For Immediate Release Lebanon

LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
August 23/07

Bible Reading of the day
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 20,1-16. The kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out at dawn to hire laborers for his vineyard. After agreeing with them for the usual daily wage, he sent them into his vineyard. Going out about nine o'clock, he saw others standing idle in the marketplace, and he said to them, 'You too go into my vineyard, and I will give you what is just.'So they went off. (And) he went out again around noon, and around three o'clock, and did likewise. Going out about five o'clock, he found others standing around, and said to them, 'Why do you stand here idle all day?' They answered, 'Because no one has hired us.' He said to them, 'You too go into my vineyard.' When it was evening the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, 'Summon the laborers and give them their pay, beginning with the last and ending with the first.' When those who had started about five o'clock came, each received the usual daily wage. So when the first came, they thought that they would receive more, but each of them also got the usual wage. And on receiving it they grumbled against the landowner, saying, 'These last ones worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us, who bore the day's burden and the heat.' He said to one of them in reply, 'My friend, I am not cheating you. Did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage? Take what is yours and go. What if I wish to give this last one the same as you? (Or) am I not free to do as I wish with my own money? Are you envious because I am generous?' Thus, the last will be first, and the first will be last."

Opinions
Hamas promises something new, but delivers more of the same.Daily Star.August 22/07
Isolate Beirut's foes, but test their intentions first.By Rami Naser.August 22/07
Controlling the Syrian Lebanese borders is a MUST for peace.World Forum.August 22/07

Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources for August 22/07
Lebanon crisis threatens presidential vote.Reuters
Germany approves 1-year extension Lebanon mission.Jerusalem Post
Deal on Lebanon camp safe passage.BBC News
U.S. Opposes Constitutional Amendment to Elect President, Sfeir Opposes Boycott-Naharnet
US Opposes Constitutional Amendment to Elect President.Naharnet
Contact with Fatah al-Islam Lost, Militant Arrested -Naharnet
Aoun Slams March 14 Christians, Insisting He Represents Majority of Christians -Naharnet
Police Bust High-Class Prostitution Ring in France, Detain Lebanese -Naharnet
Security Council Considering UNIFIL Extension-Naharnet
DEBKAfile Exclusive: Syria transfers elements of its commando ...DEBKA file
Draft resolution introduced to extend Lebanon peacekeepers.ReliefWeb (press release)
Israel's UN Envoy: Iran Engine of Terror.NewsMax.com
Lebanon's military agrees to militants' request.International Herald Tribune
Lebanon's fate hinges on presidential race.Daily Star
Army grants Fatah al-Islam request to let civilians flee.Daily Star
Christian opposition leaders discuss joint plan on presidency.Daily Star
Salloukh, Mitri accept CSC move on diplomats.Daily Star
War of words heats up between Syria, Saudi Arabia.Daily Star
Sfeir: Presidential poll must precede unity government.Daily Star
Solving all of the country's problems - with a puppet show.Daily Star
Hogasapian warns of 'axis of conflict'.Daily Star
Political feud halts road works in South.Daily Star
Lebanese association demands transparency in reconstruction.Daily Star
Seaside dump in Sidon teeters on edge of disaster.Daily Star
Bush says its up to Iraqis to determine Maliki's fate.The Daily Star
Analysts diverge on source of Muslim-Coptic tension in Egypt.(AFP)

U.S. Opposes Constitutional Amendment to Elect President, Sfeir Opposes Boycott
The U.S. State Department stressed Tuesday that Washington opposes a constitutional amendment to elect a new president for Lebanon and Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir warned against boycotting the process. Deputy Director of the department's Near East office David Foley was quoted by Agence France Presse (AFP) as saying: "The position of the U.S. is clear. The presidential elections in Lebanon should be held on time and in accordance with the Constitution."
"No change in the Constitution is necessary and there should be no change to the Constitution," he added.
A U.S. source, however, told Naharnet Washington "supports the free will of the Lebanese. We support Whatever decision they take by their own free will."
"The idea is that we support any president who is not affiliated with terrorist organizations or foreign powers," the source said. He refused to disclose further details.
The statement coincided with remarks by Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir stressing that boycott of the Parliamentary session to elect a new president is tantamount to "boycotting the homeland."Sfeir, in an interview with the Kuwaiti daily as-Siyassah to be published Wednesday said: "Boycotting the session to elect a president is tantamount to boycotting the homeland. The session should be held by a two-third quorum, but after that a president can be elected by simple majority."
"Some (people) claim that only Army Commander Gen. Michel Suleiman can salvage Lebanon, this requires a constitutional amendment, so we said let the constitution be amended because salvaging the homeland is a priority," Sfeir added.(Naharnet-AFP)

Aoun Slams March 14 Christians, Insisting He Represents Majority of Christians
General Michel Aoun hit back at Christian politicians from the anti-Syrian March 14 alliance, insisting that he represents the majority of the Christians.
"They have no right to speak on behalf of the Christian majority as they have no right to nominate (a candidate) for president while he does not represent the majority of the Christians," Aoun stressed. "We declare stances ... We have the right to speak on behalf of the majority of the Christians," Aoun said after a meeting on Tuesday evening of Christian politicians from the Hizbullah-led opposition that tackled, among other issues, the upcoming Presidential elections.
Aoun stressed that the meeting was not in response to the conference held earlier Tuesday among Christian politicians from March 14 that aimed at agreeing on a common candidate for the 2007 presidential election.
The former army general, who had already announced his candidacy for the presidency, lashed out at March 14, saying they are not "decision-makers."
Aoun also criticized Washington for supporting a new head of state for Lebanon who is "not affiliated with terrorist organizations or foreign powers," a reference to Hizbullah. "We tolerate statements rejecting (to elect) a president that is pro-Iranian or pro-Syrian," Aoun said at the meeting which was attended by deputies from his Change and Reform bloc in addition to MPs Michel Murr and Elias Skaff, former Minister and MP Suleiman Franjieh and Tashnag Party leader Hovig Mekhitarian.
"But is it possible to hear voices rejecting a President who is with Hizbullah?" Aoun asked. "Do we eliminate one-third of the Lebanese population and wipe them off the Lebanese map?""Can you imagine a President that is not accepted by Hizbullah or by the Shiites?" he wondered.
"We also have a representation of the Christian majority," Aoun emphasized. "They have to understand that they have no right to speak in the name of the majority of the Christians. The U.S. State Department on Tuesday stressed that Washington opposes a constitutional amendment to elect a new president for Lebanon.
A U.S. source told Naharnet, however, that Washington "supports the free will of the Lebanese. We support whatever decision they take by their own free will."
"The idea is that we support any president who is not affiliated with terrorist organizations or foreign powers," the source said. He refused to disclose further details."
Beirut, 22 Aug 07, 07:05

Contact with Fatah al-Islam Lost, Militant Arrested
A Palestinian cleric trying to negotiate a ceasefire to allow families of the Fatah al-Islam militant group to leave the battered Nahr al-Bared refugee camp said Wednesday phone contact with the extremists had been lost. "We were awaiting a response about the number of people to be evacuated and the time, in order to secure a corridor," Mohammed Hajj, spokesman for the Ulemas or clerics, told AFP. "We were surprised because they are longer answering their phone."
Lebanese army helicopters launched four raids on Fatah al-Islam positions inside the Nahr al-Bared camp early on Wednesday, an AFP correspondent said.
Meanwhile, Lebanese troops arrested a member of Fatah al-Islam as he tried to escape Nahr al-Bared by sea.
Hajj had said on Tuesday that a representative of Fatah al-Islam contacted the clerics overnight on Monday, seeking a way out for the women and children who are said to number less than 100. The army said in a statement that it had agreed and was ready for a truce that would allow the families safe passage out of the devastated refugee camp on the outskirts of the northern port city of Tripoli. According to a source close to the negotiations, the clerics have drawn up a list of 50 women and 20 children, including the wife of Fatah al-Islam chief Shaker al-Abssi and the widow of his number two, Abu Hureira, who was killed at the beginning of August.
Previous mediation attempts over the past three months by the Palestinian clerics aimed at securing the militants' surrender or the safe conduct of their families have failed. On July 11 the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) tried in vain to evacuate 45 women and 20 children, all related to Islamist fighters inside Nahr al-Bared. The remaining militants, thought to number about 70, have been holed up inside the camp since May 20.
At least 200 people, including 141 soldiers, have been killed in the fighting since it broke out May 20.(AFP-Naharnet) Beirut, 22 Aug 07, 10:30

Gov’t approves UNIFIL mandate extension
Israel agrees to extend mandate of UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon; Security Council expected to decide on issue later in week
Ronny Sofer Published: 08.19.07, 17:16 /
Israel News The government agreed Sunday to extend the mandate of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) according to United Nations resolution 1701. The UN Security Council is expected to decide on the issue at the end of the week. At the moment, the UN does not intend on expanding the mandate to include the closure of the Lebanese-Syrian border, or the enforcement of the embargo on smuggling weapons to Hizbullah. Aharon Abramovitch, Foreign Ministry director-general, briefed cabinet members on talks being held ahead of the UN Security Council vote, based on the draft resolution by the United States and France. Foreign Ministry representatives have been conducting talks with the US and France in an attempt to insert clauses in the resolution, which would strengthen Israel’s position. Israel has requested that the resolution declare the situation in Lebanon as a threat to the region and world peace. Foreign Ministry representatives have also pushed for the resolution to declare the area between the border and the Litany River “free of weapons and terror”. Israel also demanded a clause calling for the release of the kidnapped soldiers, or alternately, a sign of life from them.
According to Abramovitch’s briefing, Israel had no intention of backing down from previous decisions regarding the mandate or resolution 1701, despite the fact that its demand to stop arms smuggling to Hizbullah from Syria had yet to be accepted.

Christian opposition leaders discuss joint plan on presidency
US: vote must comply with constitution
By Hani M. Bathish-Daily Star staff
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
BEIRUT: Christian opposition politicians met over dinner in Rabiyeh at the home of Change and Reform bloc leader MP Michel Aoun Tuesday evening to discuss among other matters the upcoming presidential elections and decide on a plan of action for the period ahead. Chaired by Aoun, the meeting included Change and Reform bloc MPs Michel Murr and Elias Skaff, former Minister and MP Suleiman Franjieh and Tashnag Party leader Hovig Mekhitarian.
Aoun, speaking to reporters ahead of the dinner, said that the meeting had been called to discuss general issues of concern to the Lebanese at this stage. He also denied that the meeting was held in response to the meeting of Christian leaders from the ruling coalition. He added that the meeting had been planned ten days earlier.
The participants of the dinner were expected to release statements after the meeting, which was still under way as The Daily Star went to press.
Visitors to Ain al-Tineh Tuesday said Speaker Nabih Berri was working "with all his energy" to narrow the gap between opposing political factions, to save the presidential election by convening an electoral session on time in accordance with constitutional norms.
Berri told As-Safir that if the majority tries to elect a new president with a simple majority of half plus one, "they will see a new face to Nabih Berri." At the Maarab meeting Monday, Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea, responded to Berri's warning, saying the speaker will see "many new things if anyone tries to stall presidential elections."
Berri said Monday he would not go to Parliament on September 25 unless there are 86 MPs present and accounted for, referring to the quorum of two-thirds the opposition insists is needed to convene an electoral session of Parliament, a stipulation Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Boutros Sfeir also insists on.
"Whatever is said, I remain as I am, I am optimistic, what is strange is they get upset with me when I am optimistic," Berri told As-Safir, referring to the ruling coalition. "In fact I am certain and confident that the presidential elections will be held with a quorum of two-thirds, and in the end it will be alright." He said a quorum of two-thirds is a formula for consensus.
Director of Near East Affairs at the US State Department, Gina Abercrombie-Winstanley, told the daily Al-Hayat newspaper Monday that Washington does not mind if the Lebanese Constitution is amended to facilitate holding presidential elections next month. She said Washington's priority is to ensure a candidate "who has no links with terrorist organizations" and who will not mortgage Lebanon's sovereignty to foreign ambitions. She said apart from that, the details of the electoral process remain "an internal matter for the Lebanese to decide on."
By that standard, Aoun would not be viewed by the US as a suitable presidential candidate, having signed a memorandum of understanding with Hizbullah in February 2006. "The US will reject any candidate with close links to Hizbullah and who will work to restore Syrian influence and Iranian inference in Lebanese affairs," Abercrombie-Winstanley said.
Responding to the Al-Hayat article, the US Embassy in Beirut said presidential elections in Lebanon have to be held on time and in accordance with the Constitution. It added that UN Security Council Resolution 1559 continues to embody the US government's thinking that elections have to be free, fair and on time.
Apart from that, she said, the details of the electoral process and the naming of candidates remains "an internal matter for the Lebanese to decide on."
Newly appointed French Charge d'Affaires Andre Baran, who met Berri Monday and Premier Fouad Siniora Tuesday, stressed France's readiness to resume its initiative to help Lebanon resolve its political crisis. He added that both French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner and his envoy Jean-Claude Cousseran, will come to Beirut in "the coming days or weeks." Baran reiterated that the election has to take place within the time set by the Constitution, expressing French support for a quick resolution to the political crisis.
Geagea called both Future Movement leader MP Saad Hariri and Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblatt Tuesday to inform them of the general mood of the Maarab meeting. Responding to accusations from Aoun that the March 14 alliance cannot make its own decisions, Geagea said Aoun knows full well that the order to disband the Lebanese Forces came because it was its own free decision.
"I was put in jail because my decision is in my hands, in addition we were barred from taking part in the 2005 general elections for the same reason," Geagea said.
Former Prime Minister Salim al-Hoss, in a statement Tuesday, described the Maarab meeting of Christian politician from the March 14 alliance on Monday as inauspicious, questioning how March 14 could be called an alliance when at a crucial juncture the Christians gather and decide on matters separately from the Muslims in the alliance.
"If we want the presidency to be a unifying factor, after longstanding divisions between the Lebanese, then the presidency should be discussed at the national not confessional level," Hoss said, adding that once again the Lebanese show sectarianism is at the root of what ails them.
Liberation and Development bloc MP Ali Khreis, speaking at a memorial ceremony in South Lebanon, called for creating an atmosphere that would allow the country to proceed toward presidential polls and other referenda, restore balance to political life and reach an agreement over a national unity government.
Presidential candidate MP Robert Ghanem, speaking to the Lebanese News Agency, said he would not take part in any electoral session unless a quorum of two-thirds is achieved. He hoped a consensus candidate could be agreed on as such a president would be capable of steering the ship of state to safe shores since he would enjoy wide support.
March 14 MP Elias Attallah, speaking to the Lebanese News Agency, said the election of the next president by half-plus-one of majority MPs is preferable to having as constitutional vacuum. He said Berri's talk of a national unity government is a step backward, adding that the speaker was forced to revert to that kind of talk after Hizbullah had put pressure on him.

Sfeir: Presidential poll must precede unity government
Patriarch prefers not to amend constitution
By Mirella Hodeib -Daily Star staff
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Beirut: Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Butros Sfeir reiterated Tuesday that a two-thirds quorum is required to elect Lebanon's next president, while stressing that the poll should precede the formation of a national unity government. "Demands to have a national unity government, even if made hours before the presidential election, are considered to be acts of defiance; and we are all aware that defiant attitudes cannot build nations," Sfeir told the Kuwait-based As-Siyassa newspaper in an interview to be published Wednesday.
While the opposition considers the formation of a national unity government as a key step toward solving pending issues, including the presidential election, the ruling coalition sees the presidential election as the only doorway toward solving all pending matters.
Sfeir said the Constitution "clearly" stipulates the president should be elected by a two-thirds quorum in the first round and by absolute majority if a second round of polls is needed.
"Having MPs boycott the election session is the same as having them boycott their national duties and obligations," he said. "It is also worth noting that Lebanese as well as international political norms specify that a president ought to be elected by a considerable majority in order to be taken seriously."
Regarding constitutional amendments, Sfeir said he was against amendment scenarios, "unless this is done to spare the country potential disasters."
"Some claim army commander General Michel Suleiman is the only one capable of saving the country so why not amend the Constitution for his sake, since saving our country is a priority?" he asked.
The Lebanese Constitution specifies that Article 49 be amended if an employee of the civil service were to be elected as president. The issue was raised after the names of Suleiman and Treasurer Riad Salameh, both employees of the civil service, were heavily circulated as potential presidential candidates.
During their meeting in Maarab Monday, Christian figures from the March 14 Forces rejected scenarios for constitutional amendment.
While citing Suleiman, Sfeir strictly refused to name any favorites for the presidential polls.
"If I name a favorite for the presidential polls all groups will attack him," he told the daily.
Sfeir called on Lebanese politicians to put an end to foreign interference in Lebanese political affairs, and particularly in presidential elections.
The head of Lebanon's Maronite Church acknowledged that Syria played a role in Lebanese politics, "since a lot of the Lebanese take Syria's stands into consideration."
The patriarch, however, dismissed the idea that Saudi Arabia was seeking to play a role on the Lebanese political scene.
Echoing Sfeir's calls for MPs to attend the election session of a new president expected to be held at the Parliament on September 25, Grand Mufti Mohammad Rashid Qabbani called on MPs to participate in electing Lebanon's next president.
"Anyone who boycotts the election session will be held responsible for any power vacuums and all the negative repercussions such a situation might entail," Qabbani said in a statement Tuesday.
Also tackling the hot issue of the presidential poll, vice president of the Higher Shiite Council Sheikh Abdel-Amir Qabalan said only the formation of a national unity government was likely to forge a consensus concerning the identity of Lebanon's next president, and all other pending issues.
Qabalan said Lebanon's next president "should represent all the Lebanese or else he will be considered as weak."

Draft resolution introduced to extend Lebanon peacekeepers
UNITED NATIONS, Aug 21, 2007 (AFP) - France introduced a Security Council draft resolution seeking to extend the mission of the UN force in southern Lebanon, diplomats here said Tuesday. The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) monitors the separation of forces following the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah war in Lebanon. The force also helps the Lebanese armed forces deploy to the area, and helps make sure humanitarian assistance reaches area civilians.
The UN draft resolution seeks to extend UNIFIL's mission, which officially ends on August 31, by one year.
The draft resolution appeals "to all parties concerned" to respect the end of hostilities, and urges them to cooperate with UN officials "to achieve a permanent cease-fire and a long term solution" to hostilities. The resolution "emphasizes the need for greater progress in this regard."
The UN peacekeeping force was first deployed in the region since 1978. It currently has 13,500 troops along with 1,000 civilian employees, compared to only 2,000 before 2006. Copyright (c) 2007 Agence France-Presse

Army grants Fatah al-Islam request to let civilians flee
By Michael Bluhm -Daily Star staff
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
BEIRUT: The Lebanese Army and Fatah al-Islam agreed Tuesday to allow the remai-ning civilians to leave the Nahr al-Bared Palestinian refugee camp in North Lebanon, as the army continued pounding the militants' dwindling underground positions. Fatah al-Islam spokesman Abu Salim Taha called Sheikh Mohammad al-Hajj, head of the League of Palestinian Clerics, on Monday night and Tuesday morning to ask him to arrange with the army the departure of civilians from the battered camp, Hajj said. Hajj had led earlier, unsuccessful efforts to negotiate an end to the conflict, which has raged in and around the camp since May 20.
"The army command welcomed the issue and offered its cooperation," Hajj said. "I hope it will be as soon as possible."
The army also issued a statement on Tuesday declaring its willingness to let civilians exit.
Army commander General Michel Suleiman estimated last week that about 100 civilians - mostly the wives and children of militants - remained, and Hajj said he did not know how many noncombatants wanted to get out.
Almost all of the camp's 31,000 residents fled soon after the fighting broke out.
As of early Tuesday evening, no major exodus was in the works, with army waiting for a procedure to permit the passage out from the camp of one religious figure who had expressed his wish to leave, an army source told The Daily Star on condition of anonymity.
The army has long demanded that the militants release the remaining civilians, accusing Fatah al-Islam of using the women and children as human shields. Army helicopters dropped leaflets last Tuesday on the roughly 1.5 square kilometers controlled by the militants urging the gunmen to let the civilians leave.
The militants' request signifies that the end of the battle is nearing and represents a defeat for Fatah al-Islam, because the group had rejected previous entreaties to let civilians go, a security source said on Tuesday.
Once the civilians clear out, the army will be free to destroy the territory occupied by the militants without fear of civilian casualties, the source added.
The source speculated that the militants' situation was becoming dire and their supplies of necessities such as drinking water were shrinking.
The army has cut off Fatah al-Islam's underground supply routes by blocking off or burning the network of tunnels under the camp, the source added.
Suleiman estimated that about 70 militants remained from a force of about 360 when the violence erupted.
The militants did not fire any Katyusha rockets into the area around the camp on Tuesday, after firing roughly a dozen rockets during the past week. The militants continued sniping at army troops, the army source said. One soldier was killed on Tuesday, bringing the total number of army casualties to 141 in the three-month-old conflict. The army persisted in its drive to finish the battle, engaging in intense clashes throughout the day, the source said. Helicopter bombing runs have uncovered more and more underground bunkers, which the army pounded relentlessly, the source added. Military insiders have said the army will wipe out the remaining Fatah al-Islam members in a few weeks.
The army seized more territory from the militants on Tuesday, although troops are burning down all buildings they take because of booby traps left by Fatah al-Islam.
A woman killed by a stray Fatah al-Islam bullet was buried on Tuesday, although the baby she was carrying survived, said a report from the National News Agency.
Suzanne Mohammad al-Saj, who was eight months pregnant, was killed in Minyeh by bullet fired by Fatah al-Islam from the camp toward the nearby civilian area. The child was delivered by Caesarean section at a local hospital, the report added. - With agencies

Sfeir: Presidential poll must precede unity government
Patriarch prefers not to amend constitution
By Mirella Hodeib
Daily Star staff
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Beirut: Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Butros Sfeir reiterated Tuesday that a two-thirds quorum is required to elect Lebanon's next president, while stressing that the poll should precede the formation of a national unity government. "Demands to have a national unity government, even if made hours before the presidential election, are considered to be acts of defiance; and we are all aware that defiant attitudes cannot build nations," Sfeir told the Kuwait-based As-Siyassa newspaper in an interview to be published Wednesday.
While the opposition considers the formation of a national unity government as a key step toward solving pending issues, including the presidential election, the ruling coalition sees the presidential election as the only doorway toward solving all pending matters.
Sfeir said the Constitution "clearly" stipulates the president should be elected by a two-thirds quorum in the first round and by absolute majority if a second round of polls is needed. "Having MPs boycott the election session is the same as having them boycott their national duties and obligations," he said. "It is also worth noting that Lebanese as well as international political norms specify that a president ought to be elected by a considerable majority in order to be taken seriously."
Regarding constitutional amendments, Sfeir said he was against amendment scenarios, "unless this is done to spare the country potential disasters."
"Some claim army commander General Michel Suleiman is the only one capable of saving the country so why not amend the Constitution for his sake, since saving our country is a priority?" he asked.
The Lebanese Constitution specifies that Article 49 be amended if an employee of the civil service were to be elected as president. The issue was raised after the names of Suleiman and Treasurer Riad Salameh, both employees of the civil service, were heavily circulated as potential presidential candidates.
During their meeting in Maarab Monday, Christian figures from the March 14 Forces rejected scenarios for constitutional amendment.
While citing Suleiman, Sfeir strictly refused to name any favorites for the presidential polls.
"If I name a favorite for the presidential polls all groups will attack him," he told the daily.
Sfeir called on Lebanese politicians to put an end to foreign interference in Lebanese political affairs, and particularly in presidential elections.
The head of Lebanon's Maronite Church acknowledged that Syria played a role in Lebanese politics, "since a lot of the Lebanese take Syria's stands into consideration."The patriarch, however, dismissed the idea that Saudi Arabia was seeking to play a role on the Lebanese political scene.
Echoing Sfeir's calls for MPs to attend the election session of a new president expected to be held at the Parliament on September 25, Grand Mufti Mohammad Rashid Qabbani called on MPs to participate in electing Lebanon's next president.
"Anyone who boycotts the election session will be held responsible for any power vacuums and all the negative repercussions such a situation might entail," Qabbani said in a statement Tuesday. Also tackling the hot issue of the presidential poll, vice president of the Higher Shiite Council Sheikh Abdel-Amir Qabalan said only the formation of a national unity government was likely to forge a consensus concerning the identity of Lebanon's next president, and all other pending issues.
Qabalan said Lebanon's next president "should represent all the Lebanese or else he will be considered as weak."

Analysts diverge on source of Muslim-Coptic tension in Egypt
By Agence France Presse (AFP)
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
CAIRO: Recent high-profile cases of Egyptian Christians claiming abuse at the hands of their Muslim countrymen have highlighted growing divisions between the two communities. "It's not as it was. People go less to each other's houses," says writer and political analyst Sameh Fawzi, bemoaning the increasing separateness of Egypt's six to 10 percent population of Coptic Christians. "Even at school and university you find specific monolithic groups."
The news is dominated by stories highlighting the groups' differences: a Muslim convert to Christianity goes into hiding, foreign-linked Christians are arrested for insulting Islam, schoolboys are kept down a year for avowing their Christianity.
"If you speak with Muslims today about what they think about Christians you'll find lots of fantasies like they come from a different planet. They don't realize they've lived together for hundreds of years," says Fawzi.
While it is impossible to get official figures on sectarian violence, Hossam Bahgat, who heads the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, says "there has been a sharp increase in Muslim-Christian violence in the first half of this year. There are rumors of forced conversions, girls being abducted into Islam or Christianity, and all this leads to sectarian violence."
In response, activists on the Internet are using increasingly militant language, such as those from the provocatively named Middle East Christian Association (MECA) which had two members arrested in Cairo in July for "insulting Islam."
"They burn our churches, kill our men, rape our women ... We will not give up or break down so long we are still alive and breathing, and till they kill all of us," Nader Fawzy, who lives outside the country, said on MECA's Web site after the arrests.
"In a country of 70 million I'm not astonished to find a few fanatics and the Christian fanatics are more and more," says Islamic "free-thinker" Gamal al-Banna - whose brother Hassan founded the now powerful, albeit banned, opposition Muslim Brotherhood in the 1920s.
He says that while Al-Azhar, the country's highest Sunni Muslim authority, has what he calls "a medieval attitude to religious conversion - that they must convert back or be killed - Christianity has a similar problem of inflexibility. In Christianity, the Church can speak in the name of God, as a result of which fanaticism in Christianity is more complex than in Islam.""Everyone can say to [Al-Azhar head Sheikh Mohammad Sayyed] Tantawi 'you are wrong,' but no one can say that to [Coptic Pope] Shenuda. He just says 'you're ex-communicated.'"
Bahgat agrees that Christians are increasingly outspoken about the injustices they face, but says Muslim writers are also more prepared to discuss the problem, adding such a debate was "unimaginable five years ago."Discussion of issues of Coptic-Muslim intolerance "was seen as driven by the West, implementing an alien agenda and undermining national unity." Nevertheless, the vestiges of such a mentality remain.
"The reason that religious controversies are currently in vogue is that unfortunately certain Christian organizations abroad ... are being used to foment trouble," the official Al-Ahram Weekly quoted a prominent member of Al-Azhar as saying last week.
"There are Muslims who are being bribed and brainwashed to become Christian," Abdel-Moeti Bayoumi said.
Other commentators suggest that the recent spate of sectarian interest is simply down to a lack of other news over the summer, and that people will forget about it all come September. "Religious excitement has become a permanent topic in newspapers and on satellite channels, in particular when the political situation is stagnant in the summer," says writer Fawzi."These media outlets live off this kind of exciting story. They find no other news, so they encourage sectarian polemics as a way to attract an audience. For them it's like a football match - someone has to win and someone has to lose." - AFP

Hamas promises something new, but delivers more of the same
By The Daily Star
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Editorial
No population in the world serves as a better example of the term "collective punishment" than the civilian men, women and children whose only crime was to have been born in the Gaza Strip. Recent weeks have seen the already-unbearable plight of the people in the impoverished coastal territory worsen significantly. The past week alone has seen them languishing without electricity, as their food supplies have spoiled in the sweltering summer heat.
Many observers across the Middle East have placed the blame for these worsening conditions on the European Union for its decision to cut off funds for power supplies in the territory - a decision the bloc reversed on Tuesday. But European governments, along with other states in the international community which have tried to undermine Hamas at the expense of ordinary citizens, are not the only parties to blame for the current plight of Gazans: Both the Fatah faction and the Hamas movement have exacerbated matters by playing out a dangerous factional feud that puts partisan interests ahead of national ones. The blame game that the two factions have played in recent weeks has only served to exacerbate an environment of festering hostility and to create further hardships for Gazans.
The Hamas faction in particular, as the self-appointed unilateral rulers of Gaza, has a duty to ensure the welfare of the territory's population. But the humanitarian situation in Gaza has been in a freefall since their takeover. Hamas rode to power on the national scene in elections last year largely as a result of popular frustration with the corruption, nepotism and cronyism that have long plagued Fatah. But judging from their recent behavior, Hamas now risks falling into the same traps as their political rivals. Over the past few weeks, Hamas members have been cracking down on political freedoms by either arresting their rivals or purging their ideological opponents from state-run institutions. These moves have only served to further polarize the political scene, and have thus served to undermine the Palestinian national cause.
The Palestinians of Gaza had hoped for a change from Fatah's old ways, but they are witnessing a new era characterized by more of the same - and sometimes worse. Their plight will likely remain the same until the Palestinians have a united leadership with a relistic and contemporary political program that will lead to the achievement of their national aspirations.

Isolate Beirut's foes, but test their intentions first
By Rami Naser
Commentary by
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
"We will not sell you out." That is the message the White House continues to repeat to its allies in Lebanon who fear the return of Syrian hegemony. That message is particularly relevant today as Lebanon will soon enter a presidential election period. Washington has publicly stated it will not abandon Lebanon to Damascus for the sake of regional stability. The Bush administration believes isolating Syria has reaped benefits for the Lebanese through the creation of the Hariri tribunal and the passage of UN Security Council Resolution 1701 last summer.
In truth, however, American policy has not yet succeeded in securing Lebanon's sovereignty and democratic gains. The country has once again become a battleground for regional conflict. If this situation persists, Lebanon risks deteriorating into a failed state and becoming a safe haven for terrorists. President George W. Bush has several policy options available to him to avoid this ominous scenario and ensure that Lebanon preserves and strengthens its newly restored sovereignty.
The first option available to Bush is to employ a carrot-and-stick approach with Syria. America has much to gain and little to lose from such a policy. This would mean establishing clear benchmarks that Syria must adhere to before any incentives are offered. If Damascus meets its obligations, such as demarcating its border with Lebanon, opening an embassy in Beirut, and preventing the flow of arms to Hizbullah, then, and only then, would America engage the Assad regime.
As part of this policy, and once the Syrians have met their obligations, the Bush administration would return its ambassador to Damascus and resume intelligence cooperation with Syria. On the other hand, if the Assad regime fails to live up to its obligations, Bush can inform the Arab world and the international community that Syria was not willing to take the necessary steps to achieve regional peace and stability.
A second policy option for the Bush administration is to pursue a comprehensive regional peace deal. The objective would be to create an environment that prevents Syria and its allies from basking in the glory of "resistance." A serious push for comprehensive peace by the White House would enable Lebanon to break free from foreign interference, improve America's standing in the region, and could usher in a new era in US-Syrian relations. A comprehensive peace settlement would also create political conditions in Beirut that would heighten domestic pressure on Hizbullah to integrate its forces into the Lebanese Army and prevent the country from being used as a battleground for regional conflicts.
The idea would be to advance Syrian-Israeli peacemaking in such a way as to oblige the Syrian regime to live up to its public claim that it is ready for peace. However, it must be made clear to Damascus that the peace talks are not a springboard for it to reassert its hegemony over Lebanon, let alone to influence the outcome of the Hariri tribunal. If Bush's diplomatic efforts flounder, he can walk away vindicated, knowing isolation of Syria is the only suitable policy.
A third policy option available to the US is improving bilateral ties with Iran. This is much easier said than done, and doesn't look likely in the near term. However, Syria continues to worry about progress in US-Iranian ties. Such progress risks leading to recognition that Tehran, not Damascus, is the regional power Washington must engage to solve the Lebanese crisis. Iran has the key card of Hizbullah to play. An anarchic environment in Beirut is not in Iran's interests. Tehran worries that sectarian violence might spread to Lebanon. An outbreak of Sunni-Shiite violence in Lebanon would serve to undermine the image the Iranians would like to project as defenders of Muslim rights and only polarize the mainly Sunni Arab world against the Shiite-led Iran.
Would Tehran break off from Syria in Lebanon? That's far from certain, but it might be useful for the US to make the advantages clear for Tehran. Working with Washington to help solve the Lebanese crisis could quell Arab suspicions of Iranian regional ambitions. Cooperation would also create a basis to improve broader US-Iranian relations. If no breakthrough is achieved, then again Washington can argue that isolating Iran is the only appropriate policy to curtail its expanding influence.
The precarious security environment in Lebanon, the political paralysis, and the Lebanese Army's ongoing battle against Fatah al-Islam threaten the country's nascent democracy. A failed Lebanese state could become a fertile recruiting ground and safe haven for Arab jihadists. Beirut could also find itself a second front for Sunni-Shiite violence after Iraq. Lebanon would no longer be hailed as an example of Arab democracy. America would lose Lebanon and the country's future would be up for grabs.
Two years ago Beirut was at the center of the freedom fervor that spread throughout the Middle East. Today, Lebanon is facing grave political and economic instability and an uncertain future. Skillful US diplomacy is needed now to help push Lebanon toward a path of stability and prosperity. Lebanon's future is intrinsically tied to that of its neighbors and to the regional environment. By testing regional intentions, the US can both work toward strengthening Lebanese sovereignty and at least justify isolating opponents of this sovereignty if they fail to go along.
**Rami Naser is a graduate student at the George Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M University. He wrote this commentary for THE DAILY STAR.

Israel's UN Envoy: Iran Engine of Terror
Stewart Stogel
Tuesday, Aug. 21, 2007
NEW YORK -- In an exclusive interview with NewsMax, Israel's Ambassador to the U.N. Dan Gillerman took some time late last week to discuss a wide range of issues.
The Israeli diplomat raised warning flags about a return to the region of the Russian navy as well as a resurgent Hezbollah rearming in Lebanon.
Gillerman arrived at the U.N. in January 2003, having made his name in the world of Israeli business.
A native-born Israeli, Gillerman, 63, was educated at Tel Aviv and Hebrew Universities.
Before entering the world of Israeli diplomacy, Gillerman served as a senior executive at two of Israel's largest banks, the Israel Discount Bank and Bank Leumi le Israel. He is also a past president of the Israel Chamber of Commerce.
At the U.N., Gillerman became vice president of the 60th General Assembly. He was the first Israeli to hold such a position since the legendary foreign minister Abba Eban held the post in 1952.
NewsMax: What is Israel's view about officially declaring the Iranian Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist organization, as President Bush intends to do?
Gillerman: There is absolutely no doubt that the Iranian Revolutionary Guard is one of the world's most lethal terrorist organizations. In fact, Hezbollah in Lebanon is nothing more than another division, another unit of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard. Units of that guard are used by Iran to destabilize different areas around the world as part of its master plan of terrorizing the world ... I think it (the Bush move) is long overdue. It is one of the most extreme, most dangerous terrorist organizations in the world.
Will any other nations follow President Bush's lead?
I certainly hope so. The Iranians are the world's main engine of terror. Anything that is done to minimize the spread of Iranian terror is welcomed. This has happened with Hamas, with Hezbollah, it took some time for the international community to understand, to realize how dangerous they are, and today they are outlawed in most countries and and I hope the same will happen with the Iranians.
Have the U.N.-imposed sanctions on Iran failed?
They are not working in the sense that they have not stopped Iran from pursuing its quest for nuclear weapons. They have not stopped the president of Iran from making his mad, ranting declarations about wiping Israel off the face of the map. It has not stopped him from denying the Holocaust or preparing for the next one.
It is our feeling that the Iranians are not indifferent to those Security Council resolutions though. I think what the Iranians are most worried about is not so much a word here, a sanction there, as they are about the unanimity of those resolutions. I don't think Iran is North Korea. I don't think Iran wants to be labeled as a pariah, to be isolated. I think that they have been quite rattled by this unanimity of the international community. I think it is having some effect.
Is there an option to solve the Iranian problem militarily?
I think that all options are viable. I think that no option whatsoever should be taken off the table. I am sure that there is a military option, whether it would be exercised or not is another matter. We should exhaust every option, every way of making diplomacy work. But, I think military action is very much there.
Syria's U.N. ambassador expressed concern about Israeli military maneuvers near the border, on the Golan Heights. What is going on there? The Syrian ambassador at the U.N. is not known for being very realistic or very lucid. The statements he makes have very little to do with the reality on the ground ... Israel has made it very clear that it has no intention of entering into any kind of hostilities or a war with Syria. The Israeli-Syrian border has been quiet for 40 years.
It's the Syrians who have mobilized, who have engaged in maneuvers and who are constantly using Lebanon, especially southern Lebanon and their proxies, Hezbollah, as they did last summer, to wage a war against Israel. Israel has no intention whatsoever to attack Syria and I think the Syrian government knows it.
Where do peace talks stand with Syria?
Syria does not want to talk peace. Syria wants to be admitted back into the "living room" after it was put out because of its behavior. It wants to regain some legitimacy and especially wants to enter into a dialog with the United States. So, Syria is willing to make peace with the United States, it is not willing to make peace with Israel. We are willing to talk with Syria. But, the problem is, Syria is not willing to talk peace. It is willing to make some kind of "overtures" that bring it into a dialog with the United States.
Peace with Syria today is much more complex situation than it was during the times of (Yitzhak) Rabin or (Benjamin) Netanyahu. Then, it was to a some extent, more of a "real estate" deal ...it was an argument about yards, kilometers, of miles. Today, it is a much more complex picture, a much more ominous tapestry.
It is not just the Golan Heights. You still have Syria's very negative involvement in Lebanon. Its sponsorship of Hezbollah. You would still have Syria as an ally of Iran in terrorizing the world. You would still have Syria as a very negative influence in Iraq. Syria is a major hub, a host for terror organizations, over 10 of which feel very comfortable (operating) in Damascus, which is their headquarters.
What about the Russians? Are they seeking to expand their influence in the region.
Russian foreign policy is changing. Russia is trying to regain its superpower status. President Putin still regards the demise of the Soviet Union as a tragic, traumatic event and wants to project Russia as a superpower, a world power and certainly not as someone in anyone's "pocket" and be taken for granted.
Russia's whole foreign policy, especially in the Middle East, is dictated more by Russia's global ambitions and is aimed more at the U.S. than at Israel. I would look very carefully at the way Vladimir Putin is acting in the international arena.
Has Hezbollah re-armed since last year's war?
They have certainly re-armed. They are probably back to where they were last year, maybe even more. We know, we have evidence that there has been continuous smuggling - more like actual shipments - of arms over the Syrian-Lebanese border with the full complicity of Syria from Iran to Hezbollah. Hezbollah has been careful in its actions. It is not parading the arms, showing them. At the same time, it has rearmed, it is a very great danger, not only to Israel, but to Lebanon.
Has Israel complained to the U.N. Security Council about the arms violations?
I met with the secretary-general. The main subject was the fact the Resolution 1701 (Israel-Lebanon ceasefire) has not been fully implemented and that the arms embargo has not been implemented, Hezbollah has not been disarmed ... I have met the French ambassador, the Russian ambassador, the American ambassador ... we are warning everybody that the situation is very vulnerable and literally explosive.
Israel's war with Lebanon was prompted by the kidnapping of two Israeli soldiers in July 2006. What has happened to them?
Their return is a major provision of Resolution 1701. It is one of the most important, if not, the most important part of the resolution. Unfortunately, this very tragic and humanitarian matter has not been advanced in any way. We still have no sign of any life either with Dan Regev or Ehud Goldwasser.
Hezbollah is a very cynical, a very brutal enemy. It is playing havoc with the feelings of the families. It is not willing to let the Red Cross visit those boys. It is not even willing to give a sign of life and indicate whether these boys are even alive. This is just another sign of the lethal, of the brutal and heartless enemy we are facing.
© NewsMax 2007. All rights reserved.

DEBKAfile Exclusive: Syria transfers elements of its commando Division 14 to Mt. Hermon north of Golan. Both sides extend fortifications
August 21, 2007, 7:18 PM (GMT+02:00)
Syrian Hermon position
The redeployment of commando units close to Israeli lines on the slopes of Mt Hermon has raised temperatures in Israel. Military sources comment that these Syrian units, especially trained for cross-border raids, are now in position to make a grab for Israeli territory or a surprise attack on the Israeli army position at the meeting point of the Israel, Syria and Lebanese borders.
To the south, Syrian units are reported by our sources as having moved a large fleet of bulldozers to the Golan. They are busy building another line of fortifications around their “pita” disposition (which forms a flat semicircle like pita) and digging new anti-tank trenches.
The IDF is likewise building fortifications on the Israeli side of the Golan Heights, while also deepening and extending protective trenches. A series of ramps has been constructed for the use of tanks.
Some western observers say Israel’s war preparations are more extensive than those of the Syrian army. At the same time, both are taking the utmost care to avoid the slightest move that might be interpreted as crossing the red line between fortifying and posing to spring into action.
The Syrian army has cancelled its summer war game for the first time in 34 years. The IDF opted for the opposite course and stepped up its training exercises on the Golan.
The Syrian step could be seen three ways:
1. As extreme care to avoid precipitating a sharp Israeli response. In recent years, Syrian war games included the live fire of Scud C and Scud D surface missiles from northern Syria to the point in the south where the Syrian-Jordanian and Iraq borders converge. Some of those missiles are capable of carrying chemical warheads. Firing them could rouse Israel to taking extreme steps.
2. Syria’s summer maneuvers were usually accompanied by a reshuffle of commanders. Their cancellation has frozen the next round of appointments, promotions and the introduction of a young generation of officers to the high command. This could be seen as another cautionary measure, or alternatively, reluctance to drop seasoned warhorses in favor of inexperienced officers when a war is impending. In the same way, Israel last week put a reshuffle of its top command on ice.
3. UNDOF, the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force, which monitors the 1974 accord between Israel and Syria for the disengagement of their forces on the Golan, compliments both armies, reporting that never before have they observed every iota of their 35-year old accord so meticulously.
Regardless of the war tension, the export of apples from Golan to Syria has continued without interruption.