[Peace-discuss] Just Foreign Policy News, August 10, 2006

[Robert Naiman]

Just Foreign Policy News
August 10, 2006

In this issue:
1) Democrats Back Lamont in Race in Show of Unity
2) Neo-Conservatives' "Favorite Democrat" Falls
3) US - French Split Delays UN Action on Mideast War
4) Hizbollah Fights Israeli Push Into Lebanon
5) Lebanon Hospitals Cut Off, Running Out of Supplies
6) U.N. Rips Lack of Aid Access in Lebanon
7) Iran Says West Dragging Feet on Middle East Truce
8) Israel, Seeking Rocket Buffer, Sets Expansion
9) Rice's Hurdles on Middle East Begin at Home
10) From Israel, a Voice Against the War
11) 'New Mideast' May See Stronger Extremists
12) U.S. Seeks End to Escalation in Mideast
13) The Guns Of August - Holbrooke
14) Israelis Authorize Expansion Of Combat
15) At U.N., France Presses Pullback Of Israeli Troops
16) After a Lifetime of War, Lebanese Envoy Knows No Peace
17) Egypt says US losing credibility in Mideast
18) On Patrol, Iraqis Prove Eager, Erratic and Green
19) Toll in Baghdad Reaches New High: As Violence Spikes, U.S. Puts
Onus on Iraqis in Second Phase of Crackdown
20) Amnesty International: Proposed War Crimes Act Amendments Are
Administration's
Latest Attempt to Protect Failed War on Terror Policy Architects
21) Protesters Barricade Banks in Mexico: Partial Recount Of Vote Underway

Contents:
1) Democrats Back Lamont in Race in Show of Unity
Adam Nagourney
New York Times
August 10, 2006
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/10/washington/10senate.htm
With promises of money and personal campaign appearances, Democratic
leaders rallied yesterday behind the campaign of Ned Lamont, the
antiwar challenger who defeated Joe Lieberman in the Connecticut
primary, leaving Lieberman increasingly isolated as he pledged to
forge ahead as an independent candidate. Republicans began a concerted
effort to use Lieberman's defeat to portray Democrats as weak on
national defense, reprising a theme that they made central to the last
two national campaigns. The attacks came in searing remarks from,
among others, Ken Mehlman, chairman of the Republican National
Committee and Vice President Cheney, who went so far as to suggest
that the ouster of Lieberman might encourage "al Qaeda types."

2) Neo-Conservatives' "Favorite Democrat" Falls
Jim Lobe
Inter Press Service
Thursday, August 10, 2006
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0810-02.htm
Tuesday's defeat of Joe Lieberman marks a major setback to
neo-conservative hopes of maintaining bipartisan support for the
administration's aggressive foreign policies, particularly in the
Middle East. Lamont's victory was hailed by critics of Lieberman and
Bush's foreign policy as a potential watershed for the Democratic
Party and the anti-war movement.  Lieberman's defeat is likely to pull
several leading Democrats -- including Sens. Clinton and Joseph Biden
-- both presidential aspirants who have long resisted setting a
timetable for withdrawal from Iraq, closer to the growing number of
their Congressional colleagues who favour a relatively quick pullout
beginning no later than the end of this year. Sixty-one percent of
U.S. voters also support that position, according to a CNN poll
released Wednesday. That is precisely the concern of neo-conservatives
and other backers of the Iraq war who see in Lieberman's defeat not
only the possible collapse of dwindling public support for the war,
but also the loss of the leading champion for their foreign policy
ideas in the Democratic Party, which have been channeled mainly
through the Democratic Leadership Council of which Lieberman is a
long-time member and former chairman. To them, Lieberman is the lineal
descendant of Washington Sen. "Scoop" Jackson in whose office some of
today's most influential neo-conservatives, including former Defence
Policy Board chairman Richard Perle; Bush's top Middle East advisor,
Elliot Abrams; Centre for Security Policy president Frank Gaffney; and
Kristol himself got their start. "Until yesterday, Senator Joseph
Lieberman was the most prominent representative of the Scoop Jackson
wing of the Democratic party," wrote Clifford May, president of the
Foundation for the Defense of Democracy, a hard-line pro-Israel group
for which Lieberman has served as a "distinguished adviser." "Today,
that wing is down to its last few feathers."

3) US - French Split Delays UN Action on Mideast War
Reuters
August 10, 2006
Filed at 5:27 a.m. ET
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/world/international-mideast-un.html
The US and France were still at odds on Thursday over when and how
Israel should withdraw from Lebanon, delaying a U.N. resolution aimed
at ending the five-week war between Israel and Lebanon-based Hizbollah
guerrillas. Despite pressure on the council to end the escalating
conflict, the dispute made it unlikely a draft resolution would be
introduced formally on Thursday in preparation for a vote 24 hours
later. The main obstacle is that France, backing Lebanon, wants Israel
to begin withdrawing 10,000 troops when Beirut's army, supported by
U.N. peacekeepers, deploys in southern Lebanon, while the US supports
Israel's position that it keep its troops in Lebanon until the arrival
of a larger and better-armed international force. The permanent
members of the Security Council meet again Thursday to review
proposals sent to their respective governments overnight, especially
an amendment from France. This says that as 15,000 Lebanese troops
begin to deploy in the south, the Israeli army should start to
"withdraw behind the blue line,'' a U.N.-demarcated border between
Israel and Lebanon. The operation would be aided by a beefed-up U.N.
peacekeeping force before the international troops arrive. Lebanon,
backed by the Arab League, wants all foreign troops to be part of a
U.N. force, but France is expected to lead a separate U.N.-mandated
mission. Other members of the Security Council appeared increasingly
impatient at the failure of the 15-member body to take a first step to
stop the fighting.

4) Hizbollah Fights Israeli Push Into Lebanon
Reuters
August 10, 2006
Filed at 9:40 a.m. ET
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/news/news-mideast.html
Hizbollah guerrillas fought Israeli troops pushing further into
southeast Lebanon on Thursday, though an Israeli cabinet minister said
plans for a deeper ground assault were on hold to give diplomacy a
chance.

5) Lebanon Hospitals Cut Off, Running Out of Supplies
Reuters
August 10, 2006
Filed at 10:38 a.m. ET
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/news/news-mideast-lebanon-aid.html
Hospitals were running out of food, fuel and other supplies in
southern Lebanon on Thursday and aid groups said fighting and a ban on
movement meant they could not reach an estimated 100,000 people
trapped in the area. The U.N. World Food Program urged a cessation of
hostilities to allow aid supplies to reach the needy. "Above all, we
require a cessation of hostilities by both sides to allow humanitarian
aid through,'' Zlatan Milisic, WFP emergency coordinator in Lebanon,
said in a statement. "Our aid operation is like a patient starved of
oxygen, facing paralysis, verging on death, if we can't open up our
vital supply lines.'' He said the destruction of bridges and Israel's
refusal to give safety guarantees to aid convoys was crippling the
efforts of WFP to organize overland transport of aid. Medecins Sans
Frontieres said Israel's warning that it might attack any vehicle
south of the Litani that had not been given security clearance would
worsen the plight of civilians. "The people in the south … are
terrified to move,'' Rowan Gillies, president of MSF International,
said. "To forbid all forms of movement, without distinction, will lead
to even more civilian deaths and suffering.'' MSF said it had suffered
close calls with shelling and air strikes close to two of its convoys
earlier this week. On Monday, warplanes attacked two cars traveling
near a U.N. convoy, killing three people.

6) U.N. Rips Lack of Aid Access in Lebanon
Associated Press
August 10, 2006
Filed at 11:39 a.m. ET
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/world/AP-Mideast-Fighting-Aid.html
The top U.N. humanitarian official criticized Israel and Hezbollah
Thursday for hindering aid agencies' access to trapped civilians in
southern Lebanon, saying it was a ''disgrace'' they had failed to
allow convoys to get through. Jan Egeland said a plan worked out with
Israel, Lebanon and Hezbollah to funnel aid through humanitarian
corridors has not worked the way each side had promised. He blamed all
groups for the failure, which he said is preventing relief workers
from saving lives. ''The Hezbollah and the Israelis could give us
access in a heartbeat,'' Egeland said. ''Then we could help 120,000
people in southern Lebanon. I don't think that any military advantage
has been gained in these last days or will be gained in the next few
hours. It is a disgrace, really. We have not had any access for many
days to the besieged population of southern Lebanon.''

7) Iran Says West Dragging Feet on Middle East Truce
Reuters
August 10, 2006
Filed at 4:45 a.m. ET
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/news/news-mideast-iran.html
Western nations are dragging their feet over halting hostilities
between Israel and Lebanon because war helps their goals in the
region, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Tuesday. Although
there is an urgent need for a ceasefire, countries led by the US and
Britain have been killing time to help Israel achieve military
victories, he said. Western powers have displayed a similar attitude
in talks with Tehran over its nuclear program, the Iranian president
said. The U.N. Security Council passed a resolution without waiting
for Iran's response to the world body's concerns, which Tehran had
promised to submit on Aug 22. "The only conclusion I can draw is that
they are bullying us,'' he said. "They really are not looking for a
dialogue. In all honesty, they do not want to talk to us but want to
impose their wishes on us. They want to deny us our rights,'' he said.

8) Israel, Seeking Rocket Buffer, Sets Expansion
Steven Erlanger
New York Times
August 10, 2006
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/10/world/middleeast/10mideast.html
Israel decided Wednesday to move thousands more troops into Lebanon in
a major expansion of its ground operation aimed at pushing Hezbollah
and its rocket launchers farther away from Israeli cities. Prime
Minister Olmert and Defense Minister Peretz will decide when the new
operation begins, and they are expected to wait a bit so a diplomatic
solution, currently being negotiated at the UN, can be found. But they
are not expected to wait very long, said a senior cabinet minister who
was in the meeting. "The army is in full motion," he said. He said the
decision on the new offensive was intended in part to press diplomats
to move faster to establish a robust international force to monitor
the border and help the Lebanese government exercise full control over
the country. The decision is also meant to push Prime Minister Siniora
of Lebanon to accept such a force, despite the objections of
Hezbollah, to deploy in southern Lebanon alongside the weak Lebanese
Army, said the Israeli cabinet minister.

9) Rice's Hurdles on Middle East Begin at Home
Helene Cooper
New York Times
August 10, 2006
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/10/washington/10rice.html
As Rice has struggled with the Middle East crisis over the last four
weeks, she has found herself trying to be not only a peacemaker abroad
but also a mediator among contending parties at home. Washington's
resistance to an immediate cease-fire and its staunch support of
Israel have made it more difficult for Rice to work with other
nations, including some American allies, as they search for a formula
that will end the violence and produce a durable cease-fire. Several
State Department officials have privately objected to the
administration's emphasis on Israel and have said that Washington is
not talking to Syria to try to resolve the crisis. Damascus has long
been a supporter of Hezbollah, and previous conflicts between the
group and Israel have been resolved through shuttle diplomacy with
Syria.
When Olmert responded to her request to suspend airstrikes for 48
hours by saying that Israel had warned residents to evacuate, Rice
shook her head. "Look, we've had this experience, with Katrina…we
learned that many people who want to leave can't leave."

10) From Israel, a Voice Against the War
Gila Svirsky, Coalition of Women for Peace, Jerusalem
Letter to the New York Times
August 10, 2006
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/10/opinion/l10mideast.html
There is a continuing, vocal and visible Israeli opposition to the
war. Every day, the Women Against War Movement holds vigils in
Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and Haifa - yes, Haifa, even under shelling. Every
Saturday, we hold mass marches through Tel Aviv, the most recent one
5,000 strong. Several men have refused to serve in Lebanon, and a
dozen young men and women were arrested on Aug. 8 for blocking the
road to an air force base in an effort to prevent, in their words, the
carrying out of more war crimes. Haaretz is filled with articles
criticizing the war not because it is going poorly but because the
idea of preventing aggression by bombardment is both ludicrous and
immoral. These acts of criticism represent the views of thousands
more, and if the war continues, they will also be out on the streets.
Let's hope that it will end before that is necessary.

11) 'New Mideast' May See Stronger Extremists
Associated Press
August 10, 2006
Filed at 4:43 a.m. ET
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/world/AP-Mideast-Fighting-Arab-World.html
The ''new Middle East'' being born out of the warfare in Lebanon may
be one where Islamic extremists are even stronger and reformists are
isolated amid widespread skepticism over U.S. promises of democracy,
activists in the Arab world warn. The US has painted Israel's campaign
against Hezbollah as a necessary offensive against militants blocking
democratic change. During a Mideast tour, Secretary of State Rice
called the fighting the ''birth pangs of a new Middle East.'' That
phrase has been derided even by U.S. allies, who say the bloodshed
only fuels radicalism. ''We would like to return to the old Middle
East, because we don't see anything in the new Middle East apart from
more problems,'' Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal said. The
Lebanon conflict has sparked a wave of anti-U.S. sentiment in the
region, with frequent protests in moderate states like Egypt, Jordan
and Kuwait. The anger -- also focused at Arab governments -- threatens
to boost the appeal of Islamic fundamentalists, many warn. The
bloodshed has also given American calls for democracy a bad name and
has left activists disillusioned.

12) U.S. Seeks End to Escalation in Mideast
Associated Press
August 10, 2006
Filed at 4:56 a.m. ET
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/us/AP-US-Mideast.html
The White House said Wednesday neither Israel nor Hezbollah should
escalate their month-old war, as Israel decided to widen its ground
invasion in southern Lebanon. White House press secretary Snow said
the U.S. message was for both sides, though his remarks came after
Israel's Security Cabinet voted to expand the war effort in an attempt
to deal further blows to Hezbollah. ''We are working hard now to
bridge differences between the United States position and some of the
positions of our allies,'' Snow said. ''We want an end to violence and
we do not want escalations.''

13) The Guns Of August
Richard Holbrooke, former UN ambassador
Washington Post
Thursday, August 10, 2006; A23
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/09/AR2006080901514.html
Two crises, in Lebanon and Iraq, are merging into a single emergency.
A chain reaction could spread quickly almost anywhere between Cairo
and Bombay. Turkey is talking of invading northern Iraq. Syria could
get pulled into the war in southern Lebanon. Egypt and Saudi Arabia
are under pressure to support Hezbollah. NATO's war in Afghanistan is
not going well. The only beneficiaries of this chaos are Iran,
Hezbollah, al-Qaeda and Moqtada al-Sadr, who last week held the
largest anti-American demonstration in the world in the heart of
Baghdad, even as 6,000 additional U.S. troops were rushin to the city
to "prevent" a civil war that has already begun. This combination of
combustible elements poses the greatest threat to global stability
since the Cuban missile crisis. Barbara Tuchman's classic, "The Guns
of August," recounted how a seemingly isolated event 92 summers ago --
an assassination in Sarajevo by a Serb terrorist -- set off a chain
reaction that led in just a few weeks to World War I. Tuchman ended
her book with a sentence that resonates in this summer of crisis: "The
nations were caught in a trap, a trap made during the first thirty
days out of battles that failed to be decisive, a trap from which
there was…no exit." Preventing such a trap must be the highest
priority of American policy. There is little sign the president and
his top advisers recognize how close we are to a chain reaction. The
US must deal with the consequences of its actions, which are provoking
dangerous new anti-American coalitions and encouraging a new
generation of terrorists. President Bush owes it to the nation, and
especially the troops who risk their lives every day, to reexamine his
policies. Every secretary of state from Kissinger to Christopher and
Albright negotiated with Syria, including those Republican icons
Shultz and Baker. Why won't this administration follow suit? Instead,
administration officials refuse direct talks and say, "Syria knows
what it must do" -- a statement that denies the very point of
diplomacy. The same is true of talks with Iran. Containing the
violence must be Washington's first priority.

14) Israelis Authorize Expansion Of Combat
Cabinet Bitterly Divided; Highest Toll Yet for Troops
Molly Moore and Jonathan Finer
Washington Post
Thursday, August 10, 2006; A01
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/09/AR2006080900449.html
On the deadliest day of fighting yet for Israeli soldiers in Lebanon,
the Israeli security cabinet Wednesday authorized the military to
expand ground combat operations to try to root out Hezbollah
guerrillas who continued to mount fierce resistance. The cabinet
debated military options during an acrimonious meeting that
occasionally dissolved into shouting matches among members torn
between the public's growing anger over the military's failure to stop
Hezbollah rocket attacks and concerns that enlarging an already
treacherous battlefield will result in high numbers of combat
casualties. Wednesday's toll drove home those fears -- 15 soldiers
were killed and 25 wounded in Israel's worst day of battlefield deaths
since the conflict began.

15) At U.N., France Presses Pullback Of Israeli Troops
U.S. Stresses Importance of Timely Action
Colum Lynch and Robin Wright
Washington Post
Thursday, August 10, 2006; A14
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/09/AR2006080900445.html
France on Wednesday introduced elements of a draft resolution urging
Israel to begin withdrawing thousands of troops from southern Lebanon
"at the earliest" possible date, as the United States warned that the
next 24 hours are crucial because of Israel's threat to launch a
ground invasion of Lebanon. The possibility of escalating violence in
the region raised the stakes in diplomatic efforts by the United
States and France to bring a halt to the four-week conflict. The U.N.
Security Council's five major powers agreed to hold talks Thursday
morning to try to narrow the differences. A senior administration
official warned late Wednesday that diplomacy is reaching a crunch
point. "It's a real inflection point in the next 12 to 24 hours," said
the senior U.S. official. "There's a real possibility that we will get
a resolution that reduces to zero the large-scale violence and gets an
international force into Lebanon or, if not, then you're looking at a
major Israeli ground invasion," the official said. In Paris, President
Chirac suggested France would pursue its own diplomatic initiative to
end the conflict if the United States refused to budge. The move
appeared calculated to increase pressure on the US to press Israel to
end its escalating military campaign and leave Lebanon.

16) After a Lifetime of War, Lebanese Envoy Knows No Peace
Lynne Duke
Washington Post
Thursday, August 10, 2006; C01
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/09/AR2006080901831.html
Inside the Lebanese Embassy, Carla Jazzar, the new diplomat in charge,
has relaxed the no-smoking rule. It is a small concession to allow her
staffers some modicum of relief from the fear and anxiety that have
gripped them all as they watch their country being destroyed yet
again. "Everybody has family in Lebanon," she says. "Everybody's
concerned." Of her own habit, she says, "I was about to quit, really,
until this whole thing happened."
"This war today revives painful memories to me," Jazzar says. "I've
witnessed this country so many times being devastated then rebuilt,
then redevastated and rebuilt. And last year in March 2005, the Cedar
Revolution happened and it brought us so many hopes." The Lebanese
success at pushing Syrian troops out of their country after 30 years
marked a watershed for Lebanon. "And we thought at that time: This is
it. This is the end of our suffering…"
"I still believe we will overcome this…Lebanon is the oldest democracy
in this part of the world…It has the oldest constitution, going back
to 1920. Women in Lebanon had the right to vote in 1952. So it is a
very democratic society…"
"We never lived as normal children, never, my sisters, my family. We
rarely had electricity, for instance. We were living in a state of war
all the time. . . . Our only concern was to go to school safe and come
back safe. And I remember the long nights we spent in shelters…Very
often we couldn't come back home. We had to stay at our schools for
days and days."

17) Egypt says US losing credibility in Mideast
Reuters
Thursday, August 10, 2006; 11:09 AM
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/10/AR2006081000732.html
Egyptian President Mubarak said the US and the West were losing
credibility in the Middle East because they were dragging their feet
on a ceasefire in Lebanon between Israel and Hizbollah guerrillas.
Mubarak also said it would be impossible to implement quickly a U.N.
resolution which requires Hizbollah to disarm -- one of the steps
Israel and the US want to see in a political settlement of the
month-old conflict. He dismissed Washington's talk of "a new Middle
East," saying it ignored what he called the real problem -- the
collapse of attempts at peace between Israelis and Palestinians.

18) On Patrol, Iraqis Prove Eager, Erratic and Green
Damien Cave
August 10, 2006
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/10/world/middleeast/10baghdad.html
Baghdad was supposed to be the showcase for an Iraqi force that was
strong enough to manage the city of six million to eight million, and
could eventually take over as American troops pull out of Iraq. But as
the city has slid into increasing chaos, the American military has
reversed course, sending thousands more troops in to bolster the raw
Iraqi forces who have been assigned control of 70 percent of the
capital in recent months. Several days spent in Dawra with the
Americans and accompanying Iraqi units, including the Sixth Brigade of
the national police force, illustrated some of the shortcomings that
American officers say the Iraqis still show. Two years after the start
of an all-out training effort by the United States and its allies,
many of the early troubles remain: weak discipline, divided loyalties,
failure to complete tasks, the tendency to fire wildly in every
direction at the first sign of danger. In Dawra, American commanders
said they were concerned that their Iraqi counterparts had leaked the
plan of the search operation, tipping off residents.

19) Toll in Baghdad Reaches New High: As Violence Spikes, U.S. Puts
Onus on Iraqis in Second Phase of Crackdown
Andy Mosher
Washington Post
Thursday, August 10, 2006; A20
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/09/AR2006080901773.html
Figures compiled by the city morgue indicated Wednesday that the
number of killings in the Iraqi capital reached a new high last month,
and the U.S. military said a new effort to bring security to Baghdad
will succeed only if Iraqis "want it to work." The Baghdad morgue took
in 1,815 bodies during July, news services quoted the facility's
assistant manager, Abdul Razzaq al-Obeidi, as saying. The previous
month's tally was 1,595. Obeidi estimated that as many as 90 percent
of the total died violent deaths. Since the bombing of a Shiite shrine
in Samarra in February, Baghdad has been ravaged by sectarian
violence. Shiite militiamen conduct almost nightly raids on Sunni
neighborhoods, and Sunni insurgents frequently bomb Shiite mosques and
other gathering places. A report from the UN combining morgue and
hospital body counts for June showed that, on average, more than 100
people were being killed every day.

20) Amnesty International: Proposed War Crimes Act Amendments Are
Administration's Latest Attempt to Protect Failed War on Terror Policy
Architects
http://www.commondreams.org/news2006/0809-11.htm

21) Protesters Barricade Banks in Mexico: Partial Recount Of Vote Underway
Lorraine Orlandi
Reuters/Washington Post
Thursday, August 10, 2006; A17
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/09/AR2006080902053.html
Protesters blocked access to foreign banks in Mexico on Wednesday to
protest what they said was election fraud while judges and troops
oversaw a partial recount that could decide July's presidential vote.
Supporters of Andrés Manuel López Obrador surrounded the main offices
in Mexico City of U.S.-based Citigroup's Mexican unit Banamex. They
closed them for several hours. Guarded by soldiers, election officials
began a recount of votes from 9 percent of polling stations. López
Obrador's followers have crippled downtown Mexico City for the past 10
days by setting up tents on the main Reforma boulevard running through
the business district. All but one of Mexico's major banks are in the
hands of foreign companies, and the industry's sell-off has been a
symbol of the "reforms" in Mexico disliked by the left. "Banamex is
really Citigroup, a foreign bank that ransacks the country," said
Gerardo Fernandez, spokesman for the PRD. Judges, election officials
and party representatives will spend up to five days checking about 4
million votes at 11,839 voting stations. In the first few hours of the
recount, officials detected serious irregularities in at least 15 of
the 149 electoral districts being checked, said senior PRD figure
Ricardo Monreal. If the partial recount shows López Obrador closing
the gap on Calderón, it could force the electoral court to open more
ballot boxes. If there is no big change in the numbers, López Obrador
will come under heavy pressure to give up his fight.

--------
Robert Naiman
Just Foreign Policy
www.justforeignpolicy.org