Obama told me so: 04/15/15

Wednesday, 15 April 2015

Source denies clashes between Lebanese Army, jihadis

BAALBEK, Lebanon: A security source Thursday denied clashes were taking place between Lebanese troops and Nusra Front militants along the border with Syria.

The source told The Daily Star the Army was intermittently shelling deep inside the outskirts of Ras Baalbek and Arsal as part of the near-daily pattern to repulse any possible militant attack.

The policy of preemptive shelling was put in place after eight soldiers, including an officer, were killed and 22 others were wounded in fierce clashes with ISIS militants on the outer edge of Ras Baalbek earlier this year.

Local media said the Army was engaged in clashes with Nusra Front jihadis on the outskirts of Ras Baalbek.

Lebanon’s civil society: Challenges of the next 10 years

The disunity displayed within the top political levels, within the population, within sectarian divisions, in addition, to the government’s lack of a concrete response to the Syrian refugee crisis have led to a deterioration of socioeconomic, political and security conditions that negatively affect the work of civil society organizations in Lebanon.

Although several CSOs have shifted their focus to relief and humanitarian aid at the local level, the need for basic services in vulnerable communities are still beyond the capacities of CSOs. Indeed, on the humanitarian front, the country is making history: Compared to its population, Lebanon received the highest number of refugees in human history with well over a quarter of the population currently consisting of refugees. In turn, this is straining the economy and creating nonnegligible security dangers.

The examination of the Lebanese civil society at this moment is of great interest as it discloses the capacity of Lebanese CSOs to adapt and serve in a continuously changing and unstable environment. They have managed throughout the years to be a transparent reflection of citizens’ concerns. Lebanon has always been affected by an unstable political system and strong sectarianism, leading to severe divisions among civil society. These divisions reached their peak with the 1975 Civil War exactly 40 years ago.

Historically, Lebanon has had a very vibrant civil society working on a wide range of political and developmental issues.

Governed by the 1909 Ottoman Law of Associations, civil society actors and nonprofit institutions have enjoyed a great margin of freedom.

Lebanon has always had hundreds, and more recently thousands, of associations dedicated to work on issues of governance, development and democratization. According to recent studies, there are approximately 1.3 associations per 1,000 inhabitants in Lebanon. The latest data received from the official records of the Interior Ministry and municipalities shows the presence of 8,311 registered civil society organizations, in addition to a number of loosely organized groups.

Lebanese civil society organizations went through major developments and tremendous changes. Originally dedicated to service provision, charity and war relief, CSOs nowadays are fulfilling additional mandates. Acknowledged as development partners, the organizations’ role shifted to include policymaking and human rights. Nevertheless, the space of maneuver required for service provision and charity is still much wider than that of development and policymaking domains that deal with public policy matters.

In less than a week the findings of a mapping study on civil society in Lebanon carried out in the framework of the EU-funded Civil Society Facility South will be launched publically.

The mapping exercise is based on research carried out by Lebanon-based consulting firm, Beyond Reform & Development.

The mapping aims to provide up-to-date, reliable information on the state of civil society in Lebanon, its needs and the steps required to enhance its role.

The report already shared with a number of stakeholders is based on research carried out over five months and provides a description of the context within which civil society operates in Lebanon.

It provides data and information reflecting: The legal and institutional frameworks and profiles of the main development sectors in which civil society organizations are active; an assessment of their involvement in main policy areas; their capacity building needs; and recommendations for future priorities for donor support.

The report states that despite the dynamism of civil society organizations, accurate and reliable information on the nature of these organizations, their functions, membership, scope of work and overall influence over governance and policymaking is highly limited.

While there is an absence of classification of CSOs in Lebanon that goes beyond regional location, size and type of sector, this report puts forth a typology based on the functional role that CSOs are occupying.

Among the recommendations underlined in the report are: To support the Interior Ministry in digitizing the CSOs registry and make it available to the public, and to support the Social Affairs Ministry in reforming its selection process and funding for CSOs.

These recommendation are a step in the right direction; however, it should have been highlighted as a priority for the development of this sector in Lebanon.

The report also highlights that most CSOs are filling functions of awareness raising and service provision and fewer CSOs are able and committed to work on policy development issues: 30.8 percent of responses have seen the political system as an external threat, 28.2 percent have seen security as the external threat, while 54 percent of respondents said that they did not participate in any dialogue with national or local authorities.

While 62 percent of CSOs are working at the national level, 38 percent are community-based.

The question remains, how can CSOs in Lebanon face the challenges of the next 10 years? CSOs ought to be more open to new ideas and be provocative, innovative, challenging and value-driven when looking at how they can make change.

They should identify the actual space they fit in, in terms of their own capabilities, and match that to not only the needs apparent, but also the modes of work which best suit the environment to operate in.

They should not try to be experts on everything but to be more confident about what a specific contribution within these areas is, rather than diluting resources to cover everything.

Encouraging activism at any age and supporting transparency indices and aid efficiency assessments is definitely a way forward.

Rubina Abu Zeinab Chahine is the executive director of the Hariri Foundation for Sustainable Human Development.

Drivers sound off on new traffic law

BEIRUT: Some Lebanese drivers are hopeful that the new traffic law, set to go into effect April 22, will reduce congestion and bring down the number of deadly accidents. Others are less optimistic.

“I haven’t noticed any changes in people’s behavior on the roads ahead of the implementation of the new law,” an employee at the Mercedes-Benz dealership in Dora said Tuesday evening.

“I have a car but I mostly drive my motorcycle for work because it’s easier to use, especially in traffic,” he said. “Motorcyclists in Lebanon are not used to wearing helmets [or] respecting traffic laws.”

Articles 18 and 279 of the new law stipulate that a motorcycle can be confiscated if the rider is not wearing a helmet.

Security officials said they would initially target major offenses, and will gradually crack down on other infractions dictated by the law. During the first phase, from April 22 until April 30, violations such as speeding, driving under the influence and reckless endangerment will be penalized.

A taxi driver who works in Beirut and Metn told The Daily Star that he hadn’t been informed of the details of the new law, but has heard that violators will be forced to pay large fines.

“Drivers will have to either wear a helmet or have the seat belt on, they will have to be more respectful and have their proper documents with them at all times,” he said.

“I think the new law is very good, but it needs to be implemented so there will be less traffic in Lebanon.”

Stopping his car on the side of the Dora roundabout, another taxi driver expressed frustration at the new legislation. “What is this law for exactly?” Touma asked. “People don’t know anything about it and there hasn’t been enough information given to help drivers learn to abide by its rules or realize its importance.

“The [government] shouldn’t just implement new laws for people – roads, signs and street lighting need to be fixed as well.”

A Public Works and Transport Ministry official said missing traffic signs would be replaced on highways and major roads around the time the law goes into effect next week.

Touma, whose father was also a taxi driver, expressed concern for drivers of older cars, which do not have seatbelts. “My father used to drive a car with no seat belt in it,” he said. “They do not make those anymore, but what about vintage cars still on the roads today, will the law be applied to them as well?”

One bus driver, who wished to remain anonymous, claimed, “This new law and its huge fines are another way for the government to get money from the people.”

At Beirut’s Charles Helou Terminal, two men, exhausted from long hours of driving, rested by the side of the road. Sipping from a plastic cup of coffee, Ahmad Fayyad spoke of Lebanon’s neglected roads and excessive traffic, saying he hoped the new law would bring order and justice. “This is the best law ever,” he said. “But we’ll see if it’s going to be implemented for everyone equally, without favoritism prevailing, as it always does.”

His friend, Abu Rabih, agreed, adding that he hoped the new law would result in fewer accidents. “Most of the crashes on the roads are caused by people using their smartphones while driving,” he said. “We need this law in order to decrease the large number of fatal accidents.”

In Downtown Beirut, a taxi driver picked up a construction worker heading to the Cola roundabout. “Before implementing the new law, the government should work on improving the roads in Lebanon. We need better lighting, fewer potholes and less traffic.”

Asiri: No measures against Lebanese living in Saudi

BEIRUT: Saudi Arabia has not taken measures against Lebanese living and working there in the wake of Hezbollah’s antagonist stance toward the kingdom since it launched a war on Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen, the Saudi envoy said Thursday.

“There is no information yet that [Riyadh] has taken any decision against the Lebanese brethren in the kingdom, but if things continue to exceed the red line that doesn’t mean that this can go without repercussions,” Ali Awad Asiri told local newspaper An-Nahar. He did not elaborate.

Asiri has implicitly lashed out at Hezbollah over its stance on the three-week-long war in Yemen, saying the Shiite party’s tirade against Riyadh did not serve Lebanon’s interests.

Asiri urged Hezbollah not to concern itself with Yemen Wednesday, two days before party chief Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah is scheduled to speak on the issue.

Watch: President Obama Holds a Town Hall with BlogHer and SheKnows

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This afternoon, President Obama traveled to Charlotte, North Carolina for a special town hall event, co-hosted with leading women's sites BlogHer and She Knows. During the conversation, the President talked with working women about some of the issues they care the most about -- such as paying for child care or sending their children to college.

Sen. Corker Says Congress Didn't Yield On Compromise Iran Bill

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

NPR's Robert Siegel interviews Tennessee Sen. Bob Corker about the compromise language for the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act, which cleared the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Tuesday night.

President Obama To Remove Cuba From State-Sponsored Terrorism List

President Obama intends to take Cuba off of the list of state sponsors of terrorism, and now Congress has a month and a half to decide if it wants to stop the process. NPR's Robert Siegel talks with Roberta Jacobson, assistant secretary of state for Western Hemisphere Affairs, who led the negotiations between the U.S. and Cuba.

Hezbollah gave Future video of blast site: Hariri adviser

BEIRUT: Hezbollah provided a technical video of the assassination site taken after the explosion to the chief of Rafik Hariri’s security entourage, Mustapha Nasser told the STL Wednesday, allegedly to facilitate a future probe into the bombing. Nasser, an adviser of the late prime minister, said Hussein Khalil, an aide to Hezbollah Secretary-General Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah, showed the video to Brig. Gen. Wissam al-Hasan, who served as the head of Hariri’s security entourage. Nasser said he was present when the officials met.

“This happened a few weeks after the assassination, I don’t recall when, but it happened in one of the offices of Hajj Hussein [Khalil] in [Beirut’s] southern suburbs,” said Nasser via a video link from Lebanon. It was his third and final day of testimony, and involved a cross-examination by the defense counsel.

Nasser said the film was technical in nature and had been prepared by a member of Hezbollah. “By technical I mean [it showed] the place where the explosion happened, the depth of the crater, the width.”

He said he could not recall how long the film was, but said he believed it was part of an attempt by Hezbollah to facilitate a future probe into Hariri’s killing. The STL has indicted five Hezbollah members for the blast that killed Hariri and 21 others on Feb. 14, 2005.

Nasser said Khalil proposed that Hasan gives the video to Nazek Hariri, the late prime minister’s widow, but said he did not know whether Hasan he had ultimately done so. Hasan, who later became the head of the Internal Security Forces Information Branch, was killed by a car bomb in Ashrafieh in October 2012.

Nasser worked as an aide for Rafik Hariri, acting primarily as a liaison between the former prime minister and Hezbollah. Up until 2010, he played a similar role for Saad Hariri, who succeeded his late father as head of the Future Movement in 2005.

Nasser said that Nasrallah had visited Damascus on the fourth or fifth day after Hariri’s assassination and received a promise from Syrian President Bashar Assad that he would back the formation of an Arab tribunal to investigate the crime.

Nasser said the trip came after the Hariri family asked Nasrallah to help form a tribunal when he visited them to pay his condolences.

Nasser said Nasrallah later dictated a letter to him in which he said that he had met with Assad and that the Syrian president had agreed to support the establishment of an Arab tribunal.

Nasser said he flew to Riyadh the same day, and read the letter to Saad Hariri and his brother Bahaa.

“I sat with Saad and Bahaa and passed them the letter, but the result was [that they said], ‘We want an international tribunal.’”

While answering all the questions posed to him, Nasser refused to divulge which floor his Beirut apartment was on, arguing that it could have security implications.

Graham Cameron, the prosecution’s senior trial counsel, pointed to a contradiction in Nasser’s testimony during his three days on the stand.

Cameron said that while Nasser claimed that he lacked understanding of the relationship between Hariri and the Syrian regime, he had said that the Syrians knew Hariri was a man of dialogue and not confrontation, and that there was history of successful dialogue and negotiations between Hariri and Syria.

“How you could know that?” Cameron asked.

“Those are things that all journalists in Lebanon know,” Nasser said in reply.

Attorney Antoine Korkmaz, who represents the interests of Hezbollah commander Mustafa Badreddine, asked Nasser whether Hariri felt personally under threat from jihadi groups based in Lebanon, given his personal relations with Saudi Arabia and Hezbollah.

Nasser replied, “I have no information whatsoever about this topic.”

Nasser did explain that he had been tasked with organizing Hariri’s visit to Iran in 1997, coordinating with then-Iranian President Mohammad Khatami and following up on Hariri’s investments in the Islamic Republic.

Week In Review: Banning Conversion Therapy, a Town Hall in Jamaica, and the Easter Egg Roll

This week, the President supported efforts to ban the use of conversion therapy for minors, participated in a roundtable focused on how climate change is harming our health, traveled to Jamaica to hold a town hall with students and meet with CARICOM, and joined the First Lady in hosting the annual White House Easter Egg Roll.

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

Why We Support Banning Conversion Therapy

More than 120,000 people signed a petition calling for a ban on the dangerous and unacceptable practice of conversion therapy -- and on Wednesday, we responded. The overwhelming scientific evidence demonstrates that conversion therapy is neither medically or ethically appropriate and can cause substantial harm. That’s why the Obama administration supports efforts to ban the use of conversion therapy for minors.

120,915 Americans signed a @WeThePeople petition calling for a ban on conversion therapy for minors. We agree → http://bit.ly/1ILOv7b

— The White House (@WhiteHouse) April 9, 2015

Celebrating Gospel Music: "Where Their Dreams Took Flight"

The President and First Lady hosted music legends and top gospel artists at the White House yesterday for the latest installment of “In Performance at the White House.” The evening of musical performances paid tribute to the fundamental role that gospel music has played in shaping American history and culture.

“Gospel music has evolved over time, but its heart stays true," the President said. “It still has an unmatched power to strike the deepest chord in all of us.”

Watch the President’s full remarks here:

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FBI headquarters in Washington D.C. Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

itoggle caption Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images

FBI headquarters in Washington D.C.

Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images

Robyn Gritz spent 16 years at the FBI, where she investigated a series of major national security threats. But she says she got crosswise with her supervisors who pushed her out and yanked her security clearance.

For the first time, she's speaking out about her situation, warning about how the bureau treats women and the effects of a decade of fighting terrorism.

"Watching everything that's going on in the world, how I had battled al-Qaida in Iraq, the Taliban ... all my experience, all the time I had put in there, I'm selling lipstick and blush," she said of leaving the FBI.

itoggle caption Courtesty Robyn Gritz

"When you're fighting terror and you're seeing buildings come down before you, you're passionate and you're emotional, and I think the American people want you to be that way when you're fighting terror and keeping them safe," said Gritz.

That passion fueled her to work weeks on end investigating the plane that crashed into the Pentagon on 9/11. And for years after, she devoted herself to national security cases that just kept coming. Wall Street Journal reporter Danny Pearl disappeared in Pakistan. A former FBI agent, Robert Levinson, went missing in Iran. And then there were the al-Qaida leaders hiding overseas.

"I wanted to be in the middle of it," she says. "And I wanted to be able to make a difference."

For 15 years, Gritz says, she did. Her bosses at the FBI gave her excellent or outstanding performance reviews, she says. But when a reporter made contact with her last year, she was selling cosmetics at Macy's.

"Watching everything that's going on in the world, how I had battled al-Qaida in Iraq, the Taliban... all my experience, all the time I had put in there, I'm selling lipstick and blush," she says.

Kobus alerted his managers that a supervisor was allowing favorite employees to take time off for their birthdays, so the government had to pay more for other people at the agency to work overtime. "You know, this is not our money. This is the taxpayers' money, and I want it to be correct," he says.

Law

A Decade After Blowing The Whistle On The FBI, Vindication

How did that happen? Gritz says the FBI drummed her out of a job. All because of allegations about fraud on her time card that she says just didn't happen. The FBI also blamed her for not attending a 7:15 a.m. meeting and sending an unprofessional email to an ex-boyfriend.

Now, she's got the ear of people like Senate Judiciary Chairman Charles Grassley. The Republican lawmaker from Iowa says he's concerned about what he heard from Gritz and a small but vocal band of female whistleblowers at the FBI.

"When you have seven or eight people who come to you and talk about gender discrimination, I feel like I have a responsibility to raise that issue," Grassley says.

"When you have seven or eight people who come to you and talk about gender discrimination, I feel like I have a responsibility to raise that issue."

- Senate Judiciary Chariman Charles Grassley

So Grassley asked the FBI director about its treatment of female agents at a hearing last year. Grassley said he heard from one woman called emotionally unstable and difficult, all because "she pointed out that her men's size 40 hazardous materials suit didn't fit her."

The senator added: "Another whistleblower claims she was denied a job for which she was ranked first out of six candidates because her male supervisors claimed she was quote-unquote emotionally fragile following a divorce."

The FBI didn't want to talk about Robyn Gritz's case, in part because it's still moving through the system. But officials there say they understand the importance of whistleblowers. And FBI director James Comey has said he's trying to diversify its largely white male ranks.

That won't come soon enough for Gritz, who says she never wanted to be branded a complainer. After a decade of 24/7 work fighting terrorism, things got rough in her personal life — a hostile divorce caused in part by her work. And then, after she'd gone to work on detail to the CIA, her FBI supervisors started asking about her hours.

Gritz says she tried to resolve the problems short of a lawsuit. Plenty of male agents got away with far worse, she says, with no punishment. But she says the FBI pushed her into a corner.

"I sat there for about a year and a half ... idled, basically ignored, ostracized," she says.

Then, Gritz got a notice that the FBI intended to begin a process to fire her over the time card issues and the inappropriate email she sent.

"I had dedicated my life to protecting the people of the United States ... and then I was not protected. I was being targeted and I felt it was because I was a strong female."

- Robyn Gritz

"I had given up a marriage, I had given up 16 years of my life of anniversaries, birthdays, weddings, special events, Christmas, all of the holidays," Gritz says.

"I had dedicated my life to protecting the people of the United States ... and then I was not protected. I was being targeted and I felt it was because I was a strong female."

Retired Lieutenant General Michael Flynn, who led the Defense Intelligence Agency, worked closely with Gritz to find terrorists overseas. He says it's a shame the FBI let go of someone with years of top national security experience.

"She was one of the really to me bright lights and shining stars early on that just kinda got it when it came to the kind of enemy that we were facing and the relationship that was necessary between law enforcement and the military ... and I just thought she was really a real pro," Flynn says.

Gritz, now 46 years old, had to sell her home and move in with her parents. The FBI yanked her security clearance, and she thinks they've been black balling her for jobs in the field. That's how she ended up selling make-up. She recently moved to a better paying position answering phones at a call center.

Even though Gritz has left the government, she says, she still hears from a lot of women, and some men, at the FBI, people whom she says aren't getting a fair shake.

After all, Gritz says, "when you can take out an agent that has my credentials, you can do it to anyone."

An inspector general is looking at Gritz's allegations and her case is slowly moving through a backlog in the equal opportunity system.

Strengthening Communities by Welcoming and Integrating Immigrants and Refugees

Immigrants and refugees have come to our shores in search of opportunity and freedom since before the founding of our nation. The process of integrating into a new land – to achieve self-sufficiency, political and civic involvement, and social inclusion – can be difficult but the rewards can be immense. We are both children of immigrants and can attest to the success that stems from successful integration into the fabric of our nation.

Yesterday, we had the honor of submitting to President Obama a report from the Task Force on New Americans entitled Strengthening Communities by Welcoming All Residents: A Federal Strategic Action Plan on Immigrant and Refugee Integration. This plan outlines a robust federal immigrant and refugee integration strategy that will advance our global competitiveness and identifies ways to ensure our nation's diverse people are fully contributing to their communities, and welcomed into them.

Iran can't be compared to 'backward' Saudi Arabia: Hezbollah

BEIRUT: Iran cannot be compared to the “backward, ignorant and murderous” Saudi regime, Hezbollah declared Wednesday, in the latest of a bruising back-and-forth between the party and its Future Movement opponents sparked by the Yemen crisis.

Ignoring a recent plea by Speaker Nabih Berri for the rivals to tone down the rhetoric, Hezbollah said that the Future Movement’s defense of Riyadh suggests a support for "genocide."

“Future Movement leaders and officials, over the past few years, have waged violent attacks against the Islamic Republic of Iran, unleashing a spate of false accusations and unfounded slander, in the service of foreign and Arab agendas,” read a statement released by Hezbollah’s media office.

Hezbollah has not responded to the criticism of Iran in an effort to preserve internal cohesion, it added. Nonetheless, Hezbollah's criticism of Saudi Arabia and its intervention against Houthi rebels in Yemen has drawn a fiery rebuke from the Future Movement, the statement noted.

The Future Movement’s links to Saudi Arabia and its attempts to please and defend the kingdom will not silence Hezbollah from criticizing the Saudi-led “aggression” on Yemen and the “crimes” committed against its people, the party said.

“The Future Movement’s rhetoric suggests that the movement is in favor of genocide and crimes committed by [Saudi-led] airstrikes against innocent civilians.”

The language used by Future Movement officials and their media outlets in defense of Saudi Arabia also frames the kingdom as a benevolent entity when it is “founded on authoritarianism and intimidation.”

The Saudi regime also “rents” the conscious of states, exports armies and soldiers, and sows discord in an attempt to break up nations and kill innocent people, the unrelenting statement added.

“The backward, ignorant, murderous regime that exports terrorists, extremists and aberrant radical ideas... cannot be fairly compared to the Islamic Republic of Iran.”

The world has seen Iran progress and develop as a state and as a political system. The country and its leaders stand in the face of world oppression by supporting vulnerable populations and liberation movements, the statement concluded.

The statement came after Saudi Ambassador to Lebanon Ali Awad Asiri was quoted as telling Hezbollah that it had no business involving itself in Yemen.

“I see that Hezbollah’s intervention in Yemen and its support for the Houthis as reported by the media, and the usage of [Hezbollah’s] media in the ongoing war in Yemen, is unacceptable,” Asiri told As-Safir in remarks published Wednesday.

Hezbollah has called for a Friday rally in solidarity with Yemen in Beirut's southern suburbs, during which party chief Hasan Nasrallah is expected to reiterate his opposition to the intervention in a speech.

Hezbollah and Future members met for a 10th dialogue session Tuesday night, mediated by Berri, who has pleaded for the rivals to end their hostile back-and-forth.

The talks have continued despite simmering tensions exacerbated by the crisis in Yemen.

Congress Says It Will Not Tolerate 'Agents Gone Wild'

"I'm very concerned about the public's respect for law enforcement officers and the safety of those they are designed to protect," House Judiciary Chairman Rep. Bob Goodlatte, seen here in 2013, told NPR. "This is a very important issue to me and one I intend to follow closely." Carolyn Kaster/AP hide caption

itoggle caption Carolyn Kaster/AP

Carolyn Kaster/AP

Members of Congress have a message for federal law enforcement: "We will not tolerate further episodes of 'agents gone wild.'"

That's the word from House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte, a Virginia Republican, who holds a hearing Wednesday afternoon on sexual misconduct and security lapses by employees at the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Secret Service.

Goodlatte wants answers not only about federal agents' wrongdoing, but also on system-wide breakdowns by the agencies, which allegedly failed to report and punish many of the allegations with sufficient vigor.

The hearing follows weeks of lurid headlines about employee misconduct at the nation's top law enforcement agencies.

The Secret Service has come under scrutiny for an episode of alleged sexual assault of harassment of a female worker by a senior manager and the questionable behavior of two supervisors who drove near an active investigation of a suspicious package after a retirement party. John Roth, the inspector general at the Department of Homeland Security, is investigating those incidents and is scheduled to testify to Congress Wednesday.

Meanwhile, this week, more new details came to light about DEA participation at overseas "sex parties" financed by drug cartels and U.S. taxpayer funds. The parties date back earlier than previously believed, to 2001, according to a report released by Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., and other members of the House Committee on Government Oversight and Reform.

"I'm very concerned about the public's respect for law enforcement officers and the safety of those they are designed to protect," Goodlatte told NPR. "This is a very important issue to me and one I intend to follow closely."

Also testifying Wednesday will be Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz, who reported last month that employees at the DEA and other agencies have engaged in "high-risk sexual behavior" that exposes them to blackmail or extortion attempts. His report mentions a DEA inspector deciding to close a case by saying, "if you look a man in the eye and he says no, then the answer is no — to do more is above my pay grade."

Goodlatte said, among other things, the Judiciary Committee will consider whether agencies need greater authority to investigate themselves and more leeway in doling out punishments for employee misconduct.

Goodlatte said the vast majority of agents are "outstanding" performers. But, he added: "Simply taking their word for something given the track record that we've seen here in recent weeks is concerning to me and should not be the end of that kind of investigation."

DEA Deputy Chief Inspector Herman "Chuck" Whaley, a career federal law enforcement officer, will tell lawmakers he's "disgusted by the behavior described in these cases," and "disappointed" by the lax punishment the employees faced, resulting in unpaid suspensions of a few days or more, according to a copy of his written testimony.

Mark Hughes, the chief integrity officer at the Secret Service, will tell lawmakers "the successes of the many have recently been overshadowed by the unacceptable failures of a few," his written testimony says.

You Didn't Check The 'Presidential Election Campaign' Box On Your Taxes, Did You?

Here's a question for you last-minute tax filers. See that little check-off box at the top of the 1040 form, the one labeled "Presidential Election Campaign"? You didn't check it, did you?

The 1040 tax form includes a small box that reads "Presidential Election Campaign: Check here if you, or your spouse if filing jointly, want $3 to go to this fund. Checking a box below will not change your tax or refund."

itoggle caption IRS.gov

Just like pretty much everybody else.

The little box is for presidential public financing. It's on the tax form because of the Watergate scandal: million-dollar contributions, secret donors and government decisions favoring corporate money men.

It doesn't sound so remarkable now, but in 1972, it was a shocker. Congress created presidential public financing, to get presidential candidates away from big donors.

The system has two elements.

Presidential candidates can get matching funds in the primaries, based on how much they get from small donors. In the general election, federal grants can pay for everything. The Democratic and Republican nominees don't have to raise money at all. The big catch to this generosity: candidates who take public funds have to limit their spending.

This money would flow from the actions of taxpayers: marking that little check-off box on Form 1040.

At first, public financing was relatively popular.

Ann Ravel, chairwoman of the Federal Election Commission, which oversees the public financing, said that in 1976, the first year of the program, 27.5 percent of taxpayers participated. Participation peaked in 1980, at 28.8 percent. In 2013, Ravel said, the figure was 6 percent.

So: why the plunge in support?

One obvious reason is the Washington money chase. In 2008, Republican nominee John McCain took the federal grant for the fall campaign, all $84 million of it. He lost to Barack Obama, who rejected the public funds and raised $745 million.

Following that was the Supreme Court's Citizens United ruling in 2010, encouraging outside money — 501c tax-exempt groups and superPACs. It raised the ante even higher.

This cycle, no candidates are even talking about using public financing.

Even when it was popular with candidates, some taxpayers didn't like public financing — "food stamps for politicians" in one often-used criticism.

And public financing has other problems too.

Campaign finance lawyer Brett Kappel put some of the blame on the 1040's design. The the check-off box is in the wrong place, he said, "almost at the top of the form, right next to the name and address. It's easy to overlook."

He also said taxpayers misunderstand the process. The $3 check-off (formerly $1) comes through the usual government appropriations process, he said. "It does not come out of the refund that the taxpayer is owed."

To add to the confusion, Congress in 2014 cut off public funding for the Democratic and Republican nominating conventions. Congress diverted the money elsewhere. It's still included in the check-off, but the convention funds actually go to a pediatric research program chosen by Congress.

Then there's the way the system treats candidates. Benjamin Barr, a lawyer for the conservative Pillar of Law Institute, said, "You just have an inherently inefficient regulatory system, that sets an arbitrary number that isn't responsive to what candidates may or may not need."

But FEC Chairwoman Ravel said it still can help lesser known candidates, who might need a platform to present their ideas. She said, "In my view, it's good for democracy."

That leaves one unanswered policy question, whether supporting minor candidates is what public financing was meant to do.

Get Your 2014 Federal Taxpayer Receipt

Want to know how your federal taxes are spent?

President Obama is keeping his promise to make sure you can easily see where your taxes are going.

Here’s how it works: Enter a few key pieces of information, and the Taxpayer Receipt gives you a breakdown of how your taxes are spent on America’s priorities, like education, veteran benefits, and health care. This year, the tool is designed to work across devices, so you can use the tool on your phone or tablet as well as your laptop or desktop computer.

Lebanon to launch Syrian refugee nurseries: UN

BEIRUT: Prime Minister Tammam Salam Wednesday met with a visiting U.N. humanitarian delegation who announced the creation of nurseries for displaced Syrian refugee children in Lebanon.

The U.N. officials who visited the premier in the Grand Serial Wednesday included Humanitarian Envoy for Kuwait Abdullah al-Maatouk, High Commissioner for Refugees Ant?nio Guterres, Special Coordinator for Lebanon Sigrid Kaag and UNHCR country representative Ninette Kelley.

The meeting focused on the condition of Syrian refugees in Lebanon and the problems they are facing, Maatouk said in a statement released by Salam’s media office.

Talks also touched on the need for development projects to assist Syrians and Lebanese host communities equally, he added.

During the meeting, Maatouk presented suggestions for development projects that he hoped would be implemented soon. The envoy added that “fruitful talks” were met with promises by the Lebanese government to address some of the issues facing refugees.

The projects, which will focus on the health and education of refugees, will begin by setting up nurseries specialized for children aged one to five, Maatouk said. The implementation of the project, which will begin in the “coming days,” will offer psychological and educational services, he added.

The U.N.’s humanitarian envoy also lauded Lebanon’s “positive response” to the mass influx of Syrian refugees, saying that the Lebanese have put the world to shame because “they opened their hearts and houses to [refugees] before opening their borders.”

Guterres said that the U.N. delegation’s visit to Beirut serves to express the agency’s solidarity with Lebanon in light of the mass influx of refugees, and the ensuing strain on the country’s economy, stability and society.

The U.N. high commissioner said that it was high-time for the international community to assume its responsibility to fully finance the crisis response plan for Syrian refugees in Lebanon. Global donors should also pledge donations to Lebanese host communities and Lebanese nationals.

The burden of responsibility towards Syrian refugees should not fall solely on countries neighboring Syria, he said, noting that international solidarity should also be expressed by hosting refugees.

Lebanon hosts more than 1.1 million Syrian refugees, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

Social Affairs Minister Rashid Derbas announced last month that the country needs $2.1 billion in aid over the next two years to handle the high number of refugees without increasing the budget deficit.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon announced earlier this month that $3.8 billion was pledged to refugees by international donors at the Kuwait III conference.

Reports said that only $700 million of the amount would be allocated to Lebanon over the next two years, a third of what the minister said was needed.

Two Lebanese charged with belonging to ISIS

Bosnian authorities arrest ISIS supporter

Bosnian authorities say they arrested a terrorism suspect who visited Syria and keeps in touch with Bosnians who fight...

Clinton Tours Iowa; Begins Outlining 4 Pillars Of Her Campaign

Audio for this story from Morning Edition will be available at approximately 9:00 a.m. ET.

Hillary Clinton says she's running for president because "Americans and their families need a champion." She's trying to convey that message on her first trip to Iowa since announcing her candidacy.

Obama, Senate Compromise Gives Congress A Say On Iran Nuclear Deal

Audio for this story from Morning Edition will be available at approximately 9:00 a.m. ET.

A Senate committee voted for a bill that gives Congress a review of the Iran nuclear accord. The president had threatened to veto such a bill but it was amended to address some of his objections.

A Decade After Blowing The Whistle On The FBI, Vindication

Kobus alerted his managers that a supervisor was allowing favorite employees to take time off for their birthdays, so the government had to pay more for other people at the agency to work overtime. "I was basically told we're going to look at the person that initially did it and we're going to look at you. And we may fire him or we may fire you," he said. Courtesy of Robert Kobus hide caption

itoggle caption Courtesy of Robert Kobus

Courtesy of Robert Kobus

Robert Kobus doesn't fit the stereotype of the disgruntled employee.

He's worked in administrative jobs at the FBI for 34 years. And Kobus says he's seen the bureau at its best.

"My sister Deborah Kobus was a 9/11 victim and the FBI treated me so well during that time," he says. "You know they really cared. I had a lot of friends, I know how important it is to have a strong FBI."

His sister died in the World Trade Center's South tower. He proudly wore his FBI jacket when he helped walk out the last piece of steel at the site.

But just a few years later, Kobus noticed a problem — a small-time problem — that could have been fixed right away. He says a bureau supervisor in New York was allowing favorite employees to take time off for their birthdays, so the government had to pay more for other people at the agency to work overtime.

"You know this is not our money this is the taxpayers money and I want it to be correct," he says.

Kobus documented his concerns in an email. He says he hoped new managers would fix the problem. Instead, the new supervisors were furious with him.

"I was basically told, 'we're going to look at the person that initially did it and we're going to look at you. And we may fire him or we may fire you.'"

- Robert Kobus

"I was basically told, 'we're going to look at the person that initially did it and we're going to look at you. And we may fire him or we may fire you,'" he says.

Soon after, they transferred him to an office in lower Manhattan, where he sat, alone, among 130 empty desks.

"You know sitting on a deserted floor you are basically a pariah," Kobus says. "My true friends stayed with me, the one, two that I had, but everybody else they would avoid me like the plague."

But the worst, Kobus says, is how his request for flex time was handled. Kobus wanted to leave work early to visit his mom in a nursing home but the FBI sat on the paperwork for months.

The Justice Department eventually determined the FBI had retaliated against Kobus for reporting misconduct.

"This is a pattern," says David Colapinto, a lawyer at the National Whistleblowers Center who worked on the Kobus case. "Robert's case reflects how the FBI and the Department of Justice treat people who have the courage to come forward and report wrongdoing."

He says the government long ago found Kobus was in the right — but the case still took more than nine years to work through the system.

"The reason this gets dragged out is for the Justice Department and the FBI to send a message to other employees, if you blow the whistle, this is what is going to happen to you," Colapinto says. "You're going to be put on the floor, isolated, alone."

And if this is how the FBI handled a penny ante case — Colapinto says —imagine how it might respond to a big national security debacle.

The FBI didn't want to comment on the Kobus case. In testimony to Congress this year, authorities said they understand the important role whistleblowers play.

But Kobus and his lawyer say no one at the FBI was ever punished for being involved in the time card fraud. In fact, they say, some of the supervisors went on to win promotions.

That concerns Iowa Republican Sen. Charles Grassley.

"Whistleblowers should not have to fear retaliation for speaking up and they should not have to wait a decade for relief and they should not have to apply to Congress to see justice done," Grassley says.

Grassley is exploring how to make it easier for FBI employees to call out bad behavior and misuse of funds.

That includes whether to allow bureau workers to sue if the agency and the Justice Department take too long to review complaints.

An investigation by the Government Accountability Office recently found the system for reporting whistleblower allegations at the FBI is confusing and burdensome.

And FBI workers have fewer protections than federal employees at many other agencies, because of the bureau's sensitive national security operations.

That's something Robert Kobus says should change.

"I still enjoy working there and I am still going to try my best to make changes so that no one else is in a situation like I am," he says.

FPM may quit Cabinet over officer extensions: report

BEIRUT: Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun has reportedly threatened to pull out of the government unless an intention to extend the terms of senior security officers was dropped.

Local daily Al-Akhbar, citing sources it said were close to Aoun, added the FPM leader has expressed resentment about the behavior of his political allies who count on Aoun to go along with the extensions for the sake of consensus.

“If this continues ... We are headed towards a real problem,” one source said.

The sources pointed to the consensus-based decision making system adopted by Prime Minister Tammam Salam’s Cabinet in the wake of the ongoing presidential vacuum.

They said Aoun is seriously considering quitting the government. “Let them rule without the FPM,” one source quoted Aoun as saying.

On Tuesday, Aoun’s Change and Reform parliamentary bloc reiterated its objection to extending the terms of senior military and security officers.

“The bloc insists that the Cabinet should immediately put an end to these dangerous violations through the immediate appointment of Army and Internal Security Forces officials,” a statement at the end of the coalition’s weekly meeting said.

Aoun argues that extending the terms of security officials violates the National Defense law.

Defense Minister Samir Moqbel extended last month the term of Brig. Edmond Fadel, the director general of Army Intelligence, amid a lack of consensus on a successor, and in order to avoid vacuum in a security post when the country is going through a critical period.

Aoun in February said that he had lost confidence in Moqbel after the minister extended the term of another officer, Maj. Gen. Mohammad Khair, the secretary-general of the Higher Defense Council.

Historian: John Wilkes Booth Not A Deranged Lone Madman

John Wilkes Booth was the son of prominent, wealthy actors. He, too, became an actor and was so popular, he was one of the first to have his clothes ripped off by fans. Hulton Archive/Getty hide caption

itoggle caption Hulton Archive/Getty

John Wilkes Booth was the son of prominent, wealthy actors. He, too, became an actor and was so popular, he was one of the first to have his clothes ripped off by fans.

Hulton Archive/Getty

President Lincoln's killer, John Wilkes Booth, is largely regarded as a deranged, lone gunman.

But historian Terry Alford, an expert on all things John Wilkes Booth, says that's not the case. His new book, Fortune's Fool: The Life of John Wilkes Booth, tells the story of a well-liked actor and his life before going down in history as the man who assassinated a president.

Booth was born into a prominent family of actors. According to Alford, he had the good looks, and exceptional range as an actor to stand out, playing both dark roles as bad guys, and softer roles such as Romeo. By 1865, the 26-year-old was a headliner on the American stage. As Alford explains, Booth was so rich and famous, he was the first actor known to have had his clothes torn by fans.

"When he was coming out of a theater in Boston, the manager had to come back and tell people, 'Back up, let him out just let him walk to his hotel.' "

Alford says it's interesting that, over the years, people felt free to talk about Booth, and while they shrank away from what he did, they didn't really shrink from him. They remembered things about him like courtesies and acts of heroism.

"One time on stage, he saved a young woman whose dress caught on fire," he says. "A young actress who had wandered too close to the gas footlights."

Contrary to what many believe, Booth was not a lone madman, according to Alford. In fact, he was politically motivated to assassinate Lincoln.

"John Wilkes Booth was one of those people who thought the best country in the history of the world was the United States as it existed before the Civil War," Alford says. "And then when Lincoln came along, he was changing that in fundamental ways."

Those ideological differences includes increasing the power of the federal government and emancipating the slaves, both things Booth was vehemently against. He was angered by the government instituting an income tax, the military draft, occasionally suspending habeas corpus — a legal protection against unlawful imprisonment. All these things, Alford says, agitated Booth.

"John Wilkes Booth was one of those people who thought the best country in the history of the world was the United States as it existed before the Civil War. And then when Lincoln came along, he was changing that in fundamental ways."

- Terry Alford

"But Booth brought to that agitation an extremism, the passion almost of a fanatic," Alford says. "And it was very dangerous, as we find out."

Booth's opposition to Lincoln's policies persuaded him to fight with the Confederate Army during the Civil War. But, according to Alford, his mother was a widow and had already lost four of her children. So she begged and pleaded for him to stay clear of the war. Booth agreed.

"But he felt like a slacker," Alford says. "He even uses the word 'coward' to describe himself because, as an actor, he played a hero on stage but really wasn't one."

One of the people closest to Booth was his older sister, Asia Booth Clarke. After Lincoln's assassination in 1865, Asia and her family went into exile in England. There she wrote a secret memoir about her brother, but it wasn't published until 1938. Alford wrote the forward in the latest edition. In her memoir, Clarke recalls a time where a psychic predicted his untimely death.

"The old gypsy said, 'You've got a bad hand, it's full of sorrow. Trouble plenty everywhere I look, I see you'll break hearts. You'll die young, and you will leave many to mourn you. You'll be rich, you'll be free but you're born under an unlucky star,'" Alford says. "And his sister said, 'Oh, don't let that worry you. These gypsies will just say anything for money.' And he laughed and said, 'That's right.' "

NPR History Dept.

Lincoln's Private Side: Friend, Poet, Jokester

Alford adds that Booth would refer to the gypsy's predictions years later in conversations.

"The little fortune he wrote down grew tattered from folding and unfolding, as he would get it out and look at it and put it back," he says. "So thoughts like that preyed on his mind."

Alford says the assassination of President Lincoln shattered the Booth family.

"The brothers were actors," he says. "In other words, you've got to get out in front of thousands of strangers and dozens of towns and be public again. And this was exceptionally hard because a lot of people did feel you are your brother's keeper. 'Why didn't you do something about this? What did you know? Why didn't you take care of it?' And, so it was extremely hard to be a Booth for a long, long time."

Butt out of Yemen: Saudi envoy tells Hezbollah

BEIRUT: Saudi Ambassador to Lebanon Ali Awad Asiri Wednesday said that the crisis in Yemen was of no concern to Hezbollah and urged the group to drop the matter, two days before party chief Hasan Nasrallah is scheduled to speak on the issue.

“First of all, I have the right to respond to issues concerning my country and its leaders, especially when you listen to a language that has gone beyond the limits of reasoning,” Asiri told As-Safir newspaper, referring to fiery statements by Hezbollah officials denouncing the war.

“Secondly, I do not see that Yemen is Hezbollah’s business,” Asiri added. “Hezbollah is in Lebanon, not in Yemen, which has its statesmen and privacy.”

He was responding to a question over why he issued a statement against Hezbollah after the party chief attacked Saudi Arabia for its military intervention in Yemen launched nearly three weeks ago.

Hezbollah, which stands with the Houthi rebels being targeted by Saudi-led coalition airstrikes in Yemen, has repeatedly denounced Riyadh over the intervention. Hezbollah deputy head Naim Qassem earlier this week accused the coalition of committing genocide in Yemen.

Hezbollah has called for a Friday rally in solidarity with Yemen in Beirut's southern suburbs, during which Nasrallah is expected to reiterate his opposition to the intervention in a speech.

Asiri, however, said Riyadh continued to support dialogue between Hezbollah and the Future Movement as the only means to defuse Sunni-Shiite tension.

Saudi Arabia, he said, “is very keen on the unity among the Lebanese and its support for Lebanon and its stability.”

“If the dialogue was constructive, supports Lebanese stability and contribute to the convergence of views between the Lebanese, we cannot object it,” he said.

Hezbollah and Future members met for a 10th dialogue session Tuesday night. The talks have continued despite simmering tensions exacerbated by the crisis in Yemen.

Aoun to fight against extending Kahwagi’s term

High-ranking military sources warned that the Army must maintain its focus on the battle against jihadi militants, and not become distracted by the internal political dispute swirling around its top post.

Sources told The Daily Star that the decision of whether to postpone the scheduled retirement of current Army chief Jean Kahwagi is in the hands of Defense Minister Samir Moqbel, who is expected to consult Prime Minister Tammam Salam and other political leaders before making a final call.

He still has a lot of time – until next September – to do so, according to sources, but the issue has already precipitated political posturing in Lebanon’s Cabinet.

The sources said that the subject is particularly sensitive, as the current military council has already lost half of its members. But some see it as an opportunity to pursue their political and personal interests, with ramifications for the presidency. Only three members of the council remain: Kahwagi, Army chief of staff Lt. Gen. Walid Salman, and Secretary-General of the Higher Defense Council Maj. Gen. Mohammad Khair.

The sources explained that the constitutional responsibilities of the military council include the supervision and audit of Defense Ministry institutions, including the acquisition and maintenance of weapons and supplies. The council also approves officer’s appointments, promotions, and discharges and appoints officers to the military’s disciplinary board. Its members also help dictate tactics, strategy and defense policy.

If a new Army commander is not appointed and neither Kahwagi nor Salman’s terms are extended, the top post will be given by law to the oldest general in the military, according to information provided to The Daily Star.

As Khair’s term was extended for the last allowable time in February, the oldest currently eligible general is Imad al-Qaaqour, whose service ends on Sept. 19, three days before Kahwagi’s. Next in line is Gen. Hasan Yassin, who is due to retire in February next year, meaning he would be in command for only four months, followed by Gen. Maroun Hatty, due to leave in August 2016.

Despite this potentially tumultuous succession, Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun, has stood alone in his rejection of an extension for Kahwagi. He has held that it is the Cabinet’s right to appoint a successor, knowing that the body cannot reach a decision on an extension without the approval of Moqbel.

Sources close to Aoun said he has no choice but to fight for a new Army commander, even though he is aware that Moqbel will ultimately defer Kahwagi’s retirement.

The likelihood of such a move will not stop Aoun from citing the dangers of a term extension and communicating his concerns to his allies. According to sources, he has made a number of remarks on Kahwagi’s performance and the situation of the Army, and is hoping his son-in-law Gen. Shamel Roukoz will become Army commander.

Aoun reportedly said he was taking careful steps, rethinking every decision and monitoring reactions to his comments. He is convinced that some political parties are misrepresenting their true intentions, while others are seeking to gain time to achieve political interests.

Sources said the FPM leader will not move alone, and will take into consideration his allies’ positions. He doesn’t want to make a political misstep, but does insist on defending his position until the end. There was concern that the resignation of two FPM ministers could affect the Cabinet’s perceived legitimacy, but a ministerial source told The Daily Star that with 10 other Christian ministers, the validity of its decisions would remain unaffected.

Sources also said that neither Speaker Nabih Berri, nor Hezbollah, nor the two ministers representing the Marada Movement and the Armenian Tashnag party, would reject an extension of Kahwagi’s term.

According to sources, Hezbollah is concerned that the top post could be left vacant if political leaders do not agree on a successor, and the group does not want to destabilize the Army while it is fighting jihadi militants on the Syrian border.

Negotiations to release servicemen take positive turn

BEIRUT: An agreement may soon be brokered between the Nusra Front and Lebanon, a senior security source said Tuesday, as the top official tasked with representing the government in negotiations returns after meeting with mediators in Turkey. “The negotiations will end soon,” the source said.

General Security chief Abbas Ibrahim held fruitful talks with Turkish and Qatari mediators, the source said, and signs suggest an agreement is in the works for the hostage crisis, now in its ninth month, that could see all the servicemen in the custody of the Nusra Front freed.

The nine hostages believed to be held by ISIS are reportedly not party to the negotiations. In total there are 25 Lebanese servicemen being held by the two groups.

The sources credited Ibrahim for the progress made in secret negotiations to free the servicemen, who were captured in August last year when the jihadi groups briefly overran the northeastern border town of Arsal and clashed with the Lebanese Army. Since that time many local mediators with militant contacts stepped forward to act as mediators, mostly to no avail.

This year the government imposed a total media blackout to preserve the integrity of the talks.

Ibrahim will meet with Speaker Nabih Berri to brief him about the outcome of discussions with the mediators. The security chief will also brief members of Lebanon’s Crisis Cell, which will be meeting Wednesday in the Grand Serail, headed by Prime Minister Tammam Salam about the outcome of the talks.

Ibrahim is expected to present the developments of the negotiations with Nusra, including the key agreements of the talks.

The Lebanese government will either accept the tentative bargain or request amendments.

The sources did not comment on what Nusra’s demands entailed, specifically whether the militant group was asking for a financial sum for its hostages.

The sources confirmed that Nusra had given mediators a list of prisoners in Lebanese jails it wanted released in a swap deal for the hostages. The source refused to identify the individuals the militant group wanted freed.

In recent weeks, the families of the captive men have renewed protests to pressure the government to expedite negotiations to free their loved ones, after growing frustrated over the government’s policy of discretion in the case.

Hussein Youssef, the spokesperson for the families whose son is being held by ISIS militants, said he had not received formal updates from the government in recent days.

“We think, as parents, that good things are on the horizon,” he told The Daily Star, citing media reports that negotiations were on the right track. “We haven’t received any formal updates about the file from any officials so far, but things are hopefully going in the right direction.”

Youssef said that, for now, the parents of the captives did not have plans to further escalate protests, “since we are hearing positive things,” he said.

“We are in a state of anticipation, waiting for now.” – Additional reporting by Samya Kullab

Lebanon welcomes Egypt aid plane for Arsal refugees

BEIRUT: An Egyptian military plane carrying the first of three aid shipments for Syrian refugees living in northeast Lebanon landed at Beirut’s airport Tuesday.

The shipment included tents, blankets, clothes, food, medicine and medical supplies.

Egypt’s Charge d’Affaires to Lebanon Mohammad Badreddine Zayed announced last week that his government would donate three aid shipments to Syrian refugees in Arsal.

The contents of the first plane were estimated to be around 15 tons, a source from the airport said. The complete delivery will weigh a total of 50 tons, he added.

The next two shipments are scheduled to arrive in Beirut Wednesday and Thursday, the source said.

Social Affairs Minister Rashid Derbas and Zayed were at the airport to welcome the aid plane.

“The Egyptian ambassador decided that the Social Affairs Ministry in Lebanon would be responsible for [distributing the aid] given its responsibility over the Syrian [refugee] file,” Derbas said, according to remarks published on the National News Agency. “The ministry and I are proud of this great sense of trust.”

Zayed, in turn, said the donation was a message to assure the Syrian people that Egypt stands by them.

“This step is a message in which Egypt emphasizes that ... despite its recent preoccupations, as soon as some of this preoccupation is over the country will return to its strong support to the Syrian people,” he said.

He said the donations were to help lift “some of the burdens off the Lebanese state’s shoulders.”

Lebanon hosts more than 1.1 million Syrian refugees, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

Derbas announced last month that the country needs $2.1 billion in aid over the next two years to handle the high number of refugees without increasing the budget deficit.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon announced earlier this month that $3.8 billion was pledged to refugees by international donors at the Kuwait III conference.

Unconfirmed reports said that only $700 million of the amount would be allocated to Lebanon over the next two years, a third of what the minister said was needed.