Nasrallah: Hezbollah ready for any Israeli attack

BEIRUT: Hezbollah stands ready for any confrontation with Israel despite the regional circumstances, party leader Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah warned, after a recent exchange of hostilities between the two along south Lebanon's border.

“To all those concerned, we tell them that despite the rapid changes in the region, and despite the U.S.-led international coalition – or the ‘media alliance’ against ISIS – the resistance is not weak and will not weaken,” Nasrallah said in remarks published Tuesday.

“Rather, the resistance is present, strong and ready to confront and repel any [Israeli] aggression,” he told a recent private meeting with a number of Hezbollah cadres in the Bekaa Valley.

His remarks were published Tuesday by the local daily As-Safir.

"Our decision in Hezbollah is confrontation,” Nasrallah told his fighters. “There is no room for surrender or defeat whatever the size of the confrontation or pressures.”

“Let them know that the resistance, which is always vigilant, will protect any attempt to attack Lebanon or its people ... and in the end great victory will blossom."

Nasrallah pointed to the Sept. 5 Israeli violation in the border area of Adloun when an Israeli jet detonated a spy device planted on Hezbollah's telecommunications network in south Lebanon, killing a Hezbollah member.

That operation, Nasrallah said, suggested that Israel "wants to test the resistance [Hezbollah] and our response was detonating a bomb in the Shebaa area.”

Lebanon's Arabic press digest – Oct. 14, 2014

Turkey: No new deal with US on using air base

A Turkish official says there is no new agreement with the United States on using an air base in southern Turkey for...

Hariri meets Rai, calls for consensus president

BEIRUT: Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri called after talks with Maronite Patriarch Beshara Rai in Rome Monday night for consensus on a new president as the only way to break the nearly 5-month-old political deadlock.

The head of the Future Movement also said a new extension of Parliament’s mandate, which expires on Nov. 20, was essential to prevent the country from entering the unknown.

“All the political parties must have initiatives. From this standpoint, we have to reach a consensus on the election of a president,” Hariri told reporters after meeting Rai at the seat of the Maronite Patriarchate in Rome. “The March 14 parties must also reach consensus on this [presidential election].”

Hariri said the Hezbollah-led March 8 coalition did not favor the continued vacuum in the country’s top Christian post.

“I don’t think that the other [March 8] side wants the presidential vacuum to continue. I think they are keen on the presidency post and we have to search for the appropriate candidates,” he said.

Hariri’s remarks appeared to rule out the possibility of a March 14 candidate to the presidency and cleared the way for a compromise candidate with the rival March 8 coalition.

“Following the talks with Patriarch Rai, we as March 14 parties must search for names [of presidential candidates] that can ensure consensus among the political parties,” Hariri said.

He reiterated the Future Movement’s rejection of holding parliamentary elections before a president is elected. He said a president is the head of the state and the country’s raison d’etre. “We as political blocs must agree on the election of a president and make initiatives.”

Although Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea is the March 14 coalition-backed candidate for the presidency, the former premier said the Future Movement did not have any veto on any candidate.

Hariri said he had discussed with Rai the security problems in Lebanon. “But the most important topic was discussing the presidential election and the initiative that we might undertake,” he added. “For Patriarch Rai, the presidential election is the most important thing.”

Hariri came out in support for a new extension of Parliament’s term in light of the unstable security situation as Lebanon faced threats from ISIS and Nusra Front militants which briefly overran the Bekaa town of Arsal in August.

Interior Minister Nouhad Machnouk last month reiterated that his ministry was not prepared to hold parliamentary elections, scheduled Nov. 16, given the precarious security conditions.

“Extension of Parliament’s term is essential in order to prevent the country entering the unknown,” Hariri said. “We don’t want the extension. The extension is a bitter choice which we have to take because the country might go to the unknown, something which the Lebanese do not want.”He added that if the presidential election was held, parliamentary polls should be conducted six months after the vote. “If the [Parliament] extension occurred, the priority for us would be the election of a president.”

Hariri’s meeting with Rai was also attended by the Patriarchal Procurator to the Holy See Monsignor Francois Eid and his deputy Monsignor Tony Gebran, Hariri’s Chief of Staff Nader Hariri, former MP Ghattas Khoury and Hariri’s adviser Daoud Sayegh.

The talks were followed by a closed meeting between Hariri and Rai. Speaking to reporters before the closed meeting, Rai said: “[Former] Prime Minister Hariri and I always speak the same language.” Rai hosted a dinner for Hariri and his aides.

Earlier Monday, Hariri warned that Lebanon was choking under the burden of some 1.3 million Syrian refugees, constituting one third of its population, while striving to combat terrorism spilling over from the Syrian conflict.

Speaking in an interview published in the French daily Le Figaro, Hariri also blamed Hezbollah’s military intervention in Syria on the side of President Bashar Assad’s forces for deteriorating security in Lebanon.

“Lebanon, which is a model of forgiveness and coexistence for the entire region, is today threatened with the collapse of its institutions as a result of the vacancy in the presidency,” Hariri said. “The situation in Lebanon is deteriorating as a result of Hezbollah’s intervention in the war in Syria.”

“This intervention by a Lebanese party militia in a foreign territory took place without consultation with the Lebanese people or the Lebanese state under the pretext of preventing Syrian terrorist groups from coming to Lebanon,” Hariri said. He added that these terrorist groups are now using Hezbollah’s involvement in Syria as a pretext to attack Lebanon.

“Moreover, Lebanon is dealing with the influx of 1.3 million Syrian refugees, which occurred in a span of three years, a matter that no country can sustain,” Hariri said.

He called on the international community to come forth with its pledged aid to help Lebanon cope with the refugee crisis and support the Lebanese Army in its battle against “extremist groups.”

Hariri scoffed at the rise of ISIS, saying this militant group has nothing to do with Islam. “The so-called Islamic State [ISIS] is neither a state nor Islamic. Rather, it is a terrorist group that is committing barbarian and wicked acts under the name of our religion. The overwhelming majority of Muslims are moderate,” he said. “The moderates in the Arab world are united and determined to fight extremism. But at the same time they must face Iran’s interference in their countries.”

Meanwhile, U.N. Special Coordinator for Lebanon Derek Plumbly said after meeting Prime Minister Tammam Salam that the United Nations and the international community “remain strongly committed” to supporting the Lebanese Army.

He said Lebanon risked losing the trust of the international community after lawmakers botched 13 attempts to elect a new president last week.

“I would note that Parliament failed once again last week to elect a new President of the Republic,” Plumbly said in a statement at the Grand Serail. “The negative impact of this on stability and confidence is self-evident.”

“The international community has repeatedly called on Lebanon’s leaders to engage to resolve the impasse. For Lebanon’s sake, let us hope that it will be overcome soon and a president elected without further delay,” he added.

Notorious extremists still in control of Tripoli mosque

TRIPOLI, Lebanon: An agreement by two notorious Islamist militants to evacuate their supporters from Tripoli’s Abdullah bin Masoud Mosque within 48 hours had not yet been honored Monday evening, casting doubt on a high-profile attempt by locals and security forces to enforce the law in the increasingly restive northern city. The road to the mosque, which is situated on Abdul Hamid Alley in the predominantly Sunni Bab al-Tabbaneh neighborhood, was still closed off late Monday, and the surveillance cameras around the building had not yet been removed either, despite their removal being a specific part of Sunday’s agreement with prominent local sheikhs.

The situation came about after it became apparent that Islamists Shadi Mawlawi and Osama Mansour – both of whom are believed to be affiliated to the Nusra Front – had turned the mosque into a base for their operations. They were supposed to hand control of it over to Dar al-Fatwa, the top Sunni Muslim institution, by Tuesday.

Local people are concerned that the presence of the militants posed a security risk to Tripoli that had to be dealt with.

However, a number of questions still hang over the deal.

The biggest issue is what would happen to Mawlawi and Mansour, both of whom have been sentenced to the death penalty in absentia for their involvement in a deadly bombing near an Army checkpoint in Tripoli in August.

After appearing for the meeting Sunday, they disappeared again. Although their exact whereabouts are unknown, both are believed to be in Lebanon, given that they have no means of traveling while there are warrants out for their arrest.

Mawlawi is rumored to be living in Bab al-Tabbaneh with plans to move to the Qobbah or Hamzah mosque. These rumors prompted Lebanese Army units to conduct a pre-emptive raid in the areas to prevent a repeat of the Abdullah bin Masoud Mosque situation.

On a Facebook page attributed to Mansour, a post appeared Monday saying: “We didn’t promise anyone. Stop believing the lies of the media. We will not leave [Bab] al-Tabbaneh because it’s our land. [We] fought those who fought with us. As for the mosque, it’s for praying only.”

The authenticity of the statement could not be verified, but some believe it is a sign that the agreement over Abdullah bin Masoud was never properly concluded.

According to a prominent figure in Tripoli, the pair are not as clearly aligned with the groups as some would have the public think.

“There’s no clear evidence linking between the [Abdullah bin Masoud] mosque’s group and the Nusra Front, regardless of whether Mawlawi or Mansour are vocal about their support for the Front,” said the source, who asked to remain anonymous.

“There’s also no clear evidence about the involvement of the [Mawlawi and Mansour] groups in attacking the Army checkpoints,” the source said. “On the contrary, there are people quoting Mawlawi denying these things [accusations].”

Mawlawi has claimed that his gang couldn’t have attacked the Army checkpoints because they were stuck in the mosque, which was being monitored by security members, according to the source.

But even if they can be removed from the scene, many fear that others of a similar ilk will merely take Mawlawi and Mansour’s place, hence the Army’s deployment in Bab al-Tabbaneh’s narrow alleys to prevent such a situation from happening.

This comes amid a general sentiment among the citizens of Tripoli that their city will continue to be at risk of a security deterioration even after this particular incident has been dealt with. It is not about eliminating pockets of problems, residents say, but rather about the government regaining its influence in and control of the city.

Lebanese Army commander Gen. Jean Kahwagi is clearly aware of this, as over the weekend he talked about the presence of secret cells in Tripoli and Akkar that aimed to connect the area with the Qalamoun and Qusair mountains in Syria. If successful, he said, this would give ISIS a vital path to the Mediterranean Sea.

The growing sway of jihadist groups in the north has become increasingly apparent, especially given the recent defection of three soldiers from the Lebanese Army to join their ranks.

Although these defections are not a massive setback for the Lebanese Army, they do create a general sense of instability in Akkar and Tripoli.

The dangers posed by these groups have also affected prominent sheikhs at Dar al-Fatwa.

Sheikh Hassan Merheb, general inspector at the institution, revealed that he had received threats from groups affiliated with ISIS, prompting him to leave his house and take precautionary measures.

“Around a month ago, a person came to the mosque where I preach. He was very keen on hearing my opinion about fighting in Syria,” Merheb said.

According to Merheb, he told this person that the fighting in Syria was wrong and couldn’t be considered as martyrdom in the service of God.

Then, two weeks ago, he received a message accusing him of backstabbing the jihadis and the newly established Islamic State.

“We’re not saying anything people don’t already know when we say extremist groups have a supportive environment in Tripoli,” Merheb said. “We shouldn’t let our youth and teenagers fall into their traps and follow the road of religious deviation.”

Merheb believes the threats against him are part of an ISIS plan to attack Dar al-Fatwa and eliminate its role in Lebanese society, as they are trying to do to the Lebanese Army.

He called for some 80 mosques – including Abdullah bin Masoud – not under Dar al-Fatwa’s remit to be brought under their supervision, “as long as they are places where youth get their ideas and convictions about Islam from.”

“It’s from here that combatting radicalism begins.”

Notorious extremists still in control of Tripoli mosque

TRIPOLI, Lebanon: An agreement by two notorious Islamist militants to evacuate their supporters from Tripoli’s Abdullah bin Masoud Mosque within 48 hours had not yet been honored Monday evening, casting doubt on a high-profile attempt by locals and security forces to enforce the law in the increasingly restive northern city. The road to the mosque, which is situated on Abdul Hamid Alley in the predominantly Sunni Bab al-Tabbaneh neighborhood, was still closed off late Monday, and the surveillance cameras around the building had not yet been removed either, despite their removal being a specific part of Sunday’s agreement with prominent local sheikhs.

The situation came about after it became apparent that Islamists Shadi Mawlawi and Osama Mansour – both of whom are believed to be affiliated to the Nusra Front – had turned the mosque into a base for their operations. They were supposed to hand control of it over to Dar al-Fatwa, the top Sunni Muslim institution, by Tuesday.

Local people are concerned that the presence of the militants posed a security risk to Tripoli that had to be dealt with.

However, a number of questions still hang over the deal.

The biggest issue is what would happen to Mawlawi and Mansour, both of whom have been sentenced to the death penalty in absentia for their involvement in a deadly bombing near an Army checkpoint in Tripoli in August.

After appearing for the meeting Sunday, they disappeared again. Although their exact whereabouts are unknown, both are believed to be in Lebanon, given that they have no means of traveling while there are warrants out for their arrest.

Mawlawi is rumored to be living in Bab al-Tabbaneh with plans to move to the Qobbah or Hamzah mosque. These rumors prompted Lebanese Army units to conduct a pre-emptive raid in the areas to prevent a repeat of the Abdullah bin Masoud Mosque situation.

On a Facebook page attributed to Mansour, a post appeared Monday saying: “We didn’t promise anyone. Stop believing the lies of the media. We will not leave [Bab] al-Tabbaneh because it’s our land. [We] fought those who fought with us. As for the mosque, it’s for praying only.”

The authenticity of the statement could not be verified, but some believe it is a sign that the agreement over Abdullah bin Masoud was never properly concluded.

According to a prominent figure in Tripoli, the pair are not as clearly aligned with the groups as some would have the public think.

“There’s no clear evidence linking between the [Abdullah bin Masoud] mosque’s group and the Nusra Front, regardless of whether Mawlawi or Mansour are vocal about their support for the Front,” said the source, who asked to remain anonymous.

“There’s also no clear evidence about the involvement of the [Mawlawi and Mansour] groups in attacking the Army checkpoints,” the source said. “On the contrary, there are people quoting Mawlawi denying these things [accusations].”

Mawlawi has claimed that his gang couldn’t have attacked the Army checkpoints because they were stuck in the mosque, which was being monitored by security members, according to the source.

But even if they can be removed from the scene, many fear that others of a similar ilk will merely take Mawlawi and Mansour’s place, hence the Army’s deployment in Bab al-Tabbaneh’s narrow alleys to prevent such a situation from happening.

This comes amid a general sentiment among the citizens of Tripoli that their city will continue to be at risk of a security deterioration even after this particular incident has been dealt with. It is not about eliminating pockets of problems, residents say, but rather about the government regaining its influence in and control of the city.

Lebanese Army commander Gen. Jean Kahwagi is clearly aware of this, as over the weekend he talked about the presence of secret cells in Tripoli and Akkar that aimed to connect the area with the Qalamoun and Qusair mountains in Syria. If successful, he said, this would give ISIS a vital path to the Mediterranean Sea.

The growing sway of jihadist groups in the north has become increasingly apparent, especially given the recent defection of three soldiers from the Lebanese Army to join their ranks.

Although these defections are not a massive setback for the Lebanese Army, they do create a general sense of instability in Akkar and Tripoli.

The dangers posed by these groups have also affected prominent sheikhs at Dar al-Fatwa.

Sheikh Hassan Merheb, general inspector at the institution, revealed that he had received threats from groups affiliated with ISIS, prompting him to leave his house and take precautionary measures.

“Around a month ago, a person came to the mosque where I preach. He was very keen on hearing my opinion about fighting in Syria,” Merheb said.

According to Merheb, he told this person that the fighting in Syria was wrong and couldn’t be considered as martyrdom in the service of God.

Then, two weeks ago, he received a message accusing him of backstabbing the jihadis and the newly established Islamic State.

“We’re not saying anything people don’t already know when we say extremist groups have a supportive environment in Tripoli,” Merheb said. “We shouldn’t let our youth and teenagers fall into their traps and follow the road of religious deviation.”

Merheb believes the threats against him are part of an ISIS plan to attack Dar al-Fatwa and eliminate its role in Lebanese society, as they are trying to do to the Lebanese Army.

He called for some 80 mosques – including Abdullah bin Masoud – not under Dar al-Fatwa’s remit to be brought under their supervision, “as long as they are places where youth get their ideas and convictions about Islam from.”

“It’s from here that combatting radicalism begins.”

Berri, Jumblatt slam anti-ISIS coalition

BEIRUT: Speaker Nabih Berri and MP Walid Jumblatt said Monday that the anti-ISIS coalition did not seriously aim at eradicating the extremist group, highlighting that the Arab region was being fragmented to serve the interests of Israel. Berri said the U.S.-led military campaign against ISIS in Iraq and Syria has not changed the battle on the ground in both countries.

“The coalition led by the United States to combat ISIS has not been serious [considering] the reality on the ground,” Berri said during a meeting with his Iranian counterpart Ali Larijani in Geneva on the sidelines of the 131st General Assembly meeting of the Inter-Parliamentary Union.

Berri said that Israel was the only beneficiary from ongoing developments in the region, and there were other goals for what was happening which were related to oil.

The international coalition kicked off a campaign against ISIS in Iraq in August and began targeting the terrorist group in Syria the following month.

But despite the sustained airstrikes launched by the U.S., European and Arab states against ISIS in both countries, the militant group is still active and continues to advance in the Syrian Kurdish town of Ain al-Arab, also known as Kobani.

Western action against ISIS came after it captured large swaths of northern Iraq early in summer and threatened to take over Baghdad.

“What is happening now is that the already divided [land] is being partitioned again. The [border drawn under] Sykes-Picot Agreement between Iraq and Syria is at an end and efforts are focused now on ending it between Syria and Lebanon, and between Lebanon and Palestine,” Berri said.

The speaker was referring to the 1916 agreement between Britain and France, which split the Ottomans’ Middle Eastern Empire between them and led to the emergence of modern Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Palestine with their current borders.

For his part, Jumblatt described the anti-ISIS coalition as a “lie.”

“The policy of fueling hatred between sects raises questions over the lie, the so-called international coalition to fight terrorism,” Jumblatt wrote in his weekly editorial at the Progressive Socialist Party’s Al-Anbaa newspaper.

According to the PSP chief, the Arab world began to regress with the launch of a conspiracy to undermine the Arab world.

This conspiracy scheme kicked off with the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq and continued with the fragmentation of Syria, which he argued was carried out to protect Israel.

These developments are not merely accidental or an accumulation of fleeting events, Jumblatt said.

He argued that they were all a part of one conspiracy that seeks to “fragment, divide and destroy” the foundations of nationalist entities in the Arab world.

Dar al-Fatwa for all Lebanese: Bassil

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Abdullah Azzam Brigades: Attack Hezbollah, not Army

BEIRUT: The Al-Qaeda-affiliated Abdullah Azzam Brigades called on Tripoli residents to attack Hezbollah rather than the Lebanese Army, saying the latter was merely a tool in the hands of the group.

“I am addressing our youth in Tripoli to say to them that the Lebanese Army and security agencies are merely tools in the hands of the party,” Sirajeddine Zureiqat, the newly appointed “emir” of the group, said on his Twitter feed.

Hezbollah is the “the puppet master of the Army and other agencies, as well as the [party behind the] rise of some Sunni spies, including the Resistance Brigades and some media.

“Therefore, strike the puppet master and do not get preoccupied with the tools. If the head is broken, the hands become paralyzed,” he said.

Zureiqat was referring to recent attacks against Lebanese Army soldiers in the northern city of Tripoli. Last week, a soldier was killed and another wounded in Rihaniyeh, in the northern Akkar province, when gunmen opened fire on them as they headed for duty.

The Brigades have claimed responsibility for two suicide attacks in Beirut, including the Iranian Embassy twin bombing last year that killed about 30 people, and a twin blast at the Iranian cultural center in February.

Like other jihadist groups, Abdullah Azzam justifies its attacks in Lebanon by pointing to Hezbollah’s intervention in the Syrian war on the side of government forces.

Zureiqat, who has a warrant out against him, warned Tripoli residents against a battle with the Lebanese Army, saying such a conflict would only benefit Hezbollah.

“Be aware our people in Tripoli, you are being dragged into a battle with the Army for Hezbollah.”

“You have the party’s centers, checkpoints, supply lines, leaders and members across Lebanon. Kill them and avenge the children of Lebanon and Syria.”

Zureiqat said Hezbollah had long protected Israel’s interests, adding that the group had committed crimes against Sunnis and other sects whose communities opposed the party.

“Hezbollah was a loyal guard to Israel since 1996 and the July 2006 war play was nothing more than [Hezbollah] breaking the rules of engagement with Israel that have already been agreed to; and it legitimized its presence.”

“This party has also dominated the security agencies, primarily the Army intelligence and General Security, and made those two a tool to persecute Sunnis.”

Israel fans flames of war between Hezbollah, takfiris

The recent explosion claimed by Hezbollah targeting Israeli soldiers was not only an embarrassmentto the state, it could be a harbinger of things to come as Israel reportedly seeks to assist the infiltration of takfiri militants into southern Lebanon via the Golan Heights in order to ignite a Sunni-Shiite war.

The operation was named for the Hezbollah explosives expert Hassan Ali Haider, who died while dismantling an Israeli spy device along the southern coast earlier this year. However, the revenge operation on the border was an embarrassment to the state by revealing that is has virtually no control over decisions related to war and peace, and because the blast occurred in an area patrolled by UNIFIL.

In addition to the embarrassment, the attack raised concerns that the Army could be dragged into a confrontation with Israel at a time when it is struggling to contain terrorist threats in the northern Bekaa Valley around Arsal and in Tripoli.

Political and military experts who spoke to The Daily Star were unanimous in their reading that a war with Israel would be disastrous at this time given the current situation in the region and Lebanon specifically. The Army has its hands full fighting Islamists who are reportedly plotting to target Shiite communities in order to open routes for militants to stock up on supplies ahead of winter.

The experts also questioned the seriousness of Hezbollah’s stated plan to reclaim the Shebaa Farms, especially in light of Syrian Vice President Farouq al-Sharaa’s assertion before the United Nations that the area lies in Syria.

The border region once known as “Fatah Land” for the strength of the Palestinian resistance is currently under Hezbollah’s region of influence, but that could change as information suggests the Israelis have been facilitating the infiltration of takfiri forces into the area from the Golan Heights, monitoring their movements and even providing them with hot meals, arms, equipment and medical treatment. The Israelis are reportedly counting on igniting a war between Islamist militants and Hezbollah along the southern border in which it would be a gleeful spectator.

Israel is hoping that fighting between the Nusra Front, ISIS and similar takfiri groups on the one hand and Hezbollah on the other will ignite a latent militancy in the Palestinian camps in Lebanon and among Syrian refugees, many of whom completed compulsory military service and have military training. The Israelis would then furnish them with weapons in order to fan a Sunni-Shiite war.

The end goal for Israel is to establish a security buffer zone in the Golan Heights and Lebanon controlled by terrorist groups. In this way, Israel is hoping to weaken Hezbollah in a war of attrition and shift the balance of deterrence between the resistance group and Israel.

Many GOP Candidates Not Commenting On Gay Marriage Wave

Audio for this story from All Things Considered will be available at approximately 7:00 p.m. ET.

Robert Siegel talks with Washington Post political correspondent, Karen Tumulty, about the role gay marriage is playing as an issue in the 2014 elections — especially for Republicans.

Krugman: Obama More Transformative Than Clinton, Reagan

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Robert Siegel talks with economist Paul Krugman about his Rolling Stone feature, "In Defense of Obama." He says Obama is one of the most consequential and successful presidents in American history.

Job-swap redefines Fletcher’s 'domestic' duties

BEIRUT: UK Ambassador to Lebanon Tom Fletcher "swapped" jobs with an Ethiopian maid Monday in an effort to promote the rights of migrant workers.

“I’m trading places with Kalkedan, from Ethiopia, tomorrow. We want to highlight the rights of foreign domestic workers in Lebanon,” read a post on Fletcher’s Twitter page Sunday.

On Monday Fletcher posted a photo of himself scrubbing away at a silver pot under an open faucet. “Kalkedan supervises my washing up,” the caption read.

Another photo posted to Twitter shows Fletcher dressed in a white kitchen apron with a bewildered stare as he looks at a tub of Fattoush.

“Improving my Fattoush making skills,” he wrote.

Earlier in the day the ambassador brought Kalkedan along with him to the Interior Ministry for a press conference on the topic of migrant worker rights.

Kalkedan, whose last name was not given, attended a meeting between Fletcher and Interior Minister Nouhad Machnouk where the trio discussed the Syrian refugee crisis, support for the Lebanese Army, and the terrorist threat facing the country.

“Sitting beside me is an Ethiopian migrant worker that was assisting me with my duties in the embassy this morning,” read a statement released by Fletcher’s media office.

The job-swap, the statement said, is meant to reveal the “need to work towards preserving the dignity and rights of foreign workers in Lebanon.”

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So, How Strong are Denver Edibles? Let's Find Out

Like most pot shops in Denver’s fast-growing recreational marijuana scene, Euflora goes out of its way to let potential customers know it’s a safe, comfy place to buy weed. The “Go Broncos!” message on its sign outside is almost as large the name of the business itself, which sits below street level along downtown’s main tourist thoroughfare, the 16th Street Mall.

Inside, polite employees in black polo shirts (or “budtenders”) buzz around white plastic tables with jars of sample product. Customers—mostly tourists, by the sound of their accents—order off sushi-style menus. Bowie and T-Rex songs provide the soundtrack while wall-mounted flatscreens show Fast Times at Ridgemont High and Half Baked on a loop. Tidy lucite cases display THC oil-infused edibles such as cookies, chocolates, caramels, lemon drops, and knock-off Swedish Fish.

“No one buys a handle of Jim Beam and thinks they should drink all of that in one sitting,” Denver dispensary owner Tim Cullen told the AP last week. “But people do want to eat an entire cookie, an entire piece of chocolate.”

Here’s what makes things tricky: A pot cookie, even a low-dose one, is not the equivalent of a single beer or glass of wine. It runs counter to the narrative mainstream papers reported last week when they proselytized “Rookie Cookies,” food with a “a low enough dose (of weed in it) that most adults wouldn’t be too impaired to drive a car,” according to the AP.

“Just in the past week or so we’ve been switching over to selling lower-dose edibles,” says 23-year-old budtender Keifer Salazar. “It’s easier to regulate your doseage because people would eat a whole cookie, which used to be six and a half doses, whereas with these new cookies you can get seven individual cookies and each one is a dose.”

I’ll take two, thanks. And your best seller?

“The gummy bears and the Swedish Fish,” Salazar says. “They’re less-threatening looking because everybody knows and loves them. It’s a psychological thing, I think.”

I leave the store with a couple of the “Rookie Cookies,” which contain the industry-recommended starter dose of 10 milligrams of THC per $4 cookie, and a $25 bottle of sour gummy bears, with 10 multi-colored bears at 10 milligrams each. I plan to eat each in a single sitting on separate nights, curious if the more stringent potency testing and careful dosing will—as many critics and legislators have called for—defuse the potential to eat too much at once and flip out.

I gobbled the 10 milligram Sweet Grass peanut butter cookie in a cab on the way home after buying it, but didn’t feel anything until about an hour later (most warning labels recommend waiting two hours before eating more). For the last decade or so I’ve smoked pot a few times a week but not every day, usually just a hit or two per night from a bowl. Among regular pot users, I suspect I’m on the lighter side, though I no doubt have a stronger tolerance than someone who’s never tried it. The cookie buzz was pleasant and light, a bit more potent than I was expecting but not intense enough to sabotage, say, a phone call to my mom or ordering a pizza. After about four hours, no trace of it remained.

Edibles are no small matter. At least two deaths in Colorado, a college student’s suicide and the shooting death of a woman by her husband, have been linked to edibles since pot shops opened statewide on Jan. 1. The marijuana industry is desperate to put forth a professional, good-citizen image, so in the past few months producers have started to ratchet down the amount of THC, the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana, in products like Dr. J’s Star Barz and Sweet Grass cookies.

By 2016, the edible slice of the medical marijuana market alone could be worth as much as $2.25 billion, according to the High Times beginner’s guide, Marijuana for Everybody! Patients may soon be grabbing a pot cookie or muffin each morning instead of a granola bar or banana, or chasing each meal with a low-dose, after-dinner chocolate. Why eat it all at once if you don’t have to?

The problem: Edibles also generally look like treats to kids, a side effect of removing the intimidation factor for newbies as much as it is a cherished stoner practice of baking pot into things people actually want to eat.

In an effort to broaden their consumer base without freaking out potential customers, edible makers have found themselves in the uneasy spot of having strong yet harmless-looking products. Diluting that product is both a PR move and a survival tactic. Many cookies that formerly boasted 65 milligrams of THC (with recommendations to divvy up each cookie into six or seven pieces) now contain 10 per cookie. Drinks, like Dixie Elixirs’ popular cannabis sodas, now offer 5 milligram versions over the traditional and admittedly intense 75. Colorado dispensaries just launched a “First Time 5” billboard campaign around Denver. The slogan: “Start Low, Go Slow.”

Two nights after my low-dose experience, I ate six of the EdiPure brand gummy bears at once, expecting the fairly rapid onset of intense waves of body warmth, mild hallucinations, and uncontrollable fits of giggling and/or paranoia. After two hours and nothing of consequence, I ate the remaining four bears, for a total of 100 milligrams. The only other times I’ve eaten that much marijuana in a sitting (both without meaning to) I’ve felt something like a psychedelic mushroom trip, and not a pleasant one. Distorted perception, intense introspection, and a nervous, sweaty feeling that lasted at least five to seven hours was the result.

Steeling myself for this may have blunted the impact of the gummy bears. Or maybe my tolerance is higher than I thought? That seems unlikely, given the mellow but noticeable feeling I got from the 10 milligram cookie. These gummy bears were pathetic. Not that they had no effect -- at times I wanted to cackle mindlessly at un-funny things while watching Netflix with my wife. I suddenly grew paranoid that a tweet directed at comedian Jim Gaffigan’s could be considered insulting. But deleting dumb tweets and laughing inappropriately are mild side effects compared to the mindfuck I had been anticipating.

A low-dose edible turned out to be a good thing for me. But the weak impact of something that should have left a smoking crater in my brain also made me wonder how accurate the current potency testing really is, despite an industry-wide pledge to nail it for the good of consumers. And, of course, business.

Lebanese must unite against terrorism: Aoun

BEIRUT: Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun called Monday on the Lebanese to stand united in the face of ISIS and Nusra Front militants who overran Lebanese territory and attacked the Lebanese Army in August.

Aoun also renewed his opposition to an extension of Parliament’s mandate and called for a new electoral law based on proportional representation.

“I call on everyone to stand united in confronting the forces that stormed our land and attacked our army,” Aoun said, addressing hundreds of supporters at the Congress Palace in Dbayeh, north of Beirut, at an annual ceremony known by the FPM as “the Oct. 13, 1990 anniversary.”

The speech marked 24 years since the Lebanese and Syrian armies evicted Aoun from the Presidential Palace in Baabda after he rejected the Taif Accord that ended the 1975-90 Civil War.

The Lebanese Army fought five days of pitched gun battles with ISIS and the Nusra Front in Arsal in early August after the two militant groups briefly seized the northeastern town. The militants are still holding 27 soldiers and policemen hostage after releasing seven and killing three.

“Lebanon is facing imminent dangers. It has been flooded with a huge number of [Syrian] refugees which even Big Powers cannot sustain,” Aoun said. “There are also parts of Lebanese territory occupied by terrorist groups.”

Aoun, who had served as Army commander, said: “The Army battle on Oct. 13 [1990 against the Syrian Army] remained the most symbolic because it was a battle for sovereignty, freedom and independence. Force imposed a de facto matter, but our resistance confirmed our right to Lebanon’s existence.”

“Unfortunately, the people who came to power had never ruled under these values and they moved from one [foreign] tutelage to another,” he added.

After his eviction from Baabda, Aoun and his family took shelter at the French Embassy in Beirut before a deal was reached that allowed Aoun to spend 15 years in exile in France.

Aoun argued that under Syria’s domination of Lebanon that followed the Taif Accord, the Christian president was stripped of his prerogatives.

“The president became a protocol president instead of being a president who can bring about accord [among the Lebanese] and preserve the Constitution,” he said.

Aoun argued that Parliament and the presidency lacked true representation. He called for a new electoral law based on proportional representation to ensure fairness.

“There is a group that wants to impose the choice of the president and rejects the amendment of the law to elect a president,” he added.

Aoun’s proposal to elect the president directly by the people instead of by lawmakers has been rejected by the March 14 coalition.

The FPM leader, who has vowed to reject a new extension of Parliament’s term, which expires on Nov. 20, said: “There is a [parliamentary] majority that had extended its mandate in Parliament [in May last year] and is telling us of a new extension.”

The Department of Defense Must Plan for the National Security Implications of Climate Change

The responsibility of the Department of Defense is the security of our country. That requires thinking ahead and planning for a wide range of contingencies.

Among the future trends that will impact our national security is climate change. Rising global temperatures, changing precipitation patterns, climbing sea levels, and more extreme weather events will intensify the challenges of global instability, hunger, poverty, and conflict. They will likely lead to food and water shortages, pandemic disease, disputes over refugees and resources, and destruction by natural disasters in regions across the globe.

In our defense strategy, we refer to climate change as a “threat multiplier” because it has the potential to exacerbate many of the challenges we are dealing with today – from infectious disease to terrorism. We are already beginning to see some of these impacts.

A changing climate will have real impacts on our military and the way it executes its missions. The military could be called upon more often to support civil authorities, and provide humanitarian assistance and disaster relief in the face of more frequent and more intense natural disasters. Our coastal installations are vulnerable to rising sea levels and increased flooding, while droughts, wildfires, and more extreme temperatures could threaten many of our training activities. Our supply chains could be impacted, and we will need to ensure our critical equipment works under more extreme weather conditions. Weather has always affected military operations, and as the climate changes, the way we execute operations may be altered or constrained.

While scientists are converging toward consensus on future climate projections, uncertainty remains. But this cannot be an excuse for delaying action. Every day, our military deals with global uncertainty. Our planners know that, as military strategist Carl von Clausewitz wrote, “all action must, to a certain extent, be planned in a mere twilight.”

It is in this context that today I am releasing DoD’s Climate Change Adaptation Roadmap. Climate change is a long-term trend, but with wise planning and risk mitigation now, we can reduce adverse impacts downrange.

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Abdullah Azzam Brigades urges attacks against Hezbollah, not the Army

BEIRUT: The Al-Qaeda-affiliated Abdullah Azzam Brigades called on Tripoli residents to attack Hezbollah rather than the Lebanese Army, saying the latter was merely a tool in the hands of the group.

“I am addressing our youth in Tripoli to say to them that the Lebanese Army and security agencies are merely tools in the hands of the party,” Sirajeddine Zureiqat, the newly appointed "emir" of the jihadist group, said on his Twitter feed.

Hezbollah is the "the puppet master of the Army and other agencies, as well as the [party behind the] rise of some Sunni spies, including the Resistance Brigades and some media.”

“Therefore, strike the puppet master and do not get preoccupied with the tools. If the head is broken, the hands become paralyzed.”

Zureiqat was referring to recent attacks against Lebanese Army soldiers in the northern city of Tripoli. Last week, a soldier was killed and another wounded in Rihaniyeh, in the northern Akkar province, when gunmen opened fire on them as they headed for duty.

The Brigades have claimed responsibility for two suicide attacks in Beirut, including the Iranian embassy twin bombing last year that killed about 30 people, and a twin blast at the Iranian cultural center in February.

Like other jihadist groups, Abdullah Azzam justifies its attacks in Lebanon by pointing to Hezbollah's intervention in the Syrian war on the side of government forces.

Zureiqat, who has a warrant out against him, warned Tripoli residents against a battle with the Lebanese Army, saying such a conflict would only benefit Hezbollah.

“Be aware our people in Tripoli, you are being dragged into a battle with the Army for Hezbollah.”

“You have the party's centers, checkpoints, supply lines, leaders and members across Lebanon. Kill them and avenge the children of Lebanon and Syria.”

Zureiqat also said Hezbollah had long protected Israel’s interests, adding that the group had committed crimes against Sunnis and other sects whose communities opposed the party.

"Hezbollah was a loyal guard to Israel since 1996 and the July 2006 war play was nothing more than [Hezbollah] breaking the rules of engagement with Israel that have already been agreed to; and it legitimized its presence.”

“This party has also dominated the security agencies, primarily the Army intelligence and General Security, and made those two a tool to persecute Sunnis.”

Lebanon needs Hezbollah more than ever: Qaouk

BEIRUT: Hezbollah is needed more than ever to respond to the threat posed by ISIS and other terrorist groups, deputy head of the party’s executive council said Monday.

Speaking at a memorial service in the eastern town of Brital for a killed fighter, Nabil Qaouk said that “the resistance is a strategic necessity that is needed by the Lebanese people more than ever.”

According to the Hezbollah official, the U.S.-led international coalition formed to attack ISIS is “incapable” of stopping the group’s expansion in Syria and Iraq. Hezbollah, however, “has the ability to resolve the battle” in the same way it uprooted militants stationed in the Syrian province of Qusair last year, he said.

The current phase requires consensus over a decision to allow the Army to “reclaim” the outskirts of Arsal and “eradicate” terrorist cells inside Lebanon, Qaouk said, stressing that it was “imperative for political parties to secure political cover” that would allow the Army to take such measures.

“Takfiris have made it a priority to target the Lebanese Army inside Lebanon,” he said, confident in the military's ability to beat the militants in Arsal.

But the military is still waiting for the green light to launch its offensive, and “any delay in the battle would increase the threat over all of Lebanon,” he said.

Qaouk also expressed his belief that Israel is betting on an ISIS victory against Hezbollah.

Israel is “frustrated and helpless” when it comes to the resistance, he added.

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The Army is Lebanon's protector: Italian official

TYRE, Lebanon: The Lebanese Army is the main force protecting the country, Italy's Undersecretary for Defense said Monday.

“Lebanon is a country that carries the burden of external, crossborder conflicts,” Joaquino Alfano said during a ceremony in south Lebanon to transfer commanders of Italy's UNIFIL contingent.

“The Lebanese Army is the main, inevitable element that could protect the country's security and stability.”

The outgoing UNIFIL commander of the western part of south Lebanon Fabio Polly congratulated his successor Stefano del Col.

"Italy has ben playing a major role in the restoration of this country’s stability,” Alfano said, “and especially through an Italian approach in dealing with peacekeeping operations, which is appreciated by everyone.”

Hailing the relations between Lebanon and Italy, Alfano announced that a new project will create a training facility for the Army in order to gradually prepare it to keep the border region under control whenever UNIFIL soldiers are not present.

The ceremony was held at the office of the Italian unit’s leader in the village of Shamaa, south of Tyre, and was also attended by the head of the UNIFIL forces Gen. Luciano Portolano, commander of the Joint Forces Operation Unit Maj. Gen. Marco Bertolini, and Italian Ambassador to Lebanon Giuseppe Murabito.

“Our collaboration with the Lebanese Army is the foundation of UNIFIL’s term.

We work hand in hand, day after day, on building a culture of mutual trust based on solid principles that would eventually allow us to transfer control over UNIFIL’s area of operations to the Lebanese Army.”

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Berri: US-led airstrikes against ISIS changed nothing

BEIRUT: Lebanon’s Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri criticized Monday the U.S.-led military campaign against ISIS in Iraq and Syria, saying that airstrikes have not changed the battle on the ground.

“The coalition led by the United States to combat ISIS has not been serious [considering] the reality on the ground,” Berri said during a meeting with his Iranian counterpart Ali Larijani in Geneva on the sidelines of the 131st General Assembly meeting of the Inter-Parliamentary Union.

“There is a new bid to parititon the already partitioned region. This is the Sykes-Picot agreement ending between Iraq and Syria while the focus now is between Syria and Lebanon, and Lebanon and Palestine.”

Berri referred to the 1916 agreement between Britain and France to slice the Middle East into new countries during the period of European rule over the region.

Many politicians in Lebanon and the region blame the agreement for internal disputes and long-standing issues.

Berri said that Israel was the only beneficiary from regional divisions, and that other purposes for such conflicts were related to oil.

Berri also spoke about the situation in Lebanon, saying that the Lebanese Army needed all the help it could get to fight terrorism.

“If the Lebanese unite and strengthened their unity, there wouldn't be a problem. We have defeated Israel with our resistance and unity,” he said.

He thanked Iran for the grant recently offered by the Islamic Republic to boost the military’s capabilities, saying Lebanon counted on its Army to face terrorism.

For his part, Larijani also criticized the U.S.-led anti-ISIS coalition that is made up of Arab and Western countries.

“The international coalition led by the United States has not performed any miracles. We can safely say that it has not achieved anything by its airstrikes,” he said during talks with Berri.

He reaffirmed Iran's readiness to offer anything that could strengthen Lebanon's security and stability because Tehran “depends on its role in the region."

“There are no restriction to supporting our brothers in Lebanon.”

Berri also held talks with President of the Syrian Parliament Mohammad Laham, Iraqi Parliament Speaker Sallim al-Jabouri, and the head of the Palestinian delegation.

After the talks with Jabouri, Berri told reporters that he would soon send an official invitation to the Iraqi official to visit Lebanon.

Berri also took part in two meetings on Sunday and Monday where the participants agreed to back two documents provided by the UAE and Ecuador to support the Palestinian cause and combat terrorism.