Detailed Lebanese & Lebanese Related LCCC English New Bulletin For September 18/2018
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani

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Bible Quotations
Jesus Stresses the Importance Of persistence in life
Luke 11/05-08: "And he said to them, ‘Suppose one of you has a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say to him, "Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; for a friend of mine has arrived, and I have nothing to set before him." And he answers from within, "Do not bother me; the door has already been locked, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot get up and give you anything."I tell you, even though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, at least because of his persistence he will get up and give him whatever he needs."

نشرات اخبار عربية وانكليزية مطولة ومفصلة يومية على موقعنا الألكتروني على الرابط التالي
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 Titles For The Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on September 17-18/18
Report: 113 Iranians killed in Syria in Israeli airstrikes/Daniel Salami/Haaretz/September 17/18
Did Saddam Kill the Former Algerian Foreign Minister/Abdulrahman Al-Rashed/Asharq Al Awsat/September 17/18
Russia and NATO Show War Games Aren’t Just Games/James Stavridis/Bloomberg View/September 17/18
Mahmoud Abbas: Fresh American Blood on His Hands/Abbas's Responsibility for Murder/Bassam Tawil/Gatestone Institute/September 17/18
Legacy of Financial Crisis? Makings of Next One/Roger Lowenstein/The Washington Post/September 17/18
Jeddah Summit: Prosperity Protects Stability/Ghassan Charbel/Asharq Al Awsat/September 17/18
Islamic studies scholar Radwan al-Sayed and Arab leftism/Mashari Althaydi/Al Arabiya/September 17/18
Jeddah Summit: Prosperity protects stability/Ghassan Charbel/Al Arabiya/September 17/18
Idlib must look to regional powers rather than US for help/Ellen R. Wald/Arab News/September 17/18

Titles For The Latest LCCC Lebanese Related News published on September 17-18/18
Defense Teams Start Presenting Closing Arguments in Hariri Case
Focher Meets Aoun: Macron to Visit Lebanon in February
Report: Saudi Diplomat Attends STL Closing Arguments
Report: Salameh Suggests More Tax Hikes to Solve Housing Loans Crisis
Former President Amine Gemayel Hails Strong Lebanese-Kuwaiti Ties
Report: Lebanon Accelerates Solution for Housing Loans Crisis
Report: Lebanon Faces Growing Challenges with Stalled Cabinet
Khalil Denies Gasoline Price to be Hiked to Solve Housing Crisis
New Batch of Displaced Syrians Returns Home from Tripoli
FPM, PSP Urge Supporters to End Social Media War
New Zealand Squeezes out 63-60 Victory over Lebanon
Army commander, Kardel tackle general situation
Mashnouq denies having approved naming street after Mustafa Badreddine
Fenianos meets World Bank Group delegation over airport expansion project
Hariri receives Del Col

Titles For The Latest LCCC Bulletin For Miscellaneous Reports And News published on September 17-18/18
Report: 113 Iranians killed in Syria in Israeli airstrikes
Iran Vows to Protect Civilians in Syria's Idlib Province
Iran embassy in Athens attacked ‘in solidarity with Kurds’
Iraq deploys forces along borders with Turkey
Erdogan Says Turkey Will Increase Troop Numbers in Cyprus
Putin, Erdogan Meet on Idlib as Turkey Boosts Military Presence
Erdogan under fire after admitting $400 million jet was a gift from Qatar
Spain PM Defends Sending Weapons to Saudis after U-Turn
Denuclearisation to Top Moon's Pyongyang Agenda
Israel Court Halts Expulsion of French-U.S. Academic Seized at Demo
 
The Latest LCCC Lebanese Related News published on September 17-18/18
Defense Teams Start Presenting Closing Arguments in Hariri Case
Kataeb.org /Monday 17th September 2018/The defense teams representing the suspects indicted in the assassination case of Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri started presenting their closing arguments on Monday. The legal proceedings at the UN-backed Special Tribunal for Lebanon, launched in January 2014, have entered the final phase last week, with prosecutors and defense lawyers making their final statements until September 21. The closing arguments are summaries of the case presented by the parties in the proceedings. They do not constitute a judgement. Emile Aoun, the lead defense counsel of Salim Ayyash, who is accused of co-ordinating the assassination team that carried out the attack and purchasing the Mitsubishi Canter which used in the bombing, was the first to present his closing statements. In its final brief, the Ayyash defense team stated that the Chamber conducted these proceedings in the absence of the accused, adding that their silence is prohibited from being used against them. It also claimed that the disclosure from the Prosecution in this case is voluminous, rendering it incapable of providing any meaningful notice of what the Prosecution’s case actually is. Ayyash's lawyer deemed the telecommunications information as "unreliable", noting that evidence provided by the prosecution team does not allow for a finding that Ayyash was in Lebanon from 15 to 28 January 2005. The defense team criticized the prosecution for failing to call to the stand any of the people who were top contacts in the cellphones used by Ayyash, saying that those could have provided information about the suspect's activities and behavior during that period. "No witness was able to confirm that Ayyash was at the showroom where the Canter was purchased. No witness attributed the alleged cellphone to him," Aoun said. Ayyash's defense team also criticized the prosecution for using Lebanon's political context as a basis in its case, adding that the evidence the Chamber heard on what Bashar Assad allegedly told Hariri - that he would “destroy Lebanon over [Hariri’s] and Jumblatt’s head“ – was entirely hearsay. Aoun said that no one, including the STL Prosecution team, can label Hezbollah as terrorist, hailing the group as an "iconic symbol of resistance" and a "school that learns occupiers unforgettable lessons". When asked by the Trial Chamber President, Judge David Re, if it was possible to change his choice of terms, Ayyash's lawyer insisted and refused to retract his words.

 Focher Meets Aoun: Macron to Visit Lebanon in February
Naharnet/September 17/18/French Ambassador to Lebanon Bruno Focher visited President Michel Aoun on Monday where he asserted that Macron’s trip to Lebanon will take place in February, the Presidency media office said on Twitter. Foucher discussed the latest developments with Aoun and the bilateral relations between the two countries, said the media office. He asserted during talks that President Emmanuel Macron is scheduled to visit Lebanon in February. According to reports, Macron was supposed to visit Lebanon and Iraq in the first half of April, but the travel arrangements were rescheduled “due to previous commitments.”

Report: Saudi Diplomat Attends STL Closing Arguments
Naharnet/September 17/18/A diplomat from the Saudi Arabian embassy reportedly attended on Monday the proceedings of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon trying the accused in the assassination case of ex-PM Rafik Hariri in The Hague, LBCI TV station said. The Saudi diplomat attended Monday’s session “based on the kingdom's interest in the assassination of Hariri, and issues related to the kingdom such as the Hajj pilgrimage reportedly made by the Accused Salim Ayyash in January 2005.” Ayyash is a supposed member of Hizbullah who is accused along with three other suspects of involvement in the assassination of Hariri in 2005. Defence teams of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon started on Monday the presentation of their closing arguments in the Ayyash et al. case. The Defense team of the Accused Salim Ayyash said the “evidence the Chamber heard on what (Syrian President) Bashar Assad allegedly told Hariri - that he would “destroy Lebanon over (Hariri’s) and Jumblat’s head“ – was entirely hearsay.” Raymond Abou-Chaaya, Rabih Nohra and Mohammed Dia, victims of the February 14 attack attended Monday’s closing arguments in the courtroom. On Friday, the Prosecution stated that Ayyash participated directly and intentionally in the execution of the terrorist attack, the intentional homicide, and the attempted intentional homicide of Hariri. On Thursday, the arguments focused on the claim that the Accused Salim Ayyash had postponed his Hajj pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia to prepare for the 2005 attack and on the issue of the Palestinian young man Ahmed Abu Adas, who was allegedly abducted by two Hizbullah suspects from Beirut's Tariq al-Jedideh area to appear in the video of the false claim of responsibility.
A verdict is not expected until the new year.

Report: Salameh Suggests More Tax Hikes to Solve Housing Loans Crisis
Kataeb.org /Monday 17th September 2018/Central Bank governor Riad Salameh suggested hiking gasoline prices by LBP 5,000 and to increase the Value Added Tax (VAT) in order to solve the housing loans crisis in Lebanon, Al-Akhbar newspaper reported. During his meeting with members of the parliamentary National Economy committee, Salameh reportedly rejected a proposal made by one of the lawmakers to increase taxes on private banks so as to secure the funds needed to reactivate subsidized loans. A few months ago, the Public Corporation for Housing and the Housing Bank stopped processing new applications for subsidized loans due to lack of cash. The Central Bank usually provides funds that allow banks to offer very low interest mortgages to low-income and first-time homebuyers.

Former President Amine Gemayel Hails Strong Lebanese-Kuwaiti Ties
Kataeb.org /Monday 17th September 2018/Former President Amine Gemayel on Monday hailed the strong ties that have always linked Lebanon and Kuwait together, denouncing the negative comments that were made recently about Kuwait's emir. During a phone call with the Kuwaiti Ambassador to Lebanon Abdul-Aal Al-Qinaii, Gemayel praised the supportive role that Kuwait has always played in Lebanon, expressing appreciation for all the initiatives it launched to help the country. In an interview on Al-Manar channel last week, journalist Salem Zahran alleged that U.S. President Donald Trump had asked Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah to scrap several contracts sealed with Chinese companies, and to sign the same projects with U.S. companies for a greater cost. The journalist also claimed that Trump had forced the emir to pay $50 million to an American law firm to handle the termination of the Chinese contracts.

Report: Lebanon Accelerates Solution for Housing Loans Crisis
Naharnet/September 17/18/The Lebanese state has reportedly put forward three proposals to address the growing housing loans crisis threatening “social security” amid "positive" signs that the loans could be “revived” after a halt of six months, the Saudi Asharq al-Awsat reported on Monday. The Finance Ministry and Lebanon’s Central Bank, Banque du Liban, are set to address the crisis in a bid to contain the negative repercussions, said the daily. On July 8, Lebanon's Public Corporation for Housing announced that no applications for housing loans will be accepted from July 9. In March, the total amount allocated for housing loans subsidized by BDL had been reduced due to unprecedented demand. Asharq al-Awsat said these indicators come in light of reports that BDL will issue a support package to revive the Lebanese economy in the next fiscal year. “Naturally, there will be a part dedicated to supporting housing loans,” said the daily.

Report: Lebanon Faces Growing Challenges with Stalled Cabinet
Naharnet/September 17/18/The formation of Lebanon’s government has become “more than necessary” in view of the serious “economic challenges, regional developments and Israeli threats,” the country faces, al-Joumhouria daily reported on Monday. Sources close to Speaker Nabih Berri told the daily that “the worsening economic situation, the possible military developments in the Syrian territory, Israel’s relentless attempts to steal Lebanon’s oil and the latest of winds of naturalization,” all constitute a challenge to Lebanon. They stressed the need for quick action saying “these challenges pose a national threat. National duty calls to expedite the formation of the government. Lebanon is in danger,” they said. Meanwhile, ministerial sources also “raised a red flag” saying Lebanon is in an economic crisis,” noting that economic bodies, workers and trade union sectors may escalate movements to press officials into agreeing on a government format. The parliamentary Finance and Budget Committee is expected to discuss the country's “ailing” economy during its meeting today, said the daily. According to the newspaper, Lebanon’s deficit has reached $ 1.91 billion by the end of April 2018 compared to $ 844.73 million in 2017. PM-designate Saad Hariri was tasked with forming a new Cabinet on May 24 but his mission has since been delayed because of wrangling between political parties over shares and portfolios.

Khalil Denies Gasoline Price to be Hiked to Solve Housing Crisis
Naharnet/September 17/18/Caretaker Finance Minister Ali Hassan Khalil on Monday denied media reports alleging that gasoline prices will be hiked to resolve the housing loans crisis. “There are no new taxes in the draft 2019 state budget and hiking gasoline prices is not proposed at all,” Khalil said. Al-Akhbar newspaper reported Monday that Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh had rejected a lawmaker's proposal to tax banks to fund housing loans for citizens. It said the issue was raised in a meeting last week between Salameh and MPs from the National Economy, Trade, Industry and Planning Parliamentary Committee. “The crisis can only be solved through imposing an LBP 5,000 tax on gasoline and through hiking the VAT tax,” Salameh was quoted as saying according to al-Akhbar. The Central Bank had recently issued a memo revising loan interests backed by it as the housing bank sharply toughened its lending terms. According to reports, the housing bank raised the interest rate from 3% to 3.75% as it lowered the payment period from 30 to 20 years. The interest rate for Lebanese expats was meanwhile raised from 2% to 2.75% with an unchanged 30-year payment period. Under the new reported terms, the bank would also withhold loans from anyone who inherits a house outside Beirut and anyone who benefited from a housing bank loan in the past.

New Batch of Displaced Syrians Returns Home from Tripoli
Naharnet/September 17/18/A new batch of displaced Syrians returned to their homeland Monday from the northern city of Tripoli. Lebanese General Security agents escorted the buses that carried the refugees to Syria, the National News Agency said. The agents also “oversaw the registration of the names and the organized the safe return,” NNA added. A number of returnees expressed their gratitude for Lebanon's government and people and thanked General Security for offering assistance. “General Security chief Maj. Gen. Abbas Ibrahim's instructions are clear on offering all the necessary help to all returnees,” a spokesman for General Security said. “This should motivate the remaining displaced Syrians to voluntarily return to their homeland Syria and measures have been carefully taken to secure a safe return,” the spokesman added.

FPM, PSP Urge Supporters to End Social Media War
Naharnet/September 17/18/The Free Patriotic Movement and the Progressive Socialist Party have called on their supporters to halt a war of words that has been raging between them for several weeks now on social networking websites. “The best thing is to contemplate the situations of this world. Engaging in futile debates will not make any difference,” PSP leader Walid Jumblat tweeted. He also urged Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri and caretaker Education Minister Marwan Hamadeh to address the file of Nizar Hani and Raja al-Ali. “I have always supported the principle of dialogue, which is the best approach... Enough with incitement articles from cheap journalists,” Jumblat added. “To the fanatics on social networking websites: the issues of electricity, water pollution, garbage, treasury deficit, unemployment and other social affairs are more important than what a son-in-law, a theoretician or a fanatic might do,” the PSP chief went on to say. He also described Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi's call for a “neutral government” and an end to futile debates as “profound and wise.”In a memo, the FPM meanwhile called on its officials, ministers, MPs and all members and supporters to “put an end to debates and pacify the rhetoric towards the PSP on social media and through the various media outlets.”It warned that the verbal clashes “have taken a repugnant sectarian direction that is very distant from the FPM's rhetoric and values.”The PSP's general secretariat later called on all officials, members, supporters and friends to “refrain from engaging in any political or media debates with the FPM via social networking websites or media outlets.”“This would pacify the atmosphere and contribute to protecting the civil peace that the party has always struggled for over the past few years,” the PSP added. The FPM and the PSP have been trading jabs in recent months against the backdrop of the stalled Cabinet formation process, with Jumblat demanding all three Druze seats in the government for his party amid the rejection of the FPM and its leader MP Jebran Bassil. The war of words escalated further after FPM-backed officials sacked the employee Nizar Hani from the Environment Ministry and the employee Raja al-Ali from Electricite Du Liban in response to Hamadeh's firing of Hilda Khoury from the Education Ministry. Jumblat slammed President Michel Aoun's tenure as a failure and the “tenure of thugs” after the move while describing Bassil as “the Jared Kushner of Lebanon,” drawing violent responses from the FPM's ministers and supporters. PSP supporters also launched anti-FPM hashtags on social media in support of their party.

New Zealand Squeezes out 63-60 Victory over Lebanon
Kataeb.org and Agencies/Monday 17th September 2018/The basketball team of Lebanon was only a few seconds away from another victory after its historic win over the Chinese team in Beirut as part of the FIBA's 2019 World Cup qualifiers. Despite the absence of four main players and the blatant and unfair referee mistakes, Lebanon played a big game against New Zealand which managed to squeeze out a 63-60 victory in the last 20 seconds. The Tall Blacks fell behind by as many as 11 points in their match against the confident Lebanese, but they kept chipping at the deficit throughout the contest till they unleashed a strong finishing kick to steal the game from the Cedars. The New Zealand men, now 7-1, have taken a firm grip on top spot in Group E of the second stage of qualifying, with Lebanon slipping back to 6-2. Ater Majok was Lebanon's most influential player, centre posting a double-double of 16 points and 11 rebounds. Though he was credited with just one blocked shot, he altered numerous others with his length troubling the Tall Blacks big men inside. Slick guard Elias Rustom paced the visitors with 19 points on 8-of-12 shooting, while Ahmad Ibrahim pitched in a handy 11 points. The Tall Blacks claimed a miraculous comeback after they had played catch up for almost the entire match in Rotorua with poor shooting from the field seriously hindering their cause. The home side shot just under 28 per cent from the field, seriously behind their Lebanese opponents who shot 38 per cent. Lebanon's next assignment is against Korea on November 29.

Army commander, Kardel tackle general situation
Mon 17 Sep 2018/NNA - Army Commander General Joseph Aoun on Monday welcomed at his Yarzeh office the United Nations Special Coordinator for Lebanon, Pernille Dahler Kardel, with talks reportedly touching on the general situation in Lebanon and the broad region.
Maj. Gen. Aoun also received the Australian journalist and researcher, Roger Shanhan.

Mashnouq denies having approved naming street after Mustafa Badreddine
Mon 17 Sep 2018/NNA - Caretaker Interior Minister, Nohad Mashnouq, on Monday denied having allowed the municipality of Ghobeiry to name a street in the locality after Mustafa Badreddine."I have not signed any decree allowing the Ghobeiry municipality to name a street after Mustafa Badreddine, a key accused of the assassination of Rafic Hariri before the Special Tribunal for Lebanon," Mashnouq said. "I do not approve such denomination; therefore, the decision of Ghobeiry municipality is rejected by the Ministry of Interior and Municipalities," he added. "Refusing to sign this decision does not mean any implicit approval," he stressed. Mashnouq indicated that the Ministry would send a letter to the municipality of Ghobeiry to ask for the removal of the divisive street signs.

Fenianos meets World Bank Group delegation over airport expansion project
Mon 17 Sep 2018/NNA - Caretaker Public Works and Transport Minister Youssef Fenianos, on Monday met with a delegation of the International Finance Corporation (IFC) affiliated to the World Bank Group, led by Nierin kindi Manwail. Discussions reportedly touched on means of cooperation in the expansion of Beirut Rafik Hariri International Airport's project and devising the technical, financial and legal feasibility study for this vital project, as well as stimulating the participation of the private and public sectors.
The delegation relayed that the minister showed all cooperation to devise the necessary economic study for this project and the participation of the public and private sectors.
On the other hand, Fenianos met with the Director General and Board Chairman of the Joint Transport Authority, Ziad Nasr, with whom he discussed the most prominent obstacles facing projects prepared by the Authority in coordination with the Ministry, especially the public transport project for the city of Beirut and its suburbs and Tripoli and its neighborhood.

Hariri receives Del Col
Mon 17 Sep 2018/NNA - Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri received on Monday at the Center House the UNIFIL Force Commander and Head of Mission, Major General Stefano Del Col, and discussed with him the situation in the South and the work of the UNIFIL.

The Latest LCCC Bulletin For Miscellaneous Reports And News published on September 17-18/18
Report: 113 Iranians killed in Syria in Israeli airstrikes
تقرير من الهآررتس: 113 أيراني قتلوا في سوريا خلال شهرين بنتيجة الغارات الإسرائيلية
Daniel Salami/Haaretz/September 17/18
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/67532/haaretz-report-113-iranians-killed-in-syria-in-israeli-airstrikes-%d8%aa%d9%82%d8%b1%d9%8a%d8%b1-%d9%85%d9%86-%d8%a7%d9%84%d9%87%d8%a2%d8%b1%d8%b1%d8%aa%d8%b3-113-%d8%a3%d9%8a%d8%b1%d8%a7%d9%86/
Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says at least 28 pro-regime Syrian fighters were killed in Israeli attacks on war-torn country since April.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Monday 113 Iranian and militias members identified with the Islamic Republic were killed during the two past months in Israeli airstrikes in Syria. According to the Observatory, Iranian officers, and at least 28 pro-regime Syrian fighters were killed in the explosions of the arms depots and warehouses that were attacked since April and which Syria attributed to Israel. Among the Iranian targets in Syria that were struck are the Al-Nayrab military airbase near Aleppo, Mezzeh military airport on the western edge Damascus, several locations in the Quneitra province that were repeatedly attacked, Dabaa military airfield in the Syrian province of Homs near the Syrian-Lebanese border, T-4 military airfield, locations in south west Syria, Aleppo International Airport, and the military airport in Hama. In addition, according to the Syrian opposition head, Israel has attacked in recent months weapons depots near the Damascus International Airport and the coastal city of Baniyas, the town of Masyaf, Hama and other suburbs of the Syrian capital.
Following the attack on the Damascus International Airport Saturday which Syria also attributed to Israel, Syrian state news agency SANA reported the country's defense systems were activated and several Israeli missiles were intercepted. "Our air defense systems thwarted an Israeli missile aggression on Damascus International Airport," the news agency SANA cited a military source as saying. An Israeli military spokeswoman said Israel does not comment on foreign reports. According to the Arab media outlets, the attack was directed against advanced weapons depots containing new arms delivery. They added severe damage was caused, but no casualties were reported. Two weeks earlier, Syria said a series of explosions took place in at the Mezzeh military airport in Damascus. However, the Al Jazeera news network reported the attack targeted the scientific research center in the Jamraya area on the outskirts of Damascus. Furthermore, it is estimated that since the beginning of Syria's civil war, 8,004 non-local fighters have been killed, most of them Shi'ite operating under the auspices of the Revolutionary Guards, and 1665 Hezbollah activists. The Observatory added that 32,000 foreign fighters took part in the fighting in the war-torn country over the past seven years.
 
Iran Vows to Protect Civilians in Syria's Idlib Province
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/September 17/18/Iran said Monday it is committed to protecting civilians if its Syrian regime ally launches a full-scale offensive on the country's last rebel stronghold of Idlib province. "The humanitarian issue is of significant importance to us," foreign ministry spokesman Bahram Ghasemi told journalists in Tehran. "In line with our policy of fighting terrorism and reclaiming Syria's territorial integrity, we are highly determined to solve the Idlib issue so that the people are not harmed," he added. Tehran is a key backer of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in the country's seven-year conflict, and has said it is ready to support an assault by regime forces on the rebel-held province. Iran, Russia and Turkey met at a Tehran summit on September 7 to discuss the expected offensive against Idlib but were unable to overcome their differences. While Ankara says it agrees with Moscow on the need to push extremists out, it is concerned about the fate of pro-Turkey rebels also present in the area. Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan were due to meet on Monday to continue the talks. Although Iranian President Hassan Rouhani will not be present, Ghasemi said Tehran is continuing discussions with both countries as well as Damascus. Sixty percent of Idlib's area is controlled by the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) jihadist group, an alliance led by al-Qaida's former Syrian affiliate. Turkey has meanwhile bolstered its military presence in Idlib, with Ankara aiming to prevent a Moscow-backed assault by Assad's forces who have massed around the province in recent weeks. The United Nations and non-governmental organizations have repeatedly warned that such an offensive would unleash a "bloodbath" and "humanitarian catastrophe" in the area, which is home to three million people.

Iran embassy in Athens attacked ‘in solidarity with Kurds’
Agencies/Monday, 17 September 2018/An anarchist group attacked the Iranian embassy in Athens early Monday, smashing windows and throwing red paint into the courtyard in protest at Tehran's treatment of its Kurdish population, police said. "The attack was claimed by the Rubicon group," a police official told Agence France-Presse, adding that no arrests had yet been made. The attack was carried out by about 10 members of the group at about 0300 GMT who, armed with iron bars, took the guard by surprise and then smashed windows in the waiting room. Nobody was hurt in the incident, police said.
In a statement on the internet, the Rubicon group claimed the attack as a gesture of solidarity with the "Kurds of Iran". The Rubicon group has carried out a series of similar attacks in recent years, targeting embassies, companies and public buildings, causing damage but no injuries.
In August, members of the group burst into the Austrian embassy, protesting against Vienna's plans to extend the working day. (With AFP)

Iraq deploys forces along borders with Turkey
Staff writer, Al Arabiya English/Monday, 17 September 2018/Iraq’s outgoing Prime Minister, Haider al-Abadi, decided on Sunday to deploy national security troops along the borders with Turkey. The decision was made during a meeting by the Ministerial Council for National Security. The national security council said in a statement that border guards will be deployed along the Turkey border, adding that there is a re-examination of the federal police’s structure. During the meeting, they also discussed the country’s security and stability, border control, documenting violations (land or air), in addition to organizing the federal police’s duties and arming it to enhance its role in complementing the Iraqi army forces. The council also discussed stability in Basra and the measures taken to protect citizens and public and private property.

Erdogan Says Turkey Will Increase Troop Numbers in Cyprus
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/September 17/18/Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has vowed that Ankara will increase rather than reduce its troops numbers in Cyprus, a move that could further set back attempts to reunify the divided Mediterranean island. In comments published in Turkish media Monday, Erdogan added that Turkey had no need for a naval base on Cyprus as mooted in some reports but could establish such a facility if it was necessary from a "psychological" point of view. "No, we are not going to reduce the numbers of our troops. We will increase them, we are not going to decrease them," he told Turkish reporters traveling back with him from a trip to Azerbaijan. He expressed impatience over the Cyprus issue, saying "this business would have been solved" if the Greek Cypriots had backed unification in an April 2004 referendum on a plan put forward by the late former U.N. secretary general Kofi Annan. While Turkish Cypriots were overwhelmingly in favour of the plan, Greek Cypriots voted against. "Henceforth we will implement the formula that we have declared for ourselves," said Erdogan, without elaborating. Cyprus has been divided since the 1974 Turkish invasion which occupied the northern third of the island in response to a Greek military junta-sponsored coup. Turkey is believed to maintain around 35,000 troops in northern Cyprus, although the military does not give official figures. The withdrawal -- or drastic reduction -- of Turkey's military presence is seen as key to any reunification plan being acceptable to the Greek Cypriot side. Some conservative Turkish media have also reported in recent weeks that Turkey was planning to open a naval base on Cyprus, a move that would likely deal a terminal blow to any reunification hopes. But Erdogan said "we have no need to build a base there," noting that unlike Greece, Turkey was just "minutes away" from the coast of Cyprus. But he appeared to leave the door open to such a move as a way of making a political statement. "This issue just has a psychological dimension. In this respect, if we felt the need, we could establish a base. Our presence there is important," Erdogan said. There were high hopes at the beginning of 2017 that U.N.-backed talks could clinch a breakthrough in the long-running stalemate on reuniting the island. But the deadlock has not been broken and analysts say rapid progress is unlikely for the moment as Erdogan reaches out to the nationalist electorate in Turkey.

Putin, Erdogan Meet on Idlib as Turkey Boosts Military Presence
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/September 17/18/Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan met Monday to try to come to an agreement over the Syrian rebel stronghold of Idlib. The leaders of the two countries are on opposite sides of the deadly seven-year conflict but remain key global allies. "We have a lot of issues to discuss, including difficult ones," Putin said at the start of the talks at his residence in the Black Sea resort city of Sochi. He added that the meeting would help "find solutions for where there are none yet." "I think not just the region, but the entire world has eyes focused on our meeting today," Erdogan said for his part, in comments that were translated into Russian. "I believe that the statement we will make after the Sochi meeting will give new hope to the region," he added. Russia-backed forces of the Syrian regime have massed around Idlib province in recent weeks, sparking fears of an imminent air and ground attack to retake the last major opposition bastion. The United Nations and non-governmental organizations have repeatedly warned that such an offensive would unleash a "bloodbath" and "humanitarian catastrophe" in Idlib, which is home to three million people. Turkey has intensified negotiations with Russia to avert a possible attack, repeatedly calling for a ceasefire. Erdogan and Putin met previously on September 7 in Tehran for a three-way summit with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani that saw the Russian and Turkish leaders openly disagree over how to deal with the rebel stronghold, which borders Turkey. "The situation with Idlib is acute," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told RIA Novosti state news agency ahead of the talks Monday. "There are certain differences in approaches" between the leaders, he added.
Mass exodus fears
The two men met as Turkey's military has sent significant reinforcements to Idlib in recent weeks, according to media reports. They were sent over the border Sunday and included tanks and other hardware, with a convoy of 50 military vehicles, according to the Hurriyet daily. Russia and Iran are key allies of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime. Turkey however backs opposition fighters seeking the ouster of the Syrian leader, and has said a large-scale offensive against the rebels could trigger a mass exodus towards its border. Russian and Syrian air strikes, artillery fire and barrel bomb attacks have killed more than 30 civilians across the province in the past month, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The bombardment has slowed over the past week, however, and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Friday that the Syrian regime is not preparing a major offensive against Idlib, adding that Moscow will do everything to protect civilians. "What is being presented at the moment as the beginning of a Russian-backed offensive by Syrian forces is not a faithful representation of the facts," Lavrov said. "We are doing everything to ensure that the civilian population would not suffer," he said. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on Friday said Turkey was ready to cooperate with anyone in the fight against terror groups in Syria, but criticized the Damascus regime for using the presence of jihadist groups to legitimize a possible operation in Idlib. The Syrian civil war erupted in 2011, when the Assad regime launched a vicious crackdown on pro-democracy protests that evolved into a complex conflict involving jihadists and world powers. It has killed an estimated 360,000 people and forced millions to flee their homes.
 
Erdogan under fire after admitting $400 million jet was a gift from Qatar
Arab News/September 17/18/LONDON: The Turkish opposition have ‘questioned the honor’ of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan after the leader admitted accepting a luxury jumbo jet as a “gift” from Qatar. Erdogan has come under intense pressure after it emerged he had received the $400 million jet from Doha. The opposition initially claimed the plane had been bought for the presidency with public funds. On Monday, Erdogan said Turkey had shown interest in buying the Boeing 747-8 plane but Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani insisted on offering the plane as a gift, AFP reported. “We were interested. When the Qatar emir was informed of this he gave it as a gift, saying ‘I won't take money from Turkey. I will give this plane as a gift,’” Erdogan said. The Turkish president insisted that while the jet would be used for his trips, “the plane is not mine, it is the Turkish Republic’s,” he said while returning from a visit to Azerbaijan. But Kemal Kilicdaroglu, leader of the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) hit back at Erdogan over the move to accept such a gift. “How can it not cause you discomfort?” Kilicdaroglu said on Monday. Erdogan said that once the paintwork was finished he hoped to use the plane for travel. Reports said the giant plane, which was part of Tamim’s personal fleet, is equipped for only 76 passengers and has lounges and boardrooms. Erdogan’s remarks came after criticism last week by MPs from the opposition, who claimed Erdogan had bought the plane. CHP MP Gamze Tascier said on Twitter that a sales official from a company based in Switzerland confirmed the sale of a Boeing 747-8 jet. “The company says it was sold, supporters say it was a gift,” she said on Thursday. The plane shows the increasingly close relationship between Doha and Ankara, particularly since Saudi Arabia and Arab countries launched a boycott more than a year ago of Qatar over its links to extremist groups. Doha looked to Turkey and Iran in response to ship in food, goods and supplies. Qatar and Turkey also sided with Islamist groups during the Arab Spring protests in country’s like Egypt and Libya. Last month, Doha promised to make a $15 billion direct investment in Turkey after a spat with Washington, which saw the lira’s value fall drastically against the dollar.

Spain PM Defends Sending Weapons to Saudis after U-Turn
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/September 17/18/Spain's prime minister on Sunday defended his government's controversial decision to go ahead with the delivery of 400 laser-guided bombs to Saudi Arabia, saying it was needed to preserve good ties with the Gulf state. His Socialist government announced earlier this month that it would block the delivery of the weapons amid concerns that they could harm civilians in Yemen where Saudi Arabi is engaged in a bloody conflict. But on Thursday Foreign Minister Josep Borrell announced the government had decided to deliver the weapons after all, angering humanitarian groups. Cancellation of the deal would jeopardise a much larger order for five Corvette warships worth 1.8 billion euros, to be built by Spain's Navantia shipyard in the southern region of Andalusia, with thousands of jobs at stake. Workers in the region, a stronghold of the ruling Socialist Party, had staged demonstrations pressing for the deal to go ahead. Asked about the policy reversal during an interview with private television La Sexta, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said his government risked "creating the image that it was revising its entire relationship" with Saudi Arabia if it did not deliver the weapons. "The situation was very complicated. The dilemma the government faced was breaking its commercial, economic and political ties with Saudi Arabia, with the impact this could have in some areas of the country, such as the Bay of Cadiz, or carry out a contract signed by the previous government," he added. Saudi Arabia, a longtime ally, had already paid 9.2 million euros ($10.7 million) for the bombs under a 2015 contract signed by a previous, conservative administration in Spain. Apart from the warship deal, Madrid has obtained juicy engineering contracts to build a high-speed railway linking Mecca and Medina, and a metro in Riyadh. Spain is the fourth largest provider of military equipment and weapons to the Gulf state, according to Amnesty International. Nearly 10,000 people have been killed in Yemen since Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and other allies intervened in 2015 after Huthi rebels ousted the government from the capital Sanaa and seized swathes of the country.

Denuclearisation to Top Moon's Pyongyang Agenda
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/September 17/18/Denuclearisation will be high on South Korean President Moon Jae-in's agenda when he meets with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Pyongyang this week, Moon's office said Monday. Moon will fly to the North Korean capital on Tuesday for his third summit with Kim in the latest stage of a diplomatic thaw on the peninsula, although progress has stalled in denuclearisation talks between Pyongyang and Washington. "We will push for North Korea's advanced denuclearisation and a reciprocal measure from the US by swiftly reviving sincere dialogue aimed at establishing new, peaceful relations," Moon's chief of staff Im Jong-seok told reporters. Moon, who met Kim twice this year, was instrumental in brokering the historic Singapore summit between US President Donald Trump and Kim in June, when Kim backed denuclearisation of the "Korean peninsula". But no details were agreed and Washington and Pyongyang have sparred since over what that means and how it will be achieved. The US is pressing for the North's "final, fully verified denuclearisation", while Pyongyang has condemned demands for it to give up its weapons unilaterally as "gangster-like". Im said the South Korean leader will try to close the gap between the US and the North by playing the role of a mediator. "Through various meetings and phone calls, President Moon has a better understanding of what the US is thinking than Chairman Kim," he said. Moon will become the third South Korean leader to visit Pyongyang and will hold at least two meetings with Kim, who may make a rare appearance at the airport to welcome his guests, the chief of staff said. He is also scheduled to attend a concert and visit key sites in the North's capital with his delegation, which includes tycoons Lee Jae-yong -- the heir to the Samsung group -- and the vice chairman of Hyundai Motor. Moon has been pushing inter-Korean economic co-operation but several South Korean newspapers urged caution Monday, with the Korea Herald calling the businessmen's presence on the trip "untimely". "It is better to postpone economic projects involving the North until after negotiations to remove its nuclear program make substantial progress," it said in an editorial. And investment in the North was "fraught with risks and uncertainty", it added. Other issues on Moon's agenda will be improving inter-Korean ties and easing military tensions on the peninsula, which the South said could lay the ground for declaring a formal end to the 1950-53 Korean War, which ended with an armistice rather than a peace treaty. That suggested a declaration -- which Pyongyang has been pressing for strongly -- was unlikely during Moon's trip.

Israel Court Halts Expulsion of French-U.S. Academic Seized at Demo
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/September 17/18/An American-French law professor arrested while protesting against the demolition of a Palestinian village in the West Bank says an Israeli court has revoked a deportation order against him. Frank Romano, who teaches law at the Paris Nanterre University, was released late Sunday on the orders of the Jerusalem magistrates court and spoke in a video posted on social media. He said that police had earlier handed him to immigration officials for immediate deportation without a court hearing but he refused to sign a consent form. "The judge called the immigration and said 'bring him back' and we had the hearing," he said. In the courtroom, the judge ordered his release, he said. Supporters said he was allowed to stay in Israel until September 25, the original date of his return flight. He was ordered to lodge a surety of 1,000 shekels ($256, 240 euros) and provide a guarantor for a separate 5,000 shekel bond, they said. Romano was detained on Friday while taking part in a demonstration at the Bedouin village of Khan al-Ahmar, east of Jerusalem. The village of roughly 200 people in the Israeli-occupied West Bank is at risk of being demolished at any time, despite fierce criticism from key European nations. On September 5, Israel's supreme court upheld an order to raze it on grounds it was built without the proper permits. It is extremely rare for Palestinians to be given Israeli permits to build in Area C of the West Bank, where Khan al-Ahmar is situated. The village is located in a strategic spot near Israeli settlements and along a road leading to the Dead Sea. There have been warnings that continued settlement construction in the area could eventually divide the West Bank in two and cut it off from Jerusalem, dealing a death blow to any remaining hopes of a two-state solution. Anti-demolition activists said Romano was arrested along with two Palestinian protesters when they tried to block bulldozers sent in by Israeli authorities to seal off an access road to the village. Pictures on social media show him being led from the scene by Israeli riot police.

The Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on September 17-18/18
Did Saddam Kill the Former Algerian Foreign Minister?
Abdulrahman Al-Rashed/Asharq Al Awsat/September 17/18
It was only a few years ago that the death of Algerian Foreign Minister Mohammed Seddiq Benyahia, whose plane was downed in a Kurdish area between Iraq, Iran and Turkey 36 years ago, was brought up.
It was revealed that it was a premeditated incident and that former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein was behind it. The source of this information was Salah Goudjil, the former Algerian Minister of Transportation, and more importantly the man who headed the Algerian commission investigating Benyahia’s death.
The biggest shock however was when Khaled Nezzar, the former Minister of Defense and the army’s strongman for a long period of time, confirmed this information a few days ago.
It’s been three decades and a half since the incident took place and many relevant parties are no longer in the scene as they have passed away; therefore, there is no reason to doubt the new story.
Retired general Nezzar does not only implicate Saddam but also accuses then-Algerian President Chadli Bendjedid of ordering everyone to keep silent and conceal the dangerous information that implicates the Iraqi authorities.
The military did not like Bendjedid for believing he was responsible for failure and chaos. He was forced out of office in the beginning of the 1990s when he permitted extremist Islamists to become politically active, and which was accompanied with the rise of jihadists like Belhadj.
Benyahia’s plane was transporting 14 other people who also died after the jet was targeted shortly after crossing the Iraqi border. According to the head of the Algerian investigation commission, investigators found the remains of the missile, which blew up the plane, in the debris. The missile is manufactured by Russia and its serial number was tracked to Iraqi military purchases. There was enough available information to state that someone in Iraq had launched the missile and downed the plane.
Of course there is the hypothesis that there was no foul play and that the missile was fired mistakenly. However, Saddam’s discourtesy did not give the Algerians the chance to ask questions and investigate. When Saddam visited Algeria shortly after the incident, the authorities did not dare open the subject with him under the excuse that he was a guest in their country.
Then the transportation minister was dispatched to Baghdad. But he too did not dare bring up the subject with Saddam. He only handed him the file of the investigation into the case, which indicated that Iraq was accused of killing the minister. All what Saddam told the minister was: “You have to improve relations with Iraq.” As if he was threatening by saying: “Yes, I killed him!”
The important question is why would Saddam kill the envoy after accepting his mediation to end the war between Iraq and Iran in 1982? At the time, it was less than two years into the eight-year war. He suspiciously looked at Algeria. It was Algeria that accomplished the border dispute agreement with the Shah’s government in the 1970s, the agreement which Saddam ripped apart when he turned against Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr and declared war on Iran after the Shah was overthrown and Khomeini assumed power.
Saddam saw that Algeria was the only mediator that succeeded in convincing the Iranians to release the American embassy hostages. Despite that, Saddam could have just rejected his mediation rather than killing Benyahia. However, those who know the former Iraqi president are aware that he sends messages to his rivals through murder.
Saddam was famous for his passion for violence. He had killed hundreds of his friends, relatives, fellow tribal members and others from his home town of Tikrit, and thousands of others. He had killed his cousin and defense Minister Adnan Khairallah in a plane crash, his sons-in-law, and Baghdad’s governor few months after honoring him with the Order of the Two Rivers. He had also killed many of his ministers and comrades from the party’s leadership on various charges. He was a terrifying figure to governments and individuals.
However, things did not go as planned by Saddam. Few months after Benyahia’s plane was downed, the former Iraqi leader began losing battles with the Iranians who managed to restore areas they had lost, and entered South Iraq.
Back then, Saddam reiterated his call to end the war, urged mediations and announced keenness for a reconciliation and for going back to the Algerian agreement which he had torn apart. The war, however, lasted for another six years after Benyahia’s murder.

Russia and NATO Show War Games Aren’t Just Games
James Stavridis/Bloomberg View/September 17/18
Over the coming weeks, both NATO and Russia will launch a series of super-high-end war games. These games are hardly for fun — rather, they are deadly serious practice sessions for hundreds of thousands of soldiers, thousands of combat aircraft, and flotillas of combat ships. While no one will die (other than by accident, a not uncommon occurrence in such exercises), the messages going back and forth are crystal clear: We are prepared for war.
Russia’s exercise is called Vostok — which means “east” — and will be held principally east of the Ural Mountains. It is the largest military exercise by Russia since Soviet times (in 1981) and will deploy 300,000 troops and more than 1,000 military aircraft. Of note, China will participate with thousands of its troops operating alongside the Russians (there will also be a token contingent of troops from Mongolia, which has been a partner to both Russia and NATO at times).
The message to the West is obvious: Russia and China might work together militarily against NATO in the East or the US and its allies in the Pacific. The futuristic novel “Ghost Fleet” by Peter Singer and August Cole gives an excellent description of a high-tech war that begins unexpectedly in the Pacific with Russia and China allied against the US. These war games provide a preview of that sort of military activity could look like — and it should be very worrisome to US planners.
NATO will conduct its own huge military exercise, named Trident Juncture 2018. It will take place on the northern borders of the alliance and will involve 40,000 troops from all 29 nations, a couple of hundred aircraft and dozens of warships. While not as spectacularly large as Russia’s Vostok, it will serve as a “graduation exercise” for NATO’s new Spearhead Force, a serious, highly mobile capability that can put NATO combat troops into the Baltic states to repulse a Russian invasion within a matter of days.
Led by a highly motivated Italian unit that could be fully ready to fight in 48 hours, the spearhead force also includes Dutch and Norwegian forces. Advance word says the exercise will include a mock invasion of Norway by US Marines. This robust event is part of a vast improvement over the anemic states of readiness in NATO just a decade ago.
Of note, two high-capability militaries that are not NATO members, but are close coalition partners — Sweden and Finland — will participate. When I was supreme allied commander of NATO a few years ago, I deeply admired the professionalism and military excellence of both nations, which participated with NATO in many global operations. The Russians are deeply concerned about the possibility of Sweden and Finland considering NATO membership, and their involvement in Trident Juncture will stoke those fears in Moscow. All of this means tension and the possibility of miscalculation. We should pay particular attention to four key elements of these very serious games.
First, we need to recognize that there are internal messages working here on both sides. In the Russian case (and especially from the perspective of President Vladimir Putin), the games signal the high capability and professionalism of the nation’s troops. This builds on the patriotic pride that was created by the invasion of Ukraine and the annexation of Crimea, and is a signal to the general population that their military is more than capable of holding on to those gains.
As for NATO, the message is similar, and directed toward the front-line states that border Russia — Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Norway — and NATO partners Finland and Sweden. In the West, the message is one of capability and credibility — a willingness to fight if necessary.
Second, the role of China is nuanced. The Russian games were originally conceived as a deterrent not to NATO, but to China. Let’s face it: China, with its vastly larger population and need for economic growth, looks at the vast, natural-resource-rich tracts of Siberia the way a dog looks at a rib-eye steak. Yet a growing nationalism on the part of President Xi Jinping and unease over the Donald Trump administration’s hawkish policies on trade has China looking to develop a stronger relationship with Moscow. And Russia, frustrated with the antipathy of the US (driven these days not by the White House but by Congress) is willing to draw nearer to China. While the longer-term relationship is fraught, it is a partnership (and a war game) of convenience at the moment.
Third, there is real military improvement that stems from such exercises. Pushing the European allies and Canada to deploy troops allows an increase in military interoperability on many fronts: technical synchronization of radio communications; alignment of targeting from different nations’ aircraft (a significant challenge in the NATO Libyan operation, for example); highly complex anti-submarine warfare operations; and multi-unit infantry and armor maneuver. All of these are challenging, and practice will make both sides much closer to perfect.
Finally, it is worth looking specifically at the maritime dimension of both the Russian and NATO exercises. It is not a coincidence that the NATO operation will be commanded not by a general, but rather by a four-star US admiral, Jamie Foggo. A former commander of NATO submarine forces and the legendary US Sixth Fleet in the Mediterranean, Foggo has thought deeply (and frequently published) about maritime operations in the current NATO-Russia environment. There will be significant maritime groups both from NATO and Russia operating in the Baltic Sea, Black Sea, eastern Mediterranean and even the Arctic.
The good news from a Western perspective is that our land, air, maritime, cyber- and special-operations forces will work together and emerge more capable and interoperable. The bad news is that Russia’s forces will as well, and their odd alignment with China — at least in this moment — will cause further concern globally.
The US and its allies will continue to train and prepare for combat, hoping that better readiness creates deterrence and reduces the tendency for adventurism from either side. But we should not fool ourselves: These “games” are deadly business.

Mahmoud Abbas: Fresh American Blood on His Hands/Abbas's Responsibility for Murder
Bassam Tawil/Gatestone Institute/September 17/18
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/13001/abbas-ari-fuld-murder
According to Palestinian terrorist groups, the terrorist, Khalil Jabarin, decided to murder a Jew in response to Israeli "crimes" against the Al-Aqsa Mosque in particular and Islamic holy sites in general. Needless to say, there is no Israeli plan to allow Jews to pray inside the Al-Aqsa Mosque.
The statements made by Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad confirm that there is a direct link between Abbas's false charge against Israel and the murder of the Israeli-American citizen.
Abbas's latest fabrication is directly responsible for the murder of Ari Fuld, stabbed to death by a terrorist who actually believed Abbas's lies about a purported Israeli scheme to split the Al-Aqsa Mosque between Muslims and Jews.
Ari Fuld, a 45-year-old Israeli-American citizen and father of four, was murdered yesterday near Bethlehem by a Palestinian terrorist. (Image source: Ari Fuld/Facebook)
In a speech before the PLO Executive Committee in Ramallah on September 15, Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas repeated the old libel that Israel was planning to establish special Jewish prayer zones inside the Al-Aqsa Mosque. Abbas claimed that Israel was seeking to copy the example of the Tomb of the Patriarchs in Hebron, where Jews and Muslims pray in different sections.
Abbas did not say what his lie was based on. He also did not provide any evidence of Israel's ostensible plot against the Al-Aqsa Mosque. He said, nevertheless, that the Palestinians, together with Jordan, were planning to bring this issue before the International Criminal Court and the International Court of Justice.
Abbas's allegation was quickly picked up by several media outlets in the Arab world, the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The headlines that appeared on websites affiliated with Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the second largest terrorist group in the Gaza Strip, claimed that Israel is planning to permit Jews to pray inside the Al-Aqsa Mosque.Needless to say, there is no Israeli plan to allow Jews to pray inside the Al-Aqsa Mosque. However, in the past few years Jews, like all other non-Muslims, have been allowed to resume their perfectly legal visits to the Temple Mount. Thousands of Jews have toured the holy site under police protection, despite provocations and violent attacks by Muslims. It is worth noting that any kind of prayer of "religious displays" by Jews or Christians anywhere on the Temple Mount are completely forbidden by the Israel Police.
Why is Abbas's false accusation significant and dangerous? Hours after reports were published of Abbas's allegation, a 17-year-old Palestinian from the town of Yatta in the southern West Bank fatally stabbed Ari Fuld, a 45-year-old Israeli-American citizen and father of four, in a shopping center in Gush Etzion, south of Bethlehem. According to Palestinian terrorist groups, the terrorist, Khalil Jabarin, decided to murder a Jew in response to Israeli "crimes" against the Al-Aqsa Mosque in particular and Islamic holy sites in general. In other words, the terrorist was influenced by Abbas's incitement, and this is why he decided to set out on his deadly mission. There is no doubt that the terrorist saw the reports quoting Abbas's claim that Israel was planning to allow Jews to pray inside the Al-Aqsa Mosque.
Palestinian terrorist groups were quick to establish a connection between the murder of Fuld and Abbas's remarks. The Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorist group, for example, noted in a statement that the stabbing attack was a "natural response to Zionist terrorism committed by aggression and crimes against our people, our lands and our holy sites."Hamas, for its part, said that the terrorist attack came in response to Israeli "violations" against the Al-Aqsa Mosque. "We welcome this heroic attack and affirm that harming Al-Aqsa Mosque is a red line," said Hamas senior official Husam Badran in a statement. "This operation is in response to what Israel is planning to do in Al-Aqsa Mosque."
The statements made by Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad confirm that there is a direct link between Abbas's false charge against Israel and the murder of the Israeli-American citizen. The terrorist groups are indirectly saying that Jabarin decided to murder a Jew because his president, Abbas, told him and the rest of the world that Israel was planning to create special Jewish prayer areas inside the Al-Aqsa Mosque.
Abbas's false claim was not the first libel of its kind.
It is time to remind those who may have forgotten that it was Abbas who sparked the 2015 "knife intifada" with his accusation that Jews "with their filthy feet were defiling the Al-Aqsa Mosque." Abbas's statement came in response to the Israeli government's decision to lift a temporary ban on Jewish visits to the Temple Mount. Here is what Abbas had to say then:
"The Al-Aqsa [Mosque] is ours, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre is ours, and they have no right to defile them with their filthy feet. We will not allow them to, and we will do everything in our power to protect Jerusalem."
Abbas went on to say: "We welcome every drop of blood spilled in Jerusalem. This is pure blood, clean blood, blood on its way to Allah. With the help of Allah, every shaheed (martyr) will be in heaven, and every wounded will get his reward."
Shortly after Abbas's remarks, Palestinians launched a wave of stabbing and vehicular attacks as part of what they called the "Jerusalem Intifada," or the "Knife Intifada," in which hundreds of Israelis have been murdered and injured.
Abbas and his Palestinian Authority have since continued to incite Palestinians against Israel by claiming that Jews were "violently storming and invading" the Al-Aqsa Mosque.
This claim, of course, is also false because the Jews touring the Temple Mount have never set foot inside the Al-Aqsa Mosque. Jews and Christians are not even allowed to pray anywhere on the Temple Mount. In fact, Jews who are spotted praying, singing, bowing down, closing their eyes or crying during the tours are often arrested by the Israel Police. Abbas, however, will not allow anyone to confuse him with the facts. He lives in his own dreamed-up world where he continues to spread lies and incite against Israel. Abbas's latest fabrication is directly responsible for the murder of Ari Fuld, stabbed to death by a terrorist who actually believed Abbas's lies about a purported Israeli scheme to split the Al-Aqsa Mosque between Muslims and Jews. It is high time for the international community to see that Abbas's anti-Israel incitement is what is driving Palestinians to grab a knife and set out to stab the first Jew they meet. The blood of Ari Fuld, among many others, is all over Abbas's hands.
*Bassam Tawil is an Arab Muslim based in the Middle East.
© 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.

Legacy of Financial Crisis? Makings of Next One
Roger Lowenstein/The Washington Post/September 17/18
In a happier world, we would be celebrating the bank bailouts of 10 years ago. They stopped a scary downward spiral, averted a longer-lasting depression and quickly led to a recovery that endures today.
I recall the precise moment. Ben Bernanke and Hank Paulson asked for legislation to save the banking system — what became TARP (Troubled Asset Relief Program). This was September 2008, days after the failure of Lehman Brothers. No one knew who was next. Virtually no one — not GE, not Goldman, no financial firm — was assured of its survival.
The country was deep in recession. Jobs had been vanishing all year. Millions of homes were in foreclosure. Banks were not making loans.
The popular reaction to TARP was outrage. Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) noted prophetically that his mail was split — 50 percent “No” and 50 percent “Hell, no!” The House voted it down; the market fell 700 points. The House reconsidered.
A decade on, the painful recession and the bailouts have been fused in popular memory into a single cause for smoldering resentment. They tainted the image of capitalism.
Taking its cue from public anger, post-crash legislation went to great pains to preclude the possibility of another bailout. That effort, and that focus, was misplaced. Our focus should be on minimizing the likelihood of another crash.
The term “minimize” is used advisedly. Now and then, market capitalism lays an egg. The old saw is that if we didn’t have speculation, we wouldn’t have railroads, nor would we have the Internet or a thousand successful start-ups that began as an unlikely gamble. The downside is that speculation occasionally goes awry. The economist Hyman Minsky said markets are programmed to go awry. Each time someone takes a risk and comes out whole, the next person takes a little more risk. This was no less true for lending to Argentina than it was for subprime in San Bernardino, Calif.
Not even regulatory scrutiny can keep speculation healthy forever. Consider the housing industry — which, since it melted down in 2008, has been the object of intense scrutiny by overlapping regulators. In obvious ways, the industry has improved. Credit scores are higher, suggesting that lenders have tightened credit. Americans have more equity in their homes, and they are not withdrawing equity ATM-style, as they did previously, to pay for groceries and sailboats. Largely gone are “Alt-A” loans, which contained some of the worst abuses and eventually the highest default rates.
There also has been some improvement in the financial superstructure. True, Wall Street is unreformed — short-term oriented and speculative as ever — but banks are better capitalized. And households, for now, also are less leveraged. On balance, housing is safer than it was in 2008. That does not mean it is safe. Home prices have been on a tear for most of the past decade. Lately, they have risen at 5 to 6 percent a year — double the rate of personal income growth. The gap between housing and income cannot widen indefinitely. The Minsky bubble psychology has infected government agencies who insure about 80 percent of home-purchase mortgages. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the biggest of these, have loosened standards. With encouragement of their regulator, the Federal Housing Finance Agency, half of first-time home buyers getting mortgages guaranteed by Fannie and Freddie are making down payments of 5 percent or less. Such easy credit is aimed at broadening access for young people, who often lack capital. However, a lesson from 2008 is that if a person cannot afford a home under prudent lending standards, imprudent lending will not help them.
The riskiest loans are insured by the Federal Housing Administration, an agency whose mission is to broaden homeownership. (These loans are securitized with a guarantee from a different government sponsor, Ginnie Mae). Somewhat akin to subprime in the 2000s, the FHA sector, by definition the most marginal, has widened. It is now approximately 20 percent of the mortgage market. According to Edward Pinto, co-director of the American Enterprise Institute Center on Housing Markets and Finance, the average market price of FHA-enabled purchases has risen 25 percent in the past five years, yet the dollar amount of the average down payment has fallen.
“That is not tight credit,” Pinto says. A study by the New York Fed, in essential agreement, argues that the housing sector “remains vulnerable to very severe declines in house prices.”
The biggest losers are likely to be marginal buyers and the government sponsors who hold their loans. The private sector would seem less exposed. But there could still be trouble. And so, after a decade of trying to avert another crash, we could have one.
If we do, it should be recalled that the previous bailouts — loans and partial socializations of banks, whose shares were eventually resold by the Treasury at a profit — stanched the bleeding. Countries whose governments did not intervene as aggressively fared worse.
And yet, we must admit that political fallout from the bailouts has been serious. If you think of populism, as I do, as a largely incoherent fury, you are unhappy because we have more of it. If you are a populist, you are probably unhappy, as well.
The political problem with the bailouts wasn’t that they happened but that they were tailored too narrowly. They failed to help many of the 9.3 million people who were foreclosed on. That gave rise to the deep disdain of Washington, to a pervasive suspicion that Trump rode to the White House.
Arguably, had more home buyers been helped, fewer would have concluded, “Hell, no.” Banks would have suffered a haircut — a fair price for government support. Sure, some of the people who defaulted were culpable; well, culpable banks got help, too.
This isn’t to say bailouts are desirable. But the time to reduce the likelihood of their being needed is before the trouble occurs (i.e., now). This is especially relevant for select industries where the broad public would be exposed. When the dot-com industry flamed out, the damage was contained and the government, appropriately, did nothing. Banking is different, both because the country cannot afford for people to lose their savings and because the potential for bank runs means that one or two failing banks endanger others. Deposit insurance minimizes the risk — but it also dulls the normal market rationale for prudence. Thus, regulators must lean on banks not to take outsize risks.

Jeddah Summit: Prosperity Protects Stability
Ghassan Charbel/Asharq Al Awsat/September 17/18
It is a gift from geography for your country to enjoy a strategic location that affects trade movement and to figure in security calculations. At the end of the day, however, what really matters is how this gift is handled and invested. The strategic location may transform from a blessing into a curse if sound policies are not available to fortify the country from major regional and international powers. During the long-gone time of two major world powers, small countries used to pay the price for siding with this camp or that. They were also paid hefty sums to defect from one camp to the other.
In the mid-1980s, much was said about refugee camps on the Sudanese-Eritrean border. I was dispatched there by Lebanon’s An Nahar newspaper to see for myself the suffering there. I used to tell myself that the media exaggerated the reality there, because it was hard to believe that a child could starve to death because he could not find a drop of milk or crumb of bread. I toured the camp and came across a man searching for a grave in which to lay to rest the body of a small child. Dispelling my doubts, he confirmed to me that the child had starved to death. Similar scenes were repeated at the camp throughout the day. That day taught me that a regime should be judged based on the amount of food and work and education opportunities it provides its people, not on its loud slogans and claims of victories.
I recall another incident in which Eritrean movements invited a number of journalists to attend a conference they were holding on Eritrean soil they had dreamed of liberating. The journalist were to accompany the Eritrean fighters to infiltrate Ethiopian territory amid the lingering threat of air strikes. We stayed there for several days and witnessed first-hand the tragedy the people have to endure when living under the shadow of oppression and poverty.
We believed that day that the Eritrean war for independence would be endless like the Palestinian dream for independence.
The strategic location of the Horn of Africa made it a constant presence on the agendas of major and regional countries. The countries of the Horn of Africa overlook the Indian Ocean and control the southern entrance of the Red Sea. This means that the region is vital for energy and trade shipments. The Red Sea ports are also vital for the economies of Arab Gulf countries, as well as their national security. Moreover, the Horn of Africa countries also control the sources of the Nile River, meaning the stability of Egypt’s economy and security.
The region has long suffered from major international meddling. The best example of this was the 1977 Ogaden War between Somalia and Ethiopia. In order to save Addis Ababa from certain defeat, the Soviet Union dispatched its military aides, weapons and 18,000 Cuban soldiers and 2,000 soldiers from “comrade forces in Aden.” The Soviet intervention that day changed the course of the war, exactly how Russia’s recent intervention in Syria changed its war. The Horn of Africa has also long suffered from the scars of border wars and conflicts because each country there sought to destabilize its neighbor and host opposition figures. The Ethiopian-Eritrean war broke out in 1988 and left more than 100,000 people dead. As the fighting raged on, poverty became more rampant, refugee numbers began to mount and economies started to weaken, leaving the youth to chose between poverty, militias, extremism or the dream of immigration. Major countries competed to establish a foothold in the Horn of Africa. The most recent one to do so was China, which is launching a major effort to expand in Africa as part of a wider offensive across the globe. This economic attack falls under its “Belt and Road” initiative and was accompanied by Beijing exercising greater political clout and increasing its military spending.
Iran is also trying to breach the region, directly or through Houthi missiles. Given the above, we can understand the historic developments that took place in Jeddah, which witnessed the signing of a permanent peace deal between Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki under the direct sponsorship of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz. Choosing Jeddah as the location to sign this deal is recognition of the success of Saudi Arabia’s peace efforts, as well as those exerted by the United Arab Emirates.
The truth is that the arrival of a young and wise leader to a position of power in Ethiopia was one of the main reasons that helped push forward this drive for peace. It is clear that Ahmed is seeking a policy of resolving his country’s internal and foreign problems in order to achieve a qualitative shift in cooperation to develop the economy and achieve prosperity and stability. It was not easy to make concessions to persuade Afwerki to join this new drive, but the course of events cannot be altered without taking difficult decisions. The Ethiopian-Eritrean summit in Jeddah is a major victory for diplomatic, economic and security calculations. It is also an important step forward in achieving stability in a turbulent world. The prime minister of Ethiopia has emerged as a new and prominent player in the battles of the future, not the past. History will note that Ahmed and Afwerki set prosperity as a priority over claiming victory against the other. Afwerki realized that victory against poverty, unemployment and lack of modernity were more important than a victory against Ethiopia, while Ahmed had realized early on that prosperity protects internal and foreign stability.

Islamic studies scholar Radwan al-Sayed and Arab leftism
Mashari Althaydi/Al Arabiya/September 17/18
I know, like a bunch before me also knew, how the disease of hatred, which made the healing doctor ill, managed to dominate the Arab leftist and nationalist sentiment and how it managed to bid nationalist leftism and leftist nationalism against Saudi Arabia and against every Arab country that does not care about their falsities and stories. We will not talk about the hostility of Islamized movements, both Sunni and Shiite, against Saudi Arabia and which aim to deprive Saudi Arabia of its moral capital since it’s the source of Islam, the homeland of revelation, where the prophet is buried, and the qiblah of Muslims.
This is well-known, and those with sight and insight can see that. The Arab leftist and progressive “case” has had some Arabist manifestations that are void of any practical “meat” that makes people full. This is spearheaded by the ugly trio, the Khomeinists, the Brotherhood and the leftists (in addition to some nationalists) who behave like angry bulls as they slander Saudi Arabia. Throughout his life, Sayed engaged in plenty of discussions. He invalidated opinions and changed views, wrote, investigated, debated and was debated. He roamed the institutions of knowledge and critically observed what they teach, all he saw, after great effort, was people, from among those who adopt an Arab leftist rhetoric, who are either immersed in confusion or immersed in regret.
Today I want to talk about an Arab thinker who is obsessed with Arab concerns, the Lebanese Islamic studies scholar Radwan al-Sayed. Doctor Radwan al-Sayed is also known as Mawlana (the preacher) due to his studies in Germany in the fields of Islamics.
In his recent op-ed “Success and failure in the balances of leftists and nationalists” in this daily (Asharq Al-Awsat), he conveyed his bitterness due to the diseases of Arab leftism and nationalists due to what is happening in Syria and Iraq and how they’ve voiced their support to murderer Bashar al-Assad and to Iran’s groups in Iraq, Lebanon and Yemen and who have liked Erdogan’s recent brawls and new warmth between him and Tehran’s mullahs and Moscow’s emperors.
“Do the brave nationalists and leftists, whether Lebanese or non-Lebanese, and whom most of them stood with Assad and with Hezbollah, think they’ve won? How, with what and where to? Truth is, they did not succeed in anything except in making citizens vulnerable and giving up on their partnership with them while imposing control over them and intimidating them. Otherwise, what brings these inveterate liberals and democrats with the weapons of the sectarian party and the guardianship of the jurist regime?” Radwan asks.  Mawlana then addresses the main point and the source of the disease’s complex and says: “The nationalist leftists’ and the leftist nationalists’ problem is that they hate Egypt and the Saudi kingdom. They are willing to support the Americans, the Russians, the Chinese and the Indians on condition that there is no prosperous orchards between these and prominent Arabs.”
Throughout his life, Sayed engaged in plenty of discussions. He invalidated opinions and changed views, wrote, investigated, debated and was debated. He roamed the institutions of knowledge and critically observed what they teach, all he saw, after great effort, was people, from among those who adopt an Arab leftist rhetoric, who are either immersed in confusion or immersed in regret. This is the summary of all summaries that exposes the disease of the “elitist” Arab mind.

Jeddah Summit: Prosperity protects stability
Ghassan Charbel/Al Arabiya/September 17/18
It is a gift from geography for your country to enjoy a strategic location that affects trade movement and to figure in security calculations. At the end of the day, however, what really matters is how this gift is handled and invested.
The strategic location may transform from a blessing into a curse if sound policies are not available to fortify the country from major regional and international powers. During the long-gone time of two major world powers, small countries used to pay the price for siding with this camp or that. They were also paid hefty sums to defect from one camp to the other. In the mid-1980s, much was said about refugee camps on the Sudanese-Eritrean border. I was dispatched there by Lebanon’s An Nahar newspaper to see for myself the suffering there. I used to tell myself that the media exaggerated the reality there, because it was hard to believe that a child could starve to death because he could not find a drop of milk or crumb of bread.
I toured the camp and came across a man searching for a grave in which to lay to rest the body of a small child. Dispelling my doubts, he confirmed to me that the child had starved to death. Similar scenes were repeated at the camp throughout the day. That day taught me that a regime should be judged based on the amount of food and work and education opportunities it provides its people, not on its loud slogans and claims of victories. I recall another incident in which Eritrean movements invited a number of journalists to attend a conference they were holding on Eritrean soil they had dreamed of liberating. The journalist were to accompany the Eritrean fighters to infiltrate Ethiopian territory amid the lingering threat of air strikes. We stayed there for several days and witnessed first-hand the tragedy the people have to endure when living under the shadow of oppression and poverty. We believed that day that the Eritrean war for independence would be endless like the Palestinian dream for independence.The Ethiopian-Eritrean summit in Jeddah is a major victory for diplomatic, economic and security calculations. It is also an important step forward in achieving stability in a turbulent world
Strategic location
The strategic location of the Horn of Africa made it a constant presence on the agendas of major and regional countries. The countries of the Horn of Africa overlook the Indian Ocean and control the southern entrance of the Red Sea. This means that the region is vital for energy and trade shipments.
The Red Sea ports are also vital for the economies of Arab Gulf countries, as well as their national security. Moreover, the Horn of Africa countries also control the sources of the Nile River, meaning the stability of Egypt’s economy and security. The region has long suffered from major international meddling. The best example of this was the 1977 Ogaden War between Somalia and Ethiopia.
In order to save Addis Ababa from certain defeat, the Soviet Union dispatched its military aides, weapons and 18,000 Cuban soldiers and 2,000 soldiers from “comrade forces in Aden.” The Soviet intervention that day changed the course of the war, exactly how Russia’s recent intervention in Syria changed its war. The Horn of Africa has also long suffered from the scars of border wars and conflicts because each country there sought to destabilize its neighbor and host opposition figures. The Ethiopian-Eritrean war broke out in 1988 and left more than 100,000 people dead.
As the fighting raged on, poverty became more rampant, refugee numbers began to mount and economies started to weaken, leaving the youth to chose between poverty, militias, extremism or the dream of immigration. Major countries competed to establish a foothold in the Horn of Africa. The most recent one to do so was China, which is launching a major effort to expand in Africa as part of a wider offensive across the globe. This economic attack falls under its “Belt and Road” initiative and was accompanied by Beijing exercising greater political clout and increasing its military spending. Iran is also trying to breach the region, directly or through Houthi missiles.
Historic developments
Given the above, we can understand the historic developments that took place in Jeddah, which witnessed the signing of a permanent peace deal between Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki under the direct sponsorship of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz. Choosing Jeddah as the location to sign this deal is recognition of the success of Saudi Arabia’s peace efforts, as well as those exerted by the United Arab Emirates. The truth is that the arrival of a young and wise leader to a position of power in Ethiopia was one of the main reasons that helped push forward this drive for peace.
It is clear that Ahmed is seeking a policy of resolving his country’s internal and foreign problems in order to achieve a qualitative shift in cooperation to develop the economy and achieve prosperity and stability.
It was not easy to make concessions to persuade Afwerki to join this new drive, but the course of events cannot be altered without taking difficult decisions. The Ethiopian-Eritrean summit in Jeddah is a major victory for diplomatic, economic and security calculations.
It is also an important step forward in achieving stability in a turbulent world. The prime minister of Ethiopia has emerged as a new and prominent player in the battles of the future, not the past.
History will note that Ahmed and Afwerki set prosperity as a priority over claiming victory against the other. Afwerki realized that victory against poverty, unemployment and lack of modernity were more important than a victory against Ethiopia, while Ahmed had realized early on that prosperity protects internal and foreign stability.

Idlib must look to regional powers rather than US for help
Ellen R. Wald/Arab News/September 17/18
Many Syria observers believe there is an impending major battle in Idlib, which is home to around 3 million Syrians and a large contingent of anti-Assad forces, primarily the Al-Qaeda-linked Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS). The region is essentially surrounded by President Bashar Assad’s loyalist forces, with the exception of a series of Turkish observation posts. In the event of a battle, the region would also come under fire from Russian jets. Assad will not desist until he recaptures the whole of Syria, but the rebels — those linked to Al-Qaeda and the others — will not easily surrender. Therefore, there is great fear of a catastrophic battle and a humanitarian crisis.
As with all humanitarian crises — or potential crises, as Idlib represents — there seems to be a lingering question: What will the world’s only superpower do? In this case, the answer is probably nothing.
The US has had a military presence in Syria for a few years, but the numbers and roles are unclear and believed to be small. That alone does not mean there is a need for any greater American intervention. The US military was not built to stand between two warring parties — the despotic Assad and the terrorist HTS. After all, nuclear submarines and stealth fighter jets are not useful as peacekeepers in urban warfare.
Perhaps the primary reason that the US cannot intervene directly in Syria is that there is no way to identify a particular group or groups to support. It seems now that Assad is going to win the civil war. Yet, even if there was still an opportunity to defeat him, the US does not have a strategic interest in toppling his regime. It is clear that Assad is a ruthless dictator and an enemy of US allies in the region, but the alternative to Assad could be much worse. For instance, in place of Assad, an Al-Qaeda or Daesh offshoot could take power.
The US, UK and others could attempt to establish peace talks, but they would have little chance of success at this point. Neither Assad nor his ally, Russia, has any reason to participate while they are winning. Moreover, in Idlib it seems HTS may be the only group powerful enough to consider negotiating on the other side, but the US cannot facilitate peace talks with an Al-Qaeda offshoot.
Hopefully someone will help the residents of Idlib, but that help should come from regional powers, not the superpower. At this point, there is not much the US can or should do.
The simple truth is that the US is not the country that should be providing help here. There are a variety of neighboring countries with resources and interests, some of which have already aided the Syrian population tremendously. Turkey is said to be housing 3.5 million Syrian migrants and Europe has absorbed many others. Jordan has also accepted Syrians, and Israel has provided medical treatment and rescue operations. Still, these countries, along with the Gulf states and Egypt, can perhaps contribute more.
As neighbors, all of these countries have significantly greater connections to and interests in the outcome in Syria. In contrast, the US is exhausted from constant Middle East action. As this column has detailed recently, in the last 40 years more than 7,500 US servicemen have been killed in conflicts in the Middle East and Afghanistan. The end result is always the same, as the US is hated by elements in the region just as much as, if not more than, it was before.
Another reason the US will not intervene in Syria is that it has little connection to the country. There are no historical, cultural or population ties of any significance between the two nations. In 2016, the most recent year for which there is data, fewer than six out of every 10,000 Americans was of Syrian descent. Moreover, the Syrian American population is diverse, including Arabs, Christians, Kurds, Jews, Armenians, Turkmens and others. There is no clear consensus on whether the US should intervene, even among the small number of Syrian Americans.
The issue of Idlib is not of any interest or importance to the American people. The people and media in the US are preoccupied with sustaining a growing economy, solving trade disputes and domestic politics. On a geopolitical scale, the US is thinking about issues that may directly impact Americans: North Korea, Mexico, Iran and, to some extent, the massive humanitarian crisis in Venezuela. An impending battle in Idlib rarely appears in the news in the US. Very few Americans are familiar with the situation in Idlib or knowledgeable and interested enough to even form an opinion.
If the US is going to intervene in any way, it may be best to do so with targeted missions before the civil war ends. These would be intended to protect the strategic interests of the US or its close allies. This could mean destroying stockpiles of chemical weapons; destroying other military assets that Assad and his Russian or Iranian allies should not have; or assisting Israel in facilitating strikes on Hezbollah.
But this war will end. It appears quite likely that Assad will win, and Russia and Iran will have influence in Syria as a result. Before that, there will likely be more fighting and more bloodshed in Idlib. Hopefully someone will help the residents of Idlib, but that help should come from regional powers, not the superpower. At this point, there is not much the US can or should do.
*Ellen R. Wald, Ph.D. is a historian and author of “Saudi, Inc.” She is the president of Transversal Consulting and also teaches Middle East history and policy at Jacksonville University. Twitter: @EnergzdEconomy