LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
June 10/12

Bible Quotation for today/Running toward the Goal
Philippians 03/12-21: "I do not claim that I have already succeeded or have already become perfect. I keep striving to win the prize for which Christ Jesus has already won me to himself. Of course, my friends, I really do not think that I have already won it; the one thing I do, however, is to forget what is behind me and do my best to reach what is ahead. So I run straight toward the goal in order to win the prize, which is God's call through Christ Jesus to the life above. All of us who are spiritually mature should have this same attitude. But if some of you have a different attitude, God will make this clear to you. However that may be, let us go forward according to the same rules we have followed until now. Keep on imitating me, my friends. Pay attention to those who follow the right example that we have set for you. I have told you this many times before, and now I repeat it with tears: there are many whose lives make them enemies of Christ's death on the cross. They are going to end up in hell, because their god is their bodily desires. They are proud of what they should be ashamed of, and they think only of things that belong to this world. We, however, are citizens of heaven, and we eagerly wait for our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, to come from heaven. He will change our weak mortal bodies and make them like his own glorious body, using that power by which he is able to bring all things under his rule.'
 

Latest analysis, editorials, studies, reports, letters & Releases from miscellaneous sources
Greatest Church Soon To Be Mega Mosque/By: Raymond Ibrahim/June 09/12

Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources for June 09/12
Rai holds meeting north of Beirut for Catholic religious orders
March 14 reiterates call for new government, means to tackle extra-state arms
Cross-section of Lebanese leaders laud Tueni at funeral
Ghassan Tueni Bestowed with Order of Cedar during Official Funeral Held in Beirut
Report: Lebanese Pilgrims May Be Released within 48 Hours
Video appears to show kidnapped Lebanese pilgrims in good health
Jordanian diplomat denies travel advisory on Lebanon
Syrian tank, troops cross Lebanon border
8 wounded Syrians enter Lebanon for treatment
Franjieh: I am Not Obligated to Be Seated with Geagea’s Representative at National Dialogue
Report: Jordan Denies Halting Official Visits to Lebanon
Tripoli Ceasefire Disturbed by Sniper Activity

Syria conflict becomes 'more alarming': Russian FM

Russia and Iran back away from the Syrian conflict, dump it in America’s lap
U.S. 'disappointed' by failure of Iran-IAEA nuclear talks

IAEA: Iran nuclear talks 'disappointing,' no date for new meet
Russia says it is not opposed to Assad's departure from power in Syria
Russia says is not against Assad's departure
Shabiha militia carrying out kidnappings to extort ransom – Source
Abbas not ready to resume peace talks with Israel, Palestinian officials say
Likud MK: Israeli doctors treating Syrians wounded in uprising
Blowback in Syria: Damascus's terrorist past may help define its future
Lavrov Says Denying Iran a Role in Syria Talks 'Thoughtless'

Russia and Iran back away from the Syrian conflict, dump it in America’s lap
http://www.debka.com/article/22069/Russia-and-Iran-back-away-from-the-Syrian-conflict-dump-it-in-America’s-lap-
DEBKAfile Special Report June 8, 2012/After the hopeless gridlock at the special UN session on the Syrian crisis Thursday, an American delegation headed by Fred Hoff, the Secretary of State’s special adviser on Syria, drew a blank in the talks it conducted at the Russian Foreign Ministry in Moscow Friday, June 8, with Syrian expert, Mikhail Bogdanov.
debkafile’s Moscow sources report exclusively that Moscow has flatly rejected President Barack Obama’s proposal to post 5,000 armed UN monitors in Syria, most of them Russian troops, as the core of a new plan to resolve the Syrian crisis. The Russians may consider convening an international conference, but only if its remit is limited to offering a basis for negotiations between the Assad regime and the opposition and new political reforms. On no account must it deal with Bashar Assad’s removal.
Moscow’s position has grown tougher in the last few days. After Russian officials stated this week that keeping the Assad regime in power was not a priority, Bogdanev said Friday: Moscow isn’t discussing ways to promote Bashar al-Assad’s ouster with Washington. “We aren’t holding such talks.”
He stressed that the only way forward on the Syrian issue was by expanding Annan’s peace plan.
However, the only thing that all the participants at the UN could agree on was that the Annan peace plan had failed. And now that the US mission to Moscow has run into another dead end, the violence in Syria will continue to run riot with no world power or body prepared to step in and stop it.
Adding to the complications, the Syrian conflict and the Iranian nuclear controversy are becoming inextricably intermeshed. The US official Hoff knew he was arriving in Moscow at a grave disadvantage after Iran indicated to the six world powers that it was seriously considering not turning up for their third round of nuclear talks in Moscow on June 18-19.
Its pretext: The West had failed to come up with “serious proposals.”
(DEBKA-Net-Weekly 544 was first out Thursday night, June 7 with the news that Tehran was backing out of the negotiations.)
Most of all, Tehran took umbrage over US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s demand that Iran come to the talks prepared with “concrete steps to curb its enrichment of uranium to 20 percent purity.”
When she spoke, Clinton knew there was not the slightest chance of the Iranians accepting this demand.
Tehran also pulled in its horns at International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) headquarters in Vienna when confronted Friday, June 8, with demands to open up its suspect nuclear sites to international inspection. These related developments all point in one direction: US President Barack Obama’s deep reluctance to intervene directly in Syria and preference for Russia and Iran to take over have run up against equally powerful reluctance in Moscow and Tehran to put their hands in the Syrian fire or take part in any international effort to quench its flames.
Indeed, the Russians and Iranians believe that as the flames of the civil war already raging there spread, the US president will be blamed by the American public and the Arab world for the horrendous sectarian bloodbath. And if Obama and America's European allies do decide on military intervention, they will be too late and find themselves pulled down into a bottomless quagmire.

Cross-section of Lebanese leaders laud Tueni at funeral
June 09, 2012/The Daily Star
BEIRUT: Ghassan Tueni's funeral was held Saturday in Saint George Orthodox Cathedral in Beirut in the presence of leading figures from across the Lebanese political and religious spectrum.
Prime Minister Najib Mikati attended on behalf of President Sleiman and MP Abdel Latif al-Zein represented Parliament speaker Nabih Berri. Mikati awarded Tueni, known as the doyen of Lebanese journalists, the Order of the Cedar posthumously on behalf of Sleiman. Addressing the deceased, the prime minister said, "Much has been said in your life and much more will be said in your death, but none of it will give you the credit you deserve. Tueni's granddaughter, MP Nayla Tueni, delivered an emotional eulogy in which she promised Tueni that Lebanon would continue its march forward. "The national struggle has not be completed and will continue," she said. "Free, democratic and independent Lebanon will not fall; we will continue holding it aloft like the cedar."The service was conducted by Orthodox Patriarch Ignatius IV Hazim and other high-ranking officials in the Orthodox Church, including Bishops Elias Audi and George Khodr. Tueni, a journalist, diplomat, and member of parliament at various stages of his long and storied career, was editor of An-Nahar newspaper for decades, and remained its honorary president up until his death of natural causes Friday at the age of 86. At the funeral, former Prime Minister Saad Hariri was represented by Nader Hariri. Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea was represented by MP Joseph Maalouf. Among the ministers who attended the funeral were Ghazi Aridi, Adnan Mansour Nazem al-Khoury, Walid Daouk, Hassan Diab and Nicolas Nahhas. Among the MPs who attended were Ammar Houry, Serge Torsakisian, Foad Siniora, Antoine Saad, Ghassan Mukheiber, Marwan Hamadeh, Nidal Tohme and Robert Fadel. Former speaker of Parliament Speaker Hussein al-Husseini was also present, as were former ministers Ziad Baroud and Tarek Mitri.

Video appears to show kidnapped Lebanese pilgrims in good health
June 09, 2012/The Daily Star
BEIRUT: The 11 Lebanese Shiite pilgrims abducted last month in Syria said in a video broadcast Saturday that they are in good health and being treated well. The Al-Jazeera television channel broadcast the video, in which the abductees take turns reassuring their loved ones of their safety. One of the abductees said in his statement that it was either June 5 or 6.
A few of the men addressed the political situation in Syria, where rebels -- including those believed to have kidnapped the Lebanese -- are engaged in an uprising against the government, which has cracked down violently. “I express my support for the Syrian rebels, and no one forced me to say this,” says one of the men. Another said, “We are not captives; rather, we are the guests of the Syrian rebels, and we hope to return soon.” It was not immediately clear whether the abductees had been coerced into making such statements. Separately, the Syrian rebels who abducted the Lebanese said that they would release them were they ordered to do so by a new parliament of a new civil state in Syria, Al-Jazeera TV reported Saturday. The 11 male pilgrims were kidnapped in the Syrian province of Aleppo last month shortly after crossing the border from Turkey. They were on their way back to Lebanon following a religious pilgrimage to Iran.
The video can be accessed through this link aired on Al-Jazeera:

Rai holds meeting north of Beirut for Catholic religious orders

June 09, 2012/The Daily Star /BEIRUT: Maronite Patriarch Beshara Rai held a service for Lebanese Catholic religious orders in Ghazir, north of Beirut, the National News Agency reported Saturday.
Rai brought together both men’s and women’s religious orders when he presided over a mass at the Mar Elias Monastery in Ghazir. He was joined by several Maronite clergymen as well as representatives of Lebanon's other Catholic sects. After reading from the Bible, Rai delivered a sermon entitled “God’s word: the spring of life as well as individual and collective renewal.” He said that “between the monastic life and God’s word there is an organic bond.” Rai also told the worshippers, “Monastic life was born from hearing the word of God and taking the Bible as its foundation. And if one uses it to Christ in modesty, poverty and obedience, it explains the word of God in personal and collective life. The word is heard to renew life and dedication. Therefore we say: God’s word is the spring of life for personal and collective renewal.”After mass, Rai held a roundtable discussion on "the word of God,” in which a number of monks and nuns participated.


March 14 reiterates call for new government, means to tackle extra-state arms
June 09, 2012/The Daily Star
BEIRUT: A delegation representing March 14 handed President Michel Sleiman a memo Saturday renewing the coalition's call for the current government to be replaced and once again stressing the importance of addressing the question of weapons wielded by parties other than the Lebanese state. “The growing challenges that our country faces cannot be addressed by a one-sided government that has lost credibility among broad segments of society. To many Lebanese, this government is manipulated by a militant political party and is used by the Syrian regime as a tool against its people," states the memo, in an allusion to Hezbollah. The memo calls for establishing a neutral government that would ensure transition to a new phase in which the country would steer clear of confrontation and tension between Lebanese citizens.
According to the memo, only such a "neutral salvation government" can address the country’s socio-economic problems in tandem with its growing security challenges.
The memo also calls for developing a mechanism that would enable the Lebanese state to take possession of arms currently in the hands of extra-state actors, and added that this should occur according to a clearly established timeline. “Fighting Israel and defending the country cannot be carried out by a single group or sect of Lebanese society; this should be a national duty carried out by the Lebanese state through its military and security agencies,” says the memo.
The March 14 memo comes in direct response to Sleiman’s initiative to restart the country’s national dialogue, which has been stalled since November 2010.
A new round of dialogue will begin Monday. The reaction of March 14 political factions to Sleiman’s call has been lukewarm. Nevertheless, the coalition’s major constituent elements, with the exception of the Lebanese Forces, are expected to attend.
March 14 also used the memo to enumerate what it described as its positive stances in the past toward all dialogue sessions. Additionally, the coalition also spoke of the spirit of cooperation it said it had maintained throughout recent years.
“Even though our group won the 2009 parliamentary elections, we formed a national unity cabinet until March 8 decided to overthrow this cabinet and excuse itself from commitments it made in the Doha agreement. The memo also emphasizes the importance of issues which gained the approval of the country’s key political leaders during dialogue sessions held in the past.
According to the memo, these issues were supporting and cooperating with the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL), disarming Palestinian groups outside the refugee camps and organizing their arms inside these camps, and demarcating the Lebanese-Syrian borders.
March 14 concluded the memo by calling on all those who believe in the principles it sets forth to join efforts in order to make it a national declaration under the leadership of President Sleiman.


Blowback in Syria: Damascus's terrorist past may help define its future

09/06/2012
By James Denselow
London, Asharq Al-Awsat - The month of May saw a double suicide attack in Damascus that brought a country increasingly defined by an atmosphere of Civil War to the top of the news as a victim of terrorism. The attack was eerily similar to the ones that have blighted Iraq over the past ten years. The first bomber’s vehicle attempted to breach the walls of a Syrian military intelligence building while the second vehicle exploded a few minutes later decimating the crowd that had gathered killing 55 and wounding hundreds more. Syria's state-run news agency was quick to publish gruesome pictures of the victims of the attack which President Bashar al-Assad's regime pinned on "foreign-backed terrorist groups."
The standard questions speculating who was behind the bombings followed with Al-Qaeda and its latest offshoot Jabhat al-Nusra (JN) coming out as the prime suspect, a view confirmed by the United Nations and the United States. The fact that the regime in Damascus has wanted to define the conflict as one between the government and terrorists since its inception in March 2011 has led the opposition to quite legitimately challenge this Al Qaeda narrative. As Stephen Starr, author of “Revolt: Eyewitness to the Syrian Uprising”, explained to Asharq Al-Awsat; “we have always had to second guess the regime when it talks about terrorism in Syria; because of the broader propaganda we regularly can't believe their claims. With this is mind, I don't think we can be sure terrorists are actually responsible for the recent bombings in Damascus, despite apparent claims of such. It is all too hazy to declare anything with certainty”.
The Syrian regime clearly believes that it can exploit the fog of war and absence of real media coverage in the country to replicate a much tried and tested narrative used by Western governments in Afghanistan and Iraq. The core of such a tactic relies on blaming everything on terrorism and terrorists and then using it as a justification for a disproportionate harsh response. Fayssal al-Hamwi, the Syrian representative at the UN Human Rights Council, highlighted the regime’s use of this tactic when he blamed the Houla massacre on “groups of armed terrorists numbering 600-800”. The Syrian government announced a committee of inquiry to find out what the truth was with its initial report stating that the main motive of the murderers was “to ignite sectarian strife”. US Ambassador to the UN Susan Rice described al-Hamwi’s claims as “another blatant lie”.
A Complex Beast
Syria's relationship with terrorism is a far more complex beast with a history that can be traced back to the start of Assad rule of the country over 40 years ago. Syria has used its foreign policy and its backing of proxy groups in Lebanon, Iraq and Palestine to champion its self-styled position as 'leader of the resistance bloc'. The 10 May suicide attack bore parallels with the famous 1983 Hezbollah suicide attack on a U.S Marine barracks in Beirut that killed 220 marines and led to the Reagan administration withdrawing from the country. Car bombs and suicide attacks were also a common tactic used by Hamas during the 2nd Intifada against Israel. Both Hamas and Hezbollah are allies of the Syrian regime, with a complex network of financial, political and historical links. However, following the 2003 invasion of Iraq, Syria became linked to far more unpredictable and dangerous terrorist groups who used their country as the main transit route to fight the Americans. Today the regime has paradoxically found itself as the target of resistance movements that are hugely varied in composition and tactics ranging from secular military defectors, Kurdish fighters to those who would fight under a religious flag against the Assad regime.
Syria has ridden the lion of supporting terrorist groups in the past and is now experiencing a deadly blowback as the less controllable elements turn against them and the more conventional ones abandon them.
The US State Department has had Syria on its list of state sponsors of terrorism since the list's inception in 1979 “because of its continuing support and safe haven for terrorist organizations”. Arguably its support can be divided into more traditional groups who've looked to capture or influence the state (the Hezbollah / Hamas models) and the far more dangerous extremist groups (Al Qaeda / Jund al-Sham / Al-Nusra Front etc) who, while providing effective opposition against the US throughout their occupation of Iraq, increasingly view the conflict in Syria through a sectarian lens.
Prior to the outbreak of protests in March 2011 Syria was already experiencing a low level terrorist threat with the group 'Jund al-Sham' claiming responsibility for attacks on the US Embassy and even the same intelligence building in Damascus that was hit in May. Following the outbreak of violence across Syria and the deployment of the military against the protestors a plethora of groups have tried to exploit the new space created by the conflict. The regime, unwilling to consider itself to blame for the protests, has stuck to the rhetoric of blaming others. On the 29th of May Syrian State media reported President Assad’s meeting with Kofi Annan where he stressed the need “for the countries who are financing, arming and harbouring the terrorist groups” to commit to Annan's plan. Assad told Annan that the success of his plan depends on stopping weapon smuggling and curbing terrorism and those who support it.
Blowback from Iraq
There is no small amount of irony around Assad opposing weapon smuggling considering his regime’s long standing practice of it. The Iraqi-Syrian border in particular was once a source of transit for fighters to Iraq and is now seeing the flow is reverse. Chris Doyle, Director of the Council for Arab-British Understanding (Caabu), explained to Asharq Al-Awsat that “there is a huge danger that Jihadi groups will be rushing to Syria to exploit the power vacuum and inter-communal tensions. In the past the regime has allowed certain groups to operate within its borders, some of these that were allowed into Iraq to attack the Americans are now returning to attack the Syrian regime, particularly in the East of the country.
The long desert border, which was largely un-demarcated until the 2003 US invasion, is very difficult to regulate during the day and virtually impossible without aerial surveillance and night-vision equipment, capacities that the Syrian military generally lacks. On the 27th of May Iraqi security forces went on high alert for several hours until Sunday morning following clashes between the Syrian army and rebel forces near the border. The village of Abu Kamal, at the Euphrates Iraq-Syria border crossing, used to be a safe haven for those fleeing the violence in Iraq. Today those on the Iraq side of the border are the ones who feel safer. Writing in the 'Combating Terrorism Center' (CTC) journal Brian Fishman explained that “in contrast to the situation in other Arab Spring revolutions, in Syria militants linked to Al Qaeda seem to have a militarily relevant capability on the ground”. Analysts monitoring the internet chatter on extremist websites have also noted “level of excitement, which has not been seen in these circles since the height of the Iraq war”.
What makes an understanding of the extremist groups crossing from Iraq to Syria more complex is the rumoured relationship between them and Iran. On the 9th of May, Anbar tribal leader and Awakening Movement leader Azzam al-Tamimi, told the press that “there are clear links between Al Qaeda in Iraq and the Iranian regime....Tehran is providing training camps for their members.” Syria, like Iran, also had links to these groups, as Andrew Tabler, author of ‘In the Lion’s Den’ who spent seven years working in Damascus, explained: “looked at historically, the Assad regime may be secular, but it has extensive relations with jihadi groups, whether allowing them to transit Syria to fight the US in Iraq or in Lebanon to carry out its foreign policy objectives.” A senior Lebanese security official said recently that at least 150 foreign militants have gained a foothold inside Syria. Whilst this number may not seem particularly large, the tactics that such groups are willing to deploy makes them dangerous force multipliers. For evidence of this reality we can look again to Iraq, a country that suffers from a chronic terrorism problem. Despite significant advances against Al Qaeda in the western Anbar region, the US military estimates that 850 militants are still operational and are linked to coordinated, simultaneous attacks across the country. Likewise JN and future offshoots should be seen as an accelerant to the conflict rather than a defining element, although as occurred in Iraq any spectacular sectarian attack against an iconic individual or location may create unforeseen consequences.
Blowback from Lebanon
The regime is also trying to secure its western border with Lebanon, another border that historically was criss-crossed with smuggling routes. The 200-mile long border, dismissed in the past by Syrian leaders as a colonial imposition dividing al-Sham (Greater Syria), has suddenly become a contested zone. In November of last year, concerned by reports of the nascent 'Free Syria Army' (FSA) transiting the border and arms smuggling, the Syrian army took the drastic step to start demarcating the border with security forces and landmines. According to Human Rights Watch many people fleeing the violence have been seriously wounded.
A particular concern for the regime in Damascus comes from the Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon, another location where Syria has held historical influence. Media reports have emerged of Palestinians from Ein el-Helweh camp writing their wills and heading into Syria via Tripoli. Tripoli meanwhile is increasingly divided. On 13 May, the arrest of Shadi Al Mawlawi in Tripoli for alleged links with terrorist organizations was followed by protests in the city. Four days of violence ensued between gunmen from various factions, during which time 10 people were killed and many more injured. The situation remains tense. On Sunday 20 May, a Sheikh and his companion were shot dead at an army checkpoint. The killing sparked a violent response in the north of Lebanon with protesters blocking roads and demanding that the army withdraw from some areas. While Tripoli remained relatively calm, the event led to fighting between rival groups in Beirut, resulting in the deaths of two people and 18 others being injured. Lebanon remains both a source of danger to the regime in Damascus and the country most likely to be destabilised by Syria descending deeper into civil war.
The Ghost Militia
While outside observers may increasingly view the situation in Syria as a civil war, the regime is still operating as if it is fighting a foreign-backed insurgency. What makes Syria's counter-insurgency strategy particularly savage is its use of state backed militia groups such as the 'Shabiha' or 'Ghost Militia'. Chris Doyle pointed out that “one of the lessons from the massacre in Houla is that it is much easier for people who aren’t in uniforms to conduct this kind of crime. The massacre could have been conducted by people from neighbouring Allawite villages who wanted to deliver a message with the support of the Syrian military.” The Shabiha are essential state sponsored terror groups that appear to have their own leadership and command structure. Slitting the throats of women and children, firing upon funeral processions and increasingly repeated mass executions are actions based upon trying to reassert a fear of the regime on those protesting against it.
At the start of June former Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Richard Myers says the possible use of force in Syria would be "a lot more complex" than it was Libya. The huge network of Syria’s connections with groups in Lebanon and since 2003 Iraq does mean that to truly understand events in Syria you must look beyond its borders. The fundamental challenge for the survival of the Assad regime is to manage to contradiction between the rhetoric of being the vanguard of regional resistance to being the prime target of it. That the regime is willing to unleash the Shabiha on its own population is a reflection of desperation, not of strength. Speaking to his new Parliament at the start of June Assad said that “whoever did this in Houla could not be a human being but a monster. And even a monster could not carry out such an act.” The problem for Assad is that the Shabiha and many of the extremist groups crossing into the country are monsters of his own regime’s making.

Lavrov Says Denying Iran a Role in Syria Talks 'Thoughtless'
Naharne/09 June 2012/Russia will not approve the use of force against the Syrian regime at the United Nations, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Saturday at a briefing in Moscow.
"We will not sanction the use of force at the United Nations Security Council," Lavrov said in televised remarks as he gave a briefing on Russia's proposal for an international conference on Syria.
He acknowledged that U.N.-Arab envoy Kofi Annan's tattered peace plan for Syria was stalling but stressed the Kremlin saw no alternative to it.
"The settlement plan has begun to seriously falter," Lavrov said. "We do not see an alternative to the implementation of this plan."
Russia, which is pushing for a conference on Syria to include Iran despite U.S. protests, said that to deny Tehran a role in helping negotiate an end to the crisis would be "thoughtless".
"To say that Iran doesn't have a place because it is already to blame for everything and it's part of the problem and not part of the solution ... this is thoughtless to say the least," said Lavrov.
He said that Russia would be "only glad" to support the departure of President Bashar Assad if Syrians agreed on it, without wanting to impose the process from the outside.
"If the Syrians agree on this with each other, we will be only glad to support such an outcome," said Lavrov, adding that Moscow did not want to "impose the conditions of dialogue from outside."
Russia, along with China, has vetoed two Security Council resolutions against Assad and have vowed to oppose any military intervention.
Former U.N. chief Kofi Annan, the author of a fledgling peace plan on Syria, called Friday for "additional pressure" in the wake of a new massacre as he held talks in the United States.
Britain, France and the United States will quickly draw up a Security Council resolution proposing sanctions against Syria over the worsening conflict, diplomats said Friday.
SourceNaharnet.

Shabiha militia carrying out kidnappings to extort ransom – Source
08/06/2012
By Asharq Al-Awsat
London, Asharq Al-Awsat – Political activists in Homs have accused Syrian military forces and pro-regime Shabiha militia of kidnapping women with the objective of extorting large sums of money in ransom. Six kidnappings were reported over the past two months, whilst 3 of these kidnapping have taken place within the past week. Syrian political activists stressed that the real figures are significantly larger than this; however the families of kidnap victims fail to report such crimes due to social considerations.
Local sources in Homs informed Asharq Al-Awsat that approximately 26 young women in total have been kidnapped by the pro-regime Shabiha militia, a number of whom have been held for several months. These young women are reportedly being ransomed for large sums of money. Senior local figures are exerting efforts to resolve this troubling phenomenon, away from the security apparatus or Syrian government.
Opposition activists revealed that these kidnapping all took place in quiet neighborhoods, whilst alleging that these kidnap victims are held in neighborhoods loyal to the al-Assad regime. The activists reveal that the families of these kidnap victims either bargain for their release, or the young women are killed and buried in unmarked graves. The kidnappers are said to use automobiles which do not bear license plates to carry out their crimes, whilst the Syrian security apparatus and army are believed to be complicit with this. The source added that three kidnappings took place over the last week in the Al-Ghouta district of Homs, close to the Syrian Red Cross headquarters.
The Shabiha are not just targeting young women for abduction, and reports indicate that this phenomenon is present in other areas of Syria, also in order to extort large ransoms. Sources informed Asharq Al-Awsat that there is a lot of confusion on the scene with regards to kidnappings being carried out by pro-regime Shabiha militia and mass arrests and disappearances carried out by the al-Assad regime security apparatus. Three kidnappings reportedly took place at a security roadblock in the city of al-Qasir more than 10 days, whilst the bodies of these three kidnapping victims were later discovered in the city, and it was clear that the victims had been subjected to torture.
For his part, Lieutenant Ibrahim Ferzat announced his defection from the Syrian Air Force Intelligence Directorate and his joining the Free Syrian Army [FSA] in protest to al-Assad regime forces committing “crimes against humanity, including acts of violence and rape in Homs and Rastan.” Ferzat accused three Air Force Intelligence Directorate officers of committing crimes against humanity, including rape, naming Brigadier General Jawdat al-Ahmed, Lieutenant Abdul-Karim al-Tarsha, and Lieutenant Hassan al-Ali.
In his announcement of his defection, which was broadcast by opposition activists online, Ferzat claimed that “there are other figures [who committed such crimes] whose names I have not mentioned”. The Syrian Air Force Intelligence Directorate is considered to be the most brutal of the al-Assad regime security apparatus, particularly in terms of arresting and torturing opposition activists.
According to figures issued by Local Coordination Committees, 148 Syrian citizens – including women and children – have been arrested and tortured by the Syrian apparatus since the UN observer mission entered Syria earlier this year. 57 of these cases were carried out by pro-regime Shabiha militia, whilst the rest by the official regime security apparatus.
Figures indicate that some 792 Syrian detainees – including 39 children – have been killed by Syrian regime forces whilst in custody, with their bodies then being returned to their families.

Greatest Church Soon To Be Mega Mosque?
by Raymond Ibrahim
FrontPageMagazine.com
June 8, 2012
http://www.meforum.org/3259/hagia-sophia-church-mosque
Ostensibly dealing with a building, a recent report demonstrates how Turkey's populace—once deemed the most secular and liberal in the Muslim world—is reverting to its Islamic heritage, complete with animosity for the infidel West and dreams of Islam's glory days of jihad and conquest. According to Reuters:
Thousands of devout Muslims prayed outside Turkey's historic Hagia Sophia museum on Saturday [May 23] to protest a 1934 law that bars religious services at the former church and mosque. Worshippers shouted, "Break the chains, let Hagia Sophia Mosque open," and "God is great" [the notorious "Allahu Akbar"] before kneeling in prayer as tourists looked on. Turkey's secular laws prevent Muslims and Christians from formal worship within the 6th-century monument, the world's greatest cathedral for almost a millennium before invading Ottomans converted it into a mosque in the 15th century.
Hagia Sophia—Greek for "Holy Wisdom"—was, in fact, Christendom's greatest cathedral for a thousand years. Built in Constantinople, the heart of the Christian empire, it was also a stalwart symbol of defiance against an ever encroaching Islam from the east. After parrying centuries of jihadi thrusts, Constantinople was finally sacked by Ottoman Turks in 1453. Its crosses desecrated and icons defaced, Hagia Sophia—as well as thousands of other churches—was immediately converted into a mosque, the tall minarets of Islam surrounding it in triumph. Then, after the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire, as part of several reforms, Ataturk transformed Hagia Sophia into a "neutral" museum in 1934—a gesture of goodwill to the then triumphant West from a then crestfallen Turkey.
Even though Hagia Sophia is a Christian center under Islamic domination, several Christian authorities are content seeing it remain a museum, including the Ecumenical Patriarchate, spiritual leader of Orthodox Christians: "We want it to remain a museum in line with the Republic of Turkey's principles," adding, "if it became a church it would be chaos."
True enough; one need only recall how back in 2006, when Pope Benedict was scheduled to visit Hagia Sophia, Muslims were outraged. Then, Turkey's independent paper Vatan wrote: "The risk is that Benedict will send Turkey's Muslims and much of the Islamic world into paroxysms of fury if there is any perception that the Pope is trying to re-appropriate a Christian center that fell to Muslims." Before the Pope's visit, a gang of Turks stormed and occupied Hagia Sophia, screaming "Allahu Akbar!" and warning "Pope! Don't make a mistake; don't wear out our patience." On the day of the Pope's visit, another throng of Islamists waved banners saying "Pope get out of Turkey" while chanting Hagia Sophia "is Turkish and will remain Turkish."
All this is yet another reminder of the Islamic world's double standards: when Muslims conquer non-Muslim territories, such as Constantinople and its churches—through fire and steel, with all the attendant human suffering and misery—the descendents of those conquered are not to expect any apologies or concessions. However, once the same Muslims who would never concede one inch of Islam's conquests, including buildings, are on the short end of the stick—Palestinians vis-à-vis Israel, for example—then they resort to the United Nations and the court of public opinion, demanding justice, restitutions, rights, and so forth. (See this 2006 LA Times Op-Ed for more on this theme.)
Even in the brief Reuter's report, evidence of such "passive-aggressive" behavior emerges. First, this is not about Muslims wanting to pray; it's about Muslims wanting to revel in the glory days of Islamic jihad and conquest: Muslims "staged the prayers ahead of celebrations next week marking the 559th anniversary of the Ottoman Sultan Mehmet's conquest of Byzantine Constantinople." According to Salih Turhan, a spokesman quoted by Reuters, "As the grandchildren of Mehmet the Conqueror, seeking the re-opening Hagia Sophia as a mosque is our legitimate right."
Sultan Mehmet was the scourge of European Christendom, whose Islamic hordes seized and ravished Constantinople, forcibly turning it Islamic. Openly idolizing him, as many Turks do, is tantamount to their saying "We are proud of our ancestors who killed and stole the lands of Christians." And yet, despite such militant overtones, Turhan, whose position is echoed by many Turks, still manages to blame the West: "Keeping Hagia Sophia Mosque closed is an insult to our mostly Muslim population of 75 million. It symbolizes our ill-treatment by the West."
If merely keeping a historically Christian/Western building—that was stolen by Islamic jihad—as a neutral museum is seen as "ill-treatment by the West," on what basis can Muslims and non-Muslims ever "dialogue"?
**Raymond Ibrahim is a Shillman Fellow at the David Horowitz Freedom Center and an Associate Fellow at the Middle East Forum.

Question: "What is true worship?"
gotquestion.otg
Answer: The Apostle Paul described true worship perfectly in Romans 12:1-2: “I urge you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable, or well pleasing and perfect.”
This passage contains all the elements of true worship. First, there is the motivation to worship: “the mercies of God.” God’s mercies are everything He has given us that we don’t deserve: eternal love, eternal grace, the Holy Spirit, everlasting peace, eternal joy, saving faith, comfort, strength, wisdom, hope, patience, kindness, honor, glory, righteousness, security, eternal life, forgiveness, reconciliation, justification, sanctification, freedom, intercession and much more. The knowledge and understanding of these incredible gifts motivate us to pour forth praise and thanksgiving—in other words, worship!
Also in the passage is a description of the manner of our worship: “present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice.” Presenting our bodies means giving to God all of ourselves. The reference to our bodies here means all our human faculties, all of our humanness—our hearts, minds, hands, thoughts, attitudes—are to be presented to God. In other words, we are to give up control of these things and turn them over to Him, just as a literal sacrifice was given totally to God on the altar. But how? Again, the passage is clear: “by the renewing of your mind.” We renew our minds daily by cleansing them of the world’s “wisdom” and replacing it with true wisdom that comes from God. We worship Him with our renewed and cleansed minds, not with our emotions. Emotions are wonderful things, but unless they are shaped by a mind saturated in Truth, they can be destructive, out-of-control forces. Where the mind goes, the will follows and so do the emotions. First Corinthians 2:16 tells us we have “the mind of Christ,” not the emotions of Christ.
There is only one way to renew our minds, and that is by the Word of God. It is the truth, the knowledge of the Word of God, which is to say the knowledge of the mercies of God, and we’re back where we began. To know the truth, to believe the truth, to hold convictions about the truth, and to love the truth will naturally result in true spiritual worship. It is conviction followed by affection, affection that is a response to truth, not to any external stimuli, including music. Music as such has nothing to do with worship. Music can’t produce worship, although it certainly can produce emotion. Music is not the origin of worship, but it can be the expression of it. Do not look to music to induce your worship; look to music as simply an expression of that which is induced by a heart that is rapt by the mercies of God, obedient to His commands.
True worship is God-centered worship. People tend to get caught up in where they should worship, what music they should sing in worship, and how the worship looks to other people. Focusing on these things completely misses the point. Jesus tells us that true worshipers will worship God in spirit and in truth (John 4:24). This means we worship from the heart and the way God has designed. Worship can include praying, reading God's Word with an open heart, singing, participating in communion, and serving others. It is not limited to one act, but is done properly when the heart and attitude of the person are in the right place.
It’s also important to know that worship is reserved only for God. Only He is worthy and not any of His servants (Revelation 19:10). We are not to worship saints, prophets, statues, angels, any false gods, or Mary, the mother of Jesus. We also should not be worshiping for the expectation of something in return, such as a miraculous healing. Worship is done for God—because He deserves it—and for His pleasure alone. Worship can be public praise to God (Psalm 22:22, 35:18) in a congregational setting, where we can proclaim through prayer and praise our adoration and thankfulness to Him and what He has done for us. True worship is felt inwardly, and then comes out through our actions. "Going through the motions" out of obligation is displeasing to God and is done completely in vain. He can see through all the hypocrisy, and He hates it. He demonstrates this in Amos 5:21-24 as He talks about coming judgment. Another example is the story of Cain and Abel, the first sons of Adam and Eve. They both brought gift offerings to the Lord, but He was only pleased with Abel's. Cain brought the gift out of obligation; Abel brought his finest lambs from his flock. He brought out of faith and admiration for God.
True worship is not confined to what we do in church or open praise (although these things are both good and we are told in the Bible to do them). It is the acknowledgment of God and all His power and glory in everything we do. The highest form of praise and worship is obedience to Him and His Word. To do this, we must know God; we cannot be ignorant of Him (Acts 17:23). Worship is to glorify and exalt God—to show our loyalty and admiration to our Father.