LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN

LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
February 26/15

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice
Letter to the Philippians 04/04-10: ""Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honourable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. Keep on doing the things that you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you. I rejoice in the Lord greatly that now at last you have revived your concern for me; indeed, you were concerned for me, but had no opportunity to show it."

Bible Quotation For Today/The Sower Parable
Luke 08/04-15: "When a great crowd gathered and people from town after town came to him, he said in a parable: �A sower went out to sow his seed; and as he sowed, some fell on the path and was trampled on, and the birds of the air ate it up. Some fell on the rock; and as it grew up, it withered for lack of moisture. Some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew with it and choked it. Some fell into good soil, and when it grew, it produced a hundredfold.� As he said this, he called out, �Let anyone with ears to hear listen!�Then his disciples asked him what this parable meant. He said, �To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of God; but to others I speak in parables, so that "looking they may not perceive, and listening they may not understand." �Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God.
The ones on the path are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. The ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the word, receive it with joy. But these have no root; they believe only for a while and in a time of testing fall away. As for what fell among the thorns, these are the ones who hear; but as they go on their way, they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature. But as for that in the good soil, these are the ones who, when they hear the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patient endurance."

Latest analysis, editorials from miscellaneous sources published on February 25-26/15
Walid Jumblatt: Al-Nusra Front are not terrorists/Thair Abbas/ Asharq Al-Awsat/February 25/15
Will Turkey become an ally/Abdulrahman al-Rashed/Al Arabiya/February 25/15

Miscellaneous Reports And News published on February 25-26/15
ISIS� Christian hostage toll in Syria rises to 150.
Syrian Kurds cut ISIS supply line near Iraq; fears for Christians mount .
Rouhani seeks clergy support in Iran's holy city.
Iran's Guard hold war game, hit mock US carrier
Leaked 'spy cables' show Mossad tactics
Report: Saudis might help Israel attack Iran in exchange for progress in peace process.
Exiled Iranian opposition: Tehran hiding secret uranium enrichment site.
Kerry in apparent jab at Netanyahu: Those bad-mouthing Iran deal don't know what deal is.
White House denies 10-year agreement with Iran.
Netanyahu: P5+1 giving Iran green light to have nuclear bomb-making capabilities.
Ya'alon: We see Iranian influence in Gaza.
Forced from Damascus, Hamas establishing itself in Turkey.
U.N. distances itself from dubious IHRC.
ISIS seize 100 Iraqi tribesmen before Tikrit battle.
Syria fighting kills 132 ISIS fighters: monitor.
Syrian government releases prominent dissident.
Yemen: GCC backs Hadi, Houthis say he is a �fugitive�.
GCC chief in Aden to meet Yemen president.
Aden authorities foil mutiny by Hadi�s guards: sources.
UN: Ex-president corruptly amassed $60B, colluded with Houthis.
Report: Arab envoys reject Netanyahu invitation
Four French lawmakers meet Assad in Syria.
French police: Unidentified drones reappear over Paris during night .

Jihad Watch Site Latest Reports
Kerry: Pakistan has �vigorous commitment to take on and defeat violent extremist groups�.
Stanford �Charlie Hebdo� Panel: Je Suis Ferguson?
UK: Drunk driver avoids jail after court hears he has rediscovered Islam.
French government unveils plans for �dialogue� with Muslims to promote an Islam �faithful to the values of the Republic�.
Austria passes law on Islam, banning foreign funding and requiring imams to speak German.
FBI: NY jihadis �violated the true tenants of their faith�.
UK: 27% of Muslims have �some sympathy for the motives behind the Charlie Hebdo attacks in Paris�.
Brooklyn: Three Muslims charged with plotting to join Islamic State, shoot Obama.
Juan Cole: The Islamic State is not Islamic.
Finland: �I am Charlie� cartoon exhibit closed after 15 minutes over security concerns.

Suleiman, Gemayel and 7 Ministers Meet over Cabinet Mechanism, Reject Baabda Vacuum
Naharnet /Former President Michel Suleiman and seven cabinet ministers met on Wednesday at Kataeb leader Amin Gemayel's residence in Sin el-Fil to discuss the controversial decision-making mechanism of the cabinet, rejecting the ongoing vacuum at the presidency.
Gemayel said after the talks: �The vacancy at the Baabda Palace would not have persisted had it not been for the coup against the constitution.� The gatherers voiced their support for Prime Minister Tammam Salam's efforts �that are aimed at creating a productive atmosphere at cabinet.��The election of a president will restore normal functioning to institutions as he is the guarantor of Lebanon's unity, entity, and institutions,� added Gemayel. �The current mechanism at cabinet was approved by all and it has facilitated government. We are therefore now creating problems out of nothing,� said the Kataeb leader. He stressed the need to continue with the current mechanism until the election of a president. Before the meeting, Suleiman met with Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi in Bkirki. The meeting of the grouping is the second in less than a week. It brought together in addition to Suleiman, Kataeb MP Sami Gemayel, and Ministers Butros Harb, Alice Chabtini, Samir Moqbel, Ramzi Jreij, Abdul Motleb al-Hennawi and Alain Hakim. Former minister Khalil Hrawi also attended the talks. The same ministers and Michel Pharaon, who was not present on Wednesday for being abroad, met at Suleiman's residence in Yarze last week. The grouping opposes the changes on the mechanism called for by Prime Minister Tammam Salam. This formula, which requires the unanimous support from all the ministers on the cabinet decisions, was adopted after the government assumed the authorities of the head of state in accordance with the constitution following the end of Suleiman's tenure in May last year.
But Salam wants to amend the mechanism after several cabinet members began exercising veto power, stalling several projects.

Salam: Obstacles Hindering Govt., Debate over its Mechanism Result of Presidential Vacuum
Naharnet/Prime Minister Tammam Salam noted on Wednesday that the failure to elect a president has caused numerous problems regarding the functioning of the government. He said: �The obstacles standing in the way of government work and the debate over its mechanism are a result of failing to elect a president.�He made his remarks at that launch of the Arab Forum on Food Safety at the headquarters of General Union for Chambers of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture for Arab Countries in Beirut. Addressing food safety, the premier said: �The campaign is part of the government. The citizen's food became much better and is subject to the implementation of strong standards.� Health Minister Wael Abou Faour had kicked off in October a campaign aimed at improving food standards throughout Lebanon.
A number of restaurants, slaughterhouses, warehouses, and other institutions were shut down for failing to meet the necessary conditions. Several of them have however improved their standards and have since reopened.

Jumblatt plays down ISIS expansion into Lebanon
The Daily Star/Feb. 25, 2015
BEIRUT: Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblatt criticized reports Wednesday warning that Syria-based ISIS and Nusra Front militants were gearing up for a major offensive against Lebanon. �I don�t share the opinion that ISIS and Nusra Front will attack Lebanon,� Jumblatt said in remarks published by the pan-Arab newspaper Asharq al-Awsat. �We have to protect our borders, but I don�t see a threat at this point.�The Druze leader said he does not believe that �ISIS today has the potential to carry out a comprehensive attack, [especially] since there are multiple fronts open for ISIS.�Jumblatt, however, admitted that ISIS could attack Lebanon if the Al-Qaeda-inspired group � has powers that can defy warplanes, armies and 60 states... then we are in front of a strange phenomenon, a global phenomenon.�He hailed Lebanese security forces for their coordination to �combat the so-called terrorism over the past two years,� while reaffirming his rejection to call Nusra Front a terrorist organization. Turning to the crisis next door, Jumblatt said Syria no longer fits in the Arab world. �Without Iran�s support for the Syrian regime, this regime would not have endured,� he said. �Syria no longer has an Arab color, but an Iranian color instead.�According to retired Lebanese Army generals, ISIS and the Nusra Front, entrenched on the outskirts of the northeastern town of Arsal, have been long preparing for an attack on Lebanon, but have been hampered by bad weather conditions, particularly the severe blizzards that hit Lebanon in recent months.

Mufti blasts Assyrians' kidnapping, urges unity against ISIS
The Daily Star/Feb. 25, 2015/BEIRUT: Lebanon�s Grand Mufti Abdel Latif Derian strongly condemned Wednesday the abduction of dozens of Assyrian Christians at the hands of ISIS militants in Syria, calling on Muslims and Christians to join together to combat the group.
�Endangering the lives and security of Christians in our Arab region contradicts the formula of coexistence in our multicultural Orient and runs counter to the teachings of our merciful Muslim religion,� Derian said in a statement. �The acts committed by these terrorist groups are rejected, and we all ought to come together to combat such an unusual phenomenon alien to our socirty, culture and faith,� Derian added. ISIS militants have seized at least 90 Assyrians, mostly women, children and elderly, after capturing Christian villages in Hassakeh province in northern Syria from the control of Kurdish fighters two days ago.

Report: Hostages Ordeal to End in 'Days' as Negotiations Progress with Kidnappers
Naharnet/General Security chief Maj. Gen. Abbas Ibrahim reportedly carried out positive discussions with officials in Turkey, which could lead to a breakthrough to the six-month hostage crisis, as sources said that the case could end in days.
According to An Nahar newspaper, the Islamist abductors agreed to release the kidnapped servicemen on two or three batches after the cabinet expressed leniency towards the release of Islamist inmates from Lebanese prisons, adding that the jihadists demanded a ransom to kickstart the prisoners swap deal. Sources told the newspaper that the inmates' release from Lebanese prisons will be deported to Ankara. Media reports had said that Qatar's mediation to release the servicemen abducted by Islamist gunmen have intensified in recent days as Ibrahim recently expressed his satisfaction with the course of the negotiations. A number of soldiers and policemen were abducted by al-Nusra Front and Islamic State group gunmen in the wake of clashes in the northeastern border town of Arsal in August.
A few of them have since been released, four were executed, and the rest remain held. The captors have been demanding the release of Islamists held in Lebanon as a condition to set them free. An informed source told An Nahar that negotiations with the IS have reached a deadlock, while the mediation with al-Nusra Front is advancing. �Negotiations are on the right track,� the source noted. The daily quoted other sources as saying: �The prisoners swap is inevitable,� criticizing �media speculation that is inaccurate and wrecking the negotiations.�

FPM Says Suleiman's Election was 'Biggest Stab to Constitution'
Naharnet /The Free Patriotic Movement lashed out Wednesday at former president Michel Suleiman, describing his election in 2008 as �the biggest stab to constitution.� �The remarks that were voiced in a friendly Arab country by a Lebanese official who belongs to the past were unfortunate, especially that statesmen must be keen on the internal unity of the Lebanese during their foreign trips,� Education Minister Elias Bou Saab, who is close to FPM chief MP Michel Aoun, tweeted. Three days ago, Suleiman made a veiled jab at Aoun during a visit to the UAE, saying a weak president is one who is �seeking to ensure the continuity in power of his children or sons-in-law.��This is the weak president who must not reach� the Baabda Palace, Suleiman added. Bou Saab snapped back in his tweets, saying: �He who is strongly calling today for respecting the Constitution has forgotten that his election to his post was the biggest stab to constitution since independence.��Has his memory failed him?� the minister added. He was referring to Suleiman's election in May 2008 following a national dialogue conference in the Qatari capital Doha. Article 49 of the Constitution stipulates that �it is not possible to elect judges, Grade One civil servants, or their equivalents in all public institutions to the Presidency during their term of office.�Suleiman was serving as army commander when he was elected president by the then parliament. �Great statesmen remain great when they leave power,� Bou Saab added, noting that Suleiman is �refusing to admit that he is not in power anymore.� Against the backdrop of a dispute over the mechanism of cabinet's work, a new yet unofficial ministerial bloc has emerged in recent days. The bloc comprises three ministers loyal to Suleiman, three to the Kataeb Party and two pro-March 14 independents. The new grouping held its second meeting on Wednesday at Kataeb chief Amin Gemayel's residence. The first meeting was held at Suleiman's house. The bloc rejects any encroachment on the president's powers and is refusing any modification of the cabinet's work mechanism amid the current presidential crisis.

Berri calls on Cabinet to meet, issue oil exploration decrees
The Daily Star/ Feb. 25, 2015/BEIRUT: Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri urged the Cabinet Wednesday to resume its meetings in order to issue two decrees necessary to launch exploration in Lebanon�s offshore oil fields. In the weekly meeting with lawmakers, Berri was quoted as saying that the Cabinet must �issue the two decrees related to oil.� The two decrees would define the number of blocks in Lebanon�s exclusive economic zone and establish a revenue mechanism, as well as a tax policy for the country's nascent oil and gas exploration sector. The speaker also called on Prime Minister Tammam Salam to �hold a Cabinet session as soon as possible, in order to reactivate the state�s work according to the constitution�s standards.� Salam had decided earlier this month to halt Cabinet meetings until the different political factions agree on a new mechanism for making decisions. The weekly Cabinet session scheduled for this Thursday is expected to be suspended. Since President Michel Sleiman's term ended last May, the national unity Cabinet has been tasked with approving laws and decrees. The 24-member body requires unanimous approval to pass legislation, creating difficulties in getting decisions through the Cabinet. Berri stressed that article 65 of the constitution should be the only basis for decision making in the Cabinet. Article 65 of the Lebanese Constitution states that the Cabinet can only be activated if two-thirds of the ministers are present and that decisions must be made unanimously.However, in cases where a consensus cannot be reached, the constitution requires that a simple majority vote is conducted.

Christians Flee Jihadists after Syria Kidnappings
Agence France Presse/Naharnet
The kidnapping of dozens of Assyrian Christians by the Islamic State jihadist group in Syria has prompted an exodus of terrified families fleeing their homes, activists said Wednesday. The United States condemned the mass abduction of Christians -- the first of its kind in the war-torn country -- and demanded the release of the 90 hostages. Nearly 1,000 Assyrian Christian families have fled their villages in the northeastern province of Hasakeh since Monday's kidnappings, said Osama Edward, director of the Sweden-based Assyrian Human Rights Network. About 800 families have taken refuge in the city of Hasakeh and 150 in Qamishli, a Kurdish city on the border with Turkey, Edward said. Most of the hostages were women, children or elderly, he added. Edward told AFP he believed the mass abduction was linked to the jihadists' recent loss of ground in the face of US-led coalition air raids against IS that began in Syria in September. "IS has been losing territory because of the international coalition's strikes and they took the hostages to use them as human shields," the activist said.
The jihadists, who are battling Kurdish fighters on the ground, may try to exchange the Assyrian Christians for IS prisoners, according to Edward.
He said the aim of the jihadists is to take over the Assyrian Christian village of Tal Tamer, which is located near a bridge over the Khabur river that links Syria to Iraq. IS, which also holds swathes of Iraq, last year declared an Islamic "caliphate" in areas under its control and has committed widespread atrocities. Assyrian Christians, who are from one of the world's oldest Christian communities, have been under increasing threat since IS captured large parts of Syria. The jihadists have destroyed Christian shrines and churches in territory they control.
Last week, the group's Libyan branch released a video showing the gruesome beheading of 21 Coptic Christians, mostly Egyptians. Edward, a native of an area of Hasakeh province where 35 Assyrian villages are located, said the jihadists broke into houses during the night while everyone was asleep.
Since Monday, IS has captured at least a dozen villages in the area, Edward said, including his wife's hometown of Tal Shamiram. "When she tried to reach her uncle by telephone, a man replied and said: 'This is the house of the Islamic State,'" he said. He said the hostages were taken to Shaddadi, an IS stronghold in Hasakeh province. The jihadists had been intimidating the Assyrian villagers for several weeks, he said, including by threatening to remove crosses from their churches. "People were expecting an attack, but they thought that either the Syrian army -- which is just 30 kilometers (20 miles) from there -- or the Kurds or the (U.S.-led) coalition's strikes would protect them," he added. The United States on Wednesday condemned the abductions as "brutal and inhumane". "ISIL's latest targeting of a religious minority is only further testament to its brutal and inhumane treatment of all those who disagree with its divisive goals and toxic beliefs," U.S. State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said, using another acronym for IS. She added: "To bring an end to these daily horrors, we remain committed to leading the international coalition to degrade and defeat ISIL." A prominent bishop meanwhile accused Turkey of allowing jihadists responsible for the persecution of Syrian Christians to cross its border unchecked, while preventing Christians from fleeing the war-torn country. Jacques Behnan Hindo, the Syrian Catholic Archbishop of Hasakeh-Nisibi, made the remarks on Vatican Radio. "In the north, Turkey allows through lorries, Daesh (IS) fighters, oil stolen from Syria, wheat and cotton: all of these can cross the border but nobody (from the Christian community) can pass over," he said. There were 30,000 Assyrians in Syria before the country's conflict erupted in March 2011. At that point Syria had an estimated total Christian population of around 1.2 million people. Agence France Presse

ISIS� Christian hostage toll in Syria rises to 150
By Staff writer, | Al Arabiya News
Wednesday, 25 February 2015
The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) has abducted at least 150 people from Assyrian Christian villages in northeastern Syria they had raided, Christian Syrian activists said on Tuesday, according to Reuters news agency.
A Syrian Christian group representing several NGOs inside and outside the country said it had verified at least 150 people missing, including women and the elderly, who had been kidnapped by the militants.
�We have verified at least 150 people who have been abducted from sources on the ground,� Bassam Ishak, president of the Syrian National Council of Syria, whose family itself is from Hasaka, told Reuters from Amman.
Earlier the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 90 were abducted when the militants carried out dawn raids on rural villages inhabited by the ancient Christian minority west of Hasaka, a city mainly held by the Kurds.
The United States condemned the attacks in Hasaka and called for the immediate and unconditional release of the civilians taken captive.
�ISIS's latest targeting of a religious minority is only further testament to its brutal and inhumane treatment of all those who disagree with its divisive goals and toxic beliefs,� spokeswoman Jen Psaki said in a statement.
Psaki added that Syrians are also threatened by President Bashar al-Assad's intensified bombings and air strikes in an �unrelenting campaign of terror.�
ISIS did not confirm the kidnappings. Supporters posted photos online of the group's fighters in camouflage attire looking at maps and firing machine guns. The website said the photos were from Tel Tamr, a town near where the Observatory said the abductions occurred.
Many Assyrian Christians have emigrated in the nearly four-year-long conflict in which more than 200,000 have people have been killed. Before the arrival of Kurds and Arab nomadic tribes at the end of the 19th century, Christians formed the majority in Syria's Jazeera area, which includes Hasaka.
A resident of Hasaka, jointly held by the Syrian government and the Kurds, said hundreds of families had arrived in recent days from surrounding Christian villages and Arab Bedouins were arriving from areas along the border.
�Families are coming to Hasaka seeking safety,� said Abdul Rahman al-Numai, a textile trader said by telephone.
Last year, ISIS fighters abducted several Assyrians in retaliation for some of them fighting alongside the YPG. Most were released after long negotiations.
[With Reuters]

ISIS, Nusra Front gearing up for major Lebanon push
Hussein Dakroub/The Daily Star/Feb. 25, 2015 |
BEIRUT: Syria-based jihadi groups are gearing up for a major offensive deep into Lebanese territory along the eastern border with Syria to achieve two main goals: securing new supply routes and establishing a foothold as a prelude to setting up an Islamic emirate in Lebanon, analysts and military experts said. According to retired Lebanese Army generals, ISIS and the Nusra Front, entrenched on the outskirts of the northeastern town of Arsal, have long been preparing for such an attack, but have been hampered by bad weather conditions, particularly the severe blizzards that hit Lebanon in recent months.
�The two militant groups are just waiting for favorable weather conditions to launch their attack, which could happen in the second half of March,� they said.
Hisham Jaber, a retired Lebanese Army general and an expert on terrorism, said a major attack on Lebanon by Daesh, Arabic acronym for ISIS, and the Nusra Front, Syria�s Al-Qaeda affiliate, was inevitable because the two militant groups weren�t planning to come to Lebanon for tourism purposes. �Daesh and the Nusra Front have been preparing military plans to attack Lebanon for quite some time. They have been militarily surveying areas on the eastern border in search of a weak belly where the Lebanese Army does not exist,� Jaber told The Daily Star. �These tafkiri groups are not waiting for the snow to melt. They will strike when they deem the conditions are fit for their attack,� said Jaber, director of the Beirut-based think tank, the Middle East Center for Political Studies and Research.
He said the two groups would try to break through Christian towns or mixed Christian-Sunni towns, such as Ras Baalbek, al-Qaa and Fakiha, areas on the eastern frontier with Syria where Hezbollah does not have any presence.
�The goal of the ISIS-Nusra attack is to undermine stability in Lebanon, strike the Lebanese Army, incite sectarian strife and hit Hezbollah in its stronghold in the Bekaa region,� Jaber said.
Mario Abou Zeid, a research analyst at the Carnegie Middle East Center in Beirut, said the two sides, the Syrian opposition groups, including ISIS and the Nusra Front, on the one hand and the Syrian Army, Hezbollah and the Lebanese Army on the other, are getting ready for a major battle when winter ends next month. �All the parties are gearing up for the battle once the snow melts,� Abou Zeid told The Daily Star. He said the fighting would begin as soon as weather conditions improve.
Despite the heavy Army deployment, designed to tighten the noose around the jihadis holed up in caves on the outskirts of Arsal, Abou Zeid said the Nusra Front has managed to survive the siege over the past six months, having stored enough food supplies, ammunition and arms. �But now because it is running out of supplies and ammunition, the Nusra Front will launch an attack into Lebanese territory whose main target is to have access to new supply routes,� he said. Abou Zeid said ISIS has a goal totally different from that of the Nusra Front from any possible attack deep into Lebanese territory. �ISIS will seek to establish a foothold in Lebanese territory as part of their long-term plan to set up an Islamic emirate in Lebanon,� he said.
Asked if the Syrian Army and Hezbollah would launch a pre-emptive strike to forestall possible attacks by ISIS and the Nusra Front, Abou Zeid said: �The Syrian Army and Hezbollah are already locked in fighting Syrian rebels in the south, seeking to capture Deraa. But the attack by the Syrian Army and Hezbollah has been repulsed by a mix of Syrian rebel groups.�
He added that should the Syrian Army and Hezbollah succeed in capturing Deraa, they would then launch a pre-emptive strike against ISIS and the Nusra Front in the Qalamoun region.
Among the options envisaged by the Nusra Front to open new supply routes is the Shebaa-Rashaya area near the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, he said.
Given the fact that the Nusra Front is so desperate for a new supply line, Abou Zeid said the Shebaa-Rashaya front carries a high risk of exploding in the face of the Syrian Army and Hezbollah.Thousands of Nusra Front militants are deployed in the Syrian town of Qunaitra in the Golan Heights.
Amid growing fears of an impending jihadi assault when winter ends, the Lebanese Army, whose pre-emptive strikes against terror cells have already thwarted several suicide bomb attacks, is fully ready to repulse any new assault by ISIS and the Nusra Front, which are still holding 25 soldiers and policemen hostage. They were captured during the two groups� incursion into Arsal last August. �The Lebanese Army is always ready to confront any attack by any terrorist group in any area in Lebanon,� a senior military official told The Daily Star.
He recalled the militants� botched attempt last month to overrun a military outpost near the northeastern town of Ras Baalbek, sparking fierce clashes between the Army and ISIS militants that left eight soldiers dead and 22 others wounded. At least 40 militants, whose bodies were discovered on the outskirts of Ras Baalbek, were killed in the fighting, most of them in Lebanese Army airstrikes.
Asked if the Army was taking extraordinary military measures to face any possible militant attack, the official said: �These are military matters which we cannot disclose.� In a televised speech earlier this month, Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah called on the Lebanese Army to be prepared to face attacks by ISIS and the Nusra Front when the snow melts at the end of winter on Lebanon�s eastern border with Syria. Retired Army general Amin Hoteit warned of the impending danger posed by ISIS and the Nusra Front, saying he expected the two groups to launch their offensive in Lebanon in the second half of March. He called for coordination between the Lebanese and Syrian armies to forestall any jihadi attack.
�The aim of the attack is to seize territory and secure logistical supply lines,� Hoteit, a supporter of Hezbollah, told The Daily Star.
�On Lebanon�s eastern mountain range near the border with Syria, there are two terrorist groups, the Nusra Front and ISIS. These groups are unable now to carry out massive military operations because of the difficulty of movement and due to the snow,� he said.
�After their failure to occupy any village in the Qalamoun region, these groups will try to expand toward Lebanon, namely toward the towns of Arsal and Brital,� Hoteit said.
�Lebanon is facing a serious threat from these terrorist groups. In order for Lebanon to meet this challenge, the Lebanese Army�s readiness should be raised to a high level to confront any terrorist attack,� Hoteit added.
�Secondly, there should be coordination between the Lebanese and Syrian armies in order to put the terrorists in a pincer grip to restrict their movement toward Lebanon and prevent their return to Syria so that they can be killed,� Hoteit said.
Asked if the Lebanese Army is capable of repulsing a joint ISIS-Nusra Front attack, Hoteit replied: �If provided with the appropriate arms along with logistical and manpower support, the Army can accomplish this mission. But as matters stand now, the Army might need assistance and backing from the resistance [Hezbollah].�
Abou Zeid, the Carnegie researcher, said: �The Lebanese Army has defensive capabilities to repel any attack. But it lacks the needed military equipment for offensive purposes.� Jaber, the retired Army general, said the Lebanese Army needs helicopters to repel any joint massed ISIS-Nusra attack. �But based on intelligence information, the Army is capable of confronting those terrorist groups and ambushing them,� he said. According to Jaber, if ISIS and the Nusra Front attacked Lebanon, Hezbollah would intervene to help the Lebanese Army in repelling these groups. Jaber lamented the fact that despite increased talk on the need to equip the Army with weapons to enable it to face jihadi groups, �the Army, except for the U.S. military assistance which is insufficient, has not received even a screw from French arms funded by the $3 billion Saudi grant.�Earlier this month, the United States delivered $25 million worth of weapons, including heavy artillery, to the Lebanese Army, while France promised to send the first batch of Saudi-funded arms in April.
The Future Movement and Hezbollah, alarmed by the security threats posed to the country by Islamist militants, have been meeting to defuse sectarian tensions and last week began discussing a joint national strategy to fight terrorism.
The move came days after former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri called on Lebanese parties, especially Hezbollah, to hammer out a national strategy to fight terrorism. Hariri�s call has been welcomed by Hezbollah leader Nasrallah, who has voiced support for an anti-terror strategy against Islamist incursions into Lebanon.

Exiled Iranian opposition: Tehran hiding secret uranium enrichment site
By JPOST.COM STAFF/02/25/2015
Iran is running a secret uranium enrichment site, an exiled opposition group said on Wednesday, AFP reported. Alireza Jafarzadeh, deputy director of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), said that there is a site hidden north east of Tehran. "Despite the Iranian regime's claims that all of its enrichment activities are transparent ... it has in fact been engaged in research and development with advanced centrifuges at a secret nuclear site called Lavizan-3," he said. He reportedly showed reporters satellite images corresponding to his claims. "Since 2008, the Iranian regime has secretly engaged in research and uranium enrichment with advanced... centrifuge machines at this site," Jafarzadeh said.

Report: Saudis might help Israel attack Iran in exchange for progress in peace process
By JPOST.COM STAFF/02/24/2015
http://www.jpost.com/Arab-Israeli-Conflict/Report-Saudis-might-help-Israel-attack-Iran-attack-in-exchange-for-progress-in-peace-process-392094
In private talks with European sources, the Saudis have expressed their willingness to cooperate with Israel on Iran, including use of Saudi air space by the IDF for a possible air strike, according to a report by Channel 2.
Cooperation with Saudi Arabia would not come free, however. According to the report, the Saudi officials said they would need to see progress between Israelis and Palestinians before having enough legitimacy to allow Israel to use their air space.
Arab governments, not only Israel, have been expressing concern over the development of a deal with Iran over its nuclear program, the Wall Street Journal reported Friday.
Talks with Iran over its nuclear program have instilled fear within some major Sunni states, such as Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates that a nuclear arms race will break out in the region, and brought about speculation regarding the possible extension of a US nuclear umbrella to its non-nuclear-armed Middle East allies.
According to the Wall Street Journal, concerned Arab states said that a nuclear deal allowing Iran to keep its nuclear-producing technologies would likely drive nations in the region to develop nuclear capabilities in order to match those of Iran's.
An Arab official, according to the WSJ, said that the collapse of negotiations with Iran is preferable to a bad nuclear deal - a comment similar to those previously iterated by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
US and Arab diplomats say that, although Arab nations have avoided matching statements made by Israel, they share many of the same fears regarding a nuclear deal with Iran, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Reports that the United States was negotiating a 10-year nuclear deal with Iran are not true, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said on Tuesday.
The Wall Street Journal reported that the United States and Iran were exploring the option of a 10-year nuclear freeze as part of talks over Tehran's nuclear program.
**Reuters contributed to this report

Kerry in apparent jab at Netanyahu: Those bad-mouthing Iran deal don't know what deal is
By JPOST.COM STAFF/02/24/2015
http://www.jpost.com/Arab-Israeli-Conflict/Kerry-in-apparent-jab-at-Netanyahu-Those-bad-mouthing-Iran-deal-dont-know-what-deal-is-392066
US Secretary of State John Kerry defended the ongoing nuclear talks with Iran on Tuesday in comments that appeared to be directed at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
As Netanyahu accused the P5+1 group of world powers of giving Iran a green light to maintain the ability to make nuclear weapons, Kerry said that those bad-mouthing the deal are doing so prematurely, before the contours of the deal have been determined.
During a tour of the IDF's Southern Command, Netanyahu said that "the information I have received in recent days reinforces our fears in regard to the emerging deal between world powers and Iran."
The deal would "allow Iran to become a nuclear threshold state. That is to say, with the agreement of the world powers, Iran will be given license to develop the ability to make a bomb," Netanyahu charged.
The prime minister again defended his decision to address the US Congress next week, saying that Congress "may be the final chance to block a deal between the world powers and Iran."
Speaking at a congressional hearing on the US State Department budget Tuesday, Kerry said in apparent answer to Netanyahu's recent warnings about the emerging deal, "I can't state this more firmly, the policy is Iran will not get a nuclear weapon. Anyone running around right now, jumping to say we don't like the deal, or this or that, doesn't know what the deal is. There is no deal yet."
Talks between Iran and world powers were set to resume next Monday, it was decided after Kerry and Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif held talks in Geneva on Sunday and Monday. The sides are hoping to reach an agreement by March 31 that would answer concerns over military dimensions of Iran's nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief for Tehran.
"I caution people to wait and see what these negotiations produce. Since 2013 we have been testing whether or not we can achieve that goal diplomatically. I don't know yet. But it's the most effective way to solve the problem and we will prove that over the course of these next weeks and months," Kerry said Tuesday. "The P5+1 talks have made inroads since the Joint Plan of Action. We've halted the progress of Tehran's nuclear program. We've gain unprecedented insight into it and we expect to know soon whether or not Iran is willing to put together an acceptable and verifiable plan," he added.

White House denies 10-year agreement with Iran
By HERB KEINON, REUTERS/02/24/2015
Reports that the United States was negotiating a 10-year nuclear deal with Iran are not true, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said on Tuesday.
The Wall Street Journal reported that the United States and Iran were exploring the option of a 10-year nuclear freeze as part of talks over Tehran's nuclear program.
AP reported the deal would initially freeze Iran�s nuclear program but gradually allow it to increase activities that could enable it to produce nuclear arms in the last years of the agreement, which is expected to last some 10 years.
The Jerusalem Post reported in November that Israeli officials were very concerned about the agreement�s definitive end date � or �sunset clause� � saying that, after the agreement�s expiration date, when Iran�s nuclear infrastructure will not have been dismantled, it will essentially be free to do whatever it wants.
Not only will the infrastructure not be dismantled, but, according to AP, the idea on the table now is to reward Iran during the duration of the agreement for good behavior by gradually lifting the limitations on its uranium enrichment.
Negotiators hope to meet a self-imposed March 31 deadline for an initial political deal, but a senior US official said that would not �make us rush to an agreement that does not fulfill the objectives that the president has given to us.�
The aim of ensuring that Iran does not acquire a nuclear weapon �has to be met, and that is not about the deadline, it is about the purpose,� the official said.
Diplomats say the six major powers aim for a deal lasting at least 10 years, under which Iran would need at least one year to produce enough highly enriched uranium for a single nuclear bomb � the so-called breakout capacity.
�We have always said we will have a one-year breakout time for a double- digit number of years, and that remains the case,� the senior US official said on Monday.
Israel�s position, and a source of friction between Jerusalem and Washington, is that a year is not enough time.
Reflecting the technical nature of the latest talks, US Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz and Iranian atomic nuclear chief Ali Akbar Salehi took part. Helga Schmid, political director of the European Union�s External Action Service, also attended.
As the details of the emerging deals were coming out, Defense Minister Moshe Ya�alon reiterated Israel�s staunch opposition.
�The agreement with Iran as it is coming together now is a great danger to Western world peace and a threat to Israel�s security,� he said.
�Iran today is the leading factor for instability in the Middle East, and it sends terrorist proxies around the world with the goal of harming Western and Israeli interests,� he said. �Therefore, any agreement that will be signed between the West and this apocalyptic, messianic regime will severely harm Western and Israeli interests and enable Iran to become a threshold nuclear state and continue its terrorist activities.�

Netanyahu: P5+1 giving Iran green light to have nuclear bomb-making capabilities
By HERB KEINON, TOVAH LAZAROFF/J.Post/02/24/2015
The recent leaks regarding the emerging deal between Iran and world powers is only strengthening Israel�s concerns, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday.
Speaking a week before he is scheduled to warn Congress about the agreement, Netanyahu said that the deal, if signed, �will allow Iran to become a nuclear threshold state. That is, with the consent of the major powers, Iran � which openly declares its intention to destroy the State of Israel � will receive a license to develop the production of bombs.�
These were Netanyahu�s first comments since AP reported a day earlier that the emerging deal would allow Iran to retain some 6,500 centrifuges.
According to the report, though the deal would initially freeze Iran�s nuclear program, it would gradually allow it to increase activities that could enable it to produce nuclear arms in the last years of the agreement, expected to last only some 10 years.
�To my regret, the information that has reached me in recent days greatly strengthens our concerns regarding the agreement being formulated between the major powers and Iran,� he said.
Justifying his determination to speak before Congress despite the controversy the trip has triggered, Netanyahu said the �bad agreement� that was emerging endangered Israel�s future.
He said he would speak to Congress because it is �likely to be the final brake before the agreement between the major powers and Iran.�
In Washington, at a budget hearing before the Senate Appropriations Committee on Foreign Operations on Tuesday, US Secretary of State John Kerry appeared to make a subtle dig at Netanyahu when he said that critics of the ongoing negotiations were uninformed.
�The policy is Iran will not get a nuclear weapon. And anybody running around right now jumping in to say, �Well, we don�t like the deal,� or this or that doesn�t know what the deal is,� Kerry said.
He added that there was no deal yet.
�I caution people to wait and see what these negotiations produce,� he said.
The P5+1 countries � the US, China, Russia, France, Great Britain and Germany � hope to reach an interim deal with Tehran in March to restrict its nuclear program.
�Since 2013, we have been testing whether or not we can achieve that goal diplomatically. I don�t know yet.
But [negotiations are] the most effective way to solve a problem, and we will prove that over the course of these next weeks and months,� Kerry said.
He said, nevertheless, that the sixpath talks had made �inroads.�
�We�ve halted the progress of Tehran�s nuclear program, we�ve gained unprecedented insight into it, and we expect to know soon whether or not Iran is willing to put together an acceptable and verifiable plan,� he said.
Netanyahu�s comments on Iran came during a tour of the IDF�s Southern Command headquarters. He was accompanied by Defense Minister Moshe Ya�alon, IDF Chief of Staff Lt.- Gen. Gadi Eizenkot and OC Southern Command Maj.-Gen. Sami Turgeman.
�Even after Hamas took the severest blow in its history, we are continuing to monitor its activities and we are prepared for any and all developments,� Netanyahu said during the visit. �It must be understood that Hamas, Islamic Jihad and all the other terrorist organizations are acting with the full support of Iran, which has openly declared its intention to destroy the State of Israel.�
Meanwhile, the Prime Minister�s Office declined to comment on an invitation extended to Netanyahu by two senior Democratic senators, Richard Durbin of Illinois and Dianne Feinstein of California, to hold a closed-door session with Democratic lawmakers while in Washington. The goal, the senators said, was to maintain Israel�s dialogue with members of Congress from across the political spectrum.
�We believe such a venue would be a wholly appropriate opportunity to discuss the range of issues that face our two countries,� the letter said.
It stated that America�s support for Israel had �historically and wisely been bipartisan, an approach that has well served the strong ties between our two nations.�
Noting that the invitation for Netanyahu to speak before Congress had been issued by House Speaker John Boehner without consultation with either the Democratic leadership of Congress or the White House, the senators wrote that �this unprecedented move threatens to undermine the important bipartisan approach toward Israel � which as long-standing supporters of Israel troubles us deeply.�
Durbin and Feinstein added that the move �sacrifices deep and well-established cooperation in Israel for shortterm partisan points � something that should never be done with Israeli security and which we fear could have lasting repercussions.�
An aide to Durbin was quoted by Reuters as saying the meeting would be in addition to the prime minister�s speech to Congress, not in place of it. Neither Durbin nor Feinstein has made clear publicly whether they intended to be present for the address.

Ya'alon: We see Iranian influence in Gaza
By YAAKOV LAPPIN/02/24/2015
Israel is seeing Iranian influence in the Gaza Strip, Defense Minister Moshe Ya�alon said on Tuesday during a tour of the IDF Southern Command with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
�Iran�s arms are actually sent to every possible place in the Middle East,� Ya�alon said. �The support for Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the support for Hamas � we see the arms beyond the borders of the [Southern] Command, too, [but also] in Lebanon with Hezbollah, on the Golan Heights, in the front they are trying to open against us, and as they declare, they wish to set up a terrorism infrastructure in Judea and Samaria.�
The defense minister added that in Sinai, Egyptian security forces were acting against extremist Islamic elements that have attacked Israel in the past and might try to do so again.
His comments came before Maj.-Gen. Sami Turgeman, head of the Southern Command, cited a number of soldiers for exemplary actions during Operation Protective Edge last summer.
Members of the Artillery Corps�s Dragon Battalion and Sky Rider tactical drone unit received letters of commendation from Turgeman signed by newly instated IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Gadi Eizenkot.
The Dragon Battalion, together with the Namer (Leopard) Battalion, provided critical fire support to infantry and armored units during the fighting, firing thousands of shells and destroying enemy targets. Their actions helped rescue units that came under heavy Hamas fire and enabled maneuvering units to complete their missions.
The Sky Rider drone unit deployed throughout the Gaza sector, providing continuous assistance to ground units.
The drone operators identified large numbers of enemy targets and thwarted numerous attempts to attack IDF units, saving the lives of soldiers.
Conscripted and reserve Sky Rider unit members continued to operate in the area after hostilities ended.

Forced from Damascus, Hamas establishing itself in Turkey
Alex Fishman/Ynetnews
Published: 02.25.15 / Israel News
Islamist group sets up 'West Bank and Jerusalem Headquarters' in Istanbul, taking advantage of deteriorating ties between Ankara and Jerusalem, using it as base for recruitment.
Relations been Israel and Turkey have been on a slippery downward slope in recent years; of late, however, the situation has led to grave consequences beyond the realm of politics: Turkey has become a Hamas hotbed, and members of the organization's military wing are undergoing military training on Turkish soil, with the knowledge, support and assistance of the local authorities.
The US administration has appealed in recent months to the Turkish government to prevent Hamas military activity in its territory, arguing that Turkey is a member of NATO and that Hamas is viewed by most NATO members as a terrorist organization. The appeals have gone unanswered.
For his part, Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon has raised the issue in his talks with the defense ministers of various NATO countries on several occasions, including last week in India, where he attended a military exhibition. Ya'alon defined Turkey's role in helping Hamas' build its terrorist networks in the West Bank and the Gaza as "a cynical game on the part of a NATO member state."
Hamas set up its so-called West Bank and Jerusalem Headquarters in Istanbul immediately following the organization's expulsion from Damascus in 2011. In 2013, Hamas underwent restructuring, and the organization expanded the activities of the Turkey-based headquarters, headed by Salah Al-Arouri, who was deported from Israel in the past. Among others, under him now in Turkey are 20 militants released as part of the Gilad Shalit deal, including the likes of Zaher Jabarin and Jihad Yarmur, who were involved in the murder of soldier Nachshon Wachsman.
The headquarters in Turkey is engaged in part in locating West Bank and Gaza Strip residents who are studying in Turkey, Jordan, Syria and other Arab countries, with efforts also being made to recruit students from among the Israeli Arab population.
The students undergo initial screening in Jordan and Turkey; and since Jordan does not allow Hamas activists to undergo military training on its soil, the recruits are sent to the headquarters in Istanbul, where they receive security clearances and are sent for military training just outside the city � under the watchful eye of Turkish intelligence officials.
The recruits, hundreds every year, are trained in the use of light weapons, bomb-making and covert operations, and are then sent for additional training in Syria. From there, they go the West Bank to engage in terror activities and establish clandestine terror cells.
May and August of last year saw the arrest of 93 terror activists who were planning to carry out a series of attacks in the Palestinian Authority in an effort to destabilize and topple the government. Heading the terror network was Riad Nasser, a veteran Hamas operative who was working in conjunction with the headquarters in Istanbul. In September 2014, 30 activists who had already carried out attacks were arrested. Their leader was Manaf Ajbara, from the West Bank town of Tul Karem, an engineering student who was recruited and trained in Turkey. Hamas' West Bank and Jerusalem Headquarters in Istanbul receives ongoing reports from the West Bank from intelligence-gathering agents working in the field, and the Turkey-based command center has been behind several of the violent events that have occurred in Jerusalem and on the Temple Mount in recent months. The killers of the three Israeli teenagers prior to Operation Protective Edge were also deployed by the headquarters in Turkey. Furthermore, a significant portion of the arms in the hands of Hamas in the West Bank were purchased and sent there by the headquarters in Istanbul.

Will Turkey become an ally?
Abdulrahman al-Rashed/Al Arabiya
Wednesday, 25 February 2015
The past 10 years have seen Gulf relations with Turkey change between love, admiration and anger. However, Ankara has continued to be of significant value, especially to countries in the Middle East, including Saudi Arabia. Despite disputes, Turkey has continued to be an active political party with regard to the region�s issues, including Palestine, Lebanon, Egypt, Syria, Iraq and Libya.
We have a limited understanding of the Turkish perspective on most of these issues. Sometimes Ankara�s contradictions confuse us. It stood against the toppling of the Qaddafi regime in Libya, but has taken a rigid stance against the Assad regime in Syria. Although it is a NATO member, it has operated for an entire decade as a partner with Iran, despite international sanctions on the latter.
Following the Arab Spring, Turkey supported the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood, and hosted its headquarters and propaganda machine, acting as an alternative to Qatar. Ankara also hosted Brotherhood opposition figures from the Gulf.
On one occasion, a small number of them searched for a Turkish official to receive them. They only found a municipality chief of an Istanbul neighborhood with whom to take photos, and thereby upset the government of the Gulf country from which they hail. However, the municipality chief, who did not understand their aim, praised the government of the opposition figures� country and bragged that he had friendly relations with it.
Most disputes with Turkey are marginal and are not over strategic issues. Part of the blame for the disputes lies with the Turks for getting involved in Arab domestic affairs. Their support of the Brotherhood in Egypt not only failed, but is also the reason behind the new Egyptian regime�s restrictions on the Brotherhood.
�Turkey would have had a great status, and a regional role capable of achieving change, if it had abandoned petty alliances and avoided poking its nose in Arab domestic affairs�
Turkey would have had a great status, and a regional role capable of achieving change, if it had abandoned petty alliances and avoided poking its nose in Arab domestic affairs. A more important role awaits it as it can restore a strategic balance by building a new regional system that prevents chaos and war.
In case Tehran signs a nuclear agreement with the West, Turkey can work with major blocs to prevent Iranian regional expansion, which also threatens it. Ankara can see how Iran is rushing to control Iraq and Syria, two countries that directly affect Turkey�s security and stability.
Egypt, which has had Turkish influence for 100 years, is currently an axial country, and it is not in Ankara�s interest to be hostile toward it. During my last visit to Turkey, I heard expressions of hope that the situation with Egypt had not reached hostile levels, but unfortunately the bilateral relationship has become contaminated by trivial disputes.
If Turks were capable of altering the situation in Cairo, we would have understood the secret behind their enthusiasm toward the Brotherhood, but Ankara�s ability to achieve change in Egypt is almost nil.
The Turks are very important on the regional stage, and their influence is great within the context of the Middle Eastern relationship with Iran, and parties in support of it in Iraq and Lebanon. Ankara�s ability to achieve change in Syria is unmatched. This is why Turks have an important role, and why they must reconsider their reading of the regional situation.
Gulf countries, as well as Egypt and Jordan, have many mutual interests and aims with Ankara, but achieving those aims requires a Turkish policy free from petty disputes. These nine countries can put an end to Iranian expansion, pressure the West to achieve a fair solution for the Palestinians, end chaos in Iraq and Syria, and establish a regional system against terrorism. Turkey has important historical experiences in playing strategic roles in the Middle East, the Balkans and the southern Caucasus.

Walid Jumblatt: Al-Nusra Front are not terrorists
Thair Abbas/ Asharq Al-Awsat/Thursday, 26 Feb, 2015
Lebanese Druze leader talks to Asharq Al-Awsat about presidential vacuum, ISIS fears
Beirut, Asharq Al-Awsat�Lebanon�s Druze leader Walid Jumblatt has traditionally played the role of kingmaker in Lebanese politics. However, nine months after the end of the presidential term of Michel Suleiman, there is still no new president in Beirut�s Baabda Palace.
The Hezbollah-led March 8 Alliance continues to back Michel Aoun, while the Future Movement-led March 14 Alliance has thrown its weight behind Samir Geagea. With neither coalition appearing willing to back down, Jumblatt has called for the election of a �settlement president� to address the deteriorating political and security situation in the country.
The Progressive Socialist Party leader spoke to Asharq Al-Awsat about the ongoing presidential crisis in the country, fears the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) may attack Lebanon, as well as the Al-Qaeda-affiliated Al-Nusra Front�s presence in the country.
Asharq Al-Awsat: How do you view the situation in Lebanon today?
Walid Jumblatt: The pointless debates that are raging domestically in Lebanon make us incapable of electing a president. But at the same time, we should not forget that there is a fundamental struggle [in Lebanon]. Hezbollah and other [March 8 affiliated] political powers will not give up on nominating General Michel Aoun for the presidency. While it is difficult for the leaders of the four major Christian blocs [Michel Aoun of the Free Patriotic Movement, Samir Geagea of the Lebanese Forces, Amine Gemayel of the Kataeb party and MP Suleiman Frangieh] to agree on a settlement candidate. We are caught in a vortex.
The disagreement has created a dilemma and for the time being it seems that a president will not be elected anytime soon.
Q: Do you attribute the failure to elect a new president to domestic or international reasons?
This is due to both domestic and international reasons. The Islamic Republic of Iran, through Hezbollah, has a main ally in Lebanon, namely General Aoun. This is no secret. I do not believe that there are any circumstances in the Arab world or Iran capable of bringing about a settlement similar to the one when we elected President Michel Suleiman. At that time, Qatar was the godfather that mediated with the Iranians, Syrians and other powers.
If there were some sort of Arab-Iranian rapprochement somewhere�or to be more frank, Saudi�Iranian rapprochement�then there could be a political settlement in Lebanon.
Q: What about the security situation in the country?
I do not share the opinion that says ISIS and the Al-Nusra Front will attack Lebanon. I do not know why these claims suddenly emerged. I don�t believe this will happen. We have to safeguard and defend our borders, but for the time being I do not believe that ISIS or the Al-Nusra Front pose an imminent danger to Lebanon.
Some newspapers and media outlets are promoting the view that ISIS will launch an all-out attack on Lebanon. I do not think ISIS today is capable of launching any such attack, particularly as it is already fighting a war on a number of different fronts.
Security apparatus have been coordinating among themselves over the last two years to confront this so-called terrorism. Yes, there have been acts of sabotage and booby-trapped cars in Beirut�s southern suburbs and close to the Iranian embassy, which are definitely acts of terrorism. But I will not consider nor will I call the Al-Nusra Front a terrorist group as long as it has one Syrian person among its members. It is not a terrorist group and this debate should come to an end.
Q: Are you now attempting to court the Al-Nusra Front and its supporters in Lebanon?
No, I am not courting the Al-Nusra Front but there are Syrians who were left with no choice but to join this group. They found it a way to triumph over the terrorism of the Syrian regime. What can I say to them? Shall I call them terrorists? I will not do that. They are not terrorists, despite the Arab and international claims in this regard.
Q: Do you think Saad Al-Hariri�s return to Lebanon might resolve the presidential impasse?
The dialogue between Hezbollah and the Future Movement is very useful and may produce, as I have previously said, the possibility of electing a �settlement president.� I stress and repeat that I am an advocate of electing such a �settlement president.�
Q: But who would this so-called �settlement president� be? Does he have to be unaffiliated to the four major Christian blocs?
Yes, I am of this view. I emphasize that I do not have any doubts about the representation of those four blocs.
Q: Do you encourage Hariri to re-assume the position of prime minister?
This is his own business and Hariri has a well-known patriotic record. But this has to wait until we elect a new president. We cannot reshuffle the cabinet without a president.
Q: Would you agree that you have tried to take a �moderate� political approach over the past years?
I tried [to be moderate]. It is true that Michel Suleiman and Najib Mikati were with us. However Mikati is now preoccupied with giving lectures at foreign universities, while President Suleiman established a new bloc and I do not know if I can call it moderate or not. I will stick to my own form of moderation. After all, there must be an intermediary [between the Christian blocs].
Q: Regarding the Syrian crisis, you famously said that the frontline extends between Beirut and Tehran. Can you elaborate?
Without the financial, human and military support of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Syrian regime would not survive. There is also the support from Russia but the Iranian support is the key. In my opinion the Arab dimension is vanishing in Syria. Syria has no Arab nature. There is [now] an Iranian nature in Syria.
Q: Is a political settlement still possible in Syria?
It was possible to reach a settlement in Syria, but that was a long time ago. Today, even Iran has reached an impasse unless it wants [to deal with Syria] in the same way it did with Iraq, namely instead of dealing with it as a unified country, it dealt with it as a dismantled one.
What remains of Syria? Even if Bashar Al-Assad could control Aleppo, which is unlikely, at the end of the day he has displaced 10 million of his people and he will only bring them back in his own way, perhaps through imposing security or military measures or after vetting them according to sectarian criteria. Then the regime will draw a new map of Syria and will only allow the displaced to return in a way that sees the majority [Sunni community] surrounded. Homs has been surrounded and so has Aleppo. These Sunni-majority [cities] will not return to how they used to be. Does this serve the interest of Iran? I do not know but it seems to be the case.
As for the Alawite sect, it seems as if its massive backing for the regime has made it a prisoner of the regime. The Alawites have endured massive losses. On the other hand, the Syrian National Coalition has failed to deal with Alawites as Alawites. Alawites are in a predicament because the regime is using them as human shields everywhere [in Syria] while at the same time they have nowhere else to go to. I was told that the well-to-do and moderate Alawites, like all wealthy and moderate middle class Syrians, are increasingly leaving the country.
Q: What about the fate of the minorities in Syria?
There is a major threat facing the Christians in the Levant and not just from ISIS . . . They are caught between two fires, between the regime and the rebels.
The Druze are also facing a dilemma because they backed the regime, although not all of them. I issued several calls to them; what more can I do? I believe my calls will someday resonate among them because they are also being used as fuel for the regime�s canons. I made efforts to encourage Syria�s Druze to play a bigger role in the revolution but I failed.
This is an abridged version of an interview originally conducted in Arabic.

Will Turkey become an ally?
Abdulrahman al-Rashed/Al Arabiya
Wednesday, 25 February 2015
The past 10 years have seen Gulf relations with Turkey change between love, admiration and anger. However, Ankara has continued to be of significant value, especially to countries in the Middle East, including Saudi Arabia. Despite disputes, Turkey has continued to be an active political party with regard to the region�s issues, including Palestine, Lebanon, Egypt, Syria, Iraq and Libya.
We have a limited understanding of the Turkish perspective on most of these issues. Sometimes Ankara�s contradictions confuse us. It stood against the toppling of the Qaddafi regime in Libya, but has taken a rigid stance against the Assad regime in Syria. Although it is a NATO member, it has operated for an entire decade as a partner with Iran, despite international sanctions on the latter.
Following the Arab Spring, Turkey supported the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood, and hosted its headquarters and propaganda machine, acting as an alternative to Qatar. Ankara also hosted Brotherhood opposition figures from the Gulf.
On one occasion, a small number of them searched for a Turkish official to receive them. They only found a municipality chief of an Istanbul neighborhood with whom to take photos, and thereby upset the government of the Gulf country from which they hail. However, the municipality chief, who did not understand their aim, praised the government of the opposition figures� country and bragged that he had friendly relations with it.
Most disputes with Turkey are marginal and are not over strategic issues. Part of the blame for the disputes lies with the Turks for getting involved in Arab domestic affairs. Their support of the Brotherhood in Egypt not only failed, but is also the reason behind the new Egyptian regime�s restrictions on the Brotherhood.
�Turkey would have had a great status, and a regional role capable of achieving change, if it had abandoned petty alliances and avoided poking its nose in Arab domestic affairs�
Turkey would have had a great status, and a regional role capable of achieving change, if it had abandoned petty alliances and avoided poking its nose in Arab domestic affairs. A more important role awaits it as it can restore a strategic balance by building a new regional system that prevents chaos and war. In case Tehran signs a nuclear agreement with the West, Turkey can work with major blocs to prevent Iranian regional expansion, which also threatens it. Ankara can see how Iran is rushing to control Iraq and Syria, two countries that directly affect Turkey�s security and stability. Egypt, which has had Turkish influence for 100 years, is currently an axial country, and it is not in Ankara�s interest to be hostile toward it. During my last visit to Turkey, I heard expressions of hope that the situation with Egypt had not reached hostile levels, but unfortunately the bilateral relationship has become contaminated by trivial disputes.
If Turks were capable of altering the situation in Cairo, we would have understood the secret behind their enthusiasm toward the Brotherhood, but Ankara�s ability to achieve change in Egypt is almost nil.
The Turks are very important on the regional stage, and their influence is great within the context of the Middle Eastern relationship with Iran, and parties in support of it in Iraq and Lebanon. Ankara�s ability to achieve change in Syria is unmatched. This is why Turks have an important role, and why they must reconsider their reading of the regional situation.
Gulf countries, as well as Egypt and Jordan, have many mutual interests and aims with Ankara, but achieving those aims requires a Turkish policy free from petty disputes. These nine countries can put an end to Iranian expansion, pressure the West to achieve a fair solution for the Palestinians, end chaos in Iraq and Syria, and establish a regional system against terrorism. Turkey has important historical experiences in playing strategic roles in the Middle East, the Balkans and the southern Caucasus.