Ethnic Cleansing / Land Theft & Destruction / Occupation & Apartheid / Exile & Restriction of Movement / Refugees

Report: Israel issued 13,000 demolition orders against Palestinian real estate
Haaretz newspaper said the Israeli civil administration issued 13,000 demolition warnings against Palestinians accused of unlicensed construction in Area C of the West Bank.
link to www.palestine-info.co.uk

Israeli military order expels Palestinian family from its land
The Israeli occupation forces expelled on Friday a Palestinian family from an area south of Al-Khalil, claiming that it is a closed military zone in which Palestinians are not allowed to live.
link to www.palestine-info.co.uk

On Friday, the head of the U.S. negotiation team, undersecretary of state for political affairs Wendy Sherman, arrived in Israel along with officials from the White House National Security Council working on the Iran nuclear issue – Gary Seymour and Puneet Talwar.

...

According to the U.S. official, the Israeli government was the first to be updated by them on what happened in Baghdad after the talks were over. "We updated the Israelis in detail before we updated our own government," the official said.

Does this dire forecast sound familiar?  In 2000, Miller was part of the group led by Dennis Ross, who met its final ignominious defeat by midwifing Ehud Barak’s “generous offer” at the Clinton Camp David summit.  The failure of that negotiation led to the violence of the Second Intifada.  Today, Miller and his colleagues are derisively called “peace processors.”  Now, he uses the term “peace process” to mean a tactic that can delay war, but not resolve conflict.

Despite his past failures in diplomacy, Miller can usually be relied upon for original and provocative analysis.  His CNN opinion piece titled, “A lull in the drift toward war with Iran” is no exception.  For Miller, the conflict with the present Iranian government defies solution since it is more about hegemony than nuclear weapons.

Miller views the Iran negotiations or “peace process” as quickly reaching an impasse.

The only problem with this approach [continued negotiations] is that its chances of success are dubious. In coming weeks and months, the negotiating process may well produce limited understandings. But it's hard to see how these will turn into a sustainable deal that can convince the West, let alone the Israelis, that Iran has given up its quest for nukes.

Yes, Miller believes Iran will never relinquish its quest to achieve nuclear capability, but not because it wants to attack Israel.  I find this pessimism a bit odd from a career diplomat, especially since we know so little about the extent of the Iranian nuclear weapons program, past, present and future.

Iran wants a nuclear capacity. Outside of the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council, four nations possess nukes: Israel, India, Pakistan and North Korea. All are fundamentally insecure and perceive nukes as a core advantage in their security and foreign policy theology.

Iran is insecure, but it believes it is profoundly entitled. This mix of vulnerability and grandiosity is a bad combination. The Iranian regime wants the bomb, not primarily to have the option of attacking Israel, a possible fringe benefit, but as a hedge against regime change and as a prestige weapon in its quest for regional power and influence. Had the Shah not been turned out by the 1979 revolution, Iran would already have nukes.

Iran fashions itself a great power, and great powers believe they need the ultimate weapon. Iran's nuclear program is too advanced, too entrenched, too redundant and too secretive to be stopped permanently, even by military attack. To do so, you'd need to change the regime.

The flip side of Iranian insecurity and hegemonic aspirations are the very real threats it faces from the U.S.

America wants an end to its [Iran’s] repression and brutality, freedom for the Iranian people and Iran's regional ambitions curtailed.

There's almost no issue on which Washington and Tehran agree, from support for Hamas and Hezbollah, to backing the Assads, to Iranian terrorism, to support for Shia insurgents, to Iraq and to Israel and the Palestinians. Given the level of suspicion and mistrust, the odds of finding a sustainable modus vivendi soon, particularly against the backdrop of the regime change issue, are slim to none.

As long as the regime is convinced that America wants it replaced and Iran's regional ambitions muzzled, Iran will continue its quest for nukes. Indeed, the nuclear issue can't be separated from the issue of regime insecurity. It's emblematic of Iran's hopes and fears.

Finally, you have to talk about Israel and its influence on sanctions and its much threatened military option.  I think Miller lets Israel off the hook way too easily, since he writes only about U.S. hegemonic goals and ignores Israel’s.  However, when you realize that Yitzhak Rabin was a familiar guest in Miller’s Zionist Cleveland  home when he was a child, this is not surprising.

Israeli hopes and fears factor centrally into the equation too. We wouldn't have the tough sanctions we do if it weren't for President Obama's and the Europeans' fear of an Israeli strike.

But the Iranian regime won't stop, and will inch closer to a breakout capacity to produce a weapon. And the Israelis will then have to decide whether to launch a military strike or bring enough pressure on the Obama administration to do so, even if it only means a setback of a year or two [in Iran’s nuclear program].

How much does Israel drive the discussion here? Inter Press reports that the talks broke down because the U.S. took the Israeli hardline and said to Iran, you'll get no relief from sanctions even if you agree to the international demand not to enrich uranium to 20 percent. Writes Gareth Porter:

"[The] inflexible U.S. diplomatic posture... reflects President Barack Obama's need to bow to the demands of Israel and the U.S. Congress on Iran policy."

Even the Times hints at this idea:

Several accounts in Iran’s state-controlled media compared the positions taken by Tehran’s interlocutors in Baghdad to those of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, which considers Iran’s nuclear program an existential threat.

Jim Lobe anticipated this outcome when he said that neoconservatives had "blitz"-ed the Obama administration in the runup to the talks. He referred to reports by the American Enterprise Institute saying Iran is on the verge of producing weapons-grade uranium and the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies saying there must be no nuclear enrichment in Iran, period. Apparently the Obama administration was listening:

After the Istanbul meeting [in April], Western officials suggested there could be some easing of economic sanctions against Iran...

But during the past week, U.S. and Western diplomats appear to have taken a harder line. ...

"They have to stop all enrichment," Netanyahu told CNN on the eve of the Baghdad talks, adding that Iran should also be compelled to "dismantle the underground bunker" at Fordow.

Neo-conservatives and other hawks here have faithfully echoed that position with growing urgency as the Baghdad meeting approache...

In an election year, the neoconservatives are apparently pushing on an open door. The Obama administration's obedience is indicated in this statement yesterday from the State Department:

Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Wendy Sherman will travel to Tel Aviv, Israel on May 25 for consultations on bilateral and regional issues with senior officials and to reaffirm our unshakeable commitment to Israel's security.

Sherman was formerly a leading moderate voice in the administration. Last fall she was urging the Senate not to up sanctions on Iran because sanctions were working and the goal was a diplomatic solution involving the P5+1-- the very body now undermined in the Baghdad talks. Sherman also argued that sanctions would drive oil costs too high. She continued to sound the moderate when she announced a website reaching out to Iranians: "saying to the Iranian people – to Iran’s Government itself, as High Representative Cathy Ashton did in her recent letter to Iranian officials, that we remain open to having serious discussions about their nuclear program if they are indeed serious and ready to have those discussions without preconditions." But the talks broke down, and Sherman hies unto Tel Aviv.

Senate fight today over Palestinian ‘refugees’
Thirty U.S. senators will vote today over whether there really are 5 million Palestinian "refugees" or just around 30,000 -- a hot-button issue that has already become the subject of a vigorous international debate involving Israel and its Arab neighbors. When the Senate Appropriations Committee takes up the fiscal 2013 State Department and foreign operations appropriations bill today, senators will vote on an amendment crafted by Sen. Mark Kirk (R-IL) that would require the State Department to report on how many of the millions of people currently supported by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) are actually people who were physically displaced from their homes in Israel or the occupied territories, and how many are descendants of original refugees.
link to thecable.foreignpolicy.com

UK: Israel’s Settlements Harm its International Standing
The WAFA News Agency reported today a UK Foreign Office statement issued on Wednesday. British Foreign Secretary William Hague told his visiting Israeli counterpart Avigdor Lieberman that Israel’s settlement expansion in Jerusalem and the West Bank harms its international standing.
link to www.imemc.org

Senate fight today over Palestinian ‘refugees’
Thirty U.S. senators will vote today over whether there really are 5 million Palestinian "refugees" or just around 30,000 -- a hot-button issue that has already become the subject of a vigorous international debate involving Israel and its Arab neighbors. When the Senate Appropriations Committee takes up the fiscal 2013 State Department and foreign operations appropriations bill today, senators will vote on an amendment crafted by Sen. Mark Kirk (R-IL) that would require the State Department to report on how many of the millions of people currently supported by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) are actually people who were physically displaced from their homes in Israel or the occupied territories, and how many are descendants of original refugees.
link to thecable.foreignpolicy.com

Health ministery: Gaza hospitals still threatened by the power and fuel crisis
The health ministry warned that the medical work in Gaza hospitals is still endangered by the power crisis and there is no sufficient fuel even to operate their generators in the coming days.
link to www.palestine-info.co.uk

WASHINGTON — AIPAC applauds the Senate for passing the Iran Sanctions, Accountability and Human Rights Act of 2012 (S. 2101) just days before the P5 + 1 sits down again with Iran. The unanimous passage of this bill signals the Senate’s determination to thwart Iran’s nuclear program. This bill will significantly ratchet up the sanctions against Iran and provide the Obama administration another tool to pressure Tehran to abandon its nuclear weapons program. The recently revealed explosives chamber on an Iranian military base further underscores the urgency of stopping the Islamic Republic in its tracks before the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism can acquire the capability to build a nuclear weapon.

And at Huffington Post, Rosenberg says that our whole policy is being determined by AIPAC:

There is a fundamental absurdity hanging over negotiations with Iran, and I fear it could doom the whole enterprise.

It is the position of AIPAC as adopted by the Congress of the United States. This president is likely to only go as far as AIPAC (or the Israel lobby at large) will permit him to go. Given that the Iranian government is aware of that fact and given that it knows that the lobby has been agitating for war for a decade, it can hardly be a surprise that Iran is not particularly responsive to our demands. It understands that the U.S. demands are AIPAC's (ultimately Prime Minister Netanyahu's) demands and it knows that there will be no satisfying them.

There are so many ironies here, the first being that AIPAC (and the Congress that is under its sway) is far more hawkish than the Israeli military and intelligence communities, not to mention the Israeli public....

The Israel lobby is the cloud hanging over the Iran talks. Even today, as the Iran talks reconvene, three Senate lobby stalwarts -- Joseph Lieberman (I-CT), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), John McCain (R-AZ) -- have an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal demanding that the Obama administration accept nothing less than zero uranium enrichment by the Iranians, even though that train left the station a long time ago. That is, of course, Prime Minister Netanyahu's position, one designed to sabotage talks, not to advance them.

Of course, there are other signs (which the Iranians no doubt see) indicating that the U.S. will not be negotiating in good faith. Just yesterday Vice President Joseph Biden met with the Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish Organizations to assure the assembled leaders that the U.S. has no intention of doing anything on Iran that Netanyahu would not approve. Today Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid also met with the hawkish group to reassure them of U.S. fealty. On Monday, the Senate piled on new Iran sanctions on top of the ones we already have in place which are already inflicting heavy punishment on the Iranian people (although not on their leaders). And then there is the "no containment" resolution which passed the House overwhelmingly and which says that if Iran develops a nuclear weapon, the president must attack Iran.

The bottom line is that U.S. Iran policy is made by and for Netanyahu and the lobby. No matter what progress comes out of the Baghdad negotiations, Congress -- at the lobby's bidding -- will immediately move to thwart it.

The Israel lobby's influence poses a threat to world peace now....

You go into Afghanistan, you got guys who slap women around for five years because they didn't wear a veil. You know, guys like that ain't got no manhood left anyway. So it's a hell of a lot of fun to shoot them. Actually it's quite fun to fight them, you know. It's a hell of a hoot. It's fun to shoot some people. I'll be right up there with you. I like brawling.

He "speaks his mind" ala General Curtis LeMay back in Vietnam days, even as Obama is urging patience. Lake:

Those who have worked with Mattis say his views when it comes to Iran are more in line with those of America’s allies in the Persian Gulf and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu than with his own government’s. At a recent charity event for Spirit of America, Mattis, known by admirers as the “warrior monk” and by detractors as “Mad Dog Mattis,” said his three top concerns in the Middle East were “Iran, Iran, and Iran.”

I asked David Bromwich-- who has described Obama's presidency as "the Peace Prize War Presidency" -- what is going on. He says:

I think Obama believes he has all this under control. He wants the
pressure to be ratcheted up continuously but slowly between now and
November; he looks for a position of slightly increased hope for peace
with Iran. So the evident plan is to put off an attack but not remove
the pressure for attack before November. Yesterday's "hopeful" statement about inspections in Iran by the IAEA director Yukiya Amano, accompanied by the cautious remarks of Obama's press secretary and the extremely skeptical public statement by Ehud Barak, show the plan going forward apparently on schedule.

But as with the debt ceiling, as with health care, as with Israel/Palestine, as with the economy--Obama's sense here of his own control has a precarious foundation in the visible facts.

According to the newspaper, Vice President Joseph Biden told a gathering of the powerful Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish Organizations that the U.S. will soon be sending a group of senior policy and security officials to Israel.  The Americans will be coordinating positions for the Iran negotiations with the Israelis.

Ironically quoting Dennis Ross, the world’s foremost expert on U.S.-Israel cooperation, Ha'aretz indicates that Israel will have significant influence on the U.S. positions at the Iran negotiations.

Various officials explained today that the Obama administration is working in coordination with Israel concerning the steps that are being demanded from Iran.  President Obama’s former advisor, Dennis Ross, told Ha’aretz that “it is not accidental that Defense Minister Ehud Barak came to Washington last week.  I am certain that the aim of his visit was to be part of this dialog.  The Israeli position has a certain influence on our position; there is no intention to surprise [the Israelis].”

It seems that if the U.S. was interested in compromising with the Iranians, they would not be so dismissive of the expected agreement with the IAEA.  Also, the Obama administration would not be so publicly including the Israelis, who daily  insist Iran cannot be trusted to adhere to any agreement and who are seeking unrealistic concessions from Tehran.

Many will claim that this show of unity will scare the Iranians into compliance with Western demands.   I do not agree.  There was much talk of confidence-building after the first round in Istanbul.  Talking tough and bringing in the Israelis is not going to encourage Tehran to trust the U.S.  That lack of trust could prove to be the fatal blow to obtaining a diplomatic solution.

I am starting to get the sickening feeling that as was the case with Iraq, the U.S. is not going to Baghdad to make peace, but rather as a prelude to increased sanctions. And if that does not force Iranian capitulation, then it will mean the use of either U.S. or Israeli military force.

Many in the political and military establishments say:  Why should we negotiate when we can get what we want by using force?  That was Vice President Dick Cheney’s response after hearing of Iran’s very credible offer to start negotiations at the time of the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan.  Of course, talking with Tehran was not on the Israeli or pro-Israel lobby’s agenda at the time.  It still is not.

It is starting to look a lot like Iraq.  The same people are pushing for war. The same undemonstrated charges about weapons of mass destruction are being made. 

I hope I am wrong, but I just do not have a good feeling about all this tough talk by the U.S., the five other states in the P5 + 1, and Israel, a day before the next critical round of negotiations begin. 

It does nothing to build confidence that the talks will succeed.

In the past, diplomatic breakthroughs for Israel have come after intense and prolonged periods of violence. Ironically, therefore, Israel's attack could probably be an effective way to break the deadlock in the Middle East peace process that shows no signs of going anywhere on its own. While this path is certainly not a desirable option, it is worth considering how it might play out.

...Any attack will incite Iran to retaliate by launching long-range missiles on Israel's cities. The Israeli home front, however, is unprepared to be hit by thousands of missiles and rockets. In this case, the Iranian response could overshadow Israelis' sense of victory buoyed by an impressive attack and invalidate the initial support given to the government's act of war. A deadly and costly war of attrition is on the horizon....

It is in this moment of attrition, proving the fallacy of the assumption of "getting the job done," where American diplomats could step in and offer a new package deal: an Israel-Iran ceasefire, monitoring of the future Iranian nuclear project and Israel's withdrawal from the West Bank, as well as possibly the Golan heights if the situation in Syria is stabilized...

True, the costs are immense; however, as the history of the Arab-Israeli conflict shows, diplomatic endeavors have not brought about political breakthroughs, but only costly wars...

There is of course a much more practical option that would not involve the death and destruction of the preceding scenario. The Israeli leadership can embark on a different strategy: With the current formation of a new "national unity" coalition with the opposition centrist Kadima Party (under the new leadership of Shaul Mofaz, who has seemed critical of a belligerent Iran policy at times in the past), it can withdraw from the option of attacking Iran and promote a peaceful agenda with the Arabs in line with the neglected Saudi peace initiative.

Detainees and Other Prisoner News

Palestinians arrest 10 Islamic Jihad members
Palestinian security forces arrested 10 members of the Islamic Jihad in the Jenin refugee camp on Monday, a local leader of the radical movement said.
link to news.yahoo.com

Islamic Jihad holds PA security responsible for assaults on its cadres
The Islamic Jihad said that the PA security men broke into houses of a number of the Islamic Jihad leaders and cadres, on Monday, in the Jenin refugee camp in Burkin town.
link to www.palestine-info.co.uk

IOF soldiers nab ten Palestinians including three children in Jerusalem and Al Khalil
Israeli occupation forces (IOF) rounded up ten Palestinians in Al-Khalil and Jerusalem over the past 24 hours including three children. 
link to www.palestine-info.co.uk

IOF soldiers detain child, summons liberated prisoner
Israeli occupation forces (IOF) detained a 15-year-old child in Beit Ummar village, north of Al-Khalil, on Monday evening, local sources said.
link to www.palestine-info.co.uk

Suspicion: Israelis harvested organs from the needy
Police suspect organ-harvesting network operated mainly in Kosovo, Azerbaijan; probe was launched after Turkish man told authorities in Kosov he was 'thrown out to the street' following operation.
link to www.ynetnews.com

Al-Jazeera's (R)Evolution?
In March of 2011, an unusually forthright editorial by an anonymous writer made its way into the Peninsula Qatar, an English language daily bankrolled by a member of the emirate’s ruling family. At the time of publication, protesters had already toppled the presidents of Tunisia and Egypt, uprisings were in full swing in Libya and Yemen, and in the Persian Gulf, Bahrainis were gearing up for what would prove a bloody battle only days after the op-ed ran. 
http://www.jadaliyya.com/pages/index/5610/al-jazeeras-(r)evolution

Lawyer: Jailed Bahrain activist granted bail
A court in Bahrain granted bail Sunday for a jailed rights activist, but he remained in detention to await another court hearing later this week, a defense lawyer said.
link to news.yahoo.com

Despite Being Granted Bill, Nabeel Rajab Still Detained
Although he was granted bill, prominent Bahraini activist Nabeel Rajab remained in jail of Al-Khalifa regime.
link to www.almanar.com.lb

Bahrain in UN spotlight over political prisoners
Bahrain faced calls at the United Nations on Monday to release its political prisoners, including prominent rights activist Nabeel Rajab who is charged with tweeting insults against the government.
link to news.yahoo.com

Bahraini Prince Should Not be Welcomed in UK, Petition Asserts
The petition drawn up by Avaaz, the world's largest and most effective online campaigning community for change, will call on the British Prime Minster David Cameron and Jacques Rogge, President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to prevent Sheikh Nasser's entry to the UK, declaring him as "persona non grata", the Ahlul Bayt News Agency reported.
link to www.albawaba.com 

The Lede Blog: Video of Street Fighting in Beirut
A Lebanese broadcaster captured harrowing footage of the fighting between rival Sunni factions that support opposite sides of the Syrian conflict, including armed men squeezing off rounds and darting through darkened streets.
link to feeds.nytimes.com

Beirut Battle: One Night, One Street, Photo Blog by Haitham Moussawi
Street battles between pro and anti Syrian groups in Beirut overnight left two people dead, a security official said on Monday, however the Lebanese capital was largely quiet on Monday morning. "During the night, groups of young men cut off the road in the Tariq al-Jdideh district and street battles followed," the official said, requesting anonymity. "Two people were killed and 18 were wounded," he said, adding that machineguns had been fired.
link to english.al-akhbar.com

Two dead after overnight street battles but Beirut calm
Street battles between pro and anti Syrian groups in Beirut overnight left two people dead, a security official said on Monday, however the Lebanese capital was largely quiet on Monday morning. "During the night, groups of young men cut off the road in the Tariq al-Jdideh district and street battles followed," the official said, requesting anonymity. "Two people were killed and 18 were wounded," he said, adding that machineguns had been fired. Supporters of the anti-Syrian Future Movement clashed with members of the pro-Assad Arab Movement, with fighting continuing until 3.00am.
link to english.al-akhbar.com

Qahwaji: We won’t Allow Sedition in any Area in Lebanon
Lebanese Army Commander General Jean Qahwaji stressed Monday that what happened in Akkar in North Lebanon after the killing of Sheikh Ahmad Abdul Wahid and his bodyguard was the result of political tension in the region. Lebanese armyIn an interview with Al-Jomhouriya newspaper, he urged Lebanese to put an end to sedition in the country, because people adhere to the state and army.
link to www5.almanar.com.lb

High Tension in Lebanon after Death of Sheikh Abdul Wahid
Several areas in Lebanon are witnessing high tension with roads being cut and gunshots heard after the Lebanese army fired at a convoy of cars which declined to stop at an army checkpoint in the town of Alkwykhat in Akkar.
link to www.almanar.com.lb
 
Protests after Lebanese sheikh killed in Akkar
A Lebanese sheikh was shot and killed by the country's army in the northern district of Akkar on Sunday, in circumstances that were initially unclear. Sheikh Ahmad Abdel Wahed and his companion Muhammad Hussein Merheb were killed in the town of Halba, the state run National News Agency (NNA) said.  The article claimed Wahed had been heading to a sit-in protest organized by the Future Movement but had failed to stop at a military checkpoint.
link to english.al-akhbar.com

US and Russia concerned by Lebanon security situation
The United States and Russia on Monday voiced concern about security in Lebanon after two clerics were shot and killed amid violence between between pro and anti Syrian groups. US State Department deputy spokesman Mark Toner issued a statement welcoming a pledge by the Lebanese authorities to probe the shootings and urged all sides to show restraint amid fears the violence in Syria was spilling into Lebanon.
link to english.al-akhbar.com

Russia Urges Lebanon to Take Stabilization Measures
Lebanon has largely managed to remain neutral in the conflict that began in neighboring Syria last March, but violence has recently spread to the country’s northern region, which saw frequent clashes between rival Sunni groups in the past two weeks.On Sunday, Lebanese troops shot dead a Sunni cleric at a checkpoint in northern Lebanon. At least two people were killed and 18 injured in Beirut in clashes overnight. “Moscow is seriously concerned over the rise of public discontent in Lebanon…we are calling on Lebanese politicians to show restraint and high patriotic responsibility in this uneasy moment both for the country and for the region,” the Foreign Ministry said urging Lebanese authorities to restore order in the country. The ministry also said that “forces that are unable to implement their destabilization plans in Syria have turned their attention to Lebanon.” 
link to en.ria.ru
 
Lies of the US government, As'ad AbuKhalil
The recent clashes in Tripoli started with the arrest of Shadi Al-Mawlawi, a man with Al-Qa`idah connection.  The arrest was widely condemned by the "pro-Western"--according to Western media--coalition of March 14.  The other side revealed that the arrest was at the behest of the CIA.  That embarrassed the sponsors of the March 14, so pro-Saudi/US media in Lebanon, LBC TV and An-Nahar, quoted US officials as denying that they were behind the arrest.  Now, Sulayman Franjiyyah, revealed on New TV that the CIA was behind the arrest of the Jordanian suspect, and that led to the arrest of Al-Mawlawi.  So the US government was being too cute in its propaganda through March 14 media in Lebanon.
link to angryarab.blogspot.com

"Armed kids on scooters were using the anarchy to try to assassinate soldiers from behind"

"The Shiites have [Hezbollah leader Hassan] Nasrallah and [Amal leader Nabih] Berri to tell them when to fight and when to stop, and their people listen," one frustrated Beirut Sunni told me late in the evening as he checked the casualty reports on his phone. "The Sunnis? We have a poster of a dead man."

link to friday-lunch-club.blogspot.com 

 

Beirut Battle: The Day After Future’s Victory

A day after an all night battle in the Future Movement’s stronghold of Tariq al-Jdideh in the Lebanese capital, residents of the neighborhood have mixed feelings that range from the thrill of “victory” to the fear of what’s next.

link to english.al-akhbar.com 

America's favorite Salafites, As'ad AbuKhalil
The Hariri Salafites in Lebanon are of the Jihadi-Bin Ladenite type.  Those were the folks who recruited fighters in Iraq.  They have been burning Lebanon in the last few days and yet not a word against them from the US government.  They are those allies: this is one of the most unreported stories.  Western journalists who were going to Lebanon on media junkets paid for by Hariri family were introduced to the Whiskey sipping members of the Hariri media office and they were not introduced to the muscle on the street.  Can you imagine if the culprits were from Hizbullah? The UN Security Council would have met in an emergency session and sanctions would have been ordered against Lebanon. 
link to angryarab.blogspot.com

The Salafi monster in Lebanon and Jeffrey Feltman, As'ad AbuKhalil
I will write about that later but make no mistake about it: Jeffrey Feltman and US policies in Lebanon during the Bush administration are responsible for the rise of the Jihadi-Salafi monster in Lebanon.  They wanted a sectarian counter to Hizbullah and found one.  I hope that they are enjoying it.  Hariri camp has been speaking about "a civil state" in Lebanon (this is very much a code word by the Muslim Brotherhood to mask their aim at Islamization of society and state): I believe them but we did not know that they wanted Ayman Adh-Dhawahiri as its head.
link to angryarab.blogspot.com

Muhammad Ra`d: Hizbullah's second thoughts on Syria, As'ad AbuKhalil
On the sinking Syrian regime ship.  People did not notice the speech by Muhammad Ra`d (the head of Hizbullah parliamentary bloc who has a unique way of expressing his political views--he was a teacher of Arabic).  Ra`d spoke about Syria in a tone that can be contrasted with the rest of Hizbullah's rhetoric about Syria.  He spoke about the right of the Syrian people to determine their future, and spoke about the freedom of the Syrian people to chose.  The party must have realized how much fodder he has provided to his enemies in Saudi/Hariri media by his unconditional and unlimited support for the lousy regime.
link to angryarab.blogspot.com

Kuwait warns residents not to visit Lebanon
Kuwait's Foreign Ministry has told its citizens to leave Lebanon and avoid traveling to the country because of increasing violence fueled by the revolt in neighboring Syria, state-run news agency KUNA reported on Monday, citing a ministry source. "Kuwaitis...should not travel to Lebanon under any circumstances," KUNA quoted the source as saying. The decision follows similar announcements by Bahrain, Qatar and the UAE on Sunday. At least two people were killed in Beirut in heavy clashes between rival Sunni Muslim gunmen early on Monday. 
link to english.al-akhbar.com

Tripoli: Salafis Make Their Move
The repeated security breaches in the Northern Lebanese city of Tripoli raise questions about who’s in control of the security situation on the ground. There are no definitive answers to these questions, but the growing influence of Salafi forces is visible.
link to english.al-akhbar.com

Don't blame Syria – Lebanon's leaders are fuelling the fighting in Tripoli, Patrick Galey
The resulting flare-ups have been carefully managed by sectarian leaders and have helped maintain the real reason why Tripoli is such a hotbed for hostility. For behind all of Syria's influence in Lebanon, and underneath a past of political manipulation, the true cause of Tripoli's violent present lies in the city's appalling neglect. The figures speak for themselves. Close to 40% of all Lebanon's poor live in Tripoli or the surrounding areas. More than half of Tripoli residents are classed as either "poor" or "extremely poor." Of those families who live in the trouble hotspots of Bab al-Tabbaneh and Jabal Mohsen, 82% live on less than the equivalent of £336 per month. Illiteracy and unemployment rates in the city are way above the national average.  While it is true that all areas of Lebanon have suffered in recent decades as the country attempts to recover from its civil war and subsequent conflicts, Tripoli residents have endured special hardship. Compared for example to parts of southern Beirut and the south, where inhabitants worst affected by Hezbollah's 2006 war with Israel have had their homes rebuilt and infrastructure improved, the people of Tripoli receive precious little by way of financial support from either state or private sponsors.
link to www.guardian.co.uk

About Last Night
Last night the sound of gunfire punctuated the Beirut soundscape. Supporters of the anti-Syrian and majority Sunni Future Movement clashed with members of the pro-Assad and Sunni Majority Arab Movement. The fighting, which was most intense around the Beirut Arab University, continued until the early hours of the morning.
link to www.jadaliyya.com

The Number One Sunni in Lebanon, Qifa Nabki

The Future Movement has seized on these events to make a typically hamfisted play, pressuring Miqati to resign. I don’t see that succeeding unless the situation in Tripoli becomes far worse. And even in such a case, I continue to believe that Hariri has no desire to return to the limelight so soon. He is biding his time abroad not because of security threats but because the position of the Lebanese Prime Minister — the Number One Sunni in Lebanon — is precisely where he doesn’t want to be right now.

link to qifanabki.com

 

Syria

 

Bomb kills 5 in Syrian capital
A bomb that apparently struck a restaurant in the Syrian capital killed at least five people, the state-run news agency said Tuesday, as activists reported intense clashes between army defectors and soldiers in the restive north.

link to news.yahoo.com

 

Syria forces kill deserters as NATO rejects action
Syrian forces ambushed and killed nine army deserters in a north Damascus suburb on Monday, a human rights watchdog said, as NATO ruled out military action against the regime of President Bashar al-Assad.
link to news.yahoo.com

 

Ex-detainee: Syrian prisons are 'slaughterhouses'
A prominent Palestinian writer who was jailed in Syria for nearly three weeks described the facilities as "human slaughterhouses," saying security agents beat detainees with batons, crammed them into stinking cells and tied them to beds at night.

link to news.yahoo.com

 

NATO chief says 'no intention' to intervene in Syria
NATO chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen on Sunday voiced concern about violence in Syria, but said the alliance has "no intention" of taking military action against the regime.

link to news.yahoo.com

 

Bomb detonates near UN observers in Syria
No casualties reported in blast in Damascus suburb, as UN peacekeeping chief urges all parties to exercise restraint.

link to www.aljazeera.com

 

Opposition groups report clashes in Syrian capital
A restive district of the Syrian capital that has been a hotbed of dissent against President Bashar Assad was rocked by fighting overnight between government forces and army defectors, opposition groups said Sunday.

link to news.yahoo.com

 

High-ranking Syrian officials deny reports of their own assassinations
Two high-ranking Syrian officials denied in interviews with state television on Sunday reports by pan-Arab channels that they, along with four other regime stalwarts, had been assassinated. 

link to english.alarabiya.net

Opposition Says it has Killed Top Six Regime Figures, But Claim is Doubtful

This photo of an opposition banner hung on a dormitory at the University of Aleppo shows the growing reach of the opposition in Aleppo. Another sign of the growing capability of the opposition is its ability to set off car bombs with growing regularity near intelligence offices and in Syria’s major cities, such as this one: Car bomb hits Syrian city of Deir al-Zour, killing 9 instantly and wounding 100. An intelligence headquarters was the target. 

link to www.joshualandis.com

Syrian opposition to announce new leader
Syria's opposition group, the Syrian National Council says it's almost ready to announce a new leader. The group's been in disarray, increasingly accused of being ineffective and out of touch with the armed struggle. Laurence Lee looks at whether a new chief might restore some of its legitimacy.
link to www.youtube.com
 

Inside Syria: An opposition divided 
The Syrian opposition appears to have come apart at the seams as different factions vie for leadership roles. James Bays discusses with Bassma Kodmani in Paris, Dr. Kamal al-Labwani in Cairo and Josh Landis in Oklahoma.

link to www.youtube.com

Syria: Losing Its Youth
The newly-politicized generation of young Syrians are constantly facing fresh challenges and bleak prospects. As employment opportunities dwindle, it becomes even harder to stay in their country.

link to english.al-akhbar.com

Other World News

 

US ambassador to Afghanistan quits amid worsening relations

The US ambassador to Afghanistan, Ryan Crocker, is to leave his post this summer, the embassy in Kabul confirmed on Tuesday. "Amb Crocker has confirmed with regret that he will be leaving Kabul this summer," the embassy said on its Twitter feed, a day after the conclusion of a NATO summit in Chicago in which leaders charted a path out of the Afghan war. The veteran diplomat, who was appointed to Kabul 10 months ago, previously served as the US envoy to Iraq, Pakistan and Syria.

link to english.al-akhbar.com

 

US protesters condemn NATO
Protesters gathering in Chicago for the NATO summit geared up on Sunday for the largest demonstration of the weekend, as thousands are expected to march from a downtown park to the lakeside convention center where President Barack Obama and other world leaders were meeting. Hours before the main demonstration was set to start, protesters – including peace activists, war veterans and those more focused on the economy – began arriving at Grant Park, holding signs denouncing NATO, including ones that read: "War(equals)Debt" and "NATO, Go Home."

link to english.al-akhbar.com

"No NATO, No War": U.S. Veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan Return War Medals at NATO Summit
We broadcast from Chicago, site of the largest NATO summit in the organization’s six-decade history. On Sunday, veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, as well as members of Afghans For Peace, led a peace march of thousands of people. Iraq Veterans Against the War held a ceremony where nearly 50 veterans discarded their war medals by hurling them down the street in the direction of the NATO summit. We hear the soldiers’ voices as they return their medals one by one from the stage. "I am giving back my global war on terror service medal in solidarity with the people of Iraq and Afghanistan," said Jason Heard, a former combat medic who spent 10 years in the U.S. Army. "I am deeply sorry for the destruction that we have caused in these countries and around the globe."
link to www.democracynow.org

Scott Olsen, U.S. Vet Who Nearly Lost Life at Occupy Protest, Brings Antiwar Message to NATO Summit
We’re joined at the NATO summit in Chicago by Scott Olsen, who survived two tours in Iraq but almost died when he was hit with a police projectile at an Occupy Oakland protest last year. Olsen returned four of his medals at Sunday’s antiwar march. When asked why he’s joined the Occupy movement and is protesting against the heavily-policed NATO summit, Olsen says, "I am going to make every effort I can to show them that we’re doing the right thing. No matter what they do to any of us, we’ve got each other’s backs and we’re going forward."
link to www.democracynow.org

U.S. Army Vets Join With Afghans For Peace to Lead Antiwar March at Chicago NATO Summit
Sunday’s antiwar march at the NATO summit in Chicago was led by members of Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW) and Afghans For Peace. "We’re here to protest NATO and call on all NATO representatives to end this inhumane, illegal and barbaric war against our home country and our people," says Suraia Sahar, a member of Afghans For Peace who marched alongside Afghan war veteran Graham Clumpner during anti-NATO protest in Chicago. "I feel honored standing next to this veteran because in my opinion they are doing the right thing by speaking out against the occupation and war alongside us." Clumpner says, "I reject any affiliation with this war."
link to www.democracynow.org

Chicago Police Face Accusations of Entrapment, Brutality in Crackdown on NATO Protesters
Dozens of anti-NATO protesters have been arrested in Chicago over the past several days including five men who were jailed on domestic terrorism charges. Three of the men were accused of plotting to attack President Barack Obama’s campaign headquarters, Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s home and other targets. Their lawyers say they were entrapped by government informants. The Chicago police have also been criticized by activist groups for using violent force to break up protests and accused of targeting independent media activists who have been streaming the protests live over the Internet. On Saturday night three helping to live stream video of the protests were detained at gunpoint.
link to www.democracynow.org

 

Imagine the reaction if a Muslim cleric in the U.S. said this: North Carolina pastor: Send LGBT people to concentration camps to die

Pastor Charles Worley of the Providence Road Baptist Church in North Carolina recently told his congregation that LGBT individuals should be rounded up and detained in camps until they’re all dead. During a sermon on May 13, Worley berated President Barack Obama for claiming that same sex couples should be allowed to marry. “The Bible is against it, God is against it, I’m against it and if you’ve got any sense you’re against it,” he said. “I figured a way out to get rid of all the lesbians and queers. But it isn’t going to pass in Congress. Build a great, big, large fence — 150 or 100 mile long — put all the lesbians in there. Fly over and drop some food. Do the same thing for the queers and the homosexuals, and have that fence electrified so they can’t get out, feed em, and you know what, in a few years, they’ll die out. You know why? They can’t reproduce!” “I am not going to vote for a baby killer and a homosexual lover,” Worley added. “God have mercy, it makes me puking sick.”

link to www.rawstory.com

 

UAE ruler cancels debts of defaulting borrowers
Citizens of the oil-rich United Arab Emirates who defaulted on hundreds of thousands of dollars in loans could soon see their debts wiped away.

link to news.yahoo.com

Kuwaiti Shiite tweeter 'denies insulting prophet'
A Kuwaiti Shiite tweeter on Monday denied in court charges that he insulted Islam's Prophet Mohammed, his wife Aisha and some companions, his lawyer Khaled al-Shatti said.
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Suicide bombing kills nearly 100 soldiers in Yemen
A suicide bomber blew himself up at a military parade rehearsal Monday in Yemen's capital, killing 96 soldiers in one of the deadliest attacks in the city in years, officials said.
link to news.yahoo.com

Robert Fisk: Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi is dead. Now we'll never know the truth about Lockerbie
So the old scoundrel has died. Midday Tripoli time, at his home, peacefully, Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi, after a long struggle with cancer, "bravely borne" no doubt. But "scoundrel", nonetheless, not because he arranged the Lockerbie bombing – many have the gravest doubts he ever did – but because he was a member of Gaddafi's intelligence services and no-one who served the Great Leader as a "mukhabarat" agent had clean hands. If he was wrongly convicted, what did he do in the service of his master? Cliché time: his secret dies with him.