Nasrallah lambastes Saudi Arabia, draws Hariri rebuke

BEIRUT: Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah launched a fierce tirade against Saudi Arabia Friday night, saying its military offensive in Yemen was doomed to fail and vowing that the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels would emerge victorious from the “Saudi-U.S. aggression.”

Nasrallah’s remarks drew a quick response from former Prime Minister Saad Hariri, who said the Lebanese were treated to “a storm of hatred against Saudi Arabia and Gulf states in response to the “Decisive Storm” campaign against the Iranian infiltration in Yemen.”

“This storm of hatred deserves only to be ignored because it is the outcome of anger, frustration and tension,” Hariri said on his Twitter account Friday night.

Hariri, however, pledged to pursue his Future Movement’s 3-month-old dialogue with Hezbollah “because the interests of our country are above any other consideration.”

“We stress the need to continue the dialogue in order to protect Lebanon,” he said.

In a fiery speech broadcast by Al-Manar TV and other local channels, Nasrallah said there was still a chance to reach a political solution to end the bloody conflict in Yemen, which has opened a new front in a long-brewing rivalry between Riyadh and Tehran.

He blasted Saudi Arabia for spearheading a coalition of 10 countries to launch a campaign against Yemen, while failing to carry out a similar action to save the Palestinians from Israeli killing and repression in their decadeslong struggle with Israel.

Speaking on the second day of the Saudi-led military assault against the Houthi rebels, Nasrallah said Hezbollah would have joined the coalition if its warplanes targeted Israel instead of Yemen.

He accused Riyadh of launching the war in an attempt to regain control over Yemen and rejected Saudi claims that Iran posed a threat to the kingdom and other Gulf states.

“The real reason for this war is that Saudi Arabia has failed in Yemen and felt that Yemen now belongs to its people and to real sovereign forces that do not fall under the hegemony of anyone,” Nasrallah said. “The aim [of the war] is to regain control and hegemony over Yemen.”

Nasrallah , who has voiced support in past speeches for the Houthis in their power struggle in Yemen, called for the “aggression” to stop and for the resumption of talks aimed at a political solution to the conflict.

“We call on the people of governments joining the coalition to consider that the blood of their armies are spilling in Yemen for the sole purpose of helping Saudi royalty reclaim control over Yemen,” he said. “A chance still exists for a political solution ... Let there be an Arab or a Muslim initiative [to end the conflict], or else invaders will be doomed to defeat and disgrace,” he added. “The Saudis must not be happy with some air raids. All military schools know that aerial bombing will not make victory.”

“It is the right of the oppressed and brave Yemeni people to defend and resist the aggression. They will do and they will emerge victorious because these are the laws of God and history,” Nasrallah said.

He rejected Gulf states’ claims that Iran was threatening to intervene and control the region and that Yemen was under Iranian occupation.

“Where is the evidence that Yemen is occupied by Iran? Where are the Iranian armies in Yemen? Are there Iranian bases in Yemen? These are lies,” the Hezbollah chief said.

In some of his harshest comments to date, Nasrallah accused Saudi Arabia of sending suicide bombers to Iraq and of creating the ISIS group. Addressing Saudi Arabia, he said Iran had expanded its influence in the region because “you are lazy, losers and you don’t take responsibility.”

Responding to Nasrallah, Hariri said: “Insistence on placing Iran’s interests above Lebanon’s has been existing for years. We will not recognize its benefits and we will not be pushed today to match it with hasty responses.”

He added that Lebanon’s relations with Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states would not be shaken by “malicious campaigns.”

“Saudi Arabia has offered Lebanon and Arab states peace and honest brotherly support, while others have offered and are still offering sophisticated plans for wars, conflicts and hegemony,” Hariri said in a clear reference to Iran.

Nasrallah expressed hope that “this new political division in the Gulf” would not lead to negative repercussions in Lebanon, especially with regards to the government and dialogue with the Future Movement.

With regards to the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, Nasrallah said he wasn’t concerned with developments at the U.N.-backed court since the party didn’t recognize the legitimacy of the tribunal.

U.S. special forces operating recon drones in Lebanon

BEIRUT: U.S. special forces personnel are operating pilotless reconnaissance drones in Lebanon to help the Lebanese Army confront ISIS and other extremist groups entrenched along the northeast border with Syria, The Daily Star has learned.

The drone support is part of an accelerated package of military assistance, including weapons and ammunition, provided by Washington to bolster the Lebanese Army in recognition of the continuing threat posed by radical groups and expectations of “spring offensives” being waged by one or more parties along the volatile eastern border in the coming weeks.

The Lebanese Army’s current air assets along the northeast border consist of two Cessna Caravan aircraft, one of which is armed with laser-guided Hellfire missiles while the other is unarmed and used in a reconnaissance-only capacity.

The Cessnas, which are designed for counterinsurgency operations, have played a significant role in aiding the Lebanese Army against the militants holed up in the mountains opposite Ras Baalbek and Arsal. Both can track the movement and monitor the positions of the militants, while the armed Cessna provided fire support in recent battles waged by the army in Tallet al-Hamra east of Ras Baalbek in January and the subsequent assault and capture of the adjacent Jabal Jarash.

The unarmed Cessna will soon be fitted to carry Hellfire missiles and should be operational in four months’ time. A third armed Cessna will join the fleet in December.

To augment the Lebanese Army’s surveillance capabilities in the area, the U.S., at the Defense Ministry’s request, is operating two Aerosonde MK 4.7 unarmed reconnaissance drones out of Hamat air base near Batroun, according to several military and diplomatic sources.

The Aerosonde is a small catapult-launched midendurance reconnaissance drone with a 10-hour flying time. In 2012, the aircraft was selected by U.S. Special Forces command for its midendurance reconnaissance needs on a three-year contract.

A diplomatic source said that the Lebanese Army had been “very aggressive in tasking” the drones on reconnaissance missions along the northeast border.

The Aerosonde is not the only drone plowing the skies above the northern Bekaa Valley. Other than Israeli drones which regularly breach Lebanese airspace to circle above the Baalbek and Hermel regions, Hezbollah is also operating some of its own drones in the northeast ahead of the party’s widely anticipated offensive against ISIS, the Al-Qaeda-affiliated Nusra Front and Syrian rebel factions in Qalamoun.In another of the many ironies of the convoluted and intertwined conflicts in Syria, Iraq and Yemen, Hezbollah and the U.S. military, through its technical and logistical support for the Lebanese Army, find themselves tacit allies in the fight against the extremists dug into the mountains straddling the Lebanon-Syria border. The drones of both U.S. special forces and Hezbollah are monitoring the same enemy. That raises the intriguing – but as yet unanswered – question as to whether there is any sharing of intelligence data collected by the drones operated by Hezbollah and the Americans.

Since the battle of Arsal last August, the Lebanese Army has greatly improved its defensive posture along the northeast border in a line between Naamat, northeast of Al-Qaa to just south of Arsal, an average of 8.5 kilometers distance from the border.

Although there has been some discussion within Army circles to push toward the border, an offensive is unlikely to occur until at least after the arrival of the initial tranches of French weapons and equipment as part of the Saudi $3 billion arms package.

The French deal has taken longer than expected to materialize, but diplomatic sources familiar with the agreement say that delays were to be expected given the nature of a large and complicated one-off package.

The deal includes items from the mundane such as large quantities of ammunition to advanced systems including a military air traffic control system and the Combattante FS 56 fast attack naval vessel.

Some of the larger items are not in stock in France and require dedicated production runs which means not all the promised systems will arrive for at least another two to three years.

Meanwhile, the U.S. has been able to swiftly expedite much-needed arms, ammunition and equipment to the Lebanese Army because the purchase-and-transfer system is already in place and has helped deliver over $1 billion in material over the past eight years.

According to the U.S. Embassy, recent acquisitions of U.S. arms by the Lebanese Army include 72 M198 towed 155mm artillery guns, 29 armored humvees, 30 M113 armored personnel carriers and 12 M109 self-propelled 155mm artillery guns from Jordan.

Jordanian instructors are due in Lebanon at the end of the month to train the Army’s 1st Artillery Regiment on the new system. Deliveries in the coming days and weeks include 239 TOW2 anti-tank missiles along with 20 launchers, 1,000 M16A4 assault rifles and $32.5 million worth of ammunition from small arms to artillery.

Funding for the armaments comes from the existing U.S. Foreign Military Financing program as well as the Saudi $1 billion grant offered last August of which approximately half is allocated to the Lebanese Army.

In the longer term, six Super Tucano light attack and reconnaissance turbo prop aircraft are on order.

Although Lebanon was allowed to “jump the queue” over other international orders for the aircraft, the six Super Tucanos are not expected to arrive until 2018, the diplomatic sources said.

The Lebanese Army’s six Huey II helicopters will be augmented by another three in the next delivery. Eventually, the fleet will total 18 Huey IIs with the older Huey Is being phased out.

The Lebanese Army is also exploring with the U.S. the possibility of purchasing 77 M1A1 tanks. If the deal goes ahead, the M1A1s would replace the Army’s current inventory of T54/55, M48 and M60 tanks, the diplomatic sources said.

A life of hurt for Syria’s Palestinians

SIDON, Lebanon: On the second floor of the Malaab Building, at the entrance of Ain al-Hilweh, Umm Ammar Ghar sits in a small room roofed with plastic boards. Ghar came to Lebanon from Syria’s Yarmouk Palestinian refugee camp after fighting erupted there.

“Fate carried me to Lebanon,” Ghar said. “I used to own two buildings, one inside the Yarmouk camp and the other outside it. My financial situation was excellent; I used to make a living off the rent.”

But when the Syrian crisis started, everything went downhill, she explained. People began to leave the camp as the situation deteriorated and became dangerous. After the death of her son, Ghar is now also responsible for two grandchildren.

Beginning in 2012, thousands of Palestinians fleeing Syria looked for refuge in Lebanon’s 12 Palestinian camps. More than 8,000 settled in Ain al-Hilweh, the largest, some settled in the nearby Mieh Mieh camp, while others joined relatives spread across the other 10.

Most of these refugees are from Syria’s Yarmouk, Sayyida Zeinab and Husseinieh camps and took only their identity papers when they left.

Although the number of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon coming from Syria has reportedly decreased, the intensity of their suffering continues unabated. Local relief organizations are trying to help, but with UNRWA reducing the level of aid it provides, the lives of thousands of refugees have become more difficult.

At the southern entrance of Ain al-Hilweh, the al-Furqan Association for Charity Work distributes milk bottles.

Fawzeya Sakr stood in a queue, holding her child, as she waited for her name to be called out. She receives three bottles of dried milk.

“Thank God,” she said. “There’s someone who’s thinking about us and providing us with milk for the children.” Sakr, who gave birth to her second child in Lebanon, said she hoped the international community would extend more help to refugees.

The Palestinian camps in Lebanon were already impoverished and overcrowded when the Syrian war began, and were ill-equipped to handle the influx.

The Kifah School has been turned into a shelter for around 40 families; 128 people, mostly from Yarmouk and Sayyida Zeinab, now live there.

Standing near the school, 6-year-old Ali Shehadeh carries 1,000 Syrian pounds that his father kept with him when he came from Syria.

“I don’t know how many sweets I can buy with this,” he said.

Women in the complex share two washing machines. Umm Diab has just one hour to use it before it’s her neighbor’s turn.

“We live a miserable life of poverty and negligence,” Diab said. “I pray to God that there will be a spark of hope so that we feel we’re living and can move from this darkness to the light.”

Ahmad Younis lives with his family at the shelter. He came to Lebanon from the Sayyida Zeinab camp in 2012. Like many refugees, Younis had to flee the war to keep his family safe.

“I used to own a house and a large part of it was destroyed,” he said. “I lost 24 of my relatives.”

Younis used to work as a print engineer, but has had difficulty finding a job that will provide a decent livelihood. He works odd jobs and hopes to make enough money by the end of the day.

“We are suffering from unemployment and the biggest concern is rent,” Younis said. “In Syria, we were blessed with security and peace; we had nothing to do with [the fighting].”

Younis said he hoped to travel to Europe to establish a better life, a dream shared by many refugees.

Ibrahim Maqdah, the secretary of the Union of Islamic Institutions in Ain al-Hilweh, explained to The Daily Star that while organizations try to meet the needs of refugees, there are a number of barriers to doing so.

“The beginning of the refugee crisis was miserable and reminded us of the tragedy of our displacement from Palestine,” Maqdah said.

But as the Syrian war enters its fifth year, the number of Palestinian refugees coming from Syria has stabilized, according to Maqdah.

However, he said, their tragic situation continues. “Palestinian refugees who fled Syria to Lebanon aren’t considered to be refugees; rather their treatment is based on a residency [paper] that the Lebanese government demands.” This presents a problem, he said, as many aren’t able to afford it.

Maqdah also bemoaned the reduction in support provided by UNRWA. He said the organization still provides refugees with $100 to pay for rent, but has cut back other vital services.

“Everyone knows that the minimum cost for a room, kitchen and toilet is $300 per month,” protested Maqdah, adding that aid organizations struggle to make up the rest.

Medical care is also another area of neglect, according to Maqdah.

“The number of families now is 1,500; in 2014 there were 3,000 families, but many returned to Syria, emigrated, or died in the sea [making the passage to Europe],” he said. Many of the ones who left, Maqdah added, decided that in both cases they could be considered dead, be it in Lebanon due to the harsh living conditions or in Syria as a result of the fighting.

“Many of these families don’t have someone to support them.”

Maqdah said the Union of Islamic Institutions treats all refugees equally, based on their level of need.

“We don’t discriminate between Palestinian Syrian and native Syrians,” Maqdah explained. “We don’t ask refugees about their political affiliations because they’re refugees, so we don’t interfere in their personal affairs.”

He said the institutions provide food and urgent assistance such as milk and diapers for children, as well as cooking equipment.

“Palestinian Syrian [refugees] have the right to study, so many students have been enrolled in schools. We also hold educational workshops,” he said.

The institutions also have a psychological support program for children. However, Maqdah said there are 88 people with disabilities who require higher quality care than they can currently provide.

Palestinian Syrian refugee Hanan Ahmad does social work with women and girls and explained that the refugees’ problems extend far beyond material deprivation. “Providing services doesn’t stop with shelter, food and medication,” she said. “We follow up on them socially when there are problems among the families that we need to solve.”

However, despite such efforts, the outlook for Syria’s Palestinians refugees remains bleak.

Childhood cancer combatted with new donations app

BEIRUT: The Children’s Cancer Center of Lebanon launched a new campaign Friday that would allow people to donate to the charity directly from their smartphone. The new app “Light a Candle” will allow users to donate $1, $5, $10 or $20, which will be deducted from their prepaid bills or added to their postpaid bills.

“It’s like lighting a candle for your child,” CCCL General Manager Hana Chaar Choueib told The Daily Star. “We hope that all the people will light candles for our children in order to ensure a new life for them.”

The “Light a Candle” initiative was started through a partnership between telecommunications company touch and the CCCL. It was launched at the Yacht Club in Zaitunay Bay Friday.

CCCL is a nonprofit association that deals with the treatment of children with cancer, and was set up 13 years ago. All CCCL patients are treated for free. According to Choueib, each child’s treatment costs $50,000 per year and, according to their website, CCCL have a very strong cure rate of 80 percent.

According to a 2012 National Health Statistics Report, there were almost 200 children under the age of 15 who were diagnosed with cancer in 2007, 3.8 percent of the total cancer cases in Lebanon.

Choueib is hoping that this campaign will help them raise more funds as the organization relies entirely on donations.

The new app will be available throughout 2015 and may be renewed next year if the campaign is successful, she said. However, the app is only available on Google Play, and therefore only users with Android phones who are subscribed to touch will be able to use the app.

Choueib and several others spoke at the launching event, including Vice Chairman and General Manager of touch Wassim Mansour, the mother of a previous CCCL patient Gita Bou Nader and Telecommunications Minister Boutros Harb.

Harb expressed his support for the campaign and highlighted that initiatives such as this should take priority over political ones.

Bou Nader, whose daughter was cured of cancer at CCCL, also expressed her heartfelt support for the “Light a Candle” campaign.

“I have been lighting a candle for my daughter Thea every day for the last five years,” she said during her address. “The CCCL has had a major role in Thea’s recovery and her triumph over cancer. I am eternally grateful to the CCCL donors whose support has saved my daughter’s life.

“The survival of the center is the guarantee of the survival of children with cancer in Lebanon.”

Gas tank explosion causes major fire in Adonis factory

BEIRUT: A gas tank explosion at a cosmetics factory 40 kilometers north of Beirut sparked a major fire Friday that spread to two nearby buildings and injured at least three people, security sources said.

The factory, owned by Elie Antoine Maalouf in an industrial neighborhood in Adonis, caught fire around 5 p.m. Friday, the sources said. They explained that the structure produced shampoo, soap and cosmetics, including hairspray.

Flammable chemicals used to make some of the products may explain the rapid speed at which the fire spread. All three floors of the building were engulfed in flames.

Civil Defense confirmed that the fire resulted from a gas tank explosion inside the factory, and said their firefighting teams were trying to put it out.

Industry Minister Hussein Hajj Hasan said preliminary information indicated that the fire was caused by a gas leakage which happened when a gas tank driver hit the factory’s outer wall. The gas spread and reacted with the chemicals inside the factory, leading to the explosion and fire.

Lebanese Red Cross chief Georges Kettaneh told MTV that three people inside the factory were injured in the fire, and that it had spread to two neighboring buildings.

The nearby buildings were evacuated, Kettaneh added.

Hajj Hasan expressed his deep regrets about the accident, expressing his relief that no one was killed by the fire. The minister said that the factory was licensed by the Industry Ministry and met the technical requirements it stipulated.

Such incidents have become a regular occurrence, with many factories in Lebanon not resorting to required safety measures.

Last month, a large fire swept through a factory north of Beirut that specializes in fire-rated wood, leaving seven employees injured and one missing. The fire erupted on the second floor of a factory owned by Khalil Matar in the industrial zone of Dikwaneh, in the Metn district of Mount Lebanon.

Army seizes hilltops from militants in dawn raid

BEIRUT: The Lebanese Army seized Friday at dawn positions used by jihadi militants to infiltrate Lebanon’s northeastern border, scoring a new success in its confrontation with Islamist fighters. Meanwhile, the Syrian army, backed by Hezbollah fighters, drove Syrian rebels Friday out of several hills in Syria’s Zabadani region, a security source told The Daily Star.

The source said that regime forces captured 11 bodies of Syrian opposition fighters during fierce clashes.

“Army units carried out a ‘lightening fast’ operation on the outskirts of the northeastern border town of Arsal, seizing full control of some positions used by terrorist organizations to infiltrate [Lebanon] and wage attacks against Army positions,” an Army statement read.

The Army established a military presence in the area and has linked the new positions to other Army posts stationed along the border.

According to the statement, the move is part of military efforts aimed at securing Army posts and Lebanese villages and towns that lie close to the eastern border, in order to “prevent the infiltration of terrorist groups and [thwart] attacks on the people.”

Speaking to The Daily Star, a senior Army source said that the military was “nibbling away” at the jihadis’ positions.

“We are advancing every time we see that the time and our military situation is appropriate.” The source also described the hills seized by the Army Friday as “very important.”

“We are getting closer to [the jihadis] and tightening the noose on them,” he added.

The Army’s action came around a month after troops conducted a similar operation in the village of Ras Baalbek, also on the northeastern border, seizing two strategic hilltops above the town.

“By now, we have warded off danger from all towns and villages in the area, such as Arsal and Ras Baalbek,” the source said.

The military has significantly fortified its positions along the eastern border following a five-day battle last August with militants from ISIS and the Nusra Front, who briefly entered Arsal and captured over 30 servicemen.

ISIS beheaded two of the captured security personnel and the Nusra Front shot dead two others. Around 25 are still held by the groups.

Also Friday, the Lebanese Army announced the arrest of two men in Arsal suspected of involvement in last summer’s battles.

The two suspects, identified as Ahmad Ali Kornobi and Ali Abdullah Kornobi, were wanted over terror charges.

Besides allegedly participating in the Arsal battles, the two detainees are suspected to have been involved in the kidnapping of the Lebanese servicemen. Security sources told The Daily Star the two suspects are affiliated with the Nusra Front.

Earlier this week, the Lebanese Army detained two “terrorists,” including an ISIS suspect accused of beheading one of the soldiers.

Separately, the Central News Agency reported that Saudi Defense Minister Prince Mohammad bin Salman could visit Lebanon next month to see the arrival of the first batch of French weapons to be delivered to the Lebanese Army as part of a $3 billion Saudi-funded arms deal.

Media reports said that French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian would also be attending.

Week in Review: 5 Years of the ACA, Our Fifth Science Fair, and a Talk About the War on Drugs

This week, the President celebrated the fifth anniversary of the Affordable Care Act becoming law, hosted students at the fifth-annual White House Science Fair, sat down with the creator of “The Wire” to discuss criminal justice policy, and traveled to Birmingham, Alabama to highlight new actions to crack down on abusive payday lending practices.

Find out more about the past week in our latest weekly wrap-up.

5 Years Later

On March 23, 2010, President Obama signed a historic law that has transformed the lives of millions of Americans. Thanks to Obamacare, people across the country have more affordable coverage, higher-quality care, and better health.

Today, more than 16 million Americans have gained health coverage that suits their needs. 76 million people are now benefiting from preventive care coverage. Up to 129 million people with pre-existing conditions are no longer at risk of being denied coverage.

5 years ago, we declared that quality, affordable health care is a right, not a privilege: http://bit.ly/1xGN0ne #BetterWithObamacare –bo

— The White House (@WhiteHouse) March 23, 2015

The facts are in: The Affordable Care Act is working. Look back at the passage of the Affordable Care Act and see all it's done for America since.

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Nigerian President Faces Tough Reelection Campaign

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

Nigerians head to the polls Saturday to vote for their new president. The incumbent Goodluck Jonathan faces former military leader, Muhammadu Buhari, who says he's tough on security and corruption.

Week In Politics: Sen. Harry Reid's Retirement, Cruz's Appeal To Far-Right

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

NPR's Robert Siegel speaks with political commentators E.J. Dionne of the Washington Post and Brookings Institution and David Brooks of The New York Times about Harry Reid's retirement announcement and Ted Cruz's appeal to the far-right.

In YouTube Video, Sen. Harry Reid Announces Retirement From Senate

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

Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid will not seek a sixth term next year and will retire after three decades in the chamber. He endorsed Sen. Charles Schumer to replace him as Democratic leader.

The goal of the coalition is for Saudi Arabia to regain control over Yemen, which it lost to the people: Nasrallah

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Saudi policies 'pushing the people of the region to Iran': Nasrallah

Iran agreement looks difficult unless Tehran flexible: Western diplomat

If Iranian negotiators do not show flexibility in nuclear talks, reaching a deal with major powers in the coming days...

Hezbollah would join Saudi coalition if aimed at Israel: Nasrallah

BEIRUT: If the Saudi-led coalition bombing Yemen directed its warplanes towards Israel, Hezbollah would join it, party chief Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah declared Friday night, accusing Riyadh of abandoning Palestine.

Nasrallah, speaking a day after the Saudi Arabia launched a surprise military operation against rebel Houthis in Yemen, also rejected claims that Iran posed a threat to the Gulf.

“If the war was against Israel we would have been partners in the war but not if its against an Arab peoples,” Nasrallah said during a televised speech.

Nasrallah denounced Saudi Arabia for leading a campaign against Yemen, but failing to take action against Israel over the decades-long conflict.

“The Palestinian people are still calling on you,” he said, noting that a large portion of the population are Sunnis and yet their calls for assistance were not met by unified force likes of the coalition organized against the Houthis.

He dismissed arguments supporting the coalition that it was reclaiming the legitimacy of Yemen's President Abed Rabbou Mansour Hadi and protecting the Yemeni people, saying that these arguments should be used instead to justify action in Palestine.

He also rejected the claim that Iran was threatening to intervene and control the region. “They consider that we should reclaim the land from Iran, and this is the biggest lie,” he said.

“Where is the evidence that Yemen is occupied by Iran,” saying that claims of Iranian bases and armies in Yemen is a lie.

Even claims that Iran is controlling Yemen through political influence and not through military force, is a lie.

There is a problem in Saudi Arabia's mentality in that it doesn't respect the will of free peoples. They regard everyone as followers and they can't have an independent will, Nasrallah added.

“This mentality leads to wrong policies... and accumulating failures.”

Saudi Arabias “faulty policies” are opening up the region to Iranian influence. “You are pushing the people of the region to Iran,” he said.

He expressed hopes that “this new political division in the Gulf” doesn’t lead to negative repercussions in Lebanon, especially with regards to the Lebanese government.

The ongoing dialogue between the Future Movement and Hezbollah will remain on track despite sharp differences over the conflict in Yemen, since it served national interests and seeks to decrease sectarian tensions, he added.

He said that figures in the Future Movement have opposed dialogue since the start and continue to undermine talks through negative positions and statements.

He called on the resistance to employ “patience” and not respond to accusations by the Future Movement since they serve to increase sectarian tensions, saying Hezbollah doesn’t want to assist them in achieving this goal.

With regards to Special Tribunal for Lebanon, Nasrallah said that he isn’t concerned with developments at the U.N.-backed court since the party doesn’t recognize the legitimacy of the tribunal.

“We will not comment on anything said in the court... since our opposition to the court is clear,” he said, after former Prime Minister Fouad Siniora earlier this week accused Hezbollah of plotting assassination attempts against Rafik Hariri.

Nasrallah dismissed accusations that Iran was blocking the election of a president that doesn’t express support to Tehran.

“Those responsible for disruption... is Saudi Arabia,” he said.

The problem in Lebanon, is Saudi Arabia has vetoed the election of FPM chief Michel Aoun, “so why are you putting the blame on Iran.”

West Wing Week: 03/27/2015 or, “The Magic Page”

This week, the President welcomed to the White House both student filmmakers and student scientists, hosted the Afghan president, and honored the five year anniversary of the Affordable Care Act, while the First Lady championed the Let Girls Learn initiative in Japan and Cambodia. That's March 20th to March 26th or, "The Magic Page"

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FPM hands LF 'declaration of intent' draft

FPM hands LF 'declaration of intent' draft

The Free Patriotic Movement has handed to the rival Lebanese Forces Friday a draft "declaration of intent” that the...

How The Senate Will Choose Harry Reid's Successor

i

Sen. Harry Reid, left, endorsed and Sen. Chuck Schumer to replace him as Democratic leader. Alex Wong/Getty Images hide caption

itoggle caption Alex Wong/Getty Images

Sen. Harry Reid, left, endorsed and Sen. Chuck Schumer to replace him as Democratic leader.

Alex Wong/Getty Images

When word came of Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid's decision to retire, various observers and Democratic constituencies quickly emerged with their choices for his successor as the party's Senate leader.

There were those who touted Patty Murray of Washington, the proven problem-solver and veteran legislator who has worked her way up the ladder of Senate succession. Others talked up Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, who in just two years has emerged as a star in the caucus and who has also joined the leadership in a junior role.

It's All Politics

What Reid Endorsing Schumer As Top Democrat Means

Either the first-termer Warren or the fourth-termer Murray would have added appeal as the first woman to lead either party in the Senate.

But that is not generally how elections to leadership work in the Senate. Nevadan Harry Reid is a good example of the way those votes are wired.

He took over in 2005 after Tom Daschle of South Dakota had lost his re-election contest rather unexpectedly. At the time, Reid was unknown to most Americans, but he beat back a challenge from the more senior and mediagenic Chris Dodd of Connecticut. And since then, Reid has not been challenged.

Leadership elections in the Senate are held on a given day in a closed-door caucus, but they really take place over years of interaction and commerce among the members of that caucus. The outcome is usually the product of countless political transactions between individual senators — years of favors, accommodations and understandings. Ideology and issues are not the paramount concern.

When the secret ballot is taken, individual senators typically vote for the party leader they think will be best for them — someone who will protect their specific interests and privileges and not interfere with their own political plans.

That prospective leader might make a great symbol of the party and offer a smashing media presence, but those considerations are secondary.

For many years people have wondered at the personalities who wind up in the Senate's top job. Sometimes the question is rather pointedly personal, as in "How did Harry Reid get to be leader?"

i

Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., left, with then-Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle at a 1995 news conference on Capitol Hill. Harry Reid took over as leader in 2005 after Daschle unexpectedly lost his re-election. At the time, Reid was unknown to most Americans, but he beat back a challenge Dodd. John Duricka/AP hide caption

itoggle caption John Duricka/AP

Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., left, with then-Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle at a 1995 news conference on Capitol Hill. Harry Reid took over as leader in 2005 after Daschle unexpectedly lost his re-election. At the time, Reid was unknown to most Americans, but he beat back a challenge Dodd.

John Duricka/AP

When Senate Democrats first elected Reid they were still in a state of shock — or at least disappointment — over the November election results of 2004. They had hoped one of their number, John Kerry of Massachusetts, would unseat President George W. Bush and restore the edge the Democrats had lost in the Senate in 2002. It didn't turn out that way, and among the deepest wounds was the fall of Daschle, a popular caucus champion since 1995.

Reid had been the Senate minority whip at the time, having climbed the leadership ladder steadily since arriving in 1987. He was closely associated with the issue of nuclear waste, devoting himself to blocking the federal plan to store the radioactive stuff in Yucca Mountain in Nevada. Outside Nevada, however, Reid was not well known, having done his best work well away from the cameras.

Many of Daschle's fellow senators were caught up short by his defeat, but Reid had been busy. Loyal to his boss, Reid could also sense how the electoral climate was changing on the Plains. He spoke more often with his Democratic colleagues than anyone else in the Senate. And when the opportunity came, he had positioned himself to succeed.

In an earlier era, people asked: "How did Robert Byrd get to be leader?"

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New senate majority and minority leaders, Robert Byrd, left, and Howard Baker, right, respectively, chat on Capitol Hill enroute to a joint session of Congress in January 1977. Anonymous/AP hide caption

itoggle caption Anonymous/AP

New senate majority and minority leaders, Robert Byrd, left, and Howard Baker, right, respectively, chat on Capitol Hill enroute to a joint session of Congress in January 1977.

Anonymous/AP

Byrd, a West Virginian, holds all the records for longevity as a senator and a leader. He got in line to be the party leader by ousting Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts as party whip in 1971. Many were stunned at the time that the famous, charismatic Kennedy could be so displaced, but Byrd caught his rival at a moment of weakness (the Chappaquiddick scandal was still reverberating) and out-organized him in the caucus.

On that occasion, as on many others, Byrd had been campaigning quietly for years. And when the top job came open in 1976, Byrd was right there with the votes again — defeating the much more widely-known Hubert Humphrey, the former vice president and presidential nominee.

George Mitchell of Maine, who served as the Democratic leader between Byrd and Daschle, ascended largely on the strength of his meticulous negotiating and his successful chairmanship of the Democrats' campaign committee in 1986. That was the year the Democrats captured a net of eight seats and became the majority party in the Senate for the first time in six years.

One of the senators Mitchell helped elect that year was Harry Reid, and the man most likely to succeed Reid as leader is another former chairman of the campaign effort — Charles Schumer of New York — a master of internal networking in his own right.

With Reid Out, Republicans See An Opportunity

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Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid seen wearing sunglasses to protect an injured eye. J. Scott Applewhite/AP hide caption

itoggle caption J. Scott Applewhite/AP

Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid seen wearing sunglasses to protect an injured eye.

J. Scott Applewhite/AP

Harry Reid, the wily Democratic Senate leader, was likely — once again — to be one of the most vulnerable incumbents up for reelection in 2016.

Few, though, would have bet the house against Reid — a sharp-elbowed campaigner — especially in a presidential year when demography will favor Democrats in a state where almost three-in-10 people are Hispanic.

"Do you really want to go up against Harry Reid?" said one national GOP operative, pointing out Reid's bare-knuckles style of campaigning.

But, with Reid announcing Friday he would not run for reelection, it's a different story.

"It's a totally different race with him out," the operative said, noting that with Reid in a race "anything and everything is on the table" — from land deals to pensions to personal finances.

Look at what he was able to pull off in 2010. In that Tea Party wave year, in a midterm, when Democrats lost 63 House seats and six Senate seats, Reid defied gravity and won 50 to 45 percent over Sharron Angle.

Angle was, in many ways, her own worst enemy, committing a series of unforced errors. But even when Reid trailed in the polls, he turned up the heat.

And that can have a chilling effect on recruitment.

It's still early in the 2016 cycle, but no obvious serious Republican challenger had emerged yet to take on Reid. Though, Republicans would love for Gov. Brian Sandoval to jump in, he's so far shown no interest in running.

That could change, though, with Reid out of the way and this now being an open seat. Republicans aren't counting on it. They feel they have a strong bench of potential other candidates. In fact, every statewide elected official in Nevada is a Republican — from governor on down to controller.

Two possibilities, if Sandoval can't be swayed are Lt. Gov. Mark Hutchinson and Congressman Joe Heck.

"With him out, there's no reason not to run," the operative said. "It's different now."

Democrats, however, argue they could be in a stronger position with Reid off the playing field — despite the thin, or non-existent, statewide candidate bench. They say the race wouldn't cost them as much money, and Reid would be a stronger force behind the scenes with his Nevada machine for another candidate, who wouldn't start off with negative ratings that are so high.

Reid on Friday endorsed former state Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto in characteristically blunt language.

"Brian Sandoval has done a very fine job as governor. I don't have anything negative to say about him," Reid told KNPR. But "whoever runs again Catherine, I think, will be a loser."

Polls, in 2012, though showed Sandoval with big leads in hypothetical matchups with Cortez Masto and former Secretary of State Ross Miller.

"Don't give me any talk of polls," Reid said on KNPR, "because I don't believe in them."

Harry Reid, The Senator Who Never Forgot The Path He Took

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Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid greets supporters in his hometown of Searchlight, Nev. during a campaign stop in 2010. Laura Rauch/AP hide caption

itoggle caption Laura Rauch/AP

Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid greets supporters in his hometown of Searchlight, Nev. during a campaign stop in 2010.

Laura Rauch/AP

Long-time Nevada Sen. Harry Reid, 75, who announced Friday he would not run for reelection in 2016, isn't exactly known for his charisma on Capitol Hill. But he has become known as someone who will always put up a fight.

That toughness can be seen throughout his life and political career. It was an essential quality during his hard-scrabble childhood and time in the boxing ring. And it's what he later brought to fighting organized crime in Nevada and, more recently, taking off his gloves against the Tea Party Republicans.

"I don't know anybody who understands more his roots, where he came from, what it means to not have anything when you're born, and scramble and scrape and work to get something," President Obama said Friday morning on KNPR. "He has never forgotten the path that he took ... in terms of someone who's got heart and cares about ordinary people trying to chase the American dream, I don't think there's been anybody ever."

Here are six things you may not know about those roots and how they've informed Reid's political career:

He was born in a desert mining town

Born in 1939, Reid was raised in Searchlight, Nev., the son of a miner. The home he grew up in had no indoor toilet or hot water, and was built out of scavenged railroad ties.

"We did things that wouldn't be much fun for other kids," Reid once said in a video on his website, recalling that he used to sit on a ridge in town and count cars. "Why? Something to do." His father, a persistent drinker, committed suicide after he became ill and could no longer work.

Harry Reid's childhood home in Searchlight, Nev. Sen. Harry Reid/U.S. Senate hide caption

itoggle caption Sen. Harry Reid/U.S. Senate

Reid's upbringing contributed to a tough attitude that can still be seen in his life and politics — most recently when he badly injured his eye and cheek while exercising.

He played football in high school and was an amateur boxer. He met his wife, Landra, in college and they converted to Mormonism.

His hometown of Searchlight remained important to him – he moved back in the 1990s with his family and stayed there until last year, when he moved to Las Vegas to be closer to his children. His most recent home in the town was quite an upgrade compared to what he grew up in. The house he sold when he went to Las Vegas went for $1.7 million.

He became lieutenant governor of Nevada at age 30

In 1970, Reid became the youngest lieutenant governor in Nevada history after two years in the state assembly. He ran for Senate four years later, but lost narrowly. He also ran for mayor of Las Vegas and lost. But he was appointed chair of the state's Gaming Commission, where his work reads like a prime-time TV drama – he confronted organized crime, worried about having his phone tapped, and even once had a (failed) bomb planted in his car. The appointment put him back on Nevada's political map and by 1986, when he ran for U.S. Senate and won, the New York Times referred to him as "something of a boy wonder in Nevada politics."

He hasn't always had a clean mouth in the Senate

"I think Senator Reid often says what we're all thinking but perhaps are afraid to say," the late Sen. Ted Kennedy once said. As the New Yorker noted in a 2005 profile, he's called Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan a "political hack," Clarence Thomas an "embarrassment" and George W. Bush a "liar" and a "loser." Despite the forceful word choice, he generally comes across as soft-spoken, lacking charisma and, unlike some of his colleagues in congressional leadership, is not known make himself a fixture on cable TV or Sunday morning political shows.

He once took on Nevada's brothels

In 2011, Reid called for a ban on the state's brothels, even though they are taxed legally in some parts of the state. He said brothels harmed the state's image and dissuaded business from coming. "Nevada needs to be known as the first place for innovation and investment, not as the last place where prostitution is still legal," Reid he said.

One of Nevada's legal brothels, Sherri's Ranch, jumped into the debate by posting a list of reasons Reid's statement wasn't true — along with a photo of Reid — on its blog. "We all know that politicians and public figures enjoy the company of prostitutes as much as any other American citizen, if not more so ... So why not host political events in locations close to legalized brothels, where public servants can blow off steam in a worry-free environment?"

He's kept that stance and more recently said brothels would hurt Las Vegas' chance of being selected to host the 2016 GOP convention.

His workout routine included 250 situps, 3 times per week

Reid was badly injured while exercising earlier this year, suffering broken ribs, broken bones in his face and needing surgery on his eye. He was hurt when an exercise band snapped and sent him crashing into some cabinets at his Las Vegas home. He spoke about his exercise routine to KNPR, saying he did 250 situps three times a week, along with "some yoga-type stuff."

"I don't know how many people out there could sit and do 250 sit-ups. Or do the strength and exercise routines I did with those bands hundreds of times," he said after the accident.

He has said repeatedly, until now, that he would run in 2016

In a video announcing he would not seek reelection, Reid said his decision did not have to do with his eye injury, the fact that he is now minority leader or his chances of reelection. But it may be all three.

In 2013, he was asked by Roll Call whether Democratic Conference Secretary Patty Murray might be in a position to become leader. Reid's response: "If I drop dead? I don't know." He also told KNPR earlier this year, after his injury, that he didn't intend to change his plans to seek re-election.

In any case, the toughness from his upbringing and boxing days came through, yet again, even in his departure announcement. In a video explaining that would not run in 2016, he said: "These bruises I have on my face, on my eye, are an inconvenience but trust me they're nothing compared to some of the bruises I got when I was fighting in the ring."

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Harry Reid endorses New Yorker Schumer to replace him as top Democrat

Harry Reid's exit could have ignited a scramble to fill the power vacuum among Senate Democrats.

But the Nevada senator is doing his best to avoid what he called a "knock-down, drag-out fight" by endorsing Charles Schumer, the New York Democrat better known as Chuck, who has been Reid's top lieutenant for years.

"He will be elected to replace me in 22 months," Reid told KNPR of Schumer. "One reason that will happen is because I want him to be my replacement."

Reid called Schumer "a brilliant man" and "a tremendous asset."

Paul Kane of the Washington Post, who first reported Friday that Reid had endorsed Schumer also notes, per Reid, another possible candidate, Illinois Democrat Dick Durbin, will likely stand aside.

Schumer — a high-profile, camera-loving New Yorker — is a very different type of leader than the softer-spoken, rules-maven Reid. Schumer has been waiting in the wings of power for years. He's largely seen as the most influential Democrat in the Senate not named Reid.

Schumer has been in Reid's ear — and by his side — for a decade and is responsible for much of the caucus' messaging. In fact, Schumer and Reid merged communications offices to have a more unified voice.

And Schumer has this trump card — from 2005 to 2009, when he was in charge of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, the group responsible for getting Democrats elected to the Senate, Democrats picked up 14 seats and control of the chamber in 2006. That means a lot of chits for Schumer to cash in.

He still might have a total walk. He could get some competition from someone who knows a little something about running — in tennis shoes — Patty Murray of Washington state.

Murray also ran the DSCC, from 2011 to 2013, albeit with less success. Democrats picked up one seat in 2012, which is not quite Schumer's record.

But Schumer does have his vulnerabilities – namely his penchant for getting attention (for himself) and his ties to Wall Street.

The Democratic caucus has become more populist, and that's an avenue Murray could play, if she chooses to run. Also mull this over: If Murray were able to pull it off, and Hillary Clinton wins the presidency, that would mean an all-women Democratic leadership in Washington with Nancy Pelosi in the House.

But with Reid's support, Schumer will be tough to beat.

Reid Backs N.Y.'s Schumer To Succeed Him As Senate Democratic Leader

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Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada and Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y. Reid said today that he won't seek re-election in 2016, adding he wants Schumer to succed him as the Democratic leader in the Senate. Molly Riley/AP hide caption

itoggle caption Molly Riley/AP

Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada and Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y. Reid said today that he won't seek re-election in 2016, adding he wants Schumer to succed him as the Democratic leader in the Senate.

Molly Riley/AP

Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, who said he won't seek re-election in 2016, says he is backing Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York, the Senate's No. 3 Democrat, to succeed him in the leadership position.

"He [Schumer] will be elected to replace me in 22 months," he told Nevada Public Radio. "One reason that will happen is because I want him to be my replacement."

Separately, Reid told The Washington Post that Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin of Illinois, the No. 2 Democrat, would stand down in place of Schumer.

"Harry is one of the best human beings I've ever met," Schumer said in statement quoted by the Post. "His character and fundamental decency are at the core of why he's been such a successful and beloved leader. He's so respected by our caucus for his strength, his legislative acumen, his honesty and his determination."

For more on this story, please visit our It's All Politics blog.

Lebanon Army seizes militant 'infiltration points' on Syria border

BEIRUT: The Lebanese Army seized positions used by militants to infiltrate Lebanon’s northeastern border at dawn Friday, the military said.

The Army carried out the “lightening fast” operation on the outskirts of the northeastern border town of Arsal, where it seized positions used by militants to infiltrate Lebanon and wage attacks against Lebanese troops, the statement read.

The Army established a military presence in the area and has linked the position to other Army posts stationed along the eastern border.

According to the statement, the move is a part of a military campaign aimed at securing Army posts and Lebanese villages that lie in proximity of the eastern border, in order to “prevent the infiltration of terrorist groups and [thwart] attacks on the citizens.”

The statement came a day after the Army confronted a group of seven men trying to sneak into the country from Syria near the Masnaa border crossing in the area of Soweiri.

One of the men was shot dead and two others were wounded. The remaining four fled.

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