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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| Leb rival leaders agree to keep talking |
| 2008-09-17 |
| Lebanon's rival factions wrapped up the first session of their national reconciliation talks on Tuesday, held to resolve lingering disputes, but agreed to meet again on November 5, 2008, for a second round of the talks. Leaders of 14 political factions met at the presidential palace for the talks headed by President Michel Suleiman that lasted for three hours before they were adjourned until Nov. 5. "Agreeing to dialogue in and of itself means that all subjects are open to discussion," said Suleiman, who chaired the talks. "The only thing banned here is failure or a reaching a dead-end." A statement from Suleiman's office released after a three-hour meeting said the president would mediate bilateral talks in the meantime to "consolidate the reconciliation" Disarming Hezbollah The participants agreed to "launch talks on a national defense strategy... to reach a shared vision on this strategy," the statement said. The main focus of the dialogue is on forging a defense strategy for Lebanon but there is widespread skepticism that an agreement can be reached given deep-seated divisions over Hezbollah's arsenal. The Shiite Muslim group, considered a terrorist organization by the United States, has refused to disarm arguing that its weapons and guerrilla army are essential to defend the country against neighboring Israel. However members of the Western-backed majority in parliament argue that Hezbollah's weapons undermine the authority of the state which should be the sole decision-maker on matters of defense. Hezbollah's arsenal became an even more sensitive topic after it staged a spectacular takeover of downtown Beirut in May that crippled neighboring businesses in an explosion of sectarian violence that left 65 people dead and raised fears of a return to the dark days of the 1975-1990 civil war. "All Lebanese are hoping that the dialogue will be successful but a real solution will only be found when Hezbollah stops using its weapons to serve regional interests and stops imposing its hegemony by force on the local scene," said an editorial in An-Nahar newspaper, which is close to the anti-Syrian ruling coalition in parliament. Newspapers close to the rival camp backed by Syria and Iran said those taking part in the dialogue face an arduous task given their differences. "The various political camps believe the discussions on the national defense strategy will get bogged down into futile debate and no one will see any results for a long time," the As-Safir newspaper said. The independent Al-Anwar said the closed-door talks were taking place "in a minefield called Lebanon, with the mines produced locally and abroad." |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #2 Religion of Peace watch: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7620599.stm |
| Posted by: liberalhawk 2008-09-17 15:06 |
| #1 Big car bomb an 11 |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2008-09-17 04:17 |