LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN

LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
November 13/2012

Bible Quotation for today/ He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out
Saint John 10,1-6: "‘Very truly, I tell you, anyone who does not enter the sheepfold by the gate but climbs in by another way is a thief and a bandit. The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep hear his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. They will not follow a stranger, but they will run from him because they do not know the voice of strangers.’Jesus used this figure of speech with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them.

Latest analysis, editorials, studies, reports, letters & Releases from miscellaneous sources
Hezbollah = terrorism /By JPOST EDITORIAL/November 12/12
Lebanese activists to enter politics /By: Nadine Elali/Now Lebanon/November 12/12
Friedman: Obama too busy to take revenge on Netanyahu/Yitzhak Benhorin/ynetnews/November 12/12
American Israeli Ties: No reason to panic/Hagai Segal/ynetnews/November 12/12

Friedman: Obama too busy to take revenge on Netanyahu
NYT columnist writes that during president's second term, Israeli issues will be eschewed in favor of domestic matters
Yitzhak Benhorin Published: 11.12/ynetnews
With President Barack Obama's reelection secure, pundits are free to speculate on how Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's reported interference with the American elections will impact the ties between the United States and Israel.
While CNN commentator David Gergen expects the relationship to suffer a blow, Thomas Friedman, a New York Times columnist, postulated that Obama will be so busy with pressing domestic issues that he won't have time to address Israeli matters.
In an opinion peace published on Saturday, Friedman said the Israeli-Palestinian conflict will be laid aside in favor of the economy, and Israel will be left "home alone."
"Israeli friends have been asking me whether a re-elected President Obama will take revenge on Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu for the way he and Sheldon Adelson, his foolhardy financier, openly backed Mitt Romney. My answer to Israelis is this: You should be so lucky.
"You should be so lucky that the president feels he has the time, energy and political capital to spend wrestling with Bibi to forge a peace between Israelis and Palestinians," he wrote. "I don’t see it anytime soon."
The shift won't be explicitly announced, Friedman said, and more official visits and road maps for peace between Israel and the Palestinians are to come; but no real progress will be made. The columnist further warned that an "unhealthy" situation will arise as result, a situation that could cost Israel its identity.
"The combination of America’s internal focus, the post-Arab awakening turmoil and the exhaustion of Palestinians means Israel can stay in the West Bank indefinitely at a very low short-term cost but at a very high long-term cost of losing its identity as a Jewish democracy," he said. "If Israelis want to escape that fate, it is very important that they understand that we’re not your grandfather’s America anymore."
Friedman's advice for Israel? "Focus on your own election — on Jan. 22 — not ours.
Thuggish partner? PM with Lieberman (Photo: Gil Yohanan)
"I find it very sad that in a country with so much human talent, the Israeli center and left still can’t agree on a national figure who could run against Netanyahu and his thuggish partner, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman — a man whose commitment to democracy is closer to Vladimir Putin’s than Thomas Jefferson’s," he said. "Don’t count on America to ride to the rescue. It has to start with you.
"My president is busy."
Impending crisis?
Gergen, meanwhile, expressed concern that “there is a serious possibility we could have a crisis in Israeli-US relations.”
Addressing the Jewish Federation's General Assembly in Baltimore on Sunday, he called for a new relationship between Washington and Jerusalem, and argued against drawing public "red lines" that push both countries into a corner.
The analyst, who served as a White House advisor to four US presidents Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton, postulated that there is a 50% chance that a strike on Iran will be mounted in 2013, noting that the Islamic Republic's nuclear program is the most pressing issue that is to be faced by the second Obama administration next year.
Reports leading up to last week's presidential election claimed Netanyahu intervened on Republican candidate Mitt Romney's behalf, with officials in Israel warning that once he is reelected, Obama will "take vengeance" on the Israeli prime minister.
Netanyahu denied the charges, saying after Obama's victory was announced that the partnership between Israel and the US is strong and that he is committed to collaborating with the American president.

American Israeli Ties: No reason to panic
Hagai Segal/ynetnews
Op-ed: Obama won't force Israel to divide Jerusalem because Bibi's wealthy friend funded Romney campaign
A number of days have passed since Obama's reelection, and Israel can breathe a sigh of relief. The sun still shines here, and the American flag still flies on HaYarkon Street in Tel Aviv. Despite the fears and warnings, Obama did not sever diplomatic relations with us an hour after the exit polls showed he was going to win the elections, and it is safe to assume that when he spoke of vengeance last week he was referring to Mitt Romney, not to Benjamin Netanyahu.
The US president was obviously angered by Netanyahu's perceived support for Romney, but he'll get over it. He has to. A US president cannot let personal agendas come in the way of national interests. These interests have not changed since Obama's reelection and they will not necessarily change during his second term. Israel and the US need each other now just as much as they needed each other 30 and 40 years ago.The two allies cannot afford a long-running dispute, particularly at a time when Syria is going up in flames and the Egyptians are inclined to speak Farsi. Washington needs us more than ever before. Israel is the US' only anchor in this disaster area. It will not hurt us because Netanyahu backed Romney during the election campaign.
In the 1970s and 80s the Americans also complained of Israeli intervention in the presidential elections, but they also intervened in our elections. However, they have always accepted the Israeli voters' choice. Congratulatory memos sent after the polls closed helped ease any tensions and marked a speedy return to the daily routine.In other words, if anyone in Israel hoped that Obama would force Israel to divide Jerusalem just because Netanyahu's wealthy friend funded Romney's campaign, he may be in for a bitter disappointment. The issue of a strike in Iran will also be examined with presidential composure, regardless of the Israeli government's fondness for the Republicans over the past year. The personal relations between Netanyahu and Obama will not be a factor in how the US handles the Iranian nuclear threat.
But even if the tense personal relations will have an impact on Obama's attitude toward Israel during his second term, there is still no reason to lower Israeli flags to half-staff. The State of Israel can argue with an American president and continue to exist with dignity. We are not a banana republic, as Menachem Begin told the American ambassador at the time. Since then, Israel has only grown stronger and less dependent on others.
If anything, it is the Americans who have become weaker. Any expert on US affairs will tell you that America of 2012 is not the America of old. Obama will be able to force diplomatic solutions on Netanyahu only if the Israeli premier allows him to.

1,200 tunnels operating between Egypt and the Gaza Strip- Sinai tribal leader
By Mohammed Mohsin
Cairo, Asharq Al-Awsat - The leader of the Al-Akur Tribe in Sinai, Arif Abu-Akr, has revealed that the 1,200 tunnels between the borders of Egypt and Gaza Strip are working at full capacity. Abu-Akr told Asharq Al-Awsat that these tunnels were being used to carry out terrorist attacks, “but we cannot arrest them or present them to justice.”
During the transitional period, which was administered by the military, the Egyptian authorities had announced the closure of the tunnels to the Gaza Strip; however, security sources in Sinai have said that many of the tunnels are now fully operational since President Muhammad Mursi’s accession to power at the beginning of July 2012. Security sources also revealed that the governor of North Sinai had lodged a complaint with senior officials in Cairo, but was told: “The tunnels do not represent a problem.”
Egyptian authorities say that the situation in Sinai is under control; however, a number of Sinai tribal leaders have been vocal about the need to end the chaotic security situation. Majdi Jilbanah, leader of Abu-Jilbanah Tribe, the largest tribe in Sinai, has called on the state leaders to deploy the National Security personnel urgently to hunt down foreign elements, which Abu-Jilbanah says are widespread across Sinai.
For his part, Abu-Akr, leader of Al-Akur Tribe told Asharq Al-Awsat that, “We do not object to conveying food and medicine to our brethren in Gaza, but there are those who carry out terrorist actions, enter and escape through the tunnels, and we cannot arrest them.”
Abu-Akr said that most of those carrying out terrorist operations in Sinai have come from other Egyptian governorates, and have settled in Sinai because of the security vacuum that occurred in the Peninsula after the revolution. Abu-Akr adds that the majority of those carrying out criminal operations, storming the police stations, and killing the innocent “are not from the sons of Sinai, but they have come from other governorates, and exploited the security vacuum that occurred in the country during the revolution; they have been helped in this by the rugged geographical nature of Sinai, which makes it easy for them to find hideouts and outlets.”
Since the collapse of the Mubarak regime, the security situation in Sinai has been chaotic, with confrontations between the army and police forces on one side, and elements considered to be Islamist hardliners - including Egyptians, Palestinians, and other Arab nationals - on the other. Israel says that some of the extremists from groups active in Gaza (which is governed by Hamas Movement affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood Group) and Sinai are working to carry out attacks on Israel launched from Egypt.
The leader of Al-Akur Tribe went on to say that, “We have obtained many promises from all authorities that the demands of the population of Sinai will be satisfied, with the establishment of security and development at their forefront; however, nothing has materialized yet.”
“We felt hopeful when the January revolution came; however, so far we have not seen real change.” Abu-Akr added.

Israel tanks knock out Syrian mortars shelling Golan. Assad tests Israel’s resolve in Gaza too
DEBKAfile Special Report November 12, 2012/Another shell landed near the Israeli defense position at El Hazaka on the Golan Monday, Nov. 12, less than 24 hours after Damascus promised through UNDOF peacekeepers to silence the mortar battery responsible for “stray shells” landing in Israel. The promise was delivered after Israel fired a Tamuz guided missile 4 kilometers into Syria as a warning shot. So Monday, Israeli tank guns opened fire on Syrian army positions and knocked out the battery responsible for sending shells across the border into Israel.
debkafile’s military sources: While Israel accepted the first three incidents as accidental intrusions from the Syrian civil war, the shell fired Monday was seen as a deliberate act of provocation. Our sources report that having observed Israel’s restrained response to the first mortar and lack of resolve to Palestinian violence from Gaza, the Syrian ruler decided to test Israel further to see what he can get away with by pinning the IDF down on two fronts.
And that may be just for starters.
While Israeli officials and IDF spokesmen insist that the two fronts are not connected, debkafile’s intelligence sources report that the restraint exhibited by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak thus far risks landing Israel in really hot water on two if not three violent fronts. Hizballah is lurking around the corner in Lebanon to jump in when the situation heats up and provide additional back-up for their joint Palestinian ally in the Gaza Strip.
debkafile reported Sunday night: The Palestinian missile offensive from Gaza was still going strong Sunday night, Nov. 11, after two days and more than 110 rockets - for a number of reasons, debkafile reports. For one, Hamas can’t bring all the Palestinian militias ranged against Israel under a single operational command center contrary to its claim. The most important groups, the Iranian-backed Jihad Islami, the various Salafi extremist factions - some associated with al Qaeda - and the Popular Front all cling to their independence of action. Any Hamas order to hold their fire, if it were given, would be disobeyed. This defiance is eroding Hamas’authority as rulers of Gaza.
Furthermore, Hamas and fellow terrorist group leaders believe Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu is undecided about how to proceed in Gaza. They are counting on his being unable to bring himself to order a major military operation to cut them down to size and put a stop to the deadly cycle of a rocket barrage recurring every few days, year after year. And so the shooting goes on.
debkafile’s military sources report that Egyptian military intelligence chief Gen. Mohamed al-Assad entered the scene Sunday, Nov. 11 to try his hand at brokering yet another truce. He has his work cut out - not just to bring the Gaza government and Israel together, but also to line up the rival factions of Gaza in concurrence.
The Egyptian general knows from past experience that the best he can achieve is a tacit, fragile truce to which Hamas and Israel acquiesce silently on the principle of reciprocity: both sides must hold their fire and if the Palestinian go back to violence, the IDF will hit back.
Similar arrangements have rarely held up in the past beyond a few weeks at most. But this time, new elements have crept in. Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh and his government, who until now stood in the wings of military activity, decided Sunday to pledge solidarity with the Palestinian missile jihad against Israel.
After all, the Islamist Hamas movement is dedicated by its charter to Israel’s destruction.
The view in Washington, which is involved in the chase for a truce, is that Haniyeh’s action promises that any ceasefire will be short-lived, measured in days rather than weeks. Gaza’s rulers are convinced they are well placed to exploit the Israeli prime minister’s irresolution as he goes into a campaign for reelection (on Jan. 22, 2013) by turning up the heat on Israel.
But Netanyahu has another kind of pressure to consider. The million-strong constituency of southern Israel may not let him get away with a temporary, fragile stoppage of the rockets that make their lives unbearable. They may make him pay for inaction at the ballot-box.
Netanyahu must also take into consideration that a major IDF operation in Gaza might risk igniting two more war fronts, should Hamas’ allies Syria and the Lebanese Hizballah come to its aid.
Regarding Syria, Israel fired a Tamuz guided missile 4 kilometers into Syria as a warning to Damascus that Israel would not tolerate ordnance from the Syrian civil war continuing to fall on Israeli Golan. It was a warning shot after a shell landed in Moshav Alonei Bashan.
debkafile’s intelligence sources reveal that Damascus send back through UNDORF peacemakers a message of reassurance that the spillover into Israel would stop. Israel was given to understand that the mortar position responsible for the stray shell landing in the moshav had been silenced.
Our military sources note that the battery may have been silenced but it was not pulled back. In fact it remains in the same position as before. Therefore, it stands ready to fire in the event of a decision in Damascus to resume firing shells into Israel. Netanyahu is keeping a weather eye on that sector, as well as the Gaza front.

What keeps the Gaza missiles coming? Egypt bids for a truce. Netanyahu undecided
DEBKAfile Special Report November 11, 2012/The Palestinian missile offensive from Gaza was still going strong Sunday night, Nov. 11, after two days and more than 110 rockets - for a number of reasons, debkafile reports. For one, Hamas can’t bring all the Palestinian militias ranged against Israel under a single operational command center contrary to its claim. The most important groups, the Iranian-backed Jihad Islami, the various Salafi extremist factions - some associated with al Qaeda - and the Popular Front all cling to their independence of action. Any Hamas order to hold their fire, if it were given, would be disobeyed. This defiance is eroding Hamas’authority as rulers of Gaza.
Furthermore, Hamas and fellow terrorist group leaders believe Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu is undecided about how to proceed in Gaza. They are counting on his being unable to bring himself to order a major military operation to cut them down to size and put a stop to the deadly cycle of a rocket barrage recurring every few days, year after year. And so the shooting goes on.
debkafile’s military sources report that Egyptian military intelligence chief Gen. Mohamed al-Assad entered the scene Sunday, Nov. 11 to try his hand at brokering yet another truce. He has his work cut out - not just to bring the Gaza government and Israel together, but also to line up the rival factions of Gaza in concurrence.
The Egyptian general knows from past experience that the best he can achieve is a tacit, fragile truce to which Hamas and Israel acquiesce silently on the principle of reciprocity: both sides must hold their fire and if the Palestinian go back to violence, the IDF will hit back.
Similar arrangements have rarely held up in the past beyond a few weeks at most. But this time, new elements have crept in. Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh and his government, who until now stood in the wings of military activity, decided Sunday to pledge solidarity with the Palestinian missile jihad against Israel.
After all, the Islamist Hamas movement is dedicated by its charter to Israel’s destruction.
The view in Washington, which is involved in the chase for a truce, is that Haniyeh’s action promises that any ceasefire will be short-lived, measured in days rather than weeks. Gaza’s rulers are convinced they are well placed to exploit the Israeli prime minister’s irresolution as he goes into a campaign for reelection (on Jan. 22, 2013) by turning up the heat on Israel.
But Netanyahu has another kind of pressure to consider. The million-strong constituency of southern Israel may not let him get away with a temporary, fragile stoppage of the rockets that make their lives unbearable. They may make him pay for inaction at the ballot-box.
Netanyahu must also take into consideration that a major IDF operation in Gaza might risk igniting two more war fronts, should Hamas’ allies Syria and the Lebanese Hizballah come to its aid.
Regarding Syria, Israel fired a Tamuz guided missile 4 kilometers into Syria as a warning to Damascus that Israel would not tolerate ordnance from the Syrian civil war continuing to fall on Israeli Golan. It was a warning shot after a shell landed in Moshav Alonei Bashan.
debkafile’s intelligence sources reveal that Damascus send back through UNDORF peacemakers a message of reassurance that the spillover into Israel would stop. Israel was given to understand that the mortar position responsible for the stray shell landing in the moshav had been silenced. Our military sources note that the battery may have been silenced but it was not pulled back. In fact it remains in the same position as before. Therefore, it stands ready to fire in the event of a decision in Damascus to resume firing shells into Israel. Netanyahu is keeping a weather eye on that sector, as well as the Gaza front.

Hezbollah: no one should get the illusion that any authority that contradicts the resistance's policies could come to power in Lebanon.”
Naharnet/Hizbullah MP Mohammed Raad said his party was preparing for the post-Ayoub stage after it succeeded in flying the drone over Israel last month, the National News Agency reported Monday.
“The Islamic resistance is preparing for the post-Ayoub stage and let the Zionist enemy know that we won’t allow any wrongdoings,” said Raad during a ceremony on the occasion of the resistance’s Martyrs Day in the southern town of Tfahta. Israel's air force shot down the unarmed drone over the Negev desert on Oct. 6 after it entered the country's airspace from the Mediterranean Sea.
Several days later, Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah announced his movement had sent the drone, saying the aircraft was Iranian-built and assembled in Lebanon.
"It overflew sensitive and important installations for dozens of kilometres until the enemy spotted it near (the nuclear site) Dimona," he said, without identifying the installations.
Iran also insisted that it had obtained images of sensitive areas of Israel, despite denial by the Jewish state.
“We calculate thoroughly and within a strategy every single step we make to reach the required goal at the appropriate time and place,” said Raad.
Addressing the March 14 opposition alliance that has been calling for the resignation of the government, the Hizbullah lawmaker said: “We are not in conflict with anyone over power but no one should get the illusion that any authority that contradicts the resistance's policies could come to power in Lebanon.”

Amin Gemayel Rejects Dialogue 'Divorce'
Naharnet/Phalange party leader Amin Gemayel said Monday that he supports dialogue with his foes in the March 8 coalition majority and rejects divorce.”
In an interview with the Kuwaiti AnNahar newspaper, Gemayel said: “We are with dialogue and against divorce.”
“Any politician in Lebanon or anyone else would make the biggest mistake if he adopts a path that goes contrary to dialogue,” he said when asked about the March 14 opposition’s announcement that it would boycott the national dialogue if the government doesn't resign.
“But the type of dialogue and its timing is something else,” the Phalange leader told his interviewer, denying an official March 14 statement about the boycott of the all-party talks.
“We hold onto the last statement (issued by opposition leaders) which we shared in drafting,” he stressed.
A political crisis erupted in the country after the March 14 alliance called for the resignation of Prime Minister Najib Miqati's government in the aftermath of Internal Security Forces Intelligence Bureau chief Wissam al-Hasan's assassination in car bomb blast on Oct. 19.
Several opposition leaders have also announced that they would not sit at the dialogue table with Hizbullah and before the resignation of the cabinet.
Al-Hasan's killing proved that “there is neither a satisfactory government nor (security) agencies that provide protection,” Gemayel said.
“It is difficult to think about alternatives before the resignation of the cabinet,” he said. Yet he expressed belief that the best solution would be a salvation government.
A national unity or technocrat cabinet would be a bad choice, he added.

Salafist cleric Sheikh Ahmed al-Asir's Bodyguard Killed, Hizbullah Official Wounded in Sidon Gunfight
Naharnet /Three people were killed and at least four others were wounded on Sunday in an armed clash between supporters of Hizbullah and Salafist cleric Sheikh Ahmed al-Asir in the Taamir Ain al-Hilweh neighborhood in the southern city of Sidon, state-run National News Agency reported.
Among the dead was one of Asir's bodyguards whom NNA identified by his nickname Lobnan al-Ezz.
The clash also killed Lebanese national Ali Samhoun and Egyptian citizen Ali al-Sharaband, according to NNA.
Hizbullah's official in Sidon Sheikh Zeid al-Daher and his bodyguard who belongs to al-Dirani family were also wounded in the gunfight, NNA said.
"Two people were killed and seven injured in clashes between supporters of Sheikh Ahmed al-Asir and Hizbullah near a Palestinian refugee camp in Sidon. One of the injured was a representative for Hizbullah for the area," a security official told Agence France Presse on condition of anonymity.
Later on Sunday, al-Jadeed television reported that the Taamir Ain al-Hilweh neighborhood was witnessing a cautious calm amid a heavy deployment by army troops.
In the wake of the clash, Prime Minister Najib Miqati asked Interior Minister Marwan Charbel convene an emergency meeting for the South's security council.
Afterwards, Miqati said he had requested the army and security agencies take prompt measures to bring the situation under control and arrest those behind the violence.
"We call on everyone to remain calm and execute restraint at this critical and delicate juncture," said the premier.
On Friday, Asir gave a 48-hour deadline to remove all the pictures and banners in Sidon that “contain slogans supportive of Hizbullah and its allies who back the Syrian-Iranian scheme,” AFP quoted the Salafist cleric as saying.
“Hizbullah on Sunday removed the pictures and banners from the city, escorted by the Lebanese army, but Asir supporters entered the Taamir Ain al-Hilweh neighborhood near the Ain al-Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp in Sidon, tearing up a poster of Hizbullah Secretary-General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah and sparking a fight with sticks that soon erupted into gunfire,” AFP reported.

Sheikh Abbas Zgheib: No Decision Taken by Families of Abducted Pilgrims to Rally in Front of Syria, Iran Embassies
Naharnet/The key to resolving the abduction of the Lebanese pilgrims in Syria lies in Turkey's hands, not Syria and Iran, reported the pan-Arab daily Asharq al-Awsat on Sunday.
Sheikh Abbas Zgheib, who has been tasked by the Higher Islamic Shiite Council to follow up the case, told the daily: “The families of the pilgrims have not yet taken the decision to stage a protest in front of the Syrian and Iranian Embassies in Beirut.”
The pilgrims had recently requested that their families hold the rallies in front of the embassies.
“Such a protest will not benefit the cause because Damascus and Tehran do not play an influential role in the case,” he explained.
“Only Turkey plays an influential role in the affair,” he stressed.
“If the Syrian opposition believes that Iran is taking part in the Syrian crisis, then how can an enemy interfere in the case of the pilgrims?” Zgheib asked.
“This is not a reasonable request and if the families do comply with it, then they will be doing so for emotional reasons, not sound ones,” he added.
He therefore urged Turkey to resolve this issue “in order to maintain normal ties with Lebanon.”
The nine Lebanese Shiite pilgrims abducted in Syria had telephoned their families, urging them to demonstrate in front of the Iranian and Syrian embassies in Beirut, media reports said on Friday.
“I talked to (abductee) Ali Zgheib and everyone (of the abductees) spoke with his family and they said they're in good health,” Awad Ibrahim -- who was freed in September after being kidnapped with the group in May -- told LBCI television.
“The families were surprised at 5:30 p.m. when they received phone calls from their relatives,” MTV reported, adding that “each conversation lasted two hours and at the end of the conversation the abductees asked their families to demonstrate outside the Iranian and Syrian embassies.”
The TV network quoted the families as saying that the objective behind such protests is to push for the expulsion of Syrian Ambassador Ali Abdul Karim Ali “because he has not yet defected” from the regime and to condemn Tehran's policies in Syria “where the Revolutionary Guard is taking part in repressing the protests.”
Eleven Lebanese Shiite pilgrims were kidnapped by an armed group calling itself the Northern Storm Brigade in the Aleppo town of Aazaz on May 22 as they were returning home from a pilgrimage in Iran.
One abductee was released in August in what his captors said was a “goodwill” gesture, while Ibrahim was released in September.
The kidnappers have repeatedly linked the release of the Lebanese captives to Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, a close ally of the Syrian regime, apologizing over his stances on the Syrian revolt.

Hezbollah = terrorism
By JPOST EDITORIAL 11/11/2012
Its about time Europe takes seriously the threat that Hezbollah represents.
Could it be that the European Union is finally on its way to recognizing Hezbollah as a terrorist organization? That appeared to be the message coming from an Austrian diplomat who spoke with The Jerusalem Post’s European correspondent Benjamin Weinthal over the weekend.
Amazingly, the Europeans have yet to do so. All we can say is, “Better late than never.”
Already in 1995, well before 9/11 attacks revealed the murderous potential of radical Islamist groups, the US classified Hezbollah as a terrorist organization. That decision followed shortly after the July 1994 bombing of the AMIA Jewish community center in Buenos Aires that left 85 dead and more than 300 wounded. Hezbollah is suspected of working in coordination with Iran to carry out that attack.
This past July, Hezbollah marked the 18th anniversary of the AMIA massacre by carrying out a suicide bombing in Burgas, Bulgaria. The explosion killed five Israelis as well as their Bulgarian bus driver and wounded 32 Israelis.
In the time between the AMIA and Burgas attacks, Hezbollah has been involved in numerous acts of terrorism both at home in Lebanon – the 2005 assassination of former prime minister Rafik Hariri comes to mind – and abroad.
In August of this year, the US sanctioned Hezbollah for supporting Syrian President Bashar Assad’s regime. David Cohen, the United States Department of Treasury’s under secretary for Terrorism and financial intelligence, told Al- Arabiya television that the latest action was “designed principally to expose the activity of Hezbollah in providing operational, logistical, and other sorts of support to the Syrian government in its repression of the Syrian people.”
A more thorough account of Hezbollah’s terrorist activities since its foundation in 1982 can be found in a 42-page paper titled “Timeline of Terror: A Concise History of Hezbollah Atrocities” produced by the British Henry Jackson Society, one of several pro-democracy think tanks and organizations lobbying the EU to ban Hezbollah.
Yet besides the Netherlands, which recognized Hezbollah as a terrorist organization a few years ago, and Britain, which since 2001 makes a distinction between Hezbollah’s political wing – which the UK does not consider a terrorist organization – and its military wing – which the UK does consider terrorist – no other European country has followed the US’s – and Canada’s – lead.
As a result, Hezbollah is free to operate in Europe raising money, recruiting supporters and plotting terrorist attacks.
Of all places, it is Germany that has become a center for Hezbollah’s rabidly anti-Semitic, anti-Zionist activities, with 950 members and supporters last year, up from 900 in 2010, according to an annual report put out by Germany’s domestic intelligence agency.
In August 2009, for instance, Alexander Ritzmann, a senior fellow at the Brussels-based European Foundation for Democracy, found that a German charity for Lebanese orphans was really a front organization raising money for Hezbollah suicide bombers. Dozens of other similar “charities” continue to operate freely on European soil.
And in many cases donations to these charities are tax deductible, which means Germany and other European states are subsidizing a terrorist organization.
Ritzmann and others also suspect that the Hezbollah maintains trained military operatives throughout Europe who act as “sleeper cells” that can become active when called upon.
A European blacklist would undoubtedly have an adverse effect on Hezbollah. Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollah’s leader, admitted that such a ban “would dry up the sources of finance” and “end moral, political and material support” for the terrorist organization.
In contrast, refraining from issuing such a ban would allow the Hezbollah to continue to operate freely on European soil. Just last month, White House counter-terrorism chief John O. Brennan said that European failure to join the US in designating Hezbollah a terrorist organization is undermining international counter-terrorism efforts. “Let me be clear,” Brennan said in a speech in Dublin, European resistance “makes it harder to defend our countries and protect our citizens.”
Its about time Europe takes seriously the threat that Hezbollah represents.

Lebanese activists to enter politics
Nadine Elali/Now Lebanon
November 11, 2012
Many Lebanese believe that the continuous rounds of civil strife in the country follow directly from the division of the political sphere by the two main rival political camps, March 8 and March 14. So some activists have decided to enter politics and pose an alternative in the 2013 elections.
During the Cedar Revolution in 2005 that ousted the Syrian political and military apparatuses from Lebanon, Lebanese banded together to push for a functioning state. But since then, says former MP Mosbah al-Ahdad, nothing has been achieved. Ahdab – who launched the Civil Moderation Gathering in Tripoli earlier this year, a movement calling for more dialogue among the different political factions – says that back in 2005, both the March 8 and March 14 coalitions agreed on the need to build a state. But neither of the camps had a clear vision or strategy, and there was mismanagement on both sides.
“Now there is a vacuum,” he said, “and people have begun to lose hope in the current leadership.”
The situation became more divided following the bomb blast last month in Beirut’s Ashrafieh district that killed March 14 ally and ISF General Wissam al-Hassan. Many have blamed Syria and its March 8 allies for the death.
In response, activists organized a “White March” on October 25 to honor those who have been killed and wounded as a result of the political struggle in Lebanon, and to denounce the country’s current political paralysis. Participants held banners that said “Neither 8 nor 14” and told NOW Lebanon that “it was time for an alternative.”
Nadine Moawad, a women’s rights activist and one of the main organizers of the march, told NOW that the groups and individuals who participated are all active in Lebanon’s civil society community for their efforts to reform and have over time become convinced of the need to take political action to challenge a system they have not been able to change.
Moawad is also one of the activists behind the new political movement “Take Back Parliament,” which plans to run candidates who call for secularism and socio-economic justice in the 2013 elections. The initiative has adopted a “zero-budget” strategy for the campaign and is crowdsourcing the issues the candidates will run on.
Journalist and political activist Malik Mroue agrees that a large number of Lebanese have become fed up with the established political system and are yearning for one that is based on merit. However, he feels the calls for an alternative to March 8 and March 14 are politically “naïve,” because, he believes, there are fundamental differences between the two coalitions. “March 14 at least do keep on saying that they want a proper government and the rule of law while March 8 doesn’t,” says Mroue.
Mroue is among a group of around 30 people who announced a year ago the foundation of the Lebanese Civil Coalition, which also plans to have candidates run in the upcoming elections. The coalition claims to be close to March 14 but a “little more vigorous” and intends to join forces with other civil society groups that call for “the transition into a state” but that are also capable of coming up with ways to achieve it. “Part of the coalition’s aim is for these NGOs to start having teeth and to come forward with a program as opposed to just having a set of demands,” he said.
Another group that wants change but does not want to do away completely with March 8 and March 14 is Badeel 2013. “We are not saying we want to cancel one or the other; both camps have a right to exist. We’re simply saying we want to create a space within the political sphere in Lebanon for people like us who have different ideas and a different approach, and simply believe in democracy,” says Rima Majed of Badeel. Members of Badeel have agreed on a basic political platform that they think is a viable and acceptable alternative that they can adopt in Lebanon: a secular, democratic state that adopts socio-economic reforms. “We at some point might propose things that are neither March 8 nor March 14, and at other points propose something that is March 8 or March 14. We are not running for elections to make a statement, but to undergo a political battle and propose an alternative for the country,” said Majed.

March 14's Michel Khoury Elected Head of Tripoli Bar Association
Naharnet/The March 14-backed list on Sunday won the by-election of the Tripoli Bar Association which was held to fill two vacant posts, one of them the head of the association, state-run National News Agency reported. March 14 candidate Michel Khoury was elected as the new president of the bar association, while his comrade Saadi Qalawoun was elected as a member, NNA said.
The victorious list received 200 more votes than the list backed by the March 8 forces and comprised of Butros Faddoul for president and Abdul Aziz Arab for the membership of the council.
Khoury will replace Bassam al-Dayeh whose mandate has expired.

Cleric Ahmed al-Khatib Elected Head of New Opposition Bloc as Syria Dissidents Strike Unity Deal
Naharnet/Syrian opposition factions which agreed on Sunday in Qatar to form a new coalition to fight President Bashar Assad have elected cleric Ahmed al-Khatib to head the bloc, dissidents said.
Khatib, a moderate originally from Damascus who quit Syria three months ago, will lead the National Coalition of Forces of the Syrian Revolution and Opposition, formed after the Syrian National Council agreed to the new group.
Prominent dissident Riad Seif, who had tabled an initiative to unite the opposition, and female opponent Suhair al-Atassi, were elected as two vice presidents of the coalition.
The SNC had come under intense Arab and Western pressure to accept the unity plan amid growing frustration among other dissident groups.
The inked agreement stipulates that the bloc will be open to all factions, and will form a provisional government after gaining international recognition.
It will also support the unification of the revolutionary military councils, and will work for the fall of the regime and to dismantle the security organs
Former Syrian Prime Minister Riad Hijab who defected in August hailed the agreement as "an advanced step towards toppling the regime."
Participants in marathon talks in Qatar said the latest were centered on details of a planned new government-in-waiting, but that the Syrian National Council had now heeded Arab and Western calls to join a new, wider coalition.
Reservations in SNC ranks about what many members saw as a move to sideline it had prompted repeated delays in the Doha talks and mounting frustration among other dissident groups and the opposition's Arab and Western supporters.
But after negotiations that ran into the early hours of Sunday and resumed in the afternoon, opposition officials said a deal on forming a National Coalition of opposition forces had finally been done.
"We signed a 12-point agreement to establish a coalition," said leading dissident Riad Seif, who drew up the U.S.-backed reform proposals on which Sunday's agreement was based.
Another prominent opposition figure, Haitham al-Maleh, said a formal signing ceremony would held at 1700 GMT.
In a copy of the document obtained by Agence France Presse, the parties "agree to work for the fall of the regime and of all its symbols and pillars," and rule out any dialogue with the regime.
They agree to unify the fighting forces under a supreme military council and to set up a national judicial commission for rebel-held areas.
A provisional government would be formed after the coalition gains international recognition, and a transitional government formed after the regime has fallen.
The deal came after the SNC, which had formerly been seen as the main representative of the opposition, heeded Arab and Western pressure to agree to a new structure embracing groups that had been unwilling to join its ranks.
Former prime minister Riad Hijab, who fled to neighboring Jordan in August in the highest-ranking defection from Assad's government, hailed the agreement as "an advanced step towards toppling the regime."
There had been mounting diplomatic pressure on the opposition for an overhaul amid U.S.-led accusations the SNC had lost touch with civilian activists and rebels inside Syria and become little more than a talking shop for exiles.
Below are the main points of the unity deal inked in Doha:
- The Syrian National Council (SNC) and other opposition factions present at the Doha meeting agreed to form a "National Coalition of Forces of the Syrian Revolution and Opposition," open to all factions, with the statutes of the coalition defining the representation of each of its components.
- The parties agree to work for the fall of the regime and of all its symbols and pillars, and to dismantle the security organs by prosecuting all those implicated in crimes against Syrians.
- The coalition is committed not to take part in any dialogue or negotiations with the regime.
- The coalition has its statutes, to be signed after discussions and adopted.
- The coalition supports the unification of the revolutionary military councils under the leadership of a supreme military council.
- It has a national judicial commission... and technical and specialized commissions.
- It will form a provisional government after gaining international recognition.
- It will call a national general congress once the regime falls.
- The coalition and the provisional government will be dissolved by the coalition after the national general congress and the formation of a transitional government.
- This accord will not come into force until it has been ratified by the relevant bodies of each of the contracting parties.
- The Arab ministerial committee on Syria will submit this accord to the Arab League general secretariat.
SourceAgence France Presse

God Does Not Need Middle Management
By Robert Ricciardelli/Converging Zone
This is going to all Popes, Apostles, Prophets, Bishops, Priests, and Pastors and any other leader who has influence over people. God relates with you directly, and does not need you to get between his relationships with others, as He desires to relate with them directly. You are called to point people to God and not to yourself or any other system or agenda. When you command that they look at you, serve you, get answers from you, you begin to minimize, dilute, and most times get in the way of their ability to hear Gods voice on their own
You are called to lead as a servant. You are called to humility. You are called to communicate that everything they need is within them for Christ Himself; the hope of glory is within them. The people you serve are not called to serve your agenda, and you are called only to serve Fathers agenda for their lives, which may not have anything to do with your agenda.
God does not need middle management as He has all the management He needs by the power and revelation of His Holy Spirit on earth. Get out of His way, and serve only in His way. All Priest-craft must go, “apostle-craft, prophet-craft, and pastor-craft included,” and they all must surrender to the Master-craft of all creation, Jesus our Lord. Ungodly hierarchy has no place in the Kingdom of God. Leaders are called to serve. The greatest of leaders becomes the servant of all.
Characteristics of Servant Leadership
“Being a leader in the church is never to be a force of personality, manipulation, or fear. It is to be a place of bringing godly influence and intention while earning that honor and respect because you truly love and care”
A servant leader is about being humble! They are never to be negative, condescending, or scheming.
A servant leader will have the willingness and enthusiasm to be encouraging and life giving to all of the people they touch.
A servant leader will recognize that life does not revolve around them, but rather on relationships. Their focus and motivation are not on their own ideas, but whatever is on the heart of God on the behalf of others. Non-servant leadership is often characterized by pride, self-absorption, self-protection, and self-interests.
A servant leader will give priority to others and value their opinions, knowing that they can have fuller view when they learn from others. They do not compare or criticize others.
A servant leader is first and foremost loyal to God, desires to serve others, and is not concerned about serving their own interests, manipulating, or seeking personal gain or control.
A servant leader desires to live in the nature of God; Love, grace, mercy, compassion, forgiveness, faithfulness, kindness, long suffering and truth.
They are people who have been transformed by Christ, with faith as the core of their being, and fueled by Christ, not self!
They are people who place the needs of others first!
They are people who have eternal values and God’s timing in mind!
They are people who place integrity ahead of ambition!
They are people who see glorifying Christ and serving Him as the measure of success!
Servant leaders will have a deep sense of purpose that comes from God, with His direction, identity, and eternal destiny in mind.
Servant leaders are meek (strength under control)! They are willing to challenge the system, ask questions, take risks, and, when necessary, they are willing to change.
Servant leaders, above all, desire to pursue their Christian formation to become excellent both in character and spirituality.
Servant leaders put down the desires of power, prestige, and possessions for the sake of service.
Servant leaders think strategically, see the big picture, then see all possible options to serve others and glorify the Lord.
Servant leaders do not seek power and or influence; rather, they are revolutionaries showing that the world’s ways are ineffective and unfruitful.
Servant leaders know how to lead themselves and others in order to bring the church deeper into the heart of God so to worship and glorify Him!
Servant leaders are not willing to compromise truth just to be more effective!
Servant leaders model the way, to get others to follow Christ and not themselves, empowering others to grow spiritually as the Lord leads them.
Servant leaders do not compare or judge one another. They do not seek to become what they are not, nor cause division, strife, or conflict.
Servant leaders do not leave conflict unresolved or festering. They are proactive in avoiding potential problems in by keeping the vision of Christ on the forefront and seeking how all can work together more efficiently in building His Kingdom.
Servant leaders will include the team and wise counsel in all major decisions and strategic planning for the ministry.
Servant leaders promote the atmosphere of unity as well as diversity. They are also willing and able to deal with disunity and divisions before they can poison the community culture.
Servant leaders remain vulnerable and willing to be challenged.
Servant leaders never micromanage or manipulate others; rather, they exercise their power in constructive ways to serve others and empower them to be more effective and character-driven.
Servant leadership is a team approach! The team knows that working together means giving without receiving, as well as growing spiritually, both personally and corporately!
Servant leaders put people before any organizational vision or purpose statement.
Servant leaders always tell the truth, stand for biblical values, and work to change what is not healthy in the church or community.
Servant leaders know that harmony, unity, trust, and commitment come from a collaborating, encouraging, and safe authentic environment.
Servant leaders realize they will face criticism, forfeit popularity, and be vulnerable to public and private rebuke and gossip. However, they stand strong, because they know they do not stand alone. Christ is with them.
Servant leaders are willing to listen to everyone, learn from everyone, and not just the ones in power or ones who have the influence!
Servant leaders listen; they never brag or boast, except about what Christ is doing.
Servant leaders are extremely important! All church leaders need to be servant leaders, as they will set the tone for a community of servants.
Servant leaders know that the effectiveness of their empowerment, training, and supervising of the team will determine the effectiveness of the ministry and church.
Servant leaders uphold and promote a vision that motivates, encourages, and inspires. They encourage cooperative objectives that promote Kingdom agendas that are never exclusive.
Servant leaders know that Jesus walked the earth as a revolutionary. He did not conform to any religious or world system. Spirit led leaders deliver their message with tender confidence, controlled power, and with passionate truth.
Servant leaders are never prideful and do not take themselves too seriously! They will never have inflated feelings about their importance or thrive on attention and admiration!
Begin to reflect on how you are leading. Begin to reflect on whom you are following. Change can happen, but it is going to take each of us doing what is right. Do not follow leaders who manipulate and embellish, otherwise you are promoting their ways, and their systems. The systems of man are not the Kingdom of God, and there is no greater thing to pursue than the Kingdom of God and the righteousness of our God in Christ. Begin to realize who you are as a son and daughter of the Most High God, and pursue Him. If you must follow a leader, follow those who have chosen to follow Christ, His nature, His likeness, and His service to mankind.
To all of the leaders who have desired to have followers to themselves and their agenda, I am asking you to lay it all down. You are called to lead by serving. You are called to lead people to the Divine One and not yourself. Regardless of what it costs in finance, popularity, or even influence, get righteous before your God. Do not let fear, competition, or any other ungodly emotion drive you to poor choices. Move in faith like never before, and watch God give you influence, joy, and peace that you never will realize in your present leadership trajectory. Do all things to the glory of God in bringing the Kingdom of God on earth as it is in heaven.