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Bible Quotations For Today
You will search for me, but you will not find me; and where I am, you cannot come
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John 07/31-36: "Many in the crowd believed in him and were saying, ‘When the Messiah comes, will he do more signs than this man has done?’The Pharisees heard the crowd muttering such things about him, and the chief priests and Pharisees sent temple police to arrest him. Jesus then said, ‘I will be with you a little while longer, and then I am going to him who sent me. You will search for me, but you will not find me; and where I am, you cannot come.’The Jews said to one another, ‘Where does this man intend to go that we will not find him? Does he intend to go to the Dispersion among the Greeks and teach the Greeks? What does he mean by saying, "You will search for me and you will not find me" and, "Where I am, you cannot come"?’"

For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory for ever. Amen
Letter to the Romans 11/25-36: "So that you may not claim to be wiser than you are, brothers and sisters, I want you to understand this mystery: a hardening has come upon part of Israel, until the full number of the Gentiles has come in. And so all Israel will be saved; as it is written, ‘Out of Zion will come the Deliverer; he will banish ungodliness from Jacob.’‘And this is my covenant with them, when I take away their sins.’As regards the gospel they are enemies of God for your sake; but as regards election they are beloved, for the sake of their ancestors; for the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. Just as you were once disobedient to God but have now received mercy because of their disobedience, so they have now been disobedient in order that, by the mercy shown to you, they too may now receive mercy. For God has imprisoned all in disobedience so that he may be merciful to all. O the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgements and how inscrutable his ways! ‘For who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counsellor?’ ‘Or who has given a gift to him, to receive a gift in return?’For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory for ever. Amen."

Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on December 16-17/15
Israel’s ongoing espionage in Lebanon/Nicholas Blanford/Now Lebanon/December 16/15
The Maronite: Pineapples on the Moon, Potatoes on Mars, Presidents on the Mountain/Anthony Elghossain/Now Lebanon/December 16/15
A potential breakup Between Future Movement and Lebanese Forces/Myra Abdallah/Now Lebanon/December 16/15
Taking the lead: The Muslim anti-terror alliance/Abdulrahman al-Rashed/Al Arabiya/December 16/15
Can you counter extremism through hashtags/Diana Moukalled/Al Arabiya/December 16/15
Saudi Arabia's anti-terror alliance is collective self-defense/Andrew Bowen/Al Arabiya/December 16/15
Russia’s plan for Syria is troubling for Turkey/Mahir Zeynalov/Al Arabiya/December 16/15
The Saudi anti-terror coalition could be a game changer/Dr. John C. Hulsman/Al Arabiya/December 16/15
Iran Taking Over Latin America/Joseph Humire/Gatestone Institute/December 16/15
What Iraq needs to do to protect minorities/Ali Mamouri/Al-Monitor/December 16/15
How to stop Islamic State recruitment/Barbara Slavin/Al-Monitor/December 16/15
Following the money: How to prevent terrorist financing/Nathalie Goulet/Al-Monitor/December 16/15

Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin for Lebanese Related News published on December 16-17/15
Presidential Elections Postponed to January 7 as Saniora Plays down Differences with LF
Salam: As PM, I am Entitled to Take Preliminary Decision on Joining Saudi Coalition
Lebanon Rejects Syria's Request for Gadhafi's Extradition
Optimistic' Shehayyeb Says Garbage to be Removed, Reported Cost 'Inaccurate'
Kataeb Says Up to Cabinet, Parliament to Decide on Joining Foreign Coalitions
Al-Rahi: No One Has Right to Jeopardize Country's Fate
UNIFIL Chief Reviews Blue Line Marking near Kfarkila
Mustaqbal Delegation Visits Geagea, Reiterates Commitment to March 14 Principles
Report: March 8, 14 Camps to Hold Separate Meetings to 'Fix Internal Rifts' over Presidency
Report: Hizbullah Slams Salam for Allowing Lebanon to Join Islamic Alliance without Consulting Cabinet
Israel’s ongoing espionage in Lebanon
The Maronite: Pineapples on the Moon, Potatoes on Mars, Presidents on the Mountain
A potential breakup Between Future Movement and Lebanese Forces

Presidential Elections Postponed to January 7 as Saniora Plays down Differences with LF
Naharnet/December 16/15/The 33rd presidential elections session was postponed on Wednesday following a lack of quorum at parliament. Speaker Nabih Berri scheduled the next session to January 7. Following the postponement, Mustaqbal bloc leader MP Fouad Saniora warned: “The ongoing vacuum will lead to more dangers against Lebanon.”“The ongoing vacuum will compound the internal problems in the country on various levels,” he added. “Constitutional institutions should be revitalized in Lebanon, starting with the election of a president,” he remarked from parliament. Asked by reporters on the fate of the March 14 alliance given the dispute between the Musatqbal Movement and Lebanese Forces, Saniora responded: “All members of the alliance are still committed to it. We may have differences, but the vision is the same.”“We respect differences among the various members of the camp. We should achieve harmony on other issues and principles,” he stressed. LF MP Georges Adwan meanwhile made light of the differences between the LF and Mustaqbal, noting: “Differences between us had emerged in the past, such as in the formation of the cabinet, which we refused to be a part of, but they did.”“This issue did not affect our ties with the movement,” he stressed. Moreover, he urged the need for the adoption of a national settlement “that goes beyond the presidency.” “Is the other camp prepared to accept such an initiative?” he asked. “If we do not accept such a proposal, then we would simply be rehashing the current status quo, but with a puppet president and weak government,” he warned. Lebanon has been without a president since May 2014 when the term of Michel Suleiman ended without the election of successor. Ongoing disputes between the rival March 8 and 14 camps over a compromise candidate have thwarted the polls. Mustaqbal Movement leader MP Saad Hariri had in recent weeks between pushing for the nomination of Marada Movement MP Suleiman Franjieh as president. The move sparked differences between the Movement and LF, seeing as LF leader Samir Geagea is a presidential candidate and Hariri's ally in the March 14 camp. Franjieh's potential nomination has also been met with reservations from the Kataeb Party and Free Patriotic Movement. Former FPM chief MP Michel Aoun is a presidential candidate and member of the March 8 camp along with Franjieh. Aoun is not willing to withdraw from the presidential race, while Franjieh had previously said that he would not run for the position as long as Aoun is still a contender.

Salam: As PM, I am Entitled to Take Preliminary Decision on Joining Saudi Coalition
Naharnet/December 16/15/Prime Minister Tammam Salam defended Lebanon's joining of the Islamic alliance against terrorism without informing the majority of political powers, saying that anyone has the right to object to this choice, reported As Safir newspaper on Wednesday. He told the daily: “I am entitled as premier to take a preliminary decision on Saudi Arabia's invitation to take part in this coalition, especially since cabinet is not holding sessions.” “No one can prevent me from taking a decision that I deem appropriate and I will assume the responsibility of my actions,” he declared. “This does not mean that I am overriding the government that ultimately has the final say and executive role in the matter,” Salam said. Furthermore, he noted that there are no articles in the alliance that demand that Lebanon take part in military action. “This does not mean that we cannot present security expertise to the coalition, especially since our security and military agencies are waging an open battle against terrorism,” he stated. In addition, he rejected remarks that Lebanon should not take part in an Islamic alliance because it is neither an Islamic or Christian country, pointing out that Lebanon is a member of the Organization of the Islamic Cooperation and that Lebanon's Christian president is the only Christian who takes part at the organization's meetings. “It is unacceptable to infringe on sectarian sensitivities in such an affair,” he said. Labor Minister Sejaan Qazzi had on Tuesday criticized Lebanon for joining an Islamic alliance, saying that the country is neither Islamic nor Christian. Saudi Arabia announced on Tuesday the formation of the Islamic alliance aimed at combating terrorism. It includes 35 countries from across the Muslim and Arab world, except Syria, Iraq, and Iran. Some Lebanese officials welcomed joining the alliance, while others said that they were not consulted over it.

Lebanon Rejects Syria's Request for Gadhafi's Extradition
Naharnet/December 16/15/Justice Minister Ashraf Rifi on Wednesday dismissed a Syrian request for the handing over of Hannibal Moammar Gadhafi, who was taken into custody Friday in Lebanon after a brief abduction at the hands of an armed group. Syrian authorities had demanded earlier in the day that Gadhafi be handed over through an official request, explaining that he had been granted political asylum in Syria. Addressed to Lebanon's state prosecutor, the request was sent to the Lebanese foreign ministry which referred it to the justice ministry in line with procedure. “The request did not consider Hannibal Gadhafi a criminal who is wanted for interrogation or trial, and thus the request for his rendition violates the 1951 judicial agreement between Lebanon and Syria,” Rifi noted.“Before rushing to demand the handing over of Hannibal Gadhafi … the party that sent the request should have put him at the disposal of Lebanese judicial authorities for interrogation over the case of the disappearance of Imam Moussa al-Sadr and his two companions, whose repercussions have affected Lebanon and the Arab and Muslim worlds,” the minister added. He also pointed out that Hannibal is still being interrogated by the Lebanese judiciary, “which alone has the right to take the appropriate decision according to the circumstances of the investigation.” The judiciary had on Monday issued an arrest warrant for Hannibal on charges of withholding information linked to al-Sadr's case. The 40-year-old son of slain Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi appeared in a video on Friday in which he announced that he had been kidnapped in Lebanon. In the video, Hannibal described his captors as "loyal to the cause of Imam Moussa al-Sadr," the founder of Lebanon's AMAL Movement who disappeared while on a trip to Libya in 1978. State-run National News Agency said Gadhafi was abducted Thursday “after being lured from Syria into a town near Baalbek” and that his captors had demanded "information about Imam Moussa al-Sadr and his two companions." Later on Friday, the agency said Hannibal was “handed over to the Internal Security Forces Intelligence Branch after his captors left him on the Baalbek-Homs international highway near the northern Bekaa town of al-Jamaliyeh.”Hannibal is married to Lebanese lingerie model Aline Skaff. He was among a group of family members -- including Moammar Gadhafi's wife Safiya, son Mohammed and daughter Aisha -- who escaped to neighboring Algeria after the fall of the Libyan capital Tripoli. On August 25, 1978, al-Sadr and two companions -- Sheikh Mohammed Yaaqoub and journalist Abbas Badreddine -- departed for Libya to meet with government officials. The visit was paid upon the invitation of Moammar Gadhafi – Hannibal's father. The three were seen lastly on August 31. They were never heard from again. The Lebanese judiciary indicted Moammar Gadhafi in 2008 over al-Sadr's disappearance, although Libya had consistently denied responsibility, claiming that the imam and his companions had left Libya for Italy.

Optimistic' Shehayyeb Says Garbage to be Removed, Reported Cost 'Inaccurate'
Naharnet/December 16/15/In his capacity as head of the team mulling the export of garbage to foreign countries, Agriculture Minister Akram Shehayyeb reassured Wednesday that the waste that has been accumulating in random sites since July will be removed, describing reports of hefty costs as exaggerated. Shehayyeb voiced his remarks after a ministerial meeting at the Grand Serail under Prime Minister Tammam Salam. “We will hold another meeting tomorrow afternoon for further clarifications, because this is a multi-pronged file involving technical and financial details,” Shehayyeb said. “The process of exporting garbage starts in Karantina and Amrousiyeh and ends at the (Beirut) port. We did not have such a mechanism in place and we will study it with the port's administration and the head of land and maritime transport, Abdul Hafiz al-Qaissi,” the minister added. “We will also study the financial aspects with the minister of finance,” he said. Noting that he is “optimistic,” Shehayyeb stressed that “the garbage will be removed,” warning of the crisis' economic, health and environmental repercussions.He also dismissed reports that the government will pay hefty fees for the export of garbage as “inaccurate.”

Kataeb Says Up to Cabinet, Parliament to Decide on Joining Foreign Coalitions
Naharnet/December 16/15/The Kataeb Party stressed Wednesday that it is up to the country's president, cabinet and parliament to decide on joining any foreign coalition, after reports of Lebanon joining a Saudi-led anti-terrorism coalition sparked a wave of controversy. The party “once again asks Prime Minister Tammam Salam to call a cabinet session to address all accumulating and urgent issues, including the debate on Lebanon's official stance on the Islamic anti-terror coalition,” said Kataeb in a statement issued after a meeting for its ministers and MPs. “The Lebanese state's membership of any foreign coalition, especially a military one, falls under the jurisdiction of the president, cabinet and parliament – according to articles 52 and 65 of the Constitution,” the party said. Noting that it is important for Islamic countries, “topped by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, to act against terrorism,” Kataeb urged Lebanon's friends to “continue equipping its military and security forces to enable them to counter terrorism.”In remarks to As Safir newspaper, Salam has stressed that he is “entitled as premier to take a preliminary decision on Saudi Arabia's invitation to take part in this coalition, especially since the cabinet is not holding sessions.”
“No one can prevent me from taking a decision that I deem appropriate and I will assume the responsibility of my actions,” he declared. “This does not mean that I am overriding the government that ultimately has the final say and executive role in the matter,” he added. Furthermore, he noted that there are no articles in the alliance that demand that Lebanon take part in military action. “This does not mean that we cannot present security expertise to the coalition, especially since our security and military agencies are waging an open battle against terrorism,” he stated. Saudi Arabia announced on Tuesday the formation of the Islamic alliance aimed at combating terrorism. It includes 35 countries from across the Muslim and Arab world, except Syria, Iraq, and Iran. Some Lebanese officials welcomed joining the alliance, while others said that they were not consulted over it.

Al-Rahi: No One Has Right to Jeopardize Country's Fate
Naharnet/December 16/15/Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi lashed out Wednesday at the country's politicians, reiterating his call for the speedy election of a president. During a meeting with a Lebanese University delegation in Bkirki, the patriarch expressed regret over “the situation that the country is going through.” “No one has the right to jeopardize the country's fate and paralyze everything,” al-Rahi said. He was referring to the presidential vacuum that has been running since May 2014, which has also paralyzed the work of the government and the parliament. “It is a duty to respect the Constitution and implement it,” al-Rahi stressed. “The majority of Lebanese reject this situation and they must be respected,” he added, urging politicians to “implement the Constitution and elect a president for the republic.” A Paris meeting last month between al-Mustaqbal movement leader ex-PM Saad Hariri and Marada Movement chief MP Suleiman Franjieh had raised hopes of an imminent political settlement that would end the presidential void. But the initiative ran aground in recent days after it drew objections and reservations from the country's main Christian parties – the Lebanese Forces, the Free Patriotic Movement and the Kataeb Party. Hizbullah is also reportedly insisting on the nomination of its ally Change and Reform bloc chief MP Michel Aoun.

UNIFIL Chief Reviews Blue Line Marking near Kfarkila
Naharnet/December 16/15/ UNIFIL Head of Mission and Force Commander Major-General Luciano Portolano reviewed Wednesday the ongoing work for visible marking of the Blue Line in the area of Kfarkila in southern Lebanon, the U.N. force said in a statement. The Line of Withdrawal, or the Blue line as it is more commonly known, was established by the United Nations in the year 2000 to confirm the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Lebanon. At a tripartite meeting in 2007, Lebanon and Israel agreed to visibly mark the Blue Line on the ground. Lebanese army personnel, accompanied by UNIFIL, carried out measurements at four new points on the Blue Line where UNIFIL engineers will now be installing blue barrel markers, the UNIFIL statement said. In addition, Lebanese army GIS experts verified the positioning of three blue barrels previously placed in the same general area. During his visit to the location, Portolano underlined “the importance of the ongoing process and expressed appreciation for the continued commitment of the parties to work with UNIFIL in this endeavor,” UNIFIL said. He added: “It makes me very happy to be here today and to see the commitment of this group of experts from LAF (Lebanese Armed Forces) and UNIFIL working together to take forward this complex and painstaking process.” “Yesterday, UNIFIL facilitated similar Blue Line measurements by the IDF (Israeli army) in the area. It is thanks to this positive engagement of both the parties that UNIFIL has been able to make progress and I am encouraged by the same commitment reflected on the ground,” Portolano said. He described the visible marking of the Blue Line as “an important element of the cessation of hostilities and the related obligations that both the parties have taken upon themselves under U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701.” “It is a critical confidence building measure which has been preventing frictions and misunderstandings as well as assisting the Mission in observing and reporting violations. It directly contributes to the security of the people living in the area by preventing inadvertent crossing of the Blue Line by local farmers and shepherds,” Portolano noted. As of Wednesday, UNIFIL in coordination with Lebanon and Israel has verified 227 points, measured 258 and constructed 237 Blue Barrels on the Blue Line, the UNIFIL statement said.

Mustaqbal Delegation Visits Geagea, Reiterates Commitment to March 14 Principles
Naharnet/December 16/15/A meeting between Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea and top advisers of al-Mustaqbal movement leader ex-PM Saad Hariri reiterated Wednesday the necessity for the March 14 alliance to carry on with its “constants and strategies.” The Mustaqbal delegation comprised Nader Hariri and Hani Hammoud and the meeting took place in Maarab in the presence of LF media officer Melhem Riachi and MP Fadi Karam. The delegation was dispatched by the former premier and discussions focused on the latest developments including the presidential impasse. Nader Hariri conveyed to Geagea Saad Hariri's keenness on “the firm alliance between al-Mustaqbal and the LF,” an LF statement t said. The meeting underlined the importance of “continuing the strategy and constants of the March 14 forces.”The meeting comes a few days after a telephone call between Hariri and Geagea. Relations between the allies have been tense lately against the backdrop of a proposed settlement that suggested the nomination of Marada Movement chief Suleiman Franjieh for the post of presidency. Geagea, himself a candidate, has expressed dismay.

Report: March 8, 14 Camps to Hold Separate Meetings to 'Fix Internal Rifts' over Presidency
Naharnet/December 16/15/It appears that the latest attempt to resolve the presidential deadlock through the nomination of Marada Movement leader MP Suleiman Franjieh has failed, reported al-Joumhouria newspaper on Wednesday. Informed sources told the daily that the March 8 and 14 camps will be holding separate meetings soon in order to “resolve the internal rifts” that emerged in wake of the proposal. “The initiative almost created new political alliances in the country,” they noted. The daily An Nahar reported Wednesday that a meeting of March 14 coalition leaders was held on Tuesday night to address the latest developments, most notably those concerning the presidency. They also tackled Franjieh's upcoming television appearance on Thursday and whether he will remain committed to the political settlement proposed by Mustaqbal Movement chief MP Saad Hariri. Al-Joumhouria predicted that the vacuum in the country's top post will continue for the months to come following the failure of the proposal and the lack of international and regional consensus over the issue. Franjieh emerged in recent weeks as a potential presidential candidate in the latest effort to end the vacuum in the presidency that started in May 2014 at the end of Michel Suleiman's term. Ongoing disputes between the rival March 8 and 14 camps over a compromise candidate have thwarted the polls. Hariri has been leading efforts in recent weeks to nominate Franjieh as president as part of a settlement aimed at ending the political deadlock in the country. His initiative has been met with reservations from members of his alliance in the March 14 camp and others in the March 8 alliance.

Report: Ball in Finance Ministry's Court to Provide Needed Funds to Export Waste
Naharnet/December 16/15/The finishing touches to resolving Lebanon's garbage disposal crisis are being placed as officials have agreed to export the waste, reported the daily An Nahar on Wednesday. The ball is now in the Finance Ministry's court to provide the necessary funds to ensure the success of the plan, ministerial sources told the daily. Cabinet will meanwhile be called to convene on Friday or Saturday at the latest in order to discuss and approve the trash export plan, they added. Agriculture Minister Akram Shehayyeb meanwhile told al-Joumhouria newspaper Wednesday that “the details of the plan have remained secret in order to ensure its success.” “We hope that everything will become clear during the cabinet session,” he continued. “Cabinet holds the final say in the issue and it should present an alternative solution if it has one,” he stressed. Lebanon has been suffering from a trash management crisis that was sparked after the closure of the Naameh landfill in July without finding an alternative for it. Disputes between officials over a solution to the problem led to the pile up of the waste on the streets throughout the country, raising environmental and health fears over the hazards of the prolonged crisis.

Report: Hizbullah Slams Salam for Allowing Lebanon to Join Islamic Alliance without Consulting Cabinet
Naharnet/December 16/15/Hizbullah is expected to announce on Thursday its stance on Lebanon joining the Islamic alliance that was declared by Saudi Arabia earlier this week, reported An Nahar daily on Wednesday. Sources close to the party told the daily: “The prime minister cannot take such a major decision without turning to cabinet first.”Hizbullah will likely announce its stance following the weekly meeting of its Loyalty to the Resistance parliamentary bloc. Premier Tammam Salam had made a preliminary approval for Lebanon to join the alliance, in a move that surprised political powers in Lebanon that said that they were not informed of his step. “We do not know what sort of responsibilities joining the alliance would require from Lebanon,” added the sources. “We also do not know whether the alliance takes the form of an international treaty. In such a case, then parliament would have to look into the issue, because it is part of its jurisdiction,” they explained. Saudi Arabia announced on Tuesday the formation of the Islamic alliance aimed at combating terrorism. It includes 35 countries from across the Muslim and Arab world, except Syria, Iraq, and Iran.

Israel’s ongoing espionage in Lebanon
Nicholas Blanford/Now Lebanon/December 16/15
Is it really possible that Israeli Special Forces personnel have been roaming South Lebanon undetected?
The recent discovery of several Israeli espionage devices in South Lebanon demonstrates that despite the focus on the conflict in neighboring Syria, there has been no let up in the covert intelligence war between Hezbollah and Israel. The latest device unearthed in South Lebanon was found over the weekend near Touline in the central sector of the southern border district. It is not entirely clear what was found — the Lebanese Army did not issue a statement on the discovery and the only news came from the National News Agency, which said army engineers dismantled an “Israeli espionage device.”
On 1 December, a booby-trapped tapping device was blown up south of Marjayoun on the Bourj Mallouk-Khiam road, wounding two workmen who were installing water pipes nearby. Photographs of the scene showed a pit at least a meter deep where the device was buried, several large boxes and cables, all of which suggested an Israeli wire tapping operation in progress. The location was in view of the Israeli military outpost in Metula, three kilometers to the south, and it is likely that the Israelis chose to destroy the device by remote control before it was discovered by the approaching workmen.
Israeli troops briefly occupied the flat plain between Marjayoun and Khiam during the 2006 War, which could have afforded them cover to set up the tap if, indeed, that is when it was installed. But in recent years there have been other examples of Israeli taps on Hezbollah communications lines in areas where Israeli troops were not operating in 2006, nor even during the years of occupation before 2000 (which was before Hezbollah began installing its fiber-optic communications system). Other than last weekend’s discovery of a device in Touline, previous tapping operations include one in Zrarieh, just north of the Litani River, near Nabatieh, which was found in July 2012. It, too, included several bulky boxes and at least 80 meters of additional connecting cable. In September 2014, Hussein Haidar, a Hezbollah engineer, was killed near Adloun when he attempted to dismantle another espionage device.
Reports at the time variously claimed it was either a surveillance device with long-range cameras and radio transmitters, similar to those discovered by the army in 2010 on the Sannine and Barouk mountains, or another fiber-optic tap.
In December 2011, an Israeli pilotless reconnaissance drone blew up a booby-trapped tapping device in a valley between Srifa and Deir Kifa in the south as a team of Hezbollah engineers, apparently having detected the interception, drew close.
There are various ways to tap into a fiber-optic cable. While it is not entirely clear which method the Israelis are using, the simplest is to clamp the cable to create micro bends that allow some of the data-conveying photons to bleed out. The amount of light diverted from the cable is minuscule but sufficient to allow the data to be interpreted.
There are also means of detecting intrusions on fiber-optic cables, including incorporating a sensor that sounds the alarm if anyone tampers with the fibers. Another method is the use of optical power monitors that detect minute fluctuations in the power level, suggesting a potential leak via a tap. An optical time-domain reflectometer is an instrument that is used to check the integrity of a length of fiber-optic cable to ensure that it is working properly. It can be used not only to detect potential taps, but also mark the location along the length of the cable. It is unclear exactly what method Hezbollah uses to detect intrusions on its communications network, but it is evident from past incidents that it has the capability to trace Israeli interceptions.
The first known discovery by Hezbollah of an Israeli tap on its lines was in October 2009 in a valley near Houla, in South Lebanon, about a kilometer from the border. A Hezbollah team walked along the valley floor and dug a hole every few meters, presumably to test the data flow on the cable, before moving on. An Israeli drone flew overhead, closely monitoring the Hezbollah team. Eventually, the team discovered the tapping device, booby-trapped with explosives, buried underground and connected to a transmitter about 10 meters away and a battery pack containing 360 individual batteries. The Hezbollah team backed away and the drone detonated the device by remote control, but only the transmitter was destroyed due to faulty explosives. UNIFIL and the Lebanese Army, alerted by the blast, arrived at the scene and took pictures and studied the remaining devices. The Israelis contacted UNIFIL and warned the peacekeepers to stay away as they were still trying to destroy the evidence, which they succeeded in doing the following day.
This hidden intelligence war between Hezbollah and Israel rages on silently and only on rare occasions do examples break the surface into the public domain.
Despite Hezbollah’s technical prowess in detecting taps, the fact that the Israelis are able to conduct the interceptions in the first place exposes a flaw in the party’s operational security. The Zrarieh tap in 2012, for example, was located only a few meters from a main road on the edge of the village. The tapping devices, along with radio transmitter and battery pack, are heavy and bulky. The degree of technical capability required in finding the cable to tap, lugging heavy equipment to the location, hooking it up to the fiber and digging holes large enough to contain and hide the tapping device, transmitter and power supply, and then escape the scene unnoticed, suggests the work of highly-trained personnel rather than local Lebanese collaborators. Is it really possible that Israeli Special Forces personnel have been roaming South Lebanon undetected, planting taps on Hezbollah’s communications cables?
***Nicholas Blanford is Beirut correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor and author of Warriors of God: Inside Hezbollah’s Thirty-Year Struggle Against Israel.

The Maronite: Pineapples on the Moon, Potatoes on Mars, Presidents on the Mountain
Anthony Elghossain/Now Lebanon/December 16/15
“What a great film,” she says, in a daze that’s as disturbing as it is disturbed. “It was just so—”
“…uplifting to rediscover the hope of Science, right? To forget the idiotic isolation we bring on in our atomized, post-material urban existence while perversely wishing for the seemingly more meaningful isolation of a pioneer in space? To immerse ourselves in imagery relating to the human spirit and, sure, the irrational confidence and hyper-competence of a man that…”
“—so, so sexy to see Marr Damon—‘wicked smaht’ Matt Damon, actually—in that spacesuit. And in that hoody… and topless, my God.”
“I knew you liked that clean-cut, square-jawed, Apple Pie bullshit.”
“Hey, I kind of like your little Mediterranean Man thing too: perma-stubble, tiny jaw, and an ego as big as your temper. Anyway, good news! It says here that Lebanese leaders might elect a new President soon!”
“Shit.”
“Stop swearing! That good news, Anthony!”
“Not if they’re electing one now… Shit, really? Now? Like some fucking Christmas present they’ll tie a bow on! The timing’s off. You know?”
“No. No, I don’t… You’re mad when they don’t elect a President; you’re mad when they talk about electing the ‘wrong one’; you’re mad if they elect any President at the ‘wrong time’? I don’t understand what it is about Lebanon that gets you so frustrated—and then you want to dip in to the place again.”
Sometimes, the game plays you… as former and future Lebanese premier Saad Hariri has learned over the past decade while questing for truth, justice, peace, and a unique sort of relevance brought on by absence … as Hariri’s former—nay, forever—allies in the phantom coalition known as March 14 have learned over the past decade’s dance incoherence, indecision, and irrelevance … as former Lebanese Armed Forces Commander and Pretender-for-Life Michel Aoun has learned over the past decade—or decades!—of self-aggrandizement, self-pity, and self-delusion.
U.S. President Barack H. Obama and his administration will be leaving office in about a year’s time—and, as the misguided moderates of March 14 never tire of lamenting, have in many ways already left the Middle East. Barring the highly improbable victory of the U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders or U.S. Senator Rand Paul, the next administration will likely nudge back towards a more active American role in the region (whatever the hell that means, anyway, to the sort of Career Critics who condemned U.S. involvement and intervention so they could have the opportunity to condemn U.S. realignment and negotiation in the Middle East).
Perhaps politicians like Hariri, Frangieh, and the chorus of crazies are floating these ideas and holding these discussions to distract the Lebanese from an abysmal state of affairs—or even to have the public and pundits do their thinking for them. Maybe the politicians are doing something so they, well, look like they’re doing something. Conceivably, as well, the parties are engaged in another of their orchestrated, prepacked processes: they float this and that candidate while surviving this or that crisis until the time comes to shove another military man down Parliament’s throat—or up its ass. Or maybe someone’s getting played by the game… instead of waiting for his own moment… again.
“Just tell me who it is, alright? Then we can resume our survey seminar: Lebanon 101 – An Introduction to the Impact of Idiocy… OK?”
“Suleiman.”
“No, he’s the one on the way out—sorry, already out… that can’t be right. Let me see.”
“I can read, Anthony.”
“Shit.”
“What? And stop swearing!”
“Shit.”
As reports based on rumors have it, Lebanon will soon have its President: Suleiman the Second—or Third, if we’re counting first and last names.
Perhaps battered by the political, economic, and damn-near spiritual crisis confronting common folk and the crème de la crème alike, citizens have been making their Apologies. Well, he may be a local boss, but at least he enjoys popular—and zealous—support; none of Lebanon’s post-war Presidents really did, certainly not before taking office.
In the Maronites’ litter of runts, he passes for a fierce wolf. (“Don’t Mess With Zgharta”—the Texas of the Switzerland of the Middle East. Or was that Zahle? Whatever.) The man’s been steadfast in his views, commitments, and alignments over the past three decades: since serving as a minister in Lebanon’s first post-war cabinet at the tender age of 22, the not-so-tender mountain man has aligned himself closely with Syria in Lebanon. He, like Aoun since 2006, seems to believe that Syria’s interests in Lebanon are deeper and broader than any of the Western states that so mesmerized, and then betrayed or at least abandoned, Lebanese Christians during their decline in the 1970s and 1980s. Better to stay rooted firmly in the region—and try to manage the relationship with Syria from a position of friendship—than to chase after the ghosts of allies the community, and indeed country, never truly had.
(Never mind the Frangieh family’s decades-old friendship with the Assad clan, which of course has little to do with forming a young man’s worldview. Never mind that “Syria” really refers to a faction and security apparatus that has waned in Syria itself—let alone the former subsidiary known as Lebanon—at the expense of Iran and Iranian-backed non-state actors including Hezbollah and its Iraqi and Syrian replicas. Never mind that, for all his local influence and strongman bona fides, he’ll probably be even more dependent on other parties to project power on the national stage—especially with the Presidency neutered as an office in this post-Taif political paradise.)
Man has been to the moon—and back. Man will go to Mars. And the Maronite will go, or be taken, back to his mountain.
As we move forward as a people, the world will ask—as Soviet students once did—how many years it’ll be before we eat pineapples on the moon. The world will wonder, as American novelists have dreamt, if we can or indeed will farm potatoes on Mars. And the Lebanese will wait, the Lord knows how long, for their Lords to pick another President off that mountain.
Anthony Elghossain’s eating shawarma on the curb... the height of ambition, and achievement, for those who’d stand against for moderation but against mediocrity.

A potential breakup Between Future Movement and Lebanese Forces
Myra Abdallah/Now Lebanon/December 16/15
Will disagreement between Future Movement and Lebanese Forces caused by Hariri’s nominating Frangieh for president lead to a schism between the two allies?
Saad Hariri and Samir Geagea in Beirut in 2009. (AFP/Joseph Barrak)
Today, the 33rd parliamentary session set to elect a new president was postponed until 7 January, due to lack of quorum. Suleiman Frangieh, suggested after Future Movement head Saad Hariri’s initiative, was not elected as the new Lebanese president. But the controversy Frangieh’s candidature has created in the Lebanese political scene has not gotten any better, especially between the Future Movement and the Lebanese Forces.
The divergence between the parties is more obvious today than ever. After the parliament session, Ahmad Fatfat, Future Movement MP, said that Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea is still his party’s candidate as long as no consensual candidate is suggested. In return, Lebanese Forces MP Georges Adwan said Hariri’s initiative will not cause a clash between the two parties. Thus, the two parties are trying to maintain a common ground in order to spare Lebanon a dead-end political crisis. But their profound disagreement can’t be hidden anymore.
“It is obvious that the relationship is really bad,” said analyst Hazem Saghieh. “It’s bad because of the fragile composition of the March 14 coalition and its inability to overtake the prevailing sectarian compositions. In addition, Hariri’s behavior was very hasty, unpredictable and inconsiderate. It seems that he prioritized his personal over his relationship with his allies.”It’s not the first time the two parties have disagreed. However, over the past 10 years they have always managed to reach better endings, resolve their issues and maintain their alliance — none of which are very obvious at present. “This time it is different,” says Saghieh. “It is obvious that this disagreement is a quantum leap regarding the post-Syrian crisis period. Currently, any Lebanese politician’s shift is directly related to the regional transformation. This is what’s causing the current disparity more serious.”
On the other hand, in line with Adwan and Fatfat’s statements, members from both parties NOW spoke to said that the relationship between the two parties will not suffer a complete rupture. Fatfat told NOW that both parties are holding tight to their strategic alliance and their continuous communication with all March 14 components. “Although the relationship was tense even before Hariri’s initiative because of several divergences, the constant communication between Future Movement and Lebanese Forces contributed in easing the tensions. We agreed that the alliance will never be affected even if we have different points of view,” he said. “In addition, as I said today, Samir Geagea is still our candidate even if, meanwhile, Hariri is trying to find a way out of the presidential deadlock by suggesting the name of another person, since it became obvious that Geagea’s candidature can’t lead anywhere.”
The popular bases of both parties are not on good terms lately, either. Last week, as a result of several clashes between Lebanese Forces and Future Movement supporters on social media, the administrations of both parties had to issue official statements asking their supporters not to attack the other party. “The popular base of March 14 knows how to hold their political leaders accountable at the right moment. The tension between the popular base and Hariri’s initiative, which I consider a healthy anger, happened because the initiative was seen as a coup against the principles according to which March 14 was created,” said a Lebanese Forces spokesperson who spoke on condition of anonymity. “However, regardless of all the tension we can see, the relationship between Lebanese Forces and Future Movement is excellent, very steady, and can never be extinguished.” He also said that the Lebanese Forces did not completely reject Frangieh’s nomination and is still in the process of negotiating his candidature with its allies.
The current position of both parties seems to be an attempt to restore a broken relationship and to save what is left of the March 14 coalition, especially given that a large number of Sunnis have recently tried to join the Lebanese Forces. A number of them were announced as members at a ceremony organized by the Christian party in Akkar last week. Saghieh says that the parties are trying to “tinker with the broken image,” as they do every time they disagree and that this is not a concern for March 14 alone. He also says that what is happening today in Lebanon and region is a “reshuffling of the political map,” and that “the dualism of March 8 and March 14 no longer exists.” Instead, he says, “new equations might be set; an alliance between [Nabih] Berri, [Walid] Jumblatt, Hariri and Frangieh might be created.”“Some people are seeing Frangieh’s nomination as a positive step since it indicates the loss of Bashar Assad in Syria,” he said. “If the loss results in getting Frangieh as a president in Lebanon, I wonder what his victory would have got us.”

Catholic Patriarch Urges End to Israeli-Palestinian Violence
Naharnet/Agence France Presse/December 16/15/The head of the Roman Catholic Church in the Holy Land called Wednesday in his Christmas message for Israel and the Palestinians to halt a wave of deadly violence while denouncing extremist attacks worldwide. Fouad Twal, the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, said the situation necessitated "moderate celebrations" as Bethlehem, the city neighboring Jerusalem where biblical tradition says Jesus Christ was born, prepared for its Christmas events. "We are tired of this conflict as we see the Holy Land sullied with blood," the Jordanian patriarch said. "Each of the two peoples of the Holy Land, Israelis and Palestinians, have the right to dignity, to an independent state and sustainable security." He also denounced violence in other parts of the world, saying "a deadly ideology based on religious fanaticism and obstinacy is spreading terror and barbarism amidst innocent people." "Yesterday, it was Lebanon, France, Russia, the United States; but war has been raging for years in Iraq and Syria," he said. He said "we invite every parish to switch off Christmas tree lights for five minutes in solidarity with all victims of violence and terrorism. Similarly, our Christmas mass will be offered for the victims and their families." A wave of violence since October 1 has killed 119 on the Palestinian side, 17 Israelis, an American and an Eritrean. Many of the Palestinians killed have been attackers, while others have been shot dead by Israeli security forces during clashes. Each year for Christmas, pilgrims from across the world flock to Bethlehem, located in the occupied West Bank and cut off from Jerusalem by Israel's separation wall. The recent violence has however led to a large number of cancellations for this year's celebrations.

Arab League to Meet to Discuss Turkish Forces in Iraq
Naharnet/Agence France Presse/December 16/15/The Arab League said Wednesday it will hold an extraordinary meeting of its foreign ministers next week to discuss Turkeys deployment of forces in Iraq condemned by Baghdad as an illegal incursion. Soldiers and tanks were sent to a military camp in northern Iraq earlier this month, a move Ankara said was necessary to protect forces carrying out training in the fight against the Islamic State group. The meeting will be held on December 24 at the request of Iraq, the Cairo-based body's deputy chief, Ahmed Ben Heli, told reporters. On Tuesday, Baghdad demanded the "complete withdrawal" of Turkish forces from its territory. Turkish and Iraqi officials said forces and equipment were withdrawn Monday, but the trainers apparently remained, and Ankara has other military sites within northern Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region. Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said Monday that "there has been a shifting of the (military) forces, and that Ankara did "what was necessary to do from a military point of view."But Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu indicated that forces remained at the training site, saying the number of troops there and at other locations "may increase or decrease as required." Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region has close ties with Ankara and is unlikely to back Baghdad in its efforts to see the Turkish forces go home.

Amnesty Urges Kuwait to Free Political Prisoners
Naharnet/Agence France Presse/December 16/15
Amnesty International urged Kuwait on Wednesday to release all political prisoners immediately and warned that the oil-rich Gulf state was at risk of sliding deeper into repression. In a report titled "The iron fist policy: criminalisation of peaceful dissent in Kuwait", Amnesty said that at least 94 government critics were either in jail or on trial for charges such as insulting or offending the ruler or top officials. "Scores of peaceful critics have been arrested and imprisoned simply for speaking out against a spectre of widespread repression," said Amnesty's deputy director for the Middle East and North Africa, James Lynch. "The authorities have resorted to a mesmerizingly complex web of laws in an attempt to throttle freedom of expression," he told a press conference. Online activists who launched a campaign on Twitter on Tuesday in solidarity with people facing prosecution said that as many as 626 Kuwaitis face criminal charges for expressing their views peacefully. Lynch said that opposition leader and former member of parliament Mussallam al-Barrak, who is serving a two-year jail term for publicly offending the emir, faces 94 criminal prosecutions. Amnesty also criticised the government for revoking the citizenship of a number of leading opposition activists including Abdullah al-Barghash, a former member of parliament, and Saad al-Ajmi, spokesman for the opposition Popular Action Movement who was later deported to Saudi Arabia. The watchdog urged the emirate, which has an elected parliament and a constitution, to review and repeal a number of laws that hinder freedom of expression.

HRW: Smuggled Syria Photos 'Damning Evidence' of Crimes against Humanity
Naharnet/Agence France Presse/December 16/15
Photographs of thousands of people who reportedly died in government detention centers in Syria present "damning evidence" of crimes against humanity, Human Rights Watch said Wednesday. The rights group conducted a nine-month investigation into more than 28,000 photographs smuggled out of Syria by a military defector codenamed Caesar. The pictures appeared to show the bodies of some 6,000 Syrian detainees -- often bearing marks of torture or starvation -- who allegedly died in government detention centers or after being transferred to military hospitals. "We have meticulously verified dozens of stories, and we are confident the Caesar photographs present authentic -- and damning -- evidence of crimes against humanity in Syria," said Nadim Houry, HRW's deputy Middle East director. "These photographs show peoples' children, their husbands, their beloved family members, and friends that they spent months or years searching for," Houry said. Out of thousands of photos, HRW researchers identified 27 individuals and collected accounts from friends, families, and fellow detainees to piece together their stories. The watchdog said one of the victims, 14 year-old Ahmad al-Musalmani, died in government detention after being held for having an anti-regime song on his mobile phone in 2012. Ahmad's uncle, Dahi al-Musalmani, spent years trying to find his nephew as well as more than $14,000 in bribes to secure his release. Dahi finally identified his nephew in Caesar's photos. "I went directly to the folder of the Air Force Intelligence, and I found him," he told HRW, breaking down while talking. "It was a shock. Oh, it was the shock of my life to see him here. I looked for him, 950 days I looked for him. I counted each day. When his mother was dying, she told me: 'I leave him under your protection.' What protection could I give?"HRW called on countries seeking peace talks on Syria's crisis to prioritize the release of thousands of detainees. It said Russia and Iran, as the top backers of Syrian President Bashar Assad, have a "particular responsibility" to secure immediate access to detention centers for international monitors.
"The government registered these deaths, processing dozens of bodies at a time, while taking no action to investigate the cause of death or to prevent yet more people in their custody from dying," Houry said. "Those pushing for peace in Syria should ensure that these crimes stop and that the people who oversaw this system ultimately face accountability for their crimes."

Four Turkish Troops Wounded in IS Attack on Iraqi Camp
Naharnet/Agence France Presse/December 16/15
Four Turkish soldiers were wounded on Wednesday when Islamic State (IS) jihadists fired mortars on a training camp near the Iraqi city of Mosul, a Turkish official said. The Turkish military responded to the attack on the camp -- used to train Iraqi anti-jihadist fighters with Turkish help -- with fire of their own, the CNN-Turk and NTV channels reported, citing military sources. "Four Turkish troops were wounded in a mortar attack against the military training camp near Mosul," the Turkish official told AFP, emphasizing that the attack originated from IS-held territory. "All four servicemen have since been evacuated and are currently undergoing medical treatment. We are pleased to confirm that their condition is stable," added the official, asking not to be named. According to CNN-Turk, IS jihadists fired up to 60 mortar rounds over several hours. The Turkish forces stationed in the camp responded with artillery fire. One of the Turkish troops was seriously wounded but his life is not in danger, it added. The official Anatolia news agency said all four had been taken for treatment in the Sirnak province on the Turkish side of the border. Turkey earlier this month announced that hundreds of troops had been deployed at the Bashiqa camp to protect Turkish military who were training local Iraqi fighters seeking to recapture Mosul from the IS. But the deployment outraged the central Iraqi government in Baghdad, which bitterly complained to Ankara and said it would take the issue to the U.N. Security Council. In a bid to placate Baghdad, an unspecified contingent of the Turkish troops this week pulled out of the camp and headed northwards. The Iraqi government on Tuesday demanded the "complete withdrawal" of Turkish forces from its territory, indicating Ankara's partial pullout the previous day was not enough. By contrast, the deployment has been supported by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) which controls the northern Iraqi region and has excellent relations with Ankara.

Frenchmen' with Possible Paris Attacks Links Held in Austria
Naharnet/Agence France Presse/December 16/15/Austrian police have arrested two people with suspected links to the Paris attacks, prosecutors said Wednesday, with an Austrian newspaper reporting the two are French citizens posing as refugees. "Two people coming from the Middle East were arrested at the weekend," Robert Holzleitner, a spokesman for prosecutors in the western city of Salzburg, told AFP. "Indications of a possible link to the Paris attacks are currently being investigated." He said the two were arrested in a center for refugees in Salzburg "on suspicion of belonging to a terrorist organization." The Kronen-Zeitung daily reported online that the two men are French and entered Austria in October together with members of the cell who carried out the November 13 attacks in the French capital that killed 130 people. The newspaper said they had been posing as refugees and had fake Syrian passports, having traveled up from Greece through the Balkans into Austria along with hundreds of thousands of migrants arriving in recent months. Three of the nine Paris attackers have yet to be identified, including two of the three suicide bombers who blew themselves up outside the Stade de France stadium, who appear to have used fake passports to sneak into Europe. Holzleitner declined to comment on the nationalities of the two arrested in Austria or give any more details. The Austrian interior ministry and police also declined to comment. The Kronen-Zeitung, without citing sources, said that the information leading to the arrests came from an unspecified foreign intelligence agency, and that the two men had Algerian and Pakistani roots.The tabloid also said that the two had been waiting in Salzburg, a city popular with foreign tourists, for orders to carry out more attacks.
French arrest
News of the Austrian arrests came a day after a 29-year-old man with suspected links to the Paris attacks claimed by the Islamic State (IS) group was arrested in a housing estate in the eastern Paris suburb of Villiers-sur-Marne. Six counter-terrorism judges are overseeing the investigation -- an unprecedented number for France -- and the probe has seen 2,700 police raids and 360 people placed under house arrest. French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said a total of 334 people had been arrested since the attacks, of whom 287 were held for questioning, and that over 400 weapons had been seized. Eight men have been arrested in Belgium, where the attacks are thought to have been organized, and one man has been detained in Turkey on suspicion of scouting the Paris concert hall, bars and restaurants where the attacks took place. Salah Abdeslam, a 26-year-old French citizen who is thought to have played a key logistical role, is still on the run and subject to an international arrest warrant. Abdeslam was also registered as having been in Austria on September 9 after being stopped in a routine traffic check in a car with Belgian number plates with two other men, Austrian authorities said on November 17. Abdeslam told police he was "on holiday" in Austria. He also traveled to Hungary before the attacks where he "recruited a team" from unregistered migrants passing through, Hungarian officials said on December 3.

Kremlin denies reports Iran’s Soleimani met Putin in Moscow
Reuters, Moscow/Dubai Wednesday, 16 December 2015/Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov denied on Wednesday reports that the commander of foreign operations in Iran's Revolutionary Guards, General Qassem Soleimani, visited Moscow last week for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“No, there wasn’t,” RIA news agency is quoting Peskov as saying when he was asked whether there had been such a meeting, reported earlier by Iran’s Fars news agency. Fars news agency reported on Wednesday that “General Soleimani held a meeting with President Putin and high-ranking Russian military and security officials during a three-day visit last week... They discussed the latest developments in Syria, Iraq, Yemen and Lebanon,” quoting unnamed sources.

Gunmen kidnap at least 26 Qatari citizens in Iraq
Reuters, Baghdad Wednesday, 16 December 2015/Unknown gunmen driving in a large convoy of trucks kidnapped at least 26 Qatari citizens from their hunting camp in a sprawling desert area near the Saudi borders on the early hours of Wednesday, the regional governor and police officials said. Two police officers in Samawa confirmed the kidnappings and said security forces launched a wide-scale search for the Qataris. "An armed group driving dozens of pickup trucks kidnapped at least 26 Qatari hunters from their camp in the area of Busaya in Samawa desert near Saudi borders," Samawa governor Falih al-Zayady said.

Turkey accuses Russia of playing up military threat after downed jet
Reuters, Ankara Wednesday, 16 December 2015/Turkey on Wednesday accused Russia of “exaggerating” a military threat that Ankara said does not exist, comments likely to further strain tensions between the two after the downing of a jet over Syria last month. Turkish foreign ministry spokesman Tanju Bilgic also told a briefing that it was not possible to meet Russian demands for compensation over the downed warplane.

Yemen’s foes agree on prisoner swap
By Reuters, Aden/Geneva Wednesday, 16 December 2015/Yemen’s warring parties agreed on Wednesday to exchange hundreds of prisoners in a move aimed at supporting U.N.-sponsored peace talks which resumed for a second day in Switzerland, but both sides accused the other of violating a ceasefire.
A seven-day truce, timed to coincide with the peace talks, began at mid-day on Tuesday to halt fighting in nine months of civil war between the Iran-allied Houthis based in Yemen’s north and Saudi-backed southern and eastern fighters loyal to President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi. Officials from both sides said the prisoner swap would be one of the most positive signs yet in the civil war, which has killed almost 6,000 people and drawn in foreign powers.Abdel-Hakim al-Hasani, a senior southern militia leader, said 360 members of the Houthi movement held in Aden would be exchanged for 265 southern civilians and fighters at midday following tribal mediation. An official from the Houthi-run prisons authority in the capital Sanaa said southern prisoners had boarded buses on their way to the exchange venue in central Yemen. Witnesses in Aden said they saw buses guarded by local fighters travelling through the city, apparently heading to the exchange venue. Despite the swap, both sides traded accusations of violating the truce, which included a pause in air strikes by a Saudi-led Arab alliance. Brigadier General Sharaf Luqman, a spokesman for Yemeni forces loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh, who is allied with the Houthis, said a “serious escalation by land, sea and air is taking place by the alliance in various areas,” according to the Houthi-controlled Saba news agency. Luqman said strikes from the sea were taking place on the Red Sea port city of Hodaida, while ground forces carried out attacks on Taez city in southwestern Yemen and air strikes by the Arab coalition had not stopped. “We will not stay hand-tied but we will respond strongly towards the breaches that are taking place by the alliance and their mercenaries,” Luqman said. The Hadi-run sabanew.net news agency said five loyalist fighters and three civilians were killed in Houthi shelling in the central city of Taez shortly after the ceasefire began. The agency quoted a medical source as saying 17 people were wounded. The Saudi-led coalition’s spokesman, Brigadier General Ahmed al-Asiri, said the alliance was committed to the ceasefire but was ready to respond to any violation by the Houthis, according to the Saudi al-Riyadh daily.

Gunmen kidnap at least 26 Qatari citizens in Iraq
Reuters, Baghdad Wednesday, 16 December 2015/Unknown gunmen driving in a large convoy of trucks kidnapped at least 26 Qatari citizens from their hunting camp in a sprawling desert area near the Saudi borders on the early hours of Wednesday, the regional governor and police officials said.
Two police officers in Samawa confirmed the kidnappings and said security forces launched a wide-scale search for the Qataris. "An armed group driving dozens of pickup trucks kidnapped at least 26 Qatari hunters from their camp in the area of Busaya in Samawa desert near Saudi borders," Samawa governor Falih al-Zayady said.

Syria army retakes key hilltop in coastal province
AFP, Damascus Wednesday, 16 December 2015/Syrian troops and allied militia pushed rebel fighters back on Wednesday from a hilltop overlooking a strategic highway in President Bashar al-Assad’s coastal heartland, state media said.Citing a military source, state news agency SANA said army units and pro-government militia “took full control of the strategic Jabal Nuba after killing a number of terrorists.” Rami Abdel Rahman, the head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor, told AFP that the hill overlooks the main rebel supply line between Latakia -- a bastion of Assad support -- and second city Aleppo. The government intensified its offensive to retake Jabal Nuba in recent weeks and Russian warplanes had carried out raids in the area in support of the army. On Wednesday, army units fought through the area’s dense brush and mountainous terrain, and were “combing through the area to clear any booby-trapped devices,” the military source said. He said the army would continue to “tighten the noose” around rebel positions, including in the village of Salma, which has been in anti-government hands since 2012 and has been the target of heavy Russian bombardment. Groups including Al-Qaeda affiliate Al-Nusra Front have taken up positions in the area around the village, according to the Observatory. The Britain-based monitor confirmed said Syrian army units were backed by Lebanese Shiite group Hezbollah in the offensive. “The clashes also came with dozens of air strikes, rocket fire, and heavy shelling on the Jabal Akrad and Jabal Turkman regions,” the Observatory said. Fierce fighting has rocked those areas in recent months as the regime seeks to recapture opposition-held territory in Latakia. On November 24, anti-government factions destroyed a Russian helicopter after firing on it and forcing it to make an emergency landing near Jabal Nuba. Russia began its air war in Syria in September and has said it is fighting ISIS and other “terrorist” organizations. But tensions have skyrocketed in recent weeks since Turkey shot down a Russian aircraft over Latakia and rebels killed one of the pilots as he parachuted down after ejecting from the plane.

German airforce runs first refueling mission over Syria
AFP, Berlin Wednesday, 16 December 2015/Germany’s military staged its first aerial refueling mission of allied fighter jets targeting Syria’s ISIS group, the armed forces said Wednesday. The A310 MRTT refueled two combat aircraft Tuesday before returning from its five-hour mission shortly after midnight to the southern Turkey military base at Incirlik, said a Bundeswehr spokesman, without identifying the other planes involved. The tanker aircraft is part of Berlin’s deployment to aid the multinational anti-ISIS coalition, which also includes six German Tornado surveillance jets, a frigate helping protect the French Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier and up to 1,200 troops. Unlike France, the United States and Britain, Germany is not conducting bombing missions.

Italy to send 450 troops to protect Iraq’s Mosul dam
AFP, Rome Wednesday, 16 December 2015/Italy is to send 450 troops to defend Iraq’s strategic Mosul dam, near the city occupied by ISIS fighters, Prime Minister Matteo Renzi announced. The dam on the Tigris river, built by a German-Italian consortium in the 1980s and in which Italian company Trevi still has an interest, is a vital water and power source for Mosul, Iraq’s largest northern city. “The call (to protect the dam) was made by an Italian company... and we will send 450 of our men there to help protect it alongside the Americans,” the prime minister said on national television late Tuesday. Mosul, Iraq’s second city, has been occupied by ISIS since June 2014. Kurdish forces, backed by U.S. air strikes, retook the dam from ISIS in August 2014. The dam, which provides water and energy to over a million people, “is in the heart of a dangerous zone, on the border with ISIS. It is seriously damaged and risks collapse,” Renzi warned. If the dam is destroyed by fighting it could unleash major flooding in Mosul and the capital Baghdad, 400 kilometers (250 miles) to the south. Italian construction and energy group Trevi has secured a $2.0 billion (1.83 billion euro) contract to shore up the dam. So far the security situation has been too precarious for those works to begin. The 450 Italian troops will be in addition to the 750 already on the ground in Iraq as part of international efforts.

ISIS eyeing oil targets ‘beyond’ Syria stronghold
Reuters, WashingtonWednesday, 16 December 2015/ISIS is looking at potentially vulnerable oil assets in Libya and elsewhere outside its Syria stronghold, where the militant group controls about roughly 80 percent of the oil and gas fields, a senior U.S. official said on Tuesday. The official, who briefed reporters in Washington on condition of anonymity, said the United States was carefully examining who controlled oil fields, pipelines, trucking routes and other infrastructure in places that could be vulnerable to attack. Those include in Libya and the Sinai Peninsula, the official added. "They are looking at the oil assets in Libya and elsewhere. We'll be prepared," the official said. The United States has estimated ISIS was selling as much as $40 million a month of oil, which was then spirited on trucks across the battle lines of the Syrian civil war and sometimes farther. The United States recently targeted fuel trucks, part of a broadening of its strikes on ISIS's oil wealth that the U.S. official said had showed anecdotal signs of raising the costs of ISIS's oil operations. "The costs of the operation have gone up and the ability to move it around has gone down," the official said.
Crude oil prices are barely above recent lows set during the depths of the 2008-2009 financial crisis. Worldwide, oil prices have declined over 50 percent since they began dropping in June 2014. Low oil prices could be a double-edged sword in the fight against ISIS, helping reduce revenue the group gets in Syria but potentially accentuating vulnerabilities as companies elsewhere lay off workers. Some of the oil workers in ISIS-held territory were foreigners, the official said. "The reduction in oil prices actually adds another element of insecurity because companies have less money to spend on a variety of things," the official added. "There are more oil and gas employees ... who are out of work ... so they're easier targets to recruit around the world."

ISIS attack kills 3 Iraqi fighters, wounds 4 Turkish trainers
AP, Erbil Wednesday, 16 December 2015/Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) militants on Wednesday attacked a training camp in Iraq for fighters battling the extremist group, killing three Iraqi Sunni fighters and wounding 10 people, including four of their Turkish trainers, officials said. The former governor of the northern Ninevah province, Atheel al-Nujaifi, told The Associated Press that the camp in the Bashiqa region near the ISIS-held city of Mosul came under mortar fire “for hours” on Wednesday and that the shelling was continuing.
Turkey’s military said the camp was hit by Katyusha rockets fired by ISIS militants during a battle with Iraq’s Kurdish peshmerga fighters. It said Turkish artillery units fired back at ISIS targets in retaliation but did not provide further details on the Turkish response.
A total of 10 people were wounded in the attack, including the Turkish soldiers, said the spokesman for the camp, Makhmoud Surchi. More than 1,000 fighters were received training at the camp when it came under attack. The attack came days after Turkey, under intense pressure from Baghdad, was forced to pull out an unspecified number of reinforcements it had sent to the camp, citing threats from the ISIS group. Turkey had stationed trainers at Bashiqa since last year to help train the Kurdish and Sunni forces, but the arrival of the additional troops earlier this month sparked uproar in Baghdad, which demanded their immediate withdrawal. Turkey argued that it had sent the reinforcements after receiving intelligence about possible ISIS attacks on the camp.A Turkish military statement said the four wounded soldiers were evacuated to a hospital in Turkey near the border with Iraq. None of them were in life-threatening condition, the military said.

Taking the lead: The Muslim anti-terror alliance
Abdulrahman al-Rashed/Al Arabiya/December 16/15
Even the Germans, who have since World War II adopted a policy of avoiding wars, have decided to engage in the battle against terrorist organizations and send a military force to Syria. Prior to this, the Russians had declared they would get involved in Syria, thus daring to impose their political vision on the region and the world. Due to this international and regional vacuum, certain countries have decided to act against terrorist organizations that consider themselves Muslim, such as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). The damage these groups cause is no longer limited to conflict zones, as extremism and terrorism have become a threat to Muslims and the international community. We are glad that Riyadh, the capital of the Muslim world, has taken the initiative amid this vacuum, and to fight this germ that is spreading quickly on all continents. The world’s primary enemy today is the terrorism of Islamist organizations. It is very important that action is taken, and that we do not let others assume our responsibilities, thus allowing them to decide and draw the world’s political and ideological map. For example, we will not agree with Russia on the categorization of terrorists, and we will not accept the sectarian categorization that we have been recently hearing from Washington. It is impossible to sit on the sidelines and watch as each party claims it is the one that will fight terrorist organizations in the region and the world.
Implementation
The good thing about this Muslim anti-terror alliance, announced by Saudi Deputy Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, is that it is not simply an idea or suggestion, but an integrated project. So far, 34 out of 52 Muslim countries have joined. Therefore, the first military alliance of Muslim countries - which can say they are the legitimate ones to fight groups that use Islam to spread chaos and threaten societies - has been born. Saudi Arabia’s success in establishing this alliance is an important development that is based on international legitimacy and will produce major results. It is a must to move forward and not yield to others. Saudi Arabia’s success in establishing this alliance is an important development that is based on international legitimacy and will produce major results. Iran has tried to establish a grouping that represents it in its war in Syria and Iraq, but it failed because its project was hostile and sectarian. In the end, it turned out to be a gathering for militias, not states. There are plenty of things the Riyadh-based alliance can do, but I do not believe it will fight other countries’ wars if they do not ask for help. If Egypt desires, it will get military support to confront armed extremist groups in Sinai.
The coalition will also help if international organizations such as the United Nations, or regional ones such as the Arab League, seek its assistance to fight terrorism in countries where there is no legitimacy such as Libya and Syria, or where legitimacy is weak such as in Yemen and Mali.

Can you counter extremism through hashtags?
Diana Moukalled/Al Arabiya/December 16/15
Can a hashtag on Twitter contain the repercussions of negative acts such as a brutal stabbing attack? It seems that the answer is yes. It seemed exceptional how the hashtag #YouAintNoMuslimBruv trended on Twitter allowing to contain tensions among Muslim Brits and other citizens following the stabbing incident in London’s underground station last week. Videos of the incident showed police officers calm the suspect who reportedly said, “This is for Syria,” when a bystander can be heard yelling “You ain’t no Muslim, bruv” at the arrested man. The video seemed very symbolic, and effective as seen in the widespread tweets using that hashtag and interacting with it. This happened amid growing demands to adopt policies which deter the spread of extremists’ ideas particularly via Twitter. Days before the incident in London, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair delivered a speech in Washington and spoke out against the role which Twitter plays in spreading extremist ideologies in Muslim societies and warned against it.
Brutal propaganda
Of course Blair did not reveal anything new to us as we, in the Arab world, are well-acquainted with these extremists’ worlds and with their supporters who operate via spreading violent ideas and brutal propaganda. Terrorism is currently obsessed with modern technologies as a means to spread its ideology and gain new recruits Surfing social media pages of Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) supporters or taking a look at hashtags which sympathize with the militants shows how much these people seek to create a cinematic world. They portray themselves with bleak images where bearded men dressed in clothing from past eras document scenes of murder. These people need nothing more than a circulating image in order for murder to aggravate in the worst forms. Therefore, #YouAintNoMuslimBruv came as a counterweight to what social media sites like Twitter can provide. ISIS and those who desire a more violent and extremist world are also fond of Twitter. Therefore, the activity of Twitter users denouncing ISIS is vital. All studies and warnings suggest that Twitter is the preferred platform for ISIS and its sympathizers as this site acts like a loudspeaker to extremists and forms an arena for the latter to come together from across the world.
Human values
However, Twitter is also an important platform for ordinary people who voice their condemnation of those who murder in the name of Islam. This is what happened with #YouAintNoMuslimBruv, which carried human values that completely contradict the ideas that violent attacks aim to propagate.
The hashtag also deterred those who would have desired to generalize the idea that all Muslims sympathize with ISIS. It’s true that this is not the first time that many people show their rejection of extremism and violence committed in their name; however, the success of this condemnation in particular enhances hopes that we have the ability to overcome hate campaigns which similar attacks may produce. It’s an electronic society seeking a different means to develop itself and to confront mechanisms of untraditional violence. Terrorism is currently obsessed with modern technologies as a means to spread its ideology and gain recruits. Indeed, modern fundamentalism has gained ground thanks to how much it depends on IT. Yes, there’s perhaps a virtual society that is viewing terrorism and sympathizing with it, but there are also many people who are confronting this extremism in the most peaceful and modern of ways. Campaigns rejecting the statements of U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump provides us with even more proof that hate speech can be confronted effectively online.

Saudi Arabia's anti-terror alliance is collective self-defense
Andrew Bowen/Al Arabiya/December 16/15
Prince Mohammed Bin Salman’s announcement that Saudi Arabia will lead a global coalition of 34 nations to combat extremism is a significant step in international counter-terrorism efforts to roll back terrorism's cancerous spread. This Coalition is critically a military grouping and was founded on the principle of collective self-defense, along the lines of organizations such as NATO which have guaranteed European security since the end of the Second World War. This Coalition’s scope appears to be truly global- not limiting itself to challenges in the Middle East and North Africa. Instead, this Coalition will address terrorist threats ranging from Afghanistan to security in Africa and in South Asia. For example, Gabon is a member of the Coalition. It’s not only ISIS on the radar of Prince Mohammed bin Salman, but Boko Haram and al-Qaeda and its worldwide affiliates.
A first in history
Riyadh’s focus underscores an important difference from Washington’s focus, which is predominantly on building a coalition against ISIS. Without confronting the broader challenges of Islamic extremism worldwide, ISIS and any successor organization will continue to gain recruits and Riyadh recognizes this.
Importantly, a military coalition of this size (the first in its history), led by Saudi Arabia, carries more legitimacy than purely another U.S. and Western lead counter-terrorism intervention in the Muslim world. In the long-term, this Coalition, has a better chance at winning the hearts of minds of those who have turned towards terrorism.
New leadership for common challenges
Prince Mohammed has taken substantial steps to put Saudi Arabia and its partners on stronger footing to confront growing security challenges both from Iran and its growing regional proxies and extremist groups. Importantly, the Yemen campaign highlights the new emerging defense architecture that King Salman has been building since he took office. This Coalition, which took months of careful diplomacy, is a further step. Nearing the anniversary of King Salman’s rule, this global coalition of nations represents both Riyadh’s new leadership and the recognition that these challenges require new, innovative, and robust solutions
With Washington’s perceived re-balancing to Asia and pull back (most notably, the President’s own retreat on his “red lines” regarding Syria), Riyadh couldn’t wait anymore for Obama to deliver on the rhetorical promises he has made and broken at times, including most recently at Camp David. Prince Mohammed recognizes that the Muslim world is in the best position to confront these challenges. At the same time, the Deputy Crown Prince believes in the importance of working with global powers and international organizations. In his final months in office, President Obama has an opportunity to follow through on his commitments. He should move quickly to bolster his support for the Coalition including deepening military assistance and broadening intelligence sharing.
A number of challenges on the horizon
The challenges the Coalition faces are great. It will have to robustly address the civil war in Syria, ISIS, Libya, Yemen, to name a few regional challenges. More broadly, groups such as Boko Haram continue to plague the stability and security of West Africa.
While this is first and foremost a military coalition, the Coalition will need to pair a military strategy with a sustainable political and economic strategy to both rebuild societies torn apart by war and conflict and to support states struggling with their own socio-economic, political, and security challenges. Riyadh can play a unique role in marshaling international economic investment to ensure that these gains are sustained. While Iran has been a source of deepening sectarianism in the region and beyond, it would be a mistake to allow Iran to cast this new coalition as purely a Sunni sectarian military coalition. Extremist groups profit the most on decisive sectarian rhetoric. It’s critical then that this Coalition remains diplomatically engaged in bringing an end to Syria’s civil war, but more broadly, addressing challenges such as Lebanon, which require sustained diplomatic engagement with opponents. Ideally, Tehran can move from posture of confrontation and antagonism to one of engagement and cooperation. Nearing the anniversary of King Salman’s rule, this global coalition of nations represents both Riyadh’s new leadership and the recognition that these challenges require new, innovative, and robust solutions. Importantly, for this Coalition to succeed, all members will need to contribute.

Russia’s plan for Syria is troubling for Turkey
Mahir Zeynalov/Al Arabiya/December 16/15
Russia has significantly stepped up its role in Syria since the downing of its warplane by Turkey. Ankara’s Western allies have urged both nations to de-escalate the situation. The downing of the jet for violating Turkish airspace for just 17 seconds outraged President Vladimir Putin, who has ambitions to restore a glorified Russia. Since the incident, Russian TV networks have launched a massive smear campaign against Turkey and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, with allegations of corruption and government ties to radical groups in Syria. Russian leaders ludicrously claim that Turkey shot down the plane to continue benefiting from oil trading with the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), which Moscow has reportedly disrupted by destroying the group's trucks.
Turkish interests
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry went to Moscow on Tuesday to discuss Russia's increased role in Syria, while U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter arrived in Ankara to hold talks on Syria and the fight against ISIS. Russia will not directly attack Turkey, a NATO member, but will wage a war against its regional interests. The Syrian case is particularly troubling for Turkey and its Western allies, which have so far zigzagged to avoid the Syrian quagmire. As good diplomatic relations and commercial ties between Russia and Turkey have collapsed since the jet incident, Moscow is now waging a war against Turkish interests in the region.
Mahir Zeynalov
In Syria, Russia is especially focused on taking over the narrow Azaz corridor, which has long been a lifeline for anti-regime forces backed by Turkey. Since the downing of the jet, Russian warplanes have intensified the air campaign on the Turkish border, striking Turkmen forces backed and armed by Turkey.
Fabrice Balanche, an associate professor and research director at the University of Lyon 2, wrote in an article published by the Washington Institute for Near East Policy (WINEP) that Syrian rebels have been struggling to hold onto this strip of territory between the northern border town of Azaz and Aleppo. He said the corridor now faces imminent threats from the east by ISIS, from the west by the Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD), and from the south by the Syrian army and its allies. Balanche said the corridor has become “the epicenter of the war,” with hostilities intensifying over the past two weeks. He noted that a Kurdish offensive supported by Russian airstrikes is underway to the west, coordinated with a developing campaign by the Syrian army and proxy militias on the outskirts of Aleppo. “The prospect of direct Turkish intervention looms over the fighting, especially if the corridor should fall,” Balanche wrote.
Supporting Kurds
During the Cold War, the Soviet Union threw its weight behind the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), a Marxist rebel group, to fight against the Turkish state. As good diplomatic relations and commercial ties between Russia and Turkey have collapsed since the jet incident, Moscow is now waging a similar war against Turkish interests in the region. Last month, Russia announced the deployment of S-300 anti-aircraft defense systems in northern Syria, gaining the ability to shoot down Turkish aircraft. It also dashes hopes for the creation of a no-fly zone that could be used as a springboard for a wider war against the Syrian regime and ISIS. Ankara has made clear that any attempt by Kurds to cross into the western bank of the Euphrates river will be met with force. Kurds, feeling abandoned by Washington due to Turkish pressure, may exploit the row between Ankara and Moscow to advance further west. If Kurdish YPG militias, backed by Russian airstrikes, can link up to their brethren in Afrin region, Turkey’s entire access to Syria will be shut. The jet incident was an opportunity for Putin to whip up anti-Turkish public sentiment, and garner domestic support for his adventure in Syria. Few things could be better for Russia than making sure Kurds control the Turkish-Syrian border, the Azaz corridor is closed to rebels, and regime forces regain the upper hand in Aleppo. With the regime emboldened, Assad will have a stronger hand in any future diplomacy to find a negotiated solution to the conflict.

The Saudi anti-terror coalition could be a game changer
Dr. John C. Hulsman/Al Arabiya/December 16/15
“The proof is in the pudding.”
--14th century proverb
Part of the problem with modern political risk analysis is the difficulty in separating the portentous from the pretentious, the significant from the marketing dross that so often masquerades as foreign policy initiatives. On any given day, there a literally hundreds of press releases as to new, revolutionary, foreign policy strategies being unfurled that are bound (so their authors insist) to change the course of history. Most, of course, amount to less than nothing; but the analytical ‘noise’ in the modern world is truly deafening. It takes an especially skilled analyst to ignore the din, focusing on what really matters. And while the jury is surely still out, yesterday’s announcement by Saudi Defense Minister and Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, of a new Saudi-inspired 34 country Islamic coalition designed to fight terrorism, could truly amount to that rarest of things: a foreign policy initiative that fundamentally matters.
Calling the American bluff
As the war in Syria drearily continues, with U.S. air strikes increasing against ISIS to a new high in November, Washington has grown increasingly and publicly exasperated at the lack of support from its allies in the anti-ISIS coalition. Specifically, the U.S. has made frequent and urgent calls for the Gulf Arab states to do more against ISIS. The key, overriding point is whether the Islamic coalition will attack ISIS targets in Syria and Iraq, how often, and to what effect. This is due to issues relating to technical military sophistication, as well as to the crucial matter of local political legitimacy. Both the Saudi and Emirati air forces are modern, powerful and capable of truly helping to carry the military load of increased air strikes directed against Raqqa. Perhaps even more importantly, the UAE and Saudi Arabia’s overt, and strong opposition to ISIS decisively makes a lie of the group’s false (but powerful) claim to be the champion of the Sunni worldview. American frustration has centred on the fact that while almost every major state in the Middle East is genuinely against ISIS, getting rid of it in its Syrian-Iraqi heartland has not been the priority of many. While the U.S.-backed Kurds, and Iran-backed Shiite militias in Iraq have taken the fight to ISIS, there had been a crucial lack of effective Sunni boots on the ground.
Instead, the Egyptians have been fretting about the failed state that Libya has become, and the rise of the local ISIS chapter there, as well as another manifestation of the group in the Sinai. Turkey has been more intent on facing down the Kurds than taking the war to ISIS. Saudi Arabia, in American eyes, has been seen as worrying about the Iranian-inspired Houthi rebellion on its southern doorstep, rather than in aiding America in Syria and Iraq. But with a ceasefire set to take hold in Yemen, as U.N.-sponsored peace talks commence, there has been increasing hope in Washington that the pivotal Saudis are set to re-focus their efforts. Raqqa may well not have helped matters from their point of view in their strategically baffling desire to take on all their many enemies at once; while the Arab world may have been ambiguous in its efforts to fight ISIS, the group has been crystal clear in its desire to attack Gulf states, initiating a series of attacks on Shiite mosques in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, in an effort to foment Sunni-Shiite tensions, as well as attacking security forces in both states as well. Given this sub-text, the U.S. should be increasingly hopeful that the just-announced Islamic coalition against terrorism marks the crowning of this new strategic shift it has so hoped for. Certainly, King Salman could not have been rhetorically clearer about ISIS, urging further, significant efforts in November to “eradicate this dangerous scourge and rid of the world of its evils.” The new 34-state Islamic coalition against terrorism puts operational heft behind these stirring words. Including pivotal predominantly Sunni states Egypt, Qatar, the UAE, Turkey, Malaysia, and Pakistan, the new coalition has both the diplomatic and strategic heft to potentially matter a great deal.
Crucially, this vast alliance possesses the vital elixir of political credibility for Sunnis in eastern Syria and central and western Iraq, as it cannot be accused — as the U.S. so easily can — of being a malign, outside influence impervious to local political goals and aspirations. Mohammed bin Salman put his finger on this vital point, saying that the new group had political ‘legitimacy’, without which ISIS cannot be ultimately defeated. If the group has the heft to tip the strategic scales against ISIS, it also seems poised to serve a vital operational function. The Saudi Defense Minister says the new alliance will “coordinate efforts to fight terrorism in Iraq, Syria, Libya, Egypt, and Afghanistan,| exactly what is necessary to maximise its impact.
The proof is in the pudding
While it is understandable that there have been few specific operational details as to how the new alliance will proceed, without them we are all left guessing as to how much political capital the individual member states of the alliance are prepared to put behind this new coalition to defeat ISIS.
The key, overriding point is whether the Islamic coalition will attack ISIS targets in Syria and Iraq, how often, and to what effect. This is the proof in the pudding as to whether the just-announced Islamic coalition is the best news to hit the region in a long time; it shouldn’t be allowed to be merely another press release.

Iran Taking Over Latin America
Joseph Humire/Gatestone Institute/December 16/15
http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/7060/iran-latin-america
"This is a matter of life or death. I need you to be an intermediary with Argentina to get help for my country's nuclear program. We need Argentina to share its nuclear technology with us. It will be impossible to advance with our program without Argentina's cooperation." – Iran's former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to the late Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez.
According to Venezuelan informants, whitewashing Iran's accused from the AMIA attack was only a secondary objective in its outreach to Argentina. The primary objective was to gain access to Argentina's nuclear technology and materials -- a goal Iran has for more than three decades.
During the last 32 years, Iran has achieved a resounding success in promoting an anti-US and anti-Israel message in Latin America. Its state-owned television network, HispanTV, broadcasts in Spanish 24 hours a day, seven days a week in at least 16 countries throughout the region.
The lifting of sanctions and influx of billions of dollars as a result of Iran's nuclear deal will undoubtedly help Iran in Latin America, where many countries face economic turmoil and can use an Iranian "stimulus."
While Latin America is often regarded as a foreign policy backwater for the United States, it is the geopolitical prize for the Islamic Republic of Iran.
During the last couple months, Iran and Saudi Arabia have been playing a political tug of war over Latin America. On November 10, 2015, Iran's deputy foreign minister held a private meeting with ambassadors from nine Latin American countries to reaffirm the Islamic Republic's desire to "enhance and deepen ties" with the region. This was followed by similar statements from Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei at the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF) in Tehran later that month.
The same day, the Saudi Foreign Minister, Adel al-Jubeir, presided over a South American-Arab world summit in Riyadh. FM al-Jubeir, while Ambassador to the United States in 2011, had himself been the target of an Iranian-Latin American assassination plot.
The message of the Saudi summit was clear: An Arab rapprochement with South American countries will increase Iran's isolation in the world.
Unfortunately for the House of Saud, in South America, they are more than thirty years behind their Persian rivals.
After the 1979 revolution, the leaders of the newfound Islamic Republic of Iran sought to change their country and the world. In 1982, Iran held an international conference of the Organization of Islamic Movements, bringing together over 380 clerics from some 70 countries around the world, including many from Latin America.[1] The purpose of this conference was to export their revolution abroad.
The next year, in 1983, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) carried out their first major international terrorist operation: the bombing of the Marine barracks in Beirut. This act led to the withdrawal of multinational forces from Lebanon. That same year, Iran began funding and training Hezbollah in Lebanon. 1983 is also the year the Islamic Republic began its covert operations in Latin America.
On August 27,1983, the first Iranian operative to land in Latin America touched down in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Mohsen Rabbani was not just any operative, but one of Iran's most highly trained and dedicated intelligence officers.[2] Latin American intelligence officials have since dubbed him "the terrorist professor."
Rabbani spent more than a decade in Argentina, creating the conditions that would allow one of Hezbollah's biggest terrorist attacks be carried out with complete impunity: the bombing, on July 18, 1994, of the AMIA (Asociación Mutual Israelita Argentina) Jewish cultural center in Buenos Aires. The attack, by a suicide bomber who drove a truck packed with explosives into the AMIA building, killed 85 people and injured hundreds more. This was not even Argentina's first encounter with Islamic terrorism; two years earlier, on March 17, 1992, the Israeli Embassy in Buenos Aires was also bombed.
Many of the Iranian officials who helped Rabbani carry out the AMIA attack are still important political players in the Islamic Republic. Ahmad Vahidi, who founded the feared, elite Qods Force of the IRGC and was recently the country's Defense Minister, was prominently named in the official AMIA indictment by the Investigations Unit of the Office of the Attorney General of Argentina. Mohsen Rezai and Ali Akbar Velayti, both presidential candidates in the 2013 Iranian elections, are also prominently named in the same indictment by Argentine authorities.[3]
During the last 32 years, Iran has achieved a resounding success in promoting an anti-US and anti-Israel message in Latin America. Iran's state-owned television network, HispanTV, broadcasts in Spanish 24 hours a day, seven days a week, in at least 16 countries throughout the region.
Formally, Iran has also doubled the number of its embassies in Latin America -- from six in 2005 to eleven today.
Informally, according to U.S. Southern Command (USSOUTHCOM), Iran has established more than 80 Islamic cultural centers promoting Shi'a Islam throughout Latin America. The number represents more than a 100% increase from 2012 when, according to estimates by USSOUTHCOM, Iran only controlled 36.[4]
Most importantly, however, Iran has established an unprecedented military and intelligence footprint that extends from Tierra del Fuego, at the southern tip of Argentina, up to the Rio Grande, bordering the United States. Iran is active in every country in Latin America.
The lack of transparency, political corruption, high levels of crime and violence -- and the growing anti-American and anti-Jewish attitudes in Latin America -- enable Iran to enjoy its success. Due to the efforts of a handful of regional governments seeking to revolutionize the region, this trend has only increased in the last decade. Thanks to the legacy of the late Hugo Chávez and his contemporaries such as Nicolás Maduro, Rafael Correa, Evo Morales, Daniel Ortega, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, Salvador Sánchez Cerén, and others, Iran is now more powerful in Latin America than ever before.
The recent election in Argentina, while providing an opportunity for the new President Mauricio Macri, does not in and of itself weaken Iran's influence in the continent. The Islamic Republic has, for more than three decades, studied the political patterns and socioeconomic trends in the region. In several countries, Iran has a greater presence and influence than the United States.
Latin America's importance for Iran was highlighted by a bombshell article published in March of this year in the highly respected Brazilian weekly Veja magazine. Through interviews with high-level Venezuelan informants who are collaborating with U.S. authorities, Veja reported that the Argentine government's reversal on its decades long policy of freezing diplomatic relations with Iran (because of the 1994 AMIA bombing) did not change in 2013 with a controversial Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed between the two countries. The policy also did not change two years prior, in 2011, when Argentina's former Foreign Minister, Hector Timmerman, met secretly in Syria with his then-Iranian counterpart, Ali Akbar Salehi, to negotiate this MOU -- meant to whitewash Iran's role in the AMIA attack.[5]
Instead, the Veja article revealed that Argentina's warming of relations with Iran began in 2007 when then-Senator Cristina Fernández de Kirchner became Argentina's president -- in part, thanks to the financial support she received from Iran, courtesy of Venezuela's Hugo Chávez.[6] The highly controversial MOU between Argentina and Iran was therefore actually a campaign promise that had been made by the outgoing Argentine president, Fernández de Kirchner, six years earlier.
The most noteworthy revelation from the Veja piece, however, is not whom Iran bribed and bought in Latin America, but why Iran bribed them.
According to the Venezuelan informants, whitewashing Iran's accused from the AMIA attack was only a secondary objective in its clandestine outreach to Argentina. The primary objective was to gain access to Argentina's nuclear technology and materials -- a goal Iran has apparently desired for more than three decades.
According to the late Dr. Alberto Nisman -- the special prosecutor who investigated the AMIA attack -- the goal of accessing Argentina's classified nuclear program is the reason Argentina was targeted by Iran and Hezbollah back in the early 1990's. According to Dr. Nisman, Iran's motivation for targeting Buenos Aires in the AMIA attack was a direct response to the Argentine government's cancellation of nuclear cooperation agreements that had been in place between the two countries since the mid-80's.[7]
There is a telling account in the Veja piece of a private meeting on January 13, 2007, between Iran's then President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, and the late Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez. In the meeting, Ahmadinejad tells Chávez:
"This is a matter of life or death. I need you to be an intermediary with Argentina to get help for my country's nuclear program. We need Argentina to share its nuclear technology with us. It will be impossible to advance with our program without Argentina's cooperation."
"Impossible" is a strong word. If true, this information suggests that Iran needs Latin America to advance its highly ambitious nuclear program. For Iran, Latin America is not just a side project; the region may well be Iran's top foreign policy priority outside of its immediate interests in the Middle East.
"I need you to be an intermediary with Argentina to get help for my country's nuclear program. We need Argentina to share its nuclear technology with us. It will be impossible to advance with our program without Argentina's cooperation." – Iran's former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (far left) to the late Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez (hugging Ahmadinejad). Shown at right is Chávez with Argentina's former President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner.
The untimely and mysterious death, for which no one has formally been charged, of Dr. Alberto Nisman -- found shot on January 18, 2015, hours before he was to present his most recent findings before the Argentine congress -- has essentially cleared the way for even greater Iranian influence in Latin America. The lifting of sanctions and influx of billions of dollars as a result of Iran's nuclear deal with the P5+1 (the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, plus Germany) will undoubtedly help Iran in its quest for global legitimacy. It is most likely a quest easily achieved in Latin America, where many countries are facing economic turmoil and might appreciate an Iranian "stimulus."
While Latin America is often regarded as a foreign policy backwater for the United States, it is a geopolitical prize for the Islamic Republic of Iran. Saudi Arabia may have just woken up to this fact. It is high time U.S. policymakers did the same.
**Joseph M. Humire is the Executive Director of the Center for a Secure Free Society (SFS) and co-editor of Iran's Strategic Penetration of Latin America (Lexington Books, 2014)
[1] Alberto Nisman cited this OLM meeting in Iran in both his 2006 official indictment on the AMIA attack, as well as his 2013 dictum on Iran's expanding terrorist networks throughout South America.
[2] For a more detailed description of Mohsen Rabbani and his role in the 1994 AMIA attack, please see the full English translation of the 2006 indictment against Iran from the Investigations Unit of the Office of the Attorney General in Argentina.
[3] Interpol's Executive Committee did not issue a Red Notice on Ali Akbar Velayti because he was the Iranian Foreign Minister at the time of the AMIA attack.
[4] Please see 2012 posture statement by Gen. Douglas M. Fraser and the 2015 posture statement by Gen. John F. Kelly before the House Armed Services Committee to see USSOUTHCOM estimates on Iranian-controlled Islamic cultural centers in Latin America.
[5] For more on the Argentine government's attempt to negotiate with Iran the impunity of the AMIA attack, please see Alberto Nisman's official complaint before an Argentine Federal Court of Justice on January 14, 2015.
[6] There is a famous case of political corruption in Argentina known as the "maletinazo" in which a US-Venezuelan businessman illegally smuggled $800,000 USD to Argentina in 2007 to help finance then-presidential candidate Cristina Fernández de Kirchner. This money was largely believed to have originated from Venezuela, but later discovered to potentially be from Iran.
[7] In subsection C.2 "Reasons for carrying out an attack in Argentina" (pages 263 – 285) of the official 2006 AMIA indictment, Dr. Nisman clearly explains the cancelation of nuclear cooperation as a primary motivation for Iran and Hezbollah's attack on the AMIA in Buenos Aires.
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What Iraq needs to do to protect minorities
Ali Mamouri/Al-Monitor/December 16/15
Iraq is losing many of its minorities, and it’s on the brink of losing most of its cultural diversity. Despite this tragic situation, minorities are denied adequate protection and support by the Iraqi government, while the international community is failing to take any serious measures to protect them. They have been abandoned to their own fate in a country expelling its population.
In the early 1900s, the Jewish community in Iraq was one of the largest minorities in the Middle East. According to a statistical study (to which the author contributed) conducted in 2011 by Masarat, an organization that focuses on minorities in Iraq, six Jews remain in Iraq.
The study added that there are nearly 240,000 Christians out of more than 1 million who were present during Iraq’s invasion in 2003, and nearly 5,000 Mandaeans, who numbered 50,000 in 2003. The number of Yazidis dropped from almost half a million in 2003 to a small undeclared number (there are no official statistics on the current number of Yazidis), following the massacre they were subjected to by the Islamic State (IS) in 2014.
There is no substantial difference between the situation of the minorities mentioned above and the rest of Iraq’s minorities. They have faced and still face similar threats from militias, gangs and even individuals, and they lack any adequate international and government protection.
Under such circumstances, minorities have three choices. First, leave the country for an unknown destination; however, migration options have become extremely difficult and limited following the massive influx of refugees to Western countries.
Second, stay in the country and remain subject to the various threats from terrorist groups and criminal gangs, without any protection.
Third, join one of Iraq’s larger components in order to be provided with collective protection.
The Yazidis are called on by Kurdish chauvinist militias and parties to give up their own identity and take on Kurdish identity. The Shabak people are called on to become Shiites, and Christians are called on to become Muslims.
All of these calls could lead to the extinction of the minorities in the country, and this could happen in the foreseeable future if their current situation remains unchanged. There have been no official statistics about minorities in Iraq for the last three decades. This issue is not reflected in official statements, but rather in policies and measures taken by the government and other parties in Iraq.
Minorities, along with a number of civil society organizations such as Masarat, the Hammurabi Human Rights Organization and the Iraqi Council for Interfaith Dialogue (ICID), are fighting against the difficult challenges facing them. They are doing so by establishing strong social organizations designed to strengthen the minorities’ voice, further raise public awareness of their tragic situation and bring their voices to the decision-makers in the country.
The minorities recently created alliances among themselves to stand against the similar problems that they share in various fields, such as the lack of support and protection by the government.
The ICID brings together the main minorities — Christians, Mandaeans and Yazidis. Established in 2013, it is expanding to include all of Iraq’s minorities. The ICID has helped activate the Alliance of Iraqi Minorities (AIM), which was established in 2010, without being seriously activated prior to the recent launching.
In a conference of the various institutions focusing on minorities, including ICID, AIM was re-established on Nov. 27-28 in the city of Erbil. AIM appointed a new board of directors and developed a plan and a strategy — whose details have yet to be revealed — to counter the various challenges facing Iraq’s various minorities.
AIM also includes a representative of all the institutions that participated in the conference. Some of these institutions represent a particular minority and others work on the protection of minorities in general in the context of human rights protection.
Through this step, the alliance is seeking to create one voice for the various minorities in Iraq. AIM also aspires to communicate with international organizations interested in the situation of minorities in Iraq, such as the United States Institute of Peace. The objective is to turn the issue of Iraqi minorities into an international concern.
Moreover, AIM is seeking to expand cooperation with civil society organizations and human rights centers in Iraq in order to raise public awareness within Iraqi society of the situation of minorities and the major negative consequences of stripping the country of its minorities.
Sayed Jawad al-Khoei, a prominent cleric in Najaf who has contributed to the establishment of ICID and is a member of AIM, told Al-Monitor that the response to the problem of minorities in Iraq requires a collective will and a comprehensive program, because it is not a simple and one-dimensional problem.
He added that a collective and intensive work on several axes is necessary, including “to amend discriminatory legislations that are inherited from the previous rules, to work on developing new legislation to protect minorities and to make large-scale modifications in the educational curriculum in order to celebrate and stimulate respect for diversity in the community.” This is added to temporary and urgent measures to protect displaced minorities in order for them to be able to live in their own country, rather than rushing to emigrate, Khoei noted.
The major alliances between minorities and institutions will undoubtedly help them better achieve their goals. Yet the problem of minorities is linked to the situation in Iraq.
As long as the three major components — Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds — have not agreed on a peaceful coexistence with each other, the situation will not be safe for minorities. Minorities are often the collateral victims in any conflict in the country.
The most prominent example is what happened to minorities in June 2014, after IS took control over the Ninevah Plains, where different minorities existed. Minorities have become easy prey for IS — which targets minorities as it does not tolerate non-Muslims — in the ongoing major conflicts between IS, the Iraqi government and Iraqi Kurdistan.
Based on that, national reconciliation in Iraq is important, as it would prompt the alliance of minorities to expand its activities; in turn, the alliance could work to further support national reconciliation.

How to stop Islamic State recruitment
Barbara Slavin/Al-Monitor/December 16/15
As President Barack Obama struggles to reassure Americans that his administration has a handle on terrorism, specialists in the burgeoning field of countering violent extremism (CVE) say the US government should devote more resources to domestic programs that can prevent susceptible youth from succumbing to the approaches of terrorist groups.
In the aftermath of the San Bernardino shootings, political candidates such as Donald Trump have focused on the threat of terrorists entering the United States from abroad. But so far, those responsible for the most mayhem in the United States have been US citizens who “self-radicalize” through contacts on the Internet or with other recruits.
According to a new study by the George Washington University Program on Extremism, of the 71 individuals arrested in the United States since 2014 on charges of links to the group that calls itself the Islamic State (IS), 58 were American citizens, six were permanent residents and nearly half were converts to Islam.
Meanwhile, the number of Americans lured into traveling to Iraq and Syria remains relatively small, about 250, compared with thousands of Europeans and others who have sought to join jihadi groups.
“It’s something you can wrap your arms around,” Seamus Hughes, deputy director of the program at George Washington University, told Al-Monitor in an interview. Hughes, co-author of the new study and an earlier report on the topic, previously worked at the National Counterterrorism Center and helped organize a White House summit in February on CVE.
According to congressional testimony earlier this year by Nicholas Rasmussen, the director of the National Counterterrorism Center, those who gravitate toward IS are “disenfranchised individuals seeking ideological, religious and personal fulfillment.”
Hughes told Al-Monitor that there is “no one profile” when it comes to an IS recruit in America apart from the fact that recruits tend to be young. He said the average age of those arrested for ties to IS since 2014 is 26 and a third are under 21. Given their youth, Hughes advocates intervention strategies targeted toward minors.
There are currently three pilot programs in the United States — in Denver, Minneapolis and Boston — where religious and community leaders as well as parents, friends and other mentors are encouraged to work with young people who show signs of radicalization.
When applied in time, such interventions can be successful. For example, the FBI in Denver identified a young woman named Shannon Conley and was able to convince her — by working with her parents and religious leaders — not to join the jihad in Syria but to work at home to help Syrian refugees.
In Minneapolis, where there is a large ethnic Somali population that previously was targeted by the extremist group al-Shabab, a teenager named Abdullahi Mohamud Yusuf who was accused of seeking to join IS was instead released to a halfway house on condition that he “work with a group that promotes civic involvement,” the earlier report by Hughes and program director Lorenzo Vidino said.
Experts say these programs should get more funding and be replicated across the country.
“They’re trying to do more interventions, but it’s not systemized, which it needs to be,” Matthew Levitt, an expert on terrorism from the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, told Al-Monitor. Levitt said there are also no clear guidelines for what to do if an intervention is unsuccessful or if a targeted youth refuses to cooperate.
“We don’t have the authorities to act if someone doesn’t respond to the intervention,” Levitt said. “Are there ways to have it be like a probationary system or plea agreement where you would have to participate in a program” to avoid incarceration?
Levitt likened the techniques needed to dissuade young people from joining IS to those used for dealing with gangs and drugs. “We should not be entirely reinventing the wheel,” he said.
Several European countries, including Denmark, Britain, the Netherlands and Germany, also have programs to prevent radicalization or to help returned foreign fighters reintegrate into society. In Britain, a Foreign Office-sponsored project called Radical Middle Way links Muslim scholars with Muslim youths. Another project, the Channel Program, assigns coordinators to local government districts.
A program in Denmark’s second-largest city, Aarhus, has had some success reintegrating Somali immigrants who fought in Syria. The program makes use of trusted mentors who are assigned to at-risk youths. According to the George Washington University report, Danish officials also visit schools with large Muslim enrollment to “explain and dispel misconceptions about Danish society and foreign policy.”
France, where a staggering 60% of prison inmates come from families of Muslim background, has sought to identify potential radical recruits and provide clerics who preach tolerant views, Gilles de Kerchove, counterterrorism coordinator for the European Union, told a Washington symposium earlier this year.
A French official, speaking on condition that he not be named, told Al-Monitor that there have also been "a lot of projects over the years through associations created to foster relationships between the communities in France. These are mostly nonprofit efforts hand in hand with local authorities in urban areas."
Hughes and Vidino write that while statistics are hard to obtain, “officials throughout Europe consider targeted interventions an extremely useful complement to traditional counterterrorism tactics.”
US officials queried by Al-Monitor declined comment when asked to provide a figure for the amount of federal funding currently allocated to community intervention programs. They also would not respond on the record to criticisms of the lack of a lead US agency for CVE programs.
While law enforcement and intelligence cooperation has improved substantially since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, there is no single organization that has authority over CVE programs. The State Department takes the lead on CVE abroad but a plethora of bodies deal with domestic terrorism, including the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Justice and the FBI.
Hughes said it would be better if one agency had the lead for CVE and there was a single line item in the federal budget for such programs.
While there are “legitimate different lanes in the road, you need a single lead agency so you can get a sense of accountability and congressional authorizers and appropriators know who to call if they have concerns or questions,” he said.
The House Committee on Homeland Security has passed a bill, the Countering Violent Extremism Act of 2015, that would put CVE efforts at the Department of Homeland Security under an assistant secretary and provide $10 million annually for programs to prevent US citizens from being recruited by terrorists.
In the aftermath of the San Bernardino shootings, much attention has also focused on the use of social media for radicalization. Tashfeen Malik, the Pakistani-born wife of fellow shooter Syed Rizwan Farook, posted messages on Facebook in 2012 and 2014 saying she hoped to join the jihad. Malik also posted on the day of the shootings, pledging allegiance to IS.
The George Washington University study found that “several thousand Americans consume [IS] propaganda online creating what has been described as a 'radicalization echo chamber.'”
Obama administration officials have rejected suggestions that they try to censor the Internet, while urging Twitter, Facebook and other social media companies to do a better job of policing themselves.
At the same time, suspect accounts provide a valuable source of intelligence for law enforcement agencies and others seeking to identify potential terrorist recruits. Many of those arrested for links to IS have been caught through FBI sting operations.
Seeking to calm a jittery US public, Obama is holding a series of meetings with counterterrorism and Pentagon officials before departing for his Christmas vacation. White House press secretary Josh Earnest told reporters Dec. 14 that so far this year, authorities have arrested 15 people accused of planning to carry out terrorist acts and detained more than 60 individuals attempting to travel to Syria. The FBI has active investigations into 900 IS sympathizers in 50 states, Hughes said.
Despite the growth of IS’ appeal since it declared a "caliphate" in Iraq and Syria, terrorist events in the United States remain relatively rare. The death toll in mass shootings by right-wing ideologues outnumbers that from jihadi acts by 48-45 since Sept. 11, 2001. Other gun crimes kill more than 10,000 people in the United States annually.

Following the money: How to prevent terrorist financing
Nathalie Goulet/Al-Monitor/December 16/15
Fighting the war on terror requires an enormous expenditure of money. Yet, conducting a terrorist operation can be surprisingly inexpensive, and inventive terrorists use every means at their disposal to raise funds and move money, from petty crime to bitcoins to legitimate charities.While the Islamic State (IS) is considered the world’s largest and richest terrorist organization, terrorism now takes myriad forms. A number of recent and notable terrorist operations cost substantially less to implement than the Sept. 11 attacks, which were estimated to cost the perpetrators a mere half-million dollars.
The July 2005 transport bombing in London, for example, probably cost no more than $12,000. The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) on money laundering estimated the 2004 Madrid train bombings cost roughly $10,000. The Jan. 7 attack on Charlie Hebdo? Less than $5,000. Only $8,000 was required to carry out the horrific Paris attacks of Nov. 13.
Tracking such small amounts is akin to finding a needle in a haystack. But these small amounts add up, and this is where we need to be concerned. In 2014, the Belgian Financial Intelligence Processing Unit released a report that noted it intercepted 6.82 million euros ($7.49 million at the current exchange rate) in terrorist financing in 2014 alone. This amount represented an astonishing 165% increase from 2013, with major new sources being identified as Qatar and Kuwait. The report specifically noted that the amount has increased due to the number of terrorists who went to fight in Syria or Iraq.
As is often the case when it comes to money, states can be apprehensive or seek to act in their own short-term interests, but we can no longer afford to be weak in this matter. We need strong will and good international cooperation. Terrorist groups sometimes move money via otherwise legal means such as charities, businesses, banks and alternative institutions. More often than not, the groups employ shadowy, criminal and unmonitored channels and black markets. In fact, a number of studies have shown that legal and unmonitored criminal channels have merged to an extent.
To face the international threat, we need an international Patriot Act on terrorism financing. We have most of the tools at our disposal. What is missing is a firm political will.
The US Patriot Act has marked a seminal shift in the way financial institutions are monitored and spells out their obligations to report suspicious financial activities. The act has set standards that many countries have adapted for their own legislation.
International agreements to combat terrorism finance are essential, as capital is fungible and moves far too easily across national borders. No one country can control the problem.
There is growing evidence that terrorists’ financing methods have shifted substantially in recent years, requiring a new set of countermeasures. One area outlined in the FATF 2015 recommendations is the need to take a closer look at charities and foundations, particularly since some charities and foundations may be transferring funds via otherwise legitimate transactions.
It is essential to identify both the donors and the recipients of these charities and foundations to ensure that a transfer is aboveboard and not a disguised terrorist transaction. It is also important to ensure that the charities themselves are legitimate and not simply front organizations. This requires government regulators to take a comprehensive approach to the nonprofit sector by reviewing relevant laws, monitoring its activities more closely, acquiring deeper knowledge of its international contacts and forging partnerships with regulators in other countries.
As many charities are affiliated with religious causes, this kind of close scrutiny can be difficult to implement in some countries. For example, France’s secularism law doesn't allow it to interfere with religious affairs.
So, the question becomes how to be effective without targeting any specific religious community. The solution would be to require all charities, whatever their religious affiliations, to have on their boards an oversight member from the financial administration. It would be essential to identify monetary networks and guarantee that the money raised is used for its stated purpose.
Countries with very different regulatory traditions and financial structures will approach these matters differently, even when broad strategic goals are shared. Coordinating the international effort does not require and cannot demand a one-size-fits-all approach; these cultural and structural differences will persist. So it is important to allow each government to find its own best way to approach the problem while meeting broadly agreed-on guidelines.
We have to examine these issues, even though we might not like what we find or the solutions required. The EU took substantive measures earlier this year to improve its framework on anti-money laundering and terrorist financing. EU member states will now maintain central registers listing information about the ultimate owners of corporate and other legal entities to ensure greater transparency. As always when it comes to the EU, there is a lot of paperwork to be done first — implementation will come later.
Each country has to do its own work. For example, France is working to address tax evasion, cash regulation and other problems spotted in the financial sector.
The FATF has emerged as a key international regulatory body in the fight against financing for terrorism. It held a meeting Dec. 12-14 in Paris to address the topic and how to strengthen worldwide action against such financing. The meeting included experts in detecting, preventing and disrupting terrorism financing; delegates representing FATF’s 200 jurisdictions; and the Egmont Group of Financial Intelligence Units.
Not all countries have adopted and implemented the necessary standards, and FATF has skillfully employed a “name and shame” list to pressure these countries into action. This tactic essentially blacklists Non-Cooperating Countries and Territories (NCCT). For developing countries that are not meeting these standards but nonetheless recognize the problem, it is also important to offer positive assistance to help move them off this list.
It’s a matter of life or death. Terrorism is blind and we are all potential victims.

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