Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources/August 03/13

Two Rockets Hit Baabda Area, One near Presidential Palace
Naharnet /..Two rockets fell in the Baabda area on Thursday evening, one of them near the presidential palace, in the third such incident in less than two months. “A rocket fell near the (army's) Command and Staff College in al-Rayhaniyeh as another rocket hit the garden of Elham Freiha's house, and both were fired from al-Mwanseh area in Dhour Aramoun,” state-run National News Agency reported. MTV said the rockets were fired from “a barren area in Souk al-Gharb” near Aley. A security source told MTV the attack caused no casualties among military personnel or civilians.“One of the rockets fell around 50 meters away from the defense ministry” in Fayyadiyeh, a suburb of Beirut, MTV reported. Al-Jadeed television said a rocket fell around 100 meters away from the presidential palace as Agence France Presse said it landed around 100 meters away from the palace's back entrance. “The house of the army's intelligence director (Brig. Gen. Edmond Fadel) is close to the house of the Freiha family where one of the rockets landed,” al-Jadeed said. MTV said one of the rockets landed near the house of the Saudi ambassador but failed to explode. Earlier in the day, Lebanon marked the 68th Army Day, with President Michel Suleiman saying it was time for the Lebanese state and the army to be the sole decision-makers on the use of the nation's capabilities. “It has become urgent to approve a defense strategy after the resistance's arms went beyond Lebanon's borders,” Suleiman said during a ceremony marking anniversary of the Lebanese army’s founding, in an allusion to Hizbullah’s military intervention in Syria. On June 21, two rocket launch pads were found in the Kesrouan area of Ballouneh after a rocket exploded in the Baabda town of Araya. The second rocket failed to launch. Sources told Naharnet back then that the relevant security and military authorities and the Presidential Guard were scouring the area, without ruling out that the presidential palace could have been the target of the rocket. In May, two rockets slammed into the Hizbullah stronghold of Beirut's southern suburbs, wounding four people.

Sayyed Nasrallah: We, the Twelver Shia, Won’t Abandon Palestine
Batoul Wehbe /AlManar
Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah said on Friday that the demise of Israel is a national interest, stressing that the “Shiite” Hezbollah will continue to bear its responsibilities towards the Palestinian cause and Al-Quds. In a live speech before crowds marking the International Al-Quds Day in Dahiyeh, Sayyed Nasrallah paid tribute to late Imam Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini who designated the last Friday in the holy month of Ramadan as Al-Quds Day, and said that people are in critical need to commemorate this day.
“On the seventh of August 1979, meaning few months from the victory of the Islamic Revolution in Iran, Imam Khomeini issued a statement calling on all vulnerable peoples in the world to consider as Al-Quds Day the last Friday of the month of Ramadan, and this call was confirmed by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei,” Sayyed Nasrallah said. “The goal of this call was to remind Muslims and the world of the Palestinian cause and benefit from this occasion to mobilize energies in order to save Al-Quds and Palestine from the hands of the Zionists and to highlight what Palestine and its people are suffering from starvation, Judaization and siege,” He continued.
On the second of August 2013, we desperately need to commemorate the occasion, Sayyed Nasrallah said, pointing out that “Palestine which we are talking about is the whole of Palestine from the sea to the river, which should return fully to its people no one of the world's Sheikh or Sayyed or Prince nor King or President or a government to give up or abandon one grain of sand from the soil of Palestine, or a drop of its water, oil, or a piece of its land and does not have a mandate to do so.”
Demise of Israel a National Interest
“Imam Khomeini had described Israel accurately when he called it a cancerous tumor, and it is really a tumor that kills, the only solution is to eradicate it without giving it any opportunity or surrender and eradicate,” He said, emphasizing that “Israel represents a constant and enormous threat not only on Palestine and the Palestinians, this is an illusion and misinformation and ignorance. Israel is a threat to all peoples and countries of the region, with its security and sovereignty and he who deny this is an arrogant.”
“Some might think that the demise of Israel is a Palestinian interest, it’s rather a national interest of each country of the region, and it is a threat to Jordan, Egypt, Syria, and Lebanon, thus the disappearance of Israel is a national Jordanian, Syrian, Egyptian and Lebanese interest,” He said.
The S.G. indicated that anyone who faces and resists the Zionist project anywhere in our region and the world is not only defending Palestine but also defending his homeland, his people and his own dignity and the future of his grandchildren and children, pointing out that the responsibility is comprehensive for every Palestinian and every Arab, Muslim, and Christian in the world because it’s a rightful cause, and the size of the liability may vary from people to another and from country to country, but it is the responsibility of the Palestinian people in the first hand.”
“Defending Al-Quds is the responsibility of everybody, the least responsibility we all bear and which we will be asked for in the Day of Judgment is to not recognize the Zionist entity and Israel’s legitimacy,” he said.
New Enemies Invented to Forget the Real Enemy
Unfortunately, Sayyed Nasrallah continued, some in the Arab world who are backed by the states and governments of the West are blocking and preventing this priority and are pushing peoples to endorse other priorities and are inventing new wars. “First they spoke of the communist expansion and Palestine was forgotten and they spent billions for that purpose. Then they invented the Iranian or Persian expansion and a war that cost billions was waged against Iran, all their military capabilities were mobilized against this 'enemy'. Had they spent only one tenth on Palestine, it would have been liberated.”
Conflicts Political, Not Sectarian
They then invented an enemy calling it the “Shiite expansion” and said the priority is confronting the Shiite threat because it poses a greater threat to the nation than the Zionist scheme, Sayyed Nasrallah said, warning that the sectarian strife weapon is the most destructive weapon in the region.
His Eminence said that what’s worse is that they gave some local conflicts a sectarian nature.
Sayyed Nasrallah stressed that all people who sponsor the Takfiri trend across the Islamic world and push them to the battlefields and to committing murders bear the primary responsibility of destruction and serve the Zionist entity. “Is not it time for peoples to recognize that there is who aims at demolishing the region with its peoples and armies and split it to Christians, Sunnites, Shiites, Druze, Ismaeli, Persians and Kurds?” His eminence wondered. “Unfortunately, we have no decision to point at the states that sponsor this destructive project which is the most dangerous project in the region.”
Sayyed Nasrallah considered that the conflict in Egypt is political, not sectarian, noting that in Libya and Yemen, there is an enormous political conflict. But in the countries of diversity, the political conflict become sectarian; this is what is being done.
Sayyed Nasrallah called on resolving the conflicts in each country via political dialogue and halting the bleeding starting from Syria, Somalia, Pakistan, Afghanistan and ending in Libya, because wherever these Takfiri groups exist, there will be calamities. “Hezbollah has always called on looking for the common things and postponing or organizing the discords, and we are in need of this methodology because some discords shake the economy and security, yet nowadays the discords have become destructive,” Sayyed Nasrallah pointed out. “There are some from the other trend who opened fire on all the so-called Islamic trend,” he said, wondering, “Whom does this serve? Where will this enormous anarchy lead? Efforts must be united to defeat this ripping, sabotage project for the sake of the entire nation.”
“We are committed to our constants and priorities that make our enemies antagonize us and sometimes our friends admonish, yet understand us.”
We, the Shiites, Won't Abandon Palestine
“Hezbollah will keep beside Palestine and the Palestinians, and we are after strong relations with all the Palestinian factions despite our differences regarding some Palestinian and Syrian issues. Al-Quds must unite us regardless of any jurisprudential, political, national, religious or ideological dispute,” the S.G. said.
The Hezbollah leader thanked Iran and the Syrian Arab Republic for all what they provided for Palestine, al-Quds, and the resistance factions in Palestine and Syria.
“Hezbollah will keep the vigilant and alert resistance to protect Lebanon and its people and to confront the enemy’s greediness alongside with the Lebanese National army that we greet its leadership, officers, soldiers, and martyrs. We also have to mention Sayyed Moussa Sader who guided us to this right path, asking the new Libyan authorities to tackle this serious issue, with a sense of responsibility.”
“Nowadays, the sectarian incitement is being broadcast through media outlets, satellite channels, websites and social networks against the Shiites, and those who are backing and funding this trend are themselves backing some Shiites to carry out the same missions so that we witness the massacres and car bombs, especially in Iraq. This language was activated after the Syrian crisis so that the Shiites forget Palestine and start to hate Palestine and the Palestinians. Some forces want the Shiites to get out of the Arab-Israeli conflict, meaning that Iran has to get out of this conflict. They want us to reach this conclusion.”
Sayyed Nasrallah addressed the U.S., Zionist Entity, UK and all their tools, saying: On al-Quds Day, which is the last Friday of Holy Ramadan, we the twelver Shiites will not abandon Palestine, the Palestinian people and sanctities.”
“Hezbollah, the Islamic Shiite party, will not abandon Palestine, al-Quds, and the holy sites of the nation. We were born and arisen on bearing the responsibility of defending Palestine and Al-Quds. We - the Shiites- won't abandon this cause never ever. Describe us as rejectionists, describe us as terrorists, describe us as criminals, say whatever you want and keep killing us at every front, at the door of every mosque, we the Shiites of Ali bin Abi Taleb will not abandon Palestine,” Sayyed Nasrallah ended up saying.
 

Hezbollah leader makes rare public appearance in Beirut
August 02, 2013 /By Dana Khraiche/The Daily Star
BEIRUT: Hezbollah’s Chief Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah dismissed Friday in a rare public appearance in Beirut claims of a “Shiite expansion” in the region as a ploy to divert attention from Israel’s “Zionist project,” warning that the idea was serving to fuel domestic political disputes. Nasrallah, who spoke at the Sayyed al-Shuadaa Complex in Beirut’s southern suburb to commemorate Quds Day, also held responsible parties financing Takfiri groups fighting in different countries for the violence that came in their wake.
"There are those in the Arab world backed by the U.S. who oppose prioritizing the demise of Israel and push nations toward another priority by inventing reasons for another war against what they call the Shiite expansion,” said Nasrallah. “They [Gulf countries] spend millions of their money and launch television channels to promote this [so-called] Shiite expansion,” he added.
“They invented a new enemy and convinced Arab countries that the Shiite expansion is more dangerous than Israel and its Zionist project in the region,” Nasrallah, who described Israel as “cancerous gland” that needed to be “excised,” said.The Hezbollah leader, who was greeted with ecstatic cheers from the audience in the southern suburb of Beirut, spoke on a podium for the annual speech. Nasrallah has rarely attended public events since the July-August 2006 war between Lebanon and Israel, making his speeches via televised broadcasts instead. His last public appearance was in September 2012.
The priority for the region, Nasrallah said, should be directed toward the struggle against Israel which is occupying Palestinian and Arab territories, adding that the demise of the Jewish State was in the interest of Lebanon and the whole region. He also said diverse societies in the region were facing increasing sectarian divisions that only served to splinter the Middle East.
“What is worse is that some have given local political disputes a sectarian dimension ... particularly in countries that enjoy diversity such as in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Bahrain,” he said. “Isn’t it time for the Arab nations to recognize that there is someone attempting to destroy their countries, armies, heritage and people?” Nasrallah asked, saying it was time for Arab states to name and shame countries backing such a “spiteful plan.”
He also slammed countries that support and finance radical groups. “Everyone who supports Takfiri groups militarily, financially, through the media and incites them to fight in battle fields is responsible for the destruction and bloodshed and is doing Israel a big favor,” he said.
Nasrallah has justified his party’s involvement in Syria by arguing Takfiri groups hold a major sway in the ranks of rebels seeking the ouster of President Bashar Assad and represent a threat to Lebanon.
He reiterated that Hezbollah had launched a pre-emptive war in Syria in order to protect the resistance group and prevent Takfiris from posing a threat to Lebanon.
Nasrallah, who is backed by Iran, also said attacks against Shiites in various countries aimed at removing the Islamic Republic from the regional equation in terms of the conflict with Israel.
Addressing the U.S., Israel and Britain, Nasrallah said: “As Shiites of Ali Bin Abi Taleb, we will never abandon Palestine, its people or its sanctities.”
He also urged Arab countries to launch internal political dialogue in order to halt “the bloodshed” in the region and revitalize support to the Palestinian cause.
“In Hezbollah, we are searching for commonalities [with other parties] in Lebanon and abroad and we delay and manage disputes, some of which go beyond harming the economy and security to the point of destruction,” he said. Nasrallah also called on Muslims and Arabs to unify efforts and defeat Israeli designs in the region.
“Hezbollah affirms our commitment to these principles and priorities that sometimes creates feuds for us,” he said. “We will remain committed to the Palestinian cause and its people and we are keen on good relations with all Palestinian factions, despite disputes we may have over events in Syria and sometimes Palestine,” Nasrallah added. In Lebanon, Nasrallah said his group would face alongside the Army any aggression against the country.
“In Hezbollah, the resistance remains alert and ready to protect Lebanon and our people and face the enemy’s dangers alongside the Lebanese Army,” he said.

Army: Investigations Ongoing to Determine who Fired Baabda Rockets
Naharnet/The army announced on Friday that two 107 mm rockets were fired in the Baabda area on Thursday. The Army Command said in a statement: “Investigations are ongoing to determine the sources of the fire and uncover the perpetrators.” One of the rockets landed in the garden of the Freiha villa that is located near the Officers' Club. The second rocket landed near the Khashoqji castle in al-Yarzeh. No one was injured in the incident. The Freiha villa is located 100 meters from the secondary entrance of the Baabda presidential palace. There were reports that a third rocket was fired in the attack, but it has not been confirmed. Media reports said that it hit an area between Baabda and Bshamoun. The attack came on the same day that President Michel Suleiman gave a speech on the occasion of Army Day in which he criticized Hizbullah's involvement in the Syrian war in support of President Bashar Assad's forces. In June, a Grad rocket fired from Ballouneh in Kesrouan district exploded after it hit an electricity line in the Monteverde valley.
The army found a second rocket at the launch site. In May, two rockets hit Beirut's southern suburbs shortly after Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah made a speech defending his party's fighting in Syria.

Suleiman: Rocket 'Messages' Can Not Change Our National Principles
Naharnet/President Michel Suleiman asserted on Friday that recurrent messages through anonymous rocket attacks on different areas in Lebanon will not change the national principles or convictions.
“No matter who the perpetrators behind the rocket attacks are and no matter what objective they have, these messages will not change our convictions,” said Suleiman in a statement released by the presidential palace.
He stressed that the “national principles stem from genuine belief in the nation's interest to distance the country from regional repercussions and to guarantee stability and unity among the Lebanese through commitment to the Baabda declaration.” Two 107 mm rockets were fired on Thursday in the Baabda area, where the presidential palace is located, and investigations are ongoing to determine the perpetrators.
One of the rockets landed in the garden of the Freiha villa that is situated near the Officers' Club, while the second rocket landed near the Khashoqji castle in al-Yarzeh. No injuries were reported. In June, a Grad rocket fired from Ballouneh in Kesrouan district exploded after it hit an electricity line in the Monteverde valley. The army found a second rocket at the launch site. In May, two rockets hit Beirut's southern suburbs shortly after Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah made a speech defending his party's fighting in Syria.
 

1 Dead, 3 Hurt as Fireworks Spark Blaze near Martyrs Square
Naharnet/One person was killed and three others were injured on Thursday in a major blaze triggered by fireworks at Beirut's Martyrs Square near the headquarters of An Nahar newspaper, state-run National News Agency reported. Earlier, a loud blast was heard during a live report broadcast by OTV from the location and the camera captured the scene of several cars that went up in flames at a parking lot. Firefighting vehicles quickly scrambled to the scene from the nearby headquarters of the Beirut Fire Department and started dousing the flames. Less than an hour before the incident, a mass popular rally was held at Martyrs Square in celebration of the 68th Army Day. It was not immediately clear, however, if the fireworks were linked to the event. Later on Thursday, the National News Agency said several people were injured when the fireworks they brought to celebrate Army Day accidentally exploded. It described the group's move as a “personal initiative” that was not linked to the organizers of the Martyrs Square's rally. Source/NaharnetAgence France Presse.

Security Sources Confirm Shaker Seeking to Sell Properties to Escape
Naharnet/Singer-turned Salafist Fadel Shaker, who has gone into hiding since the clashes between Islamists and the Lebanese army in June, has put his properties up for sale, security sources said. The sources confirmed to An Nahar newspaper published on Friday that Shaker has appeared in an area near the Ain el-Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp in the South where he met with several people for the purpose of selling his properties. The sources said Shaker has informed them that he needed the money because he intended to travel abroad. The fighting between the military and Sheikh Ahmed al-Asir's supporters in the southern city of Sidon last month has left scores of casualties. Al-Asir and Shaker, who have not been seen since the end of the fighting on June 24, were charged in absentia earlier this month. The anti-Hizbullah cleric teamed up with Shaker, a onetime prominent singer-turned Salafist, when around two years ago he began agitating for the Shiite party to disarm.  Al-Asir's bodyguard was arrested at Rafik Hariri International Airport last week as he was attempting to flee Beirut to Nigeria. State Commissioner to the Military Court Judge Saqr Saqr charged Ali Abdul Wahad, a 30-year-old Palestinian, on Wednesday.

Jumblat Slams Baabda Attack: Is it a Crime for the President to Defend the Army?
Naharnet/Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat condemned on Friday the Baabda rocket attack, wondering if it was a crime for President Michel Suleiman to defend the constitution and Lebanon's “democracy and diversity despite their flaws.” He asked in a statement: “Is it a crime for the president to pinpoint the difficulties facing the army, most notably the contradiction of the presence of legitimate and illegitimate weapons in Lebanon?” “Is it a crime for the president to demand the strengthening of the army in a manner that transforms it into the sole guarantor of peace against local and external threats?” he asked. “Is it a crime for the president to renew his demand for an effective discussion of a defense strategy, especially at a time when Lebanese powers are embroiled in foreign conflicts?” continued the PSP leader. “Didn't the president previously present his vision of a defense strategy and the ways in which to employ the resistance's weapons” and limit arms possession to the army and official institutions? he wondered. “Is it a crime for the president to defend the state's authority, whose absence during the civil war paved the way for chaos that encompassed all political powers without exception?” he continued. “Is it a crime for the president to remind the public that there can be no nation without security and no sovereignty and dignity without the army?” asked Jumblat. “Is it a crime for the president to warn that the army is being made to defend itself instead of defending the country?” said the MP.
“It appears that the owners of the illegitimate arms cannot tolerate remarks that do not agree with their views, which may pave the way to a new phase in Lebanon,” he noted. “It appears that we may have to prepare ourselves for more rockets and booby-trapped gifts after the fall of Homs in Syria,” remarked Jumblat. “Is it a coincidence that Lebanon has a brave president who defends the country's independence, while Syria has a president who boasts of illusory heroics?” he asked. “Is it heroic to boast over the rubble of Syrian cities and towns?” he wondered. “We will continue to stand by the president and his brave national stances because in the end, national will and Lebanon's interest alone will be victorious,” he stressed. On Thursday, two rockets were fired in the Baabda area with one landing in the garden of the Freiha villa that is located near the Officers' Club. The second rocket landed near the Khashoqji castle in al-Yarzeh. No one was injured in the incident. The attack came on the same day that Suleiman gave a speech on the occasion of Army Day in which he criticized Hizbullah's involvement in the Syrian war in support of President Bashar Assad's forces. Source/Agence France Presse.

Hizbullah Criticizes 'Vile' Reports Linking Suleiman's Thursday Speech to Rocket Attack
Naharnet /Hizbullah slammed on Friday reports that linked President Michel Suleiman's speech about the resistance on Army Day to the rockets that landed near the presidential palace in Beirut's suburb of Baabda.
"The goals behind the crime that targeted military sites and the surroundings of the presidential palace in Baabda are known,” the party said in a released statement. “Terrorists are still aiming at harming the military institution on the Army Day, which is a national holiday that unites all the Lebanese people. We strongly condemn this crime.”Two rockets fell in the Baabda area on Thursday evening, one of them near the presidential palace, in the third such incident in less than two months. MTV said the rockets were fired from “a barren area in Souk al-Gharb” near Aley, adding that the attack caused no casualties among military personnel or civilians.Hizbullah criticized local and Arab media reports that “rushed” after the rocket attack to focus on Suleiman's Thursday speech regarding the resistance's weaponry and its role."Linking the president's statement to the attack is a despicable and blatant attempt.” The party continued: “We were surprised by attempts to start feuds between the Lebanese people, through weakening their institutions, their forces, their unity and their consensus over main national issues.”"Running after violence and crimes as means to face the opposing political opinion in the country is an unsuccessful strategy that exposes incapability and political failure.”
The party stressed on its continuous support for the military institution and its solidarity with its forces "under all conditions." "We call for a solidarity campaign with this institution to preserve the country and its people, and to avoid conspiracies targeting Lebanon,” Hizbullah's statement added. In a ceremony marking the 68th anniversary of the army’s founding on Thursday, Suleiman criticized Hizbullah without naming it, saying it was time for the Lebanese state and the army to be the sole decision-makers on the use of the nation's capabilities. “It has become urgent to approve a defense strategy after the resistance's arms went beyond Lebanon's borders,” Suleiman stated. “Out of our differentiation between the resistance and terrorism, it is time for the state and the army to be the sole decision-makers on the use of force,” he added. “The army's role would be difficult if a party or more get involved in conflicts outside Lebanon,” he said.

Aoun Condemns Baabda Attack: Suleiman Must Not be Criticized in Such a Debased Manner
Naharnet/Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun criticized on Friday the rocket attacks in the Baabda region on Thursday, saying that they were a message to President Michel Suleiman and the Lebanese army, reported al-Mada radio. He told the radio: “It's true that I oppose Suleiman's views, but he should not be criticized in such a debased manner.” “I do not agree with his positions, but the presidential palace in Baabda should not be attacked,” he stressed. “Suleiman is still a national Lebanese symbol and the rocket attack therefore target all the Lebanese people,” said Aoun. “Several people want to spread chaos in Lebanon, but that can only be possible through local accomplices,” remarked the MP. On Thursday, two rockets were fired in the Baabda area with one landing in the garden of the Freiha villa that is located near the Officers' Club.
The second rocket landed near the Khashoqji castle in al-Yarzeh. No one was injured in the incident. The attack came on the same day that Suleiman gave a speech on the occasion of Army Day in which he criticized Hizbullah's involvement in the Syrian war in support of President Bashar Assad's forces.

March 8 Criticizes Suleiman's Speech on Army Day
Naharnet /President Michel Suleiman's speech marking Lebanon's 68th Army Day drew criticism on Friday from the March 8 alliance, which considered that it solely targeted the resistance.
Sources close to Hizbullah said in comments published in al-Joumhouria newspaper that the president's stances come amid a “systematic” foreign campaign against Hizbullah.The European Union decision on July 25 to blacklist Hizbullah's military wing as a terrorist organization. The Gulf Cooperation Council also decided to adopt several measures against Hizbullah members in the council's member-states as a response to the party's involvement in the Syrian crisis. Prominent sources in the March 8 coalition told An Nahar newspaper that Suleiman's speech clearly differentiates between the Army's weapons and those of Hizbullah, and an explicit call on monopolizing the resistance's arms. The president lashed out during his speech on Thursday at the military interventions in Syria, without naming any sides, saying the blood of Lebanese should not be sacrificed to serve the interests of other countries. “The army's role would be difficult if a party or more get involved in conflicts outside Lebanon,” he said. Suleiman called for a review of the national defense strategy in light of Hizbullah’s involvement in Syria, while stressing the state should enjoy a monopoly over the use of military force to defend Lebanon’s sovereignty. Syrian government troops are backed by Hizbullah members in their fight against rebels seeking to topple President Bashar Assad. Hizbullah has played a major role in a battle last month in the town of al-Qusayr, which is near Lebanon's northeastern border, and lost scores of men there.
But Suleiman said that “true martyrdom is only in the defense of the nation … The Lebanese people want sacrifices for Lebanon.”The sources hoped that Suleiman would safeguard the resistance instead of criticizing it. Nasrallah will make a televised speech on the occasion of Jerusalem Day on Friday. The sources expected that Nasrallah will tackle the need to resume the national dialogue and the importance of safeguarding the resistance.

Syrians Kidnap for Ransom Lebanese Citizen in Arsal
Naharnet/A number of Syrians kidnapped on Friday a Lebanese citizen in the Bekaa region, reported the National News Agency. It said that Syrians from the town of Yabrod in Syria, near the border with Lebanon, kidnapped Abbas Qasas in the Lebanese town of Arsal. Qasas, who hails from Younin in the Bekaa, was taken by his captives to Yabrod. The kidnappers later demanded 120,000 dollars as a ransom from his family. On Thursday, men from Arsal kidnapped a Lebanese citizen Youssef al-Meqdad while he was buying goods in their town. The abduction came in retaliation to a recent robbery which Arsal residents blamed on young men from al-Meqdad family. In March, a wave of abductions erupted between residents of Arsal and the Hermel region, after unknown individuals kidnapped 30-year-old Hussein Kamel Jaafar who hails from the Hermel town of al-Bustan. The incident prompted members of the Jaafar clan to nab several Arsal residents.

STL's Fransen Sets Jan. 13 as New Tentative Date for Start of Trial
Naharnet/Special Tribunal for Lebanon Pre-Trial Judge Daniel Fransen on Friday issued an order setting January, 13 2014 as a new “tentative date” for the start of the trial in the 2005 assassination of former premier Rafik Hariri and his companions, the STL said in a statement. The rules of the tribunal require Fransen to set a tentative date, “which could change based on judicial developments,” the STL noted. “The next phase requires the Pre-Trial Judge to refer the case to the Trial Chamber judges, who set the final date for the trial,” it added. Earlier this year, Fransen postponed the tentative trial date concluding that the parties were not ready for trial due to a number of reasons including lack of adequate time for disclosure of material to the defense counsel. He indicated in his Friday decision that most of these issues have since been addressed and a new provisional date for the trial “can now be set.”

Suleiman Defends Speech, Aims at Neutralizing Lebanon from Regional Conflict
Naharnet/President Michel Suleiman's speech marking Lebanon's 68th Army Day didn't highlight any new stance and will only press foreign countries to neutralize the country from the ongoing turmoil in the region, Baabda Palace sources said on Friday. “They are the same old stances that he has reiterated on different occasions,” sources close to him said in comments published in al-Joumhouria newspaper. The speech “might have included a clearer and stronger rhetoric but an occasion like that requires such statements... The Lebanese deserve to know these facts and if they would've listened before the situation would've been better locally,” the sources pointed out. The sources stated that the president had previously urged Hizbullah to end its military intervention in Syria, in particular, after al-Qusayr battles. Syrian government troops are backed by Hizbullah members in their fight against rebels seeking to topple President Bashar Assad. Hizbullah has played a major role in a battle last month in the town of al-Qusayr, which is near Lebanon's northeastern border, and lost scores of men there. The sources noted that Suleiman's stances will safeguard the country and press the Arab countries and the west to neutralize it from the ongoing turmoil in the region. The president lashed out during his speech on Thursday at the military interventions in Syria, without naming any side, saying the blood of Lebanese should not be sacrificed to serve the interests of other countries. “The army's role would be difficult if a party or more get involved in conflicts outside Lebanon,” he said. Suleiman called for a review of the national defense strategy in light of Hizbullah’s involvement in Syria, while stressing the state should enjoy a monopoly over the use of military force to defend Lebanon’s sovereignty. But Suleiman said that “true martyrdom is only in the defense of the nation … The Lebanese people want sacrifices for Lebanon.”

Al-Rahi Urges Armed Groups to Disarm: State Cannot Be Built in Presence of Illegal Weapons
Naharnet /Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi noted on Friday that the state cannot be constructed in light of the presence of illegitimate weapons. He urged to al-Masira magazine “armed groups to disarm in favor of the official military and security forces because the moment of truth has arrived.” Addressing regional developments, he said: “The Sunni-Shiite conflict is spreading to Lebanon and it will be linked to both Saudi Arabia and Iran.”
“Christians must act as the common link between the two sides in order for them assert the national pact,” al-Rahi remarked. “Lebanon can only be saved by the Christians who transformed it into the Switzerland of the Middle East,” he stated. On Thursday, two rockets were fired in the Baabda area with one landing in the garden of the Freiha villa that is located near the Officers' Club. The second rocket landed near the Khashoqji castle in al-Yarzeh. No one was injured in the incident. The attack came on the same day that President Michel Suleiman gave a speech on the occasion of Army Day in which he criticized Hizbullah's involvement in the Syrian war in support of President Bashar Assad's forces.

Geagea on Baabda Attack: I Never Imagined President Could Be Targeted by Lebanese
Naharnet/Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea condemned on Friday the Baabda rockets that were fired late on Thursday, lauding President Michel Suleiman's stances on Army Day. He said in a statement: “I never once imagined that the president could be targeted by Lebanese powers.”“Israel itself had never attacked the president even during its assaults against Lebanon,” he remarked. He said that the target of the attack was “very clear”, explaining that they both landed near the presidential palace in Baabda. Geagea therefore praised Suleiman's “clear national and constitutional” positions, condemning the media campaign against him. “The reality demonstrates that some side no longer want a president or republic because they are content with their own 'republic',” he added. Two rockets were fired in the Baabda area late on Thursday. One landed in the garden of the Freiha villa that is located near the Officers' Club. The second rocket landed near the Khashoqji castle in al-Yarzeh. No one was injured in the incident. The attack came on the same day that Suleiman gave a speech on the occasion of Army Day in which he criticized Hizbullah's involvement in the Syrian war in support of President Bashar Assad's forces.

Salam Condemns Baabda Rocket Attack, Calls for Dialogue
Naharnet/Prime Minister-designate Tammam Salam denounced on Friday the Baabda rockets incident, describing it as a “dangerous and suspicious.” “Targeting the areas that include national symbols is a new chapter in the series of suspicious security incidents across the country,” Salam said. He pointed out that the culprits are “taking advantage from the current political disputes to go on in their dangerous scheme that aims at striking stability and creating fuss among the Lebanese.” Salam called on the competent security forces to exert efforts to unveil those who are behind the security incidents. “The national duty obliges all sides to resume dialogue to resolve the political disputes,” he added. Salam also earlier held a telephone conversation with President Michel Suleiman. According to the a communique issued by the army two 107 mm rockets were fired in the Baabda area on Thursday night. One of the rockets landed in the garden of the Freiha villa that is located near the Officers' Club. The second rocket landed near the Khashoqji castle in al-Yarzeh. No one was injured in the incident.
The Freiha villa is located 100 meters from the secondary entrance of the Baabda presidential palace. There were reports that a third rocket was fired in the attack, but it has not been confirmed. Media reports said that it hit an area between Baabda and Bshamoun. The attack came on the same day that President Michel Suleiman gave a speech on the occasion of Army Day in which he criticized Hizbullah's involvement in the Syrian war in support of President Bashar Assad's forces. In June, a Grad rocket fired from Ballouneh in Kesrouan district exploded after it hit an electricity line in the Monteverde valley. The army found a second rocket at the launch site.In May, two rockets hit Beirut's southern suburbs shortly after Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah made a speech defending his party's fighting in Syria.

Army Intelligence Arrests Bekaa Fugitive Involved in Killing of Soldier Hatem
Naharnet/The Army Intelligence detained on Friday Ibrahim Khanjar, who is involved in opening fire at an army patrol last week in the Bekaa town of Majdal Anjar and killing a soldier and injuring another. Khanjar is also accused of the abduction of the seven Estonians and killing of army intelligence Maj. Abdo Jasser, his companion First Sgt. Ziad al-Mais and another soldier in Majdal Anjar in 2011. Last week, 20-year-old soldier Charbel Hatem was killed and Paul Ashqouti was injured after their patrol was targeted with gunshots during a raid in Majdal Anjar to apprehend Wissam Khanjar. A communique issued by the army pointed out that the patrol arrested “one of the most fugitives in the country.” The seven Estonians were freed in July 2011, almost four months after being abducted by armed men as they entered the country on a bicycle tour from neighboring Syria. Their release took place amid unclear circumstances.

Lebanese president slams Hezbollah for role in Syria
Beirut, Asharq Al-Awsat—Lebanese president Michel Suleiman criticized Hezbollah’s involvement in the Syrian crisis during the celebrations of Army Day in Beirut on Thursday. In the speech to new military academy graduates at the Shukri Ghanem barracks in Fayadieh, the Lebanese president spoke on several issues, against the backdrop of the political crisis engulfing the country. In a reference to Hezbollah’s growing embroilment in the civil war in Syria, Suleiman called on it to “reconsider [the country’s] defensive strategy, especially after the resistance [Hezbollah’s] weapons went beyond the Lebanese borders.”“We will not be late to form a government that protects national interests rather than quotas,” he said, and pledged to “protect [state] institutions and democracy as well as fortify the military.”Commenting on the role of the military in the political standoff in the country, Suleiman stressed that “the military cannot fill the governmental and political gaps or tackle sectarian and religious rifts.” “Gone are the days when the Army was prevented from defending Lebanon,” Suleiman said, adding, “[The military] will not act as a disengagement force between Lebanese militias.” The Lebanese president insisted that plans to arm and provide the military with equipment will be undertaken in order for it to “exclusively control the requirements to defend the sovereignty and borders of Lebanon, and ensure the safety of its oil wealth.”Speaking for the first time after his term as the commander of the Lebanese Armed Forces has been extended for two years, Gen. Jean Kahwaji announced that the military “will spare no effort to thwart dangers,” imploring Suleiman to “provide [the military] with the cover required to ensure security and end sedition.”
The ceremony to mark Army Day was attended by caretaker prime minister Najib Mikati, speaker of parliament Nabih Berri, prime minister-designate Tammam Salam, and armed forces chief Jean Kahwaji.

Charbel: Rockets Launched on Baabda are Owned by Many Factions
Naharnet/Caretaker Interior Minister Marwan Charbel shied away on Friday from accusing any party of launching rockets on Baabda district, saying several parties have in their possession such rockets. “Many factions own similar rockets,” Charbel told Voice of Lebanon radio (93.3). “The rockets that were launched on Baabda and Yarze yesterday were the same that were launched from Ballouneh towards the (area of) Jamhour and Beirut's southern suburbs,” Charbel said. “We haven't confirmed yet the source of the attacks,” he said, hoping investigators would reach results on Friday. Reports said one rocket fell in the garden of a house located just 100 meters from the secondary entrance of the Baabda presidential palace. The second reportedly fell near a Lebanese army training camp in the area of al-Rihaniyeh. The third, which Charbel did not confirm, has hit an area between Baabda and Bshamoun, the reports said. The attack comes on the same day that President Michel Suleiman gave a speech for Army Day in which he criticized Hizbullah's involvement in the Syrian war in support of President Bashar Assad's forces. In June, a Grad rocket fired from Ballouneh in Kesrouan district exploded after it hit an electricity line in the Monteverde valley. The army found a second rocket at the launch site. And in May, two rockets hit Beirut's southern suburbs shortly after Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah made a speech defending his party's involvement in Syria.

Syrian Opposition Says Assad's Confidence 'Disgusting'
Naharnet/Syrian opposition member Burhan Ghalioun said on Thursday it was "disgusting" to hear that President Bashar Assad expressed confidence after his forces inflicted two major defeats on rebels.
"It is disgusting and repulsive that he speaks of victory after he destroyed his country, killed tens of thousands and forced into exile half the population, after a period of two and a half years," Ghalioun told Agence France Presse.
Speaking to mark Army Day, Assad said on Thursday he was "sure of victory." "If we in Syria were not sure of victory, we would not have had the will to resist nor been able to persevere in the face of more than two years of aggression," Assad said. His remarks are "repugnant to the Syrians as well as the rest of the world," Ghalioun said. He added that Assad "speaks of strength while his army is collapsing and depending on mercenaries of Hizbullah and Iran to defend the regime." Assad was said to have made his first known trip outside of the capital in more than a year, to visit a former rebel bastion nearby now largely in the hands of loyalists. State television reported that Assad visited Daraya, a mostly Sunni town neighboring rebel districts south of Damascus, to inspect military units on Army Day. His remarks came after Khaldiyeh, in the strategic central city of Homs, was seized by troops on Monday from rebels who had held it for almost two years. Asked about on the announcement of an upcoming U.N. mission to investigate three sites in Syria, where the use of chemical weapons has been reported, Ghalioun said "the Syrian regime has accepted this mission following heavy international pressure... but after erasing the traces of the crime." "I doubt that the regime will cooperate with the mission," Ghalioun added, indicating that the investigation should "focus on 13 sites, not just three." U.N. spokesman Martin Nesirky said on Wednesday the mission "will travel to Syria as soon as possible to contemporaneously investigate three of the reported incidents."The United Nations says reports on 13 different chemical attacks have been made. The 28-month conflict has killed more than 100,000 people, according to the United Nations, while U.N. efforts to convene a Russian- and U.S.-backed peace conference have stalled. Source/Agence France Presse.
 

White House: Obama Calls Abbas, Netanyahu over Peace Talks
Naharnet/U.S. President Barack Obama on Thursday praised Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas for their leadership in agreeing to resume peace talks, the White House said. In separate statements with very similar wording following phone calls with the two men, Obama praised their "leadership and courage" in sending negotiators back to the table this week in Washington for the first time in three years. Obama, who had already hailed the "courage" of both sides when he met with the negotiators at the White House on Tuesday, noted, in the statement about his call with Netanyahu that "the parties have much work to do in the days and months ahead." The president reaffirmed he would support -- and work closely with -- the two groups in their efforts to achieve peace, but only in the statement about his call with Abbas did he mention a peace "based on the two state solution." The negotiators from Israel and the Palestinian Authority met in Washington on Monday, embarking on talks they hope will lead to an agreement within nine months. The Obama administration's last foray into the intractable Arab-Israeli conflict ended in failure, when talks launched in September 2010 collapsed just weeks later over continued Israeli settlement building. Now, after months of shuttle diplomacy, Secretary of State John Kerry has persuaded the two sides to meet for nine months to try to resolve one of the world's most intractable conflicts. The latest effort has been met with scepticism, as Israel and the Palestinians remain deeply divided over the so-called "final status" issues that have bedevilled negotiators for two decades. These include Jerusalem -- claimed as a capital by both sides -- the borders of a Palestinian state, the fate of Palestinian refugees and Jewish settlement activity in the occupied West Bank. Source/Agence France Presse.
 

US issues global travel alert, cites al-Qaida threat

By REUTERS08/02/2013/ WASHINGTON - The United States issued a worldwide travel alert on Friday warning Americans that al-Qaida may be planning attacks in August in the Middle East and northern Africa.
The State Department travel alert was based on the same intelligence information that prompted it to close 21 US embassies or consulates this Sunday, a US official told Reuters on condition of anonymity"The Department of State alerts US citizens to the continued potential for terrorist attacks, particularly in the Middle East and North Africa, and possibly occurring in or emanating from the Arabian Peninsula," its statement said.
It attributed the threat of attacks "between now and the end of August" to al-Qaida and affiliated organizations. On Thursday, the department said US embassies that would normally be open this Sunday would be closed that day because of unspecified security concerns. On Friday, it released a list of the 21 diplomatic missions, including those in Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Libya, Yemen and Sudan, among other countries.
The chairman of the US House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee, Ed Royce, said on Friday that he and several other lawmakers met two days ago with Vice President Joe Biden on the threat.
"It's my understanding that it is al-Qaida linked ... and the threat emanates in the Middle East and in Central Asia," Representative Royce said CNN's "New Day" program.

Egypt’s military strongman Gen. El-Sisi will run for president

DEBKAfile Exclusive Report August 2, 2013/Egypt’s Defense Minister and coup leader Gen. Abdel Fattah el-Sisi will run for president – possibly before the end of the year, DEBKAfile’s Exclusive sources report. He is deep in preparations for launching his election campaign Thursday August 15 and plans to keep it short. Untroubled by criticism from the United States and Europe, he plans to restore the Egyptian army to political center stage in Cairo and keep the democratic process under control. Like former presidents Gemal Abdel Nasser, Anwar Sadat and Hosni Mubarak, the defense minister will repress the Muslim Brotherhood he unseated on July 3 before cutting a deal with its leaders to permit them a restricted measure of political activity.
Tuesday July 30, US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel phoned Gen. El-Sisi and, according to the official statement issued in Washington, talked about this week’s visit to Cairo by European Union Foreign Policy Coordinator Catherine Ashton and her two-hour conversation with deposed Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi.
This dry communiqué omitted to reflect the attempts by Hagel and Ashton to twist the Egyptian general’s arm intor releasing Morsi from detention and re-integrating the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt’s national politics.
Hagel specifically pressed him to bring Muslim Brotherhood members into the interim government and give them free rein to run candidates for parliament in early 2014.
El-Sisi told Hagel and Ashton that it was up to the Muslim Brotherhood to subscribe to his roadmap for the caretaker administration which is ruling the country until elections are held. He then floored the US defense secretary by announcing he was launching a lightning campaign for his own run for the presidency in an early election. German foreign minister Guido Westerwelle, who arrived in Cairo Thursday, was also taken aback.
Wednesday, the US Senate voted 86-13 in favor of a motion to block a bill calling for the suspension of US military aid to Egypt. This bill was tabled by the Obama administration to signal its displeasure with and objections to the military coup.
Nonetheless, President Obama has chosen to send to Cairo some time in August, two senior Republican Senators, John McCain of Arizona and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, to try and smooth over the rough passage between Cairo and Washington.
The administration can’t do much with Gen. El-Sisi. He addresses Washington and European officials with courtesy but then goes off and does the exact opposite of what they ask of him.
His actions present Washington and its European allies with unpalatable facts:
1. The defense minister is determined to restore the Egyptian army to center stage of Egypt’s political scene – as in the days of his predecessors.
2. Egypt is reverting to the Mubarak era when the army decided who would be president.
3. The democratic process in Egypt will be controlled and overseen by the army.
4. Again like all former presidents Gemal Abdel Nasser, Anwar Sadat and Hosni Mubarak, El-Sisi is bent on repressing the Muslim Brotherhood which he unseated last month until he can cut a deal with its leaders permitting them to be politically active within pre-set confines. The Brothers will be allowed to seat a small number of representatives in parliament.
5. Should the Americans or Europeans punish the military strongman by halting or cutting back on economic and military aid to Egypt, he is confident that Saudi Arabia and some oil emirates will make up the shortfall.
DEBKAfile’s Washington sources report that the administration responded Thursday by naming Robert Ford, US ambassador to Syria, as the new envoy to Cairo. Ford made a name for his unconventional methods and for reaching groups opposed to the Assad regime at the outset of the Syrian uprising.
Our sources report that while the West is focusing on restoring the Muslim Brotherhood to the political center, the defense minister is wholly wrapped up in his drive for two goals: Breaking up the constant pro-Morsi Brotherhood sit-in in central Cairo, even by military force if need be; and getting his election campaign underway. He has hired Khalaf al-Adawi, a relatively unknown politician, as national campaign manager and a slogan is in the works: It will call on the general to run for president and “Finish his good work!”
His campaign managers have been set the goal of collecting 30 million signatures for his candidacy. That way, he can run on the ticket of the people’s candidate - not the army’s.
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Netanyahu: US House sanctions send 'clear message' to Iranian regime
By HERB KEINON, MICHAEL WILNER, JERUSALEM POST CORLAST UPDATED: 08/01/2013/Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Thursday warmly welcomed a US House of Representatives decision imposing new, punishing sanctions on Iran.
Netanyahu said the move sent an important message that Iran will not get a period of grace because of Hassan Rouhani’s victory in the election.“Following the Iranian elections, the House of Representatives has sent a clear message to the Iranian regime that international pressure will increase until Iran meets its obligations and ceases its pursuit of a nuclear weapons capability. We will judge Iran by its actions alone,” the prime minister said.
The US House of Representatives passed a bill on Wednesday by a commanding 400-20 bipartisan majority to tighten sanctions on Iran’s petroleum sector. The move came just days before the inauguration of Rouhani on Sunday as Iran’s new president.
Sources in the Prime Minister’s Office said the congressional move was important because it was the first time an international body has stepped up the sanctions since Rouhani was elected to replace Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in June.Netanyahu has called for the world not to “let its guard down” because of the election of someone perceived by some in the West as a “moderate, ” but rather to keep up intense pressure on Tehran.
“This is a message to the Iranians that they don’t get a year of grace, that words and smiles will not be enough, and that if they do not want sanctions upgraded, they will have to take tangible measures,” the sources said.
“The timing of this measure is crucial,” the sources added.
“These are the first serious measures taken after the election.” The US Senate is expected to support the legislation – the toughest sanctions package to date, targeting what remains of Iran’s oil sector – once Congress reconvenes from its monthlong summer recess, sources told The Jerusalem Post. The bill aims to bring Iranian oil exports essentially down to zero within a year from full passage.
Iran has already experienced a 60 percent decrease in oil exports since 2011 due to sanctions.
And yet, despite Western efforts to divorce Iran from its customers, the Persian state still exports more than a million barrels a day. Because of the high price of oil, Iran experienced its fourth best year on record for oil revenues in 2012. Those remaining customers – companies concentrated mostly in China, South Korea, India and Turkey – will no longer be granted exemptions for their activities by the Treasury Department if Wednesday’s legislation becomes law. Previously, for diplomatic reasons, these companies were given a pass. But the exemptions will expire after a yearlong grace period, during which Iran’s customers will face the choice of finding oil elsewhere or being cut out of the US economy.
The US says there is spare capacity in the global market to replace Iran’s exports. Libyan oil production is back online since its revolution ended in 2011, and Saudi Arabia is prepared to accommodate Iran’s customers, with spare production capacity already at 2 million to 2.5 million barrels.
Mark Dubowitz, executive director of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies in Washington, said that House members were keen on voting on the bill before Rouhani’s Sunday inauguration, and said the legislation would “massively intensify” ailing conditions in Iran.
Dubowitz noted that past sanctions “tended to be frontloaded,” suggesting that Iran might experience the impact of this new round by the end of the year.
“Everything is really coming to a head in the next 12 months,” Dubowitz said.
On the House floor during the debate on the bill, Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minnesota) stood nearly alone against his colleagues, saying that Rouhani ran his presidential campaign “on a policy of promise to pursue a path of moderation.”
“Obviously, we don’t have rose-colored glasses,” Ellison said, calling on the chamber to wait for a round of negotiations with the new Iranian government.
“Why don’t we wait and see?” Rep. David Price (D-North Carolina) joined Ellison in opposing the bill.
“The bill before us today could not come at a worse time,” Price charged, noting that he has voted previously in favor of harsh sanctions against Iran. The bill “could slam the opportunity shut” to test the genuineness of Rouhani’s overtures, he said.
Eliot Engel (D-New York), ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, noted that his committee had shown unanimous, bipartisan support for the bill.
“I have no reason to believe that the results of the recent Iranian election will fundamentally alter Iran’s current course,” Engel said in his speech on the floor, charging that Rouhani “was directly involved in efforts to deceive the international community when he served as Iran’s chief negotiator.”House Speaker John Boehner called the sanctions “strong and targeted,” and said they provided the president with the “political and economic tools” required to tighten the screws on the Iranian government.
In an unusual sight, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi joined Boehner on the floor to voice support for the legislation.
The bill, H.R. 850, had 375 cosponsors in the 435-member body. But the Obama administration, which in previous rounds had pushed for exemptions for Chinese and Turkish companies, has voiced reservations in recent days over the timing and consequences of some of the bill’s strictest provisions.
Uncertain how Rouhani will act in his first months as president, Obama would like to give him time, officials say. And the threatened expiration of exemptions may not intimidate Chinese companies, forcing the US to make decisions that would harm its own economy or, alternatively, renege on the law’s requirements, weakening America’s diplomatic clout.
In a statement to the Post, the White House says it still has “some concerns over the specific contents of the legislation” and hopes to work on fixing those in the Senate draft.
“Following his inauguration, we hope President-elect Rouhani and the Iranian government will engage substantively with the international community to reach a diplomatic solution to Iran’s nuclear program,” said Bernadette Meehan, spokeswoman for the National Security Council. “We and our international partners remain ready to meet at the earliest opportunity once Iran is prepared to do so.”
“We continue to work with Congress on all sanctions legislation concerning Iran,” State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki told journalists the day before the vote, calling the administration’s sanctions regimen against Iran “unrelenting.”
The State Department declined to comment on the specific House vote.“Iran is increasingly cut off from the global financial system,” Psaki continued. “Significant amounts of Iranian oil are coming off the market. The Iranian currency is plummeting in value. And firms all over the world are divesting themselves of business with Iran.”
China stands to lose the most from the new legislation. Iran remains its third-largest source of oil after Saudi Arabia and Angola, and the companies that facilitate that trade have major assets in the United States. PetroChina, China’s largest oil producer, is one such company listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
These Chinese firms have repeatedly voiced their opposition to extraterritorial sanctions and to taking orders from the United States.
The House bill also targets other loopholes in the current sanctions regimen, including foreign exchange reserves that have allowed Iran to deal in euros. It also targets Iranian shipping with stricter inspection and flagging regulations.
The US and European Union have increased sanctions pressure on Iran significantly since early 2012, seeking a diplomatic solution to the Islamic Republic’s pursuit of nuclear technology.
The West believes Iran is developing the capability to build nuclear weapons through converging uranium enrichment and weaponization programs.

Effort to stop Egypt aid fails in US Senate

By MICHAEL WILNER, JERUSALEM POST CORRESPONDENT08/02/2013/ WASHINGTON – The Senate struck down a proposed amendment on Wednesday that would have immediately cut off US security assistance to Egypt. The amendment, which 86 senators voted against, was an effort by Tea Party Republican Sen. Rand Paul to redirect the $1.5 billion in funding to the reconstruction of dilapidated roads and bridges across the United States. Paul considers himself an isolationist on a range of foreign policy matters – foreign aid chief among them.
“The president sends billions of dollars to Egypt in the form of advanced fighter planes and tanks, while Detroit crumbles,” Paul said on the floor of the Senate, calling the law “unequivocal” on the issue.
US law on foreign assistance prohibits the funding of foreign governments that have experienced military coups.
The Obama administration has declined to determine whether a coup took place in Egypt on July 3, when president Mohamed Morsi was ousted by the Egyptian army.
Sen. Bob Corker, ranking member on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, was sympathetic to Paul’s arguments, though he still voted against the amendment.
“The frustration of our citizens regarding foreign aid, given the economic conditions we face, is understandable, so we have a responsibility to explain why American leadership in the world in many cases helps prevent our involvement in conflicts that would be far more costly,” Corker said. “We should be the steady hand that pushes Egypt toward a peaceful transition to democracy without undermining our interests or Israel’s security, especially when conditions in the region are as they are today.”

Is this the end of Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood?
Mshari Al-Zaydi/Asharq Alawsat
Following the Egyptian army’s success—backed by a huge popular uprising—in removing Muslim Brotherhood president Mohamed Mursi and his party, many observers breathed a sigh of relief that Egypt has returned to its old self. We saw a state of euphoria and joy in the regional Arab arena, and an optimism that the charm of the Brotherhood and their affiliates in the Arab world had finally fallen.
Two years ago, some people promised us fields of Arab Spring flowers, when the ambitions of the Muslim Brotherhood were still hidden within the confines of the revolution. Now it seems like they have come back to their senses, as if to say, ‘Yes, we were right when we were optimistic that the Arab Spring was a civilian, not a fundamentalist Brotherhood spring.’ The fact that the issue did not take more than one year means this was a small price to pay. The fact is that we cannot deny the audacity of this optimism, and the admiration of the speed at which the Brotherhood were removed from their perch, which they reached thanks to religious propaganda and deceiving some civilian groups and western powers regarding their democratic vision.
Personally, I am not optimistic about the reliability of this conclusion, and the idea that the fight with the Muslim Brotherhood and their affiliates, is over.
I think this is a hasty conclusion. The Brotherhood have lost one round, a very tough round indeed, but the overarching battle is not over. They continue to threaten to cause security chaos in Egypt, and this is not to mention their confusing popular propaganda. Domestically, they are saying: Save Islam and Sharia (meaning the Brotherhood rule) from its enemies (meaning other Egyptians). While externally, they are saying: Save democracy and the civil process from the military coup. In addition to this, the Brotherhood are alternately courting and condemning the naive among the revolutionary forces, accusing them of either being on the side of the military or remnants of the Mubarak regime.
Following the success of the Egyptians in toppling the Brotherhood’s rule, we are faced with religious extremists and fundamentalists across the world announcing their backing of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt.
We find, for instance, Yemeni Islamist activist and Nobel Laureate Tawkkul Karaman saying that she would have rushed to the aid of her brothers in Rabaa Al-Adawiya Square in Cairo had she not been denied entry into Egypt. Instead, Karaman has had to satisfy with issuing statements condemning the Brotherhood’s enemies in Egypt instead.
Where will this fundamentalist support within the Islamic world for the Brotherhood in Egypt end? Starting with Anwar Ibrahim in Malaysia, to the Taliban in Kabul, Erdoğan in Turkey, and the Brotherhood in Tunisia and Libya, how long will the Islamic world continue to back the Brotherhood?
Yes, the Brotherhood of Badie and Mursi and El-Shater, have lost this round, but it is too early to say for certain that the group has lost the entire bout. This is because the public, which adopted this ideology and reacted to its slogans a year ago, have only been angered by a few administrative and governance hiccups by the Brotherhood, rather than at the very culture behind these slogans and views. This is not the type of change that can happens within a year.
So, is this the end of Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood? I seriously doubt it.

The clock starts ticking for Rouhani
Amir Taheri/Asharq Alawsat
It was US president Franklin Roosevelt who started the idea that a leader puts his mark on things within the first hundred days of his stewardship.
Regardless of how leaders emerge, some thanks to accidents of birth, others via military coup, and still others through elections—genuine or otherwise—history confirms Roosevelt’s observation.
As a Western-educated politician, Iran’s new president, Hassan Rouhani, is certain to have heard of the Rooseveltian shibboleth. Thus, he would know that tomorrow, when he is inaugurated, marks the start of his first 100 days. Always trying to be different, the French label the first hundred days a “political honeymoon.” They, too, insist that the position of a new leader is at strongest in the early stages of his reign. As prime minister for only a few months, Pierre Mendès France did more than all the prime ministers of the Fourth Republic combined. He set everything in motion during his “political honeymoon.”
To be sure, comparing Rouhani to Roosevelt or Mendès France is problematic if only because the Islamic Republic cannot be regarded as a democracy by any stretch of the imagination. There is also the fact that, in the Khomeinist system, the president is the first officer rather than the captain, to use marine terminology.
Nevertheless, Rouhani could do a great deal before his first hundred days—his “political honeymoon”—is over.
It is not up to us to tell Rouhani what he should or could do in his “political honeymoon.” However, his election program includes some useful ideas. He could start by trying to deliver on some of his election promises, including the release of political prisoners, a curbing of spiraling inflation, and moderating the language of Iran’s diplomacy. He needs to show that something important is beginning to change. Any impression of business as usual would give his presidency the kiss of death in no time.
For a variety of reasons, including the structural defects of the Khomeinist political system, all of the Islamic Republic’s six previous presidents ended their terms as failures. And in every case, the contours of their failure took shape within the first hundred days.
The first president, Abolhassan Banisadr, was a dead duck within 20 days as he hesitated to confront the mullahs, then still in a position of weakness. Worse still, he almost wrecked the economy as the nation was at war, with a series of nationalizations just to impress the dogmatic left.
His successor as president, Muhammad-Ali Rajaei, didn’t even make it to 100 days, as he was blown up after 27 days.
The third president was Ali Khamenei, the current supreme guide. He spent his “political honeymoon” in spiritual seclusion, presumably reading poetry, ending up as a ghost while the ambitious Khomeini continued to monopolize the headlines. It was to take Khamenei twenty years to emerge from his ghosthood and be taken seriously as a political player.
The fate of the fourth president, Hashemi Rafsanjani, was also sealed within his first hundred days, as people saw his finger in one cookie jar after another. Thanks to a mixture of bullying and clientelism, he managed to hang on for eight years. But the impression he had created during his “political honeymoon” endured. Two decades later, when he suffered the humiliation of being declared “unfit” to stand for election, most people simply yawned.
Muhammad Khatami, the fifth president, started his career on a wave of optimism unprecedented since the seizure of power by the mullahs in 1979. In his first hundred days, he enjoyed an authority that none of his predecessors had secured. And yet he too failed to put his mark on Iranian politics within his “political honeymoon.”
The failure of the sixth president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, was even more dramatic. His election, made possible by the crushing defeat of Rafsanjani, and perhaps “arranged” by powers-that-be, had created wild hopes about a quick end to political domination by mullahs and the return of Iran as a normal nation-state. Ahmadinejad squandered those precious days by casting himself as tourist, travelling in the provinces and spending time in New York to deny the Holocaust and drop hints about his contacts with the “Hidden Imam.”
Rouhani starts his presidency with a number of advantages. Although he won with the smallest majority among all the seven presidents of the Islamic Republic, he enjoys the advantage of being a mullah and a civil servant at the same time. The political segment of the clergy are reassured by his presence, regarding him as one of them. At the same time, civil servants, technocrats and business circles linked to the government see him as someone who understands their concerns. Because he was fairly unknown before his election, Rouhani does not have a popular base of his own. Amazingly, in a country where mullahs provoke intense hared from vast segments of society, almost nobody hates Rouhani.
Rouhani has another advantage. He has a large circle of friends in the West. It is not only former British foreign secretary Jack Straw who has started acting as a one-man PR team for Rouhani. Former German foreign minister Joschka Fischer, former French foreign minister Dominique de Villepin and former European Union foreign policy Tsar Javier Solana have also been singing Rouhani’s praises. In the United States, Rouhani’s election has been welcomed by former national security advisers Brent Scowcroft and Zbigniew Brzezinski and former State Department number two Thomas Pickering. Over 130 US Congressmen have written to President Barack Obama asking him to postpone new sanctions to help Rouhani in his first hundred days.
Rouhani’s selection has also received a cautious welcome in Arab countries that hope he will try to curb Khamenei’s adventurist ambitions. Even in Israel, several editorials have welcomed Rouhani’s election and taken Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to task for alleged failure to revise policy on Iran.
Well, we would assess Rouhani’s performance once his “political honeymoon” is over. However, his every step, starting with the composition of his Cabinet, would determine the step that follows. For Rouhani, the clock begins ticking today.

The Regime’s Army
By: Husam Itani/Al Hayat
By announcing his commitment to the preservation of the democratic heritage, the furtherance of the institutions’ work, and the respect of the rule of law, Lebanese Army Commander General Jean Kahwaji confirmed that the army was standing behind the political authority and defending it.
In the “order of the day” issued on the 68th anniversary of the establishment of the Lebanese army, Kahwaji stressed that “the army is the institution of November 22 (the day of independence from the French Mandate) and we reiterate today that we are holding on to the Lebanese constitution and its preamble which stems from the Document of National Accord.”
This talk is very accurate, considering that never in its history did the Lebanese army exit the elected legitimate authority. All attempts at this level – the most famous of which is the coup carried out by the Syrian Social Nationalist Party at the end of 1961 – were from outside the military institution and did not emerge from the army barracks and positions.
But the deeper dimension of Kahwaji’s statements is that the Lebanese army firstly reflects the image of a democratic regime, which is based on the consensual formula that surfaced after independence and was enhanced by the Taef Accord. In other words, the army is responsible for the defense of the regime that is based on concord between the various groups, since the authority in Lebanon stems from this concord. Hence, democracy is the fruit of coexistence between the groups, their authority and their laws, which are tailored to fit their needs. As for the foreign sponsorship of Lebanese concord, it is a decisive factor in ensuring stability. The army’s role at this level is to protect the final formula that resulted from these factors.
But the problem arises whenever internal or regional balance is shaken. This is when the army starts seeking a balance that has disappeared from the entire country. And unlike the remaining state institutions – for which it is relatively easy to resume their activities far away from the political climate – the army, as a pure expression of national sovereignty and the one assigned to use violence to defend it, is deeply puzzled.
Following the retreat of the major dissent carried out by Muslim officers and soldiers between 1975 and 1976 under the headline of Lebanon’s Arab Army, which was conducted with clear Palestinian sponsorship, the army went back to being part of the advanced Christian positions in the Lebanese state until 1983. This is when it fully engaged in the Mount Lebanon war alongside the Lebanese Forces to prevent the fall of the Eastern region’s entrances, thus pushing the brigades with a Muslim majority to side with their sects especially following the February 6, 1984 uprising. Upon the end of the war and the establishment of the “Syrian peace,” the Lebanese state’s relationship with the army manifested itself with a new military doctrine, ending the previous intentional ambiguity and stating that Israel is Lebanon’s enemy and Syria its friend.
During the crisis provoked by the extension of the term of President Emile Lahoud and the assassination of Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri – which is still ongoing – the army adopted a theoretical approach by announcing its commitment to the general headlines of national unity. But the practical application was completely different and more in line with the political and field balances. And when the demonstrations erupted in rejection of the stay of the Syrian troops in Lebanon, the army abstained from dispersing the demonstrators from the squares, and was even said to have facilitated their arrival to them. But on the other hand, it abstained for example from responding to Hezbollah’s attack against Beirut on May 7, 2008.
Since the revolution broke out in Syria, the search for the desired balance has become much more difficult. In addition, the army was subjected to difficult tests and was unable to confirm its neutrality in some of them. Its performance rather reflected the balances of the Lebanese and regional powers, being the victim of the absence of national concord and its limited capabilities and likely contributing, whether intentionally or unintentionally, to the deepening of domestic imbalance.