LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
February 27/2012

Bible Quotation for today/
John's First Letter 1/5-10: "This is the message which we have heard from him and announce to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. 1:6 If we say that we have fellowship with him and walk in the darkness, we lie, and don’t tell the truth. 1:7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ, his Son, cleanses us from all sin. 1:8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us the sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1:10 If we say that we haven’t sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us."

Latest analysis, editorials, studies, reports, letters & Releases from miscellaneous sources
The positive aspects of the Friends of Syria conference/By Tariq Alhomayed/February 26/12
Where are the Arab correspondents in Syria/By Diana Mukkaled/February 26/12

Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources for February 26/12
Netanyahu: UN report proves Iran's nuclear program advancing 'uninterrupted'
Amir Oren / Barak will have to pass an attack on Iran through a reluctant U.S.
Iran military official: Only burning White House can make up for burning Koran
Failure of Red Cross-Damascus talks brings foreign intervention closer
Israel officials: India playing down New Delhi attacks to avoid rift with Iran
Report: U.S. warns Syria's neighbors of rogue WMDs after Assad ouster
Red Cross unable to negotiate evacuation of wounded in Syria's Homs
Israeli Arabs back Assad
ICRC: No Deal on Evacuating Baba Amr Wounded in Syria
Saudi Says Iran Warships Visited for 'Training'
The Sunday Times: Journalist Colvin Killed Trying to Retrieve Shoes
Two Americans shot dead in Afghan Interior Ministry
Al-Qaeda attack overshadows Yemen power transition
Nadim Gemayel: Syria govt uses minorities as human shield
Ban proposes three candidates for replacement of Bellemare
New Commander of UNIFIL Maritime Task Force assumes duties
Mansour to Doha for Jerusalem conference
Unexploded anti-tank missile found northeast of Beirut
Jumblatt: Military intervention in Syria would destabilize Lebanon
Abboud laments drop in Lebanon tourism, but says rebound possible
UNIFIL Maritime Task Force New Commander Commences Duties
To draw Iran into nuclear talks, Obama avoids ousting Assad
Iran declares strategic policy to strengthen Lebanese army
Sleiman: Sectarianism impeding work of state
Israeli Defense Official Warns of 45,000 Missiles Accumulated by ‘Hizbullastan’
Zvi Bar'el / The unsung heroes of the Syrian uprising
Jumblat Describes Assad as ‘Megalomaniac,’ Calls for Arming of Syrian Opposition
Egypt lawyers demand jail for U.S. democracy activists

Failure of Red Cross-Damascus talks brings foreign intervention closer
DEBKAfile Exclusive Report February 25, 2012/ The International Red Cross spokesman in Geneva reported Saturday night, Feb. 25 that talks with the Assad government for evacuating wounded civilians from the bombed Homs district of Baba Amr had “yielded no concrete results.” The evacuations which began Friday were halted after one day. The talks will continue Sunday. debkafile’s military sources report that the regime interrupted the aid operation after deciding it was the opening shot toward implementing the US-European-Arab-Turkish plan for setting up safe havens in badly bombed Syrian regions, thereby removing them from central government control. At the same time, if Assad imagined that keeping the Red Cross out would scuttle the plan, he was mistaken; the longer the talks with the Red Cross are stalled, the sooner this plan is likely to be imposed unilaterally.
Earlier Feb. 25, debkafile reported:
Under the protection of the United States, Turkey, Britain, France, Italy, Qatar and the UAE, the first Red Cross convoys reached Homs Friday, Feb. 24. They began evacuating untreated injured victims and bringing medical aid to the city devastated and beleaguered by Bashar Assad’s troops. This ICRC corridor marked the first step toward foreign intervention in the Syrian crisis.
debkafile’s military sources report exclusively that it came about after Washington and Ankara warned Assad through confidential channels that if his forces interfered with the emergency medical route for Homs, US and Turkish warplanes would take off from air bases in East Turkey and give the medical convoys air cover, thereby opening the door for a Western-Arab plan for resolving the Syrian crisis (which was first revealed exclusively in DEBKA-Net-Weekly 530 out Friday, Feb. 23.)
Assad’s response to the warning is unknown.
Early Saturday, US President Barack Obama delivered his harshest denunciation yet of the Assad regime.
The International community must continue sending the message to Syria’s president to step down, and “use every tool available to prevent the slaughter of innocents. It is time for a transition and time for that regime to move on.”
Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, addressing the Friends of Syria conference in Tunis Friday, said: “I am convinced Assad’s days are numbered, but I regret there will be more killing before he goes.”
Neither spelled out the manner of the Syria ruler’s exit but it was clear from Clinton’s words that Washington did not expect him to go without a fight.
Our intelligence sources report that expectation of international protection for Homs was signified Friday by the insistence of two injured Western correspondents, Paul Conroy of the Sunday Times and Edith Bouvier of La Figaro, that they would only leave the battered city if evacuated by the International Red Cross.
They were injured in the same bombardment of the Baba Amr district of Homs which last week killed Marie Colvin and Remi Ochlik in their clandestine press center.
Conditions of the 20,000 to 30,000 people trapped in Bab Amr are worsening by the hour, the Red Cross spokesman in London reported, as sensitive negotiations take place between the ICRC and the Damascus government. They aim at gaining protection for the city of Homs and an aid corridor through which to evacuate the wounded to Turkey and bring in essential supplies, granting them the status of “safe havens” free of a Syrian military presence.
In the initial stage of this plan, Western officials are talking about cooperation between the Syrian Red Crescent and the International Red Cross. Such cooperation if it took place might signify Assad’s willingness to go along with the international effort – or at least tolerate it without resistance.
The creation of a safe haven in Homs, initially to provide the distressed populations with medical and humanitarian aid, would serve as a precedent for other parts of Syria and obviously diminish the regime’s control over the country. This is clearly more than Assad is willing to accept as of now.
There was no sign of a ceasefire Saturday morning; no letup in Syrian military shelling of Homs or savage assaults in other parts of the country after some 200 deaths were reported in the last 48 hours..A group of Arab medics waiting in Jordan with medical supplies was refused entry to Syria. They declared a hunger strike until the Syrian authorities let them in. The Tunis conference’s formal decisions as articulated by Clinton focused on diplomatic pressure and sanctions for bringing the Syrian ruler to heel. Arab diplomats, led by the Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal, took exception to this line, demanding direct action and a major international effort to arm and reinforce the anti-Assad rebels who are hopelessly outgunned by Assad’s forces.

Netanyahu wants silence on Iran
Ahead of meeting with Obama, Prime minister orders ministers to keep mum on Iran threat
Itamar Eichner /Ynetnews/The quiet before the storm? Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered his ministers to keep mum on the Iran threat ahead of his upcoming meeting with US President Barack Obama, Yedioth Ahronoth reported. On Thursday, Netanyahu instructed all government ministers to refrain from submitting to interviews on the Iran issue, unless they receive a special permit in advance. The PM made it clear that the plethora of recent statements on the issue by Israeli officials and former government members is highly dangerous and ordered them to put an end to it at once. "We must stop this chatter. It causes damage," Netanyahu said. "We should not be providing too much information on this issue." US seeks Israeli pledge  Meanwhile, the prime minister's associates are engaging in contacts vis-à-vis the White House, aimed at drafting a joint Israeli-American declaration on Iran, to be issued in the wake of the Obama-Netanyahu meeting March 5th. Netanyahu wants the statement to include an American declaration that Washington will further tighten the sanctions against Tehran.  US officials are said to be considering Israel's request, but would go ahead with it only on condition that they manage to convince Israel's PM to postpone the option of a military strike on Iran's nuclear facilities. For the Americans, the upcoming summit reportedly has only one main aim: Receiving a Netanyahu pledge that Israel will not be striking Iran in the near future.

Israeli Arabs back Assad
Conference participants: US leads anti-Assad plot, Israel takes pleasure in Syrian deaths
Hassan Shaalan /Ynetnews/Arab-Israelis back Assad: Hundreds of Israeli Arabs and Golan Heights Druze took part Saturday in a conference of solidarity with the Syrian government held in a Haifa theater. Participants in the event claimed that the state of affairs in Syria is in fact a conspiracy led by the United States, Israel and Arab states. The conference was organized by the Popular Committee for Syria's Victory. Knesset Member Issam Makhoul, who also took part in the conference, told Ynet: "The event was held in order to reject the conspiracy taking shape against Syria, with the US leading this move along with Qatar and Saudi Arabia. They wish to sow terror within Syria and hold the regime accountable."'A disgusting game' Addressing a recent conference in Tunisia organized by Assad opponents, Makhoul said the event was the work of "enemies of the Syrian people.""I support a deep reform in Syria and the building of an alternative for dialogue, rather than being dragged into war," he said. "The State of Israel is an important player in this state of affairs and continues to support the bloodshed in Syria."Another participant told Ynet: "The Syrian regime is not responsible for the killing. There is another state that pours weapons into Syria in the aims of killing people and inciting citizens against the regime. This is a disgusting game that supports the interests of the State of Israel, which takes pleasure in seeing the slaughter." Conference participant Muhammad Ouda also dismissed the possibility that President Bashar Assad is killing his own citizens."The whole world needs to understand that the Syrian regime can't be killing its own people," he said.

The positive aspects of the Friends of Syria conference
Asharq Al-Awsat
By Tariq Alhomayed
There are those who were frustrated by the Friends of Syria conference, and even by the manner in which it was organized, but this is not necessarily right, especially if we recall that Syria and the region as a whole is witnessing the operation to pull the most rotten tooth in the entire Arab world, something that cannot happen without surgical intervention or pain.
Those who were frustrated were right to feel this way when listening to the speech made by the Tunisian president on Syria, or due to the fact that Mr. Burhan Ghalioun’s speech was not amongst those broadcast to the public, rather his speech was issued during the closed session of the Friends of Syria conference. However this frustration will lessen when we learn that Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal issued some impromptu comments before delivering his planned speech during the closed session, in which he praised “some” of what the Tunisian president said but “everything” that Burhan Ghalioun had said, describing this as a “strong and expressive” speech. Prince Saud al-Faisal also praised the outburst made by one of the Syrian [opposition] from Homs during the conference, considering his words to be a good summation of the suffering of the Syrian people. This is not all, for the Syrians and Arabs were also pleased with Prince Saud al-Faisal describing the al-Assad regime, which is running riot in Syria, as a regime of “occupation”, whilst he also protested against the insufficiency of humanitarian assistance to the Syrian people, considering this nothing more than fattening the calf for slaughter!
One of the other positives of the Tunis conference is that Prince Saud al-Faisal, who in his last speech at the Arab League opened the door to the Syrian opposition being recognized – which is indeed what was achieved in Tunis despite everything that was previously said by some people about this – has now opened the door to arming the Syrian revolutionaries. This was when Prince Saud al-Faisal, answering a question about arming the Syrian revolutionaries, described this as “an excellent idea.” Prince Saudi Al-Faisal also stressed that al-Assad will leave power “voluntarily or forcibly”, and this means that the ceiling which will come crashing down on the head of the al-Assad regime has been weakened, and this is all in defense of the oppressed people of Syria.
All of the above indicates that things are not so frustrating, and perhaps we should invoke the previous statement made by the Arab League Secretary-General, therefore the situation on the ground in Syria has passed the time for talking. The politicians are now responding to the pace of events in Damascus and this is something that is confirmed by some important information that I heard from different high-level sources regarding the formation of a secret mini-commission – or let us say operational cell – that has sprung from the Friends of Syria states. Its mission will be to monitor the developments coming out of Syria, and it will be made up of a group of countries including Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Turkey, USA, France and Britain. This is something that is not frustrating by any means, for these countries are directly concerned with the Syrian file, and it is enough to recall that the second meeting of the Friends of Syria is scheduled to take place in Turkey, which means that Ankara will have a more influential role to play in the coming days. One of the tasks of this group could be to unite the ranks of the Syrian opposition, and more. Another piece of good news is the agreement between the Free Syrian Army [FSA] and the Syrian Military Council to form a “Ministry of Defense” for the Syrian revolution.
Therefore, the bulk of this news is not frustrating whatsoever, rather this represents the beginning of the countdown to the end of the tyrant of Damascus, the killer of children.

Where are the Arab correspondents in Syria?
Asharq Alawsat
By Diana Mukkaled
"I feel like no one there is telling the truth now. We have to get the details."
These were the words that Anthony Shadid wrote in an e-mail to editors at the New York Times before travelling to Syria, where he died from an asthma attack attempting to cross the border. This was not Shadid’s first journey to Syria; he had previously spent a number of days in Homs where he reported on the city’s besieged residents.
Why did Anthony Shadid risk his safety and the stability of his family in this manner, particularly as he had been detained in Libya last year, shot in Ramallah, and faced many other dangers throughout his career?
Syria that has become one of the most dangerous destinations for a journalist, particularly after the regime no longer allows members of the press freedom of movement, causing many journalists to seek to circumvent these restrictions and sneak into the country in order to cover the events there. Anthony Shadid would always mock the media's reliance on indirect sources of information, viewing this as "remote control correspondence." Therefore, he – along with other Western reporters – took the decision that prohibition and danger should not stop a journalist from travelling to where the news was happening.
Anthony Shadid was the second Western journalist to die in Syria after French journalist Gilles Jacquier. No sooner had Shadid passed away than the American journalist Marie Colvin and the French journalist Remi Ochlik were both killed as a result of shelling in Homs.
In the recent months of the revolution, we have seen how correspondents from the BBC, CNN, ABC, Al-Jazeera English, ARTE, as well as other international media outlets and newspapers have been able to sneak across the border into Syria and give a detailed account of events.
Whilst it is true that since the Syrian revolution erupted and after the al-Assad regime imposed a strict media blackout regarding the situation in the country, the people of Syria have spared no effort to post videos on YouTube documenting the violence that is taking place in Syria. However contenting ourselves with this is no longer acceptable, nor is it professional.
As we watch reports and documentaries produced by professional Western correspondents, we tend to neglect the fact that we are monitoring events and developments in Syria thanks solely to these Western correspondents. This is happening whilst the Arab media is content with screening interviews conducted with people inside Syria via Skype, or receiving unconfirmed reports sent by native Syrian journalists. This is no longer acceptable after the Western media has successfully reported the situation in Syria from within.
Why did Anthony Shadid feel it was his duty to risk his life to report what is happening in Syria? Why did his newspaper agree to his request?
In fact, this self-flagellation in blaming our media outlets for failing to go to Syria – in the same manner as Western correspondents – is entirely correct; however it is not even sufficient to justify our shortcomings in this regard. Anthony Shadid, when deciding to travel to Syria, was not reacting to a demand made by the editors of the New York Times. Rather, he went to Syria for two reasons: Firstly, he felt that the story must be written from there; secondly, he was certain that his readers would not accept stories about Syria written from outside the country. Here, the New York Times, as an administration, served as a bridge between these two demands; helping its correspondent and publishing whatever he wrote without censorship.
In our Arab media, most of these elements seem to be lacking. For our media, the will of the media outlet administrations and their professional and moral demands, as well as the demands of the audience, are not as pronounced. Doesn’t this require us to contemplate, more extensively, the story of Anthony Shadid, Marie Colvin and Remi Ochlik?

To draw Iran into nuclear talks, Obama avoids ousting Assad
DEBKAfile Exclusive Report February 26, 2012/.Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal did not hide his anger before marching out of the Friends of Syria conference attended by 70 nations in Tunis Friday, Feb. 24 after they fell in behind US plans for avoiding direct action against Syria’s Bashar Assad. Filmed sitting with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the Saudi minister told a reporter that arming the Free Syrian Army was an “excellent idea” because they needed to defend themselves. Clinton remained frostily aloof on this obvious bone of contention.
As one of the world’s richest oil and financial powers, Saudi Arabia could buy and sell Iran several times over, and after seeing the ayatollahs get away with insulting America time and time again, the Saudi foreign minister did not pull his punches when he faced his US colleague. He was frank about Riyadh and the Obama administration being miles apart in their perceptions of current Middle East events; resentment over the US role in the overthrow of Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak remains a constant irritant.
This dissonance came to the fore when Saudi al Faisal accused Washington of reducing Assad’s butchery of his opponents to the level of a humanitarian issue and so saving his regime
Riyadh is no happier with Moscow than it is with Washington.
Saudi King Abdullah is reported by Middle East sources to have banged down the telephone on Russian President Dmitry Medvedev Wednesday, Feb. 22, when he called to invite the oil kingdom to align with Russia’s Syrian strategy against the West.
Tariq Alhomayed, the talented editor of the London-based Asharq Al-Awsat, who is regarded as having a direct line to the king, wrote later: “This was undoubtedly a historic and unusual telephone call.” He reported that Abdullah rejected out of hand Moscow’s proposal of a two-hour ceasefire in Homs, the Syrian city bombarded now for three weeks. He retorted that this would give Bashar Assad’s killing machine a 22-hour day carte blanche. Alhomayed did not refer directly to the clash of wills between the Saudi foreign minister and the US secretary of state, except for a snide dig: “He [the Saudi king] is also the one who, during the Arab summit in Riyadh, first described the US army in Iraq as an army of occupation.”
Israel’s Binyamin Netanyahu’s is of one mind with Saudi rulers in his aversion to big power policies for handling the Assad regime: Washington though horrified by the Syrian ruler's violence is yet shy of taking the final steps for his removal, while Moscow showers arms and intelligence on the Syrian despot to preserve him from his enemies. It may be said that the Saudis and Israelis share a distrust of President Barack Obama and Vladimir Putin, suspecting them both of keeping Bashar Assad in power to promote their divergent interests in Iran.
The Saudi king faults the “safe havens” plan under air force protection – the sum total of foreign intervention taking shape between Washington, Turkey, some European powers and Gulf emirates - because it excludes what he regards as the key component: Bombardment of the presidential palace in Damascus and the crushing of the Syrian army, the same treatment meted out to Muammar Qaddafi in Libya.
The Saudis therefore sees this plan as actually protecting Assad’s regime and not only his victims.
Underlying Obama’s restraint is his indefatigable quest for nuclear negotiations with Iran, which is impelling him to show Tehran he is even prepared to keep its ally Assad in power – albeit with clipped wings - for the sake of a negotiated nuclear accord. The Saudis think the US president is dreaming if he reckons Iran’s rulers will be so grateful for Assad’s escape that they will be willing to give up their aspirations for a nuclear weapon. They also think Obama misguided in aiming for Russian collaboration in making its political, military, technological and nuclear clout in Tehran available at some point for them to arrive together at agreed accommodations in both Syria and Iran.
Riyadh regards its case as proven beyond doubt by events of the past week.
Up until Monday, Feb. 20, Washington was bucked up by Iranian signposts apparently pointing to resumed talks with world powers on an eventual nuclear standstill and a freeze on uranium enrichment past five percent. Iranian emissaries in backdoor exchanges were forthcoming on US requests for gestures to confirm that Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was serious about entering into diplomatic dialogue.
A rude awakening was not long coming.
Ten days ago, the Obama administration asked and received from Tehran final proof of goodwill, a promise that International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors would be allowed to view the Parchin military facility. US National Security Adviser Tom Donilon, when he first met Israeli leaders in Jerusalem Thursday and Friday (Feb. 16-17), accordingly informed them that since Tehran had agreed to open this suspect site to UN inspection and nuclear negotiations were soon to begin, Israel had no cause to attack its nuclear facilities. Tuesday, Feb. 21, the UN inspectors arrived in Tehran, certain they would be admitted to Parchin – only to run into their second Iranian refusal this month. Their visit was cut short by IAEA Vienna headquarters. Every attempt by Washington to find out what had gone wrong drew a blank. Iranian officials withdrew into total hush and let the entire diplomatic edifice so painstakingly constructed by Washington start falling apart. But Obama the eternal optimist has not given up. He is treating Tehran’s latest spell of intransigence as no more than a hiccup symptomatic of the run-up to parliamentary elections on March 2, after which Khamenei will revert to the track leading to negotiations. This approach is what put Saudi backs up. They accuse the US and Russia through their different polices of granting the Syrian ruler a license to keep on massacring his people, regardless of any safe havens or “no kill” zones the West may be planning. Netanyahu is likewise opposed to the Obama administration’s interconnected policies on Syria and Iran. His White House meeting with Obama on March 5 is not expected to put this dispute to rest.