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Five Sept. 11 Suspects to Face Trial in New York

The Obama administration has announced it will try 9-11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and other 9-11 Gitmo detainees in a civilian federal court in New York, allowing them the protections of the U.S. Constitution even though they are not U.S. citizens.

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Four Radical Chinese Muslims Transferred to Bermuda

Four Chinese Uighers (radical Chinese Muslims) were recently transferred to Bermuda. Do you think it's a good idea to release Gitmo detainees to idyllic vacation retreats?

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August 3, 2008

Hezbollah Solidifying Its Already-Strong Position in Lebanon

W. Thomas Smith, Jr.

Hezbollah - as I've said before, the most-dangerous Talibanesque terrorist-army on the planet - is wrangling its way into becoming a legal part of the Lebanese Defense establishment: Positioning itself in such a way as to make it nearly impossible to ever outlaw and disarm Hezbollah in Lebanon.

This despite the fact that Iranian-Syrian-supported Hezbollah - which fancies itself a legitimate arm of resistance - launched multiple deadly attacks against the Lebanese government and citizenry in May and numerous isolated attacks nationwide since.

In the wake of the attacks - through force and intimidation - Hezbollah has achieved unprecedented political power in Lebanon (which we have written about extensively, and analysis may be accessed here).

Now the Lebanese cabinet is on the verge of adopting a draft statement, permitting Hezbollah to keep its weapons (technically banned by the United Nations Security Council) and incorporating Hezbollah into the Lebanese defense apparatus under the binding role of "resistance," something Hezbollah has claimed for some time, enabling the terrorist organization to skirt the country's - and the United Nations' - ban on armed militias in Lebanon.

"Hezbollah will now be capable of further intimidating UN forces in the south of Lebanon," says Tom Harb, secretary general of the International Lebanese Committee for UNSCR 1559. "They will also be able to keep the [already porous] Syrian-Lebanese border open to unfettered weapons smuggling [from Iran and Syria to Hezbollah]."

Harb adds, "This draft policy if adopted will prevent the Lebanese government from implementing UN Security Council Resolutions 1559 and 1701. And the international community might one day be facing a situation with Lebanese Pres. Michel Sleiman that is not unlike that which we are witnessing with Omar al-Bashir [the Sudanese president alleged by the International Criminal Court to be responsible for genocide and other war crimes in Darfur]."

The draft policy must be approved by Lebanon's Parliament.

- Visit W. Thomas Smith Jr. online at uswriter.com.

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