LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
ِApril 14/2011

Biblical Event Of The Day
The Good News According to Luke 11/37-48: "Now as he spoke, a certain Pharisee asked him to dine with him. He went in, and sat at the table. 11:38 When the Pharisee saw it, he marveled that he had not first washed himself before dinner. 11:39 The Lord said to him, “Now you Pharisees cleanse the outside of the cup and of the platter, but your inward part is full of extortion and wickedness. 11:40 You foolish ones, didn’t he who made the outside make the inside also? 11:41 But give for gifts to the needy those things which are within, and behold, all things will be clean to you. 11:42 But woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and every herb, but you bypass justice and the love of God. You ought to have done these, and not to have left the other undone. 11:43 Woe to you Pharisees! For you love the best seats in the synagogues, and the greetings in the marketplaces. 11:44 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like hidden graves, and the men who walk over them don’t know it.” 11:45 One of the lawyers answered him, “Teacher, in saying this you insult us also.” 11:46 He said, “Woe to you lawyers also! For you load men with burdens that are difficult to carry, and you yourselves won’t even lift one finger to help carry those burdens. 11:47 Woe to you! For you build the tombs of the prophets, and your fathers killed them. 11:48 So you testify and consent to the works of your fathers. For they killed them, and you build their tombs.

Latest analysis, editorials, studies, reports, letters & Releases from miscellaneous sources
If you have no shame, be an Iranian official/By Tariq Alhomayed/April 13/11
Has collapse of Lebanon government weakened Iran and Hezbollah influence?/By Zvi Bar'el /Haaretz/April 13/11
Can Lebanon avoid another Civil War?/By Hussein Dakroub/April 13/11
A ride to remember/By: Shane Farrell/April 13/11
Syria after Assad/By: Hussain Abdul-Hussain/April 13/11
Syrian revolt spreads to ruling Alawite tribes. Cities sealed. Executions in army/DEBKAfile/April 13/11
Leaders across the Mideast are looking to escape Mubarak's fate/By Zvi Bar'el/April 13/11
Hezbollah intends to attack Western targets ahead of Hariri killing indictments/By Avi Issacharoff & Haaretz Service/April 13/11

Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources for April 13/11
Ahmadinejad: Israel, US plotting Iranian-Arabian conflict/J.Post
Al-Rahi Calls for Reactivation of Hizbullah-Bkirki Dialogue Committee/Naharnet
March 14: Threat of Civil War Still Exists Given Possession of Arms Outside State Authority/Naharnet
MP, Jarrah Denies Involvement in Syrian Developments: Interfering in Syrian Affairs is Out of the Question/Naharnet
Women march in Syria to demand jailed men be freed/J.Post
Syria Presses Crackdown in Two Cities on Coast/New York Times
UN human rights office voices deep concern about killings in Syria/UN News Centre
Video Shows Syria Clash From Two Angles/New York Times
US condemns Syria violence against protesters/J.Post
Turkish Turmoil: Obstruction in Libya, Interference in Syria, Discrimination//The Weekly Standard
Hosni Mubarak in hospital/Ynetnews
Future criticizes Nasrallah over 2006 Saudi aid/Daily Star
Most of those told to leave Bahrain are Shiite/Daily Star
Mustaqbal Urges Gulf States to Disregard Nasrallah's Remarks/Naharnet
Amal Movement stresses strong ties with Hezbollah/Daily Star
Qabbani says Mikati will not be able to form the cabinet/iloubnan.info
Clinton Pushes Arab Reforms/Wall Street Journal
Hariri Telephones Ouattara Thanking Him for Facilitating Evacuation of Lebanese Expatriates/Naharnet
Miqati on Civil War Anniversary Urges Political Leaders to Take Bold Step towards Ending Disputes in Lebanon/Naharnet
March 14: Threat of Civil War Still Exists Given Possession of Arms Outside State Authority/Naharnet
Pietton Confirms Miqati Wants to Form Balanced, Widely Represented Cabinet/Naharnet
Hariri on Civil War Anniversary: Sectarianism, Arms Should No Longer Dictate Dialogue among Lebanese/Naharnet
Rifi Recounts Roumieh Prison Raid: 'There Could Have Been Massacres'/Naharnet
Illegal Construction Booming in the South but Baroud Says No Cover-up for the Corrupt/Naharnet
WikiLeaks: Khoja Described Hizbullah as 'Devil,' Said Shawkat was Planning to Kill Hariri/Naharnet
WikiLeaks: Hariri Said Suleiman's Election as President Will 'Embarrass' Hizbullah/Naharnet
WikiLeaks: Suleiman Said Hizbullah Supported his Election as President to Eliminate his Chances of Success/Naharnet
WikiLeaks: Geagea Backed Lahoud, Harb, Rizk for Presidency in 2007/Naharnet
Lebanese Businessman Clinches $643-million Deal to Buy 7 European Hotels/Naharnet
Miqati's Mission Suffers Setback, PM-designate Surprised by Aoun's Remarks/Naharnet
Aoun: I Have No Demands Concerning New Cabinet, I Am Only Defending Constitution and National Charter/Naharnet
Williams Meets Moussawi: '7 Estonians Came With No Ill Intent'/Naharnet
Mustaqbal Urges Gulf States to Disregard Nasrallah's Remarks/Naharnet
AFP Foundation Launches Media Training on Development/Naharnet


March 14: Threat of Civil War Still Exists Given Possession of Arms Outside State Authority
Naharnet/The March 14 General Secretariat warned on Wednesday that the threat of the eruption of a civil war still stands given the possession of arms outside the state's authority.
It said after its weekly meeting: "The war may have had several local and external causes, but it would not have happened had it not been for the possession of illegitimate arms among the Lebanese and the existence of several militias that claimed to be resisting Israel.""April 13 is not just a painful memory in the minds of Lebanese, but it is a lesson that was learned under the threat of illegitimate arms," the statement continued. "The Lebanese discovered during the March 14, 2005 demonstration that Christian-Muslim unity is the only way to achieve independence and build a stable and secure nation," it stressed. "Your insistence to wage a peaceful and democratic battle against the illegitimate arms is your right, duty, and guarantee that your sons will live in a stable country," it concluded. Beirut, 13 Apr 11, 18:56

Hariri on Civil War Anniversary: Sectarianism, Arms Should No Longer Dictate Dialogue among Lebanese
Naharnet/Caretaker Prime Minister Saad Hariri blamed on Wednesday the 15-year civil war for the current reality in Lebanon where "sectarian statelets and armed groups" have been established to serve internal and regional interests. He said in a statement marking the 36th anniversary of the eruption of the Lebanese civil war: "The memory of the war should remain in the past and we hope that it will not be repeated." "This cannot be achieved except through committing to the state, which will harbor all Lebanese and protect the country's sovereignty."
"In order to end the April 13 mentality and head towards the mentality of real national peace, we should halt sectarianism's domination of Lebanese daily lives and prevent the weapons from dictating their way of life," Hariri stressed. Beirut, 13 Apr 11, 13:29

Al-Rahi Calls for Reactivation of Hizbullah-Bkirki Dialogue Committee
Naharnet/Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi said Wednesday that he would activate the dialogue between Bkirki and Hizbullah upon his return from the Vatican at the end of the week.
He told Radio Charity and Voice of Lebanon stations in an interview from Rome that he had asked the Hizbullah delegation that visited him in Bkirki on the occasion of his election last month to reactivate the committee. Al-Rahi stressed the importance of resuming the functions of the Islamic-Christian dialogue committee. Furthermore, he told the radio stations that he would visit the congregations of Sidon and Tyre in southern Lebanon when he comes back to Beirut. Al-Rahi met with Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini on Wednesday morning. The patriarch also held talks with Prefect of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches Cardinal Leonardo Sandri on Tuesday. Lebanon's ambassador to the Vatican, George Khoury, held a reception in the patriarch's honor at the Grand Hotel on Wednesday evening. Several diplomats and members of the Lebanese community took part in the event. Al-Rahi is scheduled to meet with Pope Benedict XVI at noon Thursday. Beirut, 13 Apr 11, 14:36

WikiLeaks: Khoja Described Hizbullah as 'Devil,' Said Shawkat was Planning to Kill Hariri
Naharnet/Saudi Arabia was fully convinced that Assef Shawkat, Syrian President Bashar Assad's brother-in-law, was conspiring to kill caretaker PM Saad Hariri and former PM Fouad Saniora, according to a WikiLeaks cable.During a meeting with then U.S. Ambassador Jeffrey Feltman, Saudi chief of mission Abdul Aziz Khoja described Hizbullah as "the devil," according to the cable dated November 3, 2007 and published Wednesday by al-Akhbar daily. The ambassador stressed that Hizbullah and Syria reject the holding of presidential elections. According to the cable, Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun had approved the postponement of the elections to improve his chances of getting elected.
Khoja also predicted that Nassib Lahoud would be elected president and Najib Miqati would be named prime minister. King Abdullah has advised Hariri to wait until after the parliamentary elections to be named prime minister, Khoja reportedly said. The leaked cable said that "Yes Sir" is Hariri's only reply to any Saudi proposal. Beirut, 13 Apr 11, 12:33

WikiLeaks: Hariri Said Suleiman's Election as President Will 'Embarrass' Hizbullah
Naharnet/The March 14 camp believed that Michel Suleiman's election as president would "embarrass" Hizbullah and harm Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun, revealed a leaked U.S. Embassy cable published exclusively in Al-Akhbar newspaper on Wednesday. The November 4, 2007, WikiLeaks cable spoke of a meeting between the head of the Mustaqbal movement Saad Hariri and then U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Jeffery Feltman during which the former informed him that the March 14 camp had not reached an agreement over a presidential candidate, less than a month before then President Emile Lahoud's term was scheduled to end. Hariri did inform Feltman however of a "plan B", which called for the election of then Army Commander Michel Suleiman as president. He justified the choice by saying that Suleiman was not responsible for Hizbullah's smuggling of arms into Lebanon.
He also spoke of the army commander's position on the 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri when he submitted his resignation following the crime. Furthermore, Feltman mentioned PSP leader MP Walid Jumblat's position that noted that a lack of a western insistence to elect former MP Nassib Lahoud as president meant that the March 14 camp was left with nominating Suleiman. A November 20, 2007, cable revealed that Jumblat had confirmed that Suleiman would be elected as president and therefore it was best for the March 14 camp to support him instead of trying to harm his chances. Beirut, 13 Apr 11, 12:30

WikiLeaks: Suleiman Said Hizbullah Supported his Election as President to Eliminate his Chances of Success
Naharnet/The United States initially opposed Michel Suleiman's election as president, revealed a leaked U.S. Embassy cable published exclusively in Al-Akhbar on Wednesday.
The October 16, 2007, WikiLeaks cable spoke of a meeting between then Army Commander Michel Suleiman and then U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Jeffrey Feltman during which the former rejected claims that he was a "Syrian agent", voicing fears over what Damascus had in store for Lebanon. Feltman noted in the cable that Suleiman denied that he aimed to become president and spoke highly of Defense Minister Elias Murr and Mustaqbal movement leader Saad Hariri. He was quoted as saying: "The Sunnis discovered the army thanks to Saad Hariri's support." In addition, the U.S. official pointed out that Suleiman sought to leave a strong impression that he was not allied with Syria, justifying his ties with it by saying that he had no other option. Suleiman also stressed the need for supporting cooperation between Hariri and the army in order to prevent the northern region of Akkar from falling victim to Islamist extremists "who are being controlled by Damascus." He added that he worked hard to maintain the Lebanese army's unity, noting that it was not an easy task.
Furthermore, he said that should a dispute erupt among the Lebanese he would order the army not to get involved. Feltman noted at the end of the meeting that Suleiman succeeded in demonstrating his national sentiments and that he was not allied with Syria. He failed however in demonstrating that he was a good presidential candidate.
The two officials met again 12 days later, where the U.S. Ambassador noticed a change in the army commander's positions, which he attributed to Murr's influence on him, his presidential aspirations, and PSP leader MP Walid Jumblat's threat that the Druze officers in the army would not stand idly by if the security situation in Lebanon deteriorated.
In addition, Suleiman informed Feltman that Hizbullah supported his candidacy to the presidency in order eliminate his chance of getting elected. He explained that the party wanted to maintain the status quo in Lebanon and it did not want an agreement to be reached on its weapons. Suleiman stressed that he wanted to establish good ties with Syria, but not at the expense of maintaining the party's arms indefinitely. The army commander voiced his support for Murr to become Interior Minister, "because the Defense Ministry loses its importance when the president, prime minister, and defense minister enjoy good ties." Having a Sunni Interior Minister alongside the Sunni Internal Security Forces chief would give the impression that the security forces had changed into a Sunni militia, he added. Should Murr be appointed as Interior Minister, then ISF chief Wafiq Jezzini's strong ties with Hizbullah would be severed, he continued.
Addressing Hizbullah's possession of arms, Suleiman said in a meeting on November 24, 2007, a day after former President Emile Lahoud's term as president ended, that he will ensure that an army commander committed to the implementation of United Nations Security Council resolution 1701 would be appointed. Beirut, 13 Apr 11, 12:00

WikiLeaks: Geagea Backed Lahoud, Harb, Rizk for Presidency in 2007
Naharnet/Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea had reportedly backed Nassib Lahoud, Butros Harb and Charles Rizk "as a last resort" for the presidency. According to a WikiLeaks cable dated November 8, 2007 published by al-Akhbar daily on Wednesday, Geagea told then U.S. ambassador Jeffrey Feltman that the candidates he backed for the presidency are Lahoud, Harb and Rizk "as a last resort." The cable said that Geagea rejected a French initiative asking former Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir to propose a list of five possible candidates, fearing that such a move would bring a "weak president who would yield to pressure from Hizbullah and Syria." The LF leader told Feltman that the March 14 coalition would elect a president in the parliament with majority vote of half-plus-one. However, according to the cable, Geagea warned that such a move by the former parliamentary majority would lead to a clash with Hizbullah which would then control most parts of the country. Beirut, 13 Apr 11, 11:25

Lebanese Businessman Clinches $643-million Deal to Buy 7 European Hotels
Naharnet/A Morgan Stanley fund sold seven European hotels, including the Carlton in Cannes, to Lebanese businessman Toufic Aboukhater for about 450 million euros ($643 million), a source said. Aboukhater closed the purchase deal with Morgan Stanley Real Estate Fund on Monday, the source said. The portfolio includes Intercontinental-branded hotels in Vienna, Amsterdam, Madrid, Rome, Frankfurt and Budapest in addition to the landmark Carlton hotel. The Lebanese businessman has owned the Grand hotel in Monte Carlo and the Dorchester in London. Agence France Presse quoted Didier Boidin, the deputy head of the Intercontinental group in Western Europe, as saying that "the change of the owner won't change a thing in the current administration." "Intercontinental will continue to manage the Carlton hotel," Boidin said. Beirut, 13 Apr 11, 10:38

A ride to remember
Shane Farrell, April 13, 2011
On Tuesday April 12, the eve of the 36th anniversary of the 1975-1990 civil war, an old school bus meandered through Beirut. It was playing Lebanese songs from the war era and was decked out with banners reading “The bus is waiting for us around the corner.” The bus in question refers to the one carrying Palestinians that was attacked by Christian militants on April13, 1975. The militants killed everyone on board, and the incident is recognized as the spark that ignited the bloody 15-year conflict. The ominous message on the banner is aimed at alerting citizens to what the bus tour’s organizers believe is a powder keg of a political climate. Their main fear is the presence of arms outside of the control of the state, a concern that echoes repeated calls by March 14 leaders for Hezbollah to give up its weapons. “As long as illegal weapons remain outside the control of the Lebanese army, the country runs the risk of another civil war,” warned Mia Khoury from the recently-formed civil society group that organized the event, Moukawimoun, which means “resisters” in Arabic. “While the rest of the Arab world is in spring, we have fallen back to winter,” she added, referring to the wave of uprisings taking place across the region since December.Khoury believes that had there been no armed militias in Lebanon in 1975, a civil war would have been averted. Moreover, she says that the current political situation is crucial in determining the future of Lebanon. “What is at stake this year is more important than 2005,” Khoury said, referring to the year the Syrian army was kicked out of Lebanon. “Syria was going to be expelled sooner or later, [but] now our whole constitution is at stake.”The Moukawimoun bus took off from Sassine Square at 10:30 a.m., and passed by Adlieh, Ain al-Remmaneh (the neighborhood where the bus shooting took place) and Sodeco before arriving at Martyr’s Square at 1:30 p.m. En route, the organizers distributed flowers, including to some of the mothers who lost their sons during the April 13 bus attack, and copies of a small newspaper that contained articles in French, English and Arabic by Lebanese writers sharing Moukawimoun’s concerns.
Michel Touma, a journalist at L’Orient le Jour and contributor to the Moukawimoun newspaper, is concerned about what he sees as parallels between the current political environment and that of Lebanon on the eve of the civil war.
“The civil war began because a state within a state existed in Lebanon. That situation weakened the central state and allowed third parties to exploit the internal weakness of the state,” Touma told NOW Lebanon. “Now we live in a similar circumstance. We have a mini-state of Hezbollah, which – like Palestinian groups [in 1975] – has its own army, social structure, economic circles and which imposes its authority on one section of the political class.”
Touma praised the medium Moukawimoun used to deliver its message. “The bus, which is reminiscent of the one attacked in 1975, sends a clear message to Lebanese to learn the lessons of the civil war.” While Khoury was “very happy” with the event and how people reacted to the bus, fewer than a dozen people welcomed the bus upon its arrival at its final destination of Martyr’s Square. “Partly this was due to poor promotion of the event, as well as the fact that it occurred when most people are at work,” Touma said, adding that the message the organizers sought to deliver to Lebanese was more important than the turnout at the event. Yet not all passersby took kindly to the call for groups to disarm. “Some people on motorbikes gave us the finger,” said one of the organizers. According to Khoury, though, most of the passersby were happy with Moukawimoun’s initiative. “Some clapped and even asked if they could come onboard,” she said. Organizers told NOW Lebanon that the costs of renting the bus and paying for flowers and newspapers was entirely self-funded, though the group hopes to get sponsorship for future events.Another bus, not linked to Moukawimoun and carrying no apparent political message, toured Beirut on Wednesday playing Fayrouz songs in commemoration of the start of the 15-year conflict.

UN human rights office voices deep concern about killings in Syria
12 April 2011 – United Nations human rights officials today expressed deep concern amid reports that Syrian security forces have increased the killings, arrests or harassment of protesters, journalists and human rights defenders. The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) today urged authorities in the Middle East country to immediately stop the use of excessive force, especially the firing of live ammunition against peaceful demonstrators. Ravina Shamdasani, a spokesperson for OHCHR, told reporters in Geneva that the office had noted reports of an “intensification” of killings of protesters by security forces, as well as the mass arrest of human rights defenders and the harassment of journalists. “A number of journalists, international and Syrian, as well as Syrian bloggers, have reportedly been arrested and TV signals suspended of at least one private TV station,” she said. “Syrian authorities must immediately release journalists detained for doing their jobs and to respect the right to freedom of expression.” Ms. Shamdasani noted that OHCHR has told Syrian authorities that the use of force against peaceful demonstrators has not quelled the discontent, either in Syria or in other countries across North Africa and the Middle East where similar protests have erupted this year. OHCHR’s concerns echo those of Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who spoke by telephone with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Saturday, a day after a deadly confrontation between protesters and security forces in the southern city of Deraa

Hosni Mubarak in hospital
Ynetnews
Egyptian security, health officials say former Egyptian president admitted to Sharm el-Sheikh hospital. Hospital director says Mubarak 'more or less' stable as court hearing looms
News agencies Published: 04.12.11, / Israel News
Former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak was taken to hospital on Tuesday after suffering a "heart crisis" when he was being questioned during an investigation, Egyptian television reported. He is reportedly in the intensive care unit. Hospital director Mohammed Fathallah discussed Mubarak's health status on Egyptian television saying the former president was "more or less" stable. Mubarak had been hospitalized under the pretext of being sick in order not to appear before investigators, the website of the state-owned publisher of Al-Ahram newspaper said. Two security officials said Mubarak arrived under heavy police protection to the main hospital and, according to two doctors in the hospital, he stepped out of his armored Mercedes unaided and was taken to the presidential suite in the pyramid-shaped building.
Where's the Money?
In documents published in Washington Post, Egypt's chief Prosecutor seeks aid in retrieving assets stolen from Egyptian people, which he claims run into hundreds of billions of dollars – at least ten times more than previously claimed Egypt's prosecutor general had issued a summons for the 82-year-old president Monday to be interrogated over corruption allegations from his three decade reign and violence against protesters during the 18-day uprising that forced him out of office. Mubarak has denied allegations of wrongdoing. Dozens of demonstrators picketed the hospital in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, denouncing the president and carrying a sign reading "Here is the butcher." They scuffled with supporters of Mubarak amid a massive security presence. "The former president Hosni Mubarak entered ... Sharm el-Sheikh hospital," according to Al-Ahram. It said the president may not have to travel to Cairo to attend the investigation because of his admittance to hospital. A hospital official told AFP they cannot comment on the former president's condition but added that "the health minister will issue a statement" shortly. The former president was forced to give up power on February 11 after an 18-day popular uprising against his rule. He has kept a low profile since, living in Sharm el-Sheikh. Near the end of his rule, he had been suffering from a number of health problems and had undergone gallbladder surgery. According to reports in al-Ahram, Mubarak had been expected to be questioned by investigators for the first time on Tuesday in connection with corruption allegations and violence against protesters during the uprising under heavy security. It remains unclear when the testimony will take place and what exactly he is accused of. Meanwhile, prosecutors from Egypt's South Sinai region began questioning Mubarak's two sons, Alaa and Gamal, on Tuesday.
**Roee Nahmias contributed to this report

Amal Movement stresses strong ties with Hezbollah
April 13, 2011 /The Daily Star
BEIRUT: Speaker Nabih Berri was Hezbollah’s major partner in the resistance against Israel during the July 2006 war against Lebanon, Berri’s Amal Movement central committee said Tuesday in response to recent reports about dormant tensions between the two parties. “The central committee praised the position of Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, who stressed that when it comes to sacrifice, suffering and resistance, Berri’s Amal movement is Hezbollah’s full partner on the field,” a statement released by the central committee said. “Speaker Nabih Berri was a full partner in the management of the resistance against Israel in the July 2006 war until victory was achieved. The committee stresses the strength of the alliance between Amal Movement and Hezbollah, which brings popular support to the resistance’s project and legitimacy,” it added.
Nasrallah, in a speech Saturday, denied reports of a strain in relations with Amal after WikiLeaks documents published by a Lebanese newspaper quoted some members of Berri’s parliamentary bloc criticizing Hezbollah. The WikiLeaks documents published by Al-Akhbar newspaper relating to the 2006 war quoted some members of Berri’s parliamentary bloc being critical of Hezbollah during meetings with US officials.
The central committee said some parties were playing a “suspicious” role in targeting the Amal because of its national role in Lebanese politics. The committee also urged the new government to pursue diplomatic efforts to highlight Israeli violations against Lebanese sovereignty in violation of U.N. Resolution 1701. At the regional level, the committee tasked Berri with working toward bridging the gap between the Gulf Corporation Council (GCC) and Hezbollah’s ally, Iran. “The committee asked the movement’s leader Nabih Berri, based on his role as speaker, to work toward restoring ties between the GCC and the Islamic Republic of Iran … and to consolidate channels of communication to thwart plots aimed at severing Arab-Iranian ties,” the committee’s statement said. The GCC, whose members include Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Oman and Kuwait, accused earlier this month Iran, as the Shiite regional power, of interfering in its internal affairs and plotting against the security of its Sunni monarchies, as well as fanning sectarian discord among their citizens.
The regional cold war between Iran and the Saudi-led gulf coalition took its toll on Lebanese expatriates in Bahrain after a war of words erupted between caretaker Prime Minister Saad Hariri’s Future Movement and Hezbollah earlier this week after Hariri accused Iran of “flagrant interference” in the internal affairs of Lebanon. In a letter to the head of the Arab Parliamentary Union, Berri called for an urgent meeting of Arab speakers to be attended by Iran’s Parliament speaker and the Turkish speaker to promote dialogue to boost regional stability.
On another note, the central committee highlighted the need to form a parliamentary committee tasked with the abolition of political sectarianism and the approval of an electoral law based on proportional representation as stipulated in the 1989 Taif Accord, which ended the 1975-90 Civil War.
Berri held talks Tuesday with the Iranian cultural attaché in Lebanon Mohammad Hussein Rais Zadeh and Hezbollah’s central committee member Hassan Baghdadi at the Speaker’s residence in Ain al-Tineh. Berri discussed with a delegation of Bahraini opposition figures the latest developments in the kingdom. Five Lebanese have been deported from Bahrain so far and the number is expected to rise, Lebanese officials say. The Bahraini Foreign Ministry last month warned of deteriorating Lebanese-Bahraini bilateral ties after Hezbollah accused the kingdom’s Sunni monarchy of seeking the intervention of a Saudi-led Gulf force to oppress the mainly Shiite-led popular opposition.
The decision to expel Lebanese expatriates came after criticism by Nasrallah over the presence of Saudi troops in Manam while voicing support for the demands of Bahrain’s opposition.

Most of those told to leave Bahrain are Shiite
April 13, 2011
The Daily Star BEIRUT: Lebanon’s Ambassador to Bahrain Aziz Azzi confirmed Tuesday that the majority of 24 expatriates told to leave the island state were Shiite, as Shiite cleric Sayyed Ali Fadlallah called for Manama to cease its ongoing deportations of Lebanese living there. “We haven’t received any additional information concerning the Lebanese deportations and we are not giving names of individuals to the media at the moment,” Azzi told The Daily Star from Manama. “The majority [of those expelled] are Shiite, it is true, but people of all sects are being told to leave.” He added that no additional Lebanese had actually left Bahrain under the instruction of state institutions since the five nationals who were deported Monday.
Fadlallah, the son of late senior Shiite cleric Sayyed Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah, called on Bahraini authorities to stop its “series of expulsions” and urged Bahraini and Lebanese officials to “resolve this issue without emotion and tension.” The cleric also called for the “reopening dialogue over this issue, in a way that will protect Arab-Arab interests and Lebanese-Bahraini relations and protect Bahrain, its independence and unity.” Bahrain Monday expelled five Lebanese expatriates on the grounds of what officials in Manama termed “security reasons.” The move followed criticism by Hezbollah after Bahraini King Hamad bin Issa al-Khalifa declaring a three-month state of emergency and oversaw a stern crackdown on the Shiite-led, anti-regime protests that have rocked the tiny Gulf country in recent weeks. Bahrain slammed remarks from Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, in which he voiced support for protesters, as “blatant interference” in its affairs. Recent reports in Kuwaiti newspaper As-Siyassah have suggested that Bahrain, along with other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, were planning the deportation of Lebanese Shiites with suspected links to Hezbollah, claims that Azzi said were baseless.

Has collapse of Lebanon government weakened Iran and Hezbollah influence?
Hezbollah and Iran's guiding hand is still looking for a grip in Beirut, but rather than strengthening the Shiites, the collapse of the government and ouster of Saad Hariri has weakened their influence.
By Zvi Bar'el /Haaretz/13.04.11
The joint statement by Lebanon and Bahrain stating that the two countries will not participate this year in the Venice Biennale "because of the events in the Middle East" is an almost natural continuation of the special cooperation the two have recently created. But both countries have a problem that is slightly more menacing than the Biennale: a Shiite majority serving as a lever for Iranian intervention and the mutual fear of the benefits that Iran could gain from developments there.
Last week it was the turn of Saad Hariri, who is still serving as prime minister of the transition government, to attack Tehran.
Saad Hariri, left, Sheikh Mohammed Rashid Kabbani, center, and Najib Mikati.
"We don't want Lebanon to be a protege of Iran," he said, "Just as we don't want our brothers in Bahrain, Kuwait or any other Arab country to be under Iranian patronage. We belong to this nation which rests on its Arabism in the past, present and future, and we'll prove that we don't need any other nationality."
Hariri made his statement at a convention of Saudi and Lebanese businessmen in Beirut. "One of the major challenges that the Arab societies are facing is the political, military and economic intervention of Iran," he added, saying that it damaged "the social fabric of the region."
Hariri, who had to step down from his post as prime minister last January when President Michel Suleiman turned to the billionaire Najib Mikati to form a new government, has apparently freed himself from the shackles of political correctness vis-a-vis Hezbollah and Iran.
In November 2010, when he asked Tehran to assist him in maintaining stability in Lebanon, the Iranian newspapers reported that "Hariri's visit to Tehran is an example of the closeness between Iran and Lebanon and a sign of the failure of the policies of the United States, Saudi Arabia and Israel that were aimed at creating tension in the region."
The visit, they said, symbolized a new era in the ties between the two countries.
This new era was shattered last week as Iran and Hezbollah responded to Hariri's new tack by saying he was serving the interests of the U.S. and Israel.
"Hariri's accusations against Iran were meant to cover up the American intervention in Libya and other countries," they said.
The exchange of barbs between Hariri and Hezbollah and Iran are not being made in a vacuum, but rather against the backdrop of a deeply divided country that has been without a government for three months.
The establishment of a new government was supposed to mark the apex of political success for Iran and Hezbollah's Hassan Nassrallah, who considered Hariri's ouster a major step toward stymieing the international tribunal into Rafik Hariri's assassination. With Hezbollah in power, the group could protect its members from prosecution and push through a new election law and a change in the ethnic balance of power in Lebanon.
Hezbollah's agreement to the appointment of Najib Mikati was supposed to put an end to the endless argument over the status of the weapons that Hezbollah has in its possession, especially after Hariri's unusual call last month for the group to disarm.
However, beyond that, the new government is supposed to be based on representation of ethnic groups and political streams so that it will have legitimacy in the eyes of the public and not appear as a Hezbollah and Iran puppet.
Mikati, the head of a giant business conglomerate and an excellent negotiator, is now facing an especially difficult task. He understands that setting up a government in Lebanon is a great deal more complicated than appointing a board of directors. One sticking point is the appointment of the interior minister, a post coveted by all camps. Hezbollah wants the position in order to control internal security, decide on moves vis-a-vis the international tribunal, and to shape a new election law to right what they see as an injustice done to Shiites.
Now Mikati also has Iran in the mix, after Hariri placed it on his table and decided on Lebanon's attitude toward Tehran. Mikati has explained that "expressing positions about Iran that do not reflect Lebanon's position is not effective," in other words, it would be best for Hariri to keep quiet. The self-imposed silence by Suleiman, though, who has so far not responded to the exchanges between Hariri and Iran, is making it difficult for Mikati to decide on Lebanon's foreign policy.
Meanwhile pressure is mounting on Mikati to set up a government posthaste. Hezbollah's Christian partner, Gen. Michel Aoun, who heads the Free Patriotic Movement, has called on Mikati "to establish a government immediately or to resign from the job."
Aoun, who is demanding 12 of the 30 cabinet posts for his movement, has already proven in the past that he is not willing to make compromises on portfolios with political or economic influence. This crisis, together with the violent crackdown in Syria, has put Hezbollah in an uncomfortable political position; when there is no government, there is no one on whom to exert pressure, there is no one from whom to "demand a price," and there is no way to promote its political interests. Hezbollah, which long ago transformed from a loose collective into a political party, needs a country which is functioning in order to strengthen its status, but it itself is holding up that very process

Can Lebanon avoid another Civil War?
April 13, 2011
By Hussein Dakroub/The Daily Star
Lebanon marks the 36th anniversary of its devastating 1975-90 Civil War Wednesday amid deep divisions in the country’s political leadership, complete Cabinet paralysis and mounting public concern over repercussions of popular uprisings currently sweeping the Arab world on the country’s security and stability.
Unfortunately, this year’s anniversary of a war that killed more than 150,000 people and left the country’s infrastructure in ruins, comes at a time when Lebanon is still under threat with renewed sectarian strife over the U.N.-backed Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL), which is probing the 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.
Worse still, another divisive and more explosive issue that threatens to destabilize the country is Hezbollah’s arsenal, currently the target of a fierce verbal campaign by caretaker Prime Minister Saad Hariri and his allies in the March 14 coalition.
The STL and Hezbollah’s weapons have sharply divided the Lebanese into two rival camps: The March 8 camp led by Hezbollah and the March 14 camp led by Hariri.
The dispute over the STL led to the collapse of Hariri’s government in January, throwing the country in a Cabinet vacuum which has yet to be filled. Even if Prime Minister-designate Najib Mikati finally succeeds in forming a government, it will be a one-sided Cabinet dominated by Hezbollah and its March 8 allies, excluding the March 14 groups, further widening the schism.
On the occasion of the war’s anniversary, the question that comes to mind is: Did the Lebanese, especially their feuding leaders, learn any lessons from the sectarian conflict to avoid indulging again in a game of self-destruction?
Given the current deep divisions, political tension that can easily burst out into sectarian fighting, similar to the bout of sectarian clashes in May 2008, the absence of communications between the March 8 and March 14 parties, the Lebanese do not seem to have learned how to protect their country from any type of threat be it an internal or external one.
Summing up the Lebanese predicament was President Michel Sleiman who voiced fears about the country’s future because the lessons of the Civil War have not been grasped by the country’s leaders. He lamented that the 1989 Arab-brokered Taif Accord that ended the war has not been fully implemented.
Asked what he has to tell the Lebanese on the 36th anniversary of the war and if he thinks that the various political parties were acting responsibly to avoid a renewal of the strife, Sleiman said in an interview with An-Nahar newspaper published Tuesday: “It is logical for the April 13 anniversary to provide a lesson to both officials and citizens in order not to repeat it. But unfortunately, anxiety and fear are still prevailing in Lebanon because ever since [the war ended] we have been unable to establish a modern state that can protect itself and care for its citizens’ interests. The steps that have been made in this regard are very small.”
Although the war led to the approval of the Taif Accord, Sleiman said, “we have not so far been able to complete the implementation of this document and the constitution emanating from it.” “On the contrary, we have deliberately distorted the constitutional concepts, turning them into a means for power sharing. The biggest proof of retreat is the 1960 election law, or the political system which laid the foundation for the outbreak of this loathsome spark,” Sleiman said.
He called on the political parties to complete the implementation of all provisions of the Taif Accord, adopt dialogue as the only means to resolve “divisive issues” and end the “constitutional confusion” that have emerged and will continue to emerge during the implementation of the accord.
The Taif Accord, which came after persistent demands by Muslim leaders for political reforms to the country’s ruling sectarian system, was signed by both Muslim and Christian lawmakers in the Saudi summer resort of Taif back in 1989. Among the main provisions that have not been implemented is the creation a national committee to abolish “political sectarianism,” or the ruling sectarian system that allots key government posts along sectarian lines, and the establishment of a senate to serve alongside the current 128-member legislature.
The accord essentially curtailed the Maronite president’s powers and shifted them to the half-Muslim, half-Christian Council of Ministers, which is headed by a Sunni prime minister.
The Amal Movement, led by Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, called Tuesday for the implementation of the Taif Accord’s constitutional and reform provisions, including the creation of a national committee to abolish the sectarian system, the approval of a new election law based on proportional representation and lowering the voting age from 21 to 18.
In the meantime, Muslim religious leaders issued statements on the anniversary calling on the Lebanese and their political leaders to draw lessons from the conflict.
Grand Mufti Mohammad Rashid Qabbani, the country’s top Sunni religious authority, urged the Lebanese and political parties “to seek guidance and draw lessons from the war anniversary and from the harsh experiments through which Lebanon passed during that long period.”
“The political situation in Lebanon stirs permanent worry among the Lebanese about the future and fate,” Qabbani said. “Lebanon needs serious and effective work which reconciles political action and the citizens’ needs … The Lebanese have almost reached the poverty line, this is a threat that harbors more serious repercussions.”
Sheikh Abdul Amir Qabalan, vice-president of the Higher Shiite Islamic Council, called for national unity, saying the Lebanese should draw lessons from the “painful experiments through which Lebanon had paid a heavy price from the blood of its citizens and their property.”
In an address to the Lebanese, Qabalan said: “The April 13 anniversary is an occasion to renew our allegiance to this one and united country with all its people. Let’s uphold the national constants based on strengthening national unity and consolidating the coexistence formula among the Lebanese.”
“My advice to the Lebanese is to avoid hatred and envy. Our country stands at a critical crossroad. We have to choose the safe and straight road that leads us to safety,” he said. “We have to stay away from hypocrisy and challenge. We are all responsible for Lebanon’s security, sovereignty and independence.”
*A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Daily Star on April 13, 2011, on page 2.

Campaign to mark 36 years after start of Civil War
April 13, 2011 1
By Reem Harb The Daily Star BEIRUT: The Offre Joie and Wahdatouna Khalasouna associations held a news conference at the Press Syndicate Tuesday to introduce a program to commemorate the 36th anniversary of the start of the 1975-90 Civil War. Over two dozen organizations, television channels and newspapers will participate in the program to affirm Lebanese unity. Newspapers will run the same headline, “36 years have passed since April 13: Peace among us, or Goodbye to Lebanon,” and television channels will broadcast a program from the National Museum featuring a prayer led by 16 religious figures from the country’s sects.

Syria after Assad
Hussain Abdul-Hussain, April 13, 2011
Those involved in the Syrian uprising, whether on the ground or in cyberspace, might have noticed that, contrary to the Assad regime's propaganda and the international community’s fears, there are few traces of radical Islamism in Syria. While such an absence could be tactical, evidence indicates that should Bashar al-Assad fall, the chances of Syria turning into an Islamic state are almost nil.
Drawing parallels between Arab unrest and the Iranian Revolution was done in Egypt, where the regime, Western analysts and many Israeli writers warned of the consequences of President Hosni Mubarak's fall. The Muslim Brotherhood would turn Egypt into an Islamic state that facilitates terrorism, they argued.
The same argument is now being used in Syria, and this scare tactic is proving to be the lifeline for Assad and his regime.
When anti-Shah Iranians took to the streets in 1977, Ruhollah Khomeini had already been an opposition star. In fact, Iran's early protests took place partially as a memorial for the death of Khomieni's son Mustafa. Khomeini wielded immense influence through the religious establishment: a network of mosques, religious study rings and scores of moqallideen (followers of Shia marjaas).
Secular Marxists, socialists and nationalists were also part of Iran's revolutionary mix, and it took Khomeini until 1982 to consolidate his power and monopolize leadership.
If Egypt is like Iran, then where is its Khomeini? Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood has a small share in the state's corrupt machine and wields little influence outside the clientele network built around its lawmakers and senior civil servants. Egypt's Islamists in 2011 are nowhere close to Iran's Islamist revolutionaries of 1979. Syria's Islamic movement is even further away.
There are only a handful of Syrian Al-Qaeda members. These include Abu-Mosaab al-Souri (aka Mustafa Sit-Maryam), an Osama Bin Laden lieutenant believed to be behind the Madrid and London bombings. Souri has been detained since 2005 in an unknown location.
Born in Aleppo in 1958, Souri joined the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood's militant wing, the Fighting Vanguard, under Marwan Hadidi, and was forced to flee Syria in 1980. He was not radicalized until he joined the fight in Afghanistan, after which he moved to Spain and later back to Afghanistan.
Abu-Basira al-Tartousi (aka Abdul-Monim Halimeh) of Tartous was born in 1959. The fact that he had to flee Syria in 1980 suggests that he was another Muslim Brotherhood militant. Despite his popularity with Al-Qaeda on the internet, the man lives in London and argues against suicide bombing.
Tartousi's internet sermons reveal a man with little knowledge of today's Syria. His Facebook page, The Islamic Opposition to the Syrian Regime, has attracted around 400 members, compared to the Syrian Revolution page's more than 110,000 members. Tartousi is opposed to democracy and believes that after deposing Assad, the Syrians should create an Islamic state.Like Tartousi, the exiled Syrian Muslim Brotherhood’s Facebook page has barely reached 400 members. But unlike Tartousi, the group's leader, Mohamed Riyad Shaqfeh, told Reuters that his party "strives to build a civil state where all citizens enjoy freedom and full citizenship rights" and that it believes in "a multiparty system, with peaceful succession of power.”
The ongoing Syrian revolution is all but Islamic. Like Lebanon, Syria's Islamists are few in number, perhaps due to societal factors that set the Levant apart from the Gulf or North Africa.
The Islamists of the 1980s were radicalized across the board, whether Syria's Muslim Brotherhood or Iraq's Islamic Daawa Party, whose former militants are now members of Iraq's multiparty democracy. Like the Iraqi Daawa, Syria's Muslim Brotherhood has evolved from believers in change through violence to supporters of democracy.
For his part, Assad, like Mubarak, has used radical Islam as a scarecrow, especially with the West. Assad went as far as fostering controlled Islamist violence and using it against his rivals, while later seemingly putting an end to it and winning favor with the world.
The world should not fear Syria after Assad, for the country will not become a monstrous Islamic state. The world should rather endorse and encourage change in Syria.
**Hussain Abdul-Hussain is the Washington Bureau Chief of Al-Rai newspaper

Leaders across the Mideast are looking to escape Mubarak's fate
Mubarak's investigation, as well as that of two of his sons, is one of the most important measures undertaken by the new regime to calm an anxious Egyptian public.
By Zvi Bar'el /Haaretz
Three leaders, Muammar Gadhafi, Bashar Assad, and Ali Abdullah Saleh, are certain they can still escape the fate of Hosni Mubarak and Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. Each of them decided to violently repress popular unrest; all of them are promising reforms without committing to a timetable; and each and every one of them has decided to ignore both international pressure and Arab attempts at compromise. The most intense battle is being waged in Libya, where 300 people have reportedly been killed in the city of Misrata alone, with gunfights also reported in the rebel-controlled city of Ajdabiya. Despite the persistence of clashes, NATO forces have cut back on their attacks on ground targets, thus taking away much of the military backing they provided to the rebels, who have subsequently been forced to withdraw from their western advance.
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak receiving Syrian counterpart Bashar Assad in Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheik, Egypt, Nov. 30, 2004.Meanwhile, Mubarak continues to provide the top story coming out of Egypt, after collapsing on Tuesday during questioning and rushed to a Sharm El-Sheikh hospital. The investigation of Mubarak and his two sons, Gamal and Alaa, centering on allegations of embezzlement and killing protesters, is one of the most important measures undertaken by the new regime to calm the public, some of which has begun to express frustration at what looks like foot-dragging en route to political and economical reform.
But, by the evening hours Egyptian television stations were already reporting developments in Mubarak's medical condition, citing estimates he had a heart attack, and adding that his investigation has been continuating even in the hospital. As such, the controversy surrounding political reform is replaced with the question of should or not shouldn't Mubarak be allowed out of the country for medical treatment.
Defecting Libya Foreign Minister Moussa Koussa, who also ran the country's intelligence for a while, said in London that Libya could turn into a new Somalia if a decisive military victory was not achieved. Koussa was travelling to Qatar on Tuesday, a fact that drew scathing criticism against the U.K. for allowing the man suspected of planning the 1988 Lockerbie bombing out of the country. However, his warning did not seem to impress the United States. Washington, for now, has decided to object to continued ground strikes in Libya, saying it would stick to preventing attacks targeting civilians by the Libyan air force. The U.S. decision has developed into a full-blown dispute between France and Britain, who support continued ground attacks and even in sending ground troops, and other NATO states, led by Turkey, who opposed such a move. All the while, proposals for a diplomatic compromise, like those submitted by Turkey and the African Union, were rejected by both Gadhafi and the rebels, who are unwilling to accept any deal that does not explicitly mandate the ouster of Gadhafi and his family.
And so, as Western countries argue over the modes of military attack, Gadhafi can continue his violent struggle, one which could turn into a draw-out war of attrition.
Assad is better off than Gadhafi for several reasons. He isn't facing armed forces such as the Libya rebel groups, there are no reports of defecting military of Baath party officials, and mostly because the Western pressure on Assad isn't close to the kind of international involvement seen in Libya.
Washington may condemn the violent repression, but it has yet to demand Assad's ouster. And so, the Syrian president can surround the city of Banias with his tanks, shoot at the residents of Bayda, lay strict curfews against Daraa, cut power lines and internet service, and arrest hundreds of activists and protesters, creating the impression that the Syrian agenda will not be set in the street but in the presidential palace.
Unlike Libya, Tunisia, or Egypt, the Syrian army is inseparable from the country's regime, who also "owns" the country's economy. The possible fall of Assad's regime would mean, thus, much more than the loss financial benefits enjoyed by the regime and the president's family. The military itself could become a target of public wrath, as would the Baath party. So theoretically, if Assad would be willing to enact far-reaching changes, he would encounter stiff resistance from the army and from the owners of the country's economical monopolies. In Yemen, President Ali Abdullah Saleh is willing to test the ability of his opposition to topple him, as he leans on some of the tribal leaders which continue to support his rule, or on those accepting the compromise according to which a gradual leadership change would take place through new elections. These proposals and others are rejected by those who demand Saleh's immediate ouster as a condition for any compromise. Even here it seems that Yemen could fall into a war of attrition, perhaps not as violent that taking place in Libya, but still one that disrupts and poses a danger to everyday life.

If you have no shame, be an Iranian official!
13/04/2011
By Tariq Alhomayed/Asharq Al-Awsat
At a time when Syrian President [Bashar al-Assad] described some of the victims of state violence against demonstrations in Syria as martyrs, an Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman came out to say that what is happening in Syria is a Western conspiracy!
In a press conference, Iranian spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said that the protests in Syria are taking place within the framework of a western conspiracy to destabilize a government which supports "the resistance" in the Middle East. He said that "what is happening in Syria is a mischievous act of Westerners, particularly Americans and Zionists" adding that the conspirators "want to avenge some countries like Iran and Syria, which support the resistance, by facilitating small [opposition] groups." Worse still, the Iranian spokesman said that the conspirators are trying, with the aid of the western media, to "tell the world that these people [the demonstrators] are the majority of the society, and this is the biggest lie and distortion." Can you believe this audacity?
The Iranian official said that the Syrians' demands were nothing more than foreign treachery; however everyone knows that the demands of the Syrian people are genuine, in a state with the longest-running repressive emergency law in the Middle East. The state lacks all kinds of freedoms, and even the Syrian president himself is considering reform, so why would he talk about reform if these were the demands of foreign agents? Why would the government decide to increase salaries, and why would the president grant the status of martyrdom to the protest victims – which is a remarkable story in itself in a secular state – if the protestors were foreign agents?
The other issue is that Iran falsely claimed that the protestors in Syria are a small group. Is this conceivable considering that demonstrations have taken place in seven cities in Syria over the past three weeks, with the death toll standing at over two hundred? The demonstrations have reached the mosques, and the University of Damascus, and so is it conceivable to believe that the demonstrators themselves are only a small group, a minority? Although the Sunnis are the overwhelming majority in Syria, there is no sectarian undercurrent, but rather the demonstrations consist of most components of Syrian society. The demonstrations have even spread to rural areas, specifically Deraa, a key ally in the balance of power in Syria. Thus the Iranian assessment is certainly incorrect.
As for the Iranian spokesman's talk of resistance, this is ironic, for it appears that Tehran and its allies did not pay attention after the Arab citizens grew tired of such fake slogans and lies. All demands in the Arab world today are national and internal, so where is this resistance that the Iranians talk about? Syria has not even killed so much as a pigeon in its resistance battle over the past three decades. It did not even react to Israeli attacks on its territory; instead it always reserves the right to respond, without actually responding. [As for resistance elsewhere] Hezbollah has now rounded on the Lebanese, specifically the Sunnis of Beirut, and terrorized all other factions, and Hassan Nasrallah is now unofficially responsible for appointing the Sunni Prime Minister! Even Hamas has begun to suppress demonstrations held against it in Gaza, although the media has not focused on this as it has been preoccupied with the open theater that is the Arab world. As for Iran itself, we have not seen them support the resistance, there have been no shots fired in defense of Arab blood, and we all remember that [Grand Ayatollah] Khamenei forbade the Iranians from going to Gaza during the last war!
Thus we are right to say if you have no shame, become an Iranian official!

Ahmadinejad: Israel, US plotting Iranian-Arabian conflict
By JPOST.COM STAFF
04/13/2011 13:55
The world will see a new Middle East without the United States and Israel, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Wednesday in a speech to thousands of people in the southeastern city of Zahedan, Iranian PressTV reported. “A new Middle East will emerge without the presence of the United States and the Zionist regime (Israel) and their allies in the near future,” said Ahmadinejad. Iran: US fomenting Mideast unrest to save Israel Ahmadinejad: The US is pleased with Mideast unrest Ahmadinejad: Mideast upheaval will spread to West
The president accused the US and Israel of plotting to "spark an Iranian-Arabian Shia-Sunni conflict." The president denounced "US imperialism" in the region, saying, "Regional governments and nations should remain vigilant to overcome US plots and to not play in the US court." On Israel, he said the country is nearing its end, and stressed, “Regional nations have awakened but the global arrogance intends to sow discord among countries in the region.”  “The Iranian people and regional nations are unhappy with the existence of the Zionist regime (Israel) and are against it. They will continue their fight until the defeat of the US and Zionist regime in the region,” Ahmadinejad restated. According to the report, he said the "bullying powers" have supported dictators for the past 50 years, and that they are "seeking to sow dissension among regional people in an attempt to save Israel."He also warned against plots to "disintegrate Jordan."

Syrian revolt spreads to ruling Alawite tribes. Cities sealed. Executions in army
DEBKAfile Exclusive Report April 13, 2011,
.The popular uprising against Syrian President Bashar Assad is still spreading. Tuesday, April 12, one of the Assad family's own Alawite tribes and the key Sunni city of Aleppo joined the movement demanding the president and his kin's removal. Assad fought back against the expanding threat to his survival by mobilizing all his military and security resources, including the loyal young thugs of the shabbiha gangs. They have orders to shoot to kill and not permit ambulances to collect the wounded. Tanks seal the most restive towns of Teraa, Bania,s Latakia and Hama. Alawite unrest centers on the impoverished Knaan tribe centered in the village of Bhamra in the mountains of northern Syria. A second immediate danger to the regime comes from Aleppo, Syria's commercial hub, where for the first time more than 10,000 protesters marched. The Druze mountain inhabitants are up in arms. So too are the Kurdish towns of the north such as Kamishli and the Shammar tribes of southeastern Syria around the border town of Abu Kamal.
Damascus University has been under siege for four days, although security forces have not been able to breach it.
A grave humanitarian crisis is spreading with the unrest. Army outposts and roadblocks have cut off main roads linking the north to southern and central Syria, as well as telephone and internet services and even food deliveries in many places. Mass arrests of thousands take place nightly including, according to debkafile's sources, members of the Syrian ruling establishment for the crime of appealing to Assad to abandon his violent methods of repression and meet some of the protesters demands for reforms. Some are journalists who support the regime but who wrote articles to this effect. They were not published.
For the first time, debkafile's sources report that the protesters began returning the fire against security forces on Monday, April 11, in a number of places, especially Deraa in the south and Banias in the north. A well-laid ambush was laid on the main coastal road linking Latakia and Banias and nine Syrian officers and troops killed.
debkafile's Middle East and intelligence sources report a three-way shooting war currently in progress in Syria, in which the army and security forces, the protesters, and the shabbiha gangs are taking part. The and bloody mayhem is such that the number of casualties is almost impossible to assess.
The troops open fire at protesters as soon as a few people gather in the street without waiting for a demonstration to form. The wounded are denied medical care and allowed to die in the streets as a deterrent to protesters. Tuesday night, the White House finally issued a harsh denunciation of the Syrian "government."
The statement read: "We are deeply concerned by reports that Syrians who have been wounded by their government are being denied access to medical care. The escalating repression by the Syrian government is outrageous, and the United States strongly condemns the continued efforts to suppress peaceful protesters. President Assad and the Syrian government must respect the universal rights of the Syrian people, who are rightly demanding the basic freedoms that they have been denied."
debkafile's sources in Washington say that the language used in this statement from the Obama administration continues to skirt the protesters' most pressing demand for the Syrian president to step down, because of the still unresolved internal debate on how to handle Assad.
Despite the mounting brutality of the Syrian ruler's methods to crush the revolt against his regime, some White House circles in Washington are warning that Assad's fall would open the door for radical Muslim elements to take over, even suggesting that this would put Israel in "mortal danger."
This argument was never heard in Washington when Hosni Mubarak was toppled in Egypt. And it by no means relates to the Assad regime's eight-year long record as primary accomplice and abettor of radical Muslim organizations such as Al Qaeda, the Lebanese Hizballah and Palestinian Hamas. Starting from the US invasion of Iraq in 2003, Damascus gave sanctuary and launching-pads for Muslim groups to strike American forces fighting in Iraq, including training camps and logistical aid for smuggling weapons and explosives for that purpose. Syria also facilitates the passage of arms and other support to the Hizballah radicals.
The extreme measures to which Assad has resorted as the revolt against him enters its fourth week have led to firefights within the army. Many cases are now reported of Syrian officers opening fire on other Syrian officers, killing them when they refuse to shoot protesters. There have been incidents of Shabbiha gangs shooting two ways – on demonstrators and at times on army forces. In one such incident in Ras al-Naba'a, a quarter of Banias – the irregulars appeared to be goading the soldiers into using more force to disperse the protesters. In others, these pro-Assad street gangs appear to be shooting from demonstrations to make it look as though the protesters were killing the soldiers.
Contrary to the image the Assads have always presented that "the Alawites are the ruling class in Syria," it is worth pointing out that they in fact rule Damascus, while the rest of those minority tribes, which number 1.4 million (8 percent of the 26 million population) live in abject poverty with no electricity or running water in their villages and no ties to the Assads. The paradox is that though lacking influence in the capital, their revolt against the regime could be the last straw for Asad.
These villages are now rising up for fear of being stigmatized, however unjustly, by the Sunni majority of collaboration with the Assads and targeted for revenge. In any case, they are so penurious and neglected that they have little to lose by the regime's fall. The Shabbiha: This well-armed, roughly organized group derives most of its 9-11,000 members from Assad clans within the Alawite community and its allies. Their fighting skills were imparted by the Lebanese Hizballah or Iranian Revolutionary Guards instructors, but their loyalty to the Assad family is undivided. As smugglers, their strongholds are mostly along the coastal region, some of whose communities rely on the Shabbiha for their livelihood.

'Hezbollah intends to attack Western targets ahead of Hariri killing indictments'
Beirut Observer news websites cites Western intelligence report claiming unusual Hezbollah, Iranian Revolutionary Guards maneuvers are geared toward an upcoming strike.
By Avi Issacharoff and Haaretz Service
Published 09:33 13.
Hezbollah is planning an attack on Western targets, a Lebanese news website reported on Tuesday, basing its claims on information intercepted by a Western intelligence agency.
According to the Beirut Observer article published Tuesday, Western intelligence officials believe Hezbollah intends to strike Western targets, citing the unusual movement of suspected Hezbollah and Iranian Revolutionary Guards operatives. Hezbollah fighters parade during the inauguration of a cemetery for fighters who died while fighting Israel, in southern Beirut on Nov. 12, 2010.The report said the intention of such an attack is to divert global public opinion from the indictments expected to be issued by a special United Nations tribunal dealing with the assassination of former Lebanese PM Rafik Hariri. Lebanese officials and Western diplomats expect the court to accuse Hezbollah members of involvement in the assassination, a prospect Lebanese politicians fear could fuel further tensions. The Lebanon tribunal, the world's first international court with jurisdiction over the crime of terrorism, was set up to try those accused over the 2005 bombing that killed Lebanese ex-prime minister Hariri and 22 others. The prosecutor's original indictment filed in January, the contents of which are still secret, set off a political crisis in Lebanon, where Hezbollah and its allies toppled the government of Hariri's son, Saad Hariri. Hezbollah, has said it believes some of its members may be named, and has warned the case could spark renewed bloodshed in Lebanon. Wednesday's Beirut Observer report came after earlier this week Israel's counter terrorism bureau warned that terrorists intended to carry out attacks against Israelis and Jewish targets abroad, specifying the Far East, Greece and Turkey as areas where an attack could occur.
The warning comes just a few days before the Jewish holiday of Passover, a time during which many Israelis go on vacation. "Due to what is happening in the Gaza Strip, terrorists intend to carry out attacks against Israelis and against Jewish targets abroad during the Passover holiday," the bureau's notice said. Along with Greece and Turkey, India and Thailand are also thought to be countries where an attack could take place.Israeli traveling abroad must stay especially alert at tourist spots and entertainment venues and hotels, the bureau advised. They also advised against going to places where large groups of Israelis are known to be.
Last week, the counter terrorism bureau warned against traveling to Sinai and called on Israelis who were in Sinai to return to Israel immediately.