 02, 2012/The Daily Star
BEIRUT: The head of the Change Movement Elie Mahfoud said Friday that talks about possible restructuring within the March 14 coalition are not new. “Discussions about organizational changes within March 14 are not new, they have been going on for months, and even for more than a year,” Mafhoud, a member of March 14 general secretariat, told The Daily Star. According to Mahfoud, March 14 includes a wide range of political parties and independent figures, and it is normal for some disputes or difference to erupt every once in a while. “That doesn’t mean there is any internal disagreement about the political principles of March 14. All groups within the coalition agree on two key points, rejecting illegitimate arms in the country and condemning the crimes of the Syrian regime,” Mahfoud said. The general secretariat of the March 14 coalition failed to hold its weekly meeting, usually scheduled on Wednesday, this week. This came after leading figures in the group were absent from Tuesday’s meeting of March 14 leaders at former Prime Minister Saad Hariri’s residence in Beirut. The coalition’s general secretariat Fares Souaid refused to comment on what happened and said he would rather not talk about the matter now. “Let’s wait for next week,” said Souaid. According to Mahfoud, what joins March 14 components is a cause and that should be more important from any form of restructuring.
“From my part, I think we should reassess the coalition’s performance and try to see why we have distanced from our audience instead of bickering over formal or organizational procedures,” said Mahfoud.
The March 14 coaltion, which includes 12 Lebanese parties, has faced criticism from some supporters recently who have argued that the bloc has not lived up to its expectations.

Lebanon daily to be quizzed over false Hasan report
November 02, 2012/The Daily Star
BEIRUT: State Prosecutor Hatem Madi Friday referred a case against a Lebanese newspaper for publishing false information about the investigation into the assassination of the country’s top intelligence chief. Madi referred Ad-Diyar to the Central Criminal Investigations Department, saying the “false news constitutes a violation of the safety of the investigation and impedes its work.”
Madi said Ad-Diyar’s report, published on the front page Thursday, was also a violation of a ban on publishing anything to do with the investigation into the Oct. 19 assassination of Brig. Gen. Wissam al-Hasan. Hasan, who headed Lebanon’s police Information Branch, was killed along with his driver and a woman in a car bomb attack in the Beirut district of Ashrafieh. Over 100 people, including children, were wounded. Ad-Diyar said in its article that the police’s Information Branch interrogated Lebanese journalist Maria Maalouf over Hasan’s assassination.
It said the ISF asked Maalouf of her knowledge of the bombing, her whereabouts when the explosion went off and how she learned of the blast.
It alleged that Maalouf was summoned by the ISF Information Branch after police traced cell phone activity between her and Hasan, and after finding out that Maalouf had without ill intent spoken to several figures about Hasan’s movements. Ad-Diyar also said police suspect two sides that could have carried out the operation – Ahmed Jibril’s Popular Front for The Liberation of Palestine-General Command and a cell that may be linked to Shaker Berjawi, the head of the Arab Movement Party which supports President Bashar Assad, and a security apparatus.
Given this, the daily reported, the ISF Information Brach is focusing its work on Israel’s Mossad, Hezbollah, Syria, Jibril’s organization and a security apparatus coordinating with Berjawi.

MPs divided over whether U.S. election outcome matters for Lebanon
November 02, 2012 01:06 AM By Wassim Mroueh/The Daily Star
BEIRUT: Interest in the presidential elections has reached a fever pitch in the United States, but Lebanese lawmakers are split over whether the outcome will make any difference for Lebanon.
Some believe that Lebanon will not be a priority for the new U.S. administration regardless of who wins on Nov. 6, while others maintain that a victory for President Barack Obama would better serve Lebanese interests. For his part, former Prime Minister Fouad Siniora, the head of the Future parliamentary bloc, said that an Obama victory would serve Lebanon’s interests. “If [Mitt] Romney gets elected ... he needs time to understand the Middle East conflict ... Obama’s victory serves American and Arab interests.”
As for the conflict in Syria, Siniora said that Obama’s experience would help him better understand all the changes brought by the Arab Spring.
“But we should not expect the U.S. to [militarily] intervene in Syria and we are not counting on this possibility.
“I think it is better for Lebanon if Obama wins, although we [Lebanon] make no difference,” the Sidon MP added. “Among the most important things that could have [positive] repercussions on Lebanon is that in his second term, the president will have an opportunity to implement the commitments to the Arab-Israeli conflict he made during his first term.”
Lebanese Forces MP Fadi Karam believes that regardless of who wins, the new U.S. administration will likely have a better understanding of the March 14 coalition’s demand for the resignation of Prime Minister Najib Mikati’s Cabinet.
“Countries in the West are starting to understand that this Cabinet is not providing stability ... but on the contrary, it has involved the country more and more in regional turmoil,” Karam said.
“Whoever wins the elections will realize that the situation became very dangerous following the assassination of Brig. General Wissam al-Hasan.”
Hasan, who served as the head of the Internal Security Forces Information Branch, was killed in a car bomb in Beirut last month.
The new administration, Karam continued, will make swift moves to unite the Syrian opposition and find an alternative for the regime of President Bashar Assad, which he said are in Lebanon’s interest.
“There is no doubt that any change in Syria will serve the interest of the Lebanese state, institutions and people ... We hope that a civilized political system that recognizes the sovereignty of Lebanon will be formed in Syria,” the MP added.
But Abdallah Bou Habib, Lebanon’s former ambassador to the U.S., believes that whether Obama is re-elected or Romney wins, American policy toward Lebanon will leave March 14 wanting.
“The U.S. supports a Cabinet change but with preserving stability. The March 14 coalition wants a Cabinet change and full stop; there is a different approach,” Bou Habib said.
Bou Habib said that the U.S. interest in Lebanon dropped following the departure of Jeffrey Feltman, whom he called the closest ally to the March 14 coalition. Feltman served as a U.S. ambassador to Lebanon between 2004 and 2008 and as assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern Affairs between 2009 and June this year.
During that period, mostly under the two terms of former President George W. Bush, the U.S. was a strong backer of the March 14 coalition, which was formed in 2005 in the wake of the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. It pressed for the Syrian army’s withdrawal in 2005 from Lebanon and the establishment of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon in 2007.
Bou Habib said that American policy toward Lebanon, which is centered on supporting stability in the country, would not change.
“The U.S. policy toward Lebanon will not change with Romney [if he wins], it will continue to be supporting stability ... they do not want instability to happen,” he said.
An ambassador to the U.S. for seven years, Bou Habib said that the American president must deal with unstable countries and is not interested in seeing Lebanon added to that list.
“Following the martyrdom of Brig. Gen. Wissam al-Hasan, U.S. officials voiced their support for stability ... I do not think that Romney will change this policy [if he is elected],” Bou Habib said.
Hezbollah MPs declined to comment on the matter, while MP Ghassan Moukheiber, from Michel Aoun’s Change and Reform parliamentary bloc, said he has “enough disasters” in Lebanon to deal with and is not following the U.S. elections.
MP Alain Aoun, from the same bloc, argued that either way, Lebanon would not be a priority on the agenda of the new U.S. administration, which would be busy dealing with a “big and serious conflict” in Syria. “It has so many difficult and complicated issues to address.”
Meanwhile, Aoun said he believes that a settlement will eventually take place between the U.S. on one side and Russia and China on the other.
He expected that the settlement would take a long time to materialize, explaining that Lebanese should not expect major changes in U.S. policy toward Lebanon soon.
Aoun said that whether Romney or Obama win the race, it will make no difference. “Experience shows that neither is better than the other ... foreign policy is fixed despite changes in the administration.”

Killing fails to shake Lebanon debt as calm holds: Arab Credit
November 02, 2012/By Donna Abu-Nasr
A JPMorgan Chase branch office in Oklahoma City. JPMorgan Chase, the country's biggest bank by assets, reported a record quarterly profit Friday, Oct. 12, 2012. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
Lebanese bonds weathered the violence provoked by the killing of a top security official this month as the worst attack in Beirut since 2008 failed to trigger a wider conflict in the country.
The risk premium investors demand to hold Lebanon’s dollar- denominated debt over U.S. Treasuries rose eight basis points, or 0.08 of a percentage point, to 416 since the Oct. 19 killing of Brig. Gen. Wissam al-Hasan, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co. data. That compares with a 15 basis-point gain for higher-rated Jordan, the data show.
The government of Prime Minister Najib Mikati took swift measures to contain the violence that broke out after Hasan, who was investigating bombings that anti-Syrian groups blamed on President Bashar Assad, died in a car bomb along with two others. Lebanese forces repelled gunmen in Sunni Muslim neighborhoods in Beirut and businesses and schools reopened after a short hiatus.
“The market in Lebanon has a very high tolerance of political risk, given its history, and I guess it has assessed that this incident, although tragic, is not likely to lead to a significant escalation of tensions domestically,” said Liz Martins, senior economist at HSBC Holdings Plc in Dubai.
The yield on Lebanon’s 8.25-percent dollar-denominated notes due April 2021 rose eight basis points on Oct. 29 from the day of Hasan’s bombing, data compiled by Bloomberg show. The cost of insuring Lebanon’s debt against default has increased 13 basis points since the attack, according to data provider CMA, which is owned by McGraw-Hill Cos. and compiles prices quoted by dealers in the privately negotiated market.
Hasan’s assassination initially raised fears that the conflict that has rocked neighboring Syria since March 2011 would spill over the border. Supporters and opponents of Assad have clashed in Beirut and Tripoli and shells from Syria regularly hit Lebanese border villages.
Policemen at a checkpoint in the eastern Ersal town stopped some residents carrying a wounded Syrian and asked them to check with their command before taking him for treatment in Lebanon. The policemen were beaten up and three were wounded, while the Syrian later died of his injuries, the official National News Agency said.
Lebanon’s $39 billion economy has been shaken by a history of instability, including a 15-year Civil War that destroyed infrastructure and reduced the heart of Beirut to rubble.
The revolt against Assad’s rule has already hobbled tourism in Lebanon, the country’s largest foreign-exchange earner. The number of arrivals in the first nine months of the year was 1.09 million, down by 14.9 percent from the same period in 2011, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit. The trend worsened in the third quarter, with tourist arrivals declining 25.8 percent year-on-year to 372,400.
Louis Hobeika, a professor of economy and finance at Lebanon’s College Notre Dame de Louaize, said the market in Lebanon was expecting events such as the bombing of Hasan.
“What happened was not such a big disaster as far as market information and market expectations are concerned,” Hobeika said. “Nobody believes that the situation in Lebanon is safe and peaceful and nobody would’ve told you the day before it’s impossible for these things to happen.”
The government took swift measures to mitigate the impact of the attack, quashing the unrest that broke out and appointing a replacement to Hasan.
“Lebanon has stepped back from the brink despite fears among Lebanese that their country has turned the fateful corner toward internal conflict and inexorable involvement in the Syria crisis,” said Paul Salem, director of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace’s Middle East Center in Beirut.
“Despite the dramatic events, the political system will absorb yet another shock and is likely to return, once more, to the precarious calm that has generally prevailed in recent years.”
Remittances and deposits remain the benchmark by which Lebanon’s creditworthiness will be perceived, Martins said. Expatriate remittances to Lebanon in 2010 exceeded $8 billion, according to World Bank estimates. Foreign-currency deposits climbed 8 percent in the year to August, while deposits in local currencies jumped 3 percent, central bank data show. Both were the highest on record since the central bank began posting figures on deposits in December 1971.
“Perceptions of Lebanese creditworthiness continue to be supported by solid remittances and deposit growth in its banking sector and, so far at least, we have seen these continue, despite all of the issues both domestically and in Syria,” Martins said.

Ice thaws between Hariri, Jumblatt

November 02, 2012/By Hussein Dakroub/The Daily Star
BEIRUT: Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri spoke with Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblatt by telephone Thursday in a development likely to defuse tension a week after the two leaders’ ties were strained over the fate of the government.
In line with President Michel Sleiman’s desire to keep channels of dialogue open among the Lebanese parties, Hariri, the head of the Future Movement, called Jumblatt, according to a statement released by the PSP’s media office.
“The conversation, which dealt with the current political developments, was cordial and intimate,” the statement said.
It added that Jumblatt told Hariri during the contact that his only demand is to support “the president’s continuing efforts to preserve stability and protect civil peace.”
Tension broke out last week during a TV interview in which Jumblatt said that he had turned down Hariri’s request to withdraw his three ministers from the Cabinet in the wake of last month’s assassination of police intelligence chief Brig. Gen. Wissam al-Hasan.
Hariri hit back at Jumblatt, accusing him of belonging to the Iranian-Syrian alliance. He also accused the PSP chief of lying and rejected Jumblatt’s remarks that Hariri considered Hasan as a martyr of the Sunnis rather than of the country as a whole.
Jumblatt has defended Prime Minister Najib Mikati in the face of bitter campaigns by the March 14 parties which have called on him to step down following Hasan’s killing.
In a move reflecting paralysis in the legislature as a result of the tug-of-war between the government and the opposition March 14 coalition, Speaker Nabih Berri postponed a general session of Parliament scheduled for next week.
The United States, increasingly concerned over a power vacuum in Lebanon, reiterated its call for the formation of a new government that would bolster the country’s stability following political and sectarian tensions in the wake of Hasan’s assassination.
Mikati, emboldened by the Cabinet’s approval of a series of diplomatic appointments Wednesday, said he was ready to step down if an agreement was first reached by the feuding political parties on an alternative government.
“I have no objection to submit my resignation, but we have first to ensure alternatives,” Mikati said on Twitter.
Mikati met Berri at Ain al-Tineh to discuss the political crisis triggered by Hasan’s assassination and next week’s parliamentary session in the face of March 14 calls for a boycott of the government and Cabinet-related meetings in Parliament.
“After consultations with the prime minister, I have decided to postpone the general session of Parliament scheduled for Nov. 7 to a date to be set later,” Berri said in a statement after meeting Mikati.
He added that the decision was intended to ensure the participation of everyone in these sessions.
Although Mikati offered to resign a day after Hasan’s assassination, he said last week that he would not step down until a new Cabinet is formed in order to avoid a political vacuum.
After meeting with Berri, Mikati said that his resignation should lead to a solution for the current crisis rather than to a new crisis.
Responding to repeated March 14 calls for the government’s resignation, Mikati told reporters at Ain al-Tineh: “Since the government was formed [in June last year], it has been the same statement. They [March 14 parties] want to bring down the government. We have said that the normal response to all criticisms against the government is productivity.”
“I have said it previously and repeated it in the Cabinet that resignation should lead to a solution, rather than to a new crisis,” he added.
“I hope for more productivity as we wait for President Michel Sleiman to finish his consultations with political leaders in the country to find a solution for this crisis,” Mikati said.
Noting that Sleiman’s efforts to convene a National Dialogue session to discuss the political impasse have gained internal and international support, Mikati urged all the parties to cooperate with the president to find a solution for the crisis.
Maronite Patriarch Beshara Rai praised Sleiman’s efforts to hold a new round of inter-Lebanese dialogue aimed at resolving the Cabinet crisis.
“Dialogue remains the only way to overcome the dangerous political crisis, stop its economic and social repercussions which are affecting all the Lebanese, and consequently move to a better political and economic stage,” Rai said in a statement after meeting Sleiman at Baabda Palace, according to the state-run National News Ageny.
In a clear reference to March 14 demands for a government change, Rai said: “Any change needs a serious and frank dialogue in which each party shoulders its responsibility before history.”
Rai, who was appointed by Pope Benedict XVI as a new cardinal in the Catholic Church last month, invited Sleiman for the official ceremony in the Vatican on Nov. 24 to confer on the patriarch the rank of cardinal.
Meanwhile, a senior U.S. official renewed Washington’s call for the formation of a new government that would consolidate Lebanon’s stability following tensions in the wake of Hasan’s assassination.
The call was made by U.S. Acting Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Elizabeth Jones at the end of a two-day visit to Lebanon during which she met with top Lebanese leaders, including March 14 politicians, to discuss the political, economic, and security situation in Lebanon and other regional issues.
Jones and U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Maura Connelly met with Jumblatt, Army Commander Gen. Jean Kahwagi, acting Internal Security Forces Director General Brig. Gen. Robert Jabbour, U.N. Special Coordinator for Lebanon Derek Plumbly, U.N. Resident Coordinator Robert Watkins, and United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Resident Representative Ninette Kelley. She later left for Kuwait.
“In her meetings, she reiterated that the Lebanese people deserve a government that reflects their aspirations and will strengthen Lebanon’s stability, sovereignty and independence,” according to a statement released by the U.S. Embassy in Beirut.
Jones expressed support for “President Sleiman’s and other responsible leaders’ efforts to consult on transitioning to a new government.”
She further praised the importance of the work of the United Nations to provide assistance to Syrian, Iraqi, and Palestinian refugees in Lebanon and the region. Jones noted that the United States has provided over $132 million in humanitarian assistance to help people inside Syria and those displaced through the region, the statement said.
Health Minister Ali Hasan Khalil from Berri’s parliamentary bloc and Jumblatt called for dialogue between rival factions as the only way to break the political stalemate.
Khalil met Rai at Bkirki, north of Beirut, to convey Berri’s congratulations on the patriarch’s appointment as a cardinal.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Khalil underlined the significance of “national dialogue and the need for all the parties to respond to it because it is the only way to overcome our political crises, especially the latest one.”Jumblatt stressed that dialogue was essential to preserve stability in Lebanon.
“During these critical circumstances, dialogue is the only way to tackle political differences among the Lebanese in such a way to guarantee stability and protect civil peace,” Jumblatt said in a letter to Rai congratulating him on his appointment as a cardinal. The letter was conveyed to Rai by the PSP’s secretary-general, Zafer Nasser.

Metropolitan Hotel: We’re still in business
November 02, 2012/By Dana Khraiche, Mohamad El Amin /The Daily Star
The Metropolitan is still operational despite low demand for rooms and rumors of its closing.
BEIRUT: Hilton International denied Thursday media reports that it intends to close down one of its Beirut hotels, reassuring that its two partner companies in Lebanon are fully operational.
“The tourism sector is the first to be effected by any crisis ... but we have no intention whatsoever to close down any of the hotels,” George Karam, head of marketing at Hilton Habtoor Grand and Hilton Metropolitan Palace, told The Daily Star.
“Both hotels are fully operational,” he added. However, General Manager of the partner hotels Jean-Pierre Mainardi admitted later that, given relatively low occupancy at the two hotels, the management has been asking Metropolitan clients to instead stay at Habtoor.
“This allows us to better serve our customers. Habtoor rooms are bigger than those of the Metropolitan and its rooms have balconies with sea and mountain views. [This is better for business] given that the touristic and economic situation is not helping us to achieve full occupancy,” he said.
In a statement issued later Thursday, Khalaf al-Habtoor, Chairman of the UAE-based Al-Habtoor Group, the owner of the two hotels, said “our hotel is still operating efficiently. I pledged since the beginning of my investment in Lebanon to support the Lebanese economy to secure jobs for the greatest possible number of Lebanese citizens from all groups and communities.”
“Despite all the circumstances Lebanon has passed through and continues to pass by, I am still on my pledge,” Habtoor added in the emailed statement.
Despite admitting that business this year “was not good,” Karam told The Daily Star the company did not lay off any of its employee so far in 2012.
Mainardi, who spoke at a joint news conference with Tourism Minister Fadi Abboud, also reassured that there is no intention to close down the hotel in the future.
Aside from the Metropolitan Hotel, opened in 2001, Hilton has Grand Habtoor Hotel, located across the road from the Metropolitan.
The two hotels are connected by a covered pedestrian bridge.
“The Metropolitan Hotel will not close down and I hope the economy does not become a tool to ‘wage war’ against the Cabinet,” Abboud told reporters at the news conference.
“I call on politicians to leave the economy and tourism outside of our political bickering,” he added.
The Daily Star and other media outlets reported this week that the Metropolitan Palace Hotel, one of the Hilton hotels in Beirut’s eastern suburb of Sin al-Fil, was closing down and hundreds of its employees were to be laid off.
During the news conference, Maindardi said that a 400-person festivity is being held Thursday at the Metropolitan Hotel, adding that it is also organizing many parties scheduled for the upcoming weeks.
“Both the Metropolitan and Habtoor hotels are working and their rooms as well as restaurants and other facilities are in the service of customers,” he said

Romney’s Strategy not Obama’s doctrine will advance Freedom in the Middle East
By: Walid Phares

October 29th 2012
As Governor Romney and President Obama continue to debate foreign policy and national security, voters would be wise to evaluate the “Obama Doctrine” against the current combustible state of affairs that it has led to in the Greater Middle East. In less than four years, the Obama administration’s policies have transformed the region into a powder keg with a hairpin detonator that could be set off by the slightest diplomatic misstep, engulfing the region and the world in war. And, as if an economy on the brink wasn’t daunting enough, the current administration’s feckless diplomacy in the Arab world have begotten a near-impossible foreign policy conundrum that Mitt Romney will be forced to attend to from the moment he is sworn in as the forty-fifth President of the United States.
In order to help voters see clearly where unfolding events in the region are headed, I have summarized the salient facts and provided a brief analysis below.
President Obama’s denial of various forms of Islamist radicalism have amplified the jihadist threat and altered American foreign policy in the Middle East. In his Cairo speech in 2009, Mr. Obama affirmed the misperception that America had been on the wrong side in wars “against the Muslim World” by announcing his new expiative approach to US foreign policy in the Arab world. Since then his and the State Department’s actions in the region have been characterized by retreat, abandonment of civil democratic reform movements, and partnership with Islamist movements, such as the Muslim Brotherhood. The administration’s freedom-antagonistic policies coupled with a desire to find common-ground with the Iranian regime, have effectively quashed hopes for true democratic reform while Obama remains in the White House. The Obama doctrine has dangerously impacted US national security.
Barack Obama’s ill-advised pre-election commitment to bilateral negotiations with the Ayatollahs was put to the test in June 2009 when millions of mostly young Iranians took to the streets of Tehran in what almost became an “Iranian Spring.” With the Iranian regime teetering on the brink of collapse, the administration turned a deaf ear to demonstrators’ cries for America’s help as evidenced by the President’s silence on their plight and stubborn insistence on seeking understanding with the Khomeinist regime. But instead of obtaining concessions on Iran’s nukes, the Ayatollahs multiplied Uranium enrichment efforts and produced large numbers of long range missiles to deliver Apocalypse to Israel and the “Great Satan.” Hoping keep his grandiose illusion of US-Iranian nuclear talks alive, Obama imposed belated, near-symbolic economic sanctions on Iran with predictable negligible effect. In return, the Iranian regime expanded their destabilizing efforts in the Middle East, inciting Shia in Eastern Arabia, Bahrain and North Yemen to penetrate legitimate social movements and overthrow their US-friendly Governments.
Mitt Romney’s position on Iran is radically different and infinitely more sensible than Barack Obama’s. Sanctions should be tightened and all-encompassing to force the regime abandon its nuclear ambitions, not induce negotiations toward a partial solution. Furthermore, Governor Romney’s policy on Iran would include partnering with the forces of civil democratic reform in their efforts to replace the current extremist regime once and for all.
Obama’s miscalculation on Iran led to other regional catastrophes. As soon as the administration withdrew American forces from Iraq abruptly in December of 2011, Iranian influence penetrated Iraq. By not supporting Iran’s popular movement, Obama left Iran unrestrained. By failing to reach an agreement with Iraq before US withdrawal, Obama allowed Iran to infiltrate its neighbor, further threatening Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, and reaching Syria’s borders. Romney would have contained the Iranian regime first, and then consolidated a pro-Western Government in Iraq.
Similar strategic mistakes were made by the administration on the Arab Spring as a consequence of its misguided apology doctrine. Instead of working with the initial forces of change in Egypt—youth, women, middle class, workers and minorities—the Administration chose to partner exclusively with the Muslim Brotherhood. Obama’s team and the Islamists worked to put the Brotherhood and their Salafi allies in power, first by sidelining the secular reformers with the help of the army, then the army with the help of secular youth, before they rose to power and marginalized all other players. Under Morsi, Egypt is quickly morphing into an Islamist state, threatening the Camp David Accords, as well as seculars, women, and Copts. A similar scenario unfolded in Tunisia where Washington partnered with the Islamist Nahda at the expense of seculars, women, and reformers. Romney would pursue partnership with civil societies, particularly with women and seculars, and tie US financial aid to performance by governments.
In Libya, the Obama Administration again sought partnership with the Islamists and neglected working with government and secular groups to disarm the militias and after Gadhafi’s downfall, sowed the seeds of al Qaeda’s growth, and opened a path for attacks against US targets, the most recent being a terrorist attack in Benghazi that killed the US ambassador and embassy staffers. A Romney Administration would first seek the disarming of the militias and, above all, provide better security for American lives in installations where Jihadists operate.
Barack Obama’s worst and most dramatic failure has obviously been in Syria. One-year late to respond, Obama’s team was unable to create a coalition to bring down Assad. Out of Iraq by 2012, the US was unable to encircle Assad and prevent Iranian support from getting to the brutal regime. Thirty thousand civilians were massacred while the US administration was incapable of obtaining a UN resolution for action against Assad, despite its being called a “reset button” with Moscow. By being two years tardy, the administration has allowed the massacre in Syria to proceed. Iran is now connected to Assad in Syria and Hezbollah in Lebanon, and has reached the sea by land. Furthermore, al Qaeda is now operating in Syria and Iraq.
After Osama bin Laden was killed, the Obama Administration began claiming that al Qaeda was in decline, a claim proven false as AQ jihadists continue to conquer villages and towns in Yemen, fight in Somalia, are back in the Levant from Lebanon to Iraq, operating in the Sahel and Libya, with allies in Nigeria, and having established a solid base in northern Mali. Osama is dead, but al Qaeda is alive and flourishing.
With the growth of jihadism and radical Islamism, the secular forces of the Arab Spring are being pushed back. More dramatically Christian and other ethnic minorities across the region, in Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, Algeria and in Sudan, are under attack. Everywhere in the region reformers, women and minorities are suppressed and pushed back, while the Islamists and jihadists up and running and expanding their reach. Iran is arming and genocide is looming from Syria to Sudan.
The Obama policies in the Middle East led to the rise of radicals and weakening of civil societies. A Romney alternative for the region is a must, not only on the basis of human rights and democracy, but also regarding US national security and the security of its allies.
**Dr Walid Phares is senior advisor on Foreign Policy and National Security to Presidential candidate Mitt Romney and a co-chair of the Romney Working Group on the Middle East and North Africa MENA. He is the author of the Coming Revolution: Struggle for Freedom in the Middle East the only book that predicted the Arab Spring before it begins

Lebanon: Shi’ites need a new strategy
By Amir Taheri/Asharq Alawsat
No one knows how the crisis in Syria might end. But one thing is certain. What happens in Syria would also affect the balance of power in Lebanon.
A balance of power resembles a kaleidoscope in which different colors are positioned in relation with one another. Turn it and you reposition all the colors in a new combination, excluding some in the process.
In that context, the Lebanese faction most likely to be affected by the outcome of the struggle in Syria is Hezbollah. It is the one most dependent on Syria for political support and as a conduit for military and financial aid from Iran.
Thus it is no surprise that, slowly but surely, voices within the Lebanese Shi’ite community are beginning to demand a review of the movement’s strategy shaped by its dependence on Iran and Syria.
Under its present leadership, Hezbollah suffers from three contradictions.
The first is the contradiction between its political persona as a people-based movement and the reality of its decision-making mechanisms. While it claims that its policies are shaped by internal debate, everyone knows that a telephone call from Tehran could produce an about-turn on almost any issue.
The second contradiction is between its championing pan-Islamic causes while operating as a strictly sectarian organization. This is illustrated by the claim that Iran’s “Supreme Guide” Ali Khamenei is the “leader of all Muslims”, whether they like it or not.
The third contradiction is caused by the party’s attempt at playing the political game according to Lebanese rules, which emphasize compromise, and the Mafia-style politics of the Syrian regime in which force and terror are dominant features.
Despite these contradictions a combination of factors had helped Hezbollah built a position at the heart of several concentric circles of support. Recently, the party has either lost or is in the process of losing some of those circles.
The first to go is the outer circle of support from nostalgics of pan-Arabism, the remnants of the Arab left and anti-despotic forces in the region.
By associating itself with the Assad regime Hezbollah has all but lost that circle.
The second circle of support consisted of those Lebanese who, cutting across sectarian boundaries, saw Hezbollah as an expression of their nationhood. That circle, too, has all but evaporated. Today, many Lebanese fear that Hezbollah may be leading them into conflicts that have nothing to do with their national interests and aspirations- conflicts too large in scope for Lebanon to handle.
The third circle of Hezbollah support consists of the Shi’ite community, the largest in demographic terms in Lebanon. Hezbollah never succeeded in winning a straight majority, a fact illustrated by its relatively modest scores in parliamentary elections. Nevertheless, almost all Lebanese Shi’ites were prepared to acknowledge Hezbollah as an important element in their community. Hezbollah was admired for its ability to assert Shi’ite power through propaganda, political maneuvering, and, when necessary, use of force. It also managed to bring in vast resources used to rebuild the south and create employment opportunities for Shi’ite.
That circle is fading as more and more Shi’ites realize that what Hezbollah has built, mostly with money from Iran, could also be destroyed by an adventurist policy imposed by Tehran. Worse still, Hezbollah’s largesse has created jealousies among Shi’ites. A Shi’ite who suddenly builds an imposing house or drives an expensive car instantly labeled a “Hezbollah parasite”.
It is the loss of the third circle that most concerns the party’ leadership. One sign of that is the gradual but no less perceptible efforts by Amal leader Nabih Berri to distance himself from Hezbollah. Although allied with Iran and Syria, Berri is essentially a Lebanese politician in the “Lebanon First” tradition. He is not ready to risk Lebanon’s national interests, in fact its very existence, in the interest either of Assad or Khamenei.
The traditional Lebanese politician may get involved in all manner of chicanery to receive foreign financial and political support. Deep down, however, he remains Lebanese, always ready to jettison a paymaster to protect Lebanese interests.
In contrast, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah describes himself as “a proud foot soldier of Khamenei.”
In that, Nasrallah represents some Communist leaders during the heyday of the COMINTERN. They regarded themselves as “proud foot soldiers” of Stalin and were prepared to sacrifice their own nation’s interests in the service of the Soviet Union. In 1939, Stalin told them to praise Hitler because Moscow had signed an alliance with Nazi Germany to partition Poland. In 1941, the same Stalin ordered them to fight Hitler who had invaded the Soviet Union.
There other signs that Nasrallah may be losing support among the Shi’ites. Until recently, the pro-Hezbollah media never referred to Nasrallah without the deferential titles. Now, he is plain Hassan Nasrallah. Again until recently, whenever Nasrallah emerged from his hideout to broadcast a speech through the TV networks he owns, his appearance would be greeted with Shi’ites firing celebratory bullets in the skies across Lebanon. Now, however, Shi’ites are saving their bullets, responding to Nasrallah’s diatribes with dismissive yawns.
The self-styled hero has become a TV personality and, like other TV personalities, he is subject to a rise and decline cycle.
Some Lebanese Shi’ites are pondering some crucial questions.
What if Assad falls? What if Khamenei loses the power struggle, paving the way for an end to his adventurism? What if Iran is dragged into a war that could lead to regime change in Tehran?
Some Lebanese Shi’ites are looking to Iraq as a potential source of support in the future. According to Iraqi sources, prominent Lebanese Shi’ites have visited Iraq to establish communication with the Shi’ite clerical leadership in Najaf and the government of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki in Baghdad.
Though concerned about the possibility of a Middle East dominated by Muslim Brotherhood, allied with the United States, Iraq, has managed to hedge its bets. In Baghdad the emphasis is on Iraqi interests not pan-sectarian dreams.
The regional kaleidoscope is changing, making Nasrallah’s conservatism all the more risky for Lebanon and its Shi’ite community. The growing debate about a new strategy for Lebanese Shi’ites must be welcomed. But, without leadership change, no new strategy is possible.

Why are the Shiite Marjas silent about Syria?
By Adel Al Toraifi/Asharq Alawsat
The issue of the Shiite marjas' intervention in political and social affairs has long remained a subject of controversy and debate amongst observers. There are those who maintain that the traditional Twelver Shiism in Najaf and Karbala always preferred not to get involved in politics. This situation continued until Ayatollah Khomeini's 1979 revolution in Iran, which introduced the concept of the “Wilayat al-Faqih” [Guardianship of the Jurists] to establish its rule. Although many of the traditional marjas in Qom and Najaf did not support this doctrine, they have always voiced their political views on different issues now and again, raising the question of under what circumstances and conditions they should put forward their opinions on matters of politics.
To date, the Syrian crisis has claimed the lives of nearly 38,000 people and displaced more than 1.4 million, inside and outside Syria. As a result of the humanitarian crisis and the war between the regime and the rebels, a political and moral division has reared its head between those who support the ouster of the regime and those who are standing with it, such as the Iranian regime, Hezbollah and other radical Shiite groups.
There can be no doubt that there is a sectarian dimension to the Syrian crisis, just as there are also attempts being made by moderates to avoid such conflict.
However, we have also seen tensions escalated by extremists on both sides. The stance adopted by Iraqi President Nuri al-Maliki and his allies backing the al-Assad regime is part of this sectarian aggravation, leading Fouad Ajami to criticize al-Maliki and others who have failed to learn the lessons of Saddam Hussein's dictatorship. He wrote: “it would be painfully ironic if the Shia overcame their historical weakness only to lose their soul, their strong sense of righteousness, in the bargain. The Syrian rebellion is a test of the moral integrity of Shia identity. When victims come to power, they must beware of the darkness into which power may tempt them.” (How Sectarianism Blinds the Shia to the Horrors of Syria, The New Republic, October 2012).
Unfortunately, anybody observing the marjas' stances towards political issues must notice that some marjas refrain from intervening when their position conflict with the interests of their religious institute, or when this will affect relations between their institute and their rulers. True neutrality cannot be applied in some cases and ignored in others. Researcher Mehdi Khalaji –son of Ayatollah Mohamed Taqi Khalaji – studied the principles of Islam and Islamic jurisprudence in Qom between 1986 and 2000. He argues that the Syrian crisis represents a moral challenge for the Shiite marjas of Qom and Najaf, which he believes are no longer politically or financially independent from the Wali al-Faqih in Iran. Khalaji also criticized the Western media's portrayal of the “intellectual” Marja of Qom and the “Sufist” Marja of Najaf, and the assumption that the former is influenced by the concept of the Wilayat al-Faqih whilst the latter rejects it. He holds that this is inaccurate, citing the fact that leader of the Hawza of Najaf, Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, does not publicly reject the “Wilayat al-Faqih” concept or the policies of Iranian Supreme Guide Ali Khamenei, particularly those regarding Syria and Lebanon. Therefore, al-Sistani has no choice but to make peace with Khamenei, as have other marjas who fear the machinery of power in Iran or Syria. (The Silence of the Graves: Why are the Shiite Marjas being silent on the killing of Muslims in Syria? The Majalla, November 2012.)
There can be no doubt that the marjas have played positive roles in rejecting sectarianism and protecting national unity at different times in history. However this intervention in political affairs sometimes puts them in an awkward position, religiously and morally. Ayatollah al-Sistani enjoys great popularity amongst Shiites, and he was a very positive voice in protecting Iraqi unity following the fall of Baghdad in 2003. In numerous statements, he criticized sectarian violence and the phenomenon of corruption within the Iraqi government. Yet, this marja has not issued a single condemnation of the systematic killing of the Syrian people by the al-Assad regime over the past 18 months, despite the fact that al-Sistani’s office has issued many numerous condemnations in recent years, including condemnation of Israel during the 2006 war, the defamatory Danish cartoons of Prophet Muhammad, the situation in Gaza, and other Iraqi and regional issues.
What is happening in Syria is simultaneously a regional and a sectarian crisis. Despite this, senior marjas failed to take any action to relieve the sectarian tension and pull the rug out from under those promoting it. Sunni scholars have been criticized on numerous occasions – and this is something that must continue – when they have utilized fatwas to intervene in politics. Some of these fatwas resulted in large-scale destruction and violence in Iraq and elsewhere. Unfortunately, there is silence when it comes to Shiite marjas or jurists who do the same.
A question must be asked: have Shiite intellectuals done their duty in terms of criticizing Shiite political Islam and its repeated hijacking of the sect’s voice? Up until now, we see no reasonable criticism in this regard, with the exception of a minority of jurists, and even this minority is being criticized by both Sunni and Shiite liberals. This is apparent in the Lebanese crisis, as only a small minority of Shiite intellectuals are capable of criticizing Hezbollah and its “resistance”. It is as if this policy – which has hijacked the Lebanese state’s decision-making process – is legitimate, whilst extremism on the part of others is rejected and suspect!
In a message from well-known Iranian intellectual Abdolkarim Soroush to Ayatollah Khamenei criticizing the marjas' negative role in politics, he said: “you must accept criticism so that we can move towards national reconciliation.” (December 2011). Perhaps this is what the Shiite marjas require with regards to the Syrian crisis.

March 8 has lost the plot
November 1, 2012 /Now Lebanon
Former Prime Minister Fouad Siniora has breathed life back into March 14. It must not lose the momentum again. (AFP)
March 8 has lost the plot. Never in post-war Lebanese history has a Lebanese government (and remember we had the appalling, and thankfully short-lived, administration of Omar Karami with which to compare it) been so inept, so craven and yet so arrogant. Nearly 18 months after it was formed under the protection of Hezbollah’s weapons, it has done nothing except steer Lebanon closer to civil conflict, while at the same time crushing the economy to a pulp, spitting on our territorial integrity and casting national security to the wind.
And let us go further. There are elements of March 8 that represent a brand of evil (one created by the Baathist regime in Syria) that exceeds the normal level of amorality, incompetence and corruption that has come to define the way things are done (and in many cases accepted) in the Middle East.
Much of March 8’s arrogance stems from the fact that it lives by double standards. It dares to criticize journalist Nadim Koteich for, rightly or wrongly, urging the people at Wissam al-Hassan’s funeral to march on the Grand Serail, a move that led to a running battle with the security forces. Memories are short within the criminal fraternity that is March 8. Did it not lay siege to the Grand Serial and all of downtown for 18 months between December 2006 and May 2008, stopping only after it waged a brief war on the streets of the capital and the mountains?
The more March 8 clings stubbornly to its sinister ideals, the more its mask slips. The Syrian regime it claims to back is mired in the blood of its own people, while the ideology of Hezbollah, the party that propelled March 8 to the very seat of government, is facing its most existential crisis to date. There is nothing to like or admire about a bloc that has somehow found itself running what is left of Lebanon’s affairs.
That said, March 14 is hardly a host of angels, not by any stretch of the imagination, let us be very clear on this. The bloc that spearheaded the popular 2005 Cedar Revolution has been thwarted at many turns by war, assassinations and outright obstruction, but it has also been its own worst enemy, doing little to advance its very clear aims with in-fighting and an absentee ex-premier. Many of those who took to the streets on that landmark day in the spring of 2005 have given up and gone home, leaving only the hardcore, card-carrying members to fly the flag.
If March 14 is to regain the support of the nonaligned Lebanese, it must act now to show that, not only can it admit its past failings, but in the face of the most appalling government in recent memory, it represents a Lebanon in which security, prosperity, national integrity and the functioning of national institutions are paramount.
Speaking on Tuesday night, former Prime Minister (and the man many think should lead the Future Movement at the next elections, and, should they get a majority, be the next Prime Minister) Fouad Siniora, took some baby steps in achieving this end.
He demanded that the Syrian ambassador be considered persona non grata; he demanded a full and transparent investigation into the Samaha case; he demanded that the Lebanese army be deployed along our border with Syria to stop territorial violations from both sides, and he demanded that the Special Tribunal be allowed to continue its work unimpeded and that any suspects be handed over to the proper authorities.
He condemned Hezbollah’s intentions to take Lebanon to war with Israel without the say so of the Lebanese state; he condemned its activities in Syria on behalf of the Asaad regime and he condemned the ongoing culture of assassinations, one that has targeted mostly March 14 figures.
All these demands and condemnations are the very least one would expect from a political bloc within whose priorities lie the very best interests of the Lebanese state.
On Tuesday Siniora breathed life back into March 14. Whatever mistakes March 14 may have made, it at least speaks the language of a functional nation, with institutions under the control of the state and a state that respects its integrity and the integrity of its people.
It must not lose the momentum again.