LCCC
ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
ِApril
23/2010
Bible Of the
Day
James Letter 4/1-10: " Where do wars and fightings among you come from? Don’t
they come from your pleasures that war in your members? 4:2 You lust, and don’t
have. You kill, covet, and can’t obtain. You fight and make war. You don’t have,
because you don’t ask. 4:3 You ask, and don’t receive, because you ask with
wrong motives, so that you may spend it for your pleasures. 4:4 You adulterers
and adulteresses, don’t you know that friendship with the world is enmity with
God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy
of God. 4:5 Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain, “The Spirit who
lives in us yearns jealously”? 4:6 But he gives more grace. Therefore it says,
“God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”* 4:7 Be subject
therefore to God. But resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 4:8 Draw near
to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and
purify your hearts, you double-minded. 4:9 Lament, mourn, and weep. Let your
laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to gloom. 4:10 Humble yourselves in
the sight of the Lord, and he will exalt you.
Free Opinions, Releases, letters, Interviews & Special Reports
A
question mark hovers over Washington/By
Michael Young/April
22/10
It's raining missiles/Ha'aretz/By Amos
Harel/April 22/10
Tensions ease between US and Iran/By BARRY SCHWEID/Washington
Post/April 22/10
Anti-graft efforts need to
snowball/Daily Star/April
22/10
Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources for April 22/10
Sfeir
Heads to the Vatican: All Forces Should Abide by Government Standards/Naharnet
Paris
Reiterates its Call for Implementation of 1701/Naharnet
Lebanese
psychic to be spared Saudi beheading/Daily
Star Staff
Feltman
Calls Muallem, Shatah; Says 'All Options' On Table if Syria Transferred Scuds to
Hizbullah/Naharnet
Lebanese official: Hezbollah controls defense
policy/Ynetnews
Geagea Says Hizbullah
Controls Lebanon's Defense Policy, Not the Governmet/naharnet
Allouch: Jumblatt’s
position on former alliances is surprising/Now
Lebanon
Syrian,
Egyptian, Saudi leaders to hold 3-way talks/Daily
Star
US warns Syria again on alleged Scud transfers/Washington
Post
Clinton: US Sees Value in Diplomatic Ties to
Syria/New York Times
Obama Official Defends US-Syria Engagement After
Scud Reports/BusinessWeek
Israel has ample reason to worry in its 63rd year/Ha'aretz
Iran's cunning power play: They will get a nuke not
with a bang, but with a/New
York Daily News
Jumblat Dubs some March 14
Christians 'Friends' and 'Not Allies/Naharnet
Taxi
and Public Bus Drivers Block Roads in Beirut, North, South/Naharnet
Mount Lebanon Readies for
May 2 Polls after Deadline for Filing Candidacies Expires/Naharnet
UAE Delivers First Batch
of Puma Helicopters to Lebanese Army/Naharnet
Hariri: Government will
Discuss Iran's Nuclear Program with Arab League/Naharnet
Army: Mdoukha Remains
Likely Belong to Syrian Soldier/Naharnet
Aoun: Hizbullah Arms for
Use against Israel, Army's Weapons for Internal Disputes/Naharnet
Syrian PM: Lebanese-Syrian
Relations Will Witness Special Progress/Naharnet
Suleiman to Sign 4
Agreements during Brazil Visit/Naharnet
Bikers
assault Egypt Airlines' director general/Daily
Star
Resistance denounces UN call to relinquish weapons/By
Agence France Presse (AFP)
Assad,
Franjieh stress need to build stronger bilateral ties between Syria, Lebanon/Daily
Star
Remains
found in Bekaa believed to belong to Syrian soldier/By
Agence France Presse (AFP)
Quest
for consensus in polls persists in Chouf, Metn/By
Elias Sakr and Maher Zeineddine/Daily Star
Cabinet approves draft to grant
foreign husbands residency after 1 year of marriage/Daily Star
Feltman:
Hizbullah receiving Scuds would be 'incendiary' action/Daily
Star
Court
wants suspects in plot to attack UNIFIL executed/Daily
Star
Syrian
worker killed in gas-canister blast/Daily
Star
Angry
fans attack Kuwaiti Embassy after soccer loss/Daily
Star
Kahwaji
visits Qana, pays tribute to massacre victims/Naharnet
Sfeir Heads to the Vatican: All Forces Should Abide by Government Standards
Naharnet/Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir traveled to the Vatican on Thursday
to participate in preparations for the Synod of Bishops for the Middle East that
will be held in October 2010.
"We are for a Lebanon (that belongs) to all its forces which should abide by the
standards of the Lebanese government," Sfeir said at Rafik Hariri international
airport in response to a question on President Michel Suleiman's full support
for Hizbullah.
"All factions and the government should unite," he said.
"Israeli threats … are continuous against Lebanon," Sfeir added.
About the Syrian embassy's latest ceremony in BIEL, the prelate said the
patriarchate had received an invitation "but there was no opportunity to send" a
representative.
Sfeir is scheduled to meet with Pope Benedict XVI during his visit to Rome.
The pope had said that the synod would look at the various problems faced by the
minority Christian communities in Middle Eastern countries, from migration to
inter-religious dialogue.
Feltman Calls Muallem, Shatah; Says 'All Options' On Table if Syria Transferred
Scuds to Hizbullah
Naharnet/Washington has warned that "all options" are on the table if Syria
supplied Scud missiles to Hizbullah but defended its pursuit of dialogue with
Damascus.
Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Jeffrey Feltman said
Wednesday the U.S. would have "really, really serious concern" if Syria had
delivered such weapons to the Lebanese group.
"If these reports turn out to be true, we're going to have to review the full
range of tools that are available for us in order to make Syria reverse what
would be an incendiary, provocative action," Feltman told the House Foreign
Affairs Committee.
"The United States has shown in the past that we are able to act," he said. "I
expect that all options are going to be on the table looking at this."
In addition, Feltman said he had raised the matter earlier Wednesday in a phone
call with Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem.
An Nahar daily also said that the diplomat called the Lebanese prime minister's
political advisor Mohammed Shatah and "discussed with him clearly Washington's
stance and concern" over the alleged Scuds transfer.
According to An Nahar, Feltman also expressed reservations over Premier Saad
Hariri's latest remarks in which he compared accusations that Hizbullah had
obtained Scud missiles to charges that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction
ahead of the 2003 U.S.-led invasion.
He added the concerns underscored the need to send a new U.S. ambassador to
Damascus to ensure that Syrian President Bashar Assad understands the situation.
"When President Assad is taking decisions that could affect war and peace in his
region he needs to have clear understanding of what the implications are, what
the U.S. positions are and what the red lines are," Feltman said.
President Barack Obama in February appointed the first U.S. ambassador to
Damascus in five years, Robert Ford, although the Senate has not yet confirmed
him.
Feltman told the congressional hearing: "We're not doing engagement because it's
a pleasurable experience with the Syrians. We're doing engagement because it's
in the U.S. national interest."He said that many in the Arab world would not respond well to U.S. envoys coming
in for brief visits with negative messages.
With an ambassador, the United States "can go in at a very high level on a
regular, continual basis," Feltman said. "It enhances our ability to get our
message across."
He argued that limiting American access to Assad would be a mistake since the
Syrian president is speaking with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and
Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah.
"President Assad is making decisions in a very volatile and dangerous region,"
he said. "Syria has made mistakes before and Syria has, in fact, paid the
consequences for those mistakes."
"He is listening to people like Hassan Nasrallah, he is listening to people like
Ahmadinejad," Feltman said. "We need to be making our message to him loud and
clear and directly."
But his position faced criticism on Capitol Hill. Representative Eliot Engel, a
member of Obama's Democratic Party, asked the president to reconsider sending an
ambassador -- noting that shortly after the nomination, Assad welcomed
Ahmadinejad.
"It's almost like he's poking a finger once again in the eye of the United
States," the New York lawmaker said.
Engel joined Republican Representative Mark Kirk of Illinois in announcing they
would introduce a resolution calling for tighter sanctions on Syria over the
missile issue. Representative Dan Burton, a Republican from Indiana, said the
United States should not "reward them when they're kicking us in the teeth or
spitting in our eye."
"I've talked to the Syrian ambassador here, and he seems like a nice guy and
he's got a lovely wife, and I'd like to see us have a positive relationship with
Syria," Burton said. "But I don't see how in the world we can take steps in that
direction if this kind of crap's going on," he said.(Naharnet-AFP-AP)
Paris Reiterates its Call for Implementation of 1701
Naharnet/France has reiterated its call for the full implementation of U.N.
Security Council Resolution 1701 and called on all parties to take measures that
would limit tension.
"I have previously called on all parties to implement resolution 1701 which
calls for banning the transfer of weapons into Lebanon unless with the consent
of the Lebanese government," Foreign Ministry spokesman Bernard Valero said in
response to a question on the alleged transfer of Scud missiles from Syria to
Hizbullah. "France urges all sides to take measures that bring back trust aimed
at limiting tension," he added.
Geagea Says Hizbullah Controls Lebanon's Defense Policy, Not the Government
Naharnet/Hizbullah controls Lebanon's defense policy, not the government,
Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea said on Wednesday."The decision of when and how to defend Lebanon is currently not in the hands of
the government," Geagea told Agence France Presse.
"An armed force independent of the army exists in Lebanon, and we do not know
what that force intends to do," he added, referring to Hizbullah.Furthermore, he stressed that "the Lebanese Army could easily carry out what Hizbullah is doing in the face of Israel … if it was granted a clear political
decision in that regard."
He said Hizbullah's arms and its close ties to Damascus and Tehran "put Lebanon
in danger."On Monday, the United Nations, in its eleventh report on the implementation of
Security Council Resolution 1559, urged Hizbullah to disarm.
Adopted in 2004, the resolution calls for "the disbanding and disarmament" of
all factions in Lebanon, currently a temporary member of the Security Council."The armed component of Hizbullah remains the most significant Lebanese militia
in the country," the U.N. report said, calling on the group to "complete the
transformation ... into a solely Lebanese political party."(Naharnet-AFP)
Jumblat Dubs some March 14 Christians 'Friends' and 'Not Allies'
Naharnet/Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat has denied that March
14 Christians were his allies, saying the "word ally was not appropriate.""They are not my allies. There is a different name" for them, Jumblat told
pan-Arab daily Asharq al-Awsat in an interview published Thursday.
"I announced on August 2 that I was withdrawing from March 14. The word ally is
not appropriate … maybe friends or some friends," the Druze leader added.
When asked about running in the parliamentary elections last June with March 14
members, Jumblat said: "I consider myself that I lost. Participation (in the
polls with them) led to a loss in some locations."
He told the newspaper that he lost in favor of "the old-new allies," and in
favor of what he called his "previous allies."
About the upcoming municipal elections, Jumblat said: "The roadmap won't be easy
… Eventually whether with or without polls, there is a wide line drawn by the
national consensus government which is the most important thing."He acknowledged that a "governance mechanism is nonexistent yet" and described
his relations with Prime Minister Saad Hariri as "excellent."On the country's defense strategy, Jumblat criticized attempts to limit the
resistance to Lebanon only, saying the issue should be looked at from a wider
Islamic resistance against Israel. Asked if he expected any attack by the Jewish state on Lebanon, Jumblat said:
"Israel can't live in peace. It is based on war. If it accepts peace it
collapses."
Taxi and Public Bus Drivers Block Roads in Beirut, North, South
Naharnet/Lebanese taxi and public bus drivers blocked roads in Beirut and
northern and southern Lebanon on Thursday to protest the rise in gasoline prices
and condemn cabinet's neglect of the transportation sector. The army and
security forces, however, worked to open back the roads for traffic. The strike
was called for by the Lebanese unions and syndicates for land transportation.
During a press conference on Wednesday, they criticized the alleged stalling by
the government in meeting their demands. Drivers halted their work in most
regions as the strike is expected to end at noon Thursday.
Suleiman to Sign 4 Agreements during Brazil Visit
President Michel Suleiman headed to Brazil on Wednesday on a six-day official
visit where he is expected to sign four agreements. Suleiman was accompanied by
his wife, Wafa, and Cabinet Ministers Tareq Mitri, Mona Ofeish, Ali Abdulah,
Salim al-Sayegh and Mohammed Rahhal. He will oversee the signing of four
agreements on bilateral cooperation in the areas of environment, tourism, sports
and economy. Suleiman's visit was at the invitation of Brazilian President Luiz
Inacio Lula da Silva. The Lebanese President will be visiting Brasilia, Sao
Paulo and Rio de Janeiro during his stay. In the Brazilian capital, Suleiman
will hold talks with Lula on bilateral relations between the two countries. On
the eve of his trip to Brazil, Suleiman said the current political, security and
economic stability in Lebanon "is a good opportunity for investment." Suleiman
made his statements before a delegation of the Egyptian-Lebanese Businessmen
Friendship Association. He then held talks with Defense Minister Elias Murr on
the current security developments in Lebanon before a meeting with State
Minister Jean Ogassapian. Ogassapian briefed Suleiman on the outcome of the
visit of the Lebanese technical team to Syria on Monday.
Syrian, Egyptian, Saudi leaders to hold 3-way talks
Daily Star
Thursday, April 22, 2010
BEIRUT: The leaders of Saudi Arabia, Syria, and Egypt were expected to convene
in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh Thursday after Western diplomatic
sources in Riyadh told the newspaper Al-Quds al-Arabi that talks to arrange the
meeting had been under way since the beginning of the week.
According to the sources, Saudi King Abdullah was due to arrive at Sharm
el-Sheikh Thursday to congratulate Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak for his
recovery after surgery he underwent last month. The sources added that Syrian President Bashar Assad was also to head to the
resort and meet with Mubarak Thursday.
The report said that during the three-way summit, the leaders would discuss
Iran’s nuclear program, the situation in Iraq following the general polls and
the attempts to reconcile Palestinian groups Fatah and Hamas.
Assad was also due to bring up the issue of Israel’s recent threats against his
country.
Ties between Egypt and Syria have been strained since the assassination of
Lebanon’s five-time Premier Rafik Hariri in 2005, and the Sharm el-Sheikh
meeting may signal an improvement in the two countries’ ties.
Mubarak met with Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi Wednesday in Sharm el-Sheikh, and
with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas early this week. – Wissam Stetie
A question mark hovers over Washington
By Michael Young
Daily StarظThursday, April 22, 2010
It is beginning to dawn on some people that Barack Obama’s recent victory in
passing his groundbreaking health-care bill has done more harm than good to the
president’s ambitions in the Middle East, particularly on the
Palestinian-Israeli front. Not surprisingly, American priorities in the region
are moving elsewhere.
Obama’s health package was a heavy meal for the United States to digest,
regardless of its merits or demerits. The legislation polarized attitudes in the
country, at a time when Americans fear a heavier future tax burden because of
the health bill, but also because of the massive rescue plan following the
financial meltdown of 2008.
More generally, Americans are increasingly mistrustful of big government, a
point made by Andrew Kohut, president of the Pew Research Center, in a recent
Wall Street Journal opinion piece in which he described the results of a series
of surveys carried out by his institution. “By almost every conceivable measure,
Americans are less positive and more critical of their government these days,”
Kohut wrote. “There is a perfect storm of conditions associated with distrust of
government – a dismal economy, an unhappy public, and epic discontent with
Congress and elected officials.”
This does not bode well for Obama in November’s congressional and gubernatorial
elections. In such a political context, the president is highly unlikely to pick
a fight with Israel and in that way alienate pro-Israel voters, who form a core
Democratic constituency. But that’s not all. Confronting Israel may also
mobilize key Republican groups against the White House, and a great deal in the
election will hinge on which party gets its constituencies out to vote. For now,
the advantage seems to be leaning distinctly the Republicans’ way.
After the initial disagreement with Israel over settlement-building in East
Jerusalem, the Obama administration, rather discernibly, stepped back from a
full-fledged brawl. There were leaks that Washington might propose the outlines
of a final peace plan, in effect cornering the Israelis, but that scheme didn’t
go anywhere. Palestine seems to have steadily drifted down the administration’s
importance list. Instead, US officials have become much more publicly concerned
with tightening the screws on Iran’s nuclear program, and with showing they will
not tolerate Syrian arms transfers to Hizbullah.
This shift represents the surest confirmation yet that Obama’s campaign promise
of “engaging” Tehran and Damascus has failed. The president’s apprenticeship in
the tortured ways of the Middle East may soon end, to be replaced with a more
cohesive regional strategy. Or it may not end, amid signs of deep discord in
Washington, particularly over Israel and Syria. If Obama is to assert his
leadership on these issues, he will have to iron out the differences.
Take the recent reports that Syria has armed Hizbullah with Scud missiles. Those
opposed to US engagement of Syria and those supporting it have been furiously
shaping the story in a way that might advance their agenda. On Monday, Syria’s
deputy chief of mission was summoned to Foggy Bottom, as the State Department
spokesman Gordon Duguid put it, “to review Syria’s provocative behavior
concerning the potential transfer of arms to Hizbullah.” Duguid indicated that
this was the fourth time the US had expressed concerns, and added, “[o]ur
dialogue with Syria on this issue has been frank and sustained. We expect the
same in return.”
Not only did Duguid’s admission point to the fact that Damascus apparently sees
no risks in being hard of hearing, US officials had earlier qualified his
warning by saying they could not confirm the Scuds had been transferred.
American displeasure was little apparent when Senator John Kerry, the chairman
of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, pushed the appointment of the new US
ambassador to Syria, Robert Ford, through his committee, to be voted on by the
full Senate. Plainly, Washington is speaking in several tongues on Syria, even
as little is being said about another possible “game changer” in a war with
Israel, namely advanced anti-aircraft systems that might affect Israeli air
superiority over Lebanon.
Confusion was no less present after reports this past weekend that the US
defense secretary, Robert Gates, had sent a secret memo to the White House
suggesting the administration needed a backup plan if sanctions and negotiations
failed to interrupt Iran’s nuclear program. Much of the debate that followed
focused on whether Gates had issued a “wake up” call or not. But that was
secondary; the secretary only hinted at what everyone else has been saying for
over a year: Obama’s Middle East strategy is ambiguous, even incomplete.
Both Syria and Iran will continue to happily maneuver in the spaces opened up by
policy disagreements inside Washington. Palestinian-Israeli negotiations have
been brought to a halt as the administration is split over what to do next with
Israel; Syria is enjoying watching the wrangling between those for and against
engagement, and sees no reason to alter its behavior toward Hizbullah; and
Tehran can delight in the fact that even a senior official like Gates has quite
forcefully requested clearer guidelines on Iran from his boss.
Obama is finding that US behavior in the Middle East was not just about George
W. Bush. However, by the time he makes good on that realization, the president’s
ability to control policy may have greatly diminished. All politics are local,
and foreign policy often succumbs to domestic dynamics. November may be the
cruelest month for Obama, if he loses his majority. The states of the region are
waiting. All they see in Washington is a big question mark.
**Michael Young is opinion editor of THE DAILY STAR. His “The Ghosts of Martyrs
Square: An Eyewitness Account of Lebanon’s Life Struggle” (Simon & Schuster) has
just been released.
What does the US do if its Iran trap doesn't work?
By David Ignatius ظDaily Star
Thursday, April 22, 2010
The Obama administration’s goal as it devises sanctions for Iran is to build a
sticky trap – so that the harder the Iranians try to wriggle out of the
sanctions, the more tightly they will be caught in the snare.
It’s a clever idea. But even if it works with mousetrap precision, it’s unlikely
to stop the Iranian nuclear program. That’s why Defense Secretary Bob Gates and
other officials are pressing to explore the “what-ifs” about Iran – and to
accelerate planning for contingencies that could arise as the confrontation
deepens.
The White House didn’t like the characterization in The New York Times of a memo
Gates wrote in January as a “wake-up call,” given all the work the
administration has already done on Iran. But the story in the Times captured the
urgency with which Gates and other officials see the problem – and their fear
that sanctions, however well constructed, may not do the trick.
Gates’ memo called specifically for “prudent planning and preparation” for the
showdown with Iran, according to one senior official quoting from the text. The
defense secretary requested that the “principals committee,” the top officers of
the National Security Council, discuss the range of issues and options that
might arise.
The next step in this pressure campaign is the sanctions regime being crafted by
Stuart Levey, the undersecretary of the Treasury for terrorism and financial
intelligence. This will have several interlocking components: The showpiece will
be a new United Nations Security Council resolution to add sanctions against the
Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps and its affiliated companies, along with other
Iranian firms involved in manufacturing, transporting and financing weapons
shipments and other illicit activities. But that’s just the beginning.
The Obama administration knows the resolution will be watered down by Russia and
China, but it wants the UN sanctions anyway – as a platform for additional
measures by the United States and its allies. It’s these private and unilateral
sanctions that will have real bite: As the Iranians try to evade them, their
deception will trigger additional punitive measures.
“If you focus on bad conduct, their evasion doesn’t undermine sanctions but
escalates them,” explains one senior official.
An example of how the sticky trap can work is the case of the state-owned Bank
Sepah. The US imposed sanctions in January 2007, alleging that the bank had
financed the development of missiles that could carry nuclear weapons. The UN
added its own sanctions against the bank in March 2007.
The Iranians allegedly then turned to two other state-owned institutions to
finance nuclear activities, Bank Melli and Bank Mellat. The US hit them with
sanctions, too, and pressured international banks to stop doing business with
them. Banks that allegedly helped the Iranians evade controls were whacked with
big fines. To settle US government charges last December, the British bank
Lloyds agreed to pay $217 million and Credit Suisse agreed to pay $536 million.
Most global banks have decided that doing business with Tehran isn’t worth the
risk.
The trap also squeezed the state-owned Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Line,
which was cited in 2008 sanctions by the US. The company allegedly tried to
escape the dragnet by renaming some of its ships.
The British stripped the shipping line of its insurance; the Iranians sought
coverage in Russia and then Bermuda, but they were pursued by US monitors who
argued that the company’s deceptive conduct was evidence of its unreliability as
an insurance risk.
Yet for all this aggressive pressure, Iran continues to conduct both banking and
shipping – which illustrates the difficulty of using sanctions to force a change
in policy. The track record is spotty, whether applied from Cuba to Iraq under
Saddam Hussein.
For policymakers, the discussion is now beginning to shift to the sensitive area
suggested by Gates’ memo – the space between sanctions and outright military
action. What options would the United States and its allies have, short of war,
to raise the cost to Iran of pursuing a nuclear-weapons program? Are there means
of subverting, sabotaging or containing such a program without actually bombing
Iranian facilities?
We won’t be hearing a lot of public discussion about this gray area. But that’s
where senior officials will focus more of their energy in coming months, as they
prepare for the possibility that Levey’s clever trap won’t work.
*Syndicated columnist David Ignatius is published twice weekly by THE DAILY
STAR.
Analysis: Tensions ease between US and Iran
By BARRY SCHWEID
The Associated Press
Wednesday, April 21, 2010; 6:17 PM
WASHINGTON -- For the time being, at least, everyone can take a deep breath. A
senior defense official says the U.S. has ruled out a military strike against
Iran anytime soon.
A Pentagon spokesman says the U.S. military is confident it could protect the
U.S. from an Iranian missile strike, if and when Tehran develops long-range
weapons. Also, Iran has proposed variations on a deal in which its capacity to
make a nuclear bomb might be curbed.
The calm may not last long. Iran is ready to hold large-scale maneuvers in the
strategic Strait of Hormuz. But President Barack Obama seems determined to
reduce tensions with Iran. Now it's up to Iran to take the cue or not.
The latest glimmers of hope in the tense standoff with Iran came Wednesday.
In Singapore, Michele Flournoy, the undersecretary of defense for policy,
publicly ruled out a military strike on Iran at least for now. Instead, she is
putting the emphasis on negotiations and U.N. sanctions to keep Iran from
developing nuclear weapons.
"Military force is an option of last resort," she told reporters. "It's off the
table in the near term."
In Washington, meanwhile, Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell offered
assurances that the U.S. defense system based in California and Alaska was
"sufficient to protect us" if Iran developed a missile capable of striking the
United States, something it may have the hardware to do by 2015.
And in Tehran, Iran suggested variations on a U.N.-backed plan that offers
nuclear fuel rods to Iran in exchange for Iran's stock of lower-level enriched
uranium. It's not clear what Iran is suggesting yet, but the swap is intended to
curb Tehran's ability to make a nuclear bomb.
Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said Tuesday a fuel agreement could
boost trust with the West.
Nothing may come of the offer. Then again, it could be a basis for negotiations
while Iran slowly progresses with its nuclear program, one it insists is
designed for medical and other civilian purposes.
Amid these developments, though, tensions intensified between the United States
and Syria.
The top U.S. diplomat for the region, Jeffrey Feltman, told the House Foreign
Affairs Committee on Wednesday that the U.S. has warned Damascus several times
in recent weeks that transferring Scud missiles to Lebanon's Hezbollah militia
could lead to a war in the Middle East.
While Feltman did not confirm reports Syria had sent Scuds to Hezbollah, he said
providing such weapons to the militia would be "an incendiary, provocative
action" that could affect war and peace in the region.
Israel and Hezbollah fought a 34-day war in 2006 against Israel that left some
1,200 Lebanese and 160 Israelis dead.
**EDITOR'S NOTE - Barry Schweid has covered diplomacy for The Associated Press
since 1973.
Saudis not to behead Lebanese psychic
By BASSEM MROUE (AP) –
BEIRUT — A Lebanese TV psychic, who was condemned to death for witchcraft by a
Saudi court while visiting the country, will not be beheaded, his lawyer said
Wednesday.
May al-Khansa told The Associated Press that the Saudi ambassador in Beirut
informed the Lebanese justice minister that the execution of Ali Sibat would not
take place.
"He confirmed to me that there will be no execution," al-Khansa said about her
conversation with Ibrahim Najjar, Lebanon's justice minister. She refused to go
into details but said "matters are going in the right direction."
"We have faith in Saudi Arabia's judicial system," she added, noting that
Sibat's actions are not considered a crime in Lebanon.
Sibat is one of scores of people reported arrested every year in the kingdom on
charges of practicing sorcery, witchcraft, black magic and fortunetelling, which
are considered to be polytheism by the country's ultraconservative judiciary.
The father of five was arrested by the Saudi religious police while making a
pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca in May 2008 and sentenced to death last
November on charges of practicing witchcraft.
Sibat, 49, made predictions on a satellite TV channel from his home in Beirut,
where psychics, fortunetellers and astrologers operate freely. Many have regular
TV and radio shows and some cafes even hire them to attract more customers. On
Dec. 31, they jostle for air time to give their predictions for the new year.
According to his lawyer, he was the most popular psychic on his channel,
especially among callers from the conservative Gulf.
After Mecca, Sibat went to Medina to pray at the Mosque of the Prophet. At his
hotel, members of the religious police who enforce the kingdom's strict Islamic
lifestyle spotted him and grabbed him.
Earlier this week, a Saudi judicial official said the country's highest
appellate court had upheld the death sentence and asked the nation's Supreme
Judicial Council to set a date to carry out the execution.
Saudi newspapers have reported that the Court of Cassation had first rejected
the case and asked the lower tribunal to offer Sibat a chance to repent. It was
not clear if he was given that chance.
There has been sporadic media attention to his case. The report of his imminent
execution earlier this month brought a flare of calls in the Lebanese press for
his release.
Some Lebanese has also rallied near the Saudi embassy in Beirut to protest the
execution sentence.
New York-based Human Rights Watch said last year Sibat's death sentence should
be overturned and called on the Saudi government to halt its "increasing use of
charges of 'witchcraft,' crimes that are vaguely defined and arbitrarily used."
Associated Press Writer Abdullah al-Shihri contributed to this report from
Saudi.
Copyright © 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.