LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
March 28/2019

Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani

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Bible Quotations For today
You rich people, listen to me! Weep and wail over the miseries that are coming upon you
James 05/01-06: “And now, you rich people, listen to me! Weep and wail over the miseries that are coming upon you! Your riches have rotted away, and your clothes have been eaten by moths. Your gold and silver are covered with rust, and this rust will be a witness against you and will eat up your flesh like fire. You have piled up riches in these last days. You have not paid any wages to those who work in your fields. Listen to their complaints! The cries of those who gather in your crops have reached the ears of God, the Lord Almighty. Your life here on earth has been full of luxury and pleasure. You have made yourselves fat for the day of slaughter. You have condemned and murdered innocent people, and they do not resist you”.

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News published on March 27-28/2019
Aoun Hinges on Putin’s Role in Return of Syrian Refugees
Lebanon, Russia, Syria Reportedly Launch Plan on Refugees after Aoun-Putin Talks
Aoun Concludes Visit to Moscow, Prepares for Tunisia Summit
Berri Says Pompeo’s Visit ‘Not Beneficial’ for Lebanon
Berri urges need to approve budget
Bassil meets Czech PM, Foreign Minister: Issue of displaced open to serious complications if not resolved with safe return
Ministry of Environment: Lebanon ranked 67th in world for environmental performance according to Yale University
Geagea: Concept of economic resistance is not feasible in Lebanon
LF, FPM Engage in War of Words on Twitter over Electricity
Abou Faour Says Industry ‘Devastated,' ALI Declares State of ‘Industrial Emergency’
Pompeo’s warnings to Lebanon about Hezbollah will be the last strawMakram

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on March 27-28/2019
Pope to visit Mozambique, Madagascar, Mauritius in September
Boko Haram attack in eastern Niger leaves a dozen dead
Trump tells Russia 'to get out' of Venezuela
Pompeo on Golan Decision: We’re Simply Recognizing Facts on the Ground
Syria Requests Urgent UN Security Council Meeting on Golan
Arab League Summit to Deal with Difficult Challenges after Trump’s Decision
Tense Calm in Gaza Amid Unofficial Ceasefire
Israeli Fire Kills Palestinian Teen in West Bank Clashes
Sadr Returns to Najaf after 3-Month Absence
Key Coalition Partner Demands Algeria's Bouteflika Quit
British MPs to Vote on Brexit Options
Desperate and Hiding, Collapsed Saudi Oger Workers Left in Limbo
Fighting Extremism Precedes Fighting Terrorism

Titles For The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on March 27-28/2019
Pompeo’s warnings to Lebanon about Hezbollah will be the last strawMakram/ Rabah/March 27/19
Fighting Extremism Precedes Fighting Terrorism/Abdulrahman Al-Rashed/Asharq Al Awsat/March 27/19
White Nationalism Is a Terrorist Threat/Eli Lake/Bloomberg/March 27/19
The Global Wealth Illusion Is Paper-Thin/Satyajit Das/Bloomberg/March 27/19
Algerian protesters reject military's gambit to maintain power/Simon Speakman Cordall/Monitor/March 27/ 2019
Reformist Kuwaiti Journalist ‘Abdallah Al-Hadlaq Sentenced To 3 Years In Prison For Maligning The Shi’a On Twitter/MEMRI/27/2019
Daesh’s deadly essence must be denied chance to thrive/Dr. Theodore Karasik/Arab News/March 27/2019
Golan decree is a diplomatic miracle/Shlomo Pyuterkovsky/Ynetnews/March 27/19

The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News published on March 27-28/2019
Aoun Hinges on Putin’s Role in Return of Syrian Refugees
Moscow - Raed Jabr/Asharq Al-Awsat/Wednesday, 27 March, 2019/Lebanese President Michel Aoun asked Russia on Tuesday for assistance in facilitating the return of Syrian refugees. "We maintain relations with the leadership of your country and with all representatives of political parties," Russian President Vladimir Putin told Aoun in Moscow, noting that this year marked the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two states. In remarks to Asharq Al-Awsat, officials from the Lebanese presidency described Aoun’s two-day visit to Moscow as “excellent,” saying there was Russian consensus on supporting Lebanon and its regional role and stability. The two leaders agreed to further strengthen and develop friendly relations and cooperation between the two countries, including measures to facilitate the return of Syrian refugees, a Kremlin statement said. They expressed support to the process of political settlement in Syria and fight against terrorism in the war-torn country. They also reiterated the importance of Russia's initiative in securing the return of refugees, including those displaced internally. “Resolving this problem depends directly on ... improving Syria's social and economic conditions, through post-conflict reconstruction,” the Kremlin statement said. Lebanon has taken in over 1 million refugees from Syria. Aoun said Lebanon faces an economic fall-out from the Syrian crisis and expressed hope that Putin would help his country repatriate the Syrians. The Lebanese President discussed the issue on Monday with Vyacheslav Volodin, the speaker of the lower house of Russian Parliament. "It is in the interest of Europe to resolve the Syrian refugee crisis because the dire economic situation in Lebanon will eventually lead refugees to seek other alternatives, and European countries will be their first destination,” Aoun said.

Lebanon, Russia, Syria Reportedly Launch Plan on Refugees after Aoun-Putin Talks
Naharnet/March 27/19/President Michel Aoun agreed with Russian President Vladimir Putin and other Russian officials to “activate tripartite Lebanese-Russian-Syrian action to secure the return of Syrian refugees” to their country, Lebanese TV networks reported on Tuesday. “Moscow is seeing the success of its initiative on the return of refugees, seeing as most areas in Syria have become capable of receiving them,” OTV, which is affiliated with Aoun's Free Patriotic Movement, reported. “Lebanon is at the heart of the Russian plan, seeing as it is Syria's neighbor and it is suffering more than other countries due to the presence of refugees on its soil,” OTV added.In an official joint statement, Aoun and Putin meanwhile expressed their support for “the efforts aimed at implementing Russia's initiative for securing the return of Syrian refugees and those displaced internally.”“Resolving this problem depends directly on preparing the appropriate circumstances in Syria, including the social and economic conditions, through post-conflict reconstruction,” the statement said. Separately, the statement said Lebanon and Russia intend to boost bilateral ties in “commerce, economy, investment, energy, culture, the humanitarian field, education, sports, tourism and other fields of cooperation.”

Aoun Concludes Visit to Moscow, Prepares for Tunisia Summit
Naharnet/March 27/19/President Michel Aoun concluded his visit to Moscow on Wednesday where he held talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin and several Russian officials, said the National News Agency on Wednesday. On Tuesday, Aoun held talks in Moscow with his Russian counterpart during which he thanked him for “defending” the Christians of the Middle East. Aoun has also agreed with Putin and other Russian officials to “activate tripartite Lebanese-Russian-Syrian action to secure the return of Syrian refugees” to their country, according to Lebanese TV networks. Aoun is scheduled to head a delegation to Tunisia to take part in the annual Arab League summit on the March 31.

Berri Says Pompeo’s Visit ‘Not Beneficial’ for Lebanon
Naharnet/March 27/19/Following the two-day visit of US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to Lebanon, Speaker Nabih Berri said the visit was “non beneficial” for Lebanon and described the US positions as “consistent” with Israel, al-Joumhouria daily reported on Wednesday. “Nothing has changed and nothing will change. Pompeo has not provided Lebanon with anything. The only thing he took with him from Lebanon was the statement he brought,” said Berri in remarks to the daily. Berri said the visit is “something of the past which will be eventually forgotten.”Pointing out to what he said is Washington’s “consistent” position with Israel, he said: “Washington’s stances are consistent with the Israeli position regarding the maritime border and offensive position against Hizbullah." Pompeo held talks over the weekend with senior Lebanese officials during his two-day visit where discussions focused on several pressing issues including the repatriation of Syrian refugees and the demarcation of Lebanon’s maritime border.

Berri urges need to approve budget
Wed 27 Mar 2019/NNA - Speaker of the House, Nabih Berri, said during the Wednesday parliamentary gathering that the President of the Republic, whom he contacted today, "stressed that the priority is for the adoption of the budget.""As previously expressed, the Council of Ministers should accelerate the approval of the budget which was completed by the Minister of Finance, and refer it as soon as possible to the House of Representatives," said Berri. "If the budget does not reduce the deficit by more than 1 percent, it means that the country will be in a bad situation," he warned. Pertaining to the US decision to consider the Golan Israeli, and the reactions to it, Liberation and Development MPs said such a decision is a threat to Lebanon and a violation to international laws. On a different note, Berri cabled Speaker of the House of Guinea-Bissau, Cipriano Cassama, congratulating him on his election, and to Guinea-Bissau MP Hussein Kamel Farhat, congratulating him on his election as well.

Bassil meets Czech PM, Foreign Minister: Issue of displaced open to serious complications if not resolved with safe return
Wed 27 Mar 2019/NNA - Minister of Foreign Affairs and Emigrants, Gebran Bassil, began his official visit to the Czech Republic by a meeting with Prime Minister Andrej Babis, in the presence of Minister of State for Foreign Trade Hassan Murad and members of the Lebanese and Czech delegations.
The meeting touched first and foremost on the return of displaced Syrians, where the prime minister expressed his regret over Europe's failure to formulate a unified position on the conflict in Syria and its inability to play an effective role. Babis expressed his readiness to "contribute to solutions," and wished "Russian-American-European cooperation with the concerned regional countries."He said he was "convinced of the need to talk to the Syrian government" and said he was "surprised that the displaced are receiving international assistance in the countries they have been displaced to, but will be deprived of if they returned home." Bassil, in turn, valued the "bold Czech decision to keep its embassy open in Damascus, despite the pressures ans threats to punish it.""The problem of displaced people is open to serious complications if not resolved by their safe return to their country," Bassil stressed. "They cannot stay in Lebanon, as it will be unable to secure a decent life for them, and therefore they will search for another country of refuge, and Europe will be their first destination in search of work." Mentioning a potential Russian-Lebanese-Syrian plan, Bassil said "the plan needs development support, so we are working to persuade the United States and the European Union to help, and any small project would give repatriation hope if successfully implemented inside Syria."Following the meeting with the Prime Minister, Bassil held an extensive meeting with his Czech counterpart, Tomas Petritcek, discussing with him bilateral relations politically and economically and the situation in the region. The Czech minister told his Lebanese counterpart that "Prague supported the safe return of displaced Syrians to their country as a single solution." He said that his country "provides displaced people annually with assistance equivalent to 12 million US dollars." After the meeting, the foreign ministers held a press conference on the subject of terrorism, praising thereby "Lebanon's role in fighting terrorism." "We have explained that the Lebanese moderate model is the best model for fighting terrorism," he said.

Ministry of Environment: Lebanon ranked 67th in world for environmental performance according to Yale University
Wed 27 Mar 2019/NNA - The Ministry of Environment issued the following statement: "Some media outlets are circulating the NUMBEO website report on Lebanon's ranking fifth place among the most polluted countries in 2019, after Mongolia, Myanmar, Afghanistan and Bangladesh, while it came in 8th position in 2018.""Lebanon, according to a report issued by the University of Yale in January 2018, ranked 67th in the world in terms of environmental performance, and this report is issued every two years based on international environmental studies. As for the environmental steps to be adopted, those are not the result of an issued report only, but part of the environmental reform vision of Minister Fadi Jreissati since he took over the environment portfolio," the ministery statement read. "In this context, we appeal to citizens, environmental associations and environmental specialists to cooperate with the Ministry of Environment for a sound and cleaner environment," it concluded, inserting the following link to the abovementioned report: https://.epi.envirocenter.yale.edu/epi-topline

Geagea: Concept of economic resistance is not feasible in Lebanon
Wed 27 Mar 2019/NNA - Lebanese Forces Party leader, Samir Geagea, deemed on Wednesday the concept of economic resistance as not applicable in Lebanon's situation. Geagea's words came in an interview to "Free Lebanon" Radio Station, where he was commenting on current calls for economic resistance. The LF leader said that such approaches can be applied in places like Gaza or the West Bank currently under war. However, Geagea said that the situation in Lebanon is different. "On the contrary, we are in need of a political resistance in the sense that people have to withdraw their confidence from those whom they have trusted to manage their public affairs and failed to do so," Geagea said. On the refugees' dossier issue, Geagea said that it was necessary to wait for President Michel Aoun's return to Lebanon in order to find out if there was any news about the return of the Syrian displaced, saying there was no progress in this matter yet. Geagea emphasized Syrian President's Bashar Assad's intentions in this regard, noting that all indications have shown that he does not want refugees' return, using measures and steps that prevent such repatriation. The Lf leader stressed that Lebanon can no longer bear the brunt of the presence of the displaced Syrians on its soil, saying we pin hopes on Russia in this affair, through practicing sufficient pressure on President Bashar Assad to accept this return. On the other hand, Geagea refused any accusation of obstructing the new electricity plan, emphasizing that his Party is trying to rectify the electricity sector by identifying the causes of waste in public funds and the shortcomings that are causing this crisis. He also supported the position of Speaker Nabih Berri on the need to reduce the budget deficit, saying that reforms can only be made by addressing the shortcomings in the budget. He said that the first step required is to ratify the budget as soon as possible.

LF, FPM Engage in War of Words on Twitter over Electricity
Naharnet/March 27/19/A war of words erupted again between the Lebanese Forces and Free Patriotic Movement over the controversial electricity file. The dispute emerged following the electricity plan suggested in Cabinet by (FPM) Energy Minister Nada al-Bustani, and the formation of a ministerial committee to discuss the plan which raised criticisms of LF lawmakers and ministers. In remarks he made on Twitter hinting at LF chief Samir Geagea, FPM deputy Eddy Maalouf said: “He did not get it right in medicine, nor in strategic options, nor in the refugees file and now he wants to advise us about electricity.”Another FPM MP, Nicolas Sahnaoui also hinted at the LF saying “parties who want to obstruct the electricity plan have suspicious ends. As if they wish no success for plans presented by the FPM.”Defending the LF positions, MP Eddy Abillamah said the LF positions were not personal, “we want practical steps for a plan that still does not know where to start. The waste of public funds is the result of unjustified stubbornness,” he said. “A regulatory body and a board of directors to oversee the plan and follow-up file is required,” he said, denouncing smear campaigns targeting the LF. MPs Imad Wakim and George Okais of the LF Strong Republic parliamentary bloc have also replied to the FPM’s rhetoric.
Criticising the FPM’s “failed” efforts since 2010 to make any progress in the country’s problematic electricity file, MP Joseph Isaac said: “We have been waiting for your theories, and the electricity since 2010 but things only got worse. The waste in that sector accounts for 40 percent of the budget deficit.”

Abou Faour Says Industry ‘Devastated,' ALI Declares State of ‘Industrial Emergency’
Naharnet/March 27/19/The Association of Lebanese Industrialists (ALI) declared on Wednesday a “state of industrial emergency,” while Industry Minister Wael Abou Faour said the sector is “stricken with a catastrophe.”In a press conference, head of the ALI Fadi Gemayel pointed out to “deteriorating” conditions and the absence of serious government efforts to address the situation. "We refuse the continued ignorance of our demands because we are just around the corner to close factories and institutions,” said Gemayel. He called for the “adoption of a series of urgent measures within the framework of an integrated economic plan,” adding that the association would leave its meetings open to keep up with the difficult stage. The ALI head stressed that “illegal institutions must be shut down, corruption must be fought and laws must be applied on all without discretion.”For his part, Abou Faour said: “Lebanon’s industrial sector is doomed because of absence of political vision that gives the industry the prestige it deserves in the mind of the decision maker.”“Declaring a state of emergency should lead to a set of actions by the Government in cooperation with industrialists,” he added. “Industry is functioning today without any protection or support. A major part of agreements between Lebanon and other countries need to be reviewed because they are unfair. The practice of reciprocity is not applied in Lebanon,” he added.

Pompeo’s warnings to Lebanon about Hezbollah will be the last straw
مكرم رباح: تحذيرات بومبو للبنان حول حزب الله ستكون القشة الأخيرة
Makram Rabah/March 27/19
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/73378/makram-rabah-pompeos-warnings-to-lebanon-about-hezbollah-will-be-the-last-straw%d9%85%d9%83%d8%b1%d9%85-%d8%b1%d8%a8%d8%a7%d8%ad-%d8%aa%d8%ad%d8%b0%d9%8a%d8%b1%d8%a7%d8%aa-%d8%a8%d9%88%d9%85/
Over the last week, Lebanon was immersed in Mike Pompeo’s visit to Beirut, where he concluded his recent trip to the Middle East. The Lebanese government’s warm welcome to the US Secretary of State was soon replaced with pessimism. Pompeo conveyed during meetings with top officials that Lebanon’s economy depends on its ability to ensure that Hezbollah’s influence in the country and the region is harnessed.
Much of the fuss surrounding Pompeo’s visit stems from the continued US sanctions on Iran, which have greatly hindered the latter’s ability to finance the activities of its militias across the region, particularly Hezbollah. Pompeo refrained from sugar coating his words, delivering the firm message that Lebanon must prevent Hezbollah from using its banking sector to circumvent US sanctions.
Pompeo echoed what his previous two envoys, David Satterfield and David Hale, had communicated to the Lebanese state a few months earlier. Yet the Lebanese political establishment chooses to ignore these warnings and maintains the same destructive rhetoric that has led to Lebanon's current predicament.
President Michel Aoun and his son-in-law Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil, Hezbollah’s main Christian allies, responded to Pompeo by insisting that Hezbollah is a key part of the Lebanese government and the Shiite community, and that its actions do not constitute any threat to stability in Lebanon. Hezbollah has significant influence in the Lebanese government, occupying more than 70 of 128 seats in parliament as of last year’s general elections.
Instead of diplomatically sidestepping Pompeo’s Hezbollah bullet, Aoun chose to place Lebanon at risk by suggesting to the international community that the allegations of Iran’s hegemony over the Lebanese state were true. As a former commander of the Lebanese army, Aoun is well aware that such reckless statements risk millions of dollars of US taxpayers’ money, which Lebanon receives to train its armed forces and fund other government programs.
By opting to act as a defender and publicist for Iran and its Lebanese militia, Aoun and Bassil are neither acting as representatives of the Lebanese at large nor demonstrating interest in safeguarding Lebanon. They merely wish to garner more favor to ensure that they can use Hezbollah and its arms as leverage when the presidential elections roll around in 2020.
Considering US President Donald Trump’s fixation on crippling Iran and anyone that stands in the way of this goal, Aoun is simply gambling Lebanon’s stability and prosperity away. If Aoun truly wanted to serve his Iranian patrons, he would have assured his American guest that Lebanon has no intention to defend anyone’s interests but its own. Even if this statement were untruthful, it would still constitute an act of statesmanship, unlike the mass suicide option Aoun chose.
Shortly after Pompeo’s visit, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah bragged in a televised speech that none of the Lebanese factions, including his opponents, were willing to support the US request. In doing so, he implied that Hezbollah is an organic entity supported by the wider Lebanese public.
Much of what Pompeo stated about Hezbollah’s negative impact on Lebanon and its future reflects the exact sentiments of the Lebanese people. The only problem is that they are too afraid to speak out publicly for fear of reprisal. It is one thing for the Lebanese and their political elite to convince themselves that Hezbollah is merely a regional problem and avoid taking action. It is another to allow Aoun to offer Lebanon to Iran as a human shield in the raging economic war.
Pompeo’s visit may have failed to achieve its goal, but what is certain is that he shattered the myth that the US will ignore Hezbollah’s so-called strategic relation with the crumbling Lebanese state. Above all, the visit proved that Lebanon lacks statesmen who can save the country from its impending doom, and that the next time a US official visits Lebanon, their words will be matched with actions.
*Makram Rabah is a lecturer at the American University of Beirut, Department of History. He is the author of A Campus at War: Student Politics at the American University of Beirut, 1967-1975. He tweets @makramrabah.

Latest LCCC English Miscellaneous Reports & News published on March 27-28/2019
Pope to visit Mozambique, Madagascar, Mauritius in September
AFP/NNA/Wed 27 Mar 2019/Pope Francis is to visit flood-ravaged Mozambique and Indian Ocean nations Madagascar and Mauritius in September, the Vatican announced on Wednesday. He will travel to their capitals Maputo, Antananarivo and Port Louis during the September 4-10 visit, a statement said, with the precise programme to be decided later. Mozambique is reeling from a cyclone and floods that this month killed nearly 500 people and sparked cases of cholera. Senior Mozambican priest Giorgio Ferreti said in February Francis would this year make the first visit by a pope to the southern African nation since 1988. President Filipe Nyusi invited the pontiff to visit Mozambique during a trip to the Vatican last September, announcing the possible trip to reporters in a breach of Vatican protocol. The pope reportedly joked: “If I’m still alive.”Mozambique, a former Portuguese colony, has around four million Catholics. Pope Francis kicked off the year with a historic public mass for an estimated 170,000 Catholics at a stadium in the capital of the United Arab Emirates in February. It capped the first ever papal visit to the Gulf where Islam was born. Francis has made outreach to Muslim communities a cornerstone of his papacy. Twenty percent of Mozambique’s population are Muslim and the country has been rocked by a jihadist insurgency in the north since October 2017. Pope John Paul II visited Mozambique in 1988 and witnessed first-hand the devastation wrought by the long civil war. European colonisers brought many Indians to Mauritius, where around half the population is Hindu and a third Christian, mostly Catholic. Madagascar cardinal Desire Tsarahazana said in October that the pope would visit the east African island nation with a population of around 25 million this year. The former French colony has an extreme poverty rate around 75 percent, and many young children suffer from malnutrition.

Boko Haram attack in eastern Niger leaves a dozen dead
Wed 27 Mar 2019/NNA - Ten people were killed along with two suicide bombers in a coordinated attack late on march 26 by Boko Haram jihadists on a town in eastern Niger, the local mayor said. “Two female suicide bombers blew themselves up and gunmen then attacked civilians,” the mayor of the town of N’Guigmi, Abba Kaya Issa, told AFP on March 27. “We have a provisional toll of 10 dead plus the two suicide bombers,” he said, blaming “Boko Haram elements” for the assault. -- AFP

Trump tells Russia 'to get out' of Venezuela
AFP/Wed 27 Mar 2019/NNA - US President Donald Trump demanded Wednesday that Russia drop support for Venezuela's leader Nicolas Maduro after Moscow deployed troops and equipment to bolster the hard-left government. "Russia has to get out," Trump said at the White House alongside Fabiana Rosales, wife of opposition leader Juan Guaido, who has been recognized by the United States and more than 50 other countries as Venezuela's interim president in place of Maduro. Rosales was given a high-profile reception in the Trump administration's latest bid to boost Guaido, who is under severe pressure from Moscow-backed Maduro. On Thursday, she will meet with US First Lady Melania Trump in Florida. Trump said "all options are on the table" when asked by journalists if the United States was considering military action to back up a major campaign of economic sanctions aimed at crippling the Maduro government's finances. "They?ve got a lot of pressure right now. They have no money, they have no oil, they have no nothing. They?ve got plenty of pressure right now. They have no electricity," he said. "Other than military you can?t get any more pressure than they have ... All options are open." Earlier, Rosales met separately with Vice President Mike Pence, who plays a major role in the administration's aggressive stand against Maduro, and also called out Russia. He said "the United States views Russia's arrival of military planes this weekend as an unwelcome provocation and we call on Russia today to cease all support for the Maduro regime.""Guaido is the only legitimate president of Venezuela. Venezuela is in crisis after years of dictatorship and oppression," Pence said.

Pompeo on Golan Decision: We’re Simply Recognizing Facts on the Ground
Washington - Elie Youssef/Asharq Al-Awsat/Wednesday, 27 March, 2019/US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Tuesday reiterated his support to a decision made by President Donald Trump to recognize the Golan Heights as Israeli territory. “We’re simply recognizing facts on the ground and the reality and doing the right thing,” Pompeo told reporters at the State Department. Asked about the stances expressed by several states in rejecting the Golan recognition, he said: “We are continuing to have conversations with ... each of them about this issue, about our decision and why we believe this is fundamentally the right decision as well.”Trump signed a proclamation Monday in which Washington recognized Israel's annexation of the strategic plateau, despite UN resolutions that call for Israel's withdrawal from the occupied Syrian territory. Pompeo said Trump’s decision on the Golan is similar to his recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. “Israel was fighting a defensive battle to save its nation, and it cannot be the case that a UN resolution is a suicide pact,” he said in response to a question on whether the US was setting a precedent that powerful countries can actually overtake land over international law.

Syria Requests Urgent UN Security Council Meeting on Golan
Asharq Al-Awsat/Wednesday, 27 March, 2019/Syria called on the United Nations Security Council on Tuesday to hold an urgent meeting on the US decision to recognize the Golan Heights as Israeli territory. President Donald Trump signed a proclamation Monday in which the United States recognized Israel's annexation of the strategic plateau, despite UN resolutions that call for Israel's withdrawal from the Golan. In a letter seen by AFP, the Syrian mission to the United Nations asked the council presidency, held by France, to schedule an urgent meeting to "discuss the situation in the occupied Syrian Golan and the recent flagrant violation of the relevant Security Council's resolution by a permanent member-state."The French presidency did not immediately schedule the meeting and diplomats said there would be a discussion at the council about the request. On Friday, Syria wrote a separate letter urging the council to uphold resolutions demanding that Israel withdraw from the Golan. The council is scheduled to discuss the latest crisis on Wednesday during a meeting on renewing the mandate of the UN peacekeeping force deployed between Israel and Syria in the Golan, known as UNDOF. Five European countries with seats on the council earlier rejected Trump's decision and voiced concern that the US move would have broad consequences in the Middle East. Two of Washington's closest allies -- Britain and France -- joined Belgium, Germany and Poland to declare that the European position had not changed and that the Golan remained Israeli-occupied Syrian territory, in line with international law enshrined in UN resolutions. Israel occupied the Golan Heights from Syria during the 1967 Arab-Israeli War and continues to occupy roughly two-thirds of the wider Golan Heights region as a direct result of the conflict. In 1981, Israel formally annexed the territory, in a move unanimously rejected by the UN Security Council. Three UN Security Council resolutions call on Israel to withdraw from the Golan. US Acting Ambassador Jonathan Cohen told a council meeting on the Middle East that Washington had made the decision to stand up to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Iran. "To allow the Golan Heights to be controlled by the likes of the Syrian and Iranian regimes would turn a blind eye to the atrocities of the Assad regime and malign and destabilizing presence of Iran in the region," said Cohen. There "can be no peace agreement that does not satisfactorily address Israel's security needs in the Golan Heights," he added.
China and Russia spoke out against the US decision during the council meeting, as did Indonesia and South Africa, two countries that strongly support the Palestinians, along with Kuwait, a US ally in the region.

Arab League Summit to Deal with Difficult Challenges after Trump’s Decision
Tunis - Sawsan Abu Hussein/Asharq Al-Awsat/Wednesday, 27 March, 2019/The upcoming meeting of Arab leaders in Tunisia, will be “the summit of difficult political challenges”, the Arab League’s Assistant Secretary-General for Economic Affairs Kamal Hassan Ali announced. All options are on the table after a “US decision to forcefully grant Arab lands to others,” the ambassador told Asharq Al-Awsat. He described the meeting scheduled for Sunday as “the summit of difficult economic and political challenges” after US President Donald Trump recognized Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights and decided to move the US embassy to Jerusalem. He pointed out that the summit will discuss the Arab Common Market for Electricity, a plan for housing and sustainable development, making cities safe, as well as Arab action on environmental issues and climate change. Asked about a Saudi proposal to merge the periodic Arab and economic summits, Ali explained that there is a decision to hold the economic summit every four years along with the periodic summit. A number of high-level preparatory meetings began in Tunis on Tuesday to set the stage for the 30th Arab League summit. Director-General for Economic and Commercial Cooperation of the Tunisian Ministry of Trade and Industry Saeeda Hashisha chaired the meeting of the Arab League’s Economic and Social Council. She took over from Saudi Deputy Undersecretary of the Ministry of Finance for International Financial Affairs Hussein Bin Shweish al-Shawish. Hashisha stressed the importance of cooperation with Saudi Arabia, which had chaired the previous Arab summit. She emphasized the importance of the greater Arab trade zone, as well as adopting a number of strategies to reduce risks and disasters, in addition to combating terrorism, and eradicating poverty. Assistant Secretary-General and Head of the Social Affairs Sector of Arab League Ambassador Haifa Abu Ghazaleh praised the efforts exerted by Saudi Arabia during its presidency and management of the previous summit. Abu Ghazaleh said that the summit's agenda includes a number of economic and social issues, which are a priority for joint Arab action, and the results of which directly affect the lives of Arab citizens. The Ambassador also indicated that the summit will discuss support to the Palestinian economy in the face of Israeli practices, which negatively affected the economic and social conditions in the country. Within the framework of Arab efforts to eradicate terrorism, the summit will discuss the social and cultural reasons behind it. In addition, the summit is scheduled to deal with the Arab strategy for the elderly, initiated by Tunisia, which will constitute a qualitative leap in joint Arab action to ensure a decent life for this age group from a human rights perspective.

Tense Calm in Gaza Amid Unofficial Ceasefire
Gaza- Asharq Al-Awsat/Wednesday, 27 March, 2019/An unofficial cease-fire appeared to be holding Wednesday between Israel and Gaza's Hamas rulers despite limited exchanges of fire. Schools reopened in southern Israel and traffic-clogged Gaza's streets in signs of a pullback from the most serious escalation of cross-border fighting in months. But while violence eased amid Egyptian mediation, Israeli forces and Palestinian militants were on hair-trigger footing, with rocket attacks from Gaza and Israeli air strikes in the enclave briefly resuming late on Tuesday after a day-long lull. Despite dozens of rocket launchings and Israeli attacks, no deaths have been reported. Israel's Iron Dome anti-missile interceptors have destroyed some of the rockets and Palestinian militants vacated facilities targeted in the air strikes. Towns in southern Israel, where rocket-warning sirens have disrupted daily life since the current round of fighting began on Monday, reopened classrooms. In Gaza, schools were also operating and cars filled the streets. The Gaza frontier remained tense, however, with Israeli troops and tanks deployed along the border. Both Israel and Gaza's ruling Hamas militant group made clear that attacks by the other side would not be tolerated. Yet violence could erupt again this weekend as large-scale protests are expected along the Israel-Gaza frontier marking the anniversary of weekly rallies. The Israeli military bolstered its forces along the Gaza frontier in advance. Israel and Hamas have fought three wars and dozens of skirmishes since the militant group seized control of Gaza in 2007. The latest round was triggered by a Gaza rocket fired early Monday that slammed into a house in central Israel and wounded seven people. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rushed back to Israel from a trip to Washington to deal with the crisis. Israel struck back hard and hit dozens of targets in Gaza, including the office of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh. Gaza's Health Ministry said seven Palestinians were wounded in the airstrikes. Netanyahu faced the difficult task of delivering a tough blow to Hamas while avoiding protracted fighting that could work against him in next month's national elections. He has come under heavy criticism from both allies and opponents for what they say has been a failure to contain Gaza militants. The latest fighting has added to tensions that were already building ahead of the first anniversary on March 30 of the start of weekly Gaza protests at the border. Some 200 Gazans have been killed and thousands wounded by Israeli fire during those protests, and one Israeli soldier has been killed. Israel says its use of lethal force is meant to stop attempts to breach the border and launch attack on its troops and civilians. The protesters are demanding the right to return to lands Palestinians fled or were forced to leave in Israel during fighting that accompanied its founding in 1948. Seven Israelis were injured in Monday's initial rocket attack that hit the village of Mishmeret, 120 km (75 miles) north of Gaza. No other casualties in Israel have been reported. Twelve Palestinians have been wounded by Israeli strikes, Gaza health officials said. Egypt was expected to pursue further truce talks on Wednesday, said a Palestinian official involved in the efforts. UN Middle East envoy Nickolay Mladenov told the Security Council on Tuesday he had been working with Egypt to secure a ceasefire and that a fragile calm had taken hold. Security is a major issue for Netanyahu, in power for a decade and beset by corruption allegations that he denies. He is facing his strongest electoral challenge from a centrist coalition led by a former general.

Israeli Fire Kills Palestinian Teen in West Bank Clashes
West Bank/Asharq Al-Awsat/Wednesday, 27 March, 2019/Israeli forces shot dead a Palestinian volunteer medic during clashes in the occupied West Bank on Wednesday, the Palestinian health ministry said. Sajid Muzher, 17, was killed in the Dheisheh refugee camp near Bethlehem in the southern West Bank by Israeli troops during clashes with stone-throwers, an ambulance service official said, identifying him as a volunteer wearing a paramedic uniform. He was shot by Israeli forces while working as a volunteer medic, a ministry spokesman told AFP. Two others were wounded in the clashes, which come amid an uptick in West Bank violence. In a statement, Palestinian health minister Jawad Awad said the "occupation's killing of a volunteer medic by shooting him in the stomach is a war crime."The Palestinian Medical Relief Society confirmed he was working with them, saying in a statement he was shot while trying to treat one of those wounded in clashes. Israeli forces frequently enter refugee camps to carry out arrests or other operations, often sparking clashes with residents. The World Health Organization "strongly condemned" the killing in a statement, saying the teen was killed while providing care to people injured. "We are saddened by this tragic loss. Health workers provide critical care and save lives. Their protection must be ensured," said Gerald Rockenschaub, head of the WHO office for the West Bank and Gaza. Omar Shakir, Human Rights Watch country director, told AFP that if confirmed the "death would mark at least the fourth clearly identifiable Palestinian medic gunned down by Israeli forces in the last year.""Routine unlawful killings by Israeli forces and full impunity in Israel highlight the need for the International Criminal Court to open a formal probe into serious crimes committed in Palestine," he said.

Sadr Returns to Najaf after 3-Month Absence
Baghdad - Hamza Mustafa/ Asharq Al-Awsat/Wednesday, 27 March, 2019/Leader of the Sadrist movement Moqtada al-Sadr has returned to Najaf from Beirut after being away for more than three months. Although his office has not commented on the reasons behind this long absence and return, it has dismissed claims that he has been ill. Bahaa al-Araji, a member of the Sadrist Movement and a former deputy Prime Minister, announced last week that Sadr will soon return to Baghdad and will launch a new initiative regarding Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi’s uncompleted government. Abdul Mahdi will attend a meeting on Wednesday at the residence of head of the Reform and Reconstruction Coalition Ammar al-Hakim, the coalition said. “A meeting will be held to discuss many significant issues,” read a statement by the coalition's general body, adding that Abdul Mahdi was invited to attend it. The Coalition includes Sadr's Saairun Alliance, Haider al-Abadi's Victory Alliance, Hakim's National Wisdom Movement, Iyad Allawi's al-Wataniya Coalition and other political blocs. Saairun MP representing Badr al-Ziadi said the law on expelling foreign troops from Iraq has been drafted. “We are only waiting for the Premier’s decision regarding the troops that he might need to keep,” he said. “Abdul Mahdi was supposed to hold a session on March 10, but the acceleration of events and political issues... prevented him from doing so,” he added. Meanwhile, political blocs remain at loggerheads over the failure to complete the cabinet formation. The differences between them lie on four ministries, two of which are so-called sovereign portfolios. Al-Mihwar al-Watani MP representing Abdullah al-Khirbit told Asharq Al-Awsat that the blocs are bickering on the candidates for the four remaining portfolios - defense, interior, education and justice - in Abdul Mahdi’s cabinet. He said the dispute will likely be resolved after the return of Parliament Speaker Mohammed al-Halbousi from his official visit to the United States.

Key Coalition Partner Demands Algeria's Bouteflika Quit
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/March 27/19/The coalition ally of Algeria's ruling party called Wednesday for President Abdelaziz Bouteflika to resign, piling pressure on the ailing leader after the army chief demanded he be declared unfit. In a statement signed by its leader, recently sacked prime minister Ahmed Ouyahia, the National Rally for Democracy (RND) said it "recommends the resignation of the president... with the aim of smoothing the period of transition."There have been weeks of mass protests demanding Bouteflika step down since he announced he was standing for a fifth term of office with the support of both his National Liberation Front and the RND.

British MPs to Vote on Brexit Options
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/March 27/19/British MPs will on Wednesday hold votes on various Brexit options even as Prime Minister Theresa May comes under pressure to announce a departure plan to get support for her unpopular divorce deal. Three years after a referendum in which Britain voted to leave the European Union, the country is gripped by painful uncertainty over how -- or even whether -- it should put an end to its 46-year membership. May's deal negotiated with Brussels has already been voted down overwhelmingly by parliament twice but the government is widely expected to present it for a third time on Thursday to ensure an orderly Brexit. EU leaders said Britain could leave the EU on May 22 if the deal is adopted this week, or face a potential no-deal Brexit as early as April 12. In a bid to find Brexit alternatives, lawmakers took the unprecedented step on Monday of seizing control of Wednesday's parliamentary business. MPs will hold a series of "indicative votes" -- indicating their preferences on a piece of paper -- for different Brexit outcomes, although May is not legally-bound to follow their instructions. The proposals put forward so include a customs union with the EU, remaining in the single market, holding a second referendum or stopping Brexit by revoking Article 50 -- the formal notification for departure. The alternatives that will actually be voted on will be selected by speaker John Bercow on Wednesday and voting will take place at around 1900 GMT with the results expected at around 2100 GMT.Time has been set aside next Monday to try and whittle down the most popular options to a final plan.
'Get it over the line'
Parliament's unprecedented power-grab was spearheaded by arch-EU MPs, who want to either reverse Brexit or preserve much closer economic ties with the remaining 27 states. Three members of May's government quit in order to vote for the move, further piling pressure on their leader. However, she received a boost on Tuesday when influential Brexiteer Jacob Rees Mogg suggested he could back her deal in order to make sure the whole process was not stopped. Prominent Brexit supporter Boris Johnson has already indicated that he could back the deal, but only if May agrees to go, raising suggestions that she could announce plans for her departure at a meeting with Conservative MPs at 1700 GMT on Wednesday. "If the Prime Minister announces a timetable of departure, I think that's going to swing a lot of people behind her deal, we could get it over the line," said Conservative MP Nigel Evans.
'Toxic Brexit'
But the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), the hardline Northern Irish power brokers who prop up the government, have poured cold water on the deal.
The group's Brexit spokesman Sammy Wilson said the party would rather see a one-year Brexit delay. "Even if we are forced into a one-year extension, we at least would have a say on the things which affect us during that time and would have the right to unilaterally decide to leave at the end of that one-year," he wrote in the Daily Telegraph. "We won't let the PM or the Remainer horde in parliament bully us into backing a toxic Brexit," he said. Britain was originally due to exit from the EU on March 29, and MPs will vote on Wednesday to formalise the extension into law. It has already been written into international law and is expected to pass easily, with May's office saying that "there would be uncertainty for citizens and businesses" if MPs were to reject it. A group of Brexit-supporting MPs however has said that holding the vote after the delay had already entered international law "created serious legal doubts about the legal situation surrounding the extension".

Desperate and Hiding, Collapsed Saudi Oger Workers Left in Limbo
Nearly two years after the collapse of the construction giant Saudi Oger rendered thousands jobless, Lebanese worker Mohammed remains stranded in limbo in Riyadh -- and desperate to avoid arrest. The demise in 2017 of the once-mighty company owned by the family of Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri forced thousands of its expatriate workers to exit the kingdom without months of unpaid wages and end-of-service benefits. But many like 60-year-old Mohammed, who worked for the company for 35 years, are still stuck in Saudi Arabia. The expiration of Mohammed's residence permit makes his presence in Saudi Arabia illegal, but he is also legally barred from leaving due to an outstanding bank loan taken while he was employed. So Mohammed is left in a bewildering limbo, barely scraping by on the kindness of strangers and cut off from his family in Lebanon. "I am a prisoner," he told AFP at the Riyadh apartment of another former Saudi Oger employee from Lebanon in a similar predicament. "When I want to go outside, I choose a time when there are no (police) roadblocks so that I am not detained," he added. Saudi Arabia, home to some 10 million expats, is in the midst of an intensifying crackdown on illegal workers that has seen hundreds of thousands expelled over the past two years.
There appears to be no recourse for the two stranded workers, who requested that their real names be withheld. Without a valid residency, the two men are not allowed to legally find work and repay their debt. And until the debts are repaid, they cannot get an exit visa, a mandatory authorisation to leave the kingdom. According to court documents seen by AFP, Saudi Oger still owes Mohammed more than $100,000 in unpaid wages -- more than double his outstanding bank loan used partly to pay for his children's education.
'Where is justice?'
The impasse spotlights Saudi Arabia's long-criticised sponsorship system, which binds workers to their Saudi employers. It is unclear exactly how many of the company's nearly 40,000 former workers remain in the kingdom.
Company officials and the Saudi labour ministry have not responded to repeated requests for comment. "Employees took car loans, housing loans -- they are not allowed to leave until they repay, in line with the kingdom's regulation," said Wissam Saab, a 48-year-old former employee, who left the kingdom after being bailed out by relatives. "No one is helping," he told AFP from Beirut.The testimonies encapsulate the human cost of the labour-intensive construction sector's slowdown amid low oil prices, causing turmoil in the lives of millions of workers and leading to the demise of what was once one of the kingdom's biggest builders. Former Saudi Oger workers –- from France to Lebanon, India and the Philippines –- are still awaiting salary arrears despite repeated management assurances.
Many distressed employees regularly post screenshots of owed invoices on social media, pleading with their governments to intervene.
"Where is Saudi Arabia? Where is justice? Where is humanity?" workers chanted at a protest in front of the Saudi embassy in Beirut.
"We are asking for our rights, not charity."
Multiple workers said some colleagues have died of life-threatening illnesses as their health insurance -- once covered by the company -– expired.
"They were deported as dead bodies from the kingdom," Chahnaz Ghayad, who offers legal counsel to Oger workers in Beirut, told AFP.
'Fighting hopelessness'
A job at Saudi Oger, which reaped billions for Hariri and helped establish his family as a dominant force in Lebanese politics, was once billed as a ticket to a secure future.The mega-contractor, which shut up shop in July 2017 after nearly four decades in operation, built grandiose complexes including Riyadh's palatial Ritz-Carlton hotel and the all-women Princess Noura University.
But trouble for the company -- heavily reliant on the Saudi state for contracts -- started much earlier as the world's top energy exporter tightened spending following a collapse in oil prices in mid-2014.
The company's former employees, however, pin much of the blame on Hariri's personal and political ties with the kingdom's leadership, apparently helping him to escape stringent penalties over non-payment of wages.
Last year, the kingdom established a committee to handle the restructuring of the undisclosed debt owed by Saudi Oger, but its current status remains unclear. The company reportedly owed at least $3.5 billion.
"The fact that this firm, and the Hariri family, have a political relationship with the government clearly complicates matters," Karen Young, from the American Enterprise Institute, told AFP.
"The fact that Saudi Oger has been in a restructuring process by a government committee, even as it was due outstanding payments by the government, is also distinct from how other failing firms have been treated by the state."
Its former workers, meanwhile, are girding for an indefinite wait.
"Fighting hopelessness all alone," reads a graffiti outside the abandoned residential quarters for its workers in Riyadh.

Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on March 27-28/2019
Fighting Extremism Precedes Fighting Terrorism
Abdulrahman Al-Rashed/Asharq Al Awsat/March 27/19
Declarations of victory are everywhere and on the lips of everyone concerned with the war on terror in Syria. In my opinion, this is a temporary victory, and it is only a matter of time until another Daesh organization emerges.
Daesh, the so-called state whose defeat was announced in Syria last week, was born in 2011 after the declaration of the end of the Al-Qaeda terrorist organization. It was announced that Al-Qaeda had been completely destroyed following its defeat in Baghdad and western Iraq.
The number of those said to be members of Daesh who have been arrested in Syria has reached about 30,000. The number of those who joined the terrorist group during the Syrian war is thought to be more than 60,000, according to an estimate based on the number of detainees who left different parts of Syria after the launch of the international coalition’s attacks against them last summer.
Like Al-Qaeda, Daesh is an idea, and ideas do not die easily in our region’s chaotic, empty environment. Al-Qaeda first appeared in Afghanistan after the Taliban took over and following the withdrawal of US troops in the early 1990s. From there, the idea of cross-border armed extremism spread to the countries of the region through the media, mosques, and other incubators.
Al-Qaeda strongly came into the picture in Iraq after the collapse of Saddam Hussein’s regime and the establishment of a weak temporary government in Baghdad under US administration. It was finally defeated in Iraq after thousands were killed in Anbar province, but it resurged under a new name and flag.
In 2011, the peaceful and civil revolution started in Syria, and Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi, who had established a “caliphate” and named it the Islamic State of Iraq, seized the opportunity to expand his so-called state across the border into Syria. He started to establish Daesh’s presence in Syria and chose Abu Mohammad Al-Julani for the task. But Julani soon disagreed with his leader and instead founded the Al-Qaeda-linked Al-Nusra Front.
Julani decided in 2016 to change the name of his organization to Jabhat Fateh Al-Sham (JFS). He said the aim was to “repel the pretexts of the international community, led by the US and Russia, which are bombing and displacing Muslims in Syria under the pretext of targeting Al-Nusra Front.” The truth is that it was part of the game of forming alliances with Turkey and a number of other Syrian factions.
Other terrorist movements emerged, including the Nour Al-Din Al-Zenki Movement, Liwa Al-Haqq, Jaysh Al-Sunna, and the Ansar Al-Din Front. Even JFS changed its name again to Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham.
Syria was not the only territory to be invaded by Al-Qaeda, as the organization’s branches are present in many areas. Al-Qaeda has a presence in the Arabian Peninsula, the Indian subcontinent and the Islamic Maghreb, in addition to the Al-Shabab organization and sleeper cells in Iraq and elsewhere.
Therefore, declaring victory and the destruction of Daesh’s terrorist caliphate is an event confined to its place and time. Terrorism will remain as an idea produced by extremism. This means that fighting extremism is more important than fighting terrorism, which is limited to the context of carrying arms.
Organizations such as the Muslim Brotherhood remain a large school for producing dangerous ideas, even though among their followers and branches there are peaceful groups that are different from Al-Qaeda.
Extremism has no religion and leads to terrorism. We have seen this in the way the racist right has turned to murder, such as in the recent crime that took place in two mosques in New Zealand. Extremism is one creed that nurtures itself.

White Nationalism Is a Terrorist Threat
Eli Lake/Bloomberg/March 27/19
In the aftermath of last week’s massacre of 50 Muslims at a mosque in Christchurch, New Zealand, it has become common to equate white nationalism with radical Islam. A typical comment came from Senator Elizabeth Warren: “In the same way that ISIS and al-Qaeda terrorism pose a threat to the US,” she said, “so does the rise of white nationalism.”
This perspective is understandable. Right-wing extremist violence is a major domestic threat. According to the Anti-Defamation League’s database, it has accounted for about 73 percent of terrorist-related murders in the US in the last 10 years.
It’s also true, as Warren also suggested, that President Donald Trump has failed to forthrightly condemn white nationalists, such as after the deadly violence at a white-nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017. In recent years, the Department of Homeland Security has even cut funding for some programs focused on countering white supremacism.
That said, it’s unrealistic to expect the US government to treat white nationalist terrorism the same way it has treated the Islamist variety. It’s hard to imagine anyone supporting drone strikes on communities of white militias or other racist outposts, for example. Nor would it be wise to launch a diplomatic initiative to engage moderate white nationalists the way the US government in the past has reached out to non-violent factions of the Muslim Brotherhood.
So it’s worth examining how the two threats are similar — and different. Start with the techniques the two ideologies employ. In Christchurch, the killer recorded his rampage on Facebook’s live stream. Three years ago, a jihadist streamed the aftermath of his gruesome murder of a police officer and his partner outside Paris. In Charlottesville, a white nationalist killed a protester by ramming his car into a crowd, the same method encouraged by ISIS.
The ideologies themselves also have some features in common. Both radical Islamists and white supremacists envision a coming world war and desire a kind of ethnic or religious purity. Both groups celebrate the killing and torment of innocents.
As Graeme Wood, the author of the seminal book on the ideology of the ISIS, puts it: “ISIS and far-right terrorists are both murderous, transnational movements that make full use of modern technology and mass media. Beyond these similarities, the comparison becomes less useful.”
He’s right. For one, white nationalists have no territory they control, as ISIS did until recently. Nor is there evidence of a state supporting white nationalist groups in the way that Pakistan, Syria and some wealthy Gulf patrons have supported al-Qaeda, ISIS and other militants. And while white nationalists gather in the dark corners of the internet, they do not have the kind of rigorous program to radicalize wayward youth first developed by al-Qaeda’s affiliate in Yemen through the American-born Anwar al-Awlaki.
The ISIS and al-Qaeda have inspired the kind of individual murder sprees copied in recent white nationalist attacks in Christchurch and Pittsburgh. But the group has also planned more elaborate terrorism such as the November 2015 massacre in a Paris theater, not to mention the Sept. 11 attacks. So far, white nationalist terror has been far more disorganized and diffuse.
So what should be done? Michael German is a fellow at the Brennan Center for Justice and a former FBI undercover agent who infiltrated white nationalist groups in the 1990s. First, he says, local law enforcement has to do a better job. It should prioritize preventing violence like that which broke out at rally last year in Portland, Oregon, that was staged by white nationalists. A lot of these people had committed crimes and should have been known to law enforcement,” he says. On the national level, German says, the FBI should make public its statistics on white nationalist violence — and separate the numbers from its more general statistics on domestic terrorism, which includes everything from radical environmental groups to black identity organizations.
It is a mistake, German says, for law enforcement to focus too much on ideology. Not everyone who has despicable ideas about race is “violent or on the edge of violence,” he says. German, a critic of some of the measures federal law enforcement has taken against radical Islamist groups, warns against persecuting members of a group for what they believe instead of what they do.
This is the most important reason that the scourge of white nationalism is not like radical Islam: For much of America’s history, white nationalism was the state ideology. It took historic civic protest, Supreme Court decisions and congressional action for this ideology to lose its hold on the state. It will take much more than online trolls and terrorists to bring back segregation and Jim Crow, but vigilance is required — and the FBI has considerable experience infiltrating and disrupting neo-Nazis, Klansmen and white identity militias.
But the bureau cannot be a substitute for political leadership. Here Democrats have a valid point. As president, Donald Trump has an obligation to make clear that white nationalists have no place in American politics. The horror of Christchurch provides yet another opportunity for him to do so. So far, he has failed to take it.

The Global Wealth Illusion Is Paper-Thin
Satyajit Das/Bloomberg/March 27/19
The world is wealthier now than it’s ever been — but only on paper. Much of this prosperity may prove illusory as a global shift toward less liquid investments undermines the basis of valuation.
Private equity, infrastructure, and private credit have become a bigger share of investment portfolios, making mark-to-market values increasingly uncertain. The standard method of valuing assets assumes prices are available and that there is adequate trading liquidity to be able to sell at those levels. This may hold for traditional investments such as stocks and bonds. But assets such as private equity are rarely traded or not tradable at all, necessitating the use of models or proxies instead.
Even for publicly traded assets, mark-to-market values may be less reliable than in the past. Over recent years, trading volumes have declined for most asset classes due to a reduction in dealer numbers, regulations that make it more expensive to hold trading inventory, and central bank intervention. Meanwhile, prices for smaller-cap shares, as well as many corporate and structured bonds, emerging- and frontier-market securities, and distressed debt may not be consistently available. These factors combined with the growth of large funds and the size of holdings mean that the ability to sell at quoted prices is questionable.
Model-based valuations are unsurprisingly sensitive to assumptions about key inputs that may not be easily verifiable. For example, values of private credit may be highly sensitive to presumed default rates and correlation between defaults. For private equity and infrastructure, the models rely on discounting future cash flows. These may be distorted by low rates and decreased risk premiums. The models typically require a residual value to be assigned to the asset at the end of the chosen projection period. Changes in assumptions about termination values can significantly influence model outputs, especially at the abnormally low-interest rates that have prevailed since the global financial crisis — the result of central bank efforts to maintain asset prices and boost spending through the wealth effect.
Sometimes, known sales are used as proxies to establish or calibrate model values. These suffer from the problem of small sample sizes and a lack of exact correspondence to the asset being valued. Adjustments are necessarily subjective. Proxies are sometimes based on sales between funds that are related to each other. This increases the risk of manipulation or error.
All mark-to-market valuations assume the investor or fund can sell the underlying asset. Managers have considerable discretion and, as was the case in 2008, can impose “gate” provisions to prevent fund withdrawals. In a major downturn or under volatile conditions, investors in funds holding private assets are likely to face restrictions on redemption where the managers cannot liquidate holdings. In such conditions, the mark-to-market value won’t be realizable. It may change between the decision to sell and receipt of proceeds. Where the investment is overseas, the ability to repatriate funds can no longer be assumed in an era where globalization and the free movement of capital is under threat.
In addition to misstating wealth, valuation problems create several systemic issues. First, mark-to-market values are asymmetric in nature. Unrealized gains that produce no cash require borrowing against the investment to finance consumption. This has been a factor in rising debt levels. If the mark-to-market value then falls, wealth is reduced but the borrowing must still be repaid. Where the asset value secures borrowings, unrealized losses may trigger margin calls, creating a liquidity squeeze and forced sales that further depress prices.
Second, incentive structures are skewed. Performance-based compensation encourages aggressive valuations that increase assets under management and generate higher fees for managers. This may not be fraudulent as there is ambiguity about the value of non-traded assets. As history shows, independent audits and assurance processes are no guarantee of accurate valuations.
Third, where assets are incorrectly valued, fund managers and administrators may misstate exit and entry prices. This creates potential transfers of wealth between investors. Where fund values are overstated, selling investors gain at the expense of new ones; and vice-versa when they are understated.
True value lies in the ability to turn investments into cash. The problem of mark-to-market, especially of private investment assets, is another known unknown of modern markets and finance. The risks frequently aren’t revealed until it’s too late.
Unfortunately, as investors may discover in the next downturn, one of the uses of financial crises is to expose what financiers overlooked, deliberately or accidentally, and what those responsible for oversight failed to find.

Algerian protesters reject military's gambit to maintain power
Simon Speakman Cordall/Monitor/March 27/ 2019
Algeria's army chief has called on President Abdelaziz Bouteflika to be declared unfit, paving the way for a caretaker president. But protesters argue the military must hand power to the people.
REUTERS/Ramzi BoudinaPeople carry national flags during a protest calling on President Abdelaziz Bouteflika to quit, in Algiers, Algeria March 26, 2019.
After weeks of mounting protests in Algeria, with hundreds of thousands gathering to call upon ailing 82-year-old President Abdelaziz Bouteflika to relinquish office, there are further signs of the president’s inner circle deserting him.
The army’s chief of staff, Gen. Ahmed Gaed Salah — backed by a key part of the country’s ruling coalition, the National Rally for Democracy, and the General Union of Algerian Workers — has echoed protesters’ demands for the president to step aside, proposing a managed process that would see power ceded to a senior member of the country’s political establishment.
But protesters buoyed by the apparent groundswell of support for their cause have dismissed the compromise measure from the country’s ruling elite as little more than a tactical olive branch intended to maintain power within the close political circle that has formed around the infirm president.
Speaking on television, Salah told viewers, “We must find a way out of this crisis immediately, within the constitutional framework." For the army, at least, that constitutional framework appears to be invoking Article 102 of the Algerian Constitution, declaring Bouteflika unfit for office and for power to be transferred to a caretaker power.
However, protest leaders have been scornful of the move. Opposition leader Sofiane Djilali, president of the Jil Jadid party, dismissed the offer and was quoted as saying, "Neither the opposition nor the people will accept this operation. The whole system has to go."
Djilali’s comments found ready echoes upon the street, as protesters tired of almost 30 years of economic and political stagnation voiced their rejection of the offer. “Of course I will still protest until our demands come true,” a spokesperson for one of the leading protest groups — No to the Fifth Term, No to the Perpetuation of Corruption — told Al-Monitor, adding that any decision on Bouteflika’s fitness for office should have been taken at the time of his devastating stroke in 2013 and not now. For the protest group, the latest call from Salah was not so much a reflection of the popular will as a cynical gambit to retain the army’s influence in government. The army must hand power to the people, they said.
Others seized upon the general’s comments as a de facto admission of the army’s longstanding control on government. His comments were revealing, protester Khalil Che told Al-Monitor, as “now he will be facing his responsibility because now many people will know that Gaid Salah is the real government."
“Since 1962 [the date of Algeria’s independence], the military [has been] the real power that makes the decisions,” Khalil said.
The mood among many of the millions who have flooded Algeria’s streets over the previous five weekends similarly appeared as defiant as ever. “The system must go. There is no point for it [to resist],” Belkacem Abidi, 25, told Reuters as he gathered with around 6,000 others — mostly students — in central Algiers following Salah’s intervention.
If the army maintains its plans to invoke Article 102, it risks setting itself on a collision course with the protesters, whose determination to wrest the system from political insiders who have coalesced around the president appear only matched by their numbers and level of support.
According to the constitution, Article 102 allows for Algeria’s constitutional council to declare the presidency vacant if the incumbent is too sick to exercise the functions of office. The council must then appeal to parliament to also declare him unfit. The leader of the upper house, Abdelkader Bensalah, would then take over in a caretaker capacity for 45 days. However, what power Bensalah would have or what his ability would be to enact genuine reform remains unclear.
“Protests will continue. … Algerians’ demands include a change of the political system,” lawyer and activist Mustapha Bouchachi told Reuters.
“The implementation of Article 102 means that the symbols of the system will oversee the transition period and organize presidential elections,” Bouchachi added.
Recent weeks have seen the defection of many of Algeria’s leading parties and politicians from the side of the government to that of the protesters. On Sunday, the president’s own National Liberation Front backtracked on its support for the incumbent’s suggestion for a "national dialogue conference" intended to oversee major constitutional reform, with spokesman Hocine Khaldoun telling the private Dzair TV network the conference would "not solve the problem."
"Honestly, we are going to revise our position on the conference," Khaldoun added, saying that the "conference will not solve the issue because participants will not be elected."
Algeria’s popular protests have grown in numbers since initial demonstrations against Bouteflika’s proposed fifth run for office broke out in Bordj Bou Arreridj, about 125 miles from the capital, on Feb. 13. Fueled by a series of apparent government climbdowns — including rescinding the president’s fifth bid for power — their numbers have since swollen as Algerians from all strata of society have flooded the country’s cities to demand the departure of the country’s paraplegic leader.
Algeria’s protests have been greeted with some apprehension by neighboring countries that typically look to the North African state as either a partner in counterterrorism or a significant source of hydrocarbons, though thus far exports have remained unaffected.
Within Algeria itself, the pressure from the street appears unrelenting. The No to the Fifth Term protest group said the end was within sight. Victory “is not that far," the group's spokesperson told Al-Monitor, adding, “We must continue our pressure on unconstitutional individuals and the military establishment.”
*Simon Speakman Cordall is a Tunis-based journalist.

الحكم بسجن الصحافي الكويتي عبدالله الهدلق ل 3 سنوات على خلفية تغريدات له تنتقد الشيعة
Reformist Kuwaiti Journalist ‘Abdallah Al-Hadlaq Sentenced To 3 Years In Prison For Maligning The Shi’a On Twitter
MEMRI/27/2019
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/73376/%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%ad%d9%83%d9%85-%d8%a8%d8%b3%d8%ac%d9%86-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%b5%d8%ad%d8%a7%d9%81%d9%8a-%d8%a7%d9%84%d9%83%d9%88%d9%8a%d8%aa%d9%8a-%d8%b9%d8%a8%d8%af%d8%a7%d9%84%d9%84%d9%87-%d8%a7%d9%84/
On March 19, 2019, a Kuwaiti court sentenced reformist journalist ‘Abdallah Al-Hadlaq to three years in prison for offending the Shi’ites and “fanning controversies among the sectors of society,” i.e., between Sunnis and Shi’ites in Kuwait. Al-Hadlaq was prosecuted for two tweets he posted in August 2018, in which he wrote that Imam ‘Ali bin Abi Talib – considered by Shi’ites to be the rightful heir of the Prophet Muhammad – and his sons had caused the Sunni-Shi’ite divide in Islam and that ‘Ali bin Abi Talib had deliberately delayed swearing loyalty to the first caliph, Abu Bakr.[1]
‘Abdallah Al-Hadlaq is known for his harsh criticism of the Palestinians, especially Hamas, and of Iran, and for his positive opinions on Israel. Many of his articles have appeared in the Kuwaiti daily Al-Watan, which has occasionally removed them from its website after they sparked outrage. Due to his positions, he was included in a list of Arab writers who were called “traitors” and “Israel’s ambassadors in the Arab world,” which was published in 2009 on Arab websites that support the resistance axis. The list was published after, during the Israel-Gaza war in December 2008-January 2009, the Israeli Foreign Ministry published articles by these writers criticizing Hamas and the resistance axis, without the writers’ knowledge or consent.[2]
This report presents excerpts from articles and statements by ‘Abdallah Al-Hadlaq that were published by MEMRI over the years.
Against Iran
Lifting The Sanctions Will Strengthen The IRGC, Increase Terror Worldwide
In January 2016, in response to the lifting of nuclear-related sanctions on Iran following the publication of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) report verifying that Iran had met its commitments under the nuclear deal, Al-Hadlaq wrote that the lifting of the sanctions would not help the Iranian people, because the regime would continue plundering and appropriating the country’s resources. He wrote: “The fascist Persian Iranian turbaned regime that rules Tehran… interferes in every single matter, and deposits the country’s resources in the hands of those with whom it is pleased, or those who guarantee its continued existence, primarily the Persian [Islamic] Revolutionary Guards [Corps] [IRGC]. When the sanctions on Iran are lifted, and the billions return to it, the people, who is bowed under the yoke of oppression and poverty, knows that it will receive a mere pittance from it, and that the situation will remain the same or even grow worse.
“In terms of economic resources, Iran is considered wealthy, even very wealthy… But this wealth is not reflected in the lives of its residents; only the tiniest fraction of it reaches their pockets… The men of the Persian regime and the IRGC are the unrivalled leaders of the [economic] battle – while the sanctions have hurt all Iranians, they have greatly benefited the IRGC, because after foreign firms left Iran, much of what they had been doing was taken over by the Persian IRGC, allowing it to increase its influence in the country and to take over the billions belonging to the Iranian people…
“The issue of lifting economic sanctions on Iran once again brings up the main question: Will things change? The answer of all those who follow [this issue] indicates that things will indeed change – in greater profit for these same [already wealthy] elements and for the Persian IRGC, which hold the [most important] economic junctions, and will partner the foreign investors on most new projects. The profits of those who already stand to gain will increase, and as for the poor – they will become even more impoverished and miserable in the face of an accursed revolution that consumed its own sons, and then their resources. The unfrozen billions will help strengthen the fascist Iranian Persian regime’s ability to support, fund, and sponsor global terrorism and the satanic and evil plans of the land of the Persians – Iran.”[3]
The Real Enemy Of The Gulf States Is Not Israel But Iran
In an August 1, 2015 article in Kuwait’s Al-Watan daily, Al-Hadlaq wrote that the real enemy of the Gulf states is not Israel, whom he called “a friendly country,” but rather Iran. He argued that Iran’s Rule of the Jurisprudent regime is fascist, and that if it attains nuclear weapons it will not hesitate to use it against the Gulf states – whereas Israel, which has possessed such weapons for years, has never used them in its wars against the Arabs. Al-Hadlaq even called upon the Gulf states to sever their ties with Iran and form an alliance with Israel by strengthening their ties with it on the political, commercial and even military levels. He wrote: “To all those who think the Persian state (Iran), and the regime of the Rule of the Imprudent,[4] [namely] the dictatorial fascist Persian regime which controls it, is a friendly country, whereas Israel is an enemy country, I say that a prudent enemy is better than an imprudent one. The state of Israel and its various governments have waged more than five wars with the Arabs, yet never in the course of these wars did Israel think to use its nuclear weapons against its Arab enemies. Conversely, if the Persian state, with its stupid, rash and fascist regime that hides behind a religious guise, ever develops nuclear weapons, it will not hesitate to use nuclear bombs against the Arab Gulf states in the first conflict that arises.
“Israel is a friendly state that does not endanger us in the Arab Gulf region and we have nothing to fear from it. The one who threatens us, carries out acts of terror and destruction against us, and aspires to occupy us is the arrogant Persian enemy, represented by the regime of the Persian state (Iran), which is the incubator and supportive environment for global terror.
“Hence, I repeat my call to form an Israel-Gulf friendship society, as a first step towards developing and strengthening [our] ties with the friendly state of Israel in the domains of politics, diplomacy, trade, education and military and civilian cooperation. The rapprochement between Israel and the Gulf should be accompanied by a gradual distancing and severance of all ties with the Persian state (Iran) and its fascist Persian regime, now that it has been proven beyond all doubt that the Persian Iranians are involved in acts of terror, destruction and bombing in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Yemen, Kuwait and the UAE, and after it has been proven that they incite and support the Shi’ite Houthi rebels in Yemen, and that the Shi’ite Persian Iranian militias are involved in all the hotspots of terror and conflict in the Arab Gulf and the Middle East, such as in Iraq, Syria and Lebanon and throughout the world.
“I do not rule out – in fact I anticipate – that the servants and agents of Iran in the region, who have Persian blood running in their veins,… will accuse me of ‘Zionism, collaborating with Israel, harboring hatred for Islam and Arabism, betraying the Palestinian cause and being hostile towards the Arab ummah.’ [But now that] the world has become a village thanks to communications [technology], the scales have dropped from the eyes of the Arab and Muslims peoples, and they have realized… that their only bitter enemies are the Persian Iranians, not the friendly state of Israel…”[5]
The International Community Must Keep Iran From Attaining Nuclear Weapons
In an August 16, 2010 article, Al-Hadlaq voiced concern over Iran’s nuclear capabilities and called on the international community to keep it from attaining nuclear weapons, while expressing doubt that this could be achieved by means of negotiations: “The terrorist Persian regime is striving to manufacture an atomic bomb… The international community has placed considerable faith in negotiations with [this regime]… Is the international community still unaware [of the fact] that Tehran’s fascist Persian regime excels at dragging its feet and at deceiving the world and leading it astray with futile illusions and false hopes, while at the same time proceeding with its illegitimate nuclear activities? How long can [the international community] rely solely on negotiations with the Persian side, especially after the Persian regime in Tehran has ordered the Revolutionary Guards to make preparations for an all-out war in the Middle East?… Hasn’t the time come for the international community to take action in order to prevent Iran from [becoming] nuclear?”[6]
Against Hamas
The ‘Great Return March’ Organized By ‘Terroristic’ Hamas Is Provocative And Violates The Islamic Shari’a
Al-Hadlaq is also known for his criticism of Hamas. In a March 31, 2018 article in Al-Watan – which was later removed from the daily’s website – he condemned the Hamas-led “Great Return March” initiative, calling it “provocative” and warning that the protests are likely to get out of hand and lead to escalating violence. He added that the “terrorist” Hamas, an “ally of Iran,” was using women and children as human shields. Al-Hadlaq wrote: “Demonstrations and sit-ins are un-Islamic and are unknown in Muslim history. These are non-Muslim methods that Islam does not accept. Violent demonstrations and sit-ins are negative phenomena that lead to chaos. All this [is based on] religious rulings by qualified fatwa-issuing bodies, and they apply to the calls issued by the terrorist Hamas movement, Iran’s ally, to participate in a violent demonstration titled ‘the Great Return March’ and its call for women and children to lead the terrorists and inciters in breaching the Israeli border fence…
“Despite the organizers’ promise to control the marches and demonstrations and keep them non-violent so as not to give the IDF an excuse to use force, [we can assume,] given the violent and aggressive character of the terrorist, pro-Iranian Hamas movement, and its habit of using civilians, [including] women and children, as human shields, [that] these demonstrations and marches will surely turn into violence, destruction and chaos, and will not manage to generate international sympathy for the ‘Palestinians’[3] or any support for what they call their rights, especially the ‘right of return.’
“The terrorist Palestinian factions decided to organize marches and demonstrations they call ‘The Great Return March’ near the Gaza-Israel border on the 42nd anniversary of the so-called Land Day. The organizers of these provocative marches and demonstrations began to level [the ground] along the border in order to set up a permanent protest-camp for the demonstrators. The IDF will surely not allow the rabble to cross the security fence [between Israel and] the Gaza Strip, and will handle the events from the perspective of Israel’s might and national security. Accordingly, the IDF is making the necessary preparations and bringing in the reinforcements necessary to handle any possible development.
The Palestinians’ previous thuggish and violent marches and protests did not succeed, did not yield international solidarity with the Palestinians, and did not help [improve] the internal [Palestinian] situation by directing the Palestinian anger towards Israel… Israel’s concern is that these marches may target [its territory], leading to escalation [of the violence] and to the launching of a larger and more violent operation on May 15, when America’s ‘Deal of the Century’ [is to be revealed] and its decision to move its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem [is to be implemented].
“The IDF may use protest-dispersal means, such as airdropping flyers, shooting in the air and shooting tear-gas canisters in order to keep the marchers from reaching the border zone. The use of force by the IDF cannot be ruled out if [the protesters] try to closely approach the Israel-Gaza border, and then every kind of response may ensue.
“Any Palestinian proposal is doomed to fail, after President Trump took the courageous and correct decision to declare Jerusalem the capital of Israel and to transfer of the U.S. embassy there, and announced the Deal of the Century, to end the eternal conflict between the state of Israel and the unceasing Palestinian stubbornness… [He did this] because Israel-U.S. relations are strategic and have cultural depth, so the U.S. will never conceivably give up [its support for] Israel, which is its foremost ally. The occasional disagreements between them are short-lived and confined to specific opinions and views. Israel serves the broad American plan, and the disagreements between them are negligible.
“Since December 6, 2017, when President Trump declared Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and launched [the process of] moving the U.S. Embassy there, the Palestinian protests have remained very minor, and, according to current assessments, are dwindling to nothing. The Palestinian Authority6 called for protests, but it does not want violent protests. Hamas, on the other hand, tried to exploit this call [for protests] to spark a third intifada, but its efforts were in vain.”[7]
Hamas Is A Terror Organization
In November 2011 Al-Hadlaq defended Israel’s attacks in Gaza in response to the firing of rockets into its territory. He wrote that the “terrorist” Hamas was firing rockets on innocent Israelis and had started a conflict with Israel that it could finish, and that Israel had a right to defend itself: ” “When terrorist organizations, including Hamas, fire mortars and rockets from the Gaza strip on cities in the Israeli south and kill innocent women and children, the misleading media call it ‘resistance’ or ‘refusal’ or ‘jihad operations,’ but when Israel attacks these organizations’ military and security installations inside the Gaza Strip in order to stop this terroristic firing of mortars and rockets, the media call Israel’s self-defense ‘aggression.’ These media outlets continue to discriminate and to call things by false names. They call the Israeli victims ‘casualties’ while Palestinian victims in the Gaza Strip are called ‘martyrs.’ These media outlets do not hesitate to deceive when they call Hamas’s attacks on innocent civilians in Israel’s southern cities ‘a right of the Palestinian resistance and jihad movements,’ while calling Israel’s defense of its people ‘the Israeli occupation army’s aggression towards Gaza.’
“The terrorist group Hamas has started a confrontation with the Israeli army that it cannot end. After they process the horror of the Israeli response, the Hamas leaders will say what the Persian terrorist, Hizbullah leader Hassan Nasrallah, said: If I knew the Israeli response would be this severe, I would not have provoked it.”[8]
Stop Funding For Racist UNRWA Until It Dwindles And Dies
In a January 10, 2018 article Al-Hadlaq slammed the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), calling it a “biased and racist organization” that “perpetuates the problem of the ‘Palestinian’ refugees,” that succumbs to Hamas’s dictates. He supported the criticism voiced by U.S. President Donald Trump about UNRWA, andcalled to stop all funding and aid to this organization until it crumbled and disappeared. He wrote: “Everybody agrees with the harsh [but] reasonable criticism leveled by U.S. President Donald Trump at UNRWA, for it is a biased and racist organization that perpetuates the problem of the ‘Palestinian’[9] refugees and the narrative of the so-called right of return, an organization whose role is apparently to work towards the destruction of the state of Israel. Hence, the U.N. should stop funding this organization until it crumbles and disappears.
“On January 5, 2018, a few days after President Trump threatened to stop future aid to the ‘Palestinians’, the U.S. froze $125 million in funding for UNRWA… and announced that the funding would not be renewed until the Palestinians stopped being stubborn and resumed negotiations with Israel… [It should be noted that] the U.S. grants $300 million annually to the U.N. Refugee Agency.
“The terrorist Hamas movement, which supports the Persian Iranian regime, rejected [UNRWA’s] curricula on human rights.[10] This caused a grave crisis between the Hamas government and UNRWA, following which the latter suspended these curricula in its Gaza schools… Hamas’s complaint was that these curricula address everyone’s human rights, including those of the Jewish and Israeli people, and contravene the culture and rights of the ‘Palestinian’ people. There are no signs on the horizon of any solution for this broad crisis that developed between the terrorist Hamas government… and UNRWA…
“Therefore, all forms of financial aid and international funding for UNRWA must stop, as long as it [continues] subjecting its decisions to the methodology of terror, exclusion, racism and lack of consideration for the rights of other peoples, namely to the methodology of the Persian Hamas movement that controls Gaza, which [Hamas] imposes upon the UNRWA curricula and schools.”[11]
Against The Palestinian Authority
Palestinian President Mahmoud ‘Abbas Must Stop The Incitement To Hatred And Condemn The Attacks On Israelis.
The Palestinian Authority (PA) has also been a target of Al-Hadlaq’s criticism. On October 18, 2019 he harshly condemned the “Palestinian knife terrorism” and the “incitement” by Palestinian President Mahmoud ‘Abbas. Israel, he stated, has the right to defend itself and also to kill the Palestinian assailants, even if they are women and children. He wrote: “Palestinian President Mahmoud ‘Abbas must stop the incitement to hatred and condemn the attacks targeting Israelis. [He must do] this given the upsurge in stabbing incidents against Israelis in Jerusalem and other Israeli cities.
“As Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has said, the Palestinian knife terrorism will not vanquish Israel.
“In view of the intensification of the crimes carried out by the Palestinians – their knife terrorism against Israeli soldiers and attempts to seize their weapons, as well as crimes against innocent civilians – Israel has a right to defend itself and kill the Palestinian terrorists, whatever their age, whether they are children, adolescents, men, or women.
“It is embarrassing that the international community remains silent, like the dead, in confronting Palestinian crimes against Israelis, the continued series of stabbings against them, and the escalation of Palestinian knife terrorism. This same international community denies Israel’s legitimate right to defend itself, its people, and its citizens.
“The State of Israel will continue to exist, and the Palestinian knife terrorism will not frighten it; the scattered Palestinian refugee camps are temporary. [This is because] despite the international community’s negligence [in that it does not] support Israel’s [right] to defend itself, its people, and its army, we are talking about the Palestinian lie versus the clear, open, Israeli truth.
“Thus, the Israeli truth will win, although only a few support it, and the Palestinian lie will be defeated, even though many applaud it.”[12]
In Support Of Israel And Of An Arab Alliance With It
In Favor Of Moving The U.S. Embassy To Jerusalem
Al-Hadlaq has expressed support for Israel and for the Trump administration’s Middle East policy. In a January 28, 2017 article, he called on Trump to move the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem since this would have many advantages. He summed up his position by saying: “Wise and intelligent diplomats, politicians and pundits are telling Trump, who is reluctant to move the embassy to Jerusalem: ‘Be brave, move it to Jerusalem and trust in God.”[13]
Israel Is Not an Occupier But a Legitimate State Of A People That Has Come Back To Its Historic Homeland
In a November 19, 2017 interview on the Kuwaiti Al-Rai TV channel, Al-Hadlaq said that Israel is not an occupier but an independent state of “a people returning to its promised land,” noting that in 1948, when Israel was founded, there had been no state of Palestine. He called for “the establishment of a three-way alliance, consisting of Israel, the Arab Gulf states and America, in order to annihilate Hizbullah.”
The 2010 Gaza Flotilla Had Terroristic Intentions; Israel Had The Right To Defend Itself
In a June 3, 2010 article, Al-Hadlaq defended Israel’s decision to stop the flotilla headed for Gaza, noting that the organizers of the flotilla were known to have ties with regional and global terrorist organizations and that its participants had planned from the outset to clash with the Israeli soldiers. He wrote: “The Israeli navy gave repeated warnings to the ships [of the flotilla], which tried to break the blockade on the terroristic Hamas movement in Gaza, and also invited them to enter the Ashdod port and unload their cargo of ‘aid’ supplies, so it could be thoroughly examined by the security [forces] before being delivered by land to the Gaza Strip. When the flotilla failed to heed these warnings and requests, the Israeli navy had no choice but to take over the ships. [In doing so], the IDF troops encountered violent [opposition] that had been planned in advance: the flotilla participants assaulted them with firearms, metal pipes, knives and clubs, and grabbed the rifle of one of the soldiers. The weapons had clearly been prepared in advance… and the soldiers had no choice but to respond, including with live fire.
“The Israeli navy operation was conducted according to orders and instructions of the highest political echelons, [and aimed at] stopping the ships and keeping them from breaching the naval blockade and reaching Gaza. The warning message sent by the Israeli navy [to the Mavi Marmara] was as follows: ‘To the captain of the [Mavi] Marmara: You are approaching an area of hostilities, which is under a naval blockade. The Gaza coastal area and Gaza Harbor are closed to maritime traffic. We invite you to enter the Ashdod port, from whence the aid supplies will be delivered through the formal land crossing [to Gaza], after which you can return to your home ports.”[14] It should be noted that, according to the 1993 Oslo Accords, Israel retains control of a 40-kilometer strip of water off the Gaza coast.
“The flotilla, which was supported by the terroristic Hamas movement and tried to breach the blockade on this movement in Gaza, was a preplanned provocation against Israel. The grave outcome [of the takeover] was in direct proportion to the violence [employed by the flotilla activists] as they tried [to breach the blockade]. The [flotilla] organizers are supporters of movements and organizations such as [global] Jihad, Hamas, Hizbullah and Al-Qaeda, and have a black record in terms of smuggling arms and [perpetrating] terror operations. And indeed, the Israeli forces discovered on the ships weapons and ammunition that had been prepared in advance.
“The naval blockade on the Hamas movement in Gaza is legal in light of this movement’s actions in the Strip. Had Israel allowed the flotilla – which was not legal – to reach the Hamas movement, it would have opened a route for smuggling weapons and terrorists into the Gaza Strip. No sovereign country would allow its citizens or its sovereignty to be harmed. Moreover, the attempt to force a path to Gaza by sea does not [really] benefit the people of Gaza, since the land crossings are sufficient for [the purpose of] supplying their needs. International aid organizations provide Gaza with all the necessary food, clothing and medical [supplies]. Over 15,000 tons of basic aid supplies enter the Strip every week. Construction materials enter it under the supervision of international organizations, in order to prevent the terroristic Hamas movement from commandeering them and using them for building military fortifications. The land crossings are the most efficient way to deliver supplies to Gaza, and the flotilla organizers know this perfectly well. They also know that since December 2008, their ships are not allowed to approach [the Gaza coast].
“The protests and demonstrations that broke out in various capitals are without meaning or value, as are the emergency summits [convened by] the Arab League, the E.U. and the U.N. The wave of protests will not change a thing, but a full and immediate investigation of the events will reveal all the details of what really happened… and [then] everyone will know the truth about the Hamas movement…”[15]
[1] Al-Nahar (Kuwait), March 20, 2019.
[2] See MEMRI Special Dispatch No. 2319, Arab Media Publishes Blacklist of Writers, April 27, 2009.
[3] See MEMRI Special Dispatch No.6292, Writers In Gulf Press: Removal Of Sanctions Will Make It Easier For Iran To Keep Funding Terror, And Will Facilitate Its Plans To Harm Other Countries, February 5, 2016.
Writers In Gulf Press: Removal Of Sanctions Will Make It Easier For Iran To Keep Funding Terror, And Will Facilitate Its Plans To Harm Other Countries
[4] A play on the term “Rule of the Jurisprudent.”
[5] See MEMRI Special Dispatch No.6132, Kuwaiti Columnist: The Gulf States’ Real Enemy Is Iran; Israel Is A Friendly Country,
August 12, 2015.
[6] See MEMRI Inquiry & Analysis No. 635, Concerns in Kuwait, Gulf over Iranian Threat to Gulf States, September 8, 2010.
[7] See MEMRI Special Dispatch No.7409, Kuwaiti Columnist: ‘Great Return March,’ Organized By ‘Terroristic’ Hamas, Is Provocative And Violates The Islamic Shari’a, April 1, 2018.
[8] See MEMRI Special Dispatch No. 5061, Arab Columnists Criticize Firing Of Rockets From Gaza As Reckless Escapade Serving Iran, Not Palestinians, November 20, 2012.
Arab Columnists Criticize Firing Of Rockets From Gaza As Reckless Escapade Serving Iran, Not Palestinians
[9] The word Palestinian appears in quote marks throughout Al-Hadlaq’s article.
[10] In February 2014, Hamas stopped UNRWA from introducing a human rights curriculum in it schools, on the grounds that this was intended to brainwash the students and cause them to abhor resistance. See e.g., Al-Quds Al-Arabi (London), February 14, 2014.
[11] Special Dispatch No.7280, Kuwaiti Columnist: Stop Funding For Racist UNRWA Until It Dwindles And Dies, January 15, 2018.
[12] See MEMRI Special Dispatch No. 6192, Kuwaiti Columnist: Israel Has The Right To Defend Itself Against Palestinian Knife Terrorism, October 20, 2015.
[13] See MEMRI Inquiry & Analysis No. 635, Concerns in Kuwait, Gulf over Iranian Threat to Gulf States, September 8, 2010.
[14] The full message of the Israeli navy was as follows: “You are approaching an area of hostilities, which is under a naval blockade. Gaza coastal area and Gaza Harbor are closed to maritime traffic. The Israeli government supports delivery of humanitarian supplies to the civilian population in Gaza Strip and invites you to enter Ashdod port. Delivery of supplies will be in accordance with the authorities’ regulations and through the formal land crossing to Gaza and under your observation, after which you can return to your home ports.” The reply was: “Negative, negative. Our destination is Gaza.”
[15] See MEMRI Special Dispatch No. 3007, Kuwaiti Journalist: The Flotilla Was Violent; Israel Has a Right to Defend Itself, June 8, 2010.

Daesh’s deadly essence must be denied chance to thrive
Dr. Theodore Karasik/Arab News/March 27/2019
With Daesh declared defunct as an organized terrorist force in northeast Syria, the essence of the group’s use of extremist ideology has, in reality, left the Levant to spread more mayhem. We have seen Daesh affiliates begin to pop up from West Africa (Boko Haram) to Southeast Asia, specifically cells in Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines. Libya, Sinai and Yemen also stand out as other locations where Daesh adherents fled to from the Levant. These fighters are still active, so what is happening now is not the end of Daesh in the region per se, but the death of the original cancer after it had already spread to other parts of the body.
Daesh occupied the Levant like a cancer. It followed the traditional trade routes as it expanded, only to be beaten back into a corner and eradicated. This expansion and contraction model is and will be attempted again. Thus, the ideas of Daesh and its use of violent tactics to engrain itself in specific geographical areas is continuing.
Applying a human medical analogy helps illustrate Daesh and its capacity to spread its adherents out from its “caliphate” early in its existence. At its height, Daesh distributed fighters to key geographical areas, especially Libya and Southeast Asia via Malaysia. The ability to allot fighters early on in the so-called caliphate’s existence helped to spread the disease quickly, so that even if the original cancer cell is destroyed the movement’s essence lives on.
The fact that Daesh’s essence is based on hate, and a hatred of civilization in particular, is important. The way its cells transmit is to destabilize authority through violent acts, either as armed groups, small cells or lone wolves. Daesh’s use of the media is also notable, as it feeds on others who share such extremism. The point here is that the group’s essence seeks out crisis or tries to create crisis.
What is most important to understand about Daesh now is what happens to the other groups that pledged allegiance to it and its leader. With that central core gone, a key question needs to be asked: Does the absence of Daesh territory in the Levant mean anything to these affiliated groups? No, the end of Daesh in the northeast corner of Syria does not matter. These groups are more interested in building their own local networks and appealing to outcasts who live in their area. They too use local grievances to enter specific locations, while engaging in criminal acts to self-sustain and operate.
Daesh’s mutation is likely given that any such affiliate is based on local issues and the direction of these groups is not organized in any meaningful matter.
Meanwhile, there is a looming question about Daesh’s money. The fact that its Syrian branch still has hundreds of millions of dollars is a major factor in what happens next. Forensic work is necessary on how best to track down these assets. Smashing the physical territory of Daesh did not destroy its investments in the local economy, and there is reason to believe some assets may be as far away as Southeast Asia and Latin America.
Exactly how these accounts and holdings are going to support any future movement in the Levant is subject to events on the ground, where sustainability of effort will become key. The next wave of Daesh will reappear when the time is right, given that these investments can be made available. Considering the security environment in Syria and its environs, enforcement will be challenging and local responsibility may very well not exist in a manner conducive to stopping such behavior. If the opportunity to seize them does not arrive, these monies most certainly will be diverted to another project or projects.
Beyond that is where hawala, laundering and narcotics fit into the Daesh affiliates’ local landscapes on other continents, where they can establish their own illegal networks of commerce that fall outside of formal legal channels. One might argue that, wherever there is a location that meets the specific requirements to develop such a movement, the Daesh essence is likely to emerge. A key component that is required for Daesh, or any other extremist group, to take root or to act out is a hatred of civilization. Daesh’s essence in itself is hate.
Daesh’s mutation is likely given that any such affiliate is based on local issues and the direction of these groups is not organized in any meaningful matter. This aspect of the extremist movement — the space occupied by Daesh — remains potent and dangerous. It is not limited to specific corners of the earth but is everywhere, except formally in Latin America. This continent may be the next frontier.
Overall, the affiliates and their adherents are fighting on the ground that they currently occupy and attempting to build their power and spread their influence locally. Adherents look for other countries that suffer daily and where hatred, which can take many forms such as through violence, voice or cyberspace, can take root.
It is significant to note that hate is a driver of social destruction not only in terms of race and ethnic relations, but also between religions. Hate is intense, long-lasting and demands retaliation or redress. Hate, in other words, clouds reason. Clearly, hatred leads to extremism that manifests itself across a broad spectrum of belief systems and cultures, which Daesh’s essence thrives on. Deny them that space.
*Dr. Theodore Karasik is a non-resident senior fellow at the Lexington Institute and a national security expert, specializing in Europe, Eurasia and the Middle East. He worked for the RAND Corporation and publishes widely in the US and international media. Twitter: @tkarasik

Golan decree is a diplomatic miracle
Shlomo Pyuterkovsky/Ynetnews/March 27/19
Opinion: Let us not underestimate the significance of US recognition of land captured by Israel in war; Nasrallah is correct that it sets a precedent that can influence policy regarding the West Bank.
A diplomatic miracle occurred this week and it almost went unnoticed. Not because we are indifferent or because it doesn’t excite us, we didn’t notice because our hearts - and rightly so - were with the Wolf family, six members of which were wounded early Monday morning when a rocket sent from Gaza destroyed their house in Moshav Mishmeret (northeast of Tel Aviv). Our hearts were also with the residents of the south who experienced an incredibly difficult 24 hours filled with air-raid sirens, rockets and simply anguish.
Nevertheless, as our heads were turned toward the Gaza Strip, thousands of miles from here something happened that only a few years ago would’ve been unimaginable to us. The United States, which remains the world's strongest and most influential power, recognized the sovereignty of the State of Israel over the Golan Heights. It may seem like a symbolic gesture at first, but in truth, it’s not merely a symbolic matter at all, but rather a very significant one.
The one who understands this better than anyone is Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, who warned in his speech against the precedent that Trump has set by signing this decree. Nasrallah said the move could in the near future lead to similar decisions in East Jerusalem or even the West Bank. And if that sounds absurd to you, think about what a possibility of the American recognition of Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights during the Obama administration, or even during the Bush administration. Until Syria became embroiled in a bloody civil war - nearly ten years ago - the pressure on Israel to withdraw from the Golan Heights, as part of a political agreement, never ceased.
As a child I attended more than a couple of demonstrations protesting the likelihood of withdrawing from the Golan - which was quite conceivable at the time - and here we are today, with the world’s strongest world power officially recognizing it as Israeli territory.
Nasrallah’s concerns are justified. This precedent could establish new facts on the ground about how an area occupied by Israel could eventually become its own territory, under certain circumstances. Of course, this is not true of any area or any circumstances, but it does signify a conceptual revolution in decades of commonly held assumptions about how political borders are defined.