LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN

LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
March 15/2013

Bible Quotation for today/
Sirach 28/25-30: "Who casts a stone on high casts it on his own head; and a deceitful stroke shall make wounds. Who digs a pit shall fall in it: and he that sets a trap shall be taken in it. He that works mischief, it shall fall upon him, and he shall not know when it comes. Mockery and reproach are from the proud; but vengeance, as a lion, shall lie in wait for them. They that rejoice at the fall of the righteous shall be taken in the snare; and anguish shall consume them before they die. Malice and wrath, even these are abominations; and the sinful man shall have them both.

Latest analysis, editorials, studies, reports, letters & Releases from miscellaneous sources

Woe to those Who Oppress Our Lebanese Refugees In Israel
By: Elias Bejjani
Isaiah 5/20-30/ "Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight! Woe to those who are mighty to drink wine, and champions at mixing strong drink; who acquit the guilty for a bribe, but deny justice for the innocent! Therefore as the tongue of fire devours the stubble, and as the dry grass sinks down in the flame, so their root shall be as rottenness, and their blossom shall go up as dust; because they have rejected the law of Yahweh of Armies, and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel. (Isaiah 5/20-30)
For those evil, envious, creatures who have no conscience, mercy or faith in their hearts, for those who falsely and unfairly accuse our Lebanese who are taking refuge in Israel to be agents and traitors, we loudly say: Your stance is wrong, not fair, not right, and not informed.
Please take note that our beloved people who took refuge in Israel in year 2000 are patriotic, decent, faithful, loving, caring and heroes. They never ever betrayed our dear Lebanon, the land of the Holy Cedars, or our Lebanese cause of freedom, independence, sovereignty and rights.
Do not ignore facts or keep a blind eye on history events and actual realities. It is a must to know that for 25 years our people in south Lebanon (those are now living in Israel) were totally abandoned by all the Lebanese governments (between 1975- 2000) and left alone to fight and defend their for lives, honour, properties, existence and land against all sorts of Islamists, Terrorists, and Arabists.
Initially they courageously fought the Palestinian and Arab armed militias (PLO and other factions) who by force tried to turn their land in a battlefield in a bid to wage military terrorist attacks against Israel and after that they stood against the Iranian terrorist Hezbollah thugs.
They accepted the Israeli help and had no other choice as did all the Christians in Lebanon during the war era between 1975-1990. They were never puppets or agents for Israel or any other regional powers, on the contrary they were decent and honest allies with Israel with very solid mutual understanding to this reality.
Meanwhile Hezbollah, Amal Shiite Movement, the Arabist groups, the Fundamentalists etc were and still are mere mercenaries for Syria, Iran, and other regional countries.
In year 2000 Israel withdraw from South Lebanon and was not forced militarily by any means to do so. The withdrawal was unilateral and for mere domestic Israeli reasons and not because of the terrorist Iranian Hezbollah. Hezbollah therefore did not liberate the South Lebanon from the Israeli occupation as falsely alleges, brags and lies
6000 Southern Lebanese, Muslims, Druze and Christians took refuge in Israel because Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollah leader openly threatened to cut their neck and slaughter them.
Since than they were not allowed to return to Lebanon peacefully and without persecution and forged trials. Those who did risk and return were put exposed to unfair and biased trials on charges of betrayal, treason and ripped of their civil rights.
In this patriotic context all those who pass away in Israel have all left a will to be buried In Lebanon because they love their land and want to embrace its soil till the Judgment Day.
Our people in Israel deserve to be awarded with the highest medals of appreciation and honour and not evilly and unfairly tagged with treason and betrayal false charges.
In conclusion, our people in Israel are true Lebanese, soul, heart, patriotism and mind. They are not traitors, never were and never ever will be. Their case is righteous and needs to be dealt with fairly as soon as possible. But Sadly the Lebanese government is totally controlled by the terrorist Hezbollah who is viciously and vindictively hindering their honourable return to their beloved country. By the end, sooner or later, Hezbollah is going to be defeated and Lebanon shall be free again and our people in Israel will happily return to their beloved Lebanon.

Francis urges church to return to its Gospel roots
March 15, 2013/Agencies
VATICAN CITY: In his first public Mass Thursday, Pope Francis gave an early indication of what changes he would bring to the Catholic Church, warning it risked becoming just another charitable group if it forgot its roots in the Gospels of Christ.
In a heartfelt, simple homily, the Argentinian pope laid out a clear moral path for the 1.2-billion-member church, which is beset by scandals, intrigue and strife.
Addressing cardinals in the frescoed Sistine Chapel the day after his election there, the former Jorge Bergoglio said the church should be more focused on the Gospels of Jesus Christ.
“We can walk all we want, we can build many things, but if we don’t proclaim Jesus Christ, something is wrong. We would become a compassionate NGO and not a church which is the bride of Christ,” he said, speaking in Italian without notes.
Francis’ inaugural Mass will be held Tuesday.
The first non-European Pope in 1,300 years, Bergoglio’s initial steps suggest he will bring a new style to the papacy, favoring humility and simplicity over pomp, grandeur and ambition among its top officials.
Whereas his predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI, delivered his first homily in Latin, laying out his broad vision for the church, Francis adopted the tone of parish priest, focusing on faith.
“When we walk without the cross, when we build without the cross and when we proclaim Christ without the cross, we are not disciples of the Lord. We are worldly,” he told the massed cardinals clad in golden vestments.
“We may be bishops, priests, cardinals, popes, all of this, but we are not disciples of the Lord,” he added.
Earlier, Francis had quietly slipped out of the Vatican to pray for guidance at one of Rome’s great basilicas before returning briefly to a Rome hostel, where he had left his bags before entering the secret conclave Tuesday.
The new pontiff has postponed for a few days a trip to the papal summer retreat south of Rome, to meet Benedict, who last month became the first pontiff in 600 years to step down, saying that at 85 he was too frail to lead the troubled church.
Francis is himself 76; older than many other contenders for the papacy and his age was one of several big surprises about the selection of the Argentine cardinal.
Bergoglio is the first Jesuit Pope, an order traditionally dedicated to serving the papacy, and the first to take the name Francis in honor of the 13th-century Italian saint from Assisi who spurned wealth to pursue a life of poverty.
No Vatican watchers had expected the conservative Argentinian to be elected, and some of the background to the surprising vote began trickling out Thursday. French Cardinal Jean-Pierre Ricard told reporters: “We were looking for a pope who was spiritual, a shepherd. I think with Cardinal Bergoglio, we have this kind of person. He is also a man of great intellectual character who I believe is also a man of governance.”
Despite never having been tipped for success, Austria Cardinal Christoph Schoenborn said the Argentinian was clearly popular amongst the so-called princes of the church from the start.
“Cardinal Bergoglio wouldn’t have become pope in the fifth ballot, if he had not been a really strong contender for the papacy from the beginning,” he said.
Morale among the faithful has been hit by a widespread child sex abuse scandal and infighting in the church government, or Curia, which many prelates believe needs radical reform.
Francis is seen as a church leader with the common touch and communications skills, in sharp contrast to Benedict’s aloof intellectual nature.

US drone escapes attack over Hormuz. Syria threatens to bomb Lebanon. Russian marines dock in Beirut
DEBKAfile Special Report March 14, 2013
Middle East tensions are spiraling sharply six days before US President Barack Obama lands in the Middle East. Thursday night, March 14, an Iranian fighter jet tried to bring down a US Predator drone flying over Oman, i.e. the Straits of Hormuz - only to be warned off by flares from its US fighter escort.
This was not the first time a US drone was threatened by Iranian aircraft over the Persian Gulf, but in reporting the incident, the Pentagon revealed that the drones flying in the neighborhood of Iranian shores are now escorted by US jet fighters. A couple of hours earlier that evening, debkafile received an exclusive report from its military sources that the Syrian high command had just issued an ultimatum, on the orders of Bashar Assad, demanding that the Lebanese government put an immediate stop to the passage of armed Sunni fighters from Lebanon into Syria, else the Syrian Air Force would strike the Lebanese intruders’ convoys and also their home bases. Damascus claimed they were coming to fight the government alongside the al Qaeda-linked Jabrat al-Nusra.
Their incursion threatened to engender a major spillover of the Syrian conflict into Lebanon.
The danger of hostilities inching close to the Syrian port of Tartus, where Moscow maintains a naval base, decided the Russian Navy to instruct three warships carrying 700 marines to Tartus to change course and put in at Beirut instead.

Security Council Voices 'Grave Concern' over Lebanon-Syria Border Violence
Naharnet/The U.N. Security Council expressed "grave concern" Thursday over cross-border attacks between Syria and Lebanon in a rare united declaration on the Syrian conflict.
The 15-member body, bitterly divided over the Syrian conflict, expressed "deep concern" over the fallout from the Syrian conflict on stability in Lebanon, in a statement released after closed talks.
Council members "underscored their grave concern over repeated incidents of cross-border fire which caused death and injury among the Lebanese population, incursions, abductions and arms trafficking across the Lebanese-Syrian border, as well as other border violations."
The statement was read to reporters by Russia's U.N. envoy Vitaly Churkin. Moscow has joined Beijing in blocking three resolutions aiming to step up pressure on President Bashar Assad to halt the conflict.
The Security Council "underlined the importance of full respect for Lebanon's sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity."
It also expressed "deep concern at the impact of the Syrian crisis on Lebanon's stability."
Council members "appealed to all Lebanese people to preserve national unity in the face of attempts to undermine the country's stability and stressed the need for all Lebanese parties to respect Lebanon's policy of disassociation and to refrain from any involvement in the Syrian crisis," the statement added.
SourceAgence France Presse

March 14 Officials Lay Wreaths at Graves of Cedar Revolution Martyrs
Naharnet /Delegations from the March 14 opposition coalition visited on Thursday the gravesites of the martyrs of Lebanon's Cedar Revolution on the 8th anniversary of the movement.
Officials from the alliance laid flowers at their graves in different areas in Lebanon.
Internal Security Forces Intelligence Branch chief Wissam al-Hassan was the latest of some dozen anti-Syrian Lebanese politicians and members of the security to be killed since Feb. 2005 when former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri was assassinated in a truck bomb at Beirut's sea front. Hariri's assassination led to the rise of the Cedar Revolution or Independence Intifada and the establishment of the March 14 movement that organized a chain of demonstrations that ultimately led to the withdrawal of Syrian forces from Lebanon following a nearly three-decade hegemony.
Thursday's event was culminated by a gathering near Hariri's grave at Mohammed al-Amin Mosque in downtown Beirut at 3:30 pm.
“The Lebanese must declare that they are with Lebanon's freedom and coexistence,” ex-PM Fouad Saniora, head of al-Mustaqbal parliamentary bloc, said after visiting Hariri's tomb with a March 14 delegation.
“March 14's idea is a noble idea and anyone who believes in it belongs to March 14,” said Saniora.
Asked about the controversial electoral law propose by the Orthodox Gathering, under which each sect would elect its own MPs, Saniora replied: “We're proud, like many Lebanese who belong to March 14 and other groups, that we are against the Orthodox Gathering law and with the formula of coexistence.”
“The concept of the Orthodox Gathering law would pave the ground for partitioning the country and we are united in rejecting it and holding onto the Taef Accord,” the ex-PM added.
He noted that efforts are being exerted “on many levels,” hoping “the wish of the Lebanese will be fulfilled by holding the elections.”
“We hope the efforts will lead to a consensual solution concerning the elections,” Saniora added.
Meanwhile, a March 14 delegation comprising MPs Kazem al-Kheir and Nidal Tohme and Lebanese Forces chief Samir Geagea's representative Joseph Isaac laid a wreath of flowers at the tomb of Major Wissam Eid in Deir Amar in northern Lebanon. “The March 14 forces are in pressing need for coherence in the face of the campaign against them,” al-Kheir said.
In the Beirut suburb of Tahwita, MPs Dori Chamoun, Mohammed al-Hajjar and Fouad al-Saad, accompanied by Phalange Party official Ramzi Abu Khaled and LF official Nadi Ghosn, visited the tomb of slain MP Antoine Ghanem. Hajjar admitted that “there are some obstacles and clouds,” but stressed that “March 14 will remain and continue” and that “it is not the property of a single party and not the property of al-Mustaqbal Movement, the Phalange Party, the LF or any political group.”
“March 14 belongs to the people and to everyone who endorsed these values, carried the Lebanese flag and called for freedom, sovereignty and independence,” Hajjar added.
In downtown Beirut, MPs Ammar Houri and Sebouh Kalbakian, ex-MP Samir Franjieh, Phalange Party Secretary-General Michel Khoury and Phalage official Shaker Salameh laid wreaths of flowers on the tombs of ex-PM Hariri and Maj. Gen. Wissam al-Hasan and their companions, in the presence of Hasan's father.
Another March 14 delegation visited slain minister Bassel Fleihan's tomb in Tahwita, where it laid a wreath and observed a moment of silence.
In Bikfaya, MPs Nohad al-Mashnouq, Bassem al-Shab and Henry Helou laid wreaths of flowers on the grave of slain industry minister Pierre Gemayel.
"March 14 is a movement of sovereignty and martyrdom, not a political movement or a movement of interests and electoral laws," said Mashnouq in a speech at the location.
Meanwhile, MPs Mohammed Qabbani, Samer Saade and Antoine Abu Khater laid wreaths of flowers on the tombs of slain MP Walid Eido and his son Khaled at the Martyrs Cemetery in Beirut, in the presence of Mustaqbal's general coordinator in Beirut Bashir Itani.

Army Commander General Jean Qahwaji Says Civil War Won't Be Repeated, Army to Prevent Syria Crisis Spillover
Naharnet/Army Commander General Jean Qahwaji on Thursday reassured that the circumstances of the 1975-1990 civil war “will not be repeated,” stressing that the army is determined “more than ever” to prevent a spillover of the Syrian crisis into Lebanon.In his instructions to the army's top generals during a meeting held in Yarze, Qahwaji underlined the military institution's “determination, more than ever, to spare Lebanon the repercussions of regional conflicts and to confront any party seeking to incite sectarian strife with the aim of undermining state authority and national unity.”
The army commander rejected any attempt to “revive the devastating schemes of fragmentation, which the country had suffered from in the past for a long period of time.”
“The circumstances of the 1976 events will never be repeated, and this can be attributed primarily to the army's coherence, immunity and firm decision to prevent strife, and to the embracement of all the Lebanese,” Qahwaji reassured.The army chief called on the military units to “immediately intervene to put an end to the security incidents that erupt every now and then, with a spirit of determination, awareness and impartiality, and according to the higher national interest, not under the pressure of political disputes or the political calculations of any party.”
“Refuting the tendentious rumors and unjust accusations against the military institution must happen through further closing of ranks and greater efforts and through abiding by the highest levels of morality and discipline,” Qahwaji noted.Islamist cleric Sheikh Ahmed al-Asir has accused the army of imposing a “military siege” on the Bilal bin Rabah Mosque in Sidon and of preparing to storm the place of worship, claims that were denied by several military sources.
Qahwaji called on officers to keep their military units fully prepared to “confront the plots of the Israeli enemy and terrorism and to closely follow all the upcoming junctures.”

Syria Threatens to Bomb 'Terrorist Gangs' inside Lebanon in Letter of Protest
Naharnet /Syria on Thursday warned that its forces would fire into Lebanon if "terrorist gangs" continued to infiltrate the country, in a letter of protest to Lebanon.
"These past 36 hours, armed terrorist gangs have infiltrated Syrian territory in large numbers from Lebanon," the Syrian foreign ministry said in the letter carried by Syria's news agency SANA.
"Syrian forces have confronted these gangs and clashes are continuing," the ministry added.
"Syrian forces are showing restraint by not striking these gangs inside Lebanese territory to prevent them from crossing into Syria, but this will not go on indefinitely," it said, urging Lebanon to take action.
Earlier on Thursday, Syrian Ambassador to Lebanon Ali Abdul Karim Ali announced that Syria had submitted the letter of protest to Lebanese authorities, complaining against “violations of the neighboring country's territory on the border”.
"Armed men have been sneaking into (the Syrian town of) Tall Kalakh and the region has witnessed several violations in the last couple of days,” Ali explained in an interview with al-Mayadeen elevision.
He noted: “Syria is still exercising self-control towards violations coming from Lebanese territory”.
The Syrian diplomat said the Lebanese Deputy Secretary General of the Foreign Ministry Charbel Wehbe expressed his “empathy with the note”, promising to deliver it to President Michel Suleiman and relevant authorities.
"We hope the Lebanese army will respond to these acts that threaten security in both countries,” Ali added.
The Syrian foreign ministry had submitted to Lebanese authorities on July 25, 2012 a complaint against what it called “violations on the border.”
Since the eruption of Syria's clashes in 2011, Lebanon's northern areas have been witnessing several security incidents, the latest of which was in October 2012, when heavy Syrian gunfire targeted the border town of al-Abboudiyeh, forcing residents to flee the area en masse.
Later on Thursday, the U.N. Security Council expressed "grave concern" over cross-border attacks between Syria and Lebanon in a rare united declaration on the Syrian conflict.
Council members "underscored their grave concern over repeated incidents of cross-border fire which caused death and injury among the Lebanese population, incursions, abductions and arms trafficking across the Lebanese-Syrian border, as well as other border violations."
The Security Council "underlined the importance of full respect for Lebanon's sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity."
It also expressed "deep concern at the impact of the Syrian crisis on Lebanon's stability."

Think-Tank: Syrian Power Balance to Tilt towards Rebels
Naharnet /The balance of power in Syria will eventually shift to rebel forces but a protracted civil war risks destabilizing the whole region, a leading think-tank warned Thursday in its annual report on world military strengths.
Syria dominated an "increasingly complex" global security situation that also includes China's rise and a continuing increase in Asian defense spending, the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) said.
Cash-strapped Western militaries are meanwhile using the NATO withdrawal from Afghanistan as a pretext for focusing on smaller but more capable forces, it said.
The "Military Balance 2013" report said the tide was turning against President Bashar Assad in the two-year conflict in Syria, even though the prospect of foreign military intervention remained "remote".
"It was likely that, over time, the balance of forces would shift to the rebels, given that their capability and external support would rise," the report said.
"Short of using chemical weapons against rebels, with attendant risk of international intervention, it was difficult to see how Assad could reverse this trend."
But the report warned that regime forces "could still tactically defeat the rebels if the latter abandoned their guerrilla approach and tried to hold urban areas".
"If President Bashar Assad could not win, the rebels could still lose," it said.
The rebels also lack strong political and military leadership, the IISS report said.
"This could see the country descend into a civil war with the government just the strongest faction amongst many, increasing the chance of regional destabilization," it said.
Toby Dodge, the IISS consulting senior fellow for the Middle East, said Assad could struggle on in power for several years.
"The rebels' great problem is that they are not coordinated. Their military forces are fractured, competing, in some cases killing each other," he told Agence France Presse.
"They can't launch a coherent, effective assault on the government.
"I cannot imagine a scenario in which the Syrian regime regains legitimacy and coherence but I can imagine it manages to stay in power for the next two or three years."
He said Syria risked becoming a crucible for jihadists, noting that battle-hardened, effective fighters have moved in from neighboring Iraq and Lebanon.
"That's a profound worry," he said.
"The longer this conflict goes on -- and I think it has got more years to run -- the more Syria will be a magnet for region-wide jihadists and international jihadists."
It could become another Afghanistan, "taken over by radical Islamists who use it as a base from which to strike out into the Middle East and beyond", he warned.
The IISS drew comparisons between the situations in Syria and Afghanistan, saying lessons could be learned because they were "both contests between insurgents and government forces" with external forces involved.
But it said that in Afghanistan, military operations were "overwhelmingly" aimed at minimizing casualties, whereas the Syrian government's approach was to use force "as a means and an end in itself and a tool of repression and deterrence."
NATO and the Afghan government are "engaged in a race against the clock" to improve security and build the capacity of the state before the security handover next year, the IISS report said.
Afghan forces are likely to reach full strength by the time they take over from NATO troops at the end of 2014 but the situation after that will likely remain a "patchwork" with continuing insurgent activity.
Globally, a shifting balance was illustrated by the fact that Asia's defense spending overtook that of NATO European states for the first time in 2012, as the Military Balance report predicted last year.
China's rise continued, with the country taking delivery of its first aircraft carrier in September last year and developing a stealth fighter seen as significant.
Austerity has meanwhile prompted many Western militaries to change their focus towards "smaller, though potentially more capable forces" after a decade of wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
But the IISS report warned: "While doing more with less is a challenge, sometimes numbers count."
SourceAgence France Presse

Iranian Fighter Tries to Intercept U.S. Drone in Gulf
Naharnet /An Iranian fighter jet tried to intercept a U.S. Predator drone over the Gulf but backed off after encountering two American military aircraft, the Pentagon said Thursday.
No shots were fired in the confrontation Wednesday, officials said, but the United States renewed a vow that it would protect its forces in the region.
The Pentagon initially said one of the U.S. aircraft discharged a flare as a warning to the Iranian plane but officials later said no flare was let off.
The incident, which the Pentagon said took place over "international waters," highlighted the tensions between the two arch-foes and the risks of an accidental clash escalating into a serious crisis.
At one point the Iranian F-4, an old U.S.-built warplane dating from the Vietnam War era, was within 16 miles (25 kilometers) of the unmanned Predator drone, spokesman George Little said.
The unarmed Predator, the workhorse of America's fleet of robotic planes, was carrying out "a routine classified surveillance flight" over the Gulf when it was approached by the Iranian warplane, he said in a statement.
In November, an Iranian fighter jet fired at a Predator plane, provoking a strongly-worded protest from the United States.
As after the November incident, the Pentagon warned it would keep up surveillance flights over what it deems international waters and to safeguard U.S. forces in the region.
Little said that "we reserve the right to protect our military assets as well as our forces and will continue to do so going forward."
In December 2011, the Iranians captured a sophisticated Sentinel spy drone after it crashed on Iranian territory, in an embarrassment for Washington.
The United States expanded its military presence around the Gulf over the past year, deploying minesweepers and F-22 fighters to the area.
This came after Iran threatened to block the strategic Strait of Hormuz in retaliation for tough international sanctions imposed over its nuclear program.
U.S. officials and military commanders worry that a misunderstanding or accident involving the two countries could snowball into conflict.
But they are also keen to maintain a robust American military role in the region to counter Iran and to monitor its naval deployments.
In an interview with Israel's Channel 2 television released Thursday, US President Barack Obama repeated his warning that all options remained "on the table" should diplomacy fail to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons.
Obama also said it would take "over a year or so" for Tehran to develop an atomic weapon but that "we don't want to cut it too close."
SourceAgence France Presse

Opposition Hails French, UK Move to Arm Rebels as Regime Says it Violates International Law
Naharnet/France and Britain are seeking to lift an EU embargo to enable them to arm Syrian rebels, arguing that Moscow's supply of weapons to Damascus is giving the regime an unfair edge, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said Thursday.
His comments were welcomed by the Syrian opposition as a step in the right direction, but condemned by the regime of President Bashar Assad which said arming the rebels was "a flagrant violation" of international law.
The European Union is sharply divided over the issue, with some fearing that sending more weapons to Syria could further escalate a brutal two-year conflict that has left about 70,000 people dead according to U.N. figures.
Fabius said Paris and London plan to call for the next EU meeting on the weapons ban, currently planned for the end of May, to be held sooner.
"The position that we have taken with President Francois Hollande is to ask (the European Union) to lift the embargo on arms (to the rebels)" he said.
Fabius said Paris could decide to arm the rebels even if the 27-member body does not give unanimous agreement, underscoring that France "is a sovereign nation" and hinting at independent action.
The EU last month amended its embargo to allow member nations to supply "non-lethal" equipment and training to the opposition but stopped short of lifting the ban entirely.
Prime Minister David Cameron said Tuesday that Britain would consider sidestepping the EU arms ban and supply weapons to Syrian rebels if it would help topple Assad.
"I hope that we can persuade our European partners if and when it becomes necessary (to provide weapons) they'll agree with us," he said. "But if we can't, then it's not out of the question we might have to do things in our own way. It's possible.
"We are still an independent country, we can have an independent foreign policy."
Fabius told France Info radio that France and Britain will ask "the Europeans now to lift the embargo so that the resistance fighters have the possibility of defending themselves."
"We cannot accept the current disequilibrium with Iran and Russia supplying arms to Assad on the one hand and the opposition unable to defend itself on the other," he said.
French officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Paris was considering providing the rebels with ground-to-air missiles to retaliate against air strikes by government troops.
"Lifting the embargo is the only means of moving things on a political level," Fabius said, hinting at pressure on the Damascus regime and Moscow.
Syria's main opposition National Coalition welcomed the announcement.
"We consider it a step in the right direction... Assad will not accept a political solution until he realizes he is faced with an (armed) force that will defeat him," spokesman Walid al-Bunni told Agence France Presse.
Syria's state news agency SANA said Paris and London's intention to provide weapons to "terrorist groups" was in "flagrant violation" of the principles of international law.
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov of Russia -- the regime's biggest arms supplier -- had made similar comments on Wednesday.
But Fabius said one could not take recourse to legal arguments to say that "'we can supply arms to Assad but will not allow resistance fighters to defend themselves'."
Western powers have stepped up aid for the rebels, with Britain currently giving "non-lethal" support, but Germany has warned that delivering weapons to the opposition could lead to a dangerous arms race in the region.
The next EU meeting to study the embargo is planned for the end of May, but Fabius said Paris and London want to hold the meeting sooner and did not rule out a gathering before the end of March.
"We must move quickly," he said, adding: "We along with the British will ask for the meeting to be moved up."
More than 70,000 people have died in the Syrian conflict, according to the United Nations, while the number of refugees fleeing to neighboring countries has reached one million.
SourceAgence France Presse

New American approach to Hezbollah?
March 14, 2013 /By Antoine Ghattas Saab The Daily Star
The political outlook in the region continues to remain cloudy, especially in Egypt and Syria, while Lebanon grapples with several political and economic challenges.
Diplomatic sources in Beirut link the country’s political paralysis and drift to the situation in Syria, which is mired in a political and military stalemate. They expressed concerns that the Lebanese arena would itself fall into chaos if it continued to remain linked to the crisis in its neighbor to the north and east.
The refugee situation is straining Lebanon’s ability to cope, as top leaders are warning, and observers expect even more Syrians to stream across the border into Lebanon, where sharp political disputes and gridlock in the Cabinet could mean an uptick in worrying security incidents.
Some observers expect dramatic developments in Syria in the coming weeks, amid the lack of any political solution on the horizon.
Against this backdrop, a number of local politicians are concluding that Washington is embarking on a new approach to Lebanon, based on recent developments. They are basing this on comments by a high-ranking Lebanese official who believes that “the Americans have suddenly discovered that the Cabinet, which has been around for two years, is the ‘government of Hezbollah,’” and are talking about two options for Prime Minister Najib Mikati.
One is to see Mikati dismiss Hezbollah’s two ministers, Mohammad Fneish and Hussein Hajj Hasan, while the second is for the entire Cabinet to step down and re-form with no representatives of Hezbollah, so that it can impartially oversee parliamentary elections in June.
The official believes that Washington has made it clear that stability in Lebanon, rather than the holding of elections, is its top priority, which sets it apart from other Western countries such as the United Kingdom, which supports the current government as well as stability.
The official says the Syrian crisis has come dangerously close to destabilizing Lebanon, meaning that politicians should do their utmost to spare the country the repercussions of the war next door, “before getting involved in the details of a parliamentary election law that has no chance of being adopted.”
As for addressing the challenges, the official cited this week’s visit to Lebanon by two American officials as highlighting a set of objectives. Lawrence Silverman, the acting deputy assistant secretary of state for near eastern affairs, and Amos Hochstein, the State Department’s deputy assistant secretary for energy diplomacy, stressed during their meetings with top officials and politicians that the U.S. was prepared to continue supporting Lebanon as it received Syrians fleeing their country’s conflict.
According to sources familiar with the discussions, the two officials also addressed Lebanon’s foray into oil and gas exploration, as they encouraged Beirut to move ahead quickly with settling the issue of its Exclusive Economic Zone, to avoid any future conflict with Israel, which would stall the long-awaited exploration process.
The official said the American visitors also encouraged local leaders to prepare well for an upcoming stage of “political settlements” in the turbulent Middle East.
And as the war in Syria continues to rage, the two American officials said Lebanon should make every effort to protect itself from the spillover of violence, and discussed the possibility of enhancing the state’s monitoring of its northeastern border with Syria. While the possibility of deploying international peacekeeping troops to the porous border areas was broached, the idea wasn’t advanced as a formal proposal, the sources said.

It’s renewal time for a grim
March 14 March 14, 2013/By Michael Young The Daily Star
On the eighth anniversary of the March 14 demonstration against the Syrian presence in Lebanon, the mood in the coalition is grim. Discord over a new election law, with the Lebanese Forces and Kataeb favoring the so-called Orthodox proposal against the interests of the Future bloc, has cracked March 14 and the cross-communal coordination that was its strength. How remote seems the unity of 2005. The Lebanese Forces have sought to defend their position by arguing that it was misunderstood. If so, it was up to the party’s leader, Samir Geagea, to better explain his intentions before he sided with Michel Aoun and Hezbollah on what he knew was a plan that would be perceived by his political partners as a stab in the back. Many Sunnis regard the Orthodox proposal as being directed against them, while all it will do is ensure that March 14 fails to win a majority.
Geagea, in private exchanges with journalists, has said that one of his aims was to strengthen March 14 by forcing Walid Jumblatt to make a choice. The Orthodox proposal would weaken Jumblatt, thereby forcing the Druze leader to move closer to his Sunni and Christian electorates. Geagea also feared that Jumblatt would engineer a new tripartite agreement to guarantee a sizable number of Jumblatti seats in parliament, and he didn’t want to pay for that strategy.
Geagea’s fears may be well founded, but his primary motivation in backing the Orthodox proposal was to undermine the 1960 law that would likely allow Jumblatt to again play a balancing role in Parliament, and hold March 14 hostage to his political calculations. If so, the scheme backfired. Jumblatt and Saad Hariri have moved closer politically, while Geagea is busy explaining that his subtlety was lost on everyone. Meanwhile, March 14 is in disarray.
It has been a difficult eight years for March 14, whose unifying purpose was to oppose a Syrian return to Lebanon. This was quickly, and naturally, transformed into hostility toward Hezbollah, Syria’s principal Lebanese ally. There was a danger here: What was initially an intifada against a system imposed from outside, by Damascus, became a domestic struggle, one with worrisome sectarian overtones as Sunnis and Shiites came to resent one another.
Hezbollah was mostly responsible for this state of affairs. The party broke all the unwritten rules of the confessional system, especially when it mounted a military assault in western Beirut against the Future Movement in May 2008. Nor has Hezbollah dispelled the deep suspicion that it played a role in most of the assassinations in 2005 and afterward, especially that of Rafik Hariri but also the bomb attack that killed Wissam al-Hasan of the Internal Security Forces.
Despite this, March 14 has gradually come to be perceived as a failure. The coalition dealt unimaginatively with the arrival of Najib Mikati as prime minister, and in its zeal to discredit him, it has taken political positions contradicting those it had adopted in the past. It is frustrated that Mikati has earned a measure of international respect, and, along with President Michel Sleiman, is considered a far more significant obstacle to Hezbollah’s agenda than March 14.
The departure of Hariri has little helped March 14’s credibility. For many foreign governments, as well as their representatives in Beirut, the nearly two-year absence of the leader of the opposition means they have no interlocutor with whom to communicate. And without one, the ability of March 14 to get its message across is limited.
Nor has it done any good that March 14 figures made faulty calculations on the Syrian conflict. Their belief in the imminent fall of the Assad regime was wrong, while there is a real threat that Lebanon will be further destabilized by the fighting next door. Hezbollah has been active in Syria, but so too have been March 14 figures and their allies on the ground in supporting the Syrian opposition. This may be morally justifiable, but it goes against the policy pushed by the government of isolating Lebanon from the upheaval in Syria.
At a broader level, March 14 is no longer identified with the project that made it so attractive to many Lebanese, that of building a strong and sovereign state. Partly, this is due to its decision to become an opposition party rather than participate in a Mikati-led national unity government. The choice meant that March 14’s rhetoric has shifted to rolling criticism of those running the state, which cannot make March 14 trustworthy at so sensitive a moment in Lebanon.
For many observers, a policy based exclusively on criticism is a sign of political bankruptcy. Stridency cannot substitute for ideas, and yet there is room to advance March 14 aims. Whatever its views of Mikati, the prime minister is willing to strengthen the state’s authority at the expense of Hezbollah, as is Sleiman. If Hezbollah is so keen to deny March 14 a parliamentary majority, that is because the party wants to control the president and prime minister, which is not the case today.
It may be time for March 14 to organize a major gathering to lend new impetus to its political action. In the context of such a forum, the coalition can address internal discontent, formulate a political program for the years ahead, and find its direction. Moreover, it is time to put an end to the bitter wrangling with Mikati, which has not helped March 14 or bolstered the effectiveness of the Lebanese state. A conference would also rally a dejected base and unify March 14 ranks.
Over the years it has become fashionable to condemn March 14. And yet for all its faults the coalition remains a moderate force in Lebanese politics whose ultimate aim is a state open to all sides that is not ruled by men with guns. However, March 14 urgently needs a rebirth, after it allowed the great expectations of 2005 to be stillborn.
*Michael Young is opinion editor of THE DAILY STAR. He tweets @BeirutCalling.