LCCC ENGLISH DAILY
NEWS BULLETIN
February 08/2013
Bible Quotation for today/False
Teachers
02 Peter 02 /01-22: "False prophets appeared in the past
among the people, and in the same way false teachers will appear among you. They
will bring in destructive, untrue doctrines, and will deny the Master who
redeemed them, and so they will bring upon themselves sudden destruction. Even
so, many will follow their immoral ways; and because of what they do, others
will speak evil of the Way of truth. In their greed these false teachers
will make a profit out of telling you made-up stories. For a long time now their
Judge has been ready, and their Destroyer has been wide awake! God did not
spare the angels who sinned, but threw them into hell, where they are kept
chained in darkness, waiting for the Day of Judgment. God did not spare the
ancient world, but brought the flood on the world of godless people; the only
ones he saved were Noah, who preached righteousness, and seven other people. God
condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, destroying them with fire, and made
them an example of what will happen to the godless. He rescued Lot, a good
man, who was distressed by the immoral conduct of lawless people. That
good man lived among them, and day after day he suffered agony as he saw and
heard their evil actions. And so the Lord knows how to rescue godly people
from their trials and how to keep the wicked under punishment for the Day of
Judgment, especially those who follow their filthy bodily lusts and
despise God's authority. These false teachers are bold and arrogant, and show no
respect for the glorious beings above; instead, they insult them. Even the
angels, who are so much stronger and mightier than these false teachers, do not
accuse them with insults in the presence of the Lord. But these people act
by instinct, like wild animals born to be captured and killed; they attack with
insults anything they do not understand. They will be destroyed like wild
animals, and they will be paid with suffering for the suffering they have
caused. Pleasure for them is to do anything in broad daylight that will satisfy
their bodily appetites; they are a shame and a disgrace as they join you in your
meals, all the while enjoying their deceitful ways! They want to look for
nothing but the chance to commit adultery; their appetite for sin is never
satisfied. They lead weak people into a trap. Their hearts are trained to be
greedy. They are under God's curse! They have left the straight path and
have lost their way; they have followed the path taken by Balaam son of Beor,
who loved the money he would get for doing wrong and was rebuked for his
sin. His donkey spoke with a human voice and stopped the prophet's insane
action. These people are like dried-up springs, like clouds blown along by
a storm; God has reserved a place for them in the deepest darkness. They
make proud and stupid statements, and use immoral bodily lusts to trap those who
are just beginning to escape from among people who live in error. They promise
them freedom while they themselves are slaves of destructive habits—for we are
slaves of anything that has conquered us. If people have escaped from the
corrupting forces of the world through their knowledge of our Lord and Savior
Jesus Christ, and then are again caught and conquered by them, such people are
in worse condition at the end than they were at the beginning. It would
have been much better for them never to have known the way of righteousness than
to know it and then turn away from the sacred command that was given them. What
happened to them shows that the proverbs are true: “A dog goes back to what it
has vomited” and “A pig that has been washed goes back to roll in the mud.”
Latest analysis, editorials,
studies, reports, letters & Releases from miscellaneous sources
Know Your Enemy/By Amal Al-Hazzani/Asharq
Alawsat/February 08/13
The War between Jihadists and the Free Syrian
Army/By Abdul Rahman Al-Rashed/Asharq Alawsat/February 08/13
Iranian Interference in Yemen Escalating/By
Mohammed Jumeh/Asharq Alawsat/February 08/13
Mali... New Evidence of Our Affliction/By
Mshari Al-Zaydi/Asharq Alawsat/February 08/13
Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous
Sources for February 08/13
EU leaders to discuss Hezbollah at summit meeting
Bulgaria Says Hizbullah Bomber Died by Mistake
Bulgarian FM to NOW: Lebanon’s cooperation
‘important’
Arsal residents did not assault LAF, Mount Lebanon
mufti says
LAF patrol arrests suspect in Arsal incident
Two Versions of Arsal's Friday Incidence 'under
Investigation'
STL prosecution seeks amendments to indictment
Charbel reassures Lebanese after Bulgaria
accusations
Harb Says Suleiman Upset Over Madi's Request to
Lift MP's Immunity
Bassil Says Lebanon to Attract Important Oil
Companies for Offshore Tenders
Jumblatt says will visit Riyadh soon
Slim chance of EU blacklisting Hezbollah- analysis
Prosecutor requests Franjieh’s comments on Sleiman
Jamaa Islamiya, Baalbek Mufti offer condolences to
Kahwagi
Army corruption among lowest in Lebanon
U.S. Defense Chiefs Backed Arming Syria Rebels
Report: Over Half of Syria Refugees in Lebanon
Lack Medical Care
Ali Khamenei shuts door on direct nuclear talks
with US
Iran Supreme Leader Rejects US Offer of Talks
Iran airs images extracted from 'US drone'
Canadian F.M, Baird to Meet U.S. Secretary of State
John Kerry in Washington
Ahmadinejad says sanctions-bound Iran offered Egypt
loan
Report on the Refugees of Syria Tells of
Kidnapping, Rape, Smuggling
Syria regime retakes town as Damascus clashes
rage
Egypt ups Opposition Security after Death Fatwas
Egypt's Morsi Hopes for Syria Ceasefire 'Soon'
Free Syrian Army (FSA) Denies Launching Battle to
Liberate Damascus
Palestinian Official Urges Obama to Push for Peace
US defense chiefs backed arming Syria rebels
Ruling Islamists split over deepening Tunisia
crisis
Mali: French troops begin withdrawal from
Timbuktu
Report: Libya Tightens Security Measures Against
Lebanese
U.S.: No Place for Violence in Tunisia's
Democracy
Elias Bejjani?
We wonder in which history era lives this Egyptian Salafist
preacher, and why he is not arrested and charged for his Stone Age statements?
Read and watch his rhetotic
Raping women in Tahrir NOT ‘red line’: Egyptian preacher Abu Islam
Thursday, 07 February 2013
http://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2013/02/07/264982.html
Abu Islam said women activists are going to Tahrir Square not to protest but to
be sexually abused because they had wanted to be raped. (Al Arabiya)
By Al Arabiya
inShare.0 An Egyptian Salafi preacher said raping and sexually harassing women
protesters in Cairo’s Tahrir Square is justified, calling them “crusaders” who
“have no shame, no fear and not even feminism.”
In an online video posted Wednesday, Ahmad Mahmoud Abdullah, known as “Abu
Islam” and owner of the private television channel of “al-Ummah,” said these
women are no red line.
“They tell you women are a red line. They tell you that naked women -- who are
going to Tahrir Square because they want to be raped -- are a red line! And they
ask Mursi and the Brotherhood to leave power!,” he said.
Abu Islam added that these women activists are going to Tahrir Square not to
protest but to be sexually abused because they had wanted to be raped.
“They have no shame, no fear and not even feminism. Practice your feminism,
sheikha! It is a legitimate right for you to be a woman,” he said.
“And by the way, 90 percent of them are crusaders and the remaining 10 percent
are widows who have no one to control them. You see women talking like
monsters,” he added.
Muslims and Muslimix
Abu Islam further described these female political activists as “devils.”
“You see a woman with this fuzzy hair! A devil! Devils called women. Learn from
Muslim women, learn and be Muslims. There are Muslims and Muslimix.”
Abu Islam was apparently referring to liberal Muslims as “Muslimix.”
Several rights groups had recently condemned the sexual harassment and rape
which 25 female protesters were subjected to in Tahrir Square during protests
held to mark the second anniversary of the revolution that ousted Hosni Mubarak
and brought in an Islamist government.
Meanwhile, on the social networking website Twitter, several users received Abu
Islam’s statements with fury.
One wrote: “Abu Islam [says] most of those raped are crusaders and the rest are
widows; [statements] of a psychopath.” Another tweep wrote: “When will you
Egyptians kill Abu Islam? We do not need more [idiots.]”
Another twitter user said: “There are no insults that can describe (these
statements.)”
The preacher, whose remarks sparked a controversy, has previously been accused
of the defamation of religion. The Public Prosecution has received several
notifications accusing him of defaming Christianity through statements he had
made to the “Tahrir” newspaper.
He and his son also previously tore and burnt a bible in front of the U.S.
Embassy in Egypt during last year’s protest against a U.S.-made film mocking
Islam’s founder.
Bulgarian FM to NOW: Lebanon’s
cooperation ‘important’
Now Lebanon/During Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Miqati’s most
recent visit to Bulgaria, did you discuss the possibility of Bulgaria accusing
Hezbollah of the bombing?
When the Prime Minister visited the investigation was still at an early stage,
our discussions were focused on the bilateral relations between the two
countries. Yesterday the briefing of the Bulgarian Interior Minister focused on
the conclusions to date. His statements were made after some parts of the
findings were cleared for publication. There are a number of findings that are
still classified. Based on what we have it is reasonable to say that the attack
at Sarafovo Airport was planned, organized and executed by people who are
affiliated with the military wing of Hezbollah. This statement is the result of
months of intensive work with partners from three continents. I know that this
statement has caused much apprehension among the Lebanese people, with whom we
have traditionally had excellent relations. But it is in the interest of both
countries and our citizens – no matter what religion or ethnic group they belong
to, to stand up to terrorism together. Lebanon has seen the devastation of civil
war, of occupation, of refugees and its people know how important justice is to
peace. This is why we were particularly encouraged by the statements from
Lebanese leaders responding to our request for cooperation in the next stage of
the process. I spoke to Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour yesterday. We have
already filed our first requests for judicial cooperation not just to Lebanon,
but to Australia and Canada.
Will the European Union play an active role in looking for and arresting those
accused of this crime?
Our investigative services cooperate fully with the colleagues throughout the
European Union and also with EUROPOL, so yes the EU member states are our active
partners in this. I believe that there are two things that are important now –
firstly, cooperation with Lebanon and other countries on the next stage of the
process; secondly, a discussion in the EU on how can we protect ourselves from
similar attacks in the future.
Will this lead to the European Union placing Hezbollah on its terrorists list?
This is would be a decision that can only be taken by all 27 members states of
the EU, it requires consensus. At this point we need to reflect on our findings,
and discuss them with colleagues in the EU before we take the matter further
ahead. Hezbollah is part of the Lebanese government. Will this accusation
affect the relationship between Lebanon and Bulgaria?
It is not up to me or anyone else but the Lebanese people to say who should or
should not be part of your government. Your government has managed to get the
country through some very difficult times. The biggest threat to Lebanon is the
situation in Syria right now. This why all of us in the EU are fully committed
to working with the Lebanese authorities to mitigate the effect of the displaced
Syrians and Palestinians. In this, the continuation of the National Dialogue is
important, as well as resolving some of the outstanding social and economic
needs, particularly in poorer areas in the north. As far as the attack at
Sarafovo airport is concerned, I am convinced that we have a joint interest in
getting to the bottom of this terrible tragedy. People from both countries want
to travel freely, trade, study and engage in normal activities. Terrorism and
violence are condemnable wherever they happen. When people go to the polls and
choose whom to support they make that decision on the basis of platforms and
commitments – how will services improve, how will the economy be managed, how
will security be provided? These are the questions that matter.
Are the names of the accused going to be disclosed at some point?
At this stage, this is still part of the ongoing investigation.
Army corruption among lowest in
Lebanon
February 07, 2013/By Olivia Alabaster/The Daily Star
BEIRUT: While levels of corruption in Lebanon’s defense sector are lower than
the country’s institutions as a whole, it is still identified as high risk,
according to a global report from Transparency International launched Wednesday.
At the regional launch in Beirut, the chair of TI’s local branch, Nada Abdel-Sater
Abu Samra, said the struggle to fight corruption was a long journey, but that
considerable steps had already been taken, evidenced by the high level of Army
representation at the launch.Representing Army commander Gen. Jean Kahwagi was
Army Chief of Staff Maj. Walid Salman, and Aley lawmaker Fouad Saad attended on
behalf of President Michel Sleiman, Speaker Nabih Berri, and Prime Minister
Najib Mikati.
When the Lebanese Transparency Association was established in 1999, she said,
the government refused to even recognize the existence of corruption, but now
the fight to combat the problem was one of Sleiman’s slogans.
But while Lebanon ranked in 128th place out of 176 countries in the recent TI
global corruption index, in this new defense report, which is the first of its
kind, the country receives the highest place achieved by any country in the
Middle East and North Africa region – a D+, meaning the corruption risk is
classified as “high.”
Lebanon shares this rating with the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Israel.
Bahrain, Iraq, Oman, Tunisia, Saudi Arabia and Qatar have a “very high” risk,
and Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Syria and Yemen have a “critical” risk of corruption
within the military. The index, which took two years to compile, looks at the
political, financial, personnel, operations and procurement corruption risks
within the defense sector. Report authors invited the relevant Defense
ministries to contribute to the findings, but all 19 MENA countries declined
this invitation.
“A central requirement for any nation is to have defense and security forces
which are trusted,” said Mark Pyman, program director of the defense and
security countercorruption program at TI.
The lack of such trust was one of the causal factors behind many of the ongoing
Arab Spring uprisings, he said, adding that “corruption can prolong fighting and
prevent sustainable peace.”
TI chose to produce an extra report focusing on the MENA region partly because
levels of spending here are so high, and because “defense has been even more
closed than elsewhere in the world ... and in many of these countries it’s
actually dangerous to talk about it, indeed in some countries it’s against the
law,” Pyman said in an interview with The Daily Star ahead of the launch.
Lebanon scored higher than other countries in the region, he said, partially due
to the generally high regard in which the population holds the Army, meaning the
institution is more inclined to be open about its workings.
Of the 82 countries studied in the global report, Lebanon is one of only 10 that
spend over 4 percent of their GDP on military expenditures, but it publishes a
nearly complete budget, and the Defense Ministry “has very little under the
heading of secret items, where in other countries it is right up to 100 percent
of the budget,” Pyman said. “I think the fact it’s a well-respected institution
and therefore it has some degree of confidence in itself is probably one of the
most fundamental reasons,” he said, adding that, “it seems to have a good
relationship with the legislature, as opposed to one of complete separation.”The
occurrence of corruption, Salman said, wherever it exists, “is not the result of
a gap or a mistake in society, but the result of a lack of good implementation
of the law.”Lebanon’s Army, he added, was the best guarantor of security and
equality for all citizens, and should act as a model for society in its efforts
to prevent “any danger which jeopardizes our country.”The Lebanese Army has had
a difficult week after two soldiers were killed in the Bekaa Valley town of
Arsal while trying to arrest a man, also killed in the ambush, who was wanted on
terrorism charges.
In order to improve its standing, Pyman said, the country’s defense sector
should improve the quality of its independent scrutiny of spending and policy
and to engage with and open up to civil society groups.
Charbel reassures Lebanese after
Bulgaria accusations
February 07, 2013/The Daily Star /BEIRUT: There will be no repercussions on the
Lebanese government from Bulgaria’s accusations that Hezbollah was involved in
an attack on a tourist bus in Burgas, Interior Minister Marwan Charbel said in
remarks published Thursday. “Bulgarian accusations against Hezbollah will have
no repercussions on the government and the domestic scene,” Charbel told the
Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Seyassah. “Let’s wait until more details are uncovered in
this case,” he urged. His comments came a day after the opposition March 14
coalition warned of the repercussions of Sofia’s allegation that Hezbollah is
responsible for the 2012 bomb attack on a tourist bus in Burgas which killed
five Israeli tourists. But Charbel said that global keenness on stability in
Lebanon was “comforting.” In separate remarks to the local daily Al-Joumhouria,
Charbel denied his ministry has received notice of Bulgaria’s accusation.
STL Prosecutor Files Request to Amend Hariri Indictment
Naharnet /Special Tribunal for Lebanon Prosecutor Norman Farrell filed on
Wednesday a “confidential motion seeking amendments to the present indictment in
the Ayyash et al. Case”, announced the STL on Thursday. The proposed amendments
set out certain clarifications. The timing of this filing follows a commitment
made by the Office of the Prosecution during the Status Conference held by the
Pre-Trial Judge on January 30, 2013.
The indictment was originally unsealed in August 2011.It accused four Hizbullah
members, Salim Ayyash, Mustafa Badreddine, Hussein Oneissi, and Assad Sabra of
being involved in the February 2005 suicide car bomb attack in Beirut that
killed former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and 22 others, including the suicide
bomber.
Harb Says Suleiman Upset Over Madi's Request to Lift MP's
Immunity
Naharnet/Opposition lawmaker Butros Harb revealed Thursday that President Michel
Suleiman has expressed frustration over the general prosecutor's request to
strip the MP of his parliamentary immunity.
In remarks to al-Joumhouria newspaper, Harb said: “The president is very upset
by General Prosecutor Judge Hatem Madi's request and informed me that he did not
know that he would take such a measure.”
Suleiman was “surprised” by the move and “confirmed that he totally rejects it,”
Harb added.
Harb visited Suleiman at Baabda palace on Wednesday. Madi sent a memo to Justice
Minister Shakib Qortbawi on Monday requesting that the Batroun MP's immunity be
lifted, so that he can be tried for offending Suleiman and the judiciary. But
Harb challenged him, saying he would file a lawsuit against the general
prosecutor for trying to strike a deal with Hizbullah over a party member
accused of involvement in an assassination attempt against him last year. Harb
told al-Joumhouria that he informed Suleiman about his insistence to lift his
immunity “to confront Judge Madi in court.”In remarks to Voice of Lebanon radio
(93.3), Qortbawi said “the judiciary should remain independent away from
political differences.”“I will study the file away from these differences,” he
said after revealing that he hasn't yet read the memo over his busy schedule.
Arsal residents did not assault
LAF, Mount Lebanon mufti says
Now Lebanon/Mufti of the Mount Lebanon district Sunni Sheikh
Mohammed Ali al-Jouzou said that Arsal residents did not assault the Lebanese
Armed Forces in an incident that left two army members dead.
“The Arsal incident spurred talks of the town’s residents having assaulted the
army which is not true at all,” Jouzou said during a meeting with Sheikh Ahmad
al-Assir on Thursday. He added that “the Arsal incident is being used to break
the Syrian revolution’s will through breaking the will of Arsal’s residents.”LAF
members Pierre Bachaalany and Ibrahim Zahraman were killed when an LAF patrol
team pursued a wanted man, Khaled Hmayed, in the Beqaa area of Arsal. Hmayed’s
family and friends surrounded the patrol force and opened fire, killing the two
soldiers and injuring six others. The mufti also said that “Hezbollah is trying,
through its position in power to cause harm without being held accountable, for
it kills the victim and then walks in their funeral.”“The state today is
Hezbollah’s state and the government is Hezbollah’s government. This party is
responsible for the disintegration of the state, the [damaging] of the economy,
the outflow of capital, and [scaring] Arab tourists away.”Jouzou is known for
his enmity to Hezbollah, and has spoken out against the Shiite party numerous
times in the past years.
LAF patrol arrests suspect in Arsal incident
Now Lebanon/A Lebanese Armed Forces patrol arrested on Thursday a suspect in the
Arsal incident which left two soldiers dead in the town’s outskirts, the
National News Agency reported.
The patrol members found pictures of military centers and movements of army
members in the Beqaa town on the mobile phone of the man, identified by his
initials as M.H., who was posing as a shepherd.
LAF members Pierre Bachaalany and Ibrahim Zahraman were killed when an LAF
patrol team pursued a wanted man, Khaled Hmayed, in the Beqaa area of Arsal.
Hmayed’s family and friends surrounded the patrol force and opened fire, killing
the two soldiers and injuring six others
Two Versions of Arsal's Friday Incidence 'under
Investigation'
Naharnet/LBCI television reported on Thursday two different versions of Friday's
incident in the Bekaa town of Arsal that resulted in the death of Major Pierre
Bashaalani and Adjutant Ibrahim Zahraman, revealing that both stories are “under
investigation by concerned authorities”.According to the town's residents, three
civil vehicles fired shotguns at Khaled Hmayyed, a suspect wanted on terrorism
charges, near his house in Arsal while he was on his way to perform Friday's
prayers."Hmayyed's body was seized by the shooters and they took off to a
deserted location,” the residents told LBCI. They added: “An exchange of gunfire
occurred when people from Arsal followed the cars to retrieve his body and were
faced with an army patrol”. Meanwhile, the army explained that the patrol wanted
to avoid a confrontation with Arsal residents while arresting Hmayyed,
explaining why it headed to a nearby location, LBCI reported. "Both versions of
the incident are being investigated by concerned authorities,” LBCI said.The
television channel revealed that two arrest warrants were issued by Military
examining magistrate Judge Fadi Sawan against Hmayyed, renouncing claims by
Arsal residents who denied the existence of such judicial writs.xplained: “The
first one was issued in November 2011 and it accused him with an attempted
murder”. The second one, however, was issued in 2012 for his alleged affiliation
with a terrorist organization.Ahmed al-Hojeiri, a suspect in Friday's incident,
was arrested on Thursday according to LBCI.
“He was caught disguised as a shepherd,” it remarked.The army has sealed off all
the entrances to Arsal and brought in reinforcements as part of measures aimed
at arresting members of an armed group that targeted the patrol and killed
Bashaalani and Zahraman.The army also erected checkpoints at the entrances of
the town to check the identities of passers-by.
Jamaa Islamiya, Baalbek Mufti offer condolences to Kahwagi
February 07, 2013/The Daily Star/BEIRUT: A delegation of Al-Jamaa al-Islamiya
visited Lebanon’s Army chief Gen. Jean Kahwagi Thursday to offer condolences
over the killing of two Lebanese soldiers in the eastern town of Arsal last
week, a statement from the group said. The delegation, headed by MP Imad al-Hout,
voiced concern “over the repeated attempts to play the Army off against its
supporters.”
The ambush that targeted the military Friday killed Sergeant Ibrahim Zahraman,
32, who was laid to rest Saturday afternoon in his hometown of Akkar, north
Lebanon and Captain Pierre Bashalani, 31, who was laid to rest in the Zahle town
of Mreijet Sunday. The attack on the Army patrol apparently came in response to
the killing of Hmayyed, himself a resident of the predominantly Sunni town of
Arsal.
According to the Al-Jamaa al-Islamiya statement, Kahwagi briefed the group about
the investigation into the incident.
“The Army commander expressed his concern for both Arsal residents and the
military institution,” said the statement.
Baalbek Mufti Sheikh Ayman Rifai also paid a separate visit to Khawagi to offer
him condolences over Zahraman and Bashalani’s killings.
Future Movement MP Nuhad Mashnouq said in an interview aired late Wednesday that
both the Lebanese Army and Arsal residents committed “big mistakes” during last
week’s military operation to arrest a wanted resident from the eastern Bekaa
town. “A big mistake was committed by all the sides – the [Lebanese] Army’s
strike force and the Intelligence – that initially carried out the kill
operation of Khalid Hmayyed,” Mashnouq told the Future television station. “An
even bigger mistake was committed by Arsal’s men when they chased them
[soldiers] and opened fire on them, killing and wounding” a number of troops,
Mashnouq added.
Mashnouq said there is information that Bashalani was killed when a Humvee ran
over him, not by gunfire. He did not elaborate.
“I do not want to defend anyone, but a barbaric act took place as a result of
the death of Khalid Hmayyed by an unknown party, and we want a military tribunal
committee to run the investigation, name those responsible and try them
according to the law.”Mashnouq hailed the Lebanese Army and stressed that
whatever comes from the military tribunal must surely be true and without
question.
“The Lebanese will approve whatever the military judiciary says,” he said.
However, he said statements made by the head of the Army Intelligence Edmond
Fadel were “not based on judicial evidence.”
“These are big accusations that cannot be made against anyone at a time when the
prosecutor says there are no arrest warrants against anyone,” Mashnouq said.
Fadel has said Hmayyed was a member of the Nusra Front, a militant Islamist
group with ties to Al-Qaeda.
Palestinian officials: Obama must pressure Israel
Associated Press/Ynetnews
Top PA negotiator says US president's upcoming visit to region will be
successful 'only if he realizes reasons for failure of previous round of talks
and avoid them.' Meridor: We could pay a great price
The Palestinians on Thursday responded coolly to a White House announcement that
President Barack Obama will not bring any bold new peace initiatives to the
region next month, saying there is no hope for reviving serious negotiations
unless the US leader is personally involved. The Palestinians' comments
reflected their sense of desperation after four years of deadlocked peace
efforts with Israel, and raised the pressure on Obama to extract new concessions
from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. In a setback for Netanyahu, a
close political ally criticized Israel's settlement policies, saying continued
construction deep inside the West Bank has undermined Israel's credibility and
could threaten the country's long-term survival. "We could pay a great price,"
Deputy Prime Minister Dan Meridor, a senior member of Netanyahu's Likud Party,
warned on Israeli Radio.
The White House said this week that Obama would make his first presidential
visit to Israel and the Palestinian territories this spring, setting off
speculation that he was coming to restart peace efforts.
On Wednesday, the White House moved quickly to play down expectations, saying
the primary goal of the visit was to repair the strained relationship with
Netanyahu, not to present a new diplomatic initiative. Both Obama and Netanyahu
are just beginning new terms in office. The Palestinians welcomed news of the
visit, but implored Obama to take a more hands-on approach than he did during
his first term.
"We believe he has good intentions, but in order for him to succeed, he should
realize the reasons for the failure of the previous round of talks and avoid
them," said Mohammed Ishtayeh, a senior Palestinian negotiator. "Mainly he needs
to get involved personally and put real pressure on Israel." Peace efforts
remained frozen throughout Netanyahu's previous term, in large part because of
Israeli settlement construction in the West Bank and east Jerusalem. The
Palestinians claim both areas, captured by Israel in the 1967 Mideast war, for a
future state.
The Palestinians have refused to negotiate while Israel continues to build
settlements, saying it is a sign of bad faith. With more than 500,000 Israelis
living in the settlements, the Palestinians say hopes for partitioning the land
into two separate countries are running out.
The Palestinians say the pre-1967 boundaries must be the basis for the border
between Israel and a future Palestine, a position that has been endorsed by
Obama and most of the international community. While Netanyahu has endorsed
Palestinian statehood, he rejects a return to the 1967 lines and says talks
should resume without any preconditions.
Blame game
The Palestinians have blamed Obama in part for the current predicament. When
Obama took office in early 2009, he promised to make Mideast peace a top
priority and spoke out sharply against settlement construction.
Obama even managed to persuade Israel to impose a temporary slowdown on
settlement building. But when the 10-month moratorium expired in late 2010, a
new round of peace talks collapsed just weeks after they were launched.
Negotiations have remained frozen.
Netanyahu has argued that the Palestinians have negotiated with previous Israeli
governments while settlements were being built, and that even when he imposed a
slowdown on construction, they waited for months before relaunching the
short-lived talks.
But there has been little international sympathy.
In November, the UN General Assembly voted overwhelmingly to recognize a
Palestinian state in the 1967 lines. Netanyahu responded by announcing plans to
build thousands of new homes in the West Bank and east Jerusalem, drawing harsh
condemnations from his allies in the US and Europe.
The Haaretz daily on Thursday, citing two unidentified officials, quoted
Netanyahu's national security adviser, Yaakov Amidror, as warning that Israel's
settlement policies were hurting its standing with key allies.
"It's impossible to explain the issue of settlement construction anyplace in the
world," he was quoted as saying. "Construction in the settlements has become a
diplomatic problem and is causing Israel to lose support even among its friends
in the West." Netanyahu's office refused comment. But on the radio, Meridor said
the government was sending mixed signals to the world by speaking in favor of
Palestinian independence while settling Israelis on lands claimed by the
Palestinians. He said Israel should limit construction to major settlement
"blocs" and existing Jewish settlements in east Jerusalem, and halt construction
in outlying areas. Israel is expected to keep these settlements under any future
peace deal. "There is a lack of consistency between our claim of wanting two
states ... and the fact that we don't limit building to the blocs only," he
said. By sending this mixed message, "we cast doubt on our intentions and
statements, and this is costing us a very high price."
Meridor stressed that establishment of a Palestinian state is in Israel's
interests. Without a partition, most demographers believe that the Arab
population under Israeli control could soon outnumber Jews.
The Palestinians have warned this could turn Israel into an "apartheid-style"
state with a Jewish minority ruling over a disenfranchised Arab majority. The
Arabs would turn their struggle away from independence and instead seek equality
in a single mixed state.
A recent report by the anti-settlement watchdog group Peace Now found that
nearly 40 percent of settlement construction under Netanyahu took place deep
inside the West Bank.
Post-election reality
Netanyahu, who is building a new coalition government following elections last
month, has pledged to revive peace efforts in his new term and is courting
centrist parties to join him. But he has given no sign that he is planning to
soften his key positions on borders and settlement construction. Ishtayeh said
the Palestinians would not budge on their demands for a settlement freeze or
their insistence that the 1967 borders remain the baseline for negotiations. He
also ruled out an interim agreement while final borders can be worked out. This
could signal tough times ahead for the Obama administration. Newly sworn-in US
Secretary of State John Kerry is expected to visit Israel, the Palestinian
territories and other countries in the region this month ahead of Obama's trip.
In a separate development, a Gaza man who carried out the longest-ever hunger
strike by a Palestinian prisoner returned home. Akram Rikhawi ended his 103-day
hunger strike last July in exchange for Israel's pledged to release him five
months earlier than his scheduled release in June.
Rikhawi, 40, who claimed to be suffering from asthma and diabetes, was taken to
a hospital. He served a nine-year sentence for transporting suicide bombers.
"I am happy to be back home after this long suffering. It's a victory for
prisoners who are fighting with their empty stomachs," he told reporters.
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EU leaders to discuss Hezbollah at summit meeting
By HERB KEINON 02/07/2013/J.Post
Despite Burgas bombing probe, European, Israeli officials caution against undue
optimism that Hezbollah will be blacklisted.
Israeli officials expressed satisfaction Thursday that the question of placing
Hezbollah on the EU's terror blacklist was expected to be discussed at a two-day
summit of the leaders of the 27 EU states that began Thursday evening in
Brussels. Though there was no expectation that any decision would be made at the
meeting, one official said the very fact that it would be discussed by the
European leaders was a step in the right direction.EU foreign policy chief
Catherine Ashton said that the Bulgarian investigation that pointed to Hezbollah
involvement in the 2012 Burgas attacked that killed six people, including five
Israelis, would be assessed and discussed at the meeting.
Both European and Israeli officials, however, cautioned against undo optimism
that the EU would finally place the organization on the terror list, something
that would make it much more difficult for Hezbollah to raise money and lobby
for support inside European capitals. Rather, the officials said, various half
steps might be considered, such as placing the "military" wing of the
organization on the list, but not the "political" wing, something the British
have already done on their list.In this way, one official explained, European
countries would be able to continue having contact with Hezbollah politicians
and ministers in the Lebanese government, while still being able to take measure
to curtail funding for the organization in Europe.Another possibility may be to
place individuals on the list, as was done to Hezbollah's Imad Mughniyah, in the
past.
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has come out strongly against dividing the
organization into component parts, saying it is one organization with one
leadership.Meanwhile, President François Hollande of France, which has
historically been the major EU country opposing placing Hezbollah on the list,
told World Jewish Congress President Ronald Lauder Wednesday that France would
study the evidence assembled by the Bulgarian investigators before making any
decision regarding the labeling of the Lebanese organization
Know Your Enemy
By Amal Al-Hazzani/Asharq Alawsat
I would like to thank those who showered me with a torrent of angry
correspondence about my previous article on Israel, who accused me of calling
for a normalization of relations, promoting the Hebrew language, and glorifying
Israeli liberalism. This response was to be expected because I breached a taboo.
However, I am sorry to say to those people, despite my appreciation of their
opinions, that their outrage will not change the reality. Israel will remain as
it is; a small state but stronger than the rest of the Arab world. My previous
article was not about the Arabs’ political stance towards Israel because this
was already settled during the Beirut Summit in 2002, when the Arabs endorsed
their peace initiative. This summit will forever remain a key for political
resolution because it entitled the Arabs to regain their rights and establish
normal relations between themselves and Israel. In my previous article, I was
merely blaming the Arabs for their arrogance and for declining to know their
enemy under the pretext that it would be tantamount to recognizing Israel's
existence.
However, the bitter truth is that although we Arabs refuse to openly recognize
Israel, we implicitly acknowledge it through the martyrs' tombs, the refugee
camps, the Palestinian diaspora, the occupied territories, the periodical wars
in Lebanon and Gaza, and the settlement projects. If we insist on denying the
reality, we will remain alone in the dark.
Knowing how Israel lives, how it develops, how it learns, what it produces, and
even what sports it plays is not the same as normalizing relations. Knowledge is
not necessarily a relationship between two sides; it can be an individual
relationship between one and oneself.
Ignorance is man's worst enemy, whereas the greatest desire a man may have is to
learn more. Curiosity and the urge to understand are intrinsic feelings akin to
the instincts of thirst and hunger. The honorable Arab nation must ask how it
can ever hope to find its way in the dark when it keeps turning away from the
light of the torch.
It is not necessary for the Arabs to learn the Hebrew language in order to
understand their enemy. Not all the Israelis can speak Arabic well, nor do they
have the inclination to do so. However, because language is one of the tools of
knowledge, Hebrew must at least be on the radar of Israel's neighboring states
because Israel will remain their neighbor as well as their enemy for some time
to come. Do not believe the calls to wipe Israel off the map, only the US search
engine Google can do this.
Arabic is an official language in Israel because one-fifth of the population is
Arab. However, Israel's Arabs are not the main impetus behind the push to study
Arabic there. The reason for the Israeli eagerness to do so is because
isolation, even if they were a stronger force, will never be in their interests.
Although we believe that we are in a state of war with Israel, the war is a
trick, a trick based on knowledge.
You do not have to go far to find this out. Just browse some internet sites and
observe the number of pages Israel has posted with both Arabic and Hebrew
language support for readers. Look at the number of Israeli newspapers and
magazines with Arabic-language versions, some of which specialize in the customs
and traditions of the Middle East, whereas others carry domestic news of Arab
states that Israel considers as enemies.
To add further salt to the wound, consider what the spokesman of the Israeli
ministry of defense says on Twitter. You would be amazed to know that he is a
thirty-year-old man who speaks Arabic fluently, posting tweets and news on the
Israeli army. During every Islamic religious occasion, he tweets the Israeli
army's congratulations to Muslims and says “may you have a happy Eid, may your
fast be accepted and may your pilgrimage be blessed”. By the very nature of the
medium, the Israeli spokesman is not addressing Israel's Arabs or the
Palestinians only, but rather he is addressing all the Arabs on Twitter. He is
provoking them through calm dialogue and even if they react with outrage and
unleash a torrent of swearwords and insults, he continues with his endeavor. He
is not keeping pace with them, rather he is targeting their cultural depth.
In addition to the language issue, notice how the Arab media deals with Israel.
It never dares to publish news of a cultural or economic nature—even some
political stories are banned—because it fears that ordinary people would accuse
it of championing Zionism. Thus, Arabic media outlets avoid presenting the facts
in full and instead publish only a few of them. Even at the time when the wars
on Gaza and Lebanon were at their peak, Arab satellite channels were cautious or
altogether avoided hosting someone to speak for the Israeli side. Of course,
this was to ensure that Arab self-opinionated audiences would not turn against
such media outlets, even though listening to both sides of the story is the crux
of any journalistic work. Only Al-Arabiya dared to buck the trend, and it was
not long before some branded it as Zionist for choosing to do so. The Arabs have
been preoccupied with range and blind hatred since 1967. During this time,
Israel has managed to build eight public universities and 200 museums that
receive nearly 4 million tourists a year. It has also become a rival to the US
in the programming and software industry. Without meaning to further enrage
those furious Arab zealots, let me also say that Israel's annual GDP is USD 240
billion. Annual US aid does not exceed 1.5 percent of this figure and three
quarters of this aid is spent on weaponry. In this sense Washington is giving
with one hand and taking away with the other. Hence it is untrue to claim that
America is feeding the Israelis and funding their education and health; Israel
is a rich state that does not need others to support it. Its economic figures,
to a large extent, are close to that of South Korea.
We must understand the Israelis to know how we compare. Wars cannot be won by
sentiments of hatred alone; otherwise the Arabs would have dominated the world
long ago. Know your enemy so as not to suffer greater losses. This is all that I
am saying.
The War between Jihadists and the Free Syrian Army
By Abdul Rahman Al-Rashed/Asharq Alawsat
A Salafi jihadist leader in Jordan was quoted as saying, “A war will break out
between jihadists and secular fighters (the Free Syrian Army) if President
Bashar Al-Assad falls.”
This threat can be interpreted in tow possible ways. It is either part of the
Syrian regime’s campaign of intimidation or an honest statement expressing the
agenda of jihadist groups in the region. Both possibilities are catastrophic.
The statement, hinting at a possible war between jihadist and secular fighters
in Syria, was attributed to the Al-Qaeda supporter known as Abu Sayyaf. Since he
was speaking from Jordan, the statement is akin to an observer making judgments
from the outside, but its timing only serves Bashar Assad. The Syrian president
is facing an uprising led by the majority of the Syrians, whom he claims are
terrorists with links to Al-Qaeda.
Abu Sayyaf’s statement corroborates the Syrian regime’s allegations. When one
hears such statements, they instantly think: Is it better for Syria is ruled by
an evil man with smart clothes like Bashar Assad, or an evil man dressed in
shabby clothes and carrying a sword?
Unfortunately, many could fall for this and believe the situation in Syria is
now a choice between Bashar Assad and Ayman al-Zawahiri. Here they would choose
Syria’s Assad instead of Afghanistan’s Taliban and Al-Qaeda. They would not
accept a Somali version of Syria and they would not fight for Damascus to become
another Timbkutu.
This terrifying vision is based on the following scarecrow: The fall of Assad
means the rise of Zawahiri, Jabhat Al-Nusra and Al-Qaeda. But why do we assume
that overthrowing the Assad regime, which is a popular demand, would inevitably
be followed by Al-Qaeda’s seizure of Damascus? The truth is that Abu Sayyaf is
merely enhancing Assad’s propaganda; a campaign designed to intimidate the
Syrians who have been struggling for two years to topple a regime that has
suppressed them for forty.
It is an attempt to intimidate the countries that support the revolution such as
Saudi Arabia and Qatar. It is an attempt to intimidate the global powers and
other European countries, which, despite their reluctance, are tightening the
noose around Assad’s regime on the financial and economic level, and will have a
major role in establishing a future Syrian state.
But we do not want Abu Sayyaf to lie to us, and we, ourselves, do not want to
lie to others. Yes the situation in Syria is very dangerous. Iran and Russia are
exerting great efforts to support and protect the Damascus regime, and they hold
the key to why Assad remains in his palace to this day. Amid a campaign of
intimidation, starvation and genocide, it is normal for groups to emerge seeking
vengeance, and for segments of society to support extremism. However, it is
certain that Assad’s regime, along with Hezbollah and Iran, are encouraging
terrorist groups and facilitating their entry into the opposition in order to
cause alarm within the international community, which is fighting Al-Qaeda today
in Yemen, Afghanistan and Mali. It would not make sense for the west to support
any revolution raising an extremist flag.
Abu Sayyaf said that “if Assad is toppled, the Free Syrian Army (FSA) or those
who oppose the ideas of Jabhat Al-Nusra will request all Islamic groups to
immediately put down their weapons…Here a clash will take place, and the losses
will be grave. We cannot say how exactly, because we cannot pre-empt events.”
In turn, we say to Abu Sayyaf that the extremists will fail and the Syrian
people will fight them. Look around; Al-Qaeda has failed everywhere. It failed
in Algeria, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, Iraq, and even in Somalia. It is
currently besieged in Yemen, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. It is a Takfiri group
acting against 90 percent of the Muslim community.
I personally think that Abu Sayyaf’s statements are a free service to Assad in
order to frustrate the rebels’ courage, raise the Syrians’ suspicions regarding
their revolution, and intimidate the wider world. The majority of Syrians are
against Al-Qaeda and Salafi jihadism. The overwhelming majority of the Syrian
rebels are defectors from the Syrian army; young men who have risen up against
injustice. They are neither jihadists nor Al-Qaeda affiliates. If Jabhat Al-Nusra
is really affiliated with Al-Qaeda, it will end like all other Al-Qaeda
organizations; in failure. But if it is genuinely a Syrian revolutionary group,
there will be a place for it among the others. What we have to understand is
that the FSA is the overwhelming power. It is genuine and patriotic, and its
religious slogans must be understood in context and not considered as extremist.
Christian fighters often draw the cross and Jews carry the Torah. It is piety
not extremism, and it is normal for people to express their religion.
The FSA’s agenda is to build a new country while Al-Qaeda’s agenda is
destruction and bloodshed. This is why the latter failed and why religion will
always overcome it. The US did not succeed in its war against Al-Qaeda in Iraq
but Sunni tribes managed to eliminate it. The Syrian people are civilized,
moderately religious, and will not allow the evil of Al-Qaeda to replace the
evil of the Assad regime. They will do what the Saudis, Egyptians, Algerians,
and Jordanians did, and what the Yemenis are doing no, by fully rejecting the
terrorist organization’s ideology. Therefore, we do not need to fear that
jihadists will thwart the Syrian revolution.
Free Syrian Army (FSA) Denies Launching Battle to Liberate
Damascus
Asharq Al-Awsat/Beirut, London, Asharq Al-Awsat—A high ranking
source in the Free Syrian Army [FSA] has denied that opposition fighters
yesterday launched a battle to liberate Damascus, despite the clashes in several
districts of the capital .The source told Asharq Al-Awsat that the operation
launched by the FSA was "aimed at testing the regime's strength and checking the
extent of its deployment and ability to repel the revolutionaries' attack." It
added that this operation "falls within the framework of the preparatory
measures for storming and controlling the capital."In other news, the Syrian
government continues to ignore an offer for talks with the government, while
fears of increasing involvement in the struggle by religious militants grows.
The offer for talks was issued by Moaz Al-Khatib, the head of the umbrella group
that coordinates the Syrian opposition, the Syrian National Coalition for
Opposition and Revolutionary Forces. Mr. Al-Khatib met with the foreign
ministers of Iran and Russia, both states that have backed the Syrian government
diplomatically, at a security conference in Munich, Germany, last week, where he
made his offer.
He said that the negotiations could begin only if the Syrian government released
the 160,000 prisoners he claimed it was holding. The plan was welcomed by the
Arab League and the US, but so far there has been no official response from
Assad’s government. Though the Syrian government has itself said that it seeks a
dialogue to resolve the fighting tearing the country, it insists that there
should be no preconditions. Al-Khatib, under pressure from colleagues in the
opposition to disown his offer, warned on Thursday that if the government does
not begin by releasing the female prisoners by Sunday the deal would be
withdrawn.
The government’s own reconciliation plan was outlined by President Assad in a
speech at Damascus Opera House on Sunday. It was rejected by the opposition, who
have maintained that Assad step down before any talks could begin since the
beginning of the uprising. Within Syria itself, the most intense fighting seen
in Damascus in months has been raging in Jobar and a strategic junction linking
the southern suburbs, which have a heavy opposition presence, with the rest of
the city. Spokespeople for the rebels and the government both claimed to be
making progress in the battle, which began in earnest on Wednesday. Local
residents told foreign journalists that the Syrian army was attempting to seal
off the city, and was making heavy use of mortars and artillery in an attempt to
beat the rebels back. One opposition activist told the AFP that the rebels had
launched their attack as a counteroffensive against government attempts to
recapture the suburb of Daraya. Elsewhere within the country, the increasing
involvement of radical religious militant groups in the fighting was on display
in the city of Tadmur central Syria. Two suicide car bombers launched a
coordinated strike against a military intelligence facility, according to the
Syrian Observatory for Human Rights "a strong explosion shook the city as a
result of targeting the military intelligence branch and state security branch
in the city." It added that "the preliminary information indicates that the
explosion resulted from two car bombs, which resulted in deaths and injuries in
the intelligence ranks, and was then followed by extensive security deployment."
This follows claims from the outgoing US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton that
some Syrian opposition forces had been in contact with what remains of the
leadership of Al-Qaeda on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border.
Iranian Interference in Yemen Escalating
By Mohammed Jumeh/Asharq Alawsat
London, Asharq Al-Awsat—An adviser to Yemen’s prime minister accused Iran of
interfering in Yemeni politics this week, following the recent seizure of an
arms shipment off Yemen’s coast.
Rajih Badi, adviser to the Yemeni prime minister, said in a telephone call with
Asharq Al-Awsat in London on Tuesday that "Iranian activity in Yemen has
recently increased in a visible manner. Iran cannot deny it." Badi claimed that
Yemen has tried, by using all possible channels, to send messages to the
Iranians to stop interfering in Yemeni affairs. He said: "It is extremely
regrettable that all the appeals to the Iranians not to interfere in Yemeni
affairs and to respect the sovereignty of the country and maintain bilateral
relations to serve the security and stability of the region have not resonated
with Iranian officials."
Mr. Badi warned that "playing with fire in Yemen by Iran will not only burn the
Yemeni body, but many people will suffer from this fire, led by the Iranians
themselves, if weapons continue to flow." He added: "It seems that Iran listens
to some misleading reports sent to it by some political sides in Yemen, which
give it the idea that Iranian activity in Yemen can succeed. This cannot be the
case because Yemen will not be an arena for settling the scores of Iranians on
its soil."
According to Yemeni and US officials, Yemeni forces, assisted by the US Navy,
intercepted a ship carrying a large shipment of weapons on January 23 2013,
which US officials believe were heading from Iran to the Huthis in Yemen. The
Yemeni Government said that the weapons included military-grade explosives,
missiles, shells, and bomb-making equipment. A Yemeni security source said that
the weapons found on the ship also included "shoulder-held surface-to-air
missiles, which are used to shoot down military and civilian aircraft".
A Yemeni official told Asharq Al-Awsat last month that Iran is smuggling weapons
and storing them on Eritrean islands and then transporting them by small fishing
boats to Yemen’s Red Sea coast, and then north to the strongholds of the Huthis
in Sa'dah. This followed statements by Yemeni political and diplomatic sources
to Asharq Al-Awsat to the effect that the Iranian Revolutionary Guard is
training Huthis fighters on Eritrean islands. The Yemeni border guard force
captured large quantities of weapons late last December, which Sanaa said came
from Iran on-board a ship that was seized near Midi Island in the Red Sea. The
ship was carrying by coal as camouflage.
These developments follow a series of incidents that have raised tensions
between Tehran and Sanaa. A few weeks ago, a special penal court in the Yemeni
capital rejected an appeal by the Iranian Embassy against the initial prison
sentence passed in the case of an Iranian ship allegedly laden with weapons. The
ship was seized near Marin Island off the coast of the Yemeni city of Midi on
the Red Sea at the end of October 2009. Following the trial, Yemeni President
Abd-Rabbuh Mansur Hadi issued a statement about uncovering Iranian spy cells,
and claimed Iran was shipping weapons to the Huthis and pro-secession factions.
Hadi subsequently declined a meeting that Iranian diplomats tried to arrange
between him and Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad on the sidelines of the
meetings of the UN General Assembly in New York last December.
Iran denies sending weapons to the Huthis or separatists in Yemen and asserts
that Yemen's accusations are simply unfounded political propaganda. The latest
Iranian statement in this connection was what the ambassador of Tehran in Sanaa,
Mahmoud Hassan Zada, who said last month that Iran does not spy on Yemen and
does not send weapons to it.
Ali Khamenei shuts door on direct
nuclear talks with US
DEBKAfile Special Report February 7, 2013
Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei turned down the US offer of
one-on-one talks on its nuclear program Thursday, Feb. 7, just 24 hours after US
Defense Secretary Leon Panetta announced that due to budgetary constraints, the
US could only keep one, not two, US aircraft carrier strike groups in the
Persian Gulf, and had cancelled the departure of a second carrier, the USS Harry
S. Truman.
The ayatollah in a speech posted on his web site accused the US of proposing
talks while "pointing a gun at Iran.”
On Saturday, US Vice-President Joe Biden suggested direct talks – separate from
the wider international discussions scheduled for Feb. 26 in Kazakhstan between
the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany. No previous
negotiations in this format over the years have ever produced a breakthrough.
Biden said Washington was prepared for direct talks with Iran "when the Iranian
leadership, supreme leader, is serious". "That offer stands,” he said later,
“but it must be real and tangible and there has to be an agenda that they are
prepared to speak to. We are not just prepared to do it for the exercise," he
said.
But the ayatollah said such negotiations "would solve nothing.” He added: "You
are holding a gun against Iran saying you want to talk. The Iranian nation will
not be frightened by threats."
Wednesday, the US widened sanctions on Iran for tightening the squeeze on
Tehran's ability to spend oil cash.
The cancellation of the Harry Truman’s departure for the Gulf leaves a single US
aircraft carrier in the vast naval region of the Persian Gulf, Mediterranean and
southern part of the Indian Ocean bordering on Africa, debkafile's military
sources report, and no US fleet presence opposite Syria.
Khamenei’s rejection of Washington’s latest offer of direct talks followed the
new US ban imposed Wednesday on the transfer of revenues from Iranian oil
exports to its coffers. The money will henceforth be available only for the
purchase of goods in the countries of destination for Iranian oil.
Senior American officials said that this sanction would significantly restrict
Iran's freedom to use its oil income at will.
Khamenei did not say so specifically, but his rejection of dialogue with
Washington was undoubtedly influenced by President Barack Obama’s forthcoming
visit to Israel. By the metaphor of “holding a gun against Iran,” the Iranian
leader was not just reacting to the new sanctions; he was also hitting back at
the White House announcement’s stress that the president’s talks with Prime
Minister Binyamin Netanyahu would focus on Iran and Syria - as debkafile
reported Wednesday.
The expectation is that Obama and Netanyahu will confer on the military option
both governments have reserved for dealing with Iran’s nuclear program.
Khamenei's rejection of face-to-face talks does not cancel the international
negotiations scheduled to take place in Kazakhstan. It does, however, render
them more pointless than ever.
Canadian F.M, Baird to Meet U.S. Secretary of State John
Kerry in Washington
February 7, 2013 - Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird will
travel to Washington tomorrow for a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State John
Kerry.
“Canada and the United States are friends, allies and partners on the economy,
energy and the environment,” said Baird. “The strong bonds of our cooperation
are rooted in our shared values and interests.
“I look forward to working with Secretary Kerry to find new ways to create jobs,
growth and opportunity on both sides of our shared border.”
Minister Baird and Secretary Kerry will emerge from their meeting to hold a
joint media availability. Details will follow.
Report on the Refugees of Syria Tells of Kidnapping, Rape,
Smuggling
Assyrian International News Agency
The war in Syria is growing increasingly worse every day, and it is affecting
every Syrian citizen, regardless of ethnicity or religion. But just like in
every war, the situation for minorites is even more horrifying. The Christian
minority in Syria has no militia and is targeted by everyone. Christian
Assyrians/Syriacs and others have become the number one targets for criminals
and terrorists.
Nuri Kino, journalist and author, has met and interviewed close to a hundred
Christian Syrian refugees. He gives voice to this otherwise silent minority in a
personal report. He is told harrowing tales of systematic rape and kidnappings.
Click here to read the report.
Many, perhaps most, of the refugees interviewed express a desire to to leave the
Middle East for good and have gotten in touch with human smugglers. A
multi-million enterprise has sprung up around the refugee crisis. Kino has also
spoken to several of these smugglers and investigated the trade. His first-hand
report includes an interview with a young man who reached Sweden after a hellish
journey from Syria. "Jacob" was forced into a sealed container and almost died
of suffocation. Only a few days after leaving the container he and some seventy
other men were forced onto a ship, where only half of them survived the journey.
Nuri Kino's first-hand report is a must-read for anyone who is involved or
interested in issues of migration and international politics. Click on the link
below to download the report.
http://minorityvoices.org
Editor's note: the English editing of this report was done by AINA.
Copyright (C) 2013, Assyrian International News Agency. All Rights Reserved.
Terms of Use.
Mali... New Evidence of Our Affliction
By Mshari Al-Zaydi/Asharq Alawsat
The countries surrounding the Sahara have caught fire with the arrival of
fundamentalist groups and trafficking gangs. Since ancient times, the Tuaregs,
Arabs, and other tribes have taken to this vast desert landscape, with its
scorching heat, arresting chill, and formidable obstacles. Hence the Tuareg-Libyan
novelist Ibrahim al-Koni depicts this world in his romantic and enticing
descriptions throughout his many novels, especially in my personal favourite,
“Gold Dust.”
The northern and southern edges of the Sahara have transformed into a chaotic
hotbed of fundamentalist activity, including some groups affiliated with
al-Qaeda. These lands were already experiencing by cultural and ethnic tensions
before the arrival of these groups, and its people struggled to eke out a
living. For countless ages Saharan Africa has been a refuge for transitory
peoples coming from the north and the south, but now it is viewed by
international jihadists as a new base in which they may build and grow because
they flock to chaotic and vulnerable places.
As for the authors and fundamentalist preachers leading the media campaign which
portrays Mali as a new Jerusalem, they are recklessly and irresponsibility
adding to the litany of errors that stretches back decades.
The people of Mali, Niger, Mauritania, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Burkina Faso,
and other Saharan countries are not in need of bold jihadists, well-drilled in
making IEDs and wielding AK-47s. What they need is development, security, and
reliable food supplies, and the chance to lead their lives in safety.
France and other countries, especially in the West, are not in the mood to
intervene militarily after the lessons of Afghanistan and Iraq. However the
threat of terrorism from Africa looms ever larger following recent events,
including the jihadist occupation of the Sahara, and the repeated taking of
European and Japanese hostages. Moreover, large expatriate communities from
Saharan countries reside in Europe. Some of the individuals in these communities
empathise with or actively participate in these armed fundamentalist groups.
These reasons and others drove the French and European forces to intervene, with
the endorsement of some Arab countries, or at least with their tacit approval.
Jihadists intend the Great Sahara to become the western-most and third major
theatre for global jihadist groups, adding to the Afghani-Pakistani mountains in
the East and Yemen in the Near East.
The media campaigns undertaken by some fundamentalist preachers and authors are
not being taken seriously in political circles. Their rhetoric is no different
than that which led Arab youth to the death fields of Iraq, Afghanistan, Yemen,
and Somalia.
Mali and its province of Azawad now echo with jihadist sermons and propaganda,
having been turned into the new magnet for the militantly pious. Young men from
Egypt, Tunisia, Libya, Morocco, Algeria, and even Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Yemen,
and the Gulf will leave for this country in the desert seeking to perform jihad.
Some will die and some will go on to become career warriors, trying to recreate
their experience with jihad in this country or that. Thus the wheel of death and
deception will continue turning, and there is no one with the courage to break
this vicious circle.
The root problem is not Mali, the French intervention, the Liberation Front of
Azawad, the Tuaregs, or the Arabs, as their issues can be resolved with
negotiations and the passage of time. The root problem lies in the hunger of our
culture’s troubled individuals for jihad and righteous combat.
This is the flaw of our culture which our youth are taught to embrace. Despite
the disaster of September 11, 2001 and the subsequent losses suffered by the
Muslim world, no one learned from these mistakes. The so-called ‘Arab Spring’
was supposed to mark the end of puritanical rhetoric and the return of
self-respect to the Arab and Muslim peoples. But this turned out to be merely
the wishful thinking of charlatans amongst the journalists and pundits in the
Arab world who two years ago applauded and cheered the Arab Spring, but six
months after the fact suddenly changed their stance, warning against being swept
up in the emotions of revolution.
Truth is a harsh thing. It is our fear of criticising the media and educational
institutions and their hypocrisy that makes us fall into the abyss time after
time..
After Mali there will be another crisis, with new jihadists. Despite their
appearances which suggest tranquillity and a love of life, many young people
amongst us long for jihad and combat.
The great Sheik Mohammed Abduh, who passed away in 1905, argued that the problem
has always lain in education and social reform, not in politics. Sheik Abduh
renounced politics after his return from exile in 1889, in agreement with the
conditions laid by the British in exchange for his return. He devoted himself to
education and social and religious reform. With time, Sheik Mohammed Abduh built
a great legacy, while those who delved into politics grasped for fleeting
moments of influence.
This problem is deep-rooted and self-perpetuating. The solution is not an
expensive public relations campaign, like the one undertaken by a group of
American Muslim activists, “To redefine the word ‘jihad,’ which has been
distorted by Islamist militants and groups hostile to Islam.” The American news
channel CNN quoted Nihad Awad, executive director of the Council on
American-Islamic Relations, as saying that the word 'jihad' means “Resistance
for a noble goal.” He added that the campaign will run ads on 25 city buses in
Chicago and will later expand to buses in San Francisco. The same person, Nihad
Awad, has been running the same campaigns, aimed at the same audience since the
Sept. 11 attacks, and even before then. The problem lies not in public relations
and the existence of some ‘deviants’ in the Muslim-Arab community, as they like
to describe them. The problem is in the “belt” which envelops the jihadists, for
these militant groups are products of the hard core of the cultural,
educational, and social layers which surround them.
This line of argument angers many, and those who endorse it are accused of many
things, not least among them of collaborating with the enemy. However, these
insults do not change the facts. Once again, the problem is not Mali,
Afghanistan, or Yemen. As the wise say, the problem is rooted “...in the minds,
not in parliament.”
Men of knowledge, insight, and wisdom have tried to ignite a lantern to lead us,
but they were unable to do so and were forced to carry their flame with them to
the hereafter; men like Sheik Mohammed Abdo, who departed broken hearted, who
the Nile Poet Hafez Ibrahim elegised when he wrote:
The world of his era and of Islam wept
The lantern in the darkness, the dispeller of doubt