LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN

LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
April 22/2012

Bible Quotation for today/Life in God's Service
Romans 12/19-21: " sk God to bless those who persecute you—yes, ask him to bless, not to curse. Be happy with those who are happy, weep with those who weep. Have the same concern for everyone. Do not be proud, but accept humble duties. Do not think of yourselves as wise. If someone has done you wrong, do not repay him with a wrong. Try to do what everyone considers to be good. Do everything possible on your part to live in peace with everybody. Never take revenge, my friends, but instead let God's anger do it. For the scripture says, I will take revenge, I will pay back, says the Lord. Instead, as the scripture says: If your enemies are

Latest analysis, editorials, studies, reports, letters & Releases from miscellaneous sources
Washington washes its hands of Syria/By: Tony Badran/April 21/12
Why Israel keeps quiet on Syria/By: Ana Maria Luca/April 21/12
Al-Assad will get the message when NATO meets in Turkey/By: Tariq Alhomayed/Asharq Al-Awsat/April 21/12

Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources for April 21/12
Now Lebanon's updated English reports and news
UN Security Council reaches rough deal on Syria ceasefire force
Iran rides high on nuclear concessions, demands end to sanctions
'Lebanon won't attack Israel in case of strike on Iran'
Barak: Assad’s Exit to Weaken Hizbullah Dramatically
UN committee adds more names to Iran sanctions list
Israel Counterterrorism Bureau calls on Israelis to leave Sinai, citing immediate threat
U.S. plans to provide Israel with $680 million in funding for Iron Dome anti-missile system
Ban: Syria crisis risks shattering Lebanon calm
U.N. and partners now assisting over 22,000 Syrian refugees in Lebanon
Britain understands Lebanon’s stance on Syria crisis: Burt
30 more U.N. monitors to observe Syria’s truce
More U.N. monitors heading to Syria as 13 people killed
Explosion near Damascus, U.N. team visits Syria's Baba Amro
Death of protester casts shadow over Bahrain Grand Prix
UNHCR Says More than 22,000 Syrian Refugees in Lebanon
Ban Urges Syria to Respect Lebanon’s Sovereignty to Avoid Shattering the Calm
Pietton: Protection of Lebanon from Regional Developments Vital after Geagea’s Attempted Murder
Lebanon: Gasoline hits LL40,000 mark
Suleiman Awaits Probe to Determine if Attack on Geagea was Attempted Murder
Sleiman back from Australia, calls for boosting ties with expats
Lebanon's Arabic press digest - April 21, 2012 April 21, 2012/The Daily Star
President Michel Sleiman: There will be no return to political assassinations in Lebanon
Future MP denies Gemayel's no-confidence move indicates March 14 split
Mikati: Cabinet to stay in office till 2013 polls
Lebanese mountaineers to begin challenging ascent
Miqati’s Sources Deny U.S. Trying to Hamper Cooperation with Iran
5 Injured in Knife and Fistfight Attacks in Sidon
Lebanese Cabinet Adopts Draft Rental Law Amendments, Miqati Hails Parliament Confidence
Kataeb Party deputy chief Sejaan Kazzi lashes out at rest of March 14
Hezbollah minister for Agriculture Hussein Hajj Hassan: Cabinet was not cornered by no-confidence vote

Pietton: Protection of Lebanon from Regional Developments Vital after Geagea’s Attempted Murder
Naharnet/ 21 April 2012/French Ambassador to Lebanon Denis Pietton said Saturday that Lebanon would have been placed in a very dangerous situation if Lebanese Forces chief Samir Geagea was killed.
In an interview published in An Nahar daily, Pietton expressed concern at the situation in Lebanon after Geagea escaped an assassination attempt as he was walking in the garden of his fortified residence in Maarab.“We strongly condemn it. Had it succeeded God forbid, Lebanon would have been in a very dangerous situation,” he said.The alarm that the murder attempt sent calls for strong efforts to protect Lebanon from the developments in its surroundings.“Whether this was called a policy of distancing itself (from the Syrian crisis) or not, the protection of Lebanon from the developments becomes much more important,” Pietton told his interviewer.“It is in the interest of Lebanese officials to preserve national unity and dialogue so that the Syrian crisis does not expand to Lebanon,” he said.Pietton urged Lebanese officials to resume the national dialogue under President Michel Suleiman “even if it was not immediately productive.”On the 2013 parliamentary elections, the ambassador said the polls should be held on time.“It would be a big mistake to postpone them under the excuse of waiting as to what’s going to happen in neighboring countries,” he told An Nahar.
“I agree that the attempted murder against Geagea was aimed at stirring LF fears and maybe an organized chaos because it’s not clear who would take charge after him and this would affect the (results of ) the elections,” he said.

'Lebanon won't attack Israel in case of strike on Iran'
In Australia, Michel Suleiman says Lebanon believes Khamenei when he says Islamic Republic not seeking nukes
Roi Kais Published: 04.21.12, 13:17 / Israel News /"Should Israel strike Iran, it will not be attacked with missiles from Lebanon," Lebanese President Michel Suleiman was quoted by Al-Safir as saying during a visit to Australia.According a report published by the London-based Arabic newspaper on Saturday, Suleiman said, "No one has the right to act without the Lebanese government's authorization." He was apparently referring to the complicated relationship between the Lebanese government and the Hezbollah terror organization.
Suleiman said Lebanon would attack Israel only if the Jewish state initiates the aggression. Responding to a question from Australian Opposition Leader Tony Abbott regarding Lebanon's position on the Iranian nuclear program, the president said "Lebanon opposes the development of nuclear weapons by Iran, just as we are against the development of nuclear weapons anywhere else in the Middle East."However, Suleiman mentioned the erroneous US intelligence assessments regarding weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, and clarified that "the supreme religious authority in Iran has repeatedly said that (Iran) is religiously, morally and politically against the production of nuclear arms. "Our relations with Iran lead us to believe (Ayatollah Ali) Khamenei's statements, but the West's allegations raise question marks regarding (Iran's nuclear program)," the Lebanese president said. "The Iranians always tell us during meetings that they are not interested in producing nuclear weapons."

Ban Urges Syria to Respect Lebanon’s Sovereignty to Avoid Shattering the Calm
Naharnet/ 21 April 2012/U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon has expressed serious concern over the repercussions of the Syrian crisis on the security and political situation in Lebanon.
In his semi-annual report on the implementation of U.N. Security Council resolution 1559, Ban condemned the violence along the Lebanese-Syrian border which has inflicted scores of casualties.
“Such actions are not acceptable,” he said about the death of several Lebanese by gunfire from the Syrian side of the border. The latest casualty was al-Jadeed TV cameraman Ali Shaaban whose vehicle came under a salvo of gunfire in the Lebanese northern border area of Wadi Khaled. Ban urged the Syrian government to stop all such actions and respect the sovereignty of Lebanon and the safety of its territory in accordance with resolution 1559. While expressing his serious concern over the effect of the Syrian crisis on the security and political situation in Lebanon, the secretary-general urged all Lebanese to safeguard Lebanon against the potential consequences.He also expressed fears on the increasing political polarization in Lebanon due to the turmoil in Syria. However, Ban lauded the government of Prime Minister Najib Miqati for its efforts to ensure that the negative impact of the crisis in Syria on Lebanon is limited.
The report reiterated that the presence of Hizbullah and other armed groups on Lebanese territories was impeding the implementation of resolution 1559.
It said Hizbullah's arms posed a key challenge to the safety of Lebanese civilians and to the authority of the government and called on the group to complete the transformation into a solely Lebanese political party.Ban also condemned the murder attempt against Lebanese Forces chief Samir Geagea, saying any effort to create instability in Lebanon by carrying out political assassinations is “not acceptable.”
Earlier this month, Geagea said he escaped an assassination attempt after snipers missed him as they fired at him from long distance while he was walking in the garden of his residence in Maarab.
Resolution 1559, which was adopted in 2004, calls for the disbanding and disarmament of all factions in Lebanon.

Ban: Syria crisis risks shattering Lebanon calm
April 21, 2012/By Olivia Alabaster The Daily Star
BEIRUT: U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon said Friday he was deeply concerned about the potential impact of the Syrian crisis on the political and security situation in Lebanon, and expressed disappointment for the lack of progress in the implementation of Resolution 1559, including the disarmament of Hezbollah.
While Lebanon has “witnessed relative political stability over [the last six months] ... this calm is very fragile, and increasingly vulnerable to the deterioration of the situation in Syria,” Ban wrote in his latest semiannual report on the execution of the resolution that was signed in 2004 to strengthen Lebanon’s sovereignty.
Ban also voiced anxiety over the failure of Lebanon and Syria to delineate their shared border.
“Against the backdrop of the escalating crisis in Syria there has been yet again no concrete progress toward the implementation of the outstanding provisions of Resolution 1559,” he wrote. Furthermore, he said, the “deepening crisis” in Syria, was “increasing political polarization” in Lebanon. However, Ban commended the government of Prime Minister Najib Mikati “for its efforts to date to ensure that the negative impact of the crisis in Syria on Lebanon is limited.”
The demarcation of Lebanon’s boundaries “remains an essential element to guarantee the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” he said. Ban deplored the border incursions, sometimes fatal, by the Syrian army, and expressed concern over the “reports of illegal arm transfers now allegedly taking place in both directions,” which he said the U.N. was unable to independently verify.
Controlling the porous border was also vital, Ban said, to prevent the illegal flow of weapons to non-state actors within Lebanon – another key focus of his report.
Ban said a series of recent security incidents had highlighted the threat to national stability posed by non-state actors, including the December attack on a UNIFIL patrol near Tyre, which wounded five peacekeepers and two Lebanese civilians; the firing in November of several rockets across the Blue Line toward Israel; explosions in Tyre in November and December; and the fighting between Alawite and Sunni communities in the city of Tripoli in February, which left three people dead.
Viewed alongside the assassination attempt April 4 on Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea, in regard to which he urged authorities to “deploy every effort to arrest those responsible,” Ban said this series of incidents is “indicative yet again of the ongoing security threats in the country and the proliferation of weapons held by non-state actors.”
They also serve as a reminder, he added, that the Lebanese authorities “should do more to impose law and order throughout the country.”
“The existence and activities of Lebanese and non-Lebanese militias continue to pose a threat to the stability of the country,” Ban writes, and “highlight the need for the government of Lebanon and the Lebanese Armed Forces to increase their efforts to reach a full monopoly on the possession of weapons and the use of force throughout Lebanon.”
“While several groups across the political spectrum in Lebanon possess weapons outside government control,” Ban said, “the armed component of Hezbollah is the most significant and most heavily armed Lebanese militia in the country, reaching almost the capacities of a regular army.”
During the last six months, Ban writes, Hezbollah has publically acknowledged, for the first time, that Iran has provided the party with “political, moral, financial and logistical support,” and that it has upgraded its military capabilities. Iran, Ban added, should encourage Hezbollah to disarm. The Taif Accord of 1989, which stipulated all non-state actors disarm, must be implemented, Ban said, “to avoid the specter of a renewed confrontation among the Lebanese.”
He urged, “once again all political leaders to transcend sectarian and individual interests and genuinely promote the future and interests of the state.”
Hezbollah’s “sizeable sophisticated military capabilities” outside the control of the state, “creates an atmosphere of intimidation and represents a key challenge to the safety of Lebanese civilians,” Ban writes.
Renewing his calls for Hezbollah to disarm, Ban commented that, “In a democratic state, a political party cannot maintain its own militia.”
The disarmament of Hezbollah and other armed groups would be best achieved by a Lebanese-led cross-partisan political process, Ban said, recommending the resumption of the National Dialogue sessions, last held in November 2010.While President Michel Sleiman has expressed to Ban his intention to reconvene the National Dialogue on numerous occasions, “there is no indication at this stage that it will happen soon.”In terms of security within Lebanon’s 12 Palestinian refugee camps, Ban said the situation had remained largely stable over the last six months, but expressed concern over the presence of Palestinian armed groups outside of the camps, especially along the border with Syria, which again challenged the sovereignty of the country and highlighted the need for border demarcation.
Ban also slammed Israel’s “almost daily” intrusions into Lebanese airspace, which, he said, “raise tension, undermine the credibility of Lebanese security services, increase the risk of unintended conflict and generate anxiety among the civilian population.”The U.N. secretary-general also said that the continued Israeli occupation of the northern part of the village of Ghajar and an adjacent area north of the Blue Line stands in violation of Lebanon’s sovereignty. Efforts by Ban and his representatives to engage closely with both parties to bring about the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the areas were ongoing, he said.In terms of Palestinian refugees in the country, Ban urged the Lebanese authorities to improve their “dire and precarious” living conditions, “in particular given the detrimental effects of dismal living conditions on the wider security situation.”

5 Injured in Knife and Fistfight Attacks in Sidon
Naharnet/ 21 April 2012/Five people were injured after several youths battled with knives and fists in the southern city of Sidon, the National News Agency reported on Saturday.NNA said the youth were involved in a car chase and then engaged in fistfight and knife attacks, leaving five people, including one severely injured, at the southern entrance of Sidon on Friday night. The Internal Security Forces failed to arrest the perpetrators who fled the scene of the incident when the patrols were dispatched.But security forces launched a manhunt to find the youth.

Hezbollah minister for Agriculture Hussein Hajj Hassan: Cabinet was not cornered by no-confidence vote
April 21, 2012 /Agriculture Minister Hussein Hajj Hassan said on Saturday that “the cabinet was not cornered by Kataeb bloc MP Sami Gemayel’s step to propose a no-confidence vote.”“It is not true that the cabinet did not accomplish anything. It finalized the electricity plan, [many] oil decrees and a number of administrative appointments,” Hassan told Al-Manar TV.He also said that cabinet still had many other issues to tackle. Prime Minister Najib Mikati’s cabinet won a vote of confidence in parliament Thursday night that was called for by Gemayel following the end of three days of plenary sessions. Mikati’s cabinet is mainly dominated by ministers affiliated with the Hezbollah-led March 8 coalition.-NOW Lebanon

Kataeb Party deputy chief Sejaan Kazzi lashes out at rest of March 14
April 21, 2012 /Kataeb Party deputy chief Sejaan Kazzi denied on Saturday that the party’s bloc MP Sami Gemayel would cause electoral losses for March 14 in the upcoming 2013 parliamentary elections.
“It was not [Sami Gemayel] who visited Damascus or signed the Saudi-Syrian agreement,” Kazzi told New TV in a possible reference to Future Movement leader Saad Hariri. The Saudi-Syrian agreement was the reported accord reached in 2011 between the leadership of both countries to work to stabilize Lebanon ahead of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon’s indictment, which was unveiled later that summer. Four members of Lebanon’s Shia group Hezbollah have been indicted by the STL. However, Hezbollah strongly denied the charges and refuses to cooperate with the court. Kazzi also said that “a [fuss] was made out of Gemayel’s step because he moved the centralism of decision making in March 14 from one place to another.”He added that the Kataeb Party “felt that there was some sort of implicit agreement between some oppositionist blocs and the loyalists because [the former] did not seem to want to change the situation.”Prime Minister Najib Mikati’s cabinet won a vote of confidence in parliament Thursday night that was called for by Gemayel following the end of three days of plenary sessions. Mikati’s cabinet is mainly dominated by ministers affiliated with the Hezbollah-led March 8 coalition.
-NOW Lebanon

Lebanon's Arabic press digest - April 21, 2012 April 21, 2012/The Daily Star
Following are summaries of some of the main stories in a selection of Lebanese newspapers Saturday. The Daily Star cannot vouch for the accuracy of these reports.
Al-Joumhouria/
Jumblatt extremely vexed; Cabinet looks forward to presidential initiative; electricity ships “out the window”
U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon stressed the need to resolve the issue of Hezbollah’s weapons to prevent new face-offs between the Lebanese and considered that Lebanon’s security remains threatened by armed groups that are beyond the control of the state.
Ban urged the government to exert additional efforts to boost security and to resolve the issue of illegitimate weapons. He stressed that militias represented a violation to U.N. Security Council Resolution 1559 and said arms smuggling was taking place between Lebanon and Syria and vice versa.
Meanwhile on the domestic front, the effects of the general parliamentary discussions linger.
Amid this the Cabinet held a session Friday. Participants agreed that there needs to be an initiative in light of the current dangerous phase and that the president should have a prominent role in launching it.
Social Affairs Minister Wael Abou Faour stressed during the session on the need to be aware that there is a sharp political divide that needs to be resolved at the soonest possible time. Minister Ali Hasan Khalil interrupted, saying: “This divide begs a central question: Has dialogue been severed among the political sides?” Khalil proposed a solution to remedy the divisions through dialogue.
He added: “This issue needs to be resolved and a decision needs to be taken on this matter when the president returns.”
“Where is the country headed? The talks in Parliament were not solely political but took on an unprecedented religious and sectarian turn,” Abou Faour, speaking to Al-Joumhouria, said.
Abou Faour confirmed that [Progressive Socialist Partly leader] MP Walid Joumblatt was extremely vexed by the talks in Parliament.
Al-Mustaqbal
Cabinets re-launches meetings and “Cheese Kanafehs” first item on its agenda
The political scene was fixed on the resumption of government after a long holiday as a result of the feasts. The extent of the divisions and underlying tension could be felt the day after the general parliamentary discussions that led to the renewal of “confidence” in the government.
Opposition sources told Al-Mustaqbal that the three-day talks in Parliament reflected the general situation in the country since the government was established after the coup on [former Prime Minster Saad Hariri’s Cabinet].
The sources said the situation was unprecedented and those who hatched the coup are responsible first and foremost.
As-Safir
Cabinet sets the price of bread and approves rent law
Although the curtain has been drawn on the scenes of divisions that surfaced during the general parliamentary discussions, the gravity of its effects weighed in on the internal scene.
Political sources told As-Safir that the Cabinet session was calm and that no hot issues were brought up.
They said Prime Minister Najib Mikati spoke lengthily on the general discussions in Parliament and stressed to ministers the need to regard the “renewed confidence” in the government as an incentive for the government for “greater solidarity between its members.”
An-Nahar
Pietton to An-Nahar: Dialogue does not wait
Outgoing French Ambassador Denise Pietton voiced concern to An-Nahar over the Lebanese situation following the attempted assassination of Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea, which he described as dangerous and something that we strongly condemn and if it succeeded, God forbid, Lebanon would have placed itself in a very dangerous position."
He also said that the incident was a warning and that the issue of Lebanon's protection against regional developments is of utmost importance. He added that it was in the interest of Lebanese officials to be concerned with unity and dialogue so that the crisis in Syria does not spill over into Lebanon.
"The situation in Syria is very dangerous and largely effects the situation in Lebanon but we shouldn't wait for developments in Syria like some parties do," Pietton said.

U.N. and partners now assisting over 22,000 Syrian refugees in Lebanon
April 21, 2012/The Daily Star
BEIRUT: The U.N. and partners are now assisting over 22,000 Syrian refugees in Lebanon, an increase of 2,000 since last week, according to the latest weekly report from the agency. Less than half of those, 9,940, are actually registered with the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees and Lebanon’s Higher Relief Committee, and all in the north of the country, representing an increase of 274 since last week. Activists say the total number of displaced Syrians in Lebanon is much higher than 22,000.Separately Friday, the U.N. refugee agency appealed for $84 million to help an estimated 60,000 refugees who have fled to Lebanon, Turkey, Jordan and Iraq. In Lebanon, the refugee population is concentrated in the north, with around 9,000 displaced people in the region, according to Friday’s report. A further 3,000 in the city of Tripoliitself are awaiting registration, it adds.The agency’s latest assessments show there to be around 8,500 displaced people in the eastern Bekaa region, an increase of around 1,000 since last week. This rise is attributed to further outreach and verification exercises in the area, the report states.Registration in the Bekaa, which is set to begin at the beginning of May, will be conducted through local municipalities, as the HRC is not present in the Bekaa.Roughly 700 Syrians have been registered with the UNHCR in the Beirut area, the report adds.

Britain understands Lebanon’s stance on Syria crisis: Burt
April 21/2012ظ/By Emma Gatten The Daily Star
BEIRUT: Britain understands the need for Lebanon to maintain its policy of disassociation on the uprising in Syria, U.K. Under-Secretary of State for the Middle East and North Africa Alistair Burt said Friday. “We understand very clearly the unique nature of the relationship between Lebanon and its neighbor and the way in which it must act,” Burt told reporters during a briefing after a day of meetings with Lebanese officials, including Prime Minister Najib Mikati.
“The stability of Lebanon over these past months when so much has gone on in Syria has been of huge importance and benefit to the Lebanese people,” Burt added. “Accordingly, the government, it seems to me, will have made wise judgments in trying to ensure that what has happened over the border has not disturbed the stability of Lebanon.”
Burt was in Beirut on a two-day visit, his first since July 2010. He met Friday with Mikati to discuss several issues, including the situation of Syrian and Palestinian refugees in Lebanon, and the stability of the country.Burt emphasized the U.K.’s continued commitment to providing aid to support Syrian refugees in Lebanon. Britain this week pledged an additional $6.4 million in humanitarian aid to Syrian refugees across the region. However, he said he had not discussed in detail with Mikati any contingency plans for a rapid increase in numbers. “I am quite sure people have in mind contingencies to be used if need be, but nobody wants to see this happen,” he told reporters. “[However], Lebanon can be assured that it will not be left alone to cope with this issue if the numbers increase.”
The situation of Palestinian refugees was also addressed during the meeting, and in his briefing to reporters Burt emphasized the need for the implementation of recent changes in labor laws giving Palestinians increased rights to work “in practice as well as just in theory.”“We believe further steps should be taken to implement the law,” Burt said.
There are approximately 400,000 Palestinian refugees registered with the U.N. in Lebanon. However, unofficial estimates sometimes place the number of Palestinian refugees actually living in Lebanon at 250,000.Burt also met with Energy and Water Minister Gebran Bassil to discuss the potential for the exploitation of oil and gas reserves off Lebanon’s coast.
Burt was also in Lebanon to promote the 2012 Summer Olympic Games and the Paralympic Games, which will take place in London between July and August.
“I was thrilled to meet three Olympians who will be coming from Lebanon,” he told reporters.Separately, Mikati met with U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Maura Connelly at the Grand Serail.A statement from the U.S. Embassy said the two discussed the areas of cooperation between Lebanon and the U.S. as well as regional events.
Connelly renewed her country’s “commitment to a stable, sovereign and independent Lebanon.”

Future MP denies Gemayel's no-confidence move indicates March 14 split
April 20, 2012/By Rima S. Aboulmona The Daily Star
BEIRUT: Despite Kataeb Party MP Sami Gemayel’s unilateral move for a no-confidence vote against the government Thursday, Future MP Nidal Tohmeh told The Daily Star Friday that "the March 14 coalition remains cohesive."Tohmeh said that March 14 “understands and respects” Gemayel’s move, which came despite a prior agreement by opposition MPs not to use such a tactic.
March 14 had taken a coordinated stance not to call for a no-confidence vote "because we do not have a majority [in Parliament] that enable us to win such a vote and because constitutionally we cannot bring down the government," Tohmeh said. The government of Prime Minister Najib Mikati survived a vote of confidence late Thursday evening after a three-day parliamentary session marked by harsh criticism from March 14 MPs, who called for forming a neutral government to supervise next year’s general election.
March 14 and other lawmakers reportedly attempted to dissuade Gemayel from forcing the vote, but he was adamant. As a result, most March 14 MPs withdrew from the chamber.
When the final tally was counted, 63 MPs had granted the Cabinet a vote of confidence. Gemayel was joined by two of his colleagues in the Kataeb Party in voting no.
Tohmeh speculated that Gemayel’s decision was intended to oblige those MPs who support the government to "bear the historical responsibility before the people for their actions."
Meanwhile, Kataeb MP Elie Marouni told the Kataeb-run Voice of Lebanon radio station that nobody should have been taken aback that Kataeb party MPs forced a no-confidence vote despite knowing that Mikati's government would win. Marouni said that the government was formed and continued to exist by Syrian fiat, and expressed puzzlement at the criticism Gemayel has been subjected to for having forced the no-confidence vote, insisting that the move had proven to be wise. "We were pleasantly surprised that the votes expressing confidence in the government turned out to be fewer than the last time this happened," pointing out that the government got 68 votes of confidence when it was formed as opposed to 63 Thursday.
Marouni also denied any fissure in the ranks of the March 14 coalition, saying that the Kataeb party "remains at the heart of March 14, which it created."
In his comments to The Daily Star, Tohmeh said that the March 14 alliance is considering various tactics to pressure the government to meet its demands.
“March 14 plans to hold Maarab-2 to discuss taking to the streets peacefully to bring down the government,” Tohmeh said.
Politicians from March 14 held a wide-ranging meeting at the residence of Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea in Maarab, north Beirut, last week in the wake of the assassination attempt against Geagea. The follow-up meeting to which Tohmeh referred is slated to be held next week.

President Michel Sleiman: There will be no return to political assassinations in Lebanon
April 21, 2012/By Hussein Dakroub/The Daily Star
BEIRUT: President Michel Sleiman reassured the Lebanese Friday that there will be no return to political assassinations, saying the country’s police and security forces were competent and capable of promptly uncovering crimes. He also said Lebanon will not be used as a launching pad for subversive acts against Syria.
“We have respected security forces that are fully ready after they had been neglected for long to uncover crimes quickly and within a few days. This is reassuring because it prevents assassinations. There will be no return to assassinations in Lebanon,” Sleiman told members of the Lebanese community in Melbourne at the end of a week-long official visit to Australia,
His remarks followed fears expressed by some March 14 politicians about a return to political assassinations in the wake of a failed attempt to kill Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea.
Sleiman praised the Lebanese Army, saying that despite the popular upheavals in some Arab countries, “the Army has proved that it is an Army of national unity, which dealt with its people in a civilized manner and imposed security and stability.”
“The Army has fought terrorism and defended the country,” Sleiman said, referring to the 2007 battles between the Lebanese Army and militants of Al-Qaeda-linked Fatah al-Islam group in the Palestinian refugee camp of Nahr al-Bared in Tripoli.
Sleiman sought to reassure the Lebanese diaspora about security and stability in their homeland amid a wave of popular uprisings in Arab countries.
“I know how worried you are about the situation in Lebanon and the Middle East. But I want to reassure you that everything happening today is a natural result of public freedoms, progress and the tendency toward democracy.”
However, Sleiman voiced fears the new Arab regimes that have emerged, and are dominated by Islamist parties, might not deal properly with minorities.
The president also voiced concerns over the yearlong turmoil in Syria, which he said is linked to Lebanon by “strong family, geographical and historical ties.”
“I hope that [Syria] will transition to democracy peacefully and smoothly and that the Syrians will talk to each other without the intervention of anyone to find the best way to apply democracy,” he said.
Sleiman promised that Lebanon will not be a base for anti-regime attacks against Syria.
“It’s important to not make Lebanon an arena to settle accounts. This matter is finished, and we must not return to it at all. Lebanon will not be a launching base for any subversive act against Syria or any other country,” he said.
Sleiman also spoke about the case of Pamela Abu Sajaan, a 26-year-old Lebanese woman who is suffering from leukemia and is looking for a bone marrow donor for a transplant operation. Sajaan, accompanied by her parents, visited Sleiman and his wife, Wafaa, at their temporary residence in Melbourne to explain her case and ask for help in finding a bone marrow donor.
Describing Sajaan’s case as “a very important humanitarian issue,” Sleiman urged Lebanese at home and in the diaspora, particularly in Australia, to search for bone marrow donors. He said on his return to Beirut he will launch a campaign aimed at conducting tests of donors in Lebanon to find a donor whose bone marrow group is a fit for Sajaan.
During his visit, Sleiman held talks with Prime Minister Julia Gillard in Canberra and other senior Australian officials in Sydney and Melbourne.
Separately, a Lebanese man was reportedly detained briefly by Australian authorities in Melbourne Friday when he attempted to disrupt Sleiman’s meeting with members of the Lebanese community.
The United Lebanese Democratic Youth said in a statement that one of its members headed to a Melbourne hotel where Sleiman was meeting with a delegation from the Lebanese community, and waved pictures of Georges Ibrahim Abdallah, who has long been imprisoned in France for involvement in murder and attempted murder.
The unnamed man, whom the ULDY said planned to urge Sleiman to work for Abdallah’s release, was detained by Australian authorities “for some time before being released.”

Iran rides high on nuclear concessions, demands end to sanctions
DEBKAfile Special Report April 21, 2012/ Praise for the Iranian negotiating team’s “achievements” at Istanbul along with a demand to end sanctions highlighted the sermon delivered on April 20 by the powerful provisional Friday Prayers Leader Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati, who is also Chairman of the Guardian Council and Imam of Tehran.
Since the western side had officially accepted “Iran’s right to peaceful nuclear enrichment,” he said, the talks with the six world powers were a success for Iran. However, “if Western hostility continues by the stretch of sanctions and pressures, Iran will leave the negotiating table,” Ayatollah Jannati warned.
debkafile’s Iranian sources say that Tehran is making no secret of its substantial gains on the diplomatic front or its tactics. The US framework proposals submitted in secret, direct talks with Iran, although not yet finalized, are being treated in Tehran as a done deal. Iran is therefore hailing US offers to acknowledge its right to enrich uranium and relieve Iran’s nuclear program of international inspection as concessions already in the bag. Sensing they are on a winning streak against the West, Tehran is now pushing for the lifting of Western sanctions, “to gain the trust of the Iranian people.”
European sources calculate that the Obama administration will soon decide to lift sanctions in stages.
The unfinished, unsigned US-Iranian deal is gaining traction as a done deal in America too.
Friday, April 20, the military historian Prof. Frederick W. Kagan of the American Enterprise Institute, published an article under the heading “P5 plus 1 Ceding Red Lines in Iran Nuclear Talks.”
He said the United States had flouted UN Security Council resolutions and IAEA demands of Iran (to make its military installations transparent) in exchange for an Iranian commitment to stop its nuclear development on the threshold of “breakout capability.”debkafile’s military sources report that Prof. Kagan did not seem to share the Obama administration’s confidence that Tehran would stand by any commitment to refrain from building a nuclear weapon, particulaly since it stands on shaky ground. On April 3, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced after long conversations with Iranian and religious experts that she had been impressed by a seven-year old fatwa issued by supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on May 10, 2005, which ruled the construction and possession of nuclear weapons a sin. The edict was forwarded to the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna at the time.
This is what Secretary Clinton had to say, “And if it is indeed a statement of principle, of values, then it is a starting point for being operationalized, which means that it serves as the entryway into a negotiation as to how you demonstrate that it is indeed a sincere, authentic statement of conviction. So we will test that as well.”
No one asked her if Washington and the IAEA had found out whether the fatwa had been upheld in the seven years since it was issued, or why President Barack Obama had suddenly dredged the old edict up now as sufficient warranty for Tehran to stand by its commtments in return for the sweeping concessions it has won from Washington for its nuclear program.
Three Israeli researchers, Y. Carmon of MEMRI, Ayelet Savyon and former UN ambassador Dore Gold, reported Friday, April 20, that they had found no evidence of Khamenei ever issuing a fatwa banning the building and possession of a nuclear weapon under Islamic law. Israel’s drive to stop a nuclear Iran as an existential threat is becoming a personal campaign against President Obama for letting go on agreed principles for the sake of what its leaders regard as a dangerous deal with Tehran.
In his public address on the eve of the Day of the Holocaust and Remembrance, Wednesday, April 18, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said bluntly: “I will not hold back from telling the truth [about the Iranian nuclear threat] at the UN, in Washington and in Jerusalem.” But his words fell on deaf ears in Israel, where people have become inured to his highflown talk and by now wonder if it will ever lead to action.

UN Security Council reaches rough deal on Syria ceasefire force
April 21, 2012 /The UN Security Council has reached a tentative accord on a resolution to send a 300-strong ceasefire observer force to Syria which could be voted Saturday, diplomats said.
Russia's UN ambassador called for a "unanimous vote" on the text his country took a leading role in drawing up. But US ambassador Susan Rice indicated that a vote is not certain as Western governments decide whether the conditions for the force were strong enough. Painstaking talks brought rival Russian and European resolutions into a single draft text. The final proposal would give UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon the task of making an "assessment" on whether it was safe enough to send the unarmed military observers and civilians experts.
The council has approved an advanced mission of 30 observers and seven are already in Syria where a 13-month old uprising against President Bashar al-Assad has left well over 9,000 dead, according to a UN toll. Ban asked this week for the expanded force to be set up even though he said Assad has not kept commitments to withdraw troops and heavy weapons from Syrian cities.
Sending the full 300 monitors requires a new resolution by the 15 member council which is to meet at 11:00 am on Saturday.
Friday's talks produced a text that "council members will send back to their capitals for instructions," said US ambassador Susan Rice who added that a vote is not certain.
"It is possible that not everybody will have instructions at that point, it is possible that there will not be an agreed text at that point. We'll see and we'll regroup accordingly," she told reporters.
Russia's UN ambassador Vitaly Churkin was more upbeat. "We have a text and I hope there's going to be a unanimous vote tomorrow," he said. British envoy Mark Lyall Grant said the council members "are quite close to an agreement." Under the proposed resolution, the full mission would have an initial three month mandate to monitor the cessation of hostilities which started on April 12.
Halting hostilities was part of a six-point plan agreed by UN-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan and Assad. More than 130 people have been killed since the ceasefire started however and Ban pointedly told the council this week that Assad has not kept a commitment to withdraw troops and heavy weapons from population centers. European nations had wanted the threat of sanctions to be included in the resolution if Assad did not keep the commitments. But the final draft text talks only of backing the resolution with "further steps as appropriate." France's UN envoy Gerard Araud said that the proposed UN Supervision Mission in Syria, UNSMIS, would be a first for the United Nations. "It is the first time that the UN is sending observers in a war zone, because they are still fighting there, there is still violence," Araud told reporters. "It is very important to send it as quickly as possible. But at the same time, we have to take into account the danger for the observers."On top of the unarmed military observers, the Security Council wants to send civilian experts in such fields as politics, human rights, public security and gender issues.The advanced mission in Syria agreed a protocol with the government on Thursday setting out the conditions for its deployment across the country and the safety guarantees that must be met by Assad's government. The government has refused so far to let the UN use its own helicopters in Syria however. Diplomats said more talks are to be held on the use of aircraft.
-AFP/NOW Lebanon

Annan initiative “last chance” to avert civil war – Syrian opposition
By Layal Abou Rahhal/Beirut, Asharq Al-Awsat – The Syrian opposition, represented by the Syrian National Council [SNC] and the Syrian National Coordination Committee, confirmed their support for the statement issued by French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe that Annan’s initiative represents “our last chance to avoid civil war.” This comes as fears increase that Syria will fall into a vortex of confrontation and reprisals ultimately leading to all-out civil war.
SNC spokesman, Walid al-Bani, informed Asharq Al-Awsat that he believes that “the implementation of the Annan initiative is not taking place in the manner that it should, because the Syrian regime has no interest is abiding by this plan.” He added “in the event that this initiative is not implemented, then the Syrians will be facing the threat of civil war, and they will have no choice but to take action against the heavily armed [Syrian] army, paying the price in their blood, even until the last.”
Al-Bani also indicated that “the outbreak of clashes between the Syrian people and the regime will threaten the vital infrastructure and social development in Syria, and the country may face dire consequences as a result.”
For his part, National Coordination Committee Executive Bureau member, Majid Habbo, informed Asharq Al-Awsat that “the failure of Annan’s missions will lead Syria to civil war and a state worse than hell, and there are already signs of this on the ground.” He also stressed that Annan’s initiative represents a “final opportunity for everybody, particularly the Syrian regime, to stop the violence, otherwise we will witness a disastrous outcome.”
Speaking at the end of the Friends of Syria meeting held in Paris, French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said that “every day that passes means dozens of new Syrian civilian deaths” adding “it is not time to prevaricate. It is time to act.” Alluding to fears that Syria could descend into a state of all-out civil war if the Annan plan fails, Juppe said “though fragile, the Annan mission represents a last hope.”
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton also stepped up pressure on al-Assad, calling on the UN Security Council to move towards a sanctions resolution to be enforced if Syria fails to permit an adequate monitoring mission. She said “we need to continue to work and move towards a Security Council authorization so that we have the authority to proceed when the time is right” adding “we need to start moving very vigorously in the Security Council for a Chapter 7 sanctions resolution, including travel, financial sanctions [and] an arms embargo.” Clinton even put forward the possibility of NATO invoking its mutual defence treaty in response to the “outrageous” shelling by Syria on its northern border with Turkey, a member of the NATO alliance.
SNC spokesman Walid al-Bani also told Asharq Al-Awsat that “permitting demonstrations to take place in Syria, which is one of the bullet-points provided for in Annan’s plan, would mean tens of thousands of Syrians taking to the streets to oust the regime, and this is something that they [the regime] cannot allow.” He added “I cannot imagine that the al-Assad regime will implement this plan, and the positions taken in Paris were correct, in terms of thinking about alternatives to Annan’s initiative, although we are also saying that we must give this initiative a chance at this moment, particularly as there are no alternatives, despite the fact that the blood of the Syrian people continues to be shed on a daily basis.”
Al-Bani called on the “international community to be prepared to listen to Syrian public opinion and find alternatives [to Annan’s plan]|” adding “there is very little hope in the possibility of resorting to the UN Security Council and the issuance of Chapter 7 sanctions.” The SNC spokesman asked, “if the [Annan] initiative fails, will the international community accept that the Syrian regime did not implement this and continues to kill civilians?” He also called on the international community “to take action beyond a Chapter 7 international resolution.”
Al-Bani told Asharq Al-Awsat that the SNC appreciates the call made by Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal to arm the Syrian opposition. Speaking during the Friends of Syria meeting in Paris, Prince Saud al-Faisal had called on the international community to “arm the [Syrian] nationalists”, particularly as the al-Assad regime has failed to abide by the ceasefire. Al-Bani said that the Saudi Foreign Minister was a “spokesman for the conscience of the Syrians and Arabs with regards to his positions in all the conferences that have taken place on the situation in Syria.”
For his part, National Coordination Committee member, Majid Habbo, told Asharq Al-Awsat that Juppe and Clinton’s statements come within the framework of “putting more international pressure on the Bashar al-Assad regime” adding “I think these attempts to pressure the regime are in order to increase the number of international monitors [sent to Syria] and to achieve other gains from the regime, particularly as the only way to put pressure on the al-Assad regime is via external sources, via superpowers like the US, Russia and others.”
Habbo said “the stances taken by Saudi Arabia and Qatar in particular were restricted due to the lack of international cover” adding “the call issued by Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal comes within the context of attempting to translate political support into practical support…however this requires cover from the UN Security Council or the international community.”

Al-Assad will get the message when NATO meets in Turkey
Tariq Alhomayed/Asharq Al-Awsat
It is clear that there is a varying sense of international alertness towards what is happening in Syria, particularly at the most recent Paris meeting [of the Friends of Syria]. The most distinctive thing about this meeting was that it was brief, not to mention the different language that was utilized in its closing statement, particularly its description of Annan’s mission as “the last chance”, however the question that must be asked here is: is this truly the last chance that will be granted to al-Assad?
The statement made by US Secretary of State [Hillary Clinton] in Paris was also important; she called for action to be taken, once more, at the UN Security Council, in order to obtain a Chapter Seven sanctions resolution regarding the situation in Syria, which authorizes foreign powers to use military force. Of course, the US Secretary of State was realistic in her expectations that Moscow would utilize its veto in response to such a move, which would mean – according to Clinton – that we must activate the NATO mutual defense pact, due to the “outrageous” shelling by Syria on its northern border with Turkey. Clinton also announced that “Turkey is considering formally invoking Article Four of the North Atlantic Treaty.”
Such talk is very important; particularly as US military commanders issued a set of statements yesterday to the effect that all options are on the table. In addition to this, there were also western statements – including by French President Nicolas Sarkozy – calling for the provision of humanitarian corridors in Syria. This means that there is now a strong chance for foreign intervention in Syria, particularly as Annan’s mission has practically failed, and its death needs to be officially announced. However the question that must be asked here is: does al-Assad understand and take all of these statements seriously and respond to diplomatic initiatives? The natural answer is no, and so long as there are no real steps on the ground, al-Assad will not abide by any initiative. What we must confirm is that so long that al-Assad does not hear the whirl of airplanes above Damascus; he will not take any serious steps to end the violence and crimes that are being committed against the people of Syria.
This is something that not just applies to al-Assad, but those around him as well, not to mention his security leadership; for so long as there is no real military movement to stop the al-Assad killing machine – as well as no humanitarian corridors or buffer zones in Syria – then it is only natural that we would not see any senior figures or ranks defecting from the al-Assad regime. The logical question that we have been asking ourselves over the past 12 months of the revolution is: where can the officers or ministers who defect from the al-Assad regime – not to mention their families – go? Libya had Benghazi, whilst during the current situation in Syria, we see al-Assad bombing Homs on a daily basis, despite Annan’s deadline, and so it is clear that al-Assad wants to destroy Homs to ensure that it does not become the capital of the revolution, or the Syrian Benghazi.
Therefore, despite the importance of everything that was said during the Paris meeting, al-Assad will not accede or respond to the dangerous position he finds himself in, or the seriousness of the international community, unless he sees the first NATO meeting take place in Turkey, entitled the Turkish – Syrian situation. At this point, al-Assad will be aware that the wheel of change has begun to turn, and that today is different than yesterday. This is the only language that al-Assad understands!

Why Israel keeps quiet on Syria
Ana Maria Luca/April 21, 2012/Now Lebanon
It is all about Iran and Hezbollah in Tel Aviv, but Syria can also mean trouble. While the Israeli government is pushing for more action on Iran and its nuclear program, the powder keg right next door is on the verge of exploding. While touring the Golan Heights this week, Israeli President Shimon Peres voiced his concern. "Whatever happens in Syria will affect Israel's defense campaign,” Peres said.
Other politicians say it would serve Israel’s interest if Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, whose regime has been battling a yearlong uprising, falls. "Assad's fall would be a major blow to Iran... It would weaken dramatically both Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas and Islamic Jihad in Gaza. It would be very positive," Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said on CNN on Thursday after a meeting with US Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta.
While some Israeli analysts and politicians have voiced concerns about human rights violations in Syria and have criticized the regime’s violent crackdown on protesters, others talk about the destabilization of Syria, hinting that Assad’s iron hand made Israel feel secure and that the Baath regime kept the border quiet for four decades.
But the Syrian story is developing in the background of more important events as far as Israel in concerned. “For Israel, Syria is a side show right now. Iran is the main stage,” Michael Weiss, Communications Director of the Henry Jackson Society, a foreign policy think tank based in London, told NOW Lebanon. “[Israel’s] strategy right now is to sit and wait,” he said, adding that there is little that the Israeli government can do to influence the fate of Syria without the help of the United States. “Right now there is slight contradiction between the intention of the Obama administration to intervene and put an end to the violence in Syria and Israel’s pressure to divert the focus toward Iran,” Weiss pointed out.
David Pollock, Kaufman fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, told NOW Lebanon, “Syria is stealing the spotlight on the international scene, and I think the Israeli government wants the international community to concentrate more on Iran and its nuclear program,” he said.
But Tel Aviv does have its security concerns when it comes to Syria. First, it fears a rocket attack from Hezbollah at Syria’s request and with Iran’s blessing, and second, it fears jihadists infiltrating Syria. “Assad's fall will be a death blow to Hezbollah. So far we have avoided attacking strategic targets in Lebanon, but if missiles are fired at us, we will know how to respond," Peres stated.
Major General Yair Golan, who heads the IDF’s Northern Command at the border with Syria, explained in an interview with Israeli publication Hayom that he still expects the Assad regime to stand for many months, while the security situation at the Lebanese-Israeli border might deteriorate. He also says that he believes both Iran and Hezbollah are involved in the crackdown on the uprising “up to their necks.”
Golan also pointed out in the same interview that it is particularly worrying for his country that Syria might become a failed state. “When I see these terror attacks by Al-Qaeda in Aleppo and Damascus, I understand that from a law-and-order standpoint something is amiss. Today it is happening within the context of a civil war, but tomorrow it could be on our border,” he said.
But when it comes to concrete plans, Israel is still slow to act. There is no troop movement toward the northern border with Lebanon and Syria. Pollock said there is an explanation for Israel’s relative silence on Syria. “Tel Aviv needs Russia and China on its side in the Iranian nuclear file and would rather not risk interfering in the debate on intervention in Syria, which both Moscow and Beijing oppose,” he said.
Weiss also thinks that in the short term, Israel is happy with the stalemate in Syria. He also says that the Israeli government changed its opinion on the Syrian uprising in the past year from actually pressuring the Obama administration to not oust Assad, to hoping for Assad’s fall, as Hezbollah, Hamas and the Islamic Jihad’s direct finance and weapons-delivery link with Tehran would be disrupted.
But for the moment, acting to solve the Syrian problem is not in Israel’s interest. “[Israel] would be very upset if the United States intervened militarily in Syria, because that would mean less chance for a possible military campaign in Iran, and it would lose its leverage,” Weiss concluded. There is still time for Israel to decide on a strategy. “They think that Assad can hold onto power at least till 2013,” Weiss said. This leaves enough time for negotiations on Iran, and Tel Aviv will deal with the Syrian problem later on, when things are clearer and when it suits it better.

Washington washes its hands of Syria
Tony Badran, April 19, 2012/Now Lebanon
Following the fiasco of peace envoy Kofi Annan’s plan and the monitor mission to Syria, all eyes are on the White House to see what its response will be.
After a meeting of NATO ministers in Brussels yesterday, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton offered the following assessment of where Washington’s Syria policy stood: “Either we succeed in pushing forward with Kofi Annan's plan, or we see Assad squandering his last chance before additional measures have to be considered.” The secretary’s comment was useful only insofar as it captured several of the problems and contradictions that have plagued the Obama administration’s failed Syria policy.
That Clinton was still pushing the Annan plan was in itself a statement on the bankruptcy of the administration’s policy ideas. The plan, widely viewed as a lifeline to President Bashar al-Assad, has been roundly criticized, especially for calling for a “Syrian-led” dialogue between Assad and his opponents, thereby legitimizing the dictator.
But the troublesome details of the plan aside, the most embarrassing fact for the administration remains that Assad, with Russian cover, has made a total mockery of it. Since Annan’s April 10 deadline, Assad’s forces have not stopped their military campaign against the population, and they have escalated their search and arrest operations.
This left the administration in an awkward position. Unwilling to declare the mission a failure, which it obviously was, it resorted instead to cautioning against the erosion of the “fragile ceasefire” – even when no ceasefire ever took place. Finally, US Ambassador to the UN Susan Rice wrote on Twitter that the “Syrian regime lied to the world, lied to its people … Words are meaningless. Actions are what matter.”
But all this begs the obvious question: Did the administration really not know this was going to happen and that Assad was going to fire on the opposition, round up opponents and put them in prison? Did Washington not yet realize that this regime is all about lying and violence? Is this regime's nature somehow a mystery, following not only the last 13 months of torture and murder, but the previous 40 years, during which the Assad family perfected the simultaneous use of talks and violence against its neighbors and the US?
Which brings us to Clinton’s comment about the mission being a “last chance” for Assad. Why the US would be interested in an initiative that offers chances to the bloody dictator is hard to fathom. However, the secretary’s choice of words reflected what has been a shift in President Obama’s position away from his declaration last August that Assad had to “step aside,” and back to the one he made in May of last year, in which he called on Assad to “lead the transition” – precisely the Russian preference, which was reflected in the Annan plan.
Not only did the US president make this concession to Moscow, but it also appears that he sought the help of president-elect Vladimir Putin to midwife this “political solution.” According to US officials who spoke to journalist David Ignatius earlier this month, the White House was hoping Putin “can broker a Syria deal before he meets Obama at the G-8 summit next month.”
That this was indeed the administration’s thinking was confirmed in Ambassador Rice’s interview with CNN the other day. When asked the most pressing question – what next? – Rice replied that the “next step really is for those who have maximum influence on Assad to continue to use it,” in an obvious reference to Russia, which she noted had “a great stake in the success of the Annan plan.”
President Obama, adamant on resisting calls for direct US intervention, had essentially subcontracted the policy to Russia. The administration sold the unanimous passage of UNSC Resolution 2042 in support of Annan’s mission as the crystallization of an international consensus against Assad.
Of course, this was never the case as obvious, for one, from the wildly divergent interpretations of the Annan plan. Rather, what the administration had actually done was to force the plan onto skeptical allies who had taken forward positions against Assad, such as Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar. And while the White House was still maintaining that the “process needs to play itself out before we judge it a success or a failure,” these allies were publicly airing their displeasure and skepticism.
The problem is that the administration never had a Plan B. As one US official told ForeignPolicy.com yesterday, “Our allies were coming back to us and saying ‘What's your next move?,' and we were forced to admit we didn't have one.”
Although Secretary Clinton spoke of “additional measures,” in her interview, Ambassador Rice made clear that those did not go beyond “economic and political” pressure. It is for this reason that Annan’s spokesperson, Ahmad Fawzi, confidently declared that the US “is leaving it in the hands of Kofi Annan, as is the rest of the world… We’re the only path in town. There is no alternative.”
Of course, there are plenty of alternatives that influential US Congressmen and US allies have articulated and urged the administration to pursue. The consistent calls by Riyadh and Doha for arming the opposition have been an obvious attempt to get the US to assume leadership. In the same vein, Turkey's probing of the administration on the establishment of a buffer zone was intended to secure a commitment of US backing. The problem, as the administration official told ForeignPolicy.com, is in the approach of the White House, which “does not want to become so heavily involved in the Syria conflict, for example by directly arming opposition fighters.” This posture, the official explained, was confusing allies like the Turks.
American prestige has already absorbed an enormous blow as a result. The longer the administration persists in this failed approach, the worse the damage to US credibility and interests, as the White House shows that its word means little. In that sense, Ambassador Rice’s tweet unfortunately was accurate.
**Tony Badran is a research fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. He tweets @AcrossTheBay.