LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN

August 06/16

Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani

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Bible Quotations For Today

Then a cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud there came a voice, ‘This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Mark 09/01-07/:"And he said to them, ‘Truly I tell you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see that the kingdom of God has come with power.’Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain apart, by themselves. And he was transfigured before them,and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no one on earth could bleach them.And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, who were talking with Jesus. Then Peter said to Jesus, ‘Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.’He did not know what to say, for they were terrified. Then a cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud there came a voice, ‘This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him!’

When one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom
Second Letter to the Corinthians 03/07-17/:"If the ministry of death, chiselled in letters on stone tablets, came in glory so that the people of Israel could not gaze at Moses’ face because of the glory of his face, a glory now set aside, how much more will the ministry of the Spirit come in glory? For if there was glory in the ministry of condemnation, much more does the ministry of justification abound in glory! Indeed, what once had glory has lost its glory because of the greater glory; for if what was set aside came through glory, much more has the permanent come in glory! Since, then, we have such a hope, we act with great boldness, not like Moses, who put a veil over his face to keep the people of Israel from gazing at the end of the glory that was being set aside. But their minds were hardened. Indeed, to this very day, when they hear the reading of the old covenant, that same veil is still there, since only in Christ is it set aside. Indeed, to this very day whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their minds; but when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.

Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on August 05-06/16
Lebanon’s army is above sycophants, political climbers/Nayla Tueni/Al Arabiya/August 05/16
Hezbollah sees partition in Iraq, Syria a possible outcome to civil war/Ynetnews/Reuters/August 05/1
Walid Phares on Why Trump Can Best Fight Sharia/The Rush Limbaugh Show/ August 05/16
Connecting the Nuclear Dots/Peter Huessy//Gatestone Institute/August 05/16
UK: A Tale of Two Inquiries/Douglas Murray/Gatestone Institute/August 05/16
Sweden: Increasing Violence by Asylum Seekers against Swedes
Ingrid Carlqvist/Gatestone Institute/August 05/16
Yemen and the distant solution/Abdulrahman al-Rashed/Al ARabiya/August 05/16
Egyptians: Knowing much and doing little/Mohammed Nosseir/Al Arabiya/August 05/16
Will Iran attack Israel/Dr. Majid Rafizadeh/Al Arabiya/August 05/16
Unravelling Turkey’s pivot to the East/Dr. Theodore Karasik/Al Arabiya/August 05/16
Bogus foreign-policy debates: How we’re helping our enemies fool us/Jonathan Schanzer/New York Post/August 05/16
The Peril in Paroling Jihadists | Caschetta at The Hill/A.J. Caschetta/The Hill/Middle East Forum/August 05/16
 

Titles For Latest Lebanese Related News published on on August 05-06/16

Lebanese Army Stages Raids, Arrests Terror Suspects in Masharii al-Qaa
Two Syrians Held in Jezzine on 'Terror' Charges
ISF Foils Another Creative Bid to Smuggle Drugs into Jail
Ibrahim Vows Anti-Terror Victory despite 'Worrisome Security Situation'
Lebanon Arrests Head of 'Regional' Prostitution Network
Report: 'Complicit' Efforts to Maintain 1960 Election Law Thwart Discussions
Tensions as Cabinet Debate on Telecom File, OGERO Chief Drags On
Richard renews to Rahi US commitment to help Lebanon
Cedars International Festival kicks off in Bcharre, pays tribute to Gebran Khalil Gebran
Lebanese Army targets gunmen positions in Arsal outskirts
Shehayeb: Nation is winner in Mount Lebanon reconciliation
IMF Middle East Regional Technical Assistance Center, Statistics Department conclude workshop on Producer Price Index
Lebanon’s army is above sycophants, political climbers
Hezbollah sees partition in Iraq, Syria a possible outcome to civil war

Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin For Miscellaneous Reports And News published on on August 05-06/16

UN deplores mass executions in Iran
British MPs criticize human rights abuses in Iran
EU concerned by "high number of executions in Iran"
Iran hangs four prisoners on Wednesday
Iranians to go on 3-day hunger strike outside Downing Street in call for halt to executions in Iran
Israeli Defense Ministry slams Obama statement, compares Iran deal to Munich pact
Syria Rebels in Huge Attack to Break Aleppo Siege
Russia Calls on U.S. to Show 'Trust' over Syria
Obama Turns up Pressure on Putin over Syria
IS Kills Residents Trying to Flee Iraq Town
Hundreds of Palestinians Held by Israel on Hunger Strike
Senior Egypt Pro-Government Cleric Escapes Shooting
Saudi Coalition, Huthis Violate Rights in Yemen
U.N. Envoy Says to Suspend Yemen Peace Talks
Portugal ex-PM Guterres Leads Race to be Next U.N. Chief
Morocco Arrests Six over Death of Teen Rape Victim
Ex-CIA Boss Calls Trump 'Unwitting Agent' of Russia

Links From Jihad Watch Site for on August 05-06/16
Khizr Khan on Pakistan news channel: Allah is making Trump make mistakes
Paris and Brussels jihad killers got $56,000 in welfare while planning attacks
Video: Robert Spencer on why we can’t fight terror without discussing Islam
Pakistan: Muslim leader says jihad verses added to curriculum to appease the U.S.
Israel charges World Vision Gaza branch manager with funneling funds to Hamas
London knifeman was “devout Muslim”; neighbor says had no mental problems
Robert Spencer, PJM: State Dept Triples Budget of Failed Program to Dissuade Jihadis
The Unknown: Where are Hillary’s Tears for Sharia’s Victims?
Boko Haram’s new leader vows to “kill every Christian,” “blow up every Church”
Jewish man apologizes to Muslim woman for “bigotry”; she turns out to be jihad supporter
UK knifeman recently read Qur’an, life of Muhammad; cops search for motive

Latest Lebanese Related News published on on August 05-06/16

Lebanese Army Stages Raids, Arrests Terror Suspects in Masharii al-Qaa
Naharnet/August 05/16/The army's Airborne Regiment staged raids on Friday in the Bekaa border town of Masharii al-Qaa in search of terrorists, media reports said. Army troops raided the Syrian encampments in the area and searched for potential terrorists who might have infiltrated Lebanon's territories, added the reports. Several Syrian suspects were arrested and taken to a military barrack in the region. Nineteen were kept for interrogation, they added. The army has upped its security precautions after a string of suicide bombers attacked al-Qaa village on Lebanon's border with Syria on June 27.
Eight suicide bombers blew themselves up in the village, killing five people and wounding dozens. Reports had initially suggested the attackers had come from nearby refugee settlements. Al-Qaa lies on a main road linking the Syrian town of al-Qusayr to the Bekaa valley in eastern Lebanon. Its 3,000 residents are predominantly Christian, but the Masharii al-Qaa district is home to Sunni Muslims and some 30,000 Syrian refugees live in a makeshift camp on the edge of the village.

Two Syrians Held in Jezzine on 'Terror' Charges
Two Syrians were arrested Friday in the southern region of Jezzine on terror-related charges, state-run National News Agency reported. “The Jezzine State Security department has managed to arrest the Syrians F. H. and Sh. A. in the Jezzine region,” NNA said.
“They confessed to belonging to terrorist groups, communicating with Syria-based militants, and providing them with information,” the agency added. The country has been on high security alert since the unprecedented suicide bombings that hit the Christian border town of al-Qaa in late June. Scores of people have been arrested in a major crackdown on Syrian refugee encampments and gatherings and security agencies have upped their measures across Lebanon. Al-Qaa's blasts occurred after the arrest of several Islamic State-linked cells plotting bombings in the country and amid a flurry of media reports about possible attacks during the holy month of Ramadan.

ISF Foils Another Creative Bid to Smuggle Drugs into Jail
Naharnet/August 05/16/A sneakers has been used in the latest unusual attempt to smuggle drugs into a Lebanese prison, the Internal Security Forces announced on Friday. “While searching items sent to inmates by their families, the guards of the Zahle prison managed to seize a quantity of hashish that was creatively hidden in the bottom of a pair of athletic shoes,” the ISF said in a statement. The drugs were brought by the 28-year-old Syrian wife of one of the prisoners, the ISF added. The woman was arrested and an investigation got underway under the supervision of the relevant judicial authorities, the ISF said. Several prisons in Lebanon have in recent years witnessed bizarre drug smuggling attempts involving the use of potatoes, toothpaste, meat pastries, meat sandwiches, apricots and even pistachios.

Ibrahim Vows Anti-Terror Victory despite 'Worrisome Security Situation'
Naharnet/August 05/16/General Security chief Maj. Gen. Abbas Ibrahim has stressed that Lebanon will win the battle against terrorism although he described the current security situation in the country as “worrisome.”“We will emerge victorious from the anti-terror fight, because defeat means the end of Lebanon,” said Ibrahim in an interview with General Security Magazine. “We fought the toughest confrontations against terrorism and tougher challenges await us,” he added. “The current situation is worrisome and it ranges from critical to dangerous,” the major general warned. Separately, Ibrahim cautioned that the naturalization of refugees in the country would be equivalent to an “immediate war,” calling on politicians to “end their bets on foreign developments and their attempts to import solutions from abroad.” He also noted that security agencies are seeing to build “a secure state, not a police state.”The country has been on high security alert since the unprecedented suicide bombings that hit the Christian border town of al-Qaa in late June. Scores of people have been arrested in a major crackdown on Syrian refugee encampments and gatherings and security agencies have upped their measures across Lebanon. Al-Qaa's blasts occurred after the arrest of several Islamic State-linked cells plotting bombings in the country and amid a flurry of media reports about possible attacks during the holy month of Ramadan.In the latest developments, the army carried out raids Friday in al-Qaa's outskirts and searched Syrian encampments in the area a day after a special forces raid in the outskirts of the nearby town of Arsal that resulted in the death of a senior IS militant and the arrest of three others. Militants from IS and Fateh al-Sham Front, formerly al-Qaida affiliate al-Nusra Front, are entrenched in rugged areas along the undemarcated Lebanese-Syrian border and the army regularly shells their posts while Hizbullah and the Syrian army have engaged in clashes with them on the Syrian side of the border. The two groups briefly overran the town of Arsal in August 2014 before being ousted by the army after days of deadly battles.

Lebanon Arrests Head of 'Regional' Prostitution Network
Naharnet/August 05/16/A Russian woman has been arrested at Beirut's Rafik Hariri International Airport on charges of running a prostitution and sex trafficking network operating in Lebanon, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Jordan, a media report said on Friday. The woman was apprehended by the anti-vice unit of the Internal Security Forces, LBCI television reported. “The detainee was running her network via internet and phone from a rented apartment in Beirut,” the TV network added. An ISF statement confirmed the arrest later on Friday and said the woman had been wanted on an Interpol arrest warrant issued from Cairo. In late March, the ISF had announced busting what it called the “most dangerous” human trafficking and prostitution ring in Lebanon. Seventy-five women, mostly Syrian nationals, were rescued and around 20 Lebanese and Syrian suspects were arrested in connection with the case, which sent shockwaves across Lebanon.

Report: 'Complicit' Efforts to Maintain 1960 Election Law Thwart Discussions
Naharnet/August 05/16/Some political parties are deliberately hampering an agreement on a new electoral law in order the keep the 1960 in effect, al-Liwaa daily reported on Friday. “A failure to agree on a new electoral law is a sign of the complicity of the political parties to keep the law in force under the pretext of inability to agree on a new one,” unnamed sources told the daily on condition of anonymity. The sources, that followed up closely on the “contentious” atmospheres that prevailed during the dialogue sessions in the past three days, asked for a justification to proceed with discussing the stalled presidential election issue on the dialogue table in light of the inability to reach a consensual agreement. On Thursday, heads of parliamentary blocs concluded three days of national dialogue meetings that aimed to tackle controversial issues including the election of a president, the formation of a new government and a new voting system. However, the outcome of the sessions did not record a breakthrough and an extra session was scheduled for September 5. The joint parliamentary committees tasked with drafting a new electoral system have failed over several months to reach consensus on the issue. Hizbullah and the Free Patriotic Movement deputies demand a proportional representation system in order to ensure “fair representation.”
Al-Mustaqbal Movement insists on the hybrid electoral law that combines the winner-takes-all and the proportional representation systems. Christian representation in Lebanon's parliament have been seeking a new electoral law to replace the 1960 voting system.

Tensions as Cabinet Debate on Telecom File, OGERO Chief Drags On
Naharnet/August 05/16/The telecommunications sector file and demands to replace OGERO Telecom chief Abdul Menhem Youssef over corruption claims consumed much of the cabinet session that was held on Thursday. “The cabinet continued discussing the situations of the Telecom Ministry and the telecom minister answered the questions that some ministers had asked during the previous session and the ministers expressed their viewpoints over these answers,” said the cabinet in a statement recited by Information Minister Ramzi Jreij after the meeting. “The cabinet decided to continue its discussions over the telecom sector situations in light of the outcome of the ongoing judicial investigations in this regard and the recommendations that the telecom minister is supposed to propose,” Jreij added. Speaking to reporters after the session, Education Minister Elias Bou Saab of the Free Patriotic Movement said the FPM ministers asked Telecom Minister Butros Harb during the meeting to “resolve the telecommunications crisis instead of defending Abdul Menhem Youssef.” “The issue of Abdul Menhem Youssef consumed the entire session and the telecom minister strongly defended him,” Bou Saab added. “We demanded to start the reform process with the issue of Abdul Menhem Youssef,” he said. Tourism Minister Michel Pharaon meanwhile said that he was “shocked by the magnitude of public funds squandering and scandals in the telecom sector,” noting that Harb “is trying to address the situation.”
For his part Industry Minister Hussein al-Hajj Hassan of Hizbullah said that “the debate was lengthy but fruitless.”MTV reported that several ministers voiced dismay over “the cabinet's inability to take a decision regarding Abdul Menhem Youssef.”“The cabinet session witnessed tensions between the ministers of the FPM and the Progressive Socialist Party on the one hand and Minister Butros Harb on the other after the ministers demanded the appointment of a replacement to Abdul Menhem Youssef,” MTV said. Harb responded by saying that it is up to him to take a decision in this regard seeing as the issue falls under his jurisdiction, the TV network added. Prior to the session, Youth and Sports Minister Abdul Mutalleb Hennawi, who is close to ex-president Michel Suleiman, announced that “Abdul Menhem Youssef cannot be replaced without a judicial ruling,” noting that he had been appointed “through a cabinet decree.” Media reports had expected a fierce debate between Harb and Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil of the FPM over what reports described as "personal gains" linked to the telecom file. Discussions were supposed to tackle renewing the contracts of the two mobile service providers and the file of the illegal internet supply network that was uncovered in March. Youssef was interrogated in April by the Central Inspection Bureau over charges of negligence in preserving public funds in the Internet file and another case related to embezzling money from the employees' salaries under the excuse of the VAT tax. The embezzlement lawsuit was filed by former Telecom Minister Charbel Nahhas. Four illegal internet stations have been discovered so far in the mountainous terrains of Dinniyeh, Oyoun al-Siman, Faqra and Zaarour. Finance Minister Ali Hassan Khalil has said that the smuggled internet costs the state around $200 million in lost revenues every year. Early in March, the media and telecom parliamentary committee unveiled that there is a “mafia” that is taking advantage of illicit internet services by installing internet stations that are not subject to state control. The owners of these stations are buying international internet bandwidth with nominal cost from Turkey and Cyprus which they are selling back to Lebanese subscribers at reduced prices, reports have said.

Richard renews to Rahi US commitment to help Lebanon
Fri 05 Aug 2016/NNA - Maronite Patriarch Mar Beshara Boutros Rahi welcomed on Friday US Ambassador to Lebanon, Elizabeth Richard, in Bkerki, with whom he discussed the current general situation in the country and the broader Arab region. Speaking to reporters following the meeting, the diplomat indicated that she confirmed to Rahi that "the US is here to help Lebanon move forward on all political, economic, and security levels. "We are here for the long run, and we have a long history with Lebanon; we will certainly have a long future with it as well," she concluded.

Cedars International Festival kicks off in Bcharre, pays tribute to Gebran Khalil Gebran
Fri 05 Aug 2016/NNA - Cedars International Festival kicked off on Friday, for the second consecutive year, in Bcharre, with special homage made to renowned Lebanese author Gebran Khalil Gebran, in presence of a crowd of politicians, journalists, and dignitaries.
In her opening speech, MP Strida Geagea renewed determination to entrench the Lebanese further in their land and their nation. "We will proudly and certainly hold this festival every year, from the Cedars of God forest, to revive Lebanon's glory, heritage, and art," she said.
"We shall carry on spreading the concepts of freedom, arts, and joy throughout Lebanon that is suffering, as well as throughout this dark East that is engulfed wit extremism, violence, anarchy, and terrorism," she added. Fireworks later went off, before Lebanese icon Majida Roumi appeared on stage, and opened the festival's first night.

Lebanese Army targets gunmen positions in Arsal outskirts
Fri 05 Aug 2016/NNA - The Lebanese army is currently targeting gunmen positions in the outskirts of Arsal, NNA reporter said on Friday.

Shehayeb: Nation is winner in Mount Lebanon reconciliation
Fri 05 Aug 2016/NNA - Agriculture Minister, Akram Shehayeb, said that Lebanon has been the winner of Mount Lebanon reconciliation, noting that "history shall remember Patriarch Sfeir." Minister Shehyaeb's words came in an interview to "Voice of Lebanon" Radio Station, whereby he disclosed that MP Walid Jumblatt shall deliver a national united speech in Mukhtara tomorrow, for the sake of protecting the nation amidst the surrounding heated events in the region. Shehayeb said that Jumbaltt considers that institutional work cannot be set right except with its head.

IMF Middle East Regional Technical Assistance Center, Statistics Department conclude workshop on Producer Price Index
Fri 05 Aug 2016/NNA - The International Monetary Fund (IMF)'s Middle East Regional Technical Assistance Center (METAC) and the Statistics Department held a workshop on "Compiling a Producer Price Index" in Beirut, Lebanon from August 1-4, 2016. The workshop was attended by 14 representatives of the Central Administration of Statistics (CAS) in Lebanon. The workshop provided an overview of the concepts and methods used to compile a producer price index (PPI), which is key for improving national account statistics. Discussions and practical exercises emphasized the practical application of international standards and best practices. Topics focused on country-specific needs and objectives to support the development of a PPI for Lebanon. To facilitate the way forward, the design of data collection questionnaires and the implementation of outreach activities to raise awareness of the PPI were discussed. METAC is planning to support the technical assistance needs of CAS in their efforts to develop the new PPI.

Lebanon’s army is above sycophants, political climbers
Nayla Tueni/Al Arabiya/August 05/16
Recent days have witnessed a social media campaign concerning Lebanon’s army. At the very least, the campaign is silly and underestimates what the army and country are confronting. We reject turning the army into a promotional commodity that restaurants and hotels run ads for, thus exploiting the institution and the glory surrounding it.However, we also reject sycophants and political climbers exploiting Army Day - which was on Aug. 1 - to hog the limelight and criticize the military, an institution that is the most steadfast and protective over what is left of the state structure.
Challenges

The army is facing the most complicated challenge in its history - not a foreign army against which it can win or lose a battle, but terrorism that has targeted the Arab world and the West. The army faces this challenge amid the presence of more than 2 million Syrian and Palestinian refugees, among whom fighters and agents with different affiliations hide.The army is facing the most complicated challenge in its history - not a foreign army against which it can win or lose a battle, but terrorism that has targeted the Arab world and the West. The latter pose a security threat, as they are tantamount to a ticking time bomb. The army is working hard to control the situation in Palestinian camps, which for a while now have obstructed the state’s capabilities regarding security. Army members are sacrificing their lives on security missions that are not part of its assigned role. It has found itself at the heart of these developments because other institutions have failed to perform their duties.This is our army, and it does not matter if someone produces a silly video clip to glorify it. The army command has said all these ads celebrating Army Day have been produced by individuals, companies or organizations, and have nothing to do with the military.
Maintaining its unity, discipline and performance comes before all other calculations of individuals, parties and movements. Harming its stability is a crime, and those who do so must be held accountable.
**This article was first published in an-Nahar on Aug. 1, 2016.

Hezbollah sees partition in Iraq, Syria a possible outcome to civil war
Ynetnews/Reuters/August 05/16
Sheikh Naim Qassem, Nasrallah's second-in-command, says only Assad can prevent redrawing of the borders in the region by offering a 'solution can be logical and rational in finding political parameters that can give the opposition its share and the regime its share.'
Lebanese terror organization Hezbollah said the partition of Iraq and Syria was a possible outcome of sectarian fighting across the region and there was no prospect of any end to the war in Syria until after November's US presidential election.Sheikh Naim Qassem, deputy leader of the Iran-backed group, whose forces are fighting alongside President Bashar Assad against rebels supported by Western and regional powers, said Hezbollah, Iran and Russia would stand by Assad until the end. In an interview with Reuters, he said recapturing Aleppo, Syria's second major city where a decisive battle is unfolding, remained an objective but was not an immediate goal. The US and its allies say that by waging war against his own people, Assad can have no future in Syria, while Russia and Iran, wholly opposed to regime change, maintain he is the legitimate president, albeit of a state shrunk by rebel gains. Both coalitions fear his sudden departure could destroy what is left of Syria after more than five years of civil war, bequeathing a shell state to the jihadis of Islamic State and al-Qaeda. Qassem said both Syria and neighboring Iraq, where Islamic State has also seized territory, could split. "On the battlefield and in view of regional and international interventions I don't rule out that one of the ideas proposed is finding a state of partition in those two countries but will it succeed or not?"So far the forces that want the unity of Iraq and Syria are able to prevent the idea of partition but we should remain worried about ... the possibility that some countries might push these two countries or one of them into partition."
Assad was the best protection against this, Qassem said.
"With President Assad the solution can be logical and rational in finding political parameters that can give the opposition its share and the regime its share and there could be coordination which allows for putting things back in order and reviving authority in Syria," the white-turbaned sheikh said.
Die-hard commitment  The intervention of Russia's air force since last September, after Iran, Hezbollah, and Iraqi Shi'ite militiamen had fought relentlessly to keep Assad in place, has confounded the designs of Washington and regional Sunni powers such as Saudi Arabia and Turkey, Qassem said, opening the way to a political solution. "Iranian and Russian relations with Syria helped achieve steadfastness on the ground because both support Assad staying in power and back a political solution," the Hezbollah number two told Reuters. The Syria war grew out of Arab spring-inspired protests in 2011 calling for democratic change. Before Iran, Hezbollah and Russia came to Assad's aid, his grip on power appeared to be failing. Their support was seen by diplomats and Middle East experts as key to Assad's survival. Syria's civil war, now in its sixth year, has killed more than 250,000 people, displaced more than 6.6 million inside the country and forced another 4.8 million to flee, creating a huge influx into neighboring countries and Europe. Qassem said the months-long push on rebel-held Aleppo by Assad's government forces was aimed less at recovering Syria's major city than at separating the rebels from Idlib, their stronghold in the north-west, and choking their supply lines from Turkey. Aleppo, with a population of more than 2 million people now, has been divided for years into rebel and government areas. "The main objective of the Syrian state and allies was to cut the road between the city of Aleppo and Idlib. As for liberating Aleppo that's a different goal that may not be undertaken quickly...""Regaining Aleppo will remain one of the goals of the Syrian state and its allies but we're not tied to a timeframe", said the Hezbollah leader.
Fighting global threat
The Lebanese group, a Shi'ite Islamist party with a powerful armed wing, describes its role as part of a struggle against the growing regional threat presented by Sunni Muslim jihadists, who it labels takfiris for their radical ideology, violent and uncompromising stance. The conflict in Syria has further fuelled an old regional rivalry between the Shi'ite Islamist government of Iran and the conservative Sunni Muslim kingdom of Saudi Arabia, one of the main sponsors of the insurgency against Assad. Qassem said the United States, one of the power brokers in finding a solution to the crisis, was distracted by its November presidential elections and not ready to commit to any action until a new president takes over next year. "The US administration is convinced that the period ahead of the presidential elections is a wasted time, that it can await until the new president assumes power. Then, the prospects of a solution or of a prolongation of the crisis will be clear."He said the sacrifices of Hezbollah, which has lost hundreds of fighters in Syria, were worthy, otherwise the ultra-hardline jihadists of Islamic State would have taken control in Syria and expanded into Lebanon. "We have prevented the expansion of the crisis into Lebanon and this is a major achievement, we prevented the takfiris from disrupting the resistance and laid the basis for the steadfastness of Syria. These great achievements deserve every sacrifice," he said. He said Islamic State, which is being targeted by coalition air strikes, will increase its attacks in Europe and beyond, adding that the group has an expansionist strategy and will use any means to achieve its goals. "European pains are big and will increase more and more," Qassem said, adding that Islamic State "will not leave an opportunity in all the countries of the world without exception to attack when it can and when is able to."
 

Latest LCCC Bulletin For Miscellaneous Reports And News published on on August 05-06/16

UN deplores mass executions in Iran
Friday, 05 August 2016/NCRI - The United Nations has condemned the mass execution of Sunni political prisoners that the Iranian regime carried out this week. "UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein on Friday deplored the execution of 20 people in Iran this week," said a statement on the High Commissioner's website. "Reports suggest that most if not all of those executed were from a minority group – Sunnis from the Kurdish community. In many of the cases, there were serious doubts about the fairness of the trials, respect for due process and other rights of the accused. One of the men who was hanged yesterday, Shahram Ahmadi, had allegedly been beaten and coerced into signing a blank piece of paper on which his false confession was recorded. His family members were unable to visit him before he was executed, and were reportedly directed to the cemetery instead of Rajai Shahr Prison west of Tehran," said the statement. “The application of overly broad and vague criminal charges, coupled with a disdain for the rights of the accused to due process and a fair trial have in these cases led to a grave injustice,” the High Commissioner said. High Commissioner Zeid also condemned the execution last month of 19-year-old Hassan Afshar, who was 17 when he was arrested. “The execution of juvenile offenders is particularly abhorrent and I urge Iran to respect the strict prohibition under international human rights law against this practice,” he said. On Tuesday, Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, President-elect of the Iranian Resistance, described the mass execution of Sunni prisoners, carried out on the anniversary of the 1988 massacre of political prisoners in Iran, an appalling crime against humanity. The regime is trying in vain to contain the volatile social atmosphere and popular protests by terrorizing the public, she said. The time has come for the UN Human Rights Council and the UN Security Council to end their silence and bring the record of the Iranian regime's crimes before the International Criminal Court. Ali Khamenei and other leaders of the regime as well as direct perpetrators of these crimes must be brought to justice, Maryam Rajavi reiterated.

British MPs criticize human rights abuses in Iran
Friday, 05 August 2016/NCRI – The following is a press release by the British Parliamentary Committee for Iran Freedom on the recent mass execution in Iran:
Press Release: The international community must end Iran's impunity on human rights abuses
The British Parliamentary Committee for Iran Freedom (BPCIF) is shocked by the recent mass execution of Sunni prisoners in Gohardasht prison in Iran. These executions were carried out by the authorities as Iranians in the country and around the world commemorate the 28th anniversary of massacre of political prisoners in Iran. During a few months in the Summer of 1988, the Iranian regime executed tens of thousands of political prisoners in its prisons following a fatwa (religious decree) by the first ‘Supreme Leader’ of Iran, Khomeini. According to reports, the majority of those 30.000 executed were either serving prison sentences for their political activities or had already finished their sentences but were still kept in prison. Just like today, anyone who did not repented his opposition to the ruling theocratic regime and was not willing to totally collaborate with the regime was sentenced to death under the pretext of “Waging war against God”.These latest executions come as the Iranian authorities intensify pressure on political prisoners by imposing severe punishment and denying them medical care in its prisons. It is once again clear that the human rights situation in Iran has not change but rather has worsened in many areas including arbitrary arrest of dual citizens, suppression of women and of Iran's religious and ethnic minorities. The British Parliamentary Committee for Iran Freedom (BPCIF) strongly condemns Tehran's continued use of death penalty, which aims to silence popular dissent. The Iranian regime can no longer be allowed to hide behind the notion of “moderation” and the international community must speak up against the systematic atrocities taking place on a daily basis. In our endeavours to advance human rights and democracy in Iran, we urge the government to recognise the 1988 massacre of political prisoners in the country as a crime against humanity and to take appropriate steps with our Western allies in the UN Human Rights Council and the UN Security Council to make sure that those responsible for these executions be brought to justice in an international tribunal. In the meantime, the government should increase pressure on the Iranian regime. British Parliamentary Committee for Iran Freedom/05 August 2016

EU concerned by "high number of executions in Iran"
Friday, 05 August 2016/NCRI - The European Union has condemned the mass execution of Sunni political prisoners in Iran this week."Iran has recently executed 20 individuals charged with murder and undermining national security," said a statement Thursday (August 4) by the spokesperson for the EU's foreign affairs chief Federica Mogherini. "The EU reiterates its strong opposition to the use of the death penalty in all circumstances. It also recalls its concern with the high number of executions in Iran." "The death penalty is a cruel and inhumane punishment, which fails to act as a deterrent and represents an unacceptable denial of human dignity and integrity," the statement added. On Tuesday, Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, President-elect of the Iranian Resistance, described the mass execution of Sunni prisoners, carried out on the anniversary of the 1988 massacre of political prisoners in Iran, an appalling crime against humanity. The regime is trying in vain to contain the volatile social atmosphere and popular protests by terrorizing the public, she said. The time has come for the UN Human Rights Council and the UN Security Council to end their silence and bring the record of the Iranian regime's crimes before the International Criminal Court. Ali Khamenei and other leaders of the regime as well as direct perpetrators of these crimes must be brought to justice, Maryam Rajavi reiterated.

Iran hangs four prisoners on Wednesday
Thursday, 04 August 2016/NCRI - Iran's fundamentalist regime hanged four prisoners on Wednesday, a day after more than two dozen Sunni political prisoners were mass executed by the regime prompting international condemnation.Three of the victims were hanged on Wednesday, August 3, in a prison in the city of Saqqez, in the western Iranian province of Kurdistan. They were identified as Mostafa Salimzadeh, 23; Loqman Rashidi, 27; and Kaveh Sohrabi, 31. A fourth prisoner was hanged on Wednesday in a jail in the city of Taybad, in north-east Iran. He was identified as Majid Nazari. A further report surfaced on Thursday that three more prisoners were hanged on July 27 in prisons in the north-western Iranian province of Western Azerbaijan. They were identified as three Iranian Kurds - Ahmad Rastegar, Shahpour Hashtian and Davoud Mohammadi.

Iranians to go on 3-day hunger strike outside Downing Street in call for halt to executions in Iran
Friday, 05 August 2016 /NCRI - Members of the Anglo-Iranian community and supporters of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) in the United Kingdom plan to stage a sit-in protest on the anniversary of the massacre of 30,000 political prisoners in Iran in 1988 and will go on a 3-day hunger strike in London outside Downing Street in solidarity with political prisoners and the victims of torture and execution inside Iran. In the summer of 1988, some 30,000 political prisoners, the vast majority affiliated to the main opposition group People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI or MEK), were summarily and extra-judicially executed by the mullahs’ regime. The majority of those executed were either serving prison sentences for their political activities or had already finished their sentences but were still kept in prison. The Iranian authorities have mass executed scores of people in the past few days and over 2500 people have been hanged during the presidency of Hassan Rouhani. Members of the Anglo-Iranians from different backgrounds will be joining the hunger strike. They will be camped outside Downing Street on:
Saturday and Sunday, 6-7 August, 5pm-8pm
Monday, 8 August, 3pm-7pm
The participants will urge the UK government to categorically condemn the incessant cruel hangings that are taking place unabatedly in Iran and act with its Western allies to press for an immediate halt to the executions and torture in Iran. They will also call on the UN Human Rights Council and the UN Security Council to refer the human rights dossier of the mullahs’ regime to the International Criminal Court for the prosecution of its leaders including the Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and President Hassan Rouhani. British human rights personalities are expected to address the rally.

Israeli Defense Ministry slams Obama statement, compares Iran deal to Munich pact
Jerusalem Post/August 05/16
Responding to comments by US President Barack Obama, who said that Israel has acknowledged that Iran is keeping its end of the nuclear deal, the Defense Ministry released a highly unusual and strongly-worded statement on Friday, comparing the arrangement to the failed 1938 Munich pact with the Nazis.
"The Israeli defense establishment believes that agreements have value, only if they are based on an existing reality, and that they have no value if the facts on the ground are completely the opposite of [the concepts] on which an agreement is based on," the Ministry said. Be the first to know - Join our Facebook page. "The Munich agreement did not prevent the Second World War and the Holocaust, precisely because their basic assumption, that Nazi Germany could be a partner to any kind of agreement, was wrong, and because the leaders of the world at that time ignored the explicit statements by Hitler and the rest of the leaders of Nazi Germany," the Ministry added. The Ministry said that these lessons from the 1930s also hold true for Iran today, which openly announces its aim to destroy the State of Israel. It cited a US State Department report published this year that listed Iran as the world's top sponsor of terrorism. "Hence, the defense establishment, like the rest o the Israeli people and many in the world, understands that agreements of this kind signed between the world powers and Iran are not helpful, but only harm the uncompromising struggle that must be undertaken against a terrorist state like Iran," it concluded.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Office said in a statement released shortly following the Defense Ministry's comments that the Israeli government's position on the Iran deal remains intact, but noted that there was no more important ally in the world than the United States. "As [Netanyahu] outlined in his speech to the UN last year, now it is important that those who agree and for those who object to cooperate in order to achieve three objectives," the PMO statement said. "Make sure that Iran does violate the terms of the agreement," it continued, adding "deal with regional aggression from Iran and dismantle the global terrorist network of the Islamic Republic." The statement from Netanyahu's office concluded by stating: "Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expects that these objectives will become common policy and expects the alliance between Israel and the United States to strengthen with US President Barack Obama and with the next US administration."Avigdor Liberman, who became Defense Minister in May this year, said in July that the international community is ignoring Iran's violation of its nuclear agreement with world powers, during his first appearance before the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee. "The Iranian threat is still the greatest threat to the State of Israel," Liberman said last month. "Iran is still promoting its missile program with full force...and we don't have to guess whom the missiles program is targeting." The Defense Minister pointed to a test-fire of two missiles in Iran earlier this year, which had the message "Israel must be erased" written on them in Hebrew. "The fact that nations of the world are trying to ignore this clear violation of UN Security Council decisions about the agreement, which they themselves signed with Iran, proves my point," he added.
*Lahav Harkov contributed to this report

Syria Rebels in Huge Attack to Break Aleppo Siege
Naharnet/Agence France Presse/August 05/16/Jihadists and their rebel allies pressed an offensive Friday with a massive attack aimed at seizing a military academy south of Aleppo and breaking a three-week-old siege of insurgent neighborhoods. Their assault focusing on the artillery and armaments schools of the academy has sparked contradictory reports about the situation on the ground. "The rebels have seized parts of these schools, but the army has begun a counter-offensive backed by air cover to chase them out," said Syrian Observatory for Human Rights chief Rami Abdel Rahman.
"If the rebels can take control of these schools, they will cut the supply route into regime-held districts of western Aleppo and they must seize the adjoining area of Ramussa to lift the siege on the rebel districts," he said. "This is a battle of life and death for the regime and for Russia," its key ally, Abdel Rahman added. State television in Syria said government forces had repulsed the assault, killing "hundreds" of attackers. Once Syria's economic powerhouse, Aleppo has been ravaged by the war that began in March 2011 with anti-government protests. The government siege of opposition-held districts began on July 17 and has raised fears of a humanitarian crisis. The Observatory said at least 13 people, including nine children, were killed in air strikes on the rebel-held east of the city on Friday. The Britain-based group said it was unclear if the raids on the Marjeh district were carried out by Syrian or Russian aircraft. Moscow, meanwhile, hit back at U.S. criticism over Syria, accusing Washington of lacking trust in Russia and not behaving as a true partner. Russia and the United States support opposing sides in Syria's civil war, which has left 280,000 people dead and forced half the population to flee their homes.
'Wholly logical' policy
But the two world powers have agreed "concrete steps" to revive a tattered ceasefire and tackle jihadist groups in Syria, although details have not been made public. On Thursday, U.S. President Barack Obama said Russia risked casting itself as an "irresponsible actor" on the world stage particularly due to its actions in Aleppo in recent weeks. "The United States sometimes don't behave as partners when dealing with us on Syrian issues and are not always ready to negotiate on equal grounds," Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told TASS news agency. He said he thought Moscow's policy on Syria was "wholly logical" and set goals that are mostly "shared by most members of the international community."In an audio message released Friday, Abu Mohamed al-Jolani, the head of al-Qaida's former affiliate in Syria, pledged that the rebel offensive which started on Sunday would soon succeed. God had granted fighters "a glorious victory in the battle to break the siege of Aleppo", he said. "This battle, the outcome of which will go beyond simply opening the road for the besieged, will change the balance of the conflict... setting the scene for a new stage of the battle."After some initial rebel advances, government forces backed by Iranian and Hizbullah fighters as well as Russian air strikes have pushed back opposition fighters who include jihadists from Jolani's faction, now known as the Fateh al-Sham Front.
Ravaged by war
According to the Observatory, at least 115 civilians, including 35 children, have been killed in the city since the rebel assault began on Sunday. The deaths include 65 people, among them 22 children, killed in rebel fire on government neighborhoods, the Observatory said. Another 42 people, including 11 children, have been killed in strikes on eastern Aleppo, it said. It reported five more deaths in rebel fire on the Kurdish-majority Sheikh Maqsud district of the city. Elsewhere in Aleppo province, the monitor said an alliance of Kurdish and Arab fighters was advancing inside the Islamic State group bastion of Manbij. Abdul Rahman said the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) now held 70 percent of the town. "The Islamic State has entered its final phase in the town of Manbij," he told AFP, adding however that IS was using a number of civilians there as human shields. "The progress the SDF has made in the last week is more than it was able to achieve in previous weeks put together," Abdul Rahman said. The SDF began its assault on Manbij in late May and entered the town proper on June 23, with support from the U.S.-led coalition against IS. Manbij sits on the route between the Turkish border and the eastern city of Raqa, the jihadists' de facto capital in Syria.

Russia Calls on U.S. to Show 'Trust' over Syria
Naharnet/Agence France Presse/August 05/16/Russia on Friday hit back at U.S. criticism over Syria, accusing Washington of lacking trust in Moscow and not behaving as a true partner. "The United States sometimes don't behave as partners when dealing with us on Syrian issues and are not always ready to negotiate on equal grounds," Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told TASS news agency. "I think Russia's policy in Syria is wholly logical, coherent and sets goals that, for the most part, are shared by most members of the international community," Ryabkov said, lamenting that Washington demonstrates a "lack of trust in our foreign policy." U.S. President Barack Obama said Thursday that Russia risked casting itself as an "irresponsible actor" on the world stage particularly due to its actions in Syria's Aleppo in recent weeks. As reports surfaced of a Russian raid killing two Syrian children and wounding dozens at a refugee camp near Aleppo, Obama said "Russia's direct involvement in these actions over the last several weeks raises very serious questions about their commitment" to ending hostilities. "I'm not confident that we can trust the Russians or Vladimir Putin," Obama said in a rare personal rebuke of the Russian leader who had thrown his support behind Bashar Assad last year by sending in the Russian air force to support the Syrian government's ground operation. Ryabkov on Friday said that "there is a serious deficit of trust in Russian-American relations." "We see a deliberate focus on undermining the foundation of our relations over the past years," he said, listing "illegitimate" sanctions, "military pressure" through NATO and even arrests of Russians on U.S. orders in third countries. "We believe that trust in Russian-American relations can only be restored if colleagues in Washington approach the entire bilateral agenda honestly and responsibly," he said.

Obama Turns up Pressure on Putin over Syria
Naharnet/Agence France Presse/August 05/16/U.S. President Barack Obama warned Russia faces fierce international rebuke if it continues to make common cause with Syria's brutal regime, signaling a renewed push to end the bloody five-year civil war Thursday. Obama said Russia risked casting itself as an "irresponsible actor" on the world stage, after meeting with top aides at the Pentagon. Eying a looming humanitarian catastrophe in Aleppo -- the besieged northwestern city of 250,000 people that was once Syria's commercial hub -- Obama said it was "time for Russia to show that it is serious" about bringing peace. For five years Russian President Vladimir Putin has steadfastly supported the regime of Bashar al-Assad, offering international cover, military aid and in the last year carrying out its own strikes in anti-Assad areas. Without material Russian and Iranian support it is doubtful Assad could have held on to power. Putin has shown little sign of ending that support through multiple rounds of international talks. "I'm not confident that we can trust the Russians or Vladimir Putin," Obama said. "Which is why we have to test whether or not we can get an actual cessation of hostilities." The United States hopes renewing a failed ceasefire would prevent a bloodbath in Aleppo, allow humanitarian aid missions to resume and open the door for negotiations that would end the civil war and turn the focus to defeating the Islamic State. The White House is betting that Putin's preoccupation with Russia's position on the world stage could lead to a rethink before he travels to the G20 in China and UN General Assembly in New York next month. Putin's decision to annex Ukraine's Crimea and support separatist forces in the east of that country have led to international sanctions and to Russia being expelled from the G8, much to the Russian leader's chagrin. If the renewed ceasefire does not stick, Obama said "Russia will have shown itself very clearly to be an irresponsible actor on the world stage that is supporting a murderous regime, and will have to answer to that on the international stage.""Russia may not be able to get there, either because they don't want to, or because they don't have sufficient influence over Assad. And, that's what we're going to test," Obama said. As reports surfaced of a Russian raid killing two Syrian children and wounding dozens at a refugee camp near Aleppo, Obama said "Russia's direct involvement in these actions over the last several weeks raises very serious questions about their commitment."- Reputational damage -But it is not just Russia's reputation that is on the line in Syria.
By using chemical weapons, Assad crossed what Obama had said would be a "red line" -- only for the United States to never follow through on any attack. Russian bombing of U.S. trained groups in Syria has also dramatically undermined Washington's moral and military standing. Critics accuse the Obama administration of failing to stand up for its allies and failing in its duty to protect innocent civilians from withering bombings. As the country has fallen apart the Islamic State, Al-Qaeda affiliated groups and other assorted jihadists have flourished and a refugee crisis has destabilized the region and Europe. Obama's political foes have accused his policies of leading to the growth of the Islamic State into a group that now carries out attacks in the United States and Europe with regularity. Obama, who came to office promising to end the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, has hit the Islamic State with airstrikes and commando raids, but has steadfastly refused to bomb Assad or start another ground war in the Middle East.On Thursday he admitted that Syria had been one of the most testing issues of his presidency, which will end in January. "I've been wrestling with this thing now for a lot of years," he said. "I am pretty confident that a big chunk of my gray hair comes out of my Syria meetings.""There is not a meeting that I do not end by saying is there something else that we could be doing that we haven't thought of? Is there a plan 'F,' 'G,' 'H,' that we think would lead to a resolution of this issue."- The other theaters -After meeting with advisers at the Pentagon, Obama said the Islamic State group would "inevitably" be crushed and said the U.S.-led coalition would continue to aggressively target the jihadists "across every front." But "the decline of ISIL in Syria and Iraq appears to be causing it to shift to tactics that we've seen before -- an even greater emphasis on encouraging high-profile terrorist attacks, including in the United States," Obama warned, using an acronym for the Islamic State group. The jihadists swept across vast parts of northern Syria and Iraq in 2014, leaving a trail of human butchery and horrific destruction in their wake. Since then, the coalition has conducted daily plane and drone strikes -- more than 14,000 so far -- and worked with local forces on the ground to gradually reclaim the seized territory. Despite the massive effort, the jihadists still hold Mosul -- Iraq's second-largest city -- and the Syrian city of Raqa. Earlier this week Obama announced a new front in the war, ordering airstrikes against Islamic State jihadists' positions in Sirte, Libya.

IS Kills Residents Trying to Flee Iraq Town
Naharnet/Agence France Presse/August 05/16/The Islamic State group has killed several residents attempting to flee Hawijah, officers and local officials said Friday, as Iraqi forces prepared for an operation against the jihadist-held area. Hundreds of civilians have over the past few days managed to flee the area, which lies west of the Kurdish-controlled city of Kirkuk and about 220 kilometers (140 miles) north of Baghdad. Hawijah and its surroundings are one of the last major areas east of the Tigris still controlled by IS and possibly the next target of the forces battling the jihadists in Iraq. "Our forces received 600 people yesterday and offered them assistance," a brigadier general with the Kurdish peshmerga forces told AFP. "We heard from them that Daesh (IS) is holding hundreds of families hostage and has executed young men for escaping from the land of jihad (holy war) to the land of the infidels," he said. A police colonel also said that several people had been shot dead by IS fighters as they attempted to flee the area recently.A local tribal leader urged Iraqi forces to step up operations aimed at retaking Hawijah and rescue trapped civilians. "We are facing the risk of a massacre and the government has to move quickly," Sheikh Anwar al-Assi told AFP. After retaking much of the vast western province of Anbar in recent months, including the IS bastion of Fallujah in June, Iraqi forces are training their sights on remaining jihadists strongholds in the north. The ultimate target is Mosul, the country's second city and the de facto Iraqi capital of the jihadist organization’s self-proclaimed caliphate. Kurdish and federal forces have held positions around Hawijah for months, imposing a loose siege on the city but stopping short of launching a fully-fledged assault to retake it. Assi estimated the number of people still living under IS rule in the Hawijah area at 100,000.

Hundreds of Palestinians Held by Israel on Hunger Strike
Naharnet/Agence France Presse/August 05/16/Hundreds of Palestinians in Israeli prisons were observing a hunger strike Friday, in a new wave of protest that Palestinian officials said was expected to grow. Some of the strikers accused Israeli jailers of "harassment" while others refused food in solidarity with prisoner Bilal Kayed, who has been fasting for 52 days over his detention without trial, Palestinian officials said. An Israeli prison official said that a large part of the protest seemed to be in response to a decision by authorities to hold prisoners from the militant movement Hamas in separate cells. The Palestinian Prisoners Club said in a statement that 80 prisoners stopped eating on Friday, joining 325 who have been fasting for the past two days at various prisons in Israel and the occupied West Bank. It said more were expected to join the hunger strike from Sunday. The Palestinian Authority detainee affairs commission said inmates are protesting a prison crackdown this week in which a number were placed in solitary confinement, personal belongings seized and prisoners moved to other facilities. It said that hunger strikers were being fined 600 shekels ($158, 143 euros) each and forbidden visits for two months. The Israel Prisons Service said that during the week it had moved Hamas prisoners, searched cells and seized mobile phones, acting on "intelligence information about direction of terror from inside prisons." A spokesman told AFP that there were currently 262 Hamas prisoners on hunger strike, along with 93 from leftist the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) fasting in solidarity with Kayed. Kayed was to be released in June after serving a 14-and-a-half-year sentence for activities in the PFLP, labeled a terrorist organization by Israel, the European Union and the United States. Instead, Israeli authorities ordered that he remain in custody under the administrative detention law, which allows prisoners to be held without trial for renewable six-month periods. Kayed, 35, is suffering from failing kidneys and has lost at least 30 kilos (65 pounds), Palestinian officials say. Administrative detention is intended by Israel to allow authorities to hold suspects while continuing to gather evidence, with the aim of preventing further attacks in the meantime. The system has been criticized by Palestinians, human rights groups and members of the international community. Of more than 7,500 Palestinians currently in Israeli jails, around 700 are being held under administrative detention, Palestinian rights groups say. Palestinians have regularly gone on hunger strike in protest at their detention.

Senior Egypt Pro-Government Cleric Escapes Shooting
Naharnet/Agence France Presse/August 05/16/Gunmen opened fire at a former Egyptian mufti, Ali Gomaa, in Cairo on Friday, missing the pro-government cleric but wounding his bodyguard, security officials said. Gomaa was on his way to a mosque in the capital to lead weekly prayers when two assailants on a motorbike opened fire, three police officials said. A bodyguard was wounded in the shooting, they said. Gomaa later told Egyptian state television of how he had taken shelter behind a mosque wall when the shooting started. After the attack, he "conducted the Friday prayers as a message to these people", the cleric said in a telephone interview.Gomaa was Egypt's most senior Muslim cleric for a decade until 2013. He strongly backed the army's overthrow of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi that year and the subsequent deadly crackdown on his supporters. Since stepping down as mufti -- the official interpreter of Islamic law -- Gomaa has remained one of the country's top Islamic scholars. He is for his moderate views on religion but reviled by the Islamist opposition for his support of the crackdown against them that has killed hundreds of protesters.

Saudi Coalition, Huthis Violate Rights in Yemen
Naharnet/Agence France Presse/August 05/16/A confidential UN report has concluded that the Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen deliberately bombed a house, killing four children, and that Huthi rebels used civilians as shields to avoid attacks. The actions amount to violations of international humanitarian law, according to the report by a panel of experts obtained by Agence France Presse on Thursday. "The panel has documented violations of international humanitarian law and international human rights law committed by the Huthi-Saleh forces, the Saudi Arabia-led coalition and forces affiliated to the legitimate government of Yemen," said the report presented to the Security Council. The experts are conducting detailed investigations of four air strikes allegedly carried out by the Saudi coalition, three of which are still ongoing. In the fourth case, six people including four children were killed when the coalition bombed a village house in southern Lahj province on May 25 using precision-guided munitions. "It is almost certain that the civilian house was the deliberate target of the high explosive aircraft bombs," said the report. The panel concluded that the coalition failed to take precautions and "thus violated IHL," international humanitarian law. The coalition began the air campaign in March 2015 to push back Huthi rebels after they seized the capital Sanaa and many other parts of the country. The Saudi-led alliance has repeatedly denied that it has deliberately targeted civilians in the war, which has killed more than 6,400 people.
- Shielding tanks at university -In Taez province, Huthi rebels have concealed their fighters and equipment near or in civilian areas "with the deliberate aim of avoiding attack," said the report. "In doing so, the Huthis almost certainly deliberately endanger and expose the civilian population and civilian objects to the perils of conflict," it added. The report showed a photograph of a tank parked at Taez University and said it was investigating several reports of civilian sites used as shields. Meanwhile, Yemen's Al-Qaeda franchise, Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), has upgraded its bomb-making capabilities and could wage a "sustained IED (improvised explosive device) campaign" of attacks, the report said. The first suicide attack using the refined bomb technique was recorded in Aden on May 1.AQAP and the local branch of the Islamic State (IS) group are competing for recruits in Yemen. In March and April, IS received a significant influx of cash in Yemen, which it is using to attract recruits, finance operations and purchase equipment, said the report, without providing figures. While the war grinds on, Yemen's Central Bank is suffering a major hemorrhage of cash. About $100 million per month is being diverted to support the Huthis, who have gained access to the reserves, said the report. Yemen's foreign reserves have dwindled from about $4 billion in November 2014 to their current critical level of $1.3 billion.

U.N. Envoy Says to Suspend Yemen Peace Talks
Naharnet/Agence France Presse/August 05/16/The U.N. special envoy to Yemen said Thursday he plans to suspend peace talks between the country's warring parties at the weekend but that negotiations will resume later. Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed has been mediating the talks between President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi's government and the Iran-backed Huthi rebels and their allies in Kuwait since April 21, without a major breakthrough. "We plan to hold the final session (of the talks) on Saturday," the Mauritanian diplomat said in an interview on state-run Kuwait TV. "We are working on issuing a communique that will emphasize on the main points we have achieved." The talks would resume later, he said, without providing a specific date or the location but he added that they could return to Kuwait. Ould Cheikh Ahmed said he offered delegates a peace plan a few days ago, and thanked the government for its positive response while adding that the rebels had some reservations. The envoy said all difficult issues were discussed and some achievements were made during the negotiations. "We wanted to have a sustainable and lasting peace agreement," said Ould Cheikh Ahmed who on Wednesday briefed the U.N. Security Council about the talks. The peace plan calls for the rebels to withdraw from territories they occupied in September 2014 including the capital Sanaa and hand over heavy weapons, said Ould Cheikh Ahmed.The government delegation which left Kuwait this week returned to the emirate late Thursday to attend the final session, its spokesman Mohammed al-Emrani told AFP. The rebels had insisted that first a national unity government must be formed and a new consensus president appointed to oversee the transition. Yemen, home to what the United States sees as al-Qaida's deadliest franchise, descended into chaos after the 2012 ouster of longtime president Ali Abdullah Saleh, whose forces are fighting alongside the Huthi rebels. Security deteriorated further after the Huthis swept into Sanaa and pushed south, forcing President Hadi's government to flee into exile in March last year. The United Nations says the conflict has killed more than 6,400 people and displaced 2.8 million since then, when a Saudi-led Arab coalition launched a military campaign in support of Hadi.

Portugal ex-PM Guterres Leads Race to be Next U.N. Chief
Naharnet/Agence France Presse/August 05/16/Portugal's former prime minister Antonio Guterres held the lead in the race to be the next U.N. secretary-general after a second straw poll held Friday that saw some shifts in support, diplomats said.Guterres received 11 "encourage" votes, two "discourage" votes and two "no opinion" during the secret informal vote by the 15-member Security Council, a slightly weaker showing than in the first round last month. But the 67-year-old Guterres managed however to increase his lead over the other candidates in the race to succeed current Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
Serbia's former foreign minister Vuk Jeremic made a surprisingly strong showing, taking the second spot with eight "encourage" votes, four "discourage" votes and three "no opinion."Argentina's Foreign Minister Susana Malcorra climbed up the rankings, taking third place and becoming the leading woman in the race. Malcorra, a U.N. insider who was Ban's chief of staff, picked up eight encouragements, six discouragements and one no opinion. Slovenia's ex-president Danilo Turk, who was the runner-up in the first round of voting, dropped to fourth place, with seven encouragements, five discouragements and three "no opinion."UNESCO chief Irina Bokova of Bulgaria also fell from her third-place ranking to fifth place, with seven encouragements, seven discouragements and one "no opinion."Guterres, who served as the U.N.'s refugee chief for 10 years and as Portugal's Socialist prime minister from 1995 to 2002, came out on top during the first round with 12 "encourage" votes and three "no opinion."Diplomats speculated that one of the two negative votes cast in this round may have come from veto power Russia in a bid to block or slow down his advance.
Clark drops in ranking
Lower down the rankings, New Zealand's ex-prime minister and head of the U.N. Development Program, Helen Clark, lost some ground as well, taking the number seven spot after Macedonia's ex-foreign minister Srgjan Kerim. Clark picked up six encouragements and eight "discourage" votes along with one "no opinion." In the first-round rankings, she was sixth. The shakeup in this round of voting suggests that the council is far from reaching a consensus on who should take the helm of the United Nations when Ban steps down. The last four spots went to former U.N. climate negotiator Christiana Figueres, ex-foreign minister Natalia Gherman of Moldova, Slovak Foreign Minister Miroslav Lajcak and Igor Luksic, a former acting prime minister of Montenegro. Security Council members are facing calls to pick the first woman after eight men in the job, and to give preference to a candidate from eastern Europe, the only region that has yet to be represented in the post. Of the 11 candidates, seven are from eastern Europe. The secret vote caps a new, more open process that for the first time in the U.N.'s history allowed candidates to appear at hearings to make their pitch for the top job before the General Assembly. The results of the straw poll were not publicly announced, but the council president communicated them to the candidates to give them an indication of the level of support in the council.Some candidates privately said ahead of the vote that they would closely look at the results to decide whether to stay in the race. Croatia's ex-foreign minister Vesna Pusic pulled out on Thursday after she picked up the lowest score in the first round. More rounds of voting are expected in the coming weeks before the council agrees on a nominee, which could happen in October. The new U.N. secretary-general will begin his or her five-year term on January 1.

Morocco Arrests Six over Death of Teen Rape Victim
Naharnet/Agence France Presse/August 05/16/Morocco Friday launched a probe into the death of a teenage rape victim who set herself on fire after her alleged rapists threatened to tell all, a rights group said. The Moroccan Association of Human Rights (AMDH) said an autopsy after the girl's death last week showed she was pregnant. In 2015 "eight young men abducted the girl", who was then 16, from her home town in Ben Guerir north of Marrakesh "and then took turns to rape her", said AMDH Marrakesh head Omar Arbib. The girl's family lodged a complaint and police later arrested seven suspects who were referred to the prosecutor for questioning, said Arbib. An eighth suspect was arrested later. But according to Arbib, the prosecutor granted the suspects a provisional release. He said that after being freed they threatened the girl, saying they would "publish pictures of the rape which they had taken with their mobile phones unless she drops the complaint against them". "This is the reason why last Friday she set herself on fire," Arbib said. The girl suffered third degree burns and died the following day in hospital, he said, adding that the autopsy showed that she was pregnant. Her death prompted the prosecutor to order the arrest of six of the eight suspects who were detained on Thursday, said Arbib. It was not immediately clear why the other two suspects were not arrested. As in numerous other Arab countries, sexual harassment is commonplace in Morocco, despite the adoption of a new constitution in 2011 that enshrines gender equality and urges the state to promote it. Moroccan NGOs say that 80 percent of sexual attacks affect children, aged mostly between 5 and 14, and that in a high percentage of cases the assailants are family members. In January 2014, Morocco scrapped a highly controversial law that allowed rapists of children to escape punishment if they marry their victims. The article made international headlines in March 2012 when Amina Filali, 16, killed herself after being forced to marry the man who had raped her and who remained free.

Ex-CIA Boss Calls Trump 'Unwitting Agent' of Russia
Naharnet/Agence France Presse/August 05/16/Donald Trump suffered more blows to his presidential campaign Friday when a CIA ex-director accused him of being an "unwitting agent" of Russia's Vladimir Putin, and the billionaire acknowledged erring about seeing cash transferred to Iran. Trump's drive for the White House showed no signs of stopping the hemorrhaging after a brutal week of setbacks, with a new poll showing him vulnerable in November's election in Georgia, a traditional Republican stronghold. Despite the stumbles, including Trump's refusal to back down in a confrontation with the parents of a Muslim American soldier killed in action in Iraq, his campaign chairman Paul Manafort told Fox News it has been "an improving week."But the latest setback came in the form of harsh criticism by Michael Morell, a 33-year veteran of the Central Intelligence Agency who served presidents of both parties and then helmed the agency in 2011. "On Nov. 8, I will vote for Hillary Clinton," he wrote in a New York Times column, adding that Trump "may well pose a threat to our national security." Morell said that as Russia's president, "Putin played upon Mr. Trump's vulnerabilities by complimenting him. He responded just as Mr. Putin had calculated." Trump has praised Putin as a great leader, and taken policy positions "consistent with Russian, not American, interests" including endorsing Russian espionage against U.S. figures like Clinton and greenlighting a possible Russian invasion of Baltic states, Morell said. "In the intelligence business, we would say that Mr. Putin had recruited Mr. Trump as an unwitting agent of the Russian Federation," he added.
Rare reversal
Trump has also admitted he wrongly claimed to have seen secret Iranian footage of $400 million in hard currency being delivered to Tehran as payment for the release of U.S. prisoners. Trump raised eyebrows this week when he made that assertion and gave many details of what he said he saw in the film."Remember this: Iran -- I don't think you heard this anywhere but here -- Iran provided all of that footage, the tape of taking that money off the airplane," Trump said Wednesday at a rally in Florida. "Right?"Early Friday, Trump made a rare backtrack. "The plane I saw on television was the hostage plane in Geneva, Switzerland, not the plane carrying $400 million in cash going to Iran!" Trump tweeted. Trump's campaign has insisted that the money was "a payment for hostages" held in Iran who were released in January. The White House says it was returning cash from an unfulfilled 1970s Iranian military order. "We do not pay ransom for hostages," President Barack Obama told reporters Thursday.
Rally in Ryan country
Trump may try to help right the ship with a campaign appearance later Friday in Wisconsin, the home state of House Speaker Paul Ryan, whom the brash real estate mogul this week refused to endorse for his congressional re-election bid. Ryan warned on Thursday that Trump has had a "strange run" since formally earning the nomination last month, and that it was "distressing" that the campaign was sidetracked instead of going after his Democratic rival Clinton. anafort insisted the party was "united" despite evidence to the contrary.
"Do we agree on everything? No," he acknowledged. "Mr. Trump is an outsider" and not a traditional politician, Manafort added. "So his relationships with the leadership of the party are not as deep and long as traditionally it would be with the Republican nominee."
'Start acting like president' As the nation's presidential contenders, Trump and Clinton will soon begin receiving intelligence briefings from U.S. officials, and Obama warned the impulsive Republican to keep classified information under wraps. "They have been told these are classified briefings and if they want to be president, they've got to start acting like president," Obama said. "And that means being able to, you know, receive these briefings and not spread them around."Polls show Clinton opening up substantial leads over Trump following last week's Democratic National Convention. A McClatchy-Marist poll released Thursday showed Clinton surging to a 15-point advantage, 48 percent to 33 percent, a dramatic increase over her three-point lead last month. In Georgia, which has voted Republican in every presidential election since 1996, Clinton leads by four points, according to an Atlanta Journal Constitution poll Friday.

Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on on August 05-06/16

Walid Phares on Why Trump Can Best Fight Sharia
The Rush Limbaugh Show/ August 05/16
http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/daily/2016/08/04/walid_phares_on_why_trump_can_best_fight_sharia
RUSH: Walid Phares is an advisor to the Trump campaign. He's a brilliant analyst when it comes to Middle East politics, the War on Terror, militant Sharia. I think we ought to change, by the way, no longer militant Islam. We need to go militant Sharia. We need to talk about Sharia supremacy. Every time we talk about Islamic terrorism, Islamic extremism, we just say Sharia. Because nobody can deny that Sharia is those things.
Obama: There's no terrorism in Islam. It's a religion of peace.
Well, you can't say that about Sharia, by definition. Just a little communication idea on my part. Anyway, Walid Phares on Fox, happening now this morning, Jenna Lee said to him: "Why do you have confidence in Trump?" Look, folks, this is important. I know you all are really smart and connected and you're capable of asking penetrating questions of me while you're listening. You don't have to call here and ask. I know what you're thinking. And I want to assure you that I'm not engaging in false optimism here. And I'm not trying to keep people psyched up for no reason. And I'm not trying to play psychological games.
When I talk about the size of Trump's crowds being as big as ever; when I talk about the events being as raucous and as exciting and as fun for people who were there as ever; when I talk about the overflow crowds being as big as ever, I'm telling you that that's the truth. And I know some of you are saying, "Yeah, yeah, but Romney's crowds were big in 2012 and it ended up not mattering."
Romney's crowds were only big the last week. Romney was not known for drawing anywhere near the kind of crowds with anywhere near the kind of excitement Trump has been drawing since he got into this. It's a false comparison.
But by the same token, I'm not suggesting that because of what's happening in these auditoriums or Trump speaking that he's leading here by double digits. Nothing of the sort. What I am telling you is that there is a concerted and a coordinated effort between the Democrat Party and the media and others in the establishment to create a whole lot of false narratives about Trump and his campaign.
They want you to think that Trump is on the verge of imploding. They want you to think that Trump is on the verge of quitting. How many of you have seen the story once, if you've seen it once you've seen it five times, that Trump may get to the point where if he sees he's going to lose he'll just quit. He'll quit. He will not want to suffer the humiliation of actually losing. Have you seen those stories? How many have seen the stories that the Republican Party is examining rule books and tradition and history to find out if there's any way they can get rid of Trump even now. How many have seen those stories?
How many of you have seen stories that there is an intervention planned; that Republicans within the Trump orbit are so worried and so concerned that they need a sit down right now to stop Trump from going off the cliff. These stories are everywhere. And from everything I've been able to gather, a lot of this is being completely manufactured or partially manufactured. It's designed to depress and dispirit Trump supporters. That's why whenever there is a Republican -- and this isn't new, that Republicans are going to vote for Hillary. They've been saying this since last year. That every time a new Republican pops up and says so, "Look at this, look at this, my God, Trump just took another hit!" they say.
And it's all designed to separate those who are supporting Trump from him. They want you to get depressed. They do it every campaign. They do it every election. They can't promote Hillary Clinton, and they don't even try. They can't ballyhoo Hillary.
I don't want anybody to misunderstand. I'm not cheerleading here. I am not falsely optimistic about it. You know me, I'm the mayor of Realville. So in light of that, that's why I wanted you to hear the comments from the Washington Post reporter who doesn't buy any of this, by the way, that Trump is on the verge of total collapse.
He's looking at ways he thinks Trump can win this that he doesn't think that anybody else is seeing. And that's Walid Phares, who is a Trump advisor on the Middle East, militant Sharia and Jenny Lee said to him: "Why do you have confidence in Donald Trump to think that he, unlike this current administration, would be able to handle these sort of relationships in the Middle East that are quite tenuous at best?"
PHARES: Because I heard him. I met him. We looked at maps. I heard what the partners are saying. He can mobilize public opinion. Remember, one of the problems that President Obama had, and even the last two years of the presidency of Mr. Bush, they could not mobilize any more of the American public to confront this threat. We have been demobilized. He can mobilize them. As long as he has the right direction and the right experts, of course, in the future, then he could do it better than others.
RUSH: This guy is not abandoning the campaign. This guy is not part of any intervention. He's talking about how Trump can do it right in the Middle East. He's talked to him. (imitating Phares) "I've heard him. I've met him. We've looked at the region. We've looked at maps. We've discussed strategy. I know the guy. But more importantly he can mobilize public opinion. We haven't been able to get anything done because nobody's even trying to motivate public opinion." Whenever there is any effort to mobilize public opinion, anti-Sharia, guess what? The regime steps up and stops it.

Connecting the Nuclear Dots
Peter Huessy//Gatestone Institute/August 05/16
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/8632/connecting-nuclear-dots

Iran seeks to do us grave harm, potentially with ballistic missiles and nuclear weapons. The threat warnings are clear and we have strong evidence -- Iran has attacked us repeatedly over the past 30 years.
Instead of heeding the nuclear missile "dots" that are emerging all around us, we are busy promoting trade with Iran, downplaying its violations of the nuclear deal, simply ignoring its ballistic missile developments and dismissing the growing evidence of its terrorist past.
After the attacks on September 11, 2001, Congress, the Bush administration, and terrorist experts complained that the country had simply not "connected the dots" provided by prior terrorist threats.
The 9/11 Commission also concluded that the attacks "should not have come as a surprise," as "Islamist extremists had given plenty of warning that they meant to kill Americans indiscriminately and in large numbers."
The Commission then listed 10 Islamic terror plots against the US prior to 9/11:
"In February 1993, a group led by Ramzi Yousef tried to bring down the World Trade Center with a truck bomb.
"Plans by Omar Abdel Rahman and others to blow up the Holland and Lincoln tunnels and other New York City landmarks ...
"In October 1993, Somali tribesmen shot down US helicopters, killing 18 and wounding 73...
"In early 1995, police in Manila uncovered a plot by Ramzi Yousef to blow up a dozen U.S. airliners while they were flying over the Pacific.
"In November 1995, a car bomb exploded outside the office of the US program manager for the Saudi National Guard in Riyadh, killing five Americans and two others.
"In June 1996, a truck bomb demolished the Khobar Towers apartment complex in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, killing 19 US servicemen and wounding hundreds.
"In August 1998, al Qaeda, carried out near-simultaneous truck bomb attacks on the US embassies in Nairobi, Kenya, and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. The attacks killed 224 people, including 12 Americans, and wounded thousands more.
"In December 1999, Jordanian police foiled a plot to bomb hotels and other sites frequented by American tourists...
"...US Customs agent arrested Ahmed Ressam at the US-Canadian border as he was smuggling in explosives intended for an attack on Los Angeles International Airport.
"In October 2000, an al Qaeda team in Aden, Yemen, used a motorboat filled with explosives to blow a hole in the side of a destroyer, the USS Cole, almost sinking the vessel and killing 17 American sailors."
Despite the overwhelming indications that an attack like 9/11 was around the corner, as former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told the country in her April 2004 testimony to the 9/11 Commission, "The terrorists were at war with us, but we were not yet at war with them. For more than 20 years, the terrorist threat gathered, and America's response across several administrations of both parties was insufficient."
Are we now better equipped to "connect the terrorist-threats by dots" than we were prior to 9/11? Certainly we are not still echoing the testimony of Richard Clarke when he told the Emerging Threats Subcommittee in the summer of 2000 that the administration "had not yet" determined how to spend homeland security funds even some eight years after the first World Trade Center bombing of February 1993.
Unfortunately, not only are we not connecting the terrorist dots, we are actively downplaying their significance. Nowhere else is this more apparent than in the virtually complete failure, on the part of the US, to hold Iran responsible for the terror attacks that have killed and maimed thousands of Americans since 1979. This failure is all the more disturbing after the numerous court decisions that have found Iran accountable for nearly $60 billion in damages owed to the victims and survivors of these attacks, including the 9/11 attacks.
The outstanding news analyst and author Melanie Phillips wrote nearly a year ago that Iran had been "...perpetrating acts of war against Western interests for more than three decades -- including playing a key role in the 9/11 attacks on America." Phillips noted that a Revolutionary Guard-Iranian Intelligence (MOIS) task force
"designed contingency plans for unconventional warfare against the US... aimed at breaking the American economy, crippling or disheartening the US, and disrupting the American social, military and political order -- all without the risk of a head-to-head confrontation which Iran knew it would lose."
She explained that the court testimony from former Iranian agents illustrates that Iran "...devised a scheme to crash hijacked Boeing 747s into the World Trade Center, the White House and the Pentagon. ... The plan's code name was 'Shaitan dar Atash' ('Satan in flames')." Further, the court evidence revealed that Iran obtained "a Boeing 757-767-777 flight simulator which it hid at a secret site where the 9/11 terrorists were trained."
In December 2011, Judge George B. Daniels found that Iran, with the participation of its Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was directly and heavily involved in the 9/11 atrocities. Khamenei instructed intelligence operatives that while expanding collaboration between Hezbollah and al-Qaeda, they must restrict communications to existing contacts with al-Qaeda's second-in-command Ayman al Zawahiri and Imad Mughniyeh -- Hezbollah's then terrorism chief and agent of Iran.
Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (center), is shown meeting in May 2014 with Iran's military chief of staff and the commanders of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps. (Image source: IRNA)
While the 9/11 Commission found solid evidence Iran aided the 9/11 hijackers in their travels from Iran, the "Extensive cooperation in major global terrorist activities," between Iran, Hezbollah and Al Qaeda, including the 1996 bombing of the Khobar Towers housing complex in Saudi Arabia and the 1998 East Africa US embassy bombings, escaped the 9/11 Commission's detailed attention. Notably, as long ago as in 2000, a US Defense Intelligence Agency analyst was alerting the government to a web of connections between al-Qaeda, the Iranian intelligence agencies controlled by Khamenei, and other terrorist groups.
Many press reports and analysts, cognizant of Iran's terrorist history and aware that Iran has been designated by the US Department of State as the world's premier state sponsor of terror, choose to believe the 2015 Iranian nuclear deal should not be derailed over concern of Iran's possible future terrorist plans. Especially when it is often assumed these plans are aimed primarily at Israel and groups in Syria, Iraq and Lebanon, and thus not of real concern to the United States.
Is the nuclear deal with Iran thus a good trade? We get to slow Iran's pursuit of nuclear weapons, but any serious sanctions or military effort to stop Iran's terror agenda are off the table. Let's connect the new nuclear-related Iran dots.
First, the world's expert on Iran ballistic missiles, Uzi Rubin, revealed on July 15 that Iran has five new missile capabilities: they can strike the middle of Europe, including Berlin; they can target with GPS accuracy military facilities in Saudi Arabia; they can launch missiles from underground secret tunnels and caves without warning; they have missiles that are ready to fire 24/7; and they have developed other accurate missiles whose mission is to strike targets throughout Gulf region.
Second, the Associated Press revealed that a side agreement under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) nuclear "deal" actually allows Iran to break out of the agreement in year 11, not 15, at which point Iran will not even be six months away from having sufficient nuclear fuel to arm a nuclear warhead, and Iran will be able to install nuclear centrifuges five times more efficient than the ones they have today.
Third, according to German intelligence reports, Iran has, a few dozen times since the July 2015 nuclear agreement, sought to purchase nuclear ballistic missile technology, a violation of previous UN resolutions.
As Americans wonder who will be behind the next terrorist attacks on our country -- "lone wolf" terrorists inspired by social media from Islamist groups; organized cells of ISIS, Al Qaeda, Islamic Jihad, Hezbollah; states such as Iran and Syria; or a combination of all three -- we would do well to be reminded of the long-term use of terrorism by the former Soviet Union as one of their trademark elements of "statecraft."
Iran's pursuit of nuclear weapons has not been stopped and at best has been delayed. Add to that Iran's enhanced ballistic missile capability, its growing partnership with North Korea and its history of terrorist attacks on the United States, and connecting the dots reveals a stark reality -- nuclear terrorism by missile may be on its way.
During the spring and summer of 2001, US intelligence agencies received a stream of warnings that Al Qaeda was determined to strike. The specific information pointed to threats from overseas. The Bush administration began developing a strategy in early 2001 to eliminate Al Qaeda in three years. The 9/11 attacks happened "too soon."
Iran seeks to do us grave harm, potentially with ballistic missiles and nuclear weapons. The threat warnings are clear and we have strong evidence -- Iran has attacked us repeatedly over the past 30 years
But instead of heeding the nuclear missile "dots" that are emerging all around us, we are busy promoting trade with Iran, downplaying its violations of the nuclear deal, simply ignoring its ballistic missile developments and dismissing the growing evidence of its terrorist past.
In short, we are not connecting these dots; we are erasing them.
Dr. Peter Huessy is President of GeoStrategic Analysis, a defense consulting firm he founded in 1981, and was the senior defense consultant at the National Defense University Foundation for more than 20 years. He is now the National Security Fellow at the AFPC, and Senior Defense Consultant at the Air Force Association.
© 2016 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.

UK: A Tale of Two Inquiries
Douglas Murray/Gatestone Institute/August 05/16
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/8639/uk-labour-inquiries
Now someone has "leaked" the full Royall report, which shows that students at the Oxford University Labour club who were Jewish were subjected to frequent anti-Semitism. And this makes clear that the Labour party clearly attempted to cover-up the negative findings of an inquiry that they themselves had commissioned.
In an interview aired July 20, Shami Chakrabarti was specifically asked about whether she had been offered a seat in the House of Lords (peerage) before writing her report. She looked unusually uncomfortable and shuffled around before saying, "I don't think I want to talk about my future ambitions at this point." This week, it was announced that the one person put forward for a peerage by the Labour party in the latest honours list is... Shami Chakrabarti.
A party that tries to silence those who identify anti-Semitism, and rewards those who cover it up, is a party where moral as well as political corruption is not an aberration, but systemic.
During the course of a hot summer Britain's Labour party is in meltdown on a range of issues. But among the worst parts of its meltdown are those to do with its continuing effort to cover up the party's serious anti-Semitism problem.
As we have pointed out here before, the party's leader -- Jeremy Corbyn -- has such a long history of association and sympathy with some of the world's most extreme anti-Semites that it is hard to see how the party's problems could not trickle down as well as up. Now two developments suggest that the Labour body politic has become so wracked by this problem that it is unlikely to recover.
The first demonstration was the confirmation that one of this year's two "inquiries" into anti-Semitism in the party had been hobbled before it even began. Anyone closely observing this review (ordered by Jeremy Corbyn, after a string of anti-Semitic and anti-Israel comments by Labour MPs, Councillors and members of the party's National Executive Committee were exposed) knew that it was unlikely to be anything other than a whitewash. The person in charge of this review -- veteran left-wing campaigner Shami Chakrabarti -- had already demonstrated it was unlikely that her review would seriously probe the party's problem; she talked of the problem of anti-Semitism only by also highlighting "Islamophobia and other forms of racism'. This circumlocution -- beloved of Jeremy Corbyn himself -- avoids tackling the specific problem of anti-Semitism and clearly aspires to dilute the problem in a sea of other challenges.
That the launch of Chakrabarti's thin and shallow report itself included two anti-Semitic incidents made it look as though Labour's low could get no worse. But since then, Chakrabarti was interviewed on a new television station in the UK (JTV) and was probed on precisely what she was offered in order to come up with the bland and unremarkable whitewash she had. Chakrabarti had already received criticism for becoming a signed-up member of the Labour party on the day that she was asked to write her "inquiry" into the party. But during her interview she was specifically asked about whether she had been offered the upgrade of a seat in the House of Lords (a peerage) before writing her report, Chakrabarti looked unusually uncomfortable and shuffled around before saying, "I don't think I want to talk about my future ambitions at this point'. Pressed on the question, she played around with a glass of water before saying "You can ask the question, and I'm going to evade it at this point."
Within days of this news emerging, the matter of the Labour party's other anti-Semitism inquiry in the year also returned. Earlier this year, and before the Chakrabarti report, the Labour party commissioned somebody who had already gotten their peerage -- Baroness Royall -- to investigate accusations of anti-Semitism in the Oxford University Labour Club. Unlike the Chakrabarti whitewash, the Royall report was never published. A brief summary of conclusions released by the Labour party presented the findings as suggesting that there was in essence no particular problem. Now someone -- presumably the report's author herself -- has "leaked" the full report. And it makes clear that the Labour party clearly attempted to cover up the negative findings of an inquiry that they themselves had commissioned.
The Royall report shows that students at the Oxford University Labour club who were Jewish were subjected to frequent anti-Semitism. It revealed that "There have been some incidents of anti-Semitic behaviour" and also that "some Jewish members do not feel comfortable attending the [OULC] meetings, let alone participating." Although the Labour party had decided that there needed to be no action taken after their suppression of the Royall report, the report itself says as a consequence of what has been found, "It is appropriate for the disciplinary procedures of our Party to be invoked."
So this is the tale of two inquiries. One inquiry, which found the Labour party to have an anti-Semitism problem, was suppressed by the Labour party. The other, which found the Labour party did not have an anti-Semitism problem, was released. The author of the suppressed report had to leak the report to the press herself. And the author of the whitewash report? Well, on Thursday of this week, in the least surprising news of the year, it was announced that the one person put forward for a peerage by the Labour party in the latest honours list is... Shami Chakrabarti.
Shami Chakrabarti, who wrote a report last month whitewashing the problem of anti-Semitism in the UK Labour party, was this week put forward by the Labour party for a seat in the House of Lords (a peerage). (Image source: Southbank Centre/Flickr)
When people wonder whether this problem will go away, here is the reason it will not: A party that suppresses the truth and elevates lies is not going to remedy its problems any time soon. A party that tries to silence those who identify anti-Semitism and rewards those who cover it up is a party where moral as well as political corruption is not an aberration, but systemic.
**Douglas Murray, a British author, news analyst and commentator, is based in London, England.
© 2016 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.

Sweden: Increasing Violence by Asylum Seekers against Swedes
One Month of Islam and Multiculturalism in Sweden: June 2016
Ingrid Carlqvist/Gatestone Institute/August 05/16
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/8619/sweden-asylum-seekers-violence
The daily Svenska Dagbladet reported that 30,000 people whose asylum application had been rejected and were scheduled for deportation, had gone missing. The police say they lack the resources to track down these illegals.
Three Somali men in their 20s, who took turns raping a 14-year-old girl, received very lenient sentences -- and all three avoided deportation.
On June 7, it was reported that British citizen Grace "Khadija" Dare had brought her 4-year-old son, Isa Dare, to live in Sweden, in order to benefit from free health care. In February, the boy was featured in an ISIS video, blowing up four prisoners in a car. The boy's father, a jihadist with Swedish citizenship, was killed fighting for ISIS.
"If you disagree with the establishment, you are immediately called a racist or fascist, which we definitely are not. At times I felt that this was what it must have been like to live in the old Soviet Union." — Karla, on why her family had left Sweden for Mallorca.
June 1: The Swedish National Council for Crime Prevention (Brå), released a report which showed that 11,007 people have been sentenced to deportation after being convicted of crimes. However, the report makes no mention of how many of these individuals have actually been deported. The number of convictions that include deportation has decreased, despite an increasing crime rate among foreigners in Sweden. In the 1970s, about 500 a year were sentenced to deportation; in 2004, the number had risen to 1,074, but in 2014 only 644 received this verdict.
Not only are fewer people sentenced to deportation -- but more and more, those who are to be deported refuse to leave the country. In October of last year, daily newspaper Svenska Dagbladet reported that 30,000 people whose asylum application had been rejected and were scheduled for deportation, had gone missing. The police say they lack the resources to track down these illegals. Patrik Engström, head of the border police at the Department of National Operations (NOA), told the paper: "We put these people on the wanted list, but we do not engage in an active search for them. We wait for tips and things like that."
June 1: On the evening of May 31, a man was pushed in front of a speeding subway train in Stockholm. The victim was a 23-year-old Swedish student at the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) in Stockholm. He received skull fractures and lacerations, lost half his foot, broke his ribs and collarbone and punctured one of his lungs. Whether he will ever fully recover remains unclear. The day after, a 34-year-old Algerian-Swedish citizen was apprehended for the crime. The attacker, who was already suspected of another violent subway crime, was identified and caught with the aid of the general public, who recognized him from photographs published. He is now being held in custody, pending trial.
June 2: A Swedish Jewish family told the Jerusalem Post they have fled Sweden and taken up residency in Mallorca. Dan, whose parents came to Sweden when thousands of Danish Jews were rescued during World War II, said:
"All my life I'd been grateful to be part of a civilized society. And, until about 2005, I felt blessed to live in a true social democracy, where people willingly paid high taxes for a fine welfare system and liberal values.
"Sure, the sunshine and lifestyle played some part in our decision [to move], but the real reason was Sweden's changing demographics and politics. The radical, left-wing establishment became totally obsessed with multiculturalism and political correctness, which we did not need reminding had been part of Swedish ethos for centuries."
His wife Karla added: "If you disagree with the establishment, you are immediately called a racist or fascist, which we definitely are not. At times I felt that this was what it must have been like to live in the old Soviet Union."
June 2: Sahlgrenska University Hospital in Gothenburg announced that from now on, it would employ security guards around the clock at Sahlgrenska's three hospitals. The head of security, Peter Alverman, told Sveriges television:
"There are constant threats against our staff. But more than anything, we are doing this because of increasing gang crime in Gothenburg; it finds its way into our hospitals and causes concern among staff as well as among other patients."
The guards will cost nine million kronor (over $1 million) a year -- money that could of course have been invested in health care.
June 3: Member of Parliament Daniel Sestrajcic was indicted for disobeying a police officer. Sestrajcic is a member of the Left Party, formerly known as the Communists. The crime was committed in connection with a tent camp of protesting Palestinians being torn down in Malmö, in October 2015. Sestrajcic, who was among the protesters, was initially accused of trying to kick a police officer in the head, but due to lack of evidence, those charges were dropped. However, as he refused to obey police orders and leave the scene, the indictment for disobeying police orders still stands. Mr. Sestrajcic denies the charges.
June 5: Three men, sentenced by Falun District Court to four years in prison for aggravated rape in the town of Ludvika, were acquitted by the Svea Court of Appeals. The prosecutor had appealed the original verdict in the hope that the men would get a longer prison sentence, but the Court of Appeals said that which of the men had done what could not be proven. The three were therefore acquitted and the deportation order revoked.
June 6: On Sweden's National Day, the Left Party decided to go out and congratulate -- not the Swedish people -- but the Muslims in Sweden who were starting the fasting month of Ramadan. Discussions ran hot on the party's Facebook page. One person wrote: "I hope you do not end up in the same situation as the Green Party. I fled from Islamists in Iran, and you are wishing them a happy Ramadan? My condolences."
June 6: The staff at an asylum house in Ludvika was forced to call the police after a group of Muslims seeking asylum had become dissatisfied with the meals served at the facility. They complained that the food was not "Ramadan compliant," and the way they expressed their complaints apparently frightened the staff. The police report is unclear about exactly what transpired after that.
June 7: It was reported that Isa Dare, a 4-year-old boy who had been brought into Islamic State territory by his parents, had now been smuggled into Sweden. The reason was apparently to gain access to the free health care the Swedish government decided to offer all illegal aliens in 2012 -- at the Swedish taxpayers' expense. The boy's 24-year-old mother, Grace "Khadija" Dare, was born in London. She was married to a Swedish citizen Abdul Ghameed Abbas, also known as "Abu Bakr", who was killed in combat for ISIS in an air raid in November 2014.
In February, the boy became well-known when he was featured in an ISIS video, where he was shown activating a detonator and blowing up a car with four prisoners inside. Posing by the burnt-out car, the 4-year-old yelled: "Allahu Akbar!"
On June 7, it was reported that British citizen Grace "Khadija" Dare had brought her 4-year-old son, Isa Dare, to live in Sweden, in order to benefit from free health care. In February, the boy was featured in an ISIS video, blowing up four prisoners in a car (pictured above). The boy's father, a jihadist with Swedish citizenship, was killed fighting for ISIS.
June 7: Ardeshir Bibakabadi fled Iran for Sweden because his sexual orientation was not accepted in his home country. Last year, he held lectures at ten schools in Gothenburg, and in an interview with the daily newspaper, Göteborgs-Posten, he explained how hatred against homosexuals flourishes in Swedish schools with Muslim students.
"It was always the same pattern, I felt as if my mere presence were provoking them. When I lectured in big auditoriums, the tensions became abundantly clear. 'Damn, you are disgusting,' one student at the Porthälla school yelled at me. Then he charged at me."
June 8: Three Somali men in their 20s, who locked a 14-year-old girl in a room and took turns raping her, received very lenient sentences -- and all three avoided deportation. Two of the men got two and a half years in prison. The third, who was also convicted of drug-related crimes and drunk driving, got three years. After serving their time, they will all be allowed to stay in Sweden, even though they are not Swedish citizens.
June 9: A 19-year-old illegal alien from Somalia, who bit a police officer in the arm while being arrested, was acquitted by the Umeå District Court. The court believed his version of events -- that he had acted in a state of panic due to traumatic memories from his home country, and "bad experiences with the police in other countries."
June 9: For years, the Swedish media has maintained that all who claim to be unaccompanied refugee children are indeed children -- no matter how wrinkled and grizzled they are. The notion that many of them lie about their age, in order to get fast-tracked to asylum, has been dismissed as a racist myth. However, an investigative report by the public-service Sveriges Radio, showed that many are in fact adults, resulting in grown men being put in the same facilities as teenagers and children.
Irene Sandqvist, Unit Manager at the Social Services Department in Helsingborg, told the reporter that, in her estimation, at least 25% of the "refugee children" are adults:
"We have even had someone with gray hair, which makes it pretty obvious, I would say. Some are even older than the staff, and this might well put the younger children at risk."
June 9: Three young men, around 18, were indicted for a violent mugging attack against a Swedish man of about 25, outdoors in the town of Norrköping. One of the young men, Abdimalik Hassan Shido from Somalia, was also indicted for raping the victim at knifepoint in connection with the mugging. The prosecutor wrote:
"In direct connection to the physical assault described, Shido forced NN [the victim] to endure and perform anal and oral intercourse. The coercion consisted of Shido uttering death threats, pointing a knife at NN, and causing him pain by forcing him to perform the sexual acts despite the injuries NN had sustained during the beating."
The prosecutor demanded that Shido be tried for aggravated rape.
June 10: Back in January, a female employee at an asylum house for minors in Ystad told an Eritrean "unaccompanied refugee child" that he could not play any more video games. The man, who claims to be 17, then put the woman in a stranglehold until another employee intervened.
Despite the seriousness of the crime, the Eritrean received a mild sentence -- 35 hours of community service and an order to pay 9,720 kronor (about $1,000) in damages to the woman.
June 10: Abu Muadh, the controversial imam of the Halmstad mosque, gave an interview to the local daily newspaper, Hallandsposten. When asked why he has said that Muslims cannot be friends with non-Muslims, Muadh replied:
"In Islam, there is a difference between friend and comrade. You can see a comrade at the gym, or you can work with them and so on. But you cannot do things that are not allowed in our religion. There are tons of things you can do, like have a barbecue together, but you cannot share religious values. You cannot celebrate Christmas or Ramadan with someone who does not believe. That is not allowed."
June 11: Danial Rahimi, an Afghan who claims to be a 17-year-old "unaccompanied refugee child", was arrested on suspicion of child rape in the small village of Bodafors. After a month on remand, he was indicted. According to the prosecution, Rahimi pressed his penis into a young girl's anus several times, touched her genitals and buttocks, squeezed her breasts and bit them. He forced the girl to the ground and held her down while he raped her, hit her in the face hard, and tried to suffocate her by holding his hand over her nose and mouth. Rahimi denies the charges, but the prosecutor has a strong case, including DNA evidence.
June 12: Riot-like unrest started in immigrant-heavy neighborhoods in Kristianstad and Uppsala. In Kristianstad, fires were started and stones thrown at emergency service vehicles. In Uppsala, the riots went on for several days, and a bus with people aboard was attacked with rocks and other objects that were thrown.
June 13: Public-service Sveriges Television reported that Tobias Lindfors, the owner of the Pite Havsbad hotel and conference center, has been making many millions from his lucrative deal with the Swedish Migration Agency. Pite Havsbad, known as one of the largest swimming and spa facilities in Europe, is sometimes referred to as "the Swedish Riviera". In May, the facility made news when a Congolese man seeking asylum started a minor fire in his room. During the winter, only 25% of the rooms were occupied, but according to Sveriges Television's report, Mr. Lindfors still gets paid for housing 1,300 asylum seekers -- regardless of how many are actually staying at the facility. The Swedish Migration Agency has rented Pite Havsbad for four years (excluding two months in midsummer). According to reports, the Agency paid its owner 240 million kronor (roughly $28 million) for the rental.
June 13: When a riot broke out at an asylum house for "unaccompanied refugee children" in Nässjö, two kitchens, worth hundreds of thousands of kronor, were smashed to pieces. The staff did not dare to intervene against the rioters. Instead, they backed away and called the police. Stoves, a refrigerator and freezer, television sets, dishwashers, kitchen furniture and dishes were demolished. The vandals also flung chairs around, damaging windows and doors. According to the police, the riot started because of "dissatisfaction with the food served."
June 13: A 46-year-old Bosnian ISIS jihadi, considered extremely dangerous, was taken into custody by the Malmö police. However, as he immediately applied for asylum, the Swedish Migration Agency stepped in, took over the case -- and prevented him from being deported. Inspector Leif Fransson of the Border Police was quite critical. He told the local daily newspaper, HD/Sydsvenskan:
"As soon as these people throw out their trump card and say 'Asylum', the gates of heaven open. Sweden has gotten a reputation as a safe haven for terrorists."
Nevertheless, after a lightning-fast determination process, it was reported four days later that the ISIS jihadi was denied asylum and would be flown out of Sweden as soon as possible.
June 14: The first indictment since the new law on traveling abroad for the purpose of committing terrorist acts came into effect, was a major setback. Attunda Municipal Court acquitted a 25-year-old man, who in the spring of 2015 bought a one-way ticket to Turkey, but was denied entry and sent back to Stockholm. In his suitcase, police found body armor, knee pads and elbow pads. According to the prosecution, the 25-year-old's destination was Syria, where he planned to join the Al-Nusra Front, fighting against the Assad regime.
Mark Klamberg, an assistant professor of international law, spoke with the daily, Svenska Dagbladet, right after the acquittal: "If the verdict stands, my conclusion is that it will be very hard to win these types of cases."
June 14: More and more Swedish police officers are leaving the police force. A feeling of physical insecurity, low wages and discontent with National Police Commissioner Dan Eliasson are some of the explanations given. The Police Union recently started the blog Polisliv ("Police Life"), where police officers can tell their stories anonymously -- giving the Swedish people an opportunity to get a glimpse of what it is like to work as a police officer in Sweden.
June 14: A report from the Swedish National Audit Office (Riksrevisionen), revealed that the Swedish Migration Agency spent four billion kronor (about $470 million) on accommodation alone for the asylum-seeking migrants who came to Sweden in 2015. The National Audit Office remarked that the costs could have been lowered significantly, if the Migration Agency had worked more effectively and systematically.
June 14: An exceptionally lenient verdict against a rapist from Yemen caused emotions to run high in Mariestad. Maher Al Qalisi attacked a 13-year-old girl, knocked her off a bicycle, knifed her in the face and raped her in a park -- yet, he only got 18-months' probation and will not be deported. Al Qalisi claims he is 17 years old, even though his Yemenite passport says he is 20. If he had been tried as an adult, he would certainly have gotten a more severe punishment. Prosecutor Jonas Lövström was disappointed with the verdict: "It is my firm belief that he is older than 21."
June 15: The number of threats reported at Swedish Migration Agency offices has more than doubled over the last year -- from 94 to 216. Mostly, the threats are directed at agency employees, or concern asylum seekers who act generally threatening.
June 15: According to Swedish law, religious elements are not allowed in Swedish public schools. However, the Muslim students at the Bikupan School in Lessebo have their own prayer room. Teacher Veronica Wilhelmsen explained to public-service Sveriges Radio how this came to be: "They need to feel they can practice their religion here in Sweden and at the school, otherwise they might not come to school at all."
June 15: The Swedish Agency for Youth and Civil Society (Myndigheten för ungdoms- och civilsamhällesfrågor) made public which organizations had received the government grants of 212 million kronor (about $25 million) handed out in 2016. The grants are supposed to go to children's and youth organizations, but aside from municipalities getting money for summer holiday activities, most of the grants go to organizations claiming to work with anti-racism, LGBT-issues and against "islamophobia".
It turned out that a very controversial group, United Muslims of Sweden (Sveriges förenade muslimer, SFM), was granted over half a million kronor ($55,000). SFM has time and again been associated with extremism and hate speech against homosexuals, but argues that the money is to be used to fight racism and intolerance. Terrorism expert and scholar Magnus Ranstorp told the daily newspaper, Dagens Nyheter:
"I see plenty of question marks here. We are talking about a group that has invited hate preachers and whose Salafist orientation is in many ways the very opposite of tolerance."
June 17: Malmö is one of Sweden's most attractive places to live for migrants. There is an acute housing shortage, but the municipality has nonetheless decided to prioritize the so-called "newly arrived Swedes", and has therefore decided to purchase 56 apartments to accommodate the new arrivals. The Sweden Democrats party raged against the decision, and opined that it would be better to send most of the migrants home, since most of them live isolated from the rest of society anyway.
June 20: An Afghan family in Landskrona refused to accept that their daughter had a boyfriend. So they made her marry a relative in their home country -- and violently abducted the boyfriend. Three people have now been indicted for forced marriage, battery, robbery and kidnapping. "The motive behind all these crimes," Prosecutor Ulrika Ekvall explained, "was to restore the family honor."
June 20: The Swedish EU news website Europaportalen reported that in no other EU country has the number of asylum applications decreased so much as in Sweden. In the last quarter of 2015, close to 88,000 asylum applications were filed, but in the first quarter of 2016, only 8,000 – a 90% drop. The reduction is mainly due to Sweden implementing border controls, as well as identification checks on the Danish side. Germany, which still has no border controls with its neighboring EU countries, on the other hand, saw an increase of asylum applications during the first quarter of 2016, compared to the last quarter of 2015.
June 21: A 30-year-old woman was arrested, suspected of murdering a five-month-old baby at an asylum house in Sunne. The woman is not the baby's mother, but is said to have "ties to the child." A few days later, a 20-year-old Somali man was also arrested in the case, and the two have since been held in custody.
June 21: The Green Party laid out a new plan of action to ensure that the party is never again infiltrated by Islamists. The plan presents five focal points. The party had enlisted the help of a Swedish Defense University scholar, Lars Nicander, who claimed that the party had been infiltrated by Islamists long before anyone knew what was going on. The Greens will also initiate a broad discussion about values, including the differences between Swedish leftist liberal equality values and Islam's view of women.
June 21: Four people were indicted for attacking two police officers in the Hässleholmen neighborhood of Borås. Some 50 people surrounded the officers, while a man carrying a knife crept up beside them and stabbed one of them. It all started as a simple traffic stop for a moped, but things quickly got out of hand when more and more people showed up. A man kicked one of the officers in the chest, and stabbed another one. The female police officer who was stabbed said: "I thought he was aiming to kill me, that is what he wants."
June 22: A 38-year-old man was charged in absentia, for the murder of a 16-year-old girl who came to Sweden as an "unaccompanied refugee child" in the fall of 2015. In March, she was reported missing, and in May her body was found in a wooded area in southern Stockholm. According to the daily, Aftonbladet, the man, who was 22 years her senior, was married to the girl.
June 22: Triple-murderer Martin Saliba, who was sentenced in absentia to life in prison in January, will not be extradited to Sweden from his old home country, Lebanon. One early March morning last year, two joggers in Uddevalla found two dead men lying on the ground and a dead woman in a car -- all shot several times at point-blank range.
Martin Saliba, 22, and his brother Mark, 23, were charged with the murders. Mark was sentenced to life in prison, but the Municipal Court did not think there was sufficient evidence to convict Martin, and so acquitted him. He was therefore at liberty when the case went to the Court of Appeals. On the last day of trial, he failed to show up, and was subsequently placed on the international wanted list after the verdict of life in prison was announced. Now, it seems, he has relocated to Lebanon. As Lebanon does not extradite its citizens, he can live there as a free man.
June 23: Four men and a woman, all Syrians, were indicted at the Sundsvall Municipal Court for kidnapping, severely beating and sexually abusing a man. The man was attacked in a parking lot and for twelve hours driven around in a car. The motive behind the crimes is unclear, but according to local papers, they may be related to business deals gone wrong between the victim and his assailants. The prosecutor has asked for deportation of all the suspects, if convicted.
June 26: A 20-year-old woman was found dead at an asylum house near Jönköping. A 24-year-old man has been arrested, on suspicion of murder. The man confessed to his involvement in the crime; according to his lawyer, the motive was anger over infidelity.
June 26: The Östersund police department admitted that the many sexual attacks against women in the town in February and March of this year, were mostly committed by "asylum seeking youths." When the rapists were most active, the police put out a warning to women not to go outside alone evenings and nights. The local chief of police, Stephen Jerand, told the daily, Östersunds-Posten: "When we take in people who are fleeing, it is important to inform them early on about what the rules are in Sweden, and that said rules also apply to women."
June 26: A 25-year-old Afghan was arrested at an asylum house in Mariannelund for the murder of his 22-year-old wife According to reports, after the murder the man ran out onto the front lawn, shouting that he had strangled his wife to death. The couple had a 3-year-old child.
June 27: A Muslim man attacked the St. Pauli church in Malmö. He broke several windows, and when the police arrived, he was at the top of the church, shouting "Allahu Akbar!" He then tried to attack police officers with a wooden cudgel. The man is now suspected of inflicting gross damage, also may be charged for hate crimes.
June 27: Two 24-year-old men of foreign descent were convicted of a series of aggravated robberies against students in Malmö. Several of the victims were held at knifepoint for hours while the robbers emptied their homes and bank accounts. Mahad Munyo Mohamed, who was sentenced to 3.5 years in prison, is a Somali citizen, and Hassan Murtadha Mohammed Hassan, who was sentenced to five years in prison, is a Swedish citizen.
June 28: The much-criticized National Police Commissioner, Dan Eliasson, launched a new campaign to put a stop to the gropings and rapes at music festivals: Bracelets with the words "Do not grope" printed on them. The bracelets will be distributed at festivals, and according to Eliasson, "turn a spotlight on this issue and encourage those affected to report the crime." Considering that in May, the police's own Department of National Operations (NOA) published a report that clearly states that 80% of the perpetrators are of foreign descent, many found the notion of bracelets with text in Swedish printed on them somewhat puzzling.
June 28: An Eritrean, who raped a Swedish woman in a public restroom in Sundsvall, gets to stay in Sweden after being sentenced to one year and four months in prison. The Swedish Migration Agency apparently did not feel he could be sent back to his home country. The mild sentence was given because he claimed to be only 19-years-old.
**Ingrid Carlqvist is a journalist and author based in Sweden, and a Distinguished Senior Fellow of Gatestone Institute.
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Yemen and the distant solution
Abdulrahman al-Rashed/Al ARabiya/August 05/16
Hope for a solution to Yemen’s crisis and war faded away when the United Nations presented its new peace plan, which was approved by the legitimate government and Gulf countries. Hope evaporated when the Houthis and former President Ali Abdullah Saleh set impossible conditions to accept the plan. During the past few months, they and their foreign allies have accused the government and Gulf countries of rejecting any political solution and insisting on continuing the war. This despite Kuwait hosting negotiations between the Yemeni government, Saleh and the Houthis, and Saudi Arabia welcoming Houthi delegations several times and communicating with Saleh officials. The Yemeni war started 16 months ago, but the crisis started more than five years ago. Whoever thinks the war has lasted a long time should recall that the United States started a war in Afghanistan 15 years ago and is still fighting there. Yemen and Afghanistan are alike in terms of rugged terrain, the great role of tribes, foreign interference and the absence of central authority. That is not to say that the war in Yemen will last 15 years, but there should be no illusion that a solution will be achieved when the Houthis - Iran’s allies - take power. This is unacceptable.
Coalition
Members of the Saudi-led coalition must continue their work while keeping in mind that a solution will not be reached soon. They should also look for partial solutions that enable Yemen’s government to work in liberated areas.There should be no illusion that a solution will be achieved when the Houthis - Iran’s allies - take power. This is unacceptable. Coalition forces are only 10 kilometers from Sanaa airport, which is only 8 kilometers from the center of the capital. Intelligence company Stratfor says Sanaa is now more vulnerable than ever, but I do not think that the coalition wants to be part of the battle because it does not want to turn the capital into a cemetery. Yemen and its people are our neighbors, and no one wants to pass along grudges to future generations. Victory is required, but at the lowest price for all parties.
The Houthis’ increased shelling and breaches of the Saudi border are a propaganda effort to delude Yemenis and Saudis into thinking that the war has spilled over from Yemen into Saudi Arabia. It is true that Houthi artillery and operations have reached Saudi border villages, and that there are hundreds of civilian victims, but the real and important fight remains in Yemen. **This article was first published in Asharq al-Awsat on Aug. 5, 2016.

Egyptians: Knowing much and doing little
Mohammed Nosseir/Al Arabiya/August 05/16
Millions of Egyptians claim to have an abundance of information on almost every topic, yet their ability to implement this knowledge is extremely limited. This should suggest to Egyptians that our claim to knowledge is not quite authentic; an essential component of knowledge is the ability to apply it effortlessly and speedily. Our habit of voicing our opinions and arguing about every single issue in life, without taking any action, reflects ignorance rather than boundless knowledge. Our imports are roughly three times the size of our exports, which should make it clear to us that the ratio of our contribution to our consumption is 1:3. If we were really sufficiently knowledgeable in various industries, our expertise would have helped us to be self-sufficient at least. The inability to move Egypt forward has always been a two-sided accusation. Egyptians often accuse their rulers of not doing their best for the country, while our consecutive rulers blame our lack of progress on our society’s illiteracy and rapid population growth. We have been unable to genuinely change the ruling mechanism, and the ruler either lacks the competence or will to move society forward. We are content to state our opinions, but refuse to assume responsibility for our actions and behavior.
Reality check
Not recognizing the limitations of our knowledge has prevented us from noticing the deficiencies in our society, which include altering facts to better serve our ignorance, an inability to assess issues impartially, and a tendency to hasten the implementation of ventures that lack fundamental validation. We are content to state our opinions, but refuse to assume responsibility for our actions and behavior.To be able to move forward, we must acknowledge where we stand in this world regarding innovation, information, university rankings and the number of hours we spend reading. Our rankings are very low in all of the above, so the very foundation of knowledge in Egypt is completely inadequate. Under former President Hosni Mubarak, the government exerted substantial efforts to expand the number of public libraries in an attempt to get Egyptians to read more. Current President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi recently launched the world’s largest digital library, which will enable Egyptians to access a magnificent amount of knowledge in all fields. However, Egyptian decision-makers do not make use of these channels of knowledge; decisions made by rulers and their executives tend, instead, to be based on their cravings. These knowledge hubs are only meant to be tangible manifestations of the ruler’s achievements, not obligatory paths toward the articulation of decisions or policies.Egypt has a spectacular history that is recognized worldwide, making Egyptians extremely proud of themselves. A tiny segment of our society does possess a high degree of knowledge, of which we should be proud. However, the government often deliberately marginalizes this segment, making sure that it is not in a position to make decisions. Sadly, also, these knowledgeable persons are sometimes reluctant to engage in efforts to elevate an ignorant society. We must work on placing truly knowledgeable citizens in positions where Egypt could better capitalize on their expertise. All nations have their ups and downs, but Egypt has been on the decline for the last few decades. Our strength in society should not be derived from our ability to argue continuously (which does not move us forward one inch).We need to be more open to truly learning how the world functions, and willing to assume our responsibilities. Acknowledging that we know less might give us the desire to know more. Claiming to know all will always keep us locked in behind others, with no real knowledge and no chance to progress.

Will Iran attack Israel?
Dr. Majid Rafizadeh/Al Arabiya/August 05/16
Tehran appears to be heightening tensions with Israel. Hossein Salami, deputy commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), recently said: “Hezbollah has 100,000 missiles that are ready to hit Israel to liberate the occupied Palestinian territories if the Zionist regime repeats its past mistakes.” He added: “Today, the grounds for the annihilation and collapse of the Zionist regime are [present] more than ever.” Salami warned that if Israel made the “wrong move,” it would come under attack.A few weeks ago, a senior adviser to the IRGC’s elite Quds Force, Ahmad Karimpour, said Iran could destroy Israel “in less than eight minutes” if Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei gave the order.
Rhetoric
There are several reasons why Iran’s repeated anti-Israel statements may be pure rhetoric. They are most likely meant as a type of psychological warfare, because Iran cannot afford direct conflict with Israel. Although Iran is larger geographically and in terms of population, its military capacity is inferior. Even regarding missile capabilities, which Iranian generals boast about, Israel’s are greater in range and number. What fundamentally changes the balance of power is Israel’s nuclear capacity. It is widely believed to have some 200 nuclear warheads that can be used with intercontinental ballistic missiles, as well as nuclear-armed submarines. Iran’s policy toward Israel is to not strike first, as doing so would be suicidal for the ruling political establishment, whose main objective is to maintain power. As such, Iran’s policy toward Israel is to not strike first, as doing so would be suicidal for the ruling political establishment, whose main objective is to maintain power. It would be more effective to fight Israel via its Lebanese Shiite proxy Hezbollah. Tehran’s repeated boasting about IRGC capabilities is aimed at invoking nationalist sentiment among the public, because Iranian leaders know that the overwhelming majority of Iranians are dissatisfied with the hardliners and the political establishment. This method has been successful, as polls have repeatedly shown that many Iranians who oppose the political establishment still favor their country becoming a nuclear power or being more powerful than any other country in the region. Khamenei and IRGC generals are recalibrating the domestic balance of power, making it clear that they are the final decision-makers. They are appealing to their hardline social base by showing it that they continue to prioritize the values of the 1979 revolution over other issues, including national interests.

Unravelling Turkey’s pivot to the East
Dr. Theodore Karasik/Al Arabiya/August 05/16
In a few days, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will meet with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in St Petersburg. The timing is critical and the implications extraordinary, because Turkey may well be shifting to the East out of geopolitical necessity. There are a number of key reasons for this.
Firstly, Turkey is entering a period of self-discovery that is resulting in a recalibration of its relationships with NATO and Russia. This is brought on by a number of factors, such as Kurdish activity in Syria, Iraq and Iran, and by a major restructuring of Turkey’s military. The country’s core competence in participating in NATO has just been routed by Erdogan. Turkish military officers now without job or rank were considered to be Atlanticists seeking closer ties with the United States, Europe and NATO. Some may argue that Turkey’s military is more Eurasian in outlook, and perhaps just lost its NATO-enhanced edge. If true, the future of Incirlik air base - where the United States and allies run air operations against extremists in the Levant - is up for question, potentially damaging U.S.-Turkish relations and thereby making Moscow very happy. Second, Putin can take advantage of Turkey’s waking up to its historical destiny in Eurasia. Russia’s own past with Atlanticists and Eurasianists goes back hundreds of years, so there is a certain irony in today’s Turkish outlook between West and East. Putin’s foreign policy is Eurasian in outlook, and so is constantly driving a policy of integration with the Middle East. We may see Moscow and Ankara merge their views on the Levant and Iran. Thus, the Turkish-Russian meeting may be telling. Ankara knows that Moscow and Tehran do not see eye to eye on Syria’s future. A Russian scholar told me that his country sees Iran wanting to establish Islamist jurisprudence in Syria. Turkey’s trajectory as an Islamist state modeled on Erdoganism is to challenge Iran’s Khomeinism, so we may see Russian-Turkish alignment on Iranian intentions in the Levant. Turkey’s relationship with Russia is set to grow after the hostility of the past few months, including Moscow’s accusations of Ankara’s collusion with the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), and its shoot down of a Russian warplane in Nov. 2015. According to a senior Russian reporter visiting Washington, “Russia only wants Turkey to close its border to stem the flow of money and fighters,” and “to move on to more important matters.” Meanwhile, “Turkey wants Russia to stop supporting Syrian Kurds who have overlapping ties with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party [PKK].” Closure here may be difficult between the two sides.
Economics
However, a more important matter than geopolitics is geo-economics. Russia now sees the perfect opportunity to anchor Turkey more in the Eurasian camp through a reset based on necessary bilateral economic relations. The two sides are nearing a deal on TurkStream, an alternative to the cancelled South Stream project to bring natural gas to Europe bypassing Ukraine. TurkStream is an alternative to the Brussels-supported Southern Gas corridor to transport gas from Azerbaijan’s Shah Deniz field to European markets by 2020. Moscow recognizes that Turkey still plays a key role in the future of European energy requirements, and is thus seizing the moment to capture future market share. Meanwhile, Ankara’s on-again-off-again flirtation with China may start anew. Erdogan’s meeting with Putin will be followed very closely by Beijing, which notes that Moscow’s influence in Central Asia helped Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan from following Erdogan’s call to clean out his Turkic enemies. Nevertheless, Turkey and China are now cooperating more closely than ever before. They recently concluded a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in nuclear technology. This development gives Chinese industry an influential edge in Turkey’s future, which may be played against Moscow’s ambitious civilian nuclear energy program.
Turkey sees an opportunity in the East that it cannot get in the West
Such moves by Ankara should be seen in light of its ties with Moscow. What Turkey cannot get from Moscow it can get from China. This notion will be tested in St Petersburg. Ankara and Beijing are also cooperating in counter-terrorism, especially given the Uighur extremist threat from the East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM) over anti-Chinese grievances. Turkey may use China as a card against Russia if Moscow does not give in to Ankara’s interests. This game is likely to be played out in Central Asia. Erdogan’s meeting with Putin will illustrate short-term advantages for Moscow. Turkey sees an opportunity in the East that it cannot get in the West, and we should not forget that.
 

Bogus foreign-policy debates: How we’re helping our enemies fool us
Jonathan Schanzer/New York Post/August 05/16
World news has become complicated lately.
Or has it? Consider these headlines:
Abu Mohammed al-Julani, the leader of the Syrian al Qaeda affiliate group known as Jabhat al-Nusra, announced last week that his organization will henceforth be known as Jabhat Fath Al-Sham, and it will splinter from the al Qaeda constellation of terrorist organizations.
Don’t be fooled. This isn’t an acrimonious divorce; it’s a gentlemen’s agreement about how to put the best possible face on jihadist violence in Syria’s chaotic civil war.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Iran’s terrorist-sponsoring Praetorian guards, are now engaged in a campaign to delegitimize Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and his loyalists, claiming they have undermined the principles of the Iranian revolution. Rouhani last year negotiated a nuclear deal with six world powers that allowed Iran to maintain much of its nuclear infrastructure, and also gained his regime some $100 billion in sanctions relief.
Let’s be clear: This isn’t a principled fight between hardliners and moderates. It’s a power struggle between two factions with unwavering loyalty to an extremist regime.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey’s Islamist president, is battling it out with his former ally, Fetullah Gulen, a Muslim cleric who is alleged to be behind the July 15 failed coup d’état. Since then, more than 66,000 people have been arrested or removed from their jobs, with 18,000 detained. And the purge continues, with more than 30 journalists jailed, 16 television stations unplugged, 45 newspapers shuttered and 29 publishing houses banned from publishing books.
So this isn’t a battle to preserve Turkey’s democracy. It’s a concerted campaign to destroy it. Russia-based Edward Snowden, who leaked huge numbers of classified US documents in 2013, is now slamming WikiLeaks for insufficiently curating its most recent dump of Democratic National Committee e-mails.
WikiLeaks, also widely believed to be a Russian asset, rebuked Snowden for pandering to Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton.
This isn’t an argument about morals or ethics. It’s a disagreement over best practices for undermining the world’s most powerful country.
Let’s switch to domestic foreign-policy debates:
Democrats hammered GOP nominee Donald Trump’s calls for Russia to hack Clinton’s e-mails. This, coupled with reports Trump may have closer ties with Russia than previously believed, raises troubling questions about whether he might yield to Russia on certain issues as president. This comes after President Obama stood idly by as Russia asserted itself in Ukraine, not to mention Syria.
Remarkably, the parties seem to be arguing about the proper way to yield to Russian interests.
The Pentagon announced on Friday that the war against the Islamic State — in Iraq and Syria — has exceeded $8 billion in total cost, or $11.8 million per day since the United States entered the war in 2014. There’s no plan yet for the US-led coalition to eject the Islamic State from its de facto capital of Raqqa, Syria. When Obama campaigned for president in 2008, he slammed America’s costly involvement in Iraq ($1.7 trillion), and he vowed to end it.
The disagreement here is no longer about the need for conflict. It now seems to be about whether we should spend more money on poorly planned wars we’re trying to win or less on unplanned wars where a path to victory has yet to be determined.
In short, dizzying debates are obfuscating the facts. Our enemies seem to be manufacturing disputes for our consumption that amount to distinctions without much difference. We’re doing the same at home. It has to stop.
On the international front: Beware of jihadi groups in Syria, even when they aren’t affiliated with al Qaeda (the word “jihadi” should be a dead giveaway). The current regime in Iran, no matter who’s in charge, will be made up of hardliners. Turkey, a crucial NATO ally, is careening toward an Islamist autocracy. And the Kremlin is meddling unimpeded in our affairs.
At home: We continue to squabble while we allow adversaries like Russia and Iran to advance. In the meantime, threats from the Middle East are constant, whether we like it or not. A winning strategy is still needed.
**Jonathan Schanzer is vice president for research at Foundation for Defense of Democracies. Follow him on Twitter @JSchanzer.
- See more at: http://www.defenddemocracy.org/media-hit/schanzer-jonathan-bogus-foreign-policy-debates-how-were-helping-our-enemies-fool-us/#sthash.VSsJsn04.dpuf

The Peril in Paroling Jihadists | Caschetta at The Hill
A.J. Caschetta/The Hill/Middle East Forum/August 05/16
http://www.meforum.org/6166/peril-in-paroling-jihadists

Jihadists are rarely softened by release from prison.
Adel Kermiche, the jihadist who killed Rev. Jacques Hamel while he was celebrating a Catholic mass in France, is the latest illustration of what happens when a known threat is paroled by a society that finds prison inhumane. Kermiche, an ISIS recruit arrested trying to reach Syria, was released by a lenient judge.
Parole has been in the news a lot lately.
In a rare act of courage just over a week ago, California governor Jerry Brown overruled a parole board decision to release Manson family member Leslie Van Houten, killer of Leno and Rosemary La Bianca.
And then last week, John Hinckley, who shot Ronald Reagan and James Brady in 1981, secured his own sweet parole deal (technically it was "convalescent leave") through the leniency of U.S. District Judge Paul Friedman.
New York State changed its gun laws in response to a shooting rampage by William Spengler, who was paroled in 1998 after serving 17 years in prison for killing his grandmother with a hammer. New York State doesn't need more gun control; it needs parole control.
The U.S. has a history of accepting jihadist parolees. Omar Abdel Rahman, the blind sheikh, was paroled by Egypt after spending years in prison for his role in the 1981 assassination of Sadat. He came to the U.S. in 1990 and was granted a green card in 1991. He is currently serving a life sentence for his roles in the 1993 WTC bombing and theLandmarks Plot.
What possible value can come from releasing committed jihadists from prison?
But the most outrageous example of granting freedom to dangerous criminals is the ongoing release of Al-Qaeda and Taliban jihadists from Guantanamo Bay. The Hill has reported that of 676 released Gitmo detainees 118 are confirmed to have rejoined the fight and another 86 are suspected to have done so. The recidivism rate among Gitmo detainees has been estimated at 30%.
The massive jihad parole has happened under both the Bush and the Obama administrations, and both have released killers back to the battlefield. When Ibrahim al-Rubaish was released by George Bush in 2006, he promptly became an important leader of AQAP. When Ibrahim al-Qosi was released by Barack Obama in 2012 he did the same.
Both administrations tried to retain secrecy about the goings on in the prison. But Bush was mostly trying to keep information from the enemy about which fighters were out of action, whereas Obama is trying to keep information from Americans about which fighters he is releasing and the threats they still pose.
Senator Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) has written of "a consistent and concerted effort by the Administration to prevent Americans from knowing the truth regarding terrorist activities and affiliations of past and present Guantanamo detainees."
Assuming there ever were any genuinely innocent people rounded up accidentally from the battlefields of Afghanistan and Iraq, they were released long ago. When the Obama administration took over, many in the Bush administration warned that those remaining at Gitmo were "the worst of the worst." Releasing these dedicated jihadists has led to predictable results.
Saudi Arabia's Mohammed bin Nayef Center for Counseling and Care has a dismal success rate rehabilitating jihadists.
Some have been released to Saudi Arabia where they are sent to the Mohammed bin Nayef Center for Counseling and Care. Here they are involuntarily enrolled in the kingdom's terrorism rehabilitation and de-programming center, allegedly purged of their fondness for jihad and transformed into productive members of society through different kinds of therapy and "structured debate."
The recidivism of the bin Nayef Center is probably higher than that of Gitmo. According to a CBS report, a September 2014 arrest of 88 Al-Qaeda operatives had 59 graduates; later that year when 77 were arrested for an attack on a Saudi Shiite mosque, 44 of them were discovered to be bin Nayef alumni.
Other parolees have been sent to Qatar, Senegal, the UAE, Palau, and Ghana. Rep. Edward Royce (R-CA) has written that the Obama "administration is releasing dangerous terrorists to countries that can't control them, and misleading Congress in the process."
In 2014 six jihadists were sent to Uruguay, among many predictions of bad things to come. One of the men, Jihad Ahmad Diyab, has disappeared in Brazil — timing many find perilously close to the upcoming Olympic Games.
What possible benefit could any society derive from releasing a member of the Manson family or a man who killed his grandmother with a hammer? And what possible value can come from releasing committed jihadists to nations that cannot control them or track them if they disappear?
**A.J. Caschetta is a Shillman-Ginsburg fellow at the Middle East Forum and a senior lecturer at the Rochester Institute of Technology.
Related Topics: Criminality, Terrorism | A.J. Caschetta