LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN

Bible Quotation for today/Final Warnings and Greetings
02 Corinthians 13/01-13: " This is now the third time that I am coming to visit you. “Any accusation must be upheld by the evidence of two or more witnesses”—as the scripture says. I want to tell those of you who have sinned in the past, and all the others; I said it before during my second visit to you, but I will say it again now that I am away: the next time I come nobody will escape punishment. You will have all the proof you want that Christ speaks through me. When he deals with you, he is not weak; instead, he shows his power among you. For even though it was in weakness that he was put to death on the cross, it is by God's power that he lives. In union with him we also are weak; but in our relations with you we shall share God's power in his life. Put yourselves to the test and judge yourselves, to find out whether you are living in faith. Surely you know that Christ Jesus is in you?—unless you have completely failed. I trust you will know that we are not failures. We pray to God that you will do no wrong—not in order to show that we are a success, but so that you may do what is right, even though we may seem to be failures. For we cannot do a thing against the truth, but only for it. We are glad when we are weak but you are strong. And so we also pray that you will become perfect. That is why I write this while I am away from you; it is so that when I arrive I will not have to deal harshly with you in using the authority that the Lord has given me—authority to build you up, not to tear you down. And now, my friends, good-bye! Strive for perfection; listen to my appeals; agree with one another; live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you. Greet one another with the kiss of peace. All of God's people send you their greetings. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

Bulgaria releases names, images of Canadian, Australian suspects in bus bombing
By Veselin Toshkov, The Associated Press | The Canadian Press /SOFIA, Bulgaria - Bulgarian authorities distributed on Thursday the names and images of two wanted suspects — one of them Canadian — involved in a bomb attack that killed five Israeli tourists and a Bulgarian bus driver last year.
The first alleged terrorist is identified as Meliad Farah, also known as Hussein Hussein, an Australian citizen born Nov. 5, 1980. The second is Hassan El Hajj Hassan, a Canadian citizen born March 22, 1988, according to a statement of the interior ministry. The ministry asked people who might have seen them to report to the nearest police station.
Canada's Immigration Minister Jason Kenney said in February that one of the suspects was born in Lebanon, came to Canada at age eight, became a Canadian citizen and then left at age 12. He said he assumed the man was a dual Lebanese-Canadian citizen.
"I understand he may have been back to Canada a few times since then, but he has not has been a habitual resident in Canada since the age of 12,'' Kenney said.
A third suspect, a suicide bomber who died on the scene, has not been identified. Last August, Bulgarian experts produced the image of a young, dark-haired man based on the remains of his body, which was decapitated in the explosion. Fingerprints and DNA samples also have not led to results so far. The interior ministry said that three weeks before the attack on July 18, 2012, the two named suspects were spotted in several nearby cities. Investigators believe they checked into hotels and hired cars with fake ID cards under the names of Brian Jeremiah Jameson, Jacque Felipe Martin and Ralph William Rico.
Bulgarian authorities had previously declared the citizenship of the two suspects but not the details.
Interior Minister Tsvetlin Yovchev would not explain why the details were being released now, saying that recently his ministry had "received data from international partners." He did not elaborate.
"What has already been published is the only information which can be revealed at this stage," he said.
On July 18, 2012, a bus carrying Israeli tourists exploded at the airport in Burgas, killing 7 — including five Israeli tourists, the Bulgarian bus driver, and the perpetrator of the attack — and injuring 35.
In February, Bulgarian authorities said there were reasons to believe that the suspects were members of the militant wing of Hezbollah. Last week, Minister Yovchev said there were "clear signs that say that Hezbollah was behind the bus bombing."
On Monday, the EU's 28 foreign ministers reached a unanimous decision to include the armed wing of Hezbollah in its list of terror organizations.
Canada has already labelled Hezbollah as a terrorist group.
_ With files from The Canadian Press.

By JPOST.COM STAFF 07/25/2013/Report names Canadian, Australian citizen as suspects.
Meliad Farah and Hassan El Hajj Hassan, who are suspected of involvement in the Burgas bus bombing. The Bulgarian authorities have released the names of two people believed to be involved in the Burgas bus bomb terrorist attack last year that killed five Israelis and their Bulgarian bus driver, according to the Bulgarian news agency Focus. The two were identified as 32-year-old Australian citizen Meliad Farah, also known as Hussein Hussein, and 25-year old Canadian Citizen Hassan El Hajj Hassan. Bulgaria cites 'clear signs' Hezbollah behind Burgas bombing Bulgaria, Israel mark Burgas terror attack anniversary In the days around the attack, the suspects had been noticed in Ruse, Varna and Nesebar, the Sunny Beach resort, and in the village of Ravda, according to the report. The Bulgarian authorities were asking the public for cooperation. The Bulgarian authorities suspect that the two men registered at hotels and rented cars in the area near Burgas under false names. Bulgaria’s Interior Minister Tsvetlin Yovchev said last week that his country has received additional evidence implicating Hezbollah in the Burgas bombing European Union governments agreed Monday to put the armed wing of Hezbollah on the EU terrorism blacklist in a reversal of past policy fueled by concerns over the Lebanese militant movement's activities in Europe.Britain and the Netherlands had pressed EU peers since May to put the Shi'ite Muslim group's military wing on the bloc's terrorism list, citing evidence it was behind the bus bombing.

July 25, 2013 /The Daily Star /BEIRUT: EU Ambassador to Lebanon Angelina Eichhorst said Thursday designating Hezbollah’s military wing demonstrated the European organization’s zero tolerance for acts of terror on its soil, during a series of visits to Lebanese officials. Following her meeting with Kataeb Party leader Amin Gemayel, Eichhorst said the EU decision was aimed at sending a clear political message that the EU rejected any terrorist act on European soil. She reiterated that that EU's cooperation with Lebanon would persist and that the Union would not place any veto on Hezbollah’s participation in the next government.
Eichhorst also said it was important for Prime Minister-designate Tammam Salam to form a unified government that includes all political parties. She also denied she had received any threats on her life. The envoy embarked on a tour of Lebanese officials following Monday’s decision by the EU to designate the military wing of Hezbollah as a terrorist organization. She is expected to meet two Hezbollah officials Thursday: caretaker State Minister Mohammad Fneish and head of the International Relations office Ammar Musawi. U.N. Special Coordinator to Lebanon Derek Plumbly also met with Gemayel and said he had no concerns over the presence of U.N. peacekeepers in south Lebanon. Hezbollah’s Secretary General Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah responded Wednesday to the EU decision, saying the organization had succumbed to pressure from the U.S. and Israel.
He also said that such a decision would make the EU complicit in any Israeli attack on Lebanon or resistance targets as it provided the Jewish State the “legal cover” for aggression.

Bulgaria Identifies Anti-Israeli Bomber Accomplices
Naharnet/Bulgaria released pictures Thursday of two suspected helpers of a bomber who blew up a bus packed with Israeli tourists last year, identifying them as an Australian and a Canadian. "A year after the bomb attack on a bus with Israeli tourists that killed five Israelis and one Bulgarian citizen, the authorities are seeking public assistance for information on two people suspected of having links to the attack," the interior ministry said in a statement. The two were identified as 32-year-old Australian Maliad Farah, also known as Hussein Hussein -- a bearded man with dark hair, thick black eyebrows and brownish eyes -- and 25-year-old Canadian Hassan El Hajj Hassan -- a man of lighter complexion, with a closely shaved head and a goatee. Bulgaria had already announced that an Australian and a Canadian linked to the military wing of Hizbullah had aided the still unidentified bomber, who was killed at the scene of the July 18, 2012 attack at the Black Sea airport of Burgas. The interior ministry said Thursday the men had been spotted several Black Sea resorts between June 28 and July 18 last year. Prosecutors suspect them of registering in hotels and renting cars under three fake identities -- Brian Jeremiah Jameson, Jacque Philippe Martin and Ralph William Rico, it added. Two identical counterfeit U.S. driver's licenses in the names of Martin and Rico were recovered by police shortly after the attack, both carrying traces that matched the DNA profile extracted from the remains of the bomber, allowing investigators to track down the people who used them and establish their link to the attack. Israel blamed Iran and its Lebanese "terrorist proxy" Hizbullah for the bombing, the deadliest attack on Israelis abroad since 2004 and the first in a EU member state. It took Bulgaria six months to make what it called a "justified conclusion" that Hizbullah was behind the attack. More than a year on, the investigation is still bogged down by lengthy procedures for collecting witness testimony from Israel and legal assistance reports from abroad. The case, however, played a role in the European Union decision on Monday to blacklist Hizbullah's military wing as a terrorist organization.
Source/Agence France Presse.

EU Officially Lists Hizbullah Military Wing as Terrorist Group: Decision Doesn't Halt Dialogue with Lebanon
Naharnet/The Council of the European Union and the European Commission added on Thursday Hizbullah's military wing to the EU's list of entities, groups and persons involved in terrorist acts, as agreed at the Foreign Affairs Council on July 22. Those on the list are targeted with an asset freeze in the EU. In addition, member states have committed to enhanced police and judicial cooperation in related inquiries and proceedings, it announced in a statement. The decision brings the number of groups and entities subject to these restrictions to 26, while 11 persons remain on the list. At the same time, the Council also approved a Council and Commission declaration underlining that this decision, under under Common Position 2001/931/CFSP, does not prevent the continuation of dialogue with all political parties in Lebanon and does not affect the delivery of assistance to Lebanon. In addition, the Council and the Commission agree that the decision does not affect legitimate financial transfers to Lebanon and the delivery of assistance, including humanitarian assistance, from the European Union and its Member States in Lebanon. The Union remains fully committed to the stability of Lebanon. As for all designations under Common Position 2001/931/CFSP, this decision will be reviewed on a six-monthly basis. The legal acts were adopted by written procedure Thursday and will be published in Friday's EU Official Journal.

Moussawi Meets Eichhorst: Continuation of Cooperation with Hizbullah up to Party Leadership
Naharnet/Hizbullah international relations official Ammar Moussawi slammed on Thursday the European Union's decision to blacklist the party, describing it as an insult to Lebanon and its people. He said after holding talks with EU Ambassador to Lebanon Angelina Eichhorst that the decision to continue cooperation between the union and Hizbullah lies in the hands of the party's leadership. “Blacklisting the party is an insult to all Lebanese, Arab, and Islamic people who believe in resistance,” he declared. He informed Eichhorst of Hizbullah's rejection of the EU decision, saying that the union succumbed to American and Israeli orders, as demonstrated by Israeli Premier Benjamin Netanyahu deeming it as a diplomatic victory. Moussawi responded by saying that Netanyahu should mind his own business when it comes to European-Lebanese ties. Moreover, he remarked: “Israel may benefit from the blacklisting of Hizbullah, but we know that Israel does not need an excuse to attack Lebanon.”“Everyone knows that Hizbullah's political and military wings are the same,” he added. For her part, Eichhorst said that the EU's decision is a political message to Hizbullah's military wing. She added that blacklisting the party should not justify any retaliation by a foreign country, including Israel, against Lebanon. She reiterated the EU's assertions on Thursday that the decision will not impact dialogue between the union and Lebanon or aid it provides to the country.

Nasrallah dismisses EU decision to blacklist Hezbollah
July 24, 2013/By Dana Khraiche, Thomas El-Basha The Daily Star
BEIRUT: Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah dismissed Wednesday the recent European Union decision to blacklist the military wing of his group, accusing the EU of succumbing to U.S. and Israeli pressure.
Nasrallah also ruled out the formation of a new government in Lebanon without the participation of his party. “In the ranks of Hezbollah we were not surprised with the [EU] decision. Rather we expected it and in fact found it odd it had taken so long,” Nasrallah said during the annual Iftar of the Women’s Directorate of the Islamic Resistance Support Association at the Hashem Complex in the Lebanese capital.
“The facts prove that the Israelis and the Americans exercised tremendous pressure on European Union countries to take such a decision,” he said, adding that the blacklisting merely served the interests of the Jewish state.
“Content of discussions, deliberations and contacts over the course of months and years prove that Europe succumbed to the will of the Israelis and the Americans even though they were not convinced the [decision was warranted],” Nasrallah said. The EU’s 28 member states unanimously agreed Monday to designate Hezbollah’s military as a terrorist organization.
Israel and the U.S. had long pressured the Union to blacklist Hezbollah, particularly after Bulgaria accused the Lebanese party of being behind the 2012 bombing in the city of Burgas.
The blast, which killed five Israeli tourists and their Bulgarian driver, also came at a time when a Cypriot court indicted a Lebanese-Swedish man affiliated with Hezbollah of plotting attacks against Israelis.
Hezbollah has denied involvement in the Burgas bombing. Although Nasrallah noted that the EU had yet to issue an official statement of its decision, the Hezbollah chief said EU member states were providing “legal cover” for any Israeli aggression against Lebanon. “This is also something dangerous because these states ... are providing legal cover for any aggression on Lebanon,” he said during the televised speech that was aired in five different Lebanese regions including Beirut, Bekaa and the southern town of Bin Jbeil. “They [EU] are making themselves fully complicit in any Israeli aggression against Lebanon, the resistance, or any resistance target,” Nasrallah added.
He also dismissed the EU decision as having any tangible impact on the resistance group, describing it as merely a form of psychological intimidation.
“You will never diminish our moral given that the only aspect of this decision is psychological,” he said. Nasrallah also ruled out any possibility Hezbollah would be affected at the financial or military levels.
“We don’t have money in European banks. We don’t even have in Lebanon since we can no longer do that because they [in Lebanon] fear the Americans,” Nasrallah said.
EU Ambassador to Lebanon Angelina Eichhorst said Tuesday the EU decision would not affect ties with the Lebanese government even if Hezbollah is represented in the Cabinet, underlying that the Union differentiated between Hezbollah’s political and military branches. Addressing the EU, Nasrallah said: “In Hezbollah, we know that any decision has a goal and the goal here is clear: it’s to subjugate us and force us to retreat, regress, be hesitant, and instill fear in us.” “I tell you that that you will only reap failure and disappointment,” he added. Nasrallah also questioned why the EU had not blacklisted Israeli’s “military wing,” its army, as a terrorist organization, asking: “Those who kill, commit massacres, occupy land, and prevent an entire nation from returning to its territory, aren’t they terrorists?” “But those who fought, endured pain, died, and were imprisoned but were able to restore land, dignity and they still carry arms to fend off any aggressor, you [the EU] come to those and call them terrorists?” he said. On the domestic level, Nasrallah said the decision would have no impact, particularly at the government formation level. “The EU decision domestically makes no [political] difference and I will say what I have said before: there will be no government without Hezbollah,” he said, referring to the March 14 call for excluding the party in any future Cabinet.

EU Officially Lists Hizbullah as Terrorist Group: Decision Doesn't Halt Dialogue with Lebanon
Naharnet/The Council of the European Union and the European Commission added on Thursday Hizbullah's military wing to the EU's list of entities, groups and persons involved in terrorist acts, as agreed at the Foreign Affairs Council on July 22. Those on the list are targeted with an asset freeze in the EU. In addition, member states have committed to enhanced police and judicial cooperation in related inquiries and proceedings, it announced in a statement. The decision brings the number of groups and entities subject to these restrictions to 26, while 11 persons remain on the list. At the same time, the Council also approved a Council and Commission declaration underlining that this decision, under under Common Position 2001/931/CFSP, does not prevent the continuation of dialogue with all political parties in Lebanon and does not affect the delivery of assistance to Lebanon.
In addition, the Council and the Commission agree that the decision does not affect legitimate financial transfers to Lebanon and the delivery of assistance, including humanitarian assistance, from the European Union and its Member States in Lebanon. The Union remains fully committed to the stability of Lebanon. As for all designations under Common Position 2001/931/CFSP, this decision will be reviewed on a six-monthly basis.
The legal acts were adopted by written procedure Thursday and will be published in Friday's EU Official Journal.

Miqati to Critics: International Law Gives Legitimacy to Resistance
Naharnet /Caretaker Premier Najib Miqati has snapped back at his critics, who accused him of having a toned down approach on the European Union decision to blacklist Hizbullah's military wing. “There has been a misinterpretation” or “bad intention” in claiming that Miqati made a statement in harmony with the EU's latest decision, the caretaker PM told As Safir daily published Thursday. Miqati said on Tuesday that the Lebanese community is keen on committing to the international legitimacy and preserving the best of ties with the EU states. This remark drew the criticism of some of the members of the Hizbullah-led March 8 alliance. But Miqati stressed in his remarks to As Safir that the EU is not part of the “international legitimacy.”“It is a regional entity similar to the Arab League and does not constitute part of the international legal institutions set up by the United Nations,” he said. The EU decision targets only Hizbullah's military wing or the so-called resistance which has always been “a sacred right enshrined in international law,” Miqati told As Safir.
Article 51 of the U.N. Charter provides for the right of countries to engage in self-defense, including collective self-defense, against an armed attack, he said. The article states: “Nothing in the present Charter shall impair the inherent right of individual or collective self-defense if an armed attack occurs against a Member of the United Nations, until the Security Council has taken measures necessary to maintain international peace and security.”
Miqati promised to “work hard with EU states to review the decision out of our keenness on Lebanon.” The blacklisting entails asset freezes and paves the way for possible travel bans on members of Hizbullah's military wing. The ministers hope it will also curtail fundraising. But implementation promises to be complicated since officials will have to unravel the links between the different wings within Hizbullah's organizational network and see who could be targeted for belonging to the military wing.

Arabian Gulf Countries crackdown on Hezbollah may endanger Lebanon cash flow
July 24, 2013/ By Donna Abu-Nasr, Dana El Baltaji /Daily Star
Plans by Gulf countries to crack down on Hezbollah may pose a bigger threat to Lebanon’s fragile public finances than to the Shiite militant group. Officials from the Gulf Cooperation Council, which includes Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, met this month to coordinate action against Hezbollah supporters in the region, after labeling it a terrorist group last month, a move matched by the European Union Monday. The Shiite Hezbollah and the mostly Sunni GCC are on opposite sides of the Syrian civil war, with the Lebanese group fighting alongside President Bashar Assad while Gulf countries finance his opponents.
The oil-rich GCC employs millions of Arabs from poorer countries, including Lebanese Shiites who may find it harder to get visas or renew residency permits under the proposed curbs. That would cut off some of the remittances that help Lebanon finance one of the world’s biggest debt burdens and keep its currency stable.
“Lebanon does depend on a free flow of people and capital and if this is a seriously applied restriction, then it’s bound to have some sort of effect,” said David Butter, Middle East analyst and associate fellow at foreign policy research group Chatham House in London. There are about 500,000 Lebanese in the Gulf. The money they send home, according to Raza Agha, London-based chief Middle East and Africa economist at VTB Capital Plc, has accounted for about 60 percent of remittances flowing to the country in the recent past. That’s about $4.6 billion, according to World Bank data, or more than a tenth of the nation’s $43.8 billion gross domestic product.
The GCC hasn’t said what concrete steps it will take against Hezbollah, which together with allies dominates Lebanon’s caretaker government. The EU Monday designated the group’s military wing a terrorist organization, without proscribing the entire movement as the U.S. and Israel do.
In an emailed statement, Hezbollah rejected the EU decision, calling it “aggressive, unjust and not based on any justifications or evidence.”
“It looks like the decision was written by American hands and with Israeli ink,” the statement said. “The EU only had to add its signature in approval.”
A GCC team will implement guidelines set out by the region’s interior ministers on issues including visas and assets, Kuwait’s state-run news agency KUNA reported on July 4. Qatar deported 18 Hezbollah supporters in June.
Hezbollah gets funds from Shiite-ruled Iran. It’s viewed by Gulf Arab states as “the henchman of the regional bogeyman,” yet it probably won’t be affected by their actions, said Taufiq Rahim, a Dubai-based political analyst at research company GlobeSight.
The strains in Lebanon’s ties with the GCC may do broader damage to an economy already struggling with a slump in tourism, which accounts for about one-fifth of GDP. It dropped 20 percent in 2012 and an additional 13 percent in the first five months of this year, according to Tourism Minister Fadi Abboud, as the war in Syria spilled into Lebanon, which has a history of similar sectarian conflicts.
Abboud said Gulf nationals ordinarily make up 40 percent of visitors and account for 60 percent of tourism spending. Economic growth this year won’t exceed 2 percent, Finance Minister Mohammad Safadi said last month.
“Blanket moves to restrict visa issuance to the Lebanese will be negative, and not just in terms of remittances,” VTB’s Agha said. The Gulf countries “also dominate foreign investment, tourism and exports.” He estimates they used to supply 60 percent of foreign direct investment.
The Lebanese diaspora transferred $7.6 billion home in 2011, according to the World Bank. Those working in the Gulf are more likely to save and send money back than compatriots elsewhere because wages are usually higher and taxes lower, said Kamal Hamdan, managing director of the Consultation and Research Institute in Beirut.
The expatriate savings are key to the financial system. Lebanon’s banks lure them with interest rates that have averaged about 5.5 percent for the past two years, according to central bank data, while the pound has been pegged at about LL1,500 to the dollar since the 1990s. Nonresidents held 5 trillion Lebanese pounds ($3.3 billion) of deposits in April.
Those deposits help finance the purchase of government bonds. Local banks held 54 percent of Lebanon’s public debt last year, Fitch Ratings said July 1. The country’s debt-to-GDP ratio was 128 percent at the end of 2012, and the CIA’s World Factbook ranked it as the sixth-highest globally.
It’s not clear how many Lebanese expat workers in the Gulf are Shiites, a group that makes up about one-third of Lebanon’s population. Lebanese Shiites without any ties to Hezbollah “will suffer directly” from the GCC action, said Jihad Azour, a former Lebanese finance minister. That may already be happening. A Dubai-based human-resource executive said her company now struggles to secure or renew work visas for Lebanese Shiites. Even when applicants aren’t rejected, they have to wait at least five weeks to get residency compared with about four days for others, said Joumana, who declined to provide her last name or her company’s name, citing security concerns.

Lebanese Police Rescue 11-Year-Old Kidnapped in Jbeil
Naharnet/An 11-year-old girl was rescued from her kidnappers in the town of Jbeil during a police chase that involved a gunfight, the state-run National News Agency reported on Thursday. NNA said that Shahideh Farouq Zohbi, 11, who hails from Haizouq in Akkar, was kidnapped by A. Mansour and M. al-Mekdash while she was near a supermarket in Jbeil. But the town's police and the Internal Security Forces Intelligence Branch lured the abductors to the Amsheet highway and rescued the girl, who was lightly wounded in the back during the gunfight, the agency said. Zohbi was taken to Notre Dame de Secours Hospital in Jbeil, it added. The two suspects were arrested and are being questioned by officers at the Jbeil police station.

2nd Syrian Arrested in Bombing of Hizbullah Convoy
Naharnet /A second Syrian suspected of involvement in a bombing of a Hizbullah convoy in the eastern Bekaa Valley earlier this month was arrested by the Army Intelligence on Thursday. Media reports said the Syrian was seized during a raid in the town of Majdal Anjar. He is a relative of another Syrian who was arrested by the army on Monday. The two Syrians are suspected of planting the explosives that targeted the convoy near al-Masnaa border crossing with Syria on July 16. The bombing is the fourth time that a vehicle has been targeted by an explosive device in the Bekaa region, which is a stronghold of Hizbullah. The attacks come as the party gets increasingly involved in the war in Syria. It has sent its members to bolster Syrian President Bashar Assad's forces in their assault on some rebel-held areas. Since then, Lebanon has seen a spike in Sunni-Shiite tensions that has sparked gunbattles in several cities around the country. Many Lebanese Sunnis support the overwhelmingly Sunni uprising against Assad in Syria, while Shiites generally back Hizbullah and the regime in Damascus.

Lebanon's Defense Minister Denies Signing Qahwaji's Term Extension Draft-Law
Naharnet/Caretaker Defense Minister Fayez Ghosn denied on Wednesday reports saying that he has inked a draft-law that delays the retirement of Army Chief General Jean Qahwaji, based on article 55 of the defense law. "I haven't signed the decree yet... We're still mulling the adequate solution for the matter," Ghosn told Voice of Lebanon radio (93.3). Earlier, al-Liwaa newspaper reported that Ghosn signed the draft law on Tuesday and referred it to caretaker Prime Minister Najib Miqati and President Michel Suleiman for their signature. The draft-law includes the postponement of Qahwaji's retirement for six renewable months, the daily reported. Qahwaji turns 60 in September, the age of retirement for army commanders. However, sources close to the caretaker minister denied to OTV that Ghosn signed any draft-law concerning Qahwaji's mandate. Sources close to al-Mustaqbal movement said that the extension of Qahwaji's mandate is a priority to confront attempts to destabilize Lebanon's security and stability. Al-Mustaqbal's decision came after it has allegedly linked the extension of Qahwaji's term to the return of Internal Security Forces chief Maj. Gen. Ashraf Rifi to his ISF command post. Meanwhile, An Nahar newspaper reported that the decision to extend Qahwaji's term was unanimous. However, the daily said that Qahwaji prefers that the extension decision be approved by the parliament. Parliament has so far failed to convene over the veto of several blocs among them al-Mustaqbal to deliberate on 45 draft-laws, including the extension of Qahwaji's mandate

Al-Asir's Bodyguard Arrested at the Airport
Naharnet/The bodyguard of Salafist cleric Sheikh Ahmed al-Asir, a Palestinian, was detained on Thursday at Beirut's Rafik Hariri International airport, media reports said. Security agencies opened an investigation with 30-year-old Ali Abdul Wahad, who was heading to an African country aboard Egypt Air. According to the reports, Abdul Wahad was detained at dawn. State Commissioner to the Military Court Judge Saqr Saqr had ordered his arrest. Abdul Wahad was referred to the army intelligence for preliminary interrogation. 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 along with Fadel Shaker. Asir teamed up with Shaker, a onetime prominent singer, when around two years ago he began agitating for Hizbullah to disarm.

The illusion of U.S. engagement in Syria
July 25, 2013/By Michael Young The Daily Star
When generals want to avoid military intervention in a conflict overseas, they provide options, all of which are bad.
This week, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Martin Dempsey, did precisely that in a letter to Carl Levin, the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, presenting a list of options for intervention in Syria. This included training opposition personnel, engaging in airstrikes, and enforcing a no-fly zone over parts of Syria. Dempsey noted that long-range strikes against military targets of the Syrian regime would require “hundreds of aircraft, ships, submarines and other enablers,” and would cost “in the billions.” Dempsey did not address the American decision to arm the Syrian rebels, however, as that is a Central Intelligence Agency operation. But his pessimism about what the United States could do must have echoed sympathetically in the White House, where enthusiasm for military involvement in Syria is low.
Dempsey alluded to the essence of the problem in Syria when he observed, “Once we take action, we should be prepared for what comes next. Deeper involvement is hard to avoid.” The general had a point. But the Obama administration has time and again approached Syria by taking one step forward and two backward. From the start it misread the dangers of the conflict, and did nothing to affect the outcome, which, if Iran and Bashar Assad triumph, will have negative repercussions for American interests in the Middle East. But now is now, and America is in a rut. No one seriously expects American small arms and ammunition to make a difference on the ground. At best Assad’s enemies are hoping that the weapons will draw Washington further into their war, leading to precisely the scenarios sketched out by Dempsey. But that is very unlikely since President Barack Obama’s decision to send weapons is more an effort to avoid doing more in Syria – a sop to the Syrians that buys the U.S. wiggling room – than a real change in American attitudes.
The situation is little different than the calculations behind the Geneva conference, which was hurriedly endorsed by the administration so that Obama could deflect rising criticism of his unwillingness to react to reports that the Assad regime had used chemical weapons. Supplying weapons are the president’s latest method of doing something limited to avoid a more radical approach.
That is why Dempsey’s letter was quite useful for the president. It implicitly defined the limits of what would be acceptable to the United States. And it was no surprise that Congress decided to go ahead with the administration’s plan to arm the rebels, even if the covert arms program was not specifically mentioned, and despite deep skepticism with the American plan in general.
Perhaps sensing that the Obama administration’s Syria policy is much ado about nothing, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov announced that he had not discussed the deployment of Russian S-300 surface-to-air-missile systems with Syria’s deputy prime minister, Qadri Jamil, this week in Moscow. The missile systems are a deterrent against the use of Western air power in Syria, but if the Russians were worried, Dempsey’s doubts, and Obama’s evasiveness over Syria, must have reassured them that American jets would not soon arrive.
The Obama administration appears to be increasingly resigned to the prospect that the war in Syria will continue for a long time, and that Assad will probably remain in office. For over a year the American line was that Assad’s days as president were numbered, so it was strange to hear White House spokesman Jay Carney change emphasis and say, “While there are shifts in momentum on the battlefield, Bashar Assad, in our view, will never rule all of Syria again.”That the United States is apparently not preparing for Syria’s crack-up is in itself remarkable. Beyond Assad’s durability is a more worrisome reality, namely that swathes of Syria could turn into areas under no real authority, ruled by armed groups, especially Salafist jihadist groups. Perhaps that is what Assad is counting on, since once such entities emerge, his latitude to enter them militarily, with international backing, as France did in Mali, will only increase. Lavrov also declared that Assad would be willing to go to Geneva without preconditions, and urged the U.S. and the European states to push the opposition to come to the table. This was tactical, but it shows what the Russians are thinking. With the Obama administration looking for any outlet from Syria, Geneva offers a way, but one almost certain to widen the gap between Washington and the opposition. Where the opposition will not want to negotiate from a position of weakness, the Americans, who seem so reluctant to give them the means to bargain from a position of strength, will probably set as their priority getting a negotiating process started.
The Russian strategy is to strengthen Assad’s position militarily, push for talks that allow him to consolidate his gains, and use the presidential election in 2014 (which Assad will, of course, manage to win) to anchor him even more solidly in place. Nothing in the American outlook truly worries the Russians, as they can now see that the U.S. military has no appetite to involve itself in Syria, and Obama no intention of wasting political capital by seriously addressing the situation there. So, Dempsey’s doubts have only strengthened an attitude already prevalent in Washington, namely to do as little as possible in Syria. If a few small arms and bullets can keep the illusion of engagement alive, then so be it. But no one in Washington is fooled. The U.S. will continue to keep Syria’s war at arm’s length, whatever happens.
**Michael Young is opinion editor of THE DAILY STAR. He tweets @BeirutCalling.

Canada's Ambassador Bennett Condemns Detention of Grand Ayatollah Boroujerdi in Iran
July 24, 2013 - Andrew Bennett, Canada’s Ambassador for Religious Freedom, today issued the following statement:
“Canada strongly condemns the continued imprisonment of Grand Ayatollah Hossein-Kazamani Boroujerdi, a leading Shiite Muslim cleric, by the Iranian regime. Ayatollah Boroujerdi has reportedly been subjected to torture during his seven-year imprisonment in the Evin Prison in Tehran. He has been a critic of the Iranian regime’s heinous human rights violations. Ayatollah Boroujerdi is one among a large, untold number of Iranians in prison on politically motivated charges.
“We call for the provision of immediate medical treatment to Ayatollah Boroujerdi and his subsequent release from prison.
“The continued detention of critics of the regressive clerical, military dictatorship, such as Ayatollah Boroujerdi, demonstrates the Khamenei regime’s wanton disregard for religious freedom and human rights. Canada calls on the Iranian regime to respect its international obligations and cease the unlawful detention of dissidents and members of minority religious communities.
“Canada stands by all those Iranians who bravely speak out against grave violations of human rights and advocate freedom of religion.”

Defying US warnings of civil war, Egyptian military to crack down on armed protest and mounting terrorism

DEBKAfile Special Report July 25, 2013/Braving Washington’s warning of civil strife, Egyptian Defense Minister Gen. Abdel Fattah El-Sisi is not backing away from his resolve to quickly crack down, even by military force, on armed protesters using live bullets on city streets and generating chaos, on Salafist terror in Sinai coupled with a Muslim Brotherhood uprising, and on their Palestinian Hamas collaborators in the Gaza Strip. This is reported by debkafile's sources in Cairo.When the Obama administration warned Gen. El-Sisi that his actions could generate bloodshed leading to an outbreak of civil war, the Egyptian leader replied that military inaction was the more dangerous course, because terrorism and live fire in protest demonstrations must be controlled forthwith before they too degenerated into civil warfare.
After failing to win the Egyptian defense minister around to its view, Washington announced it was suspending the delivery to the Egyptian air force of four American F-16 fighter planes, as a mark of the administration’s displeasure with the military leader’s approach. He showed no signs of being put off his plans.
Wednesday, July 24, after a week of surging opposition violence and attacks on Egyptian military positions in Sinai, Gen. El-Sisi’s turned to the Egyptian people in a television speech: "I urge the people to take to the streets this coming Friday to prove their will and give me, the army and police a mandate to confront possible violence and terrorism."
In the past week, debkafile's military sources report, tens of thousands of Muslim Brotherhood protesters continued to fill the streets of Egypt’s main cities, demonstrating against the interim government and the military and demanding the reinstatement of ousted president Mohammed Morsi. Some groups have begun closing off entire city blocks, declaring them independently-ruled entities. These enclaves have been fortified with sandbag barriers and sentries posted to check the documents of people going in and out. Entry is barred to those suspected of collaborating with the army and security forces.
Large photos of Morsi are draped over buildings along with banners of injunctions to obey no authority other than that of the elected president.
The generals fear that these “independent closed enclaves” could become the nuclei of a full-scale revolt which if not curbed in time could run out of control.
They are increasingly concerned by the spreading use of firearms by Muslim Brotherhood demonstrators against their opponents in Cairo, Alexandria, Mansoura, Port Said and Ismailia.
An outright terrorist incident seen as an ill omen of Iraq-style tactics to come occurred in the Nile Delta town of Mansoura, 45 kilometers north of Cairo, Wednesday, when a bomb tossed from a passing car killed one person and injured seventeen. The Egyptian general staff believes that terrorist tactics may be filtering into the cities from Sinai.
debkafile's sources say that El-Sisi's call for a mass demonstration of government supporters on Friday portends their first large-scale clash with Muslim Brotherhood demonstrators who will no doubt turn out in force. The army and police would intervene only after the confrontation begins. This tactic carries a high risk of becoming the match which ignite civil war in Egypt.
In Sinai, the Muslim Brotherhood is activating the machinery for an armed uprising in collusion with Salafits linked to al Qaeda and the Palestinian Hamas by means of escalating attacks on Egyptian military and security targets.
In a meeting on Thursday July 25 at the Egyptian General Staff headquarters, Gen. Ahmed Wasfi, commander of the Second Army, and Gen. Osama Askar, commander of the Third Army, who are leading counter-terror operations in Sinai and against the Gaza Strip, reported that they expect to report the success of their campaign by the middle of next week.
debkafile's military sources cannot confirm that the Egyptian military campaign has made any advances in the field.

Of Extremism and Counter-extremism

Eyad Abu Shakra/Asharq Alawsat
Within days of each other, both France and Britain moved away from their initial enthusiasm to arm the Syrian opposition, adopting the US stance on the issue under the pretext of “the growing influence of Takfirist groups” among the rebel forces fighting against the rule of Bashar Al-Assad. On the other hand, the EU voted unanimously to consider Hezbollah’s “military wing” as a terrorist organization.
Many might find an attempt to achieve a sort of “equilibrium” in these two steps, particularly in terms of the West’s approach to the escalating crisis in the Arab Mashriq. Yet others might interpret this as adoption of the US’s negative stance both towards the Syrian revolution and its opponents regardless of the justifications for this stance, whether it is out of helplessness, reluctance or collusion.
One fact no sane analyst can ignore is that the state of polarization in the region is evolving in a manner that makes it impossible to continue to foster illusions and practice self-deception. The uncompromising factional discourse of both sides, whether we like it or not, has become a reality on the ground, and is threatening the region with dire consequences.
Even the most fervent supporters of the Syrian revolution have become apprehensive of the threat that radical Islamist groups pose. Even the pro-revolutionaries who warn against Iran’s regional ambitions are now worried about the radical Islamists’ threat to the future of the revolution, as well as the future of a unified Syria. This can best be seen in the public indignation towards radical Islamists’ transgressions in provinces of Syria where Sunnis constitute the majority, such as Al-Raqa and Hasaka. It is worth mentioning here that most of these groups came to Syria after the popular uprising erupted.
The violations of these groups, including those claiming the Nusra—“support”—of the people of Syria, and others planning to establish an “Islamic state in Iraq and the Sham (i.e., the Levant)” have caused strong aversion among Sunnis. It is these same Sunnis who have a vital interest in not only uprooting an oppressive, factional, and corrupt regime dependent on open foreign support, but also preserving Syria’s unity under an Arab banner that is tolerant of religious, racial, and linguistic differences. This has become increasingly obvious in the latest developments along the borders in northeastern Syria, as well as in the course of military operations in central, north, and western Syria. The developments that we have witnessed truly threaten the country with division and partition.
These extremist trends which are actually seeking to “hijack”, or rather usurp, the Syrian revolution, claim to be deterring Iranian expansionism. On the other hand, Iran—along with its allies and followers—claims under its Velayat-e Faqih (Guardianship of the Jurist) theocracy to be leading a struggle against Takfirist groups and Arab regimes that gave up the jihad for the liberation of Palestine and instead signed a truce with the Israeli “enemy.” Ultimately, the behavior of both sides gives the Israeli extremists and their ilk—such as the Quran burning US Pastor Terry Jones—a pretext to be even more extreme and intransigent in refusing to offer any concessions or compromise solution to the Palestinians, or co-exist with their Arab neighbors.
Let us now leave the Syria-Lebanese-Palestinian scene for a while and look at Egypt.
In Egypt, where Sunnis constitute more than 99 percent of its Muslim population, ordinary citizens had enough of the one-year rule of the Muslim Brotherhood and its Islamist allies, resulting in an estimated 33 million Egyptians taking to the country’s streets and squares to protest against a president who failed to respect the spirit of democracy which had brought him to power. The ouster of Dr. Mohammad Mursi came as a practical and highly eloquent response to those who had been justifying Iran’s expansion in Iraq and the Levant on the pretext of protecting Muslim and non-Muslim minorities. That is to say that what happened in Egypt proved that the overwhelming majority of Muslims—namely, the Sunnis—are moderate and reasonable, and seek to broaden mutual understanding with the rest of the world.
Furthermore, what happened was an even more eloquent response to the fundamentalist Takfirists who claim to exclusively represent Islam, and continue to broadcast their poisonous ideas through television channels and the media. Unfortunately, I recently had the chance to watch some of these hate-mongering and hateful channels that condemn intellectuals and those who belong to other sects, as part of media “trials” reminiscent of the Spanish Inquisition, or disgusting religious incitement practiced by some Christian televangelists in the US.
In Islam these practices are tantamount to sedition or fitna which is worse than shedding blood, and in my opinion, such people are Bashar Al-Assad’s partners in crime, whether they know it or not, because they are giving him the pretext of murdering people in self-defense, as well as prompting tens of thousands of frightened minorities to side with him and his forces.
Some days ago, friends of mine from several sectarian backgrounds forwarded me an e-mail from somebody claiming to be a Jewish engineer who, from her family name, appears to be of Yemeni extraction. In the message she said: “How do you tempt Jews to convert to Islam when this is the state of Muslims today?”
Although I could not verify the validity of the message, the question it poses could have been raised by any Muslim or anyone who admires the teachings and the sublime message of Islam.
In this e-mail the Jewish lady said: “A friend of mine sent me a beautiful story about Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and how he was patient with his Jewish neighbor who used to throw garbage on the Prophet’s doorstep. One day the Jew fell sick, so the prophet decided to visit him. Ashamed by the prophet’s behavior, the Jew converted to Islam.”
She added: “When I read this story I realized that it was the Prophet’s behavior that prompted this Jew to admire Islam, and convert to Islam even before reading the Quran. I wonder how Muslims can tempt Jews to convert to Islam today.” The e-mail continued: “Muslims today belong to several sects, with followers of each considering those on the other side as apostates thus justifying their murder. As a Jew, if I wanted to become Muslim, should I choose to be Sunni, Shi’ite or a member of another sect? Which of the sects will ensure that I have a peaceful life without having my killing justified by any other sect?”
She continued wondering about the Firqa Najia or the “saved sect” (i.e. those going to heaven in Islamic teaching), and how Jews and non-Jews can join it.
Concluding her message, the lady wrote: “Muslims are fighting each other everywhere, murdering each other in the most heinous of ways. How would a Jew be tempted to convert to Islam while Muslims kill each other over issues of faith? On the other hand, you have never heard of Jews killing each other because of faith. On the contrary, the Israelis established their state because of faith.”
Indeed. This is truly a question that is begging for an answer.