and figures within the March 14 alliance.
The notification to Jumblatt was conveyed to him by US ambassador Michele Sison in response to his request to meet officials in the new U.S. Administration to brief them on his stance on developments in Lebanon and the region and on his viewpoint regarding the need for American openness to Syria.
Jumblatt at one time was Washington’s closest ally specially in 2005 when he led the Cedar Revolution and demanded that Syria pull out of Lebanon . But since he announced that he is pulling out from March 14 alliance his relations with Washington soured . In 2005 Washington was the main power behind the withdrawal of the Syrian troops from Lebanon.
Jumblatt traveled several times to the US between 2005 and 2008 but last August at the opening of the general assembly of the PSP he said : “Our alliance with March 14 is driven by the objective necessity that controlled the country and must be terminated . My visit to Washington is a black point.”
According to observers Jumblatt has been clearly concerned about Hezbollah and its backers Syria and Iran after what happened in May 2008 when Hezbollah occupied the Sunni part of Beirut and tried to occupy the Druze strongholds of Mt Lebanon but were unsuccessful . Jumblatt was also extremely concerned after the Der Spiegel report last May which revealed that Hezbollah and not Syria is behind the assassination of former PM Rafik Hariri . . Jumblatt is clearly concerned that if Hezbollah officials are indicted by the Special Tribunal for Lebanon which is charged with trying the killers of Hariri and the other anti-Syrian politicians then such an indictment could trigger a civil war between The Sunnis and Shiites . This is why he reportedly told PM designate saad Hariri, son of the slain PM not to press the charges and to be satisfied only with knowing the truth
Tuesday
9:15pm Closure Celebration for Francophone games begin at Biel in downtown.
9:00 pm PM-designate Hariri is meeting s with Kataeb Party leader Amin Gemayel as consultations continue for the formation of a Cabinet.
8 :21pm OTV: The Armenian president is meeting at his residence at the Metropolitan hotel with the Armenian community leaders of Lebanon, surrounding Arab countries, Iran and Cyprus to explain the details of the agreement with Turkey
8:19pm MP Pakradonian told New TV : we are opposed to the weak political stance of the Armenian president specially with regards to the concessions to Turkey
8:14pm Caretaker Justice Minister Ibrahim Najjar told New TV: Mohammed Zuhair Siddiq’s case should be dealt with judicially away from politicization.
8:00pm Sources to LBC: Saudi Arabia King Fahd’s visit to Syria has been postponed for this week until some pending issues are solved.
7:25pm Caretaker PM Fouad Sianiora: Rumors of alleged Arabs entering “terrorist” cells target the reputation and the economic stability of Lebanon.
5:30pm Armenian President Serge Sarkissian arrived in Beirut heading an official delegation.
4:05pm Caretaker Agriculture Minister Elias Skaff called against amplifying the news about Zahle’s militant exercises. He added that Zahle’s doors will remain welcoming everyone.
4:00pm Al Mustaqbal parliamentary bloc after its weekly meeting: The only choice for everyone is to be flexible in stances and to put Lebanon’s interest ahead of other interests which allows the PM-designate to form the cabinet as soon as possible.
3:45pm The Central Security Council: Arab tourists in Lebanon have not exceeded the duration of their visit. There were rumors that as many as 7000 Gulf nationals remained in Lebanon to join terrorists groups . The rumors were classified by the Tourism minister as fabrications and lies aimed at undermining the tourist industry in Lebanon
3:00 pm Guaino told a press conference at the end of his visit to Lebanon that France believes there won’t be Middle East peace without talking about Lebanon’s independence. I have heard an optimistic tone regarding a settlement to the Cabinet crisis soon.
1:40 pm George Papandreou has been sworn in as Greece's prime minister after his Panhellenic Socialist Movement (Pasok) won general elections on Sunday.
1:31pm Lebanese Forces filed a lawsuit against ex-MP Hassan Yackoub after his accusations to the LF of training militants in Zahle. LF asked for 10 billion LL in damages
1;30 pm Reuters: Pakistani Taliban militants on Tuesday claimed responsibility for a suicide bomb attack on a UN office in which five people were killed saying the United Nations was a US slave
1:20pm Armeninan sit-in starting at 5 pm today in front of the Habtour Grand Hotel in Sin el Fil to protest against the agreement that will be signed between Armenia and Turkey. The sit-in will coincide with the visit of the Armenian president to Lebanon today
1:20pm Caretaker PM Fouad Siniora is heading a meeting for Al Mustaqbal parliamentary bloc in Quraytem.
1:16pm Speaker Nabih Berri discussed local developments with Caretaker Justice Minister Ibrahim Najjar.
12:17pm French President Nicolas Sarkozy's top advisor Henry Guaino inspects French troops in the southern village of Tireh in Bint Jbeil.
12:15pm The Central Security Council began its meeting under caretaker Interior Minister Ziad Baroud to discuss the latest security developments.
11:45 MP Nicola Fattoush told ANB: the issue of names of portfolios has become secondary, given the phase we have reached.
11:30 The Armenian president will arrive in Lebanon today to explain to the Armenian community in Lebanon the ramifications of the agreement with Turkey . From here he will head to France and the US where there are large Armenian communities
11:10am Financial results show a total deficit of 24.47% through August and an estimated LL 176 billion increase in spending on electricity in 2008.
11:00 FPM leader Michel Aoun discussed bilateral relations with a Chinese parliamentary delegation.
8:20 MP Farid al-Khazen told VOL: The general atmosphere is positive. The Hariri-Aoun meeting yesterday was good and constructive.
7:31 Soueid: March 14 forces are not concerned about the meeting between Hariri and Aoun. We must be wary of the pan-Arab rapprochement, because failure of such reconciliations will have a negative impact.
Monday
9:44 pm Alloush : the local obstruction are just a front for regional obstructions
8:57pm MP Oqab Saqr : Aoun and Hariri did not discuss the names of ministers and their portfolios
8:21pm Williams : The country is in urgent need of a government to face the challenges
8:20pm Jumblatt wrote in the Anbaa : "the Arab countries should unite against the Israeli aggression"
8:10pm Salim Aoun : it is silly to think that Gebran Bassil is the only problem facing the formation of the government
7:37pm President Suleiman met Ogassibian and the heads of Armenian parties
5;00pm VOA: More than 220 people have been killed and more than 1.5 million others have been displaced by massive floods which have devastated parts of Southern India in the past five days.
04:39 minister Najjar called for a follow up of the investigation of the murder of Lebanese citizen Andria Bajjani in New York
4:25pm Caretaker PM Fouad Siniora is holding a meeting with Sarkozy's top advisor Henry Guaino at the Grand Serail.
3:55 pm MEOL: France seems intent on becoming the dominant external power in Syria and Lebanon - commercially, politically and culturally, a position it enjoyed between the two world wars, when it was granted a League of Nations Mandate over the two countries, says Patrick Seale.
3:45 pm The Noor radio station has revealed that the UAE will be deporting more Lebanese expatriates including 2 well known business people
3:30 pm An Azerbaijani court on Monday found two Lebanese men Ali Karaki and Ali Najmeddin , guilty of plotting attacks on the Israeli and US embassies in the capital Baku, jailing them for 15 years each, a court spokesman said. They were linked to Hezbollah, Al-Qaeda , and Iran's Revolutionary Guards, the court spokesman added
3;20 AFP: Iran, praised by the UN atomic watchdog chief for deciding to cooperate with world powers over its nuclear program , said on Monday it will head with a "positive" approach into the next round of talks later this month.
3:15pm Speaker Nabih Berri is meeting the UAE ambassador to discuss the issue of the expatriate Lebanese that were deported from the UAE.
3:11pm MP Michel Aoun after meeting PM-designate Hariri: I agreed with Hariri on some points, the rest will be discussed in later meetings. A comprehensive agreement on a new government will soon be announced after the completion of consultations.
