LCCC ENGLISH
DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
June 28/07
Bible Reading of the day
Holy Gospel of Jesus
Christ according to Saint Matthew 7,15-20. Beware of false prophets, who come to
you in sheep's clothing, but underneath are ravenous wolves. By their fruits you
will know them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?
Just so, every good tree bears good fruit, and a rotten tree bears bad fruit. A
good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a rotten tree bear good fruit. Every
tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. So
by their fruits you will know them.
Free Opinion
Hezbollah
gearing for war: analysts.
By Michel Moutot, June 28/07
Time for Hizbullah to remove any doubts about its
priorities-The Daily Star. June 28/07
Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources
for June 28/06/07
Lebanese PM says Syria sending arms across border-Reuters
Car used to attack UNIFIL enters Lebanon thru northern port-People's
Daily Online
Sfeir implores rival Lebanese camps to seek homegrown solutions-Daily
Star
U.S., France Team Up to
Pressure Syria to Keep Out of Lebanon Affairs-Naharnet
U.N. Recommends International Experts to Stop Arms from Syria-Naharnet
Arms Flowing Into Lebanon, UN Finds-New
York Times
300 Islamic Militants Killed, Wounded-Washington
Post
Preacher: Syria is behind the Lebanon violence not al-Qaeda-Ya
Libnan
Rice warns Syria: Hariri tribunal must be safe-Jerusalem
Post
Spain Demands Probe
into UNIFIL Deadly Bombing-Naharnet
Judge opens probe into Spanish peacekeeper deaths-Reuters
US praises Siniora's resilience in face of crises-Reuters
Aussie Muslims unite against Israel-The
Australian
Reports: Australian
Boxing Champ Arrested in Northern Lebanon-Naharnet
UN: Lebanon's border with Syria open for smuggling-Ha'aretz
Russian FM: All Moscow's weapons sales to Syria subject to strict
...Ha'aretz
Troops blow up more buildings in Nahr al-Bared, hoist flags over
othersThe
Daily Star
Spain to speed up special equipment for its
peacekeepersThe Daily Star
Rice and Sarkozy repeat vows to stand by SinioraThe
Daily Star
Murr blames Al-Qaeda-inspired groups for attack on
peacekeeping forcesThe Daily
Star
Ex-Dinnieh detainees deny link to Fatah al-IslamThe
Daily Star
Spanish judge launches probe into UNIFIL attackThe
Daily Star
Sidon's own brand of icy treats offers refreshment to
young and old alikeThe Daily
Star
American magician puts smiles on Lebanese facesThe
Daily Star
Safety message spreads slowly among refugeesThe
Daily Star
Hezbollah gearing for war: analysts
By Michel Moutot, AFP Published: Jun 27, 2007
BEIRUT - Hezbollah is busy preparing for its next war with Israel in the
knowledge that the Jewish state will not rest easy with the results of last
summer’s 34-day conflict, military analysts in Beirut believe.
Since the United Nations-brokered ceasefire came into force last August 14, the
pro-Iran Shiite militia has been steadily gearing itself up for the next round
with the same determination and secrecy that have made its reputation, the
experts say.
"Immediately after last summer’s war Hezbollah began re-fortifying its positions
and working on new ones," said Judith Palmer Harik, author of the book
"Hezbollah: The Changing Face of Terrorism."
"They are re-arming...In fact, there has been no interruption in their receiving
of more arms," she told AFP.
The only Lebanese militia allowed its own arsenal by the government, Hezbollah
has moved most of its weapons out of the border area with Israel to conform with
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701 which ended the conflict.
A Western military observer in the Lebanese capital, who spoke on condition of
anonymity, said Hezbollah was now re-deploying its arms farther north.
"They left the (border) zone at once," he said. "Last summer, much to their
surprise, they found themselves fighting well in front of their strongest lines
because the Israeli army halted near the frontier.
"Hezbollah has far stronger positions in the rear, north of the Litani river,
that no one knows about and that they are fortifying all the time."
For 24 years Timur Goksel was the public face of the United Nations Interim
Force in Lebanon, and the former Unifil spokesman says it is only a matter of
time before war between Israel and Hezbollah breaks out again.
"Israel can’t live in the Middle East with the impression that they lost to
Hezbollah, a militia," said Goksel, now lecturing at the American University of
Beirut.
"Since 1949 they lived on their reputation of the unbeatable Israeli soldier,
the invincible Jewish army, the legend. And here comes the Hezbollah who says
’We beat you.’ They have to set that correct. They have no other option - they
have to restore their credibility."
He says further conflict is inevitable but not imminent.
"Not now, it will take Israel time to be ready. I’d say two years. Hezbollah
knows that very well and they are working on it full-time."
Even in the border zone, patrolled by blue-helmeted international peacekeepers
and the Lebanese army, Hezbollah is busy preparing for the next round of
hostilities.
The militants are so accepted by villagers in the area that no outsider gets to
know what is really going on there.
"Iron discipline reigns within the Hezbollah ranks," the Western military
observer told AFP. "Promotion is only on merit and security vetting draconian.
They’re almost impossible to infiltrate and extraordinarily professional."
Retired Lebanese general Whebe Katisha has no doubt that Hezbollah "has retained
its military potential and is preparing for the next assault.
"Unifil knows nothing about what’s going on in the Shiite zone.
It’s not an easy situation for the Lebanese army - we don’t have enough numbers,
equipment or vehicles."
He said that last month a container full of shells and missiles, sent by Iran
via Turkey and Syria, was intercepted.
"Hezbollah is Iran’s vanguard against Israel," Katisha said. "If Iran is
attacked, everyone knows that the response will begin with Hezbollah."
Shortly after last summer’s devastating conflict ended, Hezbollah leader Hassan
Nasrallah said that the militant group’s arsenal had been replenished, and that
it now included new weaponry.
"Knowing their organisation, their planning, I think they are going to go more
on sophisticated air defence," Palmer Harik said.
"Hezbollah is a great mixture of traditional guerrilla warfare and very advanced
and efficient weapons."
According to Goksel, "Hezbollah knows very well that next time it’s going to be
different. What did we do wrong last time, what will happen next time? They know
the other side is studying too. If it happens tomorrow, they’re ready."
Sfeir implores rival Lebanese camps
to seek homegrown solutions
By Maroun Khoury - Daily Star correspondent
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
BKIRKI: Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Butros Sfeir chastised both government
supporters and the opposition Monday, accusing each camp of "fulfilling the
wishes of external forces." "A solution to Lebanon's dragging standoff is
difficult to reach when each of the two dominant groups in the country works for
the interests of foreign forces, as opposed to the interests of Lebanon," Sfeir
said during talks with a delegation from the Lebanese Leftist Movement. Sfeir
stressed the need to find a "local" solution to the six-month-old deadlock. "The
Lebanese must find solutions for their problems [themselves] because external
help will complicate things further," he said. "The Lebanese should have
realized by now that external forces, as unbiased and supportive as they might
seem, would prefer to fulfill the interests of their own countries rather than
Lebanon's interests." The comments echoed the patriarch's Sunday sermon and
earlier statements from Bkirki. He also warned against forming of a parallel
government. "The formation of a parallel government would certainly mean the
destruction of Lebanon," he said. "A divided family will certainly collapse."
President Emile Lahoud and other opposition members have said they might set up
a second Cabinet if presidential elections scheduled for September fail.
"Lebanon is a small country, housing a multitude of sects," said Sfeir. "Any
divisions will have drastic repercussions." Sfeir also expressed specific
concerns about divisions among Christians "while all other sects are seemingly
unified.""Let us all stand united for the welfare of our country," he said.
U.S., France Team Up to
Pressure Syria to Keep Out of Lebanon Affairs
The United States and France have teamed up to pressure Syria to keep out of the
affairs of Lebanon, and to bolster Prime Minister Fouad Saniora's fragile
government. The reassuring statements came after Saniora's separate meetings
with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and French President Nicolas
Sarkozy in Paris on Tuesday. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said Rice
"emphasized our continued support as the government confronts the threat posed
by violent extremism." "She underscored her support for the Saniora government
in their political and economic reform efforts," he said.
Rice's 90-minute morning meeting with Saniora wrapped up her two-day visit to
Paris. Saniora was to hold a working lunch with French President Nicolas Sarkozy
on Tuesday. Before her meeting with Saniora, Rice emphasized the importance of
U.N. efforts toward an international tribunal to prosecute those responsible for
the Feb. 2005 assassination of ex-Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, and noted the
active U.S. and French roles in Lebanon in recent years.
"We have accomplished a lot," Rice said on France's TF-1 television Monday
night. "But now we are in a phase in which we need to carry through on the
tribunal, in which we need to carry through on the obligations of the U.N.
Security Council resolution that will not tolerate Syrian interference in
Lebanese affairs, and to support the Saniora government."
Rice has warned in the past that Saniora's government was at risk of falling
apart. Some in the region have sounded similar warnings, saying giving Hizbullah
veto power would bring Lebanon back under the influence of Iran and Syria, the
main supporters of the Shiite guerrillas. She sounded more reassured Tuesday. "I
think he would be the first to say that given all that they're dealing with it's
always difficult, and always in some sense fragile," Rice said. "But what's
remarkable about this government is they keep responding to the challenges and
overcoming them." Lebanon's parliament is not functioning and the government
just barely, after a quarter of the Cabinet members resigned. Opposition
supporters have been holding a sit-in outside Saniora's office since Dec. 1,
calling for his resignation and the formation of a new government.
Saniora has refused to step down.
The Lebanese army has also been battling al-Qaida-inspired militants barricaded
in a Palestinian refugee camp in northern Lebanon for more than a month.
Separately, the country is still fixing the damage inflicted by Israeli bombers
in last year's war between the Jewish state and Hizbullah.
Rice said she and Saniora discussed U.S. aid operations in Lebanon, including
millions she pledged in January to help rebuild roads, bridges and other crucial
infrastructure damaged in the 34-day war last summer. In January, Rice announced
a tripling of U.S. aid to Lebanon to nearly US$770 million to help Saniora's
government. The donation would include $220 million in military aid. The money
could buy small arms, ammunition, spare parts and Humvees, U.S. officials said.
Lebanon and the situation in Gaza were also discussed in separate talks Tuesday
in Paris between Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner and Arab League
Secretary-General Amr Moussa. Sarkozy and Saniora also discussed the situation
in southern Lebanon, including the bombing that killed six U.N. peacekeepers
Sunday. The U.N. force, known as UNIFIL, is helping maintain stability there.
"We have said there will be no concessions, that there will be no going backward
and no retreat," Saniora said. "All the UNIFIL member states are firm in their
positions. Nobody will give in to terrorism."
Paris has been attempting to organize a meeting between Lebanon's political
factions, apparently with difficulty. After Tuesday's meeting between Sarkozy
and Saniora, a date had still not been set, officials said. Saniora said that
though he supported France's effort, the officials taking part in the talks
would be second-tier. "There won't be any extremely exaggerated expectations
about this meeting for dialogue," he said.(AP-AFP-Naharnet) Beirut, 27 Jun 07,
09:53
U.N. Recommends International
Experts to Stop Arms from Syria
A U.N. report has called for a major upgrading of Lebanon's lax border security
to prevent arms smuggling from Syria, including assigning international experts
to a new, multi-agency Lebanese border force. The report which was released in
New York Tuesday was produced by a team of international security experts just
back from a three-week assessment mission in Lebanon to probe allegations of
widespread weapons smuggling across the border with Syria. The team led by Lasse
Christensen of Denmark concluded that "the present state of border security was
insufficient to prevent smuggling, in particular of arms, to any significant
extent."
In a report which U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon forwarded to the Security Council
Tuesday, the team called for the deployment "of international border security
experts" to back up a new Lebanese "multi-agency mobile force" that would be
tasked with doing a better job to stem the arms smuggling.
"There is still substantial room for improvements on the Lebanese border
security management, some of which can only be reached through assistance and
support from the international community," the report said. Two weeks ago, the
Security Council reiterated "deep concern" at mounting reports of "illegal
movements of arms" across the Lebanese-Syrian border. It did so after hearing
from U.N. Middle East envoy Terje Roed Larsen, who drew an "alarming and deeply
disturbing picture" of the border situation, citing Lebanese army reports of "a
steady flow of weapons and armed elements across the border from Syria."
The U.N. assessment team recommended that Lebanon set up "a multi-agency mobile
force focusing on arms smuggling with the purpose of creating seizure results
within a short time span through its intelligence and rapid interception
capabilities." It also lamented the fact that "there is no (cross border)
cooperation" at the operation level between Lebanese and Syrian authorities and
urged both sides to remedy the situation.
It expressed concern about the presence of "several heavily armed Palestinian
military strongholds covering both sides" of the border, saying they "constitute
pockets of territories where the Lebanese security forces are denied the
possibility to exercise their mandate." The report also criticized the "lack of
operational cooperation and coordination" among Lebanon's four different
security agencies: the Lebanese Armed Forces, the Internal Security Forces, the
General Security and the General Customs. It said that during the nearly 30
years of Syrian domination which ended in 2005 "no concept of border security at
the border was ever implemented."
Noting that there "is no real alternative to the existing model of four agencies
responsible for border security," the U.N. team suggested the creation of a
"multi-agency mobile task force" that would work in parallel with the existing
structure "but with an enhanced focus on arms smuggling."
"The unit should be highly skilled and suitably equipped for special operations.
It should have a high level of mobility, including airlift capacity and 4x4
vehicles," the report said. The new unit should have a "high degree of
independence and integrity "through appropriate command and control mechanisms"
and should include an intelligence and analysis cell to provide timely
information to all Lebanese security agencies.(AFP-Naharnet) Beirut, 27 Jun 07,
07:53
Spain Demands Probe into
UNIFIL Deadly Bombing
A Spanish judge has ordered a probe into the car bombing that killed six U.N.
peacekeepers in southern Lebanon this weekend.
Judge Fernando Grande-Marlaska also demanded that none of the bodies should be
cremated in case families of the slain decide to ask for second autopsies, a
National Court spokeswoman said in Spain. Grande-Marlaska will ask for reports
on the attack from Spain's defense and foreign ministries, said the official.
The judge issued the order under a Spanish law which entitles the country's
courts to prosecute crimes like genocide or terrorism even if they are alleged
to have been committed elsewhere. The Spanish army peacekeepers were patrolling
the main road between the towns of Marjayoun and Khiam, a few kilometers north
of the Israeli town of Metulla, when a bomb engulfed their armored personnel
carrier Sunday. Two other soldiers were seriously wounded. Nobody has claimed
responsibility for the attack but the anti-Syrian coalition in parliament blamed
Damascus, despite its condemnation of the bombing. Grande-Marlaska's probe order
came shortly after Spain's Prince Felipe and Princess Letizia and government
ministers joined grieving relatives of six peacekeepers for a state funeral at a
military base in Paracuellos del Jarama, outside Madrid. Spain has 1,100
peacekeepers in Lebanon, part of the 13,000-member U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon
from 30 countries, which first deployed in Lebanon in 1978 and was reinforced in
the past year. UNIFIL, along with 15,000 Lebanese troops, patrols a zone along
the Lebanese-Israeli border.(AP-Naharnet) Beirut, 27 Jun 07, 08:48
Murr: Hundreds of
Terrorists Killed or Wounded in Nahr al-Bared
Defense Minister Elias Murr said about 300 Fatah al-Islam terrorists have been
killed or wounded in the month-long standoff with the Lebanese army in the
northern Palestinian refugee camp of Nahr al-Bared, leaving only a few dozen
militants hiding in the besieged camp.
Murr said that Lebanese troops have cornered the remaining members of Fatah
al-Islam in what has been known as the "old camp" on the southern tip of Nahr
al-Bared. He told the Dubai-based Al-Arabiya television on Tuesday evening that
the military now controls 80 percent of Nahr el-Bared camp.
But Fatah al-Islam leader, Shaker Abssi, whose whereabouts have been unknown
since the May 20 outbreak of the fighting, was now taking "residents as human
shields" there, Murr said. He said that during the campaign, the army captured
about 40 Fatah al-Islam militants of different nationalities, including those
suspected of links to al-Qaida organization. Murr gave no further details. Nahr
al-Bared's fighting came amid a fierce power struggle between the Lebanese
government the opposition led by Hizbullah. Last week, Murr declared victory
over Fatah al-Islam, but heavy machine gun fire and bursts of artillery shells
continued to reverberate across the camp, sending plumes of black and white
smoke in the air.
Future television on Wednesday said the army unleashed mortar fire at militants'
hideouts in response to sniper attacks. "The army has accomplished its military
mission with regard to destroying and occupying all Fatah al-Islam positions in
the Nahr al-Bared camp," Murr said. When fighting erupted, there were more than
350 fighters in the camp. Murr said that the "remaining number now is between 50
to 60." He said so far, 84 soldiers have been killed and more than 150 soldiers
have been wounded. A senior military official has put the number of army's
deaths at 82 but there was no immediate explanation for the discrepancy. In
recent days, the army said it destroyed several compounds of buildings that
housed Fatah al-Islam's positions on the camp's fringes.
But parts of the "old camp" -- the densely populated neighborhoods with narrow,
winding streets where most of the Palestinian refugees lived -- appear to remain
outside the military's control. Murr said the army was tightening the noose
around the remaining militants hiding in the "old camp" to force them to
surrender.
He said the siege would continue until the fighters surrender or are eliminated.
"The army will not back down on its mission before these criminals are
apprehended. This is a final and irreversible decision." Earlier Tuesday, Murr
met with FBI Director Robert Mueller who reaffirmed U.S. support for Lebanon. A
U.S. Embassy statement said Mueller's meetings in Beirut focused on law
enforcement cooperation. It said Mueller, who visited Lebanon in 2005 as part of
U.S. efforts to help the government improve security after Syrian troop
withdrawal, "highlighted the willingness of the FBI to ... help Lebanon
strengthen its ability to fight crime and terrorism by providing training and
equipment."(AP-Naharnet) Beirut, 27 Jun 07, 07:13
Reports: Australian Boxing
Champ Arrested in Northern Lebanon
An Australian boxing champion who left Sydney abruptly weeks ago is one of four
men being held in Lebanon on suspicion of terrorist activity, reports said
Wednesday.Undefeated super featherweight Ahmed Elomar, 24, used the name
'Trigger' in the ring, the Sydney Morning Herald reported. Elomar suddenly
stopped training and fled Sydney two weeks ago, his father Abu Ahmed told The
Australian newspaper. "He went to Lebanon for a holiday against my
wishes," he said.
"I knew it is the wrong time to travel and the wrong place. But I couldn't
physically stop him," he said. Elomar is the nephew of Mohamed Ali Elomar, who
was charged along with eight other men with plotting a terrorist act in
Australia in 2005. The Australian Department of Foreign Affairs was unable to
confirm the identity of the men arrested near the port city of Tripoli in
northern Lebanon last week and said it had not yet been granted consular access.
Foreign Minister Alexander Downer has said Lebanese officials had told their
Australian counterparts that the men would not be able to receive consular
visits until they had been formally charged. The Australian newspaper also
reported that another national, former Sydney taxi driver Omar Hadba, may have
been the owner of a Tripoli workshop found stacked with weapons and explosives
on the weekend.(AFP-Naharnet) Beirut, 27 Jun 07, 07:29
Arms Flowing Into Lebanon,
U.N. Finds
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By WARREN HOGE
Published: June 27, 2007
UNITED NATIONS, June 26 — The present state of border control is inadequate for
preventing the smuggling of arms from Syria into Lebanon, according to a report
that a United Nations assessment team submitted to the Security Council on
Tuesday. The team said it was unable to document a single instance of a seizure
of arms at or near the border during a three-week visit to a 200-mile stretch of
territory that concluded June 15. The Security Council resolution that ended the
war between Israel and the Hezbollah militia last August called on Lebanon to
secure its borders and prevent the entry of unauthorized arms, with assistance
from the enlarged United Nations force that was sent to south Lebanon to keep
the peace.
The report said the task was one that the Lebanese Army was ill prepared to
fulfill, because of lack of experience and equipment. Adding to the confusion,
it said, is a division of labor among four Lebanese agencies with overlapping
responsibilities.
Syria is a backer of Hezbollah and is widely suspected of helping it to rearm
with smuggled weapons. “There is no cooperation between the Lebanese agencies on
the operational level and their Syrian counterparts,” the report said. The
team’s findings bolster a warning to the Security Council on June 11 by Terje
Roed-Larsen, a special United Nations envoy, who drew an “alarming and deeply
disturbing picture” of “a steady flow of weapons and armed elements across the
border from Syria.”
After his briefing, the Council endorsed a policy statement that expressed its
“deep concern at mounting information by Israel and other states of illegal
movements of arms in Lebanon, and in particular across the Lebanese-Syrian
border.”The next day, according to the Syrian Arab News Agency, a Syrian Foreign
Ministry official dismissed Mr. Roed-Larsen’s comments as false and said the
charges circulated to the Council had originated with Israel and were aimed at
damaging Syrian-Lebanese relations. It did not identify the official. The United
Nations team recommended equipping the Lebanese with intelligence and rapid
interception capacity.
Preacher: Syria is behind the
Lebanon violence not al-Qaeda
Wednesday, 27 June, 2007 @ 4:38 AM
Tripoli - A Muslim Sunni preacher deported from Britain to Lebanon in 2005 has
claimed Syria and not al-Qaeda is behind the latest violence in Lebanon,
accusing Damascus of masterminding attacks carried out by the Palestinian
militant group, Fatah al-Islam. "One can accuse Fatah al-Islam of having created
the space into which extremists can infiltrate Lebanon. But it is wrong to say
that this group is linked to al-Qaeda," Omar Bakri Mohammad ( R) said in an
interview published by Rome-based daily La Repubblica on Tuesday. "Fatah
al-Islam is a creature of Syria. The violence in Lebanon depends on Syria and
not al-Qaeda," added Bakri who in the past has praised Osama bin-Laden and the
11 September 2001 attacks against the United States. Bakri said he "did not
know" whether Damascus was behind an attack that killed six Spanish soldiers
serving with the United Nations peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon.
But he added, that "the hidden hands behind the massacre of Marjayoun (where the
Spaniards were killed) are the same as those that have planted the bombs in
Lebanon".Pressed by the La Republica interviewer into admitting that several
clandestine arms caches belonging to Lebanese Sunni extremists have been found
in recent months, Bakri replied: "Extremism is increasing because the Sunnis are
being threatened by the Shiites of Amal and Hezbollah. As soon as a Sunni arms
himself everyone invokes al-Qaeda, but when Shiites do the same thing, no one
says anything. They have created a state within a state in the south, and they
have been occupying the centre of Beirut for months.""Is this not extremism?"
Bakri asked.
Omar Bakri Mohammad born Omar Bakri Fostock in 1958 in Syria, led Al-Muhajiroun,
an Islamist organization based in the United Kingdom, until its disbandment in
2004, and is allegedly a spiritual leader for Al Qaeda. In 2005, after
sheltering in the UK for 20 years, he traveled voluntarily to Lebanon, and while
he was away the Home Office informed him that he would not be allowed back. In
2006, during the Israel-Hezbollah war, he asked to be evacuated back to Britain,
along with the tourists, on "humanitarian grounds". He was refused. He has since
been living in the northern Lebanese town of Tripoli where he runs a library and
an Islamic cultural center.Sources: AKI
US praises Siniora's resilience in
face of crises
26 Jun 2007 20:20:14 GMT
Source: Reuters
By Arshad Mohammed
PARIS, June 26 (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice met Lebanese
Prime Minister Fouad Siniora on Tuesday and praised him for tackling Lebanon's
many problems. Lebanon is mired in a political crisis that pits Siniora's
Western-backed government against opponents led by the pro-Syrian Shi'ite
Hezbollah and Amal factions. In addition, recent fighting between the Lebanese
army and al Qaeda-inspired militants in north Lebanon has complicated the crisis
and sparked the worst outbreak of internal violence in the country since the end
of its civil war 17 years ago.
"The point that I wanted to make to him was how much we admire his leadership.
He has led his country through some extraordinarily difficult times," Rice told
reporters as she flew home from Paris. The United States has pledged economic
and military aid to Siniora's government and has provided ammunition in recent
weeks as it has battled al Qaeda-inspired Fatah al-Islam militant group at the
Nahr al-Bared camp near Tripoli. The fighting has killed at least 179 people --
82 soldiers, 60 militants and 37 civilians. Rice acknowledged the relative
fragility of the Siniora government, which is trying to rebuild the country
following last year's war between Israel and Hezbollah guerrillas and to extend
its authority in to Hezbollah-dominated south Lebanon.
"It's always difficult and always, in some sense, fragile. But what's remarkable
about this government is they keep responding to the challenges and and
overcoming them," Rice added. Siniora was in Paris to meet new French President
Nicolas Sarkozy. Rice came to France for a meeting on the crisis in Darfur, met
Siniora over breakfast for about an hour and a half on Tuesday, and then
returned to Washington. Rice played down the idea that Siniora, along with Iraqi
Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, might
lose standing among their populations if they are seen as too closely allied
with Washington.
She stressed that other countries -- including Arab nations like Saudi Arabia --
had also worked to support him. "The United States is supporting these
governments but it's not as if the United States either chose them or is the
only international partner supporting them -- in a couple of those cases, the
Arabs are way out in front of us," she said. (Additional reporting by Crispian
Balmer)
The Hamas
blitzkrieg
By Walid Phares
June 27, 2007
Hamas' blitzkrieg in Gaza
was "ordered" by the Tehran-Damascus "axis" to make the peace and democratic
processes in Iraq, Lebanon, Afghanistan and Palestine crumble. These putsches
(as well as Hezbollah's) were parallel to the perceived weakening of America's
resolve against the two regimes. Last year's congressional elections were read
by the axis not in terms of partisan results but in terms of divisions affecting
U.S. foreign policies.
The offensives led by Hezbollah and Hamas immediately after publicizing the
Baker-Hamilton report are the evidence. When advice to the U.S. president
recommended "talking" to Iran and Syria about the "future of the region,"
followed by a visit to Damascus by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the axis gave the
green light to the spring offensives
Hamas' putsch pre-empted its opponents. The brutality was part of psychological
deterrence: beheadings, torture, executions and other horrors. These repugnant
images were never seen by Palestinians before, even at the hands of whom they
believe were worse enemies in Israel, Jordan and Lebanon over four decades. The
jihadist massacre of Palestinians created shock among the civilians in Gaza and
beyond. Hamas wanted this Talibanesque-style to serve as a deterrent, but no one
can guarantee future reactions. However, the Gaza "Taliban" will consolidate its
grip as a prelude to destabilizing the West Bank and transform the enclave into
a bastion for jihad with the following actions:
* Levy an army of 60,000 fighters with Iran, Syria and Hezbollah expected to
provide weapons and training.
* Establish many "Fallujahs" in the strip in anticipation of an "outside"
offensive: no-surrender urban fortresses to deter any would-be attacker.
Deploy batteries of missiles while using the population as human shields.
* Use civilian travel to the West Bank to insert cells inside the Palestinian
Authority territories.
* Link up with supporters within the camps in Lebanon, in Jordan and among Arabs
inside Israel.
* Activate overseas cells (including in the United States and the West) to deter
American and international potential action in the future.
* And last but not least, the Gaza Taliban could become the recipient of future
Iranian non-conventional weaponry, including tactical nuclear deployment.
Western response is strategically obligatory but not necessarily automatic. The
rise of such an entity between Israel and Egypt, with access to the
Mediterranean, is a direct threat to Arab moderates, the U.S. and Western
presence and the peace process.
So what can be done and by whom? The Israelis have the military might, but
shouldn't rush to Gaza alone, unless dramatic events arise — for it would,
according to projections and lessons from Lebanon, give Hamas what it wants, and
that is legitimacy. The Palestinian Authority units would logically be the ones
to move in but they are too weak now. An international force (with U.S. backing)
would be resisted by the jihadists, both locally and internationally and with
barbaric terror. Egypt has vital interest in removing a terror regime from Gaza.
The Sinai bombings in recent years were only a prelude to what is to come if
such an "emirate" is established. But Egypt needs Arab backing, which will be
opposed by Syria, and ironically by Qatar, too — the new champion of the
Islamists in the region.
But a strategic response to "Hamastan" is possible under a set of conditions,
including international coordination, different attitudes in the region's
capitals and significant strategic enhancement in America and Europe.
Hamas will consolidate its "acquisition" with Iran and Syria, moving to protect
the new status quo and to waste as much time as possible. Two games will go on:
One is to deepen the defenses of Gaza; two is to deny the threat. Khaled Mashal,
the Syrian-based boss of Hamas, used generous al Jazeera airtime to assuage
fears. "Yes, we are Islamists, but we aren't establishing a religious state
(yet)," he said, repeating what the Islamic Courts said in Mogadishu earlier
this year.
"We have good relations with Iran and Syria, but that doesn't mean anything," he
continued. Then he offered a panoply of psychological gadgets: Continue to
recognize Mahmoud Abbas as Palestinian president; "work" on liberating a British
hostage; welcome Arab initiatives; display the Palestinian flag higher than
Hamas'; make sure the "struggle" is still on, as the group pledged it will
continue the fight against Israel.
In fact, attacking Israel is Hamas' insurance against the Palestinian
Authority's containment. Thus, it is important that the Salam Fayyad government
press for an isolation of Hamas. The key to such success is in the hands of a
united Abbas-Fayyad effort, but Fatah's negative past needs to be addressed by
radical reforms before the Palestinian Authority is upgraded to full partnership
in the war on terror.
The immediate future of Hamastan demands keen skills from Washington and
Brussels, to calibrate the response to the regional Syrian-Iranian threat. And
until the fog of uncertainties disappears, "Palestine'' is now divided between
Taliban and mujahideen.
***Walid Phares is director of the Future Terrorism Project at the Foundation
for the Defense of Democracies and a visiting fellow at the European Foundation
for Democracy.
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