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.
US House-Senate panel approves Iran sanctions
'Barak's assessment on Iran was correct'
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