LCCC
ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
ِMarch
12/2011
Bible Of The
Day
Matthew 7/13-27: "Enter in by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is
the way that leads to destruction, and many are those who enter in by it. 7:14
How narrow is the gate, and restricted is the way that leads to life! Few are
those who find it. 7:15 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s
clothing, but inwardly are ravening wolves. 7:16 By their fruits you will know
them. Do you gather grapes from thorns, or figs from thistles? 7:17 Even so,
every good tree produces good fruit; but the corrupt tree produces evil fruit.
7:18 A good tree can’t produce evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree produce
good fruit. 7:19 Every tree that doesn’t grow good fruit is cut down, and thrown
into the fire. 7:20 Therefore by their fruits you will know them. 7:21 Not
everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter into the Kingdom of Heaven;
but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 7:22 Many will tell me
in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, didn’t we prophesy in your name, in your name cast out
demons, and in your name do many mighty works?’ 7:23 Then I will tell them, ‘I
never knew you. Depart from me, you who work iniquity.’ 7:24 “Everyone therefore
who hears these words of mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man,
who built his house on a rock. 7:25 The rain came down, the floods came, and the
winds blew, and beat on that house; and it didn’t fall, for it was founded on
the rock. 7:26 Everyone who hears these words of mine, and doesn’t do them will
be like a foolish man, who built his house on the sand. 7:27 The rain came down,
the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat on that house; and it fell—and
great was its fall.”
Latest
analysis, editorials, studies, reports, letters & Releases
from
miscellaneous
sources
The hypocrisy of some
intellectuals/By: Tariq Alhomayed/March 11/11
The dark angel Gabriel/By:
Michael Young/March
11/11
Information warfare/Tony
Badran/March
11/11
Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources for March
11/11
Bellemare Submits Amended
Indictment to Fransen Containing 'Further Evidence'/Naharnet
Hariri: From Now on, Possession
of Arms, Decision of War and Peace Should Only Be under State's Control/Naharnet
Suleiman after Meeting Shami: We
Hope Contacts Will Eliminate Obstacles Facing Government Formation/Naharnet
Lebanon:
Storm
Subsides on Saturday, 3 Syrians Missing/Naharnet
HRW
Fears Lebanon May be 'Doing Syria's Dirty Job of Shutting up its Critics'/Naharnet
Williams Stresses Importance of Resuming National Dialogue Sessions on Defense
Strategy/Naharnet
U.S. Intelligence Chief: We
Should Keep up Lebanon Military Aid/Naharnet
March 14 Political Document
Calls for Ending 'Hegemony of Arms'/Naharnet
Obama accepts prospect of
nuclear-armed Iran/DEBKAfile
Egypt releases two prisoners
involved in assassination of former president Anwar Sadat'/Haaretz
March 14 program: no to arms/Daily
Star
US should keep up Lebanon
military aid: intel chief/AFP
UN calls Israel and Lebanon to
action/UPI.comPunish
Iran and Syria, U.S. lawmaker says/UPI.com
Lebanese Authorities intensify
probes into missing Syrians/Daily Star
AP Interview: Israeli military
believes experts from Iran, Hezbollah training/TheCanadian
Press
March 14 Alliance campaign
against Hezbollah's "supremacy of arms"/Asharq
Alawsat
Critics of Syrian regime disappear
in Beirut; rights group/Los
Angeles Times
Rights group: Lebanon must
investigate fate of 3 Syrian brothers arrested/The
Canadian Press
Jailed Kurds on Syria hunger
strike: rights group/AFP
Hariri calls for rally to
protect freedom in Lebanon/Monsters
and Critics.com
Missing Lebanese Shiite leader al-Sadr
'still alive'/Telegraph.co.uk
Peacekeeping troops ready for
Lebanon mission/Irish Independent
Lebanon opposition to rally
against Hezbollah arms on Sunday/iloubnan.info
Storm
Subsides on Saturday, 3 Syrians Missing/Naharnet
Khoja: Saudi Government
Has No Hand in Article on Hariri/Naharnet
March 14 Political
Document Calls for Ending 'Hegemony of Arms'/Naharnet
GCC Hopes New Cabinet
Would Meet Expectations of Lebanese/Naharnet
Hariri to Address Shiites
on Friday: Arms Used against People Lose their Legitimacy/Naharnet
Qassem Narrows Down STL's
Role as Assault on Lebanon: March 14 Opposition Aimed at Creating Chaos/Naharnet
Lebanese Cabinet Could be Formed
Next Week After Reported Deal on Interior Ministry Portfolio/Naharnet
Lebanese Army Arrests Spy Network
Leader in Jezzine/Naharnet
Qassem Narrows Down STL's Role as
Assault on Lebanon: March 14 Opposition Aimed at Creating Chaos/Naharnet
Tumult Over Wissam Hassan's Alleged
Meeting with Zuheir Siddiq in Egypt/Naharnet
Bellemare Submits Amended Indictment to
Fransen Containing 'Further Evidence'
Naharnet/Special Tribunal for Lebanon Prosecutor Daniel Bellemare on Friday
filed an "amended indictment" for confirmation by STL Pre-Trial Judge Daniel
Fransen "as a result of the gathering and analysis of further evidence," the
Office of the Prosecutor announced in a press release. "This amendment expands
on the scope of the indictment filed on January 17, 2011 in connection with the
attack on former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and others on February 14,
2005," the OTP noted. The possibility for the Prosecutor to amend an indictment,
without leave, at any time before its confirmation, is specifically provided for
by Rule 71A (i) of the Tribunal's Rules of Procedure and Evidence, the OTP
clarified. Bellemare "has submitted that the Pre-Trial Judge's Order of January
19, 2011 on non-disclosure of the confidential indictment should apply equally
to the amended indictment and supporting materials," according to the press
release. "Their unauthorized disclosure could, therefore, be considered as
interference with the Tribunal's administration of justice amounting to contempt
of the Tribunal in violation of Rule 60 bis(A)." Reiterating Bellemare's remarks
contained in STL's 2010-2011 Annual Report, which has been recently published,
the OTP noted that "the investigation continues in order to meet the evidentiary
threshold required at trial and to be able to bring to justice others who may be
responsible for the attack." Beirut, 11 Mar 11, 19:40
Hariri: From Now on, Possession of Arms, Decision of War and Peace Should Only
Be under State's Control
Naharnet/aretaker Prime Minister Saad Hariri criticized on Friday the possession
of arms outside the Lebanese state, saying that it's true that those possessing
weapons have the power to launch an assault, but those who are just are more
powerful than all violence and arms. He said during a
speech at Qoreitem: "From now on, the possession of weapons, decision of war and
peace, and defending the country should only be under the state's control."
"There is no need to remind the silent majority of the criminal incidents
these arms have committed in Lebanon," he added. "The
Lebanese' decision is only in their hands. The decision of their weapons, is not
in their hands, but in the hands of the external forces that provide them with
arms, finance and press on them to make the weapons dominate our lives, and
control our country, its resources and future," he noted
Hariri stressed: "Justice does not need arms. All it needs is your minds,
hearts, and voices. Only fear of the truth needs weapons and only the oppressors
will falter without the power of the arms."Addressing the March 8 camp, he
asked: "Why do you fear the truth?" in the assassination of former Prime
Minister Saad Hariri. "Those fearing the people
finding out the truth fear the people as much as they do the truth," the prime
minister said.
"The Lebanese want to live and work in freedom. They share the dreams of all
martyrs to achieve freedom without violence and the use of arms," he added.
"The arms will fail before those who broke the wall of fear in 2005 and
destroyed what they have been dreaming of for 30 years," he noted.
Addressing the March 13 rally, he said: "You, the Lebanese, will announce to the
whole world on Sunday that your dignity and the dignity of your country and your
state, your dreams and ambitions, your revolution and your principles that you
have defended and paid for with the blood of the martyrs are not available for
any deal or trade-off."
Furthermore, Hariri said: "The days of blackmailing us with the Taif Accord are
over as we were the first who demanded its implementation and they should
remember that it is based on the state having the exclusivity of possessing
arms."Addressing the Shiites in Lebanon, he stated: "We are not just partners in
the same country because we have been and always will be partners in blood. We
have sought reconciliation because no one among us is working against the
Shiites.""The Shiites in Lebanon were the first who rose up against the use of
weapons. Didn't Imam Shamseddine forbid the Lebanese from resorting to weapons
against their fellow citizens?" he asked."We commit to Imam Shamseddine's
declaration and Imam Sadr's rejection of arms. Don't get carried away with
claims and rest assured that no statelet can take the place of the Lebanese
state and our democratic system," he continued.
Hariri concluded: "Our future is the hostage of the arms and we will declare
this on Sunday and continue on saying it until Lebanon is victorious." Beirut,
11 Mar 11, 19:02
HRW Fears Lebanon May be 'Doing Syria's Dirty Job of Shutting up its Critics'
Naharnet/A rights group on Thursday urged Lebanese authorities to probe the
disappearance of three Syrian brothers, one of whom was detained while
distributing flyers calling for democratic change in Syria. Human Rights Watch
said in a statement that Jassem Merhi Jassem was picked up by military
intelligence agents in Beirut along with five other members of his family on
February 23 and 24 after they were seen handing out the flyers. Jassem
disappeared in the early hours of February 25 along with two of his brothers who
had gone to pick him up from a police station in Baabda. It is feared the three
brothers were kidnapped once they left the police station and forcibly
transferred back to Syria. "We fear that Lebanon may be back to doing Syria's
dirty job of shutting up its critics," said Nadim Houry, Beirut office director
of Human Rights Watch. "Lebanon's judiciary should open an independent inquiry
into why the Syrian men were detained in the first place and the murky events
surrounding the disappearance of Jassem Merhi Jassem and his two brothers." A
Lebanese security official told Agence France Presse a probe was underway and it
was feared the three men had been kidnapped on their release from the police
station. The other five men initially detained with Jassem, including another
one of his brothers, were released a few hours after their detention but were
summoned back to military intelligence. Four of them are currently being held in
Roumieh prison pending unspecified charges. The brother, Ahmad Jassem, failed to
answer the summons and his whereabouts are unknown.(AFP) Beirut, 10 Mar 11,
12:58
Baroud: Case of Missing Syrians is Now in the Hands of the Judiciary
Naharnet/Caretaker Interior Minister Ziad Baroud has said that the judiciary was
now in charge of handling the case of three Syrians reportedly abducted in
Lebanon. "The case is currently under the jurisdiction of the prosecutor
general, and the probe is led by the military judiciary," Baroud said in a
statement released on Wednesday. The minister was referring to the arrest last
month of Jassem Merhi Jassem by an army intelligence unit for distributing
anti-Syrian regime flyers in Beirut. Jassem was released by a judge. He
disappeared shortly afterwards along with his brothers who had arrived at the
Baabda Serail to pick him up. Baroud also praised the commitment of
non-governmental organizations SKeyes and Maharat to public and private
liberties, after the groups called for unveiling the fate of the activists.
Beirut, 10 Mar 11, 10:29
March 14 Political Document Calls for Ending 'Hegemony of Arms'
Naharnet/On the eve of an expected mass rally at the Martyrs Square to
commemorate the March 14 anniversary, the March 14 forces endorsed Thursday a
political document after a broad meeting at the Bristol Hotel in Beirut, which
was attended by the coalition's leaders, MPs, politicians and activists. "The
pro-independence movement had extended its hand to the other camp in a bid to
bring everyone under the State's wings, but the other parties, mainly Hizbullah,
staged their coup after refusing to acknowledge the end of Syria's tutelage,"
March 14 forces said in the document, whose clauses were recited by MP Marwan
Hamade after the meeting. The coalition calls in the document for "limiting the
mission of defending Lebanon's threatened sovereignty to the State exclusively,
across the entire country including the Palestinian refugee camps." "Therefore
ending the hegemony of weapons over the political and social life in Lebanon and
ending that fad which has made defending Lebanon a factional 'specialty' and
which divides the Lebanese into two categories." March 14's document accuses the
Hizbullah-led camp of trying to "impose a theory suggesting that Lebanon is an
open battleground and that Hizbullah's arms are superior to freedom,
independence, prosperity, law and justice." It also accuses the rival camp of
attempting to cripple justice by "obstructing the establishment of the Special
Tribunal for Lebanon."
Among the March 14 camp's objectives mentioned by the document is "defending
Lebanon's freedom by preventing the exploitation of religion for political ends
and the justification of the use of violence under the pretext of religion." The
March 14 "anniversary comes this year amid the uprisings in the Arab nations
which carry the ethical values of freedom, justice and dignity, and reject
hegemony, domination and autocracy," the document notes. "The Arab uprisings
bear a resemblance to the Independence Uprising, during which the Lebanese took
to the streets striving for independence, freedom, justice, dignity and the
building of a free, just state." According to the political document, the March
14 forces had achieved a "safety net" that yielded U.N. Security Council
Resolution 1701 "which aims to protect Lebanon from Israel's hostility." "We
hold onto the Lebanon of diversity, freedom and democracy; the state of law and
legitimate institutions. We hold onto supporting the Palestinian cause,
especially the rise of an independent state and the right of return. We hold
onto the State's sovereignty over its entire territories and the duty to
liberate the territories still under (Israeli) occupation. "We hold onto the
resolutions of the international legitimacy which support Lebanon's sovereignty,
independence and justice. We hold onto the diversity of our religious,
ideological and political beliefs … We reject the rise of statelets within the
State and we reject any coup," the March 14 forces stress in their political
document. Beirut, 10 Mar 11, 22:54
U.S. Intelligence Chief: We Should Keep up Lebanon Military
Aid
Naharnet/The United States should maintain military aid to the Lebanese army
even if the government becomes controlled by Hizbullah, U.S. intelligence chief
James Clapper said Thursday.
"I would think that to the extent that we can sustain influence and insight and
help counterbalance the Hizbullah military wing, that it would be a good idea,"
Clapper, the director of national intelligence, told U.S. lawmakers. But he said
it would be up to policymakers to take such a decision. In late January, U.S.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton warned against Hizbullah -- designated by the
U.S. as a terrorist group -- coming to power, saying it would clearly impact the
ties between Lebanon and the United States. Washington is above all concerned
whether the Lebanese army will be able to control Hizbullah, which has backed
billionaire businessman Najib Miqati as prime minister and was appointed on
January 25 to form a new government. "The concern has been continually for not
only ourselves, but for some of our allies, is in terms of the (Lebanese army)
and its ability in the southern part of the country to exert the control over
other factions that are in there, such as Lebanese Hizbullah," said Lieutenant
General Ronald Burgess, director of the Defense Intelligence Agency. "So what
this means to the future of that is something that we are following very closely
at this time." Washington has given Lebanon more than 700 million dollars in aid
to help train and equip the army since a devastating war between Israel and
Hizbullah in 2006.(AFP) Beirut, 11 Mar 11, 07:51
GCC Hopes New Cabinet Would Meet Expectations of Lebanese
Naharnet/The Gulf Cooperation Council has hoped that Premier-designate Najib
Miqati would succeed in forming a new government which satisfies the Lebanese.In
a statement following their meeting in Riyadh on Thursday, the GCC foreign
ministers stressed "full support for Lebanese security and national unity." The
statement urged all political parties "to deal with the ordeals in a wise and
calm manner at this sensitive stage" in support of democracy and the Taef and
Doha agreements. The Arab ministers said they were relieved at the statements
made by Miqati, and expressed hope that the premier-designate would form a
government that "meets the expectations of the Lebanese people." Beirut, 11 Mar
11, 07:56
Cabinet Could be Formed Next Week After Reported Deal on Interior Ministry
Portfolio
Naharnet/Premier-designate Najib Miqati and other officials were mum on Friday
on the progress made in the government formation process despite media reports
that the cabinet line-up could be announced soon following a deal on the
controversial interior ministry portfolio. Sources following ongoing
consultations to form the government told An Nahar daily that Miqati has
overcome several obstacles and could announce the cabinet line-up at the end of
next week. Miqati's circles told As Safir newspaper that the countdown for the
formation of the cabinet would start at the beginning of next week because the
premier-designate will intensify contacts with all leading political factions.He
would most probably hold a meeting with Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel
Aoun. The positive atmosphere came as a source close to Miqati said an agreement
was reached on not diminishing the role of President Michel Suleiman, or that of
the prime minister-designate. The informal deal respects Aoun's demands for
Christian representation, the source told The Daily Star. FPM sources confirmed
that contacts have taken place in the past few days between top officials from
Hizbullah and Aoun's 27-member Change and Reform bloc to resolve the dispute
over the interior ministry portfolio, by granting it to a figure who is
acceptable to Aoun, and not opposed by Suleiman, along with granting the FPM
leader a number of portfolios that matched his representative weight in
parliament. The bickering between Aoun and Suleiman on the portfolio was one of
the major obstacles hindering the government formation process. Among those
favored for the ministry were former Minister Naji Boustani, and retired army
brigadiers Michel Harrouq and Fares Soufia. Beirut, 11 Mar 11, 09:24
Army Arrests Spy Network Leader in Jezzine
Naharnet/The Lebanese army intelligence in the south has arrested the leader of
a network allegedly spying for Israel and providing it with information on
Hizbullah, As Safir daily reported Friday. The newspaper quoted informed sources
as saying that the army was questioning the man identified only with his
initials as M.S. over years of collaboration with Israel in the areas of Jezzine
and Kfarhouna. The sources said that the army was searching for the other
members of the network. They did not give other details. Last month, a Lebanese
military court sentenced Amin Ibrahim al-Baba to death on charges of spying for
Israel's Mossad. The verdict brings to six the number of men sentenced to death
on spying charges since 2009. Beirut, 11 Mar 11, 08:22
Storm Subsides on Saturday, 3 Syrians Missing
Naharnet/A snowstorm that has been lashing Lebanon since Wednesday is expected
to subside over the weekend after claiming three victims in the Wadi Khaled
region in Akkar.
The National News Agency said Thursday that Abdullah Rayya, Hassan Shmaisi and
Walid Rayya, from the Syrian village of Maajir, were carried off by Nahr al-Kabir
while riding their tractor on the Syrian side of the border. Syrian and Lebanese
authorities, along with locals, are carrying out intensive search efforts to
find them, the NNA added. The meteorology department expected snowfall at 1000
meters above sea level on Friday, a day after snow fell at 900 meters in the
north, while in Hasbaya, the snowfall was reported as low as 500 meters. The
storm inflicted considerable damage to agricultural areas and heavy snow closed
schools and blocked roads in mountainous areas across Lebanon. The meteorology
department said Sunday will be sunny. Beirut, 11 Mar 11, 10:50
Khoja: Saudi Government Has No Hand in Article on Hariri
Naharnet/Culture and Information Minister Abdul Aziz Khoja stressed that an
article by a Saudi journalist criticizing Caretaker PM Saad Hariri did not
express the point of view of the Saudi government. "We respect the Lebanese and
their leaders and pluralism in Lebanon. As for what some journalists and writers
deal with in their articles, expresses their own opinions and not that of the
state," Khoja said in a statement. He stressed that the Saudi government
expresses its opinion through an official spokesman or an official side not
through journalism.
"Saudi Arabia is keen on keeping good relations with all Lebanese officials,"
Khoja reiterated. The minister was referring to an article written by Saudi
journalist Daoud al-Sheryan in pan-Arab daily al-Hayat earlier in the week.
Beirut, 11 Mar 11, 10:10
Report: U.S. Scolded Salameh Over Alleged Transfer of Billions from Syria to
Lebanon
Naharnet/U.S. officials have reportedly chided Central Bank governor Riyad
Salameh for helping Syria escape U.S. sanctions five years ago by transferring
billions of dollars to Lebanon.
Al-Akhbar daily said Thursday that the officials told Salameh during his visit
to Washington last week that the Central Bank's move led to a cover up to
illegitimate operations carried out by several Lebanese banks, including alleged
money laundering. They said "terrorist organizations in Lebanon and the region,
particularly Hizbullah, benefited" from the move.
Last month, the U.S. Treasury Department accused the Lebanese Canadian Bank of
laundering hundreds of millions of dollars on behalf of a drug lord with alleged
links to Hizbullah.
The bank had denied the charges and Salameh had said the institution complied
with anti-laundering laws. Last week, the bank was acquired by Societe Generale.
Al-Akhbar said that Salameh had promised the U.S. officials to find a solution
to the LCB crisis. "And that's what happened." Beirut, 10 Mar 11, 09:50
Qassem Narrows Down STL's Role as Assault on Lebanon: March 14 Opposition Aimed
at Creating Chaos
Naharnet/Hizbullah Deputy Secretary General Sheikh Naim Qassem stressed on
Thursday that the new majority in Lebanon did not prevent the March 14 camp from
taking part in the new government. He said: "We called for partnership from the
start and we did not alter this position, but what is left of the March 14 camp
rejected this partnership … They eliminated themselves from the new government
and they have to assume the responsibility of their choice and not hold the new
majority accountable for it.""They have the right to oppose the government's
program, but I don't understand what they are currently opposing as the
government has not yet been formed and a ministerial statement has not been
proposed," he noted. "They are an opposition seeking to create chaos and they
don't want this government to be formed or function," the Hizbullah official
continued. Qassem stated: "This is not an opposition as an opposition should
work for a certain program and oppose a political and social trend after the new
government is formed." "Creating chaos and obstructing the state's functioning
because they are not in power is not an opposition, but an obstruction of
people's lives," he stressed. The new government wants to halt the violations of
the constitution, implement financial reform, put an end to corruption and false
witnesses and those responsible for them, he added.Addressing the Special
Tribunal for Lebanon and its indictment, Qassem said: "We are not awaiting the
indictment because we believe that it was issued a year and a half ago in Der
Spiegel … and we have faced this decision with facts and we have eliminated its
credibility." Germany's Der Spiegel news magazine reported in 2009 that the U.N.
commission probing the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri has
evidence that Hizbullah Special Forces "planned and executed" the February 14,
2005 car bombing. Qassem continued: "We presented damning evidence of Israel's
involvement in the assassination but they did not take them into consideration
because they were shocked by their nature." "We presented evidence that Israel's
infiltration of Lebanon's telecommunications sector and we stated that the false
witnesses are a danger to Lebanon and the truth, while they aggravated ties with
Syria by accusing it of the assassination," he noted. "The STL is an American
assault on Lebanon's strength and Resistance so that it will be unable to
confront the Israeli project," he stated. The March 14 camp is also seeking to
employ the international tribunal to alter the balance of power in Lebanon to
compensate for the decrease in their popularity, he added. Beirut, 10 Mar 11,
13:34
Tumult Over Wissam Hassan's Alleged Meeting with Zuheir Siddiq in Egypt
Naharnet/Caretaker Interior Minister Ziad Baroud has asked Internal Security
Forces chief Maj. Gen. Ashraf Rifi to take "suitable measures" with regard to
the travel of Intelligence Bureau chief Col. Wissam Hassan to Egypt. Baroud told
Rifi on Wednesday that such measures would clarify the extent to which various
regulations were being respected. The minister's request came after al-Jadid TV
reported that Hassan had traveled to Egypt to meet with Zuheir Siddiq, a former
witness in ex-Premier Rafik Hariri's assassination. But Rifi said that Hassan
left Monday aboard an Egypt Airlines flight on an official visit to meet the
Egyptian head of intelligence. "Hassan returned to Beirut on Tuesday on board a
private plane rented from Open Sky Company." "The aim of the visit was to become
familiar with and discuss bilateral security issues in light of the recent
developments in Egypt," said Rifi. Beirut, 10 Mar 11, 12:20
'Egypt
releases two prisoners involved in assassination of former president Anwar
Sadat'
Al Jazeera television reports that the two prisoners were released by Egypt's
new military rulers, who decided to lift the emergency law that would release
political prisoners.
By Reuters /Egypt has released two prisoners who were jailed for involvement in
the 1981 assassination of a former Egyptian president, Anwar Sadat, al-Jazeera
television reported on Thursday. "The Egyptian authorities have released Abboud
el-Zomor i Tarek el-Zomor who were accused in the case of Sadat's
assassination," al-Jazeera said. Former Egyptian president Anwar Sadat, in power
from 1970, was shot during a military parade by Khaled el-Islambuli, a member of
an Islamist group, after Sadat became the first Arab leader to sign a peace
treaty with Israel in 1979. Tarek and Abboud el-Zommor had been imprisoned
for participating in the assassination plot. The assassination led to the
imposition of an emergency law by Sadat's successor, Hosni Mubarak, who was
ousted from power last month. The law allowed for detention without charge and
was used to impose Mubarak's 30-year-rule. Keen to defuse tensions over the
question of arrests, Egypt's new military rulers, who took over since a wave of
protests swept Mubarak from power on February 11, said they would lift the
emergency law and have started to release political prisoners. Abboud had been
sentenced to 20 years for the assassination plot and attempting to overthrow the
regime, and another 15 years for using force to resist police during his arrest.
Tarek was also sentenced to 20 years for the plot and seven years for resisting
his arrest, a lawyer told Reuters.
Obama
accepts prospect of nuclear-armed Iran
DEBKAfile Special Report March 10, 2011
During the four days between Thursday March 4 and Monday March 7, the Obama
administration switched its Iran policy. As rocketing oil prices triggered by
the Arab Revolt wiped out the damage caused the Iranian economy by sanctions,
Washington confirmed the worst Saudi and Israeli suspicions that America had no
intention of acting to stop the Islamic Republic attaining nuclear weapons,
although it held Israel back from doing so when it was more feasible.
This discovery has dealt America's allies in Riyadh and Jerusalem their second
letdown in three months, on the heels of White House encouragement of the
uprisings againsta select number of Arab rulers.
The White House laid the ground for its change of heart on Iran with public
statements that drew little attention from international media during the Libyan
crisis.
The Director of National Intelligence James Clapper presented the Senate Armed
Services Committee this week with a "revised" version of the controversial 2007
National Intelligence Estimate which claimed orignally against all the evidence
that Iran had halted work on nuclear arms in 2003.
It is now confirmed that the misinformation contained in the original NIE was
the pretext for holding back - not only an Israeli attack on Iran but also
direct American action for keeping nuclear arms out of Iran's hands. By revising
that erroneous estimate, the Obama administration shows it is willing to catch
up and come to terms with the reality of Iran's wide-open option to develop
nuclear weapons.
US official language reflects the administration's policy turnabout on Iran.
March 7, Washington announced that the USS Monterey guided missile cruiser,
whose Aegis radar can monitor long- and short-range ballistic missiles and
transmit the data to interceptor missile ground stations, would be deployed in
the Mediterranean. "The US has started implementing its plan to protect Europe
from a potential Iranian nuclear threat."
debkafile notes that all past references to the US nuclear shield for Europe
referred to Iranian ballistic missiles – never a nuclear threat.
Our military sources note that one of the key ground stations to which the
Monterey's radar is linked is the X-band forward radar station located in the
Israeli Negev near the Egyptian border, which in turn is connected to Israel
Arrow anti-missile missile batteries designed especially to shoot down Iranian
ballistic missiles.
The closer the Iranian nuclear menace comes to reality, the further it recedes
from Israeli political and media rhetoric. Obama's fundamental policy shift on
the subject is bad news for Israel in general and at this time in particular,
because his support for the Arab Revolt is seen by Israeli and moderate Arab
rulers as further evidence of a White House decision to strengthen Iran, which
profits hugely from their losses.
Shortly before the Monterey announcement, the Washington Times reported: An
Annual intelligence report to Congress has dropped language stating that Iran's
nuclear weapons are a future option. A U.S. official insisted there was no
"sleight-of-hand" in the change but could not explain why the recent report was
altered from two previous versions.
IAEA Director Yukiya Amano was also quoted as describing new information on the
military aspect of Iran's nuclear program in his latest report. An internal
report from Feb. 25 stated that recent information disclosed "nuclear-related
activities involving military-related organizations, including activities
related to the development of a nuclear payload for a missile" as continuing
after 2004.
The two omissions in the original 2007 NIE report are that [US intelligence
continues] "to assess Iran is keeping open the option to develop nuclear weapons
through we do not know whether Tehran eventually decide to produce nuclear
weapons" and: "Iran continues to develop a range of capabilities that could be
applied to producing nuclear weapons if a decision is made to do so."
Clearly, Tehran does not have the same trouble putting its plans into words as
do those US intelligence report writers. It is bent on developing a nuclear
bomb, has completed the projects for its development and reserves the right to
set the date for assembling the completed components into a weapon.
Wednesday, March 9, the chief US envoy Glyn Davies reported to the nuclear
watchdog's board in Vienna that Iran may be continuing secret work on developing
nuclear weapons. In the course of an argument with the Iranian delegate Ali
Asghar Soltanieh, Davies warned of "increasingly apparently military dimensions
to Iran's nuclear program, including efforts by Iran to develop a nuclear
warhead."
"Iran continues to act very much like a state with something to hide," he told
the board.
But not any longer, says debkafile.
The hypocrisy of some intellectuals!
10/03/2011
By Tariq Alhomayed
There were rumors in Jordan that the Palace was planning to distribute financial
donations to the poor, and that people were rushing to get their share. However,
it transpired that the whole affair was a money-making scheme, whereby some
people were offering to process forms filled in by the poor who hoped to receive
these alleged donations, in return for a fee. Who is responsible for
manipulating people's feelings like this?
Much of the responsibility lies with those who simplify and idealize the
conditions and demands of the people, and depict revolutions as if they are the
key to solutions, and the way for people to obtain their rights, portraying all
Arab countries as being similar with regards to the suffering and misery present
in them. Those primarily responsible for this are certain members of our
cultural elite.
Will economic reform, for example, occur via government hand-outs, and would
this lead to an immediate rise in one's personal income? Of course not! The
first step of economic reform, anywhere, is to remove subsidies on goods, and
anyone who seeks further clarification on this matter should contemplate
Turkey's experience over the last ten years to understand that the country only
reached its position today through hard work and perseverance. Some might ask:
Does this mean that you are against political and economic reform? The answer is
no, of course I am not against this, reform is something that all our countries
need, and it is urgently needed in Saudi Arabia, the Gulf States, and Jordan,
but are our regional countries all suffering from the same problems? The answer
again is no, and here the blame lies on the intellectual dreamers who want to
play on the feelings of the street.
Iraq went for nearly eight months without a government, so how can it be
compared with Oman, the UAE, or Saudi Arabia? Furthermore, take the example of
Egypt, the president of this presidential republic remained in power for 30
years and was attempting to bequeath power to his son, so how can this country
be compared with Bahrain? Of course there is no comparison [in this regard], and
the same applies to the demands for reform that have been raised in Bahrain,
which are said to be legitimate, for what about the Shiite groups in the country
who are calling for the ouster of the monarchy and the establishment of a
Republic of Bahrain? This is something that is completely unacceptable! So how
can it be said that the Gulf States and their varied problems are similar to the
Republic of Yemen, which has been governed by a president who has been in power
longer than any Gulf King or Emir?
Do we need to mention Libya, after what Gaddafi did, and continues to do,
against his own people? Libya is a country that should only be comparable to
Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, or Qatar, in terms of its oil revenues, and today it
stands below any other Arab country, even those which don't possess oil. Reform
is urgent, because inflexibility and intransigence are the most prominent
reasons for the ouster of regimes, and indeed the collapse of states. However,
taking a shot in the dark, and ignoring the facts and realities of each state,
is futile. They hypocrisy of the street represents a great danger to those
governing a country, and unfortunately this is something that some intellectuals
in the Arab world have been caught up in, especially those who have lent their
names to political statements, whether these are Islamist statements or
democratic statements.
I am saying this because the Gulf States in particular, and without exception,
are now on the path to reform. Some of these states are moving quickly, whilst
others more slowly, and others charting a course between these two extremes.
However the Gulf States are not like Egypt, Tunisia, Libya or Yemen, and
particularly not like Syria, which is another story altogether. This is the
reality, and this is the logical assessment of the situation, but still some
people seek to incite chaos, and this is something quite different.
Lebanese Authorities intensify probes into missing Syrians
By Youssef Diab
Daily Star staff
Friday, March 11, 2011
BEIRUT: Investigations into the reported kidnapping of four Syrian nationals in
Lebanon are being conducted in a responsible manner and positive results might
be reached soon, judicial and security sources told The Daily Star Thursday.
Judicial sources said that concerned security bodies were carrying out
intensified investigations over the matter under the supervision of Judge Sami
Sader, the government’s deputy commissioner at the Military Tribunal.
The efforts are aimed at determining the exact circumstances behind the
incident, as well as where it took place, in a bid to unveil the fate of the
Syrians and take suitable measures against the perpetrators after identifying
them.
The same sources said a number of individuals, along with members from the
families of the captives, were being investigated.
The sources were optimistic over progress in probes and the possibility of
reaching a positive result soon. Syrian national, Jassem Merhi Jassem, alongside
at least six other Syrian nationals, was detained last month by security forces
for handing out leaflets condemning the Syrian regime.
Plain-clothed police allegedly made their way to his home that evening and
confiscated his computer but security personnel released all of the Syrians the
next day.
However, Jassem never returned home and disappeared along with his two brothers,
who had gone to collect him. Jassem’s wife, Thakila, later claims she received
phone calls informing her that Jassem had been taken to Syria and was
“willingly” accompanied back to Damascus by his brothers. Another brother, Ahmad
Jassem, originally detained on Feb. 23, is now also missing, but it is still
unclear whether he has purposefully gone into hiding after being summoned again
by Military Intelligence for additional questioning.
A security source told The Daily Star “security bodies are dealing in a
responsible manner with information related to the kidnapping of Syrian
citizens, and it is pursuing the case under the supervision of the Military
Judiciary.”
The source said that reports saying that an Internal Security Forces officer was
involved in the abduction were being investigated, saying that if they were
confirmed, “disciplinary measures will be taken after judicial probes finish and
responsibilities in the matter are determined.”
Meanwhile, Human Rights Watch said that an independent inquiry must be launched
into the disappearance of the three Syrian brothers.
The results of the investigation must be made public, it said, calling on
Military Intelligence to explain the reasons behind the detentions.
The call comes a day after caretaker Interior Minister Ziyad Baroud announced
the case had been officially opened by the judiciary, following the conclusion
of the ISF’s investigation.
“We fear that Lebanon may be back to doing Syria’s dirty job of shutting up its
critics,” said HRW Lebanon director Nadim Houry. “Lebanon’s judiciary should
open an independent inquiry into why the Syrian men were detained in the first
place and the murky events surrounding the disappearance of Jassem … and his two
brothers.”
“Given Lebanon’s painful history of people being detained and illegally
transferred to Syria, the disappearance of the three Jassem brothers should
concern the highest levels of the Lebanese state,” Houry said. “Only a credible
and transparent investigation will put to rest fears that Lebanon’s security
services may have acted outside the law.”
Minyeh MP Ahmad Fatfat Tuesday pledged to uncover the truth behind the missing
Syrians. “We urge Lebanese to stand alert against attempts by those wearing
black shirts to set the clock back,” he said in reference to the almost 30-year
Syrian occupation of Lebanon which ended with the “Cedar Revolution” in 2005.
March 14 program: no to arms
Coalition stresses ahead of rally that only the state should have weapons
By Hussein Dakroub /Daily Star staff
Friday, March 11, 2011
BEIRUT: The March 14 coalition launched Thursday its political program which
called for putting an end to non-state weapons and the supremacy of Hezbollah’s
arms over national and political life in Lebanon.
It stressed that the state should have the sole monopoly over the use of weapons
and defending Lebanon against any Israeli attack, in a move apparently aimed at
denying Hezbollah the freedom to use its arsenal at will.
Approved during a meeting at the Bristol Hotel of the coalition’s leaders and
lawmakers, including caretaker Prime Minister Saad Hariri, the program upheld
the U.N.-backed Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) in the face of a fierce
campaign by Hezbollah and its March 8 allies to try to abolish it.
The program, viewed by Tripoli MP Mohammad Kabbara as the coalition’s “road map”
to deal with the problems of the next stage, including the divisive issue of
Hezbollah’s weapons, came three days ahead of a mass rally planned by the March
14 groups to commemorate the sixth anniversary of their movement in Downtown
Beirut.
There was no immediate comment from the March 8 camp on the March 14 coalition’s
program.
Taking a direct swipe at Hezbollah, which fought Israeli occupation forces in
south Lebanon from 1982 until 2000, the document rejected the argument that
defending Lebanon against a possible Israeli attack was the responsibility of
one party.
It called for “defending Lebanon’s threatened sovereignty by confining this
mission to the state alone throughout the country, including the Palestinian
weapons in and outside the camps.”
“Therefore, the tutelage of [Hezbollah’s] arms over the political and social
life in Lebanon must end. The heresy that Lebanon is protected by one party must
end,” it said.
“We uphold the state sovereignty over all its territory and the need for
rallying around the state to work for the liberation of the remaining occupied
land,” the program said. “We uphold the resolutions of international legitimacy
which support Lebanon’s sovereignty, independence and justice. We will not
accept that the equation of living in security and peace in exchange for
abandoning freedom, justice and the truth to be imposed on our people.”
Entitled “In Defense of Lebanon for the sake of Freedom, Justice and Democracy,”
the program was read to reporters by Chouf MP Marwan Hamade, who split from
Druze leader Walid Jumblatt’s parliamentary bloc.
A smiling and seemingly relaxed Hariri, flanked by key politicians from the
March 14 coalition, sat behind a huge red banner that reads: “Sovereignty 2011 –
No to Arms Tutelage.”
Hariri’s Future Movement and its allies in the March 14 coalition have been
mobilizing their supporters for a heavy turnout at Sunday’s rally celebrating
the anniversary of the movement launched on March 14, 2005, one month after the
assassination of Hariri’s father, former Prime Minister Rafik, to defend the
country’s freedom, sovereignty and independence and call for a Syrian troop
withdrawal.
The rally is intended as a show of force as the political confrontation between
the March 14 coalition and the Hezbollah-led March 8 alliance heats up ahead of
the STL’s indictment into Rafik Hariri’s assassination. The STL has been at the
root of tension between the two camps for months, threatening to destabilize the
country, especially if some Hezbollah members are implicated in the
assassination, as widely expected.
The program reiterated March 14 group’s support for the STL, saying they will
adopt whatever is issued by the tribunal in order “to stop the cycle of killings
and achieve real stability in the country.” The Bristol meeting came against the
backdrop of a fierce campaign launched by Hariri and his March 14 allies against
Hezbollah’s weapons, calling for putting the party’s arsenal under state
control.
The program warned that Lebanon faced “serious dangers” threatening its very
existence, entity and the future of its citizens.
“Lebanon faces the danger of again losing its independence and returning to
sectarian and confessional divisions which will facilitate all forms of tutelage
when the Arab region is breaking out from the prisons of tyranny,” it said,
referring to the current wave of regional popular uprisings against
authoritarian regimes.
“Lebanon faces the danger of its democracy being muzzled and its [ruling] system
falling, with the use of arms, into the grip of one party and one speech,” the
document said. It added that Lebanon also faced the danger of being dragged into
an external axis, a reference to Syria and Iran.
“Confronting these dangers is the responsibility of all of us, both Christians
and Muslims, residents and expatriates,” the program said.
The March 14 parties reiterated their commitment to the principles outlined in
the Lebanese Constitution and the 1989 Arab-brokered Taif Accord, particularly
Lebanon’s sovereignty, independence, unity of its people, territorial integrity,
Arabism, its democratic parliamentary system and commitment to the principle of
equal power-sharing between Christians and Muslims. They rejected any division
of the country or settlement of Palestinians.
The March 14 coalition promised to achieve the program’s objectives through a
peaceful, democratic and civil struggle in Lebanon and abroad.
Warning of the gravity of the current situation, the program called on all rival
factions to combine their efforts toward achieving consensus on the national
principles and restoring unity among the Lebanese. “Attempts at supremacy are
doomed to failure. Let’s all of us work for defending Lebanon and maintaining
the freedom of its citizens, democracy and building a civil state,” it said. The
program finally called on the Lebanese to gather at 10 a.m. Sunday in “Freedom
Square” where “the voice of the people will be stronger than the rattle of
arms.”
Kataeb (Phalange) Party leader Amin Gemayel said the message from the meeting
was unity of the March 14 parties. “We will continue the struggle until the end
to protect the country’s sovereignty and the rise of the state,” Gemayel told
The Daily Star after the meeting.
He blamed Hezbollah’s weapons for the country’s political and economic problems.
“The state cannot rise with the presence of Hezbollah’s weapons. The weapons are
preventing stability, national reconciliation, the formation of a national unity
government, prosperity, development,” he said. Gemayel said that after the March
14 coalition decided not to participate in Prime Minister-designate Najib
Mikati’s government, “matters are heading toward a unilateral authority.” “A
unilateral government will take the country to a big stalemate,” he added.
Speaking to The Daily Star, Zahle MP Oqab Saqr of Hariri’s parliamentary Future
bloc said the message from the meeting was “a rejection of strife and
consecration of national unity by rejecting the domination of arms in national
life.”
The dark angel Gabriel
Michael Young, March 11, 2011
Now Lebanon/In his article for NOW Lebanon this week, Hussein Ibish wrote about
the growing legitimization of Islamophobia in the United States. One of the
persons he mentioned as spreading the message of hatred is a Lebanese-American,
Brigitte Gabriel, who has received considerable publicity lately, not least a
profile in the New York Times.
Gabriel heads a non-profit organization called ACT! for America, and her pitch
has been a rather simple one: The United States faces an existential threat from
Islam and must defend itself. But what makes Gabriel different from others
plying the same trade is that she claims to have personal familiarity with the
issue, thanks to her experiences in wartime Lebanon during the 1970s and 1980s.
Here is what Gabriel has posted on her website: “I founded ACT! for America
because Islamic militants have declared war on America. I know what this means.
For years, I witnessed first-hand how brutally jihadists treat non-Muslims.”
While Gabriel says that she is not against Islam as such, her critics observe
that in her remarks she has often signified precisely the opposite. Gabriel has
asserted, for instance, that “[i]n the Muslim world, extreme is mainstream.”
Gabriel is the author of a bestselling book titled Because They Hate: A Survivor
of Islamic Terror Warns America. In it, she recounts her time in unsettled South
Lebanon, making her case that it was really all about Muslim extremists killing
Christians. However, anyone with even cursory knowledge of events in the South
during the period that Gabriel lived there would see that her template is
nonsensical.
Gabriel frequently draws a direct link between what she saw on September 11,
2001, and what she encountered in her hometown of Marjayoun, located on a hill
overlooking the Lebanese-Israeli border. “Watching the World Trade Center
buildings fall in 2001,” she has written, “I was struck by the same fear that I
experienced during the war in Lebanon. As I watched, words instinctively came
from my mouth as I spoke to the TV screen: ‘Now they are here.’”
Gabriel was born Nour Saman, and during the first years of the Lebanese civil
war after 1975, she lived in Marjayoun. In those days the South was buffeted by
two principal dynamics: clashes between Israel and Palestinian militant groups;
and antagonism between the Palestinians and inhabitants of southern Lebanon,
Christians and Shia Muslims mainly, who resented the heavy price they were
paying for a conflict over which they had no control. The Israelis began arming
and overseeing those Lebanese opposed to the Palestinians, among them a
Christian Lebanese army officer named Saad Haddad, who formed a pro-Israel
militia and became the de facto commander of three enclaves established along
the border by the Israelis. In 1978, Israeli forces invaded South Lebanon to
dislodge the Palestinians. When they withdrew, the enclaves were joined into an
Israeli-protected “security belt” under Haddad’s control.
In her book, Gabriel notes, “[F]or my first ten years I led a charmed and
privileged life. All that came to an end when a religious war, declared by the
Muslims against the Christians, […] tore my country and my life apart. It was a
war that the world did not understand.”
Evidently, it was a war that Gabriel did not understand either. South Lebanon
was a complicated place, but it was not characterized by anything resembling an
Islamic jihad. Gabriel, in her blanket indictment of Muslims, airbrushes out
that Shia also suffered from the cycles of attack and retaliation between the
Palestinian factions and Israel. As a consequence many became as hostile to the
Palestinians as the Christians, later joining the pro-Israel militia. Moreover,
the Palestinian organizations were secular nationalist. Although many combatants
were Muslim, not all were. And their fight was with Israel; it was not a
religious crusade against Christians.
As for Gabriel’s grave comment “they are here” after the 9/11 attacks, that’s
pure theater. She knows very well that there was nothing remotely comparable
between what happened in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania, and what she
confronted in Marjayoun. Her effort to conflate the situations suggests not a
flaw in interpretation; it suggests a conscious effort to mislead.
Gabriel’s portrayal of her daily tribulations during the war also appears to be
overdone: she lived in a shelter for three years; she was sometimes driven to
school in a tank; bombs tended to explode nearby, so that Gabriel had to use
schoolbooks to protect herself from shrapnel. Anyone who grew up during the
Lebanese conflict probably lived through similar incidents. However, Gabriel has
a way of erasing all nuance, implying that her life was a daily serving of
Stalingrad. The reality is that everywhere, in Marjayoun as in Beirut, the war
was intermittent – with paroxysms of violence punctuating extended lulls. Maybe
Gabriel’s accounts are true, or partly so, but she also makes no effort to
mitigate them by stressing the normalcy in between.
Why does all this matter? For all its problems, Lebanon is not defined by
boundless Muslim loathing for Christians. Sooner or later charlatans are outed,
and even Gabriel’s admirers will eventually have to address her fabrications
more seriously. But most irking, this particular imposter also happens to be a
thief. Gabriel has stolen a part of our collective Lebanese memory in order to
forge it and peddle it to unsuspecting audiences, all to advance her career in
America.
Surely, it must have occurred to Gabriel that someone from back home might one
day notice her con act. Perhaps it did, but she was too conceited to care.
Purveyors of bigotry and paranoia eventually burn themselves out. But if that
process can be accelerated by putting a match to Gabriel’s mendacity, then all
the better.
**Michael Young is opinion editor of the Daily Star newspaper in Beirut and
author of The Ghosts of Martyrs Square: An Eyewitness Account of Lebanon’s Life
Struggle (Simon & Schuster).
Information warfare
Tony Badran/Now Lebanon
March 10, 2011
Anti-regime protestors in Manama. Bahrain officially complained that Syrian
television had aired false reports of a Saudi military intervention in Bahrain
to protect the ruling Sunni monarchy against the Shia opposition. (AFP
photo/Adam Jan)
While it is a favorite pastime for many Lebanon and Syria watchers to speculate
on the magical benefits of a Saudi-Syrian rapprochement, the current upheavals
in the Middle East have once again thrown into stark relief the fact that Riyadh
and Damascus are ensconced in rival camps, led by the US and Iran respectively,
competing over the future of the region and the shape of its strategic
alignment. This has been evident in Saudi-Syrian media tensions over the crises
in Bahrain and Libya.
Syria’s interests in Bahrain and Libya are diametrically opposed to those of
Saudi Arabia. As has been the case historically, inter-Arab rivalries play
themselves out in the media. For Arab regimes, information warfare is an
integral instrument in their arsenals, alongside hard operational tools.
The opening salvo came when Bahrain officially complained that Syrian television
had aired false reports of a Saudi military intervention in Bahrain to protect
the ruling Sunni monarchy against the Shia opposition. This official Bahraini
complaint was also carried by the more visible Saudi press.
Interestingly, a report in Al-Sharq al-Awsat also mentioned other similar claims
made by Iranian satellite stations, which were subsequently carried by websites
close to the Bahraini opposition. In other words, the Syrian report went
hand-in-hand with an Iranian information operation aimed at the Saudis.
The Iranians and the Syrians are fully aware of the value of the turmoil in
Bahrain and Yemen in bringing pressure on Saudi Arabia, especially as popular
stirrings have begun in the kingdom’s eastern province, which contains a
concentration of Saudi’s Shia population.
One would be right to point out that the Shia opposition in Bahrain, and its
demand for reform, has little or nothing to do with Iran. Nevertheless, Iran’s
game is also one of framing narratives and controlling perceptions. In so doing,
it aims to stamp its brand on the events in the region in order to further its
strategic objectives, even when the drivers of these events are independent of
Tehran.
However, beyond propaganda, it does seem that the US is concerned about actual
operational involvement by Iran in Bahrain. At a recent hearing at the House
Committee on Foreign Affairs, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton noted that the
Iranians were “doing everything they can to influence the outcomes” in places
like Bahrain. Importantly, she added, “We know that they are reaching out to the
opposition in Bahrain. We know that the Iranians are very much involved in the
opposition movements in Yemen.”
This public acknowledgment is a year late. The busting of Iranian cells
operating in Kuwait and Bahrain was reported in May of last year. Syria too has
played an auxiliary role to Iran in its efforts to destabilize Manama. On the
eve of the Gaza war of 2008-2009, the Bahraini authorities announced the arrest
of a group of Shia militants who had received training in Syria, accusing them
of planning terrorist attacks during Bahrain’s national day celebrations.
Syria’s role in Libya is more direct, and here too, Saudi media has been
involved in exposing Damascus’ involvement. Al-Sharq al-Awsat reported that
Libyan rebels had downed two fighter planes piloted by Syrians. It also quoted a
statement by a Libyan group charging that Syria had dispatched a number of its
pilots and Special Forces to assist the Qaddafi regime in defeating the rebels.
Moreover, the report quoted Libyan sources raising questions about the recent
trip to Syria by Qaddafi’s cousin, which may have played a role in the Libyan
regime’s request for military assistance from Damascus – a longtime ally. In
fact, so close has Syrian-Libyan cooperation been over the years, that one
Syrian site claimed that Syrian security agents were in Libya to ensure
sensitive intelligence files detailing this cooperation, such as in the
Lockerbie bombing case, don’t fall in the wrong hands.
In addition, Al-Sharq al-Awsat’s editor, Tariq Homayed, penned a column on
Tuesday criticizing Syria’s role in targeting Saudi Arabia. Homayed charged that
a piece in The Independent, which claimed that the US had tasked Saudi Arabia
with arming the Libyan rebels, was fed to the British paper by “some of Iran’s
allies” – meaning the Syrians. Homayed concluded that this was an attempt to jab
at the Saudis and “to embroil them in the Libyan storm,” ironically wondering
why nobody would volunteer to reveal the content of Qaddafi’s recent phone call
to “a certain Arab president,” in reference to Bashar al-Assad.
What is evident is that this information warfare accompanies and supports a
broader regional cold war, which is being fought on several proxy battlefields
and involves multiple players.
In recent years, it became fashionable again to talk about a supposed “Arab
fold” into which Syria ostensibly should be “brought back.” The reality of Arab
power politics, however, has always been one of competing blocs aligned with
rival external powers. What lies behind the Saudi-Syrian media recriminations is
the fact that, all the chatter about rapprochement notwithstanding, the two Arab
states continue to fall firmly on opposing sides of the region’s fundamental
strategic fault line: the Iranian alliance system on the one hand, and the
US-backed order on the other.
**Tony Badran is a research fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.