Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources for June 28/12
Morsi a disaster for Egypt
Annan's Syria Action Group a Hopeful Sign
Two Bombs Go Off Outside Damascus Justice Palace
Assad is confined to palace by his Republican Guard
Annan calls for Syria interim government: diplomats
Salafi leader urges Mursi to reassure Christians
Iran: Tehran and London formalize embassy closures
Mubarak morale down after Mursi victory: sources
US Justifies Visa for Egypt Islamist
Taliban video shows 17 beheaded Pakistani soldiers
U.S. names Lebanese in ‘Hezbollah drug ring’
Russia may fly military cargo to Syria: report
Russia denies it endorsed call for Assad to leave
Ban Ki Moon Criticizes Iranian Leader's Comments on Jewish Law
Security joke In Lebanon
Report: Lebanese-Austrian Woman Goes Missing in Lebanon
U.S. Hits Alleged Lebanese Drugs Network Figures with Sanctions
Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri : Street Action Not Conducted by Undisciplined Forces, but Sides Seeking to Undermine the State
U.S. envoy, Mansour discuss Lebanon's political situation
Blast hits Damascus as Turkey sends troops to border
Charbel: Asir’s Sit-in to be Resolved Soon, Hizbullah and AMAL Not Protecting Violators
Assir: Sidon's roadblock protest against Hezbollah's arms to continue
Al-Asir Warns of Escalatory Measures in 'Intifada' over Non-State Arms
Layyoun defends construction on site of alleged Phoenician port
Canadian health inspectors target Lebanese culinary delicacy (Kibbeh nayyeh) dish
Clash Involving Lebanese Families, Palestinian Elements in Bourj al-Barajneh
Suleiman Tells Security Chiefs they Have Full Political Protection in Restoring Order
Al-Jadeed television journalists receive death threats
U.S. names Lebanese in ‘Hezbollah drug ring’
Iraq's Sadr Wants Alleged Hizbullah Member Freed

Security joke In Lebanon
June 28, 2012 /Now Lebanon
Security forces arrest a man on the kickoff of the interior minister’s security month. Does Marwan Charbel believe he has any credibility left? (NOW Lebanon)
Ahmad al-Assir has gone from rabble rousing to civil disobedience. On Thursday, the Sidon-based Salafist cleric warned he would take what he called “escalatory measures” as part of his open-ended strike if the issue of non-state arms were not “resolved.” In an uncompromising statement that was loaded with sectarian ballast, Assir accused Amal and Hezbollah of “dominating the political decision-making” by their control of state institutions, including the army. This, he said, was an affront to Lebanese and Sunni “dignity.” His Friday sermon will no doubt be a key moment in what is developing into a serious the standoff with the state.
Meanwhile, Hezbollah, the party that has always assured us its feathers are never ruffled, has apparently lost its mojo. It has failed to deliver power to the southern suburbs despite being in the government, and it has failed to secure the release of the 11 abducted Lebanese Shia pilgrims in Syria, even though the party’s secretary general, Hassan Nasrallah, issued a stern warning to the kidnappers. Now, its supporters are venting their collective spleen over the arrest of Wissam Alaeddine, one of the hooligans who attacked the offices of Al-Jadeed TV on Monday night, apparently in retaliation for the station’s airing of an interview with Assir. Alaeddine was caught red handed, but in modern Lebanon it appears this is a mere detail. Alaeddine has become the poster boy for Shia frustration.
So it promises to be a hot summer in more ways than one. On Wednesday, President Michel Sleiman finally gathered his “firefighters.” In what was presumably the first move in the state’s bid to regain some semblance of control over a rapidly deteriorating security situation, he told his so-called security chiefs that he would not tolerate any further blocking of the airport road, one of the major flashpoints in the recent weeks of discontent. It was rather like the headmaster telling the prefects that the students must stop daubing the school walls with graffiti. Only Lebanon is not a school. It is a sovereign nation with a constitution and legal statutes and multiple agencies to enforce both. Those posing a threat to public peace are not wayward kids with a surfeit of energy; they are angry young men with limited economic opportunities who are easily press-ganged into partisan colors.
It remains to be seen if Sleiman’s sudden zero-tolerance policy will reduce tensions on the street. It has certainly come too late to save the summer season. Who would come here? Over the past weeks, we have witnessed anxious passengers leaving their cars, navigating their way past the mob, and walking the final hundred or so meters to the terminal building of Beirut’s Rafik Hariri International Airport. If Lebanon is styling itself as a boutique destination for discerning travelers, it has a funny way of showing it. Tourism contributes around $6 billion to the nation’s coffers a year, but the damage to Brand Lebanon and the prospect of any foreign direct investment could cost us way more than that.
Third World roads, an electricity grid that almost no other country on earth would tolerate and tortoise-like internet (nearly a year after we were assured it would become a hare) are only a few of the issues holding back Lebanon’s development. Now the rule of law is apparently slipping away from the grasp of the state. All of which begs one overarching question: Does Minister of Interior Marwan Charbel believe he has any credibility left? Not once during the past five weeks have we seen Lebanon’s so-called law enforcement agencies (or the army for that matter) move to restore the security situation to an acceptable level. Indeed, many parts of Beirut are lawless. People now check which roads are open and which ones are closed before going out at night. In many ways Lebanon has returned to the mentality of the civil war.  There are those who will argue that the situation is too sensitive and that going in hard to disperse rioters would only exacerbate the situation. But by the same token, doing nothing is no answer either. If Charbel can do nothing, he should step down.
We simply have too much to lose.

Report: Year-Long Security Plan Requires 50,000 Members
Naharnet/28 June 2012/A one-month security plan launched by security forces on Wednesday requires 50,000 members if it were to be implemented the whole year, sources told As Safir daily.
“The worst part of it is that thousands of personnel are used as bodyguards for lawmakers, ministers, judges and embassies, which lead to a security drain,” the sources said in remarks published Thursday.
“They are being used for the prestige of important personalities,” they added. Around 500 security officers are put at the disposal of four officials alone, a well-informed security source told As Safir.
Road closures in several areas on Wednesday raised doubt on the effectiveness of the security plan of Interior Minister Marwan Charbel. President Michel Suleiman summoned the heads of security agencies to the cabinet session that was held at Baabda palace. He informed them that the government and members of the national dialogue provided them with the political cover to control security. “Blocking the airport road is forbidden from now on,” he said.

Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri : Street Action Not Conducted by Undisciplined Forces, but Sides Seeking to Undermine the State
Naharnet / 28 June 2012/Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri slammed on Thursday the latest security instability in Lebanon, most notably the unrest in Beirut, saying that any action on the ground is aimed at “undermining the authority of the state.”He said in a statement: “The street action was not conducted by undisciplined forces as some sides would lead the people to believe, but some powers are orchestrating the developments in order to create chaos, terrorize the people, and undermine the state’s authority.” “The state must assume its duties and control the security of the whole of Lebanon and the country’s various vital facilities,” he continued. “We reject any street action, regardless of its sectarian or political affiliations,” he added.
“Any action must take place within the authority of the law and within the Lebanese people’s rights to express themselves through legitimate democratic action,” explained Hariri.
The state took a step in the right direction by ordering that political cover be lifted off the sides creating the unrest, stressing that “lifting security cover and armed protection of the sides blocking the roads is the real request,” continued the former prime minister. He slammed the sides “creating chaos and organizing sit-ins in Beirut, Tripoli, Sidon and other regions.”
“Some sides are providing the security and logistic support for the powers that are creating chaos. These forces are known to all and this situation must stop,” he stressed.
“The recent developments in Beirut jeopardize peace and national stability,” he noted. Interior Minister Marwan Charbel on Wednesday launched a one-month security plan aimed at restoring stability in Lebanon. “We hope that the one-month security plan will be implemented throughout the year,” he added. The the first day of the plan however was marred by the blocking of the airport highway and attempts to cut other roads in the capital in protest at the arrest of Wissam Alaeddine, a member of the group that attacked al-Jadeed television’s building on Monday. The day also witnessed rioting inside a Justice Palace courtroom in Baabda during the trials of 14 suspects transferred from the Roumieh prison. Meanwhile, a personal dispute between members of the families of Jaafar and Dirani and Palestinian elements erupted into gunfire on Wednesday in the Beirut southern suburb of Bourj al-Barajneh. The incident did not cause any casualties, the agency added.

U.S. envoy, Mansour discuss Lebanon's political situation
June 28, 2012/The Daily Star /BEIRUT: U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Maura Connelly discussed with Foreign Affairs Minister Adnan Mansour Thursday the political and security situation in Lebanon.
According to a statement released by the embassy, the two officials also discussed regional events.The ambassador renewed the commitment of the United States to a stable, sovereign and independent Lebanon.

Assir: Sidon's roadblock protest against Hezbollah's arms to continue
June 28, 2012/ By Mohammed Zaatari/The Daily Star /SIDON/BEIRUT: Controversial Sheikh Ahmad Assir warned that the sit-in he and his supporters are holding on the highway in the southern coastal city of Sidon will continue until a solution to the issue of Hezbollah's arms is devised. "We will not return to our homes until a peaceful solution is found," Assir told reporters in Sidon, adding that remaining silent in the face of what he described as Hezbollah’s hegemony of arms would create strife. "The sit-in will remain in place until death [if need be], and we will adopt escalatory steps," he said, adding that even if he and his supporters are subjected to violence, they will not respond in kind. Around 150 protesters set up a tent and blocked the highway connecting Sidon to south Lebanon Thursday in continuation of a protest against non-state arms that began Wednesday. Hundreds of protesters blocked the northern and southern entrances to Sidon Wednesday evening by lying on the road. Protesters held signs calling for a peaceful protest until non-state arms are eliminated. Assir has repeatedly criticized Hezbollah's arsenal and demanded the resistance party surrender its weapons. Earlier Thursday, figures and officials tried to convince Assir not to resort to an open-ended sit-in, but to no avail. Sidon Mufti Sheikh Salim Soussan arrived at the scene of the sit-in and held a private meeting with Assir in a bid to convince him to call off the protest. The Mufti left without making any statement. Head of the Internal Security Forces in south Lebanon Brig. Gen. Tareq Abdallah also met with Assir in a bid to put an end to the sit-in and reopen the road. Speaking to The Daily Star, Assir said the "peaceful protest aims at putting an end to the resistance's arms."
He added that the National Dialogue sessions between rival political leaders to discuss a national defense strategy to benefit from Hezbollah's arsenal are a "waste of time."
Separately, Assir told reporters, “All Lebanese fear war and strife but we can no longer live without dignity; the resistance party's arms stole our dignity.”
Meanwhile, Baath Party MP Qassem Hashem voiced surprise at the way the government is dealing with what he dubbed "the Assir phenomenon" and said the Cabinet’s approach smacks of "mendicancy and subservience to the logic of debauchery.”“Have the prestige of the state and the Cabinet's orders [to prevent road blockage] become hostage to the whims of some?” Hashem asked in a statement.
“What is needed is decisiveness and firmness in the face of this dangerous phenomenon. Blocking the entrance to the south is dangerous behavior,” he added.

Morsi a disaster for Egypt
Amos Shavit/06.28.12/Ynetnews
Open letter to Egyptians: Do you really think new president will end corruption, save your economy? Hello to you our Egyptian brothers, the tens of thousands of excited people at Tahrir Square celebrating Mohammad Morsi’s presidential victory. I truly have no idea what makes you so happy. What kind of news do you think this bearded man, who wholeheartedly believes that “Islam is the solution,” will bring to your homeland?Is it indeed so important for you to embrace Iran and distance yourselves from the West? Is it that important for you to smoke a hookah with Hamas’ terrorists while telling Mahmoud Abbas to get lost? Do you really think that you will be saving your collapsing economy by “re-examining” the peace treaty with Israel? Moreover, do you truly believe that terminating the gas deal with Israel is the lifesaver for your dying economy?
And here is yet another question: Are really naïve enough to think that a radical Islamic regime will be free of corruption and ensure your wellbeing? Come on, don’t make us laugh.
There is no doubt about it: This Morsi is not only bad for Israel, he is mostly bad for his countrymen. People of his type charge forward to take over the government, backed up by firecrackers at town square and President Barack Obama’s well-wishes, but end up stoning women who “committed adultery” at the same square where the masses now celebrate.
Indeed, these people tend to impose a dark Islamic regime premised on fear and hatred for Israel, and when they find themselves with their backs against the wall they butcher their countrymen mercilessly. So this is the man you elected, and this is the kind of person he is. For precisely this reason, former President Hosni Mubarak was wise enough to throw him in jail.
Indeed, if Morsi is a product of the Arab Spring, the Middle East can expect many more difficult years to come.

US Justifies Visa for Egypt Islamist
By AFP /28 June 2012 04:50
The US State Department on Tuesday defended issuing a visa to an Egyptian Islamist whose group is classified as terrorist, saying it hoped to reach out to new faces in a fast-changing region.
Conservative critics of President Barack Obama cried foul over the visa to Hani Nour Eldin, a newly elected lawmaker from the militant Gamaa Islamiyya, who met senior US officials as part of a delegation last week. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said that while the United States bans entry to members of groups classified as terrorists, the administration can issue waivers if the visa is seen to be in US interests."We neither had then, nor do we have now, any reason to believe that this particular individual -- who at the time of his application was a member of parliament -- would pose a threat to the United States," Nuland told reporters. Nuland pointed to rapid changes in the Middle East, where an Islamist was declared the winner Sunday of Egypt's first democratic presidential elections a year and a half after street protests toppled strongman Hosni Mubarak."It's a new day in Egypt; it's a new day in a lot of countries across the Middle East and North Africa. So new political personalities are coming to light," Nuland said."We have more folks who want to come here, want to know us, want to learn about the United States, want to develop relationships with us. We have the same interest with regard to them," she said.The United States has long designated Gamaa Islamiyya as a terrorist organization. Its spiritual chief, Sheikh Omar Abdel Rahman, is jailed for life over the first bombing of New York's World Trade Center in 1993. Gamaa Islamiyya militants participated, along with members of Egyptian group Islamic Jihad, in the 1981 attack that killed then-president Anwar Sadat after his historic peace agreement with Israel. The group also claimed responsibility for a devastating attack in Egypt's southern city of Luxor in 1997 that killed 62 people, most of them tourists.
But Eldin, in an interview with Newsweek magazine, said that he was not personally involved in violence and had been jailed under Mubarak for political reasons.
Representative Peter King, a Republican who heads the House Committee on Homeland Security and has chaired controversial hearings on Islamic radicalism in the United States, has demanded answers over Eldin's visa.In a letter Sunday to Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano, King said that there could be legitimate reasons to issue a visa to a member of a designated terrorist group, such as to advance peace negotiations."However, the nature of Eldin's visit suggests an absence of full vetting rather than a policy choice, or perhaps a breakdown in the screening missions of and coordination among our Federal agencies," King said.Nuland said Tuesday that the State Department conducted a "careful review" and "concluded that the appropriate procedures were followed."

Assad is confined to palace by his Republican Guard
DEBKAfile Exclusive Report June 28, 2012/citing Western intelligence sources, reports Thursday, June 28, that the Republican Guard battalion commander charged with the Syrian president’s security is keeping Bashar Assad shut away in his “Unity” palace. Assad and his family may not leave the building without the commander’s permission under an order current since the second half of last week. It is not clear to whom the commander defers in this case and who in fact actually determines whether Assad can come or go.
Asked by debkafile if an element in the Republican Guard ordered the palace placed under siege to prevent the president and his family fleeing, those Western sources replied that the situation could be described as a “partial siege” which is constantly expanding. They added, in response to another question about the Syrian ruler’s freedom of movement, that neither Assad nor members of his family are able to leave the palace to go anywhere and they are aware of the restrictions placed on their movements.
"Because of the partial siege and these restrictions," said those intelligence sources, "Assad and his wife are both in very low spirits and the atmosphere inside the palace is very bleak."
The video clips showing the Syrian president and his wife Asma happily playing badminton in the palace grounds were released this week by the regime’s propaganda arm – apparently to belie the rumors spreading in Damascus about the first family’s virtual imprisonment in their own palace.
In fact, say the sources, “"Inside the palace, Assad and his family are so mistrustful of their immediate circle that food tasters are on hand in to partake in advance of all the food and drink served them.” The tasters belong to the elite unit of Syrian military intelligence. They were brought in after at least two attempts by Syrian rebel associates to sneak poisoned food into the palace. It was discovered before causing harm or even death. "Bashar Assad won’t even drink a glass of water unless his personal food taster first swallows at least a quarter of its contents."
It is important to note, said the Western sources, that access to the Assad palace on Mt. Qaisoun on the outskirts of Damascus is gained only through two underground roads which are fortified against aerial bombardment and invisible to spies in the sky. The two roads serve the separate entrance and exit from the palace.
All vehicles using the roads, including supply trucks, belong to Syrian intelligence services. The drivers and porters unloading the vehicles – although intelligence personnel - are all closely watched at all times, starting with detailed inspections when they arrive at the entrance to one of the roads. The rebels’ success in planting poison in one of those closely vetted supply trucks attests to their success in penetrating some of the layers of security protecting the persons of the president and his family.

Will the Brotherhood change?
By Osman Mirghani/Asharq Alawsat
How one wishes that Dr. Mahmoud Hussein, Secretary General of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, did not issue his recent statement. He said that with the announcement of Dr. Mohammed Mursi’s victory in the presidential elections, Mursi had ended his organizational relationship with the Muslim Brotherhood and the Freedom and Justice Party, and that he had already tendered his resignation, presenting it to the Brotherhood and the party immediately after his victory was declared. Statements like these not only seem unconvincing, but they give an excuse to accuse the Brotherhood of continuing its policy of circumvention, or even worse, a policy of ridiculing the people by issuing words that are far from the reality that they see in front of them. I cannot imagine that this statement will convince anyone that with a stroke of a pen, Mursi’s relationship with the Brotherhood group and its party has come to an end, especially as Hussein’s words originally came while the Brotherhood was mobilizing its supporters and staging protests in Tahrir Square. These moves were intended as a means of pressure and intimidation before and during the announcement of the election results, threatening further confrontations if the Brotherhood’s candidate was not announced as the winner, prompting many to wonder what would have happened if Mohammed Mursi had not been declared victorious.
The statement brings to mind what was earlier echoed by the Brotherhood’s first candidate, Khairat el-Shater, who was quick to say that he had resigned from his position within the group because he wanted to be a president for all Egyptians and would not follow the will of the General Guide or members of the Brotherhood’s political party. It is strange that el-Shater said those words during the same press conference that his candidacy for the presidency was declared, announced by the General Guide who sat next to him, whilst on the other side sat the president of the Freedom and Justice Party, Mohammed Mursi, before he was put forward to run as the Brotherhood’s substitute candidate, fearing that appeals would overturn its first choice nomination, which is what exactly happened. That day, el-Shater’s words did not seem convincing to the people either, rather they seemed like a blatant attempt at circumvention. This was followed by another attempt when the Brotherhood declared that it would focus entirely on its Dawa work(the Islamic equivalent of a missionary work), and that there would be no organizational links between the group and the Freedom and Justice Party, whilst in reality all the party’s officials come from the Brotherhood’s leadership. Indeed, it is a tall order to convince anyone with a mere announcement that the Freedom and Justice Party will have no organizational or membership links with the Muslim Brotherhood.
These statements increase rather than dispel people’s doubts towards the way the Brotherhood works in the political arena. They suggest that the Brotherhood is practicing hypocrisy in politics, and trying to hide even what cannot be hidden because it is obvious and well known, and because there are many interlaced statements between officials of the group and officials of its party, when it comes to political matters. In recent times it has been difficult to separate between the statements of the Brotherhood’s officials and the leaders of the Freedom and Justice Party. Indeed, the media is full of statements in which Brotherhood officials talk about the affairs of the Freedom and Justice Party, sometimes even appearing to be official spokespeople fighting battles on the party’s behalf. They do not shy away from politics in spite of the recent talk about dedicating themselves to their Dawa work and leaving politics to the party itself. Take for example the statements of Medhat al-Haddad, a member of the Brotherhood’s Shura Council and director of its administrative office in Alexandria, who was quoted in Asharq al-Awsat following the announcement of Mohammed Mursi’s victory as saying: “The revolutionary forces will remain in every square to emphasize the popular demand to repeal all decisions issued last week by the sole will of SCAF, most notably the supplementary constitutional declaration, which gives broad powers to the military”. Al-Haddad threatened not to leave the squares until Mursi had obtained all his powers as President of the Republic.
This ambiguous situation, which could have been justified when the Muslim Brotherhood was a secret organization, cannot be understood at a time when it has begun to move freely, with representatives of the Brotherhood’s party winning the majority in the parliamentary elections, and the head of its party being elected President of the Republic. Trying to deny or cover up the relationship between the two entities with elastic statements only strengthens the lingering doubts and suspicions that many hold against the Brotherhood, and leads to accusations of double standards and a lack of clarity.
If Egypt has changed after the revolution and the elections, then the Muslim Brotherhood also needs to change and end the confusion and ambiguity. It must make up its mind whether it is a Dawa movement dedicated to this role, thereby distancing itself from politics and disputes, or it must tell people clearly that it wants to engage in political work because that is its right, and because it has a program that it wants to implement. In the latter case, the Brotherhood must dissolve and merge with its political party as a single entity working clearly and publicly on one project. In the region today there are many examples of Islamic movements operating as political parties without ambiguity or duplicity, such as the Ennahda movement in Tunisia, the Justice and Development Party of Morocco, or the AKP in Turkey. In these cases, the voter does find themselves confused about who they are dealing with, there is no question about whether they are voting for the candidate they see before them, or a mere proxy for the General Guide, whose name does not appear on the ballot box. The Muslim Brotherhood will be under the microscope in the coming period because many people want to put its intentions to the test and find out how it will act on several issues, especially the anticipated battle over the constitution, the battle to dissolve parliament, the relationship with the military and its role in the coming period, and the issues of citizenship rights and the rights of women. In addition to all of this there is the economic situation that needs to be rescued quickly because people are waiting for programs to provide them with housing, employment, medical treatment, education and all the necessary services. Egypt has passed the obstacle of the presidential elections and has succeeded in nullifying many of the mines that surround it, but it is still facing many challenges, one of which is the Muslim Brotherhood and how it adapts to new situations and deals with them politically. The question remains as to whether the Brotherhood will change and openly engage in political action as one entity, or will it continue to be ambiguous and hypocritical, and maintain its double-sided policies?

Generals and Turbans?
By Emad El Din Adeeb/Asharq Alawsat
Has Washington chosen to wager on political Islam rather than military generals? This is a serious question that needs an accurate answer…it does not require the usual twisting and turning from the Arab political elite. We all remember the role of the US in the Middle East during and after the Second World War, led by John Foster Dulles, the famous Secretary of State. At that time, America was seeking to inherit two empires that the sun was setting on, namely the British and the French. The idea was based on the US entering areas where a vacuum was emerging between the end of colonialism and the establishment of independent regimes led by army officers and nationalists. Perhaps the secret dialogue that took place between the American military attaché in Cairo - in the weeks that preceded and followed the 1952 coup - and the young officers Ali Sabri and Abdul Munim Abdul Rauf, to secure a new relationship between the Americans and the Revolutionary Command Council, is the best example of this. As a result, the US embarked on half a century of gambling on military institutions in the Arab world. This depended on relations that allowed for arming and training, and intelligence and strategic cooperation. This background military channel was – and still is – one of the strongest channels in relations between Washington and many of the regimes in the Middle East.
However, it seems that in the post-9/11 world, there is a growing trend to change from a reliance upon generals to a reliance upon the turbans instead, moving from a dependence on military institutions towards parties whose popularity is based upon political Islam. There is now a firmly established conviction that instead of using tanks in order to curb political Islam, America has begun to use political Islam parties to curb the role of the tank!This can explain Washington’s current behavior in the region and for many years to come, through a strategic shift in the political stakes.

Bin Laden: The story
By Hussein Shobokshi/Asharq Alawsat
I was attending a large conference that brought together guests and experts from across the globe to exchange expertise and get to know one another. During a short conference break, I engaged in a conversation with an old friend of mine whom I had not met for quite a long time and who attended the conference accompanied by an American businessman. The conference was covered widely by the media and sponsored by major Arab companies. Commenting on the Saudi ‘Bin Laden Group”, one of the conference sponsors, the American guest, who was visiting the region for the first time, said “this name will always be associated with the 9/11 attacks.” I interrupted his “expected” discourse by stressing that the Bin Laden Group represents one of the greatest success stories in Saudi Arabia and the Arab world thanks to its participation in various infrastructure projects in all sectors in the Kingdom, including airports, seaports, roads, power plants, construction, skyscrapers, and more. Of course, we must not neglect the most prominent project that the Bin Laden Group has been involved in, namely the on-going expansion of the Two Holy Mosques.
This company has adopted a truly unique discourse in managing and implementing major projects with complex specifications and tight deadlines, which have always been met in a distinguished and striking manner. This has allowed the Bin Laden Group to accumulate expertise and develop its work culture to allow it to become one of the world’s largest construction companies, thanks in large part to the efforts of its late founder Mohamed Bin Laden. The company also developed thanks to the efforts of his sons, many of whom have demonstrated their proficiency in management and administration which has allowed the company to achieve unprecedented successes. Following the passing of his bother Salem Bin Laden, who unfortunately died in an airplane crash, the Bin Laden Group’s leadership passed to Bakr Bin Laden, who successfully managed the company and developed it into a renowned major international firm, whilst also developing its management in an excellent manner.
As a result, the Bin Laden Group entered new fields and implemented new projects in a proficient and skillful manner. Engineer Bakr Bin Laden, who is also known as Abu-Nawaf by those close to him, restructured the company in accordance with the different sectors it is involved in, developing the management of the family business. Today, in addition to some of his distinguished brothers in the Bin Laden Group, including Yahya, Ahmed, Saleh and Mohamed Bin Laden, and others, there is also a third generation of grandsons who are now holding senior executive positions. The Bin Laden Group has also been keen on developing strategic partnerships with a large number of major companies across the world in order to benefit from their expertise and competitive qualities.
One of the benefits that the Bin Laden Group has achieved, thanks to its Saudi projects, is that the company has expanded beyond the country’s borders to undertake projects across the world, including in the UAE, Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Malaysia and elsewhere. The company was awarded huge contracts in these countries amidst a climate of fierce rivalry with major international and local companies. The Bin Laden Group’s professionalism has increased, as has its capabilities and expertise, particularly after it entered the manufacturing business. It is now producing and manufacturing all materials and commodities required by its projects to a high-standard.
In fact, I am surprised by those who downplay the Bin Laden Group’s success by saying that it was in an exceptional position to acquire this new business, as this is incorrect, because there have been other companies that have had the same “special privilege”; some of whom were successful in benefiting from this in order to develop and improve, whilst other companies failed to do so. Al Rajhi Bank was the first bank to be licensed as an Islamic bank, and it seized the opportunity to do very well. In addition to this, there is Aramco which has the exclusive right to drill for oil in Saudi Arabia, and it has done so extremely proficiently. However we cannot say the same thing about "Saudi Airlines" that enjoyed truly unique privileges but whose operations lacked ambition. I explained all of this to the American businessman to clarify to him that the Bin Laden Group and the Bin Laden family that established and own this company represent a unique and important success story which every just, honest and fair Saudi citizen can be proud of, particularly as this company is the product of long years of good governance, perfect operations and planning and development.
I think that I was successful in demonstrating to this American businessman that the superficial dismissal of names and cultures based on stereotypes is a form of naiveté and is something that must be completely rejected. Therefore the success story of the Bin Laden Group is the best evidence that sometimes there is a bigger story behind the name.

Annan's Syria Action Group a Hopeful Sign
Andrew J. Tabler /June 27, 2012
Washington Institute
UN special envoy Kofi Annan recently issued invitations for a June 30 meeting in Geneva to deal with the Syria crisis. The participants -- whom Annan dubbed an "action group" -- include the five permanent members of the Security Council, Turkey, and Arab League members Iraq, Kuwait, and Qatar.
Annan's invitation came after a week of talks in Geneva between his staff, Russia, and the United States regarding the formation of a more permanent "Contact Group" on Syria. Moscow and Washington continue to disagree on the nature and makeup of that group. Washington insists, quite rightly, that any Contact Group should be focused on the process of handing power from the Assad regime to another administration, and that only countries with an interest in this outcome should be at the table. This stipulation disqualifies Iran, Bashar al-Assad's stalwart ally and direct supporter in crushing the Syrian uprising. Yet Russia is less clear on the Contact Group's purpose and has argued for Iran's inclusion.
Given the rising death toll in Syria and the diplomatic effort Washington has invested over the past few months to gain Russian approval for UN action, participating in yet another round of "dialogue for dialogue's sake" holds little value unless it makes clear what a "Syrian-led transition" entails: namely, that Assad goes, and that he goes sooner, not later. Therefore, the Contact Group's composition will be key to determining whether it plays any role in Assad's departure.
So far, Washington has successfully lobbied Annan not to invite Iran. The Islamic Republic's three-decade alliance with Damascus gives it at least some influence over Assad, and many speculate that Tehran and its Hizballah allies see the regime's sixteen-month attempt to shoot its way out of the crisis as ultimately futile. Yet no matter how much outside observers may believe that Iran could best advance its interests by supporting a "soft landing" in Syria, Tehran's actual behavior indicates that it supports Assad's "hard landing" approach -- that is, shooting the population into submission. The Qods Force, part of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, is the only non-Syrian entity listed under U.S. sanctions on Syria for good reason -- it has aided and abetted the Assad regime in tracking and killing Syrian civilians. According to an April Wall Street Journal report, Qods Force commander Qasem Soleimani traveled to Damascus and pledged more military and political support for the regime.
Iran would love to be part of a Contact Group on Syria, where it could use its influence to prolong Assad's lease on life and ensure that any successor government does not represent the country's majority Sunni population, which has openly chided Iran for supporting him. Accordingly, if the United States truly wants to facilitate his ouster, it should hold firm in opposing Iran's inclusion in any discussions on bringing about a post-Assad Syria.
**Andrew J. Tabler is a senior fellow in The Washington Institute's Program on Arab Politics.

Canadian health inspectors target Lebanese culinary delicacy (Kibbeh nayyeh) dish
June 27, 2012/The Daily Star /BEIRUT: Restaurant owners in Windsor, Canada, claim that regional health authorities are cracking down on the sale of the famous Lebanese dish kibbeh nayyeh, Candian daily Metro reported Tuesday. Mohamad Nizam, owner of Al Sabeel in Windsor, said that health inspectors from the Windsor-Essex Health Unit told him last month that he was no longer permitted to sell the dish, which is made with either raw lamb or beef combined with bulgar and a variety of spices. “No warning, no heads up, nothing. They just told us you can’t sell it anymore. They didn’t send any letters,” Nizam told the Windsor Star, “this is not a side dish, it’s our tradition.”Kibbeh nayyeh has been served at Lebanese restaurants in Canada for years but a report of contaminated kibbeh in Ottowa last year has resulted in a tougher stance from health inspectors According to reports by Caadian News network CBC News Dr. Allen Heimann, a medical officer with the city of Windsor, said the raw dish was unsafe. Heimann elaborated that Ontario’s Health Protection and Promotion Act requires that ground meat be cooked before being served to customers, since the process of grinding meat increases the risk of it being contaminated by E.Coli and other harmful bacteria. In early February the Canadian Food Inspection Agency reported that a person contracted E.Coli after eating the Lebanese delicacy.
Kibbeh, whether in its raw or cooked form, is somewhat of a national treasure among Lebanese.  In August 2009, a group of 25 women in Ehden broke the Guinness World Record for the largest kibbeh in recorded history. The gargantuan meat feast consisted of 120 kilos of minced meat, 80 liters of olive oil, 80 kilos of cracked wheat, five kilos of salt, and a kilo of pepper in a twenty square-meter dish that weighed in at 223 kilograms.

Russia denies it endorsed call for Assad to leave
June 28, 2012/Daily Star
By Mansur Mirovalev /MOSCOW: Russia on Thursday said it would not endorse a call for Syrian President Bashar Assad to give up power and criticized as inappropriate claims that it had agreed to plans by international envoy Kofi Annan for a new national unity government in Syria that could include the opposition.
Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov insisted that major powers meeting Saturday in Geneva for talks on Syria must concentrate on convincing opposition groups to soften their demands. He also denied a claim by a senior U.S. official that international envoy Kofi Annan said Russia was among the backers of a plan for a new government to oversee the drafting of a new constitution and eventual elections.
"We are not supporting and will not support any external meddling," he said. "External players must not dictate ... to Syrians, but, first of all, must commit to influencing all the sides in Syria to stop the violence."Diplomatic hopes have rested on Russia - Syria's most important ally, protector and supplier of arms - to agree to a plan that would end the Assad family dynasty, which has ruled Syria for more than four decades. But the country- one of the five permanent U.N. Security Council members along with Britain, China, France and the U.S. - has warned it would firmly oppose any document urging Assad to step down. Moscow also has rejected efforts by outside forces to end the country's bloody conflict or any plan to force regime change in Damascus, insisting that any plans for the future rest entirely with Syria. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, speaking at a press conference in Riga, Latvia, during a European tour that will take her to Russia, said Thursday that "it was very clear from the invitations that were extended ... that people were coming on the basis of the transition plan that (Annan) had presented."
"I will discuss these issues with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in St. Petersburg tomorrow and then I look forward to participating in a meeting organized by Joint Special Envoy Annan in Geneva on Saturday," she said.
"We want this meeting in Geneva... to provide an opportunity to make real progress in supporting and implementing (Annan's) six-point plan and the roadmap for transition that he has laid down," she said.
It was not clear if Moscow has rejected Annan's plan altogether or has simply not agreed to its final form yet. "First of all, no agreed-upon projects exist, the work on the possible final document is going on, including a meeting of experts in Geneva," Lavrov told reporters. "I think that the fact that certain formulas, certain ideas proposed for the possible final document by certain countries are leaked to the media manifests an improper approach to diplomacy." Lavrov said that diplomatic efforts should focus on urging the opposition groups to "refuse from their uncompromising approaches and, in accordance with the Kofi Annan plan, sit down for negotiations with the government."
Lavrov also criticized the exclusion of major regional player Iran from Saturday's high-level meeting. "Iran is undoubtedly a powerful player in the whole situation," Lavrov said. "Leaving it out of the loop of the Geneva meeting is a mistake." A senior U.S. diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity because the official was not authorized to discuss diplomatic negotiations, had said Annan assured the United States that world powers gathering in Geneva had endorsed the plan and that Russia was among its backers.
Also Thursday, a Russian defense official reportedly said that three Syrian attack helicopters that have been refurbished in Russia will be sent to Syria. Last week, a cargo ship carrying the helicopters to Syria was forced to turn back after its British insurer removed the coverage for the vessel. Alexander Fomin, the Russian defense official, was quoted by the Ria Novosti news agency as saying that Russia plans to deliver the helicopters, without specifying how or when. "Syria is our friend," he was quoted as saying. "And we fulfill all obligations we make to our friends."
Russia has said that the helicopters had been supplied to Syria during Soviet times and refurbished under a 2008 contract. Russia has been a key source of weapons for Syria in the past four decades, and Damascus has acquired billions of dollars' worth of combat jets, helicopters, missiles, armored vehicles and other military gear from Moscow. Moscow has continued to provide Damascus with arms, despite Western calls for a halt in supplies. In recent weeks, Syria started using its helicopter gunships to besiege opposition areas - something it had appeared reluctant to do before.

Must we admit to a civil war in Syria?
June 28, 2012/By Michael Young/The Daily Star
Few political debates are more divisive than the one over whether a country is in a civil war. When the killing began in Lebanon in 1975, many Lebanese took offense at the suggestion that this was a civil war. The same was true of Iraqis after the American invasion in 2003. Now, it is Syria that is dividing opinions. So, is Syria in a civil war?
When one moves beyond the emotional aspect of the discussion, the question is not academic. If we cannot properly define a given situation – and the “we” here applies to everyone from policymakers to journalists to Syrian citizens themselves – then we cannot determine the best methods required to address this situation.
Lebanon is a classical example. So powerful was the impulse of the Lebanese to regard their war as one in which they were the mere victims of foreign powers, that there was never any impetus to push forward a postwar reconciliation process. Yes, the Lebanese war did mutate into a succession of conflicts by proxy. Yet this would never have been possible had Lebanese antagonisms not been present.
The late Ghassan Tueni unwittingly contributed to the wall of denial by publishing a book in 1985 titled “Une Guerre Pour les Autres.” In English, this translates into “A War For The Others.” What Tueni meant was that the Lebanese, by fighting among themselves, had effectively become stand-ins for outside actors. However, many people transformed that phrase into “the war of the others,” suggesting that the Lebanese were innocent bystanders in their own disintegration. For years Tueni tried to correct that impression, to no avail.
If societies dislike admitting that they are in a civil war, because it only highlights their destructive impulses, the term is also resisted by politicians and foreign mediators. That’s because conceding the actuality of a civil war limits one’s diplomatic options.
This was evident last week when three European foreign ministers visited Beirut. One of them was noticeably loath to admit that Syria was caught up in a civil war, preferring to describe the situation as one of a savage regime repressing its population. No one had ever believed otherwise. However, state repression, particularly in mixed societies, does not necessarily preclude the presence of civil war.
On the contrary. Take an undeniable instance of civil war, albeit in an ethnically homogeneous country, namely the American Civil War. The Confederacy always interpreted that conflict as a textbook case of hegemony by the North, which had denied the Southern states their constitutional right to secede from the Union. Whether the argument was justified is irrelevant. Civil conflict is frequently the consequence of perceived misrule by a leader or a political or ethnic elite.
There is no black or white definition of civil war. There are degrees of civil war. Those who deny that a civil war is taking place in Syria employ one classification to make their case. They point out, rightly, that we haven’t reached the point of full-scale institutionalization of conflict. We do not see Syrian society mobilized for war, with the Free Syrian Army having rationalized its forces, systematically managing a leviathan of warfare against Bashar Assad’s regiments. We are nowhere near the conflict in the former Yugoslavia, for example, where military campaigns were the work of embryonic states.
But that may be too narrow an outlook by half. Syria may be in the throes of a civil conflict that has not reached a full-fledged civil war. But it makes little sense to reduce the country’s condition to a simplistic narrative of the Assads against the rest. The Alawites from the start have viewed the conflict as a test for communal survival, as have other minorities; and the regime’s crimes have gradually compelled many in the opposition to withdraw to their sectarian identity, even if there are those profoundly reluctant to do so. To simply wish away the civil and social dimensions of the struggle is to set oneself up for bad surprises in the future, when Syria will have to rebuild.
For example, is it in any way sensible to assume that the day after the Assads’ collapse, Syria will rediscover its equilibrium and regain its mislaid unity? Centrifugal impulses have been released, and they are exceptionally potent. Even if Bashar Assad were to flee Damascus tomorrow, a triumphant opposition would face an armed Alawite community seeking greater autonomy in a new Syria. Without doubt the Kurds would refuse to revert to their marginalized status of the past, and would demand some form of self-rule as well. Syria will not soon return to where it was in February 2011, if it ever does.
These are matters that have fundamentally civil consequences, by going to the heart of national identity and cohesion. Syria could fall short of what Lebanon went through during its civil war, as Iraq did. But that does not mean that we have the luxury of engaging in a misdiagnosis. Whether it is the diplomats or the nongovernmental organizations, or above all the Syrian population, all will one day need to collaborate in repairing a fractured and alienated society.
Maybe that is what the Assads wanted. They and their homicidal, kleptocratic clique merit the worst fate. But 15 months into Syria’s revolt, Syrian society is in a very different place than where it once was. Profound rifts have opened up, and they will have to be closed with sensibility and precision. If acknowledging the reality of civil war can help do so, then so be it. A definition should not hold us up.
**Michael Young is opinion editor of THE DAILY STAR. He tweets @BeirutCalling.

Two Bombs Go Off Outside Damascus Justice Palace
Naharnet/28 June 2012/Two bombs exploded outside the Palace of Justice in central Damascus on Thursday, state television reported, without giving any immediate word on any casualties.
"Two bombs exploded in the car park of the Palace of Justice in the Al-Marjeh district of Damascus. A third did not explode," the television said, describing the bombings as "terrorist" attacks.
A police source told Agence France Presse on condition of anonymity that two magnetic bombs exploded in two judges' cars in the open-air car park, while a third was in the process of being defused.
State television showed footage of heavy smoke rising from the car park, as firefighters attempted to put out the flames.
Agence France Presse.