LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
November 22/2011
Bible Quotation for today/Serving others
Matthew 20/23-28: " We can, they answered. You will indeed drink from my cup,
Jesus told them, but I do not have the right to choose who will sit at my right
and my left. These places belong to those for whom my Father has prepared them.
When the other ten disciples heard about this, they became angry with the two
brothers. So Jesus called them all together and said, You know that the rulers
of the heathen have power over them, and the leaders have complete authority.
This, however, is not the way it shall be among you. If one of you wants to be
great, you must be the servant of the rest; and if one of you wants to be first,
you must be the slave of the others—like the Son of Man, who did not come to be
served, but to serve and to give his life to redeem many people.
Latest analysis, editorials, studies, reports, letters & Releases from
miscellaneous sources
What
is the Shabiha?/By Tariq Alhomayed/Asharq Al-Awsat/November 21/11
Report: Dozens of U.S. spies captured in
Lebanon and Iran/Haaretz/November 21/11
Report: Dozens of U.S. spies captured in Lebanon and Iran/By
Barak Ravid and The Associated Press /November 21/11
Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources for November
21/11
Russian warships off Syria, US
carriers near Iran
Egypt's Cabinet resigns amid widening protests
Deadly clashes engulf Cairo
US delays planned return of envoy to Syria
CIA forced to curb spying in Lebanon
UN must okay any military move on Syria, MacKay says
Syria
strife keeps Canadian navy in Mediterranean
Assad refuses to bow to pressure
Dictator may fall but Syria won't change
STL President to Visit Lebanon this Week
Kahwagi calls for military unity to protect Lebanon from Arab unrest
fallout
Mikati hastens STL funding efforts
Jumblat: Hizbullah Should Cooperate with STL to Ease Tensions in Lebanon
Berri urges youths to abolish sectarianism
Syria immune to
military attack: Hezbollah MP
Lebanese hoist the
cedar for Flag Day
Hariri: Miqati Will Only Resign if He Feels His Boss is About to Fall
Nohad Jabr Elected New Head of Beirut Bar Association
Jabr wins Beirut Bar Association top post
Hariri on Gemayel’s Murder Anniversary: STL Working on Ending Organized
Political Crime
Islamist prisoners’
families rally to mount pressure on government
Lebanese win big at
Cyprus table tennis event
EDL staff say still facing threats in Baalbek
Libya wants to try Seif al-Islam, Senussi captured
Russian warships off Syria, US
carriers near Iran
DEBKAfile Exclusive Report/November 21, 2011/ Big power gunboat diplomacy is in
full spate in the Mediterranean and Persian Gulf. Washington is underscoring its
military option against Iran's nuclear program, while Russia is demonstrating
its resolve to prevent NATO attacking Syria after Libya and defending Bashar
Assad's regime. Monday, Nov. 21,
Russia's foreign minister Sergey Lavrov accused Western nations of "political
provocation" by urging the Syrian opposition to refuse to negotiate a settlement
with Assad.
Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan, for his part, advised Assad: "You can
only continue with tanks and guns to a certain point, the day will come when you
will go."
debkafile's military sources note that Russia and America adopted aggressive
postures on Nov. 12, when two American carriers, the USS Bush and USS Stennis
sailed through the Strait of Hormuz side by side and took up position opposite
the Iranian coast.
That was also the day when a mysterious explosion at the Revolutionary Guards
base near Tehran wiped out the entire leadership of Iran's ballistic missile
program.
Five days later, on Nov. 17, the Syrian news agency reported three Russian naval
vessels on the Mediterranean were heading toward Syria.
Monday, Nov. 21, presidential sources in Damascus announced three warships had
entered Syrian territorial waters outside Tartus port.
Those sources stressed the Russian ships would not anchor in the Syrian port,
indicating that their mission was not just to show the flag for the Assad regime
but was on operational duty along its coasts to resist any foreign intervention
in Syria unrest.
Our military sources are watching to see whether the Russian flotilla targets
the small craft transporting arms from Lebanon and Turkey to Syrian rebels
fighting the regime. If so, Moscow would be able to present these strikes as
actions against piracy which would fall under a UN Security Council resolution.
While Moscow and Damascus kept the identity of the Russian warships dark, Arab
sources said at least two of them are equipped for gathering intelligence and
electronic warfare.
As the Russian warships entered Syrian territorial waters, Canadian Defense
Minister Peter McKay announced that in the light of the Syrian crisis, the Royal
Canadian Navy would keep back in the Mediterranean until the end of 2012 certain
vessels which took part in the Libyan campaign.
debkafile's military sources report he was referring to two frigates:
HMCS Vancouver will stay in the Mediterranean Sea until early next year," he
said, taking part in "locating, tracking, reporting (and) boarding vessels of
interest suspected of international terrorism." It would be relieved by HMCS
Charlottetown until the end of 2012.
Defense Minister Mckay explained: "…a lot of dictators are on notice that this
type of behavior isn't going to be tolerated. How we go about it and what comes
next is done on… an escalating scale before making any final decisions about
intervention."
The Canadian defense minister was the first prominent Western official to admit
the possibility of Western military intervention in Syria.
Three more events affecting the fate of the Assad regime, Tehran's closest ally,
followed in quick succession Monday:
British Foreign Secretary William Hague received a delegation of the opposition
Syrian National Council in London. Shortly before the interview the SNC
published its plan for the transition of power from the Assad regime in
Damascus, calling also for "international protection for Syrian civilians."
In Syria itself, three buses carrying Turkish pilgrims home from Mecca were
accosted by a Syrian checkpoint at Cizre near Homs. The passengers were ordered
to disembark for their papers to be inspected. The Syrian soldiers then started
shooting at them, injuring a passenger and one of the drivers.
This incident will not be treated lightly by the Erdogan government.
Until now, despite vocal threats, Ankara has not intervened directly in the
nine-month Syrian uprising aside from arming and training rebels.
Also Monday, Jordan's King Abdullah II paid a surprise visit to Ramallah for
talks with the Palestinian Authority chairman Mahmoud Abbas. One of the items on
his agenda was an attempt to find out where the Palestinian leader stands
vis-à-vis the Arab Revolt, especially on the conflict in Syria.
US delays planned return of envoy to Syria
November 21, 2011/By Arshad Mohammed /Daily Star
FILE - In this June 20, 2011 photo taken during a government-organized tour for
foreign diplomats and the media, US ambassador in Syria Robert Ford, covers his
nose during his visit with other foreign diplomats to a mass grave, in Jisr el-Shughour,
north of Syria. State Department spokesman Mark Toner said Monday, Oct. 24,
2011, that Ambassador Robert Ford returned to Washington this weekend after
"credible threats against his personal safety."
WASHINGTON: The U.S. ambassador to Syria will not return to Damascus this week
as previously planned but is expected to go back there by the end of the year,
State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said on Monday. Ambassador Robert
Ford had been due to return to the Syrian capital by Thursday's U.S.
Thanksgiving holiday.
Nuland told reporters that several factors played into the decision for Ford not
to return now. These included: events on the ground in Syria, where a lethal
government crackdown against protesters continues; the decision of other nations
to bring their ambassadors home; and the question of whether he could be
effective and move around upon his return, Nuland said.
She said that as of now, it is expected that Ford will return to Damascus by the
end if this year.
The United States last month pulled Ford out of Syria, citing threats to his
safety. Ford had antagonized Syria's government with his high-profile support
for demonstrators trying to end 41 years of Assad family rule. Assad supporters
had attacked the U.S. embassy and Ford's convoy in recent months.
Egypt's Cabinet resigns amid widening protests
November 21, 2011/By Maggie Michael /Daily Star
CAIRO: Egypt's state television says the Cabinet has submitted its resignation
to the ruling military council but will stay on to run the nation's day-to-day
affairs until a decision is made.
The resignation of the Cabinet on Monday came amid widening protests against the
ruling military. Protesters are demanding that the military quickly announce a
date for the handover of power to a civilian government. At least 24 protesters
have been killed in the past three days.
Prime Minister Essam Sharaf's government has come under consistent criticism
from across the political spectrum since it came to office in March for its
perceived inefficiency and its subordination to the military.
Report: Dozens of U.S. spies
captured in Lebanon and Iran
Current and former U.S. officials concede that CIA suffered difficult blow;
sources say Lebanon informants were compromised by meeting CIA agents at a
Beirut Pizza Hut.
By Barak Ravid and The Associated Press /Haaretz
Tags: Iran Lebanon Hezbollah
Dozens of spies working for the CIA were captured recently in Lebanon and Iran,
current and former U.S. officials told The Associated Press and ABC News on
Monday.
The CIA’s operations in Lebanon have been badly damaged after Hezbollah
identified and captured a number of the U.S. spies, officials told The
Associated Press.
In photo released by Lebanon army, a spying system camouflaged to look like a
rock is seen after it was discovered by the Lebanese army near the southern city
of Tyre on March 17, 2011.
Hezbollah’s longtime leader, Sheik Hassan Nasrallah, boasted on television in
June that he had rooted out at least two CIA spies who had infiltrated the ranks
of Hezbollah, which the U.S. considers a terrorist group closely allied with
Iran. Though the U.S. Embassy in Lebanon officially denied the accusation,
current and former officials concede that it happened and the damage has spread
even further.
According to a report by ABC News, there were two distinct espionage rings
targeting Iran and Hezbollah in which spies were recruited by the CIA.
Current and former U.S. officials said the two different spy rings were
discovered separately but both caused a significant setback in U.S. efforts to
track Iran's nuclear activities and Hezbollah actions against Israel.
ABC reported that according to U.S. officials, the CIA used the codeword "Pizza"
when discussing where to meet with the informants.
Other former officials said CIA case officers met several Lebanese informants at
a local Beirut Pizza Hut branch, which helped Hezbollah identify the spies
helping the CIA.
U.S. officials, however, deny any allegations that their agents were compromised
at Pizza Hut, ABC reported.
An image grab taken from Lebanon's Hezbollah-run Manar TV shows Hezbollah leader
Hassan Nasrallah delivering a televised speech at an undisclosed location in
Lebanon on July 2, 2011.
In recent months, CIA officials have secretly been scrambling to protect their
remaining spies — foreign assets or agents working for the agency — before
Hezbollah can find them.
To be sure, some deaths are to be expected in shadowy spy wars. It’s an
extremely risky business and people get killed. But the damage to the agency’s
spy network in Lebanon has been greater than usual, several former and current
U.S. officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not
authorized to speak publicly about security matters.
The Lebanon crisis is the latest mishap involving CIA counterintelligence, the
undermining or manipulating of the enemy’s ability to gather information. Former
CIA officials have said that once-essential skill has been eroded as the agency
shifted from outmaneuvering rival spy agencies to fighting terrorists. In the
rush for immediate results, former officers say, tradecraft has suffered.
The most recent high-profile example was the suicide bomber who posed as an
informant and killed seven CIA employees and wounded six others in Khost,
Afghanistan in December 2009.
Last year, then-CIA director Leon Panetta said the agency had to maintain “a
greater awareness of counterintelligence.” But eight months later, Nasrallah let
the world know he had bested the CIA, demonstrating that the agency still
struggles with this critical aspect of spying and sending a message to those who
would betray Hezbollah.
The CIA was well aware the spies were vulnerable in Lebanon. CIA officials were
warned, including the chief of the unit that supervises Hezbollah operations
from CIA headquarters in Langley, Va., and the head of counterintelligence. It
remains unclear whether anyone has been or will be held accountable in the wake
of this counterintelligence disaster or whether the incident will affect the
CIA’s ability to recruit assets in Lebanon.
In response to AP’s questions about what happened in Lebanon, a U.S. official
said Hezbollah is recognized as a complicated enemy responsible for killing more
Americans than any other terrorist group before September 2001. The agency does
not underestimate the organization, the official said.
The CIA’s toughest adversaries, like Hezbollah and Iran, have for years been
improving their ability to hunt spies, relying on patience and guile to exploit
counterintelligence holes.
In 2007, for instance, when Ali-Reza Asgari, a brigadier general in the Islamic
Revolutionary Guards Corps of Iran, disappeared in Turkey, it was assumed that
he was either killed or defected. In response, the Iranian government began a
painstaking review of foreign travel by its citizens, particularly to places
like Turkey where Iranians don’t need a visa and could meet with foreign
intelligence services.
It didn’t take long, a Western intelligence official told the AP, before the
U.S., Britain and Israel began losing contact with some of their Iranian spies.
The State Department last year described Hezbollah as “the most technically
capable terrorist group in the world,” and the Defense Department estimates it
receives between $100 million and $200 million per year in funding from Iran.
Backed by Iran, Hezbollah has built a professional counterintelligence apparatus
that Nasrallah — whom the U.S. government designated an international terrorist
a decade ago — proudly describes as the “spy combat unit.” U.S. intelligence
officials believe the unit, which is considered formidable and ruthless, went
operational in about 2004.
Using the latest commercial software, Nasrallah’s spy-hunters unit began
methodically searching for spies in Hezbollah’s midst. To find them, U.S.
officials said, Hezbollah examined cellphone data looking for anomalies. The
analysis identified cellphones that, for instance, were used rarely or always
from specific locations and only for a short period of time. Then it came down
to old-fashioned, shoe-leather detective work: Who in that area had information
that might be worth selling to the enemy?
The effort took years but eventually Hezbollah, and later the Lebanese
government, began making arrests. By one estimate, 100 Israeli assets were
apprehended as the news made headlines across the region in 2009. Some of those
suspected Israeli spies worked for telecommunications companies and served in
the military.
Back at CIA headquarters, the arrests alarmed senior officials. The agency
prepared a study on its own vulnerabilities, U.S. officials said, and the
results proved to be prescient.
The analysis concluded that the CIA was susceptible to the same analysis that
had compromised the Israelis, the officials said.
CIA managers were instructed to be extra careful about handling sources in
Lebanon. A U.S. official said recommendations were issued to counter the
potential problem.
But it’s unclear what preventive measures were taken by the Hezbollah unit chief
or the officer in charge of the Beirut station. Former officials say the
Hezbollah unit chief is no stranger to the necessity of counterintelligence and
knew the risks. The unit chief has worked overseas in hostile environments like
Afghanistan and played an important role in the capture of a top terrorist while
stationed in the Persian Gulf region after the attacks of 9/11.
“We’ve lost a lot of people in Beirut over the years, so everyone should know
the drill,” said a former Middle East case officer familiar with the situation.
But whatever actions the CIA took, they were not enough. Like the Israelis, bad
tradecraft doomed these CIA assets and the agency ultimately failed to protect
them, an official said. In some instances, CIA officers fell into predictable
patterns when meeting their sources, the official said.
This allowed Hezbollah to identify assets and case officers and unravel at least
part of the CIA’s spy network in Lebanon. There was also a reluctance to share
cases and some files were put in “restricted handling.” The designation severely
limits the number of people who know the identity of the source but also reduces
the number of experts who could spot problems that might lead to their
discovery, officials said. Nasrallah’s televised announcement in June was
followed by finger-pointing among departments inside the CIA as the spy agency
tried figure out what went wrong and contain the damage.
The fate of these CIA assets is unknown. Hezbollah treats spies differently,
said Matthew Levitt, a counterterrorism and intelligence expert at the
Washington Institute for Near East Studies who’s writing a book about the
terrorist organization
“It all depends on who these guys were and what they have to say,” Levitt said.
“Hezbollah has disappeared people before. Others they have kept around.”
Who’s responsible for the mess in Lebanon? It’s not clear. The chief of
Hezbollah operations at CIA headquarters continues to run the unit that also
focuses on Iranians and Palestinians. The CIA’s top counterintelligence officer,
who was one of the most senior women in the clandestine service, recently
retired after approximately five years in the job. She is credited with some
important cases, including the recent arrests of Russian spies who had been
living in the U.S. for years.
Officials said the woman was succeeded by a more experienced operations officer.
That officer has held important posts in Moscow, Southeast Asia, Europe and the
Balkans, important frontlines of the agency’s spy wars with foreign intelligence
services and terrorist organizations.
What is the Shabiha?
By Tariq Alhomayed/Asharq Al-Awsat
This is not a joke, but rather a question put forth by the al-Assad regime to
the Arab League. During its negotiations over the signing of a protocol to send
observers to Syria, the al-Assad regime asked the Arab League: What is meant by
“Shabiha”? This question, albeit amusing at face value, is part of a method used
by the al-Assad regime over the years in its negotiations, whereby it accepts
whatever is proposed, whether domestically, on the Arab level, regionally or
even internationally, and then empties the agreement of its contents. The al-Assad
regime did this when responding to the demands of the Damascus Spring, when
Bashar al-Assad came to power in Syria as the successor to his father. The al-Assad
regime also did this in Lebanon, under the so-called “Saudi Syrian initiative”
[alleged proposal to resolve the deadlock surrounding the UN tribunal
investigating Rafik Hariri’s assassination]. The most notorious manifestation of
Syria’s tactics in Lebanon is Nabih Berri, known for his crafty pleading in his
official cables, the most recent of which was sent to the King of Saudi Arabia,
urging him to resolve the Syrian issue! The Syrian regime has also acted this
way – namely to approve a proposal offered to it and then empty the agreement of
its contents – with Turkey, France and the West in general. It excelled in this
respect with the Iraq issue, specifically with the Americans, and today it is
doing so with the Syrians, the Arabs and the West.
The al-Assad regime’s skills lie in making promises, holding conventions, and
then emptying agreements of their contents without adhering to them. Its game is
constant and continuous, and it is the game of buying time. Today, the regime is
trying to repeat this. In his press conference yesterday, Walid al-Moallem said:
“We in Syria do not consider that the [Arab League] deadline is the important
issue. The content is the important issue, and to reach an agreement with the
Arab League is what counts”. This is as if Moallem had said “the situation
cannot be rushed, neither can our reaction, rather it needs rational, careful
study”. What Moallem wants, quite simply, is more time. This is so that the
regime – which kills more than 20 Syrians per day with its Shabiha forces – can
eliminate the revolution and suppress the citizens. Moallem wants to buy as much
time as possible for his president in the hope of outlasting the revolution,
through open negotiations with the Arab League without any specified deadlines,
i.e. an exercise in wasting time.
As if to confirm this, al-Assad himself told the British Sunday Times newspaper
that the Arab League deadline aims to: “show that there's a problem between the
Arabs, thus providing western countries with a pretext to conduct a military
intervention against Syria”!
Of course, the al-Assad regime has always survived the consequences of its
actions in the past, whether in Lebanon or Iraq or otherwise, but the situation
today is different, and not because of the Arab and international insistence,
but because of the rejection of the al-Assad regime on the part of the Syrians
themselves, a regime that has long tried to outwit everyone. As was once said:
“You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of
the time, but you cannot fool all of the people all of the time”!
Thus, after recent comments coming from the al-Assad regime, I do not think
anyone needs define the Shabiha to the regime, whether its elements are found in
the security forces, the media, or even amongst politicians!
Syria immune to military attack:
Hezbollah MP
November 21, 2011/ The Daily Star
BEIRUT: Syria enjoys international protection and is immune to military
aggression thanks to Russia’s and China’s support, Hezbollah MP Mohammad Raad
said Monday, adding that Damascus had still many options available in dealing
with the crisis in that country.
“The supportive role for Syria – Russia’s and China’s veto at the [U.N.]
Security Council – tells the world that it is forbidden for anyone to think of
any military action against Syria,” Raad said during a Hezbollah political
meeting in the southern town of Nabatieh.
“No aerial sanctions, no buffer zones and no aggression against Syria,” he
warned, adding that Syria not only enjoys international protection, but also
enjoys immunity provided by the people.
He also said Syrian army and security services enjoyed strong levels of
cohesion.
“Why does the West want civil war in Syria?” Raad asked. “Because in the event
of war there will no longer be a state.”
Civil war in Syria, Raad added, also means that the Security Council will use
any Arab League decision to internationalize the crisis; and Syria aims at
preventing internationalization.
He said from Hezbollah’s experience in Syrian affairs, “we believe that the
Syrian regime has not yet used the many cards it possesses in the face of this
conspiracy.”
Meanwhile, MP Qassem Hashem blasted the Arab League for its stance on Damascus
and warned that any negative developments in Syria would impact Lebanon.
The lawmaker from Speaker Nabih Berri’s Development and Liberation parliamentary
bloc also took aim at the March 14 coalition, accusing them of involvement in
the Syria crisis.
“The decision by Arab foreign ministers on Syria departed completely from Arab
norms and traditions and this decision ... came on the basis of American
directions and it was an American decision signed in the ink of Arab treachery,”
Hashem said, referring to the Arab organizations’ rejection Sunday of a request
by Damascus to amend plans for a 500-strong monitoring mission to Syria.
“Any negative development in Syria will have repercussions in Lebanon and it is
regrettable that some in the country are still betting on negative changes in
Syria in their delusional hopes of returning to power,” Hashem said, in an
apparent reference to members in the opposition who have openly backed voices
their support to pro-reform demonstrators in Syria facing a crackdown by
Damascus.
Hashem added that those holding such hopes were putting Lebanon’s future in
danger.
“Syria will overcome its crisis ... and Syria has the right to defend itself,”
he said.
The United Nations estimates some 3,500 Syrians, mostly civilians, have been
killed since Mid-March in the crackdown by Damascus. Syrian authorities deny
targeting civilians, blaming the deaths on “armed gangs.”
EDL staff say still facing threats in Baalbek
November 21, 2011/The Daily Star
BEIRUT: The Baalbek branch of Electricite Du Liban (EDL) urged authorities
Monday to intervene following a spate of threats against employees at the east
Lebanon station.
“We urge for the last time all relevant officials in the area including
deputies, parties, municipalities and mukhtars as well as security services to
put an end to this matter, otherwise, and with regrets, on-duty staff will be
vacated from the station once more for their safety,” a statement from the plant
said.
EDL employees have complained that many of many workers at Baalbek’s energy
station have faced threats unless they transfer electricity to certain people,
and have accused security forces of neglecting to protect workers.
The station said Monday that staff were still being threatened and that “known
individuals” had ordered them to make unauthorized power transfers.
“Staff at the central Baalbek station are once again facing threats from known
individuals in the area, whether by phone calls or armed individuals coming to
the station sparking terror in users of the service when they ask that
electricity be distributed as they please,” the statement said, adding that over
the weekend shots had been fired “over the heads of staff at the station.”
EDL employees, who have come under attack in several regions in Lebanon, have
been calling on the Lebanese authorities to better protect workers especially
after an attack in May on one of EDL’s inspectors, which prompted him to file
legal proceedings against the violators.
Kahwagi calls for military unity to protect Lebanon from Arab unrest fallout
November 21, 2011/By Hussein Dakroub/The Daily Star
Kahwagi says security is a “sacred right.”
BEIRUT: Army commander General Jean Kahwagi called on troops Sunday to close
ranks and protect Lebanon from the ramifications of popular upheavals currently
sweeping the Arab world. He also alerted military personnel to be vigilant
against terror groups seeking to destabilize the country.
Addressing troops in the Order of the Day on the 68th anniversary of Lebanon’s
Independence Day, which falls Tuesday, Kahwagi said, “Amid the difficult labor
through which the Arab region is passing and [amid] the feverish race between
democracy for which peoples are calling [for] and the chaos that might be
created by successive events as a result of a clash of interests and concepts
and the absence of clear visions, I call on you to close ranks and work hard in
order to protect Lebanon from the repercussions of these events.
“While carrying out this noble duty, always remember the principles that have
been upheld by your people since their independence, be it with regard to
adhering to their unique civilized model and their history in exercising
democracy and public freedoms, or with regard to their commitment to the
positive stance required toward the regional conflicts, except their known
stance on the Arab-Israeli conflict. Let it be known that relinquishing these
principles will threaten the civil peace process and national unity,” he said.
Kahwagi’s speech came as the Arab world is recoiling from popular uprisings that
have so far led to the overthrow of the autocratic presidents of Tunisia, Egypt
and Libya, while protests for democratic change have continued in Syria, Yemen
and Bahrain since early this year.
He highlighted the role of the military in maintaining the country’s unity and
independence. “This independence had been achieved by your people 68 years ago
as a result of their adherence to their free decision and their steadfastness in
rejecting all forms of occupation and mandate,” he said.
Apparently referring the tripartite equation of the army, the people and the
resistance adopted by the government in its policy statement as the best means
to defend Lebanon against a possible Israel attack, Kahwagi said, “National duty
calls on you more than ever to be fully ready in solidarity with your resisting
people and in close cooperation with the U.N. [peacekeeping] forces [in the
south] to confront the designs of the Israeli enemy which continues to violate
the sovereignty of Lebanese territories, publicly declares its ambitions to our
natural wealth and tries through its agents to spread its poisons in the fabric
of our united society.”
He praised the Lebanese soldiers’ “brave” fight against Israeli troops in the
borders villages of Adaysseh and Wazzani, saying that this reflected “a will to
confront this treacherous enemy.”
“Your national unity also calls on you to be strict in protecting security and
stability through a continued surveillance of terror networks and destroying
them in the bud, controlling the land and marine borders and dealing firmly with
those who exploit the external circumstances and local contradictions in an
attempt to tamper with the citizens’ security, freedom and dignity,” Kahwagi
said.
He assured the troops that the army command was working to meet their needs for
arms and equipment and to improve their socio-economic conditions and preserve
their moral and material rights.
Meanwhile, President Michel Sleiman will travel Monday to Rashaya in southeast
Lebanon where he will deliver his speech on Independence Day from the town’s
citadel in an unprecedented symbolic move aimed at reviving the memory of the
Lebanese to the significance of the event. Tuesday, Nov. 22, marks the 68th
anniversary of Lebanon’s independence from France.
In addition to ministers and lawmakers, Monday’s Independence Eve ceremony will
also be attended by about 100 political, social and spiritual figures.
Sleiman will be the first Lebanese head of state to address the Lebanese on the
eve of Independence Day from Rashaya where Lebanon’s early national leaders were
imprisoned by French Mandate authorities for their struggle for independence.
Syria strife keeps Canadian navy in Mediterranean
CBC / Nov 20, 2011/Crackdowns in Syria2:10The Royal Canadian Navy, its mission
in Libya completed, will continue to patrol the Mediterranean Sea for another
year, increasing speculation that the situation in Syria could lead to NATO
intervention. The move was announced by Defence Minister Peter MacKay on Sunday,
the final day of a weekend gathering of international security and defence
officials. The deteriorating situation in Syria, which was the main topic of
discussion during the Halifax International Security Forum, was a factor in the
decision, MacKay said, but not the only one: Canada has also committed to
participate in a NATO counter-terrorism campaign in the Mediterranean, he said.
Defence Minister Peter MacKay fields questions at the closing news conference at
the Halifax International Security Forum on Sunday. Andrew Vaughan/CPAs for NATO
intervention in Syria, where the government of President Bashar Assad has turned
its military's guns on a widespread protest movement, MacKay reiterated that it
is too early to say whether military action in Syria will be required.
"I think it's fair to say that a lot of dictators are on notice that this type
of behaviour isn't going to be tolerated," he said. "How we go about it and what
comes next is done on… an escalating scale before making any final decisions
around intervention."One of the key factors MacKay said would be part of the
decision will be addressed on Monday when the UN Security Council debates
imposing sanctions on Syria after it reneged on an Arab League peace plan it had
agreed to. Canadian patrol frigates have been in the Mediterranean for months,
part of the NATO mission begun in March to protect Libyan civilians during the
last gasps of deposed leader Moammar Gadhafi's brutal regime.They will remain on
station until the end of 2012 with the primary purpose of locating, tracking,
reporting and boarding vessels suspected of involvement in terrorism, MacKay
said, adding the vessels will also be capable of helping Canadians in need
abroad, if necessary.
"There is no question that having a ship in the region in the event Canadians
need direct assistance or evacuations gives us that utility, that capability to
respond," he said.
HMCS Vancouver, already in the Mediterranean, will remain until early in the new
year, when it will be relieved by HMCS Charlottetown, the minister said.
With files from The Canadian Press and The Associated
UN must okay any military move on Syria, MacKay says
steven chase, les perreaux AND oliver moore
OTTAWA AND HALIFAX— Globe and Mail Update
Published Sunday, Nov. 20, 2011 2:30PM EST
Last updated Sunday, Nov. 20, 2011 9:17PM EST
Canada is ready to assist an international military intervention in Syria should
sanctions and diplomacy fail, but the United Nations authorization that Ottawa
says it would first require is neither imminent nor inevitable. Still, the
Harper government announced Sunday it was posting a warship to the Mediterranean
until the end of 2012, a frigate that could be useful for evacuations or naval
blockades if the violence in Syria descends into civil war.
Barely three weeks after the Harper government formally ended its role in the
NATO bombing mission that helped oust Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi, Ottawa
says it’s prepared to offer assistance if necessary in Syria, where Bashar al-Assad’s
bloody campaign of oppression against his own people has killed about 3,500.
There is deep unease, however, among Canadian decision-makers and the
international community about the prospect of sending armed force to Syria to
protect civilians – a conflict that could easily ignite a regional war and
transform into a quagmire.
Syria borders Israel and Turkey and has strong ties to Iran; and the Syrian air
force is far bigger and more modern than Libya’s, with a daunting array of
anti-aircraft missiles.
Defence Minister Peter MacKay, who spent the weekend with major international
military and security players at a forum in Halifax, said nobody is eager to
enter the fray.
“With all of the brainpower that we had in this building in the last 72 hours, I
didn’t hear anybody say ‘Let’s charge into Syria,’ ” he told reporters.
“What I heard was ‘Let’s contemplate the next move very cautiously,’ knowing …
if you break it you own it.”
Mr. MacKay said he hopes that China and Russia can be persuaded to agree to levy
economic sanctions on Syria through the United Nations as a next step.
He told CTV’s Question Period that Canada’s armed forces are “prepared for all
inevitabilities” but said in the case of Syria, there are a “cascading number of
[international] sanctions that would have to happen before there would be any
type of intervention.”
The Defence Minister said a UN Security Council resolution is a “necessity in
this instance” before Canada would agree to join an international effort to
intervene in Syria, where Mr. al-Assad is viciously cracking down on protestors.
“I think it’s fair to say that a lot of dictators are on notice, that this type
of behaviour is not going to be tolerated,” Mr. MacKay said.
“Now how we go about it and what comes next, is done on a some would call it an
escalating scale, before making any final decisions around intervention.”
The Conservative government said HMCS Vancouver, which helped patrol the waters
off Libya, will remain in the Mediterranean as part of a NATO counterterrorism
effort, Operation Endeavour, until relieved by HMCS Charlottetown in early 2012.
“There’s no question that [Syria is] weighing heavy on our mind,” Mr. MacKay
said. “The primary purpose is to contribute to antiterrorist operations in the
region. But there’s no question having a ship in the region, in the event that
Canadians need direct assistance or evacuation … gives us that capability to
respond, should certain things transpire.
Asked if he would take military intervention against Syria off the table,
Canada’s defence minister told Global TV’s The West Block that he would not.
“We, again I would say to you, are very cautious when you get into the
projecting of military intervention. But to answer your question, no, I don’t
think we should suggest that it’s not an option. It’s not the preferred option,
it never is.” Mr. MacKay told the Halifax International Security Forum this past
weekend that the NATO-led airstrikes that helped oust Mr. Gadhafi are not a
template for actions elsewhere. Iran is a nuclear threat, Egypt is again in
turmoil and Yemen teeters on the brink of collapse, but it was Syria that caused
the most squirming at a weekend gathering of top global security officials.
The generals and defence ministers who met at the Halifax forum shared many
congratulatory slaps on the back for their role in ridding the world of Mr.
Gadhafi.
But they worked at every turn to dampen expectations Western countries would
take similar action to help oust Mr. al-Assad.
Lieutenant-General Charles Bouchard, the Royal Canadian Air Force general who
led the NATO mission in Libya, cautioned against applying the Libyan model to
Syria.
“Libya should not be a blueprint for the future. Libya is just one more campaign
from which we should take lessons,” Lt.-Gen. Bouchard said.
“One is in the Middle East, the other is in North Africa. I don’t want to sound
flippant, but the neighbours make a difference,” he added, pointing out the
border Syria shares with Turkey is just one factor that seriously complicates
matters compared to Libya. James Appathurai, a top NATO political official,
pointed out that just on process the groundwork is far from being laid. The NATO
mission in Libya was backed by a UN Security Council mandate and had broad
regional support.
The Syrian uprising causes discomfort among decision-makers for good reason,
according to Radwan Ziadeh, co-founder of the Syrian Center for Political and
Strategic studies. While Middle Eastern regimes like Iran must temper despotic
impulses because of the need to sell oil, Syria is far less constrained by
diplomatic considerations.
“For years now, Syrian foreign policy has hinged on making trouble with its
neighbours,” said Mr. Ziadeh. “Syria depends on unrest among neighbours. If you
want to bring stability to Iraq, to Lebanon, to Syria, to Iran, you have to
change the Assad regime.” But the way to do that is far from clear.
Mr. Ziadeh said the West could be honest about the limitations of its power and
the double standard it applies in these cases. The West intervened in Libya
because the mission was relatively easy. It won’t intervene in Syria because it
would be bloody and expensive. Senator John McCain said he favours recognizing
Syria’s transitional council, a move also favoured by Mr. Ziadeh and a number of
other experts. Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak suggested Mr. al-Assad’s
downfall is well underway and may be complete without much Western help.
“I think that [al-Assad] went beyond the point of no return, there’s no way he
will resume his authority or legitimacy over his people,” Mr. Barak said during
an on-stage interview at the forum.
“It’s not a linear process, but now will go on an even steeper slope. People
within his armed forces, civil service, start to see the end, how to hedge their
personal bets.”
CIA forced to curb spying in Lebanon
The agency's crucial post in Beirut is affected after the arrest of several
informants this year, sources say.
By Ken Dilanian, Los Angeles Times
November 21, 2011
Reporting from Washington—
The CIA was forced to curtail its spying in Lebanon, where U.S. operatives and
their agents collect crucial intelligence on Syria, terrorist groups and other
targets, after the arrests of several CIA informants in Beirut this year,
according to U.S. officials and other sources. "Beirut station is out of
business," a source said, using the CIA term for its post there. The same
source, who declined to be identified while speaking about a classified matter,
alleged that up to a dozen CIA informants have been compromised, but U.S.
officials disputed that figure. U.S. officials acknowledged that some CIA
operations were suspended in Beirut last summer. It's unclear whether full
operations have resumed. Beirut is considered a key watching post for turmoil in
the Middle East.
Senior CIA officials have briefed congressional staffers about the breach, and
Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Mich.), who chairs the House Intelligence Committee, visited
Beirut recently to interview CIA officers. Committee staff members want to
determine whether CIA operatives used sloppy practices that revealed sensitive
sources and methods.
Much in the case remains unclear, including the extent of the damage and whether
negligence by CIA managers led to the loss of the Lebanese agents.
According to the source, CIA case officers met a series of Lebanese informants
at a local Pizza Hut, allowing Hezbollah and Lebanese authorities to identify
who was helping the CIA. U.S. officials strongly disputed that agents were
compromised at a Pizza Hut. U.S. officials also denied the source's allegation
that the former CIA station chief dismissed an email warning that some of his
Lebanese agents could be identified because they used cellphones to call only
their CIA handlers and no one else.
Hezbollah, an Iranian-backed militant group that the U.S. considers a terrorist
organization, and Lebanon's internal security service have used software to
analyze cellphone calling and location records to help them identify a network
of alleged Israeli spies since 2007, according to several people familiar with
the case. Dozens of people were arrested. In 2010, U.S. counterintelligence
officials determined that the CIA's Lebanese agents could be traced the same
way, the source said. But the station chief allegedly ignored the warning. "He
said, 'The Lebanese are our friends. They wouldn't do that to us,' " the source
said. The Times is withholding the former station's chief's name because he
remains undercover. He now has a supervisory role at CIA headquarters in
operations targeting Hezbollah. The CIA declined to make him available for
comment. "Espionage has always been a complex business," said a U.S. official,
who declined to be identified in discussing the Lebanon case. "Collecting
sensitive information on adversaries — who are aggressively trying to uncover
spies in their midst — will always be fraught with risk."
Hezbollah is "an extremely complicated enemy," the official added. "It's a
determined terrorist group, a power political player, a mighty military and an
accomplished intelligence organization — formidable and ruthless. No one
underestimates its capabilities." In June, Hezbollah's leader, Sheik Hassan
Nasrallah, announced the arrest of three of its members. He said two were
"affiliated with the CIA, and one more might be affiliated with either the CIA,
European intelligence or Mossad," Israel's foreign intelligence service.
Nasrallah did not disclose their names, explaining that he wanted to protect
their families, "whom I know personally." He said that CIA officers, working
under diplomatic cover at the U.S. Embassy, had recruited them in early 2011.
The U.S. Embassy dismissed the charge. "These are the same kind of empty
allegations that we have heard repeatedly from Hezbollah," it said in a
statement.Lebanon's security service was able to isolate the CIA informants by
analyzing cellphone company records that showed the numbers called, duration of
each call and location of the phone at the time of the call, the source said.
Using billing and cell tower records for hundreds of thousands of phone numbers,
software can isolate cellphones used near an embassy, or used only once, or only
on quick calls. The process quickly narrows down a small group of phones that a
security service can monitor.
In 2005, an Italian prosecutor used cellphone calling and location records to
help identify 26 Americans who he said took part in a 2003 abduction of a Muslim
cleric on a street in Milan. A judge later convicted 23 Americans, including the
CIA's former Milan base chief, in absentia for their role in the "extraordinary
rendition" case. Washington has given Lebanon's government more than $1 billion
in various forms of aid since 2006 and has proposed an additional $236 million
in aid this fiscal year. The Obama administration has struggled with the
relationship since 2008, when Hezbollah fighters seized control of parts of
Beirut. That resulted in an Arab-brokered peace deal that gave Hezbollah a major
role in Lebanon's government. The group's political arm now has 16 of the 30
seats in the Cabinet of Lebanon's prime minister, Najib Mikati. Hezbollah is
also active in Lebanon's security and intelligence services.
ken.dilanian@latimes.com
Dictator may fall but Syria won't change 2
By Peter Worthington ,QMI Agency
Sunday, November 20, 2011
Syria's President Bashar al-Assad greets the crowd during his visit to Raqqa
city in Eastern Syria, November 6, 2011. (REUTERS)
Change text size for the storyPrint this story Report an error The next Mideast
dictator likely to lose his job will be Bashar al-Assad, the
ophthalmologist-trained president of Syria (since 2000) who has provoked civil
war in his country. Assad has been a considerable disappointment to many who
initially viewed him as a cultured, reasonable man with a good education who
would lead Syria into common-sense reforms. To a degree he’s been “progressive”
— as was his father, Hafez Assad, who ruled Syria for three decades and brought
in reforms like women’s rights, expanded literary, education and industrial
know-how. All under the eye of the secret police, which has always been a Syrian
fixation. Hafez died in 2000 at age 69 (heart attack). When his first son Basil
died in a car accident in 1994, he appointed Bashar as heir apparent and brought
him back from London, put him in the army (colonel) and groomed him to inherit
the dictator role.
Hopes (if not expectations) were that Assad might be open to recognize the
existence of Israel and be more accommodating towards America and the West.
He and his British-born Syrian wife Asma were comfortable speaking English and
familiar with Western ways.
Assad liked neither Palestinians nor a Palestinian state. He disliked and
mistrusted Iraq (Saddam Hussein), and he apparently sanctioned the 2006
assassination of popular former Lebanese president Rafik Hariri. He rejected
recognition of Israel. All the while he depended on the secret police and army
to keep him in business.
Syrians were cowed, submissive, fearful.
After this year’s rebellions in Tunisia, Egypt, Yemen, Bahrain and Libya,
contagion spread to Syria — and has increased dramatically in spite of (or
because of) savage repressive measures that have killed thousands. When the Arab
League, whose favours Assad has courted, turned on him, it signaled a change in
the West’s attitude.
Pressure is on him to quit, to resign, to seek sanctuary somewhere in order to
escape the sort of fate that awaited Libya’s Moammar Gadhafi.
Democratic countries like Canada don’t realize the pervasiveness of a police
state replete with spies and informers.
As a journalist, one of my fond memories of Damascus is entering a souvenir shop
looking for a bargain. I found a small, metal devil’s head with horns that was
unusual.
The price was too high, so I left. Later, I returned to the store and asked
again. The price was still too high, and I left. The third time I returned, the
shopkeeper became extremely agitated.
“The secret police keep asking why you keep coming here and not buying,” he
said. “Pay whatever you wish and take the object and please don’t come back!”
And that was before the Assads ruled Syria.
While his willingness to slaughter protesters may doom Bashar, his father
managed to quell a rebellion in 1982 orchestrated by the Muslim Brotherhood in
the region of Hama that resulted in up to 35,000 being killed. Dad got away with
it. The son hasn’t. Assad is a more sophisticated and skilled tyrant than
Gadhafi, and the Syrian people are more oppressed and constrained (unable to
travel) than Libyans.
Does Assad have a date with the war crimes tribunal at the Hague awaiting him if
he quits? Probably not if he leaves willingly. Almost certainly if he’s forced
out — and isn’t assassinated.
The choice is his, but don’t hold your breath for our sort of democracy to come
to Syria after Assad.
Berri urges youths to abolish sectarianism
November 21, 2011/By The Daily Star
BEIRUT: Speaker Nabih Berri called on the country’s young people to take the
lead in abolishing sectarianism in Lebanon and promoting the role of women in
public affairs, in a special Parliament session he chaired Sunday on the
occasion of Universal Children’s Day. The speaker urged youth to work to realize
the demands of Arab protesters who have ousted their autocratic rulers. “The
people want to abolish sectarianism ... want a modern electoral law ... want to
lower the voting age and increase the participation of youth,” he said, echoing
their chants.
He also encouraged them to enhance the role of women in the political, economic,
social and cultural fields.
Universal Children’s Day, celebrated annually on Nov. 20, was first proclaimed
by the United Nations General Assembly in 1954 to encourage states to promote
mutual exchange and understanding among children. Dressed in white, 128 students
took turns posing questions on health, social, educational and cultural affairs
during the session, which was organized by the Social Affairs Ministry’s Higher
Council for Children. Berri lamented that democracy “as a way of life” is
missing from school curriculum in Lebanon, and expressed his hope that Education
Minister Hasan Diab would take up the issue.
Berri also called on Parliament’s Women and Children’s Affairs Committee,
Parliament officials in charge of parliamentary development and the United
Nations Development Program to establish a project for middle-school students to
increase their knowledge of parliament and its role. “I demand the creation of a
Web page for children so that they can always pose their questions [about
Parliament] and not only on ... [certain] occasions,” he said. In attendance
were Prime Minister Najib Mikati, first lady Wafaa Sleiman, the speaker’s wife
Randa, who heads the Lebanese Welfare Association for the Handicapped, Social
Affairs Minister Wael Abu Faour, Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour, Kesrouan MP
Gilbert Zwein, who chairs Parliament’s Women and Children’s Affairs committee,
and other officials.
Mikati told children that he dreamt of being a lawmaker and a prime minister
when he was a child. “Children, I call on you to dream and to have ambitions so
that you reach your full potential.
“But for a dream to be fulfilled, it needs several elements, mainly values ... I
call on you to adhere to ... honesty and religious and humanitarian values,” the
prime minister added.
Mikati highlighted the importance of education for success. “Don’t be afraid of
taking the hard road because your choices are clear,” he said.
He also urged children to draw lessons from the mistakes of current officials
and not to give up. “Lebanon is rich in diversity and coexistence, which we have
to preserve, we have to all cooperate to turn the dream into efforts and
achievement,” he added. Hanadi, a disabled child, asked the lawmakers and
ministers present when disabled students would be allowed to join their
able-bodied peers at school.
“When a state is built in Lebanon,” Berri answered. For his part, Abu Faour
expressed his hope that a decree stipulating that all schools be accessible for
disabled students would be issued on Dec. 3, which is the International Day of
Persons with Disabilities. Salah Hsaiban, who has cancer, brought up the issue
of free health care for all Lebanese.
“Do you know that my treatment costs $40,000 per year, and that if it wasn’t for
the free treatment at the Children’s Cancer Center ... my parents would have
been forced to deprive my siblings of basic necessities to afford my treatment?”
Berri replied by saying that the demand was “important” and needed to be
fulfilled.
At the end of the session, Abu Faour, Mikati, Sleiman and Zwein handed Berri a
draft law to strengthen punishment for child abuse and a second to protect the
rights of homeless children as well as juveniles who commit crimes.
Mikati hastens STL funding efforts
November 21, 2011/By Hussein Dakroub/The Daily Star
Pr.Minister Najib Mikati During a Meeting With The Children at The Parliament
Sunday, November 20, 2011( Dalti Nohra/ The Daily Star)
BEIRUT: Prime Minister Najib Mikati is accelerating efforts to have the Cabinet
decide on the divisive issue of paying Lebanon’s share to a U.N.-backed court
ahead of a Dec. 15 deadline, saying that the “time of decision” to act on the
court’s funding has come, a source close to Mikati said Sunday. “The funding of
the international tribunal has entered its final stage after Prime Minister
Mikati had sent letters to the finance and justice ministers asking them to
refer the files of the tribunal’s funding to the Cabinet,” the source told The
Daily Star.
According to the source, who refused to be identified because of the sensitivity
of the matter, Lebanon has been notified by the Netherlands-based Special
Tribunal for Lebanon, which is probing the 2005 assassination of former Prime
Minister Rafik Hariri, that Dec. 15 is the deadline for Lebanon to pay its more
than $30 million share to the STL’s annual budget.
“Prime Minister Mikati is working to have the Cabinet decide on this issue [the
court’s funding] before this deadline,” the source said.
The source ruled out the inclusion of the STL’s funding on the agenda of this
week’s Cabinet session, scheduled for Friday.
On Mikati’s orders, Finance Minister Mohammad Safadi has already sent a letter
to Cabinet demanding a loan from the treasury to pay Lebanon’s share of the
STL’s funding.
Justice Minister Shakib Qortbawi, asked whether his ministry had taken any
measures to speed up the court’s funding, told The Daily Star Sunday night: “The
Cabinet will decide on this matter [the court’s funding] when it is presented to
it.” Asked whether he thinks the STL’s funding would be easily approved given
the split within Cabinet over the issue, Qortbawi, who belongs to the Free
Patriotic Movement headed by Michel Aoun, said: “Let’s wait for the Cabinet
decision. I don’t like to make prediction.”
Hezbollah and the FPM staunchly oppose the STL altogether, let alone funding it.
Hezbollah’s State Minister for Administrative Reform Mohammad Fneish said the
party’s position on the STL’s funding is well-known as has been outlined by
Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah. “So far, we have not been informed that
the tribunal issue has been referred to the Cabinet,” Fneish told The Daily
Star. STL spokesperson Marten Youssef said although the tribunal has received
contributions from nearly 30 countries, Lebanon must still pay its share of 49
percent of the court’s budget.
“We have funding secure until the end of December 2011. We have received
contributions from nearly 30 countries, which is a clear indication that we have
the support from the international community to carry on with our mandate. This
does not mean that Lebanon is still not obliged to contribute 49 per cent of the
STL budget,” Youssef told The Daily Star Sunday.
Ministerial sources said the STL’s funding is expected to be a main item on the
agenda of the Cabinet session slated to be held on Nov. 30 after Mikati’s return
from the Vatican.
According to the sources, among matters that led to haste in efforts to raise
the court’s funding is a visit by the STL’s president to Lebanon Wednesday,
during which he is expected to discuss with Lebanese officials the payment of
Lebanon’s share to the court.
After talks in London with British Prime Minister David Cameron on Nov. 8,
Mikati said he would put the divisive issue of the STL’s funding to a vote in
the Cabinet, a move that is likely to result in blocking the payment of
Lebanon’s share to the court by Hezbollah and its March 8 allies. Mikati’s
remarks came apparently in response to Nasrallah who said last month that his
party is against the STL’s funding and called for a vote within the Cabinet if
no agreement was reached among the ministers on the contentious issue.
Since Hezbollah and its March 8 allies have a majority in Mikati’s 30-man
Cabinet and can block any decision, Nasrallah’s declaration effectively dashes
any hope for the government to approve the payment of Lebanon’s share to the
STL’s funding.
The STL’s funding is emerging as a major bone of contention within the Cabinet
and also between the March 8 and March 14 camps. Mikati is coming under pressure
from the opposition March 14 parties and international powers to honor Lebanon’s
commitments and U.N. resolutions, including the STL and its funding. The U.S has
warned Lebanon it could face “serious consequences” should it fail to fund the
STL. Meanwhile, former Prime Minister Saad Hariri said the STL would achieve
justice against the killers of his father and perpetrators of other crimes.
“We affirm to martyr Pierre Amin Gemayel that the international tribunal for
Lebanon is continuing its work to bring the killers to book, achieve justice and
put an end to the organized political crimes, while the region’s peoples are on
their way to terminate the era of killings, tyranny and terrorism,” Hariri said
in a statement on the fifth anniversary of the assassination of Kataeb
(Phalange) Industry Minister Pierre Gemayel. Hariri said he was confident that
justice would prevail against the killers of his father. “Justice will prevail,
the tribunal has begun its work and soon we will see the criminals behind bars,”
Hariri told his supporters while chatting on the social network Twitter Sunday.
Asked whether Mikati would resign if he was unable to secure funding for the STL,
Hariri said the premier would only resign if he felt that Assad would be
toppled. “If he resigns, it will be only, AND ONLY, because he feels his boss is
about to fall,” he wrote in a tweet. Asked to comment on Safadi’s asking the
government to fund the STL, Hariri said: “Look we all know what Nasrallah said.
So playing smart with smart people is not good enough, put the cash in the
bank.” – With additional reporting by Hasan Lakkis and Patrick Galey