LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
December 14/2011


Bible Quotation for today/Be Ready for the Lord's Coming
1Thessalonians 05/01-11:"There is no need to write you, friends, about the times and occasions when these things will happen. For you yourselves know very well that the Day of the Lord will come as a thief comes at night. When people say, Everything is quiet and safe, then suddenly destruction will hit them! It will come as suddenly as the pains that come upon a woman in labor, and people will not escape.  But you, friends, are not in the darkness, and the Day should not take you by surprise like a thief. All of you are people who belong to the light, who belong to the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness. So then, we should not be sleeping like the others; we should be awake and sober. It is at night when people sleep; it is at night when they get drunk. But we belong to the day, and we should be sober. We must wear faith and love as a breastplate, and our hope of salvation as a helmet. God did not choose us to suffer his anger, but to possess salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ,who died for us in order that we might live together with him, whether we are alive or dead when he comes. And so encourage one another and help one another, just as you are now doing.

Latest analysis, editorials, studies, reports, letters & Releases from miscellaneous sources
Egypt: Now it is an old man who is crying/By Tariq Alhomayed/
November 14/11
Tragic/By:Hazem Saghiyeh/November 14/11

Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources for November 13, 14/11
Ross, White House's former top Iran policy official: Nuclear Iran dramatically raises risk of nuclear war

US units exiting Iraq deployed in Jordan to forestall Syrian attack

Syrian Alawite figure speaks out against violence
Netanyahu: All lines were crossed when Israeli citizens attacked IDF soldiers
Geagea: Hizbullah is Directly or Indirectly Responsible for All Security Incidents in South
U.S.: Lebanese man linked to Hezbollah indicted on cocaine, money laundering charges
Hariri on South Incidents: Syrian Message through 'Bashar Guys' in Lebanon

Lebanese
Activists: New election law needed to maintain unity
French UNIFIL head, wounded peacekeepers unbowed after attack
Dual nationality draft law sparks praise and ire
Hezbollah protests release of 4 convicted Israeli spies
Attacks may force UNIFIL troop  in S. Lebanon to shake-up
Lebanese Cabinet authorizes Minister of Interior Qortbawi to investigate telecoms file
Future Party: South not for score settling
Berri Meets Asarta: Attacks in South Target People, Army, Resistance Equation
Watkins, al-Rahi Agree on 'Importance of Asserting State Authority'
Mustaqbal: Recent Instability Caused by Possession of Illegitimate Arms
Pietton: French Support for Lebanon Will Continue Even if French UNIFIL Troops are Reduced
Aoun: South Unrest Coincided with Campaign Accusing Hizbullah of Seeking to Wage War with Israel
Iran indicts 15 'American and Zionist' spies
UN rights chief: Syria death toll exceeds 5,000
Israel's new Cairo envoy: Egypt peace treaty will be preserved
Cabinet Approves Giving Citizenship to Lebanese Expatriates
Health Ministry Sends Team to Nursery after Death of 3-Month-Old Boy
Bradley Burston / Newt Gingrich may be able to occupy Palestine, but Israel can't
David Remnick to Haaretz: Gingrich statement on 'invented' Palestinians is 'alarming'

U.S. urges Russia to join U.N. action on Syria
After Gingrich declares Palestinians 'invented', picture emerges of U.S. Presidential hopeful with Yasser Arafat
33 Civilians, 7 Regime Troops Killed as Syria Violence Rages
Iran: U.S. Drone Now our 'Property'

US units exiting Iraq deployed in Jordan to forestall Syrian attack
DEBKAfile Exclusive Report /December 13, 2011/As the US completes its final withdrawal from Iraq, American special forces troops have been diverted to positions in Jordan opposite a Syrian tank concentration building up across the kingdom's northern border, debkafile's military and intelligence sources report. As of last Thursday, military convoys, air transports and helicopters have been lifting US troops across the border from Iraq. They have been deployed in position to ward off a possible Syrian invasion in the light of President Bashar Assad's warning that he would set the entire Middle East on fire if the pressure on his regime to step down persisted. Syria's other neighbors have taken precautions against this contingency but this is the first time US boots have hit the ground directly opposite Assad's army.The incoming US contingents are disclosed by our sources as having been housed at the King Hussein Air Base of al-Mafraq, 10 kilometers from the Syrian border. US troops were sighted Monday, Dec. 12, building surveillance towers and army posts in the Jordanian villages of Albaej, Zubaydiah and al-Nahdah al-Houshah as well as near the Sarham dam of the Yarmoukh River which runs down the international border between Syria and Jordan. Three months ago, the Syrian ruler cautioned Jordan's King Abdullah II to stop granting asylum to Syrian military deserters and allowing his country to serve as a conduit for pumping arms to the opposition. The king was not deterred by this threat. Seen from Damascus, Jordan would be easier to take on militarily that either Turkey or Israel. Saturday, Dec. 10, Jordanian surveillance units confirmed that Syrian armored units were gathering opposite the Jordanian town of Bura Al Hariri.
Iraqi sources report that the American units came from the big Iraqi Ain al-Assad air base in the western province of Al Anbar opposite the Jordanian border. This base is in the process of evacuation as the US military drawdown in Iraq approaches completion. Most of the troops are flown to US bases in the Persian Gulf and Europe. Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, when he met US President Barack Obama at the White House Monday, approved the transfer of American contingents from Iraq to Jordan across their common border. Obama was therefore able to state after their talks: "We share the view that when the Syrian people are being killed or are unable to express themselves that's a problem. There's no disagreement there." By this comment, the White House sought to stress that the Baghdad government is not letting Tehran twist its arms on the Syrian question.

Cabinet Approves Giving Citizenship to Lebanese Expatriates

Naharnet/ The cabinet has approved a draft law that would allow Lebanese expatriates to apply for the citizenship of their country of origin, a move that would help them in the future to take part in parliamentary elections. Interior Minister Marwan Charbel told An Nahar daily on Tuesday that the draft law was approved with minor amendments. He said only the children of fathers and grandfathers of Lebanese origin would get the citizenship and not the children of Lebanese mothers who are married to foreigners. Lebanese law prevents giving the citizenship to the children of a Lebanese mother if the father was a foreigner. The head of the Maronite Institution for Expatriates, former Minister Michel Edde, told An Nahar that it is the right of Lebanese expatriates to regain the citizenship of their country of origin. The laws of the countries that they immigrated to, particularly the Americas, Africa and some European states, used to prevent them from getting the Lebanese citizenship, he said.
Ever since slain ex-Premier Rafik Hariri approved such a move, the Institution has been collaborating with Bkirki to give the nationality to the expatriates not only Maronites and Christians but all Lebanese who deserve it, Edde said. The former minister hailed the cabinet’s approval of the draft law and thanked President Michel Suleiman and Premier Najib Miqati, hoping that the parliament would ratify the draft law. The draft law will now be discussed in parliament and must be ratified by MPs to be passed into law. The cabinet’s green light to give the citizenship to Lebanese expatriates would pave way for their participation in the parliamentary elections if a new law adopted by the government Okays the voting at Lebanese embassies abroad.

Geagea: Hizbullah is Directly or Indirectly Responsible for All Security Incidents in South
Naharnet /Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea stated on Tuesday that the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon’s mission in the South has been curtailed due to Hizbullah’s presence in the area.
He said during a press conference on the latest developments: “Hizbullah is directly or indirectly responsible for all the security incidents in southern Lebanon.”
He explained that ever since UNIFIL assumed its duties in the South, it has come under attack by the local residents under the excuse of maintaining national dignity.
“Hundreds and even thousands of attacks” by the residents against UNIFIL have taken place and as a result, the international troops have been forced to resign their mission and “remain cooped up in their barracks,” he continued. “Had they been given the opportunity to exercise their duties, would they have been successful in maintaining the stability in the South?” asked the LF chief.
“The forces in the area have however prevented them from fulfilling their mission and instead remain concerned about their own safety,” Geagea noted.
“UNIFIL and the Lebanese authorities have only been allowed to inspect explosion sites in the South after Hizbullah had swept the area, which confirms the party’s control of the region,” he said.
“Is it therefore logical that Hizbullah does not know who has been behind attacks against UNIFIL?” he wondered. The party is responsible for the attacks because it is definitely aware of the presence of various armed groups in the South, he asserted. Furthermore, Geagea accused Syria of supporting these groups and employing them to divert blame for attacks away from Hizbullah.
“Stability in Lebanon can therefore only be established through eliminating all armed groups outside the state’s control and getting rid of the magical equation of the army, people, and Resistance,” he stressed.
“The equation should instead be replaced with that of the people, state, and army,” he stated.
He indirectly blamed state officials for the current instability, saying that they should assume their responsibilities in maintaining the peace instead of simply condemning various security incidents.
In addition, Geagea warned that the various attacks against UNIFIL may force the participating countries to withdraw their troops.
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 French U.N. patrol was attacked on July 26 and Italian peacekeepers were targeted on May 27. UNIFIL Force Commander Major-General Alberto Asarta Cuevas denounced the attack but vowed it would not deter his troops from fulfilling their mandate. France on Sunday accused Syria and its ally Hizbullah of being behind Friday’s attack. "We have strong reasons to think that this attack came from Syria," said French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe, noting that Damascus used Hizbullah for such attacks in the past. On Monday, Syria and Hizbullah both denied the allegations."Syria has no link whatsoever with this act which we condemn," Syrian foreign ministry spokesman Jihad Maqdisi said in a statement For its part, the party stressed in a statement: “Hizbullah deplores this condemned behavior, which was inappropriate coming from the foreign minister of an important nation such as France.”

Pietton: French Support for Lebanon Will Continue Even if French UNIFIL Troops are Reduced
Naharnet/ French Ambassador to Lebanon Denis Pietton stressed on Tuesday the need to keep Lebanon away from regional tensions, asserting that France will maintain its support for Lebanon even if it reduces the number of its troops in the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon. He said after holding talks with Minister of Social Affairs Wael Abu Faour that UNIFIL’s peacekeeping unit is conducting a strategic revision of the participation in the international force. He said that all participating countries are involved in the revision, as well as Lebanon. The ambassador revealed that civil and military members of the peacekeeping mission have visited Lebanon as part of the revision process. This matter is connected to the implementation of U.N. Security Council 1701 and France is committed to it fully, Pietton added. Furthermore, he said that different ways to implement the decision are being studied. A French official will visit Lebanon soon to follow up on these issues, he revealed. The downsizing of French troops will not affect the country’s ties with Lebanon as it is tradition for France to always stand by Lebanon, Pietton stressed. 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. France has decided to decrease the number of its troops serving with UNIFIL despite pledges by French Prime Minister Francois Fillon that last week’s attack on his country’s peacekeepers would not dampen Paris’ commitment to the mission, An Nahar daily reported Tuesday. Lebanese leaders were officially informed about the French decision on Monday, said the daily.

33 Civilians, 7 Regime Troops Killed as Syria Violence Rages
Naharnet /Army defectors on Tuesday killed seven members of Syria's security forces in retaliation for an attack that cost the lives of 11 civilians, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, as the Local Coordination Committees said Syrian forces shot dead 33 civilians across the country on Tuesday. The LCC, the main activist group spurring protests on the ground, said security forces shot dead 20 people in the northwestern province of Idlib, seven in the central province of Hama, four in the central region of Homs and two in the southern province of Daraa. "Seven security force members were killed in an ambush by deserters on a convoy patrolling the Idlib-Bab al-Hawa road in response to the martyrdom of 11 civilians this morning," the Observatory said in a statement received by Agence France Presse.
Security forces backed by pro-regime Shabiha militiamen killed 11 people and wounded dozens of others in two villages of northwestern Idlib province, the Observatory said in an earlier statement.
"Eleven people were killed and dozens others wounded Tuesday by gunfire from security forces and the Shabiha in the areas of Maarret Masrin and Kfar Yahmul," the Britain-based group said.
And state-run SANA news agency said guards shot dead two "terrorist" infiltrators who were attempting to enter Syria from across the northern border with Turkey. "Border guards' forces in Idlib today foiled an infiltration attempt by an armed terrorist group into the Syrian lands through Ain al-Bayda site of Badama, Idlib" province, said SANA. "Border Guards' forces clashed with 15 terrorists... killing two of them and wounding the others," said the report in English.Syria on December 6 reported its forces thwarted a similar infiltration bid by "armed terrorist groups" in the same area, saying an unspecified number of the 35 gunmen were wounded and the rest fled back to Turkey. Turkey says that around 7,500 Syrians have fled across the border with its southern neighbor in the face of a bloody protest crackdown the United Nations estimates has killed more than 5,000 people since mid-March. Colonel Riyadh al-Asaad, who heads the Free Syrian Army, is based in a Turkish border camp and, unlike some other dissidents, has called for foreign air strikes.Source Agence France Presse

Mustaqbal: Recent Instability Caused by Possession of Illegitimate Arms

Naharnet/The Mustaqbal bloc noted on Tuesday that the state’s restoration of its sovereignty can help restore stability in Lebanon. It said in a statement after its weekly meeting: “The recent instability in the country can be attributed to the widespread possession of illegitimate arms.” The bloc condemned the attempts to drag Lebanon to war, adding that the residents of the South oppose employing their land for ending the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon’s mission in the country. It therefore demanded that the government uncover the sides responsible for the firing of rockets towards Israel and the various attacks against the international force. On Friday, five French soldiers and two civilians were wounded by a powerful roadside bomb that targeted a UNIFIL patrol in the southern coastal city of Tyre.
On Sunday, French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe accused Syria of being behind the incident, saying that it employed Hizbullah to carry out the attack. Syria and Hizbullah have denied the allegations. In late November, a rocket was fired from southern Lebanon into northern Israel, prompting the Jewish state’s army to warn Beirut to work to prevent similar attacks in the future.

Berri Meets Asarta: Attacks in South Target People, Army, Resistance Equation

Naharnet /Speaker Nabih Berri stressed on Tuesday the importance of cooperation between the people, army, and resistance, as well as the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, in defending the security of southern Lebanon. He said after holding talks with UNIFIL Commander Major General Alberto Asarta: “The attacks that have taken place in the South target the equation of the army, people, and resistance.” He added that the Lebanese officials’ condemnation of the attacks are not enough in tackling the instability, but the cooperation of the people, army, and resistance is necessary to maintain the peace.The speaker later held talks with the British Ambassador to Lebanon Tom Fletcher on the latest developments. On Friday, five French soldiers and two civilians were wounded by a powerful roadside bomb that targeted a UNIFIL patrol in the southern coastal city of Tyre. Earlier this year, a French U.N. patrol was attacked on July 26 and Italian peacekeepers were targeted on May 27.
In late November, a rocket was fired from southern Lebanon into northern Israel, prompting the Jewish state’s army to warn Beirut to work to prevent similar attacks in the future.

Hariri on South Incidents: Syrian Message through 'Bashar Guys' in Lebanon

Naharnet /Former premier Saad Hariri on Tuesday reiterated that the latest spate of security incidents in southern Lebanon was a “message” from Syria, accusing Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s allies in Lebanon of carrying out the attacks. “The truth is that these things just don't happen, it’s a Syrian message from Bashar through his guys in Lebanon,” Hariri said in English, answering a question from a Twitter user. The ex-PM lauded Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi’s latest stance on the possession of weapons in Lebanon by non-state actors, describing it as “important.”
The patriarch’s stance put back “the essential question of weapons on the table,” Hariri tweeted, noting that “this is Bkirki’s historic position.”
He also slammed Premier Najib Miqati’s government, saying it “seems to be in a coma” concerning the latest incidents in the south, accusing it of “ignoring what happened or even hiding the truth.”
Asked whether he regretted engaging in Syrian-Saudi efforts to resolve the political standoff in Lebanon prior to his government’s collapse, Hariri said: “I did what I did for my country, personally it would have cost me but I never regret anything for my country.”Commenting on Monday’s violation of Lebanon’s airspace by Israeli warplanes, Hariri said: “It’s a serious breach of (U.N. Security Council Resolution) 1701 and we have to be careful because the Israelis are capable of (doing) anything.”Asked whether Druze leader Walid Jumblat was “switching alliances again,” the former premier and current opposition leader said: “I think Walid Beik is a good reader of the old book called ‘the collapse of the great prison’.”On whether he believed Hizbullah would ignite a war with Israel to aid Assad and deviate attention from the Syrian uprising, Hariri said: “I don't think so, Hizbullah won't go to war for a falling regime.”As to the possible rise of “political Islam in the region after the fall of authoritarian regimes,” Hariri said: “I am not worried, I think with these new democracies if they don't meet what people need they will fall.”Asked whether he supports the creation of a buffer zone on the Lebanese-Syrian border, Hariri said: “I support anything to protect the Syrian people from these thugs.”“But I think the Turks are doing it,” Hariri added. Source Naharnet

Aoun: South Unrest Coincided with Campaign Accusing Hizbullah of Seeking to Wage War with Israel

Naharnet /Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun noted on Tuesday that the firing of rockets from Lebanon to Israel coincided with the campaign against Hizbullah accusing it of seeking to launch a war against the Jewish state. Commenting on his ties with the party, he said: “Political and work incidents happen.” He made his statements after the Change and Reform bloc’s weekly meeting in Rabieh. “We have national goals and telecommunications, energy, and water are a necessity for the people,” he added. Furthermore, he said that drilling for oil in the Mediterranean has also become a necessity.
“We represent the people and we work for them and not for our own personal interests,” the MP stressed. Asked about the repercussions of the Syrian crisis on Lebanon, the FPM leader replied: “If there are to be any, then they are in Akkar.” “Whoever is speaking of a buffer zone for the Syrian refugees in Lebanon is achieving it in Lebanon,” Aoun stated.
“I hope all sides would pay attention to this issue,” he said. On France’s accusations that Syria was behind Friday’s attack against the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon in Tyre, he remarked: “The West has begun resorting to political accusations after 2005 due to the March 14 camp’s strong ties with the French government.” On Friday, five French soldiers and two civilians were wounded by a powerful roadside bomb that targeted a UNIFIL patrol in the southern coastal city of Tyre. On Sunday, French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe accused Syria of being behind the incident, saying that it employed Hizbullah to carry out the attack. Syria and Hizbullah have denied the allegations. In late November, a rocket was fired from southern Lebanon into northern Israel, prompting the Jewish state’s army to warn Beirut to work to prevent similar attacks in the future.

4 Dead, 75 Hurt in Belgium Shooting Spree
Naharnet /A lone gunman armed with grenades opened fire on a square packed with children and Christmas shoppers in the eastern Belgian city of Liege Tuesday, killing three people and wounding 75.
Officials named the gunman -- who was himself also killed in circumstances that are not yet clear -- as Nordine Amrani, 33, a known criminal who had been summoned by police that morning but who never showed up. Among the three passers-by killed when Amrani went on his shooting spree near the city's courthouse was a 15-year-old boy who died instantly and a 17-year-old boy and 75-year-old woman who died later in hospital. The lunchtime attack sent terrified residents running through the streets for their lives, fleeing into churches and shops as the gunman fired on a crowded square.
"We heard two huge deafening noises and then lots of explosions, people were running everywhere," a baker named only as Patricia said on RTL-TV.
"We closed the door, turned off the lights and hid behind the counter with the customers." The country's federal crisis center said it was neither a terrorist incident nor linked to a pending criminal trial.
"It's very difficult to determine the reasons for the attack, but we're investigating all avenues," the center’s Benoit Ramacker told Agence France Presse.
King Albert II and Queen Paola rushed to the scene as did newly-named Prime Minister Elio Di Rupo and Belgium's Home Affairs Minister Joelle Milquet broke off European Union talks and too was headed for Liege.
"It's uncertain yet whether he (Amrani) killed himself or whether his weapons exploded," public prosecutor Danielle Reynders told a news conference.
"He left his home this morning with his backpack and his arms," she said, adding that he climbed on to the roof of a bakery shop "and fired and then threw three grenades".
Hours later groups of people sat weeping on sidewalks amid the screech of ambulance sirens and the roar of helicopters. Pools of blood lay on the streets.
The shooting took place around noon on Saint-Lambert square, home to the courthouse and located near a busy Christmas market in the town of 196,000 people.
Some initial reports said it was a foiled bid to rescue a suspect from the courthouse.
Police had raided Amrani's Liege home recently seeking cannabis plants but had found weapons instead. In 2008 he was sentenced to almost five years behind bars for illegal possession of arms and growing cannabis.
Reynders said although the gunman had a record for drugs dealing, arms possession and holding stolen goods, there had never been a sign he was unbalanced in any way.
There was much initial confusion over the shooting as events unfolded, with initial reports of more than one gunman.
Journalist Nicolas Gilenne told AFP he had just left the courthouse where he was covering a trial when the attack began.
"I saw a man wave his arm and throw something at the bus shelter. I heard an explosion. He turned around, picked something else up, pulled the pin. I started to run. He was alone and seemed very much in control. "He wanted to hurt as many people as possible. I heard four explosions and shots during about 10 seconds."
Residents had earlier told local television that shots were fired across the square by gunmen posted on the rooftop of a bakery and grenades hurled at bus shelters and into the courthouse.
Reports had also said that two to three gunmen armed with either explosive flash grenades or killer defensive grenades were involved.
"The city center is completely cordoned off. People are sheltering in shops or in buildings. Police are in position," said a town hall employee contacted by AFP who asked not to be identified.
"Luckily the mayor had postponed the opening of the Christmas market due to bad weather and high winds. Otherwise many more would have died," the employee added.
Source Agence France Presse

Watkins, al-Rahi Agree on 'Importance of Asserting State Authority'
Naharnet /U.N. Special Coordinator for Lebanon ad interim Robert Watkins said Tuesday he agreed with Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi during talks in Bkirki on “the importance of asserting state authority throughout all of Lebanon’s territory and of taking measures to safeguard the stability and security of the country.” “In this regard, I briefed the Patriarch on the implementation of Security Council Resolution 1701 and the Secretary-General’s recent report. We are naturally disconcerted by the rising number of incidents, two rocket firing incidents in the period of two weeks and yet another attack on UNIFIL troops, which the Secretary-General and the Security Council have condemned in the strongest terms,” Watkins added.  “We hope that calm and stability will return now to south Lebanon so we can continue our work to advance the full implementation of resolution 1701,” he went on to say. Watkins said the United Nations “welcomes the summit of Christian leaders that the Patriarch is expected to host here at Bkirki this coming Friday,” praising the role “that the Patriarch has played in trying to promote dialogue to keep the channels of communications open and to avoid tension.”
“We hope agreements reached at the meeting will work in favor of unity, security and stability in Lebanon,” the U.N. official added. Lebanon’s top Maronite leaders are expected to discuss the repercussions of the region’s upheaval on Lebanon in a meeting scheduled to be held in Bkirki on Friday, An Nahar daily reported Tuesday. According to the newspaper, the dangerous situation in southern Lebanon would be at the top of issues to be discussed by Phalange leader Amin Gemayel, Free Patriotic Movement chief Michel Aoun, Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea and Marada movement’s head Suleiman Franjieh. Several Maronite MPs and bishops will also attend the meeting that will be headed by Patriarch al-Rahi, it said. The conferees will discuss the revolutions in the Arab world, mainly the Syrian crisis, and their effects on Lebanon, An Nahar added.

Health Ministry Sends Team to Nursery after Death of 3-Month-Old Boy

Naharnet /The health ministry sent a team to a nursery in New Jdeideh to unveil the circumstances behind the death of a three-month-old baby boy, Voice of Lebanon radio station (93.3) reported Tuesday.
The National News Agency said Monday that the father of the infant, Fadi Mansour, pressed charges after he was told by the nursery that his son was taken to Arz hospital in Zalka.
The man said he was later surprised to be informed by the hospital that the infant, Charbel, had died. NNA quoted him as saying that he took the three-month-old to the day care at 7:00 am and when he returned to pick him up at 1:00 pm, the administration informed him about the baby’s transfer to the hospital. An investigation is underway to find out the circumstances of the infant’s death.
The head of nursery owners syndicate, Charbel Abi Nader, expressed regret at Charbel’s death and extended his condolences to his family. Abi Nader urged all parties to wait for the results of the investigation and the report of the coroner before taking any stance from the incident. The coroner’s initial examination said the baby had died of natural causes and there were no signs of violence on his body. Media reports said the final report will be issued after 10 days. Abi Nader said similar incidents have taken place in some day care centers in Lebanon that had violated legal and administrative rules.
He urged the authorities to force illegal nurseries to obtain the necessary licenses and shut them if they failed to meet the requirements.

Iran: U.S. Drone Now our 'Property'

Naharnet /A U.S. drone captured by Iran is now the "property" of the Islamic republic, Defense Minister Ahmad Vahidi said Tuesday, after a request by U.S. President Barack Obama for its return.
"The American espionage drone is now Iran's property, and our country will decide what steps to take regarding it," Vahidi was quoted as saying by the ISNA news agency.
"Instead of apologizing to the Iranian nation, it (the United States) is brazenly asking for the drone back," Vahidi also said, according to another news agency, Mehr.
Obama on Monday acknowledged that Iran was holding the reconnaissance drone -- a bat-winged RQ-170 Sentinel -- by saying: "We've asked for it back. We'll see how the Iranians respond."
Also Tuesday, the foreign ministry spokesman stressed the aircraft violated Iranian airspace. "It seem he (Obama) has forgotten that Iran's airspace was violated, spying operations were undertaken, international laws were violated and that Iran's internal affairs were interfered with," spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said in his regular media briefing, according to Fars news agency. "Instead of an official apology and admitting to this violation, they are making this request," he said. Iran last week displayed on state television what it said was the drone. A lawmaker said the Islamic republic was unlocking the aircraft's software and was going to reverse-engineer the drone.

U.S. Urges Russia to Join U.N. Action on Syria
Naharnet/ The United States on Tuesday urged Russia to back U.N. Security Council action on Syria, after U.N. officials said the death toll in the months-long Syrian protests had exceeded 5,000.
"Frankly we think that it is past time for the U.N. Security Council to speak up," State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland told reporters, denouncing Security Council silence on the Syrian regime as "unconscionable." "And we are again calling on our partners on the Security Council to be willing to take action and speak out for the innocents in Syria who are suffering at the hands of the regime, including Russia," Nuland said. Russia is chairing the 15-member U.N. Security Council this month. In Moscow, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov slammed as "immoral" Western accusations it was blocking U.N. action condemning the deadly crackdown by President Bashar al-Assad's regime. Russia and China in October used a rare double veto to block a Western-backed resolution condemning Assad's regime. Brazil, India, Lebanon and South Africa abstained.
Moscow said then that the action was one-sided and on Tuesday argued that "armed extremist groups" were becoming increasingly reckless as Western pressure on Assad grew. When asked to comment on Lavrov's remarks, Nuland replied: "We think it's the Assad regime that is immoral in the violence it's perpetrating on its own people." Nuland said that there have been "some instances" where the opposition has carried out armed attacks against the regime, but the opposition movement has "been peaceful" in general. But she said Russia should support Arab League calls to admit monitors and a free press if it wants to have any chance of supporting its claims of violence being perpetrated on both sides. "That's the best way to assess what's really going on and to ensure a balanced picture that the Russians themselves claim is needed," Nuland said. Nuland suggested that Russia and China were increasingly isolated in their stance on Syria. "The chorus of countries that are appealing to Russia, to China, to some of the other countries on the Security Council that were reluctant before is growing," she said. Source Agence France Presse

Arab League Says to Discuss Syria on Saturday
Naharnet /Arab foreign ministers will hold an emergency meeting in Cairo on Saturday to respond to Syria's proposal to admit observers in exchange for an end to regional sanctions, the Arab League said.
Mohammed Zaidi, an adviser to Arab League chief Nabil al-Arabi, said a ministerial task force on Syria would hold a preparatory meeting at the 22-member bloc's headquarters on Saturday, ahead of the emergency session. Syria said on Sunday it will allow observers into the country as part of an Arab peace plan to end months of violence, in a bid to avoid sweeping sanctions the bloc decided to impose on the Damascus regime. But its Foreign Minister Walid Muallem, in a letter to Arabi, said Syria would accept the monitors under certain conditions, including the lifting of sanctions the Arab League approved on November 27.Saturday's task force meeting would draw recommendations for the foreign ministers on the next steps to take if Syria refuses to sign the agreement on observers, Zaidi said on Tuesday.
The Arab League decided on November 12 to suspend Syria's membership and warned it would head to the United Nations if President Bashar al-Assad's regime pressed on with its deadly crackdown on protesters seeking his ouster. The United Nations estimated that the Syrian government's crackdown on dissent has killed more than 5,000 people since March, and recommended that the case be referred to the International Criminal Court.As Syria is not a signatory to the ICC statute, only the Security Council could refer the case to the tribunal, as it did in the case of Libya this year.
Source Agence France Presse

Kuwait PM Forms New Cabinet with Minor Changes

Naharnet /Kuwait's new Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Mubarak al-Sabah on Tuesday formed a new cabinet that comprised only 10 ministers with just small changes in the line-up, state television reported.
Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmed al-Sabah issued a decree approving the new government, the eighth cabinet since February 2006. All previous cabinets were forced to resign because of political disputes.
All key ministers in the previous government, which resigned on November 28 over corruption allegations, were retained but the three ministers who quit a few days earlier were dropped.
Sheikh Ahmed al-Humoud al-Sabah, who held the interior post in the previous government, was also given the defense portfolio, while Sheikh Sabah Khaled al-Sabah was retained as foreign minister.
The ministers of finance, oil, and electricity and water remained the same. Besides the premiership, members of the ruling al-Sabah family also hold the portfolios of defense, interior, foreign affairs and information. No date has so far been set for the new elections which must be held within 60 days of the 50-seat parliament being dissolved.
The new compact cabinet will serve for only several weeks to oversee the polls because under Kuwaiti law the cabinet must resign after declaring election results.
Former prime minister Sheikh Nasser Mohammad al-Ahmad al-Sabah resigned after allegations of corruption and huge rallies demanding his ouster organized by the opposition in the oil-rich Gulf state.
The resignation was followed a week later by the ruler dissolving parliament for the fourth time in under six years. Kuwait has been rocked by a series of almost non-stop political disputes since Sheikh Nasser, a nephew of the emir, was appointed premier in February 2006. The parliamentary opposition has targeted Sheikh Nasser, 71, claiming that he failed to stop widespread corruption and to run the wealthy state efficiently. Just days before he resigned, three former opposition lawmakers filed to question him in parliament over a corruption scandal involving around 15 members of the now dissolved body. They also accused him of transferring millions of dollars of public funds into his own overseas bank accounts, an allegation strongly denied by the government.
Kuwait is OPEC's third largest producer, pumping around 3.0 million barrels of oil per day. It has a native population of just 1.2 million besides 2.4 million foreign residents.
Despite accumulating massive assets exceeding $300 billion from high oil prices, development projects have been stalled because of the political turmoil.
Source Naharnet


U.S.: Lebanese man linked to Hezbollah indicted on cocaine, money laundering charges
Man allegedly led conspiracy that, among other activities, sold nearly 100 tons of Colombian cocaine, and reaped more than $850 million in profits from illegal activities.
By The Associated Press /Haaretz
Get Haaretz on iPhone Get Haaretz on Android A Lebanese national who U.S. authorities say is the ringleader of a vast international drug smuggling ring with links to the militant group Hezbollah has been indicted on drug and money laundering charges after allegedly reaping more than $850 million in illicit profits. The indictment was announced Tuesday in federal court in Alexandria against Ayman Joumaa, who is currently at large. It alleges he led a conspiracy that, among other activities, sold nearly 100 tons of Colombian cocaine to the Zetas drug cartel in Mexico between 2005 and 2007 that was ultimately smuggled into the United States. The conspiracy has run since at least 2004 and at times brought in as much as $200 million in a single month, according to court documents.
Earlier this year, the Treasury Department designated Joumaa as a drug trafficker and said Hezbollah profited from his network.
Specifically, Treasury accused a major Lebanese bank, the Lebanese Canadian Bank, of being complicit in Joumaa's money laundering and turning a blind eye to massive cash transactions. One of the members of Joumaa's network is a suspected Hezbollah supporter, and bank managers had links to Hezbollah officials, according to the Treasury Department's findings.
The criminal indictment itself makes no mention of links between Joumaa, 47, and Hezbollah, which the U.S. ¬government has designated as a terrorist group since 1997.
The court documents show that Joumaa's network has played a major role in the global drug trade for years, helping Colombian producers get their product into the hands of cartels in Central America and Mexico, and from there into the U.S. "Money fuels the drug trade, and Mr. Joumaa is alleged to be at the center of it all … working with those producing the vast majority of the world's cocaine to get their drugs safely into the hands of Mexican cartels," said Neil MacBride, U.S.¬Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, whose office is prosecuting the case. "Organized crime networks know no borders, and neither can U.S. law enforcement." The Drug Enforcement Administration led the investigation. The Lebanese Canadian Bank was sold to an affiliate of France's Societe Generale in March to restore confidence after those accusations triggered concerns in Lebanon that the U.S.-would begin targeting Lebanon's banking sector as a way to exert pressure against Hezbollah. Attempts to contact the bank for comment were unsuccessful after working hours Tuesday. Lebanon is a major financial hub for the Middle East and its banks, like those in Switzerland, have a reputation for secrecy.
The indictment seeks the forfeiture of at least $850 million, the amount that Joumaa allegedly obtained over the course of the conspiracy, according to the grand jury.
Peter Carr, a spokesman for MacBride's office, said Tuesday that Joumaa is at large. Law enforcement officials believe he is Lebanon; it is unclear whether U.S.¬officials would be able to obtain his extradition. It is the second time in recent months that federal prosecutors in Alexandria have announced charges against major international drug trafficking rings.
In July, authorities announced they had taken down a major drug ring that was smuggling drugs from Ghana through Dulles International Airport near Washington. Most of those charged in that ring, including the ringleader, were eventually extradited to the U.S. and are facing trial.

Egypt: Now it is an old man who is crying!
By Tariq Alhomayed
Asharq Al-Awsat,
My God, what an unfortunate paradox! Months ago it was Egyptian youth Wael Ghonim who was crying about Egypt’s elders, particularly former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak. The Egyptian street cried out [against Mubarak], whilst the rest of the Arab world was brought to tears. However today, just a few months later, it is an old man who is crying, not a youth, namely [Egyptian Prime Minister] Kamal el-Ganzouri, and he is crying about the situation in Egypt, or shall we say the country’s youth!
This is a strange paradox, and a painful one; however this is something that reveals much. The Egyptian youth [Wael Ghonim] cried out at the burning agony of pain and humiliation [under the Mubarak regime], and his unwavering faith in drams that were perhaps unrealistic, particularly as countries are not built on tears. However the old man, the head of the current Egyptian government, cried out at the agony of Egypt’s current reality, and the threats it is facing, particularly as he is aware that Egypt cannot be built upon a million enthusiastic youth who are being weakened by the opportunistic Muslim Brotherhood. Rather, Egypt can only be rebuilt by serious and hard work, and most importantly rational demands and unity, particularly with regards to the revolutionary youth.
Egypt’s economic reality is verging on collapse, and its political reality is chaotic to say the least, whilst the most dangerous aspect is that everybody is seeking to exploit everybody else. What further ignites the situation – and makes it even more dangerous – is that nothing good can emerge from the intentions of the Muslim Brotherhood and the Salafist. As for the youth’s reality; their disintegration and fragmentation, only further complicates the situation. There is another fear, and that is in the performance of the Egyptian Supreme Council of the Armed Forces [SCAF], and particularly its political performance, which is characterized by hesitancy and the taking of decisions, only for them to go back on this. What is even more dangerous is that SCAF has begun to act – in the media – as if it were the Muslim Brotherhood, possessing a huge number of spokesmen, as well as those to explain the words of the spokesmen, and even those to explain the explanation of the words of the spokesmen! This is a state of utter confusion that benefits nobody; indeed it only increased the lack of confidence [in SCAF].
If the tears of the Egyptian youth, Wael Ghonim, inflamed the feelings and emotions of people, the tears of the old man, Kamal el-Ganzouri, must serve as a source of worry and concern for all the rational and wise people everywhere! The Egyptian people being preoccupied with every little detail of the situation in Egypt is nothing more than a waste of time, and an organized campaign to distract attention, in the same manner that the Muslim Brotherhood distracted the Egyptian youth over the past few months, disrupting their political activity, until the Egyptian youth emerged from the elections with disappointing results. Therefore, the best thing that Egypt’s youth can do today, as well as the country’s political forces, is to concentrate on what we have repeated time and again, namely the drafting of the Egyptian constitution; ensuring that its text is clear and unambiguous regarding the civil nature of the Egyptian state, does not include a religious approach, and also guaranteeing the peaceful transfer of power. The Nasserite disease, for example, greatly harmed Egypt and the region for nearly 5 decades, so what will the case be with regards to the “Muslim Brotherhood” disease?
The Egyptian youth, and the country’s political force, must also focus on ensuring that there are genuine checks and balances in place to prevent the next president becoming a new “pharaoh”, as well as preventing parliament from being transformed into a scene for extremism and immoderation. This must be a constitution that takes into account Egypt’s minorities, freedoms, rights, and justice, and which brings Egypt into the modern developed world, rather than a constitution that resembles the Khomeinist constitution in Iran.
The Egyptian youth cried yesterday, whilst today we saw a old man crying, and I fear – God forbid – that all Egyptians will be crying tomorrow due to the direction that the country is heading in, particularly with regards to the presence of the Muslim Brotherhood and Salafists, as well as the chaos amongst Egypt’s dreaming youth. This is because a country cannot be built upon dreams, rather this requires hard work and a realistic vision, and this is something that must prevail in Egypt today!

Ross, White House's former top Iran policy official : Nuclear Iran dramatically raises risk of nuclear war

J. Post/12/14/2011 01:17
White House's former top Iran policy official says Obama committed to preventing Tehran from acquiring nukes: "The administration prides itself on a certain reality that it does what it says."
WASHINGTON -- The greatest danger posed by a nuclear Iran would be the increased likelihood of a Middle East nuclear war, Dennis Ross said on Tuesday.
"If Iran has nuclear weapons, the potential for nuclear war in the Middle East goes up dramatically," Ross, who just retired as the White House's top Iran policy official, said during his first post-Obama administration address at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.
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The danger, Ross said, lies in the complete lack of communication between Israel and Iran, as opposed to open lines between earlier nuclear antagonists, like the United States and the Soviet Union.
"You are not going to have a stable situation where anyone can feel that they are going to wait," he said. "If there is the slightest indication that Iran is changing its readiness, can Israel wait? ... The potential for miscalculation would be enormous."
Ross said President Obama was committed to preventing Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon.
"The administration prides itself on a certain reality that it does what it says," he said, referring to Obama's making good on his promise to capture or kill Osama bin Laden.
Regarding Iran, Ross said, when Obama "says all options remain on the table, it doesn't mean that force is his first choice, but it means that that's an option that he intends to exercise."
On Israeli-Palestinian peace, Ross said the psychological gap between the sides remains wide, although substantively they are close.
He said that absent talks, Israel should preserve a "political horizon" that "validates" Palestinians that favor nonviolence, such as the current Palestinian Authority leadership. He suggested allowing the Palestinian police to expand their presence in parts of the West Bank and increasing economic access for Palestinians to all of the West Bank.
Ross has returned to work at the Washington Institute, an influential Washington think tank where he served as a top scholar from 2001 to 2009.

Syrian Alawite figure speaks out against violence

By REUTERS
12/14/2011 02:09
Anti-Assad activist warns Alawites being targeted in Homs because they belong to the same sect as Syrian president.
AMMAN - A Syrian Alawite centrist political figure said on Tuesday that four of his relatives were shot or kidnapped in sectarian violence threatening to undermine a nine-month pro-democracy uprising.
In a rare named testimony about sectarian killings that have racked the central city of Homs in the last few weeks, Mohammad Saleh told Reuters that the four were targeted because they were Alawites, the same sect as President Bashar Assad.
"The violence by the regime has provoked counter violence. But a crime is a crime and it has to be condemned," said Saleh, a former political prisoner, by phone from Homs, a city of one million, 140 kms (88 miles) north of Damascus
"I went to jail for a civilized Syria, not to replicate the values of the regime," said Saleh, who spent 12 years in jail for his opposition to Assad's father, the late president Hafez Assad, from whom Bashar inherited power in 2000.
Saleh said armed Sunni men killed Issa Abboud, a 60-year old relative of his while he was loading a van with his belongings to escape with relatives from the Madina al-Shababiya district of the city.
A youth helping them was hit in the stomach and is in hospital. A third relative present was abducted.
"They are related to me through my wife. The driver of the truck was also killed. My nephew, Shadi Tammour, was separately kidnapped in Homs today," said Salem.
"I was among a group (of notables) from different sects who went to collect the bodies but the armed men did not let us take them. The bodies were picked up only after armored security vehicles went into the area," he added.
Fearing sectarian killings, thousands of Sunni families have escaped to other cities or to Jordan and Lebanon, according to residents, while thousands of Alawites have fled to ancestral mountain homes in villages to the west.
In the last few weeks reports have increased of kidnappings of groups of Sunnis and Alawites in the city, including women, although Alawite and Sunni figures have been meeting to stop the abductions.
Saleh, 52, helped draft a declaration last month by Burhan Ghalioun, president of the main opposition Syrian National Council, which called for calming of sectarian tensions between Alawites and Sunnis in Homs, but he said the whole opposition should take a firm stance against sectarian killings.
"Those who do not condemn the crimes may just as well be partners in the crimes," Saleh said.
The declaration said kidnappings, assassinations and score-settling "pose a dangerous threat to the gains of the revolution and offer a big service to the regime".
Armed resistance emerged in Homs, along with street protests, in the last two months, after Assad deployed troops and tanks in the city in April to crush large demonstrations against his rule.
The mostly Sunni Muslim city has large Alawite neighborhoods, whose residents were encouraged to move to Homs by offers of jobs in the state sector and its security network.
An offshoot of Shi'ite Islam, members of the Alawite sect rose to power in Syria five decades ago after controlling vital squadrons and intelligence divisions in the military.
Allying with a Sunni merchant class in Damascus and Aleppo, the Alawite ruling elite have since expanded their control on the state, key sectors of the economy, the military and the security apparatus now cracking down on a popular protest movement demanding an end to 41 years of Assad family rule.
The United Nations says the crackdown has killed 5,000 people. The authorities, who blame "armed terrorist gangs" for the violence, say 1,100 army and police have been killed.
"I think the repression has killed far more than 5,000," said Saleh. He said it may be too late for a peaceful solution unless a stalled Arab League plan that calls for Assad to pull the military from cities and negotiate with his opponents is agreed. "I wanted the regime to go a long time ago, but dreaming is something and reality is something else," Saleh said. "The most important thing now is to stop the blood."
Tragic …

Hazem Saghiyeh, Now Lebanon
December 12, 2011
There is something tragic to the Change and Reform bloc and its leader, Michel Aoun. Its current situation is like pouring water through a sieve. Almost all it is getting are a few rhetorical gratification prizes when Hezbollah’s secretary general pays swift congratulations along with a quick pat on the shoulder every now and then before returning to more important business.
The dilemma of the bloc and its leader, which leads to other [related] dilemmas, is that our region has changed and is changing still. It is becoming increasingly serious whereas they are still fighting small, village-like battles.
The change resulting from Arab uprisings in general, and the Syrian uprising in particular, have rendered Aounist concerns boring and, at best, out of context.
Hezbollah, who is playing the part of the older brother, is carrying the banner of a serious opposition in Lebanon to the uprisings based on a broad regional perspective, leaving to its younger brother tasks raking lower than those entrusted to grade-five rejectionists!
When the younger brother sometimes pushes his local concerns to the brink of exaggeration, the older brother takes action to put an end to the tantrum by giving the former a piece of candy so that he can focus on the border or beyond.
This shows that Aoun and his bloc have never – not even once – had a strategy regarding Syria, hence the region. They went through two successive stages. The first was one of total animosity towards the Syrian regime, leading to the ill-fated war [launched by Aoun on Syria in the late 1980s] and to dealing with “the devils” against Damascus. In contrast, the second stage was one of total assimilation with and adherence to the regime without any reservations or second thoughts.
As per its village-like nature in both cases, absolutism does not allow for picking up the intricateness of stances. Those adopting it are thus always swimming against the tide.
As they are not used to thinking on the regional scale, they are totally incapable of making the difference between primary and secondary issues or of realizing that something has changed in political life.
Against a backdrop of this propensity to self-marginalization, all that is left to mention is the lack of sensitivity to the human pain crying out in Syria
This article is a translation of the original, which was posted on the NOW Arabic site on Monday December 12, 2011