LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN

December 09/16

Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani

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Bible Quotations For Today
Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 11/16-19/:'‘But to what will I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the market-places and calling to one another, "We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we wailed, and you did not mourn." For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, "He has a demon"; the Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, "Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax-collectors and sinners!" Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds."’

I am laying in Zion a stone that will make people stumble, a rock that will make them fall, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame
Letter to the Romans 09/30-33/:"What then are we to say? Gentiles, who did not strive for righteousness, have attained it, that is, righteousness through faith; but Israel, who did strive for the righteousness that is based on the law, did not succeed in fulfilling that law.
Why not? Because they did not strive for it on the basis of faith, but as if it were based on works. They have stumbled over the stumbling-stone, as it is written, ‘See, I am laying in Zion a stone that will make people stumble, a rock that will make them fall, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.’"

Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on December 08-09/16
Syrian-Iranian grip" on Lebanon will tighten after Aleppo -JumblattظReuters/December 08/16
Lebanon cannot disassociate itself, Al Assad warns/Joseph A. Kechichian/Gulf News/December 08/16
Hezbollah's 'Diplomats' Go Operational/Matthew Levitt/The Washington Institute/December 08/16
Russia flies Chechen commandos to Syria/DEBKAfile Exclusive Report December 8, 2016
Is Syrian retaliation against Israel in the works/Ron Ben-Yishai|/Ynetnews/December 08/16
On The Allies We're Not Proud Of: A Palestinian Response to Troubling Discourse on Syria/News Agencies/December 08/16
The Dragon of Islamic Terrorism/Dex Quire/Gatestone Institute/December 08/16
 The airstrike in Syria: Does Putin understand Israel's urgent security needs/Amos Harel/Haaretz/December 08/16
Israeli Defense Ministe Israel Won't Allow Chemical Weapons From Syria to Reach Hezbollah/Gili Cohen/Haaretz/December 08/16
The Iranian spy cell in Saudi and the verdict of execution/Turki Aldakhil/Al Arabiya/December 08/16
Just punishment to be meted out for Iran's agents/Mshari Al Thaydi/Al Arabiya/December 08/16
Is there a military solution in Syria/ Chris Doyle/Al Arabiya/December 08/16

Titles For Latest Lebanese Related News published on December 08-09/16
Israeli Army Publishes Map of Alleged Hizbullah Posts in S. Lebanon
Prison for Michigan Man Sought to Join Hizbullah, Fight in Syria
Qahwaji Inspects Troops in Dinniyeh, Says 'Anti-Terror War' to Continue
Geagea Hits Back at Assad over Lebanon's Dissociation Policy
Report: Cabinet Line-Up Behind Time Despite Positive 'Vibes'
Armed Clashes Spread from Hay al-Sellom to al-Laylaki
Jumblat Accuses Syrian Regime of Assassination Plot
Assad Criticizes Lebanon's Dissociation Policy, Says Aoun's Election Victory for Syria
Attorney Files Complaint to State Prosecution against Mufti of Syria
Kanaan: Proportional Representation, Reforms 'Cure' Regime
Clashes in Hay el Sellom, army interferes
Rahi from Baabda: We call for national unity government before Christmas
Areiji: Ambiance between Hariri, Franjieh more than positive
LAF raids home of wanted man in Hermel
Touch: Telecom services back in Kesrouan, Jbeil, North
Hariri, Abu Faour tackle current developments
Siniora meets UAE ambassador
Kahwagi inspects army in Bekaasafrine: To continue war against terror to eradicate its cells
Syrian-Iranian grip" on Lebanon will tighten after Aleppo -Jumblatt
Lebanon cannot disassociate itself, Al Assad warns/Joseph A. Kechichian
Assad blasts Lebanon's dissociation policy
Hezbollah's 'Diplomats' Go Operational/Matthew Levitt/The Washington Institute

Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin For Miscellaneous Reports And News published on December 08-09/16
Egypt: Potentially Deadly Church Attack Thwarted
Egyptian authorities arrest son of ousted president
Lavrov Says Damascus Has Halted Strikes on Aleppo as Rebels Cornered
Russia flies Chechen commandos to Syria
Russia, USA close to consensus on Aleppo
Nearly 150 patients evacuated from east Aleppo
Turkish soldier killed in bomb attack in Syria
Airstrike kills, wounds dozens in Qaim, Iraq
German defense minister seeks training deal in Saudi Arabia
Palestinian tries to stab Israeli police, shot dead: Israel
Afghan Senate: Iran and Russia are supporting Taliban
Former Member of the U.S. National Security Council: Trump Deals With the Threats of Iranian Regime
Iran: University Students Chanted "Political Prisoner Must Be Released" in a Regime's Official Meeting
Former ICC Judge: Historical duty exists to punish perpetrators of Iran’s 1988 massacre
Iran: Political Prisoner Stages Hunger Strike After Sewing His Lips
Conference on Human Rights Abuses in Iran and EU Policy
China Should Build more Nuclear Arms to Prepare for Trump 

Links From Jihad Watch Site for on December 08-09/16
Italy deports Muslim who was planning jihad bombing in the Vatican
Red Pill for Catholics
Ireland: Muslim cleric who is “specially designated global terrorist” preaches at country’s two largest mosques
UK Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson accuses Saudi Arabia of “twisting and abusing” Islam
Iran opens The City of Games for Revolutionary Children, where children pretend to attack U.S. and Israel
Video: Robert Spencer on the jihad against the freedom of speech
Milo: “There’s a real threat to gays – Islam – that we’ve ignored at the behest of leftists”
Australia: Muslim leaders tell children to turn off Peppa Pig for ‘Islamic promoting’ alternative
Canada: Pro-jihad imam welcomed in Alberta legislature, recites Qur’an
Muslim cleric: Muslims may dress as priests or rabbis to carry out jihad massacres

Links From Christian Today Site for on December 08-09/16
Men With 'Homosexual Tendencies' Cannot Become Priests, Says Catholic Church.
Stripped, Beaten and Killed: The Christian Mother Who Fell Victim To Mob Violence In India.
Churches Report 'Dramatic' Loss In Confidence Over Youthwork.
Should Protestants Pay More Attention To Mary? And What's The Immaculate Conception Anyway?.
Apps Of The Apostles: Do Millennials Read The Bible In The Digital Age?.
Assisted Dying Wins Support Even From Evangelical Christians.
Dylann Roof Has A 'Cold And Hateful Heart' Says Prosecutor.
Gay Clergyman Loses Appeal Against Church After Same-Sex Marriage.
GAFCON Head Warns The Church Against 'Sleepwalking Into Fatal Compromise'.
Employers 'Shouldn't Be Afraid Of Causing Offence' When It Comes To Religion.
Hurricane Matthew Three Months On: Deadly Disease Threatens Thousands Of Lives In Haiti.
More Than 100,000 Sign Petition Protesting After-School Satan Clubs.

Latest Lebanese Related News published on December 08-09/16
Israeli Army Publishes Map of Alleged Hizbullah Posts in S. Lebanon
Naharnet/December 08/16 /In a rare move, the Israeli army has published on Twitter a map of alleged Hizbullah positions, infrastructure and armaments in south Lebanon. The map, according to Israel’s Channel 2, features “over 200 towns and villages” and shows over “10,000 potential targets for Israeli strikes” in the event of a new war between Israel and Hizbullah. A caption on the photo notes that it had been “declassified.”Channel 2 noted in its report that the same map has been shown to “practically every foreign diplomat” visiting Israel.
In April, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu admitted for the first time that Israel had carried out “dozens” of strikes on attempted arms transfers for Hizbullah inside Syria, promising it would continue to target the smuggling of “game changing” weaponry.

Prison for Michigan Man Sought to Join Hizbullah, Fight in Syria
Associated PressNaharnet/December 08/16 A Detroit-area man accused of trying to travel to the Middle East to fight in Syria's civil war has been sentenced to five years in prison. Mohammad Hamdan has been in custody for nearly three years and will get credit for that time. He was sentenced Wednesday, about four months after pleading guilty to making false statements to agents.The government says the 24-year-old Hamdan wanted to join Hizbullah that is classified by the U.S. as a terrorist organization. He was arrested in 2014 prior to boarding a flight at Detroit Metropolitan Airport. Hamdan is a native of Lebanon. He says he won't oppose an effort to deport him there after his prison sentence.

Qahwaji Inspects Troops in Dinniyeh, Says 'Anti-Terror War' to Continue
Naharnet/December 08/16/Army Commander General Jean Qahwaji on Thursday inspected army units in the Dinniyeh area of Bqaa Safrine, where a soldier was killed in an armed attack Monday, vowing that “the anti-terror war will continue.”Lauding the troops' efforts and the efforts of the Intelligence Directorate that “resulted in the swift arrest of all culprits,” Qahwaji hailed “popular support for the army in the North district.”He also pledged that “the war against terrorism and efforts to eradicate its subversive cells wherever they may be will continue,” reassuring that “national stability will remain immunized thanks to the firm shield that the army is providing across the country.”According to media reports, the cell that staged the attack had ties to the Islamic State terrorist group.

Geagea Hits Back at Assad over Lebanon's Dissociation Policy
Naharnet/December 08/16/Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea snapped back Thursday at Syrian President Bashar Assad over the latter's criticism of Lebanon's so-called dissociation policy. “Lebanon's continuation of its dissociation policy is specifically in Assad's interest, because 'should Lebanon speak' it will definitely be against him,” Geagea said in a statement. In an interview with Syria's al-Watan newspaper, Assad has noted that “Lebanon cannot dissociate itself from the blazes that are raging around it.”“It cannot endorse 'the policy of no policy' or what has been called the dissociation policy,” Assad said. Although the Lebanese state has officially adopted the dissociation policy, Hizbullah has sent thousands of fighters into the neighboring country to help Assad fight an Islamist-led uprising. The party has argued that its controversial intervention was necessary to protect Lebanese border towns from extremist groups.

Report: Cabinet Line-Up Behind Time Despite Positive 'Vibes'
Naharnet/December 08/16/Despite the positive atmospheres that emerged in the past two days heralding a cabinet would be formed soon, sources close to Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri said the formation is likely to be delayed, media reports said Thursday.
The source spoke on condition of anonymity that discussions on the distribution of ministerial portfolios and shares in the new cabinet are not complete. “Despite the positive atmospheres that emerged lately, it seems a new cabinet is unlikely to be formed soon despite implications of Hizbullah and the March 8 alliance that a government will be lined-up before Christmas,” remarked the source. “Disagreements over the public works and education portfolios still linger. The problem goes beyond which portfolio to be given to whom. It is related to the redistribution of shares,” it added. “The major problem centers on the enlarged share of the Lebanese Forces party, which made others adhere adamantly to their own demands.”The sources concluded that if it was not for the “large LF share,” the problem with the Marada Movement would have been solved quickly, and Suleiman Franjieh (Marada chief) might have approved to be given the Culture Ministry. Aoun's election as president and Hariri's appointment as premier-designate have raised hopes that Lebanon can begin tackling challenges including a stagnant economy, a moribund political class and the influx of more than a million Syrian refugees. But Aoun and Hariri are still struggling to put together a new cabinet amid conflicting demands from the political forces that are seeking to join the unity government. Horsetrading is still revolving around the so-called services-related ministerial portfolios, mainly public works and telecommunications. Speaker Nabih Berri, who is negotiating on behalf of the Hizbullah-led March 8 camp, is clinging to the finance and public works portfolios while also insisting that the Marada Movement must get a key portfolio.

Armed Clashes Spread from Hay al-Sellom to al-Laylaki
Naharnet/December 08/16/Clashes with machineguns and shoulder-fired rockets broke out Thursday evening at a passenger van station in the Beirut southern suburb of Hay al-Sellom, state-run National News Agency reported. The clashes “spread quickly to the Zoaiter neighborhood in al-Laylaki,” NNA said. An army force has since deployed in the region to restore calm and pursue the shooters, the agency added.

Jumblat Accuses Syrian Regime of Assassination Plot
Naharnet/December 08/16/After doubts that an assassination plot could be planned against him, Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat pointed the finger at the Syrian regime saying it is the “primary suspect” behind such a plot, As Safir daily reported Thursday. Jumblat said he believes that the “biggest winner who will benefit from my assassination is the Syrian regime which has grown stronger after the field developments on the battlefront in Syria,” he told the daily. “In compliance with the security advice, I am residing most of the time at Moukhtara. If it was not for a minor surgery that I had to take in one of my eyes, I would not have come to my residence in Clemenceau in such circumstances,” he went on to say. The MP revealed that a while ago some “serious official security agencies” have warned him to take precautions which compelled him to limit his movement. He asserted that “Hizbullah has also advised me to take the side of caution.”Jumblatt added that no matter how many groups are trying to assassinate him, the primary suspect from his point of view is the “Syrian regime,” adding “those who used to protect me in Syria no longer exist including Hikmat al-Shehabi, Ghazi Kanaan and others.”Jumblat acknowledged that Syrian President “Bashar Assad has triumphed in Aleppo after taking advantage of the International community's abandonment of the Syrian people. Later he will destroy Idlib which means that his influence on Lebanon will grow and the Iranian-Syrian grip on the country will intensify.”
On Wednesday, rebels in Aleppo called for a five-day truce and the evacuation of civilians after losing more than three quarters of their territory including the Old City to a Syrian army offensive. After three weeks of heavy fighting, regime forces appeared closer than ever to retaking all of Aleppo and winning their most important victory yet in the civil war that began in 2011. The assault has prompted a mass exodus of east Aleppo residents and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that at least 80,000 had now fled their homes.
Assad's government has been urging civilians to leave east Aleppo for months and accused rebels of holding residents hostage for use as "human shields."The offensive has killed at least 369 people in east Aleppo, including 45 children, the Observatory says. Rebel fire into the west of the city has killed at least 92 people, including 34 children, in the same period, it says.

Assad Criticizes Lebanon's Dissociation Policy, Says Aoun's Election Victory for Syria
Naharnet/December 08/16/Syrian President Bashar Assad said the election of President Michel Aoun for Lebanon's presidency is a victory for Syria as he stressed that Lebanon can not adopt a dissociation policy, Syrian al-Watan daily reported Thursday. “The arrival of Aoun at Lebanon's presidency is a victory for Syria and for the axis of the Resistance, primarily when the president realizes that Lebanon can not be dissociated from the fires blazing around it and despite that adopt what has been named as the dissociation policy,” said Assad in an interview with the daily. The Syrian President continued to say “Lebanese consensus around the election of Aoun is also a victory for Lebanon. When the president is a national figure who works for the interest of the Lebanese people, Lebanon will become even stronger. When Lebanon is stronger, Syria will be rested and stronger too.”To a question if Assad had invited Aoun for a visit to Syria, the Syrian President said: “Not yet... now they are occupied with the formation of the cabinet.”

Attorney Files Complaint to State Prosecution against Mufti of Syria
Naharnet/Agence France Presse/December 08/16/Attorney representing Syrian nationals residing in Lebanon, Tarek Shandab, filed on Thursday before the general prosecution a lawsuit against Syria's Grand Mufti Ahmed Badreddin Hassoun for “incitement to commit crimes against humanity,” the National News Agency reported. Shandab called for the Mufti's arrest and for adding his name on all Lebanese borders in order to capture him before leaving to Syria. The complaint will be presented to State Prosecutor Judge Samir Hammoud to take the appropriate action in this concern. Early in December, Hassoun rejected claims he had encouraged terrorism in Europe, during a rare visit outside Syria that has triggered outrage from rights groups. In a 2011 speech of his available on YouTube, Hassoun issued a clear warning against intervention in Syria, saying: "From the first round fired, the sons of Syria and Lebanon will become fighters who will carry out suicide attacks on the land of Europe and Palestine. "I say to Europe and the United States: we will prepare the fedayeen (fighters) if you strike Syria, because now it's an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth," he said at the time. Hassoun often appears alongside Syrian President Bashar Assad for religious occasions.

Kanaan: Proportional Representation, Reforms 'Cure' Regime
Naharnet/December 08/16/Change and Reform bloc MP Ibrahim Kanaan said on Thursday that proportional representation together with the reforms proposed to the election law, are the serious solution for the regime's problems. “Proportionality and reforms to the election law, suggested in 2008 and failed to be approved, are the serious solution for the regime's problems and for the parties paralyzing its institutions” said Kanaan via Twitter. Lebanon's political parties are bickering over amending the current election law which divides seats among the different religious sects. Hizbullah has repeatedly called for an electoral law based on proportional representation but other political parties, especially al-Mustaqbal Movement, have rejected the proposal and argued that the party's controversial arsenal of arms would prevent serious competition in regions where the Iran-backed party is influential. Mustaqbal, the Lebanese Forces and the Progressive Socialist Party have meanwhile proposed a hybrid electoral law that mixes the proportional representation and the winner-takes-all systems. Speaker Nabih Berri has also proposed a hybrid law. The country has not voted for a parliament since 2009, with the legislature instead twice extending its own mandate. The 2009 polls were held under an amended version of the 1960 electoral law and the next elections are scheduled for May 2017.

Clashes in Hay el Sellom, army interferes
Thu 08 Dec 2016 /NNA - Clashes took place in Hay El Sellom and expanded to reach the Zeaiter family neighborhood in Laylakeh, which forced the Army to interfere and deploy in the area to restore calm and pursue the trouble-makers, the NNA correspondent said.

Rahi from Baabda: We call for national unity government before Christmas
Thu 08 Dec 2016/NNA - Maronite Patriarch, Mar Beshara Boutros Rahi, called for forming a national unity government before Christmas. Patriarch Rahi on Thursday visited Baabda Presidential Palace and invited President Aoun to participate in Christmas ceremony in Bkerki. He also called for supporting the president because by such "we will support the whole nation."

Areiji: Ambiance between Hariri, Franjieh more than positive
Thu 08 Dec 2016/NNA - Culture Minister, Raymond Areijji, on Thursday described the meeting between Prime Minister-designate, Saad Hariri and Deputy Sleiman Franjieh as "more than positive, calm and objective". He told the "Voice of Lebanon" radio that both sides have discussed the cabinet formation with clarity and frankness. "Franjieh explained to Hariri his stance, stressing that he was not impeding the cabinet formation," the minister confirmed. "Some ideas were proposed and discussions focused on possibility of reaching solutions within Marada's demands. There is a glimmer of hope," he concluded.

LAF raids home of wanted man in Hermel
Thu 08 Dec 2016/NNA - The Lebanese Armed Forces Orientation Directorate issued on Thursday the following statement: "A LAF task force raided at dawn today the residence of Walid Kamel Aalam in Hermel, who is wanted for shooting and killing an ISF member in 2009. The army confiscated from said residence a Kalashnikov rifle, gun, and 2000 rounds of live ammunition, 200 kgs of Hash and 11 kgs of other narcotics. The army also confiscated a machine used in the manufacture and packaging of drugs, 14 surveillance cameras, a number of wireless communication devices and military gear. A Syrian national present at the residence was detained. The person in question did not have any identification papers."

Touch: Telecom services back in Kesrouan, Jbeil, North
Thu 08 Dec 2016 /NNA - Touch telecom company issued a statement in which it explained that it fixed the problem that had occurred in Mar Elias station in Hamat and thus led to communications interruption for over an hour in the regions of Kesrouan, Jbeil and the north.
Touch technical team quickly repaired the problem and, within an hour, the telecom roaming services were operating normally.

Hariri, Abu Faour tackle current developments
Thu 08 Dec 2016/NNA - Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri met on Thursday at the Central House with Public Health Minister, Wael Abu Faour, with talks reportedly touching on most recent developments in the country.

Siniora meets UAE ambassador
Thu 08 Dec 2016/NNA - Future bloc Head, MP Fouad Siniora received on Thursday the UAE ambassador to Lebanon Hamad Saeed Al-Shamsi, with talks touching on the latest developments and means to boost bilateral relations.

Kahwagi inspects army in Bekaasafrine: To continue war against terror to eradicate its cells
Thu 08 Dec 2016/NNA - Lebanese Army Chief, General Jean Kahwagi, confirmed Lebanese Army's deliberation to continue war against terrorism by working hard to eradicate the destroying cells of the terror. General Kahwagi on Thursday inspected the 10th brigade of army infantry in Bekaasafrine whereupon he toured throughout the sections of the military outpost before going to Kfarshakhna to meet military officers there. Kahwagi was informed of the strict security measures taken in favor of preserving calm in the region. He offered his condolences to the army on the martyrdom of soldier Amer Al Mohammad after the recent terrorist attack in Bekaasafrine.

Syrian-Iranian grip" on Lebanon will tighten after Aleppo -Jumblatt
By Lisa Barrington/BEIRUT, Dec 8 (Reuters) - Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's imminent victory in Aleppo will increase Syrian and Iranian influence in Lebanon, the leading Lebanese Druze politician said on Thursday, as Assad said Lebanon could not remain unscathed by regional conflicts. The Syrian army and allied forces have made rapid gains against anti-Assad rebels' main urban stronghold in Aleppo in the past two weeks, and look closer than ever to taking the city at the heart of a conflict now in its sixth year.
 "Assad will win in Aleppo, benefiting from the fact that most of the international community has given up on the Syrian people. Then he will destroy Idlib," said Walid Jumblatt, the main political leader of the minority Druze community in Lebanon and head of the Progressive Socialist Party (PSP).  Idlib province is the rebels' largest remaining patch of territory in heavily populated western Syria.  "This means that (Assad's) influence in Lebanon will increase, and the Iranian-Syrian grip on (Lebanon) will strengthen," he told As-Safir, a Lebanese daily close to the Iran-backed Lebanese Shi'ite Muslim group Hezbollah, which is fighting on Assad's side in neighbouring Syria.  Syria dominated Lebanese government and politics for years and had a military presence in the country until 2005, when it withdrew following the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri and months of anti-Syria protests.  Jumblatt is seen as a weathervane of Middle Eastern politics and his stance towards Syria has shifted more than once in recent years. He was a leading voice in the anti-Syrian movement but then moderated his attitude after a rapprochement with Syria's allies in Lebanon, including Hezbollah.  Early in the Syrian conflict, Jumblatt called for Assad to be removed from power. But he told As-Safir he has no plans to mend relations with the Syrian leader. "I will not end my political life repairing a relationship with Assad ... Even if the regime achieves total victory," he said.  Lebanon, which suffered its own 15-year civil war, is caught up in regional rivalry between Saudi Arabia and Iran.  Despite a 2012 declaration that Lebanon would disassociate itself from regional and international conflicts, the regional tensions have paralysed internal decision-making and raised fears for Lebanon's stability.  After a 2-1/2 year presidential vacuum, former army commander and Hezbollah ally Michel Aoun was elected in October.  In an interview published on Thursday in Syria's al-Watan newspaper, Assad said Aoun's election was a victory for Lebanon and Syria, and that Lebanon could not disassociate itself from Syria.  "When the person (elected) is somebody like General Michel Aoun, who knows the danger terrorism around Lebanon poses for the Lebanese, this will also be a victory for both Lebanon and Syria," Assad said. "Especially when the president knows Lebanon cannot remain unscathed by the fires raging around it." Assad added that Lebanon cannot continue with its "politics of no-policy", referencing the disassociation policy.
 This week Aoun received Syria's Grand Mufti Ahmed Badr al-Din al-Hassoun, who congratulated him on his election. (Editing by Mark Heinrich) 

Lebanon cannot disassociate itself, Al Assad warns
Joseph A. Kechichian/Gulf News/December 08/16
Druze leader Walid Junblatt secludes himself in his Druze stronghold amid assassination fears
Beirut: Syrian President Bashar Al Assad has lashed out at Lebanon over its disassociation policy approved in 2012, which ensured that Lebanon’s political factions did not take sides in Syria’s civil war.  The policy miraculously managed to save Lebanon from being dragged into the brutal war next door, despite the fact that Hezbollah ignored the policy as it openly fought alongside Al Assad forces in Syria.  In an interview with the Damascus daily Al Watan, the Syrian president said, “Lebanon cannot be dissociated from the fires flaring up [in the region] and [cannot] adopt the policy of no politics or what is called the disassociation policy.” Observers believe it was a direct warning to recently elected president Michel Aoun not to forget that he has to answer to Damascus.  “As long as the [president] is a patriot and works in favour of the Lebanese, Lebanon will become stronger. And when Lebanon is strong, Syria will be at ease and stronger,” Al Assad said.  Aoun is an ally of Syria and previously declared his support for “the war on terror”, which was an implicit vote of confidence for Damascus and its ongoing confrontations against revolutionary elements fighting to topple the Al Assad government.  Notwithstanding his decades-old anti-Syrian positions until 2006, Aoun visited Syria in 2009 on a fence-mending trip, accepted to be a guest of the Syrian leader, and reconciled with a regime he had lambasted for decades.
Aoun reconciled with pro-Syrian parties in Lebanon too, especially Hezbollah, which chose to fight alongside the Ba’ath regime.  It remains unclear whether Aoun will now abolish or alter the 2012 “Baabda Declaration” that was approved by rival March 8 and March 14 leaders — including Hezbollah — to “keep Lebanon away from the policy of regional and international conflicts and sparing it the negative repercussions of regional tensions and crises”.  On Wednesday, Aoun received the pro-regime Syrian Grand Mufti Ahmad Badr Al Deen Hassoun, accompanied by Syria’s Ambassador to Lebanon Ali Abdul Karim, which raised the ire of a leading pro-opposition journalist, Carol Maalouf.  Maalouf attacked the head-of-state and Cardinal Mar Bisharah Butros Al Ra‘i (who also welcomed the Mufti) on her Facebook page that mobilised supporters and opponents alike.  The exchanges were unusually harsh, which reflected existing divisions in the country, now further polarised by Al Assad’s latest comments.  Meanwhile, Druze leader Walid Junblatt accused the Syrian regime over a plot to assassinate him.  He told the pro-Hezbollah daily Al Safir on Thursday that Damascus stood to benefit the most if he was assassinated.  Junblatt admitted to spending most of his time secluded in the Druze stronghold of Al Mukhtarah, staying away from his Beirut residence.  The Druze leader admitted that Al Assad has “triumphed in Aleppo after taking advantage of the international community’s abandonment of the Syrian people”.  Al Assad, Jumblatt opined, will next “destroy Idlib, which means that his influence on Lebanon will grow and the Iranian-Syrian grip on the country will intensify”.

Assad blasts Lebanon's dissociation policy
The Daily Star/December 08, 2016 /BEIRUT: Syrian President Bashar Assad denounced Lebanon's policy of staying out of regional conflicts, calling the election of President Michel Aoun a triumph for the country. "[Aoun] is aware of the [impact] of terror risks surrounding Lebanon ... in particular when this president knows that Lebanon cannot be dissociated from the fires flaring up [in the region] and [cannot] adopt the policy of no politics, or what is called the disassociation policy," Assad said in a lengthy interview published by Syria's Al-Watan newspaper Thursday. "As long as the [president] is a patriot and works in favor of the Lebanese, then Lebanon will become stronger. And when Lebanon is strong, Syria will be at ease and stronger," he said. Aoun is a key ally to pro-Syrian parties in Lebanon. He visited Syria in 2009 on a fence-mending trip and was the guest of the Syrian leader for a few days. Aoun had also announced his support for "the war on terror" in Syria, implicitly voicing support for the government’s war on rebels fighting to topple Assad's government. In 2012, rival March 8 and March 14 leaders reached an agreement called the “Baabda Declaration,” which called for “keeping Lebanon away from the policy of regional and international conflicts and sparing it the negative repercussions of regional tensions and crises." It came to be known as Lebanon's disassociation policy. Lebanon remains sharply split over the conflict in Syria that erupted in 2011. While Hezbollah and some of its allies back the Syrian government, their rivals support some of the rebel groups fighting against the Syrian government.
Since Aoun’s election in Oct. 31, he met with Syrian Minister of Presidential Affairs Mansour Fadellulah Azam and Syria's Grand Mufti Ahmad Badreddine Hassoun. 

Hezbollah's 'Diplomats' Go Operational
Matthew Levitt/The Washington Institute/December 2, 2016
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/2016/12/08/matthew-levitt-hezbollahs-diplomats-go-operational%D9%85%D8%A7%D8%AB%D9%8A%D9%88-%D9%84%D9%8A%D9%81%D9%8A%D8%AA-%D8%AF%D8%A8%D9%84%D9%88%D9%85%D8%A7%D8%B3%D9%8A%D9%88-%D8%AD%D8%B2%D8%A8/
Officials in Washington and abroad should pay close attention to the group's self-styled 'ambassadors,' who are increasingly being implicated in criminal and terrorist activities around the world.
Given Hezbollah's deployment of several thousand fighters in Syria, many of its most seasoned military commanders and terrorist operatives have been pulled away from their traditional missions manning posts along Lebanon's border with Israel or engaging in financial, logistical, and operational activities abroad. The group has suffered more casualties in the Syria war than in all of its battles with Israel, forcing it to use its cadre of international terrorist operatives assigned to the Islamic Jihad Organization (a.k.a. the External Security Organization, or ESO) as battlefield reinforcements. Consequently, Hezbollah has relied even more than usual on its Foreign Relations Department (FRD), whose members formally serve as liaisons to Shiite communities around the world but who have been increasingly employed in various criminal and terrorist activities.
BACKGROUND
The most prominent ESO official to be switched from international terrorist duties to the Syria war was Mustafa Badreddine, who was given command of Hezbollah's new Syria Battalion even as he remained the ESO's titular head (he was eventually killed there this May). Other senior ESO operatives, including Ibrahim Aqil and Fuad Shukr, also played "a vital role" in Syria by aiding Hezbollah fighters and Assad regime forces against the rebels, according to a July 2015 Treasury Department release.
Interestingly, Hezbollah's international operatives underwent a different sort of shakeup just before the war due to a series of failed terrorist operations in places such as Azerbaijan and Turkey. In January 2010, Badreddine and his deputy Talal Hamiyah "undertook a massive operational reevaluation" at the direction of Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah, leading to "big changes" within the ESO over a period of six months. The crux of the plan involved recruiting new operatives from Hezbollah's military units for intelligence and operational training, thereby developing capabilities and tradecraft that had withered on the vine since the group decided to rein in its international operations for fear of being caught up in the post-2001 war on terror. But the pivot to Syria in 2011 cut this recruitment drive short, and the flow of personnel shifted away from the ESO and toward the military wing, not the other way around.
WHAT IS THE FRD?
Alongside its clandestine foreign operatives, Hezbollah also maintains a more public international presence through its Foreign Relations Department, which has representatives around the world. The FRD functions overtly in Lebanon and in a semipublic fashion abroad. Previously headed by Nawaf al-Musawi, it is currently led by Ali Damush. Some FRD personnel are Lebanese members sent abroad, while others are Hezbollah supporters who already live in the countries in question. Most have close ties to senior Hezbollah officials, and many have significant military training.
In Canada, intelligence officials assess that the FRD is responsible for setting up front organizations and other platforms in foreign countries in order to serve as talent spotters and mobilize local Shiite support for Hezbollah and Iran. According to government counterterrorism websites and private conversations with officials, Canadian authorities regard Hezbollah as "one of the most technically capable terrorist groups in the world" and have investigated all of its activities in their territory, including those of the ESO and FRD. They see the FRD's primary missions as propaganda, financing, and support, and the ESO's as procurement and terrorism.
Similarly, the British government has long acknowledged "a small, overt Hezbollah presence in the UK with extensive links" to the FRD, which London regards as "distinct" from the ESO. Other governments have observed more overlap in their functions; for example, New Zealand terrorist designations describe the ESO as Hezbollah's "foreign intelligence unit specializing in espionage, counter-intelligence, and dispatching operatives overseas to infiltrate diaspora communities, business and criminal networks, and carry out terrorist attacks." These lines of effort are now frequently blurred as FRD operatives increasingly engage in more covert and operational activities alongside their public functions.
According to an October 2006 National Defense University study by Shmuel Bar, the FRD reports up through Hezbollah's Political Council, while the ESO reports through the Jihad Council. Yet FRD personnel have a long history of performing not only political and ambassadorial functions, but also logistical, fundraising, and even operational activities in service of the ESO. For example, a 2015 Treasury Department assessment released in the context of designating FRD operatives in Africa stated that "the FRD claims to be in charge of 'community relations,' but the primary goal of the FRD in Nigeria is to scout recruits for Hezbollah's military units, as well as to create and support Hezbollah's terrorist infrastructure for its operational units in Africa and globally."
THE FRD'S PUBLIC ROLES
In terms of overt "diplomatic" activities, FRD personnel serve a number of functions abroad. They provide logistical support to visiting Hezbollah delegations. They build "community centers" to encourage local Shiite support for Hezbollah and serve as a base for the group's activities. They raise funds, spot potential recruits, and serve as liaisons, maintaining communication between local supporters and Hezbollah leaders in Lebanon, as well as between Hezbollah operatives in various countries.
Following the 9/11 attacks, Hezbollah invested particular time and energy in bolstering its relations with European countries. Former FRD leader Musawi spearheaded this diplomatic blitz, sending delegations to Denmark, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, and Britain in 2002-2003. The delegations were primarily composed of Hezbollah representatives in Lebanon's parliament; their main goals were to keep the group off the EU terrorism list and bolster its ties to local Lebanese and Shiites. Travel and other logistics for these visits were handled by Europe-based FRD personnel. Hezbollah also attempted to purchase a building in Berlin in June 2002 to serve as a "cultural center"; officials assessed that it would have been a headquarters for the group's activities on the continent.
Hezbollah operatives in South America have provided similar FRD-style services. In 2008, the Treasury Department exposed Venezuela-based Hezbollah supporter Ghazi Nasr al-Din, who, among other things, "facilitated the travel of two Hezbollah parliamentarians to Caracas to solicit donations...and announce the opening of a Hezbollah-sponsored community center and office in Venezuela." In Brazil, Hezbollah officials ran a mosque at which anyone who was not a member of the group was barred from attending services. In the Tri-Border Area (TBA), Sobhi Fayad "served as liaison between the Iranian embassy and the Hezbollah community" in Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay, according to a 2006 Treasury designation. And in Colombia, FRD operative Ali Mohammad Saleh "maintained communication with suspected Hezbollah operatives in Venezuela, Germany, Lebanon and Saudi Arabia" as early as 2010.
Such patterns have emerged in Africa as well, where FRD official Ali Ahmed Chehade coordinates travel for Hezbollah members, including from Senegal to Cote d'Ivoire. He actively assists Abd al-Menhem Qubaysi, whom the U.S. government believes is Hassan Nasrallah's personal representative in West Africa. Qubaysi has also hosted senior Hezbollah officials visiting Cote d'Ivoire and elsewhere in Africa. His activities are largely overt, such as speaking at the group's local events and opening an official Hezbollah foundation in Cote d'Ivoire (the Treasury Department has noted that this foundation is used "to recruit new members for Hezbollah military ranks in Lebanon"). These and other actions have drawn the attention of officials in Africa, where the regional arm of the Financial Action Task Force noted Chehade's FRD activities in a 2013 report on terrorist financing in West Africa. Elsewhere, FRD operatives Fouzi Fawaz and Abdallah Tahini have organized Hezbollah delegations to Nigeria.
OPERATIONAL ACTIVITIES
As mentioned above, many FRD operatives have close ties to senior Hezbollah officials, and some (e.g., Saleh in Columbia) have military training or fighting experience. Others (e.g., Fawaz and Tahini in Africa) have personal connections to ESO operatives. It is therefore no surprise that Hezbollah has periodically called on its FRD network to engage in activities of a more operational nature.
For example, in 2004, the Treasury Department revealed that Hezbollah leaders in Lebanon had tasked TBA-based Assad Ahmad Barakat -- one of the group's "most prominent and influential members" -- with collecting "sensitive information" about local Arabs traveling to the United States and Israel. He then transmitted that information to the FRD in Lebanon.
FRD activities in Africa have been particularly disconcerting. A June 2013 Treasury Department release outlined the problematic behavior of self-styled Hezbollah "ambassadors" in Sierra Leone, Senegal, Cote d'Ivoire, and the Gambia. Abbas Loutfe Fawaz, an FRD operative in Senegal, met with senior officials in Lebanon to "discuss security" amid the potential indictment of Hezbollah members by the UN Special Tribunal for Lebanon. He offered to send Lebanese nationals living in Senegal back home if Hezbollah security officials thought they would be useful there. Similarly, Cote d'Ivoire operative Chehade has recruited locals for the group and sought to send them to Lebanon. These and other findings led the Treasury to conclude that Hezbollah "is determined to adapt and use its international support networks to support terrorist attacks against civilians around the world."
Similarly, a February 2015 Treasury release described how the previously mentioned FRD operatives Fouzi Fawaz and Abdallah Tahini had become "members of a Hezbollah terrorist cell" in Nigeria along with Fawaz's brother, Mustapha, an ESO operative. Fouzi was accused of possessing "heavy weapons" and being involved in "other terrorism-related activities." After a Hezbollah weapons cache was found in the city of Kano in 2013, Nigerian authorities issued arrest warrants for Fouzi and Tahini.
CONCLUSION
There has never been any true firewall between Hezbollah's so-called "wings," and the fact that elements reporting to the group's Political Council are so deeply involved in criminal and terrorist activity highlights the pretense of such a distinction. Many of these individuals are personal representatives of Nasrallah himself or have close ties to the group's other senior political leaders, further undermining any attempt to differentiate the ESO and FRD.
After Hezbollah entered the Syria war, officials on multiple continents revealed that FRD operatives were being used more often for covert activities such as recruiting operatives, collecting intelligence, and providing logistical support for terrorist operations. In true diplomatic circles, such behavior would be described as "conduct unbecoming," but FRD operatives are not real ambassadors -- they enjoy no diplomatic status, and they represent a militant group widely recognized as engaging in acts of terrorism. For countries seeking to deter and disrupt Hezbollah activities within their borders, expanding their investigations to include the FRD is long overdue.
**Matthew Levitt is the Fromer-Wexler Fellow and director of the Stein Program on Counterterrorism and Intelligence at The Washington Institute.

Latest LCCC Bulletin For Miscellaneous Reports And News published on December 08-09/16
Egypt: Potentially Deadly Church Attack Thwarted
Raymond Ibrahim/Coptic Solidarity/December 08, 2016
A man hurled an improvised bomb at the entrance of a packed church in Egypt in what observers say could’ve been a repeat of the Two Saints Church attack in Alexandria, 2011, which left 23 dead, and 100 injured. The bomb was dismantled before exploding. The attack occurred during the late hours of Saturday, November 12. Thousands of Coptic Christian worshippers had assembled for a church celebration inside the St. George Church in Samalout, al-Minya province. One Christian near the entrance saw an unknown man drive up on a motorbike, hurl the bomb at the church, before quickly riding away. Security agents were instantly contacted, even as one young Coptic man grabbed the bomb and rushed it away from the church’s premises. The congregation fled out of the church in what was described as a “tense” and “terrifying” night. The bomb squad arrived quickly and managed to dismantle the bomb before it detonated. The St. George Church has stood for more than one hundred years in Samalout. Although the total church property is 1200 square meters, the church building is only 300 square meters. In an effort to accommodate Samalout’s thousands of Christians, church leaders have for seven years attempted to enlarge the church on its own property, as well as build a fence for protection, but authorities refuse to allow them.

Egyptian authorities arrest son of ousted president
Thu 08 Dec 2016/NNA - An Egyptian official says security forces have arrested the son of ousted President Mohammed Morsi. The official says that Osama Morsi was wanted by authorities, without providing further details. The state-run news website Al-Ahram reported the arrest, saying Osama is accused of inciting violence. The official says Osama, one of Morsi's five children, was led away from his house in the Nile Delta on Thursday. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to brief the press.
Morsi, Egypt's first freely elected president, was overthrown by the military in 2013. He faces a raft of charges in at least four separate cases and has received death sentences from lower courts.--AP

Egypt officers in Syria for “counterterror exchange”: report
Now Lebanon/December 08/16/Al-Akhbar claimed that Egyptian troops are embedded throughout Syria, including the Latakia and Hama military airports.
BEIRUT - Another Lebanese daily has claimed that Egyptian officers have deployed to Syria alongside regime forces amid swirling reports on the matter that Cairo denied in late November. “A contingent of Egyptian security and military officers deployed to Syria in the beginning of November as part of a military cooperation program, sponsored by Russia, for the purpose of fighting terrorism,” Al-Akhbar, which is close to Hezbollah, reported Wednesday. The newspaper claimed that the deployment followed Syrian National Security Bureau chief Ali Mamlouk’s trip to Cairo in mid-October, which Syrian state media said focused on “strengthening coordination in the fight against terrorism.” Al-Akhbar said that the Egyptian officers in Syria were deployed across a number of bases, including the Syrian armed forces’ General Staff HQ in Damascus, the Hama military airbase, the Hmeimim military airport where Russia’s air force is based, the T-4 airbase outside Homs, as well as a number of “military operation rooms,” such as the one in Jourin in the Al-Ghab plain straddling the Hama and Latakia provinces. “The Syrians and Egyptians officers are working on the exchange of experiences among themselves, especially the transfer of the Syrian army's experiences in the fighting against terrorism Egyptian army battling terrorism in the Sinai Peninsula,” the report further claimed. “The number of Egyptian [military officers] on Syrian territory could reach up to 200 by the end of 2016,” the report also said, adding that “an Egyptian naval frigate will arrive in Tartus with an engineering battalion on board.” According to Al-Akhbar, the engineering battalion will soon swing into action in Aleppo to defuse improvise explosive devices “in full coordination with Syrian and Russian troops.”Egypt has yet to comment on the Al-Akhbar article, however it previously denied media reports that its officers were deployed in Syria, saying on November 27 that “these claims only exist in the imagination of those promoting them.”Days earlier, another pro-Assad Lebanese newspaper, As-Safir, reported that Egypt sent a contingent of officers to Syria, including 18 helicopter pilots deployed in the Hama military airbase. A source also told the newspaper that Cairo was set to deploy a larger force to Syria starting in January 2017 to take part in military operations alongside regime forces.
NOW's English news desk editor Albin Szakola (@AlbinSzakola) wrote this report. Amin Nasr translated Arabic-language material.

Lavrov Says Damascus Has Halted Strikes on Aleppo as Rebels Cornered
Naharnet/Agence France Presse/December 08/16/Syria's army on Thursday halted its attacks in Aleppo to allow for trapped civilians to be evacuated, Russia's foreign minister announced, after advancing regime forces cornered rebels in the city.
"I can tell you that today combat operations by the Syrian army have been halted in eastern Aleppo because there is a large operation underway to evacuate civilians," said Sergei Lavrov, who held talks with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry in the German city of Hamburg. "There is going to be to a column of 8,000 evacuees" traveling five kilometers (3 miles), added Lavrov, attending a meeting of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). In Washington, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said that Lavrov's announcement was "an indication that something positive could happen."
There was no immediate reaction from Damascus, but the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a monitoring group, confirmed that the fighting had eased. Air strikes halted and artillery fire was far less intense, according to the AFP correspondent in east Aleppo.
Moscow is a key ally of Syrian President Bashar Assad and launched an air war in support of his forces last year, while Washington and other Western nations have supported rebel forces. Russia this week suggested a deal was in the works for rebels to be allowed to withdraw from Aleppo to other opposition-held territory. On the strength of his army's latest gains in territory of east Aleppo held by the rebels, Assad said in a newspaper interview Thursday that victory for his troops would be a turning point in Syria's five-year war.
Three weeks into a major offensive to retake all of Aleppo, government troops have captured about 85 percent of territory rebels controlled in the city's east. AFP correspondents in the city said rebel areas faced intense bombardment on Thursday before Lavrov's announcement. Cornered in a shrinking enclave in Aleppo's southeast, the rebels have asked for a five-day ceasefire. Western countries have backed the call, and Kerry and Lavrov held talks on Thursday for a second straight day in an effort to halt the bloodshed.
Assad predicts victory
The U.N. renewed its call for an immediate ceasefire in Aleppo, warning that as many as 500 sick and injured children desperately needed to be evacuated. "There has to be a pause," said Jan Egeland, head of the U.N.-backed humanitarian taskforce for Syria.
"At the moment, those who... try to escape are caught in crossfire, they are caught in shelling, (and) risk being hit by snipers," he said. In a wide-ranging interview with Syrian daily al-Watan, Assad predicted victory for his forces in Aleppo, though he admitted that would not end the country's conflict entirely. "It's true that Aleppo will be a win for us," Assad said. "Let's be realistic -- it won't mean the end of the war in Syria," he said. "But it will be a huge step towards this end." Rebels seized control of large parts of Aleppo in 2012, dividing Syria's former commercial hub into an opposition-held east and government-controlled west. For years Aleppo was a key battleground and important rebel stronghold, but Assad's forces have recently made a concerted push to retake the city.
In the last week government forces steadily gained ground until on Wednesday -- after a highly symbolic retreat from the Old City -- the rebels called for the ceasefire to allow thousands of civilians to evacuate. Assad's government has said a truce is only possible after a full rebel withdrawal, and opposition fighters have rejected any talk of abandoning Aleppo.
On Thursday the army, backed by fighters from Iran and Lebanon's Hizbullah, continued to advance, said the Syrian Observatory. The Britain-based monitor had reported heavy clashes in several rebel neighborhoods, including Bustan al-Qasr, Saif al-Dawla, Zibdiya, Sukkari and Kallaseh. All rebel areas had been under heavy bombardment, it said, with opposition forces returning fire with rockets into government-controlled west Aleppo.
At least 384 civilians have been killed in east Aleppo during the offensive, while rebel fire into the west has killed at least 105 people, the Observatory says.
Red Cross evacuates civilians
The assault has prompted a mass exodus from east Aleppo where at least 80,000 people have fled their homes, according to the monitor. On Thursday, hundreds of families, most of them from the Salhine district, arrived in Aziza, a southeastern suburb of Aleppo, after the latest rebel defeats. "I feel reborn," said Yasser, a 40-year-old father of four as he tugged at a cart stacked with luggage atop of which sat his ailing mother. The International Committee of the Red Cross said it carried out an operation on Wednesday night with Syria's Red Crescent to evacuate 150 civilians, many disabled or sick, from a health facility in the Old City. It was unclear how many civilians remained in rebel territory, but there were an estimated 250,000 in east Aleppo prior to the latest offensive. An appeal also came from the White Helmets rescue group for international organizations to protect its members in rebel-held parts of east Aleppo. "If we are not evacuated, our volunteers face torture and execution in the regime's detention centers," they said in a statement. 

Russia flies Chechen commandos to Syria
DEBKAfile Exclusive Report December 8, 2016
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/2016/12/08/debkafile-russia-flies-chechen-commandos-to-syria/
http://www.debka.com/article/25828/Russia-flies-Chechen-commandos-to-Syria
Moscow started to deploy Chechen special operations forces units to Syria this week, debkafile’s military sources reveal. The troops come from elite units of the Chechen military with extensive field experience in urban warfare. Some of the units fought in eastern Ukraine in the past two years and, before that. in Chechnya for suppressing radical Islamic terror organizations linked to Al Qaeda and the Salafi movement.
The soldiers called up for the deployment in Syria were ordered to report to the Khankala base east of the Chechen capital Grozny. They are being vetted by Russian officers who determine which are suitable for the Syrian mission.
In the initial stage, the deployment will consist of three divisions totaling about 1,000 soldiers. Since like Russia, Chechen law bars regular army troops from being sent beyond the country’s borders, the soldiers assigned to Syria will wear the uniform of the Chechen Interior Ministry’s security forces, which are not part of the regular army.
They will be flown directly from the Russian air force facility at the Khankala base by giant Ilyushin-76 transport planes to Russia’s Hmaimim Air Base, about 1,200km away.
Moscow has never before dispatched a substantial number of ground troops to the Syrian battlefield.The deployment of the Chechen proxies has three goals:
1. To free the forces of the coalition supporting Syrian President Bashar Assad, including Russia, of responsibility for holding and defending territory they captured in Syrian cities, especially Aleppo.
2. To reinforce the Russian, Iranian, Syrian and Hizballah troops with highly-trained commandos capable of spearheading the next challenging battles in places like the Idlib region in the north and Darra in the south.
3. To save Russian President Vladimir Putin and Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu from having to send Russian ground troops to finish the Syrian war. The return of a rising number in coffins would set off a loud popular outcry against the government.
In the past month, three Russian servicemen lost their lives in Syria, including a colonel. Until now, the Russian military had sent only small groups of Spetsnaz (special forces) troops, whose task was confined to guarding Russian military, air and missile facilities in Syria.
The latest batch of Chechen fighters is not the first Moscow has dispatched to the Middle East. On Sept. 2, Russia’s Interfax news agency reported that “a self-organized group of young people from Chechnya had undertaken to combat the terrorist organizations.” They were described by Russian spokesman as young people who had offered to gather information on Russians and Chechens who had joined ISIS. In other words, they had “volunteered” to infiltrate ISIS units as spies. What befell those young people was never reported.

Russia, USA close to consensus on Aleppo
Reuters, Moscow Thursday, 8 December 2016/Russia and the United States are close to reaching an understanding on Syria’s Aleppo, the Interfax news agency quoted Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov as saying on Thursday. “In the past several days an intensive document exchange on the situation in Aleppo has taken place,” Ryabkov was quoted as saying. “We are close to reaching an understanding, but I want to warn against high expectations,” Ryabkov added. The Kremlin said on Wednesday that a potential US-Russia deal to allow Syrian rebels to safely leave Aleppo was still on the agenda. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was due to meet US Secretary of State John Kerry in Hamburg later on Thursday after the two men held talks on Wednesday.

Nearly 150 patients evacuated from east Aleppo
Reuters, Geneva Thursday, 8 December 2016/Nearly 150 civilians, most disabled or in need of urgent medical care, were evacuated overnight from a hospital in Aleppo’s Old City, the first major evacuation from the eastern sector, the International Committee of the Red Cross said on Thursday. They had been trapped there for days by nearby fighting and as the front line moved closer. Eleven patients had died from lack of medication or been killed in crossfire before ICRC and Syrian Arab Red Crescent teams could reach them, it said.
The head of the ICRC delegation in Syria, Marianne Gasser, who is in the city, said in a statement on the evacuees: “Many of them cannot move and need special attention and care.”Of the evacuated disabled, mental health patients and wounded from Dar Al-Safaa hospital in the Old City late on Wednesday, 118 patients were taken to three hospitals in the government-controlled west of Aleppo. Trauma and emergency cases were taken to Al-Razi surgical hospital and University Hospital, ICRC spokeswoman Krista Armstrong told Reuters, and Ibn Khaldoun hospital took the mental health and elderly patients, she said. Thirty other men, women and children were taken to shelters, also in the west of the city, the ICRC statement said. As heavy fighting continues in eastern Aleppo, the humanitarian situation is “known to be catastrophic”, the ICRC said. The agency called on all warring sides to allow a humanitarian pause to be able to deliver aid supplies in the besieged sector which has been inaccessible since April. The Syrian army has gained control of all parts of the Old City, a war monitoring group said on Wednesday, part of an advance which has seen insurgents lose about two thirds of their main urban stronghold over the past two weeks.

Turkish soldier killed in bomb attack in Syria
AFP, Istanbul Thursday, 8 December 2016/A Turkish soldier was killed Wednesday in a car bomb attack in northern Syria where troops are helping Syrian rebels capture a key town from ISIS militants, the army said. The attack took place near the town of Al Bab, 25 kilometres (15 miles) from the Turkish border, which has become a key target of the army’s more-than-three-month campaign inside Syria, the army said in a statement quoted by the state-run Anadolu news agency. Six soldiers were wounded, one of them seriously, it added. An earlier reported toll had said two soldiers were killed. The Turkish army has pressed ahead with an ambitious campaign inside Syria to back opposition fighters who have since August captured Jarabulus, Al Rai and the symbolically important town of Dabiq from ISIS. However, capturing Al Bab -- where the militants reportedly regrouped after fleeing an earlier offensive -- has proved much tougher in an operation that has already taken several weeks. After the lightning speed of the earlier campaign, the Turkish army has suffered increasing casualties in the fight for Al Bab, with most the deaths blamed on ISIS attacks. In November, however, four Turkish soldiers were killed by an air strike the army said it believed was carried out by President Bashar al-Assad’s forces. Meanwhile, the army said on November 29 that two Turkish soldiers had gone missing in Syria, the first time such an incident had been reported in the campaign. The ISIS-linked Amaq news agency claimed that the militant group had taken the pair hostage. The Turkish government says its military offensive is seeking to cleanse its border from ISIS and Syrian Kurdish militia forces, regarded as terror group by Ankara. Turkey has for years been pressing for a safe zone inside Syria to shelter refugees along its border, but so far, its calls have not been heeded. Turkish media said that after the deadly attack, the air force struck IS facilities inside Syria, destroying 12 targets and killing 23 extremists. It is not possible to verify the toll.

Airstrike kills, wounds dozens in Qaim, Iraq
Staff writer, Al Arabiya.net Thursday, 8 December 2016/An air raid struck ISIS-held town Qaim in western Iraq near the Syrian border, killing and wounding dozens. The Iraqi army, and the international US-led coalition have been seperately accused of carrying out the airstrike. The raid targeted a market place during rush hour, causing the death of entire families, some of whom were lining up to receive their salaries, an eyewitness reported. The member of the Security and Defense Committee in Parliament, Mohammad al-Karbouli, said it was unclear who was responsible for the attack. The head of the Iraqi parliament, Salim al-Jabouri, referred to the incident as a “crime” and that the perpetrators should be held accountable. "The airstrike hit unarmed civilians in shopping centers in Qaim and caused the killing and wounding of dozens of them," speaker Salim al-Jabouri said in a statement late Wednesday. A spokesman for the US coalition denied the charge, stressing that the coalition did not launch a raid on the area at the time. On the other hand, there has been no immediate comment from the Iraqi Joint Operations Command overseeing the battle against al ISIS.

German defense minister seeks training deal in Saudi Arabia
AFP Thursday, 8 December 2016/Germany’s defense minister was in Saudi Arabia on Thursday aiming to conclude a training deal for Saudi military officers, the embassy said. Ursula von der Leyen was to hold talks with her Saudi counterpart, Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, on enhancing the “excellent bilateral relations” between the two countries, it said. “In addition to that, the visit aims to finalize the talks on enhanced cooperation in the training sector. Beginning from next year, the German Defense College will host several young officers and staff from the Saudi military,” the embassy said. Von der Leyen is the latest German official to visit Saudi Arabia this year, reflecting “a period of intensified exchange” between the two states, ambassador Dieter Haller said in the statement. The defense minister, who leaves the kingdom on Friday, belongs to Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union, which governs in coalition with the Social Democrats (SPD).

Palestinian tries to stab Israeli police, shot dead: Israel
AFP, Jerusalem Thursday, 8 December 2016/An 18-year-old Palestinian threatened Israeli border police with a knife at a flashpoint junction in the occupied West Bank on Thursday and was shot dead, Israeli authorities said. The incident occurred at the Tapuah junction near the northern West Bank city of Nablus, where a number of attacks have taken place in recent months, police said.

Afghan Senate: Iran and Russia are supporting Taliban
Zahid Masood, Al Arabiya Thursday, 8 December 2016/Afghan Senate members have certified the existence of documents affirming that Taliban collected endorsements from both Iran and Russia. Indeed, Taliban members are located in the cities of Mashhad, Yazd and Kerman in Iran. They often travel to and fro between the two countries, according to locals at the border of Afghanistan. The Iranian Foreign Ministry denied these reports. A number of deputies of the Council of elders of Afghanistan, advocated that: “Moscow supplied the Taliban with ammunition in order to restrain the widening influence of ISIS and its affiliated groups in Afghanistan and preclude threats against the Central Asian countries.”
Taliban-style families living in Iran
The Governor of the state of Farah in Afghanistan, Asif Ning, explained in an interview yesterday with the Dari-speaking ‘Freedom Radio’, the circumstances surrounding the latency of Taliban on Iranian territory, stating: “They are living in the cities of Yazd, Kerman and Mashhad. They eventually return to Afghanistan to vandalize. At the time being, a number of senior members of the Taliban leaders are living in Iran.”“The bodies of Taliban fighters killed in recent clashes were delivered to their families in Iran,” he added. It is against this background that the spokesperson of the Iranian Foreign Ministry Bahram Kasimi refuted the above allegations declaring that “the reports affirming the presence of Taliban members in Iran are clearly unfounded as fraternal relations exist between Iran and Kabul on the basis of common interests.”The report states, quoting the head of the Afghan Senate, Fadel Hadi Muslim Yar, that “there are in our possession supporting evidence confirming the cooperation between both Russia and Iran with the Taliban.”
NATO in Afghanistan confirms
In addition, as revealed by the American-run radio ‘Freedom’, which broadcasts in Afghanistan in Persian, Dari and Pashtun the Taliban are often seen crossing the border into Iran according to local border residents. Several Afghan lawmakers also affirm Tehran’s involvement in supplying sophisticated weapons to the Taliban. Moreover, the report quoted the commander of NATO forces in Afghanistan General Jean Nicholson. The latter stressed the “the involvement of other countries in terrorism on the Afghan territory”. He further asserted that: “These countries are not only supporting terrorism, but providing favorable conditions for terrorists to exploit the Afghan territory. Hence, facilitating their terrorist activities”As confidentially disclosed by an Afghan immigrant living in the Iranian city of Taybad, members of the Taliban are attempting to limit their appearance in public places and to living in confinement from the rest of the Afghans (in Iran). Furthermore, according to radio ‘Freedom’ experts, all of Iran, Tajikistan and Russia are cooperating in supporting the Taliban militia. It was Vladimir Putin's special envoy to Afghanistan Damir Kepplov who voiced, in a statement to the news agency Anatolia, his deep concerns about the growth of terrorism in Afghanistan. However, Afghan lawmakers oppose any intervention by Russia and Iran in Kabul’s affairs.
Killed upon returning
It is important to know that the Mullah Akthar Mansour, leader of the Taliban in Afghanistan, was targeted and killed by a US drone in the Pakistani border on May 21 while returning from Iran. Following this incident, the Pakistani Foreign Ministry announced that the authorities have found the passport of a Pakistani man carrying the name of Wali Muhammad at the precise site where the drone respectively targeted the Taliban leader Mullah Mansour Akthar. Besides, the ministry added that it was a passport with a valid visa for entering Iran.
As previously reported by the news agency Tasnim, which is close to the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, a delegation headed by the chief officer of the political bureau of the Afghan Taliban, Taib Agha arrived in the evening of Monday, May 12, to the Iranian capital Tehran. Subsequently, the delegation met a number of Iranian security officials to discuss several issues, including the situation in the region, and the concerns over Afghan immigrants in Iran, without giving further details.
In this regard, Taib Agha is both the press spokesperson and personal interpreter of the Afghan Taliban leader Mullah Omar. He is also one of the few persons in close and direct contact with the Mullah. Additionally, Agha also chairs the political body of the Taliban in charge of developing political plans for the movement and the expansion of its relations with foreign countries. Accordingly, three visits were undertaken by the official delegation of the Afghan movement in Iran, while counting an earlier visit as part of the delegation’s participation in the Islamic Awakening conference held by Iran in the past four years.
Iran and the fight against ISIS
At a time when Iranian forces are standing by on Syrian territory to support Bashar al-Assad along with elements of Shia Hazara Afghan militants, Tehran is supporting the Taliban, a radical Sunni movement hostile to the Hazara as classified on the Afghan soil.
Before the Taliban delegation’s visit to Tehran years ago, the Daily Telegraph published in February 2012 a report revealing the cooperation between Iran and the Taliban, which stated that the Iranian authorities have allowed a member of the Shoura Council of the Taliban to open an office in the city of Zahedan, capital of Sistan and Baluchistan province in eastern Iran. The newspaper pointed out that the communications between the two sides were monitored. Within two months of opening the office, it showed that the Quds Force of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard was considering a strategy to send surface-to-air missiles to Afghanistan, but the newspaper said “there is no evidence that such weapons were actually delivered to the said location.”
The newspaper reported that Iran’s goal behind this move was to block the strategic partnership agreement concluded with the United States in Afghanistan which dates back to April 2011. Furthermore, the Iranian Foreign Ministry denied the news, stating that they only recognize the Afghan government as the legitimate government. At the time, ISIS was not mentioned. Now Iran is supporting the Taliban and is allying with the group in Afghanistan to counter ISIS efforts. Under the same pretense, Iranian forces are located in both Iraq and Syria. In the same way, Russia has also justified its military support for the President of the Syrian regime Bashar al-Assad.

Former Member of the U.S. National Security Council: Trump Deals With the Threats of Iranian Regime
Thursday, 08 December 2016/NCRI - Professor Raymond Tanter, former member of the U.S. National Security Council said the new U.S. government will confront the policies and threats of the Iranian regime, particularly its missile program and export of terrorism.
“The Iranian regime conducts ballistic missile tests and imports the missile technology from North Korea. In addition, the regime is the largest state sponsor of terrorism in the world. These issues are not included in the nuclear agreement. So, Donald Trump can practically address these issues,” Professor Tanter told Sky-News TV. “In this regard, the Congress is to deal with Iran's regime and tell the regime it cannot test ballistic missiles, as North Korea will also be banned from these experiments.” “That is why the Iranian regime cannot (be allowed to) upgrade ballistic missiles because the missiles are only to carry nuclear warheads and have no other purpose. It is also dangerous that the regime in Iran continues to export (the so-called) revolution, something it has started in Persian Gulf in 1979 and then expanded to Iraq and Europe. Recognizing the MEK (PMOI) could also be another pressure on the regime in Iran.”Former member of the National Security Council added: “I don’t think the Iranian regime has any other option. The regime in Iran has violated the agreement… an agreement which Khamenei had put on it seal of approval.”The U.S. Central Intelligence Agency Director and General Mattis, who are going to be in Trump’s cabinet, say the Iranian regime will not be able to equip itself with nuclear bombs.

Iran: University Students Chanted "Political Prisoner Must Be Released" in a Regime's Official Meeting.
Thursday, 08 December 2016/NCRI - According to reports, the speech made by regime’s head of the Department of Environment ‘Masoumeh Ebtekar’ at Tehran’s university of Tarbiat-e Modarres on Monday December 5 was protested by students who were chanting “political prisoner must be released.” The students interrupted Ebtekar’s speech several times, giving her an oxygen capsule in protest against regime’s failure to control air pollution. Also in another ceremony held on the same day at the University of Khajeh Nasir to commemorate the ‘Student Day’, the students had installed large banners on the walls of the university’s amphitheatre which read: “political prisoner must be released”, “University is not a garrison” and “Our University is alive.” The ceremony began with one of the students making a speech, in which he made mention of the political prisoner Narges Mohammadi which was immediately followed by other students chanting “political prisoner must be released.”Regime’s handpicked agents, participating in the ceremony as guests, were so surprised by the students’ slogans that they attempted to silence the students by raising issues like “as long as there’s room for civic activities, there’s no need to shout slogans.” The ceremony was then followed by the Q & A session, during which the students responded to the regime’s agents who were promoting civic activities, saying “how could you talk about civic activities in such suffocation?” or “when the source of corruption is appointed head of the judiciary, how could anyone take his complaint to the court?”Later in their speeches, regime’s agents claimed that basically there’s no such thing as an independent student movement and that the students have only been directed by political groups and parties since the beginning of the revolution.

Former ICC Judge: Historical duty exists to punish perpetrators of Iran’s 1988 massacre
Thursday, 08 December 2016/NCRI - Fatoumata Diarra, a former judge of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and the International Criminal Court (ICC), told a conference in Paris that the Iranian regime's current Justice Minister Mostafa Pour-Mohammadi was one of the key perpetrators of the 1988 massacre of political prisoners in Iran. On November 26, a meeting was held in Paris, titled "Call for Justice: Ending Impunity for Perpetrators of Crimes Against Humanity in Iran and Syria."
The Present-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), Maryam Rajavi, was the keynote speaker. There were also speeches by French and European political and legal figures as well as top Syrian opposition officials and representatives of countries of the Middle East and North Africa.
Judge Fatoumata Dembele Diarra in parts of her speech said:
"The crimes and atrocities perpetrated in Iran, notably the 1988 massacre, are considered in the preamble to the ICC Statute as crimes that defy imagination and are profoundly offensive to human conscience and pose a threat to global peace and security, thus affecting the entire international community by their gravity.
These crimes, therefore, cannot go unpunished, and their prosecution must be ensured either at the national level or by the international community. Since it is obvious at the Iranian national level nothing will be done to punish these criminals, so the onus is on the international community, as well states, NGOs and the international organization known as the United Nations.
So we are facing a situation where crimes against humanity have been perpetrated and they have to be punished. Having said that, I will say here that, in the case of proven facts, followed by the confessions of certain well-known actors such as the Minister of Justice, there is a historical duty for justice to be carried out. Geoffrey Robertson quoted a person who said that the unpunished Iranian massacres will be an eternal shame for Iran. I say that it is an eternal shame for the entire international community. So, I say to myself, then, which country, in order to be consistent with the great principles of democracy, justice and respect for humanity as it claims, will undertake to bring this recommendation before the United Nations as soon as possible? I conclude with the hope of finding an answer to this question by paying tribute to the NGOs and the Women’s Committee of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, which are striving in the search for solutions to this impunity after the massacre of 30,000 innocent Iranian citizens. Thank you.

Iran: Political Prisoner Stages Hunger Strike After Sewing His Lips
Thursday, 08 December 2016/NCRI - A political prisoner has staged a hunger strike in a prison in Iran after sewing his lips to protest the inhuman condition of prisons, officials preventing medical treatment for ailing prisoners and lack of safety and security for political prisoners.
Political prisoner, Saeed Shirzad, has announced that beating political prisoner Mehdi Farahi Shandiz by the guards and prison officials is an instance of lack of security in the prison and among the issues he is protesting against.
He points out several instances of harassment and beating of the prisoners by the prison officials and violation of prisoners’ rights including, “continuous insult to the prisoners’ families by the prison officials, authorities rejecting official letters of hunger strike and disclaiming medical responsibility of the strike, arresting political prisoners’ family members in the meeting hall, preventing dispatch of ailing prisoners to hospitals or medical centers outside prison for medical treatment, beating political prisoners and forcibly transferring them to the courts by the prison agents and finally preventing air circulation in the prison halls and cells by welding metal mesh and perforated metal plates to the windows and doors that puts prisoners’ health at risk and endangers their life.”
It should be mentioned that the political prisoner Saeed Shirzad, 27, was arrested on Sunday June 8, 2014 and held in Evin Prison’s ward 209 cells for two months without any communication with family and lawyer.
He was then tried in the regime’s so-called courts 15 months after his arrest on Saturday September 12, 2015 and sentenced to 5 years imprisonment on the charges of “assembly and collusion against security of the system (regime).”

Conference on Human Rights Abuses in Iran and EU Policy
NCRI Statements/Thursday, 08 December 2016 16:22
Press Release for Immediate release - Thursday 8 December 2016 - Brussels, European Parliament
On the eve of the Human Rights Day, European lawmakers held a conference at the European Parliament on Wednesday 7 December. They strongly condemned the violations of human rights in Iran and urged the EU High Representative, Federica Mogherini and Member States to condition the expansion of relationships with Iran to a halt of executions.
This meeting was held by the initiative of the Friends of a Free Iran intergroup at the European Parliament, which has support of some 300 MEPs from different political groups. The keynote speaker was the Iranian opposition leader, Maryam Rajavi who heads the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI). She was joined by the former Italian Foreign Minister Giulio Terzi as well as a young female former political prisoner, Shabnam Madadzadeh, 29, who spent 5 years in prison and has recently managed to leave Iran.
Around a dozen MEPs also spoke and emphasized:
“Human rights conditions in Iran have not improved under Hassan Rouhani but further deteriorated with a surging number of executions. It is a dangerous mistake to compare the Iranian regime with other dictatorships. Negotiating with this regime on human rights only emboldens it to commit more crimes. Engagement in trade and political relations with a regime that holds the world's record of
per capita executions infringes all human rights standards. In September, October and November
2016, some 200 people were executed in Iran.”
“The massacre of 30,000 political prisoners in 1988, mainly from PMOI/MEK, is one of the biggest crimes against humanity since WW II. This massacre has been registered as a crime against humanity by international human rights authorities, and the world's silence on it contributed to its prolongation. Those responsible are still holding key position in Iran. The current minister of Justice
in Rouhani’s cabinet was a member of ‘Death Commission’ which was personally responsible for thousands of executions. It is a shame and totally unacceptable for the free world and in this case EU to remain silent and continue business as usual with such a regime. The first step for EU would be to list Rouhani’s Minister of justice as a violator of human rights and impose certain sanctions on him.”
“Silence from the international community and EU emboldens this theocratic regime to commit more atrocities and become more aggressive and arrogant. They have gone so far that even the head of Iranian Judiciary’s so called Human Rights Council, Javad Larijani, has recently written an
open letter to High Representative Mogherini, calling for a restriction on the freedom of activities of the Iranian opposition PMOI here in Europe. He explicitly tells Europe that the death penalty is the regime's ‘redline’ and they cannot budge on it. Larijani's letter further reveals the regime's vulnerability and deep fear of the Iranian Resistance under the leadership of Mrs Rajavi.”
Calling on EU High Representative Federica Mogherini, MEPs stressed that we should not turn a blind eye on human rights violations in Iran in exchange for business. “We have not heard Ms Mogherini condemning much the appalling human rights abuses in Iran. A state that does not respect human dignity can hardly become a trusted partner. EU should further condition its relation with Iran to a stop of executions.”]
Iran is not the only place where the mullahs trample human rights. The carnages in Syria and Iraq are among the most horrendous violations of human rights which have been met with silence of the
European Union. So long as Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) and its mercenaries are in Iraq and Syria, engaged in killing the people of these countries, the region will not experience peace and tranquillity. The European Union must call for the eviction of the Iranian regime from the entire region.
Members of European Parliament also expressed their delight for the successful relocation of Camp Liberty residents to Europe, calling it a great victory. The plight of Iranian opposition members in Camps Ashraf and Liberty in Iraq has been the subject of numerous resolutions and statements in the European Parliament in recent years.
Gérard Deprez, MEP
Chair of Friends of a Free Iran (FOFI) European Parliament
Brussels
Friends of a Free Iran (FoFI) is an informal group in the European Parliament which was formed in 2003 and enjoys the active support of many MEPs from various political groups
Chair: Gérard DEPREZ (ALDE)
Vice-Chairs: Tunne KELAM (EPP), Louis MICHEL (ALDE), Ryszard CZARNECKI EP Vice-President, Eduard
KUKAN (EPP), Jan ZAHRADIL (ECR), José BOVÉ (Greens), Marian HARKIN (ALDE) Members of the Board:
Jarosław WAŁĘSA (EPP), Emma McCLARKIN (ECR), Beatriz Becerra (ALDE), Jude KIRTON-DARLING (S&D), Richard ASHWORTH (ECR), Stanislav POLČÁK (EPP), Svetoslav MALINOV (EPP), Julie WARD (S&D), Rina Ronja KARI (GUE/NGL), Petri SARVAMAA (EPP),Tadeusz ZWIEFKA (EPP)

China Should Build more Nuclear Arms to Prepare for Trump
Naharnet/Agence France Presse/December 08/16/China should "significantly" increase military spending and build more nuclear weapons as a response to US President-elect Donald Trump, an editorial in the nationalistic Global Times newspaper said Thursday. China should "build more strategic nuclear arms and accelerate the deployment of the DF-41 intercontinental ballistic missile" to protect its interests, should Trump attempt to corner the country in an "unacceptable way", it said. "China's military spending in 2017 should be augmented significantly," it added in the print article run in both English and Chinese. The paper is not part of the official state media, but has close ties to the ruling Communist Party. Chinese officials are sometimes thought to use it as a rhetorical hammer, but have also admonished it for its often bombastic language.
The president-elect frequently savaged China on the campaign trail, even calling it America's "enemy" and pledging to stand up to a country he says views the US as a pushover.
But he has also indicated he is not interested in projecting US power away from home, saying America is sick of paying to defend allies like Japan and South Korea -- even suggesting they should develop their own nuclear weapons.
The editorial follows a Twitter tirade by Trump earlier in the week blasting China's trade and foreign policies, as well as a protocol-shattering decision to accept a congratulatory phone call from Taiwanese leader Tsai Ing-wen.
Beijing regards Taiwan as a rogue province awaiting unification. In the editorial, the Global Times said: "We need to get better prepared militarily regarding the Taiwan question to ensure that those who advocate Taiwan's independence will be punished, and take precautions in case of US provocations in the South China Sea." On Wednesday, Trump selected Iowa Governor Terry Branstad, who has close ties to Chinese President Xi Jinping dating back to the mid-1980s, as ambassador to China -- potentially welcome news for Beijing, which called him an "old friend" upon receiving reports of his nomination. Nevertheless, the state-owned China Daily newspaper remained pessimistic about the future of relations with the US. A Thursday editorial said that though the Asian giant had thus far responded to Trump with "laudable" prudence, further provocations from the unpredictable politician would jeopardize Sino-US ties. "China has to prepare for the worst," it said. "What has happened over the past weeks tends to suggest that Sino-US relations are facing uncertainty as never before, as Trump's words are not necessarily more bark than bite."

Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on December 08-09/16
Is Syrian retaliation against Israel in the works?
Ron Ben-Yishai|/Ynetnews/December 08/16
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/2016/12/08/ron-ben-yishaiynetnews-is-syrian-retaliation-against-israel-in-the-works/
 Analysis: The latest alleged Israeli strike in Damascus was unusual due to the use of surface-to-surface missiles, likely in order to avoid friction with the Russians. Meanwhile, Assad is gaining confidence thanks to the Russian backing and may be preparing a clash with Israel in the near future.
 The report on Syrian television on Wednesday morning that Israel attacked a military air base in western Damascus was unusual. The actual report of an Israeli strike is exceptional, but even more exceptional is the claim that Israel launched surface-to-surface missiles rather than air-to-surface missiles like in most cases reported by the Syrian media in the past.
 The strike was likely the result of an Iranian attempt to transfer rockets or accurate surface-to-surface missiles to Hezbollah, as Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman implied as well in his meeting with European Union ambassadors Wednesday. The report suggests that the targets were attacked in an air base to which the Iranians routinely send the high-quality arms shipments to be transferred to Hezbollah in Lebanon through Syria.
 There is of course a possibility that Israel attacked something else other than arms shipments to Hezbollah, but that it highly unlikely. Israel is not intervening in the civil war in Syria, and if it does intervene—it's only in response to a violation of its sovereignty by Syria or by one of the organizations operating from Syrian territory. In this case, it was likely another attempt to transfer weapons to Hezbollah, like the one that was thwarted last week, according to foreign reports.
 In the past, there were claims made that Israel occasionally uses guided surface-to-surface ”Tammuz” missiles when the Syrian army or the rebels in Syria fire shells on Israeli territory in the Golan Heights, whether intentionally or erroneously (which known as a "spillover"). These missiles have usually been fired at relatively short ranges.
 But the military air base in Damascus is located at least 40 kilometers (25 miles) from the Israeli border, which means that Israel would have to use accurate rockets or missiles of a larger range to accurately hit targets there.
 According to foreign reports, Israel has a wide variety of missiles produced by the Military Industries which are suitable for an extremely accurate hit at a target located dozens and even hundreds of kilometers from its territory.
 Accurately dropping bombs is usually cheaper than firing surface missiles. The cost of one accurate rocket is higher than the cost of accurate aerial munition, even when taking into account the cost of operating the plane and the pilot.
 It’s reasonable to assume, therefore, that if Israel did in fact use surface-to-surface missiles, as the Syrian media claimed, it had a good reason to do so. The reason was likely a desire to surprise the Syrians and Hezbollah in the area of the attacked target.
 Had Israel launched planes to carry out the mission, they would not have had to enter Syrian territory to hit the air base and could have simply flown over the sea or over Lebanese territory. But the sensitive and long-range radars, which the Russians brought to Syria when they entered the fray, would have been able to detect the presence of Israel Air Force planes in the area. It’s even possible that the Russians would have warned the Syrian antiaircraft batteries which, according to reports, have already tried to hit Israeli planes as they embarked on missions to stop Hezbollah from arming itself.
So if Israel did use surface-to-surface missiles rather than aerial munition, it may have been done to prevent the Russians from being able to warn the Syrians of the Israeli strike.
 Another possibility is that Israel is afraid that the Russians will try to intercept its planes with SA-300 and SA-400 missile batteries. This option is not as likely as the first option, but it should be taken into account.
 In any event, if we rely on the reports from Syria, the desire to surprise Hezbollah and the Syrians even before the weapons start making their way to the Lebanon border, as well as the desire to avoid friction with the Russians, led to the use of surface-to-surface missiles which are as accurate and destructive as aerial munition.
 While Israel is adapting to the conditions on Syrian territory, Syria is gaining confidence in the light of Russian involvement and the backing it receives from Moscow. Today, there is a higher chance than before that Syrian President Bashar Assad will clash with Israel and threaten its Air Force planes.
 We should pay attention, therefore, not just to the claim that Israel used surface-to-surface missiles, but also to the fact that the official Syrian news agency and Syrian television provided details on the recent attacks and did not conceal them as the Syrian regime has done in the past.
 Assad decided not to use the denial options provided by Israel when it avoided announcing the strike or confirming that it happened. In previous cases, the Syrians preferred to ignore the Israeli strikes, and only admitted that they happened when they had no other choice. This time, they initiated the announcement.
 This may have been aimed at creating the justification and background story in the global public opinion for a Syrian-Hezbollah act of retaliation against Israel, which may already be in its planning and preparation stages. Israel should be prepared for the possibility of such an act being carried out in the near future, perhaps even with Russian assistance and backing.  

On The Allies We're Not Proud Of: A Palestinian Response to Troubling Discourse on Syria
News Agencies/December 08/16/We, the undersigned Palestinians, write to affirm our commitment to the amplification of Syrian voices as they endure slaughter and displacement at the hands of Bashar Al-Assad’s regime. We are motivated by our deep belief that oppression, in all of its manifestations, should be the primary concern of anyone committed to our collective liberation. Our vision of liberation includes the emancipation of all oppressed peoples, regardless of whether or not their struggles fit neatly into outdated geopolitical frameworks.
We are concerned by some of the discourse that has emerged from progressive circles with regards to the ongoing crisis in Syria. In particular, we are embarrassed by the ways in which some individuals known for their work on Palestine have failed to account for some crucial context in their analysis of Syria.
The Syrian revolution was in fact a natural response to 40 years of authoritarian rule. The Assad regime, with the support of its foreign financial and military backers, is attempting to preserve its power at the expense of the millions of Syrians whom the regime has exiled, imprisoned, and massacred. We believe that minimizing this context in any discussion of Syria dismisses the value of Syrian self-determination and undermines the legitimacy of their uprising.
We also believe that an important consequence of all foreign interventions, including those purportedly done on behalf of the uprising, has been the setback of the original demands of revolution. The revolution is a victim, not a product, of these interventions. It is imperative for any analysis of Syria to recognize this fundamental premise. We cannot erase the agency of Syrians struggling for liberation, no matter how many players are actively working against them.
Though we maintain that the phenomenon of foreign aid demands thorough critique, we are concerned by the ways in which foreign aid has been weaponized to cast suspicion on Syrian humanitarian efforts. Foreign aid is not unique to Syria; it is prevalent in Palestine as well. We reject the notion that just because an organization is receiving foreign aid, it must follow then that that organization is partaking in some shadowy Western-backed conspiracy. Such nonsense has the effect of both undermining humanitarian efforts while simultaneously whitewashing the very crimes against humanity that necessitated the aid in the first place.
Furthermore, we object to the casual adoption of “war on terror” language. Enemies of liberation have historically used this rhetoric to target humanitarians, organizers, and community members. From Muhammad Salah to the Midwest 23 to the Holy Land Five, our community is all too familiar with the very real consequence of employing a “war on terror” framework. Therefore, we reject a discourse that perpetuates these old tactics and peddles harmful and unwarranted suspicion against Syrians.
Along these lines, it is our position that any discussion of Syria that neglects the central role of Bashar Al-Assad and his regime in the destruction of Syria directly contradicts the principles of solidarity by which we abide. We have reflected on our own tendency to heroize those who advocate on behalf of the Palestinian struggle, and we fear that some members of our community may have prioritized the celebrity status of these individuals over the respect and support we owe to those Syrians affected most directly by the war, as well as those living in the diaspora whose voices have been dismissed as they have watched their homeland be destroyed.
We will no longer entertain individuals who fail to acknowledge the immediate concerns of besieged Syrians in their analysis. Despite reaching out to some of these individuals, they have shown an unwillingness to reflect on the impact of their analysis. We regret that we have no choice left but to cease working with these activists whom we once respected.
We would like to encourage others who are guided by similar principles to do the same.
***UPDATE: Unfortunately, some persons who may wish to undermine the legitimacy of this statement have chosen to submit fake responses and sign on behalf of others. We are working to ensure that no names appear on this form without consent. Until we find a way to verify signatures, this form is temporarily closing submissions. If you would like to add a legitimate signature, or if someone signed on your behalf and you'd like your name removed, please email palestinetosyria@gmail.com.*** 

The Dragon of Islamic Terrorism
Dex Quire/Gatestone Institute/December 08/16
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/9506/dragon-islamic-terrorism
The dragon's first major tongue-dart at the West was the death threat -- a fatwa with a bounty issued in 1989 by Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khomeini -- on Salman Rushdie, a British citizen, for his novel, The Satanic Verses.
What the dragon learned with that initial thrust! The West was so genteel. The United Nations issued condemnations on -- paper! Diplomats wrote scare-letters. Politicians said harrumph.
How different if politicians and diplomats in the West had delivered the simple and forceful message back to the Ayatollah: Unless you remove this threat, we will cancel all diplomatic visas.
"The worst part of the dragon is in the tail." You do not have to know what it means; it gives off a spooky authority. This thought was written by Guillermo Cabrera Infante, the great Cuban writer who knew something about dragons' tails: he had confronted Fidel Castro and lived to tell about it. While on a diplomatic mission to Brussels in 1965, he denounced Castro, abandoned his post and lived out a life of exile in London until his death in 2005. He never went back.
For a minute, let us call the dragon Islamic Terror (we shall get back later to the tail). There is much about the dragon we do not know: where he lives exactly, his vulnerabilities, his comings and goings, his next attacks, his feeding schedule. We do know that he foments terror and inspires fear. From the front part of the dragon, his snout, emerges a tongue flick -- tasting the air, sensing out fresh victims. His first major tongue-dart at the West was the death threat -- a fatwa with a bounty issued in 1989 by Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khomeini -- on Salman Rushdie, a citizen of Britain citizen, for his novel, The Satanic Verses.
What the dragon learned with that initial thrust! The West was so genteel. The United Nations issued condemnations on -- paper! Diplomats wrote scare-letters. Politicians said harrumph.
Rushdie, on the other hand, was forced into hiding under armed, protective custody. Khomeini -- who had just shoveled half a million young Iranians into a war with Iraq -- in addition to exterminating thousands of "enemies of the Islamic Revolution" -- also learned a lot about us. The response of the West was phlegmatic. The vast apparatus of publishing and communications zipped itself into a giant mouse suit and decided it looked great (so lifelike). Penguin Books chose not to print its address in the paperback edition of The Satanic Verses, as if that would hide it. Major book chains refused to stock the novel and libraries "disappeared" it from their shelves. Fellow novelists from around the world, from the safety of their hearths, proclaimed, "We are all Salman Rushdie."
Even dragons know that novels, feeble though they may be, are the carriers of culture, core samples of a civilization's memory. The dragon learned that in the West, it did not matter that fighter aircraft sear the skies at patriotic festivals, that nuclear submarines flow through ocean canyons, that warships ride the world's watery trails. The West was not about to stick up for those who traversed the holies of Islam; instead, it clenched in fear and never unclenched.
How different the world would be if, in 1989, every publisher -- large and small -- had published some portion of The Satanic Verses on their front pages. How different if politicians and diplomats in the West had delivered the simple and forceful message back to the Ayatollah: Unless you remove this threat, we will cancel all diplomatic visas. But they did not, and this is now our world.
Novels tracking fundamentalist religious groups transplanting themselves into secular urban zones in the West go unwritten. Movies showing much of life under Islam go unfilmed. Satire of Muslim fundamentalism goes unproduced, while mockery of Christianity abounds. Comedians such as Penn Jillette, Sara Silverman, and Monty Python's Michael Palin -- entertainers who have grown wealthy proclaiming their atheism or mocking Christianity and Judaism -- openly confess their fear of Islam; really just open confessions of cowardice. It should cover us in shame. "Cowardice," wrote the novelist Mikhail Bugokov, in the darkest days of Stalin's 1930s, "is the worst sin."
The dragon doubtless now knows more about us than we know about him. But if we can reassert our freedoms -- faith, speech, ideas, laughter and definitely mockery -- we can still avoid his tail.
**Dex Quire is a Seattle writer whose latest novel is Crocodile Words.
© 2016 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute. No part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone Institute. 

The airstrike in Syria: Does Putin understand Israel's urgent security needs?
Amos Harel/Haaretz/December 08/16
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/2016/12/08/amos-harelhaaretzstrike-in-syria-is-israel-playing-russian-roulette/
Syria: Israel struck airport near Assad's palace with surface-to-surface missiles
Israel trying to prevent Hezbollah from obtaining WMDs, says Lieberman
The air strike early Wednesday morning near the Damascus airport is the second attack in Syria attributed to Israel within a week. In addition to the reports to this effect in the Arab media, there have been official claims by the Syrian regime and Hezbollah, although these didn’t have a particularly emotional tone.
Most of the attention on Wednesday was generated by Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman’s address to EU diplomats only hours after the attack. He explained that Israel always seeks to protect its citizens, and also to prevent the smuggling of sophisticated weapons and weapons of mass destruction from Syria to Hezbollah.
This is the same policy and the same red lines that Israel marked with regard to the Syrian civil war five years ago. But Lieberman’s forceful wording led to headlines that practically had Israel taking official responsibility (something Israel prefers not to do with regard to attacks of this kind). In addition, it looked like a direct reference to the smuggling of chemical weapons, although nothing of this nature has been reported since the dismantling of most of Syria’s arsenal of such weapons in 2013.
Another question relates to the degree to which Russia knew of or was involved in the attacks. Hezbollah and of course the Syrian army are part of the Russian-led military alliance defending the regime in Damascus. At the same time, the Russians have a mechanism for preventing confrontations with the Israeli air force in the Syrian arena. If the claims by Syria and Hezbollah that it was Israel which hit the weapons warehouses are correct, did Russia know about the strikes in advance and turn a blind eye, or was it as surprised by the bombings as the others?
Reports on the two attacks came after a long break from similar reports from Syria. The apparent lull in the bombings probably stems from a combination of two things: the deployment and intensified activity of the Russian air force in northern Syria (recently accompanied by the positioning of air defense systems that cover a wide range), together with the increased tension between Moscow and Washington before the U.S. presidential election. It could be that given these circumstances, Israel decided to restrain itself for a time.
The victory of Donald Trump, who has often expressed his admiration for Russia and shows no interest in American military activity in Syria, could signal a cooling off of the bilateral hostility.
According to the official data about the Russian air defense systems, their radar is capable of identifying the movement of Israeli planes deep in Israeli territory, all the way to the northern Negev. Therefore it’s unlikely that Israeli air activity could go unnoticed by the Russians. But the last attacks in Syria have a lot in common. According to the reports, they took place in the Damascus area in southern Syria, at night (when the Russian air force is barely active) and the planes that fired the missiles did not penetrate Syrian airspace, but worked from afar.
It could be that Moscow is less concerned about attacks that take place outside its immediate area of interest and which are not close to its airbase at Tartous. Arabic media have reported that at least some of the weapons destroyed during Wednesday’s bombings were Russian-made weapons systems. Loss of these weapons is liable to lead to additional procurement from Russia, i.e., more revenues.
All this doesn’t mean that Israel is telling Russia about its activities in Syria in advance. Lieberman denied this explicitly at the beginning of last week, after the bombing of an Islamic State base in the southern part of the Syrian Golan Heights. The most reasonable assumption is that Israel has analyzed Russia’s regions of interest and decides to act if the target is urgent enough – one that threatens to cross a red line, as the defense minister put it – and if it believes that attacking will not lead to a direct confrontation with the Russians.
Still, after two strikes and official aggressive Israeli remarks, it seems there's a thin line Israel's decision-makers must toe very carefully. The last thing Israel needs is a showdown with Russia, certainly when America’s withdrawal from dealing with Syria leaves Russia as the main player calling the shots.
***Amos Harel/Haaretz Correspondent

Israeli Defense Ministe Israel Won't Allow Chemical Weapons From Syria to Reach Hezbollah,
Gili Cohen/Haaretz/December 08/16
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/2016/12/08/gili-cohenhaaretz-israeli-defense-minister-lieberman-israel-wont-allow-chemical-weapons-from-syria-to-reach-hezbollah/
Day after second reported attack, Lieberman says there's no desire to intervene in Syrian conflict while criticizing EU-funded 'legal war' being waged against Israel in the West Bank.
Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman said Thursday that although "Israel has no intention of intervening in the civil war in Syria," it would not allow chemical weapons to reach Hezbollah in Lebanon.
The defense minister also said that internationally funded NGOs, some with the EU's support, were waging a "legal war of attrition" against Israel in the courts.
Speaking a day after Israel's second reported attack in Syria, the defense minister said that "Israel's policy is clear and based on three red lines: We won't allow any harm to come to our citizens, we won't allow our sovereignty to be infringed on and we will not allow advanced weapons or chemical weapons from Syria to be smuggled to Lebanon for Hezbollah."
In a possible reference to Russian presence in Syria, Lieberman asked to clarify that Israel acts "freely" in the area "without taking into account the circumstances or other restrictions."
Pivoting to more domestic issues, the defense minister also blasted what he called the "legal warfare" begin waged against Israel in the courts "by international actors, with international funding, including by European countries."
The defense establishment, he said, "is currently dealing with 260 petitions to the High Court of Justice: 110 of them against Jewish settlement [in the West Bank] and another 150 petitions against Israel [filed] by Palestinians on illegal construction [in the West Bank] and other things."
He said the defense ministry was buckling under the legal burden: "We're just not prepared to deal with this in terms of manpower and resources.
"Most of these petitions are meant to harass and heckle the defense establishment and we need to reach some dialogue with the court because it is impossible that anyone can file a petition and get a hearing."
According to Syrian state news agency SANA, Israel "launched a number of surface-to-surface missiles from inside the occupied territories" at the Mezze Military Airport in Damascus, not far from Bashar Assad’s palace on Wednesday. SANA called the incident "a desperate attempt to support the terrorist groups and raise their morale."
Last week, Syria said that Israeli jets attacked west of Damascus, with reports in Arab media saying an arms convoy intended for Hezbollah was the target. The news came amid tensions along Israel's northern border after clashes between the Israeli army and militants affiliated with the Islamic State group.

The Iranian spy cell in Saudi and the verdict of execution
Turki Aldakhil/Al Arabiya/December 08/16
The Saudi judiciary announced its preliminary verdict to punish and execute 15 people and jail others who are linked to an Iranian spy cell. The infamous cell had gathered banking and medical information and had submitted dangerous information to the Iranian intelligence. The information it provided is very dangerous to the extent that it facilitates the enemy to target vital institutions and security facilities. The Saudi intelligence succeeded in exposing the cell and the case was transferred to the interior ministry. The trial was carried out as per all the necessary procedures and the preliminary verdict was issued after more than 160 hearings. The cell had contact with Najaf and Iran and received facilitation from consulates and embassies. All this is proven. The aim is to target Saudi Arabia via terrorist and violent attacks. One of those informed about the case voiced surprise as he looked at the list of the spies' names and wondered how could the Iranian regime recruit some of them who are believed to be of value and who hold decent posts and display some sort of calmness and discipline? However, the truth has been shocking as it turned out they are tools for the Iranian intelligence. Iran aims to harm stability in the Gulf and this can be seen through Iranian spy cells in Bahrain, the Abdali cell in Kuwait and the spy cell in Saudi Arabia.
 There's no doubt that the preliminary verdict will act as a deterrent to those who've sold their countries, communicated with the enemy and given up their security for a cheap price.
 **This article was first published in Okaz on December 9, 2016.

Just punishment to be meted out for Iran's agents
Mshari Al Thaydi/Al Arabiya/December 08/16
The Specialised Criminal Court in the Saudi capital Riyadh sentenced 15 people involved in an Iranian spy cell made up of 32 people to death yesterday. Two other people were acquitted and 15 other defendants were given prison sentences. These sentences are provisional and are not final- they might be lightened or they may increase in severity. However, the questions here are: Do Iran’s rulers like the Saudi state today? Are they in a state of hostility or open war with Saudi Arabia in the region and the entire world? Does the Iranian plan “consider it shameful” to infringe on the sovereignty of states, recruit agents and establish terrorist networks? Will the Revolutionary Guards, the leaders of Iranian terrorism, be unable to procure agents to work for them in Saudi Arabia, as they procured their agents in Bahrain, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Yemen, Sudan, Tunisia, Morocco, and of course, in Syria, Iraq and Lebanon?
 What is the penalty for someone who provides serious information to the enemy - and here we mean the Iranian regime - compromises Saudi security and disrupts the armed forces by fishing for sensitive information about them? What is the penalty for a person who provides information to the Revolutionary Guards that he is entrusted with through his work at a bank, government institution or a private one ?
 This is explicit betrayal, and the penalty for treason is punishment of various degrees according to specific judicial evaluations. There are requirements that must be met; a fair judicial environment must be provided, the correct procedures must be followed and the defendant must be provided with all the facilities that they are entitled to in order to defend themselves. These are the rights of the defendant and not goodwill gestures.
the presence of Saudi traitors and agents working for the Iranian regime is a specific issue and we must not accuse those linked to these people, for example Shiites, of being traitors.
 The judicial system in Saudi Arabia gives these rights to defendants accused of being involved with ISIS and Al-Qaeda, and also gives them to defendants implicated in the Iranian regime’s activities. Most defendants work in the military corps and the diplomatic service. The Iranian spy cell consisted of 32 defendants; 30 of them were Saudi, one was Iranian and the other was Afghan. They were sentenced after 10 months of trials and 160 sessions in which around 100 lawyers were involved. In addition to this, the sentences are not final.
 The cell was apprehended in 2013 in an operation that was concurrently carried out in four areas of Saudi Arabia: Makkah, Madinah, Riyadh and the Eastern Province.
 I want to say that we must be alert about an important issue; the presence of Saudi traitors and agents working for the Iranian regime is a specific issue and we must not accuse those linked to these people, for example Shiites, of being traitors.
 The only people who are guilty of being traitors are those who have been sentenced of this crime. Just as there are traitors who are loyal to Al-Qaeda, ISIS and the Muslim Brotherhood at the expense of their countries, there are traitors who are loyal to the Iranian regime in Saudi Arabia.
 Traitors will be held accountable but we must be aware of taking revenge and launching a witch hunt.
 **This article was first published in Asharq al-Awsat on December 7, 2016.

Is there a military solution in Syria?
 Chris Doyle/Al Arabiya/December 08/16
How many political leaders have stated over the last six years, with utter certainty, that there is no military solution to Syria. Presidents, Obama, Hollande; Angela Merkel and even Vladimir Putin have all signed up to this.  But is there a military solution? The Syrian regime and the Iranians certainly think so and to a lesser extent so to do the Russians. An uber-confidant regime is mopping up the last vestiges of rebel-held Aleppo with the aim as Assad chillingly promised in September of retaking all of Syria. Surely this is their military solution?  So is this tired old diplomatic formula misjudged? Despite everything, can the Syrian regime conquer all before it and return to a sort of 2010 status quo or something near it? Indeed, could there at some stage have been a military victory for opponents of the Syrian regime? Much of the opposition leadership always held this belief.  All this depends on whose perspective one looks from. For the inner core of the regime survival was always victory. That it returns to being the supreme power in Syria is a victory and the only solution. Anything else would have been a loss and the majority of the regime always felt this to be true.
 Bitter price
 But this is a small rump. Further away from the center of the regime, many loyalists cannot see victory in the rubble of their country, the endless vistas of destruction and suffering. It has been a bitter price to keep one man in power. For sure, in a lose or die scenario, such loyalists felt they had little choice to rally behind President Assad animated by the fear of hardline extremist opposition.  Western Syria is nominally at the regime’s mercy. Idlib may follow Aleppo along with other remaining pockets not least in the south. But in the east ISIS still holds sway in Raqqa, and Kurdish forces control a huge area. Will Russia bomb areas currently patrolled by anti-ISIS coalition forces? The future of these areas are far from certain. Syria is a multi-conflict war zone none of which are resolved.  Syrian people can save their country. To do that the Syrian regime must act against its DNA and release the talents and energies of this battered population, something it will not do as it will feel compelled to adopt even more repressive methods of control.  But none of this answers quite how this adds up to a military victory or a solution for the regime. Opposition defeat will not equal regime triumph. It may prevail militarily but cannot win through force.
Syria is a broken country, economically destitute and in debt, half its population displaced, 85 per cent in poverty and a people collectively traumatised like no other. Its average life expectancy has dropped by 20 years. The total area of land under cultivation has shrunk by 40 percent. Back in April, the World Bank estimated the cost of reconstruction to be $180 billion, a figure produced well before the intensified Russian bomb of the last few months. Even if the rubble can be removed, and urban renewal follows, the human and psychological scars and the Syrian social fabric has been ruined almost beyond repair.
 Picking up the pieces
When the fighting ends, the regime has to pick up the pieces, not least try to run the country on the ashes it created. Civilians, including supporters will expect services to resume, electricity generation to improve, jobs to open up and cities to be rebuilt. How can it address youth unemployment of 78 percent? The regime may no longer have the excuse of a war to hide its failings behind. It was largely the regime that destroyed around two-thirds of Syria’s hospitals but can it rebuild them not least with declining oil revenues? How fast can it train doctors to replace the ones it has slain? Will it be able to control militias that have fallen outside its control? How many of those refugees will want to or even dare to return? This pyrrhic victory will be exposed as the hollow vessel it is.
 Just as the opposition groups were never independent of their patrons, Syria under Assad, is not and will not be independent. Russia and Iran will be the decision makers. For without its external backers the regime may well have crumbled.
 Who will foot bill?
 Given that neither Russian nor Iran have the economic muscle to salvage Syria, Assad must look elsewhere for support. Whoever does invest in the reconstruction of the country, whoever foots the bill will also demand their price. How generous will external donors be if the Syrian government will not open up its political system? European leaders made it clear in November that without a political solution, Russia must foot the bill.  The regime has relied solely on brute force and fear of the Islamist militant bogeyman. Scratch beyond that and is there any sign of a strategy for the future of the country? Even resuming nominal control of Syrian territory, will not save Syria from a more guerrilla-style insurgency that will follow. The regime cannot progress if it labels all opponents as terrorists.
 Syrian people can save their country. To do that the Syrian regime must act against its DNA and release the talents and energies of this battered population, something it will not do as it will feel compelled to adopt even more repressive methods of control.
 For the challenges that will confront any post-war Syria, the regime has few or no answers and cannot bring real victory.  It remains the case as it did in 2011 that only a political solution to the country that offers long-lasting sustainable change can bring real security and end of bloodshed, as well as unlocking the resources and energies necessary for Syria to rise from the ashes.