LCCC
ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
ِJuly
04/2011
Bible Quotation for today
The Good News According to
Matthew 5/13-16: "You are the salt of the earth, but if the salt has lost its
flavor, with what will it be salted? It is then good for nothing, but to be cast
out and trodden under the feet of men. 5:14 You are the light of the world. A
city located on a hill can’t be hidden. Neither do you light a lamp, and put it
under a measuring basket, but on a stand; and it shines to all who are in the
house. Even so, let your light shine before men; that they may see your good
works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven
Latest
analysis, editorials, studies, reports, letters & Releases
from
miscellaneous
sources
The Taliban Will Rule Afghanistan/By: Walid Phares/July
02/11
Open to America/By
Tariq Alhomayed/July
02/11
Latest News Reports From
Miscellaneous Sources for July 02/11
Syrian activists: regime rattled by
huge protests/AP
Hezbollah leader rejects Hariri
court indictments/Reuters
Syria security forces deployed at
Hama entrance after mass protest/Haaretz
US and NATO prepare final assault
on Qaddafi. He threatens terror/DEBKAfile
Clinton: Instead of making threats,
Libya's Gadhafi should step down/Haaretz
Jordan king in Saudi Arabia for
talks on Arab uprisings/Haaretz
Gaza flotilla to set sail Monday
despite numerous setbacks/Haaretz
Lieberman: Gaza flotilla activists
blaming Israel for their own failure/Haaretz
Future bloc MP Nohad
al-Mashnouqcalls on Hezbollah ministers to step down/Now Lebanon
March 14 MP Hadi Hobeish :
If 4 found guilty, Hezbollah involved in Hariri killing//The
Daily Star
Al-Rahi from Batroun: We Won’t
Allow Anyone to Determine Our Fate/Naharnet
Legal Expert Says Nasrallah’s
Evidence Baseless, Computers Document Belongs to UNTSO/Naharnet
Mufti Sheikh Mohammed Rashid
Qabbani: Calls for Ending Dispute on STL to Consolidate Stability/Naharnet
Syrian Troops Press Sweep for
Dissidents in Northwest/Naharnet
Lebanon's
Arabic press digest - July 3, 2011/Daily StaR
Bristol Meeting: 'Roadmap to Topple
Cabinet of Hizbullah-Syria Alliance'/Naharnet
French Official Urges Lebanon to
Fully Back STL ‘No Matter What’/Naharnet
Report: 3rd Alleged CIA Agent is
Cadre in Hizbullah’s Telecom Network/Naharnet
Death Threat to Lebanese Judge: A
Message and a Bullet/Naharnet
Hizbullah Rules Out Arrests in
'Void' U.N. Hariri Case/Naharnet
Geagea arrives to UAE on official
visit/Now Lebanon
March 14 will urge cabinet to leave
or implement international resolutions, says source/Now Lebanon
Opposition to launch “strong
campaigns” against cabinet, says Development and Liberation bloc MP Ali
Khreiss/Now Lebanon
Berri: March 14’s comments on STL
indictment are ‘within the reasonable’/Now Lebanon
Lebanon's Arabic press digest -
July 3, 2011/Daily Star
Future
bloc MP Nohad al-Mashnouqcalls on Hezbollah ministers to step down
July 3, 2011 /Future bloc MP Nohad al-Mashnouq said on Sunday that “Hezbollah
ministers should step down from the cabinet until the truth is revealed.”
“A cabinet cannot achieve justice when some of its ministers belong to a party
whose members are accused of the 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister
Rafik Hariri,” the National News Agency quoted him as saying. “This cabinet
cannot implement the UN Security Council Resolution [1757] if [Hezbollah’s]
ministers do not step down,” Mashnouq added, in a reference to the Special
Tribunal for Lebanon (STL). The Future Movement MP also said that his party will
defend its dignity by all political, peaceful means.He added that the
ministerial statement is an assault brought to his party’s “political dignity
and to Rafik Hariri.”Mashnouq also accused PM Najib Mikati and Progressive
Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblatt of being part of the coup against the
state “disregarding those who voted for them.”The STL on Thursday handed
Lebanon's Attorney General Said Mirza arrest warrants for four members of the
Iranian-and Syrian-backed group in connection to the 2005 assassination of Rafik
Hariri. The whereabouts of the four remain unknown. Nasrallah on Saturday ruled
out the arrest of the four members indicted by the tribunal. He also rejected
"each and every void accusation" made by the Netherlands-based court, which he
said was heading for a trial in absentia. The new Lebanese cabinet—headed by
Mikati—was formed on June 13 after almost five months of deliberations between
the March 8 parties.-NOW Lebanon
March 14
MP Hadi Hobeish : If 4 found guilty, Hezbollah involved in Hariri killing
July 03, 2011 /The Daily Star
BEIRUT: March 14 MP Hadi Hobeish said Sunday that Hezbollah would be responsible
for the killing of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri if four recently indicted
party members were found guilty by the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, the
National News Agency reported. “In the event that a guilty verdict was handed to
the accused four, whom [Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hasan] Nasrallah backed, then the
party, in one manner or another, would be the one that carried out the
operation,” Hobeish told a local radio station, adding that this would be the
case even though the STL indicted individuals and not parties.
A delegation from the STL Thursday handed Lebanon’s state prosecutor an
indictment and arrest warrants for four Lebanese, all of whom are believed to be
members of Hezbollah. In a televised speech Saturday, Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah,
Hezbollah’s leader, confirmed the four were members of his party and that they
would never be arrested but tried in absentia instead. Lebanon has 30 days to
carry out the arrest warrants.
Speaking to Voice of Lebanon (93.3) Sunday, Hobeish described Nasrallah’s focus
on leaks of the indictment as evidence of the STL’s lack of credibility as “mere
rhetoric.”
“Leaks do not mean in principle that the prosecutor [Daniel Bellmare] did not
carry out his duties with integrity and sending information to Israel does not
require that the computers be sent,” Hobeish said, referring the claims made by
Nasrallah that computers belonging to the STL had been sent to Israel through
Naqqoura, Lebanon’s southernmost coastal town on the borders with Israel.
Hobeish added that Prime Minister Najib Mikati had agreed not to work with the
STL ever since the collapse of former Prime Minister Saad Hariri earlier this
year
Al-Rahi from Batroun: We Won’t Allow Anyone to Determine Our Fate
Naharnet/Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi on Sunday said Lebanon needs “a new
mentality, a new vision and a democratic rhetoric,” stressing that “we will not
allow anyone to determine our fate.”“Those who came before us had paid a heavy
price throughout the consecutive and long stages,” al-Rahi added during a
meeting with MP Samer Saade, MP Boutros Harb’s representative George Harb and a
number of political figures on the second day of his pastoral visit to the
northern region of Batroun. “Lebanon is a factor of stability,” the patriarch
stressed. He also noted that Lebanon is “divided between the March 8 and March
14” rival political camps, calling for a new “social contract based on our
(1943) National Pact” -- an unwritten agreement that laid the foundation of
Lebanon as a multi-confessional state.
Mufti Sheikh Mohammed Rashid Qabbani: Calls for Ending Dispute on STL to
Consolidate Stability
Naharnet/ Mufti Sheikh Mohammed Rashid Qabbani said Sunday that the Special
Tribunal for Lebanon should not be part of the political bickering because it is
a legitimate institution established by a U.N. Security Council resolution.
“This court is an institution that has international legitimacy from a Security
Council resolution that established it. That’s why it should be left out of the
political rhetoric,” Qabbani said in a statement. “Lebanon is in dire need of
political stability to activate the work of its institutions” and meet the
people’s social and administrative needs, he said. “Using the tribunal as a
headline for bickering among politicians would harm the memory of ex-Premier
Rafik Hariri and all the other martyrs who have shed their bloods to achieve a
sovereign, free and independent state,” he said. The dispute on the court “harms
the demand for justice for the martyrs,” Qabbani said in his statement, adding
that involved authorities are the only parties that are authorized to issue
verdicts.
Syrian Troops Press Sweep for Dissidents in Northwest
Naharnet /The Syrian army pressed a crackdown on dissent in the northwest on
Sunday making sweeping arrests, as troops deployed in the hotbed central city of
Hama, an activist said.
Troops backed by 97 tanks and personnel carriers advanced late Saturday on Kfar
Rumma village and made arrests in the district of Jabal al-Zawiyah, said Rami
Abdel Rahman of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. Abdel Rahman told
Agence France Presse in Nicosia that the troops moved to the outskirts of Kfar
Rumma but did not enter it as residents tried to block them. "Ninety-seven
military vehicles, including tanks and personnel carriers, carrying thousands of
soldiers moved Saturday night towards Kfar Rumma," he said.
"Hundreds of residents emerged from their homes to confront them and prevent
them from advancing, but the troops pursued their deployment to carry out their
military operations."
Abdel Rahman said security forces raided several villages in the Jabal al-Zawiyah
district, where the latest military campaign was launched last week. "Security
forces raided several villages in Jabal al-Zawiyah, destroying the homes of
activists in Al-Bara village and arresting their relatives to pressure the
activists to turn themselves in," he said. Further south, troops deployed on
Saturday at key junctions leading to Hama and "heavy gunfire" was heard in the
city during the night, he added. Syria's embattled President Bashar al-Assad
sacked the governor of Hama on Saturday, a day after hundreds of thousands
rallied against the regime in the city. Anti-government protests mushroomed on
Friday in response to a call by a Facebook group. In Hama alone, 500,000 people
took to the streets, without security forces intervening, activists said,
calling it the single largest demonstration of its kind since the pro-democracy
movement erupted on March 15. Assad reacted to the affront by sacking the
governor of Hama, a city with a bloody past where an estimated 20,000 people
were killed in 1982 when the army put down an Islamist revolt against the rule
of his late father, Hafez al-Assad.Source Agence France Presse
Legal Expert Says Nasrallah’s Evidence Baseless, Computers
Naharnet /A document aired on al-Manar TV allegedly proving that U.N.
investigators probing ex-Premier Rafik Hariri’s murder case had transferred IT
equipment to Israel is baseless, a legal expert hinted to An Nahar daily
published Sunday. The expert said that the document, which was aired during a
televised speech made by Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah on Saturday
night, has a UNTSO stamp. The UNTSO is an organization founded on May 29, 1948
for peacekeeping in the Middle East. According to Nasrallah, the document
provided proof that 97 computers were transported by investigators through
Naqoura to Israel and not through the airport or Beirut port at a time when
Special Tribunal for Lebanon Prosecutor Daniel Bellemare was still the head of
the committee probing Hariri’s murder. Nasrallah also accused top investigators,
including the first U.N. chief investigator, Detlev Mehlis, and his deputy,
Gerhard Lehmann, of corruption. The tribunal is full of "financial and moral
corruption," Nasrallah said. “We will reveal a case ... where Lehman sold
confessions in return for money,” the Hizbullah leader said. Al-Manar later
aired footage of Lehman allegedly receiving money in return for the documents
related to the probe into Hariri’s Feb. 2005 assassination. The legal expert
told An Nahar, however, that the document and footage have no legal basis and
only indicate “a long political battle.” The video presentations also claimed to
show how members of the international tribunal had affiliations with Western
intelligence agencies, including Robert Baer, who Nasrallah said was a CIA
agent.
Bristol Meeting: 'Roadmap to Topple Cabinet of Hizbullah-Syria Alliance'
Naharnet /The March 14-led opposition is scheduled to hold a large-scale meeting
on Sunday to come up with a roadmap that would “topple the cabinet of the
Hizbullah-Syria alliance.”
Al-Mustaqbal daily said that the meeting would take place at 6:00 pm at the
Bristol Hotel in Beirut. More than 300 guests are invited. They include March 14
officials and members of the civil society who are mainly youths. The conferees
will discuss the cabinet’s policy statement and the indictment that was issued
by the Special Tribunal for Lebanon in ex-Premier Rafik Hariri’s assassination
case on Thursday. According to al-Mustaqbal, the preparations for the
meeting took two days. Organizers discussed the main points that Sunday’s
conference would deal with and put a “roadmap” for March 14’s future moves.The
conference, which has the slogan of “the tribunal our way to salvation,” will
pave way for peaceful and popular movements that would be aimed at “toppling the
cabinet of the Hizbullah-Syria alliance.” March 14 accuses Premier Najib
Miqati’s cabinet of aiming at implementing the policies of Hizbullah and its
ally Syria. The closing statement of the conference will call on the Lebanese to
hold onto the national principles and coexistence and will show pride at the
opposition’s ability to achieve justice in Hariri’s Feb. 2005 murder, al-Mustaqbal
said. It added that the statement will announce a democratic confrontation at
the parliament during the sessions set for discussing the policy statement and
giving the vote of confidence to the cabinet starting next Tuesday
French Official Urges Lebanon to Fully Back STL ‘No Matter What’
Naharnet /A French official has said that he would ask Lebanese Justice Minister
Shakib Qortbawi to exert all efforts to cooperate with the international
tribunal “no matter what the price might be.”Francois Zimeray, who is France’s
Ambassador for Human Rights, said in remarks published in the Saudi al-Watan
daily on Sunday that he would ask Qortbawi “about the future intentions on the
international court and how Lebanon would cooperate with it.”“I will encourage
him to go till the end on this path no matter what the price might be,” he said.
Zimeray, who is on a mission to Jordan and Lebanon, told the newspaper that
international justice is the major progress made since the announcement of the
Universal Declaration for Human Rights. “The crimes that took place in Lebanon
did not only target the personalities but they were targeted against democracy,”
he said. “That’s why we hold onto international justice, whose one aspect is the
tribunal.”France supports the Special Tribunal for Lebanon and “encourages its
work and path,” Zimeray told al-Watan.
“France’s message is clear. It holds onto the concept of impunity,” he added.
Report: 3rd Alleged CIA Agent is Cadre in Hizbullah’s
Telecom Network
Naharnet /The third alleged CIA agent that has confessed to spying on Hizbullah
is a cadre in the Shiite party’s telecommunications network, al-Mustaqbal daily
reported Sunday.
Last month, Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah announced that members of
his group had confessed to being CIA agents and accused Israel of turning to the
U.S. spy agency when it failed to infiltrate his party.In the first such
acknowledgment of infiltration since the group's founding in the 1980s,
Nasrallah refused to disclose the identities of the two party members but said a
third case was under investigation.Al-Mustaqbal said that the third man whose
initials are A.A.B. hails from the town of Maaroub in Tyre but he had left it
more than 20 years ago. He worked in the telecom network mainly in Beirut’s
southern suburbs.The newspaper added that the number of people accused by
Hizbullah of collaborating with the CIA had reached 13.
Death Threat to Lebanese Judge: A Message and a Bullet
Naharnet /“What should I say, everything is clear,” said Judge Wael Murtada
after receiving a death threat, An Nahar newspaper reported Sunday. The daily
said that the threat came in the form of a bullet stuck to his vehicle’s window
with a message: “Death for you.” His Mercedes was parked in the garage of his
apartment complex in Dawhet Aramoun when he made the discovery on Saturday
morning, An Nahar said. Upon the discovery of the message, Murtada called
security agencies that brought it forensic experts and took the fingerprints
from the car.
Murtada is a general inspector at the justice ministry and was an examining
magistrate at the military court in Beirut and the criminal court of cassation
in Beirut
Hizbullah Rules Out Arrests in 'Void' U.N. Hariri Case
Naharnet/Hizbullah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah on Saturday ruled
out the arrest of four members of his party indicted by the Special Tribunal for
Lebanon for the 2005 assassination of Lebanese former premier Rafik Hariri. In
his first reaction to the charges by the STL, Nasrallah also rejected "each and
every void accusation" made by the Netherlands-based court, which he said was
heading for a trial in absentia. "We reject the Special Tribunal for Lebanon
along with each and every void accusation it issues, which to us is equivalent
to an attack on Hizbullah," Nasrallah said in an hour-long televised speech. "No
Lebanese government will be able to carry out any arrests whether in 30 days, 30
years or even 300 years," said the Shiite leader whose group dominates the
current government.
"What will happen is a trial in absentia, a trial in which the verdict has
already been reached,” he declared.
The STL on Thursday handed Lebanon's Prosecutor General Saeed Mirza arrest
warrants for four members of the Iranian- and Syrian-backed group in connection
with the February 14, 2005 bombing that killed Hariri and 22 others in
Beirut.The whereabouts of the four remain unknown.Nasrallah went on to accuse
top investigators at the tribunal, including the first U.N. chief investigator,
Detlev Mehlis, and his deputy, Gerhard Lehmann, of corruption.The tribunal is
full of "financial and moral corruption," Nasrallah said.
In elaborately edited segments, al-Manar television aired footage which
Nasrallah said showed former Lehmann receiving a wad of cash in exchange for
documents in the Hariri case.
Al-Manar also aired a document which Nasrallah said proved investigators had
transferred IT equipment across Lebanon's southern border into Israel when it
moved its staff to the Netherlands in 2009."Do you expect this tribunal to be
fair with resistance fighters who fought against Israel?" he said. "This
tribunal, since the beginning, was formed for a clear political target."But
Nasrallah sought to allay concerns of civil strife and said "there will be no
civil war in Lebanon.""This is because there is a responsible government in
Lebanon that will not act with revenge," he added.Source Agence France Presse
Geagea arrives to UAE on official visit
July 3, 2011 /Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea arrived on Sunday to the
United Arab Emirates (UAE) on an official visit accompanied by MPs Sethrida
Geagea and Antoine Zahra, and a delegation, according to a statement issued by
Geagea’s office.However, the statement did not elaborate any further.-NOW
Lebanon
March 14 will “urge cabinet to leave or implement international resolutions,”
says source
July 3, 2011 /A source close to March 14 told NOWLebanon’s correspondent on
Sunday that the coalition’s meeting later the day will “call on the cabinet to
leave or implement international resolutions,” in a reference to the Special
Tribunal for Lebanon (STL).“The statement will mention that the truth is
revealed and justice has started, and should be implemented,” he added. The
source also said that the statement will indicate that “the Lebanese state
became the prisoner of non-state arms.” The March 14 coalition will hold a
meeting which is going to be attended by its leaders, MPs and political figures
on Sunday night at Le Bristol Hotel to follow up with the release of the STL’s
indictment.
The STL on Thursday handed Lebanon's Attorney General Said Mirza arrest warrants
for four members of the Iranian-and Syrian-backed group in connection to the
2005 assassination of Rafik Hariri. The whereabouts of the four remain unknown.
Nasrallah on Saturday ruled out the arrest of the four members indicted by the
tribunal. He also rejected "each and every void accusation" made by the
Netherlands-based court, which he said was heading for a trial in absentia. The
new Lebanese cabinet—headed by Prime Minister Najib Mikati—was formed on June 13
after almost five months of deliberations between the March 8 parties.-NOW
Lebanon
Opposition to launch “strong campaigns” against cabinet, says Development and
Liberation bloc MP Ali Khreiss
July 3, 2011 /Development and Liberation bloc MP Ali Khreiss said on Sunday that
“information shows that the opposition is getting ready to launch strong
campaigns” against Prime Minister Najib Mikati’s cabinet during parliamentary
sessions to grant confidence to the cabinet. Khreiss also said that the Special
Tribunal for Lebanon does not want to reveal the truth behind the 2005
assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, adding that it wants to
target the Resistance and weaken it, the National News Agency reported.
The STL on Thursday handed Lebanon's Attorney General Said Mirza arrest warrants
for four members of the Iranian-and Syrian-backed group in connection with the
Hariri murder.
The whereabouts of the four remain unknown. Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hassan
Nasrallah on Saturday ruled out the arrest of the four members indicted by the
tribunal. He also rejected "each and every void accusation" made by the
Netherlands-based court, which he said was heading for a trial in absentia.-NOW
Lebanon
Berri: March 14’s comments on STL indictment are ‘within
the reasonable’
July 3, 2011 /Speaker Nabih Berri said in an interview published on Sunday that
most March 14 parties’ comments on the Special Tribunal for Lebanon’s indictment
“were within the reasonable,” adding that he expects “more accusations to be
made in the coming days.”Berri told An-Nahar newspaper that the aim of
submitting the indictment to Lebanon is to pressure Prime Minister Najib
Mikati’s cabinet and “use the crisis Syria is going through.”The parliament is
the place to discuss politics, Berri said, adding that colleagues’ comments are
welcomed.
The Syrian government is engaged in a deadly crackdown on protesters who since
March have been demanding the end of 48 years of rule by the Baath Party, which
is controlled by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.The STL on Thursday handed
Lebanon's Attorney General Said Mirza arrest warrants for four members of the
Iranian-and Syrian-backed group in connection with the 2005 assassination of
former PM Rafik Hariri.The whereabouts of the four remain unknown.Hezbollah
chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah on Saturday ruled out the arrest of the four
members indicted by the UN court.-NOW Lebanon
US and NATO prepare final assault on Qaddafi. He threatens terror
DEBKAfile Exclusive Report July 2, 2011,
Libyan Ruler Muammar Qaddafi may have been bluffing when he said "The Libyan
people are capable one day of taking the battle to Europe and the Mediterranean
[chiefly Italy and France]" if NATO continues its air strikes, and …"throwing
ourselves on Europe like swarms of locusts or bees" to attack "your homes, your
offices, your families [who] would become legitimate military targets because
you have transformed our offices, headquarters, homes and children into military
targets which you say are legitimate."
But the threat he relayed by audio to a huge pro-government rally in Tripoli
Friday, July 1,may not be just a scare tactic but his last warning for NATO to
abandon its large-scale, all-out military bid to kill or oust him, which
debkafile's military sources report is in its last stage of planning.
The coming coup de grace, expected in the next couple of weeks, is the hottest
topic of discussion in the corridors of power and high-level military and
intelligence get-togethers in London, Paris, Brussels, Moscow, Oslo, The Hague
and Rome. It is expected to start in a couple of weeks with French and British
troop landings on Libyan soil, to be followed in its last stages of by American
forces.
Despite US President Barack Obama's denials of direct military intervention in
the Libya war – "American forces are playing only a limited support role in the
NATO operation" – US sources made the following disclosure Thursday June 30:
"The US Air Force and Navy aircraft are still flying hundreds of strike missions
over Libya."
Qaddafi views France's supply of weapons to Libyan rebels as the opening shot of
the final act in the scenario for removing him. He is convinced now that NATO
will not be thrown off course by diplomacy or political concessions – even his
recent offer of UN-supervised elections to decide whether the Libya voter wants
him to stay or go.
If nothing else avails for his survival, debkafile's military and counter-terror
sources report that Qaddafi has the options and resources for making good on his
threat before or after being forced out of power.
He could retire to the Sahel Desert, the desolate belt running north of the
Sahara and stretching from the Atlantic to the Red Sea, and mount terrorist
operations against Europe from there. He would operate from a sanctuary with the
Tuareg tribes, which have links with Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb – AQIM and
many of whom have been fighting for him as mercenaries.
Incidentally, Western anti-terror agencies have never revealed that the July 7,
2005 London transport attacks, in which 56 people died and more than 700 were
injured, were backed logistically by - and received their explosive devices from
- al Qaeda's Tuareg followers.
In the 1970s and 1980s, Qaddafi was a notoriously proactive anti-West
terror-master and facilitator who sanctioned such operations as the blowing up
of the Pan Am Flight 103 over the Scottish village of Lockerbie in which 250
people died; and the La Belle discothèque explosion in Berlin which killed two
US army sergeants.
Among the European and Asian extremists who were trained and supported by Libya
were the radical left-wing Red Brigades' Italian, German and Japanese offshoots
and the Irish Republican Army, the IRA.
Libyan agents also took a hand in the East German external intelligence branch's
covert operations in Europe.
Some of the Libyan agents employed in this far-flung campaign of violence are
still idle.
It is not known whether or not Qaddafi has decided to reactivate his terror
machine which almost certainly retains sleeper cells in parts of Europe – either
to pre-empt or to avenge the massive NATO end-game for his rule.
Saturday, July 2, in another bid to avert the offensive, the African Union
announced Qaddafi had agreed to transitional negotiations between government and
rebel representatives in Addis Ababa under the AU aegis. They would discuss "a
consensual and inclusive transition" via an interim government and elections.
This initiative left the way open for Qaddafi to seek refuge on the continent
but not to be removed by force.
But the Libyan ruler gave up on the NATO powers accepting any diplomatic
solutions to the conflict after his own negotiations with rebel commanders in
early June and the truce accord they reached (which was first revealed by DEBKA-Net-Weekly
493 on May 20) were roundly rejected by NATO which urged the rebels to fight on.
In Madrid Saturday, July 2, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton saidthe United
States and Spain won't let Qaddafi's threats of retaliatory attacks in Europe
deter their mission to protect Libyan civilians and force him to leave power.
"Instead of issuing threats, he should be putting the well-being and interests
of his own people first," she said. "He should step down from power."Qaddafi has
often been called unpredictable. On June 12, Russian chess master Kirsan
Ilyumzhinov, having just played a game against the embattled Libyan ruler,
warned that he was capable of catching his opponents off-guard with surprise
moves.
But in his war with NATO, he has just laid his pieces out on the table
Open to America
03/07/2011
By Tariq Alhomayed/Asharq Al-Awsat
It appears that relations between the United States and the Muslim Brotherhood
in Egypt have gone further than mutual courtship. It is clear that it is an old
relationship, and it was revealed yesterday that Washington and the Brotherhood
have indeed been communicating. Yet here is the bottom line; the communication
took place not after the fall of Mubarak, but before. It is now clear that there
has been communication between the two parties since 2006. This means that the
Brotherhood and Washington were in negotiations at a time when the Muslim
Brotherhood was raising its voice against the West, and primarily America. This
was during the era of the Israeli war on Lebanon in 2006, and afterwards
Israel's war on Gaza, not to mention the term of former U.S. President George W.
Bush. At that time, the Muslim Brotherhood and their followers, whether
knowingly or not, hypocritically betrayed all those who had criticized the
Brotherhood and its political line.
Today, after nearly five years, it is clear that the Muslim Brotherhood was open
to the Americans at a time when the organization was attacking Mubarak, and most
of the Arab regimes, because of Israel's wars on Lebanon and Gaza, and accused
Mubarak of cutting off the Gaza strip to appease Israel and the West. Yet the
Brotherhood itself was open to Washington. Of course, the ready and easy excuse
for the Brotherhood is that those members who met the Americans in 2006 did not
represent the organization directly, but they functioned as representatives of
the Egyptian people, as elected members of the People's Assembly, which brings
up a question; at the time, was Mubarak's regime representing Mozambique at the
time?
This excuse is incorrect, and a trick we must be aware of. Of course the duty
here is to focus on the Muslim Brotherhood, and not what the Americans are
doing, for the simple reason that Washington is playing politics, as the famous
expression goes. Here we see the Americans today negotiating with the Taliban in
Afghanistan for example. This is not a witch hunt against the Brotherhood, but
we must point out that they are the proponents of the slogan "Islam is the
solution"; while today we see that the slogan in practice is "power is the
solution". Thus today we should not consider the slogans of the Brotherhood,
whether in Egypt or elsewhere, but rather their plans for the future of Egypt,
or our other nations. God protects the home [The Kaaba], but when it comes to
people's lives, their security and economy, this is the responsibility of those
who govern. We all know that mere slogans will not protect the people from
hunger, and now the facts tell us that the proponents of Islamic slogans are
negotiating with the Americans, and have been for years.
The good thing about the timing of this revealed openness between the Muslim
Brotherhood and the Americans is that it comes as the Brotherhood is fighting an
internal battle between different members of the organization. There are those
who want to run for the presidency in Egypt, those who are frustrated at the
monopoly of the old guard, and those who are angry that the leaders of the
Muslim Brotherhood were not elected. So far, five parties have split off from
the parent movement, and this is something to be expected. When a danger is
present, i.e. the Mubarak regime, the enemy unites, but politics is ultimately a
divisive force, unless based on the language of interests. If the politics of a
movement is based on slogans, then this can lead to unexpected shocks for its
followers, as we see today that the proponents of the "Islam is the solution"
slogan have been open to America for a long time.
Syrian activists: regime rattled by huge protests
03/07/2011
BEIRUT (AP) — Syrian demonstrators knew well the powerful symbolism at their
feet: The streets where hundreds of thousands of protesters gathered to denounce
President Bashar Assad were the same where an earlier generation was cut down by
his father during a failed uprising 29 years ago.
Activists on Saturday now hope the huge outpouring a day earlier in the city of
Hama — an estimated 300,000 people chanting against Assad's regime — could
re-energize the protest movement at a pivotal time.
Assad's forces appear unable to sustain the blanket crackdowns of recent months
and offer possible openings for opposition strongholds to expand in places such
as Hama. In swift political payback, Assad on Saturday dismissed the Hama
governor, Ahmed Abdul-Aziz, in a move that also could signal another offensive
into the city and risk further international outrage.
"What happened in Hama was a catastrophe for the regime," said Bassam Jaara, a
Syrian opposition writer based in London.
Jaara and others believe Abdul-Aziz was fired for not calling in security forces
to deal harshly with demonstrators. Others speculated he was made a scapegoat by
regime officials embarrassed by the large turnout Friday — the largest single
protest gathering since the revolt against Assad's rule began in March.
Crowd estimates and other details in Syria cannot be independently verified. The
Syrian government has banned most foreign media from the country and restricted
coverage.
But there was little doubt the protests in Hama were staggering in scope. Hama
residents clapped, chanted and sung in a main square after Friday prayers. They
unfurled a black-white-and-red flag some 10,000 feet-long (3 kilometers-long).
"The Syrian flag in the square of freedom!" cried an excited activist
videotaping the demonstration. Protesters swayed to a popular Egyptian ditty —
the words changed into an anti-regime song.
In 1982, Assad's late father, Hafez Assad, ordered his brother to quell a
rebellion by Syrian members of the conservative Muslim Brotherhood movement. The
city was sealed and bombs dropped from above smashed swaths of the city and
killed between 10,000 and 25,000 people, rights groups say.
The real number may never be known. Then, as now, reporters were not allowed to
reach the area.
Last month, Hama was the scene of more bloodshed. Security forces withdrew after
a violent crackdown against demonstrations that killed about 65 people.
Many of Friday's protesters were encouraged by a lack of front-line security in
the city, said Syrian-based activist Mustafa Osso and others.
"Protests will continue, and regions that haven't demonstrated before will join
in," said Osso.
In the latest uprising, opposition groups say the regime has killed more than
1,400 people — mostly unarmed protesters — since mid-March. That includes at
least 14 people killed Friday.
The government disputes the overall toll and blames the violence on "armed
thugs."
On Saturday, mourners buried at least two of those slain in Homs, a city near
Hama, according to videos uploaded onto YouTube by anti-government activists.
The videos showed the bodies of men that activists identified as Homs residents
Diaa al-Najjar and Bassem al-Saqlini. Al-Najjar's face was surrounded with
flowers, his body wrapped in the Syrian flag.
"To heaven we are going, martyrs in our millions!" mourners chanted as many of
them clapped as they marched.
Syrian forces have pursued a patchwork approach to the crackdown recently,
leaving some areas to demonstrate freely while harshly attacking in other
places. The tactic suggests that Assad's forces are under growing strain as they
confront multiple protest hotbeds and try to cut off a refugee exodus into
neighboring Turkey.
Beirut-based Syrian activist Omar Idibi, who speaks on behalf of a network of
anti-government activists, said he feared that security forces operating in Homs
would now turn their attention to Hama with the governor's sacking.
"We worry. When they withdraw a governor from a city, they then attack," Idibi
said.
Hezbollah leader rejects Hariri court indictments
03/07/2011
BEIRUT (Reuters) - Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said on Saturday
that authorities would never arrest members of the Shi'ite militant group
indicted by a U.N.-backed tribunal seeking the killers of statesman Rafik
al-Hariri.
In his first comments since the indictments were handed to the state prosecutor
on Thursday, Nasrallah dismissed the accusations as unfounded and a failed
attempt to sow strife and bring down Lebanon's new Hezbollah-backed government.
The tribunal has not named the suspects but Lebanese officials said they
included Mustafa Badreddine, a senior member of the movement and brother-in-law
of slain Hezbollah commander Imad Moughniyeh, and three other members of the
group.
"They cannot find them or arrest them in 30 days or 60 days, or in a year, two
years, 30 years or 300 years," Nasrallah said. Under the court proceedings,
Lebanese officials have 30 days to make arrests after receiving indictments.
Hezbollah, both a Shi'ite Muslim political movement and guerrilla army, denies
any role in the huge explosion on the Beirut seafront which killed Hariri, a
Sunni Muslim who served several terms as prime minister, and 22 others in
February 2005.
The killing plunged Lebanon into a series of political crises and assassinations
that led to clashes in May 2008, and there were fears that the indictments could
revive sectarian tension in a country still scarred by its 1975-90 civil war.
"We reject the baseless accusations and rulings and consider them an aggression
against us," Nasrallah said in a televised address. "We will not allow them to
weaken us ... and we will not let them drag Lebanon toward strife or civil war."
Nasrallah has repeatedly accused the tribunal of serving a political agenda to
undermine Hezbollah, and on Saturday he repeated charges that it was a U.S. and
Israeli tool.
He displayed documents purporting to show that when the tribunal was
transferring equipment from Lebanon to the court's base in the Netherlands in
2009, it sent a consignment of 97 computers via Israel -- which fought a 34-day
war with Hezbollah five years ago -- rather than ship them directly from Beirut.
PORTRAYS PRO-ISRAELI COURT
He also portrayed the head of the court, Antonio Cassese, as a friend of Israel
who is hostile to Hezbollah and said many of its officials had links to U.S.
intelligence.
"This investigation, and this court... as far as we are concerned is American
and Israeli," he said.
While Hezbollah is powerful enough to resist any attempt to act against its
members, it is anxious that its domestic reputation as a force to stand up to
Israel should not be tarnished by accusations of involvement in internal
conflict.
The group is already worried by the turmoil affecting its close ally, Syrian
President Bashar al-Assad. It has also had to explain why, after supporting
other Arab uprisings against autocratic rule, it has backed the Syrian leader.
The indictments triggered a political crisis when they were submitted to the
pre-trial judge in January. Hezbollah and its allies brought down a coalition
government led by Hariri's son Saad when he refused their demands to renounce
the court.
The indictments were handed to Lebanon's prosecutor days before parliament is
due to hold a vote of confidence in the new Hezbollah-backed government of Prime
Minister Najib Mikati, and Nasrallah said the timing was deliberate.
"The indictment was issued to give ammunition to the (opposition) to bring down
the government," he said.
Saad al-Hariri has said Mikati's government cannot "run away from its
responsibility" to comply with arrest warrants issued for the four suspects.
Lebanon will also face strong Western pressure to cooperate with the court.
A carefully worded policy statement by Mikati's cabinet, issued on the day the
indictments were delivered, said only that it "stressed the (importance of)
truth in the crime against Rafik al-Hariri" and it would monitor the progress of
the court.
Sayyed Nasrallah
Rejects Indictment, Rules Out Strife in Lebanon
Local Editor/Al Manar Hezbollah Official Site/03 July/11
Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah rejected on Saturday the
so-called indictment released by the Special Tribunal for Lebanon in the
assassination of former Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri’s case. His eminence
dismissed the indictment as unfounded and a failed attempt to sow strife and
bring down Lebanon's new government.
In his first comments since the indictments were handed to the state prosecutor
on Thursday, Sayyed Nasrallah confirm that the four men unjustly accused by the
STL of the assassination were members of Hezbollah and said they had an
honorable history of resisting Israeli occupation. He said that, even if the
government was in the hands of the so-called March 14 coalition, the four men
would never be arrested, and expected that they would be tried in absentia.
His eminence reiterated the international court was a US-Israeli project and had
several objectives, but most importantly sowing civil strife between the
different Muslim sects in the country. Yet, he assured that there won’t be
Sunni-Shiite sedition in Lebanon, while acknowledging that some March 14
Christians were dreaming of such sedition.
ISRAEL WAS NEVER A SUSPECT
Hezbollah Secretary General started his speech and recalled the different phases
of the investigations, which started by accusing Syria, then the four officials
and recently Hezbollah. His eminence noted that the Israeli enemy was never a
suspect according to this tribunal, despite all facts and documents previously
broadcast.
"We mentioned the possibility of having Israel involved in the murder and the
fact that Israeli agents were present at the murder scene one day before the
murder. But no one in the STL even asked the Israelis anything. This is normal,
why? Because the tribunal, since its formation, had a precise goal and no one
was allowed to talk to the Israelis ... Instead of investigating the Israelis,
the STL gathered information from them."
Furthermore, Sayyed Nasrallah displayed documents to show that when the tribunal
was transferring equipment from Lebanon to the court's base in the Netherlands
in 2009, it sent a consignment of 97 computers via the occupied territories
rather than ship them directly from Beirut. His eminence wondered why they had
not been shipped out of a Beirut port.
BELLEMARE’S CONSULTANT… CIA OFFICER!
Hezbollah Secretary General then questioned the credibility of STL Prosecutor
Daniel Bellemare and criticized the prosecutor’s team of investigators, who had
ties to Western intelligence agencies and had worked against the resistance. "If
Bellemare was fair, he would have at least employed objective experts and
advisers with no animosity or prejudice against any party that they are
investigating," Sayyed Nasrallah said, adding that one of Bellemare’s
consultants was an agent for the Central Intelligence Agency.
"One of Bellemare's top consultant is a high-ranking officer in the CIA who we
have accused of working against Hezbollah for 15 years and followed Hajj Imad
Mughniyeh and is involved in the CIA massacre in Beer Hasan in Lebanon, which
targeted Grand Ayatollah late Sayyed Mohamad Hussein Fadlallah and resulted in
the death of dozens of people," his eminence pointed out.
The speech was interspersed with video presentations with evidence showing how
members of the STL had affiliations with Western intelligence agencies,
including an Australian with ties to a US intelligence agency, a British
investigator, claimed to be an expert on fighting what he called Islamic
terrorism, a former American officer, a French-Lebanese legal consultant for the
STL who worked against the resistance and Robert Baer, who was a CIA agent.
TRIBUNAL’S PROVED CORRUPTION
Turning to the STL officials’ corruption and non-professional, Sayyed Nasrallah
pointed to the case of Gerhard Lehman, the former deputy president of the
investigative committee in the case of the assassination of Hariri. "We will
reveal a case ... where Lehman sold affidavits and confessions for money,"
Sayyed Nassrallah said before airing footage of Lehman receiving money in return
for documents related to the investigation.
Sayyed Nasrallah also raised the issue of the false witnesses, where he revealed
that Bellemare has personally worked and followed up on the task to lift the
international (INTERPOL) warrant against Mohammad Zuheir al-Siddiq, the
so-called king witness in the case, the one who’s believed to have misled the
investigation since its beginning.
His eminence went on to question the motives behind the repeated leaks from the
tribunal to the media, and pointed out that the investigation was not secret, as
everything was leaked in the newspapers and all the people got to know the
information related to the probe, as he wonder whether there was any credibility
left. "One of the most important conditions is the secrecy of the investigation
and the whole world knows that nothing was secretive about this investigation
since everything was published in the media," Sayyed Nasrallah said. "The worst
form of leaks took place a few days ago, when the STL delegation of
investigators met with State Attorney General Saeed Mirza to deliver the
indictment and at the same time, the names of the indicted people were being
broadcast through media outlets," Sayyed Nasrallah underlined.
His eminence also said that the leaks to the media had been intentional and
aimed at tarnishing the image of the resistance, adding that the timing of the
leaks of the names of four Hezbollah members was a mechanism to harm and bring
down Prime Minister Najib Miqati’s recently formed Cabinet.
STL’S PRESIDENT… GREAT FRIEND OF ISRAEL
Turning to the tribunal, Sayyed Nasrallah pointed to the fact that its head,
Antonio Cassesse, is in fact a great friend of Israel. "The one who is supposed
to govern the tribunal is a great friend of Israel and holds prejudices against
the resistance," his eminence said.
"Are we supposed to stand before a judge who is a big friend to Israel and is
supposed to realize justice? Are we supposed to stand before Israel’s friend who
considers the Resistance terrorist and that resistance movements are terrorist?”
Sayyed Nasrallah wondered. "He thinks the resistance is a terrorist organization
… he is prejudiced and thinks we are terrorists."
"Imagine that Israel in Cassesse's eyes in the only state in the region that
abides by law and human rights, and that what has been happening in Palestine
for the past 60 years with more than 11 thousand detainees, as well as the
Israeli massacres in Lebanon are no problem to him, as Cassesse believes Israel
wages war against terrorism," Sayyed Nasrallah explained. Again, Sayyed
Nasrallah questioned how such a tribunal with such a head can achieve justice.
THERE WILL BE NO STRIFE IN LEBANON
Addressing the Lebanese people, Sayyed Nasrallah reiterated there will be no
strife among the Lebanese especially between the Sunnis and Shiites. "I said
this a year earlier, one of the investigation's goals is to sow strife among the
Lebanese but there will be no strife. I tell you, after the issuance of the
so-called indictment, there will be no strife or civil war in Lebanon," Sayyed
Nasrallah said. "Rest assured, nothing has happened or will happen, unless a
third party will interfere seeking to spark a conflict."
His eminence assuaged fears of civil unrest, reiterating charges that the STL
was a plot by his arch-foe Israel to crush Hezbollah and pit Lebanon's Sunni and
Shiite Muslim communities against each other. "The tribunal aims to incite
discord among the Lebanese, but there will be no clashes between Sunnis and
Shiites, nor will there be another civil war," Sayyed Nasrallah said.
NO GOVERNMENT WILL BE ABLE TO CARRY OUT ARRESTS
Sayyed Nasrallah then addressed the March 14 bloc, believed to be the new
opposition in Lebanon. His eminence urged them not to hold the cabinet of PM
Najib Miqati responsible of what they would have failed to carry out if they
were the ones assuming power. "I call you not to hold the cabinet of Prime
Minister Najib Miqati responsible for not being able to carry out the arrest
warrants of the STL's prosecutor's office, which the Hariri cabinet would not
have had been responsible for either at the time. Even if the cabinet was backed
by March 14, it will not be able to carry out the warrants and arrest the
indicted people. No Lebanese government will be able to carry out any arrests
whether in 30 days ... 30 years or even 300 years."
Sayyed Nasrallah also urged the so-called March 14 coalition not to demand from
PM Miqati what former PM Saad Hariri was willing to abandon in order to remain
in power. His eminence revealed that he had received a document from the Qatari
prime minister and Turkey's foreign minister, which stated that Hariri had
agreed to a set of demands if he could stay on as premier. Sayyed Nasrallah said
he would reveal the document to the public at a later date if the need arose,
but that the message conveyed to him was that it was approved by the Saudis,
French, British and US.
IT IS AN AGGRESSION AGAINST RESISTANCE
In conclusion, Sayyed Nasrallah reiterated that Hezbollah rejects the indictment
along with "each and every void accusation" by the Netherlands-based court. "We
reject the Special Tribunal for Lebanon along with each and every void
accusation it issues, which to us is equivalent to an attack on Hezbollah," his
eminence declared. He noted that the indictment was merely a step toward more
results of this American-Israeli court. "It is an aggression against us and the
resistance and we will not allow it to drag Lebanon into any strife. The only
victim in this case is the martyr [former] Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri."
"I want to tell the supporters of the Resistance not to be worried; this is part
of a war we are fighting since the establishment of the Zionist entity and its
aggression on the land of Palestine."
The Taliban Will Rule Afghanistan
Saturday, 02 Jul 2011
By Walid Phares
Before and after President Barack Obama announced the new U.S. strategy on
Afghanistan, I engaged in a variety of media panels and private discussions with
commentators and analysts from Arab and Muslim-majority regions of the world.
Some of the individuals I spoke with are close to the Taliban and others are
critical of the Islamist militia. Contrary to the president’s assertions, all of
these experts affirmed that Taliban morale is high and there is no sense of
defeat among the jihadists.
The administration’s plan for Afghanistan may include reconciliation with the
Taliban, but the latter have no plans that allow American gains, much less
bilateral-negotiations to end the conflict.
It appears that the administration is tangoing with an imaginary partner.
Neville Chamberlain’s wishful Sept. 30, 1938 proclamation, “I have returned to
Germany with peace in our time,” should serve as a chilling reminder to those
who are under the illusion that war is receding which in fact, it is about to
escalate into global conflict.
The Taliban strategy is not obscure; most of it has been announced, publicized
and is based in ideology, as has been the case with totalitarian movements
throughout history. U.S. inability to grasp Taliban plans is not due to the
jihadists’ highly-developed denial and deception skills, but rather to the
unwillingness or inability of the U.S. and its allies to see it.
The Taliban long-term strategic plan is simple: practice taqiyya to gain terrain
and power; resume jihad to eliminate the other forms of governance; and
implement their version of Shariah to reverse democracy.
Al-Taqiyya
Al-Taqiyya has historical and, by some accounts, theological meaning.
Originally, the term referred to a defensive tactic Shia dissidents employed to
protect themselves from the wrath of the Sunni caliphate during times of war
between the two sects in the early part of the seventh century.
Taqiyya sanctions deception to conceal intentions and affiliations to avoid
retaliation by those in power. Today, Sunni Salafis and Shia Khomeinists have
added to the meaning of the term making it an offensive tactic of war as well.
In contemporary usage, the term refers to subterfuge or dissimulation by war
planners and commanders to deceive a foe regarding their ultimate aims. Used
this way, Taqiyya is strategic deception, not much different that Cold War
maneuvers used by the Soviets.
Negotiations take place “under the table” via third parties to lure
administration officials into accepting the Taliban's offer. To the U.S. the
Taliban might respond, “We will accept a deal but we can’t say so in public.”
But to their constituents they would assure: “Americans think we will cut a deal
with them but the only thing we’re going to cut in pieces is our commitment to
them.”
The bottom line: The administration will sail out of Afghanistan on an ocean of
Taliban deception. With taqiyya, the Taliban can make Washington believe that
jihadi militias have mutated into a soft AKP or a stealthy Muslim Brotherhood.
Jihad
As they deceive Washington policymakers, the Taliban have no compunction about
pursuing jihad until their banner flies again on the presidential palace in
Kabul. Why would they do anything else?
Jihadi ideology and planted hallucinations define the movement. If they abandon
these tactics they will become marginalized warlords with no political identity.
The Taliban exists, intimidates, and attracts, because they practice jihad.
There is no countermeasure in U.S. strategy in Afghanistan to counter the
Taliban’s jihad strategy. The U.S. wants to bestow legitimacy upon the Taliban
without a counter-radicalization strategy. The new administration
counterterrorism doctrine is targeted strikes against Taliban leaders and units
but does not include a counterinsurgency that mobilizes the general populace
against the jihadists in order to isolate them. Jihad’s most important
component, indoctrination, is not on U.S. radars anymore. But ironically it is
the fuel of the Taliban’s war machine.
Shariah
Clearly, the Taliban’s goal in Afghanistan is to implement Shariah on every
square inch of land they bring under their authority. The imposition of Shariah
is non-negotiable. “Talib ul Shari’ah” (English: “student of Shariah”) is the
origin of the movement.
What this means is that communities under Taliban rule will be governed
according to their laws as was the case before 2001. Women (especially girls),
religious minorities, and secular political parties will be affected. Advances
in liberty since the Taliban’s fall will be reversed.
Taliban’s Shariah is not just about divorce and inheritance; it is about
eliminating all other forms of man-made law. The Taliban will transform the
government into an emirate.
The Taliban plan for Afghanistan isn’t new; they will adapt it to the new U.S.
plan for that country. It will be dominated by taqiyya, jihad, and Shariah.
**Dr Walid Phares is the author of "The Coming Revolution: Struggle for Freedom
in the Middle East." He teaches Global Strategies in Washington D.C., and
advises members of Congress and the European parliament. www.walidphares.com