As Election Nears, Voting Laws Still Unclear In Some States

i i

Voters hold up signs as they walk to an early voting site to cast their ballots on August 11, 2014 in Miami, Fla. On Wednesday, a federal appeals court in Ohio upheld a decision extending early voting in that state. Meanwhile, as election day nears, courts are still considering cases about early voting in North Carolina and voter ID requirements in Texas and Wisconsin. Joe Raedle/Getty Images hide caption

itoggle caption Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Voters hold up signs as they walk to an early voting site to cast their ballots on August 11, 2014 in Miami, Fla. On Wednesday, a federal appeals court in Ohio upheld a decision extending early voting in that state. Meanwhile, as election day nears, courts are still considering cases about early voting in North Carolina and voter ID requirements in Texas and Wisconsin.

Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Midterm elections are less than six weeks away, but the rules for voting in some states are still unclear. This week alone, courts have been considering challenges to voter ID requirements in Texas and Wisconsin, and whether limits on early voting in North Carolina should stay in place. On Wednesday, a federal appeals court panel in Ohio upheld a decision extending early voting in that state, although state officials say they'll appeal.

"Voters and elections officials need to know what the rules of the game are going to be several weeks before the election," says Daniel Tokaji, an election law expert with the Moritz College of Law at Ohio State University.

But right now in several places, they don't, he says.

It's All Politics

Texas Voter ID Law Goes To Trial

For example, arguments in a lawsuit challenging the Texas ID requirement wrapped up on Monday. But it's not clear when U.S. District Judge Nelva Gonzales Ramos will make her decision. And no matter what she decides, it will almost certainly be appealed, although as of now, the ID requirement remains in effect.

Tokaji says the case could end up before the Supreme Court.

"I think in Texas it's really difficult to say exactly what's going on," he says.

But Myrna Perez, with the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University and one of the attorneys challenging the law, says she's confident her side will prevail.

She thinks the plaintiffs presented compelling evidence that the law discriminates against minority voters, who are less likely to have the required government-issued photo ID. She also says many voters face a burden getting an ID because of the cost of related documents.

"For example, Miss Sammie Bates testified that she would have had to make a choice between feeding her family and presenting the money that she needed to get a birth certificate in order to get the identification that she wanted," says Perez.

Bates, who's African-American, told the court that the $42 birth certificate fee was an obstacle.

But attorneys for the state say that most voters have the right ID. And for those who don't, there are alternatives, such as casting an absentee ballot.

Politics

On The Fall Docket: Who Gets To Vote — And Who Gets To Decide?

The dispute over voting rules is stark and emotional. So, while the lawyers are debating, political campaigns are using the issue to fire up their base.

A campaign ad for North Carolina's Republican Senate leader, Phil Berger, touts his role in passing that state's new voting law, which requires a photo ID by 2016.

"Voter ID prevents fraud and protects the integrity of our elections. It's common sense," Berger says in the ad.

Although there's little evidence of such voter fraud at the polls, public opinion surveys show that these new laws are popular. And Republicans have been the main proponents.

On the other side, Democrats and voting rights groups say the laws hurt minorities and others who tend to vote Democratic. They've been using the issue to get those voters to the polls.

"During this 2014 election season, voters must be vigilant about their voting rights, particularly as states continue their voter suppression efforts, " says Barbara Arnwine of the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, one of the groups opposing the state laws.

The groups are also trying to make sure that confusion over the rules this fall doesn't prevent legitimate voters from casting ballots. Already, in Wisconsin, a last-minute decision requiring photo ID has thrown the election there into turmoil.

Daniel Tokaji says that turmoil could lead to even more litigation.

"In the event of a close election, this could be a real mess," he says.

Updated on 9/25 to include the Ohio federal appeals court decision.

Army orders evacuation of refugee camps in Baalbek

Army detains some kidnappers in Bekaa Valley

The Army seizes some suspects over the kidnapping of four Lebanese hostages during the chaos that engulfed the Bekaa...

Lebanese Army to receive more U.S. support: Hale

Gemayel; the next March 14 candidate?

Kataeb leader Amin Gemayel said Wednesday that there was consensus over his presidential nomination on behalf of March...

Eric Holder To Step Down As Attorney General

i i

Attorney General Eric Holder speaks during a Sept. 4 news conference at the Justice Department in Washington. Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP hide caption

itoggle caption Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP

Attorney General Eric Holder speaks during a Sept. 4 news conference at the Justice Department in Washington.

Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP

Eric Holder Jr., the nation's first black U.S. attorney general, is preparing to announce his resignation Thursday after a tumultuous tenure marked by civil rights advances, national security threats, reforms to the criminal justice system and five and a half years of fights with Republicans in Congress.

Two sources familiar with the decision tell NPR that Holder, 63, intends to leave the Justice Department as soon as his successor is confirmed, a process that could run through 2014 and even into next year. A former U.S. government official says Holder has been increasingly "adamant" about his desire to leave soon for fear he otherwise could be locked in to stay for much of the rest of President Obama's second term.

Holder already is one of the longest serving members of the Obama cabinet and ranks as the fourth longest tenured AG in history. Hundreds of employees waited in lines, stacked three rows deep, for his return in early February 2009 to the Justice Department, where he previously worked as a young corruption prosecutor and as deputy attorney general — the second in command — during the Clinton administration.

But some of that early glow faded in part due to the politicized nature of the job and in part because of Holder's own rhetoric, such as a 2009 Black History Month speech where he said the country was "a nation of cowards" when it comes to discussions about racial tension.

Five years later, violence erupted between police and protesters in Ferguson, Mo., after a white policeman killed an unarmed black 18 year old. And this time, the White House dispatched Holder to speak his piece, in effect jump starting that conversation, and helping to settle nerves in the frayed community.

Another huge controversy — over his decision to try the 9-11 plotters in a New York courthouse in the shadow of the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center — prompted venomous reaction from lawmakers, New York City officials and some victim families.

Under pressure that threatened his job and his legacy, the attorney general reversed his decision and instead sent the cases to military court — where they continue to languish even as Osama Bin Laden's son-in-law and other terrorism defendants are serving life sentences in maximum security prisons on American soil.

Holder most wants to be remembered for his record on civil rights: refusing to defend a law that defined marriage as between one man and one woman; suing North Carolina and Texas over voting restrictions that disproportionately affect minorities and the elderly; launching 20 investigations of abuses by local police departments; and using his bully pulpit to lobby Congress to reduce prison sentences for non-violent drug crimes. Many of those sentences disproportionately hurt minority communities.

And then, there's his relationship with Congress. From the day Holder's nomination was announced, Republicans led by Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., signaled he would be a political lightning rod.

The attorney general's portfolio, which spans sensitive law enforcement cases and hot button social issues including marijuana and gay marriage, didn't help. But even longtime aides say Holder didn't do enough to help himself by shrugging off preparations and moot sessions before congressional appearances and speaking off the cuff — and obliquely.

Things hit a crisis point when the GOP-led House voted him in contempt for refusing to hand over documents about a gun trafficking scandal known as Fast and Furious. That represented the first time an attorney general had ever been rebuked that way but still Holder held onto his job.

In the end, the decision to leave was Holder's alone — the two sources tell NPR the White House would have been happy to have him stay a full eight years and to avoid what could be a contentious nomination fight for his successor. Holder and President Obama discussed his departure several times and finalized things in a long meeting over Labor Day weekend at the White House.

The attorney general told staff the news at DOJ this morning and has called civil rights icon Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., and Ethel Kennedy, the widow of former AG Robert F. Kennedy.

The sources say a leading candidate for that job is Solicitor General Don Verrilli, the administration's top representative to the Supreme Court and a lawyer whose judgment and discretion are prized in both DOJ and the White House.

Friends and former colleagues say Holder's made no decisions about his next professional perch, but they say it would be no surprise if he returned to the law firm Covington & Burling, where he spent years representing corporate clients.

The friends say Holder is also considering donating his papers to a university in D.C. or his native New York, where he could establish a civil rights center to work more on law enforcement interactions with communities of color and host public forums on those issues.

Even though the attorney general has his eyes on the door, the two sources say several more policy and enforcement initiatives are underway and could be announced soon.

For instance, Holder sent a memo to U.S. Attorneys Wednesday urging them not to use sentencing enhancements known as "851" tools to gain leverage in plea negotiations with defendants — in essence, threatening defendants into avoiding trial with huge amounts of prison time. The practice has been criticized by U.S. District Judge John Gleeson in Brooklyn, as well as other jurists.

Holder is also expected to notify federal prosecutors in coming days that the Justice Department will no longer require defendants who plead guilty to waive their rights to appeal based on ineffective lawyering. Many U.S. Attorneys now forgo that practice, but not all.

Long awaited racial profiling guidelines for federal agents will be released soon, too. Those guidelines will make clear sexual orientation, ethnicity and religion are not legitimate bases for law enforcement suspicion but controversial mapping of certain communities — including Muslim-American ones — would still be allowed for national security investigations, one of the sources said.

ISF busts family-run prostitution ring

ISF busts family-run prostitution ring

Internal Security Forces busted a prostitution ring in Ain al-Mreiseh Wednesday while The Central Narcotics Bureau...

Lebanese Parliament secures majority in favor of extension

BEIRUT: The majority of lawmakers, including MPs from the Kataeb Party and the Lebanese Forces, are expected to vote in favor of an extension of Parliament's mandate in a legislative session set for Wednesday, political sources told The Daily Star.

The Kataeb Party and the Lebanese Forces, which have previously rejected the extension of Parliament's mandate, are expected to vote in favor of an extension, political sources told The Daily Star Thursday.

The decision would fall in line with the Future bloc's stance over a renewed mandate.

The Future Movement, the largest bloc in Parliament, has repeatedly rejected the idea of holding parliamentary elections before the presidential vote.

Meanwhile, the March 8 coalition is expected to reject the extension of parliament’s mandate.

The issue over the extension of Parliament's mandate is expected to be raised during a rare parliamentary legislative session set to convene next Wednesday, according to the political sources.

Parliament's Secretariat General is set to convene Monday to agree on an agenda for the session. Sources confirmed that the controversial salary scale would be the first item on the agenda. The issuance of new eurobonds and the payment of public sector wages will also top the agenda.

According to the mechanism that would be followed during the proposed legislative session, once the Parliament’s lawmakers have finished debating draft laws on the agenda, Zahle MP Nicolas Fattoush will ask House Speaker Nabih Berri to present to the General Assembly an urgent draft proposal he submitted that calls for the renewal of Parliament’s term, the sources said.

Berri, according to Parliament’s bylaws, would present the draft proposal for debate and approval, with the possibility of amending the extension period proposed by Fattoush.

Last month, Fattoush presented a draft proposal to Parliament’s Secretariat General for the extension of the legislative body’s mandate for two years and seven months, arguing that the move was aimed at protecting civil peace.

Any session held to extend Parliament’s term would not require a two-thirds majority, and the extension can be passed with a majority of the lawmakers who secure a quorum plus one, the sources said.

During a legislative session in May last year, Parliament approved the extension of Parliament’s term by 17 months.

Sibline electricity back to normal in 3 days: EDL

BEIRUT: The village of Sibline in the Chouf will have normal electricity flow in three days, Electricite Du Liban announced Thursday, after a malfunction increased the rationing since Monday.

“While one of the contracting companies was carrying out works in the Wadi al-Zina area Monday Sept. 22, 2014,” an EDL statement said, “one of its machines hit the Jiyyeh-Sibline 66 KV wire, which led to significantly reducing electricity flow to the area nourished by the main station in Sibline.”

The areas directly affected by the malfunction were Sibline and a few nearby areas in Mount Lebanon, EDL’s spokeswoman Marie Tawq told The Daily Star. She added that since one of the contractors was responsible for the malfunctions, it had pledged to fix it itself.

While electricity flow was not cut due to the existence of an air-cable in parallel to the underground one, EDL’s statement said the normal flow would be back in a matter of three days.

Although Sibline’s malfunction seems to be easily fixable, EDL has so far failed to repair the malfunction on a similar 66 KV cable near UNESCO Palace in Beirut.

As a result, residents of the Lebanese capital have suffered from weeks of intensive rationing, leaving some unable to perform daily activities and forcing others to pay extremely high bills for private generators.

EDL has blamed contract workers blocking its headquarters for the latency, saying the company is not able to retrieve the necessary tools from the company’s warehouses.

On the other hand, the workers announced their readiness to open warehouses and even contribute to the repairs, but without ending their strike.

In response, EDL’s administration refused to have partial access to the building, saying this disrespects "the company’s dignity," while the rationing in most areas of Beirut has jumped from 3 to at least 12 hours a day.

Twenty arrested over attacks on Lebanese Army in Tripoli

BEIRUT: The Lebanese Army carried out numerous raids in Tripoli Thursday, arresting 20 suspects accused of shooting at military stations over the last few days.

An Army statement said that large quantities of weapons and ammunitions were confiscated during the raids. Locations raided, according to media reports, included a farm belonging to Hussam Sabbagh in Tripoli’s Abi Samra neighborhood.

The raids came one day after several gunmen opened fire at three Army stations in Bab al-Tabbaneh, Syria Street and Brad al-Bisar in Tripoli.

One soldier incurred a minor wound in his leg as a result of the Bab al-Tabbaneh attack and was rushed to the hospital.

Tripoli had witnessed a similar incident Tuesday, when gunmen in a speeding car opened fire at a Lebanese Army position, killing one and wounding two others. The dead soldier was identified as Mohammad Khaled al-Hussein.

Earlier Friday, anonymous perpetrators launched a grenade at an Army checkpoint in the city; however, the attack did not cause casualties or damage.

The assault took place on an Army checkpoint stationed on the Omari road that separates the warring neighborhoods of Bab al-Tabbaneh and Jabal Mohsen.

Tripoli had suffered from three years of clashes between the two neighborhoods, but has seen relative calm since a security plan was implemented earlier this year.

Recent turmoil in the northern city accompanied events occurring at the northeastern town of Arsal, and the two cities are thought to be holding the highest number of extremist Islamists in Lebanon.

Refugees reportedly raise ISIS flag in Arsal

Kurdish forces push back ISIS in northern Syria

Kurdish forces in northern Syria have pushed back an advance by ISIS fighters toward the town of Kobani in overnight...

Lebanon Health Ministry calls to ban alcoholic energy drinks

Hariri, Lebanon leaders hold talks in France

Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri holds talks in France with Lebanese leaders on the sidelines of the wedding of his...

Hariri, Lebanon leaders hold talks in France

Lebanon judge hears Asala testimony

Attorney General Charbel Abu Samra Thursday heard testimony from prominent Syrian celebrity Asala Nasri about an...

Gang leader killed in Tyre, three arrested

Gang leader killed in Tyre, three arrested

Security forces kill a gang leader during a chase on the entrance of the southern city of Tyre, arresting three of his...

Saudi foreign minister: We'll support Lebanon against terrorism anytime

BEIRUT: Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal pledged to provide any counter-terrorism support that Lebanon requested, saying the kingdom would do its best to eliminate ISIS.

“If Lebanon asks for our support, we will provide it with it," An-Nahar newspaper quoted Faisal as saying Thursday. “We have supported Lebanon with a billion dollars to buy weapons, and the Lebanese brethren have showed appreciation for this aid.”

Saudi Arabia announced two donations to Lebanese Army and security forces earlier this year. The first was $3 billion worth of weapons that Lebanon would purchase from France, while a later $1 billion pledge was specifically designated to enhance Lebanon’s counterterrorism capacities and was announced during clashes in Arsal between the Lebanese Army and extremist groups.

Speaking from New York, where he is participating in the 69th General Assembly of the United Nations, Faisal said Saudi Arabia would back any effort that targeted terrorism.

“We will participate in any action that pushes back the terrorist organizations, and especially ISIS,” he said, calling ISIS an “evil that must be eliminated.”

“The first thing [ISIS] did was to steal the minds of our youth and to manipulate Islamic notions, causing indescribable harm to the Muslim people,” he added.

Faisal mocked the voices saying that the Syrian regime would benefit from the military campaign against ISIS in Syria, accusing President Bashar Assad of allowing the fundamentalist group to grow.

“The Syrian regime pretends to be against terrorism while ISIS has been on Syrian territory for three years,” he said, “and not even once have we heard about a battle between the Syrian Army and ISIS.”

Lebanon judge hears Asala testimony

Lebanon judge hears Asala testimony

Attorney General Charbel Abu Samra Thursday heard testimony from prominent Syrian celebrity Asala Nasri about an...

Dar al-Fatwa: Oct. 4 first day of Eid al-Adha

Fadlallah: Oct. 4 marks first day of Eid al-Adha

Oct. 4 will mark the first day of Eid al-Adha, The office of the late Shiite preacher Sayyed Mohammad Hussein...

Lebanon indicts Syrian on terrorist charges

Explosive belts found in Zghorta home

Lebanese security services Friday arrested the wife of a terror suspect and released on bail a man detained on...

Christian-Muslim gathering at Dar al-Fatwa launched

US moves to provide upgraded helicopters to Lebanon

The Pentagon has notified the U.S. Congress of a possible sale of Huey II helicopters to Lebanon, after the State...

Lebanese Army kills suspect in attack on Syrian refugee camp

US moves to provide upgraded helicopters to Lebanon

The Pentagon has notified the U.S. Congress of a possible sale of Huey II helicopters to Lebanon, after the State...

Lebanon's Arabic press digest – Sept. 25, 2014

US Okays military helicopters for Lebanon: report

Washington has approved the transfer of Huey II military helicopters for Lebanon, the U.S. newspaper World Tribune has...

US Okays military helicopters for Lebanon: report

US Okays military helicopters for Lebanon: report

Washington has approved the transfer of Huey II military helicopters for Lebanon, the U.S. newspaper World Tribune has...

Erdogan promises Salam to help secure hostages’ release

Doubts cast over strike on Khorasan

The U.S. says it has hit a little-known group called “Khorasan” in Syria, but experts and activists argue it actually...

Prisoner swap with militants possible: Machnouk

BEIRUT: Lebanon’s interior minister said Wednesday for the first time that the government was not opposed to a prisoner swap with the ISIS and the Nusra Front, as the families of captive soldiers brought the country to a standstill by blocking a major highway between Beirut and the Bekaa Valley.

“A trade-off is possible,” Nouhad Machnouk said, shifting away from the government’s prior decision to suspend negotiations after Nusra and ISIS militants began executing soldiers in an effort to pressure the government to meet its requests.

Machnouk spoke to news outlets before flying to Paris, where he is set to meet Future Movement leader, former Prime Minister Saad Hariri.

More than 30 soldiers and policemen were captured by Nusra and ISIS militants during an armed attack on the northeastern border town of Arsal last month.

The two groups are said to be holding at least 21 captives. To date, the militants have beheaded two soldiers and shot another.

ISIS has asked for the release of Islamists detained in Roumieh prison, while Nusra are demanding protection for Syrian refugees and the opening of a safe passage for civilians into and out of Arsal.

The Army is wary of allowing free passage from Arsal to the outskirts, where the militants are hiding, for fear that they could receive food and aid from the town.

The government’s turnaround came a day after Hezbollah’s Secretary-General Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah declared that he was not opposed in principle to a prisoner swap. The militants have claimed in the past that Hezbollah is obstructing the negotiations for the release of the prisoners.

It also occurred as the families of the hostages escalated their protests at the government’s inaction by blocking a key thoroughfare from Beirut to the Bekaa Valley.

The protesters burned tires and erected tents in Dahr al-Baidar and before the village of Aley on the Beirut-Damascus highway.

They also partially blocked the Tarshish-Zahle road and vowed to completely block it Thursday if the government did not take action to free the captives.

The blocking of the roads came after pledges to step up protests to pressure the government into negotiating with their captors, and aimed to isolate the Bekaa from the capital and Mount Lebanon.

“We hold the government responsible for what has happened and for what might happen in the future,” said the sister of a captive soldier. She appealed to rival Lebanese politicians to act quickly to resolve the issue, calling for swapping the captive personnel with Islamist detainees held in Roumieh prison, the main demand of the militants.

“Beware of the anger of the mothers. ... We want you to secure the liberation of our sons quickly,” one of the captives’ father said.

The interior minister expressed his sympathy to the families of the hostages who had blocked the arterial roads, but said that such protests do not influence the terrorists who are holding their sons hostage.

Machnouk condemned the killing of abducted Army soldier Mohammad Hamieh who was executed by Nusra militants last week and slammed last week’s roadside bombing that killed two Army soldiers in Arsal, saying the incidents are acts of terror that serve to disrupt negotiations.

Such acts targeting the Army and security forces “blatantly contradict internal and foreign efforts to find a solution to secure the return of the captives,” he said.

The persistence of terrorist assaults, according to Machnouk, proves the underlying intent of inciting sectarian strife in Lebanon in general and the Bekaa in particular.

Escalating sectarian tensions in the region “facilitates the implementation of the large conspiracy plotted against Lebanon and its people,” he said.

The interior minister called on the people of the Bekaa and the Lebanese in general, to form a unified and cohesive front in order to foil terrorist plans.

Speaking to the families of the victims, Machnouk said that “the blood of their children would not go to waste.”

The suffering of both the hostages and their families are a national responsibility and the hostage crisis will require time, said the interior minister, expressing hope that the detained would return unharmed.

But tensions in the Bekaa Valley were matched by Tripoli where unnamed militants opened fire at Army posts in Bab al-Tabbaneh, Syria Street and Barad al-Bisar, read a statement released by the Lebanese Army late Wednesday.

One soldier incurred a minor wound in his leg as a result of the Bab al-Tabbaneh attack. The soldier was rushed to the hospital for treatment.

According to the statement, soldiers at all three Army posts fired back at the militants and launched a chase in an attempt to seize the perpetrators.

The Army also cordoned off the Barad al-Bisar area and barred any cars from entering or leaving the area, a security source told The Daily Star.

However, it remains unclear whether the soldiers were capable of detaining any of the gunmen. The attacks happened at separate times throughout the day.

Why President Obama Is in New York

After the President's address at the United Nations General Assembly this morning, Secretary of State John Kerry sent the following message to the White House email list.

Didn't get the email? Make sure you're signed up to receive updates from the White House and senior Administration officials.

Good afternoon,

Each and every year, the world's leaders gather in New York for a session of the United Nations General Assembly. Earlier today, President Obama spoke to them directly in an address that warrants the attention not only of those leaders, but of all Americans. It was clear, candid, and compelling. The President talked about the world as it is, and the world as we all hope it can be.

The President said that, for all the hard-won progress we see in the world, there is also what he today called a "pervasive unease."

A deadly Ebola outbreak ravaging West Africa, Russian aggression in Ukraine, and the group of medieval murdering terrorists known as ISIL, which, left unchecked, could pose a growing threat beyond the region -- including our homeland.

So when President Obama addressed the leaders of more than 140 nations this morning, he posed two fundamental questions that will help define both the world's future and our own: Can the major powers set aside their differences and meet their responsibilities as leaders? And can the world reject the cancer of violent extremism?

The President knows the answer is yes -- if we make it so. The way he answers these questions is an important illustration of the principles we stand for as Americans, and a window into the future we look to help build. See what he had to say.

read more

Army needs written guarantees to ensure success

The words of Prime Minister Tammam Salam and other politicians about supporting the Lebanese Army are all well and good, high-ranking security sources have told The Daily Star, but wishes and statements alone won’t liberate the captured soldiers or defeat the terrorists.

The Army and security forces need to receive written guarantees issued by the Cabinet, the sources said. In the past, the government of former Prime Minister Fouad Siniora gave guarantees to then-Army commander Michel Sleiman that enabled him to use all means to abolish the phenomenon of the extremist Islamist group Fatah al-Islam in the northern Palestinian camp of Nahr al-Bared. This time, guarantees should be issued that would allow the Army to do whatever is necessary to liberate the security personnel captured during the battle for Arsal in early August.

If this is done, it would prevent the obstruction of any operation that the Army starts, and would boost the military’s ability to undertake the task entrusted to it by the Supreme Defense Council: preserving security in all of Lebanon.

The sources expressed fear that a failure to give such assurances might lead to unfortunate developments that would not be in the interest of the Lebanese state and would decrease the chances of the soldiers being released.

In contrast to rumors that the Lebanese Army doesn’t have enough strength to defeat the terrorists in Arsal, the sources said that the facts on the ground indicate the opposite. The latest development that led to a number of terrorists in Arsal being killed was thanks to the Lebanese Army using a high-tech drone to fire a rocket at one of the militants’ bases.

The weather factor will also play a large role in determining events in the next few weeks, according to the sources, a factor which applies to all sides. However, the Army’s decision to close most of the supply passages and prevent aid and other vital items reaching the militants will affect their capability to resist so strongly.

Concerning the issue of the captured, the sources said that kidnappers were still keeping their hostages in Arsal and its perimeter, and were not in the outskirts as some believe.

They also claimed that only one call had been made between the kidnappers’ representatives and the chief negotiator dispatched by Qatar, showing that what has been said about ongoing talks and contacts with the kidnappers over the issue is inaccurate, even if certain statements indicate otherwise.

The sources think the countries Lebanon has so far relied upon to help with this matter – namely Turkey and Qatar – are no longer available to assist, likely due to the fact that they are now participants in the anti-terrorism international alliance being built to crush ISIS.

The sources denied knowing of any plans in the works to release the 21 soldiers and policemen, saying that it all depended on the behavior of ISIS and the Nusra Front.

They should succumb to Lebanon’s demand that they stop killing captives before negotiations can be resumed, the sources said.

Fleeing ISIS, but fearing the weather

DEIR AL-AHMAR, Lebanon: Abu Ahmad, a Syrian refugee with a toothless smile, sucked on a cigarette at the edge of the crude tented settlement he now calls home. “In Raqqa, they would have cut my fingers off for this,” he said. “For this, I would be a kaffir [apostate],” he said, inhaling deeply. Abu Ahmad and approximately 400 other refugees fled Raqqa after ISIS took over the town and implemented their strict interpretation of Islamic law. Now spread across fifteen camps on the outskirts of Deir al-Ahmar in North Bekaa, the refugees said that while the butchery of ISIS is well behind them, they have a new, even less discriminate foe in Lebanon: the elements.

“We’re scared of the cold and the rain,” said Taher, as the mountain winds whipped up the corners of his red checkered kiffeyeh. When the rain begins to fall in a few weeks’ time, the fallow field where they have set up a makeshift camp will turn to mud.

“When the rain comes, we’ll be lost. The ground will turn to mud up to our knees,” said Abu Ahmad.

While ill-prepared for the cold, the refugees agreed that even the harshest winter in Lebanon is preferable to ISIS rule in Raqqa.

“Here, there is rain and cold, but there you’ll get your head cut off,” said Abu Khaled. He described how ISIS had mounted a human head on a pole in the center of the town, threatening anyone who moved it with the same fate.

Ali, a wiry young man who was acting as a camp leader, said he was arrested by ISIS patrols after he was caught walking around during prayer time.

He said he was regularly beaten during the 10 days he spent in prison. “They beat me at dawn and at sunset, and forced me to read the Quran all day,” Ali told The Daily Star. His captors, he said, were not Syrian.

According to Abu Ahmad, Islamists from all over the globe now control Raqqa. “There were French, Americans and British people there. All sorts of Europeans,” he said.

Ahmad, a stooped, older man, said ISIS militants had arrested his 12-year-old son for not carrying an ID. Ahmad paid more than $300 to have him released. “If I had not paid, he would have been lost,” said Ahmad. “They were trying to get him to fight with them.”

Women said that they had been forced to wear niqabs and gloves in public or their husbands would be beaten or fined.

“If you’re not wearing it [niqab] they’ll bring in your husband or brother or beat him,” said Hourieh, a woman in one of the camps.

Taher said he was stopped by an ISIS patrol while riding with his wife on his motorcycle, because her face was not fully covered. “They gave me a ticket,” he said.

But Taher, like many refugees in the camp, left his wife and some of his children behind in Raqqa.

“If everybody leaves the house, ISIS comes in and they’ll take everything,” explained Abu Ahmad.

Under ISIS, women rarely leave their homes; they are not permitted to do so without a close male relative. “We just stayed in the house,” said Mariam, sitting on a mattress in her makeshift tent. “They didn’t let us do anything.”

Many of the men are trying to earn money picking crops in Deir al-Ahmar to support their families in Raqqa. They say they opted to come to Lebanon, instead of Turkey, because some had previously worked as seasonal agricultural laborers in the Bekaa Valley

Still, they worry for their family members still living under ISIS rule. The militant group, several refugees said, launches rockets at Syrian warplanes from crowded residential neighborhoods with little regard for the casualties inflicted when the regime jets inevitably return fire.

“When the warplanes come to hit [ISIS] fighters, where are they? They’re in front of our houses,” said Mohammad, another Raqqa native.

“They never launch attacks [against the regime] from military bases. They launch attacks from civilian neighborhoods,” said Abu Ahmed, nodding in agreement.

Ultimately, most refugees say dire economic circumstances in Raqqa, rather than ISIS brutality, forced them to leave the town.

The Raqqa they describe, where water, electricity and food are in short supply, contrasts starkly with the propaganda videos ISIS circulates online which strive to show the city as the fully functioning capital of their so-called caliphate.

“There was very little work, and we didn’t have enough money to get food,” said Taher.

“You couldn’t even buy bread. The price of bread quadrupled,” agreed Abu Ahmad.

The prospect of ISIS crossing the border into Lebanon also worries some of the refugees who have been following the news in Arsal closely.

ISIS is currently holding several soldiers hostage on the outskirts of Arsal and has already beheaded two.

“We’re trying to get away from them,” Mariam said. “Now we’re scared they’ll come here.”

The refugees expressed skepticism that airstrikes, executed this week by the U.S. in cooperation with the Gulf states, against ISIS targets in Raqqa would lead to a long-term solution.

“We support anything that will end the war. We just want to go home,” Abu Ahmad said.

“We just want peace,” Ali said.

The coming winter weighs much heavier on their minds than ISIS or U.S. airstrikes. “We have no wood, we have no roofing, there’s no water, there’s nothing,” Ali said.

“The rain, it will soak us right through,” he said, pointing to the thin, permeable fabric which constituted his roof.

“We need things to cover our roofs,” said Bashir, a Syrian refugee who manages one of the camps.

“When it rains, everything will be destroyed: our mattresses, our clothing,” Abu Ahmad said. “The rain could start any day now.”

Fleeing ISIS, but fearing the weather

DEIR AL-AHMAR, Lebanon: Abu Ahmad, a Syrian refugee with a toothless smile, sucked on a cigarette at the edge of the crude tented settlement he now calls home. “In Raqqa, they would have cut my fingers off for this,” he said. “For this, I would be a kaffir [apostate],” he said, inhaling deeply. Abu Ahmad and approximately 400 other refugees fled Raqqa after ISIS took over the town and implemented their strict interpretation of Islamic law. Now spread across fifteen camps on the outskirts of Deir al-Ahmar in North Bekaa, the refugees said that while the butchery of ISIS is well behind them, they have a new, even less discriminate foe in Lebanon: the elements.

“We’re scared of the cold and the rain,” said Taher, as the mountain winds whipped up the corners of his red checkered kiffeyeh. When the rain begins to fall in a few weeks’ time, the fallow field where they have set up a makeshift camp will turn to mud.

“When the rain comes, we’ll be lost. The ground will turn to mud up to our knees,” said Abu Ahmad.

While ill-prepared for the cold, the refugees agreed that even the harshest winter in Lebanon is preferable to ISIS rule in Raqqa.

“Here, there is rain and cold, but there you’ll get your head cut off,” said Abu Khaled. He described how ISIS had mounted a human head on a pole in the center of the town, threatening anyone who moved it with the same fate.

Ali, a wiry young man who was acting as a camp leader, said he was arrested by ISIS patrols after he was caught walking around during prayer time.

He said he was regularly beaten during the 10 days he spent in prison. “They beat me at dawn and at sunset, and forced me to read the Quran all day,” Ali told The Daily Star. His captors, he said, were not Syrian.

According to Abu Ahmad, Islamists from all over the globe now control Raqqa. “There were French, Americans and British people there. All sorts of Europeans,” he said.

Ahmad, a stooped, older man, said ISIS militants had arrested his 12-year-old son for not carrying an ID. Ahmad paid more than $300 to have him released. “If I had not paid, he would have been lost,” said Ahmad. “They were trying to get him to fight with them.”

Women said that they had been forced to wear niqabs and gloves in public or their husbands would be beaten or fined.

“If you’re not wearing it [niqab] they’ll bring in your husband or brother or beat him,” said Hourieh, a woman in one of the camps.

Taher said he was stopped by an ISIS patrol while riding with his wife on his motorcycle, because her face was not fully covered. “They gave me a ticket,” he said.

But Taher, like many refugees in the camp, left his wife and some of his children behind in Raqqa.

“If everybody leaves the house, ISIS comes in and they’ll take everything,” explained Abu Ahmad.

Under ISIS, women rarely leave their homes; they are not permitted to do so without a close male relative. “We just stayed in the house,” said Mariam, sitting on a mattress in her makeshift tent. “They didn’t let us do anything.”

Many of the men are trying to earn money picking crops in Deir al-Ahmar to support their families in Raqqa. They say they opted to come to Lebanon, instead of Turkey, because some had previously worked as seasonal agricultural laborers in the Bekaa Valley

Still, they worry for their family members still living under ISIS rule. The militant group, several refugees said, launches rockets at Syrian warplanes from crowded residential neighborhoods with little regard for the casualties inflicted when the regime jets inevitably return fire.

“When the warplanes come to hit [ISIS] fighters, where are they? They’re in front of our houses,” said Mohammad, another Raqqa native.

“They never launch attacks [against the regime] from military bases. They launch attacks from civilian neighborhoods,” said Abu Ahmed, nodding in agreement.

Ultimately, most refugees say dire economic circumstances in Raqqa, rather than ISIS brutality, forced them to leave the town.

The Raqqa they describe, where water, electricity and food are in short supply, contrasts starkly with the propaganda videos ISIS circulates online which strive to show the city as the fully functioning capital of their so-called caliphate.

“There was very little work, and we didn’t have enough money to get food,” said Taher.

“You couldn’t even buy bread. The price of bread quadrupled,” agreed Abu Ahmad.

The prospect of ISIS crossing the border into Lebanon also worries some of the refugees who have been following the news in Arsal closely.

ISIS is currently holding several soldiers hostage on the outskirts of Arsal and has already beheaded two.

“We’re trying to get away from them,” Mariam said. “Now we’re scared they’ll come here.”

The refugees expressed skepticism that airstrikes, executed this week by the U.S. in cooperation with the Gulf states, against ISIS targets in Raqqa would lead to a long-term solution.

“We support anything that will end the war. We just want to go home,” Abu Ahmad said.

“We just want peace,” Ali said.

The coming winter weighs much heavier on their minds than ISIS or U.S. airstrikes. “We have no wood, we have no roofing, there’s no water, there’s nothing,” Ali said.

“The rain, it will soak us right through,” he said, pointing to the thin, permeable fabric which constituted his roof.

“We need things to cover our roofs,” said Bashir, a Syrian refugee who manages one of the camps.

“When it rains, everything will be destroyed: our mattresses, our clothing,” Abu Ahmad said. “The rain could start any day now.”

Nurturing tolerance and mental well-being

BEIRUT: It is often forgotten that schools are important not just for a traditional education that leads to a job, but also to help foster a child’s mental well-being, a subject that is often ignored or sidelined due to a lack of understanding. The Institute for Development Research Advocacy and Applied Care, is plunging headfirst into the sensitive issue to ensure Syrian and Lebanese students are given the tools they need to deal with the challenges facing Lebanon today.

The result was “Turning Teachers into Educators of Tolerance and Conflict Resolution,” an initiative which has been rolled out with 17 teachers from 13 different public schools across Lebanon, with the aim of reducing tension and violence, and increasing tolerance among more than 1,300 Syrian refugee and Lebanese students.

The initiative took place during the 2013-14 school year with 442 classroom sessions in grades four to seven, and is the result of a collaboration with the Education Ministry and funding from the U.S.

“The brain is highly vulnerable in the years of childhood and adolescence,” explained Elie Karam, IDRAAC’s president, at a conference Wednesday entitled “The Mind Does Not Forget,” where the results of the project were announced.

Providing the right environment for children to grow during these phases is vital because they “don’t forget the stresses at home and elsewhere,” he added.

The teachers, who were subjected to three training sessions before applying the acquired skills and activities with the students in classes, were chosen carefully.

“[The choice was] related to how psychologically minded they were, how popular they were with the children and how ready and motivated they themselves were to apply the program,” explained Caroline Cordahi Tabet, a child and adolescent clinical psychologist at St. Georges Hospital University Medical Center.

Over 13 weekly sessions, teachers were tasked with developing the students’ ability to cope with stress and limit their aggression toward one another using a schedule set by IDRAAC. In each session the students partook in a range of activities, including reading stories, building puzzles or learning breathing techniques for high-stress situations.

Communication skills, teamwork spirit and increasing tolerance were key.

The fact that most of the children targeted had not yet reached puberty made it easier for them to acquire these skills, the report noted, something which was noticeable in the project’s results.

Some 88 percent of the teachers believed the project improved various aspects of their students’ behavior, and all agreed it helped effect a positive change. Following the intervention session, teachers estimated that inter-student support increased from 2.9 percent to 42.4 percent.

Such an initiative is particularly important at the moment, as Lebanon struggles to cope with more than 1.2 million Syrian refugees and social tensions are on the rise.

“The project stems from a mission to disseminate information and programs related to mental health into communities who need it the most,” IDRAAC’s child and adolescent psychiatrist John Fayyad explained, adding that cases of conflict have been reported in private and public schools and between the host communities and the refugees and their families.

“The thing you want to do is to try to build skills among children to improve their ability to coexist with each other and to diminish the amount of tension.”

Speaking to The Daily Star ahead of the conference, Fayyad explained that planning such mental health interventions was a difficult task that required a lot of work.

“In this particular project we wanted to reach a very large number of students so we developed a program in which we trained teachers,” he said.

Although the ongoing Syrian crisis, the influx of refugees, and the various trauma and stress-related cases have taken up much of the news, such issues were not the only reason the organization had decided to take this step.

Fayyad explained that aggression had been apparent among Lebanese students even before the Syrian refugees starting coming to Lebanon.

“We’ve done these types of projects ... before the Syrian refugee crisis,” he explained. “These are types of skills that are needed for every type of child and in all types of settings.”

Before children become teenagers is the age at which they will take such skills seriously, Fayyad said.

“They are old enough to understand them, yet not old enough where they have [already] built a lot of bad habits,” he said, adding that it would be more difficult to break these new habits.

Palestinians arrested while attempting to reach Italy

BEIRUT: Nearly a hundred Palestinians, most of whom were refugees from Syria, were arrested by Lebanese authorities while attempting to travel illegally to Italy, police and a Lebanon-based Palestinian official said.

The Internal Security Forces said it had arrested 108 individuals – 99 Palestinians, eight Lebanese and one Syrian – near the Tripoli port area while they were attempting to leave the country by boat. The migrants included 26 children and 10 women.

The ISF said the individuals were being smuggled from the Ain al-Hilweh refugee camp to Tripoli and from there to Italy. The police said they had also arrested a Lebanese man who was part of the gang attempting to smuggle the families.

A Palestinian official told The Daily Star the majority of the migrants were Palestinian refugees from Syria attempting to flee tough conditions in Lebanon. He said one man had sold one of his kidneys in order to finance his ticket out. The official said the families were being held in the Tripoli Serail and interrogated about the smuggling ring.

There are roughly 44,000 Palestinian refugees from Syria in Lebanon, many of whom fled the siege of the Yarmouk refugee camp near Damascus in late 2012. The figure is down from a peak of over 80,000, as families have returned to Syria or been smuggled out of the country to Europe or other nations on the Mediterranean. Many have died while making the journey.

Some have also managed to secure visas to European countries that accept refugees from Syria.

In Lebanon, Palestinians from Syria are especially vulnerable, facing even more restrictions in their access to work than do most Palestinian refugees, who are barred from many professions and cannot own land.

They also face resentment from some in the Palestinian refugee camps, who find their neighborhoods overcrowded because of the influx of refugees from Yarmouk. The camps themselves have never been enlarged since the 1950s. Officials say they face exploitation by employers who can easily cheat them because of their refugee status.

Supply routes key difference between ISIS, Nusra demands

BEIRUT: When the Nusra Front relayed its demands to the wife of captured policeman Ali Bazal this week, she came to a startling realization, one that has already fanned the flames of anger among the families of the captured servicemen blocking roads and burning tires along Bekaa Valley highways.

Their demands were as follows: A humanitarian corridor into Arsal, the release of the detained over the Arsal clashes and compassion toward Syrian refugees – no mention was there of Islamist prisoners, thought to be a key demand sustaining the government’s no-compromise approach.

“I think that was an ISIS demand,” the Nusra militant told Fliti, when she asked about the conspicuous absence of the prisoners.

As reflected in the disparate attitude adopted toward negotiations with the government to free at least 21 soldiers and policemen still in their custody, Nusra and ISIS in Qalamoun harbor starkly distinct interests in Lebanon.

Ensuring unremitting supply routes in Lebanese territories is at the heart of the Nusra’s strategy with its hostages, according to experts and sources close to the group, which explains its consistent alacrity with mediators. ISIS, on the other hand, ultimately seeks to establish a foothold in Lebanon, which is why the release of Islamist prisoners figures so prominently in its demands.

For now, ISIS can afford to pursue ambitious designs on Lebanon because it wields the upper hand logistically in Qalamoun, according to a Syrian source acquainted with the militants and a former mediator responsible for brokering the cease-fire that ended the first round of clashes in Arsal.

“ ISIS is receiving assistance and backing from [the movement’s headquarters in] Iraq,” the source close to the militants, who requested anonymity for safety reasons, told The Daily Star. “Supplies are reaching the [ISIS] militants in Qalamoun through the Alboukamal crossing [between Syria and Iraq].”

The source, who claims to have witnessed the group’s stockpiles in the rugged outskirts of Arsal, said they included “everything” from weapons and ammunition, to food and medicine, as well as new fighters.

The former mediator confided to The Daily Star that ISIS militants were in a “better position” than their less-resourced counterparts. He added that during negotiations, the main two contacts that mediators have with ISIS was Abu Talal, who assumed leadership of Imad Jomaa’s brigade, and the Nusra commander Abu Malek.

It remains to be seen how U.S. strikes targeting ISIS trade routes in Syria might affect supply flows to the area.

The supplies are believed to make their way from Alboukamal to Qalamoun through a “a clear network of routes” that include underground tunnels, according to Mario Abou Zeid, a researcher for the Carnegie Middle East Center, paved by the militant group with the implicit support of the Syrian regime.

“ ISIS established these routes earlier on during the Syrian uprising,” he said. “In certain areas the Assad regime looked the other way and disregarded the transfer of arms and ammunition making its way to the militants, in a way to boost their power in the fight against [Syrian] opposition groups.”

“We know that ISIS has more access to supplies than Nusra [in Qalamoun],” he added. “This is one of the major issues, Nusra is weaker and ISIS has more advanced weaponry from Iraq. This is why for Nusra gaining access to Lebanese territory is crucial; they need to have a presence here for ammunition and supplies.”

Both sources acquainted with the militants, including the former mediator, claimed that ISIS sometimes bribes Syrian regime agents to ensure their supplies arrive to Qalamoun. “They don’t feel desperate because of the Army blockage of Arsal,” the source said. “Nusra, however, might become desperate.”

According to Army sources, Arsal is effectively cut off from the militants, with a number of checkpoints erected in the town to ward off infiltration from within.

“There are no points through which groups in the mountains can easily resupply from towns in Lebanon,” said Center of Strategic and International Studies military expert Aram Nerguizian. He argued that no matter how effective militant routes from Syria are, “They won’t negate the effects of winter.”

Nerguizian’s reasoning underlies the Lebanese government’s apparent strategy to delay negotiations until the harsh effects of the winter begin to take their toll on the militants, compelling them to relax demands.

Ostensible drawbacks aside, at the moment Nusra appears to be subsisting through the same Syrian supply lines exploited by Free Syria Army battalions also stationed in the outskirts, but these routes may not endure the winter.

Basel Idriss, an FSA commander in Arsal, confirmed to The Daily Star that their logistical supplies are coming from deeper within Qalamoun, and not Lebanon, where other Nusra Front brigades are also positioned. However, he said they often face delivery hitches.

“We currently don’t have a shortage of supplies but we are facing difficulty in transporting them,” he told The Daily Star, claiming that the passage into Syria remained open by the regime to prevent spillover into Arsal.

But prior to the August clashes, the Nusra Front was benefitting from key individuals in Arsal, like Sheikh Mustafa Hujeiri, who supported them “under the table,” the source in Arsal claimed.

“Nusra made it a point to recruit Lebanese from Arsal, not the refugees, because they knew the area,” the source said.

“Some of the militants who were later arrested during the clashes, used to come in to Arsal and leave with stacks of bread,” the former mediator said.

Nusra’s summary execution of captive Mohammad Maarouf Hamieh, the former mediator said, was a sign of the group’s growing despondency. Its meeting with Fliti, however, was a sign it is still a willing negotiation partner, unlike ISIS and its exhibitionist beheading practices, which has helped to stall talks.

The content of the demands put forth and the relative seriousness with which each group conducts negotiations is also indicative of competing proclivities. Both sources acquainted with the militants said ISIS was demanding the release of Fatah al-Islam inmates in Roumieh.

According to the former mediator, however, ISIS also wants Joumana Hmeid, an Arsal native detained for driving a car rigged with explosives on the Labweh road in February.

It is unclear who among the approximately 74 Fatah al-Islam members currently detained in Roumieh’s Block B are wanted by ISIS, but it is likely that principal figures Nouri Nasr Mahmoud al-Hajji and the brother-in-law of the group’s former leader Shaker al-Absi, known as Abu Salim behind bars, both Syrians on death row, are on the list.

According to a security source inside the prison, not all Islamist detainees are rejoicing at the prospect of being released in a swap deal. “Maybe the younger ones,” the source said. “But the ones who’ve been here since 2007, they know that if they are released in an ISIS deal, they are beholden to them, and so are their families and communities.”

“One inmate who’s served for 15 years, Abu Sleiman, said he wouldn’t accept to be on the list, because he has a young daughter,” the source said. “‘I don’t want to be a fugitive my whole life,’ he told me.”

Loyalty to ISIS in the event of a swap deal will surely pave the way for released members to radicalize their communities, a development the government wants to deter altogether.