Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources for December 03/12
Future bloc MP Okab Sakr admits to weapon contacts with Syria rebels
Syria TV airs images of dead Lebanese Salafists
Future rally lashes out at Hezbollah
Hezbollah: March 14 promotes Israeli demands
Assir supporters peacefully rally in Sidon
Assir march peaceful amid tensions, security
Can Lebanon ever be green again?
Syria crisis weighs on Lebanon economy
Sleiman urges youths to avoid conflicts
Killer of Lebanese soldier is weapons dealer, army says
March 14 MPs Make an Exception and End Boycott of Electoral Subcommittee
PSP Delegation, Gemayel Agree on Importance of Resolving Political Crisis
Suleiman Reiterates Army's Role in Preventing Flow of Arms into Lebanon
Lebanese army retaliates to shots fired from Syria on Beqaa outpost
Lebanon’s Internal Security Forces data request sparks Lebanon controversy
Donor countries commend Lebanese cabinet’s commitment in Syrian refugees issue
Lebanese cabinet to help Syrian refugees, premier says
Miqati Opens Beirut Arab Int'l Book Fair: State Can't Rise through Involvement in Regional Conflicts
Jumblat: Palestinian State Will Be Established Away from Empty Slogans of Defiance
Miqati Seeks Red Cross Help in Unveiling Fate of Fighters Ambushed in Homs, Recovering Bodies
Egypt judges up political stakes with referendum boycott
Hamas: State needs armed struggle with Israel
Egypt opposition calls for protest over constitution
Syria TV airs images of dead Lebanese Salafists
US “strongly warns” Assad over chemical arms
Syria says will never use chemical arms against own people
Rivals in fierce battle for Damascus
US steps up spying on Iran's nuclear reactor, report says
Israeli forces kill axe-wielding Palestinian

Why Europe isn’t blacklisting Hezbollah
Ana Maria Luca/Now Lebanon/ December 3, 2012
Hezbollah supporters demonstrate in Berlin in July 2006 against the Israeli attacks on Lebanon. Hezbollah is reported to have over 900 members in Germany alone. (AFP photo)
An unidentified man blew himself up in July 2012 on a bus packed with Israeli tourists in the Bulgarian Black Sea Resort of Burgas, killing six people. Soon after the explosion in Bulgaria, politicians in Israel and the United States accused the Iranian Revolutionary Guards of orchestrating the attack and of using Hezbollah operatives to execute it.
But most European Union states have not put Hezbollah’s military wing on its terror organizations list. Both the US and Israel, which long ago labeled Hezbollah a terrorist group, have increased pressure on the European governments to ban the Lebanese Party of God. Placing Hezbollah on the terror organizations list would lead to blocking the party’s accounts and seizing its assets in all EU countries, cutting a large amount of its funding. But not many EU countries are willing to do that right away.
The only European states that have labeled Hezbollah a terrorist organization are the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. The rest of Europe, however, demands proof that Hezbollah is still a terrorist threat, the same way it asked for proof to blacklist Hamas. The EU submitted to pressure and blacklisted the Palestinian organization in 2003, but its politicians never complied with the ban. Hezbollah, however, is another matter.
“Listing is about proof of involvement and chain of responsibility, but it is also a political tool with sanctioning capabilities,” Magnus Ranstorp, a Swedish scholar and author of “Hezbollah in Lebanon,” told NOW. “I think there is careful monitoring of cases in Bulgaria and elsewhere by EU member states before judgment is made. It is more useful not to list it as it closes down options in terms of dialogue with Hezbollah,” he added. Some European countries, especially France and Britain, were targets of Hezbollah operations, along with the United States, in the 1980s. In October 1983 the French contingent of the multinational peacekeeping force in Lebanon was bombed the same day as the US Marine barracks. The French Embassy in Kuwait was bombed in December 1983. In April 1985, a bomb in a restaurant near a US base in Madrid killed 18 Spanish citizens. Hezbollah was also blamed for a series of 13 attacks in France in 1986 targeting shopping centers and railroad stations, killing 13, and the March 1989 attempt to assassinate British novelist Salman Rushdie. But European leaders think those days might be over.
Many politicians already stated that only absolute proof that the man who blew himself up in Burgas was really a Hezbollah operative would sway them. After the attack, Bulgarian investigators insisted that they found no evidence of any Hezbollah involvement.
However, Ranstorp argued that Hezbollah’s military operations are complex and difficult to isolate. “They function and operate as an extended arm of the Iranian intelligence,” he noted. “I think Hezbollah's maneuverability has been restricted since 2005 and 2006 as the leadership is afraid of Israeli strikes. In political terms Hezbollah is more vulnerable than ever, [facing] criticism since it supports [Syrian President Bashar] Assad and is involved against the Syrian opposition.” With Hezbollah cornered politically in Lebanon, Israel has the perfect opportunity to push it to be labeled as a terrorist organization around the world.
Some linked the Burgas attack to the arrest in Cyprus two weeks earlier of a young Lebanese man with a Swedish passport who was said to be a Hezbollah operative. The Cypriot Minister of Justice Loucas Louca stated that the detained 24-year-old displayed similar behavior to the Burgas bomber. Louca also said he belonged to an organization that is not on a European Union list of known terrorist groups, but refused to directly name the organization. The Lebanese-Swedish man was arrested after a tip-off from foreign intelligence services, among them Israel's Mossad.
A similar scenario happened in January in Bangkok, where Lebanese-Swedish Hussein Atris was arrested for allegedly planning terror attacks against Israeli and Jewish targets. There was not solid proof, only allegations that Atris was a Hezbollah operative, which the party denied.
The last attack where Hezbollah’s involvement was proven was the one against the Israeli Embassy in Argentina in 1992. All recent terrorist attacks in Europe, such as the London subway bombing and the Madrid train bombings, were claimed by al-Qaeda or its affiliates. Several bombings targeting Israelis around the world have also been claimed by al-Qaeda or affiliated organizations, and never by Hezbollah. What the European law enforcement agencies might have a problem with is the involvement of networks close to Hezbollah in organized crime across the continent.
In one of the most prominent recent cases, the German media reported that Hezbollah members were raising funds by smuggling cocaine. Two Lebanese men were arrested with over 8 million euros at the Frankfurt airport in 2008, and another two from the same network were detained in October 2009 in Speyer. The men, who had family members connected to Hezbollah leaders, had been moving millions of euros earned from the cocaine trade from Frankfurt to Beirut.
In another prominent case, Lebanese Bashar Wehbe was arrested in 2011 in the Maldives for attempting to buy weapons in Hezbollah’s name from two undercover US Drug Enforcement Agency operatives. The agents recorded him as saying that the weapons he was planning to purchase were destined to reach Hezbollah. Wehbe came as a bonus in the investigation into an Iranian drug dealer who resided in Romania and smuggled drugs from Afghanistan to Western Europe and the United States.
Although Ranstorp said the EU could find proof to list Hezbollah as a terror organization if it wanted to, the bloc is not interested in labeling it so for political reasons. Unlike the United States, in the EU’s case, “listing narrows the political options which may make Lebanon an arena where [the EU] can exert its influence over developments,” he said.
Follow Ana Maria Luca on Twitter.

Syria TV airs images of dead Lebanese Salafists
December 03, 2012 /By Misbah al-Ali, Antoine Amrieh /The Daily Star
The conflict in Syrian is driving local violence on Lebanon's northeastern border. The Syrian town of Qusayr is in the back and Lebanese land in the foreground.
TRIPOLI, Lebanon: Syrian state television broadcast images Sunday of more than five dead bodies with Lebanese identification, reporting that the men were among 21 Lebanese Salafist fighters who fell into a Syrian Army ambush Friday.
The station said that the men were killed in Tal Kalakh after sneaking into the country from Wadi Khaled, and that others in the group had been wounded.
Late Sunday, state TV aired another report saying the Syrian army thwarted an attempt to smuggle Al-Qaeda fighters from Lebanon into Syria through the border Qusayr region. While, Syrian TV said some of the fighters were “killed,” it did not elaborate on their nationalities.
There have been conflicting reports about the fate of the 21 men. Tripoli based Sheikh Nabil Rahim, who is in contact with the families of the missing, told The Daily Star that three of the five bodies shown on television had been identified. He named them as Khodr Alameddine, Hussein Sroor and Abdel-Hamid Agha.
Aside from these three, Rahim said “there are no accurate numbers of those killed ... or information on who was arrested or managed to flee.”There was also divergence in information about how and when the men went to Syria.
Sources familiar with the situation as well as several Free Syrian Army officers told The Daily Star that between 25 and 27 men, ranging in age from 18 to 25, gathered for evening prayer in a Tripoli mosque Thursday. Planning to die in battle, some of them wrote their final wills. According to these sources, the men hail from various areas, including Tripoli, Beddawi and Akkar, and some are Palestinian members of the Islamist group Fatah al-Islam.
All of the men were Salafists who believe their religion dictates they should fight Iran, Syria and Hezbollah.
The sources said that the men planned to take a smugglers’ route from the Lebanese village of Hleit to Qalaat al-Hosn in Syria after dawn prayers Friday. The group fell into an ambush in Tal Sirin, on the way to Qalaat al-Hasan.
These sources added that some of those who were not killed appear to have fled, while others were taken to safety by the Free Syrian Army.
In some Tripoli Salafist circles, an account is circulating that the Syrian Army was tipped off about the group’s presence by four men, whose nationalities are unknown but have been named as Osama Rashad, Mohammad Rashad, Khaled Rashad and Khaled Othman.
Another report said that the men did not all leave Thursday, and were in fact split into two groups. According to this version, one of the groups was attacked by the Syrian Army last week, but the announcement of their deaths was delayed until Friday.
The father of one of the missing men is refusing to receive condolences for his son, 18-year-old Mohammad Mir. Abu Abdullah said he has not heard anything about his son, but knows that one of his son’s friends who went with him to Syria, Abdel Rahman Ayoubi, sent a Facebook message saying Ayoubi had survived along with many of his companions.
Abu Abdullah said he had received information that 17 members of the group are alive in a secret Free Syrian Army base in Tal Kalakh, and that the wounded are receiving treatment.
The parents of five more of the Salafists have erected a tent in the Bab al-Tabbaneh area of al-Mankoubin area, in an attempt to pressure the government to uncover the fates of their sons. The families involved in the sit-in are seeking information on Malek Dib, Abdel-Karim Ibrahim, Youssef Abu Arida, Bilal Ghoul and Abdel-Rahman al-Hasan.
Their relatives raised doubt over the authenticity of the photos aired on Syrian state television.
“We still know nothing about my brother Malek and his companions,” Jihad Dib said.“I ask the government and Interior Minister [Marwan Charbel] whether they intend to take action to reveal the fate of our brothers,” Dib added. “Aren’t they Lebanese?”
Dib said the government is working hard to find out what happened to the nine remaining Lebanese pilgrims kidnapped in Syria in May, but is doing little to find out the fate of his relatives.
Sheikh Mohammad Ibrahim, the imam of a local mosque who visited the protesters, said the families of the men plan to act peacefully to achieve their goal.
“On Monday, we will hold a sit-in at al-Tal Square [in Tripoli] after afternoon prayers. We are not acting against anyone in Tripoli ... we are [only] interested in revealing the fate of our sons ... our problem is with the Syrian regime and not with anyone else.”
A sit-in will also be held Monday at Tripoli’s Lebanese University Campus, where Dib registered one day before his disappearance.
For his part, Future Movement MP Mouein Merhebi said he was proud of the “martyrs” who fell in Syria.
Merhebi told a local TV station that the “blessed” Syrian revolution would triumph, hoping that a similar revolution would erupt in Lebanon against “the killers” of March 14 officials.
MP Khaled Daher, from the same bloc, said over the weekend that only four men had been killed in the assault, adding that the Salafists were not sent to Syria by any political group. He said they chose to fight in Syria after watching the Syrian regime commit massacres on television, and because Hezbollah is fighting alongside President Bashar Assad’s forces.
The Lebanese Army which deployed across Tripoli Friday, remained out in force Sunday. There was no armed presence in the streets, but scattered gunfire could be heard.
Intense gunfire could be heard Sunday night in Nahr Abu Ali, which overlooks Bab al-Tabbaneh and Jabal Mohsen.
Separately, the Army said in a Sunday statement that shots were fired at 6:30 p.m. at its headquarters in Masharih al-Qaa by “gunmen from the Syrian side of the border, prompting soldiers to respond.” The Army reported no casualties, and said that it was boosting its presence in the area. – With additional reporting by Wassim Mroueh

Future Movement MP Okab Sakr admits arming Syrian rebels
03/12/2012/By Thaer Abbas
Beirut, Asharq Al-Awsat – Speaking exclusively to Asharq Al-Awsat, Lebanese Future Movement MP Okab Sakr confirmed the authenticity of audio recordings implicating him in arms transfers to Syrian rebels, stressing that he is “not ashamed” of his actions which are in “Lebanon’s best interest.” He said that he is prepared for the judicial consequences of his actions and would not seek to hide behind his parliamentary immunity. Last week Lebanon’s al-Akhbar newspaper published recordings of Sakr organizing weapons transferred to Syrian rebel groups, reportedly at the behest of Future Movement leader Saad Hariri. A transcript of one recording, a phone call between the Lebanese MP and a Syrian rebel leader, sees Sakr ask him “please tell me the weapons you want. What are the quantities?” The Syrian rebel leader lists his requirements, which include “300 rocket-propelled grenades and 20 launchers” adding “if it is possible, provide 250,000 Russian rounds [for AK-47s], 300 machineguns, and some special pieces of arms.” The Syrian rebel commander also stressed that “we need to do it as fast as possible, because there’s a big need and the shelling continues. People are scattered and there’s no ammunition. The men, each one barely has one or two magazines, and there’s a large consumption [of ammunition]. Try to get them [the arms] in any way possible, God bless you. I don’t know what to say, after God there is only you.”These audio recordings, which have lately been confirmed by MP Sakr, aroused considerable controversy across Lebanon, with Future Movement opposition decrying these actions and condemning Sakr and Hariri. Pro-Syrian forces in Lebanon have called for Sakr to be brought to account for his arming of the Syrian rebels, calling for the revocation of his parliamentary immunity. In addition to this, some Future Movement figures have rushed to distance themselves from MP Sakr. Asharq Al-Awsat has learnt that Sakr is “very angry” regarding the campaign that has been launched against him, as well as some of the statements that have been issued against him, likening this to a feeding frenzy, whilst intensive debate is raging within the Future Movement regarding how to deal with this crisis.
As for the source of these recordings, Lebanon’s al-Akhbar newspaper revealed that it had received an anonymous phone call from somebody claiming to be in possession of audio recordings of Sakr coordinating arms deals with the Syrian rebels. The source claimed to have worked with Sakr for more than a year as part of an operation center established to support the Syrian revolution, adding that several such operation centers were in existence, including in Antakya, Adana and Istanbul.
MP Okab Sakr spoke exclusively with Asharq Al-Awsat about these audio recordings, confirming “Yes. This is my voice and those are my words. I am not in the habit of denying my words or voice and I am not ashamed of what I have done and am doing.”
He added “I have always abided by the law and I am willing to accept any legal measures and if some want to strip me of my [parliamentary] immunity, let them do so; I am not hiding behind my immunity. However let me ask this: will the others accused of involvement in Syria abandon their [legal] immunity and face trial alongside me?”
Sakr stressed that “what I am doing in Syria embodies my convictions and it is in the best interests of Lebanon. I bear personal responsible for what I am doing.” He added “if I am called for accountability then I am ready for the courts to take their course until the end, without any hindrance.”
As for the calls that he should apologize, he said “if – and I stress this if – I owe an apology to anybody in Lebanon or Syria, then I will not be late in apologizing to the Lebanese and Syrian peoples.”
He added “I have much that I will say in the near future and I will speak frankly, and after this each party must bear their own responsibilities. I know that what is happening is cheap exploitation of a certain incident, the objective of which is political assassination which paves the way for physical assassination…that is why I will respond soon to the followers of this logic.”
As for the true extent of his involvement in the Syrian crisis, he told Asharq Al-Awsat “I will explain everything in a clear manner, and everything I say will be recorded as I will say this live on air” adding “I will do this out of my concern for Lebanon, first and foremost, and my conviction of the nobility and sanctity of the Syrian revolution and the great Syrian people.” He stressed that “historically, no people have tasted such injustice from so many countries at one time, with the exception of the Palestinian people.”
Regarding al-Akhbar newspaper’s claims that he was acting on behalf of Future Movement leader Saad Hariri, Sakr stressed that “Hariri asked me to provide the Syrians with humanitarian, political and media aid – no more and no less” adding “this campaign against me aims to suppress and distort this.”
Speaking following MP Sakr’s confirmation of the al-Akhbar newspaper transcripts, Free Syrian Army [FSA] spokesman Louay Miqdad informed Lebanon’s New TV that he worked with the Future Movement MP in such an “operation center”.
Miqdad stressed that these centers were not restricted to “military” operations but included “all sorts of activities.” He also denied the reports that Hariri could be heard in one of the leaked phone conversations, saying “it was actually my voice” adding “I am surprised at the insolence of the media outlets in broadcasting these recordings.”
For his part, Lebanese President Michel Suleiman called on Monday for Lebanese politicians not to get involved in the Syrian crisis in line with the country’s disassociation policy towards events there. The Lebanese president’s press office issued a statement saying “President Suleiman hopes that everyone in Lebanon remains committed to the policy that the government adopted as well as the National Dialogue Committee via the Baabda Declaration which stipulates distancing Lebanon from others’ conflict and not intervening in their affairs."

Lebanon’s Internal Security Forces data request sparks Lebanon controversy
December 3, 2012 /Lebanon’s Internal Security Forces wants all SMS data prior to the October 19 car bombing that rocked Beirut. Lebanese ministers voiced on Monday their rejection of the Internal Security Forces’ request for all mobile phone SMS data in the two months prior to the assassination of ISF intelligence chief Wissam al-Hassan. Interior Minister Marwan Charbel told As-Safir that the ISF Information Branch requested the content of all SMS messages in Lebanon, but that “the relevant judicial committee rejected the request to hand over the content of the messages, since, in its view, it contravenes the personal privacy laws guaranteed by the constitution.”“Therefore, another request was made for the content of the SMS messages that circulated within two provinces only, including Mount Lebanon.”The interior minister said that providing the SMS data to the security forces did not necessarily entail that all their contents will be revealed “and that the privacy of the Lebanese people will be violated.”He added that it only the content of messages sent and received by those who came under the security forces’ suspicion will be accessed. “The phone numbers of political leaders and dignitaries are not included in the data lists provided to the security agencies.”Hassan was killed on October 19 in a huge explosion that rocked the Beirut area of Ashrafieh, which left two others dead and more than 120 wounded, in the first such attack in the Lebanese capital since 2008. The sensitive issue of mobile phone data also prompted remarks from Telecommunications Minister Nicolas Sehnaoui, who told As-Safir on Monday that “accepting this violation would incur more of the same later on.”He also revealed that his ministry received a request to hand over the contents of “text messages and passwords of Facebook and other internet accounts of all Lebanese across the country.”He also said that he had referred the request to the cabinet’s general secretariat. “I have advised that it should be rejected,” he added.
Meanwhile, in an interview with Voice of Lebanon (100.5) radio station, Justice Minister Shakib Qortbawi referred to Article 104 of the Lebanese Constitution to determine the legality of the data request made by the security forces.“The issue should be put in its constitutional and practical context… Article 104 of the constitution stiplulates that a judicial committee should be set up to determine whether the request is legal or not.”While warning against the leniency practiced by the interior minister with the security forces, Qortbawi said that “the judicial committee agreed that the request is illegal.
“The French system, which is at the base of the Lebanese Constitution, prohibits the access to nationwide information.”-NOW Lebanon

Donor countries commend Lebanese cabinet’s commitment in Syrian refugees issue
December 3, 2012 /Donor countries on Monday applauded the Lebanese cabinet’s engagement with the issue of Syrian refugees. “The donor countries commend the cabinet’s concerted efforts to develop its ‘Response Plan to the crisis of displaced Syrian and Lebanese families’, launched by Prime Minister Najib Miqati,” a statement released by the donor countries read. The donor countries also welcomed “the formalization of a ministerial committee established to address the challenges presented by displaced Syrians in Lebanon.”The countries also said they “undertook to consider and review the government’s plan,” and pledged to enhance their support to Lebanon.More than 125,000 Syrian refugees are registered with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees in Lebanon; however, some activists say the actual number of people is much higher.According to UN figures, more than 20,000 Syrian refugees are estimated to arrive every month in Lebanon.-NOW Lebanon

Lebanese cabinet to help Syrian refugees, premier says
December 3, 2012 /Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Miqati on Monday said his cabinet had developed a comprehensive strategy to help Syrian refugees in Lebanon. “The cabinet has put [together] a clear plan that explains the various needs of ministries and committees concerned in helping Syrian refugees,” Miqati said during a meeting with the representatives of donor countries engaged in helping Syrian refugees.Miqati also said that Lebanon cannot bear responsibility for the Syrian refugees alone, and asked donor countries to cooperate with his cabinet “to face the situation together.” Meanwhile, Social Affairs Minister Wael Abu Faour said the Lebanese cabinet “needs a total of $179,276,320 to provide the needs of the Syrian refugees.” More than 125,000 Syrian refugees are registered with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees in Lebanon; some activists, however, say the actual number is much higher. According to UN figures, more than 20,000 Syrian refugees are estimated to arrive every month in Lebanon. -NOW Lebanon

March 14 MPs Make an Exception and End Boycott of Electoral Subcommittee
Naharnet/March 14 opposition alliance lawmakers have decided to attend the meeting of a parliamentary subcommittee studying electoral draft-laws but they will continue to boycott all other legislative activity, media reports said Monday. An Nahar newspaper said that the decision to end the boycott of the committee came following negotiations between Speaker Nabih Berri and his deputy, MP Farid Makari, “to facilitate the discussions on a new electoral law that guarantees the widest representation possible of all Lebanese.” However, the deal was struck on condition that the meeting is held at the residence of one of the March 14 MPs, including the house of Makari in Rabieh, for security reasons after several opposition lawmakers and officials received death threats.
The committee, which is headed by the deputy speaker, includes opposition lawmakers Sami Gemayel, George Adwan, Ahmed Fatfat and Serge Torsarkissian.
Its members from the March 8 majority coalition are MPs Alain Aoun, Ali Bazzi, Ali Fayyad, Hagop Pakradounian in addition to lawmaker Akram Shehayyeb, who belongs to the National Struggle Front of centrist lawmaker Walid Jumblat. According to al-Joumhouria newspaper, Makari will visit Berri in Ain el-Tineh on Monday to inform him about the final stance of the March 14 lawmakers to end the boycott of the subcommittee, which was formed last month to study controversial electoral draft-laws. Several March 14 coalition MPs warned Berri on Friday against a call for a meeting of joint parliamentary committees to discuss the draft-laws, saying such a move would be a “dangerous precedent” in the absence of the opposition. They decided to form a committee to meet with Berri and discuss with him ways to resolve the crisis. But the speaker told al-Joumhouria newspaper on Monday that no request has been made to discuss with him the matter. “When they do so, I will discuss with them the content of the statement they issued,” Berri said.

PSP Delegation, Gemayel Agree on Importance of Resolving Political Crisis
Naharnet /Socialist Party delegation held talks on Monday with Phalange Party leader Amin Gemayel to propose to him an initiative by MP Walid Jumblat to end the ongoing political crisis in Lebanon.
“We have no choice but to discuss the matter with our foes,” Gemayel told reporters after the meeting at the party headquarters in Saifi. He urged officials to reach “practical results” to safeguard the country. Gemayel pointed out that there should be no political boycott as all parties should safeguard the constitutional institutions. “We have agreed on the importance of resuming contacts to achieve the goals that the Phalange party and the PSP agreed on,” he said. The Phalange leader stated that Jumblat's initiative includes several common points, in particular, disassociating Lebanon from the developments in Syria and resolving the social and economy issues. The PSP team has been holding talks with major political figures to propose to them Jumblat's initiative to resolve the country's political crisis.
The assassination of Internal Security Forces Intelligence Branch chief Brig. Gen. Wissam al-Hasan on October 19 deepened the gap between the March 14 and 8 alliances.
The opposition boycotted political activity with its foes after it blamed Prime Minister Najib Miqati's government for covering up the crime, calling on it to step down, and said it would not sit at the same dialogue table with Hizbullah. For his Part, Transportation and Public Works Minister Ghazi al-Aridi said following the meeting in Saifi that the rival Lebanese parties should communicate and resume dialogue to safeguard the country. The officials “that we have met so far reacted positively with our initiative,” al-Aridi told reporters.
He stressed that politicians must reach common grounds to end the political crisis, reiterating that the delegation will meet with all party leaders in the country.
“We need to defuse the tension and halt the strong sectarian rhetoric,” al-Aridi said. He noted that dialogue should resume under the auspices of President Michel Suleiman, saying “We have passed through more difficult situations but we were able to safeguard the country.”The delegation has so far met with Suleiman, Speaker Nabih Berri, Miqati, Hizbullah deputy leader Sheikh Naim Qassem and Free Patriotic Movement chief MP Michel Aoun to suggest a return to dialogue and an end to involvement in the Syrian crisis.

Suleiman Reiterates Army's Role in Preventing Flow of Arms into Lebanon
Naharnet/President Michel Suleiman reiterated on Monday the significant role of the army and security agencies in preventing arms smuggling in Lebanon, the state-run National News Agency reported.
“The army and security apparatus play an important role in preventing the flow of weapons and armed groups,” said Suleiman. Moreover, the president urged political powers in Lebanon to commit to the policy adopted by the government and the national dialogue of dissociating the country from regional conflicts as stipulated in the Baabda Declaration.“Everyone in Lebanon should abide by the policy that calls for dissociating Lebanon from external conflicts,” he added. Suleiman's comments came on the backdrop of an incident on Friday when a group of 21 Lebanese Islamists from Tripoli were killed in an ambush in the Syrian border town of Tall Kalakh. Media reports said that the victims were fighting alongside the Syrian opposition. Heavy gunfire was heard in Tripoli on Friday night between the mainly Sunni Bab al-Tabbaneh district and the neighboring Shiite district of Jabal Mohsen in light of the incident.
Bab al-Tabbaneh has been the scene of deadly clashes with Jabal Mohsen, which supports Syrian President Bashar Assad's regime.

Lebanese army retaliates to shots fired from Syria on Beqaa outpost
December 2, 2012 /The Lebanese Armed Forces said in a statement that one of its outposts came under fire from the Syrian side of the border in the Beqaa Valley, the National News Agency reported on Sunday. In its statement the LAF said that the incident took place “at 6:30 p.m. in Beqaa’s Mashari al-Qaa when shots fired by armed men on the Syrian side of the border hit the outpost.”
It added that its troops retaliated and that no fatalities resulted from the shooting.
According to the statement, calm was restored to the area, while army troops intensified their security measures.
Meanwhile, Al-Manar television quoted sources as saying that “heavy clashes took place between LAF troops and armed men belonging to the rebel Free Syrian Army in Mashari al-Qaa.”
Lebanon’s Syrian border has experienced regular border violations, including shelling and gunfire as well as limited incursions by Syrian troops, while the country’s political landscape is split between supporters of the Syrian regime represented by the March 8 alliance and Western-backed forces associated with the March 14 coalition.
-NOW Lebanon

Killer of Lebanese soldier is weapons dealer, army says
December 3, 2012 /The Lebanese army on Monday said that the man who shot and killed Lebanese soldier Samson Antranikian was involved in smuggling weapons into Syria.
“We discovered that the perpetrator works in the illicit arms trade to and from Syria, and that he has connections with foreign organizations and [other] weapons dealers,” the statement released by the Lebanese army read. The statement also said that “the perpetrator admitted to holding several identity cards, one of which bears the status of a cleric, and that his real name is Hassan Hussein Gharib.”
Antranikian was shot dead in Jounieh in pursuit of a criminal.  -NOW Lebanon


Tripoli’s Salafists
Hazem Saghiyeh/Now Lebanon/, December 3, 2012
The city of Tripoli and parts of Lebanon’s North present us with a bleak, gloomy image, the gloominess being exacerbated by the Syrian army ambush, which led to the death of 25 of the North capital’s natives. Not only are such events likely to stoke the conflict between Bab al-Tebbaneh and Jabal Mohsen, but they also threaten to expand the scope of Salafist and more extremist loyalties.
In reality, the Syrian revolution and solidarity with it have provided a fertile ground for these movements, but their rise as such is linked to older, more complicated reasons.
It would be no exaggeration to say that the Lebanese “law” reigns uppermost among these reasons since the armament of one confession paves the way for arming another one. Furthermore, excessive sectarian loyalties in one confession pave the way for the same behavior elsewhere. Resistance is irrelevant here: We know that Hezbollah armed its own community and drove it on a sectarian track by forming an armed, religious and sectarian party all at once.
It is true that Tripoli’s Salafism has yet to turn into a political project, provided that this is even possible to begin with. Moreover, the armament imputed to it is by no means comparable to Hezbollah’s. However, it is no coincidence that some are interpreting the developments in Lebanon, at least since 2005 and former PM Rafik Hariri’s assassination, as an expression of this thorny path. The main issue, here, is the so-called marginalization of the Sunni community, which is likened to what the Christians endured under the “Syrian tutelage”. It is a well-known fact that this marginalization culminated with the armed invasion of Beirut in May 2008. This goes without mentioning the repercussions of the Damascus regime’s sectarian policies on Tripoli due to its proximity with Syria, which sometimes translated as clashes between Bab al-Tebbaneh and Baal Mohsen.
Still, this only happened once the safety net upon which Tripoli’s inhabitants had been relying crumbled. The Lebanese Armed Forces has but little efficiency, the Palestinian resistance is bygone, and Tripoli’s civil organizations were all but uprooted under the “Syrian tutelage”.
This goes without mentioning Tripoli’s suffering as a result of the leadership void caused by the Future Movement, added to a seasonal reading of politics as being limited to electoral seasons and petty showoff occasions. All of the above completes the economic policy enshrined by late PM Rafik Hariri, which focuses exclusively on Beirut and non-productive or least-productive sectors, thus causing Tripoli’s poor to become poorer and radical tendencies among the city’s inhabitants to thrive. This is manifested especially among youths who are plagued by unemployment and desperately seeking job opportunities, hence their feeling insulted and marginalized both by “Beirut as a bastion of the Resistance” and by “Damascus as a bastion of rejectionism.”
By and large, this paved road leads straight … to Allah.
**This article is a translation of the original, which appeared on the NOW Arabic site on Monday December 3, 2012

Future rally lashes out at Hezbollah
December 03, 2012 /By Antoine Amrieh, Hussein Dakroub/The Daily Star
BEIRUT/TRIPOLI: Future Movement’s speakers blasted Hezbollah Sunday and reiterated March 14 calls for the government’s resignation as the only way to resolve the political crisis during a rally in north Lebanon to commemorate a top security official slain in a car bomb.
Also Sunday, Maronite Patriarch Beshara Rai called for the formation of a new Cabinet and a new electoral law to ensure fair representation in next year’s parliamentary polls, while former Prime Minister Fouad Siniora demanded “a major positive shock” through a government change.
Thousands of March 14 supporters attended the rally organized in the northern city of Tripoli by the Future Movement to commemorate 40 days since Brig. Gen. Wissam al-Hasan, who headed the police’s Information Branch, was killed in a car bomb in Beirut’s Ashrafieh district on Oct. 19.
Ahmad Hariri, secretary-general of the Future Movement, said his party would not rest before the killers of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and Hasan were brought to justice.
“When we demand the toppling of the government, we do so because the government was sponsored by [Syrian President] Bashar Assad, who demanded its formation,” he added. He vowed to avenge Hasan’s killing by defeating the Hezbollah-led March 8 alliance in next year’s parliamentary elections.
“We swear by God the Great that as we have evicted the occupying Syrian regime army [from Lebanon] in 2005 as the price for the blood of martyr Rafik Hariri and his colleagues, the price of your precious blood, our beloved Wissam, will be crushing them [March 8 parties] in the next parliamentary elections,” Hariri said.
Strict security measures were in force in Tripoli, as Army units deployed in different areas, particularly in the Bab al-Tabbaneh and Jabal Mohsen neighborhoods, where armed supporters and opponents of Assad have frequently clashed.
The rally, attended by Future MPs, March 14 politicians and local dignitaries, was held against the backdrop of tensions in Tripoli over the fate of Lebanese Islamist fighters who were reported to have been killed in an ambush by Syrian troops in the town of Tal Kalakh last week.
In addition to demanding the government’s resignation and Hezbollah’s disarmament, Future MPs voiced strong support for the Syrian armed rebellion against the Assad regime.
Future MP Nohad Mashnouq slammed Prime Minister Najib Mikati, accusing him of failing to address security incidents in Lebanon. He also said the March 14 coalition would not return to National Dialogue before the government’s resignation.
“Haven’t you grown tired of half stances and half words? There is no middle-of-the road between a criminal and a victim. Where is the truth and lies?” Mashnouq said, addressing Mikati. “Your only choice is to lift the curtain to a new national scene in which you take the initiative for a neutral government.”
Mashnouq praised President Michel Sleiman’s stances, but stressed that an inter-Lebanese dialogue, which the president had unsuccessfully tried to convene, had not protected the country from political assassinations.
“What has Dialogue achieved for the martyrs?” asked Mashnouq, addressing the president.
“No, your Excellency Mr. President, don’t put us in a corner of Dialogue. We will return to Dialogue only after the resignation of the government of assassination and under one slogan: ‘No arms except under the state’s command,’” he said, referring to March 14 demands for Hezbollah to hand over its weapons to the Lebanese Army.
Mashnouq also vowed to avenge the death of Hasan. “We will avenge you, Wissam, in Lebanon and in Syria,” he said. He added that the Future Movement’s support for the Syrian revolution was not an accusation, but something to be proud of.
He lashed out at Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah for supporting the Syrian regime. He said Nasrallah’s political blueprint contained nothing but “insult, injustice and suppression.”
Tripoli’s Future MP Mohammad Kabbara accused the Mikati government of representing Hasan’s killer, saying its resignation was “a jihadist duty.”
“Bringing down the government is a right which we exercise. It is even a jihadist duty which we must perform,” he said. “Let’s say it frankly and clearly without ambiguity: Our cause is to stop the killing and punish the killers. Toppling the government is a minor detail in the course of punishing the killers.”
Dinnieh/Minyeh Future MP Ahmad Fatfat slammed Hezbollah, accusing it of seeking to put Lebanon under Iran’s influence. “We are facing a dangerous stage, a stage in which they [Hezbollah] will try to impose Iranian tutelage over Lebanon,” Fatfat told the rally.
“But we say that they must realize that Hasan’s martyrdom has opened the battle for Lebanon’s martyrdom. Therefore, we fear only God. We will face them with a civilian resistance. As we have won over Assad in Lebanon, we will win over the Iranian tutelage,” he added.Meanwhile, Rai called for the formation of a new Cabinet and a new electoral law to ensure a fair representation in next year’s parliamentary polls.
Speaking at a Mass at the Maronite patriarch’s seat in Bkirki, north of Beirut, Rai said the new government should act to resolve the deepening socio-economic crisis in the country.
He urged rival leaders to end their political divisions through dialogue, consultations and national reconciliation. “They must begin with drawing up a new election law suitable for a proper representation in Parliament ... and the principles of equal seats in Parliament [between Christians and Muslims] and sound and calm common coexistence,” Rai said.
For his part, Siniora said he reiterated during a meeting with Sleiman Saturday the March 14 position that the formation of a new Cabinet was the key to resolving the political crisis.
“A major positive shock is needed through the formation of a non-partisan government to oversee [next year’s] parliamentary elections,” Siniora told The Daily Star. “The March 14 stance is still the same: No return to Dialogue before a Cabinet change.” Responding to Siniora’s demand, Sleiman told the head of the parliamentary Future bloc that the Constitution did not empower him to change Cabinets and that this matter was left to the parliamentary majority to decide, a political source told The Daily Star.

Assir supporters peacefully rally in Sidon
December 02, 2012/ By Mohammad Zaatari The Daily Star
SIDON, Lebanon: Around 1,500 supporters of Sheikh Ahmad al-Assir rallied peacefully Sunday in the southern city of Sidon amid tight security measures. Addressing those who had responded to his call to rally, the controversial sheikh slammed what he called Hezbollah’s “hegemony” in Lebanon through the force of weapons. “Some people are deliberately trying to create hegemony in Lebanon through their arms,” Assir said. Assir accused Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah and Amal leader Nabih Berri of monopolizing decision-making within the Shiite sect in Lebanon.
“We want to live in peace with all sects, Sunnis, Shiites and Christians,” said Assir. Lebanese Army units deployed from the morning in Sidon amid concerns of security incidents in the coastal city, and strict security measures were implemented to maintain calm ahead of the rally. Interior Minister Marwan Charbel personally headed to the city at around noon and held several meetings.
Before settling at Morjan roundabout crossroad where the two-hour sit-in was held, Assir supporters roamed Sidon streets, raising black flags and cheering slogans against Nasrallah and vowing to get revenge for the death of the three people who were killed in the November unrest in the city, two of whom were Assir’s bodyguards. Some Syrians and youth from the northern city of Tripoli also took part in the rally and cheered slogans against the Assad regime.Vehicles carrying Assir supporters were out in the city of Tripoli over the weekend, with supporters making calls via speaker for residents to gather at the Nour Square in Tripoli and head to Sidon to take part in Assir’s protest. Protestors blocked a secondary road in Sidon after getting permission from the relevant authorities, while the Beirut-South Lebanon highway remained open. The sheikh, a staunch opponent of Hezbollah, has held frequent protests in the city to criticize the Assad regime and the support it enjoys from Hezbollah.
Local media reports said that Sunday’s sit-in is to commemorate the three who were killed during the November unrest in the city. Last month, deadly clashes erupted in Sidon between supporters of Assir and Hezbollah. The clashes raised tension in the coastal city and prompted the Lebanese Army and security forces to expand their deployment in Sidon and take exceptional security measures in the city. Speaking to the Kataeb-run Voice of Lebanon radio station, Interior Minister Marwan Charbel said earlier Sunday that the security forces will do their best to preserve security in Sidon and keep things under control. He stressed that the Army and security forces will deploy heavily in the city to prevent any unrest

Hezbollah: March 14 promotes Israeli demands
December 03, 2012/The Daily Star /BEIRUT: A senior Hezbollah official accused opposition March 14 parties Sunday of promoting the United States’ and Israel’s demands with their repeated calls for the party to hand over its arms to the Lebanese authorities. “The March 14 team is demanding from Hezbollah what America and Israel are demanding. Their speeches outdo the Israeli discourse in allegations, lies and attempts to blackmail the resistance and distort its reputation,” Sheikh Nabil Qaouk, deputy head of Hezbollah’s Executive Council, told a rally in the southern town of Blida near the border with Israel. Referring to parcels of Lebanese lands still under Israeli occupation in the south, he said: “They [March 14 parties] wish that the Shebaa Farms and Kfar Shuba hills are not Lebanese because they do not want the resistance.” Reiterating Hezbollah’s commitment to armed struggle to liberate Lebanese land and defend the country against a possible Israeli attack, Qaouk said: “The price for the March 14 team’s targeting of the resistance is paid by the Arabs. Arab spending is increasing as we approach the parliamentary elections through which they want to regain power and target the resistance.

Assir march peaceful amid tensions, security
December 03, 2012/ By Mohammed Zaatari The Daily Star
SIDON, Lebanon: A rally in Sidon organized by Sunni Sheikh Ahmad Assir took place without incident amid tightened security Sunday, with at least 1,500 protesters marching alongside the preacher. Supporters of Assir marched from the Bilal Ben Rabbah Mosque to the Morjan roundabout in protest against last month’s killing of two of the sheikh’s bodyguards during clashes with members of Hezbollah.
The rally, which kicked off at noon, attracted many people from the Bekaa town of Majdel Anjar and Tripoli.Supporters of Jamaa al-Islamiya also took part in the demonstration.
In a speech at the end of the rally, Assir accused the Lebanese Army of conducting biased investigations based on sectarian identity. Assir also said Hezbollah was using its arms in Lebanon to impose its hegemony over different Lebanese groups.“Some people are deliberately trying to create hegemony in Lebanon through their arms,” he said.
Assir accused Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah and Amal leader Nabih Berri of monopolizing decision-making within the Shiite sect in Lebanon.
Addressing the country’s Shiite community, Assir said: “We want to live in harmony and peace together. Tell me of one incident in which we attacked the Shiites.”
“We honestly want to live in peace with all sects, Sunnis, Shiites and Christians, and I am surprised how some believe this is impossible.”
During his speech, Assir praised the families of men from Tripoli who were reportedly killed by the Syrian regime army in the Syrian town of Tal Kalakh over the weekend.
Assir said he was still against any Lebanese intervention in the Syrian conflict. “We heard recently from some media outlets and political parties that Lebanese fighters were killed in Syria, [the media is] trying to make us forget what Hasan Nasrallah and his shabbiha did in Syria.”
“We believe that whoever first opened the door [to Syria] by backing the murderer and oppressor Bashar Assad is to be blamed,” Assir added.
“I repeat again: We do not have any interest in taking part in the fight [in Syria] but there is a difference between those who stand by the oppressor and murderer Bashar and those who stand by Hamzeh Khatib and Talal al-Malouhy,” Assir said, referring to the 13-year-old Syrian boy who was killed in custody last year and the 21-year-old Syrian woman who has been imprisoned since 2009.
Lebanese Army units deployed Sunday morning amid concerns of possible violence during the rally.
Interior Minister Marwan Charbel went to the city at around noon to hold several meetings, and strict security measures were implemented ahead of the rally in order to maintain calm.
Speaking to the Kataeb-run Voice of Lebanon radio station, Charbel said security forces were on high alert throughout the day Sunday to ensure the protest was carried out peacefully.
Before stopping at the Morjan roundabout where the two-hour sit-in was held, Assir supporters marched through Sidon’s streets, raising black flags and shouting slogans against Nasrallah and vowing to avenge the deaths of Assir’s supporters. Some Syrians and youth from the northern city of Tripoli also took part in the rally and chanted slogans against the Assad regime.
Assir supporters had taken to the streets of Tripoli over the weekend, using loudspeakers to encourage residents to gather at the city’s Nour Square before traveling together to Assir’s protest.
Demonstrators blocked a secondary road in Sidon after getting permission from the Interior Ministry, while the Beirut-South Lebanon highway remained open.
The sheikh, a staunch opponent of Hezbollah, has held frequent protests in the city to criticize the party and the Assad regime.Local media reports said that Sunday’s sit-in was to commemorate three men who were killed during the November clashes between Assir and Hezbollah supporters. Two bodyguards of Assir and an Egyptian bystander were killed and at least five others wounded.
The violence erupted after Assir and his supporters attempted to remove a billboard with a photograph of the Hezbollah leader in the Taamir neighborhood on the outskirts of Ain al-Hilweh refugee camp.

Israeli forces kill axe-wielding Palestinian
December 3, 2012 /Israeli forces from the Shin Bet internal security agency shot dead a Palestinian in the West Bank on Monday after he rammed their car and attacked them with an axe, the intelligence agency said. "During the course of Shin Bet operations in the Deir Sharaf area, a Palestinian vehicle rammed into a military jeep. After the deliberate hit, the jeep flipped and its occupants were all lightly injured," the agency said. "Shortly afterwards, the Palestinian driver got out of his vehicle and approached the jeep wielding an axe and shouting Allahu akbar," it said in a statement.
"He injured two of the people in the jeep with the axe. One of the Shin Bet agents fired at the terrorist and killed him."
The agency said "preliminary information" suggested the man was from a village in the northwest of the West Bank, near the city of Tulkarem.
Earlier, Israeli police had said the jeep was carrying Israeli soldiers. Palestinian security sources said they had been informed of the incident, but the area where it took place had been declared a closed military zone. They identified the man as Hatem Shabib, from a village near the northern West Bank city of Tulkarem.
-AFP

US “strongly warns” Assad over chemical arms
December 3, 2012 /US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Monday issued a "strong warning" to the regime of Bashar al-Assad over the potential use of chemical weapons against the Syrian people.
"This is a red line for the United States," Clinton said after meeting Czech Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg.
"Once again we issue a very strong warning to the Assad regime that their behavior is reprehensible. Their actions against their own people have been tragic," she added.
"I'm not going to telegraph in any specifics what we would do in the event of credible evidence that the Assad regime has resorted to using chemical weapons against their own people, but suffice it to say that we're certainly planning to take action if that eventuality were to occur.”"There is no doubt that there is a line between the horrors that they [the Assad regime] have already inflicted on the Syrian people and moving to what would be an internationally condemned step of utilizing chemical weapons," Clinton said, without providing further details on the nature of the planned action.
The warning came as the New York Times reported Monday that the Americans and Europeans had sent warnings via intermediaries to the Syrian regime after detecting movement of chemical weapons by the Syrian military in recent days. "The activity we are seeing suggests some potential chemical weapon preparation," one US official told the daily, which added that the activity over the weekend has set off a flurry of emergency communications among the Western allies. NATO is preparing to meet on Tuesday for two days of talks, with the brutal conflict in Syria set to top the agenda.
On Sunday, a senior US State Department official told reporters travelling with Clinton that Washington was "hopeful that NATO will be in a position to respond positively and agree to help Turkey bolster its air defenses" by approving Ankara's request to deploy Patriot missiles on the border with Syria. "If NATO takes a positive decision to do it... I think it would still probably be at least a matter of weeks," the official said, asking to remain anonymous, as Clinton arrived in the Czech Republic on the first stop of a five-day Europe trip.The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says more than 41,000 people, including thousands of infants, children and women, have perished since the uprising against Assad's regime erupted in March 2011.-AFP

Syria says will never use chemical arms against own people
December 3, 2012 /Syria will "never, under any circumstances," use chemical weapons against its own people, a Foreign Ministry official insisted on Monday. "In response to the statements of the US foreign minister, Syria confirms repeatedly it will never, under any circumstances, use chemical weapons against its own people, if such weapons exist," he said, quoted on state television. After a New York Times report over detected movement of chemical weapons by the Syrian military, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton issued a warning to Damascus on Monday. "This is a red line for the United States," she said on the eve of a NATO meeting in Brussels. "Once again we issue a very strong warning to the [President Bashar al-] Assad regime." A US official told The New York Times: "The activity we are seeing suggests some potential chemical weapon preparation."The unnamed Foreign Ministry official in Damascus insisted his country was "defending its people by fighting terrorists linked to Al-Qaeda" and accused the United States and other "known countries" of backing the jihadists.Syrian authorities and state media have labeled all armed opposition fighters as foreign-backed terrorists since the uprising against Assad's regime broke out in March 2011.-AFP

Egypt judges up political stakes with referendum boycott
December 3, 2012 /A man sitting on the steps of the Supreme Constitutional Court holds up a picture of President Mohamed Morsi during a protest in support of Egyptian leader.
Egyptian judges refused on Sunday to oversee a referendum due in less than two weeks on a controversial new constitution drafted by an Islamist-dominated panel, sharply upping the stakes of a standoff with the Islamist president.The announcement by the Judges Club, which represents judges nationwide, came after Egypt's top court began an open-ended strike in the face of a mass protest outside the courthouse by supporters of President Mohamed Morsi opposed to their ruling on the legality of the panel that drew up the draft charter.
Judges traditionally supervise elections in Egypt, giving them a seal of legitimacy, but they have been openly at loggerheads with Morsi since he issued a decree last month placing both his decisions and the charter panel beyond their scrutiny. The standoff has polarized Egyptian opinion and sparked the biggest political crisis since Morsi assumed power in June as the country's first ever civilian president and its first elected leader since the overthrow of veteran strongman Hosni Mubarak in a popular uprising early last year.
"It has been agreed by all the judges of Egypt and the Judges Clubs outside the capital not to supervise a referendum on the draft constitution and to boycott it," the head of the Judges Club, Ahmed al-Zind, said. The charter, adopted by the panel on Friday in the face of a boycott by liberals and Christians, has been criticized for paving the way to a strict interpretation of Islamic law and for failing to secure key rights. It is due to be put to a referendum on December 15 under an accelerated timetable for a transition to a new political system being championed by Morsi and his Islamist backers in what they say is an effort to turn the page on the turmoil since Mubarak's overthrow.
A judicial boycott of the referendum could further cast doubt on its legitimacy as the opposition prepares to escalate protests against the charter and Morsi's adoption of sweeping powers that critics describe as dictatorial. Morsi's supporters accuse the judges of being elitist holdouts from the Mubarak era and of standing in the way of public support for the Islamists expressed in repeated votes since the strongman's ouster early last year.
"The will of the people is stronger than the will of a few judges," said Ismail Ahmed, 39, as he joined protesters outside the Supreme Constitutional Court ahead of its threatened ruling on the charter panel.
A senior Islamist who helped draft the new constitution attacked the constitutional court as "highly politicized" and said liberal opponents had been unwilling to compromise on the charter.
Amr Darrag of the Freedom and Justice Party, political arm of the Muslim Brotherhood, insisted that "the amount of freedoms in terms of rights and freedoms for people, for minorities... are unprecedented in this constitution." He said women were guaranteed equal rights by the charter, adding that the constitution's role was not to change culture. "[This is] a culture not willing to have a woman as a president," he said, referring to a newspaper poll. Hundreds of thousands of Islamist protesters gathered on Saturday in support of Morsi, his sweeping powers and the draft constitution, a day after crowds thronged to Cairo's Tahrir Square to denounce his "dictatorial" decree. The Supreme Constitutional Court said it would "suspend work for an indefinite period... and until there is no more psychological and material pressure."Hundreds of pro-Morsi demonstrators blocked off a main road that runs along the Nile to the courthouse and surrounded entrances to its precincts.The judges responded by calling an "administrative delay" to Sunday's session, prompting the protesters to head home from the courthouse, an AFP correspondent reported.A ruling by the court on Sunday would have defied Morsi's presidential decree that barred any judicial body from dissolving the constituent assembly.The November 22 decree sparked popular unrest, with the constitution, which had been due for more deliberation, being rushed through days later.The National Rescue Front—a coalition of Morsi opponents led by Mohamed ElBaradei, the former UN nuclear watchdog chief; ex-Arab League chief Amr Mussa; and former presidential candidate Hamdeen Sabbahi—has urged its supporters to keep up the momentum of the protest movement. They called for a mass rally outside the presidential palace on Tuesday to protest against the referendum, the constitution and Morsi's new powers, in a march they dubbed "the final warning.”-AFP

US steps up spying on Iran's nuclear reactor, report says
December 3, 2012 /The reactor at Iran’s Bushehr nuclear plant, which the US is reportedly increasingly spying on. (AFP/Mehr/Majid Asgaripour)
US intelligence agencies have significantly stepped up spying operations on Iran's Bushehr nuclear reactor prompted by concerns about the security of weapons-grade plutonium there, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday.Citing unnamed US officials, the newspaper said the increased US surveillance of Bushehr has been conducted in part by US unmanned drones operating over the Gulf.
The effort resulted in the interception of visual images and audio communications coming from the reactor complex, the report said.Iran says its nuclear program is peaceful but many in the international community suspect its real aim is to develop nuclear weapons.The UN Security Council has imposed four rounds of sanctions on Iran which have been augmented this year by painful Western restrictions on its vital oil exports, leading to serious economic problems.Tehran suggested that a US drone was spying on Bushehr on November 1 when it sent Iranian fighter jets to pursue the unmanned craft, firing at it but missing, the US paper said.But according to US officials, the drone was conducting surveillance that day, but not on Bushehr, The Journal said.The stepped up surveillance came after the US government became alarmed over activities at Bushehr, especially the removal of fuel rods from the plant in October, just two months after it became fully operational, the paper said. Tehran formally protested the Pentagon's spying activities in a November 19 letter to United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, The Journal said.The complaint charged that the United States has repeatedly violated Iranian airspace with its drone flights, according to the paper.AFP

Erdogan, Putin and Syria
By Tariq Alhomayed/Asharq Al-Awsat, the
Today, Russian President Vladimir Putin is scheduled to arrive in Istanbul where a number of economic agreements between the two countries will be signed. Of course, the issue of the Syrian crisis will be a prominent subject of discussion in the meeting between the Turkish Prime Minister and the Russian President, so should we be expecting, or waiting for, a change in the Russian stance towards the Syrian revolution?
Nothing is certain; all we have to go on are leaks and indications. For example, the Russian Ambassador to Ankara recently said that his country wants to move on from the incident when a Syrian plane, suspected of transporting Russian weapons to the al-Assad regime, was forced to land in Turkey in October, saying that “the sooner we overcome this infamous incident the better!”. Of course the question here is: Better for whom? Would it be better for Turkey, with its security, politics and economy that are being adversely affected by the Syrian crisis? Or would it be better for Moscow, which has gone to great lengths to indulge in the Syrian bloodshed, from supporting al-Assad with arms to using its veto at the UN Security Council? It is in Turkey’s interests for its Syrian neighbor to be secure and peaceful, and this will only be achieved by putting an end to al-Assad’s crimes and honoring the desire of the Syrian people, more than 40,000 of whom have now fallen victim to the al-Assad regime. It is not immediately clear or understandable what Russia stands to achieve from endorsing a man who kills his own people, the tyrant of Damascus, especially as the battle has now reached the Syrian capital Damascus, not just the outskirts of the city. It is clear that the Syrian revolutionaries want to overthrow the regime directly, not just capture cities, and the reality on the ground dictates that Russia’s interests in al-Assad's survival, whatever they might be, have become threatened, especially as the battle is beginning to surround the tyrant. If it was simply a matter of political cost then Russia would certainly pay a very low price at the moment, given the developments on the ground, and thus Russia’s interests are incomprehensible, especially with its excessive defense of al-Assad.
Highly informed sources have revealed that the Russians are saying they are now in a stage of re-evaluating their stance towards Syria, and Bashar al-Assad, and this is something that they have alluded to in several recent meetings in the region. This is also what Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is striving to achieve, having indicated his desire to exert efforts to convince the Russians to amend their stance towards Syria. Erdogan said: “Putin arrives in Turkey on Monday… We are going to discuss this question in depth", suggesting that the cards are in Russia’s hands. He went on to say: “If Russia shows a more positive position, that could push Iran to re-examine the situation”. On the other hand, Arab parties concerned with the Syrian issue say that they are no longer interested in Russian statements and hints, or even promises. According to what I heard from one figure, who is influential in Syrian affairs, talking about the Russian stance, he said: “we are beyond the phase of paying attention to words, we are now in the phase of actions”. However, if Russia adopts a clear and explicit stance then of course every action has a reaction. The reason that those concerned with the Syrian issue are adopting this kind of language now stems from the course of events on the ground in Syria. Will Erdogan succeed in waking the Russian bear from its slumber, and convince it that it is losing more and more each day from its intransigent position on Syria? We will see.

Washington heading towards fundamental changes?
By Emad El Din Adeeb/Asharq Alawsat
http://www.asharq-e.com/news.asp?section=2&id=320
I believe that US-Israeli relations will soon take a difficult turn at the beginning of next year, after President Obama is sworn in officially on 20 January.
Indications of this transformation stem from four key positions:
First: the fact that there has been no meeting between Obama and Netanyahu for an unusual amount of time in relations between Washington and Tel Aviv.
Second: The US administration has begun looking to select a high level political personality to succeed Hillary Clinton in the US Secretary of State position. It has been said that among the most important attributes of the new candidate is the ability to confront the intransigence of the Netanyahu government.
Third: There is talk about appointing an alternative diplomat to Susan Rice, the current US envoy to the UN, after her failure to handle her portfolio and with the US role being limited in recent years to using its veto power or resorting to diplomatic clashes with others.
Fourth: The Secretary of State’s decision and the comments from the White House the day before yesterday, regarding the Netanyahu government’s insistence to continue with its settlement policy, saying that it completely damages the possibility of continuing serious negotiations with the Palestinians.
There are rumors that the US administration is attempting to market Ehud Olmert as an alternative to Benjamin Netanyahu, as a man who would be able to negotiate with Mahmoud Abbas and the Palestinian Authority, and open the door with Hamas.
Olmert recently told CNN of his support for Palestine to become a so-called “observer state” at the UN General Assembly, which was an encouraging sign for the Obama administration.
Traditionally speaking, the US President is better equipped to adopt stronger positions in his second term, especially with matters relating to Israel.
In Reagan’s case, his stance became stricter after the invasion of Lebanon, although in the case of Nixon, he didn’t get to achieve his dream of a second confrontation because he did not complete his second term.
As for President Clinton, he oversaw the greatest American document, speaking about the future of the Palestinian state and Jerusalem, in December 2000, 50 days before the end of his second term.
Israel must reconsider the man it wants for the coming stage: Netanyahu or Olmert?
The US administration must also choose what it wants; a vocal position but one that does not transfer words into action, or one that actively encourages the completion of the two-state project along the 1967 borders?