LCCC ENGLISH
DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
November 26/07
Bible Reading of the day
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 23,35-43. The people
stood by and watched; the rulers, meanwhile, sneered at him and said, "He saved
others, let him save himself if he is the chosen one, the Messiah of God." Even
the soldiers jeered at him. As they approached to offer him wine they called
out, "If you are King of the Jews, save yourself." Above him there was an
inscription that read, "This is the King of the Jews." Now one of the criminals
hanging there reviled Jesus, saying, "Are you not the Messiah? Save yourself and
us."The other, however, rebuking him, said in reply, "Have you no fear of God,
for you are subject to the same condemnation? And indeed, we have been condemned
justly, for the sentence we received corresponds to our crimes, but this man has
done nothing criminal." Then he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into
your kingdom." He replied to him, "Amen, I say to you, today you will be with me
in Paradise."
Releases.
Reports & Opinions
To General Aoun: You Have No
Right!
Ghassan Charbel.
November 25/07
Stop gloating-Arab Times - Kuwait.By Ahmed Al Jarallah. November 25/07
Political Chaos in Lebanon-American Thinker.
November 25/07
Back on the block-Ha'aretz
By Aluf Benn. November
25/07
Multiculturalism Exposes the US to Terrorism. By
Frank Salvato.Canada Free Press. November 25/07
Annapolis' House of
Cards-By: Frank J. Gaffney
Jr. FrontPage. November 25/07
Latest
News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources for November 25/07
Hizbullah blames US for blocking Lebanese election-Jerusalem
Post
Hezbollah raises specter of long Lebanon power void-Reuters
Christians pray for Lebanon-Aljazeera.net
Dispelling Lebanon's stench of war-Sunday
Herald
Syria wants Golan Heights on talks agenda-Telegraph.co.uk
World Powers Appeal for Calm to Avoid Unrest in Absence of
President-Naharnet
There is no state of emergency ' Siniora tells Lebanon.Reuters,
Ya Libnan
Lebanon PM: Cabinet priority - to elect
new president.Al-Bawaba, Jordan
Hezbollah recruits thousands in Lebanon crisis-Telegraph.co.uk
HEZBOLLAH WILL AVENGE IRAN STRIKE-UK
Express
Hamas, Hezbollah lambast Mideast peace conference-AFP
Syria welcome at peace talks: Olmert-Reuters
Syrian MP: Syria will 'almost certainly' attend Annapolis-Jerusalem
Post
Syria Blocks Facebook-MidEastYouth.com
A history of turmoil-Globe and Mail
Lebanon will Attend
Annapolis Peace Conference-Naharnet
World Powers Appeal for Calm to Avoid Unrest in Absence of President
The United States, the European Union and other countries appealed for calm and
urged the feuding sides to quickly negotiate an end to the presidential crisis
and spare the country further turmoil.
Washington offered its support to Prime Minister Fouad Saniora's government and
urged "all Lebanese political groups to do their part to maintain calm and
promote security for Lebanon's citizens."
In Paris, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said he was still optimistic
a solution would be found next week.
Spain, in turn, urged the warring factions to continue exerting efforts to
overcome differences.
"Madrid hopes that all the political leaders will work to preserve peace and
stability in Lebanon and (urge them) against taking unilateral action that could
further aggravate political differences," a statement from the Spanish foreign
ministry said.
"I don't believe there will be serious tension," said Kouchner, who spent last
week in Lebanon trying to mediate. "I know that any local conflict can
degenerate into something extremely serious in Lebanon, but I am optimistic."
Russian foreign ministry spokesman Mikhail Kamynin, whose country maintains
close relations with Syria, voiced "deep concern" over the situation after
President Emile Lahoud resigned amid a raging dispute over who was in charge in
the politically divided nation.
"The situation has been greeted in Moscow with regret and deep concern," foreign
ministry spokesman Mikhail Kamynin said in a statement.
"The priority remains the avoidance of open or even armed confrontation and to
continue the search for the broadest possible consensus in Lebanon within the
constitutional framework," Kamynin said. Lahoud, regarded as one of Lebanon's
most controversial presidents, left office shortly before midnight Friday at the
end of his term with no elected successor. He handed over responsibility for the
country's security to the army. Egypt hailed Saniora, saying the prime minister
"enjoys appropriate expertise and wisdom to run Lebanon through this critical
stage and bring peace to the country.""Egypt looks forward to a Parliament
session to elect a new president … on Nov. 30," Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed
Abu al-Geith said. Beirut, 25 Nov 07, 10:29
Lebanon PM: Cabinet priority
- to elect new president
Posted: 25-11-2007 , 09:08 GMT
Lebanon's Prime Minister Fuad Saniora assured his people Saturday that the
military was in control of the streets while lawmakers struggled to overcome a
political crisis that has left the country without a president. The army made
clear it will stay out of politics, the AP reported.
In his first remarks since President Emile Lahoud left office, Saniora defended
his government, saying it will continue to function according to the
constitution. In the absence of a president, Saniora's cabinet, which the
opposition considers illegitimate, takes executive power under the constitution.
The president's authorities have been referred, in line with the constitution to
a "collective government handling, and this is only an interim procedure pending
the election of a new president," Saniora stressed. He also opposed any attempt
to elect an interim president, stressing that the constitutional term of the
head of state is six years.
"Our main goal in the coming stage, which we hope will not take longer than few
days, will be to exert all possible efforts ... to end this situation as soon as
possible," conveyed Saniora.
He dismissed a declaration by Lahoud, who before departing the presidential
palace at midnight Friday said the country was in a "state of emergency" and he
was handing over security powers to the army. "There is no state of emergency,
and there is no need for that," Saniora said. "There is absolutely no need for
any Lebanese to be concerned about the security situation. The army is doing its
work and is in full control of the situation on the ground."
"We respect the army's performance and highly appreciate its mission," Saniora
said. He called for re-activating the role of parliament, which he termed "the
mother authority so that it can host true dialogue."In answering a question
regarding a warning by Iran that Lebanon is heading towards civil war, Saniora
said: "We've learned painful lessons from the past and the Lebanese do not want
to resort to violence again.""The people's main interest is in the election of a
new president," he added, according to Naharnet.
There is no state of emergency '
Siniora tells Lebanon
Sunday, 25 November, 2007
© 2007 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
Beirut : Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora called for calm on Saturday as
his cabinet assumed executive powers in the absence of a president, in
accordance with the constitution
The presidential palace was left empty for the first time in nine years when
outgoing head of state Emile Lahoud's mandate expired at midnight (2200 GMT) on
Friday.
Parliament had failed to find a successor acceptable to the anti-Syrian ruling
coalition and the opposition led by pro-Syrian Hezbollah.
"When the presidency is vacant, the powers of the presidency devolve to the
cabinet ... which is the legitimate and constitutional cabinet," Siniora told a
news conference after meeting the patriarch of the Maronite Christian church,
Nasrallah Sfeir.
"There is nothing to worry about ... Our natural concern is to work on how to
... complete the presidential election. None of the Lebanese, with myself at the
forefront, will accept that there not be a president for the Republic."
But the opposition, led by the Shi'ite Muslim group Hezbollah, backed by Syria
and Iran, says the country no longer has any recognized executive.
Earlier, anti-Syrian Telecommunications Minister Marwan Hamadeh told Reuters:
"We'll mainly act in order to obtain a very speedy president. We believe this
should be a period of short transition." The political void had no immediate
impact on the streets of Beirut, where shops and cafes opened as normal and
traffic circulated freely. The army, which deployed in force for a session of
parliament on Friday, relaxed its controls.
The United States, the United Nations, the European Union and conservative Arab
states such as Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Jordan are expected to recognize the
cabinet's authority. Before relinquishing the presidency, Lahoud ordered the
army to take charge of security, saying the country ran a risk of descending
into a state of emergency. The cabinet dismissed his decree as meaningless.
Interior Minister Hassan al-Sabaa was quoted as saying there was no reason for
citizens to feel worried about the security situation and Siniora said there was
"no state of emergency."
ORGANISED VACUUM
On Friday, parliament failed to elect a president before Lahoud's term ended,
prompting speaker Nabih Berri, an opposition leader, to postpone the vote for
the fifth time until November 30 for another attempt. The delay means the
presidency, always held by a Maronite Christian under Lebanon's sectarian
power-sharing system, will be vacant for at least a week. Key members of the
majority faction, including the son of assassinated former Prime Minister Rafik
al-Hariri, kept the political temperature down by saying they remained in favor
of finding a consensus candidate for the presidency.
Anti-Syrian members have blamed Damascus for Hariri's and other political
killings, a charge Syria denies.
Syria ended a 29-year military presence in Lebanon in 2005, but the ruling
coalition accuses it of interfering in Lebanon's affairs through its Hezbollah
ally. Lately it has toned down its anti-Syrian rhetoric. "I always suspect some
forces whether Syria or Iran of wanting to destabilize Lebanon, but I think
there has been Arab and international containment on that," Hamadeh told
Reuters. "There's the Annapolis conference and the Syrians maybe want to show
good conduct, but I don't know how long it will last," he said, referring to the
November 27 U.S.-hosted Israeli-Palestinian peace talks which Syria has
indicated it may attend.Sources: Reuters, Ya Libnan
Analysis: Political Chaos in
Lebanon
Saturday, 24 November, 2007 @ 5:23 PM
By: Rick Moran
Beirut - At the stroke of midnight last night, pro-Syrian Lebanese President
Emil Lahoud, his extended term finally at an end, walked out of the hilltop
Baabda Republican Palace and waved goodbye to the assembled photographers and
journalists. What he left behind was political chaos that threatens to engulf
the country in civil war. That's because the majority government forces in
parliament led by Said Hariri, son of the beloved ex-prime minister Rafiq Hariri
who was murdered in 2005 and the opposition led by the terrorist group Hezbollah
have been unable to reach agreement on a consensus candidate to replace him:
Lebanon woke up Saturday a state without a president, a government termed
"illegitimate" by the Hezbollah-led opposition and an army guarding social order
with consent of the feuding parties.
Foreign powers called for calm and speed up of efforts to elect a new head of
state, while Iran cautioned that Lebanon is "so close to civil war."
Former Syrian-backed President Emile Lahoud left the hilltop Baabda Republican
Palace at midnight Friday, ending a controversial term of nine years in office
after Parliament failed to elect a successor hurling the nation into power
vacuum.
"Lahoud's term end to a republic without a president," the daily an-Nahar
headlined its front page. "Political and security guarantees govern the
transition era," it added in the eight-column double headline. "Lahoud walked
out," shouted al-Moustaqbal daily, which is affiliated with MP Saad Hariri,
leader of the largest parliamentary bloc that opposed Lahoud.
"A republic without head .. protected by organized vacuum," outlined as-Safir in
its front-page banner.
That "organized vacuum" protecting the "republic without a head" is the Lebanese
army. Just prior to his vacating office, President Lahoud transferred the
responsibility for security to the army. And while Prime Minister Siniora has
rejected this move as unconstitutional, both sides for the time being seem
content with the idea that neither controls the troops in the streets:
An air of organized vacuum was evident in the streets of Beirut late Friday
evening where partisans of Hariri's al-Moustaqbal Movement celebrated the end of
Lahoud's term with fire crackers and chants of "Lahoud out, out" in Tarik
Jedideh district while supporters of Hezbollah and Parliament Speaker Nabih
Berri's AMAL movement maintained calm in the adjacent district of Barbour.
An army captain in charge of checkpoints along the Kourniche Mazraa
thoroughfare, which separates the two neighborhoods, told reporters:
"Things are under control. Both sides know that we are here and we will not
tolerate disturbances."
Businesses and public institutions were open for normal services Saturday as
calm prevailed over Lebanon, amidst calls by the United States, The European
Union and the United Nations to maintain calm and speed up efforts to elect a
new head of state.
The only difference observed, however, was that Lahoud's pictures have been
removed from offices of some government institutions in areas traditionally
hostile to the ex-president and the pro-Syrian opposition.
It is just one manifestation of a highly volatile and dangerous situation. Who
controls the army?
At issue is the presidency who by law is elected by a 2/3 majority in
parliament. Failing to achieve that super majority, parliament by law can then
elect the president by simple majority. However, the March 14th forces who
control parliament have been reluctant to take that latter step because the
opposition has made it known that they would view any president elected by
simple majority as illegitimate. Hence, the strenuous efforts to find a
consensus candidate who would enjoy the support of both sides.
However, as the weeks and months dragged on, it became apparent that Hezbollah
was not interested in consensus but rather chaos. They have rejected every plan,
every formula, every candidate offered by the majority as well as those offered
by respected, non partisans like the Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir.
Hezbollah will have it all or nothing when it comes to the choice for president.
What next? More negotiations, more of the same. Eventually, most observers
believe that the March 14th forces are simply going to have to bite the bullet
and elect a president by simply majority. At that point, Hezbollah may very well
name their own president who would, in turn, name a prime minister and cabinet.
Two governments backed by two factions - a recipe for civil war. The future is
dark and unknowable in Lebanon at the moment. The people are on edge - hugely
disappointed in their politicians who they blame for the impasse. But perhaps
their anger should be directed toward Damascus where President Assad sits,
spinning his webs of intriuge and confusion, all designed to maximize Syrian
influence in that tiny, divided nation. Sources; American Thinker
Stop gloating
By Ahmed Al Jarallah
Editor-in-Chief, the Arab Times
It is clear that Hezbollah has not learnt any lessons from the destructive war
against Israel, which rained doom on Lebanon, all because of a miscalculated
adventure by Hezbollah, as admitted by its leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah. This
subject is being broached now because of a recent statement by a Hezbollah MP in
Lebanon, Hussein Al Haj Hassan, who repeated a lie voiced by Hezbollah in his
country’s Parliament Friday: that Hezbollah liberated Lebanon in 2000 and gained
a victory against Israel in 2006. This has become Hezbollah’s leitmotif both
inside and outside Lebanon, and they like to dub it the “Divine Victory.”
Hezbollah’s sheikh and his cohorts have forgotten that Israel withdrew from
Lebanon on its own accord when it saw that there was no justification to prolong
its stay there. Ehud Barrak announced the withdrawal of Israeli troops from
Lebanon a year after he assumed power. That was how Lebanon got liberated, and
Nasrallah and his followers should stop filling our heads with their stale
slogans.
Regarding Hezbollah’s claim that it won the war against Israel last July, which
was also admitted by Israel, it should be remembered that this so-called victory
proved very costly to Lebanon both materially and in terms of human lives at a
scale never seen before — not even during the 15-year civil war. The defeat from
the point of view of Israel was not that they could not wreak havoc in Lebanon
or remove Hezbollah from the south of the country, but their inability to kill
Nasrallah himself. Israel could not find his hideout, and there were also
indications that he had escaped to Iran during the war. Nasrallah is not very
different from the Iraqi tyrant Saddam Hussein, who went into hiding for 8
months before he was caught like a rat from a spider hole. Neither is he
different from Osama Bin Laden, who is still being pursued, or some Taleban
leaders who are on the run, dodging the radars of the allies.
Even more surprising in the statement made by the Hezbollah MP was when he said
that his group was protecting the Lebanese constitution. Which constitution does
he or his ilk in Tehran and Damascus respect? Let’s not forget Hezbollah
boycotted the presidential elections in Lebanon. Neutral observers of the
situation in Lebanon would readily agree that Hezbollah together with Michael
Oun and the so-called opposition, who are taking orders from the Syrian and
Iranian regimes, are the main obstacles to the resolution of the internal
problems in the country. This group’s game is up and their true aims and motives
are exposed. Hezbollah is averse to parliamentary majorities, or cooperating
with other Arab nations or France, the USA and the European Union.
However, Hezbollah does not see anything wrong in cooperating with Syria or
Iran, even if it has only been detrimental to Lebanon. Yesterday the Lebanese
parliamentarians showed much maturity and a keen sense of nationalistic spirit.
Even though the parliament was capable of electing a president on its own, it
welcomed international observers to deal a blow to any plans by opposition
groups to sow discord in the nation. This is an era that saw the coming and
going of Emile Lahoud, ending a Syrian chapter in Lebanon. In the near future,
another door will be shut on Syria, to allow a new chapter in the history of
Lebanon to begin with full of hope, stability and sovereignty.
Hezbollah recruits thousands
in Lebanon crisis
By Hugh Macleod in Beirut
Last Updated: 1:48am GMT 25/11/2007
Hezbollah is exploiting the tense political deadlock in Beirut to recruit
thousands of new fighters, The Sunday Telegraph can reveal.
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah speaks to supporters during a Martyr's Day
rally in Beirut
The Iranian-backed Shia militant group has begun drawing fighters from across
the sectarian divide, including Sunnis, Christians and Druze, in an effort to
create a united opposition to the government.
The group is taking advantage of the political vacuum that has endured for a
year, as the Lebanese parliament no longer has enough MPs to function fully.
On Friday night, President Emile Lahoud's term of office formally ended and he
declared a state of emergency before stepping down. With parliament unable to
agree on a successor, Lebanese soldiers were patrolling the streets this
weekend, amid fears that the crisis could erupt into widespread violence.
Hezbollah's MPs walked out of cabinet at the end of last year, and for many
months there have not been sufficient MPs for most votes to be declared
constitutionally valid.
An uneasy calm held over Beirut last night as troops were deployed across the
capital to prevent armed conflict and the pro-Western prime minister, Fouad
Siniora, pledged to operate under the constitution and work to install a
compromise president as soon as possible.
"Our main goal in the coming stage, which we hope will not take longer than a
few days, will be to exert all possible efforts . . . to end this situation," Mr
Siniora said.
advertisementHe dismissed Mr Lahoud's declaration that the country was in a
state of emergency and under the army's control, which was made shortly before
he left the presidential palace at midnight on Friday.
"There is no state of emergency and no need for that. The army is doing its part
in tandem with the other security forces," Mr Siniora said. "There is absolutely
no need for any Lebanese to be concerned about the security situation, the army
is doing its work and is in full control."
Last night, Lebanese Brigadier Gen Amin Hotait warned that Hezbollah had
expanded its recruiting to bring Sunni, Christian and Druze fighters together
under the banner of an opposition.
He said that the arming and recruiting campaign began after Hezbollah declared
"divine victory" over Israel after the month-long war last year. It has been
continued in defiance of calls by the United Nations Security Council and the
Western-backed government in Beirut for Hezbollah to disarm.
Patrick Haenni, a senior analyst with the International Crisis Group and author
of a report on Hezbollah published last month, said the group was also courting
Sunni sheikhs to shore up its military support. "Hezbollah is eager not to make
the resistance against Israel a purely Shia cause," he said.
As Hezbollah has expanded, rival groups have also armed themselves. The gun
dealer Abu Roub, from the Palestinian refugee camp of Shatila, said weapons
sales had tripled since former prime minister Rafik Hariri's assassination in
2005.
"Before Hariri's death, there was prosperity and I had no work," he said. "Now
everyone is rushing to arm themselves. I expect the worst for Lebanon."
Most of his weapons, which range from rocket-propelled grenades to assault
rifles, were sold to Sunnis, he said.
The country's 12 official Palestinian refugee camps are also awash with arms,
creating a security tinderbox.
The immediate crisis has prompted fears that two rival governments could be
formed, as was the case at the end of the 1975-90 civil war.
Lawmakers from the majority and the opposition had been scheduled to convene on
Friday in a final attempt to elect Mr Lahoud's successor. But the session was
postponed, for the fifth time in two months. A new vote has been scheduled in
five days' time.
Last night, Washington offered its support to Mr Siniora's government and urged
"all Lebanese political groups to do their part to maintain calm and promote
security".
Mikhail Kamynin, the Russian foreign ministry spokesman, whose country has close
relations with Syria, said: "The priority remains the avoidance of open or armed
confrontation."The crisis is widely seen as an extension of the regional
confrontation pitting the United States against Iran and fthe ormer powerbroker
Syria. Some Lebanese officials believe the standoff over the presidency will be
resolved only after Tuesday's US-hosted Middle East peace conference.
A history of turmoil
From Saturday's Globe and Mail
November 23, 2007
1920 The League of Nations grants the mandate for Lebanon and Syria to France.
1943 The French government in exile during the Second World War recognizes
Lebanon's independence.1948 The creation of Israel and the resulting war drive
Palestinian refugees into Lebanon.
1967 Lebanon plays no active role in the Arab-Israeli war but is to be affected
by its aftermath when Palestinians use Lebanon as a base for activities against
Israel.
1975 Falangist gunmen ambush a bus in Beirut, killing 27 of its mainly
Palestinian passengers. The Falangists allege that guerrillas had previously
attacked a church in the same district. These clashes are seen as the start of
the civil war.
1978 Israel launches an invasion of Lebanon. The UN Security Council passes
Resolution 425, calling on Israel to withdraw from all Lebanese territory and
establishes the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon.
1983 Israel and Lebanon sign an agreement on Israeli withdrawal, establishing a
security region in southern Lebanon.
1990 The Syrian air force attacks the presidential palace and General Michel
Aoun takes refuge in the French embassy. The date, Oct. 13, is regarded as the
end of the civil war.
1991 The National Assembly orders the dissolution of all militias, but Hezbollah
is allowed to remain active and the South Lebanon Army refuses to disband.
1998 Émile Lahoud is appointed President by Syria, which maintains soldiers in
Lebanon after the civil war ends.
2000 Israel withdraws from southern Lebanon, but retains the Shebaa Farms, a
disputed area on the edge of the Golan Heights.
2004 Under pressure from Syria, parliament amends the constitution to allow Mr.
Lahoud to spend an additional three years in office after his term is over.2005
The last Syrian soldiers leave Lebanon. Former prime minister Rafik Hariri is
killed by a car bomb in Beirut. An anti-Syrian alliance led by Mr. Hariri's son,
Saad Hariri, wins control of parliament, and chooses Hariri ally Fouad Siniora
as Prime Minister. Four pro-Syrian generals are charged in connection with the
assassination of Mr. Hariri.
2006 Israel launches attacks on targets in Lebanon after Hezbollah captures two
Israeli soldiers. A truce between Israel and Hezbollah comes into effect after
34 days of fighting and the deaths of about 1,000 Lebanese, mostly civilians,
and 159 Israelis, mainly soldiers. Thousands of opposition demonstrators in
Beirut demand the resignation of the government.
2007 The Hezbollah-led opposition steps up pressure on the government to resign
by calling a general strike. The UN Security Council votes to set up a tribunal
to try suspects in the assassination of Mr. Hariri. Parliament adjourns a
session called to elect a new president, after the opposition pro-Syrian bloc
stays away.
Source: BBC, Staff
Back on the block
By Aluf Benn
The main message of this week's summit at Annapolis will be that the United
States is back as a leader in the Middle East. When President George W. Bush
stands before an audience of representatives of Middle Eastern countries at a
summit he is hosting to promote Israeli-Palestinian peace, the message will be
that when the U.S. calls, the world sides with it. Only a year ago, a
pessimistic theory of America's decline as a leading power in the Middle East
dominated Washington. Richard Haass, president of the Council for Foreign
Relations, published an article in Foreign Affairs declaring an end to American
dominance in the Middle East, ushering in a new page in the modern history of
the region.
The signs were everywhere: Iraq had become a bloody quagmire and turned into a
civil war, Israel failed to defeat Hezbollah and sank into depression, Hamas won
the elections in the Palestinian Authority and took over the Gaza Strip, the
government of Lebanon appeared to be on the verge of collapse due to Syrian
pressure, and Mubarak's regime in Egypt was showing signs of exhaustion. Iran
and its allies seemed to be the rising power in the region, at the expense of
America's friends there.
Now Bush is launching a counterstrike. Encouraged by the improved security
situation in Baghdad and the drop in the number of casualties, and the
successful Israeli strike against a Syrian nuclear installation, Bush is
embarking on a diplomatic adventure in the Middle East. The photo-op at
Annapolis will reflect the power of the "axis of moderates." The U.S., Israel,
Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, and the United Arab Emirates will stand holding
hands against the "axis of evil" who were not invited: Iran, Hamas and
Hezbollah.
Syria, the champion of sitting on the fence, was asked to choose between the two
camps, and as it usually does, it will wait until the last minute to make up its
mind. If it shows up, this will be a major victory for U.S. diplomacy, which
will have restored Syria to legitimacy after several years of pressure and
isolation.
From Israel's point of view, the impressive representation of the Arab states
and international community at Annapolis is encouraging. Israel is supremely
interested in America appearing as the strongest power in the region, not Iran.
The American losses in the Middle East reflected badly on Israel, which suddenly
appeared weak and exposed to Iranian threats. Now Israel is once more on the
side of the powerful.
HEZBOLLAH WILL AVENGE IRAN STRIKE
Terrorists are ready to strike back
Sunday November 25,2007
By Jason Groves Have your say(6)
TERRORIST group Hezbollah is poised to launch bloody reprisals in Britain for
any Western attack on Iran, a former intelligence chief has warned.
Richard Kemp, who was senior adviser on terrorism to Tony Blair, said the
Iranian-backed group had established sleeper cells in this country to carry out
revenge attacks.He said: “Hezbollah cells are operating in this country, in
London. The big question is how capable Hezbollah groups are in Europe.
“What I can say is that Hezbollah is probably the world’s most effective
terrorist organisation, and that includes Al Qaeda.”
Hezbollah’s record of terrorism in the Middle East stretches back 25 years. Last
year its rocket attacks on Israel sparked a full-scale war between Israel and
Lebanon, where its political arm holds seats in government. But the
organisation, which is thought to receive funding and weapons from Iran, has now
established a network of terror around the world. Four years ago the CIA warned
that Hezbollah had a dozen terrorist cells in the US.
The chances of a Western attack on Iran have increased sharply recently because
of fears about Iran’s nuclear programme.
Mehrdad Konsari, a former Iranian diplomat now exiled in Britain, said the
probability of a Western attack on Iran had increased to “more than 50 per cent”
during the last year. Mr Kemp’s comments, at a security conference last week,
are the first indication that British intelligence believes the group is
operating in this country.
Mr Kemp, a former Army colonel who was commander of British forces in
Afghanistan in 2003, is a respected figure in the intelligence field. He was a
member of the Cabinet Office’s Joint Intelligence Committee which advises the
Prime Minister on security matters.
Last night he warned that any Western attack on Iran could bring reprisals here,
as well as against British interests in the Middle East.
He said bomb attacks were possible but extremists would struggle to get the
radioactive material to build a “dirty bomb” capable of inflicting mass
casualties.
Hezbollah was founded in 1982 during the Lebanese civil war. It carried out the
1983 suicide bombing of a US Marine barracks in Beirut which killed 241
servicemen.
Hamas, Hezbollah lambast
Mideast peace conference
TEHRAN (AFP) — Palestinian Islamist group Hamas and Lebanese Shiite militia
Hezbollah on Saturday blasted a forthcoming US-hosted summit, which aims to
revive long-stalled Palestinian-Israeli peace negotiations.
At a conference in Tehran, representatives of the two groups lashed out at the
US move and predicted it would fail.
"This conference wants to destroy the Palestinian issue. This conference will
fail," said Mussa Abu Marzuq, top aide to Hamas supremo Khaled Meshaal.
"This conference is a fantasy and propaganda and it aims to attract the
so-called moderate Arab nations to their side and part them from the Palestinian
issue," he added.
The conference will be held on Tuesday in Annapolis, Maryland.
Hezbollah's foreign relations chief, Sheikh Ali Daghmush said: "Israel (in this
conference) aims to normalise ties with the Arab nations, so prevention of this
Zionist plot should be carried out." Hamas insists that Palestinian president
Mahmud Abbas has no mandate to negotiate on behalf of all the Palestinians.
Iran, which does not recognise Israel, is one of the most vocal backers of Hamas
and Hezbollah, and pledged millions of dollars in 2006 to the then Hamas
government crippled by a Western aid cut.
US officials have pointed a finger at Iran, which they say helped Hamas fighters
to seize control of the Gaza Strip in June, and of sponsoring Hezbollah.
Tehran denies supplying arms to either group, saying its support is a "moral"
one.
Hamas, which has slated a "counter-conference" in Gaza on Monday, said earlier
in the day it will step up attacks against Israeli troops there and in the West
Bank after the Annapolis meeting.
"The period that will follow the Annapolis conference will witness an increase
of the resistance against the Zionist occupation in the West Bank and Gaza
Strip," Mussa Abu Marzuq, top aide to Hamas supremo Khaled Meshaal, said on the
group's website.
"The Annapolis conference has two objectives: to help shore up (Israeli Prime
Minister) Ehud Olmert after his defeat in the south of Lebanon and secondly to
cover up for American plans of a war against Iran," he said.
Israel was locked in a devastating war with Lebanon's pro-Syrian Shiite
Hezbollah guerrillas in Lebanon last year.
Abu Marzuq, who is based in Syria along with Meshaal, urged Palestinians to
voice their rejection of the conference by organising demonstrations.
Multiculturalism Exposes the US to Terrorism
Culture War Frank Salvato, Managing Editor
November 23, 2007
The people of the United States, for all practical purposes, like to believe we
are fair-minded. We believe that everyone should get a fair shot. Most of us
believe that if you work hard you should get ahead. Many of us have even
embraced the ever advancing multiculturalism counter-culture, which is
completely antithetical to the concept of E Pluribus Unum; “Out of many, one.”
With regard to the latter, vindication has come to those of us who believe we
are fair-minded while being opposed to the “Balkanization” the United States.
It would seem that in our nation’s quest to prove to the world that we are
inclusive and tolerant we have, literally, allowed those who want to kill us
into some of the most sensitive areas of our government, areas where they put
our national security at risk.
In two recent and separate instances, individuals linked to terrorism
organizations have been allowed to rise to important positions within the
Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Central Intelligence Agency and the
Environmental Protection Agency. In addition the Inspector General for the
United States Agency for International Development has issued a report that
states:
"...policies, procedures, and controls are not adequate to reasonably ensure
against providing assistance to terrorists...[ USAID's] policies or procedures
do not require the vetting of potential or current USAID partners."
The USAID internal audit came in the aftermath of a fierce gunbattle between
Hamas and al Fatah terrorists at the Hamas administrated Islamic University in
Gaza. After the battle, large caches of weapons and ammunition were displayed,
recovered from inside the university. The Islamic University in Gaza received
more than $140,000 in funding from USAID. Hamas is a State Department designated
terrorist organization.
At the FBI, Nada Nadim Prouty, a 37-year old Lebanese national who entered into
a sham marriage to gain citizenship, is suspected of being a double-agent for
Hezbollah, the Shi’ite terrorist group created by the insurgents who toppled the
legitimate Iranian government in 1979. Prouty transitioned from performing as an
FBI agent tasked with probing crimes against Americans overseas to a clandestine
CIA operative in the Middle East with access to sensitive data.
At the EPA, Waheeda Tehseen, a 49-year old Pakistani national, who falsified
information on her government job application, attained a sensitive position as
a toxicologist at the agency. She attained this position regardless of the fact
that she was not a US citizen.
Tehseen occupied this position, one that afforded her access to classified
information, even though her husband had deep ties to Pakistani intelligence (an
organization with a history of tacit and sometimes material support for the
Taliban and al Qaeda). She and her husband, while she was employed at the EPA,
also ran an Islamic “charity” organization – Help Orphans and Widows – which
functioned as a front for Osama bin Laden’s inner circle in Peshwar, Pakistan.
HOW was found to have funneled money through the Missouri-based Islamic American
Relief Agency to al Qaeda.
An FBI agent familiar with the case said, “She had big-time contacts with
al-Qaeda, including with people just once removed from bin Laden himself.”
In each of these instances the faulty element that allowed the infiltration of
sensitive positions in the US government and the aiding and abetting of avowed
enemies of the United States was the vetting process. In the case of the two
enemy operatives in the CIA and the FBI it was not looking thoroughly enough
into their pasts, their affiliations and the facts about who they were. In the
case of USAID it was simply a lack of vetting at all.
It is, of course, easy to understand how such a thing might happen, especially
in the cases of Prouty and Tehseen. The unconstitutionally mandated shadow laws
of political correctness, which function in parallel to our legitimate
constitutionally sanctioned legal system, puts in place Gorelick-like barriers
that make it impossible to employ common sense and logic when it comes to
identifying potential enemy operatives.
People vetting potential candidates for sensitive positions cannot “dig deeper”
into someone’s past because of their nationalities or their religious
affiliations. To do so would be considered “profiling.” And while profiling has,
time and again, been proven to be one of the most effective tools in law
enforcement and maintaining national security, those who adhere to the
destructive and one-dimensional tenets of political correctness and
multiculturalism have made it socially unacceptable to employ the tool. Even
more pathetic is that those in our government have acquiesced to the will of the
American Fifth Column, placing our national security and the future of our
country at risk in order to be seen as “tolerant” and “inclusive.”
Our country is facing what I consider to be the “perfect storm.”
We have a powerful foe in radical Islamofascists who want to destroy our
country. They want to eliminate our constitutional Republic, replacing it with a
government run under the totalitarian tenets of Sharia Law. And as they prey on
the good will of the American people, extracting money under the guise of
charity for the oppressed, they have mastered the American legal system and are
effectively using it against us, even as they establish enclaves of radical
ideology within the borders of the United States.
We have another foe in the American Fifth Column, a group of visionless lemmings
adherent to the Marxist/Leninist dictums of Socialism, who promote political
correctness and multiculturalism. This group champions a mythical one-world
utopia over the principles of self-sufficiency, liberty and personal freedom.
They promote a caretaker government that provides as many entitlements and
services as can be established through the extraction of private income while
empowering that same government as the arbiter of all societal parameters
regardless of the liberties granted to us under the United States Constitution.
Lastly, we have an American citizenry, who, because institutionalized education
has moved away from instilling critical thinking skills in deference to special
interest indoctrination, doesn’t understand the ideology behind the principles
that founded our nation. Couple this with the fact that our society has grown to
be incredibly narcissistic, and you achieve a populace so apathetic and unaware
of the critical events taking place directly in front of their faces – in real
time – that their freedoms will have already been abolished before they are
motivated to defend them.
In order to quell this perfect storm, in order to survive as the constitutional
Republic, the democratic Republic that we are, we must understand the threats we
face. We must discard the ideological shackles of the American Fifth Column and
we must defend our freedoms, our liberties, and demand that our government live
up to their constitutional obligation of guaranteeing the security of the
inalienable rights set out in The Charters of Freedom.
This time, the enemies who slipped past the gate were caught. We were lucky. The
next time we may not be. Who knows, maybe the operative who will cause the most
damage is already in place. I guess we’ll know when the time comes. Then it will
be too late.
Frank Salvato is the Executive Director and Director of Terrorism Research for
Basics Project a non-profit, non-partisan, 501(C)(3) research and education
initiative. His writing has been recognized by the US House International
Relations Committee and the Japan Center for Conflict Prevention. His
organization, Basics Project, partnered in producing the first ever national
symposium series addressing the root causes of radical Islamist terrorism. He
also serves as the managing editor for The New Media Journal. Mr. Salvato has
appeared on The O'Reilly Factor on FOX News Channel and is the host of the NMJ
Radio show broadcast global on NetTalkWorld global talk radio and broadcast live
on BlogTalk Radio. He is a regular guest on The Right Balance with Greg Allen on
the Accent Radio Network, syndicated on over 25 stations nationally and on The
Captain's America Radio Show catering to the US Armed Forces around the world,
as well as an occasional guests on radio programs across the country. His
opinion-editorials are syndicated nationally and he is occasionally quoted in
The Federalist.
Annapolis' House of Cards
By Frank J. Gaffney Jr.
The Washington Times | Friday, November 23, 2007
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice behaves like a zealot. In her ever-rasher
pursuit of a Palestinian state, she exhibits the syndrome defined by the
philosopher George Santana as one who redoubles her efforts upon losing sight of
the objective.
Let's recall: The objective laid out by President Bush, when he decided in June
2002 to support the creation of a homeland for the Palestinian people, was to
provide a stable, secure neighbor for Israel, committed to leaving peaceably
with the Jewish State.
Mr. Bush explicitly preconditioned such support on: an end to Palestinian
terror; a Palestinian leadership untainted by ties to terrorism; and eliminating
the infrastructure in Palestinian areas that enables such behavior. After the
September 11, 2001, attacks, the United States was in the business of
eliminating terrorist-sponsoring regimes, not creating them.
Now, however, it is crystal-clear that the only outcome from Condi Rice's idee
fixe — namely that she will convene a Middle East peace conference at the U.S.
Naval Academy for the purpose of extracting from Israel the territorial
concessions needed rapidly to establish a Palestinian state — has nothing to do
with the original Bush vision. Under present and foreseeable circumstances, the
best that can be hoped from such a meeting for is failure. For success will
result in a new safe haven for terror that is a mortal threat not only for
Israel, but for the United States, as well.
Unfortunately, even the failure of Condi's Folly at Annapolis is likely to be a
very bad outcome. To the extent her actions are raising unwarranted expectations
on the part of Palestinians and their Arab friends, past practice suggests it
will translate into a pretext for new violence against Israel.
That will be especially true if, as is also predictable, the Israelis are blamed
for the outcome for not being willing enough — in the face of Palestinian
intractability — to make what are euphemistically called "painful" moves for
peace. Another way to describe such moves are as reckless concessions certain to
jeopardize Israel's security, and quite possibly ours.
After all, it is only reasonable to expect the West Bank to follow the
trajectory of the Gaza Strip and, before it, southern Lebanon — both of which
Israel abandoned to her foes, only to have those territories become staging
grounds for attacks on Israel and secure incubators for terror against us. Among
those operating from such areas are Islamofascist terrorist organizations like
Hamas, Hezbollah, al Qaeda and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, the newest
addition to the State Department's list of such entities.
Condi Rice nonetheless demands that Israel now relinquish the West Bank and East
Jerusalem to yet another terrorist organization: Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah. To be
sure, the secretary of state would have us believe Fatah is no such thing. In
fact, the entire Annapolis house of cards is built on the fraudulent foundation
that the Palestinian faction established by Mr. Abbas' mentor, Yasser Arafat, is
a reliable partner for peace and effective counterweight to Hamas, which now
controls the Gaza Strip.
Only a zealot who has altogether lost any sense of reality could make such an
assertion. Treating Fatah as the cornerstone of American diplomacy and demands
on Israel is nothing less than perilous and irresponsible. Consider the
following sampler of recent counter-indicators:
-- Last August, five Fatah operatives assigned to Mr. Abbas' security detail
conspired to assassinate Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert during a visit by
the latter to meet the Palestinian "president" in the West Bank city of Jericho.
After their arrest on information from Israel's internal intelligence agency,
Shin Bet, several of these individuals were released by the Palestinian
Authority.
-- This is in keeping with past practice. By some estimates, Fatah and its Al
Aqsa Martyrs Brigade have claimed responsibility for murdering roughly as many
Israelis as has Hamas. In those rare cases when the perpetrators are actually
arrested by Palestinian police, they are generally set free in short order. How
could Israel possibly entrust physical control of the West Bank — from which
virtually the entire Jewish State's population can be subjected to rocket or
even mortar fire — to people with such a record?
-- Speaking of the Jewish State, in the run-up to the Annapolis meeting, Mr.
Abbas and his subordinates have lately become quite brazen in denouncing
Israel's right to exist as such. Their statements not only speak volumes about
the degree to which Condi Rice's desperate bid for a "legacy" is now being
clearly read as bullies always do: as evidence of contemptible and exploitable
weakness. They also make a mockery of the premise that Abbas and Company are
preferable to Hamas because, unlike the latter, they are truly willing to live
in peace with their Israeli neighbors.
-- In fact, only the most willfully blind could maintain such a pretense in
light of the incessant propagandizing and indoctrination about killing Jews and
destroying Israel that passes for official or at least officially sanctioned
broadcasts, sermons and speeches emanating from Mr. Abbas' rump Palestinian
Authority.
The only Palestinian state that can possibly come from Condoleezza Rice's
zealotry will be a dagger pointed at the heart of Israel and a new safe-haven
for terror aimed at the United States and other Western nations. Even if a
corrupt and politically unrepresentative Olmert government in Israel is prepared
to play along, Americans who understand the stakes for the Jewish State as well
as our own, must reject her desperate and unacceptable bid to launch a
Palestinian one at Annapolis.
-----------------------------
**Frank J. Gaffney, Jr. is the founder, president, and CEO of The Center for
Security Policy. During the Reagan administration, Gaffney was the Assistant
Secretary of Defense for International Security, the Deputy Assistant Secretary
of Defense for Nuclear Forces and Arms Control Policy, and a Professional Staff
Member on the Senate Armed Services Committee, chaired by Senator John Tower
(R-Texas). He is a columnist for The Washington Times, Jewish World Review, and
Townhall.com and has also contributed to The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, The
New Republic, The Washington Post, The New York Times, The Christian Science
Monitor, The Los Angeles Times, and Newsday.
You Have No Right!
Ghassan Charbel
Al-Hayat - 24/11/07//
The presidential laundry is all over the lines of cable TV. Viewers realized
yesterday the pleasure of not being Lebanese. Maybe they felt some compassion.
No nation has ever been subjected to such humiliation as the islands that are
literally known as the Lebanese people. To be Lebanese means to swim in the
blood of the constitution, in oceans of humiliation, in the dark swamps of the
Lebanese miracle, and sometimes, in the blood of your neighbors and children. It
is the pleasure of not being.
All we can do is to congratulate Mr. Void for being elected as president of the
republic. Who knows? He could turn out to be a successful president.
Constitutionally and legally…clean hands; soft-spoken; considerate of the
constitution; caring for public funds; loves national unity; hates the Zionist
enemy; receives the American ambassador. And he might be loved by citizens; he
may not lecture them daily on coexistence; he may not care for hunting down the
corrupt in the alleys of the Republic; he may spare them the presidential oath
speech and the expenses of his travels to explain the Lebanese cause, which by
the way, demands no explanation.
The charms of the Republic are exposed all over cable TV stations. General
Michel Aoun's initiative deepened my preference for Mr. Void. I was expecting
the presidency to fall like a ripened fruit into his hands. The general returned
from his exile. Voters intended to forget the circumstances of his passage
through the place after the first void. They granted him their confidence. He
deserved it; his pure patriotism; his integrity unquestioned. They granted him a
respectable parliamentary delegation, positioning him as the most representative
leader within his confession. They erased the page of injustice that was once
inflicted upon him. And they selectively chose to forget some of the injustice
that he may have inflicted upon the Republic with his deafening statements and
guns.
When he concluded his famous agreement with Hezbollah, I saw in it a bold step
upon which more could be built. When he called to an end to hostile attitudes
toward Syria upon the withdrawal of its forces, I expected things to get better.
I expected him to continue launching his dialogue-based assault at the Future
Movement, the Socialist Party, and the Lebanese Forces. I also expected him to
finally say his key golden phrase, namely that he wanted to save the republic
but not the presidency. If he had done so, the presidency would have landed
right into his hands. But what he could not say back in 1988, he could not say
it this year either. He chose just the opposite; fiery statements, opening
wounds and books and graveyards. He lost his opportunity and the republic lost a
man who could have been its chance.
He could have been the savior of the republic; the godfather of its safety; and
maybe its President; and I was expecting him to be so. Who will desire the
presidency and the palace in their current state? It is permissible for one who
has been summoned by his nation to be its savior to desire the presidency? Let
us leave the 1980s aside. It is still the right of General Aoun to run as a
presidential candidate; to try to convince the others to support him; I
personally wished if deputy Saad Hariri informed him of such support in their
last meeting, but that never happened.
General Aoun is entitled to be a candidate. But it is his duty to show
commitment to democratic values and considerations. As a matter of fact, his
initiative anguished quite a few of his admirers. A queer and eccentric
initiative; what makes it even more disturbing is the fact that it is coming
from a man who accuses the others of violating the constitution and the concept
of the state and institutions. By what right does General Michel Aoun call
deputy Hariri to select the Prime Minister? Who said that the Lebanese would
accept that? Who gave him the right to make a proposal of that kind? And by what
right does he usurp the right to choose the President of the Republic? If he has
been criticizing the majority because of what he considers to be its lack of
delegation, where did he himself get the delegation to allocate posts, programs,
and deadlines? Where is the delegation General? Where is the Constitution? Where
is the Taef Accord?
I do not wish to believe that you would have accepted such an initiative if it
had been launched by someone else other than yourself. I do not wish to believe
that you washing your hands off the upcoming painful events under the guise that
your initiative has been rejected. A leader of your caliber has no right to do
that; that is not your right, especially that you have received the sword and
taken the oath. Go today General, all the way toward Mukhtara, Qoraitem, and
Me'rab. You have no right to resign from your role as savior. History will never
spare you if you did.
And if you insist on holding to your rescue initiative, I suggest adding a new
item to it: the President to be selected by General Aoun and the Prime Minister
to be selected by Saad Hariri will vow to wide open the gates for the Lebanese
to leave their country, and to invest any aid from Paris III in relocating them
in Canada and Australia. And who knows? Maybe all the Lebanese will choose to
leave and the palace will be left empty. Go General! One like you should save
the Republic, not trade in its blood