Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources/August 20/13

Arab states ready to cover any cuts in aid to Egypt: Saudi Arabia
Israel stays clear of Egyptian crisis, fearing Russian military’s return to a second border after Syria
Israeli MK and Former DM, Binyamin Ben-Eliezer: Sisi is preventing Egypt from turning into Iran
Suleiman Cancels Vacation after Receiving 'Worrying Information' on Security Situation
Geagea Urges Suleiman, Salam to Swiftly Form Cabinet
No Casualties as Five Rockets Hit Hermel, al-Qaa
Aoun says differences with Hezbollah persist
Prime Minister-designate Tammam Salam: Political Powers Don't Have the Intention to Facilitate Formation of Govt.
Military Court Judge Sami Sader Hands over 13 Bodies of Ruwais Blast Victims to Relatives
Suleiman Tasks Army to Determine Location from where Rockets that Landed in Hermel Were Fired
Huge Blaze Erupts at Carton Factory in Bikfaya
Judge Interrogates 3 Detainees Charged with Belonging to an 'Armed Terrorist' Organization
Abou Faour, Taymour Jumblat Return to Lebanon after Meeting Saudi Intelligence Chief
Head of ICRC in Lebanon Hopes Red Cross Will Continue to Aid Syrian Refugees
Hizbullah Commander Killed near Damascus
Report: Turkish Pilot Refuses to Fly to Beirut in Protest
Report: Tuesday's Parliamentary Session to Be Postponed to Avoid Further Tensions
Report: Al-Asir Supporter Involved in the Naameh Car Bombing Ring
Miqati, Davutoglu to Continue Consultations over Release of Pilots, Aazaz Pilgrims
Egypt's Catholics Denounce 'Terrorist' Violence
Amnesty Denounces 'Utter Carnage' in Egypt
Saudi PM: Arabs Ready to Cover Cuts in Foreign Aid to Egypt
Egypt's Mubarak Cleared in Case, Held on Remaining Charge
Report: Kuwait to Deport 9 Egyptian pro-Morsi Protesters
Russia, U.S. to Discuss Syria Next Week
Jordan's PM Says U.S. Helping Amman Deal with Possible Syria Chemical Threat
Iraq Executes 17 People Charged with Terrorism
Barzani calls on Syrian Kurds to stay and fight
Canada Concerned by Arrest of Two Canadians in Egypt
Report: Al-Qaida 'Targeting European Rail Network'
Egypt Closes Rafah Crossing after Sinai Attack

Canada Concerned by Arrest of Two Canadians in Egypt
August 18, 2013 - The Honourable Lynne Yelich, Minister of State (Foreign Affairs and Consular), today issued the following statement:
“The Government of Canada is very concerned that two Canadian citizens have been arrested in Egypt.
“I can confirm that Canadian consular officials have visited the two Canadians and have been in contact with their families.
“This afternoon, I spoke with a senior Egyptian official to request confirmation of the nature of the charges and call for all evidence against the two Canadians be released. Canadian officials are also in contact with local authorities to receive more information on the nature of these charges.
“Canada firmly believes that implementing a transparent, democratic system that respects the voices of all Egyptians, including members of civil society and religious minorities, is the best way to restore calm and give all Egyptians a stake in the future stability and prosperity of their country. The two parties must immediately sit down together, reconcile their differences and work tirelessly to halt this deadly standoff. We urge all Egyptians to show restraint and resolve in the coming days.
“Canadians are reminded to avoid all non-essential travel to Egypt and avoid protests. We also remind Canadians to register with the Registration of Canadians Abroad service.”

Israeli MK and Former DM, Binyamin Ben-Eliezer: Sisi is preventing Egypt from turning into Iran
By LAHAV HARKOV 08/19/2013/J.Post
http://www.jpost.com/Diplomacy-and-Politics/Ben-Eliezer-Sisi-is-preventing-Egypt-from-turning-into-Iran-323578
Israel should stay out of the turmoil in Cairo and focus on peace talks, MK Binyamin Ben-Eliezer (Labor) said Monday, after an Israeli official said Jerusalem is telling governments that the key issue is not democracy, but to keep Egypt from falling apart.
"Israel shouldn't get involved in an internal Egyptian matter," Ben-Eliezer, a former defense minister, told The Jerusalem Post. "I really hope Israel will focus more on the peace process and increase cooperation with the Egyptian army to ensure quiet in Sinai and stop militants from shooting at aircraft." Ben-Eliezer pointed to violence in Syria, Lebanon and Iraq in recent weeks, saying "it's not a simple issue" and that Israel should "push forward in the peace process so we aren't blamed for almost everything." While the Labor MK said he does not know what the government is telling the US and Europe, he relayed a similar message to The Jerusalem Post.
"[Deposed Egyptian Islamist President Muhammad] Morsi is trying to lead Egypt to be something similar to Iran," Ben-Eliezer explained. "The [2011] revolution overturned a military dictatorship, but [Egypt's army chief General Abdel Fattah] al-Sisi understands that Morsi wants an Islamic dictatorship – not Muslim, Islamic, which means they believe jihad [holy war] is permissible." Ben-Eliezer said the Muslim Brotherhood wants to turn Egypt into an Islamic Republic like Iran with revolutionary guards that support violence and terror. According to Ben-Eliezer, al-Sisi learned that underground militias with weapons were being formed and realized he's dealing with terrorist groups.
Though he was not democratically elected, "al-Sisi wouldn't have made this move if he didn't have the backing of most, about 80 percent, of the Egyptian people," the former defense minister added.
"The West is making a mistake to some extent by saying that the nation chose Morsi and he was democratically elected. That's true, but there have been fascist regimes that took advantage of democracies to rise to power. I don't want to give examples, but those who know history know what I'm talking about," Ben-Eliezer stated, in what seemed to be a thinly-veiled reference to Hitler. Ben-Eliezer added that al-Sisi did not have a choice but to depose Morsi, because the army's job is to defend and protect the Egyptian nation and prevent chaos. As for Israel's peace treaty with Egypt, the Labor MK is confident that there is no danger.
"The Egyptian Army won't give up [on the peace treaty]. The army is its own kingdom within Egypt, and it protects the peace treaty because it understands its joint interests with Israel," he stated.
Ben-Eliezer said there is cooperation and coordination in intelligence and military action between Egypt and Israel. At the same time, he expressed concern about the execution of 25 Egyptian soldiers in the Sinai on Monday, saying the news is "inauspicious."
"It just shows what I've been saying – these are terrorist organizations and jihad is part of their worldview," Ben-Eliezer concluded.

Suleiman Cancels Vacation after Receiving 'Worrying Information' on Security Situation
Naharnet/President Michel Suleiman canceled a scheduled vacation in light of the recent security developments in Lebanon, reported al-Joumhouria newspaper on Monday. It said that he canceled his plans after receiving “worrying information” on the security situation in the country from the Internal Security Forces. He had also held talks on the situation with Army Intelligence chief Edmond Fadel on Saturday.
Suleiman hailed the security agencies for their efforts in apprehending suspects linked to various security incidents that had taken place in Lebanon in the past few months, hoping that the perpetrators of Thursday's Ruwais bombing will be uncovered. The president was scheduled to travel to Saudi Arabia on Sunday on a brief visit ahead of a holiday to Europe.
Thirty people were killed and 336 wounded in a bombing in Beirut's southern suburbs of Dahieh on Thursday. On Saturday afternoon, security agencies seized a car filled with 250 kilograms of explosives near the municipality building in the Naameh region in southern Lebanon. At least three people detained by the General Security Directorate confessed that they were planning to detonate the car in an undisclosed location in Lebanon.

Suleiman Tasks Army to Determine Location from where Rockets that Landed in Hermel Were Fired
Naharnet /President Michel Suleiman expressed on Monday his “grave concern” with the shelling that took place in the Bekaa region of Hermel over the weekend. He consequently tasked the Army Command “to determine the location from where they were fired in order to tackle the situation with the appropriate means.” “At the time when the Lebanese political and security forces are striving to implement the decisions of the Higher Defense Council, they are surprised by the security operations, such as the firing of rockets, that have obviously become a way to create tensions in Lebanon and spread the crisis in Syria to the country,” he added. “Lebanon will confront such attempts and take all measures to protect stability and civil peace,” Suleiman stressed. Five rockets landed in and around Hermel, a Hizbullah stronghold, on Sunday, a security source told Agence France Presse on condition of anonymity. "Two rockets landed in the town of Hermel, in an area between the Mabarrat teaching association and the Masharii al-Qaa area, causing no casualties," the source said. "Another three rockets have landed now on the outskirts of Hermel," he added. It was not immediately clear whether the rockets were launched from inside Lebanon or from across the border in strife-torn Syria, said the source, although state-run National News Agency said they were fired from Syrian territory. Hermel and other areas of eastern Lebanon, a bastion of Hizbullah, have been hit by several rocket attacks launched from Syria in recent months.
The repeated violations prompted Suleiman in June to file a memorandum to the United Nations and Arab League.

Egypt Closes Rafah Crossing after Sinai Attack
Naharnet /Militants killed 25 Egypt police Monday in the deadliest attack of its kind in years, as the country struggles to deal with a crisis sparked by the ouster of president Mohammed Morsi.
Sources said militants fire rocket-propelled grenades at two buses carrying police in the Sinai Peninsula, just hours after Egypt's military chief vowed a "forceful" response to violence roiling the Arab world's most populous nation.
The attack raised fears of a return to the wave of deadly Islamist violence that swept Egypt in the 1990s.
It comes as the country struggles to put a lid on a deep political crisis and bloodshed that has left almost 800 people dead in days of clashes between Islamist protesters and security forces throughout Egypt.
Among those killed in the latest violence were 36 Islamist detainees who died in police custody overnight, with authorities saying they had suffocated on tear gas fired after they took a police officer hostage.
Morsi's supporters vowed new demonstrations on Monday, but a day earlier they had cancelled several marches citing security concerns.
The Sinai attack left at least two other policemen injured, with unknown militants firing on buses carrying police as they headed towards the town of Rafah on the border with the Palestinian Gaza Strip.
The interior ministry blamed the attacks on "armed terrorist groups," and a border official said shortly afterwards that the Rafah border crossing would be closed.
The security situation in the Sinai Peninsula has deteriorated sharply since the army ousted Morsi on July 3, with near daily attacks by militants targeting police and military installations.
Elsewhere in the country, bloodshed sparked by the August 14 security force crackdown on pro-Morsi protest camps showed little sign of abating.
Authorities said 36 Islamist detainees died after police fired tear gas in a bid to free a police officer taken hostage by prisoners.
But the Muslim Brotherhood, the once-banned movement from which Morsi hailed, held the police accountable.
"The murder of 35 detained anti-coup protestors affirms the intentional violence aimed at opponents of the coup, and the cold-blooded killing of which they are targets," it said in a statement in English.
The deaths of the detainees came hours after military chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi warned that security forces would confront any violence from protesters.
"We will never be silent in the face of the destruction of the country," said Sisi, who overthrew Morsi on July 3 after protests against the Islamist president's rule.
"We are very prepared for this," he said, pledging a "forceful" response to further attacks on police stations and government buildings.
Morsi loyalists said they would hold new marches on Monday, but cancelled several a day earlier, citing fears of violence by security forces and vigilantes.
According to an AFP tally, more than 1,000 people have been killed since mass demonstrations against Morsi erupted at the end of June, among them a son of the Brotherhood's supreme guide who died on Friday.
The violence sparked by the August 14 crackdown has drawn international condemnation and EU leaders have warned the bloc will "urgently review" ties with Cairo in the coming days.
European ambassadors were recalled from their summer break for an emergency meeting in Brussels.
The European Union has pledged nearly five billion euros ($6.7 billion) in aid to Egypt but the bloc has cautioned this too was under "constant review" after Morsi's ouster.French President Francois Hollande said after a meeting with the Saudi foreign minister: "It is unacceptable that there is violence of this level in a great country like Egypt."The United States has announced the cancellation of its biannual military exercise with Egypt, and its embassy in Cairo was closed Sunday for security reasons.
The White House has stopped short of suspending $1.3 billion in annual aid, although some U.S. lawmakers called Sunday for the funds to be cut.
But the international response has not been uniformly critical. Both Saudi Arabia and Jordan have said they back Egypt in its fight against "terrorism".
In the 1990s, Egypt was hit by major attacks linked to Islamist groups such as Gamaa Islamiyya and the Islamic Jihad, with targets including government officials and security forces, Coptic Christians and the country's vital tourism industry. One of the deadliest attacks took place in 1997 when militants struck the mortuary temple of Queen Hatshepsut in the tourist haven of Luxor, killing 58 holidaymakers.
Source/Agence France Presse.

Hizbullah Commander Killed near Damascus
Naharnet/A military commander of Hizbullah was killed in fighting near the Syrian capital and has been buried in his southern Lebanese hometown of Kfar Sir, residents said Monday. "Hizbullah military commander Hossam Ali Nisr, aged 33, was buried on Saturday. He was defending Sayyida Zeinab," which houses a Shiite shrine southeast of Damascus, "when his group was attacked and he was killed," one resident told Agence France Presse, without giving a date. Hizbullah is a key Damascus backer and has sent fighters into Syria to support President Bashar Assad in his regime's bid to crush a 29-month rebellion. Fighters of Hizbullah played a key role in the government's recapture in June of the rebel bastion of Qusayr, near the Lebanese border. The report of Nisr's killing comes after Hizbullah chief sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said he was ready to go to Syria to fight extremists he accused of staging a deadly car bomb attack last Thursday in the southern suburbs of Beirut, a bastion of his movement.
According to a final count, 27 people were killed in the attack. "I will go myself to Syria if it is so necessary in the battle against the takfiris (radical Sunni Muslims), Hizbullah and I will go to Syria" to fight rebels trying to oust the Damascus regime, Nasrallah said in an angry reaction to the car bombing. Tensions have soared in fragile Lebanon over the conflict in neighboring Syria. Though Lebanon is officially neutral, the country is deeply divided between those backing Assad's regime and those who oppose it. Source/Agence France Presse.

Report: Al-Qaida 'Targeting European Rail Network'
Naharnet /Al-Qaida is plotting attacks on Europe's high-speed rail network, German mass circulation daily Bild reported on Monday, citing intelligence sources. The extremist group could plant explosives on trains and tunnels or sabotage tracks and electrical cabling, said Bild, Europe's most widely read daily. Bild said the information came from the National Security Agency (NSA) in the United States, which had listened in to a conference call involving top al-Qaida operatives. The attacks on Europe's rail network was a "central topic" of this call, Bild said. Authorities in Germany have responded to the threat with discrete measures such as deploying plain-clothed police officers at key stations and on main routes, according to the daily. According to US media reports, intelligence services intercepted a conference call earlier this month between al-Qaida leader Ayman al-Zawahiri and more than 20 operatives from across the group's global network. This prompted the US and several allies to shut embassies across the Muslim world, fearful of a major attack. On August 1, the US issued a worldwide alert, warning of al-Qaida plans to launch an attack in the Middle East or North Africa. Source/Agence France Presse.

Geagea Urges Suleiman, Salam to Swiftly Form Cabinet
Naharnet/Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea called on Monday President Michel Suleiman and Tammam Salam to swiftly end the cabinet formation process, pointing out that the matter hasn't reached a deadlock yet. “Those who are concerned with the matter, including Suleiman and Salam, are exerting efforts to form the government as soon as possible,” Geagea said in comments published in An Nahar newspaper.
He pointed out that forming the cabinet according to the parliamentary seizes is “unconstitutional.”Prime Minister-designate Tammam Salam is seeking the formation of a 24-member cabinet in which the March 8, March 14 and the centrists camps would each get eight ministers and rejects to grant the veto power to any side. The March 8 alliance has meanwhile been demanding that it granted veto power in a new cabinet.
While the March 14 coalition is calling for keeping Hizbullah away from the cabinet lineup over its role in Syria's war. “The Lebanese have to say their word and resume dialogue and reach consensus over the formation of the cabinet,” Geagea said.

Abou Faour, Taymour Jumblat Return to Lebanon after Meeting Saudi Intelligence Chief
Naharnet /Caretaker Social Affairs Minister Wael Abou Faour and son of Progressive Socialist Party chief Walid Jumblat, Taymour, returned to Lebanon on Monday after a trip to Saudi Arabia that lasted several days, reported the National News Agency. It revealed that they had held talks in the kingdom with head of Saudi Intelligence Prince Bandar bin Sultan on the situation in Lebanon and the region.
“Several political issues were addressed during this critical time that the Arab world, especially Lebanon, is passing through,” it added. The two sides also stressed the good ties between the PSP chief with Saudi Arabia.
Jumblat expressed his appreciation for the role the kingdom is playing in supporting Lebanon and protecting its security, said NNA. Media reports last week said Abou Faour and Taymour Jumblat's talks will focus on the formation of a new government. The two officials had arrived in Saudi Arabia on August 12.

Report: Tuesday's Parliamentary Session to Be Postponed to Avoid Further Tensions
Naharnet /A parliamentary session aimed at discussing a number of draft-laws is expected to be postponed for the fourth time on Tuesday, reported the pan-Arab daily al-Hayat on Monday. It said that Speaker Nabih Berri is likely to postpone the two-day session in order to avoid further tensions in Lebanon in light of the ongoing political disputes and security unrest. Parliamentary sources explained that Berri “does not want to jeopardize the last chance for political parties to convene and communicate and he will therefore not hesitate to postpone Tuesday's session.” Al-Hayat revealed that he had held separate talks with caretaker Prime Minister Najib Miqati and head of the Mustaqbal bloc MP Fouad Saniora about postponing the session before Thursday's Ruwais bombing in Beirut's southern suburbs of Dahieh had taken place. The session was postponed for a third time on July 29 over a lack of quorum. Several parliamentary blocks boycotted the parliamentary session over a dispute with the speaker over its agenda, which included 45 articles. Berri insists on keeping the 45 draft-laws on the agenda intact and had previously vowed to continue to call on MPs to a General Assembly meeting until the agenda is discussed. Miqati argues that there is no balance between the powers of the legislative and executive branches amid a resigned government. Miqati and the March 14 alliance say that the agenda's articles should be limited to one draft-law, which is extending Army Commander General Jean Qahwaji's mandate. Qahwaji's term ends in September when he turns 60.

Head of ICRC in Lebanon Hopes Red Cross Will Continue to Aid Syrian Refugees
Naharnet/Head of the delegation of the International Committee of the Red Cross in Lebanon, Jurg Montani hoped that the committee will continue to provide Syrian refugees flowing into the country with the necessary aid that it has been providing for the past two years. He said at the end of his two-and-a-half year mandate to Lebanon: “The Lebanese government has been exemplary in keeping its border open and hosting the refugees.”He noted however that the growing number of refugees requires new ways to deal with the impact they are having in Lebanon on various levels. He wondered whether the relief facilitated by the government will be enough, saying that only time will provide the answers. Montani remarked however that there will always be shortcomings in dealing with this file, hailing the state in managing to cope with their burden in an exemplary manner despite its late response.
Moreover, he said that Lebanon had adopted stricter border control measures regarding the flow of Syrians, but added that it is too soon to tell whether that will have an impact on the humanitarian level.
“Legally, any country has the right to control its borders,” he remarked. He said that the situation of Syrian refugees in Lebanon was different when he first assumed his position at the head of the delegation of the ICRC, saying that their numbers at the time only reached 10,000, while they have now spiraled to 700,000 without counting the Palestinian refugees that have fled the conflict.
Among other things, the ICRC was concerned with providing them with proper healthcare services, he said, while remarking that the committee plays a subsidiary role to that of the Lebanese government and United Nations Higher Commission on Refugees. Moreover, he said that the ICRC's role has not been limited to tackling the case of Syrian refugees, but it has also been addressing that of detentions in Lebanon, starting with Roumieh Prison.
The committee has been successful in providing prisoners at Lebanon's largest jail with access to proper healthcare and its example will be adopted at all other prisons, Montani stressed.
In addition, it has continued its efforts regarding the Lebanese held in Syrian jails and who have been missing since the beginning of the Civil War in 1975.
The ICRC has been helping the families determine the fate of their loved ones since the outbreak of the war, he said. “The number one priority is to find out whether the prisoners are still alive,” he added.
“Enormous challenges are coming to Lebanon and I choose to be optimistic that it can successfully deal with them,” he concluded. He will be succeeded by Fabrizio Carboni. The ICRC is a neutral, impartial and independent humanitarian organization. It seeks to preserve a measure of humanity in times of armed conflict.
 

Aoun says differences with Hezbollah persist
August 19, 2013/The Daily Star/BEIRUT: Hezbollah and the Free Patriotic Movement remain at odds over a number of local and regional matters including Syria, MP Michel Aoun said in an interview published over the weekend. “There are differences [with Hezbollah] over a number of issues, mainly over establishing the state, democracy, settling the situation of south Lebanon, the Palestinian cause and Syria,” Aoun told the pan-Arab Al-Hayat newspaper. Aoun, who has previously defended Hezbollah’s military role in Syria, said his FPM opposed any military intervention in foreign states. “This is an individual initiative and there is no understanding between us [over involvement in Syria], and we oppose intervention outside Lebanese territories,” he said.
“The presence of the resistance in Syria is an understanding between them and Syria, we are not part of such an understanding,” Aoun explained.
Aoun also reiterated his willingness to visit Saudi Arabia and said there were no obstacles preventing the FPM from opening up to Riyadh. “There are no obstacles in the essence of the relations with Saudi Arabia, but there are Lebanese political sides that have imparted the impression that Gen. Michel Aoun is against Saudi Arabia,” he said.
“If we review our ties with Saudi Arabia then there are not barriers between us and Saudi Arabia and this helps Lebanon to be stable and build a strong Army,” he added. Aoun said there was nothing preventing him from accepting a possible invitation to Saudi Arabia.“Why not, what can impede me?” he asked.
Aoun hinted that former Prime Minister Saad Hariri was behind the FPM leader’s strained ties with Riyadh but said the dispute between him and Hariri was now in the past. “We had a dispute in the past which led us to resign from his Cabinet and now it is over,” he said. “If Hariri comes back, this is his country because he is a political leader and enjoys a [popular] political presence,” Aoun added.
Ties between the FPM and Saudi Arabia, a major backer of the March 14 coalition, have been strained over the past years.
 

Huge Blaze Erupts at Carton Factory in Bikfaya
Naharnet/A major blaze broke out Monday at a carton factory in the Bikfaya area in Northern Metn and residents voiced fears that the flames might spread to their homes. "Civil Defense crews are trying to douse a huge fire that erupted at the Gemayel Carton Factory in the Bikfaya area," state-run National News Agency reported. Voice of Lebanon radio (93.3) said more than five firefighting vehicles were at the scene of the blaze and that residents demanded the use of a helicopter to prevent the spread of flames. The factory's owner, Fadi Gemayel, told the radio station that the 35,000 square meters facility contains extremely flammable substances.
Meanwhile, MP Sami Gemayel, who hails from Bikfaya, telephoned caretaker Interior Minister Marwan Charbel, asking him to "utilize all the ministry's capabilities of the ministry, including the Scorsese helicopter, to contain the fire at the Bikfaya carton factory as soon as possible." According to Gemayel's press office, Charbel promised to send "all the necessary support and reinforcements to put out the fire."The lawmaker also telephoned caretaker Industry Minister Vrej Saboundjian, who in turn promised to exert utmost efforts.

No Casualties as Five Rockets Hit Hermel, al-Qaa
Naharnet/Five rockets landed in and around the Bekaa town of Hermel, a Hizbullah stronghold, on Sunday, a security source told Agence France Presse on condition of anonymity. "Two rockets landed in the town of Hermel, in an area between the Mabarrat teaching association and the Masharii al-Qaa area, causing no casualties," the source said. "Another three rockets have landed now on the outskirts of Hermel," he added. It was not immediately clear whether the rockets were launched from inside Lebanon or from across the border in strife-torn Syria, said the source, although state-run National News Agency said they were fired from Syrian territory. Hermel and other areas of eastern Lebanon, a bastion of Hizbullah, have been hit by several rocket attacks launched from Syria in recent months.
The latest rocket attack comes just three days after a powerful car bombing in Hizbullah's heartland in southern Beirut killed 27 people and wounded around 300 others. The toll was the highest since a Beirut car bomb killed former prime minister Rafik Hariri and 22 others in February 2005.
"I will go myself to Syria if it is so necessary in the battle against the Takfiris (radical Sunni Muslims), Hizbullah and I will go to Syria" to fight rebels trying to oust the Damascus regime, Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said in a defiant speech on Friday, accusing the Takfiris of being behind the deadly blast. Source/Agence France PresseNaharnet.

Report: Al-Asir Supporter Involved in the Naameh Car Bombing Ring
Naharnet/Security information revealed on Monday that some members of the car bombing ring detained on Sunday are supporters of Islamic cleric Ahmed al-Asir, the As Safir daily quoted well informed sources on condition of anonymity. Eight people, of Lebanese and Palestinian nationalities, were found involved in the scheme to detonate a booby-trapped car found in Naameh neighborhood in South of Lebanon in another location, the source added. The confessions of the car-bombing ring helped the security agencies seize the Audi vehicle that was rigged with explosives and was set to be detonated in another area. Saturday afternoon security agencies seized the car filled with 250 kilograms of explosives near the municipality building in Naameh. The car carried fake license plate numbers and contained five barrels of TNT, explosive material, fuses and detonators along with a device to remotely detonate it. All the people involved in the scheme are under monitoring, and investigators have circulated their photos in a bid to tighten their movements, the source told the daily. The seized car included large quantities of explosives which leads to the belief that it was to be used in several bomb attacks in different regions across Lebanon, the source said. The Naameh plot was to be the springboard for the attacks, he added. Asir's supporters opened fire on an army checkpoint, late last month, leaving around 18 soldiers and more than 20 gunmen dead. The gunbattles concentrated in the area of Bilal Bin Rabah Mosque and nearby buildings in Abra. Asir, a 45-year-old cleric who supports the overwhelmingly Sunni rebels fighting to topple Syrian President Bashar Assad, is no where to be found.

Prime Minister-designate Tammam Salam: Political Powers Don't Have the Intention to Facilitate Formation of Govt.
Naharnet /Prime Minister-designate Tammam Salam stressed that he is seeking to form a government that includes all Lebanese factions, saying that he does not want to eliminate any side from power, reported the daily An Nahar Monday. He told the daily however that the developments over the past few months “have demonstrated that the powers have no intention to facilitate the formation of the cabinet.” “I will not take any action that will harm any Lebanese sect or political party,” he said. “The new government may not please all sides, but it will not be directed against any party,” explained the premier-designate. “In the end, we must assume our responsibilities and we must form a new government,” Salam stated. “We are awaiting the right conditions in order to follow through with our mission,” he added. Salam is seeking the formation of a 24-member cabinet in which the March 8, March 14 and centrists camps would each get eight ministers. He is also rejecting granting veto power to any power, which the March 8 camp has been demanding. The March 14 coalition is meanwhile calling for keeping Hizbullah out of the cabinet over its role in Syria's war.

Military Court Judge Sami Sader Hands over 13 Bodies of Ruwais Blast Victims to Relatives
Naharnet/Military Court Judge Sami Sader began on Monday handing over the bodies of Beirut's southern suburbs Ruwais neighborhood blast victims to their relatives. According to the state-run National news agency, thirteen identified bodies have been handed over so far, in addition to the body of a Syrian worker. The news agency reported that the primary investigations are ongoing, in particular regarding the BMW car that was used in the explosion. The Ruwais blast claimed the lives of 27 people and wounded more than 336 other. The casualty toll is the highest in Lebanon since a massive car bomb attack on the Beirut seafront killed former prime minister Rafik Hariri and 22 others in February 2005. Hizbullah is a key supporter of President Bashar Assad and has sent fighters across the border to Syria this year to bolster government forces, which have been battling a deadly anti-regime revolt since March 2011. A defiant Nasrallah said on Friday he himself was ready to go and fight in Syria against radical Islamists, whom he accused of being responsible for the car bombing.
On Saturday, the Syrian opposition National Coalition warned against a "cycle of violence" in Lebanon if Hizbullah continues to send fighters to help the Damascus regime.
An online video surfaced shortly after the attack showing three masked men, two of them holding rifles, in front of a white flag inscribed with the Islamic profession of faith, claiming the attack.

Report: Turkish Pilot Refuses to Fly to Beirut in Protest
Naharnet /A Turkish pilot refused to fly a Beirut-bound plane from Istanbul in a show of protest against the kidnapping of two of his colleagues in Lebanon, local media reported Monday. Yilmaz Ozgenturk, a captain at national carrier Turkish Airlines (THY), left the cockpit after announcing to passengers in Turkish and English that he would not fly to Beirut because he was protesting the abduction, the Milliyet newspaper reported. The plane eventually took off after a new pilot was sent. The airline has launched a probe into the action of the captain, who reportedly said: "That was my personal choice." On August 9, gunmen ambushed a bus carrying Turkish Airlines crew from Beirut's international airport to a hotel in the city, and snatched its two pilots. A previously unknown group calling itself Zuwwar Imam al-Rida claimed the abduction, and demanded that Turkey use its influence with Syrian rebels it backs to secure the release of nine Lebanese Shiites kidnapped in Syria in May 2012. Lebanese authorities have arrested three suspects and charged them in connection with the abduction. Source/Agence France Presse.

No Casualties as Five Rockets Hit Hermel, al-Qaa
Naharnet/Five rockets landed in and around the Bekaa town of Hermel, a Hizbullah stronghold, on Sunday, a security source told Agence France Presse on condition of anonymity. "Two rockets landed in the town of Hermel, in an area between the Mabarrat teaching association and the Masharii al-Qaa area, causing no casualties," the source said. "Another three rockets have landed now on the outskirts of Hermel," he added.
It was not immediately clear whether the rockets were launched from inside Lebanon or from across the border in strife-torn Syria, said the source, although state-run National News Agency said they were fired from Syrian territory. Hermel and other areas of eastern Lebanon, a bastion of Hizbullah, have been hit by several rocket attacks launched from Syria in recent months. The latest rocket attack comes just three days after a powerful car bombing in Hizbullah's heartland in southern Beirut killed 27 people and wounded around 300 others. The toll was the highest since a Beirut car bomb killed former prime minister Rafik Hariri and 22 others in February 2005.
"I will go myself to Syria if it is so necessary in the battle against the Takfiris (radical Sunni Muslims), Hizbullah and I will go to Syria" to fight rebels trying to oust the Damascus regime, Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said in a defiant speech on Friday, accusing the Takfiris of being behind the deadly blast.Source/Agence France PresseNaharnet.

Miqati, Davutoglu to Continue Consultations over Release of Pilots, Aazaz Pilgrims
Naharnet /Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Miqati agreed with Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu to carry on consultations over the safe release of two Turkish Airlines pilots, media reports said on Monday.
Miqati stressed during a telephone conversation Sunday night with Davutoglu that the Lebanese state is fully carrying out its tasks to swiftly end the case of the abducted pilots and the remaining nine Lebanese pilgrims in Syria's Aazaz, As Safir newspaper reported. For his part, Davutoglu voiced hope that his country would be able to participate in a positive way to ensure the safe release of the nine men.
The report pointed out that General Security chief Abbas Ibrahim is expected to head to Ankara when the appropriate conditions are available. On August 9, gunmen ambushed a bus carrying Turkish Airlines crew from Beirut's international airport to a hotel in the city, and snatched the pilot and co-pilot. A previously unknown group calling itself Zuwwar Imam al-Rida claimed the abduction, and demanded that Turkey use its influence with Syrian rebels it backs to secure the release of nine Lebanese kidnapped in Syria in May 2012. The pilots were seized just outside the airport, in an area controlled by Hizbullah. However, Hizbullah chief sayyed Hassan Nasrallah has denied any involvement in the kidnapping. In May 2012, eleven Lebanese pilgrims were kidnapped in Syria's Aleppo region as they were making their way back to Lebanon by land from pilgrimage from Iran. Two of them have since been released, while the rest remain held in Aazaz.

King Abdullah’s Egypt speech was like a surgeon’s scalpel
By: Tariq Alhomayed/Asharq Alawsat
In clear and brief words, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Abdullah Bin Abdul-Aziz said: “Let the entire world know that the people and government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia stood and still stand today with our brothers in Egypt against terrorism, extremism and sedition, and against whomever is trying to interfere in Egypt’s internal affairs.”
In saying so, the Saudi king has drawn a clear line for the international, regional and Arab handling of Egypt.
The historic statement from the King went on to say that there are those who stand with Egypt and there are others who are against it, and that Saudi Arabia declares support for Egypt and the Egyptian people extremely clearly. The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques spoke the truth when he described what is happening in Egypt today as “terrorism, extremism and sedition.”
In keeping with his past statements and actions, the Saudi King was even clearer when he issued his warning: “Let it be known to those who interfere in Egypt’s internal affairs that they themselves are fanning the fire of sedition and are promoting terrorism, which they claim to be fighting. I hope they will come to their senses before it is too late, for the Egypt of Islam, Arabism, and honorable history will not be altered by what some may say or what positions others may take. Egypt will be able, with the grace and might of God, to pass into the land of safety, and then they will realize the wrong they committed after it is too late to show regret.”
The statement is important for many reasons: Saudi Arabia’s religious, political and economic value, and also the reputation and weight the Saudi King himself has in the Arab and Islamic worlds and in the international community. Indeed, the King’s address was like the scalpel of a skillful surgeon in an extremely complex surgery. His aim was to delineate acceptable and unacceptable actions in handling the situation in Egypt in light of the Muslim Brotherhood’s terrorism. He has done this by declaring with utmost clarity that his country has supported and will continue to support Egypt and the Egyptian people, by warning against intervention in Egypt’s internal affairs which, as he said, will further ignite sedition. The message here is clear both regionally and internationally, and is directed to specific countries.
We all saw regional countries acting to declare support to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosque’s address that served as a political prop for Egypt and its people and has put an end to some countries’ overbidding towards Egypt. King Abdullah’s address has put an end to an ongoing quarrel, yet there are still some who seek to complicate the situation through their shallow understanding and their delusions. There are attempts to portray what is happening in Egypt as something similar to what is happening in Syria or in other Arab Spring states. Several powers and parties are clearly seeking to support this endeavor through forgery, delusion and provocation. In his address, the Saudi King was able to describe the scene with complete clarity and reason. The historic stance of King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia is one of a leader who wants to protect the state against whomever seeks to destroy it. It is the stance of a leader who seeks to protect the region against whomever thinks the violation of its sovereignty is permissible. King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz’s address is a historic one, for it will be decisive in understanding what has happened—and what will happen next.

Israel stays clear of Egyptian crisis, fearing Russian military’s return to a second border after Syria
DEBKAfile Special Report August 19, 2013/Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates – not Israel - are lobbying the West for support of the Egyptian military. Their campaign is orchestrated by Saudi Director of Intelligence Prince Bandar Bin Sultan - not an anonymous senior Israeli official as claimed by the New York Times, debkafile’s Middle East sources report. The prince is wielding the Russian threat (Remember the Red Peril?) as his most potent weapon for pulling Washington and Brussels behind Egypt’s military chief Gen. Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi and away from recriminations for his deadly crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood.
The veteran Saudi diplomat’s message is blunt: Failing a radical Western about-turn in favor of the Egyptian military, Cairo will turn to Moscow. In no time, Russian arms and military experts will again be swarming over Egypt, 41 years after they were thrown out by the late president Anwar Sadat in 1972.  Implied in Bandar’s message is the availability of Saudi financing for Egyptian arms purchases from Moscow. Therefore, if President Barack Obama yields to pressure and cuts off military aid to post-coup Cairo, America’s strategic partnership with this important Arab nation may go by the board.
It is not clear to what extent Russian President Vladimir Putin is an active party in the Saudi drive on behalf of the Egyptian military ruler. On July 31, during his four-hour meeting with Prince Bandar, he listened to a Saudi proposition for the two countries to set up an economic-military-diplomatic partnership as payment for Russian backing for Cairo.
Last Friday, Aug. 16, Putin convened his elite military and intelligence chiefs for an extraordinary meeting in the Kremlin to discuss the Saudi proposition. No decisions were reported - only a suggestive quote from Putin saying that the session was called to “discuss the situation in Egypt and take the necessary steps to the put Russian military facilities at the Egyptian military disposal.” He added that “Russia will arrange for joint military exercises with the Egyptian army.” Both notions were left dangling without elaboration, a lure without a commitment.
The New York Times of Sunday and Monday (Aug. 18-19) pushed an account of Israel’s diplomats suggesting they were fanning out across Western capitals to urge them to support Egyptian Defense Minister Gen. El-Sisi despite his suppression of the Muslim Brotherhood, with the argument: “At this point, it’s army or anarchy.” This entire conception doesn’t hold water. From Israel’s perspective, the Bandar initiative if it takes off would lead to the undesirable consequence of a Russian military presence in Egypt as well as Syria. This would exacerbate an already fragile - if not perilous situation – closing in on Israel from the south as well as from the north.
The Israeli and Egyptian armies strictly limit their cooperation to counterterrorist action in Sinai against al Qaeda, Salafist and other terrorists threatening both countries and the Suez Canal international waterway. Even then, the IDF does not go beyond responding to Egyptian requests in cases of mutual security concern. Israel has absolutely no involvement in Gen. El-Sisi’s war on the Muslim Brotherhood.
On the diplomatic front, Israel’s assets barely hold their own against the hostile Palestinian propaganda permeating Western capitals - least of all come up with the strength and skills for orchestrating a campaign on behalf of Egypt, as the NYT seems to believe. Indeed, Israel has been extremely wary of any association with the Egyptian defense minister’s domestic affairs out of the cold calculation. If it suited his political and domestic agenda, the general might easily turn around and accuse Israel of unwarranted meddling as his fall guy. On Saturday, Aug. 17, El-Sisi remarked “This is no time to attack the US and Israel, because our first priority is to disband the Muslim Brotherhood.”Jerusalem found this remark alarming rather than comforting, noting that he made no promises about the future.

Why is the West bowing before the Brotherhood?
By: Abdul Rahman Al-Rashed/Asharq Alawsat
Most of the Western remarks about the Muslim Brotherhood’s exclusion from governance in Egypt seem to indicate that the Brotherhood is controlling the keys to terrorism, and that the West can either instigate it or end it. I cannot understand how the West believes the Brotherhood is actually administrating Al-Qaeda, or even that it has political and religious powers directing armed groups. I cannot also understand how the Brotherhood’s rule would save the West from terrorism in the world. This is nonsense. At the time of Osama bin Laden and Al-Qaeda’s organized operations, the Muslim Brotherhood’s words were not heard or taken into consideration and their ties did not work towards halting the violence. The Muslim Brotherhood never succeeded in supporting Al-Qaeda in any of its operations. The group was bragging about representing the other half of dynamic Islamists.
The ongoing violence since the 1990s is directed by Islamic extremist groups expressing their intentions, ideas and programs. These groups have their own leaders, followers and marketing means. We cannot confuse these groups with the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, the National Islamic Front in Sudan, the Ennahda Movement in Tunisia, or any other political group. Al-Qaeda and the other jihadist groups do not recognize the Brotherhood or similar political movements: Al-Qaeda believes that such groups are conspiring with the regimes. On the other hand, why does the West believe that Arabs and Muslims have to accept such political groups, even if they violated rights and sought to dominate institutions? Why do they feel that such groups must be accepted and obeyed? That is what happened in Egypt, as the West is afraid to provoke these groups because, according to them, they can incite terrorism. Why is the West ready to concede defeat as soon as these groups’ leaders blackmail the West? You either have to submit to their demands or they will wage violence against you; this is what leaders speaking on behalf of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, seeking to amplify their threats on English-speaking channels, made sure to convey to Western capitals.
The greatest dangers of terrorism groups come from Al-Qaeda affiliated groups in Syria today; these are neither linked to the Free Syrian Army, which is fighting against Bashar Al-Assad’s regime, nor to any Muslim Brotherhood group, whether in Syria, Egypt or elsewhere. The armed jihadist groups in Libya and Algeria have nothing to do with any of the Islamic parties in these countries. Two problems occur when the West supports the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt today and calls for solidarity and dialogue with them, or when the European Union holds a meeting, as it will next week, for this same purpose. The first problem is supporting extremist leaders within the Brotherhood, who entangled the group with their practices that did not take into consideration the government’s rules, but rather only worked to dominate the country.
There are great leaders, such as Abdel Moneim Aboul-Fotouh, who seceded from the Brotherhood because of the extremism of the group’s leadership. The world, and not just the West, is expected to push the Brotherhood forces to support moderate historical and young leaders, not leaders such as the current supreme guide or Khairat Al-Shater, Mohamed Beltagy, Safwat Hijazi and others.
The second problem is unsettling any possibility for political reconciliation, where extremists feel they are able to impose any solution on the Egyptians from outside. Finally, surrendering to the blackmail of extremist groups did not succeed in modifying the behavior of these groups in the past and will not succeed today. Rather, it will strengthen terrorist voices, which say that the West is ready to walk out on the largest Arab country. These are fascist groups that want to dominate the region. What will it be like when they will control Egypt on their own terms?

Barzani calls on Syrian Kurds to stay and fight (REUTERS/Azad Lashkari)
Erbil and London, Asharq Al-Awsat—The Kurdistan Regional Government in Iraq has faced huge problems in accommodating the thousands of Syrian Kurdish refugees who have arrived in the area since Saturday. Many had to be sent to mosques and schools as a temporary measure until suitable accommodation could be found. The UN refugee agency announced on Monday that more than 30,000 people have crossed from Syria into Iraq since last Thursday, August 15. The president of the Kurdistan Region in Iraq, Massoud Barzani, has called on Kurds in “Western Kurdistan”—the Kurdish areas in Syria—to stay and defend their land. Barzani sent a message to Syrian Kurds saying: “You all know that since the start of the Syrian revolution, tens of thousands of our brothers from Western Kurdistan have moved into our region, and we have accommodated them in refugee camps. However, regrettably, the international community did not offer these refugees any help. Recently, large numbers of refugees flooded our region again, and I would like to offer my thanks and appreciation to the Kurdistan Regional Government for the help it offered them by providing them with transport and temporary accommodation.”
“Having said all that, the issue remains very sensitive, because we do not want Western Kurdistan to be emptied of its Kurdish residents, and our people there must stay and defend their land [and] try to attain their legitimate rights,” he added. Meanwhile, Turkish prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has called on the Kurdish Democratic Union Party, which controls the Kurdish areas in Syria, to join the Syrian National Coalition in confronting the danger from armed groups in Kurdish areas. In another development in Syria, a UN inspection team arrived in the country on Sunday to investigate the alleged use of chemical weapons in the war between opposition and government forces.  The team, which is led by Swedish scientist Ake Sellstrom, arrived by road from Beirut and will stay for 14 days. The inspection team’s stay can be extended by mutual agreement. The team will investigate claims by the opposition that government forces have used chemical weapons in Aleppo, Homs and Damascus.

Washington’s Disappointment in Egypt
Mostafa Zein/Al Hayat/The United States had been reassured by the Muslim Brotherhood assuming power in Egypt and their plans. It had seemed to it at first that these plans were steadily moving forward to form the basis of the new Middle East it seeks to build. And there is nothing better than Islamists assuming power in a major country like Egypt to fulfill such plans.
The Americans built their strategy on grounds they had assumed to be solid. Indeed, the region is a Muslim one, and religious and sectarian tendencies there have been on the rise for decades. Moreover, Turkey’s Islamists have proven to be allies who can be relied on at critical moments. Their quarrel with Israel had been a passing one – and one which they made use of to get closer to Arab peoples, while maintaining military and intelligence collaboration with the Hebrew state. As for Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood, it had passed multiple tests before coming to power in Cairo, through numerous meetings its members had held with officials in the White House. After coming to power, President Mohamed Morsi asserted that he used to work as an expert at the NASA space agency and was proud of this. And it is well known that the United States cannot entrust anyone with the secrets of its agencies unless it has ascertained their complete loyalty. Thus, whether his story proves true or was merely meant for boasting, its purpose remains to prove that he shares a single goal with the Americans.
During its year in power, the Muslim Brotherhood had labored to reinforce Washington’s trust in it. It preserved the Camp David Accords with Israel. It drew Hamas into the axis opposed to Iran and Syria. It became, alongside the Ennahda Movement in Tunisia, a main basis for American-Islamist cooperation (in the political sense of the term) in the Middle East.Yet the Americans, after the blood-spattered events in Egypt, realized that their wager had been misplaced. Indeed, the people came out by the millions to protest against the policies of the Muslim Brotherhood, their monopoly of power, and their attempts to impose their own political concept of Islam and to subject every Egyptian to a daily test to prove loyalty to them. In other words, they tried to monopolize power through their own understanding of Islam and impose such an understanding on everyone, whether they were Muslim or non-Muslim. America’s relapse in Egypt was expressed by President Barack Obama, who interrupted his vacation to give the Egyptian army a first warning. He thus cancelled the joint “Bright Star” maneuvers, maintaining the financial aid while waiting for what developments in Cairo will result in. Thus, if the Egyptian army maintains the policy it has been known to have, from the Sadat era to that of Mubarak, Washington will maintain such aid, and perhaps even increase it. Otherwise, it will cut off its aid and take additional, more “offensive”, steps. In fact, Congress and the press have begun to pave the way for this by pressuring the White House.
Yet despite all the steps taken by America in supporting or opposing the army, domestic developments remain the core of the issue. Most important is for the Muslim Brotherhood not to engage in violence and covert activity, because this would solicit wider interference from the United States and others, and would turn Egypt into another Syria.
Between the army and the Muslim Brotherhood, Washington will choose those who most closely adhere to its policies, not those who are most democratic.

Responsibility For The Dahieh Bombing
Elias Harfoush/Al Hayat
Would it have been possible for Lebanon to avoid the political and security repercussions to which Hezbollah’s intervention in the war in Syria was inevitably going to result? Even Sayyid Hassan Nasrallah himself, when he announced for the first time the participation of Hezbollah members in the fighting in Qusayr, did not hide the fact that he was willing to pay the price and bear the consequences of this participation and of the reactions that it would lead to. In his latest speech on the commemoration of the war of 2006, Nasrallah once again confirmed what had already been known and circulated about the fact that the recent bombings targeting areas where Hezbollah is influential, the latest being the bombing that took place in Beirut’s Southern Suburb (Dahieh), were aimed at responding to Hezbollah’s participation in the war in Syria alongside the regime. Yet this did not drive Nasrallah to reconsider his stance on such participation. On the contrary, he in fact threatened those he referred to as “takfiri terrorists”, saying that Hezbollah’s intervention would be multiplied and that he himself was prepared to personally take part in this war “for the sake of Syria and its people”.
Such threats by Hezbollah to escalate its intervention in the war in Syria obscure the fact that the profound disagreement and division that exists in this country is precisely over Syria’s interest and the future of its people. The conflict has grown in Syria and the regime has confronted the peaceful protests organized by those who opposed it at the beginning of the crisis with violence and blood-spattered repression. The conflict has thus developed from clashes between the opposition and the regime to a sectarian and confessional war, in which the regime and the majority of its sect stand on one side, while the majority of Syrians in the opposition from the other sect stand on the other.
Any attempt to overlook this reality and to describe the conflict in different terms, whether of patriotism or of “defiance”, as Hezbollah’s media apparatus tries to do, does not change the reality of the matter in any way. Indeed, the reality is that Hezbollah’s intervention in support of the regime in this war has led to arousing the enmity of the majority of Syrians, opposition supporters and ordinary citizens, in whose view the future of their country can only be ensured by changing this regime. Moreover, and due to the confessional nature of the war taking place in Syria, Hezbollah’s intervention has turned into support for one sect against another. Making such an image even clearer has been the discourse that has come to dominate recent stances taken by Hezbollah and its Secretary-General, who no longer hesitate to assert and boast of their confessional identity – something which Hezbollah had made sure to avoid in all of the conflicts it had waged in the past, preferring to give itself the image of a party that defends a “patriotic” ideal and considers the resistance of Israel to represent the sole purpose of its political and military activity.
This regression in the nature of Hezbollah’s discourse has finally led it to exclude Israel from among those accused of being responsible for the recent bombing in Dahieh, after it pointed all accusations towards these “takfiri” groups, without even repeating its traditional accusation of these groups working for Israel.
Of course, one should not exclude the involvement of “takfiris” in acts of violence and terrorism in Lebanon and in other countries in the region, from among those that have become the arenas of clashes, bombings and suicide attacks, which are today taking on clearly confessional features. It is because of such fears that prudent calls were made from the beginning to keep Lebanon safe from these confrontations by refraining from implicating the country or any of its active parties in the war in Syria, because of the dangerous reactions this might entail for the fragile relations that exist between Lebanese sects.
Yet confronting “takfiri” ideology and preventing Lebanon from entering the flames of a confessional war, which Nasrallah said the “takfiris” want to drive him into, can only take place by moving away from the language of “treason” – i.e. that of accusing other Lebanese citizens of treason merely for having an opinion different from that of the party. Indeed, accusing others of treason represents the other side of “takfir” (accusing others of apostasy), as it relies on the same kind of exclusionist thinking that deprives others of their right to an opinion… reaching up to depriving them of their right to life.
As for the other way to confront “takfiris”, it is by reaching out to the moderate voices that also reject this kind of thinking in all sects, and in particular within the Sunni sect. Indeed, fighting such voices and trying to eliminate them, accusing them of being foreign agents at times and of treason at others, would leave no one in the forefront but extremist movements and voices, whose terrorism Hezbollah claims today to have become the victim of.

The State’s Authority Lasts Most
Mohammad el Ashab/Al Hayat
It is hard to believe that at least a glimpse of hope remains from the Arab Spring. It seems that Rachid al-Ghannoushi, the Tunisian An-Nahda leader, wants to imply that the Islamists in power burnt themselves like candles in order to provide light in the darkness.
The Islamic leader has provided a ray of hope by acknowledging that his government committed an error of judgment, although he failed to use this acknowledgement to practice constructive self evaluation. Instead, he seems to be working to form a non-partisan unity cabinet. Al-Ghannoushi is rightfully clinging to the formation of a cabinet based on the results of the voting ballots. However, the interim periods calling for historical consensuses do not actually clash with the political objectives, provided that peaceful power rotation becomes a steady tradition. When it comes to the Tunisian case, the most important part does not consist of the nature of the government that might be formed to overcome the present crisis, but rather of the road map that all the parties can agree on.
Several Islamic groups are now alluding to their acceptance by the West as a passport for them. However, this acceptance was warranted under different circumstances when the hope of coexisting with the Islamic movements was growing slim. The moderate voices and experiences succeeded in dissipating the western fears. However, the important part of this equation does not consist of convincing the West to open up to these movements but rather to convince the concerned masses that these movements can actually induce the required change. The people’s will – that brought the Islamic governments to power under the banner of the democratic legitimacy – has the final say in accepting or rejecting these movements.
Tunisia played a pioneering role in overthrowing tyranny. In light of this fact, Tunisia may proceed with the peaceful power transfer without the need for any storms or fires. Egypt provides a perfect example for the replacement of dialogue with bullets: more victims and losses can now be expected in the absence of a civilized dialogue to support coexistence and security.
The uprising of the people in the street constituted quite an interesting development. The movement of the street was traditionally based on the nationalistic issues, the Arab-Israeli conflict, and the relationship with the west. It then started to tackle the internal dilemmas, namely the issues pertaining to rejecting tyranny and the lack of democracy, freedom, and social justice. This development indicates that time will not go backwards because the Street’s reaction to injustice and tyranny is paramount. However, instead of using this fact to move into the world of freedom and openness, things rather turned into quasi-confrontations between different conflicting camps.
The most dangerous part is that these practices have almost become locked in an “opposites’ equation” between those parties who are clinging to power under the pretext of democratic legitimacy, and those parties who are calling for implementing the principles of the revolution that go beyond “electoral gains.” Undoubtedly, the masses of protestors have taken back to the streets in Egypt, Tunisia, and Libya due to the state of disappointment vis-à-vis the governments’ performance in the post revolution phase. Democracy is relative rather than absolute. The best kinds of rulers are those who submit to the power of criticism. Early elections, constitutions, the separation of powers, and the determination of areas of expertise: all these are mechanisms aimed at comprehending the tendency to development.
All these concepts are prone to discussion. In their quest for unity, the Europeans used voting ballots and referendums as a means to learn the people’s positions. Other deeply rooted democracies also revert to the option of conducting referendums when faced with the dilemma of split ideas and opinions. So why not use this method in the countries of the so-called Arab Spring in order to relieve the people from the hardship of street protests? This is probably related to mentalities rather than actions. Democratic solutions call for democratic people who respect pluralism and differences. Several tragedies could have been avoided with less impulsiveness and more wisdom. The Islamic governments failed to make achievements in short lapses of time; however, they could have succeeded if they had waited longer. There is a need to return to the voting ballots, but this return will now be ridden with too many tragedies following the outburst of the rivers of blood.
Power is not an objective on its own. Therefore, maintaining power should not be a reason to kill or be killed. With a little patience and a lot of meditation, one can achieve something more constant and steadier: the authority of a state that protects everybody under the rule of law, stability and coexistence.
 

Behind Benghazi: Muslim Brotherhood and Obama Administration
by Raymond Ibrahim/CBN News
http://www.meforum.org/3585/benghazi-muslim-brotherhood

Evidence that Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood was directly involved in the September 11, 2012 terrorist attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, where Americans including U.S. ambassador to Libya Chris Stevens were killed, continues to mount.
First, on June 26, 2013, I produced and partially translated what purported to be an internal Libyan governmental memo which was leaked and picked up by many Arabic websites. According to this document, the Muslim Brotherhood, including now ousted President Morsi, played a direct role in the Benghazi consulate attack. "Based on confessions derived from some of those arrested at the scene," asserted the report, six people, "all of them Egyptians" from the jihad group Ansar al-Sharia (Supporters of Islamic Law), were arrested. During interrogations, these Egyptian jihadi cell members:
confessed to very serious and important information concerning the financial sources of the group and the planners of the event and the storming and burning of the U.S. consulate in Benghazi…. And among the more prominent figures whose names were mentioned by cell members during confessions were: Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi; preacher Safwat Hegazi; Saudi businessman Mansour Kadasa, owner of the satellite station, Al-Nas; Egyptian Sheikh Muhammad Hassan; former presidential candidate, Hazim Salih Abu Isma'il…
Four days after this memo appeared, the military-backed June 30 Egyptian revolution took place. Many of the Islamists in the Libyan document have either been arrested—including Safwat Hegazi and Abu Isma'il—or have arrest warrants under terrorism charges.
Walid Shoebat followed up with some important investigative work concerning the Libyan document, including by documenting that Western sources had finally acknowledged that there is a group called Ansar al-Sharia operating in Egypt with a cell in Libya, and that, with the ouster of Muhammad Morsi, it (along with al-Qaeda) had declared jihad on Egypt's military (not to mention regular civilians in general, and Coptic Christians in particular).
The fact is, days after the Benghazi attack back in September 2012, Muslim Brotherhood connections appeared. A video made during the consulate attack records people approaching the beleaguered U.S. compound; one of them yells to the besiegers in an Egyptian dialect, "Don't shoot—Dr. Morsi sent us!" apparently a reference to the former Islamist president.
Most recently, on July 29, 2013, Ahmed Musa, a prominent Egyptian political insider and analyst made several assertions on Tahrir TV that further connected the dots. During his program, while berating U.S. ambassador Anne Patterson for her many pro-Brotherhood policies—policies that have earned her the hate and contempt of millions of Egyptians—Musa insisted that he had absolute knowledge that the murderer of Chris Stevens was Mohsin al-'Azzazi, whose passport was found in Brotherhood leader Khairet al-Shatter's home, when the latter was arrested. According to the firm assurances of political analyst Musa, 'Azzazi is currently present in Raba'a al-Adawiya, where he, the seasoned terrorist, is preparing to do what he does best—terrorize Egypt, just as the Brotherhood have promised, in revenge for the ousting of Morsi.
But why would Morsi and the Brotherhood attack the consulate in Libya in the first place? The day before the embassy attacks, based on little known but legitimate Arabic reports, I wrote an article titled "Jihadis Threaten to Burn U.S. Embassy in Cairo," explaining how Islamists—including al-Qaeda—were threatening to attack the U.S. embassy in Cairo unless the notorious Blind Sheikh—an Islamist hero held in prison in the U.S. in connection to the first World Trade Center bombing—was released. The date September 11 was also deliberately chosen to attack the embassy to commemorate the "heroic" September 11, 2001 al-Qaeda strikes on America. (Regardless, the Obama administration, followed by the so-called mainstream media, portrayed the embassy attacks as unplanned reactions to an offensive movie.)
The theory is this: in order to negotiate the release of the Blind Sheikh, the Islamists needed an important American official to barter in exchange. And while the violence on U.S. embassies began in Egypt, it seemed logical that kidnapping an American official from neighboring Libya would be less conspicuous than in Egypt, where Egyptians, including Morsi, were calling for the release of the Egyptian Blind Sheikh. Thus the U.S. consulate in Libya was attacked, Chris Stevens kidnapped, but in the botched attempt, instead of becoming a valuable hostage, he wound up dead.
Add to all this the fact that, despite the very serious charges filed against them—including inciting murder and terrorism, and grand treason—the Obama administration, first with Anne Patterson, and now with Senators John McCain and Lindsay Graham, keep pressuring Egypt to release Brotherhood leaders; McCain personally even visited the civilian al-Shatter, whose raided home revealed the passport of 'Azzazi, whom Musa claims is the murderer of Stevens.
Needless to say, at this point, tens of millions of Egyptians are convinced that U.S. leadership is fully aware of the Brotherhood's connection to Benghazi—and hence desperately pushing for the release of Brotherhood leadership, lest, when they are tried in Egypt's courts, all these scandals become common knowledge.
Meanwhile in the United States, to a mainstream American public—conditioned as it is by a mainstream media—all of the above is just a "conspiracy theory," since surely the U.S. government is transparent with the American people—except, that is, when it's not.
Raymond Ibrahim is author of Crucified Again: Exposing Islam's New War in Christians (published by Regnery in cooperation with Gatestone Institute, April 2013). He is a Shillman Fellow at the David Horowitz Freedom Center and an associate fellow at the Middle East Forum.

Arab states ready to cover any cuts in aid to Egypt: Saudi Arabia
August 19, 2013/Agence France Presse
JEDDAH: Saudi Arabia said on Monday that Arab and Islamic countries will step in to help Egypt if Western nations cut aid packages to Cairo over its deadly crackdown on Islamist protesters.
"To those who have announced they are cutting their aid to Egypt, or threatening to do that, (we say that) Arab and Muslim nations are rich... and will not hesitate to help Egypt," Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal said in a statement carried by the kingdom's SPA state news agency. Prince Saud was speaking upon his return from France, where he held talks with President Francois Hollande who has strongly condemned the violence in Egypt. Hundreds of people have been killed in the North African country since security forces began a clampdown on Muslim Brotherhood protests last week.
US Senator John McCain called on Washington to suspend its $1.3 billion in annual aid to Egypt's military after it overthrew Islamist president Mohamed Morsi on July 3. But some US lawmakers have expressed concern that cutting off aid could endanger Egypt's 1979 peace treaty with Israel or compromise US privileges concerning the Suez Canal. Foreign ministers of the European Union are to hold emergency talks on Wednesday to review the bloc's relations with Cairo.
At stake is nearly five billion euros ($6.7 billion) in loans and grants promised by the world's top aid donor to Egypt for 2012-2013. It includes one billion euros from the EU with the rest from European banks the EIB and EBRD.
Prince Saud accused countries that slammed Egypt's crackdown of "believing propaganda" and assuming "hostile positions towards the interests and the stability of Arab and Islamic nations." "Let those states that are taking negative stances know that the blaze and destruction will not be confined to Egypt, but will affect all those who supported trouble," he said. Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries welcomed Egypt's ouster of Morsi, which infuriated supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood's president and sent them to the streets.
King Abdullah was the first leader to send a message of congratulations to caretaker president Adly Mansour, who was appointed shortly after the army deposed Morsi following nationwide protests. Saudi Arabia later announced an aid package of $5 billion to Egypt. Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates followed suit, bringing the pledges made by the three oil-rich Arab states of the Gulf to $12 billion. The Saudi monarch pledged on Friday the kingdom's support for Egypt's fight against "terrorism", and has ordered the dispatch of three fully-equipped field hospitals to Cairo.