LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
ِApril 23/2011

Biblical Event Of The Day
Saint Mark (16/01-13)  "When the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, bought spices, that they might come and anoint him. 16:2 Very early on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb when the sun had risen. They were saying among themselves, “Who will roll away the stone from the door of the tomb for us?” for it was very big. Looking up, they saw that the stone was rolled back. Entering into the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe, and they were amazed. He said to them, “Don’t be amazed. You seek Jesus, the Nazarene, who has been crucified. He has risen. He is not here. Behold, the place where they laid him! But go, tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He goes before you into Galilee. There you will see him, as he said to you.’” They went out, and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had come on them. They said nothing to anyone; for they were afraid. Now when he had risen early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, from whom he had cast out seven demons. She went and told those who had been with him, as they mourned and wept.  When they heard that he was alive, and had been seen by her, they disbelieved.  After these things he was revealed in another form to two of them, as they walked, on their way into the country.  They went away and told it to the rest. They didn’t believe them, either."

Latest analysis, editorials, studies, reports, letters & Releases from miscellaneous sources
The Syrians are not different/By: Hanin Ghaddar/April 22/11
The strange logic behind Syria's culture of conspiracy/By: Ibrahim al Marashi/April 22/11

Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources for April 22/11
Revolutionary Guard chief: Iran can hit ships as far away as Indian Ocean/Haaretz/Agencies
At least a dozen reportedly killed in Syria as forces open fire on protesters/Haaretz/Agencies
Two US drones vs Russian arms, Chinese intel for Qaddafi/DEBKAfile
Six thousand protesters demonstrate in Syria’s Qamishli/Now Lebanon
Five Syrian Protesters 'Shot Dead' in Daraa/Naharnet/Agencies
Thousands March in Syria 'Good Friday' Rally/Naharnet/Agencies
Syrian security forces fire on Homs protesters, activist says/Now Lebanon
Good Friday” rallies to test Assad/Now Lebanon
U.S. Says Assad Must 'Do More, or Allow Others to do More'/Naharnet/Agencies
Patriarch Al-Rahi in Easter Message Hopes for End of Cabinet, Economic Crisis/Naharnet
Israeli Intelligence Unveils Hizbullah's Alleged Network Abroad/Naharnet
Hizb Ut-Tahrir Holds Anti-Assad Rally in Tripoli After Venue Change/Naharnet
Nasrallah Expected to Make Speech over Public Property Violations/Naharnet
WikiLeaks: Harb Requested U.S. Help in Persuading LBC to Support March 14 Camp/Naharnet
WikiLeaks: Feltman Says Strida Geagea isn't Embarrassed by Making Anti-Islamic Statements/Naharnet
WikiLeaks: Geagea Sought to Employ LBC for his Political Goals/Naharnet
Report: Video of Estonians is Not New/Naharnet
Israeli Intelligence Unveils Hizbullah's Alleged Network Abroad/Naharnet
Inerga-type Rocket Hits Tripoli's Jabal Mohsen/Naharnet
Hizbullah Slams Ban's 'Unjust' Remarks, Vows to Continue Protecting Lebanon/Naharnet
 

Al-Rahi in Easter Message Hopes for End of Cabinet, Economic Crisis
Naharnet/Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi expressed hope in his Easter message on Friday that Lebanon would overcome the crisis on the formation of the new government. Al-Rahi hoped in a televised address that "the resurrection would be reflected in our national lives" and "the country would rise thanks to the goodwill" of officials in solving "the government formation crisis and the deteriorating situation that citizens are suffering from."  He lamented that the political deadlock was worsening economic and social problems and encouraging emigration. Al-Rahi hoped there would be peace, stability and understanding in the Palestinian territories and in Arab countries that are suffering from turmoil. Reconciliations, agreement and dialogue are among the manifestations of the resurrection, he said, in reference to the meeting of the top Christian leaders under the sponsorship of al-Rahi in Bkirki on Tuesday. Beirut, 22 Apr 11, 10:30

Report: Video of Estonians is Not New
Naharnet/The video of the seven Estonian tourists that was uploaded on YouTube was most probably shot in the first days of the March 23 kidnapping in the eastern Bekaa valley, a security source told As Safir daily. The source said in remarks published Friday that the video wasn't shot in the past few days. The video, which was uploaded on Wednesday, runs one minute and 47 seconds and shows each of the seven men in sportswear, who appeared unharmed, begging for help in English. Caretaker Prime Minister Saad Hariri met Thursday with Internal Security Forces chief Maj. Gen. Ashraf Rifi, Army commander Gen. Jean Qahwaji, Caretaker Interior Minister Ziad Baroud and ISF's head of the intelligence bureau, Col. Wissam al-Hassan, to discuss the issue. The officials discussed the stage that the investigation has reached, the source said. He ruled out that the kidnappers belong to the al-Qaida terrorist network. "There is a mystery that we are still trying to solve with a likelihood that the Estonians were taken out of Lebanon," the source added. Beirut, 22 Apr 11, 09:42

Israeli Intelligence Unveils Hizbullah's Alleged Network Abroad
Naharnet/Israeli intelligence sources revealed what they said were the names of top Hizbullah members who were part of a network operating abroad to carry out "terrorist operations."
Israel Radio said on Friday that Talal Hmeih heads the Hizbullah network as Imad Mughniyeh's successor. It said Ahmed al-Faed his main assistant, fled to Jordan 10 years ago after trying to target Israel with a Katyusha missile. Explosives detonation engineer operating abroad is Ali Najem-Eddine, who was responsible for planning an attack on the Israeli embassy in Azerbaijan in 2008, the report remarked. The network list includes Malek Obeid, allegedly an explosives and detonation devices expert, who participated in the preparation and installation of an improvised explosive device that detonated in the Israeli embassy in Buenos Aires in 1992. Israeli intelligence sources confirm that Najem-Eddine and Obeid are considered high-ranking explosives engineers and potential threats to Israeli targets, the radio said. Naiem Hreis is designated to recruit agents for Hizbullah all over the world and has the Brazilian nationality. Meanwhile, Mohammed Taher Oglo is responsible for recruiting agents in Turkey, the report said. The Israeli radio said that the network operates directly under the supervision of Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah and provides frequent reports to the Iranian National Guard. Beirut, 22 Apr 11, 10:11

Hizb Ut-Tahrir Holds Anti-Assad Rally in Tripoli After Venue Change
Naharnet/Hizb Ut-Tahrir staged a demonstration in support of Syrian protests in the northern port city of Tripoli on Friday in defiance of a ban by Lebanese authorities.
The demonstrators chanting slogans in support of Syria's protestors marched from al-Mansouri mosque to the Nijmeh square amid tight security measures as the Lebanese army deployed throughout the rally route and the city's main neighborhoods. Caretaker Prime Minister Saad Hariri met Thursday with Internal Security Forces chief Maj. Gen. Ashraf Rifi, Army commander Gen. Jean Qahwaji, Caretaker Interior Minister Ziad Baroud and ISF's head of the intelligence bureau, Col. Wissam al-Hassan, to discuss the rally and warned that security forces would crack down on anyone who breached the ban. They highlighted the importance of the firm implementation of a decision taken by the North Lebanon Security Council to ban demonstrations in Tripoli. However, a security official told Agence France Presse that the rally would be authorized at Nijmeh Square, just 30 meters from al-Mansouri mosque, the starting point of the demonstration.  The initial venue was Nour Square, located 500 meters from the mosque in the city. The group's spokesman Ahmed Kasas confirmed on Thursday that he had been notified of the change and said the protest would take place after the weekly prayers. Tripoli Mufti Sheikh Malek al-Shaar told Voice of Lebanon radio station that agreement has been reached for the rally to take place within the premises of al-Mansouri mosque. "Let them express their opinion in a way that they don't pose a challenge to other movements" in the city, he said. "There won't be any clashes because everyone is aware that the security and stability of the country is a priority." Beirut, 22 Apr 11, 09:18

Jumblat Says Cabinet Formation Still at Standstill, Berri Should Solve Crisis
Naharnet/Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat has expressed pessimism over the formation of the new cabinet after the Easter holidays saying there is still disagreement on the interior ministry portfolio. The lawmaker told An Nahar newspaper in remarks published Friday that "the cabinet formation process is still at a standstill and there's still disagreement on who will be given the interior ministry portfolio."The leader of the National Struggle Front parliamentary bloc hoped that Speaker Nabih Berri's belief that the cabinet would be formed after Easter would be materialized. He told the daily that he tasks Berri with solving the cabinet crisis so that government institutions begin functioning again. Jumblat also unveiled that he told former Premier Fouad Saniora that al-Mustaqbal movement should eventually meet with Shiite leaders. An Nahar said that Jumblat would visit Damascus on Monday to hold talks with Maj. Gen. Mohammed Nassif. Beirut, 22 Apr 11, 08:23

Nasrallah Expected to Make Speech over Public Property Violations
Naharnet/Hizbullah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah is expected to make a speech in the next two days to address the recent developments in the case of the construction violations on public property, said media reports on Friday. Al-Liwaa daily reported on Friday that the party is "uncomfortable and worried" about this file being addressed.He is also expected to tackle United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's recent report on the implementation of U.N. Security Council resolution 1559, which the party had recently condemned. Sources voiced to the daily concerns that the construction violations file may be employed politically in light of Hizbullah and AMAL's failure and inability to tackle this issue due to the unprecedented rate at which the violations have taken place. eirut, 22 Apr 11, 11:53

WikiLeaks: Harb Requested U.S. Help in Persuading LBC to Support March 14 Camp
Naharnet/A leaked U.S. Embassy cable, dated November 2008, revealed that MP Butros Harb sought U.S. help in convincing three sides in Lebanon to support the March 14 camp. The WikiLeaks cable, published exclusively in Al-Akhbar newspaper on Friday, spoke of a meeting between the MP and then U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Michele Sison.
Harb wanted the U.S. to persuade MP Michel Murr, the Tashnag party, and LBC to back the March 14 camp's democratic goals, said the cable. The MP explained that "Christians don't watch Future television" and Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea's attempts to regain ownership of LBC "is a big mistake." He explained that cooperating with the station is the better than launching a new one. Furthermore, he revealed that MPs Walid Jumblat, Marwan Hamadeh, and others in the March 14 camp supported this view. Beirut, 22 Apr 11, 11:28

WikiLeaks: Feltman Says Strida Geagea isn't Embarrassed by Making Anti-Islamic Statements
Naharnet/MP Strida Geagea said that former U.S. Ambassador Jeffrey Feltman's stances are pro-Islamic, according to a leaked U.S. embassy cable published in al-Akhbar newspaper on Friday. "I wanted to ask him about his feelings" toward Muslims after September 11, Strida stated. Feltman said that "Strida isn't ashamed of making anti-Islamic statements," according to the WikiLeaks cable.  The U.S. ambassador held a meeting with Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea and his wife Strida to discuss the ownership of the Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation International (LBCI). Strida remarked that Pierre Daher, LBCI chairman, still claims to be a loyal friend to Samir Geagea, according to the released cable. "At least one of the Geagea family (members) still has a militia mentality," Feltman said. During the meeting Strida appeared as a "decisive person" over several issues. Beirut, 22 Apr 11, 12:22

WikiLeaks: Geagea Sought to Employ LBC for his Political Goals
Naharnet/Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea was worried that the LBC television station would fall into the hands of pro-March 8 forces, revealed a leaked U.S. Embassy cable published exclusively in Al-Akhbar newspaper on Friday. The WikiLeaks cable, dated May 16, 2006, spoke of a meeting between Geagea and then U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Jeffery Feltman during which LBC's ownership was brought up. Prior to Geagea's imprisonment, the television station was affiliated with the Lebanese Forces. Pierre al-Daher was entrusted with the station throughout his prison sentence and a dispute over the ownership arouse upon Geagea's release. Feltman stated that the LF leader viewed LBC as his instrument, seeking to play a greater role in its news coverage in order to make it a mouthpiece for the party. During a June 14, 2007, meeting Geagea warned of the possibility of the television station falling into the hands of "hostile forces", meaning the March 8 camp. He explained that Daher was about to increase Prince Alwaleed bin Talal's shares in LBC's satellite station, who is "sympathetic with the March 8 camp and is planning on replacing Saad Hariri as the Sunni leader in Lebanon." Should he gain control of the satellite channel, then he will directly influence the Lebanese one seeing as the latter gets its funding from the satellite station, he continued. Feltman revealed that Geagea did not want to resort to the Lebanese judiciary in order to settle the case due to the slowness of the procedures. He instead wanted the U.S. to persuade Saudi Arabia to intervene in the affair, said the ambassador. Beirut, 22 Apr 11, 11:05

Hizbullah Slams Ban's 'Unjust' Remarks, Vows to Continue Protecting Lebanon
Naharnet/Hizbullah on Thursday hit back at U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon over statements contained in his annual report on the implementation of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1559.
"It is not something new for the U.N. secretary general to take unjust and unfair stances in his analysis of the situation in Lebanon, especially in terms of holding Hizbullah responsible for all the problems in Lebanon," the party said in a communiqué. "This is the nature of the mission assigned to him by the U.S. administration and some Western governments, which he is carrying out very precisely instead of performing his role … in achieving security and peace in the world." Ban on Wednesday called on Syria to help Lebanon in transforming Hizbullah from an "armed militia" into a political party. "The existence and activities of Lebanese and non-Lebanese militias continue to pose a threat to the stability of the country and the region," read Ban's report on the implementation of Security Council Resolution 1559, which was adopted in 2004 and calls for "the disbanding and disarmament" of all factions in Lebanon.
Hizbullah argues that its powerful arsenal of weapons is necessary to deter Israel. The armed party has repeatedly warned Lebanese leaders that its arms are not open to discussion.
Hizbullah fought a month-long war with Israel in 2006 during which it fired more than 4,000 rockets on the Jewish state. Israel estimates that Hizbullah has since stockpiled more than 40,000 rockets, some of which could reach major Israeli population centers. Palestinian factions inside refugee camps across the country, which are off-limits to the Lebanese army, are also armed. "The U.N. secretary general's latest stance clearly shows that he is blatantly on the side of the Zionists who are violating Lebanon's security and stability," said Hizbullah in its communiqué. The party accused Ban of justifying Israel's "crimes and terrorist practices while condemning Lebanon's preservation of its strength and immunity in the face of this blatant aggression." It also said Ban "relied on reports written by Terje Roed-Larsen," U.N. Secretary-General's envoy on the implementation of Security Council Resolution 1559.
Hizbullah described Larsen as "the U.N. official in service of the Zionist media structure." It accused Ban of animosity against "the Resistance, Lebanon, Arabs and all the just causes in the world," vowing to continue to "protect Lebanon and preserve its dignity according to the golden army-people-Resistance formula."
Earlier Thursday, Hizbullah MP Hussein al-Moussawi also lashed out at Ban over his report. Moussawi said he was not "surprised by Ban Ki-moon's statements, because the latter is part of the American-Zionist alliance which has always targeted mujahid peoples." "Such reports represent an attack against our people's right to resist occupation and achieve full independence," Moussawi added, accusing the U.N. chief of attempting to "incite sedition among the Lebanese and to support Israel's hostility and cover up its crimes." "We remind the U.N. secretary general that arms of the Resistance were necessitated by the Israeli aggression against Lebanon and the violation of our country's land by the racist, usurper entity (Israel) since 1948.
Israel "is still until this moment violating our airspace, water and land, while the successive U.N. chiefs – and you are one of them – have stood idly by in the face of aggressions and occupations," Moussawi said, addressing Ban. "Enough of your submission to the American tyrant and the Zionist criminal." Beirut, 21 Apr 11, 22:19

U.S. Says Assad Must 'Do More, or Allow Others to do More'
Naharnet/Syrian President Bashar Assad must "do more, or allow others to do more" if he is going to satisfy the reform demands of the Syrian people, a U.S. State Department spokesman said Thursday. State Department spokesman Mark Toner was responding to questions about comments from former Syrian vice president Abdel Halim Khaddam, who told an Egyptian newspaper that Assad's crackdown on demonstrators will eventually lead to the Syrian leader's ouster. "I cannot even begin to guess about Assad's future," said Toner. "He's certainly facing a serious challenge... from the Syrian people," he said. "They have expressed their aspirations that they want to see change, and so far it appears that he's not met those aspirations."
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Wednesday condemned the violence in Syria and said the country must begin a "serious political process." On Thursday, Assad signed a decree to lift almost five decades of draconian emergency rule, on the eve of more of the protests which have rocked his regime.(AFP) Beirut, 22 Apr 11, 11:20

Thousands March in Syria 'Good Friday' Rally
Naharnet/Thousands of protesters demonstrated in the northeastern Syrian city of Qamishli as calls were launched for nationwide "Good Friday" rallies, a day after President Bashar Assad scrapped decades of draconian emergency rule. Witnesses in Qamishli near the Turkish border said that around up to 6,000 demonstrators marched in the city waving Syrian flags, while some of the protesters carried banners calling for an end to corruption. "Arabs, Syriac (Orthodox) and Kurds against corruption," the banner said, according to one witness. Qamishli is a majority Kurdish city with Muslim and Christian communities. Protesters also chanted, in Kurdish, "Liberty, fraternity," said another witness. Witnesses said between 5,000 and 6,000 protesters were taking part in the march that began outside the Qasmo mosque. Assad, in power since replacing his father Hafez as president in 2000, issued decrees Thursday to scrap the state of emergency as well as abolish the state security court and allow citizens to hold peaceful demonstrations. The moves are aimed at placating a pro-democracy movement that has seen protests across the country, ruled by one of the Middle East's most autocratic regimes since the Baath Party seized power 48 years ago. Activists and rights groups have called the moves insufficient and urged the authorities not to suppress the "Good Friday" rallies which some said would test the regime's sincerity in forging with reforms. A Facebook group that has been a motor of the unprecedented protests called for the rallies spanning the Christian and Muslim faiths on "Good Friday," which commemorates Jesus Christ's crucifixion. Friday is also the Muslim day of rest when the biggest demonstrations have been staged across Syria after weekly prayers in mosques."Good Friday, April 22, 2011, one heart, one hand, one goal," said the Facebook announcement. Joshua Landis, head of the Center for Middle East Studies and associate professor at the University of Oklahoma in the United States, said "Friday will be a day of reckoning." "The organizers of the revolution vowed to turn out their largest numbers yet on what protesters have begun to call 'Great Friday'," Landis said on his popular blog Syria Comment. "They are determined to bring down the regime and understand that this is their chance," he said in remarks posted Thursday.(AFP) Beirut, 22 Apr 11, 13:56

The Syrians are not different
Hanin Ghaddar, April 22, 2011
The footage of Neda Agha-Soltan’s death by security forces in the 2009 Iranian uprising drew huge international attention, not to mention outrage. She became the symbol of the Iranians struggling for freedom and revolting against the disputed election of President Mahmud Ahmadinejad. At the time, it prompted the international media to publish numerous stories, accounts and articles about her courage and the brutality of the Iranian regime.
Today, many Nedas are being killed the same way in Syria. Their deaths are also being broadcast by amateurs on the internet, but the international media is covering the uprising indecisively. Western governments are not being as clear with the Syrian president as they were with the Egyptian and the Libyan leaders, for example.
Although Syrians are calling for the same freedoms and reforms, why is the West looking at the Syrian uprising from a different angle?
Western media is still dealing with the Syrian uprising from a political perspective by trying to answer questions about a possible alternative to Bashar al-Assad’s regime, the role of the Muslim Brotherhood or other radical Islamic factions that are taking part in the protests, and whether the US or Europe could pressure the regime to implement the reforms it promised to make.
However, unlike the coverage of the Iranian protests and other Arab uprisings, Western media is still incapable of looking at the Syrian uprising as a humanitarian and democratic issue. The Syrian people’s demands are still not seen as genuine, and the conspiracy theories presented by the regime were not brushed off completely. Writers and journalists are debating the protesters’ demands as if Assad might have a point.
Also, the killing of protesters is not regarded as a massacre. In an interview on CBS News last month, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said that the US will not intervene in Syria as it did in Libya as long as Assad is not bombing the people with airplanes. So that means that Assad can murder as many people as he likes as long as it’s not from the air.
When asked about recent brutalities committed by the Syrian regime against civilians, Clinton suggested that "there's a difference between calling out aircraft and indiscriminately strafing and bombing your own cities, than police actions which frankly have exceeded the use of force that any of us would want to see."
Though on Wednesday Clinton strongly condemned "ongoing violence" by the Syrian government against demonstrators, saying Damascus needed to launch a "serious political process" to end the deadly unrest, President Barak Obama has been silent so far.
Hence, Assad has been using all atrocious methods possible to stop the people from demonstrating. Even lifting the decades-long emergency law didn’t work because it did not come with a package of reforms that the protesters have been demanding from the beginning. This was a cosmetic procedure that did not fool the demonstrators.
The regime justifies its brutality by saying that the demonstrators are part of a conspiracy against the state carried out by its enemies in Lebanon and elsewhere. They also said that the protesters are Salafists who are trying to topple the regime.
If that is accurate, why are they arresting liberal intellectuals and political activists, such as Suhair Atassi and Fayez Sarah? These two have nothing to do with Islamic fundamentalist groups. And if it were a conspiracy and “unknown individuals” were killing protesters, why is the regime only arresting, torturing and killing the demonstrators, including many children.
The regime does not want any news reporter or agency to work in the field because they might actually find out the truth: that these people have valid demands and that they are from all sects and classes.
But the truth is leaking out via Youtube videos that show the peaceful demonstrators being shot or arrested by violent security forces dressed in civilian clothes and known in Syria as shabbiha, or “thugs.”
Youtube, as in the Iranian case, is the only platform that is being used to show the cruelty of the regime against the protesters. The facts presented by these amateur videos hold more truth than all analysis and theories that have been written about the uprising so far. The truth is that the protests are peaceful and that the regime is brutal.
The protesters’ two main slogans so far are “Peaceful, peaceful” and “All united for Syria,” which are plastered all over the Facebook groups calling for demonstrations and which show that the conspiracy theory created by the regime is not valid.
These protesters are not radical Muslims. They start their demonstrations at mosques because mosques are the only meeting points for people in Syria, as the regime has managed over the past 50 years to separate Syrian society from all outlets of activism and free expression.
Plus, the Muslim Brotherhood, which everyone is afraid of, has only a weak connection to Syrian society. The regime managed to imprison, banish or kill most of their leaders.
The true nature of the protests can be sensed with a quick look at the videos showing hundreds of women – veiled and unveiled – protesting alongside men, or the images of thousands of women and children blocking the main highway earlier this month in Banias, demanding the release of hundreds who were arrested during protests in that region. The latter demonstrators were ordinary, rural women who were only moved by the spirit of the revolution, nothing else. Sure, many of them were wearing veils, but only the traditional village head covering that many Muslims and Christians in the Middle East wear – not the niqab or the burqa. Now the question the West is asking, following Israel’s concerns, is who might govern Syria after Assad leaves while guaranteeing the stability of the Golan Heights?  To tell the truth, there are no guarantees, but there are many options. Why would Assad, an eye doctor, be more qualified for the presidency than former deputy and political prisoner Riad Seif, or leading human rights activist Muntaha Sultan al-Atrash, or established economist Aref Dalilah or sociologist Burhan Ghalyoun, to name a few? What is happening in Syria is very similar to what happened in Iran, Tunisia and Egypt. The only difference is that the world saw the protests in those countries as a plea for freedom and as a humanitarian matter, while Syria remains until today a political issue. The West cannot pick and choose.
**Hanin Ghaddar is managing editor of NOW Lebanon

Revolutionary Guard chief: Iran can hit ships as far away as Indian Ocean
Gen. Mohammad Ali Jafari tells Fars news agency that his forces are expanding their capabilities to strike back against possible attacks from outside the Persian Gulf region.
By The Associated Press and News Agencies/ The commander of Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guard says his forces are expanding their capabilities to retaliate against possible enemy attacks from outside the Gulf. Gen. Mohammad Ali Jafari says Iran can strike back against foreign warships launching attacks against Iran from as far away as the Indian Ocean. Jafari made the comments in an interview with the semi-official Fars news agency Friday. The purported launching of a Shahin missile during war games in Iran.
He made no direct mention of the U.S., but his remarks are a clear reference to American forces in the region.
Iran has sought to expand the range of its missiles and display a stronger naval presence in the region, including sending two warships in February into the Mediterranean for a stop at a Syrian port. Earlier this week, the Fars news agency reported that the commander of the Iranian army's ground force had warned that attacking Iran would be suicidal.
"Today no enemy has the requirements and the desire to carry out a military attack against the powerful Iran and military aggression against Iran is highly unlikely and even impossible and is synonymous with the suicide of the aggressor," Brig. Gen. Ahmad Reza Pourdastan was quoted as saying on Tuesday. The general boasted that Iran's military capabilities were stronger than they have been at any point in history. There has been much speculation that Israel or the United States plan on attacking Iran in order to stop its nuclear program, which many charge is being used to develop nuclear weapons. Iran denies this allegation.

At least a dozen reportedly killed in Syria as forces open fire on protesters
By Avi Issacharoff and News Agencies /Witnesses report 40,000 demonstrators take to the streets in Damascus suburb, chanting "The people want the downfall of the regime."
Syrian security forces fired live bullets and tear gas Friday at tens of thousands of people shouting for freedom and democracy, killing at least a dozen and wounding a number of others, on a day that could be a major test of whether President Bashar Assad's promises of sweeping reform will quell the month-long uprising. Protesters flooded into the streets after prayers Friday in at least five major areas across the country. In this mobile phone image acquired by the AP, Syrian anti-government protesters hold a banner reading: "'London doctor, Syria butcher," referring to Syrian President Bashar Assad, April 22, 2011."The people want the downfall of the regime!" shouted protesters in Douma, a Damascus suburb where some 40,000 people took to the streets, witnesses said. It is the same rallying cry that was heard during the revolutions in Egypt and Tunisia.
The uprising in Syria has posed the biggest challenge to the 40-year ruling dynasty of Assad and his father before him. Assad has been trying to defuse the protests by launching a bloody crackdown along with a series of concessions, most recently lifting emergency laws that gave authorities almost boundless powers of surveillance and arrest.
He also has fulfilled a decades-old demand by granting citizenship to thousands among Syria's long-ostracized Kurdish minority, fired local officials, released detainees and formed a new government. But many protesters said the concessions have come too late - and that Assad does not deserve the credit.
"The state of emergency was brought down, not lifted," prominent Syrian activist Suhair Atassi, who was arrested several times in the past, wrote on her Twitter page. "It is a victory as a result of demonstrations, protests and the blood of martyrs who called for Syria's freedom." At least 200 people have been killed in the government crackdown since the protests erupted, human rights groups say. Earlier Friday, witnesses said security forces in uniform and plainclothes set up checkpoints around Douma, checking peoples identity cards and preventing nonresidents from going in. Syria stands in the middle of the most volatile conflicts in region because of its alliances with militant groups like Lebanon's Hezbollah and with Shiite powerhouse Iran. That has given Damascus a pivotal role in most of the flashpoint issues of the region, from the Arab-Israeli peace process to Iran's widening influence.

Syrian security forces fire on Homs protesters, activist says
April 22, 2011 /Syrian security forces opened fire with live rounds Friday to disperse demonstrators in the central protest hub city of Homs, a human rights activist told AFP in a telephone interview. At least two people were wounded when the security forces fired on a crowd of protesters in Homs, the activist at the scene said, adding that tens of thousands of demonstrators were out on the streets of the city. Protests also broke out in the southern city of Daraa where up to 10,000 people emerging from mosques took to the streets and as many as 6,000 demonstrators marched in the northeastern city of Qamishli, witnesses said. Around 200 protesters in the Damascus neighborhood of Midan were dispersed by security forces, a rights activists said. Calls were launched on Facebook for nationwide "Good Friday" rallies, despite the announcement Thursday that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad scrapped five decades of emergency rule and dissolved the feared state security court. Assad, in power since replacing his father Hafez as president in 2000, issued the decrees in moves aimed at placating a pro-democracy movement that has seen protests across the country, ruled by one of the Middle East's most autocratic regimes since the Baath Party seized power 48 years ago.
-AFP/NOW Lebanon

Good Friday” rallies to test Assad
April 22, 2011 /Syrian protesters have vowed to turn out in force for "Good Friday" rallies to test long sought-after freedoms, a day after President Bashar al-Assad scrapped decades of draconian emergency rule. The call for Friday's protests appeared on the Syrian Revolution 2011 page of Facebook, a motor of the protests in which demonstrators inspired by uprisings across the Arab world are seeking greater freedoms. Human rights groups said the Friday demonstrations would prove a test case for Assad and his reforms.
"It is imperative that these demonstrations are policed sensibly, sensitively and in accordance with international law to avoid further bloodshed on Syria's streets," Amnesty International said, urging Syrian authorities not to suppress the rallies. Human Rights Watch, for its part, on Thursday urged the authorities "to permit Syrians to exercise their right to peaceful assembly" on Friday. "President Assad has the opportunity to prove his intentions by allowing tomorrow's protests to proceed without violent repression."Assad on Thursday issued decrees to scrap the state of emergency as well as abolish the state security court and allow citizens to hold peaceful demonstrations. The moves are aimed at placating a pro-democracy movement that has seen protests across the country, ruled by one of the Middle East's most autocratic regimes since the Baath Party seized power 48 years ago.-AFP/NOW Lebanon

Six thousand protesters demonstrate in Syria’s Qamishli
April 22, 2011 /Thousands of protesters demonstrated in the northeastern Syrian city of Qamishli as calls were launched for nationwide "Good Friday" rallies. Witnesses in Qamishli near the Turkish border said that around up to 6,000 demonstrators marched in the city waving Syrian flags, while some of the protesters carried banners calling for an end to corruption. "Arabs, Syriac (Orthodox) and Kurds against corruption," the banner said, according to one witness. Qamishli is a majority Kurdish city with Muslim and Christian communities. Protesters also chanted, in Kurdish, "Liberty, fraternity," said another witness. Witnesses said between 5,000 and 6,000 protesters were taking part in the march that began outside the Qasmo mosque. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad issued decrees Thursday to scrap the state of emergency as well as abolish the state security court and allow citizens to hold peaceful demonstrations. Activists and rights groups have called the moves insufficient and urged the authorities not to suppress the "Good Friday" rallies which some said would test the regime's sincerity in forging with reforms.-AFP/NOW Lebanon

The strange logic behind Syria's culture of conspiracy
Ibrahim al Marashi /Apr 21, 2011
The National
http://www.thenational.ae/thenationalconversation/comment/the-strange-logic-behind-syrias-culture-of-conspiracy
Compared to Col Muammar Qaddafi's rants and raves, the Syrian president Bashar al Assad's recent speeches have seemed rather tame. Mr al Assad made no declarations about "fighting from house to house" or "alleyway to alleyway". He also didn't blame the problems in Syria on young people taking hallucinogenic drugs under the guidance of an al Qa'eda or American plot (take your pick) as Col Qaddafi has. For its part, Syria's alleged array of enemies lacks an imagination - Mr al Assad has mentioned only Israel as a threat by name, placing the rest of the blame on unspecified "satellite channels" and "foreign conspiracies". Still Mr al Assad declared that Syria faces "a great conspiracy, the webs of which spread from close and far away nations, and some of whose strings reach inside the country". He conceded that these enemies were "smart" in choosing techniques like satellite TV and SMS to infiltrate Syria but that Syrians should "note their stupidity in that they chose the wrong country and people, as this kind of conspiracy does not work here".
The commentary in the global media following Mr al Assad's speech characterised his own statements as a conspiracy theory. Of course in Syria, that's subjective; one person's conspiracy theory is another person's truth. What Mr al Assad was explaining to a Syrian audience - and a global one at that - was Syria's Baathist interpretative framework, which it has always used to understand the world around them.
As long as Mr al Assad's clan and their attendant Baathists believe that what he says is the truth - well, then it is the "truth". And has any state presented him with any evidence to counter his argument? Of course, I'm not arguing that Mr al Assad's speeches should be taken at face value. Rather, his speeches should be analysed for what they do and don't say. He has declared that the protests were part of a plot "to weaken Syria, for Syria to crumble, and for the final obstacle in the face of the Israeli plan to fall and be removed". In doing so, he followed a familiar path trodden throughout this season of revolts, of placing blame on foreign powers seeking to undermine incumbent regimes. Nearly all of the leaders threatened by domestic uprisings play upon a psychosis of victimhood.
Such themes were also highlighted during a recent speech by Butheina Shaaban, the de facto spokeswoman of the Syrian state, to a Ba'ath party conference, who said: "The second thing that is being targeted in Syria is the beautiful coexistence in this country. As you have seen, this region is targeted to make it a sectarian, parochial, and ethnic-based region." Ms Shaaban's fears express a sentiment that probably he
arkens back to the French colonial era, when the Syrian mandate was carved up into mini-statelets for the Druze and Alawite communities.
This use of the past was also evident in Mr al Assad's speech to the People's Assembly, replete as it was with notions of nostalgia for the Syria of the Pan-Arabist 1960s. He reiterated Syria's support for "pan-Arab rights and independence, and supporting Arab resistance movements when there is occupation". But that rhetorical tactic echoed deposed president Hosni Mubarak's attempts to remind Egyptians of the glories of the 1973 Arab-Israeli war - and his role in that conflict.
Foreign plots. Antagonism towards Israel. Syria as the vanguard of Arabism. Those are the Syrian state's "truths". Yet what about the truths that he failed to acknowledge? Until his announcement on Tuesday that the emergency law would be lifted and the state security court abolished, Mr al Assad has deflected the issue of reform, arguing that reforms were sought back in 2005, but were stymied due to "negligence, tardiness, procrastination, and other factors that we as fellow countrymen know". He said "There are no obstacles [to reform], there is only procrastination, and there are no opponents ... as you know, this was a small group of people who are no longer around." Next page
For the regime's dissidents, however, this "small group" of people is still very much around. While the uprisings in the region were a product of restive youth, a need for greater freedoms and a revolt against heavy-handed tactics by the security forces, they were also uprisings against the systems of patronage that have become one of the crucial pillars for the survival of many regimes in the region. Indeed, this has been a season of revolutions against patronage.
Villains during these revolts have ranged from the kleptocratic Trabelsi clan in Tunisia or Col Qaddafi's sons and their extravagant lifestyles, to the fortunes amassed by the business cronies surrounding the former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak. One of the targets that demonstrators attacked in Deraa, the southern Syrian town, was the monopoly on businesses operated by Rami Makhlouf, a cousin of Bashar al Assad. Upon the deaths of protesters there the Syrian president said: "The blood that was shed was Syrian blood. The victims are our brothers and their families are our families." He promptly went on to promise an investigation into their deaths.
What he still fails to acknowledge is that Syria is a hyper-security state. Those behind the demonstrators' deaths were probably members of the dizzying array of security apparatuses that maintain his own state. Corruption and a culture of patronage that rewards those close to the regime: these are the truths for too many of the Syrian people. Addressing those truths would have strengthened Mr al Assad's authority in Syria far more effectively than the jaded strategy of deflecting local problems onto foreign enemies.
*-Ibrahim al Marashi is assistant professor of contemporary history at IE University in Spain

Two US drones vs Russian arms, Chinese intel for Qaddafi
DEBKAfile Exclusive Report April 22, 2011, Both of Libya's fighting camps are taking delivery of a surging influx of weapons shipments and military personnel – each hoping to use the extra aid for breaking the military standoff in its own favor, debkafile's military sources report. Thursday, April 21, President Barack Obama authorized a pair of armed Predator drones to help the rebels break breaking the siege of Misratah, while British, French and Italian military officers headed for rebel headquarters in Benghazi, part of a package of arms and military equipment from the US, Britain, France, Italy and Qatar. On the other side of the Libyan divide, China, Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and Serbia are keeping the pro-Qaddafi camp's arsenals stocked with new hardware along with combat personnel from Eastern Europe and the former Yugoslavia.
Building up in Libya is a confrontation that recalls the 1999 war in Yugoslavia (Serbia today) when NATO's four-month Operation Noble Anvil hammered Yugoslav forces to force their retreat from Kosovo. The Serbs too were backed then by clandestine Chinese-Russian support in tactical advice, intelligence, fighting men and arms.
Just like 12 years ago, our military sources report that from mid-March, hundreds of "volunteers" - professional soldiers ranking from colonel down to corporal - have joined the army loyal to Qaddafi. Calling themselves "nationalists" operating in paramilitary organizations without the knowledge of their governments, these foreigners claim they have come "to repulse the Western-Muslim onslaught on Qaddafi's regime."
Of course, they are handsomely paid from Muammar Qaddafi's plentiful war chest.
One group says it is in Libya for unfinished business with the West, especially the United States, for their role in the Bosnia and Kosovo conflicts.
China is helping the Libyan ruler with arms, mostly through African neighbors, and intelligence on NATO strikes in order to limit the damage they inflict (a service like that performed for Serbia in the 1990s). Beijing has a stake in helping the Libyan ruler after being informed that the Obama administration seeks to sever Chinese-Libyan oil ties before Beijing sinks tens of billions of dollars in Libya's transformation into its primary oil and gas supplier on the African continent.
Hence the pair of armed drones which the US president decided Thursday to contribute to rebel strength in Misratah, the only town the rebels are clinging to in western Libya. The Predators are intended doubly to break Qaddafi's siege of the town and destroy the Chinese electronic intelligence and weapons systems deployed around it. The NATO bombardment of a large ammunition dump near Tripoli on April 14 aimed at destroying the latest Chinese arms arrivals.
Echoes of the Balkan Wars were also resurrected by the rebels' determination to hang on in Misratah and replicate the long Sarajevo siege which eventually drew the United States into the conflict.
debkafile's military sources point to four major difficulties still confronting the next, intensified, round of Western coalition operations in Libya:
1. Pushing Qaddafi too hard could split NATO between is West and East European members;
2. The alliance is short of fighter-bombers for blasting the arms convoys destined for government forces in western Libya and lacks the precision bombs and missiles for these attacks. These shortages have forced NATO to limit its air strikes for now. A larger number of US Predators than the two authorized might have altered the balance. However, these armed pilotless aerial vehicles are in short supply owing to their essential role in US operations in the Afghan, Yemeni and Somali war arenas.
3. It is not clear that the UN Security Council resolution mandate extends to this kind of attack. The Russians criticize the Western alliance almost daily for exceeding its mandate.
4. In view of this criticism, Washington, London, Paris and Rome are careful to label their war assistance to Libyan rebels as "non-lethal military aid" and the military personnel helping them as "military advisers" – raising memories of the euphemisms used in previous wars.
The trouble is that all the additional military assistance the West is laying on is barely enough, say debkafile's military experts, to maintain the current stalemate against the Qaddafi regime's boosted capabilities - certainly not sufficient to tip the scales of the war.
Qaddafi holds one major advantage: His army can absorb foreign assistance without delay and almost seamlessly, whereas Western aid drops into a pit of uncertainty with regard to the rebel groups and their chiefs. The military advisers arriving in Benghazi first need to guide the opposition's steps in fighting Qaddafi's forces, then form the rebels into military units and teach them how to use the weapons they are receiving.
It could take months for regular units to take shape under the direction of British, French and Italian military personnel who, too, are not necessarily working in harness.