LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS
BULLETIN
May 14/17
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
The
Bulletin's Link on the lccc Site
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Bible Quotations For Today
When you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and
someone else will fasten a belt around you and take you where you do not wish to
go
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John 21/15-19/:"When they had
finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, ‘Simon son of John, do you love
me more than these?’ He said to him, ‘Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.’
Jesus said to him, ‘Feed my lambs.’
A second time he said to him, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me?’ He said to
him, ‘Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Tend my
sheep.’He said to him the third time, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me?’ Peter
felt hurt because he said to him the third time, ‘Do you love me?’ And he said
to him, ‘Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.’ Jesus said to
him, ‘Feed my sheep. Very truly, I tell you, when you were younger, you used to
fasten your own belt and to go wherever you wished. But when you grow old, you
will stretch out your hands, and someone else will fasten a belt around you and
take you where you do not wish to go.’ (He said this to indicate the kind of
death by which he would glorify God.) After this he said to him, ‘Follow me.’"
By grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not
your own doing; it is the gift of God not the result of works, so that no one
may boast
Letter to the Ephesians 02/01-10/:"You were dead through the trespasses and sins
in which you once lived, following the course of this world, following the ruler
of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work among those who are
disobedient. All of us once lived among them in the passions of our flesh,
following the desires of flesh and senses, and we were by nature children of
wrath, like everyone else. But God, who is rich in mercy, out of the great love
with which he loved us even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us
alive together with Christ by grace you have been saved and raised us up with
him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in
the ages to come he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness
towards us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and
this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God not the result of works, so
that no one may boast. For we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus
for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life."
Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources
published on May 13-14/17
Mother’s Day: Love, Sacrifices
and Gratitude/Elias Bejjani/May 14/17
Could Lebanon’s FPM abandon
its alliance with Hezbollah?Joseph
A. Kechichian/Gulf News/May 14/17
Are Hezbollah, Israel heading for
a third war/Nour Samaha/Al Monitor/May 13/17
Lebanon's budding hashish business brings high returns/Author Fernande
van/Al Monitor/May 13/17
What is behind Iran’s new threats against its
neighbors/Heshmat Alavi/Al Arabiya/May 13/17
Baptismal unity divides Egypt's Copts/Amr Mostafa/TranslatorJoelle El-Khoury/Al
Monitor/May 13/17
The UN's Obsession against Israel/Pierre Rehov/Gatestone Institute/May 13/17
Where Kissinger goes, war follows/Tony Brady/Face Book/May 13/17
Kabbalah on the Corniche: Jewish mysticism comes to Beirut/Olivia
Alabaster/Middle East Eye/May 13/17
Hamas and an ‘eternity of conflict’/Fahad Suleiman Shoqiran/ArabNews/May 13/17
Will Iran’s Green Movement resurface/Diana Moukalled/ArabNews/May 13/17
US and Russia on Syria: Beyond what meets the eye/Dr. Theodore Karasik/Al
Arabiya/May 13/17
Will US-Kurdish deal force Turkey back to PKK negotiation table/Pinar
Tremblay/Al Monitor/May 13/17
Titles For Latest Lebanese Related News published on
May 13-14/17
Mother’s Day: Love, Sacrifices
and Gratitude
Could Lebanon’s FPM abandon
its alliance with Hezbollah
Lebanon’s Telecom Agency Suspects Israel in Recent Hacking of Hezbollah Phones
Are Hezbollah, Israel heading for a third war
Lebanon's budding hashish business brings high returns
PSP denounces Abra assault
ISF: Two soldiers injured, fugitive killed during pursuit
Ramadan arrests three Lebanese, one Palestinian minors on charges of smashing
St. Elias status in Abra
Relatives of arrested Islamists cut off Tripoli highway in Akkar
Murex d'Or Awards celebrated under patronage of Information, Tourism and Culture
ministers
Tripoli port Director: Fire has been controlled
Khalil during Municipalities Coordinators Conference: We ask for energy plan not
a deal
Tripoli Port fire presumed to have erupted on livestock boat
Huge fire erupts in Tripoli Port
US Sanctions Might Include Aoun and Berri
Berri, Al-Jadeed Channel Trade Legal Lawsuits
Kataeb Chief Says Energy Minister Failed to Consolidate Power Barges Plan
Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin For Miscellaneous Reports And News published on
May 13-14/17
Pope Canoness Fatima Visionaries, Giving
Church New Children Saints
US 'close to completing' $100 billion Saudi arms deal
Washington to Lavrov: US Insists on ‘Beheading Syria’s Regime’
Syria: Opposition Demands Comprehensive Ceasefire to Introduce Political
Transformation
Lavrov Discusses De-escalation Zones with Egyptian, Jordanian Counterparts
Russia's central bank says domestic banks withstood massive cyber attacks
Syrian army regains control of airport in northern Syria from Islamic State
Al-Mouallimi: Saudi-American Ties Will Grow Stronger under Trump
Terrorists Kill Child, Man in Eastern Saudi Arabia
King Salman Invites Indonesia, Azerbaijan Presidents to Attend Summit in Riyadh
Jordanian in US Accused of Trying to Join ISIS
PMF Launches New Offensive West of Mosul Near Syria Border
Trump to Support Palestinians’ Right for ‘Self-Determination’
17 Mummies Discovered in Central Egypt
Iran’s Sunni leader endorses Rouhani for re-election
How Saudi forces protected civilians from terrorists’ fire in Qatif
Why do Tunisian Jews flock to this island temple at this time every year?
Egypt announces reward for any information on its missing first female mayor
Latest Lebanese Related News
published on
May 13-14/17
Mother’s Day:
Love, Sacrifices and Gratitude
Elias Bejjani/May 14/17
The Spirit Of My mother who like every and each loving departed mother is
definitely watching from above and praying for all of us. May Almighty God Bless
her spirit and the Spirits of all departed mothers. In Christianity Virgin Merry
is envisaged by many believers and numerous cultures as the number one role
model for the righteous, devoted, loving , caring, giving, and humble mothers.
Today while in Canada we are happily and joyfully celebrating the Mothers’ Day,
let us all pray that Almighty God will keep granting all mothers all over the
world the needed graces of wisdom, meekness and faith to highly remain under all
circumstances honoring this holy role model and to stay as Virgin Merry fully
devoted to their families.
In all religions and cultures all over the world, honoring, respecting and
obeying parents is
not a favor that people either chose to practice or not. No not at all,
honoring, respecting and obeying parents is a holy obligation that each and
every faithful individual who believes in God MUST fulfill, no matter what.
Almighty God in His 10 Commandments (Exodus 20:2-17 ) made the honoring of both
parents (commandment number five) a holy obligation, and not a choice or a
favor.
“Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land
which the Lord your God is giving you”. (Exodus 20:12)
Reading the Bible, both the Old and New Testament shows with no doubt that
honoring parents is a cornerstone and a pillar in faith and righteousness for
all believers. All other religions and cultures share with Christians this holy
concept and obligation.
“Honor your father and your mother, as the LORD your God commanded you, so that
your days may be long and that it may go well with you in the land that the LORD
your God is giving you.” (Deuteronomy 5:16)
“You shall each revere your mother and father, and you shall keep my Sabbaths: I
am the LORD your God.” (Leviticus 19:3).
Back home in Lebanon we have two popular proverbs that say: “If you do not have
an elderly figure in your family to bless you, go and search for one”. “The
mother is the who either gathers or divides the family”
How true are these two proverbs, because there will be no value, or meaning for
our lives if not blessed and flavored by the wisdom, love and blessings of our
parents and of other elder members.
He who does not honor the elderly, sympathize and empathize with them,
especially his own parents is a person with a hardened heart, and a numbed
conscience, who does not know the meaning of gratitude.
History teaches us that the easiest route for destroying a nation is to destroy,
its cornerstone, the family. Once the family code of respect is belittled and
not honored, the family is divided and loses all its Godly blessings.
“Any kingdom divided against itself is laid waste; and a house divided against
itself falls” (Luke 11-17)
One very important concept and an extremely wise approach MUST apply and prevail
when reading the Holy Bible in a bid to understand its contents and observe the
Godly instructions and life guidelines that are enlisted. The concept needs to
be a faith one with an open frame of mind free from doubts, questions and
challenges.
Meanwhile the approach and interpretation MUST both be kept within the abstract
manner, thinking and mentality frame, and not in the concrete way of
interpretation.
We read in (Matthew 15/04: “For God said, Respect your father and your mother,
and If you curse your father or your mother, you are to be put to death).
This verse simply dwells on The Fifth Biblical Commandment: “Honor your Father
and Mother”. To grasp its meaning rightfully and put it in its right faith
content one should understand that death in the Bible is not the death of the
body as we experience and see on earth. DEATH in the Bible means the SIN that
leads to eternal anguish in Hell.
The Bible teaches us that through His crucifixion, death and resurrection, Jesus
defeated death in its ancient human, earthly concept. He broke the death thorn
and since than, the actual death became the sin. Those who commit the sin die
and on the judgment day are outcast to the eternal fire. Death for the believers
is a temporary sleep on the hope of resurrection.
Accordingly the verse “If you curse your father or your mother, you are to be
put to death”, means that those who do not honor their parents, help, support
and respect them commit a deadly sin and God on the Judgment Day will make them
accountable if they do not repent and honor their parents.
God is a Father, a loving, passionate and caring One, and in this context He
made the honoring of parents one of the Ten Commandments.
In conclusion: The abstract and faith interpretation of Matthew 15/04 verse must
not be related to children or teenagers who because of an age and maturity
factors might temporarily repel against their parents and disobey them.
Hopefully, each and every one of us, no matter what religion or denomination
he/she is affiliated to will never ever ignore his parents and commit the deadly
SIN of not honoring them through every way and mean especially when they are old
and unable to take care of themselves.
For all those of us whose mothers have passed away, let us mention them in our
daily prayers and ask Almighty God to endow their souls the eternal rest in His
heavenly dwellings.
Happy Mothers’ Day to all mothers
Could Lebanon’s FPM
abandon its alliance with Hezbollah?'هل يفك التيار الوطني الحر
تحالفه مع حزب الله
Joseph A. Kechichian/Gulf News/May 14/17
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/?p=55258
Potential realignment comes as Bassil and Berri continue to lock heads over a
new electoral law
Alliance between Michel Aoun’s Free Patriotic Movement and Samir Geagea’s
Christian Lebanese Forces will break Amal-Hezbollah monopoly in Lebanon
parliament.
Beirut: Lebanon could see a shifting of alliances as Lebanese President Michel
Aoun’s Christian Free Patriotic Movement (FPM), which has traditionally been
allied with the Shiite Amal and Hezbollah parties, may switch sides to an
anti-Syrian alliance comprised of Hariri’s largely-Sunni Future movement and the
Christian Lebanese Forces led by Samir Geagea.
An FPM shift would essentially break the Amal-Hezbollah monopoly in parliament,
something that the Shiite parties chief backers Iran and Syria, would dread. The
potential realignment comes as FPM leader and foreign minister Jibran Bassil and
Shiite Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri continue to lock horns over a new
electoral law.
Politicians have been debating revising the archaic 1960 voting law since 2005
and have yet to reach consensus.
According to the 1960 voting law, parliament seats are allocated by religious
sects which Lebanon’s most prominent Christian parties want to amend.
They say the law marginalises Christian voters, because, in the winner-take-all
model Muslim voters in predominantly Christian districts cast their ballots to
candidates backed by lists dominated by non-Christian parties.
Last month, President Michel Aoun made the unprecedented move to suspend
parliament which was due to extend its term for third time since 2009.
The move was hailed by Christians but slammed by Shiite politicians including
Berri, who also is the Amal party chief.
Powerful Shiite groups like the Iran-backed Hezbollah and Amal want proportional
representation or the winner-takes-all system since that would give it potential
control of parliament due to its large numbers.
Aoun, who has angered Saudi Arabia over his pro-Hezbollah statements in recent
months, is apparently ruffling feathers of politicians in his own alliance.
Berri considered Aoun’s recent remarks to visiting businessmen from Melbourne,
Australia, when the president said “those who oppose Bassil’s formula are those
who control their communities and do not want minorities represented in
parliament”, as a slap in the face.Bassil, Aoun’s son-in-law, has led the charge
in parliament and assumed his self-appointed role as the ‘defender of
Christians’ in the country.
Lebanon’s Telecom Agency Suspects Israel in Recent Hacking of Hezbollah Phones
Asharq Al Awsat/May 13/17/Beirut –
Lebanon’s telecommunications agency, OGERO, announced on Friday that Israel may
have been responsible for the suspicious telephone calls thousands of citizens
had received during a speech delivered by “Hezbollah” leader Hassan Nasrallah on
Thursday. It said in a statement: “Several citizens in various regions (around
10,000 telephone numbers) received suspicious calls through a very advanced
method to hack the telephone network from outside the country.” Investigations
revealed that these calls came from France, Italy, Syria, Iraq and other
countries. The incoming telephone number was manipulated to appear as it if was
being made from a Lebanese landline. “We believe that the Israeli enemy is being
these suspicious calls and such an incident had occurred during the 2006 Israeli
aggression,” added the state-owned OGERO. “The Ministry of Telecommunications
and OGERO will continue to investigate the issue until all details of the
Israeli piracy are revealed so that the necessary technical measures and
procedures are taken” in order to prevent such a hack from taking place again in
the future, stressed the statement.
Are Hezbollah, Israel heading for a third war?
Nour Samaha/Al Monitor/May 13/17
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/?p=55237
It has been more than a decade since the last open confrontation between
Hezbollah and Israel; yet in the last few months, there has been a lot of
chatter among Hezbollah and Israel observers over the rising tensions between
the two adversaries. The drums of war have been beating even more loudly in the
media.
As talk of a third war breaking out between Lebanon's Hezbollah and Israel is
increasing, some analysts say it is highly unlikely given the costs both sides
would have to bear.
The cost of the 2006 war was severe enough for both sides that they both seem to
be making every possible effort to avoid another war: Israel stopped bombing
Hezbollah's locations inside Lebanon, while the latter stopped kidnapping
Israeli soldiers or launching rockets into northern Israel. However, both
parties know that peace in the Middle East is fragile and fleeting. Preparations
for a new round of war — now dubbed the Third Lebanon War — have only increased.
Both sides appear to be using every opportunity to display not just the military
buildup for the upcoming war, but also expose the weaknesses of the other in the
event of a war.
On April 20, Hezbollah arranged a tour for journalists to south Lebanon to
expose the recent Israeli fortification activities south of the Blue Line. As
Israeli military bulldozers busily cut at the landscape across the electrical
fence, Hezbollah members pointed to the infrastructure — newly carved military
roads, concrete walls, cement blocks and high-tech monitoring radars — all
placed along the border in the last year.
These defensive fortifications are the most recent measures taken by Israel in
anticipation of the looming confrontation with Hezbollah. Previous measures
included, for instance, merging all Israeli army commando units into a single
commando brigade, completing the multi-layered air defense, and conducting
various war games and drills specifically designed to mimic a war with
Hezbollah.
Israel is almost certain Hezbollah has advanced mobile air defense systems. This
means the Israeli air force might not be able to fly over Lebanon as freely as
it did in the past. Furthermore, airborne operations using helicopters, which
the Israel Defense Forces depends heavily on, might be too risky in the presence
of such advanced air defense systems.
Hezbollah, for its part, has been busy preparing for war as well. Today, it is
considered by many in Israel to be the strongest nonstate actor in the region,
and it has analyzed the lessons of the 2006 war to prepare for the next one.
Rockets and missiles proved to be effective enough in 2006 for Hezbollah to
continue increasing their quantity, while also upgrading the quality of its
arsenal.
Yet the most important development in Hezbollah's military capability is the
unprecedented opportunity that came with its participation in the Syrian war. It
now has the ability to train thousands of its fighters, who are rubbing
shoulders with Syrian, Iranian and Russian elite special forces, while also
developing its telecommunications, logistics, and command and control
capabilities to handle a situation where hundreds of its fighters can fight
nonstop for weeks and months in a vast, hostile environment. This is a huge leap
from 2006, when Hezbollah only deployed independent small fire teams and squads
in defensive fortified positions, in a friendly environment, while awaiting the
advance of Israeli infantry and armor units.
Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah's threat in 2011 to invade northern
Israel is no longer so far-fetched, neither are his threats to hit the nuclear
facility in Dimona. Israel takes these threats very seriously, hence the
fortification works along the Blue Line. Hezbollah's plan is simple and bold:
Saturate Israel's multi-layered air defense with hundreds of rockets and
missiles while its fighters go on the offensive across the Blue Line — and
perhaps even the Golan Heights.
According to sources familiar with Hezbollah, "A wider front will force Israel
to spread out thinner, so now having the front expanded from Naqoura on the sea
all the way to the end of the Golan Heights will prove to be more difficult for
Israel in the event of a war."
Amidst the war cries, both sides have made it clear they are not interested in
embarking on another war. Hezbollah is indeed busy in Syria and has little
interest in fighting on multiple fronts. Furthermore, the domestic atmosphere in
Lebanon is not that of 2006. There are now around 2 million Syrian refugees in
Lebanon for Israel to consider, as well as a Hezbollah-hostile section of
society that would not be as welcoming as they were in 2006 to internally
displaced people fleeing airstrikes. In addition, the Syrian-Lebanese border
will not be open to those escaping the attacks, essentially turning Lebanon into
an open-air prison.
It is also worth noting that with all of Hezbollah's upward trajectory in the
region (Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Yemen), today's region is incredibly hostile
toward it. Thus, the last thing Hezbollah and its backer, Iran, would want is to
create a situation where even on its home territory it is on the defensive and
dealing with a hostile population — while also fending off attacks from one of
the strongest and best-equipped armies in the world.
Nor is Israel prepared to fight a war in which it cannot guarantee a total
achievement of its goals. While it does have the capability of causing severe
damage to Lebanon, it still cannot guarantee neutralizing Hezbollah. Israel also
knows Hezbollah's missiles have the potential to cause serious damage to both
Israeli infrastructure and the security of its population. Furthermore, if the
Golan front is indeed activated, it will be a battlefield with a lot of unknown
and unpredictable variables. These variables include the role and position of
the differing opposition groups, as well as whether both Hezbollah's allies and
Israel's allies would be dragged into the confrontation, moving the war from
what Israel would prefer — contained, surgical, quick — to an open-ended, messy
and complex conflict.
As one Hezbollah fighter told Al-Monitor, "While Israel may have the key to open
the door for a war, it does not have the ability to close that door again when
it chooses, and therefore won’t take the risk."
While this could encourage some analysts to rule out the possibility of a
confrontation, one needs to remember that what happens between Hezbollah and
Israel is motivated, to a great extent, by what happens in the region — namely
the wider confrontation between US allies and Iran.
Hezbollah is certainly wary of the new US administration, with sources close to
the organization pointing to the fact that the previous administration under
Barack Obama was not interested in entertaining a new Hezbollah-Israel war,
whereas the Donald Trump administration has proven so far to be an unknown
variable. "Before Trump, there was no indication of a war [between Israel and
Hezbollah] in the future," said one official close to the party. "But now with
Trump, no one has a clue about his foreign policy. What we have seen so far, his
priorities seem to be North Korea, the Islamic State and Iran."
Is it likely the Trump administration would entertain a confrontation with Iran
via a Hezbollah-Israel war? It is so far unclear, but the fluidity of the
battlefield and the players in Syria mean such a confrontation would prove to be
incredibly risky, with the likelihood of eventually dragging the United States
further into an already messy arena. As one source put it, "If there is going to
be a war between Hezbollah and Israel in Syria, it would be an expansive
confrontation with many unknown variables."
Lebanon's budding hashish business brings high returns
Author Fernande van/Al Monitor/May 13/17 (originally posted on 09 May/17
Abou Ali’s business is flourishing. A hundred meters behind his two-story house
in the Bekaa Valley lies a field of red-brown, crumbly earth. He has just
planted the season’s crop. “You know the red soil is what gives our most famous
hashish its name: Red Lebanese.”
Cannabis production in Lebanon has soared by more than 30% since 2012, when
spillover from the war in Syria led security forces to focus on deadlier threats
like car bombs and Islamic militants.
Outside sits a black SUV with blacked-out windows and no license plates. Abou
Ali, who did not want to give his full name, is 52 years old with cropped, gray
hair, his T-shirt stretched over his bulging stomach. There is a handgun tucked
into the waistband of his jeans.
As the war in Syria has escalated, claiming over 400,000 lives, Abou Ali has
seen his business grow by 60%. With Lebanese security forces focused on internal
threats, he has expanded cannabis production to 300 acres and hired 40 workers,
“all Syrians.” After the harvest, they will process the spiky-leafed plant at 50
different locations spread around the valley. After sifting and drying the
resin, he will have 1,000 kilos of hashish, earning him more than $3 million a
year.
Though cultivating the plant is illegal, cannabis fields are a common sight in
the Bekaa. They dot the fertile valley, wedged between fields of wheat and
cherry trees. In four months' time, the plants will be ready to harvest,
permeating the air with the smell of the sticky cannabis resin. The country is
the third biggest hashish producer in the world, according to the United Nations
Office on Drugs and Crime.
During Lebanon's civil war (1975-1990), the cultivation of cannabis and opium
boomed. Abou Ali reminisces about those good old days when he would drive trucks
piled high with hashish past checkpoints, unbothered.
After the war, there were several attempts to eradicate it. A US aid plan tried
to get hashish growers to switch to dairy farming in the '90s. However,
corruption led to the 3,000 imported cows being sold off. “It was all lies,”
Abou Ali remembers.
Since 2000, growers have mostly been left alone, aside from annual efforts to
crack down just ahead of harvest time. Every summer, hundreds of acres were
cleared by bulldozers, often causing clashes between farmers and the army. A
confrontation in 2012 saw rockets fired, and casualties. From then on, faced
with spillover from the war in Syria, the security forces focused their efforts
on internal threats like car bombs and Islamic militants. As a result, hashish
production has increased exponentially.
Cannabis is grown on almost 9,000 acres throughout the country, says Gen.
Ghassan Chamseddine, head of a drug enforcement unit. His Beirut office is
filled with tokens of appreciation from other law enforcement agencies like the
DEA. But he has been unable to stop production soaring by more than 30% since
2012. “Every farmer in the Bekaa thought, well, if the government doesn’t
eradicate it, why don’t I grow it?” says Chamseddine.
His small unit of 65 people do their best to rein in the practice. But he feels
his hands are tied. Politically, there is little goodwill — indeed, the
politicians themselves are often involved in the drug trade. Abou Ali says he
ensures his shipments are secure by finding “someone in government who can
help.” In addition to paying bribes, he has another way to guarantee his contact
will deliver. “We keep an eye on his family, so that they are in reach, just to
be sure,” he says.
The powerful Shiite movement Hezbollah, whose yellow-and-green flags flutter
along the road to Abou Ali’s house, also turns a blind eye.
Chamseddine’s unit does not have a mandate to search goods entering or leaving
the country. “We are not allowed to set up any checkpoint for drugs — not at the
airport, not at the harbor, nowhere,” he says. He is also unable to pay
informants, as his unit hasn't the budget for it. “This is our policy … every
country in the world understands that nobody can fight drugs without a budget.
In Lebanon, we have no budget. You must fight with just your muscles,” he says.
Sometimes, his unit gets lucky. In the basement, a windowless room serves as a
drug depot. Suitcases full of cocaine, millions of Captagon pills and boxes full
of amphetamines line the walls. Beside the door is a 3-meter-high pile of white
sacks. They contain flat tablets of hashish the size of a car's side mirror,
individually wrapped in black plastic. When an officer cuts one open with a
small pocketknife, the smell is pungent. This shipment was part of their largest
catch so far: 5,500 kilos of hashish hidden in a shipment of apples headed to
Europe.
But Chamseddine is weary of taking on the country’s powerful drug lords, who
belong to influential clans and are often armed to the teeth. “Fighting them
with 30 men is like a suicide operation. … It’s like fighting naked. These
criminals have all kinds of weapons and machine guns, and you will only go with
your Kalashnikov,” he says, visually frustrated.
When the military steps in to raid a drug lord, the target usually escapes,
tipped off long before soldiers burst through the door. Last month, for example,
Ali Nasri Shamas, a renowned drug kingpin from the area, saw his weapons cache
and drugs seized in a raid. But there was no sign of the man himself, who had
frequently boasted about his drug empire and liked showing off his weapons
arsenal to the media.
Chamseddine is hoping the new government, installed in December last year, will
restart the eradication of the cannabis crop, saying, “I am optimistic that we
will try again this year.” He pauses. “I hope so.”
The cannabis plants, meanwhile, continue to grow. Abou Ali is looking forward to
his best harvest in years. “The longer the instability lasts, the more I am able
to grow,” he says happily.
PSP denounces Abra assault
Sat 13 May 2017/NNA - In a statement issued on Saturday, the Progressive
Socialist Party denounced the "suspicious attack on the statue of St. Elias in
the town of Abra, east of Sidon.""This despicable act harms coexistence and the
most basic human values. Tampering with religious symbols is done at the hands
of infiltrators with the aim to destabilize this region which has long been
characterized by coexistence," the statement said.
ISF: Two soldiers injured, fugitive killed during pursuit
Sat 13 May 2017/NNA - The Directorate General of the Internal Security Forces -
Public Relations Division - issued on Saturday the following communiqué: "At
approximately 22:30 on 12/05/2017, upon the signal of the relevant judicial
authority, and in the area of Bir al-Abd, the southern suburb judicial police
unit arrested one of the most wanted persons, on charges of committing more than
a murder. The arrestee is Lebanese. During the pursuit, the fugitive fired at
elements of the judicial police with a pistol which was in his possession,
wounding two soldiers, which forced them to respond with counter-shooting that
led to his injury. The arrestee was later taken to a hospital for treatment, but
soon succumbed to his wounds and died."
Ramadan arrests three Lebanese, one Palestinian minors on
charges of smashing St. Elias status in Abra
Sat 13 May 2017/NNA - The Attorney General of the Appeals Court in the south,
Judge Rahif Ramadan, arrested four people in connection with the attack on the
statue of St. Elias in Abra, east of Sidon. The arrestees are all minors, and
they have all confessed to the assault on the statue. Investigations are ongoing
to find out why they have done so.
Relatives of arrested Islamists cut off Tripoli highway in
Akkar
Sat 13 May 2017/NNA - Families of the Islamist detainees cut off with burning
tires, the main highway between Tripoli and Akkar, in both directions, demanding
amnesty for the detainees, the NNA correspondent said.
Murex d'Or Awards celebrated under patronage of
Information, Tourism and Culture ministers
Sat 13 May 2017/NNA - The 17th round of Murex d'Or Awards ceremony was held on
Friday evening at Casino du Liban, under the patronage of Information Minister,
Melhem Riachy, Tourism Minister, Avedis Guidanian, and Culture Minister, Ghattas
Al-Khoury, in the absence of the latter. The red carpet ceremony was attended by
a large crowd of journalists from Lebanon and the Arab world. Stars and artists
from Lebanon and the Arab world received their awards for their work during the
past year and their contribution to promoting art, beauty, culture and
innovation.
Tripoli port Director: Fire has been controlled
Sat 13 May 2017/NNA - The fire which broke out in Tripoli Port, starting from a
livestock boat, has been cordoned off, according to the Director of Tripoli
port, Ahmad Tamer.Maintenance works have led to the fire.
Khalil during Municipalities Coordinators Conference: We
ask for energy plan not a deal
Sat 13 May 2017/NNA - Minister of Finance, Ali Hassan Khalil, said on Saturday
that Amal party are not against any proposed energy plan that would impact
positively on people's interests.
Minister Khalil, whose words came during a conference for Municipalities
Coordinators in South of Lebanon, added that his party had no problem to lease
new power barges if the tender operation was conducted properly and according to
the deliberations that took place in the cabinet. Khalil added that Muslims
wanted to preserve the Christians through the adoption of an electoral law based
on proportionality which united all the Lebanese.
Tripoli Port fire presumed to have erupted on livestock boat
Sat 13 May 2017/NNA - The fire which expanded in Tripoli Port has erupted on a
livestock boat, the NNA correspondent reported.
Huge fire erupts in Tripoli Port
Sat 13 May 2017/NNA - A huge fire broke out in Tripoli Port, with smoke filling
the area. Civil Defense units are working on extinguishing the flames, the NNA
correspondent said.
US Sanctions Might Include Aoun and Berri
Kataeb.org/May 13/17/The past week has seen plenty of talk about de-escalation
zones in Syria — a Russian-designed plan to freeze the fighting in the four
areas where rebels still pose a potent threat to the Assad regime , which Russia
and Iran have kept alive.
There is less talk about the escalation of Israel’s attacks on what it says are
Iran-supplied arms convoys and depots in Syria destined for Hizbollah. The
Lebanese Shia paramilitary movement has come to serve as Tehran’s spearhead in
the Levant and, since 2013, a decisive strike-force in the Syrian civil war. In
the past six months, Israel has stepped up the tempo of its air strikes on these
alleged Hizbollah assets in Syria. At the same time, it has warned of a new
Lebanon war.Here's the link to full article:https://goo.gl/IhsN19
Berri, Al-Jadeed Channel Trade Legal Lawsuits
Kataeb.org/May 13/17/Speaker Nabih Berri filed a lawsuit against Al-Jadeed TV
channel on charges of slander, defamation, contempt and seditious incitement.
Berri's lawsuit, lodged before the Public Prosecution, targets Tahseen Khayyat,
Karma Khayat, Al-Jadeed TV and Mariam Al-Bassam. On the other side, Al-Jadeed TV
also filed a lawsuit against the so-called Lebanese Resistance Brigades Party
and its leader Nabih Berri on charges of freedom suppression, inentional harm
and death threats. Unidentified men attacked Al-Jadeed channel Thursday morning,
throwing flammable material into its garage. This resulted in a blaze that
damaged one of the TV’s broadcast vehicles.
Kataeb Chief Says Energy Minister Failed to Consolidate Power Barges Plan
Kataeb.org/May 13/17/Kataeb chief Samy Gemayel said that Energy Minister Cesar
Abi Khalil failed to endorse his power barges plan with convincing arguments,
adding that the latter had nothing new to present during yesterday's meeting of
the parliamentary Finance and Budget Committee.
In remarks published in Al-Joumhouria newspaper, Gemayel criticized the minister
for not answering the questions related to the deal sealed with the Turkish
power barges company, saying that Abi Khalil also failed to provide
clarifications and the justifications needed to consolidate his plan. “Abi
Khalil did not give answers or clarifications to the power barges deal that was
previously agreed upon, nor the economic purpose of implementating such a plan,
nor the high cost of rent in comparison to other countries,” Gemayel added. “The
Kataeb party will continue to oppose to this plan based on facts and documents
that the minister did not comment on any of them. We will exert utmost efforts
to bring down this deal and rectify the government’s approach to overhaul the
electricity sector that has been draining the treasury over the past 10 years,"
he concluded.
Latest LCCC
Bulletin For Miscellaneous Reports And News published on
May 13-14/17
Pope
Canoness Fatima Visionaries, Giving Church New Children Saints
AFP/May 13/17/Pope Francis gave the Catholic Church two of its
youngest saints on Saturday, canonizing shepherd siblings believed to have seen
the Madonna 100 years ago in a Portuguese town that is now a major pilgrimage
site. Hundreds of thousands of people, many of whom slept outdoors to hold their
places, broke into applause as the leader of the world's 1.2 billion Catholics
proclaimed the siblings - Francisco and Jacinta Marto - the newest of the
Church's saints. The two died at the ages of 10 and 9 years old, within three
years of the 1917 apparitions, making them the youngest saints of the Church who
were not martyrs. The Virgin of Fatima is venerated by Catholics around the
world, a following underscored by the many national flags fluttering in the huge
crowd, estimated at more than half a million. Marie Chantal, 57, a life-long
devotee, traveled more than 9,000 km (5,600 miles) from the island of Reunion in
the Indian Ocean to attend the ceremony. "I am very emotional because this pope
is truly merciful and close to the people and I think he will bring us many good
things," she said. In the homily of a huge outdoor Mass, Francis prayed that the
Madonna would protect the most vulnerable members of society, "especially the
sick and the disabled, prisoners and the unemployed, the poor and the
abandoned". Two huge tapestries made from century-old photographs of the
children dressed in the traditional peasant garb of the times hung from the
church that is now the focal point of the sanctuary visited by about seven
million people each year. The story of Fatima's shepherd children has captivated
Catholics since their first reported vision on May 13, 1917. The Church believes
the Madonna gave three children - Francisco and Jacinta Marto and their older
cousin Lucia Dos Santos - three messages, the so-called secrets of Fatima. Dos
Santos became a nun and died in 2005 at the age of 97, and efforts are underway
to make her a saint as well. The first two secrets were revealed soon and
concerned a vision of hell, seen by believers as a prediction of the outbreak of
World War Two, a warning that Russia would "spread her errors" in the world, and
a need for general conversion to God and prayer. The "third secret" intrigued
the world for more than three-quarters of a century, inspiring books and cults
convinced that it predicted the end of the world. In 2000, the Vatican said it
was a prediction of the 1981 assassination attempt on Pope John Paul on May 13,
the same day of the first reported apparition in 1917. John Paul believed the
Madonna had diverted one of the bullets that hit him from his vital organs. He
donated it to the sanctuary, where it is now embedded in the crown of the statue
of the Madonna. Gracinda Vieira, 57, slept outside during the chill night in
Fatima to hold her place near the front of the crowd. "It was not a great
sacrifice ... it is very important for me and for the Church," said Vieira, who
had traveled from her home 250 km north of Fatima in central Portugal. "This
pope is different in everything, I like him a lot. He is closer to us, the
people," she said.
US 'close to
completing' $100 billion Saudi arms deal
The New Arab/May 13/17/US officials are reportedly preparing a multi-billion
dollar arms package for Saudi Arabia a week ahead of President Donald Trump's
trip to the Middle Eastern kingdom. The United States is set to complete a
series of arms deals worth over $100 billion for Saudi Arabia, an unnamed senior
White House Official told Reuters on Friday. According to the official, the US
could boost the kingdom's defence capabilities with a package that may surpass
$300 billion over a decade. The US will still however ensure that Israel
maintains its qualitative edge over its neighbours, the official added. "We are
in the final stages of a series of deals," the official said. The multi-billion
dollar arms package is being prepared ahead of US President Donald Trump's visit
to Riyadh on May 19. Washington is Riyadh's main supplier of arms and military
equipment, with the ultra-conservative kingdom having purchased tens of billions
of dollars in fighter jets and command and control systems in recent years.
While rights groups have criticised the US for supplying Saudi Arabia with arms
as it continues its brutal war in Yemen, the lucrative deals come as Trump
attempts to fulfil his campaign pledge of stimulating the US economy through
manufacturing. "It's good for the American economy but it will also be good in
terms of building a capability that is appropriate for the challenges of the
region," the anonymous official said. On his maiden foreign trip as US
president, Trump is expected to discuss the fight against the Islamic State
group, the war in Yemen and threats to maritime shipping in the Red Sea with
Gulf leaders. Discussions about safe havens for Syrian refugees, or
'de-escalation zones', will also be feature prominently during the president's
trip. As well as visiting Saudi Arabia, Trump's trip will include stops to
Israel, Brussels, the Vatican and Sicily for a NATO Group of Seven summit.
Washington to
Lavrov: US Insists on ‘Beheading Syria’s Regime’
Asharq Al Awsat/May 13/17/London – Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov’s
meetings in Washington revealed an ongoing dispute between the two countries
regarding the fate of head of Syria’s regime Bashar al-Assad. The administration
of President Donald Trump insists on “cutting off the head” of Syria’s regime
and 20 others of its aids, while Moscow warned from “the repetition of the Iraqi
and Libyan models” in Syria, western diplomatic sources told Asharq Al-Awsat on
Friday. The sources said Trump’s administration now “has a clear position from
Assad after intelligence apparatus in Washington, London and Paris received
proofs that the Syrian regime was 100 percent responsible about the chemical
attack in Khan Sheikhoun,” when its air forces attacked civilians in the
countryside of Idlib. Trump’s administration informed Lavrov during this week’s
talks in Washington about three Noes: “No peace with Assad, no stability with
Assad and no reconstruction with Assad,” the sources said. They added, however,
that Washington was lenient regarding “the method and the timing of Assad’s
exit” from Syria and said Trump’s administration accepts those matters to be
managed by Moscow, including a possibility that Russia hosts Assad in return of
a US pledge that he would not be prosecuted by the International Criminal Court.
In return, Lavrov reiterated his country’s position, saying “the exit of Assad
would lead to the collapse of the regime and would echo the Iraqi and Libyan
disorder in Syria.”
The US side told lavrov that “around 20 officials from the Syrian regime are
required to leave,” but accepted the presence of the Army and the security
apparatus, the sources said, adding that Washington does not mind that a Alawite
personality be tasked to rule the new regime. “Washington only demands that the
regime’s head be cut off and be sent out of Syria not to repeat the Yemeni
model, when Ali Abdullah Saleh stayed in the country and played a negative role
there,” the sources said. Washington also informed Lavrov during their second
round of talks that the US refuses to play a role in the Geneva and Astana talks
in return of its insistence to see a “US-Russian deal on Syria that could be the
start of bilateral relations between the two sides,” and that could develop to
include an additional agreement on Ukraine. The sources said that Washington
also expressed its worries vis-à-vis the Iranian role in Syria. They added that
“Deraa might be the most suitable area from where both countries could start
implementing a memorandum on establishing de-escalation zones in Syria” because
this area was not under Iran’s control. A western official said on Friday that
the campaign launched by the Syrian regime, Iran and Hezbollah by sending
reconnaissance aircrafts to the Jordanian borders came after the regime and its
allies were worried from the execution of the de-escalation memorandum in
southern Syria, under a US-Russian support.
Syria: Opposition Demands Comprehensive Ceasefire to
Introduce Political Transformation
Caroline Akoum/Asharq Al Awsat/May 13/17/Beirut – The High Negotiations
Committee (HNC) did not carry out any amendments regarding the delegation
members to attend the negotiations in Geneva due next week. During its meetings
in Riyadh, the committee discussed the political transformation and stressed
that it represents a priority in the negotiations – it also discussed demanding
a comprehensive ceasefire in Syria and not only in certain areas – as stated in
Astana Agreement – as well as breaking the siege and rejecting displacement.
Though the opposition pins no high hopes on this round, yet it sees that the US
presence will positively affect it, especially that the representation will be
on a higher-rank compared to round five. Also, the negotiations come after
US-Russian meetings and agreement to activate Geneva negotiations. Member of the
High Negotiation Committee Fuad Aliko told Asharq Al-Awsat: “We don’t expect
huge changes. We are aware that the mission is challenging, but we hope that the
updates and international acts hold some change.” Aliko asserted that
negotiations should be resumed from where they ended in the last round, majorly
at the point of political transformation. Ahmad Ramadan, a spokesman for the HNC,
told Asharq Al-Awsat that the meetings in Riyadh discussed Geneva negotiations
scheduled for next Tuesday. Discussions underscored importance of Russian
commitment to the ceasefire, knowing that Moscow is one of Astana Agreement
guarantors. Ramadan pointed out that the committee will demand not to restrict
alleviating escalation to certain areas– as mentioned in Astana Agreement – but
to attain a comprehensive and prompt ceasefire. During the previous five rounds,
negotiations weren’t direct between the regime and opposition delegations but
through UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura. Syria’s Michael Conte, UN
Special Envoy for Syria, expected no change in this regard during the sixth
round.
Lavrov Discusses De-escalation Zones with Egyptian,
Jordanian Counterparts
Taha Abed alWahed/Asharq Al Awsat/May 13/17/Moscow- Russian Foreign Minister
Sergei Lavrov has discussed with this Egyptian and Jordanian counterparts in two
separate phone conversations the “de-escalation zones” in Syria. The Russian
Foreign Ministry said Friday that Lavrov received a phone call from Jordan’s
Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Ayman al-Safadi. “The ministers
discussed prospects for cooperation in regional affairs with an emphasis on the
Syrian settlement in light of efforts towards bolstering and expanding the
ceasefire in Syria in keeping with the memorandum on the creation of
de-escalation zones” in Syria, the ministry said in a statement. Discussions
also focused on the creation of such zones in areas bordering Jordan in line
with the memorandum signed in Astana on May 4 and backed by the Syrian regime,
it said. On Lavrov’s phone conversation with Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh
Shoukry, the ministry said in a separate statement that “the ministers exchanged
views on the Syrian crisis, taking into account the results of the fourth
International High-Level Meeting on Syria held in Astana on May 3 and 4.”“They
discussed specific joint steps to support the political settlement of the armed
conflict,” it said. Sources had said after the latest round of Astana talks that
Egypt was one of the country’s willing to provide observers in the de-escalation
zones. Meanwhile, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov has not ruled
out the participation of the US in the de-escalation zones. “Lavrov was in
Washington and contacts with our American partners are underway in that regard,”
he was quoted as saying. Lavrov told reporters in the US State of Alaska on
Friday that he hasn’t discussed with President Donald Trump the US participation
in the memorandum on the de-escalation zones. “I have said that we welcome any
such participation,” he said. Lavrov is the highest-ranking Russian official to
visit Washington since Trump came to power in January, and earned a rare
invitation to the Oval Office for a head-to-head.
Russia's central bank says
domestic banks withstood massive cyber attacks
Sat 13 May 2017/NNA - Russia's central bank said on Saturday it had detected
"massive" cyber attacks on domestic banks, which successfully thwarted them, the
RIA news agency reported. The report came amid a global cyber attack leveraging
hacking tools believed to have been developed by the U.S. National Security
Agency that infected tens of thousands of computers in nearly 100
countries.Local media reported that state-owned Russian Railways also
successfully defended itself from a cyber attack. -- REUTERS
Syrian army regains control of airport in northern Syria
from Islamic State
Sat 13 May 2017/NNA - The Syrian army has taken full control of a small airbase
in eastern Aleppo countryside that was under Islamic State control, aided by
heavy aerial bombing by Russian and Syrian airforces, pro-state media and an
army source said on Saturday.
The al-Jarrah airport is located in the ultra-hardline militants' remaining
enclave in eastern Aleppo countryside, a region where they have mostly lost
control to competing forces ranging from the Syrian army, U.S.-backed
Kurdish-led forces to Turkey-backed Free Syrian Army (FSA) rebels. The airport
was briefly stormed by the army's elite forces last March, but the militants
repelled that attack on the base they had held since 2014. Russian and Syrian
jets have also intensified their attacks on the town of Maskaneh, the last main
town in the region west of the Euphrates River in eastern Aleppo countryside,
former residents in touch with relatives said.Dozens of civilians have been
killed since last week in the aerial bombing of the remaining villages and towns
in the area still in the control of the militants, the UK-based Syrian
Observatory for Human Rights said. -- REUTERS
Al-Mouallimi: Saudi-American Ties Will Grow Stronger under
Trump
Asharq Al-Awsat/May 13/17/Washington – Saudi Arabia’s permanent Ambassador to
the United Nations Abdullah al-Mouallimi announced on Friday that US President
Donald Trump’s choice of the kingdom as the first stop in his first
international tour since his election “demonstrates the importance of bolstering
ties between the two countries and the Arab and Muslim worlds.”He added that
Saudi-American ties will grow stronger under the Trump leadership, stressing
that these relations are already strong and based on solid foundations. Trump
had on more than one occasion expressed his appreciation for the role Riyadh is
playing in the region and voiced his backing for efforts in several issues, al-Mouallimi
noted during a statement while attending a seminar on terrorism held in
Washington. Moreover, the ambassador noted that Saudi Arabia shares with Trump
his view that Iran’s actions in the region should stop and they it should be
confronted. He also underlined the need for Islamic states to confront terrorism
through more effective and creative means, adding that the upcoming summit
between the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and Trump will serve as an
opportunity to exchange ideas.
Addressing terrorism, the ambassador remarked: “The kingdom has long realized
that the war to defeat terror will take a long time. A victory should take place
on a large international scale and the kingdom is aware that defeating terrorism
will not only occur on the field, but in gaining the hearts and minds of the
people throughout the country.” He highlighted Saudi Arabia’s efforts to target
the sources of funding of terrorism from within and outside of the kingdom,
noting that terrorism is not affiliated with any race or religion. Meanwhile,
Saudi Interior Ministry’s Khaled al-Zahrani, who also took part in the
Washington seminar, said that the kingdom has since 1979 been the victim of 335
terrorist attacks that left 159 foreigners dead and 1,047 wounded. A total of
338 citizens were killed and 1,288 injured in these assaults. The security
forces have thwarted 229 attacks. He noted that terror attacks are on the rise
in the kingdom, “but they are being met with an increased determination to
confront and defeat them.” The kingdom’s counter-terrorism policy is based on
security and intellectual confrontations, he explained. This strategy has paid
dividends whereby the number of Saudis carrying terror attacks has dropped. He
credited this achievement to the government’s successful efforts in raising
awareness among the citizens on the dangers of terrorism and extremism. Al-Zahrani
acknowledged however that the number of foreign terrorists is on the rise.
“Saudi Arabia is not seeking applause for its counter-terrorism efforts, but it
wants more listeners. Its experience in fighting terrorism is not complete, but
other countries should learn from it,” he added.
Terrorists Kill Child, Man in Eastern Saudi Arabia
Asharq Al-Awsat/May 13/17/Dammam – A Saudi child and a Pakistani man were killed
while 10 others, including a woman, were injured on Wednesday when terrorist
gunmen arbitrarily shot at workers and passersby in Al-Masourah district of Al-Awamiyah
with an aim to deactivate a development project site, which terrorist militias
use as their nest, the Saudi Interior Ministry announced on Friday. Maj. Gen.
Mansour Al-Turki, security spokesman at the Ministry of Interior, said that
workers of a contracting company were at the site of the project when they came
under attack by terrorists, who also targeted the machinery used for work.
“Workers were shot at by terrorist elements from the neighborhood to obstruct
the project and protect abandoned houses used as their hideout to kidnap
citizens and religious men,” Al-Turki said. He added that the security forces
launched an operation to track down the terrorists, asserting that the security
apparatus would exert all efforts to impose order at the development project
site. A two-year-old Saudi infant and a Pakistani expatriate were killed while
10 others, including four security persons, were injured by the terrorists
attack to disrupt construction of a development project in Al-Masourah. Al-Turki
praised local people who are acting in solidarity with the police to capture the
gunmen. The ministry also called on the criminals to surrender themselves to the
authorities. He said the terrorists seek to obstruct works at the project to
protect their terrorist activities, and to preserve the current situation in the
neighborhood that secures the presence of terrorist nests used by their
militants to commit crimes and promote arms and drugs. There are more than 1,450
people living in around 488 houses in Al-Masourah district in the Al-Awamiyah
town. Those residents are constantly threatened by individually led parties to
obstruct the completion of the project, which aims to achieve sustainability and
development in the neighborhood, considered as one of the oldest streets in the
Qatif district.
King Salman Invites Indonesia, Azerbaijan Presidents to
Attend Summit in Riyadh
Asharq Al-Awsat/May 13/17/Jeddah – Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman
bin Abdulaziz sent a message to President of Indonesia Joko Widodo, inviting him
to attend the Arab-Islamic-US Summit to be hosted by the Kingdom of Saudi
Arabia. The message was delivered by the Minister of Culture and Information Dr.
Awad al-Awad during a meeting with the Indonesian President on Friday. The Saudi
minister conveyed appreciation of King Salman, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Naif
bin Abdulaziz, deputy premier and minister of interior, and Deputy Crown Prince
Mohammed bin Salman, the second deputy prime minister and minister of defense,
to the Indonesian president. The message also expressed the Saudi officials’
keenness to develop Indonesian-Saudi ties in diverse fields to achieve common
interests of both nations.Widodo also expressed gratitude for King Salman’s
invitation to attend the summit, hoping that it contributes in serving the
Islamic and Arab nations’ matters, presenting the correct image of Islam and
reinforcing international security and safety. Saudi Arabia’s Arab Gulf Affairs
Minister Thamer al-Sabhan also invited on Friday at the presidential palace
Azerbaijan President to attend the summit.
Jordanian in US Accused of Trying to Join ISIS
Asharq Al-Awsat/May 13/17/Washington- A Jordanian citizen living in the US State
of Ohio has been indicted on a charge of attempting to travel to the Middle East
and fight with ISIS, a month after his arrest at the Cincinnati-Northern
Kentucky International Airport in Hebron, Kentucky. Prosecutors said 26-year-old
Laith Waleed Alebbini is a legal permanent resident of the US and that he was
attempting to fly to Turkey before joining up with ISIS jihadists. If convicted,
Alebbini faces up to 20 years in prison. Court records say he was arrested in
January for unlawful entry at the Turkish embassy in Washington, but those
charges were later dropped. Last week, the New York Daily News said that police
had been closely monitoring him since he headed from Ohio to Washington to get a
visit for Turkey. They arrested him before boarding a plane from Cincinnati to
Chicago from where he was set to take a flight to Turkey, the report said.
According to the newspaper, Alebbini has previously visited Turkey. He faced
problems during his last trip when the Turkish authorities denied him entry over
the expiry of his Jordanian passport. Then the police learned that his visit to
the Turkish embassy in Washington was stormy because he had tried to get a visa
despite the expiry of his passport. FBI documents presented to the court said
that in addition to monitoring his moves, police had questioned Alebbini on
several occasions. They also monitored his phone calls and his social media
posts. He had expressed frustration over US policy in the Middle East and the
police arrest after his visit to the Turkish embassy. “You will regret it,” he
said, in one of his posts.Media reports also said that Alebbini had told FBI
investigators he was “the perfect recruit for ISIS.”
PMF Launches New Offensive West of Mosul Near Syria Border
Asharq Al-Awsat/May 13/17/Baghdad, Mosul- Popular Mobilization Forces launched
on Friday an operation to retake the Iraqi neighborhood of al-Qayrawan, west of
Mosul, a hub for ISIS on the border with Syria.“Our operations were launched at
5:00 am on several fronts … The aim is to head west” towards Syria’s border, the
deputy chief of the PMF committee Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis said on Friday. Yahya
Rasool, Iraqi army spokesman for the Joint Military Command, told Agence France
Presse that the PMF’s operation would be backed by Iraqi military air power.
Asked about the new offensive’s objective, Rasool said: “We should liberate the
important areas that are linked to the Syrian border.”He also expected the
operation to be quick because ISIS is losing strength. The PMF, which has
retaken hundreds of villages southwest of Mosul, advanced from five fronts
towards towns near al-Qayrawan and exchanged in bloody battles with extremists.
Al-Qayrawan links Nineveh province with the Syrian border, where the jihadists
use as a supply route. According to the German News Agency, the PMF command said
its units are encircling al-Qayrawan from the southern, northern and eastern
directions in preparation for storming it. In the process, the Iraqi air force,
which is providing air power to the PMF units, destroyed several booby-trapped
vehicles. The PMF also blew up two explosive-laden vehicles and killed six
militants in the liberated village of Umm al-Shababik.
Trump to Support Palestinians’ Right for
‘Self-Determination’
Nazir al-Majli and Asharq al-Awsat/May 13/17/Tel Aviv, Washington – US National
Security Advisor H.R. McMaster uncovered on Friday that during President Donald
Trump’s foreign trip to the Middle East, to begin in Saudi Arabia, the president
would express his desire for self-administration for the Palestinians. At the
daily White House briefing, McMaster said: “During the trip, Trump will
encourage our Arab and Muslim partners to take bold, new steps to promote peace
and to confront those from ISIS, al-Qaeda and Iran, to the Assad regime of
Syria.”
He added that Trump also seeks to unite peoples of all faiths around a common
vision of peace, progress and prosperity. Although Trump will reaffirm during
his meeting with President Rivlin and Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu,
America’s unshakeable bond with the Jewish state, the president will also
express during his meetings with President Mahmoud Abbas, “his desire for
dignity and self-determination for the Palestinians,” McMaster said. Asked about
reports that President Trump may try to get Netanyahu and Abbas in the same room
together while he’s there, McMaster said: “It will be whatever the President
wants to do.” The national advisor described the trip as historic and said: “No
President has ever visited the homelands and holy sites of the Jewish,
Christian, and Muslims faiths all on one trip.”Meanwhile, Trump’s special Middle
East envoy, Jason Greenblatt is expected in Israel during the next few days to
prepare for the president’s visit. Israeli informed sources uncovered on Friday
that Trump was sending his envoy with a mission to convince Netanyahu to
participate in a meeting including Abbas and Trump, probably to be held during
the president’s upcoming visit to the Middle East. Trump’s administration also
sent a message to Tel Aviv saying the president was “very serious” in his
efforts to ink a peace deal and therefore, the Israelis “should not deceive
him.”
17 Mummies Discovered in Central Egypt
Ashrq Al-Awsat/May 13/17/Cairo –
Egyptian archaeologists have discovered 17 mummies in catacombs in central
Egypt, antiquities ministry announced on Saturday. “We found catacombs
containing a number of mummies,” said Salah al-Kholi, who headed the mission
that made the discovery in the Touna el-Gabal district of the province in
central Egypt. The funerary site was found in a desert area in Minya province,
south of Cairo. Kholi told a news conference held near the archaeological site
in the desert that the discovery was “the first human necropolis found in
central Egypt with so many mummies.” “There will be a large necropolis behind
the shafts,” he added. A team from Cairo University followed up with the mission
of the new discovery.Al-Kholi pointed out that the necropolis was a subject, at
one point, for scavenging by antiquities thieves. Chairman of Cairo University,
Gaber Nassar, said “we will continue to fund the antiquities discoveries in
Touna el-Gabal district, and turn it into an important center at the tourist map
of Egypt.”The first discovery in Touna el-Gabal was announced in 1931.
Iran’s Sunni leader endorses Rouhani for re-election
AFP, Tehran Saturday, 13 May 2017/A leading figure of Iran’s minority Sunnis
endorsed moderate President Hassan Rouhani on Saturday ahead of this week’s
election, despite the government’s “shortcomings”.Sunnis make up around five to
10 percent of Iran’s 80 million population, which is overwhelmingly from the
Shiite sect of Islam. Religious leader Molavi Abdol Hamid said “the atmosphere
for Sunnis has been a little more relaxed” since Rouhani took power in 2013, and
that most would support him in Friday’s election. Abdol Hamid repeated calls for
greater Sunni representation in local and national government, and more action
on discrimination. “The Sunni community believes that this government, despite
its problems and weaknesses, has had more strong points, and we hope if the
current government takes office again, it will do more to resolve those problems
and shortcomings,” he said in comments carried by his website. He was speaking
in Sistan Baluchistan province, a Sunni-majority region in southeastern Iran
bordering Afghanistan and Pakistan. Rouhani is leading in official polls, but
faces a tough fight for re-election against conservative rivals who accuse him
of failing to boost the struggling economy.
How Saudi forces protected civilians from terrorists’ fire
in Qatif
Staff writer, Al Arabiya English Saturday, 13 May 2017/Social media activists
from Saudi Arabia are sharing a number of pictures and videos of the security
forces’ efforts to spare civilians from the al-Zawahiri neighborhood in al-Awamiya,
Qatif, from the terrorists who attacked the area. Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of
Interior said on Friday that terrorists targeted a development project in the
neighborhood of al-Masoura in the eastern province of Qatif, where labor workers
were targeted during the shoot-out. Two people, including an infant, were killed
and 10 others wounded after terrorists shot at workers at a development project
in the eastern Qatif governorate and left the scene. Ten people including six
Saudi nationals were wounded in the attacks. The injured include a woman and two
children, a Sudanese national, an Indian national who is in a critical
condition, in addition to four security men who suffered minor injuries.
Why do Tunisian Jews flock to this island temple at this
time every year?
Staff writer, Al Arabiya English Saturday, 13 May 2017ظThousands of Jews began
performing religious services on Friday morning at the Temple of Ghriba
Synagogue, in the Tunisian island of Djerba. This annual religious event is of
great importance to Tunisian and foreign Jews, and it has also started to
attract the attention of Tunisian Muslims. Jews perform rituals and worship for
three days – one of their most important religious celebrations – in the most
important synagogue in North Africa, where they believe to have one of the
oldest versions of the Torah in Tunisia.
Reading of the sacred books
They begin their ritual with a small religious ceremony for ‘Mir’, a Jewish
priest who for hundreds of years has been interested in preserving the doctrines
of the religion, by reading three sacred Jewish books: the Talmud, the Torah and
other Jewish sacred writings. On the second day, the Jews perform their prayers
and continue to read the Torah. They write their personal wishes on eggshells
and place them in a small cave located in the small sanctum of the synagogue.
According to legend, all the wishes written on the eggshells ome true. During
prayer, women and men are separated, both men and women keep their heads covered
and they wear modest clothing. The same evening, the Jews come out of the
synagogue and together they push a small cart decorated with a large silver lamp
and take out a procession till the next neighborhood, amid songs and hymns,
before going back. The final and third day is called the day of ‘Lord Shimon’ -
one of the senior Jewish priests. Devotees resort to him in order to seek
blessings and to ask God for forgiveness, and people pray for him and light
candles. In the evening, Tunisian traditional music celebrations are held,
during which financial donations will be collected for the temple, and the Bouja
wine (a drink made by the Jews of Tunisia from figs) is presented to the
visitors and which is believed to have healing and blessing effects.
Egypt announces reward for any information on its missing
first female mayor
Ashraf Abdelhamid, Al Arabiya Saturday, 13 May 2017/Security services in Egypt
are exerting intensive efforts in the search for Nahed Lashin, thecountry’s
first woman to assume the post of mayor, who disappeared after leaving her home
63 days ago. Salah Abdul Hamid Lashin, Nahed’s brother, who belongs to the
village of Kafr Hanout from the province of Sharkia in northern Egypt, said that
his sister was kidnapped but refused to accuse any particular party. The family
has made an offer to those who could provide any information on her
disappearance and whereabouts. Salah said in an exclusive interview with Al
Arabiya that the family offered a paid Umrah trip or the equivalent of the value
of the amount of 15,000 Egyptian pounds in cash, in addition to a contract of
work abroad with a salary of up to 16,000 pounds to anyone who can provide
information. He added that his sister told him on the day of her disappearance
that she was on her way to a hospital to perform tests and visit some patients,
and asked her to wait for him. As soon as he arrived, the hospital’s
administration told him his sister never showed up. Salah pointed out that he
will go to the Presidential Palace in Heliopolis on Sunday morning and make an
appeal to the Egyptian President Abdul-Fattah el-Sisi to intensify the search
for his sister.
Latest LCCC
Bulletin analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on
May 13-14/17
What is behind Iran’s
new threats against its neighbors?
Heshmat Alavi/Al Arabiya/May 13/17
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/?p=55250
Senior Iranian officials have been heard making strong comments and threats
against its neighbors in the region, specifically Saudi Arabia and Pakistan.
Although being alert is always advised vis-à-vis the Iranian regime, knowledge
regarding the nature of the mullahs’ apparatus reassures us about this being an
old Tehran tactics aimed at maintaining a straight face at hard times,
desperately attempting to preserve the morale of their dwindling base, and a
pitiful attempt to sway international attention from its domestic crises with a
major presidential election just around the corner.
Archrival grudge
Iran’s first such threat came against Saudi Arabia when Defense Minister Hossein
Dehghan threatened the Kingdom soil. “If the Saudis do anything ignorant, we
will leave no area untouched except Mecca and Medina,” Iranian Defense Minister
Hossein Dehghan was quoted by Reuters citing Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news
agency. Dehghan’s remarks came after Saudi Deputy Crown Prince Mohammad bin
Salman Al Saud threatened to counter Tehran’s measures by moving the “battle”
between the two regional archrivals inside Iran.The mullahs’ seem to have easily
forgotten they initially launched the “battle” and how their modern day
illegitimate support for the Houthis in Yemen are threatening Saudi Arabia’s
southern borders. Tehran is also known for provoking Shiite terrorists inside
the Kingdom and other Muslims nations across the region. “They think they can do
something because they have an air force,” Dehghan added in an apparent
reference to Yemen, where Saudi warplanes have been regularly pounding the
Houthis and seeking to bring an end to Tehran’s meddling.
Looking to the east
Placing attention this time on Iran’s eastern neighbors, Major-General Mohammad
Baqeri warned Islamabad of his country’s forces willing to attack inside
Pakistan to target “terrorists”. Head of Iran’s armed forces in effect accused
Islamabad of harboring terrorists and not taking enough measures to stop
cross-border attacks, as he described. “We expect Pakistani officials to control
the borders, arrest the terrorists and shut down their bases,” the Al Jazeera
website quoted Iran’s Fars news agency citing Baqeri. Such comments led to
Pakistan summoning Tehran’s ambassador over these recent threats. Pakistan
strongly condemned Tehran’s statements, arguing bilateral relations between the
two bordering countries would be harming, to say the least. Iranian authorities
must abstain from making such negative comments, the Pakistani Foreign Ministry
added.
Problems at home
And when we hear a presidential candidate using the opportunity to make strong
remarks against the Saudis, we realize all these comments reflect the very
viewpoint of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei himself, the man who has the
final word on all state issues, including national security and foreign affairs.
“…one day soon the filthy stain of arrogance will be wiped… from the Noble
Sanctuaries,” said Ebrahim Raisi, head of the Astan Quds Razavi, a so-called
“charity foundation” that is actually funneling its revenue to Iran’s
Revolutionary Guards to pursue the regime’s support for terrorism and meddling
across the Middle East. Raisi was referring to the Saudis who administer many of
Islam’s holiest sides on their soil. Raisi is also known to believe Tehran’s
borders extend across Syria, “which we consider our frontier for defending the
Islamic Republic’s security and identity.” This is exactly why Raisi is
described as a close confidant of Khamenei. In this picture released by official
website of the office of the Iranian supreme leader on Wednesday, May 10, 2017,
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei attends a graduation ceremony of a group
of the Revolutionary Guard cadets in Tehran, Iran. (AP)
Elections dilemma
All this reflects how Tehran is facing a major crisis at home. Raisi and four
others are contesting incumbent President Hassan Rowhani in this regime’s 12th
presidential “election”, read selection, described by The Wall Street Journal as
“a race between several Islamic hard-liners and one hard-liner whom the Western
media prefer to cast as a moderate”. This is a process where all candidates are
vetted by the Guardian Council, an unelected 12-cleric body appointed directly
and indirectly by Khamenei. The main candidates, Rowhani and Raisi, are both
known as major executioners. Rowhani has presided over 3,000 executions during
his past four-year tenure, while Raisi has led a long career in the regime’s
judiciary and is notoriously known for his ruthless role in the 1988 massacre of
over 30,000 political prisoners.
Final thoughts
As a result, the remarks made by senior Iranian officials lashing at left and
right reveal the unending troubles the Iranian regime in its entirety is facing.
And with the third and final debate scheduled for Friday, the votes for May 19th
and a likely second round vote for May 26th, this entire month can be described
as a minefield for Khamenei and the mullahs’ entire apparatus. In such
situations this regime resorts to making threats across the board to especially
maintain face amongst its already dwindling and very low percentage social base.
The very people the mullahs’ rely on to turn out in a certain number of polling
stations where foreign reporters will be channeled to in order to claim high
voter turnout for the presidential “election”. Mohammad Mohaddessin, Chairman of
the Iranian opposition National Council of Resistance of Iran Foreign Affairs
Commission, best described the crises before Khamenei.
“The choices for Khamenei are between the worse, and the worse of the worse.
This is the reality that Khamenei has to deal with. This is a totally new
situation and new prospects and brings the regime closer to its downfall,” he
said.
Baptismal unity divides Egypt's Copts
Amr Mostafa/TranslatorJoelle El-Khoury/Al Monitor/May 13/17
CAIRO — Harmony prevailed between Pope Francis of the Roman Catholic Church and
Coptic Pope Tawadros II of Alexandria during Francis' visit to Egypt April
28-29, but their like-mindedness on baptism has ignited a debate between the
Egyptian Orthodox Church and its adherents.
An agreement on baptism between Pope Francis and Pope Tawadros II has angered
some Copts.
Denominational differences over baptism date back centuries. One point of
contention concerns whether Christians who switch churches are required to be
rebaptized according to their new denomination or whether a baptism is
irrevocable. Egyptian media reported that during a papal meeting at St. Mark's
Coptic Orthodox Cathedral in Cairo's Abbasiya district, Francis and Tawadros
signed a “document ending the dispute over the sacrament of baptism or
rebaptism.” During a general audience back at the Vatican on May 3, Francis
announced that he and Tawadros had signed a “common declaration to journey
together, and not to duplicate baptisms already received in the respective
Churches.”
Their agreement angered many Egyptian Orthodox Christians, some of whom had
earlier expressed reservations about the issue based on information leaked
before Francis arrived in Cairo. According to the leaks, the document to be
signed represented a final agreement on baptismal unity, which many Orthodox
Christians view as contrary to their Orthodox faith.
In an attempt to head off trouble, the Orthodox Church Holy Synod Secretariat
issued a statement 24 hours before Francis' arrival explaining that the document
in question was a common declaration, not a final agreement, and would read as
follows:
Today we, Pope Francis and Pope Tawadros II, in order to please the heart of the
Lord Jesus, as well as that of our sons and daughters in the faith, mutually
declare that we, with one mind and heart, will seek sincerely not to repeat the
baptism that has been administered in either of our Churches for any person who
wishes to join the other. This we confess in obedience to the Holy Scriptures
and the faith of the three Ecumenical Councils assembled in Nicaea,
Constantinople and Ephesus.
We ask God our Father to guide us, in the times and by the means that the Holy
Spirit will choose, to full unity in the mystical Body of Christ.
A source from the Orthodox Church told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity,
“The document and Pope Francis' remarks do not affirm the signing of an
agreement requiring that the sacrament of Baptism not be duplicated. Rather,
they both spoke of a common declaration spiritually committing both parties to
seek to achieve that in the hope of the reunification of the churches in the
future.”
Nevertheless, Mina Asaad Kamel, a professor of Christian apologetics at the
Alexandria School of Theology, told Al-Monitor, “Seeking to not repeat baptism
in preparation for baptismal unity should not happen at present. This is because
acknowledging the Catholic sacrament of baptism as valid is accepting the
Catholic doctrine, while many doctrinal differences need to be resolved
beforehand through a dialogue between the two churches, before examining the
issue related to the sacrament of baptism.”
In an April 30 Facebook post, Kamel asserted that the signed document in its
entirety, not just a part of it, should be publicly disclosed so Orthodox
followers could be informed. He also started an Arabic hashtag that translates
to #We_want_the_original_document.
The Muslim Brotherhood's Arabi21 website, which opposes President Abdel Fattah
al-Sisi, al-Azhar and the Orthodox Church, published a May 1 article by the
journalist Salim Azzouz, who wrote, “My guess is that the signing of the
declaration does not imply sharing the same faith. Rather, it is a political
move made by Pope Tawadros II as a part of Sisi’s campaign to woo Pope Francis.
Tawadros II does not have a problem abandoning his church’s beliefs in order to
please the ruler, because Sisi needs the Vatican's pope.”
Kamal Zakher, the coordinator of the Secular Coptic Current, an activist group,
told Al-Monitor, “The political and religious goals behind Pope Francis' visit
should not be confused. I do not think that the state pressured the Orthodox
Church to sign a document on baptism. This is because Pope Francis came to Egypt
at the invitation of al-Azhar and President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, not the
Orthodox Church or Pope Tawadros II, and Pope Francis builds upon [this] when
signing any documents. The visit’s political objective is to declare that all
religious leaders have rallied behind Egypt in countering terrorism. This is the
case in particular because the war on terrorism has sought to stem the support
of Christians in Egypt and all over the world for the state, after churches and
Christians were recently heavily targeted by terrorist attacks.”
Zakher also stated, “The churches agreeing to try to avoid repeat baptisms is
not a complete or finalized achievement that will bring the political regime
closer to Pope Francis or pressure the Egyptian church. This is because seeking
to do something does not necessarily mean that the efforts are going to bear
fruit anytime soon. Such endeavors need years, and negative reactions to the
churches’ declaration are something normal, especially because all churches have
taught their followers for centuries that they are right and all other
denominations are wrong.”
The situation is unlikely to have been one of the regime pressuring the Orthodox
Church to sign a mere common declaration. A final agreement, however, would have
been a different matter, as it, with an assist from Egypt, would have enshrined
Francis as the cleric who ended the centuries-long dispute. Regardless, in light
of Egyptian Orthodox Christians' opposition, endeavors to reach baptismal unity
will not bear fruit anytime soon.
The UN's Obsession against Israel
Pierre Rehov/Gatestone Institute/May 13/17
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/10334/un-obsession-israel
Israel is thus the only country on the planet to benefit from the doubtful
privilege of being scrutinized on the least of its actions, through an agenda
decided by its enemies.
There is also no need to go back to 1976, to remember the infamous UN Resolution
3379, "Zionism is a form of Racism," under the Secretary-Generalship of a former
Nazi, Kurt Waldheim, a week after Uganda's brutal Idi Amin received a triumphant
reception at the UN headquarters.
The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) met once again on March 20 to
debate "Agenda Item 7," a mandatory subject of debate since June 2006, the only
one whose goal is systematically to condemn the Israeli democracy for crimes the
existence of which remain to be proven.
The agenda, officially designed to assess the humanitarian situation in the
Palestinian territories, in the light of the reports submitted by Fatah, the PLO
and various NGOs, is part of a wider campaign, carried out by countries such as
Libya, Algeria, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Sudan and Yemen. Israel is thus the
only country on the planet to benefit from the doubtful privilege of being
scrutinized on the least of its actions, through an agenda decided by its
enemies.
If it were only a question of expressing this obsession, born out of an old
habit for the Arab-Muslim dictatorships to turn the Hebrew state into their
scapegoat, responsible for all the misfortunes plaguing their societies, Agenda
Item 7 would be a mere oddity, especially since the session is regularly
boycotted by a majority of Western countries, and systematically by the United
States.
Unfortunately, this Israelphobia has been spreading throughout the United
Nations. In 1948, when Israel, after being officially recognized as a sovereign
state by virtually all Western democracies, had just repelled the genocidal
aggression of five neighboring countries, and hundreds of thousands of Jews were
fleeing the oppression of Arab dictatorships, the UN gave birth to UNRWA, an
organization designed to help Palestinian refugees exclusively. This was despite
there already being a program for refugees at the UN, the Office of the United
Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
The mandate of UNRWA was for one year. Seventy years later, the organization,
now a lavish UN jobs program, continues to function within the Palestinian
territories and neighboring countries, with an annual budget close to one
billion dollars. Part of that covers salaries and pension funds for 25,000 to
27,000 employees (including many members of Hamas); schools in which the
descendants of descendants of "refugees", in suburbs or villages called "camps",
are inaccurately told that Tel Aviv and Haifa had belonged to them and should be
returned to them, and where the myth of an impossible "right of return"
continues to hold new generations of Palestinians hostage and inciting hatred of
Israel and Jews.
As Said Aburish, one of Yasser Arafat's biographers and a former adviser to
Saddam Hussein, told this author:
"In order to conserve UNRWA rations, Palestinians had become accustomed to bury
their dead at night, so that no one died in the camps except when it was
possible to accuse Israel of it. As a result, the refugee figures have always
been distorted, with the passive complicity of UNRWA, as its annual budget
depends on the number of souls for which they are responsible."
It is no secret that, in fewer than 70 years, the UN has condemned Israel more
often than all the countries of the world combined, including those guilty of
slavery, mass executions, genocide -- every human rights abuse imaginable -- to
the extent that it has almost became a joke.
It is worth recalling that between 1981 and 1986, when Israel had set up a
social program to rehabilitate Arab refugees based in Gaza, the only response
from the UN, under pressure from Fatah Chairman Yasser Arafat, was to condemn
the Hebrew State for its initiative, concluding each of its resolutions by this
distressing order: "Return the refugees to the camps".There is also no need to
go back to 1975, to remember the infamous UN Resolution 3379, "Zionism is a form
of Racism," under the Secretary-Generalship of a former Nazi, Kurt Waldheim, a
week after Uganda's brutal Idi Amin received a triumphant reception at the UN
headquarters.
Under Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim, a former Nazi, the United Nations in 1975
passed the infamous Resolution 3379, "Zionism is a form of Racism". (Photo by
Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
It is enough, however, to refer to the General Assembly of December 21, 2016 to
find that Israel, once again, was condemned 20 times while all the tragic events
on the planet, massacres in Syria, the North Korean threats, the Crimean crisis
and the ill-treatment of women and minorities in both Iran and Saudi Arabia were
penalized almost reluctantly by a tiny half dozen resolutions.
The list of the injustices done to the Jewish state by an organization supposed
to preserve peace in the world, which De Gaulle scornfully called "le machin",
"the thingy," is so long that it would take several volumes of an encyclopedia
to expose them.
None, however, has made as much noise or provoked as much rejection on the
international scene as that enacted by UNESCO on October 26, 2016, followed by a
similar text on April 29, 2017, the very day Israel was celebrating its 69th
year of independence.
Submitted by Algeria, Egypt, Lebanon, Morocco, Oman, Qatar and Sudan, this text,
ratified by the automatic Arab majority, and benefiting from the abstention of
almost all the European countries, including France, offered a new and
surprising rewriting of history by denying any connection between Judaism and
Jerusalem's Temple Mount, including the Western Wall, described in each
paragraph by only their Arab names, the Haram Al Sharif and the Al Buraq wall.
The counter-factualness of this resolution, led the new Secretary-General of
UNESCO, Antonio Guterres, to contradict it, by a declaration that the
Palestinian Authority withdraw it, together with issuing an apology.
Although it may seem outrageous systematically to target the Hebrew state, the
UN framework enables it. First, there is the composition of preponderance of
anti-democratic members of the United Nations, as well as the challenges posed
by the terrorist hammer and the oil anvil.
On the other hand, why should UNESCO, whose prescribed function is precisely the
preservation of history and the preservation of peace, participate in a farce
whose conclusion, strictly speaking, would be that Jesus chased the merchants of
the "Esplanade of the mosques" six centuries before the birth of Islam?
As for the religious context, Jerusalem -- especially the Old City and the
Temple Mount -- are sacred places for the three monotheisms. When they were in
the possession of Jordan, which had illegally seized them in 1948 until the
Israelis liberated them in 1967, all the Jews were driven from the
Jordanian-controlled part of the city; their property and belongings taken, and
their holy sites desecrated.
In the dissenting opinion of Dr. Yussuf Natshe, in charge of the Waqf, the
Muslim organization in charge of the Muslim holy places in Jerusalem, and Sheikh
Omar Awadallah Kiswani, director of the Al Aqsa mosque, these places are not to
be shared: "They have belonged to Islam from all eternity, as God and UNESCO
have wished." (Remarks collected by the author).
The goal of the Palestinians, supported by the Muslim world, would be to give
the name of the Al Aqsa mosque to the whole Haram Al Sharif (Temple Mount) so
that access to it would definitely be forbidden for any non-Muslims, as are
Mecca and Medina in Saudi Arabia. In this case, why did France become an
accomplice, by abstaining on the votes of October 26, 2016, and followed by a
similar text on April 29, 2017.
It was part of a broader program. The American president at the time, Barack
Hussein Obama, had recalibrated the US stance in favor of the Muslim Brotherhood
and Iran. At the heart of Obama's credo, the famous Israeli "settlements" seemed
to symbolize only absolute evil, while international terrorism, including
Palestinian terror, could, under no circumstances, possibly emanate from the
excesses of a religion described as one of love and peace.
This position, rational or not, may also have been considered by many a way of
gradually disengaging the United States from a moribund peace process after its
umpteenth failure in 2014, under the leadership of US Secretary of State John
Kerry.
French President François Hollande's government may well have thought that the
vote was a great opportunity to put France back on the front line of
international diplomacy by plunging daggers into the knot of the Israeli-Arab
conflict. Hence the plan for an international conference convened in Paris (but
from which the main stakeholders, Israel and the Palestinians, would be
excluded. (One has to wonder what the French would have said if other countries
had gathered, without including the French, to discuss the future of Paris.)
Arab policy, as instituted by De Gaulle in 1967 and followed by successive
French governments, was not a matter of leaving the Jewish state alive, albeit
officially still called Israel. In terms of security, France had to support its
conference by appealing to the countries on which it imagined its energy supply
depended, disregarding the small fact that the Arabs had to sell the oil rather
than drink it.
The new US administration of President Donald J. Trump, however, with US
Ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley, rebalanced the American position again, and,
by extension, those taken by Europe and France, in a conflict which has for too
long been suffering from double standards such as those mentioned above.
Why, indeed, would the Palestinians make the slightest concession, if it were
enough for the international community to hand them a state, cost-free, on a
platter?
In the opinion of Bassem Eid, a Palestinian human rights activist and political
analyst:
"The Palestinian Authority is like an opposition party. It is enough for it to
criticize and accuse Israel, it has nothing else to do or to prove, to receive
all the support and all the money it needs. And while France and Europe offer
medals to Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian people continue to suffer under its
dictatorship. "
Unfortunately, on April 29, at the UNESCO, France abstained again.
It is now time for France and the European Union to recognize that if they want
to keep the glimmer of credibility they still have as participants to any peace
process, they should cease demonizing Israel at the same time as they accept all
demands, including the use of terrorism, threats of terrorism and payments for
terrorism from Mahmoud Abbas's Palestinian Authority -- all delivered with the
approval of an organization, the UN, which Palestinians have long ago swallowed
up.
It is high time that such a toxic organization was defunded. Agencies deemed
helpful, such as the World Health Organization, can be funded separately.
Pierre Rehov is a war reporter, documentary filmmaker and novelist. His latest
film "Unveiling Jerusalem" directed for the Israel's Channel One television,
will soon be available in English-speaking countries.
© 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.
Where Kissinger goes, war follows
Tony Brady/Face Book/May 13/17
The globalist’s globalist, the architect behind most of America’s lost wars for
empire and world hegemony for the last 50-plus years, and instigator of coups
and the deaths of millions of people around the globe by the U.S. and
U.S.-supplied weapons, made a surprise visit to the White House to see Donald
Trump on Wednesday.
So much for “draining the swamp.”
And what was former Secretary of State, long-time Council on Foreign Relations
member and Bilderberger Henry Kissinger discussing with Trump? In a visit not on
Trump’s calendar? Syria.
The Syrian people – and Americans as well – should be shaking in their boots.
Because where Kissinger goes, war follows.
According to press pool reports, pool reporters were summoned at 11:20 a.m. for
what they assumed would be a photo op of Trump and Russian Foreign Minister
Sergey Lavrov. What they found was Trump seated beside the fossilized old war
criminal, former #NeverTrumper and long-time friend-of-Hillary Clinton (through
the CFR) and Zionist neocon war-making kingpin, Kissinger.
From the report:
POTUS, wearing a dark suit and red striped tie, said he met with Kissinger to
talk “about Russia and various other matters.”
“We’re talking about Syria and I think that we’re going to do very well with
respect to Syria and things are happening that are really, really, really
positive,” Trump added. “We’re going to stop the killing and the death.”
Kissinger knows a thing or three about “killing and death.” But not much, it
seems, about how to stop it. In the 1970s as national security adviser,
Kissinger oversaw the many U.S.-instigated coups throughout Central and South
America, including the overthrow of Chili’s democratically-elected government on
September 11 (notice the symmetry?) of that year. What followed was 16 years of
repression, torture and death under the fascist Augusto Pinochet and a healthy
flow of profits to U.S. multinational corporations.
As The Intercept points out, in “Kissinger’s Shadow: The Long Reach of America’s
Most Controversial Statesman,” Greg Grandin writes that as Richard Nixon’s top
foreign policy maker, Kissinger:
Prolonged the Vietnam war for five pointless years.
Illegally bombed Cambodia and Laos.
Goaded Nixon to wiretap staffers and journalists.
Bore responsibility for three genocides in Cambodia, East Timor, and Bangladesh.
Urged Nixon to go after Daniel Ellsberg for having released the Pentagon Papers,
which set off a chain of events that brought down the Nixon White House.
Pumped up Pakistan’s ISI, and encouraged it to use political Islam to
destabilize Afghanistan.
Began the U.S.’s arms-for-petrodollars dependency with Saudi Arabia and
pre-revolutionary Iran.
Accelerated needless civil wars in southern Africa that, in the name of
supporting white supremacy, left millions dead.
Supported coups and death squads throughout Latin America.
Ingratiated himself with the first-generation neocons, such as Dick Cheney and
Paul Wolfowitz, who would take American militarism to its next calamitous level.
In “The Trial of Henry Kissinger,” Christopher Hitchens examined what he
considered Kissinger’s war crimes including:
The deliberate mass killing of civilian populations in Indochina.
Deliberate collusion in mass murder, and later in assassination, in Bangladesh.
The personal suborning and planning of murder, of a senior constitutional
officer in a democratic nation — Chile — with which the United States was not at
war.
Personal involvement in a plan to murder the head of state in the democratic
nation of Cyprus.
The incitement and enabling of genocide in East Timor.
Personal involvement in a plan to kidnap and murder a journalist living in
Washington, D.C. (syndicated columnist Jack Anderson).
In the aftermath of 9/11, after Kissinger was placed as co-chair of the 9/11
Commission (the fox guarding the hen house), he resigned rather than reveal the
money his private consulting company made on fees paid by Union Carbide in the
wake of the Bhopal, India disaster.
He also profited over the years, according to The Nation, by:
…making sure Saudi Arabia’s and, until its revolution, Iran’s growing mountain
of petrodollars were recycled through private banks and arms merchants in
Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States—undercutting Third World
demands that capital be used to fund a more equitable global economy, what was
then called a New International Economic Order. Likewise, in Latin America and
Eastern Europe, Kissinger Associates profited from what one of its consultants
called the “massive sale” of public utilities and industries, a sell-off that,
in many countries, was initiated by Kissinger-supported dictators and military
regimes (Kissinger’s fudging of the line between public policy and private
finance, especially as it relates to the arms trade and petroleum extraction,
echoes through many of the controversies of the Clinton Foundation; see David
Sirota and Andrew Perez’s reporting, especially “Clinton Foundation Donors Got
Weapons Deals from Hillary Clinton’s State Department” and “As Colombian Money
Flowed to Clintons, State Department Took No Action to Prevent Labor
Violations”). This sell-off was part of the global transformation to what is
commonly called “neoliberalism,” and what in this campaign season has come to be
known as Clintonism…
Recall that I told you a year ago that the CFR had kidnapped Donald Trump. Which
explains Trump’s decision to bomb a Syrian air base over the fake news that
Syria had used poison gas on its own people.
Kissinger is proof-positive that America’s wars are not for freedom and liberty
but for profit and soft conquest.
Kabbalah on the Corniche: Jewish mysticism comes to Beirut
Olivia Alabaster/Middle East Eye/May 13/17
BEIRUT - In a country with 18 official sects, a new, ancient, form of
spiritualism has joined the scene this week, as the Middle East's first Kabbalah
centre outside of Israel has opened in Lebanon. This Jewish mysticism does not
attempt to compete with traditional, organised religions, according to Sara –
not her real name – the leader of the classes. Kabbalah is a "practical
philosophy," and a "spiritual practice," she said over coffee in Beirut's
downtown area, where the centre is situated. Sara, who is an ordained imam, said
Kabbalah is no longer explicitly Jewish. "Even though many of its practitioners
have been rabbis in the 21st century," Sara said, it has been increasingly
reframed. Rabbi Yehuda Ashlag, who contextualised the ancient text, the Zohar,
for an early 20th-century audience, sought to introduce Kabbalah to the masses,
and in so doing repackaged it as something less explicitly Jewish.
We let Muslims do their Muslim practises, and we let Christians do their
Christian practises
Perhaps most commonly associated by many today with Madonna, a famous
practitioner of Kabbalah, the philosophy, Sara said, does still share the Jewish
Mitzvah, or commandments."But as we are in Lebanon, we do not actually practise
the rituals. We let Muslims do their Muslim practices, and we let Christians do
their Christian practices," she said.Sara herself is a practicing Muslim and her
husband a practising Christian.
Practical philosophy
"It's absolutely compatible with my religion," Sara said, and, not only is it
compatible but Kabbalah has allowed for a deeper understanding of Islam. "I
understand Islam and the teachings of the Prophet Mohammad, and I understand the
teachings of the Quran, or I can actually decipher the Quran because I have
studied the Zohar." Citing a practical example, Sara recalled a time when she
was praying for good fortune, but her anger prevented her success. Zohar,
written here in Arabic for the Lebanese edition. The rest of the text is in
Aramaic, which normally today uses the Hebrew alphabet (MEE)
"There is a teaching in the Zohar that says anger diminishes your prosperity,
and it says the same thing in the Quran – that people who are angry, God shall
diminish their prosperity." As she spooke, the Islamic call to prayer rang out
across the square. "That's very funny actually because they say that when you
say something when the call to prayer comes on, then this is truthful."The
Jewish population of Lebanon today numbers around 2,000, according to the
Lebanese Jewish Community Council.
Lebanese Jewish community
But Lebanese Jews are unlikely to publicly profess their devotion to Kabbalah,
given suspicions about links with Israel, with which Lebanon is still
technically at war. Israel occupied the country until 2000, and invaded and
bombed the country in 2006, killing hundreds and destroying vital
infrastructure.
Sara's students are a mix of Lebanese and foreigners, she said, but she does not
ask about anyone's religion. "Personally I wouldn't know if any of our members
are Jewish," she said, but "I sure get a lot of people who are interested in
Judaism, and I have to reinforce the idea that Kabbalah is not Judaism."
I sure get a lot of people who are interested in Judaism, and I have to
reinforce the idea that Kabbalah is not Judaism
Sara, Kabbalah teacher
"I do get a lot of interest that is – 'ooh, this is Jewish, let me infiltrate
the secret society'."
Despite Sara's insistence of the chasm between Judaism and Kabbalah, she has
faced criticism for the philosophy she pursues and teaches in her spare time –
she is a psychotherapist by profession.
Facing criticism
"I come up against a lot of criticism all the time," she said. As studying the
Zohar includes looking at astronomy, astrology, numerology and health, amongst
other aspects, some Muslims she has discussed Kabbalah with deem it "takfir" or
a "falsehood against Islam". Other people, she said, are the "really fearful
type who are like – what's the connection with Israel?" Tattoo marks the cross:
Christian tradition endures in Jerusalem. "There's no connection with Israel,
whatsosver. I don't even know ... " she said, before trailing off, a hint of
desperation in her voice. When Sara prays at a mosque, she does not mention the
word "Kabbalah," she said, and many of her family and friends do not know that
she studies the philosophy. "I don't really go around and talk about it. I don't
even advertise it to my friends."
Finding wisdom through ice-cream
Sara discovered Kabbalah while living in London as a teenager.
At a moment of "existential crisis" she went to her favourite ice-cream parlour,
somewhere that had always provided emotional comfort in times of need. "But the
ice-cream place was now closed and it had turned into a Kabbalah centre."So I
was thinking - what is this? I had never even heard the word."
There is an informal Kabbalah study group in Dubai, but this is the first
official centre in the Middle East, outside of Israel (MEE)
A woman at the centre soon began explaining the principles of Kabbalah to Sara,
and "it really answered, to a point, some of the very basic questions that I
think every human has. And then I signed up". Upon returning home to Lebanon,
Sara discovered that people were informally studying Kabbalah, but "no one in
Lebanon wanted to take the courage to form a group study, so I realised that
this was something that I wanted to do". The study group – something similar
exists in Dubai – has now become formalised into a physical centre, of which
there are several in Israel, Sara says.
Growing community
Kabbalah, which means "to receive, from the divine," has ultimately taught Sara
that "you are given everything that you want in life, and it's your ego that
stops it from getting it. This is how it's helped me understand my faith, or
what Islam is teaching."In a country such as Lebanon, where Sara said anger is
commonplace, she believes people could do from learning how to deal with
problems in a more thoughtful way. "A lot of people in Lebanon experience a lot
of anger," she said, and too often throw blame and accusations, without stopping
to think about what they really want from life. "My teacher used to tell me -
it's a very strong soul that knows what they want. And it's an even stronger
soul that actually goes for what they want."For now, the centre has about 15
students, but, Sara said, "it's a very fast growing community. "Word of mouth
works really well because people see the change in the other person and they
want to know what's going on."
Hamas and an ‘eternity of conflict’
Fahad Suleiman Shoqiran/ArabNews/May 13/17
In the mid-1990s, the Kuwaiti magazine “Mugtama” which is affiliated with the
Brotherhood interviewed Ahmad Yassin, the historic leader of the Hamas movement.
The headline predicted Israel’s demise before the millennium. Yassin spoke in a
dream-like manner and refused to head in the direction of a conflict with the
Palestinian Liberation Organization despite all provocations and cited the
Quranic verse: “If you should raise your hand against me to kill me, I shall not
raise my hand against you to kill you.” Few decades later, Hamas announced its
new charter in which it amended its founding charter.
In the charter it announced on May 2, Hamas voiced its worry over its current
situation due to political and ideological considerations and international
changes. The movement has never denied its Brotherhood roots since its
establishment in December 1987. Its founding charter stipulates that Hamas is a
branch of the Muslim Brotherhood and is influenced by it, and it also commended
the Brotherhood’s ideology. However, there is currently an international and
regional wave against the Brotherhood which has been listed as a terror group by
some countries. The current American administration has hinted that it will list
the group’s cadres on its terror list. This made Hamas enhance its presence in
the international legal arena in order to shield itself from any harm as a
result of its Brotherhood affiliations. Meanwhile, the peace process in the
Middle East has been revived and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas recently
met with US President Donald Trump. Hamas is now trying – in theory – to
integrate more into the political process instead of being addicted to suicide
operations and focusing on moves that violate the context of resistance as
legitimized by international laws.
Part of the struggle
The Hamas movement is part of the struggle between Palestinians and Israelis.
However Hamas has imposed its presence outside the authority that is
internationally recognized. Hamas does not have realistic dimensions towards the
historical Arab cause. Even the new document does not express any realism. The
movement continues to obstruct the PLO’s work and harms possible and realistic
agreements within the Arab initiative which Saudi Arabia proposed and Arab and
western countries agreed on.
The Hamas movement is part of the struggle between Palestinians and Israelis
Although the movement gave up on the goal of “Israel’s demise,” the document
hinted at the “eternity of conflict” and at ending all possibilities towards a
solution and negotiations. One of the document’s articles said: “Hamas confirms
that the conflict with the Zionist project is not a conflict with the Jews due
to their religion. Hamas is not at conflict against the Jews because they are
Jews but it’s in a conflict against the invading Zionist aggressors. The
occupation leaders are the ones using the slogans of Judaism and Jews in the
conflict. They are the ones who describe their invading entity as such. Hamas
rejects persecuting any person or depriving him of his rights on ethnic,
religious or sectarian basis. Hamas believes that the Jewish problem,
anti-Semitism and persecution of Jews are phenomena that are originally linked
to the history of Europe and not to the history or legacy of Arabs and Muslims.
The Zionist movement – which succeeded at occupying Palestine under western
powers’ sponsorship – is the most dangerous model of an occupation that builds
settlements. This type of occupation has ended in the entire world and must end
in Palestine.”
This is an important development if it’s actually executed as it alters the
hateful terms which have been used in Hamas chants ever since the movement was
established and which contributed to spreading hatred among Palestinians despite
their different religions, sects and affiliations.
A political context
In April 2016, Palestinian Academic Doctor Aqel Mohammed Salah published a
significant book entitled “The Hamas Movement, its political and democratic
practices since 1992 until 2012.” In the second chapter he compared between
Hamas and the PLO’s founding charters. He included an analysis by al-Ashhab and
based his opinion on it saying: “Hamas issued its own document because it
refuses to join any framework or structure linked to the PLO. Since Hamas did
not recognize the PLO as the legitimate and only representative of the
Palestinian people, its attempts to join the organization failed. According to
Hamas, what obstructed joining the PLO are the following: the organization’s
secular approach and not committing to the Islamic approach, the organization’s
political program which is linked to a settlement with the occupation and the
percentage of its representation in the organization as Hamas required a
representation between 40% and 50%.”Aqel Salah also highlights the difference
between the two groups’ rhetoric. Hamas uses “general and unspecified prose like
terms about the homeland, tyrants and false state while the PLO is distinguished
for its clear, specific and direct language. Hamas’ document is directed to the
people while the PLO’s addresses the Palestinian people.”Hamas did not deal with
the Palestinian cause within a political context and its’ been distinguished for
its conflicting policies and the lack of people’s trust in its seriousness. It
adopted impossible formulas and abandoned solutions that would have benefitted
people’s lives, hopes and future. What’s more dangerous was transforming the
Palestinian cause into a tool for ideological and partisan mobilization. It did
not invest in patriotic awareness or establish for the meanings of resistance in
a scientific and legal way. Instead it consumed and cloned slogans from
communist groups and leftist trends. Even suicide operations were cloned from
the death squads of leftist organizations.
Ever since this Palestinian crisis, Saudi Arabia has shown its concern to find
solutions that end the tragedy of a society whose cause has been turned into a
tool for financial and religious deals. It proposed many initiatives. However
the ball now is in the court of politicians there. Are they serious about
reaching a solution to this problem? Or will the “eternity of conflict” be the
only option which will lead to nothing other than more bloodshed and death?
Will Iran’s Green Movement resurface?
Diana Moukalled/ArabNews/May 13/17
My first active experience with Twitter was in 2009. I logged on to the site to
find out how to engage with it, and my first search was “Iran’s election.” I had
heard about young men and women demonstrating vigorously against the ruling
regime. I was impressed by the name of the Green Revolution that erupted against
the results of the presidential elections in favor of then-President Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad. Twitter was a place of expression, mobilization and debate, and
conveyed what was happening in Iran to the outside world. We saw slogans of
“Death to the dictator,” and followed how young men and women were beaten. How
can we forget the photo of the young protester Nada, who lay dying in the street
after being shot by police, and who became a symbol of the Green Movement?
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei did not forget the 2009 experience, in which
Twitter was a sensitive mediator. Under Ahmadinejad’s second problematic
presidency, the Internet was controlled to isolate Iranians from themselves and
from the world. We are days away from Iranian presidential elections, the second
since 2009. The mullahs have done everything in their power in recent years to
avoid a new Green Revolution, namely via extensive control over the Internet and
a lot of public activity.
The mullahs have done everything in their power in recent years to avoid a new
Green Revolution, namely via extensive control over the Internet and a lot of
public activity.
Iran’s social networking sites have evolved into an election tool. They were an
important factor in Hassan Rouhani’s presidential victory in 2013, as his
opponents failed to properly utilize them. Iranians are now active in the
elections via the unbanned sites Instagram and Telegram. Whereas the state-run
radio and television broadcaster IRIB is biased toward certain candidates,
Rouhani’s supporters have turned to these sites to strike a balance. Since the
1979 revolution, all Iranian presidents have managed to get a second term. But
the situation seems complicated this year, with strong conservative candidates
against Rouhani, namely cleric Ibrahim Rabi who is close to Khamenei, and
Mohammed Baqer Qalibaf.
Four years ago, Rouhani said he would work to lift the Internet ban, and
Iranians had the right to easily obtain information from around the world. But
he cannot make this decision alone; it is up to Khamenei. It may be said, and
rightfully, that Khamenei’s ability to control the internal situation and
prevent protests is strong, but there are those who are minimizing the extent of
popular resentment amid the resurgence of many figures who were active in the
2009 Green Movement.
• Diana Moukalled is a veteran journalist with extensive experience in both
traditional and new media. She is also a columnist and freelance documentary
producer. She can be reached on Twitter @dianamoukalled.
US and Russia on Syria: Beyond what meets the eye
Dr. Theodore Karasik/Al Arabiya/May 13/17
In the wake of the meeting between US President Donald Trump and Russian Foreign
Minister Sergei Lavrov, Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov noted that “it’s too
early to draw” conclusions from the dialogue between America and Russia.
The Trump-Russia relationship over Syria is not rocky. Although there is a
political firestorm ongoing in Washington D.C. over Trump’s firing of FBI
Director James Comey, Trump and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson are driving
America’s foreign policy straight forward on the Syria question. What a contrast
from last month when Tillerson went to Moscow for a closed-door meeting with
Putin and emerged deploring the “low level of trust” between the two powers.
Tillerson added, “The world’s two foremost nuclear powers cannot have this kind
of relationship.”
In contrast to the joyful pictures published in Russia’s press of the Trump-Lavrov
meeting, US President Donald Trump appealed to Moscow to “rein in” the regime of
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and its key ally Iran. Yet Trump described the
Oval Office meeting with Lavrov as “very, very good”, urging that the horrible
killing in Syria must stop. To boot, Trump claimed progress on ending the
conflict in Syria: “We had a very, very good meeting” Trump said soon after the
meeting. “We're going to stop the killing and the death (in Syria).”
This rhetorical game is part of a desire to obfuscate a specific, behind the
scenes process to finding military and political solutions to the Syrian civil
war. Former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger met with Trump the same time
around the Lavrov meeting.
Clearly, the US and Russia are dividing Syria into spheres of influence for safe
haven operations. US Secretary of Defense James Mattis is working on a Pentagon
plan to establish those safe havens in Syria’s east, more or less, to be
buttressed by local forces, and with an additional mission to enforce border
security between Syria and Iraq, finally.
Russia, Iran, and Turkey are setting up at least four safe zones along the
Israeli and Lebanese borders. US and Russian officials are making guarantees to
Israel that Russian soldiers will be near the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights,
not Hezbollah forces.
Clearly, the US and Russia are dividing Syria into spheres of influence for safe
haven operations
US Joint Chief of Staff General Joseph Dunford is involved in negotiating with
his counterparts including Russian Chief of Staff General Valery Gerasimov and
Israeli Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Gady Eisenkott via multiple meetings
related to not only safe zones but also keeping de-confliction lines of
communication open at all times. There is no doubt that military operations
conducted by both US and Russian forces may lead to unintended consequences so
cross-coordination is necessary despite politics and firestorms.
Significantly, Jordan plays an important role in the America-Russia plan. Both
Trump and Putin have excellent ties with King Abdullah and the three leaders and
their immediate subordinates are in contact with each other regarding the
safeguarding of Jordan’s Syrian border, especially from the threat of multiple
battles between SAA and fighters of various affiliations.
According to a Jordanian official, senior diplomats from Amman are meeting with
counterparts in both Washington and Moscow to work out a solid plan for a safe
zone north of the Jordanian border in which to safeguard the Hashemite Kingdom
from any refugee flows from central northern Syria as multiple forces fight
their way to Raqqa and Deir Ezzor. Jordan cannot handle much more refugee
influx. Deconfliction is also a major part of Amman’s effort.
There are a number of immediate boogeymen in this story. First, is the YPG-led
Syrian Democratic Forces. These Kurdish and Arab forces are anathema to Turkey
who sees the YPG as terrorists. Damascus sees the YPG as an enemy too with the
Trump Administration raising the stakes by giving YPG forces more assistance.
The Damascus-YPG relationship is complicated as the region and this force do
give each other breathing room. Of course, they have conflicting interests but
common cause against fighting Salafi-Jihadists. Russia supports the YPG too but
with Moscow’s means and objectives differing from the Americans. Trump’s move,
of course, is to gain concessions later on the battlefield between Turkey and
Russia on the Iran file.
Although Ankara, Moscow, and Tehran signed an agreement in Astana to establish
safe havens and work towards a political solution in Syria, Turkey is already
looking to upset the division of labor on safe zones being worked on between
Trump, Russia and other key Arab stakeholder countries such as Jordan and the
GCC states. Ankara, is certainly a spoiler in the current Syrian trajectory
given Turkish President Erdogan’s new found power following last month’s
constitutional reform referendum.
A final solution?
Still to be decided is a final solution to the Syrian conflict. Trump and Russia
are trying to converge their plans on Syria’s political future. Holding up the
gap between the two sides is, naturally, Iran. Given the Trump Administration’s
sharp turn against Tehran, the White House is looking to Putin to make Iran
budge before crippling American sanctions and other pressure comes to the
Islamic Republic.
Making matters more interesting is the upcoming Iranian presidential election
where a potential swing to the Principalists and the IRGC will complicate the
Trump-Putin solution to Syria. We will find out when Trump and Putin are
expected to be at the G20 summit in Germany in July but given the rapidity of
international events, a meeting could come earlier.
Next week Saudi Arabia is hosting Trump for three historic summits that will
address Syria’s plight. The level of criticism toward Iran will be loud with the
kingdom and its allies offering America all the support it needs to get Iran out
of the Levant.
With the new foundation between the US and Saudi Arabia, Riyadh brings an
additional element to the Syrian table that is going to challenge Putin via
Trump. The American president is likely to delight in the ability to tantalize
Putin with his Saudi partners. This triangle – Trump, Riyadh, and Moscow – will
be the one to watch in the coming weeks.
Will US-Kurdish deal force Turkey back to PKK negotiation
table?
Pinar Tremblay/Al Monitor/May 13/17
Although the United States has signaled its increasing support for the Kurdish
People’s Protection Units (YPG) for the last few years, US President Donald
Trump’s decision to arm the Kurdish forces in Syria for the battle against the
Islamic State came as a shock to the Turkish government. Turkey considers the
YPG and the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) to be part of one common terror group,
and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been throwing tantrums over symbols of US
support for the YPG.
As Turkey's conflict with the PKK drags on and the United States has made
obvious its support for Syria's Kurds, now would be an opportune time to restart
negotiations with the PKK.
Turkey’s involvement in the Syrian conflict for the last six years has been
mind-boggling. To put it in the simplest of terms: It has lacked a proper
strategy. One cannot pinpoint what the Turkish goals were in Syria. The Turks
wanted to set the rules of the game in Syria. However, while struggling to
adjust their reactive policies against all forces involved, they gained more
enemies and incurred unknown amounts of financial loss throughout the process.
Turkey wanted the United States to be involved, to establish no-fly zones, and
Erdogan cheered each and every time the US president spoke against Syrian
President Bashar al-Assad.
In 2012 for example, Turkey demanded that Assad grant more rights and freedoms
to the Kurds, but today different sections of Kurds in compartmentalized parts
of Syria receive logistics support from Iran, Russia and the United States, and
the Turks are not happy. So Turkey demands to send its troops, volunteering more
of its own men to die. The payback for the last six years’ mistakes in Syria is
due now with interest.
Prior to Erdogan’s much anticipated May 16 visit to Washington, a high-level
Turkish delegation (Erdogan’s spokesman Ibrahim Kalin, director of national
intelligence Hakan Fidan and Chief of General Staff Gen. Hulusi Akar) conducted
talks with senior US officials. Despite all efforts of the pro-AKP lackeys to
play up Trump’s brief greeting to the delegation, the mood was somber. The final
blow came with the official news of the US military support for the Kurds. The
Turkish government oscillated between ignoring the news and blaming it on the
Barack Obama administration, hoping to ride the Trump administration’s
anti-Obama tide. But it is too late for that.
The United States decided to arm the Kurds for several reasons, but for the
Turkish side, two reasons are the most daunting: The Turkish Armed Forces in
Syria are perceived as less competent than the Kurdish groups, and Erdogan is
losing power and credibility. Given modern Turkish history, Erdogan’s biggest
fear for decades has been a potential military coup. Different legal cases
against high-ranking, active-duty officers have crippled the military’s morale,
and the July 15 attempted coup has demoralized and structurally weakened the
armed forces. Its operations in Syria have not produced impressive results, and
the United States’ choice to support the Kurds proves the point.
Next is the undeniable Erdogan problem. Erdogan rushed into the referendum that
grants him unprecedented power. Ironically, the process that expanded his powers
legally has indeed crippled his legitimacy. Despite all the victory speeches,
the AKP’s top leadership can see that Erdogan is in a deep crisis. For the first
time in the last 15 years, Erdogan has lost all major cities, including the most
important one: Istanbul. Plus Erdogan is losing the young urban vote. This issue
is a top priority in Erdogan’s mind.
With fast diminishing support at home, Erdogan needs Trump’s endorsement more
than ever. That is precisely why Erdogan’s reaction to the news was measured,
cool-headed and calm. He said on May 12, “It is my sincere wish that before I
arrive in the US, the decision [to arm the Kurdish forces] will be changed. I
will share our concerns with Trump.” However, not only is Turkey’s credibility
in the international arena tarnished, but Erdogan’s bargaining power is at its
lowest. Erdogan cannot afford to confront Trump, and the United States knows
well how weak the Turkish hand is at this stage in the game. Erdogan’s dubious
victory may enable him to grab all possible powers domestically, but in the
international realm, he is seen as a leader whose dependence on foreign powers
is increasing at a menacing pace. That is the dilemma of a dictatorship in the
developing world: The stronger you become domestically, the more vulnerable you
are internationally.
Despite a few critical voices in Turkey asking Erdogan not to visit Washington,
the Islamists and ultra-nationalists have opted to remain quiet. Now, much will
depend on how Erdogan is received in the United States. If there are photo-ops
where Trump appears as a friend of Erdogan, this Kurdish fiasco can go down more
smoothly for Erdogan. Al-Monitor’s talks with senior Turkish bureaucrats
indicate that the best scenario for the Erdogan-Trump relationship will be one
similar to the Putin-Erdogan relationship, where the details of the deals are
not leaked to the press.
Next is the question of what Turkey will do. Two options are being discussed.
One is the spoiler role, where Turkey continues to attack PKK and YPG bases in
self-defense. This is not a sustainable policy, not only because Turkey lacks
the power but mostly due to the dictatorship dilemma explained above.
So the more likely possibility is reopening the peace talks with the PKK. The
backdoor channels have always been in the works to convince Turkey to come back
to the negotiation table with the Kurds. However, Turkish prerequisites to
reopen the talks have simply been too high for the Kurds to meet. Now, with each
blow sustained as a consequence of years of unsuccessful policies, the Turks
will be going back to talks with the PKK with a much weaker hand. Erdogan has
opted to form alliances with Turkish Hezbollah (Huda-Par, a pro-Kurdish Sunni
Party), which is adamantly against the PKK, and the Gray Wolves, who have held
him in check against a rapprochement with the Kurds. But now that the referendum
is over, who can hold Erdogan back?
As a savvy leader, Erdogan will soon start preparing another road map and
initiate peace talks with the PKK. Potential collateral damage to this path may
be a few senior bureaucrats who had their hearts and minds set on the taking
down of prominent PKK leaders and ending the PKK threat completely. A few forced
departures from senior AKP ranks are likely to happen, which will eventually
isolate Erdogan further in his policy cocoon.
Yet Erdogan knows all too well that the Kurdish problem cannot be solved
exclusively in military terms. Hence, he was the one who haphazardly announced
the peace process with the Kurds in 2012. On March 21, 2013, all pro-AKP figures
were singing Kurdish songs, rejoicing about the peace with the PKK with the
slogan “Mothers should not shed any more tears.” Red, green and yellow were the
colors in fashion. And in the same unexpected fashion, the process ended in
2015, and now calling for peace in Turkey has become a criminal act.
This is all likely to change rather soon. This time Turkey has lost significant
bargaining power, while the Kurds seem to have played a shrewd game of balancing
the interests and sensitivities of Iran, Russia and the United States. Watching
and listening to Turkish pundits and senior bureaucrats, one cannot help but see
that the alternative news reporting and spinning the reality for public opinion
has done permanent damage to Turkish policymakers. They have come to believe
their own alternative truths. However, the accumulated bills from six years of
reckless policies in Syria are soon to be collected without further delay from
Turkey.