Luke 12/1-7: "Meanwhile, when a multitude of many thousands had gathered together, so much so that they trampled on each other, he began to tell his disciples first of all, “Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.  But there is nothing covered up, that will not be revealed, nor hidden, that will not be known.  Therefore whatever you have said in the darkness will be heard in the light. What you have spoken in the ear in the inner rooms will be proclaimed on the housetops.  “I tell you, my friends, don’t be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do.  But I will warn you whom you should fear. Fear him, who after he has killed, has power to cast into Gehenna. Yes, I tell you, fear him.
 

US National Security Adviser Susan Rice on Iran: Every reason to be skeptical
Obama's national security adviser tells CNN sanctions to remain in place until Tehran lives up to commitments regarding nuclear program. 'Any agreement must be fully verifiable and enforceable,' she says
Yitzhak Benhorin
Published: 09.29.13, 16:41 / Israel News/Ynetnews/WASHINGTON – US National Security Adviser Susan Rice attempted to assuage the concerns of Israel and other US-allies in the Middle East over the possibility that Washington would fall for an Iranian ploy to buy time in its pursuit of a nuclear weapon. Rice said that Obama had carefully chosen his words when he said that Iran had the right to use enriched uranium but not actively enrich uranium itself.“It’s way too soon to presume either the prospect of an agreement on the nuclear program, which we hope to be able to achieve, but we’re quite sober about the potential for that,” Rice told CNN's Fareed Zakaria GPS.“If we could have a peaceful resolution of the nuclear program and an end to Iran’s support for terrorism and other behavior that has concerned us over many years, then we could begin a serious discussion about the future.” Addressing the subject of a meeting of foreign ministers of the six world powers with the Iranian foreign minister last week, she said that the Iranians had pledged not to obtain a nuclear weapon, but nuclear energy. She added that the US stressed that Iran must live up to its commitment to the international community and that the sanctions would stay in place until they are met. “We and others in the international community have every reason to be skeptical of that and we need to test it, and any agreement must be fully verifiable and enforceable,” Rice said. The national security adviser stressed that if Iran makes good on its commitments to the International Atomic Energy Agency and complies with the resolutions of the UN Security Council, it would have the right to use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.
Rice also discussed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's warning regarding the Iranian "charm offensive" and said the White House was in close contact with Israel and other allies and that they were all in agreement regarding the measures that are necessary in order to make certain that at the end of the process, Iran does not have military nuclear power.
Rice further told CNN that the US and Iran were still far from normalizing relations. The two countries severed diplomatic relations following the Islamic Revolution of 1979.
 

Analysis: Rouhani drives wedge between Netanyahu, Obama on Iran issue
By REUTERS 09/29/2013 15:22/WASHINGTON/JERUSALEM - Six months after US President Barack Obama eased a strained relationship with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu during a visit to Israel dubbed "Operation Desert Schmooze," the two leaders now face the biggest test of whether they can work together - and the stakes are higher than ever.
A diplomatic charm offensive by new Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has suddenly opened up a gap between the White House and Netanyahu's government. How they respond could have far-reaching implications for their political legacies as well as the future stability of the Middle East.Coming three days after Obama and Rouhani had a historic phone call, which was the highest-level contact between the two countries in three decades, Monday's White House meeting between the US and Israeli leaders is shaping up as perhaps their most consequential encounter.
Obama and Netanyahu will try to avoid any repeat of previous clashes as they seek to project unity. But behind closed doors, their differences over Iran may prove hard to bridge.
Unnerved by the pace of the US outreach to Iran and deeply skeptical of Rouhani, Netanyahu will push Obama for specific steps and deadlines to prevent Tehran from using talks to "run out the clock" while it advances toward making a nuclear weapon.
"I will speak the truth. Facts must be stated in the face of the sweet talk and the blitz of smiles," Netanyahu said at the airport in Tel Aviv before departing for Washington on Saturday night.
Obama will press Netanyahu for time to test Rouhani's intentions, while trying to reassure Israel he will not ease sanctions prematurely. He is likely, however, to resist Israeli pressure for a precise time limit for diplomacy with Iran to produce a deal, according to a source close to the White House.
"American and Israeli officials like to say there's no daylight between them on Iran," a former US official said. "But with his words alone, Rouhani has opened a window."
Looming large is the question of military action against Iran if diplomacy fails to prevent Tehran from pressing ahead with what Israel and the West suspect is a drive to develop nuclear weapons. Iran denies it is seeking a bomb.
Some Israeli officials doubt whether Obama has the stomach for attacking Iran after he pulled back earlier this month from a threat to bomb Syria over its suspected use of chemical weapons.
"It totally suggests that for the president, all options are not on the table with Iran," said Elliott Abrams, a Middle East adviser under Republican former President George W. Bush, now at the Council on Foreign Relations think tank.
Further complicating matters is Obama's reinvigorated push for a peace deal between Israel and the Palestinians in talks that restarted earlier this year. Middle East diplomacy is expected to figure more prominently in Monday's meeting than originally thought, after Obama listed it beside Iran as a top priority in his address to the United Nations on Tuesday.
Netanyahu will be in anything but a conciliatory mood. One Israeli official suggested privately that Obama was "talking up the Palestinian issue to keep the Sunni Arab world on his side" as he builds bridges with predominantly Shi'ite Iran.
NO OVAL OFFICE BLOWUP EXPECTED
Obama and Netanyahu have a track record of difficult encounters, including a blowup in the Oval Office when Netanyahu famously lectured the president on Jewish history. He later made no secret of his fondness for Republican challenger Mitt Romney, who lost to Obama in last year's presidential election.
Obama made his first presidential trip to Israel in March to reset his relationship with Netanyahu, using some old-fashioned backslapping to move beyond their confrontational past. American journalist Jeffrey Goldberg, an authority on the Middle East, described it as "Operation Desert Schmooze."
Although Obama may not have won the hearts of the Israeli public like former president Bill Clinton did in the 1990s, he appeared to make a big dent in their suspicions about him dating from his 2009 speech to the Muslim world in Cairo. "He had a very dysfunctional relationship with Netanyahu and they managed to overcome it," said Aaron David Miller, a former State Department adviser now at the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington. "The idea that he would now pick a fight with the Israelis is improbable. They will look for common ground."
But all indications are that the White House talks will be less than a total meeting of the minds. Friday's phone call between Obama and Rouhani is sure to increase Israeli wariness over the prospects of US-Iranian detente, even though the White House gave Israeli officials the courtesy of letting them know in advance.
In a nod to Netanyahu's concerns, Obama insisted on Friday he would not do anything to endanger Israel, and a senior administration official acknowledged that "the Israeli government has every right to be skeptical" of Iran.
Obama's ability to calm Israel about his engagement with Iran might be limited by the influence of the pro-Israel lobby in Washington and lawmakers on both sides of the aisle who are quick to defend the Jewish state.
Robert Menendez, Democratic chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Lindsey Graham, a veteran Republican senator, wrote an opinion piece in The Washington Post on Friday arguing for further oil sanctions against Iran.
'CREDIBLE MILITARY THREAT'
Netanyahu will be looking for proof of Obama's commitment to confront Tehran with a "credible military threat" if diplomatic efforts fall through. Obama has insisted he is not bluffing, but has not been as explicit as Netanyahu wants. The Obama administration official hinted that the president might go further this time, at least in private, saying the two would focus on "red lines" to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon. Obama has long resisted Netanyahu's demand for a clear and specific ultimatum to Iran on the US use of force, and there is little reason to believe he will issue one now.
Netanyahu brandished a cartoon bomb last year in his UN speech to illustrate what he called Iran's progress toward nuclear arms, but Israeli sources predict he will opt for a less flashy message when he addresses the world body on Tuesday.
Obama may prefer a more toned-down approach by the sometimes abrasive Israeli premier. But allowing Netanyahu to play "party pooper" - as Israeli media have dubbed it - may serve a purpose for Obama of keeping the heat on Iran while pressuring European partners not to break ranks on sanctions.
Some analysts believe Netanyahu's earlier threats helped lead to Iran keeping uranium enrichment below the cartoon bomb's "red-line" threshold - enough medium-enriched uranium for a single bomb - that he suggested would trigger Israeli strikes. "The greater the economic and military pressure, the greater the chance of diplomacy succeeding," said Strategic Affairs Minister Yuval Steinitz, a Netanyahu confidant.
As Obama moves deeper into his second term, however, he may see rapprochement with Iran after decades of estrangement as part of his foreign policy legacy - especially at a time when he faces criticism for his response to Syria's civil war and Egypt's military takeover.
But Obama may be mindful of the damage to his record if, as Israeli leaders suggest, it turns out Iran is just buying time.
by Taboolaby TaboolaFrom Our Partners
 

Russia, Iran, Damascus may crank up border tensions to weaken Netanyahu’s hand in America

http://www.debka.com/article/23316/Russia-Iran-Damascus-may-crank-up-border-tensions-to-weaken-Netanyahu’s-hand-in-America-
DEBKAfile Special Report September 29, 2013/Western military sources predict an upsurge of tension this week along Israel’s borders with Syria and Lebanon. Moscow, Tehran and Damascus may be planning to embarrass Binyamin Netanyahu when he sits down with President Barack Obama at the White house Monday, Sept. 30, and addresses the UN General Assembly the next day, Oct. 1.
They see an opportunity to push Israel further out in the cold after the Obama administration’s brush-off in his rush to pursue relations with Tehran. Israel is seen as hitting a weak streak as a result of Washington’s cold shoulder and its own lack of military impetus as Netanyahu arrives in America to present Israel’s case to the US President and the international community.
Those sources therefore predict that Russian, Iranian and Syrian strategists may be planning to goad Israel into an ill-judged and badly-timed military response at this moment. They can then fit the Netanyahu government into the frame of the neighborhood warmonger and disrupter of the hopeful US-Russian partnership for solving the Iranian and Syrian chemical weapons issues by diplomacy.
All that needs to be done is to place a shipment of advanced or chemical weapons on the road from Syria to Hizballah in Lebanon to draw forth an Israeli air strike and start a blaze in a highly explosive sector.
The world would then turn round and say that Iran’s president Hassan Rouhani was correct when he defamed Israel in New York last week as the sole cause of Middle East wars in the last 40 years – without encountering a single dissenting voice in America – and the only nation in possession of weapons of mass destruction.
debkafile’s sources report that, although President Obama stated last Friday, Sept. 27, that he informed America’s allies, including Israel, of his landmark phone call to Rouhani, the truth is that he has kept Jerusalem in the dark on the contacts he initiated on the Iranian and Syrian issues, although Israel is most vitally affected.
The US-Russian deal for the dismantling of Syria’s chemical arsenal was sprung on Jerusalem from Geneva on Sept. 14 without warning, as were the Washington-Tehran exchanges and understandings on Iran’s nuclear program. Saturday, Sept. 28, US Secretary John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov repeated their Geneva duo performance by announcing that the UN Security Council had unanimously adopted Resolution 2118 requiring the elimination of Syria’s chemical stockpile.
All the 15 Council members present appreciated that the motion was toothless after the US and Russia had agreed to omit penalties for non-compliance.
The text said: “No party in Syria should use, develop, produce, acquire, stockpile, retain or transfer chemical weapons.” This wording strongly recalls Security Council Resolution 1701 which was enacted seven years ago and banned any transfer of weapons to Hizballah as the aggressor in the Second Lebanese war against Israel.
This ban was never upheld. In fact, the flow of Iranian and Syrian arms shipments to Hizballah increased from that day on, providing the Shiite terrorist organization with one of the most powerful advanced rocket arsenals in the Arab world.
Even before its enactment, Resolution 2112 was already heading for its first prevarications Friday with two separate steps by Washington and Moscow:
1. Two weeks after Kerry’s thunderous rhetoric on the size and threat to the region of the Syrian chemical stockpile, considered the third largest in the world, US officials including the State Department told the media that since most of the stocks are “unweaponized” and exist in liquid precursors, the entire arsenal could be neutralized in a shorter period than thought, about nine months.
debkafile’s sources point out that this factoid has been known for months. It doesn’t address the real difficulties of locating the stocks Bashar Assad has hidden or transferred, or the difficulty of inspectors reaching them in areas under combat. At present, UN experts are not even free to move around Damascus without coming under fire.
2. Lavrov reiterated Saturday that the new resolution absolutely rules out the use of force or any application of Chapter 7 of the UN Charter. Any possible use of force n the future under Chapter 7 would require a new resolution, he said.
Moscow has offered to provide troops to “guard workers and facilities.” The message is that if any foreign troops are to be allowed in Syria, they can only be Russian.
As for the “transfer of chemical weapons,” which is barred under the new resolution, suspicions by Western intelligence that Syrian plans to sneak part of its arsenal to Hizballah in Lebanon, or has done so already, apparently reached Beirut. Friday, President Michel Suleiman hastened to declare: “Syria’s chemical weapons have not been smuggled to Lebanon and there is no evidence of their presence in the country.”
 

Liberman: Rouhani's 'appeasement attack' is part of Iran's 'pattern of deception'
By JPOST.COM STAFF 09/29/2013/As Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu was en route to New York to address the UN General Assembly, Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee chairman Avigdor Liberman warned that Iran's recent "appeasement attack" was merely a trick to buy time for its continued development of nuclear weapons.
Liberman's comments came after US President Barack Obama spoke with his Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani on Friday, signaling a thaw in relations between the countries, which Israel fears will lead to decreased international pressure on Iran over its disputed nuclear program.Netanyahu, who is set to meet with Obama on Monday prior to his General Assembly address on Tuesday, directed his ministers not to comment on the Obama-Rouhani phone call or US-Iranian relations, in an apparent effort not to embarrass him before his scheduled meeting with the US president.
As he boarded his plane to the US with his wife Sara overnight Saturday, Netanyahu said that he would "represent the citizens of Israel, our national interests, our rights as a people, our perseverance to defend ourselves and our hope for peace." When asked about Rouhani's efforts to speed diplomacy in an efforts to secure a deal that would lessen international sanctions on Iran, Netanyahu said, "I will tell the truth. In the face of the lip service, the smile attack, we need to state facts, to tell the truth. I think that telling the truth today, is essential to the peace and security of the world, and of course, essential to the security of our state."
Liberman took to his Facebook page Sunday morning warning that Rouhani's efforts to put forth a moderate face were part of a "pattern of deception" that the Iranians have employed throughout the years.
"With different tactics of playing for time and providing false information to the international community time after time, they have continued to advance toward the goal that they have set for themselves: obtaining a nuclear weapon meant to threaten the peace of the world."
The Yisrael Beytenu leader said Rouhani's overtures were "just another deceptive trick," such as those employed by North Korea to develop a nuclear weapon in the face of international scrutiny.
Liberman invoked Israel's bombing of Iraq's Osirak nuclear reactor in 1981, stating that in that case as well, Israel was the only voice warning against the Iraqi nuclear threat and acting.
He said that he trusted Netanyahu to protect Israel's interests against the Iranian threat at the General Assembly and in Washington "even if the public discourse and atmosphere are not easy or comfortable for telling necessary truths."President Shimon Peres told Army Radio on Sunday morning, that while it was necessary to speak to Washington, and voice Israel's concerns, he was unhappy with "the disrespectful tone" being directed at the US from Israel.

 

Naharnet /President Michel Suleiman Postpones Visit to Saudi Arabia
Naharnet /President Michel Suleiman has postponed a visit he planned to make to Saudi Arabia on Tuesday for talks with top officials, his office announced. The statement did not set a new date for the visit. It said Suleiman followed up the security situation in the eastern city of Baalbek and the issue of Lebanese asylum-seekers whose boat sank off Indonesia on Friday. The president was briefed on the measures taken by the authorities to deal with the two issues, the Baabda palace statement added. The police chief in the Agrabinta area of Indonesia's Java, where the boat went down, told Agence France Presse on Sunday that the death toll from Friday's accident was now 28, including multiple children -- with many more passengers unaccounted for. It is not clear whether all of the dead were Lebanese. The vessel, carrying an estimated 120 asylum-seekers from Lebanon, mainly from the town of Kabiit in Akkar, Jordan and Yemen, sank after being hit by high waves Friday. Survivors said the boat was headed for Australia's Christmas Island. Eighteen of the Lebanese survived the ordeal.
In Baalbek, the Lebanese army carrying out patrols and set up checkpoints on Sunday a day after five people were killed in clashes between Hizbullah and armed men following a dispute in Baalbek’s al-Qalaa marketplace.
Suleiman was expected to discuss with Saudi officials the government crisis in Lebanon and the repercussions of the war in Syria on Lebanon's stability.

Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi Slams Politicians for 'Destroying' the Nation, Causing Arms Proliferation
Naharnet /Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi on Sunday urged officials to have loyalty to their country by ending its crises and keeping it at a distance from the sectarian turmoil, accusing them of having a “destructible” behavior. “Politicians should respect Lebanon as a state and people, and only have loyalty to it,” al-Rahi said in his sermon during a mass he held in Bkirki. He said the officials should work on resolving the country's political, economic and security crises in addition to distancing it from “confessional conflicts and regional axes in accordance with the National Pact and the Baabda Declaration.” Al-Rahi pleaded for coexistence so that the Lebanese could be united. The people should work on making the nation meet the expectations of the international community and mainly friendly countries similar to what President Michel Suleiman did when he met with world leaders and addressed the U.N. General Assembly, he said. The patriarch felt regret at the death of Lebanese asylum-seekers in a boat accident in Indonesia. “They were after a good livelihood in Australia which they couldn't find in Lebanon,” he said. The vessel, carrying an estimated 120 asylum-seekers from Lebanon, mainly from the town of Kabiit in Akkar, Jordan and Yemen, sank in rough seas Friday. The death toll rose to 28 people on Sunday after more bodies were found in the sea. They were heading for Australia's Christmas Island. Al-Rahi blamed the “neglect” of the authorities and political leaders for the death of the asylum-seekers. “They are obstructing the formation of a new all-embracing and capable government … and paralyzing constitutional institutions,” he said. He also accused them of worsening the differences among the Lebanese and creating bad economic conditions. Al-Rahi condemned what he called the “destructible political behavior” that tarnishes the nation's image. “The proliferation of illegitimate arms that lead to security chaos are caused by their neglect and the differences between political parties,” he said.

Al-Mustaqbal bloc MP Mohammed Kabbara Demands Security Plan in Baalbek against the 'Terrorist Party'
Naharnet /Al-Mustaqbal bloc MP Mohammed Kabbara Saturday called on concerned authorities to “hurry up” and adopt a security plan in the Bekaa city of Baalbek to protect the people against Hizbullah. “We demand a security plan in Baalbek to protect the people against the terrorist party that conducted an attack to eradicate our people from the Bekaa,” Kabbara said in a released statement, referring to Hizbullah.
The statement was released after a meeting of the Islamic National Gathering following deadly clashes that erupted on Saturday between Hizbullah and the Shiyyah clan in Baalbek.
The fighting, in which light arms were used, killed at least five people and set several shops ablaze. The statement continued: “Their goal is to eradicate our people from Baalbek and eastern Bekaa through killing them, attacking their residences, setting their properties on fire and abducting their kids.”The conferees criticized the army for “not hurrying up to protect the victims.”“The army did not act similarly to what it did in Beirut's southern suburbs through applying a security plan,” they said. “It looks like the military institution cares about protecting the terrorist party, not the people.”“We call on concerned authorities to hurry up in prosecuting the attackers in Baalbek and to apply a security plan in the city that truly aims at protecting the people,” they added. The statement considered that what is taking place in Baalbek is “a test to the security bodies' intentions and to their capability to protect the oppressed instead of the tyrants.”The statement also held Hizbullah accountable for instability in Lebanon. The gathering announced that it will continue to follow up on the developments in the Bekaa city, as well as on the application of a security plan in the northern city of Tripoli. The military institution announced after Bekaa's clashes its deployment in the area, vowing to prosecute all outlaws and to prevent all armed appearances in the city.
It also urged citizens to cooperate with the army's troops and with security forces.

Tripoli Man behind Asylum-Seekers Trips to Australia on 'Death Boats'
Naharnet /Lebanese asylum-seekers who died when a boat sank off Indonesia were the victims of people smugglers who prey on them and Syrian refugees seeking to better their lives. The death toll from the sinking on Friday of the Australia-bound boat off the coast of Java has risen to 28, with many more still feared missing, according to Indonesian police. The Lebanese foreign ministry said there were 68 Lebanese, including children, on board the ill-fated vessel and that 18 survived the ordeal while at least 29 were still missing. Most of them came from Akkar, an impoverished province of north Lebanon where thousands of Syrians have sought refuge from the 30-month that has wracked their country. "Illegal migration has increased with the influx of Syrian refugees," a Lebanese security source told Agence France Presse on condition of anonymity. "Criminal networks have started to focus on Syrians but also on Lebanese who want to emigrate," he said of the people smugglers. According to the source, around 250 people, including Syrians and Lebanese, have since March paid huge sums of money to people smugglers for trips to Australia. Relatives of Lebanese who have emigrated through such networks in recent months told AFP that a Tripoli-based man organizes the journeys from Lebanon to Australia through Indonesia.
The smugglers' contact in Indonesia is an Iraqi man known only as Abu Saleh who monitors the arrivals, they said. The first part of the trip consists in obtaining a visa for Jakarta, which the Indonesian embassy in Lebanon grants Lebanese passport-holders without much difficulty. Once in Jakarta the migrants are led secretly to main Indonesian island of Java from where they take boats for the high-risk sea trip to Australia seeking asylum.
Lebanese authorities on Saturday arrested a suspect involved in the people smuggling network as part of an investigation ordered by caretaker Justice Minister Shakib Qortbawi. In the northern city of Tripoli, Khaled al-Rai is mourning the loss of his uncle Talal and of his cousins seven-year-old Karim and nine-year-old Nour, who were on the boat that sank Friday. "They were fleeing conflict and poverty in Tripoli. It seems their fate was to die in Indonesia," Rai said. His aunt Randa and five-year-old cousin Khalil survived the tragedy. Rai's family flew to Jakarta from the Beirut Rafik Hariri International Airport in July. The wanted to escape their home in Bab al-Tabbaneh, an impoverished neighborhood of Tripoli that has been rocked by frequent sectarian fighting linked to the conflict in Syria. "Their situation was terrible. My uncle was a mechanic. Because of the constant fighting, he hardly ever had work and his house was shot at twice," said Rai. Fed up and hoping for a better life, he was lured by the people smugglers into selling his garage and taking loans to pay for the family's trip to Australia.
Most of the other victims are from the village of Qabeit in Akkar province. "In March and April, some 50 residents, among them my 16-year-old son, emigrated (illegally) to Australia through Indonesia," said village mayor Ahmed Darwish. "I paid $8,000 for his trip. I hesitated, but I know that there isn't any work here. Most young people emigrate, and even more now with the influx of Syrian refugees," Darwish told AFP.
An estimated one million Syrians fleeing their country's brutal war have fled to Lebanon since the conflict erupted in March 2011, and many found refuge in Akkar, exacerbating fragile resources. Nasr Khodr said his brother Hussein paid a smuggler $40,000 to get to Australia along with his pregnant wife and their eight children. All but Hussein died in the tragedy, Nasr said. Qabeit residents said migrants used to try to reach Australia via East Timor but when applying for visas became difficult they turned their attention to Indonesia. Rai says he is trying to repatriate his aunt and cousin from Indonesia, but "they tore up their passports to be able to seek asylum."The security source added that "some Lebanese migrants have bought fake Syrian passports off mafias, so that they can apply for asylum." Refugees from Afghanistan, Iran and Sri Lanka often take routes via Indonesian waters to try to flee their countries. Thousands of asylum-seekers have traveled by boat to Australia this year, and scores have died trying to make the journey in unseaworthy vessels over the years. Officials in Indonesia say they fear many people are still missing after the boat carrying would-be refugees also from Jordan and Yemen broke into pieces and sank in rough waters. SourceAgence France Presse.

Hezbollah hands over checkpoints after deadly clashes
September 29, 2013/By Rakan al-Fakih/The Daily Star/HERMEL, Lebanon: Hezbollah handed over two checkpoints in Baalbek to the Lebanese Army Sunday as part of the military’s deployment to restore calm in the eastern city following clashes that killed four people including two members of the resistance group. Gun battles erupted Saturday morning between Hezbollah members and members from the Shiyyah family after a dispute in Baalbek’s al-Qalaa marketplace, one of the city’s main shopping districts. The dispute escalated into several hours of fighting that killed two Hezbollah members and two gunmen and wounded five others, a security source told The Daily Star. The incident forced many to flee the bustling streets of Baalbek as the clashes extended to several neighborhoods in the city. Tensions have been high in Baalbek as residents are split in their support for the uprising in Syria and over Hezbollah’s involvement there alongside regime forces. Earlier this week, the Shiyyah family was in a verbal confrontation with members of the resistance group at the party’s checkpoint near a store belonging to the Sunni family. In response to the incident which raised concern of rising sectarian tensions in the eastern region, President Michel Sleiman chaired a security meeting at Baabda Palace which was followed by a deployment by one of the Army’s elite units to the area. Hezbollah handed over two checkpoints to the military in the Baalbek marketplace but maintained others in the region it had erected following threats that party-controlled areas were at risk of car bombings. In a statement released Saturday night, the Army said it deployed in the city and took the necessary measures to restore and stability following the clashes.
The Army said one soldier who was off duty in his Baalbek house was wounded in the gun battle and that it apprehended a number of suspects. It also said the military would “firmly face” any gunmen regardless of the family or party they belong to, and asked Baalbek figures to adopt restraint and cooperate with the Army’s measures to prevent further escalation. During the Baabda Meeting attended by caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, caretaker Interior Minister Marwan Charbel, Army head Gen. Jean Kahwagi and a number of security chiefs, officials gave security agencies orders to restore calm and preserve security and civil peace.
The Tripoli-based Islamic National Gathering held a meeting at Future MP Mohammad Kabbara residence to address the clashes in Baalbek, accusing Hezbollah of seeking to eradicate the Sunni community from the city and eastern Bekaa Valley by "killing them, attacking their residences, burning their properties and kidnapping them." "The citizens can no longer tolerate attacks by the terrorist party which we hold responsible for the instability in Lebanon and hold those who protect it the decline of the state,” the statement said. The gathering also warned against what it claimed was Hezbollah’s intention to “eradicate the Sunnis from the northern and eastern Bekaa and what this despicable plot could carry for repercussions on Lebanon.” It also asked Speaker Nabih Berri and Hezbollah’s chief Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah for a speedy reaction to the clashes in Baalbek "because your silence is permission for war.” Sheikh Mohammad Yazbek, the head of Hezbollah's Sharia Council, said the clashes were unacceptable and that his group exerted efforts to prevent the incident from taking a more serious turn and inflaming sectarian tensions. “What happened in Baalbek is very painful and it is what we have been warning against and asking the state to shoulder its responsibility,” Yazbek said.
“The attack and the killing brought us to a point which we do not accept as we are in need of people to help prevent sectarian and confessional strife,” he added.
He also indirectly criticized some Future MPs for accusing Hezbollah of being behind the clashes and making the claim that the Sunni community in Lebanon has become oppressed.
“It's shameful for some to speak about how Sunnis are oppressed and it is shameful that such insanity is from someone who considers themselves officials in Parliament,” Yazbek said.
“It is unfortunate that this lawmaker would speak on the podium of strife,” he said. Prime Minister-designate Tammam Salam said the Baalbek incident highlighted the serious risks that threaten Lebanese areas as a result of “sectarian and rhetoric overload and the proliferation of illegal arms which are used as means to dominate the decision-making power of one group over the other.”
The state should reinforce its profile through its own security agencies and a political safety net that should lift cover off violators, his office quoted him as saying. -With additional reporting by Dana Khraiche

Head of Hizbullah's Juristic Committee Sheikh Mohammed Yazbek  Slams Kabbara's 'Shameful Incitement, Insanity'
Naharnet /Head of Hizbullah's Juristic Committee Sheikh Mohammed Yazbek on Sunday hit back at Mustaqbal bloc MP Mohammed Kabbara without naming him, saying his remarks over the Baalbek clashes are “shameful” and “insane.” “What happened (on Saturday) in the city of Baalbek is very painful and we have always warned against it and asked the state to shoulder its responsibilities,” Yazbek said at a commemoration ceremony in the Bekaa town of Hawsh al-Rafeqa. At least three people, including a soldier, were killed and several others wounded after clashes broke out Saturday between Hizbullah members and al-Shiyyah clan following a dispute in Baalbek’s al-Qalaa marketplace. “The attack and killings led us to what we openly reject and we are in dire need for 'firefighters' who can prevent the eruption of a sectarian or religious strife, as people have different ideas and viewpoints and they much respect each other,” the top Hizbullah official added. Snapping back at Kabbara, without naming him, Yazbek said: “It is shameful when some resort to a rejected rhetoric by claiming that Sunnis are being oppressed and it is disgraceful when the insanity reaches some people who consider themselves to be officials in the Lebanese parliament.” “Who is oppressing whom? How can this oppression be explained? There is a state that should be responsible for unveiling the circumstances of the incident,” Yazbek noted. “We regret that this MP is launching remarks from the podiums of strife and incitement, as what happened was a dispute among the members of the same family, but some people want to fuel the fire and speak of oppression,” Yazbek added. Reciting a statement issued by the Tripoli-based Islamic National Gathering on Saturday, Kabbara said: "We demand a security plan in Baalbek to protect the people against the terrorist party that conducted an attack to eradicate our people from the Bekaa.”Separately, the Hizbullah official said the new cabinet has not been formed until the moment due to “the mentality of some parties,” noting that “it can be formed when there is a serious will and when we close ranks away from foreign interference and the Western and regional influences.”

Army Imposes Order in Baalbek Amid Cautious Calm
Naharnet/The Lebanese army was on Sunday carrying out patrols and setting up checkpoints in the eastern city of Baalbek a day after five people were killed in clashes between Hizbullah and armed men.
The National News Agency said there was cautious calm in the Hizbullah stronghold amid a total closure of shops and markets, except for bakeries. Caretaker Interior Minister Marwan Charbel told Voice of Lebanon radio (93.3) that the army's sixth battalion took over all Hizbullah checkpoints mainly the ones set up at the entrances of Baalbek as part of a deal for the military to restore order in the city. Saturday's gunbattles were sparked by a “personal dispute,” Charbel said, ruling out sectarian causes. Five people, including a soldier, were killed after clashes broke out between Hizbullah members and al-Shiyyah clan following a dispute in Baalbek’s al-Qalaa marketplace. Lebanon has been on edge as a result of the civil war in neighboring Syria, with many Lebanese divided between supporters of Presidents Bashar Assad's regime and the opposition.

Report: Hizbullah Denies Downsizing Fighters in Syria
Naharnet /Hizbullah sources have denied that the party is mulling to limit the number of its fighters in Syria, pan-Arab daily al-Hayat reported on Sunday. The denial came after official sources told the newspaper that Hizbullah was planning to downsize its members who are fighting alongside Syrian President Bashar Assad's troops against the rebels. The sources said the party would make such a move away from the media spotlight.
The official sources' remarks came after President Michel Suleiman said that it was “in the interest of all sides to implement the Baabda Declaration.”He told al-Hayat that the agreement among the rival March 8 and 14 camps to keep Lebanon at a distance from the region's crises “would be implemented sooner or later.”“We are on the verge of retracting the intervention in Syria,” Suleiman said without giving further details.

Pharmacist Abducted in Eastern Lebanon
Naharnet /A pharmacist was kidnapped by unknown assailants in the eastern Zahle district on Sunday morning, drawing condemnation and calls for his release, the state-run National News Agency reported. Wissam al-Khatib was abducted as he was opening his pharmacy that lies on the main road of the town of Karak, NNA said. It quoted witnesses as saying that the assailants were riding a blue vehicle. The agency did not provide further details except for saying that al-Khatib had previously escaped an attempt to abduct him. The kidnapping later led to a protest by the town's residents, who blocked the main road with their cars to demand al-Khatib's release. The Pharmacists' Syndicate also condemned the kidnapping and urged the abductors to release him. It called on the armed forces to reveal his fate.Media reports said last month that armed men in a four-wheeler blocked al-khatib's way as he was leaving his pharmacy but he drove at them and escaped his captors.

Australia Defends Response to Refugee Boat Sinking as Death Toll Rises
Naharnet /Australia on Sunday insisted it provided "all appropriate assistance" to an asylum-seeker boat that sank off Indonesia, as the death toll rose to 28 people, the majority of them Lebanese. The vessel, carrying an estimated 120 asylum-seekers from Lebanon, mainly from the town of Kabiit in Akkar, Jordan and Yemen, sank in rough seas Friday. "We found seven more bodies after sweeping the coast this morning, six adults and a boy," Warsono, police chief in the Agrabinta area of Java, where the boat went down, told Agence France Presse on Sunday. He said the death toll from the accident was now 28, including multiple children -- with many more passengers unaccounted for.About 20 police, military and search and rescue officials were sweeping the coast around Agrabinta in West Java province in the hunt for survivors or bodies.
However, Warsono said that rescuers could still not deploy boats to search in the rough seas, with waves at heights of four to six meters. It is the first fatal sinking since conservative Prime Minister Tony Abbott's election win and comes ahead of his arrival in Jakarta on Monday on his first foreign trip as leader where Australia's controversial new people-smuggling policies -- including plans to turn back boats to Indonesia -- are likely to dominate talks.Finance Minister Mathias Cormann defended the government's response to the disaster after survivors claimed they had repeatedly called Australian authorities to request assistance and were promised help that never came."Tragically, I mean, the events occurred in an area that was under Indonesian jurisdiction, and of course, Australia did provide all appropriate assistance," Cormann told Meet the Press. Cormann said reports that Australian officials were first notified that the ship was in distress on Thursday morning were "incorrect,” insisting the first contact was on Friday morning.
"It was a report that related to an event in the Indonesian search-and-rescue zone. And of course, all of the immediate action that was required was taken, in particular, Australian authorities immediately contacted Indonesian authorities," he said.
"There was very close cooperation, as is appropriate in those circumstances, to deal with the unfolding event as quickly as possible."Survivors told journalists in Java that they had called the Australian embassy for 24 hours after their boat foundered and were told to send through GPS coordinates to assist rescuers. "We did, and they told us 'OK, we know where you are. We'll come for you in two hours'," Abdullah, from Jordan, told Fairfax newspapers. "And we wait two hours, we wait 24 hours, and we kept calling them (saying) 'We don't have food, we don't have water for three days, we have children, just rescue us'." "And nobody come. Sixty person dead now because of Australian government."Cormann said the full details of the sinking and Australia's response would be provided by Immigration Minister Scott Morrison on Monday during the new government's weekly briefing on its military-led operation against people-smugglers.
The boat capsized and sank after being hit by high waves Friday. Survivors said the boat was headed for Australia's Christmas Island.
Scores of people from war-torn countries use Indonesia as a transit point every year, boarding rickety fishing boats bound for Christmas Island, located 500 kilometers south of Indonesia's capital, Jakarta. Caretaker PM Tammam Salam said those who led the Lebanese towards “more oppression and despair” are responsible for the death of the asylum-seekers.
He lamented that the nation is submerged in conflicts, chaos and corruption, and slammed people with influence who are further dividing the nation.
Nasser Khodr, who hails from Kabiit, told pan-Arab daily Asharq al-Awsat that his brother Hussein lost his wife and eight children in the disaster.
He quoted Hussein as saying that he would not return to Lebanon. “Had my country wanted me, it wouldn't have left me and my children in the path of immigration and death.”
Nasser blamed the Lebanese government and the General Security Department for inaction after he claimed that had he informed them about the illegal operations to organize asylum-seeking. “And now we've lost our people,” he told Asharq al-Awsat. Ali Ahmed al-Masri, the brother of Bassel, 21, who is still unaccounted for, said the victim had paid 10,000 dollars to guarantee his arrival to Australia.
He said a Lebanese man from the area of Dinniyeh had been involved in the operation. Al-Masri expressed readiness to inform police about him for lying on the relatives of the asylum-seekers by claiming that they had arrived safely to Australia.Kabiit's municipal chief said a delegation from the town will head to Indonesia on Sunday night to identify the bodies.
Haytham Jomaa, who is in charge of immigration affairs at the Lebanese foreign ministry, told Agence France Presse on Saturday that 18 of the Lebanese survived the ordeal.
Source/Agence France Presse

Shell Lands from Syria in Akkar, 3 Soldiers Injured
Naharnet /Three Lebanese soldiers were injured late Saturday after a shell from the Syrian side of the border landed near their post in the northern Akkar district, the state-run National News Agency reported. NNA said the shall hit an area in the town of al-Noura where the soldiers have a base. The three of them were taken to a hospital in the nearby town of al-Qobayat, the agency added. Lebanese towns and villages near the northern and eastern borders with with Syria have suffered from several cross-border attacks, some of which have been deadly. The assaults have either been intentional or the result of clashes between Syrian government troops and rebels seeking to topple President Bashar Assad.

Peres Says Israel Too 'Scornful' of U.S. on Iran Moves
Naharnet/President Shimon Peres said on Sunday that Israel's reaction to landmark contacts between the United States and Iran had been too "scornful" of its key ally.
His comments came just hours after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu left for Washington for talks with President Barack Obama, determined to expose what he described as "sweet talk" by Israel's arch-foe. "You can agree or disagree (with the Americans) but I don't like this scornful tone," Peres told army radio. "Other people have brains to think too, not just us. We should talk to them and try to influence them."
Netanyahu has been dismissive in his response to the drive by Iran's new President Hassan Rouhani to mend fences with the international community, which culminated in a historic 15-minute telephone conversation with Obama on Friday focused on Western concerns about Iran's nuclear program. "I intend to tell the truth in the face of the sweet talk and charm offensive of Iran," public radio quoted the Israeli premier as saying as he boarded his plane for the United States. "Telling the truth at this time is essential for world peace and security and, of course, for Israel's security." Netanyahu is due to address the U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday, the same forum where last year he used a drawing of a bomb as a prop to underline how close he believed Iran was to being able to build one. Israel, the Middle East's sole if undeclared nuclear-armed power, remains adamant that Iran is bent on developing a nuclear weapons capability, something it regards as a threat to its existence. Israeli leaders have repeatedly vowed to take military action rather than see Iran develop a bomb and have called on its U.S. ally to take tougher action against Tehran, saying they see no real change of policy under Rouhani. Source/Agence France Presse.

Assad says Syria will respect UN chemical weapons accords: Italian TV
September 29, 2013/Reuters/ROME: Syria will respect United Nations accords on chemical weapons, President Bashar al-Assad told Italian television station RaiNews24 on Sunday.
"We joined the international agreement against the acquisition and use of chemical weapons even before this resolution was passed," he said when asked if Syria would comply with Friday's resolution.
The U.N. Security Council adopted a resolution on Friday that demands the eradication of Syria's chemical weapons but does not threaten automatic punitive action against Assad's government if it does not comply
 

UN leader Ban Ki-moon holds first meeting with Syrian opposition chief

AFP – United Nations (United States) (AFP) - UN leader Ban Ki-moon has held his first meeting with the head of the opposition Syrian National Coalition in a bid to press for a Syria peace conference. The meeting is likely to infuriate President Bashar al-Assad's government, which is still recognized by the United Nations and routinely calls the coalition and other opposition groups "terrorists". Coalition president Ahmad Jarba told Ban the opposition group was ready to send a delegation to a conference, according to UN spokesman Martin Nesirky. Ban announced on Friday that he wants to organize in mid-November a follow-up to a Geneva peace conference held in June 2012, when the major powers agreed a declaration that there should be a transitional government in Syria. "The secretary-general welcomed Mr Jarba's commitment to send a delegation to the Geneva Conference and urged the National Coalition to reach out to other opposition groups and agree on a representative and united delegation," Nesirky said.Ban "stressed the importance of embarking on a serious dialogue as soon as possible as well as the need to ensure accountability for war crimes," the spokesman said. The UN leader said on September 13 that Assad has committed "many crimes against humanity." He has stepped up criticism of Assad since an August 21 chemical weapons attack near Damascus. A UN investigation found that banned sarin gas had been used but did not attribute blame. The United States says 1,400 people died in the attack and blames Assad's government for the killings. The government and Russia have accused opposition rebels of staging the assault. The UN Security Council voted on Friday to destroy Syria's chemical weapons in its first resolution on the war since protests against Assad started in March 2011.The UN says more than 100,000 people have died in the war.

Rouhani home with US ‘gift’ of silver griffin: reports

AFP – Tehran (AFP) - Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Saturday brought home a 2,700-year-old Persian artifact the US administration gave him as “a special gift" to Iranians, media reports said.

“The Americans contacted us on Thursday and said 'we have a gift for you',” Rouhani told reporters upon arrival at the airport in Tehran, the ILNA news agency reported. “They gave it back as a special gift to the Iranian nation.” Rouhani was speaking of a 7th century BC silver Persian drinking cup in the shape of a winged Griffin, a legendary creature with the head of an eagle and body of a lion. It is reported to be worth more than a million dollars. After being looted from a cave in Iran, the cup was seized by US custom officials in 2003 when an arts dealer attempted to smuggle it into the country, according to a State Department tweet.

Mohammad Ali Najafi, head of Iran's heritage organisation who accompanied Rouhani to New York, welcomed the news. "We hope this will mark the beginning of the return of other artifacts," he was quoted as saying by the official IRNA news agency.Rouhani made history on Friday by speaking on the phone to US President Barack Obama in the first contact between Iranian and American leaders since the 1979 Islamic revolution

Israel says it caught Iranian spy with photos of U.S. embassy
Reuters – JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel disclosed on Sunday the arrest of an Iranian-Belgian citizen on suspicion of spying for Iran, saying he had photographed the U.S. embassy and intended to establish business ties in the Jewish state as a cover for espionage. Israel and Iran are bitter adversaries. Israel, widely believed to be the Middle East's only nuclear power, says Iran is covertly seeking to develop atomic weapons. Iran says it is enriching uranium solely for peaceful purposes. Ali Mansouri, in his mid-50s, was arrested on September 11 at Tel Aviv's Ben-Gurion Airport, the Shin Bet intelligence service said in a statement. It coincided with the start of a visit by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the United States where Iran's nuclear program will top his agenda. The Shin Bet said the Iranian-born Mansouri had legally changed his name in Belgium to Alex Mans and used his Belgian passport to enter Israel. It said he was recruited as a spy by Iran's Revolutionary Guards and had visited Israel twice before his arrest.
Photographs which the Shin Bet said Mansouri had in his possession, and which it released along with the statement, included one taken of the rooftop of the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv from a nearby high-rise balcony.
The statement said Mansouri planned to establish commercial ties with Israeli businesses as a cover for intelligence-gathering and "terrorist activities".
The Shin Bet said Mansouri was being held under a court order and that he would be brought before a judge on Monday for a hearing on extending his period of detention. No formal charges have been announced.
Netanyahu was due to meet U.S. President Barack Obama on Monday and address the U.N. General Assembly the next day, to try to counter what the Israeli leader called "sweet talk" by Iran's new president, Hassan Rouhani, on reaching a pact with the West to settle the nuclear issue.
(Writing by Ori Lewis; Editing by Jeffrey Heller/Mark Heinrich)

Palestinian Authority rejects Hamas calls for intifada in the West Bank
Ramallah, Asharq Al-Awsat—The Palestinian Authority (PA) has rejected calls by Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad for a third intifada in the West Bank, saying it would “not allow the West Bank to become an arena for chaos to serve a private agenda.”The calls came following rising tension over continued attempts by Israeli extremists to enter the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. Opponents have accused Hamas of calling for the intifada in the West Bank in order to deflect attention from the crisis in Gaza caused by the fall of the Muslim Brotherhood rule in Egypt. There has also been speculation that the group is trying to put pressure on the PA in the West Bank.
A source within the PA said: “The Israelis are present around Gaza, and Hamas can start an intifada there. So why does it ban resistance in Gaza while it calls for an intifada in the West Bank?”Abu Ubaidah, a spokesman for the Izz Al-Din Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, said his group would be “at the heart of the new intifada.”
A member of Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Ahmed Al-Mudallal, said: “Resistance in Palestine is the spearhead in the confrontation with the Zionist project which targets Jerusalem, Al-Aqsa and the whole of Palestine.”
The PA said its priority was to pursue reconciliation and achieve peace through negotiations, a position which was reiterated by President Mahmoud Abbas in his speech to the UN General Assembly on September 26.
Hamas said it would not accept any agreement which led to the recognition of Israel, and that it would not relinquish the rights to religious sites in any shape or form.
A Hamas statement seen by Asharq Al-Awsat said: “We will not recognize any agreement or promises that lead to the recognition of the enemy, and we will not recognize any agreements at the expense of our land, rights and religious sites. Palestine—the whole of Palestine, from the sea to the river—is the property of Palestinian people and our nation, and no usurper has any right to a speck of dust of its territory.”
The statement added that “negotiations and security coordination with the Zionist enemy form a cover for the continuation of the occupation’s crimes against our territory, our people, and our religious sites. We call upon all Palestinian forces and factions to reject the path of these wasteful negotiations, which have proved their failure to achieve our people’s dreams, and only brought them more waste, loss and division in the face of the occupation’s crimes and plans.”Hamas called on the Fatah Movement to “end negotiations and security coordination with the enemy and to return to resistance, national reconciliation and Palestinian unity.”
Hamas also reiterated that resistance was the only strategic option capable of defeating the occupation, and that it was “the best retaliation to the occupation’s continuous crimes in the West Bank and Jerusalem . . . and that what was taken by force, can only be taken back by force.”
However, Fatah said reconciliation and Palestinian unity were the best the way to a Palestinian state. Deputy Secretary of the Central Committee of the Fatah Movement, Jibril Al-Rujoub, said: “The Fatah Movement will remain committed to Palestinian unity and will continue to work for the unity of the people, territory and the Palestinian leadership, which is represented by the Palestine Liberation Organization.”
In a statement seen by Asharq Al-Awsat, he added that “those who call for transitional reconciliation are the ones who want division to continue in order to protect their own interests at the expense of the Palestinian project, and they must understand the regional and international changes, including the collapse of political Islam, and must reconsider their positions and put national interest first.”

Are we seeing a new Obama?
By: Abdul Rahman Al-Rashed/Asharq Alawsat
President Obama didn’t describe what happened in Egypt as a coup, and he did not give up on overthrowing Assad’s regime in Syria. He didn’t stay silent over Russian expansion in the Middle East, and he didn’t say he would abide by the Security Council resolutions. Barack Obama’s speech at the UN General Assembly presented a different image of the president, who was devoting himself to internal American affairs.
Regarding governance in Egypt, we heard a new stance from the US president. Obama said that deposed President Mohammad Mursi actually won power democratically through the ballot box, but he did not govern according to democratic principles. Thus he did not earn the legal immunity, which the US government has been invoking ever since Mursi was isolated, to reject the current transitional government.
I don’t know if his speech was the manifesto of a new US policy. What we heard was different from what we have been hearing ever since Obama was elected president. He appeared to distinguish himself from his predecessors. The speech at the General Assembly is an important annual event for all governments of the world to outline their policies and positions. In his speech, Obama suggested that the United States will not abandon its interests against Russia and other countries—a response to many political commentators who said that Obama had decided to withdraw from the Middle East and refrain from intervening in the region’s conflicts after the US lessened its dependence on the region’s oil.
During the 68th session of the UN General Assembly, we heard Obama saying for the first time that he would not refrain from protecting his country’s interests in the region, and that even if US oil imports from the Middle East decrease it will not diminish the impact of the region on global oil prices and the US market.
Obama also reiterated his willingness to fight terrorism. He did not only state his determination to protect the vital interests of his country but, in an unexpected announcement, reminded us of his predecessor, President George W. Bush, and his refusal to abide by the limits of the Security Council regarding intervention in international conflicts. He said that what Assad’s regime has done to the Syrian people cannot be tolerated, regardless of the position of the Security Council. This new policy seems to arise from Obama’s frustration with the Russian position, which abused the Security Council to protect one of the biggest war criminals in modern history. Obama has finally discovered that trusting international law requires the imposition of the law. The Russians abused the Security Council when they discovered that Obama chose not to intervene, whatever the reasons were.
But what was really worrying in Obama’s speech and policy is his position regarding Iran. Obama is drawn to the messages of the new Iranian president, Hassan Rouhani, who turned into a peace-loving person ready to give Obama the political deal of the century.
For over a decade and a half, Iranians have always played the time card. Iranians only need to succeed in producing a nuclear weapon, and then the game would be over. But the question is: how much time do they still need before acquiring this capability? A year or two? Rouhani said that he needs a year to find a solution for Iran’s nuclear project, but why would he need all this time? If the Iranians were really serious about that, they would have submitted an offer that can be settled within weeks. They want to reach the moment when they will be able to declare that they have become a nuclear power; then it will be impossible for anyone to attack their facilities or wage any form of war against their regime, no matter how many wars they wage or how much they threaten their neighbors or the world.
Iran is not India or Pakistan, or even Israel. We believe that Iran knows pretty well the limits of political games. It is ruled by an extreme, ideological regime that has been clearly expressing its ambitions to expand and dominate its neighbors and the world for the past 30 years. Obama would be committing an irreparable error if he lets Iranians fool him with Rouhani’s smiles and sweet words, or by giving him a fake, cheap promise that they will not use their nuclear weapon.

Defectors from Assad’s army have a lot to teach the FSA
Michel Kilo/Asharq Alawsat
A few days ago, I traveled to the so-called Officers Camp in Al-Raihaniya, where, for the first time since the start of the revolution, I met two of the main militant groups. The first group was comprised of former civilians who come from the Mount of the Kurds region—the birthplace of my forefathers—who are currently playing a leading role as one of the formations of the Free Syrian Army (FSA) there. The second group was made up of several soldiers who had defected from the regime’s army but who did not join the FSA. This is the case with the majority of the defectors who, after joining the revolution, were scattered across Turkey, Jordan and Egypt despite the highly significant role played by some of them, whether in the establishment or the leadership of the FSA.
As an entity, the FSA is odd and difficult to understand. You can feel that it is fully formed, but at the same time you feel it does not exist at all. The FSA has its membership, but lacks the organization of a standard army. It does not have the power to force its affiliates to carry out its orders. It lacks cohesion, and so it is no wonder that the FSA is an entity with little organization whose leaders give orders to only part of the forces under their command.
For the FSA, affiliation does not start from the top—from the leadership—and then flow down to individuals. Rather, affiliation depends on the individuals’ readiness to carry out orders, and also on their particular links with their leadership. So it is a blend of a partial, and often fragile, hierarchical leadership and, in many cases, leadership from the lowest levels, who have influence through their obedience or disobedience. Were it not for the fighters’ determination to overthrow the regime, no power would have been able to force them to fight, which is not the case in ordinary armies.
This must lead to a specific result: Those who defected from the regime’s army do not need permission from anyone to join the FSA or any of its numerous units, although having formerly held a high rank in the regime’s army could prevent them from leading certain FSA units. Furthermore, their military education has played a role in their decisions not to cooperate with civilians who formed their own battalions. And former regime soldiers who became leaders in the FSA have played a key role in keeping away high-ranking defectors, fearing that more experienced officers would take over from them, or perhaps displace them entirely.
So former senior-ranking officers from Assad’s army have been prevented from enrolling in the FSA, which has been a real detriment to the opposition forces. Now that the revolution is about to enter a stage that requires a real ability to undertake large-scale planning, systematic organization, and mobilization of scattered troops, it is necessary that those senior officers are allowed back into military work.
It is unreasonable that 80 percent of Assad’s former officers remain detached from patriotic work, whether military or political. It must be so disheartening for them to discover that they have no place in a battle for which they have sacrificed everything. Those officers did not leave the regime and its army in order to then live in tents and plastic houses, even if they were grateful to whoever offered them, for such living does not befit people from their position; it is not an honorable way to live.
The knowledge and experience of some of those officers can be rivaled only by their peers in sophisticated fighter armies. They have political insights, views and opinions that we Syrians ignore at our own peril. They are not only part of the structure of the military apparatus that of protect the revolution against whomever want to snatch it from the people—its sole rightful owners—they are also politically very knowledgeable, even if they refuse to formally turn into politicians.
Let us set aside minor personal considerations and think only of larger national considerations. Let us start by rectifying the mistakes committed in the military domain, and, if we can, also rectifying our political mistakes. If we could do both of those, our country’s tragedy would end and our people would gain their freedom