Detailed Lebanese & Lebanese Related LCCC English New Bulletin For September 03/2018
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani

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Bible Quotations
God put forward Jesus as a sacrifice of atonement by his blood
Letter to the Romans 03/19-27/""Now we know that whatever the law says, it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced, and the whole world may be held accountable to God. For ‘no human being will be justified in his sight’ by deeds prescribed by the law, for through the law comes the knowledge of sin. But now, irrespective of law, the righteousness of God has been disclosed, and is attested by the law and the prophets, the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction, since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; they are now justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a sacrifice of atonement by his blood, effective through faith. He did this to show his righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over the sins previously committed; it was to prove at the present time that he himself is righteous and that he justifies the one who has faith in Jesus. Then what becomes of boasting? It is excluded. By what law? By that of works? No, but by the law of faith.

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 Titles For The Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on September 02-03/18
Tri-Border Area Governments Take Action Against Hezbollah Networks/Emanuele Ottolenghi/Foundation for Defense of Democracies/September 02/18
Satellite images show Iranian missile bases in Syria’s Wadi Jahannam/Al Arabiya/September 02/18
ISIS and the sectarian wars in Iraq, Syria and Lebanon/Hazem al-Amin/Al Arabiya/September 02/18
Analysts: Trump Aid Cuts Embolden Israel but Hurt Peace Prospects/The Times Of India/September 02/18
West in denial about the ‘Hezbollahization’ of Iraq/Baria Alamuddin/Arab News/September 02/2018
Iranian moderates’ Faustian bargain with the hardliners/Dr. Majid Rafizadeh/Arab News/September 02/2018

 Titles For The Latest LCCC Lebanese Related News published on September 02-03/18
Bassil Slams U.S. on UNRWA: We Won't Accept Naturalization, Partitioning
Qassem: Whoever Thinks Govt. Posts Can Make Him President is Delusional
Arslan Says Won't Accept 'Consensus Druze Minister'
Mashnouq Defends Hariri, Slams Those who 'Delayed President Vote, Closed Parliament'
LF, PSP Reportedly Make Concessions to Facilitate Govt. Formation
Hezbollah commander killed in air strike by coalition in Yemen’s Saada
Hassan commends tranquil atmosphere of Druze Council elections, hopes for continued cooperation
Franjieh receives condolences calls from President Aoun, Geagea
Lebanon's Water Polo Championship kicks off in Kaslik on Monday
'Alpha Olympic Triathlon' in Sidon under Hariri's patronage
Lebanese Embassy in South Korea participates in Seoul's Tourism and Cuisine Festival
Mashnouk hails Hariri's constitutional firmness
German MP visits AlRahi: We must make every effort to support the Christian presence in the region
Tri-Border Area Governments Take Action Against Hezbollah Networks
Satellite images show Iranian missile bases in Syria’s Wadi Jahannam
ISIS and the sectarian wars in Iraq, Syria and Lebanon
Trump Aid Cuts Embolden Israel but Hurt Peace Prospects

Titles For The Latest LCCC Bulletin For Miscellaneous Reports And News published on September 02-03/18
Human Rights Watch demands that Iran investigate killing of 30 protestors
Iran Supreme Leader: War unlikely but armed forces should boost capacities
Iran parliament drops plan to impeach education minister
Two dead, several wounded in explosions at Syrian military airport
Jordan says US move to halt UN refugee agency funding fuels radicalism
Netanyahu Lauds U.S. Funding Halt to U.N. Palestinian Agency
Kuwait emir announces visit to Washington, talks with Trump
Egypt’s President meets Chinese Premier Li Keqiang
Turkey Calls U.S. 'Wild Wolves', Vows to Abandon Dollar in Trade
Tens of Thousands Mourn Murdered Ukraine Rebel 'Hero'
Blasts at Syrian Airbase near Damascus Kill Two
Analysts: Trump Aid Cuts Embolden Israel but Hurt Peace Prospects
 
The Latest LCCC Lebanese Related News published on September 02-03/18
Bassil Slams U.S. on UNRWA: We Won't Accept Naturalization, Partitioning
Naharnet/September 02/18/Caretaker Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil on Sunday blasted a U.S. decision to halt funding for the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees UNRWA, while stressing that Lebanon will not accept “naturalization or partitioning.”“What does the 'deal of the century' has in store after Jerusalem was recognized as Israel's capital, the approval of the Jewish nation-state law and most recently halting funds for UNRWA to abolish the right to return? Refugees, displacement, integration, segregation and transfer!” Bassil tweeted. And calling Israel a “one-sided state that rejects the other and seeks to create neighboring one-sided entities,” the minister and leader of the Free Patriotic Movement underscored that Lebanon will not accept the “naturalization” of Palestinian refugees on its soil, the “partitioning” of the country, or “a deal that would end the era of diversity.”

Qassem: Whoever Thinks Govt. Posts Can Make Him President is Delusional
Naharnet/September 02/18/Political leaders who think that their “posts in the government” would make them presidents in the future are “delusional,” Hizbullah deputy chief Sheikh Naim Qassem has announced. “If some think that linking the delay of the new government to foreign forces or foreign crises may lead to a solution, we tell them that it only leads to further obstruction,” Qassem said. “And if some are linking the formation of the government to the presidency and thinking that their posts in the government would pave the way for them to become presidents after the end of the current president's term then they are delusional,” Qassem added. He noted that “the presidency in Lebanon has never been linked to the formation of the government.”“Prior to the election of any president, local, regional and international interventions would always take place, and sometimes an unexpected solution happens..., therefore the presidency has a separate course... so do not waste time on dreams that cannot be achieved through the government,” Hizbullah number two added. Both the Free Patriotic Movement and the Lebanese Forces, the country's biggest two Christian parties, are wrangling over shares in the new government. Accordingly, Qassem's remarks can be interpreted as a message to both FPM chief MP Jebran Bassil and LF leader Samir Geagea.

Arslan Says Won't Accept 'Consensus Druze Minister'
Naharnet/September 02/18/Lebanese Democratic Party leader MP Talal Arslan announced Sunday that he will not accept proposals to name a so-called “consensus Druze minister” in the new government. “Anyone who tries to propose so-called consensus candidates for Druze representation is a 'Trojan horse' against the new presidential tenure and its policies,” Arslan tweeted. “We will not accept this, neither in form nor in content,” the MP added. “This is also a conspiracy against the strategic orientations of Druze amid the conspiracy against the entire region,” Arslan went on to say. And noting that such a proposal has not been raised with him in an “official manner,” Arslan said: “This stance is final and we will not discuss it with anyone.”“We are only warning in advance in anticipation” of such a proposal, Arslan noted. Media reports published Sunday said Speaker Nabih Berri is trying to convince Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat to accept a Druze ministerial candidate who would be “close to him and also to Arslan.”Jumblat has been demanding that his party be allocated all three Druze seats in a 30-member Cabinet while Arslan, backed by the Free Patriotic Movement, has insisted that his party be given one of the three Druze seats.

Mashnouq Defends Hariri, Slams Those who 'Delayed President Vote, Closed Parliament'
Naharnet/September 02/18/Caretaker Interior Minister Nouhad al-Mashnouq on Sunday stressed that Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri is protected by the Constitution and cannot be sacked as PM-designate. Emphasizing that his support for Hariri is “non-debatable,” Mashnouq added: “We might disagree or agree on a certain political issue.”The minister however defended Hariri in the face of suggestions that another figure should be tasked with forming the new government should the PM-designate fail to put together a Cabinet in the near future. “We did not hear (constitutional) explanations when the country stayed without a president for two years. Parliament also remained closed for two years and those making interpretations today did not say back then whether the move was constitutional or unconstitutional,” Mashnouq said, in an apparent reference to President Michel Aoun, Speaker Nabih Berri and their political camp. He added: “Our only choice is to cling to the Constitution... Our right in the country is a constitutional right, our role in the country is a constitutional role and our capability in the country is a constitutional capability. We will only rely on the Constitution and not on anything else.”

LF, PSP Reportedly Make Concessions to Facilitate Govt. Formation
Naharnet/September 02/18/The Lebanese Forces and the Progressive Socialist Party have made concessions in their demands in order to facilitate the formation of the new government, media reports said. Sources informed on the negotiations told Asharq al-Awsat daily in remarks published Sunday that LF leader Samir Geagea has proposed dropping the LF's demand to get the deputy PM post and a sovereign ministerial portfolio in return for getting “four essential and significant portfolios.”Geagea made the proposal in his latest meeting with Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri, the sources said. “This proposal coincides with positive efforts that Speaker Nabih Berri is exerting with PSP chief ex-MP Walid Jumbat that could lead to resolving the Druze obstacle,” the sources added. “The proposal that is being discussed calls on Jumblat to accept two Druze ministerial seats for his party and a third Druze figure who would be close to him and also to caretaker Minister of the Displaced Talal Arslan, with guarantees from Berri,” the sources said. “This format represents the best possible solution to resolve the Christian and Druze obstacles, but the issue hinges on the responsiveness of the president and his party,” the sources went on to say. They also noted that Hariri will present a line-up based on these proposals during his expected meeting with President Michel Aoun.
 
Hezbollah commander killed in air strike by coalition in Yemen’s Saada
Staff writer, Al Arabiya English/Sunday, 2 September 2018/Yemeni media has quoted security sources as saying that Tareq Haidara, known by the name Abu Haider, a commander in Lebanon’s Hezbollah militia, was killed along with other Houthi commanders by an air strike by the Arab coalition in Yemen’s Saada. The Yemeni Khabar news agency quoted a security source as saying that the Haidara, a Lebanese national, is one of the commanders training the Houthi militias. The source said that Haidara was killed, along with a Houthi commander called Ali al-Jahdari. He added that the details of the intelligence surrounding the air strike targeting the Hezbollah commander and other Houthis will be revealed at a later stage.

Hassan commends tranquil atmosphere of Druze Council elections, hopes for continued cooperation
Sun 02 Sep 2018/NNA - Druze "Sheikh Aql" Naim Hassan praised Sunday the calm and tranquil ambience that surrounded the elections of the Druze Council in Beirut throughout the day. Hassan lauded "the spirit of democracy that prevailed in the electoral process, and the honest competition between candidates." He also hailed "all voters who participated, giving this process its popular legitimacy, alongside its legitimacy derived from the power of law." The Druze Sheikh thanked as well the Lebanese army and security forces who accompanied this long election day, and wished the lucky winners all success. He hoped that cooperation within the Council would continue in order to serve the Druze community and its people at all levels. Earlier, "Democratic Gathering" Chief, MP Taymur Jumblatt, inspected the electoral process in the capital, hoping that the best would win for the benefit of the community.

Franjieh receives condolences calls from President Aoun, Geagea
Sun 02 Sep 2018/NNA - Al-Maradah Movement Chief, former Minister and Deputy Sleiman Franjieh, received Sunday several condolences calls on the death of his uncle Robert Franjieh, the son of the late Lebanese President Sleiman Franjieh, most prominently from President Michel Aoun and Lebanese Forces Leader Samir Geagea.

Lebanon's Water Polo Championship kicks off in Kaslik on Monday
Sun 02 Sep 2018/NNA - The Lebanese Swimming Federation will launch tomorrow Lebanon's Water Polo Championship for the year 2018 at the "Lebanese Club for Cars and Tourism" in Kaslik, which will last until September 6. The Kuwaiti international referee of the Asian Water Polo Federation, Ahmed Farman, will lead the matches along with a Lebanese, international and Asian team of federal referees. On the other hand, the Federation will organize a preparatory course for referees from September 3 to 6 between 15:00 to 17:00 hrs at "The Stay" Hotel in Dbayeh, where Kuwaiti referee Farman will be lecturing.

'Alpha Olympic Triathlon' in Sidon under Hariri's patronage
Sun 02 Sep 2018/NNA - Sidon International Marathon Association organized Sunday its first international marathon on the city's sea front, in cooperation with the Municipality of Sidon and under the supervision of the Lebanese Triathlon Federation, patronized by Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri, represented by MP Bahiya Hariri. In her word on the occasion, Hariri congratulated the Sidon International Marathon Association for its success in organizing this outstanding event, which included three consecutive races: swimming, bicycling and running. "We launched 'Sidon-A City for Life' years ago and now the activities in the city are sustainable, diverse and multi-cultural at the heritage, sports, art and entertainment levels, and at the same time Sidon is working on developing its human structure," said Hariri. Saluting PM-designate Saad Hariri for his continuous support, and for keeping up with Sidon's vitality, Deputy Hariri considered that such care "gives these activities great momentum," hoping that work would begin to promote Lebanon as a whole. "Sidon loves life and wants consensus, reconciliation and joy," she assured, stressing that each of its citizens and youth must play a role in promoting the city.

Lebanese Embassy in South Korea participates in Seoul's Tourism and Cuisine Festival
Sun 02 Sep 2018/NNA - The Lebanese Embassy in South Korea participated in the "Seoul 2018 Tourism and Cuisine Festival", organized by the Municipality of Seoul, in a Lebanese pavilion devoted to displaying Lebanese handicrafts and distributing flyers and tourist publications about Lebanon. This year, 80 countries participated in the cultural festival, which aims to introduce international cuisine to the Korean community. The number of visitors was estimated at 150,000. The Lebanese wing had a remarkable presence, with a Phoenician touch, which exhibited statues belonging to Phoenician sailors of various sizes, as well as paintings inscribed with the Phoenician alphabet, and statues of ships built by the Phoenicians. The mayor of Seoul Park Won-soon and his wife visited the Lebanese pavilion and listened to the explanation of Lebanese Ambassador Antoine Azzam about the Phoenician civilization and the Lebanese presence in the world. On the other hand, the Lebanese Embassy will participate in various activities during the month of September, with the aim of providing lessons in Lebanese cuisine offered by the Embassy chef to his Korean colleagues, introducing them to Lebanese products and food style. These activities are part of the efforts exerted by the Foreign Affairs and Emigrants Ministry to market Lebanese products of olive oil, wine and foodstuff, under the initiative of Caretaker Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil, entitled "Tasty Lebanon".

Mashnouk hails Hariri's constitutional firmness
Sun 02 Sep 2018/NNA - Caretaker Interior and Municipality Minister, Nohad Mashnouk, Sunday hailed the constitutional firmness of Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri in the process of forming the government. The Minister, who was speaking at a ceremony in honor of the Mufti of the Republic, Sheikh Abdel-latif Deriane, in the presence of several Beiruti figures, confirmed his support to the Prime Minister-designate. Mufti Deriane, for his part, refused any jurisprudence with regard to the texts relating to the prerogatives of the Prime Minister-designate.

German MP visits AlRahi: We must make every effort to support the Christian presence in the region
Sat 01 Sep 2018/NNA - Maronite Patriarch, Cardinal Bechara Butros Al-Rahi, met Saturday afternoon in Diman with German Parliamentarian and Executive Director of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, Malti Gaykh, accompanied by MP Turson Frei and the Project Director of the European and International Council, Khalil Toubia. Talks reportedly centered on "the current situation of Christians in Lebanon and the region, and their presence in their countries of origin which was affected by the wars taking place in the Middle East."Following the meeting, Gaykh highlighted "the importance of meeting with His Beatitude, who represents the Maronite Church in Lebanon and the Middle East.""It was an occasion during which we discussed the political situation in the country, especially after the recent parliamentary elections, and the current difficulties in forming the government," he said, adding that Lebanon was influenced by regional problems. "It is an anchor of stability, because of its uniqueness in terms of its adoption of the democratic system, and its implementation of a coexistence formula between Christians and Muslims in one country," the German MP indicated. "We touched on the impact of the displacement of Syrians to Lebanon, the small country that received about one and a half million refugees, which had negative repercussions on the economic and social levels...In this context, we agreed with His Beatitude on the need to ensure the return of refugees to their country with the help of the international community that must secure this return, and find a political solution to the war in Syria," he underscored.
 
Tri-Border Area Governments Take Action Against Hezbollah Networks
Emanuele Ottolenghi/Foundation for Defense of Democracies/September 02/18
Paraguayan prosecutors ordered the arrest of Hezbollah financier Assad Ahmad Barakat yesterday, shortly after the country’s new president, Mario Abdo Benitez, ordered an investigation into Barakat’s illicit acquisition of a Paraguayan passport this past April. After a long period of turning a blind eye to Hezbollah, governments in the Tri-Border Area (TBA) of South America have begun taking action.
Assad Ahmad Barakat belongs to a powerful Lebanese Shiite family and serves as its leader in the TBA, whose name reflects its location at the intersection of the Argentine, Brazilian, and Paraguayan borders. The U.S. Treasury sanctioned Barakat in 2004 for bankrolling Hezbollah. Treasury then sanctioned two of his brothers, Hamze Ahmad and Hatem Ahmad, two years later.
The recent moves toward more vigorous law enforcement began on July 13, when Argentina’s Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) froze assets of 14 Lebanese residents of the TBA. The targeted individuals were part of a criminal organization linked to Hezbollah and associated with the Barakat clan. The network transferred large quantities of cash across the TBA to the Argentinian side in Puerto Iguazu using the local casino, just yards passed Argentinian customs at the border crossings, to launder the money.
Since the targets of the FIU’s action are unlikely to hold substantial assets in Argentina, its main significance will be its role in deterring others and alerting Argentina’s neighbors to the magnitude of the threat. While the focus of the Barakats’ money laundering scheme was in Argentina, all three TBA countries were likely affected. Members of the network live and work in Paraguay and/or Brazil.
The actions of Argentine law enforcement have already spurred Paraguayan authorities to look into the Barakat network. Initial findings show that despite numerous criminal proceedings against Assad Ahmad Barakat and a Paraguayan Supreme Court decision to revoke his Paraguayan citizenship, Barakat was issued a new Paraguayan passport last April. As noted above, President Abdo has ordered an investigation and prosecutors have ordered Barakat’s arrest. The president’s national security team is also weighing options against the 14 individuals targeted by Argentina, who all have links to Paraguay.
In contrast to its neighbors, Brazil has yet to investigate what role the Barakats may have played under its jurisdiction. According to publicly available data from Brazil’s tax authorities, Assad Ahmad Barakat is currently a business partner in two companies in Foz do Iguacu, on the Brazilian side of the TBA, one of them with his brother Hamza, who is a partner in five other companies.
Brazil continues to be a base of operations for the Barakats despite U.S. sanctions and the Barakats’ frequent run-ins with the law. Assad was arrested in Brazil in 2003 and extradited to Paraguay for tax evasion; Hamze was arrested for fraud in Brazil in 2013 but released shortly after. Nonetheless, the Barakats have continued to conduct their business unimpeded, exploiting the structural weaknesses across the three jurisdictions to their own advantage.
All three regional powers in the TBA need to recognize the continuing threat of Hezbollah’s terror finance in the area and deal with it accordingly. Argentina’s action and Paraguay’s response show that both countries are more willing to take action than in the past. Brazil needs to join them to ensure coordination for their mutual benefit. The TBA governments should also strengthen cooperation across their three jurisdictions. The United States, in this respect, can support such efforts through joint training of local law enforcement, prosecutors, and investigators, as well as information sharing and facilitation of cross-border communication and joint actions to disrupt Hezbollah’s financial flows from the area.
 
Satellite images show Iranian missile bases in Syria’s Wadi Jahannam
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/67184/%d9%85%d9%86-%d9%85%d9%88%d9%82%d8%b9-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%b9%d8%b1%d8%a8%d9%8a%d8%a9-%d9%86%d8%aa-%d8%a8%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%b5%d9%88%d8%b1-%d8%a5%d9%8a%d8%b1%d8%a7%d9%86-%d9%81%d9%8a-%d9%88%d8%af%d8%a7/
Staff writer, Al Arabiya English/Sunday, 2 September 2018
Satellite images have revealed that Iran is building new missile bases in Syria, most notably in Wadi Jahannam in Banyas west of Syria.
The images taken by Image Sat International were released in a detailed report, show that a facility in Wadi Jahannam, designed to manufacture and assemble different types of missiles similar to the two military bases of Parchin and Khujir inside Iran.
The report noted that it is likely that the same Iranian elements are behind the planning and construction of this facility which is at the final stages. The company estimates that this construction will be completed in the first months of 2019.
Also there is another site which included a surface-to-surface missile production line built inside an old Syrian military base in Masyaf region in the north-west of the country. This base was converted to fit the current purpose, the same as the one that was attacked on 7 September, 2017 by the Israeli Air Force.
The locations of Masyaf and Wadi Jahannam are both within the scope of the operation to deploy the Russian S-400 missile defense systems, whereas Russian forces are deployed throughout the country in support of the Syrian regime.
The report pointed out that Iran chose these strategic sites because of the Syrian regime which moved its strategic infrastructure to the north of the country following the escalation of the Syrian revolution.
The Image Sat International report also referred to the visist of Iranian defense minister Amir Hatami last Sunday to Syria, where he announced that Iran has the ability to help Syria build capacity and expand military capabilities in the country.
The report confirmed that Iran’s intentions, as expressed by Hatami’s announcement, as well as satellite images clearly indicate that Iran is rebuilding the military infrastructure of the Syrian regime, especially in the field of production and development of surface-to-surface missiles.
In recent months, several attacks have been launched against various facilities in Syria, most of which targeted the missile infrastructure, but one targeted Dr. Aziz Asbar, who was managing the project to develop the Syrian missile system.
Asbar was the head of Sector 4 at the Center for Syrian Studies and Research, and had close and long-term relations with Iran and Hezbollah. Because of his important role and his own relations with Iran, he is likely to have played an active role in the construction of the new facilities in Masyaf and Wadi Jahannam, which were designed according to Iran’s objectives and its missile system in Syria, according to the report.
The report stressed that Iran continues its activities in Syria in clear violation of international resolutions, and is expected to send the technology of missile system developed in Syria, to Lebanon’s Hezbollah as well.
 
ISIS and the sectarian wars in Iraq, Syria and Lebanon
Hazem al-Amin/Al Arabiya/September 02/18
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Responding to the message attributed to Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi, in which he asked his followers to be patient and promised them close “conquests”, the US army said that Baghdadi is not an important person anymore and that his organization is in its final stages of defeat, adding that his statements no longer receive much attention in Western security circles.
Politics over ISIS
This response, although it ignores the facts of “a victory over ISIS,” has an extent of realism which one can agree with Washington on. However, we cannot be overly confident here, especially as ISIS was part of a civil war where one sectarian bloc defeated another and there is still the prospect of other groups like ISIS emerging.
In parallel to the American response to Baghdadi, ISIS remains a need for the civil war regimes to manage their crises through it. This became clear following the bloody events that took place in As-Suwayda governorate in Syria. Subjugating local groups still requires using the sectarian card and ISIS is the best excuse for accomplishing such missions. What happened in As-Suwayda is a literal and obvious implementation of this policy.
However, this is not the case in Syria only. The ruling class in Iraq is still confused and is afflicted with corruption and servitude, and this requires an enemy which it can use to recreate itself. “ISIS still exists among us”. This is what many Iraqi officials say. Every now and then, journalists are summoned to cover wars in the desert and the aim of this is to record more victories which conditions, circumstances and developments are unclear. For example, the army says that it raided areas of terrorist hideouts and that these terrorists escaped to Syria.
The war against ISIS in Syria urges its elements to go to Iraq and vice versa. The statements of armies “confronting terrorism” on the borders have strikingly reflected this situation. The fact is that residual elements of ISIS still remain in place. The task of the last phase of the war against the organization is fomenting the regimes of crime, corruption and sectarianism in the eastern crescent of the civil war.
Sectarian regimes
Lebanon has joined those who desire a share in the victory against ISIS. Its security services are broadcasting a statement about a new victory against the organization almost every week. These statements depict Lebanon as an aim which the organization’s emirs in their hideouts dream of reaching one day! The “takfirist enemy” has become a match of the “Zionist enemy” in Lebanese victory speeches which deviate attention from the system of corruption, failure and servitude.
A broad survey of the three ruling systems in Iraq, Syria and Lebanon exposes a scary similarity in the approaches they use to rule their groups – however this does not mean overlooking disparities. Sectarianism and huge and blatant corruption along with dependence on one country or more and the dominance of a false speech claiming victory – and which is powerful and effective – lie at the core of the three systems. Today, we can add ISIS to these elements of similarity. The organization has become a part of the identity of these systems and serves as a factor in each system’s cohesion.
All this does not mean that ISIS has become an illusion and that defeating it has been finalized. It means the complete opposite. ISIS has long been a need amid the civil wars in the region. This need met with other conditions and these all came together when the organization was born and when it infiltrated cities and towns. The civil war condition is still pervades and has even been reinforced by the victory of some groups over others, some sects over others and some tyrannical regimes over their peoples. As for other conditions, it is exactly what ISIS failed in as it has become an enemy of the places affected by the regimes and this facilitated its defeat in some cities and areas.
Today, these people are experiencing a double defeat. They were defeated by the regimes of “war against ISIS” and they were defeated by ISIS. Logic, however, stipulates that this state of defeat will not last long, as other forces will come to invest in it.
 
The Latest LCCC Bulletin For Miscellaneous Reports And News published on September 02-03/18
Human Rights Watch demands that Iran investigate killing of 30 protestors
Staff writer, Al Arabiya English/Sunday, 2 September 2018/Human Rights Watch has called on Iran to open impartial investigations into the killing of 30 protesters since January.
The human rights organization said in a statement published on Saturday that the Iranian authorities did not show any sign of conducting impartial investigations, either into those deaths, or into law enforcement officials’ use of excessive force to repress protests. It called the Iranian regime to drop all charges brought against protesters for peaceful assembly and release those detained on that basis. Since August 2, 2018, authorities have detained more than 50 people during protests in Tehran. Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at Human Rights Watch said: “The Iranian government is using the authoritarian playbook to respond to protests, criminalize peaceful dissent, and protect security forces from scrutiny.” She added: “Rather than blaming ‘foreign elements’ for protests, Iranian authorities should allow citizens to critique the government through their right to peaceful dissent.”On July 31, a new wave of protests against the deteriorating economic conditions and perceptions of government corruption began in the city of Esfahan and quickly spread to other cities, including Karaj in Alborz province and Tehran, the capital. HRW said that since December, 2017, protests swept over many Iranian cities, during which the authority arrested around four thousands protesters, while the Intelligence ministry detained 150 students, with 17 given prison terms.

Iran Supreme Leader: War unlikely but armed forces should boost capacities
Agencies/Sunday, 2 September 2018/Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Sunday war was unlikely but called on Iran's armed forces to boost their defence capacities, according to his official website."Ayatollah Khamenei emphasized that based on political calculations there is no likelihood of a military war but added that the armed forces must be vigilant ... and raise their personnel and equipment capacities," the website quoted Khamenei as telling commanders of Iran's air defence forces.(With Reuters)

Iran parliament drops plan to impeach education minister
AFP, Tehran/Sunday, 2 September 2018/Iran's parliament called off a planned vote to impeach the education minister on Sunday, Iranian media reported, offering some respite for the embattled government of President Hassan Rouhani. Twenty-nine lawmakers signed a motion last Wednesday to impeach the minister, Mohammad Bathaei, but all of them withdrew their signatures. "Given the imminent opening of schools (on September 23), those requesting the impeachment have withdrawn their request," said Ahmad Amirabadi, a member of parliament's presiding board, according to the semi-official news agency ISNA. Rouhani has faced mounting pressure from lawmakers over his handling of an economic crisis, partly triggered by the withdrawal of the United States from the 2015 nuclear deal and reimposition of sanctions.
Parliament sacked his labour and economy ministers last month, and Industries Minister Mohammad Shariatmadari has also been targeted for impeachment, though it is not clear if that will still go ahead. Rouhani himself was summoned to parliament to answer questions from lawmakers last Tuesday, a first in his five years in power, and only the second time for a sitting president. Economic grievances played a role in Bathaei's planned impeachment, with lawmakers criticising the reduced budget for education and school renovation, though senior officials pointed out that the minister has no power over budgets. Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei last week welcomed the pressure on Rouhani's cabinet, saying it was a sign of the strength of Iran's democracy. But he also warned that differences between officials should not be overly emphasised "because the people would become worried".

Two dead, several wounded in explosions at Syrian military airport
AFP, Beirut/Sunday, 2 September 2018/Two people were killed and several wounded following explosions that rocked a Syrian military airport near the capital Damascus late Saturday, with an NGO saying it was a "possible Israeli missile" but state media blaming a technical issue at a munitions depot. The military airport of Mazze, in the west suburbs of Damascus, was hit by a "possible Israeli missile, which hit a munitions store setting off successive explosions," the head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights Rami Abdel Rahmane told AFP. The airport houses Syrian Air Force intelligence, and in early 2017 the Syrian regime accused neighboring Israel of bombing the base. A Syrian military source said that "the Mazze airport was not the target of Israeli aggression," according to a Saturday report by the official Sana news agency. "The explosions heard were due to an explosion at a munitions deposit close to the airport which was due to an electrical short circuit," the source said. Israel has sought to avoid direct involvement in the conflict but acknowledges carrying out dozens of air strikes in Syria to stop what it says are deliveries of advanced weaponry to its Lebanese enemy Hezbollah. It has also pledged to prevent its arch foe Iran from entrenching itself militarily in Syria, and a series of strikes that have killed Iranians in Syria have been attributed to Israel. Earlier this week, Israel reiterated its threat to hit Iranian military targets in Syria. "The IDF (Israel Defense Forces) will continue to take strong and determined action against Iran's attempts to station forces and advanced weapons systems in Syria," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said. In July, Syria accused Israel of bombing a military post in the northern province of Aleppo, where the Observatory reported at least nine pro-regime fighters died. More than seven years since the conflict began, regime forces have managed to retake entire regions from rebels and jihadists and now control nearly two-thirds of the country.
Syrian troops are supported military by their Russian and Iranian allies, as well as by Lebanese Hezbollah fighters and Iraqi, Iranian and Afghan militiamen.

Jordan says US move to halt UN refugee agency funding fuels radicalism
Reuters/Sunday, 2 September 2018/Jordan said on Saturday it regretted a US decision to halt funding to a United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees, saying it would only fuel radicalism and harm prospects for Middle East peace. Foreign Minster Ayman Safadi told Reuters his country, which hosts more than 2 million of the over 5 million registered refugees whom the agency supports, would continue to rally donor support to ease the acute financial crunch faced by the agency. The US announced on Friday it would no longer support the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA). Earlier this year the United States, long its biggest donor, had slashed funding. “Disruption of UNRWA services will have extremely dangerous humanitarian, political and security implications for refugees and for the whole region,” Safadi said. “It will only consolidate an environment of despair that would ultimately create fertile grounds for further tension. Politically it will also further hurt the credibility of peacemaking efforts.”Safadi said a meeting on Sept. 27 in New York in the United Nations which the kingdom was co-sponsoring with Japan, the European Union, Sweden and Turkey would seek to “rally political and financial support for the agency”. “We will do everything possible to ensure that UNRWA gets the funds it needs to continue offering its services to Palestinian refugees,” Safadi added.

Netanyahu Lauds U.S. Funding Halt to U.N. Palestinian Agency
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/September 02/18//Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday lauded the U.S. decision to halt funding for the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, arguing the body perpetuates the problem instead of solving it. "The U.S. has done a very important thing by halting the financing for the refugee perpetuation agency known as UNRWA," Netanyahu said while visiting a school for the start of the academic year. "It is finally beginning to resolve the problem." He added that the money "must be taken and used to genuinely help rehabilitate the refugees, the true number of which is much smaller than the number reported by UNRWA." The United States announced Friday it was ending funding to UNRWA, or the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian refugees. Washington has long been the largest single donor to the agency, providing more than $350 million a year. The decision followed another one by Washington on August 24 to cancel more than $200 million in bilateral aid to Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank. Palestinian leaders have harshly condemned the U.S. moves, accusing U.S. President Donald Trump's administration of seeking to "liquidate" their cause. Trump's recognition of the disputed city of Jerusalem as Israel's capital in December had already led Palestinian leaders to cut off contact with the White House. The aid cuts have led to concerns over the future of the U.N. agency that provides services to Palestinian refugees and their descendants, with some five million people eligible. Its services include operating 711 schools for 526,000 pupils in the Palestinian territories, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria. The cut in bilateral aid will affect humanitarian programs in areas such as health care, particularly in the impoverished Gaza Strip, among others. The issue of Palestinian refugees has long been a major sticking point in peace efforts. More than 750,000 Palestinians fled or were expelled during the 1948 war surrounding Israel's creation. They and their descendants are now classified as refugees who fall under UNRWA's remit. Palestinian leaders continue to call for at least some of them to be allowed to return to their former homes now inside Israel under any peace deal. Israel says Palestinians must give up the so-called right of return and that allowing descendants of refugees to inherit their status only perpetuates the problem instead of solving it.

Kuwait emir announces visit to Washington, talks with Trump
Reuters, Cairo/Sunday, 2 September 2018/Kuwait’s ruler will travel to Washington on Monday and hold talks with US President Donald Trump, the state news agency KUNA announced on Sunday.It was not immediately clear what the leaders would discuss, but Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah has led mediation efforts to resolve a year-long dispute between Gulf Arab neighbors after Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt cut diplomatic, trade and transport ties with Qatar.

Egypt’s President meets Chinese Premier Li Keqiang
The Associated Press, Beijing/Sunday, 2 September 2018/Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi met with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on Sunday ahead of a summit meeting between African nations and China. The two-day Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) begins on Monday, bringing together leaders and representatives from more than 50 African countries which have diplomatic ties with China.El-Sissi arrived in Beijing on Saturday and met with Chinese President Xi Jinping

Turkey Calls U.S. 'Wild Wolves', Vows to Abandon Dollar in Trade
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/September 02/18/Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday vowed Ankara would pursue non-dollar transactions in trade with Russia and other countries, accusing the U.S. of behaving like "wild wolves."Both Turkey and Russia are reeling from punitive economic measures imposed by Washington. "America behaves like wild wolves. Don't believe them," Erdogan told a business forum during a visit to Kyrgyzstan, in comments translated into Kyrgyz. He said his country was in negotiations with Russia over non-dollar trade. "Using the dollar only damages us. We will not give up. We will be victorious," Erdogan told the meeting, attended by Kyrgyz and Turkish businessmen as well as government officials. Ties between NATO members Washington and Ankara hit a new low last month as U.S. President Donald Trump announced steep new tariffs on Turkish steel and aluminum in response to the detention of an American pastor in Turkey. The Turkish lira shed a quarter of its value last month as the trade war with the U.S. ratcheted up. Russia meanwhile saw its ruble tumble to two-year lows in August after the U.S. announced fresh sanctions in connection with a nerve agent poisoning incident in the British city of Salisbury. Erdogan has also used the visit to ex-Soviet Kyrgyzstan to demand the Central Asian country of six million people relinquish all ties to Fethullah Gulen, a U.S.-based cleric and educator Ankara accuses of fomenting a coup in 2016. Speaking Sunday, Erdogan said Turkish businesses should invest in Kyrgyzstan but "may face barriers from FETO," the term Ankara uses to describe the network of people and institutions linked to Gulen. The refusal of the United States to extradite 77-year-old Gulen to face trial in Turkey is one of several sore points that have plagued a once-strong bilateral relationship. Gulen, whose Hizmet movement has led to the creation of schools in dozens of countries including Kyrgyzstan has always denied any links to the 2016 coup attempt. Since July 2016, over 55,000 people have been arrested over coup links in Turkey, while more than 140,000 public sector employees have been sacked or suspended.

Tens of Thousands Mourn Murdered Ukraine Rebel 'Hero'
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/September 02/18/Tens of thousands of mourners thronged the streets in Ukraine's rebel stronghold of Donetsk on Sunday to pay their final respects to an assassinated separatist leader, who was praised as a "brother" and a "hero" by an aide of Vladimir Putin. Crowds of admirers -- many clutching flowers and in tears -- clapped and shouted "spasibo" (thank you) as the flag-draped casket of Alexander Zakharchenko, the 42-year-old chief of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic, was driven through the streets en route to a cemetery. Zakharchenko was killed in a bombing at a Donetsk cafe on Friday, becoming the four-year conflict's most prominent victim from the Moscow-backed side. His bodyguard also died and 12 more people were injured. At least 100,000 mourners came to pay their respects to Zakharchenko, whose body had lain "in state" at a theatre for several hours, the authorities said. Several members of Russia's ultra-nationalist bikers' club Night Wolves including their leader Alexander Zaldostanov were in attendance. The head of Georgia's breakaway statelet, South Ossetia, Anatoly Bibilov, and Russian lawmaker Natalia Poklonskaya also turned out. In a statement carried by the Donetsk republic's news agency, Russian President Putin's aide Vladislav Surkov called the separatist a "brother." "You are a cool guy, a true hero and it's a huge honour to be your friend," said Surkov, calling Zakharchenko Sasha, a diminutive form of his first name. Armed men in fatigues cordoned off the city centre and public transport was temporarily suspended.
'Personal loss'
Huge billboards erected in the city centre were plastered with pictures of Zakharchenko and his quotes. "All of us have one Motherland -- Russia", read one. "They have taken away a part of our soul," said one mourner, 41-year-old Oksana, who declined to give her last name. "He was like a member of the family. It's a personal loss for me."Many blamed Ukraine for the bombing. "We will never forget this tragedy, we will never forgive," said Sergei Kapustin, 35. Zakharchenko will be buried next to two prominent rebel commanders known by their noms de guerre, Givi and Motorola. Putin on Friday swiftly sent condolences to Zakharchenko's family and residents of east Ukraine.
Celebration in Kiev
In the capital Kiev, several dozen political activists celebrated the demise of the pro-Western authorities' arch-enemy by setting up a table in front of the Russian embassy. They drank sparkling wine and ate chicken in front of portraits of Putin, Zakharchenko and iconic pro-Kremlin crooner Iosif Kobzon who also died this week. The portraits of the camouflage-clad Zakharchenko and Kobzon -- who once sang together -- were crossed out with red paint. The activists threw chicken bones at the photographs. Moscow and rebel authorities have said Kiev was behind the assassination, while Ukraine links the bombing to internal feuding and Russia's desire to control the territory. Russia has said the murder was a provocation and would derail the long-stalled, Western-brokered peace process. Zakharchenko had led Russian-backed insurgents in the rebel region for the last four years. In November 2014, he was elected the first president of the Donetsk republic, facing no real opposition, and took part in the storming of the regional administration building that launched the conflict. More than 10,000 people have been killed since the insurgency broke out in the eastern Donetsk and Lugansk regions in April 2014 following Russia's annexation of Crimea from Ukraine. Kiev and the West accuse Russia of funneling troops and arms across the border. Moscow has denied the claims despite evidence to the contrary.

Blasts at Syrian Airbase near Damascus Kill Two
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/September 02/18/At least two pro-government forces were killed overnight in a string of explosions at a military airport near the Syrian capital, a monitoring group said on Sunday. Syrian state media also reported the blasts at the Mazzeh airbase, on the western outskirts of Damascus, but did not mention any casualties. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor said Mazzeh was hit by a "possible Israeli missile, which hit a munitions store setting off successive explosions". "It left two pro-regime fighters dead and wounded another 11, some of them in critical condition," said Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman. He could not specify their nationalities or whether they belonged to militias or government forces. An Israeli military spokeswoman declined to comment on Sunday. AFP's correspondents in Damascus heard multiple blasts overnight, one of which lit up the sky in a deep red hue, but reported calm on Sunday morning. A Syrian military source said the Mazzeh airbase "was not the target of Israeli aggression," according to the official SANA news agency. "The explosions heard were due to an explosion at a munitions deposit close to the airport which was due to an electrical short circuit," the source said, without mentioning any casualties. The Mazzeh airbase houses Syrian Air Force intelligence, and in early 2017 the Syrian government accused its neighbor Israel of bombing the base. Israel has sought to avoid direct involvement in the conflict but acknowledges carrying out dozens of air strikes in Syria to stop what it says are deliveries of advanced weaponry to Lebanon's Hizbullah. It has also pledged to prevent its arch foe Iran from entrenching itself militarily in Syria, and a series of strikes that have killed Iranians in Syria have been attributed to Israel. Earlier this week, Israel reiterated its threat to hit Iranian military targets in Syria. "The IDF (Israel Defense Forces) will continue to take strong and determined action against Iran's attempts to station forces and advanced weapons systems in Syria," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said. In July, Syria accused Israel of bombing a military post in the northern province of Aleppo, where at least nine pro-regime fighters were killed according to the Observatory. More than seven years since Syria's conflict began, regime forces have managed to retake entire regions from rebels and jihadists and now control nearly two-thirds of the country. Syrian troops are supported military by their Russian and Iranian allies, Tehran-backed Hizbullah fighters as well as Iraqi, Iranian and Afghan militiamen.

Analysts: Trump Aid Cuts Embolden Israel but Hurt Peace Prospects
The Times Of India/September 02/18
U.S. President Donald Trump's swingeing cuts to aid for Palestinians will advance Israel's interests but risk compromising a U.S.-led peace push and raise tensions in the Middle East, analysts and diplomats said Saturday. The U.S. administration announced Friday it would no longer provide any funding to the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), a week after cutting over $200 million (170 million euros) in separate aid to Palestinians. They were the latest in a series of controversial moves by the Trump administration that have thrilled Israel's government but caused shock and dismay among international powers and Palestinians, making their dream of an independent state more distant than ever. The cuts come as the international community seeks to reach an agreement to deliver significant humanitarian aid to the poverty-stricken Gaza Strip, where most residents rely on external handouts. The U.S. has long been the largest single donor to UNRWA, providing more than $350 million a year. The agency provides support to Palestinians who fled their homes in the 1948 war surrounding the creation of Israel, as well as their descendants. Israel and the U.S. object to the fact that Palestinians can pass refugee status to their children, and want the number of refugees covered by UNRWA to be sharply reduced.
The Palestinians accuse the U.S. of blatant bias and of seeking to strip them of their rights.
A week earlier, the U.S. government ended Palestinian funding by USAID, which amounted to more than $200 million a year. In December, the U.S. recognized Jerusalem as Israel's capital, breaking decades of international consensus that the status of the disputed city should be negotiated between Israelis and Palestinians. The May opening of the U.S. embassy in the city triggered Palestinian protests that saw dozens of demonstrators in Gaza shot dead by Israeli forces. A European diplomat said Saturday the U.S. moves, taken in conjunction with an American pledge to veto any motions criticizing Israel at the U.N. Security Council, were emboldening Israel's government, considered the most right-wing in the country's history. Israel is increasingly convinced it has a free hand to accelerate settlement growth and even advocate for annexing parts of the West Bank, the diplomat said.  Alan Baker, a former Israeli diplomat-turned-analyst, said the government would be thrilled by the aid cuts. "The UNRWA thing is very logical as it has become an anachronistic organization -- maintaining the refugee status rather than trying to solve it."
No leverage with Palestinians
Baker said the aim of the cuts was also to force the Palestinians back to the negotiating table, though others said that was unlikely. Trump's team, led by his son-in-law Jared Kushner and Middle East envoy Jason Greenblatt, has been pushing for what the U.S. leader has called the "ultimate deal", but the Palestinians have boycotted his administration since its Jerusalem announcement. The cuts mean the U.S. is providing very little aid to Palestinians, and another European diplomat said the move weakened Trump's hand. "When you have no money left to threaten them with, you have reduced your leverage," he said.Palestinian economist Nasser Abdel Kareem told AFP the cuts would hurt Palestinians but have little impact on the government. Unlike some European states, the U.S. does not provide direct budgetary support to the Palestinian Authority. The only part of U.S. funding that goes directly to the PA -– for security coordination with Israel -– was not cut. The cut "will not harm the treasury of the Palestinian Authority," Kareem told AFP. Nadia Hijab, president of the Palestinian think tank Al-Shabaka, said returning to negotiations would be extremely unpopular among Palestinians.But she fears that with full U.S. support, Israel will have free reign to increase settlement growth. "If the PA goes back and talks to the Americans it is giving them a green light to do whatever they want to do, and if they don't go back, they are going to do what they want to do," she said. "At the moment it is a lose-lose situation."Hugh Lovatt, of the European Council on Foreign Relations, agreed. "If anything, the Palestinians will now double down on their current approach, which is to boycott the U.S. administration and attack the yet-to-be unveiled U.S. peace plan," he said.
Regional fears
Hijab and many Palestinians do not believe the U.S. is seeking to get the Palestinian leadership back to the table. Instead, she said, they believe the U.S. is trying to help Israel "end the conflict on its terms and legalize its occupation."That would mean stripping refugees across the region of their rights, specifically the idea they could one day return to historic Palestine. In both Jordan and Lebanon, Palestinian refugees have fewer rights than citizens and rely on UNRWA services for education, healthcare and other basic services.
In Gaza, run by the Islamist movement Hamas, the majority of the two million residents are refugees, meaning the UNRWA cuts will hit particularly hard. Job losses for a few hundred of the agency's staff have already sparked major protests. The Gaza Strip suffers from desperate poverty and is largely sealed off by both Israel and its other land neighbor, Egypt. Hamas and Israel have fought three wars since 2008. Some in the Israeli security services quietly express concern that immediate cuts to UNRWA could increase tensions with Israel in Gaza and the West Bank.

The Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on September 02-03/18
 West in denial about the ‘Hezbollahization’ of Iraq
Baria Alamuddin/Arab News/September 02/2018
For those familiar with Iraqi militant Qais Al-Khazali’s long, bombastic speeches and TV appearances, the deluge of information he unloaded upon American interrogators will be of little surprise. Transcripts of these 2007 testimonies were published in copious detail last week, with Al-Khazali revealing all about his relationship with the Quds Force’s Qassem Soleimani, weapons smuggling from Iran, and attacks against American troops. These documents show how Al-Khazali spent hours plotting with his US captors about how to undermine his former patron, Muqtada Al-Sadr. Al-Khazali’s paramilitary colleagues must, meanwhile, be furious at his detailed exposure of their complicity in Tehran-sponsored terrorism.
Admissions about hostage-taking, murder and terrorist attacks should have been sufficient to lock Al-Khazali up permanently. Instead, he was transferred to Iraqi custody in 2010 and released at the behest of Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki. Al-Khazali and hundreds of other militant leaders freed by Al-Maliki and the Americans immediately returned to paramilitary activities, with many traveling to fight for Bashar Assad.
Al-Khazali’s thugs — known as Asa’ib Ahl Al-Haq — were useful to Al-Maliki for breaking up protest camps and attacking political foes. Al-Khazali even capitalized on his relationship with Al-Maliki to enter politics. Al-Maliki’s patronage of sectarian militias, while undermining the military by distributing commanding posts to his corrupt cronies, precipitated the army’s disintegration. Although Al-Hashd Al-Shaabi supposedly came into existence after Daesh’s 2014 invasion of Mosul, the principal Al-Hashd forces were already active, having played a substantive role in creating the toxic sectarian climate that gave birth to Daesh. These events simply allowed Al-Maliki to formally add these militias to the state payroll.
Barack Obama’s squeamishness about putting boots back on the ground in Iraq inspired him to unofficially franchise the fight against Daesh out to Shiite militants responsible for the deaths of 500 coalition troops and thousands of Iraqis. These paramilitaries proved largely ineffective in urban combat and dedicated their energies to sectarian cleansing campaigns against Sunnis.
America and the West have a blind spot concerning Iranian-sponsored terrorism. Despite Hezbollah being responsible for the 1980s killing and kidnapping of hundreds of Westerners, and its current role in the global narcotics trade, many regard it as a legitimate political actor. Complacent Western mandarins keep assuring me that figures like Hadi Al-Amiri are committed Iraqi nationalists, despite spending four decades serving Tehran’s agenda. Don’t buy into their televized platitudes — look at their actual record of war crimes and terrorism.
With Hezbollah acting as a mercenary force in Syria and dominating the state infrastructure, it is perhaps too late for Lebanon. But there is still time to prise Iraq away from Iran’s embrace.
US generals David Petraeus, George W. Casey and Stanley A. McChrystal all warned from personal experience what these militants were capable of. So why did nobody take the risk of empowering an army of known terrorists seriously? These militia leaders even boast that “confrontation with the American forces may begin at any moment.” The killing of a US soldier by an Iranian-produced explosive device late last year is an unambiguous message that a return to such attacks is a genuine prospect.
Reports that Iran is supplying offensive ballistic missiles to these militias set a further lethal precedent. These militants also claim to be manufacturing their own rockets. Exactly as happened with Hezbollah, Tehran’s ayatollahs hope to discreetly build up these arsenals, providing the capacity to strike Arab, Israeli or Western cities — just as hundreds of Iranian missiles have been fired into Saudi Arabia by Houthi proxies.
These militias have recently been keeping a relatively low profile to avoid exclusion from the political process. Once a governing coalition is formed, they will feel little such constraint from returning to sectarian killings and striking Western targets. If Al-Hashd factions win Cabinet seats, they will have a pre-eminent position for consolidating their stranglehold on Iraq. If they fail to obtain positions, they will enjoy greater freedom to undermine the status quo through a return to terrorism and insurgency.
After months of America’s Baghdad envoy cozying up to Al-Hashd warlords like Al-Amiri, senior US official Brett McGurk belatedly joined efforts to broker a center ground coalition. Even if Al-Hashd only obtains a foothold in government, such as retaining the interior ministry, this would maintain its dominance over the security forces, while blocking the pressure for paramilitary demobilization.
Soleimani has been energetically sabotaging Al-Sadr’s efforts to form a government, including through undermining Prime Minister Haider Abadi’s electoral alliance. Abadi just sacked National Security Adviser Falih Al-Fayyadh after he went behind Abadi’s back and realigned his faction with Al-Hashd. To win over Kurdish and Sunni parties, Al-Hashd began a unilateral withdrawal from all disputed territories, only for Abadi to prohibit these redeployments. A succession of mysterious explosions recently destroyed weapons depots belonging to Al-Sadr’s “Peace Brigades.”
It is little surprise that the Shiite south recently erupted in protests, with anger directed against the offices of Iranian proxy forces. Impoverished citizens living on top of immense oil reserves are dying of infectious diseases due to a lack of clean water, while politicians compete over ministerial posts offering the most potential for corrupt gain.
Militant encroachment into the economic and reconstruction sector, and social, theological and propagandistic activities are further steps toward the “Hezbollahization” of Iraq. These proxies have also declared their readiness for deployment as a regional force. For decades, Lebanese citizens and foreign diplomats bought into the fiction that Hezbollah served a national agenda as a bulwark against Israel. With Hezbollah now acting as a mercenary force in Syria and dominating the state infrastructure, it is perhaps too late for Lebanon. However, there is still time to prise Baghdad away from Tehran’s embrace.
As the reimposed US sanctions bite, Iran is consolidating its regional gains and mobilizing its proxies in an offensive posture. These sanctions threaten to make Tehran’s leadership even more ruthless in exploiting its transnational paramilitary assets. Is the world ready for when veteran terrorists like Al-Khazali, Soleimani and Hassan Nasrallah stage a return to what they do best?
*Baria Alamuddin is an award-winning journalist and broadcaster in the Middle East and the UK. She is editor of the Media Services Syndicate and has interviewed numerous heads of state.

Iranian moderates’ Faustian bargain with the hardliners
Dr. Majid Rafizadeh/Arab News/September 02/2018
The Islamic Republic’s so-called moderates, particularly the Moderation and Development Party, are under significant pressure due to the nation’s economic crisis, high unemployment rate and inflation, as well as the collapsing value of Iran’s national currency, the rial.
Hassan Rouhani twice ran for the presidency promising to improve the economy, people’s living standards, and to provide jobs and equal opportunities for the ordinary people; specifically the youth, who constitute the majority of the population. Many people twice voted for the Moderation and Development Party in the hope that Rouhani could fulfill his promises and address at least some of the government’s flaws, including the country’s political and economic issues.
But the Iranian government has failed — conspicuously. At the end of the presidential term of Rouhani’s predecessor, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Iran’s national currency was worth approximately 30,000 rials for one US dollar. But this year the currency has gone through a devaluation of roughly 300 percent, dropping to historic lows. The Iranian Parliament last week summoned Rouhani in order to ask him some questions about the nation’s failing economy. Later, the parliament voted to reject Rouhani’s explanations to four out of five questions. Intriguingly, some news outlets, policy analysts, and politicians have suggested that such criticism of the Iranian moderates comes as a surprise, and a rare occurrence. There are several misconceptions which need to be addressed regarding this.
To begin with, any scholar who has studied Iran’s theocratic establishment since 1979 would be cognizant of the fact that, for almost four decades, it has been the modus operandi of the ruling mullahs to occasionally utilize some of their own loyalists or factions as a scapegoat. In addition, the regime often throws some of its own politicians under the bus in order to survive. Such situations historically occur when a part of the regime faces one or both of the following conditions: The political establishment can no longer sell to its population the argument that other countries, including the US or Gulf states such as Saudi Arabia, are the reasons behind their economic or political problems; and when the regime’s survival or hold on power is in danger due to widespread outrage, nationwide protests and demonstrations.
As a result, the regime needs a scapegoat to survive. That is where the moderates step in to save the system. The moderates have struck a Faustian bargain with the hardliners. In other words, the moderates have long accepted the status of being the hardliners’ scapegoat in exchange for some political power and economic benefits.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and the hardliners desire ultimate rule and power, without being subjected to the principle of accountability. To achieve this objective, Khamenei and his gilded circles rely heavily on the moderates or the president, who do not have actual power but are willing to take the blame for the regime’s mistakes. In addition, from the perspective of the hardliners — particularly Supreme Leader Khamenei and the senior cadre of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps — they have scored a political victory and vindicated themselves by successfully dodging responsibility and accountability by pointing the finger at the moderates.
Iran's moderates have long accepted the status of being the hardliners’ scapegoat in exchange for some political power and economic benefits. It is also worth noting that, as domestic pressure against the regime has been rising significantly, the theocratic establishment is taking cosmetic steps such as summoning the president to the parliament, televising it, and sacking a few politicians in order to project a false picture to the Iranian people that the government is acting immediately and appropriately to address their grievances.
Nevertheless, the reality is that the causes of Iran’s crisis are multifaceted and complicated. They include, but are not limited to, financial corruption at the top; misuse of taxpayers’ money, the nation’s wealth and public funds; the widespread banking crisis; and the hemorrhaging of billions of dollars on the IRGC, along with Shiite militia and terror groups across the region.
In other words, the reasons the regime is facing such a huge crisis are embedded within its own theocratic system. That is why Iran’s economy and the value of its currency have plummeted almost non-stop for the last 39 years. This negative trend will most likely continue as long as the Iranian regime is in power and as long as it declines to change its behavior, promote equal opportunities for its citizens, advance economic justice and the rule of law, and prioritize its own people over sponsoring and funding foreign militias and terrorist groups.
Iran’s hardliners, under the leadership of Khamenei, are playing a classic and tactical game of dodging accountability and responsibility by pointing the finger at the other side. Criticizing the moderates, summoning the president to parliament or sacking and arresting a few politicians will not address the underlying problems of the regime.
In sum, Iran’s so-called “moderate” political party has long struck a Faustian bargain with the hardliners in exchange for some political status and financial benefits. By occasionally accepting the blame and refraining from criticizing the supreme leader, the moderates help the theocratic system survive.
*Dr. Majid Rafizadeh is a Harvard-educated Iranian-American political scientist. He is a leading expert on Iran and US foreign policy, a businessman and president of the International American Council. Twitter: @Dr_Rafizadeh