LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
January 18/2012
Bible Quotation for today/Who
Is the Greatest?
Luke 09/46-47" "An argument broke out among
the disciples as to which one of them was the greatest.47 Jesus knew what they
were thinking, so he took a child, stood him by his side,48 and said to them,
Whoever welcomes this child in my name, welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me,
also welcomes the one who sent me. For the one who is least among you all is the
greatest.
Latest analysis,
editorials, studies, reports, letters & Releases from miscellaneous sources
Make up your mind, Hassan Nasrallah/Now Lebanon/17/01/12
Sending Arab troops to Syria/By Tariq
Alhomayed/January 17/12
Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources for
January 17/12
Search for Survivors Called off in Achrafia rescuers have
recovered 27 bodies
Beirut:
Search at collapsed building site called off, 27 dead
Survivor made
last-minute escape from Ashrafieh building
Lebanon:
Report blames Ethiopian flight
crew for 2010 crash
Beirut/Minister Aridi
warns Jal El Dib bridge at risk of collapsing
Joint US-Israel drill called off by Netanyahu, to
Washington's surprise
Iran will give U.S. model of downed stealth drone, report
says
Iran rejects French claims it is violating embargo on
Syria
Hamas brutally assaults Shi'ite worshippers in Gaza
Hizballah
planned Mumbai-style attack on Habad Bangkok, Khao San restaurants
Death toll from Syrian uprising exceeds 6,275
Calls mount for U.N.
action on Syria stalemate
'No
plans' for Western military action on Syria, Iran
France Says Russia's U.N. Resolution on Syria ‘Inadequate’
Iran confirms receipt of U.S. letter warning against
blockade of Strait of Hormuz
British FM: European nations to intensify pressure on Iran
Saudi Arabia: Readiness to up oil output is not linked to
Iran sanctions
U.K. says 'time is running out' for Middle East peace
UAE seeks end to Hormuz
threat as Gulf tension rises
Spain affirms commitment to UNIFIL,
minister
Sleiman vows to resume
talks on Hezbollah arms
Charbel: Decision Taken to Remove Jal el-Dib Bridge ASAP
Aoun: Some Sides Trying to Privatize Electricity Sector as
They Did with Mobile Telecom. Sector
Suleiman Stresses Commitment to Dialogue, Interest in
Success of Arab Initiative on Syria
Lebanese Probe Says Pilot Error Behind Crash but Ethiopian
Airlines Points to Sabotage
Israel Fears ‘Syria’s Chemical, Biological Weapons Could
be Transferred to Hizbullah’
Norway Intelligence Says Radical Islamists Main Threat
against Country
Pietton Meets Miqati, Discusses PM’s Upcoming Trip to
Paris
Connelly Meets Aoun, Voices U.S. Concern that Syrian
Crisis May Destabilize Lebanon
Nahhas: We Hope Govt. Will Approve Labor Ministry’s Wage
Hike Proposal
Charbel: Decision Taken to Remove Jal el-Dib Bridge ASAP
Lebanon:
Politicians
call on government to survey old buildings
Jumblatt warns Syrian
tensions may lead to civil war
Deadly collapse raises
hard questions
U.S. envoy meets Aoun,
voices concerns over Syria crisis
Israeli hackers bring down Saudi, UAE stock exchange
websites
Hamas leadership evactuates families from Syria as
violence escalates
Source: Khaled Meshal to resign as Hamas chief after upcoming vote
Jordan's Abdullah: Israel realizes need to revive Mideast peace talks
immediately
Barak Ravid / Netanyahu and Peres vying for Obama
Search for Survivors Called
off in Achrafia rescuers have recovered 27 bodies
by Naharnet /Rescuers have recovered 27 bodies from the rubble of a collapsed
building in Ashrafiyeh amid fears that 20,000 structures could face a similar
fate if the government doesn’t take quick action. The rescue teams called off
the search for survivors on Monday night after only finding bodies throughout
the day. The dead included 11 Lebanese and 16 foreigners, Interior Minister
Marwan Charbel told Voice of Lebanon radio station on Tuesday. Eleven people,
who were injured in the collapse of the building in the Fassouh neighborhood of
Ashrafiyeh on Sunday evening, were all rescued in the first hours of the
accident. The head of parliament’s public works committee, MP Mohammed Qabbani,
warned in remarks to An Nahar daily that “20,000 such buildings could face a
fate similar to that of Fassouh.”The issue has opened a wide door of discussion
on the role of authorities in inspecting old buildings, deciding their fate and
avoiding similar disasters. Such an incident has been preceded by two similar
cases in Byaqout and Mezher, Qabbani said.
During a session it held at Baabda palace on Monday, the cabinet agreed to
provide LL30 million ($20,000) to every victim in compensation and tasked the
Higher Relief Council with providing them alternative housing to the survivors
and the families of nearby buildings who were evacuated on Sunday night upon the
order of security forces.
Ashrafiyeh lawmakers called for a three-hour closure at noon Wednesday during
the funeral of 15-year-old Anne Marie Abdel Karim at the Sayydeh church.
"I was asleep, I woke up and felt everything shaking and then something fell on
me and I started screaming," said Antonella, Anne Marie's twin sister. She spoke
to reporters from her hospital bed on Monday, not knowing her sister had died.
"Thank God it was just this, and nothing more," she said.
Joint US-Israel drill called off by Netanyahu, to Washington's surprise
http://www.debka.com/article/21656/
DEBKAfile Exclusive Report/ January 17, 2012/debkafile's sources disclose
exclusively that, contrary to recent reports published in Washington, Jerusalem
- and this site too - it was Israel Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, not the
Obama administration, who decided to call off the biggest ever joint US-Israeli
military exercise Austere Challenge 12 scheduled for April 2012.
Washington was taken aback by the decision. It was perceived as a mark of
Israel's disapproval for the administration's apparent hesitancy in going
through with the only tough sanctions with any chance of working against Iran's
nuclear weapon program: penalizing its central bank and blocking payments for
its petroleum exports.
This was the first time Israel had ever postponed a joint military exercise; it
generated a seismic moment in relations between the US and Israel at a time when
Iran has never been so close to producing a nuclear weapon.
This week, Netanyahu further orchestrated a series of uncharacteristically
critical statements by senior ministers: Deputy Prime Minister Moshe Yaalon
called the Obama administration "hesitant" (Jan. 15), after which Foreign
Minister Avigdor Lieberman urged the Americans to "move from words to deeds"
(Jan 16).
The underlying message was that the Israeli government felt free to attack
Iran's nuclear sites on its own if necessary and at a time of its choosing.
debkafile's sources report that Netanyahu decided on this extreme course after
careful consideration when he judged the Obama administration's resolve to
preempt a nuclear Iran to be flagging, as indicated by four omissions:
1. Washington has taken no action against Iran's capture of the RQ-170 stealth
drone on Dec. 4 more than a month after the event, and not even pressed
President Obama's demand of Dec. 12 for the drone's return.
Tehran, for its part, continues to make hay from the event: This week, our
Iranian sources report, the Islamic Republic circulated a new computer game
called "Down the RQ-170." Players assemble the drone from the components shown
on their screens and then launch it for attacks on America.
2. Silence from Washington also greeted the start of 20-percent grade uranium
enrichment at the underground Fordo facility near Qom when it was announced Jan.
9. Last November, Defense Minister Ehud Barak warned in two US TV interviews
(Nov. 17 and 22) that as soon as the Fordo facility went on stream, Iran would
start whisking the rest of its nuclear facilities into underground bunkers, out
of reach and sight of US and Israeli surveillance.
Barak made it clear at the time that Israel could not live with this
development; therefore, the Netanyahu government believes Israel's credibility
is now at stake.
3. Exactly three weeks ago, on Jan. 3 Lt. Gen. Ataollah Salehi, Iran's Army
chief, announced that the aircraft carrier USS Stennis and other "enemy ships"
would henceforth be barred from entering the Persian Gulf through the Strait of
Hormuz . Yet since then, no US carrier has put this threat to the test by
attempting a crossing. Tehran has been left to crow.
4. Even after approving sanctions on Iran's central bank and energy industry,
the White House announced they would be introduced in stages in the course of
the year. According to Israeli's calculus, another six months free of stiff
penalties will give Iran respite for bringing its nuclear weapon program to a
dangerous and irreversible level.
Hizballah planned Mumbai-style attack on Habad Bangkok,
Khao San restaurants
DEBKAfile Special Report /January 16, 2012/ The Thai police's capture of a
Lebanese-Swedish Hizballah suspect, who was charged Monday, Jan. 16, thwarted a
terrorist attack on Bet Habad in Bangkok, involving the taking of hostages and
blowing up the building. It was to have followed the same lines as al Qaeda's
2008 assault on the Mumbai Habad center which killed 8 Israelis and Jews - only
more ambitious. The Habad Bangkok is much larger: its hostel has rooms for
dozens of lodgers. A second team was to have hit the Khao San Road restaurants
popular with Israelis and Americans in a coordinated operation. This is the
first time Western and Israeli agencies have found evidence of the Lebanese
Shiite Hizballah using and training operatives in the same terrorist methods as
al Qaeda. debkafile's counter-terror sources note that two or possibly three
Hizballah cells were to have gone into coordinated action on the same date this
month. The only suspect in Thai custody is Atris Hussein, 47, who was arrested
as soon as he landed at Bangkok international airport Thursday, Jan. 12. He
first denied association with Hizballah, claiming he was on holiday. Sunday, he
broke down under interrogation and admitted he was on a mission to attack
Jewish, Israeli and American sites and that explosive materials had been
prepared in advance by another Hizballah team, which had pinpointed the targets
and was to have briefed the perpetrators. Thai authorities believe that each
team was made up of two or three members, all carrying European or Persian Gulf
emirate passports. Monday, Jan 16, Hussein led the police to an address he
received from his Hizballah controllers in Lebanon in the Samut Sakorn province
on Bangkok’s outskirts. There they found a cache of 4,000 kilograms of urea
fertilizer and 10 gallons of ammonium nitrate, a chemical compound used in
explosives. The materials had not been assembled, indicating the plot was still
not quite ready to go.
The Thai police were waiting for the suspect at the airport after receiving
alerts from US and Israeli counter-terrorist agencies, which had advance
information about the coming attack. According to debkafile's intelligence
sources, the tip-off originated with Lebanese nationals living in Bangkok who
had been approached for assistance. Those informants, who did not trust the
local authorities to act, went straight to Western and Israeli contacts, who
then published terror alerts to US and Israeli travelers. The terror alerts
issued by the US embassy and Israel's Counter-Terror Bureau are still in force.
Sources familiar with the investigation report a major manhunt in progress for
Hossein's confederates in Thailand, Europe and the Middle East. Some of those
sources suspect the advance team members who prepared the explosives materials
managed to escape, either by plane from Bangkok or by crossing into Laos and
catching a flight there, although others believe they are still hiding out in
Thailand waiting for another chance to strike.
Hamas brutally assaults Shi'ite worshippers in Gaza
Assault is part of a broader crackdown on Shi'ite organizations, including
charities, that was sparked in part by Hamas' fear of growing Iranian influence
in Gaza. By Avi Issacharoff /Haaretz/Armed Hamas men broke into a
gathering of some 30 Shi'ite worshippers in the Gaza Strip last Friday and
brutally attacked them, Haaretz has learned. The assault was part of a
broader crackdown on Shi'ite organizations, including charities, that has been
sparked in part by Hamas' fear of growing Iranian influence in Gaza. The
worshippers had gathered in a house in the Sheikh Zayyad neighborhood, between
Beit Lahia and Jabalya, to mark Arbaeen, the end of the 40-day mourning period
for Imam Hussein, founder of Shia Islam, who was killed in 680 C.E. Hamas
militants arrested 14 of the men and beat up the rest. They continued beating
the worshippers even after taking some to a hospital and others to a Hamas
detention facility. One Gazan, Rafik Hamad, told the London-based Al-Hayat
newspaper that a senior security official called him at about 10 P.M. on Friday
to tell him that his brother was under arrest at the Sheikh Zayyad police
station. At the station, he found his brother suffering from fractures in his
arms and legs and other serious injuries. Hamad accused the Hamas government of
persecuting Shi'ite believers.
"The police said my brother was a heretic and asked me to keep him at home and
not let him out," he said. The Hamas-run government is convinced that Iran is
expanding its influence in Gaza by means of Islamic Jihad.
Gazan sources told Haaretz that Islamic Jihad now contains a group of converts
to Shia Islam. The group is led by Iyad al-Hosni, also a convert, who was ousted
from Islamic Jihad but recently reinstated, probably under Iranian pressure:
Islamic Jihad's leadership visited Iran two months ago, and afterward, al-Hosni
was appointed a senior officer in its military wing. Some of the men arrested on
Friday issued a statement on Sunday urging Iran to stop funding Hamas due to its
persecution of Shi'ites. Tehran has already reduced its support for Hamas, among
other things because Hamas has refused to support embattled Syrian President
Bashar Assad.
Becoming Shi'ite is a growing trend in the Gaza Strip: Hundreds of Sunnis, both
Islamic Jihad activists and ordinary people, are known to have converted.
Death toll from Syrian uprising exceeds 6,275
By Yousef Diab
Beirut, Asharq Al-Awsat- The "General Committee of the Syrian Revolution"
revealed yesterday that "security forces shot dead seven people in various parts
of Syria" and that the "Syrian regime's victims have exceeded the 6275 barrier
since the outbreak of the revolution (on 15 March 2011) to this day." It added
that the "amnesty decree issued by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad shows the
regime is in a predicament because it is the first presidential amnesty for the
crimes against the state since the start of the revolution. It includes an
amnesty for the crimes of carrying and possessing arms but is futile with the
continued blockade of the cities and the killings and repression."
While the situation on the ground remains tense despite the presidential decree,
Abu-Ghazi al-Hamawi, member of the "Hamah Revolutionaries Council" stated to
Asharq Al-Awsat that "the military and security operations on the ground
have not stopped." He pointed out that "more than 20 tanks and more than 30
personnel carriers and armored vehicles raided (yesterday) the town of Kafr
Nabudah in Hamah countryside to suppress a peaceful demonstration which led to
six martyrs. The military forces are still deployed extensively in the town." He
disclosed that "this operation prompted several soldiers to defect and they
clashed with their comrades after fire was opened on the unarmed civilians." Al-Hamawi
pointed out that "the intensive security deployment inside the city of Hamah
remains. The snipers killed today (yesterday) the 16-year old Ahmad al-Nasan in
the road for no reason at all." He added that the "night demonstrations inside
Hamah do not stop and are protected by elements from the Free Syrian Army [FSA].
The regular army does not dare to attack them at night for fear of falling into
the FSA's ambushes." Meanwhile, the situations in the city of Homs have remained
the same. Abu-Ghalib al-Ayyubi, an official in the "Revolutionaries'
Coordination Council" said "the city's neighborhoods are still under siege but
all these repressive measures will not stop the peaceful revolution, drawing 100
lines under the word (peaceful)." He asserted to Asharq Al-Awsat that "the
revolutionaries are protected by their brothers from the FSA", adding that
"these elements handed the [Arab observers] delegation the tank they captured
from the regular army before few days to prove that those defending Homs are its
citizens and sons and that there are no armed gangs according to the lies the
regime is spreading." He announced that "the presidential amnesty decree issued
by the head of the regime (President Bashar al-Assad) has no value on the
ground. But it contains recognition of the revolution and the crisis in which
the regime is finding itself and that the decisive hour is now nearer." He
asked: "Is this amnesty for the purpose of getting more Shabiha out of prison to
use them against the demonstrators?" He said: "Our priorities as revolutionaries
are to get rid of Bashar al-Assad and his gang in a peaceful way but if he
continues with the killing then we insist on international intervention and a
repetition of the Libyan scenario. We will then be forced to deal with the devil
in order to get rid of this regime and its gangs."
'No plans' for Western military action on Syria,
Iran
LONDON, (AFP) — Western nations have no immediate plans for military action to
stop the repression of protests in Syria or to halt Iran's nuclear programme,
Foreign Secretary William Hague said on Sunday. Asked if there was a possibility
of a no-fly zone in Syria like the one imposed over Libya last year, Hague said
there was "no serious prospect" of a UN resolution on the subject. "We haven't
been looking at a no-fly zone," Hague told Sky News, saying it would be only
effective in tandem with other measures, and that the Syrian regime had not been
relying on air power to repress protests. "There is no serious prospect
certainly at the moment of the United Nations Security Council agreeing any
resulution at the moment, let alone agreeing a resolution comparable to anything
that happened in Libya." But he said that if the current Arab League monitoring
mission in Syria does not work "I hope they (the Arab League) will come to the
UN and suggest a way forward that we can all get behind."Hague was also cool on
suggestions by Qatar that Arab forces should be sent into Syria to stop the
deadly 10-month crackdown on dissent by President Bashar al-Assad's regime.On
Iran, Hague warned that Tehran's "dangerous" nuclear drive threatened
profileration across the Middle East. "We must not be put off further sanctions
by bluster or statements from Iran," Hague said, adding that he hoped European
Union foreign ministers would agree new measures when they meet on January 23.
"If it continues it will produce nuclear profileration across the Middle East,
which will then be extremely dangerous for the people of Iran, for the whole
region and for the peace of the world." Hague refused to rule out military
action against Iran but said Britain was not calling for it. "We've never ruled
anything out, we've not ruled out any option, or we've not ruled out supporting
any option, we believe all options should be on the table, that is part of the
pressure on Iran, he said. "But we're clearly not calling for or advocating
military action, we're advocating negotiation, meaningful negotiations, if Iran
will enter in to them." The West accuses Iran of trying to produce a nuclear
weapon, but Iran says its programme is for civilian use.
Aoun: Some Sides Trying to Privatize Electricity Sector as They Did with Mobile
Telecom. Sector
by Naharnet /Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun stated on Tuesday
that the electricity dispute in Lebanon is old, saying that some sides are
seeking to exploit the issue for personal gain.
He said after the Change and Reform bloc’s weekly meeting: “Some sides are
seeking to privatize the sector as they did with the mobile telecommunications
sector.”
“Privatization has ruined Lebanon and they want to bankrupt public
administrations,” he added. “These administrations must remain under the control
of the state,” stressed the MP.
Addressing attempts to approve the 2012 state budget, Aoun remarked: “The
country is moving at a snail’s pace.”
“We refuse that our ministries remain crippled,” he continued. He also offered
his condolences to the residents who lost relatives in the Ashrafiyeh building
collapse on Sunday, demanding that those behind the incident be held accountable
for their actions. In addition, he demanded the removal of the Jal el-Dib bridge
over the cracks in its foundations.
“There is official and popular consensus on the need to remove the bridge and
those responsible for the issue should be held accountable should any problem
arise over it,” Aoun stressed.
On Sunday, 27 people were killed in the collapse of a six-storey building in the
Ashrafiyeh neighborhood of Fassouh The cabinet formed a commission of inquiry
headed by Interior Minister Marwan Charbel to reveal the circumstances that
caused the disaster and submit a report on collapse-prone buildings across the
country. In light of Sunday’s accident, many complaints were made about the
metal bridge on the Jal el-Dib highway, north of Beirut. Public Works Minister
Ghazi Aridi told Voice of Lebanon radio on Tuesday that the bridge “should be
removed,” while Interior Minister Marwan Charbel later confirmed that an
agreement has been reached to remove it “as soon as possible.”
Charbel: Decision Taken to Remove Jal el-Dib Bridge ASAP
by Naharnet /The decision has been taken to remove the Jal el-Dib bridge “as
soon as possible” in order to avoid a possible “disaster,” Interior Minister
Marwan Charbel said Tuesday, after the collapse of a building in Ashrafiyeh that
left 27 people dead stirred fears of the possibility of similar disasters.
Numerous complaints have been made about the weary metal bridge on the Jal
el-Dib highway, north of Beirut. But Charbel reassured that “there is no need to
panic,” saying the relevant authorities had taken the “necessary
precautions.”Charbel’s announcement comes after Public Works and Transport
Minister Ghazi Aridi recommended that the bridge be removed over safety fears.
“We have conducted the necessary contacts with the Council for Development and
Reconstruction and Public Works Minister Ghazi Aridi, who had asked us to
prevent the passage of trucks, alleviate the pressure on the bridge and prevent
any overload,” Charbel said.Earlier on Tuesday, Public Works and Transport
Minister Ghazi Aridi stressed to Voice of Lebanon radio station that the bridge
“should be removed.” “I have sent experts to inspect the bridge and referred a
report to the Council for Development and Reconstruction which is entitled to
deal with the issue,” he told VDL (93.3). Aridi neither confirmed nor denied the
reports about “cracks in the foundations of the bridge” but said he will follow
up the issue with Charbel.
Jal el-Dib municipal chief Edward Abou Jaoude said the reports were only rumors.
The municipality hasn’t asked drivers to avoid using the bridge, he stressed.
Norway Intelligence Says Radical Islamists Main Threat against Country
by Naharnet /Radical Islamists pose the biggest threat to Norway even though it
was a rightwing extremist who carried out the twin attacks there last July that
killed 77 people, Norwegian intelligence service PST said Tuesday."The threat
associated with these groups is worrying today," PST chief Janne Kristiansen
said as she presented the agency's annual threat assessment report.
"In recent years, we have seen that these are people who grew up in Norway and
were radicalized and who consider Norway and the Norwegian society the enemy,"
she explained.
The number of Islamic extremists in Norway remains small, but their ranks could
expand and they have become ever more operational, according to PST, pointing to
a growing trend of extremist youths going to training camps in conflict areas
before returning to the Scandinavian country.
The threat from rightwing extremist groups meanwhile remains unchanged,
according to the intelligence agency, which stressed that this movement would
continue to count few followers in 2012.
"The number of violent rightwing extremists in Norway is still low. Attempts to
actively recruit to the anti-Muslim movements have failed so far," Kristiansen
said.
On July 22, rightwing extremist Anders Behring Breivik, who claimed to be on a
crusade against multi-culturalism and the "Muslim invasion" of Europe, set off a
car bomb outside government buildings in Oslo, killing eight people. He then
went to Utoeya island, some 40 kilometers northwest of Oslo, and, dressed as a
police officer, spent more than an hour methodically shooting and killing
another 69 people, mainly teenagers, attending a summer camp hosted by the
ruling Labor Party's youth wing.
Behring Breivik, who is being held in the high security Ila prison near Oslo
pending the start of his trial on April 16, most likely acted alone, according
to police.
Two psychiatric experts concluded after an initial evaluation that he was
suffering from paranoid schizophrenia and was therefore criminally insane, but
an Oslo court has ordered a second probe to help determine whether he should be
sentenced to prison or receive treatment in a closed psychiatric ward.
Suleiman Stresses Commitment to Dialogue, Interest in Success of Arab Initiative
on Syria
by Naharnet /President Michel Suleiman vowed on Tuesday to resume the National
Dialogue and said the success of the Arab initiative to resolve the Syrian
crisis falls in Lebanon’s interest.
“I will continue to exert efforts to guarantee all the necessary conditions to
resume dialogue between all parties to preserve the safety of the Lebanese” and
achieve a national defense strategy, Suleiman told the diplomatic corps that was
in Baabda palace for a protocol visit on the occasion of the New Year. “Lebanon
has a national interest in seeing the success of the Arab initiative to resolve
the Syrian crisis,” he said.Syria has been engulfed in turmoil since March when
the regime launched a deadly crackdown on protestors. In his speech, Suleiman
condemned the terrorist bombings that targeted the United Nations Interim Force
in Lebanon in the past year and vowed to continue the probe to find the culprits
and bring them to justice. He hoped that the strategy review of UNIFIL carried
out by the U.N. would lead to the successful implementation of Security Council
resolution 1701 that urges Israel to withdraw its forces from occupied Lebanese
territories and end its violations of Lebanese airspace. While recounting
the achievements made by Premier Najib Miqati’s government so far such as the
adoption of several bills, including on oil exploration, he stressed that
Lebanon has always committed itself to the implementation of international
resolutions including the one that established the Special Tribunal for
Lebanon.The president told the diplomats stationed in Beirut that the
international community should double efforts to achieve a peaceful solution to
the Arab-Israeli conflict based on international resolutions.“A fair democracy
calls for the establishment of a free Palestinian state,” he said. He reiterated
Lebanon’s rejection to naturalize the Palestinians. “It’s their legal right to
return to their homeland.”
“Lebanon has made stronger efforts to improve the humanitarian conditions of
Palestinian refugees in Lebanon,” the president said but stressed that it was
the international community’s duty to increase its funding to the United Nations
Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).Suleiman
also hoped that Iraq would enjoy unity and stability.
Lebanese Probe Says Pilot Error Behind Crash but Ethiopian
Airlines Points to Sabotage
by Naharnet /Public Works Minister Ghazi Aridi revealed on Tuesday that the
probe in the 2010 crash of the Ethiopian plane off the Lebanese coast, in which
all 90 people on board died, points to a pilot error. “The truth is in the
Lebanese report, the pilot is completely responsible for the plane crash,” the
minister said during a press conference held at Beirut’s Rafik Hariri
International airport.
Aridi pointed out that the direct reasons behind the incident fall on the pilot
and the co-pilot who were on 51 days of service without a break. An earlier
preliminary report by the Ethiopian authorities on the crash said the accident
was due to pilot inexperience and a series of errors by the pilots who failed to
take into account signals emitted by the plane's instruments. The pilot
erroneously believed the jet was on automatic pilot and as a result he and his
co-pilot failed to heed the alarm signals as the plane veered dangerously off
course before crashing, the preliminary report showed. Aridi ruled out reports
saying sabotage was behind the crash. The Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737-800 went
down minutes after taking off from Beirut international airport, killing 83
passengers and seven crew members.
Lebanese officials have previously said that data recovered from the plane's
black box showed all instruments were working well until it plunged into the
Mediterranean during a fierce storm.
Ethiopian Airlines rejected the official Lebanese probe in the 2010 crash of its
jet, saying it was likely caused by sabotage, a lightning strike or was shot
down.
"The aircraft disintegrated in the air due to explosion, which could have been
caused by a shoot-down, sabotage or lightning strike," Desta Zeru, vice
president of flight operations for Ethiopian Airlines, said in a statement.
However, the airline's own accident report released Tuesday said witnesses saw
an explosion in the sky before the jet crashed into the sea, indicative of
"external damage" inflicted, Desta told reporters. The airline had already
rejected an earlier draft report from Lebanon, and instead maintained the pilots
were alert at the time of the crash, according to black box evidence.
"It's biased, it's missing facts, (it includes) hypotheses and conveniently
excludes hard facts. We totally reject it," Desta said.
Desta accused Lebanese authorities of omitting the majority of the wreckage from
the investigation and said Lebanon "ignored crucial information," such as
security footage and autopsy records.
Make up your mind, Hassan Nasrallah
January 16, 2012
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah (in picture on left next to Syrian President
Assad) calls for resistance at home, but is against the opposition in
neighboring Syria. (AFP photo)
Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah’s speech on Saturday to mark the
occasion of the Arabaeen rituals hit out at statements made by UN Secretary
General Ban Ki-moon on Friday in which he expressed concern at the party’s huge
arsenal and its reluctance to disarm.
Not only is Nasrallah’s tune getting very tired, it is shot through with
hypocrisy. Nasrallah and his party have chosen to abandon the state, and yet
they call upon its good offices when they need them. He calls for resistance and
yet urges the Syrian opposition to put down their weapons and enter into
dialogue. Hezbollah is caught in an ideological dilemma and must resort to
increasingly hollow rhetoric.
When Nasrallah “insists on adopting the choice and discipline of the
Resistance,” he is forced to add “along with the army and people” to shore up
the argument that makes him one of the guarantors of Lebanon’s security. But
this is a sentiment that is more a creation of past ministerial statements than
any national movement. Like the tired Baathist rhetoric used by Syrian President
Bashar al-Assad to rally support for his embattled regime, Nasrallah’s image of
a tripartite alliance standing united against the Zionist oppressor is a
fictitious device to justify his party’s fiendish regional agenda at the expense
of the Lebanese people. Nasrallah went on to remind us—as if we needed
reminding—that Hezbollah would “never disarm,” but he did generously “welcome
dialogue aimed at setting a defense strategy.” Again, Nasrallah is peddling an
illusion. The defense strategy is a can that is constantly being kicked down the
road. It is a beacon of false hope to those who see no harm in dialogue but who
forget, or are too blind to see, that dialogue will never happen. Like “the
Resistance, the army and the people” mantra, it is an idea devoid of reality. It
means nothing, but Nasrallah sells it anyway.
He then felt it necessary to move onto more mundane matters and address the
recent concerns surrounding drug-related, petty crime within the Shia community,
a state of affairs that he has allowed to come about, in part because of the
no-go zone placed around the southern suburbs of Beirut. “We are keen on
stability, preventing thefts and crimes, [but] it is the responsibility of the
state and the army to prevent them and not the responsibility of the
Resistance.” We will ignore that Nasrallah called on the army to do the police’s
work (is it not meant to be bravely defending the South alongside the Resistance
and the people?) and focus on his call for the state to do its job. No one is
saying that the state should not be held accountable, but Nasrallah cannot
simply embrace and the reject the state whenever he wants.
His party rides roughshod over the country. It causes anxiety by buying up vast
swathes of land and calling them military zones, it sets up its own phone
network with virtual impunity, it controls the airport, it turns a blind eye
when its constituents steal electricity, and it gets its way politically by
using the veiled threat of violence. His call for the state to solve petty crime
is one of breathtaking arrogance.
But the best was yet to come. Nasrallah, addressing the crisis in Syria, called
on the Syrian opposition to accept Assad’s call for dialogue and to “relinquish
[their] arms.” Is Nasrallah not the Arab world’s greatest revolutionary, the man
who, by stirring feats of martial endeavor, forced out the Israeli oppressor and
brought dignity to his land and his people? Minutes earlier had he not vowed to
retain his arsenal at all costs because the Resistance is the only path open to
those seeking liberation? On that score, he has set a fine example. The genie is
out of the lamp.
Sending Arab troops to Syria
By Tariq Alhomayed/Asharq Al-Awsat
The Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, recently suggested sending
Arab troops to Syria in order to stop the violence there, and this proposal was
supported by Amr Musa, former Secretary General of the Arab League and Egyptian
presidential candidate. At the same time, the French Foreign Minister said that
“the massacre continues, the silence of the Security Council too”, stressing
that the situation is “becoming intolerable”. Other information indicates that
America has requested the Turks to adopt a more active stance as well. Are we
now facing the crystallization of an international position towards the
situation in Syria? I think so, especially as there are several indications of
this, including the moves by some stakeholders in our region, especially with
the Arab visits to Washington, or the international visits to Middle Eastern
capitals, particularly those actively involved [in the Syrian crisis]. Above all
this, there are the developments in Syria and al-Assad’s recent speech, which
suggested the man was detached from reality. Al-Assad has nothing left but his
evasive tactics, sometimes in the form of bombings in the presence of Arab
observers every Friday, and other times when issuing an amnesty, as a formality,
whenever the Arab League decides to meet to discuss the Syrian situation. There
have been many al-Assad amnesty decisions, but without any real implementation!
Consequently, the question now is: could Arab troops be sent to Syria? Who could
do so in light of the desperate defense of the al-Assad regime undertaken by
Iraq, Algeria and Lebanon?
In the event that an Arab stance was formulated, without the requirement of
consensus, and likewise an international one, to take action in order to stop
the al-Assad killing machine, this would not only require sending Arab troops
there, but also the move must be made under the umbrella of the security
council, or through what we have repeatedly called an “international agreement
of those willing”, in order to impose a buffer zone in Syria. The Turkish role
is particularly important here. This would provide an opportunity for the
largest possible number of Syrian army members to defect, which could accelerate
an end to the suffering in Syria. The more army defections that take place, the
greater the chances of a coup against al-Assad, or the collapse of his military
forces. However, first and foremost, this matter requires an international
effort, and more importantly an Arab one, in order to assist the Syrian
opposition. One of the leading causes of the Syrian crisis is the opposition’s
lack of access to genuine support, despite all the accusations that have been
brought against it by the al-Assad regime and its allies.
As we have said repeatedly, this requires active Saudi, Turkish and Qatari
roles, in addition to serious American action, in addition to the French and the
British. This is especially considering the British Prime Minister’s recent
visit to Saudi Arabia and his statements from there, showing that Britain is
sincere in its desire to end the al-Assad killing machine. Such a move depends
on the efforts of the aforementioned states to enact a real transformation in
the Security Council, targeting the influential countries there, specifically
China and Russia!
Thus, the story here is not a story of sending troops or reducing them, but
rather it is the necessity of effective international action to support the
Syrian opposition, and then secure a buffer zone. There must be a move from
within the Security Council, or outside of it - through the formation of a
coalition of those willing to save Syria, in order to put an end to an era that
not only the Syrians have suffered from, but the entire region.
Reform Party of Syria /"General Hamoud of Hezbollah
suddenly appeared in Turkey accompanied by the SNC leadership."
Hezbollah Controls the SNC, Driving its Agenda
Farid Ghadry Blog
It has come to my attention that the statement issued by Lieut. Col. Khalid
Yussef al-Hamoud was the result of the SNC introducing a General in the
Hezbollah Army named Arafat Hamoud (Abu Imad) to the discussions between the FSA
and the SNC . General Hamoud of Hezbollah suddenly appeared in Turkey
accompanied by the SNC leadership.
It is obvious also from that statement that the FSA is under duress and is not
happy to find itself cornered by everyone, including the Arab League.
The Emir of Qatar calling for Arab troops shows the extent to which the Arab
League will go to erase from the world's memories the treachery against Syrians.
While publicly calling for troops. the Emir is really empowering Assad and
Hezbollah at the expense of the Syrian people by letting Hezbollah take control
of the Revolution.
It would not surprise me at all if Gen. Arafat Hamoud is talking-up Mukawama to
the FSA against Israel while Assad continues murdering and killing our people.
Same old, same old.
Because Hezbollah is taking control of the SNC and Birhan Ghalioun, it is
obvious that the SNC wants to kill the Revolution and diminish the capacity of
the leadership of the FSA to continue the struggle inside Syria. This also means
the cooperation between the Muslim Brotherhood and Hezbollah is as strong as
ever.
Hezbollah and Assad were behind the introduction of Brig. Gen. Ahmad al-Sheikh
who is trying to take control of the FSA.
Meanwhile, the Obama administration seems oblivious to the danger or is in
agreement over Assad to retain his powers and Hezbollah to continue threatening
the region. .
I am unable to contact the FSA. Their lives may be in danger. They have yet to
appear on any Satellite channel ever since they distanced themselves from the
SNC, which is an irrefutable proof of the treachery of Saudi Arabia and Qatar.
Reform Party of Syria /The FSA Distances Itself from the SNC and Seeks Military
Intervention
Farid Ghadry Blog
A statement, on Facebook, issued by Lieut. Col. Khalid Yussef Al-Hamoud, the
spokesman for the FSA Commander-in-Chief Col. Riad al-Asa'ad, distancing the
organization from the Syrian National Council and asking for military
intervention by the west.
The statement of Col. al-Asa'ad is as follows:
Peace be upon you.
To start, mercy may be upon the souls of our Martyrs in the Revolution, a
Revolution of pride and dignity. I also wish upon those injured a quick
recovery.
I am the Parachutist Lieut. Colonel Khalid Yussef al-Hamoud, spokesman for Col.
Riad al-Asa'ad the Commander-in-Chief of the Free Syrian Army.
My Dear Brother,
After meeting with members of the Syrian National Council, we have come to the
conclusion that those people do not represent with their proposals and programs
the Revolution and what the Revolutionaries expect in reality from the SNC
members and its executive office.
The SNC members and its executive office have become a burden on the Revolution
for their lack of understanding of the sufferings endured by our oppressed
people, therefore, we ask our people today to discredit their legitimacy. No
courtesies or delays can be accorded today in the face of the continued killing
of this murderous regime.
We as military men in the Free Army and in the name of the Syrian people demand
immediately all the international forces of truth and justice to interfere
militarily and to direct painful military strikes aimed at destroying the
killing machine of Assad, for our common interests to get rid of this criminal
regime, similar to what happened in Bosnia to achieve the dreams of Syrians to
build a civil state based on justice, freedom, and democracy.
Parachutist Lieut. Col. Khalid Yussef al-Hamoud
Free Army