LCCC
ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
ِMay
09/2011
Biblical Event Of The
Day
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 6,12-19. In those days he
departed to the mountain to pray, and he spent the night in prayer to God. When
day came, he called his disciples to himself, and from them he chose Twelve,
whom he also named apostles: Simon, whom he named Peter, and his brother Andrew,
James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus,
Simon who was called a Zealot, and Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot,
who became a traitor. And he came down with them and stood on a stretch of level
ground. A great crowd of his disciples and a large number of the people from all
Judea and Jerusalem and the coastal region of Tyre and Sidon came to hear him
and to be healed of their diseases; and even those who were tormented by unclean
spirits were cured. Everyone in the crowd sought to touch him because power came
forth from him and healed them all.
Latest
analysis, editorials, studies, reports, letters & Releases
from
miscellaneous
sources
Defense
officials weigh in after former Mossad chief brands Iran strike a 'stupid' idea/Haaretz/May
08/11
Will Ahmadinejad fall before them?/By
Tariq Alhomayed/May
08/11
Egyptian Coptic Youth Protect
Cathedral During Pope's Sermon/AINA/May
08/11
Has Ahmadinejad taken on more than
he can handle with Khameini?/By Zvi Bar'el /May
08/11
Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources for May
08/11
Cabinet-formation delay is
crippling state institutions, Rai says/Now Lebanon
Egypt sectarian violence toll rises
to 10/Now Lebanon
Egypt to put sectarian clash
participants on trial/Now Lebanon
Egyptian PM calls crisis meeting
after sectarian violence/Now Lebanon
US Special Forces go after Mullah
Omer, Ayman Zawahiri, Seif al-Adel/DEBKAfile
Barak: Dagan should not have made
Iran comments in public/J.Post
Israeli Ex-Spymaster: Assad's Fall
Would End Syrian Help to Hizbullah/Naharnet
Security forces crack down on
Syria’s Homs/Now Lebanon
Syrian regime hunting down
opponents, activists say/Now Lebanon
Threat of regime collapse in
Syria creates uncertainty in region/Boston Globe
Syria: President Assad should be
brought to book over violence/The
Guardian
Syrian Security Forces Kill Three
Women/WSJ
Syria -- from bad to worse/T.Z
Syria sends tanks into Baniyas
as regime refuses to compromise/Telegraph
UN report says that Lebanon is fragile and polarised/The National
Two wounded Syrians flee to Lebanon/Daily Star
Journalist With Canadian Citizenship Being Held in Syria/ET
US general: criminals main threat
in Latin
America/AFP
Bellemare submits new indictment,
UN warns of tensions/Daily Star
Bahrain
Accuses 21 Activists of Plots to Topple State with Hizbullah Help/Naharnet
Miqati's Circles:
Premier-Designate, Nasrallah Met a Month Ago/Naharnet
Report: Syria Thwarts
Attempts by Armed Men to Infiltrate Lebanon/Naharnet
Ex-Spymaster: Assad's Fall
Would End Syrian Help to Hizbullah/Naharnet
Report: Assad Spared from
EU Sanctions Over 7 Estonians/Naharnet
Miqati Still 'Patient' Amid
Suggestion of New Names to Lead Interior Ministry/Naharnet
Cabinet-formation delay is crippling state institutions, Rai says
May 8, 2011 /Maronite Patriarch Bechara Boutros al-Rai on Sunday said that the
cabinet-formation delay is crippling state institutions and plunging Lebanon
into an economic crisis, the National News Agency reported. A dispute over the
Interior Ministry portfolio between President Michel Sleiman and Change and
Reform bloc leader MP Michel Aoun is reportedly delaying the formation of a new
Lebanese cabinet headed by Prime Minister-designate Najib Mikati. -NOW Lebanon
Al-Rahi Hopes that Officials Would Achieve Mutual Respect and End Cabinet Crisis
Naharnet/Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi on Sunday prayed that Lebanon comes
out of its crisis and hoped that the relationship between officials would be
based on mutual respect.
During a mass at the Harissa basilica, al-Rahi expressed hope that Lebanese
officials would use their conscience to end the government formation impasse
that is "paralyzing constitutional institutions" and drowning Lebanon in an
economic crisis. Al-Rahi said over the weekend that nations are not built by
trade or government posts and warned that a third of the Lebanese population is
living under the poverty line. "Nations are not built by trade, money or seats,"
al-Rahi said Saturday during a ceremony organized by Radio Charity to honor him
and former patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir. On the contrary, nations are built through
the unity of its "heroes" who make sacrifices for the country's goodwill, al-Rahi
said. "We hope that we still have such heroes who believe in Lebanon first." On
Friday, the patriarch met with visiting delegations in Bkirki. He told his
visitors that major projects should be carried out to improve social conditions.
"The luxury and lavish spending do not reflect the real social conditions in
Lebanon," he said. "We regret to say that one third of the Lebanese population
has reached below the line of poverty." Beirut, 08 May 11, 09:20
Egypt sectarian violence toll rises to 10
May 8, 2011 /The death toll from clashes between Muslims and Christians in the
Egyptian capital Cairo has risen to 10, state TV said on Sunday. The clashes in
the working class neighborhood of Imbaba, in northwest Cairo, on Saturday also
left 186 injured, TV reported. The two groups clashed after Muslims attacked the
Coptic Saint Mena church in Imbaba to free a Christian woman they alleged was
being held against her will because she wanted to convert to Islam. Copts
account for up to 10 percent of the country's 80 million people and they
complain of discrimination, and have been the targets of fairly regular
sectarian attacks. Claims that Christian women who converted to Islam were
kidnapped and held in churches or monasteries have soured relations between the
two communities for months.-AFP/NOW Lebanon
Egypt to put sectarian clash participants on trial
May 8, 2011
Egypt's military rulers said on Sunday that 190 people detained overnight in
connection with deadly clashes between Muslims and Christians in Cairo will face
a military trial.
The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, which has ruled Egypt since a popular
uprising toppled president Hosni Mubarak, ordered "the transfer of all those
arrested in connection with [Saturday's] events, and they number 190, to the
Supreme Military Court, as a deterrent to all those who think of toying with the
potential of this nation."In a statement on its Facebook page, the council also
said it would "set up a committee to assess the damage caused by the clashes and
to restore all property and places of worship to how they were before the
events."In a stern communiqué, the council warned of the "severe dangers facing
Egypt during this phase."It called on "all communities in Egypt, the youth of
the revolution, the national forces and Islamic and Christian scholars to stand
like a wall against any attempt by the forces of evil and darkness to tear the
national fabric."The clashes in the working class neighborhood of Imbaba, in
northwest Cairo, on Saturday also left 186 injured, TV reported. The two groups
clashed after Muslims attacked the Coptic Saint Mena church in Imbaba to free a
Christian woman they alleged was being held against her will because she wanted
to convert to Islam. Copts account for up to 10 percent of the country's 80
million people and they complain of discrimination, and have been the targets of
fairly regular sectarian attacks.-AFP/NOW Lebanon
Egyptian PM calls crisis meeting after sectarian violence
May 8, 2011 /Egyptian Prime Minister Essam Sharaf called an urgent cabinet
meeting Sunday and postponed a Gulf visit after clashes between Muslims and
Christians in Cairo left nine people dead, state media said. "Prime Minister
Sharaf has called for an emergency meeting of the cabinet to discuss the
regrettable events in Imbaba," Ahmed al-Saman, a cabinet spokesperson told the
official MENA news agency. Sharaf "has decided to postpone his visit to Bahrain
and the United Arab Emirates" which had been scheduled for Sunday, state TV
reported. Clashes between Muslims and Christians in the Cairo working class
neighborhood of Imbaba on Saturday left nine dead and more than 100 injured.
State TV said that six Muslims and three Copts had been killed. A parish priest,
Father Hermina, had told AFP on Saturday that at least five of the dead were
Copts. The area in Imbaba has been sealed off and security has been stepped out
around key churches in the country, senior security official Mohsen Murad told
state TV. The two camps had clashed on Saturday after Muslims attacked the
Coptic Saint Mena church to free a Christian woman they alleged was being held
against her will because she wanted to convert to Islam. Elsewhere in Imbaba,
Muslim protesters threw firebombs at another church, setting it on fire, police
officials said. They said the fire was put out. Copts account for up to 10
percent of the country's 80 million people and they complain of discrimination,
and have been the targets of fairly regular sectarian attacks. Claims that
Christian women who converted to Islam were kidnapped and held in churches or
monasteries have soured relations between the two communities for
months.-AFP/NOW Lebanon
Security forces crack down on Syria’s Homs
May 8, 2011 /Al-Arabiya on Sunday cited an eye-witness as saying that a campaign
of arrests has been conducted in the Syrian city of Homs. According to
eyewitnesses, military checkpoints have been set up throughout the city. The
reported added that bombs exploded in the Homs neighborhoods of Baba Amro and
Bab al-Siba’a overnight. Meanwhile, Al-Jazeera reported that phone lines and
electricity were cut-off in several neighborhoods in the city.-NOW Lebanon
Syrian regime hunting down opponents, activists say
May 8, 2011 /Syrian troops hunted down opponents of Syrian President Bashar
al-Assad in two flashpoint cities on Sunday, rights activists said, as the
regime ignored growing world anger at its bloody response to pro-democracy
protests. Tanks were deployed as the military launched the crackdown on the
northwestern coastal city of Banias and Homs, another protest hub in central
Syria, activists said. Overnight the military cut electricity and communications
before entering several districts of Homs that are home to opponents of Assad's
regime, after having taken up positions inside central Homs on Friday, an
activist said. He reported heavy machinegun fire in Bab Baba and Sebaa Amr, two
neighborhoods in the city of one million inhabitants which has been the scene of
almost daily demonstrations since the protests began mid-March. Sixteen
demonstrators were killed in Homs on Friday when security forces opened fire on
a protest in the central district of Bab Draybi, the human rights group Insan
reported. The military conducted a similar operation after cutting electricity,
communications and water in the Mediterranean port city of Banias, said Rami
Abdel Rahman of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. Human rights groups say
that more than 600 people have been killed and 8000 jailed or gone missing in
the crackdown on protestors since demonstrations against Assad erupted in
mid-March.-AFP/NOW Lebanon
Bahrain Accuses 21 Activists of Plots to Topple State with Hizbullah Help
Naharnet/Bahrain's military prosecutor accused 21 political activists of seeking
to overthrow the ruling monarchy with the help of a "foreign terrorist group" —
an apparent reference to Hizbullah — in a widening crackdown on a pro-reform
uprising by the island nation's Shiite majority. The charges are part of
fast-moving efforts by Bahrain's authorities to prosecute opposition leaders and
others after months of clashes and protests in the strategic kingdom, which is
home to the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet. Late last month, a special security court set
up under martial law sentenced four people to death for killing two policemen in
the unrest. The latest cases were tried by the same court, according to the
state-run Bahrain News Agency. Fourteen members of the group are in custody,
including several prominent Shiite political figures. The others are charged in
absentia. The allegations include seeking to topple the 200-year-old Sunni
monarchy and having links to "a terrorist organization abroad working for a
foreign country." No addition details were made public, but Bahrain's leaders
have claimed that the Iranian-backed Hizbullah in Lebanon has sought to make
inroads in Bahrain with the protests. Bahrain also is locked in a deepening
quarrel with Iran, which has sharply criticized the waves of arrests and the
dispatch of a 1,500-strong Saudi-led force in March to prop up the monarchy.
Protests began in February — inspired by others across the Arab world — by
Shiites demanding a greater political voice and other reforms in the tiny Gulf
nation. Shiites comprise about 70 percent of Bahrain's population, but are
excluded from top government and security posts. More than 30 people have died
in the unrest.(AP) Beirut, 08 May 11, 10:03
Report: Syria Thwarts Attempts by Armed Men to Infiltrate Lebanon
Naharnet/The Syrian army has thwarted attempts by "armed men" to escape to
Lebanon by land and sea, the Syrian al-Watan newspaper reported Sunday. The
daily said that the Syrian military was making strong efforts to "eradicate
terrorist cells" in the country. The report came a day after the National News
Agency said that two badly wounded Syrians crossed into northern Lebanon from
the Syrian village of Tal Kalakh. NNA said the two men were found on a bank of
Nahr al-Kabeer in the border area of Bukayaa, suffering from bruises and wounds.
The agency said that they were taken to a hospital in the town of Qbayyat and
placed under police guard. Authorities will continue their investigations into
the incident, it added. Beirut, 08 May 11, 11:03
Ex-Spymaster: Assad's Fall Would End Syrian Help to Hizbullah
Naharnet/Israel's recently retired spy chief, Meir Dagan, has said that the
Jewish state would be better off if Syrian President Bashar Assad was toppled
because "this will stop help to Hizbullah," Israeli media reported Sunday. Dagan
also told a weekend conference that Assad's fall would strengthen the Sunni camp
in Syria and in the Arab world in general. "These things will be good for Israel
strategically." He believed that Assad will fight to the end. "He has no
alternative. It's victory or death." The former spymaster also said that a
military strike against Iran's nuclear program would be "stupid." His remarks
challenge Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's position that Tehran won't
curb its nuclear ambitions unless it thinks it is threatened with military
action. Dagan also cautioned that a strike would be liable to trigger war with
Iran and possibly Syria. This is the first time Dagan has publicly expressed his
blunt opposition to a military strike against Iran, though he has expressed
reservations privately, media have reported. Dagan spoke days before Netanyahu
is due to meet with U.S. officials in Washington. It is not clear how his
remarks will affect the prime minister's international campaign against the
Iranian nuclear program.(Naharnet-AP) Beirut, 08 May 11, 10:30
US Special Forces go after Mullah Omer, Ayman Zawahiri, Seif al-Adel /Naharnet
DEBKAfile Exclusive Report May 8, 2011,
In the wake of the Osama bin Laden operation, the US is sustaining the momentum
of the war on terror by sending more Special Forces and drones into Pakistan
after his top lieutenant, the Egyptian Ayman al Zawahiri, Taliban leader Mullah
Omer and al Qaeda's chief operations officer, Seif al Adal.
debkafile's counter-terror sources report that on May 2, the day bin Laden was
killed, the Taliban leader and his top staff were thought to be in Karachi,
southern Pakistan and the two al Qaeda leaders in the tribal region of North
Waziristan. All three are presumed to have since moved on. US intelligence
suspects their whereabouts are known to Pakistan's Inter-Services-Intelligence
agency (ISI). Our Washington sources report that Saturday night, May 7,
President Barack Obama gave the Pakistani government, army and intelligence an
ultimatum: Cooperate in the capture of the three wanted men or else we shall
pump more American soldiers into Pakistan to take up the pursuit with or without
your permission.
US intelligence is convinced that Omer, Zawahiri and al-Adal have joined forces
and are plotting a revenge attack on America dramatic enough to outdo the
psychological impact of the bin Laden killing. Al-Adal, whom Iran released in
Sept. 2010 and allowed to cross into Pakistan, is rated the most competent and
innovative planner of large-scale terrorist attacks.
The videos of bin Laden the Pentagon released Saturday from the raid on his
Abbottabad compound show an ageing man with a straggling grey beard, huddled
under a blanket and watching his own performance on a TV screen – a far cry from
the well-known tall, commanding presence. Still, US spokesmen are now insisting
that the master-terrorist they killed was active, dangerous and preoccupied with
plotting attacks on the United States. As the sifting through the computers,
files and drives captured in the raid continued, a senior US intelligence source
maintained: "The materials reviewed over the past several days clearly show that
bin Laden remained an active leader in al Qaeda, providing strategic,
operational and tactical instructions to the group. He was far from a
figurehead. He was an actively player."This assessment radically contradicted
everything Washington put out about the al Qaeda leader in the last four years.
They scorned as "one man on the run" who was too busy chasing from one hideout
to another under hot US pursuit to have time for setting up terrorist
operations. Such operations were increasingly attributed to al Qaeda's regional
"franchises."Now, US terrorist experts have clearly decided otherwise.
The US pushes Pakistani intelligence to the wall
DEBKAfile Exclusive Analysis May 7, 2011,
The Obama administration is presenting the successful Osama bin Laden hit as an
epic American solo operation, unparalleled in military and intelligence annals,
while leaning hard on Islamabad to sack certain officers of the powerful
military intelligence army ISI including its head Lt. Gen. Ahmad Shuja Pasha,
accusing them of keeping the dead al Qaeda leader hidden for eight years. The
ISI chief is a close confidant of Pakistan's chief of staff Gen. Ashfaq Parvez
Kayani with whom Washington works closely and so the demand for Pasha's head is
seen as casting aspersions on him too.
American sources reported Saturday, May 7 that five days earlier, just hours
after bin Laden was killed in Abbottabad, Pakistan, a high-ranking US official
landed in Islamabad with a demand to bring the ISI officers involved in
sheltering the al Qaeda leader to book. It now appears that the iconic jihadi
leader first arrived in Pakistani in 2003 and stayed in the small village of
Chak Shah Mohammad near Haripur 40 kilometers north of the Pakistani capital.
According Pakistani sources, this information came from questioning the Bin
Laden wife found and detained in the Abbottabad villa where he was killed. She
said the family stayed in the village two and-a-half years before moving to
Abbottabad in 2005.
debkafile's intelligence sources report that details are slipping out over bin
Laden's secret Pakistani addresses over the years. The ISI used some of those
compounds as safe houses for terrorists from other organizations. The Abbottabad
villa compound is now revealed as having served as a byway station for
terrorists from Pakistan-backed organizations heading for Kashmir, long a
violent bone of contention with India. In summer, however, it had a very
different use: High-ranking diplomats and officials of the Pakistani foreign
office used it as a holiday villa, attracted by the pleasant climate in this
North West Frontier town. Far from being off the beaten track, the property was
therefore in regular use by the authorities in Islamabad.
In the mounting duel between the Obama administration and Pakistan, two
conflicting versions of the bin Laden episode are unfolding, with potentially
detrimental effect on the Afghan War and global war on terror.
The Americans have embarked on a two-pronged strategy:
1. Friday, May 6, President Barack Obama was cheered by members of the 101st
Airborne Division at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, when he said: "Now in recent days,
the whole world has learned just how ready they were. These Americans deserve
credit for one of the greatest intelligence military operations in our nation's
history." Pakistan was not mentioned.
Obama had just shaken the hands of the Seals members who returned from
Abbottabad.
2. Washington is not only cutting Pakistan out of any role in the feat but bent
on weakening Pakistani military intelligence and, in particular, the officials
tied to Osama bin Laden, on the assumption that they are also in touch with
other high-profile al Qaeda leaders and may even be harboring them too. The US
also presumes them to be in connection with the very Taliban leaders American
soldiers are fighting in Afghanistan.
The Obama administration is vitally interested in weakening the Pakistani
factions maintaining those ties and showing Taliban they can no longer be relied
on as protection against America's long arm. The US will ultimately corner
Taliban's leaders, whether by diplomatic engagement or the methods which ended
Osama bin Laden's life.
Pakistan's take is not just different but increasingly resentful: Its military
intelligence insists the bin Laden operation would not have succeeded without
close cooperation between the CIA and ISI and the two armies – or some factions
thereof – which was maintained at least up until President Obama's decision to
authorize the Abbottabad raid. This view is supported by some Western
counterterrorism agencies engaged in the war on al Qaeda.
Pakistani officials suspect the US administration heads is deliberately denying
them a measure of credit for the successful mission because, with bin Laden
gone, Obama feels confident enough to go straight to the Taliban to negotiate an
end to the Afghanistan war and dispense with Pakistan's good services as
intermediaries. With the al Qaeda leader out of the way, he wants to see the
back of a Pakistan role in Afghanistan. debkafile's counter-terror sources warn
that the rising acrimony between Washington and Islamabad may well deter
Pakistani intelligence from fingering more wanted al Qaeda figures and their
hideouts - or even encourage the ISI to stand aside when Taliban goes for
American targets in revenge for bin Laden's termination.
Has Ahmadinejad taken on more than he can handle with Khameini?
By Zvi Bar'el /Haaretz
How far will Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad take things with Supreme
Leader Ali Khamenei? Is he misreading the Iranian political map, or does he
really believe that some miracle or magic trick will shift the balance in his
favor in this unprecedented clash? On Saturday, Iranian websites reported that
Khamenei gave the president an ultimatum: Bring back the intelligence minister
you fired against my will or resign. Ahmadinejad, meanwhile, insists that
appointing and dismissing ministers is his prerogative as head of the
government. The conflict began around two weeks ago, when Ahmadinejad, in a
laconic statement, fired his intelligence minister - an associate of Khamenei.
In response, the supreme leader instructed the minister to stay at his post.
Ahmadinejad reacted by skipping two cabinet meetings and barring the
intelligence minister from taking part in a third. The rift between the two men
has produced some unprecedented alliances. The commander of the Revolutionary
Guard, an armed force seen as the president's staunchest supporter, and
conservative clerics have made clear they support Khamenei. Disagreements
between Khamenei and Ahmadinejad are nothing new, but this time the president
appears to have taken on more than he can handle. He appears to be motivated by
a desire to retain influence even after the end of his term, having his
son-in-law elected president and returning after a one-term break. Some
observers say he may even have aspirations to reduce the clerics' involvement in
government. A disloyal intelligence minister would be an obstacle to that. But
the damage he's causing is enormous. He is forcing Khamenei to act like a
politician and is confronting him with an extraordinary dilemma. If he
intervenes, Khamenei will work against the election results he himself created.
If he doesn't, the position of supreme leader will lose its clout. Meanwhile,
Khamenei and his allies are using the old and tested method. Some of the
president's associates have been arrested, and websites are slowly filling up
with reports on the intelligence minister's corruption carried out with the
president's knowledge.
Defense officials weigh in after former Mossad chief brands Iran strike a
'stupid' idea
By Haaretz Service
Former Mossad chief Meir Dagan's declaration that an Israeli attack on Iran
would be "stupid" triggered mixed reactions Sunday from senior government and
defense officials in Israel.
In his first public appearance since leaving the post in September, Dagan said
Friday that the possibility a future Israel Air Force attack on Iranian nuclear
facilities was "the stupidest thing I have ever heard". Two other past Mossad
chiefs, Danny Yatom and Ephraim Halevy, said Sunday that Dagan has every right
to express his opinion with regard to extraordinary matters such as a strike on
Iran. When it comes to fateful issues pertaining to security and the state, the
head of the Mossad must say his piece after leaving the post, Yatom told Israel
Radio. Yatom said that he too opposed the idea of attacking Iran as it would not
achieve the intended goal. Halevy echoed this sentiment, saying that an outgoing
Mossad chief must grant the public what it is entitled to know, although he
added that he might have phrased the declaration differently. Halevy also said
that Dagan's remarks should have no bearing on the government's decisions to
that regard. MK Shaul Mofaz, chairman of the Knesset's Foreign Affairs and
Defense Committee, agreed that senior defense establishment officials must
express their opinions regarding issues such as these whenever possible.
"Dagan's stance is important and he was right to express it, as a man who did an
excellent job and contributed so much to Israel," said Mofaz, adding that there
was nothing inappropriate about making such a statement at the Hebrew University
strategy conference at which he spoke. Mofaz also said that while Israel could
not allow Iran to acquire nuclear weapons, military action must be used only as
a last resort. Other responses were less supportive. Defense Minister Ehud Barak
said that while Dagan was a man of many merits who had contributed immeasurably
to the security of Israel, he "should not have shared that opinion with the
public at large". Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz agreed, saying he believed
Dagan to have been an outstanding Mossad chief but he should have kept the
remarks to himself. In his address to the Hebrew University conference on
Friday, Dagan said that Iran has a clandestine nuclear infrastructure which
functions alongside its legitimate, civil infrastructure. It is the legitimate
infrastructure, he said, that is under international supervision by the
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Any strike on this legitimate
infrastructure would be "patently illegal under international law," according to
Dagan. Dagan emphasized that attacking Iran would be different than Israel's
successful air strike on Iraq's nuclear reactor in 1981. Iran has scattered its
nuclear facilities in different places around the country, he said, which would
make it difficult for Israel to launch an effective attack. According to Dagan,
there is proof that Iran has the capability to divert its nuclear activities
from place to place in order to take them out of the watchful eye of
international supervision and intelligence agencies. No one in Iran would have
any problems in building a centrifuge system in a school basement if they wished
to, he said. The IAF's abilities are not in doubt, Dagan emphasized, but the
doubts relate to the possibilities of completing the mission and reaching all
targets. When asked about what would happen in the aftermath of an Israeli
attack Dagan said that: "It will be followed by a war with Iran. It is the kind
of thing where we know how it starts, but not how it will end."
Will Ahmadinejad fall before them?
08/05/2011
By Tariq Alhomayed/Asharq Al-Awsat
News coming from Iran suggests that the Supreme Leader has given the Iranian
President a few days to restore Iran's intelligence chief to his post, or
resign. So will Ahmadinejad fall before the other leaders who are facing a
similar fate in our region?
Nothing can be ruled out of course, and it seems that something indeed has been
developing in Iran ever since the blow dealt to Tehran when the Joint Peninsula
Shield Force entered Bahrain, and the subsequent hit which Tehran received from
the Syrian people rebelling against their regime. Iran now seems to be in a
state of bewilderment. Even Iraq is not excluded from the demonstrations in the
region, and all of this means a failure in Iran's foreign policy, which has been
struck a violent and degrading blow. All of Iran's allies in the region are in
real trouble; the government of Lebanon is yet to be formed, and Hamas has
rushed into the arms of Mahmoud Abbas, to save it from the wrath of the Syrian
regime, for reasons Mishal and his associates know well, and not because the
absence of Mubarak has accelerated the reconciliation, as has been said, for
this is a big lie. In Damascus there is a genuine feeling of indignation
regarding Hamas and its leadership.
Another indicator of the failure of Iran's foreign policy, and the depth of its
crisis, as revealed by U.S journalist David Ignatius in his article the day
before yesterday in the Washington Post, is that the Iranians recently sent
messages to Washington, intimating their desire to talk with the Obama
administration. Washington is still trying to confirm whether the messages came
from Ahmadinejad or the Supreme Leader. It seems that the Americans have
listened carefully to the advice of the Syrian President, where the "Wikileaks"
documents revealed that al-Assad had told the Americans that the real Iranian
President was Khamenei, not Ahmadinejad.
Of course, what prompted Tehran to try to talk to Washington was another matter,
and not the failure of Iran's foreign policy, namely that America has killed
Osama Bin Laden, and this means that the exit route from Afghanistan has become
more visible. The U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates says that killing Bin
Laden may change the rules of the game in Afghanistan, and the interests of the
Taliban today mean that the time to negotiate with America has come, as the
mediation gates have opened. We can remember how the Saudis refused to respond
to the invitation of the Afghan President to mediate, as long as the Taliban
refused to abandon Bin Laden! The erosion of the regime in Syria may open
opportunities for the Americans to reorder the situation in Iraq, as well as
taking new steps in the peace process. The Oslo Accords came after a major
political earthquake, the liberation of Kuwait, and today the earthquakes around
us are many and great. Once Gaddafi is overthrown, Washington and the
international community will turn their attention to the next enemy, and that is
Iran without a doubt.
Thus Ahmadinejad will either resign or be sacked, or perhaps remain in his
position, if the intelligence chief supported by the Supreme Leader remains.
This means that Ahmadinejad may actually fall, unless there is a surprise and
Ahmadinejad himself ousts the Supreme Leader. This would be a momentous event,
but nothing can be ruled out.
Ahmadinejad would fall because of the failure of his foreign policies, as Iran
today is completely isolated. Ahamdinejad would also fall due to the blow dealt
to him by Khamenei, when he was ordered to keep his intelligence chief, as if he
was the Iranian "secretary", not the Iranian President. But will Ahmadinejad
leave the political scene in the near future? Let's see, although no one would
miss him!
Barak: Dagan should not have made Iran comments in public
By JPOST.COM STAFF /05/08/2011 11:42
Responding to ex-Mossad head's statement that "attack on Iran’s nuclear reactors
would be foolish," defense minister says sensitive matters should not be
expressed openly; former Mossad chiefs: Dagan acted appropriately. Defense
Minister Ehud Barak on Sunday morning commented on former Mossad chief Meir
Dagan's statements over the weekend, saying that Dagan is a man with many rights
who has contributed greatly to the state, but that he should not have shared his
thoughts with the public.Dagan said on Saturday that "an aerial attack against
Iran’s nuclear reactors would be foolish,” adding that such an attack would
start a regional war whose end Israel cannot foresee. I'm not sure his
statements are correct, and if we're dealing with intelligence issues, it is not
right to share those statements with the public," Barak said. Finance Minister
Yuval Steinitz also said that it was unfortunate that Dagan's comments were made
in public. In contrast to Barak and Steinitz's comments, two former Mossad
chiefs Danny Yatom and Efraim Halevy said that statements made by Dagan were
appropriate for the public to hear. Yatom told Israel Radio that on critical
security issues, the Mossad chief should, and even must, share his opinion after
he has finished his term. Halevy expressed similar sentiments to Yatom, saying
that it is appropriate for a former Mossad head to make comments after he leaves
his position if there are things that are important for the public to know.
Halevy said that he would pick other issues to discuss, but that the things
Dagan said do not deny the government its authority to make any decisions. Yatom
added that Dagan's comments on Iran had already been revealed before, and that
he personally would not rule out military action against Iran if all other
actions do not achieve their objective.
Egyptian Coptic Youth Protect Cathedral During Pope's Sermon
5-7-2011 21:8:20
Assyrian International News Agency
(AINA) -- Egyptian police and armed forces were heavily deployed around St,
Mark's Cathedral in Cairo yesterday as Coptic Pope Shenouda III delivered his
weekly sermon to nearly 10,000 church members. The sermon was also attended by
the media and Muslim journalists to show their opposition to the Salafis and the
actions against the church. A large number of veiled Muslim women were also in
attendance. Hundreds of Coptic Christians also guarded the Cathedral. The
Maspero Coptic Youth Federation announced they will guard the Cathedral until
Friday because the Salafis warned they will stage this Friday another
demonstration in front of it, to "free" the Christian converts to Islam whom the
church detains.
Islamists websites had warned Copts not to attend today's sermon and had called
for retaliatory action against the Cathedral during the sermon in response to
the church's decision not to release Camellia Shehata, who Muslims believe has
converted to Islam and is being held against her will. The Pope's sermon was
titled "Forgive" and stressed the virtue of being good to the offenders. The
Pope said every human being sins, even the saints, and "forgive the people so
that you are forgiven." Thousands of Salafists staged a march to the cathedral
last Friday to demand the appearance of Camellia Shehata and Wafaa Constantine,
both wives of clergy, whom they claim converted to Islam. The church has denied
they converted to Islam (AINA 4-30-2011). The prosecutor requested of the
appearance of Camellia to investigate the claims that she was allegedly
kidnapped and detained by the Church. She is expected to appear before them in
the very near future. "Camelia said she was 100% Christian, is proud of her
religion, has not converted to Islam and never went to AlAzhar for conversion,"
said Dr. Naguib Gobraeel, her attorney. "She confirmed that she had had a
misunderstanding with her husband, Father Tedaos, and left their home and stayed
a few days with some relations, until friends and relatives intervened and
reconciled them." Dr. Naguib Gobraeel said she now lives a quiet and happy life
with her husband and her two and half year old son Anton in Cairo.
Gobraeel said he advised Camellia to appear in the media to refute the claims of
her conversion to Islam and that she is being held by the church, but she
refused. He added that Camellia told him that her biggest wish is to return to
the simple life, like any normal Egyptian woman, away from the media and the
between Copts and Muslims dispute regarding her.
By Mary Abdelmassih
Copyright (C) 2011, Assyrian International News Agency. All Rights Reserved.
Terms of Use.
Dagan: Israeli airstrike on Iran nuclear plant 'foolish'
By YAAKOV KATZ /J.Post
05/07/2011 21:51
Former Mossad chief warns attack on Iranian reactors would cause regional war in
which missiles from Iran, Hezbollah would be fired.
An Israel Air Force attack against Iran’s nuclear facilities would start a
regional war whose end Israel cannot foresee, former Mossad chief Meir Dagan
said on Friday.
“An aerial attack against Iran’s nuclear reactors would be foolish,” Dagan was
widely reported in the media as telling a conference of senior faculty at the
Hebrew University in Jerusalem on Friday, in his first public remarks since
leaving office earlier this year.
“Anyone attacking Iran needs to understand that it could start a regional war
which will include missile fire from Iran and Hezbollah in Lebanon. The Iranian
problem must be made an international problem, and we must continue to work to
delay the nuclear program,” he said.
This was the first time Dagan had made his opposition to an Israeli strike
against Iran public. In the past he has called for continued covert action
against Iran and for investing in opposition groups within the country with the
objective of toppling the Islamic regime run by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Before leaving office in January, Dagan broke away from earlier predictions and
said that in his view, Iran would obtain a nuclear weapon only in 2015.
With regard to the ongoing upheaval in the Middle East, Dagan downplayed the
significance of the toppling of Hosni Mubarak in Egypt, saying Cairo had merely
seen a “change of leaders, and not a revolution.”Dagan said the same elite would
continue to rule Egypt, adding that the chance the Muslim Brotherhood would take
power was minimal.
He also predicted that a new regime would not dramatically change Egypt’s
relations with Israel.
Israel, he said, would benefit from the removal of Bashar Assad as the ruler of
Syria, which could lead to a stop in the flow of weaponry to Hezbollah. Iran’s
influence over the region would also be curbed, he said. “Assad and the Alawite
elite will fight until the end since they do not have an alternative. It is
either win or die, and they understand that,” he said.
The former Mossad chief said the so-called “tsunami” in the Middle East was
actually giving expression to historic rifts in Arab society. He added, however,
that a certain barrier of fear had been breached, and that it was no longer
possible to hide events taking place in the region.
Dagan said he was in favor of conducting a prisoner swap to secure the release
of Gilad Schalit – but “not at any price.” Prisoners released in 2004 in
exchange for businessman Elhanan Tannenbaum were subsequently responsible for
murdering over 200 Israelis, he said.
US general: criminals main threat in Latin America
(AFP) –MIAMI — Cross border criminal organizations specializing in drug, arms
trafficking and money laundering are the principal threat to the United States
in Latin America, a top US general said Friday. "I do not see any conventional
military threat to the United States from the region," General Douglas Fraser
told a conference organized by the University of Miami. "So my concerns then
become... very non-traditional.The threats come from "transnational criminal
organizations and the impact they are having on politics, the economy, and
societies throughout the region," he said. Fraser, who heads up the US
military's Southern Command, said corruption makes it difficult to fight these
organizations, which continue to grow and strengthen, especially in Mexico and
Central America.In some countries, he said, "endemic" corruption aids the
activities of the criminal gangs. "Law enforcement organizations are not
respected, the judiciary systems lack the ability to investigate, convict, and
put in prison those who are detained," said Fraser. "All of that brings to the
region a sense of impunity, and that has a significant impact on the overall
security problem." Fraser also noted that Iran continues to try to increase its
diplomatic and commercial influence in the region, although it is not yet seen
as a security threat. Fraser noted that Iran had almost doubled the number of
embassies in the region in the past five years, established cultural centers in
17 countries, and is supporting anti-US efforts in the area."But, he said, "from
a security standpoint, I have not seen a significant connection. My primary
concern remains their historic relationship with Hezbollah
Lebanon's budget deficit swells by 37.76 percent in Q1
By The Daily Star, Beirut, Lebanon
May 6--BEIRUT: Lebanon's budget deficit in the first three months of 2011 rose
by LL794 billion ($529.3 million) or 37.76 percent of spending while the primary
surplus in the same period registered a deficit of LL218 billion, the Finance
Ministry said Thursday. The ministry attributed the high deficit to a sharp fall
in government revenues and an increase in spending.
Analysts and observes fear that the sharp differences between some of the
ministers in the caretaker Cabinet could harm the country's economy and have
warned of negative effects on public finance if the ministers do not tone down
their rhetoric. A dispute between caretaker Finance Minister Raya al-Hasan and
caretaker Telecoms Minister Charbel Nahhas has seen the latter withhold revenues
from landline and cellular networks from the Finance Ministry. Hasan last Friday
warned that her ministry may be unable to pay the salaries of public staff at
the end of the month or finance $1.2 billion in Eurobonds at the end of May if
the Telecoms Ministry does not release the revenues. Nahhas rejected Hassan's
accusations, saying that the bulk of the telecom proceeds are already earmarked
for the municipalities. "The law says that I have until the end of this year to
transfer the revenues to the Finance Ministry," Nahhas told The Daily Star. "I
should also make it clear that the money sitting in a Central Bank account is
for the municipalities."
Nahhas also said that since the start of his term, his ministry had transferred
close to $1.7 billion in telecoms revenues to the Central Bank.
He also alleged that all finance ministers who held office in the past 17 years
have "plundered the state's coffers." However, an assistant to Hasan told The
Daily Star that all previous telecom ministers transfered money to the treasury
each month. "Why is he [Nahhas] making a fuss about the revenues? The revenues
from customs and VAT have dropped to alarming levels in the last three months
and it would be advisable to transfer the revenues from the telecoms to help pay
the salaries of the public sector," the assistant said.
She added that the recent decision to cut taxes on gasoline by LL5,000 has dealt
a severe blow to the treasury and has further widened the deficit.
Hasan wants Nahhas to transfer $600 million to allow the Finance Ministry to
settle the salaries of the public sector. According to the Finance Ministry's
monthly bulletin, the budget deficit up to March 2011 reached 37.76 percent of
spending or LL1.655 trillion, an increase of LL794 billion. The deficit in the
first three months of 2010 reached LL861 billion or 21.83 percent of spending.
The primary surplus, excluding the cost of debt servicing, recorded a deficit of
LL218 billion, compared to a surplus of LL582 billion in the same three months
of 2010.
Total government revenues in the first three months of 2011 reached LL2.728
trillion, or a drop of LL356 billion (or 1.55 percent) compared to the same
period of 2010.
The table provided by the Finance Ministry showed custom revenues up to March
2011 reached LL536.374 billion, a drop of 19.08 percent compared to the same
period of 2010.
Proceeds from the value-added tax (VAT) stood at LL775.087 billion in the first
three months, a drop of 0.61 percent in the same period of 2010.
Non-tax revenues such as the telecoms stood at LL305 billion, compared to
LL566.691 billion in the same period of last year, a decrease of 46.12 percent.
Total government spending in the same reporting period reached LL4.383 trillion,
compared to LL3.954 trillion in the same period of 2010, an increase of 11.09
percent.