Excerpts: Danish cartoons. Lebanon/Syria diplomatic relations. Syrian
priorities in Lebanon. Saudi terrorists turned in by their families.Saudi
investors get app $600 million scam refund 14 August 2008

+++JORDAN TIMES 14 Aug.'08:"Danish cartoonist, editor say ready to face
court
in Jordan"By Mohammad Ghazal
EXCERPTS:COPENHAGEN/DENMARK- The cartoonist who drew offensive caricatures
depicting the Prophet Mohammad that sparked worldwide protests and a boycott
campaign of Danish products said recently he was ready to stand trial in
Amman to defend himself.
Kurt Westergaard, whose Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten published a total
of 12 cartoons in September 2005, said he learnt that he was subpoenaed by
the Amman prosecutor general early June along with several Danish
journalists and editors involved in the republication of the caricatures.
"I would like to go to Amman to stand trial. However, what I fear is that I
am convicted in advance," Westergaard told The Jordan Times in Copenhagen 11
Aug.. The cartoonist said he was not officially notified of the subpoena..
. .
The reaction to the cartoons took several forms including political
statements, peaceful demonstrations and attacks against Danish embassies in
Beirut, Damascus and Tehran and resulted in the death of around 50 people,
mainly in Pakistan and Sudan.

+++JORDAN TIMES 14 Aug.'08:"Lebanon, Syria open diplomatic
relations",Reuters
EXCERPTS:DAMASCUS (Reuters) - Syrian President Bashar Assad and Lebanese
President Michel Sleiman agreed on Wednesday(13 Aug.) to establish
diplomatic relations between their countries at ambassadorial level, a
Syrian official said.
Damascus has been under pressure from the United States and other
governments including France to treat its smaller neighbour more as a
sovereign state by taking steps including opening a Beirut embassy and
demarcating borders with Lebanon.
"The two presidents... have instructed their foreign ministers to take the
necessary steps in this regard, starting from today," Buthaina Shaaban, an
adviser to President Assad said.

+++THE DAILY STAR (Lebanon) 14 Aug.'08:"Once again, the trap is set in
Tripoli", Michael Young *

QUOTE:Lebanese security will continue to remain vulnerable if he [Lebanese
president] opposes Syrian priorities"
EXCERPTSIf you're wondering what happened yesterday in Tripoli, where a bomb
exploded alongside a bus, killing several Lebanese soldiers and civilians,
here's an interpretation based on a visit to the city earlier this week . .
.. Recently, colleagues who closely follow events in Tripoli have started
hearing of Syrian warnings to the Lebanese that there would be no peace in
the city until the Salafists were routed. Who would conduct such an
operation but the army, explaining why soldiers have been the victims of
recent attacks. Syria's implication in the bombings is highly probable, its
objective being to push the army and the Salafists into a confrontation.
This would create a serious rift within the Sunni community, weaken the
disoriented pro-Hariri forces in Tripoli, and allow Damascus' allies to
regain the initiative in the city.
. . .If you see a contradiction between an opposition politician fighting
against the pro-Syrian Alawites while also helping implement Syria's agenda
of destabilizing Tripoli, you shouldn't. That's par for the course in the
North these days, in a situation growing more cynical by the day. . .. .
.It was no coincidence, either, that the bombing occurred on the day of
Michel Sleiman's visit to Damascus. There were several messages to the
president: that Lebanese security will continue to remain vulnerable if he
opposes Syrian priorities (and that includes, among other things, Syrian
choices for the post of army commander and military intelligence chief);
that Sleiman's priorities, in turn, such as addressing diplomatic relations
between Beirut and Damascus and the fate of Lebanese prisoners in Syria, are
secondary to the Syrians; that intimidation remains Syria's modus operandi
when it comes to its relationship with Lebanon; and that Sleiman would make
a mistake to rely too much on the parliamentary majority, which is
buttressed by a Sunni community that can be readily split.
. . . The bus bombing yesterday ultimately targeted not the army but the
Sunnis. Syria wants them irredeemably divided. Hariri must ensure that such
a plan fails.
*Michael Young is opinion editor of THE DAILY STAR.

+++ARAB NEWS (Saudi) 14 Aug.'08:"Deviants turned in by close relatives"by
Samir
Al-Saadi
SUBJECT: Saudi terrorists turned in by their families
EXCERPTS:JEDDAH: The families of five Saudi men involved in terror
activities reported their loved ones to local authorities while a sixth man
turned himself in for adopting "takfiri" ideology (labeling other Muslims as
infidels), the Interior Ministry announced yesterday.
"This illustrates the high level of awareness that has been achieved by the
public," said Interior Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Mansour Al-Turki.
. . .The men who turned in their sons reportedly told officials that their
sons had left to join jihad. [One] disappeared two years ago when he was
16,... the son was planning a suicide attack, but backed out only to have
his fellow terrorists turn on him....Saudi authorities managed to locate and
repatriate the young Saudi, who is now in a rehabilitation program.
Authorities have said the actions of the father will be taken into
consideration when they decide what to do with the young man.
In the case of the woman who turned in her husband, the ministry statement
said she first went to a religious scholar who then informed the
authorities. The man had managed to leave the country to join jihad, but
authorities claim they succeeded in convincing him to return. He is also
currently undergoing rehabilitation.

+++SAUDI GAZETTE:14 Aug.'08:"Real-estate scam to end after Ramadan"By Diana
AL-Jassem
SUBJECT : Saudi Royal order requires refund of about $600 million to 15,000
defrauded investors.
EXCERPTS:Jeddah - After five years of court battles the largest and the most
complex project in the Middle East, Al-Bundkia or Island of Venice, will be
ended after Ramadan.
The 21-million-square-meter Corniche project was floated in 2005. It is
being scrapped by a Royal order, after financial and administrative
irregularities surfaced, and also because the developer, Al-Diraibi Group,
did not have the required license. The developer has reportedly collected
more than SR2.56 billion from more than 15,000 investors. The Jeddah General
Court has asked the accountant, Saleh Al-Nuaim, to work on returning the
money to investors.
"Within 10 days, we will publish the names of people, on our web site, who
have not received their money yet, so that they can find out how to get
their money back," Al-Nuaim said.. . .
==============================
Sue Lerner - Associate, IMRA