LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
January 30/2012
Bible Quotation for today/Trust in God/Riches in Heaven
Luke 12/22-32: "Then Jesus said to the disciples, And so I tell you not to worry
about the food you need to stay alive or about the clothes you need for your
body. Life is much more important than food, and the body much more important
than clothes. Look at the crows: they don't plant seeds or gather a harvest;
they don't have storage rooms or barns; God feeds them! You are worth so much
more than birds! Can any of you live a bit longer by worrying about it? If you
can't manage even such a small thing, why worry about the other things? Look how
the wild flowers grow: they don't work or make clothes for themselves. But I
tell you that not even King Solomon with all his wealth had clothes as beautiful
as one of these flowers. It is God who clothes the wild grass—grass that is here
today and gone tomorrow, burned up in the oven. Won't he be all the more sure to
clothe you? What little faith you have! So don't be all upset, always concerned
about what you will eat and drink. For the pagans of this world are always
concerned about all these things. Your Father knows that you need these things.
Instead, be concerned with his Kingdom, and he will provide you with these
things. Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father is pleased to give you
the Kingdom. Sell all your belongings and give the money to the poor. Provide
for yourselves purses that don't wear out, and save your riches in heaven, where
they will never decrease, because no thief can get to them, and no moth can
destroy them. For your heart will always be where your riches are.
Latest analysis,
editorials, studies, reports, letters & Releases from miscellaneous sources
Israel will have to strike/By:
Hagai Segal/Ynetnews/ January 29/12
Israel is using Iran to sidestep Mideast peace
talks/Haaretz Editorial/January 29/12
Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources for
January 29/12
US sets May as tentative date for clash with Iran.
Floating SEALs base for Gulf
U.S. to send floating
base to Mideast: report
UN nuclear team arrives
in Iran
Peres: Iran
the most corrupt country on earth
Iran: European companies will be damaged by oil ban
Iran says oil could reach
$120 to $150 per barrel
-
Iranian lawmakers finalize bill to ban oil sales to EU; vote expected today
Sanctions Take Their Toll on Ordinary Iranians
Iranian media confirm Canada resident's
Saeed Malekpour
death sentence
Turkey may provide Hamas with $300 million in annual aid
French tourist killed in shooting in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula
With instability at home,
Yemeni chief arrives in U.S.
U.N. Resolution to be Rewritten after End of Arab League
Mission in Syria
Russia criticizes Arab League for ending Syria observer
mission
Russia backs Assad, last
friend in Arab world
Lavrov Condemns Suspension of Arab Observer Mission in
Syria
Report:
11 Iranian pilgrims kidnapped in Syria
Zvi Bar'el / When it comes to the UN, Assad has nothing to fear
Demonstrations erupt in Syria's 2nd city,Aleppo, 10 killed
Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi Urges Cabinet to Abide
by Constitution on 2012 State Budge
North Lebanon:
Home of Judge
Shabtini broken into, items stolen
Lebanon: Charbel says
Shabtini house break in mere burglary
Lebanon's Arabic press digest - Jan. 29, 2012/The
Daily Star
Sleiman and
Mikati discuss
budget, appointments
Saniora: Aoun’s Call for Protests is an Insult to Lebanese
Hariri Begins Recovery at his Home in Paris
Charbel says no information that abducted Iranians moved
to Lebanon
Suleiman, Miqati Discuss Electricity Tension and
Appointments
Mufti Qabbani Condemns Attempts to Destabilize Lebanon
Minister of Social Affairs Wael Abu Faour: PSP-Hezbollah
ties ‘good’
Tripoli protesters unblock
roads after Sheikh Hussein’s release
Lebanon’s Arabic press digest - Jan. 29, 2012 January 29,
2012 /The Daily Star
Following are summaries of some of the main stories in a selection of Lebanese
and pan-Arab newspapers Sunday. The Daily Star cannot vouch for the accuracy of
these reports.
Al-Mustaqbal
Mufti Qabbani stresses that the “martyrs are the pride of the country”
Interior Minister confirms delay in reception of telecoms “data”
There were two headlines on the political scene at the end of the week: the talk
of the return of the ghost of assassinations and MP Michel Aoun’s attack on
martyrs, whom he described as thieves.
Meanwhile, the effects of the scandalous mishandling by Aoun’s ministers in
government on subjects from the issue of gasoil, electricity to the
telecommunications “data” still remain, awaiting the results of investigations
into the red gasoil matter.
And while waiting for Cabinet’s meeting Tuesday, these divisive issues were
brought up at talks between President Michel Sleiman and Prime Minister Najib
Mikati, particularly given that the government appears to be facing a new period
of division as a result of the campaigns between its members.
Meanwhile, talk of the discovery of a plot to assassinate top security officials
in Ashrafieh is an ongoing subject, particularly given that it sparked the fear
of a return to the series of crimes in general and assassinations in particular.
Interior Minister Marwan Charbel gave his reassurances that “the appropriate
measures have been taken to protect the relevant figure.”
Lebanon’s Grand Mufti Mohammad Rashid Qabbani denounced “attempts to unsettle
security in the country,” and urged that political assassinations in the country
be put to a stop.
“Our martyrs in general and our living martyrs in particular … are the pride of
our country,” he said.
Al-Hayat
Information about plan to assassinate security officials rekindles dispute over
“Lebanese telecoms data”
The Lebanese political scene was taken up Saturday by the news of information
indicating attempts to assassinate a top-rank member of Lebanon’s security
community, in particular either Internal Security Forces General Director Maj.
Gen. Ashraf Rifi or the head of the Intelligence Branch of the police, Brig.
Gen. Wissam Hasan.
While Interior Minister Marwan Charbel said the media had blown the subject out
of proportion, “we are following up the matter.”
Senior security sources told Al-Hayat that security services received
intelligence on several stages about the targeting of security figures and that
four days ago the intelligence included details concerning the movements of Rifi
and Hasan.
The sources clarified that security officials were forced to pause on
intelligence indicating preparations to place a car bomb in front of one the
entrances of the General Directorate of the ISF.
While the sources did not want to divulge further details of what they had in
terms of their investigations, they indicated that the Intelligence Branch had
received the intelligence about the attempted assassination days after
Telecommunications Data refused to hand over to the ISF “telecoms data related
to cellular data since the 13th of the month …”
An-Nahar
An investigation into red diesel
On Tuesday, Iran introduces the electricity program
Following the political clamor that distinguished the week, tomorrow will see
the launch of a judicial process to be followed by government activity on
several matters, including the investigation into the selling of large
quantities of red diesel that had been subsidized, as well as the electricity
crisis and Iran’s sudden offer to provide electricity.
Yesterday, President Michel Sleiman and Prime Minister Najib Mikati had a
working meeting at Baabda Palace in preparation for Tuesday’s meeting.
Indications were that the discussion dealt with various files, as well as the
budget and appointments. Mitaki said the meeting was meant to deal with the
electricity issue.
Yesterday, Foreign Affairs Minister Adnan Mansour received a letter from his
Iranian counterpart, Ali Akbar Salehi, offering to help with Lebanon’s
electricity problems. In a statement to An-Nahar, Mansour described the Iranian
effort to help with the equivalent of 35 percent of total consumption as
positive, that Iran is ready to deliver power quickly.
When asked whether this was a gift, Mansour said that the power would be sold at
competitive prices, with a preference to Lebanon. He noted that "Iran is ready
to provide Lebanon with 200 to 400 MW.”
US sets May as tentative date
for clash with Iran. Floating SEALs base for Gulf
DEBKAfile Special Report January 29, 2012/A hurried decision not to
de-commission the USS Ponce helicopter marine carrier after duty in Libya - but
to refit it for deployment by May in the Persian Gulf as a floating base for
commando teams - was confirmed by the US Pentagon and Navy Sunday, Dec. 29. This
transportable floating base will expand the commandos' range in coastal areas,
support counter-measure against mines which Iran has threatened to plant in the
Strait of Hormuz in reprisal for the US-EU oil embargo. The SEALs will also take
on Iran's menacing fleet of military speedboats. debkafile reports Tehran
operates four different kinds of these craft in the Persian Gulf:
1. Small, fast vessels, each armed with a small missile for striking tankers and
coastal oil targets around the Gulf region, such as export terminals. Earlier
this month, Tehran claimed to have developed stealth cruise missiles capable of
disabling aircraft carriers with a single shot.
2. Small, extra-fast boats armed with torpedoes. Iranian publications claim
several such boats are capable of stealing up on US aircraft carriers and large
warships from several directions without being detected and cause serious
damage.
3. Floating bombs for kamikaze missions. These fast boats cannot be deflected
after locking in on target, whether on sea or shore, and explode on contact.
Iran used these floating missiles piloted by suicide squads to attack oil
tankers in the Gulf in November 1987. Since then, their naval tacticians have
upgraded this fleet with the technology gained from the British Bladerunner 51,
a model of which Iran purchased some years ago. Since early January, the
Pentagon has reported four cases harassment by Iranian military boats sailing
close to American warships in the Persian Gulf.
4. Boats carrying teams of Iranian marine frogmen trained for secret suicide
underwater missions: One member of the boat's three-man crew dives close to the
targeted ship and attaches a magnetic bomb to its hull.Iran has scattered
hundreds of speedboats of different types around uninhabited islands off the
Iranian mainland, tucking them out of sight in well-hidden inlets and bays. The
US commando teams based on the Ponce platform will have the task of ferreting
out and destroying this fleet.
The US Defense Department aims to get the Ponce ready for its new mission as a
floating commando base with all possible speed. To save time, the US military
published one no-bid contract for the engineering work, waiving normal
procurement rules on the grounds that any delay presented a "national security
risk."
The contract carries pointers to the timeline expected in Washington for a
military confrontation to erupt between the United States and Iran, as well as
the form it may take, say debkafile's military sources.
The target date for deploying the commando platform in the Persian Gulf in four
or five months indicates Washington is preparing for military clashes to blow up
with Iran in the late spring or early summer.
But according to debkafile's Iranian and military sources, the Iranian
administration has expressed its determination to respond instantly to any
diplomatic or military move or action of an offensive nature against the Islamic
Republic. And so confrontation may come earlier than anticipated. Sunday, the
Iranian parliament was due to vote on a motion to cut off oil supplies to Europe
in response to the EU embargo declared last week. Tehran has made it clear it
has no intention of standing idle until US and European oil sanctions go fully
into effect on July 1 and is fully aware that EU nations are not set up to
forego 400,000 barrels of oil a day right now. Saudi Arabia, which pledged to
make up the shortfall arising from oil sanctions against Iran, will not have the
missing quantities on stream until around May – at about the same time as the
Ponce and its complement of SEAL commandoes are due to take up position in the
Persian Gulf. Tehran may decide not to wait until then and opt for letting its
speedboats loose to try and pre-empt American and European plans.
Iranian lawmakers finalize bill to ban oil sales to EU; vote expected on Sunday
By The Associated Press | The Canadian Press
TEHRAN, Iran - Iranian lawmakers have finalized a draft bill requiring the
government to immediately halt crude oil sales to Europe in response to the
bloc's decision to ban the purchase of Iranian oil, a member of parliament said
Saturday.
Nasser Soudani said the legislature's energy committee completed its work on the
bill Saturday and that parliament will debate and vote on it during an open
session on Sunday.
"As long as the EU doesn't lift the oil embargo, we won't give them a drop of
oil," state TV quoted Soudani as saying. Soudani is deputy chairman of the
energy committee.
The European Union imposed an oil embargo against Iran and froze the assets of
its central bank on Monday. It was the latest attempt to try to pressure Tehran
over a nuclear program the United States and its allies argue is aimed at
developing nuclear weapons. Iran says its program is for purely peaceful
purposes.
The EU sanctions came just weeks after the U.S. approved, but has yet to enact,
new sanctions targeting Iran's Central Bank and, by extension, its ability to
sell its oil.
Many Iranian lawmakers and officials have called for an immediate ban on oil
exports to the European bloc before the EU's ban fully goes into effect in July,
arguing that the 27 EU nations account for only about 18 per cent of Iran's
overall oil sales and would be hurt more by the decision than Iran. China, a key
buyer of Iranian crude, has criticized the embargo.Ahmad Qalebani, director of the National Iranian Oil Company, said the EU must
either sign long-term oil contracts with Iran now or lose Iranian oil.
"Some European companies still want to receive Iranian oil," Qalebani was quoted
as saying by the semiofficial ISNA news agency. "We want those companies to
enter transparent talks with us for a long-term contracts or stop purchasing oil
from Iran now."Qalebani said the decision to immediately cut oil exports to Europe has to be
approved by the country's top leadership.
If parliament passes the bill to halt oil sales to Europe, the legislation must
still be approved by the Guardian Council to become law.
Peres: Iran the most corrupt country on earth
Attila Somfalvi/Ynetnews
President tells CNN that talks with Palestinian are only path to peace in ME,
calls on Iranians to get rid of 'evil government'
President Shimon Peres voiced concern over Hamas' foreign funding but expressed
hope that direct talks with the Palestinian Authority could bring an end to the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict in an interview with CNN, which was released
Friday. Addressing the rising tensions over Iran's nuclear development, Peres
also restated his call on the citizens of the Islamic Republic to topple their
"evil government."The leader told the news network's Richard Quest that Hamas
gets a whopping $900 million in funding each year, mostly from Iran, Qatar and
Turkey. Yedioth Ahronth reported recently that Turkey has promised to funnel
Hamas as much as $300 million in annual aid. Peres noted that the finances could
help the terror grow stronger than the moderate movements in the Palestinian
territories.
An attempt to restart the talks between Israel and the Palestinians in Amman
ended this week without progress, but Peres said he still believes that
negotiations are the only way to reach peace in the Middle East.
According to Peres, extremists in the region "use the (Israeli-Palestinian)
conflict to justify the hatred of Israel…We don’t want to serve as an excuse.
"The things that happen in the Middle East have nothing to do with Israel.
Neither in Syria, nor in Iraq, nor in Egypt, nothing. But they accuse us… the
thing we can and should do, is end this conflict with the Palestinians, and stop
it from continuing to be a justification to hate Israel."
In the interview, Peres refused to endorse any candidate contending for the
presidency in the United States, noting only that he expects the US to persist
with its commitment to Israel's security.
'Iranians, save your country'
The president lauded the US and the European Union's sanctions on Iran, but said
there is still much to be done to stop what he called "the most corrupted
country on earth." He said that the Islamic Republic's negative attributes
extend beyond its budding nuclear program.
"Moral corruption is more dangerous than financial one," he said. "They hang
people without courts. They send arms and money for terror. They cheat, they
lie. My god, it's the only country that threatened to destroy another country."
On Thursday, Peres said at the World Economic Forum in Davos that the
international community should empower the citizens of Iran to oust the regime
there, and he reiterated that message during the interview. "I would tell the
Iranian people, save your own country," he said. "It's in your hands. Don't
(rely) upon others. If you are ashamed of the way Iran behaves, and you should
be ashamed, to save your own (honor), your own history, your own place in the
world, you have to do it. "
"I'm not calling for a revolution, I'm calling Iran to get rid of the wrong
revolution," he added. "To get rid of an evil government."
دعوة في إسرائيل لضرب إيران والقضاء على ترسانه حزب الله قبل فوات الأوان
صاحب الدعوة هو هايجي سيكال الذي يقول في مقالة له نشرت اليوم في جريدة واي نت نيوز
إن بقدرة اسرائيل القضاء على ترسانة حزب الله ويوضح أن الجيش الإسرائيلي مستعد لهذه
المهمة وينتقد المهادنين داخل إسرائيل وخارجها لجهة ضرب إيران شارحاً المبررات
الإستراتجية واخطار السكوت والسماح لملالي إيران امتلاك السلاح النووي على أمن
إسرائيل وأمن المنطقة بأكملها والمقالة في أسفل
Israel will have to strike
Hagai Segal/Ynetnews
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4181668,00.html
Op-ed: Israel was formed to offer response to anti-Semitic madmen with nuclear
ambitions
Hagai Segal
Should Iran manage to produce a nuclear bomb before being attacked, it will
serve as a mathematical proof that Israel merely threatens but doesn’t act on
its threats. After that, we shall not be able to deter any other regional madman
ever again. All the madmen will say to themselves that if Israel allowed
Ahmadinejad to develop a bomb, the Jewish State will allow anything else.
What’s worse: The madmen in Tehran will be convinced that even after they drop
the bomb on us, Israel will be too scared to respond by implementing the Dimona
option
After all, we shall always have excuses for why not to act. A day after the
bomb, we shall face immense international pressure to refrain from dragging the
world into a nuclear confrontation. Domestically too, we shall hear the hue and
cry of numerous panic promoters. At this time already, they are preoccupied with
the formulation of nightmare scenarios pertaining to the thousands of Hezbollah
missiles that will be landing here should we strike in Iran.
Indeed, every hint of international sanctions on Iran is immediately enlisted to
the cause and joins the arsenal of arguments against an Israeli preventative
strike.
The oil embargo declared by Europe this past week will only be applied in six
months, assuming it will ever be applied, yet in Israel we already see the fans
of inaction raising their heads. Strangely enough, they fear Nasrallah’s
missiles more than they fear Ahmadinejad’s nuclear industries.
IDF can do it
Indeed, Nasrallah has many missiles, and so does Ismail Haniyeh, yet woe is on
us if we allow them to determine the fate of an Iran strike. These missiles may
explode here should the United States strike instead of Israel, yet they may
also explode even if there is no strike. In any case, they are much less
dangerous than the apocalyptic image attributed to them.
We shall apparently sustain some painful barrages, yet it will not constitute a
grave blow, or even a semi-grave one. The residents of Sderot and Nahariya
learned to live with missiles, and Central Israel residents will also have to
suffer a little. Given the nuclear alternative, it won’t be a terrible disaster.
We can assume that Army Chief Benny Gantz and his people have already prepared
for dealing with the Lebanon missile threat. It is less complex than the Iranian
threat, and according to foreign sources the IDF is capable of coping with them
simultaneously. After all, this was the purpose of establishing our military
some 64 years ago. Our founding fathers prepared for precisely these types of
scenarios when they vowed that Masada won’t fall again.
The Zionist enterprise is not an insurance policy against long-range rocket
attacks, yet it is supposed to insure us against anti-Semitic rulers with
nuclear hobbies. If President Barack Obama volunteers to act instead of us, that
would be great. Yet should he fail to volunteer, we’ll have to act on our own.
Israel is using Iran to sidestep Mideast peace talks
Haaretz Editorial /It's hard to
understand how a society that has so impressively brought social injustice to
the top of the agenda has fallen victim to our nationalist-religious leaders'
criminal ploy and the irresponsible opposition's helplessness. The deadline the
Quartet gave Israel and the Palestinians for submitting their positions on
security and borders - Thursday, January 26 - flew by. It's as if it never
existed. The Quartet's plan, which was to bring the parties from the UN struggle
to the negotiating table, is about to be relegated to history's graveyard of
missed opportunities. The general positions that Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu submitted last week through his envoy Isaac Molho during talks in
Jordan are a blatant attempt to saddle the Palestinians with responsibility for
the negotiations' failure.
Netanyahu might know that his refusal to
present a map based on the June 4, 1967 borders and a realistic land-swap
proposal is a surefire recipe for a continued freeze in the negotiations. Any
rational person understands that a territorial plan of lesser scope and quality
than the one the two previous prime ministers, Ehud Barak and Ehud Olmert,
presented the Palestinians is doomed to diplomatic failure and deteriorating
security. But worryingly, the diplomatic process, whose purpose is to ensure
Israel's very existence as a Jewish and democratic state, is being shunted to
the sidelines of the political and media discourse. Netanyahu, with Barak's
help, has turned the Iranian nuclear threat into an impressive ploy to distract
attention from settlement policy and the perpetuation of the occupation. He has
taken advantage of President Barack Obama's preoccupation with the U.S.
presidential elections and Obama's fear of the Jewish right. Rival parties on
Israel's center and left have adopted a policy of unilateral disengagement from
Palestinian issues. Kadima is busy with infighting, the Labor Party prefers to
focus on social issues, and Yair Lapid, the new immigrant to the political
arena, has decided that peace is for dreamers. The death certificate of
negotiations based on the two-state solution is a badge of shame for Israeli
society. It's hard to understand how a society that has so impressively brought
social injustice to the top of the agenda has fallen victim to our
nationalist-religious leaders' criminal ploy and the irresponsible opposition's
helplessness.
UN nuclear inspectors arrive in Iran for talks, report says
By Haaretz and DPA
Official Iranian TV says six-member delegation lands in Tehran airport ahead of
talks geared at resolving Iran's nuclear standoff with the West. A six-member
delegation of inspectors from the United Nations' nuclear watchdog arrived in
Tehran on Sunday, Iranian state television reported. According to the Press TV
report, the team of senior officials and experts, headed by International Atomic
Energy Agency (IAEA) chief inspector Herman Nackaerts, arrived at the capital's
Imam Khomeini International Airport.
Press TV reported that the IAEA team was welcomed by several Iranian students
protesting the UN nuclear watchdog's Iran policies.
The students held posters with the photographs of Iranian nuclear scientists
Iran claims were assassinated by Israel and the U.S., as well as banners reading
"Nuclear Energy is Our Right," and "Stop Israel Making Atomic Bomb." Prior to
the team's departure from Vienna, the IAEA's Nackaerts said that the delegation
was are looking forward to start with a dialogue, a dialogue that is overdue
since very long."
"In particular we hope that Iran will engage with us on our concerns regarding
the possible military dimensions of Iran's nuclear program," added Nackaerts,
who is heading the team along with Rafael Grossi, a top advisor to IAEA director
Yukiya Amano. Iran has said it will cooperate with the IAEA team during their
three-day visit but indicated it would not give up uranium enrichment, which it
considers a sovereign right. "We have always been open with regards to our
nuclear issues and the IAEA team coming to Iran can make the necessary
inspections," Ali-Akbar Velayati, advisor to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali
Khamenei, told the ISNA news agency. "We will however not withdraw from our
nuclear rights as we have constantly acted within international regulations and
in line with the laws of the non-proliferation treaty," said Velayati. There has
been speculation in Iran that the IAEA team might be allowed to visit the Fordo
uranium enrichment facility south of the capital Tehran, which will become
operational next month. However, sources close to the Vienna-based IAEA said the
visit would not involve inspections of nuclear facilities but would focus on
resuming talks on Iran's disputed nuclear program, which the West suspects has a
military dimension. Iran has since 2008 declined to fully cooperate with
the IAEA and denies it is seeking a nuclear bomb. The visit could pave the way
for the resumption of the talks between Iran and world powers Britain, China,
France, Germany, Russia and the United States. The last round of talks in
January 2011 ended without a breakthrough.
Referring to the possibility of a military strike by western powers geared at
forcibly halting Iran's nuclear program, U.S. officials told the Wall Street
Journal on Friday that the United States does not possess conventional weapons
powerful enough to completely destroy Iran's nuclear facilities.
Iranian media confirm Canada resident's
Saeed Malekpour
death sentence
January 29, 2012 /Iranian media on Sunday
confirmed an Iranian man with Canadian residency has had a death sentence
against him reinstated by the supreme court on charges he operated a
pornographic website."The death sentence for Saeed Malekpour, in charge of a
pornographic website, has been upheld in the Supreme Court," Fars news agency
said, without giving a source for its information.
It said the ruling was reinstated after
unspecified prosecution "deficiencies" had been removed from Malekpour's case.
The report confirms information from foreign lawyers connected to the case.
Shadi Sadr, a British-based lawyer with the advocacy group Justice for Iran,
told AFP on January 19 that he had been told of the renewed death sentence by
Malekpour's sister.The capital punishment had been annulled by the Iranian
supreme court in June last year. No public explanation has been given as to why
it was reinstated. Malekpour, a 36-year-old computer programmer, was found
guilty in December 2010 of "designing and moderating adult content websites,"
"agitation against the regime," and "insulting the sanctity of Islam," according
to his supporters. The Canadian government and Amnesty International have called
for Malekpour's immediate release. Malekpour's supporters say he developed a
program that allows photographs to be posted to the Internet, which was used
without his knowledge for the creation of porn sites. A resident of Canada since
2004, Malekpour was arrested in Iran in 2008 while visiting his dying father.-AFP/NOW
Lebanon
From Dr. Walid Phares
Dear friend
As the electoral process is moving forward and as many have asked me to
explain Governor Mitt Romney's positions on Middle East issues, and since I have
been appointed as one of his Foreign Policy and National Security Special
Advisors, I have authored this short Op Ed, to raise some of the points related
to the challenges we are facing in the region and the Governor's positions
regarding appropriate strategies.
Best
Walid Phares
Washington DC
Mitt Romney’s Cutting-Edge Middle East Strategy
By Walid Phares
As the US electoral process grinds on and Republican primary debates fold
into state primaries and caucuses, candidates’ views on national security and
foreign policy are being carefully scrutinized by voters who consider them
crucial components of the total policy package a candidate will carry into the
Oval Office. Citizens’ attention is understandably riveted to candidates’
proposals for solving our national economic crisis. And, while here is little
doubt that the condition of our economy will weigh heavily in the final outcome
of the 2012 vote, US national security will undoubtedly play a huge role in the
evolution of our national economy for the foreseeable future.
After 9/11and throughout the first post-9/11 decade we have known that a
meltdown in the Middle East would destabilize economic partnerships and
jeopardize the flow of oil and energy to the West. We’ve also known that an
increase of jihadi radicalism in the region will boost the chances of war and
human rights abuses and lead to more terrorist attacks against the US Homeland.
The security of the United States and other democratic societies will be at risk
if the Middle East is abandoned to radicals and radical regimes.
The foreign policy and national security strategy of only one of the four
remaining Republican candidates is adequate against this tenuous scenario. Ron
Paul’s agenda for the Middle East will guarantee a nuclear Iran, turn North
Africa over to the Islamists, and ignore the next wave of jihadists who have
trained their sites on the US Homeland. Congressman Paul may be a staunch
advocate for citizens’ Constitutional rights, but in my modest view, his vision
for US Foreign Policy may force Americans into a national security predicament
as bad as or worse than that of a second Obama administration.
I respect and admire all three leading candidates’ and their positions on
the Middle East and US national security. In the interest of full disclosure, I
must admit that I have worked with all three at different times and find their
strategic understanding of the threat to be as grave as my own, though
differently expressed. Speaker Gingrich and Senator Santorum have long-warned
about the Iranian threat in both in the surrounding region and globally. Their
characterization of the jihadi threat as existential hits the bull’s-eye. From
my own field of research and publishing, I have not authored or opined on
domestic social and economic issues, so I praise all three candidates, Gingrich,
Santorum and Romney, for seeing and warning about the threat.
As Senior Advisor to Governor Mitt Romney on matters of National Security
and Foreign Policy, and one of three co-chairs on the Middle East and North
Africa, I would like to share with readers why I believe Governor Romney’s
platform on the region is more advanced than the other candidates’ platforms and
the best alternative to the Obama Administration’s agenda on the Middle East.
Governor Romney’s edge over the other candidates is his perception of the threat
and understanding of the enemy’s tactics. His strategy for victory is precise
and reasoned. For more than two decades, I have focused intensely on the
strategies of America’s enemies, not just their ideology. The most-read book of
three I wrote on jihadism and published after 9/11 is Future Jihad: Terrorist
Strategies against America. The book enabled lawmakers on both sides of the
Atlantic and many in the US defense and national security communities to
understand the fundamentals of the conflict. The US is confronting an
ideologically-driven force with a global strategy. The latter area is where I
see Governor Romney’s strategic edge. Knowledge of where the threat is coming
from is crucial. Understanding its ideological roots is a must. But
understanding our enemies’ strategy and devising an appropriate counter-strategy
that is part of a broader US strategy that advances freedom and democracy, saves
the national economy, and stabilizes the world economy, in my view are what make
the Governor’s agenda cutting-edge.
The Romney strategy acknowledges and praises US successes in taking down
the al Qaeda terrorist commanders Bin Laden, al Awlaki and al Zarqawi as well as
the capturing other senior leaders and hundreds of al Qaeda terrorists over the
past ten years. But the strategy extends beyond trench warfare with the
movement. America’s strategy must go beyond beheading a terrorist network which
subscribes to an ideology that can grow new heads faster than the US can take
them out. Mitt Romney’s al Qaeda strategy considers where the organization will
be in five years, not just where it was five years ago.
On all battlefields where the Jihadists operate, the Romney strategy will
be based on day to day achievements on the ground, and a solid understanding of
the enemy’s next targets. We will anticipate and intercept their mutations
before they begin, not after. In Yemen, despite al Awlaki’s elimination, al
Qaeda is seizing villages. Al Shabab is wreaking havoc in Somalia; in major
oil-producing Nigeria, Boku Haram is expanding; in Iraq, Salafi jihadists have
returned to detonate car bombs; in Libya, al Qaeda flags are flying in Tripoli.
The real fight against al Qaeda is in front of us, not behind. A super-global
strategy must be applied, not the current retreat and declare success strategy.
On Iran, the current administration claims to have assembled all tools
needed to keep the growing threat in check, but continues to try and reason with
the regime. All three Republican candidates know that the Iranian regime must be
considered as a threat to regional US and international security interests. All
three want the regime to end as an ultimate solution to the menace. Mitt Romney
is interested in how, with whom and when this can be accomplished. In his
definitive Wall Street Journal article, the Governor underlined two pillars of
his strategy. One certifies the regime is driving the Iranian nuclear threat. He
wants the Iranian to disappear like Qaddafi’s. In addition to US efforts to
contain the Iranian military and terror networks, the Governor sees the Iranian
people, the Green Revolution, the regime’s primary opposition, as the real US
partner in removing the regime.
On these three grounds the Romney agenda for the Middle East provides a
strategically-advanced vision—counter radical jihadi ideology, partner with the
Iranian people against the Iranian regime, and equip US defense with a vision
that intercepts the threat rather than react to it.
**Professor Walid Phares is a Senior Foreign Policy and National Security
Advisor to Governor Mitt Romney, author of The Coming Revolution: Struggle for
Freedom in the Middle East and the founder of the Florida Society for Middle
East Studies. He received his PhD in international studies from the University
of Miami, and was a professor at Florida International University and Florida
Atlantic University between 1993 and 2006.
More on Mitt Romney’s Foreign Policy platform:
http://mittromney.com/issues/foreign-policy
Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi
Urges Cabinet to Abide by Constitution on 2012 State Budget
Naharnet/Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi said Sunday that the primary
responsibility of Lebanese authorities is to guarantee an economic and social
rise, urging the government to abide by the constitution.
“The economic and social rise is the basis of the rise of the state and
its people and institutions,” al-Rahi said in his sermon.
“But such a move requires a policy aimed at serving the rise,” he
stressed. Politicians should work on eradicating corruption and the growing
paralysis in administrative work, the patriarch said.
He urged the government to abide by the constitution in the adoption of
the 2012 draft state budget, lamenting that the negligence of such a duty for
years left the cabinet incapable of meeting its obligations towards private
hospitals, schools and social centers. Al-Rahi accused the government of
obstructing its services to the citizens through the procrastination in the
adoption of the budget.
The government hasn’t yet approved the draft budget and a $5.9 billion
2011 spending is still awaiting parliament’s endorsement. If approved, it would
legalize spending by the government above 2005 levels. Lebanon hasn’t had any
official budget since that year.
The cabinet is set to discuss the draft budget during a session on
Tuesday. Al-Rahi also urged authorities to back investments in the tourism,
industry and agriculture sectors to bring back life to the country’s economy and
provide job opportunities to citizens.
The patriarch stressed that the reform of the National Social Security
Fund is necessary to provide citizens with health and social care.
He slammed favoritism, saying “the stronger the state and the rule of law
become, the more nepotism and the interference of influential people would
decrease.”
UN resolution to be rewritten after Syria mission ended
January 29, 2012
European and Arab UN members on Saturday started rewriting a proposed Security
Council resolution condemning Syria's deadly crackdown on dissent after the Arab
League suspended its monitoring mission in Syria. European countries said the
withdrawal highlighted the need for UN action. France's foreign minister
contacted his Russia counterpart in a bid to overcome Moscow's resistance to the
draft resolution officially presented on Friday, diplomats said. The resolution,
drawn up by Britain, France and Germany with Morocco, as the Arab member of the
15-member Security Council, calls for international backing for the Arab League
plan to end the Syria crisis. The Arab League suspended its observer mission
because of the growing violence in Syria where President Bashar al-Assad has
launched a brutal crackdown on protests. The United Nations says thousands have
died.
"We will work with Morocco as lead sponsor and other council members on bringing
the resolution text up to date," said a spokesman for Britain's UN mission.
"The Security Council briefing on Tuesday will be the definitive Arab League
view, but the suspension of the observer mission shows that they were never able
to do their job properly," the spokesman said. Arab League secretary general
Nabil al-Arabi and Qatar's Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim Al-Thani will
appear before the council on Tuesday to press the case for UN action.The
Europe-Arab resolution gives fully support to the Arab League plan to end the
crisis which calls for Assad to hand over powers to a deputy. It "encourages"
all states to follow sanctions adopted by the pan-Arab bloc last November.
Russia's UN envoy Vitaly Churkin said the new European-Arab resolution crosses
its "red lines" opposing sanctions, an arms embargo and any move toward "regime
change.”
France's Foreign Minister Alain Juppe sent a message to Russian counterpart
Sergei Lavrov on Friday "to emphasize the importance of constructive cooperation
between France and Russia" on Syria, French foreign ministry spokesman Bernard
Valero said in a statement. Several European ministers have spoken out for quick
UN action to pass a resolution. "Now is the time for the international community
to unite, including by agreeing a United Nations Security Council Resolution
this week, to make clear to President Assad and his regime that the killing must
stop," said Britain's Foreign Secretary William Hague."A clear reaction from the
UN Security Council is becoming more and more urgent," Germany's Foreign
Minister Guido Westerwelle said."Everything must be done to obtain a rapid
accord on the draft resolution circulated on Friday in New York," the French
spokesperson, Valero, said in the statement released in Paris.-AFP/NOW Lebanon
Minister of Social Affairs Wael Abu Faour: PSP-Hezbollah ties ‘good’
January 29, 2012 /Now Lebanon/Minister of Social Affairs Wael Abu Faour said on
Sunday that relations between the Shia group Hezbollah and the leader of the
Progressive Socialist Party MP Walid Jumblatt, “is good and well-buttressed; as
it is also founded on continuous talks” Abu Faour was speaking during a social
event in Baalbek in North Lebanon attended by Minister of Agriculture Hussein
al-Hajj Hassan who is affiliated with Hezbollah, the National New Agency
reported. Abu Faour said that there “many issues” on which the PSP and Hezbollah
“agreed on completely.” However, he added that the “primary subject which [the
two groups] disagree on is related to what is happening in Syria. [But] this
topic is put up for discussion.” “No matter what, relations between Hezbollah
[and the PSP] will not be ruined, because we are keen [to keep Lebanon] away
from what is happening in Syria [or any other Arab country].” In turn, Hassan
also said that Hezbollah and the PSP have two points of view regarding the
Syrian situation; however, he added that “the two perspectives are not
different, [because] there is a common point between us.” Hassan underscored the
importance of Syria coming out of its “ordeal” and for a political solution to
be reached in order to resolve the Syrian situation. Hezbollah is Syria’s
strongest ally in Lebanon and has been voicing its support to the Syrian Baath
regime of President Bashar al-Assad. However, Jumblatt has criticized the
regime. The United Nations estimates that more than 5,400 people have lost their
lives in the Syrian regime’s crackdown on dissent.
-NOW Lebanon