Report: US Wanted Israel to Bomb Beirut in May 2008

QUOTE: BEIRUT: Israeli security website Debka Files reported on Sunday that the US had given the Israeli government a green light on May 10 to attack Hizbullah, arguing that the Jewish state's military was ready to attack Hizbullah in western Beirut and the South, but Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Defense Minister Ehud Barak, and Foreign Affairs minister Tzipi Livni were "reluctant to do so, which angered the US."

[COMMENT: this story covers two topics, the Beirut Bombing story is the second one.]

Graziano plays down chances of conflict in South

Peacekeeping force has moved into northern ghajar, commander adds

Daily Star staff

Graziano plays down chances of conflict in South

BEIRUT: Major General Claudio Graziano, commander of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), said on Monday the international force started conducting patrols on the Lebanese side of the border region of Ghajar earlier this month, reassuring the Lebanese that no war would erupt again in the South.

In an interview with As-Safir newspaper, Graziano said his forces had not faced any problems south and north of the Litani River during recent clashes between government and opposition supporters.

"The Lebanese Armed Forces [LAF] has taken security measures in the whole region and has cooperated, as usual, with the international force without facing any obstacles," he said. "All Lebanese parties have agreed to fully support UNIFIL and the latest incidents have not posed any danger on our mission."

"In fact, political and security stability in Lebanon are necessary for us to accomplish our mission successfully," he added.

Highlighting the importance of the "excellent" relationship between UNIFIL and the LAF, Graziano avoided tackling the issue of the presidential election.

"We are looking forward to boosting cooperation with the Lebanese Army and on the personal level, I have an excellent relationship with its commander [consensus presidential candidate General Michel Suleiman]," he said.

The Italian commander rejected claims that UNIFIL had become an "Israeli eye."

"We discuss with the Israelis the issue of violations when they occur but we do not give any information about South Lebanon to anyone," Graziano said, adding that the continuous Israeli violations of Lebanon's airspace are "unjustifiable."

Asked about the issue of the border region of Ghajar, Graziano vowed to deliver "good news" in the next couple of months.

"UNIFIL has started carrying out patrols in Ghajar's Lebanese part as of May 5 and now we have some information about an Israeli withdrawal from the remaining area to give way to our force to fulfill the humanitarian needs of the residents of the northern side," he said.

The default Israeli-Lebanon border, the Blue Line, places one-third of Ghajar in Lebanese territory and the other two-thirds on the Israeli side, contributing to a tenuous situation in and around the village.

According to Graziano, one cannot ignore terrorist threats because "they might happen," in reference to threats launched by Al-Qaeda second-in-command Ayman al-Zawahri earlier last month.

"We have some modern protection techniques to deal with such threats," he said, stressing the need to maintain cooperation with LAF.

Zawahiri had called on Sunni extremists in Lebanon to take up arms against United Nations peacekeepers.

About a new war, Graziano said: "There is no benefit to any party from both sides of the Blue Line to launch a new conflict south the Litani."

"But we are ready to face any threat launched by any party," he added. "I can reassure the Lebanese that there will be no war here and that we are capable of preventing any attacks."

Tackling the issue of cluster bombs littering in the South dropped by Israel during its 2006 war on Lebanon, Graziano expressed satisfaction over the efforts deployed by the UN Mine-Action Center (UNMAC), while voicing discontent with the Israeli cooperation in this regard.

"According to UNMAC, cluster-bomb-clearance operations will be concluded by the start of next spring as 60 percent of land has been cleared," he said. "The maps offered by Israel are not enough; we need the coordinates they have used to launch those munitions."

"They vowed to do so and we hope they will," he added. - The Daily Star

US urged Israel to 'surprise' Hizbullah during internal clashes - report

BEIRUT: Israeli security website Debka Files reported on Sunday that the US had given the Israeli government a green light on May 10 to attack Hizbullah, arguing that the Jewish state's military was ready to attack Hizbullah in western Beirut and the South, but Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Defense Minister Ehud Barak, and Foreign Affairs minister Tzipi Livni were "reluctant to do so, which angered the US."

The site, which specializes in intelligence and security news, quoted a high-ranking source who accompanied US President George W. Bush during his recent visit to Israel as saying "Israel missed a golden chance to destroy one of its four main rivals who threaten its security in the region, which are Iran, Syria, Hizbullah and Hamas."

The site reported that an Israeli intelligence source said that if Israel were to attack Lebanon, Hizbullah would bombard the north of Israel with 600 rockets daily.

According to Debka, the White House pressured the Israeli prime minister to go through with the attack on Hizbullah, saying that the internal struggles in Lebanon, with Hizbullah using its weapons against rival parties, presented Israel with a rare opportunity.

The site quoted US intelligence sources as claiming that Hizbullah moved 5,000 of its gunmen toward Beirut after they realized that the Israeli Army was not willing to launch any operations on the border, and it was at this moment that the US asked Israel to "surprise" Hizbullah.

The site said that the plan was for the Israeli Air Force to launch continuous strikes on Hizbullah positions in western Beirut and the South, which would allow its rivals to open a simultaneous front from the inside.

"The Israeli tank divisions would enter the Lebanese border at the same time and head for Beirut on two fronts, the first being the coastal road, and the second being the road of Nabatiyeh, Jezzine and Zhalta Aley," it added. - The Daily Star

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=2&article_id=92202

Israel Negotiating with Hamas "Terrorists"

What will George Bush do? He's always exhorting people not to deal with Hamas "terrorists." Will he punish Israel?

'Gov't negotiating with Hamas contrary to its own decision'

By JPOST.COM STAFF

Vice Premier Haim Ramon acknowledged on Monday that Israel is conducting negotiations with Hamas - contrary to the government's own policy on the matter, even if those talks are held via Egyptian mediator Omar Suleiman.

"Negotiations are being conducted with Hamas in contrast to the government's decision, which has determined that it will only be possible to deal with Hamas after it accepts the conditions of the Quartet," Ramon stated during a Gaza policy discussion which was held as part of a Kadima faction meeting.

"We aren't fighting against a terror organization, rather a state of terrorism," Ramon continued, "a terror organization has an area under its control and Israel cannot, in my opinion, make peace with a Hamas state on the southern border."

"We decided that we would speak with Hamas only if it accepts the Quarter's conditions. I really hope that we will take the strategic position to reconcile ourselves to accepting a Hamas state on our borders," the vice premier stated.

During the meeting, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said that the government would not let Independence Day celebrations and elaborate State visits detract attention from the situation in the South of the country. He reminded Kadima MKs about his comments from Sunday, in which he warned of possible action to stop the unrelenting Kassam rocket fire.

"I said the decision is getting closer and closer," Olmert said. He added that the "perpetual threat has reached a climax," and vowed not to let the current reality for residents of the South continue for much longer.

"The hour of decision is near," he assured, repeating comments he made during Sunday's cabinet meeting.

May 19, 2008 13:10 | Updated May 19, 2008 19:18

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1210668676341&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

Cause of Antisemitism Discovered by ADL Chief

QUOTE: Foxman attributed anti-Semitism to jealousy that so many Jews excel at what they do. "What is the antidote? Not to tell our children to succeed, not to win wars, not to defend our people?"

Foxman: Good PR can't stop anti-Semitism

By GREER FAY CASHMAN

The problem of anti-semitism cannot be solved by a clever publicist, several panelists at the Facing Tomorrow conference said Thursday in Jerusalem.

Abraham Foxman, national director of the Anti-Defamation League, through which he has been battling anti-Semitism for the past 43 years, said it matters little what and how Jews do - the truth has little impact on how Jews or Israel are perceived.

The paradox, he said, is that despite all evidence to the contrary, Jews believe that "it will matter what we do, what we say and how we act."

Foxman attributed anti-Semitism to jealousy that so many Jews excel at what they do.

"What is the antidote? Not to tell our children to succeed, not to win wars, not to defend our people?"

This was obviously not the solution to a persistent problem, he said.

"The perception of a Jew is irrational and it's a disease."

Adding that anti-Semitism comes out of religion or economics, Foxman said the truth matters little to the minds of those who are diseased.

Yet for all that, he said, Jews don't have a choice.

"We have to go out there and try and correct the faults of defamation."

While the Internet is widely regarded as the golden age of information, he said, "it is also the golden age of disinformation and mis-information. We are living on a super highway of canards."

According to Foxman, the Internet had changed the nature of the challenge with which Jews are confronted when combatting anti-Semitism.

American pollster and opinion analyst Stanley Greenberg, a former pollster for President Clinton, who in recent years has been commissioned by numerous Jewish organizations to take surveys on matters relating to Jews and Israel, said that, while no amount of information will change anti-Semitic attitudes, "the stakes are too high to make the assumption that we can't impact these attitudes.."

In Greenberg's opinion, Israel does not need a good publicist, it needs a good strategy.

Citing surveys that he had taken over various periods of time, he pointed out that since 9/11, Americans are more inclined to see Israel as an ally of the United States than they were before.

Maurice Levy, chairman and CEO of the Publicis group, which is the largest advertising group in Europe, was upset that in this day and age there has to be a session at Israel's 60th anniversary celebration that deals with anti-Semitism.

"[Anti-semitism] should not exist - it's almost insane. No other religion has been targeted so widely or so generally as the Jewish religion - and not just for ten years but for 2,000 years."

Focusing on attitudes in Europe, Levy said that after World War Two it was taboo to express anti-Semitism by word or deed, so people hid their anti-Semitic inclinations in public.

There was also sympathy for Holocaust survivors and the fledgling state of Israel.

But that didn't mean that anti-Semitism was not lurking beneath the surface.

After the Six Day War in 1967, he recalled, he was lunching with a colleague who said to him: "Now that you've won, you can go back to your country."

In 1977, sympathies in France shifted gears, Levy said, moving from the Jews or the Israelis to the Palestinians. People who had once supported Jews and Israel began to criticize. Their anti-Zionist criticism of Israel quickly moved to anti-Semitism, especially among young politicians and intellectuals, and for the past 15 years. extremists have been making anti-Semitic utterances on television, and using Jewish-related expressions which are unacceptable.

Linda Lingele, the first female Governor of the State of Hawaii, said that when she first came to Israel in 2004, she saw that the reality was much different from the perception.

Difficult though the task may be, Lingele was convinced that the Jewish people, acting on a one-to-one basis, can change perceptions and convince the world that Israel has the right to exist.

"As Jews we have to insist that Israel has a responsibility to exist," she said. "We have to each commit ourselves to be personal publicists for the State of Israel."

May 15, 2008 22:13 | Updated May 16, 2008 13:22

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1210668649583&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

George Bush May Have Killed His Legacy Himself

QUOTE: . . .prior to his departure from Sharm el-Sheikh, Abbas was informed that the United States intended to backtrack on efforts to achieve progress in the peace process between Israel and the Palestinians. . . a European source, who claimed that the Americans were not interested in exerting pressure or confronting Israel,. . .

[COMMENT Bush and Rice have been pushing the *idea* that they can achieve an Israel-Palestine peace agreement at some level before they leave office next January -- it was to be about the only success he would have for his "legacy." It appears that no matter what they say in public, they have adopted policies that make peace impossible. This is really not surprising: there have been reports that Christian Zionist leaders have threatened Bush more than once that if he pressured Israel they'd abandon him. Given the poor prospects for Republicans in November, Bush will have to sacrifice his "peacemaker" legacy to assure Christian Zionists will not abandon Republican candidates at the election.]

'Abbas to declare negotiations failed'

By JPOST.COM STAFF

Less than a week after a speech by US President George W. Bush spurred condemnation from Palestinian Authority officials - who accused the American leader of being one-sided in peace negotiations between Palestinians and Israelis - PA President Mahmoud Abbas has come to the conclusion that peace talks have failed, the London-based newspaper Al-Quds al-Arabi reported on Monday.

Citing PA sources, the article said that prior to his departure from Sharm el-Sheikh, Abbas was informed that the United States intended to backtrack on efforts to achieve progress in the peace process between Israel and the Palestinians. According to the paper, the report was given to Abbas from a European source, who claimed that the Americans were not interested in exerting pressure or confronting Israel, and that the US was "allowing Israel full freedom to take a stance which would serve its policies, its security, and its interests alone."

Another diplomatic source told the paper that the PA president received reports that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Shas chairman Eli Yishai had come to an understanding in which the former has promised the latter that plans to build thousands of apartment units around Jerusalem and in the West Bank would be approved - this in an attempt to reinforce the premier's foundering coalition.

Given these reports, the source told the paper that Abbas planned to give a speech in Ramallah, during which he would announce that negotiations had failed and blame Israel for the failure. The source added that the PA president would also blame the US for its lack of commitment to the peace process.

Abbas had planned to make a similar announcement following his disappointing visit to Washington in April, because he had heard that "the American government did not plan to pressure Israel into making concessions to the Palestinians," the source told the paper.

May 19, 2008 10:20 | Updated May 19, 2008 14:49

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1210668671801&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

Protest against extradition of Israeli who trained Escobar militia

Friends, former soldiers of IDF reserve officer sentenced to prison by Colombian court, after being convicted of training Pablo Escobar's militia men, rally to demand Israel prevent his extradition from Moscow

Roi Mandel

'Yair Klein risked his life saving us - now we must now save him' was the battle cry sounded by dozens of reservist paratroopers as they rallied outside the Foreign Affairs Ministry in Jerusalem on Sunday morning to protest the extradition of Lt. Col. (res) Yair Klein, who is currently being detained in Moscow, to Colombia.

Klein was convicted of training the private army of infamous drug lord Pablo Escobar. In particular, Klein was accused of teaching the militia troops how to carry out high-profile killings such as the 1989 assassination of anti-cartel presidential candidate Luis Carlos Galán.

He was convicted and sentenced in-absentia to a 10-year prison term in 2001 by a Colombian court. Since that time, the Colombian police have launched a manhunt for the fugitive 61-year-old, who in 2007 made Interpol's list of wanted criminal.

Last August, Klein was finally spotted and arrested at a Moscow airport by Russian authorities.

The Russian Supreme Court will assemble on Wednesday to discuss the appeal filed by Attorney Mordechai Tzivin regarding Colombia's request for Klein's extradition.

With the court date looming, Klein's colleagues from his military service decided to launch their campaign to convince the Foreign Ministry to rescind the extradition. In a letter sent to Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, Klein's friends protest the "abandonment" of a fellow soldier in the battlefield.

"We all know that turning him over to Colombia means a death sentence for Yair Klein," Yoel Sharon, a disabled IDF veteran and Klein's subordinate in the Yom Kippur War told Ynet. "We mustn't abandon a warrior who saved the lives of dozens of Israeli soldiers... the power to save him from the noose is in our hands."

Amnon Schwartz, a paratrooper whose life Klein saved in the Suez Canal, believes his ex-commander is an innocent man who is being falsely accused: "Yair is being charged with immoral crimes, yet I there is no one in the world who shares the moral values Yair has, at least no one I know.

"Israel must take care of him because he is one of the country's best men. Yair has never abandoned a fellow soldier in the battlefield. Time after time, he would enter Suez under heavy fire to rescue about 60 soldiers. Now it's his turn under the fire and the country is ready to abandon him?"

Published: 05.18.08, 16:37 / Israel News

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3544752,00.html

Israel Core Issue in Osama Bin Laden's Fight

This is nothing new: Osama mentioned Isreal in his first tape in 2001. George Bush even mentioned Israel in his first speeches about 9/11. But news media and Bush then left the Israel part of the message out: they didn't want anybody to risk blaming Israel for 9/11.

Osama bin Laden targets Israel on anniversary

By David Blair, Diplomatic Editor

Osama bin Laden vowed to reclaim "every inch of Palestine" today when an audio tape purporting to be from the al-Qa'eda leader was released.

The message was timed to coincide with the 60th anniversary of Israel's foundation.

So far, the tape has not been authenticated. But the words used were consistent with bin Laden's earlier messages.

"We will continue, God permitting, the fight against the Israelis and their allies," said the voice, which sounded like bin Laden's.

"We will not give up a single inch of Palestine as long as there is one true Muslim on earth."

The terrorist leader's latest missive - the fourth to have appeared so far this year - was addressed to "Western peoples" and entitled: "The Causes of Conflict on the 60th Anniversary of the State of Israeli Occupation".

The significance of the tape lies not in its message but the proof offered that bin Laden is alive and at liberty.

Moreover, his ability to release regular missives to his global circle of followers shows that bin Laden has a sophisticated network around him.

In the tape, bin Laden says: "To Western nations: this speech is to understand the core reason of the war between our civilization and your civilians. I mean the Palestinian cause.

"The Palestinian cause is the major issue for my [Islamic] nation. It was an important element in fueling me from the beginning and the 19 others with a great motive to fight for those subjected to injustice and the oppressed," added bin Laden, in reference to the number of terrorists who launched the Sept 11 attacks on America.

Bin Laden said Western leaders were insincere in their expressed desire for Israeli-Palestinian peace and failed to criticise Israel for its attacks against the Palestinian people.

"Peace talks that started 60 years ago are just meant to deceive the idiots," said bin Laden. "After all the destruction and the killings ... your leaders talk about principles. This is unbearable.

"You describe Palestinian organizations as terrorists and you boycott them and punish them while Israelis are killing civilians, women and children," he added.

A spokesman for the Israeli government said: "We do not relate or pay attention to the words of this terrorist lunatic. The time has come for him to be apprehended and pay for his crimes."

The general assumption is that bin Laden has found refuge in the Tribal Areas lining Pakistan's north-west frontier with Afghanistan.

This was the 18th message that bin Laden has released since the terrorist attacks on September 11. Of these, six have been videos and 12 audio tapes.

The last video message appeared in September 2007 - and that contained only a single still image of bin Laden.

This reluctance to release visual images of the al-Qa'eda leader may have two possible explanations. He might have changed his physical appearance in order to avoid capture - or he could be ill and unwilling to show his frailty to the world.

Last Updated: 10:29PM BST 16/05/2008

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/1965813/Osama-bin-Laden-targets-Israel-on-anniversary.html

Bush's Other Middle East Enemy: Food

QUOTE: Analysts and officials worry that the crisis could result in food riots. The anger has taken on an increasingly anti-U.S. tone, even among elected officials. Egyptian lawmakers, for example, have accused the United States of causing the crisis by conspiring to keep their country dependent on wheat imports.

Food crisis creates an opening for Muslim fundamentalists

Borzou Daragahi / Los Angeles Times

By Borzou Daragahi, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer

AMMAN, JORDAN -- The smell of freshly baked bread calms the room filled with women in frayed cloaks and worn slippers. Grateful for the assistance, they walk out of a Muslim Brotherhood social service center into the trash-strewn alley, clutching plastic bags packed with flat bread loaves.

For five years, the Jordanian government has clamped down on the Islamist group's electoral ambitions and its charity programs, suspicious it was using good deeds to win political support.

But the global food crisis has carved out new opportunities for the Brotherhood and other hard-line groups across the Muslim world. Increasingly unaffordable prices underscore criticism of autocratic governments and drive more people toward fundamentalist groups. Though the Brotherhood fared poorly last year in municipal elections, it has been steadily gaining ground in recent months, sweeping votes for the leadership of Jordan's professional associations.

"We used to win some and lose some. Now, we win all of them," said Zaki Bani Arshid, leader of the Islamic Action Front, the political party of the Muslim Brotherhood in Jordan. "The government which tried to marginalize us politically for years has now given us a big gift."

The increase in food prices has challenged America's goals in the Middle East at a critical juncture, when it is attempting to win support from friendly governments for an Israeli- Palestinian peace initiative and for confronting Iran and Al Qaeda.

Analysts and officials worry that the crisis could result in food riots.

The anger has taken on an increasingly anti-U.S. tone, even among elected officials. Egyptian lawmakers, for example, have accused the United States of causing the crisis by conspiring to keep their country dependent on wheat imports.

"If we look at these main factors behind the increase in world food prices and the specter of famine and political turbulence, we will easily reach the conclusion that [the] Bush administration and the bunch of neoconservatives and their foolish policies in waging external wars . . . are, in practice, behind this deep crisis," said an April column in the pro-government daily newspaper Al Watan in Oman, a staunch U.S. ally.

"America is being held responsible for what is happening," said Arshid, of Jordan's Islamic Action Front. "It's supporting these corrupt regimes."

The frustration is potentially more explosive here than in more democratic parts of the developing world.

"People can tolerate anything except when it comes to food," said Labib Kamhawi, a Jordanian economist and critic of the government. "The security establishment cannot open a file for the hungry like you can for the political activists. One day you'll wake up and see havoc."

Officials throughout the Middle East have begun importing food, implementing price controls, slashing import duties for foodstuffs and locking in prices for future purchases of wheat and rice. They've also begun preparing local fields for wheat production and making monetary reforms.

Morocco has decided to spend $2 billion to raise public-sector wages. In Egypt, where subsidized bread is synonymous with the people's bond to the state, deadly riots broke out during the 1970s when then-President Anwar Sadat considered slashing the subsidies. President Hosni Mubarak is working to calm an explosive atmosphere marked by a rising inflation rate, labor unrest, strikes and fears that long bread lines may again appear.

Both Jordan and Egypt have raised government salaries and pensions by more than 20%. And Lebanon's Ministry of Social Affairs plans to increase by eightfold the number of people it aids.

Jordanian government officials consider the economic situation their highest priority, a grave, snowballing threat, analysts said. Officials remember the riots that erupted in 1971 when the price of sugar went up and in 1996 when bread prices jumped.

"The government understands the severity of the situation," said Fahd Khitan, a columnist and editor for the independent Amman daily Arab Today.

But awareness has not been enough to forestall the economic repercussions in a country where per-capita annual income is about $5,500 and 60% of workers earn fixed wages as public-sector employees.

Meat and chicken prices have risen 30% since October. The price of a dozen eggs has nearly doubled, to $2.30. And produce has climbed at an even higher rate, with squash soaring from 25 cents a pound to 80 cents and tomatoes from 9 cents a pound to 45 cents.

Jordanians say they've seen able-bodied men sifting through garbage bins. Middle-class families have begun selling off personal belongings to maintain their lifestyle or forgoing fruit or lamb for weeks.

Mohammed Hadid, a leader of a tribe from which the armed forces draw recruits, was shocked when a retired soldier from his tribe told him he had not eaten meat in five months.

"It's still sinking in," Hadid said.

Despite the global nature of the price increases, governments across the Arab world have come under particularly harsh criticism.

Public service employees, especially those who've served in the security forces, cling to the vision of the state as a caretaker. But policies adopted in recent years have decreased official control of prices. Privatization efforts and free-market slogans have only fueled perceptions of corruption, giving teeth to claims that the region's pro-U.S. governments are corrupt lackeys serving only the elite.

"The economic team doesn't believe in the poor," said economist Kamhawi, who often confers with ranking Jordanian officials. "They only care about the rich. They say, 'The poor are failures. We have no interest in helping failures.' "

Opponents of the U.S.-backed governments in the Middle East have been locking on to the food crisis.

"Let the Workers Eat Cake," blared a headline on the front page of the April 30 edition of Al Akhbar, a Lebanese daily newspaper allied with the Shiite militia Hezbollah. The headline accompanied an article about how the government has delayed a decision to increase the minimum wage.

Other than Islamic charities and social wings of militant groups such as Hezbollah or Hamas, there is no tradition of charitable giving to alleviate pressures on the poor.

In Pakistan, parents increasingly send children to religious madrasas instead of public schools, lured by the free lunches. Madrasas have been prime recruiting grounds for militants.

In Lebanon, Saudi-funded Sunni Muslim charities and political parties, as well as Hezbollah, shield their followers from the worst effects of the rising food prices.

"This system of financially helping the poor by political groups has created a great deal of . . . allegiance to politicians and not to state institutions," said analyst Ziad Ayoubi.

In Jordan, the Islamic Action Front has ramped up its charity programs, offering food baskets and financial help to 32,000 families. Requests for help have jumped 30% this year, said Murad Adaileh, who oversees the group's social services programs. Applications for free bread have jumped 50% since the beginning of the year.

On some days, the line outside the food distribution outlet stretches into the streets. The poor come in droves. Wafa Mansour, 39, a cherub-faced mother of two, visits every other day for bread. "Everything is very expensive," she says. "I can't buy vegetables or meat."

Opposition elements led by the Islamic Action Front have called for strikes to protest the prices and the government's privatization plan and are convening a workshop this month to discuss the situation.

"The [Islamists] will reap the benefits" of the crisis, said economist Kamhawi. "They will win by default."

Analysts and officials worry that the middle class will be sapped of its purchasing power and that more young Muslim men will be driven toward extremist groups.

Arab states are considering the creation of an emergency fund to help alleviate spiraling food prices, according to the Jordanian news agency, Petra.

Many Jordanians say members of the army, the pillar of the regime, are being struck hardest by the crisis, unable to make ends meet on salaries of less than $10 per day.

"When you talk to the police officers and the army they're more and more complaining about everything," said Mohammed Masri, an analyst at the Center for Strategic Studies at the University of Jordan.

Hadid, the tribal leader, recently received reports of security forces selling weapons.

"In the days to come, Al Qaeda won't need to bring weapons and bombs from outside Jordan," Hadid said. "They'll get it from here. The circumstances will allow Al Qaeda to penetrate the security apparatus."

He paused. "There will be explosions."

May 18, 2008

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-food18-2008may18,0,2913579.story

Did Hezbollah Thwart a Bush/Olmert Attack on Beirut?

By FRANKLIN LAMB

This week Israel's Military Intelligence Chief, Major General Amos Yadlin complained to the Israeli daily Haaretz that "Hezbollah proved that it was the strongest power in Lebanon... stronger than the Lebanese and it had wanted to take the government it could have done it," He said Hezbollah, continued to pose a "significant" threat to Israel as its rockets could reach a large part of Israeli territory."

Yadlin was putting it mildly.

But what Intelligence Chief Yadlin did not reveal to the Israeli public was just how "significant" but also "immediate" the Hezbollah threat was on May 11. Nor was he willing to divulge the fact that he received information via US and French channels that if the planned attack on Lebanon's capitol went forward that Tel Aviv was subject, in the view of the US intelligence community to "approximately 600 Hezbollah rockets in the first 24 hours in retaliation and at least that number on the following day".

The Israeli Intel Chief also declined to reveal that despite Israel's recent psyche-war camping about various claimed missile shields "the State of Israel is perfecting", that this claim is being ridiculed at the Pentagon. "Israel will not achieve an effective shield against the current generation of rockets, even assuming no technological improvements in the current rockets aimed at it, for another 20 years. And that assumes the US will continue to fund their research and development for the hoped for shields" according to Pentagon, US Senate Intelligence Committee, and very well informed Lebanese sources.

The planned attack on Beirut

According to US Senate Intelligence Committee sources, the Bush administration initially green lighted the intended May 11 Israel 'demonstration of solidarity with the pro-Bush administration militias, some with which Israel has maintained ties since the days of Bashir Gemayal and Ariel Sharon.

In the end, "the Bush administration got cold feet", a Congressional source revealed. So did Israel.

Israel was not willing to proceed with the original Bush Administration idea which was to have Bush attend the May 15 Israel anniversary celebrations following the Israeli attack meant to hit Hezbollah hard, and give Bush the credit for coming to the dangerous region. The message was to be that Bush comes to the rescue 'on horseback and leads the US Calvary charge straight out of a B western movie where the bugle would sound and flag would be unfurled and the white hat good guys would show their stuff before riding into the sunset and back to Texas, leaving the results to the likely Obama administration to sort out.

The plan involved Israeli air strikes on South and West Beirut in support of forces it was assured would be able to surprise and resist Hezbollah and sustain a powerful offensive for 48 hours.

Also presumably disturbing to Israel was the report it received that Hezbollah "had once again in all probability hacked its "secure" military intelligence communications and the fear that the information would be shared with others.

The Hezbollah rout of the militias in West Beirut plus the fear of retaliation on Tel Aviv, ruining 60th anniversary celebrations, forced cancellation of the supportive attack.

Israel limited its actions to sending two F-15's and two F-16's into as far North as Tyre, one more of literally hundreds of violations of Lebanese airspace, sovereignty and SCR 1701.

Clearly frustrated, Cabinet Minister Meir Sheetrit said Israel should not yet take any action now, but warned" those things could change if Hezbollah takes over Lebanon." a few minutes earlier he had declared that Hezbollah had done just that and had treated the Lebanese army as a doormat.

Later in the Sunday cabinet meeting, Minister Ami Ayalon called for an emergency meeting of the political-security cabinet to discuss "the ongoing crisis in Lebanon and why Israel was not assisting friendly forces."

Minister Yitzhak Cohen (Shas) said that "Israel must immediately ask the [United Nations] Security Council to hold renewed discussions over resolution 1701." The minister was referring to the resolution that stopped the Israeli actions against Lebanon during the 34-day between in 2006, maintaining a fragile cease-fire.

Finally Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert informed Israeli supporters in Lebanon, through the media, and presumbly other means that" Israel was following the violence in Lebanon closely, but would refrain from intervening. Deputy Defense Minister Matan Vilnai told Army Radio Sunday that Israel was prepared for the possibility that the situation in Lebanon will deteriorate into another civil war (meaning future opportunities for Israeli influence and interventon in Lebanon) and that the current fighting could end with a Hezbollah takeover of the government. "We need to keep our eyes peeled and be especially sensitive regarding all that is happening there," Vilnai told Army Radio.

The Bush administration, also disappointed, switched tactics and is opting for domination of the narrative of the fairly complicated events of the past week and using their media and confessional allies to launch a media blitz (minus Future TV for a few days} to flood the airways with:

· Hezbollah staged a coup d'état. Even Israel, if not the Bush administration, concedes Hezbollah has no interest in taking over the Government. (One observer, paraphrasing Winston Churchill's comment, deadpanned, "Some Hezbollah Coup! Some Hezbollah Etat!")

· Hezbollah brought it forces from the South and occupied West Beirut: Hezbollah not only did not bring their forces from the South to Beirut (rather they remained on alert for an Israel attack down South)

· Hezbollah broke its pledge not to use Resistance arms against Lebanese militias and shot up West Beirut.

The facts are very different when viewed close up on the streets here.

When the Lebanese Resistance took the decision during the early hours of Friday morning to engage in civil disobedience, it delayed its actions so as not to preempt the Labor movement strike for higher wages which it supported. When the marching Strikers were prevented from moving into West Beirut the Opposition extended its civil disobedience manifestation.

Various militias, including the smartly outfitted Hariri "Secure Plus" with its distinctive maroon tee-shirts and beige trousers, (now know locally by some as "Secure Minus") a hoped for future Blackwater operation in Lebanon disintegrated surprisingly quickly because many of its green recruits brought down from Tripoli felt misled and betrayed regarding their job description as they were handed weapons an instructed to fight Hezbollah. Snipers from anti-Opposition factions killed civilians from rooftops in Beirut trying to ignite a civil war.

Hezbollah, acting in self defense, according to various officials, quickly clamped down on the trouble makers, took control of the streets, within hours handed them over to the army, and virtually evacuated West Beirut, retaining one position near Bay Rocks manned by unarmed representatives.

Meanwhile the Hariri influence has been greatly weekend in Akkar near the Palestinian Refugee camp of Nahr al Bared and in the Tripoli area. According to some political analysts, including, Fida'a Ittani, a regular columnist for the independent pro-opposition newspaper Al-Akhbar, wrote on May 14, the Future Movement, defeated in Beirut, no longer has any serious influence in the north.

Several Salafi al Qaeda admiring movements are present in Lebanon and like Fatah Islam's declaration this week that they will fight for the Sunnis, they vary in their attitudes from silent opposition to Future leader Saad Al-Hariri to fully supporting him as the leader of the Sunnis. These groups are valued by certain 'leaders' in Lebanon because are the only ones with coherent structures at the ideological, political, technical, and field levels.

Judging from Saad Hariri's confused statements at his subsequent news conference and statements by other parties, the bitterness of promised but unforthcoming assistance was evident.

For two days following the debacle of his forces imploding the head of the Future Movement said nothing. Finally on the 14th he broke his silence. The Halba massacre, committed by Hariri's Mustakbal militiamen which brutally and barbarically murdered 11 people from the opposition did not seem worthy of discussion as he spoke. In a press conference on Tuesday, Hariri simply ignored what all the Lebanese had seen on TV from weapons, ammunition and alcohol found in Future movement offices, and instead listed a series of delusions. "We awaited an open war on Israel, and yet here is an open war on Beirut and its people" he stated. Some interpreted this rather odd statement either as a subconscious slip of the tongue on Hariri's part expressing his frustration that the Israelis help did not arrive or that his reported earlier incoherent state persisted.

Hariri's original speech was so confused that the Saudi channel al-Arabiyya stopped broadcasting it and only read excerpts from what he said, without showing his recorded speech.

When American criticism resumed, and Hezbollah fighters withdrew from the alleys surrounding his house, Hariri was urged to stand up and speak again, this time with a stronger tone, saying "This has been decided by the Iranian and Syrian regimes that wanted to play a political game in Lebanon's streets. For us nothing has changed. We will not negotiate with someone having a pistol pointed to our heads."

Anger at the Bush administration and Israel by certain warlords in Lebanon must feel much like the frustration of Secure Minus personal who rushed from Tripoli and felt misled, abandoned and cheated.

May 16, 2008

http://counterpunch.com/lamb05162008.html

Accused AIPAC Israel Spy Turns Peacenik

Embattled Aipac Lobbyists Take Divergent Paths

Weissman Dons Keffiyeh, Rosen Maintains Stance on Mideast

By Nathan Guttman

Washington - In this city, keffiyehs - the Arab headdresses closely associated with the Palestinian cause - are regular sights at Middle East-related events. But at an event last fall, one keffiyeh in particular drew stares and gasps.

The checkered scarf in question was wrapped around the neck of Keith Weissman, the man once recognized as a top analyst at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, the powerhouse pro-Israel lobby. These days, of course, Weissman is better known as defendant No. 2 in United States v. Rosen and Weissman, a case in which he and another former Aipac analyst, Steve Rosen, have been accused of handing over top-secret American documents to foreign officials and journalists. Both have pleaded not guilty.

The intertwining tales of powerful lobbyists and backroom Washington meetings have brought worldwide attention to the investigation and indictment. But less has been said about the surprising and very different paths taken by the two, as they adjust to life as unemployed, indicted defendants in the midst of a seemingly endless legal battle.

The Rosen-Weissman duo is usually mentioned as an inseparable pair, but, while the men remain close friends, people close to them say that they hold different views on many topics - starting with the hot-button issues on which they used to work. And although neither will speak to the press on advice of legal counsel, numerous conversations with friends and sources paint a vivid picture of their divergent paths post-indictment.

Rosen, the group's former policy director, continues to take a front-row seat at major foreign policy events and has positioned himself as a continuing presence in the ongoing debates about the Middle East. Weissman, on the other hand, has put a distance between himself and his former identity as a pre-eminent pro-Israel lobbyist.

Weissman has told friends that, free of the constraints posed by his employment by Aipac, he now sees himself as returning to his roots as a peace activist.

"I decided not to suppress my political views any longer," Weissman, age 55, told a friend, according to sources close to the situation.

In addition to the keffiyeh, this has meant sporting a longer haircut and the earring that his Aipac superiors asked him not to wear. He has also offered to volunteer with Americans for Peace Now and Human Rights Watch - though he was politely turned down, sources say, presumably because of the difficulty in associating with a person under indictment for espionage charges.

The saga began in August 2004, when the FBI raided Aipac's offices in Alexandria, Va. The following April, the two were dismissed by Aipac and a few months later they were indicted. The indictment charged both men with one count of conspiracy under the Espionage Act and Rosen with an additional count of passing classified information.

Lawyers for both Rosen and Weissman - they have separate legal teams - have said the charges are unfounded and that the activities in question are routine elements of the work of many lobbyists.

For Weissman, the first months of the current ordeal were apparently the worst. The firing and the accusations of breaking the espionage law led him to a personal crisis, friends said, causing an emotional breakdown for which he required psychological treatment.

Most of his contacts in the American administration, the Israeli government and Aipac itself have cut their ties with Weissman, sources say, and he himself has been careful not to initiate contact, fearing that others might end up in trouble. Many people who previously had contact with Rosen and Weissman told the Forward they were questioned by the FBI.

Without a job, Weissman now spends his time writing, walking his two golden retrievers and working out at the gym, according to friends. He helped his 17-year-old son study for his driving test and took his family to the Baseball Hall of Fame.

But the lack of a job has taken a toll on Weissman, who friends say struggles with not having a schedule - "sometimes he doesn't even know what day it is," one noted. In addition, though his wife is a lawyer at a white-shoe law firm, the family is said to be concerned about funding college tuition for the eldest of their three children.

Rosen, 65, has encountered some similar problems, sources say. The lobbyist, whose Rolodex once included every major player on the Washington foreign policy scene, has suddenly found himself isolated. Last week, at a Washington think tank event, Rosen came across a colleague he had known for three decades. The two didn't even exchange greetings.

Rosen - who has three children, the youngest 8 years old - is now doing some part-time consulting work. According to media reports, he also relies financially on help from unnamed supporters, though sources say that some of those mentioned in the reports have since received calls from the FBI.

Rosen frequently described his job at Aipac as "my life's work," in which he invested endless hours and a great deal of personal commitment. Indeed, these days he is still trying to maintain his status as a leading expert on Middle East foreign policy by spending hours surfing the Internet for every tidbit of news and attending various briefings around the city.

Weissman, on the other hand, is described by people close to him as having always been to the left of Aipac's political line. As a graduate student at the University of Chicago, he used to drive around with a bumper sticker calling for a "free Palestine."

Weissman began working for the lobby shortly after the Oslo agreements were signed in the 1990s, and he focused mainly on issues related to the peace process. As the accord seemed to unravel, he moved on to deal with Iran and oil. Neverthless, within Aipac he was said to have developed a reputation for being critical of Israel's actions regarding the Palestinians.

"He was the lobby's leftist," an acquaintance said.

In addition to the political differences between Weissman and Rosen, friends say they have also developed different attitudes toward their trial, which is set to begin in January 2008. Rosen is said to be optimistic and believes that an acquittal is inevitable. Weissman, on the other hand, believes he is innocent but seems less hopeful to friends and observers.

But both are said to be thinking about life after the trial. Rosen does not rule out going back to his old job at Aipac, if acquitted, though it is not clear how possible that will be. The former policy director, who was a household name in the corridors of power, wishes to return to "doing something big," as sources close to him have said.

Rosen is also interested in dealing with another problem he claims surfaced during this case: the strong anti-Israel sentiment among individuals in Americas intelligence community, which he believes is what led to the investigation against him in the first place.

Weissman has, perhaps predictably, taken a more combative approach to his former employer. Friends say he is in the process of writing a tell-all book about the past few years. Sources say he recently waived an estimated $250,000 in lawyers' fees from Aipac in order to ensure that he would not be restricted in the future from criticizing the group.

Patrick Dorton, a spokesman for Aipac, said, "Aipac is fully paying for Keith Weissman's defense through appeal if necessary."

Weissman is also said to have become disenchanted with many on the left, who, driven by their resentment of Aipac, did not take on the free-speech issues raised by the case.

As for the future, Weissman's friends say he hopes to do work related to promoting Middle East peace or to focus on issues stemming from his personal encounter with what he sees as the government's attempts to limit public discourse on policy issues.

In the interim, the two defendants mark the time since the investigation began by watching their families grow older. Rosen's daughter started college the year the investigation began, and she is now close to graduation. Weissman's son started high school at the same time and is currently readying for his senior year. Friends say that the question in the Weissman family is who will graduate first: the father from his lengthy legal ordeal or the son from school. Weissman, who has clearly been pushed into a certain pessimism, is said to believe his son will be first.

Wed. Sep 12, 2007

http://www.forward.com/articles/11608/

Levantine Politics as Tangled as Ever

Levantine politics are notoriously complex, with divisions along sectarian lines and further divisions within sectarian communities; with groups forming alliances only to switch them and ally with former enemies. No wonder novices like George Bush and Condoleezza Rice don't really understand what's going on and so make flawed decisions. Poor Condie: the monolithic Soviet Union (her specialty) was sooo much easier to understand. Here's some explanation (or at least narrative) of recent events in Lebanon.

The enemies within

By Zvi Barel

Sad and tired, wearing shabby clothes and with tears in his eyes, Druze leader Walid Jumblatt stood on the veranda of his luxurious home in Beirut's Clemenceau neighborhood and explained his decision to television viewers. A few hours before the interview, he had called his political rival, Talal Arsalan, and asked him to coordinate with Hezbollah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah the cessation of the fighting in Mount Lebanon, Aley, Chouf and the Maten region, the power centers of the Druze. In return, Jumblatt ordered his people to lay down their arms and hand them over to the Lebanese Army. Within the framework of the well-planned battle Hezbollah is conducting with the aim of changing the balance of power in Lebanon, the Mount Lebanon struggle, involving rival Druze families, might constitute Nasrallah's most important victory.

After having occupied Beirut within hours and demonstrating his power in the northern city of Tripoli, Nasrallah succeeded not only in taking over the mount, but also in handing a huge victory to the Syrians. Arsalan, an ally of Syria, is now the mediator on behalf of that country, while Jumblatt is standing around, waiting for Nasrallah to put forward his next conditions.

A small account and a large insult are now being settled between Arsalan and Jumblatt. Arsalan's rivals among the Druze relate, among other things, that he laundered money the Syrians received from Saddam Hussein in case it would be needed later in an emergency. According to them, the money laundering was accomplished through the Lebanese Al-Mawarid Bank, owned by the Kheireddine clan, to which Arsalan's wife belongs. When she decided she wanted to divorce her husband upon learning that he was having sex with his chauffeur, the Syrians began to pressure her family to order her to change her mind - after all, they still needed the bank's services. But the Syrian aid was not of much help to Arsalan in the 2005 elections. Back then Jumblatt won in the town of Choueifat, Arsalan's stronghold, but now the wheel has turned. Arsalan is striking back at Jumblatt.

Political kaleidoscope

In internal Druze politics, this is a big deal; in Lebanese politics it is a routine matter. Shifting alliances, the betrayal of partners and the adoption of new ones are part and parcel of Lebanese politics, which in part accounts for its uniqueness. This is the way it works now and this is the way it has worked for generations. This is how Lebanon has lured foreign elements - be they French, Syrian or Israeli - into playing its domestic game, in the mistaken belief that its sectarian structure is easy prey for dragging the country to their side.

It is enough to examine the political career of Jumblatt - who is today considered anti-Syrian, but was pro-Syrian in the past; at various times he was both pro- and anti- Palestinian, and an ally of the Shi'ites as well as their determined enemy - to understand the workings of Lebanese politics. Another telling sign is the change undergone by General Michel Aoun, who fought the Syrians bravely in 1990 and was forced into exile in Paris for about 15 years as a result. Today Aoun is Nasrallah's dear Christian ally and has adopted a pro-Syrian stance, at least according to his statement. Lebanon truly is a political kaleidoscope.

"The Lebanese democracy is steeped in local colors. The rules taught in the political science department do not apply to it. The results of elections alone are not sufficient for running the country. Representation is lacking in a situation where not all the Lebanese families are participating in the government banquet and the decision-making banquet," is how Ghassan Charbel, editor-in-chief of the London-based Arabic newspaper Dar Al-Hayat, puts it. Participation in the banquet is one thing. But Nasrallah now intends to preside over the event itself, while his rivals wail and hope that he will leave them an adequate part of the feast. Throughout the week it was possible to hear the wails of the losers, among them Prime Minister Fuad Siniora who, in lacerative rhetoric, described Hezbollah as "insurrectionists," exactly the same word Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas uses to describe Hamas. "They have stabbed democracy in the back," "They have colonized the center of Beirut," "We thought the enemy was Israel but now the enemy is here within," Siniora fired off.

Former president Amin Gemayel also attacked Nasrallah at a press conference he gave on Monday, in front of a large picture of his son Pierre, who was killed about a year and a half ago by assassins, apparently affiliated with the Syrian regime. However, Siniora, Jumayyil, Samir Geagea - the fearsome commander of the Phalanges - and Walid Jumblatt all stood beggars this week, waiting for Nasrallah to have his say.

The term that kept coming up was "dialogue," negotiations among the groups, or more precisely, "renewed participation in the banquet." Each of them have their own conditions. Siniora outlined his in the most detailed manner. For his part, he will revoke the decision that constituted the proximate cause of the explosion - that is to say, Nasrallah's private communications network will not be uprooted and the issue will be sent for examination to the army. In addition, the security chief at Beirut International Airport, Wafiq Shuqair, will be reinstated. In return, Hezbollah will withdraw all its armed forces from the streets, leaving the army the only power in charge of security. According to Siniora's proposal, after these conditions have been met, an agreed-upon president will be chosen - at present, the most likely incumbent is Michel Suleiman, the commander of the army - and, the most important condition as far as Siniora is concerned, Hezbollah's use of arms will be brought up for discussion in a joint dialogue between the sides.

It is worth paying close attention to the formulation. Siniora is wary of talking about disarming Hezbollah, and said: "We have never sought the disarmament of Hezbollah." He just wants to set conditions for the group's use of arms. By Monday these conditions had changed. After it emerged that Hezbollah had gained control over Mount Lebanon and Jumblatt gave the order to lay down arms, Amin Gemayel, a leader of the Christian Phalange Party, came along and stipulated only one condition for holding a national dialogue: that Hezbollah make a commitment never to use weapons against Lebanese in Lebanon. This is the ironclad condition. A mere commitment. Not disarmament and not discussion on the use of weapons.

A short time later Talal Arsalan, the new Druze leader, appeared and announced that all the weapons of the coalition - i.e., the Christians and the Sunnis - must be handed over to the army. Arsalan made it clear that he knows the locations of all the arms depots and that he has the names of those men bearing arms, and emphasized that there is thus no point in trying to cheat him. And so the wheel turned: Those who had demanded that Hezbollah lay down its arms are now being told to disarm.

The diva's role

And these were just the opening salvos of the media diplomacy in which the sides engaged this week, as a continuation of the armed diplomacy. The next stipulation was advanced by Druze Member of Parliament Wiam Wahab, a Hezbollah supporter, who called on the army to enter the government palace and eject Fuad Siniora.

At the moment, this is the goal of Nasrallah and his partner Michel Aoun, who has made it clear that the precondition for any negotiations is an agreement to establish a national unity government, in which Hezbollah and its partners will be ensured a total of one-third plus one of all government members. This ensures Hezbollah veto power over any major governmental decision. These are the conditions put forth by the party considered the victor of the present crisis, with the aim of preventing a swift descent into an all-out civil war.

"Those who love Lebanon do not sing in honor of its jailers. You have described to us the nation of dreams, do not diminish that dream the way the dictators of Damascus have diminished our dream of a democratic and free country," pleaded Lebanese MP Akram Chehayeb.

The Druze Chehayeb, a member of the Progressive Socialist Party headed by Walid Jumblatt, addressed his plea to the national diva, the singer Fairuz. He issued this emotional call because she agreed - after some 30 years of absence from Damascus - to participate in the opera "Awaken!" (Sah al Noum), which was produced in Damascus in the framework of a festival celebrating its inauguration as "the capital of Arab culture for 2008."

Today the MP will need far more than that. It is those forces singing in honor of Syria that are dictating how Lebanon is run. The question now is not whether Siniora's government will fall, but rather when and how. This will be the grounds for the next demonstration of force between Hezbollah and the government. The relative quiet that has prevailed in Lebanon in recent days should not mislead anyone. Nor should the deployment of the army. Nasrallah is now loping toward the government building.

Last update - 20:21 16/05/2008

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/984023.html