LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN

Bible/Faith/Quotation for todayFrom Death to Life
Ephesians 02 /01-10: " In the past you were spiritually dead because of your disobedience and sins. At that time you followed the world's evil way; you obeyed the ruler of the spiritual powers in space, the spirit who now controls the people who disobey God. Actually all of us were like them and lived according to our natural desires, doing whatever suited the wishes of our own bodies and minds. In our natural condition we, like everyone else, were destined to suffer God's anger. But God's mercy is so abundant, and his love for us is so great, that while we were spiritually dead in our disobedience he brought us to life with Christ. It is by God's grace that you have been saved. In our union with Christ Jesus he raised us up with him to rule with him in the heavenly world. He did this to demonstrate for all time to come the extraordinary greatness of his grace in the love he showed us in Christ Jesus. For it is by God's grace that you have been saved through faith. It is not the result of your own efforts, but God's gift, so that no one can boast about it. God has made us what we are, and in our union with Christ Jesus he has created us for a life of good deeds, which he has already prepared for us to do.

Suleiman Urges Support for Army, Says State Must Oversee Army-People-Resistance Formula
Naharnet/President Michel Suleiman on Monday called for supporting the army so that it can become the only force that possesses arms in Lebanon, stressing that the state must oversee the so-called army-people-resistance equation. “Commitment to the Baabda Declaration is what can protect Lebanon's unity and stability, as well as to the defense strategy that we proposed in the wake of the Baabda Decalaration,” Suleiman said in a speech on the occasion of moving to the summer presidential headquarters in Beiteddine. "Commitment to the defense strategy would protect Lebanon from Israel and I stress that it would protect Lebanon and Lebanon's land exclusively," the president added. He noted that the so-called army-people-resistance equation is capable of protecting Lebanon “on the condition that it is overseen by the Lebanese state.”
"The resistance cannot act unilaterally concerning the domestic or foreign affairs. For the sake of the resistance and in order to immunize it, we must abide by the proper administration of this equation,” Suleiman added.
“Let us all return to the interior, to our homeland, and let us devote our capabilities, strength and assets to defend our country,” the president went on to say, referring to Hizbullah's military intervention in Syria.
Suleiman called for “supporting the army instead of stabbing it in the back, launching accusations against it and making its mission more difficult.”
“Let us support this army so that it can become the only force that possesses arms and the assets to defend the country. I want to say that the national assets – and I mean the army, the state and the resistance – are not for a certain group or sect, but rather for the entire country,” the president added. He warned that “the constitutional junctures are looming … and the presidential race will start soon,” urging the formation of a new cabinet that would “take care of the people's affairs.”“This is what the constitution says. It gives the jurisdiction to form the cabinet to the president and the premier,” Suleiman added, stressing that he will not relinquish his powers pertaining to the cabinet formation process. “I tell everyone that the cabinet must be formed as soon as possible and we are the guarantee,” the president said, saying a new cabinet representing all parties must accompany the relaunch of national dialogue, “which must also kick off as soon as possible.”

Hezbollah's Pilgrims Families Threaten to Nab 'Any Turk on Beirut Streets' after Saleh's Arrest
Naharnet/The families of the Aazaz hostages on Monday threatened to kidnap “any Turkish national on Beirut's streets,” after the Internal Security Forces' Intelligence Bureau failed to release Mohammed Saleh, a relative of one of the abductees who has been arrested over alleged ties to the kidnappers of two Turkish pilots. The warning comes after the families held a meeting with caretaker Interior Minister Marwan Charbel at his office over the arrest of Saleh and the ongoing negotiations in the case of the abducted pilgrims. “Charbel said Mohammed Saleh is innocent and that he was held on suspicions but he has not been released until the moment and any Turkish national on Beirut's streets will be kidnapped,” Hayat Awali, a spokeswoman for the families, said in an interview with al-Jadeed television. “Any Turkish national on Beirut's streets is a target for us,” she added.
Earlier on Monday, Charbel briefed the families on the latest developments related to the ongoing negotiations, state-run National News Agency reported.
“We will let the security agencies do their routine procedures but Mohammed Saleh will be released because the phone call he made was for congratulations,” Daniel Shoaib, a spokesman for the families, said after the meeting. Saleh was arrested on Sunday by the ISF Intelligence Bureau on charges of having links to the kidnappers of two Turkish pilots who were abducted on Friday near the Beirut Rafik Hariri International Airport.
For his part, Sheikh Abbas Zgheib, who has been tasked by the Higher Islamic Shiite Council to follow up the case of the abducted pilgrims, said the delegation discussed the "latest developments" with Charbel.
"He briefed us on the latest developments pertaining to the nine hostages and the atmosphere was positive," he added. "The Turkish state is responsible for the return of the nine abductees to Lebanon," said Zgheib.
In an interview with LBCI television, the cleric said: "Charbel informed us that Mohammed Saleh has nothing to do with the kidnapping operation and that he is being interrogated over the congratulations phone call he had received." But he warned: “If Mohammed Saleh is not released today, we will consider him to be kidnapped by the Intelligence Bureau and we'll act accordingly."
On Sunday, the families of the abductees threatened to escalate their protests in the wake of Saleh's arrest. A previously unknown group calling itself Zuwwar Imam al-Rida claimed the kidnapping of the two pilots. The relatives of the pilgrims held in Aazaz were quick to deny having any links to the abduction. Eleven pilgrims were kidnapped in Syria's Aleppo region in May 2012 as they were making their way back to Lebanon by land from pilgrimage in Iran. Two of them have since been released, while the rest remain in Aazaz. Their relatives have held Turkey responsible for their ongoing abduction.They have repeatedly vowed to take action against Turkish interests in Lebanon in order to pressure Ankara to release the captives.

Geagea Accuses Hizbullah of Involvement in Abduction of Turkish Pilots
Naharnet/Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea accused on Monday Hizbullah of involvement in the kidnapping of two Turkish pilots over the weekend. “This is my analysis and it's not based on confirmed information,” Geagea said in comments published in As Safir newspaper. He pointed out that the abduction was carried out in a “statelet” controlled by Hizbullah, “which knows all the security details in its areas.”A Turkish pilot and co-pilot were kidnapped by gunmen on Friday on the airport road. The attack prompted Turkey to issue a travel warning urging its citizens to avoid unnecessary travel to Lebanon and those already present in the country to leave.The relatives of the pilgrims held in Aazaz were quick to deny having any links to the abduction. The LF leader expressed worrisome over the international classification of Beirut's Rafik Hariri International airport. He noted that the case of abducted Lebanese pilgrims is rightful, expressing hope that the remaining nine men would be released soon. However, he said that there are several similar cases. “If every one acted according to its own will then chaos will reign and the state would fall,” Geagea added. Eleven pilgrims were kidnapped in Syria's Aleppo region in May 2012 as they were making their way back to Lebanon by land from pilgrimage in Iran.
Two of them have since been released, while the rest remain in Aazaz. Their relatives have held Turkey responsible for their ongoing abduction. They have repeatedly vowed to take action against Turkish interests in Lebanon in order to pressure Ankara to release the captives.

Report: Iran’s new defense minister, Brig. Gen. Hossein Dehghan behind 1983 bombing of US Marine base in Lebanon
By ARIEL BEN SOLOMON08/12/2013 20:35/J.Post
Brig. Gen. Hossein Dehghan, nominated to be defense minister by Iran’s new president Hassan Rouhani, was a commander in Lebanon overseeing Hezbollah operations during the time of the 1983 bombing of the US Marine barracks in Beirut, Lebanon. According to a report by Brig. Gen. (ret.) Dr. Shimon Shapira, a senior research associate at the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, Dehghan was sent to Lebanon and served as a commander of the training corps of the Revolutionary Guard in Syria and Lebanon. He joined the Revolutionary Guard after they were formed in 1979 and spent his entire military career there. Shapira writes that after Israel invaded Lebanon in 1982, Dehghan was sent to Lebanon and became responsible for supervising Hezbollah’s military force. Dehghan then took over the command for the Revolutionary Guard in Lebanon.
It was from a base in the Beqaa valley where Iran planned along with Hezbollah, attacks against the Multinational Force and IDF soldiers in Lebanon. In 1983, two separate suicide bombings killed 241 US Marines and 58 French soldiers in their respective barracks in Beirut. A group called Islamic Jihad claimed credit for the attacks, which was headed by Imad Mughniyeh, who was later assassinated in Syria by the Mossad, according to foreign media reports. This organization, according to the report, was a special operations arm that was under the joint command of Iran and Hezbollah. The orders for the attack on the Multinational Forces were transmitted from Tehran to the Iranian ambassador to Damascus, and then to forces in Lebanon. The US Marine commander said that the US National Security Agency (NSA) overheard the Iranian orders for the attack. Shapira doubts that such orders could have been carried out without the knowledge of Dehghan. Dehghan’s appointment still needs to be approved by the Iran legislature (Majlis).

Rouhani: Western sanctions have taken Iranian society's needs hostage
By REUTERS, JPOST.COM STAFF08/12/2013 / Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on Monday he had chosen a cabinet to overcome Iran's economic crisis and diplomatic isolation as parliament began debating whether to approve his proposed ministers. "Your vote of confidence in the ministers is not just a vote for the individuals, it is a vote for the whole government and its plans," the Iranian president told parliament.
AFP quoted Rouhani as saying that sanctions on Iran for its disputed nuclear program were aimed at "limiting or closing the country's channels of exchange with the outside." He accused the West of having "taken society's elementary needs hostage" in order to pressure Iran into abandoning its nuclear program. Rouhani, a relatively moderate, mid-ranking cleric, took office on August 3 after winning a landslide in the June 14 presidential election over more conservative rivals. He had promised to combat high inflation and unemployment, pursue a more "constructive" foreign policy and allow greater social freedoms than his hardline predecessor, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
Rouhani, who won the support of centrist and reformist voters but who also has close ties to conservative insiders, said he had chosen a cabinet from across Iran's factions on the basis of their experience rather than their political loyalties. Many of his nominees are seasoned technocrats who served under centrist former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani and reformist ex-President Mohammad Khatami, but conservative factions in parliament are likely to oppose some of his choices. Though widely recognized as an experienced and capable manager, conservatives say proposed oil minister Bijan Zanganeh is too close to pro-reform opposition leaders who had protested against what they called a rigged presidential vote in 2009. Zanganeh and Mohammad Ali Najafi, a technocrat picked for education minister, visited Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei after the 2009 election to speak on behalf of the opposition leaders, who are now under house arrest. Conservatives refer to the months of protests which followed the vote as a "sedition," and reformists have been largely purged from powerful posts in the years since. Ruhollah Hosseinian, a "principlist" conservative in parliament, predicted on Saturday that 80 percent of Rouhani's cabinet nominees would be approved, ISNA news agency said.
But he said the assembly would bar those "who made statements in parliament and did not distance themselves from the sedition".
Hossein Shariatmadari, hand-picked by Khamenei to edit the influential hardline daily Kayhan, wrote in an editorial on Monday that "the place for those who were present in the sedition is prison and not the ministry".
In his speech on Monday, Rouhani said the oil ministry required "active diplomacy" and endorsed Zanganeh for the post. Western sanctions imposed over Iran's disputed nuclear program have halved Tehran's oil exports since 2011, and its aging oil fields need crucial upkeep. In addition to repairing Iran's economy, Rouhani has pledged to improve Iran's image abroad, tarnished by Ahmadinejad's statements against Israel and questioning of the Holocaust. On Monday, he said his government would pursue "threat prevention and alleviation of tensions" in its foreign policy.
Rouhani's choice of foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, is a US-educated former UN ambassador who has been at the center of several rounds of secret negotiations to try to overcome decades of estrangement between Washington and Tehran. Rouhani said he had known Zarif since the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war and called him the best man for the job, saying Iran needed a "completely aware, efficient and expert" foreign minister.
Legislators began debating Rouhani's nominees after his speech, and a vote of confidence is expected later this week.

Making the Most of Limited U.S. Leverage in Egypt
Eric Trager/Wall Street Journal
Cutting off U.S. military aid would sacrifice a useful tool for pushing economic and political reforms.
Washington's confusion about the rapidly worsening events in Egypt is understandable. The Muslim Brotherhood's yearlong, stunningly inept attempt to consolidate total power has given way to a new military-backed government that appears inclined to do the same -- albeit with far better arms. American policy makers are once again wringing their hands over what to do; specifically, whether to cut off $1.3 billion in annual military aid.
According to U.S. law, foreign aid must be cut off to any country after a coup. So some worry that by not withdrawing aid from Egypt following what was, technically speaking, a military coup, Washington is sending the message that American law doesn't matter. Many also fear that continuing military aid will reflect -- for the umpteenth time -- a lack of American seriousness about promoting democracy in Egypt.
While these concerns are well taken, they incorrectly depict military aid as a mechanism for showcasing American values, rather than what it actually is: a tool for maintaining leverage with the Egyptian military to cooperate in promoting U.S. interests. That's not to say that a more democratic Egypt, with an effective civilian government, isn't an important American interest and vital to Egypt's long-term domestic stability. But the U.S. doesn't have full leverage with the Egyptian military to achieve these ends. The leverage exists only on matters that are less important to the Egyptian military than the F-16 fighter jets, Abrams tanks and prestige that comes with owning these weapons systems. The U.S. has little power to influence matters that are of life-or-death importance to the generals.
For instance, the fact that Egypt's generals responded to mass protests by removing President Mohammed Morsi from power means that the current fight between the military and Muslim Brotherhood is existential. The generals believe that they must, at the very least, decapitate the Brotherhood by prosecuting its top leadership so it cannot return to power. Failing to do so, they believe, would threaten the generals' lives and perhaps the broader military. The Brotherhood is inclined to keep fighting because it believes such conflict will create fissures in the military and cause the generals' downfall -- the Brotherhood's only chance of regaining the authority it believes the military stole. Washington cannot alter this basic dynamic. That's why requests for Mr. Morsi's release -- which Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel reportedly made to his Egyptian counterpart multiple times last month -- are futile. They also make Washington look weak when such requests inevitably are rejected. When Sens. John McCain (R., Ariz.) and Lindsey Graham (R., S.C.) raise the prospect of directing international pressure toward liberating top Brotherhood leaders, Washington sends a deeply misguided signal. It suggests the Brothers should keep fighting for something to which the generals will never accede, thereby raising the prospects of sustained violence.
Washington should not demand that the Brotherhood join the coming political process. Its participation would constitute an acknowledgment of the legitimacy of Mr. Morsi's ouster, and the Brotherhood will not do this on principle -- at least not yet. So where can Washington use its leverage? What issues are not life-or-death for Egypt's generals, and can thus be influenced by U.S. diplomacy? Here are three suggestions.
First, Washington should insist that the military give the current civilian government sufficient space to govern. This includes letting the government enact economic reforms that may be unpopular but are vital to Egypt's long-term stability. It means allowing the government to make crucial changes in the notoriously abusive Interior Ministry's policing protocol and to streamline Egypt's sprawling bureaucracy. Washington can use its leverage by telling the generals that failing to live up to their promise to empower this civilian government would make it politically impossible for the U.S. to ignore that a military coup has taken place, and would thereby make aid suspension hard to avoid. Second, the U.S. should insist that the military and security forces deal with the Brotherhood's protests through containment instead of crackdown. Responding to violent instigations and preventing these protests from invading major thoroughfares is one thing; launching an all-out assault on demonstrators, as the military has signaled it intends to do, is quite another. Washington can tell the generals that each incident in which scores of Mr. Morsi supporters are killed makes our foreign aid policy that much harder to defend to the American people. Third, Washington should insist that the political process, which will include drafting a new constitution and elections, be open to all forces that reject violence. This means leaving the option of political participation open to those Muslim Brothers who are not convicted of violent acts -- without staking the legitimacy of the process on their participation. It also means insisting that the military make no attempt to re-create the restrictive political system that existed under Hosni Mubarak, as many analysts fear is in the offing. This would force excluded parties to conduct politics via other, more violent means. The Brotherhood will likely continue to choose martyrdom over politics for the foreseeable future. But smart policy would promote a democratic process that leaves an opening for cooler heads to emerge that might alter the Brotherhood's trajectory.**Eric Trager is the Wagner fellow at The Washington Institute.

Attack on Egyptian soil, problematic but probably necessary
By: Ron Ben-Yishai/Ynetnews
Analysis: If reports of Israel's alleged attack of terror cell in Sinai are true, it would be second time since 1979 peace treaty Israel has breeched Egyptian sovereignty – a risky move justified only if terror cell was posing immediate threat to Israeli lives
Published: 08.10.13, 15:26 / Israel Opinion/ynetnews
If the reports of an Israeli drone attacking a terror cell preparing to launch a rocket into Israel from Egypt are true then it would be the first time since Egypt and Israel signed their peace treaty in 1979 that Israel's forces have operated within Sinai, or Egypt for that matter – except a single incident during the terror attack along Route 12 two years ago. Like now, at the time, an Israel aircraft – according to Egyptian media reports, a helicopter – entered into Egypt, fired on terrorist but also at Egyptian soldiers, who return fire with a rocket in its direction.
The difference between what happened then and what allegedly happened Friday is that the alleged drone attack of the terrorists near Egypt's Rafah in Sinai was probably undertaken at Israel's own initiative. The reason for the initiative is what is called 'a live prevention' of an imminent attempt to launch either a rocket or a long-range missile. It is safe to assume that those behind the attack are a group of Salafist Bedouins attempting to launch either a Fajr or M75 Fajr-like missile made in the Gaza Strip by either Hamas or the Islamic Jihad .
An additional possibility is that the terrorists attempting to fire the rocket were Palestinians, maybe Hamas men, or more likely, members of the Popular Resistance Front or the Palestinian Islamic Jihad. They all have an interest to spike unrest in the West Bank, mainly because of the renewal of peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians with the conclusion of the Ramadan – always an explosive time.
The fact that the rocket was to be launched from Rafah seems to hint at the possibility that it was indeed Palestinians, as there is no small number of tunnels connecting Gaza to the Egyptian town in the area. In such a scenario, one can assume that the terrorists passed through the tunnels, set-up the launcher in Rafah and then attempted to launch a rocket from it, in a bid to put the Egyptian army in a bind with Israel.
It is safe to assume that Israel would not risk its relations with Egypt if there was not a direct and immediate threat to the lives of Israeli citizens. If so, the incident can be seen as a 'ticking bomb' taken out so as to save lives, and as such, as a call that trumps diplomatic and political considerations.
Two birds, one rocket
The interest of Jihadist or Salafist groups to fire into Israel is that of killing two birds with one rocket onslaught. They want to directly cause harm to Israel but also to pull Israel and Egypt into conflict. The Egyptian army has been working tirelessly recently to 'cleanse' Sinai of terrorists, and Israel is more than aware of its efforts.
We can presume that Israel is content with the army's determined battle against terror groups and organizations active in Sinai. Nonetheless, Israel cannot let terrorists attack its communities in the Negev with rockets or missiles. The defense establishment in Israel has been keeping mum in regards to reports, but a source said: "We are aware of the intensified Egyptian army activities against terror in the Sinai region."
The comment can be understood as an apology of sorts that Israel – according to foreign media reports, in light of the direct and imminent threat to its citizens' lives – was forced to act on its own over Egypt's sovereign soil.
It is also safe to assume that the Egyptian army will not be pleased by the fact that targets were engaged on sovereign Egyptian territory by Israel aircraft. However, in light of the fact that it was allegedly an unmanned aircraft, and the event did have a humanitarian justification, it is possible that with a little help from our American friends, the incident might just pass without response.

Syria Rebel Military Chief Visits Assad Heartland
Naharnet/The head of Syria's rebel Free Syrian Army visited the coastal province of Latakia, as opposition fighters battled regime forces in President Bashar Assad's heartland, an activist told Agence France Presse on Monday.
Assad's family hails from the coastal region of Latakia, which is also home to many members of the Alawite community he hails from, and has seen intense fighting in recent months. General Selim Idriss "was in the Kafr Dalba area of Jabal al-Akrad" in the province on Sunday, Latakia-based activist Omar al-Jeblawi told AFP via the Internet.
Amateur video showed Idriss dressed in civilian clothing as he addressed a group of rebel fighters in the countryside. In the video, Idriss said he was in Latakia to "look into the reality of the important successes and victories that our revolutionary brothers have achieved on the coastal front". "We are here today to reassure everybody that the... (FSA) General Command is coordinating completely and continuously with the leaders of the coastal front," said Idriss. "We will continue to work intensively on the coastal front," he added. Jeblawi said the FSA's Turkey-based leadership supplied rebels fighting in Latakia with "some ammunition, but not enough".Idriss' visit comes a week after rebels launched a "battle to liberate the coast". They have since progressed and taken control of 11 majority Alawite villages, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights watchdog.
The area is particularly sensitive because it is home to a mixed population of Sunni Muslims, who make up the majority of Syria's population, and members of the Alawite community, an offshoot of Shiite Islam.
The rebels have made limited progress in Latakia as the regime is firmly in control of the majority of the coastal province barring pockets of the Jabal al-Akrad and Jabal Turkman areas in the northeast.
But the gains they have made are symbolically important and have boosted morale, especially after a series of losses on other fronts in central Syria.
Source/Agence France Presse

Lebanon foils smuggling of drugs bound for Dubai
August 12, 2013/The Daily Star/BEIRUT: Lebanese authorities foiled an attempt to smuggle the largest amount of illegal pills from Syria to Dubai via Beirut’s port, security sources told The Daily Star Monday evening. Customs with the Judicial Police and the Anti-Drug Department discovered the shipment of millions of Captagon pills stacked in an air-conditioning device estimated to be around 7 meters long and 2 meters wide, the sources said. The batch, dispatched from Syria, was supposed to stay overnight in the coastal town of Amsheet, 35 kilometers north of Beirut, to be shipped Tuesday morning to Dubai via Beirut Port. The device was dismantled in the presence of the authorities and its content will be presented Tuesday to the media in a news conference.There have been several attempts to smuggle the pills into Lebanon via Rafik Hariri International Airport.In January 2011, Syrian authorities said they had confiscated 4 million Captagon tablets made in Lebanon and destined for the Gulf.

Aviation association calls for release of kidnapped pilots in Lebanon
August 12, 2013/The Daily Star/BEIRUT: The International Federation of Air Line Pilots’ Associations called Monday for the immediate release of two Turkish Airlines pilots who were kidnapped in Beirut last week.
“[IFALPA] condemns this action and calls for the immediate release of the two pilots,” the organization said in a statement, adding that such an attack on civil aviation constituted “a willful hazard to the safety and security of passengers and crew. “States and operators should consider the prevention of such attacks as a high priority, and do everything in their power to ensure the security of air crews and their families, in particular during layovers,” IFALPA said. A group of gunmen kidnapped captain Murat Akpinar and his co-pilot Murat Agca as they headed to their Beirut hotel on a bus shortly after arriving in Lebanon at the Rafik Hariri International Airport.
A local group, Zuwwar al-Imam Ali al-Reda, claimed responsibility for the kidnapping, demanding in exchange the release of nine Lebanese hostages in Syria who were abducted in May of last year by rebels.
Relatives of the Lebanese argue that Ankara, a strong supporter of the Syrian opposition, can secure the release of their loved ones. IFALPA also said that it was constantly examining all flight crew transportation and accommodation and would continue to work alongside governments and operators to protect air crews against security threats. “IFALPA will also raise the matter with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) to ensure that international Standards and Recommended Practices provide the necessary basis for the highest security regulations worldwide,” it added.

Sleiman: Hezbollah's resources belong to Lebanon
August 12, 2013/The Daily Star
BEIRUT: President Michel Sleiman called on Hezbollah Monday to avoid intervening in Syria, saying the resources of the resistance belonged to all the Lebanese.
“The national capabilities, which are the army, the state and the resistance, do not belong to a faction or sect,” said Sleiman. “They belong to the nation and cannot be biased, and the nation must decide how to use these capabilities.” Sleiman said the resources of the resistance should be placed under the control of the Lebanese state. “The resistance cannot have a monopoly on intervention in internal and external affairs,” he said.
Hezbollah fought alongside Syrian regime troops in the bordertown of Qusair earlier this year, helping dislodge rebels from the vital supply hub, in contravention of the Baabda Declaration. Sleiman urged all the Lebanese to adhere to the accord, which stresses Lebanon’s neutrality towards the events in Syria, controlling the border, and preventing the flow of arms. In an apparent jab at Hezbollah’s military involvement in Syria, Sleiman said it was necessary for all the Lebanese to “turn inwards, to the nation” in order to “protect the resistance.” President Sleiman was speaking on the occasion of his move to the presidential summer residence of Beiteddine.
He called for renewed support for the Lebanese army, saying it should be supported and “not betrayed or accused, or its job made difficult.”Sleiman urged a swift formation of the government, saying he supported a Cabinet that included all political blocs but that his position should not be exploited by the various factions by putting unrealistic demands on the Cabinet formation. “We must form a government in the nearest future,” he said. “This is what I say to everyone.”He pointed out that amid such political deadlock, constitutional deadlines are approaching including next year's presidential elections. Cabinet formation efforts remain stalled, with the various political blocs unable to reach an agreement on the shape or political orientation of a future government. Sleiman also touched on the Syrian refugee crisis, which he said is a source of “great pressure” on the Lebanese.
“This small plate cannot fit this number of refugees,” said Sleiman, referring to Lebanon. “For everyone and for all the Lebanese, and the refugees too, this displacement must be addressed and regulated.”Lebanon is now home to over 1.2 million Syrian refugees who fled the violence in Syria. Many of the refugees lack proper shelter.

Lebanese Army deploys to prevent escalation after Labweh ambush
August 12, 2013/By Rakan al-Fakih/The Daily Star
LABWEH/HERMEL, Lebanon: The Lebanese Army heavily deployed in the Baalbek-Hermel region in a bid to avert an escalation after an ambush Sunday killed one man and wounded three including the mayor of Arsal, security sources told The Daily Star. Two Syrians from notorious Arsal Mayor Ali Hujeiri’s 15-member convoy were kidnapped but one of them was later released after extensive contacts between Hezbollah and the kidnappers. “The Army and Interior Minister Marwan Charbel threw their weight behind contacts to contain the incident and spare the Baalbek-Hermel region a major crisis,” a security source said.
Members of the prominent Jaafar and Amhaz clans – who dubbed themselves as the “Brigade of the Four Martyrs” – shot at Hujeiri’s convoy in Labweh as it was returning from Ras Baalbek, where earlier he had overseen an exchange of hostages, the sources said. he sources linked the ambush to the killing in June of four Lebanese Shiite men in Wadi Rafik on the road linking Labweh to Arsal. Two of the killed men hailed from the Jaafar clan, one from Amhaz, and the fourth one was a Turkish citizen identified as Ali Tarek Oglu. Hujeiri had said earlier that three Arsal residents – Hasan Hussein Rayed, Omar Ahmad al-Atrash and Sami al-Atrash – were allegedly involved in the quadruple murder, along with several Syrians. The mayor, who sustained light wounds in the head and the foot during Sunday’s ambush, returned to his home in Arsal after being treated in a Zahle hospital. Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri telephoned Army commander Gen. Jean Kahwagi to discuss the incident in Arsal. Hariri also called Arsal’s mayor, who recounted the incident, Hariri’s media office said.
The head of the Future Movement denounced the attack and stressed the need to not be dragged into civil strife by those who seek to ignite it. Hariri also stressed the need to take the measures to pursue the perpetrators, noting that the incident was one of many attempts to drag the country into conflict. Hujeiri’s relative Mohammad Hasan al-Hujeiri – who was in charge of reconciliation efforts between Sunni Arsal and its Shiite surroundings – was killed in the ambush and two Syrian nationals from the border villages of Flita and Maara were kidnapped.
Ahmad Khaled al-Hujeiri and wealthy Syrian business Mohammad Abbas from Maara were wounded in the attack and rushed to Baalbek hospitals. President Michel Sleiman condemned the ambush, saying it dealt a blow to efforts by security forces to locate two Turkish Airlines pilots kidnapped in Beirut Friday.“Resorting to such means at a time further complicates the situation and only aggravates the issue, rather than resolves it,” Sleiman said in a statement that also called on security agencies to swiftly arrest perpetrators and put them on trial.
Prime Minister-designate Tammam Salam, for his part, congratulated Arsal’s mayor for surviving the attack, expressing sorrow for the man killed in the ambush and wishing those wounded a speedy recovery.
In striking contrast with their Shiite neighbors who support embattled Syrian President Bashar Assad, residents of Arsal, which borders Syria, strongly support rebels fighting forces loyal to Assad and the town has become a haven for Syrian fighters crisscrossing between the two countries via the porous border.
The attack on the Arsal mayor’s convoy happened hours after Hujeiri oversaw a hostage swap of over a dozen residents from Arsal for a member of the Shiite Moqdad clan. Youssef Moqdad, whose kidnapping last week prompted his kinsman to grab over a dozen Arsal residents, was released to a delegation from Arsal Sunday morning.
The Arsal mayor, who was given custody of Moqdad, headed to Ras Baalbek for the hostage swap, where 16 Arsal residents were released by the Moqdad clan in exchange for their kin.
Mohammad Hasan al-Hujeiri – who was killed in the Sunday ambush – played a pivotal role in brokering the swap deal that brought to a close a spate of retaliatory abductions in the Baalbek-Hermel area, according to the security sources. Moqdad’s abduction was linked to a probe into the June killing of four Shiites in the area of Wadi Rafik. According to Hujeiri, Omar al-Atrash kidnapped Moqdad “as a reaction to the investigation.”
The Arsal mayor is wanted by Lebanese authorities for involvement in the killing of two soldiers in the town earlier this year. Investigative Military Judge Fadi Sawan had announced that he would seek the death penalty against 37 individuals, including the mayor of Arsal, in the killing of Capt. Pierre Bashaalani and 1st Sgt. Ibrahim Zahraman who were ambushed by gunmen while patrolling the town of Arsal on Feb. 2.

Kidnapping of pilots ‘last nail in the coffin’ for tourism
August 12, 2013/The Daily Star
TBEIRUT: The abduction of two Turkish Airlines pilots could deal the last blow to Lebanon’s ailing tourism sector, caretaker Tourism Minister Fadi Abboud warned over the weekend. “What happened could be the last nail in the coffin of the tourism sector,” Abboud told a local TV station, adding that the incident would have an adverse effect on the wider economy. Abboud lamented the poor response to the spate of abductions plaguing the country and added that the repercussions of the kidnapping would harm the economy as a whole given that the tourism sector represented more than one-fifth of Lebanon’s GDP. Pilot Murat Akpinar and his co-pilot Murat Agca were forced out of a shuttle bus at the Cocodi Bridge, less than a kilometer from Beirut’s Rafik Hariri International Airport, after 3 a.m. Friday and taken away by six gunmen, security sources who spoke on condition of anonymity told The Daily Star. The sources said the gunmen drove off in a silver BMW X3 and a black KIA Picanto after kidnapping the two from the shuttle. The pilots had been headed to their Beirut hotel. A group calling itself Zuwwar alImam Ali al-Reda has claimed responsibility for the abduction, demanding the release of nine Lebanese Shiites who have been held by Syrian rebels since 2012.
Abboud said the incident came as officials were already attempting to reduce the impact of the existing travel advisories by Gulf countries. According to experts, visitors from the Gulf previously accounted for nearly 65 percent of tourism spending in Lebanon. The number of visitors to Lebanon fell by about 6.5 percent during the first half of 2013 compared to the same period last year. In July, the number of tourists was down by 27 percent.
Tourism figures were already sharply down last year, with 1.5 million visitors compared to a peak of 2 million in 2010, the year before Syria’s uprising erupted.
Faced with an immense decline in tourists over the past two years, Lebanese hotels are resorting to discounts and promotions to lure in more visitors from Jordan, Iraq and Syria. In June, Iraqis topped the list of visitors, comprising 36 percent of tourist arrivals to Lebanon, Tourism Ministry figures show.
“Moreover, the land borders have been shut down and” airfare is rising to Beirut, Abboud said.

Egyptians Enraged by U.S. Outreach to Muslim Brotherhood
by Raymond Ibrahim/PJ Media
http://www.meforum.org/3578/us-outreach-egypt-muslim-brotherhood
In the eyes of tens of millions of Egyptians, Senators John McCain's and Lindsey Graham's recent words and deeds in Egypt—which have the "blessing" of President Obama—have unequivocally proven that U.S. leadership is aligned with the Muslim Brotherhood.
Egyptian media is awash with stories of the growing anger regarding this policy.
A top advisor to Egypt's Interim President Adly Mansour formally accused McCain of distorting facts to the benefit of the Brotherhood, dismissing the senator's remarks as "irrational"—or, more colloquially, "moronic." Ahmed al-Zind, head of the Egyptian Judge Club, called for the arrest and trial of McCain for "trying to destroy Egypt." The leader of the youth movement, Tamarod (or "Rebellion" against the Brotherhood) which played a major role in mobilizing the June 30 Revolution, said "We reject John McCain and call on the international community to let the [Egyptian] people decide their own fate." Another incensed secular political commentator, Ahmed Musa, asserted that "These two men have made more shameless demands than the Brotherhood themselves would dare," adding:
He [McCain] is not a man elected by the American people to speak on their behalf; today, he speaks on behalf of an armed terrorist organization—the Muslim Brotherhood… We had expected [better] from these two men who came to speak with the tongue of the Brotherhood's leadership, and as if they had been recruited as two new leaders of the Brotherhood, which killed, destroyed, and burned in al-Muqattam, and now in Rab'a al-Adawiya [the main Brotherhood camp]. The only thing missing is to see them [McCain and Graham] in Rab'a, surrounded by armed groups, and in their midst Muhammad Badie [supreme leader of the Brotherhood] and [U.S. ambassador] Anne Patterson. That's all that's missing! Here comes Brother McCain today saying that we must "release the [Brotherhood] prisoners"…. are you not aware that these people are accused of murder? Are you not aware that hundreds of Egyptians have been killed at the hands of the Brotherhood, Morsi, Shatter, Qatatni, Badie, Baltagi—have you forgotten? Did you not read the report on what happened? Or did you just blindly accept your ambassador's [Anne Patterson's] words that it was a coup, that 33 million people did not go out?
What did McCain do and say in Egypt to earn the ire of millions of Egyptians?
First, most offensive to Egyptians—and helpful to the Brotherhood's cause—is McCain's insistence on calling the June 30 Revolution a "military coup." In reality, the revolution consisted of perhaps thirty million Egyptians taking to the streets to oust the Brotherhood. McCain is either deliberately misconstruing the event, or believes the story as manufactured by Al Jazeera and promulgated by Ambassador Anne Patterson. In this narrative, at least an equal amount of Egyptians supported Morsi, and the military overthrew him against popular will. Al Jazeera has actually broadcast images of the millions of anti-Morsi protesters and identified them as pro-Morsi protesters, disinformation which was quickly adopted by Western media.
Several Al Jazeera correspondents have resigned due to Al Jazeera acting as the Brotherhood's international mouthpiece.
Fortunately, some American officials have formally rejected this false narrative. A new congressional resolution states:
Whereas in recent weeks, an estimated 30,000,000 Egyptians in a majority of Egypt's 27 provinces gathered to protest the widespread failures of former President Mohamed Morsi and the Government of Egypt and its violations of the most basic rights of all Egyptian citizens, including Egyptian women, minorities, and those publicly dissenting from its views and policies; Whereas the participants in the June 30, 2013, popular protests far outnumbered those involved in the protests and demonstrations of January and February 2011 …
Even the Obama administration has been sensible enough not to call the June 30 revolution a "military coup." Nevertheless, McCain rejected John Kerry's statement that "the [Egyptian] military did not take over."
McCain's designation raises other questions as well. If he considers the ouster of the Brotherhood government to be a military coup, why didn't he extend that distinction at the fall of Mubarak's more moderate government, which was also removed by the military in response to popular protests? If McCain's argument is that Morsi was democratically elected and Mubarak was not, then why was the U.S. giving Egypt billions in aid for decades—thus legitimizing Mubarak's government no less than Morsi's?
Further angering Egyptians is McCain's insistence that all arrested Brotherhood members be released from prison. As Musa said, McCain's stance does not address the fact that Brotherhood leadership is awaiting trial on serious charges: inciting terrorism, causing the murder of Egyptians, and grand treason by conspiring with foreign powers against Egypt's interests.
McCain claims he is simply interested in the human rights of the incarcerated Brotherhood members, a statement that is additionally curious. If human rights are at issue, why has McCain and the U.S. administration been indifferent to the fate of Hosni Mubarak? Morsi faces perhaps more serious charges than Mubarak does, yet McCain calls for his release.
McCain's call to release Brotherhood leadership validates the widespread belief in Egypt that America is a fellow conspirator with the Brotherhood. Egyptians believe the U.S. fears that Morsi and others, if tried, would reveal the nature of their cozy relationship with the U.S. government, leading to any number of ugly revelations—treasonous ties and conspiracies, the exchange of billions of dollars, and Sinai issues. Hence, McCain wants them freed. This belief seems all the more reasonable to Egyptians considering that in 2011, McCain said of the Muslim Brotherhood:
I think they are a radical group that first of all supports Sharia law; that in itself is anti-democratic—at least as far as women are concerned. They have been involved with other terrorist organizations and I believe that they should be specifically excluded from any transition government.
McCain also personally visited Khairat al-Shatter, the multi-millionaire deputy chief of the Brotherhood who is currently incarcerated on charges of treason and terrorism. Interestingly, Shatter was not even a member of Morsi's government. Why is McCain visiting a civilian? Shatter's status as a major figure in the largest Islamist organization in the world is leading Egyptians to connect the dots. Even Shatter himself, understanding the awful visuals, asked McCain to visit "the legitimate president" Morsi instead.
U.S. media has said little about the administration's ties to al-Shatter; however these ties are well-known among Egyptians: ambassador Anne Patterson was frequently seen going to Shatter's residence.
Egyptian media has also pointed out that McCain repeatedly dodged critical questions by Egyptian journalists at the press conference. When asked about the fact that the Brotherhood in Rab'a was armed to the teeth, and—with the aid of al-Qaeda—was killing and terrorizing innocent Egyptians, McCain ignored the question. This, of course is in keeping with the fact that McCain has also ignored the question as to why he is the staunchest supporter of the jihad in Syria, which has torn that nation apart, seen the slaughter and displacement of untold thousands of Christians and the destruction of their churches, and the beheadings and "legitimized rapes" by foreign jihadis whom McCain is in favor of arming.
Many Egyptians are also wondering why McCain—as well as the Obama administration—is pushing for elections as soon as possible. Such a rush contributed to the empowerment of the Brotherhood in the first place: once the long-entrenched Mubarak was removed from power, the only party that was organized and ready to campaign was the Brotherhood. Secular Egyptian parties wanted to postpone the 2012 elections in order to mobilize their campaigns, but the U.S. was adamant that Egypt hold elections immediately. When the military wished to perform a recount, citing irregularities in the election—including widespread allegations of voter fraud by the Brotherhood—Hillary Clinton chastised them and called for a winner to be declared as soon as possible. This turned out to be Morsi, by a tiny margin—if that.
In short, McCain's remarks and actions in Egypt have further confirmed the popular narrative—as memorably displayed by countless anti-Brotherhood and anti-Obama placards raised during the June 30 Revolution—that U.S. leadership is aligned with the Brotherhood, and thus ultimately a supporter of terrorism. Americans can no longer afford to ignore this serious accusation with broad implications.
**Raymond Ibrahim, author of Crucified Again: Exposing Islam's New War on Christians (Regnery, April, 2013) is a Middle East and Islam specialist, and a Shillman Fellow at the David Horowitz Freedom Center and an Associate Fellow at the Middle East Forum.