LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
June 12/2018
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani

The Bulletin's Link on the lccc Site
http://data.eliasbejjaninews.com/newselias18/english.june12.18.htm

News Bulletin Achieves Since 2006
Click Here to enter the LCCC Arabic/English news bulletins Achieves since 2006

Germany's Migrant Rape Crisis: "Failure of the State"
Soeren Kern/Gatestone Institute/June 11/18
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/12494/germany-migrants-rape-feldman
"Susanna is dead. Maria from Freiburg; Mia from Kandel; Mireille from Flensburg; and now Susanna from Mainz...." — Alice Weidel, co-leader AfD party. "Susanna's death is not a blind stroke of fate. Susanna's death is the result of many years of organized irresponsibility and the scandalous failure of our asylum and immigration policies. Susanna is victim of an out-of-control leftwing multicultural ideology that stops at nothing to impose its sense of moral superiority." — Alice Weidel, co-leader AfD party. "On the day of Susanna's murder, you [Merkel] testified in parliament that you have handled the migrant crisis responsibly. Do you dare to repeat that claim to Susanna's parents?" — Alice Weidel, co-leader AfD party. The rape and murder of a 14-year-old Jewish girl by a failed Iraqi asylum seeker has cast a renewed spotlight on Germany's migrant rape crisis, which has continued unabated for years amid official complicity and public apathy. Thousands of women and children have been raped or sexually assaulted in Germany since Chancellor Angela Merkel welcomed into the country more than one million mostly male migrants from Africa, Asia and the Middle East. The latest crime, entirely preventable, is uniquely reprehensible in that it highlights in one act the many insidious consequences of Germany's open-door migration policy — including the failure to vet those allowed into the country and the practice of releasing migrant criminals back onto German streets instead of incarcerating or deporting them. The crime also exposes the gross negligence of Germany's political class, which appears to be more concerned with preserving multiculturalism and the rights of predatory migrants than protecting German women and children from them. Police say that Ali Bashar, a 20-year-old Iraqi Kurd, raped Susanna Maria Feldman, strangled her and then dumped her body in a wooded area alongside railroad tracks on the outskirts of Wiesbaden. Bashar then fled to Iraq on false identity papers. Feldman had been missing from her home in Mainz since May 22. Her mother filed a missing person report on May 23. Police, however, did not even begin to search for the girl until more than a week later, when an unnamed 13-year-old boy, a migrant living in the same refugee shelter as Bashar, contacted the police. Feldman's body was finally recovered on June 6. 14-year-old Susanna Maria Feldman (inset) was raped and murdered by Ali Bashar, a failed Iraqi asylum seeker in Germany. He dumped her body in a wooded area on the outskirts of Wiesbaden. (Image sources: Feldman - Facebook; Wiesbaden - Maxpixel)
Bashar arrived in Germany in October 2015, at the height of the migrant influx, along with his parents and five siblings; claiming to be refugees, they turned out to be economic migrants. Bashar's asylum request was rejected in December 2016. He should have been deported, but after he filed an appeal, German authorities allowed him to stay.
During his three years in Germany, Bashar chalked up an extensive criminal record, including physical assault of law enforcement officers, violent robbery at knifepoint and possession of illegal weapons.
Police said that Bashar was also a suspect in the March 2018 rape of an 11-year-old girl living in the same refugee shelter where he and his family were staying. Bashar was able to flee Germany under a false identity because of bureaucratic incompetence: federal border police failed to check if the name on his plane ticket matched the name on his identity papers.
Bashar was arrested in northern Iraq on June 8 and was extradited to Germany a day later. He is currently being held at a correctional facility in Wiesbaden. Susanna's murder was the fourth German teenager to be murdered by illegal migrants during the past 18 months. October 16, 2016. Maria Ladenburger, a 19-year-old medical student from Freiburg, was raped and murdered after returning home from a party hosted by her school's medical faculty. Her attacker was Hussein Khavari, who entered Germany in November 2015 without identification papers. He claimed to have been born in Afghanistan in November 1999. Because of his alleged age (16), he was granted asylum as an underage unaccompanied migrant and placed with a foster family.
After Khavari was arrested as a suspect in the Ladenburger case, the newsmagazine Stern reported that in February 2014, Khavari had been sentenced to ten years in prison for attempted murder for pushing a 20-year-old woman over a cliff on the Greek island of Corfu. The woman survived the attack and Khavari was released after serving 18 months in prison, based on an amnesty for juvenile offenders. He then migrated to Germany. During his trial in Greece, Khavari told the court that he had been born in Iran in January 1996 and had arrived in Europe in January 2013.
During his trial in Germany, Khavari confessed to raping and killing Ladenburger. It emerged that Khavari was born in Iran on January 29, 1984 and that at the time he killed Ladenburger, he was actually 32. On March 22, 2018, Khavari was sentenced to life in prison for rape and murder, but according to German law, he may apply for parole after serving 15 years.
December 27, 2017. Mia Valentin, a 15-year-old girl from Kandel, a small town in the federal state of Rhineland-Palatinate, near the German border with France, was stabbed to death at a local drugstore. Her attacker was Abdul Mobin, a failed Afghan asylum seeker who claimed to be 15 years old. Valentin and her attacker had been in a relationship for several months, but after she ended it in early December 2017, Mobin began to threaten her. On December 15, the girl's parents filed a formal complaint to police. Police visited Mobin on December 17, and again on the morning of December 27. Later that day, Mobin followed Valentin into the drugstore and stabbed her with a kitchen knife he had purchased at the same store. The girl died a short time later.
Mobin had arrived in Germany in April 2016 and initially resided at a refugee shelter in Frankfurt. He was later transferred to a refugee shelter in Germersheim, a small town in the federal state of Rhineland-Palatinate, and then to a youth facility in nearby Neustadt. His asylum claim was rejected in February 2017, but he was not deported. Mobin, who was known to police after he punched a student at Valentin's school, is being held in custody while German authorities try to determine his true age.
March 12, 2018. Mireille Bold, a 17-year-old girl from Flensburg, was stabbed to death by Ahmad Gulbhar, an 18-year-old asylum seeker from Afghanistan. He allegedly became enraged and killed her after she refused to wear a headscarf convert to Islam. Gulbhar had arrived in Germany in 2015 as an underage unaccompanied migrant. His asylum application was rejected but he was never deported.
Bold, who lived in the same building as her attacker, had called police for help at least once before she was killed. A good friend of Bold's family told the newspaper Bild:
"Ahmad was a jealous rooster who always wanted to control her. They have been in a relationship since January 2016, but there were constant rows. He insisted that she convert to Islam and always wear a headscarf.
"She wasn't sure. Whenever she went scarfless there was trouble. Mireille told me that he fled alone from Afghanistan and had a great longing for his family. He was supposed to have a job in a civil engineering company. Once when she met with him he called her every two minutes on her phone demanding to know what was happening."
The attacker is being held in pre-trial detention.
As with the deaths of the other teenagers, Susanna's murder prompted the usual barrage of political posturing and feigned outrages from German politicians and media.
The level of public outrage over Susanna's case, however, suggests that Germany may be reaching a tipping point: the German government is finally being held to account for its role in the migrant rape crisis.
"The government should beg for forgiveness from Susanna's parents," said the mass circulation Bild. "The only thing that is worse than the murder of a child is the murder of a child by a criminal who should not have been in our country."
The leader of the Free Democrats (FDP), Christian Lindner, said that the crime raises many questions: "Why are rejected asylum seekers not deported more consistently? Why could the perpetrator and his family flee under a false identity?"
"This is typical of our German security agencies," FDP politician Alexander Graf Lambsdorff said. "There are simply too many gaps in this system. This has been terribly upsetting for many years."
SPD manager Carsten Schneider said what had to be quickly clarified was "how the suspect was able to escape, and how he can be brought to court in Germany as quickly as possible."
"The Federal Interior Minister must ensure that the existing control mechanisms are also used during entry and exit," said Burkhard Lischka, an SPD spokesman. "With such questionable papers and in view of the destination, the Federal Police could have determined with a simple fingerprint comparison that a criminal is on the run."
"The cruel murder of Susanna fills me with great sadness and anger," said Eckhardt Rehberg of the CDU. "As a politician responsible for the budget, I say...the entire asylum process needs to be fundamentally reshaped. We will provide the money for that."
The Alternative for Germany (AfD), the anti-immigration party, called for the resignation of the entire federal government. In a video posted on Twitter, AfD co-leader Alice Weidel said:
"Susanna is dead. Maria from Freiburg; Mia from Kandel; Mireille from Flensburg; and now Susanna from Mainz....
death is not a blind stroke of fate. Susanna's death is the result of many years of organized irresponsibility and the scandalous failure of our asylum and immigration policies. Susanna is victim of an out-of-control leftwing multicultural ideology that stops at nothing to impose its sense of moral superiority. Susanna is also another victim of Chancellor Angela Merkel's hypocritical and selfish welcome policy.
"Legally, Ali Bashar should never have been allowed into Germany. His asylum request was rejected more than two years ago, and he should have been deported. Bashar was known to police for physical assault, attacking police officers, and possessing illegal weapons. In March 2018, he was suspected of raping an 11-year-old girl at a refugee shelter. According to the law, Bashar should have had to leave Germany a long time ago or be arrested.
"An absurd asylum law and a grotesque asylum policy...it is lenient toward asylum cheaters and criminals but ignores the genuine concerns of German citizens.
"Ali Bashar, his parents and five siblings lived here on the taxpayer's dime, they could not be deported, but after his Ali's crime, they somehow found the money to flee Germany on falsified documents. No problem in a Germany with open borders.
"On the day of Susanna's murder, you [Merkel] testified in parliament that you have handled the migrant crisis responsibly. Do you dare to repeat that claim to Susanna's parents? Well, no. Your hard-heartedness and self-righteousness means you feel you are above offering the victims of your policies a personal word. This is unacceptable to us citizens. Will you finally accept responsibility, Mrs. Merkel? You and your entire cabinet should resign to make possible another asylum policy so that the parents in this country no longer need to fear for the safety of their children."
The newsmagazine Stern concluded:
"The emotional reactions to Susanna's case illustrate how Germany has changed. Already in the summer of the refugee crisis, when hundreds of thousands of people came into the country, there were warnings that the mood in the population could tip....
"The case of Susanna awakens the image of a loss of control, an overstretched state that no longer has a grip on asylum policy — especially in a society that loves law and order. There are now repeated demands for stricter laws. The current scandal over maladministration at the Federal Office of Migration and Refugees [immigration officials accepted cash bribes in exchange for granting asylum to more than 1,200 migrants] seems to emphasize the impression of a failure of the state."
*Soeren Kern is a Senior Fellow at the New York-based Gatestone Institute.
© 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.

Report: Netanyahu, White House Working to Drive Wedge Between Palestinians and Gulf States
Amir Tibon/Haaretz/June 11/2018
The New Yorker describes tense relationship between Trump administration and PA, which has deteriorated ever since Trump's decision to recognize Jerusalem
WASHINGTON - The Trump administration is working with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to create a rift between the Gulf states and the Palestinians, according to a wide-ranging report on Trump's Middle East policy that was published on Monday in The New Yorker. The report says that the Trump administration's peace plan, which will likely be much closer to the Israeli government's positions than previous U.S. peace plans, could be used by Netanyahu to divide the Gulf monarchies and the Palestinians. Netanyahu, according to the report, expects the Palestinians to reject Trump's plan, thus creating an opening for the Gulf states to support it and distance themselves from the Palestinian leadership while inching closer towards Israel, with whom they share a common view of Iran as the main threat in the region. According to the report, the Obama administration suspected that Netanyahu secretly met with leaders from the Gulf in 2015 in Cyprus, as part of an attempt to organize a joint strategy against the Iran nuclear deal. Netanyahu did visit Cyprus in 2015, but the report didn't include specific details on when exactly the meeting took place, or who attended it. The prime minister's presence at the meeting was suspected by the Obama administration, but never fully proven.
The report described a tense relationship between the Trump administration and the Palestinian Authority, which has deteriorated into a total disconnect ever since Trump's decision last year to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. At some point, Trump's son-in-law and senior adviser, Jared Kushner, told veteran Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat "we're a sovereign nation, don't threaten us" when Erekat warned that Trump's decision to move the American embassy to Israel would end America's role as a mediator in the region.
According to the report, shortly before Trump announced the embassy decision, he called Abbas to inform him about it, but the call never came through because of technical problems. At one point, Trump thought Abbas was on the line, and he reportedly told the Palestinian leader that he (Trump) would get the Palestinians "a better deal" than what was offered to them under Obama. Abbas, however, wasn't actually on the phone at that moment.
The report included excerpts from an email that Kushner sent to other senior administration officials regarding the decision to significantly cut funding to UNRWA. In the email Kushner boasts that "UNRWA has been threatening us for 6 months that if they don’t get a check they will close schools. Nothing has happened. We have made some big moves and everyone in the region is on their toes which is where they need to be for real change. Our goal can’t be to keep things stable and as they are, our goal has to be to make things significantly BETTER! Sometimes you have to strategically risk breaking things in order to get there.”Another interesting bit of information in the report concerns Trump's ambassador to Israel, David Friedman, who had no prior diplomatic experience before taking the job last year, and was confirmed by the lowest number of Senators ever for an American ambassador to Israel. In the report, Friedman is quoted as wondering why Egypt can't take responsibility for Gaza, since "the people there are Egyptian." Egypt, it should be noted, gave up any territorial demands regarding Gaza forty years ago, as part of an American-brokered peace agreement with Israel. Friedman denied making the comment, which was reportedly heard by a number of State Department officials.

Here’s how to re-educate an entire ethnic group
Dr. Azeem Ibrahim/Al Arabiya/June 11/18
There are 10-11 million native Uyghur Turks living in China’s western-most Xinjiang province. But as many as 1 million of those are believed to be interred in “re-education camps”. That is an astonishing number. And when one stops to consider the sheer logistics involved in such an undertaking, that fact becomes even more incredible. Now China does have a history of doing things on a large scale. And it has a history of suppressing ethnic identities which it perceives as a possible threat to the unity and integrity of the state. But even proportionally, this is on a scale that would make your old, 20th Century efforts at nation-building look modest. And all that is before we begin to look at the environment China is creating in Xinjiang province outside of the concentration camps. I have reported before on the surveillance state China has created in the province which is aimed exclusively at the Uyghur population, and the ridiculous lengths the state is going to criminalise many aspects of Uyghur identity, up to banning Muslim names for Uyghur newborns. One of the more “amusing” aspects of this assault on Uyghur identity has been the alcohol and pork consumption competitions organized by the state during last year’s Ramadan fast.
Less amusing is the inescapable feeling every Uyghur in the province carries with them that they are watched and assessed everywhere they go, and a stray word or a stray glance is all it takes for them to be sent to a re-education camp without any judicial review or right of appeal.
And of course, as it has done in many other provinces, most recently in Tibet, the central government has encouraged large numbers of Han Chinese to migrate to Xinjiang province so as to dilute Muslim Turkic identity in the region. Beijing is not in the business of winning hearts and minds in Xinjiang. Rather, it is in the business of stomping out a cultural identity with the full force employing the latest surveillance technology
Separatist sentiments
The odd thing about transplantation of Han Chinese to the region is that the authorities are not making it easy for the two populations to intermingle and rub off each other in a way that might actually erode Muslim separatist sentiments. Even many of the Han Chinese migrants to the region have complained that the heavy-handed approach to security in the region has made it difficult to, for example, hire local Uyghurs in their businesses, or even have Uyghurs as customers in many instances. So the approach of the authorities seems rather more geared toward segregating the Uyghurs and crushing their spirit and sense of identity, rather than allowing them to build for themselves and identity which is compatible with living in peace and harmony within the greater Chinese state. Beijing is not in the business of winning hearts and minds in Xinjiang. Rather, it is in the business of stomping out a cultural identity with the full force employing the latest surveillance technology. This should ring alarm bells for all of us. That the world is silent in the face of such human rights abuses within China we already knew. This was amply demonstrated in the previous couple of decades in Tibet. But if this is the way China deals with people who it perceives as detrimental to the goals of Beijing when they have power, then the fact that China is amassing an ever increasing amount of power in their region and across the world does not portend well for human rights anywhere. For all their defects, lapses and hypocrisies, the previously dominant Western global powers at least had some kind of discourse about human rights which did set the tone globally, and which did, on the rare occasion, result in positive conflict resolutions: most noteworthy in the Balkans in the 90s. But before long, China will also set the tone for these issues globally, and the tone it will set already looks frightening.

Why did Khamenei resort to escalation?
Mohammed Al Shaikh/Al Arabiya/June 11/18
Iran’s Supreme Leader said that he ordered Iranian scientists to resume uranium enrichment after the US withdrew from the nuclear agreement. Meanwhile, the Europeans failed to persuade Iran to go on with the agreement. The decision to boost uranium enrichment will enable the Iranians to manufacture the nuclear bomb. This will push the rest of the region’s countries, mainly Saudi Arabia to work to acquire nuclear weapons as a deterrent to the mullahs’ state which seeks to occupy the two Holy Mosques as it’s known; i.e. this means entering a phase of a nuclear arms race to deter Iranian ambitions.
Retaliating 10 times harder
Iran’s possession of nuclear weapons is not only rejected by the US, but by all European countries as well as Russia and China. Discouraging Iran from pursuing this dangerous direction must thus be the responsibility of these countries. If Iran insists on its position, it is possible to target it with an airstrike that may destroy its nuclear reactors. The Supreme Leader addressed this when he said that those who attack Iran will be attacked 10 times harder. The question remains: Can Khamenei fulfill his promise? Does he have the needed weapons and military technology? The answer is certainly no.
Iran’s possession of nuclear weapons is not only rejected by the US, but by European countries as well as Russia and China. Discouraging Iran from pursuing it must thus be the responsibility of these countries.Iran has nothing but ballistic missiles whose technology is imported from North Korea. These missiles are primitive and their capability to hit the target is weak. Anti-missiles can easily destroy them. For example, the Houthis fired more than 120 missiles towards different cities in Saudi Arabia and they were all destroyed in the air before reaching their targets. The US and Israel have highly destructive guided missiles so it’s actually possible to target these reactors destroying them into tatters. The question imposed in this context is: Are Iran’s mullah not aware of this? Definitely not, but they got used to pushing things towards the abyss during political conflicts and then backing down in the last minute.
Paralyzed economy
The economic sanctions which will be imposed on Iran by the US will lead to economic recession in Iran. The Iranian economy will thus be affected and be almost completely paralyzed. The Iranians will thus revolt against the mullahs’ state. Therefore, escalating with the US and Western countries will make the Iranian people line up behind the government to confront the invasion. This will provide the government with the capability to resist and confront sanctions. I think this is one of the reasons that made Khamenei escalate the confrontation. It is as if he is speeding up the US strike which would enable him to stay for a longer period. However, if he submits to pressure and complies, he will face a massive famine revolution which he will not be capable of suppressing no matter how much he kills people and governs with an iron fist.
Will Khamenei’s old “new” approach succeed this time? Frankly I think it’s unlikely.

Anthony Bourdain: A personal eulogy to the man I never met
Walid Jawad/Al Arabiya/June 11/18
“No Reservation,” the Anthony Bourdain travel show, was my first experience binge-watching any TV show. Since that time, a few years ago, I became a true fan of the show and the man. Two weeks ago, I added his newer CNN show “Parts Unknown” to my “to-watch” list. Now that I have broken the generational gap, no longer do I watch shows when they come out, I wait until I can binge-watch them one season at a time. As my cell phone blew up yesterday morning, Washington, DC local time, with breaking news of Tony’s death, I had the urge to watch the Saudi episode one more time. A personal eulogy to the man.I felt the loss of this intrepid globetrotter in a way I haven’t felt about someone I never met. I felt the loss of a talented TV host who was able to show us the human factor in peoples we typically brush aside in simplistic, one dimensional, and almost always wrong stereotypical fashion.
That Saudi episode might have been an eye-opener for many, but it was a nostalgic home-video of sorts to someone like me. I left Saudi Arabia over 20 years ago without going back for any meaningful visits. As I re-watched the episode, I found myself identifying with Danya al-Hamrani, the warm and welcoming host who invited Mr. Bourdain to Saudi Arabia. This fellow American-born Saudi, missed out on many Saudi specific experiences as I did. like Danya (up to the point of the filming of the episode), I never ate Dhub (desert lizard), camel meat, or lamb hearts. I am inspired now to make a culinary trip to Saudi Arabia suspending my vegetarianism to summon the courage to try such “delicacies.”The episode reminded me of a time of simplicity and innocence. Even Tony’s demeanor in the episode is playful and cheerful. A markedly different Tony from the one who appears in other episodes. I invite you to watch that episode if you haven’t yet, Episode#13 of Season 4, titled simply: Saudi Arabia. In contrast, you can pick up on Tony’s undercurrent of pompousness, standoffishness, or even contemptuousness show host personality at times in some other episodes.
The uniqueness of Anthony Bourdain’s shows is its ability to zoom out showing us what is beyond the margins of the news frame; i.e. beyond the myopic focus on violence
His unlikely mission
As I reflect on the man and his body of aired work I can’t help but admire Tony’s courage and skill in breaking down the prevailing dehumanizing facade we readily accept as we watch the alluring magical lightbox. The same facade that serves intended or unintended agenda of fear, defensiveness, divisiveness, and hatred. His work was a serious attempt to counterbalance the destructive effects of daily news, even if it were not what he was set out to do. An impossible situation as his weekly show stood firmly in the sea of relentless fear spewing collective. Yet he was able to move the needle farther along the scale of human connectedness than any other show I can think of. They teach in journalism that common events are not newsworthy like when a dog bites a man. But when a man bites a dog it becomes an incident worthy of feeding the 24-hour news cycle. Watching the news, we find the uncommon numerous and violence ubiquitous making what is supposed to be the exception common. Viewers can’t be blamed to point to TV sets concluding that the world is a dangerous place. The sheer number of violent events locally and internationally prompts viewers to divide the world into two camps: evil perpetrators and innocent victims. More troubling is that evil seems to be winning by virtue of imposing its physical will on people. I, for one, am guilty of adding fuel to the fire in more ways than I care to enumerate. Most of us in the media, if not all, believe that you, our fellow thinking humans, need to be informed and that it’s our mission to make you aware of such events. Once you become knowledgeable, you are better equipped to make informed decisions about the world you live in. Unfortunately, the law of unintended consequences overshadows the intended benefits of gaining that knowledge.
Adopting a cause
The news viewing public fall into three major categories: some will decide to adopt a cause and fight, while others become overwhelmed and fearful of the environment and suspicious of humanity itself. And in between, those who will shutdown dismissing such reality, tuning out the anxiety-filled chatter of new channels. A social equivalent to fight, flight, or freeze responses. Arts, entertainment, and hobbies are great options to attempt striking a personal balance, yet external fear mongering of the 24-hour news cycle remains unchecked. These channels have a purpose to serve and should continue their mission. It behooves us to understand the side effects. The uniqueness of Anthony Bourdain’s shows is its ability to zoom out showing us what is beyond the margins of the news frame; i.e. beyond the myopic focus on violence. As much as the news wants to compels us to the contrary, violence is not an inevitability.
If we accept violence as the norm, we are surrendering intellectually under the weight of the emotional pressure of fear and sadness. The bigger picture Tony provided is a good reminder. Some of his episodes featured people from unfavorable countries or war-torn regions, yet we identify with them as human beings. It is essential to understand that conflict is not "bad" in and of itself. In fact, conflict is a driving force to improve the human condition. Resolving conflicts between people leads to equality. Resolving conflict between us and our environment leads to innovation. Only when conflict turns violent that it becomes “bad.” Tony’s showed us people from around the world consumed by what humans everywhere else are consumed by, living a peaceful and happy life. We got to know people of other cultures not as tourist, rather as locals. He was able to challenge his own stereotypical ideas of others and along the way broke our disinterested judgments of others. I mourn the man because I mourn the mission. There is no one out there who can rise to the challenge. I will go back to my “to-watch” list and put Tony’s shows on top my binge-watching cue. I know this time I will watch his shows with the eyes of an anthropologist and the mind of a conflict resolver.

Ghabra’s ‘advice’ on Gulf-US relations
Mashari Althaydi/Al Arabiya/June 11/18
On April 28, 2018, I read in the Kuwaiti daily Al-Qabas comments by Kuwaiti-Palestinian academic Dr. Shafeeq Al-Ghabra and valuable “advice” on how relations should be between Gulf countries and the US. Ghabra’s statements were within a typical context that’s been dully repeated. He wants all Gulf countries – although we know that Qatar, for instance, does not represent the entire Gulf and its policies are closer to Ghabra’s advice – to listen to him and be convinced of his vision as to how ties with the US should be during Trump’s term. In brief, Ghabra’s remarks are the same as the Al-Jazeera channel’s statements or other statements made by the Muslim Brotherhood’s platforms and allies from the remnants of the left and nationalists. Trump and his policy intimidates and angers countries of chaos, destruction, terrorism and strife and dangerous political Islam groups. And we, by that I mean Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and many reasonable Muslims and Arab people, completely support Trump in this approach
Ghabra's advice
For example, according to his article in al-Qabas, Ghabra said: “Obama’s invitation to Gulf countries to have dialogue with Iran, without having to agree with it and without underestimating the size of the dispute with it in Syria and Yemen, which would have been better. Therefore, I think dialogue with Iran (is the means) to respond to Trump’s agenda.”“Coordination between Gulf countries which are aware of this danger (a danger assumed by Ghabra by demonizing President Trump and his administration) is a must through dialogue with Iran,” he also said. Ghabra concludes this genius statement by saying: “The US role in maintaining the Gulf region has fallen or is declining. The fall’s duration is around 10 years, and Gulf countries must think of other security options. One of these options is dialogue with Iran.”Of course, he added Turkey to the basket of alternative allies of Gulf countries, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, to replace the US. He was even more generous as he added NATO to this basket, whose cornerstone is actually the US!
Can these statements be taken seriously?
Trump and his policy intimidates and angers countries of chaos, destruction, terrorism and strife and dangerous political Islam groups. And we, by that I mean Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and many reasonable Muslims and Arab people, completely support Trump in this approach.
The Iranian Khomeinist regime is an enemy, and it is not possible to have dialogue with them. We’ve tried engaging in such dialogues several times before but Iran only got more harmful and destructive. As for Turkey under Erdogan’s rule, ties are normal at the least, and we’re not engaged in a war with it and we shouldn’t be, despite some of the administration’s behavior and some political and media bids. As for the EU and NATO, we have a network of interests with them; but let Europe solve its problems with the US administration first before it can encourage the deluded rebellion against Washington!
Frankly, such sentimental and shallow ideas and perspectives are what drive states and people into the abyss.

After G-7 fiasco, risk is on the rise
Cornelia Meyer/Arab News/June 11/18
Asian markets seemed to shrug off the G-7 upset over the weekend in early trading, which seems to be counterintuitive — but this week alone will see several events that could result in increased geopolitical risk. Over the weekend the G-7 came up with a bland communique that acknowledged freedom, democracy and other shared values. The language on trade went a long way to accommodate the US position: It advocated “free, fair and mutually beneficial trade.” While it insisted that “bilateral, regional and plurilateral frameworks needed to conform with WTO rules,” it also committed to modernize the WTO. It stated the need for “a truly level playing field, addressing in particular non-market oriented policies and practices.”
So far so good. The language skirted around America’s acrimonious differences with Canada, Japan and EU countries on the subject of trade. What happened then bewildered the world. A firm statement by Justin Trudeau enraged the US president so much that he instructed his officials not to sign the communique. The result is that instead of alleviating trade tensions, they intensified. We are now closer to a vortex of retaliatory trade measures, which might well spiral into a full blown trade war. The Europeans will retaliate against US steel and aluminum tariffs with their own on bespoke goods such as peanut butter, whiskey, and motorcycles — all of which hail from Republican congressional districts Trump needs to secure in the upcoming mid-term election.
On July 1, Canada will retaliate too. Trump’s next foray is likely to be cars, which would hurt Germany, Japan and Canada the most. If we go down a tit-for-tat route on trade, all bets for a “free fair and mutually beneficial” vision are off.
Emmanuel Macron said the “G-6” stand united against the US. This is only partially true. Germany needs to protect its car industry. Shinzo Abe needs to ensure that when the US president meets North Korea’s Kim Jong-Un, he does not make unacceptable compromises, which could endanger Japan’s national security. Trump’s main objection is to huge bilateral trade deficits that some G-7 members like Germany and Japan have and other like France don’t.
We are now closer to a vortex of retaliatory trade measures, which might well spiral into a full blown trade war.
It is safe to say that the G-7 is under stress. It also has less economic clout than it used to have. Its members originally accounted for half of the world’s GDP; 45 years on, they account for less than a third. China has s urpassed Japan as the world’s second-largest economy and the G-20 framework — unwieldy as it may be — accounts for more in terms of economic clout and world population than the G-7. Increased trade friction is certainly one of the geopolitical risks. There are others too. A lot will hinge on the Trump-Kim summit. The US has recently downplayed expectations, which is good. Verifiable and irreversible denuclearization of North Korea will be a drawn-out process and involve multilateral mechanisms such as the UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency. Trump, a bilateralist, is bound to feel uneasy about that. The current security arrangements in Northeast Asia have US troops stationed in South Korea and Japan. These arrangements have allowed Japan, South Korea and Taiwan to become affluent. Whereas successful developments on the Korean peninsula are good for the world at large, the risk of the process becoming unhinged is a major threat to the global economy. Europe may have a few surprises of its own. Italy has a new government consisting of two populist parties at the opposite end of the political spectrum. Markets have calmed down somewhat since the new Finance Minister Giovanni Tria affirmed that he had no intention of leaving the euro.
Spain has a new minority government, which pundits think may not last till the end of the year. In other words, we may see more rumbles on the euro zone’s southern rim.
This week the EU Withdrawal Bill will go to the House of Commons after major amendments from the Lords.
Expect the FTSE and European markets to react to the deliberation. More importantly, the UK ought to reach agreement on Brexit with the EU by October and chances are slim that negotiators will get there. There are simply too many contentious issues, the Irish border being but one.
We can expect a June rate rise by the Fed, which will have its effect on emerging markets. Some held steady against a stronger dollar but others — especially those with big current account deficits — like Turkey or Argentina, suffered. Expect more emerging market turbulence this year.
So why are markets so calm? There is probably no point in pricing in event risk until it happens.
However this week alone, there are plenty of events which could turn dicey. Decision-makers and investors need to be aware and vigilant.
Cornelia Meyer is a business consultant, macroeconomist and energy expert. Twitter: @MeyerResources

Is Iran really complying with the nuclear deal?
Dr. Majid Rafizadeh/Arab News/June 11/18
In the last few days, the state media of the Iranian regime has been dedicating significant coverage to a recent statement made by the French President Emmanuel Macron regarding the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, commonly known as the Iran nuclear deal. According to Iran’s Press TV, the French President pointed out that there is “no indication” that the Islamic Republic has violated the nuclear agreement.
The Iranian regime joyfully endorsed Macron’s statement. However, it is time to fact-check Iran’s compliance with the nuclear deal, because reality does not seem to go hand-in-hand with the French president’s comment.
First and foremost, it is important to point out that the terms of the JCPOA are flawed, in the sense that the Iranian regime’s regional policies, as well as the contribution of the nuclear pact to regional instability, are totally disregarded.
Thanks to the nuclear deal and sanctions reliefs, Iran’s aggressive behavior, expansionist policies and military adventurism in the region have significantly ratcheted up. From Baghdad to Beirut to Sanaa, the Iranian regime has increased its support, funding, training, and provision of weapons to terrorist and militia groups. This significantly destabilizes the region, escalates tensions and turns regional conflicts into conflagrations. Iran has been emboldened to such an extent that it is providing ballistic missiles to terrorist and militia groups, such as the Houthis.
With respect to the terms and rules of the JCPOA, meticulous examination reveals that, on several occasions since the day of implementation of the nuclear deal in 2015, the Iranian regime has not been fully complying with the terms. UN Security Council resolution 2231 endorsing the JCPOA is crystal clear in stating that Iran should not undertake any ballistic missile activity “until the date eight years after the JCPOA Adoption Day or until the date on which the IAEA submits a report confirming the Broader Conclusion, whichever is earlier.”
According to reports by the International Atomic Energy Agency, the Islamic Republic has exceeded its threshold for heavy water on more than one occasion since the nuclear deal was implemented
Intriguingly, Iran has significantly ratcheted up its ballistic missile activities since the nuclear deal was reached. By the time President Donald Trump took office, roughly two-and-a-half years after the nuclear deal was sealed, the Tehran regime had fired more than 20 ballistic missiles.
Another issue is that, according to the terms of the JCPOA, Iran must restrict the amount of specific nuclear materials that it possesses. One of these materials is called heavy water, which can be utilized for nuclear energy or for producing nuclear weapons. Iran must keep its stockpile of heavy water at less than 130 metric tons. According to reports by the International Atomic Energy Agency, the Islamic Republic has exceeded its threshold for heavy water on more than one occasion since the nuclear deal was implemented. IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano said in November 2016: “For the second time since implementation of the JCPOA began, Iran’s inventory of heavy water exceeded 130 metric (tons).” He added: “It is important that such situations should be avoided in future in order to maintain international confidence.”
In addition, the Iranian opposition group, National Council for Resistance of Iran (NCRI), which was the first to reveal Iran’s clandestine nuclear activities in two major sites, Natanz and Arak, in 2000, last year released critical information showing that Iran’s nuclear activities continue in the military site at Parchin, which is out of reach of the IAEA’s inspectors. This also points to the fact that the IAEA has failed on several occasions to detect Iran’s nuclear activities. Due to the NCRI’s influence inside Iran, its information is believed to be highly credible. Frank Pabian, an adviser on nuclear non-proliferation matters at the Los Alamos National Laboratory, previously told the New York Times that the NCRI is “right 90 percent of the time.”
Macron ought to consider the facts and latest reports about the Iranian regime’s nuclear activities, as well as Tehran’s increasing belligerence in the region. Otherwise any blanket statement that supports the Iranian regime will only empower and embolden Iran’s hardliners and assist them in pursuing their ambitions for regional hegemony more aggressively.
**Dr. Majid Rafizadeh is a Harvard-educated Iranian-American political scientist. He is a leading expert on Iran and US foreign policy, a businessman and president of the International American Council. Twitter: @Dr_Rafizadeh