LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
March 17/2019

Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani

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Bible Quotations For today
The Third Lent Week/The Miracle Of Healing The haemorrhagic Woman
Luke08/40-56: 40 Now when Jesus returned, a crowd welcomed him, for they were all expecting him. 41 Then a man named Jairus, a synagogue leader, came and fell at Jesus’ feet, pleading with him to come to his house because his only daughter, a girl of about twelve, was dying. As Jesus was on his way, the crowds almost crushed him. And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years, but no one could heal her. She came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak, and immediately her bleeding stopped. “Who touched me?” Jesus asked.
When they all denied it, Peter said, “Master, the people are crowding and pressing against you.” But Jesus said, “Someone touched me; I know that power has gone out from me.” Then the woman, seeing that she could not go unnoticed, came trembling and fell at his feet. In the presence of all the people, she told why she had touched him and how she had been instantly healed. 48 Then he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace.” While Jesus was still speaking, someone came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue leader. “Your daughter is dead,” he said. “Don’t bother the teacher anymore.” Hearing this, Jesus said to Jairus, “Don’t be afraid; just believe, and she will be healed.” When he arrived at the house of Jairus, he did not let anyone go in with him except Peter, John and James, and the child’s father and mother. Meanwhile, all the people were wailing and mourning for her. “Stop wailing,” Jesus said. “She is not dead but asleep.” They laughed at him, knowing that she was dead. 54 But he took her by the hand and said, “My child, get up!” Her spirit returned, and at once she stood up. Then Jesus told them to give her something to eat. 56 Her parents were astonished, but he ordered them not to tell anyone what had happened.”

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News published on March 16-17/2019
The Bleeding Women’s Faith & Hope
Pompeo to Discuss Challenges Posed by Iran, Hezbollah During Beirut Visit
Lebanon Speeds Up Measures to Create ‘National Anti-Corruption Commission’
Hariri in Paris for Medical Tests
Hariri visits Paris
Rahi wishes Boustani 'good luck' in new mission
Bisri sitin demands halting dam construction
Jumblatt in commemoration of his late father: They entered upon the blood of Kamal Jumblatt, left upon Rafic Hariri's blood
UNIFIL concludes two training courses for Lebanese army, security forces in Marjayoun
Two gold, one silver, one bronze medal for Lebanon at the Special World Olympics in Abu Dhabi
Report: Concerns Mount about IS Militants ‘Smuggled’ into Lebanon

Litles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on March 16-17/2019
Bombing 100 empty terror sites won’t deter Hamas from its next rocket assault on Tel Aviv
US envoy says no timetable for full US withdrawal from Syria
Iraq Opens First ISIS Mass Grave in Yazidi Region
Yellow Vest 'Ultimatum' Rally Turns Violent in Paris
Defiant New Zealand Mosque Attack Suspect Charged with Murder
Yemen Rebels Warn they Could Target Riyadh, Abu Dhabi
Trump Issues First Veto Over Border Emergency Declaration

Titles For The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on March 16-17/2019
The Bleeding Women’s Faith & Hope/Elias Bejjani/March 17/19
Pompeo to Discuss Challenges Posed by Iran, Hezbollah During Beirut Visit/Kataeb.org/March 16/19
Bombing 100 empty terror sites won’t deter Hamas from its next rocket assault on Tel Aviv/Debka File/March 16/19
US-Taliban peace deal could be a victory for extremists/Arif Rafiq Friday/Al Arabiya/March 16/2019
Iran Inches Closer to its Goal: "Wipe Israel off the Map"/Majid Rafizadeh/Gatestone Institute/March 16/19
Christchurch massacre proves terror has no color, faith or gender/Faisal J. Abbas/Arab News/March 16/19
A U.S.-Iraq Security Partnership: Avoiding the Pitfalls Just Ahead/Barbara A. Leaf and Bilal Wahab/The Washington Institute/March 16/19
The Path to a Second Republic in Algeria/Salim Abdullah el-Haj/the Washington Institute/March 16/19

The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News published on March 16-17/2019
The Bleeding Women’s Faith & Hope
Elias Bejjani
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/73025/elias-bejjani-the-bleeding-womens-faith-hope/
(John 6:68): “Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words of eternal life”
Whenever we are in real trouble encountering devastating and harsh conditions either physically or materially, we unconsciously react with sadness, anger, confusion, helplessness and feel abandoned. When in a big mess, we expect our family members and friends to automatically run to our rescue. But in the majority of such difficult situations, we discover with great disappointment that in reality our heartfelt expectations do not unfold as we wish.
What is frustrating and shocking is that very few of our family members and friends would stand beside us during hardships and endeavour to genuinely offer the needed help. Those who have already walked through these rocky life paths and adversities definitely know very well the bitter taste of disappointment. They know exactly the real meaning of the well-know saying, “a friend in need is a friend indeed”.
Sadly our weak human nature is driven by inborn instincts that often make us side with the rich, powerful, healthy and strong over the poor, weak, needy and sick. Those who have no faith in Almighty God find it very difficult to cope in a real mess.
Meanwhile, those whose faith is solid stand up with courage, refuse to give up hope, and call on their Almighty Father for help through praying and worshiping. They know for sure that our Great Father is loving and passionate. He will not abandon any one of us when calling on Him for mercy and help because He said and promised so. Matthew 11/28-30: “Come to me, all you who labor and are heavily burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart; and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
One might ask, ‘Why should I pray?’ And, ‘Do I have to ask God for help, can’t He help me without praying to Him?’ The answer is ‘no’. We need to pray and when we do so with faith and confidence God listens and responds (Mark 11/:24): “Therefore I tell you, all things whatever you pray and ask for, believe that you have received them, and you shall have them”
Yes, we have to make the effort and be adamant and persistent. We have to ask and knock in a bid to show our mere submission to Him and He with no doubt shall provide. (Matthew 7/7 & 8): “Ask, and it will be given you. Seek, and you will find. Knock, and it will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives. He who seeks finds. To him who knocks it will be opened”.
On this second Sunday of Lent in our Catholic Church’s Eastern Maronite rite, we cite and recall the miraculous cure of the bleeding woman in Matthew 9/20-22, Mark 5/25-34, and Luke 8/43-48. As we learn from the Holy Gospel, the bleeding woman’s great faith made her believe without a shred of doubt that her twelve years of chronic bleeding would stop immediately if she touched Jesus’ garment. She knew deeply in her heart that Jesus would cure her even without asking him. Her faith cured the bleeding and made her well. Her prayers were heard and responded to.
Luke 8/:43-49: “A woman who had a flow of blood for twelve years, who had spent all her living on physicians, and could not be healed by any, came behind him (Jesus), and touched the fringe of his cloak, and immediately the flow of her blood stopped. Jesus said, “Who touched me?” When all denied it, Peter and those with him said, “Master, the multitudes press and jostle you, and you say, ‘Who touched me?’” 8:46 But Jesus said, “Someone did touch me, for I perceived that power has gone out of me.” When the woman saw that she was not hidden, she came trembling, and falling down before him declared to him in the presence of all the people the reason why she had touched him, and how she was healed immediately. He said to her, “Daughter, cheer up. Your faith has made you well. Go in peace.”
The woman’s faith cured her chronic bleeding and put her back in the society as a normal and acceptable citizen. During that era women with uterus bleeding were looked upon as sinners, defiled and totally banned from entering synagogues for praying. Meanwhile, because of her sickness she was physically unable to be a mother and bear children. Sadly she was socially and religiously abandoned, humiliated and alienated. But her faith and hope empowered her with the needed strength and perseverance and enabled her to cope successfully against all odds.
Hallelujah! Faith can do miracles. Yes indeed. (Luke17/5 & 6): ” The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith.” The Lord said, “If you had faith like a grain of mustard seed, you would tell this sycamore tree, ‘Be uprooted, and be planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you”. How badly do we today need to have a faith like that of this women?
Let us all on this second Lent Sunday pray with solid faith.
Let us ask Almighty God who cured the bleeding women, and who was crucified on the cross to absolve our original sin, that He would endow His Holy graces of peace, tranquility, and love all over the world. And that He would strengthen the faith, patience and hope of all those persecuted, imprisoned, and deprived for courageously witnessing the Gospel’s message and truth.
*From the 2017 Archives

Pompeo to Discuss Challenges Posed by Iran, Hezbollah During Beirut Visit
Kataeb.org/March 16/19
U.S. State Secretary Mike Pompeo will visit Beirut next week in his last stop of his tour which will also include Kuwait and Jerusalem, the State Department announced on Friday. "The Secretary will be engaging with a wide range of senior Lebanese officials and others to discuss broadly our view of the need for Lebanon to be able to move forward in prosperity, peace, lasting security, as a nation capable of taking independent decisions on behalf of the people of Lebanon," a senior State Department official said in a news briefing. "Obviously, in those discussions the Secretary will be discussing quite directly the challenges posed by Iran, its illicit activities, its threatening behaviors, as well as those of Hezbollah, and how this all plays for, or against, a promising future for the people of Lebanon," he said. "We have an overarching regional and trans-regional objective of constraining, throttling back, ultimately rolling back the malign adventures, influence, presence of Iran’s forces, as well as their variety of proxy and associated forces throughout the region. But certainly that includes Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Yemen most prominently. That’s an overall objective, and this trip should be seen in part as part of that process."
The State Department official stressed the U.S. continued engagement with Lebanese security forces, most notably but not exclusively the Army, as the legitimate security institutions of Lebanon.
"Our support for them, the work that they do, their ability to be seen by the people of Lebanon as the legitimate defenders of the state stand in stark contrast to the illegitimate security presence structures of Lebanese Hezbollah and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps presence in Lebanon," he said.
The U.S. official said that Hezbollah's presence in the Lebanese government is a fact that cannot be disregarded, adding that Pompeo will be addressing this issue "quite squarely" in his meetings. "The issue here for us is not that fact; it is what does Hezbollah do with that presence? What is the impact and the influence of Hezbollah, of Iran through Hezbollah, on the future of Lebanon, on the fate and the hopes of the Lebanese people?" he stated. "The issue here is not that Hezbollah is part of the Lebanese Government. That’s a fact. It is what Hezbollah does to Lebanon and the people of Lebanon through that participation. That’s the question."
"No, the Secretary will not be meeting with Hezbollah. That is not U.S. policy, not in Lebanon, not anywhere else in the world. But there is going to be no skating around the challenges posed to Lebanon and its people by Hezbollah," the official stressed. "We’ve outlined our concerns about potential Hezbollah access to Lebanese state funds or, beyond that, to funds from the international community, including the United States, provided through any institution of the Lebanese state. We are watching this and we have been absolutely transparent on this point very, very closely. It is not just that we are required by statute to act if there is any credible indication of misdirection, appropriation of funds. It is part of our policy as well."When asked if there is any progress regarding the oil fields dispute between Lebanon and Israel, the official said that the United States still stands ready to facilitate discussions between the two countries' governments to work on a solution of mutual benefit. "The rest of the Eastern Med is moving forward in exploring and exploiting for the benefit of their people – Greece, Cyprus, Turkey, Egypt, Israel – those resources. It would be regrettable if the people of Lebanon were denied, as a result of Hezbollah and others, their ability to join in this as well. We stand ready to help."He also noted that the U.S. is not interested in having military bases of any kind in Lebanon.

Lebanon Speeds Up Measures to Create ‘National Anti-Corruption Commission’
Beirut- Youssef Diab/Asharq Al Awsat/Saturday, 16 March, 2019/The Lebanese Parliament is expected to give the green light to the creation of a National Anti-Corruption Commission after it was approved by both the Finance and Budget, and Administration and Justice Committees. MP George Adwan, head of the Administration and Justice Committee said the Commission would play “a pivotal role in the fight against corruption.” Last month, Lebanon launched a crackdown on corruption, leading to the arrest of dozens of people in ministries and official departments. Several parliamentary blocs that contributed to drafting the law for the creation of the Commission underlined its role in regulating the progression of work in state institutions. Member of the Strong Republic bloc MP George Okeiss told Asharq Al-Awsat on Friday that the Commission shall receive declarations of funds of high-ranking public officials and publish reports on corruption in Lebanon. “The Commission has the power to prosecute those engaged in corruption offenses, and it has the right to impose travel bans and lift bank secrecy in cases where corruption is detected,” the lawmaker said. It would comprise ten members, including two retired honorary judges with high competence and experience, financial and administrative experts, in addition to figures from the civil society. The Commission is an independent body that does not operate under the tutelage of the government or Parliament. Legal experts possess different opinions regarding the role such Commission could play in fighting corruption. Former Justice Minister Shakib Qortbawi said the Commission does not possess the judicial authority to prosecute criminals but could help transfer corruption files to the Public Prosecution. “It also constitutes a link between citizens and the judiciary,” he told Asharq Al-Awsat. Qortbawi said the Commission has a positive and a negative effect. “It gives rise to bureaucracy in public institutions and it, therefore, delays judicial measures against criminals. However, the Commission increases the number of monitoring bodies in a country where corruption has become a way of life.”

Lebanon: University President Arrested Over Fake Degrees
Beirut - Asharq Al-Awsat/Saturday, 16 March, 2019/The Lebanese Army Intelligence arrested on Friday the president of a private university over his suspected involvement in a cash-for-degrees scandal. Security sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that the Army Intelligence put AUL rector Dr. Adnan Hamzah under tight monitoring at the hospital where he was transferred after claiming to have fallen ill. Hamzah will be questioned by the Public Prosecution after his health improves, the sources added. On Friday, the army command said in a statement that ten suspects have been referred to the military tribunal after forging university degrees. “Investigations continue under the supervision of the competent judiciary," it said. The sources said that after being questioned, some detainees confessed on the involvement of Hamzah in the sale of fake university degrees, prompting the Public Prosecution to order his arrest. Earlier this week, Hamzah told a local television station that for the past ten years, he has been sending reports to the Education Ministry informing it about the fake degrees issued by his university. However, he said, the Ministry’s director general failed to take any measure. Separately, Lebanon’s judiciary continued on Friday its clampdown on suspects accused of bribery and abuse of power. The military prosecution arrested one of the bodyguards of State Prosecutor Samir Hammoud over suspicions that he had received bribes in return for favors. A judicial source said the Internal Security Forces Intelligence Branch provided Hammoud with information about his bodyguard and received the judge’s consent on questioning him. The sources said that after completing investigations, Hammoud instructed Intelligence Branch investigators to contact the military prosecution, which in its turn ordered that the bodyguard be detained.

Hariri in Paris for Medical Tests
Naharnet/March 16/19/Prime Minister Saad Hariri’s media office said in a statement on Saturday that the Premier is in Paris for a regular health check-up. The Premier will fly back to Lebanon as soon as the tests are complete, added the statement. Before flying to Paris, Hariri participated in the Brussels III conference on Supporting the Future of Syria and the Region.

Hariri visits Paris
Sat 16 Mar 2019/NNA - In a press release by Prime Minister Saad Hariri's Press Office on Saturday, it indicated that Prime Minister Saad Hariri is currently on a private visit to French capital, Paris. "The President of the Council of Ministers Saad Hariri continues his private visit to Paris, dedicated to medical examinations. He will return to Beirut once completed."

Rahi wishes Boustani 'good luck' in new mission
Sat 16 Mar 2019/NNA - Maronite Patriarch Cardinal Beshara Boutros el-Rahi, met at the Patriarchal edifice in Bkirki on Saturday with Water and Energy Minister, Nada Boustani. Boustani briefed the Patriarch on the program of the ministry in the upcoming stage, especially in the light of the challenges faced by the electricity sector and proposals that require basic solutions and cooperation between different parties. For his part, the Patriarch wished Minister Boustani good luck in her new mission, hoping to reduce the burden of citizens suffering from continuous power cuts. Finally, Rahi urged politicians to prioritize the vital daily issues of citizens away from political disputes.

Bisri sitin demands halting dam construction
Sat 16 Mar 2019/NNA - Environmental activists from the Jezzine and Chouf areas held a sit-in Saturday in Bisri as a protest call to stop the construction of the dam.
In a word by environmental activist Marie-Dominique Awad, she denounced the plot to cut down hundreds of trees, destroy fruits, eliminate birds, and sweep off churches and valleys..."Today, they destroy the bridge of meeting and dialogue, in the city of the Phoenix, of spacious green meadows on which Christ set foot. " "We will decide our future and destiny because we are right and God is with us, for we are free," Awad asserted. Demonstrators called on the President of the Republic "to intervene to protect the Bisri basin reserve from the danger of the existence of the dam on the earthquake line between Jezzine and Chouf."

Jumblatt in commemoration of his late father: They entered upon the blood of Kamal Jumblatt, left upon Rafic Hariri's blood
Sat 16 Mar 2019/NNA - "With patience and flexibility we shall pursue our march alongside all patriots and Arab nationals towards the independence and sovereignty of this country," said Progressive Socialist Party Chief, Walid Jumblatt, marking the 42nd commemoration of the assassination of his father, Martyr Kamal Jumlbatt. Under the rain showers, a mass rally set out from the outer courtyards of the Mokhtara Palace towards the shrine of the nation's martyr Kamal Jumblatt, amidst a crowd of political officials, religious clerics and citizens who wished to pay tribute to the late Druze leader and mentor. Jumblatt marched alongside his family members and MP Bahia Hariri, representing Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri, MP Mohammad al-Hajjar representing the Future Parliamentary Bloc, Russian Ambassador Alexander Zaspkin, Saudi Ambassador Walid Al-Bukhari and Palestinian Ambassador Ashraf Dabbour, representing President Mahmoud Abbas. In his word of remembrance of his late father, Jumblatt said, "One of the comrades of Kamal Jumblatt from the past generation who was unable to be with us today [I meant Mr. Mohsen Ibrahim] said to me: "We will continue, knowing that the difficulties are huge and the problems are great, but our path and goals are clear, and God willing, one day we will win," vowed Jumblatt. Laying a floral wreath on Martyr Kamal Jumblatt's tomb, Russian Ambassador Zaspkin remembered him as "a leader of the national liberation movement and a champion of the rights of the people...his intellectual heritage is characterized by high moral qualities, including political and philosophical wisdom for all generations and peoples, on which we depend today."For his part, Saudi Ambassador Al-Bukhari said in a statement: "This commemoration should be marked by all, expressing our solidarity with Walid Jumblatt and strengthening the historical relationship between the Progressive Socialist Party and Saudi Arabia." The stormy weather and rain did not prevent the crowds of partisans and supporters from various regions to roam the streets of Al-Mokhtara leading to the tomb of the late Druze leader, in a spontaneous gesture of appreciation and loyalty to his memory and the political and national march that survived through his son and grandson.

UNIFIL concludes two training courses for Lebanese army, security forces in Marjayoun
Sat 16 Mar 2019 at 20:08/NNA - The UNIFIL Eastern Sector Command organized Saturday the closing ceremony of the five-day Internal Security Forces training course and joint training exercise in cities with the Lebanese army at the Miguel de Cervantes base in Marjayoun. Patronized by Eastern Sector Commander's representative, Eastern Region Chief-of-Staff Antonio Romero Lucada, the ceremony was attended by participants in both sessions, trainers and representatives of the army and security forces. "Through these training courses, we will be ready for any sudden arising situation," said Lucada. "The exercises help us to strengthen the capabilities of our soldiers, and the joint exercises help build a bridge of friendship between the different government departments and UNIFIL, which plays an important role at this time," he added. In turn, participants attested to the benefit of these joint exercises "in giving them new knowledge and enhancing their expertise through exposure to other participants of different nationalities."They praised the "efforts of UNIFIL peacekeepers in maintaining stability in Lebanon, in implementation of Resolution #1701," and thanked "UNIFIL for organizing such joint exercises."
At the ceremony's end, the Eastern Sector Chief-of-Staff, Lebanese army and ISF representatives and a number of Sector officers handed participants their "certificates of accomplishment".

Two gold, one silver, one bronze medal for Lebanon at the Special World Olympics in Abu Dhabi
Sat 16 Mar 2019/NNA - Lebanon reaped victory in its second participation day in the Special World Olympics "Abu Dhabi 2019" games by winning two gold medals in table tennis and swimming, in addition to a silver medal in skateboarding and a bronze medal in swimming. Lebanon had crowned its first day at the Special Olymics with a gold medal in cross-country skiing and two bronze medals. Additionally, Lebanon is expected to win three silver medals in table tennis, which might turn into gold in a match for its players on Sunday.

Report: Concerns Mount about IS Militants ‘Smuggled’ into Lebanon
Naharnet/March 16/19/Lebanon’s porous border with Syria raises concerns amid recent reports claiming that Syrian nationals fleeing military service and others belonging to the Islamic State terror group have been smuggled illegally into Lebanon, al-Joumhouria daily reported on Saturday. Unnamed sources told the daily on condition of anonymity that “smuggling of Syrian nationals through legal border crossings from Syria into Lebanon has increased lately.”They pointed out that the operations are carried out through smugglers active in both the Lebanese and Syrian sides, and not only include those fleeing military service or facing criminal acts in Syria, but also includes individuals linked to the terrorist groups of the Islamic State and al-Nusra Front. “These are brought from Idlib into Lebanon, and some of them have arrived in Wadi Khaled,” said the source. Although Lebanon’s security services “managed to arrest some of them, but the smuggling operations are taking place on a daily basis,” said the source. “Lebanese authorities involved in the Lebanese-Syrian border file have raised concern, and fear that the smuggling would be preceded by serious preparations by the terrorists for Lebanon," concluded the source.

Latest LCCC English Miscellaneous Reports & News published on March 16-17/2019
Bombing 100 empty terror sites won’t deter Hamas from its next rocket assault on Tel Aviv
Debka File/March 16/19
On Friday morning, March 15, the IDF spokesman reported the bombardment of 100 Hamas targets by IAF jets, helicopters and drones, in response to a twin rocket attack on the Tel Aviv region the night before. That sounded like a lot, but DEBKAfile’s military sources say it does not add up to very much. Since there were no Palestinian casualties, it means that none of Hamas terrorists responsible for the Tel Aviv rocket attack paid a price. Their military compounds were evacuated in good time in expectation of the Israeli reprisal. Photos show lightly damaged buildings and deep craters from exploding IDF ordnance. The Palestinian terrorist group will therefore hardly be deterred from taking another crack at Israel’s heartland cities. Their leaders will even be encouraged to continue after getting away with it this time. Nothing has therefore changed in the familiar, pointless tit-for-tat strategy employed by the predecessors of IDF Chief of staff Lt. Gen. Aviv Kochavi, and Defense Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, except for the fact that now, the IDF has for the first time named Hamas as responsible for the rocket attack on Tel Aviv. On March 30, Hamas marks the first anniversary of its “March of Return” campaign which unleashed a year of unbridled cross-border violence from the Gaza Strip. For a whole year, the government and military were helpless to check the riots, bombing attacks on soldiers, incendiary balloons and other harassment. It is therefore not surprising to see Hamas and Islamic Jihad much strengthened and more brazen than ever before. Indeed, a free Palestinian election if held today in Judea and Samaria would be a cakewalk for Hamas. The diplomatic path for solving the Gaza issue chosen by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu is clearly still in force. Backed by US President Donald Trump, Netanyahu is working with Egyptian President Abdel-Fatteh El-Sisi and Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tami al-Thani, towards the ultimate goal of establishing an independent Palestinian state in the Gaza Strip instead of Judea and Samaria. So long as the Netanyahu government sticks to this course, the security situation in Gaza will go from bad to worse. The prime minister and his army chiefs appear to have decided that Israel must live with occasional Palestinian rocket fire on its cities. And so, on Friday morning, the cover-up began: the IDF spokesman issued a statement which said the rockets against Tel Aviv were launched “by mistake.” This claim is as credible as the military spokesman’s attempt eight months ago to wave away two Grad missiles aimed at Beersheba, one of which flattened a house, by attributing the destruction to a “bolt of lightning.”

US envoy says no timetable for full US withdrawal from Syria
Reuters, Geneva/March 16/2019/ISIS extremist group is down to its last few hundred fighters and less than a square kilometer of land in a battle for its final Syrian stronghold, although it may have 15,000-20,000 armed adherents in Syria and Iraq US envoy James Jeffrey said on Friday. “We are just about finished with the campaign along the Euphrates to defeat the last territorial holdings of the ‘caliphate’. They’re down to a few hundred fighters and less than a square kilometer of land,” said Jeffrey, the US Special Representative for Syria Engagement and Special Envoy to the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS. Jeffrey said the United States was helping the Syrian Democratic Forces in Syria to secure ISIS prisoners but was also launching a campaign to get countries to take back foreign fighters and their families, to prosecute or re-educate them. “We believe that there’s between 15,000 and 20,000 Daesh armed adherents active, although many are in sleeper cells, in Syria and in Iraq,” Jeffrey said, using an Arabic acronym for ISIS. Speaking to reporters on a video call after attending a Syria humanitarian conference in Brussels, Jeffrey said the struggle to defeat ISIS ideology would go on and there was no timetable for a full US withdrawal from Syria. Some troops would be pulled out but a contingent would stay in northeastern Syria, backed by coalition partners and control of air space, to continue the fight and prevent a destabilizing vacuum developing. The United States would also maintain a force at al-Tanf close to the Iraqi and Jordanian borders to bolster local forces against ISIS. With a smaller force and much less combat after the territorial defeat of ISIS in Syria, US costs would be far less, Jeffrey said. In 2018, US military operations in Syria cost about $2 billion out of a total defense budget of $700 billion, mainly expenditure on precision-guided munitions.

Iraq Opens First ISIS Mass Grave in Yazidi Region
Baghdad- Asharq Al-Awsat/Saturday, 16 March, 2019/Iraqi authorities on Friday opened a first mass grave containing victims of the ISIS group in the Yazidi stronghold of Sinjar, where militants brutally targeted the minority. Nobel Peace Prize winner Nadia Murad, a Yazidi who escaped ISIS and became an outspoken advocate for her community, attended the ceremony in her home village of Kojo to mark the start of exhumations. The United Nations, which is assisting with the forensic work, says the first opening of a mass grave in the region will help to shed light on the fate those inhabitants killed by ISIS. Hundreds of men and women from the village are believed to have been executed by the militants when they took over the area in 2014. The Yazidi people were targeted by the ISIS militants who swept across northern Iraq in 2014 and seized their bastion of Sinjar near the border with Syria. ISIS militants slaughtered thousands of Yazidi men and boys, then abducted women and girls to be abused as sex slaves. The Kurdish-speaking Yazidis follow an ancient religion rooted in Zoroastrianism, but ISIS considers them to be "apostates". The United Nations has said ISIS' actions could amount to genocide, and is investigating the group's atrocities across Iraq. Murad called at Friday's event for Iraq's central authorities and those in the Kurdistan region to "protect the mass graves" so that proof could be found of the "genocide of the Yazidis"."There will not be reconciliation with the Arab tribes of our region if their dignitaries don't give the names of those who carried out the crimes so they can be judged," she said. The head of the UN investigative team Karim Khan said the exhumation marked an "important moment" for the probe, with 73 mass graves discovered so far in Sinjar alone. "The road towards accountability is a long one, and many challenges lay ahead," he said in a statement. "Notwithstanding this, the spirit of cooperation between the survivor community and the government of Iraq is to be applauded." ISIS is currently battling to defend the last shred of its crumbling "caliphate" across the border Syria in the face of Kurdish-led forces backed by an international coalition.

Yellow Vest 'Ultimatum' Rally Turns Violent in Paris
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/March 16/19/After weeks of declining participation, France's "yellow vest" protest movement attempted to rebound on Saturday with a major rally in Paris which quickly turned violent. A large crowd gathered on the Champs-Elysees avenue for the 18th straight week of anti-government protests which initially rocked President Emmanuel Macron's administration, forcing him to adopt more anti-poverty measures, but had appeared to fizzle in recent weeks. Police fired tear gas to disperse protesters who erected barricades near the Champs-Elysees in scenes reminiscent of some of the most tense "yellow vest" rallies. Saturday's attempted reboot coincides with the end of two months of public debates called by Macron to take the heat out of the protests, which repeatedly ended in rioting in December and January. The level of participation will be seen as a bellwether of support for the movement, which began in November over fuel tax hikes but quickly ballooned into an anti-Macron revolt. Last week, only around 28,000 people demonstrated nationwide, according to the authorities, a tenth of the numbers that turned out for the inaugural protest on November 17. The organisers of Saturday's protest presented it as an "ultimatum" to Macron, prompting fears of a return to the violence that characterised earlier rallies. Over 5,000 police were deployed. A large security cordon had been thrown up around the Champs-Elysees, where the Arc de Triomphe war memorial was sacked and stores looted and vandalised by protesters on December 1 in images that caused shock worldwide. In December, Macron attempted to stopper the movement by pledging 10 billion euros ($11.2 billion) in tax cuts and benefits for the low paid and pensioners. He also launched a "grand national debate" on the internet and town hall meetings to gather opinions on how the country could be reformed. Laurent Casanova, an engineer who was among the protesters, told AFP he had come to mark the end of the consultations. "We have been patient but now we want results," he said. The protest is one of several planned in Paris on Saturday, where French climate campaigners are also planning a "March of The Century".

Defiant New Zealand Mosque Attack Suspect Charged with Murder
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/March 16/19/A right-wing extremist flashed a white power gesture as he faced the first of many murder charges in a New Zealand court Saturday, while a shellshocked community dug graves for 49 mosque-goers he stands accused of slaying. Australia-born, 28-year-old Brenton Tarrant stood largely impassive in the dock wearing handcuffs and a white prison smock, as the judge read the first of what are expected to be a host of murder charges that could mean he dies in jail. Flanked by armed police, the former personal fitness trainer gestured an upside-down "okay", a symbol used by white power groups worldwide. He did not request bail and was taken into custody until his next court appearance which was scheduled for April 5. Outside the courtroom, Christchurch residents struggled to deal with the aftermath of what is thought to be the worst act of terror against Muslims in the West. At an old gravesite, excavators were called in to remove the vast amount of earth needed to bury the dead, although police have not yet been able to release the bodies to anxious families. At the nearby hospital, doctors worked round the clock to treat 39 people for gunshot wounds and other injuries sustained in the attacks. The wounded included a two-year-old boy and a four-year-old girl, who was in critical condition. The attack on the Al Noor and Linwood mosques has prompted an outpouring of grief and deep shock in this usually peaceful country, which prides itself on welcoming refugees fleeing violence or persecution. Throughout the day people laid flowers at a makeshift memorial just beyond the police cordon around the Al Noor mosque, where most of the victims died. Many were accompanied with handwritten letters laden with sadness and disbelief, from residents of what one local driver called the "city of sorrow". "I am so sorry that you were not safe here. Our hearts are breaking for your loss," read one of the notes marked with a string of x-kisses. When the police tape was lifted late Saturday, bystanders spontaneously joined police in moving the stack of bouquets further toward the mosque. An imam who was leading prayers at the Linwood mosque at the time of the attack said the Muslim community would not be shaken by the massacre. "We still love this country," said Ibrahim Abdul Halim, vowing that extremists would "never ever touch our confidence".
Across New Zealand, Kiwis responded with interfaith solidarity -- crowdfunding millions of dollars, donating halal food and even offering to accompany local Muslims now scared to walk the streets.
'I am with you'
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern arrived in the city and, wearing a black headscarf, met with survivors and victims' families. Ardern said the victims came from across the Muslim world, with Turkey, Bangladesh, Indonesia and Malaysia among the countries rendering consular assistance. At least one Saudi citizen and two Jordanians were among the dead, while five Pakistani citizens were missing. Sahra Ahmed, a New Zealander of Somali origin, said she was touched by the PM's gesture. "It means a lot. It is a signal to say -- I am with you," she told AFP. Police are now trying to piece together answers to the difficult questions of why and how this happened. They also want to know how it was possible for the perpetrator to remain undetected by the intelligence services despite his extremist views. Ardern said the shooter was "in possession of a gun licence" obtained in November 2017, and he started legally purchasing two semi-automatic weapons, reportedly AR-15s, two shotguns and a lever-action gun the following month. Ardern said some of the guns had been modified to make them deadlier. "I can tell you one thing right now -- our gun laws will change," she said. The suspect documented his radicalisation and two years of preparations in a lengthy, meandering and conspiracy filled far-right "manifesto". He live-streamed footage of himself going room-to-room, victim to victim, shooting the wounded from close range as they struggled to crawl away in the main Christchurch mosque. Thirty-six minutes after the police received the first call, Tarrant was in custody. Commissioner Mike Bush hailed the "absolute bravery" of both police and members of the public "who put themselves in harm's way" to apprehend the suspect. "Their intervention may very likely have saved further lives." Some of the officers involved in the operation were rural police officers who Ardern said "put New Zealand first".Two other people remain in custody, although their link to the attack is not clear. One man, 18-year-old Daniel Burrough, has been charged with incitement.
'Horrible massacre'
Revulsion at the attack, and tributes to the victims poured in from around the world, including from Pope Francis and Britain's Queen Elizabeth II. US President Donald Trump condemned the "horrible massacre" in which "innocent people have so senselessly died", but denied that the problem of right-wing extremism was widespread. Australian police said they had visited Tarrant's childhood home in the town of Grafton, north of Sydney, and spoken to family members as part of their investigation. The attack has prompted searching questions about whether right-wing extremism has been treated with enough seriousness by Western governments. Ali Soufan, a former high-ranking FBI counter-terrorism agent, warned the West was "in the midst of a surge of right-wing terrorism that has been metastasising in plain sight while generating only a muted response from domestic counter-terrorism authorities". Ardern said she "asked our agencies this morning to work swiftly on assessing whether there was any activity on social media or otherwise, that should have triggered a response".She added these issues would be addressed at a cabinet meeting on Monday.

Yemen Rebels Warn they Could Target Riyadh, Abu Dhabi
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/March 16/19/Yemen's Huthi rebels warned on Saturday they could launch attacks against the capitals of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, who lead a military coalition against them. The threat came as the United Nations was trying to salvage a truce deal in Yemen, seen as crucial to diplomatic efforts to end the country's four-year war. "We have aerial photographs and coordinates of dozens of headquarters, facilities and military bases of the enemy," rebel military spokesman Yahya Saree said in comments carried by the rebels' Al-Masirah channel. "The legitimate targets of our forces extend to the capital of Saudi Arabia and to the emirate of Abu Dhabi," capital of the UAE, he said. "We have manufactured advanced generations of attack aircraft, and new systems will soon be functional." The Iran-linked Huthi rebels have targeted Saudi border towns and Riyadh with ballistic missiles and also claimed drone attacks on the airports of Abu Dhabi and Dubai during the course of the conflict. Saudi Arabia has said the missiles were all intercepted by its air force, with one civilian reported killed by falling shrapnel, while the UAE has denied the alleged drone attacks. Saudi Arabia and its military allies joined the Yemeni government's war against the Iran-linked Huthis in March 2015, triggering what the UN calls the world's worst humanitarian crisis. Some 10 million Yemenis face mass starvation, according to the UN. Both sides to the conflict stand accused of acts that could amount to war crimes. The World Health Organization estimates nearly 10,000 people have been killed in Yemen since March 2015, when Saudi Arabia and its allies joined the government's war against the Huthis. Other rights groups estimate the toll could be much higher. On Wednesday the UN Security Council met to discuss the stalled truce deal that had been agreed in Sweden in December between the Saudi-backed Yemeni government and the Huthis. The deal -- which called for a ceasefire, rebel pullback and mutual redeployment from Hodeida, Yemen's lifeline Red Sea port controlled by the Huthis -- offered the best hope in years of moving toward an end to the conflict. While the fighting in Hodeida has eased, redeployment efforts have stalled in recent weeks. UN envoy Martin Griffiths told the Security Council on Wednesday he was still working to make the redeployment a "reality".

Trump Issues First Veto Over Border Emergency Declaration
CNN International/Saturday 16th March 2019/Deeming congressional rejection of his border national emergency "reckless" and "dangerous", President Donald Trump issued the first veto of his presidency Friday, insisting the situation on the southern frontier amounted to a threat to Americans' safety.
"Congress has the freedom to pass this resolution and I have the duty to veto it," Trump said from the Oval Office before officially sending the measure back to Congress without his approval. It is the first time in his two years in office that Trump has used his presidential veto power to block legislation and comes after a dozen Senate Republicans joined Democrats to rebuke Trump's use of his national emergency power to bypass Congress and fund construction of a border wall.
Trump said the resolution, which would have reversed the national emergency, "put countless Americans in danger."
"There haven't been too many that are bigger emergency than what we have" at our border, he said. Trump was surrounded at Friday's event by officials from Customs and Border Protection as well as surviving family members of those who have loved ones killed by undocumented immigrants. Attorney General William Barr was also at the President's veto event. While some lawmakers -- including some Republicans -- have argued against the President's use of national emergency powers in this instance, the Justice Department set forth a robust defense of the President's authority to do so in a letter to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell earlier this month, according to a copy obtained by CNN on Friday.
"The President acted well within his discretion in declaring a national emergency concerning the southern border," wrote Assistant Attorney General Stephen Boyd, setting out the legal basis for the proclamation under the National Emergencies Act and additional statutory authorities, which largely tracks an internal memo issued by the Office of Legal Counsel at the Justice Department.
"The President's emergency Proclamation reasonably described the current situation as an ongoing 'border security and humanitarian crisis,'" Boyd adds. "The crisis at the border ... may qualify as an emergency even though it, too, is not entirely new."
Twelve Republican senators banded together Thursday to deliver the forceful rebuke after expressing concerns that Trump's use of the national emergency declaration as an end-run around Congress violates the separation of powers and sets a bad precedent that a would-be future Democratic president could follow to unilaterally drive their agenda. The White House sought to pare back Republican defections leading up to the vote, with the President and White House aides making clear to Republican senators that a vote against Trump on this issue would have ramifications come re-election time.
Trump rejected entreaties from several Senate Republicans to agree to a compromise that would curtail his national emergency powers and instead framed the vote not as a matter of constitutional concerns, but rather as a litmus test on border security.
The approach -- particularly the threats of re-election repercussions -- stemmed defections from several Republicans up for re-election in 2020, but ultimately failed to stop the Senate from passing the resolution. Trump tweeted about the political advantage he expects those who supported him will receive.
"I'd like to thank all of the Great Republican Senators who bravely voted for Strong Border Security and the WALL. This will help stop Crime, Human Trafficking, and Drugs entering our Country. Watch, when you get back to your State, they will LOVE you more than ever before!" Trump tweeted Friday. Trump's veto sends the resolution back to the US House of Representatives, which is expected to pick it up after the week-long congressional recess. The House is not expected to have the two-thirds of the chamber's support needed to override the President's veto.

Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on March 16-17/2019
US-Taliban peace deal could be a victory for extremists
Arif Rafiq Friday/Al Arabiya/March 16/2019
The US-Taliban peace talks held on Tuesday in Doha ended inconclusively, but are set to resume at an undecided later date in March. For the US, a political settlement with the Afghan Taliban is now a necessity.
The insurgent movement remains impervious to an intensifying US aerial campaign. Its territorial control continues to grow as Afghan government forces and the US-led coalition are on a trajectory to overtake the Taliban in terms of responsibility for civilian deaths.
The Afghan government faces the risk of defeat in both the physical (territorial control) and psychological (legitimacy) domains. The status quo is untenable. There is little recourse to a political settlement.
But a poorly constructed peace deal may do more harm than good. One major risk is that it could serve as a morale booster for the al-Qaeda-led global fundamentalist movement, to which the Taliban has been tied for two decades.
The Afghan Taliban sheltered al-Qaeda during the 1990s up until the US invasion after the 9/11 attacks. Al-Qaeda founders Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri gave the bay’ah or oath of allegiance to Taliban founder Mullah Muhammad Omar. And al-Zawahiri has given the bay’ah to each Taliban leader who has succeeded the deceased Mullah Omar. The al-Qaeda-Taliban relationship goes beyond history and symbolism. The reestablishment of the Taliban’s so-called “Islamic Emirate” is a rallying cry and strategy priority for al-Qaeda. The Taliban have portrayed their rule over Afghanistan as an idyllic period—a contemporary example of correct “Islamic” governance.
A flawed peace deal would concede too much to the Taliban, allowing it to claim an outright victory over the world’s sole superpower and reestablish something akin to the system it imposed on Afghans over two decades ago. The revival of a distinct “Taliban model” of governance would embolden extremist groups in the region and beyond to do the same.
In official statements, the Taliban have said that they are keen on intra-Afghan dialogue and do not want “exclusive control of power.” Indeed, following Tuesday’s talks, US special envoy Zalmay Khalilzad tweeted that intra-Afghan negotiations are imminent.
However, there are likely to be hardliners within the Taliban political and military leadership that will stick to maximalist demands. They are, at the very least, likely to remain as formidable pressure groups throughout the negotiation process and perhaps even after a deal is reached. They may make it difficult for the Taliban to compromise on constitutional changes and a power-sharing arrangement. There is a risk that splinter groups could form as a result.
A poorly constructed peace deal may do more harm than good. One major risk is that it could serve as a morale booster for the al-Qaeda-led global fundamentalist movement, to which the Taliban has been tied for two decades.
Despite the Taliban’s strength on the battlefield, the international community does have leverage over the group, enabling it to shape a “good” political settlement that does not serve as a boon for the al-Qaeda-led movement.
The Taliban desire two things they did not have when they ruled over most of Afghanistan in the 1990s: international legitimacy and foreign financial and technocratic assistance.
The Taliban have support in parts of Afghanistan because they are seen as alternatives to a corrupt and inept government as well as brutal militias. But if their control over parts of Afghanistan is formalized, public expectations would rise, creating problems for the Taliban, who are ill-equipped to govern. Initial euphoria over peace would yield to malaise or even anger over flawed governance.
In areas where they presently dominate, the Taliban do not provide a completely alternative system. They allow government schools and international NGOs to operate. The Taliban do not have a bureaucracy that can sustain a modern state. They need help in terms of both capacity and funds.
So what can the international community do with that leverage?
One, the US must make the final phase of its withdrawal contingent upon the conclusion and implementation of an intra-Afghan accord between the Taliban and most, if not all, groups who recognize the current Afghan constitution. The agreement between these groups must be framed as “sulh” or reconciliation, and as a deal between equals—not a surrender to the Taliban.
Two, there is no scope for the “Islamic Emirate” to be restored. Afghanistan is already an “Islamic Republic”. The regime the anti-Soviet mujahideen fought against was communist and aggressively anti-religion. In contrast, the current Afghan constitution declares Islam to be the state religion, requires the president to be a Muslim, forbids legislation that violates Islamic precepts, and allows for specialists in Islamic jurisprudence to serve as judges. In fact, the first post-Taliban Supreme Court chief justice, Fazal Hadi Shinwari, was a conservative Islamic scholar who wanted to ban television.
Many of the leading power brokers who recognize the current Afghan constitution are observant Muslims who are well-versed in the Islamic intellectual and jurisprudential tradition. In an intra-Afghan dialogue, it is they who must stand up for the good in the present system, including the rights afforded to women. Together, they will dilute the Taliban’s influence in determining Afghanistan’s future political setup.
Finally, the Afghan Taliban may have to formally disassociate themselves from al-Qaeda. But this may prove to be too difficult for the Taliban. Al-Qaeda has been decimated in Pakistan, but it continues to operate in Afghanistan through its South Asia affiliate. In recent years, the Taliban have repeatedly stated that they will not allow Afghanistan to serve as a threat to neighboring countries. But mere words are not enough.
In lieu of a formal condemnation of al-Qaeda, the Taliban could be asked to distance themselves from the group on the ground in Afghanistan, creating space for US and Afghan special forces to eliminate remaining al-Qaeda figures in the country.
The upside of a “good” Afghanistan peace deal is clear. It would bring an end to Afghanistan’s 40-year war—the war that helped give birth to al-Qaeda—giving one of Asia’s poorest countries a chance to make up for lost time. A negotiated settlement to the war would be an ultimate refutation of the al-Qaeda narrative. Failing to secure a political settlement to the Afghanistan war would only give groups like al-Qaeda the chaos and violence they need to survive.
**Arif Rafiq is a non-resident fellow at the Middle East Institute in Washington, D.C. and president of Vizier Consulting, L.L.C., a political risk advisory company focused on the Middle East and South Asia. He tweets at @arifcrafiq.

Iran Inches Closer to its Goal: "Wipe Israel off the Map"
د.ماجد رافي زاده: معهد جيستون/إيران تقرب من هدفها: مسح إسرائيل عن الخارطة
Majid Rafizadeh/Gatestone Institute/March 16/19
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/73019/majid-rafizadeh-gatestone-institute-iran-inches-closer-to-its-goal-wipe-israel-off-the-map%d8%af-%d9%85%d8%a7%d8%ac%d8%af-%d8%b1%d8%a7%d9%81%d9%8a-%d8%b2%d8%a7%d8%af%d9%87-%d9%85%d8%b9%d9%87/
As Iran's theocratic establishment believes that the Supreme Leader is Allah's representative on earth, whatever words or desires the Supreme Leader utters are considered Allah's wishes, which must be brought to life by Allah's true believers.
Iran has built, or is in the process of building, more than 10 military bases in Syria, some of which are near the Israeli border.
When will the international community begin to take the Iranian's government clear verbal threats and physical aggression seriously? Or would the international community secretly like to see Israel destroyed, under Europe's Orwellian inversion of words: "the peace process"?
Iran's military activities and clear public threats to annihilate Israel continue to grow in frequency and intensity. These moves not only instill fear, as they are doubtless meant to do; they also threaten to disrupt the international community. With such dire promises of conflict, it would be expected that the international news media and politicians throughout the world would have something to say about this situation. Instead, Iran's continued abusive behavior continues to be cozied up to at worst, or at best, ignored.
One of the core pillars and revolutionary ideals of the Islamic Republic is destroying the Jewish state. It is also one of the religious prophecies of the founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, and his successor, the current Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, that Israel will be eventually erased from the face of the earth. As Iran's theocratic establishment believes that the Supreme Leader is Allah's representative on earth, whatever words or desires the Supreme Leader utters are considered wishes, which must be brought to life by Allah's true believers.
While they progress toward destroying Israel, not only do Iranian leaders believe that they are inching closer to fulfilling a religious prophecy, they also see that they are gaining strategic and geopolitical victories -- in Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Lebanon and in the Gaza Strip. The Deputy Commander of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Hossein Salami, recently threatened on Iran's Channel 2 TV that Israel is "vulnerable and bringing itself closer to death".
Salami recently made it vehemently clear the strategy of the Iranian government, stating:
"Our strategy is to erase Israel from the global political map. And, it seems that, considering the evil that Israel is doing, it is bringing itself closer to that."
In addition, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei recently posted a Twitter tirade against Israel. It stated that the, "the Zionist regime will perish in the not so far future."
This burst of confidence is bolstered by Iran's military buildup in Syria, among other places. The Syrian civil war has been viewed as a perfect environment for the Iranian leaders to advance and ultimately achieve their objective of destroying Israel. Iran has built, or is in the process of building, more than 10 military bases in Syria, some of which are near the Israeli border. Tehran has used this strategic position in Syria to fire rockets into Israel.
While many of the world leaders disregard Iran's evident intentions to destroy Israel, they always seems extremely quick to criticize Israel for actually defending the safety of its citizens. After Iran's unprovoked attacks on Israel and its military build-up in Syria were dismissed by the international community, Israel had no choice but to carry out its own strikes against the Iranian military bases and infrastructure that were threatening their country.
Unfortunately, some news outlets and politicians have been attempting to create a narrative to lead people to believe that the Iranian leaders' threats are just talk. Iran's leaders, however, continue to demonstrate their intentions not only with verbal threats, but with military actions as well. Since 1979, Iran has authorized firing rockets and missiles into Israel, and have also used proxies, such as Hamas and Hezbollah, to attack Israel viciously. Iran appears to have Israel solidly in its cross-hairs.
Apparently in a rush to provide cover for Iran, some world leaders have also, for years, been attempting to tell the public that there is a difference between "moderate" Iranian politicians and the hardliners. Unfortunately, that distinction is make-believe. Iran's current president, Hassan Rouhani, like the previous president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has called Israel a "cancerous tumor." Iranian politicians across the political spectrum (hardliners or "moderates") all agree on one thing: destroy Israel.
The Prime Minister of Hungary, Victor Orbán, previously pointed out the duplicity with which Israel is treated:
"The EU should value the efforts made by the state of Israel for stability in the region. This is of interest not only for Israel but for Europe, too, as it protects us from more and more migrant invasions... The EU's relations with Israel are not rational enough and need to be repaired. Instead of criticizing Israel, we should open the door to cooperation with Israel."
It is mind-boggling that some politicians and governments, including the EU, criticize Israel for its Middle East policy and then turn a blind eye to Iran's military buildup near Israel's border -- all while Iran fires missiles and rockets into Israel from Syria, ships ballistic missiles to Israel's self-declared enemy, Hezbollah, and continues to threaten to annihilate Israel in the near future.
When will the international community begin to take the Iranian government's clear verbal threats and physical aggression seriously? Or would the international community secretly like to see Israel destroyed, under Europe's Orwellian inversion of words: "the peace process"?
**Dr. Majid Rafizadeh is a business strategist and advisor, Harvard-educated scholar, political scientist, board member of Harvard International Review, and president of the International American Council on the Middle East. He has authored several books on Islam and US Foreign Policy. He can be reached at Dr.Rafizadeh@Post.Harvard.Edu
© 2019 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute. No part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone Institute.
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/13893/iran-wipe-israel-off-map

Christchurch massacre proves terror has no color, faith or gender
Faisal J. Abbas/Arab News/March 16/19
It was indeed “one of New Zealand’s darkest days,” in the words of Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, as terrorist attacks against two mosques in Christchurch killed 50 and left the world in a state of both shock and anger.
The Christchurch attacks are a sad reminder of a number of things. Firstly, nowhere — not even the otherwise famously peaceful New Zealand — is immune to the acts of mad, evil men and women who choose to go down the dark path of terrorism.
Secondly, terror has no color; it also has no gender or faith. In other words, the non-Muslim Australian who was arrested in relation to the New Zealand mosque attacks is as much a terrorist as Osama bin Laden was. He is also as much a terrorist as Timothy McVeigh, the American behind the 1995 Oklahoma bombings that killed 168 people and injured nearly 700 of various faiths and backgrounds.
Thirdly, what happened has proven — to those who doubted it — that killing in the name of religion, race or belief is universally unacceptable and condemnable. Throughout recent years, there have been some pundits who criticized politicians and a number of Western media outlets for failing to label an attack an act of terror if the perpetrator was non-Muslim, or if the victims were Muslim. However, Ardern’s quick condemnation of what happened in Christchurch as a terror attack reassured both her citizens and watchers worldwide.
The Australian arrested in relation to the New Zealand mosque attacks is as much a terrorist as Osama bin Laden was.
It was extremely positive to see a similar tone coming from Pope Francis, US President Donald Trump, British Prime Minister Theresa May and many others. Naturally Muslim countries, led by Saudi Arabia, were also quick to condemn.
Of course, you will always have hatemongers such as Australian Sen. Fraser Anning who, in a tweet, blamed what has happened on allowing Muslim immigration. But his views were quickly criticized by high-profile figures such as Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and UK Home Secretary Sajid Javid.
Last but not least — and this, I am afraid, is the most alarming point — we can no longer deny the clear and present danger of social media. The mere fact that portions of these ghastly attacks were broadcast live on social media, by a man who police confirmed had also released a manifesto railing against Muslims and immigrants, is terribly alarming.
Of course, social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter were quick to react. They are also right to argue that with so many users, it is extremely difficult to monitor each and every post. However, the damage has been done and is being done every day.
It is about time to apply a gun-control approach to regulating social media. In other words, extremists like the Christchurch attacker should not be allowed to have a platform to preach their hate or document their crimes. This can be done through background checks, and this can also be used to prevent child predators, for example, from benefiting from technology to commit their crimes.
This suggestion may or may not be the solution, but the reality is, it is about time social media got regulated.
*Faisal J. Abbas is the editor-in-chief of Arab News. Twitter: @FaisalJAbbas

A U.S.-Iraq Security Partnership: Avoiding the Pitfalls Just Ahead
Barbara A. Leaf and Bilal Wahab/The Washington Institute/March 16/19
Nationalist sentiment and Iranian pressure have led some Iraqi legislators to oppose a continued U.S. military presence, but Washington could make things much worse if it overreacts.
The dust of last year’s final campaign to destroy the Islamic State “caliphate” had hardly settled before talk of expelling U.S. forces began to circulate in Iraq’s newly seated Council of Representatives (COR). This percolating sentiment was unsurprising in a body that for the first time included substantial numbers of often deeply anti-American militia members. Yet it exploded into public view following White House moves that deeply agitated the hypersensitive strain of nationalism blooming within Iraq’s body politic. When a subsequent bid to demand that U.S. forces depart gained fifty signatures in parliament, it raised the specter of 2011, when nationalist antipathy was a major factor in dooming a bilateral agreement to keep a small U.S. military presence in the country. Whether that happens again depends on the near-term course of the COR’s nationalist sentiment, Iran’s ability to exploit that sentiment, and the tenor of Washington’s reaction.
WHAT IS DRIVING THE CALL TO EXPEL U.S. FORCES?
Two key elements will determine whether the parliament’s current draft bill to remove U.S. forces gains traction. One is Iranian influence. Tehran’s national security perspective favors an Iraq that is isolated, institutionally weak, and dependent on Iranian help—a goal furthered by the outsize role that Shia militias played during and after the war against the Islamic State. An American military mission aimed at strengthening Iraq’s professional security forces works against that Iranian goal, while also bolstering Baghdad’s relationship with Washington. Accordingly, as U.S. sanctions tighten the noose on Iran, the Islamic Republic’s interest in flexing its muscles in Iraq will only increase. A rancorous bilateral dispute over a COR vote fits the bill beautifully.
The second potential driver is the rising sense of nationalism and sovereignty among the Iraqi political class (most prominently Muqtada al-Sadr) and the wider public. This broad-based populist trend is a potent force, as the September 2018 mob action in Basra demonstrated. Yet the public’s attention is predominantly focused not on the presence of U.S. forces, but on bread-and-butter economic issues and corruption. These issues represent Sadr’s political comfort zone, despite his occasional posturing against “all foreign troops.”
In contrast, the COR’s composition makes it much more susceptible to nationalist fervor specifically aimed at the U.S. military presence. A full 200 of its 329 members are first-term, and around 50-60 of them are affiliated with the Popular Mobilization Forces militia network. Such members have already been inflamed by incidents such as President Trump’s December trip to Iraq, when he visited al-Asad Air Base but did not meet with any political officials. Tehran was quick to exploit that incident—on December 28, Iranian ambassador Iraj Masjedi pointedly questioned Washington’s motives in keeping troops in Iraq, then claimed that Iran’s own forces had already left.
For the moment, little of the COR’s feverish withdrawal sentiment has spilled over into the public, which may serve as a temporary brake on dramatic legislative action. Yet this brake could easily fail if Washington takes further “provocative” steps, or if Iran and its proxies make a more determined push in parliament.
WHAT WILL HAPPEN NEXT?
Scenario One: The COR’s draft bill fails to advance
Prospects: The most likely outcome—for now
Impact: Highly beneficial
Response: Baghdad should help this scenario along while Washington stays quiet
The draft bill calling for U.S. withdrawal may not see the light of day once more urgent issues grab the COR’s attention (e.g., Basra, one of several pressing matters discussed by former National Security Council director Douglas Ollivant in a January 16 article for War on the Rocks). This seems probable at the moment because unlike in 2011, U.S. troops are largely out of view and have become a fringe issue for the public. For a while, denouncing U.S. forces was the only matter on which the two major Shia blocs—Sadr’s Sairoon and Hadi al-Ameri’s Fatah Alliance—could find common ground, but their focus is turning elsewhere as they fill the new government’s last few cabinet seats.
The COR’s extremely cumbersome process for initiating a bill has likewise stalled the momentum of anti-American factions. No draft law has been formally proposed yet; even if launched, it could die in the relevant parliamentary committees, which are obliged to consult with stakeholder ministries and institutions.
Iran and its allies in the COR are still strongly inclined to push toward scenario two or three, however, so President Barham Salih and Prime Minister Adil Abdulmahdi should launch a quiet but focused effort to steer key COR members away from formally drafting the law in question. These two seasoned Iraqi leaders know better than most just what the country would lose if the U.S. military mission were abruptly cut short.
Scenario Two: A watered-down bill passes the COR
Prospects: Less likely
Impact: Undesirable to dangerous
Response: Baghdad takes the lead; Washington practices patient diplomacy and avoids emotional reactions
The COR could pass legislation or a nonbinding resolution instructing the government to “toughen” the terms under which U.S. advisors operate. Charged language aside, such a bill could simply tell the government to do what it is already doing (i.e., ensuring U.S. forces respect Baghdad’s sovereignty and operate in full coordination with Iraqi forces). More problematically, it could require the government to enter into formal arrangements securing the same conditions, going beyond the 2014 exchange of letters by which Baghdad asked for U.S. troops to return and fight the Islamic State. That development would spring-load the trap of a required two-thirds COR vote to approve a Status of Forces Agreement.
Former prime minister Nouri al-Maliki tried to avoid this same peril in 2011 by seeking a pre-vote among Iraq’s major political chieftains, yet the highly sensitive sovereignty issue of judicial immunity for U.S. troops killed the draft agreement. The Trump administration is prudently not pursuing such a course at the moment, but Baghdad must still take the lead in heading off other threats—namely, by confirming that U.S. forces operate in Iraq only through the sovereign government, and by deflecting calls to negotiate a more formal arrangement, which could interrupt U.S. capacity-building of Iraqi forces in the face of a resurgent Islamic State. The challenge is convincing U.S. leaders to ignore provocative anti-American language in the COR and letting Baghdad lead so as to avoid adding fuel to the populist fire.
Scenario Three: A bill passes directing the expulsion of U.S. forces
Prospects: Unlikely for now, but almost certain to resurface
Impact: Calamitous if Washington overreacts
Response: The prime minister informs the COR that the government is not in a position to enact the law on national security grounds; President Trump’s advisors urge him to refrain from unhelpful retaliation
This worst-case scenario is more likely to emerge from U.S. pressure on Iran than internal Iraqi dynamics—though it could also materialize if Washington commits another diplomatic misstep that further whips up the COR. To be sure, this outcome would not tie the prime minister’s hands, since the government could challenge the new law’s constitutionality in court or urge the security establishment to legitimately contend that it cannot implement the law. Yet scenario three would still threaten U.S.-Iraqi interests by sending an inflammatory political signal to Washington, with the bill’s raucous passage almost certainly spurring President Trump to issue a decision-by-Twitter—perhaps including the immediate withdrawal of U.S. troops and assistance, much as he did with Syria.
CONCLUSION
Each of these scenarios would test the agility of U.S. and Iraqi leaders vested in an enduring security partnership, and successfully navigating them is crucial for both countries’ national security interests. In addition to building Iraq’s capacity to curb the Islamic State’s resurgence, the U.S. defense relationship anchors a wide array of international actors to the larger effort of reintegrating the country into the regional community. Breaking Iraq out of its isolation and helping it regain stability through deepened economic and political relations with Jordan, Egypt, and the Gulf would give Baghdad the means to regain full sovereignty over its affairs and resist Iranian interference. While many of the Iraqi characters in the 2011 political drama that ended the U.S. military presence remain in place, Washington has a wholly different cast of policymakers set to repeat—or, hopefully, avoid—that mistake.
*Barbara A. Leaf is a senior fellow at The Washington Institute. Bilal Wahab is the Institute’s Nathan and Esther K. Wagner Fellow.

The Path to a Second Republic in Algeria
Salim Abdullah el-Haj/the Washington Institute/March 16/19
In the past several weeks, peaceful mass protests have spread through the streets of Algeria in response to the announcement that President Abdelaziz Bouteflika would run for a new term in the upcoming presidential elections. In an attempt to calm the Algerian street, Bouteflika was forced to make a statement last Monday declaring his intention to abandon his bid for a fifth term. According to the statement, “There will be no fifth term, there was never any question of it for me. Given my state of health and age, my last duty towards the Algerian people was always contributing to the foundation of a new Republic.” The statement also postponed Algeria’s presidential elections scheduled for next April and announced a cabinet reshuffle, including the appointment of a new prime minister and several government ministers. Moreover, the National Conference was granted the necessary powers to implement a package of reforms that will form the new system.
Nevertheless, the scenes of protest continue in a manner reminiscent of the Arab Spring, when young people across a number of Arab countries also took to the streets to demand new economic and social prospects. These continuing demands are unquestionably linked to the current political problems Algeria is facing. Yet despite the similarities between both situations, the current protests in Algeria are different in a number of ways. In particular, the peaceful and decorous nature of the protests stands out along with the controlled response of security forces. Protesters have even raised banners bearing statements such as “the police and the people are brothers” and “Algeria is not Syria,” and have carried flowers in an effort to confirm the peacefulness of their demonstrations.
Meanwhile, authorities have sent a clear message that they are avoiding any escalation of the situation and are seriously considering implementing the promised reforms Bouteflika mentioned in his most recent letter. Furthermore, they have tried to keep things under control to help foster the environment necessary for that inevitable transition, the nature of which still sparks disagreements between the different parties. Will a simple political transition guaranteeing a successor to the current president be enough, or will elites begin a deeper transition that brings together the generation of the Algerian revolution and Algeria’s majority youth generation? These questions stand in contrast to the regime change of the Arab Spring, when transitions happened quickly, chaos ruled, and certain groups—including the Islamist groups in Tunisia and the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces in Egypt—took advantage of the situation.
In fact, the current situation in Algeria is also reminiscent of a comparable moment in Algerian history. After October 1988, the country faced unstable economic and social conditions not dissimilar to what we are seeing today. Algiers was at the crossroads of an unavoidable transition from an absolute one-party system—the popularity of which was in decline across the globe—to a multi-party system that has now become the ideal sought-after model for countries following the fall of the communist bloc.
Underneath the surface of that political transformation was a heated debate concerning the different major options and directions the country could take. Whereas the ruling National Liberation Front (FLN) party believed in revamping national policies while maintaining Algeria’s social identity, the Francophone separatist movement sought to put an end to the FLN’s revolutionary legitimacy and create a new governmental system based on Western values and a strict social modernization process in which the military and the establishment would play a big role.
During this period, those who claimed to be modern also quietly leveraged the rising trend in Islamic fundamentalism to settle their disputes with the FLN. Extremists helped take over the streets and win the first multi-party elections held in the country, but the resulting victory led Algeria into a dark decade where national political principles were undermined and security became the country’s most serious concern—giving the military and the establishment a leading role in later Algerian politics.
Since President Bouteflika was initially elected twenty years ago, he has been on a mission to revive Algeria’s nationalist period by modernizing political life and dismantling the centers of political and military power that had emerged during the post-nationalist period of 1992 to 2015. This period of development has brought Algeria into the threshold of a new era. Bouteflika’s transitional period finally appears to be reaching its intended resolution, even if, in practice, it continued longer than planned.
Today, the country is witnessing a lively popular movement bringing up political issues after years of silence. Moreover, the ruling powers have come to realize that patchwork solutions to Algeria’s economic and social issues are no longer enough to respond to the new generation’s growing demands. Today, change is absolutely necessary to pave the path toward political openness and true plurality as the country builds a modern institutional structure that corresponds with the handover between the two generations.
However, no such transition can be free from the existing conflict arising from two strategic projects: On the one hand, a new national project wishes to resume implementing the roadmap abandoned in 1992 while bringing it in line with modern requirements. On the other hand, other groups are seeking to restore the gains they lost during Bouteflika’s rule and relaunch a post-nationalist period that helps implement their ideological and economic agendas.
Even though the balance of power theoretically lies with the first project, the second is betting on being able to enlist the popular movement to its side when it sits down to discuss a new social contract that lays the foundations of the second republic. Many internal and external actors are fighting to obtain leverage over the popular movement, and the outcomes of the current protest movement will depend on who is able to do so.
**Salim Abdullah el-Haj is an Algerian blogger and freelance journalist.
*Fikra Forum is an initiative of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. The views expressed by Fikra Forum contributors are the personal views of the individual authors, and are not necessarily endorsed by the Institute, its staff, Board of Directors, or Board of Advisors.​​