LCCC
ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
ِOctober
17/2011
Bible Quotation for today/Jesus
Heals a Paralyzed Man
Matthew 09/1-8: "Jesus got into the boat
and went back across the lake to his own town, where some people brought to him
a paralyzed man, lying on a bed. When Jesus saw how much faith they had, he said
to the paralyzed man, Courage, my son! Your sins are forgiven. Then some
teachers of the Law said to themselves, This man is speaking blasphemy!
Jesus perceived what they were thinking, and so he said, Why are you thinking
such evil things? Is it easier to say, Your sins are forgiven, or to say, Get up
and walk? will prove to you, then, that the Son of Man has authority on earth to
forgive sins. So he said to the paralyzed man, Get up, pick up your bed, and go
home! The man got up and went home When the people saw it, they were
afraid, and praised God for giving such authority to people.
Latest analysis, editorials, studies, reports, letters & Releases from
miscellaneous sources
Fruitless labor/By:
Matt Nash/October 16/11
Iran’s terrorism exposed/By Mshari al-Zaydi/October
16/11
The mystery behind the alleged
Iran assassination plot/By Yossi Melman /October
16/11
Playing Iran with home-field
advantage/By Tariq Alhomayed/ October
16/11
Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources for October
16/11
Arab League to discuss
suspending Syria
Big US airlift drill starts Monday.
Fresh Hamas demands for Gilad Shalit
Preparations for absentia trials under way: STL source
Source: Rifi’s Accusations against
Syrian Embassy are Accurate
March 8 Studying Alternatives to
Replace Miqati
Arms Smuggling into Syria
Flourishes
Qassem: We Will Resort to Vote if
Govt. Fails Reach Agreement on Complex Issues
Nahas Confirms STL Will be Included in State Budget
ISF Officer Dies from Injuries
Sustained in Sept. Clash with Estonians Kidnappers
Mansour Heads to Cairo: We Will
Take Position that Supports Syria
Irish President visits her country's troops serving
with UN mission in Lebanon
Hezbollah
has no right to object on funding STL, says Khoury
Future bloc MP Khaled al-Daher:
Syrian embassy transformed into ‘espionage den’
National Struggle Front bloc MP
Akram Chehayeb slams Syrian envoy
Future bloc MP Ammar Houri:
Lebanese institutions are decayed
Free Patriotic Movement leader MP
Michel Aoun : We are fighting ‘militia mentality’
Change and Reform bloc MP Youssef
Khalilreiterates his bloc’s stance against STL
Kurds rally for and against Syrian
regime in Beirut
Aoun says
Sleiman suffers from “a deficiency
Berri to Focus on Drilling for Oil
during Monday’s Parliament Session
Miqati Vows to Strengthen Lebanese Armed Forces to Replace UNIFIL
Strange ambivalence on Syria
Syria's
Assad regime is a threat to the US
Arab League to discuss Syria on Sunday
Assassination so far fails to unite Syria's
conflicted Kurds
Saudi Wants Envoy-Killing Plot in Front of U.N.
Iran hardens denial of 'absurd' US plot accusation
Israel to ease Gaza blockade after Shalit freed, depending on Hamas conduct
'Hezbollah instructed Hamas on Shalit talks'
Israeli defense official: Details
of Shalit release have been finalized
Ahmadinejad responds to alleged
assassination plot: U.S. is the terrorist, not Iran
Israel publishes names of
Palestinian prisoners to be released in Shalit deal
Iran warns against "inappropriate
action" on US plot claims
Playing Iran with home-field advantage
By Tariq Alhomayed
AsarqAlAwsat
Iran’s Supreme Leader claims that the West is seeking to promote what he
described as “Iranophobia”, or anti-Iranian sentiments. The truth is that with
the revelation of the Iranian plot to assassinate the Saudi Ambassador to
Washington, and the international response, this is the first time that the
international community plays Iran with home-field advantage, approximately
since the 1980s.
Khomeini’s words about “Iranophobia”, which are echoed by some ill-informed
people among us today, are untrue, and evidence of ignorance. Rather, what is
happening today, and the international response to Iran’s plot to assassinate
the Saudi Ambassador, which may yet bring Iran to the guillotine of the Security
Council, represents the first time that is Tehran feeling the gravity of
international pressure, and its serious nature.
Hence this is the first time that the international community is dealing with
Iran with home-field advantage, and although this is a sports term, it explains
a lot about the international situation with Iran. From the year 2005 onwards, I
would say to all those who have met with the Iranians, whether US, Saudi, or
some Arab officials, your key problem with Iran is that you did not play with
them on their home turf. Tehran instead is exploiting your resources, through
agents or even through alliances with enemies such as al-Qaeda. It is playing on
ethnic and sectarian divisions in your region, exploiting the Palestinian cause,
and allying with the Muslim Brotherhood without attempting – even once – to play
its opponents on its own territory.
The Iranian mosaic is more complex than Lebanon or Iraq for example. It has a
population of more than 70 million, amongst them millions of Sunnis, in addition
of course to the Shiites. There are also many Arabs, who are non-Persians, and
whose rights are compromised, just as there are also Kurds, Baluchis, Ahwazi
Arabs, Turkmen and Armenians. There are also religious minorities such as
Baha'is, Mandaeans, Zoroastrians, Aliarsanyen, Jews and Christians. Despite all
this, and despite Iranian interference in our region and other Islamic states,
no one has once tried to say to Iran that people in glass houses shouldn’t throw
stones!
Iran is interfering in Bahrain under the pretext of supporting the Shiites,
while there is not one Sunni mosque to be found in Tehran! It is interfering in
Iraq, hence rubbing America’s nose in it, with help from the al-Assad regime,
and though al-Qaeda and its Shiite counterparts. A few weeks ago an Iraqi
official told me that numerous Sunnis have been swept under the sand, in fact
not only Sunnis but also honorable Shiites in Iraq who do not accept Tehran’s
intervention. Iran is also doing “wonders” in Lebanon, where it has established
Hezbollah, members of which are accused of assassinating the Sunni leader Rafik
Hariri.
Tehran itself supports Bashar al-Assad, a man from a minority leadership which
governs the majority in Syria with an iron fist, so it is not surprising that
the al-Assad regime representative to the Arab League rejected condemnation of
the Iranian terrorist plot to assassinate the Saudi Ambassador!
This is not all; Iran also interferes in Yemen through the Houthis, and in
Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, through bombings and incitement, the latest example
being the incidents in Awwamiya. Tehran has also occupied islands off the coast
of the UAE, and has extended its terrorism to Nigeria and Sudan through weapons
smuggling. Furthermore, Iran has supported and continues to support al-Qaeda,
ever since the late 1980s. Despite all this, Iran has not been challenged, even
once, to play their opponents at home, who would believe this?
Arab League to discuss suspending Syria
BEIRUT (AP) — Arab foreign ministers have called an emergency meeting Sunday to
discuss whether to suspend Syria from the Arab League, officials said, ramping
up the pressure on Damascus to end its bloody crackdown on anti-government
protesters.
Despite the growing international chorus for an end to the crisis, Syrian
President Bashar Assad has shown no sign of backing down or easing his campaign
to crush the seven-month-old uprising against his regime. On Sunday, security
forces opened fire on a funeral for a slain activist in the east, while security
forces arrested at least 44 people in the capital's suburbs in house-to-house
raids.Arab League officials said the meeting Sunday in Cairo was called at the
behest of several Gulf countries and aims to pressure Assad to halt the
crackdown, which the U.N. says has killed more than 3,000 people since the
uprising began in mid-March. Many Gulf states, including heavyweight Saudi
Arabia, already have withdrawn their ambassadors from Syria to protest the
regime's bloody response to the protests. One official said the Arab League will
consider other measures if suspension fails to compel the Syrian regime to stop
the bloodshed. He declined to elaborate. The officials spoke on condition of
anonymity because they were not authorized to brief the media.
Meanwhile, around 7,000 people took to the streets Sunday in the eastern Syrian
city of Deir el-Zour for the funeral of an activist, Ziad al-Obeidi, who was
killed a day earlier. Al-Obeidi worked for the British-based Observatory for
Human Rights in Syria, and had been in hiding since troops stormed the city two
months ago.
Observatory director Rami Abdul-Rahman said security forces fired live
ammunition to disperse the mourners Sunday, but there was no immediate word on
casualties.
Abdul-Rahman and other activists said security forces also stormed areas near
the capital Damascus and were carrying out house-to-house arrests in pursuit of
fugitives as part of efforts to suppress the resilient anti-government uprising.
He said at least 19 people were arrested in Dumeir Sunday and 25 people in the
suburb of Zabadani.
The Local Coordination Committees activist network said security forces and
soldiers were setting up barricades in Zabadani and Madaya and raiding houses.
Future bloc MP Ammar Houri: Lebanese
institutions are decayed
October 16, 2011/Future bloc MP Ammar Houri said Sunday that “Lebanese [public]
institutions are decayed on the internal level, there is almost no separation of
powers, and the state is nonexistent,” the National News Agency reported. He
added that “[arguments] on the legitimacy of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL)
probing the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri [have been null]
since the day [UN Security Council Resolution] 1757 was issued under the
[authority] of Chapter 7 of the UN Charter.”
Four Hezbollah members have been indicted by the STL in Hariri’s 2005
assassination. However, the Shia group strongly denied the charges and refuses
to cooperate with the court.
-NOW Lebanon
Kurds rally for and against Syrian regime in Beirut
October 16, 2011/Two groups of Syrian Kurds protested Sunday outside the Syrian
Embassy in the Beirut neighborhood of Hamra, one in support of Syrian President
Bashar al-Assad and the second against him.The National News Agency reported
that the Lebanese army was heavily deployed in the area. More than 3,000 people,
most of them civilians, have been killed in a Syrian crackdown on almost daily
pro-democracy demonstrations in the country since mid-March, according to the
United Nations.-NOW Lebanon
Change and Reform bloc MP Youssef Khalilreiterates his bloc’s stance against STL
October 16, 2011 /Change and Reform bloc MP Youssef Khalil said on Sunday that
“his bloc will not approve [the cabinet providing Lebanon’s share of] funding
for the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL),” which is probing the 2005
assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. “The STL funding file
cannot be approved because the [UN-backed] tribunal is politicized,” Khalil told
Free Lebanon Radio. “We will not accept that Lebanon remains threatened…we
cannot be submissive to the pressure of either approving of the STL or being
subjected to international sanctions.” The Hezbollah-led March 8 parties – which
currently dominate Lebanon’s cabinet – have opposed a clause in the Lebanese
annual state budget pertaining to the funding of the UN-backed court, while
President Michel Sleiman and Prime Minister Najib Mikati have repeatedly voiced
Lebanon’s commitment to the tribunal.
Four Hezbollah members have been indicted by the STL in Hariri’s assassination.
However, the Shia group strongly denied the charges and refuses to cooperate
with the court.
Lebanon contributes 49 percent of the STL’s annual funding. Regarding the Syrian
army’s violations of the Lebanese border, Khalil said that “mistakes happen,
especially because the borders are overlapping.” The MP added that he “thinks
that the [Lebanese] government made a mistake by not handling the issue through
legal and diplomatic ways.”
Last week, Syrian army tanks crossed the Lebanese border near the town of Aarsal
and fired several gunshots on Lebanese territory. The next day, the Syrian
troops shot and killed a farmer near Aarsal. Thousands of Syrians have fled to
Lebanon in recent months, often using illegal border crossings, to escape the
unrest gripping their country
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s troops are engaged in a deadly crackdown on
protests against almost five decades of Baath Party rule which broke out
mid-March, killing over 3,000 people according to the UN Human Rights Committee,
and triggering a torrent of international condemnation. Khalil also rejected the
United States accusation that Iran plotted to kill the Saudi envoy to
Washington. “The only beneficiary of this accusation is the US because of the
problems it is facing in the Middle East,” he said.
“Iran would not plan to kill the Saudi envoy in a way that can be discovered
that easily.”The MP added that he “thinks that the [Lebanese] government made a
mistake by not handling the issue through legal and diplomatic ways.”-NOW
Lebanon
Iran warns against "inappropriate action" on US plot claims
October 16, 2011/Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, warned on Sunday
that any "inappropriate action" over US claims of a Tehran-directed
assassination plot would be met with a "decisive response." "If American
officials are entertaining any illusions, they should know that any
inappropriate action - whether political or security-related - will meet the
Iranian people's decisive response," he said in a speech in western Iran,
according to his official website. The remark came as US officials consult with
allies and other countries on the possibility of ratcheting up economic pressure
on Iran, which is already subject to UN and US sanctions over its controversial
nuclear program.Iran has fiercely denied any involvement in the thwarted plot to
assassinate the Saudi ambassador to Washington, Adel Al-Jubeir. But US President
Barack Obama has vowed Iran will "pay a price" for what he says is
incontrovertible proof it had a hand in trying to contract a Mexican drug cartel
to carry out the hit.-AFP/NOW Lebanon
Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun : We
are fighting ‘militia mentality’
October 15, 2011 /Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun said on Saturday
that he is fighting “the militia mentality that does not respect the law.”
“We look at a [leader] who is a violator who trespasses the limits of law,
constitution and jurisdictions. We look at him as if he [were a strong man], but
in fact, he is a man who suffers from deficiency and who attempts to hide his
deficiency by acting as the ‘strong’ man who trespasses others,” Aoun added,
although the FPM leader was not clear to whom he was referring.
“When will we yell at all of these people and tell them: Remain strong, but bow
to the law like any other citizen?” Aoun asked during a ceremony commemorating
his 1989 defeat by Syrian forces.He then went on to say that Lebanon’s domestic
conflicts have “led the militia mentality to [positions of power in] Lebanon.”
On March 14, 1989 Aoun declared "The Liberation War" against the Syrian
Occupation. He was defeated on October 13 and exiled to France. He returned to
Lebanon on May 7, 2005, eleven days after the withdrawal of Syrian troops.-NOW
Lebanon
Future bloc MP Khaled al-Daher: Syrian embassy
transformed into ‘espionage den’
October 15, 2011 /Future bloc MP Khaled al-Daher said on Saturday that the
Syrian Embassy in Lebanon has transformed into a “security and espionage den,”
and slammed Syrian Ambassador to Lebanon Ali Abdel Karim Ali. Internal Security
Forces Director General Achraf Rifi’s reported statement in front of the
parliamentary committee for Human Rights, in which he accused the Syrian Embassy
of kidnapping Syrians in Lebanon, is “based on facts,” Daher told MTV. “There is
evidence confirming that an ISF officer, along with others, kidnapped [four
Syrian brothers] in coordination with Syrian intelligence,” the MP also said,
adding that the four brothers were taken to Syria.Daher also said that “no one
will believe” Ali when the evidence is presented. According to Al-Jumhuriya
newspaper’s Tuesday edition, Rifi told the committee that “members of the
Lebanese security forces assigned to protect the Syrian embassy in Lebanon
kidnapped four Syrians [whose family name is Jassem] using embassy vehicles.”In
March Jassem Merii al-Jassem and his three brothers - Chedid, Ahmad and Ali -
were reportedly abducted in Lebanon.“Syria only acts as such with Lebanon…This
is considered state terrorism. Relations with Syria should be cut, but
unfortunately this will not happen as long as the current cabinet is [Syrian
President] Bashar al-Assad’s cabinet.”On Friday, the Syrian ambassador denied
reports that his embassy was behind the disappearance of Syrian opposition
members.-NOW Lebanon
National Struggle Front bloc MP Akram Chehayeb slams Syrian envoy
October 15, 2011 /National Struggle Front bloc MP Akram Chehayeb slammed Syrian
Ambassador to Lebanon Ali Abdel Karim Ali, saying that “no diplomat has the
right to interfere in a case that is now in the hands of the relevant [Lebanese]
judiciary,” in reference to the disappearance of Shebli al-Aysami. On Friday,
the Syrian ambassador denied reports that his embassy was behind the
disappearance of Syrian opposition members, including Aysami, who have gone
missing in Lebanon, calling such accusations "unfounded."
Chehayeb rejected Ali’s statement that “[Ali] was puzzled by these unfounded
claims that have been attributed to the police chief,” and went on to say that
Internal Security Forces Director General Achraf Rifi is “brave for stating
things the way they are.” “What is puzzling is that the Syrian Embassy [in
Lebanon] did not suitably address the incident of the abduction of an
intellectual Syrian citizen…and a former vice-president,” the MP said in
reference to Aysami. “[Ali] knows that the case he addressed is in the hands of
the Lebanese military judiciary. He has no right to interfere…in a case that the
relevant judiciary is looking into.”Chehayeb added that knowing “Aysami’s
destiny is Lebanon’s and Syria’s responsibility,” and called on Ali to attempt
to reveal Aysami’s fate and “to limit diplomatic [contact] to relevant official
bodies.”Aysami, 86 is a co-founder of Syria's ruling Baath party who fled his
native country in 1966 over political differences. He was last seen in May in
the eastern Lebanese region of Aley.-NOW Lebanon
Arms Smuggling into Syria Flourishes
Naharnet /As the revolt in Syria drags on, experts say weapons smuggling into
the country has flourished, especially from Lebanon, with automatic weapons,
grenades and hunting rifles in high demand. They say that those behind the
trafficking are smugglers in search of quick profits rather than political
parties backing protesters against the Alawite-dominated regime in Syria.
"Smuggling networks that for years have operated along Syria's borders seem to
have turned to weapons trafficking in recent months," said Peter Harling, a
Damascus-based expert with the International Crisis Group.
"It appears that a market has quickly developed in a country which, contrary to
Lebanon, Iraq, Yemen or Libya, had few weapons circulating beforehand," he told
AFP.
He said the smugglers were motivated by money, at least for the time being. "I
don't think that at this point we can say, as the Syrian regime claims, that
foreign powers are playing a significant role in this," Harling said. "People on
both sides in Syria are buying weapons to defend themselves," he added.
"Residents in Alawite villages are arming themselves for fear of reprisals and
the (mainly Sunni Muslim) opposition is increasingly doing the same given the
regime's harsh crackdown against any form of protest.
"So the temptation for people to defend themselves is growing."
A western diplomat in Beirut who did not wish to be identified confirmed that
weapons smuggling from Lebanon into Syria was on the rise but also stressed he
believed this was the work of individuals rather than parties. "Those sending
weapons may sympathize with a certain party but you can't say that a political
faction as such is behind the smuggling," the diplomat said.
He noted the situation was ironic given that for years weapons had been smuggled
from Syria into neighboring Iraq and Lebanon. "The tables are turned now, and
it's a case of the biter getting bitten," he said. Since the outbreak of the
Syrian uprising in mid-March, Damascus has accused loyalists of former Lebanese
Premier Saad Hariri, a Sunni, of sending cash and weapons to the opposition in
Syria.Hariri has denied the allegations. Lebanese authorities have arrested a
number of Lebanese and Syrian nationals on charges of weapons smuggling. A
judicial official said the arms seized in those cases were either hunting rifles
or light weapons.
The smuggling has led to a hike in prices on the black market, notably for
hunting rifles, automatic weapons and grenades. "The Syrians are raking in all
the weapons and driving up prices," said one licensed weapons dealer who did not
wish to be identified. He added that much of the weapons on the black market in
Lebanon date back to the country's 1975-1990 civil war or were smuggled in from
Iraq following the 2003 U.S.-led invasion. An underground weapons dealer in
north Lebanon, also on condition of anonymity, said the price of a used
Kalashnikov assault rifle has risen from $800 (575 euros) to $1500 (1079 euros)
since the Syria uprising began. The price of a grenade has also doubled, from
about $5 to more than $10, he added, while rocket-propelled grenades are now
fetching $200 a piece as opposed to $70 previously.
"There is high demand for Kalashnikovs and ammunition as well as pump-action
shotguns which usually come from Turkey and are sold for $500, compared to $200
normally," he said.
He said the weapons are smuggled by foot or by car through remote areas along
the 330-kilometre (205-mile) border between Lebanon and Syria. "There are more
than 50 illegal crossings between the two countries and there is no way to
station enough troops to control them all," said retired Lebanese army General
Elias Hanna.
The Western diplomat said that Hizbullah, a staunch supporter of Assad and a key
player in the Beirut government, had boosted its presence along the border in
the eastern Bekaa region to stem the smuggling. The Syrian army has also stepped
up security along the border. Hanna said that while the arms being smuggled into
Syria at this point were light weapons and unlikely to upset the current balance
of power, the situation could change if neighboring countries decided to arm the
opposition. "When countries like Turkey change their stand and allow the
transfer of heavy weapons through the border, then the balance of power will
change," he said. "But I don't think this is going to happen anytime soon."
Source Agence France Presse
ISF Officer Dies from Injuries Sustained in Sept. Clash with Estonians
Kidnappers
Naharnet /Sergeant Major Elias Nasrallah, a member of the Internal Security
Forces Intelligence Bureau who took part in a clash with the kidnappers of the
seven Estonians, passed away on Friday from injuries sustained in the clash.
Born in 1981, he enlisted in the ISF in 2006 where he was rose to the rank of
sergeant major in 2010.
Nasrallah will be laid to rest in his village of Firzil in Zahleh later on
Sunday. In September, the ISF killed two accomplices of the alleged mastermind
behind the kidnapping of seven Estonians during clashes in the area of al-Bireh
in Rashaya. The National News Agency said the two men were killed after the ISF
put iron barricades on a road between al-Bireh and Izza to stop their
four-wheeler. But their vehicle veered off its course and hit a wall. An
exchange of gunfire ensued between the ISF and the armed men. The wanted
criminals were killed while a Major and another member of the patrol were
injured. Speaking on condition of anonymity, a security official told AFP that
one of those who died in the shootout was Lebanese and the other was Syrian. The
media reports had said that the mastermind behind the kidnapping Wael Abbas was
among the dead but later Voice of Lebanon radio station (93.3) identified the
two as Abbas’ aide Mohammed Zarifi and Kanan Yassine. The media reports said
that security forces and the Lebanese army were coordinating efforts to find six
other suspects.
The gang is allegedly linked to another network specialized in kidnapping
foreigners in Iraq. Later that month, two Intelligence Branch officers were
injured when they were ambushed by armed men in the hunt for the kidnappers of
the Estonians in the village of Jlala near Shtaura. The seven Estonian cyclists
were freed in Lebanon in July, almost four months after armed men abducted them
as they entered the country on a bicycle tour from Syria. The abduction has not
been officially claimed.
Mansour Heads to Cairo: We Will Take Position that Supports Syria
Naharnet /Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour stated on Sunday that Lebanon will not
take a position that would harm Syria’s security and stability during the Arab
foreign ministers’ meetings scheduled to take place in Cairo later on Sunday. He
added: “Lebanon will take a stand that supports Syria and its efforts to
implement reform.”
The minister made his statements from the airport ahead of traveling to Egypt to
take part in the conference. “We hope Arab consensus would be reached over Syria
and the region’s higher interests,” Mansour stressed. In August, Lebanon
disavowed itself from a U.N. Security Council statement condemning Syria's
crackdown on opposition protests and calling for those responsible to be held
"accountable." Mansour had stated that Lebanon can’t support any resolution that
condemns the Syrian regime at the Security Council.
The Arab foreign ministers will meet in Cairo to discuss Syrian President Bashar
Assad's crackdown on protests at the request of the Gulf Cooperation Council.
The oil-rich Gulf states in the council had called for the emergency Arab
meeting to address the mounting bloodshed in Syria as Damascus shows no let-up
in its deadly crackdown on protests.Arab foreign ministers already met in Cairo
on September 13 and called on the Syrian authorities to "immediately stop the
bloodshed," drawing a testy response from Damascus.
Arab League chief Nabil al-Arabi had met Assad three days earlier and presented
him with a 13-point document outlining Arab proposals for reform.
March 8 Studying Alternatives to Replace Miqati
Naharnet/Hizbullah and its allies have left Prime Minister Najib Miqati with
very little room to maneuver regarding the funding of the Special Tribunal for
Lebanon, reported the Kuwaiti al-Seyassah newspaper on Sunday. The parliamentary
majority believes that the decision to fund the tribunal lies in its hands and
not the premier.
March 8 sources told the newspaper that the camp is starting to study possible
alternatives to Miqati should he insist on funding the STL, regardless of
President Michel Suleiman and Nation Struggle Front leader MP Walid Jumblat’s
positions on the international court.
The sources revealed that several alternatives are being examined, included
former ministers Abdul Rahim Mrad and Adnan Addoum.
Hizbullah circles asserted that the decision is final and that Lebanon will
announce its disassociation with the tribunal at the right time, added al-Seyassah.
Meanwhile, National Struggle Front sources told the daily An Nahar in remarks
published on Sunday that there can be no escaping the funding, adding that it is
“out of the question” for Miqati to retract the commitment he made to the
international community over the funding.
Ministerial sources from the majority stated that direct contacts between the
government factions over the funding have not started.
They revealed that Tuesday’s cabinet session will not address this issue, but it
will be limited to tackling Finance Minister Mohammed Safadi’s proposals over
the state budget law.
They said that a suggestion will be made to postpone tackling the STL funding
until December.
Source: Rifi’s Accusations against Syrian Embassy are
Accurate
Naharnet /A Lebanese security source revealed that Syrian Ambassador to Lebanon
Ali Abdul Karim Ali’s statements on the abduction of Syrian opposition members
in Lebanon does not mean that he and his embassy may not be directly responsible
for the kidnapping of the Jassem brothers and Shebli al-Aisamy.
The source told the Kuwaiti al-Anbaa newspaper in remarks published on Sunday
that Internal Security Forces chief Ashraf Rifi’s statements on the matter “are
accurate and they are based on damning facts and evidence.”“The security
apparatuses have handed the military judiciary a complete file on the issue,” it
added.
Aisamy, 86, is a co-founder of Syria's ruling Baath party who fled his native
country in 1966 over political differences. He was last seen in May in the
eastern Lebanese region of Aley.
The Jassem brothers were kidnapped near the Baabda prison where one of them was
accused of distributing pamphlets against the Syrian regime.
On Friday, Ali denied reports that his embassy was behind the disappearance of
Syrian opposition members who have gone missing in Lebanon, calling such
accusations "unfounded."
"I am puzzled by these unfounded claims that have been attributed to the police
chief," Ali told reporters after meeting Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour.
"Such accusations affect coordination between the two countries as concerns
security issues," he added.
He accused some Lebanese officials and MPs of seeking to undermine his country,
where the regime of President Bashar Assad is in the throes of a brutal
crackdown aimed at crushing an eight-month-long revolt. Ali was referring to
Rifi who said on Monday that the ISF collected "dangerous information" linking
the Syrian Embassy to the disappearance of Shebli al- Aisamy.
Qassem: We Will Resort to Vote if Govt. Fails Reach Agreement on Complex Issues
Naharnet /Hizbullah deputy chief Sheikh Naim Qassem stated on Sunday that all
government factions agreed to discuss matters with complete freedom, with each
side respecting the other’s views.He said: “However, we have not yet reached an
agreement over the complicated issues and if we don’t reach one, then will
resort to a vote.”
“The majority can take this line of action and the rest have to accept it,” he
added.
“That way, we would have openly expressed our clear commitment to the Lebanese
system through the formation of the government and its policy statement,” he
noted.
Qassem stressed the importance of the equation of the army, people, and
resistance, which was stipulated in the policy statement.
He explained that this equation “began with the government of former Premier
Fouad Saniora and later with that of former PM Saad Hariri, meaning that two
consensual governments made a clear decision over this equation.”“This is an
indication that this issue enjoys consensus among all Lebanese, even those who
oppose the consensus and object to the equation,” the Hizbullah official
noted.“We ask those who have breached the consensus over their motives and why
they are seeking to weaken Lebanon,” he continued.
“Prime Minister Najib Miqati’s government was formed through a popular will,
without any foreign settlements or pressure,” Qassem stressed.
'Hezbollah instructed Hamas on Shalit talks'
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4135263,00.html
As more details emerge on talks leading up to impending prisoner exchange and
Gilad Shalit's release, Gaza sources tell Ynet that Hezbollah guided Hamas on
'art of negotiation' with Israel
Elior Levy /Ynetnews/10.15.11
Behind the scenes of the Shalit negotiations – the Palestinian version:
Hezbollah tried to weigh in on the negotiations meant to secure the release of
kidnapped IDF soldier Gilad Shalit, Ynet learned on Saturday. In June 2006,
about one week after Shalit was abducted by Gaza terrorists in a cross-border
raid near the Kerem Shalom crossing, Hamas Politburo headquarters in Damascus
received a top secret report from Hezbollah, which included the Shiite group's
recommendations on how best to negotiate a prisoner exchange deal with Israel,
given the "strategic asset" the Islamist group had in its possession. The
communiqué was delivered two years after a prisoner swap between Israel and
Hezbollah took place. The 2004 exchange saw the remains of three IDF soldiers
killed in a cross-border raid on the Israel-Lebanon border, as well as former
IDF officer Elhanan Tannenbaum, who was held in Hezbollah captivity for nearly
three years, returned to Israel in exchange for 401 Palestinian prisoners and
the remains of 60 Hezbollah operatives.
Prior to the Mount Dov deal, Hezbollah had negotiated three prisoner swaps with
Israel, in 1991, 1996 and 1998. Just two weeks after the communiqué was
delivered Hezbollah conducted yet another cross-border raid, abducting IDF
soldiers Eldad Regev and Ehud Goldwasser. Their remains were returned to Israel
in 2008, in exchange for five living Hezbollah operatives, including
arch-terrorist Samir Kuntar, and the remains of 190 of the group's combatants.
The 'Super Six'
Details of the secret report became available as the Palestinians' ambiguity
over the events which led to the finalizing of the Shalit deal began
dissipating.
Oh Hamas' part, the lengthy, five-year negotiations were shrouded with
zealously-maintained secrecy and laced with measured amounts of psychological
warfare; but since news of the deal broke out – and despite vows by Shalit's
captors to "never reveal" the true reality of his confinement – more and more
details depicting Hamas' view of the talks have begun emerging.
In the early stages after the abduction, Hamas' leadership decided that only six
top officials would take part – and be privy to – the negotiations with Israel:
Five politburo members and one officer from the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades,
Hamas' military wing.
Hamas made their initial demand for the release of 1,400 prisoners public, but
from that point on the negotiations, and especially the identity of the
prisoners whose release was sought, were kept secret. Hamas viewed Hezbollah's
recommendation as their dogma, and the Shiite group's "negotiation tactics" had
a great impact on Hamas' dealings with Israel over the past five years.
Surprising support
In 2009, Hamas decided to trim the negotiation team down to four: Deputy Hamas
Politburo Chief Dr. Mousa Abu Marzouk, Hamas' Lebanon delegate Osama Hamdan, top
Politburo delegate in Gaza Mahmoud al-Zahar and Ahmed Jabari, head of the Izz
al-Din al-Qassam Brigades.
According to Palestinian sources, German Intelligence Chief Gerhard Konrad
assumed the role of mediator at the time and held his fisrt meeting with the
Hamas team at al-Zahar's Gaza home. This was when Israel's demand to expel those
it defined as "heavyweight prisoners" first came to light.
As the negotiations dragged on, al-Zahar and Jabari decided to consult with top
Hamas operatives jailed in Israel. To their surprise, they prisoners – all of
whom are Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades operatives – demanded that Hamas'
leadership broker a deal even if they themselves were excluded from it.
By this point – and faced with Hamas' constant rejection of prisoner exchange
outlines presented to its leaders, who adamantly claimed that the proposals
favored the Israeli position – Konrad had despaired and resigned from his
position as mediator.
The negotiation's prospects may have seemed bleak, but it was the change in
position demonstrated by Hamas prisoners that eventually gave the negotiations
the necessary push.
Old players, new tactics
Another push came in the form of the collapse of the Mubarak regime in Egypt:
Hamas was distrustful of Cairo's mediation attempts in the past, declaring that
Mubarak was biased against Hamas interest; but was willing to accept them now,
as it viewed the new chiefs of the Egyptian Intelligence Services as much more
"Hamas-friendly."
Egypt's new rulers, eager to rehabilitate Cairo's rattled position as a key
regional player, reclaimed their position as mediator in March 2011 and employed
what Hamas officials described as "a totally different approach" than Konrad's,
which they said eventually facilitated the deal.
Regardless of the details revealed by Gaza sources, the Popular Resistance
Committees, one of the terror groups which took an active part in Shalit's
abduction, vowed that the true details of the IDF soldier's captivity will never
be revealed.
"The resistance went to extreme lengths to ensure that Shalit never saw his
captures," a Gaza source told Ynet, adding that Shalit will not be able to
recognize the place where he was held, either. The statement contradicted a
previous one by the PRC, which stated that the group would release a video
documenting Shalit's time in captivity, after the prisoner exchange is
completed. The group insisted at the time that the video "will show that he was
treated well and with respect, as demanded by the Islamic dogma."
Iran’s terrorism exposed!
15/10/2011
By Mshari al-Zaydi/AsharqAlawsat
What if Iranian officer Gholam Shakuri had succeeded – via his agents –
in assassinating the Saudi Ambassador in Washington, perhaps even blowing up the
Saudi Arabian embassy there?
When it came time to point the finger, would the Quds Force – who Shakuri works
for – have been in the picture, or would a statement on behalf of a Jihadist
group – perhaps an Al Qaeda franchise – been issued claiming responsibility for
this attack and speaking about a double revenge against the US and Saudi Arabia
for the assassination of two jihadist icons, namely Osama Bin Laden and Anwar
al-Awlaki?
I admit I wouldn't have been surprised if Al Qaeda had carried out an operation
such as this, not because I am prejudiced, but because the general context of
such an attack, as well as the prevailing logic and the organization’s history,
all support it carrying out such operations.
The Quds Force, commanded by General Qassem Suleimani, has had a hand in a
series of operations and actions across the region, and has been dubbed the
“Iranian bat”, as it is Tehran’s between the world of light and the world of
darkness, or between the realm of countries and states, and that of groups. It
is the illegitimate face of the Iranian regime, the gateway to terrorism and
off-the-book “black” operations. The Quds Force is nothing more or less than the
dark side of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
As for General Suleimani, he is none other than the custodian of Iraqi politics
and security, and he governs the country from somewhere on the Iranian – Iraqi
border. The Quds Force has an unmistakable presence in Baghdad’s impenetrable
Green Zone, via Iranian agents stationed there.
We can clearly see General Qassem Suleimani’s fingerprints in our region, from
Hezbollah in Lebanon to the Shiite militias in Iraq to the sleeper cells in the
Gulf, the Huthi rebels in Yemen, and the loyalist groups in Pakistan and
Afghanistan.
The danger of the foiled terrorist operation in Washington, which targeted the
Saudi ambassador and embassy, is that Iran could easily have gotten away with
this. Even more dangerous than this, is that this foiled terrorist operation
raises a question that is nearly impossible to answer, namely: what other
operations have the Quds Force – or other Iranian intelligence apparatus –
carried out in the region which others have been blamed for? What about the
assassination of a Saudi diplomat in Karachi last May?
The mistake of Iran’s agents in Washington was akin to a slipup made by a master
thief who has grown complacent after the fourth or fifth successful burglary.
For during the initial operations, the thief would be very careful and alert,
but if he continued not to get caught, he might grow complacent or start to take
greater risks, until he is caught.
Iran is not so dumb that it would seek to carry out an operation of this kind
for the first time. There are two major issues that clearly explain why Iran
would try this. Firstly, it is clear that the Iranian [intelligence] apparatus
previously successfully carried out operations such as this – worldwide – that
have not been traced back to it. Therefore, they laboured under the delusion
that this operation would be like its predecessors. Secondly, and more
importantly in my view, the Iranians have found themselves facing intense
regional pressure, with their Syrian ally facing internal problems, the [Arab]
Gulf victory in Bahrain, not to mention the Huthi setback in Yemen. Therefore,
this assassination attempt was a desperate bid to turn the tables and preoccupy
Saudi Arabia and the US with something new, by framing Al Qaeda for this
operation.
In short, this failed operation uncovered what was hidden, exposed the language
of lies and hypocrisy and revealed the truth of this confrontation.
Yes, a state of covert war exists between Saudi Arabia and Iran on the one hand
and between Iran and the international community on the other, and I do not
believe that the international community will allow Iran to capitalize on the
regional vacuum and overrun the Middle East.
We have moved from one condition to another and so our policies, rhetoric and
positions must reflect this. It is absolutely imperative that this happens,
there is no other option.
One last word to those who promote the Iranian claim – being repeated by the
Muslim Brotherhood – that this whole story is nothing more than a fabrication
and a lie. Is the US – which uncovered this plot via Justice Department – a
banana republic, like Syria, not possessing any oversight bodies able to uncover
the most basic of lies?
Echoes of Iran
Ivan Sahar Media Guide Centre files
Canadian authorities arrested refugee claimant Mansour Ahani as a threat to
national security and deported him to Iran in 2002.
Stewart Bell Oct 15, 2011 –National Post
Mansour Ahani said he was fleeing religious and political persecution in Iran
when he arrived at Vancouver airport from Singapore in October 1991.
“I am dead if I return,” he wrote in his refugee claim.
But after spending months following Ahani, Canadian intelligence officers came
to a startling conclusion: He was a highly trained Iranian government assassin
whose handlers were planning an attack on the British author Salman Rushdie.
.Allegations this week that Iranian officials were behind a plot to murder the
Saudi ambassador to the United States have been met with disbelief by some
analysts. But while questions remain about the extent of Tehran’s official
involvement, the Ahani case is a reminder Iranian security agencies have a long
history of assassination attempts.
“They have done these kind of things before,” said Ramin Jahanbegloo, an
associate professor of political science at the University of Toronto who was
detained by Iran in 2006.
“This is not the first time that Iran has been implicated in terror attacks.”
Soon after the Islamic regime came to power in 1979, a security guard at the
Iranian mission in the United States was recruited to assassinate a critic in
Maryland. Iranian agents killed scores of dissidents in Europe in the 1990s.
They also helped bomb a Jewish centre in Argentina in 1994 (one of the men
wanted for the attack is now Iran’s Defence Minister).
And in Canada, there was the Ahani case.
Like the suspect in the alleged murder-for-hire plot announced Tuesday by Eric
Holder, the U.S. Attorney-General, Ahani was closely linked to elements of the
security apparatus set up to eliminate threats to Iran’s Islamic Revolution.
Both cases also involved suspected Iranian agents who entered North America as
migrants and appeared hapless and ordinary, but on closer inspection were
allegedly taking orders from senior officials in Tehran.
And both plots emerged at times of distress for Iran. The Canadian case came as
the Islamic regime was trying to consolidate its hold on power by eliminating
dissidents, while also exploiting anger over Mr. Rushdie’s novel The Satanic
Verses to position itself as leader of the world’s Muslims.
“Now, the Iranian authorities’ anger is fed by increasing U.S. and European
sanctions, plus Tehran’s conviction that the West is pursuing a soft overthrow
of the Islamic Republic by use of modern communications to whip up protests,”
U.S. analyst Matthew Levitt wrote on foreignpolicy.com.
After making his refugee claim, Ahani took a bus to Toronto. Before long, he got
a call from a commander in the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS).
His name was Akbar Khoshkooshk and he was in charge of co-ordinating attacks on
Iranian exiles.
He had also trained Ahani. Recruited into a special security unit of the prime
minister’s office, Ahani had learned about small arms, automatic weapons,
explosives, martial arts, counter-surveillance and assassination techniques.
In July 1987, he took part in an attack on Iranian dissidents in Quetta,
Pakistan, a Canadian Security Intelligence Service report says, which notes he
also had “detailed knowledge” of the murders of two dissidents in Europe in 1987
and 1990.
Ahani had been in Canada for five months when Mr. Khoshkooshk called and said he
wanted to meet. He wired US$900 for a false passport. Then he called again and
told Ahani to fly to Switzerland.
Using his false Andorran passport, which identified him as Paolo Gomez, Ahani
flew to Zurich. He and Mr. Khoshkooshk met in a wooded area and travelled on
separate trains to Italy. They then took a bus to Fermignano, a small town in
central Italy that was home to several Iranian dissidents.
Posing as a tourist, Ahani photographed buildings identified by Mr. Khoshkooshk.
Canadian authorities believe the photos were preparations for an assassination.
Italian police arrested the two men, but could not hold them.
Once released, Ahani fled to Turkey and delivered the camera with the
reconnaissance photos to the Iranian consulate in Istanbul. He returned to
Canada using a different false passport, this one Greek.
Back in Toronto, Ahani got a job at a Burger King at a downtown food court, but
the intelligence officers watching him felt he had developed an unusual interest
in the nearby Winter Garden Theatre. Perhaps not coincidentally, the writers’
group PEN was preparing to host a benefit there that December, and the surprise
guest was to be Mr. Rushdie.
Since the publication of The Satanic Verses, Mr. Rushdie had been forced into
hiding. Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, Iran’s top cleric and Supreme Leader, had
issued a fatwa declaring the book blasphemous and ordering the author’s killing.
Its Japanese translator was murdered and the translator of the Italian edition
was stabbed. Bookstores that sold the novel were bombed. The Iranian
intelligence service was linked to at least some of the attacks.
Because of his tight security protection, Mr. Rushdie had survived, but he was
due in Toronto on Dec. 7, 1992 and a trained Iranian assassin appeared to be
conducting reconnaissance of the building where he was to speak.
As a precaution, CSIS officers took Ahani to the Deerhurst Resort in Muskoka,
Ont., before the PEN event. Under questioning, he talked about Mr. Khoshkooshk.
“He further stated his belief that should targets be identified in Canada, the
government of Iran would not hesitate to eliminate them,” reads the CSIS report
summarizing the case.
Even with Ahani out of town, there was a heavy police presence at the PEN
benefit, but it went off without any trouble. Bob Rae, then the Ontario premier,
spoke in support of Mr. Rushdie, calling the Ayatollah’s fatwa “an obscene edict
from a fanatic sect.”
Ahani was eventually arrested as a threat to national security. Canadian courts
determined he was a member of the MOIS.
He appealed to the Supreme Court of Canada, where the government argued he was
“a threat to Salman Rushdie and persons living in Canada.” After countless court
appeals, he was deported to Tehran on June 18, 2002.
Paul Kennedy, a senior public safety official, told a 2005 parliamentary hearing
about Ahani’s training, links to the MOIS and involvement in a “potential
assassination attempt” in Italy.
“The concern was that he would possibly be used by them here as a resource for
that purpose,” he said. “Therefore, in an act of prevention, he was moved out of
the country.”
Now the United States is alleging senior members of Iran’s Quds Force
orchestrated and financed a plot to bomb a restaurant frequented by the Saudi
ambassador to Washington. Manssor Arbabsiar was arrested Sept. 29. According to
the charges, after meeting Quds Force officials in Tehran, he travelled to
Mexico and hired a purported hit man to carry out the killing.
Professor Martin Rudner said Iran might have been attempting to strike a blow
against its regional rival while complicating Saudi-American relations.
“I could see reasons why Iran would seek to do this in the Iranian interest,”
said Prof. Rudner, distinguished research professor emeritus at Carleton
University in Ottawa.
“The question is, if they have the intentions, do they have the capabilities?
And I think they’ve demonstrated those capabilities with Ahani and other cases.”
National Post
sbell@nationalpost.com
Fruitless labor
Matt Nash, October 16, 2011 /Now Lebanon
Unable to rally its political patrons, Lebanon’s General Worker’s Union (GWU)
lost a battle for wage hikes this week, exposing its relative weakness and
prompting a compromise that pleased no one.
In a decision that has since been derided across the board, cabinet on Tuesday
agreed to raise wages for two tranches of employees: those earning monthly
salaries between 500,000 and 1 million Lebanese Liras ($333 and $666) and those
earning between 1,000,001 and 1.8 million LL ($666 and $1,200). The GWU wanted
much more, and most workers seem particularly incensed with the 1.8 million LL
limit on which workers will receive raises.
The decision, accepted by GWU leader Ghassan Ghosn, prevented a general strike
the organization had scheduled for October 12. Strikes, of course, are means for
labor unions to flex their muscles and extract concessions. However, Ghosn was
likely relieved to see the demonstration stopped.
Founded in 1970, the GWU is an umbrella organization grouping many of the
country’s labor federations (themselves comprised of individual unions). Viewed
as neutral and at times even a unifying force during the civil war, the GWU
became increasingly politicized after the conflict ended, according to a 1997
paper by Lebanese American University Political Science Professor Sami Baroudi.
Today Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri’s Amal Movement is best represented in the
GWU, and Berri, many argue, more or less controls the body’s actions. In recent
years, at times of political crisis, GWU strikes have gone ahead.
As the March 8 coalition called for the toppling of Fouad Siniora’s government
in early 2007, after resigning from it in 2006, and tensions soared over
establishing what is now the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, the GWU led a strike
many saw as a means to pressure the government. None of the GWU’s demands were
met.
The organization had more success in May 2008. On May 7, the GWU held a 24-hour
general strike that led to fist-fighting on Beirut’s streets, days after cabinet
decided to investigate Hezbollah’s private phone network in the South and sack
the head of airport security, who was close to the Party of God. The following
day, after a speech on the cabinet’s decision by Hezbollah leader Hassan
Nasrallah, March 8 supporters took over half of Beirut.
In the aftermath of what is euphemistically referred to as “the May 7 events,”
the GWU won a coat-tail victory in seeing the minimum wage rise from 300,000 LL
($200) per month to 500,000 LL. Additionally, the minimum wage hike decision
mandated that all employees receive a 200,000 LL ($133) raise.
That Ghosn accepted a deal this week belies the fact that without the consent of
the real powers-that-be in the GWU, it carries little sway.
“I don’t think that the labor union [GWU] wanted to [hold the strike] because it
would have shown their limited ability to get people out,” LAU’s Baroudi told
NOW Lebanon. He said Ghosn probably took an initially hard-line position
assuming the government would be on his side. Baroudi dismissed the idea that
the timing of raising their demands was politically calculated on the GWU’s
part.
However, a showdown is brewing between Prime Minister Najib Mikati and ministers
from the March 8 alliance over Lebanon’s funding for the STL. Cabinet is also
soon expected to fill dozens of administrative vacancies—an opportunity for
politicians to both exercise patronage and gain influence in ministries and
other state bodies. There may have been more being negotiated this week than a
wage increase, but in the end, the GWU was left without political backing for
their strike, and ultimately backed down.
Many of the federations within the GWU—particularly teachers—are so upset with
the deal they are insisting on striking next week (and, indeed, many teaches did
strike on October 12).
“We as the teacher’s union are also objecting to the fact that the decision [to
cancel the strike] was taken without our consent,” Walid Jradeh, head of the
union in South Lebanon, told NOW Lebanon. “We were working on the basis that
there be coordination between us and the GWU. It is unacceptable that the latter
be the sole decision maker and decide to freeze the strike without referring
back to the different bodies that are involved and taking part.”
The teachers are not the only unhappy ones. Business leaders are enraged and
have threatened not to give their employees raises, while several economists
have condemned a decision they say will spark a jump in inflation.
Kamal Hamdan, an economic specialist with the Consultation and Research
Institute, was particularly critical of the 1.8 million LL limit on salary
increases. Workers earning $1,201 and above will not be happy seeing their
lower-paid colleagues get raises they are not entitled to, he said.
On the political level, allies of Michel Aoun’s Free Patriotic Movement,
particularly Labor Minister Charbel Nahhas, also slammed the compromise,
insisting on a more holistic approach to improving the social and economic
problems the country faces—quite in line, actually, with the larger basket of
demands the GWU initially proposed.
For Samir Farah, a representative of the German organization Friedrich Ebert
Stiftung who has worked with the GWU in the past, this week’s display was quite
disappointing.
“This is the first time they’re demanding in such a chaotic and humiliating way
the rights of workers,” he told NOW Lebanon. “It’s clear they are manipulated by
politicians.”
When asked what could be done to revamp the GWU to make it a more effective tool
for securing workers’ rights, he sighed, half smiled and shook his head.
Big US airlift drill starts Monday. Fresh Hamas demands for
Gilad Shalit
DEBKAfile Exclusive Report/ October 16, 2011/, The United States launches a
large-scale exercise over the Middle East deploying 41 giant transports of the
22nds Airlift Squadron Monday Oct. 17, the day before the Israeli soldier Gilad
Shalit is scheduled to be released by Hamas. The US Transportation Command and
its Air Forces Transportation will be testing its ability to provide a rapid
strategic airlift response to major crises and contingencies.
Tuesday morning, when the Israel and Hamas prisoner exchange is due to be
executed, the giant US transports will drill landings in Israel and Saudi
Arabia. The aircraft will be packed with command and control elements and
fighting units with full equipment.
debkafile's military sources report that during this critical week, the exercise
ending Friday, Oct. 21 will keep an American air fleet in Middle East skies
ready to land at any moment for any contingency. The Israeli, Egyptian and Saudi
armies are on a high state of preparedness.
In parallel, The USS John C. Stennis aircraft carrier is on its way from the
Persian Gulf to the Mediterranean. Last Tuesday Oct. 11, as the US officials
accused the Iranian government of directing a plot to assassination the Saudi
ambassador to Washington, the Stennis was nearing the Red Sea.
Aboard was the Chief of US Naval Operations Adm. Jonathan Greenert who was
assigned to the operation in this arena shortly after taking up his appointment.
The missions of the Stennis Battle Group, consisting of an additional seven
warships, most of them destroyers and frigates, as well as Air Wing CVW-9, are
to provide ground troops with combat support and strike land and sea targets. It
is also able to sow mines over large areas around coastal regions and on the
high sea.
Sunday, Oct. 16, US intelligence sources warned that the operation for the
Israeli soldier's recovery from Hamas captivity (paid for by 1,027 jailed
Palestinian terrorists) could touch off a spate of terrorist attacks in the
region, most likely aimed at US embassies and Israel targets in and outside the
country.
A senior US source noted that Iran, Hizballah and Syria might try and disrupt
the exchange while it is in progress.
Tehran was furious with Washington for fingering Gholam Shakouri as one of the
masterminds of the foiled assassination attempt. Shakouri is Deputy Chief of the
Revolutionary Guards' Al Qods Brigades.
Iran, Syria and Hizballah all, furthermore, own an interest in thwarting the
transfer of Hamas' political headquarters from Damascus to Cairo which was
assured in a secret provision of the prisoner exchange deal between Israel and
Hamas that was brokered by the US and Egypt.
Oct. 12, the day after the Shalit deal came to light, debkafile's military
sources first drew attention to the danger of the three allies activating their
undercover agents in the Gaza Strip to stymie the exchange.
On Oct. 14, the same warning was issued by the German spy agency's director Erns
Uhrlau.
Sunday, circles in the IDF and Israel Defense Ministry voiced concern about the
difficulties still to be overcome before Tuesday arrives. And indeed, that
morning, Cairo sources reported hitches in finalizing the transfer arrangements
which the prime minister's emissary David Maidan is managing for the Israeli
side in Cairo. Those sources reported that Hamas representatives had raised
fresh demands over and above the provisions of the prisoner swap accord they
signed last week. They sought now to add more Palestinian female prisoners to
the 27 agreed; they also wanted to delay the deportation of 40 hard-core
terrorists to host countries and demanded that they stay in Egypt before their
transfer.
Western sources report that Hamas hast yet to ask any foreign country to receive
them.
The mystery behind the alleged Iran assassination plot
By Yossi Melman /Haaretz
While everyone in Israel has been preoccupied since Tuesday with the upcoming
release of captive Israel Defense Forces soldier Gilad Shalit, they have hardly
noticed recent events in the U.S. and the implications they have on the world,
the Middle East and even on Israel: the U.S. government's claim that Iran was
involved in a plot to assassinate the Saudi ambassador to Washington and to
again harm the Israeli Embassy in Buenos Aires in Argentina.
Very few details were published about the military plan, but those that were
published showed the plan was inadequate and amateurish. This created a lack of
trust in the American announcement. Specialists on Iran – most of whom frequent
Gary Sick's Internet forum, the Gulf/2000 Project – hastened to support Iran and
raise doubts as to whether it was really behind the plot. Others went so far as
to weave conspiracy theories that the American government, with the support of
its intelligence, fabricated the operation to incriminate Iran, so as to create
a casus belli and prepare public opinion for a military blow on Tehran.
At the same time, the U.S. is putting pressure on the International Atomic
Energy Agency (IAEA) to publish evidence it received over the last few months
about the Iranian nuclear program. According to the New York Times, this
classified intelligence information says Iran is conducting technological
experiments for building nuclear weapons.
There were even those who conjured conspiracy theories in their sick minds that
blame the Mossad for being behind the act in order to provoke a war between
Washington and Tehran. In this context, they reminded that Israel played an
important role in gathering "evidence" against Sudam Hussein's regime in Iraq in
order to push the U.S. to invade Iraq. But even without these conspiracy
theories, the Americans and the world remember that George W. Bush used faulty
intelligence information to show Sudam Hussein was developing nuclear weapons –
or at least chemical and biological weapons – as a justification for invading
Iraq in 2003. If the Israeli intelligence, many in the U.S. claim, was capable
of using the information and intelligence assessments for political echelon, who
could guarantee they wouldn't do it again?
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Saturday scornfully rejected the
Americans' claims, saying they were meaningless. "A meaningless and nonsensical
accusation has been raised against a few Iranians in America, which was made
into an excuse to present the Islamic Republic as a supporter of terrorism,"
Khamenei said on an official television station in Iran.
U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder and FBI Director Robert Mueller were the ones
to unveil the plot last week. They spoke of an Iranian-American named Mansour
Arbabsiar, from Corpus Christi, Texas, and who has a relative serving in the
Revolutionary Guards' Quds Force in Iran. Last June, Arbabsiar turned to a man
and asked him to obtain weapons from a Mexican drug cartel. That man, it turns
out, was a DEA agent. From that moment on, Arbabsiar was put under surveillance
until he was recently arrested and charged.
Another suspect, Ali Gholam Shakuri – who is allegedly a member of the Quds
Force, got away.
The charges do not mention the plot to attack the Israeli embassies, but it was
reported in the American and Argentinean media and was based on conversations
with government officials.
The Quds Force, headed by Brig. Gen. Qassem Suleimani, consists of about 15,000
conscripts and is considered the elite force of the Revolutionary Guard. The
force is responsible for maintaining contact with different organizations around
the world, mainly Shiite groups – and provides arms and funding to Hezbollah,
Hamas, Shiite militias in Iraq, Bahrain, Yemen and al-Qaida. It is known that
Suleimani was in close contact with Hezbolla's "Defense Minister" Imad Mughniyah,
who was killed in February 2008 in an operation attributed to the Mossad.
Suleimani also secretly visited Iraq to help organize resistance to the U.S.
military.
It's hard to believe that Iran, who has significant intelligence capabilities
and has carried out sophisticated terror attacks in the past – would assign such
an important task to an Iranian-American whose favorite drink is whiskey.
Furthermore, the last time Iran was involved in a terror plot on U.S. soil was
in 1980, shortly after the Islamic Revolution which saw Ruhollah Khomeini rise
to power. Dawud Salahuddin, an American who converted to Islam, tried to
assassinate Ali Akbar Tabatabai, the former press attaché at the Iranian embassy
in Washington. Salahuddin fled to Tehran, where he resides to this day. Last
week Salahuddin gave an interview to the Christian Science Monitor, in which he
said that based on his experience, the Iranian intelligence agencies would not
have operated this way.
Yet one must not forget that Iran's Quds Force and intelligence agency are
responsible for various terrorist operations in recent decades, which were
carried out by Iranian, Lebanese, or other dissidents. These included attacks in
Berlin, Vienna, Rome, Paris, and Israeli and Jewish targets in Argentina.
Despite Israel's official silence on the recent events, security officials know
that not only is Iran capable of carrying out such attacks – it is actively
initiating them. As evidence, officials point to the botched attacks in
Azerbaijan, Cairo, and a West African state. These attempts were carried out in
cooperation with Hezbollah, which sought to avenge Mughniyah's death.
The Saudis also believe the Iranian plot is real. Saudi Foreign Minister Saud
al-Faisal said last week in a visit to Austria that "we hold (the Iranians)
responsible for any action they take against us." He indicated that this is not
the first time Iran is suspected of such operations.
There is no doubt that a terrorist attack on U.S. soil against a Saudi or an
Israeli target would be considered a tremendous Iranian success – a "quality"
operation. It conforms to the Iranian strategy of proving to its bitter enemies
that there no place where they are safe, not even in the capital of Israel's and
Saudi Arabia's strategic partner.
Furthermore, Saudi Arabia's ambassador Adel Al-Jubeir is considered a bitter
rival of Iran and his actions have been loathed by the Ayatollah regime for
years. He is a seasoned diplomat that works tirelessly to progress
Saudi-American relationships, and succeeded in no small measure to correct the
bad impression left by Saudi Arabia with its involvement, and the funding it
provided to the Saudi citizens among the September 11 attackers. Al-Jubeir
maintains close ties with the Saudi king, and according to WikiLeaks documents
he was one of the people who succeeded in toughening the king's stance toward
Iran. Moreover, before being appointed ambassador he was considered an "envoy"
to the Jewish community in the U.S. – meeting Jewish leaders and bringing about
a certain change in the embassy's traditionally hostile stance towards the
Jewish community. There is no chance that the last weapons deal between Saudi
Arabia and the U.S. went through almost without opposition in Congress. One of
the reasons for this was that the pro-Israeli lobby AIPAC didn't oppose it.
With such a record, the Saudi ambassador could definitely constitute a fitting
target for an Iranian plot. It is also possible the inadequate and amateurish
plan proves Iran does not have proper terror foundations in the U.S., and
therefore found it difficult to carry out the operation by the standards it
would hope for. Otherwise, it's hard to imagine that the U.S. Attorney General,
the head of the CIA and most of all U.S. President Barack Obama, would risk
their reputation by publishing such unequivocal dramatic announcements that Iran
is behind the plot. The government undoubtedly has additional evidence –
probably from intelligence findings like tapped telephone conversations or
internet communications – that at this stage they do not want to reveal.