LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN

LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
May 03/12

Christ the Power and the Wisdom of God
01 Corinthians/18-31: "For the message about Christ's death on the cross is nonsense to those who are being lost; but for us who are being saved it is God's power. The scripture says, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise and set aside the understanding of the scholars. So then, where does that leave the wise? or the scholars? or the skillful debaters of this world? God has shown that this world's wisdom is foolishness! For God in his wisdom made it impossible for people to know him by means of their own wisdom. Instead, by means of the so-called foolish message we preach, God decided to save those who believe. Jews want miracles for proof, and Greeks look for wisdom. As for us, we proclaim the crucified Christ, a message that is offensive to the Jews and nonsense to the Gentiles; but for those whom God has called, both Jews and Gentiles, this message is Christ, who is the power of God and the wisdom of God. For what seems to be God's foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and what seems to be God's weakness is stronger than human strength. Now remember what you were, my friends, when God called you. From the human point of view few of you were wise or powerful or of high social standing. God purposely chose what the world considers nonsense in order to shame the wise, and he chose what the world considers weak in order to shame the powerful. He chose what the world looks down on and despises and thinks is nothing, in order to destroy what the world thinks is important. This means that no one can boast in God's presence. But God has brought you into union with Christ Jesus, and God has made Christ to be our wisdom. By him we are put right with God; we become God's holy people and are set free. So then, as the scripture says, Whoever wants to boast must boast of what the Lord has done."

Latest analysis, editorials, studies, reports, letters & Releases from miscellaneous sources
Syria’s children under siege/Rayan Majed/Now Lebanon/May 02/12

Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources for May 02/12
Iranian naval exercise follows on Israel’s northern border drill
U.S. optimism over nuclear deal with Iran is premature
Ehud Olmert: U.S., not Israel should lead possible strike on Iran
Can U.N. monitors help forge peace in Syria?
Obama orders U.S. treasury to target evaders of Iran, Syria sanctions
Obama tightens penalties on Iran, Syria regimes for avoiding American-mandated sanctions
Obama signs partnership agreement with Afghanistan on anniversary of bin Laden's death
Free Syrian Army acknowledge internal divisions
UN: Syrian government still has heavy weapons in cities
Reports: Iran plot to kill Saudi envoy in Cairo foiled
Saudi – Egyptian ties "strategic" – Egypt FM
Iran says may reciprocate over Canada visa closure
Bahrain breaks up protests, faces calls to free prisoners
Geagea: I will sue Bassil for misleading investigation into assassination attempt
Israel tests emergency response to Lebanon attack
Feltman, U.S. assistant secretary of state for near eastern affair arrives in Lebanon, holds talks with Jumblatt
Geagea says groups will rearm if state falls
Hariri slams Cabinet, urges workers to raise their voices
Berri backs allocating Parliament seats to expats

Feltman, U.S. assistant secretary of state for near eastern affair arrives in Lebanon, holds talks with Jumblatt
May 01, 2012/The Daily Star /BEIRUT: U.S. official Jeffrey Feltman arrived in Lebanon Tuesday at the head of an American delegation and launched his two-day trip with a meeting with Progressive Socialist Party head MP Walid Jumblatt. Feltman, U.S. assistant secretary of state for near eastern affairs, arrived at Rafik Hariri International Airport late Tuesday after his flight from London had been delayed. Senator Joseph Lieberman, a member of the delegation, arrived earlier in the day from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and later met with Jumblatt at the latter's resident in Clemenceau, Beirut. Feltman is also expected to meet with President Michel Sleiman, Prime Minister Najib Mikati and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri during his two-day visit.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton contacted Sleiman Monday via telephone and the two discussed recent regional and international developments as well as means to boost bilateral ties. Feltman's last visit to Beirut was in February to offer his condolences over the death of former MP and Cabinet Minister Nassib Lahoud.Meanwhile, Wiam Wahhab’s Arab Tawheed Party denounced Feltman's visit, describing it as "provocative."In a statement issued Tuesday, the Tawheed party said that Feltman's visit “cannot be placed in the context of diplomatic relations, which are usually between states, because it involves a provocative task and one that brings discord” to Lebanon.His visit, Tawheed said, reflects blatant U.S. intervention in Lebanon's internal affairs.The party also accused the U.S. of dictating policy to Lebanon and sabotaging the historical relations between Lebanon and Syria. Tawheed called on Lebanese officials to convey to Feltman a firm message: "Those who involve themselves in the Syria crisis will be adversely affected by it."

Geagea says groups will rearm if state falls
May 01, 2012/The Daily Star /BEIRUT: Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea said Monday the fall of the state would force groups to rearm, but added that the state remained his primary choice.
Geagea also said he would file a lawsuit against Energy Minister Gebran Bassil for misleading a probe into an attempt on his life early last month, accusing leaders of Hezbollah and Michel Aoun’s Free Patriotic Movement of practicing “intellectual terrorism.” “We will file a lawsuit against Bassil for misleading investigation into the attempt on my life,” Geagea said in an interview with Future News TV. The LF leader said on April 4 he had escaped sniper fire targeting his residence. In remarks published by Lebanon’s Al-Akhbar newspaper last week, Bassil, Aoun’s son-in-law, said the report of the assassination attempt against Geagea could have had ulterior motives, indirectly accusing the March 14 coalition of carrying out a series of assassinations of members of the coalition or figures sympathetic to it. Geagea said that leaders of Hezbollah and the FPM were practicing “intellectual and psychological” terrorism along with repression against people, judges and security officials in Lebanon.

Geagea: I will sue Bassil for misleading investigation into assassination attempt
May 1, 2012/Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea said on Monday evening that he would sue Energy Minister Gebran Bassil for “misleading the investigation” into the April 4 incident when snipers targeted the LF leader outside his Maarab residence. Geagea told Future News TV that Justice Minister Shakib Qortbawi – a member of Bassil’s Change and Reform bloc – had called him “several times” and told him that an investigation into the assassination attempt is underway. However, in remarks published on April 23, Bassil indirectly accused Geagea of being behind future assassinations, saying that if the killing attempt against the LF leader was “not confirmed,” he was worried that it could be placed “in the context of a return of [political] assassinations perpetrated by those who are propagating this topic.”The energy minister added that Geagea was not to be “trusted” when he talks about security issues.The LF leader, in turn, said on Monday that “Hezbollah and the Free Patriotic Movement leaderships were psychologically and mentally terrorizing the security forces” by doubting the assassination attempt.
He also said that telecommunications data was being hidden from security forces, preventing them from revealing the truth behind the assassination attempts against March 14 figures. However, the LF leader added that Hezbollah had access to the telecom data.Telecommunications Minister Nicolas Sehnaoui is affiliated with the Free Patriotic Movement, the Christian ally of Hezbollah. The FPM has been in charge of the Telecommunications Ministry since 2008. Asked if he would run for the presidential elections, Geagea said: “I do not seek presidency, I [prefer] sticking to my principles.”
The LF leader also revealed that he would not run for the parliamentary elections.-NOW Lebanon

UN: Syrian government still has heavy weapons in cities
May 1, 2012/Now Lebanon
Syrian security forces have kept heavy weapons in cities in breach of a UN brokered cessation of hostilities, but the government and opposition both have committed truce violations, a top UN official said Tuesday.The 34 unarmed military observers now in Syria have seen Howitzer guns, armored personnel carriers and other weaponry in cities, UN peacekeeping chief Herve Ladsous told a press conference at UN headquarters.Ladsous insisted, however, that the monitors were having an effect in cities where they have been allowed to go.
Withdrawing weapons and troops from Syrian cities was a key part of a six-point peace plan agreed by President Bashar al-Assad and UN-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan. Syria has told the UN that weapons have been pulled back."Regarding the heavy weapons, yes, our military observers do see a number of APCs, for instance, they see a number of Howitzers and other military equipment in most places where they are," Ladsous said.
Syria has told the monitors that the armored carriers have been disarmed but this has not been verified, Ladsous added.
The UN Security Council has approved a 300 strong force to monitor the cessation of hostilities which started on April 12 but has barely held. Ladsous said only 150 monitors have been promised by UN member states so far. Syria has refused visas for three monitors that the UN wanted in the country.
Ladsous, a UN under secretary general, said that government forces and opposition groups have broken the truce.
"All the parties need to take further steps to ensure a cessation of violence in all its forms.”
"The important fact is that violations do come from both sides," he said while refusing to say whether one side had committed more breaches.
Annan is to brief the Security Council on May 8 on events in Syria, where the UN says well over 9,000 people have died since an uprising against Assad started in March last year.
-AFP/NOW Lebanon

Syria’s children under siege
Rayan Majed, May 1, 2012/Now Lebanon
Yazen is a four-year-old boy from Homs who found refuge in the Lebanese town of Ras Baalbek three months ago. He lost his ability to speak because of the psychological trauma he endured after being brutally beaten by the Syrian regime’s thugs when they came into his home in search of his father.
The killing machine in Syria did not spare children; rather, since the start of the uprising, the regime of Bashar al-Assad has intentionally targeted them, earning the Syrian president the title of “child murderer” among his detractors.
According to the Center for Documentation of Violations in Syria, 1,089 children – boys and girls alike – have been killed so far, and 464 wounded.
At the start of the uprising, a group of Syrians launched an initiative on Facebook calling for keeping children out of protests to keep them protected from the pro-regime forces that attack demonstrations. But it was not enough, as the killers go after children in their homes and schools. Reports by the United Nations and Human Rights Watch indicate that schools have been turned into detention and torture centers run by regime forces, who would also position snipers on the roofs.
According to the same reports, children have been shot by snipers, killed by shelling, tortured to death, and have died from untreated wounds. Reports also mention children being raped in prisons.
Anna Neistat, an associate director at Human Rights Watch, worked for years on conflicts from Chechnya to Zimbabwe to Sri Lanka. In an article in the Global Post, she said that the level of state-sanctioned torture taking place in Syria is incomparable with any other conflict she has ever witnessed. There is no distinction between children and adults in prisons, she said, adding that if anything, children are more brutally beaten, as investigators believe they respond faster to such practices.
In the same context, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay told the BBC that hundreds of children were taken as hostages or information sources. The Human Rights Watch report said that regular troops used children as human shields and put them in tanks and buses when the Syrian army stormed Ain Larouz in the province of Edleb on March 10.
The Syrian regime uses methodical violence against children for many reasons, including revenge, as children have played an essential role in the uprising from the beginning; indeed, it was children who wrote anti-regime slogans on walls in Daraa, launching the protests last year.
The regime is also trying to send other children a message. A year ago this week, the regime brutally tortured Hamza al-Khatib before sending his mutilated body to his parents, thus delivering a message to its opponents right from the start, namely that it is not bound by any moral and humanitarian deterrent and is capable of committing atrocities if the revolution goes on.
By targeting children, the regime is “striking the foundations” of the new generation and undermining the stability, safety and future of society and family, especially in rural areas where children are regarded as an “investment” by parents and a means to provide for them when they grow old, according to the UC Davis Human Rights Initiative Blog.
These practices have tremendous and dangerous effects on children who survive or witness such violence. “[The child] suffers from deep disorders and experiences a state of concern and feeling of being unsafe. This renders him or her unable to plan for the future, ignites his or her anger and influences his or her behavior,” says Psychoanalyst Rena Sarkis. “Any change in the child’s habits, such as having a different school or home, can put him or her in a state of shock. Seeing pictures of an earthquake in some countries affects the child’s spirit, as he or she fears that something similar may happen to him or her. This holds especially true when war invades his or her street, home and school. It is as though he or she was left alone in this life without any reference and markers,” Sarkis added.
Children victims of violence need to rebuild their sense of security and dignity by talking over what happened to help them understand and move on, Sarkis said, though UNICEF Child Protection Officer Abir Abi Khalil noted that while some children can express themselves using words, others find it difficult to do so.
In an attempt to provide them with psychological support, UNICEF established “child-friendly spaces” in the Lebanese regions in which Syrian nationals took refuge. Volunteers organize entertainment, cultural and educational activities for children and use drawing to help them express what they cannot put into words. “Drawings speak,” says Abi Khalil, adding that in their first drawings, many children depicted weapons, fire and guns. “Several months now into their displacement and participation in activities, they have started drawing suns and children.”
According to UNICEF Media Director Souha Bsat, the idea underlying the project is to allow the child to lead a normal life away from home, since parents – due to their mental state – cannot provide an atmosphere of joy and calm. These activities also help Syrian children mingle with their Lebanese peers, who also need spaces for playing and entertainment, since the Lebanese regions that saw an influx of Syrian refugees are the poorest in Lebanon. Bsat goes on saying that these spaces fill the free time of displaced children constructively, especially for those who have been unable to enroll in Lebanese schools or were forced to work in order to provide for their families.
In Syria too, despite the killing, groups have started providing psychological support to children. “We are rebelling for them so that we provide them with a more beautiful future. The calendar of freedom gives a detailed description every Tuesday of activities and games that help children deal with psychological trauma resulting from violence,” according to the Facebook page of Syrian journal Ayyam al-Horriya (Days of Freedom). But as Sarkis points out, it is only after the violence ends can Yazen and other children recover the glitter, color and songs of their childhood.

U.S. optimism over nuclear deal with Iran is premature
By Anshel Pfeffer/Haaretz
Netanyahu will want to ramp up the 'Iranian threat' ahead of Israeli elections, while the Gulf states fear Tehran will refocus energies into undermining them if a deal is reached.
It would be wonderful if the upbeat tone of the reports coming from both the United States and Iran regarding the hopeful prognosis of the May 23 Baghdad talks with the P5+1 were based on anything more stable than bickering between former Israeli security chiefs and current leaders and cryptic utterances of mullahs and officials in Tehran. Certainly, Western diplomats can take heart in the fact that there is no consensus within the Israeli defense establishment regarding a preemptive strike and that the Iranians seem to be open to negotiations, but there is nothing new about that.
Defense Minister Ehud Barak made it quite clear at a briefing to foreign reporters in Jerusalem on Monday that he was unfazed by the recent criticism of his and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's handling of the Iranian issue, saying that "parts of the world, including some politically motivated Israeli figures, prefer to bury their heads in the sand." Barak was never one to brook opposition, not even of the most senior defense experts, as he sees himself as the only real expert. Netanyahu is now observing a week's silence during the Shiva mourning for his father, but you can be sure that he was not swayed either.
Whether or not Iran's negotiators will prove more forthcoming is still to be seen in three weeks, but the optimism in Washington is premature and more than anything, it resembles their excitement at the stillborn nuclear agreement with North Korea less than three months ago.
Here are the three main obstacles still standing in the path of a deal:
Domestic Politics - The political timing for achieving a treaty that would limit nuclear development and uranium enrichment by Iran couldn't be worse. Iran is rapidly undergoing a realignment of its power structure as Mahmoud Ahmadinejad enters the last year of his presidency and Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei is busy shoring up his support structure, perpetuating the control of his conservative allies and the Islamic Revolutionary Guards. Any concessions to the West on the nuclear program, a source of influence for the hardliners, will have to be balanced with additional powers, from whom Khamenei may be reluctant to depart. His negotiating team will have a very short rein - certainly not one that will enable them to satisfy U.S. President Barack Obama's representatives. Obama, facing his own presidential election will find it very hard to stand up to Republican (and internal Democrat) criticism, if he agrees to anything less than a total Iranian climb-down from enrichment.
As far as Israeli domestic politics are concerned, Netanyahu will have a clear interest in ramping up the Iranian threat in the months preceding the elections, now most likely to take place in September. The alternative to this is having a campaign that will focus on the Israeli middle class's dissatisfaction with its economic situation. Shaul Mofaz, in his first speech as opposition leader, lambasted the government's "despicable propaganda campaign aimed at deflecting and preventing the public debate on the question of our social identity." To maintain his current lead in the polls, Netanyahu will need to safeguard the crisis-atmosphere over Iran.
Gulf States – Netanyahu is not the only one concerned that an American deal with Iran could harm his prospects of power. The leaders of the Sunni Gulf states are also very aware that even if Iran scales back its nuclear development, the regime in Tehran will still stick to its strategy of undermining them. It will continue encouraging the Shiite communities in their countries to follow the Bahraini model and pursue an aggressive policy regarding border disputes. As I wrote here on Monday, the heightened tension between the UAE and Iran over three tiny islands near the Straits of Hormuz is only an outward sign of the increasing anxiousness of the Sunni kings and emirs from a region in which Iranian influence continues to extend. Iran doesn't need uranium to do that, but since the West is currently engaging Iran only on its nuclear program, not on human rights or regional hegemony, Iran's neighbors have a clear stake in scuppering the Baghdad talks.
Syria – It may be off the world's headlines for now, but the Annan peace plan is a total failure and dozens of civilians are still being massacred throughout Syria daily. While it could still go on for months, even years, the Syrian uprising is not going away and could blow up again at any moment, forcing some degree of intervention by regional and international powers. If Bashar Assad continues to hold on for the time being in Damascus, it will be easier for the Iranians to deal with the West, but if his downfall suddenly seems imminent, it is almost impossible to see how Iran could simultaneously deal with a double-blow to its prestige and influence. An implosion of the Assad regime would almost certainly entail a hardening of Iran's negotiating positions.

Iranian naval exercise follows on Israel’s northern border drill
DEBKAfile Exclusive Report May 1, 2012/Israel’s Defense Minister Ehud Barak offered the view this week that the next round of Six-Power talks with Iran taking place on May 23 in Baghdad would lead nowhere, throwing cold water on the current optimism. As for US media reports of a lessening in war tensions over Iran because of the internal debate in Israel over an independent attack, they were soon overtaken by significant military steps embarked on Tuesday, May 1, by the US, Israel and Iran.
The large-scale Israel Defense Forces war game on the borders of Syria (Golan) and Lebanon was quickly followed by naval drills along Iran’s southern Persian Gulf coast by its border guards. Tehran was making good on the policy agreed with Syrian and Hizballah allies in early 2011 to counter any Western or Israel military movement in the region with a comparable response.
Israeli army spokesmen were cagey about the scale and nature of the exercise beyond preparing people living in the north for heavy military traffic on regional highways and the sounds of gunshots and explosions.
debkafile’s military sources disclose that the IDF drilled a strengthened, proactive presence in the North to meet al Qaeda’s looming presence and expanding operations next door, especially in Syria, and the threat of the Syrian civil war spilling over into Lebanon.
Monday, Israel started building a defensive wall 10-meter high, 2 kilometer-long along its border with Lebanon to protect the Israeli population and highways in northern Galilee from sniper fire coming from the Lebanese village of Kfar Kila in the Hizballah-dominated south. According to intelligence received, the Lebanese Shiite Hizballah plans to lash out against Israel in the hope of recovering its waning popular support as a result of its tight bonds with the hated Bashar Assad. Snipers are to pick off Israelis in cross-border fire and so provoke a major firestorm that will take the world’s attention away from the savagery in Syria.
Just as Israel estimates that the Galilee Panhandle and Golan could become flashpoints for exchanges of cross-border fire, so too Iran is taking into account that an operation to destroy its nuclear facilities may also entail landings on its southern coast by American and Israel special forces, and maybe others too.
Gen. Hossein Zolfaqari, Commander of the Iranian Border Guards, was more forthcoming about the exercise he is leading than Israel’s army spokesmen. He announced that the naval maneuver codenamed “Fajr” would exercise the latest tactics in border protection with the participation of the border guard units of the provinces of Bushehr (site of Iran’s only nuclear reactor and parts of its uranium enrichment facilities), the Persian Gulf Kish Island (where big Revolutionary Guards bases at situated), Hormozgan (near the Revolutionary Guards main headquarters at Bandar Abbas) as well as Khuzestan and Sistan and Balochestan, Iran’s biggest oil regions.
Very much on the offensive, Tehran Monday claimed to have developed the technological expertise for “redirecting enemy missiles to a target which we will determine,” in the words of Brig. Farzad Ismaili, commander of the Khatam-ol-Anbiya (Last of the Prophets) Air Base. “This is the capability of electronic warfare in which it is we who program the enemy missile,” he boasted.
There was also an outpouring of comment from Tehran about last week’s deployment of US F-22 Raptors in the UAE’s Al Dhafra Air Base opposite Iran’s southern shores. One spokesman said they posed no danger to Iran and had been moved in for “psychological warfare;” another that they “threatened regional security” and Gulf nations should not allow foreign armies to take up position on their shores.
A week after the F-22 squadron was deployed in the Gulf, Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall, special assistant to President Obama and senior director for European affairs at the National Security Council, disclosed Monday that the completion of the initial phase of the US-backed missile network in Europe would be announced at the NATO summit meeting in Chicago on May 20.
She added that additional work is underway in the next phase of the network, designed for protecting Europe and the Middle East from Iranian ballistic missile attack.
The chronology is significant: The announcement that the US-led missile shield has gone operational will be made three days before the Six Powers and Iran resume nuclear negotiations in Baghdad.
Far from reducing war tensions over Iran, America has tossed the military ball into the Iranian court.

Obama tightens penalties on Iran, Syria regimes for avoiding American-mandated sanctions
(AP) WASHINGTON - President Obama is tightening penalties on foreign entities and individuals who try to evade sanctions on Iran and Syria. Mr. Obama authorized the penalties in an executive order signed Tuesday. The administration said he took the step in response to efforts by the Iranian and Syrian governments to avoid the consequences of U.S.-mandated sanctions. The executive order gives the Treasury Department the capability to publicly identify foreign individuals and entities that try to sidestep the restrictions. The new penalties also bar violators from accessing the U.S. financial and commercial systems. The administration said that as the U.S. and other countries have increased sanctions pressures on Iran and Syria, both countries have sought to use non-bank financial institutions and other alternative methods to transmit funds and make payments. David Cohen, Treasury's undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, said that the executive order will provide another tool for the administration to impose "serious consequences on foreign persons who seek to evade our sanctions and undermine international efforts" to bring pressure on the governments of Iran and Syria. Cohen said the executive order was needed to better reach third parties that Iran and Syria may be trying to enlist in efforts to get around the current sanctions.
Treasury said in a fact sheet that the executive order also would help to ensure that U.S. citizens did not unwittingly engage in transactions with foreign groups trying to help the two nations.The sanctions imposed against Iran are aimed at preventing Iran from developing nuclear weapons. The sanctions against Syria are aimed at forcing Syrian President Bashar Assad to end more than a year of deadly violence in that country.© 2012 The Associated Press. All Rights

Iran says may reciprocate over Canada visa closure
May 01, 2012/TEHRAN: Iran said on Tuesday it may take "reciprocal action" over a decision by Canada to shut the visa section in its Tehran embassy used by thousands of Iranians.
"They have said that the decision was based on cost-cutting measures... but we will follow any action that causes trouble for our citizens," foreign ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast told reporters in his weekly briefing."If anyone takes action against our national interest, we will take reciprocal action," he said. Canada's embassy announced on Sunday via a link on its official website that it had closed its visa section as part of an effort to operate "more effectively and efficiently."It said all visa services had been transferred to the Canadian embassy in Ankara, the capital of neighbouring Turkey.
The move has angered many Iranians who had been planning to apply for tourist or immigration visas to Canada, with several expressing their discontent on Twitter and other social media.
There are more than 120,000 people of Iranian origin or descent living in Canada, according to official 2006 census data, with thousands of their relatives in Iran visiting them every year.
Iran's deputy foreign minister, Hassan Ghashghavi, said last week -- before Canada's announcement -- that Tehran was poised to open an extra consulate in Canada to supplement the work done by its Ottawa embassy.Iran was also looking at opening new consulates in Afghanistan, China and Sweden, he said, according to media.

Free Syrian Army acknowledge internal divisions
01/05/2012/By Yousef Diab
Beirut, Asharq Al-Awsat – Free Syrian Army [FSA] Commander Riad al-Asaad has called on the international community "to shoulder its responsibilities toward the Syrian people", whilst called on the friends of the Syrian people to “provide arms to the FSA to enable it to undertake its duty of defending the unarmed [Syrian] people." Al-Asaad also announced "the establishment of military sectors in all Syrian governorates which will be capable of controlling the ground after the regime is toppled or suddenly collapses, in order to avoid the emergence of armed groups that could be used as a tool to spread chaos.” The FSA commander informed the international community that “we will lose our patience if the international community’s negligence continues in this regard.”
For his part, Brigadier General Mustafa al-Sheikh, chairman of the FSA's Higher Military Council, informed Asharq Al-Awsat that there are disagreements and difference of opinions between Al-Asaad and himself regarding the parameters for military action in Syria, underlining the importance of “avoiding individualism and turning to joint action."
In a speech before FSA members yesterday, Al-Asaad said "more than a year has passed since the start of our revolution, and you have become more determined to obtain your freedom which the corrupt regime has stolen from you over the decades. You are offering all that is precious and valuable and sacrificing your blood, lives, and sons for the sake of bringing down this tyrannical regime; so that you and your children can enjoy a life of dignity. This regime has increased its savagery and iniquity against our unarmed people, killing, displacing, destroying, humiliating, burning, and fabricating…the entire world serves as a witness to its crimes."
He added: "Brothers, we in the FSA accepted the initiative of the joint United Nations and Arab League envoy, Kofi Annan, and we asserted this immediately after this initiative was announced until today, for the sake of putting an end to the bloodshed and proving to the world that we are only seeking our rights and that it is the regime and its criminal gangs that are committing the killings and atrocities against the Syrian people. The Syrian regime failed to abide by any of the initiative's clauses; it did not stop the killings or the bombardment with its heavy weapons and rockets, even in the presence of the monitors. It did not withdraw its military vehicles and soldiers from the villages and towns but rather redeployed them in some areas. It did not release any of the detainees but in fact continued to arrest Syrian citizens; it did not allow peaceful demonstrations to take place, and its armed gangs have continued to open fire on demonstrations, killing and injuring hundreds. It did not allow the delivery of humanitarian aid to our people who have been under siege for more than a year, nor did it envision any initiative for a peaceful solution other than submission and accusing the opposition of treason.”
Al-Asaad went on to assert that "the FSA is convinced that the regime will not implement any of the clauses of Kofi Annan's initiative and will continue to prevaricate, however despite this we will continue to abide by its clauses until the truth about this regime is uncovered and it is exposed before the international community." He added: "In view of these facts, we demand that the international community shoulder its responsibilities, and we are informing it that we will lose our patience if the international community’s negligence continues in this regard.” He also called on the friends of the Syrian people to “provide arms to the FSA to enable it to undertake its duty of defending the unarmed [Syrian] people.”
Addressing FSA elements, Commander al-Asaad said “Brothers, in view of the weakening of the regime, the inevitability of its downfall, and the possibility of its sudden collapse and in view of the huge increase in the FSA elements and to avoid the emergence of armed groups that could be used as a tool to spread chaos…particularly after the regime's downfall and the post-revolution stage.”
He revealed “following consultation with FSA officers and field commanders regarding the need to organize our forces on the ground in order to improve their performance, we have decided the following: Firstly, to establish military sectors which will be under the command of FSA officers. The boundaries of these military sectors are as follows. The southern sector, made-up of the governorates of Deraa, Al-Suwayda, and Al-Qunaytirah with Deraa as its base; the Damascus Sector, made-up of Damascus and the surrounding area with Damascus as its base; the Homs sector, made-up of Homs Governorate; the Hama sector made-up of Hama; the Idlib sector made-up of Idlib Governorate; the eastern sector made-up of the governorates of Al-Riqqah, Dair al-Zour, and Al-Hasakah with Dair al-Zur as its base; and the coastal sector made-up of the governorates of Latakia and Tartus with Latakia as its base."
Al-Asaad added: "Secondly, the organizational instructions for these sectors' operations will be issued in a subsequent decision. Thirdly, these sectors come directly under the control of the FSA. Fourthly, all the revolutionary activists and supporters of the revolution are called upon to establish local administrative bodies at the administrative units' level." The FSA commander concluded his speech by asserting that "victory will be achieved."
On the other hand, Brigadier General Mustafa al-Sheikh, chairman of the FSA's Higher Military Council, informed Asharq Al-Awsat that "there are disagreements and difference of opinions between Riad al-Asaad and myself, particularly over the announcement of the establishment of the military sectors."
He added: "We had established military councils four months ago that had a command structure, namely, the FSA's Higher Military Council, which sets out the parameters for military action and enables us to have a national army in the full sense of the word."
He pointed out that "between 70 and 75 percent of the military councils are now under the Higher Military Council which includes Christians, Alawites, and Druze. The Higher Military Council is coordinating fully with the revolutionary forces so as to engender military-civilian cooperation to help transfer Syria to a civilian state [following the revolution]. We would then return to our barracks without having any political ambitions, however unfortunately, the support that was given to this council has been stolen."
Al-Sheikh asserted that "the disagreement (with Al-Asaad) is over the organizational mechanism" adding “Individualism should be avoided and organized action should be undertaken. As the FSA, we should be far removed from politics and politicization."
In reply to a question about whether the Military Council's action is subject to the authority of the Syrian National Council [SNC] or another organization, al-Sheikh told Asharq Al-Awsat that “there is coordination between the SNC and ourselves but it has not reached the required level. We, as the military, cannot leave the stage for the regular army to kill our people and at the same time we fear the chaos that could take place following a revolution because Syria belongs to all, not to any single group or individual."

Saudi – Egyptian ties "strategic" – Egypt FM
01/05/2012
By Mohamed Abdu Hassanein
Cairo, Asharq Al-Awsat – Commenting on the current diplomatic crisis that has erupted between Riyadh and Cairo, Egyptian Foreign Minister Mohamed Kamel Amr said that the relations between Egypt and Saudi Arabia are "strategic" and too entrenched to be influenced by any passing incidents or differences. This diplomatic crisis occurred after Egyptian national Ahmed al-Gizawi was arrested by Saudi authorities upon his arrival at Jeddah airport on charges of drug smuggling. This led to protests outside the Saudi embassy in Cairo; Saudi Arabia subsequently took the decision to close its embassy and withdraw its envoy citing security concerns.
Speaking at the Egyptian Council of Ministers headquarters, the Egyptian Foreign Minister claimed that the financial aid package that Saudi Arabia had pledged to present to Egypt prior to the diplomatic spat would go ahead, adding that the Saudi ambassador will soon return to Cairo.
Answering a question about what is being said regarding the failures of Egyptian diplomats to take care of Egyptian nationals abroad, Amr confirmed that all Egyptian ambassadors and diplomats are doing their national duty in this regard, adding that the Egyptian Consul to Saudi Arabia has monitored the case of Egyptian citizen Ahmed al-Gizawi and done its duty in this regard.
The Egyptian Foreign Minister also denied that there will be any trade-offs between Egyptian nationals held in Saudi Arabia, and Saudi nationals held in Egypt.
For his part, Dr. Mohamed al-Saeed Idris, head of the Egyptian parliament’s Arab Affairs Committee [AAC] informed Asharq Al-Awsat that there have been no new developments in the al-Gizawi case, after Saudi Arabia recalled its ambassador from Cairo. He added that he expects a breakthrough to occur very soon following the intensive communication that has taken place between Cairo and Riyadh to remedy this situation.
Egyptian political parties, figures and intellectuals continue to denounce the protests that have broken out against the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and its leadership, viewing this as a “passing crisis” in the history of the strong bilateral relations between the two countries.
The “Free Egyptians” party warned of the danger of this diplomatic crisis between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Egypt escalating further, as this may have a negative effects on the historical relations between the two sisterly states. The “Free Egyptians” party issued a statement yesterday calling for all parties, including the Egyptian government, public and media, to exercise self-control with regards to this crisis, as well as for substantive dialogue to take place between Riyadh and Cairo in order to create an atmosphere to defuse this crisis.
Egypt’s Al-Gamaa al-Islamiya confirmed that Egyptian – Saudi relations have strong historic roots in terms of religion, language and a joint-history adding that this is characterized by a language of mutual understanding. The Egyptians have called on the al-Gizawi case to be cleared up in a clear and transparent manner, whilst also ensuring that the Saudi embassy in Cairo is provided with adequate security.
Al-Gamaa al-Islamiya issued an official statement yesterday calling on the Saudi authorities to understand that the isolated protests that have taken place outside of the Saudi embassy in Cairo do not represent the Egyptian people and authorities and that this issue must be dealt with via cooperation and legal and diplomatic coordination.
For its part, the Arab Travel Writers Union, during its conference at Marsa Alam in Egypt on Monday, called on all parties to work actively and urgently to preserve the historic relations between the people of Egypt and Saudi Arabia. Egypt’s Planning and International Cooperation Minister, Faiza Abu el-Naga, told the press on Sunday that “the current crisis between Egypt and Saudi Arabia will be contained, given the solid relations between the two countries which transcend any problem.”
For his part, Arab League Secretary-General Nabil Elaraby – who is a former Egyptian Foreign minister – also attempted to defuse the tension between Egypt and Saudi Arabia, describing the diplomatic crisis as “a passing cloud.”

Reports: Iran plot to kill Saudi envoy in Cairo foiled
AFP 05.01.12/Saudi embassy official Egypt security services arrested Iranians planning to assassinate the ambassador. Tehran: Absolutely incorrect . Egyptian security services foiled an Iranian plot to assassinate the Saudi ambassador to Cairo several months ago, the legal advisor of the kingdom's embassy said in local dailies on Tuesday. Egypt "arrested three Iranians planning to assassinate the ambassador, Ahmed Qattan," Al-Hayat quoted Sami Jamal as saying. Egyptian authorities informed concerned parties at the Saudi foreign ministry of the details of the plot, but the Saudi side opted to keep silent on the matter," Jamal said. The arrests were made three months ago. "Everybody was concerned that foreign parties would exploit demonstrations by some (Egyptians) outside the embassy (in Cairo) to attack members of the mission," Al-Sharq daily quoted him as saying. Questioned about the reports, a spokesman for Iran's foreign ministry, Ramin Mehmanparast, told reporters in Tehran that the allegation was "absolutely incorrect." "Manufacturing such issues can only help divisions among Muslim countries and benefit the Zionist regime (Israel)," he said. Riyadh on Saturday recalled its ambassador from Cairo after angry protests outside the Saudi embassy in Cairo over the arrest of an Egyptian human rights lawyer in the Gulf kingdom. Saudi state news agency SPA said the Cairo embassy as well as the kingdom's consulates in the Mediterranean cities of Alexandria and Suez were closed. In October, the United States accused Iran of plotting to kill the Saudi ambassador to Washington. Iran has fiercely denied any involvement in the alleged plot.

Can U.N. monitors help forge peace in Syria? By Holly Yan, CNN
updated 10:53 AM EDT, Tue May 1, 2012
(CNN) -- In the latest diplomatic attempt to stop the relentless killing in Syria, a group of U.N. monitors are on the ground to observe a "cease-fire" that appears to be violated daily.
While opposition activists report some improvements thanks to the monitors' presence -- including a slowdown of shelling and the ability to retrieve bodies from streets without fear of government sniper attacks -- some say the mission will have little net effect, serving merely as proof that the international community is taking action.
How many monitors will arrive in Syria, and what are they supposed to do?
The U.N. Security Council has authorized up to 300 unarmed military observers for a 90-day mission in Syria. The monitors will trickle in over the course of several weeks, with about 50 expected on the ground by Friday. The monitors are tasked with observing a cease-fire that was supposed to go into effect April 12. The cease-fire is part of a six-point peace plan laid out by U.N.-Arab League special envoy Kofi Annan that was accepted by both the Syrian regime and opposition members.
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Head of U.N. mission arrives in Syria
Annan's Syria peace plan may be dead In addition, observers are tasked with supporting the implementation of Annan's peace plan, which also calls for access for humanitarian groups, the release of arbitrarily arrested detainees and the start of a political dialogue.
Who are these monitors?
The unarmed military monitors are soldiers trained in peacekeeping duties. They come from at least 11 different countries, including Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, Finland, Morocco, Norway, Russia, Switzerland, China, Ghana and Indonesia. The observers are selected based on availability from neighboring missions and recommendations by member states, said Ahmad Fawzi, Annan's spokesman.
What restrictions has the Syrian government placed on the monitoring mission?
U.N. officials say President Bashar al-Assad's regime has refused at least one U.N. monitor because of his nationality and said it won't accept monitors from "Friends of Syria" countries -- precluding observers from many Western countries who have been vocal on the Syrian crisis.
The Friends of Syria group, which aims to find a solution to the Syrian crisis, includes more than 60 countries and international bodies, including Turkey, the Arab League, the United States, France and the United Kingdom. In April, the group formally recognized the opposition Syrian National Council as a legitimate representative of the Syrian people.
The regime's refusal to allow monitors from such countries isn't surprising, said Asher Kaufman, associate professor at the University of Notre Dame's Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies.
"I understand their point. ... Bashar is concerned with his own survival," he said. Al-Assad probably does not want to risk allowing monitors from countries that could be aligned with the opposition.
He said the monitors could come from "impartial" countries, as "there are enough members states in U.N. that are not members of the Friends of Syria coalition."
Fawzi, Annan's spokesman, acknowledged Syria's demand might be a challenge.
"That could be a problem, which we will deal with when it becomes one," he said.
What other challenges does the mission face?
Opposition activists and world leaders have decried reports of retaliation attacks against residents who speak out to the U.N. monitors.
"We have credible reports that when (monitors) leave, exchanges start again, that these people who approach the observers may be approached by security forces or Syrian army and harassed or, even worse, killed," Fawzi told the U.N. Security Council.
In addition to the fear of speaking freely to the monitors, some say the observers are usually flanked by government forces -- preventing a fully objective, comprehensive view of the crisis.
"If the U.N. monitor mission is accompanied by military, then they're not really monitoring the situation," Kaufman said.
Can the observer mission bring peace to Syria?
Even the head of the monitoring mission, Maj. Gen. Robert Mood of Norway, said no number of monitors can stop the violence without a commitment to peace by all sides of the conflict.
"Ten unarmed observers, 30 unarmed observers, 300 unarmed observers, even 1,000 unarmed observers cannot solve all the problems," Mood told reporters shortly after arriving in Damascus. "So I call on everyone to help us and cooperate with us in this very challenging task ahead of us."
But Murhaf Jouejati, a Syrian-born scholar at the Middle East Institute in Washington, said the monitoring mission was "dead on arrival."
"No one expects the Assad regime to abide by the six-point plan of Mr. Kofi Annan," said Jouejati, who is also a member of the opposition Syrian National Council. "What can I say? It has failed. The Assad regime has failed every principle."
Jouejati said the international community is clinging onto the peace plan to prove it is taking some sort of action, "to justify the lack of action it should take to save Syrian lives."
Since no diplomatic efforts have successfully stopped the violence, when should foreign military intervention start?
"I think it was necessary some time ago," Jouejati said. "In the absence of a greater force ... Assad is going to continue to slaughter his people until he wins. He will win when he subdues this uprising, when Syrians will be too fearful to go out and demonstrate for their freedom and their dignity."
But unlike with Libya, NATO has shown no interest in launching a military mission in Syria.
There are several possible reasons why the international community might be more hesitant to get involved militarily in Syria.
In Libya, rebels operated out of a large base in Benghazi, an anti-government stronghold. The rebels in Syria don't have such a base and don't control much territory at all.
In addition, the Syrian army is much stronger and better equipped than the Libyan army.
Geography also poses a challenge. Syria has a much smaller coastline than Libya (roughly 119 miles vs. 1,110 miles), and neighboring countries probably won't be very accommodating for supplies, troops or anything else that might be needed in the mission.
And Syria is much more mountainous than Libya, which would make military operations more difficult.
What other options does the international community have to help end the slaughter in Syria? "If I were a diplomat, I'd be less focused on sending 300 monitors and more focused on reaching a consensus with Russia and China," Kaufman, the Notre Dame professor, said.
Russia and China are the only members of of the U.N. Security Council that have repeatedly blocked attempts at formally condemning the Syrian regime.
Both countries have said they want to focus on a Syrian resolution based on political dialogue, but many analysts say Russia and China have ulterior motives.
Syria is one of the largest recipients of Russian military equipment, Jouejati said, and Russia leases a naval facility at the Syrian port of Tartus, giving the Russian navy its only direct access to the Mediterranean.But the interests aren't just financial or geographical. "Russia and China are both very fearful that the Security Council interferes with internal affairs of states," Jouejati said. "Russia has a problem with Chechnya, and China has a problem with Tibet." But both Russia and China support the U.N. monitoring mission. And Syria's failure to maintain a cease-fire could cause enough frustration to shift the political landscape."If any good news came out of this monitoring mission, it further exposed the Assad regime," Jouejati said. "This may dilute the Russian position. ... I think Russia is beginning to feel the embarrassment that the Syrian regime is causing."