LCCC
ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
ِOctober
02/2011
Bible Quotation for today/Teaching
about Charity
Matthew 6/1-4: "1 Make certain you do not
perform your religious duties in public so that people will see what you do. If
you do these things publicly, you will not have any reward from your Father in
heaven. So when you give something to a needy person, do not make a big
show of it, as the hypocrites do in the houses of worship and on the streets.
They do it so that people will praise them. I assure you, they have already been
paid in full. But when you help a needy person, do it in such a way that even
your closest friend will not know about it. Then it will be a private
matter. And your Father, who sees what you do in private, will reward you.
Latest analysis, editorials,
studies, reports, letters & Releases from
miscellaneous
sources
Their own worst enemy /By: Michael
Young/October 1/11
Syria: We said “expel” the
ambassador, not throw eggs at him!/By Tariq Alhomayed/October
01/11
Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources for October 01/11
Al Qaeda infighting led to Awkali
killing in Yemen. Ayman Zawhiri is in Yemen
Senior U.S. Official Confirms
Radical Qaida Cleric Awlaqi Dead
Obama praises killing of
American-born al-Qaida leader in Yemen
U.S. Drone Kills 2 Militants in
Pakistan
UN won’t advance Palestinian
statehood bid until diplomacy option exhausted
Germany reprimands Israel over new
Jerusalem construction
Iran’s bazaar culture suffering
under Ahmadinejad
Syria dissidents meet as crackdown
claims more lives
27 Killed in Protests in Syria as
Army Defectors Clash with Security Forces
Syrian army deserters battle
state forces
U.S. berates Syrian
ambassador
Al-Rahi Travels to U.S: I am Not a
Man of Politics
Al-Rahi Meets Suleiman on Eve of
U.S. Visit
Maronite Patriarch Beshara Rai
reiterated his controversial position on Syria and Hezbollah’s arms
Franjieh: Assad’s Assessment of
Situation Helped Save our Arab Identity
Hizbullah Forms Committee to Study
Amending STL Cooperation Protocol
Members of U.S. Congress say many challenges lie ahead for Lebanon
Former STL investigator strikes
back at Hezbollah
Nasrallah risks alienating
Syrians, Iranian expert warns
Australian court prevents girl
leaving to forced marriage in Lebanon
Security Fears Shut Down Roads Near
ESCWA
Aoun Undergoes Routine Checkup at
Hotel Dieu Hospital
Armed Men Break into al-Mustaqbal
Official’s Home in North
Lebanon:
Blast Near Bab Al-Tebbaneh Wounds 3
Berri from Iran: Resistance
Deterring Israel from Exploiting Arab Situation to Harm Lebanon
March 14 Preparing for Christian
Summit
Lebanese Higher Sunni Legal
Council: Fear on Christians' Future Causes Sedition
Slienan neets with Hezbollah's
Nasrallah
Miqati: Deterioration of Situation
in Syria Will Place Lebanon in a Risky Position
Armed Men Break into al-Mustaqbal Official’s Home in North
Naharnet /Seven masked gunmen broke into the home of al-Mustaqbal official Amer
al-Mohammed in the region of Wadi Khaled in Akkar on Thursday night with the
intention of abducting him, the National News Agency reported. But when the men
entered the home in the town of al-Amayer, they realized that al-Mohammed was
not there, NNA said.
The gunmen later fled the town, it added. The incident created tension and fear
among al-Amayer residents.
Blast
Near Bab Al-Tebbaneh Wounds 3
Naharnet/A woman and her two daughters were wounded Saturday near Al-Nasiri
mosque in Tripoli’s Bab Al-Tebbaneh neighborhood due to a hand grenade
explosion, the National News agency reported.The Agency added that the security
forces arrived at the scene and started investigating, adding that the wounded
were taken to Al-Khairi hospital in Tripoli for medical treatment. The city has
been shaken by the uprising in mainly Sunni Syria against President Bashar
al-Assad, an Alawite.
In April, six people were killed in clashes sparked by an anti-Assad rally in
Tripoli
Al-Rahi
Travels to U.S: I am Not a Man of Politics
Naharnet /Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi stressed on Saturday that his visit
to the United States is simply a pastoral one. He said: “I am not a man of
politics or a man of state.”
He made his statements from the airport ahead of traveling to the United States
where he is scheduled to visit a number of American cities, including New York
and Los Angeles, where he will meet with members of the Maronite diaspora. Asked
about his call to hold a regional spiritual summit, al-Rahi replied: “The summit
plays a major role in breaking the ice in the region and reinforcing Christian
and Muslim principles.” On whether he may visit Syria, he said: “It is my duty
as patriarch to visit all parishes in Jordan, the holy land, Syria, and Arab
world. I am obligated to visit all Maronites in the Arab world.” Al-Rahi held
talks on Friday with President Michel Suleiman ahead of his trip “out of his
keenness on the role of the president as he precedes any foreign visit by
holding talks with Suleiman,” a source monitoring the situation told As Safir
newspaper in remarks published on Saturday.
The two sides noted that Lebanon is facing several dangers, the first is the
danger against the Christians in the East, the second is the plan to divide the
Middle East into sectarian “statelets,” the third is the Israeli threat against
the region, and the last is the danger of plans to naturalize Palestinians in
Lebanon.
“The patriarch is convinced that the Christians in Syria will face the same fate
as those in Iraq,” it added. It also revealed that al-Rahi will visit Iraq
regardless of the security dangers in the country. “His desire to visit Iraq
stems from his loyalty towards the Christians who remain there,” it stressed.
“The trip is aimed at helping those who emigrated from Iraq return to their
country,” it stated. Al-Rahi reiterated these fears during a recent visit to
France where he voiced a concern that extremists may assume power in Syria
should anti-regime protests succeed in toppling the leadership. The trip to Iraq
will serve as a precursor to staging a spiritual summit in the Middle East,
added As Safir. The patriarch is expected to visit the Vatican after his trips
to the United States and Iraq. This last trip will demonstrate the extent of the
current coordination between the patriarch and Vatican, reported the newspaper.
Rai upholds stances on Syria, Hezbollah’s arms
October 01, 2011 /By Antoine Ghattas Saab /The Daily Star
BEIRUT: Maronite Patriarch Beshara Rai reiterated his controversial position on
Syria and Hezbollah’s arms during a meeting Friday with President Michel Sleiman
who is planning to renew his call for rival leaders to engage in national
dialogue to end their deep political divisions, sources said.Rai met Sleiman at
Baabda Palace on the eve of his 19-day pastoral visit to the United States which
begins on Oct. 4.
Discussions dealt with latest developments on the local and Arab scenes and
Rai’s scheduled visit to America, the sources said.
Sleiman and Rai reviewed a wide range of topics, including divisive issues
between the March 8 and March 14 parties, last week’s meeting of Maronite
leaders in Bkirki, and this week’s spiritual summit held at Dar al-Fatwa – the
seat of the Sunni Mufti whose reverberations are still resonating on the
Lebanese political scene over Rai’s remarks which were leaked to the media by
mistake and in which he upheld his controversial statements in Paris, the
sources said.
According to the sources, Rai reiterated his statements in front of Sleiman who
showed full understanding with the concerns of the head of the powerful Maronite
Church.
In statements during a five-day visit to France early in September, Rai tied the
issue of Hezbollah’s disarmament to an overall Middle East peace settlement and
called for giving embattled Syrian President Bashar Assad a chance to implement
political reforms. He also warned that the rise of the Muslim Brotherhood to
power in Syria would threaten the presence of Christians there. Tuesday’s
spiritual summit, attended by Lebanon’s top Muslim and Christian religious
leaders, was overshadowed by leaks of Rai’s remarks, in which he upheld his
stances on Syria and Hezbollah’s arms.
“We have asked for France’s help in removing the pretexts that justify the
presence of [Hezbollah’s arms] and to help in strengthening the [Lebanese] army.
Only then can we tell Hezbollah that there is no need to keep its arms,” Rai was
quoted by Dar al-Fatwa’s radio station as saying. Rai also warned that if a
civil war erupted in Syria, it would pit Sunnis against Alawites, which would
result in the killing of innocent people, including Christians.
During the Baabda meeting, Rai praised Sleiman’s role in this critical stage
through which the region is passing and his attempts to restore links among the
Lebanese through a resumption of dialogue, the sources said. According to the
sources, Sleiman disclosed to Rai that he intends to revive the national
dialogue conference with a different approach and a change in its agenda, which
was previously confined to the issue of a defense strategy, by adding issues of
mutual concern for the political parties. Sleiman and Rai also discussed an
election law, currently a contentious issue between the rival factions. They
agreed to continue consultations with the aim of reaching the best formula that
can ensure a real representation of the Christians, namely the Maronites, the
sources said
Al-Rahi Meets Suleiman on Eve of U.S. Visit
Naharnet /Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi held talks with President Michel
Suleiman at Baabda palace on Friday ahead of his three-week visit to the
U.S.Al-Rahi left the presidential palace after the one-hour meeting without
making any statement. The patriarch kicks off his trip to the U.S. on Saturday.
His first stop will be the city of Saint Louis in Missouri.
The patriarch’s trip will include stops in Maronite parishes in the states of
Illinois, Ohio, Texas, California, New York, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts and
others.
He is scheduled to hold talks with U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon in New York. No
meetings with U.S. officials are on his agenda. Al-Rahi’s statements on
Hizbullah’s arms and the Syrian situation have drawn criticism. He has linked
the fate of the Shiite party’s weapons to the liberation of Israeli occupied
Lebanese territories and said Syrian President Bashar Assad should be given the
chance to introduce his promised reforms.
March 14 Preparing for Christian Summit
Naharnet /The Christian members of the March 14 camp are preparing to hold a
Christian summit in the Fataa region in Keserouan, the camp’s circles informed
As Safir newspaper in remarks published on Saturday. The gathering will be
entitled “The Role of the Lebanese in the Arab Spring.” So far, 600 Christian
figures have been invited to attend the meeting.
Muslim “auditors”, mainly from the March 14 camp, have also been invited,
reported As Safir.
Miqati: Deterioration of Situation in Syria Will Place Lebanon in a Risky
Position
Naharnet /Prime Minister Najib Miqati voiced fears that the deterioration of the
situation in Syria will have dangerous repercussions in the region, reported As
Safir newspaper on Saturday from the Wall Street Journal. He added that such a
deterioration will also place Lebanon in a precarious position. “There is no
point in Lebanon taking an official stand on the violence in Syria as any
position may destabilize our country’s fragile stability,” he stressed. “I don’t
know what or who may succeed Syrian President Bashar Assad in power, but the
road will be long,” he noted. “I know him well even though I haven’t contacted
him in a few months,” said the premier. “I hope the Syrian people get what they
want,” Miqati stated.
The premier is expected to return to Beirut on Saturday from New York City where
he chaired the United Nations Security Council.
Hizbullah Forms Committee to Study Amending STL Cooperation
Protocol
Naharnet /Hizbullah has recently formed a committee of legal experts to
carefully examine the cooperation protocol signed between Lebanon and the
Special Tribunal for Lebanon, opposition political sources told al-Liwaa
newspaper in remarks published on Saturday.The committee will then seek to
introduce a number of amendments to this agreement, they revealed.
These amendments will include Prime Minister Najib Miqati’s observations over
the tribunal that he discussed with U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon during his U.S. trip,
they continued.
The changes will be based on assertions that the tribunal is politicized and
Hizbullah has reservations over its purposes because it believes it to be an
American-Israeli product bent on destroying the party, added the sources. They
stressed that efforts are being made to ratify these amendments before the STL’s
tenure is renewed for another year.
A legal source told al-Liwaa however that the extension of the STL’s term for
another three years is not related to the tribunal’s protocol. Only Ban has the
authority to renew the tribunal’s functioning seeing as it was formed under
chapter seven of the U.N. charter, it explained. The March 8 camp’s belief that
the cooperation protocol violates the Lebanese constitution does not alter the
fact that the STL has become a reality, it stressed. Meanwhile, March 8
ministerial sources told al-Liwaa that the government will be held accountable
for whatever decision it takes regarding the STL. They revealed that Miqati and
Minister Mohammed Safadi will present the discussions they had with American
officials over the STL before cabinet.
The premier and minister had traveled to New York City recently where Miqati
chaired the United Nations Security Council. The sources added that Miqati and
Safadi will demand that a decision that does not jeopardize Lebanon’s economy be
taken over the STL. Parliamentary majority sources meanwhile told the newspaper
that the case of the funding of the tribunal will be set aside for the moment.
OTV reported on Friday that a decision was made to prevent the funding of the
tribunal through cabinet at all costs.
Syria: We said “expel” the ambassador, not throw eggs at him!
By Tariq Alhomayed/Asharq Al-Awsat
Last Wednesday, I wrote an editorial entitled “Syria: Too weak to expel the
envoys”, commenting on the criticisms being made by the American and British
ambassadors to Syria against the al-Assad regime, in what represents a clear
break of diplomatic protocol. However despite all this, the Damascus regime has
not moved to expel these foreign ambassadors, nor has it even threatened to do
so. The day after this editorial was published, a group affiliated to the
al-Assad regime pelted US Ambassador to Syria, Robert Ford, with tomatoes and
eggs as he met an opposition figure in Damascus. This resulted in a diplomatic
altercation breaking out in the media between the Syrian Foreign Ministry, the
US State Department, and even the White House. This dispute reached the point
that the Syrian Foreign Ministry – whose head, Syrian Foreign Minister Walid
Muallem, had previously restricted the movement of foreign ambassadors in Syria,
and also stated that Damascus will forget that Europe exists on the map – issued
a statement claiming that the US is encouraging “armed groups” to attack the
“Syrian army”. However, despite these traded accusations, the al-Assad regime
still did not ask the US ambassador to immediately leave Syria , and this, of
course, represents new confirmation that the Syrian regime is too weak to expel
even one foreign ambassador, even if he is accused of inciting a revolution!
Therefore, rather than the Damascus regime expelling US ambassador Robert Ford,
they instead mobilized more than 200 affiliates, probably members of the
pro-regime Shabiha militia, to attack him. This was in order to send a message
to Washington that there are some Syrians who still support Bashar al-Assad, and
they reject the actions being undertaken by the US ambassador. This, of course,
represents a clear soap opera performance on the part of the al-Assad regime.
Such action is not unexpected from the Damascus regime, and will not fool those
who know the character of this regime, whether we are talking about those in
Lebanon or Iraq, particularly as one Syrian official – during a stormy meeting
at the United Nations – said that so long as no protests against the regime
break out in Damascus and Aleppo, then the al-Assad regime will remain steadfast
and fight until the end. This is the message that the al-Assad regime wants to
send to the West, namely that it has supporters in Damascus and Aleppo. This is
despite the fact that the Syrian capital is currently divided into different
security sectors, and anybody and everybody who dares to take to the street
against the regime there is being suppressed, whilst all signs indicate that the
situation in Aleppo is reaching boiling point.
However, because one thing reminds us of another, if the al-Assad regime claims
that the US is inciting the Syrian rebels via its ambassador to Damascus, why is
his punishment nothing more than being pelted with tomatoes and eggs? In this
case, shouldn’t the al-Assad regime – and its security forces and Shabiha
militia –respond to the Syrian revolutionaries, in Homs, Deraa, Hama, Rastan,
and elsewhere, with the same softness and gentleness, i.e. pelt them with
tomatoes and eggs, rather than attacking and killing them with every type of
weapon and arms, and mutilating their bodies, regardless of whether they are
women or children?
There can be no doubt that a regime like the al-Assad regime, which continues to
kill its own citizens, but responds to a foreign ambassador it claims is
inciting revolution by merely pelting him with tomatoes and eggs, is nothing
more than a regime that is too weak to expel even one ambassador!
Berri from Iran: Resistance Deterring Israel from
Exploiting Arab Situation to Harm Lebanon
Naharnet/Speaker Nabih Berri noted on Saturday that Lebanon remains Israel’s
main enemy because it is its major competitor in the region, adding that the
Jewish state is seeking to fragment Lebanon. He said during the opening of the
international conference in support of the Palestinian intifada held in Iran:
“The Resistance is the main deterrent power against Israel and given the current
circumstances, it is a necessity to prevent Israeli exploitation of the
situation in the Arab world to harm Lebanon.” “Israel does not seek peace
because it is not qualified to achieve it,” he said. Furthermore, he stated that
Israel can no longer claim that it is the sole democracy in the region in light
of the democratic revolt that took place in Egypt.
Addressing the situation in Palestine, Berri remarked: “Should the Palestinian
state be recognized, Palestinian arms must be unified to end the occupation.”
“Why are Arab states boycotting Syria instead of Israel?” the speaker wondered.
“Why are Arab funds being employed to finance Syria’s demonstrations instead of
the Palestinian people?” he asked. “Is it because Syria, like Iran, supports the
Resistance and is demanding fair and comprehensive peace?” he wondered.
Their own worst enemy
Michael Young, /Now Lebanon
It is unfortunate that at a moment when the head of the Lebanese Forces, Samir
Geagea, has made one of the better public presentations in recent years, his
allies have come across as increasingly irrelevant. The opposition is adrift, a
view shared by many inside the house.
March 14 parties met this week at Saad Hariri’s residence to “coordinate their
stances.” They should have considered defining a clearer national role for
themselves, because the coalition seems gripped by confusion. Hariri has been
abroad for months, an affront to those who elected him. His money problems are
genuine and have not yet been resolved, taking a toll on his patronage network
and political authority. The former prime minister is not out yet, however if
his occultation lasts much longer, his leadership will melt.
Many sympathizers wonder what Hariri actually stands for. Who did they mobilize
to elect in the 2009 elections? No answer has come from the Future Movement,
which has morphed into something of an annoying jack-in-the-box—popping its head
up episodically to deliver some statement or barb against Prime Minister Najib
Mikati.
In the March 14 firmament these days, Geagea is an exception. His speech on
Saturday was, in its own right, highly significant in the context of current
Maronite history. Here was the leader of an organization once described as
“isolationist” during Lebanon’s war years, saying that the salvation of
Christians lies in their affirmation in the Middle East and the spread of
freedom. This was, in part, a response to the foolishness of Patriarch Bechara
al-Rai, who has sought protection for his community under the wing of the
depraved rule of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. But it was also more than
that: an alternative framework for how Arab Christians all over might interpret
the momentous transformations in their political environment, and an enlightened
one at that.
One nuisance the Future Movement has faced is that it has based much of its
strategy in the past months on bolstering the Special Tribunal for Lebanon. The
expectation among the Hariri camp and its allies was that Mikati would formally
break Beirut’s ties with the institution, at the insistence of Hezbollah. In
fact the prime minister has not done so. The matter of Lebanese funding has yet
to be finalized, but Mikati is in favor of payment, meaning that he appears
willing to fight for his money. To the dismay of March 14, the prime minister
has neutralized their main argument against him—and he even garnered
international legitimacy on his trip to New York.
But that’s not all. As important as the tribunal is, most Lebanese have other
priorities. With the economy in a dark patch and many people worried, rightly
so, about the country’s future finances, for March 14 to give inordinate weight
to the Special Tribunal is awkward. Whether the population likes the government
or not, or embraces Mikati or not, it will always look toward the state to
defend the much broader range of concerns that it has. Unless March 14 can offer
an alternative governance project of its own, one as comprehensive as the
government’s, it will come across as a single-issue interest group.
March 14 has been equally insubstantial on the question of Hezbollah’s weapons.
These weapons are at the heart of the political crisis in Lebanon today. As
parliamentarian Sami Gemayel astutely pointed out in a NOW Lebanon interview
this week, until the issue is settled, it will impede national dialogue over
reform. “If there are to be negotiations about developing institutions, you’d be
sitting at the same table as someone who has an arsenal,” Gemayel said.
But what has the opposition done to advance a serious discussion of weapons?
Saad Hariri made Hezbollah’s disarmament a cornerstone of his address at the
March 14 rally this year. However, he did so in the most inflexible of ways, by
throwing it down as a gauntlet. The former prime minister did not integrate
discussion of the weapons into a broader political package, one that might
involve a quid pro quo that eventually appeals to the Shia community. The demand
was there to be accepted or rejected. Hezbollah—no surprise—rejected it.
Since then, Hezbollah has found a very useful friend in Bechara al-Rai, who gave
the party until the end of the Arab-Israeli conflict to hold on to its guns. The
blank check issued by the patriarch further destabilized March 14, while doing
something else: It precipitated a quarrel between the opposition and Rai, who
has evidently decided to transform himself into a sandbag for the parliamentary
majority, behind which Hezbollah can now comfortably shelter itself.
An opposition parliamentarian put it succinctly to me: “March 14’s trouble is
that it doesn’t know whether it is a loyal opposition or a coalition that must
block what it has described as a Hezbollah coup.” Quite true. March 14 has
principally behaved in the second way, which is why its interventions have
tended to be shrill and disruptive, losing it the esteem that constructive
oppositions generally enjoy.
You have to wonder if Najib Mikati didn’t get lucky when he stood against Hariri
for the post of prime minister. Yes, he did join in a Syrian- and Hezbollah-led
constitutional coup of sorts, and yes, Saad Hariri was always the Sunnis’ first
choice. But since then March 14 has done virtually nothing to make us regret its
absence in government. And this is fortifying Mikati day after day.
*Michael Young is opinion editor of the Daily Star newspaper in Beirut and
author of The Ghosts of Martyrs Square: An Eyewitness Account of Lebanon’s Life
Struggle. He tweets @BeirutCalling.
Nasrallah risks alienating Syrians, Iranian expert warns
October 01, 2011 /By Kristin Dailey The Daily Star
TEHRAN: Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah risks alienating Syrians in the same way that he
drove away many of his supporters in Iran by interfering in their domestic
affairs, an Iranian professor told The Daily Star during a joint interview in
Tehran with two analysts from opposite sides of the political spectrum.
Sadegh Zibakalam, a political science professor at Tehran University who backed
Mir Hossein Mousavi in the last presidential election, said many Iranians who
had previously supported Hezbollah and its leader are still put off by
Nasrallah’s comments in the aftermath of the contested 2009 vote.
“It appears that he’s repeating the same thing on Syria. If I were a Syrian I
wouldn’t like very much his tacit support for [President] Bashar Assad,”
Zibakalam said.
Abdolhosein Allahkaram, the founder and former leader of Ansar-e Hezbollah and a
retired brigadier general of the Revolutionary Guards, countered Zibakalam’s
remarks, saying that support for Nasrallah remained strong and was a
constitutional duty for Iranians.
“This is within the Iranian constitution to defend all Muslims of the world. And
I’m surprised that Zibakalam is saying something which is against the very
constitution which he himself has voted for,” Allahkaram said, referring to the
Iranian charter, which was put to national referendums in 1979 and 1989.
“I think that the function of Hezbollah is so clear that after the leadership of
Iran they can have the leadership of all the Islamic world,” he added.
The two analysts were speaking during a joint interview with The Daily Star that
touched on Lebanon, Iran and the Arab uprisings.
Zibakalam said Nasrallah’s open support for President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, whose
June 2009 re-election was disputed by Mousavi’s supporters, had diminished the
Hezbollah leader’s popularity in Iran.
Protests erupted across Iran in the aftermath of the June 2009 presidential
election, which the Iranian opposition claimed was rigged, a charge the
government denies.
Within one week of the Iranian election, Nasrallah, along with Lebanese
President Michel Sleiman and then-Prime Minister Fouad Siniora, was among the
first foreign leaders to congratulate Ahmadinejad on his victory in the poll.
Nasrallah and other Lebanese leaders also warmly welcomed Ahmadinejad during the
Iranian president’s visit to the country in October 2010.
Zibakalam said such displays of support had angered Mousavi’s supporters in
Iran.
“Whereas in the past Hezbollah was very much liked by many Iranians, I think his
support is getting narrower and narrower and is limited to the Islamic regime
and Islamic establishment and people who tend to support the Islamic regime. And
this is unfortunate because it wasn’t necessary,” Zibakalam said.
“He has tied his fortune with one specific political current in Iran – which he
didn’t have to. It’s stupid I think. No one was forcing you to identify with one
particular segment, even if you genuinely believed in that current you should
have been wise enough not to say things that antagonize the opponent of that
line, that thinking.”
Allahkaram argued, however, that support for Hezbollah remained high, not only
in Iran, but also across the Arab region, especially since the resistance group
had “defeated the fifth greatest military in the world.”
“All Arab countries and all Arab people understood and learned [from Hezbollah]
how they should deal with Israel and how they could push Israel out of their
countries. So they taught the Jordanians, Syrians and Palestinian groups that
the only option is to defend their land against Israel,” he said.
Former STL investigator strikes back at Hezbollah
September 30, 2011/Daily Star
BEIRUT: A former chief investigator for the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL)
has hit back at Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah for accusing him of being
a stooge for Israel and the CIA, pointing the finger at Hezbollah for the
killing of former statesman Rafik Hariri.
“They’re very, very hurtful, damaging allegations. No evidence whatsoever has
been put up by him,” Nick Kaldas, who headed the investigation for a year
starting March 2009, said in an interview to be aired Sunday night on SBS ONE
dateline with Yaara Bou Melhem.
Nasrallah has repeatedly questioned the credibility of the tribunal, which has
accused four members of his group of involvement in the assassination of Hariri
in 2005 and has voiced suspicions regarding STL judges and investigators
including Kaldas who Nasrallah accused of being an Israeli-CIA stooge.
Hezbollah says the U.N.-backed court is a U.S.-Israeli tool aimed at targeting
the resistance group and of seeking to sow sectarian strife in the country. It
denies any involvement in the assassination.
“Firstly, there is not a skerrick [shred] of evidence to suggest any involvement
from Israel or anybody else who’s been accused by Hezbollah. Secondly, if you
look at pure motive, political causes and so on, I’m not sure that Israel or
anybody who’s aligned with them has actually gained by the assassination of Mr.
Hariri. In fact, the opposite," Kaldas told Dateline.
During the interview, Kaldas, who is now the deputy commissioner of the NSW
Police, pointed the finger of blame at Hezbollah for the former Lebanese
statesman’s assassination.
“You do get to a point in an investigation where you’re satisfied that a person,
or group or individuals are responsible for the murder. You do need to eliminate
all the other possibilities and I think that happened in this case, but then you
have to focus and become committed to the direction in which you are heading,”
Kaldas told Dateline, adding that this direction was ultimately Hezbollah.
Kaldas, who headed the investigation for a year starting March 2009, also
rejected Hezbollah’s attack on key telecommunications evidence put forward by
the STL, which the party claims was open to manipulation by Israel.
“It’s easy to stand up on a podium and make really spurious, unproven
allegations when you’re not being cross examined on them. I think it’s cowardly
in many ways.” Kaldas said.
Nasrallah has defended the four men accused in the case, describing them as
honorable men who fought gallantly in the resistance against the Israeli
occupation of south Lebanon. The Hezbollah chief has said that the four would
never be apprehended but tried in absentia instead.
Kaldas also said that the case would move to a trial in absentia for the accused
and that evidence presented would include witness testimony. Despite numerous
leaks to the media of confidential files relating to the investigation, Kaldas
said the case had not been compromised.
“It’s unfortunate that some previous staff member or someone with a grievance
has sought to leak some aspect of the information and that’s disappointing, that
happens but I don’t think it’s had an impact on the investigation. The evidence
is what it is.”
“There is protection for witnesses and I’m sure the office of the prosecutor
will do all they can to protect witnesses,” Kaldas says.
Hezbollah reportedly declined several requests for a Dateline interview.
The interview is part of a dateline report on the investigation into the
assassination of Hariri.
Members of U.S. Congress say many challenges lie ahead for Lebanon
September 30, 2011/By Olivia Alabaster The Daily Star
BEIRUT: A delegation from the U.S. Congress met with President Michel Sleiman
Friday, and said many challenges lie ahead for Lebanon.
The delegation, headed by Representative David Dreier of California, chairman of
the House Democracy Partnership (HDP), was also due to hold talks with former
Prime Minister Fouad Siniora and representatives of Prime Minister Najib Mikati,
who is currently out of the country.
At a news conference at Parliament, Dreier said that discussions with Lebanese
parliamentarians had included talks on Syria, as the future of that country was
a “priority issue.”
Talks with Sleiman, according to a statement from the president’s office, had
included the course of democracy in the region and the internal systems of
democracy in Lebanon itself, including the work of parliamentary committees.
Dreier said that the HDP was committed to the development of new and emerging
democracies around the world, but, he said, “I don’t believe one can ever
perfect democracy so it is a constant work in progress.”
He admitted that after 222 years as a representative democracy, the U.S. “is
trying to figure out how to make democracy work … We’re still learning how to do
it right.”
Dreier said that “many changes have taken place in recent years in Lebanon and
many challenges lie ahead.” His first visit to Lebanon was a few weeks after the
assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri in 2005, before the HDP was
established the following year. Since then, he said, “We have seen governments
come and go … We hope very much that the relationship we have between the U.S.
Congress and the Parliament of Lebanon can play a role in creating some kind of
stability which I think everyone wants and the Lebanese people want.” Lebanon is
one of 13 that the HDP works with. The delegation has visited Tunisia and Egypt
in recent days, and is tomorrow traveling to Iraq.
The HDP work with governments on the issues of corruption, the development of
budget structures and the executive branch of government and also on the
creation of parliament committees. Earlier Friday, they met with Economy and
Trade Minister Nicolas Nahas and Education Minister Hassan Diab
Australian court prevents girl leaving to forced marriage
in Lebanon
September 30, 2011 /The Daily Star
BEIRUT: An Australian court has put a 16-year-old Lebanese girl on the airport
watch list to prevent her from being sent to a forced marriage. The girl,
identified under a pseudonym by the court as Ms Madley, appealed to the Federal
Magistrates Court in order to prevent her parents taking her to Lebanon for an
arranged marriage to a man she had met just once, the Sydney Morning Herald
reported Friday. Magistrate Joe Harman, who granted the Ms Madley’s application
to be put on the watch list, praised her “act of great bravery” in challenging
her parents despite her fear of her mother’s reaction, and ordered the parents
not to assault, harass, threaten or intimidate her, the newspaper reported. The
judge ruled that Ms Madley would be at psychological risk if he did not make the
order to prevent her parents from being able to take her from the country. ''It
is not the right of any parent to cause their child to be married against their
will, whether in accordance with the Australian law or otherwise,'' the
newspaper quoted the judge as saying. The judge said that such a marriage was
contrary to Australian legal processes and would be rendered void under
Australian law, but added that he was not criticizing any culture that engaged
in arranged marriages.
U.S. berates Syrian ambassador
October 01, 2011/AM Agencies /Daily Star
WASHINGTON/BEIRUT: The U.S. State Department “read the riot act” to Syria’s
ambassador after Thursday’s attack on the U.S. envoy in Damascus, demanding more
protection for U.S. diplomats and compensation for damaged U.S. property,
officials said Friday. Assistant Secretary of State Jeffrey Feltman summoned
Syrian Ambassador Imad Moustapha to the State Department and “read the riot act
about this incident,” State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said.
“He was reminded that Ambassador [Robert] Ford is the personal representative of
the president and an attack on Ford is an attack on the United States. He was
also asked for compensation for our damaged vehicles,” she said.
In the attack, supporters of Syrian President Bashar Assad reportedly hurled
rocks, eggs and tomatoes at Ford and his aides as they visited a prominent
opposition figure in Damascus.
Nuland said Ford – who has angered the Syrian government by taking an unusually
public stance in support of Syria’s opposition since protests broke out in March
– was determined to keep reaching out to figures across the political spectrum.
She said the United States was particularly concerned that it took some two
hours for Syrian security forces to intervene to rescue Ford from what she
called a “rent-a-mob.”
“We find it incomprehensible that Syrian security authorities are somehow able
to arrive on the scene of peaceful opposition demonstrations in Damascus in a
matter of minutes and yet it took them almost two hours to come to the aid of
Ambassador Ford,” she said.
Ford gave his own account of the incident on the U.S. Embassy’s Facebook page,
saying protesters threw concrete blocks at windows and hit embassy cars with
iron bars.
“One person jumped on the hood of the car, tried to kick in the windshield and
then jumped on the roof. Another person held the roof railing and tried to break
the car’s side window,” said Ford, calling demonstrators “intolerant if not
worse.” Ford denied his convoy hit a protester on the street, and Nuland said
accounts to the contrary were “Syrian disinformation.” The ambassador said he
was concerned that brutal government tactics are pushing more people toward
taking up arms. “We don’t advocate such violence, but our analysis tells us this
is happening on the ground,” he said.
Syrian troops Friday fought intense battles with hundreds of fellow soldiers who
have turned their weapons against Assad’s forces, in a sign of the increasingly
militarized nature of an uprising started months ago by peaceful protesters.
Across the country Friday, tens of thousands of demonstrators took to the
streets. At least 11 protesters were killed and scores were wounded, human
rights groups said.Opposition activists and the government detailed a fourth
straight day of battles in Rastan, just north of the central city of Homs. The
fighting, which began with a government assault Tuesday, is some of the most
intense since the uprising began in mid-March. The army defections, as well as
reports that once-peaceful protesters are increasingly taking up arms to fight
the six-month-old government crackdown have raised concerns of the risk of civil
war in a country with a deep sectarian divide.
Around 250 tanks and other army vehicles began entering the town early in the
day, according to the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
“The army has been trying to push forward in Rastan for the past four days but
they have not been able to,” said an activist who spoke on condition of
anonymity because the sensitivity of the topic. Damascus has banned foreign
journalists and placed heavy restrictions on local media coverage, making it
difficult to independently verify events on the ground.
The army defectors involved in battles in the Rastan area and in the Jabal al-Zawiyah
region in the northern Idlib province number around 2,000, according to another
prominent rights activist who also spoke anonymously. A military official said
the days of clashes in Rastan have killed seven soldiers and policemen as
government forces conducted a “qualitative” operation Thursday and Friday in an
effort to crush “gunmen” holed up inside the town. Thirty-two other troops were
wounded, the official said.
The comments by the unidentified official were carried by state-run news agency
SANA Friday and were a government acknowledgment of the stiff resistance in
Rastan. Many gunmen were also killed or arrested, the official said.
Al Qaeda infighting led to Awkali killing in Yemen. Ayman
Zawhiri is in Yemen
DEBKAfile Exclusive Report/ September 30, 2011/
The tip-off which enabled two American drone-borne Hellfire missiles to kill the
US-born Anwar al-Awkali by locating his convoy in the Khashef in the Jawf
province of Yemen, 140 kilometers east of the capital Sanaa, reached US
intelligence as a result of a power struggle within Al Qaeda's leadership in
Yemen.
Killed too was a second US-born al Qaeda operative.
debkafile's counter-terror sources disclose that the internal strife which led
to their deaths was sharpened by the recent arrival in Yemen of the new Al Qaeda
leader Ayman Zuwahiri.
Exactly when he arrived and by what route is not known. Zuwahiri is thought to
have come to check out Yemen as his next permanent base in view of his plans for
transposing al Qaeda's center of operations from the Pakistani-Afghan arena to
the Middle East, North Africa and the Sahara.
In North Africa, the Al Qaeda leader has learned that the Muslim extremists
fighting in Libya's National Transitional Council ranks against Muammar Qaddafi
have cemented their control not just of Tripoli, the capital, but also of Tobruk
near the Egyptian border. debkafile's counter-terror sources report that those
Islamists, while pretending to defer to the NTC, in fact deny its officials
access to the key Libyan cities under their fists.
This is the first time that military forces linked to Al Qaeda have attained
control of major Mediterranean ports and the use of a military airfield.
In Yemen, the situation is not very different from Libya. Al Qaeda has seized
large parts of Abyan Province in the south and is fighting in sections of the
Red Sea port of Aden.
Tuesday, Sept. 27, an Al Qaeda suicide bomber managed to maneuver a car loaded
with explosives right up to the convoy of Yemeni defense minister Mohamed Nasser
Ali. The minister survived the blast but several of his bodyguards did not.
If Yemen's central government in Sanaa continues to disintegrate, there will be
nothing to stop Al Qaeda from grabbing all of Aden Port as well as Abyan and
Hadramauth. Even without control of the big port city, the jihadis are within
easy reach of anchorages along the Gulf of Aden coast with free access to the
Red Sea, the Indian Ocean and the Persian Gulf.
Intelligence experts suspect Zuwahiri may have been spirited into Yemen through
one of those anchorages from a boat which brought him from Pakistan.
He arrived with big plans and new ambitions: One is to expand Al Qaeda's control
of South Yemen in conformity with his quest for new strongholds with access to
the sea. Its bastions in Afghanistan and Pakistani Waziristan were landlocked
and without an airfield. But over and above this strategic push, neither
Zawahiri nor Osama Bin Laden, who was killed by US commandos in Abbottabad,
Pakistan, on May 2, ever completely trusted Anwar al Awakli.
Although US President Barack Obama lauded the death of "the leader of external
operations" of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, AQAP, Bin Laden and his
successor never let him have this title – or even command of the Yemen sector -
despite his pleas. Neither was ready to countenance an American whom they didn't
entirely trust in a position of high command in their organization Awakli made
his name in the West as a skilled and powerful spokesman for al Qaeda's cause.
He never distinguished himself as an operational commander. Therefore, our
counter-terror experts have always been wary of attributing to him personally
the failed attempt to blow up a US airliner on Christmas 2009 and the planting
of a bomb aboard a cargo plane in October 2010. He was certainly linked to the
Palestinian US Major Nidal Malik Hassan's murder of 13 US military and security
personnel at Ford Hood in November 2009, although more likely by inspiration
than specific directives.
The second American who died in the US drone-borne missile strike Friday was
Samir Khan, editor of Al Qaeda's English-language Inspire Magazine.
From the point of view of the West, Al Qaeda has lost two senior operatives. But
to hardline Zuwahiri, Al Qaeda in Yemen has been purged of its American module.
Therefore, while the US justly celebrates a major victory in its war on the
Islamist terrorist organization, its new leader most probably decided to
sacrifice his two American assets for the sake of tightening the ranks of AQAP
and drawing a denser curtain of secrecy than ever before over his next steps.