Bible Quotation for today/The Last Days/You Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness.

Luke 11/37-48: "While he was speaking, a Pharisee invited him to dine with him; so he went in and took his place at the table. The Pharisee was amazed to see that he did not first wash before dinner. Then the Lord said to him, ‘Now you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness. You fools! Did not the one who made the outside make the inside also? So give for alms those things that are within; and see, everything will be clean for you. ‘But woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and herbs of all kinds, and neglect justice and the love of God; it is these you ought to have practised, without neglecting the others. Woe to you Pharisees! For you love to have the seat of honour in the synagogues and to be greeted with respect in the market-places. Woe to you! For you are like unmarked graves, and people walk over them without realizing it.’ One of the lawyers answered him, ‘Teacher, when you say these things, you insult us too. ’And he said, ‘Woe also to you lawyers! For you load people with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not lift a finger to ease them. Woe to you! For you build the tombs of the prophets whom your ancestors killed. So you are witnesses and approve of the deeds of your ancestors; for they killed them, and you build their tombs.
 

Latest analysis, editorials, studies, reports, letters & Releases from miscellaneous sources
Why Europe Shouldn’t Ban Hezbollah/By : Dr. Talal Atrissi /Asharq Al-Awsat/March 20/13
Why Europe Should Ban Hezbollah/By: Matthew Levitt/Asharq Al-Awsat/March 20/13

The Puppet Dictator/By: Abdullah Al-Otaibi /Asharq Alawsat/March 20/13
Does Obama have a plan for Syria/By: Richard Cohen/Washington Post/March 20/13

Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources for March 20/13

Pope Vows to 'Embrace Poorest' at Grand Inauguration
Pope Francis urges protection of nature, weak
Pope Francis opens ministry with mass
U.S. Has 'Limited' Ability to Monitor 'Iran, Hizbullah Activities in Latin America'
Witnesses report onset of chemical warfare in Syria
Syria airstrike on Lebanon ‘unacceptable’: Sleiman
Mustaqbal Calls for Referring Attacks on Clerics to Judicial Council
Mesqawi Calls for Extraordinary HIC Meeting on Wednesday
Higher Islamic Shiite Council Calls for Dialogue as Qabbani Tones Down Criticism of Leaderships
Gasoline Bottle Set on Fire on Dar al-Fatwa Parking Wall
Damascus Denies Syrian Warplanes Bombed Lebanese Border Area
Aoun: I Will Not Accept Alternative to Orthodox Law, I Wasn't Informed of Any Rome Agreement
Qahwaji: Past 2 Days Witnessed Worst Security Tension in 8 Years
Lebanese MPs criticize Rome meeting
The Lebanese Forces denies Feltman mediation, says ties with Hariri sound
General Prosecutor in Lebanon orders arrest of 7 suspects in Assault on 4 Clerics
March 14 MPs Hope FM Will Respect Suleiman's Call to Complain against Syrian Shelling of Lebanon
Gharib Appeals for Unity to Confront Strife and Divisions on Historic Protest
Geagea Describes Government as 'Vicious,' its Failure to Act is 'Shameful'
Hizbullah deputy leader Sheikh Naim Qassem Condemns Attack on Sunni Clerics, Calls for Penalizing Perpetrators
UNIFIL Marks 35 Years 'in Service of Peace' in Lebanon
Report: Rome Meeting Agrees on Technically Postponing Polls, Formation of Senate
Syria claims rebel chemical weapon attack kills 16
U.S. Says Syria Bombing Lebanon 'Absolutely Unacceptable', Violates Sovereignty
Syria is ready to use chemical weapons – Western intelligence
Reports of Syrian jet fire into Lebanon called 'significant escalation'
Syria opposition coalition tries to get past divisions, form interim government
Obama: Time for Iran to settle nuclear dispute
Obama visit: Road trip in the Holy Land
US president: Israelis indifferent to Obama
Jordan's king: Relations with Bibi 'very strong'
Israel's new government ministers assume posts
7 detained over attacks on Muslim scholarsin Lebanon: prosecutor
Wave of Iraq blasts kill 56 decade after invasion
 

Pope Vows to 'Embrace Poorest' at Grand Inauguration
Naharnet/Pope Francis knelt at the tomb of St Peter and donned the symbols of papal power at a sumptuous inauguration on Tuesday, vowing to embrace the "poorest, the weakest" of humanity.
Nearly 200,000 pilgrims cheered Latin America's first pontiff in St Peter's Square, waving flags from around the world as the newly elected popes promised that his would be a "lowly, concrete and faithful" papacy.
In an address strongly influenced by the teachings of St Francis of Assisi, the saint he has chosen as his inspiration, he urged world economic and political leaders not to "allow omens of destruction and death to accompany the advance of this world!"
His voice raised in emotion, the 76-year-old Francis said a pope must "embrace with tender affection the whole of humanity, especially the poorest, the weakest, the least important."
"Amid so much darkness, we need to see the light of hope," said the Argentinian, after touring a sun-drenched St Peter's Square in an open-top car to cries of "Long live the pope!"
The former Buenos Aires Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio was a fervent critic of the International Monetary Fund and unregulated market capitalism -- a stance that could make him an important voice in an austerity-hit Europe.
At the ceremony, the 265th successor to St Peter received from his cardinals the papal pallium -- a lambswool strip of cloth that symbolizes the pope's role as a shepherd and has red crosses to represent the wounds of Jesus Christ.
The "Fisherman's Ring" bestowed on him by Angelo Sodano, dean of the college of cardinals, is a personalized signet ring traditionally worn by popes in honor of St Peter -- a fisherman.
"With Pope Francis, the Church will be closer to the people and to the modern world," said Rodrigo Grajales, a 31-year-old Colombian priest.
Francis gave the thumbs-up as he toured the square, stopping to kiss babies and getting out of the car at one point to bless a disabled man.
"Go Francis! We Will Be With You Wherever You Go!" read a sign held up by a group of Brazilian nuns in St Peter's Square.
Sister Rosa, an elderly Italian nun, said she expected the pope would be "another St Francis on Earth for love, goodness, poverty and humility".
The Vatican said there were between 150,000 and 200,000 people present at the ceremony.
The son of an Italian immigrant railway worker, Francis has already won hearts in Rome with a disarmingly informal style which contrasted with Tuesday's pomp and ceremony.
The Vatican said 132 foreign delegations attended.
Bergoglio was the surprise choice at last week's conclave of cardinals to find a successor to 85-year-old Benedict XVI, who last month brought a sudden end to a papacy that had often been overshadowed by scandal, saying he was too old to carry on. He was the first pope to resign since the Middle Ages.Francis has called for a "poor Church for the poor", warning the world's cardinals against pursuing worldly glories and saying that without deep spiritual renewal the Roman Catholic Church would crumble "like a sand castle".
The arrival of world leaders has presented him with a first diplomatic headache in the form of a request from compatriot President Cristina Kirchner of Argentina to mediate in a row with Britain over sovereignty of the Falkland Islands. Francis is still haunted by criticism from left-wingers at home for failing to speak out against the excesses of Argentina's military rule during the dictatorship of the 1970s and 1980s.
The Chinese government also said it would not be sending any representatives after Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou said he was attending.
Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe flew in, sidestepping an EU travel ban over human rights abuses that does not apply to the Vatican.
Latin America was heavily represented at the inauguration of the first non-European pope in nearly 1,300 years, with the presidents of Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Mexico and Paraguay all in attendance.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, French Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault and European Union leaders were also present.
Leaders of the Eastern Catholic Rite were also there, including Bartholomew I, the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople.
Vatican radio said it was the first time a patriarch of Constantinople had attended an inauguration since 1054 when the eastern and western halfs of Christendom split.
The Vatican was in security lockdown for the event, with 3,000 officers deployed including sharpshooters on the rooftops and bomb disposal experts.
Church leaders have urged Francis to move quickly to reform the intrigue-filled Roman Curia, the central administration of the Roman Catholic Church, and his appointments in the coming weeks will be closely watched.
Francis has indicated he will press for a friendlier faith that is closer to ordinary people and for social justice, although the moderate conservative is unlikely to change major tenets of Catholic doctrine.
Vatican experts say he has also signaled he will pursue a more inclusive "collegial" style of leadership together with the cardinals and bishops.
Vast crowds also gathered on the other side of the Atlantic outside the Buenos Aires cathedral to dance and sing as they watched the inauguration.
Catholic high school students chanted slogans praising Francis, while seminarians and nuns waved Vatican flags and signs supporting the new pope.
"This pope has awakened deep emotions within me, not only because he's from Argentina, but because of his warmth as a person," Celia Farias, 33, told Agence France Presse.
"As a Catholic, it has renewed my faith."
SourceAgence France Presse

Witnesses report onset of chemical warfare in Syria
DEBKAfile Exclusive Report March 19, 2013 Troops equipped for chemical warfare Extensive preparations by Syrian army units for launching chemical weapons against rebel forces have been sighted in the northern town of Homs, Western intelligence agencies told debkafile’s military sources Tuesday, March 19.Damascus paved the way for resorting to unconventional weaponry with an accusation run by the state news agency SANA Tuesday that Syrian rebels had fired a rocket containing chemical substances in the Khan al-Assal area of rural Aleppo, allegedly killing 15 people, mostly civilians. Rebels quickly denied the report and accused regime forces of “firing a chemical weapon on a long-range SCUD, after which 20 people died of asphyxia and poisoning.” Neither of the accusations could immediately verified. But a Reuters photographer said he had seen people come into two Aleppo hospitals with breathing problems after the attack. They claimed people were suffocating on the streets. Western intelligence sources reckoned that for the Assad regime, Homs, the scene of fierce battles between government and rebel forces in recent days, is likely to be the first place where the Assad government resorts to chemical warfare. A rebel victory there would be a grave setback for the regime because it would sever the main highway linking the Syrian military forces fighting in the towns of Damascus, Latakia, Aleppo and Idlib. Monday and Tuesday, therefore, heavy government reinforcements from the South and Damascus were piled onto the embattled town, along with large numbers of warplanes and attack helicopters, in an all-out effort to cut short the rebel advance. debkafile’s military sources report that the importance Assad attaches to carrying the day in Homs is represented by the elite units he has assembled in and around the city: Heavy armored forces of the 4th and 5th Republican Guard Divisions were imported from Damascus and the 18th and 19th Divisions are there too, issued in the last few hours with chemical warfare gear.Syrian ruler Bashar Assad can on no account afford to be defeated in the key town of Homs just when US President Barack Obama is scheduled to arrive in the Middle East Wednesday. He will therefore use whatever it takes to prevent this happening, even chemical weapons if they are the only answer. The allegation that the rebels have resorted to chemical warfare strongly points to an Assad ploy to go there himself and maintain it was only after the opposition went first.The emergence of dread unconventional weapons on the Syrian battlefield during the US president’s stay in the region is bound to dominate his talks with its leaders. It may even have the effect of altering his schedule and affect his itinerary.

U.S. Has 'Limited' Ability to Monitor 'Iran, Hizbullah Activities in Latin America'
Naharnet/A top general said on Tuesday that the United States' military has "limited intelligence capabilities to monitor Hizbullah and Iran's activities in Latin America”.
“Our abilities may prevent our full awareness of all Iranian and Hizbullah activities in the region," General John Kelly, head of U.S. Southern Command, told lawmakers in an apparent allusion to budget pressures.
The general expressed that Iran is "struggling" to cultivate ties with Latin American countries that are wary of the United States, and Tehran's influence in the region is on the decline. "The reality on the ground is that Iran is struggling to maintain influence in the region, and that its efforts to cooperate with a small set of countries with interests that are inimical to the United States are waning," Iran's ally Hizbullah also has a presence in several Latin American states and has received support from Venezuela's government, with officials being sanctioned for assisting the militants, Kelly said. In Venezuela, Bolivia, Ecuador and Argentina, Iran has sought to expand diplomatic and economic links to counter international sanctions and to promote anti-U.S. sentiment, Kelly told the Senate Armed Services Committee. But the bid has only been "marginally successful" and the broader region "has not been receptive to Iranian efforts," the general said. President Barack Obama signed a law in December designed to counter Iran's alleged influence in Latin America, where it has opened up several new embassies in recent years.
The law calls for the State Department to shape a new diplomatic and political strategy in the region to undercut Iran's efforts. The legislation also calls on the Department of Homeland Security to bolster surveillance at U.S. borders with Canada and Mexico to prevent operatives from Iran or Hizbullah from entering the United States. SourceAgence France Presse

Higher Islamic Shiite Council Calls for Dialogue as Qabbani Tones Down Criticism of Leaderships
Naharnet /A delegation from the Higher Islamic Shiite Council visited Grand Mufti Sheikh Mohammed Rashid Qabbani on Tuesday to prevent the tension between Sunnis and Shiites from escalating into violence and internal strife. “We reject all forms and types of assaults on any person, and mainly clerics,” said Grand Shiite Jaafarite Mufti Sheikh Ahmed Qabalan after meeting with Qabbani at the head of the Council's delegation in Dar al-Fatwa, Lebanon's highest Sunni authority. He urged the Lebanese to be “wise,” and use “the language of dialogue and communication.”The visit came against the backdrop of assaults against four Sunni Sheikhs in two parts of Beirut.
Dar al-Fatwa clerics Sheikh Mazen Hariri and Sheikh Ahmed Fakhran were attacked in the Shiite area of Khandaq al-Ghamiq on Sunday while two other clerics, one of them identified as Omar al-Imami were attacked in the southern Beirut suburb of Shiyyah. “Those who plotted the attack on some Sunni clerics thought that the Sunni-Shiite strife has started and would burn anyone,” Qabbani said.
“What happened is an early warning that strife starts with such action,” he said, cautioning that “Lebanon will not be at a distance from what's happening in Syria and Iraq, which has become an example of civil war.” “We should beware of the plots - both Sunnis and Shiites, Muslims and Christians,” he said. “Those who plotted the strife and stood behind it thought that it would expand but they were disappointed,” Qabbani told reporters. “Any side could have paid the perpetrators to attack the Sheikhs but this is up to the investigation to decide.” The mufti appeared to be toning down his rhetoric a day after he held all leaderships responsible for the attacks. “The Shiite sect along with its political and military leaderships should lift the cover off” the suspects, he said. Turning his rage at some Sunni leaders without mentioning them, Qabbani said they were also to be blamed for the attacks for “standing behind the verbal assaults on the Mufti.” Qabbani revealed that General Prosecutor Judge Hatem Madi informed him that he will give him the details of the investigation into the attack on the clerics.Madi ordered on Tuesday the arrest of seven people suspected of involvement in the attacks on the four Sunni sheikhs.


Damascus Denies Syrian Warplanes Bombed Lebanese Border Area
Naharnet/Damascus on Tuesday denied that its warplanes had bombed areas on the Lebanese-Syrian border, accusing “hostile” countries of circulating the media reports.
“The reports circulated by some Lebanese, Arab and international media outlets about Syrian warplanes dropping bombs inside Lebanese territory are false and baseless,” Syria's state news agency SANA quoted an unnamed foreign ministry official as saying.On Monday, Lebanon's state-run National News Agency said “Syrian warplanes bombarded the outskirts of the towns of Khirbet Younin and Wadi al-Khayl in Arsal's barren mountains.”
But the Syrian official said “some countries that have endorsed the approach of hostility against Syria, through arming and financing armed terrorist groups, are behind circulating this false report.”
The Syrian foreign ministry “stresses that this report it totally false, and as it denies it in its entirety, it underlines its respect of Lebanese sovereignty and its keenness on the security and stability of brotherly Lebanon.”
President Michel Suleiman tasked on Tuesday Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour with sending a letter of protest to Syria over air raids in the northeastern border area.
Suleiman said the air raids were “unacceptable” and “violated Lebanese sovereignty.”On Monday, a high-ranking Lebanese army official confirmed to Agence France Presse that Syrian air strikes took place along the border area, without saying whether they had struck inside Lebanese territory. But a security services official on the ground told AFP that Syrian planes had fired four missiles at Arsal, where many residents back the uprising against Syrian President Bashar Assad. Al-Manar television, which belongs to pro-Damascus Hizbullah, said the warplanes had targeted two barns used by "armed men" in the Wadi al-Khayl area of Arsal.
Washington also confirmed Syrian forces had fired at northern Lebanon, calling the strikes "a significant escalation in the violations of Lebanese sovereignty that the Syrian regime has been guilty of."
SourceNaharnet

Aoun: I Will Not Accept Alternative to Orthodox Law, I Wasn't Informed of Any Rome Agreement
Naharnet /Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun rejected on Tuesday any possible alternative to the Orthodox Gathering parliamentary electoral law, saying that the rights of Christians in Lebanon are being usurped.
He said after the Change and Reform bloc's weekly meeting: “I was not informed of any of the discussions that were held in Rome.”Prime Minister Najib Miqati had hinted on Monday that an agreement had been reached in Rome with Speaker Nabih Berri and Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi over an electoral law. Al-Liwaa newspaper reported on Tuesday that the two-paper document states that political foes should consent on a hybrid electoral law that divides the parliamentary seats equally based on winner-takes-all and proportional systems or 60 percent of MPs be elected through the winner-takes-all and 40 according to the proportional system. Al-Rahi is set to propose the plan to Christians factions upon his return to Lebanon. The three officials had traveled to Italy to attend the inauguration mass of Pope Francis I on Tuesday. Aoun continued: “The rights of Christians are being usurped and the way the issue is being dealt with is offensive.” “The usurpation of their rights is aimed at covering up an attempt to lead Lebanon towards vacuum and chaos,” noted the MP. The Orthodox Gathering law is constitutional, as is the proposal that calls for the adoption of Lebanon as a single district based on proportional representation, he stressed. “We will accept the position of the majority. Is this not democracy?” he asked. Moreover, he slammed the Taef agreement, saying that it should be “dumped in the garbage because it is not an accord.” The FPM leader also condemned the attack against the four Dar al-Fatwa clerics on Sunday, hoping that the investigation would reach its findings soon. Aoun voiced his support for Grand Mufti Sheikh Mohammed Rashid Qabbani's position on the assault, noting that he helped avert strife in Lebanon. He revealed that an FPM delegation will soon meet with Qabbani to express its solidarity with him. On Sunday night two Dar al-Fatwa clerics Sheikh Mazen Hariri and Sheikh Ahmed Fakhran were assaulted while passing through the Beirut area of Khandaq al-Ghamiq. Another two clerics, one of them identified as Sheikh Omar al-Imami, were assaulted in the southern suburb of Shiyyah. Tensions soared in the wake of the two attacks as angry protesters blocked roads in several regions across Lebanon.

Syria airstrike on Lebanon ‘unacceptable’: Sleiman

March 19, 2013/The Daily Star
BEIRUT: President Michel Sleiman condemned Tuesday a recent air raid on Lebanese territory by the Syrian army, describing the airstrike as an unacceptable violation of Lebanon’s sovereignty.
“President Michel Sleiman regarded the Syrian air bombardment of Lebanese territory as an unacceptable violation of Lebanese sovereignty,” a statement from the president’s office said.
Syrian jets and helicopters fired four rockets at targets inside Lebanon Monday, days after Damascus warned Beirut it would attack suspected rebel sites if incursions from across the border did not cease.
According to the statement from Sleiman’s office, the president also tasked Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour to issue a letter of complaint to Syria “to prevent the recurrence of such operations.”
Monday’s air raid sparked condemnation of the international community, with the United States describing it as a “significant escalation in the violations of Lebanese sovereignty.” France, too, described the incident as a “new serious violation of Lebanon’s sovereignty.”The two sites targeted in the aerial operation were the eastern border villages of Khirbet Youneen and Wadi al-Khayl, approximately 5 kilometers into Lebanese territory.
They are reportedly used for farming but have been suspected of being used as channels for smuggling arms and gunmen into Syria.
There were no casualties in the incident

General Prosecutor in Lebanon orders arrest of 7 suspects in Assault on 4 Clerics
Naharnet /General Prosecutor Judge Hatem Madi ordered on Tuesday the arrest of seven people suspected of involvement in attacks on four Sunni sheikhs in two areas of Beirut.
Four of them are suspected of involvement in the assault on Dar al-Fatwa clerics Sheikh Mazen Hariri and Sheikh Ahmed Fakhran on Sunday in the Shiite area of Khandaq al-Ghamiq in Beirut, said the state-run National News Agency. The remaining three are suspected of attacking two other sheikhs, one of them identified as Omar al-Imami, in the Beirut suburb of Shiyyah.
In remarks to As Safir and al-Joumhouria newspapers published Tuesday, Madi promised to punish the perpetrators of the attacks.
“We are looking closely at the case from its beginning till its end and scrutinizing the identity of the attackers and their motives,” he said.
The investigators are also probing their possible link to any local party, he added.
“The number of suspects that are being questioned could rise or decline depending on the results of the investigations,” Madi told the dailies.
“But the perpetrators will get the punishment that they deserve,” he said. Army intelligence sources told As Safir that the two incidents in Khandaq al-Ghamiq and Shiyyah were not linked.
The perpetrators of the Khandaq al-Ghamiq assault are part of a “bigger network linked to other operations aimed at creating instability,” the sources said, without giving further details.
Interior Minister Marwan Charbel told the newspaper that “it's not enough to arrest suspects. We should know who is using these people for such a dangerous” mission.
Amal and Hizbullah are calling for the maximum punishment against them, Charbel added in an attempt to contain the fallout. The assault on the Sheikhs led to road closures in Beirut and other cities for the second day Monday. Protesters blocked the roads with garbage bins and burning tires, inflaming old tensions already boiling over the conflict in Syria.


The Lebanese Forces denies Feltman mediation, says ties with Hariri sound

March 19, 2013 /The Daily Star /BEIRUT: The Lebanese Forces denied Tuesday reports that former U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Jeffrey Feltman was trying to repair relations between form Prime Minister Saad Hariri and Samir Geagea over a dispute between the March 14 alliance leaders."The Lebanese Forces' media office affirms that this news is baseless and completely inaccurate while noting that contacts between Saad Hariri and Samir Geagea have never stopped for a single day,” a statement from the LF said. Al-Joumhouria newspaper reported Tuesday that Feltman, who is currently the under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs at the U.N., was reconciling the two Lebanese leaders after their ties soured over differences on a new electoral law. The Lebanese daily added that the dispute had been significant and almost led to the two to sever ties between the two March 14 allies. Feltman is a controversial figure in Lebanese politics and has been criticized heavily by the Hezbollah-led March 8 alliance, particularly during his term as U.N. envoy to Beirut between 2004 and 2008.
The Lebanese Forces has supported the so called Orthodox Gathering draft electoral law, which is staunchly opposed by the Future Movement.
The proposal mandates that every sect elect its own MPs based on proportional representation.
The Future Movement has argued that the adoption of such a law would deepen sectarian divisions and allow for the rise of extremists, while Geagea, along with other rival Christian political parties, maintains that the proposal is the optimal choice to secure fair representation. In an interview aired on Kalam el-Nas Show on LBCI, Future Movement MP Nuhad Mashnouq said his party was mostly disappointed by Geagea's stance due to his insistence on the Orthodox electoral proposal. Rifts within the opposition surfaced after the allies failed to reach consensus on a new electoral for the June 9 polls.

March 14 MPs Hope FM Will Respect Suleiman's Call to Complain against Syrian Shelling of Lebanon
Naharnet /Independent March 14 MPs condemned on Tuesday the Syrian regime's shelling of Lebanese areas on Sunday, hailing President Michel Suleiman's stance on the matter.
MP Butros Harb said: “We hope Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour would not rebel against Suleiman's demand to file a complaint against the Syrian regime's shelling of Lebanese territory.”
“We hope the March 8 government forces would not stand against the president,” he added after the meeting that was held at his residence.
Suleiman tasked on Tuesday Mansour with sending a letter of protest to Syria over air raids in the northeastern border area that violated Lebanese sovereignty.
Suleiman said the air raids were “unacceptable” and “violated Lebanese sovereignty.”
Syrian warplanes hit on Monday targets along Syria's border with Lebanon.
The National News Agency said the attack hit a remote area near the northeastern town of Arsal.
Mortar and artillery shells from the Syrian side often explode in Lebanon.
Addressing the assaults against four Sunni Dar al-Fatwa clerics on Sunday, Harb said: “The gatherers voiced their concern over the dangerous security developments.”
They criticized the government's silence on the matter and some “statements of incitement” issued by some sides.
They held the government responsible for the current security chaos “because it consented to the spread of illegitimate arms in Lebanon,” noting that some forces within the cabinet are among those who possess these weapons.
On Sunday night two Dar al-Fatwa clerics Sheikh Mazen Hariri and Sheikh Ahmed Fakhran were assaulted while passing through the Beirut area of Khandaq al-Ghamiq.
Another two clerics, one of them identified as Sheikh Omar al-Imami, were assaulted in the southern suburb of Shiyyah.
Tensions soared in the wake of the two attacks as angry protesters blocked roads in several regions across Lebanon.
Moreover, Harb said that the independent March 14 MPs expressed their concern that the ongoing political disputes in Lebanon would lead to the cancellation of the parliamentary elections, singling out “the rejection of Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun, who is backed by Hizbullah, of any consensual electoral law that would facilitate the staging of the polls.”
He highlighted Aoun's insistence to hold the elections based on either the Orthodox Gathering proposal or according to a law that adopts proportional representation and Lebanon as a single district, noting that these two proposals contradict each other.
“The March 8 camp is seeking to cancel the elections and lead the country towards a vacuum that would allow Iran and Syria to impose their authority over Lebanon,” he declared.
“The state should impose its authority throughout Lebanon and lift political cover off those tampering with the security,” he said.
The lawmaker urged all political powers to place national interests above personal ones and reach an agreement over a new electoral law that offers fair representation for all powers.
In addition, Harb condemned the government's “blatant” negligence of the case of Syrian refugees in Lebanon, urging it to control their flow into the country.
“We urge the government to immediately establish an emergency unit to follow up on the case of Syrian refugees,” he suggested.

Higher Islamic Shiite Council Calls for Dialogue as Qabbani Tones Down Criticism of Leaderships
Naharnet/A delegation from the Higher Islamic Shiite Council visited Grand Mufti Sheikh Mohammed Rashid Qabbani on Tuesday to prevent the tension between Sunnis and Shiites from escalating into violence and internal strife.“We reject all forms and types of assaults on any person, and mainly clerics,” said Grand Shiite Jaafarite Mufti Sheikh Ahmed Qabalan after meeting with Qabbani at the head of the Council's delegation in Dar al-Fatwa, Lebanon's highest Sunni authority.He urged the Lebanese to be “wise,” and use “the language of dialogue and communication.”
The visit came against the backdrop of assaults against four Sunni Sheikhs in two parts of Beirut.
Dar al-Fatwa clerics Sheikh Mazen Hariri and Sheikh Ahmed Fakhran were attacked in the Shiite area of Khandaq al-Ghamiq on Sunday while two other clerics, one of them identified as Omar al-Imami were attacked in the southern Beirut suburb of Shiyyah.“Those who plotted the attack on some Sunni clerics thought that the Sunni-Shiite strife has started and would burn anyone,” Qabbani said.
“What happened is an early warning that strife starts with such action,” he said, cautioning that “Lebanon will not be at a distance from what's happening in Syria and Iraq, which has become an example of civil war.”
“We should beware of the plots - both Sunnis and Shiites, Muslims and Christians,” he said.
“Those who plotted the strife and stood behind it thought that it would expand but they were disappointed,” Qabbani told reporters. “Any side could have paid the perpetrators to attack the Sheikhs but this is up to the investigation to decide.”The mufti appeared to be toning down his rhetoric a day after he held all leaderships responsible for the attacks.“The Shiite sect along with its political and military leaderships should lift the cover off” the suspects, he said.Turning his rage at some Sunni leaders without mentioning them, Qabbani said they were also to be blamed for the attacks for “standing behind the verbal assaults on the Mufti.”
Qabbani revealed that General Prosecutor Judge Hatem Madi informed him that he will give him the details of the investigation into the attack on the clerics.Madi ordered on Tuesday the arrest of seven people suspected of involvement in the attacks on the four Sunni sheikhs.
 

Hizbullah deputy leader Sheikh Naim Qassem Condemns Attack on Sunni Clerics, Calls for Penalizing Perpetrators
Naharnet/Hizbullah deputy leader Sheikh Naim Qassem condemned on Monday Sunday's attack on Dar al-Fatwa clerics, saying the incident is part of a “plan to inflame sedition between Muslims and Lebanese”.
“Hizbullah condemns the attack and we call for legally penalizing perpetrators and for lifting any political cover they might have,” Qassem said in a phone conversation with Grand Mufti Sheikh Mohammed Rashid Qabbani.
"(Hizbullah leader) Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah stresses on the unity between Muslims and between the Lebanese, and he calls for confronting strife and those encouraging it,” Qassem told Qabbani.
He praised the Mufti's statement that “called for avoiding sectarian sedition”: “We salute him for not blaming an entire sect for this incident and all religious communities have condemned Sunday's attacks”.
Dar al-Fatwa clerics Sheikh Mazen Hariri and Sheikh Ahmed Fakhran were beaten up on Sunday while passing through the Beirut area of Khandaq al-Ghamiq, state-run National News Agency reported.
As the news broke out, angry protesters blocked roads in the Beirut areas of Tariq al-Jedideh, Qasqas and Corniche al-Mazraa, as well as Sidon's entrance in the South and al-Masnaa's road in the Bekaa.
Mufti Qabbani urged calm and restraint after the attack, stressing that the perpetrators “will not go unpunished".
“We urge calm and restraint to enable security forces to investigate the incident,” Qabbani said in a televised address.
“We have full confidence in security agencies and the state, but we will not let things go unpunished,” the mufti said.
“We will not allow these elements to achieve their goals,” Qabbani stressed, declining to accuse any specific party.

UNIFIL Marks 35 Years 'in Service of Peace' in Lebanon
Naharnet/The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) held a ceremony on Tuesday at the mission headquarters to mark 35 years of its peacekeeping presence in southern Lebanon.
Representatives from the Lebanese armed and security forces, local mayors and community leaders attended the ceremony. Also in attendance were peacekeepers representing the 38 different national contingents that make up UNIFIL. UNIFIL Force Commander Major General Paolo Serra and Brigadier General Ghassan Salem, representing Army Commander General Jean Qahwaji, laid wreaths at the UNIFIL cenotaph to pay tribute to the 296 UNIFIL peacekeepers who have lost their lives in southern Lebanon since 1978. In his address, Serra said: “The past seven years have been the calmest period southern Lebanon has seen in a long time. Against the background of regional instability and uncertainty, UNIFIL continues to be a force for stability, thanks to the great work of our military and civilian personnel, and the effective cooperation with our main strategic partner, the Lebanese Armed Forces.”He acknowledged that although a number of challenges to sustainable peace in South Lebanon remain, UNIFIL has so far been successful in implementing its mandate focused on maintaining the cessation of hostilities between the parties.“In the period ahead UNIFIL will re-double its efforts in assisting the parties to solidify the cessation of hostilities and respect for Resolution 1701, working closely with the Lebanese army, government and Institution towards our common objectives in southern Lebanon” the force commander said.UNIFIL was created by U.N. Security Council resolutions 425 and 426 of March 19, 1978, to confirm Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon, restore international peace and security and assist the Lebanese government in restoring its effective authority in the area.
Following the July 2006 conflict, the Security Council, by its resolution 1701, significantly enhanced UNIFIL’s mandate and capacity and assigned it additional tasks working closely with the Lebanese Armed Forces in southern Lebanon. Today, UNIFIL comprises almost 12,000 troops from 38 countries and it is supported by over 1,000 civilian national and international staff. This includes about 800 naval personnel of the UNIFIL Maritime Task Force deployed along the Lebanese coast.

Lebanese MPs criticize Rome meeting
Now Lebanon/Lebanese MPs addressed the meeting that was attended by the Maronite patriarch, the speaker of parliament and the premier in the Italian capital of Rome. The meeting that aimed to tackle the issue of the controversial parliamentary electoral law was deemed “a cancellation of the role of the political leadership and of the parliament” by Kataeb bloc MP Elie Marouni.Marouni, who spoke to NOW on Tuesday, also said that “the Lebanese should address all contentious issues and allow parliament to tackle them regardless of the amount of time that it might take.”Meanwhile, Development and Liberation bloc MP Abdel Majeed Saleh told NOW that he hoped a solution to the contentious electoral issue “will emerge from the Vatican.” Change and Reform bloc MP Gebran Bassil also addressed the meeting in remarks published by Al-Akhbar newspaper, saying it “buried the Orthodox law.”He added that overturning the new law “will only take place in parliament.”Maronite Patriarch Cradinal Beshara Boutros al-Rai, Speaker Nabih Berri and Prime Minister Najib Miqati held a meeting in Rome where Rai has been residing on the occasion of the election of the new pope. The meeting allegedly addressed the electoral law issue that has gripped the Lebanese political scene for several months and resulted in the approval of the Orthodox law that calls for proportional voting along sectarian lines by the parliament’s joint commissions.


Syria opposition coalition tries to get past divisions, form interim government
ISTANBUL, TURKEY Syria's main opposition coalition began a push Monday to form an interim government to provide services to people living in parts of the country now controlled by rebel forces.
The effort is the most serious yet by the forces opposing President Bashar Assad to establish a rival administration and bring together all the factions fighting Assad's forces on the ground.
At the start of the conference Monday, there was no guarantee it would succeed. Two previous attempts to form an interim government failed because of divisions within the coalition, and some members said before the meeting Monday that it was unclear if they would agree this time.
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But many said that this time, there is a new sense within the opposition that unification is necessary, as government retreats have expanded the size of the rebel-held zone that now encompasses much of Syria's largest city Aleppo and one provincial capital, Raqqa.
Currently, local rebel garrisons or community councils run villages and neighborhoods for practical purposes, with limited cooperation between them. Many communities have little electricity and no running water.
Gen. Salim Idris, the head of the opposition Supreme Military Council, told CBS News correspondent Holly Williams on the sidelines of Monday's summit that the formation of an interim government would be "a very important step," and he hoped it would be announced quickly.
"We need this government as soon as possible to support people in the liberated areas," he told Williams, "to support us in our fight against the dictatorial regime in Damascus."
Syria's civil war: Images of horror
"What delayed this before was that there was no agreement on the importance of forming a government," said Burhan Ghalioun, coalition member and former head of its predecessor, the Syrian National Council. "Now people are convinced that a government is necessary."
Still unclear, reports Williams, is where a new interim government would actually be based. As previous opposition groups based in exile have been plagued by the perception that their countrymen are fighting and dying inside Syria while they live comfortably out of the reach of Assad's weapons, there is pressure for any new administration to find a home inside Syria.
The logistics of that prospect are daunting, however. Assad's regime has shown no reluctance to use its most advanced weaponry, including fighter jets, to target opposition locations, and the president still has loyalists and spies even in cities held largely by the rebels.
Another candidate, Salim Al Muslit, Vice President of the Assistance Coordination Unit, which works to distribute aid, acknowledged to CBS News on Monday that it would be a "dangerous job," but added that, "people have given their lives for the freedom of Syria. What's the difference between them and us? I believe it's important to be close to the people, and be among them."
Two years after the anti-Assad uprising began, the conflict has become a civil war, with hundreds of rebel group fighting Assad's forces across Syrian and millions of people pushed from their homes by the violence. The U.N. says more than 70,000 people have been killed.
International diplomacy has failed to stop the bloodshed, and calls for a negotiated solution have gone nowhere.
In a stance that could frustrate their Western backers, including the United States, coalition members dismiss any possibility of negotiating with the current regime and insist they will talk only when Assad has left power. Many believe the only way to accomplish this is through continued advances by rebel forces.
"There has to be a military victory on the ground to convince the regime, or some elements in the regime," of the need for change, Ghalioun said. "The solution is not an end to the violence. This is linked to pushing the regime toward steps to a democratic system."
Al Muslit, the candidate who spoke to CBS News on Monday, urged the U.S. government to provide more help, and chastised the Obama administration for not doing more already.
"The same dream they have there (Americans), we have here," he told Williams. "I remind you of Martin Luther King when he said 'I have a dream.' Also Syrian children have a dream, and we want this dream to come true. We don't want our children to be massacred and killed in cold blood."
"We want the West to help us and give us arms -- not to kill each other but to get rid of this slaughterer in Damascus," he added. "I believe they can do it, and they could have done it the first minute this revolution started in Syria."Twelve candidates have been nominated for Prime Minster, who will be elected by the coalition's 73 members. The vote is expected by Tuesday.
Williams reports that some of the candidates are from professional and business backgrounds, and few currently live in Syria or have extensive political experience.
One of the leading candidates is Ghassan Hitto, an IT manager who spent decades living in Dallas, Texas, before moving to Turkey recently. His son Obaida is fighting alongside the rebels inside Syria.
It remained unclear Monday exactly when the vote would take place and who the final candidates would be. Some coalition members suggested that if they could not agree, they could form an executive commission.
© 2013 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Does Obama have a plan for Syria?
Richard Cohen/Washington Post
Mar 19, 2013
The Washington Post Published: March 18
The Obama administration’s fear of blowback in Syria — weapons falling into the hands of jihadists and other bad guys — can be avoided in only one sure way: Throw America’s support behind Bashar al-Assad , the vile dictator the White House wants gone. This contradiction is at the heart of President Obama’s incoherent Syria policy. If Assad loses, it will be the Middle East version of Black Friday, with door-busting sales on all the latest weapons, batteries included. If he wins, the door remains closed.
But we don’t want him to win — and the way it’s looking, he won’t. The Syrian rebels already control large parts of the country, and the war has now entered its third year. Trouble is, inaction on the part of the administration — a refusal to arm the rebels or impose a no-fly zone — has allowed what was once a protest movement by some nice professionals to turn into a bloody vendetta without end. More and more, the hard fighting is being done by the very jihadist groups we fear. Syria is an Afghanistan in the making.
.It is useless now to point out how this could have been avoided or mitigated. It is far more useful to ask the administration just what its policy is. We know now that three former senior officials — CIA director David Petraeus, secretary of state Hillary Clinton and defense secretary Leon Panetta — supported arming the rebels. This, too, is the position of Britain and France, the former colonial powers in the region. The president’s thinking may be evolving, but for the moment, Washington is doing very little.
Recently, however, Secretary of State John Kerry suggested a reappraisal might be under way. In his first Middle East tour, he said in Saudi Arabia that the Syrian opposition had the “clear ability . . . to make certain” that the weapons going to the “moderate, legitimate opposition [are], in fact, getting to them.” These weapons, though, are not coming from the United States. They are from Saudi Arabia and other Arab nations. If the Saudis can supply weapons, why can’t the United States? A weapon is a weapon no matter who supplies it.
More than 70,000 people have died in this war and maybe 1 million civilians have fled into neighboring countries. The fight has turned sectarian. Syria is in the process of coming apart and could take some of the region with it. In the end, Assad may wind up retreating to the Alawite heartland on the Mediterranean coast. While there, he might consider reverting to his original family name, Wahhish (savage), instead of the grandiloquent Assad (lion). The new name was chosen by his grandfather — a bull of a man, a fierce fighter and, incidentally, a reluctant Syrian nationalist.
Britain and France might well break the European arms embargo and send weapons to the rebels. The United States should not only do the same but also take a leadership role. At the same time, a no-fly zone should be imposed to ground the Syrian air force. The war cannot continue to go on. It is a humanitarian disaster and a looming security risk.
NATO’s intervention in the Libyan civil war ended matters pretty quickly. And, yes, there was blowback. Moammar Gaddafi’s weapons made their way to Mali, where they wound up in the hands of jihadists. But the only way to avoid blowback is to ensure that a dictator like Gaddafi stays in power. Say what you will about him; he kept his stuff under lock and key and even abandoned his nuclear weapons program. He had gone from our ogre to our pal.
Assad, too, has been a pretty reasonable thug. Under him, the Golan Heights has been quiet and his chemical weapons have been secured. He made trouble in other ways — an alliance with Iran and their mutual support of Hezbollah — but in general he was a reliable enemy. In contrast, distinctly unreliable elements are spearheading the revolt again him. Ominously, the jihadists of Jabhat al-Nusra — not the moderate Free Syrian Army — recently took the city of Raqqah in the north. Things are getting more and more dicey.
Blowback is now a given. There is no sure way to avoid it, only to contain it. That can be done only by swiftly arming the moderates and pressing for as quick an end to the war as possible. Obama, as president of the United States, is in a position to save lives and avoid a regional calamity. His dithering has only made matters worse. Give the man an umbrella: He’s becoming a latter-day Neville Chamberlain.

France says Syrian air raid "serious violated" Lebanon's sovereignty
PARIS (Reuters) - France on Monday condemned a Syrian air raid into Lebanon, saying President Bashar al-Assad's forces had seriously violated the sovereignty of neighboring Lebanon.
"The air raid carried out by the armed forces of the Syrian regime in Lebanese territory, in the Ersal area, constitutes a new and serious violation of Lebanon's sovereignty," foreign ministry spokesman Philippe Lalliot said in a statement. France, which has troops in Lebanon as part of a U.N. peacekeeping force, is pushing its EU partners to lift an arms embargo on Syrian rebels.
(Reporting By John Irish; Editing by Pravin Char)

Reports of Syrian jet fire into Lebanon called 'significant escalation'
By CNN Staff/March 19, 2013
(CNN) -- Two Syrian jets fired three rockets that hit empty buildings near the Lebanese town of Arsal near the Syrian border Monday, a local source said. There were no injuries, according to the source.
Also, Lebanese state-run news agency NNA reported that Syrian warplanes attacked sites in northern Lebanon.
The government's use of fighter jets to fire rockets into Lebanon is a "significant escalation," U.S. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said Monday.
The French Foreign Ministry in Lebanon issued a statement condemning the attacks.
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Losing a generation of Syrian children "The aerial bombing carried out today by the armed forces of the Syrian regime on Lebanese territory, in the region of Ersal, is a new and serious violation of Lebanon's sovereignty," the statement said. "France strongly condemns this escalation and reiterates its commitment to Lebanon's sovereignty and the inviolability of its borders."
This latest violence comes as the Syrian conflict enters its third year. The unrest started in March 2011 when President Bashar al-Assad's government launched a fierce crackdown on protesters. The discontent evolved into a full-blown civil war that has left more than 70,000 dead and more than 1 million refugees.
Syria's first lady makes rare appearance
One result of the warfare is the spillover of fighting and refugee displacement into neighboring countries such as Lebanon, Turkey, Jordan and Iraq.
As for Lebanon, the state-run Syrian Arab News Agency also reported border flareups.
Syrian armed forces and border guards have thwarted "armed terrorist" infiltrators attempting to get into the Homs countryside from Lebanon, SANA said, citing a development first reported last week.
The news outlet also reported gunshots fired at Syrian border checkpoints from Lebanon.
Syria's Foreign and Expatriates Ministry accused the alleged terrorists of receiving "clear logistic support from inside the Lebanese lands" and ferrying their wounded and dead in ambulances across the Lebanese border. SANA quotes a source saying that security forces have killed and wounded fighters and forced them to retreat to Lebanon.
Last Thursday, the U.N. Security Council voiced "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 declaration followed a briefing by officials on how the conflict in Syria has spilled into Lebanon.
Other violence raged in Syria on Monday, with the opposition Local Coordination Committees of Syria recording at least 53 deaths.
Arming the opposition
The United States and Western allies have staunchly opposed the Assad government, but it has balked at arming Syria's rebels, who have been getting weapons from some Arab nations and seizing or buying them from Syrian soldiers.
As the carnage continues, however, the West is taking a different tone.
Secretary of State John Kerry said Monday that the United States would not hamper the arming of Syrian rebels by allies.
"President Obama has made it clear that the United States does not stand in the way of other countries that have made a decision to provide arms," he said.
His comments, made at the State Department, come as Britain and France urge the European Union to lift the weapons embargo in order to arm moderate Syrian rebels.
Kerry acknowledged the need to change the military "imbalance" on the ground in order to change al-Assad's "calculus."
"Right now, President Assad is receiving help from the Iranians, he's receiving help from al Qaeda-related, some elements, he's receiving help from Hezbollah, and obviously some help is coming in through the Russians. If he believes he can shoot it out, Syrians and the region have a problem and the world has a problem," he said.
Last week, Syrian rebels told CNN that the United States is helping organize training for Syrian rebels in Jordan in the use of anti-tank and anti-aircraft weapons.
Opposition selects leader
A Syrian opposition umbrella group, meeting in Istanbul, Turkey, has chosen a U.S.-educated Kurdish businessman to head its provisional government, an opposition activist who attended the vote said Monday.
Ghassan Hitto, an information technology executive who went to college in Indiana and lived for many years in Dallas was elected Monday to lead a government whose specific role may be spelled out at a planned news conference Tuesday.
Hitto was born in Damascus and is a member of the board of the Syrian American Council, the council said in a news release after the vote.
The group said the decision should assuage the Obama administration's concerns about who would lead Syria should President Bashar al-Assad be deposed.
"This question has now been answered," the council's statement said.

Israel's new government ministers assume posts
Tuesday sees 11 government ministries welcoming new ministers in special ceremonies
Ynet reporters Latest Update: 03.19.13Ynetnews
Eleven of the 22 new government ministers assumed their roles in special ceremonies marking the transition on Tuesday.
First to assume his post was Moshe Ya'alon who took over as defense minister from Ehud Barak. Ya'alon is the fifth Israeli chief of staff to become defense minister after Moshe Dayan, Yitzhak Rabin, Shaul Mofaz and Barak.
At a ceremony in the Kirya base in Tel Aviv, Barak said, "Bogie (Ya'alon's nickname) is a man who in and out of uniform knows where he's at, always steady. He says what he thinks and does what he says." Ya'alon on his part said he is aware of the great responsibility that comes with the job.
Later on Tuesday, Gideon Sa'ar was welcomed into the Interior Ministry which parted with Eli Yishai (Shas). Surveying his time at the ministry, Yishai said that handling the infiltrators issue was his top mission.
"I waged an uncompromising battle and blocked their entry, that is a major achievement." He praised Sa'ar as a "talented and hardworking" minister who looks out for "the little man."
Sa'ar declared his plans to carry out an overhaul in the ministry and noted he was the first Likud member to become interior minister.
At the Finance Ministry, Yuval Steinitz handed over the keys to Yair Lapid. Steinitz admitted, “I enjoyed it and sometimes I also suffered. The first months were difficult, it was not clear if we would succeed in dealing with the recession and protecting the Israeli economy and the country’s citizens.”
He had a message for Lapid, “I hand over to you, Yair, the country and the economy in a better state than I received them.” Lapid congratulated Steinitz on his achievements and said, “I have yet to get used to speaking in the name of Israel, but in the name of Israel, we all thank you.”
Also Tuesday, Hatunua's Tzipi Livni assumed the position of Justice Minister. Livni said she regards the peace process, which she will oversee, and the role of justice minister as "two sides of the same coin as they represent a struggle for a Jewish and democratic State of Israel."
She further added, “I came to protect the courthouses and the law, and the Justice Ministry is a field of battle. It is a beacon of light for Israeli society.” She emphasized, “I intend to fight racism, and make sure there is a steep price to pay for ‘price tags.’”
According to Livni, it is her intention to protect the justice organizations, but also to hold discussions on how to strengthen the public’s faith in the justice system, which is deserving of criticism as well.
Religious Services Minister Ya'akov Margi (Shas) parted with the ministry and handed it over to Habayit Hayehudi's Naftali Bennett and new Deputy Minister Eli Ben-Dahan. Bennett said, “This is the elite unit of Judaism in the state of Israel and the responsibility is enormous.”
He emphasized that one of the goals Habayit Hayehudi took upon itself was the “return of the Jewish soul to the country,” and this they desired to do within the ministry. “This is a ministry for the purification of god,” he said.
Tuesday also saw Shay Piron taking up his post at the Education Ministry, Meir Cohen doing the same at the Welfare Ministry, Gilad Erdan at the

Syria is ready to use chemical weapons – Western intelligence
DEBKAfile Exclusive Report March 19, 2013/
Extensive preparations by Syrian army units for launching chemical weapons against rebel forces have been sighted in the northern town of Homs, Western intelligence agencies told debkafile’s military sources Tuesday, March 19.Damascus paved the way for resorting to unconventional weaponry with an accusation run by the state news agency SANA Tuesday that Syrian rebels had fired a rocket containing chemical substances in the Khan al-Assad area of rural Aleppo, allegedly killing 15 people, mostly civilians. This claim was not verified by any independent source. Homs, the scene of fierce battles between government and rebel forces in recent days, is likely to be the first place for the Assad government to resort to chemical warfare. A rebel victory there would be a grave setback for the regime because it would sever the main highway linking the Syrian military forces fighting in the towns of Damascus, Latakia, Aleppo and Idlib. Monday and Tuesday, therefore, heavy government reinforcements from the South and Damascus were piled onto the embattled town, along with large numbers of warplanes and attack helicopters, in an all-out effort to cut short the rebel advance.
debkafile’s military sources report that the importance Assad attaches to carrying the day in Homs is represented by the elite units he has assembled in and around the city: Heavy armored forces of the 4th and 5th Republican Guard Divisions were imported from Damascus and the 18th and 19th Divisions are there too, issued in the last few hours with chemical warfare gear.
Syrian ruler Bashar Assad can on no account afford to be defeated in the key town of Homs just when US President Barack Obama is scheduled to arrive in the Middle East Wednesday. He will therefore use whatever it takes to prevent this happening, even chemical weapons if they are the only answer. The allegation that the rebels have resorted to chemical warfare strongly points to an Assad ploy to go there himself and maintain it was only after the opposition went first.The emergence of dread unconventional weapons on the Syrian battlefield during the US president’s stay in the region is bound to dominate his talks with its leaders. It may even have the effect of altering his schedule and affect his itinerary.

Why Europe Shouldn’t Ban Hezbollah
By : Dr. Talal Atrissi /Asharq Al-Awsat
on : Tuesday, 19 Mar, 2013
Asharq Al-Awsat Debate: Should Hezbollah Be Added to the EU's Terrorist List?
Europe usually supports and complements American policies and positions in the Middle East; however placing Hezbollah on the list of designated terrorist organizations is an exception to this rule. Washington has always been keen to push the Europeans to take this decision after doing so itself following its accusations, decades ago, that the party was responsible for several bombings targeting both American soldiers and embassies in Beirut and Africa. However Europe has never been as enthusiastic about this cause to the point that it has never been able to reach a unanimous decision to take, or justify taking, such a move.
So, when the Bulgarian Minister of Interior accused Hezbollah of bombing an Israeli bus in Burgas in mid-2012, European Commission President José Manuel Barroso responded that “blacklisting an organization as a terrorist movement takes careful considering given the legal, political, and security implications.” He added: “Member states need to agree unanimously, it’s not down to the European Commission.”
However the United States, along with Israel, responded more quickly to the Bulgarian allegations. This is because both countries did not want to miss an opportunity to strike a blow against Hezbollah, Iran’s strong ally, besieging it and blocking its European political benefits. The Washington Post revealed that “White House counter-terrorism chief John Brennan urged Europe to ‘take proactive action to uncover Hezbollah’s infrastructure and disrupt the group’s financing schemes and operational networks in order to prevent future attacks.’” Brennan also emphasized that Hezbollah “poses a real and growing threat not only to Europe, but to the rest of the world.” As for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, he said: “We hope the Europeans learn the proper conclusions from this [attack] about the true character of Hezbollah.” He emphasized that the attack in Bulgaria was “perpetrated by Hezbollah, Iran’s leading terrorist proxy” adding “this attack was part of a global campaign of terror carried out by Iran and Hezbollah. This terror campaign has reached a dozen countries in five continents.”
France, in particular, was one of the European countries most against the idea of adding Hezbollah onto the list of designated terrorist organizations. This is not because France trusts Hezbollah, or believes that the group is innocent, or believes Iran and Hezbollah’s denial of involvement in the bombings. Rather this is because Paris, keen on maintaining its strategic influence in Lebanon, is aware that supporting these accusations could threaten its ties with Hezbollah and the Lebanese government—which includes Hezbollah ministers—and the French want to ensure that these channels of communication remain open. With this, Israeli hope in seizing what it views as a pivotal opportunity has been dashed.
However in reality the Bulgarian government failed to present the EU with strong and convincing evidence of Hezbollah’s involvement. In fact, the Bulgarian Interior Minister’s accusations against Hezbollah were rejected by the Bulgarian opposition prior to the government itself being forced to resign under pressure from widespread popular protests. The case ended with the EU rejecting Bulgaria’s demand; however the issue regarding Hezbollah being added to the list of designated terrorist organization has not been resolved.
A few predicted that Israel might use these accusations as a justification for a direct military strike against Hezbollah, particularly as the party’s energies were split between dealing with domestic condemnation and the threats being faced by its Syrian ally. This is not to mention the fact that Israel has for years sought to carry out a military strike against Iran, while also restore what it lost during the July 2006 war in terms of deterrent capabilities. Israel was of the view that this was an opportune moment for just such a strike, but subsequent events moved in a different direction.
In addition to this, regional and international calculations do not permit for such an analysis, to the point that we cannot expect such a strike in the foreseeable future; neither against Hezbollah, nor against Iran. This is because Europe is immersed in its own economic crisis and the United States is seeking to negotiate directly with Iran over its nuclear program, entrusting Russia to search for a “political solution” to the Syrian crisis. This means that it is impossible to even contemplate any military action or conflict that may aggravate the region or incite further clashes that will spiral out of control. This is important because the Syrian regime, which is a major ally of both Hezbollah and Iran, currently finds itself being weakened, and this is not costing the US or Israel anything. This pours even more doubt on the prospects of a war that could result in the West shouldering costs that it does not want to bear, particularly as any such war would become an Arab, Islamic, international and media priority, taking the place of the conflict that is currently raging in Syria.
So long as Hezbollah claims to be in a constant state of resistance against Israel, striving to avenge the death of its military commander Imad Mughniya, it will be prone to accusations of terrorism.
Therefore, if war against Hezbollah or Iran is unlikely in the foreseeable future, the alternative for Europe and the US is deterrence and containment, nothing more. This would be part of a strategy that could be described as “tightening the noose”, namely, limiting the political benefits to Hezbollah and economic benefits to Iran. However, this strategy will require a significant amount of time to achieve its objectives, and nobody can predict what changes or shifts in policy will occur with the passage of time.

Why Europe Should Ban Hezbollah
By: Matthew Levitt/Asharq Al-Awsat
Asharq Al-Awsat Debate: Should Hezbollah Be Added to the EU's Terrorist List? According to Bulgarian investigators, Hezbollah was responsible for the July 2012 bus bombing that left five Israelis and a Bulgarian dead at Burgas airport. Two of the Hezbollah operatives were Western citizens—a Canadian and an Australian—who returned to Lebanon via Romania and Poland; a third died in the attack. Meanwhile, a confessed Swedish Hezbollah operative is now on trial in Cyprus. According to his statements to police, he surveilled Israeli tourists arriving on the island. At one point he speculated his role was in support of a plot to “bring down a plane.” Later, he insisted that “it was just collecting information about the Jews, and this is what my organization is doing everywhere in the world.” Prior to being dispatched to Cyprus, Hezbollah used this operative as a courier sending and retrieving packages to or from Hezbollah operatives in places like Turkey, the Netherlands, and France
These cases, among others, have forced reluctant European leaders to seriously debate the issue of banning Hezbollah. To be sure, Hezbollah has firmly reinstated itself in the business of European terrorism in a manner not witnessed since the 1980s, when it carried out attacks from Copenhagen to Paris. In addition to the Burgas and Cyprus plots, Hezbollah has conducted surveillance and planned operations in Greece and other European countries. The re-emergence of such activity is cause for immediate concern among European law enforcement and intelligence agencies. But that is not all.
Hezbollah is also deeply involved in a wide array of criminal activities on the continent. Its role in drug trafficking and money laundering is on the rise, as documented in recent cases against the Lebanese Canadian Bank, Lebanese drug kingpin Ayman Joumaa, and others. According to Interpol, authorities have “dismantled cocaine-trafficking rings that used their proceeds to finance [Hezbollah] activities . . . while drugs destined for European markets are increasingly being channeled through West African countries.” The group also uses Europe as a base for fundraising and weapons procurement. Consider German national Dani Tarraf, who sought M4 rifles, missiles, and other weapons for Hezbollah, with the intention of shipping them to Latakia via his company in Slovakia. He was very clear about why he wanted guided and shoulder-fired missiles, namely to “take down an F-16.” According to the FBI, Tarraf’s company, Power Express, essentially “operated as a subsidiary of Hezbollah’s technical procurement wing.” Other recent US cases highlighted the extent to which Hezbollah is involved in counterfeiting European and other currencies, including Euros, Swedish Kroner, and more.
But the EU should also ban Hezbollah for its proactive efforts to undermine regional stability in the Middle East. Hezbollah is helping Iran ferry weapons to Houthi rebels in Yemen; it supports Shia militant groups tied to Iran throughout the Gulf region; and in Syria, US officials concluded, Hezbollah fighters are now “part of Assad’s killing machine.”
Finally, Hezbollah plays a terribly destabilizing role at home in Lebanon. In July 2006, Hezbollah drew Israel and Lebanon into a war neither country wanted. In 2008, it took over parts of Beirut by force, leading to the deaths of several fellow countrymen. Its activities in Syria have drawn that sectarian conflict across the border into Lebanon. And Hezbollah members have been indicted for the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri by the UN’s Special Tribunal for Lebanon.In short, an EU designation is critical, not only to send Hezbollah a clear message that it can no longer muddy the waters between politics and terrorism, but also because it would empower EU member states to open terrorism-specific investigations into the group’s activities—something many cannot or will not do today despite the resumption of attacks in Europe. The EU must show Hezbollah that there are consequences for its illicit conduct. Inaction or half-measures would only embolden the group to continue operating there as if it were business as usual.

The Puppet Dictator
By: Abdullah Al-Otaibi /Asharq Alawsat
The ‘puppet dictator’ is a phenomenon still present in the Arab world. Specifically, it might refer to certain figures in Syria and Iraq, Hassan Nasrallah in Lebanon, or perhaps Khaled Mishal in Gaza. Such modern dictators do not harbor any feelings for their people or their countries, nor do they bestow them with progress or prosperity. Rather, their only objective is to placate their regional sponsor and protector, the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Iran is ceaseless in its efforts to install and support this type of dictator across the Arab world. Indeed, they can be found operating at various different echelons throughout the region: the state, as seen in Syria with Bashar Al-Assad; the government, as with Nuri Al-Maliki in Iraq, Hezbollah in Lebanon, or Hamas in Gaza; and also subversive popular movements, as have been present in Bahrain, Yemen, and, to a lesser extent, in other Gulf states.
The term dictator was first used long ago by the Romans. However, in order to distinguish between a ‘dictator’ and a ‘puppet dictator’ we need some clear, modern examples that can highlight the differences between the two. Adolf Hitler and his fascist contemporary Benito Mussolini were undoubtedly dictators. So too were the communist tyrants Joseph Stalin and Mao Zedong. Each of these bloodthirsty dictators held a vision, policy, and direction that they unconditionally believed would benefit the nation, state, or ideology which they led. Similarly, a puppet dictator has a vision and a policy, but pursues them for the benefit of another state and a people other than those he claims to lead. In the case of the aforementioned Middle Eastern countries and movements, this involves implementing the regional agenda of Iran.
A puppet dictator acts as a loyal servant, following the directives of the parent state. At the very least, he shares the same authoritarian interests as the parent state, and his success depends on advancing these interests. In Iraq, for instance, Maliki has not changed any of his policies after more than three months of protests that continue to spread throughout the country. He holds the position of prime minister for a second term despite the fact that his opponent, from the Iraqiya bloc, received the most votes.
Iran has applied concerted pressure on Iraqi politicians and leaders in order to secure the return of its loyal servant to the helm of government. In order to maintain this unlimited support, Maliki has taken to treating the opposition in a curious fashion, such as deploying an army far into the Iraqi desert to confront protesters who posed no threat whatsoever to the decision-making institutions of the state. He also sent a helicopter to abduct a former Iraqi minister. These illogical policies seek to gain the approval of the parent state, to the detriment of Iraq and its population. Bashar Assad has deployed the same political tactics in Syria, but the scale and magnitude of his is proportional to the size of the protests and opposition he is facing.
As for the Gulf, despite the rational and neighborly policies that were pursued regarding the Islamic Republic of Iran, the latter has continued its blatant strategy of employing rhetoric that targets the Gulf states. I do not think any observer can deny the fact that Iran has adopted a strategy of hostility towards the Gulf, and indeed the Arabs in general.
Iran has shown its true aggressive colors throughout the region. Statements from Iranian political and military officials; the plans on the ground in several Arab countries; its revolutionary ideology; nurturing, supporting, and installing puppet dictators, all demonstrate how Iran means to treat the Arab Gulf with open hostility.
Sectarianism is a core element of Iran’s strategic policy, and is used as a political weapon in order to create conflicts that will be advantageous to its puppet dictators. Such a tactic is as unacceptable from a religious standpoint as it is potent from a political one, especially in moments of great crises. Nonetheless, it is a visible policy of the puppet dictatorships in the Arab world.
From the outset Assad has sought to frame the Syrian crisis as a sectarian crisis; a conflict in which the Alawites and other minorities are targeted. The reality, however, is that the policies and strategies followed by the regime have merely deepened sectarian divides and contradicted the ideology of the secularist Ba’ath party to which he belongs.
In exploiting political sectarianism, Maliki is no different than Assad. Similarly, the Houthis in Yemen bears resemblance to Hassan Nasrallah in Lebanon, since they both receive weapons delivered directly from Iran and Iranian agents. However, these puppet dictators do not realize that such sectarianism will never succeed, and that their countries will be torn apart by long-lasting political and ethnic divisions. What the puppet dictators fail to realize is that stoking sectarianism will never save them, quite the contrary; their countries will be devastated by even more powerful and long-lasting rifts.
The Pandora’s box of sectarian conflict, once opened, is capable of destroying everything in its path. This is something that Iran has failed to acknowledge. When the majority resorts to the sectarianism option, against its better judgment, Iran’s efforts throughout the region will be lost. The political and academic arguments against the West, in which Iran claims to represent the democracy of the minority against the dictatorship of the majority, will fail to take root.  The puppet dictator could not survive the sectarian conflict that he encourages. He would be left without sanctuary or refuge except for that provided by the puppet master. With every measure he takes to reinforce and disseminate sectarianism, his opponents grow in strength, and his end nears.