LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
January 29/16

Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani

Bible Quotations For Today
You rich people, listen to me! Weep and wail over the miseries that are coming upon you
James 05/01-06: “And now, you rich people, listen to me! Weep and wail over the miseries that are coming upon you! Your riches have rotted away, and your clothes have been eaten by moths. Your gold and silver are covered with rust, and this rust will be a witness against you and will eat up your flesh like fire. You have piled up riches in these last days. You have not paid any wages to those who work in your fields. Listen to their complaints! The cries of those who gather in your crops have reached the ears of God, the Lord Almighty. Your life here on earth has been full of luxury and pleasure. You have made yourselves fat for the day of slaughter. You have condemned and murdered innocent people, and they do not resist you”.

Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on january 28-29/16
Aoun-Geagea axis not building a federation, it is doing "coup" inside the Christian areas/Tom Harb/Face Book/January 28/16
Lebanese politicians finally agree on sensitive military posts/Joseph A. Kechichian/Gulf News/January 28/16
Russians let Hizballah into Daraa, breaking their promise to Israel/DEBKAfile Exclusive Report January 28, 2016
Thousands of Iranians protest against Rouhani in Paris/NCRI Iran News/Thursday, 28 January 2016
Democrats In USA launch Iran deal offensive/Julian Pecquet/Al-Monitor/January 28/16
Rome's nude cover-up remains mystery/Arash Karami/Al-Monitor/January 28/16
Palestinian negotiator: Iran should stop poking its noses in Arab affairs/Aaron Magid/Al-Monitor/January 28/16
On a Saudi preacher’s belief that ‘women are shameful’/Turki Al-Dakhil/Al Arabiya/January 28/16
Refugees in Europe and religious reform/Fahad Suleiman Shoqiran/Al Arabiya/January 28/16
Why Tunisia’s Moncef Marzouki is being unfair/Mohammed Fahad al-Harthi/Al Arabiya/January 28/16
U.S. 2016 elections: The clash of the Titans/Joyce Karam/Al Arabiya/January 28/16

Lebanese Related News published on january 28-29/16
Aoun-Geagea axis not building a federation, it is doing "coup" inside the Christian areas...
Lebanese politicians finally agree on sensitive military posts
Russians let Hizballah into Daraa, breaking their promise to Israel
DEBKAfile Exclusive Report January 28, 2016
Cabinet Approves Long-Stalled Military Council Appointments
Salam Stresses Need to Elect President: I Will Not Abandon my Duties
Lebanese army consolidates in Arsal after militants’ clashes
U.N. Says 'No Postponement' of Syria Talks as Main Opposition Group Continues to Mull Participation
Report: Hizbullah Mediating for Reconciliation between Hamas, Iran
Adwan: Electoral Law Committee Concludes Meetings, Hybrid Law Probable
Geagea Urges Fund Allocation for Municipal Elections
Palestinian Official Killed in Shatila Camp
Report: Nusra-IS Clashes Result of Lebanese Army Siege
Bassil Dismisses Franjieh's Remarks: We Won't Compete with Him in Parliament
Amin Gemayel Says Geagea's Nomination of Aoun May Have Destroyed 'March 14 Institution'
U.S. monitoring Iraq’s largest dam for signs of collapse
Pentagon announces pick for U.S. commander in Afghanistan
U.N. chief blasts Israel over ‘stifling occupation’
Tunisia PM defends policies in face of unrest
U.S. weighs ‘military options’ in Libya

Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin For Miscellaneous Reports And News published on january 28-29/16
Iranian President Hails 'New Relationship' with France
Germany issues tighter asylum rules
U.S. asks NATO for spy planes in fight against ISIS
Court upholds jail terms for five Egypt activists
ISIS claims deadly attack on Egyptian soldiers in Sinai
Erdogan eyes new constitution, powerful presidency
ISIS spokesman Adnani ‘wounded’ in Iraqi airstrike
U.N. says Syria ignored most of its requests to deliver aid
Turkish soldiers on border shot at from ISIS territory in Syria
Demirtas: Turkey’s Kurdish conflict impacting Syria, migrant crises
Syrian opposition backs off from Geneva peace talks

Links From Jihad Watch Site for january 28-29/16
Canada rejects U.S. security concerns over Syrian refugees
Coptic Bishop Angaelos condemns Church’s silence on Christian decline, fails to mention Islam as cause
Another Obama concession to Iran: $10 million claim dropped in prisoner deal
Netanyahu: “The words of the U.N. secretary general give a tailwind to terrorism”
Panic at Disneyland Paris: Muslim with two handguns and copy of the Qur’an arrested
Hugh Fitzgerald: Schengenland And Its Discontents
The hypnotic dance of death
Anni Cyrus Moment: Sentenced to Stoning in the Islamic Republic
Newly released docs: Boston Marathon jihad murderer showed “opposite of remorse” when he was captured
Cologne carnival organizers give Muslim migrants leaflets telling them not to rape women or urinate in public
Sharia New York City: Muslim Uber driver attacks pregnant woman’s service dog

Aoun-Geagea axis not building a federation, it is doing "coup" inside the Christian areas...
Tom Harb/Face Book/January 28/16
More articles are posted to give the impression to the Christian public opinion in Lebanon that Dr Geagea and General Aoun are secretly working on unifying their forces to create a Christian canton and impose a federation in Lebanon. Ya reit. They could have done it in 48 hours in 1988. They had a huge area in 1990. They could have avoided a terrible war among the Lebanese Christians destroying all what could have helped in establishing a federated entity, 25 years ago! Many thousands would have lived. Hundreds of thousands would have stayed in Lebanon. Now that their candidacies for the Presidency have almost evaporated. Now their supporters are trying to convince the Christian people of Lebanon that the leaders are working hard on creating a "Christian Lebanon" but we need to be secret about it. None of this is true. All what they are trying to do is to create an axis to dominate the Christian areas like Hezbollah and Amal dominate the Shia areas. They want to control every Christian seat in Parliament at the next election and every municipality as the Muslim Brotherhood have done in Egypt in 2012. They want every job in Government slated to the Christians so that they become the only ruling party amogn Christians. But will they be using all that power to create a federation? Not at all. They want to control the Christians of Lebanon under the ceiling of a deal with Hezbollah and Iran. Call it a "coup" inside the Christian areas and a deal with the big bosses in Tehran. A nice little Gaza not a free Lebanon...
**Tom Harb is Secretary General of the WCCR

Lebanese politicians finally agree on sensitive military posts
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/2016/01/28/gulf-news-lebanese-politicians-finally-agree-on-sensitive-military-posts/
Joseph A. Kechichian/Gulf News/January 28/16
It is unclear whether the cabinet will endorse the appointment of Al Haj for the Orthodox post
Beirut: Lebanese leaders held their 14th national dialogue session on Wednesday and agreed on a tentative accord to appoint three officers to the sensitive Military Council although last minute roadblocks were not ruled out.
The gathering, which highlighted a looming danger to the Prime Minister because participants accepted that executive branch decisions would now be handled under the leadership of Speaker Nabih Berri, allowed for a semblance of tolerance ahead of a scheduled Cabinet session on Thursday.
It was unclear whether the full session would occur, as rival leaders apparently consented to the Minister of Defense’s recommendation that he name three individuals for each of the three vacant posts, reserved for a Shiite, a Greek Orthodox and a Catholic even if the exercise resembled theatre 101.
Importantly, two of the posts were easily approved, since major parties represented in the cabinet agreed on the names proposed for the Shiite [Brigadier-General Muhsin Fneish] and Catholic [Brigadier-General George Sharim] posts.
This meant that the lingering dispute was over the remaining Orthodox seat.
Among the three names advanced for that position was one favored by the Free Patriotic Movement, which, along with acolytes boycotted past cabinet sessions in part because they insisted that their preferred officer be promoted.
Both the FPM’s Michel Aoun and Speaker Berri backed Brigadier-General Samir Al Haj for the Orthodox portfolio although Al Haj, regrettably, stood fifth on the army’s promotion list based on qualifications and seniority.
How could the army, as an institution, justify bypassing four other Orthodox officers ahead of Al Haj?
Would this not introduce an added level of sectarianism in the army on top of existing constraints?
On Thursday, the cabinet is supposed to dispose of 379 items on its agenda and may not get to the security appointments if the favorite officers are not the ones that make the cut.
It remains to be determined whether FPM-Hezbollah and Tashnag ministers will then walk out when the Minister of Defense Samir Moqbel brings up the three names for a vote to finally fill the two-year long vacancies in the Military Council.
Parenthetically, Wednesday’s national dialogue session apparently skipped discussions over the Michel Aoun-Sulaiman Franjieh candidacies for the presidency of the republic, although the head of the Marada Movement told news outlets that he remained a contender.
“How can someone with 70 votes drop-out,” he claimed, “in favor of a candidate who mustered 40?”
In words that targeted Aoun, Franjieh affirmed: “We are Plan B for the official March 8 candidate,” meaning General Aoun, “who is our Plan A.” “But if Aoun does not want us as Plan B, we do not want him as Plan A,” concluded Franjieh.
Amid such jockeying, everyone waited for Hezbollah’s reaction to the January 18, 2016 accord between the Lebanese Forces and the FPM, expected to come on Friday evening when Hassan Nasrallah returns to the airwaves.
The Hezbollah Secretary-General was likely to maintain that his party stood by Aoun, adding that he favored compromises among rivals, ostensibly to settle their differences and vote on a consensus candidate.
The FPM’s Jibran Basil passed along the gist of this message after he was taken to the woodshed at the national dialogue session for his Organization of Islamic Cooperation vote a few days ago.
Basil, for is also Lebanon’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, justified his position in elusive terms and revealed on television that Aoun would not compete with Franjieh in parliament, which is bizarre since that’s where elections are held.
What he meant to say was that he and his father-in-law wanted a clear unopposed mandate, which Nasrallah was likely to stress too, even if the exercise stretched the very principles of democracy.

Russians let Hizballah into Daraa, breaking their promise to Israel
DEBKAfile Exclusive Report January 28, 2016
On Wednesday, Jan. 27 a large Hizballah force entered the southern Syrian town of Daraa, a critically dangerous event for Israel’s security. The way to the town, which lies near the Jordanian border and across from the Israeli Golan, was opened before Hizballah by none other than Russian forces. This was a blatant violation of President Vladimir Putin’s commitments to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Jordanian King Abdullah not to permit Iranian and Iran-backed forces, such as Hizballah and Iraqi and Afghani Shiite militias, reach their borders in consequence of Russia’s military intervention in the Syria war.
Daraa is just 32 km from the southern Golan and 12 km from the Jordanian border. Hizballah forces in this town are therefore within easy striking distance from northern Israeli and Jordan. What happened Wednesday was that a sizeable Hizballah contingent made it into Daraa, the day after a Syrian unit under the command of Russian officers captured the town of Sheikh Maskin, cutting off rebel forces east of Daraa from their comrades to the west. Control of Sheikh Maskin is the key to the crossroads leading to Damascus in the north, the Druze Mountain town of es-Suwaida in the east, and Quneitra on Golan opposite Israel’s northern defenses. The battle for Sheikh Maskin was the first in the Syrian conflict to be directly fought under Russian command. Its fall sparked accounts of Russian officers commanding Syrian troops in different parts of Syria.
So far, Israel has not reacted to the Hizballah force’s advance, notwithstanding public statements by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon that this would never be allowed to happen.
debkafile’s military sources explain this reticence by a persistent misreading of the Syrian crisis in the higher ranks of the Israeli defense establishment. Military Intelligence chief Maj. Gen. Herzl Halevi, who has a good grasp of its complexities, is a lone voice against the defense minister and IDF chief of staff, Lt. Gen. Gady Eisenkot
In Amman, however, King Abdullah and his generals signified both alarm and fury. debkafile’s sources report that Wednesday morning, the king shot off an urgent message to President Putin demanding an explanation for the Russian officers’ action in opening the door of Daraa to hostile Hizballah fighters.
Jordan has fought Hizballah and its conspiracies for three years, ever since its security forces seized an arms cache that Hizballah had smuggled into the kingdom for a terror cell to mount attacks in the northern province of Irbid. Amman is now concerned that Hizballah is close enough to make a grab for Al-Ramtha, the only border crossing between Syria and Jordan. That would be a feather in the cap of Iran’s Lebanese proxy, as the first Arab border crossing to fall to a Hizballah force outside Lebanon, and one, moreover, located athwart a main regional water source, the Yarmouk River.
As of Thursday morning, Jan. 28, Abdullah had not received a reply to his missive from Putin, but a message did come through to Amman from Syrian President Bashar Assad.  Using a back-door intelligence channel, he sent a notice in the name of Gen. Bahjat Suleiman, former Syrian ambassador to Jordan until he was expelled in May 2014, that King Abdullah must now face the consequences of his long support for the rebels of southern Syria. The monarch was also advised to prepare for the influx of thousands of fleeing rebel fighters whom the combined Syrian and Hizballah forces were pushing towards the Jordanian border. The next hours will be critical for the development of a similar crisis on the Israel-Syrian border in the Golan region.

Cabinet Approves Long-Stalled Military Council Appointments
Naharnet/ January 28/16/The cabinet on Thursday approved long-awaited appointments for the army's Military Council, a day after the rival parties struck a deal around the national dialogue table. The appointed officers were identified as Mohsen Fneish, George Shreim and Samir al-Hajj. The item was endorsed around two hours into the ongoing cabinet session at the Grand Serail and the meeting has 379 other items on its agenda. The appointment of the three Military Council officers was one of the demands of the Free Patriotic Movement, which along with Hizbullah and the Tashnag Party have boycotted recent cabinet sessions. Defense Minister Samir Moqbel raised the issue from outside the agenda after the rival leaders agreed during the national dialogue session that took place in Ain el-Tineh on Wednesday to make the appointments. Moqbel proposed three names for each of the three vacant posts. The three Military Council posts -- reserved for a Shiite, a Greek Orthodox and a Catholic -- have been vacant for the past two years. Several parties had warned that they would not vote for the name proposed by FPM founder MP Michel Aoun for the Greek Orthodox post, Brig. Gen. Samir al-Hajj, according to media reports. The Kataeb Party and Telecom Minister Boutros Harb had warned that they would reject the appointments under the excuse that the names suggested do not meet the standards of the military institution. “This is not something personal,” Kataeb chief MP Sami Gemayel was quoted as saying. “We will reject the appointments” because the longest-serving officers should be nominated for the posts. “Sectarian power-sharing should not spill over from other institutions to the military,” Harb for his part said.

Salam Stresses Need to Elect President: I Will Not Abandon my Duties
Naharnet/ January 28/16/Prime Minister Tammam Salam called on Thursday for ending the vacuum in the presidency, adding that the “Lebanese body cannot be complete without its head.”He said during a healthcare conference: “A body without a head cannot be effective and I will not abandon my duties towards my country.”“I do not pass up an opportunity to highlight the need to fill the presidential vacuum,” he remarked. “I hope all sides will continue to place their trust in Lebanon as we have a long and arduous path before us,” stated the premier. “I hope we have the opportunity today for all political powers to realize that if they cannot overcome their personal interests, then we will not be able to protect our country,” Salam emphasized. “We are passing through extraordinary circumstances that require vigilance and institutional work that demands the cooperation of all sides,” he added. “We hope obstacles will be overcome so that cabinet can perform its duties,” Salam said. Lebanon has been without a president since the term of Michel Suleiman ended in May 2014. Ongoing disputes between the rival March 8 and 14 camps over a compromise candidate have thwarted the polls.

Lebanese army consolidates in Arsal after militants’ clashes
Staff writer, Al Arabiya English Thursday, 28 January 2016/The Lebanese army has consolidated on Thursday its forces in Arsal after clashes between two militants groups, Al Arabiya News Channel correspondent reported. The Lebanese army shelled positions of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and al-Qaeda’s affiliate al-Nusra Front after clashes between these two groups, Al Arabiya News Channel reported.The army was consolidating after ISIS made advances towards Arsal, a town 120 kilometers north east of Beirut. Meanwhile, Lebanon’s National News Agency said the Lebanese army artillery was shelling armed men’s movements in the area around Arsal, without specifying what kind of men they were. In August 2014, the town was briefly taken over by Nusra and ISIS fighters before the Lebanese army drove the fighters out after a five day offensive.

U.N. Says 'No Postponement' of Syria Talks as Main Opposition Group Continues to Mull Participation
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/ January 28/16/The U.N. said Thursday that there was no postponement of Syria peace talks due to start Friday in Switzerland, despite uncertainty around whether the main opposition umbrella group would attend. The U.N. chief negotiator in the almost five-year-old civil war, Staffan de Mistura, issued a message to the Syrian people saying that the planned discussions "cannot fail." There is "no postponement from our side," Khawla Mattar, spokeswoman for the U.N.-mediated talks between the Syrian government and opposition in Geneva due to begin Friday, told AFP.
The planned negotiations are part of a U.N.-backed plan, agreed in November in Vienna, that envisages talks followed by a transitional government, a new constitution, and elections within 18 months. A source close to the Syrian government of President Bashar Assad in Damascus said its delegation, headed by envoy to the U.N. Bashar al-Jaafari, would be arriving in Geneva on Friday as planned. But in Saudi Arabia, the High Negotiations Committee -- formed last month in an effort to unite Syria's fractious opposition -- was holding a third day of talks and had yet to decide whether to show up. The Saudi-backed group has asked for "clarifications" after the U.N. issued invitations to other opposition figures. It also wants assurances from the international community that it will move to end regime attacks on civilians and allow humanitarian aid. Opposition sources said it appeared increasingly unlikely the talks would open as planned. The roadmap is the most ambitious plan yet to end the conflict which has killed more than 260,000 people and forced millions from their homes. De Mistura said that his video message was "meant to reach every single man, woman, child of Syria, inside Syria and outside, in the refugee camps or where ever you are.""You must know also that we count on you to raise your voice to say 'khalas' ("stop" in Arabic)... to say to everyone who is actually coming from Syria and from abroad to this conference that there are expectations on them to make sure that their vision, their capacity of compromise in discussion for reaching a peaceful solution in Syria is now and they need to produce that," he said. Officials have said the talks, only the second dialogue between Syrians since the start of the conflict, would run over six months, with the first round expected to last between two and three weeks.

Report: Hizbullah Mediating for Reconciliation between Hamas, Iran
Naharnet/ January 28/16/Hizbullah is mediating between Hamas and Iran to improve their ties after the Islamic Republic failed to convince the Palestinian militant group to back it in its conflict with Saudi Arabia in return for the resumption of full financial assistance, sources told pan-Arab daily Asharq al-Awsat published on Thursday.The sources said that Hizbullah deputy leader Sheikh Naim Qassem has sent an invitation to Hamas Politburo chief Moussa Abou Marzouq to visit Lebanon for the purpose of meeting top Iranian officials, including members of the Revolutionary Guards, who come on routine trips to Beirut to coordinate with the party on the operations in Syria. Abou Marzouq will likely accept Qassem’s invitation, said the sources, but no date has been yet set for a meeting with Hizbullah or Iranian officials, they said. According to the sources, Hamas has been avoiding to strike alliances in the region, mainly against Sunni states. The Palestinian group is eager to have good relations with all sides, including Iran, but it rejects to become part of alliances, they said. Marzouk will likely inform Hizbullah and Iranian officials that Hamas welcomes “unconditional financial support” to Hamas, the sources added. Demonstrators stormed and burned Riyadh's embassy in Tehran and its consulate in second city Mashhad on January 2 to protest against the execution of a prominent cleric from Saudi Arabia's Shiite minority. The Gulf kingdom and some of its allies the next day severed diplomatic relations with Iran over the incidents.

Adwan: Electoral Law Committee Concludes Meetings, Hybrid Law Probable
Naharnet/ January 28/16/A parliamentary committee tasked with devising a new electoral law concluded its meetings Thursday and is set to refer a report to the parliament which in turn will refer it to the parliament bureau for discussions. “The committee tasked with drafting a new electoral law ended its discussions on the file and will refer it to the parliament which in turn will refer to the parliament bureau for deliberations,” the state-run National News Agency reported. MP George Adwan, the committee's coordinator, told NNA that the interlocutors have agreed to adopt a hybrid electoral law.
The 10-member committee was formed in November 2015 with the aim of devising an electoral law that garners the support of all Lebanese factions.It had a two-month period to conclude its task. Ongoing disputes among the rival political parties over the electoral law forced parliament to extend its term the first time in 2013 and a second time in 2014.

Geagea Urges Fund Allocation for Municipal Elections
Naharnet/ January 28/16/Lebanese Forces chief Samir Geaega stressed on Thursday the necessity to allocate the necessary funds to hold the municipal elections on time. “The cabinet should swiftly secure the funding necessary to hold the municipal elections,” said Geagea via Twitter. The 20-month vacuum at the top state post has raised questions on whether the municipal elections set for later this year will be held on time. Different political figures, including Speaker Nabih Berri, Interior Minister Nouhad al-Mashnouq, Change and Reform bloc leader MP Michel Aoun and the Mustaqbal movement, have expressed early in January their support to hold the polls on the scheduled time. Lebanon has been without a president since May 2014 when the term of Michel Suleiman ended without the election of a successor. Ongoing disputes between the rival March 8 and 14 camps over a compromise candidate have thwarted the polls.

Palestinian Official Killed in Shatila Camp
Naharnet/ January 28/16/The official in charge of the security committee at the Shatila Palestinian refugee camp in southern Beirut was found killed at dawn, the state-run National News Agency reported on Thursday. Unknown assailants opened fire on Ahmed Hazini killing him instantly, NNA added. In a contact with Voice of Lebanon radio (93.3), Palestinian National Security chief Maj. Gen. Sobhi Abou Arab stated that investigations have been opened into the case to uncover the assailants. “Investigations have been opened into the assassination of the official in charge of the security committee to find the perpetrators,” he said. "The situation is calm in the camp and the killers are still unknown," Abou Arab declared .

Report: Nusra-IS Clashes Result of Lebanese Army Siege
Naharnet/ January 28/16/Al-Qaida-linked al-Nusra Front militants launched a surprise attack against the Islamic State extremist group along the Lebanese-Syrian border on Wednesday as a result of the siege laid by the Lebanese army and Hizbullah against the fighters, informed sources told al-Akhbar daily on Thursday. The newspaper said that the clashes, which have left scores dead and injured, were the bloodiest between the rival extremists. The sounds of gunshots and explosions reverberated across the northeastern border town of Arsal on Wednesday. Al-Akhbar said the extremists are trying to take over bases from their rivals to improve their battle positions after the siege laid by the Lebanese military and Hizbullah left them incapacitated in the harsh winter cold. The IS and al-Nusra Front are taking the porous Lebanese-Syrian border as a refuge since 2014. The gunmen clash with the army occasionally. But the major confrontation between them took place in August 2014 when they overran Arsal. The state-run National News Agency said Thursday that the Lebanese army targeted terrorists from the IS with heavy artillery overnight. It left many of them injured after they tried to infiltrate to Arsal from Sahel Ajram and al-Malahi area.

Bassil Dismisses Franjieh's Remarks: We Won't Compete with Him in Parliament
Naharnet/ January 28/16/Free Patriotic Movement chief Jebran Bassil hinted Wednesday that the Change and Reform bloc and Hizbullah will not take part in any parliamentary session involving a competition over the presidential post between bloc chief MP Michel Aoun and Marada Movement leader MP Suleiman Franjieh. Bassil's statement came only hours after Franjieh boasted that his presidential bid enjoys the support of 70 out of 127 MPs and noted that only “forty” lawmakers would vote for Aoun. “I didn't know that we have started counting votes but we will not reach a stage during which we compete with Franjieh in parliament,” Bassil underlined during an interview with MTV. “During the past 34 sessions, we were sparing the country the trap of having a weak president,” Bassil added, referring to Change and Refrom and Hizbullah's boycott of electoral sessions.
Lebanon has been without a president since May 2014 when the term of Michel Suleiman ended without the election of successor and al-Mustaqbal movement leader ex-PM Saad Hariri launched late in 2015 a proposal to nominate Franjieh as president.
Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea, Hariri's ally in the March 14 camp, was a presidential candidate at the time and some observers have said that the LF leader has recently nominated Aoun for the presidency as a “reaction” to Hariri's proposal, a claim Geagea has denied. “When the majority of Christians reach an agreement, it would be difficult to disregard,” Bassil said during the interview. “Should they bypass Christian consensus, the idea of coexistence itself would become in question,” Bassil warned.
He explained that “a gradual buildup led to the LF's support for General Aoun's nomination,” adding that the two parties must seek to take their agreement to a higher level. “The biggest say in the presidential issue belongs to Christians and this is a firm principle that we will not renounce,” added Bassil. Turning to Change and Reform's alliance with Hizbullah, Bassil noted that the party is still committed to its support for Aoun's presidential bid. “Hizbullah is in the picture of our agreement with the LF and it has a great interest in it,” Bassil added.

Amin Gemayel Says Geagea's Nomination of Aoun May Have Destroyed 'March 14 Institution'
Naharnet/ January 28/16/Former Kataeb Party chief and ex-Lebanese president Amin Gemayel on Wednesday slammed Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea's decision to nominate Change and Reform bloc chief MP Michel Aoun for the presidency as a mere “reaction” that might have “destroyed March 14 as an institution.”“The Maarab meeting was a reaction to (al-Mustaqbal movement leader ex-PM Saad) Hariri's nomination of (Marada Movement chief MP Suleiman) Franjieh, who is Geagea's neighbor in Bsharri, and we hope it wasn't a mere reaction,” said Gemayel in an interview with Al-Jazeera television. “We're afraid that Geagea's initiative might have destroyed March 14 as an institution,” he added.Lebanon has been without a president since May 2014 when the term of Michel Suleiman ended without the election of successor and Hariri launched late in 2015 a proposal to nominate Franjieh as president. Geagea, Hariri's ally in the March 14 camp, was a presidential candidate at the time and some observers have said that the LF leader has recently nominated Aoun for the presidency as a “reaction” to Hariri's proposal, a claim Geagea has denied. “The nominations of Franjieh and Aoun are both positive initiatives and we are not taking them lightly but the Lebanese situation cannot withstand unilateral decisions or confrontational nominations,” Gemayel stressed, echoing his party's reservations on the two men's nominations. “We would support any candidate who enjoys unanimous support but both Aoun and Franjieh have not secured unanimity in order for us to support any of them,” he added. Gemayel lamented that Aoun and Franjieh “could have proposed their nominations through an understanding with all leaders,” emphasizing that “no single party can impose their nominee on others.”“We would elect the candidate who can convince us with a platform aimed at protecting the country's sovereignty. During this difficult period and the threats that are surrounding us, it is necessary for the Lebanese to agree on a consensual president who can unify the Lebanese over a national project and who can offer reassurances,” he went on to say.
Moreover, Gemayel blasted the Aoun-Geagea agreement as “a confrontational move against some components” of the Lebanese society. “This poses a major threat to Lebanon and its Christians,” Gemayel warned. “An inter-Christian agreement is important but all agreements must be in harmony with all parties in the framework of comprehensive national cooperation and understanding,” he explained.

Iranian President Hails 'New Relationship' with France
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/ January 28/16/President Hassan Rouhani hailed a "new relationship" between Iran and France during a visit Thursday that saw the signing of a host of post-sanctions business deals. "Let us forget the resentment," Rouhani said, calling for both countries to take advantage of the "positive atmosphere" following the removal of sanctions over the Islamic Republic's nuclear program. "We are ready to turn the page" and establish a "new relationship between our countries", Rouhani told a meeting of business leaders. French Prime Minister Manuel Valls responded that "Iran can count on France". "France is ready to use its companies, its engineers, its technicians and its many resources to help to modernize your country," Valls said. Rouhani was welcomed to Paris with military honors and national anthems on the second leg of a trip signaling Iran's rapprochement with Europe since sanctions were lifted. The real business of the visit will come when Rouhani officially signals Iran's intention to buy more than 100 passenger planes from European aircraft maker Airbus. French carmaker Peugeot said it will return to the Iranian market in a five-year deal worth 400 million euros ($436 million) that was announced Thursday. Peugeot will produce 200,000 cars a year in a joint venture with local manufacturer Iran Khodro, according to a statement. The French carmaker was forced to pull out of Iran in 2012 as sanctions began to bite. In another potential bonanza for France, the head of French oil giant Total said his firm would sign a deal to buy Iranian crude. Although the French state is rolling out the red carpet for Rouhani, the Iranian opposition will hold a human rights demonstration and Jewish groups also intend to protest in Paris. Rouhani is to hold talks with President Francois Hollande which are expected to include discussions on Iran's role in Syria, where it is backing President Bashar Assad in a war that has killed 260,000 people. Talks are due to begin Friday in Geneva to take tentative steps towards ending the conflict. After arriving from Italy, where he sealed deals for steel and pipelines worth between 15 and 17 billion euros, Rouhani began his Paris visit on Wednesday by unveiling a scheme to guarantee investment by French firms in Iran. A source involved in the deal to buy Airbus planes said that only letters of intention will be signed at this stage, because some sanctions are still in place. However, Iran is keen to bring its ageing fleet of mid- and long-haul aircraft up to date, so the deal is widely expected to go ahead soon, giving a huge boost to the European aviation industry. Rouhani's meeting with Hollande is also expected to touch on Iran's bitter feud with regional rival Saudi Arabia.
In a reference to Saudi Arabia, the Iranian president told an audience in Paris that "some countries had wanted to use terrorism for their own means". "But this is a hand grenade with the pin removed," he added.During his visit to Rome, Rouhani dismissed suggestions that Iran should apologize to the Saudis for an attack on its embassy by demonstrators furious over Riyadh's execution of a prominent Shiite cleric, Nimr al-Nimr. "Why should we apologize, because Nimr al-Nimr was executed? We are the ones to apologize because they are killing the people of Yemen? Apologize to them because they are helping terrorists?" he asked. In the Italian capital, Rouhani and Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi met at the Capitoline Museum where nude statues were covered up out of respect for the Islamic Republic's strict laws governing propriety. But Rouhani denied he had asked his Italian hosts to cover up the statues and Italian Culture Minister Dario Franceschini, who accompanied Rouhani on the museum trip, called the move "incomprehensible". Rouhani also visited the Vatican for the first time and met Pope Francis. Rouhani, a 67-year-old former academic and diplomat who is seen as a pragmatist, was elected in 2013 on a pledge to end sanctions and improve relations with the West.

Germany issues tighter asylum rules
Reuters, Berlin Thursday, 28 January 2016/German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservatives and their left-leaning Social Democrat (SPD) coalition partners agreed on Thursday to tighten asylum rules, reaching a compromise on how to stem a migrant influx, Economy Minister Sigmar Gabriel said. The measures include a two-year ban on family reunions for asylum seekers who are granted limited refugee protection, said Garbiel, who is SPD leader. Germany also wants to speed up the deportations of failed asylum seekers.

U.S. asks NATO for spy planes in fight against ISIS
Reuters, Brussels Thursday, 28 January 2016/The head of NATO said on Thursday that the United States has requested the alliance’s help in fighting Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) in the Middle East by providing surveillance planes called the Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS). NATO is not directly involved in combating militants in Syria and Iraq, with the United States leading a coalition of nations that includes all 28 NATO allies. NATO member Turkey also shares a long border with Syria and Iraq. “We have got a request from the U.S. to provide support to the efforts of the coalition, to help them with the NATO AWACS surveillance planes, and we are now looking into that request,” Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told a news conference. Stoltenberg said NATO defense ministers would discuss the U.S. request at their meeting in early February, although there is no deadline for any decision. AWACS monitor airspace within a radius of more than 400 km and exchange information via digital data links, with ground-based, sea-based and airborne commanders. NATO is already sending AWACS to Turkey to strengthen Ankara’s air defenses on its border with Syria. It was not immediately clear if those planes will play a dual role.

Court upholds jail terms for five Egypt activists
AFP, Cairo Thursday, 28 January 2016/An Egyptian court on Wednesday upheld two-year prison sentences for five secular opposition activists convicted of joining illegal demonstrations staged in memory of protests that were violently suppressed. On November 19, 2011, protests were held near Cairo’s Tahrir Square against the military junta that took over after the popular uprising that January and February which ended the rule of president Hosni Mubarak. The 10 days of protests that followed claimed 42 lives in clashes between demonstrators and security forces. A Cairo appeals court on Wednesday confirmed two-year jail terms for the five, among them a surgeon and an activist from a small leftist party. According to a court official and a defence lawyer, they were accused of taking part in an event in November 2015 in memory of the violence four years earlier. In December, they were convicted of attending gatherings, blocking roads and “demonstrating without a permit”, the sources said. They can still appeal to the Court of Cassation. Wednesday’s ruling coincides with the fifth anniversary of the uprising that erupted on January 25, 2011 and led to Mubarak’s fall. Defense lawyer Anas Sayyid told AFP that the five were arrested last November “in an arbitrary manner, in an area where there were not even any demonstrations”. Since the military removed Islamist president Mohamed Mursi in July 2013, again taking the reins of power it had controlled for decades before the 2011 uprising, the authorities have ruthlessly repressed any opposition. Limited at first to Mursi supporters, the crackdown later spread to secular and leftist movements that took part in the revolt against Mubarak. Rights group Amnesty International called Wednesday’s verdict “yet another example of the unfair and arbitrary nature of Egypt’s criminal justice system”. An Amnesty statement said at least two of those convicted “say they were tortured and ill-treated during interrogation”. “Their case is one more appalling example of the relentless government campaign to crush independent and critical voices and activists in Egypt today,” said the London-based rights organisation. Meanwhile, the trial of four activists on charges of “incitement to strike”, due to begin on Wednesday, has been postponed until next Monday, a judicial official said. The defendants in that case include youth leader Amr Ali, coordinator of the now banned April 6 movement that spearheaded the 2011 revolt.

ISIS claims deadly attack on Egyptian soldiers in Sinai
AFP, Cairo Thursday, 28 January 2016/An Egyptian affiliate of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) group claimed responsibility Thursday for an attack that killed a colonel and three soldiers in North Sinai, where it is spearheading a deadly insurgency. Wednesday’s bombing in North Sinai’s provincial capital of El-Arish targeted the troops’ armored vehicle when it was engaged in a search operation, security officials and emergency services said. Another 12 soldiers were wounded in the blast. In a statement posted on militant forums, ISIS affiliate the Sinai Province said its members used explosive devices to target the army west of El-Arish. Militants have regularly attacked security forces in the peninsula since the army toppled Islamist President Mohammad Mursi in July 2013. They say their attacks are in retaliation for a government crackdown targeting Mursi supporters that has left hundreds dead and thousands imprisoned. The authorities say hundreds of policemen and soldiers have been killed in attacks, mainly in North Sinai, since 2013, although there have also been attacks in the Nile Delta and in Cairo. Egypt’s branch of ISIS also said it planted a bomb that caused the crash of a Russian airliner in the Sinai in October, killing all 224 people on board.

Erdogan eyes new constitution, powerful presidency
Reuters, Ankara Thursday, 28 January 2016/Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Thursday it was wrong to view his desire for a new constitution and a more powerful presidency as a matter of personal ambition, and that a head of state elected by the people must have more than a symbolic role. In a speech to civil society groups in Ankara, he said the parliamentary system in Turkey was out of date and that the existing situation, in which both the prime minister and president are elected by the people, was unsustainable. Erdogan said he expected political parties and civil society groups to take part in forging a new constitution and that the separation of powers would be one of the main points of discussion. The people, not parliament, should ultimately decide on the new text, he said.

ISIS spokesman Adnani ‘wounded’ in Iraqi airstrike
Reuters, Baghdad Friday, 8 January 2016/Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) spokesman Abu Muhammad al-Adnani has reportedly been wounded in an air strike in Iraq’s western province of Anbar, a military statement said on Thursday. Reuters could not immediately confirm the report. “There are confirmed reports that the so-called terrorist Abu Muhammad al-Adnani the spokesman of the Daesh (ISIS) terrorists was wounded in an air strike ... in the region of Barwana,” the military statement said. Adnani lost “a large amount of blood” in the attack a few days ago, before being moved to the northern city of Mosul, ISIS’ capital in Iraq, the statement added. More than 100 ISIS fighters were killed in and around Barwana this week by air strikes aimed at helping the Iraqi army repel militant offensives near the city of Haditha, according to the U.S.-led coalition. Adnani is a Syrian from Idlib who pledged allegiance to ISIS’ predecessor al Qaeda more than a decade ago and was once imprisoned by U.S. forces in Iraq, according to the Brookings Institution. Adanani has been the chief propagandist for the hardline group since he declared in a June 2014 statement that it was establishing a modern-day caliphate spanning large swaths of territory it had seized in Iraq and neighboring Syria. William McCants, a Brookings scholar who is author of the book “The ISIS Apocalypse,” said if true, Adnani’s wounding could be a significant setback for ISIS. “If he’s incapacitated, Baghdadi has lost a very trusted adviser,” he said by phone, referring to ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. “His name has been floated as a possible successor... and he’s an effective propagandist.” U.S. Army Colonel Steve Warren, spokesman for the coalition bombing ISIS in Iraq and Syria, could not confirm the Iraqi military report but said Adnani had not been targeted by a coalition air strike.

U.N. says Syria ignored most of its requests to deliver aid
Reuters, United Nations Thursday, 28 January 2016/The Syrian government in 2015 ignored most United Nations requests to deliver humanitarian aid to some of the 4.6 million people in hard-to-reach and besieged areas and only 620,000 received help, the U.N. aid chief said on Wednesday. Stephen O’Brien told the U.N. Security Council that last year the U.N. made 113 requests to the Syrian government for approval of inter-agency aid convoys, but only 10 percent were able to deliver assistance. Another 10 percent were approved in principle by the Syrian government, but could not proceed due to a lack of final approval, insecurity or no deal on safe passage, while the U.N. put 3 percent on hold due to insecurity. O’Brien said the remaining 75 percent of requests went unanswered. “Such inaction is simply unacceptable,” he said. “The impact on the ground is tangible: in 2013, we reached some 2.9 million people through the inter-agency convoy mechanism, but only 620,000 (in 2015).” “More and more people are slipping out of our reach every day as the conflict intensifies and battle lines tighten,” O’Brien said. In total, the U.N. said 13.5 million people in Syria need humanitarian aid, up from 1.3 million from 2014. “Even with the worsening situation and continued access challenges, humanitarian workers in Syria continue to stay and deliver aid often at great personal risk,” O’Brien said. He said that in 2015 food was delivered to nearly 6 million people a month; health aid to almost 16 million people; water, sanitation and hygiene support to 6.7 million; and basic household items to 4.8 million. “Let me be clear: the continued suffering of the people in Syria cannot be blamed on humanitarian organizations and staff,” O’Brien said. “It is the failure of both the parties and the international community that have allowed this conflict to continue for far too long.”Syria U.N. mediator Staffan de Mistura hopes to convene talks on Friday on ending the civil war, but those plans appeared in doubt after the opposition said it would not show up unless attacks on civilian areas stopped first. The civil war was sparked by a Syrian government crackdown on a pro-democracy movement in early 2011. ISIS militants have used the chaos to seize territory in Syria and Iraq, and some 4.3 million Syrians have fled the country. The U.N. says at least 250,000 people have been killed.

Turkish soldiers on border shot at from ISIS territory in Syria
Reuters, Istanbul Thursday, 28 January 2016/Turkish soldiers clearing mines came under fire on Thursday from Islamic State of Iraq and Syria ISIS-controlled territory across the Syrian border, Turkey’s Dogan news agency said. There were no casualties, the agency said, but stray bullets hit buildings near the border crossing in the southeastern town of Karkamis. Turkish artillery and tanks returned fire. Turkey has increasingly become a target for the Sunni Islamist group, which is blamed for a suicide bombing in central Istanbul this month that killed 11 tourists and two attacks in 2015 which left more than 130 dead. Washington and Ankara have been discussing for months how to seal a last 98-kilometre (60-mile) stretch of border that has served as a thoroughfare for ISIS fighters, black-market goods and war materiel. A member of the U.S.-led coalition against ISIS, NATO member Turkey has long been criticized by the West for loose border controls said to have allowed thousands of foreign jihadists to travel to Syria. Residents in villages near Karkamis earlier this week said the border strip was quiet after weeks of gunfire and artillery exchanges. Turkish tanks have bombarded ISIS positions on the Syrian side of the border since the suicide attack on Jan. 12.

Demirtas: Turkey’s Kurdish conflict impacting Syria, migrant crises
Reuters, Brussels Thursday, 28 January 2016/The leader of Turkey’s pro-Kurdish opposition said conflict in the country’s largely Kurdish southeast had grown into an international problem, feeding into war in neighboring Syria, and urged allies to do more to push for a ceasefire. Unrest in the NATO member state, which is negotiating to join the European Union, has turned parts of the southeast into a war zone. Kurdish militants have dug trenches and erected barricades in towns and cities, and the death toll has climbed into the hundreds as the security forces try to flush them out. It is also complicating efforts to stage Syrian peace talks. “The international community should call on both the Turkish government and the PKK for a ceasefire and a return to healthy negotiations, and they must make this call repeatedly,” Selahattin Demirtas, co-leader of the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), the third largest party in the Turkish parliament, told Reuters. “Turkey’s domestic peace is not an issue for Turkey alone. It is directly related to the resolution of the Syrian conflict and to the migration problem in Europe,” he said in an interview on Wednesday in Brussels, where he was participating in a Kurdish conference in the European parliament. Ankara’s army, the second largest in NATO, is fighting on two fronts, against Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) fighters and the threat from ISIS in Syria and Iraq, both bordering Turkey. The country has seen a series of bombings, most recently an Istanbul suicide attack that killed ten German tourists.
Curfew widened. The conflict with the PKK, after the breakdown of a two-and- a-half-year ceasefire, has complicated efforts by a U.S.-led international coalition, of which Turkey is a member, to fight ISIS. Turkey, the United States and European Union all classify the PKK - which says it is fighting for Kurdish autonomy - as a terrorist organization. But Washington sees the Syrian Kurdish PYD, which has links to the PKK, as a useful ally. Ankara views it as a terrorist group and does not want it making territorial gains that could stoke Kurdish separatism at home. Demirtas described Turkey’s opposition to the PYD taking part in Syrian peace talks planned in Geneva as an “emotional reflex”, saying the group was vital to the negotiations. Turkey is sheltering more than 2.5 million Syrian migrants, according to U.N. and government figures, and has agreed with the EU to do more to stop their exodus to Europe. Demirtas, who denies accusations that his party has links to the militants, said the latest military operations had killed around 200 civilians, 70 of them children. Hundreds of thousands of civilians had been affected, many having to leave their homes or shut their businesses.The EU has called for an immediate ceasefire. The government says civilians are not being targeted in the operation and blames the PKK for bringing its campaign, which has killed over 40,000 since 1984, to city centres. President Tayyip Erdogan, who eased some restrictions on Kurdish culture in his early years in power, has vowed to destroy the PKK. Authorities widened a curfew in the region’s largest city Diyarbakir on Wednesday. Hundreds, including children and the elderly, fled curfew-bound areas of its historic Sur district as gunfire and blasts resounded.

Syrian opposition backs off from Geneva peace talks
Staff writer, Al Arabiya English Thursday, 28 January 2016/The Saudi-backed Syrian opposition will not attend peace talks in Geneva on Friday, a senior member said. U.N. envoy Staffan de Mistura had been planning to launch indirect peace talks in the Swiss city. “For certain we will not head to Geneva and there will not be a delegation from the High Negotiations Committee tomorrow in Geneva,” George Sabra told Al Arabiya’s sister channel al-Hadath on Thursday. Another opposition delegate from the High Negotiations Committee said: “I believe tomorrow we will take a decision on whether or not to attend the U.N.-brokered negotiations.”The United Nations said Thursday there will be “no postponement” for the talks. Earlier, the Syrian opposition blamed those responsible for the “bombardment and starvation of civilians” for delaying peace talks the United Nations aims to convene on Friday. The opposition High Negotiation Committee has written to U.N. Secretary of General Ban Ki-moon asking the Security Council to implement a resolution that outlined steps including a halt to bombardment of civilian areas and the lifting of blockades on besieged areas. “We are serious about taking part (in negotiations), and to start the negotiations, but what is hindering the start of negotiations is the one who is bombing civilians and starving them,” the statement issued by a spokesman for the HNC said. The Syrian opposition has said it wants such steps implemented before the start of negotiations, which the United Nations aims to convene on Friday in Geneva in an indirect format. The opposition has yet to say whether it will attend. The source, familiar with an opposition meeting in Riyadh, said the U.N. special envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura had answered the opposition saying implementation of the resolution was “beyond his authority” and that they were now awaiting a response from Ban. The source declined to be identified because he is not a spokesman for the High Negotiations Committee. The demands are also points set out in a U.N. Security Council resolution passed last month. Meanwhile, the Syrian Democratic Council co-leader Haytham Manna said he has sent the U.N. a list of 15 “essential” names who must be included in Geneva peace talks. Manna, co-president of the Arab and Kurdish group known as the Syrian Democratic Council, told The Associated Press Thursday that U.N. Special envoy to Syria Staffan de Mistura is trying to remove obstacles ahead of the talks. Manna said that his group and their allies have named their own list of opposition participants, separate from the list named in Saudi Arabia, a move that is likely to anger the Higher Negotiating Committee. Iran: ‘terrorists in new mask’ Iran said on Thursday it strongly opposed allowing “terrorists in a new mask” to sit down for talks between the Syrian government and the opposition. “Terrorists with a new mask should not sit down at a negotiating table with the representatives of the Syrian authorities,” Deputy Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian told a news conference during a visit to Russia. “This is the most important condition.” The Syrian government, aided by Russian air strikes and allied militia including Iranian forces, is gaining ground against rebels in western Syria, this week capturing the town of Sheikh Maskin near the Jordanian border. (With Reuters)

U.S. monitoring Iraq’s largest dam for signs of collapse
AFP, Baghdad Thursday, 28 January 2016/The United States is monitoring Iraq’s largest dam for signs of further deterioration that could point to an impending catastrophic collapse, U.S. army officers said on Thursday. The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) jihadist group seized the Mosul Dam briefly in 2014, leading to a lapse in maintenance that weakened an already flawed structure, and Baghdad is seeking a company to make repairs. “The likelihood of the dam collapsing is something we are trying to determine right now,” Lieutenant General Sean MacFarland, the commander of the U.S.-led operation against ISIS, told journalists in Baghdad. The dam has long been in danger of collapse, which U.S. officials have warned could send a huge wave crashing into ISIS-held Mosul, Iraq’s second-largest city that lies about 40 kilometres (25 miles) away. The U.S. put measuring devices on the structure in December to monitor how much it is “moving or deteriorating over time”, MacFarland said. “We’re still evaluating that data,” he said, but if it does collapse, “it’s gonna go fast, and that’s bad.” The U.S. is sharing the data it collects with the Iraqi government and working with Baghdad on an evacuation plan, MacFarland said.“They understand that there is the potential for the Mosul dam to collapse,” he said. “If this dam was in the United States, we would have drained the lake behind it -- we would have taken that dam out of commission.” Colonel Steve Warren, the spokesman for the anti-ISIS operation, said that divers had also assessed the dam. The dam, which was completed in 1984, was constructed atop a foundation that continuously erodes with exposure to water, leaving cavities beneath the structure. Since its completion, the Iraqi government has sought to shore up the foundation by injecting mortar-like grout into the subsoil and cavities and controlling seepage. But that regular maintenance lapsed in 2014 after ISIS seized the dam, stealing the equipment and chasing off the workers, Warren said. “After we regained control of that dam, the equipment was all gone, and the workers really never did come back,” Warren said. “So the rate of decay increased because they weren’t doing that regular maintenance, that regular grouting.”In 2007 the U.S. ambassador to Iraq and the top American military commander in the country wrote a letter warning the dam could fail with devastating results. “A catastrophic failure of the Mosul Dam would result in flooding along the Tigris River all the way to Baghdad,” the letter said. “Assuming a worst case scenario, an instantaneous failure of Mosul Dam filled to its maximum operating level could result in a flood wave 20 metres deep at the city of Mosul,” it said.

Pentagon announces pick for U.S. commander in Afghanistan
AFP, Washington Thursday, 28 January 2016/The Pentagon on Wednesday said it had selected Lieutenant General John “Mick” Nicholson to lead international forces in Afghanistan, amid a fraught security situation in the war-torn nation. Nicholson would replace General John Campbell, who has been in the role for 18 months. He still needs to be confirmed for the position by the U.S. Senate. “He knows what it means to lead a responsive and nimble force, and how to build the capacity of our partners to respond to immediate and long-term threats and remain adaptable to confront evolving challenges,” Defense Secretary Ashton Carter said in a statement. Just over one year ago, the U.S. and NATO-led mission in Afghanistan transitioned into an Afghan operation, with allied nations assisting in training and equipping local forces to tackle Taliban and other groups. Since then, the Taliban have dealt some stinging blows to Afghan forces, including a short-lived takeover of the northern city of Kunduz. Further complicating the fragile security situation is the emergence of ISIS militants in parts of the country. They are trying to establish a base in Nangarhar province in eastern Afghanistan, near the Pakistan border. President Barack Obama in October announced 9,800 U.S. forces would remain in Afghanistan until the end of 2016 - backtracking on an earlier pledge to pull all but 1,000 U.S. troops from the country.

U.N. chief blasts Israel over ‘stifling occupation’
AFP, United Nations Thursday, 28 January 2016/Ban Ki-moon on Wednesday renewed his criticism of Israel’s “stifling” occupation of Palestinian territories, a day after similar hard-hitting remarks by the U.N. Secretary-General angered Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The U.N. chief made clear that he would not retreat from the broadside he directed at Israel over its expansion of Jewish settlements in the West Bank. U.N. diplomats said privately that Ban had upped the pressure on Netanyahu in a final bid to revive hopes for peace before he steps down as secretary-general at the end of the year.
“After nearly 50 years of occupation - after decades of waiting for the fulfilment of the Oslo promises - Palestinians are losing hope,” Ban told a U.N. committee on Palestinian rights. “Young people especially are losing hope. They are angered by the stifling policies of the occupation.” Netanyahu on Tuesday accused Ban of “encouraging terror” after Ban said that it was “human nature to react to occupation.”Speaking to the U.N. committee, Ban reiterated that “nothing excuses terror,” but added that a security clampdown will not succeed in settling the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The U.N. chief called for a return to negotiations, saying it was the “one and only path to a just and lasting solution - an end to the occupation that began in 1967” and a Palestinian state. “You can count on me to continue to speak up and speak out - to push and to prod - to do all in my power to achieve long-overdue Israeli-Palestinian peace,” he said. Ban said Palestinians had heard “half a century of statements” condemning Israel’s occupation, but that their lives had not improved. “We issue statements. We express concern. We voice solidarity. But life hasn’t changed. And some Palestinians wonder: Is this all meant to simply run out the clock? “They ask: Are we meant to watch as the world endlessly debates how to divide land while it disappears before our very eyes?” The U.N. chief’s sharp criticism of Israel came amid ongoing Israeli-Palestinian violence and recent Israeli decisions to build new Jewish settlements in the West Bank.
The United Nations has branded Israeli settlement expansions illegal, arguing that they are an attempt to undermine plans for a Palestinian state by absorbing land earmarked for the new country.

Tunisia PM defends policies in face of unrest
AFP, Tunis Thursday, 28 January 2016/Tunisian Prime Minister Habib Essid defended his government Wednesday before parliament, faced with unemployment and poverty at the root of the worst social unrest since the 2011 revolution. “We have tried, as far as possible, to improve the situation,” he told a special parliamentary session on last week’s protests that led to clashes with security forces in which dozens of people were injured, mostly in disadvantaged central Tunisia. “We could make people quieten down by telling them, ‘We are going to create 1,000 jobs’ ... but we want to tell the people the truth,” he said.Tunisia's Prime Minister Habib Essid poses with ministers prior to preside over an extraordinary Cabinet meeting in Carthage, outside Tunis, Saturday Jan. 23, 2016. “We’ve started to find solutions. We don’t have solutions for everybody but we do have some solutions,” the prime minister said, without giving specifics. “The responsibility (to find solutions) lies not only with the government,” said Essid, urging opposition parties and civil society to join forces with his administration to address people’s demands. But his appeal was spurned by critics in parliament who demanded “real solutions”. “We do not want a government that sells illusions and inspires despair,” said Hassouna Nasfi, one of around two dozen lawmakers who recently quit President Beji Caid Essebsi’s Nidaa Tounes party.
Others called for measures to tackle graft - a major grievance of protesters.
“The revolution of dignity has become the revolution of corruption,” said Hafedh Zouari of the Afek Tounes party. A nationwide nighttime curfew was imposed Friday after the protests, which started in the central town of Kasserine where an unemployed man died of electrocution during a January 16 protest over the lack of economic prospects in the region. The unrest, the worst since the revolution five years ago that ousted longtime dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, spread to several other towns and to Tunis where shops were burned and looted in one suburb. The demonstrations have ebbed in recent days although a few were held on Monday. While Tunisia is considered a rare success story of the 2011 regional uprisings known as the Arab Spring, the authorities have failed to resolve the problems of social exclusion and regional inequalities. The economy barely grew last year and unemployment is above 15 percent. For young graduates, it is twice as bad. Essid stressed he understands the frustrations but “has no magic wand” to solve a situation he said was inherited by his government. Apart from the economic damage wrought by political instability in post-Ben Ali Tunisia, two attacks by the ISIS militant group last year targeting foreigners killed 60 people, battering Tunisia’s vital tourism industry. The group was also behind a suicide bombing in Tunis in November that killed 12 presidential guards and prompted the authorities to declare a nationwide state of emergency that remains in place. The recent social unrest echoes the public anger that erupted after the death of young fruit seller Mohammed Bouazizi in the central town of Sidi Bouzid in December 2011. Bouazizi set himself on fire in protest at unemployment and police harassment, sparking the uprising that toppled Ben Ali - whose rule was tainted by graft accusations - and inspiring the Arab Spring revolts.Faced with growing public discontent, Essid earlier this month replaced his foreign and interior ministers in the first reshuffle since taking office in late 2014.

U.S. weighs ‘military options’ in Libya
AFP, Washington Thursday, 28 January 2016/The U.S. is weighing potential military options in Libya as ISIS extremists expand their influence in the North African nation roiled by political instability, a Pentagon official said on Wednesday. The growing ISIS presence in Libya is a “significant concern” and the United States is assessing how best to respond to the group’s “metastasis” from Iraq and Syria, said Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook. “We’re looking at military options, a range of other options as... the situation in Libya unfolds,” Cook said. “We want to be prepared, as the Department of Defense always wants to be prepared, in the event that ISIL in Libya becomes more of a threat than it is even today,” he added, using an acronym for the IS group. In 2011, an uprising against longtime Libyan dictator Muammar Qaddafi quickly became an armed revolution backed by NATO, but his overthrow and killing have been followed by continued strife and political chaos.Last June, ISIS fighters captured Sirte, 280 miles (450 kilometers) east of Tripoli. The group already controlled the city’s airport and a nearby power plant. In recent weeks, ISIS fighters launched attacks from Sirte against facilities in the “oil crescent” along the coast. Reluctant to see its 17-month air campaign against the IS group in Iraq and Syria spread to a third country, the United States has repeatedly stressed the importance of finding cooperative local partners in Libya, and international allies such as France and Italy to help lead any operations there. In December, the Pentagon acknowledged that a group of U.S. special operations troops who had traveled to Libya to “foster relationships” was kicked out of the conflict-torn country soon after they arrived. Additionally, the United States has already taken some action in Libya. In November, it launched an air strike killing top ISIS leader Abu Nabil, an Iraqi also known as Wissam Najm Abd Zayd al-Zubaydi. ISIS is reported to have at least 3,000 fighters in Libya.

Thousands of Iranians protest against Rouhani in Paris
NCRI Iran News/Thursday, 28 January 2016
Hassan Rouhani is one of the most senior officials responsible for violations of human rights in Iran and massacre in the region
President of clerical regime Hassan Rouhani's visit to Paris was met with a wave of protests by Iranians, French political figures, human rights organizations and activists, and French citizens. Thursday at noon, in a large demonstration in Paris (Place Denfert-Rochereau) protestors called on the French officials to chastise Rouhani for the dire situation of human rights in Iran, the policy of export of terrorism and fundamentalism, and the destructive conflicts in the region, especially for buttressing the criminal President of Syria Bashar al-Assad.
A number of French and European political figures, as well as delegations representing the peoples of Syria and Yemen, took part in the demonstration. They offered speeches and marched with the demonstrators to show their solidarity with the goals of this protest.
Demonstrators who had gathered at Place Denfert-Rochereau expressed their loath regarding the presence of this demagogic and criminal mullah in the land of human rights and asylum chanting slogans such as “Rouhani is a criminal and enemy of Iranians”, “Down with the principle of velayat-e faqih; long live the National Liberation Army”, “Criminal Rouhani, your downfall will come”, “With thousands of executions, down with Rouhani”, “The cry of every prisoner is: down with Rouhani” and “Shame on these deal, contracts, and appeasement”.
In this massive demonstration Sid Ahmad Ghozali, former Algerian Prime Minister; Gilbert Mitterrand, President of France Libertés Foundation and son of the late French President Francois Mitterrand; Senator Jean-Pierre Michel; Giulio Maria Terzi, former Italian Foreign Minister; Alejo Vidal-Quadras, President of the International Committee In Search of Justice (ISJ) and former Vice-President of the European Parliament; José Bové, Member of the European Parliament from France; Rama Yade, former French Secretary of State for Human Rights; Henri Leclerc, prominent French lawyer and jurist; Dominique Lefevbre, member of French National Assembly; Jean- François Legaret and Jacques Boutault, Mayors of 1st and 2nd districts of Paris; Struan Stevenson, President of European Iraqi Freedom Association (EIFA); Michel Kilo, member of Syrian opposition; and Marzieh Babakhani, member of PMOI/MEK Central Council, were among the speakers. Gérard Lauton read out parts of a letter from leading French unions to the French President and Foreign Minister in protest to Rouhani’s trip.
Speakers emphasized that Rouhani has always been among the highest officials and staunchest defenders of the velayat-e faqih system all along and in the past 37 years has been involved in the suppression of the Iranian people, massacre of Iranian dissidents in camps Ashraf and Liberty, and the slaughter of people in the region, particularly in Syria and Iraq, and a supporter of fundamentalists. They stressed that turning a blind eye on the violation of liberties in Iran for the sake of expansion of economic relations and rapprochement with this regime at the expense of the Iranian people and Resistance is not only immoral and worthy of condemnation, but a factor that exacerbates insecurity and conflict in the region and the world.
Speakers expressed their support for residents of Camp Liberty and stressed the need to secure their wellbeing and security. They also emphasized that the Iranian regime with a behavior that has no respect for international norms can never be a reliable party in the battle to uproot the ghastly phenomenon of fundamentalism under the banner of Islam in the Near East and the Middle East. They added that a free and democratic Iran is a fundamental necessity to the stability in the region.
In the final statement of the demonstration, protestors voiced their support for the Iranian Resistance and in particular the 10-point platform of Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, President-elect of the Iranian Resistance, for the establishment of a republic based on respect for human rights, separation of religion and state, gender equality, and peaceful co-existence. They emphasized that the fundamentalists ruling Iran dubbed by Iranian people as the Godfather of ISIS are the supporters and sponsors of Islamic fundamentalism in our world.
Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran

Democrats In USA launch Iran deal offensive
Julian Pecquet/Al-Monitor/January 28/16
A half-dozen pro-deal lawmakers ranging from liberals to pro-Israel hawks took turns Jan. 27 on the Senate floor touting the deal's early successes and urging critics to help make it stronger. This group effort comes as Republicans highlight recent Iranian actions deemed aggressions, such as the detention of US sailors and a ballistic missile launch. Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., told Al-Monitor that he and other Democrats “want to start fighting back against Republicans who want to rewrite the agreement.” “Republicans continually want this agreement to be about something other than preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon,” said Murphy, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Near East panel. “And I don't want us to be sitting around three years from now, with the nuclear agreement having been fully implemented, and the American public thinking the agreement failed simply because Iran is still funding Hezbollah.”
According to Murphy, the deal needs a sales pitch, even after its passage, not unlike Obama's health care law. He predicted such an effort could help Democrats in the 2016 presidential election against Republican candidates who have vowed to terminate the deal on their first day in office.
“The more the American public recognize how successful this agreement is, the less likely they are to support somebody who's going to rip it up,” Murphy claimed. “If we don't tell the story of the successful implementation, arguments to rip up the agreement would have a lot more purchase.”
Opponents of the deal say it will give Iran free rein to rush to a nuclear bomb in 15 years, after sanctions lapse. Most of their recent criticism, however, has focused on the more than $100 billion windfall that Iran stands to gain once sanctions are lifted, which explains their desire to highlight Tehran's unsavory actions. Critics have launched several attempts to either unravel or chip away at the deal in recent weeks, including legislation to restrict sanctions on Iranian banks from being lifted and a new law that stops dual-nationals and visitors to Iran from benefitting from visa-free travel to the United States.
“Today, the Obama administration will begin lifting economic sanctions on the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism,” House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., said in a Jan. 16 statement as the United States began meeting its obligations under the deal. “As the president himself has acknowledged, Iran is likely to use this cash infusion — more than $100 billion in total — to finance terrorists. This comes just weeks after Tehran's most recent illegal ballistic missile test, and just days after the IRGC [Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps] detained ten American sailors. A bipartisan majority in the House voted to reject this deal in the first place, and we will continue to do everything possible to prevent a nuclear Iran.”
Democrats are pushing back by focusing on the progress that has already been made on the nuclear front. Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., touted an “extraordinary victory for diplomacy in taking the specter of a nuclear-armed Iran and evaporating it, eviscerating it, pushing it back at least 15 years.”
“In order to get there some pretty extraordinary things have happened,” Booker said on the Senate floor. “Virtually all of its [uranium] stockpile has been shipped out of the country. Two-thirds of the Iranian centrifuges have been taken off-line … In addition to that, we've done the blocking of the plutonium pathway. The heavy-water reactor in Arak has been filled with concrete; it's no longer operational.”Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., contrasted the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) with the lack of good intelligence about Iraq's nuclear program prior to the US invasion. “We went to war based on a faulty assessment — we didn't have the information we needed,” Kaine said. “Let's contrast what happened in 2002-2003 with the opportunity we now have before us as a result of the JCPOA.”
Iran, he commented, is locked into an inspection regime more stringent than that imposed on any other nation. “It will provide us with significant intelligence about Iran's nuclear program,” Kaine said. Others asserted that Republicans could help restrain Iran by making sure the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is fully funded and Obama's national security nominees are quickly approved. Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., who called the group together, lambasted an effort led by Rep. Ryan Zinke, R-Mont., to link IAEA funding to the disclosure of its confidential monitoring agreements with Iran. Coons said he is working with lawmakers and the White House to try to secure a “long-term, reliable source of funding” for the IAEA's monitoring activities in Iran, which the agency has pegged at more than $10 million per year.
Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., urged Republicans to allow votes on three key nominees: Adam Szubin to head sanctions enforcement at the Treasury Department; Tom Shannon to be undersecretary of state for political-military affairs; and Laura Holgate to represent the United States at IAEA headquarters in Vienna, Austria. “You can't sound like a hawk around the debate over the JCPOA,” Booker said, “and then sound like a chicken when it comes to putting the funding forward necessary to prevent them from engaging in destabilizing activities in the region."
Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., also defended the deal while calling on Democrats and Republicans to work to make sure it is enforced.
Recent polling suggests Democrats have a tough road ahead wit​h a US public that appears both skeptical and misinformed about the deal. A CNN/ORC poll conducted Jan. 21-24 found that 69% of Americans favor diplomacy with Iran — but 52% oppose lifting sanctions even though Iran has complied with its nuclear obligations under the JCPOA.

Rome's nude cover-up remains mystery
Arash Karami/Al-Monitor/January 28/16
The recent meeting between Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and Pope Francis at the Vatican was a historic moment. It was the first time an Iranian president, a Muslim and Shiite cleric, had met with the leader of the world’s 1.2 billion Catholics in 16 years. However, the meeting was overshadowed online and by journalists more concerned with a set of nude statues covered with boxes during Rouhani's meeting with Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi at the Capitoline Museums in Rome.According to Italy’s ANSA news agency, “The move was apparently made as a gesture for Iranian culture.” The news agency reported also that wine was not served at the ceremonies. Italian Culture Minister Dario Franceschini denied that he or Renzi made the decision to cover the statues. At a press conference Jan. 27 before leaving for France, Rouhani also denied being involved in the decision to cover the statues. “This is a media issue and journalists want to write about this,” Rouhani said. “I have nothing specific to say about this, and I did not have talks about this with anyone. But I know this: The people of Italy are very hospitable and want their guests to enjoy themselves.”Regardless of who made the decision, Italy, which was one of Iran’s largest trading partners before the nuclear sanctions that crippled Iran’s economy, has been eager to resume economic ties with Iran. The two countries signed deals reportedly worth $18 billion. When asked by Iranian reporters how he views future ties with Europe, Rouhani said, “Not only will the relationship return to what it used to be, it will be better.”At the press conference, Rouhani was also asked about tensions with regional rival Saudi Arabia. He said Iran and Saudi Arabia have had issues in the past but the recent execution of Shiite cleric Nimr al-Nimr was “very unfortunate and condemnable.” About the attack on the Saudi Embassy in Tehran that resulted in Saudi Arabia cutting diplomatic ties with Tehran, Rouhani said, “This act is to be condemned, and I was the first person to condemn this, [just] hours after it happened.”
Since the early January attack on the embassy, there have been 100 arrests, including a cleric linked to Ansar-e Hezbollah. Rouhani said that in identifying and arresting the individuals behind the attack, Iran has fulfilled its obligations. “Our work is done,” he said. “We are not after conflict with Saudi Arabia and every new difference makes our work more difficult.” Rouhani said Saudi Arabia’s current anger has more to do with its regional failures in Syria, Iraq and Lebanon and a 10-month bombing campaign in Yemen that has not been successful. When told by a reporter that a Saudi official is seeking Iran’s apology, Rouhani asked if Iran should have apologized “when they beheaded Sheikh Nimr.”“When they help terrorists in the region, should we apologize? When they killed thousands of pilgrims with mismanagement on the hajj, should we have apologized?”Without mentioning names, Rouhani said there are countries in the region that are attempting to mediate between Iran and Saudi Arabia.

Palestinian negotiator: Iran should stop poking its noses in Arab affairs
Aaron Magid/Al-Monitor/January 28/16
JERICHO, West Bank — Despite the rising death toll, with 156 Palestinians killed since Oct. 1, 2015, President Mahmoud Abbas made a point of discussing larger regional conflicts during his Jan. 6 speech in Bethlehem. Abbas exclaimed three separate times, “We stand with Saudi Arabia” in its clash against Iran. In a wide-ranging interview with Al-Monitor at the Negotiations Affairs Department’s office of the PLO, chief negotiator Saeb Erekat adopted a harsh tone against Tehran, saying, “The Iranians should stop poking their noses into the affairs of others or exporting their revolution.”
Ghassan Khatib, former Palestinian minister of labor and director of the Palestinian Authority’s government media center, explained the PA leadership’s position, telling Al-Monitor, “Saudi Arabia has been one of the most generous and consistent donors to the PA. At a time when the PA is in need of stable support from outside, relations with Saudi Arabia count for the PA and need to be taken into consideration.”
Khatib said that Iran’s previous support for Hamas “has led PA officials to think that Iran is a factor contributing to a split in internal Palestinian politics, which is bad for the Palestinian cause.”
After firing Yasser Abed Rabbo on June 30, 2015, as the secretary-general of the PLO, Abbas appointed Erekat to the No. 2 position within the PLO Executive Committee.
Erekat is considered one of Abbas’ closest confidants; after answering a phone call during the interview, Erekat said that Abbas personally contacts him.
When discussing the surge in Islamic State attacks, Erekat asked, “If IS begins to kill Israelis, who do you think in the Islamic world will condemn them? No one.”
The senior Palestinian official compared the current violence in the Arab world to the 1848 uprisings in Europe and expects the upheaval to continue in the Middle East for 30 years.
In addition to criticizing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for maintaining a “PA without any authorities,” Erekat defended Fatah’s decision to hold the 51st anniversary celebration in Damascus on Jan. 8, with pictures of Abbas alongside Syrian President Bashar al-Assad while praising the Assad regime. Fatah’s rally provoked widespread controversy among Palestinians. But Erekat cited the 600,000 Palestinian refugees in Syria in justifying this policy.
For the first time in 33 years, the Syrian government reopened an official Fatah office in Damascus on Aug. 13, 2015, after years of mistrust. Khatib was skeptical of Ramallah’s recent warming of ties with the Assad regime, saying, “This is the wrong calculation and it is like betting on the wrong horse. We did that in Iraq earlier during Saddam [Hussein’s era] and paid a very heavy price for this.”
Arafat’s siding with Saddam during the 1991 Gulf War caused Saudi Arabia and other Arab states to reduce their support for the PLO during this period, isolating the Palestinian leader.
When asked why Abbas has not appointed a vice president despite being 80 years old and succession rumors swirling, Erekat replied, “I don’t know if he can in accordance with our basic laws so far. This decision requires a decision by the Palestinian Legislation Council.”
However, George Giacaman, a political scientist at Birzeit University near Ramallah, told Al-Monitor that Abbas has still carried out influential decrees, even during the period of the defunct PLC. Giacaman said, “Since the PLC is not functional, this has not prevented Abbas from legislating on his own after the breakup between Gaza and Ramallah.”
Downplaying the PA arrest approximately three weeks ago (an exact date of the arrest was not released) of an alleged Israeli spy who worked from an office in Ramallah over the past 20 years, Erekat noted the widespread use of espionage among nations and compared the situation to rivalry among reporters. He said, “Even journalists compete for skoopsionage” (a pun on the word espionage).
The full text of the interview follows:
Al-Monitor: How does the Saudi-Iranian rift impact the Palestinian cause?
Erekat: Burning embassies of Saudi Arabia in Tehran is something that is uncalled for. The Iranians should stop this. The Iranians should stop poking their noses into the affairs of others or exporting their revolution. We believe that — at the same time — Iran is part of our political geography and part of the region. Of course, it will have an impact on us.
Al-Monitor: Was holding Fatah’s 51st anniversary celebration in Damascus praising Assad with pictures of [him] the correct move given the war crimes allegations against Assad?
Erekat: There are 600,000 Palestinian refugees in Syria. When Fatah holds any of its annual support [he means celebrations, but these are Erekat’s exact words] in Moscow — we have Palestinians there — it is with President [Vladimir] Putin and President Abbas. We ache for what is going on in Syria. But we are guests in Syria and not citizens. We said from day one that we would not have any interference in the events of Syria.
Al-Monitor: President Abbas spoke about establishing an international conference in his recent speech, to focus on Palestine. What practical steps have been taken to set up such an event? Who is backing this initiative outside the Arab world?
Erekat: We want the five permanent members of the UN Security Council to be there. We are in the process of discussing this with many countries. So far, we cannot give any response other than that people are looking forward to being part of the peace process, and one of the ideas is the international conference. We want it as soon as we can agree on it. Will Netanyahu agree to it? I don’t know.
Al-Monitor: How does the violence spreading across the Arab world — including in Iraq, Syria and Libya — impact the Palestinians?
Erekat: My main priority is not to allow IS to raise its flag in Palestine. We must defeat IS and extremism. Judaism to me is not a threat. Judaism is one of God’s religions, like Christianity and Islam. Our conflict is not a religious one. IS today is killing Iraqis, the French and Turks; no one sympathizes with them. If IS begins to kill Israelis, who do you think in the Islamic world will condemn them? No one.
What we are trying to do with the resolutions through the Security Council or General Assembly or with the International Criminal Court membership is to say to the world that bringing Palestine back to the map is one of the most important ingredients for stability and peace in the region. On the other hand, Netanyahu is saying, "I’m not against two states, but let's wait until [we see] what happens in Syria.”
In my opinion, what is going on in the Arab world now is what Europe went through in 1848 when Chancellor [Klemens von] Metternich had to flee his palace after three weeks of peaceful demonstrations; it took Europe years for the dust to settle down. What is going on in the Arab world is that the contradictions between good governance and the lack of rule of law, woman’s rights and democracy will take 30 years to settle down. There will be a lot of bloodshed. Now Netanyahu is saying, let’s wait for the 30 years without Palestine being back on the map. What we are saying to Netanyahu is, no, don’t be politically blind. The fact here is that Palestine being brought back to the map will limit this period of suffering in this region.
Al-Monitor: Palestinian officials have repeatedly threatened to disband the PA, but in President Abbas' recent speech he rejected such a move. Why wouldn't Palestinian leaders consider breaking up the PA if it could increase the pressure against Israel, both economically and militarily?
Erekat: I don’t recall any Palestinian official speaking about dismantling the PA. We need to redefine the Israeli-Palestinian relations. The PA was born in an international contract between the PLO and Israel in order to move the Palestinians from occupation to independence through peaceful nonviolent means — negotiations. What I’m saying is that Israel has killed the PA and replaced it with a Palestinian authority without any authorities, because they [Israel] established the so-called civil administration of Judea and Samaria. If Abbas, my president, wants to go to Amman, he needs permission from them. If the Israelis refuse to implement the obligations of the [Oslo] agreement signed, we must redefine our security, economic and political relations with Israel. We want to maintain the PA. The PA can be maintained if we go back to a peace process that will lead to a two-state solution that will lead to a Palestinian state. The current situation is not sustainable.
Al-Monitor: Why hasn’t President Abbas appointed a vice president given his advanced age? Erekat: I don’t know if he can in accordance with our basic laws so far. This requires a decision by the PLC. Today the talk about Palestinian internal politics is very important. We have strong institutions to answer these questions after what happened when Yasser Arafat passed away. I am not really worried about this prospect. Al-Monitor: One of your employees was arrested for “spying for Israel.” Can you shed light on the story? What was his position? Did he have access to confidential documents?
Erekat: The PA intelligence services came to me about six weeks ago and told me that they have evidence they shared with me. I signed on the arrest of my employee — who by the way had nothing to do with my advisers, politics or meetings. He was the head of the purchasing department; he looked after the furniture, coffee and tea. This man has a right to a court [hearing] — let our judicial system work with it. I still believe that — as Palestinians — we should stick to the line that people are innocent until proven guilty. I am not digging tunnels in this department. The papers that I prepare in my department are the ones I hand to the Israelis. Let’s not stand with our gossip and conspiracies, if someone wants to get back at Saeb Erekat. This man has a wife and two children. Let us not pass any judgment before the court. What’s the big deal? These things happen. Nation-states have industrial espionage, intellectual espionage, and even journalists compete for “skoopsionage.”Al-Monitor: Isaac Herzog, the leader of the center-left Israeli Labor Party, called Abbas a "frightened and panicking" leader. What is your response?
Erekat: He can say whatever he wants about his prime minister; but as far as my president, he is totally unfair. Herzog met with President Abbas and heard from him a commitment to the two-state solution, negotiations and nonviolence. It is unfair and unacceptable.

On a Saudi preacher’s belief that ‘women are shameful’
Turki Al-Dakhil/Al Arabiya/January 28/16
Let us overcome the current controversy over a Saudi preacher’s statement that women are shameful. It is a shameful statement, but my call to overcome this controversy stems from the need to look at the situation from a different angle.
Imagine how someone born this year, whether a boy or girl, will read this preacher’s comments 20 years from now. How will they look at their society, in which someone who is supposedly an opinion leader considered women dishonourable in 2016?
Explanation
How can you explain to a Muslim in China, Ireland or Senegal that the woman who gave birth to you, raised you and lived with you cannot drive a car because of doubts over her ability to make choices, and is viewed as shameful and disgraceful?
How will you explain to a Muslim in the East or West this tragic, even comical situation? This is reminiscent of Arab poet Abu Tayyib al-Mutanabbi’s verse: “What are the objects which raise the laughter of Egypt, laughter which nearly resembles weeping?”
The reason I ask how to explain this to a Muslim in particular is because we have the same religion, and we hope for forgiveness and desire to go to heaven. It is not women who are defective but men, and even culture.

Refugees in Europe and religious reform
Fahad Suleiman Shoqiran/Al Arabiya/January 28/16
The general debate on religion, its interpretation and understanding, in addition to the rise of terrorist groups in the East and West, remind us of the urgent need for radical reform of religious institutions in the Muslim world, and for modern religious rhetoric that can develop societal coexistence. These needs have increased as Syrian refugees flee to Europe, where there is the possibility of struggles and disputes.
British Prime Minister David Cameron is keen to encourage religious rhetoric that corrects refugees’ understanding of Islamic concepts, and pushes them to adopt values that they have not known before, such as tolerance, integration and coexistence. The rise of extremist organizations and the influx of Syrian refugees into Europe have resulted in a state of worry and vigilance the likes of which we have not seen since 2001.
Amid this debate, the Newseum - a museum of news in Washington - this week granted its Religious Freedom Award to Abdallah bin Bayyah, a jurist and president of the Forum for Promoting Peace in Muslim Societies.
He resigned from the International Union of Muslim Scholars after the eruption of the Arab Spring, as he allegedly believed the union was linked to the Muslim Brotherhood and was keen to harm religious institutions in Arab countries under the pretext of performing its official work.
Spreading extremism
There are urgent attempts to curb extremism, and huge fears of rising fundamentalism in several countries. The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) has spread to East Asia, with the recent Jakarta terror attack and the arrest of recruits in Singapore. The threat has also reached Australia.
Meanwhile, German media outlets continuously warn of the ISIS threat in an attempt to foil attacks planned by its cells, and by those of Al-Qaeda that inhabit Molenbeek in Belgium, a base for extremist organizations in Europe.
By the end of the 20th century, Syrian poet Adonis wondered why values of coexistence had collapsed among Muslims, and why it had become impossible to restore the old pillars of coexistence that existed in Islamic history, specifically during the period of Al-Andalus. These questions influenced thinker Abdel Wahab Mouadab. The most recent book by him that I have read is “Islam Now,” which describes how Andalusians were received in the 13th century following the fall of Cordoba and Sevilla. “My place of birth Tunisia and its suburbs witnessed cross-pollination of cultures as a result of this migration which enriched morals of civilized behavior as well as architecture, trade, cultivation and industry,” he wrote. “The center of Andalusian civilization, which is represented in Cordoba, shone on European soil, and this center can add legitimacy to Muslims’ presence in Europe.”
The rise of extremist organizations and the influx of Syrian refugees into Europe have resulted in a state of worry and vigilance the likes of which we have not seen since 2001. News outlets continually discuss terrorism, clerics and religious rhetoric. This gives Muslims and their leaders a chance to develop a plan to exonerate religion from terrorism and convey this to other nations. This is not easy, but it is not impossible. The basis of this reform began with the wave of Arab enlightenment in the 1920s. We must ensure that descriptions of murder, bloodshed and terrorism do not apply to our region. Lebanese leader Walid Jumblatt, the maternal grandson of Shakib Arslan - author of the 1930 book “Our Decline and Its Causes” - said the last words uttered by his mother before she died were: “The Arab world is a world of murderers.”

Why Tunisia’s Moncef Marzouki is being unfair
Mohammed Fahad al-Harthi/Al Arabiya/January 28/16
Václav Havel’s play “Leaving” deals with the psychological state of any politician who leaves office and loses power. Havel himself is a seasoned intellectual and politician who became the president of Czechoslovakia before the separation which gave us the Czech Republic and Slovakia. He wrote the play after leaving office; it is a satirical work about a politician who resigned but then refused to give up power. The play shows the distress of a former governing official whose life and world crashed after he left his post. This reality faces all politicians when they leave office and inevitably compare what the past was with what the present is.
The intellectual has the freedom to express an opinion and to offer criticism; however, the confusion between the political role and the intellectual one is the dilemma. Marzouki adopts a secular ideology and advocates the separation of religion and state. However, he is allied with the Islamist Ennahda party.
This may lead them to lose balance and vision, and cause them to search for the limelight again through making statements or taking certain positions. In politics, this may be normal but sometimes the opposition must work within the political laws and according to democratic ethics. Former Tunisian President Moncef Marzouki stirred a huge controversy by attacking the United Arab Emirates, claiming that it funds counter-coups in the Middle East, and hates revolutions.
Some reactions to this attack came from Tunisia itself where the Foreign Ministry made it clear that the statements were irresponsible.
Reda Belhaj, head of the Tunisian Presidential Cabinet, said that the aim of such remarks was to confuse the state’s institutions at a time when Tunisia needed the support of all its people; it said that Marzouki was not adjusting to the reality of having left office. Indeed, authority has its glow and whenever the light dims, the leader may become unbalanced. To be fair, Marzouki is a refined writer with a distinguished history of using the powers of his intellect to stand against dictatorship and oppression. Nonetheless, the everlasting historical dilemma of the hazy relationship between the intellectual and the authority remains present. This relationship produces suspicion and caution and sometimes conflict and hostility. The intellectual plays an enlightening role in society, as it was described by Arab historian Ibn Al-Muqaffa.
A confused role?
Some may interpret the attack as a kind of political striving, where Marzouki confused his role as a former president with his duty as a legal activist. His role as a former president pushed political commitments onto him; he has the right to oppose but not to involve foreign countries in an internal political conflict. The UAE is an important and influential country which has good political and economic relations with Tunisia. Not that the UAE needs defending, but UAE Foreign Minister Anwar Gargash was decisive in his remarks by saying: “Marzouki’s attack on the UAE does not come in the context of political performance. The UAE’s position was, and remains, for the region’s stability and cohesion.”The UAE, in its political positions, has sought to spare the region from the dangers of extremism, division and internal conflicts. If Marzouki were realistic, what would he say about the scenario that almost ravaged the Arab nation? The Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt had bigger goals than Egypt. It led Egypt and the region into danger; the Egyptian people took to the streets on June 30 to regain the lead. What does Marzouki say about Yemen? Is he waiting for it to fall under Houthi domination? There are strategic positions and there has to be countries fulfilling their leadership roles. The intellectuals are the voice and conscience of the nation; it is wrong to ignore them just to score a political point against a party or to win a political battle. The intellectual has the freedom to express an opinion and to offer criticism; however, the confusion between the political role and the intellectual one is the dilemma. Marzouki adopts a secular ideology and advocates the separation of religion and state. However, he is allied with the Islamist Ennahda party.
As a writer and intellectual, Marzouki is expected to provide the facts objectively, and contribute to an enlightening role in reuniting and strengthening Arab solidarity.

U.S. 2016 elections: The clash of the Titans
Joyce Karam/Al Arabiya/January 28/16
Four days ahead of the voting day in Iowa, the U.S. Presidential race for 2016 is promising a level of unpredictability and maximalism in campaign rhetoric unseen in previous elections. Whether it is the rise of the real estate mogul Donald Trump or the leftist Senator from Vermont Bernie Sanders, or the return of the Clintons and the potential entry of billionaire Michael Bloomberg to the race, this is a clash of the Titans in an ever-changing landscape of American politics. In a broader sense, the 2016 Primary race has effectively defied the old rules and playbook of political campaigning, challenging the party establishments and undermining political dynasties. The Iowa battle this Monday is a departure from politics as usual and defies the traditional metrics of success in Presidential elections. After all, here is Trump, who has been dubbed as a "clown" by the press and dismissed by almost every Washington pundit when he entered the race last June , leading the Republican race, while former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is struggling against a 74 year old Senator with a disheveled hair who publicly identifies as a Socialist. In that sense, both Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump have used unconventional means such as social media and fiery rhetoric to rally their base, while channeling an oversimplified and sometimes naive foreign policy narrative.
A Titans showdown
Whoever wins on Monday, Iowa won't spell the end of the primary race. If anything, the outreach capability and massive fundraising numbers for Sanders ($73 million) and candidates like Senator Ted Cruz ($50 million), along with the populous lifeline support for Trump, points to a long race that could stretch till the summer conventions. Nevertheless, a Trump victory in Iowa could help him sweep the three following races in New Hampshire and South Carolina and Nevada, or alternatively face a steeper battle if the more moderate rivals start coalescing around one candidate.
Win or lose, the Trump Titan will linger for a while in 2016, using his media charm and packed rallies to shape the Republican race which concludes in July, or run as Independent thereafter.
On the Democratic side, the close race between Clinton and Sanders could lead to a long primary fight especially if the former Secretary of State loses Iowa. While the Hillary Clinton campaign holds an edge in its ground game, political, and financial operation, Sanders has been able to rally thousands of potential voters and donors that can sustain him for the long haul. A Sanders win on the other hand on Monday, could either give him momentum to seriously challenge Clinton for the nomination or reshuffle the Democratic race, tempting more rivals, reluctant so far to challenge Clinton, to join the battle.
Nevertheless, if we see a surprising twist in 2016 bringing Trump and Sanders as the respective nominees for their parties, it could crack the Presidential race wide open, doubling the odds of a Michael Bloomberg or a Mitt Romney or a John Huntsman independent runs. Such scenario would be the ultimate Titans showdown in U.S. politics, marking a high price tag on 2016, and blurring the lines of the two party system that have historically dominated Presidential elections.
New 2016 rules
In a broader sense, the 2016 Primary race has effectively defied the old rules and playbook of political campaigning, challenging the party establishments and undermining political dynasties. The hurdles encountering the Clinton candidacy, and the diminishing support for once Republican's favorite Jeb Bush are evident that name recognition and family political history are inconsequential today. While this trend has started with Barack Obama in 2008, the several hiccups that the Jeb Bush campaign has encountered making him number four today in the polls reenforces this sentiment.
The power of social media and maximalist political rhetoric have also come to define the 2016 race and the rise of Trump and Sanders. Trump's praise for Russia, call for extreme measures on immigration, and Sanders embrace of Socialism and calls to breaking up the big banks could have sunk their chances in a different era. But the new landscape of American politics, driven by hashtags and more populous narratives is fueling this rise, while undermining political centrism.
Added to this, the lack of campaign finance reform increases the ability of billionaires and special interest groups to enter or influence the Presidential race. Spending and negative campaigning is expected to break record figures in 2016, while Michael Bloomberg is already hinting at spending a billion dollar of his fortune if he chooses to run.
Whoever the name of the winner is in Iowa on Monday, the train of the 2016 elections has already left the station of conventional politics. It would be wise to brace for a feverish battle that will ignore the old playbook of campaigning, and erase the boundaries of spending and attack lines to get to go the White House.