Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources for December 22/12
Tougher EU sanctions against Iran come into force
Iran defense minister says NATO missiles harm Turkey security
India to cut Iran oil imports 2013/14-sources
Pope Benedict signals inter-religion alliance against gay marriage
The Minister of Public Safety announces changes to Criminal Code list of terrorist entities
Israel complains to U.N. about rearming by Hezbollah
Russian forces take Syrian chemical, biological weapons under control
Russia says neither side will win Syrian civil war
Obama nominates Kerry for Secretary of State
World’s second-oldest Bible fragment posted online
US, Russia agree on end to Assad's rule'
Video shows 'Assad troops firing Scud'
Mob in Pakistan kills man who burned Koran
Egypt's constitution seen passing in referendum
Suspected Al-Qaeda gunmen kidnap 3 foreigners in Yemen
Egyptian actress says defamation verdict victory for "state of law"
Syria Rebels Warn of Attack against Hama Christians
Rebel Attack Cuts Damascus Power
Egypt VP Mekki Resigns, Says Politics Doesn't Suit
Syria Opposition Contradicts U.N., Says Conflict not Sectarian
Damascus Car Bomb Kills 5, Wounds Dozens
Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea: March 14 officials’ lives still at risk
Harb upbeat about ending elections law impasse
Syria Returns 3 More Slain Islamists as Families Claim Several Missing
Suleiman Calls on Officials to Commit to Baabda Declaration
Report: Syrian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Makdissi Present in Lebanon
Patriarch Beshara Rai to call Bkirki meeting on Electoral Law
Report: Turkey Suspects Lebanese, Palestinian Monitoring Defected Syrian Cleric
Arslan Warns of Syrian Turmoil Spilling over into Lebanon, Urges Officials to Safeguard Country
No Threat in Suspicious Car Spotted Near ex-MP Eid's Residence in Akkar
Shehayyeb Says Only 'Political Decision' Sets Electoral System
Hariri praises Lebanese on Christmas, New Year

Iran' Mullahs Is the Arab's Enemy not Israel
Elias Bejjani/It is time for the Arab world to admit that Israel is not the enemy, but the Iranian terrorist regime. Iran's Mullahs threaten the Arab countries, especially the Gulf ones with their own existence, identity, resources and freedom. Unless the Arab see this actual reality and act accordingly, Iran will and shall occupy all their countries

Patriarch Beshara Rai to call Bkirki meeting on Electoral Law
December 22, 2012/By Hasan Lakkis The Daily Star
BEIRUT: Patriarch Beshara Rai will convene the Bkirki Committee after the Christmas and New Year holidays to reach an agreement among rival Maronite leaders on a new electoral law, committee sources said Friday.
Rai’s call emanated from his concern to break the current deadlock and divisions among Christian politicians on a new electoral law, a committee source told The Daily Star.Unlike previous meetings, Rai is expected to participate in the committee’s discussions out of his concern for the need for Christian leaders to agree on a law that ensures sound Christian representation in Parliament and gain the approval of the other major political parties, the source said. The Christian parties are split in their support for different proposals for a new law presented by the Lebanese Forces, the Free Patriotic Movement and the Orthodox Gathering, in addition to the government’s draft law based on proportional representation system with 13 medium-sized electoral districts. March 14 Christian parties have rejected proportional representation and proposed an electoral law based on 50 small districts.
The Bkirki Committee earlier this year produced a draft law calling for small districts and proportional representation, after the Orthodox Gathering urged the adoption of an electoral law that would allow every sect to elect its own MPs, based on a nationwide district. The Bkirki Committee will discuss various proposals, including a draft law presented by the Fouad Butros Committee, which stipulates the adoption of proportional representation, the source said. He added that Rai’s insistence on an agreement was based on his conviction that elections based on the 1960 law would not take place and that failure to hold the elections would plunge the country into an even worse political and security situation. The 1960 law, which was used in the 2009 parliamentary elections, adopts the qada as an electoral district and is based on a winner-take-all system.
However, LF MP Antoine Zahra said his party has yet to receive Rai’s invitation for the Bkirki Committee meeting. He said once the LF has received the invitation, it would study it and take the appropriate decision.
In tandem with the Bkirki Committee’s planned meeting, contacts between Speaker Nabih Berri and March 14 parties aimed at resuming meetings of a parliamentary subcommittee on a new election law have not reached a dead end, the source said. On the contrary, some information indicates that the contacts have made a major progress in this regard, he added.
Commenting on media reports that March 14 parties have agreed to Berri’s proposal for the subcommittee to meet in Parliament before or after the New Year holiday and for March 14 MPs to stay in a nearby hotel, Zahra said: “We have not so far taken a decision ... we’re still engaged in consultations.”
Beirut MP Jean Ogassapian, a member of the Future parliamentary bloc, doubted that a subcommittee meeting would achieve anything.

Hariri praises Lebanese on Christmas, New Year
December 22, 2012/ The Daily Star
BEIRUT: Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri congratulated Saturday the Lebanese on the upcoming Christmas and New Year holidays.In a statement from his office, Hariri also expressed hope the New Year would bring with it an end to the “country’s suffering and consolidate the unity of the Lebanese people.” Hariri, who heads Lebanon’s Future Movement, also wished the holiday period would provide an occasion to show more solidarity with the Syrian people, “especially the refugees who came seeking shelter in Lebanon.”

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea: March 14 officials’ lives still at risk
December 22, 2012/The Daily Star /BEIRUT: Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea said Friday evening that officials in the March 14 coalition were still in danger and reiterated his claims that the March 8 alliance was responsible for assassinations in the country. “Serious threats against some March 14 dignitaries and leaderships are ongoing,” said Geagea at a dinner in Maarab on the occasion of the Christmas holiday, according to an LF statement. However, the leading opposition figure said the threats would never succeed in intimidating his group. “Seven years ago we weren’t scared and we will never be,” said Geagea, referring to the period of assassinations and assassination attempts in Lebanon between 2004 and 2008. Fears of a return to that period in Lebanon’s history intensified in October of this year after the assassination of Brig. Gen. Wissam Hasan, who was killed in a car bombing in Beirut. The March 14 coalition repeatedly claims their members’ lives are at risk and has called for an end to the political assassinations in the country. The LF leader also accused the March 8 alliance of resorting to political assassination in light of the repercussions of regional developments on the group. “We are at a stage of great confrontation linked to regional developments and the March 8 coalition is aware of the importance of such developments and this is why it is resorting to the method of assassinating political figures,” Geagea said.  Geagea has repeatedly blamed the Hezbollah-led March 8 team and the regime of President Bashar Assad of being behind political assassinations in Lebanon.

Report: Syrian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Makdissi Present in Lebanon
Naharnet/ Syrian foreign ministry spokesman Jihad Makdissi is currently residing in Lebanon, OTV channel reported on Saturday, after media speculations over his whereabouts. According to the channel the Syrian official hasn't formally defected the Syrian regime. OTV reported that there is no restriction on Makdissi's movement in Beirut.
On December 3, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the spokesman had been "pressured by people inside the presidential palace, but not the president himself, to resign" and had traveled to London with his family. However, in the first reaction from Damascus regarding the information that surfaced about a possible defection by the longtime loyalist to President Bashar Assad, Syrian pro-government daily al-Watan said on December 11 that Makdissi has taken sanctioned leave for three months.A native Arabic speaker and fluent in French and English, Makdissi conducted his thesis in London while working for the Syrian embassy.
The Christian native of Damascus was called back to the Syrian capital soon after an uprising against Assad broke out in March last year to assume the post of foreign ministry spokesman.
He later relocated his wife and two children to Beirut, where he would visit them on the weekends.

Suleiman Calls on Officials to Commit to Baabda Declaration
Naharnet/President Michel Suleiman stressed on Saturday the importance of committing to the Baabda declaration to triumph over the developments that the region is passing through. “Disassociating (the country) from the turmoil in neighboring countries is the only way to prevent Lebanon from being affected by the negative repercussion in the region,” Suleiman said after meeting with security delegations at the Baabda Palace. In the Baabda Declaration, 16 political leaders from both the March 8 majority coalition and the March 14 opposition agreed to avoid rhetoric that fuels sectarian incitement. They also pledged to consolidate stability to prevent the country from descending into strife. Suleiman praised the efforts exerted by security leaders to safeguard Lebanon. The president pointed out that the “region is passing through a delicate stage and is rewriting its history.”He called on the Lebanese to preserve the security situation in the country to overcome any obstacles and reach stability. Army chief Gen. Jean Qahwaji, Internal Security Forces chief Maj. Gen. Ashraf Rifi, General Security chief Brig. Gen. Abbas Ibrahim at the head of delegations representing their institutions congratulated separately Suleiman on the holidays season.

Syria Returns 3 More Slain Islamists as Families Claim Several Missing
Naharnet/Syrian authorities handed over Lebanon on Saturday three more bodies of Salafists killed in an ambush by regime troops in Tall Kalakh last month, in the third and last round of transfer of corpses from Syria.
The bodies of Malek al-Hajj Deeb, Abdul Hakim Ibrahim, and Hussein Srour were transferred from Syria through the Arida border crossing in northern Lebanon.
The corpses were delivered to their families for funeral prayers at al-Taqwa mosque in the northern city of Tripoli after noon prayers.
Last Sunday, the bodies of four fighters, including a Palestinian, were transferred to Lebanon, and the week before it the corpses of three Salafists were delivered to their relatives.
While there is still discrepancy on the number of fighters who infiltrated Tall Kalakh to fight alongside the rebels, media reports have said that several of them sought refuge with the rebel Free Syrian Army while around three others were arrested by regime troops and will be tried in Damascus.
The spokesman of the families of the fighters, Sheikh Mohammed Ibrahim, told MTV and LBCI that several of the fighters haven't returned to Lebanon, including Hassan Srour, who was held captive by regime troops, while another identified as Mohammed al-Rifai is missing.
The Syrian authorities are only handing over the bodies of men who have been identified following DNA tests, Ibrahim said. He insisted however to transfer all the corpses to allow the Lebanese authorities to identify the men. A delegation from Dar al-Fatwa headed by Sheikh Mohammed Imam was on hand during the transfer.
“We came hear under the instructions of the Mufti to receive the last batch of the victims' (bodies) to close the page unless otherwise is proved,” he said at the Arida crossing. The National News Agency quoted Imam as saying that it was up to the Lebanese authorities to investigate whether there were more bodies in Syria.

Syria Rebels Warn of Attack against Hama Christians
Naharnet/Islamist rebels warned two Christian towns on Saturday they will be attacked if they do not evict regime forces, as the new Greek Orthodox patriarch said Syria's often-fearful Christians will stay put and urged a peaceful end to the conflict.
Yet a key opposition group said Syria's conflict is not sectarian, contradicting warnings this week by a U.N. team that increasing sectarianism is threatening whole communities.
In a video message to the Hama provincial towns of Mharda and Sqilbiya, one of seven men armed with Kalashnikovs warned residents to expel gangs of (President Bashar) "Assad and shabiha (pro-regime militia) from your towns and convince them not to bomb our villages and families."
"If not, we will immediately attack the hideouts of Assad's gangs and shabiha," added the man, who identified himself as Rashid Abul Fida, head of the al-Ansar Brigade in Hama.Syrian Observatory for Human Rights director Rami Abdel Rahman said Mharda and Sqilbiya both had pre-war populations in the tens of thousands but that most of their residents have already fled.
As the news circulated, Syria's new Greek Orthodox leader called in Damascus for Christians to remain in the country despite the conflict.
Patriarch of Antioch and All the East Yuhanna X Yazigi also appealed to warring parties to renounce violence "in all its forms" and to start a process of dialogue.
In his first press conference since succeeding Ignatius IV Hazim, who died on December 5, he said: "We Christians are here in the country and we will stay here.
"We believe that Christ is always present in this region, which is where Christianity was born."
The patriarch sought to downplay dangers faced by Christians. "What is happening to us is happening to others too. We are in the same situation as everyone else, Muslims and Christians, shoulder to shoulder, facing the difficulties," he said. There are some 1.8 million Christians in Syria. Many have remained neutral in a conflict that erupted in March 2011 and has killed an estimated more than 44,000 people. Others, fearing a rise of Islamism, have taken Assad's side.The messages came two days after U.N. investigators described the 21-month conflict as "overtly sectarian in nature."
In response, the opposition Syrian National Council, hit out against the U.N. Commission of Inquiry on Syria, saying the "revolution is neither sectarian nor bloody."
"The only division that Syrian society is witnessing is between a bloodthirsty, oppressive regime... and people calling for freedom and equality," the SNC said.
On Thursday, the commission said the conflict threatened whole communities, and warned that newly formed armed Islamist groups were increasingly operating independently of the main rebel force, the Free Syrian Army.
Fabrice Balanche, director of the French research center Gremmo, says 80 percent of Syrians are Sunnis, around 10 percent belong to Assad’s Alawite community, five percent are Christian, three percent Druze and one percent Ismaili.
Meanwhile, there was no let-up of violence, as a car bomb in the northeast Damascus district of Qaboon killed five people and wounded dozens of others, the Britain-based Observatory said.
And Haidar al-Sumudi, a cameraman for state television was gunned down outside his Damascus home, the broadcaster said.
Elsewhere, warplanes carried out air strikes on several flashpoints, among them the eastern province of Deir Ezzor and Homs in the center of the strife-torn country, said the Observatory.
Despite Syria's raging war, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in Moscow that he believed "no one has an appetite for external intervention" in the country's long-time ally.
"I even have the feeling that they are praying for Russia and China to continue blocking permission for external intervention. Because if there is such a decision, they will have to act, and no one is ready to act."
In Lebanon, German Development Minister Dirk Niebel pledged new funds to boost aid efforts for Syrian refugees streaming and called on Syria's neighbors to keep their borders open to those fleeing.
Agence France Presse

The Minister of Public Safety announces changes to Criminal Code list of terrorist entities
 OTTAWA, December 20, 2012 — The Honourable Vic Toews, Canada’s Minister of Public Safety, today announced that the Government of Canada has made changes to the Criminal Code list of terrorist entities.
 “The list of terrorist entities sends a strong message that Canada will not tolerate terrorist activities, including terrorist financing, or those who support such activities,” said Minister Toews. “That is why Canada has made the principled decision to add the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Qods Force to the list.”
 The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Qods Force is the clandestine branch of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps responsible for extraterritorial operations, and for exporting the Iranian Revolution through activities such as facilitating terrorist operations. The Qods Force provides arms, funding and paramilitary training to extremist groups, including the Taliban, Lebanese Hizballah, Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command. Earlier this year, under the Justice for Victims of Terrorism Act, the Government of Canada listed Iran as a state that supports terrorism.
 “The listing of terrorist entities facilitates the prosecution of perpetrators and supporters of terrorism and plays a key role in countering terrorist financing,” added Minister Toews. “The Government of Canada remains vigilant against the threat of terrorism and is committed to ensuring that the list of terrorist entities remains current.”
 The Government of Canada has also completed its two year review of the Criminal Code list of terrorist entities. This review found that 43 entities currently listed should remain on the list, and that the Mujahedin-e-Khalq (MEK) should be removed. The United States of America and the European Union have also recently removed the MEK from their terrorist entities list.
 While it is not a crime to be a member of a listed entity, under the Criminal Code, any person or group listed may have their assets seized and forfeited. There may be severe penalties for persons and organizations that deal in the property or finances of a listed entity. In addition, it is a crime to knowingly participate in, or contribute to, any activity of a listed entity for the purpose of enhancing the ability of the entity to facilitate or carry out a terrorist activity. This offence and other related offences are set out, in full, in the Criminal Code.
 The names of listed entities under the Criminal Code can be found on the Public Safety Canada Web site at www.publicsafety.gc.ca under National Security, Listed Entities.
 Information:
 Media Relations
 Public Safety Canada
 613-991-0657
 Julie Carmichael
 Director of Communications
 Office of the Minister of Public Safety

Canada Again Leads UN Condemnation of Iran
Thursday, December 20th, 2012
Islam 101
Canada Again Leads UN Condemnation of Iran
December 20, 2012 - Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird today issued the following statement:
“Today, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Canada-led resolution on the situation of human rights in Iran.
“We are proud of the substantial support that this resolution garnered at the United Nations. The community of nations spoke with clarity of view and purpose to acknowledge what the regime in Tehran consistently denies: its widespread, systematic and egregious human rights violations. This is a clear signal that these violations will not be tolerated.
“The resolution is also important because it reminds courageous individuals and their families, as well as victims of human rights violations, that they have not been forgotten by the international community.
“Canada will not stay silent on these issues. We will continue to express serious concern about the ongoing and pervasive human rights violations in Iran, including the persecution of religious minorities.
“Canada is a vigorous defender of freedom, democracy, human rights and the rule of law around the world, and we will continue to urge the regime in Tehran to uphold its obligations and respect the human rights and fundamental freedoms of all people in Iran.”
Today, the Honourable Vic Toews, Canada’s Minister of Public Safety, announced that the Government of Canada has made changes to the Criminal Code list of terrorist entities to now include the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Qods Force.
For more information, please visit Minister of Public Safety announces changes to Criminal Code list of terrorist entities.
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Where are Iran and Nasrallah?
By Tariq Alhomayed/Asharq Al-Awsat
The Iranians, and Hezbollah of course, did everything to try to take advantage of the eight day war launched by Israel upon the Gaza Strip. They tried to invest in that battle in order to improve their image in the region, especially after the Syrian revolution and their support for Bashar al-Assad, but, only after a short period of time, fate has come to expose Tehran and Hezbollah once again.
The tyrant of Damascus’ forces are bombing the Palestinian refugee camp in Yarmouk with warplanes, as if the Palestinians can be used as firewood in every battle, whether guilty or not guilty. What is this other than trading on the Palestinian cause, and the blood of its people? Indeed, the most prominent traders on the cause and its people are Iran and Hezbollah, along with the al-Assad regime, which is bombing the Palestinians today with warplanes. Yet we do not see Hassan Nasrallah coming out publicly to warn al-Assad against targeting the Palestinians, nor do we see Iranian leaders coming out to say anything, so is spilling the blood of the Palestinians halal [religiously permissible] for al-Assad and only haram [religiously impermissible] for Israel? This is a sad and shameful matter, but fortunately God wants to expose those trading on Palestinian blood, from Iran to Hezbollah and the al-Assad regime along with them, as well as others in the region and some Palestinians themselves.
Therefore, the silence of Iran and Hezbollah, and specifically its leader Hassan Nasrallah, is clear evidence of them trading on the Palestinian cause, not even intervening at the very least to persuade al-Assad not to bomb refugee camps with war planes. Of course we cannot say that the Palestinians must not interfere in the Syrian revolution, or blame them for doing so, and this is for one simple reason. When the al-Assad regime resorts to using the Palestinians themselves in Syria, such as Ahmed Jibril and others, or pushes some of them towards the border with Israel or the Golan Heights in order to divert attention, or when Syria uses the Palestinians in Lebanon, or some factions in Gaza, then the al-Assad regime, Iran and Hezbollah are the ones forcibly drawing the Palestinians into the Syrian revolution. How can this be otherwise when Tehran, al-Assad and Hezbollah have not given the Palestinians any respite, especially over the past ten years, when they have used the Palestinian cause and Palestinian blood in a crude and unjust manner, especially with false, contrived slogans such as opposition and resistance? Hence it is only natural for the Palestinians to come out against al-Assad’s agents, and al-Assad himself.
The truth is that Arab observers do not need any more evidence of al-Assad’s crimes, and how he has exploited the Palestinian cause. However, some Arabs, who have been unaware intentionally or otherwise, now need to pay attention to how Iran and Hezbollah remain silent about the crimes committed by the al-Assad regime against the Palestinians. Despite the fact that what is happening to the Palestinians is very distressing, fate wants to expose the falsehood of the Iranian project in our region. Here we see the allies of Khomeini’s project falling from one trap into another, with their words and actions proving to be false. The simplest example of this is what is happening to the Palestinians in Yarmouk refugee camp at the hands of al-Assad’s forces and planes. Thus, we should ask Hassan Nasrallah today: Was it not said in the days of the recent Gaza war that Iran, Hezbollah and al-Assad would not abandon Gaza? So why is Yarmouk refugee camp being abandoned today as al-Assad’s planes bombard it with fire and brimstone? Is there an answer?

Tougher EU sanctions against Iran come into force
By REUTERS 12/22/2012/
New sanctions include bans on financial transactions, sales of shipping equipment, natural gas imports from Tehran; UK foreign ministry: Int'l community will keep up the pressure until Iran is ready to negotiate in good faith. Photo: REUTERS/Raheb Homavandi BRUSSELS - Rigorous new sanctions against Iran's banking, shipping and industrial sectors took effect on Saturday, as part of the European Union's effort to force Tehran to scale back its nuclear program.The sanctions, agreed in October, entered EU law with their publication in the European Union's Official Journal on Saturday. The toughest EU measures yet, they include bans on financial transactions, sales to Iran of shipping equipment and steel, and imports of Iranian natural gas, adding to earlier bans, including on the OPEC
producer's oil.
They reflect heightened concern over Iran's nuclear goals and Israeli threats to attack Iranian atomic installations if diplomacy and other measures fail to deliver a solution.
Diplomats say they hope talks with Iran can resume in January, but are waiting for an answer from Tehran, which maintains its nuclear program is for purely peaceful purposes.In a statement, Britain's foreign office said there was a clear need "for an urgent solution."
"Iran's leaders know that sanctions are having a significant impact," Britain's Minister for the Middle East and North Africa Alistair Burt said.
"They should be in no doubt that the international community will keep up the pressure until they are ready to negotiate in good faith and take the concrete steps needed to convince the international community that they are not building a nuclear weapon."
The new sanctions mark a significant change of policy for the 27-member bloc, which previously sought mainly to target specific people and companies with economic restrictions.
It has lagged the United States in imposing blanket industry bans because it is anxious to avoid penalizing ordinary Iranian citizens, while punishing the Tehran government.
Sanctions have increasingly inflicted severe pain on the Iranian economy, although the country has years of experience of circumventing them by using front companies and tortuous shipping routes.
The new European measures make clear natural gas shipments are prohibited in any form and swapping, as opposed to simply buying, cargoes is also outlawed.
While imposing a general ban on financial transactions, they make exceptions for those involving humanitarian aid, food and medicine purchases and provisions for legitimate trade.
In a statement, the European Commission said the new law brought the number of entities subject to sanctions to 490 and the total number of persons to 105.
The latest companies added to the banned list include energy and steel distribution firms and financial companies.
The latest individual to be added is Babak Zanjani, owner of the Sorinet Group, based in the United Arab Emirates. He is referred to as "a key facilitator for Iranian oil deals and transferring oil-related money".
Iran says its nuclear project has only peaceful energy purposes and has refused in three rounds of talks since April to scale back its uranium enrichment activity unless major economic sanctions are rescinded.

Israel complains to U.N. about rearming by Hezbollah
Reuters – Thu, 20 Dec, 2012/UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Israel's U.N. envoy urged the Security Council on Thursday to condemn what he described as significant rearming by Hezbollah, saying the Lebanese militant group now possessed an arsenal of tens of thousands of missiles capable of hitting Israel.
Israel's U.N. Ambassador Ron Prosor said in a letter to the 15-nation council that the buildup was in clear violation of a U.N. arms embargo.
Prosor said an explosion in the southern Lebanese town of Tair Harfa on Monday was at a weapons depot.
"This explosion offers yet another reminder to the world about the grave danger before our eyes in Lebanon," he wrote.
"In flagrant breach of (Security Council) resolution 1701, Hezbollah has built its arsenal to unprecedented levels, amassing 50,000 deadly missiles in Lebanon - more missiles than many NATO members have in their possession," he said. "These missiles can reach all of Israel and well beyond."
A Lebanese security source said Monday's blast was caused by a rocket that had been fired into Lebanon during Hezbollah's 2006 war with Israel but which did not detonate on impact.
Israel has long complained that the U.N. arms embargo on Lebanon has been unsuccessful.
"I call on the Security Council and all responsible members of the international community to send a clear signal that Hezbollah's rapid rearmament will not be tolerated - backed by concrete steps on the ground," he said.
"A logical first step is to ensure that Hezbollah is placed on relevant terrorism watchlists in all corners of the globe, including in the European Union," Prosor said.
A Reuters reporter in Lebanon on Monday said members of Hezbollah, the Lebanese Army and around 50 members of the U.N. peacekeeping force UNIFIL were at the site of the blast but that he was prevented from approaching the area. UNIFIL has about 12,000 troops and naval personnel in Lebanon after its expansion under U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701 that halted the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah war in southern Lebanon. The south remains a Hezbollah stronghold. Despite domestic demands for the group to disarm, Hezbollah keeps stockpiles of weapons - including thousands of rockets - saying it will need them in the event of a new war with Israel.
On October 3, three Hezbollah members were killed in an explosion at a weapons warehouse in the town of Nabi Sheet in eastern Lebanon.
(Reporting By Louis Charbonneau; Editing by David Brunnstrom)

Pope Benedict signals inter-religion alliance against gay marriage
By Philip Pullella | Reuters – Fri, 21 Dec, 2012.
VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Benedict, indicating the Vatican's desire to forge alliances with other religions against gay marriage, on Friday said the family was threatened "to its foundations" by attempts to change its "true structure".The pope made his latest denunciation of gay marriage in a Christmas address to Vatican officials in which he blended religion, philosophy, anthropology and sociology to illustrate the position of the Roman Catholic Church. He threw the full weight of his office behind a study by France's chief rabbi on the effects the legalisation of gay marriage would have on children and society.
"There is no denying the crisis that threatens it to its foundations - especially in the Western world," the pope said, adding it had to be protected because it is "the authentic setting in which to hand on the blueprint of human existence". The 85-year-old pope, speaking in the frescoed Clementine Hall of the Vatican's Apostolic Palace, said the family was being threatened by "a false understanding of freedom" and a repudiation of life-long commitment in heterosexual marriage. "When such commitment is repudiated, the key figures of human existence likewise vanish: father, mother, child - essential elements of the experience of being human are lost," the leader of the world's 1.2 billion Catholic said.
The Vatican has gone on the offensive in response to gains for gay marriage in the United States and Europe, using every possible opportunity to denounce it through papal speeches or editorials in its newspaper or on its radio.
RELIGIOUS ALLIANCE
In some countries, the Catholic Church has joined forces at the local level with Jews, Muslims and members of other religions to oppose the legalisation of gay marriage, in some cases presenting arguments based on legal, social and anthropological analyses rather than religious teachings.
Significantly, the pope specifically praised as "profoundly moving" a study by France's chief rabbi, Gilles Bernheim, which has become the subject of heated debate in that country.
Bernheim, also a philosopher, argues that homosexual rights groups "will use gay marriage as a Trojan Horse" in a wider campaign to "deny sexual identity and erase sexual differences" and "undermine the heterosexual fundamentals of our society". His study, "Gay Marriage, Parenthood and Adoption: What We Often Forget To Say", argues that plans to legalise gay marriage are being made for "the exclusive profit of a tiny minority" and are often supported because of political correctness. In his own speech on Friday, the pope, leader of the world's 1.2 billion Catholics, repeated some of the concepts in the Bernheim study, including an assertion that children raised by gay couples would be more "objects" than individuals.
Last month, voters in the U.S. states of Maryland, Maine and Washington state approved same-sex marriage, marking the first time marriage rights have been extended to same-sex couples by popular vote.
Same-sex unions have been legalised in six states and the District of Columbia by lawmakers or courts.
Also in November, Spain's highest court upheld a gay marriage law, and in France the socialist government has unveiled a draft law that would allow gay marriage.
(Additional reporting by Tom Heneghen; Editing by Alison Williams)

Russian forces take Syrian chemical, biological weapons under control
DEBKAfile Special Report December 22, 2012/The chemical warfare threat looming over Syria’s civil war and its neighbors has taken an epic turn with the announcement by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov Saturday, Dec. 22, that “the Syrian government has “consolidated its chemical weapons in one or two locations amid a rebel onslaught and they are under control for the time being.”
He added that Russia, “which has military advisers training Syria’s military, has kept close watch over its chemical arsenal.”
debkafile’s military and intelligence sources report: The Russian foreign minister’s statement was a message to Washington that the transfer of Syria’s weapons of mass destruction to one or two protected sites was under Russian control. This had removed the danger of them falling into the hands of the al Qaeda-affiliated Jabhat al-Nusra ,which had come ominously close Friday, Dec. 21, when the Islamists spearheaded a Syrian rebel assault for the capture of the al-Safira military complex and Bashar Assad’s chemical and biological stores.
Lavrov did not go into detail about how this arsenal was removed and to which locations. But his reference to “Russian military advisers training Syria’s military” clearly indicated that Russian forces were directly involved in removing the WMD out of the reach of the Jabhat al-Nusra terrorists.
His assertion that they were “under control” indicated that Russia was also involved in safeguarding them.
debkafile’s Moscow sources add: Russia’s military intervention in the Syrian civil war achieved four objectives:
1. The prevention of Western or Israel military action for seizing control of Syria’s chemical and biological weapons arsenals;
2. The prevention of Western military intervention in the civil war behind the forces dedicated to the removal of Bashar Assad. The Russian military is now engaged in the dual mission of guarding his WMD arsenal and his regime;
3. The Russian military presence in Syria delivers a heavy swipe to the rebels;
4. Russia’s intervention and military presence have laid the groundwork for Moscow and Washington to work out an accord that will bring Syria’s civil war to an end.
debkafile reported Friday, Dec. 21:
The Syrian Air Force is again firing Scud missiles, this time to stem the general offensive Syrian opposition forces, including jihadis, launched Friday, Dec. 21, to capture the Syrian army’s military-industrial complex at al Safira and the big chemical and biological weapons store adjoining the facility. It is there, that Scud D missiles stand ready for launching, loaded with chemical weapons.

Rebel forces are converging on Al Safira from the east, the west and the south. Among them are brigades of the Jabhat al-Nusra which the US has designated part of al Qaeda in Iraq.
debkafile military sources report extremely heavy fighting. The rebels have reached points 1-2 kilometers from the perimeter walls of the Al Safira chemical weapons stores and are being pounded by Syrian warplanes and assault helicopters as well as Scuds, in a desperate effort to halt their advance.
Success in seizing control of those stores would re-tilt the balance of the war in their favor and bring President Bashar Assad face to face with a decision on whether to broach the perilous dimension of chemical warfare on the rebels or even against NATO or US targets outside Syria.
A prime factor in his decision would be the information received in Moscow and Tehran – and almost certainly passed on to the Syrian ruler – that taking part in the offensive are rebels who underwent training in recent weeks in northern Jordan by US, Czech and Polish officers in tactics for seizing chemical or biological caches and dismantling them.
Russian and Iranian intelligence watchers suspect that elements from all three armies as well as Jordan are present in the rebel assault force, in order to be on the spot when the weapons of mass destruction are captured and appropriate them to forces under NATO command. They must beat Jabhat al-Nusra’s fighting brigades to this target, although at this moment, the jihadis are ahead of the race.
The battle for al Safira has brought US and NATO into direct intervention in Syrian hostilities. Western intelligence services estimate that even if Assad removed some of the banned weapons from this complex, large quantities remain and must be prevented from reaching the wrong hands.

Is the End Near in Damascus?
Jeffrey White and Andrew J. Tabler/Washington Institute
December 21, 2012
On December 20, 2012, Jeffrey White and Andrew J. Tabler addressed a Policy Forum at The Washington Institute. Mr. White is a defense fellow at the Institute and a former senior defense intelligence officer. Mr. Tabler is a senior fellow in the Institute's Program on Arab Politics. The following is a rapporteur's summary of their remarks.
JEFFREY WHITE
Over the past several months, Bashar al-Assad's military position has become increasingly precarious. The regime's defensive capabilities have waned -- it has difficulty holding even the most advantageous positions, and all efforts to roll back opposition forces (using field artillery, airpower, and, most recently, Scud missiles) have failed. YouTube videos show regime forces looking and acting like a defeated army.
Several trends have contributed to this deterioration. First, the rebels have significantly improved their combat capabilities since last winter, allowing them to reduce the regime's presence throughout the country and capture checkpoints, barriers, and police stations. In doing so, they have acquired more arms, ammunition, and combat experience while eroding Assad's ability to control the population. Currently, rebel forces control lines of communication in Idlib, Aleppo, and Raqqa and frequently isolate and harass regime airfields. They have defeated several regime units, contributing to their growing psychological dominance.
Most significant, the rebels are now self-sustaining: they regularly seize antitank weapons, shoulder-fired missiles, rocket-propelled grenades, and other weapons from regime forces, and they appear to replace lost personnel with relative ease. They do not need much if any outside armament; the U.S. debate about whether to send them weapons seems to have been overtaken by events. They do need military aid, however, including training and intelligence.
Second, the regime's military capabilities are declining. Its last large-scale maneuver was in the summer, when it tried to retake Aleppo city and failed -- perhaps the turning point of the war. Today, the army carries out only local operations, many of which are turned back by the rebels. Attrition of regime forces is rapid, with an estimated 1,000 men killed and 4,000 wounded per month for the past five to six months. By contrast, the rebels have lost about 850 men per month and seem better able to replace them. Regime forces appear largely demoralized by repeated losses of long-held positions and lack the will to engage in offensives.
Third, the rebels have nearly closed the operational gap that the regime enjoyed at war's onset, particularly in terms of armor, mechanized infantry, and cross-country mobilization. The air-to-ground gap is likewise narrowing as rebel antiaircraft capabilities improve. The artillery gap has not yet closed, but the rebels are rapidly gaining capability.
Militarily, the regime faces five possible endgames:
Provincial dismantlement, with control falling to the rebels province by province. This process is already underway to a certain degree, though the regime is masking it by maintaining at least a nominal presence in every province.
A chaotic collapse, with the Syrian army simply breaking. The situation is trending in this direction.
Controlled contraction, with the regime falling back to either Damascus or the Alawite heartland in a calculated maneuver. Currently, the regime lacks the capacity to develop and execute this decision.
A rush for the coast, with the regime and its forces fleeing in uncoordinated fashion. There is little sign of this happening.
Full recovery, the most unlikely scenario, with Assad completely reversing the course of the war. There is no indication that the regime is capable of this.
One potential game-changer is Syria's stockpile of chemical weapons. A few weeks ago, the regime seemed to be preparing these weapons for use amid fighting near Damascus. Although Assad has since backed off such activity, the international community should be prepared for the regime to use chemical weapons, whether to terrorize the population in a given area, break the link between civilians and the armed opposition, or tactically change the military situation.
Whatever the case, the regime appears to have only a few weeks left before it collapses. As the end nears, its allies may issue desperate pleas for a UN-brokered ceasefire, but the rebels see absolutely no advantage in that approach and would surely violate any such truce. For its part, longtime ally Russia may abandon the regime and evacuate its citizens. Meanwhile, regime forces will increasingly defect to the rebels, refuse to obey orders, or go rogue, while senior regime officials may defect or flee Damascus as part of an Alawite flight to the coast. The truest sign of the end, though, would be Iranian officials burning files at their embassy in Damascus.
ANDREW J. TABLER
Syria's neighbors currently accommodate 450,000 registered refugees and hundreds of thousands more unregistered. The 1.5 million internally displaced Syrians face a much more dire situation. During my recent visit to the Atmeh refugee camp straddling the Turkey-Syria border, there was little shelter, less food, and no toilets for the 12,000 occupants. Children are dying of disease and exposure -- their needs are outpacing most foreign charity efforts, including aid sent by the Maram Foundation, a Syrian American organization named after a girl paralyzed by shrapnel during the war.
In this sense, the external battle for hearts and minds is already here -- while Washington's ability to send aid has been constrained, Turkey, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia are solidifying their influence. All three Sunni-majority countries hope to shape the outcome post-Assad by reorienting Syria away from their political and sectarian rival, Iran. Meanwhile, in light of American inaction, the rebels are trending toward Islamism and anti-Western sentiment. Formerly open-minded armed groups are growing suspicious of Western journalists, and extremist groups such as Jabhat al-Nusra are becoming more popular. The fact that Nusra's recent designation as a terrorist group preceded official U.S. recognition of the National Coalition of Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces (SOC) only exacerbated the already poor impression of Washington and led to protests against U.S. inaction.
The SOC -- an elected, sixty-five-member council that includes fourteen members from Syrian local councils -- was created in Doha in November, with popular imam Moaz al-Khatib as its president. It has since been encouraged to form committees to address security and humanitarian services in liberated areas. A meeting of military council leaders was also convened in Doha, leading to the creation of the thirty-member Supreme Military Council (SMC) on December 7, headed by former chief of staff Gen. Salim Idris.
Distinct from but related to the SOC, the SMC was intended to coordinate the funneling of weapons to the country's more moderate armed groups. Given the opposition's increasing seizure of regime weaponry, however, the council's purpose is now less clear, as is its ability to corral groups through the provision of arms. Both the SOC and the SMC are steps in the right direction, but despite their initial plans to cooperate, there is little evidence thus far that they will be able to overcome divisions within the opposition.
Some analysts believe that the Obama administration's policy on Syria has been a success -- the Assad regime is about to collapse without any direct American engagement. Still, the struggle over Syria will not be complete for some time. Given the SOC's dubious political clout and the armed opposition's growing prominence, those who are taking the shots against Assad today will be calling the shots once he is gone. In the immediate aftermath of his ouster, Syria might look like it did in 1923, with different sects dominating different areas of the country and major chaos ensuing. Because of its reticence to act, Washington may have lost an opportunity to influence that outcome. Therefore, one powerful reason to provide military assistance to the rebels is to engage with them, gaining knowledge of and leverage with factions that will be key actors in shaping post-Assad Syria.
To be sure, the administration's willingness to send diplomats and development officials into such a situation seems remote in light of the fallout from the tragic death of Ambassador Chris Stevens in Libya. Nevertheless, Washington must engage directly with these armed groups in order to promote U.S. interests in Syria. Rebel commanders visiting border areas present valuable opportunities to discover which factions are amenable to those interests without venturing into more dangerous areas. Washington should also work directly with moderate civilian and armed groups to channel humanitarian and military assistance and increase U.S. influence. Most important, any outreach must be done overtly rather than covertly, so that the United States can get much-deserved credit for engaging positively in Syria.
This rapporteur's summary was prepared by Katie Kiraly.

Between Nuclear Iran and the Arab Street: The GCC Summit in Bahrain
Simon Henderson/Washington Institute
December 21, 2012
Next week's meeting will indicate the regional bloc's competence to handle internal political pressures while maintaining a common front against Iran.
On December 24, leaders of the Gulf Cooperation Council meet in Manama for their annual summit. The political turmoil sweeping the Middle East has yet to claim a casualty among the Gulf monarchies and hereditary sheikhdoms, but the GCC leaders are clearly apprehensive of the future. Bahrain is wracked by Sunni-Shiite tensions that also affect the nearby oil-rich Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia. Kuwait's recent elections were boycotted by voters angry at changes made by the ruling family. And Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and Oman have all acted swiftly to counter online criticism of their political systems.
Established in 1981, the GCC was originally conceived as way for conservative Arab Gulf states to avoid involvement in the Iran-Iraq War, which had begun the previous year and went on until 1988. Iran remains a major concern, and while Shiite-led Iraq is no longer the regional bully it was in the Saddam era, GCC leaders distrust its closeness to Tehran. Even so, despite the summit's likely conversational focus on Iran and differences with the Obama administration over the need for domestic reform, the final communique may well give greater prominence to the Israeli-Palestinian issue, for which there is probably greater consensus among the attendees.
Another likely agenda item of particular interest to Washington is Syria, where Saudi Arabia and Qatar appear to be involved in a diplomatic competition over which armed opposition groups to back. Previously, Qatar (and, to a lesser extent, the UAE) provided airpower, weapons, and military training to rebels fighting the Qadhafi regime -- a tactic that arguably contributed to Libya's current lawlessness and, perhaps, the death of Ambassador Chris Stevens and other U.S. personnel.
One way of judging the summit's importance is to note which leaders actually turn up. King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, a strong supporter of the GCC, just had back surgery and is unlikely to participate. Sultan Qaboos of Oman has one of the poorest attendance records, evidently showing up only if he regards the agenda as particularly important. One key bellwether may be Qatari emir Sheikh Hamad al-Thani, who shares a huge offshore natural gas field with Iran and has long had an awkward relationship with Bahrain. His latest diplomatic focus is next week's visit to the West Bank city of Ramallah -- a trip that will bolster Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas only weeks after Sheikh Hamad undercut him by visiting Hamas-ruled Gaza.
The GCC's most significant action in recent years has been to give the fig leaf of respectability to Saudi-UAE armed intervention in Bahrain during disturbances in March 2011. The council has done little in the way of institutional development, however. At last year's summit in Riyadh, King Abdullah proposed a "Gulf Union" that would bring member states into a confederation, but there is nothing to show for it. Meanwhile, the Saudis have yet to make any advances in their mid-2011 proposal to admit Morocco and Jordan into the GCC. In Jordan's case, Riyadh seems to be keeping Amman at arm's length, in large part by failing to send promised financial support. This has forced Amman to cut subsidies, prompting street protests.
In Washington's view, the GCC is a useful template for training Gulf Arab forces in counterterrorism and improving their military capabilities against Iran. The Manama summit will be a public display of the GCC's self-confidence -- a measure of its ability to function as a regional grouping at a time when pressures for political change are mounting and progress is yet to be achieved in resolving the Iranian nuclear issue.
**Simon Henderson is the Baker fellow and director of the Gulf and Energy Policy Program at The Washington Institute.

World’s second-oldest Bible fragment posted online
By JTA 12/22/2012/
Cambridge digitized a 2,000-year-old fragment of the Bible containing the Ten Commandments, part of the Shema prayer. Photo: Wikimedia Commons The University of Cambridge posted online thousands of pages from fragile religious manuscripts earlier this month. One of the documents scanned and uploaded to the Cambridge Digital Library is the Nash Papyrus, a 2,000-year-old fragment containing the Ten Commandments and part of the Shema prayer discovered in Egypt in the late 19th century.Related: ‘Virtual’ Dead Sea Scrolls: 1.2m. online views in 10 daysGroup launches digital library of Dead Sea ScrollsIt is the world’s second oldest known manuscript containing a text from the Hebrew Bible. The oldest are the Dead Sea Scrolls.
The text is among several important religious documents that were made public in a series of high-quality zoom-friendly images by the Cambridge Digital Library, which draws on the British university's vast collection of manuscripts. It holds one of the world's largest set of medieval Jewish manuscripts.
Also digitized and uploaded last week was the Cairo Geniza Collection, a collection of manuscript fragments that were found in a storeroom in Egypt in the late 1890s and that detail life in a Cairo area Jewish community from the Dark Ages through the 19th century. Genizas house documents forbidden from destruction because Jewish law deems them holy.
"Because of their age and delicacy these manuscripts are seldom able to be viewed — and when they are displayed, we can only show one or two pages," university librarian Anne Jarvis said in a statement. "Now, through the generosity of the Polonsky Foundation, anyone with a connection to the Internet can select a work of interest, turn to any page of the manuscript, and explore it in extraordinary detail."
Other texts posted include the "Codex Bezae," a 5th century New Testament; and the "Book of Deer," a 10th century pocket gospel book about 6.2 inches tall and 4.3 inches wide.

US - Russia reach agreement on al-Assad ouster: Opposition sources
22/12/2012/By Nazeer Rida
Beirut, Asharq Al-Awsat – Senior sources in the opposition Syrian National Coalition have revealed that Moscow and Washington have reached an agreement on the Syria crisis, informing Asharq Al-Awsat that this includes “a settlement regarding the departure of President Bashar al-Assad from power”. However the source added that “sticking points in this agreement include the precise mechanism of al-Assad’s departure and handover of power.”
The source confirmed that this US - Russian agreement which was reached during meetings between officials in Dublin and Geneva last week “stipulates that a settlement has truly been agreed”. The senior Syrian National Coalition source added that these meetings "led to two options being outlined for the Syrian President, namely either that he is a partner in transferring power and enjoys international protection, or the transfer of power is negotiated in his absence and he loses the [international] protection that can be gained by agreeing to a settleme
This information intersects with other information revealed by Syrian National Coalition member Adib al-Shishakli on his Facebook page. Quoting a Russian source, al-Shishakli claimed that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad “has expressed his readiness to negotiate and leave power, accompanied by 142 members of his entourage.”
Speaking exclusively to Asharq Al-Awsat, al-Shishakli revealed that this 142 member entourage “includes 108 military and security figures who are responsible for issuing orders to the armed and security forces to kill Syrians” adding “as for the rest, these are members of the al-Assad family.”
Al-Shishakli stressed that al-Assad was including these figures in the negotiations “with the objective of protecting them from International Criminal Court [ICC] prosecution.”
The senior Syrian National Coalition figure also asserted that “the Russians are now well aware that they are no longer able to protect al-Assad in power, and they have no choice but to lift immunity from him and negotiate with the international community.”
For his part, another Syrian National Coalition member, Walid al-Bunni told Asharq Al-Awsat that Russian – US talks are ongoing with UN envoy Lakhdar Brahimi over the Syrian file. He stressed that “the Syrian opposition will not accept any solution that includes Syrian President Bashar al-Assad remaining in power.”
Al-Bunni said “the Syrian opposition will also not accept any political solution except after the departure of al-Assad, his aides, family and the rest of his regime” adding “the Syrian security apparatus, which has terrorized the Syrian people throughout this period, must also be dismantled.”
Speaking on Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said “we are not concerned about the fate of al-Assad’s regime. We understand what is going on there.” Commenting on this, al-Bunni said “there is a new Russian political approach that is different than its previous approach” adding “this can be inferred from the statements issued by Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov as well as other statements issued after this, particularly those by Putin.”
Speaking last week, Bogdanov told reporters that al-Assad’s forces are “losing more and more control and territory” adding “we cannot rule out the victory of the Syrian opposition.” Speaking on Friday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Russia isn’t a “defender” of Syria’s President al-Assad, adding that Moscow wants to see a democratically elected government in Damascus.
Speaking exclusively to Asharq Al-Awsat, Syrian National Coalition member Walid al-Bunni said “I believe that the Russian viewpoint is in the process of change, after Moscow became aware that the Syrian opposition are making gains on the ground, becoming convinced that al-Assad’s ouster is only a matter of time.”
In a related contact, the opposition Syrian National Coalition described an Iranian initiative to resolve the Syrian crisis as a “desperate attempt to prolong the life of the al-Assad regime.”
Tehran has detailed a six-point peace initiative that does not include the ouster of the al-Assad regime, but instead calls for “an immediate halt to violence and armed action under the supervision of the United Nations.” The Iranian peace initiative also calls for sanctions against Syria to be lifted, the start of a “national dialogue”, the establishment of a transitional government and free elections.
In an official statement, the Syrian National Coalition said “the regime and its allies keep on launching lackluster and overdue political initiatives. The Iranian initiative represents one example of these desperate attempts to throw a lifeline to the inevitably sinking ship of the al-Assad regime.” The statement added “the Iranian regime refuses to believe that what is happening in Syria is a revolution whose goal is liberation from the authoritarian and oppressive regime, and that this revolution is going to achieve complete victory.”

Obama plays with Spider-Man
By Mshari Al-Zaydi/Asharq Alawsat
Some news that appears light and spontaneous on the surface may in fact carry heavy and revealing connotations, albeit in an unintended manner, at least to those retrospectively viewing this news.
In this regard, let us take a look at a picture published on Barack Obama’s Facebook account, in which the US president is seen pretending to be rendered helpless by a pint-sized Spider-Man. This snapshot has met with the approval of many commenters as it demonstrates the president’s softer human side, to the point that many have commented on the humorous nature of this picture.
This picture was taken by official White House photographer Betty Souza, whilst the mini Spider-Man is in fact the son of a White House staffer in fancy dress. The picture catches “Spider-Man” in the process of slinging an imaginary web at the president, whilst Obama, for his part, is playing along, miming being hit by the web. Britain’s Daily Mail, for example, included the following caption to this picture “Gotcha: President Obama pretends to be caught in Spider-Man’s web as he greets the son of a White House staffer in the Outer Oval Office in October.”
The picture was accompanied by the expected funny commentaries, including one commenter who wondered whether Spider-Man was a Republican or Democrat!
I would like to take the opportunity to contribute to these funny comments on this image of the president of the world’s greatest superpower struggling against Spider-Man’s imaginary webs.
The most important question is: did Obama know that this young boy was pretending to be Spider-Man, and that he is really an innocent child who does not truly possess any super-powers? Or did he truly think that he was facing Spider-Man himself, who perhaps was trying to trick the president by appearing in the guise of a small child?
Indeed, who was slinging webs at whom in this picture? Spider-Man or the President? And what Spider-Man are we talking about?
Let us leave Spider-Man aside for a moment, and focus on the very real President Barack Obama. Let us try to understand what superhero role the president, and indeed America itself, is playing, particularly in terms of its dealings with our own region?
I would like to know what Obama really thinks about Iraq’s Nouri al-Maliki, Syria’s Bashar al-Assad or indeed Hassan Nasrallah, Mohamed Mursi and Rachid Ghannouchi.
This is regarding the current situation, but what about the past? How did he view Mubarak, Ben Ali, Gaddafi, Saddam Hussein, Osama Bin Laden and Ali Abdullah Saleh?
How would anybody with superpowers – whether we are talking about a superhero or super villain – view these figures that have been deposed from power, or indeed killed outright?
And how does Obama view their replacements, many of whom have come to power with US encouragement and support?
We have let our imaginations fly thanks to the otherworldly nature of this image of Spider-Man facing off with Barack Obama, but we must return to reality where there are no masked superheroes or indeed super villains. All that remains is the childish naiveté regarding the true consequences of actions.