Minister of Economy and Trade Muhammad Safadi of Lebanon

Minister of Public Works Muhammad Safadi met with Director General of Land and Sea Transport Abed Al-Hafiz Al-Qaisi to discuss the recent Syrian decision to charge a toll on diesel-powered trucks, buses and vehicles leaving Syria for Lebanon.

Safadi said up to 40,000 households had received government payments of up to $40,000 each to rebuild their homes and could proceed at will.

As Muhammad Salam said at the time of the Abdeh attack, and Muhammad Safadi said today, this is aimed at creating a confrontation between the Sunnis of the north and the Lebanese Army.

As Muhammad Salam said at the time of the Abdeh attack, and Muhammad Safadi said today, this is aimed at creating a confrontation between the Sunnis of the north and the Lebanese Army, create a chasm in the Sunni community and between it and the rest of March 14, and deal a blow to Hariri's Future Movement (as Syria's flacks paint him to the West as simultaneously an al-Qaeda promoter and an unreliable sorcerer's apprentice), which were the exact goals of the Fateh Islam/Fathi Yakan fiasco in 2006.

Safadi had electoral considerations.