LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
April 12/17

Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani

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Bible Quotations For Today
Caiaphas, the high priest said: You know nothing at all! You do not understand that it is better for you to have one man die for the people than to have the whole nation destroyed.
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John 11/47-54/:"So the chief priests and the Pharisees called a meeting of the council, and said, ‘What are we to do? This man is performing many signs. If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and destroy both our holy place and our nation.’ But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, ‘You know nothing at all! You do not understand that it is better for you to have one man die for the people than to have the whole nation destroyed.’He did not say this on his own, but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus was about to die for the nation, and not for the nation only, but to gather into one the dispersed children of God. So from that day on they planned to put him to death. Jesus therefore no longer walked about openly among the Jews, but went from there to a town called Ephraim in the region near the wilderness; and he remained there with the disciples.

By the Grace Of Gof, Jesus Tasted and Suffered Death For the Salvation of Everyone
Letter to the Hebrews 02/05-12/:"God did not subject the coming world, about which we are speaking, to angels. But someone has testified somewhere, ‘What are human beings that you are mindful of them, or mortals, that you care for them? You have made them for a little while lower than the angels; you have crowned them with glory and honour, subjecting all things under their feet.’ Now in subjecting all things to them, God left nothing outside their control. As it is, we do not yet see everything in subjection to them, but we do see Jesus, who for a little while was made lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honour because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone. It was fitting that God, for whom and through whom all things exist, in bringing many children to glory, should make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through sufferings. For the one who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one Father. For this reason Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters, saying, ‘I will proclaim your name to my brothers and sisters, in the midst of the congregation I will praise you.’"

Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on April 11-12/17
New Ways of Responding to Extremist Islam/by Giulio Meotti/Gatestone Institute/April 11/17
Arabs: Abu Ivanka (Trump) Is a Hero/Bassam Tawil/Gatestone Institute/April 11/17
Turkey's Barks and Bites/Burak Bekdil/Gatestone Institute/April 11/17
Geert Wilders and the Suicide of Europe/Guy Millière/Gatestone Institute/April 11/17
Trump Raises the Stakes for Russia and Iran/Dennis Ross/The New York Times/April 11/17
Trump Was Right to Strike Syria/Nicholas Kristof/The New York Times/April 11/17
Syria… What about Israel/Tariq /Asharq Al Awsat/April 11/17
Can Arabs Change Russian Position on Syria/Abdulrahman Al-Rashed/Asharq Al Awsat/April 11/17

Titles For Latest Lebanese Related News published on April 11-12/17
Samir Frangieh/Dr.Walid Phares /April 11/17
Samir Franjieh Passes Away after Battle with Illness
Aoun: Extension without New Law Not in Interest of Lebanon, Democratic System
Report: Marathon Meetings over Election Law as Speaker Prepares for Technical Term Extension
Jumblat: Proposed Law Format Annuls Muslim-Christian Partnership
Geagea Rejects Extension, Blames Electoral Law Crisis on 'Hizbullah Obstinacy'
Mashnouq Says Electoral Law 'Impossible' before Thursday as Ministerial Panel Holds Futile Meeting
Bassil: Extension an Attack on Democracy, People and We'll Boycott Session
HRW: Lebanese Army Order Evicted 3,000 Syria Refugees from Encampments
Parliament Bureau Sets Legislative Session to Extend Parliament Mandate
Sami Gemayel Accuses Authories of 'Tailoring' Electoral Law According to Interests
Hariri Discusses Several Electoral Law Formats in Meeting with Jumblat
Hariri: Our Duty is to Regain Trust in Lebanon
Report: Army Says Won't Permit Ain el-Hilweh Clashes Expand into Sidon
On Missile-Hit Warship, Israel Readies for Hizbullah, Hamas Threat
Amnesty Chief Lauds Lebanon on Refugees, Warns against 'Xenophobia'(fear or hatred of foreigners, people from different cultures, or strangers)

Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin For Miscellaneous Reports And News published on April 11-12/17
Explosions near Dortmund Team Bus, One Player Injured
Explosion Near Police HQ in Turkey's Diyarbakir
Tillerson in Russia, Says Moscow Must Choose between West or Assad and His Allies
Syrian, Iranian FMs to Meet Lavrov in Moscow This Week
Putin Warns of Future Chemical Arms 'Provocations' to Frame Assad
France Wants U.N. Council to Back Syria Gas Attacks Probe
U.S. Syria Strike 'Doesn't Address Problem', Says Amnesty Chief
France Wants U.N. Council to Back Syria Gas Attacks Probe
Turkey Says Tests Confirm Sarin Used in Syria Attack
No G7 Consensus on Fresh Syria Sanctions, Says Italy
Two Russian Servicemen Killed in Syria
Russia Urges 'Cooperation' with U.S. as Tillerson Visits
Hundreds in Syria Capital Protest US Strike
IS Now Controls Less than Seven Percent of Iraq
Russia Knew Syrian Chemical Attack Was Coming, Says U.S. Official
Visa for Egyptians Aimed at Preventing 'Terrorists', Sudan Says
EU Prolongs Iran Human Rights Sanctions
Children of Undocumented Migrants to Protest at White House

Links From Jihad Watch Site for April 11-12/17
Egypt: Muslim man sexually harasses, cuts throat of Christian woman on busy street
Egypt: Muslim who bombed Alexandria cathedral was previously arrested for ties to the Islamic State
Raymond Ibrahim: A 1,389 Year-Old ‘Phobia’?
Truman State University in uproar as Thought Criminal Robert Spencer set to speak on campus
Germany: “Serious explosive devices” go off near top soccer team bus, injuring player
Hugh Fitzgerald: Prester John in the Forbidden City?
Why Prisons Are Breeding Grounds for Jihad Terrorists
Australia: Muslims assault Orthodox Christian while screaming “F*** Jesus”
Germany: Muslim boys beat schoolmate after he tells them he is Jewish
Trump supports terrorism” “Death to America, death to Israel!” Hundreds in Damascus protest US strike

Links From Christian Today Site on April 11-12/17
Egyptians honour the Muslim woman police officer who died saving Christians
What might Neil Gorsuch's appointment as Supreme Court Justice mean for conservative Christians?
Jailed missionary Andrew Brunson's sister: 'We believe God is with him'
Love, even when we disagree': Archbishop of Canterbury urges radical Christian unity
Christ with a barbed wire crown: St Paul's Cathedral installs Wallinger statue to highlight plight of prisoners
Despite bombings, Pope Francis to go ahead with Egypt trip and show solidarity with besieged Coptic Christians
Pope Francis opens free launderette in Rome in latest move to help homeless
Strip Buckfast Abbey of charity status over alcoholic drink 'linked to crime', demand secularists
Saeed Abedini launches bitter attack on Franklin Graham, says evangelist 'used him' for fame and fortune
Cathedrals in England to be given management overhaul after growing cash crisis problems

Latest Lebanese Related News published on April 11-12/17
Samir Frangieh
Dr.Walid Phares /April 11/17
I learned with sorrow the passing of Samir Frangieh. I have had the pleasure to meet him for few days in Brussels in 2006 to discuss the future of the Cedars Revolution and stayed in touch directly or via friends until almost a year ago. A decade where I learned to appreciate his wisdom, acute intelligence and humanitarian culture. It came to a point where his name was considered as a potential candidate for the Presidency of the Lebanese Republic, but in different circumstances of peace and democracy. He will be remembered as a national leader who served his homeland and its civil society. My sincere condolences to his family and friends and my prayers to his soul

Samir Franjieh Passes Away after Battle with Illness
Naharnet/April 11/17/Former MP and March 14 politician Samir Franjieh passed away on Tuesday at the age of 71 after a battle with an incurable disease, state-run National News Agency reported. He was receiving treatment at the Hôtel-Dieu de France hospital in Beirut. Prime Minister Saad Hariri hailed Franjieh as “a prominent symbol of the glorious March 14 Uprising, which played the key role in ending the Syrian tutelage in Lebanon.”“Samir Franjieh remained faithful and loyal to the principles and pillars of the Cedar Revolution, despite all the challenges and risks, and did not change his approach and his adherence to sovereignty, independence and coexistence until the last moment of his life,” Hariri said. He added: “We underscore that we will continue to follow the path that he followed and abide by the national principles for which he struggled during his long journey.” Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat meanwhile mourned Franjieh on Twitter, describing him as “the greatest comrade and friend,” “the knight of peace, love and dialogue” and “the cornerstone of the Cedar Revolution.”Franjieh is a nephew of late Lebanese president Suleiman Franjieh and the son of late minister and MP Hamid Franjieh, one of Lebanon's independence heroes.He was a leading journalist and leftist intellectual. During the term of president Emile Lahoud, he was one of the opposition leaders who confronted Syria's influence over Lebanon and one of the founders of the opposition Qornet Shehwan Gathering. He later became a prominent member of the March 14 alliance after the 2005 assassination of former premier Rafik Hariri and a member of its general secretariat. Franjieh was the author of "Beirut manifesto" that was published in Le Monde on 22 June 2004.The manifesto, which was signed by Lebanese intellectuals and eminent public figures, challenged the dominance of Syria in Lebanon. In the 2005 general elections, Franjieh became a member of the Lebanese parliament, representing Zgharta.

Aoun: Extension without New Law Not in Interest of Lebanon, Democratic System
Naharnet/April 11/17/President Michel Aoun warned Tuesday that any new extension of parliament's term without an agreement on a new electoral law would not be “in the interest of Lebanon and its democratic system.”“Extending parliament's term without agreeing on the new law or its main points will not be in the interest of Lebanon and its democratic system, and the president who represents the country's unity and who is entrusted with the constitution cannot but be loyal to his oath of office and committed to protecting the people and their interests,” Aoun said. He noted that “there is still an opportunity to agree on a new parliamentary electoral law that guarantees correct, fair and equal representation for the Lebanese people.” “The leaders must respond to the will of the Lebanese and must agree on the law, especially that contacts are still ongoing and the points of agreement are numerous,” the president said, adding that “an agreement is possible at any given moment if the intentions are honest.”Earlier in the day, the Parliament's Bureau called for a Thursday legislative session that has the extension of the legislature's term on its agenda. A ministerial panel tasked with mulling a new electoral law meanwhile held its first meeting on Thursday afternoon.

Report: Marathon Meetings over Election Law as Speaker Prepares for Technical Term Extension
Naharnet/April 11/17/Several meetings between various political parties were held on Monday to discuss a new electoral law for the upcoming parliamentary elections before the current parliament's term ends on June 21, as the parliament bureau meets on Tuesday in what reports said is a preparatory convention for the parliament's term extension. A tripartite evening meeting was held on Monday -after the cabinet convened at Baabda Palace earlier during the day- between Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil, Finance Minister Ali Hassan Khalil and Prime Minister Saad Hariri's chief of Staff Nader Hariri. It came as a continuation of a similar meeting held Sunday night that continued until dawn in efforts to reach a new voting system for Lebanon's parliamentary polls. Another quadripartite meeting was held in Ain el-Tineh, Speaker Nabih Berri's official residence, between Bassil, Khalil, Hariri and Hizbullah representative, to complete the search for a way out in an electoral law format that recognizes proportional representation. Sources following up closely on the elections file, said the successive Sunday and Monday meetings did not lead to a major breakthrough. For his part, Berri has invited the parliament bureau for a meeting on Tuesday which appeared to reflect the orientation of the Speaker to hold a plenary parliament session for legislative reasons in a bid to extend the parliament's term, al-Joumhouria said. According to the information, the plenary session is a precautionary measure taken by the Speaker in the absence of any election law format from the government. They also said that it is a “serious effort to push the government into a speedy approval of a new law.”Shall the parliament convene on Thursday, it is likely that a bill proposal will be discussed to extend the mandate of the parliament. Al-Joumhouria said, the bill proposal allows a three months technical extension of the parliament's term that should be associated with a preliminary commitment of all political forces to prepare an election law during that period.

Jumblat: Proposed Law Format Annuls Muslim-Christian Partnership
Naharnet/April 11/17/Progressive Socialist party leader MP Walid Jumblat criticized an electoral law format proposed by Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil, saying it strikes the Christian-Muslim partnership stipulated in the national pact of 1943, and the Taef Accord. Jumblat who commonly takes to twitter said in a tweet: “The proposed electoral law format nullifies the Christian-Muslim partnership from the 1943 pact and the Taef Accord.”The 1943 National Pact is an unwritten agreement that set the foundations of modern Lebanon as a multi-confessional state based on Christian-Muslim partnership.
The country has not organized parliamentary elections since 2009 and the legislature has instead twice extended its own mandate. The last polls were held under an amended version of the 1960 electoral law. Free Patriotic Movement chief Jebran Bassil has recently proposed an electoral law that mixes proportional representation with the controversial law proposed by the Orthodox Gathering. The parliamentary electoral law that had been proposed by the Orthodox Gathering stipulates that each sect would elects its own MPs according to a proportional representation system. The proposal’s opponents have dismissed it as “sectarian” and “divisive.”Hizbullah has repeatedly called for an electoral law fully based on the proportional representation system and a single or several large electorates. Druze leader Walid Jumblat has rejected proportional representation, warning that it would "marginalize" his minority Druze community, whose presence is concentrated in the Aley and Chouf areas. Amid reservations over proportional representation by other parties such as al-Mustaqbal Movement and the Lebanese Forces, the political parties are mulling a so-called hybrid electoral law that mixes proportional representation with the winner-takes-all system. But Mustaqbal leader and Prime Minister Saad Hariri has recently announced that he is willing to accept full proportional representation.

Geagea Rejects Extension, Blames Electoral Law Crisis on 'Hizbullah Obstinacy'
Naharnet/April 11/17/Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea reiterated Tuesday his party's rejection of an extension of parliament's term without an agreement on a new electoral law, blaming the crisis on what he called “Hizbullah's obstinacy.”“'Full proportional representation or extension without an agreement on a law' is an equation that we cannot accept and we will not bow to the dictates of the group that is trying to impose it on us,” Geagea said in an interview with the al-Markazia news agency. He confirmed that the LF and its Christian ally the Free Patriotic Movement will “boycott” Thursday's legislative session which has extension on its agenda. “All electoral efforts have been blocked by Hizbullah's obstinacy,” Geagea added, accusing Hizbullah of “putting the country in the face of a major dilemma.” “We stand by our stance that rejects extension unless it is accompanied by an agreement on a new electoral law,” the LF leader stressed. He also voiced surprise over the call for a parliamentary session aimed at extending the legislature's term “while some parties continue to reject all the serious formats that have been proposed by more than one party, starting from one person, one vote to the individual district to all the hybrid laws including Speaker Nabih Berri's format.”Geagea stressed that “full proportional representation is rejected because it does not reflect correct representation like hybrid laws do,” noting that “the difficult choices will be discussed with the allies in order to take the appropriate situation.”He also said that a visit by an LF delegation to President Michel Aoun earlier in the day was aimed at “consulting over the steps that could be taken to confront this situation.”Ministers Ghassan Hasbani and Melhem Riachi of the LF told Aoun during the meeting that their party rejects an extension of parliament's term in the absence of an agreement on a new electoral law that ensures equal power-sharing between Christians and Muslims, state-run National News Agency reported. “We categorically reject extension without a new electoral law,” Hasbani said after the meeting.

Mashnouq Says Electoral Law 'Impossible' before Thursday as Ministerial Panel Holds Futile Meeting
Naharnet/April 11/17/Interior Minister Nouhad al-Mashnouq announced Tuesday that it will be “impossible” to agree on a new electoral law before Thursday's legislative session that has a third extension of parliament's term on its agenda, noting that “preventing vacuum is what preserves the National Pact.”“The session that will be held on Thursday will witness an extension of parliament's term,” media reports quoted Mashnouq as saying after the first meeting of the electoral law ministerial panel at the Grand Serail. “Discussions did not reach a result and no date has been set for another panel meeting,” the minister told reporters. Asked whether a session boycotted by the main Christian parties would conform to the 1943 National Pact, Mashnouq said: “Preventing vacuum is what preserves the National Pact.” “Thirty-five MPs can pass extension and the issue is easier than you think,” the minister added. The meeting was chaired by Prime Minister Saad Hariri and attended by the ministers Ali Hassan Khalil, Talal Arslan, Hussein al-Hajj Hassan, Jebran Bassil, Ghattas Khoury, Youssef Fenianos, Pierre Abi Assi, Avedis Guidanian, Ayman Shuqeir and Nouhad al-Mashnouq.

Bassil: Extension an Attack on Democracy, People and We'll Boycott Session
Naharnet/April 11/17/Free Patriotic Movement chief Jebran Bassil lashed out Tuesday at political efforts aimed at extending parliament's term, describing extension as “an assassination of political life and an attack on all Lebanese people” and vowing to confront it through all legitimate means. “We call on all political forces to refrain from extension and the right choice is approving an electoral law,” said Bassil after the weekly meeting of the Change and Reform bloc in Rabieh. “When Hizbullah fights Israel in the South, we stand behind it regardless of the cost, and when Rafik Hariri was assassinated, we stood by al-Mustaqbal Movement regardless of the cost, and we call on al-Mustaqbal Movement and Hizbullah not to approve extension,” Bassil added. “There is no vacuum in parliament and there are a hundred ways to prevent vacuum... We do not make deals targeted against the country's main components and we have presented one suggestion after another,” Bassil went on to say, reminding that the FPM has proposed a lot of electoral law formats. He promised the Lebanese people to “reach an electoral law, the same as we promised that we would reach the election of a president.” “We will confront extension through boycotting the extension session and through street protests and the government,” Bassil vowed. “We extend our hand to everyone in order to approve an electoral law and no one can pressure us into relinquishing people's rights. We have agreed to all formats such as proportional representation, the hybrid system and other formats,” the FPM chief added. “When we give up our principles to accept extension, we would lose ourselves, and accordingly our hand is extended, our brain is working all the time, our heart is open and we are ready to vote with our feet,” Bassil warned.Earlier in the day, the Parliament's Bureau called for a Thursday legislative session that has the extension of the legislature's term on its agenda. A ministerial panel tasked with mulling a new electoral law meanwhile held its first meeting on Thursday afternoon.

HRW: Lebanese Army Order Evicted 3,000 Syria Refugees from Encampments
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/April 11/17/Around 3,000 Syrian refugees have left their tents in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley after oral eviction orders issued last month by the army, Human Rights Watch told AFP on Tuesday. Lebanon is home to over one million Syrian refugees, many of whom live in informal tented settlements set up on private agricultural land across the country. In late March, Lebanon's armed forces said refugees living in camps near security installations, like the Riyaq military airport, would have to leave. At the time, a security source told AFP that the decision had been "taken for security purposes.""There cannot be large population centers around military bases. We choose security -- security over any other consideration, the security of our bases over everything else," the source said. Human Rights Watch has said a total of 10,000 Syrian refugees were at risk of displacement from camps. "About 3,000 people have left their homes of their own accord after receiving oral eviction notices," HRW's Lebanon researcher Bassam Khawaja told AFP. "The orders came out starting in late March... and they gave people between 7-10 days to evacuate their cmps," Khawaja told AFP. Although the deadline had already passed, HRW said the army had yet to carry out any forced evictions. "But the big issue is there continues to be a lack of clarity from the government and the army about where these people are supposed to move to," Khawaja said. "Not all areas within the eviction zone have received these notices. If they move to a different area that is still within the eviction zone, they may face a secondary eviction in the future," he said. "It is an utterly unrealistic timeline to expect people to uproot their lives in." The U.N.'s refugee agency (UNHCR) said it did not know how many refugees had relocated but said "a number of families have already moved to nearby plots of land." "Some have managed to speak to the landlord and relocate to a nearby plot of land (owned) by the same landlord," said spokeswoman Dana Sleiman. Refugees living in camps pay rent to Lebanese landowners in order to set up their tents. Lebanon's infrastructure, already devastated by a 15-year civil war that ended in 1990, has been further strained by the influx of refugees from the conflict in neighboring Syria. Prime Minister Saad Hariri last month warned of "huge tensions" between Lebanese and Syrians in many host communities that could implode into "civil unrest."

Parliament Bureau Sets Legislative Session to Extend Parliament Mandate
Naharnet/April 11/17/Members of the parliament's bureau invited the MPs for a legislative session on Thursday devoted to study a draft law submitted by MP Nicolas Fattoush to extend the parliament's term until June 2018. MP Serje Tersarkisian told reporters on Tuesday after taking part in the parliament bureau meeting: “A legislative session has been scheduled on Thursday to mainly discuss the extension of the parliament's term.”The cabinet formed a ministerial committee on Monday led by Prime Minister Saad Hariri tasked with preparing an electoral draft law. Asked what steps would the parliament take on Thursday if the committee succeeded at drafting a new a law, Tersarkisian said: “Then the parliament would take that into consideration and vote on that new law,” instead of extending the term of the parliament. Political parties have failed since the government's formation to agree on a voting system that will rule Lebanon's parliamentary elections slated for May. The country has not organized parliamentary elections since 2009 and the legislature has instead twice extended its own mandate. The last polls were held under an amended version of the 1960 electoral law. Hizbullah has repeatedly called for an electoral law fully based on the proportional representation system and a single or several large electorates. Druze leader Walid Jumblat has rejected proportional representation, warning that it would "marginalize" his minority Druze community, whose presence is concentrated in the Aley and Chouf areas. Amid reservations over proportional representation by other parties such as al-Mustaqbal Movement and the Lebanese Forces, the political parties are mulling a so-called hybrid electoral law that mixes proportional representation with the winner-takes-all system. Free Patriotic Movement chief Jebran Bassil has recently proposed an electoral law that mixes proportional representation with the controversial law proposed by the Orthodox Gathering.

Sami Gemayel Accuses Authories of 'Tailoring' Electoral Law According to Interests
Naharnet/April 11/17/Kaateb party leader MP Sami Gemayel accused the ruling parties of seeking personal benefits in each file being addressed including the new electricity plan submitted to the government and in drafting a new electoral law for the parliamentary elections. Gemayel requested Speaker Nabih Berri to form an inquiry parliamentary commission to examine a file on leasing Turkish power generating vessels for the country. “The name of the company from which Lebanon will lease power has been removed from the plan presented to the government. However, they forgot to remove it from other documents,” said Gemayel referring to an electricity plan approved by the government. Referring to the issue as a “scandal”, he accused the ruling party of seeking personal gains in each file being addressed in the country. Turning to the thorny issue of a new parliamentary electoral law, Gemayel said: “Since its formation four months ago, the government should have devised a new law but instead it waited for last minute measures and is trying to garner personal benefits and shares.” The MP criticized the government's Monday decision to form a ministerial committee to devise a new law voting system after binding deadlines have ended. He held the political authority responsible for the repercussions, and accused them of seeking personal gains. Gemayel invited the Lebanese people to hold the government accountable for its failure: “The ruling party is seeking to agree when there are shares and personal benefits for each. We urge the Lebanese to call for accountability.”“The Lebanese people need a government that respects them and is keen on providing public service instead of personal gains,” said Gemayel.

Hariri Discusses Several Electoral Law Formats in Meeting with Jumblat
Naharnet/April 11/17/Prime Minister Saad Hariri held talks Tuesday in Clemenceau with Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat in the presence of ex-health minister Wael Abu Faour. The two leaders did not make statements after the meeting but Abu Faour described the talks as “good.” “Several electoral systems were discussed – (confessional) qualification (in the first round), the hybrid system and proportional representation in six districts,” Abu Faour added. Hariri has recently announced that he is willing to accept an electoral law fully based on proportional representation -- an electoral system that Jumblat had rejected, warning that it would “marginalize” his minority Druze community whose presence is concentrated in the Chouf and Aley districts. Hariri's Mustaqbal Movement had also argued that Hizbullah's arms would prevent serious competition in the party's strongholds under such an electoral system.

Hariri: Our Duty is to Regain Trust in Lebanon
Naharnet/April 11/17/Prime Minister Saad Hariri stressed on Tuesday that Lebanon needs to regain confidence and for that end it should reactivate the State's institutions and end corruption. “Our duty is to regain confidence after years of constitutional vacuum, deadlock in institutions, vertical political divide, tension in Arab and international relations and bleakness in economy and investments,” a statement released by Hariri's media office said. “The election of the president and the formation of the government were the first step on this long road. After that, the government has taken rapid steps towards regaining confidence by adopting vital decrees and postponed decisions, last but not least of which was the adoption of the budget after 12 years of absence, that is 12 years of absence of accountability and transparency,” said Hariri in a speech at the opening of the “Business and Financial forum: Regaining the Trust" at Phoenicia Hotel. “Regaining the confidence of the citizens also requires the activation of the work of public institutions and administrations by appointing qualified people, and fighting corruption and punishing the corrupt regardless of the political and sectarian considerations. And this requires the activation of control bodies so they perform their duties based on the rule of law and the honest judiciary,” added the Premier. “We know that the social security of the citizen is an essential parameter for the confidence he has in the state and its institutions. The foundations of social security are the essential services of health, electricity, education, electricity, water and other essential elements of life.”Turning to the crisis of refugees in Lebanon, Hariri said: “Indeed, the displacement of our brothers fleeing the criminality of the Syrian regime to Lebanon is pressuring the ability of the state to ensure these basic services and doubles the pressure on the infrastructure which is already exhausted. “Invest in the infrastructure and public services and everyone will benefit: the Lebanese first and then the displaced.”Shedding light on the latest accomplishments achieved by the State, Hariri said: “The positive shocks, since the election of a president, the formation of the government, the decisions it took, and the achievements of the army, the internal security forces and all the security forces, had a very positive effect on the path towards regaining confidence. This is clear in the improvement of the international community’s opinion of our country, and the fact that the international economic and monetary institutions will improve Lebanon’s economic indicators in the coming period. “At the same time, the visits of the President to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Egypt, our participation together in the Arab summit and my last visit to Saudi Arabia are all steps toward enhancing confidence with our Arab brothers.”He concluded: “Soon, we will hold the first meeting of the higher Lebanese-Saudi committee in Riyadh and we are working on several resolutions and agreements that will be announced during this meeting.”

Report: Army Says Won't Permit Ain el-Hilweh Clashes Expand into Sidon
Naharnet/April 11/17/As clashes at the southern Palestinian Ain el-Hilweh refugee camp in Sidon aggravate, the Lebanese army assured that it won't allow the tension to spill over into Sidon and neighboring areas, al-Joumhouria daily reported on Tuesday. “The army's decision is clear and firm. It will not accept that the clashes extend beyond the camp because the security of Sidon and its vicinity is a red line,” a prominent military source told the daily on condition of anonymity. The source stressed that the army has not intervened to stop the camp's clashes, he said: “The army would only intervene when it senses that things are out of control and if it started threatening neighborhood areas.”“The military will not allow the repetition of the Lebanese-Palestinian conflict or the 1975 war. But an outbreak outside the camp will face relentless response,” affirmed the source. However, he assured that situations at other southern refugee camps are controlled well, appeasing fears of bids to ignite a Sunni-Shiite strife through the presence of Palestinian weapons. Sporadic clashes that have killed eight people and wounded around 40 others, continued in Ain al-Hilweh as an extremist group of Bilal Badr battled local security force. Fighting erupted late Friday after Palestinian factions deployed throughout the camp as part of a joint security force aimed at combating the influence of a local Islamic extremist group. Ain al-Hilweh is home to multiple armed factions, and has been plagued by intermittent clashes among them as well as against smaller extremist groups. Lebanon's army does not enter Palestinian refugee camps, where security is managed by joint committees of Palestinian factions. Ain al-Hilweh is home to some 61,000 Palestinians, including 6,000 who have fled the war in Syria.

On Missile-Hit Warship, Israel Readies for Hizbullah, Hamas Threat
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/April 11/17/ White specks appear on the horizon and a voice crackles over the radio with a warning: "The speed boat is acting independently."Two boats on suicide bombing missions had been spotted either side of the INS Hanit, one of the Israeli navy's top warships. "We recognize the target. This is an immediate enemy," a voice says in Hebrew over the loudspeaker. "Ready for action." A siren rings out and young recruits rush to the back, hurrying to put on helmets and bulletproof vests before manning machine-guns. The Hanit's engines go full throttle, dragging it rapidly from three to 27 knots (50 kilometers per hour). The speedboats rush forward but cannot catch up.
The "attack" last week was in fact part of a series of war games with Greek and U.S. forces to prepare for a range of threats, from submarines to more immediate risks from Hamas and Hizbullah. The Hanit holds a prominent place in Israeli consciousness. It was struck by a Hizbullah missile off the Lebanese coast in the 2006 war with Hizbullah, killing four soldiers. It was the first direct strike on an Israeli warship in decades and Hizbullah celebrated it as among its biggest victories of the 34-day war. More than 1,200 Lebanese, mostly civilians, and 120 Israelis, the majority soldiers, died during the conflict but many in Israel consider the war a failure as Hizbullah was not defeated. The strike on the Hanit symbolized for many how overconfidence fed into that failure. An investigation found that the missile hit because officials didn't believe Hizbullah had such sophisticated technology and so didn't turn on anti-missile systems.
'Big shock' -
The Israeli head of the current training mission insists they are still learning the lessons.
"The hit of the Hanit was such a big shock to Israel, a trauma, that I am sure no one would let it happen again," he told AFP aboard the ship, speaking on condition of anonymity under military rules. The ship could have sunk if the missile had struck directly rather than hitting a crane, he said. "The reason that it happened from my point of view was that we were not prepared for this kind of missile." Israelis do compulsory military service at 18 and many on board during the recent training exercise were under 10 back in 2006. Nimrod, a young sailor who already has more than 6,000 hours of experience on board during his nearly three years of service, said they were regularly reminded of the deaths. In the corridor near the sleeping quarters, a picture of the four men killed hangs on the wall. The ship is now equipped with Barak missile defense systems, as well as advanced missiles. In the control room, around 20 men are stationed at attack, defense, sonar, radar and operations desks. Decisions on incoming missiles must be made in "seconds", one said. "Overconfidence is the biggest enemy at war," the commander added. "I think we need to be alert more for any kind of threats -- not to be sure we know everything."In future potential conflicts with Hizbullah and the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas, the commander said, the threat of "suicide boats" is more of a concern than submarines.
'Any kind of threat'
Israel's navy had historically been one of the smaller and less well-known parts of its military.Although more than 90 percent of Israel's imports come via sea, in the wars with Arab neighbors in the 1960s and 1970s, the airforce and ground troops played the primary roles. But in the years since the 2006 war, a key change has occurred: Israel has discovered major gas fields off its coast. Protecting the non-moving "easy targets" of gas platforms, the commander said, provides a new challenge. For that reason the country is investing in new warships, the Saar 6. "If it is located by one of the platforms, it should be safe from any kind of threat -- asymmetrical threat, any kind of missile and any kind of rocket," he said. Shaul Chorev, a former deputy chief of naval operations, said Hizbullah and Hamas still pose a threat to the navy. In January, two people were killed aboard a Saudi frigate when it was hit by a missile fired by Shiite Huthi rebels in Yemen, a group that is, like Hizbullah, supported by Iran. "The Huthis supported by Iran and using the same technology (as Hizbullah) are hitting Saudi warships and also threatening U.S. navy ships," he said.

Amnesty Chief Lauds Lebanon on Refugees, Warns against 'Xenophobia'(fear or hatred of foreigners, people from different cultures, or strangers)
The head of the Amnesty International rights group on Tuesday applauded Lebanon for hosting more than a million refugees from neighboring Syria but warned against what he called “xenophobic talk.”Praising Lebanon for its welcome of refugees, Amnesty International chief Salil Shetty told AFP that his group would continue pressuring the international community to provide greater assistance to the government to absorb spiraling costs. But he also warned against "a growing tide of xenophobic talk" in the country. "It is important for the leaders of this country to send a clear message... that is beyond the pale, that is not acceptable," he said. "The Lebanese have not been xenophobic: you've done so much and this is a good time for you to reign in those kinds of tendencies." Around 1.5 million Syrian refugees are being hosted by the tiny country and their presence has led to increasing social tension and even calls to begin returning them.

Latest LCCC Bulletin For Miscellaneous Reports And News published on April 11-12/17
Explosions near Dortmund Team Bus, One Player Injured
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/April 11/17/The Borussia Dortmund team bus was damaged and a passenger injured after three explosions went off near the vehicle on the way to Tuesday's Champions League home game against Monaco, police confirmed.
"The bus set off" from the team's hotel to the stadium when "three explosive charges have detonated," said a spokesman, Gunnar Wortmann. German daily Bild report Spanish defender Marc Bartra has been injured and taken to hospital.

Explosion Near Police HQ in Turkey's Diyarbakir
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/April 11/17/A strong blast rocked Turkey's largest Kurdish-majority city of Diyarbakir on Tuesday near the riot police headquarters, just days before a key referendum on boosting President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's powers. The blast could be heard in several areas of the southeastern city, an AFP journalist at the scene said, with medics saying at least four people were wounded. Grey smoke rose from the area as ambulances rushed to the scene. The cause of the explosion was not immediately known. Turks will on Sunday vote on whether to approve constitutional changes giving Erdogan executive presidential powers, which critics say would drag the country into one-man rule. The southeast has been battered by renewed fighting between Kurdish rebels and Turkish security forces since a fragile truce collapsed in summer 2015. The outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) has been waging an insurgency against the Turkish state since 1984 during which over 40,000 people have been killed.The group is designated by Ankara, the United States and the European Union as a terror group.

Tillerson in Russia, Says Moscow Must Choose between West or Assad and His Allies
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/April 11/17/Secretary of State Rex Tillerson flew into Moscow Tuesday to confront the Kremlin over its support for Bashar al-Assad as the U.S. questioned if Russia was complicit in an alleged chemical weapons attack.  Tillerson is the first senior U.S. official to visit Moscow since President Donald Trump took office promising to seek closer anti-terrorist cooperation with Russia, but as he arrived relations were already tense. Last week, the U.S. fired a volley of cruise missiles at a Syrian airbase in response to an alleged regime attack using a suspected nerve agent that killed at least 87 civilians in a rebel-held town, many of them children. Russia, which along with Iran has deployed forces to help Assad in the six-year-old civil war, reacted with fury to the U.S. strike and continues to cast doubt on the regime's involvement in the chemical attack, to Washington's disgust. Tillerson did not cancel his visit, however, and he will hold talks with his counterpart Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Wednesday. It is not yet clear whether an expected meeting with President Vladimir Putin will go ahead. At the talks, Tillerson will challenge Russia to distance itself from Assad and his Iranian backers and to work with Washington's Western and Arab allies to find a political solution to the conflict with Syria under new leadership. As the top diplomat landed, a senior U.S. official accused Moscow of carrying out a misinformation campaign to "confuse the world" and said Washington was investigating whether Russia was complicit in the alleged chemical weapons attack. "How is it possible that their forces were co-located with the Syrian forces that planned prepared and carried out this chemical weapons attack at the same installation and did not have foreknowledge?" said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity. "We do think it is a question worth asking the Russians."
Evidence against Assad mounting
Speaking to reporters before he left a G7 foreign ministers' meeting in Italy for Moscow, Tillerson said: "Russia has really aligned itself with the Assad regime, the Iranians, and Hizbullah. "Is that a long-term alliance that serves Russia's interest?" he asked. "Or would Russia prefer to realign with the United States, with other Western countries and Middle East countries who are seeking to resolve the Syrian crisis?"As Tillerson flew to Russia, evidence against Damascus appeared to mount. Assad foe Turkey said blood and urine samples taken from victims of the alleged attack confirmed that the banned sarin nerve agent was used. Britain, France and the United States later presented a new U.N. draft resolution demanding an investigation of the suspected chemical attack in Syria after the Security Council failed last week to agree on a response. Russia has remained unmoved by the international chorus of outrage. The foreign ministry called Tillerson's comments "muscle flexing ahead of the talks" and he is likely to face a chilly reception whether or not he meets Putin. The Russian leader in televised comments on Tuesday not only repeated his defense of Assad but suggested the Syrian leader's rebel opponents were preparing future faked attacks in order to encourage U.S. intervention. Putin said Moscow also wanted to see a "thorough" probe of the incident conducted through the U.N. and slammed U.S. accusations as reminiscent of the weapons of mass destruction claims that led to the invasion of Iraq in 2003. In Italy, Tillerson attempted to rally the world's leading economies behind fresh sanctions against Assad's regime but, despite much outrage over the Khan Sheikhun killings, he failed to win consensus. He did go some way towards clarifying the U.S. position on Syria, however, which had become muddled by apparently conflicting statements from senior officials in Trump's administration about Assad's fate.
Regime's 'barbarism'
Tillerson said the U.S. goal of defeating the Islamic State extremist group in Syria remains a priority, but that Washington hopes a U.N.-led peace process will allow the Syrian people to oust their own leader. "To be clear, our military action was a direct response to the Assad regime's barbarism," Tillerson told the G7, insisting that the missile strikes were not the start of a military effort aimed at regime change. As G7 ministers urged a new diplomatic push to end the conflict and create a lasting peace for a unified Syria, Tillerson said: "Our hope is Bashar al-Assad will not be part of that future." The ministers however failed to agree on whether fresh sanctions should be imposed on Damascus -- or Russia itself. "At the moment there is no consensus on new sanctions as an effective instrument," Italy's Foreign Minister Angelino Alfano said, after his British counterpart Boris Johnson had raised the issue. In a show of defiance as it came under fire for its ties, Moscow said it would host the foreign ministers of Syria and Iran for three-way talks after Tillerson's visit. Washington's threat to carry out more punitive strikes if Assad is once again accused of using chemical weapons will likely top their agenda. Several rounds of U.N.-backed peace talks have failed to end the Syrian conflict, which has killed more than 320,000 people since March 2011.

Syrian, Iranian FMs to Meet Lavrov in Moscow This Week
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/April 11/17/Russia's foreign minister will host three-way talks with his counterparts from Syria and Iran this week, Moscow said Tuesday, after the U.S. launched strikes against Syrian forces. "A trilateral meeting between Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Syrian minister Walid Muallem and Iranian minister Mohammad Javad Zarif is planned for the end of this week," foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.

Putin Warns of Future Chemical Arms 'Provocations' to Frame Assad
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/April 11/17/Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday warned of future chemical weapons "provocations" in Syria to frame President Bashar al-Assad, just as Washington's top diplomat arrived for talks in Moscow. "We have information from various sources that such provocations -- I cannot call them otherwise -- are being prepared in other regions of Syria, including in the southern outskirts of Damascus, where they are again planning to throw some kind of substance and accuse Syrian official authorities of using it," Putin said at a televised press conference. He said Russia was set to appeal to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons and "call on the international community to thoroughly investigate such incidents." Putin insisted that reports over the suspected chemical attack in Syria that killed dozens of people in the rebel-held town of Khan Sheikhun last week was reminiscent of the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, justified by the alleged existence of weapons of mass destruction. "This ended with the country's destruction, with the growth of the terrorist threat and the appearance of the Islamic State on the international stage, no more, no less," he said. Russia's defense ministry also said it had information that rebel fighters were bringing "poisonous substances" to the areas around the Syrian town of Khan Sheikhun and Eastern Ghuta, among other places. "The goal of these actions is to create yet another reason to accuse the Syrian government of using chemical weapons and provoke new strikes by the United States," it said in a statement. The latest claims came as U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson touched down in Russia to confront the Kremlin over its support for Assad on the first visit by a senior member of Trump's administration. Putin said Russia and Syria were being portrayed as a "common enemy" in a bid to bring together the United States and its Western allies after many leaders criticized Trump ahead of his election. "We are ready to tolerate this, but we hope that this will nonetheless lead to some kind of positive cooperation trend," he said. Moscow has sought to deflect blame from its long-time ally Assad over the alleged chemical attack and says Syrian jets struck a rebel arms depot where "toxic substances" were being put inside bombs. Following on from the Tillerson visit, Moscow has announced Lavrov will host three-way talks with his counterparts from Syria and Iran later this week.

France Wants U.N. Council to Back Syria Gas Attacks Probe
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/April 11/17/France still wants the U.N. Security Council to adopt a draft resolution demanding an investigation of the suspected chemical attack in Syria after it failed to agree on such a measure, the ambassador said Tuesday. The council last week discussed three separate draft texts in response to the apparent attack in the rebel-held down of Khan Sheikhun, but there was no vote on any of the measures. "We cannot give up and we must try, in good faith, the best we can, to have a text condemning the attack, asking for a thorough investigation," French Ambassador Francois Delattre told reporters. France joined the United States and Britain to push for a tough investigation, but its proposed draft faced the likelihood of a veto from Russia. Delattre said France was now looking for "a good text and a good vote."France, Britain and the United States have accused President Bashar al-Assad's forces of carrying out the attack that killed at least 87 civilians, including 31 children. As the council debated its response on Thursday, the United States fired air strikes on a Syrian air base from where the US administration says the chemical attacks were launched."It's very important that there is a full investigation so that everybody knows, everybody knows, so that the entire world knows how these horrible chemical attacks occurred and where they come from," said Delattre. France hopes that the US military action and Washington's demand that Assad be barred from power as part of a peace deal will open up a new opportunity for a solution. Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier called for a thorough investigation by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) and suggested that Assad was the target of false accusations.Turkey's health minister confirmed that post-mortem tests on the victims showed that the deadly nerve agent sarin had been used in the April 4 attack.

U.S. Syria Strike 'Doesn't Address Problem', Says Amnesty Chief
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/April 11/17/A U.S. strike on a Syrian air base is no substitute for a proper investigation and accountability after a devastating suspected chemical weapons attack, Amnesty International's chief said on Tuesday. "The biggest challenge we have in Syria, the reason why this keeps happening again and again is because there is no accountability and no justice," Salil Shetty told AFP. "It's one thing to have some air strikes by the U.S. on a one-off basis, but it's not going to address this problem," he said. Washington last week launched its first direct military action against President Bashar al-Assad's regime, after accusing the Syrian leader of using chemical weapons on a rebel-held town, killing dozens of people. But Shetty said a "knee-jerk reaction" to the attack on Khan Sheikhun was insufficient. "It has to be part of a much larger concerted effort to ensure accountability; you can't just have a knee-jerk reaction," he said, urging a U.N. investigation. Washington launched its attack on the Shayrat air base in central Syria's Homs province after the U.N. Security Council failed to take action, with Assad ally Russia opposing a draft resolution setting the terms for a swift inquiry. Moscow has regularly blocked Security Council resolutions it considers unfair to Damascus, and Shetty slammed all five permanent members of the council for playing "politics." "What does the situation in Syria symbolize? It symbolizes the fact that our global ability to enforce human rights is in shambles," he said. "Instead of taking care of global peace and global interests, they play politics."He also criticized U.S. President Donald Trump's attempts to bar Syrian refugees, saying they stood "in complete contradiction" to the concern he expressed for civilians in the wake of the Khan Sheikhun attack. More than 320,000 people have been killed in Syria since the conflict began in March 2011 with anti-government protests. More than five million Syrians have become refugees, with most finding safety in neighboring countries, including Lebanon. Over a million Syrian refugees are being hosted by the tiny country, with just four million citizens, and their presence has led to increasing social tension and even calls to begin returning them. Shetty praised Lebanon for its welcome of refugees, and said Amnesty would continue pressuring the international community to provide greater assistance to the government to absorb spiraling costs. But he also warned against "a growing tide of xenophobic talk" in the country. "It is important for the leaders of this country to send a clear message... that is beyond the pale, that is not acceptable," he said. "The Lebanese have not been xenophobic: you've done so much and this is a good time for you to reign in those kinds of tendencies."

France Wants U.N. Council to Back Syria Gas Attacks Probe
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/April 11/17/France still wants the U.N. Security Council to adopt a draft resolution demanding an investigation of the suspected chemical attack in Syria after it failed to agree on such a measure, the ambassador said Tuesday. The council last week discussed three separate draft texts in response to the apparent attack in the rebel-held down of Khan Sheikhun, but there was no vote on any of the measures. "We cannot give up and we must try, in good faith, the best we can, to have a text condemning the attack, asking for a thorough investigation," French Ambassador Francois Delattre told reporters. France joined the United States and Britain to push for a tough investigation, but its proposed draft faced the likelihood of a veto from Russia. Delattre said France was now looking for "a good text and a good vote."France, Britain and the United States have accused President Bashar al-Assad's forces of carrying out the attack that killed at least 87 civilians, including 31 children. As the council debated its response on Thursday, the United States fired air strikes on a Syrian air base from where the US administration says the chemical attacks were launched. "It's very important that there is a full investigation so that everybody knows, everybody knows, so that the entire world knows how these horrible chemical attacks occurred and where they come from," said Delattre. France hopes that the US military action and Washington's demand that Assad be barred from power as part of a peace deal will open up a new opportunity for a solution. Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier called for a thorough investigation by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) and suggested that Assad was the target of false accusations. Turkey's health minister confirmed that post-mortem tests on the victims showed that the deadly nerve agent sarin had been used in the April 4 attack.

Turkey Says Tests Confirm Sarin Used in Syria Attack
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/April 11/17/Turkey said on Tuesday that tests proved the deadly nerve agent sarin was used in a suspected chemical attack in northwestern Syria which killed dozens last week. "It has been identified that sarin gas was used," Turkish Health Minister Recep Akdag said, quoted by state-run news agency Anadolu. The results came from analysis of blood and urine samples of the casualties from the attack in Idlib province who were brought to Turkey for treatment. Three of them died in hospital. The incident which killed 87 civilians, including 31 children in the rebel-held town of Khan Sheikhun has been blamed on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime by Turkey and the United States. Akdag said isopropyl methylphosphonic acid was found, which is what results after sarin is exposed to the environment. Sarin can be inhaled or absorbed through the skin and kills by crippling the respiratory center of the central nervous system and paralyzing the muscles around the lungs. Images from the town where the attack took place showed victims suffering convulsions, breathing problems and foaming at the mouth. Days after the incident, the U.S. blasted 59 Tomahawk missiles at the Shayrat air base near Homs which Washington believes Assad's jets launched the attack from. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu earlier in the day said the regime still had "chemical weapons capacity" as top diplomats gathered for G7 talks in Italy.

No G7 Consensus on Fresh Syria Sanctions, Says Italy
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/April 11/17/G7 foreign ministers have failed to agree on whether fresh sanctions should be imposed on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad or his ally Russia, Italy's Foreign Minister Angelino Alfano said Tuesday. "At the moment there is no consensus on new sanctions as an effective instrument," he said at the close of a two-day meeting in Italy, after his British counterpart Boris Johnson raised the issue with the Group of Seven. "There are clearly different opinions," Alfano said, adding that the G7 had reaffirmed its support for those sanctions already in place. Johnson on Monday raised the possibility of "further sanctions on some of the Syrian military figures and some of the Russian military figures who have been involved in coordinating the Syrian military efforts". U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said last week that the U.S. would soon impose additional sanctions on Syria, as part of a military, diplomatic and financial response to a chemical attack blamed on the regime. French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault confirmed Johnson had raised the issue on Tuesday morning but said the diplomats had not discussed the issue in any depth. Italy's Alfano stressed that for Rome "sanctions are a tool and not an end in itself" and warned against measures that would isolate Russia and back it "into a corner."

G7 Agrees No Syria Solution with Assad in Power, Says Paris
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/April 11/17/G7 foreign ministers insist there can be no peace solution for war-torn Syria with President Bashar al-Assad in power, French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said Tuesday. The ministers, meeting in Italy as U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson readies for crunch talks in Moscow, were agreed that "no future in Syria is possible with Bashar al-Assad," Ayrault told reporters. He said the message for Russia was: "That's enough now. There must be an end to hypocrisy and a very clear return to the political process." "This is not an aggressive stance towards Russia, rather a hand out-held, with clear intentions," he said. The United States has hardened its stance on Damascus since a suspected chemical weapons on a rebel-held Syrian town that killed at least 87 civilians and triggered a retaliatory U.S. bombing raid on a Syrian air base. The West is also pushing for Russia to rein in the Syrian regime, with the war now in its seventh year. Ayrault was speaking at the close of the two-day ministerial meeting of the G7 which groups Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States. The group also held a special meeting on Syria on Tuesday with counterparts from Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the UAE. Tillerson headed from Italy to Russia, where he is set to meet with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov.

Two Russian Servicemen Killed in Syria
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/April 11/17/Russia's defence ministry said Tuesday that two soldiers acting as military instructors to government troops in Syria had been killed by rebel forces. "Russian professional servicemen who were in a unit of Syrian forces as instructors... came under a mortar attack from a group of rebel fighters," the defence ministry said in a statement quoted by Interfax news agency. "As a result of a mortar explosion, two Russian servicemen died."Medics were fighting to save the life of another Russian serviceman wounded in the attack, the ministry said. It said the two killed were training Syrian soldiers in marksmanship along with a Russian military advisor. The latest deaths take the toll of soldiers killed in combat in Syria officially acknowledged by the defence ministry to 29. Another soldier committed suicide during the first month of the operation.

Russia Urges 'Cooperation' with U.S. as Tillerson Visits
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/April 11/17/Russia said Tuesday it was hoping to avoid confrontation and engage in "constructive cooperation" with Washington as Secretary of State Rex Tillerson headed to Moscow. "We are not set on confrontation, but on constructive cooperation," the foreign ministry said in a statement. "We hope that this is also what the American side wants."Tillerson's visit -- the first by a senior member of U.S. President Donald Trump's administration -- comes after Moscow vehemently rebuked Washington for missile strikes against a Syrian air base last week in response to an alleged chemical attack the White House blamed on the regime of Bashar al-Assad. Moscow has sought to deflect blame from its long-time ally Assad over the incident and says Syrian jets struck a rebel arms depot where "toxic substances" were being put inside bombs. Russia's foreign ministry said it hoped for "productive talks" with Tillerson to understand "to what extent the United States understands the need for stabilizing and normalizing bilateral relations.""For our part we proceed from the fact that a standstill (in relations) is unacceptable given the specific responsibility of our countries in maintaining international security and strategic stability," it said. Russia's hopes of improving relations under Trump have already dimmed as ties to Moscow have become politically toxic for his administration, after allegations the Kremlin conducted a hacking and influence campaign to help get him elected. Relations between Moscow and Washington slumped to their lowest point since the Cold War under former president Barack Obama after the Kremlin's seizure of Crimea from Ukraine. Tillerson is set to meet Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov on Wednesday. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov would not confirm whether Tillerson would also meet President Vladimir Putin during his two-day trip.

Hundreds in Syria Capital Protest US Strike
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/April 11/17/Hundreds of Syrian students gathered on Tuesday outside the United Nations headquarters in Damascus to protest last week's US strike on a government air base. Demonstrators waved the two-star flag of the Syrian government and pictures of President Bashar al-Assad outside the UN's office in the Mazzeh neighbourhood of the Syrian capital. Their placards read "Iraq will not happen again, this is Assad's Syria," and "Trump supports terrorism."Some protesters chanted, "Death to America, death to Israel!" US warships on Friday fired 59 Tomahawk missiles at a central Syrian air base from which Washington believes government jets launched a chemical attack that killed at least 87 civilians. The Syrian government denied that it used toxic substances, saying it struck an arms depot used by jihadists and describing the US strike as "foolish and irresponsible behaviour". "We came to denounce the American strike," said Ayyad Talab, head of the university students' branch in the National Syrian Students Union (NSSU), which organised the protest. "We want to say that we are ready to defend our country, armed with our work, our minds, and our ideas and with our souls if necessary," he told AFP. The NSSU submitted a letter, addressed to UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, that the United Nations mission in Damascus said it would forward to his office. "We came to condemn the American aggression on our country. We consider it a disgrace to the democracy that America claims," protester Mahmoud Issa told AFP. The US retaliatory strike marked the first time the United States has intervened directly in the Syrian war against Assad's government. Syria's conflict erupted in March 2011 with anti-government protests but has since evolved into a complex war among government forces, jihadists, rebels, and Kurds.

IS Now Controls Less than Seven Percent of Iraq
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/April 11/17/The Islamic State group now controls less than seven percent of Iraq, down from the 40 percent it held nearly three years ago, a military spokesman said Tuesday. "Daesh controlled 40 percent of Iraqi land" in 2014, Brigadier General Yahya Rasool told reporters, using an Arabic acronym for IS. "As of March 31 (this year), they only held 6.8 percent of Iraqi territory," said Rasool, the spokesman of the Joint Operations Command coordinating the anti-jihadist effort. Various members of the forces, Iraqi and foreign, battling the jihadists have disagreed in the past on control of territory figures but IS has been losing ground steadily over close to two years. The most brutal organisation in modern jihad shocked the world when it took over Mosul, Iraq's second city, in June 2014 and then swept across much of the country's Sunni Arab heartland. Its reach in Iraq peaked in August the same year when a second offensive saw it take over areas of northern Iraq that were home to various minorities and had been under the control of the autonomous Kurds. Iraqi forces with the backing of the US-led coalition -- which has thousands of forces deployed in Iraq and carries out daily air strikes -- launched a major offensive to retake Mosul in October 2016. They retook control of the eastern side of the city, which is divided by the Tigris river, in January and have since mid-February been battling die-hard jihadists holed up in their last west Mosul redoubts. - Coalition to stay -The full recapture of Mosul, the de facto capital of the "caliphate" IS supremo Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi publicly proclaimed in the city nearly three years ago, would effectively end any IS claim to be running a state. Speaking at the same press conference in Baghdad on Tuesday, the spokesman for the US-led coalition vowed that Iraq would not be abandoned after the recapture of Mosul. "Once that task is accomplished, the coalition will be here to support our Iraqi partners as they eliminate IS from every corner of Iraq," Colonel John Dorrian said. The coalition has come under criticism following the deaths last month in west Mosul of scores of civilians in an air strike it admitted may have been its own. "Every strike that we conduct, we conduct using precision-guided munitions. Every strike that we conduct is coordinated directly with the Iraqi security forces," he said. "We are very careful. We never, ever target civilians," Dorrian said. The IS group still controls the large towns of Hawijah and Tal Afar as well as remote areas along the border with Syria in western Iraq. It also holds the city of Raqa and other areas in neighbouring Syria.

Russia Knew Syrian Chemical Attack Was Coming, Says U.S. Official
Associated Press/Naharnet/April 11/17/The United States has made a preliminary conclusion that Russia knew in advance of Syria's chemical weapons attack last week, but has no proof of Moscow's involvement, a senior U.S. official said Monday.
The official said that a drone operated by Russians was flying over a hospital as victims of the attack were rushing to get treatment. Hours after the drone left, a Russian-made fighter jet bombed the hospital in what American officials believe was an attempt to cover up the usage of chemical weapons. The U.S. official said the presence of the surveillance drone over the hospital couldn't have been a coincidence, and that Russia must have known the chemical weapons attack was coming and that victims were seeking treatment. The official, who wasn't authorized to speak publicly on intelligence matters and demanded anonymity, didn't give precise timing for when the drone was in the area, where more than 80 people were killed. The official also didn't provide details for the military and intelligence information that form the basis of what the Pentagon now believes. Another U.S. official cautioned that no final American determination has been made that Russia knew ahead of time that chemical weapons would be used. That official wasn't authorized to speak about internal administration deliberations and spoke on condition of anonymity. The allegation of Russian foreknowledge is grave, even by the standards of the currently dismal U.S.-Russian relations. Although Russia has steadfastly supported Syrian President Bashar Assad's government, and they've coordinated military attacks together, Washington has never previously asserted that Moscow was complicit in any attack that involved the gassing of innocent civilians, including children. The former Cold War foes even worked together in 2013 to remove and destroy more than 1,300 tons of Syrian chemical weapons and agents. Until Monday, U.S. officials had said they weren't sure whether Russia or Syria operated the drone. The official said the U.S. is now convinced Russia controlled the drone. The official said it still isn't clear who was flying the jet that bombed the hospital, because the Syrians also fly Russian-made aircraft. U.S. officials previously have said Russians routinely work with Syrians at the Shayrat air base where the attack is supposed to have originated. U.S. officials say the chemical weapons were stored there and that those elements add to the conclusion that Russia was involved. Last Thursday 59 Tomahawk missiles were fired on the government-controlled base in the United States' first direct military action against Assad's forces. The U.S. has been focusing its military action in Syria on defeating the Islamic State group. On Monday, Col. John J. Thomas, a U.S. military spokesman, said the U.S. has taken extra defensive precautions in Syria in case of possible retaliation against American forces for the cruise missile attack. Thomas told reporters at the Pentagon that the increased emphasis on defensive measures to protect U.S. troops on the ground in Syria led to a slight and temporary decline in offensive U.S. airstrikes against IS in Syria.
There has been no Syrian retaliation so far for the cruise missile attack, which destroyed or rendered inoperable more than 20 Syria air force planes, he said.
Thomas said the U.S. intends to return to full offensive air operations against IS as soon as possible.

Visa for Egyptians Aimed at Preventing 'Terrorists', Sudan Says
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/April 11/17/Sudan said on Monday that its decision to make Egyptian men aged from 18 to 50 obtain entry visas was aimed at preventing "terrorists" from infiltrating the country. Since 2004 Egyptians have enjoyed visa-free access to Sudan, but on Friday Sudanese authorities made it mandatory for adult Egyptian men to obtain visas before entering the country. Egyptian women are still allowed to enter without visas. "The decision of imposing visas for Egyptians was taken after consultations between the two countries," Sudanese Foreign Minister Ibrahim Ghandour told reporters. "It aims to ensure organised entry of citizens in both countries and to prevent terrorist elements from entering." While Egyptians went visa-free under a deal signed between the two countries in 2004, Sudanese nationals had to obtain visas for entering Egypt. Sudanese media reports say Khartoum's decision may have been triggered following the arrests of several Arab nationals after a blast in an apartment in the capital in February.One man was wounded in the blast while assembling explosives in the apartment. Sudan is home to tens of thousands of Syrians who have arrived in the east African country since their nation's brutal civil war erupted in 2011. Officials have regularly claimed to be stepping up efforts to fight extremism in the region, although Washington continues to list Sudan as an alleged state sponsor of terrorism since 1993, a charge Khartoum steadfastly denies.

EU Prolongs Iran Human Rights Sanctions
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/April 11/17/The EU prolonged sanctions against Iran over its human rights record for another year on Tuesday, amid tensions over Tehran's support for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
The sanctions include an asset freeze against 82 individuals and one entity, plus a ban on exports to Iran of equipment "which might be used for internal repression and of equipment for monitoring telecommunications."The names will be published Wednesday in the EU's Official Journal, a statement said. The European Council of member states said it decided to extend the sanctions in response "to serious human rights violations in Iran." The measures were first put in place in 2011 following a crackdown during the 2009 election and subsequent protests sparked by the Arab Spring which inspired hopes of reform. They are unrelated to Iran's nuclear program. The EU and other top world powers reached agreement with Iran in 2015 on curbing its nuclear program and they began easing economic sanctions in January 2016. Brussels billed the agreement as clearing the way towards improved relations with Iran but progress has been slow and tensions have risen over Tehran's continued support for Assad who the EU believes must step down if there is to be peace in Syria.

Children of Undocumented Migrants to Protest at White House
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/April 11/17/Dozens of child and teen protesters -- mostly youths whose parents are in the United States illegally -- departed Florida for Washington Monday to urge President Donald Trump to end his policy of ramped-up deportations. "We are going to Washington on a bus. This caravan is about how us, youth, are going to stand up to President Trump's bullying," said Jasmine, a 10-year old, said at a news conference. She did not want to give her last name so as to protect her parents. "I'm going to Washington DC for my mom and dad. I'm going to stand up to defend my family," Jasmine said. She was part of a group of about 40 minors, accompanied by relatives and adult activists, who boarded a bus in Florida bound for the US capital, wearing T-shirts and carrying signs reading "We Belong Together." They were to meet up in Washington with youngsters from other US cities, stopping along the way north in Atlanta, Georgia, and Raleigh, North Carolina. The protest at the White House is planned for Thursday. Helena, a 17-year-old from Homestead, Florida, said she wanted to take part to protest against a policy that has exacted a heavy toll in her family. "Five years ago my father was deported. His deportation was unjust," the teen said. "He was a good father and a hard worker."

Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on April 11-12/17
New Ways of Responding to Extremist Islam
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/?p=54259
by Giulio Meotti/Gatestone Institute/April 11/17
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/10178/responding-to-extremist-islam
"According to one estimate, 10−15 percent of the world's Muslims are Islamists. Out of well over 1.6 billion, or 23 percent of the globe's population, that implies more than 160 million individuals." – Ayaan Hirsi Ali, in her new book, The Challenge of Dawa.
That was Ronald Reagan's major achievement in his long war against the Soviet Union: presenting communism as a joke -- exposing the lies of the Soviet regime, exposing the misery under which its people were living, and explaining why Western values were preferable to Communist ones. This is exactly what the West, Hirsi Ali explains, should be doing with radical Islam.
Western civilization is a humanist vision in which Christianity integrated Jewish wisdom, Greek philosophy and Roman law, thereby giving Western culture its distinctive character: freedom of speech and of the press, equal justice under law, the primacy of the individual, separation of religion and state, freedom of religion and from religion, property rights, sexual equality, an independent judiciary, and independent education, among other values. This is what radical Islam wants to destroy. That is why terrorists are attacking our churches, the State of Israel and why they are subverting democracy to turn it into Islamic law, sharia.
Jihad is spreading violence -- and succeeding. "Of the last sixteen years," notes Ayaan Hirsi Ali in her new book, The Challenge of Dawa, "the worst year for terrorism was 2014, with ninety-three countries experiencing attacks and 32,765 people killed."
"The second worst was 2015, with 29,376 deaths. Last year, four radical Islamic groups were responsible for 74 percent of all deaths from terrorism: the Islamic State (also known as ISIS), Boko Haram, the Taliban, and al-Qaeda. Although the Muslim world itself bears the heaviest burden of jihadist violence, the West is increasingly under attack".
Hirsi Ali's research, supported by the Hoover Institution, is a summary of the war on terror since the extremist Muslim attacks on the United States in September 2001:
"Since 9/11, at least $1.7 trillion has been spent on combat and reconstruction costs in Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. The total budgetary cost of the wars and homeland security from 2001 through 2016 is more than $3.6 trillion. Yet in spite of the sacrifices of more than 5,000 armed service personnel who have lost their lives since 9/11, today political Islam is on the rise around the world".
According to Hirsi Ali, the West is "obsessed" with terror and this makes it blind to the broader threat, dawa, outreach: the ideology behind the terror attacks.
How large is the worldwide jihadist movement? More than we thought.
"In Pakistan alone, where the population is almost entirely Muslim, 13 percent of Muslims surveyed—more than 20 million people—said that bombings and other forms of violence against civilian targets are often or sometimes justified in order to defend Islam from its enemies... According to one estimate, 10−15 percent of the world's Muslims are Islamists. Out of well over 1.6 billion, or 23 percent of the globe's population, that implies more than 160 million individuals".
According to Hirsi Ali, along with drones, counter-terrorism and security measures, the West needs to invest in an ideological war against radical Islam. If terrorist violence is the jihadi hardware, its software is radical Islam. To cripple the hardware, you have first to block the software.
The Islamic world is investing in "dawa", or Islamic propaganda. "Since the early 1970s, Middle Eastern charities have distributed $110 billion, $40 billion of which found its way to sub-Saharan Africa and contributed heavily to Islamist ideological indoctrination there", Hirsi Ali writes.
Under Leonid Brezhnev, the Soviet Union's leader in the 1970s, Communism started failing to seduce the masses with its promise of a new society. The Communist utopia started to creak much before the collapse of the Berlin Wall in 1989. It began when the powerful ideological myth of Communism was replaced by socialism, which has been visibly destroying one economy after another. That was Ronald Reagan's major achievement in his long war against the Soviet Union: presenting Communism as a joke -- exposing the lies of the Soviet regime, exposing the misery under which its people were living, and explaining why Western values were preferable to Communist ones. This is exactly what the West, Hirsi Ali explains, should be doing with radical Islam.
William Rosenau observed that, "the United States has so far failed to conduct anything approaching an effective counterideological campaign against al-Qaida". That was also former U.S. President Barack Obama's fatal approach to dealing with the Islamic State: apparently for his own reasons, he refused to name what ISIS was really about: a global caliphate secured through a global war.
U.S. President Donald Trump's major achievement so far is to have named the enemy: "radical Islamic terrorism". Those are the three words that separate Trump from the rest of establishment. Trump's several appointees, such as Steve Bannon, have rightly described this war, like the wars against Nazism and Communism, as primarily an "ideological struggle to preserve Western civilization".
"Western civilization", however, does not seem to be what many liberals have in mind. Instead, they have been advocating multiculturalism, gender ideology, feminism, pacifism, and militant secularism.
Western civilization is a humanist vision in which Christianity integrated Jewish wisdom, Greek philosophy and Roman law, thereby giving Western culture its distinctive character: freedom of speech and of the press, equal justice under law, the primacy of the individual, separation of religion and state, freedom of religion and from religion, property rights, sexual equality, an independent judiciary, and independent education, among other values. This is what radical Islam wants to destroy. That is why terrorists are attacking our churches, the State of Israel and why they are subverting democracy to turn it into Islamic law, sharia.
David Thomson in his new book, Les Revenants, interviews French jihadists. One of them, Zubair, who grew up in a social housing project in Seine-Saint-Denis, defines jihad as a "response to the ideological vacuum" of the West. Islamic extremists in Europe are now filling the Western ideological vacuum by appealing to the masses. This is how radical Islam convinced 160 million Muslims to hate and fight the West.
Like communism, radical Islam is a powerful ideology based on a cultural war against these Western humanistic values: the Mohammed cartoons and the murders of the editors of the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo -- as well as the torrent of laws and trials criminalizing freedom of expression -- are a war against freedom of speech and of the press. The battle for women to wear the Islamic veil is a war against the freedom of women to wear what they like and not be looked on as prostitutes. The global appeal for "transformation" is a war against the democratic governance by men and for establishing a Caliphate ruled by Allah.
The supposed rejection of class and ethnic distinctions means that a huge number of Europeans are converting to Islam. Agitation and propaganda -- especially against Jews, Christians, minority groups and supposed Muslim "apostates" -- lays bare a conspiratorial mindset.
During the Cold War, the West supported organizations such as the Congress for Cultural Freedom, which financed the anti-Communist publishing industry through books and magazines, as well as media outlets, such as Radio Free Europe, and an aggressive ideological warfare in Europe with pro-American and pro-Western messages. But today?
Worse, the opposite is taking place: Western governments are blaming newspapers and journalists for the Mohammed cartoons affair. The publishing industry, every time it censors books about Islam, is betraying freedom of expression. When the Arab-Islamic bloc in the corrupt United Nations erased the Jewish-Christian history of Jerusalem and other sites, Western democracies abstained. Western liberal media defended symbols of Islamic propaganda, such as the female veil, as symbols of emancipation instead of oppression. And instead of supporting Islamic reformers and dissidents, Western elites are abandoning them. The elites seem to prefer dialogue with "non-violent Islamists". Ask Ayaan Hirsi Ali. After being targeted by a petition of Muslim activists and human rights militants, she was recently forced to cancel a tour in Australia, ostensibly for "security reasons".
In France, Islamists continue to build "two new mosques per week". Why are Western democracies, as part of their diplomatic relations with the Arab-Islamic world, not requiring churches to be built? Instead, Western public opinion has become accustomed to the idea that mosques belong to Europe's landscape while extremist Muslims go about destroying churches in Syria and Iraq.
If we do not want to lose the ideological war against Islam, it is not too late to reverse the trend -- but time is running out fast.
*Giulio Meotti, Cultural Editor for Il Foglio, is an Italian journalist and author.
© 2017 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute. No part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone Institute.
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/10178/responding-to-extremist-islam

Arabs: Abu Ivanka (Trump) Is a Hero!
Bassam Tawil/Gatestone Institute/April 11/17
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/?p=54255
Arabs and Muslims have long lost faith in their leaders' ability to deal with the crises plaguing Arab and Islamic countries. The civil war in Syria, which has been raging for more than five years and which has claimed the lives of more than half a million people, is seen as a shining best example of Arab and Muslim leaders' incompetence and apathy.
Others are calling Trump "Lion of the Sunnis", "Caliph of the Muslims" and "Defender of the Islamic Holy Sites." Some wrote: "Blessed be the hands of Abu Ivanka al-Amiriki (Trump)," and expressed hope that he would do more to rid the Syrian people of their dictator. "We love you Trump" and "Trump is our hope" are two of many hashtags that have become extremely popular on social media, especially Twitter. Many of the writers are Syrians, Egyptians and Gulf citizens.
Many Arabs and Muslims perceive themselves to have been betrayed by the Obama administration. They felt, rightly, that the Obama administration turned its back on Washington's friends and allies in the Arab world in favor of Iran and the Muslim Brotherhood.
A new hero has been born in the Arab world and his name is Donald Trump. And this is not a joke.
Arabs and Muslims love leaders who talk tough and do not hesitate to use force. In the Arab world, compromise is a sign of weakness.
Until recently, Trump was anathema to many Arabs and Muslims. So what happened? U.S. President Donald Trump did something Arab leaders have failed to do: he helped the Syrian civilians who were being gassed by their ruler.
Arabs and Muslims have long lost faith in their leaders' ability to deal with the crises plaguing Arab and Islamic countries. The civil war in Syria, which has been raging for more than five years and which has claimed the lives of more than half a million people, is seen as a shining best example of Arab and Muslim leaders' incompetence and apathy.
The most recent Arab League summit in Jordan, which brought together many Arab heads of state and monarchs, will be best remembered for the photos of leaders falling asleep during the discussions. These pictures, which have been circulating widely in the Arab media, feel like salt in the festering wound of Arab leaders' indifference to their peoples' plights.
The summit, which utterly failed to find a solution to the ongoing killings in Syria, Yemen, Iraq and other Arab countries, is now being sarcastically referred to by many Arabs as the "Sleep Summit."
The recent Arab League summit in Jordan, which brought together many Arab heads of state and monarchs, will be best remembered for the photos of leaders falling asleep during the discussions. Pictured above: Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abba (left) and the Emir of Kuwait, Sabah Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah (right) snooze during the summit proceedings.
Few Arabs, of course, were expecting their leaders to step up. As far as many Arabs are concerned, their leaders are "traitors" and "puppets" in the hands of the U.S. (and sometimes Israel), and interested only in preserving their seats and enriching themselves and their families on the backs of their constituents.
Even gassing civilians in Syria did not surprise the Arab people. Scenes of children and other civilians suffocating from poisonous gas are not new to the Arab world. Similar atrocities have already taken place in Iraq and other Arab countries in the past few decades.
Desperate for a leader who is willing to send a strong message to the Syrian dictator Bashar Assad, many Arabs and Muslims are now looking at Trump as their "savior." His recent action in Syria stands in sharp and positive relief to the treacherous inactivity of the corrupt Arab heads of state who have turned their backs on their own people.
The missile strike that Trump ordered in retaliation for the use of chemical weapons in Syria has earned him unprecedented appreciation and respect throughout Arab and Islamic countries. The last time a U.S. president won such praise was when George W. Bush liberated Kuwait from Saddam Hussein's army.
Now, Arab leaders can only sit on the side and watch with envy as their constituents heap praise on Trump for ordering the military strike against Assad's forces. Thousands of Arabs have taken to social media to express their admiration and gratitude for Trump after the U.S. missile strike. Many are affectionately referring to Trump as "Abu Ivanka al-Amriki."
Others are calling Trump "Lion of the Sunnis", "Caliph of the Muslims" and "Defender of the Islamic Holy Sites." Some wrote: "Blessed be the hands of Abu Ivanka al-Amiriki (Trump)," and expressed hope that he would do more to rid the Syrian people of their dictator. "We love you Trump" and "Trump is our hope" are two of many hashtags that have become extremely popular on social media, especially Twitter. Many of the writers are Syrians, Egyptians and Gulf citizens.
Arabs are replacing their profile photos on Facebook and Twitter with an image of Trump. "Trump did in a few months what Obama was unable to do in eight years," many of them commented. "For the first time in six years, the Assad regime is being held accountable for its atrocities."
Lebanese journalist Maria Maaloof wrote: "Thank you Mr. President for not ignoring the cries of the (Syrian) children."
By striking Syria, Trump seems to have made America great again, at least in the eyes of many Arabs and Muslims.
Many Arabs and Muslims perceive themselves to have been betrayed by the Obama administration. They felt, rightly, that the Obama administration turned its back on Washington's friends and allies in the Arab world in favor of Iran and the Muslim Brotherhood. It is no surprise, therefore, that Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries were among the first to voice support for the U.S. strike against Syria.
For now, Trump's military strike in Syria has partially restored U.S. credibility among Arabs and Muslims. Moreover, it has broadcast that the days of the Obama administration's appeasement and inaction are over. Arabs love world leaders who stand up to oppression and injustice; his swift and strong response accounts for the about-face on Trump in the Arab world. The U.S. strike is a first step towards restoring the U.S. role as a true leader. It remains to be seen whether Trump will demonstrate the same determination in dealing with the duplicity and malevolence of other Arabs and Muslims.
*Bassam Tawil is a scholar based in the Middle East.
© 2017 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute. No part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone Institute.
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/10186/arabs-trump

Turkey's Barks and Bites
Burak Bekdil/Gatestone Institute/April 11/17
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/?p=54251
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/10185/turkey-barks-and-bites
This is the first time that Erdogan is openly challenging a concerted European stand.
Turkey's foreign policy and the rhetoric that presumably went to support it, has, during the past several years, aimed less at achieving foreign policy goals and more at consolidating voters' support for the Ankara government.
Self-aggrandizing behavior has predominantly shaped policy and functioned to please the Turks' passion for a return to their glorious Ottoman past.
Assertive and confrontational diplomatic language and playing the tough guy of the neighborhood may have helped garner popular support for President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Justice and Development Party (AKP), but after years of "loud barking and no biting", Turkey has effectively become the victim of its own narrative.
In 2010, Turkey froze diplomatic relations with Israel and promised "internationally to isolate the Jewish state", and never to restore ties unless, along with two other conditions, Jerusalem removed its naval blockade of Gaza to prevent weapons from being brought in that would be used to attack Israel. Turkey's prime minister at the time, Ahmet Davutoglu, said Israel would "kneel down to us".
In 2016, after rounds of diplomatic contacts, Turkey and Israel agreed to normalize their relations. The blockade of Gaza, to prevent shipments of weaponry to be used by Gazans in terror attacks remains in effect.
In 2012, Davutoglu claimed that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's days in power were numbered, "not by years but by weeks or months". In 2016, Davutoglu had to step down as prime minister, but Erdogan's and his worst regional nemesis, Assad, is in power to this day, enjoying increased Russian and Iranian backing. In 2012, Erdogan said that "we will soon go to Damascus to pray at the Umayyad mosque" -- a political symbol of Assad's downfall and his replacement by pro-Turkey Sunni groups. That prayer remains to be performed.
In November 2015, shortly after Turkey shot down a Russian Su-24 military jet and cited violation of its airspace, Erdogan warned Russia "not to play with fire." As for the Russian demands for an apology, Erdogan said it was Turkey that deserved an apology because its airspace had been violated, and that Turkey would not apologize to Russia.
In June 2016, just half a year after Russia imposed a slew of economic sanctions on Turkey, Erdogan apologized to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
In July 2016, Erdogan apologized for downing a Russian plane, and in August he went to Russia to shake hands for normalization. Pictured: Russian President Vladimir Putin with Turkey's then Prime Minister Erdogan, meeting in Istanbul on December 3, 2012. (Image source: kremlin.ru)
Erdogan and his government have countless times warned the United States not to side with the Syrian Kurds --whom Turkey views as a terrorist group-- in the allied fight against radical jihadists of ISIL's Islamic State. In March 2017, Washington denied that Syrian Kurds were a terrorist group and pledged continued support for them.
Erdogan's Turkey has done more than enough to show that its bark is worse than its bite. Yet it keeps barking badly. This time, the enemy to bark at, not bite, is Europe. This is the first time that Erdogan is openly challenging a concerted European stand.
In a recent row between several European capitals and Ankara over Erdogan's ambitions to hold political rallies across Europe to address millions of Turkish expatriates, the Turkish president said he would ignore that he was unwelcome in Germany and would go there to speak to his Turkish fans.
In response, the Dutch government deported one of Erdogan's ministers who had gone uninvited to the Netherlands to speak to the Turkish community there.
Germany launched two investigations into alleged Turkish spying on German soil.
Similarly, Switzerland opened a criminal investigation into allegations that Erdogan's government had spied on expatriate Turks.
In Copenhagen, the Danish government summoned the Turkish ambassador over claims that Danish-Turkish citizens were being denounced over views critical of Erdogan.
The barking kept on. In Turkey, Erdogan warned that Europeans would not be able to walk the streets safely if European nations persist in what he called "arrogant conduct." That comment caused the EU to summon the Turkish ambassador in Brussels to explain Erdogan's threatening language.
Farther east, in the rich European bloc, several hundred Bulgarians blocked the three main checkpoints at the Bulgarian-Turkish border to prevent Turks with Bulgarian passports, but who were living in Turkey, from voting in Bulgarian elections. The protesters claimed that Turkish officials were forcing expatriate voters to support a pro-Ankara party.
Meanwhile, at the EU's southeast flank, Greece said that its armed forces were ready to respond to any Turkish threat to the country's sovereignty and territorial integrity.
What happened to Erdogan's promised "bite" that he could go to Germany to speak to the Turkish community despite repeated German warnings that he would not be welcome? "I will not go to Germany," he said on March 23.
Erdogan may be winning hearts and minds in Turkey with his neo-Ottoman Turkey "barks." But too few foreign capitals find his threats serious, too few politicians think that he is convincing and too many people tend to believe Turkey's bark is worse than its bite.
The recent wave of European constraints against Erdogan shows that, for the first time in recent years, Europe does not seem to fear Erdogan's bluffing and thuggishness.
At the moment, Erdogan's priority is to win the referendum on April 16 that he hopes will change the constitution so that he can be Sultan-for-life. Picking fights with "infidel" Europeans might help him garner more support from conservative and nationalist Turks.
When the voting is done, however, he will have to face the reality that an alliance cannot function forever with one party constantly blackmailing the other.
*Burak Bekdil, one of Turkey's leading journalists, was just fired from Turkey's leading newspaper after 29 years, for writing what was taking place in Turkey for Gatestone. He is a Fellow at the Middle East Forum.
© 2017 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute. No part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone Institute.
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/10185/turkey-barks-and-bites

Geert Wilders and the Suicide of Europe
Guy Millière/Gatestone Institute/April 11/17
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/10179/geert-wilders-suicide-europe
None of Wilders's speeches incites violence against anyone; the violence that surrounds him is directed only at him.
The only person talking about these problems is Geert Wilders. Dutch political leaders and most journalists seemingly prefer to claim that Geert Wilders is the problem; that if he were not there, these problems would not exist.
What adherents of this view, that the West is guilty, "forget" is that Islam long oppressed the West: Muslim armies conquered Persia, the Christian Byzantine Empire, all of North Africa and the Middle East, Spain, Greece, Hungary, Serbia and the Balkans, virtually all of Eastern Europe, Greece and southern Spain. The Muslim armies were a constant threat until the marauding Ottoman troops were finally turned away at the Gates of Vienna in 1683.
Even if the Dutch politcian Geert Wilders had won and if the Party for Freedom (PVV) he established eleven years ago had become the first party in the country, he would not have been able to become the head of the government. The heads of all the other political parties said they would reject any alliance with him ; they maintain this position to this day.
For years, the Dutch mainstream media have spread hatred and defamation against Wilders for trying to warn the Dutch people - and Europe - about what their future will be if they continue their current immigration policies; in exchange, last December, a panel of three judges found him guilty of "inciting discrimination". Newspapers and politicians all over Europe unceasingly describe him as a dangerous man and a rightist firebrand. Sometimes they call him a "fascist".
What did Geert Wilders ever do to deserve that? None of his remarks ever incriminated any person or group because of their race or ethnicity. To charge him, the Dutch justice system had excessively and abusively to interpret words he used during a rally in which he asked if the Dutch wanted "fewer Moroccans." None of Wilders's speeches incites violence against anyone; the violence that surrounds him is directed only at him. He defends human rights and democratic principles and he is a resolute enemy of all forms of anti-Semitism.
His only « crime » is to denounce the danger represented by the Islamization of the Netherlands and the rest of Europe and to claim that Islam represents a mortal threat to freedom. Unfortunately, he has good empirical reasons to say that. Also unfortunately, the Netherlands is a country where criticism of Islam is particularly dangerous: Theo van Gogh made an "Islamically incorrect" film in 2004 and was savagely murdered by an Islamist who said he would kill again if he could. Two years earlier, Pim Fortuyn, who had hoped to stand for election, defined Islam as a "hostile religion" ; he was killed by a leftist Islamophile animal-rights activist. Geert Wilders is alive only because he is under around-the-clock police protection graciously provided by the Dutch government.
In 2004, Moroccan-Dutch terrorist Mohammed Bouyeri (left), shot the filmmaker Theo van Gogh (right) to death, then stabbed him and slit his throat.
More broadly, the Netherlands is a country where the Muslim community shows few signs of integration. There are now forty no-go zones in the country; riots easily erupt, recently in Rotterdam, Amsterdam and Nijmegen. People recently from other countries repeatedly attack Dutch-born citizens. Some are so sure of their impunity that they publish online videos of their crimes. Throughout the country, an ethnic cleansing that Europeans are too scared to name is taking place in the suburbs, and non-Muslim residents often say they feel harassed.
Non-Muslim women are encouraged by local authorities to dress "modestly". As in Islam dogs are haram (impure), dog owners are asked to keep their pets indoors. In 2014, 2015 and 2016, Islamists demonstrated and shouted slogans in support of Hamas and the Islamic State.
Daily life has become particularly difficult for the 40,000 Jews still living in the country; districts long inhabited by members of the Jewish community have become almost entirely Muslim. Authorities recommend that Jews avoid any "visible sign" of Jewishness to avoid creating "unrest". Muslim delinquency is high; the percentage of Muslims sent to jail for various crimes is notably higher than the percentage of Muslims in the population. Six percent of the country's population are Muslim; about 20% of all inmates are Muslim. None of this is secret.
The only person talking about these problems is Geert Wilders. Dutch political leaders and most journalists seemingly prefer to claim that Geert Wilders is the problem; that if he were not there, these problems would not exist. At best, they utter fuzzy words intended to show strength; at worst, they turn their back.
A large percentage of the Dutch population is anxious; the constant demonization of Geert Wilders apparently tries to indoctrinate the people to settle for less.
A year ago, London's Muslim Mayor Sadiq Khan stated that "living with terror attacks is 'part and parcel of living in a big city." It did not used to be that way . Rotterdam's Muslim mayor, Ahmed Abutaleb used harsher words; he said that migrants had to "respect the law or go home".
In late January, the incumbent prime minister, Mark Rutte, published a full-page advertisement in several newspapers warning immigrants to "act normal or be gone"; he did not use the word "Islam". On March 11, 2017, four days before the Dutch elections, Rutte decided to send a "strong message" to bar Turkish ministers from speaking in Rotterdam. Voters who had considered supporting Geert Wilders voted instead for Rutte's People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD); he thereby secured a last minute win. Wilders's party came in second. The Party for Freedom (PVV) won five more seats than before, but will have only 20 seats, out of 150. Rutte's VVD will have 33 seats. The Labor party, Rutte's main ally until March 15, collapsed and is down to nine seats, its worst result ever. The left, however, is not retreating: GroenLinks, a party largely made of former communists and radical environmentalists won 14 seats,10 more than before. The Socialist Party won 14 seats. Democrats 66, a "social-liberal", "progressive" and multicultural party won 19 seats, almost as much as the Party for Freedom. A Muslim party, Denk (Dutch for "think, Turkish for "equality "), won three seats. The VNL, a conservative party established by two former Party for Freedom members, was beaten so severely it will have no seat at all.
The next Dutch government will be a coalition of four parties, maybe five, and probably lean more to the left than previous governments. It will certainly include Democrats 66, and could include Groenlinks.
In the years to come, the situation in the country is certin to deteriorate. The Netherlands' fertility rate (1.68 children per woman) is not as catastrophic as in Germany, Italy or Spain, but is far below the replacement rate. The Muslim birth rate is higher than the non-Muslim one. Dozens of churches close each year due to the rapid decline in the number of practicing Christians; the churches are replaced by mosques. Radical preachers keep coming and proselytizing; Islamist organizations keep recruiting. In a report on the Islamization of the Netherlands published ten years ago, Manfred Gerstenfeld wrote that "resistance to radical forces within the Dutch Muslim community is weak". Nothing has changed since that time.
What is happening in the Netherlands is similar to what is happening in most European countries. In the United Kingdom, Belgium, France, Germany and Sweden, the number of no-go zones is rapidly growing. Islamic riots occur more and more often. Ethnic gangs are growing more violent. Ethnic cleansing is transforming neighborhoods. Jews are leaving for Israel or North America.The Muslim population is sharply increasing. Radical mosques are proliferating. Islamic organizations are everywhere.
Politicians who dare to speak the way Geert Wilders does are treated the way Geert Wilders is treated : scorned, marginalized, put on trial.
The vision of the world in Western Europe is now 'hegemonic'. It is based on the idea that the Western world is guilty; that all cultures are equal, and that Islamic culture is "more equal" than Western culture because Islam was supposedly so long oppressed by the West. What adherents of this view, that the West is guilty, "forget" is that Islam long oppressed the West: Muslim armies conquered Persia, the Christian Byzantine Empire, all of North Africa and the Middle East, Spain, Greece, Hungary, Serbia and the Balkans, virtually all of Eastern Europe, Greece and southern Spain. The Muslim armies were a constant threat until the marauding Ottoman troops were finally turned away at the Gates of Vienna in 1683.
This European vision also includes the idea that all conflicts can be peacefully settled, that appeasement is almost always a solution, and that Europe has no enemies.
It also stands on the idea that an enlightened elite must have the power, because if Adolf Hitler came to power through democratic means eighty years ago, letting people freely decide their fate might lead to ill.
The dream seems to be of a utopian future where poverty will be overcome by welfare systems, and violence will be defeated by openness and love.
It is this vision of the world that may have prompted Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel to open the doors to more than a million unvetted Muslim migrants, despite a migrant crime wave and an increasing number of rapes and sexual assaults. The only candidate likely to beat Angela Merkel in this year's German elections is a socialist, Martin Schulz, a former European Parliament president.
In France, Marine Le Pen, the only candidate who speaks of Islam and immigration, will almost certainly be defeated by Emmanuel Macron, a former minister in the government of François Hollande -- a man who see no evil anywhere.
It is this vision of the world that also seems to have led British Prime Minister Theresa May to say that the Islamic attack on March 22 in Westminster was "not an act of Islamic terrorism".
This romanticized, utopian vision of the world also explains why in Europe, people such as Geert Wilders are seen as the incarnation of evil, but radical Islam is considered a marginal nuisance bearing no relation to the "religion of peace". Meanwhile, Wilders is condemned to live under protection as if he were in jail, while those who want to slaughter him -- and who threaten millions of people in Europe -- walk around free.
This adolescent vision is so embedded in the minds of millions of Europeans that a lot fast growing-up will be required to eradicate it.
**Dr. Guy Millière, a professor at the University of Paris, is the author of 27 books on France and Europe.
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Trump Raises the Stakes for Russia and Iran
Dennis Ross/The New York Times/April 11/17
WASHINGTON — President Trump’s decision to launch nearly 60 Tomahawk cruise missiles against Al Shayrat air base, from which the Syrian air force flew to drop chemical weapons on the town of Khan Sheikhoun earlier this week, was swift and purposeful. No doubt, the horrific nature of the attack moved him. But the United States response was clearly about sending messages to Bashar al-Assad’s regime and his allies, as well as the international community: Chemical weapons will not be used with impunity.
To be sure, this American strike, which was targeted and designed to inflict significant damage on one air base in Syria, will also convey to the Iranians, and to the North Koreans, that they had better take the words of this administration seriously. It is probably not without significance that it took place as the Chinese leader, Xi Jinping, North Korea’s most important patron, was in Florida to meet with Mr. Trump.
While our adversaries will undoubtedly note that the United States’ responses will not be limited to rhetoric when thresholds are crossed or American warnings are not heeded, our friends in the Middle East — Arabs and Israelis alike — will surely be heartened by this strike. Fairly or not, they had become convinced during the Obama administration that the United States was withdrawing from the region and its responsibilities there. They feared that the president saw Iran as part of the solution to the problems in the region and not a source of them. Those regional allies, too, will take the administration’s words much more seriously, and may become more responsive to America’s requests.
For friends and foes alike, then, this action will have an impact, particularly if it appears to be successful and affects Syrian, Iranian and Russian behavior. Time will soon tell whether Mr. Assad now chooses to test the United States by carrying out another chemical weapons attack. If he does so, he runs the risk of losing more of his air force and the major advantage it gives him over the rebels.
Of course, Mr. Assad could decide not to use chemical weapons and, instead, to increase his use of barrel bombs to try to terrorize the population in Idlib Province. He may reason that this won’t draw a response and yet might allow him to take more territory in an area where the opposition forces remain.
That said, the regime’s ground forces are stretched thin, and for them to take further territory depends on the Shia militias that Iran has brought into Syria from as far away as Afghanistan. Are the Iranians ready to up the stakes in Syria in response to this American action?
They have invested a great deal in preserving Mr. Assad in power, but are they ready to commit more? All the more so when Mr. Assad was the one whose use of chemical weapons triggered this change in American policy — within days of Secretary of State Rex W. Tillerson’s saying that Mr. Assad’s future “will be decided by the Syrian people.” It is one thing to keep Mr. Assad in power, another to try to take back, in Mr. Assad’s words, “every inch.”
Iran has additional options if it wants the United States to pay a price for carrying out this strike. It could use its Shia militia proxies to attack American forces either in Syria or in Iraq. But before doing so, Iran’s leaders are likely to think about whether they really want to undermine or weaken the American effort against ISIS, an enemy that directly threatens Iranians and Shiite Iraqis.
And what about the Russians? Could they deploy more forces to Syria to raise the costs of any escalation of American action, or could they decide it is time to make clear to Mr. Assad that they will no longer provide him with protection? The initial Russian response of condemning the strike, claiming that the chemical weapons were the rebels’, not the Syrian government’s, and suspending the deconfliction arrangement, appears to double down on their bet with Mr. Assad. But it may be more a case of President Vladimir V. Putin not wanting the American use of force to appear decisive.
Mr. Putin has achieved much of what he wants in Syria: securing the regime, acquiring an air base, expanding a naval facility and being an arbiter of any outcome. This is a time to look for a way to consolidate these gains, not to raise the costs of Russian involvement.
It is too soon to know whether any of these actors will test the administration. But the president and his administration should not be passive and wait to see what happens next. They should be conveying privately to the Russians, Iranians and Syrians not to test us, not to play with fire. With Russia, in particular, the message should be: The insurgency against Mr. Assad is not going away, so if you don’t want to be stuck in Syria at a time when the price may go up, we are willing to work with you to implement the principles embodied in the Geneva peace process.
Diplomacy often needs to be backed by a coercive element, and the military strike may give the Russians the incentive they have lacked to implement the principles they backed in United Nations Security Council Resolutions 2254 and 2268: a cessation of hostilities, an end to sieges, unencumbered access for humanitarian assistance and an 18-month period for political transition.
It is possible that the American strike has changed the dynamic in Syria and created a new possibility. Unfortunately, in a conflict that has produced a humanitarian catastrophe, it could also be just one more step in a war that may not end until all sides are exhausted.
In spite of that, the United States has sent a powerful message that there is a price for using chemical weapons. That message needed to be sent.

Trump Was Right to Strike Syria
Nicholas Kristof/The New York Times/April 11/17
President Trump’s air strikes against Syria were of dubious legality. They were hypocritical. They may have had political motivations.
But most of all, they were right.
I’m deeply suspicious of Trump’s policies and competence, but this is a case where he is right and Barack Obama was wrong. Indeed, many of us believe that Obama’s worst foreign policy mistake was his passivity in Syria.
But Trump changed US policy 180 degrees after compelling photos emerged of children gassed in Syria. Should a president’s decisions about war really depend on the photos taken?
Here’s why I believe he was right.
Since the horrors of mustard gas during World War I a century ago, one of the world’s more successful international norms has been a taboo on the use of chemical weapons. We all have an interest in reinforcing that norm, so this is not just about Syria but also about deterring the next dictator from turning to sarin.
For an overstretched military, poison gas is a convenient way to terrify and subdue a population. That’s why Saddam Hussein used gas on Kurds in 1988, and why Bashar al-Assad has used gas against his own people in Syria. The best way for the world to change the calculus is to show that use of chemical weapons carries a special price — such as a military strike on an airbase.
Paradoxically, Assad may have used chemical weapons because he perceived a green light from the Trump administration. In recent days, Rex Tillerson, Sean Spicer and Nikki Haley all suggested that it was no longer American policy to push for the removal of Assad, and that may have emboldened him to open the chemical weapons toolbox. That mistake made it doubly important for Trump to show that neither Assad nor any leader can get away with using weapons of mass destruction.
Look, for a Syrian child, it doesn’t matter much whether death comes from a barrel bomb, a mortar shell, a bullet, or a nerve agent. I hope Trump will also show more interest in stopping all slaughter of Syrians — but it’s still important to defend the norm against chemical weapons (the United States undermined that norm after Saddam’s gas attack by falsely suggesting that Iran was to blame).
Critics note that Trump’s air strikes don’t have clear legal grounding. But Bill Clinton’s 1999 intervention to prevent genocide in Kosovo was also of uncertain legality, and thank God for it. Clinton has said that his greatest foreign policy mistake was not intervening in Rwanda during the 1994 genocide; any such intervention also would have been of unclear legality — and the right thing to do.
There are risks ahead, of Russia or Syria targeting American aircraft or of Iran seeking revenge against Americans in Iraq. War plans rarely survive the first shot, and military interventions are easier to begin than to end. But as long as we don’t seek to topple Assad militarily, everybody has an interest in avoiding an escalation.
Many of my fellow progressives viscerally oppose any use of force, but I think that’s a mistake. I was against the Iraq war, but some military interventions save lives. The no fly zone over northern Iraq in the 1990s is one example, and so are the British intervention in Sierra Leone and French intervention in Mali. It’s prudent to be suspicious of military interventions, but imprudent to reject any use of force categorically.
Want proof that military interventions in the Middle East can work? In 2014, Obama ordered air strikes near the Syria-Iraq border against ISIS as it was attacking members of the Yazidi minority. Those US strikes saved many thousands of Yazidi lives, although they came too late to save thousands more who were killed or kidnapped as slaves.
In Syria, the crucial question is what comes next.
There’s some bold talk among politicians about ousting Assad from Syria. Really? People have been counting on Assad’s fall for six years now, and he’s as entrenched as ever.
Moreover, if this was a one-time strike then the larger slaughter in Syria will continue indefinitely. But I’m hoping that the administration may use it as a tool to push for a ceasefire.

Syria… What about Israel?
Tariq /Asharq Al Awsat/April 11/17
In response to the US missile attack against al-Shayrat airbase – controlled by Assad regime- the so-called joint command center (Russia-Iran-Assad) besides other armed groups including the terrorist “Hezbollah” announced that the US attack has crossed “red lines” and “from now on, we will respond forcefully to any aggression and any crossing of the red lines.”
The statement added that: “America is fully aware of our ability to respond.”
Alright, what about the Israeli strikes in Syria against Assad-regime and “Hezbollah”, assassinating several leaders thereof there including Samir Qantar who was killed in an Israeli raid that targeted a residential building in Jaramana, a suburb in Damascus?
What about the Israeli defense minister’s threat to Damascus criminal and butcher Bashar Assad on March 19, warning from targeting the Israeli warplanes flying in the Syrian skies? “The next time the Syrians use their air defense systems against our airplanes, we will destroy all of them without thinking twice.”
Are the Israeli strikes and involvement in the Syrian territory as well as targeting “Hezbollah” and its leaders permissible, while the US attack is considered a red line?
Certainly, the statement of the so-called joint command center is mere talk and an attempt to save the face of criminal Assad regime, Iranians and “Hezbollah”. That was why Russians did not promote the statement in media and no official Russian authority – such as Kremlin- even wrote an article about it.
On the contrary, the statement issued after the phone call between the Russian president and his Iranian counterpart demanded carrying out an objective probe on the usage of chemical weapons in Idlib. These loose statements, including the statement of the so-called joint command force, are propaganda and an attempt to save one’s face.
Israel devastated – previously – “Hezbollah” in Lebanon and Iran did not defend it not even with one bullet. Gaza was set to fire during an Israeli aggression and neither Iran nor “Hezbollah” acted to rescue it – Assad regime did not respond to all these Israeli attacks against Lebanon and Gaza not even when the Israeli warplane flew over the presidential palace years before the Syrian revolution.
Iran, Hezbollah and Assad statements are worthless after the US strike as today we are facing a new reality. Concerning Russians, everyone will know the true stance of Moscow after the anticipated meeting of the US Secretary of State and his Russian counterpart.
Certainly, the US has various tools to harm Iran and Russia in Syria — Russians are aware of that, that’s why they are calm and they have accepted the latest US blow in Syria.

Can Arabs Change Russian Position on Syria?
Abdulrahman Al-Rashed/Asharq Al Awsat/April 11/17
During the Soviet Union era, the Arab relations with Moscow were mostly positive given their similar stances in many matters, mainly the Palestinian cause.
Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, vacuum was all over the Middle East which is geographically far from the union and the region was dominated by the western camp.
Chaos spread in Somalia, South Sudan, and later Iraq, Syria then Yemen and Libya because of this vacuum – not to forget the emergence of terrorism and the deterioration of security situation in stabilized countries like Pakistan and Ethiopia.
Regional countries are afraid of a competition between the two camps over passages and markets which would create tensions and wars. Later on, it turned out that the absence of international balance in the region could also create imbalance and even more dangerous vacuums. Struggles cannot be organized or framed.
With Russia’s recovery, it went back to playing a balancing role in our region and other areas in the world. We are currently witnessing the process of forming a new reality and it seems Syria is the main arena for Russia’s military parade.
I previously wrote about the Russian “mystery” during the early stages of its intervention in Syria. The truth is that Moscow’s position is still surrounded by mystery, something that is unjustifiable to many countries in the region. Russia has a good relation with all Arab countries, including those close to Washington like Egypt, Gulf, and Jordan.
Trade exchange between both sides reflects the best stage of the history of relations during the past 50 years.
Cooperation is developed in crucial areas and for the first time, there is an agreement on oil production and pricing in addition to security cooperation in combating terrorism. This can’t be said about the Arab relations with the Iranian regime which is known to be tense on all levels. I believe, that unlike Tehran, Moscow ought to change its position in Syria, and thus become the key to ending the crisis within a plan that appeases to the moderate opposition. This scenario must be preceded by convincing answers about Kremlin’s enthusiasm and insistence on supporting the Syrian regime and Iran in a greater manner!
It could be interpreted as a form of the revived rivalry between US and Russia. Russia’s attitude is an extension of its struggle with the west, and precisely in areas close to it like Ukraine. Ukraine is a former country-member of the Soviet Union and Russia considers it as their most important state fwhich was stolen by the West during what was known as the “Orange Revolution.” Similar to the Arab Spring, during the Orange Revolution, protesters paraded the streets of Kiev three years after the chaotic developments in the Arab world. This reveals Russia’s over sensitivity towards the revolution against the regime in Syria, despite differences between both cases of Ukraine and Syria. The conflict between Russia and the West is still on in a number of old zones of influence.
So is the Kremlin’s support of the Damascus regime part of raising the extent of the conflict with the US? America doesn’t really care much about the internal Syrian conflict as it is focused on fighting ISIS.
Russia’s willingness to tighten on US in their areas of control is understandable and can be explained as a response to the West’s activity in west Russia and east Europe. But we can’t consider Syria as an arena for proxy wars between both camps.
Several indications suggest that Russia is willing to reconcile with regional countries in Syria and reach practical solutions. This also could be accepted by the US which seems to be willing to be involved in the Syrian conflict more than ever.
US won’t repeat its only attack on Idlib in response to the chemical attack. Without a political solution, it is most likely for Washington to adopt the support of the moderate Syrian opposition in order to pressure Assad regime and Iran to accept a moderate political solution. This development would further complicate the situation and prolong the civil war, yet Russia won’t budge of their current position and thus become the true peace makers in Syria.