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

Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources for May 05/13

Hezbollah buries two members killed in Syria
Now Lebanon/Sources told NOW that Hezbollah buried on Saturday two of its members “who died in battles against the Free Syrian Army in Syria.”Wafiq Ali Hamiyeh was buried in the Baalbek town of Tarayya and Ali Hassan Mortada was buried in the Beqaa town of Temnin al-Tahta, sources added. Hezbollah has come under criticism for fighting on the side of the Syrian regime against rebels in the Al-Qusayr area and outside Damascus, with news outlets in the past weeks reporting that a number of party members had been killed while fighting in Syria. However, Hezbollah’s Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah denied on Tuesday that large numbers of fighters affiliated with his party had been killed in the fighting in Syria. Nevertheless, he vowed that “friends” of the Syrian regime would not allow it to fall and that his party would defend Lebanese Shiites residing in Al-Qusayr as well as the Sayyida Zainab Shiite shrine outside Damascus. Elite fighters from Hezbollah are leading the fight against rebels in the region of Al-Qusayr in the central province of Homs, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said last week.

Hezbollah says won’t let U.S., Israel gain control of Syria
May 04, 2013 / The Daily Star /BEIRUT: Hezbollah stands ready to defend Syria against U.S. and Israeli designs to control the Arab state and views its involvement in the crisis in Lebanon’s neighbor as “political and strategic,” a Hezbollah official said Saturday. “Hezbollah is ready to prevent Syria falling under the control of Tel Aviv and Washington,” said Ibrahim Amin Sayyed, a Hezbollah official, during a ceremony held in Baalbek in memory of one the party’s “martyrs.” “This is a strategy and not an intervention in the Syria crisis. It is an intervention in the conflict against America and Israel,” he added. Sayyed reiterated his party’s line that Hezbollah’s presence on Syrian territory was aimed at “defending the Lebanese in [the border town of] Qusair and the Muslim religious sites.” Earlier this week, Hezbollah cheif Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah said his fighters were defending Lebanese in Syrian border villages against rebel attacks and hinted that Iran, Russia and “resistance groups” would step in military to prevent the fall of President Bashar Assad. Ibrahim Amin Sayyed described Hezbollah’s involvement in Syria as “political and strategic” and denied the resistance group was working against the demands of the Syrian people.“We are present in Syria at the political and the strategic levels and for the defense of the great cause [Palestine]. We have nothing to do with what the Syrian people want,” he said. “On the contrary, we support the people in their demands to reach a situation that preserves their dignity and freedom and ensures their participation in political life,” he added. Nasrallah’s comments Tuesday drew wide condemnation from Lebanon’s opposition and Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblatt, who accused the Hezbollah leader of trying to drag Lebanon into the conflict across the border.

President Michel Suleiman Reiterates Calls on Lebanese to Abide by Dissociation Policy
Naharnet/President Michel Suleiman called on the Lebanese on Saturday to abide by the Baabda declaration, expressing hope that the abducted men and the Syrian refugees would be able to return to their home soon.
“The Lebanese should abide by the Baabda declaration and refrain from sending arms and fighters to Syria to maintain civil peace and stability,” Suleiman said in his Orthodox Easter message.
The Baabda Declaration was unanimously adopted during a national dialogue session in June 2012. It calls for Lebanon to disassociate itself from regional crises, most notably the one in Syria. He pointed out that “our nation shouldn't be sacrificed and it should be safeguarded from all the developments surrounding it,” the President said. Suleiman reiterated calls for the International community to respect Lebanon's sovereignty and stability so that it remains a model for coexistence and democracy. Lebanese parties are sharply divided over the crisis in Syria as the March 8 alliance continuously expresses its support to Syrian president Bashar Assad, while the March 14 camp voices its support for the popular revolt. The international community and analysts have expressed fears that the conflict in Syria may spill over into the Lebanon.
On Saturday, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees said in its weekly report that nearly 453,000 Syrian refugees fled the crackdown in their country to Lebanon.

Report: Suleiman to Study with Salam 3 Govt. Formulas next Week
Naharnet /President Michel Suleiman is expected to hold talks on the government formation process with Prime Minister-designate Tammam Salam upon his return to Lebanon next week, reported al-Liwaa newspaper Saturday. Informed sources told the daily that the president is set to propose to Salam three government formulas to study.
The meeting is expected to be held on Wednesday or Thursday after Suleiman returns from a visit to the Vatican where he congratulated Pope Francis I on his election.
The first government formula, which has been almost accepted by the rival March 8 and 14 camps, calls for the equal distribution of portfolios among the two blocs and centrists, whereby each would be represented by eight ministers. The centrists represent Suleiman and Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat. The second formula calls for the formation of a 14-minister cabinet, while the third calls for granting the March 14 camp eight ministers, seven to the March 8 alliance, and nine to the centrists. Discussions were previously held over these two proposals, but they have been rejected, sources told al-Liwaa.
Meanwhile, March 8 sources told An Nahar daily Saturday that the upcoming two weeks will be decisive in reaching an agreement over a new government and parliamentary electoral law.
Salam's sources also told As Safir newspaper that he is still adamant in his refusal to grant a blocking minority to any political bloc in the new cabinet. Media reports said Friday that the Mach 8 camp is seeking this veto power in the new cabinet. The premier-designate has said that a government with such a bloc will not be productive. He is seeking to form a 24-minister cabinet that distributes portfolios equally between the centrists, March 8 and 14 forces. Salam has repeatedly stated that he wants to form a cabinet of national interests capable of staging the parliamentary elections that are scheduled for June 16. The March 8 camp has demanded the formation of a political government, while the March 14 camp has called for forming a neutral cabinet whose members will not run in the elections. Jumblat has meanwhile said that he opposes the establishment of a one-sided government.

Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi Criticizes Officials for Failing to Agree on Electoral Law after '4 Years of Research'
Naharnet/Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi urged officials to reach an agreement over a new parliamentary electoral law that would offer fair representation for all sides, reported the National News Agency Saturday. He said during his ongoing trip to Brazil: “It is unacceptable that after four years of discussions that officials failed to agree on a vote law.”“Bkirki supports any law that enjoys the consensus of the Lebanese powers, maintains national principles, and serves society,” he added. He continued: “Lebanon is passing through a very critical phase and we must work hard to form a new government that would assume its responsibilities because a third of the population is living in poverty, immigration has increased, the number of Syrian refugees is growing, and the Lebanese people are divided over the Syrian war.”“Lebanon's value lies in its diversity and we refuse to be ruled by a single party or ideology,” al-Rahi declared. He therefore called on officials to assume their responsibilities and refrain from “manipulating” Lebanon's fate.“It is unacceptable that Lebanon be dragged into regional and international wars and axes,” said the patriarch.“Lebanon has never supported war and we refuse to have it as a source of war. We also refuse to have it as a passage for weapons,” he stressed.

The deputy head of the Higher Islamic Council Omar Mesqawi Calls for Extraordinary HIC Meeting as Qabbani Holds Meeting for Newly-Elected Council
Naharnet /The deputy head of the Higher Islamic Council Omar Mesqawi called on Saturday for an extraordinary HIC meeting to be held on Tuesday, May 7 after Grand Mufti Sheikh Mohammed Rashid Qabbani held a meeting for the newly elected council. “If we were not allowed to enter the council's meetings hall, we will hold the meeting at the residence of head of the Administrative and Financial Committee Bassam Barghout to take the necessary decisions,” Mesqawi said. He pointed out that the meeting will be held at 4:00 p.m. at Dar al-Fatwa as Qabbani rejected to call the old council for an ordinary meeting.
In April, Qabbani approved the results of the HIC elections in which candidates won uncontested but the polls were rejected by several officials. A meeting of caretaker Prime Minister Najib Miqati, Premier-designate Tammam Salam, and former Premiers Fouad Saniora and Omar Karami deemed the elections as “illegal,” deciding that the results will not be published in Lebanese dailies.
Despite the controversy over the matter Qabbani presided on Saturday over a meeting for the newly-elected council. The participants discussed several religion and social related matters.The Council, which elects the mufti and organizes the affairs of Dar al-Fatwa, has been at the center of controversy after 21 of its members, who are close to ex-Premier Saad Hariri's al-Mustaqbal Movement, extended its term until the end of 2013 despite Qabbani's objection. The mufti has refused to hold or join any meetings at Dar al-Fatwa, Lebanon’s top Sunni religious authority, and called for the elections of council members.
But last month the Shura Council allegedly deemed the call illegal and canceled the elections. Its decision followed a similar move it made last year when it canceled previous polls set by the Mufti for December 30.

Families of Abducted Pilgrims Continue Protests as Charbel Speaks of Positive Steps in their Release
Naharnet /The families of the pilgrims held in Syria's Aazaz area staged a sit-in near the Turkish Pegasus Airlines in Beirut on Saturday to protest the ongoing abduction of their loved ones, reported the National News Agency.
The protesters prevented the airlines staff from heading to their offices located near the Bourj al-Murr area. NNA noted that a number of Syrian nationals also took part in the sit-in, revealing that the familes will stage a demonstration in front of the Turkish unit in the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon in the South on Sunday. Meanwhile, caretaker Interior Minister Marwan Charbel stated that positive steps to resolve the kidnapping are taking place, reported the Kuwaiti al-Seyasseh newspaper Saturday. He told the daily that Lebanese authorities are awaiting from the kidnappers a list of names of Syrian female prisoners held in Syrian jails they want released in exchange for the pilgrims. General Security chief Abbas Ibrahim is expected to head to Damascus in order to receive the list, revealed the minister without disclosing the date of the trip.
Ibrahim is also set to hold talks with Syrian authorities over the possibility of releasing the prisoners included on the kidnappers' list. Charbel said that Qatar and Turkey are exerting serious efforts to resolve the case of the Aazaz pilgrims, but noted that previous experiences with the abductors “are not promising.” Earlier this week, the pan-Arab television al-Mayadeen reported that the abductors have demanded “the release of 282 women detainees from Syrian prisons in return for the release of the Lebanese." The kidnappers reportedly submitted a list of the names of women detainees to "a high-ranking diplomatic figure” and a Turkish official handed the list to Ibrahim.
Eleven Lebanese pilgrims were kidnapped in Syria's Aleppo region in May 2012 as they were making their way back by land from pilgrimage in Iran.
Two of them have since been released, while the rest are still being held in Aazaz. The families of the pilgrims have held Turkey and Qatar responsible for their ongoing abduction, while accusing the government of not exerting enough efforts to ensure their release. They have threatened to target Turkish interests in Lebanon in order to pressure Ankara to release the captives.They recently held a sit-in near the Turkish Airlines headquarters and Turkish Cultural Center in downtown Beirut.

Aoun, Geagea Discuss Latest Developments in Telephone Call
Naharnet/Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun and Lebanese Forces chief Samir Geagea held a telephone call on Friday on the latest developments in Lebanon, reported al-Akhbar newspaper Saturday.
It said that the talks likely focused on the government formation process and efforts to reach an agreement over a new parliamentary electoral law. It added that the two leaders had last contacted each other in February to congratulate each other over the joint parliamentary committees' approval of the Orthodox Gathering electoral law. Al-Akhbar noted that the telephone call took place at a time when Bkirki is seeking an agreement on a vote law between the four main Maronite leaders in Lebanon, which include Aoun, Geagea, Phalange Party leader Amin Gemayel, and Marada Movement chief MP Suleiman Franjieh. The Bkirki efforts are focusing on the hybrid electoral law proposed by Speaker Nabih Berri that combines the winner-takes-all and proportional representation systems.

Rifi warns against explosion of sectarian strife
Now Lebanon/Lebanon’s former Internal Security Forces Director General Ashraf Rifi warned of the possibility of security flare ups caused by the intensification of sectarian strife, the National News Agency reported. “I am afraid the Shiite-Sunni conflict will intensify due to Hezbollah’s participation in the military battle in Syria,” Rifi said after meeting with Future Movement officials in Australia on Saturday.He also described Hezbollah’s participation in Syria as a “major sin,” adding that “there are international guarantees that the situation in Lebanon will not explode.”Elite fighters from Hezbollah are leading the fight against rebels in the region of Al-Qusayr in the central province of Homs, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said last week. Fighting in the area has spilled over into Lebanon, with rebels reportedly targeting border towns inside Lebanon in response to Hezbollah involvement in the conflict.

Lebanon Hands Over to ICRC Israeli Man who Crossed Technical Fence
Naharnet /State Commissioner to the Military Court Judge Saqr Saqr handed over on Saturday to the International Committee of the Red Cross an Israeli man who crossed the technical fence with Israel in Ras al-Naqoura.
Saqr handed to the ICRC the man to return him to Israel after three days of interrogations, the state-run National News Agency reported.On Wednesday, the 34-year-old man, who reportedly suffers from a mental illness, was interrogated by the Lebanese army intelligence in the presence of a translator and an officer from the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL).A communique released by the Lebanese army said that the “army intelligence arrested an Israeli man after he crossed the technical fence and the Blue Line in the al-Labbouneh border area inside Lebanese territory.”Israel and Lebanon are officially in a state of war and the travel of individuals between the two countries is prohibited.

Lebanon: 'Israeli surrendered to Red Cross'
Lebanese media says Simon Saadati released by LAF, to be returned to Israel Sunday morning. Israeli sources confirm report

Roi Kais Published: 05.04.13, 17:22 / Israel News
An Israeli citizen who crossed the border into Lebanon earlier this week and has been held there by local intelligence services has been surrendered to the Red Cross, Lebanon's LBC Channel reported.
Israeli sources confirmed the report and added that Simon Saadati is scheduled to return to Israel early Sunday morning via Rosh Hanikra. Saadati, 33, from Ramla, crossed the border on Wednesday morning. Several hours later Lebanon's Hezbollah-affiliated Al-Mayadeen TV reported that the Lebanese army was interrogating the Israeli in Tyre and had conducted a psychological examination. According to the report, Saadati was questioned in Hebrew by a Lebanese officer. On Saturday, LBC reported that a Lebanese military court had decided to release him after four days in custody.
He is said to be in good health and will be returned to Israel after his identity is confirmed. Saadati's family said he has a long history of hospitalizations related to his mental state. According to his mother, he is mentally ill. Mordechai Shushan, Saadati's friend, describes him as a wise and kind man who can be "trusted with money and various tasks" but also as extremely troubled."He often told me he wants to fight Hezbollah or go to China," he said. Saadati had until recently been employed by Shushan at a kiosk. "I gave him work to keep him occupied."

Canada Condemns Ongoing Violence in Syria
May 4, 2013 - Andrew Bennett, Canada’s Ambassador for Religious Freedom, today issued the following statement:
“Canada condemns the ongoing violence in Syria in light of the rise in attacks on religious groups over the last few weeks.
“The Syrian people have a strong culture of acceptance and coexistence that is at odds with recent attacks singling out individual groups.
“Massacres in towns largely inhabited by one religious group, desecration of holy sites belonging to others, and targeting of religious figures are all abhorrent actions that seek to drive a wedge between the different communities that make up Syria. “We call upon all parties to the conflict to seek to protect all civilians, community leaders, and holy sites in order to avoid pushing the country into a sectarian war that will cause permanent rifts among Syrians.”

NGO: Hundreds Flee Syria's Banias Fearing 'Massacre'
Naharnet/Hundreds of families were fleeing Sunni districts of the Syrian city of Banias on Saturday, fearing new attacks after a "massacre" in a nearby Sunni village, a watchdog said. "Hundreds of families are fleeing Sunni neighborhoods in Banias in fear of a new massacre," Syrian Observatory for Human Rights director Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP. "They started fleeing at dawn this morning from Sunni neighborhoods in the south of the city towards Tartus and Jableh," Abdel Rahman added. The exodus comes after shelling on Sunni neighborhoods of the city on Friday, and reports of a "large-scale massacre" in a Sunni village nearby on Thursday.
Abdel Rahman said Friday's shelling of the Sunni district of Ras al-Nabaa killed at least nine people. "No fewer than nine people were killed in the neighborhood, but more are missing so the toll could go up," he said.
Video from Ras al-Nabaa shot by activists and distributed by the Observatory showed a pile of bloodied bodies lying in a street, a least one of them that of a child.The exodus follows reports of a "massacre" of at least 50 people in the Sunni village of Bayda, south of Banias.The Observatory said the deaths were the result of summary executions and shelling.Source/Agence France Presse.

Syrian Sunnis flee coastal town, Banias after night of killing
By Erika Solomon
BEIRUT (Reuters) - Hundreds of Sunni Muslim families fled the Syrian coastal town of Banias on Saturday after fighters loyal to President Bashar al-Assad killed at least 62 people overnight and left bloodied and burned corpses piled in the streets, activists said.
A pro-opposition monitoring group posted a video online showing the mutilated bodies of 10 people it said were killed in a southern district of Banias, half of them children.
Some lay in pools of blood and one toddler was covered in burns, her clothes singed and her legs charred.
Pictures posted separately on social media by other activists showed piles of bodies of men, women and children dumped in stone alleyways.
The reports and images from Banias, a Mediterranean coastal town lying beneath green hills, could not be independently verified as the Syrian government restricts access to independent media.
The killings took place two days after state forces and pro-Assad militias killed at least 50 Sunnis in the nearby village of Baida. Activists said the Baida death toll was likely to rise to over 100 and possibly 200.
The U.S. government said on Saturday it was horrified by the report of the Baida massacre and said the Syrian government was stepping up violence against civilians.
The two-year-old uprising against four decades of Assad family rule has been led by Syria's Sunni Muslim majority, and sectarian clashes and alleged massacres have become increasingly common in a conflict that has killed more than 70,000 people.
Minorities such as the Alawite sect, an offshoot of Shi'ite Islam, have largely stood behind Assad, an Alawite. They argue that they are protecting Syria from Islamist militants.
Others say they begrudgingly support the regime out of fear they would become victims of a Sunni backlash after more than 40 years of rule by Alawite-dominated elites.
Banias is a Sunni pocket in the midst of a large Alawite enclave on Syria's Mediterranean coast, and activists in the area accuse militias loyal to Assad of ethnic cleansing.
Hundreds of panicked Sunni families fled Ras al-Nabaa in the south of Banias early on Saturday after the night of violence, said Rami Abdelrahman, head of the monitoring group, the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. "But now the army is turning people back at the checkpoints outside the town, telling them to go back to Banias, that nothing is wrong. There are also announcements going out on mosque loudspeakers telling people to return home."A video posted online by other activists showed a pile of nearly 20 bodies in Banias that they said were all from the same family. Several women and nine children were among the dead.
ARMY "RESERVES" BLAMED
The Britain-based Observatory, which collects its information from a network of activists across Syria and residents, said the Banias attack was the work of the National Defence Forces (NDF), a new paramilitary group made up mostly of fighters from minorities that back Assad. Trained and often directed by the military, the NDF describes itself as a reserve for the army. It has taken over the previously informal back-up role played by Alawite militias known as shabbiha, accused of previous massacres of Sunnis. The Observatory said it had documented the names of 50 people killed on Thursday in Baida, just outside Banias. It said several women and children were among the dead. In a statement, the U.S. State Department said it would "not lose sight of the men, women, and children whose lives are being so brutally cut short... We call on all responsible actors in Syria to speak out against the perpetration of unlawful killings against any group, regardless of faith or ethnicity."Banias and Baida were the scene of some of the first sectarian clashes in Syria in 2011, when shabbiha fighters attacked peaceful Sunni street protesters in the first few months of the uprising, killing several people.The Sunni Islamist group Ahrar al-Sham published a video on Saturday of its fighters launching rockets they said were aimed at the village of Qurdaha. Qurdaha is the birthplace and burial site of Hafez al-Assad, who ruled for over 30 years until his death, when his son Bashar al-Assad took power.
Ahrar al-Sham said the attack was a response to the killings in Baida and Banias. It was not possible to determine where the rockets hit as Qurdaha is controlled by Assad's forces.
There have been no reports on the killings or rocket attacks in Syria's official state media.(Editing by Pravin Char and Tom Pfeiffer)

Israel Strikes Hizbullah Weapons Shipment in Syria, Obama Says Has Right to 'Guard against Arming' the Party
Naharnet /An Israeli airstrike against Syria was targeting a shipment of advanced missiles bound for Hizbullah in Lebanon, Israeli officials confirmed Saturday.
It was the second Israeli strike this year against Syria and the latest salvo in its long-running effort to disrupt Hizbullah's quest to build an arsenal capable of defending against Israel's air force and spreading destruction inside the Jewish state. U.S. President Barack Obama considered later on Saturday that Israel is justified in protecting itself against shipments of advanced weapons to Hizbullah.
"The Israelis justifiably have to guard against the transfer of advanced weaponry to terrorist organizations like Hizbullah," he said without commenting directly on the reported strike to Telemundo television.
"We coordinate closely with the Israelis, recognizing that they are very close to Syria, they are very close to Lebanon." Officials said the attack took place early Friday and was aimed at sophisticated "game-changing" weapons, but not chemical arms. One official said the target was a shipment of advanced, long-range ground-to-ground missiles but was not more specific. It was not immediately clear where the attack took place, or whether the air force carried out the strike from Lebanese or Syrian airspace. The Israeli officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to disclose information about a secret military operation to the media.
U.S. officials had earlier confirmed the airstrike but said only that it appeared to have hit a warehouse. Calls to the Israeli military and Defense Ministry were not immediately answered.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly warned in recent weeks that Israel would be prepared to take military action if chemical weapons or other arms that would upset the balance of power with Hizbullah were to reach the Islamic militant group. Syria's assistant information minister, Khalaf Muftah, told Hizbullah's Manar TV that he has "no information about an aggression that was staged," and said reports of an Israeli air raid "come in the framework of psychological war in preparation of an aggression against Syria."It's not the first time since Syria's crisis erupted in March 2011 that Israel has intervened struck inside Syria.
In January, the Israeli air force is believed to have targeted a shipment of advanced SA-17 anti-aircraft missiles bound for Hizbullah. Israel has not formally admitted to carrying out that airstrike, though officials have strongly hinted they were behind the attack. The airstrikes follow decades of enmity between Israel and allies Syria and Hizbullah, which consider the Jewish state their mortal enemy. The situation has been further complicated by the civil war raging in Syria between President Bashar Assad regime and rebel brigades seeking his ouster. The war has drained Assad's military and threatens to deprive Hizbullah of a key supporter, in addition to its land corridor to Iran. The two countries provide Hizbullah with the bulk of its funding and arms. Israel and Hizbullah fought an inconclusive 34-day war in 2006 that left 1,200 Lebanese and 160 Israelis dead.
While the border has been largely quiet since, the struggle has taken other forms. Hizbullah has accused Israel of assassinating a top commander, and Israel blamed Hizbullah and Iran for a July 2012 attack on Israeli tourists in Bulgaria. In October, Hizbullah launched an Iranian-made reconnaissance drone over Israel, using the incident to brag about its expanding capabilities. Israeli officials believe that Hizbullah's arsenal has markedly improved since 2006, now boasting tens of thousands of rockets and missiles and the ability to strike almost anywhere inside Israel.Source/Agence France Presse/Associated Press.

Obama does "not foresee" US troops in Syria
AFP/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"
United States President Barack Obama came close Friday to ruling out deploying US troops to Syria, saying he did not foresee a scenario in which it would be beneficial to the United States or Syria. "As a general rule, I don't rule things out as commander-in-chief because circumstances change and you want to make sure that I always have the full power of the United States at our disposal to meet American national security interests," Obama said.
"Having said that, I do not foresee a scenario in which boots on the ground in Syria -- American boots on the ground in Syria -- would not only be good for America but also would be good for Syria."Speculation has mounted that the Obama administration could reverse its opposition to arming the rebels after the White House said last week that President Bashar al-Assad likely used chemical weapons on his people.
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.
But the US president has also stressed that more proof is needed for the United States to step up its involvement in a civil war that has already claimed more than 70,000 lives and is now in its third year. Speaking during a visit to Costa Rica, Obama said there was evidence that chemical weapons had been used in Syria, but that "we don't know when, where or how they were used."
But he noted that any strong evidence of the Assad regime using such weapons would be a "game changer" because they could fall into the hands of groups like the militant group Hezbollah, based in neighboring Lebanon.
"In terms of any additional steps that we take, it is going to be based on, number one the facts on the ground, number two it's going to be based on what's in the interest of the American people and our national security," Obama said."As president of the United States I'm going to make those decisions based on the best evidence and after careful consultation because when we rush into things, when we leap before we look, then not only do we pay a price but often times, we see unintended consequences on the ground."
Experts say a military mission to secure the chemical weapons would require a large ground force and pose huge risks, with the outcome hinging on the quality of Western intelligence.
Former Pentagon chief 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.
In Syria meanwhile, government troops bombarded Sunni areas of the Mediterranean city of Banias, a monitoring group said, warning of a new "massacre" that left at least 50 people dead.

Missing journalist likely in Syrian custody, news outlet says
CNN) -- A U.S. journalist missing in Syria for nearly six months is most likely in Syrian government custody, according to the GlobalPost, an online international news outlet, and the man's brother.
Gunmen kidnapped James Foley on November 22 and his family has since worked to obtain his release. Foley, a free-lance journalist, contributed stories to the GlobalPost.
According to a GlobalPost story on Friday, its CEO and president, Philip Balboni, said in a speech marking World Press Freedom Day that the outlet has a "very high degree of confidence" that Foley was "most likely abducted by a pro-regime militia group and turned over to Syrian government forces."
"We have obtained multiple independent reports from very credible confidential sources who have both indirect and direct access that confirm our assessment that Jim is now being held by the Syrian government in a prison or detention facility in the Damascus area," Balboni said.Amnesty: Journalists targeted in Syria  Journalist escapes from Syria  American journalist freed "We further believe that this facility is under the control of the Syrian Air Force Intelligence service. Based on what we have learned, it is likely Jim is being held with one or more Western journalists, including most likely at least one other American."
Another American journalist, Austin Tice, also is missing in Syria.According to the report, Balboni said that GlobalPost representatives were meeting with the Syrian ambassador to Lebanon in Beirut to muster support. The ambassador has delivered letters to the Syrian ministries of defense, interior, information and foreign affairs, GlobalPost said.Michael Foley, James Foley's brother, told CNN that information from "highly credible sources" indicates that "the Syrian government is holding him right now." He wouldn't elaborate.The Syrian government, however, has so far not acknowledged knowing of Foley's whereabouts."We continue to explore all avenues privately and through diplomatic channels to convince the Syrian government to release Jim so that he can return to his family," Balboni said. "We remain hopeful and totally committed to bringing Jim Foley home safely and as quickly as possible."GlobalPost said Foley was in a car heading for the Turkish border when, an eyewitness said, an unmarked car intercepted the journalist.
"The witness said men holding Kalashnikovs shot into the air and forced Foley out of the car. That was the last anyone heard from him," GlobalPost reported.
Foley was taken along with others in Libya in 2011. He and three other journalists were released by the Libyan military in May 2011.

The Shiite split
By: Raphael Thelen/Now Lebanon
Lebanon is still trying to come to terms with the latest turn of events on its northern border. More and more reports claim that Hezbollah fighters are involved in Syria, and the party’s leader Hassan Nasrallah said in a Tuesday speech that the party will not allow Syria to fall into the hands of western powers and Islamic extremists. The latter statement is a barely-concealed threat to escalate military intervention, if the government of Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad falls under seriously threat. But while most analysts agree that Hezbollah’s actions will increase tensions between Sunnis and Shiites in Lebanon, the question about their consequences for the Shiite community is disputed. “Hezbollah’s involvement in Syria is splitting the Shiite community in Lebanon,” says Hilal Khashan, a political analyst. “The only voices that can be heard in the media support Hezbollah, but there are some that are afraid of its involvement in Syria.” The latter group is growing, he maintains. “I talk to Shiite friends on a daily basis and privately they acknowledge their worries,” he says. The only reason that they do not go public with their opinions, Khashan says, is that they fear repercussions by Hezbollah. Hezbollah has acknowledged that individual members are fighting in the Lebanese villages on the Syrian side of the border between Hermel and al-Qusayr. Activists with the Syrian opposition claim that they are also helping the Syrian army’s assault on al-Qusayr. These reports cannot be verified but an increase in funerals for Hezbollah fighters in Lebanon points to ever-increasing involvement. “Today the Shiite community is divided into three categories,” says Qassem Kassir, head of the Al-Hakim Foundation, which promotes Shiite culture and religious dialogue. Kassir says that the majority of Shiites support Hezbollah, and understand its actions in Syria as aimed at protecting themselves against Sunni extremists. The second category is against Hezbollah, not only on the Syrian issue, but also in its fight against Israel. The third group is on good terms with Hezbollah, but is afraid of what might come out of the Syrian conflict. They insist on non-interference in Syria by all Lebanese groups. According to him, the second group is only vocal in the country’s media, lacking real power on the ground. Those who demand non-interference by all groups can be found in the circles around the deceased Shiite spiritual leader Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah and his son Ali. But both groups’ clout may decrease further, Kassir says. “I don’t know if Hezbollah has more or less support now than before the revolution. But Shiites feel more threatened day by day. Salafist groups like Jabhat al-Nusra make them move closer to each other.”
A statement from Hassan Zeater, head of municipality of al-Kasr, delineates his support. Al-Kasr is close to the Syrian border and has been repeatedly bombarded by forces of the Syrian opposition, resulting in several casualties. “We are expecting the war to come here soon,” says Zeater, a Hezbollah-sympathizer. “And we as the Shiites are going there [to Syria] in self-defense.” Already now, he says, people are selling possessions to buy weapons. The streets in the area are adorned with the yellow and green flags of Hezbollah. The Lebanese state has never had much influence in these remote areas. Only a few checkpoints along the highways give testimony to its presence. With the increase in cross-border violence, the people in Hermel have nowhere else to turn but to Hezbollah. “The Lebanese state doesn’t do anything to protect the people in Hermel. This is why since the rocket attacks, the people support Hezbollah even more,” says Kassir. This sentiment of feeling besieged is felt by Shiites across the country, Khashan says. And it is only strengthening the split along traditional confessional lines. One part of this is the increasingly aggressive rhetoric by Salafist preachers like Ahmed al-Assir and Salem al-Rafei. Both have vowed to send fighters to Syria and threatened Hezbollah in their speeches.
More important still is the increasingly successful campaigns of Jabhat al-Nusra in Syria. “Al-Assir and Al-Rafei are mostly vocal phenomena,” says Khashan, “but Lebanon’s Shiites are worried that Syria’s jihadis will converge on Lebanon, after the battle for Syria is over, and settle scores with Hezbollah.”
*Yara Chehayed contributed to this report

Back to Israel,Hezbollah (and Iran) reconsider their priorities
By: Toni Badran/ Now Lebanon
When Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah made his televised address on Tuesday, he was reportedly in Tehran – his second trip there in the last two weeks. During his first visit to Iran, Nasrallah met with Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani. Nasrallah apparently received strategic guidance on how to present Hezbollah’s escalating – and increasingly unpopular – involvement in Syria.
Hezbollah has been having trouble messaging its involvement in Syria. Consequently, Nasrallah devoted much of his speech to the war there. In laying out the rationale for his group’s participation in the fight alongside the Syrian regime, Nasrallah repeated the old excuse that Hezbollah was merely lending support to the Lebanese Shia residents of towns across the border in Syria. Then, he relayed the second argument—that his fighters have been protecting Shiite shrines, such as the Zaynab shrine in Damascus. This particular argument also has been on display especially in the various death notices and funerals of Hezbollah fighters believed to have been killed in action in Syria. The nature of this argument is overtly sectarian – as further evidenced by the charged names chosen for the fighting formations around Sayyida Zaynab, such as the Abu al-Fadl al-Abbas brigade. Hezbollah needs such a mobilizing call to justify the increasing number of dead fighters in Syria. Conjuring up the specter of hostile Sunnis coming after Shiite villages and religious places serves that purpose. In addition, according to an unnamed Hezbollah commander cited in the Kuwaiti newspaper al-Rai, the Iranian leadership agreed with Nasrallah on the continued use of the “protection of sacred sites” line. It does, furthermore, serve as a cover for other Shiite fighters from Iraq and elsewhere who are also on the ground in Sayyida Zaynab, from where Hezbollah is directing operations.
However, Hezbollah has long sought to avoid the perception that it was merely a sectarian Shiite militia. Instead, it has tried to enhance its own legitimacy, and expand Iran’s reach, in the Sunni Arab world by cultivating an image of a non-sectarian, pan-Islamic resistance movement against Israel.
It’s possible that a decision was taken on how to message Hezbollah’s involvement during Nasrallah’s meetings with the Iranian leadership two weeks ago. For around the same time, Hezbollah began marketing a new line in its statements and in the media. For example, Nabil Qaouq, the deputy head of the group’s executive council, declared at the memorial service of a Hezbollah fighter killed in action in Syria that Hezbollah does not “change the direction of the resistance’s rockets nor do we change its priorities no matter how bad the domestic and regional crises get… our priority is to increase military capabilities… any position [Hezbollah takes] regarding what is happening in Syria and Lebanon has to do, first and foremost, with protecting this equation [of the resistance].”
These talking points were then picked up in the pro-Hezbollah media. An article in the Lebanese newspaper As-Safir criticized how Hezbollah’s detractors were portraying “Israel’s tormenter as a sectarian party.” The author then echoed Qaouq’s language, asserting that Hezbollah’s “priority today, tomorrow and the day after, will remain Palestine.”
Hezbollah’s effort to link its role in Syria with the struggle against Israel explains the decision to send the drone over Israel last week. Although Nasrallah reiterated his party’s denial that it was behind the drone he, and the group more broadly, were clearly taking credit for it and boasting about it as an achievement, while refraining from claiming responsibility. For example, in its news editorial on the day of the drone incident, Al-Manar TV gloated by using language that evoked Nasrallah’s old threats of being able to reach “beyond Haifa.”
Nasrallah summarized the message behind the drone in his speech on Tuesday when he warned “anyone in Lebanon or the region” against thinking “that the resistance, as a result of what’s happening in Syria or the pressures on Iran, is in a moment of weakness, exhaustion, or confusion.” Rather, he added, “the resistance is vigilant, with its finger on the trigger.”
In other words, the drone was Hezbollah’s attempt to focus the narrative back on Israel. However, there are limits to how far Hezbollah can run with that narrative, hence its denial of responsibility. The Iranians can ill afford a devastating Israeli attack on Lebanon at this time as they prefer to safeguard Hezbollah’s retaliatory capabilities in case of a strike on their nuclear program.
That the drone was launched after Nasrallah’s first visit to Tehran two weeks ago suggests that the decision ultimately had to receive the blessing of Khamenei and Soleimani. In fact, some in the Israeli military believe that the Iranian Revolutionary Guard contingent in Lebanon took charge of operating the drone. This shouldn’t come as a surprise, as the presence of IRGC personnel in Lebanon is well known.
Last year, Qassem Soleimani confidently proclaimed that Iran controlled south Lebanon. Soleimani's claim is hard to dispute. Nasrallah’s April visit to Iran, with the ensuing drone operation and adjustment to Hezbollah’s Syria narrative, only serves to underscore that the Party of God’s ultimate command center is in Tehran.
*Tony Badran is a research fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. He tweets @AcrossTheBay.
 

Israel bombs Hezbollah-bound missiles in Syria - official

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/u-believes-israel-conducted-airstrike-syria-cnn-004247931.html

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Israel has carried out an air strike targeting a shipment of missiles in Syria bound for Hezbollah guerrillas in neighbouring Lebanon, an Israeli official said on Saturday.
Israel had long made clear it is prepared to resort to force to prevent advanced Syrian weapons, including President Bashar al-Assad's reputed chemical arsenal, reaching his Shi'ite Muslim Hezbollah allies or Islamist insurgents taking part in a more than two-year-old uprising against his government.
Hezbollah, allied with Israel's arch-enemy Iran, waged an inconclusive war with the Jewish state in 2006 and remains a potent threat in Israeli eyes. Israelis also worry that if Assad is toppled, Islamist rebels could turn his guns on them after four decades of relative calm in the Golan Heights border area.
The target of Friday's raid was not a Syrian chemical weapons facility, a regional security source earlier said.
A U.S. official, who also declined to be identified, had told Reuters on Friday the target was apparently a building.
The Israeli official who acknowledged the raid and described its target spoke on condition of anonymity. Israel's government has not formally taken responsibility for the action or confirmed it happened.
The attack took place after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's security cabinet approved it in a secret meeting on Thursday night, the regional security source said.
CNN quoted unnamed U.S. officials as saying Israel most likely conducted the strike "in the Thursday-Friday time frame" and its jets did not enter Syrian air space.
The Israeli air force has so-called "standoff" bombs that coast dozens of kilometres (miles) across ground to their targets once fired. That could, in theory, allow Israel to attack Syria from its own turf or from adjacent Lebanon.
Lebanese authorities reported unusual intensive Israeli air force activity over their territory on Thursday and Friday.
A Lebanese security source said his initial impression was that Israeli overflights were monitoring potential arms shipments between Syria and Lebanon, potentially to Hezbollah.
"We believe that it is linked to Israel's concerns over the transfer of weapons, particularly chemical weapons, from Syria to its allies Lebanon," said the official, who asked not to be named.
Syrian government sources denied having information of a strike. Bashar Ja'afari, the Syrian ambassador to the United Nations, told Reuters: "I'm not aware of any attack right now."
ANTI-AIRCRAFT MISSILES TARGETED?
But Qassim Saadedine, a commander and spokesman for the rebel Free Syrian Army, said: "Our information indicates there was an Israeli strike on a convoy that was transferring missiles to Hezbollah. We have still not confirmed the location."Rebel units were in disagreement about what type of weapons were in the convoy. A rebel from an information-gathering unit in Damascus that calls itself "The Syrian Islamic Masts Intelligence" said the convoy carried anti-aircraft missiles.The rebel, who asked not to be named, said: "There were three strikes by Israeli F-16 jets that damaged a convoy carrying anti-aircraft missiles heading to the Shi'ite Lebanese party (Hezbollah) along the Damascus-Beirut military road.
"One strike hit a site near the (Syrian) Fourth Armoured Division in al-Saboura but we have been unable to determine what is in that location".
Saadedine said he did not think the weapons were anti-aircraft. "We have nothing confirmed yet but we are assuming that it is some type of long-range missile that would be capable of carrying chemical materials," he said.
In January this year, Israel bombed a convoy in Syria, apparently hitting weapons destined for Hezbollah, according to diplomats, Syrian rebels and security sources in the region.
Israel has not formally confirmed carrying out that strike.
Lebanese acting foreign minister Adnan Mansour was critical. "Attacks such as these will result in more tension and blow up the situation which it promoted," he said.
"This will not give Israel the peace or security that it wants, in its own way, rather it will push the region into an inflamed struggle and into the unknown."
Giora Eiland, a former Israeli army general and national security adviser, said the apparent deadlock in Syria's civil war, now in its third year, meant the Netanyahu government had to be prudent in any military intervention.
"I don't anticipate far-reaching consequences in Lebanon or Syria (from Israel's actions)," Eiland told Israel Radio. "Israel appears to be conducting itself judiciously."
Israel remains technically at war with neighbouring Syria. It captured Syria's Golan Heights in the 1967 Middle East war, built settlements and annexed the land. Yet belligerence was rare and the borderland has remained largely quiet for decades.But Israeli security concerns have risen since Islamist fighters linked to al-Qaeda assumed a prominent role in the insurrection against Assad.
They have also worried that Hezbollah could eventually obtain his chemical arsenal and other advanced weaponry. But there is no risk of that happening for the time being, a senior Israeli official said on Saturday.
"Syria has large amounts of chemical weaponry and missiles. Everything there is under (Assad government) control," Defence Ministry strategist Amos Gilad said in a speech.
(Additional reporting by Erika Solomon in Beirut; Editing by Mark Heinrich)