LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN

LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
October 27/12

Bible Quotation for today/ The Mustard Seed & The Yeast
Matthew 13/31-35: "He put before them another parable: ‘The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in his field; it is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.’ He told them another parable: ‘The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of flour until all of it was leavened.’Jesus told the crowds all these things in parables; without a parable he told them nothing.This was to fulfil what had been spoken through the prophet: ‘I will open my mouth to speak in parables; I will proclaim what has been hidden from the foundation of the world.’

Latest analysis, editorials, studies, reports, letters & Releases from miscellaneous sources
Iran: The president who woke up at the eleventh hour/By Amir Taheri/Asharq Alawsat/October 26/12
Kuwait: The crisis of semi-democracy/By Abdul Rahman Al-Rashed/Asharq Alawsat/October 26/12

Report: Foreign Countries Agree on 'Neutral' Cabinet to Replace Miqati's Govt.
Naharnet/High-ranking foreign diplomats agreed on Friday that stability in Lebanon is “crucial” for the Lebanese people and the international community as they reached consensus over the importance of the stepping down of Prime Minister Najib Miqati's cabinet and the formation of a neutral government. “Miqati's government can't contribute to maintaining Lebanon's stability, it became part of the crisis, in particular, after the assassination of (Internal Security Forces Intelligence Bureau head Brigadier General Wissam) al-Hasan last week,” U.S. Sources said in comments published in the Kuwaiti daily al-Rai.
According to the daily the U.S. diplomats reached this agreement with their French and Saudi counterparts. “From a regional point of view, we have no fears over the situation in Lebanon, which is safeguarded currently by President Michel Suleiman,” the U.S. sources said. “Even if Miqati resigned, Suleiman is the guarantee for safety as he will be able to form an alternative cabinet,” they added.
The United States and the European Union, both anxious to ward off any further Syrian interference in Lebanon, have separately warned against creating a political vacuum.
The diplomats said that the foreign countries “back for the premiership an official who isn't affiliated with any party, is not from the parliament and is a neutral figure.”
The sources stated that the important matter is to “safeguard Lebanon's security and halt the crisis in Syria from spilling into the country.”
The October 19 bombing has raised fears about unrest in the country, which is divided between supporters and opponents of Syrian President Bashar Assad, whose country supervised its small neighbor for nearly 30 years. The Ashrafiyeh bombing in Beirut that killed Hasan along with two others deepened the gap between the March 14 alliance and the March 8 camp.
The opposition insists on the resignation of the government as a main condition for the resumption of the national dialogue and official activity with their foes, while the leading coalition rejects the formation of a new cabinet on allegations that there's no alternative.

Grand Mufti Mohammed Rashid Qabbani : We Won't Allow Govt. to Be Toppled through Street Action
Naharnet /Grand Mufti Mohammed Rashid Qabbani stressed on Friday that the “premiership in Lebanon should not be targeted with violence.”He said: “We will not allow the government to be toppled through street action.”He made his declaration during the Eid al-Adha Muslim prayers in Beirut's Amin mosque.“Those inciting instincts in the name of sects for political purposes are being foolish,” he added.
“Lebanon is a country of principles, peaceful democracy, and state institutions and we therefore cannot accept that the government be overthrown through the street,” said the mufti.
“We didn't accept this years ago and we will never accept it,” stated the Sunni cleric.“The premiership is a symbol for us and all the Lebanese people,” he added.“Abandoning the constitution means the destruction of the republic and country,” Qabbani stressed.Addressing the Lebanese people, he said: “It is time to impose new rules of action and eliminate the sectarian germ in order for your sons to enjoy hope in the future.”Commenting on the assassination of Internal Security Forces Intelligence Bureau chief Wissam al-Hasan, he said: “The crime is part of a conspiracy against Lebanon.”
“It will not destroy our national unity,” he remarked.Hasan was killed on October 19 in a car bomb in Beirut's Ashrafiyeh district.The March 14-led opposition and Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat accused Syria of the crime.The opposition has also been demanding the resignation of the government, which is comprised of pro-Syrian allies, to resign in wake of the assassination.
It announced its suspension of any political activity, including the national dialogue, that includes the government.

Jumblat Criticizes March 14 over al-Hasan Funeral Unrest, Says They Started 'Preparing Their Suits' to Return to Power
Naharnet/Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat on Thursday criticized the March 14 forces over the clashes that followed the funeral of slain Intelligence Bureau chief Maj. Gen. Wissam al-Hasan, noting that he will remain in the centrist camp together with President Michel Suleiman and that he would accept any solution that spares the country political vacuum.
“Wissam al-Hasan was the good guardian of the Lebanese state, but it was a major mistake to give Wissam al-Hasan a sectarian color after his assassination. Unfortunately, instead of organizing a decent farewell, the funeral ended with chaos,” said Jumblat in an interview on LBCI television. “What happened was a mistake and the street was under control when Rafik Hariri, Gebran Tueni and others were assassinated. The Grand Serail did not kill Wissam al-Hasan, but rather the Syrian regime,” the Druze leader added.“When you unleash the sectarian rhetoric, therein lies the problem and the army's performance was excellent despite the rabble-rousing of the politicians,” he said. Asked about Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea's remarks that the so-called "killing machine" is inside the government, Jumblat said: “This is wrong and the most important thing is to 'kill strife' instead of dragging the country into it.”“We were burying one martyr after another but we achieved the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, that's why the Lebanese judiciary must convict (ex-information minister) Michel Samaha,” Jumblat added. Samaha, Syrian security chief Maj. Gen. Ali Mamlouk and a Syrian colonel, identified by his first name Adnan, were charged with forming a group to commit crimes in Lebanon. The three were also charged with plotting to assassinate political and religious figures. “March 14 should have staged a demonstration outside the Syrian embassy instead of trying to storm the Grand Serail,” said Jumblat. “I will not resign and subject the country to vacuum and I will not accept that without the existence of an alternative,” he added. “I don't regret that I had prevented civil strife together with (Prime Minister) Najib Miqati and others,” Jumblat went on to say. Asked whether he will ask his ministers to resign from government, Jumblat said: “When we reach a conclusion together with President (Michel) Suleiman that this government must resign, we will resign, and in my opinion a national unity government must be formed.”Jumblat revealed that former premier Saad Hariri had telephoned him and asked him to withdraw his ministers from the government.
“Hariri telephoned me and asked me to resign and I told him that I won't resign and subject the country to vacuum. I also said other things and he was dismayed by my remarks,” Jumblat said.
He stressed that “neither Hizbullah nor al-Mustaqbal Movement can rule the country single-handedly,” accusing the March 14 forces of "starting to prepare their suits" to return to power.
Asked whether the March 14 forces were seeking to exploit al-Hasan's assassination in order to return to power, Jumblat said: “Yes, unfortunately.”

Hariri to Jumblat: Congratulations on Your Decision to Stay in Syrian-Iranian Alliance
Naharnet/Former prime minister Saad Hariri on Thursday hit back at Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat, describing slain Intelligence Bureau chief Maj. Gen. Wissam al-Hasan as “the martyr of Lebanon” and slamming the Druze leader for refusing to resign from government. “Walid Jumblat is quoting me as saying that Wissam al-Hasan is the martyr of the Sunni sect. This is untrue and his ally (PM Najib) Miqati is the one who said that. Wissam al-Hasan is the martyr of Lebanon,” said Hariri on the social networking website Twitter during Jumblat's live interview on LBCI television.
Jumblat snapped back immediately during the interview. “Great. If Miqati said that then he committed a mistake and let us consider Wissam al-Hasan the martyr of the Lebanese state,” he said.
Earlier during the interview, Jumblat revealed that Hariri had telephoned him and asked him to withdraw his ministers from the government. “Hariri telephoned me and asked me to resign and I told him that I won't resign. He said the Sunnis are being killed and I told him that Wissam al-Hasan is the martyr of Lebanon and that I won't subject the country to vacuum. I also said other things and he was dismayed by my remarks,” Jumblat said.“May God forgive you Walid Bek. You understand stability as staying in the Syrian-Iranian alliance, so congratulations,” Hariri tweeted.
Jumblat, for his part, said, “May God forgive him about all these remarks.”Addressing the PSP leader, Hariri said: “Your partners in government are the ones who incited against him and accused him of treason like they accused Rafik Hariri.”“From now on, I will not remain silent in the face of anyone,” Hariri vowed.

March 14 Protesters Clash with Security Forces in Riad al-Solh
Naharnet/A clash erupted on Thursday evening between security forces and protesters from the March 14 youth organizations at the site of the open-ended sit-in demanding the departure of the government at the Riad al-Solh Square in downtown Beirut. Media reports said some protesters were severely beaten by army troops, army intelligence agents and Parliament Police.
But Parliament Police issued a statement saying its members had nothing to do with the incident. OTV quoted Speaker Nabih Berri's sources as saying that “Parliament Police had nothing to do with the clash that was caused by one of the protesters.”Al-Manar television said protesters attacked the army and the security forces.Protesters at the scene said a 17-year-old comrade was transporting three car tires on a motorcycle to use them to bolster up the tent erected by the National Liberal Party in the face of wind and rain. “One of the tires slipped by accident and rolled towards the metal barrier erected by the army. When the young man approached the barrier to retrieve the tire, he was intercepted by a number of army troops and Parliament Police, who beat him up severely,” protesters said.

Hamadeh Asks Fabius to Facilitate Suleiman Mission to Form 'Neutral Govt.'
Naharnet/ MP Marwan Hamadeh on Thursday stressed to French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius “the need to respect the Baabda Declaration and facilitate President Michel Suleiman's mission to form a new neutral government that would prevent the sliding of the country towards further threats.”During a meeting in Paris, Hamadeh and Fabius discussed “the situation in Lebanon in light of the latest developments, especially the assassination of Maj. Gen. Wissam al-Hasan and the political and security repercussions that ensued,” according to a statement issued by the MP.
Talks tackled “the importance of preserving Lebanon's stability and the factors of this stability politically, economically and security-wise in light of the surrounding regional developments.”
Hasan and two other people were killed in a powerful car bombing in the Beirut district of Ashrafiyeh on Friday. More than 100 people were wounded in the attack which gutted two apartment blocs.
The opposition March 14 camp and Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat accused Syria of the crime. The opposition demanded the resignation of Prime Minister Najib Miqati's government in the wake of the crime, while the international community called for sparing the country any political vacuum that might undermine its stability.
On Wednesday, Fabius called on Lebanon "not to get caught up" in the Syrian crisis. Also on Wednesday, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton warned that any power vacuum in Lebanon could be “taken advantage of” by Syria."The Lebanese people deserve so much better. They deserve to live in peace and they deserve to have a government that reflects their aspirations, not acts as proxies and agents for outside forces," said Clinton.

Suleiman on Eid al-Adha: Spare Lebanon Further Tragedies
Naharnet/ President Michel Suleiman reiterated on Friday his call for Lebanese foes to attend the all-party talks, congratulating the Lebanese on the Eid al-Adha occasion.
“I hope this occasion would be a chance for the Lebanese to reach consensus among each other, and put forward Lebanon's interests,” Suleiman said.
He called on all party leaders to join the dialogue “to spare Lebanon further tragedies.”
Suleiman is carrying out consultations with rival political parties to convince them to resume the national dialogue.
However, the March 14-led opposition insists on the resignation of the government as a main condition for the resumption of the national dialogue and official activity with their foes, while the March 8 coalition rejects the formation of a new cabinet on allegations that there's no alternative.
The assassination of Internal Security Forces Intelligence Bureau head Brigadier General Wissam al-Hasan on October 19 has raised fears about unrest in the country, which is divided between supporters and opponents of Syrian President Bashar Assad, whose country supervised its small neighbor for nearly 30 years.
The Ashrafiyeh bombing in Beirut that killed Hasan along with two others deepened the gap between the March 14 alliance and the March 8 camp.

Hezbollah hits back at Geagea accusations
October 26, 2012/The Daily Star
BEIRUT: Hezbollah rejected Thursday accusations made by Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea of the party’s involvement in the assassination of Brig. Gen. Wissam al-Hasan, who was killed in car bomb in Beirut’s Ashrafieh district last week.
“Geagea’s comments are all fabrications and false accusations aimed at provoking more strife and tension in the country,” a statement from Hezbollah’s media office said.
Hezbollah was replying to remarks made by Geagea in which he accused the party of involvement in the bombing that killed Hasan.
“Any wise and patriotic [individual] would reject such comments that can only be welcomed by those who are willing to do a service to the Israeli enemy and its criminal plans,” the statement said.
In an interview with the Saudi Al-Watan daily that was published Thursday, the Lebanese Forces leader launched a vehement attack against Hezbollah, accusing the party of carrying out a Syrian-Iranian scheme to assassinate Hasan.
“The pro-Assad regime, alongside Iran, is clearly and directly involved in the plot to liquidate Brig. Gen. Hasan, [a scheme] being carried out by Hezbollah,” Geagea said.
The LF leader launched a stinging attack on the country’s security authorities, accusing them of following Syrian-Iranian schemes being implemented by Hezbollah.
“Lebanese security services and security officials are going along with Syrian-Iranian plots that are being implemented by Hezbollah,” he told Al-Watan.
Geagea said Hasan, Lebanon’s top intelligence chief who was assassinated by a car bomb in Beirut last week, had dealt a severe blow to the ambitions of those who sought to drag Lebanon into the conflict in neighboring Syria.
Hasan was the head of the Internal Security Forces Information Branch who uncovered evidence of a plot involving former Lebanese Minister Michel Samaha and Syrian National Security Bureau head Ali Mamlouk to transfer explosives from Syria to Lebanon and carry out a series of assassinations in the country.
The March 14 coalition, to which Geagea belongs, has accused Syrian President Bashar Assad of being behind Hasan’s assassination.
Hasan was close to former Prime Minister Saad Hariri, the leader of the opposition. March 14 has called for Hasan’s case to be referred to the Special Tribunal for Lebanon.
Geagea added that Lebanon would have seen more destruction than the damage caused by last week’s bombing had the plot involving Samaha not been uncovered by Hasan.

Lebanon's Arabic press digest - Oct. 26, 2012
October 26, 2012 09:30 AM The Daily Star
Lebanon's Arabic press digest.
Following are summaries of some of the main stories in a selection of Lebanese newspapers Friday. The Daily Star cannot vouch for the accuracy of these reports.
As-Safir
Jumblatt protects his position by breaking alliances ... Hariri accuses him of lying
The Lebanese witnessed Thursday a new, live, on-air chapter of domestic political conflict but this time it was not between the March 14 and 8 coalitions but between the leader of the opposition Saad Hariri and the leader of the "centrists" Walid Jumblatt.
At the end of the show, a little bit before midnight, it seemed that the March 14 coalition was not able to tolerate centrists like the Druze leader who did not spare the March 8 group of his criticism but chose to situate himself under President Michel Sleiman's umbrella.
Jumblatt decided to be frank in his interview with Marcel Ghanem, revealing details pertaining to the many rounds of discussion between him and the opposition group when the head of the Information Branch Maj. Gen. Wissam al-Hasan was assassinated.
He also revealed information he has about the international community's stance with regards to changing the government and its disassociation policy.
Al-Mustaqbal
FBI delegation inspected the site where martyr Hasan was assassinated
Today is Eid al-Adha but the Eid is not in the air after Maj. Gen. Wissam al-Hasan sacrificed himself for Lebanon to protect the security of Lebanese and foil attempts to fuel sectarian strife planned by Lebanon's enemies.
Saad Hariri said that "this terrorist crime that led to the death of innocent victims and destruction of citizens' houses and property in Ashrafieh deprived the Lebanese of the usual joy of Eid and brought them back to the climate of fear over a collapse in the country’s security and the ghost of political assassinations."
He voiced his sorrow and pain because the Eid coincided with Hasan’s assassination. Hariri said that such a crime would not "deter us from confronting terrorist plans with all our might to consecrate the project of state building with its legitimate security and military institutions.”
Meanwhile, the FBI delegation arrived in Beirut Thursday night and began its work at the crime scene by taking fingerprints and collecting evidence for analysis amid heavy security measures. Judge Hatem Made said that the "U.S. team's task is to offer technical assistance to Lebanese authorities."
An-Nahar
Live dispute shakes Hariri-Jumblatt relations
A week after the passing of the Ashrafieh explosion and the assassination of Maj. Gen. Wissam al-Hasan, the political stances are moving further toward an open crisis amid a deadlock facing the president’s efforts to hold a Dialogue session.
New developments surfaced with regard to the political crisis in the country with Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea making the accusation that Hezbollah executed Hasan's assassination according to Iranian-Syrian plans. The accusation prompted a response from Hezbollah, who in turn accused Geagea of inciting sectarian strife. In addition, the stance of Walid Jumblatt, head of the Progressive Socialist Party, deepened the political and government crisis when he committed to the Cabinet and placed conditions for a national unity government, revealing that former Prime Minister Saad Hariri had asked him to resign [from the present government] but that he refused.
Former Prime Minister Fouad Siniora returned to Beirut Thursday along with a Future Movement delegation after a long meeting with Hariri there.

Sleiman: Dialogue needed to spare Lebanon ‘tragedies’
October 26, 2012/The Daily Star
BEIRUT: President Michel Sleiman reiterated Friday his call for rival leaders to engage in dialogue aimed at resolving the government crisis.
“Sleiman urged Lebanese on this occasion to rise above the wounds and have some faith, repeating his call for everyone to engage in dialogue to spare Lebanon more tragedies,” according to his press office.
Sleiman has launched consultations with the country’s main political leaders to resolve the government crisis in the wake of last week’s assassination of a top intelligence chief in a Beirut car bombing.
Over the weekend, Prime Minister Najib Mikati suspended his decision to resign and said he gave Sleiman time to consult the National Dialogue Committee to look into the matter.
In response to the assassination of Brig. Gen. Wissam al-Hasan last week, the opposition March 14 alliance, which blames President Bashar Assad for the killing, called on the government to resign, accusing it of providing cover for the crime.
Earlier this week, the opposition decided to boycott parliamentary work and called for peaceful protests and sit-ins to pressure the government to resign.
The Friday car bombing in the Beirut neighborhood of Ashrafieh, the first of its magnitude since 2008, has thrown the country into a political crisis as the international and Arab communities throw their support behind Sleiman, calling for stability in the country.
In his address Friday, Sleiman also said “Lebanon as a whole remembers during this Eid [al-Adha holiday] the painful periods that it has gone though as well as the recent criminal attack that led to the martyrdom of Lebanese citizens and material losses.”
Separately on his Twitter feed, the president urged Lebanese on the occasion of Eid al-Adha to unite in order to expose the perpetrators behind the killings that have plagued the country.
“On the occasion of this holy Eid [al-Adha], let us remember our martyrs and come together to expose the perpetrators of crimes and stop the chain of deaths and tragedy,” Sleiman said.
He added that unity would help build a homeland for generations to come.
In his statement Friday, Sleiman also mentioned Syria and expressed hope the cease-fire agreed on by rebel fighters and the government would pave the way for dialogue aimed at resolving the 20-month crisis that has left thousands dead.
“[Sleiman] hoped that the holiday's cease-fire will be a start to end the violence as a prelude for dialogue between all rivals and the return of Syrian refugees to their homes and livelihoods,” his press office quoted him as saying.

New Iranian TV channel to challenge Tehran leaders
By Asharq Al-Awsat
London, Asharq Al-Awsat - As the power struggle in Iran intensifies ahead of next year’s presidential election, cyberspace is emerging as a key battleground with much of the fighting done through satellite television. In that context the launching of a new opposition channel, broadcast from Europe, may not be great news.
However, the new channel, named "Raha TV" claims to be different by serving as a link between the “reformist” faction in Tehran and opposition groups that work for regime change in Iran.
Raha means “unfettered” and its founder Amir Hossein Jahanshahi claims that it will be different from the dozens of other channels run by Iranian expatriates in Europe and North America and beamed to Iran.
Scheduled to start broadcasting next week, Raha TV will be different from other exile channels, not to mention Persian-language TV channels run by the British and American governments, in at least four domains. First, it claims to be entirely financed by Jahanshahi with no support from political groups and/or foreign governments.
Secondly, Raha TV will not run any commercials or programmes sponsored by business concerns.
Thirdly, the new TV channel will be open to all major Iranian political parties and groups.
Finally, Raha TV will not be entirely political, offering documentaries, movies and programmes on art, culture and sports.
Although slated to go beyond politics, Raha TV is likely to pose “a major challenge to the Iranian government”, according to Jahanshahi. This is because the new TV aims at offering professional news programmes and debates involving a variety of views on major issues.
A venture capitalist and property developer, Jahanshahi made much of his fortune in Spain and France before beginning to show a political interest in Iran almost a decade ago. After the disputed presidential election in 2009, Jahanshahi founded the Green Wave Movement for Freedom, attracting several figures from former President Muhammad Khatami’s “reformist” group. One member of that group, Ali Asghar Ramezanpoor, a former Deputy Minister for Islamic Orientation, has been recruited to manage Raha TV.
Having fled Iran, Ramezanpoor worked for the BBC's Persian programme, along with a number of other members of the Khatami administration, notably former Minister for Islamic Orientation Atallah Mohajerani. On the political front, Jahanshahi has recruited a number of figures representing a range of ideologies. These include Dr. Mehrdad Khonsari, a diplomat before the revolution, and Dr. Ali Reza Nurizadeh, a poet and columnist for the London Persian-language weekly Kayhan and an anti-mullah militant of long standing.
According to Jahanshahi, Raha will provide Iranians inside and outside Iran with “news and analysis they can trust.”

Kuwait: The crisis of semi-democracy
By Abdul Rahman Al-Rashed
Asharq Alawsat
It is completely normal for there to be a complicated relationship between the ruling authority and opposition political forces within the legitimacy of parliament and political work in Kuwait. It is a semi-democracy; there are elections but party work is prohibited, there is a parliamentary majority but this majority has no right to form the government. On the other hand, the parliament, i.e. the national assembly, has legislative and regulatory authority over the government, and one third of government ministers are elected, and therefore the Kuwaiti system cannot be described as a fraudulent democracy, which is something that the region is known for.
Kuwait today is in crisis, but it is an ongoing crisis for there have been five elections in the past six years! The Emir dissolved parliament at the request of the opposition, prior to which Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser Al-Sabah resigned in another attempt to satisfy opponents, and now there is a dispute over the distribution of constituencies.
A semi-democracy will inevitably have its problems, and eventually it must reach the stage of completing its other half. I think that many in Kuwait, including political figures in the state itself, are firm believers in the idea of democratic development in a state that has carried out elections for around 40 years. So why has political reform, or democratic development, not happened? I think that everyone is to blame. The political or constitutional leadership has not put forward a project to complete the semi-democracy, to contribute to the building of party groups, and to grant the winning forces their right to government participation. On the other hand, the opposition is not prepared to recognize that its existing structure is unfit for party politics, for it consists of sectarian or tribal groupings. In Kuwait, as in many other Arab countries, tribe is still stronger than creed, and creed is stronger than nationalism. Thus democratic competition transforms into a conflict between tribes and sects, thereby negating the value of democracy.
The sensitive, current circumstances that have caused the opposition to rise up and raise their slogans have worried the Kuwaiti political regime and the rest of the Gulf region. Is this the spirit of the Tunisian revolution that started the Arab Spring, or is it the spirit of Islamic groups, the Muslim Brotherhood and Salafists, which triumphed in Tunisia and Egypt, and now believe that this is their time and their chance in Kuwait and elsewhere?
From diwans to demonstrations, this time the opposition raised the ceiling of its activities and came out onto the street in order to challenge the regime, not only the government. The regime had unilaterally decided to change the country’s electoral rules, which pushed matters towards a confrontation, and raised fears of clashes opening up a second heated front in the Gulf, after Bahrain. But Kuwait is not Bahrain, at least at this stage, although the Bahrain crisis is similar to that of Kuwait in terms of its sequencing, beginning as a movement of public opposition and then taking on a sectarian guise.
I think that the Kuwait reformist movement's greatest enemy is timing. The suggestion that the current opposition mobilization is an extension of the Arab political wave of change frightens the traditional powers, who may not be opposed to political reform and development, but they fear its immeasurable nature, whether internally or abroad.
The second fear is that this mobilization may be part of an external political arrangement, specifically orchestrated from the Muslim Brotherhood, whose victories have inspired Gulf Islamists to mobilize and coerce the state into changing the status quo. According to this view, the slogans being raised about reform are merely a means to seize power, and have nothing to do with actual democratic development.
These concerns and uncertainties, as I have heard from those who prefer to sit on the fence at this stage, show that the problem lies in the timing. This means that we should not put Kuwait and Bahrain in the same basket, and we must urge the Kuwaiti opposition to distinguish their calls for reform from foreign calls for change, and likewise emphasize that they are not part of the political storm being driven by foreign movements, whether from the Muslim Brotherhood or otherwise. Does a dispute over constituencies merit such a battle? Where would this lead Kuwait and the Gulf as a whole?

Iran: The president who woke up at the eleventh hour
By Amir Taheri/Asharq Alawsat
What is he trying to do?" This was the question the daily Kayhan posed the other day in a comment about President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s abortive attempt at visiting the Evin prison where some of Iran’s political prisoners are held.
If the daily, published by the office of the “Supreme Guide” Ali Khamenei, had assumed that Ahmadinejad would simply walk back with his tail between his legs, it was disappointed. An angry president lashed backed by publishing the texts of two letters. One was addressed to him by the Chief Justice Sadeq Larijani; the other was his own reply.
Larijani, a mid-ranking mullah, had written that the president would not be allowed to visit Evin and that Ahmadinejad’s move was politically motivated. Earlier, the Islamic Prosecutor General Mohseni Ejehi, another mid-ranking mullah, had publicly criticized Ahmadinejad for wanting to visit the dreaded prison. It was obvious that the two mullahs had acted on orders from Khamenei, another mid-ranking mullah, who had appointed them.
In his letter, Ahmadinejad recalls several articles of the Constitution under which the president is described as head of the executive branch with the task of “protecting the fundamental rights of the Iranian nation.”
That Larijani and Ejehi have little regard for the law, except perhaps the law of the jungle, is clear from their intervention in a matter that, legally speaking, does not concern them. Running the prisons is part of the remit of the Ministry of Interior. Also, Evin, like other prisons, has a procedure for visits not only by families of prisoners but of medical personnel, researchers and lawyers.
It is interesting that two un-elected mullahs could exclude the elected president from part of the nation’s territory. If the two mullahs could decide where Ahmadindjad could or could not go, what is there to prevent them from denying him the right to step out of his home?
Since Larijani and Ejehi are small fries, it is clear that the duel is between Ahmadinejad and Khamenei.
Such duels have been a feature of the Khomeinist system from the start. Mehdi Bazargan, who headed the first Khomeinist government, was forced to resign once he realized he was "like a knife without a blade." The first elected President Abol-Hassan Banisadr had to flee for his life after Khomeini threatened to have him assassinated. The second president, Muhammad-Ali Raja'i, was blown up in a bomb attack whose perpetrators, to this day, have not been identified.
Some presidents decided to temporize. Ali Khamenei agreed to eat humble pie after Khomeini publicly ordered him to focus on theological studies. His successor Hashemi Rafsanjani surfed along by avoiding political issues and focusing on his family's business interests. Muhammad Khatami temporized by travelling round the world to talk about Hobbes and Hobsbawm.
Ahmadinejad is the first of the seven "chief executives" of the Islamic Republic to decide to hang on and fight. Unlike Bazargan, he does not intend to resign. Unlike Banisadir, he does not plan to escape. Unlike Khamenei (when he was president) he has no intention of eating humble pie. Unlike Rafsanjani he is not prepared to trade political power for business interests. And unlike Khatami, he does not intend to grin and bear it.
This is not the first time that the cocky president is looking for a fight. Nor is the prison issue the only one he has brought up.
Lately, his most daring sortie came during his recent visit to New York when he declared on no fewer than five occasions, that he was ready to negotiate with the United States in defiance of Khamenei's edict forbidding talks with the "Great Satan". Ignoring his previous anti-Israel diatribes, Ahmadinejad also claimed that the Islamic Republic was “no country's enemy" and sought good relations with all.
Needless to say, Khamenei’s faction thrashed Ahmadinejad’s statements even before he had returned home. Muhammad-Ali Sa’idi, a mullah and Khamenei’s liaison man with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, told reporters that the military had made “a grave mistake” by helping Ahmadinejad become president. “We didn’t know that he would become a menace for the system and for Islam,” he said.
With seven months left of his presidency, why has Ahmadinejad decided to pick a fight?
Some suggest he is seeking to distance himself from a system that he knows is heading nowhere, thus trying to improve his historic image. Others claim that he has an eye on the next presidential campaign. Under the constitution, he cannot seek a third successive term. But he could field an associate as candidate, remaining a player in this deadly game.
Neither explanation is satisfactory.
Ahmadinejad’s historic image was set in 2009 when Khamenei declared him the winner of the presidential election even before the results had been officially announced. The episode ended the regime’s republican pretensions, revealing it as a witch’s brew of medieval superstitions and fascist and communist shibboleths. As for Ahmadinejad’s hope that his faction could have a candidate and, perhaps, even win, his latest act of defiance makes that prospect less likely. Khamenei could veto the candidacy of anyone associated with Ahmadinejad.
The only way that Ahmadinejad’s defiance might make sense is if he has the courage to include the people. That means mobilizing popular support for constitutional change to get rid of “Walayat al-Faqih” [Guardianship of the Jurists], the source of many of Iran’s miseries for three decades.
Ahmadinejad hints at this in his letter to Larijani.
“Based on my oath of office,” he writes, “I am determined to ensure the full application of the Constitution and the fundamental reform of the nation’s affairs.” He adds that he plans to visit prisons, and some courts, to assess “the application of the Constitution in accordance with the fundamental rights of the people”, promising to report his findings not only to Khamenei but also to “our great nation”.
Well, we shall see.

Sudan: a front for Israel's proxy war on Sinai jihadis?
October 25, 2012/Daily Star/By Dan Williams
JERUSALEM: If Israel bombed a Sudanese munitions factory, as Khartoum alleges, the raid was part of its widening proxy war against Islamist militants in neighbouring Egypt which the Jewish state is reluctant to confront directly.
A huge explosion ripped through the factory near the Sudanese capital Khartoum on Tuesday, killing two people, with Sudan swiftly accusing Israel of sending four military planes to take out the complex.
The poor Muslim east African state, with its ties to Iran and Sunni jihadis, has long been seen by Israel as a conduit for weapons smuggled onward to the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip, via the Egyptian Sinai desert.
With Sinai itself becoming a seedbed of al Qaeda-inspired cadres during Cairo's political upheaval, the Israelis now fear such arms could be used against them from within Egyptian territory. That puts Israel in a strategic bind, laid bare by the half-dozen guerrilla attacks it absorbed over the Egyptian border in recent months.
The countries' landmark 1979 peace accord precludes Israeli military action, whether preventive or retaliatory, in the Sinai, and Israel is highly unlikely to risk even a one-off breach given Egypt's unsympathetic new Islamist-led government.
Israel's response, government and military sources said, has been to hit first against those on Egypt's periphery suspected of links to the Sinai militants.
That has meant stepped-up up air strikes on Gazans accused of plotting operations in Sinai, and - to judge by reports from Khartoum - similar escalation in Sudan, to Egypt's south.
Israel has never confirmed or denied carrying out attacks on Sudanese targets. But Israeli defence officials admit placing a high priority on tracking arms trafficking through the country.
The monitoring, one retired official said, dates back to the previous government of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, which waged a 2008-2009 Gaza war to crush Palestinian rocket fire and found itself fending off fierce censure abroad over the civilian toll.
Since early in 2009, shortly before the centrist Olmert was succeeded by the right-wing Benjamin Netanyahu, Sudan has accused Israel of carrying out several strikes on its territory. The sense of a far-flung covert campaign was further fuelled by the Israelis' alleged assassination of a senior Hamas armourer in Dubai in 2010 and abduction for trial of a suspected Palestinian rocket expert from Ukraine the following year.
Commenting tersely on Israel's strategy, the ex-official said it aimed to "stem the flow of arms (to Sinai and Gaza) without triggering major confrontations".
"This is all the more relevant today," the ex-official said, referring to instability in Egypt and surging Sinai militancy.
Foreign intelligence sources said Israel carried out a unmanned drone raid on a convoy south of Khartoum last month that destroyed 200 tonnes of munitions, including rockets, intended for Gaza.
Tuesday's blowing up of the Sudanese munitions factory was different to previous incidents, in that a state asset was hit. In a further suggestion of escalation by Israel, witnesses said the sortie was carried out by piloted fighter jets.
Amos Gilad, a senior Israeli defence official, made clear that Sudan should be considered fair game - an enemy like Hamas and Iran - and that Cairo's interests were also at stake.
"It is clear that it (Sudan) supports the smuggling of munitions, or it helps Gaza. In actuality, these munitions pass through Egypt, so it is endangering its major neighbour, Egypt. It harms national security because tomorrow these arms could also be used against the Egyptians," Gilad told Army Radio.
Sudanese Information Minister Ahmed Belal Osman declined to say whether any weapons from the attacked Yarmouk arms factory in Khartoum had ended up in Gaza, saying on Wednesday that only "traditional weapons in line with international law" were produced there.
A Swiss-published 2009 Small Arms Survey sponsored by several European governments found that Iran was a major supplier of light munitions to Sudan.
Khartoum has not said whether Iran was in any way involved in the factory that was bombed. A non-Israeli source briefed on the incident said the air strike focused on the main open area between the plant's main buildings, leaving open the possibility the target was specific personnel or production lines, rather than the whole complex.
Given the some 1,900 km (1,200 mile) distance between Israel and Sudan, some Israeli commentators saw in the alleged raid a warning to Iran, whose similarly remote nuclear facilities the Netanyahu government has hinted it could attack should diplomatic efforts to shut them down fail.
Alex Fishman, senior defence analyst for Israel's top-selling newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth, dubbed the Sudan raid a "live-fire practice run" for Iran.
But the Israeli ex-official, who has an extensive military background, was sceptical about comparing a fenced, open-air Khartoum factory with antiquated air defences to Iran's dug-in nuclear facilities.
The ex-official also noted the further difference between flying along the Red Sea toward Sudan, an international aviation corridor, to the prospect of Israeli jets reaching Iran through the unfriendly skies of Arab states like Jordan, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia.
"Israel isn't 'signalling' to Iran, just as it's not 'signalling' to the terrorists in Sinai," the ex-official said. "Whatever actions might be taken in Sudan are taken to counter a real, immediate threat."
Though attacks on Israel by Sinai jihadis have been mainly with small arms, there have been occasional short-range rocket launches and Israeli officials worry about possible attempts to down airliners with shoulder-fired missiles.

Report: UK says won't aid US strike on Iran
The Guardian says London apprehensive about possible preemptive strike on Tehran's nuclear facilities as 'Iran not yet a clear and present threat'
Ynet Published: 10.26.12/Britain does not consider Iran as a "clear and present threat" and will not aid the United States should it mount a preemptive strike on Tehran's nuclear facilities, The Guardian reported Friday.
According to the report, the London has so fat denied a request by US diplomats to use British bases – such as in the Ascension Island in the Atlantic and Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean – to support the build-up of western forces in the Persian Gulf.
London argued that any preemptive strike "could be in breach of international law."
According to the report, the UK Foreign Office's intelligence assessments do not deem the Islamic Republic's nuclear program as "a clear and present threat."
"The UK would be in breach of international law if it facilitated what amounted to a pre-emptive strike on Iran," a senior Whitehall source was quoted by The Guardian as saying.
"It is explicit. The government has been using this to push back against the Americans."
The newspaper quoted another source as saying, "I think the US has been surprised that ministers have been reluctant to provide assurances about this kind of upfront assistance."
The Royal Navy has several warships in the Persian Gulf, including a nuclear-powered submarine.
The Guardian further reported that a British military delegation met with US military officials in Florida over the summer "to run through a range of contingency plans."
"It is quite likely that if the Israelis decided to attack Iran, or the Americans felt they had to do it for the Israelis or in support of them, the UK would not be told beforehand," a top London source told the newspaper. "In some respects, the UK government would prefer it that way."
A UK Foreign Office spokesman said: "As we continue to make clear, the government does not believe military action against Iran is the right course of action at this time, although no option is off the table.
"We believe that the twin-track approach of pressure through sanctions, which are having an impact and engagement with Iran, is the best way to resolve the nuclear issue. We are not going to speculate about scenarios in which military action would be legal. That would depend on the circumstances at the time."
A US state department official told the Guardian that, "The US and the UK co-ordinate on all kinds of subjects all the time, on a huge range of issues. We never speak on the record about these types of conversations." Following the report, Prime Minister David Cameron's office said Friday that the British government is involved in military contingency planning with the United States on potential flashpoints in the Middle East – but insists it does not support any imminent strike on Iran's nuclear sites.
The statement confirmed that planning is being carried out with the US and other allies, including on the potential use by American forces of British bases overseas.
Reuters contributed to this report