LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN

Bible Quotation for today/Preserve Your Freedom
Galatians 05 /01-14: " Freedom is what we have—Christ has set us free! Stand, then, as free people, and do not allow yourselves to become slaves again. Listen! I, Paul, tell you that if you allow yourselves to be circumcised, it means that Christ is of no use to you at all. Once more I warn any man who allows himself to be circumcised that he is obliged to obey the whole Law. Those of you who try to be put right with God by obeying the Law have cut yourselves off from Christ. You are outside God's grace. As for us, our hope is that God will put us right with him; and this is what we wait for by the power of God's Spirit working through our faith. For when we are in union with Christ Jesus, neither circumcision nor the lack of it makes any difference at all; what matters is faith that works through love.
You were doing so well! Who made you stop obeying the truth? How did he persuade you? It was not done by God, who calls you. “It takes only a little yeast to make the whole batch of dough rise,” as they say. But I still feel confident about you. Our life in union with the Lord makes me confident that you will not take a different view and that whoever is upsetting you will be punished by God.
But as for me, my friends, if I continue to preach that circumcision is necessary, why am I still being persecuted? If that were true, then my preaching about the cross of Christ would cause no trouble. I wish that the people who are upsetting you would go all the way; let them go on and castrate themselves! As for you, my friends, you were called to be free. But do not let this freedom become an excuse for letting your physical desires control you. Instead, let love make you serve one another. For the whole Law is summed up in one commandment: “Love your neighbor as you love yourself.” But if you act like wild animals, hurting and harming each other, then watch out, or you will completely destroy one another

Netanyahu: 'Pressure' is the only way to stop Iran
By HERB KEINON/J.Post/08/06/2013
International pressure kept Iran from gaining nuclear weapons over the last two decades, and is the only thing keeping it from crossing the nuclear threshold now, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said Tuesday in response to Iranian President Hassan Rouhani's comment that threats against Iran will not work. Iran's president said that pressure won't work. Not true," Netanyahu said during a meeting with 36 Democratic US Congressman. He said that the world needed to understand that the only thing that would keep the Iranians from moving forward now is "increased pressure." I have said that before, and I'll say it again, because that's important to understand. You relent on the pressure, they will go all the way. You should sustain the pressure," he said. In a certain sense, Netanyahu was preaching to the converted since the House voted last week – on the eve of Rouhani's inauguration– to increase US sanctions on Iran, targeting what remains of its oil sector. Netanyahu's comments came just after Rouhani gave his first press conference since taking office on Sunday. The congressmen are here on a one-week tour sponsored by the American Israel Education Foundation, a charitable organization affiliated with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. The group, which includes 31 freshman representatives, is led by Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Maryland). A group of 26 Republican congressman, led by House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Virginia) is scheduled to arrive next week.

Official: Israel capable of unilateral strike on Iran, if US not committed
By JPOST.COM STAFF/Israel is capable of carrying out a unilateral military strike against Iran's nuclear facilities without operational support from the United States, a senior Israeli official said to Israel Radio on Tuesday morning. Although, such a strike would render less effective than one conducted by America, the unidentified official said. The diplomatic official doubted US intentions to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons at all costs. American conduct regarding Syria, contrary to declarations by President Barack Obama, shows Israel that it cannot rely on US assurances, the Israeli source said. Israel fears the development of direct negotiations between Washington and Tehran would ease sanctions on the Islamic Republic in exchange for concessions, and would not satisfy the requirements imposed by Israel, the unnamed official added. Jerusalem and Washington differed on Sunday over the significance of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani’s inauguration, with Washington ready to work with Iran and Jerusalem warning that the new regime – like the old – is a threat to world peace. The US hoped the new Iranian government would “heed the will of the voters by making choices that will lead to a better life for the Iranian people,” White House spokesman Jay Carney said in a statement shortly after Rouhani was sworn in.This conciliatory tone was at odds with the tone coming from Jerusalem, where Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu again urged the world not to be “taken in” by Rouhani’s perceived moderation. “On Friday, the Iranian president said that Israel ‘has been a wound on the body of the Islamic world,’” Netanyahu said at the opening of the weekly cabinet meeting. “The president of Iran has been replaced, but the goal of the regime has not been replaced, it remains as it was,” he continued. “Iran’s intention is to develop a nuclear capability and nuclear weapons in order to destroy the State of Israel, and this constitutes a danger not only to us and the Middle East, but the entire world, and we are all committed to prevent this.” *Michael Wilner and Herb Keinon contributed to this report.

Rouhani: Solution to nuclear issue reached through talks, not threats

By REUTERS 08/06/2013/DUBAI - Iran's new President Hassan Rouhani said on Tuesday he was "seriously determined" to resolve a dispute with the West over Tehran's nuclear program and was ready to enter "serious and substantive" negotiations on the issue. But addressing his first news conference as president, he said the other side should realize a solution could be reached "solely through talks, not threats". He said he was confident the concerns of both sides could be removed in a short time.Hopes for a diplomatic resolution to the nuclear issue have risen with Rouhani's win over conservative rivals in June, when voters replaced hardliner Mahmoud Ahmadinejad with a cleric whose watchword is "moderation" but who is still very much an Islamic Republic insider. The United States said it would be a "willing partner" if Iran was serious about finding a peaceful solution to the issue. Iran's critics say that it has used previous nuclear negotiations as a delaying tactic while continuing to develop nuclear weapons-related technology - something Tehran denies. Iran says it needs atomic power for energy generation and medical research. More generally, Rouhani said that if Washington demonstrated goodwill towards Iran and an atmosphere of mutual respect was created, the way was open for talks to remove the concerns of both sides.

Military Court Rejects Request to Release Samaha
Naharnet / The military court rejected on Tuesday a request to release ex-Minister Michel Samaha based on a decision taken by State Commissioner to the Military Court Judge Saqr Saqr. Last week, Saqr rejected the request, which was made by Samaha's defense lawyer Sakher Hashem, over the seriousness of his crime. Hashem based his request on claims that the crime was only based on plots. Samaha was arrested in August 2012 for plotting terrorist attacks and transporting explosives. His trial has been postponed to December 3 because of the absence of his alleged co-conspirator Gen. Ali Mamlouk, a Syrian security chief, who is believed to be in Syria.
Samaha had been expected to face the first session of his trial before the military court, but the judge announced a delay so that Mamlouk can report to the court. The two face charges of "transporting explosives from Syria to Lebanon in an attempt to assassinate Lebanese political and religious leaders.”If convicted, they face the death penalty. A Syrian colonel known only by his first name as Adnan has also plotted the attacks with them.
According to the indictment, the explosives that were found in Samaha's car were delivered by Adnan to the ex-minister in Syria with the approval of Mamlouk. The Lebanese judiciary issued an arrest warrant for Mamlouk and Adnan and sent Syria a formal notification of the warrant and charges in February, but received no response. In the event of a non-response, Lebanese law allows for the trial against Samaha to proceed with Mamlouk being tried in absentia, but the court has not so far suggested it would take that approach.

Rohani In Power: Between The Illusions And The Wishes
Elias Harfoush/Al Hayat/The new Iranian president (the seventh president since the establishment of the Islamic Republic) Hassan Rohani summed up his program in his oath speech by saying that he relies on making a balance between principles and reality; and that he will steer clear of illusions. Rohani was very specific when he described his mission ahead. His statement seemed like a response to the parties – within and outside Iran – who are expecting a change in the Iranian politics especially in the foreign affairs whereby Rohani would end the state of hostility that had been reigning between Tehran on the one hand and the regional capitals and the West on the other hand throughout President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s eight years in power. Principles represent the primary elements that control the Iranian decision making process. This is no secret. The Islamic Republic was established by Khomeini for a specific purpose that was not merely limited to ending the Shah’s rule of domination. The external objectives went beyond this internal slogan and included the “exportation of the revolution,” which constituted the work program of the Iranian governments throughout thirty years or more. Anyone who deviated from this goal ended up in isolation despite their post, like the case of former President Mohammad Khatami.
Thus, Hassan Rohani must be well aware of the possible limits for inducing change even for the president of the Iranian Republic. Rohani had worked under Mohammad Khatami and was in charge of the nuclear file at that time. In light of Khatami’s encouragement, he agreed on halting the enrichment and allowing western inspectors to double check the objectives of the nuclear program. However, the Guide Ali Khamenei rejected this and slammed the Iranian negotiators. The offer was then withdrawn and the nuclear file was taken away from Rohani after Ahmadinejad’s access to power.
The powerful Iranian figures and decision makers dealt a very embarrassing blow to Hassan Rohani on his first day in power by preventing him from inviting Khatami to the oath ceremony in front of the Shura Council despite the amity and appreciation that the new president has for his predecessor. They justified the ban by saying that Khatami played a negative role (according to them) in supporting the “green revolution” in 2009, which was staged in objection to the rigging of the presidential elections. A large number of prisoners are still being detained since that time while the two defeated candidates, Mir-Hossein Mousavi and Mahdi Krobi, are still under house arrest.
After this blow, how will Rohani be able to meet the demands of his supporters by releasing the political prisoners and opening a clean slate in the relationship between the regime and the people in Iran?
In regard to foreign relations, Rohani wanted to give the impression that he wishes to have a fresh start with the regional and western countries. He tried to reassure the surrounding states by saying that Iran opposes the overthrowing of political regimes by force or through foreign interferences. He also called for transparent relations with the world in order to build trust and asked the international community to deal with Iran using the language of respect rather than the politics of the sanctions. However, Rohani knows very well that Iran is responsible more than any other party for the interferences in the regional countries’ affairs and the attempts at toppling different regimes either directly through the Republican Guards or through its military apparatuses such as the case of Hezbollah in Lebanon. He also knows that he will have limited or no power at all to halt these interferences.
Concerning the transparent relations with the world, the Iranian regime itself is the party responsible for the state of shadiness that is prevailing over these relationships by refusing to respond to the western suspicions concerning its nuclear program and by erecting barriers in the face of the International Atomic Energy Agency. Thus, the agency has so far been unable to verify the “peaceful nature” of this program that is claimed by the Iranians. Rohani is mostly familiar with the Iranian restrictions in this domain. One must be realistic with respect to what Iran and the world will be living through during Rohani’s time in power. Rohani’s statements – on that the Iranians opted for moderation instead of radicalism or that he extends his hand and calls on Iran’s foes for mutual respect – are not important. The important part consists of how capable Rohani is to push Iran down the moderation road and how able he is to meet the international rules allowing for the establishment of normal relations between Iran and the world. In any case, it is probably a good idea for us to heed Rohani’s piece of advice during the oath speech where he called for steering clear of illusions

A Trap Not Set Up By Anyone
Mohammad el-Ashab/Al Hayat/When Spanish monarch Juan Carlos thanked Moroccan King Mohammed VI for pardoning Spanish prisoners, no one imagined that the presence of a pedophile among them would provoke angry reactions and that there would be condemnation of the fact that a man convicted of such horrific crimes was pardoned. Moreover, the incident - which occurred due to neglect and apathy - affected the relations between Madrid and Rabat, and while this humanitarian initiative was supposed to promote cooperation between the two neighboring countries, it backfired and each side started throwing the ball in the other’s court.
When it comes to relationships between states, there is nothing new about the presentation of requests for the release or repatriation of nationals to spend their sentences in their own countries. However, the ethical facet in the case of Spanish citizen of Iraqi descent Daniel Galvan Vina transformed this pardon, which reflects feelings of forgiveness to allow prisoners to breathe freedom and reintegrate society, into a controversial topic that mobilized activists, child defenders, fighters of sexual harassment, and defenders of human rights.
The Spanish and Moroccans fell in a trap which no one set up for them. And while Juan Carlos could have used the Moroccan pardon as an opportunity to show that his last visit to Rabat resulted in a humanitarian understanding to be added to the political one, he became more embarrassed about his name’s association with a request which he is not believed to have made. And while Mohammed VI appeared pleased about the converging viewpoints between the two neighboring states in regard to vital issues, one person’s name infiltrated the Spanish list, undermined all the desired dimensions, and transformed the humanitarian event into a political moral swamp for both countries. It is likely that the issue will cause further repercussions, considering that conservative societies usually have a tendency to overstate their positions when it comes to moral cases.
But what is noticeable is that the issue did not stop at this level, seeing how Moroccan Justice and Freedoms Minister Mustafa al-Ramid, a leader in the ruling Justice and Development Party, immediately denied any responsibility for including the name of the Spanish convict on the list of released prisoners. In other words, he intentionally distanced himself from any blame. However, the most significant development resided in the Royal Court’s release, which was accurate, honest, and similar to a pleading before history. As long as the accused benefitted from this pardon and as long as a decision was issued to deport him outside the country and is irreversible, there are at least health reasons which might have been behind the “ousting” of this convict from Morocco.
According to the statement, Mohammed VI was never informed about the seriousness of the crimes attributed to the Spanish prisoner, and would never have approved this pardon due to the gravity of the crimes he committed. This clearly means that the measures in force when drawing up the lists of those who can benefit from the pardon, backed up by documents and facts based on follow-up and the monitoring of the behavior of the concerned convicts were not respected, or were at least disregarded for some reason. This goes against the purpose of pardon decisions, which usually aim to settle a humanitarian or social situation or overcome the possible mistakes of the judiciary. In that sense, the order given by the Moroccan monarch to launch an investigation into this case’s implications, should tackle the measures implemented prior to the issuance of the pardon. In addition, the concerned committees include officials from the Justice Ministry, the judicial authority and the Royal Court, which means that the investigation will affect influential figures and eventually determine who was responsible. Therefore, this unfortunate event might act as a starting point for the reassessment of the method and approach adopted when issuing pardons.
Legally and constitutionally, the country’s monarch has the right to issue pardons, knowing that the constitution went even further and granted the legislative institution similar prerogatives while awaiting the ratification of the law regulating this matter. And as much as this development expanded the scope of amnesties in light of pending files with a political and religious character – in addition to the status of the detainees from the Salafi Jihadist organization – the procedural aspects continued to have the upper hand in the adaptation of the files.
Nonetheless, the strong message embodied by the demonstrations which followed the pardon reveals that the street’s awareness precedes all sorts of accommodations between the topical laws and cosmic values. Indeed, there is awareness and a taste of human rights which no longer tolerates the harassment of children. And just like controversy erupted over the marriage of minors to their rapists, childhood and motherhood have become red lines that cannot be approached, except in the context of the advancement of a society of equality and justice. And it is no coincidence that the margin of error narrows when it come to the preservation of people’s dignity, which has become their most precious belonging.

Nostalgia for the Armies!
Hazem Saghieh/Al Hayat/A theory is currently making the rounds among an increasing number of Arabs, claiming that there is a closely knitted plot against Arab armies. Examples of this combine in one phrase what can never otherwise meet under the same roof, and the claims start with the disbandment of the Iraqi army following the U.S.-led war on Iraq in 2003, and do not end with what is happening in Egypt, where the army, and allegedly the people, stand against the Muslim Brotherhood, the ‘agents of America’—all this without forgetting to add in to the mix the conspiracy by takfiris and jihadis in Syria to weaken and exhaust the brave army there.
Since Arab armies are supposedly relied upon to stand up to Israel and perhaps even liberate Palestine, and confront Western greed and scheming, not to mention guard national and pan-Arab dignity, it becomes easy to identify the ultimate source of the conspiracy, as none other than: the United States and Israel. The picture would not be complete without Lt. Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Sisi reminding us of late Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser, who ushered in the era of stable nationalist military regimes, and stood up to old and new colonialism in the name of a strong, sovereign, and prudent Arab nationalism.
But if we put aside those who stand to benefit from this analysis, what remains is a degree of nostalgia for the era of military rule, and its stability and clamoring for pride and dignity. This is partly due to what the state of affairs has become like after the uprisings of the ‘Arab Spring,’ with Arab reality rife with weakness and fragmentation, and consequently, it is unable to reassure anyone to a stable present or a stable future. If we add to this the possibility that our borders themselves may be altered, we can further understand this retreat to the safety of a cozy, familiar past.
However, repeating the Arab 1950s and 60s is nothing more than pure delusions. To be sure, the mega urban cities of today are starkly different from those of yesteryear, when Arab cities were closer to being big villages. As for the world that allowed military regimes to thrive, under the weight of Cold War polarization, it has changed dramatically and has little tolerance for such regimes. This is not to mention that breaking up the masses filling up the public squares, in the aftermath of the uprisings, may not be as easy as some would imagine. Beyond this, nostalgia itself is always deceptive, as it tends to romanticize the past and its examples, in reaction to the miseries of the present. Indeed, military regimes did not fight Israel, as is being claimed, but suffered resounding defeats at Israel’s hands. Furthermore, they produced generation after generation of individuals whose individuality was crushed by tyranny, even as tyranny called on them to raise their heads high. Moreover, the countries ruled by military regimes faltered in culture and the economy, widening the gaps that separated them from an increasingly globalized world, where progress has been intimately linked to freedoms. But more importantly, these regimes have the lion’s share of the blame for our present abysmal situation, including the swelling of the fundamentalist and takfiri phenomenon itself. For those who want evidence about the ultimate outcome of having such regimes, all they have to do is examine the situation in Syria today.

Aoun: Dangerous Things Happening, 'Cabinet of Top Leaders' a Good Idea
Naharnet/Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun on Tuesday blamed the “procrastination” in the cabinet formation process on “foreign hegemony,” slamming officials over the “dangerous things” that are happening in the country. “Officials do not know the reason behind the procrastination in the cabinet formation process and this is one of the ugliest things, as they only execute the orders without knowing the reason,” Aoun told reporters after the weekly meeting of the Change and Reform bloc in Rabiyeh. “Dangerous things are taking place in the country amid the negligence of officials who should communicate with each other instead of voicing preconditions,” Aoun added. “Some want the 8-8-8 formula and some want something else, this is childish and they are making fun of the people,” the FPM leader went on to say, noting that “a minimized cabinet of top leaders is a good idea.”
Turning to the Syrian refugee crisis, Aoun said: “They have been weeping over the issue of refugees and when someone voices a stance they attack him. That's why we clashed with them, because we're not part of the herd."
Commenting on Army chief General Jean Qahwaji's remarks that the Army Command will be strict in addressing ties between officers and political leaderships, Aoun called on politicians not to "interfere in the army."
"We know who's trying to interfere," Aoun added. "No one can influence the political situation. When I'm in power, you can ask me for initiatives, but today I'm outside the majority that has allied against us in state institutions, although we are the majority together with the people," he said.

Lebanese Army Commander General Jean Qahwaji Warns of Sleeper Terrorist Cells: No Politician is Permitted to Communicate with Army through Certain Officer or Soldier
Naharnet/Army Commander General Jean Qahwaji stressed on Tuesday that the Army Command will be strict in addressing ties between officers and political leaderships.
He said during a meeting with high-ranking officers: “No politician is permitted to communicate with the army through an officer or a soldier.”Contacts between politicians and military officers should take place with the Army Command's approval, he added. Moreover, Qahwaji lauded the efforts exerted by the security agencies in recent years to achieve stability in Lebanon. “The army has proven that it is capable of preventing any unrest in Lebanon through all possible political and military means,” he added. “This does not mean that Lebanon has made it through the danger zone, but it is nearing it given the severity of the developments in Syria and the region” and the constant threat of Israel, remarked the army commander. He therefore urged officers to exercise more diligence to confront various dangers, most notably terrorism as demonstrated through last week's rocket attack in the Baabda region. On this note, Qahwaji revealed that the army had discovered a number of sleeper terrorist cells, adding that remaining ones should be uncovered. Suleiman stressed on Thursday that the army would be the sole defender of Lebanon and the country's borders if its capabilities were improved. “There is no security and dignity without the army,” he said, adding it needs an embracing environment because it “doesn't act independently from the state.” He appealed for political support to the army, saying “there should be a campaign in support of the military and not against it at this delicate stage.” He made his remarks during a ceremony marking the 68th anniversary of the Lebanese army’s founding. Later that day, unknown assailants fired two rockets in the Baabda region near the Officers' Club. The perpetrators remain at large.

Tripoli protest after ruling over deadly 2008 attack
August 06, 2013/By Antoine Amrieh/The Daily Star/TRIPOLI, Lebanon: The Army fired Tuesday tear gas in the northern city of Tripoli to disperse angry supporters of a Salafist preacher who was sentenced earlier in the day to 15 years of hard labor over a 2008 attack on the military. The military dispersed the supporters of Sheikh Tareq Merhi after around 70 men gathered at Al-Maarad Street. The protesters also blocked the Baddawi road.
The Judicial Council decided in a ruling Tuesday to sentence Merhi along with nine others to 15 years of hard labor over their involvement in the 2008 attack that targeted the military in the Al-Tall neighborhood of Tripoli.
The blast killed 13 people including 10 soldiers and wounded 46 others including 37 soldiers. The Council also handed the death sentence to five people including the two who carried out the 2008 attack.
Seven convicts were also sentenced to 10 years hard labor and two were given two years jail time. The council also convicted seven minors who were then referred to Beirut’s Juvenile Court.
Three people were acquitted for lack of sufficient evidence. In the ruling, the court headed by Judge Jean Fahd detailed the deadly attack on the military. On Aug. 13, 2008, one of the convicts, a Lebanese dressed in military uniform and carrying a suitcase containing at least 1 kilogram of TNT, detonated his case with the assistance of a Saudi national via remote control in the neighborhood of Al-Tall. The court also said that the case demonstrated the existence of three radical, Islamist cells that were based in the Palestinian refugee camp of Ain el-Hilweh in Sidon, south Lebanon, and the two northern Palestinian refugee camps of Baddawi and Bibnin. According to the court, the cells, all under the umbrella of Al-Qaeda-linked Fatah al-Islam, seek to establish a heavy security presence in Lebanon by carrying out terrorist bombings, as well as acts of theft and forgery. The objective of the cells, according to the court, is to undermine the Lebanese Army “which would pave the way for the creation of an Islamist emirate in northern Lebanon as a first step toward a project to control the entire region and create an atmosphere of sectarian and confessional fighting as well as fighting the United Nations Interim Forces in Lebanon.” The 2008 incident, the council said, was a revenge attack by Fath al-Islam against the military. All of those convicted, apart for Jamal al-Rafai, are to pay a total of LL1.742 billion ($1.1 million) in compensation for those who suffered in the attack.

Forest fire erupts in north Lebanon
August 06, 2013/The Daily Star/TRIPOLI, Lebanon: Fire fighters are battling a forest fire which erupted in north Lebanon Tuesday as residence call on authorities for additional assistance. The fire is reportedly raging on a hill between the villages of al-Bira and Sendyaneh and is approaching the village of Majdal, all in Akkar. The blaze completely destroyed an SUV belonging to the Municipality of al-Bira. With just one Civil Defense truck battling the blaze, residents called on the Army to send additional firefighting trucks to contain the fire and prevent it from spreading to nearby residential homes.

Two supporters of Assir surrender to Lebanese authorities
August 06, 2013/By Mohammed Zaatari/The Daily Star/SIDON, Lebanon: Two supporters of fugitive Salafist Sheikh Ahmad Al-Assir surrendered to authorities Tuesday in the southern village of Sharhabil in Sidon, security sources told The Daily Star. The sources identified the suspects, wanted for the Abra clashes in June between armed supporters of Assir and the Lebanese Army, as Hadi Qawwas and Mohammad Wehbi. Army intelligence are interrogating a Syrian national, Omar Naqshabandi, after they arrested him in Sidon to determine his connection to Assir. The fierce clashes in the southern suburb of Abra left dozens of soldiers and Salafist fighters dead.
Some 37 people including Assir were charged with murder, arms possession and other crimes over the clashes. Some of the defendants remain at large, including the Salafist preacher.

EU blacklisting of Hezbollah not aimed at Shiites: British ambassador
August 06, 2013/The Daily Star/BEIRUT: The European Union’s decision to put Hezbollah’s military wing on its terror list is not aimed at Lebanon’s Shiites, the British ambassador to Lebanon said in remarks published Tuesday. Tom Fletcher told the local As-Safir newspaper that the decision was aimed at individuals known to the EU, some of whom are involved in the transfer of money across Europe. He said the EU action would similarly not affect visas or businesses. Fletcher criticized some Lebanese political leaders for emphasizing the issue, adding that the only people who need worry are those who carried out the 2012 bus bombing in Bulgaria.

Nigeria Hizbullah Suspects Say Harshly Interrogated by Mossad Agents
Naharnet/Two Lebanese suspects alleged to be members of Hizbullah and on trial in Nigeria on terrorism charges told a court Monday they were harshly interrogated by Israeli agents after their arrests. Mustapha Fawaz, Abdallah Thahini and Talal Ahmad Roda were arrested in May after the discovery of an arms cache in a residence in the northern Nigerian city of Kano. They have been accused of plotting attacks against Western and Israeli targets in Nigeria and have denied the charges. An Israeli embassy spokesman did not immediately respond to requests for comment when contacted by Agence France Presse. Fawaz testified on Monday that, after his arrest in Abuja, a security official told him "some European friends" wanted to ask him questions. "I was taken to an interrogation room where I met three Israeli Mossad agents," Fawaz told the court in response to questions by his lawyer. Fawaz said one of the interrogators identified himself as a Mossad agent. He said they were "crude and nasty." "They handcuffed my hands behind my back for days. I lost count because they did not allow me to sleep for several days," Fawaz said, denying membership in Hizbullah. "They asked if I have any weapon in Abuja ... They asked if I have been asked to do any operation in Nigeria or anywhere else in the world," Fawaz said. He said further: "During the 14 days of interrogation, I was interrogated by six Israeli Mossad agents and one masked white man. "I was interrogated in Arabic. I asked to be interrogated in English, but they refused. Most of them are weak in English. They are not Europeans, but Israelis." Fawaz said no Nigerian official was present during the sessions. "They asked me about my link with Hizbullah, but they concentrated more on Lebanon -- whether I knew if there are weapons stored in the south of Lebanon or the identities of people who have been trained by Hizbullah," said Fawaz. Thahini, who told the court he was no longer a member of Hizbullah, gave a similar account during his testimony. He claimed to have collapsed after being denied sleep for five days by the foreign interrogators. Thahini said it was easy for him to identify them as Israelis by their accents "because we are neighbors." Both Fawaz and Thahini denied any knowledge of the arms cache discovered in Kano. Judge Adeniyi Adetokunbo Ademola adjourned the case to September 30 after both the prosecutors and the defense closed their cases. The three suspects are believed to own a supermarket and an amusement park in Abuja, but the businesses have been shuttered since the arrests. A fourth suspect is said to be on the run. Nigeria, Africa's most populous country, is home to a sizable Lebanese population, including in the mainly Muslim north. Israel has raised concerns over alleged efforts by Hizbullah members to plan attacks in west Africa. Source/Agence France Presse.

Future bloc demands Hezbollah withdraws from Syria
August 06, 2013/The Daily Star/BEIRUT: The Future bloc called Tuesday for the immediate withdrawal of Hezbollah fighters from Syria, arguing that it would create breakthroughs in the current political deadlock in Lebanon.
During its weekly meeting at former Prime Minister Saad Hariri’s residence, the bloc blasted March 8 ministers from the resigned Cabinet over “financial and administrative” violations. Future MPs also backed Hariri’s call for a neutral government and his party’s readiness to resume dialogue with Hezbollah over the contentious issue of its arsenal. “The bloc reiterates and affirms the Future Movement's vision at this stage which includes ... Hezbollah's immediate and complete withdrawal from the ongoing war in Syria between the regime and its opposition, a necessary step for breakthroughs to happen at the national level,” the bloc said in a statement.
It also affirmed its commitment to the National Covenant stipulating coexistence between Christians and Muslims as well as the implementation of the Taef Accord. “[The bloc affirms the need to] restructure, reform, and rehabilitate state institutions on the basis of qualification and merit, and the ability to hold it accountable whenever necessary,” it added. The state, the bloc noted, should also have the exclusive right to bear arms and the right to implement measures to ensure such an exclusivity. “[It also affirms its] commitment to the principles of dialogue as a means to resolve difference in opinion on the basis of mutual respect,” the bloc said.
It also welcomed President Michel Sleiman’s call for the resumption of the all-party talks “on the basis of committing to previous decisions taken during dialogue session, primarily the Baabda Declaration and adoption of the disassociation policy from regional crises particularly in Syria, with no exception.” The bloc headed by MP Fouad Siniora also reiterated his supportive stance of a nonpartisan government to address the pressing socio-economic issues of citizens which it said were exacerbated due to March 8 practices. “The bloc condemns the scandals and national crimes committed by some ministers in the caretaker government through financial and administrative abuses,” the statement said. Such violations will force the collapse of state institutions and “turning them into partisan, sectarian and confessional sectors that reinforce the authoritarianism of some parties who are backed by armed militias,” in reference to Hezbollah’s allies in the resigned government. The bloc also condemned attacks “carried out by the Syrian regime backed by Hezbollah's militia that breach Lebanon's sovereignty and harms security personnel and civilians” in the northern and eastern border. “[These attacks] require diplomatic action from the Arab League and the United Nations, which should be distanced from the policies of submission and obedience practiced by both the Syrian and Iranian regimes toward the Lebanese Foreign Ministry,” the statement said. The Future Movement has repeatedly accused caretaker Foreign Affairs Minister Adnan Mansour of working in the interest of Syria.

Arsal residents ready to back Syria rebels
August 06, 2013/By Nicholas Blanford/The Daily Star/ARSAL, Lebanon: A rough stony track that winds southeast of Arsal past quarries and through cherry orchards in a valley flanked by barren mountains is part of a lifeline for Syrian rebel fighters and refugees criss-crossing this remote and perilous section of the Lebanon-Syria border. But the route, one of several tracks linking Arsal to a Syrian rebel-held area between Qastal and Qarah, could soon be closed and the border sealed following a widely expected offensive by the regime of Bashar Assad against a string of towns flanking the key highway between Damascus and Homs. “The attack is coming soon. We are all expecting it and when it happens the people of Arsal will help defend our brothers in Syria, especially if Hezbollah is involved,” said Abu Omar, a Sunni resident of Arsal and a logistical supporter for Syrian rebel groups.
Over the past two years, the isolated town of Arsal has become an important logistical support hub for Syrian rebels operating in the Homs area and further south around Yabrud. The town’s population of 40,000 has almost doubled from the flood of Syrian refugees and rebel fighters who use Arsal to rest, plan and smuggle weapons. The two-hour journey following mainly rutted dusty tracks from Arsal to the towns of Yabrud, Nabk, Qarah and Flita inside Syria is not without its dangers. Syria military helicopters and jets have struck farmhouses and vehicles along the route in Lebanon. Syrian helicopters Monday fired three rockets reportedly at militants outside Arsal. On Saturday, nine people were killed and another nine wounded when Syrian aircraft attacked a group of refugees gathered at an orchard near Khirbet Daoud, a farmstead 10 kilometers east of Arsal.
“I heard the explosion,” said Ahmad Hujairy, a farmer, referring to Saturday’s deadly airstrike. He pointed at the mountain skyline to the northeast. “The Syrian helicopters fly over my home all the time,” he said.
Hujairy’s tiny home is surrounded by lush green orchards of cherries, plums and apples. The dark green leaves are a stark contrast to the ochre-colored limestone mountains, pockmarked with caves, that shimmer in the searing midday sun. Few locations in Lebanon are more isolated, but even here Hujairy has felt the tremors of the war raging in Syria. A few months ago his home was attacked by a missile-firing Syrian helicopter.
“I ran out into the trees as the missiles exploded nearby,” he said. “I wish I had enough money to buy an anti-aircraft gun. I would shoot the helicopters down.”
A few vehicles bounce and jolt slowly along the track. Many of them are trucks carrying scrap metal, the detritus of war in Syria, which are left in large piles beside the track for sorting prior to selling. There is also a memento of an earlier conflict: a rectangular entrance to a long-abandoned vehicle-sized bunker sunk into the side of a mountain. It was built by the Palestine Liberation Organization decades ago to store weapons and ammunition smuggled in from Syria along the very same trails now used by Syrian militants to dispatch their own arms and supplies to the war against the Assad regime.
A few kilometers south of Hujairy’s farm, the rutted stony track is transformed into an asphalt road, marking Syria’s interpretation of where its border with Lebanon lies. Lebanese maps, however, locate Syria another 4 kilometers to the east, one of many cartographic frontier anomalies due to Lebanon and Syria never having properly delineated their joint border.
Until recently, it was possible to trek north of Arsal through the mountains to reach the Syrian town of Qusair and then on to Homs. But since Hezbollah and the Syrian army drove rebel forces from Qusair and the surrounding villages in early June, the logistical support route between Arsal and Homs has been effectively severed. Now, the only routes across the border are the stony tracks heading east and southeast from the town to reach Yabrud and Nabk and the Damascus-Homs highway. Abu Omar said that the residents of Arsal are bracing for conflict with Hezbollah once the assault against the towns on the Damascus-Homs highway begins.
“We know Hezbollah will lead the attack and we are ready to fight,” he said, adding that he expected Sunnis from Tripoli, Beirut and Sidon to provide support. “We can defeat Hezbollah.”
Many Syrian residents of Qusair – fighters and civilians alike – fled to Arsal when the town fell on June 5. The Qusair battle and Hezbollah’s intervention in the Syria war has left an indelible imprint of fury and bitterness that has been manifested in four roadside bomb attacks since early June against suspected Hezbollah vehicles in the Bekaa Valley and a car bomb in Bir al-Abed last month.
“We will never make peace with Hezbollah,” Abu Mohammad, a Syrian rebel fighter from Qusair, said in a recent interview in Arsal.
“We will never forgive nor forget. They have killed our people. Even after Assad is gone, we will continue to go after the Party of the Devil. I would release four Alawite prisoners for the pleasure of killing one Shiite. They will remain our enemy forever.” The Syrian army is close to recapturing Homs in its entirety, having seized the rebel-held district of Khaldieh last week. Once Homs is taken, the Assad regime can clear the remaining rebel pockets around Yabrud to consolidate its grip on a belt of territory running north from Damascus to the Mediterranean coast.
However, if the Lebanon-Syria border is sealed by the Assad regime and its Hezbollah allies, it will leave thousands of angry Syrian militants and their Lebanese supporters bottled up in Arsal, potentially creating a pressure cooker situation. Tensions are already running high between Arsal and its Shiite neighbors to the west, not just because they back opposing sides in Syria but because of a spate of tit-for-tat kidnappings and killings. If Syrian militants and their Lebanese supporters are no longer able to slip from Arsal across the border to battle the Assad regime, they may well choose to confront Hezbollah in Lebanon instead.

Asir: Mustaqbal War against Us Led to Abra Battle, Christians Must Hold Aoun Accountable
Naharnet/Fugitive Islamist cleric Sheikh Ahmed al-Asir on Monday appeared in a new audio message -- the second after the Abra battle -- in which he lashed out at Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah and noted that Iran “has turned itself into an enemy of the Arabs.” “Attacks against us are countless and do not need any evidence. They have attacked us in our institutions, centers and mosques, and their evil has targeted our brothers in Syria, contrary to what (Nasrallah) claimed about turning Iran and the Shiites into the enemy instead of the Zionists,” Asir said. “Iran -- with its hateful, criminal Velayat-e Faqih (Iran's form of Islamic rule) policy -- has cooperated with the Great Satan (the U.S.) to slaughter us in Afghanistan and Iraq, and it gave you (Hizbullah) the green light to occupy Lebanon through your weapons and lately the mask has fallen in Syria … Iran has proclaimed itself as the enemy of the region,” the fugitive cleric, on the run since the army overran his Abra headquarters on June 24, added. Criticizing Nasrallah's Quds Day speech, Asir accused the Hizbullah leader of seeking to rally Shiites behind his rhetoric “after the mask fell off in the region.” “Enough with using Palestine for your own interests, as Palestine is cursing you, just like (Syria's) Qusayr and Homs did,” Asir added.
The Islamist cleric also blasted Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun, accusing him of “resorting to blind incitement” and of “using his spiteful media outlets night and day to incite against the Sunni community.”
Asir attributed Aoun's “incitement” to his “lust for presidency” that was “blocked by (former premier) Saad Hariri.”“Remember how he has incited against the Syrian revolution and how he has stood by the butcher against the victim and how he is still justifying the crimes of Nasrallah and his murderers who entered Syria to slaughter its people, especially in Qusayr and Homs,” Asir added. “When the fire reaches the Christian areas, Christians must hold Aoun accountable for these stances,” he went on to say. Asir accused the army's Commando Regiment commander Brig. Gen. Chamel Roukoz, Aoun's son-in-law, of inspecting the conflict zone in Abra in the wake of the clashes to “steal the limelight” and “because of his ambition to become the next army commander.” The fugitive cleric also launched a tirade against ex-PM Saad Hariri and “some al-Mustaqbal leaders who did not hesitate to fight me and distort my image.”“What was the harm I caused you that prompted this campaign? Ever since we rallied in downtown Beirut in support of our beleaguered brothers, Saad Hariri and his associates started to describe me as an extremist,” Asir added. “What happened in Abra was the normal result of the fierce war waged against us by the al-Mustaqbal movement. Why was this ferocious war waged against Ahmed al-Asir? Once through pressuring journalists to distort my image, once through contacting the Saadnayel Municipality to ban my demo and another through (Sidon MP) Bahia Hariri telephoning some muftis and telling them 'we want to besiege al-Asir,'” he went on to say. Asir also criticized Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat and Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea over “cursing” him as part of their “cajolery and blandishment,” noting that he is “confident” that their supporters “do not approve of such a behavior.” In his previous audio message on July 4, described the deadly Sidon clashes as a plot aimed at ending his presence.
According to an army statement, the clashes erupted after gunmen loyal to Asir attacked a checkpoint near his mosque in “cold blood” and "for no reason." Eighteen soldiers were martyred and 20 others were wounded in the attack and in the fierce clashes that ensued. Twenty of Asir's gunmen were also killed in the fighting. The fighting in Abra was among the worst in Lebanon since the outbreak of conflict in neighboring Syria 27 months ago deepened sectarian tensions. It highlighted widespread Sunni resentment against the army, accused of siding with Hizbullah and being selective in its crackdown on armed groups.

US sources: Terror alert prompted by suspected suicide bombers with implanted explosives

DEBKAfile Special Report August 5, 2013/The Obama administration continued Monday, Aug. 5, to try and impress Americans and the world that its far-reaching still ongoing terror alert across a host of Muslim countries was serious and credible. Members of the House and Senate intelligence committees - Democrats and Republicans alike - fully backing the White House, said the chatter picked up over the past two weeks exceeds anything in the past decade.
US officials are beginning to release nuggets of information about the nature of the threat.
According to one high placed US official, concern focuses on the possibility of terrorists carrying explosive devices implanted inside their bodies. debkafile’s counterterrorism sources add that plastic explosives in the body of a would-be suicide bomber without metal components are undetectable by standard screening devices such as those used at most international airports.
It has been suspected for some years that doctors and surgeons in Yemen in the service of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula were experimenting with implanting of plastic explosive devices inside the bodies of suicide bombers or even animals. According to Western counterterrorism sources, the surgeon would open the abdominal cavity and implant the explosive device amongst the bomber’s internal organs.
Some US sources are calling the current threat the most serious since 9/11. They are alarmed by the degree of confidence AQIM leaders show in openly using electronic communications to boast about the unstoppable attack they are plotting.
A senior US official described the terrorists as saying the planned attack is “going to be big” and “strategically significant.”
Britain, Germany and France closed their embassies in Yemen Sunday and Monday. British authorities said some embassy staff in Yemen had been withdrawn. Canada also closed its embassy in Dhaka, Bangladesh
US sources explain the exceptionally broad geographic area covered by the terrorist alert – from Mauritania to Bangladesh including the Middle East, North Africa, the Indian subcontinent and homeland America. We don’t know the exact target of the planned attack, according to one US official. “We do not know whether they mean an embassy, an airbase, an aircraft, trains.”
US agencies are concerned that just three or five suicide bombers with undetectable implanted devices would not be caught in time to prevent them form detonating their devices in a coordinated attack on three or more continents. This might set off the signal for a large wave of bombing attacks in many more countries.
debkafile reported earlier on the extention of the terror threat to the American homeland.
Saturday night Aug. 3, the global warnings issued last week by the US State Department and Interpol against terrorist attacks covering almost the entire Muslim world, suddenly reached the American homeland. Sunday morning, Aug. 4, as US missions closed in 22 countries, including Egypt and Israel, the New York Police Department went on high alert. Security was beefed up in high-profile areas outside houses of worship and transportation hubs, although Police Commissioner Ray Kelly complained that “a lack of specific information was cause for concern.”
Friday, Aug. 2 the State Department issued a worldwide travel alert warning to Americans overseas of potential al Qaeda attacks in the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia.
Saturday night, National Security Adviser Susan Rice convened security officials on the situation. The White House stated: “Given the nature of the potential threat through the week, Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and counter-terrorism Lisa Monaco has held regular meetings with relevant members of the inter-agency to ensure the US government is taking those appropriate steps.”
Nothing in this statement specified the nature of the “potential threat.”
Sunday, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Martin Dempsey told the ABC that the threat was "more specific than previous ones" and “the intent is to attack Western, not just US interests.” He reported that the diplomatic facilities closed “range from Mauritania in northwest Africa to Afghanistan.”
Western and Middle East terrorism and intelligence experts say that in additional to the lack of information, at least six elements don’t add up in the various global warnings released since Thursday Aug. 1:
1. Thursday, US President Barack Obama ordered that "all appropriate steps" be taken to protect Americans in response to a threat of an al-Qaeda attack. What does this mean? The experts comment that even if all US agencies were pressed into service worldwide, there is no way they could protect all Americans in the vast area marked out in the warnings.
2. If the threat is specific why does the warning extend to so many countries? Al Qaeda is not even active in all them. If the danger is so immediate, why haven’t any governments in North Africa and as far east as Bangladesh declared their own terror alerts?
3. US officials reported that some of the intelligence came from terrorist communications intercepted by the National Security Agency over the past days. This too raises questions, considering that al Qaeda leaders are wont to avoid electronic media and satellite phones for their communications on operations, preferring couriers who are not susceptible to electronic interception or eavesdropping. The Internet serves them for propaganda and planting red herrings.
4. In the past week, US drones conducted three attacks against al Qaeda targets in Yemen, where the organization is defined by US officials as al Qaeda’s most dangerous affiliate and capable of attacking the US embassy in Sanaa.
The last drone attack Aug. 1 killed five low-profile al Qaeda operatives, who were driving in a vehicle in the Qatan Valley of Hadramouth province (Osama bin Laden’s place of birth).
All 12 US drone attacks in Yemen of the last eight months targeted Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP). Although its deputy chief Said al Shiri, a former inmate of the Guantanamo Bay facility, was eliminated, AQAP’s entire high command has remained intact and fully functional. In other words, US intelligence counter-terror agencies have not discovered their whereabouts.
5. Neither have they run down the location of al Qaeda’s top leader Ayman al-Zawahiri. Tuesday, he released a communiqué accusing US agents of engineering the coup which deposed the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood president by penetrating the Egyptian army. He called for more attacks on America.
6. Saturday, the international police agency, Interpol, published a global security alert following "the escape of hundreds of terrorists and other criminals" in the past month, including jailbreaks in Iraq, Libya and Pakistan. Interpol feared that the escapees would team up with al Qaeda to hit Western targets. Yet none of its 190 member states have declared terror alerts on this score either.
7. Finally, the sweeping warnnings from the Obama administration dramatically refute its own oft-heard claims that al Qaeda is no longer a force to be reckoned with, because it has lost its compact central command and control of its component branches, which have split up into regional franchises operating autonomously. Al Qaeda, they have been saying, is no longer capable of large-scale terrorist attacks on a global scale.

Egypt: Sisi calls on US to pressure Brotherhood
London and Cairo, Asharq Al-Awsat—Calls from Egypt’s defense minister, Chief of Staff General Abdel-Fattah, for the US to put pressure on the Brotherhood to resolve the crisis in Egypt has drawn a mixed reaction from political commentators. The controversy surrounds Sisi’s comments in a rare interview with the Washington Post last week, in which he criticized the US, and called on it to use its influence to push the leadership of the Muslim Brotherhood to negotiate with Egypt’s new government. Some observers said Sisi was attempting to find ways to reduce tension, and that it was the Muslim Brotherhood who called for Western help first, while others criticized Sisi’s comments saying “they opened the door for Western interference in Egyptian internal affairs.”
During the interview, which was published on Saturday, Sisi said “the US Administration has a lot of leverage and influence with the Muslim Brotherhood, and I want them to use this in order to end the crisis.”
He indicated that the army would not intervene to end Mursi supporters’ protests, adding: “the party who will put an end to these protests, will not be the army, because there is a police force who has such duties.” He added that “on July 26, more than 30 million people took to the streets in support for me, and they expected me to do something.”
Sisi questioned the role played by the West in recent events in Egypt. He said: “What is the role of the US, the EU and all international powers who support Egypt’s security and stability? Are the values of liberty and democracy only valid for your countries? Have you given up on Egyptians and turned your backs on them. They will not forget that.”
Sisi said the problem between the former president and the people was a result of the Muslim Brotherhood’s ideology and political philosophy, which is based on a return of the Islamic religious empire.
He added that the Brotherhood’s ideology put the Brotherhood above the state, which resulted in Mursi appearing not to be a president of all Egyptians, but a president of his followers and supporters.
He said: “We were all eager to help him succeed. If we wanted to oppose him or not allow the Brotherhood to rule Egypt, we could have done something during the elections, as the case used to be in rigging elections in the past. Unfortunately, the former president entered into disputes with almost every state institution. When a president enters into disputes with state institutions, the chances of his success become very limited. From another viewpoint, the president was trying to call in supporters from religious groups,” stressing that the differences between him and Mursi became clear from the first day that he was appointed defense minister.
Sisi claimed that the reason for the army’s intervention to remove the first democratically elected president of Egypt stemmed from the increase in protests against Mursi which accused him of allowing the Brotherhood to control the state, and destroy an already struggling economy.
He said “if we had not made a move, the situation would have resulted in civil war. This is what I told Mursi four months before he was ousted,” adding that “what I want you to know, and what I want the American readers to know, is that this issue is about a free people who rebelled against an unjust political system, and this people needs your support.”
On his aspiration for presidency, Sisi said “what is important in my life is overcoming the difficulties and ensure we live in peace, and to follow up our road map in order to reach the next elections without any bloodshed.”
Sisi said he has not received any calls from President Obama since the ouster of Mursi, but that he was in constant contact with Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel. Sisi criticized Washington’s suspension of the delivery of the F-16 jets to Egypt, saying “national armies are not treated this way.”George Ishak, a member of the National Salvation Front (NSF) and founding member of Kefayah Movement and the National Society for Change, told Asharq Al-Awsat that “Sisi played a nationalist role which was very powerful and he protected Egypt’s revolution,” but advised him to limit his political statements.
Ishak said accusations that Sisi opened the door for Western intervention were untrue, because the Muslim Brotherhood, in their protest at the Rabaa Al-Adawiya square, were the ones who openly called for foreign intervention. He claimed that what Sisi had said was that “since Washington was supporting the Brotherhood, then it should have intervened to restore calm.”
However, political analyst and former assistant foreign minister, Ibrahim Yusri, told Asharq Al-Awsat: “The other side [the Islamist movement] clearly said they rejected foreign intervention, according to reports in the media, and according to what the Americans themselves said.” He added that “Sisi is still new to politics and needs advisers before making such comments,” and that “he has asked another country to help resolve the Egyptian problem, despite the fact that he has the authority, and can resolve people’s problems, which should be resolved through dialogue.”

Iran: Rouhani meets foreign leaders at inauguration
London, Asharq Al-Awsat—Iran’s new president, Hassan Rouhani, took official meetings with foreign leaders immediately before and after his inauguration ceremony on Sunday, while also appealing to the US to change its approach to Iran. Yesterday, Rouhani was sworn into office in Iran’s parliament in a ceremony attended by delegates from over 50 countries. Following the ceremony, President Rouhani met with high-ranking officials from 14 countries, including some Arab states that either border Iran or have close links to the Islamic Republic.
In his meeting with Kuwaiti Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Sabah Khalid Al-Hamad Al-Sabah in Tehran, Rouhani underlined the importance of bilateral ties between the two neighboring countries.
“When there are conflicts and problems, foreign elements come to the region and use all sides of the conflict to their benefit, which is bad for the region,” Rouhani said.
The Kuwaiti official extended Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah’s congratulatory message to Rouhani on his election as Iran’s new president.
Rouhani also met with his Lebanese counterpart, Michel Suleiman, to highlight the significance of Tehran–Beirut cooperation in regional security and stability.
Rouhani said: “Cooperation between Iran and Lebanon is very important for the establishment of peace, stability and security in the region.”
The new Iranian president also used a meeting with North Korean chairman of the presidium Kim Yong-nam to denounce Western pressure on Iran over its nuclear program.
Rouhani said: “The US and the West have always sought excuses to confront states with which they are not friendly. Iranian nuclear facilities have always been under the supervision of International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors.” The North Korean official said: “Iran and North Korea are at the anti-imperialism front. The US and the West aim to deprive other nations of their absolute rights. Independent countries must stand before them and defend their rights.” Though Rouhani tried to use his inauguration to advance his pragmatic foreign policy program, the absence of officials from the European Union and some European states—regarded as key intermediaries between Iran and the US—was obvious, with only former EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana in attendance. In addition to attending the presidential inauguration ceremony, Solana met with the chairman of Iran’s Expediency Council, the influential Ayatollah Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, on Sunday. In the meeting, Hashemi Rafsanjani was also reported to have criticized attempts by the US and its allies to put pressure on Iran over its nuclear program. He said: “No negotiations could bear fruit with threats and sanctions. This is a new era and Iran’s foreign policy is based on mutual respect and trust.” Rouhani echoed these sentiments during his inauguration. In his speech to attendees, he appealed to the US to change its approach, saying: “I say candidly that if you want a proper response, speak to Iran not with the language of sanctions but with the language of respect.”

Detached policy
August 06, 2013/The Daily Star/Syria’s president has delivered his latest spin on the war that is ravaging his country, speaking during an iftar as the month of Ramadan draws to a close. The crisis in Syria has been raging for nearly two and a half years, but Bashar Assad had little to say, other than to talk about “terrorists” and the need to strike with an “iron fist.” And, as usual, Assad trotted out his standard definition of what qualifies as political opposition, as he defines one group of people as patriots, and the rest as traitors. His remarks also came as news reports indicate how the de facto partition of Syria into several distinct regions is becoming more entrenched with every passing day: Several key regions are under the control of the Syrian regime, while wide swathes of the country are under rebel control, and a third entity, controlled by Kurdish groups, is taking shape in the northeast of the country. But the Syrian president continues to talk about war as the only way to defeat terror, and delivers lectures on the meaning of “politics.” Assad’s tone springs from a bit of self-confidence, which has risen in the last few weeks and months. He and other top officials in Damascus appear to be acting on the basis of newfound optimism that the crisis is heading toward an ending, in their favor. Some of this sentiment is based on actual military advances by the regime, such as in the town of Qusair and the city of Homs. But the Syrian leadership appears to believe that its real problem over the last few years has involved its public relations efforts, and not its actual performance. While some regime advances have taken place, there have been a series of losses as well, from the south to the north of the country, and most recently in Assad’s own home province of Latakia.
In the end, the most recent comments by the Syrian president give no indication of any readiness to end the war, or negotiate anything of substance at a proposed Geneva peace conference; instead, the public is told that it could all be over in a few months’ time. The depressing thing is that similar comments – it will all be over soon – were made in the first half of 2011. Instead of that scenario coming to pass, Syria has seen several million people displaced internally or outside the country; its economy and society have been devastated, and more than 100,000 people have lost their lives. In the old days, Syrian officials used to pride themselves on thinking “strategically,” as in not being swayed by day-to-day developments. These days, Assad gives the impression that policy decisions are taken on a whim, based only on the latest tidbits of gossip and news reports, and with little connection to reality or facts on the ground.

Syria rebels strike Assad's stronghold, seize airport
August 06, 2013/By Khaled Yacoub Oweis, Mariam Karouny/Reuters/AMMAN/BEIRUT: Syrian Islamist rebels have killed around 200 people in a three-day offensive in the mountain stronghold of President Bashar al-Assad's Alawite sect and driven hundreds of villagers to seek refuge on the Mediterranean coast, activists said on Tuesday. Since launching the surprise assault at dawn on Sunday, the mainly Islamist rebel brigades led by two al Qaeda-linked groups have captured half a dozen villages on the northern edges of the Alawite mountain range, the activists say. The rebel strike into Alawite territory and their capture of a military airport north of Aleppo mark two major gains for Assad's foes after months of setbacks during which they lost ground around the capital Damascus and the central city of Homs. Combined with a steady fightback in the southern province of Deraa, they highlight the challenge Assad faces in trying to restore his authority across Syria after two years of conflict that has killed 100,000 people and fragmented the country.
Assad controls much of southern and central Syria, while rebels hold northern areas near the Turkish border and along the Euphrates valley towards Iraq. The northeast corner is now an increasingly autonomous Kurdish region.
Rebels complain they are outgunned and lack foreign support, unlike the Iran- and Hezbollah-backed Syrian army. But they have support from regional Sunni powers and have equipped themselves with anti-tank weapons seized from the army. Syrian state television said on Tuesday at least two Alawite villages seized by rebels since Sunday had been recaptured and named 10 "terrorists" - as the authorities call the rebel fighters in Syria - it said were killed in the fighting. Overall, 60 rebels have been killed since the start of the operation, said Ammar Hassan, a local activist in Latakia. "Assad is sending huge reinforcement from Latakia, but liberation will continue," he said. Assad's deployment of extra forces reflects the gravity of the challenge to his authority in a region that had remained firmly under his authority since the outbreak of Syria's conflict, which started with peaceful protests in March 2011. The conflict has turned into a civil war, deepening the Shiite-Sunni schism in Islam and raising tensions between Iran and the rest of the mainly Sunni Middle East.
Diplomats say the coastal area and its mountain villages could be the scene of an Alawite bloodbath if Islamist hardliners eventually gain the upper hand in the conflict.
"We killed 200 (of Assad's men) on Sunday alone, and yesterday at least 40," said a rebel fighter in the area. "His people were kicked out to the city," he said referring to the Mediterranean port of Latakia. "Only those who raised the white flag were exempt from killing." Ahmad Abdelqader, an activist with the Ahrar al-Jabal Brigade, one of the groups involved in the operation, put the death toll at 175, describing them as soldiers and militiamen who were manning roadblocks linking the mountain villages. A prominent Alawite cleric, Muwaffaq Ghazal, was also seized by rebels from the al Qaeda-linked Nusra Front, who were seeking an exchange for captured fighters, activists said. Mohammad Moussa, a Free Syrian Army commander, said rebel forces were on the outskirts of the hilltop village of Aramo, which is 20 km (12 miles) from Qardaha - Assad's hometown and burial place of his father, Hafez al-Assad, who ruled Syria with an iron fist for three decades. "The objective is to reach Qardaha and hurt them like they are hurting us. The Alawites have been huddling in their mountain thinking that they can destroy Syria and remain immune," Abdelqader said. In another gain for the rebels, Islamist fighters in the north of the country took control of Minnigh military airport after months of conflict, consolidating rebel control over a key supply route from Turkey into Aleppo. The opposition Syrian National Coalition announced the "full liberation of the airport", saying its capture "will have a strategic effect on the course of battle throughout the north".
A statement issued by nine brigades that took part in the operation, including the al Qaeda-linked Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), said: "The airport has been fully liberated. The remnants of the Assad gangs are now being chased." The command headquarters, the last section still held by Assad's troops, was overrun on Monday by ISIL rebels after a suicide bomber drove an armoured personnel carrier packed with explosives into the building. Charles Lister of Jane's Terrorism and Insurgency Centre said the fall of the airport "underlines the leading strategic impact being played by militant Islamists, particularly in northern Syria".
He said it will also likely prove a turning point within the wider conflict in Aleppo province. Assad's forces still control part of Aleppo city, the country's former commercial hub, but most of the rural land around it is rebel-held.
Activists said Minnigh had not been used as an airport for several months as rebel fighters gradually took it over, capturing 15 soldiers during the final push on the facility in the last two days.
Syrian state media said fighting continued in the area. "Our armed forces heroes in the Minnigh Airport and the surrounding area are confronting the terrorist with unmatched valour. The terrorist groups are taking heavy losses," a statement said. Activists said the fall of Minnigh Airport now exposed two nearby Shiite villages, where Hezbollah fighters have been training loyalist militia.
Assad's forces tried to prevent the fall of the airport by launching an armoured offensive from Aleppo last month, backed by guerrillas based in the two Shiite villages, al-Nubbul and Zahra.

US tells citizens in Yemen to leave immediately
August 06, 2013/By Mohammed Ghobari/Reuters
SANAA: The United States told its citizens in Yemen on Tuesday to leave immediately and airlifted out some U.S. government personnel, following warnings of potential attacks that have pushed Washington to shut diplomatic missions across the Middle East. The poorest Arab country, Yemen is the base for Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), one of the most active branches of the network founded by Osama bin Laden, and militants have launched attacks from there against the West. U.S. sources have told Reuters that intercepted communication between bin Laden's successor as Al-Qaeda leader, Ayman al-Zawahri, and the Yemen-based wing was one part of the intelligence behind their alert last week. Britain, which has already advised for more than two years that its citizens in Yemen should "leave now", announced it was temporarily evacuating all its embassy staff.
Yemen is one of a handful of countries where Washington acknowledges targeting militants with strikes by drone aircraft. In the latest strike on Tuesday, a U.S. drone fired five missiles at a car travelling in the central Maarib province killing all four of its occupants, local tribal leaders said. Yemen's state news agency Saba said four Al-Qaeda militants were killed in the attack.
The U.S. State Department's announcement urging Americans to leave the country follows a worldwide travel alert on Friday which prompted Washington to shut diplomatic missions across the Middle East and Africa. Some of its European allies have also closed their embassies in Yemen. "The Department urges U.S. citizens to defer travel to Yemen and those U.S. citizens currently living in Yemen to depart immediately," the statement posted on its website said. "On August 6, 2013, the Department of State ordered the departure of non-emergency U.S. government personnel from Yemen due to the continued potential for terrorist attacks," it added.
Britain also said on Tuesday it had withdrawn all staff from its embassy in the capital Sanaa, adding there was "a very high threat of kidnap from armed tribes, criminal and terrorists". Restoring stability to Yemen - a country close to major shipping lanes and torn by regional and sectarian separatism and tribal violence as well as the Al-Qaeda insurgency - has been a priority for the United States.
In a statement issued in Washington, Pentagon spokesman George Little said the U.S. Air Force "transported personnel out of Sanaa, Yemen, as part of a reduction in emergency personnel" in response to a request by the State Department. He did not specify which types of personnel were involved or where they were taken. "The U.S. Department of Defense continues to have personnel on the ground in Yemen to support the U.S. State Department and monitor the security situation," the statement said. Yemeni Foreign Minister Abu-Bakr al-Qirbi criticised the measures but said they would not affect relations with the United States."Unfortunately, these measures, although they are taken to protect their citizens, in reality they serve the goals that the terrorist elements are seeking to achieve," Qirbi told Reuters.
"Yemen had taken these threats seriously and had taken all the necessary measures to protect all the foreign missions in the country," he added.
The country's Supreme Security Committee issued a statement saying it had information Al-Qaeda was plotting attacks during Eid al-Fitr, this week's Muslim holiday that marks the end of the Ramadan fasting month.
The committee also published a list of 25 senior Al-Qaeda militants it said were being sought by security forces and offered a bounty of 5 million Yemeni riyals ($23,000) for information leading to their capture.
"Information has become available that terrorist elements of the Al-Qaeda network were planning to carry out terrorist acts targeting public installations and facilities, especially in a number of Yemeni provinces, in the latter days of the holy month of Ramadan and during the Eid al-Fitr holiday," it said. Long-serving leader Ali Abdullah Saleh stepped down following months of protests against his rule in 2011, part of Arab uprisings that toppled three other heads of state. His replacement, Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, met U.S. President Barack Obama in Washington last week.
Yemen is also home to 56 of the 86 detainees still being held in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and security in Yemen is a key element of any deal to send them back so that Obama can fulfil a pledge to close the U.S. prison camp.
Washington's warnings last week concerned possible attacks in the region, based on intelligence including intercepted communication between Al-Qaeda leaders. Some officials pinpointed Yemen as the main concern.
No figures on the number of Americans in Yemen were immediately available. Washington had consistently cautioned citizens against travelling to Yemen since the protests in early 2011 that eventually forced Saleh to step down. Al-Qaeda's Yemen-based branch AQAP has been behind plots against Western targets and neighbouring Saudi Arabia. It claimed responsibility for a failed attempt by a Nigerian man to blow up a Detroit-bound trans-Atlantic airliner with explosives hidden in his underwear on Christmas Day 2009. The United States has acknowledged killing Anwar al-Awlaki, an American citizen and Al-Qaeda preacher, in a drone strike in Yemen in September 2011. The Obama administration's policy allowing the killing of a U.S. citizen has been controversial.

Iran's Rouhani urges 'serious' nuclear talks without delay
August 06, 2013/By Farhad Pouladi/Agence France Presse
TEHRAN: President Hassan Rouhani said Tuesday that Iran was ready for "serious" talks on its nuclear program without delay and that US calls for tougher sanctions showed a lack of understanding.
Addressing his first news conference since taking office on Saturday, Rouhani said that he would not surrender Iran's rights but that he wanted to allay Western concerns. "As the president of the Islamic republic, I am announcing that there is the political will to solve this issue and also take into consideration the concerns of the other sides," he said. "We are the people of interaction and talks, with seriousness and without wasting time, if the other sides are ready."Rouhani headed Iran's nuclear negotiating team under reformist president Mohammad Khatami in the early 2000s and Western leaders have expressed hope of a more constructive approach in the protracted talks. The hardline policies of his firebrand predecessor as president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, prompted crippling EU and US sanctions against Iran's oil and banking sectors that he has vowed to seek to relax.
Rouhani said there could be no surrender of the right to peaceful use of nuclear energy that Iran claims under the Non-Proliferation Treaty. "Iran's peaceful nuclear program is a national issue... we will not give up the rights of the Iranian people," he said. "We will preserve our rights based on the international regulations." He said Iran would not give up uranium enrichment -- the sensitive nuclear activity at the heart of Western concerns which Iran suspended when Rouhani was chief negotiator a decade ago. "In Iran, nobody has said we will give up uranium enrichment, no one and at no time," he said.
Rouhani also reiterated his insistence that Iran would not negotiate under the threat of economic sanctions or military action. He hit out at "contradictory messages" from Washington, with the White House saying that it would be a "willing partner" in genuine talks, but the US Senate urging tougher sanctions. "Recent declarations from the White House show that some US officials do not have a correct and realistic assessment of the situation here and the message that the Iranian people gave in the election," Rouhani said. "They are still sending contradictory messages," he said, adding: "We care about the US response in deeds, not in words."On Sunday, the White House said Iran would find the United States a "willing partner" if Rouhani is prepared to engage substantively and seriously on its nuclear program. In a message congratulating Rouhani on his inauguration, the White House said it "presents an opportunity for Iran to act quickly to resolve the international community's deep concerns over Iran's nuclear program." Western governments suspect that Iran's nuclear program is cover for a drive for a weapons capability, an ambition Tehran strongly denies. Rouhani took particular issue with a letter signed by 76 US Senators -- more than three-quarters of the total -- calling for tougher US sanctions, even as he promised more constructive engagement. He charged that the letter was the work of a "foreign country" and its supporters in the United States, a clear allusion to Iran's archfoe Israel. "The interests of a foreign country and the will of a certain group have been imposed on US lawmakers, which does not serve the interests of the United States," he said. Israel -- which has the Middle East's sole if undeclared nuclear arsenal -- has refused to rule out a resort to military action to prevent Iran developing a weapons capability. It says that any such arsenal would pose an "existential threat" to the Jewish state, and that Rouhani's assumption of the presidency will make no difference to Iranian nuclear policy, which is set by supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Washington too has said that the military option remains on the table if diplomatic avenues are exhausted.
There have been repeated rounds of talks between Iran and the so-called P5+1 group of Britain, China, France, Russia, the United States plus Germany but they have so far failed to allay Western concerns.

Rebels in Homs look to Nusra for help
August 06, 2013/By Lauren Williams/The Daily Star
BEIRUT: Starved of weapons, rebels in Homs can no longer defend the neighborhood alone and will be forced to call on their rivals from the jihadist Nusra Front, senior opposition military sources have told The Daily Star.
Homs, dubbed the “capital of the revolution” for its early and widespread opposition to the regime of Bashar Assad, has been subjected to a monthlong aerial and artillery bombardment as forces loyal to the regime try to root out rebels from their last strongholds. In a symbolic blow to the opposition, government forces last week took full control of the central neighborhood of Khaldieh, which had been in rebel hands for over a year. That followed the fall of Qusair, southeast of Homs, after government forces backed by Hezbollah overran the city in June. Opposition fighters and activists admit they now expect the final rebel strongholds, particularly Bab Houd and parts of the Old City, to fall. A senior official working with the opposition military council who requested anonymity told The Daily Star rebel battalions in Homs were now considering seeking help from rival Islamist brigades, particularly the Nusra Front, operating in Syria’s north. As one of the first cities to militarize the opposition to Assad, and with strong financial backing and support from Syrian financiers in the Gulf and elsewhere, Homs saw a local and highly organized military opposition force develop early on in the uprising.
Fighters, grouped as part of the Free Syrian Army, are made of battalions that enjoyed a high degree of military success early on in the revolution, most notably the Farouq Brigade. The battalions operating in the city – comprised of mostly Homsis – focused on defending areas from assault by regime forces, leading to significant support from Homs civilians and a high local recruitment rate, according to a local battalion leader from the area.
In “liberated” cities in the north of the country, particularly in Idlib and Aleppo province, opposition fighters enjoyed an influx of weapons across the Turkish border later in the uprising. Most arms, however, according to opposition fighters, activists and diplomats, are being directed to Islamist groups via funding from Qatar and other Gulf donors, also sparking alarm in the West. The influx of foreign jihadist fighters to the region has also helped Islamist brigades gain the upper hand in fighting in the region.
And while Islamist brigades in Raqqa, Aleppo and Idlib, including Nusra, Bilad al-Sham, Ahrar al-Sham and the Al-Qaeda linked Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria, have not hidden their territorial ambitions, even clashing with FSA fighters for control in some areas, they have yet to move south to Homs.
“The people of Homs and the FSA groups there were strong enough to defend their territory,” the military council source said.
“In the north, actually the revolution was slow. The armed opposition suddenly entered Aleppo. They had the chance to suddenly get weapons from Turkey, but they didn’t have the support of the local people.”
“In Homs, the people started to arm to defend themselves from the beginning of the revolution. They are strong, well structured and well organized ... and with good experience, so it was difficult for foreigners to come to Homs and build new entities.” But the latest government onslaught, with its superior airpower and backed by highly trained Hezbollah forces, means that is no longer the case.
Rebel supply routes from the Lebanon border via Qusair and to the north and south of the city have been cut, and while casualty figures cannot be verified, opposition sources suggest they suffered a high toll in Khaldieh.
The fall of Homs would present a severe blow to the opposition and a strategic win for the Assad regime as it tries to carve out a corridor of territory stretching from the capital Damascus to the northern port cities of Tartous and Latakia, and along the Lebanese border.
The Syrian political opposition, the Syrian National Coalition, and its recently appointed head, Ahmad Jarba, are lobbying for more weapons and have demanded that a military balance of power be restored in Homs and elsewhere, before there is any agreement on negotiations with the Assad regime. Nusra and other hard-line groups have not yet established a presence in Homs, despite calls for assistance from other FSA groups by the commander of the Western backed Supreme Military Council, Salim Idriss, during the assault on Qusair on the Lebanese border.
While Nusra was in Qusair in “small numbers,” according to fighters who spoke to The Daily Star, the Farouq Brigade, along with others from Damascus, largely led the defense and eventual evacuation of the town.
The military source claimed senior brigade commanders in the FSA have said they will no longer be able to prevent Nusra from entering Homs “as the only way to restore the balance of power.”
“They will not invite them, but they will not prevent them,” the source said. “Khaldieh fell and other areas will fall. They only have light weapons to defend them. But Nusra and other groups have more creative tactics,” he said. The Nusra Front advocates the use of suicide bombs and has claimed a number of bombing attacks on military and civilian targets. The source said the opposition asked the West for advanced and sophisticated technical assistance but were knocked back.
“We wanted technical assistance for creative technical solutions to, for example, blow the regime communications,” the source added. “We got nothing. And the FSA no longer has the means to protect the people.”
Asked how the local population would respond to the newcomers, the official said Nusra members already in the governorate who had taken part in the defense of Qusair were “less extreme.”
“In the beginning the population will welcome them because the population is so depressed. Don’t forget there are also stories and legends and, some of them exaggerated, about the bravery and courage of Nusra.”
“Some people may fear them, but then they fear the shabbiha more,” he said, referring to local loyalist militias.
Syrian Defense Minister Fahd al-Freij visited army troops in Khaldieh Monday, telling soldiers that “liberating Khaldieh is proof of great heroism,” according to state media. His visit came a day after Assad said the country’s crisis could only be solved by “striking terror with an iron fist.” The military source said that while it was likely areas would fall under intense pressure from Assad forces, it was impossible for them to be totally eradicated.
Denying a recent report in the Times of London claiming opposition forces had agreed to abandon Homs to focus on other, more winnable battles, the source said: “Many commanders believe it is difficult to hold Homs but the Coalition is still sending money and weapons.” “We are not sure that we can still protect the Old City, but from a political and leadership perspective, no one would ever dare express that they are willing to give up Homs.”

Escaped python kills two young children in Canada
August 06, 2013/Agence France Presse
MONTREAL, Quebec: A python strangled two children in their sleep in eastern Canada after escaping from a reptile shop and slithering through a ventilation shaft, police said Monday.
The two young boys, aged five and seven, were at a sleepover at a friend's apartment late Sunday in the small town of Campbellton. The snake apparently escaped from a pet store specializing in exotic animals located on the floor below the apartment. The CTV network said a "15-foot African rock python" crawled through the ventilation shaft, made its way upstairs and then fell through the ceiling, landing on top of the two boys and smothering them. "The preliminary investigation has led police to believe that a large exotic snake had escaped its enclosure at the store sometime overnight, and got into the ventilation system, then into the upstairs apartment," police said in a statement. "It's believed the two boys were strangled by the snake." A New Brunswick police spokesman declined to give further details on the size of the snake or whether signs of strangulation were found on the boys.
Authorities late Monday said they were still waiting for the results of the autopsies -- to be carried out Tuesday -- to determine the cause of death.
But reptile experts expressed skepticism over the incident, saying it would be extremely rare for a constrictor to attack two young boys. "It's difficult to believe," said David Rodrigue, director of Montreal's Ecomuseum Zoo.
This type of accident would be "an isolated case and very, very extraordinary, and very improbable," he said. Pythons typically only bite to defend themselves and use strangulation solely for their prey.
"Strangling is really linked to the feeding of the animal," Rodrigue said, explaining the behavior "is stimulated by hunger and by the odor of the prey."
The python had been recaptured and was being held by police, authorities said. The incident sparked strong reactions in Campbellton, a town of just over 7,000 people on Chaleur Bay in northern New Brunswick.
Deputy Mayor Ian Comeau expressed sorrow over the accident and noted that there had been opposition to the presence of the exotic pet store in the town.
He pledged that the city ordinance that allowed it would immediately come under review.

Al Qaeda’s Chechen, Caucasian fighters win N. Syrian air base, execute captive troops

DEBKAfile Exclusive Report August 6, 2013,/Russian-speaking Al Qaeda fighters from Chechnya and the Caucasian seized the key northern Syrian air base of Minakh 10 kilometers south of Aleppo, from the Syrian army Monday, Aug. 5, debkafile’s military sources reveal. This was the first important gain by Al Qaeda’s North Caucasian brigade, Jaish al-Muhajireen wal Ansar, and its Chechen commander Abu Omar. They did not give the Syrian troops at the base a chance to flee. They caught and executed them by slashing their throats or beheading – in accordance with al Qaeda custom. This fate was also suffered by the Syrian air force’s chief operations officer in the north.
The assault was enabled by suicide bombings at the gate of the air base which enabled the foreign assailants to surge into the compound.
The fall of Minakh abruptly halted Syrian government air strikes against opposition-held regions in Aleppo province. Based there was a fleet of Syrian Air Force German-made MBB 223 Flamingo training craft and Russian-made Mi-8 assault helicopters. It also opened the way for Syrian rebel forces to advance on government outposts in President Bashar Assad’s Alawite heartland in the Jabal al-Akrad hills of Latakia province, and capture a number of villages.
Loyal Assad government troops have made major advances in Homs and Damascus and may be expected to wrest Minakh air base from rebel hands and return to their air strikes against the rebels. However, the appearance of al Qaeda fighters from Chechnya and the Caucasian on the Syrian battlefield is of prime significance in a wider context in a geographical region stretching from southern Russia to the Middle East and is also fraught with significance for the US war terrorism.
On July 30, a number of high-profile al Qaeda operatives in southern Russian urged their Emir Doky Umarov to pull their men back from Syria and refocus on Russian targets, specifically preparations for the Winter Olympics taking place at the Black Sea resort of Sochi next February.
The “huge flow” of jihadi volunteers heading for Syria, they said, would be better employed fighting the Russians.
debkafile’s intelligence and military sources note the ramifications of this “huge flow” – and not just for Russia’s position in the Syrian war, The timing of an al Qaeda victory in Syria is relevant to current US, Israeli, Lebanese and Jordanian efforts to beat jihadist terrorism.
1. The US has been pouring all its security and intelligence resources into a global terror alert to forestall a major terror attack or attacks on US targets in Muslim countries and inside America by Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) or Al Qaeda in the Maghreb (AQIM). Meanwhile, al Qaeda has opened a third front from Syria using North Caucasian and Chechen adherents.
Less than five months ago, on April 15, two terrorists of Chechen origin, Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev, blew up the Boston Marathon Race, killing three people and injuring dozens. First, the pair murdered three young Jews by slashing their throats.
The Chechen branch of Al Qaeda is the most brutal wing of the movement and dedicated no less than the others to murdering Americans.
2. Not far from Minakh base, the Syrian army and Hizballah are massing around the nearby city of Aleppo ready to drive the rebels out of their strongholds. This battle will bring Syrian and Hizballah Shiite troops in direct confrontation for the first time with Sunni jihadis from the Caucasian, a significant moment for the Sunni-Shiite contest building up in the Middle East and also for the future of Lebanon.
3. The belligerent Russian-speaking jihadis will not be satisfied with pursuing jihad on Syrian soil. They will want to expand their operations up to and across Syria’s borders with Israel and Jordan, challenging Israeli, Jordanian and US forces based in the Hashemite kingdom with a different and fearsome kind of war savagery from that .

A Side Order of Chaos
By: Ali Salem/Asharq Alawsat
Editor’s note: Although difficult to translate, we felt the following piece was worth bringing to our English-speaking audience. In this short, satirical story, renowned Egyptian comedian Ali Salem takes a look at Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi (the chef) and the recent events in Egypt. In Arabic, the word “soup” is also used as a metaphor for “chaos.” As my friends and I contemplated where to eat one night in Egypt, preparations to break into the districts of Rabaa Al-Adawiya Square, the Media Production City, and Al-Nahda Square were in full swing. In a bid to relieve the tension we all felt, a friend of mine suggested that we go for dinner in the Transparency Restaurant, the sole restaurant in Egypt—perhaps the whole world—to notify its customers of all the steps it takes before dishes are served. We were a group of artists and writers, and it was my first time visiting that restaurant. The place was comfortable and wonderful—and transparent. A few moments after we chose the dishes from the menu, the ambient music stopped and, instead, we heard something akin to official statements coming over the loudspeakers: “Ladies and gentlemen, the chef has received your orders. Now he and his team are getting ready to prepare the dishes. Bon appetit!” Everyone was wondering: Do you think preparations for breaking into the sit-ins will take time? What about possible causalities? What about people who have already been injured or killed? “When someone jeopardizes his own life as well as that of others, it means he has meddled with fate,” said one of the guests. Once again, the voice of the restaurant director is heard: “We are ready to serve the food you ordered. We shall begin by serving the salads, but we can also begin with the soup if you wish. Bon appetit!”
We began chatting again, feeling desperately hungry: “No one must be excluded, this is what we all must be keen to do,” said one of us. “This is not the question my friend, what is required is that they must not act to exclude us,” said another. Yet another person at our table pointed out: “What matters now is that preparations to break into the sit-ins are completed.” One outspoken guest interrupted: “Sit-ins? Do you believe there are really ‘sit-ins’ in Egypt? You all are aware that there are no sit-ins in Egypt, yet there is aggression that has no legitimacy or logic. It must be a problem of semantics, for we bring a word from the West and then Arabize it in order to fit our own use of it.” By the way, hypocrisy is not a moral defect: it is a crime. Why are we always speaking of our respect for the right to protest, demonstrate and stage sit-ins? Everyone is aware that what is happening now are not sit-ins or strikes. The most recent victim was a patrol car that was destroyed and burned in the Media Production City.
“Calm down my friend, do not make haste. Officials now are being prepared to end this chaos just like the master chef is about to serve out salads and soups,” said one the calmer people among us.
Once again, we spoke in a harsher tone, as we were all ravenously hungry. Why didn’t they start with the soup? I asked the waiter: “Please, may I have a piece of bread and some salt?”
“Sure,” the waiter answered, leaving hastily. We heard the same sound coming from the speakers a few moments later, saying: “An order has been given to the master chef to serve a piece of bread and some salt to one of our prominent customers.”