The Foreign Service Journal, October 2010

cepted as they pass through the com- pany’s overseas servers. It and Leba- non are both considering taking action against the company. Writing for BBC News about the controversy, technology reporter Jane Wakefield asks the obvious question: What is the basis of the sudden con- cerns about RIM? Though it is the only telecommunications firm that au- tomatically sends users’ data to servers back in Canada (the company’s home base), Wakefield suggests the real issue may be the fact that RIM routinely shares data with the U.S., Russia and China, among others — but not with smaller nations. RIM insists that it does not allow any third party — or even the company itself — to read in- formation sent over its network ( www. bbc.co.uk/ ). Reporting for the Voice of America, Jerome Socolovsky notes that the issue represents the latest arena for conflict between governments and technology companies over the control of infor- mation in the Internet age. Earlier this year, Google had to remove its search engine from China, and Pakistan blocked access to the Internet social networking company Facebook over what authorities called blasphemy ( www.voanews.com/ ). — Steven Alan Honley, Editor The Hezbollah Problem A number of recent events have brought Lebanon back to the forefront of world attention. Rumors have swirled in recent weeks that the United Nations tribunal investigating the 2005 assassination of Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri is prepar- ing to indict several members of Hezbollah, a powerful Shiite paramil- itary group and major player in Leba- nese politics. Over the summer, Leba- non’s intelligence forces reportedly broke up several Israeli spy networks. And earlier this month a border clash between Lebanese and Israeli armed forces resulted in casualties on both sides. In early August, in a move that chal- lenges the White House and State De- partment’s support for the Lebanese Army, Rep. Howard Berman, D-Calif., and Rep. Nita Lowey, D-N.Y., placed a hold on $100 million in assistance des- ignated for the Lebanesemilitary, citing “Hezbollah influence on the Lebanese Armed Forces.” Through these holds, Berman and Lowey — House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman and House Ap- propriations Committee Chairwoman, respectively — effectively suspended future aid to Lebanon. Obama ad- ministration officials are working to have the holds reversed ( www.voa news.com/ ) . Military aid is one aspect of U.S. ef- forts to strengthen the Lebanese Army as a counterweight to Hezbollah, which draws strong support from the largest religious sect in Lebanon, the Shia. In recent elections the group’s coalition party won 57 seats in Parlia- ment, out of a total of 128. While offi- cial U.S. policy identifies Hezbollah as a terrorist organization and refuses to engage with the group, there is a lively debate among experts about the wis- dom of such an approach. Yezid Sayigh, a professor of Middle East studies at King’s College London, urges a different approach in a 2009 report published by the Carnegie En- dowment for International Peace. Key recommendations include emphasiz- ing reconciliation between Lebanon’s factions to promote stability and not conditioning aid on the exclusion of opposition groups, includingHezbollah ( www.carnegieendowment.org/ ) . Steven Simon and Jonathan Steven- son, writing in the summer 2010 issue of Democracy ( www.democracyjo urnal.org/ ) discuss what they term “The Hezbollah Problem” in detail. They assert that achieving U.S. goals— creating a stable and democratic Leban- on, ensuring Israeli security and reduc- ing Iranian influence — requires the U.S. to “demilitarize Hezbollah, which means we’ll have to talk to them.” In recognition of Hezbollah’s par- ticipation in Lebanese politics, Euro- pean Union representatives have taken cautious steps toward engaging the group, distinguishing between the 10 F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L / O C T O B E R 2 0 1 0 C Y B E R N O T E S 50 Years Ago... C learance has its uses. For example, to avoid the appearance of precipitance. Did you receive a priority telegram from the field and write an answer within the hour? Surely you will not send it out; you would be branded as impetuous and your message as capricious. Clear it. A couple of days’ delay will add to the message’s stature, and yours. Similarly, have you said all you have to say in four sentences, and find yourself embarrassed at your own brevity? Clear it thoroughly. You may be assured of at least two extra paragraphs, and the message will be impressive, if not monumen- tal. … Importance. There is the key word when we talk about the uses of clearance. For adding an aura of importance to the most modest communication, clearance is second to none. — Jack Perry, “Clear It with Sidney et Alibi,” FSJ , October 1960.