LCCC
ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
February 24/2018
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias
Bejjani
The Bulletin's Link on the
lccc Site
http://data.eliasbejjaninews.com/newselias18/english.february24.18.htm
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2006
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Bible
Quotations
I will
make mere youths their officials; children will rule over them. People will
oppress each other— man against man, neighbor against neighbor
Isaiah 03/01-26: "See now, the Lord, the Lord Almighty, is about to take
from Jerusalem and Judah both supply and support: all supplies of food and
all supplies of water, the hero and the warrior, the judge and the prophet,
the diviner and the elder, the captain of fifty and the man of rank, the
counselor, skilled craftsman and clever enchanter. “I will make mere youths
their officials; children will rule over them.” People will oppress each
other— man against man, neighbor against neighbor. The young will rise up
against the old, the nobody against the honored. A man will seize one of
his brothers in his father’s house, and say, “You have a cloak, you be our
leader; take charge of this heap of ruins!” But in that day he will cry
out, “I have no remedy. I have no food or clothing in my house; do not make
me the leader of the people.” Jerusalem staggers, Judah is falling; their
words and deeds are against the Lord, defying his glorious presence. The
look on their faces testifies against them; they parade their sin like
Sodom; they do not hide it. Woe to them! They have brought disaster upon
themselves. Tell the righteous it will be well with them, for they will
enjoy the fruit of their deeds. Woe to the wicked! Disaster is upon them!
They will be paid back for what their hands have done. Youths oppress my
people, women rule over them. My people, your guides lead you astray; they
turn you from the path. The Lord takes his place in court; he rises to judge
the people. The Lord enters into judgment against the elders and leaders of
his people: “It is you who have ruined my vineyard; the plunder from the
poor is in your houses. What do you mean by crushing my people and grinding
the faces of the poor?” declares the Lord, the Lord Almighty. The Lord
says, “The women of Zion are haughty, walking along with outstretched necks,
flirting with their eyes, strutting along with swaying hips, with ornaments
jingling on their ankles. Therefore the Lord will bring sores on the heads
of the women of Zion; the Lord will make their scalps bald.” In that day
the Lord will snatch away their finery: the bangles and headbands and
crescent necklaces, the earrings and bracelets and veils, the headdresses
and anklets and sashes, the perfume bottles and charms, the signet rings
and nose rings, 22 the fine robes and the capes and cloaks, the purses and
mirrors, and the linen garments and tiaras and shawls. Instead of fragrance
there will be a stench; instead of a sash, a rope; instead of well-dressed
hair, baldness; instead of fine clothing, sackcloth; instead of beauty,
branding. Your men will fall by the sword, your warriors in battle. The
gates of Zion will lament and mourn; destitute, she will sit on the ground."
Titles
For Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources
published on February 23-24/18
Evil Lebanese politicians/Elias Bejjani/February 23/18
Some Return to the Past, Others look to the Future/Eyad Abu Shakra/Asharq Al
Awsat/February 23/18
Me Too in the Mosque/Giulio Meotti/Gatestone Institute/February 23/18
Putin Has to Find a Way to Raise Incomes/Leonid Bershidsky/Bloomberg/Asharq
Al Awsat/February 23/18
Question: "Is a gospel crusade a biblical method of vangelism?" /GotQuestions.org/February
23/18
Iran’s selective approach to hybrid war/Ali Hajizade/Al Arabiyia/February
23/18
Jabri’s ‘rationalism’ as a flawed alternative to ‘secularism’/Fahad Suleiman
Shoqiran/Al Arabiyia/February 23/18
Pakistan reconsiders relations with Afghanistan to regain American aid/Huda
al-Husseini/Al Arabiyia/February 23/18
How the civilized caused eastern Ghouta crime/Mashari Althaydi/Al Arabiyia/February
23/18
Titles For Latest LCCC Lebanese Related News
published on February 23-24/18
Evil Lebanese politicians
Aoun from Armenia: We Count on Our International Friends in the Border File
Aoun to Iraqi TV: Israel Not Permitted to Infringe on Lebanon Decision to
Defend its Border
Israeli Army Simulates War with Lebanon Amid Tensions
UNIFIL Slams Israeli Blames, Affirms Strategic Partnership with Lebanese
Army
EU Ambassador Discusses Int'l Conferences, Reforms with Berri
Bassil Receives Letter from Russian Foreign Minister
Zasypkin tells Bassil Russia optimistic about progress of political
settlement in Syria
Zasypkin went on to relay his country's optimism concerning this progress;
however, he deplored the obstruction and misinformation by those who do not
wish to see any progress being made.
Abra detainees' families hold sit in outside Dar Fatwa in Sidon
Khoury meets Beirut International Awards Festivals committee
Ibrahim tackles developments with Ambassador of Spain
Mashnouq, Chinese Ambassador discuss Rome II conference preparations
Report: Saudi Arabia Seeks to 'Warm Ties Again' with Lebanon
Qassem Says U.S. Pressure on Hizbullah Futile
Man Suspected of Killing Filipina in Kuwait Held in Lebanon
Tony Franjieh Says Doesn't Want to be a Minister
Malak inspects military units in south Litani sector
Othman, Alain Aoun discuss overall situation
Riachy, German Ambassador tackle latest developments
Sami Gemayel Condemns Mass Murder in Ghouta
Sayegh Calls on Hezbollah to Withdraw from Syria amid Ghouta Genocide
Shooting reported on Louisiana college campus, 2 injured
Trump to hit North Korea with 'largestever' sanctions
Turkey Summons Dutch Charge D'affaires over Armenian 'Genocide' Vote
Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin For
Miscellaneous Reports And News published on February 23-24/18
Russia’s topline Su-57 deployed to
Syria to challenge US, Israeli air might
UN Security Council delays vote on Syria truce resolution
Jubeir: We Will Work with US, Europe to Eliminate ISIS from Libya
Saudi Minister Says Top Threat Challenging Kingdom is Iran, not Qatar
More Deaths as Regime Pounds Eastern Ghouta Ahead of UN Vote
Iranian Official: Our Presence in Syria Does Not Target Israel
Iran Says May Withdraw from Nuclear Deal if There Are No Economic Benefits
Ahmadinejad’s Letter to Khamenei Angers Reformists, Conservatives in Iran
US official says embassy expected to open in Jerusalem in May
Nikki Haley: Mideast peace proposal nearly ready
Palestinians Seek UN Security Council Endorsement of Abbas' Initiative
Two-Thirds of the World Is Corrupt, Watchdog Says
Latest Lebanese Related News published
on February 23-24/18
Evil Lebanese
politicians
Elias Bejjani/February 23/18
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/62784
Sadly in Lebanon the political arena, (both politicians and the so falsely
called parties) is mostly dominated by mere corrupted merchants and thugs
who are worst than Judas Iscariot himself. For them every thing is for sale,
their dignity, their conscience, their country, their families and
definitely and especially their friends. ..although they know nothing about
friendship. In summary because of such defiled and evil politicians Lebanon
is occupied, impoverished and its people are living all kinds of hardships
and miseries.
Honest and patriotic politicians are few but still always suffer because of
the bad politicians' evil on going betrayal, Pharisee nature, polluted
conscience and sickening mentality
Aoun from Armenia: We
Count on Our International Friends in the Border File
Beirut- /Asharq Al Awsat/February 23/18/Lebanese President Michel Aoun
underlined Lebanon’s attachment to its land and sea borders and its right to
defend them by all legitimate means. Commenting on continuous Israeli
threats against Lebanon’s right to its oil and gas in the exclusive economic
zone, and Israel’s plans to establish a separation wall along disputed zones
in the southern borders of Lebanon, Aoun said: “Lebanon fully adheres to its
land and sea borders and to its right to defend them by all lawful means.”
“We count on our international friendships to help confront these threats
and not to aggravate the situation,” he added, during a joint news
conference with his Armenian counterpart, Serzh A. Sargsyan. The two
presidents discussed the situation in the Middle East and regional
developments, emphasizing the need to strengthen cooperation in the fight
against terrorism. Aoun briefed Sargsyan on the challenges that emerged in
Lebanon with the war in Syria, including threats of terrorist organizations.
He underlined in this regard “Lebanon’s success in dealing with these
threats, eliminating terrorist cells and maintaining peace and stability in
our society.” For his part, the Armenian president said Aoun’s visit “will
give new impetus to the friendly relations based on strong historical
ties.”He stressed solidarity between the two countries on the basis of
mutual trust and the continuous strengthening of cooperation. “We have
attached great importance to maintaining high-level political dialogue
between our countries as an important step for mutually beneficial
cooperation in all fields,” Sargsyan said. He also highly valued “Lebanon’s
practical and effective contribution to combating terrorism and extremism
and its humanitarian assistance to the Syrian people during these years.”The
Lebanese president has been on an official two-day visit to Armenia since
Wednesday, where he also met with House Speaker Ara Babloyan and Prime
Minister Karen Karapetyan.
Aoun to Iraqi TV:
Israel Not Permitted to Infringe on Lebanon Decision to Defend its Border
Naharnet/February 23/18/President Michel Aoun stressed in an interview on
the Iraqi Alsumaria TV network on Friday that the current border dispute
between Lebanon and Israel “does not allow Israel to cross the border
because there is a Lebanese decision to defend these land and sea borders.”
The President said he raised with US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson the
problem of the conflict with Israel over Lebanon's maritime and land
borders, and explained to him that "Lebanon has maps dating back to the
1920s proving its rights to its land. These maps are available in the hands
of the entire world and can not be manipulated.”On resolving the dispute, he
considered “consulting experts in maritime boundaries under the sponsorship
of the United Nations.”In response to a question on the situation in Syria,
President Aoun said that “involvement of international parties has
complicated things,” and that a “solution lies in the hands of major
countries through a Russian-US understanding." On his official visit to
Iraq, Aoun said he “carried friendship to the Iraqi people and officials,”
pointing out that Lebanon has institutions that can contribute to the
reconstruction of Iraq.
Israeli Army Simulates
War with Lebanon Amid Tensions
Agencies/Friday 23rd February 2018/The Israeli army on Thursday carried out
a series of large-scale drills aimed at enhancing the military's
preparedness for a potential war with Lebanon. “Conscripted soldiers, along
with reservists, took part in the exercise. They practiced a rapid call-up
of reservists, as well as operational capabilities and readiness to fight in
Lebanese terrain,” the Israel Defense Forces said. In addition, the army’s
188th Armored Brigade conducted its own, separate exercise in northern
Israel, along with troops from combat engineering, infantry and artillery.
“The brigade exercises were held as part of the enhanced 2018 training
program. Their purpose is to prepare combat soldiers and their commanders
for any scenario, and to enhance their readiness and capabilities for
real-time threats,” the army said. During the tank brigade’s exercise, the
troops simulated a variety of scenarios, and were required to practice
logistic and operational efficiency over a prolonged period of fighting, the
army said. The commander of the 188th Brigade, Col. Gal Shochami, stressed
the importance of the exercise as conflict could break out at any time. “We
must remember the meaning of the command, ‘War tomorrow,’ which tells us
that any training situation may be the last before the real test of our
abilities: the battlefield,” Shochami said. “The 188th Brigade will be ready
to fight on the battlefield, whenever, and wherever it will be required,” he
said.
UNIFIL Slams Israeli Blames, Affirms Strategic
Partnership with Lebanese Army
Naharnet/February 23/18/UNIFIL spokesperson Andrea Tenenti slammed Israeli
media reports accusing the peacekeeping forces of failing to carry out their
duties, saying the reports are “inaccurate,” the National News Agency
reported on Friday. “UNIFIL is aware of these media reports which contains
clear inaccuracies. UNIFIL is working around the clock and carrying out some
450 operational activities each day. We have close coordination with the
Lebanese Armed Forces, almost 40% of our activities are carried out at
night,” said Tenenti. He stressed saying “the UNIFIL highly values its
strategic partnership with the Lebanese army mainly in the implementation of
UN Security Council Resolution 1701. The Lebanese army is an integral part
in preserving the calm and stability in the UNIFIL area of
operations.”Israeli media have accused the peacekeeping forces in Lebanon (UNIFIL)
of becoming an “excuse for Hizbullah and the Lebanese government to violate
UN resolution 1701.” Israel fought a month-long war against Hizbullah in
2006, killing more than 1,200 Lebanese, mostly civilians, and more than 160
Israelis, mostly soldiers. Resolution 1701 was adopted to end the war,
calling for full respect of the Blue Line.
EU Ambassador Discusses Int'l Conferences, Reforms with Berri
Naharnet/February 23/18/EU Ambassador to Lebanon Christina Lassen met Friday
with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri to discuss the recent developments in
the region and the Parliament's priorities ahead of the elections, an EU
Delegation statement said. Lassen highlighted the potential of the three
upcoming support conferences in Rome, Paris and Brussels to support the
stability and further economic development of Lebanon. “To maximize the
chance of the conferences to succeed and attract public and private sector
investments, Ambassador Lassen called to further accelerate the Government's
reform program, stressing that it is imperative that economic reforms as
well concrete steps to implement Lebanon's dissociation policy are
undertaken immediately,” the statement said. "The success of all three
support conferences depends on Lebanon embarking on a track of sustainable
growth and stability and a clear understanding of mutual commitments and
accountability," Lassen told Berri. She called for a “clear plan” from the
Government to tackle reforms, including “measures to stabilize the fiscal
situation, balance the debt, and strengthen the public investment management
framework including through legislation on anti-corruption.” She also hoped
that the state budget will be passed before the CEDRE conference. Ambassador
Lassen also expressed support for the efforts to de-escalate current
tensions concerning Lebanon's southern borders and encouraged “continued
diplomatic engagement” from all sides to solve the disputes.
Bassil Receives Letter from Russian Foreign Minister
Naharnet/February 23/18/Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil on Friday received a
letter from his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov. The letter was delivered
by Russian Ambassador to Lebanon Alexander Zasypkin. “In light of the
message I have conveyed, we discussed the situations and developments in the
region, especially the efforts exerted by Russia to about the situations in
Syria, the liberation of Syrian territory from terrorists, achieving
progress towards a political settlement, and the outcome of the Sochi
conference,” Zasypkin said after the meeting. In response to a question, the
ambassador denied that Lavrov's letter is about the dispute between Lebanon
and Israel over offshore gas.
Zasypkin tells Bassil Russia optimistic about progress
of political settlement in Syria
Fri 23 Feb 2018/NNA - Russian Ambassador to Lebanon, Alexander Zaspkin,
visited on Friday Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Minister, Gebran Bassil,
and relayed to him a message from his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov. In
the wake of the meeting, the Russian diplomat said, "In light of the message
I conveyed to Minister Bassil, we discussed the situation in the region,
especially Russia's efforts vis-a-vis the situation in Syria and the
liberation of Syrian territories from terrorists. We also discussed the
progress made with regard to a political settlement on the basis of the
Security Council's resolution and the outcome of Sochi conference."
Zasypkin went on to relay his country's optimism
concerning this progress; however, he deplored the obstruction and
misinformation by those who do not wish to see any progress being made.
"Misleading the public opinion and fabricated news about what is happening
in eastern Ghouta is an outright evidence," he said. In response to a
question, the Russian ambassador denied that the Russian Foreign Minister's
message to Bassil had mentioned anything about the border dispute between
Lebanon and Israel over Block 9 of the disputed area for oil and gas
extraction. "There is no specific Russian role in this matter, and Lebanon's
position regarding this issue has become internationally known," Zasypkin
said. Separately, Bassil welcomed Acting UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon,
Pernille Kardel.
"We discussed the main issues facing Lebanon and its stability, as well as
the continued cooperation and partnership between us," Kardel said on
emerging. Bassil later had an audience with the Danish ambassadors to the
Middle East, who held their regional conference in Beirut. The Minister and
the Danish diplomats discussed the situation in the Middle East region.
Bassil also discussed bilateral relations with Canadian Ambassador to
Lebanon, Emmanuelle Lamoureux. The governor of Tucuman, Juan Manzur, later
visited Bassil. "The Minister has told us that the energy conference will be
held in November in the Argentinean capital of Buenos Aires," Manzur said.
Abra detainees' families hold sit in outside Dar Fatwa
in Sidon
Fri 23 Feb 2018/NNA - The families of Abra detainees staged a
sit-in outside Dar al-Ftawa in the city of Sidon, in the wake of the
Friday's prayers.
Khoury meets Beirut International Awards Festivals
committee
Fri 23 Feb 2018/NNA - Culture Minister Dr. Ghattas Khoury on Friday welcomed
at his ministerial office Chairman of the Beirut International Awards
Festivals "BIAF" Michel Daher, in the presence of committee members Claudia
Abi Nader and Charbel Abboud. The delegation briefed Minister Khoury on the
preparations underway for the Festival's awards' events upcoming June 2018.
Khoury thanked the delegation for their distinguished cultural activities in
all spheres.
Ibrahim tackles developments with Ambassador of Spain
Fri 23 Feb 2018/NNA - The General Director of the Lebanese General Security,
Major General Abbas Ibrahim, welcomed at his office on Friday Spanish
Ambassador to Lebanon, Jose Maria Ferre de la Pena. The pair discussed the
general political developments in Lebanon and the region, as well as the
best means to boost coordination and cooperation between the Embassy and the
General Security.
Mashnouq, Chinese Ambassador discuss Rome II conference
preparations
Fri 23 Feb 2018 /NNA - Interior and Municipalities Minister, Nuhad Mashnouq,
on Friday welcomed at his ministerial office Chinese Ambassador to Lebanon,
Wang Kijian, with talks between the pair reportedly touching on preparations
underway for the "Rome II" conference and means of enhancing cooperation in
support of the Lebanese army and the internal security forces. The Rome II
Conference will be held in Italy upcoming month. Minister Machnouq also met
with "Change and Reform" bloc MP Alain Aoun, who relayed on emerging the
Ministry's complete readiness for the forthcoming parliamentary election.
Talks also touched on electoral alliances. MP Aoun underlined the unity of
the Lebanese position in the face of Israeli threats.
Report: Saudi Arabia Seeks to 'Warm Ties Again' with
Lebanon
Naharnet/February 23/18/Saudi Arabia is expected to dispatch an envoy to
Lebanon to discuss with officials the future of the Saudi-Lebanese
relations, thus resuming its “role and interest” in the Mediterranean
country after a brief tension in ties following PM Saad Hariri's resignation
from Riyadh, reports said on Friday. Political circles are awaiting for a
“Saudi move” towards Lebanon expected to “begin after or in parallel” with
the return of Saudi Ambassador to Lebanon Walid al-Yaacoub from Riyadh, al-Joumhouria
daily reported. The daily added that Adviser at the Royal Court in Riyadh,
Nizar al-Alula, tasked by SA to handle the Lebanese file, is expected to
travel to Beirut to discuss with Lebanese officials the future of the
relationship in light of a new authority which will emerge after Lebanon's
parliamentary elections scheduled for May 6. Well informed sources said
Saudi Arabia has decided to “resume interest in the Lebanese situation,”
saying this “shift after a relative retreat attributes to the latest
developments both on the Syrian level and on the Lebanese border – regarding
a dispute over oil rights with Israel--and the upcomng elections.” Some
Lebanese figures who have been communicating with the Saudi leadership
recently have “sensed the new inclination,” to warm ties again with Lebanon,
they said. Ties were strained between the two countries after Hariri's
resignation from Riyadh, a step widely blamed on the Kingdom.
Qassem Says U.S. Pressure on Hizbullah Futile
Naharnet/February 23/18/Hizbullah deputy chief Sheikh Naim Qassem stressed
Friday that U.S. sanctions on his party are futile. “America has failed in
its wars on Hizbullah and it will not take through pressure what it has
failed to take through aggression,” Qassem said during a ceremony to launch
Hizbullah's electoral campaign in the Baalbek-Hermel and Zahle districts.
“We are the ones who are attached to the state the same as we are attached
to the resistance and we have been part of state institutions since 1992,”
Qassem added. “All foreign ambassadors meet with us and tell us that we are
part of the country's choices and that they cannot overlook us,” Hizbullah
number two went on to say. Media reports published Friday said two U.S.
Republican lawmakers have proposed a new sanctions bill against Hizbullah.
Hizbullah is branded a "terrorist" organization by the United States and is
already targeted with a host of economic sanctions. U.S. efforts to pressure
Hizbullah have increased under President Donald Trump's leadership.
Man Suspected of Killing Filipina in Kuwait Held in
Lebanon
Associated Press/Naharnet/February 23/18/One of two suspects in the gruesome
death of a Filipina maid whose body was found stuffed in a freezer in an
apartment in Kuwait has been arrested in Lebanon, the Philippine foreign
secretary said Friday. Alan Peter Cayetano said he has told Philippine
President Rodrigo Duterte about the arrest of Lebanese Nader Essam Assaf but
added that Assaf's Syrian wife, who is also a suspect in the death of Joanna
Demafelis, remains at large. The discovery of Demafelis' body on Feb. 6 in a
freezer in Kuwait City, where it had reportedly been kept for more than a
year, sparked outrage in the Philippines and refocused attention on the
tragic plight of poor Filipinos toiling mostly as maids abroad. It prompted
Duterte to ban the deployment of new Filipino workers to Kuwait, where many
abuses have been reported. Assaf and his wife employed Demafelis. Duterte
and other officials have asked Kuwaiti authorities to hunt for the couple. "Assaf's
arrest is a critical first step in our quest for justice for Joanna and we
are thankful to our friends in Kuwait and Lebanon for their assistance,"
Cayetano said in a statement, adding that he expects Kuwait will seek
Assaf's extradition.
After attending Demafelis' wake on Thursday in her hometown of Sara in the
central Philippines, Duterte told reporters the ban on the deployment of
Filipino workers to Kuwait would continue and could be expanded to other
countries. Duterte said Demafelis' body bore torture marks and signs that
she was strangled. He said the government is conducting an assessment to
"find out the places where we deploy Filipinos and our countrymen suffer
brutal treatment and human degradation."The Philippines is a major labor
exporter with about a tenth of its more than 100 million people working
abroad. The workers have been called the country's heroes because the income
they send home has propped up the Southeast Asian nation's economy for
decades, accounting for about 10 percent of its annual gross domestic
product. Philippine officials are under increasing pressure to do more to
monitor the safety of the country's worldwide diaspora of mostly maids,
construction workers and laborers. Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III told
a Senate hearing Wednesday that he has recalled three Filipino labor
officers from Kuwait to face an investigation. They failed to act on a
request by Demafelis' family for help after she went missing in January last
year, he said. Administrator Hans Leo Cacdac of the Overseas Workers Welfare
Administration reported that at least 196 Filipinos had died in Kuwait in
the last two years, mostly for unspecified medical reasons but also four who
committed suicide.
The sheer number of Filipino workers abroad makes monitoring their wellbeing
an overwhelming task. That is often complicated by workers not having proper
travel and work documents, such as in Kuwait, where nearly 11,000 of the
more than 252,000 Filipino workers are in the country illegally or are not
properly authorized.
Tony Franjieh Says Doesn't Want to be a Minister
Naharnet/February 23/18/Tony Franjieh, the son of Marada Movement chief MP
Suleiman Franjieh who will replace him in the upcoming parliamentary race,
announced Thursday that he not seeking to become a minister in the next
government. “I'm not obliged with my father's political alliances but I'm
convinced of them at the beginning of my political journey. I believe that
these friendships serve the country's interest,” Franjieh said in his first
ever TV interview, aired by LBCI television. Noting that civil war was
“painful for Christians and all Lebanese,” Franjieh lamented that the “most
painful” chapter was the inter-Christian conflict. Turning to the present,
Franjieh admitted that Marada's experience with Free Patriotic Movement
chief Jebran Bassil “has not been successful.” “As for communication with
the Lebanese Forces, it is taking place through joint political committees,”
he added. “Prime Minister Saad Hariri is making political sacrifices for the
sake of the country,” Franjieh went on to say. He also emphasized that he is
not hoping to become a minister. “I'm a parliamentary candidate and I don't
want a ministry,” he said. Franjieh added: “My family will not take
decisions against the country's interest and should I do that, I would be
contradicting with my entire history.”
Malak inspects military units in south Litani sector
Fri 23 Feb 2018/NNA - Army Chief-of-Staff, Major General Hatem Malak, on
Friday inspected the military units deployed in South Litani sector, and
visited in Sector's Command in the southern town of Tyre. Major General
Hatam then inspected the 5th Infantry Brigade's units in the areas of Chamaa
and Labouneh, as well as Ras Naqoura off spot M2, where the Israeli enemy is
constructing the separation wall. During his meeting with army officers and
military men, the chief of staff hailed their efforts and sacrifices in
carrying out the army's main task in defense of the southern border against
the Israeli enemy and maintaining its stability in cooperation with UNIFIL
forces, in implementation of Resolution #1701. Major General Hatam
reiterated the Lebanese official and national position that rejects the
Israeli enemy's construction of the separation wall on any Lebanese spot, or
any part of the Lebanese territories. He added that the strength of the
unified Lebanese position is based on national and international maps, which
affirm Lebanon's right to its land and maritime borders. "The army shall not
waive such a right under any circumstances," the chief of staff concluded.
Othman, Alain Aoun discuss overall situation
Fri 23 Feb 2018/NNA - Internal Security Forces chief Emad Othman on Friday
met at his Barracks office met with "Change and Reform" bloc MP Alain Aoun,
with talks reportedly touching on the general situation in the country.
Riachy, German Ambassador tackle latest developments
Fri 23 Feb 2018/NNA - Information Minister Melhem Riachi on Friday welcomed
at his ministerial office German Ambassador to Lebanon, Martin Huth, with
talks between the pair reportedly touching on most recent developments in
Lebanon and the broad region. The one-hour meeting took up future
cooperation prospects between Lebanon and Germany. Ambassador Huth
congratulated Minister Riachy on the new Ministry's structure, which shall
contribute to rendering the Ministry a platform for media, communication and
dialogue.
Sami Gemayel Condemns Mass Murder in Ghouta
Kataeb.org/Friday 23rd February 2018/Kataeb chief Samy Gemayel on Friday
condemned the ongoing massacre in Syria’s eastern Ghouta where hundreds of
civilians were killed in one of the bloodiest bombing campaigns. “A
protected mass murderer in action,” Gemayel wrote on Twitter, as he also
posted several images of the horrifying massacre.
Sayegh Calls on Hezbollah to Withdraw from Syria amid
Ghouta Genocide
Kataeb.org/Friday 23rd February 2018/ Sayegh Calls on Hezbollah to Withdraw
/The Kataeb Party's Second Deputy-President Salim Sayegh on Friday demanded
the immediate withdrawal of Hezbollah from Syria amid the genocide that is
taking place in Ghouta, condemning the international community's inaction
and idleness.“There is no longer any justification for Hezbollah’s presence
in Syria after the war against terrorists had been declared, although its
involvement was never acceptable," Sayegh told Voice of Lebanon radio
station.
Shooting reported on Louisiana college campus, 2 injured
Fri 23 Feb 2018/NNA - Two people were injured after gunshots were fired
early Friday on a college campus in Louisiana, school officials said.
Southeastern Louisiana University spokeswoman Erin Cowser said the incident
happened at 3 a.m. Friday near an assembly hall where basketball games and
other sports events are held. Cowser said the shooting apparently stemmed
from a fight or altercation involving students and people who aren't
enrolled in the school. She said the incident hasn't forced any closures or
cancellations on Friday, a day when the school doesn't have a full schedule
of classes. "The incident is over and done," she said. It was unclear
whether the two people injured were students. They were taken to a local
hospital with injuries that were not considered life-threatening. Cowser
says no suspects are in custody. Police are investigating. The school is
located in Hammond, about 56 miles northwest of New Orleans.--AP
Trump to hit North Korea with 'largestever' sanctions
Fri 23 Feb 2018/NNA - US President Donald Trump will on Friday announce
sanctions against 56 North Korea-linked shipping and trade entities, hailing
the "largest-ever" package of sanctions on the Pyongyang regime. Trump will
use a speech to conservatives just outside Washington to step up his
campaign of "maximum pressure," according to excerpts. "Today I am
announcing that we are launching the LARGEST-EVER set of new sanctions on
the North Korean regime," Trump was to say according to the White House. The
measures include sanctions against "56 vessels, shipping companies, and
trade businesses" that Trump will accuse of "assisting North Korea in
evading sanctions."
The North Korean military and broader economy depend heavily on imports of
coal and oil from China and Russia.--AFP
Turkey Summons Dutch Charge D'affaires over Armenian 'Genocide' Vote
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/February 23/18/Turkey summoned the Dutch
charge d'affaires Friday, a day after lawmakers in the Netherlands voted to
recognise the early 1900s massacre of Armenians under the Ottoman Empire as
"genocide", an official said. The Dutch diplomat was called to the foreign
ministry in Ankara and Turkey "condemned" the parliament's decision, a
foreign ministry official told AFP, asking to remain anonymous. Ankara has
long rejected the term "genocide" for describing the mass killings.
Latest LCCC Bulletin For Miscellaneous Reports And News published
on February 23-24/18
Russia’s topline Su-57
deployed to Syria to challenge US, Israeli air might
DEBKA Weekly/Feb 23, 2018/Two fifth-generation Sukhoi-57
stealth fighters landed Monday, Feb. 19 at Russia’s Syrian air base, along
with 4 Su-35 fighters, 4 Su-25 strike aircraft and an A-50U radar
command-and-control platform.
This top-performance fleet raises Russia’s air strike and defense
capabilities in Syria to the highest standards of any air force in the
world, with enough power to take on superior US and Israeli air might in the
Syrian arena. The Su-57’s weapon bays are designed to carry Russia’s new
nuclear tactical X-50 air-launched cruise missile, although it is not known
whether the aircraft in Syria are carrying them. DEBKA Weekly’s military
sources see President Vladimir Putin’s decision to send the Su-57 fighters
to Syria as substantially raising the big power stakes in Syria after the
loss of dozens of Russian troops on Feb. 7 to massive US artillery and air
strikes that decimated the Russian, Syrian and pro-Iranian forces crossing
the Euphrates River. An American radar-invisible F-22 took part in that
raid. The Russians have dubbed the Su-57 the “F-22 killer.” It is also
Russia’s response to Israel’s air offensive on Feb. 10, which targeted the
shared Russian-Iranian T-4 air base near Palmyra and smashed four Iranian
Revolutionary Guards forward command centers in Syria, after downing an
Iranian drone. It is also seen in Moscow as a challenge for Israel’s newly
acquired fifth-generation US F-35 combat aircraft. Does Putin intend to
order his mighty airborne strike force to go into battle against the US or
Israel in the boiling Syrian arena? If he does, he will be launching the
first contest between the most sophisticated warplanes ever devised for a
test of superior might between the US and Russia and a war escalation
unprecedented, even in Syria. The very presence of the Su-57 across the
border has had the instant effect of reducing the Israel air force’s freedom
of action over Syria and Lebanon. The landing of the Russian Sukhoi-57 in
Syria and its dire implications were first revealed in the latest DEBKA
Weekly 790.
UN Security Council delays vote on Syria truce resolution
Reuters, UNFriday, 23 February 2018/The United Nations Security Council
delayed a vote on Friday on a resolution demanding a 30-day truce in Syria
to allow aid deliveries and medical evacuations, said Kuwait’s UN mission,
council president for February. The vote has been postponed for at least an
hour to 12 p.m. EST (1700 GMT) amid a flurry of last-minute negotiations on
the text drafted by Sweden and Kuwait. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei
Lavrov said earlier on Friday Moscow wanted guarantees that rebel fighters
will not shoot at Damascus residential areas. A resolution needs nine votes
in favor and no vetoes by Russia, China, the United States, Britain or
France. Russia has cast 11 vetoes on possible Security Council action on
Syria since its civil war began in 2011.
Jubeir: We Will Work with US, Europe to Eliminate ISIS
from Libya
Brussels - Abdullah Mustafa/Asharq Al Awsat/February 23/18/Saudi Foreign
Minister Adel al-Jubeir has said his country was working with the United
States and Europe to prevent the expansion of ISIS from Libya towards Sahel
countries, within the framework of fighting terrorism in the region.
Jubeir made his remarks on Thursday in Brussels, following a meeting with EU
Foreign Policy Chief Federica Mogherini to discuss regional developments and
preparations for an international conference on Friday to support the G5
Sahel Force. The Saudi foreign minister held separate talks with the
European People's Party member Rachida Dati and Michele Alliot-Marie,
chairperson of the Committee on Relations with the Arab Peninsula in the
European Parliament. Addressing the European Parliament’s foreign affairs
committee, Jubeir called on the international community to put more pressure
on the Syrian regime to engage seriously in the peace negotiations. He also
touched on the relations with Iran, expressing Saudi Arabia’s conviction
that the nuclear agreement between the international community and Tehran
“is not enough to modify [Tehran’s] behavior.” He stressed in this regard
the need to prevent Iran from intervening in other countries’ internal
affairs. Jubeir accused Iran of supporting terrorism and deploying its
control in countries such as Iraq and Syria, as well as providing Houthi
rebels in Yemen with ballistic missiles, which were used to target Saudi
Arabia. On the relations with Qatar, the foreign minister said: “Our policy
towards Qatar is very simple. We say no to terrorism, no to terror
financing, no to spreading hate and extremism and no to interfering in the
affairs of other countries.” The European Union will announce 50 million
euros ($61 million) for the G5 Sahel force at talks with heads of state from
Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger, adding to around 280 million
euros already pledged by international donors, AFP reported. The conference
aims to secure more international funding for the force. Donations so far
have been led by Saudi Arabia, which has given 100 million euros. In
addition to 26 EU leaders and the United Nations, around a dozen other
countries will be represented by foreign ministers including Saudi Arabia,
Norway, Morocco and Tunisia.
Saudi Minister Says Top Threat Challenging Kingdom is
Iran, not Qatar
Cairo - Sawsan Abu Hussein/Asharq Al Awsat/February 23/18 /Saudi Foreign
Affairs State Minister Dr. Nizar Madani openly slammed Iran as the prime
threat and challenge facing his country's foreign policy, downplaying the
diplomatic crisis with Qatar. "We are not busy with the conflict with
Qatar," he said at a cultural event in Cairo. "Everything has become clear
and it has to implement the demands” of the four boycotting countries, he
said on Thursday.Saudi Ambassador to Egypt, Permanent Representative of
Saudi Arabia to the Arab League and Dean of Arab Diplomatic Corps Ahmed bin
Abdulaziz Al-Qattan hosted the event. Madani delivered a lecture about Saudi
foreign policy and the event was attended by ministers, public figures,
intellectuals, ambassadors, politicians and senior journalists. He addressed
different definitions and theories of the general concept of foreign policy
and factors that affect the choices of countries when dealing with a
specific political issue. He tackled Saudi foreign policy, pointing out that
it stems from a firm belief in regional and international peace and
stability. Madani said that Saudi Arabia follows basic principles for any
decision or external political move. These principles stem primarily from
its standing in the Arab and Islamic world. He detailed the Kingdom’s
championing of Arab solidarity in all fields, including politics, culture
and intellectual progression. The Kingdom's foreign policy is based on
respecting conventions and international agreements with other states,
finding a peaceful resolution to end disputes and following a
non-interference approach when it comes to internal affairs of other
countries.
More Deaths as Regime Pounds Eastern Ghouta Ahead of UN
Vote
Asharq Al Awsat/February 23/18/A new wave of bombs struck Syria's eastern
Ghouta on Friday, which a witness described as the worst yet, ahead of a UN
Security Council vote to demand a 30-day ceasefire across the country to
allow for deliveries of humanitarian aid and medical evacuations. For a
sixth straight day, warplanes have pounded the densely populated
agricultural pocket east of the capital, the last rebel bastion near
Damascus. Rami Abdel Rahman, the head of the Britain-based Syrian
Observatory for Human Rights, told AFP that at least nine people were killed
on Friday.
The latest deaths brought to 426 the number of people killed since the
Syrian regime and its Russian ally intensified their bombardment of the
besieged area on February 18. Medical charities say jets have hit more than
a dozen hospitals, making it near impossible to treat the wounded. The
Britain-based Observatory said regime warplanes and artillery hit Douma,
Zamalka, and other towns across the enclave in the early hours on Friday. A
witness in Douma, who asked not to be identified, told Reuters by phone that
the early morning bombing was the most intense so far.
The bombing of eastern Ghouta since Sunday night has been among the fiercest
of the war, now entering its eighth year. The Civil Defense in eastern
Ghouta said its rescuers rushed to help the wounded after strikes on the
town of Hammouriyeh on Friday morning. The emergency service, which operates
in rebel territory, says it has pulled hundreds of people from under the
rubble in recent days. The UN Security Council was considering a resolution,
which Kuwait and Sweden drafted, demanding "a cessation of hostilities
throughout Syria for all military operations" for 30 days to allow aid
deliveries and medical evacuations. A slightly amended text was circulated
to council members, but it was unclear whether Russia would support the
measure. The vote is set to take place on Friday. The resolution does
not cover the groups ISIS and al-Nusra Front. Speaking hours before the
vote, UN Special Envoy Staffan de Mistura renewed his urgent call for a
ceasefire to stop both the "horrific" bombing of eastern Ghouta and
indiscriminate mortar shelling on Damascus. The ceasefire needs to be
followed by immediate, unhindered humanitarian access to eastern Ghouta and
evacuation of sick and injured, de Mistura said in a statement. The three
guarantors of the Astana process - Russia, Iran and Turkey - must meet
urgently to re-install the de-escalation zones in Syria, he said.
Iranian Official: Our Presence in Syria Does Not Target
Israel
London -Asharq Al Awsat/February 23/18/Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas
Araghchi stressed on Thursday that his country’s presence in Syria is not
aimed at creating a new front against Israel. He told the BBC that the
presence was aimed at combating terrorism.
"Just imagine if we were not there. Now you would have ISIS in Damascus, and
maybe in Beirut and other places," he added. Moreover, Araghchi condemned
the suffering of the Syrians in the Damascus enclave of Eastern Ghouta that
has come under intense regime air strikes that has left hundreds of people
dead, He said Iran was in Syria to fight "terrorist elements" at the
invitation of the Syrian regime, and its alliance with Syria and the
Lebanese “Hezbollah” group aimed to "combat the hegemonic policies" of
Israel, reported the BBC. He refused to confirm that Iran had sent a drone
to fly over Israel earlier this month. The Iranian official instead claimed
that the drone belonged to the Syrian regime forces, adding that Israel
deploys drones to neighboring countries. "They shouldn't be angry when they
are faced with something that they are doing against others on a daily
basis," Araghchi said.
Iran Says May Withdraw from Nuclear Deal if There Are
No Economic Benefits
London - Asharq Al Awsat/February 23/18/Iran will withdraw
from the 2015 nuclear deal if there is no economic benefit and major banks
continue to shun Iran, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on
Thursday. "The deal would not survive this way even if the ultimatum is
passed and waivers are extended," Araqchi, Iran's lead nuclear negotiator,
said in a speech at the Chatham House think tank in London. "If the same
policy of confusion and uncertainties about the JCPOA (Joint Comprehensive
Plan of Action) continues, if companies and banks are not working with Iran,
we cannot remain in a deal that has no benefit for us," Araqchi said,
according Reuters. "That’s a fact."Under the deal with Britain, China,
France, Germany, Russia and the United States, Iran agreed to restrict its
nuclear program in return for the removal of sanctions that have crippled
its economy. "If we lose the JCPOA, we will face another nuclear crisis,"
Araqchi said. "For the Europeans or the world community, when we talk about
maintaining the JCPOA and saving it, it’s not a choice between the Iranian
or the US market, it’s not a choice for economic cooperation: it’s a choice
between having security or insecurity," he said. US President Donald Trump
told the Europeans on Jan. 12 they must agree to "fix the terrible flaws of
the Iran nuclear deal" or he would re-impose the sanctions Washington lifted
as part of that pact. Trump sees three defects in the deal: its failure to
address Iran's ballistic missile program; the terms under which
international inspectors can visit suspect Iranian nuclear sites; and
"sunset" clauses under which limits on the Iranian nuclear program start to
expire after 10 years. He wants all three strengthened if the United States
is to stay in the JCPOA. Meanwhile, a quarterly report by the UN atomic
watchdog said Thursday that Iran has stayed within the main restrictions on
its nuclear activities imposed by the 2015 deal. Iran did not exceed limits
on its stocks of low-enriched uranium and heavy water, the IAEA said.
Ahmadinejad’s Letter to Khamenei Angers Reformists,
Conservatives in Iran
London - Adel Al-Salmi/Asharq Al Awsat/February 23/18/A letter addressed by
former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to Iran’s Supreme leader Ali
Khamenei calling for immediate free elections, drove on Thursday anger among
both reformist and conservative circles, and revived disputes over
falsification in the 2009 presidential elections. Ahmadinejad’s open letter
to Khamenei was published on the former president’s website Dolat-e Bahar on
Feb. 21. “An immediate and free presidential and parliamentary election,
without the engineering of the Guardian Council and the interference of
military and security institutions, is an urgent need,” Ahmadinejad wrote.
Guardian Council spokesman Abbas Kadkhodaei responded to the letter,
accusing Ahmadinejad of attempting to “engineer” the 2009 elections by
pressuring the council to announce final results before the watchdog body
had fully reviewed complaints from losing candidates. Kadkhodaei added that
"the country has no need for elections right now because all elections are
conducted in a legal and sustainable manner". In Iran, parliamentary
elections are due in 2020, and presidential elections in 2021. Several
deputies strongly lashed out on Thursday at Ahmadinejad and called on the
ministries of Intelligence and Justice to question him. Mohsen Kouhkan Rizi,
an Iranian economist and conservative politician who represents Lenjan
district in the Parliament, said on Thursday that “reaching high-ranking
positions in the regime does not mean possessing an infinite immunity.”
Kouhkan added that some former presidents faced prosecutions, were isolated
or put to death, in reference to Abolhassan Bani-Sadr, the Islamic
republic's first president. For his part, former Deputy Culture Minister
Mohammad Ali Ramin who was close to Ahmadinejad, published an article on his
private “telegram” account saying that the former president “wishes to reap
the fruits of the Revolution.”In his letter, Ahmadinejad had called for
”fundamental reforms” in the executive, parliament and judiciary branches of
government, as well as the office of the Supreme Leader.
US official says embassy expected to open in Jerusalem
in May
Reuters, Washington/Friday, 23 February 2018/The United States is expected
to open its embassy to Israel in Jerusalem in May, a US official told
Reuters on Friday, a move from Tel Aviv that reverses decades of US policy.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is in contact with the US
Administration and will respond if and when an American announcement is made
on the planned US Embassy move to Jerusalem, an Israeli government source
said on Friday. US President Donald Trump announced last year that the
United States recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, infuriating even
Washington’s Arab allies and dismaying Palestinians who want the eastern
part of the city as their capital. A May opening appears to represent an
earlier time frame than what had been expected. While speaking in the
Israeli parliament last month, US Vice President Mike Pence said the move
would take place by the end of 2019. The opening will coincide with the 70th
anniversary of Israel’s founding, said the US official, speaking on
condition of anonymity.
Nikki Haley: Mideast peace proposal nearly ready
AFP, Chicago/Friday, 23 February 2018/The United States ambassador to the
United Nations said Thursday that a proposal for a long awaited peace plan
between Israelis and Palestinians is near completion.“I think they’re
finishing it up,” Nikki Haley said, when asked about formulations of a
Middle East peace proposal during an appearance at the University of Chicago
Institute of Politics. The news came a day after President Donald Trump’s
two top envoys on the Middle East, son-in-law Jared Kushner and adviser
Jason Greenblatt, met with UN Security Council ambassadors and asked for
their support of the upcoming peace plan. “They’re still going back and
forth,” Haley said, without offering specifics of when a proposal might be
unveiled. “The plan won’t be loved by either side. And it won’t be hated by
either side. But it’s a template to start talking,” she said.
Jerusalem as Israel’s capital
The revelations came after questioning by the academic institute’s chief
David Axelrod – a former senior advisor to Trump’s predecessor Barack Obama
– about the US’s controversial decision to declare Jerusalem as Israel’s
capital. “Congress had overwhelmingly voted to name Jerusalem the capital of
Israel and to put our embassy in the capital,” Haley said. She said multiple
presidents had struggled with a “fear doctrine that the sky was going to
fall” if such a declaration was made. “The sky is still up there,” she said.
“And now what we have is a time where the negotiations can start between
Israelis and Palestinians.”Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas on Wednesday
called for an international conference to be held by mid-2018 to launch a
wider peace process in which the United States would not have the central
mediating role. In Ramallah, Palestinians threw eggs at a delegation
including New York City Council members visiting the occupied West Bank
Thursday, AFP reporters said, amid anger over US President Donald Trump’s
recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. As they left they were pelted
with eggs by several dozen protesters, who also chased their bus. Protesters
held signs reading “The US is part of the problem, not the solution.”
Palestinians Seek UN Security Council Endorsement of
Abbas' Initiative
Ramallah - Kifah Ziboun/Asharq Al Awsat/February 23/18/Nabil Shaath, adviser
to President Mahmoud Abbas, said that the Palestinian leadership was working
towards the adoption of the Palestinian plan by the UN Security Council, to
replace the US “deal of the century.”
In an interview with the Palestinian official radio station, Shaath
described the US plan as a “failure”, noting that Abbas’ proposal had been
highly appreciated by the international community. The Palestinian
official’s remarks came few days after Abbas presented to the Security
Council a plan calling for convening an international peace conference in
mid-2018, with wide international participation involving the concerned
parties and regional and international players, in particular the permanent
members of the Security Council and the Quartet. According to Abbas’
proposal, the conference should result in recognizing the State of Palestine
as a full member of the United Nations, in addition to mutual recognition of
the State of Palestine and Israel based on the 1967 borders, and the
establishment of a multilateral international mechanism to assist both sides
in the negotiations to resolve all outstanding issues, including
settlements, refugees, water and prisoners. Sources told Asharq Al-Awsat
that the Palestinian leadership was working to achieve the adoption of Abbas’
plan by the major powers in the Security Council and to push Russia or
France to call for an international peace conference this year in order to
produce an international mechanism that would involve the United States, as
well as European and Arab countries. Meanwhile, the Organization of Islamic
Cooperation (OIC) welcomed Abbas’ call to the UN Security Council, stressing
the need to achieve a just and comprehensive peace in the region, especially
through a two-state solution based on the relevant resolutions of
international legitimacy and the Arab peace initiative. In a statement on
Thursday, the OIC Secretariat called on all relevant international parties
to implement the Abbas’ proposal, in particular the holding of an
international peace conference with the participation of all international
actors.
Two-Thirds of the World Is Corrupt, Watchdog Says
London- /Asharq Al Awsat/February 23/18/Two-thirds of the
countries around the world are considered corrupt, the Transparency
International (TI) determined in their annual report, ‘Corruption
Perceptions Index.’ This year, New Zealand and Denmark rank highest with
scores of 89 and 88 respectively. Syria, South Sudan and Somalia rank lowest
with scores of 14, 12 and 9 respectively. The best performing region is
Western Europe with an average score of 66. The worst performing regions are
Sub-Saharan Africa (average score 32) and Eastern Europe and Central Asia
(average score 34). The index, which ranks 180 countries and territories by
their perceived levels of public sector corruption according to experts and
businesspeople, uses a scale of 0 to 100, where 0 is highly corrupt and 100
is very clean.The international watchdog described this poor performance as
“nothing new”, given that the majority of countries and territories ranked
on the index were moving too slowly in their efforts to combat pervasive
public-sector corruption, with some countries showing little-to-no progress
since 2012, when TI adopted a methodology that allowed better comparisons.
More than two-thirds of countries scored below 50 on the index, and the
average score was 43, said TI, which has more than 100 chapters worldwide.
While scores fell sharply in Syria, Yemen and Australia, some countries have
significantly boosted their scores over the past six years, including Ivory
Coast, Senegal and Britain.
This year, TI added a third layer to their global analysis, adding the rates
of violence perpetrated against members of the press. According to their
research, those countries with the "worst rates of corruption" also had the
lowest protection of the press and non-governmental organizations (NGOs).
Additionally, the majority of those journalists killed since 2012 were
killed in corrupt countries. TI said an analysis including data from the
Committee to Protect Journalists showed an alarming correlation between high
levels of corruption and violence against journalists. It said more than 9
out of 10 journalists that were killed over the past six years were in
countries that scored 45 or less on the index. One in five journalists died
covering a story about corruption. TI Managing Director Patricia Moreira
said, "Given current crackdowns on both civil society and the media
worldwide, we need to do more to protect those who speak up."Brazil, Mexico,
and Guatemala fell below average in this year’s report with ratings of 27,
29, and 28. Interestingly, all three nations have struggled with attacks
against journalists in last ten years. Researchers used Brazil as a prime
example, stating that in the last six years, there have been 20 journalists
killed in connection with their work. However in the last year alone, there
11 Guatemalan journalists were murdered, a total of 36 media personnel
killed since the year 2000. While in Mexico, 13 journalists died in
connection to their work and the nation has been called the “most dangerous
place in the world for journalists.”
"Smear campaigns, harassment, lawsuits and bureaucratic red tape are all
tools used by certain governments in an effort to quiet those who drive
anti-corruption efforts," Moreira said. The organization is calling on
governments that "hide behind restrictive laws" to eliminate the laws and
open opportunities for further civic participation. To reduce civic
involvement is to allow corruption to fester and grow and risk "the very
essence of democracy and freedom," TI Chairwoman Delia Ferreira Rubio said.
Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published
on February 23-24/18
Some Return to the Past, Others look to
the Future
Eyad Abu Shakra/Asharq Al Awsat/February 23/18
A few days ago I returned from Dubai, in the UAE, where I attended the World
Government Summit. This Summit, boasting contributions from a select group
of leading political, economic, scientific and intellectual figures, came a
few days before the seventh anniversary of the popular uprising that ended
Muammar Al-Gaddafi rule in Libya.
It was a true ‘summit’, given the political, economic and scientific ideas
and visions, whether expressed from the podium, or through side dialogues
and exchanges.
It came as a vivid reflection of the interest in the future, anticipating
and preparing for it, more so since it neither waits nor forgives the
unprepared, or those who yearn to a backward, restrictive and destructive
past.
In the meantime, as I mention the seventh anniversary to the uprising that
toppled Al-Gaddafi, I intentionally refuse to describe what Libya lived
under between 1969 and 2011 as a ‘regime’.
Actually, I remember well when the news of the 1969 ‘September First
Revolution’ broke.
I recall how I received the news that the regime of King Idris Al-Senussi
was toppled through my little transistor radio on the balcony of our summer
mountain home. I heard that a group of young army officers brought down the
regime that our generation – the generation of ‘June 1967 Defeat – believed
had passed its sell by date.
Our angry and rebellious generation, then, never forgave the ‘debility’ of
the regime of that old venerable king, which we were told contributed
directly to the ‘June Defeat’. Those days we were totally convinced that the
defeat would not have happened had it not been for enemy fighter-bomber
taking off from the Wheelus USAF, near Tripoli to bomb Egypt!
From that balcony I was following the news reports from Libya one by one. I
heard early that the ‘Coup Leader’ was an officer called Saadeddine Bu-Shuweireb;
and some time passed before the names of the real planners and executors of
what became known as ‘September First Revolution’ were revealed.
The new rulers were a group of young officers led by Muammar Al-Gaddafi, who
copying earlier Arab military coups, formed a ‘Revolutionary Command Council
(RCC)’, before the ‘revolution’ began to devour its children. In addition to
the young officers, among the earliest members of the new governing elite
were a mélange of young intellectuals such as Palestinian-born Premier
Mahmood Suleiman al-Maghribi and veteran opposition politicians like Foreign
Minister Saleh Mass’oud Bouweissir.
Back to my generation, which was hopeful of ‘cleansing’ the outcome of the
‘June Defeat’, there was also a strong wish to be optimistic after an
ignominious defeat few of us were willing to admit how bad it really was. We
simply rejected any reappraisal or calls for accountability, because we were
convinced that our defeat came solely as a result of ‘foreign conspiracy’,
thus dismissing our fragile political structures, bad reading of realities,
and misunderstanding the world around us.
‘Foreign conspiracy’ was a potent drug not only because it was partly true,
but also because it provided us with an excuse against self-criticism and
shouldering responsibility. Al-Gaddafi and his colleagues were also sons of
that generation. For him and them, everything began and ended with ‘foreign
conspiracy’; and thus his magic prescription contained two ingredients:
revolutionizing society through young mass movements, and achieving any kind
of ‘union’, at any price, in any shape or form, in order to prevent division
and fragmentation.
I reckon the intentions of Al-Gaddafi and his fellow officers were sincere.
In fact, he and Gaafar Nimeiry - who had led a few months earlier (May 15th)
in the Sudan another military coup under ‘revolutionary banners – enjoyed
the blessings of ‘Nasserist’ Egypt. Many, like me, saw those days that the
two young officers’ coups in the Sudan and Libya were the ‘practical
response’ against the ‘June defeat’, and a means of repairing damaged dreams
and ambitions, especially, as Egypt had begun its ‘war of Attrition’ against
the Israelis in the then occupied Sinai.
However, those dreams and ambitions soon proved to be unreal, and rapidly
foundered. The end of ‘Nasserism’ following the death of President Gamal
Abdel-Nasser in September 1970 brought about awareness of what was really
going on both in Egypt, and in the Arab world at large.
Changes were taking place and new realities were emerging everywhere in the
Arab world.
In Egypt, the ‘Sadat Era’ began underlining and intensifying ‘Egyptian
identity’. The Palestinian ‘resistance’ movement had to change its tactical,
strategic and even geographic priorities after its ‘September 1970
experience’ in Jordan. The ‘revolutions’ led by Nimeiry and Al-Gaddafi also
underwent massive tests, that led Nimeiry to turn against the Left, and
Al-Gaddafi against ‘Arabism’.
Even Iraq and Syria, the two ‘Baathist’ competitors aspiring to inherit the
mantle of ‘Arabism’ relinquished by Egypt after signing the Camp David
Accords, changed.
The two states turned their back to the ‘secularism’ of the Baath and became
minority-led; and so with a few decades the two ‘Fertile Crescent’ twins
became occupied and sectarian failed states.
In the opposite direction, the oil boom spurred an unprecedented development
in the Gulf States.
The leaderships of these states learnt the lesson, and translated its
realistic pragmatism based on common interest into building institutions of
entities; and up till now, the employed mechanisms have managed to limit the
damages and dangers threatening the Gulf from the ‘post 1979 Iran’.
In Dubai, a few days ago, amazing information and predictions were made.
I was particularly thrilled by Professor Michio Kaku’s presentation about
groundbreaking future innovations. However, soon after leaving this journey
with the future, I looked back at the past, then the present, and felt the
pain.
In this world of ours there are those who plan for the next 20, 50, even 100
years, while we go backwards 100s of years.
Even in the Gulf, there is a tiny minority that is seeking to turn back the
forward march to the future.
Me Too in the Mosque
Giulio Meotti/Gatestone Institute/February 23/18
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/11937/mosques-women-islam
"While the brave Iranian women protested against hijab laws, Western
feminists celebrated hijab". — Rita Panahi, Herald Sun, Australia.
Instead of a celebration of Islamist discrimination against women, the West
should promote a #MeToo in the mosque, the idea of an Egyptian, Mona
Eltahawi. She would like to raise the issue of rape and sexual abuse
suffered by Muslim women during the hajj pilgrimage to Mecca.
Will Western advocates of women's rights also stand for the rights of Muslim
women, or, in the name of "multiculturalism", the will they keep appeasing
those who persecute them instead?
While the march for women's rights in Washington this year took place under
the banner of #MeToo against sexual harassment, in Iran dozens of women were
taking to the streets to protest against theocracy and compulsory wearing of
the hijab. The Iranian women waved white flags to fight against the mullahs'
obligation to veil. But the white flag was not a surrender; it was
apparently a symbol of Western feminists. As the Australian Rita Panahi
wrote, "while the brave Iranian women protested against hijab laws, Western
feminists celebrated hijab".
On February 1, many of these Iranian women were arrested for not wearing a
hijab. On that very day, the World Hijab Day was celebrated in the West, and
Western appeasers celebrated the veil. Even British PM Theresa May backed
the claim that women should be "free" to wear hijab. A few days after that,
the American department store Macy's decided to sell the hijab as an item of
fashion clothing. Unfortunately, in some Islamic countries, women are not
"free" to wear the veil; they are obliged to wear the veil, as the arrests
in Iran show us.
Instead of a celebration of Islamist discrimination against women, the West
should promote a #MeToo in the mosque -- the idea of an Egyptian, Mona
Eltahawi. She would like to raise the issue of rape and sexual abuse
suffered by Muslim women during the hajj pilgrimage to Mecca.
Seyran Ates, a Turkish-German woman, recently opened in Berlin the first
mosque where unveiled women and gays are welcome. Her decision was rather
braver than a Twitter hashtag. Ates was immediately flooded with death
threats, and had to be put under police protection.
In Berlin, Germany, the first mosque to welcome unveiled women and gays
opened last year, co-founded by Turkish-German human-rights activist Seyran
Ates. In contrast to traditional mosques, males and females worship together
in the new mosque. The French philosopher Alain Finkielkraut recently called
feminists "dishonest players" who will not admit to having won the game. In
the West, the feminist adventure is, for the most part, over: women have
conquered most of their rights and have earned respect.
Feminists would be wise now not to allow their battle to be turned into a
grotesque caricature by banning "sexist" poems and art. This has already
happened in a museum in Manchester and a school in Berlin. Western feminism,
instead, could renew and ennoble itself by embracing the desperate fight of
many Muslim women: Nigerian girls abducted by Boko Haram; Yazidi women
sexually enslaved by ISIS; Indonesian women lashed for "adultery"; women
captured and sold as slaves; girls subjected to female genital mutilation (FGM),
girls married off while they are still children to men they do not even
know; and girls in Iran now in prison -- and possibly tortured and raped --
for taking off their veils.
Take the three European countries hosting the largest Muslim communities:
Britain, Germany and France. In Britain, a new case of female genital
mutilation (FGM) is being either discovered or treated every hour, according
to National Health Service statistics. In Germany, a nongovernmental
organization, Terre des Femmes, has said that 13,000 underage girls living
there are at risk of being forced to undergo this brutal disfigurement. A
few days ago, reports surfaced that in the suburbs of Paris 30% of Muslim
girls are threatened with it.
Will Western advocates of women's rights also stand for the rights of Muslim
women, or, in the name of "multiculturalism", the will they keep appeasing
those who persecute them instead?
For years, Western cultural relativists have denounced Judeo-Christian
values for "repressing women", and "progressives" proclaimed a duty to be
"open minded". That is why they fought for female bishops to be appointed to
the Church of England and for "egalitarian" Jewish prayer services at the
Western Wall in Jerusalem. The paradox is that every time it comes to Islam,
the same progressives lose their voice.
Western feminism needs to make a strategic choice. The West, which prides
itself on being the world of "inclusivity" and "rights", really needs to
decide if it stands with Muslim icons of Western elites such as Linda
Sarsour, who wished Ayaan Hirsi Ali, a critic of Islam and a victim of
genital mutilation, to have her vagina "taken away" (whatever that means),
or join with the real reformers in Islam who are fighting to open their
religion to kindness, tolerance, reason and modernity.
Fundamentalism or freedom: the choice is up to us.
Giulio Meotti, Cultural Editor for Il Foglio, is an Italian journalist and
author.
© 2018 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.
Putin Has to Find a Way to Raise Incomes
Leonid Bershidsky/Bloomberg/Asharq Al Awsat/February 23/18
One thing Putin is keen to ensure before the election: that Russians' real
disposable incomes as measured by official statistics don't decline. So the
State Statistical Service has made sure of it.
On Monday, the government agency reported that in January, the disposable
income measure was unchanged from January 2017. To produce that result, it
had to disregard a one-time payment of 5,000 rubles ($88) made to Russian
retirees in January 2017 -- "for comparability purposes," it explained.
Russian economists panned the decision as a manipulation. That, however,
won't stop Putin from claiming that the multi-year decline in Russians'
incomes has been halted.
That decline is the biggest headache for the beginning of Putin's fourth
presidential term. Economic growth resumed after a two-year slump in 2017,
and so did retail turnover growth, but that has been largely thanks to
Russians' increased propensity to take out consumer loans (after a 35
percent slump in 2015). In nominal terms, consumer credit was back at the
2014 level last year.
Putin and his government make much of having conquered inflation, which only
reached 2.5 percent last year; the unusually low level of price growth has
allowed the Central Bank to drive its key interest rate down to 7.5 percent,
making credit more affordable. But real disposable incomes decreased by 1.7
percent, though the economy ministry predicted growth of 0.2 percent.
There's no reason for Russian companies to increase salaries: Their combined
net profit was down 4 percent year-on-year in January through November 2017.
In an economy increasingly controlled by the government -- the recently
announced acquisition of No. 2 retailer Magnit by state-owned VTB bank is
just the latest example of the longstanding trend -- state spending is the
most reliable way of increasing disposable incomes. But Russia ran a 1.7
percent budget deficit in 2017 and is expected to run a 1.3 percent deficit
this year, according to the Bloomberg consensus forecast: Higher oil prices
haven't completely erased the government's revenue shortfall. There's no
room for big handouts in the foreseeable future without a major increase in
debt.
Bloomberg reports that such an increase is just what's being proposed by
Putin's economic aide Andrey Belousov, long a proponent of active monetary
stimulus, as well as generally more conservative Deputy Prime Minister Igor
Shuvalov and Economy Minister Maxim Oreshkin. According to the unconfirmed
report, they'd like to see Russia's debt-to-gross-domestic-product ratio
rise to 16 percent from the current 12.5 percent during Putin's next term.
The idea is to stimulate growth through a borrowing spree that would raise
15 trillion rubles ($265 billion) for infrastructure investment, including
highway and railroad construction. There's nothing particularly wrong with
taking on a bit more debt, especially if Russian bonds return to investment
grade this year -- a realistic prospect given the lack of new U.S.
sanctions, which could have put Russian paper out of many institutional
investors' reach. And even if an expansion of foreign borrowing weren't an
option, the domestic market can swallow up plenty more of the government's
relatively high-yielding debt. Compared to European and U.S. levels, Russian
debt is low; the country can afford to borrow more.
Putin, however, appears instinctively to hate debt. When he came to power in
2000, Russia's debt-to-GDP ratio exceeded 50 percent. Putin embarked on a
conscious strategy of paying it down, reducing the ratio to 7.4 percent in
2008. It started rising thanks to the global financial crisis and peaked at
15.9 percent in recession-ridden 2015, but has since shrunk again. Putin's
preference for sound, conservative financial management, reflected in a
marked improvement of Russia's external financial position in 2017 -- a
$11.7 billion increase in foreign reserves and a $48.9 billion increase in
the net foreign investment position -- is in conflict with his other strong
instinct, the one that pushes him to increase the government's presence in
the economy.
This is an inner conflict that Putin will need to resolve during his next
six-year term. A big infrastructure spending spree could reward loyal
businesspeople, especially Putin's friends, for their patience with Putin's
economically uncomfortable geopolitical stance. And there's no question that
the country needs it: Government investment in infrastructure has dwindled
to 2 percent of GDP from about 4 percent in 2012 , while the G-20's Global
Infrastructure Outlook estimates Russia's "investment gap" -- the difference
between what's being spent on roads, airports, telecommunications, water and
energy supply networks, and what the country actually requires -- at $727
billion by 2040.
It could also finally help to stall the decrease in real incomes, which is
feeding electoral apathy and, lately, even open discontent under
anti-corruption banners. But Putin, knowing the system he's built, doubts
the efficiency of a huge spending increase. And if it's fed by a debt
explosion, Putin will feel insecure about handing over power to a designated
successor, something the constitution obliges him to do in 2024. The
stability of his regime is based on sound government finances, and there are
already barely concealed holes in them, such as the dubious assets of the
state development bank, VEB. Putin knows that official data paper over these
potential problems and doesn't want to exacerbate them.
Some clues about Putin's choices may emerge in his annual message to
parliament, which he's likely to deliver by the end of this month, making it
the key speech of his largely nonexistent election campaign. Even if voters
aren't being asked, their interests can't be completely disregarded. The
question is whether Putin can help them without relinquishing a degree of
control over the economy.
Question: "Is a gospel crusade a biblical method of
evangelism?"
GotQuestions.org/February 23/18
Answer: A gospel crusade is a concentrated effort to evangelize a city or
region. Prior to the preaching the groundwork is laid: a large venue is
rented, whole communities are invited, musicians and counsellors are lined
up, and churches are asked to pray. When the big day arrives, a high-profile
evangelist preaches a public message or a series of messages on salvation
and gives an invitation to respond. Evangelists who have used the gospel
crusade method of evangelism to speak to millions include George Whitefield,
Charles Finney, D. L. Moody, Billy Sunday, and Billy Graham.
Gospel crusades have been in existence since the second chapter of Acts and
since then have exploded in number and popularity. Some crusades claim to
present the gospel; some of them don’t. Some crusades may be labeled
“gospel,” but are in fact focused on physical healing, inspirational
messages, or prosperity. For the purposes of this article, we will define a
gospel crusade as a scheduled event designed to attract a large number of
people for the purposes of presenting God’s plan of salvation through Jesus
Christ. We will also assume for the purposes of this article that the true
biblical gospel is indeed preached at the crusades we will consider.
The first “crusade” of sorts is found in Acts 2:14–41, after the Holy Spirit
had come upon the disciples. Peter immediately began speaking to the
thousands gathered at Pentecost, explaining the phenomenon they were seeing
and hearing. These formerly terrified followers of Jesus were suddenly
speaking boldly in other languages so that travelers from many nations could
hear the gospel in their own tongues. Three thousand new converts were added
to the kingdom that day. Clearly, this gospel crusade was a biblical method
of evangelism.
The next verse (Acts 2:42) shows us why this gospel crusade was so
effective. There was follow-up, and the new believers “devoted themselves to
the apostles teaching, to fellowship, and to prayer.” Those new converts
were immediately welcomed into the church at Jerusalem where they were
instructed about how to be disciples of Christ (see Matthew 28:19–20). One
weakness of the crusade method of evangelism is the lack of follow-up. Of
the thousands who flock to the front to “give their lives to Jesus,” how
many continue in the faith? Although many reputable evangelists such as
Billy and Franklin Graham strive to connect new believers with local
churches, the numbers don’t support the claim that most of those responding
to an altar call were truly born again. Jesus said, “If you continue in my
word, you are truly my disciples” (John 8:31). The implication is that those
who do not continue in His word never were His disciples to begin with.
There are many acceptable methods of presenting the gospel, and none should
be discounted if the truth is proclaimed. A gospel crusade is only one way,
but often we think of it as the best way. We may subconsciously excuse our
lack of personal evangelism by assuming that unbelievers will be exposed to
a gospel crusade through TV or in person and hear the truth that way. There
may be instances when an unbeliever is so hardened against the gospel that
he or she has been resistant to personal evangelism but is drawn to a gospel
crusade through the celebrity status of the speaker or musicians. However,
as followers of Christ carrying His mandate of winning the lost, we should
never assume that the message is somehow reaching those who need it without
our participation.
God uses many avenues to reach those He came to save, including gospel
crusades. As His followers, we should be actively involved in helping Him
through every means possible. When we support gospel crusades through our
time, finances, and participation and, at the same time, seek to draw people
to Jesus through our personal witness, we can be confident that we are
obeying Jesus’ last words to us and helping Him make disciples of all
nations.
Recommended Resource: Reaching the Lost: Evangelism by Bobby Jamieson
What's new on Question: "Is a gospel crusade a biblical method of
evangelism?"
Answer: A gospel crusade is a concentrated effort to evangelize a city or
region. Prior to the preaching the groundwork is laid: a large venue is
rented, whole communities are invited, musicians and counsellors are lined
up, and churches are asked to pray. When the big day arrives, a high-profile
evangelist preaches a public message or a series of messages on salvation
and gives an invitation to respond. Evangelists who have used the gospel
crusade method of evangelism to speak to millions include George Whitefield,
Charles Finney, D. L. Moody, Billy Sunday, and Billy Graham.
Gospel crusades have been in existence since the second chapter of Acts and
since then have exploded in number and popularity. Some crusades claim to
present the gospel; some of them don’t. Some crusades may be labeled
“gospel,” but are in fact focused on physical healing, inspirational
messages, or prosperity. For the purposes of this article, we will define a
gospel crusade as a scheduled event designed to attract a large number of
people for the purposes of presenting God’s plan of salvation through Jesus
Christ. We will also assume for the purposes of this article that the true
biblical gospel is indeed preached at the crusades we will consider.
The first “crusade” of sorts is found in Acts 2:14–41, after the Holy Spirit
had come upon the disciples. Peter immediately began speaking to the
thousands gathered at Pentecost, explaining the phenomenon they were seeing
and hearing. These formerly terrified followers of Jesus were suddenly
speaking boldly in other languages so that travelers from many nations could
hear the gospel in their own tongues. Three thousand new converts were added
to the kingdom that day. Clearly, this gospel crusade was a biblical method
of evangelism.
The next verse (Acts 2:42) shows us why this gospel crusade was so
effective. There was follow-up, and the new believers “devoted themselves to
the apostles teaching, to fellowship, and to prayer.” Those new converts
were immediately welcomed into the church at Jerusalem where they were
instructed about how to be disciples of Christ (see Matthew 28:19–20). One
weakness of the crusade method of evangelism is the lack of follow-up. Of
the thousands who flock to the front to “give their lives to Jesus,” how
many continue in the faith? Although many reputable evangelists such as
Billy and Franklin Graham strive to connect new believers with local
churches, the numbers don’t support the claim that most of those responding
to an altar call were truly born again. Jesus said, “If you continue in my
word, you are truly my disciples” (John 8:31). The implication is that those
who do not continue in His word never were His disciples to begin with.
There are many acceptable methods of presenting the gospel, and none should
be discounted if the truth is proclaimed. A gospel crusade is only one way,
but often we think of it as the best way. We may subconsciously excuse our
lack of personal evangelism by assuming that unbelievers will be exposed to
a gospel crusade through TV or in person and hear the truth that way. There
may be instances when an unbeliever is so hardened against the gospel that
he or she has been resistant to personal evangelism but is drawn to a gospel
crusade through the celebrity status of the speaker or musicians. However,
as followers of Christ carrying His mandate of winning the lost, we should
never assume that the message is somehow reaching those who need it without
our participation.
God uses many avenues to reach those He came to save, including gospel
crusades. As His followers, we should be actively involved in helping Him
through every means possible. When we support gospel crusades through our
time, finances, and participation and, at the same time, seek to draw people
to Jesus through our personal witness, we can be confident that we are
obeying Jesus’ last words to us and helping Him make disciples of all
nations.
*Recommended Resource: Reaching the Lost: Evangelism by Bobby Jamieson
Iran’s selective approach to hybrid war
Ali Hajizade/Al Arabiyia/February 23/18
During the cold war, the world witnessed various proxy wars, involving USSR
and the USA, and their official and unofficial allies. Moscow and Washington
managed to wage proxy wars in Vietnam, Angola, Afghanistan and other parts
of the world.
Now there is no Warsaw block, and proxy wars could seemingly become history.
However, it did not happen. In today’s world, certain regional players have
adopted the Soviet method of waging proxy wars. Speaking of the Middle East,
we should emphasize Iran’s activity.
Strategists from Tehran are to be lauded; they improved the Soviet methods
and transformed them into a system of a comprehensive hybrid war, including
the application of modern technologies. Today, Iran’s permanent hybrid war
is mainly directed against three countries – USA, Israel and Saudi Arabia.
However, Tehran is selective about the approach to each of these countries.
Iran has a separate strategy for each of these countries. However, in each
case Iran tries to avoid a straightforward confrontation. For example, the
situation with US is much more nuanced than with Israel or Saudi Arabia.
For instance, Iranian authorities declare vicious slogans against “Great
Satan”, but at the same time, they spend great financial resources and
energy to create, expand and support Iranian Lobby in US. These efforts
continued even when Iran, not directly, but through Shiite armed militias
was involved in a military conflict with the US army in Iraq. Iranians have
been contacting with representatives of the Iraqi opposition since Saddam
Hussein’s years in power.
The American invasion freed Iran’s hands and Tehran was able to fully use
its ties and influence over Shiites in Iraq. Thus, Iraq turned into a failed
state, possessing a role of a buffer zone for Iran.
In general, methods of Iranian hybrid warfare vary according to countries
and political situation in those countries
They could establish very valuable ties with a certain part (mainly with the
liberal wing) of the American and European political establishment through
the work of Iranian Lobby in US and EU.
Ethnic Iranians including Iranians who have dual citizenship participate in
the work of Iranian Lobby together with citizens of Western countries, among
which there are politicians, social activists, experts and journalists. The
Head of Iran’s intelligence Mahmoud Alavi explicitly stated this in the
interview.
The main objective of Iranian Lobby in Washington is to counteract
activities of Jewish Lobby and activities of Israel, Saudi Arabia and UAE in
Washington. In particular, in matters regarding Iran, for example Iranian
nuclear program, Iran’s missile program, matters related to tightening of
sanctions against Iran and Iran’s ties with terrorist organizations.
Iranian Lobby has also been actively involved in the process of creation of
a “positive image of Iran” and efforts to divert attention from a gross
violation of human rights and rights of minorities in Iran. In addition,
Iranian lobby tacitly tries to promote its people (not necessarily ethnic
Iranians) into the governmental organizations, organizations close to the
government of US and think tanks responsible for the formulation of US
policy towards Iran and the Middle East. The most successful experience in
this regard was achieved during the Obama administration. Several
representatives of Iranian Lobby could get into Obama’s circle. To what
extent they had influenced the decisions on Iran remains a subject of
dispute. However, it is a fact that unlike other administrations, Obama’s
administration had a different view on Iran and its potential role in the
region.
Obviously, Obama planned to make Iran the main ally of USA in the region,
despite the fact that Iran is the main destabilizing factor in the Middle
East. Moreover, of course, to the prejudice of Israel, Saudi Arabia, UAE and
Turkey. This type of formation demanded Obama to ignore human rights
violations in Iran and its support for terrorist organizations. Hillary
Clinton, being Secretary of State, actively participated in the formulation
of Obama’s pro-Iranian policy. Of course, Clinton was not working alone; she
was being assisted by a whole team, in which there were persons sympathetic
to Iran with their views on Iran’s future role in the region and the future
of Iranian-American relations. One of those persons is Tom Pickering, former
diplomat. Specifically, the small report, he sent to Hillary Clinton is a
subject of interest.
If you read this document, you can get a sense of an immense amount of
concessions in relations with Iran Pickering proposes to make. There is
another episode, which perfectly illustrates the Obama administration’s
attitude to Iran.
As a result of the investigation, conducted by Politico it has been
disclosed that Obama’s administration actually sabotaged the investigation
against Hezbollah in cases of drug trafficking and money laundering. Obama
was afraid that Iran could abandon the nuclear deal. Whilst the drugs were
being supplied to the European allies of the US, as well as to US itself and
the money raised was used to support the organization fighting against
another US ally – Israel.
Obviously, Hillary Clinton had to carry on the Obama administration’s torch.
Nevertheless, Donald Trump’s victory has broken the plans to rehabilitate
Iran and turning Iran into Washington’s main ally in the Middle East.
One of the main Iranian Lobby organizations in US is National Iranian
American Council. Nevertheless, that’s not the only organization engaged in
lobbying of the interests of Iran in USA. There are other organizations and
individuals. Iranian Lobby operates somewhat differently in Europe, more
openly and freely than in US.
Unlike Washington, EU Countries have always been more lenient with Iran. It
is partially due to the appetite of large European business. Of course,
Iranian authorities understand it and use this factor in their global hybrid
war. Large European business, having ties with Iran, in turn, becomes a kind
of mediator between Iran and EU, a mediator that is always interested in
good relations with the Iranian regime.
European technological companies are of particular interest to Iran, since
the legal access to Israeli and American technologies is almost closed to
Tehran. Various mechanisms and backup options to circumvent sanctions have
been developed during the years of the sanctions.
Iran needs technologies, not only for civil purposes, but also for military
purposes, in particular for their intelligence services and missile program.
Besides lobbyists, large business and corrupt politicians the Iranian side
uses a number of other methods in its global confrontation with US, Israel
and Saudi Arabia.
Organization and support for paramilitary groups in the region are among
them. In particular, in countries with a vacuum of authority (Iraq, Syria,
Lebanon and Yemen) and Shiite population. These groups may be considered
Iran’s informal allies in the region. Of course, in case of Iraq, Tehran has
a considerable influence on its authorities, but armed groups are much more
loyal allies of Iran.
On the other hand, for example, Syria, where Tehran has to compete with
Russia. In case of change of Government, Tehran can use controlled groups to
preserve its influence in these countries. In addition, these groups are
used against the countries, Iran perceives as its main enemies.
In countries with Shiite population, in which Iran could not create
militias, Tehran tries to use the religious factor. These countries are
closely monitored by the Iranian intelligence services. In the South, it is
Bahrain, which is small, but strategically very important for both Saudi
Arabia and Iran. In 2011, the support of Peninsula Shield Force helped to
prevent pro-Iranian takeover in this country.
However, Iranian activity and influence in Bahrain are still there and still
pose a threat to the sovereignty and the stability of Bahrain. Tehran, using
its agents tries to have an impact on Bahraini society and, of course, first
of all, on the Shiite community of the country.
In the North, it is Azerbaijan, a secular country, an ally of Turkey and
Israel. Azerbaijan has the second largest Shiite population in the world,
after Iran. Iran considers Azerbaijan as a permanent threat to the integrity
of the country. The reason is a large Azerbaijani population in Iran itself.
Despite of the fact that Azerbaijanis are second ethnic group only to the
Persian in size, they do not have any rights in Iran along with other ethnic
groups. This is the reason sporadic demonstrations against Tehran’s policy
erupt periodically in the Southern Azerbaijan.
Given the risk of division of the country, and taking into account, that the
Azerbaijani Republic in the North is the centre of attraction for
Azerbaijanis in the South Azerbaijan, Iran has been trying to gain support
in Azerbaijan Republic in the form of political forces and religious
communities, controlled by Tehran, for further implementation of its policy
to, at least, neutralize the threat of Azerbaijani nationalism both in the
north and the south or, at most, to involve the Azerbaijani Republic in its
orbit of interest with the further turning it into a loyal vassal.
However, sustained actions of Azerbaijani authorities have limited Iran’s
capacity to establish a big and strong pro-Iranian wing in Azerbaijan. At
the same time, we have to note that Iran could achieve some progress in
building its network in Azerbaijan, but the balance of power is not in
Tehran’s favor.
Alongside Azerbaijan, certain activity of Iran is observed in Georgia.
Azerbaijani Shiites, the second largest ethnic group in Georgia, are of
particular interest. Here, just like in Azerbaijan, Iranians use Shiism as a
soft power to promote their propaganda.
In addition, Shiite pilgrims undergo ideological and propagandist
indoctrination, during the pilgrimage to Karbala, Najaf and Mashhad.
Obviously, Iran tries to secure its northern boundaries and tries to create
here forces, loyal to them.
Iranian strategy of global hybrid war could not ignore its eastern unstable
neighbor – Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. Iran has a long border with this
country. Of course, the attention and recourses Iran spends on Afghanistan,
cannot be compared to the recourses spent on Iraq and Syria. Nevertheless,
in general, Afghanistan is of great interest to Iran.
Contrary to its strategy in other countries, Iran does not scruple to
cooperate with radical Sunni groups in Afghanistan, for example with
Taliban. Iran, reportedly, provides financial recourses and arms to Taliban.
In addition, there are training camps for Taliban in Iran. It is believed
that the main aim of Iranian support for Taliban is to use Taliban fighters
against the armed groups that pledged loyalty to ISIS. Obviously, Iran
believes Taliban poses less of a threat than ISIS does.
However, no one can guarantee that Iranian money and arms supplied to
Taliban is not used against the State and coalition forces. In general, this
approach to the issue fits organically into the Iranian strategy of a global
hybrid war. The principle is simple: the more problems the West has in the
region, the less they care about Iran.
Iran is also concerned about the Saudi activity in Afghanistan. Tehran
believes that the activity of Saudi Arabia in Afghanistan can seriously
damage Iranian long-term plans for this country. In addition, Iran tries to
promote and strengthen positions of Persian language in Afghanistan.
For Iran, Afghanistan is a source of young Shiite mercenaries, recruited by
Iran and sent to Syria to fight on the side of Bashar Assad. In general,
Afghan fighters are less expensive for Iran than others are. They can also
be redeployed to other fronts or use them in their homeland in future. These
people are a good material for a hybrid war. One of the hot spots of the
Iranian hybrid war is Yemen. This country has a long border with Saudi
Arabia. Nevertheless, some of its areas are poorly controlled due to climate
and natural landscape. Yemen is perfect to create problems and security
threats to Saudi Arabia. That is why Iran could not opt out of the
developments in Yemen and not use this opportunity in its global strategy of
the hybrid war.
Supporting Houthis in Yemen, Iran tries to draw away a part of Saudi forces
(armed forces, military aviation, intelligence), recourses (financial
recourses) and attention. This tactics was widely used by USSR and US during
the Cold War.
Particular attention should be given to the Houthis’ rocket attacks on Saudi
Arabia. The missiles supplied to Houthis by Iran cannot seriously damage
Saudi Arabia, even if they hit the target. Here Iran has two objectives –
the first is psychological, that has to affect the Saudi society and
foreigners, who live in or visit Saudi Arabia.
The second one is a military objective; Iran tests the Saudi air defense
system by the shelling, in the event of possible armed conflict with Saudi
Arabia.
Probably, one of the main directions of the Iranian hybrid war is the
support for Syrian President Bashar Assad, despite the rivals in the face
Russians. Iranians had started to help Bashar Assad long before the Russians
came. Iran’s presence in Syria is still ongoing. In general, Syrian theatre
of hybrid warfare has shown that Iranian military and IRGC are not as
powerful and professional as Iranian propaganda tries to present.
The gains of Iranians, regime forces and Hezbollah had been modest before
Russian military came. The control over the large part of Syria was lost and
future of the regime of Bashar Assad was a question. Moreover, the
interference of the Russian armed forces could turn the tide of war, not the
Iranian assistance. Many casualties among the senior staff of the Iranian
military, also doesn’t add them any points.
In general, it shows that during an all-out war with a more organized and
well-armed opponent, Iranian armed forces including IRGC forces can quickly
lose the initiative, what will eventually lead to defeat. This explains why
Iran seeks to avoid a direct confrontation with the States, Tehran considers
to be enemies. We can assume that the awareness of inability of its armed
forces to meet the military challenges in Syria forced Iran to recruit
Shiites from the whole Middle East for the war in Syria.
One of the major players of Iranian global hybrid war is a Lebanese
terrorist organization – Hezbollah. This organization was established in the
early 80s, with the direct participation of Iran. For quite a long time,
Hezbollah was being used only against Israel. Nevertheless, there were
attempts to move organization’s activity to Egypt; however, these attempts
were prevented by Egyptian intelligence services.
Iran also uses Hezbollah in active measures in South America. When the civil
war in Syria began, units of Hezbollah were redeployed to this country, to
assist the Bashar Assad regime. However, Hezbollah’s participation in the
Syrian conflict has not been effective.
In Lebanon Hezbollah is also being used to suppress Sunni armed groups. The
fact that this is committed with complete impunity of Shiite militias raises
extreme outrage among Sunni population of Lebanon. We should take into
account that the number of Sunnis is almost equal to the number of Shiites
in Lebanon and such actions can drag the country into another internal
religious conflict. And in the event of such a conflict Iran will have a
chance to further strengthen its positions in Lebanon.
Hezbollah is a perfect instrument to interfere into internal affairs and
policy of Lebanon. Thanks to Iran’s support, Hezbollah terrorist
organization has its deputies in Lebanese Parliament and is a part of the
coalition Government. Knowing that its army is lag behind the Israeli army
in all respects (except numerical superiority), Iran prefers to use
Hezbollah and other organizations as proxies in the conflict with Israel.
We should also understand that propaganda and cyber attacks are important
components of Iranian strategy of the global hybrid war. Iranian promotional
machine includes an army of pro-Government trolls, an armada of fake and
other marginal websites. I wrote about in my previous review.
There are also relatively qualitative websites and TV channels. Iranian
state propaganda tries to use them to influence public opinion in the West
and in Iran’s neighboring countries. However, we should understand that the
quality of the product, produced by the Iranian promotional machine is very
low.
Iranian promotional machine has a number of western “experts”, “journalists”
and “analytics” who constantly flash across the Iranian propaganda channels
and relevant western websites. Their main objectives are – a) to dilute the
Iranian propaganda with their articles and comments, b) to promote the
Iranian point of view in the West and in the region.
In addition, Iran-controlled organizations, such as Hezbollah or Shiite
groups, have their propaganda recourses, mainly focusing on the audience of
their regions. “Cyber forces of Iran” or “pro-Government hackers”, as they
are often called in mass media, pose a serious threat to the countries in
the region, both to the countries whom Iran considers as enemies (Saudi
Arabia, Israel) and to the countries who have complicated relations with
Iran (Turkey, UAE, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Afghanistan).
Since 2010, Iranian Government has sharply increased financing their
cyber-warriors. In 2010, Iranian officials talked about the training and
preparation of 1500 cyber-warriors, although in reality the figure can be
different (higher or lower). Of course, Iranian Government continued to
build their capabilities and increase the number of cyber-warriors.
For example, according to the tweet of Iranian Minister of Information and
former intelligence officer Mohammad-Javad Azari Jahromi (17 October 2017)
Iran has an intention to prepare 10 thousand cyber-specialists to combat
cyber threats. And it is easy to imagine that these specialists will be used
as cyber-warriors in the interest of the regime.
Jabri’s ‘rationalism’ as a flawed alternative to
‘secularism’
Fahad Suleiman Shoqiran/Al Arabiyia/February 23/18
The concept of secularism has been linked to the Christian tradition itself,
not only on the fundamental ideological plane but even at the academic and
intellectual levels.
The benefits of secularism
Analyzing secularism has thus not taken into account the development of the
concept as seen in several countries in the east and the west. “Render unto
Caesar the things that are Caesar’s; and unto God the things that are
God’s,” has often been cited. If it had not been for secularism, massacres
and bloodshed would have been rampant across the world. Many intellectuals,
including Mohammed Abed al-Jabri, a prominent critic and thinker, made the
mistake of equating “secularism” with ‘religion’. This was evident in
Jabri’s book ‘The religion, state and application of Shariah.’ Georges
Tarabichi criticized Jabri in his book ‘Heresies.’ His criticism is in fact
justified as Jabri had proposed “democracy” as an alternative to
“secularism.” Secularism is not an ideology but is a collective
understanding. It does not create a new reality but tempers differences and
helps make piety more disciplined
Jabri said: “I think it’s a must to exclude the slogan ‘secularism’ from the
dictionary of Arab national thought and it must be replaced with the slogans
of ‘democracy’ and ‘rationality’ as they express the needs of the Arab
society. ‘Secularism’ in the Arab world is fake, meaning it expresses needs
via content that does not really match these needs.”Jabri also made a
strange statement on “political rationality” and said: “Democracy means
protecting rights; the rights of individuals and groups. Rationality means
basing political practice on logic and its rational and moral standards and
not on intolerance or mood swings.”
Jabri’s ‘political rationality’
What Jabri said about the task of “political rationality” is actually the
same as the task of “secularism.” However, he is elusive about secularism
for two reasons. First of all, he wants to convince societies of “political
rationality,” which has the same job as secularism, to reassure Muslims that
secularism is unnecessary because he simply thinks that those who spread it
in Arab societies are “Christians of the Levant”. Thus Muslims do not need a
concept that is promoted by Christian intellectuals. As for the second
reason, Jabri summed it up as such: “The phrase ‘separation of religion and
state’ is not at all acceptable in Muslim societies because in Islam there
is no point of establishing contradictions between the state and
religion.”Thus, Jabri radically rejects the concept of secularism and adopts
a shallow understanding of it. He fears “the separation of religion and
state” because he thinks it harms the political Islamist concept and the
tools that “implement sharia.”However, Jabri’s approach to repeal the
concept of secularism is actually insufficient as the concept’s uses have
developed and it gradually broke free from the religious Christian legacy
and it is no longer a shallow “separation” between the religion and the
state.
Secularism not opposed to religion
Secularism has developed, thanks to political philosophical theories that go
beyond the classics on social contract. It has evolved since the days of
Rousseau and Kant, thanks to the huge leap which John Rawls made through his
research on ‘justice as fairness’, which was groundbreaking in terms of the
concept of the social contract and in terms of developing ideas pertaining
to the tasks of the state. His theory of ‘justice as fairness’ is one of the
most convincing realistic theories that try to find political balance (the
moral dimension is not substantial) to control inequality and define the
concept of fairness between the individual, the state and others. Jabri
however analyzed secularism on the basis of how people understand it and
then he criticized what people comprehend about it. Many people, including
thinkers, ideologically confused the concept of secularism and forgot that
the latter is a practical concept whose uses and applications vary.
Experience proved that the secularization of a state does not destroy its
cultural basis, nor is it hostile to religion itself. Actually, religions
only thrive in secular polity, mainly for two reasons. First of all,
secularism lays the foundation for controlling different religions so
they’re all treated fairly according to the country’s approved laws, as is
the case with secularism in the Indian context. Secularism in India where
there is religious, lingual and racial diversity contributed to protecting
Muslims, and if it hadn’t been so, Muslims would have been crushed by Hindus
extremists. Secondly, secularism is not an ideology but it’s a collective
understanding. It does not create a new reality but it tempers differences
between groups and helps make piety more disciplined. In the end, the
hysteria and fuss regarding secularism reflects ignorance in how it
developed and changed as well as in how many obstacles it faced in the
process. It’s impossible to establish a civil state without secularism. This
is a simple formula for every man who analyzes people’s history, political
theories and nations’ experiences. “If daylight needs proof, then there’s
nothing to be understood.”
Pakistan reconsiders relations with Afghanistan to regain American aid
Huda al-Husseini/Al Arabiyia/February 23/18
Like Syria, will Afghanistan become a battlefield for big powers, regional
states, extremist groups and organizations? Apparently, the United States,
Pakistan, Iran, India, and China are trying to increase their influence. The
Taliban have recently issued a letter (dated 14 February 2018) to the
American people demanding the withdrawal of the US and Western forces from
Afghanistan as a precondition for peace because it considers itself — not
the present government ruling from Kabul — as the legitimate representative
of the Afghan people.
Trump’s peeve with Pakistan
On Saturday, Iran and India agreed to work together to combat extremism,
terrorism and drug trafficking in Afghanistan. India promised to develop the
Iranian port of Chabahar on the Gulf of Oman to secure access to Afghanistan
by bypassing Pakistan, which refused to allow India to use it as a land
route. It is clear that Pakistan remains the most important player on the
map. Last week, US President Donald Trump announced that his administration
would reject dialogue with the Afghan Taliban, which implies that the US
will move militarily to ensure this plan. His comments came amid a wave of
Taliban attacks on foreigners and civilians in Kabul. Washington has accused
the Pakistan-backed Haqqani network, which has links to the Taliban and is
known for its criminality, for being behind these operations. By offering
limited support to the Taliban, Iran is hitting two birds with one stone:
creating a barrier against ISIS and preventing America from using
Afghanistan as a base against Iran. For a long time, Washington and Kabul
have accused Islamabad of providing the Taliban and its followers safe
havens to plan such attacks. US-Pakistani relations deteriorated under the
Trump administration, when the US president cut off all military aid, and
Pakistan in turn accused Washington and Kabul of not doing enough to destroy
the safe havens of the Pakistani Taliban in eastern Afghanistan.
Since the withdrawal of most international forces by the end of 2014, the
Kabul government and the Afghan security forces have been unable to prevent
Taliban operations, or stall their expanding presence in the country.
Meanwhile, a large number of other armed groups have disrupted government
services and worsened the suffering of civilians. According to a recent
study, the Taliban currently exercises control over four per cent of Afghan
territory and has an active presence in all provinces of the country.
Its campaign seeks to discredit the government and wean new followers. The
latest UN figures show that more than 8,500 Afghan civilians were killed or
wounded during the first three quarters of 2017. In response to President
Trump’s orders to increase US forces, air strikes and other assistance to
Afghan forces last year, the Taliban carried out a series of terrorist
attacks, against the “policy of American aggression”, but Washington
confirms that its policy will remain in place until the Taliban or important
elements realize there is no military solution to the civil war in
Afghanistan.
The head of Afghan intelligence services has visited Pakistan to share
information about what Kabul claims to be documentary evidence and telephone
records linking individuals and groups in Pakistan to recent attacks on the
Afghan capital. It is unlikely that these new developments will change what
is going on in the mindset of the Pakistani establishment, but it will help
build an international Afghan situation and enforce the idea that Pakistan
supports terrorist groups. As the diplomatic situation deteriorates, US air
strikes on the Pakistani side of the Afghan border cannot be ruled out.
One of the first Trump tweets of this year reads as follows “America has
enthusiastically provided Pakistan with more than $33 billion in aid over
the past 15 years. In return, the latter has given us nothing but lies and
deception”. Washington had previously complained about Islamabad, but Trump
was the first to fully freeze US aid; a move that surprised Pakistan, who in
turn protested and cited the sacrifices it had made as a front in the fight
against terrorism.
Pakistan’s predicament
Putting a freeze on US aid will have a big impact on Pakistan. The Pakistani
military requires US training, equipment and partnership, and the civilian
political leadership requires Washington to ensure that it remains in power
against a strong army. There is speculation that Pakistan will look for ways
to restore normalcy with Washington as soon as possible. Despite the heated
statements of political leaders in the two countries, the growing hostility
between Washington and Islamabad has not reflected on their relations yet.
The US and Pakistan officials continue to meet and cooperate at all levels
of government, despite President Trump’s suspension of $ 1.1 billion in aid
last January. Several South Asian political analysts agree that Pakistan’s
policy of secretly supporting armed groups such as the Haqqani network or
the Afghan Taliban will not change because of a halt in aid. Strong elements
of the military still control Pakistan’s foreign policy and they believe in
maintaining close ties with the Afghan Taliban and its armed allies
especially as these groups are hostile to India. On the other hand,
according to a former senior official of the ISI, Pakistan had no control
over the Haqqani network from the beginning. It had created a perception
that it was the one controlling the security situation in Afghanistan, which
scared American officials, while the truth is that the ISI is weak and
suffers from a lack of resources like any other Pakistani government
administration. A former security official was quoted as saying that his
country has become a victim of a network of lies that it can neither
recognize nor deny: “We are cursed if we act and cursed if we don’t act,”
adding that “Pakistan’s political and military elite see relations with
Washington as the best possible choice; therefore, despite the tension,
things have to stabilize, as always”.
Iran and the Taliban
On September 8 of last year, Afghanistan’s chief of staff Lieutenant General
Mohammad Yafatali said that Iran was providing military equipment and other
forms of support to the Taliban in Afghanistan. His superiors in the defense
ministry quickly said that his statements were changed and he had been
misrepresented. Nevertheless, the US and Afghan officials believe that Iran
is quietly working to intensify its covert efforts in Afghanistan to
destabilize and keep America mired in its longest wars.
Iran shares a long land border with Afghanistan and enjoys trade ties with
many of its western provinces, which are quite far from Kabul. By offering
limited support to the Taliban, Iran is hitting two birds with one stone:
creating a barrier against ISIS and preventing America from using
Afghanistan as a base against Iran. A Taliban fighter told the Wall Street
Journal in 2015 that “Iran is providing us with everything we need”. In the
end, the Taliban will continue its operations targeting Kabul and other
urban areas this year. A British politician told me that since the end of
World War II, most of the world’s civil wars have ended in seven to 12
years, but foreign intervention tends to prolong the fighting. Afghanistan
has been the subject of American, Soviet, Indian, Pakistani and Chinese
intervention since the fighting broke out in 1978. But only the military
component or the negotiated peace element can end the violence there. The
problem is that both sides believe that military victory is possible,
especially after President Trump changed his mind about Afghanistan. In its
message to the American people, the Taliban expressed that it is the
legitimate government of Afghanistan; therefore, it is inevitable that
conflict and terrorist operations will increase during the Trump presidency.
The Taliban hopes that the next US president will have to withdraw US combat
troops, so that it can repeat its deadly 1996 march to Kabul.
But, what if President Trump wins a second term?
How the civilized caused eastern Ghouta crime
Mashari Althaydi/Al Arabiyia/February 23/18
What has happened and is happening in eastern Ghouta in Damascus is a crime
against humanity and a “stamp of shame on all of humankind”, as the Lebanese
Christian politician, Samir Geagea, said. In his last statement, Geagea
said: “Whatever the reasons, arguments or excuses are, nothing justifies the
killing of innocent civilians (in large numbers) beyond imagination with
heavy weaponry and with this insistence .”He called for an international
military intervention to stop the massacre, because spoken statement are of
no use. Their excuse is that they need to drive out terrorists from Ghouta,
but what greater terror is there than killing masses of people blindly. A
forward-thinking stance from an Arab political figure in light of the let
down from some Arabs. They ignore the publicized deaths of thousands of
civilians, including old men, women and children, by Russian planes,
Bashar’s raids and Nasrallah’s guns like mute devils.
A major crime that will be recorded in the name of Russia, the Assad regime
and all those who involved with them.
Ghouta and terrorism
The excuse they use is that they need to drive out the terrorists from
Ghouta, but what greater terror is there than killing masses of people
blindly, Geagea asked. I say, yes, there are terrorist activities carried
out by al-Qaeda factions like Tahrir al-Sham and the Corps of Rahman
although the latter agreed to reduce activity in Russian escalation zones,
however, they are now getting more escalation than ever from Russian planes.
Yes, these factions exist but there is also Jaysh al-Islam which was founded
by Zahran Alloush in 2013. He died in 2015 due to a Russian air raid. This
‘Islamic’ faction, made up of people from rural Damascus, is now part of the
Syrian opposition who are negotiating in Geneva and other places. Zahran’s
brother, Mohammed Alloush, a Syrian leader in the negotiating delegation,
has battled ISIS and was almost assassinated by them several times. Alloush
faction also have clear disagreements with Tahrir al-Sham, who are
considered part of al-Qaeda.
No way out
To be honest, even if the fighters in Ghouta were all followers of Ibrahim
Hanano, or Sultan al-Atrash or Saleh al-Ali, they would not have been able
to escape Khamenei’s militia, Russia’s planes and Assad’s raids. The Russian
goal is to eliminate all of Bashar’s opposition, and enable him to control
the people and the country. Everyone who fights Bashar is a terrorist, and
everyone who fights with his is civilized. Again, we do not support all
those who take up arms against Bashar, as among them are terrorists and
warmongers, but all of these do not override the clear truth: that the
Syrian war has killed almost half a million people, and displaced about 10
million with Bashar’s blessings and all those who support him. But the
people of Ghouta, there’s no remorse for them.