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Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Lebanon Forms New Cabinet, Hezbollah Keeps Veto Power
2008-07-12
After weeks of political deadlock, Lebanon's Prime Minister announced Friday that a new 30-member cabinet had been formed, opening the door to reconciliation among fighting factions. The country, which has suffered repeated bouts of violence over the past two years, had been without a cabinet for six weeks. Aya Batrawy has more from our Middle East bureau in Cairo.

Lebanon's Prime Minister Fuad Siniora's new unity government gives 16 seats to the Western-backed parliament majority, 11 to opposition groups such as Hezbollah and three to be chosen by the Maronite Christian president.

Prime Minister Siniora expressed hope that this newly formed cabinet will bring peace among the various factions vying for power in Lebanon. "Today, through this national unity government, we have decided to manage our disputes through democratic institutions and dialogue, and not through force and intimidation," he said.

In May, after months of internal strife and violence, the Arab League brokered the layout for the newly formed Cabinet, which gave Hezbollah and its supporters in the government veto power over government decisions.

The announcement of a cabinet comes at a crucial time for Lebanon. The country was left without a president for nearly six months until former military chief General Michel Suleiman was chosen. During that time and after, violence spilled to the streets between the Muslim Sunni and Shiite and Maronite Christian communities. Over 80 people died in May alone.

There were fears that a second civil war would erupt, just eight years after the country's 15-year civil war was put to rest.

Analyst Jamil Mroueh of the Lebanese Daily Star newspaper expressed skepticism that this newly formed Cabinet will be able to revive Lebanon's economy, which was once a hub for tourism in the region, and settle deep political rifts. "I don't think that this Government is capable of doing anything about the economy or political stability if it does not set down to talk about issues in a manner that reconciles in a positive way," he said.
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Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Berri summons MPs to presidential election on Sunday
2008-05-23
Speaker Nabih Berri on Thursday scheduled a Parliament session to elect the commander of Lebanese Armed Forces General Michel Suleiman as president at 5 p.m. on Sunday, as key Arab and international figures prepared to head to Beirut to attend the session. Among the figures expected to attend are Qatari Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, Arab League chief Amr Moussa, European Union Foreign Policy Commissioner Javier Solana and French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner.

UN Chief Ban Ki-moon and US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice were also among the expected guests, according to local media reports.

Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) leader MP Michel Aoun contacted Suleiman on Monday to congratulate him ahead of Sunday's session. "I entrust you with this delicate responsibility," Aoun reportedly told Suleiman, whose election would end a six-month presidential vacuum, making the army commander Lebanon's 12th president.

In remarks to the Kuwaiti daily Al-Qabas, Suleiman said that "the Lebanese have finally chosen the path of life."

Suleiman thanked Qatar and the Arab League for their efforts to end the Lebanese crisis. Under Qatari and Arab League auspices, rival Lebanese leaders clinched a deal on Wednesday in Doha to end the political feud that had blocked a presidential election and had exploded into deadly clashes earlier this month.
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Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Hezbollah Wins Veto After Talks End Lebanon Stalemate
2008-05-22
Lebanon's Hezbollah-led opposition won a veto over cabinet decisions as the country's factions agreed to form a unity government, following talks to end a crisis that sparked the worst fighting since the 1975-1990 civil war.
I think we've seen this one coming since they staged their coup. We can see the aftermath coming, too.
General Michel Suleiman, Lebanon's army chief, will be elected president, Qatari Prime Minister Hamad bin Jassem al- Thani said today at a televised news conference in Doha, Qatar's capital. The presidential election will take place May 25, the state-run Lebanese National News Agency said.

The deal gives the opposition 11 of the 30 seats in Prime Minister Fouad Siniora's cabinet. Under existing rules, a minority of one-third plus one can block any decision.

Securing a veto ``was Hezbollah's main victory,'' said Amal Saad Ghorayeb, author of ``Hizbullah: Politics and Religion,'' a history of the Shiite Muslim movement. ``The United States will not be very happy about that.'' The government will be unable to disarm Hezbollah -- which the U.S. considers a terrorist organization -- as required by a United Nations Security Council resolution passed in 2004, he said.

Sixteen seats will be divided among Sunnis, Christian and Druze members of Siniora's coalition. The opposition also includes the Shiite Amal party and a Christian party. The president will decide the distribution of the remaining three seats.
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Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Hezbollah forces not to enter Jumblatt's house
2008-05-12
Opposition forces are not intending to enter Harriri's and Jumblatt's houses but they have not decided on entering Prime Ministery building.

The former Lebanese minister, Wiam Wahhab, said that the opposition forces are not going to enter the houses of the leader of the pro-government bloc, Saad Harriri, and the Druze leader, Walid Jumblatt, but they are yet undecided on whether to enter the government building, where cabinet sessions are held.

Referring to the death of three Hezbollah fighters, Wahhab said that apparently Jumblatt was not involved in the killings and the act murdering the fighters may have been committed on orders from one of his aides.

After the Lebanese Army Commander, General Michel Suleiman, rescinded two anti-opposition decisions made earlier by the government, calm was restored to Beirut, which had been the scene of fierce fighting between supporters of the ruling bloc and the opposition in the past few days, with Lebanese troops patrolling Beirut after Hezbollah fighters pulled back from some of the areas they had occupied.
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Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Arab foreign ministers appeal for Lebanon ceasefire
2008-05-12
Arab foreign ministers, holding an emergency session on Sunday, appealed for an immediate ceasefire between Lebanon's political rivals to end the country's worst civil strife since the end of the 1975-1990 civil war.

Forty-six people have been killed and 128 wounded in the fighting when Iranian- and Syrian-backed Hezbollah briefly seized control of Beirut after the pro-Western government's decision to target its military communications network.

Tensions eased in Beirut on Sunday after Hezbollah fighters pulled back from areas they had seized in the western half of the capital. But violence later erupted in mountains east of Beirut between Hezbollah fighters and supporters of the pro-government Druze leader Walid Jumblatt.

"The council (of Arab foreign ministers) appeals for an immediate halt of bombings and shooting, and the withdrawal of gunmen ... and the enabling of the army to deploy in those areas," the Arab League said in a statement read by Deputy Secretary-General Ahmed Bin Hilli.

Lebanon has been in political deadlock for 18 months over opposition demands for a greater say in government.

The foreign ministers are also expected to call for an immediate deal on forming a Lebanese national unity government and the election of army chief General Michel Suleiman as president, according to an Arab League official.

The ministers, meeting in closed session, would also call for a team of "politicians, intellectuals and neutral parties" to work on drafting a new electoral law after the election of Suleiman, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem, whose country is a main ally of Hezbollah, was not present at the meeting. Syria's delegation was chaired by its ambassador to the Arab League.
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Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Rival Lebanese Leaders Set for 1st Talks in Nearly 5 Months
2008-05-03
Lebanon's feuding government and opposition leaders are poised to hold their first talks in nearly five months under Arab League auspices on Friday, an aide to Speaker Nabih Berri said. "The (opposition) speaker of parliament Nabih Berri and the leader of the (pro-government) Future Movement Saad Hariri will meet on Friday for talks also to be attended by (Arab League Secretary General Amr) Moussa," a Berri aide told AFP.

The announcement followed talks between the visiting Arab League chief and Berri, who has refused to recognize the legitimacy of the rump cabinet of Prime Minister Fouad Saniora since six opposition ministers quit in November 2006. He has since declined to convene parliament to pass government legislation and the standoff has left Lebanon without a president since pro-opposition incumbent Emile Lahoud stood down at the end of his term of office in November.
Doesn't matter, it's not like they have anything to do ...
Moussa, who has been involved in repeated efforts to broker a solution to the standoff, expressed new optimism after his latest talks. "There is a basis for understanding and a situation that could prove profitable," he said after his hour-long meeting with Berri.

The Arab League chief stressed both the "importance of dialogue" between the two sides, the opposition's key demand, and the "need to elect a new president," the consistent demand of the government.

The two sides have agreed on a compromise candidate for the presidency -- army chief General Michel Suleiman. However, they remain at odds over the make-up of a controversial government of national unity and a new electoral law.

Berri has repeatedly called for a dialogue with the ruling pro-government March 14 coalition on the two issues but the anti-Syrian alliance has said that a new president must be elected by parliament first.

A 19th attempt to elect a president has been scheduled for May 13. A previous session, set for April 22, was postponed amid continuing disagreement.
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Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Former ambassador has a surprise for Lebanon on Hezbollah
2008-04-20
Former Lebanese ambassador and intelligence chief Johnny Abdo announced the upcoming release of "very serious information on Hezbollah incursions on the heart of Lebanese institutions," which he said he expected in two weeks' time. "This incursion began in communications and in northern Metn, small parts of the Shouf, and much of the North," he added.

Abdo said whoever was to uncover the information was under the threat of assassination, confirming the appearance of a "state-within-the-state," or Hezbollah's zones and rights within Lebanon.

In an interview with Radio Free Lebanon, Abdo said that Lebanon risked sudden security incidents. "If one of the important leaders is assassinated, it will be difficult to control the Lebanese arena, because assassinations begin and end with a decision." The person who exposes such information "faces the death threat," added Abdo, an ex-director of Lebanon's military intelligence.

The former intelligence chief said he foresaw change in Syrian foreign policy, which he said was formulated by Speaker Nabih Berri. "If Army Commander General Michel Suleiman is no longer a compromise candidate, there remains no compromise or consensual candidates," he added.

Abdo said Free Patriotic Movement leader General Michel Aoun was "embarrassed by his present, and to escape his present runs back to the past." Abdo said this was the reason Aoun "opened things better left unopened."

On the disappearance of Muhammad Zuhair Al-Saddiq in France earlier this month, Abdo said the International Tribunal was the sole force which could determine whether the witness had given real or false testimonies. Saddiq resided in France, where he was under protection as the main witness to the assassination of ex-Premier Rafik Hariri in 2005. France has denied any role in his disappearance.

Abdo recalled detained Major General Jamil Al-Sayyed's statement to Justice Minister Charles Rizk and George Bashir, a journalist, in which he had said that the slain Hariri and Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Joumblatt would be joining Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea in prison.
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Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Council of Muftis calls for election of Lebanon president
2008-04-05
The Lebanese council of Muftis urged the opening of the parliament and the election of the president of Lebanon, at the end of their meeting which was held under Grand Mufti of the Republic Sheikh Mohammad Rashid Qabbani. The council of Muftis issued the following statement:
" Lebanon boycotted the summit in Damascus to express its displeasure over the absence of a Lebanese president . We strongly object to the continued blocking of the presidential elections , specially since all parties have agreed on Army chief General Michel Suleiman. It is about time the parliament is opened to elect the president of the Republic and the down town Beirut protest lifted since it paralyzed the Lebanese economy. The formation of the new government of national unity should follow as well as the an agreement should be reached on an electoral law for parliamentary elections that will be able to achieve justice for all the Lebanese people"
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Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Lebanon army chief stepping down on August 21
2008-04-04
Lebanese Army chief General Michel Suleiman said on Thursday that he intends step down on August 22 as commander of the military and expressed resentment over the continued bickering on his nomination for the presidency. "I'm tired of the ongoing bickering over my name as a consensus presidential candidate," Suleiman said in an interview with As Safir newspaper. "If one side nominates me, the other objects. If one country backs my nomination, other countries object...Every time we make a step forward, we find ourselves" facing more demands, he said.
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Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Lebanon Orders Army to 'Achieve High Combat Readiness' Against Israel
2008-03-04
(third item)

There are more signs of a wider regional war as Tears for Lebanon (TFL) and Lebanon's National News Agency (NNA) are reporting Army Commander General Michel Suleiman has ordered his officers to "achieve high combat readiness of their units to confront all expected possibilities, especially defending the southern land, maintain domestic security and stability."

General Suleiman was issuing the directives to his senior commanders of Lebanon's most important units from his headquarters at Yarze a suburb east of Beirut.

This is definitely within the time-table of Tehran as most of Lebanon's military has close relations with Damascus-Hezbollah.

He said the army's "basic duty is to prevent the Israeli enemy from occupying Lebanese territories or attempting to use them as a passage to launch an aggression against Arab brethren."

Though Lebanese units in the south began to assist Hezbollah during the 2006 war the rest of the military in the north began to realize they should cooperate with Tehran during the three month fighting last year against the suicide unit Fatah al-Islam at the Palestinian refugee camp city Nahr al-Bared near Tripoli.

Fatah al-Islam was sent by Tehran for just that purpose. Almost the day after that conflict finally ended last August General Suleiman stated publicly Lebanon can now turn its weapons against its main enemy-Israel.

Now Iran wants them to go into action and I suspect Tehran has helped re-arm Lebanon's army just as Iran has re-supplied Hezbollah. Suleiman also stated yesterday, "The army's determination is backed by the people and the resistance to confront any new Israeli aggression with all available means and capability.

Defending the land is a sacred right consolidated by international charters; it is a national priority that deserves unifying resources and efforts." He concluded by pledging the army will not fall back "if the enemy decided to occupy the south because abandoning this territory means abandoning the whole of Lebanon."

Though Lebanon has the weakest army in the region they will still be an obstacle to Israel's security in their north as Hezbollah will no longer have to face Israel by itself and Syria will also be active in the area perhaps re-entering the country not as an invader but as a military axis partner with Lebanon and Palestinian groups.
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Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Moussa extends Beirut mediation
2008-02-10
The secretary-general of the Arab League has extended his visit to Beirut to continue mediation between the Lebanese factions.

Earlier on Friday he had chosen to leave having failed to broker an agreement to elect a new president after four hours of talks in the parliament building. Amr Moussa's about-turn came after a second meeting with Nabih Berri, the parliament speaker, who is aligned with the country's opposition.

Distrust between the anti-Syrian ruling party and Hezbollah-led opposition is growing after a 15-month political crisis and three months with no president.

Moussa has undertaken two days of talks with political leaders, but has been unable to break the deadlock and said the "sharpness of the tension" had to be fixed.

Politicians have agreed on a compromise candidate, General Michel Suleiman, the army chief. Moussa said his selection was valid. However, the parliament must amend the constitution to allow a sitting military chief to be elected.

Moussa, on his second visit to the Lebanese capital this year, hosted the talks with Saad al-Hariri, the majority leader, Michel Aoun, the Christian opposition leader, and Amin Gemayel, a former president who is aligned with the anti-Syrian majority bloc.
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Syria-Lebanon-Iran
3 injured as Hezbollah-led opposition targets army and police
2008-02-02
3 young men were injured after clashes erupted this morning at around 4:00 AM over the erection of Hariri posters in the Corniche el Mazraa area of Beirut, according to Lebanon's National News Agency. The names of the injured are Mohamed Mahmoud Massara , who was wounded in the leg and head and Emad Mohammed Qasim who sustained bruises in the back and Khoder Khaled who had a nervous breakdown.

The three were injured from stone-throwing protesters according to The National News Agency . An Internal Security Forces vehicle was also damaged by the stone-throwing protestors The clashes occurred at the Abu Shaker crossroads in the Corniche el Mazraa area . Voice of Lebanon Radio station said the clashes started over the erection of posters. The media reports did not provide further details.

Similar clashes were reported last month between Al-Mustaqbal Movement supporters and Hezbollah members in the densely-populated Basta district over the erection of a poster of former Prime minister Rafik Hariri. Hezbollah members opposed the erection of the posters . Al Mustakbal Movement is headed by MP Saad Hariri, son of the slain prime minister.

Elsewhere more violence took place in Sour ( Tyre ) as Hezbollah -led opposition youths set rubber tires ablaze and tried to cut of the roads to protest against the power blackouts . The army intervened and dispersed the protesters . It appears all these incidents are targeting the Lebanese army and security forces.

Yesterday army positions were subjected a grenade and concussion bomb attacks in East Beirut's Galerie Semaan area and Saint Therese-Hadath neighborhood. Monday assailants tossed four concussion bombs on army posts in Ein el-Rummaneh, Tayyouneh, Shatilla and the Mazda area Monday night , according to Media reports Four hand grenades were also thrown at dawn Tuesday on a military position in the Saint Therese-Hadath neighborhood, one of which failed to explode. Another concussion bomb was hurled on a military post in Beirut's Talet al-Khayat district before daybreak Wednesday. A military Land Rover was damaged in the attack, but no soldiers were wounded, according to the reports.

According to reports coming from Damascus , Syria is now opposed to the election of Army General Michel Suleiman as president and this is why it (Syria) gave orders to its allies the Hezbollah-led opposition to target the army and the police force to undermine Suleiman . The assassination of Army General General Francoise Hajj last month and Top intelligence officer Captain Wisam Eid last week and the bloody riots last Sunday are part of the Syrian strategy of undermining Suleiman, the reports claim. The Syrian sources claim that President Bashar al Assad now prefers former Foreign Minister Fares Boueiz as Lebanon’s next president and this is why the regime is trying to tarnish the image of Suleiman. On the other hand the parliament majority is determined to have Suleimna as the next president.
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