Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources/September 05/13

Lebanon court orders release of suspect in Tripoli bombings
Hezbollah says Assad made 'big mistake' with chemical attack: report
Nasrallah discusses Syria with Boroujerdi
Lebanon court orders release of suspect in Tripoli bombings
Lebanon charges 14 in rocket attack
Maronite bishops warn against Syria military intervention
Lebanon's Private sector strikes in parts of Lebanon, warns of escalation
Strike is a cry for remedying Lebanon’s ailing economy: Sleiman
Supporter of fugitive preacher, Assir, arrested in Lebanon's Sidon
March 14 figures condemn detention of Saudis
Al-Jamaa: Assad bears responsibility for foreign attacks
Lebanon buckling under weight of refugees
Miqati in Diman for Talks with al-Rahi, Says Dialogue is Essential
Lebanese Business Leaders, Syndicate Coordination Committee Push for Solution to Political, Financial Woes
Suleiman Hopes Economic Committees Would Make Voices Heard
Report: Lebanon's ISF Members Questioned over Celebratory Gunfire
Pro-Israel Group Backs Obama to Send 'Forceful Message' to Iran, Hizbullah
Obama's plan for Syria strike faces tougher test as opposition-led House holds 1st hearing
AIPAC say they support US strike on Syria
Putin says could turn against Assad - if case proved
Putin softens tone as Obama gains support for Syria strike
France says action against Syria would 're-balance' situation
US Senate Foreign Relations Committee green-lights authorization of use of military force in Syria
Hamas dismisses talk of strike by Egypt against Gaza
AIPAC say they support US strike on Syria
Russia sends missile cruiser to Mediterranean: Interfax
Obama gains key House allies on Syria strike
UN's Ban casts doubt on legality of US plans to punish Syria
Israel announces successful joint missile test with US in Med, after Russia detects launch
Sweden grants blanket asylum to Syrian refugees
Former Syria defence minister breaks with Assad-Labwani
Syria says will not give in 'even if there is WWIII' -
Islamists seize entrance to famed Syria Christian town: NGO
Global community cannot be silent on Syria: Obama
Al-Qaeda set up anti-drone cells, secret US documents show: Post
Syria crisis: European disgrace
Syria war: Arab MKs missed their chance

Maronite bishops warn against Syria military intervention

September 04, 2013/The Daily Star /BEIRUT: Maronite bishops denounced Wednesday the alleged use of chemical weapons in Syria but warned against a foreign military intervention in the neighboring country. “The bishops denounce the use of chemical weapons in Syria but they call for being aware of the risks of a potential military strike,” the bishops said in a statement following their monthly meeting. The United States has warned it might take military action against the Syrian government after accusing it of being behind a chemical attack that claimed the lives of over a thousand people in the suburbs of Damascus last month. The bishops said that a possible military strike on the neighboring country could affect the whole region and they said a political solution would be the best option to end the Syria crisis. “We call for resolving the Syria crisis through dialogue and peaceful diplomatic means, a political solution is the best option for Syria,” the bishops’ statement said. The bishops also reiterated their call for forming a Cabinet capable of addressing challenges facing the country. “Given the dangers threatening Lebanon from both inside and outside the country, the bishops call on state officials... to overcome all barriers dividing them and make a Cabinet capable of confronting dangers and of protecting the Lebanese people and constitutional institutions from total collapse,” the bishops said. “It is about time to realize that if the nation falls apart, we will all fall with it,” they said. The council’s meeting was attended by Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, who later attended a lunch banquet and held a closed-door meeting with Cardinal Beshara Rai. Rai hailed the patience of the caretaker PM as he voiced concern over the delay in the formation of a new government. “We feel with you in the role you have to bear and we praise your patience and efforts. We are concerned with the fate of the nation in this difficult period and the lack of a government that can confront the developments,” the cardinal said. For his part, Mikati stressed the need for National Dialogue to end the country’s political crisis and reiterated his call for the adoption of a policy of self-dissociation from conflicts in the region, mainly in neighboring Syria.“Dialogue between the Lebanese is central to resolve disputes and in order to leave our children a nation that is in peace and not subjected to wars every few decades,’ Mikati said. “I call for facing the difficult circumstances experienced by Lebanon through consolidating the domestic front and reinvigorating the policy of dissociation by returning to the Baabda Declaration,” he added in reference to the agreement between Lebanese rivals to distance Lebanon from regional struggles

Lebanon court orders release of suspect in Tripoli bombings
September 04, 2013/The Daily Star /BEIRUT: A military court ordered Wednesday the release of sheikh Hashem Minqara who is charged with withholding information in the recent case of two deadly bombings in the northern city of Tripoli.  A judicial source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that the Military Court of Cassation ordered the release of Minqara, dismissing an earlier request by Military Prosecutor Saqr Saqr seeking the continued detention of the Salafist preacher.  Military Investigative Judge Riad Abu Ghayda had ordered Minqara’s release Monday but the decision was challenged by Saqr. Minqara, the head of a pro-Assad Islamist group in Lebanon, was charged with withholding information about a cell involved in last month’s bombings in Tripoli that killed 47 and wounded hundreds. Two suspects in the bombing remain in detention – Sheikh Ahmad Gharib and informant Mustafa Houri. Arrest warrants are expected to be issued soon against a Syrian intelligence officer and another Syrian man allegedly involved in the deadly attacks in the northern city which has frequently witnessed violence over the conflict in neighboring Syria.

Hezbollah says Assad made 'big mistake' with chemical attack: report
September 03, 2013/The Daily Star /BEIRUT: German’s foreign intelligence agency intercepted a phone call between a Hezbollah official and the Iranian Embassy with the former confirming the regime’s use of poisonous gas, saying President Bashar Assad made “a big mistake,” Der Spiegel magazine reported Tuesday. During a secret briefing to select lawmakers Monday, the head of Germany’s intelligence agency, Gerhard Schindler told politicians that the service listened in on a conversation between a high-ranking Hezbollah official and the Iranian Embassy. “The Hezbollah functionary seems to have admitted that poison gas was used," Schindler was quoted as saying  According to Schindler, the Hezbollah official said that "Assad lost his nerves and made a big mistake by ordering the chemical weapons attack.” Last week, a security source told The Daily Star that at least four Hezbollah fighters were receiving treatment in Beirut after coming into contact with chemical agents in Syria, The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said between four and five members came into contact with the chemical agents while searching a group of rebel tunnels in the Damascus suburb of Jobar over the weekend. In the Der Spiegel article, Schindler said the analysis of the evidence at hand has led the German intelligence service to believe that Assad's regime used sarin gas on its citizens.

Lebanon's Private sector strikes in parts of Lebanon, warns of escalation
September 04, 2013/The Daily Star /BEIRUT: Big businesses and banks observed a one-day strike in different parts of Lebanon Wednesday to protest a collapsing economy as the private sector warned of further action if officials fail to form a new government. “We will adopt escalatory steps in the event a government is not formed,” said Adnan Qassar, head of the Economic Committees, which called for Wednesday’s strike.
His comments came during a news conference following a meeting with President Michel Sleiman. In Beirut's main Hamra street big stores and banks closed as part of the strike. Only small shops were seen open.
A number of cafe and restaurant owners in the popular area told The Daily Star they would end the strike action at 12 p.m., in line with a decision by the Association of Restaurants calling on members to close down for three hours. In Tripoli, Lebanon's second-largest city, the picture was similar with many large, privately-owned firms and banks closed. Roughly half of the shops in the downtown markets were closed.
Business protests in the southern city of Sidon were limited to the closure of banks.The normally busy highways and city streets saw reduced morning traffic.
Oil importers stopped fuel delivery Wednesday as part of the protest but not all gas stations respected the strike.
The Economic Committees, a body representing private sector institutions, called for the strike last week, demanding that political parties agree on forming a Cabinet to support the economy.
The Cabinet resigned in March after fallout over attempts to extend the term of a senior security official and increased polarization over the Syrian conflict.
Caretaker Industry Minister Vrej Sabonjian said Wednesday the strike would not hasten a Cabinet formation. “The shutdown of institutions will not lead to a government formation,” Sabonjian told the Voice of Lebanon radio station. He held the private sector responsible for the closures, which he said could “destroy” the confidence of foreign depositors and lead to deposit withdrawals.
The Economic Committees head said the protests came after a series of actions and appeals had failed.
“In light of the serious economic collapse we had to move and say ‘No,’” Qassar said.
He blamed politicians for the political deadlock that has fanned tensions and blocked a new Cabinet lineup.
Since his appointment in April, Prime Minister-designate Tammam Salam has been struggling to form a new government in the face of conditions and counter-conditions by rival Lebanese camps.
Qassar urged politicians to “return to their consciences, abandon their interests, and head to dialogue” in order to ensure stability, particularly following the recent bombings that hit Tripoli, in north Lebanon, and Beirut’s southern suburbs. The private sector strike coincided with sit-ins by the Union Coordination Committee that represents public employees.
UCC head Hanna Gharib urged political leaders to find solutions to the suffering of the Lebanese.
“We want a government to protect civil peace and ensure the livelihood of citizens that are part of the civil peace,” Gharib told a rally outside the Education Ministry Wednesday.

March 14 figures condemn detention of Saudis
September 04, 2013/The Daily Star /BEIRUT: March 14 MP Marwan Hamadeh and former MP Fares Soueid denounced Tuesday the detention of Saudi diplomats by Hezbollah members in Beirut’s southern suburbs and called on Lebanese authorities to take measures to protect Lebanese citizens and Arab residents. Hamadeh and Soueid, coordinator of the March 14 Secretariat General, visited the Saudi Embassy where they met with the Saudi Ambassador Ali Awad Asiri and Charge d’Affaires Abdullah al-Zahrani. They discussed with Asiri “the general situation in Lebanon and the region, especially the events in Syria and their repercussions on Lebanon,” according to a statement released after the meeting, the state-run National News Agency reported. Hamadeh and Soueid condemned detaining “Saudi diplomats and Arab nationals and questioning them by illegitimate armed militias,” the statement said, in a clear reference to Hezbollah. The pair voiced their “full solidarity with Arab brothers who are in Lebanon for touristic, professional or medical reasons.”Last week, the Saudi Embassy filed a complaint with the Foreign Ministry after one of its diplomatic cars was inspected at a Hezbollah checkpoint near Beirut’s southern suburb of Shiyah.

March 14 General Secretariat: To Punish Syrian Regime for Chemical Weapons' Use
Naharnet/The March 14 General Secretariat held the Syrian regime responsible for the bombings that rocked the Dahieh area and the city of Tripoli in August, and backed the decision of the Arab League foreign ministers to punish the Syrian regime for using chemical weapons against its own people. In a statement issued following its weekly meeting on Wednesday, the Secretariat said that the involvement of the Syrian regime in the bombings that targeted the southern district of Beirut and the northern city of Tripoli has been proved, pointing that the vicious schemes come to complement the schemes of Mamlouk-Samaha. The statement also rejected “Hizbullah's accusations” which blamed internal parties in a bid to cover the real perpetrators behind the crimes, and voiced calls to inform the Syrian ambassador that he is a “persona non grata.” March 14 praised the vigilance of the people of Tripoli and Dahieh who were able to thwart the plans that aimed to “drive them to sedition.” Two massive blasts car bombs exploded on august 23 outside two Sunni mosques in Tripoli killing 45 individuals and wounding 500, a week after a similar explosion rocked the Dahieh suburb, Hizbullah's stronghold, killing 27. On the situation in Syria, March 14 described the Syrian regime's use of chemical weapons against its people as an “unprecedented massacre” adding that it is a “crime against humanity” that shows the “madness” of the regime. The crime highlights the necessity to punish Syrian President Bashar Assad to put an end to his “criminal approach,” the statement added. The General Secretariat backed the demands of the Arab League foreign ministers that called to “punish the regime of Assad”, reiterating their support to the Syrian people's fight for freedom and dignity.”Arab League foreign ministers on Sunday urged the United Nations and the international community to take "deterrent" action against the Syrian regime over alleged chemical attacks near Damascus.

15 Charged for Firing Rockets at Baabda, Beirut's Southern Suburbs
Naharnet/State Commissioner to the Military Court Judge Saqr Saqr on Wednesday charged 15 suspects, seven of whom are in custody, for firing rockets at Baabda and Beirut's southern suburbs. The seven suspects include two Lebanese and five Syrians, said the state-run National News Agency. But NNA did not disclose the nationalities of the rest of the network's members who were charged in absentia. The charges against the 15 suspects include forming an armed terrorist group to carry out terrorist activities, and buying explosives in addition to launching rockets toward Baabda and Beirut's southern suburbs. If convicted, the suspects face the death penalty. In May, a pair of rockets slammed into a car dealership and a residential building in the stronghold of Hizbullah in Beirut's southern suburbs, wounding four people. Later in June, the so-called Ballouneh cell was involved in a failed rocket attack on Yarze and the Baabda area. Reports had said that the members of the cell intended to target the Defense Ministry in Yarze and the presidential palace in Baabda. But one rocket hit a high-voltage power line in a nearby town and a second rocket failed to launch. The launchpads were found in the Kesrouan town of Ballouneh.

Suleiman Hopes Economic Committees Would Make Voices Heard
Naharnet/President Michel Suleiman hoped on Wednesday that parliamentary blocs and political leaders would heed the requests of the Economic Committees and exert efforts to form a new government.
“It is important for blocs and political leaders to hear this scream and be positive in their political work by exerting efforts to form an all-embracing cabinet in which everyone would assume his responsibility,” Suleiman told a visiting delegation of Economic Committees led by Adnan Kassar. The president also called for the resumption of the national dialogue to continue discussions on a national defense strategy amid growing threats and mainly the danger posed by Israel. Suleiman expressed readiness to add other items on the agenda of the all-party talks on condition that they be in connection with the defense strategy. The Economic Committees -business leaders and owners of major firms – held a nationwide strike on Wednesday to call on politicians to resolve the country's political and financial crises. During his meeting with Suleiman, Kassar, who is the head of the Committees, expressed hope that politicians would agree on a government that would run the people's daily social and economic affairs. The delegation also announced confidence in Suleiman's role in preserving national unity and stability.

Tragic power play
The Daily Star / The joint U.S.-Israeli missile test in the Mediterranean Tuesday morning, announced first by Russia, epitomizes exactly how the tragedy of the Syrian civil war has now become a power play between the Cold War enemies, acted out in someone else’s backyard. The White House denied the move had anything to do with Syria, or, explicitly, the fact that the U.S. is currently considering military action in response to an alleged chemical weapons attack in late August which it says it knows was carried out by the government and killed over 1,400 people.
But coming a day after Russian reports indicated that Moscow was sending a reconnaissance ship to the Mediterranean, perhaps to keep the growing U.S. armada in the region company, this cannot be seen as an unrelated event that was planned long in advance. No one is that naive. The U.S. and Israel are, quite literally, testing the waters, and gauging Russian reactions ahead of a possible limited cruise missile strike on Damascus. Although Russia has denied it would get involved on behalf of the Syrian government, it already is. It is well known that any defensive systems Syria has is thanks to Moscow. A proxy war if ever there was one, the civil war in Syria is being used by Moscow to humiliate Barack Obama as much as possible. Ahead of any military action, Vladimir Putin wants Obama’s administration to know that any offensive won’t necessarily be a walk in the park. The U.S. may have the world’s most formidable army, but Russia isn’t far behind, or so the message goes.
These military games are more about these decades-old animosities, the never-ending arms race, oil, Israel and regional alliances. Yet it is the people of the Middle East who, once again, feel the consequences. The region has apparently been on the verge of war for weeks, and these have been tense times for Syria’s neighbors. With the economic markets shaky, waking up to news of missile testing because of some American and Israeli muscle flexing is not good for the region’s blood pressure.
With the news Tuesday that there are now 2 million Syrian refugees, on top of the 5 million internally displaced, and over 110,000 dead, it seems clearer than ever that whatever the U.S. has up its sleeve is not about protecting lives or seeking stability for Syria. It is about protecting its own image as a world superpower, as Israel’s bodyguard, as a heavyweight in the region – about saving whatever shred of credibility it has left. Unfortunately for Obama, the Arab region appears to have seen this American “policy” for what it is. The fig leaf has fallen. The U.S. cannot claim to be concerned with the sanctity of human life when all it really appears to care about is flexing its muscles and attempting to intimidate its Russian counterparts. The game is up, and sadly for America, it appears to be the last to realize that.
 

Obama's plan for Syria strike faces tougher test as opposition-led House holds 1st hearing
WASHINGTON - The Obama administration faces a tough examination of its plans for military strikes in Syria on Wednesday as the debate moves into the opposition-controlled House of Representatives, where the significant support the proposal has received in the Senate will be harder to find. With President Barack Obama in Europe, his top national security aides were facing public and private hearings at the Capitol to argue for Congress' authorization for limited strikes against Syrian President Bashar Assad's regime. That's in retaliation for what the administration says was a deadly sarin gas attack by his forces outside Damascus last month.
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee could vote on authorizing the use of force as early as Wednesday. The panel's top members drafted a resolution late Tuesday that permits Obama to order a "limited and tailored" military mission against Syria, as long as it doesn't exceed 90 days and involves no U.S. troops on the ground for combat operations. "We have an obligation to act, not witness and watch while a humanitarian tragedy is unfolding in plain view," said the committee's chairman, Sen. Bob Menendez. The White House had no immediate reaction to the Senate measure. Secretary of State John Kerry, testifying earlier before the committee, signalled that the troop restriction was acceptable.
Now the administration needs to persuade a Republican-dominated House of Representatives has opposed almost everything on Obama's agenda since the party seized the majority more than three years ago.
The top opposition Republican in Congress, House Speaker John Boehner, has signalled key support. He emerged from a meeting at the White House on Tuesday and declared that the U.S. has "enemies around the world that need to understand that we're not going to tolerate this type of behaviour." The administration says 1,429 people died from the gas attack on Aug. 21. The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which collects information from a network of anti-government activists in Syria, says its toll has reached 502. Assad's government blames the episode on the rebels. A United Nations inspection team is awaiting lab results on tissue and soil samples it collected while in the country last week. Obama on Saturday unexpectedly stepped back from ordering a military strike under his own authority and announced he would seek congressional approval.
On Wednesday, Kerry, Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Martin Dempsey, will try to make their case in a public hearing before the House Foreign Affairs Committee. They and other senior administration officials also will provide classified briefings to the Senate Foreign Relations and Armed Services committees.
But even supporters of military action urged Obama to do more to sell his plans to an American public that is highly skeptical after a decade of war in Iraq and Afghanistan.
For the next few days, however, the president is out of the country, first in Sweden and later at a G-20 economic summit in Russia.
Obama is expected to find little international support for action right now. Among major allies, only France has offered publicly to join the United States in a strike.
The United Nations secretary-general on Tuesday warned that any "punitive" strike on Syria would be illegal without a sound case for self-defence or the approval of the Security Council, where Syria ally Russia has used its veto power to block action against Assad's regime. Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned the West against taking one-sided action in Syria but also said Russia "doesn't exclude" supporting a U.N. resolution on punitive military strikes if it is proved that Damascus used poison gas on its own people. In a wide-ranging interview Tuesday with The Associated Press, Putin expressed hope that he and Obama would have serious discussions about Syria and other issues at the G-20 summit in St. Petersburg this week.
Obama has already cancelled a one-on-one meeting in Moscow with Putin amid tensions over Russia's granting of asylum to National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden.
**Associated Press writers Bradley Klapper, David Espo, Julie Pace, Josh Lederman, Donna Cassata, Alan Fram, Jennifer C. Kerr and Lolita C. Baldor contributed to this report.

AIPAC say they support US strike on Syria
REUTERS 09/04/2013/J.Post
http://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/AIPAC-say-they-support-US-strike-on-Syria-325245
WASHINGTON - Three influential pro-Israel groups urged US lawmakers on Tuesday to authorize US President Barack Obama to launch an attack on Syria, signaling a stepped-up lobbying effort for American military action. The statements by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and the Republican Jewish Coalition (RJC) represented the groups' most public show of support for US military action since the Aug. 21 attack near Damascus in which Syria's government is accused of using chemical weapons to kill more than 1,400 people. During the past two weeks, the groups had been unusually quiet as the Obama administration sought to build a case for limited strikes against Syrian President Bashar Assad's government Supporters of the groups and government sources acknowledged that the groups had made it known that they supported US action. But, the sources said, the groups generally want the debate to focus on US national security rather than how a decision to attack Syria might help Israel - a reflection of their sensitivity to being seen as rooting for the United States to go to war. Even so, in recent days Obama, Secretary of State John Kerry and other administration officials had emphasized that a mission to degrade Assad's chemical weapons stockpiles would reduce his ability to use them in Syria's civil war and beyond the county's borders.
They also argued that if the United States took a stand against chemical weapons in Syria, it would be a warning to Iran, the Hezbollah militant group and others that might threaten the Jewish state.
Failing to act, the administration has argued, would endanger Israel by allowing instability on its borders and emboldening Iran, which Western powers believe is developing nuclear weapons.
It was unclear precisely why the pro-Israel groups issued their statements on Tuesday. But they followed a 45-minute meeting at the White House in which administration officials briefed Jewish groups on how it is framing the debate on Capitol Hill, according to a government source who was not authorized to speak publicly.
In its statement, AIPAC called on Congress to "support the president's effort to protect American security interests" and "dissuade the Syrian regime's further use of unconventional weapons."
"The civilized world cannot tolerate the use of these barbaric weapons, particularly against an innocent civilian population including hundreds of children," the group said in its statement, which was signed by AIPAC President Michael Kassen and Howard Kohr, the chief executive.
"America must also send a forceful message of resolve to Iran and Hezbollah - both of whom have provided direct and extensive military support to Assad," the AIPAC officials said.
Israel and groups that support it are particularly sensitive to the use of chemical weapons in light of Adolf Hitler use of deadly gas during World War II. Nearly half of the estimated 6 million Jews killed during the war are widely believed to have been gassed at Nazi prison camps.
In the ADL's statement, National Chair Barry Curtiss-Lusher and National Director Abraham Foxman said that "any nation that violates international norms and obligations which threaten the peace and security of the world must face the consequences of those dangerous acts." And in a statement posted on its web site, the RJC said, "It is imperative that the U.S. preserve its ability to protect a credible military deterrent."
'WE ARE NOT INVOLVED'
The cautious approach taken by the pro-Israel groups in the days after the Aug. 21 chemical attack in Syria was similar to that of Israel itself.
Since the rebellion against Assad began in 2011 Israel has not injected itself into Syria's civil war, a sign that however wary they are of Assad, Israeli officials also are concerned about potential chaos between warring factions in Syria if Assad were ousted. On Tuesday, Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon sought to distance Israel from any US decision-making. "We are not involved nor are we getting involved in Syria," he said. "We reiterate this again and again." Several US lawmakers said they had not heard from Israel on the matter of Syria. "The Israelis will always take care of themselves. They have never asked for our military. They will never ask for anyone to defend them but themselves, and I think that Israel will be just fine," said New York Representative Eliot Engel, the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee

How does Obama think?
By: Hussein Shobokshi/Asharq Alawsat
The following lines will not be an attempt for me to tell somebody’s fortune or do the work of a psychologist. Yet, it is an attempt to rate US President Barack Obama’s character and the way he makes political decisions in general, including the decision to launch a military strike against the Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad’s regime, following the horrible massacre he committed against his own people in which nearly 2,000 people were killed or injured, the majority being children, as everyone knows. Obama came to power after a president who embroiled the US in two wars without a clear objective, exhausting much of America’s financial resources. In fact, these two wars contributed to an unprecedentedly grave financial crisis that entangled the entire world, not to mention the human causalities endured by the US armed forces. Therefore, Obama was always keen to repeatedly say that he will be the president who will end America’s involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan and that he will not get the country into any new wars.
Furthermore, there are influential political circles around President Obama that keep telling him that the Middle East region is no longer important to the US and that less than 24 percent of its oil come from that region—an average they say is likely to decrease owing to the existence of shale oil and other alternative resources. The political circles around Obama argue that the problem must be with China, for it relies greatly on the Middle East’s oil, and so it must have clear and important interests there. Therefore, for those circles, now Obama must not handle or view the issue as critically important.
However, President Obama had made a big political promise that using chemical weapons is a “red line” and he will not allow anyone to cross it. So, the case now is the stature and credibility of America’s leadership of the world. This is because should Obama not react forcefully, it would be a highly significant message to rogue states across the world that they were free to cross red lines without retribution, or the deterrence would be limited and bearable. The hesitation of the decision-makers in the US seems clear, as such hesitation occurred when handling an oppressive, blood-thirsty and a tyrannical regime that is theoretically backed by America’s rivals. It is not really difficult to convince others of the case, especially in view of the evidence, proofs and eyewitnesses that all testify to the al-Assad regime’s use of chemical weapons to kill its own people, and not for the first time.
The world is anticipating America’s decision and reaction to Assad crossing the red line it had drawn for him and to exhibiting indifference to its threat. Now, America’s stature is placed on that red line, and so any tremor in America’s world stature could impact on its huge interests there. This also means that the US does not think about the victims of the Assad regime or of the Syrian revolution and its course in this particular moment, but only of how the Assad regime dared to challenge the US and to cross the redline it had drawn for it.
Barack Obama is a cautious and hesitant academic who always wishes to gain the satisfaction of everyone, a mission that seems almost impossible to achieve. However, an American politician concerned with national security is concerned about the delay in producing a “decisive” reaction against a regime that insulted his country’s leadership by scorning a clear red line it had drawn for it. As I said, this is an attempt to know how Obama thinks, and days will show us practically how the man will react.
 

France says action against Syria would 're-balance' situation
PARIS - France's government offers a preview Wednesday of what the Obama administration faces next week, as lawmakers debate the wisdom and necessity of a military response to a chemical weapons attack in Syria that killed hundreds. Shoring up support for a military response, French officials said a punitive military response would help shift the balance in a 2 1/2-year-old civil war that was tipping in favour of Bashar Assad.
"If you want a political solution you have to move the situation. If there's no sanction, Bashar Assad will say 'that's fine, I'll continue what I'm doing,'" France's foreign minister, Laurent Fabius, told France Info radio Wednesday morning, hours ahead of the debate. As the Obama administration worked to build its own support ahead of the Congress vote, the U.S. and Israel conducted a joint missile test Tuesday in the eastern Mediterranean in an apparent signal of military readiness. In the operation, a missile was fired from the sea toward the Israeli coast to test the tracking by the country's missile defence system.
But Russian President Vladimir Putin, one of Assad's most vocal supporters, warned the West against taking one-sided action in Syria, although he told The Associated Press that Russia had frozen new shipments to Syria of an air defence missile system.
There's a major difference between the French debate and the one coming up on Capitol Hill: President Francois Hollande has an easy majority in the French parliament, and he neither needs nor — unlike President Barack Obama — wants their vote of approval. But with the prospect of military action against Assad facing dwindling support internationally, the government has been building its case.
The U.S. and France accuse the Syrian government of using chemical weapons in an Aug. 21 attack on rebel-held suburbs of Damascus that killed hundreds of people. Obama and Hollande are pushing for a military response to punish Assad for his alleged use of poison gas against civilians — though U.S. officials say any action will be limited in scope, not aimed at helping to remove Assad.
Putin said Russia "doesn't exclude" supporting a U.N. resolution on punitive military strikes if it is proved that Damascus used poison gas on its own people, but he questioned the proofs released by Britain, the United States and France as part of their efforts to build international support.
Any proof needs to go before the Security Council, Putin told The Associated Press. "And it ought to be convincing. It shouldn't be based on some rumours and information obtained by special services through some kind of eavesdropping, some conversations and things like that."
Fabius, the French foreign minister, said Syria would certainly come up at this week's G-20 meeting in Russia.
"We will discuss with the Russians, because they are an important player in the region. Up until now they've been blocking things. If there's been an evolution that would be very desirable," Fabius said.
On Tuesday, the White House won backing for military action from two powerful Republicans — House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner and House majority leader Eric Cantor.
In Syria, Al-Baath newspaper, the mouthpiece of the country's ruling Baath party, slammed U.S. senators and members of the Congress for their support.
An editorial in the paper's Wednesday edition branded the American lawmakers who backed military action in Syria as "advocates of war and terrorism."
"When the Obama administration seeks a broader mandate from the Congress, which it basically in no need of, this means that it prepares itself for what is bigger and more dangerous," the paper said.
In Paris, Hollande said that the U.S. vote "will have consequences on the coalition that we will have to create." He did not specify whether that meant a military coalition.
Fabius on Wednesday acknowledged the U.S. vote was crucial.
"If the United States backed off — which I don't plan on, but anything can happen — this type of action wouldn't be possible and so we would have to consider the Syrian question in another way," he said.
Syria's parliament speaker sent a letter to his counterparts in France ahead of Wednesday's debate, urging them not to make any "hasty" decisions. The office of Assembly President Claude Bartolone confirmed receipt of the letter and promised a public response later Wednesday.
The Syrian lawmakers sent a similar letter to Britain ahead of a parliamentary vote there that came down against military action.
Since the outbreak of the Syria conflict in March 2011, the two sides have fought to a stalemate, though the Assad regime has retaken the offensive in recent months. Rebel fighters control large rural stretches in northern and eastern Syria, while Assad is holding on to most of the main urban areas.
French government spokeswoman Najat Vallaud-Belkacem said punitive action in Syria would "re-balance" the situation on the ground.
The Syrian conflict, which began as a popular uprising against Assad in March 2011, later degenerated into a civil war that has killed more than 100,000 people.
The U.N. refugee agency said Tuesday that the number of Syrians who have fled the country has surpassed the 2 million mark.
Along with more than four million people displaced inside Syria, this means more than six million Syrians have been uprooted, out of an estimated population of 23 million.
Antonio Guterres, the head of the Office for the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, said Syria is hemorrhaging an average of almost 5,000 citizens a day across its borders, many of them with little more than the clothes they are wearing. Nearly 1.8 million refugees have fled in the past 12 months alone, he said.
The agency's special envoy, actress Angelina Jolie, said "some neighbouring countries could be brought to the point of collapse" if the situation keeps deteriorating at its current pace. Most Syrian refugees have fled to Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey.
**Associated Press writers Karin Laub in Beirut, Daniel Estrin in Jerusalem, Lori Hinnant, Sylvie Corbet and Jamey Keaten in Paris, John Danisziewski, Lynn Berry and Vladimir Isachenkov in Novo-Ogaryovo, Russia, and Lolita C. Baldor in Washington contributed to this report.

Putin says could turn against Assad - if case proved
By Thomas Grove and Yara Bayoumy
MOSCOW/BEIRUT (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin offered a glimpse of international compromise over Syria on Wednesday, declining to entirely rule out Russian backing for military action as he prepared to host a summit of world leaders. As the United States and allies prepare to bypass any Russian U.N. veto and attack Damascus, there is little chance of Putin's support. But his words may herald new efforts to overcome great power rivalries that have let Syria descend into bloody chaos. At the same time, Moscow said it had sent a warship it calls a "carrier killer" to the eastern Mediterranean, where a U.S. fleet is waiting for Congress to approve orders from President Barack Obama to launch punitive strikes against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad following his forces' alleged use of poison gas.
Putin's remarks on the eve of a G20 summit in St. Petersburg stressed Russia did not share Obama's conviction that Assad has resorted to chemical warfare - he noted suggestions the August 21 gassing was instead the work of al Qaeda-linked rebels. And only proof, plus backing in the U.N. Security Council that depends on Moscow, would justify using force, he added. Nonetheless, in saying he did "not rule out" his support, Putin gave a shot of warmth to relations with the West that the Syrian conflict has helped chill to levels recalling the Cold War.
Moscow has been the main arms supplier to Assad, who is also backed by Iran as part of Tehran's wider confrontation with the United States and its allies in Israel and the Gulf Arab states.
And Russian media reports on military deployments have provided a reminder of continuing tensions. On Tuesday, Russian reports of missile launches in the Mediterranean moved the world oil market and set nerves on edge in Damascus before Israel explained it had fired a rocket in exercises with U.S. forces.
On Wednesday, Russia's Interfax news agency quoted a source saying the guided missile cruiser Moskva was heading to the eastern Mediterranean to take over as flagship. The agency noted that the Soviet-era Moskva, designed to attack other ships, was known as a "carrier killer". Only the United States and European allies are likely to deploy any aircraft carriers in the region.
NEGOTIATIONS
Western officials say they do, however, detect some signs of willingness on the part of both U.S. allies and Russia to resume efforts to resolve a bloody civil war in which both sides seem entrenched and which is destabilizing the entire Middle East.
A senior Western official said that, while Moscow was unlikely to say so in public, there were signs Russian officials believe Assad was indeed responsible for the chemical weapons attack and it had strained Russian support for him - providing an opening for a new, concerted drive to end the conflict.
Stalemate in the U.N. Security Council between Russia, backed by China, and the United States, backed by France and Britain, has stymied international efforts to end fighting that since 2011 has killed more than 100,000 Syrians and left millions homeless but which neither side has been able to win.
The Western official said the G20 summit, where foreign ministers will also be present to discuss Syria in particular, could provide a forum for rapprochement among the world powers.
Unease at the presence of Islamist militants in the rebel ranks - a factor Moscow has often cited in criticism of Western demands that Assad be removed forthwith - provides a point of common interest between Russia and the West.
All the major powers fear Syria descending further into anarchy. But their efforts to persuade Syrians to agree a unity government are hindered by deep hatreds fuelled by the killing and by opposing views over whether Assad should keep some power.
Following the failure of British Prime Minister David Cameron to win parliamentary backing for military strikes last week, France is the only major military power lining up behind Obama. Its parliament is to debate Syria on Wednesday, though President Francois Hollande does not need approval for action.
His foreign minister, Laurent Fabius, said using force against Assad - which will depend on U.S. congressional approval next week - could pave the way for a new round of diplomacy.
"Is an intervention a contradiction to finding a political solution?" Fabius said. "Not only is it not contradictory, but if we want a political solution, then we must help move the situation, otherwise Assad will just continue like that."
European Council President Herman Van Rompuy, who chairs the 28-nation European Union's summits, told EU ambassadors in Brussels that military action must be followed by talks.
"Calls for responsible action must include the long-term view," he said. "Only a political solution can end the terrible bloodshed, the destruction of Syria. It is time for the international community to put aside their differences and bring the parties to the conflict to the negotiations table."
PUTIN INTERVIEW
Putin, who has accused Western governments of using ideas of human rights to pursue illegal wars against sovereign states, repeated his disapproval of acting without U.N. approval.
"Only the United Nations Security Council can sanction the use of force against a sovereign state. Any other approaches, means, to justify the use of force against an independent and sovereign state, are inadmissible," he told Russian television and the Associated Press.
Washington and Paris say a Russian veto in the Council should not block what they describe as a humanitarian mission to protect civilians and prevent the spread of chemical weapons.
Putin said Obama had yet to prove the case against Assad: "We have no data that those chemical substances - it is not yet clear whether it was chemical weapons or simply some harmful chemical substances - were used precisely by the official government army." There was an "opinion" they were used by rebels, some of whom are linked to al Qaeda, Putin said.
However, when asked whether Russia would agree to military action if Damascus were proven to have carried out a chemical weapons attack, he answered: "I do not rule it out."
He also said that Moscow had already sent to Syria some components of an S-300 missile system but was holding off on the delivery of final parts, something Putin threatened could happen if "existing international norms" were violated.
Western governments are concerned about the S-300 surface-to-air system, which could be used against their planes.
Regarding his relationship with Obama, Putin called the U.S. leader "a no-nonsense, practical person," and tried to dispel the idea that the pair had poor personal relations.
U.S. CONGRESS
Obama has won the backing of key figures in the U.S. Congress, including among his Republican opponents.
Leaders of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee said they reached an agreement on a draft authorization for the use of military force in Syria, paving the way for a vote by the committee on Wednesday. However, the draft is narrower than the request made by Obama and includes a provision barring the use of U.S. troops on the ground.
The president said on Tuesday that strikes aimed at punishing the use of chemical weapons would hurt Assad's forces while other U.S. action would bolster his opponents - though the White House has insisted it is not seeking "regime change."
Among other provisions, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee draft, which was obtained by Reuters, sets a 60-day limit on U.S. military action in Syria, with a possibility of a single 30-day extension subject to conditions.
It requires Obama to consult with Congress and submit to the Senate and House of Representatives foreign relations panel a strategy for negotiating a political settlement to the conflict, including a review of all forms of assistance to the rebels.
(Additional reporting by Paul Taylor, Erika Solomon in Beirut, John Irish in Paris, Khaled Yacoub Oweis in Amman and Jeff Mason in Washington; Writing by Alastair Macdonald; Editing by Peter Graff)