LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
April 07/16
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
http://www.eliasbejjaninews.com/newsbulletin16/english.april07.16.htm
News Bulletin Achieves Since 2006
Click Here to go to the LCCC Daily English/Arabic News Buletins Archieves Since 2006
Bible Quotations For Today
Baptizing them in the name of the
Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit and teaching them to obey
everything that I have commanded you
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to
Saint Matthew 28/16-20:"The eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to
which Jesus had directed them. When they saw him, they worshipped him; but some
doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth
has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing
them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and
teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am
with you always, to the end of the age.’"
The grass withers, and the flower falls, but the word of the Lord endures for
ever.
First Letter of Peter 01/22-25:"Now that you have purified your souls by your
obedience to the truth so that you have genuine mutual love, love one another
deeply from the heart. You have been born anew, not of perishable but of
imperishable seed, through the living and enduring word of God. For ‘All flesh
is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and
the flower falls, but the word of the Lord endures for ever.’ That word is the
good news that was announced to you."
Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources
published on April 07/16
Blasphemy Convictions Intensify in Sisi’s Egypt/Raymond Ibrahim/Gatestone
Institute/April 06/16
Psychological warfare against the frontrunner/Walid Phares/Face Book/April
06/16/
Saudi Arabia and Egypt: Old and new/Mshari Al Thaydi/Al Arabiya/April 06/16
A unity government must replace Assad/Maria Dubovikova/Al Arabiya/April 06/16
AIPAC: Lobbying on whose behalf/Yossi Mekelberg/Al Arabiya/April 06/16
The endless cycle that is Libya/Dr. Theodore Karasik/Al Arabiya/April 06/16
The Problem With the US Elections’ Extremes/Eyad Abu Shakra/Asharq Al Awsat/April
06/16
Why is Iran “Openly” Announcing its Presence in Syria/Tariq Alhomayed/Asharq Al
Awsat/April 06/16
Titles For Latest Lebanese Related News published on April 07/16
Berri Schedules Legislative Session
for after Dialogue Session
Berri Says No Cover up in Internet Scandal
Abou Faour Says Abortion Doctor Should 'Rot' in Jail
Reports: Hizbullah Kills, Wounds Several Nusra Militants in Arsal Outskirts
Foreign Ministry Following Up on Case of Lebanese Abducted in Nigeria
Hizbullah Slams 'Blatant Violation of Freedom of Expression' after NileSat Drops
al-Manar
Jumblat Says Seeking to Limit Rampant Corruption amid Confidence Crisis
Mashnouq Vows to Pursue Probe into Sex Trafficking Ring
Italian PM Carries Vatican Message to Tehran on Lebanon Crisis
Two Siblings Kidnapped South of Beirut
Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin For Miscellaneous Reports And News published on April 07/16
Nusra Front in Syria Confirms Death
of Spokesman
First Syrians leave for US under surge resettlement program
Syrian Arrested in Germany on War Crimes Charges
Russia pledges full support for UN-brokered Syria peace talks
Syria Talks 'Doomed' Unless Assad Fate on Table, Says Opposition
Cross-Border Shelling from Yemen Kills Two in Saudi
Syria 'Heart-Eating' Rebel Killed, Says Monitor
ISIS attacks Assad forces near capital, 18 killed in Aleppo
18 Dead in Syrian Rebel Shelling on Kurdish Area
Libya Unity Govt. Cements Control after Rival Cedes Power
Brazil President Faces Key Call in Impeachment Drive
Egypt emphasizes ‘special ties’ with Saudi
US considering moving Sinai troops
Links From
Jihad Watch Site for
April 07/16
Hugh Fitzgerald: A Little More On Islam Awareness Week.
Robert Spencer, PJM: Bernie Sanders Alludes to Ridiculous ‘Muslims Are the New
Jews’ Meme.
UK: Muslim gang accused of raping and molesting girls aged 13 and 15.
Man who screamed “jihad” on flight gets 9-month sentence.
Florida: Muslim speaker says killing gays is act of “compassion”.
NYC: Knife-wielding Muslim screaming “Allahu akbar” threatens Jewish man.
1993: Muslim cleric allowed to preach jihad and hatred of infidels all over UK.
Moronic Questions After Brussels – on The Glazov Gang.
Berri Schedules Legislative Session
for after Dialogue Session
Naharnet/April 06/16/Speaker Nabih Berri announced on Wednesday that he will
hold a legislative session after April 20. He said during his weekly meeting
with lawmakers at his Ain el-Tineh residence that the session will be held after
national dialogue talks on that same day. “Everyone must assume their
responsibility towards the interests of the people, which are the foundation of
the National Pact,” Berri told the MPs. The revival of parliament legislation
came back to the spotlight last week as some parliamentary blocs said they were
in favor of such a move while others totally rejected it in the absence of a
president. Parliament convenes twice a year in two ordinary sessions -- the
first starts mid-March until the end of May and the second from the middle of
October through the end of December. But the legislature and the government have
been paralyzed as a result of the vacuum at the presidential palace. Parliament
last held a legislative session in November 2015.
Berri Says No Cover up in
Internet Scandal
Naharnet/April 06/16/Speaker Nabih Berri revealed that some parties are
attempting to cover up the scandal of the illegal internet, vowing to resolve
the issue. In remarks to his visitors on Tuesday, Berri said: “This case is not
prone to cover up. We will pursue it till the end.” “I informed
Telecommunications Minister Boutros Harb about my opinion, and he agrees with
me,” said Berri. Harb showed “details of the scandal are unbelievable,
especially with regard to its gravity,” he stated. The speaker told his visitors
that he had warned about Israeli wiretapping in 2013 and had asked for a follow
up. But unfortunately no move was made in that regard. “Had deterring and
punitive measures taken at the time, we wouldn't have now witnessed the internet
scandal,” said Berri, whose remarks were published in several newspapers on
Wednesday. The speaker wondered how the equipment that were discovered in
mountainous regions across Lebanon were imported to Lebanon. “Some of the
equipment are huge,” he said. “From which port they entered (Lebanon) and who
covered it up?” he asked. Berri praised the prosecutor's office for arresting on
Tuesday a person suspected of being involved in the installation of the
unlicensed equipment. The illegal internet stations were uncovered in March.
They perpetrators are buying international internet bandwidth with nominal cost
from Turkey and Cyprus which they are selling back to Lebanese subscribers at
reduced prices. Smuggled internet services initiate risks namely the possibility
of security breaches as they lack the basic control standards exposing Lebanon's
security to third parties, including Israel.
Abou Faour Says Abortion
Doctor Should 'Rot' in Jail
Naharnet/April 06/16/Health Minister Wael Abou Faour said a doctor who performed
abortions on the women of a sex trafficking ring will be suspended pending the
decision of the judiciary, adding the physician should "rot" in jail. During a
press conference, Abou Faour said: “Pending the judicial measures, the doctor
will be suspended so that these medical mistakes are not committed again.” The
minister accused “some people with influence” of seeking to change and withdraw
the testimony of Dr. Riyad al-Alam. Al-Alam, a gynecologist, and his nurse have
admitted to performing dozens of abortions on the 75 sex slaves, most of them
Syrians, who were freed last week in police raids on brothels in Jounieh, north
of Beirut. The Health Ministry sealed with red wax on Tuesday the doctor's
clinic in Dekwaneh. But the head of the Syndicate of Physicians, Dr. Antoine
Boustani, said that the clinic's closure was illegal. Later on Wednesday, Labor
Minister Sejaan Qazzi issued a decree barring al-Alam from practicing his duties
as inspector at the ministry, referring his case to the Central Inspection
Bureau. Abou Faour said in his conference that al-Alam “is not a doctor. He is a
criminal” and “should rot in jail.”The health minister also brought up the issue
of several other scandals that have recently rocked the country. He raised doubt
on the role of the judiciary in resolving the cases, saying it should clarify to
the Lebanese why it has been procrastinating on issuing its decisions. Among the
other scandals are the illegal internet network and the waste crisis.
Reports:
Hizbullah Kills, Wounds Several Nusra Militants in Arsal Outskirts
Naharnet/April 06/16/Hizbullah on Wednesday targeted a group of militants from
al-Nusra Front in the outskirts of the northeastern border town of Arsal, media
reports said. Hizbullah's al-Manar TV said several jihadists from the
Qaida-linked group were killed and many others were wounded when Hizbullah
fighters bombed them in the Dahr al-Hawa area in Arsal's outskirts. On Monday,
Hizbullah fighters launched an attack against a post for the extremist Islamic
State groups in the outskirts of the town of Ras Baalbek, near Arsal, killing
and wounding several militants. Militants from the al-Nusra and the IS are
entrenched in mountainous regions along the porous Lebanese-Syrian border. The
Lebanese army regularly shells their positions and Hizbullah fighters have
engaged in clashes with them on the Syrian side of the border. In August 2014,
the IS and al-Nusra waged a major attack and overran the northeastern border
town of Arsal in the wake of the arrest of a senior militant. The two groups
withdrew after deadly battles with the army but took with them around 30
hostages from the Lebanese army and police of whom four were eventually
executed.
Foreign Ministry Following Up
on Case of Lebanese Abducted in Nigeria
Naharnet/April 06/16/Lebanon's foreign ministry is following up on the case of
the Lebanese citizen who was kidnapped Tuesday in Nigeria, state-run National
News Agency reported on Wednesday. “Wassim Ibrahim, the Lebanese charge
d'affaires in Nigeria's Abuja, has informed the foreign ministry that Lebanese
national Ramzi Aref Bou Hadir was abducted yesterday in the southern Nigerian
region of Bayelsa at the hands of an armed gang,” the ministry said in a
statement. The 52-year-old Bou Hadir hails from the Chouf district town of Bater,
according to the foreign ministry. “He is a construction worker who works for
the Setraco Nigeria Limited engineering company,” NNA said. “The company is
awaiting a phone call from the captors to know their demands,” it added. Media
reports said a Nigerian soldier was killed and another expatriate was kidnapped
in the incident. “It was a movie scene. The soldiers were shooting and the armed
men were shooting,” a driver told local newspaper Leadership. “We later saw
signs of blood everywhere,” he added.
Hizbullah Slams 'Blatant
Violation of Freedom of Expression' after NileSat Drops al-Manar
Naharnet/Agence France Presse/April 06/16/Hizbullah strongly condemned Wednesday
a decision by a leading Arab satellite operator to cut transmission of its al-Manar
television channel, amid rising tensions between the Iran-backed Lebanese group
and Saudi Arabia. “Hizbullah sees a blatant violation of freedom of opinion and
freedom of expression in the unjust decision that was taken by the Egyptian
Satellite Company (NileSat),” the party said in a statement. It also described
the move as “an attempt to muzzle the voice of resistance and right that is
embodied in this channel.”The decision “is very far from what was hoped from
Egypt during this period and from the role that Cairo can play to rectify the
course of events in the region,” Hizbullah added. “It shows full compliance with
the onslaught that some Arab regimes are waging against the resistance and all
its sectors, including the journalistic field,” the party went on to say. It
also called on NileSat's administration to “immediately reverse the decision, in
line with the right to freedom of expression and with the laws that regulate the
relations between the company and the media firms that deal with it.”Al-Manar
was taken off NileSat on Tuesday and officials at both the TV network and the
Cairo-based NileSat confirmed Wednesday that the transmission had been cut over
accusations the channel violated its contract by airing programs promoting
“sectarian” divisions. "This is a political decision, not an industry decision.
Al-Manar has nothing to do with sectarian strife," the channel's general manager
Ibrahim Farhat told AFP, calling the move "unjust and arbitrary.""This is part
of the political problem in the region, that they're taking out on the media,"
Farhat said. Asked about the decision to cut al-Manar's transmission, a senior
NileSat official said channels "must abide by not airing any violent or racist
content, or provoking sectarian strife." "No other channels have violated the
contract," he told AFP, in response to a question on whether any other Lebanese
channels would be affected. The cut came ahead of an expected visit this week by
Saudi King Salman to Egypt, which operates the NileSat satellite. Last month,
Gulf Arab states led by Saudi Arabia blacklisted Hizbullah as a "terrorist"
organization. Earlier this year, the kingdom halted a $3 billion program of
military aid to Lebanon to protest what it said was "the stranglehold of
Hizbullah on the State." It also urged its citizens to leave Lebanon and avoid
traveling there. Al-Manar said on Twitter that it could still be watched via a
Russian satellite or online. The moves against Hizbullah come amid a spike in
tensions between its backer Tehran and Riyadh this year after demonstrators
stormed the kingdom's missions in Iran following Saudi Arabia's execution of a
prominent Shiite dissident cleric. The kingdom cut diplomatic ties with Iran and
led Arab allies in a series of retaliatory measures against it. And while Saudi
Arabia is the main supporter of Syria's Sunni-led rebels, Hizbullah is fighting
alongside President Bashar Assad's troops, who are backed by Iranian military
advisers.
Jumblat Says Seeking to Limit
Rampant Corruption amid Confidence Crisis
Naharnet/April 06/16/Progressive Socialist Party chief MP Walid Jumblat has
vowed to contribute to limiting the losses from the rampant corruption that
Lebanon is suffering from. “I know that our credibility as politicians has been
struck,” Jumblat told As Safir daily published on Wednesday. “I also know that
some people no longer believe me when I talk about suspicious issues.” “I have
no choice but to continue trying to possibly contribute to the limitation of
losses from rampant corruption despite the confidence crisis between the people
and the political class which I am part of,” the lawmaker added. Despite his
efforts to shed light on corruption cases, Jumblat doubted that investigations
would reach decisive results. “The interior ministry and the judiciary are
facing a test to prove their credibility and seriousness in pursuing the
suspects” in the corruption files, he told As Safir. “In my whole political
life, I haven't seen this wide range corruption in the state and the
administration,” Jumblat said. The PSP chief added that he was almost fighting
the battle against corruption alone. “I have even heard of criticism directed at
me from here and there.”Several scandals have rocked the country lately,
including the waste crisis, the issue of illegal internet networks and the human
trafficking ring.
Mashnouq Vows to Pursue Probe
into Sex Trafficking Ring
Naharnet/April 06/16/Interior Minister Nouhad al-Mashnouq promised not to cover
up for any individual involved in the sex trafficking network that was busted
last week. Al-Mashnouq told As Safir daily published on Wednesday that he would
pursue the investigations linked to the agencies of the ministry. “I will
announce the results of the probe publicly because we have nothing to hide or
fear from,” he said. “No one will be immune or protected.”His comment came after
Progressive Socialist Party chief MP Walid Jumblat revealed on Tuesday that
officials in the Internal Security Forces Anti-Vice Squad had been covering up
for the sex ring. Al-Mashnouq has tasked ISF Inspector General Joseph Kallas
with questioning the head of the Anti-Vice Squad over Jumblat's allegations. The
ISF announced on March 31 that it had freed 75 sex slaves, most of them Syrian
women, who had been forced into prostitution. The victims, who have since been
handed over to women’s rights non-governmental organizations, had been subjected
to heinous forms of torture and abuse.
Italian PM Carries Vatican
Message to Tehran on Lebanon Crisis
Naharnet/April 06/16/Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi is expected to discuss
with Iranian officials next week Lebanon's presidential deadlock, al-Joumhouria
daily reported on Wednesday. The daily said that Renzi is scheduled to travel to
Tehran on April 12 on a two-day visit as part of the rapprochement between
European states and Iran following the historic nuclear deal that was truck last
year. Al-Joumhouria said that the Italian PM will carry with him a stance from
the Vatican calling for the importance of the election of a new president in
Lebanon. Baabda Palace has been vacant since the term of President Michel
Suleiman ended in May 2014. Differences between the rival March 8 and 14
alliances have caused lack of quorum at parliamentary sessions set to elect a
president. Italy has led the way among Western countries in re-establishing
economic ties with Iran following the lifting of international sanctions imposed
over concerns the country was seeking to develop a nuclear weapons capacity. An
accord to lift the sanctions was agreed last year and came into force in
January. Renzi's trip follows Iranian President Hassan Rouhani's visit to Italy
and France at the end of January.
Two Siblings Kidnapped South
of Beirut
Naharnet/April 06/16/Three gunmen kidnapped on Wednesday two siblings in the
area of al-Hadath south of Beirut, the state-run National News Agency reported.
The armed men, who were riding a silver Hyundai, abducted Diala Ali al-Amine, 6,
and her four-year-old brother Nouh while they were waiting for their school bus
with their grandmother on the Hadath-Shweifat road, it said. The kidnappers took
away the children after hitting their grandma on the head. The Internal Security
Forces launched an investigation into the abduction which could be the result of
family differences, said NNA. Voice of Lebanon radio (93.3) said the mother of
the children is an Australian citizen.
Nusra Front in Syria Confirms
Death of Spokesman
Naharnet/Agence France Presse/April 06/16/Al-Qaida's Syrian affiliate confirmed
on Wednesday the death of its spokesman Abu Firas al-Suri in a U.S. air strike
earlier this week. In a statement circulated on Twitter, Al-Nusra Front said
Suri and other members "were killed during a Crusader (Western) air strike... on
April 3, 2016." It said the raid had hit a training camp, but did not specify
where in Syria. On Monday, the Pentagon said the U.S. military conducted an air
raid on an Al-Nusra meeting in northwest Syria the previous day but could not
confirm whether Suri had been killed. Suri was a Syrian national and a "legacy"
Al-Qaida member who fought in Afghanistan in the late 1980s and 1990s, Pentagon
press secretary Peter Cook said. He "worked with Osama bin Laden and other
founding Al-Qaida members to train terrorists and conduct attacks globally,"
Cook said, adding that Sunday's strike killed several enemy fighters.Suri's
death had been reported by the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human
Rights, which said that his son and at least 20 other jihadists were also killed
Sunday in strikes on positions in Idlib province.
First Syrians
leave for US under surge resettlement program
The Associated Press, Amman Wednesday, 6 April 2016/The first Syrian family to
move to the U.S. under its speeded-up "surge" resettlement operation has left
Jordan for the United States. Ahmad al-Abboud, his wife and five children, are
to leave on Wednesday for Kansas City in Missouri. Al-Abboud says that "America
is the country of freedom and democracy ... We are looking forward to have a
good life there."In February, a temporary "surge" center was built in the
Jordanian capital, Amman, to speed up the resettlement process and help meet a
target set by President Barack Obama to resettle some 10,000 Syrians to the
United States by Sep. 30. Every day, some 600 Syrians are interviewed in the
center. Jordan hosts around 635,000 Syrians registered with the U.N. Refugee
Agency after fleeing Syria's civil war.
Syrian Arrested in Germany on
War Crimes Charges
Naharnet/Agence France Presse/April 06/16/German authorities Wednesday arrested
a Syrian national on war crimes charges, on suspicion of commanding a rebel
militia in Aleppo that committed atrocities and plundered artifacts for sale.
Federal prosecutors said in a statement that the 41-year-old accused identified
only as Ibrahim Al F. had been detained in the western region of Westphalia on a
German arrest warrant. "The accused is strongly suspected of treating people
entitled to protection under international humanitarian law cruelly and
inhumanely in the autumn of 2012 during the Syrian civil war," prosecutors said.
Ibrahim Al F. is believed to have led a 150-man district militia in Aleppo
belonging to the Islamist rebel group Ghuraba al-Sham, then part of the Free
Syrian Army, a loose coalition of opponents to President Bashar Assad's regime.
Prosecutors said the militia, however, mainly pursued "self-serving aims". These
included repeated plunder after the withdrawal of government troops from parts
of Aleppo, including the looting of valuable art that the accused later tried to
sell. "Two residents who tried to protect their neighboring district from
plundering are believed to have been captured by the accused and his fighters
and held for several days at a makeshift prison under their control,"
prosecutors said. The two prisoners were "tortured repeatedly in the accused's
presence and by him personally", as were six other people who were later
kidnapped by the militia, the prosecutors said.Some of the hostages only gained
their freedom by paying ransoms, the prosecutors alleged. The suspect was later
Tuesday to see an federal investigating judge who was to decide whether he would
be remanded in custody.
Russia pledges
full support for UN-brokered Syria peace talks
Reuters, Moscow Wednesday, 6 April 2016/Russia will support the efforts of UN
mediator Staffan de Mistura to promote direct and inclusive talks between the
sides in Syria’s conflict, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told de
Mistura on Tuesday. “As in any conflict, it is of course key that we ensure the
inclusive character of the negotiations and that they are focused on promoting a
direct dialogue between the two sides,” Lavrov was quoted as saying by RIA news
agency. “We will give you our full support in this,” Lavrov was quoted as saying
in opening remarks at a meeting with de Mistura, who was visiting Moscow. The UN
mediator said he was hopeful for a new phase in negotiations about a political
transition for Syria. So far talks in Geneva between a Syrian government
delegation and the opposition have stalled because Damascus is unwilling to
engage in discussions about President Bashar al-Assad possibly leaving office as
part of that transition. The talks are scheduled to resume in Geneva on April
11. “We need to further develop the political process, to work on strengthening
it, and on further progress. It is the cornerstone of our work,” Interfax news
agency quoted de Mistura as telling Lavrov.
Syria Talks 'Doomed' Unless
Assad Fate on Table, Says Opposition
Naharnet/Agence France Presse/April 06/16/Syrian peace talks which fail to
address the question of President Bashar Assad's fate are "doomed to failure", a
spokesman for the main opposition grouping involved in negotiations said. Riad
Naasan Agha, of the Riyadh-based High Negotiations Committee, said that the
talks which are set to resume on April 11 in Geneva must focus on the future of
the Syrian leader. "If negotiations did not address the fate of Assad, it would
be a waste of time and doomed to failure," he said late Tuesday at a forum
hosted by Al-Jazeera in Qatar. The U.N. has said the upcoming round of talks
will focus on plans for a political transition to lead Syria out of five years
of brutal civil war. Agha said that he was not hopeful the talks would produce a
positive outcome as negotiations on forming a transitional government were
almost at a "dead-end". Negotiators from the regime are expected to attend the
talks but only after the completion of parliamentary elections in the country on
April 13. The previous round of talks broke up on March 24, without making any
concrete advances towards a political solution to the devastating war. The
opposition wants Assad to leave power before any transitional government is
agreed, but the regime says his future is not up for discussion. The United
Nations envoy on Syria, Staffan de Mistura, on Tuesday met Russian Foreign
Minister Sergei Lavrov, whose country is a key backer of Assad, in Moscow as he
prepares for the Geneva talks.
De Mistura is also expected to visit several other countries ahead of the talks,
including Iran, Turkey and Saudi Arabia.
Cross-Border Shelling from
Yemen Kills Two in Saudi
Naharnet/Agence France Presse/April 06/16/Shelling from Yemen has killed two
people in a Saudi town, the civil defense agency said, in a rare breach of a
calm in the border area agreed with Iran-backed rebels early last month.
"Shelling from Yemeni territory on Samtah left two people dead and wounded a
child," the agency said on Twitter late on Tuesday. Saudi Arabia is leading an
Arab coalition that has been bombing the Huthi Shiite rebels for more than a
year, in support of Yemen's internationally recognized President Abedrabbo
Mansour Hadi.
Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said on Monday that a rebel delegation was
holding talks in Riyadh, ahead of a planned U.N.-brokered ceasefire next weekend
which is to be followed by peace negotiations in Kuwait on April 18.
The Saudi-led coalition announced on March 9 that after negotiations though
tribal mediators, it had agreed to an exchange of prisoners and a "state of
calm" along the border to enable the delivery of desperately needed aid. Dozens
of people have been killed on the Saudi side of the border since the coalition
launched its intervention in March last year after the rebels and their allies
overran much of the country, prompting Hadi to flee into exile. In Yemen, around
6,300 people have been killed, more than half of them civilians, most of whom
have died in coalition air strikes, according to the United Nations.
Syria 'Heart-Eating' Rebel
Killed, Says Monitor
Naharnet/Agence France Presse/April 06/16/A Syrian fighter who appeared in a
gruesome video cutting out the heart of a regime soldier and eating it has been
shot dead by rival rebels, a monitoring group said. Known by his nom de guerre
Abu Sakkar, the rebel reportedly joined the Al-Qaida-affiliated Al-Nusra Front
about a year ago, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. Rival rebels
"assassinated Khaled al-Hamad, who was known as Abu Sakkar and who was a
military commander in Al-Nusra, by gunning him down" in the northwestern
province of Idlib, the Observatory said late on Tuesday. In May 2013, Abu Sakkar
appeared in a video showing him eating the heart of a dead regime soldier,
sparking an international outcry and condemnation from the mainstream Syrian
opposition. At the time, he was fighting in a rebel brigade in central Homs
province. "He was likely killed in a settling of accounts" between Al-Nusra,
which dominates much of Idlib province, and other Islamist rebels in the area,
Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman said. The Syrian conflict began as a
peaceful uprising against President Bashar Assad in March 2011 but swiftly
escalated into an armed rebellion after his regime unleashed a brutal crackdown.
Many Syrians became radicalized, and human rights groups have accused all sides
in the fighting of committing atrocities.
ISIS attacks
Assad forces near capital, 18 killed in Aleppo
Agencies Wednesday, 6 April 2016/ISIS militants launched attacks on
government-held areas near Damascus overnight on Tuesday and Syrian rebels
shelled on Wednesday a Kurdish neighborhood in the northern city of Aleppo,
killing 18 people. Later the day, the Syrian army and its allies launched a
counteroffensive to recapture a village south of the city of Aleppo that was
overrun by al-Qaeda-allied militant a few days earlier, activists said
Wednesday. The development came as Syria’s al-Qaeda branch, known as the Nusra
Front, confirmed on Wednesday the death of Abu Firas al-Souri, a senior figure
in the group, in a U.S. airstrike in the northern province of Idlib on Sunday.
Syrian activist groups said the push near Aleppo, which started late Tuesday
night, is aimed at retaking the village of Tel al-Ais, which overlooks the
Damascus-Aleppo highway. ISIS said in a statement it had attacked the Tishrin
power station 50 km (30 miles) northeast of the capital and a Syrian military
source acknowledged the group had staged assaults, but said all those who took
part had been killed. Syrian and allied forces backed by Russian air strikes
have forced ISIS militants out of the town of al-Qaryatain, 100 km (60 miles)
west of the ancient city of Palymrya, itself recaptured by the government last
week. The Syrian military source said Tuesday night’s attacks outside Damascus
appeared to be the militant group’s response to its reverses around Palymra.
ISIS attackers, using five bomb-laden cars, also struck military positions near
the airport, southeast of Damascus, killing 12 soldiers, the Syrian Observatory
for Human Rights, a British-based organization that tracks the war, said.
Government forces responded with shelling and air strikes in that area, and jets
also struck the town of Dumeir, 40 km (25 miles) northeast of Damascus, which is
held by a rebel group sympathetic to ISIS, the Observatory said. It added that
the strikes killed at least nine civilians there and that around 15 ISIS
militants, as well as the drivers of its five bomb-laden cars, died in the
clashes. The Syrian military source said 13 of the group’s fighters had been
killed in clashes in the area around Dumeir.
18 killed in Aleppo
ISIS has also been losing ground to US-allied Kurdish forces in northern Syria,
and in recent days to Turkish-backed rebel groups fighting a separate battle
against the group north of Aleppo. A pregnant woman and three children were
among 18 civilians killed when Syrian rebels shelled a Kurdish neighborhood in
the northern city of Aleppo, the Observatory said. The Observatory said 70
people, including 30 children, were also wounded in Tuesday’s attack, adding
that the shelling was a violation of a ceasefire agreement. “A major shelling
attack on Tuesday has left 18 civilians dead, including three children and two
women, a pregnant one and an elderly one,” according to the Observatory. The
attack targeted the majority-Kurdish neighborhood of Sheikh Maqsud, where some
50,000 residents are caught in the crossfire of regime-held districts and those
controlled by rebels.
“This is a very clear violation of the ceasefire” in place in Syria since
February 27, said Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman said. Rebels including
Ahrar al-Sham, which is allied to Al-Qaeda in Syria, kept up Wednesday their
shelling of Sheikh Maqsud which overlooks regime-held areas, said the
Observatory. Abdel Rahman said the rebels want to take the neighborhood because
it would allow them to have “a launching pad for attacks” on government forces.
Aleppo became a divided city in 2012 after a rebel onslaught was met with
resistance by the army. Kurds represent about 15 percent of Syria’s population
and have tried to avoid confrontation with the regime or non-jihadist rebels
since war broke out in 2011. But the rise of ISIS, which has seized large swaths
of the war-torn country, has seen the Kurds lead the fight against the militants
in parts of Syria. On March 17, Kurdish parties, including the powerful
Democratic Union Party (PYD) and their allies, announced the creation of a
"federal system" in northern Syria. The announcement was heavily criticized by
Syria’s opposition, who have vowed to use “all the political and military force”
at their disposal to fight it. Syria’s conflict erupted in March 2011 with
anti-government protests but has since morphed into a multi-front war drawing in
regional powers. (Reuters, AFP)
18 Dead in Syrian Rebel
Shelling on Kurdish Area
Naharnet/Agence France Presse/April 06/16/A pregnant woman and three children
were among 18 civilians killed when Syrian rebels shelled a Kurdish neighborhood
in the northern city of Aleppo, a monitor said Wednesday. The Britain-based
Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 70 people, including 30 children, were
also wounded in Tuesday's attack, adding that the shelling was a violation of a
ceasefire agreement. "A major shelling attack on Tuesday has left 18 civilians
dead, including three children and two women, a pregnant one and an elderly
one," according to the Observatory. The attack targeted the majority-Kurdish
neighborhood of Sheikh Maqsud, where some 50,000 residents are caught in the
crossfire of regime-held districts and those controlled by rebels. "This is a
very clear violation of the ceasefire" in place in Syria since February 27, said
Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman said. Rebels including Ahrar al-Sham, which
is allied to Al-Qaida in Syria, kept up Wednesday their shelling of Sheikh
Maqsud which overlooks regime-held areas, said the Observatory. Abdel Rahman
said the rebels want to take the neighborhood because it would allow them to
have "a launching pad for attacks" on government forces. Aleppo became a divided
city in 2012 after a rebel onslaught was met with resistance by the army. Kurds
represent about 15 percent of Syria's population and have tried to avoid
confrontation with the regime or non-jihadist rebels since war broke out in
2011. But the rise of the Islamic State group, which has seized large swaths of
the war-torn country, has seen the Kurds lead the fight against the jihadists in
parts of Syria. On March 17, Kurdish parties, including the powerful Democratic
Union Party (PYD) and their allies, announced the creation of a "federal system"
in northern Syria. The announcement was heavily criticized by Syria's
opposition, who have vowed to use "all the political and military force" at
their disposal to fight it. Syria's conflict erupted in March 2011 with
anti-government protests but has since morphed into a multi-front war drawing in
regional powers.
Libya Unity Govt. Cements
Control after Rival Cedes Power
Naharnet/Agence France Presse/April 06/16/ Libya's U.N.-backed unity government
moved to cement control over the country's finances and institutions Wednesday
after the rival administration in Tripoli ceded power in a boost to efforts to
end years of chaos. The concession late Tuesday by the militia-backed
administration that had controlled Tripoli since 2014 was a major about-turn for
a body that had made every effort to block the arrival of prime
minister-designate Fayez al-Sarraj. It came after U.N. envoy Martin Kobler held
talks with Sarraj at the naval base where he has established his headquarters
since his arrival under escort by sea last Wednesday. The international
community has pleaded with Libya's warring sides to stand behind the unity
government, which it sees as vital to tackling a jihadist expansion and rampant
people smuggling in the North African state. The Government of National Accord
has yet to secure a similar concession from another rival administration based
in the far eastern town of Tobruk, which has long claimed international
legitimacy because it was appointed by the parliament elected in the last polls
in 2014. In a directive published on its official Facebook page on Wednesday,
the GNA ordered all government "ministries and institutions and committees" to
respect its authority and use its logo. It also ordered the Central Bank and the
Audit Bureau to freeze all state accounts immediately, except for salary
payments to government employees. The Tripoli-based administration had said it
was stepping aside in the national interest. "We inform you that we are ceasing
the activities entrusted to us as an executive power," it said in a statement.
The statement, bearing the logo of the so-called National Salvation Government
headed by Khalifa Ghweil, said the unrecognized Tripoli prime minister, his
deputy premiers and cabinet ministers were all stepping aside. It said the
Tripoli authorities took the decision to quit because they were determined to
"preserve the higher interests of the country and prevent bloodshed and
divisions." Italian Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni said recent developments
were "encouraging" in moving towards a "united, stable and secure Libya". "I
hope that the spirit of compromise prevails on all parties involved," he said in
a statement, offering the full support of Italy, the former colonial power in
Libya, to the new government. The U.N. Libya envoy, in Tripoli on his first
visit since Sarraj's arrival, hailed the announcement as "good news" but added
that "deeds must follow words". Kobler praised the "courage and determination"
of the unity government, whose growing authority has raised hopes it will be
able to restore some stability in Libya, which has been plagued by chaos since
Moammar Gadhafi's 2011 overthrow. "We want to show that the U.N. and the
international community support Prime Minister Sarraj and members of the
presidency council," Kobler told AFP. He said the U.N. was ready to provide "all
the support needed" towards an "immediate and peaceful handover of power". The
unity government was formed under a power-sharing deal agreed by some lawmakers
in December. The new administration had in recent days been broadening its
support, winning the backing of the Libyan Investment Authority, the National
Oil Corporation and the Central Bank. Mattia Toaldo, a policy fellow at the
European Council on Foreign Relations, said Kobler's visit was a clear signal
that the GNA was putting down roots in the capital. "Kobler's visit to Tripoli,
after the many times he was refused landing and access... shows the degree of
control of Tripoli by the GNA," Toaldo said. An adviser to Kobler said the U.N.
envoy discussed with Sarraj "ways to support the action" of the unity
government. Western governments are deeply concerned that Libya's disarray has
allowed the jihadist Islamic State group to gain an important foothold in the
country, but have said a foreign intervention can only take place at the request
of a unity government.
Brazil President Faces Key
Call in Impeachment Drive
Naharnet/Agence France Presse/April 06/16/Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff's
battle to cling to power enters a crucial phase Wednesday as lawmakers hear a
motion on whether there are grounds to impeach her. A congressional committee
has wrapped up its preliminary sessions and will now hear lawmaker Jovair
Arantes present his recommendation on whether congress should vote to open an
impeachment trial. He is expected to make his recommendation to the commission
at 1700 GMT. Brazil's political crisis rumbled on Tuesday when a Supreme Court
judge ordered a new impeachment committee be set up to consider allegations
against another top official, Vice President Michel Temer. Rousseff meanwhile
announced she would postpone a looming reshuffle of her cabinet until after the
lower house of congress votes on the impeachment proposal. The crisis has
brought the government close to collapse, as it battles a deep recession in the
country due to host the Olympics in August. A long recession and huge corruption
scandal have pushed the government to the brink of collapse. This mess was
exacerbated last week when Temer's powerful PMDB party broke away from its
coalition with Rousseff. Abandoned by her main partner, Rousseff is now racing
to secure enough votes in Congress to block the lower house from sending her to
face impeachment in the Senate. Rousseff's chief of staff said last week a
reshuffle was imminent. In a country with dozens of political parties,
ministerial posts and other government jobs have become key bargaining chips.
But the leftist leader said Tuesday she would not reshuffle her cabinet before
the lower house vote, expected in mid-April. "We won't touch anything for now,"
she told reporters. Newspaper O Globo reported that the president's camp was
reluctant to move too soon for fear that supposed new allies could betray her
and vote to impeach her anyway.
Lobbying for political survival
Rousseff's critics accuse her of manipulating the government's accounts to boost
public spending during her 2014 re-election campaign and hiding the depth of the
recession.Attorney General Jose Eduardo Cardozo lambasted the case against her
Monday in final arguments before the impeachment committee. He accused the
president's opponents of violating the constitution and seeking revenge for
their own legal woes in a graft scandal centered on state oil company Petrobras.
Rousseff, 68, needs at least 172 abstentions or votes against impeachment in the
lower house. If the case proceeds to the Senate, a two-thirds vote there would
remove her from office. Rousseff has sent out her predecessor and mentor, Luiz
Inacio Lula da Silva, to lobby on her behalf. He is courting small centrist
parties with promises of ministerial posts vacated by the PMDB.
Call for new elections
Rousseff's approval rating has plunged to 10 percent, polls show. But those
working to oust her face serious allegations themselves, including the PMDB's
Eduardo Cunha, the house speaker who is leading the impeachment push. He was
charged in the scandal last year with taking millions of dollars in bribes.
Temer, who will become president if Rousseff goes, has also been linked to the
Petrobras scandal, although he has not been charged. A Supreme Court judge on
Tuesday ordered Cunha to launch a new impeachment committee to consider
allegations against Temer. Like Rousseff, Temer is accused of taking out
unauthorized government loans to fudge the government's books. Rousseff may also
find out this week if the Supreme Court allows Lula to become her chief of
staff, which would shield him from prosecution. He has been barred from assuming
that job over charges in a case connected to the Petrobras scandal. Former
minister and presidential candidate Marina Silva called for the speeding up of a
separate probe of alleged electoral irregularities against Rousseff and Temer.
If those allegations are proved, she told a news conference, "the way forward is
to hold new elections."
Egypt
emphasizes ‘special ties’ with Saudi
Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry arrives for a working dinner with heads
Staff writer, Al Arabiya News Wednesday, 6 April 2016/Egyptian Foreign Minister
Sameh Shoukry has emphasized the importance of Saudi King Salman’s visit to
Cairo and spoke of the “special relationship” between the two countries in an
interview with Al Arabiya News Channel. “Some media circles have been doubting
the strength of our relationship but I am in constant communication with my
Saudi counterpart Adel al-Jubeir who has assured that ties remain strong,”
Shoukry told Al Arabiya. Shoukry added that Saudi Arabia and Egypt have
coordinated efforts in combatting multiple issues, especially on security. The
rare foreign trip by the Saudi king will counter media commentary in both
countries of discord between the richest Arab state and the most populous, to
show Riyadh still backs Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. “The Saudis are
very keen not to allow Egypt to collapse, but at the same time the Saudis cannot
pay forever. I think King Salman will try to explain these issues,” said Mustafa
Alani, a security analyst with close ties to the kingdom’s Interior Ministry.
Saudi Arabia is set to sign a $20 billion deal to finance Egypt’s petroleum
needs for the next five years and a $1.5 billion deal to develop its Sinai
region. On the recent murder issue of Italian student Giulio Regeni in Cairo,
Shoukry said that Egyptian authorities have been transparent in their
investigation with their Italian counterparts by working alongside Italian
investigators. Egypt is planning on sending a delegation of their own to Italy
for further investigations. (With Reuters)
US considering
moving Sinai troops
AFP, Washington Wednesday, 6 April 2016/The US military is considering pulling
troops from a base in the northeastern part of Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula, partly
because of the increasing threat from ISIS, CNN reported. The Obama
administration may order the movement of some US and international troops into
the southern Sinai, and is discussing such a move with Egypt and Israel, CNN
said. The two Middle East countries signed a peace deal in 1979, agreeing that a
Multinational Force and Observers (MFO) mission would monitor compliance. Some
700 US troops are part of that mission, CNN said. Most of the peacekeepers are
stationed at El-Gorah camp, near the Gaza Strip. Pentagon spokesman Captain Jeff
Davis declined to confirm or deny the CNN report. “We remain fully committed to
the objective of the MFO mission and the maintenance of the peace treaty between
Israel and Egypt,” he told AFP.
“We are in continuous contact with the MFO and adjust force protection
capabilities as conditions warrant.”Officials worry the threat of an ISIS attack
targeting US forces in the region is increasing.
Blasphemy Convictions
Intensify in Sisi’s Egypt
Raymond Ibrahim/Gatestone Institute/April 06/16
Despite Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s many pluralistic words and
gestures, which have won him much praise from the nation’s Christians and
moderates, he appeases the Islamist agenda in one very clear way: by allowing
the controversial defamation of religions law, colloquially known as the
“blasphemy law,” to target Christians and moderates in ways arguably worse than
under the Muslim Brotherhood and Morsi. In late February, three Christian
teenagers were jailed for five years for breaking the defamation of religions
law. A fourth defendant, 15, was handed a juvenile detention for an indefinite
period. [i] Earlier they were detained for 45 days and subjected to
“ill-treatment” said a human rights group. Their crime was to have made a
20-second video on a mobile phone mocking the Islamic State — an act interpreted
as mocking Islam. In the video, the boys appear laughing and joking, as they
pretend to be ISIS members praying and slitting throats. The Egyptian Commission
for Rights and Freedoms, an independent rights group, confirmed that the four
teenagers were performing scenes “imitating slaughter carried out by terrorist
groups.” Even so, according to their defense lawyer, Maher Naguib, the Christian
youths “have been sentenced for contempt of Islam and inciting sectarian
strife…. The judge didn’t show any mercy. He handed down the maximum
punishment.”Considering that even Egypt’s Al Azhar — the Islamic world’s most
prestigious university —refuses to denounce the Islamic State as being
un-Islamic, it is not surprising that mockery of ISIS is being conflated with
mockery of Islam. The Christian youths made the brief video in January 2015,
when three of them were aged 17 and one 15. It is believed that the court kept
delaying their case until the three 17-year-olds turned 18, so they could
receive the full penalty as adults. Their teacher, who also appeared in the
video, had earlier been sentenced to three years in jail.
Several other Christians have been prosecuted under Sisi’s tenure for insulting
Islam and Muslims. One young Christian man was sentenced to six years for
“liking” an Arabic-language Facebook page administered by Muslim converts to
Christianity. A female Christian teacher was imprisoned for six months after
Muslim parents accused her of insulting Islam and evangelizing. Bishoy Armia
Boulous, a Muslim convert to Christianity, remains behind bars on trumped up
charges of blasphemy, according to his lawyer. While Christian minorities are
the most prone to being targeted by the blasphemy law, secular Muslim thinkers
and writers are also on the hit list. In January, Muslim writer Fatima Naoot was
sentenced to three years in prison after she criticized the sadistic slaughter
of animals that takes place during the Islamic festival, Eid al-Adha. The month
before that, television host Islam al-Behairy was sentenced to one year in
prison for questioning the validity of some of the sayings (hadiths) attributed
to Muslim prophet Muhammad. Although Egypt’s constitution outlaws the
“defamation of religions,” the plural indicates that, along with Islam, Judaism
and Christianity are protected. In reality, however, the law is almost
exclusively used to prosecute Christian minorities and secular Muslims. Despite
the fact that there are many more Muslims than Christians in Egypt, rarely are
Islamists arrested and prosecuted for defaming Christianity.
In this, Egypt is becoming more like Pakistan. Although that nation also
prohibits the defamation of religions — which technically includes Christianity
— only Christians and moderate Muslims are targeted and imprisoned; some, such
as Asia Bibi, a 50-year-old Christian woman and mother of five, are on death
row. Conversely, Muslims who openly defame Christianity — and they are many —
are regularly let off one way or the other. A few weeks ago, a Muslim broke into
a church and proceeded to burn its Bibles. Although several Christians caught
him and handed him over to police, the latter claimed he was mentally unstable
and could not stand trial. In another case, a Muslim shopkeeper started selling
shoes that depict the Christian cross on their soles. Christians demonstrated
but police did nothing. On January 26, soon after the sentencing of the writer
Fatima Naoot, another moderate Muslim and television host in Egypt, Ibrahim
Eissa, scathingly criticized the Sisi government, including by saying that
“there have been more blasphemy cases and convictions during the Sisi era than
during the Morsi era.” He continued:
There is no greater contradiction between what the state says and claims about
itself and the reality on the ground… The Egyptian state is schizophrenic
because it says what it does not do…. It’s amazing and baffling to see a state
who’s president regularly preaches about the need for religious discourse and
renewal — and yet, during Sisi’s 18-19 month tenure, the nation has witnessed
more reports, cases and convictions, and the imprisonment of writers, in the
name of defamation of religions than during the one year tenure of the Muslim
Brotherhood president…. The [Sisi] revolution dropped the Brotherhood but kept
the ideology unchanged.
[i] Although only now making English language media, this story was translated
here in April 2015, soon after riots and attacks on Christians broke out when
Muslims learned of the video.
Psychological
warfare against the frontrunner
Walid Phares/Face
Book/April 06/16/One of the main offensives against the Trump campaign in the
primaries has been systematic psychological warfare aimed at two targets. One
offensive is aimed at the candidate and led by media operatives mostly from the
left, and another offensive from the party machine is aimed at the base. The
psyop is taken from the Obama campaign playbook of 2012. The goal of this pincer
movement is to demoralize the Trump base, drag the campaign into tertiary
battles, and drive the debate into narrow valleys. During the last months of the
2012 national election season, the Obama campaign likewise drove the debate with
Romney into ambushes, taking up the smallest personal issues and directing
personal attacks against the republican nominee while the largest fields
regarding national security and economy were never sufficiently addressed. In
this year’s primaries, an unnatural and undeclared collaboration between the
left—backed by the Islamist lobby—and the Republican party machine on the right
is focusing on one target: the elimination of the Trump campaign. But will the
undercurrent backing Mr. Trump slow down and weaken? The psychological warfare's
first weapon is to portray such weakening even though it is not occurring in
reality. The Trump campaign can blast through this barrage produced by the media
and political artillery of the two aforementioned forces. The thrust will be
seen in the next few weeks. The battle of New York will pit the forces of the
left, the media, the lobby, and the Party on the one hand against the force of
dissatisfied citizens on the other hand: the collective drive of a strengthening
undercurrent versus the power of the status quo. Let's not underestimate the
surging undercurrent which has its own unbeatable communications system, social
media.
Saudi Arabia and Egypt: Old
and new
Mshari Al Thaydi/Al Arabiya/April 06/16
Saudi King Salman’s current visit to Egypt is very important at this particular
time. Egypt has a significant status in the Arab world and Africa, and plays an
important role in matters of war and peace. Its geographic location, political
history, demographic weight, moral significance, promising market and soft power
all helped Egypt rise throughout various eras. Its army is a pillar of security
and power-balance in the Middle East. The vitality of the Egyptian people
resulted in two revolutions in two years, changing the political regime from
President Hosni Mubarak’s rule to that of the Muslim Brotherhood, and now
popular republican governance. Saudi Arabia is well-aware of all these facts.
Its social, commercial, cultural and economic ties with Egypt go back a long
way. Saudis are present in Egypt in Al-Azhar, and poetry and literature clubs.
Egyptians are present in the Grand Mosque and Prophet’s Mosque in Saudi Arabia,
and the coastal cities of the Red Sea. They have been there for centuries - an
example is famous Egyptian poet Baha’ al-din Zuhair, who was born in Mecca.
Hospitality
These significant ties were reflected in the speech that King Abdulaziz, founder
of Saudi Arabia, gave following his historic visit to Egypt in 1946, where the
Egyptian people, king, politicians and intellectuals welcomed him with
unprecedented hospitality. Its geographic location, political history,
demographic weight, moral significance, promising market and soft power all
helped Egypt rise throughout various eras. Upon his return to Saudi Arabia, he
told his people in a speech: “A statement is not enough to describe [the
hospitality] I’ve been met with. My pride is that I felt that the Egyptian army
is your army and that your army is Egypt’s, and that Egypt’s civilization is
yours and that your civilization is Egypt’s. These two armies and civilizations
[empower] Arabs.”His son King Salman is walking the same good path, whose
results are peace and security for Arabs, Muslims and the entire region, with
all its religions and sects. Some hope to ruin bilateral ties by saying some
Saudi policies do not harmonize with those of Egypt, but this is normal in
politics. They disagree over Syria, but big countries know how to manage good
relations responsibly and wisely. Saudi Arabia and Egypt are the Arab people’s
wings.
A unity government must
replace Assad
Maria Dubovikova/Al Arabiya/April 06/16
The Syrian peace process is being hampered by disagreements over whether
President Bashar al-Assad should be part of the solution. The opposition insists
that no new Syria can be build with his participation. This position is backed
by the West. However, Assad and his government are confident about their
legitimacy, and are sure that most Syrians support them. This confidence has
been strengthened by sustained support from Russia, which is sure that Assad
will stay and should be a part of the solution. Both sides are wrong in their
evaluations. Assad cannot be in government in post-war Syria as he undeniably
bears responsibility for his country’s bloodshed. It is impossible to imagine
that the hundreds thousands of people who have lost their loved ones will
forgive him and accept him being in power. However, the current government has
strong support in some parts of the country, so completely excluding it from
post-war Syria is also wrong. The main goal of those involved in the peace
process is to build a united, peaceful Syria. As such, Assad’s proposal of a
unity government is good, but it should be modified to be more relevant to the
circumstances.He should step down, but a unity government - which should be
transitional anyway - should include the most honorable, respected and balanced
representatives of the old elite. They should be chosen during the Geneva talks
by the delegations involved, and should be acceptable to both the current
government and the opposition.
Assad cannot be in government in post-war Syria as he undeniably bears
responsibility for his country’s bloodshed
The transitional government should represent the whole Syrian people. Unity is
needed, not the victory of one side over the other, which would radicalize the
losing side and complicate the crisis. Cooperation between opponents would set a
vital example for a fractured society, that differences can be overcome in the
interests of peace and stability. Furthermore, it is vital to include honorable
people from the old regime in army command structures.
Illusions
Assad said he wants to enter history as a savior of Syria. He needs to realize
that he is not, and that he cannot stay in power. He can save the country only
by handing power to a transitional government. He should make concessions. He
took the liberation of Palmyra as his own victory, but it is one for the Syrian
people, and it was only possible due to strong Russian and Iranian involvement.
The popular saying that Assad’s fate should be decided by the Syrian people is
beautiful in form but empty in content. Some 22 percent of the population are
refugees, more than 35 percent are internally displaced, and huge swathes of the
country are still held by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). How can
people decide the political fate of the country when their own prospects are
gloomy and unclear, their homes are destroyed and they have no jobs? How can
democratic institutions be easily implemented in a country where society as a
whole does not exist, not to mention civil society? Only after the conflict is
settled and the country revived can Syrians properly decide its fate. Until
then, Syria’s future and development will be in the hands of external players.
To be rebuilt, the country needs billions of dollars it does not have. Foreign
assistance is required to write a new constitution, and to build adequate
democratic mechanisms and civil society.
AIPAC: Lobbying on whose
behalf?
Yossi Mekelberg/Al Arabiya/April 06/16
Had a stranger stumbled by accident into the recent Policy Conference of the
American pro-Israeli lobby AIPAC, he or she could have been excused if they had
mistaken it for an Arab and Iranian bashing extravaganza. It is an election year
after all in the United States, and any expectation of tackling complex issues
in a nuanced manner would be naïve. However, the pandering by presidential
hopefuls, to the most partisan segment of Israel’s supporters, was on the verge
nauseating. One by one, Clinton, Trump, Cruz and Kasich took to the podium,
declaring their love and commitment to Israel to the 18,000 delegates, most of
them Jewish, in the Convention Centre in Washington DC. Their speeches left the
impression that Israel was country that could do no wrong in an evil region.
Short of claiming that their matzo ball chicken soup recipe was superior to the
other candidates, they said almost anything to leave this gathering believing
that for the sake of Israel they should support them come the November 8. One
could be forgiven for thinking, considering the performance of the presidential
candidates at the AIPAC Policy Conference, that this organization was
single-handedly crowning the next president of the United States. It begs the
question, as to how this Israeli lobby became that powerful in Washington, and
has become shrouded by the mystical pulling of strings in American politics, to
the extent that decision makers in the US put, at times, Israeli interests
first. To be sure this much exaggerated status of AIPAC fed and nurtured both by
the organization itself and its harshest critics. Founded more than five decades
ago, AIPAC lobbied for a very different Israel, the one before the long hangover
from the military victory of the 1967 Six Day War. In the time that has elapsed
since then, AIPAC became a very oiled and sleek lobbying machine, which
effectively exploits the weaknesses of the American political system to advance
Israeli interests. In the early years of its existence AIPAC was more tentative
in ensuring that Israel’s security concerns are heard among the decision makers
in Washington. However, in the aftermath of the Six Day War it has supported and
promoted Israel’s aggressive and inflexible foreign policy and occupation.
Voice of the community?
Rather cunningly it managed to implant the impression that when it comes to
Israeli issues, it is the voice of the Jewish community. Actually, AIPAC does
not have more than 100,000 members, not all of whom are Jewish, out of an
estimated population of 6 million Jews living in the US. In many cases, AIPAC’s
campaigns are out of step with the majority of the Jewish community in the US.
Worse it implicates the entire Jewish population with suspicion of dual loyalty.
The Israeli lobby conducted a relentless, at times vitriolic, campaign against
President Obama and the nuclear deal with Iran, on behalf of the Israeli
government. Yet, days after the UN Security Council unanimously approved the
agreement with Iran, a survey showed that 60 percent of Jews in the US supported
it. Moreover, they completely misread the political map in the US on this issue
and lost the anti-Iran deal campaign. Interestingly enough, Bernie Sanders, who
is Jewish, was the only presidential candidate not to address this year’s AIPAC
conference. On the peace process with the Palestinians, AIPAC claims that it
supports a two state solution. Nevertheless, in the same breath, it does
anything in its capacity to persuade the White House, Capitol Hill and public
opinion that there is no Palestinian partner for peace. It furthermore justifies
Israeli policies, including the building settlements or blockading Gaza. In
other words, it creates a discourse which blames only one side in the stalemate
in bringing peace to Israelis and Palestinians, and detracts from the
responsibility of the occupying power. AIPAC has become a very oiled and sleek
lobbying machine, which effectively exploits the weaknesses of the American
political system to advance Israeli interests
The power that AIPAC has accumulated and exerts in US politics is not
straightforward to explain. It is an organization that grasps, that in a country
that holds major elections every two years, politicians are vulnerable in terms
of electoral support and the need for resources.
AIPAC does not officially financially support, “…rate or endorse candidates for
elected or appointed office,” – their supporters definitely financially sponsor
and promote candidates in line with the organization’s wishes. It also very
successful in instilling in the public mind, that there is almost a complete
overlap between US and Israeli interests and values. Surely sharing military
intelligence, common strategic cooperation and developing new technologies, for
instance, are of great importance for both, as much as sharing some basic
democratic values. However, Israeli governments, past and present, have done
more than their fair share in compromising US interests in the Middle East.
AIPAC in its activities have contributed to that as well.
Election fever
The four presidential candidates’ speeches to AIPAC’s delegates were another sad
example of US elections descending into a charade, which thanks to Donald Trump
became also a race towards appeasing the lowest common denominator. The
over-the-top expressions of love for Israel, and disparaging of everyone and
everything in the region, which is not Israel, by those who seek to occupy the
White House, felt detached and disingenuous. How often have presidential
candidates promised to move the American embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem,
just to find out when elected, that without a comprehensive peace agreement it
was counterproductive? Hillary Clinton was the only one daring enough to mention
disagreements regarding Jewish settlements, though she almost whispered it at
light speed, as if she hoped that no one had heard her. Sadly, it was another
missed opportunity to open an honest dialogue between whoever will be the next
US president and grassroots supporters of the long-term wellbeing of the state
of Israel. Instead, it was another show of the fear created by the mythological
power and influence of AIPAC, and a demonstration of the pathetic class of 2016
presidential candidates.
The endless cycle that is
Libya
Dr. Theodore Karasik/Al Arabiya/April 06/16
As the Government of National Accord (GNA) tries to set up its government in
Tripoli, Libya continues to lurch from crisis to crisis. We are observing the
uneven, hypothetical transition from a two government debacle- represented by
the General National Council (GNC) in Tripoli (Tripolitania) and the House of
Representatives in Tobruk (Cyrenaica) – to one government. This endless cycle is
benefiting the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) in Libya. The country
continues to fracture because there is no lasting unanimity on the ground
regarding a unified Libya. GNA Prime Minister Fayyez Serraj and his colleagues
face a mixed environment even in their slated capital Tripoli. The GNA is
emerging from the Abu Seta naval base to now collude with a bloc of the GNC who
literally split itself from the GNA without following the process set forth by
the December 2015 Libyan Political Agreement.
It should be noted that the 73 GNC members – out of 200 – who threw their
support to Serraj are known as the Wefaq Bloc and are, in reality, supporters of
the former Libya Dawn brigade, which consists of Muslim Brotherhood and former
Libyan Islamic Fighters Group, or Al-Qaeda. Back to square one!
Serraj and his 73 former GNC cronies want one thing, and one thing only – frozen
Libyan assets abroad. But all is not normal: Throughout Tripoli and Misrata anti
GNA graffiti and banners are beginning to appear. Yet Serraj needs support from
the militias in Tripolitania, especially the Misratans and Zintanians, if he is
to get a grip on the situation. The Misratans, whose business acumen is
legendary, seem to be supporting him. Potential good news for the GNA is that a
prisoner swap occurred with Misrata, exchanging 16 members of the Magarha tribe
- including Commander Mohamed bin Nael - for six of its own held in Zintan.
Outside Tripoli, the Union of Southern Municipalities, centered in Jufrah, is
supporting the GNA for now. ISIS in Libya is growing stronger - close to 10,000
fighters - and occupies prime coastal real estate that helps it import more
fighters from the Levant, and aids its illicit economy via smuggling and crime
However, the GNA’s entry - pushed with U.N. support - is galvanizing various
tribes, factions and interest groups against Serraj. In Cyrenaica, General
Khalifa Haftar is being deluged by political and military supporters, including
a faction from the Petroleum Facilities Guard, to rally around the East in a
show of regionalist fervor against the Serraj government. The Cyrenaica faction
has three options: Continue the campaign against ISIS, as demonstrated in
Benghazi; go for a confrontation that many observers have been fearing with a
clash in Tripoli; or wait until the GNA begins to split from centrifugal forces
over money and power, and take advantage of the chaos. Time will tell.
ISIS
ISIS in Libya is growing stronger - close to 10,000 fighters - and occupies
prime coastal real estate that helps it import more fighters from the Levant,
and aids its illicit economy via smuggling and crime. Attacks on energy
infrastructure, airstrips, security and police, and other acts such as
implementing their warped version of sharia law, help build ISIS’s momentum and
prowess. Consequently, last month it assaulted several Tunisian border cities
and towns. These probes are a hallmark of ISIS’s strategy, learned from the
battlefields of the Levant, where the extremists thrive on local grievances and
tribal networks and their discontent. Although the West sees the GNA as the
gateway government to deal with ISIS in Libya, political fault lines are
detrimental to that plan. ISIS knows this, and seeks to take advantage of the
vacuum. It also knows, from Palymra in Syria, that attacking UNESCO
world-heritage sites can earn the ire of the international community. Libya has
five such sites, including Cyrene, a Greek colony founded in 631 BC; Leptis
Magna, the Roman seat of power in North Africa; Tadrart Acacus, with prehistoric
rock art dating from 12,000 BC to 100 AD; and Ghadames, one of the oldest
pre-Saharan cities still in existence. These sites are all on the chopping
block, from ISIS’s point of view. Here lies the conundrum: While the West seeks
GNA approval for open intervention after Serraj and the United Nations finish
their experiment in establishing full governance over Libya, anti-GNA Libyans do
not want overt international intervention. They want the not-so-covert support
of UK and US Special Forces, and Egyptian weapons, to continue. To the chagrin
of some Libyans, U.S. and European drones and fighter jets are targeting ISIS in
the north of the country, where Libya’s cultural history lies. This coastline is
probably the richest resource of undiscovered archaeology in the Mediterranean.
From the extremists’ point of view, the more destruction the better since it
fits their narrative of erasing history. For many Libyans, the Serraj government
is not the final answer; the GNA is at best a band aid on a political problem,
where instead a tourniquet is required from within to stem ISIS. The GNA may
simply not be up to the task, but neither is full-blown international invention
the best idea either. From the Libyan perspective, Southern Europe is only
focusing on migrants, energy, and terrorism, and not the bigger picture of the
plight of Libyans themselves who may very well end up suffering just as other
victims of warfare in the Levant as Libya’s cleavage widens.
The Problem With the US Elections’
Extremes
Eyad Abu Shakra/Asharq Al Awsat/April 06/16
The leading US Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump recently announced
his team of political, security and economic advisors; the – unfortunately
interconnected – Middle East, Muslim world and terrorism files were given to Dr
Walid Phares. On the Democratic side, Hawaii Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard
resigned as Vice-Chair of the Democratic National Committee, decrying what she
regarded as the DNC’s attempts to bolster the position of Hillary Clinton
against Leftist Presidential challenger Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont,
subsequently joining the latter’s campaign.
Dr Phares, for those who do not know much about him, is a right-wing Christian
Lebanese-American academic and political activist, who for a long while was very
close to the Christian militias which fought the Lebanese War (1975-1990), and
metamorphosed after bouts of infighting, schisms and reorganization into ‘The
Lebanese Forces’ party. As there may be no need to dwell much on the history of
that war, its various groups, or the “achievements” of these fighting groups
regardless of their slogans, it is worth mentioning what follows:
Firstly, the ‘The Lebanese Forces’ in its current form is a civilian political
party, represented in Parliaments by a bloc of deputies (MPs), and it was one of
the fighting groups that gave up and handed over their arms after the ‘Taif
Accords’.
Secondly, ‘The Lebanese Forces’ was initially an ‘umbrella militia’ created by
Bechir Gemayel, the former commander of ‘The Lebanese Phalange’ (Kata’eb) and
Lebanese president-elect, as the fruit of his plan to “unify Christian guns”
against the then Pan-Arab and Leftist “National Movement” and its Palestinian
allies. This means the ‘Forces’ were, from an organizational aspect, a group
made up of several militia that included in addition to the Kata’eb’s, the
National Liberal Party’s ‘Numour’ (i.e. Tigers) and ‘The Maronite
Organization’’s ‘Tanzeem’.
Thirdly, following the assassination of Bechir Gemayel in the autumn of 1982 –
shortly after being ‘elected’ president – many aspiring factional leaders
emerged and competed to succeed as the ‘Christians’ strongman’ at the helm of
the ‘Forces’. Some were defeated and left, others were killed, the rest deserted
politics altogether. Dr Samir Geagea, a former ‘Kata’eb’ young militia commander
emerged victorious and became the leader of the ‘Forces’, however, many of the
disgruntled veterans never recognized him, and remained outside the re-formed
party.
Dr Phares, who at one juncture in his career was Secretary of the ‘Maronite
World Union’, left Lebanon in 1990 and pursued post-graduate studies in the USA.
He earned a PhD from the University of Miami, and became a well-known
conservative political commentator and TV pundit specializing in terrorism and
Islamic radicalism. His works and comments have always been very close to those
of the Christian right now dominating the Republican Party. Being chosen by
Trump as an advisor on the Middle East, Muslim world and terrorism, especially,
following Trump’s controversial anti-Muslims positions, confirms that these
positions did not come up by accident.
With this said, it is worth noting that Trump’s anti-Muslim sentiments are not
much worse than those of Senator Ted Hughes, his main rival in the GOP field.
The latter caused furore during the ‘In Defense of Christians’ three-day
conference (September 9/11, 2014 in Washington, D.C. when he insisted on saying
that the Christians of the Middle East won’t have a better ally than Israel.
Among those who felt obliged to leave the main dinner in protest was the Melkite
Catholic Patriarch Gregorios III Lahham, born in the now besieged Damascus
suburb of Darayya. Still it was Trump’s call for a ‘ban on Muslims’ entry to the
USA’ that made even Cruz look like a ‘moderate’ in comparison.
In fact, if Dr Phares has had an input in Trump’s positions, this is surely a
worrying sign for the future relationship between ‘Donald Trump’s Washington’
and a frustrated and disappointed Arab world which the policies of the last two
administrations have caused him to lose faith and goodwill in America.
On the opposite side, it is fascinating to read the resume of Ms Gabbard, the
first Samoan and the first Hindu member of the US Congress, and a member of both
Armed Services and Foreign Services Committees. Gabbard (34 years old) who in
the late 2014 visited India’s hard-line prime minister Narendra Modi, has been
vociferous in opposing any attempt to bring down Syria’s Bashar Al-Assad,
arguing it was “counter-productive to overthrow Assad”, and asserting that “the
Syrian government is a powerful anti-ISIS force in the region and toppling it
would only serve to bolster the presence of terrorist groups in Syria and
neighbouring countries”! Furthermore – like many liberal democrats – despite her
professional military experience, Gabbard has linked her opposition of using
force in Syria to opposing the invasion of Iraq, a position taken by Sanders in
2003.
Thus, we are faced with two contradictory extreme cases, one absurdly too
conservative, the other absurdly too liberal.
As Arabs – albeit from an American standpoint – we share the position of the old
poet Duqelah al-Manbiji in his famous ‘The Orphaned poem’ when he said:
“Two extremes, when coming together …. each enhances the beauty of its
opposite”.
This was absolutely true, at least as far as the average American is concerned –
let alone Democratic voters – with the hawkish Neo-cons’ led Republicans. It has
been true too with Obama’s passive, retreating and appeasing policies which are
now fuelling an ultra-conservative Republican reaction bordering on blatant
racism and sectarianism benefitting Sanders’ ‘leftist’ Democrats.
Given the above, I dare say that it is in America’s interest first, and the
whole world’s second, that neither the dogmatic extreme right as represented by
Trump, or the dogmatic utopian left as represented by Sanders wins. Indeed, one
hopes that in the coming months we witness some logic and a lot of realism, and
this is what both Republican and Democratic ‘establishments’ feel and are
working for before it is too late en route to the two parties’ National
Conventions this summer.
The world, of course has the right to criticise America, but America is still
the greatest world power, even its people forget this fact!
Why is Iran “Openly”
Announcing its Presence in Syria?
Tariq Alhomayed/Asharq Al Awsat/April 06/16
The deputy coordinator of the Iranian Army’s Ground Forces General Amir-Ali
Arasteh announced that his country will send “special forces from Brigade 65 and
other units to Syria to work as advisers” and added that Iran may decide at some
point to use special forces and snipers as military advisers in Iraq and Syria.
So why is Iran “openly” admitting its involvement in Syria now? It is known that
Tehran has mercenaries and militias working for it. These include Hezbollah
terrorists and forces of the Revolutionary Guards’ units that fight in support
of the criminal Bashar Al-Assad. However, Iran has always denied this and its
role in Syria has been shamefully overlooked by western media. The Obama
administration has also overlooked Tehran’s villainous role in supporting the
criminal of Damascus, and before that its supporters in Iraq. So why is Iran
publicly announcing its deployment of troops to Syria? I think there are three
reasons. The first reason is the Russian “declaration” of withdrawal from Syria.
The Russian announcement means the exposure of Assad, and Iran is trying to say
that it will take Russia’s place and protect the criminal of Damascus. This is
not a message for Assad only, but for all supporters of Iran in the region. The
second reason is the recent leak about the Russian – American agreement on the
need for Assad’s departure. Despite all the denials, what is clear is that Iran
does not trust Russian – American positions. Tehran knows that the Moscow –
Washington agreement will be imposed on it because their interests are bigger
and more important than Iran and its agents who are merely pawns on a
chessboard.
The third reason for Iran’s announcement that it is sending special forces to
Syria is the revelation that the Obama administration is considering a plan to
dramatically increase the number of US special forces sent to Syria with the
expectation that this will accelerate the gains that have been recently achieved
against ISIS, especially after the Al-Nusra Front spokesman was killed in a US
airstrike which shows that Moscow and Washington are moving rapidly to clean up
the scene of terrorist leaders. The next step is the political transition and
this is confirmed by Russia’s calls for Assad’s negotiators to “show
flexibility” last Monday. All of this pushed Iran to announce its intervention
in Syria so that the Russians notice their presence and that they are not
ignored in any anticipated agreement. The announcement also forced Obama, who is
known for being indecisive, to rethink his calculations, especially after he
changed his mind when Assad crossed the red line. More importantly, Iran wants
to tell its agents in the region that it will not abandon them. This is an
interpretation of the public Iranian announcement that it is intervening in
Syria, and these times are full of surprises!