LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
August 09/17
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani

The Bulletin's Link on the lccc Site
http://data.eliasbejjaninews.com/newselias/english.august08.17.htm

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Bible Quotations For Today
Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 11/25-30/:"‘I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. ‘Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.’"

When reviled, we bless; when persecuted, we endure; when slandered, we speak kindly. We have become like the rubbish of the world, the dregs of all things, to this very day
First Letter to the Corinthians 04/09-17/:"For I think that God has exhibited us apostles as last of all, as though sentenced to death, because we have become a spectacle to the world, to angels and to mortals. We are fools for the sake of Christ, but you are wise in Christ. We are weak, but you are strong. You are held in honour, but we in disrepute. To the present hour we are hungry and thirsty, we are poorly clothed and beaten and homeless, and we grow weary from the work of our own hands. When reviled, we bless; when persecuted, we endure; when slandered, we speak kindly. We have become like the rubbish of the world, the dregs of all things, to this very day. I am not writing this to make you ashamed, but to admonish you as my beloved children. For though you might have ten thousand guardians in Christ, you do not have many fathers. Indeed, in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel.
I appeal to you, then, be imitators of me. For this reason I sent you Timothy, who is my beloved and faithful child in the Lord, to remind you of my ways in Christ Jesus, as I teach them everywhere in every church."

Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on August 08-09/17
God deliver us from the traps of temptation/Elias Bejjani/August 07/17
Army's Border Assault 'Not Going to be a Picnic'/Associated Press/Naharnet/August 08/17/
Lebanon's army prepares to clear border area of ISIS militants/AFP, Beirut Tuesday, 8 August 2017
US Urges UN Force in Lebanon to Prevent Hezbollah Weapons/Associated PressVOANews/August 08/17
U.S. Special Forces in Lebanon Prepare to Fight ISIS – Alongside Hezbollah/Haaretz and The Associated Press/ August 07/17
Aoun to announce stance on key laws this week/Hussein Dakroub/The Daily Star/ August. 08/17
Imam Who Called for Annihilation of All Jews Is in Fact Routine/Maher Gabra/Gatestone Institute/August 08/17
The Palestinians' "Creativity for Hate"/Khaled Abu Toameh/Gatestone Institute/August 08/17
Trump: North Korea 'will be met with fire and fury like the world has never seen' if more threats emerge/FoxNews/ August 08/2017
How does this figure accept to represent the UN in Libya/Fares bin Hezam/Al Arabiya/August 08/17
North Korea: Beijing acts tougher over missile launch/Dr. Mohamed A. Ramady/Al Arabiya/August 08/17
The liberation of Mosul, Raqqa and Idlib... but then what/Christian Chesnot/Al Arabiya/August 08/17
When will the Left stop insulting Trump/Mamdouh AlMuhaini/Al Arabiya/August 08/17

Titles For Latest Lebanese Related News published on August 08-09/17
God deliver us from the traps of temptation
Aoun Chairs Higher Defense Council Meeting over Army's Battle Against Terror Groups
Army's Border Assault 'Not Going to be a Picnic'
Hariri Discusses Security, Anti-IS Measures with Army Chief
Report: Ibrahim in Secret Negotiations with IS at Aoun's Request
Mustaqbal Says IS Assault Timing Should Not be 'Dictated' on Army
Report: US Cautions Against Military Coordination With Hizbullah, Syrian Regime
Alain Aoun after Change and Reform bloc meeting: Army command determines Ras Baalbek battle details and course
5 Suspected of Aiding IS Held in Masharii al-Qaa
Berri Says 'No Rift' with Kuwait after Emirate Protests over Hizbullah
Lebanon: Army deploying about 3,000 troops to fight ISIS
Lebanon's army prepares to clear border area of ISIS militants
US Urges UN Force in Lebanon to Prevent Hezbollah Weapons
U.S. Special Forces in Lebanon Prepare to Fight ISIS – Alongside Hezbollah?
US Calls for Greater UN Efforts to Curb Weapons Possession in South Lebanon
Lebanese FM: Army Alone Will Wage Battle against ISIS
Aoun to announce stance on key laws this week
Aoun calls on youth expats to register in Lebanon
Lebanon: Celebrations Of ‘Mountain Reconciliation’ Reveals Disputes Among Christians
Aoun: National Unity Protected Lebanon against Terrorism

Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin For Miscellaneous Reports And News published on August 08-09/17
Projectile from Gaza lands in Israel: Army
Vice Custodian of Two Holy Mosques Discusses Counter-Terrorism with French President
Qatar-Linked Terror Funding Information Released in Bahrain
Initial Riyadh-Baghdad Agreement on Restoring Daily Direct Flights
Kuwait Renews Efforts to Resolve Crisis with Qatar
Saudi Ambassador to US Sees ‘Great Progress’ in Riyadh-Washington Ties under Trump
Tightening the Noose On ‘Nusra’ In Damascus’ Ghouta
Ankara Confirms its Readiness to Respond to any Move in Syria’s Afrin
Two Thirds of Israelis Believe Netanyahu should Resign if Indicted
HRW: Israeli Forced Deportation of Palestinians from Jerusalem Maybe ‘War Crime’
Palestinian President, Jordan King Agree to Form Joint ‘Crisis Unit’

Latest Lebanese Related News published on August 08-09/17
God deliver us from the traps of temptation/صلاة: نتضرع لله ونطلب منه أن يبعد عنا أفخاخ التجارب
Elias Bejjani/August 07/17
A Prayer
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/?p=57720
James 5-13/”If any of you is in trouble let him pray. If anyone is flourishing let him sing praises to God.”
*God, provide us with the needed strength to overcome our mortal weaknesses and to hold on to hope, no matter how badly or strongly we are exposed to temptation.
* God, help us to keep ailments of doubt and suspicion far away from our hearts, minds and souls.
*God, bless us and absolve our sins.
* God, help us to be loving, compassionate, forgiving, peaceful and devoted all that is meekness and righteousness.
*God, endow us with faith, patience and endurance.
*God, enlighten our minds and consciences with holiness and wisdom.
*God, open our eyes, cleanse our heart and make us feel your warmth and affection.
* God, we are weak, sinful, guilty, at fault and have committed too many wrongdoings.
*God, we ask You for leniency, forgiveness and we pledge to observe all the required penances and atonement.
*God, protect us from the scourges of selfishness, greed, jealousy, hatred, grudges and all other temtations of mortal earthly riches.
*God, guard us from evil thoughts and intentions.
*God, do not leave us to be a preys to our instincts and tendencies of delinquency.
*God, open our eyes and get us closer to your Holy Bible so we can understand Your teachings and see Your ways of righteousness.
*God, grant us the needed resistance, so deep down we do not hold any grudge or hatred or malice against any person, especially against those who see us as an enemies and inflict on us harm, persecution and pain.
*God, help us to reconcile with all those whom we are in conflicts with.
*God, bless our families and enrich our minds and hearts with assets of caring and responsibility.
*God, help us to courageously witness for the truth, love and support all others, and to be messengers of peace, harmony, conciliation and reunification.
*God, help us not to be, but ourselves no matter how hard and challenging difficulties and hardships are.
*God, help us to remain, honest, transparent, sincere, loving, modest, meek and pure in both heart and soul.
*God, help us not to be deterred by or afraid under any given circumstances from the consequences of witnessing for what is ethical, holy, just, and righteous.
*God, You are our Father, our hope and our salvation.
*God, we are kneeling at your feet, asking for mercy and forgiveness.
*God we are putting our lives, fate in your custody and between your blessed hands.
*God, we believe in your great mercy, judgment and wisdom.
God, we are definite by the end that you will not leave us preys to evil temptations.
*God help us to overcome divisions, separations, fear, doubts and suspicions.
*God, lead our steps and enlighten our hearts with your warmth. Open our eyes to see the way out of the temptations that we face.
*God, we know You cannot be tempted by evil and that you tempt no one, but You allow temptation to occur. Help us to endure all trials of temptations.

Aoun Chairs Higher Defense Council Meeting over Army's Battle Against Terror Groups
Naharnet/August 08/17/President Michel Aoun chaired a meeting of the Higher Defense Council on Tuesday at the Presidential Palace in Baabda to discuss the security situation in the country, as the army braces for a battle against jihadists, the State-run National News Agency reported. The meeting was attended in the presence of Prime Minister Saad Hariri, the member Ministers and leaders of the military and security apparatuses, said NNA. Aoun and Hariri reiterated the “government’s commitment to liberate Lebanese territories from terrorism, and commitment to the international coalition against it.” They also stressed "not to miss any opportunity to combat and deter terrorism."The Council's meeting came as the army braces for a military operation in the outskirts of the eastern border towns of al-Qaa and Ras Baalbek. The battle aims to eliminate jihadists from the Islamic State terror group entrenched on the outskirts. The Council keeps its decisions secret in implementation of the law, said NNA. Aoun and Hariri held a closed-door meeting before the defense council went into session. He also met with Army Commander Gen. Joseph Aoun. According to MTV, the Army Commandeer said that he would set conditions related to the release of the abducted servicemen, shall an evacuation deal be reached with the Islamic State group.

Army's Border Assault 'Not Going to be a Picnic'
Associated Press/Naharnet/August 08/17/
The Lebanese army is gearing up for a long-awaited assault to dislodge hundreds of Islamic State militants from a remote corner near Syrian border, seeking to end a years-long threat posed to neighboring towns and villages by the extremists. The campaign might involve cooperation with Hizbullah and the Syrian army on the other side of the border — although Lebanese authorities insist they are not coordinating with Syrian President Bashar Assad's government. But the assault could prove costly for the under-equipped military and risk activating IS sleeper cells in the country. Lebanon has been spared the wars and chaos that engulfed several countries in the region since the Arab Spring uprisings erupted in 2011. But it has not been able to evade threats to its security, including sectarian infighting and random car bombings, particularly in 2014, when militants linked to al-Qaida and IS overran the border region, kidnapping Lebanese soldiers.
The years-long presence of extremists in the border area has brought suffering to neighboring towns and villages, from shelling, to kidnappings of villagers for ransom. Car bombs made in the area and sent to other parts of the country, including Beirut's southern suburbs, have killed scores of citizens.
Aided directly by the United States and Britain, the army has accumulated steady successes against the militants in the past year, slowly clawing back territory, including strategic hills retaken in the past week. Authorities say it's time for an all-out assault. The planned operation follows a six-day military offensive by Hizbullah that forced al-Qaida-linked fighters to flee the area on the outskirts of the border town of Arsal, along with thousands of civilians.
In an apparent distribution of roles, the army is now expected to launch the attack on IS. In the past few days, the army's artillery shells and multiple rocket launchers have been pounding the mountainous areas on the Lebanon-Syria border where IS has positions, in preparation for the offensive. Drones could be heard around the clock and residents of the eastern Bekaa Valley reported seeing army reinforcements arriving daily in the northeastern district of Hermel to join the battle. The offensive from the Lebanese side of the border will be carried out by the Lebanese army, while Syrian troops and Hizbullah fighters might seek to clear the Syrian side of IS militants. Hizbullah has been fighting alongside Assad's forces since 2013.
On Tuesday, the army's top brass conferred with President Michel Aoun, Prime Minister Saad Hariri and the interior and defense ministers at the Presidential Palace to plan operations in the eastern Bekaa Valley. The committee took the "necessary counsel and decisions to succeed in the military operations to eliminate the terrorists," Maj. Gen. Saadallah Hamad said after the meeting. Experts say more than 3,000 troops, including elite special forces, are in the northeastern corner of Lebanon to take part in the offensive. The army will likely use weapons it received from the United States, including Cessna aircraft that discharge Hellfire missiles. Keen to support the army rather than the better equipped Iranian-backed Hizbullah, the U.S. and Britain have supplied the military with helicopters, anti-tank missiles, artillery and radars, as well as training. The American Embassy says the U.S. has provided Lebanon with over $1.4 billion in security assistance since 2005.
But the fight is not expected to be quick or easy. According to Interior Minister Nouhad al-Mashnouq, there are about 400 IS fighters in the Lebanese area, and hundreds more on the Syrian side of the border. "It is not going to be a picnic," said Hisham Jaber, a retired army general who heads the Middle East Center for Studies and Political Research in Beirut. "The Lebanese army will try to carry out the mission with the least possible losses."Jaber said the battle may last several weeks. "It is a rugged area and the organization (IS) is well armed and experienced."There are also concerns the offensive may subject Lebanon to retaliatory attacks by militants, just as the country has started to enjoy a rebound in tourism. A Lebanese security official said authorities are taking strict security measures to prevent any attack deep inside Lebanon by sleeper cells. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations, said authorities have detained several IS militants over the past weeks.Lebanese politicians say IS controls an area of about 296 square kilometers (114 square miles) between the two countries, of which 141 square kilometers (54.5 square miles) are in Lebanon. The area stretches from the badlands of the Lebanese town of Arsal and Christian villages of Ras Baalbek and Qaa, to the outskirts of Syria's Qalamoun region and parts of the western Syrian town of Qusayr that Hizbullah captured in 2013.
In a televised speech last Friday, Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said that once the Lebanese army launches its offensive from the Lebanese side, Hizbullah and the Syrian army will begin their attack from the Syrian side. He added that there has to be coordination between the Syrian and Lebanese armies in the battle."Opening two fronts at the same time will speed up victory and reduce losses," Nasrallah said, adding that his fighters on the Lebanese side of the border are at the disposal of Lebanese troops if needed."I tell Daesh that the Lebanese and Syrians will attack you from all sides and you will not be able to resist and will be defeated," he said, using an Arabic acronym for the extremist group. "If you decide to fight, you will end up either a prisoner or dead," Nasrallah added. Some Lebanese politicians have been opposed to security coordination with the Syrian army. The Lebanese are sharply divided over Syria's civil war that has spilled to the tiny country of 4.5 million people. Lebanon is hosting some 1.2 million Syrian refugees. PM Hariri is opposed to Assad while his national unity Cabinet includes Hizbullah as well as other groups allied with the Syrian president. Last week, Hariri told reporters that Lebanese authorities are ready to negotiate to discover the fate of nine Lebanese soldiers who were captured during the raid on Arsal by IS and al-Qaida fighters in August 2014. Unlike their rivals in al-Qaida, the Islamic State group is not known to negotiate prisoner exchanges.
"The presence of Daesh will end in Lebanon," Hariri said, using the same Arabic acronym to refer to IS.

Hariri Discusses Security, Anti-IS Measures with Army Chief
Naharnet/August 08/17/Prime Minister Saad Hariri held talks Tuesday at the Grand Serail with Army Commander General Joseph Aoun, hours after a Higher Defense Council meeting in Baabda.A statement issued by Hariri's office said the premier's talks with the army chief tackled “the security situations in the country, especially the situation in the northern Bekaa area of al-Qaa.”Aoun briefed Hariri on “the measures that the Lebanese army is taking to confront the militants of the terrorist Islamic State group who are entrenched in the area's mountains,” the office added. The talks come a day after IS militants fired seven rockets at the town of al-Qaa in retaliation to intense army bombardment of their posts.The army has intensified its shelling of the jihadists in recent days and is reportedly gearing up for a long-awaited assault to dislodge hundreds of militants from the border region. The ouster of the group from the region would end a years-long threat posed to neighboring towns and villages by the extremists. The campaign might involve cooperation with Hizbullah and the Syrian army on the other side of the border -- although Lebanese authorities insist they are not coordinating with Syrian President Bashar Assad's government. The developments follow a six-day military offensive by Hizbullah that forced al-Qaida-linked fighters to flee the area on the outskirts of the border town of Arsal, along with thousands of civilians.

Report: Ibrahim in Secret Negotiations with IS at Aoun's Request
Naharnet/August 08/17/General Security chief Maj. Gen. Abbas Ibrahim is leading “highly confidential” negotiations with the jihadist Islamic State group, a media report said on Tuesday. Ibrahim's efforts followed a request from President Michel Aoun, LBCI television said. “The main obstacle in these negotiations is the destination to which the IS militants would leave,” the TV network added, referring to the jihadists who are entrenched in mountainous areas in the outskirts of the eastern border towns of al-Qaa and Ras Baalbek. Ibrahim, who held a meeting with Aoun earlier on Tuesday, has played a key role in negotiations with the al-Nusra Front jihadist group that followed a Hizbullah military offensive in Arsal's outskirts. The negotiations led to the evacuation of Nusra's militants, their families and thousands of refugees to north and central Syria and the release of eight Hizbullah fighters who were in Nusra's captivity. Hizbullah and Nusra also exchanged the bodies of several fighters as the Lebanese state released three inmates from the Roumieh Prison at Nusra's request. Mystery has been shrouding the fate of nine IS-held Lebanese troops for around two years now and any negotiations with the group are supposed to involve the soldiers. The Lebanese army is meanwhile continuing its preparations for a long-awaited assault against the IS militants in the outskirts of al-Qaa and Ras Baalbek.

Mustaqbal Says IS Assault Timing Should Not be 'Dictated' on Army
Naharnet/August 08/17/Al-Mustaqbal parliamentary bloc on Tuesday called for authorizing the Lebanese army to confront the terrorist Islamic State group while stressing that no one should “dictate” decisions or drag the army into an uncalculated battle. “The bloc underscores the highly important and pioneering role of the Lebanese army in protecting the Lebanese, seeing as it is the only legitimate military institution that has the exclusive and legitimate right to possess weapons and use them to defend and protect the Lebanese,” said Mustaqbal in a statement issued after its weekly meeting. “Al-Mustaqbal bloc underlines its firm stance in supporting the Lebanese army as it performs its national missions of protecting Lebanon and defending it against Israeli occupation and all forms of terrorism,” the bloc added. Referring to the army's looming battle against IS militants entrenched in the outskirts of the border towns of al-Qaa and Ras Baalbek, Mustaqbal called for authorizing the army to “take the right decision in terms of modus operandi and timing,” stressing that no one should “dictate” decisions on the military institution. The army is reportedly gearing up for a long-awaited assault to dislodge hundreds of IS militants from the border region, seeking to end a years-long threat posed to neighboring towns and villages by the extremists. The campaign might involve cooperation with Hizbullah and the Syrian army on the other side of the border -- although Lebanese authorities insist they are not coordinating with Syrian President Bashar Assad's government. In a televised speech last Friday, Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said that once the Lebanese army launches its offensive from the Lebanese side, Hizbullah and the Syrian army will begin their attack from the Syrian side. He added that there has to be coordination between the Syrian and Lebanese armies in the battle."There is a final decision" to launch an offensive against IS, Nasrallah said. The planned army operation follows a six-day military offensive by Hizbullah that forced al-Qaida-linked fighters to flee the area on the outskirts of the border town of Arsal, along with thousands of civilians.

Report: US Cautions Against Military Coordination With Hizbullah, Syrian Regime
Naharnet/August 08/17/The United States has reportedly warned “of depriving Lebanon of military assistance” shall the Lebanese army coordinate efforts with Hizbullah and the Syrian regime during its expected battle against the Islamic State group on the country's eastern border, al-Joumhouria daily reported on Tuesday.US ambassador to Lebanon Elizabeth Richard has reportedly “strongly warned against the consequences of any coordination between the Lebanese army and Hizbullah or the Syrian regime in its upcoming battle against the IS, under the penalty of depriving Lebanon of its military assistance,” reported the daily. Meanwhile, the Lebanese presidency's media office reported a day earlier that talks between Richard, accompanied by the new US Charge d'affaires Edward White, and President Michel Aoun on Monday at the Baabda Palace, have focused on the “general situation in the country in light of the latest developments in the country.”Richard has reiterated the positions of her country in support of the stability of Lebanon despite the bloody and tragic developments around it and its continued commitment to support the Lebanese military and security forces, which are engaged in a difficult confrontation with terrorism, concluded the daily.In the past ten days, three US military transport aircrafts have landed at the Riyaq military air base in the eastern Bekaa. The planes have reportedly transferred large amounts of ammunition to the Lebanese army, especially rockets, and various equipment suitable for the army's military operations in the eastern border, said al-Joumhouria. A military source told the daily on condition of anonymity that “the US and Britain are unequivocally supporting the army's operations with ammunition and equipment. They are providing generous assistance, and the weapons that arrive are essential in the battle.”The arms delivery comes as the army gears up for a major battle against jihadists from the Islamic State group entrenched on the outskirts of the border towns of al-Qaa and Ras Baalbek. The army has been pounding their hideouts on an almost daily basis.

Alain Aoun after Change and Reform bloc meeting: Army command determines Ras Baalbek battle details and course
Tue 08 Aug 2017/NNA - Change and Reform bloc MP Alain Aoun on Tuesday saluted the Lebanese army in its looming battle in the outskirts of Ras Baalbek, stressing that the military command is entitled to determine the details and course of this battle. "We pray to the Lord to protect our army and soldiers and that Ras Baalbek battle would end with the minimum losses possible," MP Aoun said in the wake of Change and Reform bloc periodic meeting, hailing the army as defending the entire nation.In this regard, Aoun urged all the Lebanese segments to avoid political outbiddings and diatribes and instead rally around the army as a great national requirement at this sensitive time. The Lawmaker highlighted the dire need to push for the return of Syrian refugees to their homeland, saying that the international community should encourage this return. "We will take all the needed steps to prevent the establishment of new encampments," MP Aoun corroborated.Turning to the salary and rank scale, Aoun noted that the scale is need of amendments in some articles, hoping that a political agreement over salary scale amendments would be crystalized.

5 Suspected of Aiding IS Held in Masharii al-Qaa
Naharnet/August 08/17/Five people were arrested Tuesday at a Syrian refugee encampment in the eastern border area of Masharii al-Qaa, state-run National News Agency reported. “Army intelligence agents raided a refugee settlement in Masharii al-Qaa and arrested five people suspected of collaborating with the Islamic State group,” NNA said. “The were taken to a military barracks for interrogation,” the agency added. The development comes a day after IS militants positioned in al-Qaa's outskirts fired seven rockets at the town of which four landed near an army post. The army retaliated by firing artillery and multiple rocket launchers at the militants. The military has intensified its shelling of the group in recent days amid preparations for an assault aimed at eradicating it from the border region.

Berri Says 'No Rift' with Kuwait after Emirate Protests over Hizbullah
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/August 08/17/Speaker Nabih Berri assured on Tuesday that relations with the Gulf emirate of Kuwait are “not broken as some believe,” and stressed that “things have been addressed,” the State-run National News Agency reported. Praising Kuwait, Berri said: “There is no Lebanese individual or entity that denies Kuwait's prince, council, people, reconstruction, development, sacrifice and participation in steadfastness. “To those who believe that ties are broken, we tell them it is not true and that things have been addressed. Let them rest assured that we need no delegation to settle the matter," said the Speaker. Late in July, a Mustaqbal bloc delegation led by ex-PM Fouad Saniora visited Kuwaiti Ambassador to Lebanon Abdul-Al al-Qinai to condemn alleged Hizbullah involvement in a “terrorist cell” that has been busted in the Gulf emirate.
The bloc had stated that “the act would only lead to sabotaging ties between Lebanon and the brotherly state of Kuwait, which was among the first countries to embrace Lebanese expats.”The supreme court in Sunni-ruled Kuwait, which has a sizable Shiite minority,convicted earlier in July 21, Shiites of forming a "terrorist cell" with ties to Iran and Hizbullah and plotting attacks in the Gulf state.Kuwait has protested to Lebanon over the alleged training of the cell members by Hizbullah, which has ministers in the Lebanese government. It called on Lebanon to take "the necessary measures to curb these disgraceful practices" by Hizbullah as it is a partner in the government, ambassador al-Qinai had said.

Lebanon: Army deploying about 3,000 troops to fight ISIS
Staff writer, Al Arabiya English Wednesday, 9 August 2017/The Lebanese army completed all preparations for its battle with ISIS in the Arsal area, Ras al-Baalbek and the town of Al-Qaa on the Lebanese-Syrian border, according to al Hadath.
This comes after the army strengthened its presence by deploying about three thousand troops in the northeast of the country. On the other hand, the sources said that planes belonging to the Syrian regime bombed deep in the Lebanese-Syrian borders, while informed sources said that rocket and artillery shelling of the Lebanese army on the positions of ISIS in Jarod al-Qaa have resumed.This comes in response to ISIS launching seven Grad missiles in the vicinity of the town of Al-Qaa inside Lebanon from its stronghold on the border with Syria, without causing any casualties, according to security sources.

Lebanon's army prepares to clear border area of ISIS militants
AFP, Beirut Tuesday, 8 August 2017
Lebanon's U.S.-backed military is gearing up for a long-awaited assault to dislodge hundreds of ISIS militants from a remote corner near Syrian border, seeking to end a years-long threat posed to neighboring towns and villages by the extremists.
The campaign will involve cooperation with the militant group Hezbollah and the Syrian army on the other side of the border - although Lebanese authorities insist they are not coordinating with Syrian President Bashar Assad's government.
But the assault could prove costly for the under-equipped military and risk activating ISIS sleeper cells in the country.
The tiny Mediterranean nation has been spared the wars and chaos that engulfed several countries in the region since the so-called Arab Spring uprisings erupted in 2011. But it has not been able to evade threats to its security, including sectarian infighting and random car bombings, particularly in 2014, when militants linked to al-Qaida and ISIS overran the border region, kidnapping Lebanese soldiers.
The years-long presence of extremists in the border area has brought suffering to neighboring towns and villages, from shelling, to kidnappings of villagers for ransom. Car bombs made in the area and sent to other parts of the country, including the Lebanese capital, Beirut, have killed scores of citizens.
Aided directly by the United States and Britain, the army has accumulated steady successes against the militants in the past year, slowly clawing back territory, including strategic hills retaken in the past week. Authorities say it's time for an all-out assault.
Hezbollah forces al-Qaida-linked fighters to flee Arsal
The planned operation follows a six-day military offensive by the Lebanese Shiite militant group Hezbollah that forced al-Qaida-linked fighters to flee the area on the outskirts of the town of Arsal, along with thousands of civilians.
In a clear distribution of roles, the army is now expected to launch the attack on ISIS. In the past few days, the army's artillery shells and multiple rocket launchers have been pounding the mountainous areas on the Lebanon-Syria border where ISIS held positions, in preparation for the offensive. Drones could be heard around the clock and residents of the eastern Bekaa Valley reported seeing army reinforcements arriving daily in the northeastern district of Hermel to join the battle.
The offensive from the Lebanese side of the border will be carried out by the Lebanese army, while Syrian troops and Hezbollah fighters will be working to clear the Syrian side of ISIS militants. Hezbollah has been fighting alongside Assad's forces since 2013.
Special forces take part in the offensive
Experts say more than 3,000 troops, including elite special forces, are in the northeastern corner of Lebanon to take part in the offensive. The army will likely use weapons it received from the United States, including Cessna aircraft that discharge Hellfire missiles.
Keen to support the army rather than the better equipped Iranian-backed Hezbollah, the U.S. and Britain have supplied the military with helicopters, anti-tank missiles, artillery and radars, as well as training.
The American Embassy says the U.S. has provided Lebanon with over $1.4 billion in security assistance since 2005.But the fight is not expected to be quick or easy.
According to Lebanon's Interior Minister Nouhad Machnouk, there are about 400 ISIS fighters in the Lebanese area, and hundreds more on the Syrian side of the border.
“It is not going to be a picnic,” said Hisham Jaber, a retired army general who heads the Middle East Center for Studies and Political Research in Beirut. “The Lebanese army will try to carry out the mission with the least possible losses.”
Jaber said the battle may last several weeks. “It is a rugged area and the organization (ISIS) is well armed and experienced.”
There are also concerns the offensive may subject Lebanon to retaliatory attacks by militants, just as the country has started to enjoy a rebound in tourism.
A Lebanese security official said authorities are taking strict security measures to prevent any attack deep inside Lebanon by sleeper cells. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations, said authorities have detained several ISIS militants over the past weeks.
Lebanese politicians say ISIS controls an area of about 296 square kilometers (114 square miles) between the two countries, of which 141 square kilometers (54.5 square miles) are in Lebanon.
The area stretches from the badlands of the Lebanese town of Arsal and Christian villages of
Ras Baalbek and Qaa, to the outskirts of Syria's Qalamoun region and parts of the western Syrian town of Qusair that Hezbollah captured in 2013.
Hasan Nasrallah speech on the battle between the Syrian and Lebanese armies
In a televised speech last Friday, Hezbollah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah said that once the Lebanese army launches its offensive from the Lebanese side, Hezbollah and the Syrian army will begin their attack from the Syrian side. He added that there has to be coordination between the Syrian and Lebanese armies in the battle.
“Opening two fronts at the same time will speed up victory and reduce losses,” Nasrallah said, adding that his fighters on the Lebanese side of the border are at the disposal of Lebanese troops if needed.
“I tell Daesh that the Lebanese and Syrians will attack you from all sides and you will not be able to resist and will be defeated,” he said, using an Arabic acronym for the extremist group.
“If you decide to fight, you will end up either a prisoner or dead,” Nasrallah added.
Some Lebanese politicians have been opposed to security coordination with the Syrian army. The Lebanese are sharply divided over Syria's civil war that has spilled to the tiny country of 4.5 million people. Lebanon is hosting some 1.2 million Syrian refugees.
Prime Minister Saad Hariri is opposed to Assad while his national unity Cabinet includes Hezbollah as well as other groups allied with the Syrian president.
Last week, Hariri told reporters that Lebanese authorities are ready to negotiate to discover the fate of nine Lebanese soldiers who were captured during the raid on Arsal by ISIS and al-Qaida fighters in August 2014. Unlike their rivals in al-Qaida, the ISIS group is not known to negotiate prisoner exchanges.
“The presence of Daesh will end in Lebanon,” Hariri said, using the same Arabic acronym to refer to ISIS.

US Urges UN Force in Lebanon to Prevent Hezbollah Weapons
Associated PressVOANews/August 07/17
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/?p=57755
U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley urged the U.N. peacekeeping force in Lebanon on Monday to step up efforts to prevent the spread of illegal arms in the south, which she said "are almost entirely in the hands of Hezbollah terrorists.''
Haley made clear in a statement that the United States is seeking "significant improvements'' to the U.N. force, known as UNIFIL, when the U.N. Security Council renews a mandate that is due to expire Aug. 31.
Her statement was in response to a letter to the Security Council from Secretary-General Antonio Guterres saying he intends to look at ways in which UNIFIL could "enhance its efforts.''
But the U.N. chief stressed that the Lebanese armed forces have primary responsibility for ensuring that "there are no unauthorized armed personnel, assets or weapons'' in the southern area between the Litani River and the U.N.-drawn Blue Line separating Lebanon and Israel where UNIFIL operates.
"On its part, UNIFIL, in coordination with the Lebanese armed forces, remains determined to act with all means available within its mandate and capabilities on concrete information provided regarding the illegal presence of armed personnel, weapons or infrastructure inside its area of operations,'' Guterres said.
Israel has long complained that Hezbollah militants operate freely in the south.
Haley said the United States, a strong ally of Israel, "will continue to raise the threat posed by Hezbollah as we seek significant improvements to UNIFIL when the Security Council renews its mandate this month.''
The secretary-general said that despite the "long period of relative calm and stability in southern Lebanon and along the Blue Line,'' neither Israel nor Lebanon have fulfilled their obligations under the Security Council resolution that ended the Israeli-Hezbollah war in 2006.
"Israel must withdraw its forces from Lebanese territory and stop violations of Lebanese airspace,'' Guterres said.
"The government of Lebanon must exercise effective authority over all Lebanese territory, prevent hostile actions from its territory, ensure the safety and security of the civilian population, in addition to United Nations personnel, and also ensure the disarmament of all armed groups,'' he said.
Ensuring that there are no weapons or "authority'' in the south except the Lebanese government and army is vital "in moving from the fragile cessation of hostilities to a permanent cease-fire,'' Guterres said.
He urged all parties to use the current relative calm to take "positive steps'' toward a permanent cease-fire and long-term solution to the conflict.
https://www.voanews.com/a/us-urges-united-nations-force-in-lebabon-to-prevent-hezbollah-weapons-/3976112.html

U.S. Special Forces in Lebanon Prepare to Fight ISIS – Alongside Hezbollah?
Haaretz and The Associated Press/ August 07/17
http://www.haaretz.com/us-news/1.805446
The Americans are training with the Lebanese army, while Hezbollah is gearing up to fight ISIS. Reports say ISIS may have fired rockets into Lebanon ahead of the operation
U.S. special operations forces are aiding and training the Lebanese army in preparation for an upcoming confrontation with the Islamic State group along the Syrian border. At the same time, Lebanese militia Hezbollah announced it will battle ISIS on the Syrian side, Arab media reported on Sunday.
The Islamic State may have fired seven Grad rockets into Lebanon on Monday from its enclave on the border with Syria, without causing any injuries, a Lebanese security source said.
It would mark the first use of those weapons by Islamic State fighters there for several years, and comes as the Lebanese army prepares for their assault. The rockets fell around the town of al-Qaa and led the Lebanese army to shell Islamic State positions in the hills nearby, the source said.
The Islamist militants and the Lebanese army have exchanged frequent shell, mortar and small arms fire over several years.
A Pentagon spokesman confirmed the forces' presence to Alhurra, a U.S.-based Arabic-language satellite television network. As quoted in The New Arab, the U.K.-based pan-Arab news network, Eric Pahon said, "Our special forces are providing training and support to the Lebanese Armed Forces," adding: "That not only concentrates on operational type missions, but also tactical and strategic type missions. We also have a presence with Lebanese special forces in all aspects of training and special operations."
Due to operational security reasons, the spokesman refrained from sharing further details such as the number of special operations forces present in Lebanon.
U.S. Air Forces’ special operations planes have been spotted frequently landing at Lebanese Special Operations Forces’ academia in Hamat in northern Lebanon.
The Lebanese army is expected to spearhead an upcoming offensive against ISIS militants in the coming days, Hezbollah has announced. The fighting is to take place near the town of Arsal on the Lebanon-Syria border. On Friday, Hezbollah's secretary-general, Hassan Nasrallah, said in that the army was perfectly capable of winning that fight but offered his support should it be needed.
"The Syrian front line against ISIS will be opened, and the Syrian army and Hezbollah will be there," he said in a televised speech. He explained that the Lebanese army will attack ISIS from the Lebanese side of the border while Hezbollah and the Syrian army will simultaneously attack it from the Syrian side.
Lebanese state media said on Sunday afternoon that the army has captured a number of strategic hilltops from ISIS militants in the east of the country. The National News Agency reported that the army had captured several hills between the frontier towns of Ras Baalbek and Arsal.
The complex relationship between Lebanese governments and Hezbollah is something that foreigners often find baffling. "Both Lebanon and Hezbollah occupy a grey area: Lebanon isn't really a state, and Hezbollah isn't a terrorist group – or isn't only a terrorist group, depending on your view," said Faysal Itani, a senior fellow with the Atlantic Council's Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East, explaining the misperceptions."So the American tendency is either to treat Hezbollah as controlling the state of Lebanon, or to see Lebanon as a sovereign entity fighting a terrorist group. Both are false."The Lebanese government headed by Prime Minister Saad Hariri was formed in December following an extended paralysis and a presidential vacuum that lasted nearly three years.Reuters contributed to this report.

US Calls for Greater UN Efforts to Curb Weapons Possession in South Lebanon
Asharq Al-Awsat/August 08/17/The United States demanded on Monday the peacekeeping United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) to exert greater efforts to stop the spread of weapons in the south of the country. US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley warned that these arms “are almost entirely in the hands of ‘Hezbollah’ terrorists.” She made clear in a statement that Washington is seeking “significant improvements” to UNIFIL when the UN Security Council renews its mandate that is due to expire on August 31.Her statement was in response to a letter to the Security Council from Secretary General Antonio Guterres, saying he intends to look at ways in which UNIFIL could “enhance its efforts.” He added however that the Lebanese army has the primary responsibility in ensuring that “there are no unauthorized armed personnel, assets or weapons” in the southern area between the Litani River and the UN-drawn Blue Line separating Lebanon and Israel where UNIFIL operates.“On its part, UNIFIL, in coordination with the Lebanese armed forces, remains determined to act with all means available within its mandate and capabilities on concrete information provided regarding the illegal presence of armed personnel, weapons or infrastructure inside its area of operations,” Guterres said. Israel has long complained that “Hezbollah” fighters operate freely in the South. Haley said the US “will continue to raise the threat posed by ‘Hezbollah’ as we seek significant improvements to UNIFIL when the Security Council renews its mandate this month.” The secretary general said that despite the “long period of relative calm and stability in southern Lebanon and along the Blue Line,” neither Israel nor Lebanon have fulfilled their obligations Security Council resolution 1701 that ended a 33-day war between Israel and the armed group in July 2006. “Israel must withdraw its forces from Lebanese territory and stop violations of Lebanese airspace,” Guterres said. Israel carries out almost daily overflights over Lebanon. “The government of Lebanon must exercise effective authority over all Lebanese territory, prevent hostile actions from its territory, ensure the safety and security of the civilian population, in addition to United Nations personnel, and also ensure the disarmament of all armed groups,” Guterres said. Ensuring that there are no weapons or “authority” in the south except the Lebanese government and army is vital “in moving from the fragile cessation of hostilities to a permanent ceasefire,” Guterres said. He urged all parties to use the current relative calm to take “positive steps” toward a permanent cease-fire and long-term solution to the conflict. Although a ceasefire was reached in 2006, skirmishes with “Hezbollah” have taken place at the Lebanese-Israeli border since the end of the war. Israeli forces have also on several occasions crossed the border and detained Lebanese shepherds, holding them briefly in Israel before releasing them.

Lebanese FM: Army Alone Will Wage Battle against ISIS
Asharq Al-Awsat/August 08/17/Beirut – Lebanese Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil avoided on Monday the contentious issue of whether the Lebanese army will coordinate with Syrian regime forces in retaking Lebanese territory captured by ISIS terrorists in the northeastern border region of Arsal. He said that the Lebanese army “alone” will wage the battle against ISIS on the Lebanese side of the border with Syria. Military sources over the weekend denied claims that the military will coordinate with the regime during the upcoming battle that the army has been preparing for. “Hezbollah” chief Hassan Nasrallah had last week said that the battle against ISIS demands that Lebanon coordinate with the Syria regime. Defense Minister Yaacoub al-Sarraf denied on Sunday that the Lebanese army will coordinate with Syria due to the political differences over this issue. “The battle will not end until all Lebanese land is liberated,” declared Bassil while visiting the town of Ras Baalbek at the head of a Free Patriotic Movement delegation. The delegation then headed to al-Qaa, where he stated: “We do not need anyone’s permission to liberate our outskirts from terrorism. We are approaching a phase that will witness the fall of martyrs. It will also witness joy, dignity, sovereignty and independence against takfiri occupation that had tried to infiltrate our land, villages and towns.”“Lebanon today is victorious against this terrorism,” stressed the foreign minister. The army had in recent days intensified its preparations to start the battle against the terrorist group. “Hezbollah” had in late July waged a battle against al-Nusra Front extremists to expel them from Arsal. A prisoner swap deal was reached between the two sides. A Lebanese security source said that ISIS had launched on Monday seven “Grad” type rockets from the Syrian border towards Lebanon. No one was injured in the incident. The rockets landed inside the Lebanese town of al-Qaa, prompting the Lebanese army to shell ISIS positions on the nearby hills. The military’s preparations for the battle against ISIS saw it deploy more troops in Ras Baalbek, al-Qaa and northeast of Arsal town. Lebanese President Michel Aoun had called on the Higher Defense Council to convene later on Tuesday in order to follow up on the security developments in the country.

Aoun to announce stance on key laws this week
Hussein Dakroub/The Daily Star/ August. 08/17
BEIRUT: President Michel Aoun has not yet taken a final stance on the public sector’s salary scale and tax hike bills, pending the outcome of an expert report on the drawbacks of the two laws on the country’s ailing economy, official sources said Monday. However, Economy Minister Raed Khoury said he expected Aoun to announce his position on the salary scale bill this week. “Whether President Aoun signs the bill or not, what matters is to protect Lebanon and the economy,” Khoury, who belongs to the Free Patriotic Movement, told MTV Monday night. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Saad Hariri is set to chair the Cabinet session at the Grand Serail this week, which is likely to be dominated by the economic situation in light of the dispute over Parliament’s ratification of the salary scale bill for civil servants, along with a string of new taxes to fund the bill estimated at more than $800 million annually.
Hariri is currently out of the country on a private visit and is expected to return before the Cabinet session. Although the agenda includes over 30 items, some ministers might decide to raise from outside the agenda Energy Minister Cesar Abi Khalil’s controversial electricity reform plan, which calls for the lease of power barges aimed at improving power supply in the summer. Abi Khalil has dismissed reports claiming that a bid for two Turkish electricity barges had been invalidated. Interior Minister Nouhad Machnouk was also reportedly planning to bring up the issue of by-elections to fill two vacant parliamentary seats in the northern city of Tripoli and another in the Kesrouan district. Machnouk criticized the leasing of power barges to solve the chronic electricity problem and called instead for the construction of power plants. “What is happening in the electricity dossier is the worst solution to a case that has this amount of vitality for the Lebanese,” Machnouk told reporters after meeting Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdel-Latif Derian at Dar al-Fatwa. “I repeat my opinion that the barges should be leased for three years during which permanent [power] plants should be built, as is the case in all self-respecting countries.” He added that the leasing of power barges should be temporary due to its cost.Baabda Palace sources denied media reports that Aoun would this week sign the salary scale and tax hike bills, which Parliament endorsed last month. Aoun’s signature is deemed essential for the two laws to be published in the Official Gazette and to go into effect after they have been inked by Speaker Nabih Berri and Hariri.
“This issue [salary scale and tax hike laws] is still under study. President Aoun has not yet taken a final stance on it,” a source at Baabda Palace told The Daily Star. “The president has tasked a team of experts to examine the salary scale bill and the tax measures and their impact on the economy and state finances. He will take a final stance on this issue in light of the team’s report,” the source said. Khoury, the economy minister, said Aoun has been studying the economic situation for months, prompting him to distribute a report to ministers during last week’s Cabinet session that warned of alarming figures in the budget deficit and the balance of trade deficit. The report also warned that Lebanon’s public debt, currently estimated at more than $74 billion, would soar to $110 billion in 2020 if no remedies were found to the economic ills.
“President Aoun is telling the Cabinet that necessary measures and plans should be adopted to ensure economic growth and reduce unemployment and public debt,” Khoury told a local radio station earlier in the day. Future Movement MP Mohammad Hajjar said Aoun has the “constitutional right” to return laws endorsed by lawmakers to Parliament within the one-month deadline as stipulated by the Constitution. “If Aoun opted to return the [salary scale and tax hike] laws, we must first be informed of the reasons that prompted him to take this step. We will then act accordingly,” Hajjar said.
Aoun is coming under pressure from the private sector, the Association of Banks in Lebanon and the Kataeb Party to return the two laws to Parliament for further study. The ABL and the Economic Committees, which group the leading business, banking and merchant associations in the country, have warned that the salary increases for civil servants and the new taxes to finance them would deal a blow to the struggling economy, already encumbered by more than $74 billion in public debt and endemic budget deficits. Meanwhile, speaking to a large delegation of the Lebanese diaspora from the United States, Canada, Europe, Africa, the Gulf region and Iraq at Baabda Palace, Aoun stressed that national unity protected Lebanon against terrorism.
“We have succeeded in protecting Lebanon from regional problems and imposing stability and security on its territory,” Aoun said according to a statement released by his media office. Referring to the Lebanese Army’s pre-emptive strikes against militant groups entrenched in rugged areas on Lebanon’s northeastern border, he said: “We have succeeded in combating terrorism, which has struck and is still striking various countries in the world, including Lebanon, which has suffered from it in one of the stages when preparations to confront it were not sufficient.”
“However, our national unity, which has been bolstered, has protected Lebanon [from terrorism]. We have made great efforts to reinforce this unity,” Aoun said. “A lot of achievements were made following the presidential election, the Cabinet formation and the drafting of a new electoral law that consecrates justice and equality in a better way.” He reassured the Lebanese diaspora that the situation in Lebanon is heading for the better. Separately, Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah is set to deliver a televised speech Sunday on the 11th anniversary of Israel’s 34-day war on Lebanon in the summer of 2006 in which he will touch on local and regional issues, particularly the Lebanese Army’s anticipated attack to dislodge Daesh (ISIS) militants from the outskirts of the towns of Ras Baalbeck and Al-Qaa, in the second and final phase of clearing Lebanon’s northeastern border from terrorists.
The Army attack against Daesh will follow Hezbollah’s successful offensive last month that routed militants from Jabhat Fatah al-Sham – formerly known as the Nusra Front – from the rugged outskirts of the northeastern town of Arsal.

Aoun calls on youth expats to register in Lebanon
Asharq Al Awsat/August 08/17/BEIRUT: President Michel Aoun Tuesday called on the Lebanese diaspora to register and apply for Lebanese citizenship, in a speech to a group from the Maronite Diaspora Institution at Baabda Palace. “The land of Lebanon has been a meeting point for all cultures, giving [the] Lebanese a unique cultural understanding,” Aoun said according to a media statement from his office. The president added that Lebanese nationals can comfortably adapt with different cultures, whether they are Arab cultures or from further abroad. Over 70 members from the institution visited Aoun after coming to Lebanon to participate in an academic program. Aoun called on youths to take advantage of their ability to register for Lebanese citizenship. He also spoke of the importance of the Lebanese diaspora to maintain strong contacts, via conferences such as the Lebanese Diaspora Energy Conference and future conferences in Las Vegas and Mexico.

Lebanon: Celebrations Of ‘Mountain Reconciliation’ Reveals Disputes Among Christians
Asharq Al Awsat/August 08/17/Beirut- Lebanon’s political circles were busy on Monday following the repercussions of a ceremony held Sunday to commemorate the Mountain Reconciliation anniversary in the presence of President Michel Aoun.
The ceremony ended up revealing a dispute between the two main Christian parties, the Lebanese Forces and the Free National Movement and the rest of the mountain’s Christian entities, mainly representatives from the Phalange party and the National Liberal Party (NLP), who were absent from the ceremony.
Also, head of the Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) MP Walid Jumblatt did not attend the inauguration of “Our Lady of the Hill” Church in Mount Lebanon’s Deir al-Qamar due to “a health problem.” However, parties close to Sunday’s event said that the Druze leader’s absence was triggered by “political motives.”The Mountain Reconciliation between local Christians and Druze culminated in 2001 with a historic visit to the mountain region by former Maronite Patriarch Butros Sfeir. Member of Jumblatt’s Democratic Gathering parliamentary bloc MP Fouad Saad told Asharq Al-Awsat on Monday that Jumbaltt “does not enter in the disputes of the Christian parties, but remains equidistant at both the Christian and national levels. He cares to keep the reconciliation coherent. Our role as Christian MPs lies in this spectrum, and we refuse to enter the corridors of political and electoral contests.”For his part, when asked about his absence at the Reconciliation ceremony on Sunday, NLP President MP Dory Chamoun told Asharq Al-Awsat: “What reconciliation are you talking about? The reconciliation happened in 2001, and therefore, what happened on Sunday is a folklore and an electoral and political show. I did not attend because I had a lunch with my family.”Member of the Phalange parliamentary bloc MP Fadi Habr said that the role of the Lebanese Forces party is currently to eliminate the historic presence of the Phalange Party. “However, we strongly exist,” Habr said, adding that the Phalange was the party that had built the Mountain Reconciliation with MP Walid Jumblatt in 2001.“What happened on Sunday is a mockery,” he said, adding that the absence of Jumblatt on Sunday came due to the nonattendance of the Phalange party, the NLP and other Christian forces at the ceremony.

Aoun: National Unity Protected Lebanon against Terrorism
Asharq Al-Awsat/August 08/17/Beirut – Lebanese President Michel Aoun stressed on Monday that the country’s national unity was bolstered recently, which helped it overcome challenges. He remarked: “National unity protected Lebanon and allowed it to confront terrorism with a national will.”
The president made his statements while welcoming at the presidential palace in Baabda a delegation from the Lebanese diaspora in the United States, Canada, Europe, Arab Gulf, Africa, South America and Iraq. The meeting was attended by Lebanese Ambassador to Washington Gaby Issa.
Aoun continued: “Lebanon is a small country geographically, but it covers the whole world through its diaspora …. which is a source of strength for the country.” “This makes Lebanon a universal country that brings together east and west and yet leaves it constantly exposed to problems,” he added.
He underlined however the need for Lebanese expatriates throughout the world to preserve their contacts with their homeland. Aoun said: “We have managed to protect Lebanon from regional problems and impose stability and security throughout its territories.”On terrorism, he noted: “We succeeded in combating terror that is targeting different parts of the world, including Lebanon, which at one point was not prepared enough to face it.”He credited national unity with bolstering Lebanon’s ability to counter terrorism. This unity was strengthened after last year’s presidential elections and formation of a government and the approval earlier this year of a new parliamentary electoral law. The president noted however that Lebanon is still facing economic problems, challenges from regional wars and the burden of the heavy flow of Syrian refugees, as well as the presence of Palestinian refugees.

Latest LCCC Bulletin For Miscellaneous Reports And News published on August 08-09/17
Projectile from Gaza lands in Israel: Army
AFP, Gaza City, Palestinian Territories Tuesday, 8 August 2017/A projectile fired from the Islamist Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip landed late on Tuesday in southern Israel, the military said.The incident caused no casualties or damage, a military spokesperson added. Israel and Hamas have fought three wars since 2008.Since the most recent conflict in 2014, a fragile ceasefire has been observed along the largely closed border. Missiles and rockets are periodically fired into Israel, generally by hardline Palestinian Islamist groups opposed to Hamas.But Israel holds Hamas responsible for all rocket fire from Gaza, regardless of who carried it out, and usually retaliates within hours.

Vice Custodian of Two Holy Mosques Discusses Counter-Terrorism with French President
Asharq Al-Awsat/August 08/17/Vice Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Prince Mohammed bin Salman received on Tuesday a telephone call from French President Emmanuel Macron, reported the Saudi Press Agency (SPA). It said that the two leaders discussed ways to counter terrorism and extremism. They also agreed to exert more efforts to dry up terrorism financing, underlining Saudi Arabia and France’s keenness on the security and stability of the region. Prince Mohammed and Macron’s talks also covered bilateral ties between their two countries.

Qatar-Linked Terror Funding Information Released in Bahrain
Asharq Al-Awsat/August 08/17/Manama- Bahraini security services revealed on Monday new information proving Qatari involvement in the financing of terrorist acts targeting homeland security and stability. Financial statements were released showing transactions from a Qatari businessman sent to deputy leader of the dissolved Al-Wefaq Association which is convicted for terror funding. Released statements showed transactions linked to the Bahrain 2015 bomb attack which killed two policemen. According to information received by Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper, the Bahrain interior ministry said that the 2015 bombing was one of many regrettable incidents Qatari funding had aided among the many other terror attacks harming the gulf state. Bahrain’s Minister of Interior also stressed that Qatar’s policies endanger the security of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). In a previously published interview with Arab Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper, Sheikh Rashid Bin Abdullah Al-Khalifa affirmed that the threats come from Doha’s policy of giving safe haven to terrorist and extremist groups. He added that Qatar is “still meddling” in Bahrain’s internal affairs and that this is done through exporting terrorist and extremist ideologies to the kingdom. Sheikh Rashid added that Qatar also has naturalized a number of Bahraini families, affecting Bahrain’s social security; it has prevented the export of gas to Manama, forcing Bahrain to import it from Russia although Qatar exports it to different countries around the world; and it also disrupted the construction of a bridge between Bahrain and Qatar by not providing its share of the Gulf support program like its GCC counterparts. On the Iranian interventions in Bahrain’s internal affairs, Khalifa said that the most important forms of the Iranian intervention in his country’s affairs are exporting extremist ideology, smuggling of weapons and explosives, spreading explosives-manufacturing technology and training Bahraini nationals to use weapons, explosives and field skills in order to support terrorism in Bahrain. He noted that terrorist operations are managed by people who have fled and are present in Iran, confirming that his country has strengthened security capabilities in various aspects to face such challenges. These interventions include the hostile statements made by Iranian officials at all levels. “Iranian satellite channels and media have been working around the clock to spread hatred, malicious rumors and distort facts to serve their agenda in the region,” he said. Bahrain is part of an Arab anti-terror quartet, which is led by Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Egypt—all of which have effectively boycotted Doha for two months now for the peninsula’s support for extremist groups in the region.

Initial Riyadh-Baghdad Agreement on Restoring Daily Direct Flights
Asharq Al-Awsat/August 08/17/Riyadh- Iraq’s ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Rishdi Al-Aani revealed on Monday that a number of transport ministry officials back home have been holding extensive talks with their Saudi counterparts, in a move to restore direct flights between the two countries. These discussions played largely into reaching an agreement in terms of resumption of daily flights, Al-Aani told Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper. Documented sessions of talks were signed on immediately resuming direct airline activity, as well as daily air cargo flights, he added. Flight destinations include Baghdad, Basra, Najaf, Erbil and Mosul, paving the way for the two countries to conclude a joint memorandum of understanding within days. He pointed out that both countries’ officials presented their final visions in hopes of reaching a joint memorandum of understanding. Al-Aani also said that the meeting was attended by a group of technical and legal officials who completed detailed reports related to resuming aviation activity, including commercial and cargo flights. On the other hand, Saudi Transport Minister Sulaiman bin Abdullah Al-Hamdan and General Authority of Civil Aviation President Abdul Hakim bin Mohammed Al-Tamimi met on Monday with Iraqi civil aviation chief Eng. Hussein Mohammad Kazem. The two sides discussed the air transport services and mechanism of cooperation between the two countries and signed a memorandum of understanding between the two countries. The tripartite discussed the mechanism of enhancing transport between the two countries, stressing that the General Authority of Civil Aviation in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia keen on developing cooperation frameworks in the field of air transport with other countries, the Saudi state news agency SPA cited Al-Tamimi as saying.For his part, Eng. Hussein Mohammed Kazem positively reviewed the meeting and noted great development in the relations between the government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Government of the Republic of Iraq, stressing that the governments of the two countries are devoted to enhancing opportunities that would boost economic and trade relations between the two countries. He also expressed hope that this agreement provides opportunities for air carriers to restore direct flight services between the two countries.

Kuwait Renews Efforts to Resolve Crisis with Qatar
Asharq Al-Awsat/August 08/17/Jeddah, Kuwait, Cairo – As part of efforts to bolster the Kuwaiti mediation to resolve the Gulf crisis with Qatar, Kuwait’s Emir Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah sent personal envoys to Saudi Arabia and Egypt to convey messages to the two countries’ leaders.Vice Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz received on Monday a written letter addressed to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz from the Kuwaiti Emir. Kuwaiti Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Hamad Al Sabah and State Minister Sheikh Mohammed Abdullah al-Mubarak Al Sabah delivered the message during a meeting with Prince Mohammed at Al-Salam palace in Jeddah. The meeting was attended by Prince Abdulaziz bin Saud bin Nayef bin Abdulaziz, Minister of Interior, Khalid Al-Isa, Minister of State, member of the cabinet and Chief of the Royal Court, and Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir. Meanwhile, Kuwait’s news agency KUNA reported on Monday that Sheikh Sabah dispatched two ministers to Saudi Arabia and Egypt to deliver letters to the two leaders, without elaborating on their content. Jubeir has separately met with the two Kuwaiti envoys, with whom he discussed “brotherly relations and cooperation between their countries.”In Cairo, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi met with the Kuwaiti ministers in the presence of Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry. Egyptian presidential spokesman Alaa Youssef said the Kuwaiti foreign minister delivered a written letter from Sheikh Sabah to Sisi on Kuwait’s efforts to deal with the Qatari crisis. Sheikh Sabah affirmed Egypt’s pivotal role in promoting the joint Arab action “as a major pillar of security and stability in the Arab world,” the spokesman said. Youssef added that Sisi valued the Kuwaiti emir’s efforts to promote Arab solidarity and consensus. The Egyptian president reiterated his country’s full support for the Kuwaiti mediation, stressing the need for Qatar to respond to the concerns of Egypt and the three Gulf states.

Saudi Ambassador to US Sees ‘Great Progress’ in Riyadh-Washington Ties under Trump
Asharq Al-Awsat/August 08/17/Saudi Ambassador to the United States Prince Khaled bin Salman bin Abdulaziz stressed that “great progress” has been achieved in Saudi-US ties under the administration of President Donald Trump, reported the Washington Post. He said that he believes that the president is determined to work with his allies in the region in order to confront Iranian expansionism and terrorism. “We are happy with the current policies in the region,” he told the Post. On the Qatar crisis, he remarked: “I believe that its policies are a threat to our national security, especially when it interferes in our domestic politics and supports extremists. . . . In Syria, they have supported al-Qaeda affiliates and some terrorist militias in Iraq. We hope Qatar will stop funding extremism.”“The Saudi government is on the frontline of fighting terrorism. There might be people from a lot of different countries who support terrorism, but in Qatar the problem is that it is government-funded,” declared the ambassador. Asked about moderate groups operating in Syria, he replied that there are indeed moderate opposition groups, such as the Free Syrian Army. “There are a lot of people in Syria who want to free themselves from the dictatorship of Bashar al-Assad. We are working with our allies to help stabilize Syria,” he added, while noting that the regime leader has killed over 500,000 people. “We are working with the United States to resolve the Syrian problem,” stressed Prince Khaled.
Asked about Saudi Arabia’s position on human rights, he said: “Every country moves forward, and we are. The last two years have been a time of big change in our country. Human rights have been moving forward, women’s rights have been moving forward. Saudi youth have been given a chance to play a part in our future.”“Our leadership realizes that women are important to our future and to moving our economy forward. We can’t move forward without half of our population,” he stressed. Turning to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, the US Ambassador remarked: “Saudi Arabia has stated that we want to solve the Palestinian-Israeli issue through the Arab peace initiative, and if Israel recognizes Palestine based on the 1967 borders, the Arab world has agreed to do so.”On Iraq, Prince Khaled said that the defeat of ISIS in Mosul “shows the determination of the United States administration and also of the Iraqi military.”“We will be glad to see ISIS defeated in Iraq, but they are a threat to our nation and our religion. As Muslims, we in Saudi Arabia need to do whatever it takes to end this once and for all.”He also underlined the need for Sunnis and Shi’ites to be incorporated in the political process in Iraq to avoid violence and terrorism, noting that sectarianism “always leads to terrorism.”“The Sunnis and Shi’ites have to be treated equally as Iraqi citizens. Iran wants Iraq to obey Iran. We support the independence of Iraq,” continued the Saudi official. Addressing the war in Yemen, he said that Saudi Arabia has been pushing all parties to the negotiating table, but the Houthi rebels reject dialogue. “They started to march to the capital and take over Yemen before the Yemeni government asked Saudi Arabia to intervene and stop this attack. The ball is now in the Houthi court. They have to drop their weapons and become part of Yemen, not part of Iran,” explained Prince Khaled to the Washington Post. On Iran’s threat to close the Arab Gulf, he said that it has made this threat “multiple times.”“The whole world, including our government, is worried about that. The Strait of Hormuz is important not just to our economy, but to the international economy.”
“I think the US and its allies realize how big the Iranian threat is to international security, and we are ready to work together to contain Iranian actions and expansionist policies,” he stated.Asked about the September 11 attacks and attempts to link them to Saudi Arabia, he replied: “We had nothing to do with 9/11. In 1994, we took away bin Laden’s Saudi citizenship when he was in Sudan. In 1996, bin Laden issued a declaration of war against the United States and Saudi Arabia. We think the same people who attacked the United States on 9/11 attacked us in Saudi Arabia multiple times.”
“We see them as 19 al-Qaeda members because those people represented al-Qaeda. There is a reason why al-Qaeda chose 15 Saudis. They wanted to create a split between Saudi Arabia and the United States,” said the ambassador.

Tightening the Noose On ‘Nusra’ In Damascus’ Ghouta
Asharq Al-Awsat/August 08/17/London, Beirut- Jaysh al-Islam fighters tightened the noose on al-Nusra Front positions in Damascus’ Ghouta following an attack launched on Monday, as battles raged between Syria’s regime forces and Faylaq al-Islam, a group also engaged in battles with another opposition faction: Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham. “Violent clashes broke out between regime forces and their allied militiamen on one hand and Faylaq al-Rahman on the other, in areas in the vicinity of al-Motahalik al-Janobi (the Southern Bypass) that separates Jobar neighborhood and Ein Tarma area,” the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Monday. The Observatory added that the clashes were accompanied by regime forces’ heavy artillery and tanks shelling on the same areas, in addition to 18 raids carried by regime warplanes in Ein Tarma and the Jobar neighborhood.Meanwhile, Faylaq al-Rahman militias announced taking some regime forces as hostages. Germany’s news agency reported that regime forces and their allied militias launched on Monday more than 40 surface-to-surface missiles on Ein Tarma and the Jobar neighborhood, leaving immense damages in the buildings and areas hit by the attack. The developments in Ein Tarma coincided with “tension documented in eastern Ghouta following internal clashes, rifts and arrests between members of the largest military factions currently operating in the area. “Jaysh al-Islam launched an intense attack against Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham in Al-Ash’ari area and controlled al-Ash’ari mosque and school, in addition to 25 farms located in eastern Ghouta,” the Observatory said. Also, Al-Faylaq militiamen placed checkpoints in the central area of Ghouta and started arresting any member from Tahrir al-Sham. Al-Faylaq controlled all Hay’at Ahrar al-Sham positions in Arbeen, following additional rifts in the ranks of the group. Opposition sources revealed that regime forces had sent new military reinforcements to the Jobar frontlines, where the army of Bahsar Assad had lost the battle four years ago.

Ankara Confirms its Readiness to Respond to any Move in Syria’s Afrin
Asharq Al-Awsat/August 08/17/Ankara – Turkey has confirmed that it would respond immediately to any action or attack against it from the Syrian city of Afrin, which is under the control of the Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) and its military arm People’s Protection Units (YPG), or against any other area on the Syrian side. Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Bekir Bozdag said in an interview with media representatives in Ankara Monday that his country did not and will not hesitate to take any steps that would preserve its national security “when it is necessary.” Turkey is directly concerned with the developments and unrest behind its southern border, and no one should expect it to ignore what is happening in its vicinity, especially that it shares a 910 km border with Syria, Bozdag added. His statements came only two days after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan opened the door again to the possibility of Turkey repeating operations similar to the Euphrates Shield in northern Syria to prevent what he called a “terrorist state” in areas controlled by Kurdish militias. Reports have repeatedly tackled “Saif al-Furat” (Euphrates Sword) operation in which Turkey is preparing to implement along with factions loyal to the Free Syrian Army in order to surround Afrin and expel Kurdish militias to the east of the Euphrates River. Meanwhile, Bozdag reiterated his country’s rejection of the support provided by Washington to the Kurdish YPG and supplying them with weapons in the pretext of relying on them in Raqqa operation and the fight against ISIS. He said that the US resorting to cooperation with the Kurdish militias to confront the ISIS terrorist organization is a “grave” mistake. Regardless of the tactical motives, Bozdag noted, fighting ISIS with the help of another terrorist organization is a great mistake. The United States continues to supply the SDF Alliance with arms as it considers it an ally and relies on it in the war against ISIS and in liberating Syria’s Raqqa city. The US confirmed that the majority of the weapons are sent to the Arab forces participating in the alliance, but the armaments do not include heavy weapons or tanks.

Two Thirds of Israelis Believe Netanyahu should Resign if Indicted
Asharq Al-Awsat/August 08/17/Tel Aviv – Two thirds (66 percent) of Israelis want their Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to resign if indicted for corruption and Likud party will come out ahead of any political party in elections if it was presided by another person, according to a poll by Channel 10 news published on Sunday. Asked if they believed Netanyahu’s assertion of innocence of all the allegations against him, 51 percent said no, 27 percent said yes, and 22 percent said they didn’t know. The investigations with Netanyahu revolve around suspicions of bribery, fraud and breach of trust according to the police. The poll found that if elections were held now and Netanyahu remained the head of the Likud, his party would win 27 seats under his leadership. But if the Likud was led by one of its other leaders, like Gideon Sa’ar, Gilad Erdan, or Yisrael Katz the poll predicted it would win 31 seats.
The PM lashed out in front of his ministers for not supporting him in the face of all corruption reports and media. After criticism and threats from Coalition Chairman MK David Bitan, more and more of Likud’s senior ministers have begun defending their party leader in the media. Bitan told Channel 2 News that there are ministers who only care about replacing Netanyahu, threatening: “we’ll settle the score with them in the primaries. The registered voters remember.” Minister of Transportation and Intelligence Yisrael Katz put out a statement on his Facebook page in support of the prime minister. “Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should be allowed to fulfill his duties in accordance with the mandate he received from the public, in a state of law and democratic rule, not to dismiss a prime minister based on media headlines, opposition demonstrations or partial investigative procedures,” he said. Katz expressed his trust that the law enforcement system will carry out its work with the professionalism and responsibility required to enable Israel to continue to deal “adequately with the complex challenges it faces.”Meanwhile, Culture Minister Miri Regev also rushed to Netayahu’s support, saying, “We’re all united under you.”Speaking to Israel Radio, Regev said that the prime minister should not step down even if charges are brought against him. “When will they [the media] learn that the government is only replaced at the ballot box, not in the media or in an attempt to pressure the attorney general and the legal authorities,” she said.Party expert Yossi Verter stated that Netayahu is highly supported by the far right and it is possible that many don’t believe what is being said in the media. While those who do believe the news reports about his corruption would still prefer to have Netanyah as PM as opposed to having a leftist candidate.
He added that both Gideon Sa’ar and Gilad Erdan are aware that if they want to replace Netayahu some day, they have to support him today because if they don’t do so, the people will not be kind to them. Verter added that the far-right ministers will test to see, if admiration to Netanayhu was over, their support will vanish. But, if the PM continued to remain on top, they will all stand behind him like loyal guard dogs.

HRW: Israeli Forced Deportation of Palestinians from Jerusalem Maybe ‘War Crime’
Asharq Al-Awsat/August 08/17/Human Rights Watch revealed on Tuesday that Israel has forcefully deported some 15,000 Palestinians since it occupied Jerusalem in 1967, in what could be deemed as a “war crime.”“Residency revocations often effectively force Palestinians from east Jerusalem, who are protected by virtue of Israel’s occupation under the Fourth Geneva Convention, to leave the territory they live in,” Sarah Leah Whitson, HRW’s Middle East director, said in a report. “Deportation or forced transfers of any part of the population of an occupied territory could amount to war crimes.” “Israel claims to treat Jerusalem as a unified city, but the reality is effectively one set of rules for Jews and another for Palestinians,” said the report. Israel occupied east Jerusalem during the 1967 Six Day War in a move never recognized by the international community.
The more than 300,000 Palestinians there have permanent residency status but are not Israeli nationals. While east Jerusalem residents are allowed to apply for citizenship, most do not as they view it as recognition of Israeli sovereignty. Since 1967, 14,595 Palestinians have had their residence status revoked, effectively barring them from remaining in the city of their birth, the HRW report said citing interior ministry figures. The majority of these revocations were due to spending periods of time out of the city, with Israel arguing their “center of life” was not in Jerusalem. The Israeli interior ministry spokeswoman could not immediately be reached for comment. The HRW report came shortly after a visit by Jordan King Abdullah II to Ramallah where he met with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Monday. Discussions focused on efforts to revive the Palestinian-Israeli peace process, as well as the latest tensions over the al-Aqsa Msoque in Jerusalem. Jordan serves as the Muslim custodian of the Aqsa Compound, home to the Al-Aqsa and Dome of the Rock mosques. On Sunday, Abdullah told lawmakers in Jordan that “without the Hashemite custodianship and the steadfastness of the Jerusalemites, the holy sites would have been lost many years ago.”“Our success requires one stand with the Palestinian brothers, so that our cause wouldn’t be weakened and our rights would be maintained,” he said.

Palestinian President, Jordan King Agree to Form Joint ‘Crisis Unit’
Asharq Al-Awsat/August 08/17/Ramallah – Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Jordanian King Abdullah II agreed to form a joint crisis unit to promote cooperation between Ramallah and Amman in issues of mutual concern. Following a meeting between Jordan’s King and Abbas in Ramallah, Palestinian Foreign Affairs Minister Riyad al-Maliki underlined the importance of the monarch’s visit in assessing Israeli violations against the al-Aqsa Mosque. “We discussed all issues of mutual interest and we agreed to form a crisis committee that will continue contacts to evaluate what has happened, the lessons to be learned and the challenges we may face at al-Aqsa mosque,” Maliki told reporters. Maliki added that discussions between Abbas and Abdullah have also touched on the US-led efforts to resume Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, which have been suspended for the past three years. He stated that Israel must “recognize the principle of a two-state solution and end provocative settlement activity that is designed to prevent the establishment of a viable Palestinian state.”The Jordanian king flew in to Ramallah by military helicopter, in his first visit in five years. He was accompanied by the head of the Royal Diwan Fayez al-Tarwana, Foreign Minister Ayman al-Safadi, head of Jordanian Intelligence Adnan al-Jundi and Jordan’s Ambassador to Palestine Khaled al-Shawabka. Palestinian sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that the King’s visit was aimed at conveying multiple messages. “The most important message is that there are no Palestinian-Jordanian disputes over the Al-Aqsa Mosque and that any tension or misunderstanding that emerged during the crisis has been resolved,” the sources said. “The second message is that President Abbas has every possible support from King Abdullah in the face of Benjamin Netanyahu’s government. The third message is retaliation to Netanyahu himself, for provoking the Jordanian government and people,” they added.An official at Fatah Movement’s media office highlighted “major dimensions” in King Abdullah’s visit to Palestine. Mounir Jagoub told Asharq Al-Awsat that the most important message was that Jordan “shares the responsibility” of supporting the Palestinian people.

Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on August 08-09/17
Imam Who Called for Annihilation of All Jews Is in Fact Routine
Maher Gabra/Gatestone Institute/August 08/17
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/10791/california-davis-mosque-antisemitism
In fact, many prominent Islamic scholars argue that even if the current Israeli-Palestinian conflict did not exist, hating Jews would remain an Islamic duty.
In short, what the Egyptian-American imam repeated is simply what he learned at Al-Azhar University in Cairo. The US should look more in depth at what Al-Azhar teaches, before it allows more Azhar graduates to spread their radical ideology.
On July 21, 2017, Imam Ammar Shahin, in a sermon at Davis Mosque in California, called for the annihilation of all Jewish people. He used a hadith (record of the traditions or sayings of the Prophet Muhammad) that quoted the prophet Mohammed:
"The last hour won't come before the Muslims would fight the Jews and the Muslims will kill them so Jews would hide behind rocks and trees. Then the rocks and trees would call: Oh Muslim, oh servant of God! There is a Jew behind me, come and kill him, except the "gharqad" tree, it is of Jews' trees."
The Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) translated what he said, and then some media outlets (mostly conservative) spoke about it. Shireen Qudosi, a Muslim reformer started a petition, which I signed, urging the mosque to fire him.
This was not the first time Shahin was caught on camera saying things like that. On July 14, 2017, he called Jews "the wicked Jews" and asked God to destroy them. He said:
"Oh Allah, destroy them and do not spare their young or their elderly... Oh Allah, turn Jerusalem and Palestine into a graveyard for the Jews."
In November 2016, Shahin made fun of the American Constitution by comparing it to "Idols that the infidels used to worship, which were made from dates." He said that, unlike the Quran, democracy is man-made and could be changed: "You are taking democracy, the Constitution, and all these matters that they fool you with... as a sacred religion now?"
This is exactly what Sayyid Qutb, the Godfather of many current terrorist organizations, advocated for in his books, in which he wanted to replace man-made laws with Sharia law.
To defend himself, Shahin said the translation was not accurate and that he was misquoted. As a native Arabic speaker, I saw the translation and found it 100% accurate. After the "victim of misquoting" card failed, Shahin came out and offered an apology in a press conference. Interestingly, questions were not allowed in the conference, probably to avoid simple questions such as, "why did you call for this in the first place?" Or, "do you mean by apologizing that this hadith is not correct?"
Some would argue that Shahin made a mistake, said things he did not mean, and then apologized; end of the story, right? No. Like Imam Shahin, I was born and raised in Egypt. Let me assure you that this is not an isolated incident. What the imam said is what everyone would hear at the congregational prayers that Muslims hold every Friday. On Friday afternoon, everyone could hear the sermons, because each mosque has big outdoor loudspeakers to ensure that all the neighbors hear the prayers and the sermons, whether they want to or not. I cannot tell you how many times I heard the imams asking God to destroy the Jews and Christians and take revenge on them.
In addition, this hadith was printed and put on stickers all over Egypt: in buses, subways, schools, universities ... everywhere. In the upper middle-class neighborhood where I lived, some Islamists put one in the elevator of our building, so that all the people in the building would have to read it each time they used the elevator.
A poster of the hadith calling on Muslims to fight the Jews and kill them. The fine print at bottom encourages people to print and distribute it.
Ibrahim Essa, an Egyptian Muslim TV anchor, writer and thinker who used to call for Islamic reform, addressed this widespread anti-Semitism in one of his shows. He was commenting on the imam of the Grand Mosque of Mecca (The holiest site in Islam), who said:
"Oh God give victory to the Mujahideen in Al-Yemen, the Levant, and Al-Iraq. Oh God destroy the atheist rafidah (Shia), the Jews the traitors, the Christians the malevolent and the lurking hypocrites".
Essa's comment was: After all of this, do you still wonder where terrorism and ISIS comes from? This is what brings terrorism.
On a talk show on Al-Arabiya, the Saudi poet Abdulrahman Al-Shemri echoed Essa. He said that Muslims often pray to God to destroy Jews and Christians, and to make their wives widows, and to make their sons orphans, and that this is wrong.
A prominent sheikh, Mohammed Al Arifi, explained the hadith in the same way as Imam Shahin. He said Muslims would fight and kill all Jews. Then he claimed that in Israel people are planting many gharqad trees, to protect themselves whenever Muslims attack them. Al-Arifi is a very well-respected figure in Saudi Arabia and among the Salafist Muslims. His Facebook page has more than 24 million fans.
Some might say this is because of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and what happened recently around the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. Even if Shahin had called to kill only Israelis -- which was not what happened: he said Jews, not Israelis or Zionists -- that exhortation would have remained unacceptable. In fact, many prominent Islamic scholars argue that even if the current Israeli-Palestinian conflict did not exist, hating Jews would remain an Islamic duty. Sheikh Mohamed Hussein Yacoub explained this view; he said that if the Jews left Palestine to Muslims, we would continue to hate them because they are infidels and the descendants of monkeys and pigs.
Some could argue that only Salafists and Wahhabis are anti-Semitic; unfortunately not.
The "moderate" Al-Azhar University in Cairo, the world's center of Sunni learning (where Shahin earned a BA in Islamic studies), awarded a PhD with honors in 1971 to the blind Sheikh Omar Abdel-Rahman, who was responsible for the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. Abdel-Rahman's PhD thesis title was "The Quran's position from its adversaries as envisaged by Surat Al-Tawbah (repentance)". He wrote about the Jews and Christians as enemies of Islam. According to his thesis, their crimes were that they do not believe in Islam; therefore they should be fought.
Another leading figure of Al-Azhar University, Dr. Soad Salah, the former dean of the Islamic Studies department for women, talked on television about the concept of sex slaves ("malek al-yameen"). In 2014, on her show, The Woman's Fiqh, she said that Muslims have the right to enjoy sex slaves when Muslims conquer non-Muslims. She informed her viewers that, "If we [Egyptians] fought Israel and won, we have the right to enslave and enjoy sexually the Israeli women that we would capture in the war." She chose Israel as an easy target for hatred, to convince her audience that malek al-yameen -- that is, rape -- is a legitimate practice.
In short, what the Egyptian-American Imam Ammar Shahin repeated is simply what he learned at Al-Azhar. The US should look more in depth at what Al-Azhar teaches, before it allows more Azhar graduates to spread their radical ideology.
If we want to be honest, we need to acknowledge that what recently happened in California was just a glimpse of the anti-Semitism that is widespread in many parts of the Muslim world. Young Muslims who become radicalized by an idea do not care if it comes from California, Cairo or Mecca, so long as a credible Islamic scholar says it. Therefore, the only solution to counter the growing threat of radical Islamism is to expose these imams and support the reformers.
**Maher Gabra is an Arab Egyptian specializing in the Middle East and the ideology of political Islam.
© 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.

The Palestinians' "Creativity for Hate"
Khaled Abu Toameh/Gatestone Institute/August 08/17
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/10783/palestinians-creativity-hate
The angry reactions to the joint Palestinian-Israeli summer camp in the US should be seen in the context of the Palestinians' strong opposition to all forms of "normalization" with Israel.
Most comments posted by Palestinians and other Arabs in response to the joint Palestinian-Israeli camp vilify the Palestinian girls and their families. The postings brand them as traitors, sluts, filthy people who are not ashamed to be seen in the company of Israeli girls. Then there is the barrage of abuse that is not fit for print.
Such campaigns will surely warn any Palestinian leader against seeking real peace with Israel.
Palestinian teenage girls are facing ridicule and hate for attending a summer camp for coexistence in the US. The camp, which brings Palestinian and Israeli girls together, is organized by Creativity for Peace, an organization in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Since 2003, up to 20 Israeli and Palestinian girls, aged 15 to 17, each year have participated in the Creativity for Peace camp.
Photos of the Israeli and Palestinian girls enjoying their time together have enraged many Palestinians and other Arabs, who took to social media to express their disgust and outrage over the event and hurl abuse at the Palestinian participants.
The angry reactions to the joint Palestinian-Israeli camp in the US should be seen in the context of the Palestinians' strong opposition to all forms of "normalization" with Israel.
The Palestinian girls who attended the coexistence camp are being accused, among other things, of injuring the feelings of their people by "promoting normalization" with the Israeli "enemy."
Palestinian activists have waged a long-standing war against any form of "normalization" with Israel. Activists have repeatedly targeted even meetings between Israelis and Palestinians, especially in Ramallah and east Jerusalem, on the pretext that such encounters pave the way for "normalization" with Israel.
Some of these activists have resorted to threats, intimidation and violence to prevent such meetings from taking place.
At the Ambassador Hotel in Jerusalem, for example, two years ago, a group of Israeli and Palestinian peace activists tried to hold a conference. Just before the conference began, Palestinian activists stormed the hall. They chanted slogans against "normalization" with Israel and forced participants to call off the event. This was not the first incident of its kind at the hotel.
Or take the case of another group of Israeli and Palestinian peace activists who tried to hold a conference in Al-Bireh (the twin city of Ramallah), in 2014.
There, too, Palestinian protesters forced participants to cancel the meeting after attacking the hall and hurling abuse, especially at Palestinian "traitors" attending the conference. Palestinian Authority policemen had to rescue the Israeli peace activists and escort them out of the city out of concern for their safety.
Who are these individuals, so dedicated to derailing "normalization" with Israel?
They hail from a wide spectrum of Palestinian society, including Fatah, Hamas, Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP) and the Palestinian People's Party (formerly the Communist Party).
These factions are far more foe than friend when it comes to interrelations among each other, but when it comes to thwarting coexistence, they join together to unite and destroy.
To them, even Palestinian and Israeli children playing soccer together or attending joint musical concerts is anathema.
Now it is the turn of the Palestinian teens who attended the summer camp in the US to taste this venom.
As far as the enemies of "normalization" are concerned, those girls are nothing more than criminals. They played with Israeli girls, danced with them, and they even watched movies and went shopping together. Rising to the height of criminality -- the biggest slap in the face of their people -- these Palestinian teens shared sleeping quarters with the Israeli girls.
On social media, these Palestinian girls and their families are being condemned as "traitors" and "prostitutes." Those are only some of the insults leveled against them, especially on innumerable Facebook accounts.
Those who are waging the smear campaign against these girls have already made up their mind -- that this is a "Normalization Camp." The Israeli girls attending the summer camp are being described as "settlers" in order to whip up Palestinian anger even more by making the Palestinian girls look as if they are socializing with "extremist Jewish settlers."
In addition to attacking the children, many Palestinians also directed their outrage towards the parents for allowing their daughters to socialize with Israeli girls. "Regrettably, the absence of cultural awareness and national belonging among the parents is the number one reason (for such encounters)," remarked Mu'ath Al-Hims on Facebook.
Mu'ath Al-Hims' remarks on Facebook, criticizing the parents of Palestinian girls who allowed their daughters to socialize with Israeli girls.
The bulk of the humiliation, however, was reserved for the girls themselves. Palestinian activists spared no words in this regard.
Commenting on the photos of the Israeli and Palestinian girls at the camp, Tayseer Katot wrote: "This is disgraceful and undignified. This dispirited group [of girls] does not deserve to be called Palestinian."
"Appalling and unfortunate" was the assessment of Majed Al-Hasayneh concerning the photos of the Palestinian and Israeli girls mixing together at the camp.
Even more descriptive was Mahmoud Abu Al-Bara's post: "Prostitutes raised by Fatah (the Palestinian faction headed by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas).
Imad Chiri, another Facebook user, commented: "This is clear treason and shameless normalization."
Most comments posted by Palestinians and other Arabs in response to the joint Palestinian-Israeli camp vilify the Palestinian girls and their families. The postings brand them as traitors, sluts, filthy people who are not ashamed to be seen in the company of Israeli girls. Then there is the barrage of abuse that is not fit for print.
The Palestinian girls being castigated on social media are the latest victims of a culture of hate into which Palestinians have been inculcated. This environment is the direct result of an ongoing campaign of incitement and indoctrination that aims to delegitimize and demonize Israel and Jews.
Only a handful of Palestinians dared to come out to defend the teenage girls and their families. Why? Two words: agreement and fear.
Such campaigns of abuse will surely, as they are doubtless intended to do, deter families from sending their children to such encounters with Israelis. What parent in his or her right mind would allow a child to be exposed to such an onslaught of hate?
In addition, such campaigns will surely warn any Palestinian leader against seeking real peace with Israel.
Rather than "creativity for peace," the Palestinian line is more accurately "creativity for hate."
*Khaled Abu Toameh, an award-winning journalist and television producer, is based in Jerusalem.
© 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.

Trump: North Korea 'will be met with fire and fury like the world has never seen' if more threats emerge
FoxNews/ August 08/2017
President Donald Trump responded to reports of North Korea's nuclear threats on Tuesday, saying the regime "will be met with fire, fury and frankly power, the likes of which the world has never seen before."
Speaking from New Jersey, Trump also said North Korean leader Kim Jong Un "has been very threatening beyond a normal state," adding that the regime "best not make any more threats to the United States."
The president's comments follow a report that North Korea has produced a compact nuclear warhead that can be placed inside one of its advanced missiles – which are already believed to be capable of reaching half of the United States. Fox News has confirmed the report, which first appeared in The Washington Post.
The jarring assessment was prepared in July by the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA). The Post was read parts of the DIA analysis and the document was verified by other U.S. officials, the newspaper reported.
Dan Coats, the Director of National Intelligence, made similar comments to Congress in May.
“Kim was also photographed beside a nuclear warhead design and missile airframes to show that North Korea has warheads small enough to fit on a missile," Coats said at the time.
“The [intelligence community] assesses North Korea has produced nuclear weapons for ballistic missile delivery, to include delivery by ICBM-class missiles,” an excerpt of the DIA analysis stated.
Further, it is now believed that dictator Kim Jong Un may control up to 60 nuclear weapons.
The DIA report echoed some of the evaluations made in a lengthy Japanese defense white paper also revealed on Tuesday.
“It is conceivable that North Korea’s nuclear weapons program has already considerably advanced and it is possible that North Korea has already achieved the miniaturization of nuclear weapons into warheads and has acquired nuclear warheads,” Japan’s defense ministry said in the 500-page report.
The miniaturization of a nuclear warhead was one of three things U.S. officials said the regime needed to do in regards to their long-range missile tests.
Officials said North Korea also needed to be able to hit a target and demonstrate the ability to "re-enter" the earth's atmosphere.
The regime has conducted 12 tests so far this year. One of the ICBM tests conducted in late July, in which a missile traveled 2,300 miles into space and 45 minutes into the air, was the longest and farthest ballistic missile test in the history of North Korea, officials told Fox News at the time.
"North Korea CAN miniaturize nuclear weapons for use on ballistic missiles," leading North Korea expert Mark Fitzpatrick told Fox News. "North Korea has been working on miniaturizing a war head for 30 years now." Fitzpatrick continued, saying that the regime is "very technically competent. It is natural that they should achieve this."Regarding the Post's claim that the regime has up to 60 nuclear weapons, Fitzpatrick thinks that number is high and believes the number is closer to the 20-30 that others have estimated.
Reactions to the news highlighted the stunning advancements depicted in the reports. Some of those who've tangled with North Korea in the past advocated throwing diplomacy to the wayside.
"We’ve been playing the diplomatic game for a long time with #NorthKorea and it’s only given them time to advance their weapons program," former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton tweeted.
Harry Kazianis, Director of Defense Studies, The Center for the National Interest and Executive Editor, The National Interest Magazine told Fox News' "Happening Now" on Tuesday that North Korea was a "full-fledged" nuclear power.
But the U.S. on Saturday achieved what appeared to be a remarkable diplomatic victory, securing the unanimous approval of tough new sanctions -- including votes from Russia and China.
**Fox News' Greg Palkot contributed to this report.

How does this figure accept to represent the UN in Libya?
Fares bin Hezam/Al Arabiya/August 08/17
The Arab world and the West’s elite know Dr. Ghassan Salameh as a refined man whose education is a combination of Arab and Francophone cultures. There’s no wonder he’s the son of Lebanon. He’s thus an important voice in Europe and America and an honest man who looks after Arab causes during critical and decisive times.He’s a prominent Arab intellectual who achieved some balances despite the conflicts during the last decades of the past century. This qualified him to stand out in achieving peace and stability as he represented international organizations, particularly in Arab countries. He has played several roles since the Camp David negotiations in the 1980s and until the 1990s when he intervened in the name of the UN to calm the situation between Saddam Hussein in Iraq and the US before the situation entirely collapsed at some point. What pushes someone this significant to end a long journey by accepting to represent the UN for the task of reaching a consensus between a legitimate government in Libya and rival parties in several fronts? However, the question today is: What pushes someone this significant to end a long journey by accepting to represent the UN for the task of reaching a consensus between a legitimate government in Libya and rival parties in several fronts? It’s normal for Salameh’s role to extend beyond university platforms and intellectual tasks to include international roles. This happened before. However what’s the reality of today’s Arab causes? Who is this intellectual who will dissociate himself from the swamp of developments in Arab countries? Dominating the Arab cultural scene and possessing this long and honorable experience to later accept the role of an unarmed policeman among the mud of militias is an unfortunate development which we cannot explain unless by concluding that it’s the end of a man whom it’s too late to award any decorations.

North Korea: Beijing acts tougher over missile launch
Dr. Mohamed A. Ramady/Al Arabiya/August 08/17
Even before China joined all other members of the United Nations Security Council to condemn the latest show of missile bravado, the Chinese leadership had been preparing for this vote to indicate that their patience is also running out with North Korea. The Chinese leadership met to discuss North Korea’s launch of a second Inter-Continental Ballistic Missile in the dark of the previous night, and the subsequent announcement from President Moon Jae-in of South Korea that Seoul would be deploying four additional mobile launchers of its THAAD anti-missile system in response. Beijing believes this North Korean launch, a mere one month on the heels of Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un’s first successful ICBM launch, was a “Hwasong-14” missile that, in theory, could cover the entirety of the United States. Chinese officials expect the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea to be able to establish an acceptably reliable ICBM before year-end, and estimate the DPRK could launch a nuclear-capable ICBM by sometime next year. While the initial Chinese view was that they still see no need to impose any severe new sanctions on North Korea in the near future.
The final unanimous Security Council vote on sanctions was wide sweeping to include banning Importing coal, seafood, iron and iron ore, lead and lead ore from North Korea, countries cannot receive new North Korean workers, no new joint ventures with North Korean entities or individuals, no new investment in existing joint ventures and more individuals targeted with travel bans and assets freezes. This has prompted an enraged North Korean vow to respond a ‘thousand times ‘ more harshly against the USA.
Dialogue
However, while China supported new statements of condemnation of the missile launch by the United Nations Security Council, it still believes in a peaceful outcome and dialogue. Beijing continues to believe the real purpose of the DPRK’s flexing of military muscle – either through the ICBM launch or nuclear tests – is to bring Washington into direct talks, and believes Kim Jong-un is eager to engage in direct dialogue with the Trump administration. Despite assertions from the White House and Pentagon that all options are on the table, officials also note the US has made clear that diplomacy and sanctions are its preferred course and that regime change is not their goal. As “one of the two” most important parties to the six-party discussions over North Korea’s missile program, Beijing believes the US and DPRK should engage in direct dialogue. Despite assertions from the White House and Pentagon that all options are on the table, officials also note the US has made clear that diplomacy and sanctions are its preferred course and that regime change is not their goal. As “one of the two” most important parties to the six-party discussions over North Korea’s missile program, Beijing believes the US and DPRK should engage in direct dialogue. Despite the provocations, South Korea’s Moon has also stressed a second Korean War can never be allowed and the South Koreans have signalled their continued interest to start a dialogue, which was rebuffed as being ‘insincere’ by the North, bearing in mind what some US commentators have said that in the event of any military conflict on the Korean Peninsular "thousand of Koreans will die out there but no Americans will die over here”. This of course ignores how the thousands of US troops stationed in South Korea will somehow all miraculously escape unhurt in a North – South Armageddon.
Slim prospect of conflict
And so, while expecting the situation on the Korean peninsula to remain tense, Beijing believes the possibility of an imminent military conflict remains slim. Xi is nevertheless reported to have warned of the danger to China’s security interests and the strategic balance of the region that is being posed by the deployment of the THAAD anti-missile system in South Korea. China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs lodged official protests against the US and Republic of Korea over the deployment of the four additional mobile launchers of the THAAD. Xi is also reported to have reminded officials of China’s shared interests, and close cooperation, with Russia, and Russian President Vladimir Putin, on Korea, and on THAAD , and this issue was brought up by both China and Russia during the UNSecurity Council vote. Given that the North Korean leader has had his moment in the global limelight which he so desperately craves, let us hope that the unanimous world condemnation brings him to his senses, that even his closest friends have now said enough is enough as the consequences of matters unravelling will have grave human and economic consequences far beyond Korean shores, including the Gulf’s growing economic ties to the region.

The liberation of Mosul, Raqqa and Idlib... but then what?
Christian Chesnot/Al Arabiya/August 08/17
Mosul is finally liberated; Raqqa is expected to follow the same path in the coming weeks as well as the Euphrates Valley where the last jihadists of ISIS are being eliminated. The self-proclaimed Caliphate of Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi is in agony. His plan to create an “Islamic State” straddling between Syria and Iraq will be remembered as a brief moment of bloodshed in history. As Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan before him, the "Caliph" Baghdadi failed. His chances of survival are very slim. But will this really be the end of ISIS? Certainly not. Recent history preaches caution. Let us remember George W. Bush’s declaration of war. A few days after September 11, 2001, the president of a traumatized America spoke before Congress and the House of Representatives as a sign of sacred union. Bush solemnly announced the beginning of the "war on terror," a war that targets al-Qaeda and will continue, said Bush, “until terrorist groups of global reach have been found, have been stopped, and have been defeated.”More than 15 years later, not only has al-Qaeda not disappeared despite the death of its leader Osama bin Laden, but ISIS and other movements have taken over. Worse still; the Taliban, driven out of power in 2001, are back on the offensive. Where are the hundreds of billions of dollars supposed to put Afghanistan back on track? We are almost tempted to say: what have we really accomplished?
The Hydra
The terrorist nebula of al-Qaeda and ISIS resembles an octopus or rather the Lernaean Hydra of Greek mythology: a monster with several heads that doubly regenerate once they are sliced. In Iraq and Syria, there is no doubt that the jihadists will be defeated militarily. But they will go underground and disperse not only in the Middle East, but all over the world. They will remain a threat for a long time, from the Sahel through to Sinai, from Yemen to Asia. All the intelligence services in the world have been warned: cells can strike anywhere, at anytime. A global anti-terrorist hunt is underway.
In Iraq and Syria, there is no doubt that the jihadists will be defeated militarily. But they will go underground and disperse not only in the Middle East, but all over the world. But the antidote to terrorism cannot be reduced to security. The ingredients of the remedy are also political, economic and social. In Iraq, ISIS has largely developed a Sunni alienation, which found in jihadism its most radical expression. Today, without exaggeration, the responsibility of the Baghdad government is truly historic in the reconstruction of Mosul.
It is not just about restoring buildings and infrastructure. This is probably the easiest, although it will be necessary to mobilize significant funds, particularly from the international community. The most important task will be to reconcile souls and hearts, including better integrating Sunnis into the Iraqi state apparatus and reassuring all religious minorities. After so many tragedies, a strategy of revenge would be worse than evil itself. In this sense, Mosul will be a crucial test. Failure would seriously jeopardize the future of the country. In Syria, the situation is even more complex. After six years of war, Bashar al-Assad is still firmly attached to power, the moderate opposition is no more than a residue, and the jihadist groups are now cornered on the periphery of Syrian territory. Idlib is now under the control of Tahrir Al-Sham, a coalition of armed groups dominated by Nusra front, the Syrian branch of al Qaida. There is little doubt that the liquidation of the "Idlib pocket" is already programmed by the Russians with the blessing of the United States. But what comes next?
The stabilization of Syria, beyond the de-escalation zones supervised by Moscow, will be as in Iraq, through a great political and social "deal". How to invent a new architecture of power and administration in Damascus? What is certain is that a return to the ante 2011 situation is impossible. Too much blood has been shed, too much misfortune has plagued the country, and too many Syrians have fled their homes.While the language spoken is that of arms, in what way can one predict that viable and perennial solution could emerge from the chaos? It's probably premature. In any case, it will take years to recollect the pieces of the Syrian human mosaic. But one day or another it will be necessary to recast a new political and social pact acceptable to all the components of Syrian society. Otherwise, with or without Bashar Al-Assad, the terrorist Lernaean Hydra in the shade will not fail to bite again in Syria ... or elsewhere.

When will the Left stop insulting Trump?
Mamdouh AlMuhaini/Al Arabiya/August 08/17
The left will not stop insulting Trump even if it manages to expel him from the White House. Those who say Trump must make peace with the hostile media to avoid undue attention miss the fact that this fierce media will not stop attacking him even if he turns into another Barack Obama. The American president thus stands with his back against the wall and fights with his iPhone. It is interesting to see how Trump managed to tarnish the reputation of some of his opponents, describing them as fake through some tweets. He is the opposite of President George W. Bush who the media preyed on and promoted false rumors about. He was even called stupid and evil. Trump, on the other hand, has managed to brand his opponents and gained a popular base that sympathizes with the victim especially when attacked by the corrupt arrogant elite.
The leftists have been Trump’s enemies even before he became president. The campaign against him worsened when he became a candidate but his unexpected victory shocked leftists and liberals who started rehearsing for the end of the world.
A book recently published revealed the confusion and delirium which many writers and intellectuals suffered from. As Hillary Clinton’s team prepared to set off fireworks to celebrate her certain victory, the shocking news came of the victory of a man they despise and saw as a clown.
One writer said the fear he felt when Trump won was similar to the fear he felt during the September 11, 2001 attacks. An intellectual and her husband stayed up all night holding hands and crying in fear. Another writer said: “something inside me died tonight,” while another lamented as he described his deep melancholy.
Hysteria and fear turned into fierce resistance and disobedience against Trump and his administration. It has been six months since he became president and some still raise banners: “He is not our president.” What is happening now may explain the deep psychological shock, which transformed into resistance that became stronger due to Trump’s sharp tongue. However, the question is does Trump deserve to be attacked this way? It is early to say if Trump succeeded or failed but a logical and fair look into his term so far makes the bigger picture more objective
Not without blemish
The truth is Trump has made several mistakes. The most prominent one is attacking Attorney General of the United States, Jeff Sessions, who heads the Department of Justice in a move that is difficult to explain. The White House is in a state of overwhelming chaos that reached its peak when the unmanageable Anthony Scaramucci was appointed as the White House Communications Director. He was later fired by White House chief of staff John Kelly.
Due to McCain’s mood swings, who is also unwell, Trump failed to end Obamacare. This is all in addition to the frequent leaks of Trump’s calls with world leaders – of which the most recent were his calls with the Mexican and Australian presidents – and that show him as an incapable and weak man who cannot even control his own team.
This clear failure stirs a lot of chaos and distracts people from the real successes achieved in a short time. A million job opportunities have been created, the economy was revived and Dow Jones hit all-time high, moving above the 22,000 point mark for the first time.
The number of smugglers and illegal immigrants decreased at the Mexican borders. A series of achievements are almost certain to follow, such as tax reforms and building of the wall between the US and Mexico, which even his opponents approve of.
Foreign policy
On the foreign front, Trump proved that he is much better than Obama whose almost all policies failed. The Riyadh Summit restored warmth and strong ties with allies and resulted in a clear strategy and policy to combat terrorism.
As for Iran, he replaced the policy of soft containment with confrontation and handed over the matter to US Secretary of Defense James Mattis, aka the Mad Dog – who understands the brutality and barbarism of the regime better than anyone else – and repeatedly hinted at the possibility of toppling the regime. Sanctions have also been imposed on Iran recently.
The al-Shayrat air base in Syria was struck during Trump’s era. Trump’s speech about the pain of seeing infants suffocate following the toxic Sarin gas attack in Syria restored some respect to the principle of justice which was completely absent during the past eight years when women and children were killed and their killers escaped punishment.
ISIS in Mosul was defeated thanks to American troops’ support and it will be defeated soon in Raqqa. The mother-of-all-bombs was used against ISIS in Afghanistan and dozens of their members were killed. It was a successful operation because their presence meant more terrorist attacks that target innocent people.
Trump took a strong stance on Doha, its terrorist activities and support for extremists. With the help of his skilled team, Trump has restored balance in the international order. However, he also confronts major challenges now such as those related to North Korea. It is early to say if Trump succeeded or failed but a logical and fair look into his term so far makes the bigger picture more objective.
This does not mean that his fierce rivals will say a single good word about him. They will not stop insulting him. They either wish to see him fired soon or to see him lose the 2020 elections. The question which cannot be ignored now is what will happen if he wins again?