LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
December 16/2011
Bible Quotation for today/The New Life in Christ
Ephesians 04/17-32: "In the Lord's name, then, I warn you: do not
continue to live like the heathen, whose thoughts are worthless and whose minds
are in the dark. They have no part in the life that God gives, for they are
completely ignorant and stubborn. They have lost all feeling of shame; they give
themselves over to vice and do all sorts of indecent things without restraint.
That was not what you learned about Christ! You certainly heard about him, and
as his followers you were taught the truth that is in Jesus. So get rid of your
old self, which made you live as you used to—the old self that was being
destroyed by its deceitful desires. Your hearts and minds must be made
completely new, and you must put on the new self, which is created in God's
likeness and reveals itself in the true life that is upright and holy. No more
lying, then! Each of you must tell the truth to the other believer, because we
are all members together in the body of Christ. If you become angry, do not let
your anger lead you into sin, and do not stay angry all day. Don't give the
Devil a chance. If you used to rob, you must stop robbing and start working, in
order to earn an honest living for yourself and to be able to help the poor. Do
not use harmful words, but only helpful words, the kind that build up and
provide what is needed, so that what you say will do good to those who hear you.
And do not make God's Holy Spirit sad; for the Spirit is God's mark of ownership
on you, a guarantee that the Day will come when God will set you free. Get rid
of all bitterness, passion, and anger. No more shouting or insults, no more
hateful feelings of any sort. Instead, be kind and tender-hearted to one
another, and forgive one another, as God has forgiven you through Christ
Latest analysis, editorials, studies, reports, letters & Releases from
miscellaneous sources
What if the Syrians had still been here?/By Michael
Young/December 15, 2011
What Turkish threat?/By: Tariq
Alhomayed/ December15/11
Do we have a say on the matter?/Now
Lebanon/December 15/11
Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources for
December 15/11
Iran
reports all its nuclear installations now underground
U.S. officialy ends Iraq war with low key flag ceremony in
Baghdad
After 9 years, 4,500 dead, U.S. troops prepare for final Iraq exit
Syrian rebels kill dozens of Assad's forces in fresh clashes
France Renews Call for Assad to Go over 'Crimes'
Canada to evacuate nationals from Syria
Syrian dissidents create 'National Alliance' against regime
Activists: Syria Deserters Kill at Least 27 Troops in
Daraa
HRW: Defected soldiers identify commanders behind Syria
attacks
U.S. House of Representatives endorses tough sanctions on Iran
Gingrich defends assertion that Palestinians are an
‘invented’ people
Clinton: Gingrich's comments on Palestinians 'unhelpful'
Collapse of CIA operations benefits Iran
More than 100 countries recognise Palestine as a
state
Putin 'Pleased' by Protests, Orders Anti-fraud Cams in
Polling Stations
U.N. to Complete UNIFIL Strategy Review in January or
February
France commends
Bellemare’s work
STL Victims Participation Unit Holds Training Seminar for Counsel
March 14 Rejects Moussawi’s Efforts to ‘Terrorize’ MPs
Al-Rahi: We Look Forward to Birth of Real Arab Spring
Built on Democracy
Paris: Syria Must Respect Lebanon Sovereignty, Territorial
Integrity
Geagea Urges Suleiman, Miqati’s Intervention to Halt
Hizullah’s 'Attack' on Judiciary
Syria-Lebanon border shootings wound 8 Syrians, 2
Lebanese: sources
Hezbollah slams March 14 accusation over UNIFIL
attack
Tripartite meeting
held in south over recent incidents
NYT: Hezbollah used LEbanese Canadian Bank to launder money
Kataeb MP accepts Hezbollah’s apology
Lebanese Banks donate
STL dues to relief committee
Lebanese
Teachers threaten to
step up strike action
What did my Lebanese Poem say?
Elias Bejjani/Many Face Book friends who were unable to read my Lebanese poem (Zagal) through
which I expressed my thoughts on Hezbollah's MP, Nawaf Al mewsawi's vice conduct
yesterday at the Lebanese Parliament. (He told MP, Sami Gemayel that his boot
has more honour than he has because of his treason)
The translation of the poem
Their (Hezbollah) missiles are obsolete boots and a
joke
rotten they are, stinging with foul smell of stupidity
Their evil truth has been unveiled and exposed
You, Hezbollah, Gather your evil belongings and depart
there will be no room in Lebanon for an Iranian Mullah's republic
Al-Rahi: We Look Forward to Birth of Real Arab Spring Built on Democracy
Naharnet /Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi hoped on Thursday that the people
of the Middle East, “who are currently enduring wars and conflict”, would soon
witness peace and stability. He said during his Christmas and New Year address:
“We look forward with you to the birth of the real and stable Arab Spring, which
is based on democracy and the diversity of its religions and cultures.”
“We hope that the New Year would be one of peace and goodness,” he added. The
patriarch also called the Lebanese to unite in constructing a state that is
based on the diversity of their country’s sects, cultures, and political
choices. “This is how Christians and Muslims wanted Lebanon when they devised
the National Charter,” noted al-Rahi. “So let us renew the charter with a new
Social Contract where we can determine the fate of peoples who have agreed to
live together,” he remarked. The patriarch had voiced in October his support for
“democratic reforms” in the Arab countries, but stressed that change should not
happen through “violence.” He had hoped that the so-called Arab Spring sweeping
the region will be maintained through “dialogue, not conflict and civil wars.”
He also warned against “all foreign meddling” in the ongoing popular uprisings.
“It won’t be an Arab Spring should violence and war drag on, as they reap
numerous innocent victims and minorities would usually pay the price,” he warned
from New York a few days before meeting U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon. “It won’t be an
Arab Spring should anyone of the children of this nation die; it won’t be an
Arab Spring should we end up with civil, religious or sectarian wars,” he said.
“We are looking forward to an Arab Spring during which Muslims and Christians
would live together, as we belong to one nation, one fate, one culture, and one
civilization that we have built together year after year,” al-Rahi added. The
patriarch stressed that “it will be an Arab Spring should the Arab peoples
achieve their demands and right to a decent living and should all reforms be
implemented,” hoping the new regimes will be built on the principles of justice,
public freedoms, and democracy.
Paris: Syria Must Respect Lebanon Sovereignty, Territorial
Integrity
Naharnet /France on Thursday called on Syria to “respect Lebanon’s sovereignty
and territorial integrity”, one day after a Syrian patrol infiltrated the
Lebanese town of Arsal.
“If confirmed, this incident would once again highlight the threat the Syrian
regime’s oppressive policy poses to the stability of the region,” French foreign
ministry spokesman Bernard Valero told reporters.
“Syrian authorities must respect Lebanon’s sovereignty and territorial
integrity,” Valero added. On Wednesday, two Lebanese men were wounded in a
cross-border raid in the Arsal area, which has witnessed deadly gunfire in
recent months, a local official said. "Syrian troops entered Lebanese territory
today and opened fire on the village of Khirbat Daoud in Arsal," said Bakr
Hujairi of the Arsal municipality. At least three people have been killed since
October when Syrian troops staging incursions into Lebanon opened fire on border
villages. The Lebanese opposition, Washington and the United Nations have
condemned the incursions. Lebanon and Syria share a 330-kilometer border but
have yet to agree on official demarcation.
Syria has also planted landmines along its border with Lebanon in a bid to
prevent weapons smuggling and dissidents from fleeing a fierce crackdown by the
regime in Damascus against a near 10-month revolt. There have been growing fears
in Lebanon that the bloodshed in Syria could spill over the border. The Lebanese
opposition and France have also accused the regime of Syrian President Bashar
al-Assad of involvement in a bombing that wounded five French U.N. peacekeepers
in southern Lebanon last week. Damascus has denied the charge.
“As the Syrian authorities press on with their bloody repression of the Syrian
people who are courageously demonstrating to obtain the recognition of their
right to freedom and dignity, we call on the Lebanese authorities to do
everything possible to facilitate the hosting and treatment of wounded Syrians
and to respect the rights of refugees seeking to enter the (Lebanese)
territory,” Valero said.
Source Agence France Presse
Geagea Urges Suleiman, Miqati’s Intervention to Halt Hizullah’s 'Attack' on
Judiciary
Naharnet /Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea criticized on Thursday Hizbullah
and the Free Patriotic Movement’s agreement on nominating Judge Tannous Meshleb
as their candidate for the presidency of the Higher Judicial Council, deeming it
an attempt to politicize the judiciary. He told the Central News Agency: “This
is a dangerous and unprecedented development that is part of Hizbullah’s ongoing
attempt to take over the state.” He therefore called on the concerned presidents
and ministers to counterattack the party’s “lightening war” against the
judiciary. He explained that Hizbullah and the FPM disregarded all
constitutional mechanisms when they made this over Meshleb. “It is unfortunate
that the party is taking over the state instead of the state incorporating the
party within its ranks,” Geagea noted.
“We are shocked that Hizbullah is actually being given the opportunity to take
over the judiciary,” he added. Never in Lebanon’s history has a minister
nominated a single candidate to a position in state, he continued. The norm has
always been the nomination of three candidates, said the LF leader. Furthermore
he stated: “With all respect to Meshleb, there are several judges who are more
qualified to the position than him.” “We therefore once again urge President
Michel Suleiman, Prime Minister Najib Miqati, and the ministers who are
concerned with the construction of the state to take the necessary stand to
thwart Hizbullah’s attack,” Geagea stressed. On Friday’s Maronite meeting at
Bkirki, he said: “We are very close to reaching consensus over a new
parliamentary electoral law that would pave the way to a wider and more
comprehensive agreement” among all political powers. “The meetings initially
started off as formalities and now they have reached the stage where the
gatherers can reach practical results,” he noted. “Progress has been made over
the proposed electoral law … and I am not pessimistic over the possibility of a
unified Christian position being reached,” Geagea stated. The Bkirki meeting
will also address the various political and sectarian developments, as well as
the Christian position over how to fortify Lebanon against dangers, he added.
Reaching an understanding over the electoral law may lead to an agreement over
other pending issues among the Christians, he stressed.
Banks pay $32M STL dues to relief committee
December 15, 2011/ / By Rima S. Aboulmona/ The Daily Star
BEIRUT: The Association of Banks in Lebanon said Thursday it donated $32 million
to the Higher Relief Committee to cover the HCR’s recent payment for Lebanon’s
share toward the Special Tribunal for Lebanon. The ABL board “unanimously
decided to cover the amount paid by the Higher Relief Committee which is over
$32 million to pay Lebanon’s dues toward the international tribunal," the
Association said following its monthly meeting held Thursday. It said the
donation was designed to “protect depositors and strengthen internal political
stability.” On Nov.30, Mikati said Lebanon paid its share of the STL. Political
sources had said the money came from the Prime Minister's office annual budget
and then transferred to the HCR which in turn paid the court. "Lebanon has paid
its contribution to the STL for 2011. The mechanism with which Lebanon fulfilled
its international obligation is an internal Lebanese matter," an STL
spokesperson told The Daily Star. A source from ABL told The Daily Star said
this is not the first time the association provided financial aid to the Higher
Relief Committee. “We granted financial assistance to the committee in the
aftermath of the 2006 war on Lebanon to help the government in the
reconstruction efforts,” the source said. He added that ABL supports all United
Nations Security Council resolution and for this reason the money was granted by
the committee.
“We contemplated this action about two weeks ago and this was not at the spare
of the moment. ABL’s board of directors made the contributions from its own
pocket,” the source said.
Privately, bankers say that Prime Minister Najib Mikati’s gesture to pay the $32
million to STL has spared Lebanon international sanctions that could have
affected the banking sector.
Kataeb MP accepts Hezbollah’s apology
December 15, 2011/ The Daily Star
BEIRUT: Kataeb Party MP Sami Gemayel accepted Thursday an apology by Hezbollah
MP Nawwaf Musawi for having insulted the young lawmaker a day earlier in
Parliament. Musawi , in a statement issued by Hezbollah’s media office, said
that “in line with the values and ethics of my [Hezbollah] party, I apologize to
Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and fellow lawmakers for the improper word that I
used yesterday.” A quarrel broke out in Parliament Wednesday between Musawi and
Gemayel as the Kataeb party lawmaker was commenting on the Cabinet’s answer to
his question about “illegal” excavation and installation work in the Metn town
of Tarshish, which local officials and residents say was being carried out by
Hezbollah to install its private telecommunications network. At one stage the
Tyre lawmaker insulted Gemayel, saying : “My shoe is more respectful than you!”
Following the release of the apology by the Hezbollah MP, Gemayel said he hoped
“this apology would be the beginning of Hezbollah’s dropping of its arrogance.”
“We dedicate this apology to all the Lebanese people and every liberal in
Lebanon, because the insult was not directed at us but to the Lebanese people
whom we represent,” Gemayel told a news conference in Parliament. In Parliament
Wednesday, Gemayel accused the party of using its telecommunications network,
which Hezbollah claims is essential in its defense of the country against
Israel, in order to monitor people who opposed the resistance group in the
country. “What is happening in Lebanon is a violation of the security of the
Lebanese by a group which was not [officially] tasked with doing so,” Gemayel
said. Responding to Gemayel, Musawi said the resistance is legitimized by
Cabinet, adding that the resistance would take suitable measures to protect
Lebanon and its telecommunications network. “But we want protection against the
resistance which is present in the streets and everywhere,” Gemayel said, after
which Musawi accused Gemayel of being “a [foreign] agent.”
“We have an honorable history,” countered Gemayel, while his colleague in the
Kataeb bloc, Fadi Habr, accused Musawi of being an “Iranian agent.” Gemayel
asked Hezbollah to respect the Lebanese and “respect itself,” prompting Musawi
to say: “My shoe is more respectful than you!”
France Renews Call for Assad to Go over 'Crimes'
Naharnet/ French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe issued a new call for Syrian
President Bashar Assad to quit on Thursday, accusing his regime of committing
crimes against humanity on a daily basis.
"More than 5,000 killed, three million Syrians are affected by bloody
repression, unspeakable abuse and daily crimes against humanity," Juppe told
university students during a visit to Libya's capital.
"How many more victims does the world still need before it understands that
Bashar Assad must go? "For nine months, the Syrian people shouted with courage
for freedom.
"For nine months, Bashar Assad has remained deaf to these legitimate demands,
has refused reforms and has detained peaceful demonstrators for torture,
killings and barbarism in response," Juppe said.His remarks came shortly after
Human Rights Watch said in a report that Syrian military commanders ordered
troops to indiscriminately shoot at unarmed protests and squash demonstrations
"by all means necessary." "Faced with this wild and murderous rampage, the
international community must not remain silent," he added. Army defectors killed
at least 27 soldiers and security service agents south of Damascus on Thursday,
a rights group said, in the third straight day of regime losses as Syria's
uprising entered its 10th month.
Source Agence France Presse
Iran reports all its nuclear installations now underground
DEBKAfile Special Report ظDecember 15, 2011
Iran announced on Wednesday, Dec. 14, that it had completed the transfer of its
nuclear facilities underground, including its uranium enrichment centrifuges,
and that the Iranian nuclear program was now safe from US and Israeli attack.
The Iranian Revolutionary Guards Passive Defense Division, Gholamreza Jalali,
said: "Our vulnerability in the nuclear area has reached the minimum level." And
if circumstances demand it, he said, uranium enrichment facilities would be
placed in more secure locations.
Israeli Defense Minister Barak has repeatedly warned that once it was buried in
underground bunkers, Iran's nuclear infrastructure could no longer be attacked;
nor would it be possible to find out what was happening there. His meaning was
that that no one would know when Iran started building nuclear bombs in deep
underground chambers.
Then, Monday, Dec. 12, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Strategic Affairs
Moshe Ya'alon said, "Iran will acquire military nuclear capability within
months."
debkafile's intelligence sources report that in the second part of his comment,
the Iranian Guards official was referring to the first-generation P1 and P2
centrifuges which remain at the regular Natanz. It is the newer and faster IR2
and IR4 machines which are being moved to the new underground nuclear city at
Fordo near Qom. When these advanced models have all been transferred to Fordo,
Iran can start enriching the 20-percent grade uranium it has accumulated to 60
percent, a step before weapons grade.
This accumulated stock is sufficient for four or five nuclear bombs. Nothing but
a decision by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei stands between this and the
final enrichment leap to the military level and the assembly of the first bomb.
Western and Israeli intelligence experts have assumed until now that Iran was
held back by serious problems with the new centrifuges which arose from a
shortage of the specialized aluminum alloys, tungsten-copper plates, tungsten
metal powder and maraging steel for their blades, the key to smooth enrichment
up to weapons-grade.
In recent weeks, US and Israeli officials have argued that Iran's inability to
manufacture these rare metals themselves or obtain them on international markets
was delaying Tehran's progress. This argument supported their claim that there
was still time to stop the nuclear program before it produced a weapon.
But debkafile's intelligence sources now report exclusively that Iran has solved
this problem. Since early November, North Korea has been sending the Islamic
Republic consignments of the missing metals following a deal brokered by Chinese
middlemen who also helped arrange their shipment. Tehran is already in receipt
of the hundreds of tons of rare metals needed to keep its high-tech centrifuges
spinning uninterrupted. Western intelligence officials conclude that Iran
deliberately exaggerated the explosion Sunday, Dec. 11 at a steel plant in the
central Iranian town of Yazd intending to imply that the Americans or Israelis
had conducted another covert attack on the production of special metals for
Iran's nuclear industry.
Iran hoped to mislead the West into believing that Iran was still stalled by
lack of a regular supply of those metals, when in fact the shortage has been
overcome and advanced uranium enrichment was racing ahead deep underground.
France commends Bellemare’s work
December 15, 2011 /France on Thursday voiced its support for the Special
Tribunal for Lebanon and commended the work of STL Prosecutor Daniel Bellemare,
the Kuwaiti News Agency (KUNA) reported. Bellemare on Wednesday informed UN
Secretary General Ban Ki-moon that he will not seek reappointment to his post in
February 2012. The tribunal’s website added that Bellemare made the decision to
leave his post at the end of its term due to health reasons. Paris said in a
statement that the STL’s mission is “important” to reveal the truth behind the
2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. The UN-backed tribunal
has indicted four Hezbollah operatives in connection to Rafik Hariri’s murder,
but they have not surrendered to the STL.-NOW Lebanon
STL Victims Participation Unit Holds Training Seminar for Counsel
Naharnet /The Victims’ Participation Unit of the Registry of the Special
Tribunal for Lebanon has held a two and a half day training seminar for counsel
who may represent victims participating in proceedings before the Tribunal, the
STL said Thursday in a statement. “The seminar was attended by 30 people,
including 11 Lebanese counsel and 11 international counsel who are on the
Tribunal's List of Victims' Counsel or who represent applicants for victims’
participation,” the court noted. Counsel representing victims before the
International Criminal Court and their assisting staff also took part in the
training.
The seminar was organized “in cooperation with the International Criminal Court,
in particular its Office of Public Counsel for Victims, which has particular
expertise in the field of victims' legal representation,” the court added.
During presentations, discussions and practical exercises, Lebanese and
international counsel had an opportunity to share their knowledge and expertise
and to meet representatives of the Tribunal, the STL said. Pre-Trial Judge
Daniel Fransen will consider applications from victims for participation before
the Tribunal “in the coming months,” the U.N.-backed court announced. “When he
has made a decision, the victims who are accepted to participate may be
represented by counsel in proceedings before the Tribunal,” it noted.
March 14 Rejects Moussawi’s Efforts to ‘Terrorize’ MPs
Naharnet /High-ranking March 14 sources said Thursday that the language used by
Hizbullah MP Nawwaf Moussawi in his dispute with Phalange lawmaker Sami Gemayel
was rejected and was a reaction approved by his party. “What happened during the
session was an attempt to terrorize” MPs, but the Hizbullah lawmaker’s efforts
failed after Gemayel and several other opposition members snapped back at him,
the sources said. They were referring to a verbal clash between Moussawi and
Gemayel during a parliamentary Question and Session held on Wednesday. The
issues stirred by the Phalange party member during the session, including the
attempts of Hizbullah to install a telecom network in Tarshish and the alleged
monitoring of movements in the Metn area, have brought the issue back to the
forefront of political life, the sources told An Nahar. They said that the March
14-led opposition is now determined to take its campaign against Hizbullah’s
alleged violations to higher levels. Moussawi told Gemayel during the session
that his “shoe is more honorable” than him after the Phalange lawmaker said: “We
want protection against the resistance which is present in the streets and
everywhere.” The Hizbullah MP said Monday that CIA officers were meeting
Lebanese agents in restaurants and nightclubs in the Metn towns of Dbayeh and
Jounieh.
Hizbullah Warns March 14 Against Dangerous Consequences of
its Accusations
Naharnet /Hizbullah snapped back at March 14 opposition officials on Thursday,
saying they were making “dangerous” accusations over the roadside bombing that
targeted French U.N. peacekeepers last week. “The dangerous and unacceptable
statements” made by some March 14 officials are a sign that they “are part of
the scheme targeting the resistance,” Hizbullah said in a statement. “What this
team is doing is not new,” it said. “We have gotten used to the political
accusations made by it without any evidence.” The statement said that the
opposition officials are “directly accusing” Hizbullah of involvement in the
bombing that left five French troops injured near the southern coastal city of
Tyre “without taking into consideration the consequences” of their remarks.
“Hizbullah condemns these political accusations and warns against the dangers of
this behavior and its consequences on the country and its citizens,” it added.
U.N. to Complete UNIFIL Strategy Review in January or February
Naharnet /A U.N. "strategy" review of its peacekeeping force in Lebanon, which
has been hit by several attacks in recent months, is to be completed in coming
weeks, a U.N. spokesman said Thursday.
The spokesman denied however that it was linked to the attacks -- the latest of
which saw five French peacekeepers wounded and France accusing Syria of
involvement.
UNIFIL will get a new Italian commander from January however, while some
diplomats have said France is reviewing its troop contribution to the force,
which is known as UNIFIL.
"There is a strategic review of UNIFIL underway right now. This has been in
place for quite some time and is not linked to the recent attack targeting
peacekeepers," U.N. peacekeeping spokesman Kieran Dwyer told Agence France
Presse. Julian Harston, a veteran British diplomat and U.N. peacekeeping expert
is carrying out the review which is focusing on "operational configuration and
strategy of the mission." "He is looking at whether it is structured in the
right way and using its resources in the right way to carry out its mandate,"
Dwyer said.
Harston will complete his work in January or February and the U.N. Security
Council will then decide what changes to make to the force which has taken on
renewed importance since UNIFIL was boosted after the 2006 war between Israel
and Hizbullah. It now has about 13,500 troops and civilian staff. After a
roadside bomb wounded five French peacekeepers last week, France accused Syria
of involvement. The Damascus government has denied the claims. French troops
were also the target of a bomb in July which injured six while six Italian
troops were wounded in a bomb attack in May.
Italian ambassador Cesare Ragaglini confirmed to AFP that his country would take
over leadership of UNIFIL from next month. "At the request of the United
Nations, Italy is available to take over the command of UNIFIL from January," he
said. Brigadier General Paolo Serra will take over from Major General Alberto
Asarta Cuevas of Spain as force commander, U.N. sources said. Serra has
previously served in the international force in Kosovo.
Syria-Lebanon border shootings wound 8 Syrians, 2 Lebanese: sources
December 15, 2011/The Daily Star
By Rakan al-Fakih/The Daily Star. BAALBEK: Two Lebanese shepherds were wounded
on the Lebanese-Syrian border in the eastern Bekaa Wednesday, according to
security and medical sources.A local official in the town of Ersal told The
Daily Star that the two shepherds had been shot by a group of Syrian soldiers
who had crossed the border into Lebanese territory. “Syrian troops entered
Lebanese territory today and opened fire in the [nearby] village of Khirbat
Daoud in Ersal,” said Bakr Hujairi, a member of Ersal’s municipal council.
Hujairi identified those wounded as Khaled and Mohammad Fleeti, adding that they
had been taken to a hospital in Chtaura. They were said to be in stable
condition. Syria has planted land mines along its border with Lebanon and
tightened border security in a bid to prevent weapons smuggling and to stop the
flow of refugees fleeing the unrest. Separately, a man was wounded in Ersal when
a hand grenade was tossed at his residence Wednesday.
Sources in the village said that the target of the attack had been a native of
Hermel who was married to a woman from Ersal, and was suspected of working for
the Syrian regime’s security apparatus.
“The man was suspected of passing on information to the Syrians,” a resident
told The Daily Star. Several hours later eight Syrians, who were believed to
have been wounded by Syrian army troops cracking down on popular unrest, entered
Lebanon for treatment. “Eight Syrians were injured by gunfire in the bordering
Syrian town of Qusayr before fleeing into Lebanon where they were quickly
hospitalized,” said a medical source. “The injured, including a child and a
16-year-old girl, were brought into Ersal and Al-Qaa and the Lebanese Red Cross
took them to hospitals in Akkar,” the source added.
At least three people have been killed in recent months as a result of incidents
of violence along the Lebanese-Syrian border.
What if the Syrians had still been here?
December 15, 2011
By Michael Young/ The Daily Star
The tendency among many Lebanese today is to deride the Independence Intifada of
2005. This is a result of the high expectations unleashed, then dashed by
Lebanon’s factionalism and sectarianism. Yet we should ask, in light of the
revolt in Syria, where would Lebanon have been had the protests six years ago
not pushed the Syrian army and intelligence services out of the country?
The question is not academic. Lebanon 2005 has been denied its due as a
precursor of Arab uprisings this year, even though the popular demands at the
time were very similar to what we are witnessing today. A reason for this is
that the aftermath of the Lebanese intifada against Syria was, to put it kindly,
uncertain. Rather than emerge into a new morning of emancipation, the Lebanese
grew apart, within a year were caught up in a war with Israel, and within three
found themselves on the cusp of civil war.
And yet judging emancipatory moments by their outcomes can sometimes play
surprising tricks, because the unintended consequences are invariably good and
bad. It’s best to evaluate such moments on their own merits, and few acts are
more laudatory than seeking the replacement of an authoritarian leader and the
criminal enterprises with which such individuals surround themselves.
However, that does not mean that we cannot engage in some alternate history, and
conclude that the Lebanese were fortunate to see the back of the Syrians six
years ago. The reason is that, otherwise, Lebanon, far more so than it is today,
would have become a main instrument in the Assad regime’s suppression of its own
people.
Recall what happened in 2003, when the Americans invaded Iraq. Though less
threatened than now, the Syrians engineered a Cabinet reshuffle that brought in
the most ghoulish of their underlings to surround Rafik Hariri, who remained
prime minister. Their calculation was that the potentially dangerous American
military presence to the east required that Syria reinforce itself in Lebanon
and not allow the country’s volatile dynamics to undermine Syrian interests.
Much the same logic went into President Bashar Assad’s decision to extend Emile
Lahoud’s mandate in 2004.
Assad tried to replicate that logic when he ordered the Lebanese to form a
government last June. However, there was a vital difference. Syrian weapons were
no longer in Lebanon to enforce Cabinet unity and decisions. Hezbollah’s
strength notwithstanding, the party is incapable of imposing unanimity on its
refractory countrymen, and indeed has turned into a lighting rod for its
political foes.
Had Syria’s army and intelligence services still been in Lebanon, several things
would likely have happened. Syrian victims of the violence at home would have
been unable to flee across the border into Lebanese territory. Syrian opposition
figures would have been hunted down in Beirut in a more efficient way than they
presently are. Lebanon’s political and economic systems would have been on a
tighter Syrian rope, precipitating a potentially devastating standoff with the
international community, possibly harming the banking sector. And Syrian troops
and agents would have had to expand their repression to those Lebanese
sympathizing with the Syrian protesters, particularly in northern Lebanon, where
the Sunni community staunchly backs its brethren in places such as Homs and Hama.
Lebanon would have become a Syrian battering ram in its dealings with the Arabs
and the West. Domestic animosities would have been exacerbated, with one group
of Lebanese employed by Syria to intimidate the other. As is their way, the
Assads would have ensured that if they were destroyed, Lebanon would be as well.
While the government of Najib Mikati and President Michel Sleiman have closely
toed the Syrian line in recent months, they have done so with a wary eye on the
Lebanese opposition. The prime minister has been, at best, a hesitant Syrian
partner, as he knows well that his political base in Tripoli loathes the Assad
leadership. Even Hezbollah has been careful not to overstep the boundaries,
because the party appears to be preparing alternative options if the Syrian
regime falls. Once Assad goes, Hezbollah has no interest in being dragged into
sectarian strife with a reinvigorated Lebanese Sunni community.
Such contradictions, oddly enough, have shielded Lebanon from the Syrian crisis.
With a foot in each camp, the Lebanese have until now sailed through the Syrian
maelstrom relatively unscathed. There are limits to what Syria can do to
destabilize Lebanon by firing warning shots at the international community and
Israel. Assad can order his collaborators to plant an occasional bomb along the
Tyre road against U.N. patrols, or fire rockets across the border. But at some
stage these actions merely discredit his friends in Beirut, or push Hezbollah
into an unwanted confrontation with Israel.
There are negatives, of course. By most accounts, weapons are being smuggled
from Lebanon into Syria. The vacuum in the north is favoring militant groups,
particularly in the Sunni community. These are serious developments. Ideally,
the state must take advantage of this situation to better assert itself, without
favoritism, in areas where its influence is limited. But that won’t happen soon.
Lebanon dodged a bullet by removing the Syrians when they did. This should not
be the yardstick for approval or disapproval of what happened six years ago, but
it is useful for re-evaluating what occurred. Perhaps Bashar Assad himself might
engage in that exercise. How much more potent would the crushing of his own
citizens have been had he not lost Lebanon in 2005.
**Michael Young is opinion editor of THE DAILY STAR and author of “The Ghosts of
Martyrs Square: An Eyewitness Account of Lebanon’s Life Struggle.” He tweets @BeirutCalling.
HRW: Defected soldiers identify commanders behind Syria
attacks
December 15, 2011 /Soldiers who have defected from the Syrian army identified by
name 74 commanders and officials responsible for attacks on unarmed protesters,
Human Rights Watch said in a report released on Thursday. “The report
names commanders and officials from the Syrian military and intelligence
agencies who reportedly ordered, authorized, or condoned widespread murders,
torment, and unlawful detentions during the 2011 anti-government protests which
erupted in mid-March,” said a statement posted on the HRW website.
HRW has urged the UN Security Council to refer the situation in Syria to the
International Criminal Court (ICC) and impose sanctions against the officials
involved in abuses.
The 88-page report, “‘By All Means Necessary!’: Individual and Command
Responsibility for Crimes against Humanity in Syria,” is based on more than 60
interviews with Syrian defectors from military and intelligence agencies, said
the statement. “Defectors gave us names, ranks, and positions of those who
gave the orders to shoot and kill, and each and every official named in this
report, up to the very highest levels of the Syrian government, should answer
for their crimes against the Syrian people,” said Anna Neistat, associate
director for emergencies at HRW, and one of the authors of the report.
“The Security Council should ensure accountability by referring Syria to the
International Criminal Court.”
“The defectors’ statements leave no doubt that the Syrian security forces
committed widespread and systematic abuses, including killings, arbitrary
detention, and torture, as part of a state policy targeting the civilian
population,” HRW added.
The United Nations estimated that more than 5,000 people have been killed in the
Syrian government's crackdown on dissent, which enters its 10th month on
Thursday.
-NOW Lebanon
What Turkish threat?
By Tariq Alhomayed
Asharq Al-Awsat
It was very strange when Iraqi Prime Minister [Nouri al-Maliki] said in
Washington that he was not worried about [threats to] his country from Iran, but
rather he was concerned about Turkish interference. This is at a time when one
of the Iranian Supreme Leader’s advisors said that the Turkish model of secular
Islam – as he put it – is not suitable for the Arab world, and warned against
the danger it represents.
Two warnings of the Turkish threat, one Iranian and one Iraqi, within the space
of just one week. Of course this is highly significant, particularly as just
last year Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, for example, was promoting the
idea of the “youthful alliance”, where he sought to create an alliance between
himself, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, [Syrian president] Bashar
al-Assad and [Lebanese prime minister] Saad Hariri. Indeed, he tried to convince
them [to join this alliance], alongside [Hezbollah chief] Hassan Nasrallah, who
previously said – against the backdrop of the “Freedom Flotilla” crisis which
was headed to Gaza at the time – that Turkey is more Arab than the Arabs
themselves. At the time, Nasrallah was showering Ankara with tribute and praise.
So how, after all this, has Turkey now become a threat to Iraq and Iran? How
have matters reached the stage whereby Ali Akbar Velayati, an advisor to the
Iranian Supreme Leader, says that the Turkey’s approach to Islam is not suitable
for the Arab world and its “Islamic revival”?
Of course, the reason for this shift against Turkey, and its portrayal as a
threat today by Iran, al-Maliki and Hezbollah, is very simple, and it lies in
Turkey’s stance towards what is happening to the unarmed Syrian people, at a
time when Tehran and its allies in the region are trying to save Bashar al-Assad
from being overthrown, thus protecting Iran’s interests and influence.
Unfortunately, this is sectarianism, and so we find, for example, Khamenei’s
advisor choosing what is appropriate for the region, and what is not appropriate
with regards to systems of governance, and even approaches to Islam! We find al-Maliki
volunteering to say in Washington that he does not fear [threats to] his country
from Iranian influence, but rather from Turkish interference. Here we can also
hear Iraqi officials like Mowaffak al-Rubaie, who we know well – whilst we also
know all about his speeches on al-Maliki, Iran and Qassem Suleimani – suddenly
appearing on Al-Arabiya warning of the Salafist threat in Syria, and calling
upon the Syrian opposition to respond to the Baghdad initiative on the Syrian
revolution!
Thus, the story is not about the Turkish threat or otherwise, but it is rather a
sectarian story that is being exposed day by day. The proponents of such
sectarianism are continuing with a mistake that is now four decades old, namely
transforming Syria into an Iranian province. In doing so, Iran thinks that it
will extend its influence in the region, especially now that Baghdad is under
the control of one of its allies. However, the surprise has come from Syria
itself this time, and at the hands of the Syrian people. Therefore, Iran has
lost its senses today, and is watching its plot to export the Iranian revolution
abroad unravel before its eyes, whilst it is also seeing the map of its
sectarian allies on the verge of being completely ripped up, thanks to the
Syrian revolutions which repeatedly chants “No Iran, no Hezbollah, we want
someone who fears God”.
The beauty of this phase we are experiencing, despite is serious and brutal
nature, is that it is being played out in the open. The year 2011 has exposed a
lot of lies, delusions, and myths!
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Thursday, December 15, 2011 | 19:43 Beirut Subscribe to NOW Lebanon RSS feeds
Do we have a say on the matter?
Now Lebanon
December 15, 2011 mail
The heated exchange of words between Loyalty to the Resistance bloc MP Nawwaf
Moussawi and Kataeb bloc MP Sami Gemayel is, the annals of great parliamentary
rows, nothing much to write home about. One only has to look at the spectacular
clashes in the assemblies of the Far Eastern countries or the former Soviet
states to see how angry lawmakers really settle scores. This was nothing. No
lapels were manhandled, let alone punches thrown.
The spat did highlight, however, the chronic problem that has plagued the
country for over a decade: the ongoing presence of an armed, belligerent and
autonomous Hezbollah that justifies its existence as the so-called national
Resistance, but which in reality, and if one is looking at it regionally, is
nothing more than an adjunct of Iran’s revolutionary guard. Those with a more
parochial take on things might simply refer to the party’s armed wing as nothing
more than a Shia militia.
Those who back the idea of an armed Resistance do so for many reasons. The vast
majority of the Shia champion the moqawama primarily because they see
Hezbollah’s doughty fighters as guarantors of their security, especially in
South Lebanon, where Shia dignity has been restored. Other Lebanese who tolerate
the idea of a non-state army (mostly the Aounists and members of pro-Syrian
fringe parties) are either buying into the decades old notion that the Israeli
bogeyman must be resisted at all costs or have convinced themselves that while
it is not an ideal situation, the state simply cannot fulfill its role as
defender of Lebanese sovereignty.
This is of course nonsense. But to oppose this conventional wisdom is simply too
much hard work, so they follow the proverbial path of least resistance, as it
were.
Hezbollah has skillfully played on all these mind-sets to the extent that even
catastrophic blunders such as the 2006 July War with Israel and the 2008
invasion of West Beirut and the mountains have not fundamentally damaged its
standing. Sure, the badge of martial purity has been tarnished, but there is
nothing that a well-equipped arsenal and the veiled threat that the boot boys
can be deployed on the streets in a matter of minutes can’t fix.
It is clear to all but the most devoted, or the most blinkered, that Hezbollah
feels it can ride roughshod over the country’s laws in the name of the so-called
Resistance, setting up phone networks here and declaring no-go zones there. And
yet, it is selective in what it defends. Did we see Hezbollah deploy its
expertise at Nahr al-Bared in 2007, when Lebanese soldiers were dying by the
dozen, or sent its men to shore up our border during recent incursions by the
Syrian army? Of course not. Who are we kidding? The Lebanese have been conned in
the most cynical way imaginable.
Gemayel, whatever his other perceived shortcomings, understands this clearly.
His objections to Hezbollah expanding its illegal phone network are more
important than the routine sniping of party politics. They are objections
against cancer that threatens to eat into the very fabric that is Lebanon.
Moussawi’s main defense rested on the old argument that the Lebanese government
has legitimized the Resistance. Again, another sound byte designed to convince
us by its apparent weightiness, but which in reality has also been perpetuated
by the knowledge that the Resistance cannot be stopped.
In fact, it appears that the Resistance has no higher authority other than God.
For obvious practical reasons, there needs to be someone or some body on earth
who should be able to “end the contract” on the Resistance should it be deemed
surplus to the nation’s needs or detrimental to the national good. The
government, by its very nature, should be in charge of this particular file, and
surely, any party or bloc campaigning at election time should be able to say, if
we win, we will dismantle the Resistance. It may be the national Resistance, but
we don’t own it or have any say on the matter.
The truth is that Iran and Syria have more of a say on the Resistance than the
Lebanese. This is not an ideal state of affairs, and this why Sami Gemayel went
on the offensive in parliament yesterday. No wonder Moussawi resorted to
bragging about his shoes. It’s all he could really do.