Bible Quotation for today/ Salvation/1-16
Paul's Second Letter to the Corinthians 06/01-16: "6:1 Working together, we entreat also that you not receive the grace of God in vain,  for he says, “At an acceptable time I listened to you,  in a day of salvation I helped you.”Behold, now is the acceptable time. Behold, now is the day of salvation.  We give no occasion of stumbling in anything, that our service may not be blamed,  but in everything commending ourselves, as servants of God, in great endurance, in afflictions, in hardships, in distresses, in beatings, in imprisonments, in riots, in labors, in watchings, in fastings;  in pureness, in knowledge, in patience, in kindness, in the Holy Spirit, in sincere love,  in the word of truth, in the power of God; by the armor of righteousness on the right hand and on the left,  by glory and dishonor, by evil report and good report; as deceivers, and yet true;  as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold, we live; as punished, and not killed;  as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things. Our mouth is open to you, Corinthians. Our heart is enlarged.  You are not restricted by us, but you are restricted by your own affections.  Now in return, I speak as to my children, you also be open wide.  Don’t be unequally yoked with unbelievers, for what fellowship have righteousness and iniquity? Or what fellowship has light with darkness?  What agreement has Christ with Belial? Or what portion has a believer with an unbeliever?  What agreement has a temple of God with idols? For you are a temple of the living God. Even as God said, “I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they will be my people.”

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

Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources/September 12/13

Obama-Putin deal didn’t stop at chemical Syria: US eases sanctions on nuclear Iran

DEBKAfile Exclusive Report September 11, 2013/Iran, and not just Russia and Syria, is taking advantage of President Barack Obama’s decision to refrain from military force against Syria to collect a shower of diplomatic and political dividends. The new Iranian president Hassan Rouhani announced Tuesday that the coming meeting of the General Assembly opening in New York later this month “may prove the perfect setting to reignite talks about the nation’s nuclear program.“ The US Treasury Department accordingly lifted a string of sanctions restricting humanitarian and athletic exchanges between US and Iranian NGOs and environmental projects, as a counter-gesture of good will. Washington was not put off when that comment proved to be an exercise in image-burnishing for the benefit of the West. That same day, the Iranian president declared his country would not give up “one iota of its nuclear capabilities.” debkafile’s Iranian sources disclose that the posturing on all sides provided the façade for the secret exchange of messages between Washington, Tehran, Moscow and Damascus. They focused first on a Russian pledge to bring Assad’s chemical arsenal under international control and destroyed. This was followed by Tehran consenting to engage in direct dialogue with Washington when the next UN General Assembly session opens in New York on September 23. Rouhani, who has consistently refused to enter into direct talks with Washington on his government’s nuclear program, said Friday, Sept. 6: “Initial steps in the future of nuclear talks may be taken in New York and then these talks will be pursued by the Group 5 + 1.”
debkafile: For President Obama, the two issues - the disposal of Syria’s chemical weapons and resolution of the nuclear controversy with Iran - were closely interwoven in his quiet exchanges with Vladimir Putin, which emphasized the diplomatic, non-military route. The Russian leader appears to have assured Obama that an agreed formula for defusing the Syrian chemical weapons issue without military force would provide the key to progress in nuclear talks with Iran. Our Iranian sources report that Tehran was in on all stages of the discreet Obama-Putin discussions on Syria: High-ranking Iranian officials were present in Damascus and Moscow throughout, and points of agreement were brought to Tehran for approval. Full details of how this four-handed game was conducted and details of the deals struck between the US, Russia and Iran, will be revealed for the first time in the next issue of DEBKA Weekly out Friday, Sept. 13.To subscribe to DEBKA Weekly, click here.

Netanyahu: Message to Syria Will Be Heard in Iran
Naharnet/Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday that the international community must ensure Syria is stripped of its chemical weapons as a lesson to its ally Iran. Any impression of Syria getting away with its use of such arms would be taken as encouragement by Iran, which Israel and the West accuse of seeking to develop a nuclear arsenal, he said. "Now it has to be ensured that the Syrian regime dismantles its chemical weapons and the world must make sure that those who use weapons of mass destruction will pay a price," Netanyahu said in remarks broadcast on army radio."The message that Syria gets will be clearly heard in Tehran," he said at a naval officers' graduation ceremony. He did not elaborate, but earlier President Shimon Peres warned that Washington would take military action against Syria should it fail to destroy its chemical stockpile in line with a Russian proposal. "If Syria is honest and will take real steps to remove and destroy the chemical weapons in its territory, the U.S. will not attack," Peres said in a statement. But "if there will be a crack in Syria's integrity, I have no doubt that the U.S. will act militarily," he warned. On Tuesday, U.S. President Barack Obama postponed his threat to strike Syria, after President Bashar Assad's regime welcomed a Russian proposal to gather and destroy its chemical arsenal. But he said it was too early to say if the Russian plan would succeed. Syria demands the return of the Golan Heights which Israel, the Middle East's sole if undeclared nuclear power, seized in the 1967 Six-Day War and later annexed. Agence France Presse.

Al-Mustaqbal Lays Cabinet Delay Blame on Hizbullah but Says Ball in Court of Suleiman, Salam
Naharnet/Al-Mustaqbal bloc MPs discussed with Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi on Wednesday ways to speed up the formation of a new government and launch national dialogue to resolve controversial issues, the head of the bloc, MP Fouad Saniora, said. “The ball is in the court of the president and PM-designate to find ways to form a cabinet that would be based on either their proposal or would be made up of non-political figures,” Saniora said in Bkirki after holding talks with al-Rahi at the head of an al-Mustaqbal delegation. President Michel Suleiman and Premier-designate Tammam Salam have supported the formation of a 24-member cabinet in which the country's three major political camps – March 8, March 14 and centrists – would get eight ministers each. But Saniora accused Hizbullah of obstructing the formation of such a cabinet despite reports that March 14 and mainly al-Mustaqbal had lifted their condition not to give the party's members any seats in the new cabinet over the participation of Hizbullah fighters in Syria's civil war. He said the delegation's talks with al-Rahi focused on “the need to form a cabinet that protects the Lebanese.” “We hope that the PM-designate would speed up the formation of the government to confront the major part of problems facing the country,” he said. “Our meeting with al-Rahi was an opportunity to discuss several issues and mainly the challenges in the Arab region,” Saniora told reporters. The lawmaker also called for the resumption of national dialogue under Suleiman at Baabda palace to resolve the country's controversial issues.

Differences Lead to STL Judge Resignation amid Alleged Indictment of 5th Hizbullah Member
Naharnet /The resignation of the presiding judge of the international tribunal's trial chamber came over his objection to several measures that contradict the court's rules of procedure, As Safir daily reported on Wednesday. The newspaper also claimed that the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, which is prosecuting ex-Premier Rafik Hariri's suspected assassins, had issued an indictment against a fifth Hizbullah member but the case was closed. The STL announced on Tuesday that Judge Robert Roth, presiding judge of the trial chamber, has resigned. “It is unfortunate that he will not be presiding over the trial of the accused, currently scheduled to start in January 2014,” the statement said. But As Safir said Roth resigned after he objected to certain measures that are inconsistent with the tribunal's rules of procedure and evidence in addition to some interferences in the appeal made by the defense teams of the accused. The daily said that the court and Hizbullah liaison officer Wafiq Safa agreed to “close the file” of an indictment against a fifth Hizbullah member after two powerful car bombs rocked the party's stronghold in Beirut's southern suburbs. The court has accused four Hizbullah members, Salim Ayyash, Mustafa Badreddine, Hussein Oneissi, and Assad Sabra of being involved in the February 2005 suicide car bomb attack in Beirut that killed Hariri and 22 others, including the suicide bomber. They will go on trial in absentia over the failure of the Lebanese authorities to arrest them.

Suleiman Urges Kerry to Resolve Syria Crisis Politically, Calls for Protection of Christians
Naharnet/President Michel Suleiman reiterated on Wednesday that the U.N. should hold accountable officials who used chemical weapons in Syria away from foreign military intervention. During a phone conversation with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, Suleiman said he rejected the use of chemical weapons but stressed the importance of a U.N. Security Council role in holding accountable the persons who used them, and finding a political solution to the crisis in Syria.  U.S. President Barack Obama said Tuesday he had asked congressional leaders to postpone a vote on legislation he has been seeking to authorize the use of military force against Syria over a chemical weapons attack in the Damascus suburbs on Aug. 21. U.S. officials say more than 1,400 people died, including at least 400 children, and victims suffered uncontrollable twitching, foaming at the mouth and other symptoms typical of exposure to chemical weapons banned by international treaty. A Baabda palace statement said Suleiman also told Kerry that civilians, no matter to which sect they belong to, should be protected in armed conflicts. The president called for the preservation of civilizations and the religious sites of Christians mainly in the towns of Maalula and Bludan. Syrian rebels were still positioned in the historic Christian town of Maalula near Damascus on Wednesday, a day after they announced they were ready to withdraw, a security source told Agence France Presse. On Sunday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and residents said rebel forces, including jihadists linked to al-Qaida, had overrun Maalula. The town, home to about 5,000 people, is strategically important for rebels, who are trying to tighten their grip around Damascus and already have bases all around the capital. Civilians started fleeing the town, which is considered a symbol of the Christian presence in Syria, nearly a week ago, fearing an imminent escalation. Suleiman urged Kerry “to study the appropriate means that would guarantee the safety” of religious towns, said the Baabda statement. They also discussed a planned Sept. 25 meeting of an international support group for Lebanon at the United Nations General Assembly in New York. Suleiman hoped for a U.S. contribution to guarantee the success of the meeting to confront the Syrian refugee influx.

Berri Defends Hizbullah as 'Being Charitable to Others' and not Other Way Around
Naharnet /Speaker Nabih Berri slammed on Thursday claims that the March 14 alliance was being charitable to Hizbullah by approving to remove its veto on the party's participation in the new cabinet. In remarks to several local newspapers, Berri said: “No one gives charity to Hizbullah. On the contrary Hizbullah is being charitable to others.” Berri, whose Amal movement is closely allied with Hizbullah, reiterated that the new cabinet would not exclude any party. “There would not be a government without Hizbullah, without al-Mustaqbal movement or Mr. Walid Jumblat or any other party,” he said. His remarks came against the backdrop of reports that March 14 and mainly al-Mustaqbal movement had agreed to drop their rejection on Hizbullah's participation in return for the formation of a 24-member cabinet in which the county's three main political camps – March 8, March 14 and centrists - would get eight ministers each. March 14 had urged Premier-designate Tammam Salam not to give Hizbullah seats in the government over its participation in the fighting alongside President Bashar Assad's troops in Syria. But later reports emerged that the alliance dropped its veto. Asked about the progress in the cabinet formation process, Berri reiterated that no further steps have been made. He reiterated that his call for a national dialogue to discuss the shape and policy statement of the government did not include negotiations on the line-up, which is up to President Michel Suleiman and Salam to decide. Berri has called for the resumption of the all-party talks under Suleiman at Baabda palace for a period of at least five consecutive days to discuss the form and policy statement of the cabinet. His so-called roadmap also includes the revival of talks on a new electoral law and supporting the military to deal with arms proliferated in the North and East. Furthermore, the initiative calls for addressing a national defense strategy.

Charbel Reassures Saniora that Boosting Municipal Police Doesn't Lead to Self-Security
Naharnet/Caretaker Interior Minister Marwan Charbel said he informed al-Mustaqbal bloc chief Fouad Saniora that his plan for arming municipal police to provide enhanced security across Lebanon would not pave way for the rise of militias. Saniora “expressed fears that party members would take hold of municipal work but I reassured him that I set certain standards to guarantee the safety of this mission,” Charbel told An Nahar daily published Wednesday. He said his plan for local councils to help the Internal Security Forces in imposing law and order includes regulations to have competent municipal taskforce members who are well known by the residents of each area and have no prior criminal records. “We haven't taken this step to give benefits to parties and politicians,” Charbel said. “We are keen on controlling the mission of the guards in accordance to the law to provide tranquility to the citizens.” “Their role is to help the security forces,” Charbel explained to Saniora during a telephone conversation on Tuesday. In addition to bolstering municipal police, the plan includes installing cameras in residential streets and neighborhoods and boosting security in places of worship and schools. An Nahar said Saniora telephoned the caretaker minister to warn him that certain parties would take advantage of armed municipal policemen to impose their self-security in certain areas. Such a move would lead to the rise of militias, Saniora reportedly told Charbel.

Berri 'Annoyed' over 'Misinterpreting' His Dialogue Initiative
Naharnet/Speaker Nabih Berri expressed his “annoyance” on Wednesday over the “misinterpretation” of the dialogue proposal he come forward with during his latest televised speech. "Berri is upset at those who intentionally misinterpreted several clauses of his suggestion, especially in what concerns disassociating Lebanon from the Syrian crisis and favoring instead to wait and see how things develop in the neighboring country,” several lawmakers quoted the speaker as saying after meeting with him in Ain el-Tineh. They added: “Berri will give his proposal a push by forming a delegation tasked with explaining his initiative to different factions in the country.”
Berri announced that the delegation will include Liberation and Development bloc MPs Michel Moussa, Yassine Jaber and Ali Bazzi, the state-run National News Agency said, adding that it will hold talks with President Michel Suleiman, the caretaker premier and the Prime Minister-designate, as well as all parliamentary blocs. "The roadmap I had suggested brings back hope of moving forward in the country instead of the vacuum towards which we are heading,” NNA reported, quoting the speaker. Berri also reiterated calls to include “all the political components in the new cabinet.”On August 31, the Shiite leader suggested holding a five-day dialogue retreat to discuss pending issues in the country. In a televised speech he gave in the 35th memory of the disappearance of the spiritual leader Moussa al-Sadr, Berri suggested to Suleiman “setting a roadmap that includes holding a five-day dialogue retreat to discuss the formation of the cabinet and its policy statement.”

Rebels Announce 'Conditional' Withdrawal from Christian Town of Maalula
Naharnet/Syrian rebel fighters announced on Tuesday their withdrawal from the historic Christian town of Maalula near Damascus, two days after they took control of it. "To ensure no blood is spilled and that the properties of the people of Maalula are kept safe, the Free Syrian Army announces that the town of Maalula will be kept out of the struggle between the FSA and the regime army," a rebel spokesman said in a video posted online.
The spokesman for the Qalamun Liberation Front, which groups together a collection of anti-regime forces in the Qalamun area near Damascus, also said the withdrawal was "conditional."
"The army and its shabiha (militias) must not enter into the town," said the spokesman, whose name was not given in the video. The town, home to about 5,000 people, is strategically important for rebels, who are trying to tighten their grip around Damascus and already have bases all around the capital. On Sunday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and residents said rebel forces, including jihadists linked to al-Qaida, had overrun Maalula. The Britain-based Observatory said al-Nusra Front, which has pledged allegiance to al-Qaida leader Ayman al-Zawahiri, was among the forces that had taken control of the town. Battalions affiliated with the Western-backed FSA had also entered Maalula, he said. Civilians started fleeing the town nearly a week ago, fearing an imminent escalation.  The exodus has left Maalula virtually empty, residents say. Picturesque Maalula is nestled under a large cliff and is considered a symbol of the Christian presence in Syria. Many of its inhabitants speak Aramaic, the language spoken by Jesus Christ that only small, scattered communities around the world still use.
Source/Agence France PresseNaharnet.

U.N. Probe: 8 Massacres by Syria Regime, 1 by Rebels
Naharnet /Evidence confirms at least eight massacres have been perpetrated in Syria by President Bashar Assad's regime and supporters and one by rebels over the past year and a half, a U.N. commission said Wednesday. Calling Syria a battlefield where "massacres are perpetrated with impunity," the U.N. commission investigating human rights abuses in Syria said that in each of the incidents since April 2012 "the intentional mass killing and identity of the perpetrator were confirmed to the commission's evidentiary standards." Its latest report Wednesday also notes that the four-member commission is probing nine more suspected mass killings since March. With those, it said, the illegal killing was confirmed but the perpetrator could not yet be identified. In other cases, it said, the circumstances of the killing were not sufficiently clear to be able to determine the legality.
The report updates the commission's work since 2011 to mid-July, stopping short of what the United States says was an Aug. 21 chemical weapons attack on rebel-held areas that killed hundreds of civilians.
The commission created by the U.N.'s 47-nation Human Rights Council says both sides have committed heinous war crimes during the 2 ½-year conflict that has killed over 100,000 people. The council is due to take up the report and the commission plans to hold a news conference next week. In a statement accompanying the report, the commission chaired by Brazilian diplomat and scholar Paulo Sergio Pinheiro said most casualties result from unlawful attacks using conventional weapons and any response to end the conflict "must be founded upon the protection of civilians."SourceAssociated Press.

Lebanese Information Centre/USA
Ending the Assad Regime is in the Best Interest of the United States
Sept 9, 2013
Over the past 40 years the brutal Assad regime in Syria has proven to be one of the staunchest and most consistent enemies of the United States. Not only has this regime served as one of the main exporters of terrorism and supporters of terrorist organizations such as Hezbollah and Hamas, but the Assad regime has actually aided Al Qaeda and allowed its members to cross into Iraq to kill American soldiers and slaughter innocent Iraqi civilians. Furthermore, Assad’s alliance with Iran and Hezbollah presents the most significant threat to the interests and security of the United States as well as a major obstacle to stability and peace in the region.
The current events in Syria represent a major turning point in the modern history of the Middle East. It is imperative that the United States plays a leading role in affecting the outcome.
The LIC maintains that:
• The proliferation of sectarianism and fundamentalism in Syria is a direct result of Assad’s behavior. The faster that Assad falls, the easier it would be for the free Syrian people to purge from their midst these extremists who are mainly comprised of foreign elements.
• The fall of the Assad regime is not likely to lead to a takeover by Al Qaeda or other Jihadists. On the contrary, it will eliminate the major reason for their current extensive presence in Syria and would eliminate the rallying cry that is used as an effective recruitment tool.
• A prolonged war in Syria will undoubtedly drag the entire region towards the unknown, destabilizing friendly and allied countries such as Israel, Jordan, Turkey, and Lebanon and causing an increase in religious fundamentalism and terrorism which will be easily exported to Western countries.
• Without forceful American action, Assad's latest maneuvers, especially the use of WMDs, will further embolden him and his ‘unholy’ allies, Iran and Hezbollah, would be detrimental to regional and global peace and stability, and would continue to be a definite threat to US security and interests.
The Syrian crisis represents a historical opportunity for the United States. By hastening the fall of Assad, the United States would be ridding itself of one of its most brutal adversaries in the Middle East. It would also be eliminating a central breeding ground for terrorism and sending a strong and clear message to its other enemies in the region and the rest of the world.
Failing to act at this critical juncture will have catastrophic consequences on stability in the region as well as the security and interests of the United States.

Israel: Proposed Syrian WMD compromise could serve as template for Iran
By JPOST.COM STAFF 09/10/2013 /Syria’s readiness to consider relinquishing its stockpiles of chemical weapons in hopes of evading punitive strikes by the US military should serve as a template for the international community’s strategy in confronting a nuclear-driven Iran, diplomatic sources said on Tuesday. Israeli officials are closely monitoring the latest diplomatic developments on the Syrian front, according to Israel Radio.Officials in Jerusalem told Israel Radio on Tuesday that while they were skeptical of Syria’s willingness to hand over its chemical weapons stockpile in hopes of warding off a US military assault, the very proposal is proof that a real, credible military threat “gets the job done.”“When the Americans deploy their warships in the Mediterranean, the Syrians get scared and say they are ready to consider placing their arsenal of unconventional weapons under international inspection, and perhaps even giving up those weapons altogether,” a source told Israel Radio. “Iran, too, will change its approach on the issue of its nuclear program if there will be a real, credible threat against it,” the source said. Washington, however, appears to be holding out hope that it can solve the Iranian impasse through diplomacy. US President Barack Obama is eager to “turn a new page” in his government’s relations with Iran and its newly installed president, Hassan Rouhani, it was revealed on Tuesday. According to the London-based pan-Arab daily Al-Hayat, Obama communicated his message to the Tehran regime through an emissary, the ruler of Oman, Sultan Qaboos bin Said Al Said. Washington has called on Iran to move beyond rhetoric take practical steps which demonstrate its willingness to improve ties with the West, according to Al-Hayat.
Rouhani vowed that Tehran “will not give up one iota” of its nuclear rights, the Mehr news agency reported on Tuesday. Rouhani reportedly made the remarks to a group of clerics in Iran.
"Our government will not give up one iota of its absolute rights" on the nuclear issue, Rouhani said. Last week, the United States voiced disappointment that Iran's new president has not moved more swiftly to allay international concerns about the country's atomic program, saying Tehran is undermining hopes of ending its nuclear standoff with the West. Rouhani said on Thursday the foreign ministry would take over talks with world powers on Iran's contested nuclear program, an apparent move to smooth the diplomatic process after years of control by conservative Iranian hardliners. However, US Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power did not sound impressed with Rouhani's initial steps on Iran's nuclear program, which Western powers suspect is aimed at developing the capability to produce atomic weapons - a charge Tehran vehemently denies.
"Like others here, the United States hopes that the inauguration of President Rouhani creates an opportunity for Iran to act quickly to resolve the international community's serious concerns about Iran's nuclear intentions," Power told a meeting of the 15-nation Security Council on Iran sanctions. "Unfortunately, we have not yet seen any clear signs that Iran is committed to addressing the most pressing concerns about its nuclear program," Power said. "To the contrary, recent developments trouble us."Last week, the UN nuclear watchdog said Iran plans to test about 1,000 advanced uranium enrichment centrifuges it has completed installing.
"Rather than take steps to meet the obligations imposed by this Security Council, Iran is installing advanced centrifuges, which may be two to three times more efficient at enriching uranium than its current centrifuges," Power said. Iran has been hit with four rounds of UN sanctions for refusing to halt its nuclear enrichment program and other sensitive activities.Reuters contributed to this story.

Analysis: The Syrian deal - More bad than good for Israel

By HERB KEINON 09/11/2013/J.Post
If Assad honors the deal to remove chemical weapons from Syria, then a very deadly weapon will be removed from Israel’s doorstep. The bad news is that Assad would be left standing, leaving Iran with a vital strategic ally
The emerging Russian-brokered deal to remove chemical weapons from Syria to forestall any US attack is – from Israel’s point of view – a very mixed blessing.
The good news is that if Syrian President Bashar Assad honors the deal – a huge “if,” considering that Assad is a butcher who has killed tens of thousands of his own people to stay in power – then a very deadly weapon will be removed from Israel’s doorstep. Israel will no longer have to worry about chemical warfare with its bitter enemy to the north.Moreover, if indeed the stockpiles are all destroyed or moved, then Jerusalem would also be relieved of the major headache of worrying that these weapons could be transferred to or “fall” into the hands of Hezbollah or other terrorist organizations.
While the assessments in Jerusalem have long been that Assad would be reluctant to use his chemical weapons against Israel because of fear of retribution, the concern is that the radical suicide terrorists might not harbor a similar fear or even care about the payback. Chemical weapons out of Assad’s hands, therefore, is a net gain – that is the good news. The bad news, however, is that Assad is left standing. The message of his surviving this whole incident as president of Syria is that – yes – in the 21st century you can wipe out entire neighborhoods and cities, use missiles, planes, artillery fire and even sarin gas to indiscriminately kill your own people, and still be allowed to rule. That Assad is left standing, and may even end up remaining in power, is bad for Israel because it sends the following reassuring message to those in the neighborhood – particularly Iran – either perpetrating heinous acts or contemplating them: No worries, this world won’t interfere, you can get away with it. Even if Assad has to forfeit his WMD stockpile, he will still literally get away with murder because – to borrow loosely from Bruce Springsteen’s song “Born in the USA” – “He’s still there, they’re all gone.”
Ever since the outbreak of the Syrian civil war more than two years ago, many asked who Israel wanted to prevail. Did Jerusalem prefer Assad, the predictable “devil it knew,” or the motley crew of rebels fighting him who could conceivably bring to power Muslim Brotherhood elements or – worse – al- Qaida?  More than 100,000 dead Syrians later, including a few thousand killed by deadly gas, there is increasingly a feeling among some key policy makers in Jerusalem that it simply cannot get any worse than Assad. Assad is one of the most brutal and dangerous leaders on the planet; one without restraints; one who is now turning his country from an Iranian proxy into an Iranian client state. If he survives, it will be because of Russian political cover and Iranian and Hezbollah physical and material assistance.
True, the Muslim Brotherhood and al-Qaida would definitely – if they ever gained control of Syria – cause Israel fits.
True, they could turn the Golan border, so quiet under Assad and his father since the Yom Kippur War in 1973, into a living hell.
But even though the Sunni terror and jihadist groups like Hamas and al-Qaida threaten Israel and cause enormous problems, the main peril to Israel right now is not the Sunni terrorists but rather the possibility of an Iranian-led Shi’ite axis – one that soon could be armed with nuclear weapons – stretching from Iran through Iraq, Syria and into Lebanon. Let no one be distracted by the current events in Syria and Egypt: Iran remains Israel’s principal threat today, a threat that becomes existential if it gains nuclear arms. As such, anything that benefits Iran is bad for Jerusalem. Assad remaining in power benefits Iran, it is another link in the Iranian-Syrian-Hezbollah axis of evil.
As horrible as it might be, even a Muslim Brotherhood or al-Qaida controlled Syria might be the lesser of two evils for Israel since at least the Iranian propelled Shi’ite arc would be broken, and Iran would be weakened. A toppled Assad is a weakened Hezbollah and a weakened Iran, and that is a net gain. The bad news in the Russian-brokered deal currently under discussion is that Assad remains at the helm. This is bad not only because a man who murdered so many will remain standing to kill another day, but also because Iran will retain a vital strategic ally. And, of course, Iran is the much more significant game right now for Israel than even Syria.

Obama promised Putin not to strike Syria after scrapping its chemical arsenal. Russian arms for Assad
DEBKAfile Special Report September 10, 2013/President Barack Obama’s two climb-downs on a US strike against Syria over its use of chemical weapons are turning out to be part of a deal which he forged secretly with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Obama is presenting it as a US-Russian accord for stripping Bashar Assad of his chemical arsenal, while Putin is using it as an expedient for saving the Assad regime in Damascus. Both are ready to sacrifice the Syrian rebel movement to their détente. debkafile’s intelligence sources disclose that Moscow is pushing for more than a US pledge to back off using force against Syria, demanding that Washington also refrain from diplomatic action against the Assad regime. The result was a major battle which forced the UN Security Council’s closed-door emergency session scheduled for Tuesday night, Sept. 10 to be postponed without a new date. The French wanted to table a tough, binding resolution placing Syria’s chemical weapons under international control and a timetable for their destruction spelt out - with “extremely serious” consequences for violations including a military option. Washington warned it would not fall for “stalling tactics.”Moscow balked, insisting on a declaration – not a binding resolution - in support of international control for the chemical stockpiles – and no sanctions for violations. China and Iran backed the Russian motion. Addressing a Russian TV Arab broadcast Tuesday, Putin said he had urged Syria to hand over its chemical weapons for them to be destroyed. He added that the handover plan would only work if the US renounced the use of force. Our sources disclose that in another part of his deal with the Russian president, Obama did not object to Moscow providing the Syrian army with a fresh supply of advanced weapons in substantial quantities to compensate Assad for giving up his chemical arsenal. Friday, Sept. Moscow announced that the Nikolai Filchenko landing craft heading for the eastern Mediterranean would stop off at the Black Sea port of Novorossiisk to pick up a “special cargo” for Syria. This vessel, say our sources, was to carry the first shipment of the fresh arms supplies Moscow was sending Bashar Assad. The coming DEBKA Weekly out Friday, Sept. 13, uncovers the full extent of the secret Obama-Putin transaction on Syria, including the two leaders’ secret undertakings.

On Syria, power lies with the legislature
By: Ali Ibrahim/Asharq Alawsat
The 2003 Iraq war which led to an expensive US and UK military presence in the country is overshadowing the debates taking place in Western capitals about launching military strikes on the Syrian regime in response to accusations of crossing red lines and using chemical weapons. No one wants a repeat of that experience which aroused public skepticism particularly as the main stated reason for war—that Saddam Hussein’s regime possessed weapons of mass destruction—was proved to be false and nothing more than a pretext for invasion. The war’s main objective was regime change, a worthy aim in light of the Iraqi regime’s practices at the time. However, the true reason behind the war was not legal and thus could not be presented to Western parliaments and the public at the time. Theoretically, the Assad regime is standing at the same crossroads that Saddam Hussein’s regime reached prior to the 2003 war. In practice however, there is a huge difference between the two scenarios. The awaited war is unpopular with the skeptical Western public as a result of what happened in Iraq, not to mention the war’s considerable cost and its political repercussions which continue to be felt today. Furthermore, due to the delay in intervention, the Syrian crisis has evolved into a civil war, making any external military intervention now akin to wading into a quagmire with no exit strategy in place, particularly in light of the presence of warring international and regional parties on the ground.
If the Iraq war forms the backdrop of the debates currently raging, not to mention the media campaigns conducted by key Western capitals to convince the public of what they intend to do, then we can also say: The Iraq experience changed the rules of the political game. The British Prime Minister sought a mandate from parliament—something that he failed to win—while the US president is following in Cameron’s footsteps by seeking the authorization of the US Congress. This marks a milestone in terms of involving the legislative authority in decisions that are normally the prerogative of the executive authority. This is even more striking when considering that the military action, as announced, is related to limited military strikes over 24 hours or a number of days as punishment for the Assad regime’s use of chemical weapons and in order to enforce red lines and does not include boots on the ground. The main reason for this may lie in the UN Security Council’s failure to issue resolutions against Assad in light of Russia and China’s veto. This, however, in practice will only serve to limit the executive authority’s powers in the future in terms of making rapid military decisions without referring to the legislature. This time, however, the decision to wage or not wage war has fallen to the legislature, something that the lawmakers are certainly happy about. It is difficult to accurately predict the course that the US Congress discussions will take in the same way it was difficult to predict the results of the British parliament’s vote which ultimately ended with a vote against military intervention. The opposition justified its position in part on the pretext that it was not convinced that limited military strikes will lead to anything or change the situation on the ground.
The same pretext is expected to surface in the US Congress deliberations. In fact, this point has already been raised by some congressmen and senators, whether we are talking about those against the idea of military intervention, or those who want expanded intervention including the imposition of a no-fly zone or Syrian rebels being provided with heavy weapons in order to tip the balance of power on the ground towards the opposition.
Until now, the US administration has adhered to the theory of directing punitive and rapid strikes against the Assad regime without directly engaging in combat to overthrow the Assad clan. However, the scale of the controversy and debates currently raging, as well as Obama resorting to Congress, opens the door for expanding the scope of any military strikes.
Will we truly see military strikes in Syria? If so, will these be limited in scope or will we witness a full-scale war? These are the questions being asked while the US Congress appears to move closer to a decision potentially granting the Obama administration the go-ahead to launch strike against Syria.
Even more important than the prospect of war or military strikes is the presence of a vision for what will happen next, in order not to repeat the mistakes of Iraq. The Iraqi regime was toppled and state institutions were dismantled without any plans for the future being in place. As a result, a vacuum was left only to be filled by chaos and regional powers, such as Iran, in addition to terrorist organizations. Ten years after the US invasion, Iraq is still suffering from explosions and a state of sectarian polarization. A vision for the future should be determined by the people of Syria and sponsored by regional and international powers to provide necessary aid for any forthcoming transition.

AP source: Kerry to see Russian FM in Geneva on Thursday to talk potential Syria weapons deal
By Matthew Lee, The Associated Press | The Canadian Press – WASHINGTON - A State Department official says President Barack Obama is sending Secretary of State John Kerry to Switzerland this week to discuss a possible deal on Syria's chemical weapons with Russia's foreign minister.
The official said Kerry would meet with Sergey Lavrov in Geneva on Thursday to try to reach a deal on a U.N. Security Council resolution that would require Syria to give up its chemical weapons or face consequences.
The official was not authorized to discuss the mission publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
The last-minute trip reflects a flurry of developments that have occurred since Russia said Monday it would push Syria to get rid of its chemical weapons stockpiles and Syria agreed.

Syria vows to give up chemical weapons, Obama cautious about deal
By Phil Stewart and Khaled Yacoub Oweis | Reuters –
By Phil Stewart and Khaled Yacoub Oweis
WASHINGTON/AMMAN (Reuters) - Syria accepted a Russian proposal on Tuesday to give up chemical weapons but U.S. President Barack Obama said it was too early to tell if the initiative would succeed and he vowed to keep U.S. military forces at the ready to strike if diplomacy fails. In a televised address to Americans, Obama pledged to explore Russia's proposal for Syria to place its chemical weapons under international control, while expressing skepticism about the initiative. He said he had asked the U.S. Congress to delay a vote on authorizing military action while Washington and its allies try to pass a United Nations resolution requiring Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to give up the weapons in a verifiable way. In a sign of how hard that will be, Russian President Vladimir Putin said earlier that the chemical weapons plan would only succeed if Washington and its allies rule out military action. In what amounted to the most explicit, high-level admission by Syria that it has chemical weapons, Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem said in a statement shown on Russian state television that Damascus was committed to the Russian initiative. "We want to join the convention on the prohibition of chemical weapons. We are ready to observe our obligations in accordance with that convention, including providing all information about these weapons," Moualem said.
"We are ready to declare the location of the chemical weapons, stop production of the chemical weapons, and show these (production) facilities to representatives of Russia and other United Nations member states," he said.
Obama said there had been "encouraging signs" in recent days, in part because of the U.S. threat of military action to punish Syria for what Washington says was the use of poison gas to kill 1,400 civilians in Damascus on August 21. "It is too early to tell whether this offer will succeed," Obama said. "And any agreement must verify that the Assad regime keeps its commitments. But this initiative has the potential to remove the threat of chemical weapons without the use of force."Moscow has previously vetoed three U.N. Security Council resolutions that would have condemned the Syrian government over the conflict.
The latest proposal "can work only if we hear that the American side and all those who support the United States in this sense reject the use of force," Putin said in televised remarks. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel told Congress the threat of military action was critical to forcing Assad to bend on his chemical weapons. "For this diplomatic option to have a chance of succeeding, the threat of a U.S. military action - the credible, real threat of U.S. military action - must continue," Hagel told the House of Representatives Armed Services Committee.
U.S. officials said Kerry would meet Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Geneva on Thursday for further talks. Amid the whirlwind of diplomatic activity focused on the response to a suspected chemical weapons attack, the civil war resumed in earnest with Assad's jets again bombing rebel positions in the capital.
UNITED NATIONS
At the United Nations, Britain, France and the United States discussed elements of a draft Security Council resolution that a diplomat from one of the three countries said would include a timeline for Syria to declare the full extent of its poison gas arsenal and to cede control of it to the United Nations.
France said the resolution should be legally binding and state clearly that Syria would face "serious consequences" if it failed to comply with the resolution's demands - diplomatic code for military force.
The Security Council initially called a closed door meeting asked for by Russia to discuss its proposal to place Syria's chemical weapons under international control, but the meeting was later cancelled at Russia's request.
French officials said their draft resolution was designed to make sure the Russian proposal would have teeth, by allowing military action if Assad is uncooperative.
"It was extremely well played by the Russians, but we didn't want someone else to go to the U.N. with a resolution that was weak. This is on our terms and the principles are established. It puts Russia in a situation where they can't take a step back after putting a step forward," said a French diplomatic source.
Russia, however, has made clear it wanted to take the lead. Lavrov told his French counterpart that Moscow would propose a U.N. draft declaration supporting its initiative to put Syria's chemical weapons under international control, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
Obama said he would work with allies as well as veto-wielding Security Council members Russia and China to craft a U.N. resolution requiring Assad to give up chemical weapons and ultimately destroy them under international supervision. "Meanwhile, I've ordered our military to maintain their current posture to keep the pressure on Assad and to be in a position to respond if diplomacy fails," Obama said.
PUTIN: "NO THREAT OF FORCE"
The United States and France had been poised to launch missile strikes to punish Assad's forces, which they blame for the chemical weapons attack. Syria denies it was responsible and, with the backing of Moscow, blames rebels for staging the attacks to provoke U.S. intervention. The White House said Obama, British Prime Minister David Cameron and French President Francois Hollande had agreed in a telephone call on their preference for a diplomatic solution, but that they should continue to prepare for "a full range of responses." While the prospects of a deal remain uncertain, the proposal could provide a way for Obama to avoid ordering unpopular action. Opinion polls show most Americans are opposed to military intervention in Syria, weary after more than a decade of war in Iraq and Afghanistan. Whether international inspectors can neutralize chemical weapons dumps while war rages in Syria remains open to question.
Western states believe Syria has a vast undeclared chemical arsenal. Sending inspectors to destroy it would be hard even in peace and extraordinarily complicated in the midst of a war.
The two main precedents are ominous: U.N. inspectors dismantled the chemical arsenal of Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein in the 1990s but left enough doubt to provide the basis for a U.S.-led invasion in 2003. Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi was rehabilitated by the West after agreeing to give up his banned weapons, only to be overthrown with NATO help in 2011.
SYRIAN REBELS DISMAYED
The Syrian war has already killed more than 100,000 people and driven millions from their homes. It threatens to spread violence across the Middle East, with countries endorsing the sectarian divisions that brought civil war to Lebanon and Iraq. The wavering from the West dealt an unquestionable blow to the Syrian opposition, which had thought it had finally secured military intervention after pleading for two and a half years for help from Western leaders that vocally opposed Assad. The rebel Syrian National Coalition decried a "political maneuver which will lead to pointless procrastination and will cause more death and destruction to the people of Syria."
Assad's warplanes bombed rebellious districts inside the Damascus city limits on Tuesday for the first time since the poison gas attacks. Rebels said the strikes demonstrated that the government had concluded the West had lost its nerve. "By sending the planes back, the regime is sending the message that it no longer feels international pressure," activist Wasim al-Ahmad said from Mouadamiya, one of the districts of the capital hit by the chemical attack.
The Russian proposal "is a cheap trick to buy time for the regime to kill more and more people," said Sami, a member of the local opposition coordinating committee in the Damascus suburb of Erbin, also hit by last month's chemical attack. Troops and pro-Assad militiamen tried to seize the northern district of Barzeh and the eastern suburb of Deir Salman near Damascus airport, working-class Sunni Muslim areas where opposition activists and residents reported street fighting. Fighter jets bombed Barzeh three times and pro-Assad militia backed by army tank fire made a push into the area. Air raids were also reported on the Western outskirts near Mouadamiya.
But Damascenes in pro-Assad areas were grateful for a reprieve from Western strikes: "Russia is the voice of reason. They know that if a strike went ahead against Syria, then World War Three - even Armageddon - would befall Europe and America," said Salwa, a Shi'ite Muslim in the affluent Malki district. (Additional reporting by John Irish in Paris, Louis Charbonneau at the United Nations, Thomas Grove and Steve Gutterman in Moscow and Steve Holland, Jeff Mason, Mark Felsenthal, Patricia Zengerle, Arshad Mohammed, Richard Cowan, Paul Eckert and Roberta Rampton in Washington; Writing by Claudia Parsons; Editing by Jim Loney and Christopher Wilson)@YahooCanadaNews on Twitter, become a fan on Facebook

Obama addresses skeptical public on Syria with diplomatic solution in sight
By Lee-Anne Goodman, The Canadian Press | The Canadian Press – WASHINGTON - U.S. President Barack Obama is set to address Americans on Tuesday night in a speech initially meant to lay out a forceful case for swift military action against Syria to a deeply skeptical and war-weary nation. But now he's taking to the airwaves amid hopes that a diplomatic solution is at hand involving Russia, a frequent U.S. antagonist, that would avert the need for American military intervention in Syria. In a day of breakneck developments, Bashar Assad's regime said it had accepted Russia's proposal to place its chemical weapons under international control for subsequent dismantling. The progress hit a snag later in the day, however, when Russia objected to a French proposal involving the United Nations Security Council. Chuck Hagel, the U.S. defence secretary, told a House of Representatives hearing that the Russian plan could haul America back from the precipice of yet another Middle Eastern war — one that few Americans want any part of, according to a flurry of recent polls.
"All of us are hopeful that this option could be a real solution to this crisis," Hagel said. Jay Carney, the White House press secretary, was quick to frame the developments as a looming victory for the Obama administration, under serious fire for days for its seemingly erratic response to last month's chemical attack in a suburb of Damascus that left hundreds dead. Assad has denied Western allegations that he carried out the attacks. "Let's be clear, what we're seeing with the Russian proposal and Syrian reaction has only come about because of the threat, the credible threat of U.S. military action," Carney said on MSNBC.
"Before this morning, the Syrian government had never even acknowledged they possessed chemical weapons. Now they have."
Obama has agreed to discuss Russia's proposal with the United Nations, the White House said Tuesday, even though he still intends to cajole Congress to authorize U.S. military strikes against Assad's regime in the event diplomacy efforts ultimately fail. His televised address on Tuesday night is still expected to hammer home that point.
France's foreign minister, Laurent Fabius, said his country is initiating a Security Council resolution at the UN. At a Tuesday news conference in Paris, Fabius said the resolution would include a condemnation of Syria's use of chemical weapons and would vow "very serious consequences" if Assad's regime blocked efforts to set up UN weapons inspections and control the destruction of chemical weapons.
Russia, however, has rebuffed the French strategy, calling "unacceptable" a binding Security Council resolution that threatens force against Syria if it fails to comply.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said the plan can only work if "the American side and those who support the U.S.A., in this sense, reject the use of force."
Secretary of State John Kerry backed France in a Google Plus chat on Tuesday afternoon.
"We need a full resolution from the Security Council in order to have the confidence that this has the force that it ought to have," said Kerry, who will travel to Geneva on Thursday to meet with his Russian counterpart to discuss Syria. "That's our belief and obviously, right now, the Russians are in a slightly different place on that. We'll have to see where we get to. Obviously, I'm not going to negotiate this out in public."
Both Kerry and Obama have said they discussed the idea last week with the Russians at the G20 summit in St. Petersburg.
Obama spoke earlier Tuesday with French President Francois Hollande and British Prime Minister David Cameron about Syria. On Monday night, Obama and Prime Minister Stephen Harper spoke, agreeing that there must be a strong international response to the use of chemical weapons to deter similar atrocities from being unleashed upon innocent civilians in the future.
Obama also met Tuesday with senators who are wary of U.S. military intervention in Syria. A bipartisan group of senators started preparing a resolution calling for a UN team to remove Syria's chemical weapons by a set deadline and green-lighting U.S. military action if the Syrians fail to comply. In Kerry's testimony to the House armed services committee, he agreed that the Syrians must not be allowed to drag their feet.
"This cannot be a process of delay," he said. "This cannot be a process of avoidance."
In a round of media interviews a day earlier, Obama was equally cautious about the prospect of a military strike being averted if Syria indeed hands over its chemical weapons to Russia.
"It's possible if it's real," Obama told CNN. "This is what we've been asking for not just over the last week or the last month, but for the last couple of years."
John Boehner, speaker of the House of Representatives, said Tuesday he was wary that Russia would truly be able to persuade Assad to give up his chemical weapons.
"I'm skeptical of it because of the actors that are involved. It's as simple as that," Boehner told a Capitol Hill news conference. "Clearly, diplomacy is always a better outcome than military action. But I will say I'm somewhat skeptical of those that are involved in the diplomatic discussion today." Canada's foreign affairs minister sounded a similar tone.
"Actions will speak louder than words. Canada will wait to see what the particulars are for securing and destroying the entirety of the Assad regime's stockpiles of chemical weapons immediately," John Baird said in a statement.
"Trusting the regime to comply with any commitment after years of deceit would be a challenge. We want to ensure this proposal is not merely a delay tactic."
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Kerry says Syria should do more than declare chemical weapons, join treaty
By Matthew Lee, The Associated Press | The Canadian Press – WASHINGTON - Secretary of State John Kerry says Syria must do more than just declare its chemical weapons stockpiles and sign the international treaty that bans them if it wants a Russian-led effort to avert U.S. military strikes to work. Just minutes after Syrian President Bashar Assad's regime announced Tuesday that it would take those steps, Kerry said he hoped that it would "go further" in the interests of peace. He said the Syrian government must "live up to what they said just said they would do" and then co-operate with Russia "to work out a formula by which those weapons could be transferred to international control and destroyed." He said the regime should also enter a genuine dialogue with the opposition. Kerry's comments came during an online Google+ hangout.

Obama Asks for Postponed Vote on Syria
President Obama says he has asked members of Congress to postpone a vote on a military strike in Syria while a diplomatic option involving the surrender of chemical weapons is pursued, but says the military is fully prepared to respond. (Sept. 10)

French draft would hand Syria ultimatum to give up chemical arms
Reuters – UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - An initial French draft U.N. Security Council resolution would demand that Syria make a complete declaration of its chemical weapons program within 15 days and immediately open all related sites to U.N. inspectors or face possible punitive measures. The draft resolution, seen by Reuters on Tuesday, adds that the Security Council would intend "in the event of non-compliance by the Syrian authorities with the provisions of this resolution ... to adopt further necessary measures under Chapter VII" of the U.N. Charter. Chapter 7 of the U.N. Charter covers the 15-nation Security Council's power to take steps ranging from sanctions to military interventions. It is the reference to Chapter 7, U.N. diplomats say, that has made the Russia reluctant to support the initial French draft. (Reporting by Louis Charbonneau; Editing by Bill Trott)

 

Statement by Baird and Yelich on the Two Canadians Detained in Egypt
September 10, 2013 - Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird and the Honourable Lynne Yelich, Minister of State (Foreign Affairs and Consular), today issued the following statement:
“Canada remains concerned about the cases of Dr. Loubani and Mr. Greyson and continues to work at the highest levels to confirm the specific charges against them. As we have not yet received confirmation of the charges, Canada calls for their release.
“The well-being of Dr. Loubani and Mr. Greyson is our top priority and we are pleased that Canadian consular officials continue to be able to meet with them regularly.
“Canada continues to call for a timely and positive resolution to this matter.”
For further information, media representatives may contact:
Adria Minsky
Director of Communications
Office of the Minister of State (Foreign Affairs and Consular)
613-944-1291
Adria.Minsky@international.gc.ca
Foreign Affairs Media Relations Office
Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada
613-995-1874
Follow us on Twitter: @DFAIT_MAECI
 

Assyrian American National Coalition Opposes Military Strike Against Syria
Assyrian International News Agency
(AINA) -- The Assyrian American National Coalition (AANC) has launched a petition against an American military strike in Syria. Citing the disastrous consequences for the Assyrians (also known as Chaldeans and Syriacs) of Iraq since 2003, who have been subjected to a low-grade genocide and whose population has dropped from 1.4 million to 400,000, AANC calls on the U.S. Government to consider the effects of regime change on Assyrians and other Christians in Syria, given that the rebels are mostly Jihadists and hostile to Christians.
Here is the text of the petition:
We are writing to you on behalf of Assyrians and other Christians in Syria. A revolution that began by intellectuals turned into an obstruction led by jihadists and extremists. Minorities such as Assyrians and other Christians are caught in between the crossfires of the regime and extremist opposition, including groups like al-Qaida linked al-Nusra. While we abhore the use of chemical weapons against the Syrian people, we must emphasize that any American led military action in Syria will inevitably exacerbate the persecution against Assyrians and other Christians in Syria and threatens to accelerate the ongoing exodus of Christians from the Middle East.
We witnessed a devastating persecution against the Assyrian Christian community in Iraq that has decimated its native population, down to one third or less of its pre-war population of 1.2 million. Now, as extremist jihadists have moved their war to Syria, an American strike will undoubtedly motivate further attacks on Christians in Syria. Abuses, rapes, kidnappings, and murder of Assyrians are reported on a daily bases. A Syriac Orthodox Archbishop, Yohanna Ibrahim, and a Greek Orthodox Archbishop, Paul Yazigi, were abducted near Aleppo in the spring and remain missing to this day. Many other priests and clergy have been kidnapped and killed. As documented in detail by renowned investigative journalist Nuri Kino in his report, "Between the Barbed Wire," available at http://www.betweenthebarbedwire.com, the stories of persecution are tragic. A joint subcommittee hearing entitled "Religious Minorities in Syria: Caught in the Middle" was held in the House on June 25, 2013 referencing this report.
While it is true that many Christians have sought refuge in regime-controlled areas, it is simply because Christians are defenseless and are seeking safe harbor and not because they endorse the actions and leadership of Bashar al-Assad. Yet this association serves as an excuse for targeting by extremists. And yet, the association of Christianity with the West also means that an American led strike against Syria will also stir further hatred and attacks.
Regardless of whether the aim of a military strike on Syria and Bashar al-Assad's military capabilities is to send a message, act as a deterrent to others around the world to use chemical weapons, or to degrade and potentially accelerate the overthrow of the regime; the negative consequences of such a strike on Assyrians and other Christians in Syria should weigh against military intervention. A much wiser course of action would be to identify and work with vetted, moderate opposition forces such that if and when al-Assad's regime falls, they will be situated to nurture social forces that will promote democracy and the protection of minorities.
Already, a massive exodus of Christians in Syria is underway. After the attacks on Christians we witnessed in Iraq, and similarly are seeing in Egypt; North Africa and the Middle East is becoming increasingly hostile to Christians, despite being the birthplace of Christianity. With its active involvement in the Middle East, the United States must be cognizant of its role in this narrative. And while the use of chemical weapons should not be condoned, the United States must weigh the unintended but utterly predictable negative consequences of further military involvement in Syria on Assyrians and other Christians in the Middle East. Otherwise, Christianity may very well disappear from the Middle East. In our calculus, we believe history requires us to pursue more peaceful methods. In fact, in terms of long-term national security and promoting the strategic interests of the United States in the Middle East, a robust policy supporting the preservation of religious and ethnic minorities in the Middle East far outweigh a military policy against use of chemical weapons, which although despicable remains extremely limited and widely condemned. Such condemnation against the persecution of Christians in the Middle East is much more sorely needed, and ultimately, of much greater value to the United States.
We hope and pray you weigh the consequences of our actions on religious and ethnic minorities in the Middle East, and that you work to prioritize the preservation of religious and ethnic minorities in the Middle East as vital to the national security interests of the United States. We only hope it is not too late.

Obama’s message to Congress on Syria: Give it time and don’t undermine the process
By Chris Moody, Yahoo! News
President Barack Obama traveled to Capitol Hill on Tuesday where he urged senators to provide time for diplomatic discussions regarding Syria's chemical weapons stockpiles by delaying a vote on a resolution authorizing military force, lawmakers said after the meeting. According to senators who met with Obama — he spoke first to Senate Democrats and then Senate Republicans during private luncheons — the president believes it is necessary to keep the possibility of a U.S. military strike on the table in order to convince the Syrian government to give up its chemical weapons. But he said more time is needed for talks between U.S. officials and the Russian government about an alternative diplomatic solution. In other words, as Oklahoma Republican Sen. James Inhofe paraphrased Obama’s message: “Hang loose. Give me a chance.”
“The president clearly believes that the threat of force is what is moving the crisis along and has produced this new proposal by the Russians,” said Maine Republican Sen. Susan Collins after the meeting. “I think he is very concerned that Congress not undercut that ability for him to threaten force, which obviously if he got a negative vote in the Senate, he would lose some leverage. That’s my interpretation.”
In response, Congress will not to vote on a Syria strike authorization this week, key senators said.
The situation between the United States and Syria has changed drastically and rapidly since Obama announced Aug. 31 that he would seek approval from Congress to launch a military strike on the country, which his administration says was responsible for a chemical attack on its citizens Aug. 21 that killed more than 1,400 people. Since that time, Obama has dispatched top administration officials to make a case to the public and to lawmakers that the Syrian government should be held accountable for the brutal attack by suffering what they said would be a “limited” air attack on key targets.
Last week, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee approved a measure to authorize force, and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid on Monday morning said he would conduct a procedural vote as early as Wednesday. Later Monday, however, the Russian government proposed an alternative solution that would require Syria to hand over its chemical arsenal to international authorities. The Syrian government said it was willing to cooperate, and Obama on Monday night said he was “skeptical” but open to discussions. As those discussions continue, the United States will need both time and the appearance that it is close to the possibility of launching a strike.
In the meantime, senators are crafting new language for a resolution related to Syria that would tie a U.S. strike to Syria’s unwillingness to relinquish its chemical weapons, according to Michigan Sen. Carl Levin, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee. “That threat has got to be there, I believe, for them to deliver,” Levin said. For time time being, it appears lawmakers are willing to give the administration the space and time needed to continue the negotiating process with Syria and Russia, and that includes some Republicans. “He made what I think is a very practical request,” said Wisconsin Republican Sen. Ron Johnson, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee who voted against the authorization resolution last week. “Try not to undermine the credible threat of military action. That is what I think has moved the process forward, and it is certainly going to be the region’s best protection against Iran as well, which is also part of the equation. I’m happy to do that.”

First group of Syrian refugees leaves for Germany for temporary resettlement
By The Associated Press | The Canadian Press –
BEIRUT - A first group of Syrian refugees have departed Beirut International Airport for Germany where they will live in temporary new homes as Germany's biggest relocation program gets under way.
Airport officials say the group of 107 refugees left on Wednesday for Hannover, Germany. They are the first group to be relocated under a German program for up to 5,000 Syrian refugees. U.N. refugee agency spokeswoman Melissa Fleming said Tuesday that they include women at risk, people with serious medical conditions or others with special needs. Unlike the makeshift arrangements for most of the 2 million refugees that have fled Syria's civil war into neighbouring countries, the program announced by Germany in March gives them the right to work under two-year residence permits that could be extended if Syria's crisis continues.

Syria vows to give up chemical weapons, no deal yet at U.N.
By Phil Stewart and Khaled Yacoub Oweis
WASHINGTON/AMMAN (Reuters) - Syria accepted a Russian proposal on Tuesday to give up chemical weapons and win a reprieve from U.S. military strikes but serious differences emerged between Russia and the United States that could obstruct a U.N. resolution to seal a deal. Even as the White House said it was determined to push ahead with a congressional resolution authorizing force, Russian President Vladimir Putin said the weapons plan would only succeed if Washington and its allies rule out military action. In what amounted to the most explicit, high-level admission by Syria that it has chemical weapons, Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem said in a statement shown on Russian state television that Damascus was committed to the Russian initiative. "We want to join the convention on the prohibition of chemical weapons. We are ready to observe our obligations in accordance with that convention, including providing all information about these weapons," Moualem said. "We are ready to declare the location of the chemical weapons, stop production of the chemical weapons, and show these (production) facilities to representatives of Russia and other United Nations member states," he said. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said Washington believes the proposal must be endorsed by the U.N. Security Council "in order to have the confidence that this has the force it ought to have." Moscow has previously vetoed three resolutions that would have condemned the Syrian government over the conflict.
The latest proposal "can work only if we hear that the American side and all those who support the United States in this sense reject the use of force," Putin said in televised remarks.
Kerry and U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel told Congress the threat of military action was critical to forcing Assad to bend on his chemical weapons.
"For this diplomatic option to have a chance of succeeding, the threat of a U.S. military action - the credible, real threat of U.S. military action - must continue," Hagel told the House Armed Services Committee.
U.S. officials said Kerry would meet Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Geneva on Thursday for further talks.Amid the whirlwind of diplomatic activity focused on the response to a suspected chemical weapons attack on a Damascus neighborhood on August 21, the civil war resumed in earnest, President Bashar al-Assad's jets again bombing rebel positions in the capital.
UNITED NATIONS
The United States and its allies remain skeptical about the Russian proposal and President Barack Obama sought to keep the pressure on Syria by maintaining his drive for congressional backing for a possible military strike while exploring a diplomatic alternative.
At the United Nations, Britain, France and the United States discussed elements of a draft Security Council resolution that a diplomat from one of the three countries said would include a timeline for Syria to declare the full extent of its poison gas arsenal and to cede control of it to the United Nations.
France said the resolution should be legally binding and state clearly that Syria would face "serious consequences" if it failed to comply with the resolution's demands - diplomatic code for military force. Such language will be resisted by Russia.
The U.N. Security Council initially called a closed door meeting asked for by Russia to discuss its proposal to place Syria's chemical weapons under international control, but the meeting was later canceled at Russia's request.
French officials said their draft resolution was designed to make sure the Russian proposal would have teeth, by allowing military action if Assad is uncooperative.
"It was extremely well played by the Russians, but we didn't want someone else to go to the U.N. with a resolution that was weak. This is on our terms and the principles are established. It puts Russia in a situation where they can't take a step back after putting a step forward," said a French diplomatic source.
Russia, however, made clear it wanted to take the lead.
Lavrov told his French counterpart that Moscow would propose a U.N. draft declaration supporting its initiative to put Syria's chemical weapons under international control, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
PUTIN: "NO THREAT OF FORCE"
The United States and France had been poised to launch missile strikes to punish Assad's forces, which they blame for the chemical weapons attack. Syria denies it was responsible and, with the backing of Moscow, blames rebels for staging the attacks to provoke U.S. intervention.
The White House said Obama, British Prime Minister David Cameron and French President Francois Hollande had agreed in a telephone call on their preference for a diplomatic solution, but that they should continue to prepare for "a full range of responses."
Obama asked Congress on Tuesday to delay votes on authorizing military strikes in order to give Russia time to get Syria to surrender its chemical weapons, according to U.S. senators.
"What he (Obama) wants is to check out the seriousness of the Syrian and the Russian willingness to get rid of those chemical weapons in Syria. He wants time to check it out," Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin said.
The White House said Obama, who has called the Russian proposal a potential breakthrough, would still push for a vote in Congress to authorize force when he makes a televised address to Americans later on Tuesday.
But the U.S. congressional vote now appeared more about providing a hypothetical threat to back up diplomacy, rather than to unleash immediate missile strikes. A bipartisan group of senior members of Congress was working on a resolution that would take into account the Russian proposal.
While the prospects of a deal remain uncertain, the proposal could provide a way for Obama to avoid ordering unpopular action. It may make it easier for him to win backing from a skeptical Congress, which could have severely damaged his authority if it withheld support for strikes. Opinion polls show most Americans are opposed to military intervention in Syria, weary after more than a decade of war in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Whether international inspectors can neutralize chemical weapons dumps while war rages in Syria remains open to question.
Western states believe Syria has a vast undeclared chemical arsenal. Sending inspectors to destroy it would be hard even in peace and extraordinarily complicated in the midst of a war.
The two main precedents are ominous: U.N. inspectors dismantled the chemical arsenal of Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein in the 1990s but left enough doubt to provide the basis for a U.S.-led invasion in 2003. Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi was rehabilitated by the West after agreeing to give up his banned weapons, only to be overthrown with NATO help in 2011.
SYRIAN REBELS DISMAYED
The Syrian war has already killed more than 100,000 people and driven millions from their homes. It threatens to spread violence across the Middle East, with countries endorsing the sectarian divisions that brought civil war to Lebanon and Iraq. The wavering from the West dealt an unquestionable blow to the Syrian opposition, which had thought it had finally secured military intervention after pleading for two and a half years for help from Western leaders that vocally opposed Assad. The rebel Syrian National Coalition decried a "political maneuver which will lead to pointless procrastination and will cause more death and destruction to the people of Syria."
Assad's warplanes bombed rebellious districts inside the Damascus city limits on Tuesday for the first time since the poison gas attacks. Rebels said the strikes demonstrated that the government had concluded the West had lost its nerve. "By sending the planes back, the regime is sending the message that it no longer feels international pressure," activist Wasim al-Ahmad said from Mouadamiya, one of the districts of the capital hit by the chemical attack.
The Russian proposal "is a cheap trick to buy time for the regime to kill more and more people," said Sami, a member of the local opposition coordinating committee in the Damascus suburb of Erbin, also hit by last month's chemical attack. Troops and pro-Assad militiamen tried to seize the northern district of Barzeh and the eastern suburb of Deir Salman near Damascus airport, working-class Sunni Muslim areas where opposition activists and residents reported street fighting. Fighter jets bombed Barzeh three times and pro-Assad militia backed by army tank fire made a push into the area. Air raids were also reported on the Western outskirts near Mouadamiya.
But Damascenes in pro-Assad areas were grateful for a reprieve from Western strikes: "Russia is the voice of reason. They know that if a strike went ahead against Syria, then World War Three - even Armageddon - would befall Europe and America," said Salwa, a Shi'ite Muslim in the affluent Malki district. (Additional reporting by John Irish in Paris, Louis Charbonneau at the United Nations, Thomas Grove and Steve Gutterman in Moscow and Patricia Zengerle, Arshad Mohammed, Richard Cowan, Paul Eckert and Roberta Rampton in Washington; Writing by Peter Graff, David Storey and Claudia Parsons; Editing by Jim Loney)

Syria war crimes worsen in battle for territory: U.N. report
By Stephanie Nebehay/GENEVA (Reuters) - U.N. human rights investigators said on Wednesday Syrian government forces had massacred civilians, bombed hospitals and committed other war crimes in widespread attacks to recapture territory from rebels this year. Opposition forces, including Islamist foreign fighters, have also perpetrated war crimes including executions, hostage-taking and shelling of civilian neighborhoods, the investigators said in their latest report, covering the period of May 15-July 15. "The perpetrators of these violations and crimes, on all sides, act in defiance of international law. They do not fear accountability. Referral to justice is imperative," said the report by the U.N. commission of inquiry, which is led by Paulo Pinheiro of Brazil. The independent experts said they had received allegations about the use of chemical weapons "predominantly by government forces ... On the evidence currently available, it was not possible to reach a finding about the chemical agents used, their delivery systems or the perpetrators. Investigations are ongoing," the report said.
The team of some 20 investigators carried out 258 interviews with refugees, defectors and others in the region and in Geneva, including via Skype, for their 11th report in two years. They have never been allowed into Syria despite repeated requests. The report called for a political solution to Syria's civil war and urged other states to "stop weapons transfers in view of the clear risk that they will be used to commit serious violations of international law".(Reporting by Stephanie Nebehay, editing by Tom Miles and Mark Heinrich)

Iran's Khamenei hopeful new U.S. policy on Syria is 'serious'
Reuters DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said on Wednesday he hoped that a U.S. promise to pursue diplomacy to remove the threat of chemical weapons in Syria was "serious", the state news agency IRNA reported. "I am hopeful that the United States new attitude to Syria is serious and not a game with the media. For weeks they have threatened war against the people of this region for the benefit of the Zionists (Israel)," he said during a public address.On Tuesday evening U.S. President Barack Obama said he would postpone a vote in Congress on U.S. military action against the Syrian government, which he accuses of firing poison gas munitions into a Damascus suburb controlled by rebels. He also pledged to explore a Russian plan to remove Syria's chemical arsenal but voiced skepticism about it and urged Americans to support his threat to use military force if needed. A main regional ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Iran has welcomed the proposal to transfer Syria's chemical weapons stocks and urged all nations to sign the Chemical Weapons Convention treaty that bans their use. According to Secretary of State John Kerry, the chemical agent attack on August 21 killed more than 1,400 people including more than 400 children.
(Reporting by Marcus George; Editing by Mark Heinrich)