LCCC
ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
ِOctober
28/2011
Bible Quotation
for today/God, our source of peace,
will soon crush Satan under your feet
Romans 16/17-20: "I urge you, my friends:
watch out for those who cause divisions and upset people's faith and go against
the teaching which you have received. Keep away from them! For those who do such
things are not serving Christ our Lord, but their own appetites. By their fine
words and flattering speech they deceive innocent people. Everyone has heard of
your loyalty to the gospel, and for this reason I am happy about you. I want you
to be wise about what is good, but innocent in what is evil. And God, our source
of peace, will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus be
with you.
Latest analysis, editorials, studies, reports, letters & Releases from
miscellaneous sources
March 8 statelets in Tripoli?/By:
Shane Farrell and Nadine Elali/October
27/11
Bashar, Muammar, and the “Battle of
the Storm Drain/By Dr. Hamad Al-Majid/October
27/11
Syria: A series of embarrassing
failures/By Tariq Alhomayed/October
27/11
Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources for October
27/11
Hamas boosting anti-aircraft
arsenal with looted Libyan missiles
Libya's NTC: Gadhafi son
offers to surrender to International Criminal Court
17 Aid Trucks Looted in Quake-Hit
Turkey
Mass Pro-Assad Demo in Damascus as
19 More Killed
U.S. Ambassador Hopes to
Be Back in Syria Next Month
Arab League Holds 'Frank'
Talks with Assad
Dim prospects for Syrian
dialogue
Yemen truce fails, 19 die
as Saleh says he will resign
Qatar admits it had boots
on ground in Libya
Hariri: STL Ended Era of Using
Force to Impose Political Choices
STL Defense Office Assigns Duty
Counsel for Accused in Hariri Murder
Tension Mounts at
Lebanon-Syria Border
U.S. Envoy Meets Qahwaji,
Stresses Lebanon’s Need to Meet International Commitments
Miqati Meets Fletcher,
Travels to UK on Nov. 7
Invasive blowfish pose
danger to consumers and fishermen
Eurozone aims to ramp up
rescue fund, details deferred
IDAL executive dies after
car split in half during crash
Lebanese pay respects to
Saudi royal family
IMF lowers Lebanon growth
forecast to 1.5 percent
STL appoints 2 lawyers to
represent each of indicted men
Berri calls for Nov. 2
legislative session to discuss draft laws
Appointments unlikely in
coming weeks due to Aoun-Sleiman dispute
British ambassador pledges boost
for Army
Cabinet considers leasing
electricity-generating ships
March 14 blasts Hezbollah
over STL
March 8 statelets in Tripoli?
By: Shane Farrell and Nadine Elali, October 26, 2011
Now Lebanon
Rotting food, smoke-blackened toiletries and cracked shelves are all that’s left
of a burned-out dekkan, or mini-market, in Tripoli’s Zahrieh neighborhood. The
store was the focal point of a two-day clash earlier this month between a
handful of March 14 loyalists and several members of the Tawhid Party, which
allegedly has links to Hezbollah. One man remains hospitalized following the
shoot-out.
Tripoli has a sour history with the Syrian regime, especially during the civil
war. As the largest Sunni city in Lebanon and due to its proximity to the Syrian
border, Tripoli may well constitute a concern for the regime and its ally,
Hezbollah, in terms of border security.
The events surrounding the clash remain somewhat unclear. A group of Tawhid
supporters who were gathered in a shop several doors down from the burned-out
dekkan told NOW Lebanon that it began as a dispute between two teenagers and
escalated after their families intervened. One supporter, 38-year-old Jalal,
stressed that the attack was not politically motivated but rather was a personal
dispute between two parties that “happened to represent different political
views.”
However, two March 14 supporters interviewed in Tripoli, and Future MP Mohammed
Kabbara, who represents the northern city, had a different opinion. They all
claimed that Hezbollah had set up an office above the dekkan and has been
deliberately provoking residents of the Sunni stronghold.
NOW Lebanon spoke with Abu Marwan, the man who was responsible for shooting one
of the Tawhid supporters during last week’s clash. He also insisted that March 8
groups were deliberately being provocative, claiming that a café several doors
down from the dekkan had pictures of Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah
and slain military commander Imad Mughniyah hanging on the walls. Also, he said
that Hezbollah supporters routinely positioned armed men on rooftops and blocked
streets.
Abu Marwan is currently in hiding because he is wanted by the authorities. He
claims that the March 8-aligned Mouri family and the caretaker of the Abu el
Khasem mosque in Zahrieh, Ahmad Abdel Rahman (also known as Abu Wael), is also
in hiding following the clash. Both sides are waiting for their respective
political representatives to diffuse the tension, he added.
The clashes preceded statements made by several Future Movement officials, who
claimed that Hezbollah and March 8 are recruiting militants and “trying to
establish security islands in the northern city of Tripoli as in other Lebanese
regions.” MP Samir Al-Jisr also accused “Hezbollah, along with other parties
such as Tawhid and the Syrian Socialist National Party (SSNP) [of arming groups]
in Tripoli.”
Another interviewee, who refused to be named for security reasons, claimed that
on occasion armed March 8 groups can be seen in different parts of the city
outside their clandestine offices. “The area around Gemmayzet Street, for
example, in the city center is controlled by the SSNP. When called upon, armed
members come out and block the street.”
How do March 14 supporters think Hezbollah and other March 8 groups are currying
support among Tripoli residents?
According to MP Mohammed Kabbara of the Tripoli bloc, March 8 groups are paying
poor residents from not-well-known Tripoli families and supplying them with
weapons in order to establish support bases. In an interview with NOW Lebanon,
Kabbara said that, to use one example, in mid-October “around 300 mostly Sunni
men from Tripoli and the vicinity were taken down south for a trip and given
$200 [to support Hezbollah and other March 8 groups].”
In addition to the tensions between groups allegedly funded by Hezbollah,
Tripoli also has a large Alawite community in Jabal Mohsen that has frequently
clashed with neighboring Sunnis. In June, for example, armed clashes erupted
between residents of Jabal Mohsen and Bab al-Tabbaneh, a Sunni stronghold,
following a rally in support of anti-regime protesters in Syria. At least six
were killed, and several were injured.
Ali Ayoube, who heads the Follow-up Committee, the NGO that seeks to provide
shelter and aid to Syrian refugees coming to Tripoli, claimed that Sunnis
largely support Syrian demonstrators, even if they back Tripoli-native Prime
Minister Najib Mikati, who is part of the pro-Syrian government March 8
coalition. “Bab al-Tabbaneh residents especially can identify with the Syrian
anti-regime demonstrators following the massacre they faced by Syrians during
the Lebanese civil war [when Syrian troops killed at least 34 residents in
1986].”
Kabbara said that Hezbollah has been trying to cement its control over the
entire country since 2005 and, having failed to control Tripoli, has shifted
tactics and is now trying to disrupt it economically by provoking clashes. “This
is what we can see [Hezbollah and its allies] doing, but the big question is why
are they doing this? What are they planning?” he asked rhetorically.
Perhaps a clue lies in the timing. One thing is certain, as demonstrations
continue to flare in Syria, Hezbollah’s efforts to establish a presence in
Tripoli appear to be intensifying.
STL Defense Office Assigns Duty Counsel for Accused in Hariri Murder
Naharnet
The head of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon Defense Office Francois Roux
assigned a primary duty counsel and a co-counsel to each of the accused,
pursuant to the Trial Chamber’s scheduling order of 20 October 2011, announced
the STL in a statement on Wednesday.
“The purpose of these assignments is to ensure that the rights and interests of
the accused are individually protected while the Trial Chamber considers whether
to initiate in absentia proceedings,” it explained.
The head of Defense Office made the following assignments:
-For Salim Jamil Ayyash: as lead counsel Mr. Eugene O’Sullivan, a Canadian
national admitted to the Law Society of British Columbia; and as co-counsel Mr.
Emile Aoun, a Lebanese national admitted to the Beirut Bar
-For Mustafa Amine Badreddine: as lead counsel Mr. Antoine Korkmaz, a Lebanese
and French national admitted to the Paris Bar; and as co-counsel Mr. John Jones
a British national admitted to the Bar of England and Wales
-For Hussein Hassan Oneissi: as lead counsel Mr. Vincent Courcelle-Labrousse, a
French national admitted to the Paris Bar, and as co-counsel Mr. Yasser Hassan,
an Egyptian national admitted to the Egyptian Bar
-For Assad Hassan Sabra: as lead counsel Mr. David Young, a British national
admitted to the Bar of England and Wales, and as co-counsel Dr. Guénaël Mettraux,
a Swiss national practicing before the International Criminal Court and the
International Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.
The assignment of duty counsel is a temporary assignment, said the statement.
“The eight duty counsel have been selected based on their relevant experience,
skills and competences, including experience in Lebanon, terrorism cases, or
international tribunals as well as their language abilities,” it added.
“The selection of the Lead counsel was done by the Defense Office, with no
involvement from any of the four accused,” it continued.
The co-counsel are appointed in consultation with the Lead counsel, said the
statement.
“Should the Trial Chamber decide to initiate in absentia proceedings, the
Defense Office will be requested to assign defense counsel for the remainder of
the proceedings,” it stated.
Furthermore, it noted that should the Trial Chamber decide not to initiate in
absentia proceedings, duty counsel may be withdrawn.
“The duty counsel shall also be withdrawn if the accused decide to participate
in the proceedings, for example by designating their own counsel. The assigned
counsel are paid in accordance with the Defense Legal Aid Policy,” it concluded.
In August, the STL published the indictment in the 2005 assassination of former
Prime Minister Rafik Hariri along with arrest warrants against the four
Hizbullah members, Ayyash, Badreddine, Oneissi, and Sabra, accused of being
involved in the crime.
The Lebanese authorities were given 30 days to arrest the suspects, but they
failed to do so and the accused remain at large.
As Safir newspaper reported on Wednesday that the eight defense lawyers are
expected to attend the scheduled hearing on November, 11.
The hearing is set to decide whether to try in absentia the four suspects
accused in the case.
Sources told the newspaper that the defense lawyers are expected to defend the
suspects during the opening of the trial in mid-2012.
Hariri: STL Ended Era of Using Force to Impose Political Choices
Naharnet /Former premier Saad Hariri on Wednesday noted that “the Special Tribunal for
Lebanon was established for the sake of fulfilling justice and putting an end to
political assassinations in Lebanon.”The U.N.-backed STL, probing the 2005 assassination of Hariri’s father, ex-PM
Rafik Hariri, was also established to “put an end to the era of using force to
impose political choices and employing terrorism to take revenge on political
rivals,” Hariri said.
The former premier voiced his remarks before a March 14 delegation in Riyadh.
Hariri and the Lebanese delegation -- comprising March 14 MPs and politicians,
Muslim clerics and economic and media figures – were in the Saudi capital to
offer condolences to King Abdullah and the kingdom’s leadership over the death
of crown prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz.
At a luncheon banquet he threw in the delegation’s honor at his residence in
Riyadh, Hariri also stressed “the need to confront the current challenges,
especially concerning the Lebanese state’s obligations towards the STL,”
Hariri’s press office said in a statement.
“The assassination of ex-PM Rafik Hariri, similar to the other political crimes
that targeted several Lebanese figures and leaders, is an issue that concerns
all the Lebanese, not only a certain political or sectarian party,” Hariri told
the delegation, quoted by his press office.
The former premier lauded the support offered by Saudi Arabia and its king for
Lebanon, noting that “our presence here together to offer condolences over the
death of crown prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz is a reflection of the depth of ties
between Lebanon and the kingdom and a salutation of loyalty and respect to the
soul” of the late crown prince.
World leaders, including rival Iran's foreign minister, poured into Riyadh to
offer condolences on the death of Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz, who was
buried on Tuesday in the presence of an ailing King Abdullah.
Sultan died on Saturday in a New York hospital after a long battle with illness.
More than 100 world dignitaries attended the funeral in Riyadh, including Prime
Minister Najib Miqati.
Miqati and Hariri came face to face on Tuesday during their condolences to King
Abdullah.
Media reports said Wednesday that the two men exchanged handshakes and kisses
and then the Mustaqbal movement leader invited the PM to sit next to him after
he realized that Miqati’s seat was far from where King Abdullah was sitting.
The relations between the two deteriorated after Miqati accepted the proposal of
the Hizbullah-led March 8 forces to lead the cabinet after they toppled Hariri’s
government earlier in the year.On Tuesday the Hariri-led Mustaqbal parliamentary bloc strongly condemned
Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah’s latest remarks, in which he reiterated
his rejection of funding the STL.
“The Lebanese and the martyrs’ families were not surprised by Hizbullah’s
position … especially as the party continues to protect its members,” who are
wanted by the STL on charges of being involved in the 2005 assassination of
ex-PM Rafik Hariri, the bloc said.
In a statement issued after its weekly meeting, the bloc added that Nasrallah’s
remarks on Monday have highlighted Hizbullah’s “insistence on confronting the
Lebanese and preventing them from unveiling the truth, as well as on confronting
the international community and engaging Lebanon in battles that would expose it
to several dangerous consequences.”
The bloc also warned that Hizbullah’s stance will prompt the international
community to “question Lebanon’s credibility.”
IMF Lowers Lebanon Growth Forecast to 1.5%
Naharnet /The International Monetary Fund said Wednesday it has revised down its forecast
for economic growth in Lebanon to 1.5 percent in 2011 after many years of robust
expansion, due to political uncertainty and unrest in neighboring Syria.
The drop revealed in the IMF's Regional Economic Outlook, released in Dubai, is
the second this year after the fund lowered its expected growth to 2.5 percent
in the spring.
"That is our best estimate," the IMF's director for the Middle East and Central
Asia, Masood Ahmed, told Agence France Presse.
A five-month delay in the formation of a government until June and unrest in
Syria have "led to a slowdown in economic activity quite significantly in
Lebanon resulting in the revision of our estimates," he said.
He said the two factors have had "consequences on confidence" in the economy
which grew at no less than 7.5 percent between 2007 and 2010, according to IMF
figures.
Ahmed said that the slowdown is noticed in the property sector, which grew
rapidly over the past couple of years, but also in the whole economy.
"It is a more generalized slowdown that we have seen," he said, noting that "the
fiscal position has deteriorated a bit, in part because of the slowdown in the
economy and also because fuel tax excises have been halved."Lebanon's fiscal deficit will rise to 7.8 percent of GDP in 2011, compared to
7.3 percent in 2010, the IMF report said.
The fund is more optimistic on the prospects for next year, expecting the
economy to pick up pace and expand by 3.5 percent.
"In the second half of the year, there has been a government in place. There is
a bit more certainty coming from that," Ahmed said, adding that the "assumption
is that during the course of next year, things in the region will continue to
stabilize."Earlier this month, the World Bank revised downward its forecast for Lebanon's
economic growth from seven percent expected in January to four percent,
forecasting a fiscal deficit of 5.5 percent of GDP.
Lebanon staggers under a public debt of more than 53 billion dollars, equivalent
to around 135 percent of the country's GDP.Tourism witnessed a 15.5 percent drop in the number of arrivals for the first
quarter of 2011 compared to the same period in 2010.
Property transactions also fell 21 percent quarter on quarter while customs
revenues dropped some 20 percent compared to the same period last year.
The decline was widely attributed to the uprisings gripping the region coupled
with domestic troubles that left Beirut without a government for five months.
Dim
prospects for Syrian dialogue
October 27, 2011
By Daily Star Staff Agencies
BEIRUT/AMMAN: An Arab League delegation tasked with restarting dialogue between
President Bashar Assad’s government and the country’s diverse opposition to end
the country’s eight-month crisis arrived in the capital Damascus Wednesday. But
despite claims, the talks were “cordial and frank,” prospects for dialogue
seemed dim, with the government insisting any talks should take place inside
Syria and not at the League’s Cairo headquarters, and opposition groups
insisting conditional talks would only be aimed at ending Assad’s rule.
Assad met the delegation of Arab ministers, headed by Qatari Prime Minister
Sheikh Hamad al-Thani, as Assad supporters put on another show of strength with
a mass rally at Umayyad Square in central Damascus, and more reports of violence
leading to the deaths of at least 20 people.
The ministers said they would meet Syrian officials again Oct. 30.
In the central city of Homs, a hotbed of opposition to Assad, a general strike
was called in protest against Assad’s continued crackdown, which the U.N.
estimates has killed 3,000 people.
Residents and activists said most employees stayed at home and shops were closed
in the city of one million. One resident said insurgents enforced the strike.
Army gunfire, which killed 11 people across Syria Wednesday, also kept people
off the streets.
In the town of Hamrat, north of Homs, suspected army deserters killed nine
soldiers in an attack on a bus with a rocket-propelled grenade, the Syrian
Observatory for Human Rights said. It was the latest incident in an armed
insurgency emerging alongside the campaign of street protests.
Assad faces international pressure over his crackdown, with the United States
and the European Union slapping sanctions on Syrian oil exports and businesses,
helping drive the economy into recession.
“This will end with the fall of the regime. It is nearly unavoidable,” French
Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said Wednesday.
“But unfortunately it could take time because the situation is complex, because
there is a risk of civil war between Syrian factions, because surrounding Arab
countries do not want us to intervene,” he told French radio.
At Umayyad Square, tens of thousands of people gathered for what has become a
weekly show of support for Assad organized by authorities.
State television aired footage of demonstrators waving Syrian flags and
portraits of the president, rallying under the slogan “Long live the homeland
and its leader.”
The rally took place before the envoys from six Arab nations arrived in Damascus
for talks with Assad following their call Oct. 16 for the opposition and
government to hold a dialogue within 15 days at the League headquarters in
Cairo.
“What is hoped is that the violence will end, a dialogue will start and reforms
will be achieved,” Arab League Secretary-General Nabil Elaraby said of the
delegation, which is led by Qatar and includes Egypt, Algeria, Oman, Sudan and
Yemen.
Syria has rejected previous Arab initiatives, and it was not clear if this would
be different, or if the government was trying to gain time to crush the
uprising.
The Arab officials’ visit follows a meeting in Cairo last week by the 22-nation
Arab League, which gave Syria until the end of the month to end military
operations, release detainees arrested in the crackdown, and begin dialogue with
the opposition.
But speaking to The Daily Star following the visit from the Arab League
delegation, spokeswoman for the umbrella opposition group, the Syrian National
Council, Bassma Kodmani reiterated the council’s firm opposition to any dialogue
while the crackdown continued.
“There is no chance for dialogue while the violence continues,” she said.
In earlier comments Kodmani said that “even if the right conditions for dialogue
prevail, the only thing to discuss would be a road map for the peaceful transfer
of power,”
Responding to what that road map would entail, Kodmani said that discussions
were “on hold” in the face of continued killing of protesters.
“It would be premature to discuss the roadmap at this point.”
Asked whether she believed there was any hope for the killing to cease and those
conditions be met, Kodmani said: “No, there is no indication that the regime is
willing to stop [the killing].” The SNC said in a statement Tuesday it was
worried the Arab League initiative “did not distinguish between the victim and
the executioner’ and called for “international protection for civilians” in the
form of international observers to be allowed in to the country to monitor the
situation.Kodmani said the demand for international observation on the ground
was “legitimate and realistic.”
Assad’s government says it is serious about political reform, which it asserts
militants are trying to wreck. The opposition says Assad has no intention of
relaxing his grip on power, pointing to a rise in killings, torture, arrests and
assassinations.
Human Rights Watch said the Arab mission should demand that Syria allow in
independent civilian monitors. “The only way to make sure civilians are
protected is to have on-the-ground monitors whose presence would inhibit abuse
by the security services,” HRW Middle East director Sarah Leah Whitson said.
Assad is from the minority Alawite sect in a mostly Sunni Muslim country.
Sensitive to the reverberations if he were to fall, leaders of mostly Sunni
nations across the Middle East have been cautious about criticizing him or
taking action, as they struggle to deal with unrest.
In Homs, residents said public employees took part in the strike for the first
time, and only a few food shops were open. Video footage on the Internet showed
shuttered shops on both sides of a main street in the nearby region of Houla.
In Deraa the impact was reportedly even greater. “There is total closure.
Streets of Deraa are empty, even the few butcher shops and pharmacies that were
open are now closed,” said Jasem Masalmeh, a resident of the provincial capital.
Syria has barred most foreign media, making it difficult to verify accounts from
activists and authorities.
In separate developments, The United states said Wednesday it hopes it’s
ambassador to Syria, Robert Ford, who was brought home after threats to his
safety, would be returned to Damascus by Nov. 24.
Bashar, Muammar, and the “Battle of the Storm Drain”
By Dr. Hamad Al-Majid
Asharq Al-Awsat
I will not add my knife to the other knives that have been plunged into Muammar
Gaddafi’s back after his death. This is not to mention the slaps, punches,
insults, and humiliation that he was subject to prior to his execution at the
hands of the Libyan rebels, who exacted their revenge on him after suffering
more than 40 years of disgrace, degradation, tyranny, intimidation, and
suppression. What concerns us here is a number of lessons that “everybody”
should pay attention to, particularly Syria’s Bashar al-Assad and Yemen’s Ali
Abdullah Saleh: the most important lesson is that the suppressed and abused
populations outlast autocratic regimes. The Libyan people offered up almost
50,000 martyrs, and they were ready to offer many times that number, just to rid
themselves of their mad tyrant. In fact, many nations have found this motivation
– seeking to free themselves from the shackles of injustice and tyranny – to be
a source of strength. As for such regimes, their only motivation is to remain in
power, and that is nothing more than the motivation of gang leaders and criminal
militias.
Al-Assad and Saleh are gambling on winning the waiting game, believing that
Mubarak and Ben Ali took the decision to step down from power prematurely. They
believe that Mubarak should have listened to the now famous advice that “they’re
nothing more than some youth” in reference to the Tahrir Square protests. This
is the reason why Gaddafi, al-Assad, and Saleh pursued a policy of brutal
violence with the objective of quelling their respective uprisings. Yet the
resounding downfall of Gaddafi has come as a shock to both the Syrian and Yemeni
presidents, particularly as the Libyan people's victory represents the first of
its kind in the Arab Spring revolutions. The Egyptian and Tunisian revolutions
were both peaceful, and some people were betting that the Libyan people’s armed
revolution would fail. If this had happened, this would provide a dangerous
precedent with regards to quelling the two other revolutions taking place in our
region. However the “Battle of the storm Drain” [in reference to the storm drain
where Gaddafi hid prior to his capture and death] has shown that this gamble has
failed to pay off, and has resulted in a loss [in the eyes of the Syrian and
Yemeni presidents] as significant as Gaddafi’s loss of life.
However imagine if the Gaddafi regime had been successful in quelling the
popular uprising against it. This, of course, would have had a catastrophic
impact on the Syrian and Yemeni people and served as an incentive for the
respective regimes to pursue a policy of brutal violence. Therefore gloom and
suppressed fear prevailed in Damascus and Sanaa upon hearing the news of
Gaddafi’s defeat and the humiliating details surrounding his death. For the
Syrian and Yemeni regimes, the battle of the storm drain should serve as notice
that the military solution is no solution at all, and that their only chance to
escape unscathed is to offer real and genuine reform. The Syrian and Yemeni
people have received the message sent by the death of Gaddafi, which has served
to bolster their hopes that they will emerge victorious. As for the Syrian and
Yemeni regimes, this represents the end of their hopes and the beginning of
their suffering.
As for the rest of the peaceful and tranquil Arab states, it should not regard
Gaddafi’s humiliating downfall as one that is of no concern to them, for whether
we like it or not, people inspire and motivate one another. The best evidence of
this can be seen in the fact that China attempted to suppress news of the Arab
revolutions, despite the fact that China is considerably distant from our Arab
world, linguistically, spiritually, geographically, and culturally. There is
therefore even more ways that different Arab populations can influence one
another, particularly as we can communication with one another with the simple
touch of a button. Therefore gambling that any Arab nation is exempt from what
is happening in our region is a high-risk strategy. Revolutions can sweep
through a region like a flood, and therefore all other Arab states must protect
themselves by conducting essential reform, fighting corruption, and paying
attention to the demands of the youth.
Finally, I would like to point out that the collapse of Arab regimes have
occurred in a number of different manners; in Egypt and Tunisia, the president’s
resignation preceded the collapse of the regime, whilst in Libya the regime
collapsed long before the leader’s eventual demise. As for Syria and Yemen, all
signs indicate that the president and regime’s demise will occur simultaneously.
Syria: A series of embarrassing failures
By Tariq Alhomayed
Asharq Al-Awsat
US prosecutors yesterday indicted a Syrian-born man living in the US on charges
of spying for the al-Assad regime in Damascus. If this accusation is proven, and
the defendant found guilty, then this would represent one failure after another
for the al-Assad regime.
One might ask: why is that? The reason for this is very simple, for this
Syrian-born man is facing accusations of espionage not because he tried to
breach the secrets of the US State Department or the Pentagon, or because he
tried to obtain classified information about the US missile defense system or
other technological secrets or even – shall we say – the colonel's secret
recipe! Rather, he is accused of spying on al-Assad regime opponents in the US,
as part of a conspiracy to intimidate and possibly even harm them or their
families in Syria! What an embarrassment, particularly if the defendant is found
guilty! The spy wars in America never end, particularly with regards to China,
Russia, and even Israel. However for the Damascus regime to send or use one spy
to monitor the movements of al-Assad regime opponents in America…that is a true
failure!
Since one thing reminds us of another, observers can only feel surprise at the
US officials’ demands that the al-Assad regime stop defaming the reputation of
US Ambassador to Damascus, Robert Ford, who Washington recently withdrew from
Syria amidst security concerns. As a result of this, an organized media campaign
in Damascus was launched to defame the reputation of the ambassador who had
announced his support of the Syrian revolutionaries, and even encouraged them in
the media. The reason for our surprise, in this instance, is that Washington is
asking a regime whose media – and the people speaking on behalf of the al-Assad
regime are many – have defamed and denigrated the people of Syria themselves, to
stop defaming the reputation of the US ambassador to Syria!
The al-Assad regime has not hesitated in describing its opponents with various
false labels; sometimes as Salafists, others times as [foreign] infiltrators, as
well as members of terrorist groups or religious fundamentalists, even if some
of these protesters are Christian., which begs the question: how can somebody be
a Salafist and a Christian at the same time? This is not to mention the talk
that they, the Syrian revolutionaries, are “germs” and agents of Israel or the
West, and other ready-made accusations. So if the al-Assad regime does not
hesitate to defame a broad section of its own people, not to mention spy on them
and intimidate them, even abroad – as can be seen in the case that is currently
being tried in the US courts, as well as in claims made by Syrian dissidents who
have fled to Lebanon – then why would it have any problem with defaming the
reputation of the US ambassador? The Syrian dissidents who fled to Lebanon have
claimed that they were tracked [by Syrian security apparatus], whilst numerous
media reports have been published claiming that Syrian forces infiltrated
Lebanese territory; this is not to mention the cases of the disappearances [of
Syrian dissidents] and other stories.
Therefore the only response to a regime that exposes itself to every danger,
such as conducting espionage operations in the US, merely in order to intimidate
its opponents, rather than to obtain nuclear secrets or technological secrets –
as such espionage merits – along the lines of what China, Russia, and even
Israel does from time to time, is: what a failure!