Detailed
Lebanese & Lebanese Related LCCC English New Bulletin For October 10/2018
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias
Bejjani
The Bulletin's Link on the
lccc Site
http://data.eliasbejjaninews.com/newselias18/english.october10.18.htm
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Bible
Quotations
You are
no longer strangers and aliens, but you are citizens with the saints and
also members of the household of God
Letter to the Ephesians 02/11-21: "Remember that at one time you Gentiles by
birth, called ‘the uncircumcision’ by those who are called ‘the
circumcision’ a physical circumcision made in the flesh by human hands
remember that you were at that time without Christ, being aliens from the
commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no
hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were
far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he is our peace;
in his flesh he has made both groups into one and has broken down the
dividing wall, that is, the hostility between us. He has abolished the law
with its commandments and ordinances, so that he might create in himself one
new humanity in place of the two, thus making peace, and might reconcile
both groups to God in one body through the cross, thus putting to death that
hostility through it. So he came and proclaimed peace to you who were far
off and peace to those who were near; for through him both of us have access
in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens,
but you are citizens with the saints and also members of the household of
God, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ
Jesus himself as the cornerstone. In him the whole structure is joined
together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord;"
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Titles For The Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials
from miscellaneous sources published on October 09-10/18
US Ambassador. To UN Nikki Haley resigns/Reuters, and Ynetnews/October 09/18
Turkey, Jailer of Journalists, Now Slams Saudi Arabia – for Murdering a
Journalist/Simon A. Waldman/Haaretz/October 09/18
Saudi journalist’s disappearance developing into diplomatic mess/Simon
Henserson/The Hill/October 09/18
A New Arab Military Alliance Has Dim Prospects/The Economist/October 08/18
Big spectacles, bigger shoes/Turki Aldakhil/Al Arabiya/October 09/18
What Kavanaugh nomination tells us about American politics/Walid Jawad/Al
Arabiya/October 09/18
Establishing equality in Saudi Arabia/Hassan Al Mustafa/Al Arabiya/October
09/18
Why is the Russian GRU so hopeless/Dr. Azeem Ibrahim/Al Arabiya/October
09/18
New York City's Islamist Grant/Oren Litwin/Gatestone Institute/October 09/18
How Iran Plans to Take Gaza/Khaled Abu Toameh/Gatestone Institute/October
09/18
Russia's Bungled Spying/Leonid Bershidsky/The Guardian/October, 09/18
KSA and the Hyperloop Century/Josh Giegel/Asharq Al Awsat/October 09/18
Disappearance of Saudi journalist puts Erdogan in difficult situation/Semih
Idiz/Al Monitor/October 09/18
The Disappearance Of Journalist Jamal Khashoggi: Before He Disappeared, The
Saudi Press Accused Him Of Treason; Now It Is Expressing Concern/MEMRI/October
09/18
Titles For The
Latest LCCC Lebanese Related News published on
October 09-10/18
Sources: Most of New Lebanese Govt.
Structure Ready
Siemens to Solve Lebanon’s Chronic Electricity Crisis
Lebanese FM Embarks on Arab Tour ahead of Economic Summit
Report: No Breakthrough in Government Formation
Report: France in Focus on Lebanon Refugees Crisis, Economy and Govt Lineup
'Cowboy', Accomplice Sentenced over 'Jumblat Assassination Plot'
Bassil Talks 'Railways and Electricity' with Jordan King
Qaouq Slams Parties Seeking to 'Weaken Presidency'
Kataeb Calls for Government of Specialists
Kataeb Party Renews Call for Government of Specialists
Kataeb Leader Seeks Joint Struggle for Reform in Lebanon
Titles For The Latest LCCC
Bulletin For Miscellaneous Reports And News published
on October 09-10/18
US Ambassador. To UN Nikki Haley
resigns
Netanyahu Recommends Israeli Army Prepares for Gaza Violence
Jordanian King Stresses Need to Revive Peace Process
Most heavy arms out of planned Syria buffer zone, monitor says
Eight killed in suicide attack on afghan election candidate
Saudi Arabia has agreed to let Turkish authorities search the kingdom's
Istanbul consulate
Erdogan Asks Riyadh to 'Prove' Journalist Left Consulate
Trump Says America Owes Kavanaugh Apology after Supreme Court Battle
Saudi's Crown Prince: Reformism and Authoritarianism
Syrian President Grants General Amnesty to Army Deserters
Most Heavy Arms Out of Planned Syria Buffer Zone
Public Strike in Iran Protests Worsening Living Conditions
Wave of Assassinations in Basra Claims 2 New Victims
Saudi ambassador set to return to Germany, meet with FM Heiko Maas
The Latest LCCC Lebanese Related News published on October 09-10/18
Sources:
Most of New Lebanese Govt. Structure Ready
Beirut - Youssef Diab/Asharq Al Awsat/October 09/18/The
structure of the new Lebanese government is mostly ready, sources at the
Baabda presidential palace told Asharq Al-Awsat on Monday. The completion of
the lineup is pending an agreement over the ministerial portfolios allocated
to the Lebanese Forces and the name of the third Druze minister from outside
of the Progressive Socialist Party. “Following the return of President
Michel Aoun from Armenia Friday, we might witness an effective translation
of the positive climate and the Lebanese might witness the birth of their
new cabinet very soon, most probably before the end of the month,” the
sources said. On Thursday, Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri inspired
optimism in the country, saying the government will be formed within a week
to 10 days.However, pessimism pervaded the next day when caretaker Foreign
Minister Jebran Bassil placed a new criterion for the government formation
by granting each parliamentary bloc one minister for every five deputies won
during the last May 12 elections, driving frustration among most political
forces. Since making his comments last week, Hariri has remained silent over
the latest developments related to his government formation. However,
sources close to the PM-designate told Asharq Al-Awsat that he has
maintained his optimism. “The PM is counting on the wisdom of Aoun and his
keenness to resolve the crisis,” the sources said, adding that Hariri was
still receiving positive signs from the president. “He expects another
meeting with the president when he returns from his official trip to
Armenia,” they said. Political circles are currently anticipating Bassil’s
upcoming television interview on Thursday to determine whether he will
preserve the positive environment in the country. “Bassil will express his
position regarding the cabinet formation process, but will not put an
obstacle in the efforts exerted in this regard,” the sources added.
Siemens to Solve Lebanon’s Chronic Electricity Crisis
Asharq Al Awsat/October 09/18/A meeting between a delegation from Siemens,
headed by its executive director in the Middle East, and Lebanon’s minister
of energy in the caretaker government was held on Monday in Beirut to
resolve controversies surrounding the company’s role in ending the country’s
chronic electricity crisis. The three-hour meeting was followed by a news
conference, during which Caretaker Energy Minister Cesar Abi Khalil and
Siemens Middle East CEO Dietmar Siersdorfer expressed optimism at the
prospects of cooperation between the two sides. “We agreed to commit
ourselves to cooperate in order to crystallize the ideas put forward to
reach final solutions,” Abi Khalil said, adding that the meeting was
positive and aimed at “clarifying the misunderstanding that had happened as
a result of rumors.” “Siemens provided an approach to improving the Lebanese
[electricity] system, from production to transportation, distribution and
collection,” the minister revealed. For his part, Siersdorfer refused to
reveal details of the proposal presented to the Lebanese side and said: “We
look forward to working with the Ministry of Energy and the Lebanese state
to build an efficient energy system in the medium to long term.”Around two
weeks ago, AMAL bloc MP Yassine Jaber criticized Free Patriotic
Movement-affiliated Abi Khalil for reportedly rejecting an offer from
Siemens to build power plants in Lebanon. He accused the FPM of committing
to the “power ships” solution to resolve the electricity crisis. Abi Khalil
had rejected the claims in a tweet, writing: “Siemens did not participate in
any bids.”Siemens had originally made the offer to help resolve Lebanon’s
power crisis during a visit by German Chancellor Angela Merkel to Beirut in
June.
Lebanese FM Embarks on Arab Tour ahead of Economic
Summit
Beirut - Asharq Al-Awsat/Tuesday, 9 October, 2018/Lebanese caretaker Foreign
Minister Jebran Bassil kicked off on Monday a tour of Arab countries to
deliver invitations to Arab leaders to attend the upcoming economic
development summit. The summit is being hosted by Beirut in January. He
arrived in Kuwait where he met with Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmed al-Jaber
al-Sabah. The foreign ministry described the meeting as “excellent and
brotherly.”Bassil and Sheikh Sabah discussed bilateral ties and the
importance of Lebanon committing to its policy of disassociation from
regional conflicts. The minister then traveled to Jordan where he is
scheduled to meet with King Abdullah II.
Report: No Breakthrough in Government Formation
Naharnet/October 09/18/Although there is no major breakthrough in Lebanon’s
government formation, but Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri is determined
to form one in the next few days now that the ten-day deadline he set after
his “positive” meeting with President Michel Aoun last week has ended, al-Joumhouria
daily reported on Tuesday. The daily said that Hariri is “carefully working
on a new government formula before presenting it to Aoun in the next few
days.” Meanwhile, Hizbullah sources blamed the delay on what they said is
“foreign intervention,” saying “we can’t form a government unless foreign
vetoes are removed.”Center House sources of Hariri, dimmed any hopes that a
breakthrough could be reached. “It is impossible to make a breakthrough on
the formation,” they said, “Hariri is waiting for Aoun in order to resume
contacts and find a solution. Everybody must make concessions in order to
lineup a government,” they said, in an indirect reference to PSP leader
Walid Jumblat.As the formation process stalls, Progressive Socialist Party
leader Walid Jumblat hinted on Monday that he could agree to make
“concessions” regarding his party's share in the new government. Jumblat had
been insisting on getting all three Druze seats for his PSP but has recently
shown some flexibility. Lebanese Democratic Party chief MP Talal Arslan,
backed by President Michel Aoun and the Free Patriotic Movement, has
stressed that he has the right to get one of the Druze seats.
Report: France in Focus on Lebanon Refugees Crisis,
Economy and Govt Lineup
Naharnet/October 09/18/France is worried that a further delay
in lining up Lebanon’s government could affect implementation of the CEDRE
conference, although French diplomats affirm “commitment” to its resolutions
that garnered billions of dollars for the Mediterranean country. Al-Joumhouria
daily said on Tuesday that “the French interest in Lebanon is focused on the
government formation process, the country’s economy and the crisis of Syrian
refugees.”Senior French diplomatic sources in Beirut have stressed the need
that Lebanon forms a Cabinet “the more time passes (without a government)
the greater the concerns over the CEDRE conference, although we are
committed to it,” they told the daily. They revealed that “French President
Emmanuel Macron -expected to meet President Michel Aoun at the Francophone
summit- has requested that Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil be present to
discuss important issues with him, but was surprised to know that the
Minister will not attend.” In May, Lebanon was garnered $11 billion in
pledges, including $10.2 billion in loans and $860 million in grants at the
CEDRE conference-– also referred to as Paris IV. Asked whether France has
any reservations shall Lebanon allocate its health ministry for a minister
of Hizbullah, they said: “We don’t have any problem with the minister’s
political affiliation.” The United States has reportedly threatened to cut
aid to ministries allocated for the party which the US lists as “terrorist
organization.” On the electricity crisis, the sources affirmed that “Paris
is very interested in the electricity file, which is one of the main causes
of depletion of the treasury, and is able to help in finding scientific
solutions.”
'Cowboy', Accomplice Sentenced over 'Jumblat Assassination Plot'
Naharnet/October 09/18/A Lebanese and a Syrian were on Tuesday handed jail
sentences in absentia after they were convicted of plotting to assassinate
Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat in 2016. The National News
Agency said the Military Court sentenced Lebanese national Youssef Munir
Fakhr -- who is also known as 'The Cowboy' -- and the Syrian Muhannad Ali
Moussa to ten years of hard labor. It also stripped them of their civil
rights. In a separate case also involving 'The Cowboy', the court sentenced
Lebanese fugitive Hammoud Khaled Awad to five years of hard labor and
Lebanese fugitive Naji al-Najjar to three years of hard labor on charges of
“conspiring with Fakhr and Moussa to form an armed group and supporting the
Syrian revolution with money and arms.”“Fakhr and Moussa also communicated
with Mandi al-Safadi, who has Israeli nationality and is close to the
Israeli enemy's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu,” the court said. The
Cowboy was arrested in August 2016 upon his arrival at Beirut airport from
the United States. He was released in December 2017 on an LBP 10 million
bail after which he went into hiding.
Bassil Talks 'Railways and Electricity' with Jordan King
Naharnet/October 09/18/Caretaker Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil met Tuesday
with Jordanian King Abdullah II and handed him a letter from President
Michel Aoun. The letter included an invitation to the Arab socio-economic
summit that will be held in Beirut in January.In a tweet, Bassil described
the meeting with the monarch as “effective and productive.”“It involved an
exchange of cordiality, ideas and Levantine visions; common sentiments and
interests; good neighborliness; railways, electricity, water, border
crossings and agriculture; and a special emphasis on the apple sector,”
Bassil said. The minister had kicked off a tour of several Arab countries on
Monday, beginning it with a meeting with Kuwait's Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmed
al-Sabah who also handed an invitation to the socio-economic summit.
Qaouq Slams Parties Seeking to 'Weaken
Presidency'
Naharnet/October 09/18/A senior Hizbullah official on Monday accused certain
political parties in Lebanon of seeking to “weaken” President Michel Aoun's
tenure. “Hizbullah and the AMAL Movement are greatly facilitating the
formation of the government,” Hizbullah central council member Sheikh Nabil
Qaouq said. “It is not the Presidency that is delaying the formation of the
cabinet, but rather political forces whose names and identities have become
well-known,” Qaouq added, noting that Aoun's presidential term is being
“harmed” by the ongoing delay. “They are deliberately delaying the formation
of the government in order to weaken the president's tenure. They are not
serving the country but rather proving that they cannot be entrusted with
the interests of the country and its citizens,” the Hizbullah official went
on to say.
Kataeb Calls for Government of Specialists
Naharnet/October 09/18/The Kataeb party on Tuesday urged President Michel
Aoun and Premier-designate Saad Hariri to form a government of specialists
and end wrangling between political parties over shares and portfolios.
Speaking during the party’s politburo weekly meeting, Kataeb chief Sami
Gemayel sounded the alarm over “unprecedented conflict over shares and
quotas, and the destructive logic that has prevailed," between political
parties. He said officials have “left the country bogged down in obstruction
and its economic and political repercussions." Gemayel appealed on Aoun and
Hariri “to put an end to the futile debate on quotas, and take the
initiative to form a government of specialists from outside political
parties,” noting the domestic and foreign challenges facing the country.
Kataeb Party Renews Call for Government of Specialists
Kataeb.org/October 09/2018/The Lebanese Kataeb party on Monday warned of the
"destructive mentality" that is controlling the country, blasting the
"unprecedented" haggling over ministerial shares. "They have turned a deaf
ear to the citizens' suffering and concerns, and left the country drown in
obstructive and its dire repercussions, both on the political and economic
levels," read a statement issued following the weekly meeting of the Kataeb
politburo. The party renewed its call for both the president and the prime
minister-designate to end the "futile" dispute over shares and formation
standards, and work on forming a rescue government of non-partisan
specialists. The party also sounded the alarm over Lebanon's environment,
urging the concerned officials to take immediate action to save what is life
of Lebanon's nature.The politburo denounced all transgressions against the
freedom of expression in Lebanon, warning of attempts to alter the country's
image and dash the fundamental values on which it was built.
Kataeb Leader Seeks Joint Struggle for Reform in
Lebanon
Kataeb.org/October 09/2018/Kataeb leader Samy Gemayel on Tuesday met with
the President of Association of Banks in Lebanon, Joseph Torbey, with talks
featuring high on the critical phase that Lebanon's economy is going through
and ways to avert further decline.
Following the meeting, Gemayel stressed the urgent need to introduce
reforms, which must begin by forming a reformist government, in order to
reduce the state's deficit. "Othewise, the country is heading into a steep
economic decline," he warned. Gemayel said that he had asked the Association
of Banks to play an effective role in averting economic collapse and press
the state to adopt reforms, noting that it has power and authority over the
state whose money is covered by the banks. “The people, banks and the
international community must compel the state to set out a reform agenda,
because the economic situation will deteriorate even further if the state's
performance ends up destroying the public finances," he warned. "We fear the
fall of all economic sectors in one blow."“Something must be quickly done by
influencers because we cannot rely on those in power to enforce reform.
Influencers, which are firstly banks, can pressure the state." Gemayel
reiterated his call for ending squandering, random employment in the public
sector, tax evasion, electricity deficit, along with other required reforms
in order to bring back the state finances to the right position.
“There is a need to form a government. However, it is strange that political
parties are unaware of the growing financial and economic threats. Instead,
they are focusing on their ministerial shares while taking the country as a
hostage and disregarding all the proposals being presented to end this
stalemate,” Gemayel deplored. Later, Gemayel met with the head of the
General Confederation of Lebanese Workers, Bechara Asmar. Following the
talks, Gemayel hailed the joined efforts to defend the rights of the
Lebanese citizens, also outlining the Confederation's key role in pressuring
the implementation of reforms in the country. “We discussed the shutting
down of several businesses due to economic stagnation, which increased the
unemployment rate. We also conferred over the dangerous situation which must
not prolong," he stated, blaming the ongoing political bickering over
ministerial shares.
“If they are unable to partition seats, then we call on President Aoun and
PM-designate Hariri to end the disgraceful wrangle over shares, to form a
government of specialists and set a reformatory program,” Gemayel stressed.
"The country can no longer endure this situation. We shall work hand in hand
with the General Confederation of Lebanese Workers and economic bodies in
order to demand reforms," he affirmed. “We hope that people would not be
left unaided to face their fate while being taken hostages for the sake of
partisan and political interests. We must focus on the people’s future and
welfare as we will fight day and night to achieve our goal,” Gemayel vowed.
The Kataeb leader was accompanied by former Economy Minister Alain Hakim,
the head of the party's Social and Economic Council Jean Tawile, and legal
adviser Lara Saade.
The Latest LCCC Bulletin For Miscellaneous Reports And News
published
on October 09-10/18
US Ambassador. To UN
Nikki Haley resigns
Reuters, and Ynetnews/October
09/18
US President Donald Trump accepts Nikki Haley's resignation, as reported by
the Axios news site; 'Hopefully, you'll be coming back at some point. Maybe
in a different capacity,' Trump says to Haley, a known supporter of Israel
at the UN.
US President Donald Trump has accepted the resignation of UN Ambassador
Nikki Haley, Axios news site reported on Tuesday, citing two sources
familiar with the matter.Haley would not confirm the report to Reuters when
asked about it during a visit to the White House. Trump and Haley held a
press conference during which the US envoy to the UN announced she would be
leaving her position by the end of the year. "Big announcement with my
friend Ambassador Nikki Haley in the Oval Office," Trump tweeted. Trump said
that Haley is a "very special" person, adding that she told him six months
ago that she might want to take some time off. Trump said that together,
they had "solved a lot of problems."Speaking to reporters in the Oval
Office, he praised her for having done an incredible job and said he hoped
she could come back to the administration serving in another position."We're
all happy for you in one way, but we hate to lose (you). ... Hopefully,
you'll be coming back at some point. Maybe a different capacity. You can
have your pick," Trump said. It's the latest shake-up in the turbulent Trump
administration just weeks before the November midterm election.
No reason for the resignation was immediately provided.
Haley, 46, was appointed to the UN post in November 2016 and last month
coordinated Trump's second trip to the United Nations, including his first
time chairing the UN Security Council. Before she was named by Trump to her
UN post, Haley was governor of South Carolina, the first woman to hold the
post. She was reelected in 2014. Last month Haley wrote an op-ed in The
Washington Post discussing her policy disagreements but also her pride in
working for Trump. It came in response to an anonymous essay in The New York
Times by a senior administration official that alleged there to be a secret
"resistance" effort from the right in Trump's administration and that there
were internal discussions of invoking the 25th amendment to remove Trump
from office. "I proudly serve in this administration, and I enthusiastically
support most of its decisions and the direction it is taking the country,"
Haley wrote. "But I don't agree with the president on everything." Echoing
previous statements from Trump, Haley said the United States under his
presidency is now respected around the world.
"Now the United States is respected. Countries may not like what we do, but
they respect what we do. They know that if we say we're going to do
something, we follow it through," she said. Earlier this year, Haley told
Reuters that, "Every day I feel like I put body armor on," to protect US
interests at the United Nations. As governor, she developed a national
reputation as a racial conciliator who led the charge to bring down the
Confederate flag at the Statehouse and guided South Carolina through one of
its darkest moments, the massacre at a black church. Being the daughter of
Indian immigrants, Haley is seen as a rising star in the Republican Party
and a possible candidate for the 2020 presidential elections.
South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, a close Trump ally tweeted
that Haley "has a very bright future and will be a key player in both the
future of the Republican Party and our nation as a whole for years to come."
However, she said she would not be running in 2020 and would campaign for
Trump.
The top diplomat is considered an enthusiastic supporter of Israel in at the
UN, and has shared Trump's criticism of the UN institutions. The United
States announced in June it was leaving the United Nations' Human Rights
Council, with Haley calling it "an organization that is not worthy of its
name."Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu thanked Haley for her support of the
Israel at the UN and said she had fought hypocrisy at the organization. "I
would like to thank Ambassador Nikki Haley, who led the uncompromising
struggle against hypocrisy at the UN, and on behalf of the truth and justice
of our country," Netanyahu tweeted. Israel's ambassador to the UN, Danny
Danon, echoed Netanyahu's remarks, applauding her stance towards the Jewish
State. "Thank you, Nikki Haley! Thank you for representing the values common
to Israel and the United States. Thank you for your support, which led to a
change in Israel's status in the UN. Thank you for your close friendship.
You will always be a true friend to the State of Israel," Danon said.
Trump said he would name her successor within two or three weeks.
Netanyahu Recommends
Israeli Army Prepares for Gaza Violence
Asharq Al Awsat/October 09/18/Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told
cabinet ministers that should the humanitarian situation in Gaza Strip
worsen, it will backfire and may call for a military response, political
sources in Tel Aviv said on Monday. According to sources, Netanyahu
instructed the Israeli army and other security services to prepare for such
a scenario, “because Israel will not accept to be the focus of internal
Palestinian quarrels.”Sources in the Israeli security establishment have
presented reports, estimating that internal conflicts between the
Palestinian Authority on the one hand and Hamas on the other will intensify
in coming days and possibly lead to clashes. Hamas in the Gaza Strip may try
to pick a fight with Israel to make a case that its battle is against the
blockade. Efforts should focus on reducing the humanitarian crisis in Gaza,
but that might never happen, so we have to be militarily prepared, Netenyahu
told ministers. Israel is currently focusing all its attention on the
situation in the West Bank following a shooting in which two settlers were
killed. A state of alert has been declared throughout the West Bank in
anticipation of a similar event in other locations.
Jordanian King Stresses Need to Revive Peace Process
Amman – Asharq Al-Awsat/Tuesday, 9 October, 2018/Jordanian King Abdullah II
stressed the need to revive the Palestinian-Israeli peace process, based on
the two-state solution, international resolutions and 2002 Arab peace
initiative. He also expressed his support for the establishment of an
independent Palestinian state based on the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem
as its capital, "living side by side with Israel, in peace and security." He
made his statement during a meeting with Israeli Labor Party leader Avi
Gabbay on Monday. Gabbay told King Abdullah that he is grateful for the
peace between Israel and Jordan and thanked him for his "continued efforts
to promote stability in the region." He expressed his commitment to a
two-state solution and his belief that such a plan is "the best way to bring
peace and long-term security to Israel."
Most heavy arms out of planned Syria buffer zone,
monitor says
AFP, Beirut/Tuesday, 9 October 2018/Extremists and Turkish-backed militants
have withdrawn most heavy weapons from territory around Syria’s last major
opposition stronghold ahead of a Wednesday deadline, a monitor said. The
weapons pullback is the first major test of a truce deal brokered by
government-backed Russia and opposition militants-backer Turkey last month
to avoid what the United Nations warned would be the appalling humanitarian
consequences of a major government offensive. Under the agreement, all
opposition groups have a Wednesday deadline to withdraw all their heavy
weaponry from a 15- to 20-kilometre (nine- to 12-mile) buffer zone along the
front line in Idlib province and adjacent areas of the northwest. By next
Monday, the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) alliance led by Al-Qaeda’s former
Syria branch, and other militant factions must also withdraw their fighters.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based monitoring group,
said the heavy weapons pullout was near complete on Tuesday. “The buffer
zone is now almost empty of any heavy weapons on the eve of the expiry of
the deadline,” its chief Rami Abdel Rahman said.
The pro-Ankara National Liberation Front said it finished pulling out its
heavy weapons on Monday. HTS and smaller extremist factions quietly began
withdrawing theirs on Saturday in an operation that continued through Monday
night, the Observatory said. HTS, which controls more than half of Idlib,
has not given any formal response to the September 17 truce deal. But a
source close to the group told AFP it had come under irresistible pressure
to fall into line to avoid further hardship for its stronghold’s three
million residents, many of whom have fled previous bloody government
offensives on other parts of Syria.
“Everybody has been forced to agree to the initiative, though reluctantly,
so that people can enjoy a bit of security and safety after long years of
suffering from the savagery of the regime and its allies,” the source said.
The new buffer zone is to be patrolled by Turkish troops from the one side
and Russian military police from the other. The source said HTS was
satisfied that the presence of the Turkish troops, whose numbers have been
increased in recent weeks, would prevent any Russian-backed government
offensive. Forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad have retaken swathes of
territory in Syria since Russia entered the war in September 2015.
Eight killed in suicide attack on afghan election candidate
AFP, Kandahar/Tuesday, 9 October 2018 /A suicide bomber targeting an Afghan
election candidate on Tuesday killed at least eight people, officials said,
days ahead of a parliamentary vote that militants have vowed to disrupt.
Another 10 people were wounded when the attacker blew himself up inside
Saleh Mohammad Asikzai’s campaign office in the southern city of Lashkar Gah,
Helmand provincial governor spokesman Omar Zhwak told AFP. Asikzai was among
the injured, Zhwak added. Provincial police spokesman Salam Afghan confirmed
the attack. “We are investigating,” he said. There was no immediate claim of
responsibility for the attack, but Helmand is a Taliban stronghold. It is
not clear how many people were inside the room at the time of the blast,
which comes a day after the Taliban warned candidates to pull out of the
“bogus” election scheduled for October 20. Describing the polls as a
“malicious American conspiracy” and urging voters to boycott them, Taliban
spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said the militants would pull no punches to
disrupt the ballot. It was the second suicide attack to target a
parliamentary candidate since campaigning officially kicked off on September
28.
An attack on a rally in the eastern province of Nangarhar on October 2
killed 13 people and wounded more than 40. More than 2,500 candidates will
contest the poll, which is seen as a test run for next year’s presidential
vote. At least five have been murdered in targeted killings so far,
according to the Independent Election Commission. Preparations for the
ballot, which is more than three years late, have been in turmoil for months
and there has been widespread speculation about whether the vote would go
ahead. Bureaucratic inefficiency, allegations of industrial-scale fraud and
an eleventh-hour pledge for biometric verification of voters threaten to
derail the process and any hope of a credible result. Some 54,000 members of
Afghanistan’s beleaguered security forces will be responsible for protecting
more than 5,000 polling centers on election day. More than 2,000 polling
centers that were supposed to open will be closed for security reasons.
Saudi Arabia has agreed to let Turkish authorities
search the kingdom's Istanbul consulate
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/October 09/18/Saudi Arabia has agreed to let
Turkish authorities search the kingdom's Istanbul consulate after prominent
journalist and Riyadh critic Jamal Khashoggi went missing last week, the
Turkish foreign ministry said Tuesday. "Saudi authorities said they were
open to cooperation and that a search can be conducted at the consulate
building," the ministry spokesman Hami Aksoy said in a statement. Aksoy
added the search will take place as part of the official investigation,
which was being conducted "in an intense manner", though he did not say
when. Khashoggi, a Washington Post contributor who had been published in the
Arab and Western media, vanished last Tuesday after visiting the consulate
to obtain official documents. Previously Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin
Salman told Bloomberg that Riyadh would be ready to welcome Turkish
officials to search the premises. Ankara sought permission to search the
building on Sunday after the foreign ministry summoned the Saudi ambassador
for a second time, Turkish television reported this week. Riyadh's envoy in
Ankara was first called to the ministry on Wednesday. While Riyadh claimed
he had left the building afterwards, Turkish police said Khashoggi did not
come out of the consulate. Government sources said police believe the
journalist was killed inside the consulate. Police also said a special team
of around 15 Saudis were especially sent to Istanbul and in the building at
the same time as Khashoggi.
Turkish security officials were working to identify the 15 individuals,
English-language state broadcaster TRT World reported, adding that Turkish
officials believe the Saudis may have taken the consulate's CCTV footage
with them when they returned to Saudi Arabia.
Khashoggi, a former Saudi government adviser, had been living in
self-imposed exile in the United States since last year fearing possible
arrest. He has been critical of some policies of the crown prince and
Riyadh's intervention in the war in Yemen.
Erdogan Asks Riyadh to 'Prove' Journalist Left Consulate
Turkey's president has demanded Saudi officials prove their claim that
missing journalist and Riyadh critic Jamal Khashoggi left the Saudi
consulate in Istanbul, as the US called for a thorough probe into his
disappearance. Recep Tayyip Erdogan's comments on Monday came after media
reports said his government sought permission from Saudi authorities to
search the consulate premises in Istanbul. Khashoggi, a Washington Post
contributor, vanished last Tuesday after entering the consulate to receive
official documents ahead of his marriage to a Turkish woman. "Consulate
officials cannot save themselves by saying that he left the building...
Don't you have a camera?" Erdogan told a news conference in Budapest. "If he
left, you have to prove it with footage. Those who ask Turkish authorities
where he is should ask what happened." US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in
a statement late Monday urged "the government of Saudi Arabia to support a
thorough investigation of Mr Khashoggi's disappearance and to be transparent
about the results of that investigation". Turkish police said at the weekend
that around 15 Saudis, including officials, arrived in Istanbul on two
flights last Tuesday and were at the consulate at the same time as Khashoggi.
A Turkish government source told AFP at the weekend that the police believe
the journalist "was killed by a team especially sent to Istanbul and who
left the same day". Riyadh vehemently denies the claim and says Khashoggi
left the consulate. Turkey on Monday sought permission to search the
consulate premises, Turkish NTV broadcaster reported. The move came after
the foreign ministry summoned the Saudi ambassador for a second time Sunday
over the journalist's disappearance. A Turkish diplomat confirmed Monday
that the Saudi envoy had met deputy foreign minister Sedat Onal. "The
ambassador was told that we expected full cooperation during the
investigation," the source said. The ambassador was first summoned to the
ministry on Wednesday. Erdogan said Turkish police and intelligence were
investigating the case. "The airport exits and entrances are being examined.
There are people who came from Saudi Arabia," he said. "The chief
prosecutor's office is investigating the issue."US President Donald Trump
said he was "concerned" about the journalist's disappearance. "Right now,
nobody knows anything about it. There are some pretty bad stories going
around. I do not like it," Trump told reporters at the White House.
Awful crime
Protesters gathered outside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on Monday with
banners reading "We will not leave without Jamal Khashoggi", demanding to
know what had happened to him. Yemeni activist Tawakkol Karman, the 2011
Nobel Peace Prize laureate, said it would be an "awful crime" if the claims
of his death were true. "Killing him is like killing us. This policy is just
a terror policy. There's no difference between the state terror and other
terror actions," she added. Khashoggi went to the consulate to obtain
official documents required for his marriage to Hatice Cengiz. Turkish
police quickly said he never left the building as there was no security
footage of his departure. The consulate rejected claims that the journalist
was killed there as "baseless". Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman
previously told Bloomberg that Riyadh was "ready to welcome the Turkish
government to go and search" the consulate, which is Saudi sovereign
territory. "We will allow them to enter and search and do whatever they want
to do. If they ask for that, of course, we will allow them. We have nothing
to hide," Prince Salman said in an interview published on Friday. Khashoggi
had been critical of some of the crown prince's policies and Riyadh's
intervention in the war in Yemen in Arab and Western media. He compared the
33-year-old prince to Russian President Vladimir Putin in a column for the
Washington Post in November 2017. "As of now, I would say Mohammed bin
Salman is acting like Putin. He is imposing very selective justice. The
crackdown on even the most constructive criticism — the demand for complete
loyalty with a significant 'or else' — remains a serious challenge to the
crown prince's desire to be seen as a modern, enlightened leader," he wrote.
'Devastating impact'
Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, a top Senate ally of Trump, warned of a
"devastating" impact on the US alliance with Saudi Arabia if allegations are
confirmed. Saudi Arabia launched a modernisation campaign following Prince
Mohammed's appointment as heir to the throne with moves such as lifting a
ban on women driving. But the ultra-conservative kingdom, which ranks 169th
out of 180 on RSF's World Press Freedom Index, has been strongly criticised
over its intolerance of dissent with dozens of people arrested including
intellectuals and Islamic preachers.
Trump Says America Owes Kavanaugh Apology after Supreme Court Battle
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/October 09/18/President Donald Trump said
Monday he was apologizing on behalf of the whole country to his new
conservative Supreme Court justice after one of the most contentious
confirmation processes in US history. At a White House swearing-in ceremony,
Trump stood next to Justice Brett Kavanaugh and said he'd been "proven
innocent" of the sexual assault allegations that threatened to derail him in
a Senate confirmation process revealing the depth of the left-right split
tearing through American politics. "On behalf of our nation, I want to
apologize to Brett and the entire Kavanaugh family for the terrible pain and
suffering you have been forced to endure," he said at the ceremony in the
ornate White House East Room. Trump showed he still considers the nomination
row a political battle. Before the ceremony, he'd described opposition
Democrats as "evil" and the sexual assault claims as a "hoax." But after
being sworn in, Kavanaugh struck a markedly more conciliatory tone. He told
an audience that included the entire Supreme Court and a Who's Who of
Republican movers and shakers that he had "no bitterness" and would never
bring politics into the top court. "The Supreme Court is a team of nine. And
I will always be a team player on the team of nine.... The Senate
confirmation process was contentious and emotional. That process is over,"
he said.
Fight for votes
Trump sees his success in getting Kavanaugh onto the court -- tilting the
crucial body to the right for potentially years to come -- as one of the
major successes of his turbulent two-year administration. It also comes in
the final run-up to midterm elections on November 6.
The president -- whose Republicans fear losing at least the lower chamber of
Congress -- predicted that Democrats would pay for their attempts to block
the confirmation, especially during the lurid debate over decades-old sexual
assault allegations. "I think a lot of Democrats are going to vote
Republican," he said in his earlier comments outside the White House. "I
think you're going to see a lot of things happening on November 6."
Democrats had fought tooth and nail to stop Kavanaugh's candidacy, claiming
that the accomplished, conservative-minded judge was not suited to the
Supreme Court. Then, just as his confirmation seemed inevitable, 11th-hour
allegations emerged that Kavanaugh sexually assaulted a 15-year-old girl
while at high school and exposed himself to a female classmate at an
alcohol-fueled dorm party at Yale University. No concrete evidence was
produced to back up the searing accusations, which Republicans described as
a dirty tricks campaign. After an extra FBI probe -- which media reports say
was drastically curtailed by the White House -- also found nothing new,
Kavanaugh was finally voted into the coveted post. Kavanaugh officially took
the oath in a more hurried, private procedure Saturday, but the White House
version late Monday gave the Trump administration a chance to perform the
equivalent of a victory lap on live television.
Lighting a match
Trump has repeatedly said that putting conservatives on the court --
Kavanaugh is his second appointment -- was among the top goals of his
presidency. "I've always been told it's the biggest thing a president can do
and I can understand that," he said. He called the Kavanaugh row "a
disgraceful situation brought about by people who are evil," and said that
the result was "very exciting." "I'm doing rallies and people are loving
that man and loving that choice," he said. In reality, Kavanaugh's
confirmation lit a match under existing tensions ahead of the midterm
elections. The two-vote margin of victory in the Senate made it the closest
Supreme Court confirmation vote since 1881 -- and by far the most
contentious since Clarence Thomas in 1991. Only one Democrat voted for
Trump's nominee.
Saudi's Crown Prince: Reformism and Authoritarianism
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/October 09/18/Saudi Arabia's Mohammed bin
Salman has implemented a string of reforms in his country, but with his
ascension to crown prince in June 2017 has come an intensified crackdown on
dissent. Just a few months after the 33-year-old was appointed heir to the
Gulf region's most powerful throne, rights groups reported the first wave of
arrests. In September 2017, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International
reported the arrest of dozens of writers, journalists, activists and
religious leaders, including prominent Islamist cleric Sheikh Salman al-Awda.
It was around this time that columnist Jamal Khashoggi left the kingdom for
self-imposed exile in the US. Khashoggi, who has been missing since he
entered the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2, had been banned from
writing in the pan-Arab Al-Hayat newspaper following his defence of the
Muslim Brotherhood, which Riyadh has blacklisted as a terror organisation.
Promising move
The September 2017 arrests took place shortly before the kingdom announced
it was lifting a decades-long ban on women drivers, seen as a sign that the
ultra-conservative nation may be heading towards a more "modern" society.
The announcement was part of Prince Mohammed's Vision 2030 plan for economic
and social reforms as Riyadh prepares for a post-oil era. In a rare public
appearance in October, the crown prince -- known as MBS -- said he would
strive for "a country of moderate Islam that is tolerant of all religions
and to the world". While many in the international community lauded the
young prince's efforts to modernise the country, another wave of arrests was
set to take place. In November, dozens of princes, businessmen and senior
officials were detained in what the authorities said was an anti-corruption
crackdown. Suspects, including billionaire Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal, were
held at Riyadh's luxury Ritz-Carlton hotel for three months and freed only
after reaching substantial financial settlements with the authorities. At
the same time, Prince Mohammed was accused by Lebanese officials of placing
Lebanon's Prime Minister Saad Hariri under house arrest in the Saudi capital
after he had made a shocking resignation announcement from there. The string
of arrests and the Hariri case have reflected poorly on the image of Prince
Mohammed as a "reformer".
Change from the throne
He was thrust into the spotlight again in May 2018 when Human Rights Watch
said at least 11 women rights activists were arrested -- just a month before
the ban on women was to be officially lifted.Another two arrests, including
that of Samar Badawi -- sister of jailed blogger Raif Badawi -- were
reported in August. Some analysts said the women's arrests were not
"surprising" and were in line with Saudi Arabia's top-down vision -- that
change only comes from the throne. Rights groups also said they were
concerned about the fate of activist Israa al-Ghomgham, who was detained on
charges of inciting protests in mainly Shiite areas of the Sunni-ruled
kingdom's Eastern Province. According to Amnesty International, Saudi
Arabia's public prosecutor is seeking the death penalty against her and her
husband, and three other rights activists.
Prince Mohammed had sought to cultivate in the West the image of a reformer
by reducing the powers of the religious police, agreeing to the reopening of
cinemas, the organisation of concerts and the entry of women into sports
stadiums. But analysts say that although claims that Khashoggi has been
killed after entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul a week ago remain
unconfirmed, if they are true they would seriously damage the prince's
credentials as a reformer. Turkish police believe Khashoggi was killed by a
team of assassins who were sent to Istanbul and departed the same day,
according to a Turkish government source. Riyadh has denied the allegations
as "baseless".
Syrian President Grants General Amnesty to Army
Deserters
Associated Press/Naharnet/October 09/18/ Syrian President Bashar
Assad has granted general amnesty to army deserters both within Syria and
those outside the country. A decree published by state media on Tuesday says
the amnesty doesn't include "criminals" and those on the run unless they
turn themselves in to authorities. Deserters in Syria have four months to do
so; those abroad have six months. The amnesty could help boost the return of
refugees, some of whom have not been able to go back home because they were
blacklisted. The decree comes at a time when government forces have managed
over the past year to capture wide areas once held by insurgents, including
in southern Syria and the eastern suburbs of the capital, Damascus. The
flashpoint in Syria is now the country's northwestern province of Idlib.
Most Heavy Arms Out of Planned Syria Buffer Zone
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/October 09/18/Jihadists and Turkish-backed
rebels in Syria's last major opposition stronghold have withdrawn most of
their heavy weapons from a planned buffer zone ahead of a Wednesday
deadline, a monitor said. The pullback is the first major test of a deal
brokered by government ally Russia and rebel-backer Turkey last month to
avoid what the United Nations warned would be the appalling humanitarian
consequences of a major government offensive. Under the agreement, all
factions have until Wednesday to withdraw heavy weaponry from the 15- to
20-kilometre (nine- to 12-mile) wide buffer zone, which rings Idlib province
and adjacent areas of the northwest. And by Monday, the buffer zone must be
free of all jihadists, including those of the region's dominant armed group,
the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) alliance led by Al-Qaeda's former Syria
branch. Analysts had expected Ankara to have a difficult time enforcing the
September 17 deal but by Tuesday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights
said the heavy weapons pullout was near complete. "The buffer zone is now
almost empty of any heavy weapons on the eve of the expiry of the deadline,"
the Britain-based monitor's chief, Rami Abdel Rahman, said. HTS and smaller
jihadist factions quietly began withdrawing their heavy arms on Saturday in
an operation that continued through Monday night, the Observatory said.
The pro-Ankara National Liberation Front said it had completed its weapons
pullback on Monday.
'Forced to agree' -
HTS, which controls more than two-thirds of the buffer zone around Idlib
along with other jihadists, has not given any formal response to the
September 17 truce deal. But by beginning to pull out its weapons, the group
was implementing it "de facto", Abdel Rahman said. "No faction, rebel or
jihadist, would be able to withstand the consequences of any escalation if
the deal's terms were not met," Abdel Rahman said. A source close to HTS
told AFP it had come under irresistible pressure to fall in line to avoid
further hardship for the rebel zone's three million residents, many of whom
have fled previous bloody government offensives on other parts of Syria.
"Everybody has been forced to agree to the initiative, though reluctantly,
so that people can enjoy a bit of security and safety after long years of
suffering from the savagery of the regime and its allies," the source said.
The source said HTS was satisfied that the presence of the Turkish troops,
whose numbers have been increased in recent weeks, would prevent any
Russian-backed government offensive. Under the terms of the deal, the buffer
zone is to be patrolled by Turkish troops and Russian military police. But
rebels objected to Moscow's presence in the zone and said they received
Turkish guarantees that Russian patrols had been dropped.
Jihadist withdrawal?
For the zone to come into effect, "radical groups" -- interpreted as meaning
HTS and other jihadists -- must also leave the area by next Monday. It is
still not clear whether the jihadists will comply with this second deadline.
Nawar Oliver, an analyst from the Turkey-based Omran Centre for Strategic
Studies, said he thought HTS would comply with the deal even if it did not
publicly announce its support. "It'll still have a presence in Idlib and is
not handing over any weapons or fighters, but is handing over the (buffer)
zone to a neutral side, Turkey, and to the NLF," he told AFP. Forces loyal
to President Bashar al-Assad have retaken swathes of territory in Syria
since Russia intervened in September 2015. A series of offensives earlier
this year saw a succession of longtime rebel strongholds surrender. A
similar Russia-backed assault had been expected in Idlib before the deal was
announced last month. Despite progress in implementing the Idlib deal, Assad
insisted on Sunday that the arrangement would not become permanent. In
comments reported by state news agency SANA, he said the accord was a
"temporary measure" and Idlib would eventually return to state control. The
civil war has killed more than 360,000 people and forced millions to flee
their homes since it erupted in 2011 with the brutal repression of
anti-government protests.
Public Strike in Iran Protests Worsening Living
Conditions
London - Asharq Al-Awsat/Tuesday, 9 October, 2018/Many shop
owners in Iranian cities joined truck drivers in their strike, which is on
its 16th day, protesting against worsening economic conditions and rising
prices. Video footage shared by Iranian activists on social media showed
massive strikes in markets across several Iranian cities. The strike
received no coverage by official and Revolutionary Guard news agencies that
only reported “normal” activity in Tehran markets on Monday. Alternatively,
reports said security forces deployed to a number of Iranian cities.
According to the activists, Tabriz, Isfahan, Mashhad and Sinandaj were among
the biggest cities that have seen recurrent market strikes. Eyewitnesses
also reported protests taking place in several Tehran markets, as well as a
number of smaller towns. Truck drivers, encouraged by trade unions, have
been staging a sit-in for weeks. This is a second such strike they hold this
year. Police have arrested over 100 drivers in recent days, according to
human rights centers in Iran. These strikes included all the provinces of
Iran, according to social media posts. Trade union sources pointed out
during the past few days that the strikes were taking place in Urmia,
Ardabil, Ahwaz, Isfahan, Qazvin and Bandar Abbas. Despite threats by Iranian
authorities and police, strikes have lasted over a week so far. Although
economic conditions have worsened enough to provoke strikes, official
agencies say that the Iranian rial was improving. Nevertheless, reliable and
independent information on dollar to Iranian exchange rates have disappeared
after the government shut down multiple economic monitoring websites.
Sources said the government launched a misinformation campaign in hopes to
tame the demand for the dollar. The Iranian government is using its official
media outlets to build confidence in and demand for other foreign currency.
Observers say the market has seen the demand for the dollar fall. Meanwhile,
official media reported a rise in gold rates. Dollar exchange rates
continued to fluctuate, varying between 140,000 and 135,000 rials, according
to official agencies.
Wave of Assassinations in Basra Claims 2 New Victims
Baghdad - Asharq Al-Awsat/Tuesday, 9 October, 2018/ still felt in the
southern Iraqi province as authorities continued to arrest activists in a
bid to prevent them from demanding their basic rights, one of the activists
said Monday. Two young men were killed in Basra Monday, becoming the latest
victims in a cycle of assassinations witnessed in the city. Iraqi police did
not issue any statement to comment on the development. Since July,
demonstrators took to the streets of Basra to protest against corruption and
demand improved services and job opportunities. The assassination of the two
men on Monday came after Iraqi authorities issued arrest warrants against 16
civil activists, whose homes were raided by police officers on grounds of
being involved in the burning of political party offices and the Iranian
consulate in September. Activist Wael Al-Zamel told Asharq Al-Awsat: “I
believe that the arrest warrants are malicious, because they are against
protesters, who were not involved in the burning of political party offices
in Basra and other incidents.” Other activists said that Youssef Thanawi,
the leader of “God’s Revenge”, a militia with strong ties to Iran, was
behind the arrest warrants. An activist, who wished to remain anonymous,
said that some protesters had burned the offices of “God’s Revenge”
following personal disputes that erupted between them and Thanawi. The
protesters had objected to Thanawi’s leading of 2015 street protests because
of his links to Iran and suspicious incidents in Basra.
Saudi ambassador set to return to Germany, meet with FM Heiko Maas
Staff writer, Al Arabiya English/Tuesday, 9 October 2018/The Saudi
Ambassador to Germany, Prince Khalid Bin Bandar Bin Sultan, will return to
Berlin to meet with German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, according to
official reports on Tuesday.
The meeting will discuss the importance of cooperation between both
countries. The return of Prince Khalid bin Bandar bin Sultan to Berlin comes
as the countries turn the page on a diplomatic crisis that lasted almost a
year.
The Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials from miscellaneous
sources published
on
October 09-10/18
Turkey, Jailer of Journalists, Now Slams
Saudi Arabia – for Murdering a Journalist
تحليل لسيمون ولدمان من الهآررتس: تركيا التي تعتقل الصحافيين الآن تنتقد
السعودية لقتلها صحافي
Simon A. Waldman/Haaretz/October 09/18
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/67994/simon-a-waldman-haaretz-turkey-jailer-of-journalists-now-slams-saudi-arabia-for-murdering-a-journalist-%D8%AA%D8%AD%D9%84%D9%8A%D9%84-%D9%84%D8%B3%D9%8A%D9%85%D9%88%D9%86-%D9%88%D9%84%D8%AF%D9%85/
مواجهات اعلامية وانتقادات واتهامات بين السعودية وتركيا حول
قضية اختفاء الصحافي السعودي المعارض جمال الخاشقجي في تركيا وهما (تركيا
والسعودية) من أكثر الدول في العالم قمعاً للحريات. في هذه الأثناء الغرب لن
يحرك ساكنا حول عملية الإختفاء هذه وذلك للمحافظة على البلايين السعودية
Two of the world's biggest suppressors of freedom of expression are about to
go head to head over Jamal Khashoggi's disappearance, while the West, keen
to keep Riyadh's billions onside, will only muster a silent displeasure, a
whisper in a thunderstorm.
Saudi dissidents don't just vanish into thin air. If anything, they are
deliberately disappeared, as was the case with journalist and prominent
media commentator Jamal Khashoggi several days ago. He entered the Saudi
Arabian consulate in Istanbul to sign papers relating to his forthcoming
marriage but has not been seen since.
Turkish investigators are looking into the possibility that Khashoggi was
tortured, murdered and chopped into pieces while still in the consular
building.
Shocking? Certainly. Reckless? Absolutely. But the Saudi kingdom figured it
could get away with it. His grandiose plan, Vision 2030, an ambitious
attempt to restructure the Saudi economy to make the desert kingdom less
dependent on oil, reduce the country’s debt, boost the private sector, build
tall sophisticated compounds and grant women more rights, was stillborn.
While the publicity associated with giving women the right to drive drew
positive attention, in reality there has been a fatal lack of detailed
forward planning behind the flawed vision, and it all depends too much on
the central role of MBS himself. Human rights are still a problem, the
Kingdom remains closed, women are far from being equal, tribalism remains
deeply rooted and corruption and nepotism is rife.
The response of MBS to the lack of investor enthusiasm to his plan and the
resultant cash-flow problem was to round up Saudi businessmen and hold them
captive at the Riyadh Ritz-Carlton hotel, as part of a so-called
anti-corruption probe. Confessions were signed after torture and under
duress while billions of siphoned dollars were handed over to the Saudi
authorities.
In reality, this was a modern-day a political purge and money grab.
But it didn’t encourage foreign investors. In August 2018, ARAMCO’s
estimated $2 trillion floatation for a 5% per cent stake in the company -
which was essential to funding the crown prince’s grand vision - was
abruptly called off.
Some of the other MBS disasters include doubling down in the Yemen civil war
- which seems to have no end in sight, kidnapping and forcing Lebanese Prime
Minister Saad Hariri to resign only for Hariri to rescind his resignation
upon his return to Lebanon, a failed boycott of Qatar which has utterly
failed to convince Doha to align its foreign policy with the Gulf
Cooperation Council, and an inability to prevent Iranian dominance in Syria
with the looming victory of Bashar Assad.
Despite harsh clampdowns on civil society and on domestic opponents of
Turkey’s authoritarian President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey is –
surprisingly - a relatively open place for those involved in Middle Eastern
politics to work. That’s true for a heterogenous spectrum of activists:
Iranian dissidents, Syrian exiles and Hamas members.
It seems that the thought of an increasingly critical Khashoggi, who split
his time between the U.S. and UK, also partly basing himself in Turkey, a
country which has been on the opposite end of MBS’s policies - it supported
Qatar during last year’s crisis and seems to have come to an understanding
with Iran over Syria - was simply too much for MBS to bear.
Tensions are already simmering between Turkey and Saudi over Ankara’s
support for the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt (against the Saudi-backed
President Sisi) and in general competes with Saudi Arabia for influence,
status and leadership in the Sunni Muslim world.
Although still waiting for the results of the investigation to unfold,
President Erdogan has already indicated that he is taking a personal
interest in this case.
If investigators conclude that Khashoggi was murdered on Turkish soil,
Erdogan will take it as personal affront. The firebrand Turkish president is
not known to take kindly to insults (and never misses an opportunity for
point-scoring either) and will no doubt go on the offensive against Saudi
Arabia. However, it is highly unlikely that Turkey will receive any
meaningful support, especially from the West.
Western powers seldom vocalize official opposition to Saudi policies. There
was an important exception last summer when Canada issued a condemnation in
Arabic of the Kingdom’s abysmal human rights record and its poor treatment
of dissidents.
The response was swift and severe. Canada’s ambassador was given 24 hours to
pack his bags. Riyadh future declared trade deals and bilateral investments
cancelled.
Ottawa received little international backing. Its powerful neighbor to the
south washed its hands of the matter. U.S. State Department spokesperson
Heather Nauert said it was up to the Saudi and Canadian governments to
resolve their differences. Similar sentiments were echoed across Europe. MBS
can rest comfortably knowing that President Donald Trump seems to like Saudi
Arabia, and European nations need Saudi oil to continue to flow at a
reasonable price. Meanwhile, U.S., British and French arms deals with Saudi
are worth billions of dollars. Germany’s and Italy’s are worth hundreds of
millions. With billions at stake the Western nations might do is voice a
silent displeasure, a whisper in a thunderstorm.
Instead, get ready to witness the spectacle of Turkey, whose security
services - since the failed 2016 coup - have abducted as many as 100 members
of the Gulen movement overseas and implemented a purge that has netted
hundreds of thousands of critics and jailed over 100 journalists, condemn
Saudi Arabia for its overseas misdeeds and treatment of dissidents.
That’s right, two of the world's biggest suppressors of the freedom of
expression are about to go at it over each country’s violation of
fundamental freedoms. To make matters worse, President Erdogan and Crown
Prince Mohammed probably won’t even get the irony.
**Dr Simon A. Waldman is a Mercator-IPC fellow at the Istanbul Policy Center
and a visiting research fellow at King's College London. He is the co-author
of The New Turkey and Its Discontents (Oxford University Press, 2017).
Twitter: @simonwaldman1
https://www.haaretz.com/middle-east-news/.premium-turkey-jailer-of-journalists-will-now-slam-saudi-arabia-for-killing-a-journalist-1.6534955
Saudi journalist’s disappearance developing into
diplomatic mess
سيمون هندرسون من موقع الهل: اختفائ الصحافي السعوديي جمال الخاشقحي يتحول إلى
فوضى سياسية
Simon Henserson/The Hill/October 09/18
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/67997/simon-henserson-the-hill-saudi-journalists-disappearance-developing-into-diplomatic-mess-%d8%b3%d9%8a%d9%85%d9%88%d9%86-%d9%87%d9%86%d8%af%d8%b1%d8%b3%d9%88%d9%86-%d8%a7%d8%ae%d8%aa%d9%81/
Today marks one week since exiled Saudi journalist Jamal
Khashoggi, who lived part-time in Washington, disappeared after walking into
the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Turkey.
Many fear that Khashoggi has been murdered. An almost equally dismal
possibility is that he was taken back to Saudi Arabia against his will.
Saudi officials deny either possibility, saying they do not know where he is
and suggesting that he left the consulate after a meeting.
We can’t be certain what happened, but a diplomatic row of immense
proportions is brewing in front of a worldwide audience gripped by gory
details provided by Turkish officials. The worst-case scenario is that
Khashoggi was tortured, killed and mutilated, while the incident was
videoed.
Many people perhaps would want to reject such reporting as implausible,
poorly sourced, or written by supermarket tabloid-type journalists. But,
sadly, the details appear to be all too true. “He was killed and his body
dismembered,” the New York Times reported. The Wall Street Journal said
Turkish police concluded that Khashoggi “was killed in his country’s
consulate in [Istanbul] and his body possibly removed from the building in
pieces,” citing two Turkish officials briefed on the case. And the
Washington Post, for whom Khashoggi wrote opinion columns often critical of
developments in the kingdom and its crown prince, Mohammad bin Salman,
reported Khashoggi was “likely dismembered.”
President Trump has acknowledged his concern. “I don’t like hearing about it
and hopefully that will sort itself out,” he told reporters. “There’s some
pretty bad stories about it.”
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo yesterday urged Saudi Arabia to “support a
thorough investigation” and “to be transparent about the results.”
A few hours earlier, Vice President Mike Pence had emphasized the increasing
danger to journalists: “Deeply troubled to hear reports about Saudi Arabian
journalist Jamal Khashoggi,” he tweeted. “If true, this is a tragic day.
Violence against journalists across the globe is a threat to freedom of the
press & human rights. The world deserves answers.”
Pence is indeed right. The ghastly fate of a raped and murdered Bulgarian
journalist who had been investigating local misuse of European Union funds
is one example. But in the Twittersphere, some perceived the vice
president’s remarks as an attempt to take the heat off the administration’s
Saudi allies.
Washington clearly wishes Khashoggi had not disappeared and wants to
diminish any negative fallout on the kingdom while trying to triage an
emerging rift between Turkey and Saudi Arabia, regional competitors with
very different views of the role of political Islam.
The prospect of defusing the crisis immediately does not appear likely.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said Saudi Arabia must prove that
Khashoggi left the consulate on his own. Turkey demanded access to the
consulate, a concession that the Saudi crown prince apparently has made.
Although consulates do not have the same level of diplomatic immunity as
embassies, this is still significant.
The latest Saudi statement, from Prince Khalid bin Salman, the ambassador in
Washington and younger brother of the crown prince, described suggestions of
Saudi involvement in Khashoggi’s disappearance as “absolutely false and
baseless.”
In what appears to be a Turkish attempt to boost Saudi embarrassment, the
Sabah newspaper today gives yet unverified details of the flights of two
Saudi executive jets that brought a total of 15 men from Riyadh to Istanbul
on the day of Khashoggi’s disappearance. The Turkish media have described
the two groups of men as “murder squads.”
According to the Turkish newspaper, one jet flew back to Dubai in the United
Arab Emirates and then to Riyadh, while the other flew to Egypt. The
newspaper gave identification numbers of both aircraft. Along with Saudi
Arabia, the UAE and Egypt are regional rivals of Turkey. If these flight
details are true, the diplomatic crisis could be gaining dimensions.
This could be a turbulent week for U.S. relations with the Middle East. We
retain some hope for Khashoggi to emerge, somewhere, alive and well. But
don’t count on it.
Simon Henderson is the Baker Fellow and director of the Bernstein Program on
Gulf and Energy Policy at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.
https://thehill.com/opinion/international/410522-saudi-journalists-disappearance-developing-into-diplomatic-mess
A New Arab Military Alliance Has Dim Prospects
The Economist/October 08/18
WHEN President Donald Trump, King Salman of Saudi Arabia and Abdel-Fattah
al-Sisi, Egypt’s president, laid their hands on a glowing orb in Riyadh last
year, the theatrical gesture provoked bewilderment and derision. But perhaps
the orb worked some magic. On September 28th Mike Pompeo, America’s
secretary of state, met six of his counterparts from the Gulf Co-operation
Council (GCC), as well as Egypt and Jordan (see map), and confirmed that
they were fashioning a Middle East Strategic Alliance (MESA). They paid lip
service to the goals of curbing terrorism and pacifying Syria. But their
priority was plain: “stopping Iran’s malign activity”.
Excitable American and Arab officials, who plan to hold a summit in January,
have already dubbed it an Arab NATO. Excluding America, the alliance’s
annual defence spending would exceed $100bn and it would command over
300,000 troops, 5,000 tanks and 1,000 combat aircraft. But MESA is unlikely
to live up to its nickname. It will probably not operate on the basis that
an attack on one is an attack on all, a principle enshrined in its Western
equivalent, which Mr Trump has undermined. Moreover, previous efforts at
Arab military unity have ended in disappointment.
Arab coalitions were humiliated in almost all of their wars with Israel.
Shortly after the GCC was formed in 1981, it created the Peninsula Shield
force. That not only proved useless in the Gulf war, but the following year
Saudi and Qatari troops killed each other in border clashes. In 2014 the
idea of a GCC joint command was resuscitated. Little came of it.
One problem is that smaller states fear ceding control to larger neighbours.
In the 1960s it was Egypt that caused jitters; today it is Saudi Arabia,
under the de facto rule of Muhammad bin Salman, its ambitious crown prince.
His obsession with Iran is another concern. Though he is supported by the
United Arab Emirates (UAE), Kuwait and Oman are more sanguine about the
threat posed by Iran. A third problem is that many Arab states blame foreign
foes for internal troubles, such as protests and terrorism. Even Mr Trump
may not be keen to help his autocratic allies put down dissent in the name
of defence.
But the biggest obstacle in MESA’s path is a dispute between Arab states.
For over a year Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt have blockaded
Qatar over its contrarian stances. The feud has hit military co-operation,
with America pulling out of drills with its Gulf allies last October to
encourage “inclusiveness”. America’s main base in the region is in Qatar.
MESA will probably go the way of other half-baked defence schemes—from the
Arab League’s Joint Defence Council of 1950 to Saudi Arabia’s Islamic
Military Counter-Terrorism Coalition in 2015. “Every couple of years someone
comes up with a big idea,” says Emile Hokayem of the International Institute
for Strategic Studies, a think-tank in London. “People work like crazy for a
year. And it ends with a shiny new building and a deck of PowerPoint
slides.”
More important than any multilateral bloc is America’s commitment to the
region. Yet even here, a gap is opening between words and deeds. America has
pledged to keep its troops in Syria “as long as Iranian troops are outside
Iranian borders”. But there has been no American aircraft-carrier in the
Persian Gulf for six months, the longest absence in 20 years. Next month
America will pull four missile defence batteries out of Bahrain, Jordan and
Kuwait, just as Iran threatens missile attacks on Gulf capitals. James
Mattis, the defence secretary, wants to reduce America’s military footprint
in the Middle East after 17 years of continuous war. Mr Trump will probably
show more enthusiasm for flogging weapons to his Arab allies than wading
onto the battlefield next to them.
Big spectacles, bigger shoes
Turki Aldakhil/Al Arabiya/October 09/18
There are those whom we do not see in general statistics, who
are difficult to distinguish or rather impossible to recognize in a public
street but whom we all recognize their merits and feel happy for their joy.
We know their moments of grief will not make it to the front pages, nor even
the last page. However, we do not rest and we do not sleep well before we
soothe them throughout their sadness and before admitting their influence on
us thanks to their frank simplicity.
There’s no doubt that the good people we encounter in our daily lives is
what makes life easier: the school principal who adjusts his watch like he
adjusts the semesters’ schedules, the deputy principal whom we remember as
serious and someone who knows all the details even though he never spoke
much to us, the student guide whom every parent sat with to make sure his
children are serious about learning, the old doorman whose facial
expressions are comfortable and who knows when your little girl left when he
sees the smile of the driver behind his window and who holds the little
children’s hands to cross the street with them to get them in the car’s
backseat.
There are also the passport control officers who smile to hundreds of
travelers who just arrived to the airport and whose smile soothes the
travelers’ difficult journey, the policeman who dreams of a star on his
shoulder, the soldier who bid his mother farewell so he can protect mothers
as they sleep on the southern front and the traffic policeman who aided many
and waited for the ambulance and who without waiting to be thanked drove his
car and went to another accident site on the highway in the dark night.
There are also the judge who raises his hand to the sky so he does not
forget the injustice against an old woman who has come from afar, a driver
in a remote town from my homeland’s towns checking his car tires and the oil
and water in it so he guarantees driving female teachers in the morning to a
neighboring village and a female doctor on a hectic shift but who maintains
her smile because she believes that welcoming patients and easing things for
them is a duty before examining them or holding a pen and paper to write a
prescription.
There are the journalist who is hesitant while phrasing a news piece or who
is late to post the news because he did not find a photo that suits the
topic, which he believes will convey the truth, and the trader who knows
that his honesty is the secret to his livelihood.
Defining a 'good citizen'
There is the student whose entire world is the result of the school semester
and who stays up all night studying so he impresses his parents before he
even rejoices for his own sake, a university lecturer who just returned from
a conference where he represented the country to enhance the ranking of
universities and a researcher working in a small room at night to help find
a medicine or seriously looking to find mathematical proof for a complicated
problem that may decrease the cost of the product on the consumer who does
not know him.
There are the mother holding her child’s hand in a shop so they choose the
colors which the teacher requested for the national day and a seller behind
the cashier smiling and refusing to take money for the green color because
we all owe so much to this color which makes us all good citizens.
Who is the good citizen, and is there a definition of that and through which
we can meet others like him?
In my simple definition, the good citizen is the man with the big spectacles
and the big shoes, as the English proverb puts it. He’s the one with the big
spectacles because he saw the entire scene then carefully selected his right
place within the society’s ranks. He is a teacher who loves his job, a
principal who deserved his post after a long wait, an officer who stays up
and works at night because the next rank he attains will make him satisfied
with his performance in serving his country before retiring, a mother saving
riyals to rejoice in the wedding of her oldest daughter and a father in a
foreign country depriving himself a delicious meal so he can afford sending
the university tuition fees to his only son.
These are people we do not see on television channels; they sleep early and
wake up before dawn and are out there at 6 a.m. on the highway to arrive to
work, and they stay after the supervisor leaves to finish some paperwork for
someone whom they do not know and have no ties to and who was not even
recommended by any old friend. These people finish their work because they
believe they are the country’s forearms and they are all responsible for
looking after it. Their days are alike but their wishes are different. There
is no country without them, there are no strong nations without the masses
of good citizens, those who raise children and who finalize paperwork.
They are the ones with the big shoes because they walk a mile in other
people’s shoes. They are not unjust and they do not swear at others. They
practice patience in the moment when others usually burst in anger. They
walk in the citizens’ shoes in this very moment and always respond with
patience and kindness to anyone who loses his temper in the queue. They
advise each other to be patient. They do not interfere much to change the
course of history, unlike the intellectuals and those rushing to gain posts.
They fear posts like the poor fear the end of the month and like the rich
fear the decline of a stock in the market.
They are the army who wakes up every morning to serve in the location they
picked or found themselves assigned to. Their dreams are clear and their
wishes are honest. The eye sometimes misses them but the heart never does.
Their days are alike but their wishes are different. There is no country
without them, there are no strong nations without the masses of good
citizens, those who raise children and who finalize paperwork. By protecting
rules, corruption moves backward.
They are the fathers we see at the parent-teacher meeting, the mothers who
do not know the name of Columbia’s president and what the latest Twitter
hashtag is but who know when their children wake up to school and when their
exams are and who follow up on them. They are the youths who drive their
cars without dumping trash in the street or disrespecting a traffic light or
driving above the speed limit.
They are the ones whose percentage from the population percentage cannot be
colored in the flag. They are the flag’s pole, the country’s soil and the
song of forever. We salute these, the people who are very ordinary but who
make our lives and countries prettier, from the heart.
What Kavanaugh nomination tells us about American
politics
Walid Jawad/Al Arabiya/October 09/18
The bitter partisan battle over Brett Kavanaugh nomination to the Supreme
Court ended with a narrow Senate vote making him the latest Supreme Court
justice.
His confirmation came despite sexual assault allegations and a display of
anger during the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing. The 50-48 vote came
almost entirely along party line proving that partisanship trumps truth and
justice.
The state of American politics is deplorable as did this process showed, but
there is a structural issue that was ignored for the most part in the
national debate over Kavanaugh’s nomination. that further exacerbated the
negative effects of a poisonous political atmosphere.
The Judiciary
Americans are blind to the destructive structural problem plaguing the US
judiciary. The long-held belief that judges are objective and independent is
not entirely accurate and definitely not grounded in reality.
Judge Kavanagh’s confirmation process revealed the severity of judges
fallibility, thus illuminating the fissures in the court system, and
exposing him as a political ideologue. The contentious Senate hearings
highlighted the accepted underlying tension between Republicans and
Democrats.
Each party is interested in advancing their nominee through the process to
guarantee a representative on the bench who agrees with their political
doctrine. As a result, the partisan bickering co-opts the objectivity of the
nominee turning him/her into a political tool. Kavanaugh’s hearing was an
extreme example of how the political views of the nominee is the only
qualification.
How can democracy work if the branch of government that is charged with
striking a balance between the Executive and Legislative, and keeping them
in check, is itself a tool advancing a political ideology?
The Supreme Court
The composition of the nine justices on the Supreme Court is critical to the
character of the US. Legal decisions decided by the Supreme Court become the
law of the land and affects how Americans live their lives.
Ruling on gun rights and abortions, segregation and voting rights are some
of the issues impacting Americans immediately and profoundly. For decades
the justices were evenly divided between liberals and conservatives with
Justice Anthony Kennedy casting an often swing vote. Although the court
strives to pass unanimous decisions 9-0, numerous consequential rulings end
with a 5-4 split. The critical nomination of Kavanaugh lies in the fact that
he is replacing the swing vote of the retired Kennedy. Kavanaugh being a
conservative will likely rule in favor of Republican supported positions.
Now that Kavanaugh has been voted in on Saturday the country will move
toward conservatism for generations to come. Abortion rights, Roe v. Wade,
being one of the most divisive issues the nation is anticipating a challenge
to. Kavanaugh would be anticipated to seal its reversal denying women the
right to choose.
The repeated historical 5-4 decision split among the nine justices on the
Supreme Court can be analyzed to show the complexity of their positions. The
courts own scorecard shows the ruling of individual justices in different
categories including First Amendment, Federalism, Economics and others. But
there is an overriding factor that explains the split strongly correlated
with ideological affiliation. Because Kavanaugh was nominated by President
Trump, the Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee grilled the nominee
to glean the depth of his commitment to conservative causes. The contentious
hearing process went beyond Kavanaugh’s ideological leaning to his
character, fitness and whether he has the temperament required to sit on the
bench after sexual accusations by Dr. Christine Blasey Ford.
#MeToo extension
The confirmation process quickly turned into a he-said-she-said debate where
the question observers were faced with was “who do I believe more, Dr. Ford
or Judge Kavanaugh?” This debate, ensuing testimony by both before the
Senate committee, and the expanded FBI background check reframed the process
to be an extension of the #MeToo movement.
For the record, I do believe Dr. Ford’s account and extend my admiration to
her courage to recount her horrifying experience before the nation. True,
there is a small possibility her memory mistook Kavanaugh for the
perpetrator. There has not been corroborating accounts of the incident as
recited by Dr. Ford.
For that small doubt, we are not justifying casting judgment on Kavanaugh as
a sexual predator. But it was his words in defense of his reputation is what
should have given Senators and supporters pause. “This whole two-week effort
has been a calculated and orchestrated political hit, fueled with apparent
pent-up anger about President Trump and the 2016 election. Fear that has
been unfairly stoked about my judicial record. Revenge on behalf of the
Clintons. And millions of dollars in money from outside left-wing opposition
groups”, he angrily lashed out directing his assault on the Democrats on the
committee without offering proof.
Coverage of the nomination process myopically dwelled on details of the
sexual allegation. As a result, people overlooked the zealot partisan
entrenched position and how it informed people’s conclusions.
Watching the nomination process, one heard an “us vs. them” debate not along
gender lines, but along political party affiliation. Most Republican,
regardless of gender, showed different levels of support for Kavanaugh while
Democrats stood by Dr. Ford.
The debate hardly included his political animosity toward the Democrats.
Kavanaugh’s deeply rooted political conviction and ideological belief should
have cost him the nomination. His tirade against the Democrats goes against
the presumed allegiances to the law.
Lasting effects
In addition to the Supreme Court deciding how laws should be interpreted and
applied they decide political outcomes. The Supreme Court has decided the
presidency in Bush vs. Gore in their recount battle giving the White House
to George W. Bush.
How can democracy work if the branch of government that is charged with
striking a balance between the Executive and Legislative, and keeping them
in check, is itself a tool advancing a political ideology?
The justices have the final say on matters of great consequences without
Americans having the ability to change course as they are appointed for
life. This is a far cry from the electorates ability to vote in nominees who
are appealing to them, or vote out underperforming ones when reelections
come around.
Americans are typically dissatisfied with their elected officials leading to
a political seesaw from one election cycle to the next. The presidency
consistently alternates between the Republicans and Democrats due to that
dissatisfaction.
In the case of the Supreme Court, voters are not offered a process by which
they can remove a justice for underperforming, or for lack of touch with the
greater society. The immunity the justices enjoy combined with the power
they hold often dramatically changes the whole of society; taxes,
environment, business, etc.
Political affiliation
American voters are not as partisan as many like to believe. In fact,
candidates craft their messages to include the greatest number of voters.
When messaging has to be divisive, candidates are careful not to alienate
significant voting blocks.
Therefore, there are more similarities between candidates’ platforms trying
to be as close to the center as possible. The political label, Republican
vs. Democrat, becoming the most important defining aspect of a race. Winning
public office is the ultimate goal regardless of the strategy or tactics.
Senator Joe Manchin, the only Democrat who voted for Kavanaugh, betrayed his
own announced position on Kavanaugh, “I have reservations about this vote
given the serious accusations against Judge Kavanaugh and the temperament he
displayed in the hearing.”
Manchin is fighting a tough reelection race in West Virginia; a deep red
state Trump won in a landslide over Hillary Clinton in the 2016 elections.
Again, winning by any means necessary often means betraying personally held
beliefs. In this case, even betraying future generations by voting for a
candidate whom he thinks is not good for the nation. Politics is a dirty
game.
Judges should be cut from a different cloth. After all, they decide on
matters affecting our way of life. A new litmus test should be applied to
judges nominated to the highest court of the land.
Any person who is or was politically affiliated with a political party
shouldn’t be considered. Showing bias toward specific ideology with
unrelenting zeal should be ground for automatic disqualification.
Establishing equality in Saudi Arabia
Hassan Al Mustafa/Al Arabiya/October 09/18
The royal decree issued by Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, King of Saudi
Arabia, granting former judge of the Department of Endowments and Heritage
in Qatif, Sheikh Mohammed al-Jirani, the first grade Order of King Abdulaziz,
is a confirmation of important principles, embodied in the following
precepts:
1-To strengthen the concept of full citizenship and equality among all
segments of the population where everyone in Saudi Arabia is equal and where
there is no difference between one sect and another and an area and another
and that the basis for honoring individuals will be their contribution to
their national work, knowledge and loyal efforts in countering violence and
extremism.
2-Those who have been subjected to violence or have been killed because of
their national stances will be appreciated by the political leadership in
their lives and after their deaths. Their families will be taken care of and
they will receive the highest honors, just as the case is with judge Jirani
who was killed for taking a position of peace and his stance against raising
arms against the state.
3-Confronting terrorism and extremism by all means is an ongoing process
that will not end until the security and safety of the society is ensured.
The assassination of individuals will not intimidate state institutions,
national voices and civil actors, and will not prevent them from playing
their roles in criticizing and confronting the fundamentalist ideology.
Granting Jirani the first grade Order of King Abdulaziz is very significant
and indicates the determination of the state to strengthen the concept of
full and impartial justice for all citizens
State’s determination
The political leadership in Saudi Arabia could have simply settled the
matter with King Salman receiving the Jirani family in January when he
ordered naming of a street after him, and gave his family a home and
directly offered condolences to the family.
However, granting Jirani the first grade Order of King Abdulaziz is very
significant and indicates the determination of the state to strengthen the
concept of full and impartial justice for all citizens, which is one of the
main concepts of the modern state.
In a related context, King Salman bin Abdulaziz frankly stated at a ceremony
in Medina, organized by people in his honor in September: “Everyone in the
kingdom is equal, there is no partiality towards one or the other. In some
countries, immunity is granted to some, while in the kingdom anyone can file
a complaint against anyone.”
The king’s speech emphasized the principle of “the rule of law” and that
everyone is equal before law without any favoritism and that the reference
is only what the law determines and stipulates.
This emphasis on the “rule of law” requires, in order to be implemented, the
implementation of a culture about the concept of law and the significance of
respecting it to build a civil state that is free of chaos and nepotism and
where everyone avails the same set of opportunities.
Why is the Russian GRU so hopeless?
Dr. Azeem Ibrahim/Al Arabiya/October 09/18
British intelligence services worked swiftly to identify the two Russian GRU
(Glavnoye Razvedyvatel’noye Upravleniye), military intelligence service
agents, who were responsible for the Skripal poisoning in Salisbury UK.
After their entire itinerary was detailed along with CCTV footage of every
stage of their mission – including the reconnaissance phase prior to the
actual attack – the two Russian operatives offered a comical explanation of
having life-long ambitions to visit the famous Salisbury cathedral.
A far-fetched account, which seemed to have been desperately cooked up only
after they were exposed. It seems no prior thought was put into a plausible
cover story for such a brazen mission. Only last week we were informed of
another blatant and amateurish attempt when Russian spies tried to target
the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) in April of
this year. Dutch authorities showed copies of four consecutively numbered
passports of GRU agents who flew directly from Moscow with no stop over. The
agents used public wifi hotspots which was not encrypted so all their login
details were easily obtained. The vehicle they hired was intercepted by
Dutch intelligence and was full of incriminating material.
So why does Russia’s GRU continue to attempt global operations which are so
poorly conceived? This is after all a country, which was dominated by the
once globally feared and respected KGB. One explanation might be that since
the West has consistently failed to respond adequately to Russian
assertiveness in recent years, whether in Syria, or in Crimea, or in their
ongoing cyber and intelligence efforts to undermine the social and political
structures of the West, there is simply no need to go the extra mile.
After all, the only response has been sanctions, and though they have done
considerable damage to the Russian economy, they have done nothing to
undermine Putin’s domestic political position. Quite the opposite. So in
effect, the West is rewarding Putin with increased domestic political
support by helping him rally popular nationalist support in defiance to
Western pressure for his increasingly ostentatious behavior.
After all, the only response has been sanctions, and though they have done
considerable damage to the Russian economy, they have done nothing to
undermine Putin’s domestic political position
Adequate response
Another side of the story might be that Putin is not expecting that the West
could do much more in response, even if they wanted to. Sure, there will be
a strongly worded statements from allies in the West. But as far as Russia’s
international standing goes, that’s hardly going to change anything. The
West is already taking a pretty dim view of the Putin government as it is –
with Trump the only notable exception.
Can Europe realistically pose a military challenge to Russia? Hardly. Can
they inflict further economic pain on the country? Perhaps, but that avenue
is already near exhaustion. Anything else? Then Putin will likely be able to
turn around and spin that as an act of British aggression – once again with
a positive effect for Putin’s domestic position.
That said however, if Europe were serious about retaliation, it does in fact
have an avenue to respond. Putin may be the keystone of the Russian
political system, but he is not floating on air. He needs the support and
loyalty of the oligarchs to remain in power. And most, if not all, of those
oligarchs have huge investments and flourishing money laundering operations
running, primarily, out of London.
What is more, the British government has the legal authority to freeze
assets and crack down on the loosely-regulated vehicles used for money
laundering in the City. The British government does, therefore, have the
power to do serious damage to the Russian plutocracy, and can use that
leverage to pit Putin’s power base against him.
Putin is not stupid. He knows this. But he is betting that this will not
happen. And he may have a point. If Downing Street goes for the “nuclear
option”, that creates a dangerous precedent: suddenly, Chinese billionaires,
or African Presidents find that London can take an interest in their assets
and can usurp them for political reasons.
Even if the City’s status as the world’s foremost financial centre for
dubiously wealthy individuals and companies was not already threatened by
the spectre of Brexit, this would definitely be a huge blow all by itself.
So why not goad London a little bit more? After all, when have they ever put
principle before the interests of the City before?
New York City's Islamist Grant
Oren Litwin/Gatestone Institute/October 09/18
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/13106/new-york-city-council-islamists
Alarmingly, three of New York City's grant recipients are linked to Islamic
extremism -- the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR), the Muslim
American Society (MAS) and the Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA).
It seems that ICNA, in particular, plans to use the money not for civic
improvement but for religious proselytizing.
To pay for prayer services with a government grant is a blatant violation of
constitutional law, and all the more so when it is for a proselytizing
purpose.
If New Yorkers want to help Muslim communities, giving money to CAIR, ICNA
and MAS should be the last thing they do.
The New York City Council recently awarded grants to three groups linked to
Islamic extremism: the Council on American Islamic Relations, the Muslim
American Society and the Islamic Circle of North America. Pictured: New York
City Council Speaker Corey Johnson (right) chats with colleagues at a
council session on January 4, 2018. (Official NYC Council Photo by William
Alatriste)
On August 21, the New York City Council announced $250,000 in grants made to
14 Muslim community organizations, in collaboration with the New York
Immigration Coalition. Alarmingly, three of the grant recipients are linked
to Islamic extremism -- the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR),
the Muslim American Society (MAS) and the Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA).
Worse, it seems that ICNA, in particular, plans to use the money not for
civic improvement but for religious proselytizing.
The grant announcement was made at ICNA's headquarters in Jamaica, Queens,
after the jumu'ah prayer service. Present were the young speaker of the city
council, Corey Johnson, and Councilman Daneek Miller, the sole Muslim member
of the council.
Councilman Miller is no stranger to ICNA; his campaign website prominently
features a photo of him speaking at the ICNA mosque.
ICNA was established in 1971, ostensibly as a "non-ethnic, non-sectarian"
grassroots organization, with the aim of seeking the "establishment of the
Islamic system of life as spelled out in the Qur'an."
In fact, it functions as the American arm of the Pakistani Islamist group
Jamaat e-Islami (JI). Indeed, ICNA's international charity, Helping Hand for
Relief and Development (HHRD), works closely with JI in Pakistan. Worse, in
2017 HHRD openly worked with the "political" wing of the murderous terror
group Lashkar-e-Taiba.
Jamaat e-Islami has long been linked to political violence, notably during
the Bangladeshi war of independence in 1947 -- during which Pakistan
employed JI groups as death squads. ICNA's former Vice President Ashraf
Uzzaman Khan was convicted in absentia by Bangladesh in 2013 of being part
of the Pakistan-backed Al-Badr death squad, and personally murdering 7
professors and intellectuals.
The radical literature of JI's founder, Sayyid Abul 'Ala Maududi, is
repeatedly emphasized in the 2010 ICNA members' handbook, which explicitly
discusses ICNA's true goal of setting up a worldwide Islamic state via
proselytizing campaigns.
Unsurprisingly, ICNA secretary general Muhammad Rahman said that ICNA's
portion of the grant money would fund "community engagement activities"; he
specifically mentioned "Iftar in the Park" and outdoor prayer services.
To pay for prayer services with a government grant is a blatant violation of
constitutional law, and all the more so when it is for a proselytizing
purpose.
MAS, meanwhile, has been identified in courtroom testimony as the main U.S.
front group for the Muslim Brotherhood. And CAIR was founded by the leaders
of the Islamic Association for Palestine, a front group for Hamas; following
the 2007 Holy Land Foundation trial, which featured strong evidence that
CAIR was still coordinating with Hamas, the FBI cut off all contact with
CAIR.
CAIR's New York chapter has been particularly open in its support for
terrorism. Former executive director Cyrus McGoldrick has a history of
inflammatory rhetoric, including retweeting a statement from Hamas leader
Khaled Mashal mocking those who object to its rocket attacks on civilians,
and other tweets quoting Hamas slogans.
And CAIR-NY board member Lamis Deek publicly praised a Palestinian drive-by
murderer and called him a "martyr," and bluntly stated that the "Zionist
Israeli government does not have the right to exist." She was even more
explicit in 2009:
"[I]n choosing Hamas, what [the Palestinian people] chose was one united
Palestinian state on all of the 1948 territories from the north to the very
south.... [And] we support their right to liberation from violent
colonialism."
New York's new grant program likely reflects the increasing influence that
CAIR has in City Hall. Worth noting is that CAIR-NY President Zead Ramadan
is a significant donor to New York politicians, including Mayor Bill
DeBlasio. And Faiza Ali, the director of Speaker Johnson's office, was
formerly the community affairs director of CAIR-NY (as well as a civic
engagement director for the Arab American Association of New York, which
also received grant money).
Speaker Johnson, a councilman from Manhattan, also owes his current position
to the support of the Queens and Bronx Democratic machine (to which he has
directed considerable pork); this may help to explain his willingness to
associate himself with Queens-based groups like ICNA.
It is shocking that an effort to strengthen local Muslim communities is
being exploited to fund groups linked to extremism. Sleazy pay-for-play
politics do not excuse such reckless policy, nor do they excuse violating
the Constitution by funding religious services.
If New Yorkers want to help Muslim communities, giving money to CAIR, ICNA
and MAS should be the last thing they do.
*Dr. Oren Litwin is a Research Fellow at Islamist Watch, a project of the
Middle East Forum.
Gatestone wishes to thank The Daily Caller and the Middle East Forum for
their kind permission to reprint this article.
© 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.
How Iran Plans to Take Gaza
Khaled Abu Toameh/Gatestone Institute/October 09/18
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/13091/iran-gaza-strip
The situation in the Gaza Strip is unlikely to witness any positive changes.
Even if Hamas were to be removed from power, the Palestinians would continue
to suffer under other radical groups such as Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ).
Even if Hamas were to wake up tomorrow morning and have an about-face,
striking a genuine truce with Israel, there will always be other terrorist
groups that are prepared to breach the agreement any time they wish.
These are crucial factors that need to be taken into account by any
international party that seeks a solution to the catastrophe called Gaza.
Alternatively, one might to wish to continue to inhabit some alternate
reality in which all be would be well if Israel would only ease restrictions
on the Gaza Strip.
Gaza's second-largest terrorist group after Hamas is the Iranian-funded
Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), which has thousands of supporters and
militiamen. Pictured: Masked members of PIJ training in the Gaza Strip.
(Photo by Abid Katib/Getty Images)
If anyone was hoping that removing Hamas from power in the Gaza Strip would
improve the situation there and boost the chances of peace between
Palestinians and Israel, they are in for a big disappointment. Hamas, which
violently seized control over the Gaza Strip in the summer of 2007, is not
the only terrorist group in the coastal enclave, home to some two million
Palestinians.
In addition to Hamas, these are several other Palestinian terrorist groups
in the Gaza Strip.
The second-largest group after Hamas is Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ),
which has thousands of supporters and militiamen. If and when Hamas is ever
removed from power, PIJ has the strongest chance of stepping in to fill the
vacuum.
You remove Hamas from power, you will most likely end up having to deal with
PIJ - not a more moderate group. While Hamas could only be considered
"good," in some alternate reality, its replacement would not be any better.
Islamist fundamentalism is enshrined in the hearts and minds of tens of
thousands of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
The two Islamist groups -- Hamas and PIJ -- are like two peas in a pod. The
two do not recognize Israel's right to exist and continue to call for an
armed struggle to "liberate all Palestine," from the Mediterranean Sea to
the Jordan River.
Like Hamas, the Iranian-funded PIJ also has an armed wing, called Saraya Al-Quds
(Jerusalem Brigades). Founded in 1981 by PIJ leaders Fathi Shaqaqi and Abed
Al-Aziz Awda in the Gaza Strip, the Jerusalem Brigades is responsible for
hundreds of terrorist attacks against Israel, including suicide bombings. In
recent years, the group has also been launching rockets and mortars at
Israel.
Although it considers itself an independent group, PIJ often operates in
coordination with Hamas. The two groups even have a joint "operations
command" to coordinate their attacks on Israel. Sometimes, they carry out
joint attacks.
The Jerusalem Brigades likes to take to the streets in shows of force aimed
at the other Palestinian terrorist groups in particular and the Palestinian
public in the Gaza Strip in general. Generally, Hamas does not tolerate
competition from other armed groups in the Gaza Strip, but when it comes to
PIJ and its military wing, it is a different story altogether. When PIJ
displays its power and weapons on the streets of Gaza, Hamas shuts up about
it.
Hamas evidently knows that PIJ, a large and influential group, is dangerous
to mess with. Hamas also seems aware that meddling with PIJ means getting
into trouble with PIJ's paymasters in Iran. Like PIJ, Hamas is also
dependent on Iran's political, financial and military backing. Iran
considers PIJ its main ally and puppet in the Gaza Strip. Through PIJ, Iran
inserts its tentacles into the internal affairs of the Palestinians, much to
the dismay of President Mahmoud Abbas and his Western-backed Palestinian
Authority.
Relations between Iran and Hamas have not been stable in recent years,
largely due to Hamas's refusal to support the Iranian-backed regime of
Syrian dictator Bashar Assad. Lately, however, reports have surfaced in some
Arab media outlets that Iran and Hamas have agreed to lay aside their
differences.
In the past few years, a number of Hamas delegations have visited Tehran as
part of the group's effort to patch up its relationship with Iran. The last
visit took place in October 2007, when a Hamas delegation comprising Ezzat
Al-Risheq, Sami Abu Zuhri, Khaled Qaddoumi, Mohammed Nasr and Zaher Jabarin,
visited Tehran to brief Iranian leaders on the latest developments
surrounding efforts to end the crisis between Hamas and Abbas's Fatah
faction.
Despite the apparent rapprochement, Iran has strong reservations about
trusting Hamas. Its skepticism appears based on Iran's fear that Hamas is
ready to reach a reconciliation agreement with Fatah and a truce accord with
Israel. Such an alliance, in the eyes of Iran, would constitute a betrayal
on the part of Hamas. Any agreement with Fatah would mean that Hamas is
prepared to join forces with Abbas and, even worse, engage in future peace
talks with Israel. Any truce agreement with Israel would mean that Hamas is
prepared to lay down its weapons and abandon the armed struggle against the
"Zionist enemy." This "surrender" would be anathema to the mullahs in
Tehran, who have a declared goal of eliminating Israel.
As far as Iran is concerned, the PIJ is its real ally in the Palestinian
arena. And as far as Iran is concerned, PIJ will always be seen as a natural
replacement for Hamas in the Gaza Strip if Hamas ever does forge a deal with
Fatah or Israel.
The PIJ, meanwhile, is doing its utmost to prove its trustworthiness to its
masters in Tehran. Last week, PIJ's military wing again dispatched its
heavily-armed fighters to the streets of the Gaza Strip in a show of force
directed towards Hamas, Iran and the rest of the world.
Abu Hamzeh, a spokesman for the Jerusalem Brigades, proudly declared during
the paramilitary march that his group "will never compromise or bargain on
one inch of the land of Palestine -- all Palestine." He added: "Our weapons
are the symbol of our pride and power of our people. We will resist all
conspiracies and foil all schemes aimed at liquidating our cause."
So, what does all this mean for Gaza?
First, that the situation there is unlikely to witness any positive changes.
Even if Hamas were to be removed from power, the Palestinians would continue
to suffer under other radical groups such as the PIJ. Second, that even if
Hamas were to wake up tomorrow morning and have an about-face, striking a
genuine truce with Israel, there will always be other terrorist groups that
are prepared to breach the agreement any time they wish. Third, that the
Gaza Strip will continue to be swarmed by several heavily-armed groups that
will continue to launch terror attacks on Israel and impose a reign of
terror and intimidation on the Palestinian population.
Fourth, that neither Abbas nor any other third party would ever be able to
set foot in the Gaza Strip, impose law and order and confiscate the weapons
of the terrorist groups.
These are crucial factors that need to be taken into account by any
international party that seeks a solution to the catastrophe called Gaza.
Alternatively, one might to wish to continue to inhabit some alternate
reality in which all be would be well if Israel would only ease restrictions
on the Gaza Strip.
*Khaled Abu Toameh, an award-winning journalist, is based in Jerusalem.
© 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.
Russia's Bungled Spying
Leonid Bershidsky/The Guardian/October, 09/18
The latest failures of Russia’s military intelligence service, commonly
known as the GRU, expose a major flaw in President Vladimir Putin’s habitual
way of dealing with public fiascos: He mistakenly believes the uproar will
blow over.
The Dutch prime minister, Mark Rutte, and his British counterpart, Theresa
May, said Thursday that the GRU had tried to hack the Organization for the
Prohibition of Chemical Weapons in the Hague, which was testing the
substance used to poison ex-spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter in the U.K.
in March. The Russian agents allegedly were caught trying to disrupt the
OPCW computer network using equipment hidden in a car trunk. They also are
said to have been caught with diplomatic passports. The Netherlands expelled
them.
This follows a similar scandal in Switzerland, where two Russian agents
allegedly tried to hack the Spiez Laboratory, a chemicals testing facility
that also examined the substance used on Skripal. The two were eventually
detained in the Netherlands.
Also on Thursday, the US Justice Department announced criminal charges
against seven Russian military intelligence officers for trying to hack into
anti-doping agencies and international sports organizations in response to
accusations of doping against Russia.
The new revelations extend a line of embarrassing GRU failures, including a
botched effort to conceal Russian links to the downing of a Malaysian
passenger airliner over eastern Ukraine and an alleged failed coup in
Montenegro, both in 2014. In addition, U.S. authorities presented highly
detailed charges against GRU officers in the hacking of the Democratic
National Committee in 2016. Recently, one of the Skripals’ alleged
unsuccessful poisoners was convincingly identified by open source
intelligence researchers as a GRU colonel, decorated with Russia’s highest
military medal for his part in the Crimea annexation.
In Soviet times, such carelessness probably would have led to reprisals
against the spy agency, but Putin appears to be taking a different attitude.
There have been no reports of a GRU shakeup, and on Wednesday, Putin said he
thought the agitation would just go away. “I think it’ll all pass someday, I
hope it’ll be over, and the sooner it’s over, the better,” he said of the
Skripal story, which he described as “another spy scandal being artificially
blown up.”
For a leader known for his ability to wrong-foot opponents with lightning
judo-like moves, Putin has been strangely passive in recent months. He has
missed several opportunities to escalate military action in Syria and made
no surprising moves elsewhere, including Ukraine or the Balkans.
Putin hasn’t been shy about conveying his belief that time is on his side.
During a call-in session with voters in June, he said he expected Western
attempts to put pressure on Russia to run their course eventually. “All this
pressure will end when our partners realize that the methods they’re using
are inefficient, counterproductive, damaging to everyone and that the
Russian Federation’s interests will have to be taken into account,” he said.
But nothing will blow over as long as Putin’s intelligence services keep
waging, and losing, a high-stakes, secret war against the West. The GRU
flops aren’t the only examples of Russian ineptitude; in July, Greece, a
North Atlantic Treaty Organization member traditionally friendlier to Russia
than most others, expelled two Russian diplomats for trying to obtain and
distribute sensitive information.
Putin was right when he said Wednesday that spy wars “cannot be shut down.”
But a government that can afford to wait wins more often than it loses. The
Russian spy operations are too transparent to Putin’s adversaries to be of
any help to him. They’re so painfully incompetent that they undermine
Putin’s domestic support, even as many Russians are grumbling about a sharp
retirement-age increase he signed into effect on Wednesday.
The Russian president doesn’t have a reputation as a lovable bungler; his
propaganda machine has honed an image of ruthless efficiency and cunning.
The Russian leader doesn’t have the Teflon coating of a Donald Trump, who
can make one misstep after another and still keep his support base. The
Russian president can’t afford to look fallible, but he increasingly does.
Simply trying to wait out one unfavorable news cycle after another won’t fix
the problem.
Putin has more than five years left in what is likely to be his last
presidency. I don’t know which prospect is scarier: That he will realize
passivity works against him and start making even riskier moves, or that
he’ll retreat further into his shell, leaving the various corrupt cliques in
the Russian elite to fight it out. Both could have disastrous consequences
for Russia the country, as opposed to Russia the political regime.
The most unlikely scenario is that Putin ends the ham-handed spy operations
and looks for better, smarter ways for Russia to assert itself
internationally.
KSA and the Hyperloop Century
Josh Giegel/Asharq Al Awsat/October 09/18
Any Silicon Valley company worthy of its name always begins with a business
vision that always ends with the goal of changing the world for the better.
The same may be true of entire countries led by enlightened leadership
intent on creating a better life for individual citizens. When, as a
high-tech engineering company we first started to consider the Kingdom of
Saudi Arabia as a potential partner for our revolutionary hyperloop
technology, we found ourselves confronted by the phenomenon of a new style
leader armed with a vision and out to transform his own society for future
generations at a level of speed unprecedented in the Kingdom’s own history.
So, the question became how two entirely different cultures—the American
West Coast of constant change and an Islamic society deeply rooted in
tradition—could mutually share in the same benefits of radical innovation,
and how each would further the cause of the other while understanding the
inherent limitations and challenges of cross-cultural dialogue. Our work
with the Kingdom thus far has been a classic case of advanced technology
applied to the civic, social and economic structures of a country in order
to result progress without sacrificing values. In this regard, one may say
that our hyperloop system and the Vision2030 program of the Kingdom have
found each other at the right place and the right time.
This was most recently evidenced in our trip to Jeddah in September to film
an in-house commercial promoting the viability of the hyperloop system in
and around the GCC. We featured the Saudi founder of one of the region’s
first vertical farming enterprises who must travel between Jeddah and Dubai
–a 1676-kilometer, three-hour flight--on a regular basis for his work. The
time, this gentlemen explains in the film, that he would save traveling
between the two cities by our technology would not only be cut to about 90
minutes, but could be reinvested in business travel to other cities; to
better local management of his work and, most of all—to his own family.
Much like “the Aramco Century” which helped to usher in the economic and
social modernization of the Kingdom when American oilmen and the outstanding
modernist HRH King Abdulaziz bin Abdul Rahman Al Saud joined forces with
nearly seamless cooperation to advance industry, society, health and
education over the course of eight decades. This combination of American
technology and Saudi vision will be necessary to what one may deem “the
Hyperloop Century”. By this, we mean a new century driven by digitalization,
unsurpassed speed, automation, “smart cities” and clean, highly sustainable
environmental standards all necessary to the economic future of the Kingdom
and, indeed, the world. Like his grandfather, HRH Mohammed bin Salman bin
Abdulaziz Al Saud has constructed his Vision2030 in response to future
generations of technology critical to the survival and prosperity of the
Kingdom in the modern age.
However, none of this will mean anything without transportation.
Transportation is the fundamental material backbone of all material change
and transportation is currently on the threshold of its first revolution in
100 years. Hyperloop, more than any other transportation technology; more
than automated cars, drones, sonic flight, or unmanned aircraft, is the
leader in mobility of the future.
Why? Because the hyperloop is: a) terrestrial movement at the speed of a
jet, therefore as applicable to cargo as it is to passengers; b) it
integrates with current infrastructure—it does not “destroy” or replace
airports or freeways or train stations but integrates with their current
foundations, thus adding to the all over infrastructural economy; c) it is
fully sustainable with zero direct emissions, has very low operating costs
owing to its near-vacuum interior; and will cost no more than average
intra-city regional travel.
In a word, any country that envisions cities or regions of the future is not
a country that can be without hyperloop technology. The future of high-speed
mobility, of which our particular system is the global leader, will not only
mean the ability to move passengers and cargo at ground level at record
rates of speed, but will contribute to the social and economic benefit of
communities throughout the Kingdom in ways not often associated with
transportation.
How, exactly, would hyperloop affect the Kingdom for the better in tandem
with the goals and vision of Vision 2030? The reasons are multi-fold and
speak to the vibrant society, thriving economy and ambitious vision the
Kingdom has made its mission. A hyperloop economy would localize promising
manufacturing industries and develop them into regional and global leaders.
It would develop the brightest minds in priority fields. It would grow the
SME [small to medium enterprise] contribution to the economy. It would
enable the development of the Saudi tourism sector and ease access to
healthcare services. It would ensure environmental sustainability and
improve livability in Saudi cities. It would develop the digital economy,
improve the ranking of educational institutions, and push forward the GCC
integration agenda.
Cargo shipping is also essential in this respect. Our partner, DP World, who
has a long history in the Kingdom overseeing the port of Jeddah, has
partnered with us to create ‘CargoSpeed’, a joint venture to deliver freight
at the speed of a flight, but closer to the cost of trucking. Hyperloop, for
example, can eliminate the need for various intermediaries in logistics
operations, such as ports and carriers by enabling products to be
transported directly to consumers. This can add up to far more than the
savings in transportation costs, especially for high-value and
time-sensitive products, ultimately optimizing the end-to-end journey. What
this could mean for the building of NEOM, for example, Red Sea tourism
development or logistics transport along the Arabian Gulf is quite
significant from both a cost and volume perspective.
Hyperloop technology is no longer the dream of “Silicon Valley mavericks”.
In September, the United States Congress invited us to testify before the
Senate on the advances of our technology. We were the only such company to
receive this honor. The event underscored the fact that we are keen to work
with governments, as has been the foundation of our success so far in the
US, in India, Europe, and the Mideast.
It is naturally our hope that one day the best and the brightest among the
next generations of talented Saudi youth will forge the future of
modernization in their country with as much pride in “The Hyperloop Century”
of US-Saudi relations as we have witnessed in our economic partnership of
the last. This is the role of technology truly at its most meaningful: as a
force for positive change, for diplomacy; the transformation and well-being
of society—breaking down barriers of time and distance along the way in
order to clear the path to limitless potential and borderless understanding.
Disappearance of Saudi journalist puts Erdogan in
difficult situation
Semih Idiz/Al Monitor/October 09/18
ARTICLE SUMMARY
The potential for a full-blown crisis between Turkey and Saudi Arabia
remains in the cards.
REUTERS/Murad SezerHuman rights activists and friends of Saudi journalist
Jamal Khashoggi hold pictures of him during a protest outside the Saudi
Consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, Oct. 8, 2018.
The disappearance of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who was last seen
entering the Saudi Arabian consulate in Istanbul last week to obtain
documents necessary to marry his Turkish fiance, is a new headache for
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
The affair — which involved gruesome allegations of murder by Saudi agents —
has the potential to cause a serious rift between Turkey and the principal
Gulf state at a delicate moment for Ankara with regards to developments in
the Middle East.
The Turkish-Saudi relationship is one of superficial cordiality, but it's
otherwise known to be loveless at the best of times because of differences
over a host of issues related to developments in the region.
The Saudi regime does not command much respect among Erdogan’s Islamist
support base either, especially since Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman
effectively took control of power and started underlining the importance of
moderate Islam.
The term “moderate Islam” is seen by Turkish Islamists as a Western
invention designed to control governments in predominantly Islamic
countries.
The Saudi regime is also widely accused in Turkey of playing a duplicitous
role in the Middle East that serves US and Israeli interests more than those
of the Islamic world.
Turkey’s support for the Muslim Brotherhood and its offshoots like Hamas —
which are considered by Saudi Arabia as radical organizations that pose an
existential threat — is a principal issue that Ankara and Riyadh are at odds
over.
The backing that Riyadh gave to the Egyptian military in 2013 when it
toppled the country’s elected President Mohammed Morsi and his Islamic
Brotherhood-led government still rankles Ankara.
Turkey’s support for Qatar, in defiance of Saudi-led efforts to isolate and
punish the Gulf state for its support of the Muslim Brotherhood and its good
ties with Iran, is another contentious issue between Ankara and Riyadh.
Despite these clouds over the relationship, diplomatic pragmatism has forced
the sides to maintain a veneer of friendly ties. This, however, may be hard
to preserve now as facts pertaining to Khashoggi’s disappearance begin to
emerge.
The fact that Khashoggi had good personal relationships with prominent names
from Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party (AKP) and strong links to the
pro-government media in Turkey will also pressurize Erdogan into acting
firmly against Riyadh.
In his initial statement on the affair over the weekend, Erdogan also
characterized Khashoggi as “a friend of long standing.” He will, therefore,
want to avoid any impression that he is prepared to whitewash an affair
involving the disappearance of a respected international journalist who also
happens to be close to prominent names within his own party.
Yasin Aktay, a columnist for the Islamist daily Yeni Safak and personal
adviser to Erdogan — Aktay blew the whistle on Khashoggi’s disappearance —
is one such name. Aktay was contacted by Hatice Cengiz, Khashoggi’s Turkish
fiance, as she was told to do by Khashoggi if he should not reemerge from
the consulate after entering it on Oct 2.
Meanwhile, well-known names from the Middle East such as Tawakkol
Abdel-Salam Karman, the Yemeni journalist, politician and human rights
activist who was awarded the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize, are among those keeping
vigil outside the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul and calling for Riyadh to be
held accountable. Hakan Albayrak writes for the newspaper Karar, whose
audience is the more liberal wing of AKP supporters. He argues that Turkey
can’t afford to take this affair lightly.
“If the strongest reaction is not shown in response to what was done to
Jamal Khashoggi in Turkey, then Saudi Arabia and other states will be
encouraged to carry out these operations in Turkey,” Albayrak wrote.
Yahya Bostan, from the pro-government Daily Sabah, also reflected the
groundswell of anger against Saudi Arabia.
“If Saudi Arabia had a journalist and dissident murdered at a diplomatic
mission in a foreign country, it deserves to be designated a rogue state
more than any other nation in the world,” Bostan wrote.
“If Jamal Khashoggi has indeed been killed at the Saudi Consulate in
Istanbul, there will be legal, political and diplomatic consequences,” he
added.
Aktay is also among those demanding strong action against Riyadh. “When we
ask [consulate officials], they say [Khashoggi] left [the consulate] even
though we have established that he did not,” Aktay told the daily Hurriyet
in an interview.
“This suggests they do not take Turkey seriously. … This is a matter of
honor for Turkey now. Being overly sensitive about our ties with Saudi
Arabia is a luxury at this stage” he added.
Erdogan told reporters on Oct. 8, during a press conference in Budapest with
Hungarian Prime Minister Victor Orban, that it was “Turkey’s political and
humane duty” to follow this affair closely with all the means available to
it.
“Consulate officials cannot exonerate themselves by simply saying [Khashoggi]
left the premises. If he did, then they have to prove this with visual
material,” Erdogan said.
According to various press accounts based on information from unnamed
Turkish officials, the operation against Khashoggi was carried out by Saudi
agents numbering somewhere between 12 and 15, who arrived hastily in
Istanbul on two private jets just prior to Khashoggi’s fateful appointment
at the consulate and left equally as hastily shortly after it.
This group is suspected of having carried out the operation against
Khashoggi.
Turan Kislakci, who heads the Turkish-Arab Media Association, provided a
chilling account for reporters on what happened to Khashoggi, which he said
was based on information provided by security officials.
“After he entered the consulate, he was anesthetized and [then] his body was
cut into 15 pieces and distributed among 15 people,” Kislakci told
reporters. This claim has not been officially corroborated yet.
The Saudi consulate denies these allegations and has maintained over its
Twitter account that Khashoggi left the consulate after completing his
business there.
In an interview with Bloomberg on Oct. 5, Prince Mohammed also denied the
allegations against his country and said they would allow the Turkish
government to search the consulate. “We have nothing to hide,” he said.
Ankara has applied to do so, but many commentators believe the permission by
the Saudi side is farcical since there has been plenty of time to rid the
premises of evidence. It is not clear either if the Saudi permission will
cover a detailed search by police experts for forensic evidence.
Ankara is clearly angry that the Saudi regime selected Turkey to carry out
an operation such as this, fully aware that this was bound to leave Turkey
in a difficult position domestically and internationally.
Many also question how Saudi officials believed they would get away with
this operation without being noticed. They indicate that this either
reflects a lack of intelligence or a lack of respect for Turkey.
Nagehan Alci, a pro-government columnist for HaberTurk, wrote that Prince
Mohammed is known for brutally arresting and destroying his opponents. She
speculated in her column as to why Salman had opted to kill Khashoggi in
this way, even though it was clear that this would anger not just Turkey but
also the United States.
“This was done to spread fear among his enemies by showing them that he will
annihilate his opponents regardless of whether they live in the United
States or write for the Western media,” Alci argued, referring to the fact
that Khashoggi was living in self-exile in America and wrote a column for
The Washington Post. “Saudi Arabia means oil for the world. With the
self-confidence that this gives, and relying on the attraction of the
dividends that Aramco shares will secure, [Prince Mohammed] must have
thought that Khashoggi’s death would not give him much of a headache,” Alci
reasoned.
If that is the case, it may turn out to be a gross mistake on the part of
Prince Mohammed because Ankara has been left in a situation that it can’t
afford to take lightly.
Diplomatic observers expect Turkey to recall its ambassador in Riyadh and
expel the Saudi Consul General in Istanbul in the coming days, depending on
how this affair pans out. The potential for this to turn into a full-blown
crisis between the two countries also remains on the cards.
Meanwhile, Khashoggi's Turkish friends seem determined to see that this
matter is not swept under the carpet for the sake of diplomatic expediency.
*Semih Idiz is a columnist for Al-Monitor's Turkey Pulse. He is a journalist
who has been covering diplomacy and foreign policy issues for major Turkish
newspapers for 30 years. His opinion pieces can be followed in the
English-language Hurriyet Daily News. His articles have also been published
in The Financial Times, The Times of London, Mediterranean Quarterly and
Foreign Policy magazine.
The Disappearance Of Journalist Jamal Khashoggi: Before
He Disappeared, The Saudi Press Accused Him Of Treason; Now It Is Expressing
Concern
MEMRI/October 09/18
The disappearance of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who entered the Saudi
Consulate in Istanbul on October 2, 2018, and was never seen leaving it, is
a trending topic in the Arabic press, particularly the Saudi press.
Khashoggi, whom some Turkish elements surmise was murdered by the Saudis
inside the consulate, is a veteran Saudi journalist well known in the Arab
world, especially for his criticism of the Saudi regime and his support for
the Muslim Brotherhood. In the past year Khashoggi even moved to the U.S. in
fear for his life, and began writing a Washington Post column; in it, he was
harshly critical of Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman.
Prior to Khashoggi's disappearance, and since his move to the U.S., there
were numerous articles in the Saudi press attacking him, particularly in the
'Okaz daily. The articles accused him of betraying his country, ranked him
with the leaders of Al-Qaeda and ISIS, and described him as being in the
service of the enemies of Saudi Arabia, starting with Turkey, Iran and
Qatar, out of greed. Three days after his disappearance, a similar article
called him "conspirer with reactionary ideas" who is loyal to the enemies of
the state and is working "to sway public opinion [against Saudi Arabia] and
undermining security and stability in the country."
However, about a week after his disappearance, just as the accusations that
Saudi Arabia had murdered him at the Istanbul consulate peaked, there was a
reversal in the tone of articles in the Saudi press about him. Articles now
expressed the country's concern about him, and the hope of hearing that he
was alive and well. These articles also denied that Saudi Arabia had had a
hand in his alleged murder, arguing that that the country had no history of
eliminating oppositionists in that way and that such an act would in any
event cause more harm than good. They also stated that Turkey, Iran, and
Qatar, and the Qatari Al-Jazeera TV, by attempting to accuse Saudi Arabia of
involvement in murder, were essentially implicating themselves.
This report will set out the change in tone in the Saudi press with respect
to Khashoggi, prior to and immediately after his disappearance and a week
later.
Saudi Press On Khashoggi Before And Immediately After His Disappearance:
Traitor And Collaborator
'Okaz Columnist Ahmad Al-Shamrani: "One Who Betrays Us, Jimmy, Has No Place
Among Us"
On June 15, 2018, Ahmad Al-Shamrani wrote in his column in the Saudi daily 'Okaz:
"I have nothing to say about Jamal Khashoggi except that he is a traitor and
has become the same as the apostate 'Abd Al-Bari 'Atwan [editor of
Raialyoum.com and known for his criticism of the Saudi regime]. But 'Atwan
has nothing to do with us, except in the sense that he once worked at a
Saudi paper,[1] while Jimmy [Jamal Khashoggi] used to preach patriotism and
saw those who come out against the leader and the homeland as traitors who
should be prosecuted. That's what he said. And now he has become the sort of
person he warned us against. You poor wretch, Jamal... You have become a
servant of Turkey and Qatar, and perhaps also of the third side [of this
triangle], Iran. This is not surprising, because whoever betrays the
homeland where he lives and studied is easily [tempted by] money...
"Your masters are exhausting you, dragging you from one podium to the next
to slander Saudi Arabia and its customs. I actually pity you when I see you
wheezing into the microphone, repeating the same things over and over, while
half of what you say cannot [be heard] due to your heavy breathing, oh
Jimmy. It was Saudi Arabia, which you curse, that taught you and brought you
out of the caves of Afghanistan [where you were a jihadi fighter] to make
you into a media personality and chief editor of several papers. It is our
leaders who placed the 'iqal[2] upon your head and taught you that
nationality is the first priority and must not be bargained over. How did
you trade your 'iqal for a turban [worn by the Turks and Iranians] and your
Saudi robes for trousers that were possibly picked out for you [by someone
else]?... One who betrays us, Jimmy, has no place among us... Our honor as
Saudis, including your relatives, does not permit us to allow you to be part
of our homeland..."[3]
'Okaz Columnist Muhammad Al-Sa'ed: Khashoggi Is Part Of A Satanic Alliance
Seeking To Harm Saudi Arabia
In his September 17, 2018 column in 'Okaz, Saudi columnist Muhammad Al-Sa'ed
ranked Jamal Khashoggi with the leaders of ISIS and Al-Qaeda as part of an
alliance trying to harm Saudi Arabia and Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman:
"Dear Saudi [reader], there are those who want you to believe with all your
heart that Qatar, Turkey, Iran, the Houthis, the [Muslim] Brotherhood,
Hizbullah, Al-Qaeda, [Saudi dissidents] Sa'd Al-Faqih and [Muhammad] Al-Mas'ari,
the Al-'Ahed Al-Jadid [the anti-Saudi Twitter account], Al-Maffak ["the
Screwdriver," a pejorative name for oppositionist Dr. Ahmad bin Sa'id],
[Al-Qaeda leader] Al-Zawahiri, Jamal Khashoggi and [ISIS leader] Abu Bakr
Al-Baghdadi, all wish nothing but prosperity, growth and a [happy] future
for the [Saudi] kingdom, and that they stay awake at night seeking [ways] to
realize the interests and aspirations of the Saudis and [safeguard] their
safety and security...
"Do you know that [Sa'd] Al-Faqih, [Muhammad] Al-Mas'ari, Ghanem Al-Dosari,
Madawi [Al-Rashid] and the other traitors in London receive a steady stream
of money for their 'treachery,' without any difficulty?... Oh Saudi
[reader]... Do you really believe that the hostility of Qatar, Iran, the
Houthis, the Muslim Brotherhood... and the exiles [i.e. Saudi dissidents] in
London, Berlin and Washington... toward [Crown] Prince Muhammad bin Salman
stems from their concern for the interests of the kingdom? [Do you really
believe] that they are not planning to turn us into a nation without a
homeland, into homeless [refugees camping] on the borders of Turkey and
Somalia or drowning in the waters of Europe in search of a place for
ourselves and our children...?
"Today they are trying to demonize Prince Muhammad bin Salman and morally
assassinate [his character]... and they want us to believe that they are
doing it all for our sake and for the sake of our future...
"This satanic alliance is waging a war [against Saudi Arabia] fueled by one
trillion dollars of Qatari oil and gas revenues, [by the Turkish] dreams [to
build] a [new] Ottoman empire, and by the Muslim Brotherhood's hatred and
its aspiration to take over Mecca and Medina in order to actualize its
agendas and enslave the people of [this] kingdom. And all this [is
happening] while the Middle East is experiencing difficult times full of
treachery, fraud, conspiracies and dangers. In this war [against Saudi
Arabia's enemies] there is no room for goodwill, agreements or soft
diplomacy, for it is a matter of life and death."[4]
'Okaz Columnist Ahmad 'Ajab Al-Zahrani: Khashoggi Plots With Enemies Of The
State
In his October 5, 2018 column, just three days after Khashoggi's
disappearance, Ahmad 'Ajab Al-Zahrani wrote: "When Jamal Khashoggi supported
the misguided ideas of jihad and was an enthusiastic follower of Al-Qaeda's
ideology, and when he spent time with the leaders of this organization and
interviewed them on the battlefronts of Afghanistan, nobody stood up and
asked: 'Who kidnapped Khashoggi?!' When he sided absolutely with the
terrorist Muslim Brotherhood and started touting the 'achievements of
tolerant Islam' in Turkey, calling on everyone else to learn a lesson from
their experience, nobody stood up and asked: 'Who kidnapped Khashoggi?!'
Even when he suddenly left [Saudi Arabia] and settled in exile, in the U.S.,
when he turned the blade of his dissident pen against the country where he
grew up and studied, [writing a column] for The Washington Post, nobody
stood up and asked: 'Who kidnapped Khashoggi?!' But when he freely walked
into the Saudi Embassy [sic] for the second time, to obtain papers related
to his marriage, and then emerged from it, slanted reports and stories
appeared about him, titled 'Who kidnapped Khashoggi?!'
"Jamal Khashoggi was already kidnapped many years ago by the extremist
Muslim organizations, and became a different man: a conspirer with
reactionary ideas who does not hesitate for a moment to show loyalty and
respect for the enemies of the state, be they factions or so-called states
like Qatar. When our sister [country] Bahrain let him broadcast his Al-Arab
channel from its soil, he launched [that channel] with a program in which he
stabbed [Bahrain] in the back with his poisoned dagger: He hosted the
oppositionist Khalil Marzouq and gave him an opportunity to accuse and
attack the Bahraini authorities for revoking his citizenship, along with
that of 72 others. This forced Bahrain to take measure to close down the
channel and fire its workers, 24 hours after its launch.
"In one of his dissident articles, [penned] outside Saudi Arabia, Jamal
Khashoggi wrote: 'I feel sad when I speak to Saudi friends in Istanbul and
London, who [like me] have also chosen to live in exile. There are at least
seven of us. Will we become the kernel of a Saudi diaspora[?]' This was an
implicit admission that he is in contact with traitors against the homeland
who have fled to those countries, chiefly Sa'd Al-Faqih[5] and Ghanem Al-Dosari.[6]
In addition, he once again explicitly voiced his terrorist aims, namely
swaying public opinion [against Saudi Arabia] and undermining security and
stability in the country for the sake of personal and sectarian goals.
"I don't know why there is only one option – that is, that Khashoggi was
kidnapped – when all options are equally possible – for instance, that he
was received in a civilized manner [at the consulate], as befits his
[prominent] stature, despite his dissident views. Perhaps he realized the
error of his ways and felt that constantly running away would not save him
from his pangs of conscience, and that all the international laws protecting
political asylum seekers would not provide him with the tranquility that he
enjoyed in his homeland. So he secretly left the consulate and went to
quietly contemplate returning to Saudi Arabia and turning himself in, in
order to receive a lighter sentence. This is the decision which will free
him from his shackles and the misguided ideas and extremist organizations
that have held him hostage over the past decades. This is the decision which
will provide a happy ending to the story titled 'Who Released Khashoggi and
Returned Him to the Homeland?'"[7]
Following Accusations That Saudi Arabia Is Guilty Of Murder, The Saudi Press
Changes Its Tone: Concern About Khashoggi, Hope That He Is Alive And Well
Al-Riyadh Editorial: Saudi Arabia Is More Concerned About Khashoggi Than
Anyone Else Is; The Accusations Are False And Disconnected From Reality
Al-Riyadh's October 8, 2018 editorial objected to the reports that suggested
Saudi involvement in Khashoggi's disappearance, especially reports on
Qatar's Al-Jazeera TV: "Media outlets that purport to be professional – but
which facts show are far from any semblance of professionalism, reliability
or balance [in reporting] – fall into puzzling contradictions in their
reports about the disappearance of the journalist Jamal Khashoggi in
Istanbul. This is because they are not reporting the facts, as they are
meant to, but rather are overlooking them and inventing [facts] that
correspond to their inclinations and goals of harming the [Saudi] kingdom in
every possible way.
"[This is] especially [true of] the Qatari Al-Jazeera channel, which
pretends to be professional and reliable in its coverage of events, yet
proves over and over again that it is far from professional, trustworthy and
reliable... Instead of doing its real media duty, it started looking for
information, taking less interest in the source or reliability of this
information than in its [capacity to] create an uproar that exists only in
the diseased imaginations of the channel's decision-makers. It jumped to
conclusions without any tangible evidence that proved what it was trying to
prove. The programs aired on the channel, and the guests they hosted to
comment on the disappearance of the journalist Jamal Khashoggi were rife
with false stories, in a desperate attempt to make exaggerated accusations
that bear no relation to reality.
"The Saudi kingdom is a state that is very concerned about its citizens and
has a rich record of caring for them and for handling their affairs,
wherever they are. It does not employ the policy of other countries that act
in secret. On the contrary; all its affairs are conducted in the open and in
plain sight, especially when they pertain to the security of the state and
its citizens – for we have nothing to be ashamed of and nothing to hide. As
for the disappearance of the journalist Jamal Khashoggi, Saudi Arabia
demanded to discover what happened to him before others did, for it is more
concerned about his fate than anyone else is, and will not agree to bargain
over the safety and interests of its citizens."[8]
'Okaz Columnist Expresses Hope That Jamal Is Well, Says Qatar, Turkey And
Iran Are Trying To Weave A Scenario – But That Scenario Implicates Them
Hamoud Abu Talib wrote in his October 8 column in 'Okaz that at this moment
concern for Khashoggi's safety naturally eclipses the ideological disputes
with him. At the same time, he stressed that Saudi Arabia does not resort to
political assassination, but meets its moral obligations toward its citizens
– despite the fact that the Qatari-Turkish-Iranian "axis of evil" is
attempting to present a different picture. He wrote: "I had numerous and
deep disagreements with Jamal Khashoggi, and had many disputes with him when
I wrote for [the Saudi daily] Al-Watan and he was the paper's chief
editor... Despite this, my only hope right now is that he is well and that
we will soon hear news that he is safe and sound. After all, he is a family
man with a wife and children, and as a citizen of my country he is entitled
to live there and to enjoy the solidarity [of his fellow Saudis]. In any
case, this is not the time to remember our differences and his offenses
against [his] country.
"The noise and uproar over his suspicious disappearance in Turkey following
his visit to the Saudi consulate indicates that there is a dangerous mystery
surrounding his disappearance, which serves nobody but those who wish to
distort the good name of Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia has already officially
announced, in more than one way, that it is keen to discover what happened
to its citizen [Khashoggi]. The Saudi Consulate in Istanbul has opened its
offices to the media; Saudi Arabia has dispatched an official team to
investigate the mystery of his disappearance; and all the relevant elements
are meeting their moral and national obligation toward this Saudi citizen.
But the axis of evil, represented by the Qatari-Turkish-Iranian triangle
along with the militias and mercenaries that follow it, is trying to spin a
different scenario, which implicates [these three countries] before anyone
else.
"The history of Saudi Arabia knows no assassinations by the intelligence
[apparatuses]. Otherwise it would have used [this method] against those who
posed the greatest threat to it in various periods. Saudi Arabia still
resorts to moral and patient [means], and pays no heed to one who rails
against it from outside [its territory], even if he calls himself an
oppositionist and causes it severe harm..."[9]
Columnist For Makkah Daily: "The Damage Caused By Harming Journalists Or
Causing Them To Disappear Is Much Worse Than Damage That Might Be Caused By
Their Words"
In his October 8 column in the Makkah daily, journalist 'Abdallah Al-Mazhar
argued that the accusations that Saudi Arabia had harmed Khashoggi make no
sense, since targeting Khashoggi would cause more harm to its reputation
than any article a journalist could pen. He wrote: "I think it is foolish
and unprofessional to think that the Saudi government is among the elements
that benefit from harming [Khashoggi], as is claimed by the media. The exact
opposite is true: It is the Saudi government and its reputation that suffer
most from incidents like these. The harm caused by targeting journalists and
causing them to disappear is far greater than any harm that an article by
any journalist or thinker could cause. If the idea is that an article or an
opinion can be said to distort the reputation of the homeland, then to
torture or cause the disappearance of the authors [of such articles]
blackens [the homeland's] reputation completely...
"Ever since [Khashoggi] disappeared, those who weep over him yearn for the
moment when it will be proven that he is gone for good, and not for the
opposite – because his disappearance is far more useful to them than his
presence. Furthermore, his reappearance or return will obviously be useless
[to them], nipping [their] pre-prepared attacks in the bud.
"It's possible that the entire affair is a criminal matter that has nothing
to do with politics or politicians, thoughts or opinions. Perhaps those who
harmed Khashoggi or caused him to disappear did not even know him. However,
it was [only] afterwards that [interested parties] thought about how to
exploit the disappearance, and invented stories that suited [their] agendas
that are obvious to anyone with half a brain..."[10]
[1] 'Atwan wrote for the Saudi Al-Madina daily, and also for the
London-based Saudi daily Al-Sharq Al-Awsat.
[2] The band used to secure the kefiyya headdress, which is a symbol of
Arabism.
[3] 'Okaz (Saudi Arabia), June 15, 2018.
[4] 'Okaz (Saudi Arabia), September 17, 2018.
[5] Sa'd Al-Faqih, an Islamist Saudi dissident, founded the Committee for
the Defense of Legitimate Rights in Saudi Arabia (CDLR) in 1993 and later
fled to London, where he founded the Movement for Islamic Reform in Arabia.
He is very active on social media, voicing positions that oppose the Saudi
regime and its policies.
[6] Ghanem Al-Dosari is a Saudi human rights activist, political satirist
and opponent of the regime, well-known for his criticism of the Saudi royal
family.
[7] 'Okaz (Saudi Arabia), October 5, 2018.
[8] Al-Riyadh (Saudi Arabia), October 8, 2018.
[9] 'Okaz (Saudi Arabia), October 8, 2018.
[10] Makkah (Saudi Arabia), October 8, 2018.