LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
December 10/2011

Bible Quotation for today/Jesus Warns the Hypocrites
Matthew 23/23-28: "How terrible for you, teachers of the Law and Pharisees! You hypocrites! You give to God one tenth even of the seasoning herbs, such as mint, dill, and cumin, but you neglect to obey the really important teachings of the Law, such as justice and mercy and honesty. These you should practice, without neglecting the others. Blind guides! You strain a fly out of your drink, but swallow a camel!  How terrible for you, teachers of the Law and Pharisees! You hypocrites! You clean the outside of your cup and plate, while the inside is full of what you have gotten by violence and selfishness. Blind Pharisee! Clean what is inside the cup first, and then the outside will be clean too! How terrible for you, teachers of the Law and Pharisees! You hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look fine on the outside but are full of bones and decaying corpses on the inside. In the same way, on the outside you appear good to everybody, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and sins.


Latest analysis, editorials, studies, reports, letters & Releases from miscellaneous sources
Jumping into the fire/Tony Badran/November 09/11
Can the Islamists truly be democratic?/By Abdul Rahman Al-Rashed/November 09/11
Arab elections: A note of cautious optimism/By Amir Taheri/November 09/11
From al-Awamiyya to London/By Tariq Alhomayed/November 09/11
The 'Angry Arab' Goes Mad/By Cinnamon Stillwell and Rima Greene/November 09/11
Then you ARE crazy/Now Lebanon/December 09/11

Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources for November 09/11
Blast Targets French UNIFIL Patrol in Tyre, 7 Injured
Roadside bomb wounds 5 French peacekeepers in south Lebanon
Hamadeh: Syria Orchestrated UNIFIL Attack with Hizbullah Help
Mikati condemns attack against UNIFIL
France condemns “vile” attack on UNIFIL troops
Aoun condemns “terrorist act” against UNIFIL
Lebanese army: Tyre explosive was in trash can
Suleiman from Yerevan: Attack on UNIFIL Aims at Driving it out of Lebanon
Berri Says Attack on UNIFIL Aims at Destabilizing Southern Lebanon
Pietton Says Paris Has No Desire to Lead UNIFIL, France Committed to 1701
Juppe Condemns 'Vile' Attack on French Peacekeepers
Iran exhibits US drone undamaged. US and Israeli intelligence shocked
Obama: Iran won't be allowed to develop nuclear weapons
Iran state television displays 'downed U.S. surveillance drone'
Gaza militants fire rockets at Israel's south following IDF strike
Feltman: Only way to end Syria unrest is for Assad to step down
Future bloc MP Nohad Mashnouq : Lebanon paid share of STL funding due to Russian pressure on Iran
Ukraine's prime minister urges further economic relations with Lebanon
Nahhas criticizes Cabinet over wage hike
Feltman Urges al-Rahi to Back 'Efforts to End Syrian Regime Brutality'
Berri: STL Unconstitutional, 'Creative' Funding Exit Doesn't Change My View
Safadi to U.S.: arming military decreases Hezbollah's role
Activists encourage donating to needy Syrians this winter
Teachers announce strike over Cabinet's wage hike
Syria forces poised for bloody Homs assault: SNC
Defections from Syrian army on the rise – Free Syrian Army
Turkey "can't stand by" if Syria threatens security
Syrian cartoonist wins 2011 Press Freedom Prize
Paris Slams Assad Remarks: He Will Not Escape Justice
Iraq to Press Syria to Sign Arab Deal, League to Meet Saturday
PSP, Lebanese Forces emphasize need for dialogue after meeting
Egypt's Army, Islamists Clash over Constitution
Syrian Uprising Divides Syrians in Golan Heights
Factional Splits Hinder Drive to Topple Syria Leader
Red Cross halts some monitoring inside Syria
Syrian cartoonist Ali Farzat named journalist of the year
Assad: Syria will maintain policies despite pressure

Roadside bomb wounds 5 French peacekeepers in south Lebanon
AP/December 9,11/BEIRUT — A roadside bomb struck a vehicle carrying United Nations peacekeepers in southern Lebanon on Friday, wounding five French soldiers and a Lebanese bystander, officials said.This was the third bombing this year targeting the international force known as UNIFIL, which is deployed to keep the peace along Lebanon’s southern border with Israel. No group has claimed responsibility for the attacks. .French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe called on Lebanese authorities to bring those responsible to justice and to guarantee the security of the peacekeepers.
“France, determined to carry out its commitment within (UNIFIL), will not let itself be intimidated by these despicable acts,” Juppe said in a statement.
The bomb exploded in the Bourj al-Shamali area, near the port city of Tyre, said a Lebanese security official who spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations. The Lebanese Red Cross said that a civilian was also wounded. France said the wounded soldiers were evacuated for medical treatment. U.N. peacekeepers have been deployed in southern Lebanon since 1978 to monitor the border with Israel. The force was boosted to almost 12,000 troops after Israel and the Lebanese militant Hezbollah group fought a war in 2006. Under the U.N. resolution that ended the fighting, the mission is monitoring a zone south of the Litani River where Hezbollah is banned from keeping weapons. In May, a roadside bomb struck a convoy carrying Italian peacekeepers in southern Lebanon, wounding six of them. Two months later, a roadside bomb blew up next to a U.N. convoy carrying French peacekeepers in the south, wounding at least five peacekeepers. The deadliest assault on the U.N. peacekeeping force was in June 2007, when a bomb hit an armored personnel carrier near the Israeli border and killed six Spanish peacekeepers.

Hamadeh: Syria Orchestrated UNIFIL Attack with Hizbullah Help
Naharnet /March 14 opposition MP Marwan Hamadeh blamed Damascus for Friday's attack on a UNIFIL patrol in the southern city of Tyre, saying it was orchestrated with the help of its ally Hizbullah."It is clear that Syria was behind what happened today and the messenger was Hizbullah," Hamadeh told Agence France Presse. "Nothing happens in that region without Hizbullah's approval."He added the fact that the blast took place near a Palestinian refugee camp was only aimed at sowing confusion. "The Syrians have accused France of being at the forefront of what they believe is a foreign plot to destabilize their country and everyone felt that something was bound to happen," Hamadeh said. Five French troops and two civilians were injured when a roadside bomb targeted the UNIFIL patrol in the area of al-Nabaa on the road that leads to Burj al-Shamali. Source Agence France Presse

Suleiman from Yerevan: Attack on UNIFIL Aims at Driving it out of Lebanon
Naharnet /President Michel Suleiman on Friday slammed the “terrorist attack” on the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, saying its objective is to drive the peacekeepers out of the country.
At a joint press conference with his Armenian counterpart Serzh Sarkisian in Yerevan, Suleiman said: “France, which has made huge sacrifices for Lebanon, will not succumb to these terrorist activities.”
His comment came after five French soldiers and two civilians were wounded by a powerful roadside bomb that targeted the peacekeepers’ patrol on a road leading to Burj al-Shamali south of the city of Tyre. “The state will assume its responsibility in arresting the culprits to prevent the return of such attacks,” he said. Earlier in the day, Suleiman laid a wreath at the Genocide Monument in Yerevan.
The president reiterated on Thursday that he would continue his efforts to hold the National Dialogue at Baabda palace.
At a ceremony held by the Lebanese community at the Golden Palace hotel, Suleiman hoped that “developments in the Arab world would lead to reform and democracy … that would preserve human rights and freedoms.”He stressed that he would continue to exert efforts to invite Lebanese officials to the all-party talks at Baabda, implement the previous decisions reached at the National Dialogue, improve the country’s democratic performance and resort to legal institutions to resolve any crisis away from violence.

Aoun condemns “terrorist act” against UNIFIL
December 9, 2011 /Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun on Friday condemned the “terrorist act” against the peacekeeping troops in the southern city of Tyre, the National News Agency reported. Aoun said that UNIFIL is present in the country upon the consent of all the Lebanese people, adding that its task is to maintain peace and that it is not an “armed force” in Lebanon.
“If someone wants [UNIFIL] to leave Lebanon, then such a statement must be clearly made.” The FPM leader also voiced hope that all political parties adopt a stance condemning the attack against UNIFIL.Five French UN soldiers and a Lebanese civilian were wounded on Friday by a powerful blast that targeted a UNIFIL patrol in the southern town of Tyre, a security official told AFP.
-NOW Lebanon

France condemns “vile” attack on UNIFIL troops
December 9, 2011 /French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe condemned Friday's bomb attack on a UN peacekeeping patrol in Lebanon in which five French troops were wounded, saying France would not be intimidated by such "vile acts.” "I condemn in the strongest terms the cowardly attack that was carried out against UNIFIL [UN Interim Force in Lebanon] this morning, wounding five French peacekeepers and a civilian," Juppe added in a statement.A security official told AFP that a roadside bomb in the southern Lebanese coastal town of Tyre wounded five French soldiers and a civilian when it was detonated as their Jeep drove past.France is "determined to continue its involvement with UNIFIL [and] will not be intimidated by such vile acts," Juppe said.
UNIFIL patrols have been the target of a string of unclaimed roadside bomb attacks in recent years, including two previously in 2011.
Friday's blast came amid heightened tension over the bloody uprising in neighboring Syria, with some warning the unrest could spill over into Lebanon, whose government is dominated by pro-Syrian Hezbollah.There have been constant fears that the UNIFIL force stationed in the south of the country would be an easy target should the unrest reach Lebanon.
-AFP/NOW Lebanon

Berri Says Attack on UNIFIL Aims at Destabilizing Southern Lebanon
Naharnet /Speaker Nabih Berri condemned on Friday the attack on UNIFIL and the national security, saying it aims at destabilizing the South. “The terrorist attack that targeted the UNIFIL forces aims at destabilizing Lebanon and the South,” a statement issued by Berri’s office said. Earlier Friday, five French soldiers and two civilians were wounded by a powerful roadside bomb that targeted the peacekeepers’ patrol on a road that leads to Burj al-Shamali. The speaker noted that the “bombing (only) serves the Israeli” intentions aimed at committing “genocides” and violations in southern Lebanon. He called on the army and the security institutions to intensify their measures “to unveil those responsible behind the organized terrorist crimes.”

Blast Targets French UNIFIL Patrol in Tyre, 7 Injured
Naharnet /Five French soldiers and two civilians were wounded on Friday by a powerful roadside bomb that targeted a UNIFIL patrol in the southern coastal city of Tyre, a spokesperson and media reports said.UNIFIL spokesman Andrea Tenenti said the 5 peacekeepers were injured when an explosion targeted their patrol in an area south of Tyre around 9:30 am. He did not specify to which contingent they belonged to.But Tenenti said UNIFIL investigators are currently working with their counterparts in the Lebanese army to determine the facts behind the incident.
The injured were rushed to nearby hospitals. Voice of Lebanon radio (93.3) reported that two civilians were also wounded in the explosion. The explosives were placed in a garbage bin in the area of al-Nabaa on the road that leads to Burj al-Shamali in Tyre, it said. But a security official told Agence France Presse that the bomb was hidden under dirt on the side of the road and detonated as the soldiers were driving by in a four-wheeler. The blast left a one-meter deep crater and caused damages to nearby houses.Security forces cordoned off the area as hundreds of onlookers gathered nearby.
A French U.N. patrol was attacked on July 26 and Italian peacekeepers were targeted on May 27.

Juppe Condemns 'Vile' Attack on French Peacekeepers
Naharnet /Foreign Minister Alain Juppe condemned Friday's bomb attack on a U.N. peacekeeping patrol in Lebanon in which five French troops were wounded, saying France would not be intimidated by such "vile acts.” "I condemn in the strongest terms the cowardly attack that was carried out against UNIFIL this morning," Juppe added in a statement. France is "determined to continue its involvement with UNIFIL (and) will not be intimidated by such vile acts," Juppe said. UNIFIL patrols have been the target of a string of unclaimed roadside bomb attacks in recent years, including two previously in 2011. Friday's blast came amid heightened tension over the bloody uprising in Syria, with some warning the unrest could spill over into Lebanon. There have been constant fears that the UNIFIL force stationed in the south of the country would be an easy target should the unrest reach Lebanon. The 12,000-strong UNIFIL force was first deployed in 1978 and was expanded after a devastating 2006 war between Israel and Hizbullah. Source Agence France Presse

Pietton Says Paris Has No Desire to Lead UNIFIL, France Committed to 1701
Naharnet /French ambassador Denis Pietton stressed that his country didn’t reject leading the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, which undergoes a rotation principle between the three European countries that have the wider participation in it. “We are satisfied with the amount of our participation in the UNIFIL, but we didn’t reveal any desire to command” the peacekeeping forces, Pietton said in an interview with As Safir newspaper published on Friday. He noted that the UNIFIL command undergoes rotation as a French General led the mission after 2006 followed by an Italian General and a Spanish one and in the future an Italian will command the peacekeepers again. Last week, the French newspaper Le Figaro reported that France has renounced leading the UNIFIL fearing that its contingent would be a possible target of attacks if the situation on the border deteriorated. On July 26, 2011, a roadside bomb hit a French convoy in the southern city of Sidon, wounding five French peacekeepers. “We are committed to the implementation of resolution 1701,” the ambassador stressed. Asked about the situation of Christians in Lebanon amid fears that extremists might rule Syria if President Bashar Assad’s regime collapses, Pietton said that any power transfer should respect minorities. “It’s important that we preserve diversity, pluralism and respect for others,” the diplomat said. Pietton expressed fear over the spill of the Syrian turmoil into Lebanon, saying: “We are worried. Dramatic events in a neighboring country to Lebanon that is linked to it with cultural and economy relations might affect it.”Concerning the Lebanese banking sector, he stated that “the Lebanese banks have a clear, realistic approach regarding this issue.” Pietton denied media reports saying that France is training members of the “Free Syrian Army” in Turkey and northern Lebanon. “We support the Syrian opposition’s peaceful protests… these reports are untrue,” he stressed.

Mikati condemns attack against UNIFIL
December 9, 2011 /Prime Minister Najib Mikati condemned on Friday the explosion that targeted the French UNIFIL soldiers in the southern city of Tyre. “Lebanon considers that the attacks against the UNIFIL do not only target the [peacekeeping] forces but the country’s security and stability as well,” Mikati said during a security meeting. The PM also said that the attacks “will not affect the UNIFIL’s [mission] or Lebanon’s commitment to the UN Security Resolution 1701.” Five French UN soldiers and a Lebanese civilian were wounded on Friday by a powerful blast that targeted their patrol in the southern town of Tyre, a security official told AFP. -NOW Lebanon

Lebanese army: Tyre explosive was in trash can
December 9, 2011 /The Lebanese army said on Friday that the explosion that detonated at 9 am and targeted a French UNIFIL vehicle was hidden in a trash can.The explosion injured five UNIFIL soldiers, one of whom is seriously injured, and two Lebanese citizens, the statement issued by the army reported.The report also said that the army imposed a security cordon around the explosion site to inspect it. -NOW Lebanon

Feltman: Only way to end Syria unrest is for Assad to step down
December 09, 2011/By Hussein Dakroub/
The Daily Star
BEIRUT: U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Jeffrey Feltman said Thursday that Syrian President Bashar Assad has lost legitimacy to lead and the only way to end the nine-month turmoil in Syria is for the embattled president to step down.
Feltman made the announcement as he wrapped up a two-day visit to Lebanon by meeting with Lebanese officials as well as Maronite Patriarch Beshara Rai to discuss the political and security situation in Lebanon, the popular revolt against Assad’s 11-year rule and other regional issues.
President Michel Sleiman refused to meet with Feltman, in a tit-for-tat move after U.S. officials declined to meet with the president when he was in Washington in September.
Feltman met with Rai at the Maronite patriarchate’s seat in Bkirki, north of Beirut, and exchanged views on developments in Lebanon and the region.
“As he has done with many others during his visit, Assistant Secretary Feltman discussed with Patriarch Rai the United States’ support for the principle that the universal human rights of all communities and people of all faiths must be protected by their governments,” according to a statement released by the U.S. Embassy.
“He also urged the patriarch to support international and regional efforts to end the brutality of the Syrian regime against the Syrian people. He reaffirmed to the patriarch the United States’ firm view that Assad has lost his legitimacy to lead and the best way to end the brutality is for Assad to step down,” the statement said.
Feltman’s call on Assad to step down comes against the backdrop of Arab economic sanctions imposed on Syria last week for refusing to accept an Arab League peace plan to halt a crackdown on pro-democracy protesters demanding Assad’s ouster. The sanctions come on top of punitive measures imposed by the United States and the European Union on Damascus over its military campaign against protesters which, according to the United Nations, has left more than 4,000 people dead since the uprising began in mid-March.
While in Bkirki, Feltman also met briefly with former Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Butros Sfeir.
Earlier Thursday, Feltman, accompanied by U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Maura Connelly, met with Speaker Nabih Berri at his residence in Ain al-Tineh before holding talks with Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblatt at the latter’s residence in Clemenceau. Feltman did not speak to reporters after the two meetings.
A statement released by the PSP’s media office said Feltman and Jumblatt discussed “the latest political developments in Lebanon and the Arab region in the light of the successive changes.”
Jumblatt underlined “the significance of an internal Lebanese dialogue as the only means to deal with divisive issues and break the current deadlock,” the statement said. It added that Jumblatt also “stressed the need for preserving stability and civil peace away from tension.”
Feltman also met with Army Commander General Jean Kahwagi in Yarze and discussed with him “the means to revive cooperation between the two countries’ armies, especially developing the U.S. aid program to the Lebanese Army,” the state-run National News Agency reported.
The U.S. has provided around $100 million annually in military aid to Lebanon since 2005, although the funds were temporarily put on hold last August. U.S. Secretary of State Hilary Clinton has promised Prime Minister Najib Mikati that the U.S. will continue its assistance to the Lebanese Army.
Feltman also met with Internal Security Forces Director General Major General Ashraf Rifi and former Defense Minister Elias Murr. Feltman and Rifi discussed the U.S. aid and training program for the ISF and also reviewed the security situation in Lebanon, NNA said.
The U.S. official met with Mikati Wednesday.
During his meeting with Lebanese officials, Feltman renewed the United States’ commitment to “a stable, sovereign and independent Lebanon.”
“Assistant Secretary Feltman underscored the U.S. Administration’s support for strengthening Lebanon and Lebanon’s institutions, including the Lebanese Armed Forces, recognizing its importance in serving as Lebanon’s sole legitimate defense force, securing Lebanon’s borders and defending the sovereignty and independence of the state,” the embassy statement said.
There have been repeated incidents of cross-border incursions by the Syrian army into Lebanon during the crackdown on protesters. The incidents have been condemned by the United States. There have also been reports of the smuggling of arms and fighters across the Lebanese border into Syria to aid protesters.
Feltman, who has praised Lebanon’s decision to pay its $32 million share to the U.N.-backed Special Tribunal for Lebanon, “noted the importance of Lebanon’s continued cooperation with the Special Tribunal for Lebanon and of Lebanon upholding its international obligations under United Nations Security Council Resolutions 1559 and 1701,” the statement added.
Meanwhile, the parliamentary Future bloc of former Prime Minister Saad Hariri praised Mikati’s decision to pay Lebanon’s share to the STL’s budget, saying this step should be followed by the handover of four Hezbollah members indicted in the 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.
“It is a good and positive step that reflected the prime minister’s fulfillment of the March 14 team’s demands and the wishes of the Lebanese people and affirmed Lebanon’s serious commitment to the tribunal and its mission which is aimed at uncovering the truth behind the assassination of [former] Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and his colleagues and achieving justice,” the bloc said in a statement after its weekly meeting chaired by former Prime Minister Fouad Siniora.
“The payment of the funding is a step that should be followed by other steps, the most important of which is the handover of the four accused instead of a party participating in the government declaring its rejection of cooperation and announcing the protection of the accused,” the statement said, referring to Hezbollah which rejected the STL’s indictment and vowed never to turn over the four suspects.
In the meantime, Mikati reassured the Lebanese, saying the turmoil in the region, particularly in neighboring Syria, will not have “negative effects” on Lebanon.
Addressing a joint news conference with Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov at the Grand Serail, Mikati said: “I have said repeatedly that Lebanon will not be isolated from the international community. It is interacting with the international community, neighboring states and its Arab environment,” Mikati said.
Asked if the unrest in the region and Syria will affect stability in Lebanon, Mikati said: “I think we have passed through difficult circumstances in the past months. We have proved that we are keen on stability. We will pursue this as the government’s target. Maintaining stability is a basic goal. God willing, I think the situation is stable and there won’t be negative repercussions of the situation in the region on Lebanon.”

Jumblat’s Sources: Feltman Backed PSP Chief’s Dialogue Call
Naharnet /Sources close to Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat have said that U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Jeffrey Feltman encouraged the PSP chief on his call for National Dialogue to resolve controversial issues. Feltman met with Jumblat in Clemenceau on Thursday. The PSP’s press office said the Druze chief stressed the importance of dialogue as the only way to resolve differences and end the current crisis. He also called for stability and civil peace away from tension, the statement said. Jumblat’s sources told al-Liwaa daily published Friday that the U.S. diplomat visited Lebanon to hear the different viewpoints of Lebanese officials on the situation in Lebanon and the region, mainly Syria. He explained to them the U.S. administration’s point of view on the developments in the region, including Iran, Syria and the withdrawal of American troops from Iraq, they said. The sources stressed however that Feltman did not bring anything new with him to Lebanon, saying he encouraged Jumblat on his call for National Dialogue

Feltman Urges al-Rahi to Back 'Efforts to End Syrian Regime Brutality'
Naharnet/Assistant U.S. Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Jeffrey Feltman on Thursday held talks in Bkirki with Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi and urged him to “support international and regional efforts to end the brutality of the Syrian regime against the Syrian people,” the U.S. Embassy in Beirut said. The two men “exchanged views on developments in Lebanon and the region,” the embassy said in a statement, noting that “as he has done with many others during his (2-day) visit (to Lebanon), Assistant Secretary Feltman discussed with Patriarch al-Rahi the United States’ support for the principle that the universal human rights of all communities and people of all faiths must be protected by their governments.” Feltman also reaffirmed to the patriarch Washington’s “firm view that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has lost his legitimacy to lead,” adding that “the best way to end the brutality is for Assad to step down.”The senior U.S. diplomat wrapped up his 2-day visit to Lebanon Thursday after holding talks with high-ranking Lebanese officials on “the political and security situation in Lebanon, developments in Syria, and other regional issues,” the embassy said. After meeting with Premier Najib Miqati on Wednesday, Feltman met Thursday with Speaker Nabih Berri, Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat, Army Commander General Jean Qahwagi, Internal Security Forces chief Maj. Gen. Ashraf Rifi, ex-defense minister Elias Murr and former Maronite patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir. During his meetings, Feltman “renewed the United States’ commitment to a stable, sovereign and independent Lebanon.” He underscored the U.S. administration’s “support for strengthening Lebanon and Lebanon’s institutions, including the Lebanese Armed Forces, recognizing its importance in serving as Lebanon’s sole legitimate defense force, securing Lebanon’s borders and defending the sovereignty and independence of the state,” the U.S. embassy said.
Feltman also noted the “importance of Lebanon’s continued cooperation with the Special Tribunal for Lebanon and of Lebanon upholding its international obligations under United Nations Security Council resolutions 1559 and 1701.”

Iran exhibits US drone undamaged. US and Israeli intelligence shocked
DEBKAfile Special Report/December 8, 2011/Iran exhibited the top-secret US stealth drone RQ-170 Sentinel captured on Sunday, Dec. 4. Its almost perfect condition confirmed Tehran's claim that the UAV was downed by a cyber attack, meaning it was not shot down but brought in undamaged by an electronic warfare ambush.
This is a major debacle for the stealth technology the US uses in its warplanes and the drone technology developed by the US and Israel.
The state of the lost UAV refutes the US military contention that the Sentinel's systems malfunctioned. If this had happened, it would have crashed and either been wrecked or damaged. The condition of the RQ-170 intact obliges the US and Israel to make major changes in plans for a potential strike against Iran's nuclear program.
Earlier Thursday, debkafile reported:
The Obama administration's decision after internal debate not to send US commando or air units into Iran to retrieve or destroy the secret RQ-170 stealth drone which fell into Iranian hands has strengthened the hands of the Israeli faction which argues the case for striking Iran's nuclear installations without waiting for the Americans to make their move.
Senior Israeli diplomatic and security officials who followed the discussion in Washington concluded that, by failing to act, the administration has left Iran not only with the secrets of the Sentinel's stealth coating, its sensors and cameras, but also with the data stored in its computer cells on targets marked out by the US and/or Israeli for attack.
debkafile’s military sources say that this knowledge compels the US and Israel to revise their plans of attack for aborting the Iranian nuclear program.
Like every clandestine weapons system, the RQ-170 had a self-destruct mechanism to prevent its secrets spilling out to the enemy in the event of a crash or capture. This did not happen. Tehran was able to claim the spy drone was only slightly damaged when they downed it.
The NATO spokesman claimed control was lost of the US UAV and it went missing, a common occurrence for these unmanned aircraft.
The enigmas surrounding its capture continue to pile up. How did Iran know the drone had entered its airspace? How was it caused to land? Most of all, why did the craft's self-destruct mechanism which is programmed to activate automatically fail to work? And if it malfunctioned, why was it not activated by remote control?
Thursday, Dec. 8, The New York Times and the Wall Street Journal reported that from Sunday, Dec. 4, when Tehran announced the stealth drone's capture, the Obama administration weighed sending special commando forces into Iran from bases in Afghanistan to bring the downed aircraft back to Afghanistan or blow it up to destroy the almost intact secret systems - either by a sneak operation or by an air strike.
Iranian officials said the drone was detected near the Iranian town of Kashmar, 200 kilometers from the Afghan border and presumably moved to a military or air base inside the country. The NYT disclosed that the special force would have used "allied agents inside Iran" to hunt down the missing aircraft, the first time Washington has admitted to support from "allied agents" operating covertly in Iran.
In the end, the paper quoted a US official as explaining that the attack option was ruled out "because of the potential it could become a larger incident." If an assault team entered the country, the US "could be accused of an act of war" by Tehran.
The Obama administration's internal discussion on how to handle the loss of the high-value reconnaissance drone was followed tensely in Jerusalem. The decision it took against mounting a mission to recover or destroy the top-secret Sentinel was perceived in Israel as symptomatic of a wider decision to call off the covert war America has been conducting for some months against Iran's drive for a nuclear bomb – at least until the damage caused by RQ-170 incident is fully assessed.
A senior Israeli security official had this to say: “Everything that’s happened around the RQ-170 shows that when it comes to Iran and its nuclear program, the Obama administration and Israel have different objectives. On this issue, each country needs to go its own way.”

Berri: STL Unconstitutional, 'Creative' Funding Exit Doesn't Change My View
Naharnet/Speaker Nabih Berri has stressed that the U.N.-backed Special Tribunal for Lebanon “should have followed the constitutional path in Lebanon,” noting that “no one would have opposed it in that case.”In an interview with Al-Afkar weekly to be published Friday, Berri emphasized that the court “is still unconstitutional because neither the president nor the parliament have ratified it.”
The speaker pointed out that the “creative” exit he had come up with for the controversial issue of funding the STL “has neither satisfied the ruling coalition nor the opposition.”
“The funding ‘innovation’ I came up with -- which is an accusation I don’t deny -- does not change at all my stance on the tribunal,” Berri added.
“The opposition went crazy because it was surprised it (the funding) happened, and it did not want that to take place, as it was counting on the government’s collapse,” he went on to say.
Berri stressed that he did not “invent” the funding solution because he “acknowledges the tribunal,” but rather because he wants to “rescue” his country.
He revealed that he had obtained “credible information suggesting that certain measures could have been taken against Lebanon, Lebanese officials and Lebanese banks under the pretext of failing to fund” the court.Separately, commenting on Energy and Water Minister Jebran Bassil’s remarks that the issue of the Zahrani power plant was purely political, Berri said “some resort to politics to justify negligence, and the ongoing negligence has to do with the tools of the ministry and Electricité du Liban.”

Future bloc MP Nohad Mashnouq : Lebanon paid share of STL funding due to Russian pressure on Iran
December 8, 2011 /Future bloc MP Nohad Mashnouq told Al-Arabiya television station on Thursday that due to “pressures exerted by Russia on Iran” Lebanon was able to pay its share of funding to the Special Tribunal of Lebanon (STL). Mashnouq added that Syria could not have asked Hezbollah to agree on transferring Lebanon’s share of funding to the STL, because this goes against the Shia group’s principles. The Netherlands-based tribunal has indicted four Hezbollah operatives in connection with the 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri murder, but they have not surrendered to the STL.Lebanon is responsible for meeting 49 percent of the STL's financing, which amounts to some $35 million (25.2 million euros) this year.
Regarding Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah’s latest speech, Mashnouq said that it “reflected the crisis that the party is going through and revealed that [Hezbollah’s] internal situation is unstable.”Commenting on Lebanese politics, Nasrallah said on Tuesday that he refused to engage in national dialogue to discuss his party’s use of arms.
“Arms cannot protect a [religious] sect; all that weapons can do is destroy the [Shia] and Lebanon, ” Mashnouq said.
“We have no other choice but to embrace [national] dialogue in order to resolve the issue of [non-state] arms,” Al-Arabiya quoted Mashnouq as saying.
Mashnouq added that “Shia Arabs are acting like their primary allegiance is to the Iranian government at the expense of their own governments.”
The Future bloc MP also said that “there are two governments in the world that consider themselves responsible for [taking care of] their sects: Israel, the state of Jews, and Iran, the state of Shia.”
A citizen “should not be loyal to a foreign country,” Mashnouq added.
Commenting on the latest Syrian developments, Mashnouq said that President Bashar al-Assad’s regime “is unable to [carry out] reforms, but produce crises.”
He added: “A buffer zone will be established and military strikes against Syria will begin. The solution is in the hands of the Russians who share material interests with Syria worth $5 billion.”
Mashnouq told Al-Arabiya television that the Syrian regime “will not implement any peaceful Arab initiative” adding that the only solution for the Syrian crisis “is to launch air strikes based on a resolution issued by the UN Security Council.” Assad’s troops have cracked down on protests against almost five decades of Baath rule which broke out mid-March, killing over 4,000 people and triggering a torrent of international condemnation.-NOW Lebanon

Paris Slams Assad Remarks: He Will Not Escape Justice
Naharnet /Embattled Syrian President Bashar al-Assad “will not escape justice,” the French foreign ministry stressed Thursday. “France does not give any credibility to Bashar al-Assad’s provocative statements, which totally contradict with the fact that acts of repression and violence against the Syrian people have continued unabated,” ministry spokesman Bernard Valero told reporters, referring to Assad’s recent interview with ABC News. “His people and the international community have put him on trial, and like all those responsible for the repression he must be held accountable for the crimes being committed in Syria since months,” Valero added, slamming Damascus’ “rejection” to respond to the demands of the Arab League and the international community.
In a rare interview with Western media, Assad said that he was not responsible for the nine months of bloodshed and drew a distinction between himself and the military -- an assertion that the United States called "ludicrous." "We don't kill our people," Assad told U.S. network ABC. "No government in the world kills its people, unless it's led by a crazy person."
"There was no command to kill or be brutal," Assad told veteran ABC News interviewer Barbara Walters. Assad said that security forces belonged to "the government" and not him personally.
"I don't own them. I'm president. I don't own the country. So they are not my forces," Assad said.
Assad's family has ruled Syria with an iron fist for four decades. Assad's brother, Lieutenant Colonel Maher al-Assad, heads the army's Fourth Division, which oversees the capital as well as the elite Republican Guard. The United Nations estimates that more than 4,000 people have died as Syria cracks down on protesters, who have emerged as the greatest challenge yet to Assad amid a wave of uprisings in the Arab world that have toppled authoritarian leaders in Egypt, Libya and Tunisia. Assad dismissed the death toll, saying: "Who said that the United Nations is a credible institution?"
"Most of the people that have been killed are supporters of the government, not the vice versa," Assad said in English, giving a figure of 1,100 dead soldiers and police.
U.S. State Department spokesman Mark Toner dared Assad to back up his assertions by letting in international observers and media, saying that there was a "clear campaign against peaceful protesters."
"It either says that he's completely lost any power that he had within Syria, that he's simply a tool or that he's completely disconnected with reality," Toner told reporters Wednesday.
"It's either disconnection, disregard or, as he said, crazy. I don't know," Toner said.
Toner, reacting a day earlier to excerpts of the interview, called Assad's denial of responsibility "ludicrous," triggering a rebuke from Syria's foreign ministry which accused him of distorting the remarks.
Syria has come under growing international pressure, with Arab nations and Turkey joining Western powers in pursuing sanctions against Assad.
The Arab League has suspended Syria and has threatened new sanctions if Assad does not allow in observers. Syria initially refused but at the last minute offered to let in monitors in return for an end to sanctions. The United States and France on Tuesday sent their ambassadors back to Syria in hopes that they can shine light on the violence and show solidarity with protesters, weeks after the envoys were pulled out due to safety concerns.*Source Agence France Presse

Syrian cartoonist Ali Farzat named journalist of the year
December 09, 2011/
By Daily Star Staff Agencies
BEIRUT: Syrian cartoonist Ali Farzat was named journalist of the year at the 2011 Prize for Press Freedom for his defense of press freedom.
“This year we are honoring a courageous journalist who has been the victim of brutal repression by an obsolete government,” Reporters Without Borders secretary general Jean-François Julliard said. Reporters Without Borders awarded the prize along with the French newspaper Le Monde.
“Ali Farzat fully deserves this award. His cartoons target the abuses of a desperate regime with its back to the wall and encourage Syrians to demand their rights and to express themselves freely.”
At an awards ceremony Wednesday in Paris, Reporters Without Borders and Le Monde also awarded Burmese newspaper Weekly Eleven News the prize for media of the year.
Farzat was unable to attend the ceremony, and renowned French cartoonist Plantu read a statement on his behalf. “I would have liked to have been with you ... to take part in this beautiful event,” the statement said. “I dedicate this award to the martyrs, to those who have been injured and to those who struggle for freedom. May thanks be given to all those who have turned the Arab Spring into a victory over darkness and repression.”
The 60-year-old Syrian cartoonist rose to prominence in the 1980s with his satirical yet non-descript images of bureaucrats, big brother and other bullies. One of Syria’s most famous artists, he later earned international recognition and the respect of many Arabs with stinging caricatures that infuriated dictators including Iraq’s Saddam Hussein, Libya’s Moammar Gadhafi and more recently, Syria’s Assad family.
In 2000, during a brief period of relative media freedom in Syria, Farzat launched the first independent newspaper since the country’s ruling Baath party took power in 1963. The government shut the paper in 2003 following numerous articles critical of public officials.
Farzat made headlines again this year after drawing satirical cartoons comparing Syrian President Bashar Assad with Libyan ruler Moammar Gadhafi, who by then had been ousted.
Farzag became a vehement critic of the Assad regime, particularly after crackdowns on the country’s protest movement began.
Before inheriting Syria’s presidency from his father in 2000, Bashar Assad used to visit Farzat’s exhibitions and offer encouraging words, the artist has said.
This August, Farzat was attacked by a group who broke two fingers on his left hand, damaged his right arm and one of his eyes. He said at the time that four men were involved, springing on him as he returned home before dawn.
According to opposition activists, security forces and masked pro-regime militias were behind the attack.
Reporters Without Borders has awarded the prize every year since 1992 to a journalist and news media source that has made significant contribution to the defense and promotion of press freedom. Le Monde became a partner in the prize this year.
This October, Farzat received the Sakharov prize from the European parliament, which is awarded to campaigners for freedom

Factional Splits Hinder Drive to Topple Syria
By DAN BILEFSKY
December 8, 2011
The New York Times
ANTAKYA, Turkey — Even as the government of President Bashar al-Assad intensifies its crackdown inside Syria, differences over tactics and strategy are generating serious divisions between political and armed opposition factions that are weakening the fight against him, senior activists say.
Smoke rose over the Syrian city of Homs on Thursday after a pipeline carrying oil to a refinery there was blown up.
Soldiers and activists close to the rebel Free Syrian Army, which is orchestrating attacks across the border from inside a refugee camp guarded by the Turkish military, said Thursday that tensions were rising with Syria’s main opposition group, the Syrian National Council, over its insistence that the rebel army limit itself to defensive action. They said the council moved this month to take control of the rebel group’s finances.
“We don’t like their strategy,” said Abdulsatar Maksur, a Syrian who said he was helping to coordinate the Free Syrian Army’s supply network. “They just talk and are interested in politics, while the Assad regime is slaughtering our people.” Repeating a refrain echoed by other army officials interviewed, he added: “We favor more aggressive military action.”
The tensions illustrate what has emerged as one of the key dynamics in the nine-month revolt against Mr. Assad’s government: the failure of Syria’s opposition to offer a concerted front. The exiled opposition is rife with divisions over personalities and principle. The Free Syrian Army, formed by deserters from the Syrian Army, has emerged as a new force, even as some dissidents question how coordinated it really is. The opposition inside Syria has yet to fully embrace the exiles.
Earlier this month, the Syrian National Council, and the rebel Free Syrian Army, which is waging an insurgency against the Syrian government, agreed to coordinate their actions. The move followed concerns by some opposition members that the rebel army was undermining the opposition’s commitment to nonviolence by carrying out high-profile attacks and feeding the narrative of the Assad government that it was being besieged by a foreign plot.
On Thursday, a pipeline carrying oil to a refinery in Homs was blown up, casting a huge pillar of black smoke over the city. The official news agency, Sana, placed blame for the attack on an “armed terrorist group,” the phrase the government uses to describe those behind the uprising. Some activists in Homs suggested that the government was responsible, as part of an effort to besiege the city.
The Syrian crisis has shifted geopolitics in the region, complicating an international response. Turkey, once a close ally, has turned emphatically against the Assad government. But Russia, which has close strategic relations with Syria, and China have blocked all attempts to negotiate a resolution against Syria at the United Nations. Meanwhile, Iran has been forging closer ties with Syria, fueling fears of regional unrest.
Turkish officials say they are hosting the rebel forces for purely humanitarian reasons. “We have no intention of sending arms or fighting groups from Turkey to any other country, including Syria,” a senior Foreign Ministry official said Thursday. “They are in Turkey for their own protection.”
But in recent days clashes at the Turkish-Syrian border between the rebels and the Syrian Army have been intensifying, rebel officials say. The Syrian government said Tuesday that it had prevented 35 gunmen from infiltrating Syrian territory from Turkey. The Free Syrian Army said wounded rebels had been taken across the border for treatment. Turkish officials said there were no military confrontations along the borders with Syria, but residents in the Turkish border village of Guvecci said that in recent days they had heard gunfights through the night.
Syrian activists say the Free Syrian Army is organizing a smuggling network to Syria from inside Turkey to supply soldiers, weapons and medical supplies. On a recent day in Gorentas, a rugged Turkish mountain village near the Syrian border, a group of smugglers was seen packing guns into empty flour sacks before speeding away on motorbikes. Asked where they were going, they replied, “Syria, Syria.” The Syrian National Council insists that it is the only legitimate representative of the Syrian people, including its armed factions. Its leader, Burhan Ghalioun, met for the first time in early December with the Free Syrian Army chief, Col. Riad al-As’aad, in Hatay, where Colonel As’aad agreed to rein in attacks on Syrian government forces. The Turkish Foreign Ministry, which handles news media requests for meetings with Colonel As’aad, declined to make him available.
.During an extensive interview with senior members of the Syrian National Council at its newly opened offices in Istanbul, Samir Nashar, a member of the eight-member executive board, said the Free Syrian Army was emerging as the armed force of the Syrian opposition. But he emphasized that the council’s support for it was limited to providing financing and humanitarian aid, not weapons. “We want them to stay within the limits of protecting civilians, not to attack the regime,” he said. “It is better to coordinate with them than to let them do what they want.”
The Free Syrian Army, which says it has about 10,000 fighters, is too small to fend off the brutal crackdown by the Assad government. Council members said the group was badly equipped, reduced to arming itself mostly with the guns of defectors.
One observer who recently spent two weeks in Syria shadowing the rebels described the army as a ragtag group of soldiers, some as young as 16, who wielded AK-47s and showed up at demonstrations to protect civilians. At least some have positions in caves near the Turkish border and smuggle weapons and supplies under cover of night.
Mr. Nashar said that while Turkey was providing a haven to the Syrian opposition, the Syrian National Council was financed with donations from Syrian supporters and from others in the Arab world. The council operates from a small office in Istanbul. “We don’t have a budget,” he said. “We haven’t even opened a bank account yet in Turkey.”
Senior members of the council said recent sanctions imposed by the Arab League, Turkey and the European Union had proved insufficient in the face of the escalating violence of the Assad government, which the United Nations says has killed at least 4,000 people since protests broke out in March.
A senior defector from the Syrian Foreign Ministry said in an interview that if outside countries armed the opposition rebels, it could inflict serious damage on the Assad government. The official, a former ambassador who fled to Istanbul from Syria last week, said Mr. Assad’s state security apparatus was operating in up to 50 locations in Syria. He argued that surgical strikes, in conjunction with a buffer zone inside Syria put into effect by Turkey, would prove fatal to the government.
Opposition officials said the Free Syrian Army, the Syrian National Council and the Turkish government had been engaged in talks in recent days over the formation of a buffer zone in the event of a huge number of refugees.
Since May, 20,201 Syrians have entered Turkey and 8,424 remain, according to the Ankara government.
But senior Turkish government officials said Thursday that a Syrian buffer zone was a “last resort” and that there were no imminent preparations for any kind of military action.
Mr. Nashar called for a buffer zone to be enforced by Turkey in coordination with the Arab League and the international community.
He said the zone was necessary to protect civilians and the growing ranks of defectors who were finding it difficult to find refuge in Syria. “Assad is running a killing regime, and the world is not doing enough,” he said. The recent defector from the Syrian Foreign Ministry warned that the Assad government was deluded.
“The regime is living in a bubble and have no sense of reality,” he said. “Like Qaddafi, they will only realize it when the end comes.”
**Sebnem Arsu contributed reporting from Istanbul, Daniel Etter from Antakya, and Anthony Shadid from Beirut, Lebanon.

Syrian Uprising Divides Syrians in Golan Heights
Scott Bobb | Majdal Shams
The confrontation is growing bloodier in Syria between forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad and supporters of a nine-month uprising against his government. The strife is also causing divisions among Syrians in the Golan Heights, which has been under Israeli control since the 1967 war.
Majdal Shams is the main town of the occupied Golan Heights. Some residents are debating the situation in Syria, their home country.
Shop owner Hussein Jamil says terrorists are behind the nine-month-old uprising and they will not succeed. “All the people of the Golan Heights are of the same opinion. We are supporting President Assad and we are thinking that what is going on is, it's a conspiracy," he said.
Most of the 10,000 Syrians living in this area are Druze who traditionally have supported the 41-year-old regime of President Bashar al-Assad and his late father, Hafez al-Assad.
But the rift in Syrian society is now causing differences here. Jamil's neighbor, Husam Ayyeb. “I believe that as president, [Assad] should not be in power more than five or ten years. The state does not belong to him so he cannot rule for 50, 40 years. There are people who are better qualified than him and can govern better," he said.
Ninety-two year-old Sheikh Hassan Bashir says all that Syrians want is a peaceful resolution to the confrontation. “We are in too much pain. This is not in our interest or the interest of the Jews, or America, or France, or Britain, not even Russia, nobody. This is very damaging," he said.
The uprising has left an estimated 4,500 people dead and is fueling tensions in the region. Turkey, Syria's northern neighbor, has called for a buffer zone to protect dissidents from pro-Assad forces.
Israel, this past week, held military exercises in the Golan. Syria also held exercises, firing rockets into its eastern desert.
Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak called it a display of Syrian bravado. “It is an event that takes place more out of fear and distress than from confidence. The Assad family is losing its grip. Bashar al-Assad's fate is sealed. He will fall," he said.
The Arab League has suspended Syria and is imposing sanctions.
Pharmacist Gandi Kahluni, a fervent Assad supporter, is angry at the Arab response. “The (Arab) governments are collaborators but the Arab people are still alive. At the end of the day, the Arab truth will win against those oppressors, those cowards," he said.
Human rights activist Salman Fakhraldeen says Syrians now are discussing politics and human rights which they were afraid to do before. But he acknowledges the situation is unsettling the community. "The main problem in this small place, occupied Golan, is to keep the peaceful life of the community. The politics can be changed, but not the community," he said.
Syrians living in occupied Golan are in a delicate position. Their country is still officially at war with Israel. As a result, the conflict in Syria heightens their uncertainties and adds to their distress.

The 'Angry Arab' Goes Mad
By Cinnamon Stillwell and Rima Greene
FrontPageMagazine.com
December 8, 2011
http://www.meforum.org/3123/asad-abukahlil-angry-arab
As'ad AbuKahlil—a political science professor at California State University, Stanislaus—spoke last month at a day-long "teach-in" at the University of California, Berkeley titled, "Building Solidarity with the Arab Spring." It consisted of a number of "workshop sessions" at the Valley Life Sciences Building, followed by a "plenary session" at the Multicultural Center, and was co-sponsored by the Arab Resource Organizing Committee, the Berkeley Muslim Students Association PAC, the International Socialist Organization, and the Syrian American Council.
AbuKhalil's workshop on "The U.S. and the Arab Uprising" was held in a tiny, hot, windowless room filled with students wearing hijabs and keffiyehs. Immediately visible to all who entered was a sign leaning against the black board that set the anti-American atmosphere:
Victory to the Arab Revolutions!
U.S. Out of the Middle East!
AbuKhalil, author of the "Angry Arab" blog, was introduced as "the most influential Arab blogger in English and Arabic." Wasting no time living up to his self-caricature, he presented the demise of Israel as his life's work, referred repeatedly to the "usurping Zionist entity," and characterized the U.S. as the source of all that ails the Arab world. For instance:
Obama and Hillary always pat themselves on the back and say they are on the side of the Arab people. . . . They are on the side of counter-revolution. . . . There is a tyrannical order in the Arab world . . . in place since 1979 . . . the year Egypt was forced by the United States to sign a peace treaty with Israel. A dictator Anwar Sadat was conveniently armed, an unrepentant anti-Semite and Nazi.
He did not explain the origin of these descriptions of Sadat, but no one questioned him or objected.
AbuKhalil was exultant over the latest bombing of the gas pipeline from Egypt to Israel, a signal to him that the U.S. is no longer "all-powerful":
The United States wants to take our agency from us, they want to convince us, as Israel has tried to do all these decades, that we are incapable of changing the situation, the enemy is too strong . . . invincible.
Displaying a lust for violence, AbuKhalil boasted:
I am in favor of chaos because I'm really enjoying what's happening in Egypt, especially what's happening against Israel [the attack on the Israeli embassy]. I've played these scenes on YouTube more times than I've played songs.
The audience laughed in agreement as he spoke.
AbuKhalil made his hatred of Israel clear in his description of hearing Israeli soldiers screaming—so he claimed—as they retreated from Hezbollah fighters in southern Lebanon in 2006. "It shows you if Arabs are allowed freedom to fight Israel, this is the kind of Palestine you will see," he bragged.
More shocking was his blithe dismissal of Hamas's constant barrage of rockets into southern Israel, which he called, "those firecrackers from Hamas [fired] at a town in occupied Palestine." He then belittled the suffering the bombardment has caused:
You will notice there were like ten injured and sometimes they had shocks . . . they actually list the injured; they [listed] those whose feelings were hurt; those who were startled. This war crimes thing is for victimhood reputation.
Again, the audience laughed heartily.
Later, a member of the audience challenged him by asking about the recently released International Atomic Energy Agency (I.A.E.A.) report showing that Iran's nuclear program has military dimensions. AbuKhalil dodged the question by raising Israel's alleged nuclear program and what he called the "racist content of the notion that nuclear weapons are dangerous in the hands of Muslims, but safe in the hands of Christians and Jews." He apparently has no worries about the Iranian regime's threat to wipe Israel off the map, its constant threat to its neighbors, or the apocalyptic nature of the mullah's theology; only Israel can threaten peace in the region.
During the plenary session that followed, AbuKhalil said he was angered that the work of the Canadian-Muslim feminist and author Irshad Manji, and "other Islam-haters" has been translated into Arabic. Yet he describes himself as "secular" and a "feminist"—under the right circumstances, one supposes, meaning that Western liberal concepts don't apply to those who criticize Islam.
He also condemned the translation into Arabic of a tract on non-violence aimed at the Arab uprisings. "Very boring," he declared:
The United States wanted the revolution to be non-violent. They started the myth in the New York Times. It's not. It's a violent struggle by Arabs. And please, I am not making an apology. It's justifiable. They want to bring down these regimes in any way possible.
Whether glorifying violence, exalting in the death and misery of Israelis, or blaming the U.S. for the ills of the Arab world, AbuKhalil lived up to his moniker as an "angry Arab." Presumably, he brings the same radicalism to the classroom, which is a frightening prospect for his students. When anger replaces reason, there's little hope for an education, no matter how many "teach-ins" universities offer.
©1994-2011 The Middle East Forum • E-mail: info@meforum.org Daniel J. Pipes

Syria forces poised for bloody Homs assault: SNC
09/12/2011
DAMASCUS, (AFP) — Syria's opposition warned Friday of a looming "massacre" as it reported thousands of regime forces and militiamen encircled the protest hub of Homs for an expected final assault to crush dissent.
The Syrian National Council issued the alert ahead of nationwide protests following the main weekly Muslim prayers called for in support of a campaign of escalating strikes starting on Sunday.
In a statement, the SNC said President Bashar al-Assad's regime was using the pretext of what it called a "terrorist" attack on an oil pipeline to overrun Homs, which has already been besieged for months.
"The regime (is) paving the way to commit a massacre in order to extinguish the revolution in Homs," said the organisation, a principle umbrella group drawing together Assad's opponents.
Homs, an important junction city of 1.6 million residents mainly divided along confessional lines, is a tinderbox of sectarian tensions that the SNC said the regime was trying to exploit.
"The regime has tried hard to ignite the sectarian conflict using many dirty methods, which have included bombing and burning mosques, torturing and killing young men, and kidnapping women and children," said the SNC.
"The regime also took a significant step... in burning oil pipelines in the neighbourhood of Baba Amr to blame what the regime calls 'armed gangs'; in an attempt to crush the peaceful uprising on the pretext of a war on terrorism."
Witnesses on the ground in the central city have reported a buildup of troops and pro-regime "Shabiha" militiamen in armoured vehicles who have set up more than 60 checkpoints, said the opposition group.
"These are all signs of a security crackdown operation that may reach the level of a total invasion of the city.
"We warn of the consequences of committing such a crime that could result in a massive number of casualties," said the SNC.
"We hold accountable the regime, and behind it the Arab League and the international community of what could happen to innocent civilians in the next few hours or days, and the implications for the region as a whole in the near future.
"The Syrian National Council also calls on all relevant international organisations and human rights organisations to take immediate action to pressure the international forums to provide immediate protection to civilians in Homs in particular, and throughout Syria in general."
The Assad regime's crackdown on dissent since mid-March has hit Homs particularly hard and activists say a great number of defecting soldiers have set up camp there to protect the protest movement.
An explosion that tore apart a pipeline taking crude to an oil refinery in Homs from eastern Syria, in an attack the regime blamed on "armed terrorist gangs."
But the Local Coordination Committees (LCC), which organises anti-regime protests, accused Assad's government of deliberately destroying the pipeline which serves a region seen as staunchly opposed to his rule.
Activists reported at least 20 people killed in Thursday's violence alone, the majority of them in Homs. The regime's crackdown on dissent has killed more than 4,000 people in Syria, according to UN figures.
UN human rights chief Navi Pillay is due to address the Syria crisis on Friday and is expected to brief the UN Security Council by Tuesday at the request of France, Britain and German, diplomats said.
"It will be useful because it will allow the Security Council to examine its own responsibilities" in the crisis, said a UN diplomat speaking on condition of anonymity.
Diplomats said they notice signs of a shift in attitude by opponents of UN action against President Assad. However Western governments are waiting to see what impact Arab League sanctions have on Syria.
The Arab League is leaning on Iraq to persuade Syria to allow observers or else face more sanctions, but the regime has taken a defiant stance this week, with Assad himself denying responsibility for violence by his forces.
Syria's foreign ministry said in a statement that it is studying a response from the Arab League to conditions sought by Damascus to accept a delegation of monitors.
Pro-democracy activists, meanwhile, urged citizens to rally on Friday in support of a "dignity strike... which will lead to the sudden death of this tyrant regime."
The LCC has called on citizens to strike from Sunday with sit-ins at work and the closure of shops and universities, before the shutdown of transportation networks and a general public sector strike.

Jumping into the fire
Tony Badran , December 9, 2011
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in a rare public appearance this week. He has been invoking his followers as of late to sacrifice for the resistance. (AFP photo/Anwar Amro)
Anyone monitoring Hezbollah’s rhetoric over the last several days could not but notice a spike in its apocalyptic pitch. Perhaps it was the religious occasion of Ashura, but more likely, it was the result of the tense regional situation, namely the increased paranoia in Tehran. Convinced that an attack against them is imminent, the Iranians are now preparing for war and publicly declaring that Hezbollah, and thus Lebanon, will be their first line of defense. That is why in his most recent speeches, Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah has been preparing the Shia community in advance for the ruin that awaits them as a consequence.
All talk of Hezbollah’s “Lebanonization” and its supposed definition as a “national resistance” aside, the reality is that the group’s first and foremost task is to be Iran’s long arm. The Iranians are now making this fact known explicitly. Two weeks ago, Yahya Rahim Safavi, former commander of the Revolutionary Guards and military adviser to Iran’s Supreme Guide, Ali Khamenei, declared that in case of an Israeli attack on Iran, the Iranian retaliation will come from Lebanon, “because all the Zionist cities are within the range of our ally Hezbollah's Katyushas.” In other words, the order has been given and Hezbollah is up to bat.
The problem is that, for Hezbollah, this order comes at a rather bad time, as the Party of God is facing serious constraints and uncertainties, especially as its Syrian ally struggles for its life, putting in question the group’s strategic depth in Syria. Moreover, Nasrallah now must mobilize a reluctant Shia community, still reeling from the utter devastation of the 2006 war, to follow the party into the abyss for the sake of its Iranian patron.
It is against this backdrop that Nasrallah’s Ashura speeches this past week, including his rare public appearance with the celebrating crowd in Beirut on Tuesday, are best understood.
Of all those speeches, perhaps most telling was the one Nasrallah gave on the third night of Ashura, last Monday. The overriding motif of the address was the perseverance of the faithful regardless of the hardships they must face and the sacrifices they must make. Nasrallah made it amply clear that what was expected of the believers was nothing short of self-sacrifice. To drive the point home, he referenced a story from Shia tradition about how the faithful—men, women and children—willingly jumped into a pit of fire rather than renounce their Imam.
Nasrallah then tied the ancient lore to the present, revealing the core of what he expected from his followers. “We, the men, women and children who held steadfast in the July [2006] war, are not frightened by their war or their weapons … In these hard times, facing all the challenges, dangers and slander, and facing the excessive strength and cunning of the enemy and the scarcity of supporters and defenders, we say to Hussein, we will not abandon you, or your religion, or your banner, or your Karbala, or your goals, even if we were to be cut, sawed, and our women and children banished,” Nasrallah shouted, rallying his supporters, welding their religious and communal identity with Hezbollah.
Similarly, there was little subtlety when Nasrallah made a surprise appearance in Dahiyeh on Tuesday. The purpose behind that was to bind himself, Hezbollah and the Shia community in one fate—which is decided for them in Tehran. “I have chosen to be among you today for a few minutes … so the whole world can hear and we can renew our pledge,” he told the crowd. At the heart of this pledge of allegiance (bay’ah) are Hezbollah’s weapons. “We will hold on to our resistance and to the weapons of the resistance,” he said.
Why is Nasrallah so keen on reaffirming his community’s allegiance to his party at this juncture? The episode of the Katyusha rockets that were recently fired on Israel is instructive. Hezbollah denied responsibility, and blame was thrown at an obscure Sunni Islamist outfit with alleged ties to al Qaeda. Many saw the episode as more of a Syrian attempt to remind the world that Bashar al-Assad could still light up the front with Israel, as well as to warn them that what might come after him would be al Qaeda jihadists. The Syrian regime’s publicists didn’t even bother with nuance in making this point.
But the Syrian angle was likely secondary. Furthermore, the accused Sunni group has denied responsibility for the attack. Most probably, Hezbollah launched the attack, much in line with Safavi’s threat that immediately preceded it, in retaliation for the mysterious explosions that have rocked Iranian facilities in the last month. But the subdued manner in which this was done is the most interesting aspect of the episode.
Hezbollah’s caution does away with an enduring and destructive myth from the 1990s, which holds that Hezbollah managed to achieve a “balance of terror” with Israel. In reality, Nasrallah knows full well what will befall the Shia community, indeed all of Lebanon, once Hezbollah attacks Israel on behalf of Iran, which is one reason why the party remained mum about the Katyusha attacks.
With the prospect of the decimation of his Shia followers, it becomes easier to understand why Nasrallah is practically beseeching them, preemptively, to persevere in the face of inevitable devastation and, literally, jump with him into a pit of fire. For that is what he and his superiors in Iran will bring raining down on their heads.
*Tony Badran is a research fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. He tweets @AcrossTheBay.

Can the Islamists truly be democratic?
By Abdul Rahman Al-Rashed/Alsahrq Alawsat
All of a sudden, many Arab and Western writers have volunteered to testify that Islamist political movements can be democratic, and deserve an opportunity to govern. The examples cited include well-known parties such as Egypt’s Freedom and Justice Party, which is the official party of the Muslim Brotherhood, the al-Nahda Party in Tunisia, the Muslim Brotherhood in Syria, as well as the Justice and Development Party in Morocco.
Most of these writers have stressed the argument that Islamist groups have not been given the opportunity to participate in politics, and that the Arab Spring is an occasion to test their popularity and commitment to the democratic path. Of course, granting such groups the right to participate is acceptable – this is a right that is given to everybody, not just the Islamists – but as for the claims that they are democratic, and that they have never been given a chance [to rule]...these are two lies. There is the example of Sudan, where the National Islamic Front, led by [Hassan] al-Turabi, participated in the 1986 elections. The Islamists won 51 seats in parliament, which means they were the third largest party, after the national and federal parties. Although they did not dispute the elections, which were free and fair, the Islamists plotted and organized a coup two years later. They seized power in 1989, in cooperation with General Omar al-Bashir, who is still ruling the country today after he has destroyed its natural resources and waged a number of internal wars.
The Algerian experience was somewhat different. The military regime that ruled the country from behind the scenes was compelled to organize elections after seven years of turmoil and protests, in which the Islamists – and others – were very active. The military cancelled these legislative elections in 1991 [after the first round] when it looked like the Islamists would emerge victorious. However, here we must note that the moderate leaders of the Islamic Salvation Front, such as Abassi Madani, were suffering from the rising popularity of young extremist leaders such as Ali Belhadj, who was the most popular leader in the movement. Ali Belhadj, publicly in front of his followers, announced his rejection of democracy, saying: “No democracy and no constitution ... only the words of Allah and the Prophet”. The Islamic extremists attacked cinemas and markets, and thus the military seized the opportunity and declared a state of martial law.
A third example of Islamic participation in politics can be seen in Palestine, where the Palestinian Authority approved the participation of Hamas in the elections, in exchange for its commitment to democracy and respect for the agreements signed with Israel. Hamas won in 2006, winning 76 seats out of 132, and was granted the presidency of the government. However, Hamas then went on to seize all public services and expel the Palestinian Authority from Gaza in a bloody battle.
Let us not forget the actions of Hezbollah, which on one hand participates in democratic activity via elections, but on the other hand imposes its will through the use of force and arms. There are also examples of the Islamists exploiting democracy to impose their own agendas, as happened in Kuwait, with the Muslim Brotherhood, the Salafists, and the Shiites. They banned certain books, concerts and intellectual activities under their ideological intimidation.
I am not against the participation of Islamist parties in politics, as long as they are prepared to respect the rules of democracy, but this is something that has not happened in the past, not even once! We have to realize that the very nature of ideological parties and Islamist political groups, intellectually and tactically, means that they deems other parties to be unacceptable, no matter how much they talk about tolerance and their adaptation to democratic thinking.
I think that the Turkish experience is the best example for Arab countries that genuinely want to give an opportunity for all popular parties to participate in politics, especially the Islamist groups. The army can serve as the guarantor, tasked with protecting those freedoms and rights that are always the subject of dispute. The Islamists do not differ widely from patriots, [Arab] nationalist, and Baathists, with regards to foreign policy, but they have an exclusionary stance towards women and the followers of other religions and sects, in addition to their views on the freedom of expression and other personal rights.

From al-Awamiyya to London!
By Tariq Alhomayed
Asharq Al-Awsat
The explosion in front of the British Embassy in Bahrain took place in the wake of the occupation of the British Embassy in Tehran. At the same time, the Qatif governorate in Saudi Arabia – just like what previously happened in al-Awamiyya [in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia] – witnessed acts of sabotage. We then saw the Bahraini flag being held high in Karbala, Iraq… so what is the connection between all of this?
What connects all these incident is that they share the same source; namely Iran. This is not because Iran is a great power, but rather because Iran’s strength lies in subversion. However, despite all this, some people in Saudi Arabia are coming out publicly to issue statements –which is a scenario that has played out after every such event – claiming that the al-Awamiyya and Qatif incidents were not caused by foreign interference, in the knowledge that some scholars and sheiks from this same region previously issued a statement warning against those who carry arms and come out [in protest] against the ruler and the homeland!
If there are those who want to defend Iran simply in order to cause controversy or score political points, then this is absurd, particularly those who present themselves as “human rights activists”. This is because sectarian exists, and unfortunately this is something that our region is suffering from, but not due to our own actions – or even the actions of our regimes – but rather this is present thanks to the actions of those who want to feed off this. Here, I am talking about Iran. For when [Hezbollah chief] Nasrallah comes out to defend Bashar al-Assad on the day of Ashoura, especially considering that the al-Assad regime has so far killed more than 4,000 Syrians, what else can we call this? This defense was not delivered from the standpoint of opposition, resistance, or human rights; indeed a more accurate description of this would be that it was as a result of sectarianism. The same applies to what is happening in Iraq, whether with regards to Baghdad's position on Bahrain, Saudi Arabia or even Syria. Therefore, those today who try to pretend that they are against sectarianism – and this includes some Saudis – are nothing more than the continuance of Tehran’s propaganda machine to the point that we now have an Iranian lobby in Saudi Arabia, and it is not ashamed of appearing on the front pages of some Saudi newspapers.
The danger in what these people are doing is that they are distorting the facts in front of the public opinion, and this is something that only benefits Iran. The matter is not confined to Saudi Arabia alone, rather this Iranian lobby must be considered an Arab phenomenon. For example, the Egyptian newspaper Al-Masry Al-Youm recently revealed that some groups in Egypt were being financed by Iran, and quoted official sources who revealed that counterfeit money had entered Egypt from Iran. Worse still, the newspaper also revealed the involvement of “prominent media figures” who were coordinating between Iran and these Egyptian groups!
The problem with many of those advocating the protection of human rights and culture is that they try to distort the facts before the public, sometimes in the name of the “resistance”, and other times in the name of protecting religion, and today under the pretext of protecting minorities. All this talk is intended to deceive. From al-Awamiyya to London, via Bahrain, Egypt, Lebanon, Iraq and other countries, we find the Iranian hand of destruction at work, tampering with the situation without hesitation. Tehran always finds those willing to help it in its deception, and it has many accomplices. They can be found in every location, under different circumstances, most recently those who issued the statement from Saudi Arabia.

Arab elections: A note of cautious optimism
By Amir Taheri/Asharq Alawsat
To judge by comments in the Western media, hopes that Arabs might move towards democracy have been dashed by “Islamist” victories in elections from Morocco to Egypt.
Editorialists predict an “Islamist Winter” following the “Arab Spring”.
Western intellectuals ask “what are we going to do?”
Assuming that it is any of our business, as outsiders, to do anything, the first thing to do is see what has happened.
The first thing that has happened is the dismantling of the Arab model of security-military regimes developed by coups d’etat from the 1940s to the 1960s. That model still resists in Sudan and Syria. But even there, it is past its sell-by date.
The second thing that has happened is that, implicitly at least, people from Morocco to Yemen, passing by Tunisia, Egypt and Iraq, agree that legitimacy could be based on the will of citizens expressed through elections.
This is a tremendous development. At one end of Arab politics, forces that dreamt of revolutionary legitimacy, which often meant a military coup, have abandoned the myth. At the other end, parties that advocated legitimacy based on religion have also dropped their claim. Several Arab countries have started creating a public space in which all political forces could operate freely. In that inclusive space, there is room for everyone, Islamist as well as conservative and socialist parties.
By accepting the rules of this new game, Islamist parties have abandoned the pretension that they alone hold the truth and that everyone else must conform or shut up or die.
Arab Islamists entered elections with their flags in their pockets. They changed their names to assume a new persona, and abandoned slogans such as “Islam Is The Solution”. Their electoral manifestoes read like that of pro-market conservative parties anywhere.
Often, the Islamists entered the race in coalition with secular parties. And yet, even when we combine the votes of Islamist parties and groups, they did not win a straight majority anywhere. Taking into account average turnouts, the Islamist share is around 30 per cent of the total electorate. And this is in countries where Muslims account for 85 per cent (Egypt) to almost 100 per cent of the population (Tunisia).
In ideological terms, Islamist parties have paid a heavy price for conversion to a system they always dismissed as “alien”.
To be sure, one never knows whether Arab Islamists have really accepted the new game. They may well be playing a tactical game until they establish their hold on power. History is full of examples of wolves disguised as lambs. Three decades ago in Iran Islamists promised free elections but, once in power, never agreed to submit to the test.
However, while remaining vigilant, why not give the Arab Islamists the benefit of the doubt? One rule of politics is that what matters is what people do, not what they believe.
The third important thing is that religion, which, as its name implies, is supposed to link people together, is exposed as a factor of division in politics. It is no accident that everywhere, from Morocco to Yemen, we have a dozen parties and groups competing in the name of Islam. In Iraq, over 30 groups claim to represent “true Islam”.
Fortunately, with the litmus test of elections, what matters is what the people think of those parties not what they think of themselves.
The next important development is that the myth of winning power through armed struggle, in the name of religion or a secular ideology, has been debunked. The founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al-Banna, spoke of “the gun and the dagger” as weapons for his flock. For eight decades, those gadgets did not win the Brotherhood even a toehold in power. Now, however, the Brotherhood may end up leading a coalition government in Cairo.
The same is as true of the more radical Anathema and Withdrawal (Takfir wa al-Hijrah) and Islamic Society (Gamaa al-Islamiyah) that used psychological and physical terror for decades without getting anywhere except into prison. They, too, are now poised to secure a place in Egypt’s new political landscape.
Earlier in Iraq, the Full Moon Brigade (Failqat al-Badr) and The Army of the Hidden Imam (Jaish al-Mahdi) found out that power did not come out of the barrel of guns supplied by Tehran but from ballot boxes filled by Iraqi voters.
Finally, the recent elections show that, at least in the countries concerned, Arab politics may have begun a process of normalization. Politics, as defined by its founding father Aristotle, known to Muslims as The First Teacher, is the art of solving the problems of the community (polis in Greek). Thus, it is primarily about concrete issues: security, administration, education, protecting individual freedoms and dignities, economic production, caring for the sick and the less able, arbitrating differences among citizens, and defence against foreign aggression. In other words: “bread-and-butter” politics.
For decades, Arabs were denied access to politics in that sense. Their politics was dominated by abstract concepts such as pan-Arab unification, the ideal Islamic society, the revival of the caliphate, and various versions of leftist Utopia. To enter the political arena, all one needed to do was clench a fist, and shout “death” to this or that or “long live” this or that despot.
Often, a strong dose of personality cult was injected into that witches’ brew. During one of my visits to Iraq in the mid-1970s, I conducted a non-scientific test. The result was simple: Iraqi politics meant showering praise on Saddam Hussein. Everyone did it, from the taxi driver to the Cabinet minister; and everyone lied.
My answer to Western friends who demand “what are we going to do?” is simple: take a deep breath!
Arabs should not be regarded as objects in their own history; the uprisings showed that they wish to be its subjects. For the first time, many Arabs have a chance to run their own show. Inevitably, they will make their own mistakes and pay the bill for it. But to play the owl so early in this saga might be tantamount to throwing the baby out with the bath water.
Since history is not written in advance, no one can be sure how things will turn out in the next months, let alone next decades. For the time being, however, I, for one, remain cautiously optimistic.

Then you ARE crazy
December 8, 2011
Now Lebanon/
In his interview with Barbara Walters, Bashar al-Assad asserted that he is not behind the murder of his citizens.Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s much-anticipated one-on-one interview with ABC’s Barbara Walters was a master class in evasion and self-delusion. The man whose family has ruled Syria for over four decades would have us believe that his regime does not murder its own people. Indeed, as he put it most eloquently, “No government in the world kills its people, unless it’s led by a crazy person.” It was arguably the only accurate statement he made.
This was the most staggering declaration in an interview in which he would also have us believe that democratic reform was underway; that he has no real authority, especially over the armed forces; that he doesn’t “own the country”; that he came to power on a tidal wave of public support; and that he will walk away when that support is no longer or he is defeated in elections that he promises are only a matter of years away.
He declared that neither he nor his late brother Basil were groomed to succeed their late father Hafez (“Never, he never spoke about this”) and that when he was recalled from his studies in London, he had to face the fact that he could no longer practice his beloved ophthalmology, although he admitted that he still keeps up with technological updates in the field.
But back to the core business of putting down a terrorist rebellion, for Assad claims that those who are fighting for the downfall of his regime are simply fanatics made up of “al Qaeda and drug dealers” hell bent on creating a regional “earthquake”—the word he used to describe the consequences of his downfall—and that any country worth its salt (he bizarrely cited the 1992 Los Angeles riots as an act of terror that was successfully put down by the US government) has the right to take action against such home-grown trouble makers.
But we forget that this is the same regime that in 1982 brutally put down an uprising in the city of Hama that saw the death of over 30,000 of Assad’s “people.” It is the same regime that for three decades ruled Lebanon and regularly detained, interrogated and in many cases murdered its citizens. This is the same regime that as a matter of policy would eliminate political opponents, and the regime that is still not off the hook for its alleged involvement in the 2005 killing of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and 22 others in a bomb blast outside the St Georges hotel on the Beirut seafront.
This is the reality, as is the fact that the waves of the Arab Spring have been lapping on the shores of Syria for the past nine months. Assad might want to scare the region, not to mention the world, with the prospect of al Qaeda gaining a foothold in such a strategic corner of the Middle East, but all this ignores the simple truth that the Arab people—from Tunisia to Egypt to Libya and Yemen—will no longer have any truck with unelected regimes.
Dictators cannot hide behind scaremongering. Assad’s regime—and yes, it is his regime and his armed forces and, sadly, for all intents and purposes, his country—has embarked upon a daily diet of murder and repression, one he can never justify with predictions of an uncertain future.
He told Walters, “We are moving forward in, in reforms, especially during the last nine month, so I think we are moving forward, it takes a long time, it takes a lot of maturity to be full fledge [sic] democratic country, but we are moving that, that direction.”
Watch this space.