LCCC
ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
ِJuly
25/2011
Bible Quotation for today
The Good News According to John /2:13-25: "The
Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. He found
in the temple those who sold oxen, sheep, and doves, and the changers of money
sitting. He made a whip of cords, and threw all out of the temple, both
the sheep and the oxen; and he poured out the changers’ money, and overthrew
their tables. To those who sold the doves, he said, “Take these things out
of here! Don’t make my Father’s house a marketplace!” His disciples
remembered that it was written, “Zeal for your house will eat me up.”* The
Jews therefore answered him, “What sign do you show us, seeing that you do these
things?” Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I
will raise it up.” The Jews therefore said, “It took forty-six years to
build this temple! Will you raise it up in three days?” But he spoke of the
temple of his body. When therefore he was raised from the dead, his
disciples remembered that he said this, and they believed the Scripture, and the
word which Jesus had said. Now when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover,
during the feast, many believed in his name, observing his signs which he did.
But Jesus didn’t trust himself to them, because he knew everyone, and
because he didn’t need for anyone to testify concerning man; for he himself knew
what was in man.
Latest
analysis, editorials, studies, reports, letters & Releases
from
miscellaneous
sources
Iran: Genuine change or Taqqiya/By:
Tariq Alhomayed/July 24/11
Allying with the Devil/By: Hussein
Shobokshi/ July
24/11
Latest News Reports From
Miscellaneous Sources for July 24/11
Norway Suspect Says Acted
Alone/Naharnet
Assad Sacks Deir Ezzor Governor as
Army Locks Down Homs/Naharnet
Bellemare in NY to Discuss
Investigation as Western Sources Point out Hizbullah’s Double Standard/Naharnet
Aoun: Lebanon’s Future Connected to
Forces Confronting Israel’s Policies/Naharnet
Jumblat: Syria Can Only Be Cured
through Punishing Those Who Committed Crimes against People/Naharnet
Al-Rahi: We Can’t Live in Peace
without Achieving Justice/Naharnet
Opposition Sources: Riyadh Informed
Miqati that He is Not Welcome in Saudi/Naharnet
Sources: Dialogue that Won’t Tackle
Defense Strategy, Hizbullah Arms out of the Question/Naharnet
Lebanon Submits Request to U.N. to
Extend UNIFIL’s Term/Naharnet
Hariri Slams Campaigns against him
‘Led’ by Hizbullah and Nasrallah/Naharnet/Naharnet
Opposition Sources: Riyadh Informed
Miqati that He is Not Welcome in Saudi/Naharnet/Naharnet
US Warns Jordan's king: Arab Revolt
is on your doorstep/DEBKAfile
Pro-Syrian regime protest held in
Beirut’s Hamra/Now Lebanon
Bellemare in NY to Discuss
Investigation as Western Sources Point out Hizbullah’s Double Standards
Special Tribunal for Lebanon Prosecutor Daniel Bellemare is scheduled to travel
to New York next week where he is set to hold talks on the investigations in the
assassination of former Premier Rafik Hariri away from the media spotlight,
reported the pan-Arab daily Al-Hayat on Sunday.
Diplomatic sources revealed that the extension of his term in his post will be
addressed, adding however that this does not mean that he is seeking to end his
duties “as some would like.”
On Hizbullah’s position on the tribunal, the sources pointed out the party’s
double standards in dealing with the STL, noting that it refuses to cooperate
with the court, but as part of the Lebanese government, it has voiced its
readiness to respect its program. “This means that Hizbullah does not seek the
resignation of the Lebanese judges working at the STL and that as a member of
parliament, it does not oppose its funding,” they said. “These are double
standards reflecting Hizbullah’s position as a party on the one hand, and as a
member of cabinet on the other,” they explained. “The international community
does not view Prime Minister Najib Miqati’s government as being that of
Hizbullah, but it simply views it as a Lebanese one,” the sources stressed.
Hizbullah had announced that it would not cooperate with the STL, deeming it an
American-Israeli product aimed at destroying the group.
Regarding the possibility of the cabinet procrastinating in implementing its
obligations towards the tribunal, the western diplomatic sources said: “This
issue is restricted to the STL and Lebanese government.”The United Nations
Security Council won’t intervene in this affair except at the tribunal’s
request, they added.
Opposition Sources: Riyadh Informed Miqati that He is Not
Welcome in Saudi
Naharnet /Riyadh has informed Prime Minister Najib Miqati that he is not welcome
in Saudi Arabia, revealed opposition sources to the daily Ad Diyar on Sunday.
They added that Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat was charged
with relaying this message to the premier. They stated that the Kingdom, which
has supported Lebanon on numerous occasions on the political, economic, and
financial levels, withdrew from the S-S equation that was aimed at helping
Lebanon end its political crisis. This was implied by Saudi Foreign Minister
Prince Saud al-Faisal, they continued. Meanwhile, Qatar is also “upset” because
the Doha agreement, which it sponsored to end Lebanon’s dispute in 2008, was
violated by Hizbullah and the March 8 camp. “The sides that had previously
lifted slogans of ‘Thank you, Qatar’ have started launching political and media
campaigns against it,” said the sources.
“The time is therefore inappropriate for Miqati to go on tour of the Arab
world,” they continued. Furthermore, they sited the developments in Syria as
being another hindrance to his mission.
“It appears that the Arab world is adopting a cautious approach with Lebanon
until a clear image of Syria’s fate is reached,” they said. “It’s impossible for
Miqati to garner Arab support given the developments in Syria, the fact that he
is heading a one-sided cabinet, and political campaigns launched against some
Gulf states,” they added. “Should he head on an Arab tour, the talks would be
strictly part of protocol visits,” they stated.
Jumblat: Syria Can Only Be Cured through Punishing Those Who Committed Crimes
against People
Naharnet /Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat warned on Sunday
of attempts to create disputes between Lebanese and Syrians in light of the
anti-regime protests in Syria.
He said while on tour in Rashayya: “Syria can only be cured through the
punishment of those who committed the crimes against the Syrian people.” He
demanded that all political prisoners be released and that hostilities against
protestors be halted. Furthermore, he condemned statements aimed at creating
sectarian strife in the Arab country, saying that a new constitution needed to
be devised in order to all for the formation of multiple parties in Syria.
“These promises were all pledged by Syrian President Bashar Assad, but appears
that some members of the regime don’t want to implement them,” the MP noted.
Jumblat remarked: “Only free people can liberate the oppressed.” On local
developments, he paid tribute to Resistance fighters who were killed during the
July 2006 war, reiterating former Premier Saad Hariri and Hizbullah chief Sayyed
Hassan Nasrallah’s calls for dialogue. This dialogue would help “devise a
defense strategy that can fortify the Resistance.”
Hariri Slams Campaigns against him ‘Led’ by Hizbullah and
Nasrallah
Naharnet/Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri accused on Saturday Hizbullah and its
chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah of launching campaigns against him.
Hariri’s press office issued a statement saying that “some media campaigns
against him are ongoing attempts aimed at attacking everything related to
ex-Premier Rafik Hariri, his family, and political and national approach.”The
press office said that “these campaigns are fabricated and organized by
well-known media outlets, in a series of steps that began with Rafik Hariri and
are today working on completing it.” “These campaigns are adopted and sponsored
by Hizbullah and Nasrallah, who chose to reply to Hariri through their media
tools by expressing personal hatred to everything that relates to Hariri and his
family,” the statement said. The press office stressed that all the “fabricated”
published news will not change the truth.
“However, ex-Premier Saad Hariri is keen to continue his commitment to justice
and the Special Tribunal for Lebanon probing the 2005 assassination of former PM
Rafik Hariri,” added the statement. It remarked that Hizbullah is using a
“weapon that can be added to its arsenal that will come to an end sooner or
later.”
Aoun: Lebanon’s Future Connected to Forces Confronting
Israel’s Policies
Naharnet /Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun stressed on Sunday that
Lebanon’s future is “closely linked to the Resistance and the powers that are
confronting Israel’s policies.”He told al-Nour radio: “We cannot survive as a
nation without these powers and without the Resistance’s support.” “This need
resulted in the equation of the people, army, and Resistance,” he noted. Aoun
made his statements on the occasion of the fifth anniversary of the end of the
July 2006 war. “Some sides have not realized the importance of this victory and
its effect on the Lebanese and Lebanon’s future,” he stated. Asked if he
believes that Israel would wage another war against Lebanon, the MP responded:
“I think the defeat will remain with Israel for a long time and it will be very
difficult to rid itself of the memory and outcomes.” “It was the first such
defeat that it ever experienced … as long as Israel is unable to make peace with
its surrounding, it will not survive,” Aoun noted. “The Israeli people
undoubtedly want peace because no peoples can live only to wage wars … but the
Zionist leaderships have something else in mind,” he said. “It’s true that they
speak of peace, but they don’t really want it,” concluded the FPM leader.
Assad Sacks Deir Ezzor Governor as Army Locks Down Homs
Naharnet /Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has replaced the governor of Deir
Ezzor, the state news agency SANA reported on Sunday two days after massive
anti-regime protests in the eastern oil hub. Assad issued a decree appointing
Samir Othman al-Sheikh to replace Hussein Arnoos as governor, the agency said.
Arnoos was appointed the new governor of the Quneitra province near the border
with Israel, the agency said.
On Friday more than 550,000 protesters swarmed the streets of Deir Ezzor to
protest against a deadly government crackdown on the central flashpoint city of
Homs, and against Assad's regime, activists said. More than 1.2 million Syrians
demonstrated in the city and in Hama in the north, the head of the London-based
Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, Rami Abdul Rahman, told Agence France
Presse on Friday. "More than 1.2 million people marched: in Deir Ezzor there
were more than 550,000, and in Hama more than 650,000," he said.
Earlier in July, Assad replaced the governor of Hama after a record 500,000
protesters rallied in the opposition bastion calling for the fall of the regime.
Activists who reported that half a million people protested in Hama on July 1
said at the time it was the single largest demonstration of its kind since the
pro-democracy movement erupted on March 15.
Hama is a city with a bloody past: estimated 20,000 people were killed there in
1982 when the army put down an Islamist revolt against the rule of Assad's late
father, Hafez al-Assad.
Deir Ezzor has also been a rallying point for pro-democracy protests since
mid-March, with massive demonstrations reportedly taking place on Friday after
the weekly Muslim prayers.
Meanwhile, the Syrian army took control on Sunday of several neighborhoods in
Homs, the scene of deadly violence last week, while security forces conducted a
spate of arrests in Damascus, activists said. "The army and the Syrian security
forces have been deployed heavily in Duar al-Fakhoura and around the
neighborhood of al-Nazihin" in Homs, said Abdul Karim Rihawi, who heads the
Syrian League for the Defense of Human Rights.
"Military and security operations are increasing in the region," he noted,
reached by telephone by AFP. More than 50 people have been killed in the past
week in Homs, 160 kilometers north of Damascus, either by army gunfire or in
clashes between rival groups of demonstrators, rights activists have said. They
have accused the regime of sowing sectarian strife among the city's Christians,
Sunni Muslims and Assad's Alawite minority community. Residents of Homs observed
a strike on Saturday while the army encircled the city, cutting off its supplies
of water and electricity. Elsewhere, hundreds of people were arrested in the
Damascus neighborhoods of Qaboun and Rukneddine, which has a mostly Kurdish
population, Rihawi said.
"Army units set up roadblocks on routes into Qaboun, controlling all entry and
exit," he said.
Abdul Rahman, for his part, said: "Soldiers armed with automatic rifles are
deployed at the main routes into Qaboun and in front of mosques." "The security
forces also searched homes looking for weapons, and made some arrests," he
added. According to the Syrian Observatory 1,483 civilians are now confirmed
dead in the government's crackdown on dissent since mid-March. In that time, at
least 12,000 people have been arrested and thousands have fled to neighboring
Turkey and Lebanon. The violence has also claimed the lives of 365 troops and
security forces.
Source Agence France Presse
US Warns Jordan's king: Arab Revolt is on your doorstep
DEBKAfile Exclusive Report July 23, 2011, Jordan's King Abdullah Jordan's King
Abdullah II was warned in Washington this week that he had better start
introducing political reforms without delay because a revolt against his throne
was knocking at his door from neighboring Syria, debkafile's Washington sources
report.
The king was handed intelligence updates at the State Department, Pentagon and
National Security Council, informing him that the threat to destabilize the
kingdom did not emanate from a deliberate plot by the Assad regime or the Syrian
opposition. It came from the potential spillover of the tumult rocking Syria and
two sources in particular:.
One: Many Syrian opposition factions had tribal and familial connections in
Jordan from which they have been drawing much of their funding and arms. The
Jordanian branches of these tribes are asking themselves if an uprising can be
organized against Bashar Assad in Syria, why not against the Jordanian king?
US officials warned Abdullah that the Jordanian groups helping their brethren
rise up in Syria are getting organized for armed revolt against him too and have
begun collecting arms and explosives.
Two: The Muslim Brotherhood is on the ascendant in the Arab world after
partially hijacking the revolts in Syria and Egypt. The Brotherhood has
worldwide Islamic religious and political pretensions. The Syrian chapter senses
it is on the brink of success, thanks partly to assistance from the Jordanian
branch. So, they say, why not help our Jordanian brothers just as they helped
us?
The US scenario for Jordan if it plays out would affect Israeli security in
vital areas: The Netanyahu government would have to decide whether to step in to
save the Hashemite throne and if so, whether to conduct its intervention overtly
or covertly. Israel must get down to preparations for the seepage of a potential
uprising in Jordan across the border to the Palestinians on the West Bank and
Israeli Arab communities.
For weeks, the IDF and Israel's security services have been drilling scenarios
for mass disorders to erupt in September when the Palestinians plan to seek UN
recognition of their statehood. Have they taken into account that the disorders
could flare up on both sides of the border?
In Washington, Abdullah was advised to move fast with the following steps to
pre-empt the flare-up of rebellion in his kingdom:
1. He must not wait for the demonstrations and bloody riots to erupt and force
him to disperse them with live bullets, but introduce a series of political
reforms before the clamor rises from the street.
2. He must lead the kingdom's transition to a democratically elected multi-party
system of government – not the façade which exists today, but a government
appointed by parliament instead of the monarch. This would require Abdullah to
cede many of his prerogatives.
3. Voting constituencies would have to be redrawn. At present, they are designed
geographically to keep down the numbers of Muslim Brotherhood members and
Palestinians gaining seats in parliament. The constituency plan proposed by
Washington would give the Palestinians more representation in the legislature
and other Jordanian political institutions.
4. Obama administration officials advised the king to lose no time in accepting
the Gulf Cooperation Council-GCC's invitation to join the organization.
Although Jordan has accepted the offer in principle, membership has been delayed
by dickering over conditions. Our military sources say that while the GCC states
seek greater Jordanian military participation in securing their borders and
internal security, King Abdullah is holding out for guarantees of a GCC military
umbrella for the royal family should his throne come under domestic threat.
He wants the same assurances as those which led to military intervention by
Saudi Arabia and the emirates on March 14 to save the Bahraini throne.
debkafile's sources report that King Abdullah replied to the advice he received
in Washington with two comments:
Political reform would have to be implemented slowly and with the utmost caution
else the royal family would lose its authority to the opposition.
Secondly, if the Obama administration wants more Palestinian representation in
elected Jordanian institutions, it must, at least for appearances' sake, push
forward negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians. The king said it was
unacceptable for the Hashemite royal family to make concessions to the
Palestinians in Jordan without Israel also making concessions to the
Palestinians in the West Bank.
debkafile's sources say that Washington officials who spoke with King Abdullah
were worried by the slowness of his responses and actions: One senior American
official remarked: "By the time King Abdullah moves, the Arab Revolt will be
upon him in the cities, and it will be too late to institute political reforms."
Pro-Syrian regime protest held in Beirut’s Hamra
Protesters demonstrating in support of the Syrian regime gather in front of the
Syrian Embassy in Beirut’s Hamra neighborhood on Sunday. Syrians in Lebanon
organized on Sunday a protest at Beirut’s Hamra Street in support of Syrian
President Bashar al-Assad’s regime, the National News Agency reported. The
protesters held flags and banners in support of the Syrian president in addition
to flags of Syria, Lebanon, Iran, the Amal Movement, the Syrian Social
Nationalist Party and Hezbollah, the NNA added.The demonstrators also carried a
50-meter long Syrian flag and lit on fire a banner of an Arab news station, a
possible reference to either Al-Jazeera or Al-Arabiya television. Anti-regime
protests erupted in Syria in mid-March. According to activists, the Syrian
government’s crackdown on protests has left more than 1,400 civilians dead and
thousands jailed. -NOW Lebanon
Iran: Genuine change or Taqqiya
24/07/2011
By Tariq Alhomayed/Asharq Al-Awsat
Iran's Mullahs have excelled, most of them donning military uniforms, in
launching attacks against Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. Indeed, it seems everyone
except for the local chief of police there has launched threats against the two
Gulf States! Yet subsequently, Iran's Foreign Minister has come out with "soft"
statements aimed at Riyadh and Manama.
According to what was reported by the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA), Ali
Akbar Salehi said: "we have no problem with Saudi Arabia in particular, and we
recognize that it is an important country in the region and influential at the
international level". He added that "after the recent events in the region,
there was a difference in the interpretation and analysis. I think that it is
[now] possible to dispel this misunderstanding". Salehi also announced that his
country "respects the national sovereignty and independence of Bahrain, and
wants peace, stability and security for the country". He added that Iran
considered it "positive that the King of Bahrain has decided to initiate
dialogue with the people. We hope that this dialogue enables [the Bahrainis] to
find a solution to the crisis". Furthermore, Salehi also announced his country's
readiness to negotiate with America!
Of course, the first question that comes to mind is: What has happened? How can
Salehi say what he said about Saudi Arabia, especially considering that a Saudi
source spoke to our newspaper a few days ago, clarifying the Saudi official
interpretation of Iran's stance, saying that his country has not directed any
invitations to Tehran! In relation to Bahrain, Iran continues to distort the
facts about what is happening in Manama. Indeed, one radical Iranian Imam, who
is close to the decision making circles there, recently called on Bahrain to
establish an Islamic republic. This is in addition to Iran's attack on
Washington in defense of Hezbollah, after the Special Tribunal for Lebanon
demanded the Iranian-affiliated party hand over four of its leaders, on charges
relating to the assassination of the late Rafik Hariri. Likewise, Salehi's talk
about relations with Washington comes at a time when America is threatening the
Shiite militias in Iraq, who are affiliated with Iran and have committed crimes
against the Sunnis there. So are we now facing a genuine Iranian change, or is
this a new form of political Taqqiya [Shia Islamic concept whereby an individual
is permitted to conceal their true intentions or beliefs when under threat or
persecution]?
It is difficult, of course, to believe Iran's intentions. When Tehran deals with
the Saudis or the Gulf, we must remember the famous proverb: "It doesn’t sadden
me that you are lying to me, I am sad because I no longer trust you". However,
whatever Iran's intentions are, it is important to pay attention to an essential
point, and Salehi's remarks may be the most significant indicator of this,
namely that Iran today has begun to sense the danger of what is happening in
Syria. Tehran may have reached the conclusion that the al-Assad regime will not
last, and that a change is coming and this means the collapse of Iranian
diplomacy, as I have said repeatedly. This in turn means that Tehran will have
to face its internal crisis, something that is nearly 30 years overdue. It seems
inevitable, and all indicators suggest there is fire under the ashes in Tehran.
It is true that Iran is playing politics, but the game is closer to chess. Today
Iran's castle, i.e. the al-Assad regime, is about to fall, and because of this
it seems Tehran is practicing Taqqiya, if we want to think positively.
Is anyone paying attention to this, on Arab and international levels, and are
they aware of the value of the opportunity for the entire region? This is the
question!
Allying with the Devil
By Hussein Shobokshi/AlsharqAlawsat
A question remains unanswered regarding the popular uprising in Syria, which
erupted across the entire country against al-Assad's regime. Why is there an
Arab and international silence towards the massacres committed against the
Syrian people? In reality, the Arab silence is unsurprising. Arab regimes have
never acted against any ruler who committed genocide against his own people,
whether he was Saddam Hussein in Halabja, Iraq, Hafez al-Assad in Hama, Syria,
or Omar al-Bashir in Darfur, Sudan, among others of course. Thus the Arab
silence was to be expected, yet the international one is highly suspicious.
During World War II, a key ally for the West in opposition to Hitler's Nazi
Germany was the Premier of the Soviet Union, Joseph Stalin. This man committed
repeated genocides against his own people and brutally buried them in
underground camps in Siberia. Nevertheless, US President Franklin Roosevelt and
British Prime Minister Winston Churchill were pictured smiling with him, and
said he was their ally. It was under the same principle that [the West]
cooperated with Saddam Hussein, Halabja's butcher, against Iran in the Iraq -
Iran War (1980 – 1988), and with Hafez al-Assad, Hama's butcher (1982), in what
later came to be known as the Coalition Forces for the Liberation of Kuwait,
against the Iraqi occupation (1990 – 1991).
Of course many have tried to uncover the "secret" of the bizarre relationship
between the US and al-Assad's regime in Syria, and the extremely private
meetings between successive US presidents and Syria's head of state in Damascus
and Geneva. Ironically enough, Syria's regime is openly and implacably hostile
toward the US, which has imposed multiple political and economic sanctions
against it. However, coordination between both administrations has never ceased.
The role of the Syrian regime was to entrench the status quo on the Arab
political scene, and to further fragment the "factions" speaking in the name of
the resistance, especially the Palestinian ones. Syria's regime has always
supported any opposition to any line of negotiation that might lead to a
settlement between the Palestinians and Israel, so as to increase the number of
concessions made and lessen the gains, thus advancing Israel's means of
empowerment on the ground. Perhaps the most compelling evidence of this is the
de facto annexation of the Golan Heights by Israel. Neither the West Bank nor
Gaza Strip have been exposed to such a measure, not to mention the implicit
guarantee of calm on the Golan front, which has not witnessed armed resistance
for over 40 years.
The strange and contradictory statements issued by the White House and US
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, after Assad's regime had lost its legitimacy
(did it have any legitimacy in the first place?), seem naïve and suspicious
because what Syria's regime has committed in terms of brutal suppression has
gone far beyond the crimes perpetrated by the Tunisian and Egyptian regimes
combined. Despite this, the US stance continues to appear hesitant and weak.
Obama's administration does not want to pressure Bashar al-Assad towards
stepping down (which he won't do) because this would mean political
embarrassment, just like what happened with the Gaddafi regime. However, the US
administration would be making a big mistake if it thinks that this regime is
capable of reforming itself, or believes in the idea of reform in the first
place. Those who have destroyed and corrupted their country are incapable of
reforming it. Amidst the events of the Arab Spring, and the spread of its gentle
breeze, it is inconceivable to assume that a regime which has committed
genocides against its own people is capable of remaining in power. History is
full of such attestations, and today we live in an era different to the 1980s.
Honorable men and rational minds must choose to side with the peaceful people
who took to the streets, to demand their dignity and freedom. This is the right
choice. We must side with what is right and proper. The coming days shall
testify to that.
The West allied with the devil in the past, and its silence towards the current
massacres in Syria is an alliance of the same kind. However, the Syrian
revolution will serve as a religious incantation to rid the country of this
satanic spell.