Nusra rejects hostage deal as families vow escalation
Al-Qaeda’s Syria affiliate the Nusra Front rejected an offer to treat one of its fighters at a hospital inside Lebanon...
Monday, 6 October 2014
Lebanon's Arabic press digest – Oct. 7, 2014
The following are a selection of stories from Lebanese newspapers that may be of interest to Daily Star readers. The Daily Star cannot vouch for the accuracy of these reports.
Al-Akhbar
Mediation bid halted in hostages’ release
Nusra Front sources told Al-Akhbar that the Qatari mediation in the Lebanese hostages’ crisis has completely halted.
They said the decision was made after the Lebanese government withdrew the deal, which called for the release of 45 detained inmates in exchange for three soldiers.
Nusra, according to the source, also received information that the Qatari envoy did not feel that the Lebanese government was taking the issue seriously enough so he decided to stop negotiations.
Al-Mustaqbal
Salam: Qatari mediation ongoing
Prime Minister Tammam Salam said the Qatari envoy is carrying on his mediation bid.
“I was transparent from the beginning of the crisis. I have said that I don’t have a magic wand,” Salam told AL-Mustaqbal.
“But I have pledged to do everything possible to free the servicemen without making specific promises because I know in advance that we are dealing with abnormal groups and crazy people, with nothing guaranteed,” Salam told Al-Mustaqbal.
More to follow ...
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The President Meets with Senior Staff to Discuss the U.S. Response to Ebola
This afternoon, President Obama met with his senior health, homeland security, and national security advisors to review the United States' response to the Ebola epidemic.
The participants discussed the Ebola case in Dallas, Texas; the United States' broader preparedness plans; and both domestic and international efforts to contain and end the epidemic. Participants also discussed options to enhance airport screening in the United States and the need to tackle Ebola at its source in West Africa, where the United States has launched a civilian-led whole-of-government effort that leverages the unique capabilities of the U.S. military to help bring the epidemic under control.
In remarks following the meeting, the President reiterated that our country's public health infrastructure is well-prepared to prevent an Ebola outbreak in the United States.
"It is important for Americans to know the facts," the President said. "Because of the measures that we’ve put in place, as well as our world-class health system and the nature of the Ebola virus itself -- which is difficult to transmit -- the chance of an Ebola outbreak in the United States is extremely low."
Did The Supreme Court Just Legalize Gay Marriage?
People wait to enter the Supreme Court in Washington Monday as it begins its new term. The justices cleared the way Monday for an immediate expansion of same-sex marriage by unexpectedly and tersely turning away appeals from five states seeking to prohibit gay and lesbian unions. J. Scott Applewhite/AP hide caption
itoggle caption J. Scott Applewhite/AP
People wait to enter the Supreme Court in Washington Monday as it begins its new term. The justices cleared the way Monday for an immediate expansion of same-sex marriage by unexpectedly and tersely turning away appeals from five states seeking to prohibit gay and lesbian unions.
J. Scott Applewhite/AP
Technically, the Supreme Court today did not establish a constitutional right for same-sex couples to marry. It merely declined an opportunity to rule definitely one way or the other on the question.
But in the not-too-long run, the consequences may well be the same. Because the situation the court created — or acknowledged – will almost surely continue trending in favor of same-sex couples who want to marry.
Conversely, the legal ground is eroding for states that want to stop such marriages or deny them legal recognition.
As thousands more same-sex couples marry all over the country, this legal climate change becomes a kind of fait accompli.
For the moment, the court's denial of review means state-enacted bans on same-sex marriage in five states were wiped off the books. The denial meant lower court rulings that spiked those bans will now stand. Let's call them The Five.
So couples in The Five could begin marrying regardless of gender as of today — and some got licenses immediately.
In six other states that had banned the practice, further legal proceedings may be needed to apply the rulings of the relevant federal Circuit Courts of Appeal. But because these six are connected to The Five through the federal circuit system (jurisdictions for the purpose of appealing federal court decisions) the same judgment will apply. Effectuating that judgment in these six states is a short step – and one that is already in motion.
Then they will be just like The Five.
That will bring the number of states where gay marriage has been legalized, either by the state itself or through these federal cases, to 30. And these states are home to the vast majority of the national population.
There are still ways for the Supreme Court to re-assert itself in this debate. But the question is, do they want to?
Many legal experts have looked over the landscape and perceived both a trend in the federal system and a signal from the nine justices who sit at its zenith.
Amy Howe, the editor of the highly regarded SCOTUSBlog told NPR's Nina Totenberg that the justices "are very smart people" and added, "I don't think they're going to be able to put the genie back in the bottle."
The genie got out back in June 2013, when the court decided Windsor v. United States, throwing out the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). By smacking down this pivotal federal statute, the court threw wide the gates for other challenges to state laws barring gay marriage or otherwise treating gays differently.
Now, as those challenges come in waves, the federal courts at all levels are applying the reasoning from Windsor with great consistency.
If the high court wanted to use that as an occasion to declare a constitutional right, it could have taken one or more of the cases it denied today. But opponents of gay marriage had hoped the court would take such a case for precisely the opposite reason – to uphold the states' right to ban gay marriage.
Instead, Howe observes, the justices instructed their confreres at lower levels of the pyramid to "keep on doing what you're doing."
In other words, there isn't a clear majority of the nine to settle the matter with a landmark ruling one way or the other.
They could choose to re-enter the fray at some later point, perhaps when another Circuit Court of Appeals weighs in with a ruling that supports the state's right to ban gay marriage. That would at least create a conflict for the Supreme Court to resolve.
Or it could revisit the issue later, perhaps when a clear majority has formed either to prohibit gay marriage or to permit it. That might require waiting until Justice Anthony Kennedy, a swing vote on such issues, declares himself. Or it could await the next retirement of a sitting justice and the confirmation of a successor.
But as the number of legal gay marriages skyrockets, and the practice becomes both legal and common across most of the states and most of the population, a future court is less and less likely to rescind it.
Or even take such a case.
Deadly border clashes signal darker days ahead
BAALBEK, Lebanon: Lebanon’s northeastern border with Syria braced for more violence after fierce clashes between Hezbollah and the Nusra Front over the weekend left nearly two dozen combatants dead, according to security sources.
The fighting broke out Sunday evening when Nusra Front fighters attacked three Hezbollah military posts on the outskirts of the Baalbek village of Brital in Lebanon’s eastern mountain range, security sources said. Hezbollah acknowledged the death of eight fighters, and security sources added that at least 20 party members were wounded in the fighting.
Speaking to The Daily Star, the sources said 14 Nusra Front jihadists were also killed in the clashes, which died down around 3 a.m. Monday.
Hezbollah captured five Nusra Front militants, the sources said, adding that the party’s fighters repelled Nusra Front attacks on two of its main posts in the area – Ain al-Saa and Mihfara – on the farthest edge of the Lebanese town of Brital.
But another security source familiar with the battles said Nusra Front gunmen also attacked the post of Umm Kharj, saying this was the main target of the operation.
Umm Kharj is another important Hezbollah post in the area, and is where the largest number of Hezbollah fighters was killed, the source said.
Later in the evening, Hezbollah attacked Nusra Front hideouts on the outermost edge of Brital.
A source from Hezbollah told The Daily Star that militants had briefly taken over one of the posts but that the party swiftly regained control of the site.
“All the fighting is taking place inside Syrian territories as militants are seeking to gain a foothold in Qalamoun, where their presence is weak,” the source said, referring to the mountainous Syrian area just over Lebanon’s eastern border. “They have been launching intermittent attacks.”
However, the Nusra Front had its own version of the clashes, and there was ambiguity over in which country exactly the clashes took place, as the border is porous and undefined in the area.
In comments to Anadulo News Agency, a Nusra Front commander said the group attacked Hezbollah posts as a pre-emptive strike.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, the commander said the group had received information that Hezbollah was fortifying several positions and had been preparing an attack on rebels in coordination with the Lebanese and Syrian armies.“We prepared ourselves and as soon as knew Hezbollah fighters were infiltrating Nahleh’s outskirts, we attacked them and ambushed them,” he said.
“There was a military position for Hezbollah, which we overran, and then we withdrew,” he said.
He denied Hezbollah had taken any Nusra fighters captive.
“What happened yesterday was a warning message to Hezbollah ... If we wanted to continue the battle, we could have attacked Brital.”
“We found U.S.-made weapons still in their wrappings including a rocket launcher. Where did the party of Iran [Hezbollah] get such weapons from?”
Nusra also released what it claimed was footage from the battle with Hezbollah, showing jihadists overrunning the Umm Kharj military post. Bodies of fighters believed to be from Hezbollah could be seen in the footage.
The group said its fighters killed over 11 Hezbollah fighters and wounded dozens during the battles. It said the operation was retaliation for the burning of Syrian refugee camps in Arsal during a Lebanese Army raid late last month. The Army has denied it was responsible for the fire, saying three individuals tried to set the camp ablaze.
Thousands of fighters from the Nusra Front and ISIS have been stuck along the eastern border of Lebanon since spring after the Syrian army and Hezbollah drove them out of most of Qalamoun.
There are expected to be more attacks on warmer Lebanese villages as winter approaches, particularly given that the Lebanese Army has cut off most of the extremist groups’ supply routes.
Fighters from ISIS and the Nusra Front briefly occupied the northeastern town of Arsal in August. They still hold at least 21 soldiers and Internal Security Forces members they captured during the battle for the town.
A security source familiar with the battles taking place between Hezbollah and the Islamist militants on the mountainous outskirts of Baalbek said Nusra Front, ISIS and other extremist groups were resorting to guerrilla tactics to target the party.
The source said that after careful surveillance, the groups would attack a Hezbollah position in the area before withdrawing to their hideouts on the barren mountainous outskirts, all with the aim of destroying the target and inflicting the highest number of casualties.
The fighters are banking on the fact that their hideouts are difficult to locate or invade due to the fact they are scattered over large swathes of rugged terrain that is speckled with caves.
The source said the war of attrition launched by the Islamist groups against Hezbollah was aimed at forcing the party to abandon its positions in the mountainous hinterlands.
This would enable ISIS and the Nusra Front to open a route stretching from the outskirts of Arsal and Tfail to the Zabadani field, which is still under the control of rebels, and reach western rural Damascus and the governorates of Deraa and Qunaitra in Syria’s south, where the opposition also maintains a strong military presence.
During the clashes, dozens of Hezbollah fighters were seen heading from Brital to the scenes of the clashes in four-wheel drives with machine guns mounted on the roofs. Hezbollah gunmen and others from local clans also deployed in streets in northern Bekaa Valley villages.
In Baalbek Sunday, the party held the funerals of Nizar Tarraf and Fouad Mortada, both of whom died during the fighting. In the Baalbek village of Iaat, Hezbollah fighter Maher Zeaiter was also laid to rest.
Commenting on the clashes, Hezbollah MP Hasan Fadlallah said his party had saved the country from a plot by Islamist gunmen to expand into Lebanon, boasting that his colleagues were capable of repelling imminent attacks similar to Sunday’s border violence.
“The resistance is alert day and night and foiled a plan by takfiri groups to attack our villages and towns in the Bekaa,” Fadlallah said during a ceremony in Tibnin, south Lebanon.
“The resistance has proven once again that it is the nation’s armor and it is always ready to defeat any attackers who attempt to attack our northern and southern borders.”
But March 14 officials blamed the clashes on Hezbollah’s intervention in Syria, with the General Secretariat calling for the deployment of an international peacekeeping force along the porous border to protect the country.
Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea took a particularly strong line. “The attack by the militants on the outskirts of Brital and Nabi Sebat demonstrated once again the need for the Lebanese government to take a decision to force Hezbollah to withdraw from Syria if the government is serious about securing the safety of Lebanese territory,” Geagea told the Central News Agency.
Geagea reiterated a long-standing demand by the March 14 coalition to expand the mandate of the U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon to cover the border between Lebanon and Syria.
Nusra fights to establish supply lines
BEIRUT: The Nusra Front was seeking to drain Hezbollah’s resources and secure supply lines in its brazen attack on Hezbollah outposts over the weekend, experts say.
“The Nusra Front is specifically seeking to bleed Hezbollah as much as possible, create new supply lines, and regain control of Arsal and adjacent areas to recreate a command center that would be used to target Hezbollah’s interests across the country,” said Bilal Saab, a senior fellow for Middle East Security at the Atlantic Council’s Brent Scowcraft Center on International Security.
For weeks, battles have raged along the porous border between forces loyal to the Syrian regime, including Hezbollah, and various Syrian opposition factions. The calm of West Bekaa towns is not infrequently punctuated by the distant echoes of blasts, which residents say come from border clashes.
But skirmishes early Sunday morning, which resulted in the deaths of eight Hezbollah fighters and 14 Nusra militants, took place on the mountainous outskirts of Brital in the East Bekaa, where Hezbollah enjoys wide popular support and holds strategic military positions.
The militants, estimated to be in the hundreds, briefly surrounded three Hezbollah outposts within Lebanese territories, before being overrun and sustaining heavy losses.
“It was a tactical battle for them to show their readiness and willingness” to fight Hezbollah in Lebanon, according to Mario Abou Zeid, a research analyst at the Carnegie Middle East Center in Beirut.
“They succeeded and caught Hezbollah forces by surprise.”
As winter approaches, several analysts have said the Nusra Front is urgently trying to establish supply lines between its positions in Qalamoun, Syria, and in Lebanon. Various Syrian opposition groups previously used the northeast Bekaa town of Arsal as a conduit for supplies and fighters. For several weeks, however, the Lebanese Army has effectively closed the checkpoint that links the town of Arsal to its barren outskirts, where fighters, and some civilians, have taken refuge.
“These guys are desperate. They want a lifeline before the beginning of the winter,” said Hilal Khashan, a political sciences professor at the American University of Beirut.
The attacks over the weekend, Khashan said, were an attempt to “break the stranglehold” that the Syrian opposition groups in the Qalamoun region are experiencing.
Many analysts said the Nusra Front was not seeking to hold territory in Lebanon.
“I don’t see them trying to take territory inside Lebanon,” said Aaron Zelin, founder of Jihadology.net, a website providing primary source information on jihadist movements.
“They’re very much focused on the battle for Damascus.”
Tony Badran, a research fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said that the attack was a successful “hit-and-run ambush,” which caused significant Hezbollah casualties.
While Syrian opposition groups have the potential to recruit large numbers of young men, particularly desperate refugees, Hezbollah “does not have an endless reservoir” of fighters, Badran stressed.
Bernard Haykel, professor of Near Eastern Studies at Princeton University, said that while Hezbollah’s swift repulsion of the Nusra fighters is not a major development, there could be security fallout from continued fighting along Lebanon’s borders.
Continued fighting between Hezbollah and Syrian opposition groups could draw in a fresh crop of young recruits from among the Lebanese Sunni population, but also from the Syrian refugees, who feel powerless and disenfranchised, Haykel said. “The Sunnis have to come to terms with where they stand with respect to Nusra and ISIS. That hasn’t been resolved.”
Analysts suggested that increased fighting along the Lebanese-Syrian border was likely.
“It’s possible that things could heat up even more going forward, because the American airstrikes in the northern parts of Syria is pushing a lot of Nusra assets and fighters South toward Qalamoun,” Zelin said.
Nusra attacks on strategic Hezbollah positions “will definitely continue,” agreed Abou Zeid. “Now it’s more like an open confrontation,” he added.
It remains unclear what effect, if any, the weekend clashes will have on negotiations to free the captive Lebanese security forces. ISIS and Nusra are holding at least 21 soldiers and members of the ISF, and have already executed three.
“The fate of those soldiers might have been sealed a while ago, regardless of the clashes. However, battlefield outcomes could have a say too, but I am not sure how rational or flexible the Nusra Front’s hostage-taking approach is,” Saab said. “Is the Nusra Front risk prone or risk averse? I don’t know.”
“At this point the negotiations have almost deteriorated,” said Abou Zeid. As winter approaches, the Nusra Front will use whatever means necessary to gain access to Lebanese soil and supplies, he added.
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Nusra rejects hostage deal as families vow escalation
BEIRUT: Al-Qaeda’s Syria affiliate the Nusra Front rejected an offer to treat one of its fighters at a hospital inside Lebanon in exchange for the release of three Lebanese captives being held by the jihadists, a commander said Monday.
In comments to Anadulo News Agency, a Nusra commander said the group had asked General Security chief Maj. Gen. Abbas Ibrahim via a mediator to treat a fighter wounded during Sunday’s fierce border clashes with Hezbollah in a Lebanese hospital.
“We tried to move him to Arsal but the Lebanese Army checkpoint prevented us. We communicated with Abbas Ibrahim who demanded the release of three captive soldiers so he would allow us to transfer [the fighter] to Arsal for treatment,” the unidentified commander told the Turkish agency.
“We rejected that and informed him that we did not want to launch a battle against them, but his answer was that he would prevent us from transferring any wounded.”
An ISIS commander in Qalamoun told the same agency that the Lebanese government was procrastinating in negotiations, saying his group’s demands were not impossible to achieve.
Meanwhile, relatives of the captive Lebanese security personnel and soldiers have vowed to escalate their protest movement in order to press the government to do more to negotiate the release of their loved ones from Islamist militants.
Rana Fliti, the wife of captured soldier Ali Bazzal, said that as of Monday night the families had not yet taken a collective decision, but some have threatened to close the airport road, which could strand travelers.
“We need to coordinate between all the families and every family has an opinion,” she said.
Over the weekend, Fliti was relieved to receive a phone call from her husband wishing her a happy Eid al-Adha and reassuring her that he and the other captives were in good health and being treated well.
“He told me whenever the Lebanese Army carries out arrests targeting Syrians they are in greater danger, but when the Army backs off they feel at ease,” she said, adding that he encouraged her to continue her protest efforts.
“He asked me to pressure the government as much as possible because the government is not paying attention to them, and that they have lost trust in the government,” she said.
Nazha Geagea, wife of policeman Pierre Geagea, received no such assurance over the weekend, and vowed to cut off the airport road soon if the families do not receive proof that the government is actively negotiating for the captives release.
She said the families were scheduled to meet with Beirut municipal officials this week and that the outcome of that meeting would determine the families’ next actions. She added that the main Bekaa lifeline, Dahr al-Baidar Highway, would remain closed until their relatives were returned to them.
“We apologize to the people,” affected by the closure, she said. “It is not the people’s fault, they are miserable like us, but there is no other way to get our message across.”
Earlier Monday, the frustrated relatives reopened some roads in east and north Lebanon after blocking multiple arteries, effectively sealing off the Bekaa Valley.
Dahr al-Baidar, which links Beirut and the Bekaa, remained shut, however, as it has been since protesters first erected tents on the road on Sept. 24. The protesters also erected high sand mounds Monday across the highway of Dahr al-Baidar, blocking all access, including a narrow passageway that had been kept open for ambulances and emergency cases, disrupting traffic on the Bekaa’s main artery for a second week.
Spokespersons for the captives’ families said they had decided to reopen the Zahle-Tarshish road, a secondary route linking Beirut and the eastern Bekaa Valley, and Qalamoun highway leading to north Lebanon’s main city of Tripoli, to facilitate the movement of goods and people, after they had conveyed their message to the authorities.
The near-total isolation of the Bekaa for several hours had prompted many desperate travelers, including passenger vans and pick-up truck drivers transporting agricultural products from the fertile valley, to climb through dirt roads in sometimes rugged terrain to access the coastal area and Mount Lebanon at high risks.
In north Lebanon, the relatives of captive soldier Ibrahim Mogheit cut off the highway in Qalamoun, severing access to the main city of Tripoli for at least four hours. The sources said traffic was redirected to the narrow coastal road, causing long trails of stranded cars.
The concerted road cuts are meant to express the families’ growing frustration with the government’s procrastination and reluctance to trade Islamist inmates in Roumieh Prison for the some 21 captive Army troops and policemen held by the Nusra Front and ISIS, the sources added.
Sports Minister Abdul-Muttaleb al-Hinawi deplored the continued road cuts, which he said would only “harm and disrupt people’s businesses” while acknowledging that the families’ actions were understandable. “Blocking the roads would only lead to confusion and harming people’s businesses, but the demands of the relatives [of the captives] are totally legal,” Hinawi said to Voice of Lebanon Radio.
The captives were among more than 30 personnel captured during battles in the border town of Arsal between the Army and the militants in August. Nusra Front has released seven captives and executed one, and ISIS beheaded two, in an attempt to intimidate the government into accepting their reported demand of releasing the Islamist prisoners in return for the captives’ freedom.
Producing wine in ferment of war
BEIRUT: In his high-rise office in Beirut, Sandro Saade carefully chews a merlot grape from a vineyard hundreds of kilometers away in war-ravaged Syria, trying to determine whether it is ripe enough to order the start of the harvest.
It’s too dangerous for him to travel to the vineyards of Domaine de Bargylus, which is nestled in verdant hills where wine has been produced since ancient times.
But despite the bloody conflict and the threat from Islamic extremists, he is determined to produce world-class wines, and to help preserve a Levantine cosmopolitanism imperiled by war.
In Syria and Lebanon, boutique wineries mainly run by Christians have endured despite decades of unrest and the fact that Islam – the majority faith in the region – forbids both the production and consumption of alcohol. The challenges have mounted since the eruption of Syria’s conflict in 2011 and the rise of ISIS and other jihadist organizations.
For families like the Saades, the production of wine is not only a business but an affirmation of their roots in a region increasingly hostile to Christians and other minorities. Their winery’s name derives from the classical Greek for the Syrian mountains overlooking the Mediterranean, and the tradition of wine-making stretches back to ancient times, when it flowed at bacchanalian festivals that would horrify today’s dour jihadists.
“We are passionate about this, and we aren’t stopping. We will continue as much as we can,” Saade said. “The challenge is not just to make wine, but to maintain a high-quality wine.”
The winery is in a relatively secure part of Syria still controlled by President Bashar Assad’s secular government, which tolerates alcohol. But stray mortars occasionally crash into the vineyards, including one that destroyed 15 chardonnay vines in June.
Transportation presents other obstacles. As well-off businessmen, the Saades are at risk of being kidnapped by militants or brigands on the increasingly perilous roads crossing the Syrian-Lebanese border. The grapes are shuttled back and forth by taxi drivers, who are occasionally forced to turn back when security forces close the crossings.
ISIS is far from the wineries, but it has captured a third of Syria and Iraq, including in lightning advances that took much of the region by surprise. Other powerful Islamic militant groups, including a local Al-Qaeda affiliate, are much closer. As a security precaution, the winery keeps most of its finished product in a Belgian warehouse.
The enterprise is tiny; Bargylus produces just 45,000 bottles a year. Like its Lebanese competitors, it tries to market premier boutique wines for around $35 a bottle.
In a 2012 article discussing Bargylus wines, international expert Jancis Robinson was “particularly impressed by the 2007 Bargylus red, a well-judged blend of syrah with cabernet sauvignon and merlot with real savor and depth of flavor.”
Saade said surprising Europeans with the provenance of his wine was part of his marketing strategy: “They are smiling when they discover that. It’s definitely a good surprise.”
Saade said in an interview last month that this season’s grapes were “nearly ready.” Another taxi would fetch more grapes in three days’ time – if the border was open.
Lebanon’s own wineries have thus far been spared from the effects of the conflict in neighboring Syria, but the war is never far off. In August, it spilled across the border when militants from Syria briefly overran the border town of Arsal, killing and abducting several soldiers and police officers. Three were later slain by militants.
The Lebanese wine industry is concentrated in the eastern Bekaa region, a sweeping plain framed by Syria’s mountains that has long been a stronghold of Hezbollah. More recently, the religiously mixed region has come to host hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees, fueling tensions.
Lebanon is fiercely divided over the war in Syria, and outbreaks of violence have seen Sunni and Shiite villagers in the Bekaa block roads and engage in tit-for-tat kidnappings.
“The situation is abnormal,” said Zafer Chaoui, head of Lebanon’s official association of wine producers, and the director of Chateau Ksara, the country’s largest winery, one of 47 that produced some 8 million bottles last year.
Most wineries emerged after Lebanon’s Civil War ended in 1990, but wine-making here is an ancient tradition. The nearby Roman complex at Baalbek features a temple to Bacchus, the god of wine and mirth.
Lebanon’s sizable Christian community drinks, as do many liberal Muslims, but local sales have declined 10 to 20 percent this year as part of a larger economic downturn.
In the vineyards of Chateau Kefraya, just a few miles from the Syrian border, women with scarves across their faces – protection against flies – snip dark bunches of syrah grapes.
Most of the women are Syrian refugees who fled from Raqqa, the de facto capital of the ISIS’ self-styled caliphate. There the punishment for drinking is 100 lashes.
“This keeps my children alive,” said 21-year-old Hiam, a mother of two, speaking of her $4 daily wage to pick 16 boxes of grapes.
The war is never far behind. Sometimes explosions from across the border echo like approaching thunder, and armed men conduct nightly patrols of the nearby village, fearing ISIS militants might cross the border.
The supervisor at Chateau Kefraya, 53-year-old Nabhan Nabhan, takes it all in stride. “From the time I was born, it’s been like this,” he said, and recites a long list of conflicts that have darkened this bucolic region during his lifetime.
Others are more fearful. “Who can say we will not be next?” asks Fabrice Guiberteau, Chateau Kefraya’s French technical director and a long-time resident of Lebanon. “The situation is dramatic.”
At the nearby Chateau Ksara, employee Rania Chammas mapped out a longer, alternative route back to Beirut for visiting reporters.
Families of soldiers and policemen abducted by the Nusra Front and ISIS had blocked the main road with burning tires to protest against the government’s failure to recover their sons.
“You had better leave,” she sighed.
Health Ministry to probe vaccinated girl’s death
BEIRUT: Health Minister Wael Abu Faour opened a probe Monday into the mysterious death of a 4-year-old girl that occurred a day after she was vaccinated, raising speculation that she might have been given a contaminated vaccine.
News of Serene Rakan’s death circulated on social media platforms, after her father had posted on his Facebook page: “Serene was vaccinated and died the second day, I don’t know why.”
According to the National News Agency, Abu Faour got in touch with the father asking for the physician’s identity and contacts to start a probe into the cause of Rakan’s death.
But the father categorically refused to allow an autopsy or to divulge the name of the doctor, citing personal reasons, including the fact that the physician was a trustworthy friend of the family.
Abu Faour, nonetheless, ordered the ministry to probe the incident, pleading with the family of the girl to cooperate with the investigators.
The minister pointed out that all the vaccines distributed by his ministry were provided by UNICEF and systematically checked to ensure quality and validity, noting that hundreds of children were regularly vaccinated without incident.
The distressed father said the family was preparing to emigrate to Canada, fearing looming chaos and violence in Lebanon.
“Serene died 20 days before I could bring her to safe shores. Serene died from a contaminated vaccine like this corrupt country,” the father wrote on his Facebook page.
A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Daily Star on October 07, 2014, on page 4.
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Frangieh receives March 8 delegation in Zghorta
BEIRUT: Marada Movement leader Sleiman Frangieh welcomed a delegation of March 8 parties and factions headed by Hezbollah Monday in Bneshaai, Zghorta.
“We concluded that Lebanon is fortified and will remain strong,” said Mohammad Qomati, vice president of Hezbollah’s political council, after the meeting.
Qomati said that extremist groups would not find a route into Lebanon as long as the Lebanese remained united and threw their support behind the Lebanese Army.
“As for the presidential election, we agreed that the olls should be held and quickly,” Qomati said.
A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Daily Star on October 07, 2014, on page 4.
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Jounieh highway must be fixed now: MP Abi Nasr
BEIRUT: Change and Reform bloc MP Neamatallah Abi Nasr Monday criticized the delay in renovating the Jounieh highway, after citizens were stuck in traffic for hours on the main road connecting northern Lebanon with Beirut.
“[We are tired] of demanding that officials both inside and outside of Parliament repair the current highway,” said Abi Nasr in a statement, referring to the coastal road that passes through the city of Jounieh.
He explained that the project was ready to be implemented, and that the money needed – some $83 million, with around $35 million for land purchases – had been secured in December 2012 thanks to a loan from the European Bank.
Abi Nasr also revealed that studies were underway to help create an alternative highway route to absorb some of the traffic that twice daily clogs the road in and out of Beirut.
“This road isn’t only for the citizens of the Kesrouan-Ftouh [area], it’s a road for all the citizens of north Lebanon,” the statement read.
A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Daily Star on October 07, 2014, on page 4.
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Kataeb: Lebanon must unite and stay strong
BEIRUT: In its meeting Monday, the Kataeb party renewed its calls for stability in Lebanon that it said began with people respecting the Constitution and electing a new president. In a statement, Kataeb said it believed one of the biggest threats to Lebanon right now was the fighting going on in Lebanon’s eastern border with Syria.
“The party calls for a national meeting similar to the spiritual summit held at Dar al-Fatwa [in September], which stressed the need for Parliament to meet and elect a president without delay,” read the statement.
Kataeb also called on Lebanese people to get behind the Lebanese Army and strengthen it by working for national unity.
“The case of the captured soldiers should remain a priority for the government,” the statement added.
A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Daily Star on October 07, 2014, on page 4.
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One man shot dead after Tripoli families clash
TRIPOLI, Lebanon: One man was left dead after a personal dispute in north Lebanon early Monday sparked a brief armed clash, security sources told The Daily Star.
The sources identified the fatality as Obaida Tartousi. They said the row, which occurred around dawn in the Akkar neighborhood of Wadi Jamous, had pitted members of the Tartousi family against the Al-Draiyi family.
Lebanese soldiers intervened and a hunt for the gunmen was launched, the sources said.
A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Daily Star on October 07, 2014, on page 4.
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White House Makes A Point To Stay Out Front On Ebola
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The American Dream Needs a Fair Minimum Wage
My life is a tribute to the American Dream. My business partner and I started with 300 record albums and a $20 booth at the local farmers market in 1979. Today, Vintage Vinyl is the largest independent music store in the Midwest. We stage 150 in-store concerts a year and are known internationally for recorded music in all forms.
We built our business on wages above the minimum. This has given us devoted long-term employees whose ongoing relationships with customers have been vital to our success.
The last two decades have been tough on the music business. We’ve outlasted a 20-store local chain and numerous regional and national chains. Most of those companies paid their employees minimum wage or barely above. My creative, dedicated, and better-paid employees won this life-or-death struggle for us.
While my competition dealt with the costly results of constant employee turnover, constant training costs, and the unsatisfied customers that turnover breeds, my employees added great value to my business.
Unfortunately, many American companies have been driving down wages to poverty levels that are too low for workers to live on and too low to sustain the consumer demand that businesses need to survive and thrive. In a race to the bottom, the winner ends up at the bottom.
The American Dream needs a minimum wage increase.
Driving Development of Clean Energy
Since the President took office, we have made unprecedented progress transforming America into a clean energy economy built to last. The amount of electricity we get from the wind has tripled, and solar electricity production has increased by tenfold.
The Administration has permitted more than 50 utility-scale renewable energy projects on public lands, enough to power nearly 5 million homes and support more than 20,000 construction and operations jobs. The Departments of Energy and Interior are also moving forward on infrastructure projects that will bring clean sources of power online and improve the resilience of our electricity system.
Today, the Department of Energy finalized a Presidential Permit for the Champlain Hudson Power Express, a transmission line that will deliver renewable hydropower from Quebec to meet New York City's growing energy demand. The project developers estimate the 1,000-megawatt transmission line will save consumers $650 million each year and cut carbon pollution 2.2 million metric tons.
And we're taking action to drive reliable, affordable, and sustainable hydropower at home. Since the President took office, DOE has provided awards to support more than 30 hydropower projects.
President Obama firmly believes that the federal government should lead by example. That is why he has set aggressive targets for federal agencies to reduce their energy and water use, and cut greenhouse gas emissions.
In fact, last year the President announced a bold new goal for the federal government to consume 20% of its power from renewable sources by 2020 – and federal agencies are already stepping up to this challenge in a big way.
Hezbollah buries two fighters killed in e. Lebanon clashes
UNIFIL probes Israeli shooting of Lebanese soldier
The U.N. peacekeeping force in Lebanon has launched an investigation into the shooting of a Lebanese soldier, saying...
Democrats Winning Big Money, GOP Winning Big Secret Money
Republican strategist Karl Rove's Crossroads GPS group is planning to spend at least $23 million in key Senate races in the final two months of the campaign. The group is a tax-exempt non-profit and is allowed to keep the names of its donors secret. Rich Pedroncelli/AP hide caption
itoggle caption Rich Pedroncelli/AP
Republican strategist Karl Rove's Crossroads GPS group is planning to spend at least $23 million in key Senate races in the final two months of the campaign. The group is a tax-exempt non-profit and is allowed to keep the names of its donors secret.
Rich Pedroncelli/AP
Democrats this election have done a good job attracting a lot of big donors, but Republicans appear to have the big advantage when it comes to big secret donors.
The strength of Democratic House and Senate fundraising committees — and their supporting super PACs — has been a surprise development this cycle, even as the Senate seems poised to flip to Republican control and the House is almost certain to remain under GOP leadership.
Now Republicans will get even more help from their big guns from the last two elections: the tax-exempt non-profit groups Americans for Prosperity and Crossroads GPS.
Americans for Prosperity, founded by the industrialist billionaire Koch brothers, has already been running tens of millions worth of ads attacking Democratic senators in key states. Now it says it will also run ads specifically telling voters to defeat those Democrats on November 4. It will not reveal how much it intends to spend, but earlier press reports suggest the group's total outlays this election could be near $300 million, although that figure includes voter registration and turnout efforts.
Crossroads GPS, co-founded by GOP operative Karl Rove, is on track to raise some $75 million this election, according to spokesman Paul Lindsay, and will spend at least $23 million of that in the final two months of the campaign in six states, including $9.5 million in Colorado alone.
Democrats and liberals, in contrast, have focused on super PACs that disclose the name of every donor who gives more than $200. Tom Steyer, the San Francisco investor and climate change activist, has given $40.9 million to his NextGen Climate Action Committee and $5 million to Senate Majority PAC, according to an NPR review of Federal Election Commission records. Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has donated $6.9 million to his pro-gun control Independence USA PAC and $2 million to Emily's List's Women Vote superpac.
| The 10 Biggest Super PAC Donors To Date | ||
| Donor | Super PAC | Amount |
| Thomas Steyer | NextGen Climate Action | $40,900,000 |
| Michael Bloomberg | Independence USA PAC | $6,860,912 |
| NextGen Climate Action | Senate Majority PAC | $5,500,000 |
| Thomas Steyer | Senate Majority PAC | $5,000,000 |
| Fred Eychaner | Senate Majority PAC | $5,000,000 |
| Senate Majority PAC | Put Alaska First | $4,663,000 |
| Michael Bloomberg | Senate Majority PAC | $2,500,000 |
| Fred Eychaner | House Majority PAC | $2,500,000 |
| Working for Working Americans | Senate Majority PAC | $2,250,000 |
| Michael Bloomberg | Women Vote (EMILY's List) | $2,000,000 |
| Source: NPR analysis of Federal Election Commission data | ||
But in terms of groups that keep their donors secret, Patriot Majority USA and the League of Conservation Voters are the only Democratic-leaning non-profits that have spent more than $1 million on election-related activity so far, with each reporting about $7 million in spending to the FEC.
How much these politically oriented non-profit groups will actually raise and spend won't be known until next spring, when their annual filings to the Internal Revenue Service come due. But while those documents show how much was raised and how it was spent, the names of the donors will likely remain secret forever. That actually is the only advantage for donors – there is no tax deduction or other financial benefit to giving to these groups rather than to super PACs.
In the 2012 election cycle, for example, Crossroads GPS spent $71 million on ads directly advocating against a Democratic candidate or for a Republican one. But it spent $94 million on ads attacking President Obama and Democratic members of Congress.
The difference between the two approaches might be unnoticeable to the typical voter. A so-called "issue ad" will recite all the terrible things a senator has done, and then urge viewers to call that senator's office to register their displeasure. An "express advocacy" ad will recite those same terrible things, but then tell the viewer to vote that senator out of office.
Though slight, the distinction makes all the difference in the world, at least in the way the FEC and the IRS interpret election and tax law. By using words like "vote" or "defeat" or "elect," an ad is seen as attempting to sway an election. Ads that don't use those words are merely educating the public on "issues." The IRS has ruled that non-profit groups must spend the majority of their money on "social welfare" functions – such as educating the public – in order to maintain the tax status that enables them to keep their donors' names secret.
Advocates of campaign finance reform and many Democrats argue that the loophole allows the wealthy to influence elections without public accountability, thereby undermining the "who-gave-who-got" premise behind disclosure laws. Many conservatives argue that disclosure laws unfairly silence their donors because they fear public criticism and boycotts of their businesses.
Alleged Hezbollah fighter mocks Gemayel over border plan
BEIRUT: A man dressed in military fatigues appeared Monday in a video mocking Kataeb MP Sami Gemayel for his “military plan” to better control the Syrian-Lebanese border, saying the lawmaker’s vision would fail in the face of jihadists.
“We are now at the border and [we are] following the plan of seasoned President Sami Gemayel. And as he told us, we would deploy one soldier every 10 kilometers,” the man, wearing a black mask over his face and dressed in cammouflage gear, said in the video, titled, "Hezbollah fighter mocks Sami Gemayel."
The man is referring to a plan proposed by Gemayel during a Parliament session in March when he said the Lebanese Army needed at least 20 drones and four military units to control the border with Syria.
“The army is capable of controlling the border with a very low budget through drones. We need 20 of these to fly over the borders and bring us images,” Gemayel said during a session to grant the Cabinet the vote of confidence.
The lawmaker said the drones would take images of the border and the Army units deployed in the region would be ready to respond to any violation.
Speaking in a high-pitched tone to immitate Gemayel's voice, the alleged Hezbollah fighter said: “If they attack us, we will use walkie-talkies, and the drone would come and we would attack them.”
"We found his plan very useful. Small number of soldiers, less cost. But I want to make something clear to Mr. Sami Gemayel. Each [of our] fighters stands one meter away from the other.”
“We are exposed to attacks by them and respond with ammunition. We run out quickly, Mr. Sami, you seasoned soldier.”
“Every day, we ask for more ammunition because they launch attacks with 400 [fighters each time], you idiot.”
“We want to say to Sami, he should take military lessons because binoculars are useless and the walkie-talkies could run out of battery easily and then they come to you, to eat you, to behead you.”
Vice President Biden at the Reopening of Joplin High School: “We Never Stop. And We Always Rebuild.”
Vice President Joe Biden speaks at the Joplin High School dedication ceremony in Joplin, Missouri, October 3, 2014. (Official White House Photo by David Lienemann)
The tornado that hit Joplin, Missouri on May 22, 2011 lasted 32 minutes and caused damage for 13 miles. At its widest point, the path of the tornado stretched a full mile. The EF5 Tornado — the most destructive on the Enhanced Fujita Scale — left a city nearly destroyed. More than 15,000 vehicles were carried away, nearly 7,000 homes were completely destroyed, and 161 people lost their lives.
The destruction of Joplin High School took place just minutes after a graduation ceremony for seniors. The ceremony was held off campus, at Missouri Southern State University. When the tornado hit, around 150 people were still in the arena, and Dr. Kerry Sachetta, the high school principal, led those individuals into the basement. But others were already on the road or back in their homes. The tornado claimed the lives of seven students (including one of the graduates) and one high school staff member.
Despite the destruction, Joplin’s citizens showed a tremendous resolve to rebuild, and through the efforts of volunteers, neighboring cities and states, the government, and most importantly, the people of Joplin themselves, the community has made a dramatic recovery.
Last week, Vice President Biden and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, returned to Joplin to celebrate the reopening of Joplin High School.
Former Agent Describes 'Progressive Downslide' In Morale At Secret Service
A U.S. Secret Service agent stands watch before President Barack Obama boards Air Force One in August 2014. Charles Dharapak/AP hide caption
itoggle caption Charles Dharapak/AP
A U.S. Secret Service agent stands watch before President Barack Obama boards Air Force One in August 2014.
Charles Dharapak/AP
Low morale could be partly to blame for the recent spate of security lapses at the Secret Service.
The agency with the responsibility for protecting the president, vice president and their families rates in the bottom third in job satisfaction rankings within the federal government.
The root of that discontent could be bureaucratic. The Secret Service traces its heritage back to the US Department of the Treasury. It was created in 1865 to fight counterfeiters, and didn't get into the business of protecting presidents until 1901 after the assassination of President William McKinley. After the attacks on September 11 some 100 years later, the Service was transferred from Treasury to the newly created Department of Homeland Security. It became one of 22 agencies thrown together in response to the terrorist strike — encompassing everything from the Coast Guard to disaster recovery .
Jonathan Wackrow, a former Secret Service agent, says the Service's morale problems can be traced back to that day:
"In the 13 years that I was with the Secret Service there has been a progressive downslide of morale. As the Secret Service has integrated further into the DHS culture, you have seen a correlation in the decline of morale," he says.
Now, moving an agency from one part of the government organizational chart to another might not seem like such a big deal. But the Service was an elite unit when it was part of the relatively small Treasury department. And when it became part of the sprawling bureaucracy that is Homeland Security, the Secret Service found itself competing with a lot of other folks, says Wackrow.
"We have to fight internally for money and resources — against issues of immigration, issues that arise with the Coast Guard and other homeland security issues. So for us to have a voice in that sea of confusion sometimes was very difficult for our managers."
Like other federal agencies, the department lost part of its funding due to the sequester of the operating budget last year.
Former Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano vowed those cuts would not be taken from the protective side of the Services budget. In fact, Congress gave the Service more money than it asked for last year because lawmakers felt the Obama administration underfunded the agency. But former Assistant Secret Service Director Mickey Nelson agrees there has been a lot more scrambling for resources since the Service became part of Homeland Security.
"The Secret Service mission pretty much stayed the same unlike some of the other agencies that were brought over. Now what has happened over a period of time, of course, you've got quite a few components within DHS fighting for what seems to be an increasingly smaller budget," he says.
It's unclear how the budget has affected staffing levels. At her hearing last week, former Secret Service Director Julia Pierson said the Service was 550 employees below what it should be. Republicans are skeptical that the agency is short-handed.
It's one of the issues members of Congress want an independent panel that is reviewing recent security lapses at the White House to look into. Maryland Democrat Elijah Cummings says the agency may be stretched too thin.
"They need to look at training, protocol, and look at the leadership structure. Whether the Secret Service should be under Homeland Security, this is a very critical moment for the Secret Service," Cummings says.
And in a sentiment shared by many in Washington, Cummings says whomever the President chooses to lead the Service is going to have to be prepared to make changes from top to bottom.
Nusra rejects Lebanon offer to treat fighter for hostages
BEIRUT: Al-Qaeda's Syria affiliate the Nusra Front rejected an offer to treat one of its fighters at a hospital inside Lebanon in exchange for the release of three Lebanese captives being held by the jihadists, a commander said Monday.
In comments to Anadulo News Agency, a Nusra commander said the group had asked General Security chief Maj. Gen. Abbas Ibrahim via a mediator to treat a fighter wounded during Sunday's fierce border clashes with Hezbollah in a Lebanese hospital.
“We tried to move him to Arsal but the Lebanese Army checkpoint prevented us. We communicated with Abbas Ibrahim who demanded the release of three captive soldiers so he would allow us to transfer [the fighter] to Arsal for treatment,” the unnamed commander told the Turkish agency.
“We rejected that and informed him that we did not want to launch a battle against them, but his answer was that he would prevent us from transferring any wounded.”
Nusra and ISIS are holding at least 21 Lebanese soldiers and policemen who were taken hostage during a five-day battle in August between the jihadists and the Army.
The Nusra commander also spoke about the clashes with Hezbollah near the Lebanese border village of Brital Sunday, saying the group attacked Hezbollah posts as a preemptive strike.
The commander said the group had received information that Hezbollah was beefing up several positions and had been preparing an attack in coordination with the Lebanese and Syrian armies.
“We prepared ourselves and as soon as knew Hezbollah fighters were infiltrating Nahleh's outskirts, we attacked them and ambushed them,” he said.
Hezbollah sources told The Daily Star Sunday that the Nusra Front attacked two posts on the border with Syria near the Lebanese villages of Brital and Nahleh. At least eight Hezbollah fighters and 14 militants were killed in the clashes that ensued.
He denied Hezbollah had taken any Nusra fighter captive as claimed by the group and said only one fighter was killed in the clashes.
“What happened yesterday was a warning message to Hezbollah ... If we wanted to continue the battle, we could have attacked Brital.”
“We found American-made weapons still in their wrapping including a rocket launcher. Where did the party of Iran get such weapons from?”
The commander also gave contradicting comments about where the clashes took place, while Hezbollah maintained that the battle erupted inside Syria, on the edge of Lebanon's border.
At one point, the commander said the clashes took place on the outskirts of Nahleh and Brital. Later in the interview, the man said Nusra fighters did not infiltrate Lebanese territory.
“But there was a military position for Hezbollah, which we overran, and then we withdrew.”
Meanwhile, Nusra Front released what it claimed was footage from the battle with Hezbollah, showing jihadists firing mortar rounds at Hezbollah positions.
The video also shows Nusra fighters in military gear heading towards the post with a man's voice occassionaly yelling out "God is great."
The camera man later films a makeshift shelter he claimed belonged to Hezbollah.
Longtime Lebanese bachelor MP gets engaged
Longtime Lebanese bachelor MP gets engaged
MP Ghassan Moukheiber announced Monday his engagement on social media, but without disclosing details about his fiancé...
Lebanon Health Ministry to probe vaccinated girl death
BEIRUT: Health Minister Wael Abu Faour opened a probe Monday into the mysterious death of a 4-year-old girl that occurred one day after she was vaccinated, raising speculation that she might have been given a contaminated vaccine.
News of Serene Rakan’s death circulated on social media platforms, after her father had posted on his Facebook page: “Serene was vaccinated and died the second day, I don’t know why.”
According to the National News Agency, Abu Faour got in touch with the father asking for the physician’s identity and contacts to start an investigation into the cause of Rakan’s death.
But the father categorically refused to allow an autopsy or to divulge the name of the doctor, citing personal reasons, including the fact that the physician was a trustworthy friend of the family.
Abu Faour, nonetheless, ordered the ministry to investigate the incident, pleading with the family of the girl to collaborate with the investigators.
The minister pointed out that all the vaccines distributed by his ministry were provided by UNICEF and systematically checked to ensure quality and validity, noting that hundreds of children were regularly vaccinated without incident.
The distressed father said the family was preparing to immigrate to Canada, fearing looming chaos and violence in Lebanon.
“Serene died 20 days before I could bring her to safe shores. Serene died from a contaminated vaccine like this corrupt country,” the father wrote on his Facebook page.
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Lebanese government should force Hezbollah out of Syria: Geagea
BEIRUT: The recent militant attack on Lebanese border towns should prompt the government to force Hezbollah to pull out of Syria, Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea said Monday.
“The attack by the militants on the outskirts of Brital and Nabi Sebat demonstrated once again the need for the Lebanese government to take a decision to force Hezbollah to withdraw from Syria if the government is serious in securing the safety of Lebanese territory,” Geagea told the Central News Agency.
Hezbollah sources told The Daily Star Sunday that Nusra Front attacked two posts on the border with Syria near Lebanese villages. Fierce clashes ensued, killing eight Hezbollah fighters and at least 14 militants.
Geagea reiterated a long-standing demand by the March 14 coalition to expand the mandate of the U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon to cover the porous border between Lebanon and Syria.
“The government should also provide support for the Army in line with the U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701 to control the Lebanese-Syrian border and to connect the operation room of the Army with that of the international coalition to have the needed equipment to defend the border,” he said.
The party chief was referring to the U.S.-led alliance targeting ISIS positions in Iraq and Syria to destroy the group, which joined forces with the Nusra Front to briefly take over Lebanon's northeast border town of Arsal in August before retreating to the outskirts.
The jihadist groups took more than 30 Lebanese soldiers and policemen as hostages when they withdrew from the town.
“Hezbollah's withdrawal from Syria not only secures the border but also secures the release of the captives,” he said, referring to the remaining 21 hostages.
Nusra has released seven of its captives and killed one, while ISIS has beheaded two.
Geagea criticized the government for “running away” from the issue of Hezbollah’s presence in Syria, saying: “Hezbollah's continued fight there will bring the Lebanese, particularly the Shiites, more crises and tragedies.”
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