LCCC ENGLISH
NEWS BULLETIN
August 5/2006
Latest New
from miscellaneous sources for August 5/2006
US shows signs of compromise
over Lebanon deal-Washington
Post
Israeli air raids kill 40 civilians in Lebanon-ABC Online
Israel suffers highest 1-day toll of war-Seattle
Times
Arab disquiet over Hezbollah-The
Age
Up to 40 hurt in IAF strike near Syria-Jerusalem
Post
Israeli jets kill 23 near Syria-Advertiser
Adelaide
Hezbollah rockets kill three near
Tel Aviv
Israel Expands Bombing of Lebanon
Shi'ites take to the streets of
Baghdad
French-US cooperation on Lebanon a long way from Iraq
war tensions-Hindu, India
Israel expands bombing; 8 killed in Hizbollah rocket attack-Hindu, India -
Hizbollah rockets kill 3, land deeper into Israel-Reuters.uk,
Israel cuts Lebanon's last major tie to Syria as militants fire-Canada.com, Canada
Hizbollah launches fresh rocket attacks on Israel-Euronews.net, France
Hezbollah
missiles neutralizing Israeli tanks-AP
Latest New
from The Daily Star for August 5/2006
US, France 'very close' to final draft of cease-fire
agreement, Bolton says
Air raids kill dozens of civilians across country
Siniora says Mottaki went 'over the limit'
Israeli advance in South is broad but shallow - and slow
Jewish state brings war to Lebanon's Christian heartland
Out of violence springs hope: Local NGOs get to work
Israel's attacks cripple efforts to deliver aid
Philippine president calls nationals home
Iranian stance on foreign troops seems to shift
Indonesian militants to the rescue?
Fadlallah warns against igniting sectarian strife that 'might meet US goals'
Israeli strikes deal major blow to Bekaa's working class
Fools rush in to another quagmire
UN announces 'desperate' shortages of fuel and drinking water in South
Attacks on key bridges reduce lifeline to thin strands
Palestinian gunmen break into Jericho prison, kill 6 inmates
Police stop pro-Hizbullah demonstrators from storming
British Embassy in Tehran
Latest New
from miscellaneous sources for August 4/2006
Israeli Missiles Target Lebanon Bridges-Guardian Unlimited
Bridge bombing
paralyses Lebanon aid pipeline
Senior US diplomat to
visit Beirut Saturday-source
Israel severs Lebanon road link to
Syria-AP
Israel 'renews attacks on Beirut'-BBC News - UK
Israeli forces pound Hezbollah positions-AP
Hezbollah May Agree to Ceasefire as Israel Stays in Lebanon-Bloomberg
Beirutis resigned to threat of
Israeli strike-Reuters.uk
Lebanon: How Can a Ceasefire be Shaped?Asharq
Alawsat - London,UK
Spanish FM Wraps Up Visit to Syria-Prensa
Hezbollah and terrorism are manifestations of deeper political
injusticesToronto
Star
Lebanon strikes cut off aid convoys-ABC Online
Bridge bombing paralyses Lebanon aid pipeline-Scotsman
Christian villages in Lebanon spared-Houston Chronicle
Red Cross helpless in Lebanon-Globe and Mail
4 soldiers killed in south Lebanon-Ha'aretz
Malaysia Plans to Send 1,000 Peacekeeping Soldiers to Lebanon-FOX News
Hizbollah kills 3 Israeli soldiers in south Lebanon-Reuters
Analysis: Blair rejects Israel bias-Monsters and
Critics
Islamic, Arabic states vow to establish truce between Israel -Islamic Republic
News Agency
Winner takes all-Al-Ahram Weekly
Syria Wants to Talk, But Bush Won't Answer the Phone-Los Angeles Times
Russia Insists on Immediate Ceasefire in Lebanon -MOSNEWS
Lahoud: Israel is waging "war of starvation"-Jerusalem Post
A journey through Lebanon-Guardian Unlimited - UK
Israeli forces setting up cordon sanitaire within Lebanon-Business Day
Administration Questioned for Not Holding Lebanese Gov't to-CNSNews.com
The Fate of Hezbollah between Syrian Interests and Iranians-Dar Al-Hayat
Israeli missiles target
Lebanon bridges
By SAM F. GHATTAS, Associated Press Writer
BEIRUT, Lebanon - Israel's pounding of Hezbollah positions across Lebanon
expanded Friday with missiles targeting bridges in the Christian heartland north
of Beirut for the first time. A top U.N. aid official said air strikes on the
main north-south highway risked cutting off Lebanon's "umbilical cord" to the
world.
Four civilians were killed and 10 wounded in the air raid, the Lebanese Red
Cross said. A Lebanese soldier and four civilians were also killed in air raids
near Beirut's airport and southern suburbs, security officials and witnesses
said.
Another strike slammed into farm workers loading vegetables into a refrigerator
truck near the Lebanon- Syria border later Friday, killing or wounding as many
as 40 people, the workers' foreman said. The Lebanese and Kurdish farm laborers
were in a field in a strip of no-man's land along Lebanon's eastern border with
Syria, foreman Rabei al-Jabali said. He said casualties were taken to a hospital
in Syria, because roads in Lebanon were cut off by earlier airstrikes.
The broadened bombing came as Hezbollah hammered Israel with more than 120
rockets Friday, killing two people, a day after Hezbollah's leader offered to
stop the attacks if Israel ends its airstrikes.
Israel's United Nations ambassador, Dan Gillerman, said that Sheik Hassan
Nasrallah's offer of a truce was "a sign of weakness ... and he may be looking
for a way out."Gillerman warned against Hezbollah threats to launch rockets on
Israel's commercial center of Tel Aviv. "We are ready for it, and I am sure that
he (Nasrallah), as well as his sponsors, realize the consequences of doing
something as unimaginable and crazy as that," the Israeli ambassador told CNN.
The destruction of four bridges on the main north-south coastal highway linking
Beirut to Syria contributed to further seal Lebanon from the outside world
Friday, as the Israeli naval blockade — along with earlier strikes against the
road to the eastern boarder and the capital's international airport — have
largely closed off other access points. The strikes against the northern highway
hindered means of bringing relief supplies into Lebanon, international aid
agencies said Friday.
"This is Lebanon's umbilical cord," Christiane Berthiaume of the World Food
Program told AP. "This (road) has been the only way for us to bring in aid."
A convoy that was meant to carry supplies and emergency personnel to Beirut on
Friday is now stuck, she said, and U.N. teams have so far been refused
permission to assess the damage caused by the bombing. She added that U.N.
trucks might be able to take secondary roads, but this would slow down aid
shipments. Portugal on Friday put a cargo plane at the U.N.'s disposal, which
will fly food and medicines from Italy to Beirut once a day for four days.
Israel has given permission for these flights to start immediately, said
Berthiaume. A Greek boat will ferry supplies from Italy, starting Saturday, she
said.
An Israeli army spokesman, Capt. Jacob Dallal, said Israel targeted the bridges
to stop the flow of weapons from Syria.
"Our attacks last night were aimed at stopping the flow of weapons to
Hezbollah," Dallal said. Lebanese President Emile Lahoud said the strikes showed
Israel was waging a "war of starvation" against Lebanon. "The Israeli enemy's
bombing of bridges and roads is aimed at tightening the blockade on the
Lebanese, cutting communications between them and starving them," Lahoud said in
a statement issued Friday.
He said Israel was trying to pressure Lebanon to accept its conditions for a
cease-fire, which include Hezbollah's disarmament and ouster from a swath of
south Lebanon. Meanwhile, fierce fighting continued along the border, and
Hezbollah said in a statement broadcast by the group's Al-Manar TV station that
guerrillas had killed several Israeli soldiers near the villages of Aita al-Shaab
and Markaba.
The Israeli army confirmed a Hezbollah anti-tank missile killed two soldiers and
wounded two others in southeastern Lebanon Friday.
The latest attacks in the southern Beirut suburb of Dahieh targeted Hezbollah
facilities and a Hamas office, the Israeli military said. Beirut media said
Israel launched 24 bombing runs in an hour. South Beirut has been attacked
repeatedly by Israeli warplanes since fighting began July 12. It is
predominantly Shiite Muslim sector largely controlled by Hezbollah guerrillas,
and Israel has not struck Beirut proper since the start of the war.
However, the strikes early Friday hit the affluent Christian locality of Jounieh,
north of the capital, for the first time. The bombing against the picturesque
coastal resort marked a sharp expansion of Israel's attack on Lebanon, which now
threatens Christian areas where.
Despite Hezbollah's truce offer and continuing diplomatic efforts to broker a
cease-fire, the Israeli army prepared to push up to Lebanon's Litani River,
about 20 miles north of the border as part of its campaign to force the
guerrillas away from Israel and make room for a planned international force to
patrol the area.
In the 24th day of Israel's punishing onslaught both on the ground and from the
air, Hezbollah has shown surprising strength and has found its support in
Lebanon — and among the larger Arab world — vastly bolstered. With calls for a
cease-fire growing more intense, it appeared likely that Hezbollah would emerge
damaged but far from destroyed by the fighting. Jordan's King Abdullah II warned
that the violence was causing a backlash against moderate Arab leaders and was
strengthening the very radicals it was intended to destroy. "The Arab people see
Hezbollah as a hero because it's fighting Israel's aggression," he said.
Six Israeli brigades — or roughly 10,000 troops — are locked in battle with
hundreds of guerrillas in south Lebanon.
An Associated Press count shows that at least 530 Lebanese have been killed,
including 454 civilians confirmed dead by the Health Ministry, 26 Lebanese
soldiers and at least 50 Hezbollah guerrillas. Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad
Saniora said that 1 million people — or about a quarter of Lebanon's population
— has fled the fighting. Others estimate some 800,000 Lebanese have been made
refugee.
Since the fighting started, 72 Israelis have been killed, 42 soldiers and 29
civilians. More than 300,000 Israelis have fled their homes in the north,
Israeli officials said. Defense Minister Amir Peretz told top army officers to
begin preparing for a push to the Litani River, senior military officials said.
Such a push would require further approval by Israel's Security Cabinet and
could lead to far more casualties.
The Israeli army said it has taken up positions in or near 11 towns and villages
across south Lebanon as part of an effort to carve out a smaller 5-mile-deep
Hezbollah-free zone. In his televised speech broadcast Thursday night,
Hezbollah's Nasrallah for the first time offered to stop firing rockets into
Israel if it stops its airstrikes. However, he also threatened to launch
missiles into Tel Aviv if Israel hits Beirut.
Speaking directly to Israelis, Nasrallah added, "The only choice before you is
to stop your aggression and turn to negotiations to end this folly."
Israeli officials shrugged off the offer, saying Hezbollah was on the defensive
and was looking for a breather.
At the United Nations, France has circulated a revised resolution calling for an
immediate end to hostilities and spelling out the conditions for a permanent
cease-fire.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who has postponed his summer vacation to work
toward a U.N. resolution to the crisis, believes the coming days are crucial for
securing agreement to end the fighting, his office said. On Thursday night,
Blair spoke to U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, and early Friday to French
President Jacques Chirac, a spokeswoman said. Chirac called for an all-out
effort toward a U.N.-backed cease-fire and a political agreement, which France
wants ahead of any peacekeeping force
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice predicted Thursday a U.N. Security
Council resolution would be approved within days that would include a cease-fire
and describe principles for a lasting peace. The plan could be embodied in two
resolutions instead of one.
Israel, backed by the United States, has rejected calls for an immediate
cease-fire, saying it first wants an international force or the Lebanese army to
deploy in southern Lebanon to prevent future Hezbollah attacks.
An open letter to the American
president
Salim El Hoss -Daily Star
08/04/2006
Dear Mr. Bush,
We heard you express your regrets regarding the casualties of Israel's ravaging
war against my country, Lebanon.
I hope you have been furnished with a true profile of the atrocities being
perpetrated in my country. You pose as being at war with terrorism. Let me
honestly tell you: Charity starts at home.
Israel is wantonly indulging in the most horrendous forms of terrorism in
Lebanon: indiscriminately killing innocent civilians at random; not sparing
children, elderly or handicapped people; demolishing buildings over their
residents' heads; and destroying all infrastructure, roads, bridges, water and
power arteries, harbors, air strips and storage facilities. Nothing moving on
the highways is spared, not even ambulances, trucks, trailers, cars or even
motorcycles, all in violation of the Geneva Conventions and human rights.
The displaced population has reached more than one fourth of the total
population of my country - all suffering the harshest and most miserable of
conditions. The victims include thousands of killed and maimed.
If this is not terrorism, what is?
Israel's savage assault has been labeled retribution for Hizbullah's abduction
of two Israeli soldiers. This smacks of collective punishment, which constitutes
a brazen violation of the Geneva Conventions and human rights. Furthermore, the
alibi is far from plausible. The two Israeli soldiers were abducted for the
express purpose of reaching a swap of hostages with Israel. In fact, Israel had
acceded more than once to such swaps in the past. Why would a swap of prisoners
be acceptable at one time and a taboo, rather a casus belli, at another? This
created a conviction among the Lebanese that the sweeping assault against them
was premeditated, and the abduction was only a tenuous excuse.
Israel is indulging in terrorism at its worst, at its ugliest, using the most
lethal and sophisticated weapons you have supplied them.
We the Lebanese are justified in seeing in Israel as a most atrocious terrorist
power, and seeing in you a direct partner. Mr. President: You are indeed a
terrorist practicing the worst variant of terrorism as you condone the
annihilation of my country, precluding a cease-fire to be announced, supporting
the aggression against my people politically and diplomatically and bolstering
Israel's destructive arsenal with the most lethal weaponry.
Mr. President: You are not fooling anybody with your alleged war against
terrorism. In our perspective, you and Israel are the most unscrupulous
terrorists on earth. If you want to fight terrorism, we suggest that you start
with your administration and your hideous ally, Israel.
You repeatedly claim that Israel is acting in self-defense. How preposterous!
Self-defense on other people's occupied territory is tantamount to one thing:
blatant aggression.
You call Hizbullah a terrorist organization. We call it a legitimate resistance
movement. There would have been no military wing of Hizbullah if there had been
no Lebanese territory under Israeli occupation, if there had been no Lebanese
hostages languishing in Israeli jails, and if Lebanon had not been exposed to
almost daily Israeli intrusions into its airspace and territorial waters, and to
sporadic incursions into Lebanese land and bombardment of civilian targets.
You cannot eliminate a party by demolishing a whole country. This would have
been achieved peacefully by Israel withdrawing from the land it occupies,
releasing Lebanese prisoners, and desisting from further acts of aggression
against Lebanon.
Israel is the most horrendous terrorist power. And you, Mr. President, are
unmistakably a direct partner, and hence a straight terrorist.
Salim al-Hoss, former prime minister of Lebanon
Meanings: Saad Bin Laden at
the Lebanese Syrian borders?
By Walid Phares
In an MSNBC interview with Tucker Carlson yesterday, I commented on the report
by a German publication that Iranian authorities have "released Saad Bin Laden
from his house arrest in Iran to be assigned at the Lebanese Syrian borders." My
comments, short and analytical, summarize as follow:
1) If this report is correct (we still need confirmation) it would be a very
"exceptional" matter. For obviously the Khumeinist regime and the al Qaida
Salafists are ideologically and politically very distant. Not only on doctrinal
issues that separate Sunnis and Shias, but on the matters that pits
Fundamentalists from both sides against each other. For Islamists, from both
communities are more sensitive to the Shia-Sunni divide than the majority of
ordinary people in the Muslim world.
2) For Iran to openly escort and "deploy" an al Qaeda figure to the "Lebanese
battlefield," would damage the remaining credibility it pretends it has a broker
of stabilization in Lebanon. It would also harm the attempts by their allies the
Baathists of Syria to project themselves as potential mediators with Hezbollah.
Many "lobbyists" for Bashar Assad in Washington and Brussels (European
Parliament) are trying hard to rehabilitate the Syrian regime as power broker in
Lebanon. But with the al Qaeda factor on its borders, this renewed attempt would
be undermined significantly. Finally Hezbollah itself would be embarrassed among
Lebanese, Arabs and Europeans if it is confirmed that their masters in Tehran
have ordered them to cooperate with Bin Laden's son.
3) However (and the German report has to be confirmed for this paragraph to be
validated) it would be precisely the "exceptional" character of that alleged
Iranian decision which could change the above geopolitics and interests. Because
Tehran may judge the strategic situation as "very exceptional," i.e. the threat
against its main tool in the world, Hezbollah, then the "use" of an anti-Western
threat on the Lebanese scene wouldn't be impossible. Syria has had a precedent
in 2003 when it allowed (if not encouraged) the "passage" of Salafi Jihadists
from Lebanon and the Arab World into Iraq through its borders. Hezbollah also
has had precedents in coordination with Sunni Salafi Islamists in Lebanon
against Israel, and most recently has pledged to work with Salafi Jihadists to
fight the "US-backed Israeli aggression in Lebanon."
In short, indeed the gap between Salafists and Khumeinists is huge and yes, they
are bound to fight each others when "times will come." But until these "future
times" are here, the present struggle against a "common enemy," can produce
emergency decisions, or at least theatrical but dangerous moves. We'll follow up
on the development to see if a decision was made in Tehran and Damascus, and if
indeed if such a decision was made, how strategic it is.
**Walid Phares, Senior Fellow with the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies
and a Visiting Fellow with the European Foundation for Democracy, author of
Future Jihad
August 4, 2006 08:38 AM Print
An open letter to former Prime Minister Salim Hoss
Friday, August 04, 2006
Dear Dr. Hoss,
Your open letter to the president of the United States (Published on the front
page of The Daily Star, August 2, 2006) presents a strong complaint
incorporating the sincere and emotional grievance of many, if not most Lebanese.
President Bush is urged to reflect on the case you made and to come to his own
conclusions.
Yes, Israel bears responsibility for the tragic events you describe. But the
equal responsibility of the notorious Lebanese political establishment for the
ongoing tragedy cannot be ignored. And, sir, you have been a pillar of this
establishment since you first took the office of prime minister nearly 30 years
ago.
As you know, Israel did not come into existence on July 12, the day the current
chain of the events you described commenced. As a matter of fact it was
proclaimed in 1947. Since then, countless, essentially similar, events, took
place in Lebanon and around the region both in the form of regular wars or of
military reprisals. The Lebanon-Israel Armistice Agreement of 1949 collapsed in
the late 1960s and Israel simply stopped recognizing it. Lebanese territory was
repeatedly assaulted and occupied by Israel's armed forces, particularly from
the year 1978, which brought about Resolution 425. Under all these conditions,
how come the government of Lebanon, controlled by the same political
establishment that, at least from 1976, included you, totally failed to provide
the necessary protection to the people of Lebanon and particularly the
population of the South? How come Lebanon, through its government, failed to
build the most essential military defenses on its southern border or on the
coastline, and has no air defense system to speak of? How come no public
shelters whatsoever were built conforming to recognized safety standards to
protect and secure the constantly threatened population all the way from the
south to the north of the country?
I would like to remind you that the sincere and emotional complaint you made,
eloquent as it may be, is not much different in substance from official
statements recently issued by other Lebanese politicians and the Lebanese
government, including the sitting prime minister. Unfortunately, this has been
the daily bread which the Lebanese people have been force-fed with from the year
1947. Complain, complain, complain, but do nothing! For why did the Lebanese not
get, in addition to all those complaints, some statesmanship from the political
establishment that rules the country since its independence day? Why was there
no official action or credible plans to protect the people of Lebanon from
Israel's war machine? Why did the political establishment never allow the
emergence of a responsible and effective Lebanese government that upholds the
rule of law and protects human rights?
It is undeniable that Israel bears the direct responsibility for its recent
action through superior fire power that killed and massacred countless innocent
Lebanese civilians, men women and children, and especially children, in
violation of every conceivable rule. But you must agree with me that the
Lebanese political establishment is at least equally, if not more, responsible,
both morally and legally, and stands guilty of gross failure and wanton
negligence characterized by reckless indifference to the consequences of its
failure and negligence.
Moreover, I believe that complaints such as the one you made in your open letter
to the American president often tend to cover-up criminal responsibility on the
home front. Hence I ask you to join me in calling for the investigation of all
Lebanese politicians who held public office as members of the government of this
country over the past four decades. This prosecution falls within our reach and
can cover crimes which are punished against under Lebanon's penal code.
**Mohammad Mugraby, president of the Center for Democracy and the Rule of Law,
Beirut.
Administration Questioned for Not Holding Lebanese Gov't to
Account
By Patrick Goodenough
CNSNews.com International Editor
August 04, 2006
(CNSNews.com) - The Bush administration has made it clear it holds Hizballah and
its sponsors in Syria and Iran responsible for the Middle East conflict, but it
has refrained from criticizing the Lebanese government and army despite their
open support for the terrorist organization.
That stance is beginning to prompt questions from quarters generally sympathetic
towards President Bush's foreign policies.
Throughout the crisis that is now in its fourth week, the administration has not
criticized Prime Minister Fouad Siniora's government although it has done little
to distance itself from, or act against, Hizballah.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and others have spoken consistently about
the importance of supporting the government, which has been characterized as
"democratic" and "moderate."
The U.S. is preparing to give additional funding to the Lebanese Army, and State
Department spokesman Sean McCormack said Thursday the U.S. would train and equip
the army to help it "exercise control and sovereignty over all of Lebanese
territory once we have an end to the fighting."
Top Lebanese officials, including the president, prime minister, defense
minister, foreign minister, parliamentary speaker, and the commander of the
Lebanese Army, have all publicly expressed sympathy and respect for Hizballah,
describing it as a legitimate "resistance" against Israel.
On Sunday, Siniora praised Hizballah and its leader, Hassan Nasrallah, saying
"we highly appreciate his stance and those who are sacrificing their lives for
the sake of Lebanon."
Foreign Minister Fauzi Salloukh, a Shi'ite, even disputes that a U.N. Security
Council resolution requiring all militias to disband applies to Hizballah -
because, he says, it is a "national resistance movement."
Early this week, Beirut called off a scheduled visit by Rice, following the
Israeli bombing in Qana. (Rice said in Jerusalem that she had "decided to
postpone" her visit, but Lebanon's Daily Star reported that Siniora had told
Rice not to bother coming, "that there was nothing to talk about until a
ceasefire is put in place.")
The day after rebuffing Rice, government leaders including Salloukh and
President Emile Lahoud met with Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki.
Rice repeatedly has defended the Lebanese government.
In separate interviews this week with PBS and Fox's Bill O'Reilly and Sean
Hannity, she repeatedly asserted that Hizballah's July 12 cross-border attack
that triggered the conflict had been carried out without the government's
knowledge.
While there has been no evidence to dispute that, Lebanese leaders did not
roundly condemn Hizballah for launching the attack, saying the next day only
that it was not responsible for and did not endorse "what happened on the
international border."
Possibly the strongest language used by Siniora was his comment three days into
the conflict that "the government alone has the legitimate right to decide on
matters of peace and war."
Furthermore, Israel has accused the Lebanese Army, the majority of whose members
are Shi'ites, of colluding with Hizballah.
"Since the outbreak of the war, the Lebanese Army has been actively fighting
with Hizballah," Jerusalem Post Managing Editor Caroline Glick wrote on Tuesday.
"Its radars have been used to lock in Israeli targets for Hizballah missile
crews. It is paying pensions to the families of fallen Hizballah fighters. On
Sunday its soldiers reportedly shot at IDF helicopters in the Bekaa Valley."
'Wrong side'
The Zionist Organization of America urged the Bush administration to publicly
criticize Lebanese leaders who have proclaimed support for Hizballah.
ZOA national president Morton Klein said Washington should "hold the Lebanese
government accountable for its statements, acts and omissions and to make it
clear that while the U.S. would like to see Lebanon independent and free,
Lebanon must take responsibility for its actions and not position itself on the
wrong side of the war on terror."
Center for Security Policy president Frank Gaffney also raised questions,
comparing U.S. anti-terror policy in Afghanistan -- toppling the regime that
sheltered al Qaeda -- to the policy he said Washington wants Israel to apply in
Lebanon. In a decision brief, he wrote that the U.S. was telling Israel not to
undermine the government in Beirut, even though that government had "acquiesced
to what amounts to a Hizballah-controlled state-within-a-state in southern
Lebanon."
"This injunction had the practical effect of limiting Israeli efforts to press
officials in Beirut to disassociate themselves from the terrorists in their
midst."
The Israeli government says the Lebanese government must take responsibility for
what happens in the country.
While terrorism flourished in southern Lebanon, Defense Minister Amir Peretz
told lawmakers in Jerusalem on Monday, "the government of Lebanon remained
silent.""We do not wish to wage war against the Lebanese people, just as we have
no interest in waging war against the Palestinian people. We are fighting
terrorism in Lebanon and the Palestinian Authority [area]," he said. "At the
same time, we demand that those who maintain sovereignty also take
responsibility. We cannot continue to differentiate between sovereignty and
responsibility - they go hand-in-hand."In an interview with Rice Thursday,
Hannity questioned the Secretary about the expressions of support for Hizballah
from the Lebanese prime minister and defense minister. Rice replied that the
political situation was complicated, noting that Hizballah has two ministers in
the government. But she said the government was a force which the U.S. had to
support, because it wanted to carry out a program to extend the state's
authority to the border and disarm Hizballah, so Lebanese could live in
democracy and peace. Asked whether the U.S. was making excuses for the Lebanese
ministers' vocal support for Hizballah, Rice said "I would have preferred that
they didn't say it, absolutely ... but I think they've also made very clear that
they understand their obligations to disarm Hizballah." Later in the interview,
she said the U.S. had "partners" in Lebanon and "those terrorists are as much
their enemy as they are ours."
The Fate of Hezbollah between Syrian Interests and Iranian
Bargaining
Raghida Dergham Al-Hayat - 04/08/06//
New York - The Security Council will not agree to cease all hostilities for a
period of time during which negotiations would be conducted to reach a framework
for a political solution that would lead to a ceasefire between Israel and
Hezbollah. And Israel will not stop the war, whether in the form of a truce or
ceasefire or even an end to hostilities, as long as Hezbollah does not disarm
and hand over its weapons to the Lebanese State. An additional condition is the
deployment of international forces to help the Lebanese State impose its
sovereignty over all Lebanese territory.
Hezbollah may know more than any of the other factions what the continuation of
this war means, in terms of the endless destruction of Lebanon and the killing
and displacement of its people. Hezbollah's knowledge derives from the fact that
it is aware of Israel's extensive military capabilities and its own ability to
resist such an army with a sophisticated arsenal. The war is ultimately raging
on Lebanese, not Israeli territory. No matter how great Israeli losses are, the
greater loss will always be Lebanon's, even if Hezbollah feels it is somehow
'victorious' in this stage of the conflict because it has denied Israel a
lightning victory. The balance and the diplomatic efforts have reached a
critical stage after certain concerned parties turned a blind eye because they
garner benefits from prolonging the war. There are regional factions that have
an interest in this, even though they claim they want a ceasefire.
The Security Council began to take up the Lebanese portfolio this week, prompted
by the Qana massacre committed by the Israeli army whose hands are stained by
the blood of the children of Qana. Last Sunday, the Security Council convened
for an open session. It issued an official communiqué on the killing of the UN
observers by Israeli fire. The UN Secretary General even said that this act was
"apparently deliberate". The Qana massacre speeded up the diplomatic process,
which had busied itself with general issues, by taking it to the level of the
Security Council.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice talked openly of a decision that would soon
be reached for a 'ceasefire' within days. This announcement is noteworthy in
itself, all the more so, given that it came at the same time that the Israelis
announced that the military operation could take 'weeks'. Questions were thus
raised about what exactly Rice has in mind and what she has up her sleeve.
American diplomacy claims that the difference between it and French diplomacy is
this: Paris merely wants to end hostilities and to calm the situation, while
Washington wants a deep-rooted solution that will prevent the situation from
returning to the way it was. Specifically, the situation was that Hezbollah took
from the Lebanese government the authority to declare war whenever it feels like
it. This in turn means that Hezbollah must be disarmed, by hook or by crook.
France prefers the means of persuasion so that Hezbollah will reach the logical
conclusion that it has no option but to give up its weapons, and willingly and
wholeheartedly support the Lebanese State and its sovereignty over the whole
country.
Therefore, France sees an end to hostilities as an entry point to a
comprehensive political solution that encompasses the Shebaa Farms, removing the
very pretext for resistance. This approach also relies on effective
international forces aiding the Lebanese State in imposing its authority over
the whole of the South. In this way, the international force will avoid
controversial tasks, such as disarming Hezbollah by force. The US administration
does not oppose this approach of persuasion, provided it does not seem as though
Hezbollah is being rewarded. Its idea is built around the principle that an
international force should be set up, capable of forcefully disarming Hezbollah,
and thus implementing Resolution 1559 in the process. The only other alternative
is to leave the Israeli army to decide the issue through its military
operations, and to let it do what it must in the context of the military balance
of power that dictates how wars are waged. And this regardless of how much
Israel may lose in terms of public support and human lives.
Therefore, the proposal Washington has tabled to the Security Council is an
attempt to convince Israel that an end to hostilities means the deployment of an
international force that has the strength to forcefully disarm Hezbollah if it
does not choose to willingly disarm.
Washington in general, and Rice in particular, are working for a comprehensive
political solution and are prepared, according to indications, to pressure
Israel to withdraw from the Shebaa Farms and hand it over to international
supervision, with international forces to boot, in order to remove the pretext
of the Resistance.
Such a formula would avoid any semblance of rewarding Hezbollah, or Syria for
that matter, which has declared that the Shebaa Farms fall under the remit of
Resolutions 242 and 338 that cover the Syrian-Israeli dispute. In other words,
Damascus has now suddenly decided, for its own convenience, that the Shebaa
Farms are Syrian after all, after having originally claimed - at least verbally
- that it was Lebanese to justify Hezbollah's resistance. That original move
also excused Syria from resisting Israel in its own occupied territories. Israel
and Syria have a solid relationship, it seems, when it comes to keeping
resistance off occupied territory.
With the return to negotiations between the members of the Security Council over
what will be declared, there is talk of either one resolution in two phases or
two resolutions that would do the same job separately. One is for a cessation of
hostilities, and the other is for a ceasefire, with a political framework for a
comprehensive solution linking the two phases. Talk concerning the international
force revolves around ensuring stability, and sending these forces to Lebanon
also involves a two-phase solution, where the vanguard is sent over first to be
followed by the main body. This demands two kinds of forces and two different
schedules to send them.
France has made its draft proposal, and the Lebanese government has forwarded
its seven-point plan to the Security Council under the official title of Prime
Minister Fouad Siniora's plan. It was delivered, point by point, by the acting
Foreign Minister, Tarek Mitri, during Lebanon's turn at the open session
mentioned above.
This plan was agreed to by the cabinet, and calls for the Security Council to
commit itself to placing the Shebaa Farms and Kfar Shuba heights under UN
jurisdiction, until final borders are drawn up between Lebanon and Syria. The
plan also involves the Lebanese government exercising full control over its
territories via its armed forces, so that there remains no armed body other
except that of the Lebanese State. It does not concern the international
community in the least that Lebanese President Emile Lahoud denies there is any
consensus on the Siniora plan. The denial will not annul the official records of
the Security Council, which registered the official position of Lebanon,
endorsed by the majority of the cabinet as being Lebanon's path to salvation.
If Lahoud is wary of the implementation of this step, then he need not worry
because the Security Council honestly could not care less, and is only concerned
with keeping official records. The Siniora plan has been presented to the
Security Council, whether President Lahoud likes it or not, and the SC members
are trying to make the best of it for any subsequent approach they may take.
Many of the council member States are well aware that there are many plans for
toppling the Siniora government and any initiative tied to his name. More than
this, they are diligently keeping an eye on the preparations being made against
Siniora, not only against his government. There is also the conviction among the
member States that whoever dares will pay a very heavy price with interest.
Russia and China most definitely support the Siniora administration and will not
allow for any such move. Their position as regards to the developments in
Lebanon would indicate that they all for the sovereignty of the State, not for
Hezbollah and its arrogation of this sovereignty, no matter what the pretext.
For strategic reasons, Russia and China may revel in any blow to American
prestige and any hardship facing US foreign policy, but they do not want
Israel's military might blunted by a Hezbollah supported by Syria and Iran. This
would go against other considerations and bilateral interests they have. Russia
and China simply look at the equation of defeat and victory from a different
perspective than Iran's.
When the Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Manuchehr Motaki, boldly declares
from Beirut a proposal that Tehran finds suitable, he is in effect declaring to
all that he is the godfather of Hezbollah's war and is in charge of negotiating
on its behalf. He will decide under what conditions the war that Iran is
fighting through Hezbollah can be ended. Motaki speaks the language of the
victor and is outlining impossible conditions that he knows full well will
prolong the war. He is a capable and experienced man and he knows that if Iran
were in Israel's position it would categorically refuse a ceasefire and a
cessation of hostilities at such a delicate stage in the military operations
where the other side can use these to claim victory. Every Iranian official
knows and understands that Israel will not stop the offensive except on its
military terms, including the disarming of Hezbollah.
Therefore, the question poses itself: What does Tehran have in mind? Is it
confident that Hezbollah in the long-run will achieve a real and permanent
victory against Israel? Or is Tehran bargaining with the major powers in the
Security Council to find a way out for Hezbollah before temporary victory turns
into a permanent defeat? Or is Tehran widening the remit of its bargaining to
include the nuclear portfolio, especially after the latest Security Council
decision - with Russian and Chinese support - giving Iran an ultimatum to the
effect that it should take the Security Council's threats seriously if it
refuses to comply?
The Lebanese theatre is wide open to Iranian haggling and outbidding. Iran knows
what diction to use to rescue Hezbollah or sacrifice it, for that matter, if it
smells the whiff of military defeat. Tehran is also expert at pushing matters to
the edge, as long as it feels secure in the knowledge of how US forces are
sinking increasingly into the Iraqi quagmire a stone's throw away from Iran.
As long as Iran is confident that its near cooling off with Israel will not be
transformed into confrontation, it shows brazen confidence, and with it the
ability to impose conditions, complicate matters diplomatically, and force a
military decision. Nonetheless, there are indications that the Iranians'
customary acumen is warning them of the slippery slope ahead when one continues
to depend on wild dreams and effervescent populist emotions.
Syria is a completely different matter because it is merely a spectator,
geopolitically revolving around Iran. Its status is summed up by its negative
role in Palestine, Iraq and Lebanon. This is the way Syria ultimately sees
itself, and the way the world sees it.
The Syrian government wants to prolong the war in Lebanon and sees that Israel's
massacres will turn world public opinion against it. Gradually, and with
perseverance, Damascus has regained the initiative and its self-confidence,
forgetting that what Hezbollah was able to achieve in three short weeks, Syria
failed to accomplish in all its years of war with Israel. Syria's Foreign
Minister Walid al-Muallim's words about the danger of Lebanon becoming 'another
Iraq' and 'al-Qaeda infiltration' came more as a warning than a piece of advice.
These words might have a negative impact on Israel and the US more than Damascus
bargained for.
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has not made his mind up about Damascus, even
if he appears to be concentrating exclusively on the Hezbollah and Palestinian
fronts. He obviously does not want a third front, but transforming Lebanon into
a 'new Iraq' bordering Israel involves other, unconventional considerations that
make AIPAC cling to the idea that the Syrian regime is a safety valve and should
not be overthrown. Unless, that is, Syria actually threatens to turn Lebanon
into 'another Iraq' and allow 'al-Qaeda to infiltrate'. In this case, this
effective organization may change its mind about Syria, and we have all been
forewarned about that.
In addition, we do not know Olmert very well, nor do we know what decisions he
has made about Syria. What we do know for certain is that the US administration
is adamant about two things: Syria should not be rewarded for what it is doing
in Lebanon so that its armed forces could return there; and that Syria must be
kept away from any regional arrangement because the international investigation
into the assassination of Rafik al-Harirri, among other assassinations, is still
ongoing.
Therefore, the Golan Heights are currently out of the equation and will remains
so because Syria must be isolated as a price it should pay for its policies
toward Lebanon and Palestine, which it uses for resistance by proxy.
The words of a Syrian woman in New York made this clear. She was responding to
another woman who supported Syria's backing and encouragement of the resistance
in Lebanon and Palestine. However, they suddenly disagreed when the other woman
extended this logic to the Syrian front, leading the Syrian woman to say: 'No,
we don't want that. Let the Lebanese resist.' These words have tremendous
implications, because this is what most Syrians, the Arabs and others beyond the
Arab World think. The Lebanese, most of them anyway, do not want to fight on
Syria's behalf. Lebanon has had enough of paying the price of Arab impotence,
whether at the popular or official levels. Meanwhile, crocodile tears are being
shed for Lebanon. There should be no partial resistance in Lebanon and no
resistance by proxy. This is Lebanon's promise from now on. The important thing
is that, this time, the Security Council agrees with a wounded Lebanon, and
Lebanon will do something effective in reply.
Hezbollah and terrorism are manifestations of deeper
political injustices, say Jens Hanssen and Paul Kingston
Aug. 4, 2006. 01:00 AM-SAY
Sunday's rebombing of Qana 10 years after Shimon Peres's government killed more
than 100 Lebanese civilians in a UN shelter in this biblical Lebanese village
has raised the stakes of the Arab-Israeli conflict. The 1996 atrocity instantly
became a symbol of national resistance in Lebanon. It ultimately led to the
Israeli withdrawal in 2000 and to Hezbollah's clandestine rocket stockpiling.
Israel's new Qana massacre of dozens of children and disabled has led to a
belated sense of urgency in international corridors of power. As a barely
composed Tony Blair acknowledged, the "situation cannot continue." Indeed, he
declared that Britain's Middle East policy must be fundamentally rethought and
be moved away from the self-fulfilling "war on terror" rhetoric.
Whereas North Atlantic governments are blinded by the belief that Hezbollah is
the root cause of the present violence, a more comprehensive and historical view
indicates the reverse: Hezbollah and terrorism are in fact dangerous
manifestations of deeper political injustices and diplomatic failures in the
Middle East that date back to the 1967 war. In the absence of a comprehensive,
just and negotiated settlement, the region's future will remain bleak.
Today, an indulgent North Atlantic appeasement policy has facilitated Israel's
destruction of its northern neighbour, the ethnic cleansing of Shia populations
from southern Lebanon and the wanton killing of civilians. North Atlantic
support has encouraged Israel to outdo its enemy in the use of terrorism. The
only difference is Israel's enormous firing power and the sophistication of its
killing machine. Tragically, this military asymmetry endows Hezbollah with the
aura of a resistance movement at a time when its armed presence in south Lebanon
was being challenged by Lebanese lawmakers and the UN.
A close reading of the apologetic statements from British and American officials
about Israel's second massacre at Qana shows what Arabs have known all along:
Israel is pushing U.S. and U.K. Middle East policy under the mantra of the war
on terrorism. The result has been a score-sheet of horror.
The enormity of the ongoing crisis must now open a breach in the diplomatic
impasse that has led to so much suffering since the Bush administration came to
office.
In 2003, the UN narrowly avoided the trap of sanctioning the American invasion
of Iraq, thanks to a passionate defence of UN principles by the French Foreign
Minister Dominique de Villepin. In the next few days, the UN again struggles
with an ill-considered U.S.-imposed resolution that will allow Israel to keep
bombing Lebanon until the multinational force physically arrives in southern
Lebanon. This is neither practical nor does it bode well for the foreign
soldiers' task.
Instead, the Bush administration should throw its weight behind the seven-point
plan by Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora, and U.S. Secretary of State
Condoleezza Rice must cash in her diplomatic credit in Jerusalem in exchange for
having held off international ceasefire calls for three weeks. The embattled
Lebanese prime minister — who is beginning to show signs of statesmanship after
Qana — has proposed to implement an immediate ceasefire and begin to address the
root causes of Israeli-Lebanese hostilities: a one-to-one prisoner exchange;
Israeli troop withdrawal to the border; a joint Lebanese-international force to
move into southern Lebanon; the full implementation of the Taif Agreement that
ended the Lebanese civil war of 1975-90, including the disarmament of Hezbollah
fighters and their integration into the Lebanese army; and a $3 billion Marshall
Plan for the reconstruction of Lebanon.
The disarmament of Hezbollah would meet Israel's central security concern and
pacify its last hostile border. Since the Qana massacre, Iran, Syria and
Lebanese President Emile Lahoud have joined Hezbollah in rejecting a
multinational force altogether, quietly angling for a Syrian return to Lebanon.
This option will and should be opposed by everybody else. Lebanese territory
must never again be a proxy battleground in which regional tensions are fought
out. In this pressing context, the promise of exchanging the Israeli-occupied
Golan Heights for peace with Syria would keep Syria out of Lebanon. This
approach also would help to prevent disenfranchised and opportunist elements
from holding Lebanese democracy hostage in the future. Beyond the Siniora Plan,
Hezbollah and Israel both need to pay for the destruction they have wreaked on
civilian infrastructure including investigating their leaderships' culpability
for war crimes. The Bush administration would do well to support the Siniora
government diplomatically. Against the enormous political, humanitarian and
environmental crisis, it trumps appeasement of Israel if the ceasefire is to
heal Lebanon's war wounds and give U.S. diplomacy back some modicum of
credibility and manoeuvrability in the region.Continued failure to act in a
decisive, comprehensive and just manner could haunt the world for decades to
come.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jens Hanssen and Paul Kingston teach Middle Eastern History and Politics at the
University of Toronto.
Israeli forces pound Hezbollah positions
By RAVI NESSMAN, Associated Press Writer
BEIRUT, Lebanon - Israel's pounding of Hezbollah positions across Lebanon
expanded Friday with missiles targeting bridges in the Christian heartland north
of Beirut for the first time, an attack that further isolates Lebanon from the
outside world. Five civilians were killed and 19 wounded in the airstrikes north
of the capital, Lebanese security officials said. A Lebanese soldier and four
civilians were killed in air raids near Beirut's airport and southern suburbs,
security officials and witnesses said. Meanwhile, Hezbollah guerrillas hammered
northern Israel with a barrage of 120 rockets Friday, killing two Israeli women
and seriously injuring another person, police said. In one particularly intense
barrage, some 45 rockets fell within half an hour. Two Israeli soldiers were
killed by a Hezbollah anti-tank missile during heavy fighting in a southern
Lebanese village where the militant group had been launching rockets, the army
said.
The destruction of four bridges on the main north-south coastal highway linking
Beirut to Syria further sealed Lebanon from outside links, as the Israeli naval
blockade and earlier strikes against roadways have largely closed off other
access points. Fierce fighting continued along the border, and Hezbollah said in
a statement broadcast by the group's Al-Manar TV station that guerrillas had
killed six Israeli soldiers near the villages of Aita al-Shaab and Markaba.
Arab media reported Hezbollah had hit an Israeli tank. The Israeli army was not
immediately available to comment on the claims.
The clashes came a day after a massive barrage of guerrilla rockets pounded
northern Israel, killing eight people, and an offer by Hezbollah's leader to
stop the attacks if Israel ends its airstrikes. Two more rockets hit northern
Israel early Friday, causing little damage.
Israel's United Nations ambassador, Dan Gillerman, said that Sheik Hassan
Nasrallah's offer of a truce was "a sign of weakness ... and he may be looking
for a way out." Gillerman warned against Hezbollah threats to launch rockets on
Israel's commercial center of Tel Aviv. "We are ready for it, and I am sure that
he (Nasrallah), as well as his sponsors, realize the consequences of doing
something as unimaginable and crazy as that," the Israeli ambassador told CNN
early Friday.
The Israeli military said the targets of the latest attacks in the southern
Beirut suburb of Dahieh were Hezbollah facilities and a Hamas office. Beirut
media said Israel launched 24 bombing runs in an hour.
South Beirut has been attacked repeatedly by Israeli warplanes since fighting
began July 12. It is predominantly a Shiite Muslim sector largely controlled by
Hezbollah guerrillas, and Israel has not struck Beirut proper since the start of
the war.
However, the strikes early Friday hit the affluent Christian locality of Jounieh,
north of the capital, for the first time. The bombing against the picturesque
coastal resort marked a sharp expansion of Israel's attack on Lebanon, which now
threatens Christian areas where Hezbollah has no support and no presence.
In the hills of southern Lebanon, Israeli artillery intensified bombing
overnight, sometimes sending as many as 15 shells per minute against suspected
Hezbollah strongholds.
On the second front of its offensive against Islamic militants, Israel began
pulling tanks out of southern Gaza after a two-day incursion, after aircraft
fired at clusters of militants. The heavy clashes killed eleven Palestinians,
including an 8-year-old boy.
Despite Hezbollah's truce offer and continuing diplomatic efforts to broker a
cease-fire, the Israeli army prepared to push up to Lebanon's Litani River,
about 20 miles north of the border, as part of its campaign to force the
guerrillas away from the border and make room for a planned international force
to patrol the area.
In the 24th day of Israel's punishing onslaught, Hezbollah has shown surprising
strength and has found its support in Lebanon — and among the larger Arab world
— vastly bolstered. With calls for a cease-fire growing more intense, it
appeared likely that Hezbollah would emerge damaged but far from destroyed by
the fighting. The fighting in Gaza, which began June 25 after Hamas-linked
militants captured an Israeli soldier in a cross-border raid, has killed a total
of 175 Palestinians, the U.N. reported, adding that it was concerned that "with
international attention focusing on Lebanon, the tragedy in Gaza is being
forgotten."
The offensive in Lebanon began after another cross-border raid by militants, in
this case Hezbollah guerrillas, captured two Israeli soldiers. More than three
weeks into the fighting, six Israeli brigades — or roughly 10,000 troops — were
locked in battle with hundreds of Hezbollah guerrillas in south Lebanon.
Since the fighting started, an Associated Press count shows that at least 530
Lebanese have been killed, including 454 civilians confirmed dead by the Health
Ministry, 26 Lebanese soldiers and at least 50 Hezbollah guerrillas. Lebanese
Prime Minister Fuad Saniora said that 1 million people — or about a quarter of
Lebanon's population — had fled the fighting.
Sixty-eight Israelis have been killed — 41 soldiers and 27 civilians. More than
300,000 Israelis have fled their homes in the north, Israeli officials said.
Despite Israel's efforts to crush Hezbollah, the guerrillas launched at least
200 rockets into northern Israel on Thursday. The barrage underscored
Hezbollah's continued ability to carry out unrelenting strikes.
In response, Defense Minister Amir Peretz told top army officers to begin
preparing for the next stage of the offensive in south Lebanon, a push to the
Litani River, senior military officials said. Such a push would require further
approval by Israel's Security Cabinet and could lead to far more casualties. The
Israeli army said it has taken up positions in or near 11 towns and villages
across south Lebanon as part of an effort to carve out a smaller 5-mile-deep
Hezbollah-free zone.
In his televised speech broadcast Thursday night, Hezbollah's Nasrallah for the
first time offered to stop firing rockets into Israel if it stops its airstrikes.
But he also threatened to launch missiles into Tel Aviv if Israel hits Beirut.
"Anytime you decide to stop your campaign against our cities, villages,
civilians and infrastructure, we will not fire rockets on any Israeli settlement
or city," he said in a taped statement broadcast on Hezbollah's Al-Manar TV.
Speaking directly to Israelis, Nasrallah added, "The only choice before you is
to stop your aggression and turn to negotiations to end this folly." Israeli
officials shrugged off the offer, saying Hezbollah was on the defensive and was
looking for a breather.
At the United Nations, France circulated a revised resolution calling for an
immediate end to hostilities and spelling out the conditions for a permanent
cease-fire and lasting solution to the crisis. Israel, backed by the United
States, has rejected calls for an immediate cease-fire, saying it wants an
international force or the Lebanese army to deploy in southern Lebanon to
prevent future Hezbollah attacks. In an effort to bolster the Lebanese
military, the United States announced plans to train the Lebanese army so it can
take control of the south after the fighting ends. Other nations will help out
as well, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said Thursday.
**Associated Press reporter Ravi Nessman in Jerusalem contributed to this report
Lebanese PM urges withdrawalFrom correspondents in London
August 04, 2006
LEBANON will work to impose order nationwide and help Israel get back its
captured soldiers if world leaders press Israel to withdraw from Lebanon and
return prisoners, Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora pledged today.
Mr Siniora, interviewed by BBC television, appealed to British Prime Minister
Tony Blair and other leaders "to put pressure on Israel to withdraw, to give us
back the detainees, and to give us the map for the landmines".
In return, Mr Siniora said, "we will arrange to get back (to Israel) the
abducted soldiers and to empower the Lebanese government so that it can prevail
over all its proper territory".He said: "And there wouldn't be any weapons in
Lebanon other than weapons of the legitimate authority."
Though he did not spell it out, Mr Siniora indicated he would push for the
application of UN Security Council resolution 1559.
Under the resolution adopted in 2004, the Hezbollah militia is required to
disarm and make way for the Lebanese government to extend its authority to the
border with Israel.The conflict erupted on July 12 when Hezbollah captured two
Israeli soldiers and killed eight other Israelis, triggering a massive air and
ground offensive into Lebanon.