Lebanon

GALLUP
December 24, 2007
by Frank Newport


PRINCETON, NJ -- This time of year provides an opportunity to answer frequently asked questions about exactly where America stands today in regard to religion, based on Gallup's extensive archives.

Christmas is obviously a Christian holiday. But what percentage of Americans today identify with a Christian religion?

About 82% of Americans in 2007 told Gallup interviewers that they identified with a Christian religion. That includes 51% who said they were Protestant, 5% who were "other Christian," 23% Roman Catholic, and 3% who named another Christian faith, including 2% Mormon.

Because 11% said they had no religious identity at all, and another 2% didn't answer, these results suggest that well more than 9 out of 10 Americans who identify with a religion are Christian in one way or the other.

Has this changed over time?

Yes. The percentage of Americans who identify with a Christian religion is down some over the decades. This is not so much because Americans have shifted to other religions, but because a significantly higher percentage of Americans today say they don't have a religious identity. In the late 1940s, when Gallup began summarizing these data, a very small percentage explicitly told interviewers they did not identify with any religion. But of those who did have a religion, Gallup classified -- in 1948, for example -- 69% as Protestant and 22% as Roman Catholic, or about 91% Christian.

It's one thing to identify with a religion, and another to be actively religious. What percentage of Americans are actually members of a church?

Sixty-two percent of Americans in Gallup's latest poll, conducted in December, say they are members of a "church or synagogue," a question Gallup has been asking since 1937.

And how has that changed over time?

It's down in the recent years of this decade and down a little more compared to the time period prior to the late 1970s. In the 1937 Gallup Poll, for example, 73% of Americans said they were church members. That number stayed in the 70% range in polls conducted in the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s. By the 1970s, however, the number began to slip below 70% in some polls, although as recently as 1999, 70% said they were church members. Since 2002, self-reported church membership has been between 63% and 65%.

OK, but being carried on a church's roll doesn't necessarily mean one is active in that church, does it?

It does not. That carries us into the realm of self-reported church attendance, which is a complex arena. Scholars over the years have argued about the precise validity of self-reported attendance data. Some argue that respondents either a) deliberately over-report the frequency of their church attendance because it is socially desirable, or b) generalize and guess at the frequency of their church attendance rather than pinning it down specifically.

Having said that, the most recent Gallup assessment shows that when given a choice between five response categories to describe how frequently they go to church -- "once a week," "almost every week," "about once a month," "seldom," and "never" -- only 17% of adult Americans say they never attend church. In other words, more than 8 out of 10 Americans say they attend church or other worship services at least "seldom."

But attending church could mean attending a wedding or a funeral, for example.

Yes. The question simply asks: "How often do you attend church or synagogue?" and doesn't specify for what reason. So some of those who say they seldom attend could be reporting that they go for weddings or funerals rather than to personally worship.

How many Americans can be classified as frequent church attenders?

Based on the responses to this question, about a third say they attend once a week, with another 12% saying they attend almost every week. This means that about 44% of Americans report what can be called frequent church attendance -- almost every week or every week.

Are there other ways of measuring church attendance?

Yes. Gallup has long used a somewhat controversial question: "Did you, yourself, happen to attend church or synagogue in the last seven days, or not?" In recent years, between 40% and 45% of Americans have said "yes" to that question, yielding an estimate that is similar to the one derived from the question reviewed above about frequency of attendance.

Why is this question controversial?

Sociologists and other scholars have attempted to calibrate the "last seven days" response against other ways of measuring church attendance, and have argued that it produces an overestimate. Some scholars actually traveled around an Ohio county and totaled the attendance at every church in that county, even including counting cars in parking lots.

They found that the actual "warm bodies" in churches added up to a significantly lower number than what the residents of that county had reported in a survey. Other scholars have looked at church attendance as reported in time diaries where people mark down everything they do day after day. In these instances, the diary entries for church attendance appear to be less than the 40% to 45% figure that people report in response to survey questions.

Nevertheless, the self-reported data give us a useful measure to trend over time. We find that it's remarkably stable. The high point in "last seven day attendance" appears to have come in the 1950s, when at one point 49% of Americans said they had attended church in the last seven days. In 1940, at the end of the Depression and just before America's involvement in World War II, the figure was 37%, and has been in the high 30% range in just a couple of years since then.

But in general, year after year, roughly the same percentage of Americans -- in the low 40% range -- report to survey interviewers that they have gone to church within the last seven days.

Are there other measures of the actual impact of religion in Americans' daily lives?

Yes. One measure Gallup has tracked over time asks respondents to indicate how important religion is in their own lives -- very, fairly, or not very important.

This year, 56% of Americans have said religion is very important. Only 17% say religion is not very important.

Has this changed over time?

Yes. A couple of measures of this question from the 1950s and 1960s indicated that at that time, over 70% of Americans said religion was very important in their daily lives. That percentage dropped into the 50% range by the 1970s, and since then it has fluctuated somewhat, but has generally been in the 55% to 65% range.

The responses to the "importance of religion" question -- taken together with some of the previous data discussed -- seem to suggest a pattern by which at least 80% of Americans are religious on one indicator or the other.

Yes. To summarize, more than 8 in 10 Americans identify with a religion and 8 out of 10 say that religion is at least fairly important in their daily lives; more than 8 out of 10 say they attend church at least "seldom"; and again more than 8 out of 10 identify with a Christian religion.

Do you ask Americans about the influence of religion in society?

Yes, since 1957 Gallup has periodically asked this question: "At the present time, do you think religion as a whole is increasing its influence on American life or losing its influence?"

In December of this year, 32% said religion was increasing its influence, and 61% losing its influence, with the rest volunteering that it was staying the same or not giving an answer.

How does that compare historically?

There's been a lot of variance in these responses over the decades. Back in 1957 -- during the halcyon days of the Eisenhower administration -- 69% of Americans said religion was increasing its influence. And in December 2001 -- just months after the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the United States -- 71% said religion was increasing its influence in American life, which is the highest reading on that measure in Gallup Poll history. But by 2003, the percentage saying religion was increasing its influence had dropped back into the 30% range and though it has been as high as 50% since then, it is just 32% today.

On the other hand, in a couple of polls conducted in 1969 and 1970, only 14% said religion was increasing its influence -- the lowest readings on record. That of course was during an era replete with hippies, protests, Woodstock, drug use, and other indications of a less than devout, religious population. Another time period with a low "increasing its influence" percentage was in the early 1990s.

Survey Methods

Results are based on telephone interviews with 1,027 national adults, aged 18 and older, conducted Dec. 6-9, 2007. For results based on the total sample of national adults, one can say with 95% confidence that the maximum margin of sampling error is ±3 percentage points. In addition to sampling error, question wording and practical difficulties in conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into the findings of public opinion polls.

THE JERUSALEM POST
December 24, 2007

If a nuclear war between Israel and Iran were to break out 16-20 million Iranians would lose their lives - as opposed to 200,000-800,000 Israelis, according to a report recently published by the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), which is headed by Anthony H. Cordesman, formerly an analyst for the US Department of Defense. The document, which is largely theoretical due to the lack of verified knowledge in some areas - specifically in terms of Israel's nuclear capability - paints various scenarios and attempts to predict the strategies of regional powers, as well as the US.

The report assesses that a nuclear war would last approximately three weeks and ultimately end with the annihilation of Iran, due to Israel's alleged possession of weapons with a far larger yield. Israel, according to the assessment, would have a larger chance of survival. The report does not attempt to predict how many deaths would eventually be caused by possible nuclear fallout.

Even if Iran gained the means and knowledge to create nuclear weapons, according to the report it would still be limited to 100 kiloton weapons, which can cause a far smaller radius of destruction than the 1 megaton bombs Israel allegedly possesses.

Possible targets for an Iranian strike are the Tel Aviv metropolitan area and Haifa bay, while the list of possible targets in Iran includes the cities Teheran, Tabriz, Qazvin, Esfahan, Shiraz, Yazd, Kerman, Qom, Ahwaz and Kermanshah.

The report cites Israel's Arrow missile defense system as an obstacle facing a possible Iranian strike and says that it could shoot down most of the missiles. Israel, on the other hand, would be capable of hitting most of the Iranian cities with pinpoint accuracy due to the high resolution satellite imagery systems at its disposal.

Another scenario presented by the report includes Syria joining the bandwagon in case of a war and lobbing missiles with chemical and biological warheads into Israeli cities. According to the report, up to 800,000 Israelis would be killed if that were to happen. Syria, however, would be forced to grapple with the deaths of approximately 18 million of its citizens were Israel to respond with its nuclear arsenal.

Israel, the report says, would launch a nuclear attack on Cairo and additional Egyptian cities, and would destroy the Aswan Dam if Egypt joined the fray.

Beirut - November 10, 2007

Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir is putting together an initiative to facilitate the election of a new head of state by proposing a list of three-to-five presidential candidates so that MPs can elect one of them.
The daily newspaper an-Nahar attributed the information to officials who held talks Friday with visiting French presidential envoy Claude Gueant.

"The Bkirki initiative, for which foreign and domestic support is being marshaled, goes along the lines of putting together a list of three-to-five presidential candidates," the report stated.

Such a list, the report added, would be referred either to Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri for consideration with Parliamentary majority leader Saad Hariri, or to Parliament for the nation's legislators to elect one of them.

Gueant's mission, according to an-Nahar, focused on "testing" Syrian President Bashar Assad's response to the Bkirki initiative and awaits a "guarantee" from Berri that a Parliamentary session would be held to elect a new president succeeding Syrian-backed Emile Lahoud whose extended term in office expires on Nov. 24.

Berri was quoted by an-Nahar as telling the French envoy that it is "only normal to accept presidential candidates proposed by Bkirki on a consensus base and unanimously backed by Christians."

In answering a question as to whether he and Hariri would support a candidate proposed by Bkirki, Berri said: "yes, but the important issue is to achieve Christian agreement on the consensus candidate, whom I will accept unconditionally."

An-Nahar reported that efforts are underway to arrange a Berri-Hariri meeting to "find a political exit for postponing" a parliamentary session set for Monday to elect a president.

Gueant held a series of meetings during his one-day mission in Beirut Friday, stressing that Paris "strongly supports consensus" among the rival Lebanese factions on a presidential candidate.

Gueant, the French president's chief of staff, urged the Lebanese to elect a new president on time and according to the constitution, "in such a way to preserve Lebanon's sovereignty and independence."

He held separate meetings with Sfeir, Prime Minister Fouad Saniora and Berri, who is aligned with the Hizbullah-led opposition and who expressed optimism France could break the deadlock.

"No doubt, we're counting on France's efforts, especially after the talks between Presidents Bush and Sarkozy," Berri said.

The visit came a few days after Gueant and Jean-David Levitte, Sarkozy's chief international adviser, held talks in Damascus with Assad whose country has been accused by the United States and Lebanon's anti-Syrian parliamentary majority of blocking the presidential election.

Gueant said French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, who visited Lebanon with the Italian and Spanish foreign ministers last month, will be in Beirut early next week to continue French efforts on the presidential election.

"France has distinctive relations with Lebanon and President Nicolas Sarkozy has strong relations with the Lebanese people. Therefore, he cannot watch seeing Lebanon plagued by crises," Gueant said upon arrival at Beirut airport.

"Hence, he attaches great importance to the presidential election in Lebanon being held on time and according to constitutional rules and respect of Lebanon's sovereignty and independence far from any foreign interference," he added.

Beirut - November 10, 2007

The U.S.-based World Maronite Union has set up a special fund to finance the purchase of real estate in Lebanon to prevent Hizbullah from setting up a "mini Iran" in the multi-sect country.
The union, in a statement published by Kuwait's as-Siyassa newspaper, noted that Iran has allotted 14 billion dollars to finance the purchase of property owned by Christians in south, east and Mount Lebanon to "link Shiite populated sectors with the aim of setting up the Islamic Republic of Lebanon."

The statement, issued by WMU chairman Sami el-Khoury, said "millions of square meters of land have been sold between 1992 and 2005."

Hizbullah-affiliated investors and real estate companies have purchased land from Christians in areas east of the southern provincial capital of Sidon, Jezzine and the western sector of the Bekaa valley stretching as far east as the town of Zahleh, the statement said.

It said the Iranian government has recently "allotted 30 billion dollars" to finance the project that also aims at linking the Shiite-populated south to the Shiite-populated Baalbek-Hermel Province that borders Syria.

Such a project, according to the statement, also aims at linking the Hermel region to Shiite Villages in Byblos and Kesrouan provinces by purchasing the Christian-owned highlands of the western mountainous range.

"Speedy efforts are underway to ….set up the mini Iran in Lebanon," the statement warned.

"The WMU has decided to sound the alarm and urge Immigrant Maronite Communities and wealthy Lebanese to finance the World Lebanese Fund to confront this conspiracy."

The fund, the statement said, aims at purchasing land from Christians who need to sell "to preserve the Christian nature of these areas and avoid demographic changes.

Beirut - November 7, 2007

Human Rights Watch called for the immediate release of Syrian dissident Faeq al-Mir on Wednesday who was arrested last year after he telephoned Lebanese leftist Elias Atallah to express his condolences over the murder of fellow anti-Syrian Lebanese politician Pierre Gemayel.
The plea came as a Damascus court prepared to deliver its verdict in a case that could see him jailed for life.

The New York-based human rights watchdog appealed to the court to dismiss what it called "politically motivated charges" against Miir for contacting a Lebanese politician who is part of the country's anti-Syrian governing coalition.

"Syria's arrest and prosecution of Faeq al-Mir reveals the government's intolerance for even the slightest hint of opposition," said the watchdog's Middle East director Sarah Leah Whitson.

"Mir faces the possibility of life in prison or even execution for phoning a Lebanese opponent of Syria's policies there."

Mir, who is a leader of the leftist People's Democratic Party, was arrested in his hometown of Latakia in December last year after he telephoned Atallah to express his condolences over the assassination of Gemayel.

He is charged with "undertaking acts that weaken national sentiment" and "communicating with a foreign country to incite it to initiate aggression against Syria or to provide it with the means to do so." The latter charge carries a potential life sentence.

In recent years, the Syrian government, which has imposed a state of emergency ever since it first came to poser in 1963, has taken a tough line with dissidents who question its policy towards Lebanon.

In May 2006, the authorities detained 10 dissidents who had signed a petition calling for radical reform in Damascus's relations with its smaller neighbour. Several have since been sentenced to lengthy jail terms.

Mir was one of six Syrian dissidents in jail or custody who were signatory to a letter published in the Beirut daily An-Nahar on May 1 in which they complained of the "repressive climate" in their country.

"Our situation as prisoners of conscience is part ... of the crisis of public freedoms and human rights in Syria, which started with the state of emergency imposed 44 years ago," they said in the joint letter smuggled out of Adra prison near Damascus.(AFP-Naharnet)

Saturday October 13, 2007

Israel's air strike inside Syria last month was directed at a site judged by Israeli and U.S. intelligence analysts to be a partly constructed nuclear reactor, The New York Times reported in Sunday editions.

Citing U.S. and foreign officials who had access to the analysts' intelligence reports, all who spoke under condition of anonymity, the Times said the reactor was apparently modeled on one in North Korea used for stockpiling nuclear weapons fuel.

The targeted Syrian facility appeared to have been much further from completion than an Iraqi reactor the Israelis destroyed in 1981 in an attack the September 6 incident echoed, according to the Times, again citing U.S. and foreign officials. It also said Bush administration officials had been divided over the attack, with some seeing it as premature.

Some officials said the facility was years away from being used to produce spent nuclear fuel that could eventually be used for weapons-grade plutonium. The internal Bush administration debate over a possible Israeli attack on the reactor began last summer, the Times said.

It remained unclear how far Syria had gotten with the plant before the attack, what role North Korea might have played and whether a case could be made it was intended to produce electricity, the newspaper said.

U.S. and foreign officials refused to be drawn out on whether they suspected North Korea of having sold or given the plans to Syria, but some officials said it was possible a transfer of technology occurred several years ago.

Israel confirmed earlier this month it had carried out an air strike on Syria, but the two countries have given little information on the target.

Information on the raid has been under tight wraps in both Washington and Israel, the newspaper said, restricted to a handful of officials, and Israeli media have been barred from publishing information about it.

But a senior Israeli official said the attack was meant to "re-establish the credibility of our deterrent power," the Times said. Several U.S. officials told the paper the strike may also have been intended for the attention of Iran and its nuclear program.

White House spokesman Tony Fratto declined to comment on the Times story. Israel also refused to comment, the Times said.

U.S. officials said the partially constructed Syrian reactor was identified earlier this year in satellite photographs. Those officials also suggested Israel brought the facility to U.S. attention.

The newspaper also reported that Vice President Dick Cheney and other hawkish members of the administration contended that the same intelligence that prompted Israel's attack on the reactor strengthened the case for U.S. reconsideration of negotiations with North Korea over ending its nuclear program, as well as Washington's diplomatic posture with Syria.

Copyright © 2007 Reuters Limited

Beirut - October 13th, 2007

Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir Said Saturday that only "heaven" can help solve Lebanon's ongoing political crisis.

"Our affairs appear to be extremely complicated and no one can solve them for us unless we plead with God," Sfeir told reporters.

He also urged the Lebanese to "pray so that heaven can have mercy on us."

Sfeir had held separate meetings with Maronite leaders of both majority and opposition factions in an effort to arrange a settlement to the ongoing political crisis.

Beirut - October 11, 2007

Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun stressed Thursday after a meeting with Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir that no political faction in Lebanon control's the majority in parliament to elect a president.
"We are ready to meet the other side to discuss positive ideas … Our proposals focus around respecting the constitution and consensus" on a presidential candidate, Aoun told reports at Bkirki, seat of the Maronite church.

Aoun and ex-Mp Suleiman Franjieh "briefed the patriarch and the bishops on "all the developments that lead us to where we are," the FPM leader said.

"The meeting will be followed up tomorrow with the other side, we hope a bottom line for solving the crisis could be reached," Aoun added.

"We are sending a message of hope to the Lebanese and we are prepared to cooperate with all (sides)to find an exit out of the crisis," he added.



An attempt by Bkirki to reconcile feuding Christians ahead of a presidential election faced a rough start when a meeting with Christian opposition leaders started 10 hours later than scheduled.

Aoun and Franjieh arrived in Bkirki after dusk and went into a meeting with Sfeir.

The meeting, originally set for Thursday morning, was postponed and no official explanation for the delay was available.

After a one-hour meeting with the bishops Sfeir hinted that Bkirki was not behind the move to reschedule the meeting with Aoun and Franjieh.

"Ask others" about the change of schedule, an unhappy Sfeir told reporters.

A meeting scheduled for Friday with pro-government Christian leaders was still on, Sfeir stressed.

Earlier, secretary of Bkirki Father Michel Aweet announced that Thursday's meeting had been postponed to an unknown date, while MP Ibrahim Kenaan, secretary of the Change and Reform Parliamentary bloc, insisted the gathering was still on.

Kenaan's assurances and the arrival of Aoun's personal photographer at Bkirki around 10 am, shortly before the meeting was due to take place, led journalists to believe that the talks would nevertheless be held later in the day.

But after Sfeir's announcement, journalists were asked to leave Bkirki.

Voice of Lebanon's Bkirki correspondent had earlier said she believed the delay was a camouflage for security reasons. VOL quoted sources with the Free Patriotic Movement as saying that Aoun would dispatch a delegate to Bkirki within the next few hours to set a new date for the meeting.

The daily An Nahar said Sfeir was expected to stress in Thursday's meeting the need to take part in the upcoming presidential election to prevent a constitutional vacuum.

It said Aoun, in turn, was likely to put forth ways to reach a "unified Christian view."

An Nahar said that for this reason Aoun would call for a dialogue to discuss various political, financial and economic issues, in addition to topics dealing with U.N. Security Council resolutions and ways of implementing them, Palestinian refugee camps and Hizbullah arms.

Beirut - October 11, 2007

Syrian President Bashar Assad slammed Lebanese leaders accused of siding with Israel and succumbing to foreigners instead of adopting the so-called Arab path and the resistance option.

In an interview published Thursday, Assad said of the neighboring nation which was dominated by his regime for nearly three decades: "It is impossible to build a relationship with some parties who in Lebanon ... are close to Israel, submit themselves to foreign countries and do not believe in Lebanon."

He told the Tunisian daily al-Shuruk, in an interview reprinted by official Syrian media: "Most of the forces who hold power in Lebanon have adopted this position which rebounds on Syrian-Lebanese relations."

Lebanon has been in crisis for months since pro-Syrian ministers pulled out of the government of Western-backed Prime Minister Fouad Saniora, creating political paralysis.

Assad said "there have always been in Lebanon forces attached to the Arab (identity). But there are also forces which, since Lebanon's creation and even before, have tied their fate to the West, thus putting (their country) in danger."

"These forces link Lebanon's fate to that of regional conflicts, which signifies that Lebanon will not know stability in the near future."

Referring to the agreement which ended Lebanon's 1975-1990 civil war, the Syrian leader said: "Lebanon knew stability after the Taef accord when it chose the Arab path and resistance against Israel. The day it went back on this choice it again experienced instability."

Under the Taif agreement, all factions disarmed their militias with the exception of the Shiite militant group Hizbullah which fought last year's war with Israel.

Assad stressed: "Lebanon was stable when it followed the Arab line, supported the resistance and opposed itself to Israel."(AFP)

Beirut - October 9, 2007

Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir has stepped in yet again in an effort to prevent what was said to be "marginalization" of Christians and in hopes to reach consensus on a presidential candidate.
The daily An Nahar on Tuesday said Sfeir has authorized Bishop Samir Mazloum to prepare for a Maronite meeting ahead of the Oct. 23 session to elect a new president for Lebanon.

It said Bkirki's initiative, which is reportedly backed by the Vatican, would be the "last decisive chance" to try to reconcile disputes over the next president.

The initiative was originally designed to bring the warring Christian leaders together in one central meeting to be held in Bkirki on Thursday, Oct. 11.

The initiative, however, settled for separate talks to be held on Thursday, Oct. 11 and Friday Oct. 12 that would pave the way for a joint meeting between pro- and anti-government Maronite leaders.

An Nahar said the decision to hold separate meetings came after opposition Christian leaders refused to meet face-to-face with their rivals from the ruling majority before the way is paved for such a conference.

In turn, An Nahar said, Christians from the March 14 ruling coalition rejected meeting with their opponents before a 10-month-old sit-in erected by the Hizbullah-led opposition in downtown Beirut was dismantled.

An Nahar said Thursday's meeting would comprise representative from the opposition and March 8 Forces, while the Friday gathering would involve March 14 delegates.

Beirut - October 5th, 2007

Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir said he wants very much to have a new President for Lebanon who is capable of turning the country into a safe haven again.
"We are looking to have a president who realizes the difficulties Lebanon is facing," Sfeir said after meeting officials on Thursday.

Sfeir said he was also looking to have a new head of state "who could make Lebanon a prosperous and safe country again."

Sfeir cited "emigration" to Gulf nations as well as to the U.S., Canada and Australia by young Lebanese seeking safety and better career opportunities as one of the problems facing Lebanon.

September 25, 2007

For a poor Lebanese farmer, the cannabis plant sprouting from the fertile ground of the Bekaa Valley is a blessing from God.

For his country, it symbolizes the dwindling authority of a state weakened by factional conflict.

Surveying a field of the spindly leafed plants, he explained how the government usually sends tractors to destroy the valuable but illegal crop. But this year, they never came, allowing him to reap his first harvest in years.

"Praise God -- he wanted to compensate us," he said, declining to give his name. "It's been 12 years -- farmers have been going backwards, debts have been mounting up."

With Lebanon's government paralyzed by political conflict and its army bogged down in a war with militants, farmers have made the most of a security vacuum to grow what locals describe as one of their best cannabis crops since the 1975-1990 civil war.

In the chaos of war in the 1980s, Lebanon emerged as the Middle East's main source of narcotics, producing up to 1,000 tonnes of cannabis resin annually and 30 to 50 tonnes of opium, from which heroin is made, according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).

For Bekaa Valley farmers, those were the good old days, said Ali Hamiyeh, mayor of the village of Tarayah.

"The financial situation was very good. People could do everything, there were no economic restrictions," he said.

"Now things are different."

The end of the civil war and reconstruction of the state spelled the end for large-scale farming of narcotics, which during the conflict had found their way by land and sea to the streets of Europe. The smaller quantities produced since the war are mainly consumed locally, farmers say.

ANYTHING GOES

Lebanese and Syrian security forces eradicated the crops between 1991 and 1993, UNODC says. Unable to make a decent living from wheat or barley, farmers would plant limited areas with cannabis in the hope it would go unnoticed.

"They would farm a bit here, a bit there. This year they farmed a lot," Hamiyeh said.

The farmers were emboldened by a sense the government was losing its grip, weakened by conflict between anti-Syrian factions and others allied to Damascus. The army, meanwhile, was busy fighting Islamist militants in north Lebanon in a bloody battle that dragged on from May to September.

The control Damascus used to exercise over security in the country ended in 2005 when Syrian troops were forced to withdraw.

"Respect for the state has fallen across Lebanon. With the political conditions and divisions, anything goes," Hamiyeh said.

The cannabis crop is sold directly to local producers of hashish, the resin made from the plant which is usually smoked.

"They come, cut the crop and pay," explained the farmer. A cannabis field of 1,000 square meters is worth $1,000 to its owner, against $50 for the same area of wheat, he said.

IGNORED BY STATE

The farmer this year only planted a fraction of the cannabis he used to grow during in the civil war, but said he might sow more next season: "We'll monitor the situation and see.

"The great thing about cannabis is that it doesn't need anything. Two kilos of seed cost 10,000 Lebanese pounds ($7)," he said. The plant hardly requires water and can grow without fertilizers or pesticides which add to the cost of other crops.

Farmers have no choice other than to grow cannabis "so that we don't fall into debt and are forced to sell our land," he said. "The state has turned its back on farmers."

The Ministry of Agriculture admits it has few resources to subsidize cultivation of other crops.

"The budget of the agriculture ministry is very, very limited, meaning the ministry cannot offer anything to these people," said Samir el-Chami, director of planned resources at the ministry. Projects launched in the early 1990s and aimed at finding alternatives to cannabis farming have failed, he said.

Security forces were destroying cannabis crops this season, as in previous years, he said. But farmers would continue to farm the plant as long as it is profitable and there are few alternatives.

"People will keep the view that 'whenever I get the chance and I can escape the state, I will grow this crop."'

Beirut - September 25th, 2007

Al-Moustaqbal Movement leader MP Saad Hariri stressed Tuesday that the Lebanese would elect a new president without Syrian influence, called for getting rid of Syrian President Bashar Assad's regime and warned Hizbullah against rejecting the Taif accord.


In an interview with Fox Television, Hariri said: "Time is of essence, and we have to elect a president. I believe that we will elect a president because we will not let the Syrian regime win over us on such an issue."

"I believe that the Lebanese – the opposition and us – will have to find a president for all Lebanon and for all Lebanese people. We will keep on pushing for that, and we believe that the March 14 coalition has a majority; we are the majority and we will keep on pushing to elect our president," he added

Hariri stressed that "we are looking for a consensus, and we believe that through a dialogue with the opposition, people will calm down when they see the challenges and threats that Lebanon will face without a president. Lebanon without a president is something dangerous for all of us, for the majority and for the opposition. The opposition knows that very well."

Hariri insisted on blaming the Syrian regime for the serial killings targeting anti-Damascus Lebanese figures.

"I have no doubt that the Syrian regime is after all of us: they killed my father, Gebran Tueni, Basil Fuleyhan, Pierre Amine Gemayel, Walid Eido, and Antoine Ghanem. They will kill as many members of parliament of the majority who represent the Cedar Revolution as possible. This is their way. They have never stopped. They will never stop," Hariri said.

He stressed that the "international community has a responsibility. It can do a lot. The problem is, the international community condemns and condemns. The problem is that the killing has not been only targeting Lebanese members of parliament. My disappointment is that the UNIFIL was attacked and all the international community was able to do is condemnation."

"With a regime that is willing to go for as far as killing 6 members of parliament in the last two years, is condemnation enough? I think this regime needs to be isolated … The solution is not in getting rid of the regime of Saddam only but of the regime of Bashar also," Hariri said.

He expressed the belief that "there will be justice. An international tribunal will be hopefully established by the beginning of the year. This is our hope. This is for the Lebanon, for the Lebanese people and for all those who have been assassinated, and even for those who had been assassinated before my father."

"All the assassinations that occurred in Lebanon, like the (1977) assassination of Kamal Jumblat and others, were committed by the Syrian regime. But there was no justice, and the perpetrators were not punished. But now and for the first time in Lebanon's history and in Lebanon's democracy that an international tribunal has been set up to give us justice. We do not want political justice, and we are ready to accept any decision to which the tribunal would come up," Hariri added.

He said the Syrians "think that the more they kill people, the more they will affect our ability to continue and fight for our Cedar Revolution. The March 14, 2005 was a historical day in Lebanon, and they want to erase that historical day from the minds of the Lebanese people. This is something that a regime such as the Syrian regime cannot face, because it was an uprising of Muslim and Christian people."

"This is something that could be fatal for such a regime. That's why they want to kill those members of parliament to get rid of the majority, and they will go after the leadership of this majority," added Hariri.

The young leader stressed that "we want peace. We don't want to be against Syria, but we want Syria to respect us. We want diplomatic relations with Damascus. We have agreed on that in the national dialogue talks. We are not the ones who are killing Syrian members of parliament, but they are the ones who are killing Lebanese members of parliament. We need and we want from Syria to just involve itself with its internal politics and to solve its problem of the Golan Heights. They should not interfere into our life. They should not tell us how to resist or to liberate our Shebaa farms. We will do it as a government, and we will do it as Lebanese people. We will do it as united Lebanese, and they should not interfere in our problems."

Hariri defended U.N. Security Council Resolutions 1559 and 1701 .

"The 1559 is not just words on paper. The Syrians left Lebanon, and this is something that we have gained. We should preserve and protect what we have achieved. On 1701, we have already sent the Lebanese army to South Lebanon while we were unable to take this step during the past 25 years. We have about 12000 UNIFIL troops in the South; this is also something that has been accomplished. I think that it is not going to be a short-term process," he explained.

Hariri expressed gratitude to foreign states that had supported the Lebanese Army in its 106-day battle against Fatah al-Islam terrorist in the northern refugee camp of Nahr al-Bared.

"President Emile Lahoud claims that he has built the army, while the army has been ill-equipped. The army has no ammunitions when it was fighting in Nahr Al- Bared. The army has run out of ammunition in a week, but thanks to the United States and thanks to other allies like the Europeans, the Saudis and the Egyptians, the Jordanians, and the Emiratis, the army was able to accomplish its mission in Nahr Al-Bared. We need to rebuild our army and our internal security forces in order that all Lebanese – no matter to which political party they belong – feel safe and protected. This army and this ISF will be able to protect Lebanon from any foreign enemy," Hariri said.

He warned the Iranian-backed Hizbullah against rejecting the Taif accords, noting that:

"Hizbullah has said on many occasions that they are with the Taif agreements, and if they do challenge these agreements they will be committing the biggest mistake. Honestly, this will turn Lebanon upside down."

Beirut - September 23rd, 2007

Lebanese President Emile Lahoud, whose mandate expires in November, has insisted on serving his full extended term despite pressure from a majority that considers him a puppet of neighboring Syria.
Backed by Damascus and its Lebanese allies, mainly the Shiite militant group Hizbullah, he has resisted a barrage of calls for his resignation and been snubbed for the past two years by most Western states.

When his term expires on Nov. 24, the 71-year-old former army chief, known for a perennial smile and year-round suntan which triggers critics to claim that he spends most of his time at the beach, will complete nine years in office.

He was elected president in 1998 and had been due to step down in 2004, but the country's then powerbroker Syria pushed through parliament a controversial constitutional amendment extending his term for three more years.

His own Maronite church strongly opposed his re-election and the anti-Syrian ruling majority and Western officials have since boycotted him.

He in turn has refused to recognize the legitimacy of Prime Minister Fouad Saniora's government following the November resignation of six pro-Syrian ministers.

Lebanon has been in political limbo since the February 2005 murder of former Premier Rafik Hariri, which forced Syria to end its 29-year military presence in the country.

Four top Lebanese generals close to Lahoud have already been jailed under the international investigation into Hariri's murder in which senior Syrian officials have been implicated. Syria denies any links with the assassination.

Born January 12, 1936, Lahoud hails from the mountain town of Baabdat, east of Beirut. He comes from a Maronite family that has produced cabinet ministers, MPs, military men and magistrates.

His mother and wife are both of Armenian descent and he has three children. His eldest son was a member of parliament between 2000 and 2005.

Lahoud entered the political arena after a long military career.

He first enrolled in military school in 1956 and became a naval officer in 1959 before earning a maritime engineering degree in Britain and completing military training in the United States.

After his return to Lebanon, he was promoted to commander in the 1970s and held several senior positions at the defense ministry before becoming commander-in-chief of the army in November 1989.

His troops took part in the October 1990 Syrian-led military offensive that ended the rebellion of then-Prime Minister General Michel Aoun, who was later forced into exile in France.

Ironically, the two men are now in the same opposition camp.

After the end of the 1975-1990 civil war, Lahoud succeeded in reuniting and rebuilding the Lebanese army, which had splintered during wartime into feuding Christian and Muslim factions.

He gave cautious backing for Hizbullah's fight against Israel's occupation of south Lebanon that led to a unilateral Israeli withdrawal in May 2000 during his first mandate.

However, he took no steps to assert Lebanese military control over the south until an Israeli offensive in July-August 2006 forced Hizbullah to end its military presence on the borders with the Jewish state.

Parliament first elected Lahoud as president in October 1998. He promised then to establish a state of law and to put an end to endemic corruption in public life.
But he was unsuccessful, hampered by the cronyism that lies at the root of Lebanese society.(AFP-Naharnet)

Beirut - September 21, 2007

Lebanese Christians said on Friday that the murder of yet another Christian MP was aimed at reducing their community's historically prominent role but balked at being dragged into another civil war.
"There is a general feeling that we are targeted as Christians," cried a mourner who did not wish to be identified during the funeral of Antoine Ghanem, the anti-Syrian MP who was killed in a car bombing on Wednesday.

"I am convinced that those who carried out this assassination wanted it to be a trap in order to push the Christians to react violently," she said, as pallbearers carried the coffins of Ghanem and his two slain bodyguards.

"They want to plunge the country into another civil war, but we will not let them do that," she said, wiping a tear from her face.

Ghanem was the eighth anti-Syrian politician to be assassinated since the February 2005 murder of Sunni Muslim prime minister Rafik Hariri. Six of them were Christians.

Rabih, a 30-year-old member of the Lebanese Forces party, stood in anger as he watched pallbearers carrying the coffin into the nearby Sacred Heart church.

"They are specifically targeting the Phalange (Christian party) and the Lebanese Forces," he said.

"We are always the first ones to say 'no,' so they are making us pay the price of our battle for an independent Lebanon," he said while nervously crumpling a Lebanese Forces flag.

Many mourners accused Syria of Ghanem's assassination. They also voiced anger with the Damascus-backed Lebanese opposition led by the Shiite militant Hizbullah and including followers of popular Christian leader Michel Aoun.

"Hizbullah terrorist. You donkey, Bashar al-Assad," a group of young men shouted, referring to the Syrian head of state.

"They are killing us because they want the (anti-Syrian parliamentary) majority to become a minority, and the minority to become the majority," said Joanna, 20.

"They want the next Lebanese president to be under the orders of Syria and Iran," she said.

"Damascus does not want the Christians to be united, because they do not want a united Lebanon," said her friend Fadi.

For others, it is the entire ruling majority -- grouping Muslims and Christians -- which was targeted.

Leila, a resident of Ain el-Remmaneh district near the former green line that separated Beirut's Christian east from the capital's mostly Muslim west during the 1975-1990 civil war, said "the enemies of Lebanon want the Muslims and the Christians to remain divided."

"They are attacking us because for once we are united," she said.

And in an emotionally charged speech during the funeral mass for Ghanem earlier Friday, former president Amine Gemayel said he feared that the standoff over the presidency was "just meant to end the Christian role at the top of the state."

Gemayel's own son, Pierre, numbered among the Christian figures slain since the Hariri assassination. He was serving as industry minister when he was gunned down last November.

Lebanon, the only Arab country with a Christian head of state, traditionally elects its president from the Maronite Catholic community. The prime minister is traditionally a Sunni Muslim and the speaker of parliament a Shiite.(AFP)

Feb 2005: Ex-PM Rafik Hariri
April 2005: MP Bassel Fleihan
June 2005: Anti-Syria journalist Samir Kassir
June 2005: Ex-Communist leader George Hawi
Dec 2005: Anti-Syria MP Gebran Tueni
Nov 2006: Industry Minister Pierre Gemayel
June 2007: Anti-Syria MP Walid Eido
Sep 2007: Anti-Syria MP Antoine Ghanim

From The Sunday Times
September 16, 2007

Secret Raid on Korean Shipment

It was just after midnight when the 69th Squadron of Israeli F15Is crossed the Syrian coast-line. On the ground, Syria’s formidable air defences went dead. An audacious raid on a Syrian target 50 miles from the Iraqi border was under way.

At a rendezvous point on the ground, a Shaldag air force commando team was waiting to direct their laser beams at the target for the approaching jets. The team had arrived a day earlier, taking up position near a large underground depot. Soon the bunkers were in flames.

Ten days after the jets reached home, their mission was the focus of intense speculation this weekend amid claims that Israel believed it had destroyed a cache of nuclear materials from North Korea.

The Israeli government was not saying. “The security sources and IDF [Israeli Defence Forces] soldiers are demonstrating unusual courage,” said Ehud Olmert, the prime minister. “We naturally cannot always show the public our cards.”

The Syrians were also keeping mum. “I cannot reveal the details,” said Farouk al-Sharaa, the vice-president. “All I can say is the military and political echelon is looking into a series of responses as we speak. Results are forthcoming.” The official story that the target comprised weapons destined for Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed Lebanese Shi’ite group, appeared to be crumbling in the face of widespread scepticism.

Andrew Semmel, a senior US State Department official, said Syria might have obtained nuclear equipment from “secret suppliers”, and added that there were a “number of foreign technicians” in the country.

Asked if they could be North Korean, he replied: “There are North Korean people there. There’s no question about that.” He said a network run by AQ Khan, the disgraced creator of Pakistan’s nuclear weapons, could be involved.

But why would nuclear material be in Syria? Known to have chemical weapons, was it seeking to bolster its arsenal with something even more deadly?

Alternatively, could it be hiding equipment for North Korea, enabling Kim Jong-il to pretend to be giving up his nuclear programme in exchange for economic aid? Or was the material bound for Iran, as some authorities in America suggest?

According to Israeli sources, preparations for the attack had been going on since late spring, when Meir Dagan, the head of Mossad, presented Olmert with evidence that Syria was seeking to buy a nuclear device from North Korea.

The Israeli spy chief apparently feared such a device could eventually be installed on North-Korean-made Scud-C missiles.

“This was supposed to be a devastating Syrian surprise for Israel,” said an Israeli source. “We’ve known for a long time that Syria has deadly chemical warheads on its Scuds, but Israel can’t live with a nuclear warhead.”

An expert on the Middle East, who has spoken to Israeli participants in the raid, told yesterday’s Washington Post that the timing of the raid on September 6 appeared to be linked to the arrival three days earlier of a ship carrying North Korean material labelled as cement but suspected of concealing nuclear equipment.

The target was identified as a northern Syrian facility that purported to be an agricultural research centre on the Euphrates river. Israel had been monitoring it for some time, concerned that it was being used to extract uranium from phosphates.

According to an Israeli air force source, the Israeli satellite Ofek 7, launched in June, was diverted from Iran to Syria. It sent out high-quality images of a northeastern area every 90 minutes, making it easy for air force specialists to spot the facility.

Early in the summer Ehud Barak, the defence minister, had given the order to double Israeli forces on its Golan Heights border with Syria in anticipation of possible retaliation by Damascus in the event of air strikes.

Sergei Kirpichenko, the Russian ambassador to Syria, warned President Bashar al-Assad last month that Israel was planning an attack, but suggested the target was the Golan Heights.

Israeli military intelligence sources claim Syrian special forces moved towards the Israeli outpost of Mount Hermon on the Golan Heights. Tension rose, but nobody knew why.

At this point, Barak feared events could spiral out of control. The decision was taken to reduce the number of Israeli troops on the Golan Heights and tell Damascus the tension was over. Syria relaxed its guard shortly before the Israeli Defence Forces struck.

Only three Israeli cabinet ministers are said to have been in the know - Olmert, Barak and Tzipi Livni, the foreign minister. America was also consulted. According to Israeli sources, American air force codes were given to the Israeli air force attaché in Washington to ensure Israel’s F15Is would not mistakenly attack their US counterparts.

Once the mission was under way, Israel imposed draconian military censorship and no news of the operation emerged until Syria complained that Israeli aircraft had violated its airspace. Syria claimed its air defences had engaged the planes, forcing them to drop fuel tanks to lighten their loads as they fled.

But intelligence sources suggested it was a highly successful Israeli raid on nuclear material supplied by North Korea.

Washington was rife with speculation last week about the precise nature of the operation. One source said the air strikes were a diversion for a daring Israeli commando raid, in which nuclear materials were intercepted en route to Iran and hauled to Israel. Others claimed they were destroyed in the attack.

There is no doubt, however, that North Korea is accused of nuclear cooperation with Syria, helped by AQ Khan’s network. John Bolton, who was undersecretary for arms control at the State Department, told the United Nations in 2004 the Pakistani nuclear scientist had “several other” customers besides Iran, Libya and North Korea.

Some of his evidence came from the CIA, which had reported to Congress that it viewed “Syrian nuclear intentions with growing concern”.

“I’ve been worried for some time about North Korea and Iran outsourcing their nuclear programmes,” Bolton said last week. Syria, he added, was a member of a “junior axis of evil”, with a well-established ambition to develop weapons of mass destruction.

The links between Syria and North Korea date back to the rule of Kim Il-sung and President Hafez al-Assad in the last century. In recent months, their sons have quietly ordered an increase in military and technical cooperation.

Foreign diplomats who follow North Korean affairs are taking note. There were reports of Syrian passengers on flights from Beijing to Pyongyang and sightings of Middle Eastern businessmen from sources who watch the trains from North Korea to China.

On August 14, Rim Kyong Man, the North Korean foreign trade minister, was in Syria to sign a protocol on “cooperation in trade and science and technology”. No details were released, but it caught Israel’s attention.

Syria possesses between 60 and 120 Scud-C missiles, which it has bought from North Korea over the past 15 years. Diplomats believe North Korean engineers have been working on extending their 300-mile range. It means they can be used in the deserts of northeastern Syria - the area of the Israeli strike.

The triangular relationship between North Korea, Syria and Iran continues to perplex intelligence analysts. Syria served as a conduit for the transport to Iran of an estimated £50m of missile components and technology sent by sea from North Korea. The same route may be in use for nuclear equipment.

But North Korea is at a sensitive stage of negotiations to end its nuclear programme in exchange for security guarantees and aid, leading some diplomats to cast doubt on the likelihood that Kim would cross America’s “red line” forbidding the proliferation of nuclear materials.

Christopher Hill, the State Department official representing America in the talks, said on Friday he could not confirm “intelligence-type things”, but the reports underscored the need “to make sure the North Koreans get out of the nuclear business”.

By its actions, Israel showed it is not interested in waiting for diplomacy to work where nuclear weapons are at stake.

As a bonus, the Israelis proved they could penetrate the Syrian air defence system, which is stronger than the one protecting Iranian nuclear sites.

This weekend President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran sent Ali Akbar Mehrabian, his nephew, to Syria to assess the damage. The new “axis of evil” may have lost one of its spokes.

Beirut - September 6, 2007

Following are key events in the bitter relations between Israel and Syria, during most of which Lebanon was the killing field:

- 1948: Syria is one of five Arab states which launch an unsuccessful war against the newly-declared state of Israel.

- June 1967: During the Six-day War, Israel seizes the strategic Golan Heights from Syria. Despite on-and-off negotiations over the subsequent four decades, the Golan Heights are still held by Israel, which annexed them in 1981.

- October 1973: Syria and Egypt launch surprise attacks on Israel, but the resulting Yom Kippur War ends with Syria failing to recover the Golan, and even losing more territory.

- 1975-1990: A vicious civil war in Lebanon leads Syria and Israel to intervene there militarily, both directly and via proxy groups.

Syrian troops go into Lebanon in 1976, and continue to occupy parts of the country until 2005. Israel invades Lebanon in 1982, and pulls its last forces out of the south in 2000.

Syria, a long-time ally of Shiite Iran, backs the powerful Lebanese Shiite group Hizbullah, which continues to confront Israel in the south of Lebanon to this day.

- 1991: Syrian leader Hafez al-Assad agrees to send a small troop contingent to take part in the U.S.-led war against Iraq, which has occupied Kuwait. At the time, the Iraqi regime of Saddam Hussein is seen as a particularly serious threat to Israel.

- 2000: Hafez al-Assad dies and is succeeded by his son Bashar al-Assad. He quickly withdraws the bulk of his country's troop presence from Lebanon, but in 2003 he refuses to take part in a new U.S.-led war on Iraq.

The latest in a long series of contacts on the status of the Golan Heights breaks down.

- 2001: Following new clashes between Israeli forces and Lebanese Hizbullah militias, Israel bombs a Syrian radar station near the Lebanese capital Beirut, killing two Syrians.

- 2003: The U.S.-led invasion of Iraq leads to a huge increase in tension between Syria and both the United States and Israel, which accuse Damascus of helping Iraqi insurgents. In October, Israel mounts an air raid inside Syria, against what it says is a training camp for Palestinian extremists.

- 2004: Israeli agents assassinate a leading member of the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas in the Syrian capital Damascus.

- 2005: Following the assassination of a popular Lebanese politician, former prime minister Rafik Hariri, Syria pulls its last troops out of Lebanon.

- 2006: In June, during a crisis over an Israeli soldier captured by Palestinians, Israeli warplanes overfly Assad's palace in northern Syria while the president is inside.
-
The following month, new clashes between Israel and Hizbullah lead to a brief and devastating war between the two, further raising tension with Syria, which is accused of supplying the Lebanese group.

- August 2007: Israel says it is reducing its troop levels on the Golan Heights. "Israel does not want a war" with its northern neighbor, says Defense Minister Ehud Barak.

- September 6: Syria says its anti-aircraft forces fired on Israeli planes which allegedly violated its airspace.(AFP-Naharnet)

From The International Herald Tribune
By Michael Slackman
Tuesday, September 4, 2007

TEHRAN: Rents are soaring, inflation has been hovering around 17 percent and 10 million Iranians live below the poverty line. The police shut down 20 barbershops for men in Tehran last week because they offered inappropriate hairstyles and women have been banned from riding bicycles in many places, as a crackdown on social freedoms presses on.

For months now, average Iranians have endured economic hardship, political repression and international isolation as the nation's top officials remain defiant over Iran's nuclear program.

But in a country whose leaders see national security, government stability and Islamic values as inextricably entwined, problems that usually would constitute threats to the leadership are instead viewed as an opportunity to secure its rule.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's economic missteps and the animosity generated in the West by his aggressive posture on the nuclear issue have helped his government stymie what it sees as corrupting foreign influences by increasing the country's economic and political isolation, economists, diplomats, political analysts, businessmen and clerics said in interviews over the past two weeks.

Pressure from the West - including economic sanctions - over Tehran's nuclear program and its role in Iraq has also empowered those pushing the harder line, many of those interviewed said.

Saeed Leylaz, an economist and former government official, said: "The leader is concerned that any effort to make the country more manageable will lead to reform and will undermine his authority."

The effort to keep Iran's doors to the West sealed tight was on display Sunday, when Ahmadinejad announced that Tehran's scientists had developed 3,000 centrifuges and then mocked the West for trying to press Iran to stop uranium enrichment and slow its nuclear program.

On Monday, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader, tried to use such Western tactics to rally public sentiment behind the government. "Iran will defeat these drunken and arrogant powers using its artful and wise ways," he said to a group of students, state run television reported.

The remarks were seen here by Western diplomats and political analysts as an attempt by the president to undermine months of careful negotiations between more pragmatic conservatives in the leadership and the International Atomic Energy Agency, which days earlier had said that Iran was being more cooperative.

The message was clear, a Western diplomat said. "They are convinced the rest of the world is trying to put pressure on Iran to keep Iran down," said the diplomat, who requested anonymity so as not to compromise his ability to work in Iran. "They believe if Iran makes a concession to the West on the nuclear issue, it will be the first step toward regime change."

The economic component of Iran's go-it-alone approach began with Ahmadinejad's election two years ago. He laid down a series of erratic economic decrees that he said were aimed at helping the poor, but often made their lives harder. Recently, the head of the central bank and the ministers of oil and industry resigned, warning that Iran was heading toward trouble. The president's decisions have frightened away investors, derailing efforts to open Iran to world markets, analysts said.

The leadership has been able to ease some of the pain because of the income from its crude oil sales. Ultimately, those interviewed agreed, Ahmadinejad has continued unimpeded because he has the support of Khamenei, who has the final say on all key decisions.

"The only thing that has kept Ahmadinejad in power is the support of the leadership," said Muhammad Atrianfar, publisher of two newspapers that have been closed and an ally of former President Hashemi Rafsanjani. "As soon as the leader stops supporting him, he can easily be impeached and dismissed."

No one accuses the leadership of deliberately fostering economic chaos. Instead, analysts here said Ahmadinejad fails to understand the effects of his policies. "He feels the pain of the poor but doesn't have any solution," said Ali Rashadi, an economist. "He is wrecking a system that was patched together over 25 years."

Many journalists, academics and former government officials said they thought Ahmadinejad had been more active, and reckless with the economy, than Khamenei had expected. But he is comfortable with Ahmadinejad because he can count on him to preserve the system and to roll back political, economic and social changes that conservatives feared were insidious steps toward revolution, some of those interviewed said.

A Western-allied ambassador here said that the supreme leader and the security services arrested Haleh Esfandiari, an Iranian-American scholar who was imprisoned here for months before being allowed to leave the country last weekend, partly as a warning to Iranians who have expressed dismay over the direction of the country.

"They think little by little we have moved away from Islamic values," said Mohsen Kadivar, a cleric who was removed from his teaching job at Tehran University. "They see Ahmadinejad as the man to return Iran to these values."

Kadivar added, "What's important for them is being in power."

When Ahmadinejad was elected, he campaigned as a Robin Hood, promising to redistribute Iran's oil wealth from the rich to the poor. One of his first edicts was to order banks to lower interest rates to 12 percent, from as high as 17 percent. The order, like others, backfired, making loans harder to come by.

In another case, Ahmadinejad decided that the price of cement was too high, so he ordered it reduced. Rashadi, the economist, said the decree frightened away investors who had planned to build new cement factories around the country.

Rashadi also said the president's constant insults aimed at the stock market had undermined investor confidence, which he said encouraged people with money to invest in real estate, driving up property values.

"My income does not match my cost of living," said Hassan Khalili, 37, who rents a small apartment in the village of Vardan, a meandering hillside community of about 9,000 people an hour outside Tehran. "I thought it was going to get better under Ahmadinejad, but it didn't."

But with its oil revenues, the government has, in the short term, been able to buy itself out of an economic meltdown by using $60 billion for subsidies and a massive increase in imports - although that has undermined local manufacturing, economists here said.

Some of those interviewed said the oil revenues also have helped shore up the regime by enriching a new ruling class made up of members of the Revolutionary Guard and alumni of the Basij militia, who have their hands in nearly every aspect of the economy - and now in much of the government as well.

Ahmadinejad's economic policies have also cushioned many homeowners because property values have skyrocketed. Three years ago, for example, a four-bedroom apartment in a good Tehran neighborhood sold for $200,000; it could be worth more than $1 million today.

Mehdi Panahi lives in central Tehran and runs a small snack shop in the mountains just north of the city, where many people hike and relax on the weekends.

He has had to raise his prices 20 percent since March, he said, because his rent doubled in the last year. The cost of cooking oil shot up 50 percent, tomato paste rose 70 percent and prices of dairy products increased by 70 percent.

But in the current environment of fear and caution, Panahi said: "Of course I am optimistic. What is there not to be optimistic about?"

The economic upheaval has been coupled with a far-reaching, months-long security clampdown. Analysts said the authorities have arrested prominent Iranian-American intellectuals, suppressed the student movement, rolled back social freedoms, purged university faculties, closed newspapers and moved to marginalize political figures who are out of step with the government.

Those arrested included a once-prominent ally of the leadership, Hossein Mousavian. The former nuclear negotiator - and ally of Rafsanjani - was detained on espionage charges in May.

The repression is calibrated. Students and female activists have been encouraged to leave the country or face more serious pressure. The idea is to send a message without spreading the pain too widely.

As a result, the streets are calm but there is an undercurrent of unease and confusion. People routinely say that life is good, better even under this president - then rattle off a litany of complaints.

Last week, Ahmedinejad attended a conference of religious leaders in the north of Tehran. Ali Akhbar Akhbari, his wife and two young daughters live in a tent a block from the convention center. They said they were homeless and collected bottles to make money for food. Marziah, 13, and Roziah, 9, slept in their own small tent decorated with Looney Tunes characters.

"No one will help them!" shouted Valioalah Ghiyasi, 60, as he walked down the street, his hands deep in the pockets of his sport coat. He pulled a pay stub from his pocket, showing his own small government salary, the equivalent of about $130 a month.

"It was a better situation before," he said. "My wife has cancer and I can't afford the medicine. I haven't been able to pay my rent in five months. My rent is $250 a month. I don't know what to do. I am begging."

The net effect of the president's policies can be seen in the village of Vadan. Property values have gone up so much that a local man, Ghalan Abbas Mahmoodi, has been able to open a real estate office.

Farmers are selling off land, and wealthy people from Tehran are building villas on scenic hills overlooking the rolling countryside.

Those who do not own land and have seen their rents soar, like Khalili, said they were facing a catastrophe.

Mahmoodi, the realtor, had a different view. "As my income increases, my purchase power increases," he said.

While the president has lost a great deal of political support within the system, he has not shown any signs of being deterred. "There is an honorable butcher in our neighborhood who is aware of all the problems of the people," Ahmadinejad said, "and I also get important economic information from him."

Beirut - August 17, 2007

Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir said Friday he was against constitutional amendments unless they were for the sake of Lebanon's salvation "because the constitution is not a game."
"In principle, I object constitutional amendments … But I do not object if (amendments) will salvage the country," Sfeir said in an interview with the daily As Safir.

"I am with the law, with the constitution, with discipline. What is going to happen? I don't know. If the army commander can rescue the country, then he is welcome," Sfeir said.

Sfeir totally rejected a proposal that called for electing a new president for a two-year term.

"I'm against a president for a two-year (limit) because such a president may not accept the term and will do what he has to do to extend (his term)," Sfeir feared.

Sfeir perceived no wrongdoing in the formation of a secular state, but pointed out that the problem was that the "other" sects are more attached to their confessions than they are to their country. "This is shameful."

"In other countries, they resolved the problem by declaring a secular state. Can we do the same here, in the sense that all citizens are equal before the law?" asked Sfeir.

Responding to a question that claimed Lebanon had been created for the sake of Maronites, Sfeir said: "…Of course, they (Maronites) were the first to arrive here, among others … then a lot of confessions arrived, for which each has its own structure and we have to respect one another."

"But if we want to form a secular state, everything has to be changed," Sfeir asserted, wondering whether the religious sects would accept that.

"There are sects that would not agree," he concluded.

China threatens 'nuclear option' of dollar sales
From Telegraph.co.uk
By Ambrose Evans-Pritchard
August 8, 2007

The Chinese government has begun a concerted campaign of economic threats against the United States, hinting that it may liquidate its vast holding of US treasuries if Washington imposes trade sanctions to force a yuan revaluation.

Two officials at leading Communist Party bodies have given interviews in recent days warning - for the first time - that Beijing may use its $1.33 trillion (£658bn) of foreign reserves as a political weapon to counter pressure from the US Congress. Shifts in Chinese policy are often announced through key think tanks and academies.

Described as China's "nuclear option" in the state media, such action could trigger a dollar crash at a time when the US currency is already breaking down through historic support levels.


It would also cause a spike in US bond yields, hammering the US housing market and perhaps tipping the economy into recession. It is estimated that China holds over $900bn in a mix of US bonds.

Xia Bin, finance chief at the Development Research Centre (which has cabinet rank), kicked off what now appears to be government policy with a comment last week that Beijing's foreign reserves should be used as a "bargaining chip" in talks with the US.

"Of course, China doesn't want any undesirable phenomenon in the global financial order," he added.

He Fan, an official at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, went even further today, letting it be known that Beijing had the power to set off a dollar collapse if it choose to do so.

"China has accumulated a large sum of US dollars. Such a big sum, of which a considerable portion is in US treasury bonds, contributes a great deal to maintaining the position of the dollar as a reserve currency. Russia, Switzerland, and several other countries have reduced the their dollar holdings.

"China is unlikely to follow suit as long as the yuan's exchange rate is stable against the dollar. The Chinese central bank will be forced to sell dollars once the yuan appreciated dramatically, which might lead to a mass depreciation of the dollar," he told China Daily.

The threats play into the presidential electoral campaign of Hillary Clinton, who has called for restrictive legislation to prevent America being "held hostage to economic decicions being made in Beijing, Shanghai, or Tokyo".

She said foreign control over 44pc of the US national debt had left America acutely vulnerable.

Simon Derrick, a currency strategist at the Bank of New York Mellon, said the comments were a message to the US Senate as Capitol Hill prepares legislation for the Autumn session.

"The words are alarming and unambiguous. This carries a clear political threat and could have very serious consequences at a time when the credit markets are already afraid of contagion from the subprime troubles," he said.

A bill drafted by a group of US senators, and backed by the Senate Finance Committee, calls for trade tariffs against Chinese goods as retaliation for alleged currency manipulation.

The yuan has appreciated 9pc against the dollar over the last two years under a crawling peg but it has failed to halt the rise of China's trade surplus, which reached $26.9bn in June.

Henry Paulson, the US Tresury Secretary, said any such sanctions would undermine American authority and "could trigger a global cycle of protectionist legislation".

Mr Paulson is a China expert from his days as head of Goldman Sachs. He has opted for a softer form of diplomacy, but appeared to win few concession from Beijing on a unscheduled trip to China last week aimed at calming the waters.

Beirut - July 29, 2007

Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir on Sunday urged the Lebanese to let emotions prevail over legitimate rights and adhere to traditions in the upcoming by-elections.

"The Lebanese are used to letting emotions prevail over legitimate rights in situations like this, particularly tragic situations," Sfeir said in Sunday's sermon.

He said the Lebanese are also used to "rise above personal competition … and leave room for love and kindness," an indirect message to Gen. Michel Aoun to let former President Amin Gemayel run parliamentary elections uncontested.

Aoun, who had nominated Camille Khoury for the parliamentary seat against Gemayel, insists on going all the way through the by-elections battle.

Sfeir pointed out that parliament's term runs out in less than two years, "then there will be room for free competition."

"What we are now seeing in Metn is totally different from what we are used to (see)," Sfeir said, expressing hope that the long practiced tradition would win through.

July 25, 2007

Two years after it was forced to withdraw its troops from Lebanon, Syria still occupies at least 177 square miles (458.4 square kilometers) of Lebanese soil and smuggles arms to militants, according to a recent survey.

The report, published by The Wall Street Journal, comes by way of a fact-finding survey of the Lebanese-Syrian border produced by the International Lebanese Committee for U.N. Security Council Resolution 1559, an American NGO that has consultative status with the U.N.

Because of the sensitivity of the subject, the authors have requested anonymity and have circulated the report only among select government officials and journalists, the daily said.

Surveyors scrutinized the central and northern two-thirds of the 227-mile border between Lebanon and Syria, according to the report. It said the southern portion, patrolled by the U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) under a cease-fire agreement that ended last summer's war between Israel and Hizbullah, was not surveyed.

The report, accompanied by maps and pictures taken by satellites, concludes that Syria maintains army camps in Lebanon, along with "dozens of smuggling passages" used to "infiltrate foreign fighters and weapons."

It says that Palestinian militants and members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard allied with Syria remain on Lebanese soil.

Surveyors said Syrian barriers are visible at the Maaraboun area some 2.59 square kilometers deep into Lebanese territories.

Pictures also confirm Syrian anti-aircraft batteries are visible at Wadi Brak.

On the outskirts of Qoussaya, the report uncovered that the Syrian-backed Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command, headed by Ahmed Jibril, maintained a militia camp there in violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions and Lebanese government requests.

USA Today, a national American newspaper, quoted Bruce Riedel, a former CIA officer in Lebanon and Middle East specialist on the White House National Security Council, as saying that the findings "look very credible to me. The areas indicated on the border have long been in de facto Syrian control."

Augustus Richard Norton, a Middle East expert at Boston University and author of Hizbullah, a new book on the Shiite group, said the report appeared "credible to a considerable extent, bearing in mind that much of the border has been disputed since Lebanon's independence" in 1943.

A U.N. commission investigating the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and related crimes has implicated senior Lebanese and Syrian security officials.

Syria denied involvement in Hariri's 2005 killing, but was forced to withdraw its troops from Lebanon, ending its 29-year domination of it smaller neighbor.

Beirut - July 22, 2007

Libya has provided a pro-Syrian Palestinian Guerrilla group with financial backing to destabilize Lebanon, and Beirut authorities responded by asking French President Nicolas Sarkozy to Pressure Moammar Khadafy into aborting the scheme.
Sarkozy is to visit Libya in the next few days for talks with Khadafy.

According to credible information received by Naharnet, the Lebanese request was made through diplomatic channels following confirmed reports of recent meetings between Khadafy and leader of the pro-Syrian Palestinian guerrilla group which is active in Lebanon.

The information said Khadafy provided the group, which was not named, with enough financial backing to recruit Sunni political factions in Lebanon.

The majority of Lebanon's Sunni sect backs al-Moustaqbal movement which has been at loggerheads with Syrian President Bashar Assad's regime since the Feb. 14 2005 assassination of ex-Premier Rafik Hariri.

Al-Moustaqbal, headed by MP Saad Hariri, the slain premier's son and political heir, is part of the March 14 majority alliance that backs Premier Fouad Saniora's government and blames the serial crimes that have targeted anti-Syrian figures in Lebanon on the Assad regime.

Damascus denies the charges.

According to information received by Naharnet, Syria and Iran succeeded recently in convincing Khadafy of joining their allies in Lebanon, represented by the Hizbullah-led March 8 coalition.

Libya was known to have backed certain Palestinian and Lebanese factions during the 15-year-old civil war which came to an end in Oct. 1990.

Khadafy, according to the information, was convinced by Syria and Iran to revive his backing of such Palestinian and Sunni Lebanese factions in the northern city of Tripoli, the southern city of Sidon as well as the capital Beirut and the western sector of the Bekaa valley.

Libyan efforts were underway to reactivate "dormant" groups in an effort to destabilize the anti-Syrian Sunni sect after the perceived collapse of the so-called Fatah-al-Islam group in the northern refugee camp of Nahr al-Bared, according to the information.

The Syrian-Iranian plan to reinstall Libyan interference in Lebanon and penetrate the nation's Sunni sect aims at marshalling Arab backing after their allies, led by Hizbullah, failed to enjoy Arab support.

Major Arab states, especially Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan and member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council –with the exception of Qatar- back the Saniora government and the March 14 alliance.

The Syrian-Iranian effort to get Libya involved in Lebanon coincided with recently reported efforts by Damascus and Tehran with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri to settle the issue of Lebanese supreme Shiite Leader Moussa al-Sadre who went missing during a visit to Khadafy nearly three decades ago.

Berri, a ranking member of the Syrian-backed opposition, heads the Shiite AMAL movement which was founded by Sadre in the 1970s.

AMAL blamed Khadafy for Sadre's mysterious disappearance.

Reports published recently spoke of a deal proposed by Tehran to settle the Sadre case based on an agreement between Lebanon's Shiite leaders and Khadafy on a "compensation" for the lost Shiite spiritual leader similar to what had been paid to relatives of the Lockerby and la Belle Disco terror attacks blamed on Libyan intelligence.

Berri also denied reports about an alleged meeting he had held recently with Seif al-Islam Khadafy, the Libyan Leader's son who had negotiated with relatives of Libyan Terror victims on compensations that were paid to normalize Libya's relations with the west.

Libya also dismantled its Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) Program and renounced violence in return for normalizing relations with the west and ending its decades-long Isolation.

Beirut - July 21, 2007

Officials in Damascus had informed French envoy Jean-Claude Cousseran, during his last visit, of Syria's stance demanding France's "clear recognition of Syria's influence and interests in Lebanon."
The Syrian officials, according to a Paris datelined report published by the daily As Safir on Saturday, stressed on what they described as the "natural and distinguished relations linking Lebanon with Syria."

They said Damascus did not respond to Cousseran's quest to get clear answers on the need to hold timely presidential elections to prevent Lebanon from sinking into constitutional and institutional chaos.

They said Cousseran did not make "direct" French requests from Damascus since the Syrian-French talks were still at the beginning.

Damascus, in turn, refused to offer Cousseran any commitments and was very cautious in dealing with French questions regarding its position from the upcoming presidential elections.

According to As Safir, French sources revealed that the Syrians had informed Cousseran that what is threatening Lebanon and its stability at this time was the spread of al-Qaida across Lebanese territories.

A prominent March 14 official in Beirut assured that "everyone acknowledges Syria's capabilities of maintaining its influence in Lebanon," adding that the problem lies with the "nature and type" of this influence.

He said Syria's influence did not need French recognition since the Lebanese unanimously agree on that matter, witness the spate of assassinations and bombings perpetrated by the Syrian regime as will be evidenced by the International investigations.

The March 14 official wondered what was meant by "Syria's interests:"
"Are they assurances to ward off a Lebanon aggression on Syria, or to prevent Lebanese territory from being used as a launching pad for sabotage or hostile operations against it?" he asked.

"If this is the case, then Lebanon would be the one to guarantee these interests," he added.

"But if the Syrian interests suggest giving up power to the Syrian allies in Lebanon and regain the upper hand in Lebanon's political and economic cycles, then this is a debatable issue," the March 14 official concluded. "It is the right of the Lebanese to preserve their own interests before the interests of others are looked after."

Beirut - July 20, 2007

French envoy Jean-Claude Cousseran's visit to Damascus and Iran was aimed at restating France's well-known Mideast policy, and did not involve any shift toward Prime Minister Fouad Saniora's government, sources close to the French Foreign Ministry told Naharnet.
The sources said the French Foreign Ministry, under instructions from the Elysee Palace, had authorized Cousseran to inform Syria of the need to quit betting on external powers to make a "deal" at Lebanon's expense.

The French sources confirmed that Cousseran conveyed a "harsh warning" to each of Syria's Vice President Farouk Sharaa and Foreign Minister Walid Muallem concerning the need to deal "positively" with French and Arab efforts aimed at building stability in Lebanon.

They stressed that Cousseran was "very honest and clear" with the Syrian leadership, adding that he has relayed France's firm stance which gave Syria what they said was the "last chance" toward changing its behavior in Lebanon.

Cousseran's visit to Damascus earlier this week represented the first such contact between Syria and France since President Nicolas Sarkozy took office last month and the highest-level visit by a French official to Syria in almost two years.

Relations between France and Syria soured after the 2005 assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, who was a longtime personal friend of former French President Jacques Chirac.

The French sources told Naharnet that Cousseran had also informed Syrian officials that such visits will not take place in the future unless France sees "tangible" changes in Syria's behavior in Lebanon and the region.

The French Foreign Ministry was eager to inform the Syrian leadership, through its envoy, of France's "unyielding" policy, the sources said.

They said Cousseran had handed over to the foreign ministry a report on the outcome of his July 11 visit to Tehran.

According to the report, the sources said, Cousseran's talks in Tehran were "affected" by remarks made by Sarkozy on Hizbullah.

Cousseran said in his report that the Iranians do not share France's view on Lebanon, adding that he informed officials in Tehran that Paris was "by no means" considerding to interfere in the Lebanese presidential elections nor in shaping up the new government.

The sources said the Iranian leadership has expressed solidarity with the Syrian regime regarding rejecting the formation of any Lebanon government that opposes Syria.

Cousseran said Iran neither desires a political vacuum in Lebanon nor the crisis to continue, but at the same time Tehran would not consider the two issues as redline.

Cousseran emphasized that Iran deems itself a "major regional power;" and that it deals with Lebanon on that basis as well as from a strategic angle which takes into account Hizbullah's demographic, economic and political positions.

The daily An Nahar on Friday also quoted French Foreign Ministry spokesman David Martinon as saying Cousseran's visit to Damascus was of "diplomatic, not political nature."

Beirut - July 15, 2007

It looks like the Israeli dilemma of whether Hizbullah emerged from last summer's war strengthened or weakened has been resolved by France, according to an analysis by the Israeli daily Haaretz.
It said this was the first time that Hizbullah has been invited to France as a political entity equal to the other factions, for a meeting aimed at ending the worst political crisis in Lebanon.

To everyone participating in this meeting, Hizbullah's political power is clear, Haaretz said.

So clear, in fact, that the French president's special envoy, Jean Claude Cousseran, traveled specially to Tehran on Wednesday for the second time in 10 days, to persuade Iran to soften Nasrallah's stance on the issue of forming a national unity government in Lebanon, Haaretz added.

It said Nasrallah, thereby, not only became Iran's representative in Lebanon, but also introduced Iran as an active partner in the political process, not only the military one, and gave it standing that Tehran will be able to exploit in discussions with France on other issues such as nuclear power and the future of Iraq.

Hizbullah's status has also made Saudi Arabia realize that it must cooperate with Iran on the matter of Lebanon, the analysis went on.

Thus, it said, the two countries conveyed to the Lebanese parties suggestions for a solution that might get political life out of the deep freeze into which it sank after the war.

Beirut - July 9, 2007

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea on Monday defended Premier Fouad Saniora's government, denying it was trying to Islamize the country and saying the Maronite Bishops' statement has been used for political ends.

He said a Christian religious authority has asked Saniora to remove Great Friday from the calendar of official holidays and that the government didn't take the decision on its own.

The move was part of a government effort to decrease the number of public holidays with the objective of increasing productivity.

"Why accuse Saniora about it," Geagea wondered during a press conference he held in Mirab.

"We regret the political use of the latest statement issued by the Bishops," he said.

Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir also said Sunday that the statement of the Council of Maronite Bishops has been "manipulated for political purposes."

"We stress that such a manipulation has nothing to do with us," Sfeir said.

The Patriarch stressed that the Maronite church is "neutral" as far as the split between Christian leaders regarding the ongoing political crisis.

Geagea, who is a member of the anti-Syrian March 14 alliance, also told reporters that the biggest ownership of land by foreigners was done as part of "Sannine Zenith" project.

He accused pro-Damascus President Emile Lahoud of being behind the project which Saniora objected.

The Bishops' statement said the various Lebanese governments have legalized the sale of seven million square meters of property in 14 years to non-Lebanese owners.

Such a trend, they warned, could lead to selling out most of Lebanon and Lebanese citizens would "one day find out that they are strangers in their country."

Geagea said the foreign ownership law had been issued in 2001 when Saniora wasn't yet prime minister.

"What does Saniora have to do with this," he asked.

He also lamented that the treaty on Children's rights in Islam was being used to "terrorize the Christians" and tell them that the government is trying to Islamize Lebanon.

The Bishops, in their statement, criticized Saniora's government of violating the constitutionally-guaranteed freedom of belief by taking a decision to join the treaty.

About accusations of recruiting security officers by contracts without going through the series of required tests, Geagea said: "the percentage of Christians in the Internal Security Forces is the highest in all government institutions."

On Saturday, the government said that there are now 33.04% of Christians in the ISF, an increase from 28.85% during previous governments.

"Premier Saniora, in all his statements…stresses the importance of keeping the balance between the Lebanese," Geagea said.

He accused Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah of wanting to Islamize Lebanon, saying that in a 1982 speech the opposition leader talks about plans to make Lebanon an Islamic state.

"Is Prime Minister Saniora trying to Islamize Lebanon or others are seeking to do so?" he asked.

Beirut - July 8, 2007

Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir said Sunday a statement released by the Church's Bishops last week has been "manipulated."
Sfeir in his sermon said the statement issued by Maronite Bishops last Wednesday was "manipulated for political purposes. We stress that such a manipulation has nothing to do with us."

The Patriarch stressed that the Maronite church is "neutral" as far as the split between Christian leaders regarding the ongoing political crisis.

The church, he added, "seeks only the welfare of the homeland as a whole."

Beirut, July 7, 2007

The government on Saturday retorted to the Council of Maronite Bishops, saying the acquisition of land by foreigners has not surpassed the ceiling set by the law.
"The Lebanese government has absolutely not sidestepped the law," Information Minister Ghazi Aridi said at the end of a cabinet meeting.

His remarks were a retort to the Bishops who issued a statement on Wednesday criticizing the acquisition by foreigners of more than seven million square meters of land in Lebanon. They said the Lebanese will one day feel they are outsiders in their own country.

"The overall acquisition (of land by foreigners) is 0.1% percent and is much less that the ceiling set by the law," which is 3%, Aridi said.

The minister also said that the percentage of Christians serving with the Internal Security Forces has increased during the current government's term.

He said there are now 33.04% of Christians in the ISF, an increase from 28.85% during previous governments.

The bishops have expressed fears that canceling the "contest" for recruiting new staff for the ISF puts the performance of the institution at risk.

About a draft law submitted to parliament which allows Lebanon to join the "Children's Rights in Islam" accord, Aridi said: "the government expresses its readiness to take into consideration concerns and reservations."

The Bishops had also referred to the issue in their monthly meeting statement and Jbeil Maronite Archbishop Bishara Raii said in remarks published Friday that the agreement disregards the Christian presence in the country and makes Lebanon an "Islamic state and an Islamic society."

"We reject this and we condemn the government's move which is working on dividing (Lebanon) rather than uniting the country," he said in an interview with As Safir daily.

Raii also accused Prime Minister Fouad Saniora's government of wanting to "Islamize" Lebanon.

"Accusing the government of working towards Islamizing Lebanon is fabrication and has no basis," Aridi said.

Beirut, July 7, 2007

Intra-Maronite squabbling have dominated the political theater in Lebanon recently, reflecting a competition on who represents Lebanon's Christians and defends their interests.
The row, pitting mainly Gen. Michel Aoun's Free Patriotic Movement and Samir Geagea's Lebanese Forces, followed a statement by Maronite Bishops accusing Premier Fouad Saniora's government of violating the constitutionally-guaranteed freedom of belief, selling the nation's lands to foreigners and recruiting security officers by contracts without going through the series of required tests.

The Bishops, in a statement released after their monthly meeting Wednesday, were critical of a government decision to join a treaty on Children's rights in Islam.

The decree, which formalized Lebanon's membership in the treaty, stated clearly that it should not contradict the rights of non-Muslim Lebanese children and other civic laws related to freedom of belief for Lebanon's population that belongs to 18 different sects.

Nevertheless, the Bishops said in their statement it is "not acceptable that prejudiced (sides) act to wreck this partnership" between the various Lebanese communities.

The statement also said the various Lebanese governments have legalized the sale of seven million square meters of Lebanese property in 14 years to non-Lebanese owners.

Such a trend, they warned, could lead to selling out most of Lebanon and Lebanese citizens would "one day find out that they are strangers in their country."

Christian opposition leaders invested the Bishops statement to hammer the Saniora government as acting against the interests of Lebanon's Christians and the nation as a whole.

The campaign aimed at cornering Christian members of the March 14 majority alliance that backs the Saniora government.

However, Geagea, an outspoken leader of the March 14 majority alliance, denied charges that the cabinet is acting against the interests of Lebanon's Christians.

The Christians, Geagea said, were divided along two basic attitudes to deal with domestic politics.

"One (attitude) intimidates the Christians and implies to them that the world is being knocked down on their heads," Geagea told the daily An Nahar Friday.

The other attitude, according to Geagea, concentrates on the fact that "the stand of the Christians has been weakened over the past 15 years. This does not mean that the Christians cannot rise again," Geagea added.

"The Syrians broke the Christians' back, not premier Saniora," he declared.

Commenting on the Muslim Child's treaty, Geagea asked: "What does it have to do with us if Muslims want their children to follow the Muslim rights charter?"

Geagea's Lebanese Forces is represented in the government by Tourism Minister Joe Sarkis.

"Had we not been part of the government, Christians would have had more worries," Geagea commented, in reference to charges made by the FPM.

Social Affairs Minister Naila Mouawad, another prominent member of the March 14 majority alliance, also defended the Saniora administration against charges of anti-Christian attitude.

MP Antoine Zahra, who represents the Lebanese Forces in Parliament, also said in a radio interview Saturday that charges by certain Christian circles of attempts to "Islamize" Lebanon are not true.

"No one is trying to Islamize Lebanon," Zahra told Orient Radio. "The government is even ready to consider whatever complaints Christians have."