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

Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources for May 04/13

Israel Air Force bombs targets in Syria

Israel Air Force bombs targets in Syria
DEBKAfile Special Report May 4, 2013/
http://www.debka.com/article/22948/Israel-Air-Force-bombs-targets-in-Syria
The air strikes were reportedly carried out from Lebanese air space and the Golan starting Friday and continuing up until early Saturday, May 3. They targeted chemical and other targets in Syria.
The Free Syrian Army reports that Israeli fighter jets bombed a chemical weapons depot outside the city. Neither Damascus nor Jerusalem has yet confirmed the attack. According to one report, Israeli jets were seen early Saturday circling over Assad's presidential compound in Damascus before moving on to target a weapons site. They were said to have received fire but returned to base unscathed.
debkafile reported earlier that this week, thousands of Basij militiamen landed in Syria, establishing an Iranian military presence opposite Israel from Syria as well as Lebanon. They joined a comparable number of Hizballah militiamen fighting for the Bashar regime.
See this earlier debkafile report:
US officials recently gave Israel a video demonstration of the new features which enable its biggest bunker buster bomb (Massive Ordnance Penetrator) to destroy Iran’s underground uranium enrichment plant at Fordo near Qom, in a bid to dissuade Israel from a unilateral attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities.
This is reported by the Wall Street Journal.
The video displayed the improved bomb, which Israel does not have, as hitting the ground near its target and setting off a massive underground explosion.
debkafile’s military sources report that this videotaped demonstration was in line with the Obama administration’s latest campaign to convince Israel that the US is getting ready to strike Iran itself.
In actual fact, the improved American MOP is not news - any more than the Israeli Air Force’s possession of bombs capable of penetrating the Fordo underground plant. This capability has given Israeli officials the confidence to assert that Israel can destroy Iran’s nuclear facilities on its own.
What Washington has in common with Jerusalem is that while both make no secret of their capabilities – and Israeli leaders are also free with threatening rhetoric - neither is actually exercising them.
The only parties on the move are Iran and Hizballah.
At the end of the week, debkafile’s military sources report that both established a military presence in Syria and Lebanon, just across Israel’s two northern borders. An Iranian airlift placed Iranian boots on the ground in Syria for the first time in more than two years of its civil war. It was also the first time Israel had ever seen uniformed Iranian soldiers present at close quarters on the soil of a close neighbor.
The arrivals are members of the violent Basij volunteer militia which is trained in urban combat tactics for suppressing anti-regime unrest in Iranian cities. They are the first Iranian troops to confront Syrian rebels in combat. Roughly 6,000-8,000 militiamen have arrived so far – a figure comparable to the size of the Hizhballah elite units fighting for Bashar Assad in Syria.
The Basij militiamen were stationed in Damascus and sent to guard Syrian Shiite border villages situated opposite Hizballah-controlled South Lebanon. This deployment has placed Iranian troops opposite the intersection of the Israeli, Syrian and Lebanese borders.
Iran’s expanding military intervention in Syria accounts partly for this week’s surprise call-up of thousands of Israeli reservists for duty on the country’s northern borders. Although they were sent home after 24 hours to disguise their mission and calm rising tensions, they were in fact ordered to report back Sunday, May 5. These reservists will then pick up the gear and weapons needed for real combat, and take up positions along Israel’s borders with Syria and Lebanon.
Sirens blared over parts of the Golan Friday, May 3, their sensors touched off by the preparations for these military movements. The official pretext offered of a “technical glitch” was about as convincing as the Israeli military spokesman’s attempt to deny knowing who sent a drone from Beirut towards Israel on April 25.
The sirens on the Golan were apparently not loud enough to be heard in Washington and Jerusalem.
 

Pope after Talks with Suleiman Calls for 'Greater Aid' for Syrian Refugees in Lebanon
Naharnet/Pope Francis called Friday for greater humanitarian aid for Syrian refugees in Lebanon and surrounding countries, after meeting with President Michel Suleiman at the Vatican. "The huge number of Syrian refugees who have sought refuge in Lebanon and the neighboring countries gives rise to particular concern," the Vatican said following the talks. "Greater humanitarian aid is called for, for the refugees and the suffering population, with the support of the international community," it said. The United Nations in mid-April said that Lebanon was housing 400,000 Syrians who have fled the conflict now in its third year which has killed more than 70,000 people.
Those fleeing war-ravaged Syria included a quarter of a million children, the Vatican noted. At the meeting, the pontiff and Suleiman also discussed the "delicate situation of Christians throughout the Middle East."
Christians in the region have felt under threat from the rise of political Islam following the Arab Spring. They have been uneasy about showing support for rebels against Syria's President Bashar Assad and the secular Baathists who have largely safeguarded freedom of belief. Francis and Suleiman also discussed their hopes for "the quick and fruitful resumption of negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians, which is ever more necessary for peace and stability in the region."Source/Agence France Presse.

Bkirki opposes elections delay
May 03, 2013/The Daily Star /BEIRUT: Maronite Bishop Bulos Matar informed Speaker Nabih Berri Friday of Bkirki's opposition to postponing the elections which would extend Parliament's term.
After talks with Speaker Nabih Berri in Ain el-Tineh, Matar, delegated by Cardinal Beshara Rai, said: “Discussion centered on the necessity to hold elections on time because that is in the highest interest of the nation and it is impossible to do away with such an interest.” “We also spoke about an agreement which we all seek over a new electoral law that is fair to everyone and receives agreement and consensus,” he added.
Postponing the June 19 polls and consequently extending Parliament’s term has become a possibility given the lack of agreement on a new electoral law.
MPs from various political groups have failed to approve a new voting system on several occasions with rivals accusing each other of stalling an agreement to postpone the elections.

Report: Christian Leaders to Meet in Bkirki to Coordinate Stances ahead of Parliamentary Session
Naharnet /Christian leaders are expected to hold talks in Bkirki under the auspices of Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi to coordinate their stance over the electoral law dispute. According to An Nahar newspaper published on Friday, the meeting will be held ahead of a parliamentary session set on May 15 to vote on the Orthodox Gathering proposal that was approved by the joint parliamentary committees. Speaker Nabih Berri had granted political blocs until May 15 to reach an agreement over a new electoral law. The Orthodox draft, which divides Lebanon into a single district and allows each sect to vote for its own MPs under a proportional representation system, is rejected by President Michel Suleiman, caretaker Premier Najib Miqati, Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat's National Struggle Front, the Mustaqbal Movement, and independent March 14 MPs have rejected the law. They say the proposal deepens sectarian divisions in Lebanon. The political powers have so far failed to reach an agreement on an alternative law, threatening to postpone the parliamentary elections that are scheduled for June 16.Al-Akhbar newspaper reported that al-Rahi, who is currently on a pastoral visit to South America, is holding contacts with the Christian leaders to convince them to adopt the hybrid electoral law proposed by Berri.The daily pointed out that al-Rahi delegated bishop Samir Mazloum to the Maronite leaders to coordinate and unify their stances. Berri's hybrid electoral law proposal calls for electing half of the lawmakers in the new parliament based on the winner-takes-all system, with the other half elected under the proportional representation system and 26 districts.

Fatfat Meets Berri, Asks Him to Reconsider Hariri's Electoral Initiative
Naharnet /Al-Mustaqbal bloc MP Ahmed Fatfat revealed on Thursday that he asked Speaker Nabih Berri to reconsider former Prime Minister Saad Hariri's electoral initiative that calls for electing a senate along with holding the parliamentary elections, and later introducing the reforms mentioned in the Taef Accord. "We have asked Berri to revisit Hariri's suggestion and he showed high responsiveness to our request,” Fatfat said after meeting with the speaker in Ain al-Tineh.  Fatfat remarked: “I believe he will have an initiative in this respect and it will be a solution that gets us out of the current deadlock.”
Hariri called in January for electing a senate representing the various Lebanese sects according to the Orthodox Gathering's proposal and a parliament based on small districts.
In an initiative he launched during an interview on LBCI television, he said that a “real solution” for the concerns of Christians would be “holding elections on time under an electoral law based on small electoral districts -- which would ensure proper representation for all regions, groups and religious communities -- and creating a senate that represents all religions and sects in Lebanon as stipulated by the Taef Accord.
Hariri's initiative also calls for “addressing the chronic complaints of all Lebanese regions and groups concerning developmental and administrative obstacles by immediately implementing Taef Accord's stipulations relating to expanded administrative decentralization. The al-Mustaqbal MP explained: “When electoral laws are debated, each party is evaluating its gains and losses, but when an all-embracing proposal is under consideration, one that includes electing a parliament, a senate, introducing constitutional amendments, decentralization in the administration and applying the Taef Accord, such calculations will become irrelevant.”
“However, we heard that Christian factions are looking into a hybrid suggestion and we do not mind this if it is true,” Fatfat pointed out. Berri has said he would call for a parliamentary session on May 15 to vote on the Orthodox proposal for being the only plan approved by the joint committees. The draft, which divides Lebanon into one electoral district and allows each sect to vote for its own MPs under a proportional representation system, was rejected by President Michel Suleiman, caretaker PM Najib Miqati, al-Mustaqbal bloc, the National Struggle Front and the March 14 Christian independent MPs.
They said it deepens sectarian divisions in the country. The political powers have so far failed to reach an agreement on an alternative law, threatening to postpone the parliamentary elections that are scheduled for June 16.

Official Sources Deny Reports about Syrian Army Entering Masharii al-Qaa, Threatening to Bomb Houses
Naharnet/Members of the Syrian regime's army entered the Bekaa region of Masharii al-Qaa, threatening to bomb the houses in the area, MTV reported on Thursday.
"Residents of al-Jura town (in Masharii al-Qaa) said that 70 members of the Syrian army have entered the region and asked people to evacuate their houses,” MTV elaborated.
"The army members revealed that they wanted to bomb these residences to prevent using them in military operations against them.”Future television added that al-Jura's residents have started evacuating their houses.
However, the state-run National News Agency later on Thursday pointed out that reports about the Syrian regime's army entering and threatening Lebanese towns are not true.
LBCI television reported earlier on Thursday that the Syrian army has taken over the eastern mountain of al-Joussieh town that overlooks Masharii al-Qaa.
Fierce clashes are still taking place in al-Qusayr's countryside region near the Lebanese border between the Syrian army and Hizbullah fighters on one hand, and the opposition's rebels on the other. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights had announced that Iranian and Hizbullah officers are supervising the Syrian army's operations in Homs.
Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah acknowledged on Tuesday his party's participation in the neighboring country's war, explaining that this stems from its belief in helping the Lebanese in al-Qusayr “who are vulnerable to attacks by gunmen.”He also announced that Hizbullah fighters are defending holy places in the area: “Armed groups are only hundreds of meters away from the Sayyeda Zainab shrine and Takfirist groups launched clear threats on the Internet that they will destroy the shrine should they enter the area."

Al-Rahi Calls from Sao Paolo for Release of Bishops in Syria: Lebanese Holding onto Coexistence
Naharnet /Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi stressed that the Lebanese are people of “peace and not war,” saying that they are holding onto coexistence, reiterating calls for the release of two bishops who were kidnapped in Syria last month. Al-Rahi during his visit to Sao Paolo, Brazil as part of his ongoing tour of South America, said that Lebanese are molded together as they are holding onto coexistence and living together in their country. The Patriarch kicked off his South America tour in mid-April with a visit to Argentina. On Monday, he headed a mass at Our Lady of Lebanon Church in Brazil, appealing for the release of Greek Orthodox Bishop Boulos Yaziji and Syriac Orthodox Bishop Yohanna Ibrahim, who were kidnapped in Syria on April 22. Al-Rahi reiterated his calls for the release of the bishops, describing the abduction as a “crime against humanity.”
He urged the international community to exert efforts to free the two bishops. The two men were kidnapped en route from the Turkish border, when armed men intercepted the car they were in, forcing them out of the vehicle.
Christians account for around five percent of Syria's population, and have become increasingly vulnerable to attack and abductions in the lawlessness that has engulfed much of the country since March 2011.

Airport Security Foils Attempt to Smuggle Narcotic Pills to Kuwait
Naharnet/Security at Rafik Hariri International Airport thwarted on Thursday night a drugs smuggling attempt to Kuwait, reported the National News Agency Friday. It said that five kilograms of narcotic pills were found concealed in the baggage of two travelers. It explained that security personnel at the airport became suspicious of two Syrian travelers.After inspecting their luggage, they discovered the pills hidden in a double-bottomed luggage.They were immediately arrested and an investigation has been launched in the case.

Jumblat 'Saddened' by Nasrallah's Speech: Hybrid Law Eases Political, Religious Monopolization of Power
Naharnet/Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat stated that the political powers “without exception” can reach an agreement over the hybrid parliamentary electoral law, while voicing his disappointment with Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah's latest speech, reported As Safir newspaper Friday.
He told the daily: “The hybrid law can help ease the political and religious monopolization of power.”
He stressed the importance of staging the elections as scheduled on June 16, adding that failure to do so demonstrates the political leaderships' shortcomings.
He therefore rejected the possibility of extending the current parliament's term, as well as that of President Michel Suleiman or any other authority. The elections can be staged based on the hybrid law that combines the winner-takes-all and proportional representation systems, noted the MP. On efforts to reach an agreement over a new electoral law, Jumblat denied claims of differences with Speaker Nabih Berri over this issue.“All sides are in agreement over the hybrid law, all that remains is an agreement over the division of seats between the two systems,” he said.He noted that the March 8 is seeking the election of 50 percent of the MPs based on the winner-takes-all system and the rest based on the other, while his National Struggle Front proposed that 70 percent of lawmakers be elected based on the first system and 30 based on the other.
The Mustaqbal bloc suggested that 60 MPs be elected based on the winner-takes-all system and 40 percent on proportional representation. “We have not reached a dead-end over this issue and with the right efforts we may reach a formula that enjoys consensus and succeed in holding the elections,” he remarked.
He explained that his contacts with Berri, Hizbullah, and all powers are ongoing to that end.
“An agreement is not impossible, but each camp should make small concessions,” said the PSP leader.
The elections must be held and failure to do so will demonstrate that we are victims of the Syrian crisis, declared Jumblat.
The political powers have so far failed to reach an agreement over a new vote, threatening to postpone the elections.
Addressing Premier-designate Tammam Salam's efforts to form a new government, he denied claims that a “de facto” cabinet will be formed, saying: “Governments always take a long time to be formed in Lebanon, so let us wait a while.”“The PM-designate has never said that he is seeking a de facto cabinet, but one of national interests,” he stressed.
“All sides must be realistic and we must respect Salam's efforts and give him the freedom of movement to form a cabinet,” he said.
He rejected attempts to impose impossible conditions on Salam “because they will only obstruct his efforts and not yield any results.”“All sides must realize that they must facilitate his efforts,” Jumblat emphasized.
“I decided to facilitate his efforts and I am seeking to bolster the representation of centrists in the government,” he explained.
“Some sides are seeking to usurp all of the representation at cabinet and they do not want to recognize the political sizes of other powers,” he revealed. The PSP leader said that he is seeking to bolster his centrist role along with President Michel Suleiman, caretaker Prime Minister Najib Miqati, and Salam.
Asked by As Safir if he had set as a condition that the Free Patriotic Movement not be granted the energy and telecommunications portfolios in the new government, Jumblat responded: “I only proposed that the ministries that contain the country's wealth should be handed to safe hands.”
“These ministries should be kept away from political disputes that are taking place at the expense of a whole generation of Lebanese people,” he said.
“The revenue made from these ministries should help lessen Lebanon's public debt,” he stressed.
The prime minister-designate has repeatedly said that he is hoping to establish a cabinet of national interests capable of staging the parliamentary elections, which are scheduled for June 16.
The March 8 camp is seeking the formation of a political cabinet, while the rival March 14 alliance is demanding the establishment of a neutral one.
Commenting on the Syrian crisis, Jumblat asserted that the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad will collapse. “Regardless of how much support he receives from the Iran, the oppressor cannot remain in power,” he declared. “The Iranians are only delaying the inevitable,” he stressed. “Instead of backing the oppressor, the Islamic republic must support the weak and Palestinian cause that it claims to support,” he noted.
“It is very unfortunate that Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah has opted to back the regime and it is even more unfortunate that his arms, which were directed against Israel, are now fighting alongside a dying regime,” he lamented.
“I was saddened when I heard his recent speech because the Sayyed. who was a hero in the Arab and Islamic worlds in 2006, is insisting on ruining his reputation,” he said.
“Why is he insisting on defending a dying regime. Iran's policy is leading the Arab world and Syria to destruction,” he stated. Nasrallah said on Tuesday that the party had been taking part in the fighting Syria, saying that members were defending Lebanese border regions from attacks from Syria. He also said that fighters are defending holy places in the country, explaining: “Armed groups are only hundreds of meters away from the Sayyeda Zainab shrine and Takfirist groups launched clear threats on the Internet that they will destroy the shrine should they enter the area."

Muslim Scholars Slam Charbel over Civil Marriage Approval
Naharnet /The Committee of Muslim Scholars lashed out on Friday at Caretaker Interior Minister Marwan Charbel after he signed last month the civil marriage certificate of Kholoud Succariyeh and Nidal Darwish.
The scholars considered in a statement inking the certificate a “clear violation of the constitution, the laws of personal affairs and all the laws that are linked to the matter.” The committee called on the minister to cancel his decision as it “threatens the Muslim family and contradicts the law.” The statement also called on Muslim Spiritual leaders to confront the decision, describing it as “dangerous.” It also called on scholars to file an appeal before the competent judiciary and to inform the public during Friday's sermon to warn the people of the threats imposed by such a decision. In April, Charbel signed the civil marriage certificate of Succariyeh and Darwish, which is the first civil marriage registered in the records of the Directorate General for Personal Affairs in Lebanon. Following the spread of the news, President Michel Suleiman congratulated the couple via Twitter over the official registration of their civil marriage. The Lebanese Supreme Council in the Ministry of Justice took an unanimous decision in February to consider legal all civil marriages conducted in Lebanon by people that do not have any religious affiliation. Succariyeh and Darwish announced in January they had wed as a secular couple by having their religious sects legally struck from their family registers under an article dating from the 1936 French mandate. Suleiman has since lobbied for a civil marriage law as a "very important step in eradicating sectarianism and solidifying national unity." Meanwhile, caretaker Prime Minister Najib Miqati and Grand Mufti Sheikh Mohammed Rashid Qabbani rejected it. Qabbani issued a fatwa against moves to legalize civil marriages inside the country, where couples of different faiths have to travel abroad to tie the knot.

Report: Salam Seeking Equal Distribution of Portfolios in New Cabinet
Naharnet/Prime Minister-designate Tammam Salam is committed to the formation of a political 24-minister government capable of staging the parliamentary elections and which none of the political powers would enjoy a blocking minority, reported the daily al-Joumhouria Friday. It said that the new cabinet would distribute portfolios equally between the March 8 and 14 camps, with centrists also enjoying the same number of ministers, whereby each of the camps would obtain eight ministers. The daily An Nahar reported Friday that Salam is aiming to form the 24-minister cabinet before May 10 or 15. On claims that the March 8 camp is seeking a blocking minority in a new government, it quoted him as saying: “Such a power will not contribute to the formation of a functioning cabinet.” Al-Joumhouria noted that Salam had held talks on the government-formation process with President Michel Suleiman on Wednesday. Should political powers fail to reach an agreement on a new cabinet within the deadline that the premier-designate had set for himself, then he may seek, with Suleiman, proposing a cabinet that will be presented to the political forces. Observers told al-Joumhouria that such a government may be described as a “de facto” cabinet that may enjoy the support of the March 14 forces and other powers besides the March 8 camp.
His visitors told the daily however that Salam is hoping that the political deadlock would not force him to reach this point in order to avoid a confrontation.
He therefore called on the parties to assume their responsibilities, especially if they failed to reach an agreement on a new parliamentary electoral law and ended up extending the term of the current parliament. Salam's visitors quoted him as saying that he will remain a centrist along with Suleiman and Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat. “He decided to assume this role the moment he was appointed to his position,” they added. He will stand at an equal distance from all sides, similar to the president and speaker of parliament, they explained. He is not in a position to make concessions to any camp, adding that Hizbullah is a main political power in Lebanon and cannot be eliminated from cabinet, said Salam's visitors.
Salam told As Safir daily Friday that he has not yet come up with a government lineup. “Political escalation over the formation of the cabinet has been taking place for a long time and it apparently will not halt,” he remarked. “I hope all the parties would ease the tensions in order for us to tackle pendi He denied claims that he is seeking a de facto cabinet or one of confrontation, stressing that he wants one that can stage the parliamentary elections.
“I am still in contact with all sides to that end,” stressed the prime minister-designate. “We should not base claims on assumptions or judge people based on their intentions,” Salam said.
He called for maintaining the consensus that was achieved during his appointment, asking: “Why was I appointed premier-designate if confidence in me has been lost?”The prime minister-designate has repeatedly said that he is hoping to establish a cabinet of national interests capable of staging the parliamentary elections, which are scheduled for June 16.
The March 8 camp is seeking the formation of a political cabinet, while the rival March 14 alliance is demanding the establishment of a neutral one.

Five Wounded in IED Explosion in Ain el-Hilweh
Naharnet /Al least five people were wounded when an improvised explosive device detonated in Ain el-Hilweh camp near the southern city of Sidon, the state-run National News Agency reported on Thursday. "The explosion took place in the Fawqani street in the camp's al-Manshieh neighborhood,” the NNA detailed. It added: “The wounded were transferred to Sidon's hospitals and the camp's health centers for treatment.”
"Calm has been restored in Ain el-Hilweh after the explosion.”Meanwhile, LBCI television had said that seven people were wounded when the IED detonated, noting that the camp's Security Committee convened following the incident. By long-standing convention, the Lebanese army does not enter the country's 12 refugee camps, leaving security inside to the Palestinians themselves.
Ain el-Hilweh, the largest Palestinian camp in the country, is home to about 50,000 refugees who live in dire conditions and is known to harbor extremists and fugitives.

Fatmagul's Leasing Company: Inconvenient Fuel Caused Vessel's Malfunction
Naharnet/The Turkish Karadeniz power company, which leased the “Fatmagul Sultan” power vessel to the Lebanese government, announced on Thursday that the fuel it had received to operate the ship “was not convenient”, explaining the reasons for the barge's malfunction. "Shortly after the production process had started, the results of tests conducted by international laboratories revealed that the fuel we have been receiving was not convenient,” a statement issued by the company said. "Electricite du Liban is now providing Fatmagul with the convenient type of fuel, which will allow the vessel to go back to producing energy.”
The statement detailed that before the malfunction occurred, the vessel had completed the operational examination phase under the supervision of a group of international independent experts and had started generating 188 megawatts of power, "even before the date mentioned in the contract had started." "The barge is equipped with the latest technological systems and is operated by a team of 60 expert engineers and technicians. This is important for providing the necessary hours of power supply, which was highly welcomed by the Lebanese citizens.” Karadeniz remarked: “Technical problems are not strange to big projects like this one, especially in what regards the convenience of the fuel's type.” President Michel Suleiman tasked on Tuesday the Central Inspection Authority to investigate the causes of the malfunctions of the “Fatmagul Sultan” power-generating vessel.
He tasked the authority to uncover the circumstances that led to the malfunctions and determine the sides responsible for it. Nine out of 11 generators on the Fatmagul Sultan barge have stopped functioning, media reports said in April, pointing out that the power-generating vessel is only producing 15 percent of its capacity, which is 27 megawatts. “Since it began producing electricity, Farmagul Sultan didn't reach its capacity of production as it only generated around 80 percent,” the sources noted.

Family Seriously Wounded in Fire in Haret Hreik
Naharnet /A family of five was seriously wounded on Friday in a blaze that erupted at its residence in Beirut Haret Hreik neighborhood, the National News Agency said. It said that Ali Adnan Matar and the rest of his family suffered severe burns in the incident. They have since been transferred to nearby hospitals for treatment. Residents of the area meanwhile urged caretaker Health Minister Ali Hassan Khalil to transfer them to the Jeitwai Hospital because it has a special burns unit.

Al-Jamaa al-Islamiya collects funds to arm Syria's rebels
May 03, 2013/By Mohammed Zaatari The Daily Star /SIDON, Lebanon: Al-Jamaa Al-Islamiya collected funds Friday in the coastal city of Sidon to help arm rebels fighting the regime in Syria. Some 120 members at 30 mosques around the city carrying boxes and holding scarves, asked people to donate “to support the free rebels” in Syria. Standing outside Zaatari Mosque, one man called on worshippers departing after Friday prayers to fight the regime of President Bashar Assad and held a banner that read: “Pay for one bullet that kills a criminal.” Preachers in various mosques spoke about “crimes committed by Bashar Assad against his people” with one sheikh recalling the Hama massacre during the reign of Bashar’s father, former President Hafez Assad. “Listen carefully, Bashar’s regime seeks to annihilate his people ... he is a criminal and his father had already committed crimes before him,” deputy head of Al-Jamaa Al-Islamiya Sheikh Mohammad Ammar told a crowd of worshippers. He said the late Assad’s regime forces had committees a massacre in the city of Hama and allegedly killed members of the Muslim Brotherhood. “I ask you to give money and help the military efforts to oust Bashar Assad’s regime,” Ammar said. Bassam Hammoud, from the party's political bureau, said the funds collected are solely for military use. “This money is in support of the military efforts and not as humanitarian aid,” Hammoud told The Daily Star. “We will send them to Syria so [rebels] can buy weapons,” he said, adding that they are promoting this idea under the motto of “pay today to enter heaven tomorrow."

Hezbollah steps up rhetoric against Islamist rebels
May 03, 2013 03:46 PM The Daily Star /BEIRUT: Hezbollah stepped up its rhetoric against radical Islamist groups Friday, saying their war on Syrian President Bashar Assad is also against Lebanon's resistance.
"Those targeting the resistance and preventing supplies reaching it are practicing an act of aggression against Lebanon, based on the view of Takfiri terrorism which complements Zionist schemes aimed at provoking sectarian strife,” the head of Hezbollah’s parliamentary bloc Mohammad Raad said in a remarks that referred to the Islamists as apostates.
He was apparently referring to Islamist opposition groups including Jabhat al-Nusra, the radical lslamist Syrian rebel group which has repeatedly warned Lebanon over Hezbollah’s involvement in the Syria civil war.
Raad said their involvement in the Syrian conflict plays into the hands of Western plans for the region. "Their problem is with the people of this region – Sunnis, Shiites and Christians and even Salafists,” Raad said.
“They do not have a political project, but they are pawns and tools of a Western conspiracy that aims to weaken the region and subdue the will of its people," he added.
Raad, however, warned the radical Islamist rebels against picking a fight with Hezbollah. “They won’t be able to achieve their goals, and the resistance will remain vigilant and respond to this dubious scheme."
A number of recent reports have claimed to show Hezbollah engaged in battles with rebel groups in the Syrian border town of al-Qusair that have intensified in recent days.
Hezbollah's leader Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah acknowledged his group is helping Shiite Lebanese defend themselves against rebel attacks and described their training and arming as a moral and national duty.
Politicians and lawmakers with the March 14 coalition have said that Hezbollah’s involvement is a clear violation of the government’s policy of disassociation.

Syria Opposition Denounces Banias 'Massacre'
Naharnet/The Syrian opposition on Friday denounced a "large-scale massacre" by regime forces and militiamen in a Sunni village in the northwest after a watchdog said at least 50 people, mostly civilians, were killed.
The Syrian National Coalition called in a statement for international action, citing witness reports of civilians being stabbed to death in Bayda, a Sunni village outside the port of Banias.
"The Coalition calls on the Arab League and the United Nations to act rapidly to save the civilians of Bayda, Banias and other villages across Syria," it said, accusing the regime of "war crimes and genocide"."Several sources in the village say at least 50 people were killed in summary executions and shelling in Bayda village," a southern suburb of the Alawite-majority city, Syrian Observatory for Human Rights chief Rami Abdel Rahman told Agence France Presse on Thursday. He was speaking after fierce clashes erupted in the area. The official SANA news agency said troops killed "terrorists" -- the regime term for insurgents -- and seized arms in an operation targeting rebels. "Some were summarily executed, shot to death, stabbed or set on fire," said a statement from the Observatory, which relies on a network of activists and medics on the ground for its information.
"Dozens of civilians from Bayda have gone missing, and we don't know whether they have been arrested, killed or fled," said Abdel Rahman. "Many villagers have fled to Sunni districts in southern Banias, as there is no refuge for them in Alawite areas," he added. The Banias region is predominantly Alawite, an offshoot of Shiite Islam and the sect of President Bashar Assad, while the insurgents battling to topple his regime are mainly Sunni Muslims.
The region's three main coastal cities of Banias, Latakia and Tartus and their surrounding areas form the "Alawite heartland" where analysts say Assad could seek refuge if his regime falls.
"The regime will not allow the presence of combatants in this area," Abdel Rahman said, referring to rebel forces. A Coalition statement on Thursday said the soldiers and militiamen carried out "ugly crimes, including summary executions... to seek revenge... because the regime hasn't forgiven Banias and Bayda for standing alongside Daraa... at the start of the Syrian revolution." Banias, along with Daraa in the south, the cradle of the uprising, saw some of the first demonstrations against the regime in March 2011.The United Nations says that at least 70,000 people have been killed in the conflict that is now in its third year.
Source/Agence France Presse.

Hagel: U.S. Reconsidering whether to Arm Syrian Rebels
Naharnet /The United States is taking a fresh look at whether to provide weapons to Syria's rebels after having rejected the idea previously, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said Thursday. At a news conference with his British counterpart Philip Hammond, Hagel was asked if the U.S. government was rethinking its opposition to arming the rebels and replied: "Yes." But the Pentagon chief added that no decision had been reached and declined to say if he favored arming the opposition. "I'm in favor of exploring options and seeing what is the best option in coordination with our international partners," he said. After the White House acknowledged last week that U.S. intelligence agencies believe the Syrian regime may have used chemical weapons on a small-scale, speculation has mounted that President Barack Obama could reverse his opposition to arming the rebels. At the same press conference, Hammond said Britain had not ruled out arming the rebels or other military options but that his government had to abide by a European Union prohibition on sending weapons to the opposition. "Certainly in our case, for the UK, we have been subject to an EU ban on supplying armaments to the rebels," Hammond said. "We will look at the situation when that ban expires in a few weeks' time. We will continue to keep that situation under review.
"But we will do what we are able to do within the bounds of legality, and we regard that as very important."Source/Agence France Presse.

Iranian troops face Israel from Syria. US video shows upgraded bunker buster
DEBKAfile Special Report May 3, 2013/
http://www.debka.com/article/22948/Iranian-troops-face-Israel-from-Syria-US-video-shows-upgraded-bunker-buster
US officials recently gave Israel a video demonstration of the new features which enable its biggest bunker buster bomb (Massive Ordnance Penetrator) to destroy Iran’s underground uranium enrichment plant at Fordo near Qom, in a bid to dissuade Israel from a unilateral attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities.
This is reported by the Wall Street Journal.
The video displayed the improved bomb, which Israel does not have, as hitting the ground near its target and setting off a massive underground explosion.
debkafile’s military sources report that this videotaped demonstration was in line with the Obama administration’s latest campaign to convince Israel that the US is getting ready to strike Iran itself.
In actual fact, the improved American MOP is not news - any more than the Israeli Air Force’s possession of bombs capable of penetrating the Fordo underground plant. This capability has given Israeli officials the confidence to assert that Israel can destroy Iran’s nuclear facilities on its own.
What Washington has in common with Jerusalem is that while both make no secret of their capabilities – and Israeli leaders are also free with threatening rhetoric - neither is actually exercising them.
The only parties on the move are Iran and Hizballah.
At the end of the week, debkafile’s military sources report that both established a military presence in Syria and Lebanon, just across Israel’s two northern borders. An Iranian airlift placed Iranian boots on the ground in Syria for the first time in more than two years of its civil war. It was also the first time Israel had ever seen uniformed Iranian soldiers present at close quarters on the soil of a close neighbor.
The arrivals are members of the violent Basij volunteer militia which is trained in urban combat tactics for suppressing anti-regime unrest in Iranian cities. They are the first Iranian troops to confront Syrian rebels in combat. Roughly 6,000-8,000 militiamen have arrived so far – a figure comparable to the size of the Hizhballah elite units fighting for Bashar Assad in Syria.
The Basij militiamen were stationed in Damascus and sent to guard Syrian Shiite border villages situated opposite Hizballah-controlled South Lebanon. This deployment has placed Iranian troops opposite the intersection of the Israeli, Syrian and Lebanese borders.
Iran’s expanding military intervention in Syria accounts partly for this week’s surprise call-up of thousands of Israeli reservists for duty on the country’s northern borders. Although they were sent home after 24 hours to disguise their mission and calm rising tensions, they were in fact ordered to report back Sunday, May 5. These reservists will then pick up the gear and weapons needed for real combat, and take up positions along Israel’s borders with Syria and Lebanon.
Sirens blared over parts of the Golan Friday, May 3, their sensors touched off by the preparations for these military movements. The official pretext offered of a “technical glitch” was about as convincing as the Israeli military spokesman’s attempt to deny knowing who sent a drone from Beirut towards Israel on April 25.
The sirens on the Golan were apparently not loud enough to be heard in Washington and Jerusalem.

US reconsidering arming Syria rebels
The US's Hagel says that a "reconsideration" of US involvement in Syria is currently underway.
The United States said Thursday it was taking a fresh look at whether to arm Syria's rebels as the Damascus regime pressed an assault on opposition forces in the embattled city of Homs.
After having rejected the idea previously, President Barack Obama's deputies were weighing the option of providing weapons to Syria's outgunned opposition, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel told reporters.Asked whether the US government was rethinking its opposition to arming the rebels, Hagel replied with a firm "Yes."
But Hagel said no decision had been reached and declined to offer his own view on the matter, saying he was "in favor of exploring options and seeing what is the best option in coordination with our international partners."
Asked about Hagel's comments later, Obama said they represented the view he has expressed for "months."
"As we've seen evidence of further bloodshed, potential use of chemical weapons inside of Syria, what I've said is that we're going to look at all options," the president told a press conference in Mexico.But, Obama added, "we want to make sure that we look before we leap and that what we're doing is actually helpful to the situation, as opposed to making it more deadly or more complex."Hagel's predecessor, Leon Panetta, who stepped down in February, had told lawmakers that he and the US military's top officer, General Martin Dempsey, had recommended arming the rebels but were overruled.
Speculation has mounted that the administration could reverse its opposition to arming the rebels after officials said last week that American spy agencies now believe the Syrian regime may have used chemical weapons on a small scale.
Hagel's comments came at a joint press conference with his British counterpart Philip Hammond, who said Britain had not ruled out arming the rebels or other military options.
But Hammond said his government had to abide by a European Union ban on sending weapons to the opposition, adding that Britain would "look at the situation" when the ban expires in a few weeks.Both men said their governments wanted to see a political solution to the two-year-old conflict, but the diplomatic effort appeared on the verge of another setback with signs that peace envoy Lakhdar Brahimi was poised to quit.
The permanent Security Council members -- Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States -- have all been urging Brahimi to stay in the post he took up in August after former UN leader Kofi Annan quit, diplomats said.
Brahimi's expected departure reflects frustration with deadlocked international efforts to end the civil war, which the United Nations estimates has killed well over 70,000 people.
In Syria, President Bashar al-Assad's forces appeared to be closing in on rebels holed up in a key area of the battered city of Homs, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based watchdog.
"The Syrian army, supported by backup forces and expert officers from Iran and Hezbollah, has taken control of large parts of the Wadi al-Sayeh district" in Homs, the group said in a statement.
The neighborhood is halfway between the Khaldiyeh district and the Old City, two rebel-held areas that have been besieged by the army for nearly a year.
Seizing Wadi al-Sayeh would enable the army to cut off links between the two areas and possibly trigger sectarian revenge attacks, said the group, which relies on activists and medics on the ground for its information.
Homs is divided along sectarian lines into Sunni, Alawite, Christian and ostensibly mixed quarters.
The regime is led by Alawites, an offshoot of Shiite Islam, while Syria's population is majority Sunni, as are the rebels.
Obama has been reluctant to intervene in the war but faces mounting criticism that he has allowed the Assad regime to cross his own declared "red line" on using chemical weapons.
The US president said this week intelligence agencies were still trying to determine exactly who had fired chemical agents on the battlefield.
At the Pentagon, the British defense secretary said that the more time passes, the more difficult it will be to verify suspicions that Damascus unleashed chemical agents.
"I don't think you need to be a technical expert to know that after any use of a chemical agent, there will be a degradation over time of the evidence that can be collected," Hammond said.
Britain wants to obtain proof that would be acceptable in a court, as that would hopefully have "a deterrent effect," and make clear the regime would be held accountable, he said

Egypt is Hostage to its History
By: Eyad Abu Shakra/Asharq Alawsat
The visit that two of Egyptian president Mohamed Mursi’s senior advisors paid last week to Tehran was a surprise to many. The two advisors met with a number of prominent Iranian leaders, and most importantly with the president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. This step is not far removed from the new modus operandus of Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood, which day by day confirms its political ties to the authority in Iran. Whether this can be justified on the basis of Egypt’s loyalty to an old friendship against a former common enemy or out of its belief in Tehran’s work to “unite Muslims in the face of Zionism and the US,” some blame Mursi and his companions for their move towards urgent normalization of relations with Tehran. Even worse, this comes at a time when Syria is bleeding and Iraq and Lebanon are sliding into the unknown. We all know that Iran is deeply involved in Syria, but in Iraq and Lebanon, too, Tehran is never absent from the scene. I remember well how one of my university professors described Egypt as the only nation-state in the Arab world. They said that he who studies the history of Egypt discovers that a sense of a unified central government has been forming ever since the unification of the Upper Kingdom and the Lower Kingdom took place. This sense was strengthened by the geography of Egypt.
It is true that throughout history, Egypt suffered from different forms of invasion, both before and after the Muslim conquest; however, it absorbed them all, retaining a cultural uniqueness that is absent from other, neighboring entities. Islam in Egypt also has its own special character. Although the strongest Islamic dynasty to govern Egypt was the Isma’ili Shi’ite Fatimid Caliphate, the country remained firmly a Sunni country, with its Al-Azhar Mosque and university—founded by the Fatimid—as a global Sunni theological bastion.
Pan-Arabism in Egypt has always had its own special Egyptian character as well. Although they controlled the country, the Hyksos rulers who came from the Arab Mashriq (the Levant) melted into Egypt. Further waves of migration from both the Maghreb and the Mashriq melted into Egypt as well, and Egypt remained Egypt.
On the level of political independence, Egypt was a vassal state—both a protectorate and an independent nation—from the beginning of the 19th century to the first part of the 20th century. Under Ottoman rule, the Muhammad Ali dynasty emerged. The vigourous vassal Muhammad Ali soon became more powerful than his master, the Ottoman sultan. Had it not been for foreign intervention—namely the British intervention—in the wake of the Battle of Nezib in 1839, the vassal would have indeed become the master in the Middle East. In short, Egypt was a major nation in the region, getting own independent constitution in 1882 and opening embassies abroad—but it was still not completely independent.
Given the country’s background, it was difficult for the rulers of Egypt to understand the structural complexity of the political entities surrounding their nation-state. This is quite natural in a country that has an extraordinary ability to absorb diversity. Thus, the mistakes committed by the rulers of Egypt in dealing with their Arab environment—at least since the Muhammad Ali dynasty—are not surprising.
Unlike the solidly Sunni Egypt, many countries in the Mashriq are populated by several Muslim sects. Christians in Egypt are mostly Coptic Orthodox. In fact, the Catholic Copts only appeared in the last decades of the 17th century, and they did not have a patriarch until the end of the 19th century. Protestantism and other Christian sects are more recent additions to Egypt’s social fabric; among other sects only the Greek Orthodox tradition dates back to ancient times, with the famous Saint Catherine’s Monastery in the Sinai Peninsula. Social divisions in Egypt are also limited. There are three categories: city dwellers, farmers (fellahin) and villagers, and the Hawara Bedouins. These three categories populate a narrow, flat land that is connected and unified by the Nile without being separated by natural obstacles.
With this geopolitical and socio-environmental reality, it seems self-evident that Egypt would have a special political culture that is quite different from the cultures of other Arab political entities, such as the ones in Iraq and the Levant.
The cultural homogeneity in Egypt is different from the diversity or multiculturalism we see in Iraq and the Levant. However, neither Egypt succeeded in imposing its culture of homogeneity on the countries it once subjugated in Mashriq; nor the diversity and multiculturalism of these countries prompted the leaders of Egypt to deal with their issues with care and understanding. To the contrary, this state of homogeneity—in addition to Egypt’s large population—gave rise to a sense of superiority in Egypt’s leaders, further nourished by dreams of hegemony.
The hegemonic adventures of Muhammad Ali’s dynasty had very negative consequences in several places. For example, the Egyptian campaign led by Ibrahim Pasha (Mohammad Ali’s son) disrupted the fine balance and sparked conflicts between various sects and religions, precipitating several sectarian massacres that took place in Syria and Mount Lebanon in the mid-19th century.
With the emergence of Pan-Arabism in late 19th and early 20th centuries, its concepts seemed both alien and incidental to the ruling elites of Egypt. In fact, Pan-Arabism remained inimical to Egypt in spite of nearly two decades of Nasserism and all its slogans that promoted Pan-Arabism. On the other hand, Islamism—both before and after Nasserism—managed to firmly establish itself among Egyptians.
The current Egyptian leadership’s disregard for the suffering of millions of Syrians today can be partially explained by its ignorance of the risks entailed by Iran’s tampering with the Arab mosaic of the Mashriq. Even if any anti-Iran reaction is to take place in the near future, it will most likely be triggered by and for sectarian reasons, rather than protecting Pan-Arab security and the unity of Arab societies, which have been made fragile by Tehran’s aspirations for a major regional bargaining.
There is a serious misunderstanding for which the entire Arab world may pay dearly before the Muslim Brotherhood leaders in Cairo realize their fatal and strategic mistake.

Elections? Yes, If I Like the Results
By: Amir Taheri/Asharq Alawsat
During a recent series of talks I gave in the United States on the Arab Spring, I was often criticized for arguing that the newly elected governments in Libya, Tunisia, Egypt and Yemen should be given a chance before being subjected to a definite judgement. In that context, Egypt, because of its political weight, was of special importance. After a while, I found myself in the surrealistic position of having to defend Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi against people posing questions from the audience. Is Mursi not a fascist, one questioner wanted to know? And does the Egyptian president not intend to drive the Copts out of Egypt and then invade Israel, another demanded? A third questioner quoted blood-chilling statements supposedly uttered by Mursi in the past. As you could see, this kind of assessment of the performance of political leaders is not confined to the so-called Arab world. The United States, which boasts of being the world’s second largest democracy, after India, is not immune to such misconceptions.
The formula is simple.
One judges a political leader by a mixture of what he is supposed to have said and done in the past and what he supposedly intends to do in the future.
Let us take President Barack Obama: he is supposed to have been a Communist in his youth, while also being a secret Muslim. He also intends to use his stay the White House to transform the United States into a “socialist” republic.
What is ignored in such an analysis is what Obama is actually doing, or not doing, right now and in the real world.
Subjected to a similar treatment, people seem to be more interested in Mursi’s real or imagined past and his even more problematic deeds in the future than what he has actually done, or not done, so far.
The result is that one ends up with no serious political discussion and certainly no credible critique of the policies that are actually implemented. You say Obama is a Communist Muslim, and his supporters would answer that he is not. You say that Mursi wants to kick women out of the economy, and his supporters would insist that he does not.
That kind of Alphonse-and-Gaston dialogue leads nowhere, expect to the kind of impasse that cabaret comedians conjure.
So, how does one assess a political leader?
The first question is one of legitimacy. This could have a wide range of sources, and it assumes many different forms. In the case of Mursi, legitimacy comes from fairly free and clean elections.
Once elected, Mursi has no past. He is reborn as the elected president of Egypt. A majority of Egyptian voters, having assessed his program and his personality, his past and his present, chose him for a specific job for a specific duration, beyond which his future is also of no interest. They have a four-year contract with him, and he with them, at the end of which it will either be renewed or terminated.
Thus, Mursi must be judged by policies he offers and implements during his presidential tenure. Whether one likes him or not is beside the point. I told many American friends that they could not push free elections as a universal good but then turn around and beat their chests in lamentation when they dislike the results.
In New York, one Iranian–American lady asked how I could be ready to acknowledge Mursi’s legitimacy while denying the legitimacy of Iran’s supreme leader, Ali Khameneni.
I think the answer is clear. Khamenei, who calls himself “Leader of All Muslims in the World,” has not been elected by anyone and thus has no contract with the Iranian people. If he submits himself to free and fair elections and wins, I would be prepared to acknowledge and respect his legitimacy—although I would not vote for him, just as I would not vote for Mursi.
Mursi’s election has given Egypt a tremendous opportunity for building a non-dictatorial system. The Muslim Brotherhood, which nominated Mursi, abandoned its traditional opposition to elections as a form of choosing and changing governments in order to enter the race. We don’t know whether that was a tactical move or not, but it would be good for Egypt if the Brotherhood redefined itself as just another political party that could be in government sometimes and in opposition at other times.
In 1952, the Brotherhood ganged up with the military to deprive the Egyptian people of a say in running their own affairs. Such an unholy alliance seems remote at present, but is not impossible. By wrecking Mursi’s presidency, democrats would only encourage despotic trends within the Brotherhood, reviving the temptation to make a deal with anti-democratic forces in the military.
Already, some dissidents within the Brotherhood—often with links to the mullahs in Tehran—are doing all they can to sabotage Mursi’s presidency. In other words they are in objective alliance with remnants of the former regime (feloul) and other groups that claim Egyptians deserve nothing but an iron fist.
The US and other democracies have every interest in helping Egypt succeed in its first chaotic attempt at democratization.
Mursi’s natural modesty and lack of charisma may be assets in this exercise. Close to the average Egyptian, Mursi is unlikely to nurture dreams of a personality cult or the megalomania that afflicts so many Arab leaders.
While objectively assessing and criticizing his policies, Egyptian democrats should be prepared to give Mursi a chance beyond his first year in office. They should oppose him by pointing out his mistakes and, when applicable, the inadequacies of the policies he offers. More importantly, they should persuade Egyptians that better policies are available so that when the next election come around, the option they offer has a better chance of success.