LCCC
ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
ِAugust
10/2011
Bible Quotation for today
Matthew Chapter 5/1-12: "Seeing the
multitudes, he went up onto the mountain. When he had sat down, his disciples
came to him. 2 He opened his mouth and taught them, saying, “Blessed are
the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.(Isaiah 57:15; 66:2)
Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. (Isaiah 61:2;
66:10,13) Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth. (land. Psalm
37:11) Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness,
for they shall be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain
mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Blessed are
the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God. Blessed are
those who have been persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the
Kingdom of Heaven. “Blessed are you when people reproach you, persecute
you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice,
and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven. For that is how
they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Latest
analysis, editorials, studies, reports, letters & Releases
from
miscellaneous
sources
Syria...The Shabiha
regime/By
Tariq Alhomayed/August
09/11
Aline Sara/Now
Lebanon: INTERPOL and the STL ,Talking to INTERPOL’s General Counsel Joël
Sollier/August 09/11
Evil must not triumph/Now Lebanon/ August
09/11
Assad toughs it out
against US-Turkish ultimatum to halt military crackdown/DEBKAfile/August
09/11
World in crisis: Markets dive. Mobs
burn London/DEBKAfile/August 9/11
Latest News Reports From
Miscellaneous Sources for August 09/11
Lebanon Informs STL of its
Failure to Detain Any of the Four Suspects
Lebanon fails to detain
Hezbollah suspects: STL
Maronite patriarch calls on all
Lebanese to hold on to their land/The Daily Star
Report: Hizbullah Gunmen Intercept
ATVers on al-Yammouneh Mountains
81 USA congressmen to visit Israel
Lebanon: Hundreds Rally in Martyrs
Square in Solidarity with Syrian People
Al-Azhar Calls Syria Violence an
'Arab, Islamic Tragedy'
Turkey's Foreign Minister Arrives
in Damascus
Report: Lebanese Truck Seized in
Syria was Smuggling Rifles to Iraq
Italy Says Syrian Reform
Announcements 'Lack Credibility'
Syria’s diplomatic
isolation grows
Arabi Urges Dialogue in Syria, Says
League Can't Take 'Drastic Measures'
Hariri: Latest Arab Positions on
Syria Must Motivate Govt. to Realize Seriousness of the Moment
Syrian Navy Fires on Lebanese
Fishermen
Afghan Official: U.S. Chopper Shot
Down in Taliban Trap
Assad Names New Defense Minister as
Army 'Starts Leaving Hama'
Gold Strikes Record High Above
$1,700
Jumblat: Mubarak Trial Proves
History is Unforgiving, Everyone Must Derive Lessons from it
Qaouq: March 14 Camp Ready to
Weaken Lebanon on Condition it Returns to Power
Miqati: Lebanon’s Steady Position
is Based on Refraining from Meddling in Syria’s Internal Affairs
Arab unrest will not be easy for
Lebanon:
Lebanon's Interior
Minister
Government Tasks Security,
Judicial Authorities with Preventing Arms Smuggling to Syria
Mikati
calls for Lebanese unity in light of Arab Spring
Israel takes measures to
protect gas fields against Hezbollah: report
Markets panic as Obama,
others try to restore confidence
Daily Star:
Lebanon's Arabic press
digest - Aug. 9, 2011
Jumblat Pessimistic over
Developments in Syria
Report: Syria Hasn’t Sent
Arrest Warrants Against 33 Figures in Hariri Probe
Lebanon fails
to detain Hezbollah suspects: STL
August 09, 2011/The Daily Star
BEIRUT: Lebanon has failed to detain four Hezbollah suspects indicted in the
2005 assassination of former statesman Rafik Hariri, the Special Tribunal for
Lebanon said Tuesday.
“The Lebanese authorities reported to the Special Tribunal for Lebanon on the
measures that they have taken to search for, arrest and transfer those accused
in the 14th February 2005 attack,” said a statement released by the court. It
said Lebanese Prosecutor General Saeed Mirza submitted his report to the STL
Tuesday. In the report, Mirza stated that “so far none of the four people who
are accused has been detained,” the statement said. STL President Antonio
Cassese will now “carefully consider” the report and will in due course make a
determination on the next steps, the STL statement added. Lebanon’s obligation
under U.N. Security Council Resolution 1757 is to arrest, detain and transfer
the accused continues.
Report: Hizbullah Gunmen
Intercept ATVers on al-Yammouneh Mountains
Naharnet /Hizbullah gunmen have intercepted a group of Lebanese youths and
expatriates who arrived at the barren mountains of the Bekaa town of al-Yammouneh
on an ATV trip that started in Ouyoun al-Siman and passed through the Cedar
Mountains and Ouyoun Orghosh, Akhbar al-Yawm news agency reported Monday.
“We took the Deir al-Ahmar-al-Yammouneh road … and we were surprised to see
three khaki-clad gunmen in full combat gear standing in the middle of the road,
near a guard post fortified with sand barriers,” one of the voyagers told Akhbar
al-Yawm. “You are in a Hizbullah military zone; go back to where you came from,”
the voyager quoted the Hizbullah members as saying. “On the way back, the
voyagers encountered a truck driver and asked him about another road that can
lead to Ouyoun al-Siman other than the relatively long road they initially took.
They also asked him about what’s going on in the area and he told them that
‘Hizbullah members block this road every now and then’, without elaborating,”
the news agency said.
Syria...The Shabiha regime
08/08/2011
By Tariq Alhomayed/ Asharq Al-Awsat
There have been three positions in Syria within 24 hours that confirm that there
is no state regime in Syria but rather a Shabiha [thug] regime whether in the
media, political or military sector.
An “analyst” affiliated to the Syrian regime, or rather the Shabiha's media as
described by some Syrian members of the opposition, told Al Arabiya television
channel on the evening that the Gulf states condemned the state violence in
Syria in a statement that: “The Gulf states do not have the right to condemn
Syria.” Then he said, threateningly, “the Syrian president could have supported
the Shia of Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Kuwait against the Gulf regimes but it was
Assad's Arabism and patriotism that prevented him from doing so!” This means
that the Shabiha of the Syrian media are saying that some of the Shia of the
Gulf to be bought and sold and this in itself is an insult to the Shia, never
mind that it is a clear threat from the Syrians to the Gulf States! The response
to the media branch of the Syrian Shabiha is very simple; was it not the Syrian
regime that supported Hezbollah and Amal in Lebanon at the expense of the rest
of the Lebanese? Was it not the Syrian regime that threw itself into the arms of
Iran at the expense of Arabism and the Arabs? Is it not the Syrian regime that
has supported Al Qaeda in Iraq since the fall of the Saddam Hussein regime?
Today we must pay attention to the recent threat made by the Iraqi Hezbollah
against a Kuwaiti port, as it seems that sleeper cells have begun to stir in our
region, especially as the threats are now explicit and for all the world to see!
This is what concerns the Shabiha of the media; however politically we have
Syrian Presidential Adviser Bouthaina Shaaban threatening Turkey and threatening
its Foreign Minister if he visits Damascus. It was announced that Turkish
Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu is going to Syria to convey “a decisive
message” from Turkey, however Bouthaina Shaaban responded by saying Syria was
ready to deliver an “even more decisive one.” Worst of all, Shaaban rebuked
Turkey for failing to condemn the “brutal killing and crimes committed by the
armed terrorist groups against the civilians, military and police members until
now.” Imagine that! This is what is being said to Turkey that has taken in
thousands of Syrian refugees to its country who fled to Turkey after the wave of
repression and violence was committed against them by the security of the Syrian
regime and the Shabiha. Is there anything more slanderous than this?
The third position is attributed to a Syrian military official who said not a
single tank has entered Deir Ezzor to date despite that the number of unarmed
citizens killed (at the time of publication) exceeded forty civilians according
to international news agencies, as a result of the military operations carried
out by forces of the Syrian regime in Deir Ezzor!
Therefore we have three models affiliated to the Syrian regime with regards to
the media and the political and military fields, all of which are making threats
implicitly and explicitly and distorting words in order to convey matters in the
way that they see them rather than in the way things are happening on the
ground. After all that how can anyone trust a regime whose affiliates, on all
levels, act as if they are members of the Shabiha who betray unarmed Syrians? It
really is the Shabiha regime.
Assad Names New Defense Minister as Army 'Starts Leaving Hama'
Naharnet/ Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Monday appointed a new defense
minister, state television reported, amid mounting Arab condemnation of nearly
five months of deadly crackdown on dissent. "President Assad has signed a decree
naming General Daoud Rajha as the head of the defense ministry," the television
report said.
The 64-year-old Rajha, who was the army's chief of staff, replaces General Ali
Habib who had been defense minister since 2009. State television said Assad had
decided to remove Habib and replace him with Rajha in line with decisions he
took after meetings residents of protest cities to make changes in top state
positions. But the report also said that Habib "has been ill for some time and
his condition has deteriorated." In April, less than a month after the start of
pro-democracy protests in Syria, Assad ordered the formation of a new government
after former premier Mohammed Naji Otri resigned on March 29. Meanwhile, Syria’s
state-run news agency SANA reported that “army units tasked with restoring
security and stability to the city of Hama began leaving it after completing
their mission of protecting civilians and tracking down the armed terrorist
groups which had been wreaking havoc” in the city.
The agency quoted an official military source as saying that “the army units
confronted the terrorists, showing high precision and professionalism and
arresting a number of them to bring them to justice.” The military source added
that “normal life began to return gradually to the city.”
Hama and the eastern oil hub of Deir Ezzor have been rallying points for
pro-democracy protests since mid-March.
Activists say more than 200 civilians have been killed in the central city of
Hama since the army launched a violent crackdown on July 31.
In 1982, an estimated 20,000 people were killed in Hama when the army put down
an Islamist revolt against the rule of President Bashar al-Assad's late father,
Hafez.
The president replaced the governor of Hama after a record 500,000 protesters
rallied in the opposition bastion on July 1 calling for the fall of the regime.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported Monday that seven people were
killed, including a mother and her two children shot dead as they were fleeing a
military assault on Deir Ezzor.
Later a sniper shot dead an 18-year-old woman in the city, the largest in
eastern Syria, and an elderly woman was killed in the al-Joura district, the
Observatory said, quoting local residents.
It also reported that security forces shot dead three people in the southern
protest hub of Deraa as they took part in the funeral of a man who died on
Sunday.
It identified one of the victims as Maan Awadat, brother of prominent dissident
Haitham Manaa. "He was hit in the head, it was an assassination," said Rami
Abdul Rahman, head of the Syrian Observatory.
Witnesses and activists on Monday reported tanks and troops entering Maaret al-Numan
in Idlib province bordering Turkey and carrying out "a large number of arrests,"
while tanks also deployed outside the town of Saraqeb.
Al-Azhar Calls Syria Violence an 'Arab, Islamic Tragedy'
Naharnet/The top Sunni Muslim authority on Monday called on Syrian authorities
to immediately end" the bloodshed, saying that the crackdown on protesters is a
"tragedy" that has gone too far. "Al-Azhar was patient for a long time and
avoided talking about the situation in Syria because of its sensitive nature ...
but the situation has gone too far and there is no other solution but to put an
end to this Arab and Islamic tragedy," the grand imam of Al-Azhar, Sheikh Ahmed
al-Tayeb, said in a statement.
Al-Azhar "asks Syrian leaders to work immediately to end the bloodshed and to
respond favorably to the legitimate demands of the Syrian masses," said the
statement carried by the official Egyptian news agency MENA. "The vast
repression, the use of the highest levels of violence, arrests and intimidation
represent an unacceptable human tragedy," the statement added.
The criticism from the Cairo-based Al-Azhar, Sunni Islam's top center of
religious learning, came as Arab heavyweight Saudi Arabia recalled its
ambassador from Syria for consultations, a move emulated by Kuwait and Bahrain.
On Sunday the Egypt-based Arab League issued its first official statement on
Syria, urging the government to immediately stop its deadly crackdown of nearly
five months of pro-democracy protests. Growing Arab concerns over the unrest
comes on top of mounting international condemnation of the regime of Syrian
President Bashar al-Assad, who has defended his crackdown on "outlaws." "To deal
with outlaws who cut off roads, seal towns and terrorize residents is a duty of
the state which must defend security and protect the lives of civilians," state
news agency SANA quoted Assad as saying on Sunday.
Kuwait and Bahrain on Monday recalled their ambassadors from Damascus for
consultations, following the example of Arab heavyweight Saudi Arabia.
"Bahrain is recalling its ambassador in Damascus for consultation, and has
called for a resort to reason," Bahrain's Foreign Minister, Sheikh Khaled bin
Ahmed al-Khalifa, said in a brief statement on Twitter. Earlier on Monday,
Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed al-Sabah told reporters: "We have
decided to recall our ambassador from Syria for consultations."
"No one can accept the bloodshed in Syria ... The military option must be
halted," said Sheikh Mohammed.
He also announced that the foreign ministers of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation
Council (GCC) states will meet shortly to discuss developments in Syria.
"There will be a meeting for the GCC foreign ministers soon and a joint GCC move
to discuss the issues related to Syria," he said.
Saudi King Abdullah late on Sunday strongly condemned the bloody crackdown on
pro-democracy protesters in Syria and recalled Riyadh's ambassador from
Damascus.
Meanwhile the European Union was mulling new sanctions against Syrian
individuals and businesses linked to the crackdown, EU diplomats said.
EU sanctions involving asset freezes and visa bans already target 38 people and
businesses, and new measures would include an embargo on arms and equipment used
for internal repression. The United States has also imposed sanctions on Syria.
Last week the U.N. Security Council adopted a non-binding statement condemning
the violence.
**Source Agence France Presse
Hariri: Latest Arab Positions
on Syria Must Motivate Govt. to Realize Seriousness of the Moment
Naharnet/Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri praised on Monday Saudi King
Abdullah’s position on the developments in Syria, saying that it will pave the
way for a new approach in the developments in the Arab country. He said in a
statement: “The latest statements from the Gulf Cooperation Council and the Arab
League should motivate the Lebanese government to realize the seriousness of
this historic moment.” It should also reconsider its policies of linking
Lebanon’s fate to Syria’s, he added. “These policies don’t reflect the
principles of fraternity and historic ties between the two countries that have
long been discussed in speeches and statements of special ties with Syria,”
Hariri noted. “The basics of fraternal and special relations with Syria demand
that the Lebanese express their solidarity with the Syrian people given the
ordeal they are enduring,” the former premier stated. “Lebanon cannot
disassociate itself from the open massacre being committed in its closest
fraternal country,” he added. “Lebanon’s president, government, and institutions
should instead disassociate themselves from adopting policies of oppression that
the Syrian people are enduring,” he demanded. “It should not become part of a
political, media, diplomatic, and security system that announces its loyalty to
a side that is waging a war against its people, and which has been condemned by
the Arabs and the whole world,” Hariri stressed. “The Syrian people and vast
portions of the Lebanese population cannot understand the Lebanese government’s
insistence on disassociating itself from Arab positions. It is instead heading
towards isolation, which makes Lebanon a partner with all that contradicts its
democratic history,” he said. “Lebanon should stand by Syria … It is not a
political, diplomatic, and security operative for any regional regime,” he
declared.
“Lebanon is a country with a message and its solidarity with the Syrian people
is at the heart of this message,” he concluded.
INTERPOL and the STL
Talking to INTERPOL’s General Counsel Joël Sollier
Aline Sara, August 8, 2011
INTERPOL’s Joël Sollier discusses the role of INTERPOL in the Special Tribunal
for Lebanon. (Image courtesy of Joël Sollier)
On June 30, Lebanese authorities confirmed receiving the indictments by the
Special Tribunal for Lebanon, the court set up to try the perpetrators of the
2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.
A month later, on July 29, Pre-Trial Judge Daniel Fransen ordered that the
identities of the indicted individuals be made known, and the names Salim Jamil
Ayyash, Mustafa Amine Badreddine, Hussein Hassan Oneissi and Assad Hassan Sabra
were made public.
This Thursday, August 11 marks the deadline by which Lebanese authorities are to
report on carrying out the arrest warrants. As some are speculating that the
four indicted men are outside Lebanese borders, INTERPOL, the world’s largest
international police organization, has the right to step in to help apprehend
them.
NOW Lebanon spoke to INTERPOL’s general counsel, Joël Sollier, about the
international police force’s work and his outlook on the STL.
In what capacity does INTERPOL cooperate with the Special Tribunal for Lebanon?
Joël Sollier: Cooperation has taken place in two phases.
Firstly, we collaborated with the United Nations International Independent
Investigation Commission (IIIC) under the Saad Hariri government, helping with
the initial investigations. INTERPOL provided the UNIIIC with information in a
classic police collaboration manner.
Secondly, in 2009 INTERPOL and the STL finalized a cooperation agreement, which
gave the STL direct access to INTERPOL’s databases and information systems.
Historically speaking, it is worth noting that INTERPOL has signed a number of
agreements with previously-established UNSC tribunals, essentially the
International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and the International Criminal
Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.
How does INTERPOL assist in the arrest process?
Sollier: The STL has issued four arrest warrants, containing the pictures and
other personal identifiers of the wanted individuals. Our role is to circulate
these arrest warrants internationally to INTERPOL’s 188 member countries so that
police around the world have the capacity to identify and arrest the four wanted
individuals should they enter their territory.
The names are also registered in automated detection systems. For example, in
several countries, an INTERPOL detection system installed at borders, in
airports or elsewhere, will warn local authorities that the traveler is wanted
by INTERPOL. In short, the four indicted by the STL can hardly travel without
alerting the police.
National authorities are committed through their membership in INTERPOL to
implement Red Notices in accordance with their national legislation. Moreover,
as United Nations members, states have an even greater obligation to comply with
the tribunal because it was created on the basis of a United Nations Security
Council decision, under Chapter VII of the UN Charter—the highest possible form
of international legal decision making.
What is the degree of cooperation between INTERPOL and both the Syrian and
Iranian governments? How likely are they to cooperate should those accused be
hiding within their borders?
Sollier: INTERPOL enjoys solid cooperation with both Syria and Iran in several
areas such as drug trafficking and others.
In the framework of its cooperation with the Special Tribunal for Lebanon,
INTERPOL is assisting the tribunal in fulfilling its mandate. The level of
cooperation of these countries is therefore a matter of these countries
fulfilling their international obligations with regard to the United Nations and
with the tribunal, which acts under Chapter VII of the UN Charter.
Are you optimistic about the tribunal’s future?
Sollier: Yes. On the one hand, since its creation, the tribunal has consistently
shown its independence and professionalism, despite several attacks by the
tribunal’s adversaries. In this regard, the pressures exerted on some of the
judges are against all principles of justice.
On the other hand, one can witness the progress of international justice
globally, a progress of which the STL is part. In this respect, INTERPOL is
proud to be a partner of the international tribunals.
What is the importance of the Lebanese government in this case?
Sollier: I feel that many forgot about how the STL started. We often speak about
the Hariri assassination, but there were a number of other assassinations that
took place during the same period and that the tribunal is also responsible for
prosecuting.
Today, a number of people keep alluding to a supposed “international
involvement/intrusion” in Lebanon’s internal affairs. But it was the Lebanese
government that asked the international community, and in particular the UNSC,
to intervene to prosecute those who committed these crimes. So the tribunal is
the result of the will of the Lebanese authorities and people.
What do you think of people who contest the STL?
Sollier: Justice today benefits from modern tools that lead to evidence that is
very difficult to contest. I am confident that the Prosecutor’s Office will only
present proofs of the highest authority for the tribunal to base its judgment
upon. Ultimately, the tribunal will be judged on this, not on ad hominem
arguments that target the ones who push for justice rather than the proofs of
crime.
If the men are not arrested and a trial in absentia takes place, will the facts
of the case be compromised?
Sollier: No, not at all. The trial in absentia will take place with a defense,
which is represented by a very experienced and professional chief of defense.
The tribunal’s criminal procedure is adversarial and preserves a balance between
the rights of the parties, which is the best strategy to uncover the truth.
Whatever may be uncovered during this first trial should not impede the
tribunal’s ability to initiate other trials, and INTERPOL would continue to
assist the tribunal in implementing its mandate.
Evil must not triumph
August 8, 2011
Tonight at 9 p.m. in Martyr’s Square Lebanese are encouraged to do what their
leaders have so far failed to achieve: To protest the continued butchery of
pro-democracy demonstrators by the Syrian regime. The killings, in apparent full
view of the international community, not to mention the Arab nations, have been
going on for five months and have left more than 2,000 people dead, although
many have put the real figure at over 3,000.
Only yesterday did the wider Arab community wake up. Saudi Arabia recalled its
ambassador, ostensibly for “consultations,” but the message was clear that
Riyadh has had enough of the brutality, while the Arab League finally broke its
craven silence by issuing a statement in which it called for an immediate end
“to acts of violence and campaigns by the security forces against civilians.”
Lebanon’s position has been shameful, cloaked as it has been in the mantle of
realpolitik. “Whatever affects Lebanon, affects Syria, whatever affects Syria
will also affect Lebanon,” was the insulting message from Lebanon’s deputy
ambassador to the UN, Caroline Ziade, last week after Lebanon abstained from
voting on the Security Council presidential statement pertaining to the crisis.
If that were not bad enough, Lebanon’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Adnan
Mansour, fresh from a meeting with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, told Voice
of Lebanon radio on Sunday that Lebanon’s decision to abstain was an appropriate
step. He said that Lebanon could not take a decision that opposes Syria, adding
that the move “did not harm any of the countries.”
We hate to break this to his Excellency, but the move has certainly harmed
Lebanon. It has exposed the country as once again being a lackey to its more
powerful neighbor. To add to our shame, the majority March 8 bloc that makes up
our current government has actively supported the regime’s clampdown by buying
into—and in some cases, parroting—President Assad’s absurd claim that Syria “is
steadily pursuing the path of reform,” and that any internal trouble is the work
of “outlaws.”
Not that March 14 has done much to be proud of over the past five months. Only
last week did former Prime Minister Saad Hariri, probably with the blessing of
an increasingly impatient Saudi Arabia, speak out against the bloodshed. Yes,
Lebanon’s leaders—even those who have spoken vehemently about defending a
nation’s right to democracy, freedom and sovereignty—have done little to
mobilize against the slaughter.
All it takes for evil to triumph is for good men to stand by and do nothing.
These words, attributed to 18th century philosopher Edmund Burke, could have
been written for the misery that is being wrought upon a large segment of the
Syrian people. Men (whether they are good is debatable) are standing by, and so
once again it falls upon the men and women of Lebanon to take up the mantle of
justice and morality by taking an independent stand on a matter in which there
should be no debate.
The Lebanese people will not remain silent. They will not follow the path of
least resistance and all the while convince themselves it is the sensible move.
They must abandon the belief that there are realities we can ignore, that the
uprising is a fiendish foreign plot that will see a tsunami of Sunni militants
wash across the region.
For if they did, and thousands of people died in vain, it would be a stain upon
a society that will no longer be able to claim it is one founded on basic human
values and compassion. We must make the effort to go to Martyr’s Square tonight.
There is someone alive today who might be dead tomorrow if we don’t.
Sleiman, Rai attend dinner held in honor of Rai
August 8, 2011
Saida and Deir al-Qamar Bishop Elias Nassar held a dinner in Beiteddine in honor
of Maronite Patriarch Bechara Boutros al-Rai, the National News Agency reported
on Monday, adding that President Michel Sleiman attended the dinner.
Representatives of Speaker Nabih Berri and Prime Minister Najib Mikati as well
as political, religious and social figures also attended, the report added.
-NOW Lebanon
Berri: ‘Disarming Zionism’ is ‘urgent’ national goal
August 8, 2011
Speaker Nabih Berri said on Monday evening that “Israeli ambitions and wars
against Lebanon represent real danger,” adding that “removing the the arms of
Zionism and not those of the Resistance should be considered an urgent national
goal.”
During all its wars against Lebanon, Israel “targeted civilians [and attempted]
to create a rift between the state and the Resistance,” Berri said during an
Iftar at Biel in downtown Beirut.
On the national level, some did not derive lessons from Israeli wars, but
instead called for disarming the Resistance, he also said, in reference to the
western-backed March 14 parties’ calls to disarm Hezbollah.
The speaker also called for finalizing the decrees pertaining to the oil
exploration bill which the parliament approved in August 2010.
Berri said that Lebanon’s decision to abstain from voting on the UN Security
Council presidential statement pertaining to the crisis in Syria, “[aimed at]
distancing” Lebanon and facilitated issuing “a balanced statement that calls for
reform and the halt of dissension in Syria.”
“The region is being formed all over again, and Lebanon is not far from that.”
The UN Security Council on Wednesday condemned Syrian President Bashar
al-Assad's deadly crackdown on protests and called for those responsible for
violence to be held "accountable." Lebanon did not block the adoption, but
disavowed the document. At least 2,000 civilians and 369 members of the army and
security forces have been killed since mid-March in Syria, according to a Syrian
Observatory toll. -NOW Lebanon
Assad toughs it out against US-Turkish ultimatum to halt military crackdown
DEBKAfile Exclusive Report/August 8, 2011/As his tanks and artillery stormed the
eastern Syrian town of Deir al-Zour, killing 100 civilians in one day, the US
and Turkey Sunday night, Aug. 7 began to turn the screw on President Bashar
Assad: US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton asked Turkey's foreign minister
Ahmet Davutoglu to press Syria to "return its military to the barracks," during
his visit to Syria Tuesday.
debkafile: Behind the demand was an ultimatum that if Assad continued on his
present bloody path, NATO member Turkey would intervene militarily in the
crisis.
However, the Syrian ruler with backing from Tehran spurned the ultimatum even
before the Turkish minister reached Damascus. "He will be given an even tougher
message to take home," said one of Assad's top advisers.
debkafile's Iranian sources report that in the last few days, Tehran has
repeatedly warned Ankara that Iran will not stand aside for a military operation
against Syria and would come to the aid of the Assad regime. It was indicated
that Turkish attacks on Syrian military targets would bring forth Iranian
attacks on the Turkish army and American bases in Turkey.
Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah recalled his ambassador to Damascus Monday,
demanding an end to the bloodshed. "What is happening in Syria is not acceptable
for Saudi Arabia," he said in a written statement read out on Al Arabiya
satellite television.
Our military sources report that Assad was not deterred from pushing on Monday
with his assault on the oil town of Deir al-Zour for the second day. For the
first time in the five-month crackdown on protesters, the Syrian military are
using self-propelled heavy artillery against rebel targets in a wide radius
around the town to prevent the approach of rebel reinforcements.
Although he knew the US-Turkish ultimatum was coming, he embarked on his Deir
el-Zour operation Sunday in order to present Washington and Ankara with a fait
accompli.
Sunday, Aug. 7, disclosed that Ankara's threat of military intervention was back
in play.
After capturing the northern town of Hama in a bloody military assault, Syrian
President Bashar Assad Sunday, Aug. 7, sent a whole division of 200 tanks and
dozens of armored vehicles to blast their way into another rebellious city,
Syria's oil center of Deir el-Zour in the Euphrates Valley, a town of half a
million inhabitants. At least 70 people were reported dead in one day.
debkafile's military sources report that while Hama is a Muslim Brotherhood
stronghold, Deir el-Zour is the urban center of some 2.1 million members of
assorted nomadic Bedouin tribes. They too are Sunni Muslims though of different
sects. The Baqqara tribal federation is the largest, numbering 1.2 million,
followed by the Fadan Walad and the Fadan Kharsa of the Euphrates Valley and the
al Shammar Karsah of Deir al Zour and its environs.
Unlike the protesters of Hama, these tribesmen lack anti-tank weapons for
battling Syrian armor and so their town may not hold out against the Syrian
onslaught beyond two or three days. The tribesmen have meanwhile run for cover
to the dense papyrus groves of the river bank and the narrow wadis of the Iraqi
al Anbar province just across the border. From these hiding places, our military
sources expect them refugees to organize protracted guerrilla warfare against
the Assad regime and Syrian army.
debkafile recalls that these are the very tribes which from 2003 to 2006 joined
al Qaeda in bloody warfare on US forces in central Iraq, preventing Anbar and
the central Iraqi towns of Falujja and Ramadi ever being completely subdued and
constantly convulsed by suicide attacks.
It was only when President George W. Bush agreed to implement the Awakening
Councils plan put forward by Gen. David Petraeus, the current CIA Director,
which involved substantial monthly payments to the tribal chiefs for warfare
against al Qaeda that, Al Anbar was pacified.
Aware of the menace posed by these tribes, Syrian security services last week –
ahead of the Deir el-Zour offensive – captured the Baqqara tribal chief Sheikh
Nawaf al-Bashir as hostage against the tribes joining the uprising against the
regime. Syrian military intelligence will find him a tough nut to crack – even
for a heavy bribe.
The upshot may well be that although the Syrian army finally subjugates Deir al-Zour
and Abu Kemal on the Iraqi border its forces will be cornered by Sunni tribes
which control the road networks around the two eastern towns and prey to their
raids.
Assad's offensive against the two towns also places at risk Syria's small oil
fields and pipeline system. Their daily product of $8-10 million is his primary
source of revenue for sustaining his war on the uprising and they will certainly
become a prime strategic target for the resistance.
Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan decided to send his foreign minister Ahmed
Davutoglu to Damascus Tuesday, Aug. 9, after declaring Saturday that Turkey's
patience with its neighbor "was running thin and his country could not remain a
bystander to the violence… but must do what is necessary."
Davutoglu will "deliver our message in a more determined way," said Erdogan. "…a
new process will take shape according to their response and actions."
"We do not see Syria as a foreign problem, Syria is our domestic problem because
we have a 850-kilometer border with this country, we have historical and
cultural ties, we have kinship," Erdogan said.
This was the last warning from Ankara – and therefore NATO – that Turkey was
about to intervene militarily in Syria, after maintain army units on the Syrian
border for weeks.
Friday, Aug. 5, Russia's NATO ambassador Dmitry Rogozin accused NATO, of which
Turkey is a member, of planning a military campaign against Syria to help
overthrow the Assad regime "with the long-reaching goal of preparing a beachhead
for an attack on Iran." Click here for debkafile report
http://www.debka.com/article/21183
Maronite patriarch calls on all Lebanese to hold on to their land
The Daily Star /
BEIRUT: Maronite Patriarch Beshara Rai urged both Lebanese Christian and Muslim
communities Monday to maintain ownership of their land as a way to preserve
Lebanon as a model of coexistence in the East.Speaking during a visit to the
coastal area of the Iqlim al-Kharoub district, about 30 km south of Beirut, Rai
hailed the region’s residents, who “overcame the miseries of Lebanon’s bloody
Civil War to rebuild and develop the district.”“This diverse Lebanese family of
Muslims and Christians means a lot to us and gives us the strength to hold onto
our mission in Lebanon … we live the challenge of globalization as people remain
distant, fighting cultural and religious wars,” Rai said addressing crowds in
the front yard of St. Charbel church in Jiyyeh.“I call on all Lebanese, Muslims
and Christians to maintain ownership of their land and refrain from selling it
even to each other … You must hold onto your land, your history and must not
sell your land no matter what the circumstances,” Rai added.The patriarch also
praised the “roots of faith” in the Chouf region, which witnessed several wars
and significant displacement of Christians at the peak of Lebanon’s Civil War
between 1975 and 1990.“Beloved sons of Jiyyeh, you remained with us despite the
fact that you left abroad to Australia, America and Europe. I salute you all and
we are honored by our diaspora. You will always remain in our hearts and in the
mind of the patriarchate,” Rai said to the crowds.
Rai added that each religious community has written its own part of Lebanon’s
history. “We are incapable of writing a united history, not because we don’t
want to but because each group has written a part of our history, which we call
the Lebanese mosaic,” Rai said.Rai kicked off Saturday the first leg of a
historic tour in Sidon, 275 years after a head of the Maronite Church last
visited the southern coastal city.
Rai traveled Monday to the Chouf mountains where he expressed his hopes that a
national dialogue develop into a national conference, laying down a “new social
contract between the Lebanese stemming from the National Pact.”
81 congressmen to visit Israel as Hezbollah reject U.S.
meddling in Lebanon
August 08, 2011/The Daily Star
BEIRUT: Eighty-one members of the U.S. Congress will visit Israel over the next
three weeks, with a delegation of 26 Democrats arriving Monday, Jerusalem Post
reported Monday.
The paper also said that House Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer is heading the
Democratic delegation while House Majority Leader Eric Cantor will lead one of
the Republican groups, which are comprised of 55 Republicans.
The visit is sponsored by the American Israel Education Foundation which is
affiliated with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.
“The delegation will visit both Israel and the West Bank, and is scheduled to
meet with President Shimon Peres and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in
Jerusalem, and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah,” the
paper said.
The newspaper quoted Hoyer as saying in a statement that the visit will help the
representatives learn “firsthand about the evolving security situation in the
Middle East, the deep challenges facing Israel, and the role the U.S. can play
in the region during this time of uncertainty.”
The congressmen’s visit comes as Hezbollah has escalated its campaign against
Israel and the U.S., repeatedly accusing them of plotting to divide the region.
Hezbollah MP Nawwaf Musawi recently said that the Cabinet would not allow the
U.S. to turn Lebanon into a tool to be used for harming Syria.
He also reiterated Hezbollah’s stance that the U.S. and Israel plan to divide
the region based on race and religion.
"The days of U.S. influence in Lebanon are over and no longer a U.S. ambassador
will be able to dictate the country's policies," Musawi added.
Also Monday, The Israel Project welcomed a group of 18 Washington-based
ambassadors from Asia, Europe, Africa and Latin America to Israel and Ramallah
for a weeklong tour and high-level meetings, Jerusalem Post reported.
The visit coincides with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ efforts to win
recognition of a Palestinian state within the borders defined in 1967. The
Palestinians plan to ask the U.N. General Assembly to recognize a Palestinian
state when the world body gathers in September.
The American Israel Public Affairs Committee or AIPAC, is a lobbying group that
advocates pro-Israel policies to the Congress and Executive Branch of the United
States.
The American Israel Education Foundation spent more than $950,000 on
congressional travel from January 2000 through mid-2005, virtually all of it on
trips to Israel.
The foundation, created in 1988, considers itself a "supporting organization" of
AIPAC.
Lebanon's Arabic press digest - Aug. 9, 2011
The Daily Star
Following are summaries of some of the main stories in a selection of Lebanese
newspapers Tuesday. The Daily Star cannot vouch for the accuracy of these
reports.
An-Nahar: Government defends its position, pursues arms smuggling
Just like a fever strongly escalated as a result of Arab positions, particularly
the Gulf, on bloody developments in Syria, a tense situation prevailed in
Lebanon Monday for fear that Syrian unrest could have implications for the
internal conflict based on the continuous repercussions over Lebanon’s stance on
the presidential Security Council statement on Syria.
As Prime Minister Najib Mikati defended Lebanon’s position [which dissociated
itself from the Council statement], former Prime Minister Saad Hariri praised
Saudi Arabia King Abdullah’s stance on the unrest, stressing his support for the
Syrian people in the face of a “security solution.”
Meanwhile, Cabinet plunged into a debate Monday over Lebanon’s position on the
Syrian crisis with Mikati explaining the merits of this stance in the Security
Council where Lebanon has “distanced itself” from the presidential statement.
Ministerial sources told An-Nahar that arms smuggling to Syria was a topic
discussed at length during Monday’s Cabinet meeting where ministers denounced
this issue and warned of its implications on the Lebanese situation. Several
Cabinet ministers directed accusations against two [political] sides without
naming them.
Cabinet agreed to entrust security and judicial services to launch a
fact-finding investigation into the allegations and “hold those involved
responsible,” according to the sources.
Separately, sources close to the Future Movement denied knowledge of a possible
meeting between Hariri and MP Walid Jumblatt. However, according to some
information, Jumblatt is likely to visit Saudi Arabia and meet Hariri.
As-Safir: Mikati committed to government “neutrality” …. Hariri attacks it
The Syrian crisis in its regional and international dimensions dominated the
Lebanese arena which in the last few hours was packed with opposing stances
regarding what is happening in Syria, reflecting the wide internal divide which
has began expanding in light of foreign developments.
The crisis seems to have turned into a controversial Lebanese issue par
excellence perhaps in light of what we are witnessing in terms of demonstrations
and sit-ins that are moving from one area to another and vary between supporters
and opponents of Syrian President Bashar Assad’s regime.
The most recent sit-in was carried out Monday evening at Martyrs Square by a
group of intellectuals and activists as well as some figures from the March 14
coalition amid reports about the likelihood of reviving such activity in that
square.
Amid it all, Mikati stressed during Cabinet’s Monday meeting that Lebanon’s
position in the Security Council has “neutralized” Lebanon against conflicts and
satisfied all parties.
In a significant move, Speaker Nabih Berri launched a vehement attack on March
14 forces without naming them during an iftar Monday evening in which he accused
the opposition of being “advocates of the appeasement of the enemy, merciful and
humble with the West and rough with the nearest countries [Syria].”
“They [March 14] believed that Lebanon’s position in the Security Council is a
disgrace when all they did for us was replace the laurel wreath with shameful
wreath in the Security Council,” Berri said.
Al-Mustaqbal: Lebanon cannot dissociate itself from the “open massacres” in the
closest sisterly country to it [Syria]
Hariri: Saudi Arabia will not leave Syria and its people [swinging] in the wind
The flaming situation in Syria reflected strongly on the Lebanese scene with a
“government” position clearly ambiguous and an opposing point of view of bias
toward the Syrian people, expressed by former PM Saad Hariri, who pointed out
that Arab positions [on the Syrian unrest] are “a chain of solidarity with the
Syrian people and their legitimate right to freedom, reform and change.”
Meanwhile, Cabinet will meet Thursday at the Presidential Palace in Baabda under
President Michel Sleiman to discuss an ordinary agenda to be followed by an
annual Iftar hosted by Sleiman in honor of political, religious, social and
official figures.
Al-Akhbar: “Arms smuggling” … an extraordinary issue on Cabinet table
“Arms smuggling” into Syria was an extraordinary issue discussed during
Cabinet’s ordinary meeting Monday at a time when Speaker Nabih Berri launched an
attack focused on the opposition, calling them “advocates of the appeasement of
the enemy while lying in the wait for the brother [Syria].”
Meanwhile, the opposition, particularly the Future Movement and its leader
[Hariri] took strength from a position made by Saudi Arabia King Abdullah bin
Abdul Aziz to continue its attack on the Syrian regime.
The harshest remarks came from Berri who addressing March 14 without naming them
said: “Ask your masters in the Security Council this time about Lebanon’s
position and you will definitely take back your accusations. This propaganda by
attacking the government one time and another time attacking the noble position
or the head of the government without any justification … the message has come
across. The truth is you have lost your temper.”
In softer words, Mikati defended Lebanon’s position in the Security Council and
said the reason Lebanon decided to dissociate itself from the Council statement
was “because we believe that the approach adopted by the Security Council is not
a solution to what is happening in Syria.”
Significantly was the issue of “arms smuggling” into Syria which was discussed
outside of the scope of Cabinet’s agenda after ministers Mohammad Fneish and Ali
Hasan Khalil highlighted the risks this issue poses.
World in crisis: Markets dive.
Mobs burn London
DEBKAfile Exclusive Analysis August 9, 2011,
An air of crisis descended on the world Tuesday, Aug. 9 as markets continued to
tumble steeply and in London, large parts of the city succumbed to uncontrolled
violence joined by three major British cities. Far East stocks leveled out at 3
percent, Europe fell 3.5-5 percent Tuesday after Wall Street slid 5-7 percent
Monday. More than $70 billion were wiped out in global trading Monday hours
after US President Barack Obama said America will always be a Triple A country
no matter what some agency may say.
The Bank of America took the worst punishment with a 23 percent decline in its
stock. Investors did not miss the warning by a Standard & Poor executive that
the US credit rating may be lowered again after its landmark downgrade from AAA
to AA+.
Heads of the European Union and national leaders, with no solutions for the debt
crises plaguing two major members Italy and Spain, are in a panic over the
threat to the Eurozone and euro currency. Their fears are driving droves of
investors across the world out of the markets in the hope of safe landings in
gold (which shot up to $1.721 the ounce), the Japanese yen and the Swiss franc.
Some government spokesmen and pundits are blaming speculators for the crash,
praising investors who take the long view and hold tight. Others lay the blame
squarely at the door of various governments for mishandling the 2008 economic
crisis and its social fallout – witness the consequences of tight austerity
measures in Greece and now the United Kingdom.
Thanks to deft footwork by its economic managers, Israel has so far escaped the
worst of the backlash, but may not remain unscathed for much longer. Three alarm
bells rang this week:
1. Standard & Poor applied its downgrade of America's credit rating to Israel's
$6billion worth of US-backed bonds, lowing their rating from AAA to AA+.
2. The big demonstrations protesting soaring prices for housing and other
essentials and demanding economic reforms to bridge the social gap - are now in
their third week. Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu is skating on thin ice
between expenditure for satisfying their demands and defusing a movement
jeopardizing his government and keeping the economy on an even, stable keel.
Meeting even some of those demands could quickly tip Israel over into the abyss
of economically-distressed countries, with attendant mass unemployment and a
declining currency.
3. Even in the unlikely event of the government keeping the national purse
sealed against social demands, Israel is short of the reserves for weathering
the fallout to its economic and export industries from the crises in the US and
Europe.
Britain is now facing the sharpest edge of this dilemma with far less options.
The street violence, looting, burning, attacks on police - which erupted in the
North London borough of Tottenham Saturday, Aug. 6, when a protest against the
shooting by police of a local man got out of hand - has spread since with
lightning speed into one London borough after another and, Monday night, to
three major cities, Liverpool, Birmingham and Bristol.
Inadequate police and fire services are helpless to halt the looting and
torching rampages of hooded teenagers in ethnically mixed and disadvantaged
communities - even after 450 arrests. Owners of businesses and homes are forced
to watch their properties burn down with no police or firemen in sight. Petrol
bombs and knives are out against the police. Tuesday morning, armored vehicles
appeared on the streets of Ealing Broadway and Clapham Junction after every
second shop was looted. Police drafted in from other places are untrained and
unequal to the mob tactics of abruptly moving on to their next target which may
be an upend neighborhood.
The crisis caught most of the heads of the UK government away on holiday. As the
situation degenerated by the hour, Prime Minister David Cameron flew home
Tuesday and called an emergency Cobra committee meeting that day. Official
government and police statements until then that the violence "is unacceptable"
"pure criminality" and "lawbreakers will face the consequences "have made
matters worse.
British authorities are criticized widely for being too soft with the mobs of
mostly teenagers.
Cameron faces demands to bring in the army because the police are clearly
unequal to the situation. He does not have the option of loosening up on the
austerity measures which have reduced the average living standards by 25 percent
and responding to real hardship in order to defuse the disturbances. The UK is
in the verge of bankruptcy, financial institutions are in flight from the City
of London, further deepening the crisis. Riots across the country will further
deter investors.
Standard & Poor indicated Monday that some European countries may be headed for
debt downgrades after the United States – with Britain in line.
Craftiness …
Hazem Saghiyeh, August 8, 2011
Now Lebanon/The 1950s and 1960s saw the emergence of a Lebanese politician named
Hussein Ouaini, who attained the premiership more than once and was appointed in
several ministries. Ouaini was a Hajji, hence the extension to his name, which
became Hajji Hussein. He was also a bank owner, a businessman and a merchant
with the Gulf and Saudi Arabia, and thus enjoyed relations that were useful to
him in politics. Furthermore, he was not a popular leader; in other words, he
seldom ran for elections and was always a consensus choice among politicians.
More importantly, he was behind an expression that became iconic in Lebanese
political life, which translates as “all and nothing all at once.”
Ouaini was not the only person abiding by the “all and nothing all at once”
philosophy, which was described as craftiness and deftness. Charles Helou, who
was president between 1964 and 1970, also had his own version of that same
philosophy. When he wanted to avoid expressing a clear stance, he had recourse
to religious expressions, Bible stories and sometimes specks of European
philosophy. He often used these excessively.
There are many politicians in Lebanon’s modern history, knowing that we have
trouble remembering any of their positions or famous expressions. Still, they
enjoyed a hardly-questionable aura as “great statesmen.”
Needless to say, the fact that the sectarian structure of Lebanese society has
mixed with the financial and trade structure dominating Lebanon’s economy leads
to this situation, which – ad minima – may be useful as it respects the many
sensitivities and seeks to secure indispensable domestic and foreign
settlements. However, we are currently experiencing the other extreme of this
philosophy with Najib Mikati, and this extreme is – sure enough – a disaster.
When domestic contradictions are exacerbated, when our “village-like” decisions
are no longer in our hands and become an international decision, and when an
uprising the size of the Syrian uprising erupts in our neighborhood, craftiness
becomes more like utter stupidity.
This misery is not lessened by the fact that craftiness was “modernized” by
entering the era of globalized telecommunications, which are the source of
brothers Taha and Najib Mikati’s wealth. Likewise, it is not lessened by the
fact that craftiness was “consolidated” through religiousness, its duties and
obligations, as Hussein Ouaini and Charles Helou used to do.
There are times where there is no place for craftiness. This happens to be one
of them.
This article is a translation of the original, which first appeared on the NOW
Arabic site on Monday August 8, 2011